She loves her dad:)

Hola Familia!

First off, Thank you so so so much for the package!!!(: I got it on Wednesday and it made my week! I also got a letter from dad, books and Abbey morrison! So thank you all so much! It was so good to get actual letters and american candy (: haha but this week was pretty good! We had zone conference and it was so good! Like amazing! Honestly, President Wagner and Hermana Wagner are such amazing people and I am glad i get to be serving here when they are here! As a mission we have really been focusing on understanding the atonement and what it really means to repent for our sins, and what it means for our investigators to make covenants such as baptism. President wagner had us do a lot of practices and showed us how to use the scriptures and how to better follow the spirit. Sometimes I feel as though I need to talk a lot to be able to help our investigators learn but in reality the spirit is more powerful than anything, and the scriptures explain better than I ever can what they need to understand. We also learned that, continual repentance isnt enough to be keeping our baptismal covenant. If we just continually repent we only have done things that added to the suffering of our Savior. to keep our baptismal covenant we need to make permenant changes in our lives so that we can become more like Christ. We also talk a lot about enduring to the end, and the end isnt just when we  die, its enduring until we are as christ was! This really was such a good conference and I know I personally have a lot to work on before I can be as Christ was and it is a really big responsability but it is also such a blessing that we have the chance to do that, and that we always have the help of our Savior! He knows everything we are feeling at all times and is always ready to help us if we can just pray In faith, and in his name to our Heavenly Father! Also this week I got to work with Hermana Giradelli for a day! She is from California and has about 9 months in the mission and she is awesome! Everyone thinks we are twins or sisters because well we are both white with blonde hair and blue eyes and look like we dont belong here, but I really learned a lot from her! We taught some really good lessons and the spirit was so strong! We taught an inactive member about the priesthood and she had asked if i could share an experience so i just talked about how having a dad who is a worthy priesthood holder has always been such a blessing in my life, and I of course got emotional but it was so great! The hermana, her name is silvia, wants to get back to church and she was so happy and greatful that we were able to visit her! We also taught an investigator whose wife is a member but he isnt. His wife is a recent convert, and sadly she has cancer, but her and her husband are so strong! He has a baptism date set for the 30th of this month. but they have to go to Guadaljara for her cancer treatment but I know that God will bless them in this time as he strives to follow the example of our savior. I hope that Hermana Giradelli can keep me updated on their progress! But as for my area, we had one really solid investigator who we thought for sure would get baptized, but he decided he doesnt want lessons anymore because he doesnt want to live the word of wisdom, or the law of chastity. And it was really hard because we cant make him change but i hope and pray one day he will accept the gospel! This upcoming wednesday we will be in Colima for a conference type thing which means I get to see Hermana Newbold!!! (: (: I am super happy about that! This week is also the last week of my training and the last week of this transfer so next week I might be in a new area! But i hope you guys have an amazing week! I love you all so much! Thank you again for the package and letters (: You guys are the best! 

Love always,

Hermana Searle 

Doing great!

Hola Familia! 

So this week was crazy fast! On Tuesday we had our district class like usual and spent most of the day looking for references. Sadly, we didnt find very many of them. But on Wednesday we had a really good day! We found a new investigator a couple of weeks ago and he wanted us to come teach him and his wife, his name is Armando and her name is Teresa and they have 4 kids, well she has 2 from another marriage, he has 1 from another marriage and they have 1 together. And we only met one of their kids but they really are a great family. They are super christian but want a change. They actually have a lot of marriage problems right now but you can just tell how much they really love each other. they both know they have things they need to change for their family and they seem to understand that the gospel is going to help them more than anything else! They are so nice to us too, they want our help and are the first people we have found that really seem to want to change because they understand it is what God wants. We have another lesson with them on Wednesday so hopefully it goes well! We were with Hermana Rodriguez and Hermana Santana Friday and Saturday and it was really good! I got to teach with Hermana Rodriguez and we had a really good day! we were able to find some of the references they had recieved and were able to teach some really good lessons! On Saturday and Sunday was stake, well district, conference and since we are in branches here President wagner is the President of not only the mission, but the branches as well. him and Hermana Wagner came to it and the conference was really really good! Everyone that spoke just really brought the spirit! I loved it! But, it definitley made me want it to be October for General Conference! But we also have our mission zone conference this week so that will be good! We had a really funny experience this week, hahaha. One day we were getting ready to leave our house and we get outside and it started POURING!! and usually when it starts pouring it is cloudy most the day with tons of puddles in the street so my companion was all. " i have 2 pairs of rain boots lets go get them." So we go change into rain boots get umbrellas and rain jackets and head back outside.. 2 minutes later it stops raining and the sun comes out so here we are walking through Mexico in rainboots and jackets when the sun is shining and its super hot! haha luckily we had other shoes in our bags and a member let us leave the boots at our house haha but everyone was looking at us like we were crazy because they were all in shorts, tank tops and sandals! haha but it was fun! We have a lot of good lessons planned for this week and hopefully all will go as planned! I am so glad everyone back home is doing well! I cant believe summer is over! And all the kids are starting school again and that books will be a Junior!! Crazy crazy! But I hope you guys have a great week! I love you all so much! 

