March 16, 2015 - Miracles, Miracles, Miracles!

Hello!

We had a fantastic week here in San Buenaventura! 

We took Maria de Rocio to the chapel to give her a tour and when we opened the baptismal font doors she felt the spirit so strong and accepted a date for baptism! End of APRIL!!!!! UNREAL!  We are working with Martin more but he didn't come with us to the church that day! 

We also started working with this lady named Clara Mendez who is unreal to the max! We knocked on her door because we thought a less-active member lived there but turns out they didn't.  We started talking to Clara and she invited us back the next day to learn more about our Church.  We went back the next day and man she's had a rough life!  When she was 5 months pregnant her brother-in-law shot her in the back, but it didn't touch the baby!  They took the baby out and he lived! He is alive today! We invited her to be baptized and she accepted a date for the end of April! We really were just feeling the spirit so much! It was amazing! AND she came to church on Sunday! Literally a miracle!! 

Parker James Murray!!! Or Elder Murray!!! I am so excited for you! NEWWWW YORKKKKK here you come!!!  The mission is seriously amazing! You will love it!!! I can't wait for you to join me out here! 

Sorry I don't have much time today! But know that I pray for you all everyday and love you all so much!  Thank you for your support and your prayers.  I can feel them everyday! This gospel is so amazing and I see it changing peoples lives everyday! We are so blessed to have it! Have a great week!

Con amor,

Hermana Murray

March 9, 2015 - Hi Familia!!

MEOW to my amazing family and friends!!!

We are alive and well here in San Buenaventura! Sounds like you all had a fantastic week! and I hope you enjoyed your weekend in St George Mom and Dad! I am so glad Peaker is doing well with baseball, and I can't believe his call will be here so soon!! The mission is the best! So many miracles everyday!!!

This week we had a ton of appointments fall through, but the Lord blessed us with 2 new families to teach!! We are teaching Martin and his wife Maria Martinez, they are a reference from the Cuevas family! They are so bomb, and so interested! One of their sons died at age 25 and Maria's mom died in December, we taught them the Plan of Salvation and she was just crying saying that in her church they never taught anything about life after this life. It really brought her peace knowing that her son and mom are in a great place right now and that they are being taught this Gospel too! It was bomb, and she said the closing prayer and prayed to God asking Him to tell her if this is something she needed to keep learning and that her heart is open! WE WERE IN SHOCK!!!

OH and guess what we have a menos-activa (less-active) named Andrea Trujillo whose boyfriend is from Canada and guess what he only speaks English! So guess who is getting to teach in English?? HERMANA MURRAY! It is so refreshing, because I can actually say everything that I want! Its so fun, his name is Mark and he is awesome! He owns a marketing business! So we talked about that and I really think he will progress!! It's bomb!!

The other family is a little interesting, it's a grandma and 3 grandchildren. Their mom is in jail right now and she just had another baby....but the baby is with her in jail....not sure how that works...but its Mexico so we just go with it! Haha.  But they seriously are the cutest! The other missionaries before us were teaching them for about 2 weeks and then they got switched and we have gone to her door about 4 times but she hasn't ever been there. But when we visited her this week she was so excited saying "I thought the other missionaries forgot about us!" And she was anxious as to what we were going to teach them that night!!! The boys are SOOOOO cute and so precious!!! 

Something tragic happened this week... We were walking down this street and all of a sudden I felt something weird under my foot and I looked down and ya it was a half-buried cat......I was going to throw up....and cry at the same time! Its leg was half out of the dirt.....and I was standing on it!!!  It was awful.....BUT then sitting next to it was 5 pesos haha! The Lord blessed me with 5 pesos because I had just witnessed something so tragic....cus you all know how much I love cats!!  Oh PS they are everywhere here....but don't worry Mom, I know not to touch them.  The Lord was like here's 5 pesos, I am sorry you had to see that! My comp and I were laughing at that for a while! Haha!

But seriously, San Buenaventura is awesome! I have met so many people that I literally feel like I have known my whole life! I can't imagine not knowing them! I am so grateful for this amazing opportunity that I get to be a missionary everyday!!

Ad YES, I met the missionary whose parents we met on our family vacation in Cabo!!  Hermana Hernandez! She is so cute, I love her!! We always talk about it every time I see her!!!

Well I hope you all have a fantastic week!!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! and can feel your prayers everyday!!

Love,

Hermana Murray

Hermana Murray and Herman Hernadez

 

March 2, 2015 - 1 Month Here in Mexico!!!

Hello Family and Friends!

Wow does time go by fast or what!! I cant believe I have been here for a month! It's so crazy! But it feels like I have been here for forever at the same time! I am absolutely LOVING San Buenaventura! The people I have met I seriously feel like I have known them my WHOLE life!!! It really is incredible! My Spanish is improving everyday! Hermana Blanco has been so patient with me!

THE CUEVAS FAMILY WAS BAPTIZEDDDDD!!!! It was so awesome!! An experience of a lifetime. The baptism itself was a bit disorganized due to some members not really knowing what to do.....they each had to be rebaptized like 2 times haha. But none the less the spirit was SO strong and a lot of people came from the Ward which was awesome! 

