Perseverar Hasta El FINAL

Hola mi querida fam y amigos,

I didnt get to write yesterday because we went to the ZOO today with the 3 zones here in Tuxtla Gutierrez. 

This week has been the most challenging week for me in the mission field. We dropped many of our investigators that were not progressing but we also gaining 2 very firm, solid investigators. I am continually amazed at how wonderful the Lord is and how willing he is to bless his missionaries in the field. I never want to leave, haha.

One of my new favorite scriptures is Matthew 25:23. 

Funny things that happened this week: 

Me and my companion have THE WORST timing when it´s going to rain. We always get caught in the storm without umbrellas... haha

I ate these little bugs called Saks, their like spicy fried worms. They aren´t too bad. 

There is a brother in our Branch Hno. Ali who´se been a member-non member for 15 years and this past week we have been teaching one of his friends Manuel and after the lesson he said, ¨You have just had the opportunity to hear a very important lesson from the Sister Elders (Hermanas Elderes), and you should heed their council.¨ I had to try Really hard to not laugh out loud. 

I don´t know if I have said it enough but my heart truly feels like in 2

This past Sunday me and my companion taught gospel principles and taught ¨Exaltation¨, the reason and goal we are all striving to reach and to teach to others. This Sunday we brought 2 of those solid investigators to church with us. Hence, I was a little nervous to teach this lesson because it is very deep doctrine, nevertheless I knew if Hermana Hernandez and I prepared it well Angel and Abiel would feel the Spirit. We truly put our trust in the Lord. 

As we began to teach we showed them this diagram and taught them more about their eternal purpose as literal children of our Heavenly Father.

 

Afterwards I read to them a quote by Elder Ballard that touched my soul and feel like I should share it with you today. 

“Away on the Fort Peck Reservation where I was doingmissionary work with some of our brethren, laboring among theIndians, seeking the Lord for light to decide certain matterspertaining to our work there, and receiving a witness from Himthat we were doing things according to His will, I found myselfone evening in the dreams of the night in that sacred building,the temple. After a season of prayer and rejoicing I wasinformed that I should have the privilege of entering into one ofthose rooms to meet a glorious Personage, and, as I entered thedoor, I saw, seated on a raised platform, the most gloriousBeing my eyes have ever beheld or that I ever conceived existedin all the eternal worlds. As I approached to be introduced, hearose and stepped towards me with extended arms, and hesmiled as he softly spoke my name. If I shall live to be a millionyears old, I shall never forget that smile. He took me into hisarms and kissed me, pressed me to his bosom, and blessed me,until the marrow of my bones seemed to melt! When he hadfinished, I fell at his feet, and, as I bathed them with my tearsand kisses, I saw the prints of the nails in the feet of theRedeemer of the world. The feeling that I had in the presence ofHim who hath all things in His hands, to have His love, Hisaffection, and His blessing was such that if I ever can receivethat of which I had but a foretaste, I would give all that I am, allthat I ever hope to be to feel what I then felt!” (Melvin J. Ballard,Crusader for Righteousness [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966],pp. 138–39).

After reading them this quote I had everyone in the room close their eyes and imagine themselves in the most perfect, beacutiful place they could, surrounded by their family, their friends, ancient prophets, Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. After a minute when they oppened their eyes many of us were in tears. 

We can not even begin to comprehend or imagine how beautiful it will be to be able to live in the Celestial Kingdom with our loved ones. 

I am often in awe at how perfect the plan of our Heavenly Father is. He truly is in the details of our lives. This life will not be easy, it wasn´t meant to be, but truly Persevera Hasta El Final. It will be worth it. 

I know that the work of Salvation is the most important work to be done on this earth. Never be too afraid to share the gospel. Whether you realize it or not people are watching you and your example will set the standard for what a Mormon is. 

Los Amo. 

Siguen Fiel.

Hermana Coronado 

Jaguar

Las Guerras 

Las Hermanas 

The little girl in a yellow shirt is named Betsy!

WORMS

Zone in Zoo 

Bautismo de los Escogidos

This week has by far been the best week on the mission. I´m sure it won´t be the first time I am saying this. 

To begin, I have been thinking a lot about my personal progress as a missionary within these past two months. As I read over some of my journal entry´s I came across a few quotes I would like to share with you.

The first is never forget just how much our Heavenly Fathers cares about each and every single one of His Children. When we turn to Him in prayer our souls are filled. We are sanctified. We are made whole. We are Happy! 

Cleave to the truthfulness of this Gospel. Convert Your Heart.

One of my favorite parts of being a missionary is my daily 1-hr personal study where I can dedicate my mind to studying the scriptures, PMG, conf talks, etc. One specific day I began to think about how fast this earthly life really is. I wanted to study how to better help my investigators grasp that it is so important to have faith but it is more important to Act off of that Faith, and this is their time to act.  

Presidents Uchtdorf is always one of my go-to conference talkers. In which he said, ¨This is one of the most remarkable periods of the world´s history! Ancient prophets yearned to see our day. When our time in mortality is complete, what experiences will we be able to share about our contribution to this significant period of our lives and to the furthering of the Lord´s work?¨ I love the question he asks. I know that being here, being a missionary will not always be the easiest thing to do but it will Always be the right thing. This is where I am needed. 

This week I have had street contacts yell rude comments at me and my companion, ignore us, and even laugh at what we say to them. In each of these occassions my heart is saddened for them. I often think of the Savior and all he endured in His earthly ministry. He truly is our best example. But even with these disadvantages I will never loose the faith that I have. ¨Defend your beliefs with courtesy and compassion, but defend them¨. -Pres. Holland

One of my favorite mission scriptures is Alma 26:27 ¨bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.¨

Hermana Hernandez and I have definitely felt the Lord´s love for us in this week.

