San Miguel de Allende: the heart of Mexico

Dear Family,

AHH thank you for your video and your letters! I loved it soooo much! I would have watched it twice (or maybe more than that) but I went to Querétaro for an interview with the Presidente and didn't get back in time to have my full writing time.

In the past week, I have been to Querétaro 3 times:  for my visa, divisions, and for my interview. As much as I love Querétaro, I feel more at home in San Miguel de Allende! I guess you could say my heart is in the Heart of Mexico (that's what all of the maps say here in San Miguel de Allende)!

We are finally starting to see the fruits of our labor here in San Miguel! It has been pretty rough for me to adjust to the missionary life, the spanish, etc. BUT finally! We are seeing some progress! 

S. J.  listens to us and asks good questions but has a hard time keeping her commitments that we are giving her. We will see how it goes this week!

While I was in Querétaro on divisions, I was with an American, Hna Davis, who has been in Mexico for one change- new but can understand spanish and can carry on a conversation. We taught a woman named R. with her two kids. They were the cutest family ever! We taught them the importance of family prayer and also read scriptures with the nine year-old son (I for some reason can't remember Mexican names even though most of them are named Maria or José or something like that). I committed him to read his scriptures every day before he turned on the TV. It felt soo good! It was the first lesson where I understood mas and then issued a commitment. I loved it!

These past weeks have been hard, but when I look back on my first day in Mexico and where I am now, I can see that I have been blessed to get this far and to have the strength that I have now.

I eat pbj sandwiches and my companion thinks I am weird. She has never had a pbj sandwich before and I think that is weird! Ha! Although our cultures are different and we have different traditions and daily routines, we get along pretty well! One thing that made us laugh this week was on our way home from Querétaro and on the bus they have movies. I fell asleep because I was exhausted, but I woke for a second to see where we were and my companion turned to me and said, "THIS MOVIE IS ALL ABOUT SPAGHETTI!" I about died! I was laughing so hard! It's true, there was a Japanese spaghetti movie (with spanish subtitles). 

I feel like I am spelling a lot of words wrong in my letters because this computer is set for spell check in spanish. This whole letter is in English, therefore every word is underlined in red.

Well, I am off to work now! I will write y'all next week!

With Love,

Hermana Beardall

p.s. sorry no pics this week...

p.p.s. KAYLONI!! I can´t wait to hear more about your mission call! PAHLEEZ email me and keep me updated!

p.p.p.s. I love y'all. A lot.

PICTURAS

Elders, Hermana Miguez, and Hermana Beardall

The floors are tile and the walls are cement.

The streets are lined with bright colored buildings and each door is unique.

SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!!!!

But here are some highlights:

First Investigator-- S. Juana

She was nervous to pray but we gave her the confidence she needed and she prayed the most beautiful words I had ever heard-- so sincere and simple! The spirit was definitely there and I was definitely excited to be a missionary!!

We are finally figuring out what works and doesn't work in our area-- there's not much to do in el Centro, but on the outskirts there is plenty-- we just can't be out passed 7:30pm.

The food is good-- soo good! I have no worries to eat Mexican food (lies- I am worried that I might get sick-- so far only once and it wasn't that bad)!

A favorite scripture I read this week was Heleman 3:35-- humility makes you wax stronger (something I have been working on:) )

Out of time! I hope the pictures sent! The computer was being difficult!

Better luck next week! I love Y'all and I am IMMENSELY GRATEFUL for ALL of the prayers!! They are a blessing to me!

I'll manage my time better next week and maybe I can say more. Hopefully we have more people to teach so I can tell you more stories, too.

LOVE YA!!

Love,

Hermana Beardall

GREETINGS FROM MEXICO

¡Hola!

I AM IN MEXICO!!!

I am sorry there are no pictures this letter because I forgot my memory card reader :( grr. I made a special effor to take pictures today and I can't send them. BUT I PROMISE NEXT WEEK!!!!

When I landed in Mexico City Airport, my stomach was feeling all sorts of things. Nervous. Excited. Upset stomach from the rough landing (that never happens to me...). Excited. For the most part, it still felt like a dream to be in Mexico!

My mission president, President Mejorada, is FANTASTIC! He speaks a little english which made it less intimidating to talk to him. The Mejorada family is so kind and reached out with open arms to all of the new missionaries.

My companion is Hermana Miguez! I love her already! She is from Uruguay but thank heavens she knows english, too! (Her last companion, Hna Kitchen, is from Salt Lake so she knows how to work with an American companion :) ) She said that before the mission, she learned most of her English from the movies-- that made me laugh so hard!! Sometimes she quotes lines from movies (in English, of course) and it makes me laugh :)

My first area in the land of Mexico is San Miguel de Allende!! Oh my is it GORGEOUS!! This is where I really regret not bringing my memory card reader! The streets are lined with bright colored buildings and each door is unique. If you find the time, and if it is possible, go to Google Earth and walk down the streets because they take my breath away EVERY DAY.  It keeps me from getting bored walking up street after street. Oh yeah, did you catch that I said walking UP streets? Yeah, the streets are quite the hike. My main concern is my weak ankles on the rock road. It's like hiking, but times one hundred (if you have ever been hiking with me you would know that I trip on just about every rock placed in my path. I am pretty weak in the ankles).

