Nuestro ¨Angel¨ Investigador

 Mi querida gente!!! Hoy comienza otro cambio. Y..... Me estoy quedando en Coita! 

Since yesterday I felt that I was going to stay in Coita and that my companion was going to be leaving the area. I joked around with my companion and told her I was going to have an American companion and she told me should would go back to Tapachula. 

Well, that happened! My new companion is Hermana Wilson, she is also 19, and is from Riverton, Utah. She is coming to Coita from Tapachula. I already love her.

This past week has been full of many tender miracles. Angel was baptized on Saturday. Before making his baptismal program we asked him if he would like to bear his testimony at his baptism in which he told us he didn´t because he doesn´t feel comfortable speaking in public. We told him it was only if he felt the desire to share his testimony then he could. As we took pictures with him before his baptism we were all awkwardly standing by each other (standard missionary pose) he told us, ¨Hug me!¨ Oh we sure wish we could have. 

The day of his baptism, as he entered the water in the baptismal font he looked over at my companion and I and had the biggest, most sincere smile on his face. After he changed and we prepared to sing the closing hymn he looked over to me and signaled that he wanted to speak. I jolted to my seat to hear him speak. He stood and bore the most beautiful testimony I could have ever imagined. Angel was a timid young man, but in a matter of 2 months had become a strong, fervent young man with an earnest desire to change his heart. He began to cry as he bore his testimony and we all began to cry with him. All I could think was: this moment, this feeling right now, it is so worth it. It is always worth it. 

Prior to my mission people always asked me what it was that I was most looking forward to. I always replied, I want to see ¨the look¨, the look in someones eyes when they understand the gospel, and there is a click in their head, when they have applied repentance in their life and they are truly wanting and willing to follow our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Angel is a perfect example of this pure love - desire to come unto Christ. 

I know with all my heart that the Lord prepares His children and if He has enough trust in us (his missionaries) he will always provide the way for us to help them come back unto His fold. I love my Savior and am eternally thankful for the atonement of Jesus Christ, for the faith I am able to place in him each day, for the opportunity I have to fall each day, get back up and try again. I know with all my heart that this true is the Only way for us to come unto Christ. I am thankful for the trust of my Heavenly Father each day.

I love you all. I love Him. He loves you more than you will ever know. Put the Lord first and you will be blessed. CTR.

With Love,

Hermana Coronado

The happiest Kids in Coita

Cumple 3 Meses, como vuela el tiempo

Adios Hermanita Hernandez! Buena Suerte en Tapachula!

Dani Cabrera tiene un corazon tan grande!

Angels Baptism!

 The ¨America¨ Wall makes me so happy.

A Water Well, a place in my area where I feel like I enter some magic world

Un Llamado o un Escogido

Are you called, or are you chosen?! 

This has been the thought of the week for me, throughout my personal studies and in each lesson I teach I think, am I helping these people to become chosen? By this I mean, to help them make covenants with our Heavenly Father (starting with baptism), but more than that, am I helping them to remain faithful to these covenants. In each lesson I try to look at each of these men, women, or children and visualize that they are a member of my family. This has truly allowed me to teach them with so much more love. Love is a key to conversion.

This week I have truly seen the hand of the Lord in my life. He has blessed me so much to the point where my heart is very often over-flowing with joy. I feel very thankful to know that the Lord trusts my companion and I to help guide and teach His elect back to His fold.

We have 2 baptisms planned for this coming saturday and next saturday. This Saturday a young 19 yr. old named Angel, the next Sat., his Uncle Abiel. In my mission we are always saying we are here to harvest, not to crop, to find the escogidos! These two are definitely that.

We met Angel two months ago, and knew he was one of those chosen souls. We just felt it. We taught him restoration the same week we met him and immediately pulled out his doubts, a living prophet. He couldnt get himself to understand how a man could see god. We counsiled him to ask our Heavenly Father. For the next month or so we were not progressing with him. We would go to his house to verify if he had prayed and nothing, he was never home, and it seemed like he was ignoring us. We almost dropped him, and then he showed up to church. We read with him the experience Joseph Smith had and after reading it together he told us, so prayer is really important?! We told him that His prayer would mean Everything!! 

He told us he would pray. On Thursday we went to verify how his prayer went. (I was nervous.) As we sat down, sang a hymn, opened with a prayer and began talking to him we asked him Angel, did you say your prayer? He told us he had but wanted to tell us the story of how his prayer went. 

He said Saturday night he had been having a nightmare and couldnt sleep so he decided he would say a prayer. As he did he remembered to pray and ask if the church was true, and if Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. As he said his prayer he told us his body began to be overcome with a feeling of peace and he felt as if someone were literally hugging him. He began to have a tingly sensation run throughout his body. He finished his prayer and said it was as if someone had laid him back onto his bed, 

He then told us, before I could even ask him that He knew This was the True church, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. We are looking forward to his Baptism this Saturday at 5pm.

On Friday we went to visit Viridiana, since our first visit with her I knew her spirit was strong and she was someone incredibly special. After teaching her when I was asking her to be baptized she only let me get half-way into the question before she answered yes! She will be baptized Oct. 11th.

