Prayer is the Soul's Sincere Desire

Thank you so much for a your emails! I love you guys so much and am so blessed to have you for family. I love you!! I got the package today!! So excited to celebrate New Year’s with my district eating chips and salsa!!


Did you get my email about calling you guys?


I ran into President Call later Christmas day and he asked how calling home was. I told him I was only able to talk to you for 10 minutes and he said "Hermana, this is the CCM, not a jail. Email you parents on my phone and set a time to talk to them for 30 minutes." I´m guessing you might not have because you didn´t say anything about it in your emails, so I am going to try again.... Hopefully you will be home and can answer this time! I´ll be calling at 11:50 AM Mexico time. :)

 We´ve been having some problems with our district, but it has really helped me and Hermana Hoskins strengthen our companionship. I have also been learning a lot about myself and areas that I lack and want to improve. Hna and I have also been blessed with opportunities to serve and I have really enjoyed getting to know the other sisters. We are all starting to feel like a family in our casa and our branch. 

 There´s been a sickness going around the CCM. Our senior district caught it, and Hna. caught a milder form of it. It entails a really bad cough and stomach/bowel issues... so much fun... My stomach started to hurt yesterday, but I´m hoping it was just something I ate...

 We have two new investigators, Lupeta and Karla. They are wonderful, and I really feel God´s love for them. In addition, we had TRC last night. (Our investigators are fake, they are other teachers just pretending, but in TRC, they are volunteers that are either actually people investigating the church, members or less active). We are to get to know them and then share a message with them. It was pretty intimidating because they actually speak Spanish, not the dumbed down “I’ll-talk-painfully-slow-so-you-can-understand-me” Spanish that our teachers talk. I could understand about half of what they were saying and they could understand about 1/4 of what I was saying... but poco a poco! 

I don’t know what it is, but the dogs here party hard during the holidays!! For the past couple of nights, it’s seemed like all the dogs in Mexico City were up barking loud and having a good ole time. The city noises of guns, fireworks and car horns have almost become natural.

 Oh! Something funny that happened this week... we were late for one of our classes and as we walked in, the teacher told us that we had to give her 10 pushups. One of the elders looked at her and said “corporal punishment is against the law.” She looked right back at him and said “You´re in Mexico. There are no laws, now get on the ground!” He kind of just looked at her and dissolved to the floor.

 Merry late Christmas!! This for me was the happiest Christmas since Russell died, and I think since ever. We had a service project all morning long making hygiene kits and blankets for people in Mexico City. Afterwards we had the privilege of hearing Elder Bednar speak. And oh my!! Please, drop everything you are doing right now and watch it. Google it. Find it!! It was a world wide MTC Q&A. they had a live stream of the Chile and Ghana MTC and then everyone else had an email that the MTC presidents would email questions to. So many great things were said. I learned a lot and testify that Elder Bednar is called of God. My favorite thing he said was ¨What you are is far more important than what you say.¨

 (Editor’s note: I couldn’t find this broadcast. If any of you have a link to it, send it to me!!!)

 For lunch and dinner, the staff decorated the comedor and we ate well! During lunch, all the missionaries got up and cornered the staff and sang a few Christmas Hymns to them and thanked them for working on Christmas for us. It was really neat and everyone felt the joy and love of what Christmas is all about. For dinner, they were giving out sodas so I took a root beer and am saving it for tomorrow! Scumps!

(Editor’s note: We drink soda and say “Scumps!” (cheers) on New Year’s Day to honor Karissa’s brother Russell who died in a sledding accident on New Year’s Day)

 We had a devotional by Elder Holland when he addressed the missionaries in January 2013 Provo MTC. (You should look it up and watch it) some of my favorite lines “... although they knew they would not succeed, they were able to sing and work and fight for the truth because they knew that our day would succeed and that was enough for them....” (Talking about the ancient prophets and members). At the end he yelled at us to “GO OUT THERE AND ASTONISH SOMEONE!”

 (Editor’s note: Darn, I couldn’t find this one either, or the next one by Elder Scott!)

 We also saw a devotional by Elder Scott when he addressed the missionaries in April 2013. Also really good (you should also look it up!! :) “...Answers to prayers will seldom come when you are on your knees, rather in the still, quiet moments when you are best ready to hear them and listen... You will never be given more than you can bear. When you feel otherwise, remember the Lord has called you, and His grace is sufficient AFTER all you can do... Good prayers are not measured by minutes or words, rather by your desires and how much of your heart you are willing to give the Lord. Why are you thankful for prayer?”

I love you all and miss you but I know this is right and this is exactly where I am supposed to be.

I am physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted every night. But spiritually I am thriving. This is one of the happiest places on Earth!

 Keep the faith. God is ever so real and I know hears every cry.