Passion for Puebla

We have had a really good week. The Mexico City girls (aka New Best Friends) came here to Puebla on Friday afternoon, and we have been livin' la vida loca ever since. We went dancing with a bunch of our friends on Saturday night, and it was super fun...as usual. Sunday Kizzy and I gave talks in our ward on temporal and spiritual welfare, which goes along really well with the workshop we're teaching. On the way to church we had a funny experience. As soon as the four of us walked out of our house, we heard music, and thought that someone's party was still going on from the night before. As we walked towards the bus stop, we saw a group of mariachis down the street, and thought that maybe they were serenading some girl in an upper window. I decided we should walk down that street to get a closer look, but when we got to where they were, there was no girl in an upper window...just a bunch of drunk men who upon seeing four beautiful Americans, whistled, tried to dance with us, and yelled "Be my wife!" It was quite the experience. We laughed all the way to church. After the Sunday meetings we had an impromptu goodbye dinner at our house for our friend Antonio who took a job in Cancun and will be leaving. It was great to spend time with our friends, but sad to say goodbye to Antonio. He's been a great friend and a very pacient dance instructor. Saying goodbye to him made us all weary of the upcoming farewell to our good friend Julio. He is leaving on his mission next week, and we are so excited for him, and will also be sad for him to go. He's our other favorite dance partner, and I just don't know if we're ever going to be able to go dancing again without Julio and Antonio around. We really have made great friends here, and it's been such a blessing to us. They had no reason to let us into our lives...we're the weird American girls who are only here for a coupld months, but people have welcomed us with open arms. It's been great. Love my friends!!

Lots of Love

The last couple weeks have flown by, and we have been plenty busy. We took another trip to Mexico City- this time we went to the Anthropology Museum, to a "Reik" concert (Mexican pop- one of our favorites), and (best of all) to the Mexico City temple. It was a great experience! Our friend Julio, who leaves on a mission in two weeks, went through for the first time that day, and even though we weren't in his session, it was neat to see him afterwards. He was glowing, and had somehow changed. We spent the entire afternoon on the temple grounds, and in the visitor's center I ran into an Elder I had worked with in the TEC last year. It was so cool to see him, and find out how things are going in the field, and what was the most useful to him in the MTC. I also talked to the visitor's center sisters and thought of Maria.

Back in Puebla, we decided to make our own fun, and throw a Halloween party. Diana and Katie came from Mexico city to party with us, and we had a great time. All four of us dressed as Mexicans (I'm not sure we fooled anyone, but we sure looked cute) and we had a great time with our friends, and ate way too much candy. Of course, our friends had to teach Katie and Dee to dance, so the next night, we all met up at a club and went dancing. It was cool, because while we were waiting in the centro, we got to see all kinds of "Día de los Muertos" festivities, including the "baile de los muertos" where people dressed as skeletons danced in a section of the plaza made up as a graveyard. It was quite the sight...they really go all out here. There were also little kids dressed up, "trick or treating" but here instead of asking for candy, they ask for money. I thought it was a little bit twisted, but definitely interesting.

The last few days we have been working hard, and trying to study a lot. Kizzy came down with an intestinal infection, but we got through appendicitis, so I'm sure we'll pull through this one too. Yesterday I taught the workshop twice- once by meself, and the second time with María José, our friend who we have been training to teach the workshop. We hoped that by today Kizzy would be better, but it looks like the medicine is going to take its time to take effect.

Things are great though, and I wouldn't change the experiences I am having for the world! We have had some neat experiences being able to be positive influences on our friends. One in particular is a returned missionary, but hasn't been to church in over a year. He works on Sundays, but it seems to have become more of an excuse than anything. After some really good conversations with him, he showed up to the CES fireside last Sunday. I think that's a big start. And that is just one of the many experiences we have had with our friends. I really feel like we're here for a reason, and that maybe it doesn't have as much to do with the workshop as we thought. Anyway, life is good, and I'm counting my blessings.