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¡Hola familia y amigos!

Life in La Mariposa is still amazing. Everyday I just become more and more sure that I started out in the best area.

Hermana Rizo is fantastic. Things are very, very different, but I´m learning lots and we´re both adapting and getting along great. She has sixteen months in the mission, so she will be finishing in La Mariposa at the end of June (this change and the next). Because of that I really have no idea if I´ll be leaving at the end of this change. It would make sense for me to leave, but at the same time be weird, because Hermana Wetzel had 7 months in the area, I will have had 5.5 months, Hna Rizo will only have 3, and if I leave the Hna who would come in after me would only have one change of getting to know the area from someone who only had 2 changes until she would have to show the area.... I´m sorry, I´m sure that´s all sorts of confusing... I just don´t know what´s going to happen! If I stay this change, I would probably end up being in La Mariposa until August (which would be amazing), or they would take me out at the same time as Hna Rizo and replace us with Elders.... vamos a ver...

Anyhow... awesome experiences this week:

- Miracles: two less active members that Hermana Wetzel had never seen in church in her whole 7 months came to sacrament meeting yesterday.
- Yesterday was ward conference and our ward went all out for the whole week:
- Monday: special family home evening theme that all were supposed to do in their homes.
- Tuesday: Self-esteem lesson for adults 18 and older in the church
- Wednesday: Casa abierta with different rooms for different activities (Mission work, food storage, etc.)
- Thursday: Ward temple trip (we got to go!!!!) - 50 adults, teenagers, and kids in a school bus bus to the temple :)
- Friday: Everyone came and cleaned the church
- Saturday: Excursion for the teenagers in the morning. Afternoon: all of the stake and ward leaders made visits to various ward families
- Sunday: Ward conference.
Incredible. I´m telling you... the people in La Mariposa are amazing.
- We didn´t have running water for a day (which really is not that big of a deal here at all, but it just caught us by surprise - supposedly they had gone around the colonia announcing it), so we bathed with baby wipes :)
- This didn´t happen this week, but I forgot to mention it from the last week that Hna Wetzel was here. I finally became a "real missionary." The custom here is to greet everyone with a kiss on the cheek, but as sister missionaries we just kiss women on the cheek. Well, I was talking to a guy my age (which is always hard, because you never know if they´re interested in you or in the message) on the bus and when Hna Wetzel and I got off he gave me a kiss on the cheek. We get pretty good about dodging the kisses and putting our hands out, but it just came out of no where! It was pretty hilarious. Writing this out makes me realize that this story is probably really lame for everyone else, but for us it´s a big deal ;)

It´s interesting, because as missionaries we are so immersed in the world, but at the same time we are trying to live with very high standards and do things differently. I have seen and heard more crazy things here in the past 4 and a half months than I have in my whole life (and it´s not like I was super sheltered before), but we try to live our lives so that we can always be in tune and listen to the Spirit, which is essential.

Good news: we´re going to Antigua tomorrow as a zone, so I´m going to see Hna Wetzel!!!

Happy early birthday Dad and Nicole!!!!

Love,
Hermana Marin