Anywho, San Miguel de Allende-- Hna Miguez and I were assigned to open this area-- how cool is that? I think we may be the first Hnas in San Miguel, at least as far as I am concerned. This means we do a lot of contacting in the streets, searching for people to teach. Our teaching pool is pretty small, but I can't wait to see it improve!

The weather is nice and warm-- like a good May in Utah, maybe even June, but really it is March. It is absolutely my favorite kind of weather.

I am struggling to learn how to use pasos but I think I am starting to get a hang of it. 

Spanish... haha, that's funny. Everyday I am drained of all my energy because I am using every ounce to focus on what people are saying. AHH THEY SPEAK SO FAST! I have learned a little bit and can understand just about every other word. If they are talking about the gospel I understand a lot more-- ha :)  I have learned to not focus on every word but the general idea, general words they are saying-- whatever that means!

We live... I am not sure how to describe it but we live in a house extention next to some members in our ward and also the Elders. The floors are tile and the walls are cement. I will send you pictures next week. (grr)

The food-- so far not too spicy and it is bareable. All the members say that the more spicy/Mexican food I eat, the better my spanish will become. Ha. I sure hope so because my tongue is on fire!

Well, I hope I answered all of your questions and I will write more next week!

Con mucho amor,

HNA BEARDALL

THE LAST WEEK IN THE CCM

Querido Familia,

HOLA!!

First things first. I leave esta Domingo por MEXICO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Familia--

Flight plans:

LV: SLC @12:45AM (March 3)

AR: Atlanta, GA @ 6:14AM

LV: Atlanta @ 9:45 AM

AR: Mexico City, Mexico 12:26 PM

I don't know when I will have time to call you, probably Atlanta but maybe SLC.... I just thought I would let you know the plans....

Anywho, this week has been a wonderful learning experience! 

Thursday I was struggling with HSI (Hablar su idioma- Speak your language) and as a result of that, I also struggled understanding every word that came out of my investigators' mouths. Of course, it was the one day out of my entire experience that I was teaching the max number of investigators. IT WAS SO HARD! My MTC teacher, Hermano Thorsen, pulled me aside and shared with me a scripture and a story that helped me be okay with the result of my day. It was REALLY rough, but thanks to DYC 64:34 and his personal story, I was able to gain the confidence to continue learning and teaching. 

Mummsie, lo siento por no carta de [gratitude]. I have been meaning to send thanks but I haven't-- no excuses. PERO mi districto [says,] "MUCHO GRACIAS!!!!!!!!!!!" Seriously though, they all have been asking me to tell you thank you and I have been slacking in the gratitude department lately- Lo siento. GRACIAS por todos cosas. 

HNA Womack dice, mucho gracias por la goodies y ella piense ustedes son los mejores!

I have really gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon and the power that it has in our life! I know that it is the word of God and that it is an answer to all of our questions about life! I know that it testifies of our Savior, Jesucristo. I know that God is aware of todos personas y Dios quiere the best por sus hijos. I know that Jose Smith is a prophet of God and through him, Dios was able to restore the fulness of the gospel and restore the priesthood authority on the earth para que nosotros puedamos vivir con nuestras familias por siempre! 

This week somehow the focus became: don't be afraid to fail. We had many activities where we were purposely suposed to taste failure- somehow I can say that I loved those moments where I learned to be okay to fail. Now, I am not saying that I am okay with failing (it would be a lie) pero yo se que Dios has a hand in all of this and if you have the desire to be the best you can be, Dios will bless you.

You will encounter much failure in life- C'est la vie (que? francais? que?). God will bless you with success after he knows you are humbly willing to fail and keep on going/ trying. Success doesn't always come easy, but that is what makes it so sweet-- SAVOR IT and know that God blesses and takes great joy in your desire to be successful. TRY, TRY, TRY, and TRY AGAIN until you succeed. And when you succeed, delight in the success you have through your loving Heavenly Father and give Him the thanks he deserves.

Oops. Outta time! Adios mi familia! Tango mucho mucho mucho amor por ustedes! Enserio!

I'll write you when I am in Mexico.

Prep day on Main Campus

Saying goodbye to the last of the Hermanas

Map at Main Campus

Hermana Womack likes selfies. Therefore, I do too.

Con mucho amor por ustedes,

Hermana Beardall

WHAT A WEEK!!

Querido Familia y Amigos,

So let's get this straight. Y'all wanna know about my experience at the CCM and apparently I am very vague when it comes to answering your questions. Mostly, it's because I forget to bring your letters with me to email entonces I have to remember what you said to the best of my ability. Lo siento.

