May 11th Email

Hna Toapanta and I helped Mayra paint her bedroom. See how much we're helping?

Hermana Toapanta and I saying goodbye at the mission office.

Me and Maria Mendoza.

This picture is from the Houston 9 Mother's Day Activity. It was a dinner and a dance from the 70's and 80's. The elders went to the Salvation Army and picked out not only their own clothes but our clothes too. Can you even believe the size of my companion?! And they found her a perfect-fitting outfit! The group with a blonde kissing a guy from El Salvador is a picture of our district with the bishop and his wife. The bishop's only 24 years old. His wife served here in this mission two years ago. They're so cool and hip.

Hello Family and Friends,

I was so happy after being able to talk to all of you on the phone. Thanks for all being there. I realized later that I didn't talk to any of my in laws or my nieces! Was Emily there? Adalyn? Tell them that their aunt (or sister) says hi and that she loves them too too much.

I told you a lot about the mission thus far. I just wanted to let you know what happened in the past week. We went on sister exchanges and I was paired up with Hermana Toapanta who's from Ecuador. She taught me so much spanish! And we've also started an English class here in the church so last Tuesday was our first day. It had a really good turn out considering it wasn't advertised hardly at all. Sister Gibbs, the older senior sister, is setting it all up and training us missionaries on how to teach. So right now as I type this I am also designing a cover for the teaching material binder. And I'm wearing my tight paisley pants that I bought for a dollar on Saturday. And I have my mouth full of peanuts. Jill-style.

But it's getting really stressful and yet super fun here. We're thinking of more and more ideas for finding people and earning their trust. It turns out--and we didn't know this at first--that a lot of people assume that we work for the government somehow and won't give us their information or let us into their apartments because they're scared of getting deported or getting their children taken away from them. Some ladies in a certain complex thought that we worked for CPS (child protection services) and told everyone in the complex to look out for us. So until one lady let us in and told us "you guys aren't mean at all. I don't know why they thought you worked for CPS," we were getting the hispanic hand in the face.

I can't even begin to explain how wonderful it is to teach others and to see the good that's in them. Still there are days when I'd like to give up hope on these people, but it leaves at the end of the day and I'm back to wanting them to know how they can become like their Heavenly Father. The majority of people here are just working folk who settle for breaking their backs working all day and all night, and drinking on the weekends to find their happiness. The women accept the role of obedient house wife and mother that they've been taught, and they've never considered the fact that they can some day be a goddess. The world likes to lie and enslaves these people with false ideas. I realized this week that we need to teach them a lot more simply than we have been doing. We need to start out with teaching them to recognize good and bad and teach them to be obedient to what is good in order that they are freed from the bondage that bad choices bring. And from there they are able to understand the restoration of the gospel.

I love you all so much. I'm glad you are still having fun over there and saying funny things. I'll be seeing ya in August! Til then....keep writing!

Love,

Hermana Langston