On Saturday Hno. Abiel said a prayer with my companion and I, in which he asked our Heavenly Father to not put any obstacles in front of him so that he could be able to go to church the following day and become a member more in His Church. It was awesome. There truly is no greater satisfaction that seeing someone that never prayed before to allowing themselves to learn about this important communication we have with our Heavenly Father.

This past Sunday was Stake Conference and I was very happy to see our 3 golden investigators show up to the church building Sunday morning at 8am so that we could all ride a bus together to Conference (In Tuxtla) without my companion or I having to pick them up.

Coita is such a wonderful area. The work of Salvation will continue to prosper, and there will be nothing that can stop it. I feel very priviledged to be even a small part of helping the gospel be spread to the people of Mexico.

Dont be active members in going to church but inactive in sharing the gospel. It is not enough to have a testimony that this is the true church. We have to be truly Converted to the gospel. Conversion requires action. 

There truly is nothing more important than knowing that this Gospel, this church is true. I know that there is SO much power in prayer, in humbling our heart and turning it towards our Savior. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true, not because someone convinced me it was but because I prayed, just as Joseph Smith did; and I received my answer that it was true. (Galatas 5:22-23). I know that Joseph Smith was the man who our Heavenly Father chose to allow us to enjoy the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that we continue to receive revelation from our father in Heaven from our living prophet, Thomas S. Monson. We are a church who believes in visions, revelations, priesthood power, in making and keeping sacred covenants. And more than anything I know that Christ is at the head of this church, His Church. Of this I will testify all the days of my life.

Be a believer. Be chosen. Be active. Be faithful. Be as Jesus Christ.

Sea Feliz, Sea Mormon.

Con Mucho Amor,

Hermana Coronado 

My companion is a wonderful chef, we made CREPES, I was in heaven.

Chirimoya, an exotic Chiapaneco fruit

Hermana Hernandez and I at the Tuxtla Gutierrez Temple

Dani and Hna, Lucelba are two of my favorite sisters in my ward, I Have to have known them in the pre-existence

My House in Coita. Every sister missionary call it, La Mansión de Coita.

Se Ejemplo De Los Creyentes

Hola! Espero que hayan podido tener una muy buena semana igual que yo he tenido.

This week has definitely been one of the craziest weeks of the mission. 

First, on Monday my companion and I went to a cita with a kind, old lady who can´t hear very well. We always sing hymns to her. Note, her street is a dead end, so there is only one way in and out... As we are literally 4 houses away from knocking on her door, this little white dog starts barking, my companion pulls out her umbrella and we keep walking when all out of literally no-where comes this huuuuge black dog. 

My companion freaks out and I tell her not to run or the dogs are going to chase us and bite us. We slowly step back and the dogs go back to their houses. We give it another try and the same thing, the dogs start barking at us. I then told my companion, ¨Nothing is going to happen to us, we should try again, 3 times, like Nephi¨. This time my companion just watched me try to attempt to cross where the dogs were when suddenly the same black dog runs out and is literally like inches away from biting my skin.... I freaked out. I thought if I run, i´ll get bit, if i don´t move, i´ll get bit... either way, it wasnt looking to good. I started telling the dog in english, ¨please don´t bite me¨, then this old lady walks out and throws a stick at the dogs and the dogs semi-calms down.... Lets just say i´ll be keeping my distance from the stray dogs in Mexico, lesson learned.

On Tuesday we had intercambios with the capacitadoras (sister training leaders) from Tuxtla. I stayed in Coita while my companion went to Tuxtla. I took Hna. Cordova to visit Viviana one of our golden investigators in Lucio Cabanas. When we were talking to Viviana, Viviana told me, Hermana Coronado, ¨I have a goal to a achieve. A goal I haven´t told you sisters about. I haven´t even told Hna. Juanita. That is the reason I keep listening to you sisters and going to church. A goal that I will be able to accomplish in 1 year¨. I looked at her and said, ¨You want to go to the temple?!!¨ And she said, ¨YES!¨ My heart was beyond over-joyed all I could say was, ¨as a missionary, you couldn´t have told me a more perfect goal¨. Viviana Get it! She really does. Viviana is 23yrs. old and has had an incredibly rough life. Yet throughout all her trials she continues to come to church every Sunday, to read her BOM and pray. I truly admire her love and devotion to doing what is right. Her biggest challenge is her marriage, she isn´t married. Our goal with her is to have her get married this month so that she can be baptized the 20th of September. She is an incredibly special sister. 

Wednesday after intercambios my comp. and I had a lot of excitement. We told each other, we are finding 2 new investigators today. It was 7pm and nothing... We decided to contact a reference we had received from a member earlier that day. After several attempts we found her house, and she wasnt there. We left our contact information with Jadira, Yesenia´ sister. As we were walking away Jadira yells, ¨Sisters, this is her.¨ We turned around and met Yesenia, a 26yr. old women who has had a lot of contact with the church and has So much potential.