Let my try this:

MI COMPANERA (I know I'm missing an accent on the "n." Lo siento.): Hna Womack is from San Diego, CA. We get along so well porque we both love to laugh and have a jolly good time. We both are comfortable sharing our thoughts and such with each other which makes it easier to prepare and teach our investigators. TANGO MUCHO AMOR POR MI COMPANERA

THE FOOD: I was ok with the CCM food for about a week before I began to get sick of it. Advice for you future missionaries: AVOID ALL THINGS THEY (CCM peeps) CLAIM TO BE EGGS. I don't know if you can trust the "eggs..." they don't even look like eggs... Bueno. Entonces, Hna Womack and I found our true love- BAGELS. No, not really. Our true love is the cream cheeses! Honey Walnut is my favorite and Honey Cinnamon is 2nd best. Hna Womack and I both agree that eating bagels at breakfast is one of the highlights of our day. Haha but really, they're good.

WHERE I LIVE: West Campus. Wyview is my casa and Raintree is my classroom. In reality, I live at Raintree and sleep at Wyview. Hmmkay I hope that answers that question porque no tango mucho cosas sobre mi casa. Bueno.

GYM: Bball and Vball. Depending on the day and what my comp wants to do I play either or. Yesterday mi companera wanted to play four square but that sport stresses me out too much so I just stuck to bball drills. If you have any suggestions/drills para mi, por favor compartan conmigo!

FAVS: studying in my scriptures all day long y teaching my TRC investigator. TRC investigators may be real investigator or a member pretending to be investigators. Either way, Hna Womack and I are teaching a sister and we LOVE IT!! It is helping us comprehend Spanish and practice speaking tambien. Honestly, TRC is where I learn the most, both spiritually and mentally (learning Spanish).

At Sunday Devotional, we had Elder Holland come and introduce his son who was our devotional speaker. Simply having him in our presence was a blessing and you could feel the love of our Savior and our Heavenly Father radiating from him. I received a lot of personal revelation as Matthew Holland  gave an account of the trials and pains Joseph Smith went through to restore the gospel on the Earth. There is no way that a man would go through all that pain and suffering simply to start a church that was not true! I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and I am indeed grateful for his MANY sacrifices for me to have the restored truth!

I also had a wonderful experience acting as an investigator for a demonstration in my class. I had to pick someone I knew that I thought could use a message about prayer in their life right now. As I began to investigate (like the person I had in mind) I kinda stumped my teacher (who was acting as the missionary) but then, after a minute of silence, he turned to me and shared a scripture. The person I was acting as wasn't sure if God would answer their prayers porque they had prayed before but didn't think they recieved an answer. He shared Ether 12:6, which talks about after the trial of your faith you will receive an answer or a witness. I  immediately felt the spirit and immediately know that God will answer my prayers. I know that God answers our prayers and is aware of our needs. If you have any doubt, whether God is there, if a doctrine of the gospel is true, if you don't know what you should do in life (college, who to marry, serve a mission, etc.)- GOD WILL ANSWER YOU!!! If you don't believe me, try it out for yourself! Also, don't forget that your idea of an answer may not be what God thinks is your answer. God DOES answer prayers and knows how to bless you perfectly.

I can't tell you how much scripture study has blessed my life- saying that it has blessed my life immensely seems like an understatement. I hope you NEVER forget to read your scriptures! There is an answer to ALL of your preguntas on EVERY PAGE!!

I hope y'all are doing great and know that I love to hear from you, regardless of the lack of responses I give back :) You are in my prayers!! I LOVE YOU!

Con Amor,

Hermana Beardall

HALF WAY THERE!!!

This is crazy, I am half way there to MEXICO!!!

I have really enjoyed my time here at the CCM and have loved every opportunity I have had to meet the people I've met and the spiritual experiences I have been able to have. Every day is a good day in the CCM!!

Today, Hna Womack and I went to the temple and did sealings. I have a special place in my heart for the temple and ESPECIALLY for temple family sealings. I always have had a hard time hearing words like "until death do you part" at weddings and I silently weep inside. Today, having the opportunity to do sealings I was able to hear the sweet words: "for time and for eternity." It warmed my heart to hear those words and the blessings that followed! Also, receiving personal revelation in the temple is THE BEST THING EVER!

I also had a wonderful experience just yesterday when our teachers taught us about the attributes of Christ. I was able to study PATIENCE and it was the best experience I have had this week. I would recommend  that you do the activity in PMG and really make an effort to better develop that attribute of Christ. It has definitely blessed my life (and I have only been at this study for uno dia! Ha!)

Hna Womack and I have been working on companion unity and planning and goals and OH MY!!! Oh how I love my companera!! (yeah I know I don't have an accent on that. I don't feel like trying to figure that out...)  Hna Womack is the most lively and amazing companera I could ever ask for!!!

Spanish is coming more and more every day. Still not perfect but at least I now how to communicate somewhat better with my investigators! Before my mission, I couldn't take Spanish seriously and I thought it was a comical language. But as I read the scriptures in Spanish, I honestly began to see the beauty in the language. I never thought I would say this, but I think that Spanish might be prettier than French... and English... crazy what the MTC does to ya!

Well, I love y'all and hope you are doing well! Thank you for all your letters and packages and LOVE!

I LOVE ALL OF YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!! As Gma Davis would say- I love you to Kolob and back!

Con mucho amor por ustedes,

Hermana Beardall