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Hello, everyone.

Another week in Reforma and here's what went down:

Highlights:

-There is a pair of twins in our ward; we're teaching their dad and their mom takes really good care of us. Well, their birthday was this week so naturally we had to have a Family Home Evening with cake. During the lesson we asked them if there was something that they really wanted. One said, "I want cows." The other said, "I would like some goats." Teenage boys are pretty much the same no matter where you go.

Also, they make me think of my brothers.

-That moment when a middle aged man asks you, "Do you know what a zombie is?" Are you kidding? Do you have any idea what I learned about Zombies reading The Zombie Survival Guide and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?? But that translated first into missionary and then into Spanish comes out, "Sí, hermano."

-I know I'm only 22 but I might secretly be older. This week my companion has found several white hairs on my head. Not like blonde, bleached-by-this-ridiculous-sun hairs, but straight up white. Errr …at least they're pretty??

-We had a "mini-MTC" this week, which was basically a multi-zone meeting with lots of practices, food, and a couple games. While greeting one of my Zone Leaders, he looked puzzled and said, "You look different." "Elder, I have makeup on." Since that's what I did way back when I was in the MTC, I decided to put makeup on for this event. (The MTC feels like a lifetime ago.) Fun times.

Here's a group of sisters from said mini-MTC.

-Today when we went to go buy the tortilla for our lunch (that was a really Mexican sentence) I heard a mariachi version of Hotel California. Weird as it may sound I enjoyed it and will be buying it when I return home.

OK, now for something embarrassing: Yesterday my companion had to go to the hospital for dehydration. When that happens here they give you an IV with something called suero, which is magic and helps you get better. They also took some blood so they could run some tests to make sure everything was okay because her blood pressure was really low. After they took her blood, which was really different from how they took my blood back in the States, and hooked up her medicine, I started to feel funny. Then I realized that I was starting to faint. I leaned against the wall just in case I really did faint. My companion noticed and once the nurse left she told me that somehow I had become even whiter. Then she said I looked like Sully did in Monsters Inc., when he thought that Boo was being squished in the trash-cuber thingy. Then we couldn't stop laughing, which was good because she really didn’t feel well and needed a good laugh. But also everyone looked at us like we were crazy because we were cracking up in a hospital. I guess my preschool dreams of being a doctor will not be realized because apparently I faint around blood. Que vergüenza (What a shame –ed).

Love you all!!

Hermana Anderson

Lots of Unconnected Things

Hey all,

So I feel like the last few weeks I haven't had a lot of email-y things to send, so this will be a mix of lots of stuff that's happened.

Highlights:

-I was messing with my hair during a lesson (I just really want to cut it off again. I know the curls are pretty, but I am missing my pixie cut) and out of nowhere our 57-year-old investigator says, "Sister, you should leave your hair down. You look like Jennifer Lopez." Orale, well, thank you. I think I look like I need a shower, but thank you very much.

-I love the sushi here. Not because it is authentic, but because I can order it with steak and bacon. And it's right around the corner from our house. And its 2-for-1 every day so it only costs 75 pesos(that's about 5 bucks) for the two of us to eat. It’s a beautiful thing.

-That awful moment when you are teaching under a tree and all of a sudden something wet falls on you. At least it was just bird pee, not bird poo. It took me a while to get focused again.

-Speaking of falling, while you’re teaching a lesson, even if you try to be sneaky about putting a piece of hard candy in your mouth to give you a little sugar buzz to keep you from dozing (I live tired) you probably shouldn't do it, because it will probably fall down and end up distracting everyone who is there. And you’ll embarrass yourself.

-Aaand some good – and surprising – news … It's not that hot! It's still hot, but not like it was last year. PLUS … there are clouds. Last summer, aside from when it rained, there wasn't a single wisp of a cloud. But now there are lots of pretty clouds that do incredible things like this:

And today I had my last visa trip to Guaymas before I go home. I'm freaking out a little bit about how quickly I will be back on American soil.

But, meanwhile, here's me with a cool hill and my friend from Argentina, Hna Franco:

Love you all!! :)

Hermana Anderson

No Time!

Sorry, no time for anything deep or terribly interesting.

I got my transfers, and nothing happened. Same area, same companion.