After meeting her we were very excited. We then decided to try contacting another reference. Her name is Viridiana, she is Citlali´s best friend. We gave her a Book of Mormon and she accepted it right away. I am truly amazed at how much the Lord works towards helping us, his missionaries find his children. 

This past Sunday was our Branch´s annual conference. In total we had 2 less active members attend as well as 12 investigators. Afterwards a member mentioned to me,¨ if only if could be like this every week¨. It truly can be. It is our responsibiliy as members - missionaries - and investigators to work together to bring the gospel to EVERYONE. 

My animo is always high but it is so much higher now. This week we met with many anti-mormons who simply let us in, in order to try and challenge our beliefs, and in each of these situations all I could do was: Be firm, Be Kind, and more than anything Love them. 

I know that there truly are going to be many people who will try to make us doubt our beliefs, or try to make the things we believe sound silly but just continue to remember. We have the truth as Latter Day Saints. Never be ashamed. Be an example.

I have been thinking and feel very impressed to share a challenge with you all. I know we are all in different states, countries even but I would like to offer you a challenge this week that I know will provide more blessings than you can imagine. It is simple. I want you each to kneel down and pray for a name, a person to who you could give a Book of Mormon to this week. Before giving it to them pray for the adequate words you need to say to be able to give it to them and allow them an opportunity to feel the spirit. When you give them the Book of Mormon invite them to read the introduction, the testimony of the 3 and 8 witnesses as well as the testimony of Joseph Smith. Then a few days later verify to see if they read it, what they felt, and if they have any questions. I am sure they will. So the next step is, Set up an appointment for them to meet with the missionaries and be present for that appt. 

Remember specific prayers, specific answers. If you dont have an extra Book of Mormon ask the missionaries for one. I know they will be more than pleased to give you one. 

And next week I would love to hear about your experiences. :)

Have faith. Our faith determines our capacity to act! 

Con amor,

Hermana Coronado

Misionera a Maestra de Español

Hola Mi querida gente!

I am so happy for the Brian Family and their temple sealing. There truly is no greater blessing than becoming an eternal family. Many people here notice that I don´t look like the people of Coita and when I tell them i am from Houston Texas many ask me why I would leave everything just to come to Mexico. In these occassions I simply reply, ¨I left my family for a short time in order to help other families have theirs for eternity¨ . This usually sparks their interest and at times we are able to set up Cita´s with them. 

I was so excited to write last week that I forgot to say just how Fun P-Day was. We went to the Zoo and ate pizza aftwards, aka I was in Heaven, you all know just how much I love my pizza. Afterwards we went to a park in Tuxtla and played sports!!! Basketball, volleyball and soccer. Presidente George played with us in the blazing sun. He is too funny. 

This week has been full of many random events. If there´s one reason I love being a missionary it would be because we never know what is going to happen throughout the day, who we will meet, or what memories we will make.

I dont know if I have told you about Abiel. A little over a month ago while contacting basically every potential priesthood holder (male) we saw, we saw an elderly man, roughly early 60´s sitting outside of his house. When we approached him we told him a little bit about who we were and touched very basic principles of the gospel. He immediately let us into his house and we taught him the first lesson that day.

Abiel had been in a Motto-taxi accident and injured his foot, a week later he began to loose sight in his eye. We began to get very nervous because we wanted to help him progress spiritually but knew there would be some implications if he couldn´t walk to church or read the Book of Mormon. A month later after his foot had healed (2 weeks ago), he began attending church. This past Sunday was his second church attendance and again he stayed all 3 hours. This Saturday our branch is having its branch church cleaning at 9am. After church yesterday he told us see you on Saturday. We told him that cleaning the chapel was mostly required of the members to do, in which he replied, ¨but I want to clean¨. Yeah, he is definitely a golden Investigator.

He will be baptized September 20th and we couldnt be more excited. I told Hno. Abiel I wouldnt be satisfied with leaving until I know he is baptized. We all laughed. I know he will be a faithful priesthood holder. I felt it the day I saw him.

As well as Abiel we have his nephew 19 year old Angel who we have planned to be baptized within 2 weeks. 

Yesterday evening my companion and I went to visit the Cabrera Family, all recent converts. They were baptized this past april, Hna. Ceci, Hno. Eduardo and their 12-yr old daughter Dani. They began asking me how to say phrases in english and it ended up turning in an english lesson. They asked me if I would begin teaching them english a few times a week. I told them I would if they invited their non-member friends. They agreed. So now I am an english teaching missionary, hahah.

Seek missionary opportunities. If you don´t pray for them they will never come. Pray to love others and love to serve them. The Lord will always provide answers to us when we are willing to be obedient, humble and Specific! Specific prayers, specific answers. Don´t sleep through the restoration, continue being the member-missionary you are. Now that I am a missionary I know we can NOT do it alone. 

Sigan fieles, sigan felicez.

Onward and upward.

Con Amor, 

Hermana Coronado

Nancy and Dani, two young women in my branch (future sister misionaries)

In response to if I am eating enough in Mexico... I dont suffer :)

This is a Cafeteria called San Antonio in the Centro de Coita

The roads I walk daily