Love always,

Hermana Searle

Another week :)

Hola Familia!

Well this week was really good! It was super long though because all week I was so anxious to see if Grayson had been born! haha. But this week was good! On Tuesday we were with Hermana Smith and Hermana Cruz and for about 3 hours it was just me and Hermana Smith and a member from her ward and our companions were in a different part of their area and oh my haha. There is a reason they dont have two americans as companions here!! haha. But it was good we had some really good lessons! we also spent a lot of time this week getting ready for the play we had to do yesterday and that was interesting! haha lets just say when you put 20 missionaries together to come up with a play it is quite a disaster! But we pulled it off and the district president was happy with it and all went well! haha This week we had a lesson that was really interesting to say the least. it was with the family that is of no religion but they study the bible and want to find the right religion. We were teaching the mom about the Book of Mormon and she had 10000 questions. Which were all really interesting. We answered all of them with scriptures and were feeling so great about the lesson, at one point I was bearing my testimony of the Book of Mormon and then my companion did as well and the spirit was soo strong and she was really thinking about what we had said and I thought for sure she was going to accept what we were saying and then her husband came outside and he had 100000 more questions and then his wife wasnt so sure about what we had said and it went downhill from there, but we really answered all their questions with scriptures in the bible about the book of mormon and testified with all we had and went on our way, it was kinda sad because we dont really know what we will do at this point with them but it was good as well. We also had a new investigator in church who we had contacted over a month ago in a park and he remembered where the church was and came and had read so much of the book of mormon we gave him and wants lessons in the church so we were super happy about that!(: The work here is going really well and we have some really good new investigators! I am glad you all had a good week! I cant believe summer is almost over! And Books will be starting her Junior year!! But I hope you guys have another good week! I love and miss you all! 

Love always,

Hermana Searle 

The Power of Prayer :)

Hola familia!

Well this week has gone by super fast, and nothing too crazy has happened. But on Tuesday I was in a trio all day because my companion was at a training in Guadalajara! We had to be to central, a bus station that is about 40 minutes from our house, at 6 in the morning so that wasnt the funnest haha. But being with the other hermanas was good! After when Hermana Fragoso got back we took another bus to go back to our house and it was the wrong bus!! haha So we were super lost and didnt really know what to do so we called our district leader and he told us to pray and be super careful and call the zone leaders and ask if they knew the area we were in. So we went and prayed and it was the first time since I have been here that i was scared, which is a blessing because sometimes it is kinda sketchy here. But we called the zone leaders and they told us to pray and find bus 2 and that they would pray for us too so we waited for what seemed like FOREVER and finally a bus came and now our only worry was getting back to our house before 9:30 but we got home at 9:30 without any problems! So that was such a blessing! I love knowing I can pray anytime i need anything and i will be watched over and protected! The rest of the week was really good! We have found some really really good new investigators!! We have 3 new families to teach that are just so ready to recieve the gospel! One of the families is the Perez family, they dont have a religion but they study the bible together every day as a family and have been searching for the right religion for the past 2 years and havent liked any church they have gone too because they have felt as though none of them are correct. Basically the perfect investigators! we are really looking forward to teaching them more(: Also, we have a neighbor who is one of our investigators and sells fruit and the other day we were talking to her at her little fruit cart and a man came to buy fruit and started asking about the church and he had had problems with alcohol for years but his friend always talked to him about how bad it is and talked to him about the bible so he started to go to AA classes and hasnt drank for like 2 years and he as well is looking for a church. So we explained that we are missionaries and explained a little bit about the gospel and the book of mormon and  gave him a book of mormon and he almost cried because he was so happy. It was such a neat experience! I love being able to teach people about the gospel and the book of mormon and just being a missionary is so amazing! We had a crazy thunderstorm the other night and it has been miserably hot since but things are going really well here! we have a play thing we are doing for all the members in the district next week and it hopefully will go well! I cant believe it has been 3 months since i left! It keeps going faster and faster! I am so glad all is well back home! Im sad the baby hasnt come yet!! But i am sure by next week he will be here! I love you guys so much! 

Love always,

Hermana Searle 

Doing well!!

