WHAT IS "MOLE" YOU ASK?

June 17, 2013

Dear Family,

Okay first, Mom you are the best. Literally THE BEST! I opened my second package and about died when I saw the McDonald's gift cards. Who knew a McDonald's card could mean so much? My companions say thank you for theirs. We are all stoked!! And thanks for the pictures. They made my day!!

Well I hit my one-month mark this past weekend. It’s so weird to think I'm already done with a month. Where did the time go? This past week my companions were sick. I started to feel a little queasy towards the end of the week as well. But we all are back to full health and doing great. 

This week I also had the opportunity to try mole (accent on the "e). What is mole you ask??? Well the better question is... what isn't mole? It’s a popular Spanish dish, and a common meal to serve to missionaries. Its sauce that goes over some kind of meat; we had it with chicken. The sauce contains everything. And I mean everything! There's bread, chilies, cookies, and all sorts of spices, and even chocolate. My companions described it as taking everything from your cabinet and putting it in a pan. We had it at a member’s house. It's definitely got an interesting taste, but overall the meal was good. Mole just has a way of sitting in your stomach. I learned this week; American stomachs are not as strong as Mexican stomachs. Hopefully, that will change. 

This past weekend we taught a lesson to a new recent convert Rogelio. It was great. If there are no females inside the house/apartment, and we don't have another member with us, we can't go inside. So we taught outside and I got sunburn. So I feel you James. I doubt I am as bad, but I've been a little self conscious of my red nose. I made the mistake of wearing green the other day, and felt like I looked like Christmas. O well... After the lesson we went to Tito's Tacos. Apparently, its a famous restaurant?? The tacos were pretty good. I was a fan. But as we were leaving we ran into a group of people. This little girl yelled at us "Hola Sisters!" They were a Mormon family that had just gone to the temple. So we talked to them for a while. It was super cool because one of her daughters and her friend (who were both there) are leaving this Wednesday for their missions. One is going to Minnesota and the other is going to NORTH CAROLINA! I was so pumped! But she's going to Charlotte; so close. Anyways, we keep talking to them, and I find out their from Lancaster. I was like "No WAY! That's where I was born!" They didn't remember any Pillars, but they do know the Novaks! Cool, huh? It’s such a small world. (If I remember correctly the girls' names are Sarah Richardson and Carly C (something). It was way cool and super fun to see them so excited for their missions. The Church is so true people.

This week I also had the wonderful experience of having a door slammed in my face. Honestly, not super fun. It was a Caucasian neighborhood. I have a great appreciation for the Latino population and their humility. So just throwing it out there, be nice to people. They probably don't want to be knocking on your door in the first place, so just be nice. 

In district meeting this past week, we talked about faith. The lesson was great! One of the sisters in my district is a black belt in karate. She told us how through karate she learned the importance of having to fight back. If we want to become victorious, we need to "strike." She shared the analogy of a cobra and mongoose fight. Apparently, they are a thing in Asian countries? (Maybe look it up on YouTube? We couldn't but I guess there is video.) People will bet on the fights, and the bets are always on the cobras. I have no idea what a mongoose looks like, but I've been told they look like a fat rat. So obviously the cobra would win... right? It has the venom. Well once the fight begins the mongoose attacks and bites off the cobra's teeth, basically their only way of fighting. The cobra is left defensive less. For the gospel application, Satan has ways of tempting and putting venom in our lives. He gives us doubts and makes us feel discouraged. But in order to triumph, we need to "strike" back and bite off his teeth, which can be done by exercising faith. Fear is only a lack of faith. If we have faith, the fear diminishes. We wrote down a list of fears that Satan uses against us. Then we were ask to think of ways to "strike" back. I encourage you guys to do the same thing. Strike the adversary and fight with faith.

Love you guys! Miss you all!

Hermana Pillar

"We bought ice cream with the cards!"

Sister Buckley & Sister Perry 

"I kid you not, they went and bought another one.  They LOVE ice cream"!