Caminando en Chiapas: machete

Yes, you heard me. I'm in love with Tapachula and I don't care who knows it!! I'm never coming back to Utah. Sorry peeps. If you want to see me in 7 months you´ll all have to get your butts down here because I'm preaching the gospel in a wonderland full of Bridges to Terabithia, volcanoes, butterflies, sheep tacos...and I am never ever leaving. I better not get transferred. Like ever.

Bridge to Terabithia

Also, lame because my mom (Hermana Martinez) went home this week. That makes me sad! And even more sad because that means I'm gonna be at my year mark soon. Hermana Ortega and I are praying that in this October's conference President Monson makes the announcement that girls can serve for 2 years. HOLLA @ U MONSON.

So my big Sis Hermana Ortega is my new comp... and it's kind of the best thing ever because this is Hermana Martinez´s old area so everyone knows her and loves her here and knows that we are her hijas (daughters) so they love us too! :) Hermana Ortega is from Pachuca and is literally the best ever. We are having the funnest time together! We love to work hard and so we are killing it here in Tapachula, BONANZA.

So apart from all the miracles, I honestly had the best experience of my life this week because I rode in a moto taxi tricycle (a motorcycle hooked up to a little cart thing) like 3 times. It's only 5 pesos per person to go wherever you want in Tuxtla Chico.

We had intercambios with Tuxtla Chico (which is like the most magical area in Tapachula) right on the border of Guatemala. The Hermana I was with even bought some American clothes for 20 pesos from a lady in the street (who we then taught how to pray haha). When we asked her how she got the clothes across the border she said, "Well across the river duh!" Like it's totally normal to illegally swim American clothes across the river to sell... no big deal.

The Shire

Also everyone and their dog seems to have a machete here. There was this one guy walking towards us with a huge machete and when he passed I (dumbly) started using my water bottle as a machete to hit Hermana Morelos. Suddenly (he somehow saw me) he turned and pointed his machete at us and started following us. We were freaking out inside but tried to stay calm.

When poof, out of the ground, pops up a random lady that Hermana Morelos knew! She was taking her clothes (in buckets) home to dry from washing them in the river. We ran over to her and tried to help her. Talked to her for a bit...but the machete guy was still watching and waiting for us! Luckily, after like 5 minutes his other machete friend came over and they went into some house...probably to slaughter a giant iguana or something. But yeah, that's the last time I joke about machetes in Tapachula. Oh, what fun we have on intercambios.

So MIRACLES....

Hermano P., (the only progressing investigator we had when I came into the area) miraculously came to church on Sunday. He wasn't going to be able to come. He had asked for work off the Sunday before to come to church, and when he asked his boss for permission again she didn't give it to him. But we just told him to keep praying and asking and everything would be alright.

So we called him Sunday morning but he didn't answer. Thinking he was working, we went to church a little sad.... only to find Hermano P. sitting there!! Apparently, his boss went somewhere for the weekend, and the other guy he was working with told him it would probably be alright if he skipped. So he skipped work to come to church!!! He's progressing super rapido to get baptized 1 de agosto!!

So we honestly did not have any investigators to get baptized this transfer minus Hermano P. So we fasted on Sunday, praying that we could find new investigators that miraculously could have gone to church a few times already and could be baptized this transfer. We decided to contact an old reference that we hadn't found, Hermana P. Well, we didn't find Hermana P., she doesn't live here anymore. But we did find two of her hermanos. Her daughter has been to church three times, and her son once. They can both get baptized in this transfer!! We connected super well with them. They both really have a desire to know what church is true and to be baptized.

When we walked out of the lesson we were practically jumping for joy and Hermana Ortego told me, "Hermana, I know that these transfers were inspired and you were sent here for a reason with me. Did you not feel the spirit so strong that we knew them before? I am sure we both knew them in the pre-existence. I know we are here together to help them finally be baptized."

I love Tapachula! And I love my Zone. I'm working with Elder Brass again, and it's his last transfer. He told me he prayed for me and his former companion, Elder De Jesus here. He said he wanted to work with us for his last transfer, so he could leave Tapachula with a bang. Haha! I love our zone leaders and my comp, en serio, and I love all of the Hermanas in our zone. I'm so happy to be here! I'm happy, working hard and seeing miracles.

Love you all!!

Hermana Hansen