Hola(:

Time is FLYING! First off I am finally more than halfway through my training! yay! and I cant believe it is monday again! This week was pretty good! Honestly nothing too crazy or exciting happened but i will tell you guys all about it anyway! On Tuesday we had our district class, and we got new mattresses and a book shelf so that was exciting! But the Hermano delivered it, his daughter is in the mission here!!! It was the saddest thing he had stuff for her and she had stuff for her family so he had to wait outside the church while we went into the church and got the stuff from her and it was so sad that her dad was here and she couldnt say hi to him. My companion and I both cried because we felt so sad for them. But she goes home in 4 months and was perfectly fine!  But on Wednesday we had a lot of lessons with members which was really good! The member that was with us is Hermana Sonia and she is a returned missionary and she is so funny!! haha She was so helpful because she literally talks to everyone, and cant start conversations in the most random ways! But she was so helpful and has such a strong testimony and knows all the lessons so it was great! But it was also one of the funniest days... First we were looking for a reference we recieved from the Elders and while looking we asked some people if they knew where they lived and we still dont know if the person was a guy, or a girl, and Hermana Sonia thought it was the funniest thing! And then after our last lesson we had like 30 minutes before we had to be in our house so she decided that i needed to eat tacos so we go buy tacos and this guy comes to the place and starts rapping, and rapped about everyone in the place and rapped about my eyes being the color of heavan and Hermana Sonia also thought this was soooo funny haha it is something that you kinda had to be there for it to be funny, but yeah wednesday was a good day! Thursday was good too! We are looking for a new house because ours is just interesting to say the least and we thought we found the perfect one, but other people that live here told us not to rent it because when it rains the house floods.. haha so we have to keep looking! But yesterday we had 2 new investigators in church and they are the daughters of some less active members and they were so happy that they got to go to church! So I think they will progress really well, right now their baptism date is set for the 30th of this month! So hopefully all goes as planned! It sounds like you guys had a great weekend! I am so glad all is well back home! I love you guys so much! Have a great week! (: 

love always,

Hermana Searle 

Pics :)

 

Baptism of Rosario and Marina

 

Another pic from Baptism :)

 

Hermana Searle and Hermana Santana

 

They found a random mirror on someones front door so of course they stopped to take a picture.  They wanted another one because this is so blurry but as soon as they went to take it someone walked out of the door.  I guess it was pretty funny!!!!

 

They still don't love early mornings!!

She's doing great!

Hola! 

Well this week was so fast, and so good! On Tuesday we had our district classes and then I was in a trio Tuesday from like 2pm- Wednesday at like 10am! It was so great. The best thing about Hermana Fragoso being the training leader for the Hermanas in our Zone is I get to go with other Hermanas 3 times each transfer and it is always cool to learn from them and meet their investigators! On Wednesday after we were all back with our companions we just had our normal lessons.On thursday we had weekly planning in the morning and after had lessons with Rosario and Marina who were getting ready for their baptism! The lessons with them are always really good! On Friday we decided we would try and teach one of our investigators who we havent been able to find for the past couple weeks. The first two times we had taught her we just thought she was going to progress so quickly but then after that anytime we went to teach her no one answered the door so we figured she didnt want more lessons. But during weekly planning we just felt like we needed to plan for her this week. So on Friday morning we went to her house and the door was open and she was happy to see us! She is 8 months pregnant and had been in the hospital because they were afraid her baby was going to be born early, but all is well and she should have the baby in about a month! She told us she really liked what she had read in the Book of Mormon and was glad we came back. She is super catholic so we figured it would be really hard to teach her but she just takes everything we say and really thinks about it! She has so much Faith in God and wants to know all she can about the Book of Mormon and how she can be closer to her Heavenly Father! So she accepted a baptismal date and when she said the closing prayer the spirit was so strong! Her neighbor was there as well and she accepted a baptism date and asked for a Book of Mormon(: On Saturday we had the baptism of Rosario and Marina(: It was soooo great! They were so happy and just it is indescribable! After they were baptized they had time to share their testimonies with those that were there and Marina is 11, and she has such a strong testimony of how much the gospel changed her life and her family. It was just so great! Yesterday they were confirmed and said they just have so much peace and happiness in their lives! We had a really interesting lesson yesterday...haha. After church we decided to go and teach The Alcaraz family. The parents are less active members and the two daughters want to be baptized.. Well they sell pirated movies, in front of a Catholic Church, and yesterday just so happened to be a big ceremony for the church and they had a parade where all the people were dancing. And the dance is like a cultural dance for Mexico that goes wayyyyy back in time and they do this dance to give thanks to The Virgin Mary when they recieve blessing, and they set off fireworks all day and it is just quite interesting to say the least. So just picture 2 LDS missionaries trying to teach investigators with illegal movies and the parade of another religion... It was something else!! My companion and I couldnt help but laugh after because of how not ideal of an enviroment it was. But the dad has a really strong testimony and knows he needs the gospel for him and his daughters, so that was good! This week we really want to find some new investigators and work on getting them to church! So hopefully all works out well! I am so glad you guys are doing so great I love and miss you guys so much!! I hope you have a great week (: 

Love Always,

Hermana Searle