Alma 62:41

One cool thing about this week was all the opportunities that we found to do random acts of service! Most of the time people don't let us serve them (don't be like that!) but this week we were able to help people carry groceries inside (on two separate occasions!), wash and put away dishes, take out trash, and help Evelyn and Roberto with their wedding invitations! I love service, especially unplanned service!

Fun facts about how different my brain is after only a couple months on a mission:

-My stress dreams now are about when I get separated from my companion

-Numbers = Scripture references. For example, when I look at the clock and it is 2:25, my first thought is Adan cayo' para que los hombres existiesen, y existen los hombres para que tengan gozo!

-When I hear instrumental hymns, the lyrics that pop into my head are in Spanish!

-I get nervous when I watch other cars back up without someone standing behind them...

My favorite part of the week: at the end of the last transfer, Hermana Martinez and I met this adorable little family. The couple is Alejandro and Celia, and they have the cutest little 4-year-old son I have ever met in my entire life. We fell in love with this family. Hermana Gatten and I were able to see them a couple times, but they told us that they were happy to talk to us but they didn't want to change religions. That was a hard experience. However, Hermana Gatten and I felt we shouldn't drop them completely. Last Monday evening, one of our lessons fell through and I felt impressed to go see them again. We showed up and Alejandro was there, so we talked to him for a moment, and then he told me: "Pienso que conoces mi madre," (I think you know my mom). I asked what his mom's name was, and he said Leonor... It took me a second, but then I realized that his mom is one of the women I met on the plane ride here from the CCM! Leonor (his mom) and Silvia (his sister) came to visit their other sister, Monica, when we were coming from Mexico. They both accepted a Book of Mormon, but Hermana Martinez and I were never able to find them before they went back to Mexico. I never thought I would see them or hear from them again, but when I found out that Alejandro was part of their family my mind was blown. The best part is that Alejandro told us that they are going to be visiting for Christmas, so we should be able to see them again! What a cool miracle, I am still in shock!

My scripture of the week is Alma 62:41. I love this striking example in the Book of Mormon about how who we become is completely subject to our agency. We can talk about nature and nurture all day long, but ultimately, we have been given the ability to choose everything. We choose which parts of our nature to keep, and which to change. We cannot always choose what happens around us, but we can choose how to respond to it. As we make these choices we change and become, and this process is made possible through the atonement of Jesus Christ. 

Les quiero, que tenga una buena semana!

-- Hermana Nielsen

-When doing paperwork in the car the evening after daylight savings

-Graciela loves to make us "paint our lips" (pintarse los labios)