The Big 2 0

Happy Birthday to me!  From the mission.  Well, my early birthday present is a new area and I am now living and serving the Lord in the motherland of XALAPA!!  I am so happy to be here, seriously!  And you know what? I am compañeras with another American. Hermana Menlove!! She is super great and I am really excited.  A little nervous, but I know that it is going to be super awesome. I am really so happy to be here in Xalapa with Hermana Menlove!  She too is half daughter of my mom so we are kind of sisters.

Last night at nine they told me that I had to be at the bus stop at 7 in the morning on Monday!! And my ward had a birthday party planned for me for tonight but I don't get to go.... But asi es la vida... I didn't get to say goodbye to anybody and it broke my heart.  But I guess it's okay, I am not sure that this birthday will feel any different than any other day on the mission.  I am really pleased with the changes and I know that we are going to have a lot of success.  

Yesterday we had a baptism and it was the best thing ever.  We baptized a girl named Fani. She is 17, almost 18, and she seriously became one of my favorite people in the world.  I just love her and to see her take this step seriously made me so happy. The fact that I was apart of something so amazing is just freaking awesome!  But just like every other baptism there were difficulties.  The font was full of super dirty water.. there were FISH swimming around in the water.  It was seriously so so gross.   And the water wasn't draining so we had to get in there with buckets and dump the water ourselves. So I kicked off my shoes and went to work scrubbing it clean and taking out all the water. I am proud to say that that water was super crystal clear.. de nada.   It was such a great day!  I couldn't have asked for a better last day in Martinez de la Torre.  And I am now ready for my new adventures here in Xalapa! 

I love you lots! 

Hermana Chandler

Bueno!

Me with my fat little dog named Chandler 

Welp.  Life just keeps going as fast as ever.  I am still kicking away here in Martinez de la Torre!  But maybe not for long!  Changes are this next week and I am thinking it might be my time!! This week has been super awesome.  We are just working away trying to keep all our investigators happy!  We found so many new people this week and they are all just great.  We found this new family and they are just as cool as investigators can get!  I am seriously so excited for them!  They always try and speak english with me and always ask me what things mean.  At times I feel like they are children who just say exactly what they hear.. por ejemplo, what does ·"%&=( mean?  Agh!! No!  Don't say that!! That is super bad!  They always always ask me about swear words.  It just kills me.  Geez! 

But yeah things are just as crazy as every in the life of Hermana Charley Limon.. Yep.  That one is new, I have heard a huge array of nicknames but one that I have never heard is Charley.  We were with some of our investigators and I walk in and she goes ''Ah Charley!  Take a seat!!''  Charley?  Who the heck is that??  ... Oh well!! I love my investigators, seriously these people are just crazily wonderful!  

To top off one wonderful week, we had a surprise baptism.  One of our investigators showed up to the church in all white and told us that she wanted to get baptized that day! Well okay!  Vamos!  It was super awesome because seriously this girl is really interesting.. her sister is a recent convert who has just blossomed in the church and Valeria (our baptism) told us she was atheist she didn't want anything to do with God, the church, mormons.. etc.  but nonetheless she was always there when we went to see her sister.  And she kept going to church so finally we asked her if she wanted to get baptized and bam!  There you go!  She is super interesting.. after her baptism we were looking for her and she just disappeared.  My district leader came over to me and said, "Hermana you have got to see your investigator".. so we go out side and she is lying on the lawn in the corner face down.. just chilling there.  I just love her, in all her weirdness.. I guess that is what the mission is about.  You definitely learn to love people with all their weirdnesses.  And trust me.. you meet some really weird people in the mission.. But it is great and I am happy!  I love you all!   Be safe! 

Hermana Chandler

La autoridad. 

My comp and me with our favorite investigator EDNA!

Super FRESA. Bautismo de Valeria

Mision Mexico Xalapa la primera del Señor!!

Well family, the one and only Mother's Day of my mission has come and gone and it was lovely to see all of you healthy and happy! This week was lovely!  We've been finding new awesome people and I am content here in Martinez de la Torre.  But changes are coming up and I am out of here!! (hopefully..)  

Yesterday was marvelous!  We went to church had a typical hysterical day trying to get our investigators to the church.  They, upon getting there, found out that we did not have baptismal clothing.. cool.  So we scrambled around like mad men searching for clothing.  One little boy even gave us the shirt off his back so that we could have clothing for our little baptism. Then we found out that there was no water in the chapel and we were running around trying to figure everything out and wow... So after all that craziness we baptized 2 people.  Vianey and her son Daniel.  It was the coolest, happiest thing of my life.  I have worked with Vianey since day one here in Martinez!  She used to be a bartender, prostitute, and gambler hardcore.  But it was so incredible to see this change in her and her desire to change and keep getting better.  I am super happy!  Then after that we went and ate lunch and after that I chatted it up with the fam!  YES.  That was so lovely.  It is great here and I am happy to be a missionary.  My compañera and I get along really well and we are having a lot of success!  I love you all! Be good!

Hermana Chandler