Letter from Hermana Wagner 7/22

Hello!! This week has been absolutely amazing!! I love my trainer Hermana Acerbi! he is full of so much energy and she loves everyone. Her testimony is powerful and she has helped me to strengthen mine so much with in this past week. Hermana Acerbi speaks english really well, so it has been very difficult for me to not use english when I am trying to talk to her or to explain something to her. Starting tomorrow I will be having a 3 day english fast, where I will not speak any english at all, including to ask what a word is in spanish! It is going to be so difficult for me but I know that the lord will bless me so much!.

So to start of with we had two people commit to baptism this week!!! Renata is 9 years old and she knows the gospel so well! We would ask her a question about Joseph Smith, Prophets, the Book of Mormon and other things and she was able to give us a really lengthy paragraph of information about each. You can see her love for her Savior and for her Heavenly Father and the excitement that she has to follow in the foot steps of our Savior. Hermana Acerbi had me invite her to baptism on my second day in the field!!! So that was exciting! Frida is 14 years old and she is so full of energy, light, and love. We caled her on sunday to see if she was coming to church and you could hear the excitement in her voice when she said that she was 5 minutes away!

At one point I was reading through a note book and realized that it reeked of fish!! I looked at Hermana Acerbi and told her that my note book really smelled. So of course she took it and smelled it and imidiatley started laughing. she then looked at me and said “Oh! I thought that that was you and that you needed to shower again!!”  😀 😀 We have tried so many things and cannot get the smell out of my journal! I also have no idea how it came to smell like fish! I am guessing that someone spilt something in it while the were writing in it (It is a notebook that I had friends, and my district write in before I left for the field) If anyone has suggestions my companion and I would be eternally grateful!!!

My companion and I also had a lot of fun with strawberries and whipped cream! All though we accidentaly broke the can of whipped cream! 😀 😀 .  The lessons this week were all a lot of fun! My companion and I wash all of our cloths by hand because it is easier and cheaper in the long run!

  Love you all! Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Hermana Wagner

Day 1 in the field!

Hey all! So this email is not going to be very long because I emailed you guys on friday!

So today was my first day in Mexico City South and it has been amazing! I got no sleep at all last night because I was so excited for the field! So When it came time I helped my companion carry her things down the stairs and to the reception area and said good bye! When it was finally my turn to leave we had a 45 minute car ride! It was actually a lot of fun! We had fun talking to the AP`s and I actually understood some of the jokes that they said! (At least I hope I did!! hahaha)

When we got to the presidents house we all just sat and talked until break fast was ready! President and sister Carsillas are absolutley amazing! After breakfast I volunteered to play the piano 😀 and we started our really long meeting. After that Elder Huakou and I took turns playing the piano, as people met with President Carsillas.

Later we went to the mission office and had a zone conference! I got to meet my companion and she is so sweet! She is from Australia and she speaks english pretty well although I asked her to explain things in spanish and told her that if I did not understand that I would ask her to clarify or to repeat! She is such a happy positive person and she has been so much fun to be around.

So origionally we were not sure that we were going to be able to email today becuase it started pouring down rain to the point where there was basically a river flowing in the middle of the street. She kept trying to hail a taxi, but to know avail. They just kept on driving past us. At one point we were both frustrated because we could not find a safe place to cross. At that point in time I heard Jacobs voice (one of my little brothers) say “why don`t we pray?” Jacob has such an amazing trust and faith in the lord. No matter waht situation we are in , his first reaction is to pray and his prayers are answered almost everytime. I decided to take a page out of my amazing little brothers book.

I looked at my companion and said in spanish “Why don`t we pray” she looked a t me really confused and chuckled and said ok if you want to. So as we were standing on the side of the road, i prayed in spanish and asked the lord to help us to find a way to cross the street safley so that we could talk to our familys. After the prayer I had the prompting to walk a little bit further down the street so we did and we found a spot where there was water but it was not to deep and the water was not flowing ridiculously fast. My companion grabed my hand and said “Jump” We jumped over the puddle and ran across the street. We did that a few more times and eventualy got to a place where we could email!

I am so very grateful for the faith of my brother and for the lessons that he has taught me! Also I think that sometimes we decide that  because it is something small or something that we can do on our own that we should not pray, or that it would be silly to pray. God cares about us and becuase of that he catres about everything that is important to us, no matter how insagnificant it may seem. Also I learned that it is important not to ask God to take away the challenge or the frustration, but to help us to find a way to work around it or through it!

*Mom note: The following are pictures that were posted on the mission facebook page today:

Fuego Trabajo!!

Hey you guys!!

So to start off last week I was not able to put a miracle into my email because there was not enough time. So I have been speaking to a Psychologist here in the CCM because I needed to revisit what happened with Elizabeth. My companion and I had just gotten back from my appointment when I realized that I had scheduled my next appointment for our P-Day. We were walking back to the infirmary when I heard thundered and I felt a jerk and jumped back, and we heard a loud clap and everything flashed blue! Everyone in the class rooms began yelling out the window to see if we were ok. My companion and I did not realize what happened until we got back to the computer lab. When we got back from the infirmary the Elders who were by the window began to tell us what they saw. They said that we were walking and they heard thunder and out lightning struck and my companion and I turned bright blue. The Elders thought that they were going to see us get struck. As the Elders told us what happend, I just sat there in aw and wonder with what had just happened when a voice popped in my head, it said “Who were you just talking to” (I had done and exercise during my appointment where, I would talk to Elizabeth and tell her how I felt, and then I would go to the other chair and say what I thought she would say.) The picture then flashed into my head. The picture was of me and my companion and Elizabeth was behind us and pulled us out of the way of the lightning. It was such and amazing experience and it testified to me of the love of my father in heaven, as well as the love of those who are on the other side of the veil. We all have so many people who are watching out for us though we see them not. I know that the work that I am doing is so important and that as a missionary I have extra protection from my father in heaven. I am so very grateful for this amazing gospel and for my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ.

