Am I in Utah??

Hola everybody!!! 

I´ve been transferred to Kulkucán barrio in Cancún! And it´s crazzzyyy amazing! The biggest difference is that the ward is HUGE. In Tizimin, we had maybe 50 active members. Here there are over 200 and we´ve got a list of about 700 less active members. There´s a lot of work to do! They are all super willing to help us out and it´s so nice! They give us food, rides, and want to come with us to lessons! They´re the best!! The primary kids ran up to us after church and gave us the cutest letters ever, it was adorable. The investigators are also super "potente!" A lot of people here are looking for a change in their lives or just a little bit of peace and so they´re usually very willing to hear us. They ask good questions, they understand the doctrine, and I am so excited to see if they´ll start progressing in the gospel! 

Our house is adorable because it has a tree painted on one of the walls, and it has 2 floors and 2 bathrooms! Even better, it has a giant stash of Reeses peanut butter cups in the fridge. 

This area is like the headquarters of the mission, so when other missionaries come to visit they usually stay in our giant house. The night I got here we had a sleepover with 8 other girls that were all travelling for various transfers. It was a party! My new companion is Hermana Christensen and we speak a solid mix of Spanish and english in the house. She´s been out a little longer than I have, and between us we can usually understand everyone and communicate pretty well. It´s just funny when we´re on the phone, because one lady asked if we could pass the phone to a Latina companion, and it was like, "Too bad, we´re both gringas!" 

It is way hotter here and also super humid! My hair basically never dries completely after I shower, but it´s all good. My companion cut it a little bit shorter because my layers were doing weird things. It was super wavy on top and almost completely straight underneath, so we just chopped a little more off. Humidity is definitely an adjustment, but I don´t mind it too much. The crazy thing is when it rains! The first few days a tropical storm passed by and we were absolutely soaked! We were just walking around trying to find a house and it felt like we were swimming in the street! It´s also crazy because the area is way bigger, so we usually travel by taxi or combi. Combis are these small vans that just cram in as many people possible and drive super fast along one street. It´s fun to hail them down. I tried to talk to a lady and share a pass along card, but it was just a little awkward because we were smushed so close together. 

I met the funniest lady that speaks English and spanish and she was so sassy with her kids that we were just dying laughing. She was trying to teach them 2 plus 2 equals 4 and they said six. She was just like, "Do you SEE my fingers? Count them!! It´s so simple!" Hermana Paulita in the barrio is teaching us Maya, and she´s also hilarious! She just tells us random stories and we have to write down the words that she uses in maya. Hopefully by the end of the transfer I can give my testimony in Maya! 

In this week here I have felt the spirit so strongly. We had some amazing lessons and words and scriptures came to my mind that I know are not my own. Even in the practices in district meetings! We did a practice teaching experience and I shared a verse in Mosiah. An elder told me the after I shared a scripture, he just felt super strongly about some things he needed to improve to teach better. He thanked me for sharing the verse that I did. I didn´t know why he needed to hear that, but I just think it´s amazing the difference it can make if we listen to the spirit. 

Little miracles that happened: 

1. Monica is a less active member that just wants her nonmember husband to be baptized. He showed up to church for the first time after years of her asking him to go!! 

2. We contacted Rafael and Eva, and they are so READY to hear the gospel!! But they live outside our area...noooo! The other hermanas started teaching them and they are going to do amazing things. 

3. This one guy on the street said "Elders?" when we passed by. We told him, "close, we´re the hermanas!" He almost got baptized 6 years ago but had problems with tithing. We´re going to start teaching him and I´m so excited! I hope that now is his time. 

Anyway, I love the members here so much and I´m just starting to get to know them!  I´m so happy to be serving here. I know that living the gospel brings true joy! The angel who converted Alma visited him while he was discouraged on his mission in Ammoniah. He told him to lift up his head and rejoice, and be grateful for his many blessings, and get to work! (Alma 8:16) I loved this verse and I know that the counsel is true! We have so many little reasons to be happy. :)

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I´ll try and have some funny stories for next week. 

Mucho amor!

Hermana Schwartz

Photos:

Me and Hermana Eva before I left Tizimn

Last selfie with Hermana Medrano

Hermana Christensen in the new casa in Kukulcan

Blurry selfie with the TREE and my shorter hair