I eat jell-o every day

 Week 8: Hola Hola! Second week in the field and it was great! I'm definitely getting more used to life here and just being a missionary. It has been an adjustment for sure, but the people here are amazing and it is so beautiful, so the fact that I do my laundry by hand on a concrete washboard and can't speak the language are not as bad 😁

Spanish is actually coming along and I feel like am progressing in my ability to understand which is great! However my speaking abilities are not so hot so my companion definitely teaches all of our lessons hahah but we're getting there!

Basically what I see every day

I promise I don't touch the dogs but this one didn't have any (visible) diseases

I had some amazing food this week, and some of the dishes Oaxaca is most famous for: Ttlyudas and Mole! Thoroughly enjoyed both. My companion is terrible with spice, which is super funny because she's Latina. And so we'll eat with members and she is DYING next to me because of the spice and I'm totally chill somehow. This week one of the members asked us during a meal "which one of you is the gringa??" Made me feel proud of myself and my spice tolerance 💪

Highlight for this week: EDUARDO GOT BAPTIZED! I take 0 credit for any of his teaching because he was already on date before I got here and my comp taught all the lessons I was a part of hahah. He was baptized by Irvin, a 17 year old who got baptized 2 months ago! They are both such studs. The Spirit was so strong during the service and you could tell he could feel it too. Moments like that and people like Eduardo remind me why I'm here even though it is hard! 

A scripture that I liked this week was 2 Corinthians 12:10: "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distress for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I made strong." I have definitely felt a lot of the things mentioned in this scripture since being here, but I have been trying to find joy and gratitude in them, because everything I do as a missionary is for CHRIST'S sake! No matter what, I know that he will make me strong in my moments of weakness because this is HIS work and we are bringing HIS children into the fold. And it is starting to work! I am enjoying myself more everyday, and I know that is because of Christ!

Thank you for all your prayers! I feel them everyday 💗💗
-Hermana Stephenson

Me at the end of every day