Now to jump back to this week! This week has been amazing!I Today we got to go to the temple and it was so amazing! The temple is absolutely gorgeous and being able to take a family name was awesome! I have missed going to the temple, while I have been here. While we were at the the temple we wanted to take a picture with our teacher Hermana Lopez. So we surprised her and picked her up! It was great! My Spanish has been picking up pretty good, I love speaking it and I talk so much more than I used too. The Gift of Toungs is amazing. We will be in the middle of a practice lesson and I will have no idea what to say and then the words will just start coming.

I was also able to get a picture with Hermana Ladel and Elder Wilson on sunday! My district had fun taking pictures on sunday so I through some of those in there.

So my favorite picture of the savior is the picture of him knocking on a door that does not have a handle. The reason that this is my favorite is because our Savior is always knocking on our door ready to help us but we have to be the ones to open our door and let him in. I love this because in my life there have been so many times where because of pride I have tried to do it all on my own, and I have learned that I can not do everything on my own. I need to humble myslef to open that door and allow the help of the savior. Another way that you can look at it is that the Savior and our Heavenly Father are always waiting to bless us but we need to be ready and willing to accept them. I love this picture, so I ordered a scripture case at the MTC and had my name and mission enscribed on my case as well!!

I am so grateful for my Savior and for the atonement. I know that he suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and that in the Garden he bled from every pore, and he died on the Cross. All of this HE did FOR US!! He loves us so much that he was willing to suffer, bleed and die for us so that we may be able to return to our Father in Heaven. He understands completley what each of us feel, have felt, and have been through!! No matter what we are going through our Savior is always there for us and he will carry us when we feel like we cannot go on. He love us so much and desires to help. I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen!

Lots of love,
Hermana Wagner

 

 

A few extra photos of Hermana Wagner

Be Baptized!!

(This is the letter from this last Friday – July 5)

Hello!!

This week has been an interesting week. So on sunday it started pouring down rain and we were all really board. So what better to do than to take pictures in the rain! it was a lot of fun.

The reason for my title is my friend Hermana Riley quoted the movie Nacho Libre in her sleep!

So this week we made some really good progress. She finally started keeping our commitments and our teacher has told us that we have come a long wat with our spanish and that we are ready to invite her to baptism!

Alma 7:11-13

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled wit mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

Ok so I didnt finish my email and accidentally sent it!! A ton of the missionaries all got really sick on Tuesday and Wednesday and it was pretty bad! Other than that my week has been pretty much the same! The reason that Alma 7:11-13 is in the email is because I read those this week and thought about how the spirit can sympathize with us but Jesus Christ is the only person who can empathize with his! Jesus Christ suffered for us in Gethsemane and died on the cross for us so that he would be able to succor us. He knows all of your trials, pains, sorrows, and joys! When it seems like no one else can understand and cry with you just remember that our Savior can and that he loves you so much!

My Not So Creative Title

(I’ve gotten behind – this letter is from June 28th)

Hi! This week has been great! This week has flown by so fast! My companion and I feel like it should be a Tuesday not a Friday! My companion and I have had a few interesting moments this week. We were in the middle of teaching a lesson and my companion tried to invite Jesus to read the Pamphlets that we had given him and she accidentally invited him to read the cookies! She also got a package from her mom and in that package were some mangos! We were so excited to eat them…….. and they were so gross! They were sweet, salty, spicy, and sour!

It was pouring down rain most of the days this week and we were walking to class after dinner and we were walking across a handicapped spot when I wiped out! My district has not stopped teasing me about it, and mention it when we all need a good laugh!

There was also this sweet Hermana that had a lot of dresses from Mexico that she had been given and one of them was bright pink and she did not care for it so she gave to the girls in our district and we have all been trading off with who wears it!

My companion and I were trying to find away to serve the other girls in our dorm so we wrote sticky notes of all the things that we love about them and we stuck it on their door! It was a lot of fun to do, and it was such a simple task but it helped to brighten the days of the sisters because they saw it when they walked out their door the next morning! Sometimes it is the smallest things that make the biggest difference! Also my companion decided that it would be fun (for her more than for me) to straighten my hair this past sunday. That was pretty interesting although I decided that I don’t particularly like my hair straight and would not like to straighten it again! 😀 😀

I also got to see Hermana Ladle!! It was so much fun to be able to talk to her and see how she has been doing! She has such a bright light in her eyes and you can see how excited she is to be here and to serve a mission! We also got two new elder in our district two days ago. They had issues with their Visas so they ended up going to provo and then coming here! We also found out that one of our favorite knocks to do when we knock on doors is REALLY bad in mexico! Which would explain the look on our teacher’s faces everytime we knocked on their door to teach them a lesson! My companion and I are really wishing that they would have told us sooner! 😀

In one of my Book of Mormon studies this week I read 2 Nephi Chapter 32. I love this chapter because at the end of the chapter it says that we need to pray before everything that we do, and that what happens will be for our good. That was a good reminder to me that sometimes what I want is not necessarily what I need, and sometimes the answer to my prayer is going to be no, or their might not be an answer because it is not what I need in that moment. I know that the lord is mindful of all of us and that he loves us all very much!! II think that is about it for this week! I miss you all lots!

Love,

          Hermana Wagner