Aguascalientes Mission: Sept 2: Faith is Patience

Hey Family! Its good to hear from ya! I cant wait to read all your letters! Thank you as always for your love and support. :)

Well, unfortunately not a lot has happened this week. Dont get me wrong, i have never been so tired in my life, but this was definitely a week of faith testing.

We have been working so hard with Hermano Petronilo. He has progressed so much! He is a different person. He had his interview with an Elder, and said that he was totally ready to be baptized. He said that he really wants it and cant wait. He has been working with missionaries ever since i got here in Mexico. Ten months. He is super stubborn, but he finally said that he knows this is the Lord´s path and he is going to take it. After TEN MONTHS he now wants it! So, naturally he gets super sick... :( He has bronchitis. (is that how you spell it?) He hasn´t even been able to bathe because the doctor said he cant get into the water. He hasn´t left his little room for a week. Some brothers came over and gave him a blessing, which has really helped, We prayed and fasted and visited him everyday, but the poor guy is still super sick. He wasn´t able to get baptized this Saturday but we are planning on next Saturday.

I was really bummed. I didn´t understand. I thought that he was going to get baptized. We fasted, prayed and did everything humanly possible. But i learned a lesson that my companion actually taught me. We do all that we can do. We know that faith is an action, but it also requires patience. After we do all that we can, and it still isn´t the Lord´s time, that is when we exercise more faith and simply wait until it is. That is definitely something that i have tried to develop here. I still fall short, but i know that it is true. Faith is also patience. Thank you for your prayers. They are being answered. Yesterday he felt a lot better. He was able to sit outside of his little house and sell his potato chips. So please keep praying for him. :)

This week has probably been the HOTTEST week of my whole mission. Everyone and their dog said that August would be perfect, cool and rainy. Nope. it is a lie. We have all been dying of heat.

I am pretty sure we have talked to every taxi man in the City of Aguascalientes. Every time we get a ride from them we contact them, but now we get in and they say that they know us and they show us their pamphlets or cards we gave them. ha ha. One man told me that he recognized me in the street (which really isn´t hard here when you are one of the two Americans here, the other being Sister Dahle) He said, you look the same, you are just more sunburned. mmm thank you sir.... haha

Great news! Carolina and Alfonso FINALLY asked for the papers for their wedding! They said that for sure they are getting baptized this month! We are super excited! :)

Family Diaz are still doing great. They have had some really, really hard challenges in their life. They still are really struggling,they also really need your prayers. They just dont have absolutely anything. They go days without eating. It is really hard, but they have so much faith. Everyday it is better and better. They are so inspiring. We are looking forward to their baptism too.

Hermana Wiggenhauser is engaged to an American. ah! I cant believe it! She says she is so happy. She has had the same boyfriend since she was twelve and now she is engaged to someone else. Life is so curious huh?

Happy Birthday RyRy! :) Seems like Jen treated ya well! :)

With respect to my health... Nothing has changed. I am going to take that pill that mom told me about. On Mondays its half off :) haha. I went to the doctor again. Different doctor. He told me that i need to eat an apple everyday. Well i have been doing that for nine months now. The doctors here.... haha. I dont even know if it is a parasite, or what. Who knows! But i have been eating really healthy, drinking lots of water, exercising. I dont know what else to do. The good thing is it doesn´t interfere with the work, but these passed few days i have been ridiculously tired. I almost fell asleep during a lesson. That just might be from the sun, right?

Well! I am out of time!

Hermana Trujillo sent Ashley these pictures from their companionship together: