You can't grow in your comfort zone

Hola Familia!

Glad to hear all is well in the Northern Hemisphere! (question: am I still in the Northern Hemisphere? I'm lost without Google. Hmmm yeah I think I still am. Anyways, glad all is well more North than I am.)

Ez, I think there are legos here, but as missionaries we don't use them ;) Good luck with your [pinewood derby] car!! JJ, here we use normal bread and water for the sacrament, but I'll let you know if we start using tortillas and soda! Haha glad to hear he's getting good salesman practice! Haha hope you find your permit, Mo! But it's only mildly important ;) I hope all your customers are only a little upset, Cam! And wow, sounds like you guys are way busy getting everything ready for the move and working, Mom and Dad!

This week has been a week of song. Apparently I've been serenading Hermana Lopez in my sleep, haha! Neither of us are sure what song it was: me because I was asleep, and her because it was in English. But I'm sure it was beautiful either way ;) To tell you a little more about Hermana Lopez, she's from Guatemala, she has three brothers and is number two [child]. Her whole family are converts and were baptized when she was 9, minus her dad who still isn't a member. She's the first missionary in her family and has actually received special permission to remain a missionary for two days after she gets home to teach her dad! Super cool!

Hermanas Larsen and Lopez

Em_ (Ro_´s mom) invited us to eat this week. She called us in the middle of the comida at a church member's home and told us to come over as soon as possible. So there we went already stuffed, haha. But there is no "no" to food as a missionary! We helped make (well, I helped eat) guacamole and Tascalate, which is a drink native to Chiapas. Sooo good! I think I'm going to have to find some way to bring Tascalate home with me for you guys. I have no idea what it is. I think it's like corn crushed to dust with a bunch of spices, I didn't like it that much at first, nor pozol, but I don't know, Hermana Em_ changed me!

Haha and they (Em_ and Ro_) don't call me Hermana Larsen, just Larsen. They went to church this week as well! We're super excited about that! That's really been one of the hardest obstacles in baptizing here, getting people to go to church. But we're really excited that they've started to come and have the desire to be there!

To update you on my health, all is well! The blood tests came back negative for Typhoid! I started feeling pretty much perfect Tuesday-Wednesday, nothing serious and no lasting effects :). Haha and Hermana An_ let me know that you guys were worried about me. Thanks for all of the prayers!! And as far as the water shortage goes, it was a false alarm. It was out for the week, but it fortunately has turned on again.

We also had interviews with President George. One of the first things he said when I came in is that "You know, I can tell that your family loves you", to which I responded "Oh no, did they call you?????" hahaha I thought after telling you guys I was sick you'd gone to extremes. Turns out you guys are just Facebook friends now, hahaha! President George is honestly the best, he's just super loving!

I've been growing a lot as a missionary this transfer. I have a lot more responsibility and it's helped me really learn how to work effectively. I honestly now feel really comfortable with my Spanish and working as a missionary in general. Something that Sister Wagner reminded me of one of my first weeks here that has stuck with me is that you can't grow in your comfort zone. I think before my mission I let myself hang out in my comfort zone way too often. I want to invite you guys to push yourselves more. Push yourselves to study more, to live the Gospel more exactly, to set realistic goals and reach them. And most importantly to rely on the Lord through it all. It's incredible what we can do when we have His strength on our side!

I hope you guys all have a great week!

Con mucho amor!

Hermana Larsen