We had 2 Baptisms this past weekend, WHAAAHOOO!!!!!

Hermana Jose Luis baptized his wife Hermana Citlaly, and his little sister Dorly. Never have I felt more joy, more happiness. Hermano Jose Luis and his parents have been members since he was a young boy, post serving his mission, him and his parents became inactive and have been for the past 4 yrs. During that time he married Citlaly and had their daughter Ingrid. A few weeks ago when we visited Citlaly we truly were able to see her heart softened, to see the change, the light of understanding in her eyes. She was able to remember the gospel of Jesus Christ and cleave to it. 

As I saw Hno. Jose Luis baptizing his wife I couldn´t help but have tears roll down my face. This wasn´t just a baptism. This was the beginning of the Lopez family become an eternal family. My mind immediately turned to D&C 18:15 ¨And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!¨ After the baptism Citlaly told me that in one-year she wanted to be sealed in the temple. My heart was over-flowing with joy. 

Dorly, although is only a little girls plans to serve a mission when she turns 19, and Hna. Citlaly wants her parents and best-friend to join the church. It truly is true, when one person has their own testimony they want to share it with others! Prior to my mission I often thought of who the people were that I would teach. Now that I am here I know that these sisters were my friends in the pre-existence and I promised them I would come to Coita to help remind them of the gospel and bring them back unto the fold of our Savior. 

I don´t think I will ever be able to adequately describe how special it is to help someone join the church. I am in awe of how much trust the Lord has in allowing me to be His hands here upon the earth. Each day I truly do try to put my whole heart and soul into the Lord´s work, to please Him in all that I do. 

Share the gospel with your friends. Allow them to receive the blessings you cherish each day.

Bautismo de Oro

 Mi Cumple 2 meses

On the way to one of our Cita´s it started to Pour and I forgot my umbrella, we were soaking..... haha I just love these memories

Mi 1er Cambio se ha terminado

Hola mi querida familia y amigos,

Esta manana Yo y mi compañera ansiosa-mente esperamos oír las noticias de quien se iba ir, o si las dos nos íbamos a quedar en Coita. Estamos muy, muy felices de saber que vamos a estar juntos para otras 6 semanas.

Cuando pienso en este primer cambio me quedo asombrada en que tan rapido se ha pasado. Cuando esta en el CCM vi una pelicula, el discurso de Elder Bednar, The Character of Christ, en el cual el hablaba de la diferencia en un misionero que tiene un testimonio y un misionero que esta convertido a Jesucristo. Yo puedo testificar que yo se con todo mi ser que me he convertido a Jesucristo. No hay nada mas poderoso, mas importante que nuestras verdadera conversión. 

I love Coita, Ocozocoautla more and more each day. I am very excited to be able to be here for another 6 weeks. Me and my companion are very excited for two of our planned upcoming baptisms this Saturday. The Lopez family are literally a golden family. As missionaries each Sunday we teach Gospel Principles to our investigators/recent converts and I am always marveled at how receptive they are to the Gospel. We truly are in the last days and our Savior, Jesus Christ is going to come and we as his latter day saints must be prepared for that day.

This past wednesday we had another Zone Conference in Tuxtla, these are always such spiritually uplifting experiences.The focus for our Zone was turning our Debilidades (weaknesses) into abilidades (strengths). I dont think i have told you but we have an investigator named Viviana. We met here about a month ago and planned her baptism as well for this upcoming Saturday until we found out she isnt legally married. On wednesday we spoke to her about the power of Fasting and how we truly can receive guidance from the Lord this way. She asked us to fast with her on Friday, we did. We are planning to speak with her partner/husband this Sunday. I am praying that he will accept and want to marry Viviana. They are both very young. Viviana is 23 and her partner is 24, they have a 4 year old daughter named Alejandra together. Viviana is very faithful, she reads her Book of Mormon Daily, says her prayers individually as well as with her family and she comes to church every Sunday. I know that we will be able to help her come unto the Waters of baptism soon.The people of Coita have become very special to me. 

Now for a funny story. There is a less active family in our branch called the Gomez family, they have a ton of little chicks which I just love. On Saturday we went to visit them and I held one, the photo below is with their daughters- 17 yr old Rosa, 9 yr old Jocabeth, and 7 yr old Hazel. We took a picture together and all was well until... 5 minutes later I sat down and Hazel passed me the roudiest chick. It was frantic as I was holding it in my hands, I let it go and it sat on my lap for like 5 seconds, when i took it off it pooped all over my skirt. So gross... Lets just say this family wont forget me anytime soon, hahah.

Here is a photo of Coita, these little white motos are called Moto-taxis, there are literally like 1000 moto-taxi´s in Coita and they are very cheap, like 12 pesos to get across town, which is roughly one american dollar. We also take Combis (huge bus´s) when its too far to walk, these cost 5 pesos which is like 50 cents. 

Mom, kids here loooove the toy cars and american candy.Keep them coming. They started calling me Hermana Dulce. haha Being in Mexico has truly made me appreciate little things like A/C, my own vehicle and hot water. But even with these comodities I wouldnt trade being a missionary for anything. It truly is a privilege to be able to wear the name of Jesus Christ across my heart everyday. Its very easy to become distracted by things that are in the world but it is So important to remain ¨in the world but not of the world¨. 

Dont forget it is our responsibility to share the gospel with our friends, family, neighbors, strangers, everyone!!! Invite them to a family home evening, a lunch with the missionaries, give them a book of mormon, bring them to a church activity. There are so many ways to serve. Look and pray for these opportunities. Remember ¨when you are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.¨ (Mosiah 2:17)

Study the scriptures. I have found more comfort in my morning scripture study than I have in anything worldly that seems pleasing. Always look onward and upward my friends!!!

With Much Love,

Hermana Coronado