The End is Near

You're probably wondering why that's the name of my group email today. My time at the MTC is nearing it's end! I am going to be a real missionary in T minus 3 days! It's blowing my mind. Where did the time go? I am feeling so much better this week, and since this is my last email from the Mexico MTC, I'm gonna make it a good one! I have my flight plans now! I leave from the CCM at 2 a.m. on Monday morning so I can fly to Panama City. From there, I have a layover for only about 45 minutes till I fly to Santiago. Yikes. Please pray for me XD Tomorrow Elder Holland is coming! I mentioned that last week but I am so pumped to be able to play the piano for an apostle of the Lord!!! We might even get to shake his hand...!! My funny quote this week is actually a story that has reoccurred many times these past few weeks. My companion, Hermana Austad, is the sweetest person. She has the greatest habit of after the alarm goes off in the morning, she just sits up and starts to pray. So this morning, Hermana Lopez got up to use the bathroom at around 1:30 a.m. and Hermana Austad must have heard her moving around in the room because she sat up and started to pray. Hermana Lopez came out of the bathroom and saw her praying, so she went up to her, literally a foot away from her face, and said, "Are you praying?" Hermana Austad, sassily: "Yes, what time is it?" Hermana Lopez: "1:30 in the morning! Go back to bed!" Hermana Lopez, going back to her bed: "Girl, you have problems." Hermana Austad proceeded to wake up another time after this around 5:30 and start praying again. So that's hilarious! I think it literally happens once a night, if not more XD Time for a spiritual thought! This week I was studying in 1 Nephi 17. This is the story of when Nephi is commanded to build a ship. Reading this story before, the things that stood out to me this time are more profound. In verse 21, Laman and Lemuel were lamenting about how they missed their things at home and how they could have been happy if they had them in the wilderness. It really hit me hard to read that, because being a missionary, it's easy to get caught up in reminiscing about home and all the things you could have if you weren't a missionary. I realized that when I read it that I need to just make the best of the time I have here. Even though a year and a half seems long, in the long run, it's only a tiny amount of time! If I use my time wisely and work as hard as I can through the midst of trials and problems, I will be happy because I am trusting in the Lord. And with Him I know I can do all things! The same principle applies to you all. Throughout your life, it is easy to get caught up in saying "Oh I wish I had this or that! I need this now in order to be happy." That will never suffice because we will always be wanting more than what we have. Just make the best of this life! Have fun, work hard, and do your best to trust in the Lord and you will be blessed beyond capacity! I know that if you will do your best to be content and happy through your current trials and tribulations, you will obtain that happiness. God will give you the strength to go on and do your best. I know without a doubt that this church is true and if we work dilligently now, we will be blessed later. We can obtain exhaltation and everlasting life if we press forward with steadfastness in Christ. This gospel is amazing and I hope you all know it too! Thanks for all the support! Les extraño! Love, Hermana Mangum Also I don't know if I have mentioned this, but we made friends with some of the Hatian elders and Hermanas. One of these pics is us with them! DSC00167.JPG DSC00197.JPG DSC00210.JPG

Elder Holland is Coming!

Hello everyone, this week was good, but the whole time I have been sick haha. The food here is throwing me for a loop, that's for sure... so this group email is going to be a bit shorter unfortunately. But I do have some good news! Next week Elder HOLLAND is coming to the CCM!! I am so excited!! And guess what? It gets better. Your girl gets to play the piano for that same devotional!!! I'll get to sit up on the stand with Elder Holland!!!!! My life has been made. XD Also, Mexico has been very smoggy and hot lately. I'm kind of glad I'm dipping in a week and a half to go to the DR lol! Another thing, today is my 1 month mark! It's so crazy to think that I've literally been out for a month and will be going to the DR very soon!! I am so excited!! I want to ask you all, how do you personally feel the spirit? There are so many different ways, and everyone feels it differently. How can you magnify the voice of the Spirit in your life? How can you get rid of distractions in order to hear him beckoning to you? The Lord is trying to talk with you, and all you have to do is listen. So take out your earbuds and listen to the still, small voice! It is so important to understand that the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of God and his role is critical in personal revelation. Love, Hermana Mangum Also let me explain these pics haha! The one with the sun was the sunrise this morning. It looked so red because of all the contaminación in the air lately. It's disgusting. The second one is the view of our backyard in our casa. I call the wall Trump's wall cuz it's ironic that we live in Mexico!

