IXCOTEL DESPERTÓ 🐅💥📈

 Week 68

I almost got struck by lightning yesterday. Not even a joke. Send me an email if you want the deets. 

Started off the week with back to back zone conference and leadership council! It was honestly a lot of sitting down for 2 days straight but it was so fun to see all my favorite people all in one place including past conpanions and buds from the ol' MTC days! President gave us a lot of great direction on how we can improve and we left feeling inspired, motivated, and locked in 💪🏼

We've recently been working A TON with the members in our ward with a little program we made called "familia misional”. It is basically that we have a rotating family every week coming on visits with us. We’ve seen so many miracles through it in the last little bit!

You guys I love my companion. She is the tiniest/sweetest/most tender little thing in the whole world and we just giggle all the day long. I feel like a absolutely giant walking down the road next to her (more than usual) but it's #worthit

MIRACLE TIME⏰️💥:(kinda long sorry)

Bit of context first: on the downlow our area has been kinda struggling recently. We've been having a rather hard time finding new people who are genuinely interested and have a desire to come to church. When transfers came around and I found out I would be staying a 3rd transfer in Ixcotel, I kinda panicked thinking about walking our same 10 blocks millions more times just for everyone to say no again. I felt completely lost on where to go and who to talk to because I felt like I had already been everywhere and knocked every door in sight and no one was interested. But in my moments of desperation, I found myself in sincere prayer more often and really looking at the small things I was doing and chose to make this time a time of fuller consecration. And thats when the miracles came around.

Late in the week last week my companion and I were walking down the road heading to the comida when a little boy in a window on the 3rd story of a house greeted us with a loud "buenas tardes!" We greeted him back and kept on our way. After about 3 more steps, I stopped and looked at my companion (who had also stopped) and we both felt without a doubt that we needed to go back and talk to him. I yelled up to him in his window if we could give him a little pamphlet and as he responded yes. Then 4 other little heads popped out the window and said they wanted ones too. My comp and I stood in confusion until they came down and opened the door and 5 KIDS spilled out all wanting a folleto. We got their names, handed out the folletos and then went on our merry way after presenting ourselves to their mom. In the days that followed, the kids processed to draw pictures of Jesus from the handouts on their own time and show them to us every time we passed by. We gifted them a picture-book of Mormon and they are now well past Abinadi. And if that wasn't enough, turns out our ward mission leader and his wife are their next-door neighbors. 🤯 We chatted with the mom and older brother multiple times throughout the week and they gave the neighbors permission to bring the kids to church. And so, after 6 consecutive weeks of having no friends at church, FOUR of our friends came for the first time yesterday! 3 of the kids, and 1 sweet girl who we met through a member who is super interested as well. The Lord really has His hand present in this work. I have learned A LOT about humility and patience and waiting on His time while being a missionary. I'm super excited to keep working with this incredible little family and see what the Lord has in store for them!

In light of the passing of our dear prophet President Nelson, I just wanted to share one of my favorite quotes from one of his many incredible talks over the years:

"When sore trials come upon us, it’s time to deepen our faith in God, to work hard, and to serve others. Then He will heal our broken hearts."

I am so grateful to President Nelson for being a guiding watchman on the tower during the days of my youth and for helping me to form a firm testimony of living prophets, which has been a lifeline for me as a missionary. I love being able to teach and testify about prophets daily. He touched the lives of many including mine, and will always be remembered with a great legacy as a humble and good man. 🕊

Think Celestial! 🫶🏼

- Hermana Stephenson