Like I said last time, this week I hit one year in Mexico. So I took this picture:

Love you all! Have a wonderful week!

One Year

Hey, all,

Well, last week I hit my one-year mark away from my home, and next week I hit my one-year mark here in Mexico.

What the crazy.

I don't know how I feel about it, honestly. In some ways I feel like I just got here. In others I feel like I should have hit my year mark three months ago given how long it feels like I've been away from home, family, friends, music, movies, skinny jeans, converse, and sleep.

Basically it's just weird and hard to wrap my head around.

But, this is how I feel about being here:

I love being here. The culture, food, language, country, people … I'm even learning to love the ridiculous heat.

I can't begin to describe the things that I have learned this past year, about Mexico, myself, the gospel, being an adult, being a good person, being patient, accepting and overcoming challenges, how to keep an apartment clean, the best way to eat tacos without getting messy, how to be humble and listen to my leaders even though I am pretty sure they are crazy…. But most importantly, about my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and my Father in Heaven, and how, even though I am an exaggeratedly imperfect person, they love me perfectly, and help me in all that I do.

No matter what happens these next six months, I am grateful for the chance I have to be here, to be a missionary, and to work every day to try and help other people. I often have no idea what I am doing, but hey, that's where faith comes in. And trust…. And sometimes pixie dust (did I mention that I also miss books?).

Love you all!

Hermana Dallyn Marie Anderson

P.S. I love how tan I look in the second picture. It's a trick. I'm still really white. 

Dos por Uno

Hello! Sorry about last week. Time gets short here in the cyber cafe. So this week it's a two for one – dos por uno.

Last week:

-Our landlady, who lives below us, went out of town for a few days, so she gave us some Greek yogurt so it wouldn't spoil. While eating it, my companion noticed that it was fat free, which made her sad. Later, while we were talking about an investigator who is ready but just won't accept baptism yet, to make her feel better I told her, "Don't worry, Hermana; if he doesn’t get baptized, I'll buy you yogurt with fat in it." :)

-While doing a street contact and introducing ourselves, the man we were talking to interrupted us and said "Oh, you guys are the Moronis!" Mm, no. That was his son. Que vergüenza (how embarrassing).

-Someone told me that at one point they were invited to go to Utah, California. As in, Utah is a city in Cali. I am still convinced that the majority of this country thinks that California makes up the entire U.S.

-Hermana Kindt, like many others, says that I look like Emma Watson. So she likes to just randomly call me Emma. And if I don't respond there is a stream of "Emma, emma, emma, emma."

This week:

-The son and nephews of some of the investigators are about seven years old and really like English, and always ask me how to say different things. The other day Fernando asked me how to say "guapo" in English. When I told him he ran away yelling "Soy handsome! Soy handsome!"

-After singing "Families Can Be Together Forever," our investigator told us that is was beautiful … so beautiful that is was just like a princess song.

-Well, The Avengers comes out this week. I don't know this from disobedience, but from the fact that there are posters and propaganda slathered on every store here to the degree that I just have no way to escape from it. So, rules are that no one can tell me anything about it, because I am working really hard to forget that it is happening.

-I had a first this week! I contacted someone in English!! While heading out to the boonies of Obregon for our lunch (we eat with members midday, instead of for dinner) the bus broke down, with lots of smoke, so we all had to get out. While standing there waiting for another bus to come rescue us, a woman came over and started to talk to us and asked if I knew English. She was super happy when said yes. We got to talking and of course we talked about being missionaries. While we waited for the bus and then climbed up and went to our stop, I got to talk to her and testify of some of the simple truths of the gospel. The thing that surprised me the most is that I could actually speak English. Normally when I try to talk gospely things in English, it turns out a jumbled mess. But not this time. It was really cool to feel the spirit work and testify through me, even though it was not a very calm environment.

-People keep telling me that I have gotten super sunburned, or rather, tan. But I don't think so. 

-Also, the other week, I found the coolest abarrotes, or corner store, here in Obregon. There's no place like home. (See the same photo)

Aaaaaannndddd! A shout out to my bestie, BreeAnna!! She got married on Saturday! No, I couldn't be there, but I am nevertheless oh-so-very-happy for her and Kyle.

Love you all!! Until next week.

Hermana Anderson