Give Everything to Him

Hola amigos!! Como estan? This week was awesome. I am falling in love with being a missionary. My district had the opportunity to do something called PROMIX. Only special districts get to it... ;) Haha! Anyways, PROMIX is when an american district goes on "splits" with a latino district. Basically what happened is we got paired with a latina companion for a day. I can just say that my spanish got a whole lot better in one day than it has been in the last 3 weeks! Hermana Austad and I were in a trio because there weren't enough sisters. The Hermana we got paired with Hermana Rangel, and she is the sweetest person!! She doesn't speak a lick of english, but somehow we got through with our broken spanish haha! We love her so much and we got pictures with her yesterday and I'll send them out hopefully next week because I don't have them yet. Also this week I learned the real meaning of the Atonement. I was reminded of a story I read way long ago as a child that I love. Once upon a time, there was a father and a daughter. They were walking along one day when the daughter saw a bike on display in a shop. She exclaimed that she wanted the bike, so her father told her to save up so she could buy it. And that is exactly what she did. After a few weeks of saving, the daughter ran to the father in tears. She cried, "Dad, I want to buy the bike but I don't have enough money!" He comforted her in an embrace and asked her, "How much do you have?" She replied through sniffles, "63 cents." He took the money from her hand and said, "You give me what you have and I will pay for the rest." Then, he took her by the hand and went to buy her bike. I LOVE this story so much. The Atonement of Christ is exactly what that story entails. If we do everything that we can to get home to Heavenly Father, even though it could never be enough, Christ has already paid the rest. We just have to save up as much as we can and give it all to Him. I testify as an authorized representative of Christ that HE LOVES YOU. No matter your circumstances or how horrible you think you are, He loves you. Nothing can change that fact. That's the reason why He died on the cross and suffered in Gethsemany. He loved you so much that He went through indescribable amounts of pain just so you can live with Him again. Show Christ how much you love Him this week by being a little better and choosing to do good. He wants you to succeed. He's always cheering you on. Find a friend in Christ this week. Love you all! Hermana Mangum Sorry there's no pics this week! Funny quotes! *Hermana Austad and I cleaning benches for a service project* Our morning teacher, Hermana Suarez, walking by: Hola, slaves! *When we're supposed to be teaching our teacher* Hermana Suarez: Wanna have a chair race? *Proceeds to have a chair race*

Distrito Pinguinos

Que tal, amigos? This week has been sooooo good!! I am learning to love the monotonous missionary schedule. We get up at 6:30 every morning, get ready for the day, plan out our day (even though it's already planned for us lol), eat breakfast, classes, teach, study, lunch, gym time, more classes, study, dinner, even more classes, and finally personal time at 9, then sleepy time at 10:30. Let's just say that I sleep very well at night (even though our beds feel like rocks) because it's so busy. Not even the sirens or mariachi music can wake me up! My district is probably the best thing about being here at the CCM. There's 4 sets of elders and 2 sets of sisters. They are literally some of the funniest people I know! The name of this email is our nickname for our district because randomly one day someone said me gusta pinguinos, and ever since, everyone is basically obsessed with pinguinos, which are kind of a mexican version of ding dongs. So you're probably wondering about gym time and what I do during that. Well, I'll tell you! My district loves to play tornado (or knockout, thunder, speed, or whatever you call it). It's so ridiculously fun cuz we play the revenge version and so it's a never ending game. We also dragged other districts into it too and they like it, but our district always ends up being in till the end... probably cuz we're just the best at basketball or something...... Spiritual thought! This week, I had some amazing experiences!! I felt very impressed to share this one with you all today. A few days ago, we were in a meeting about how the Book of Mormon is the key to conversion. I felt the spirit so strongly, confirming to me that it is true. If you can get someone to read that Book they will know of a surety that it is true. THE BOOK OF MORMON CHANGES LIVES. It has changed mine forever. Studying it these past few weeks has quite literally changed me for the better, and my conversion is deeper than it ever has been. I want to share one of my favorite scriptures with you all, as an invitation: "And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved." Omni 1:26 I invite you all to READ THE BOOK OF MORMON, no matter who you are, what your circumstances are, why you believe you shouldn't read it, or despite whatever is holding you back. I KNOW THAT THE BOOK OF MORMON IS TRUE, and you WILL if you read it. That is my promise to you, as a representative of La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días, that if you will just take the time to read even one verse, you will be filled with the fire of the Holy Ghost and God will reveal his truth of it unto you. You can trust me because I'm a missionary and missionaries can't lie ;) Some pics for your enjoyment and funny quotes! *Elder Thompson and Elder Young made an "oof-o-meter" on the board of our classroom* The highest oof was called "celestial oof" XD *Elder Farnworth pulls out a bag of candy* Elder Collier: No! This is why we never get anything done!! *Freshly mopped floor of our casa* Hermana Jensen: Guys! This is one giant slip n slide! maddie district.JPG

Love you all, and don´t forget to remember Christ this week!! Love, Hermana Mangum