Meet The Mormons was just released here in Mexico and we got to watch it as a whole Mission! Which was really cool!!!! 

This week I had to go to Chalco (downtown) to sign my Visa and there was this store that sells American candy and stuff and so we were able to go and buy a bunch of stuff! They didn't have Sour Patch Kids so that was a bummer but they had Twizzlers!!! LOVE IT!!! haha

Hermana Blanco and I are getting along great! We are working really hard and are experiencing miracles everyday! Our Ward is good, but definitely can improve. We are focusing on less-actives right now and really going to try and get them to come back to church! The Lord is always looking out for us and we know we are blessed! 

Sorry I don't have much time today but I seriously LOVE my Mission and am so grateful I was called to serve in the Chalco Mission!!!!! 

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week! LOVE YOU!!!!

- Hermana Kitty Murray

February 23, 2015 - MIRACLES!!

Hello Family and Friends!!!

We received the biggest miracle this week and it was just amazing!! 

So the Cuevas family is getting baptized this Tuesday! But they have to get married first.....no one here is married!!!!  They went into the city to see about the process for getting married and they were told they would have to wait 15 days before they could get married, meaning we would have to change their baptism date. BOOO!  The 24th is special because it is Fidel's birthday!! So we were super bummed.  We talked with our Bishop and we just didn't seem to think it was going to work for the 24th. The bishop said he would check with some people, he got back to us and said they can get married TUESDAY MORNING!!!! and then be baptized Tuesday NIGHT!!!!!! Seriously UNREAL!!! And it was going to cost half as much as we thought! So everything as of now is good to go for Tuesday! I am so excited for them and just love them so much!!!! I will definitely take a bunch of pictures and send them!!! BUT for real the Lord is so aware of everything in our lives and helps us in so many ways! HE made this miracle happen and we couldn't be more excited!!!

Last week we went to this members house and she legitimately had 17 cats!! HAHAHA - I WAS DYING!!!! 

Fany, a 17 year old young woman in the Ward, comes on splits with us a lot.  She was with us and she is SOOO afraid of cats and was dying!!! I couldn't stop laughing!!! It was the funniest and most awesome thing ever!!! Literally 17 cats!!! haha. But i loved it! Next time I go over there I will take pictures! UNREAL! and they all have names! You all know I was in HEAVEN!!!!!!

I have become an English teacher as well. Everyone here asks me to help them with their English, so during a lot of our visits I help the kids with their English homework! And I am helping my companion learn some English too! English is so complicated!! Haha.

But really this past week was great! We taught a lot of people and saw so many miracles! I am so grateful to be a missionary in this time and be serving here in San Buenaventura! I love it so much and know I am blessed everyday!! Being a missionary is not easy, but it is so worth it when people see the changes that they need to make in their lives! The Lord loves us so much and has given us a way that we can return and live with our Padre Celestial and Jesús Christo again! I love this Gospel so much! And I am so grateful for all the love and support I have! I can feel your prayers everyday! I love you all so much!

Have a great week,

Hermana Murray

Hermana Murray 411

We asked Kiley to answer some specific questions about where she lives, what the food is like, etc, so we could get a better idea of what her life in Mexico is like!

I live in Cerada Arculco San Buenaventura. Our chuch is in Ixtapaluca its about a 15 minute drive

How's the food? Do you do your own cooking, or do you have someone that cooks for you? 

The food is good! We eat with a member everyday at 2 pm, it's different here because their biggest meal is at 2 pm! But we are so blessed with amazing members and they have been feeding us great! The weirdest thing I have eaten so far is pig skin....which I didn't like.  They dry it and eat it kind of like a chip.  They also soak it in water and then eat it as meat for the tortillas which I basically gagged, but just had to eat it! Haha.  Aside from that, really everything else has been great! I haven't really been sick at all!  So thanks Mom for the probiotic, I am sure that's helping a lot!

How about your laundry, do you have to do your own, or do you hire that out to someone?

Our neighbors, the Angeles, they are seriously THE BOMB!!! They are the ones that own a Papeleria, which is like a paper goods store, and they have computers so they let us use their computers for letters. They also have a washer so we do our laundry here, its so nice, we are so blessed! They are the best family ever! Their kids LOVE us and are adorable, I will take a pic with them this week and send it!

How far are you from the Mission office? 

We are about 20 minutes in Taxi from the Mission Office.

Do you have some kind of Preach My Gospel program that you have to learn and then pass off to your companion or DL?

No Preach My Gospel program, just personal study, companionship study, language study, and a program called The First 12 weeks.

Are there any missionaries there that you know from home? 

There is an Elder Zabriski whose family lives in Charole's Ward, and an Elder Parker who is Julie's next door neighbor!  Small world!  Hermana Sánchez, one of the other sisters that serves in San Buenaventura, is from Springville and we have some mutual friends which is cool!

So how was church yesterday?  Did they invite you to bear your testimony in one of your meetings, and if so, how did you do? 

Chuch was great! I haven't had to speak yet or anything so that's been good!

How is the language, are you able to understand ok? 

I am actually doing pretty well with the Spanish! I understand almost everything! Speaking is a little more difficult but it's coming a long!

How does the money work, did they give you a type of debit card that gets loaded with money each month, or do you have to get pesos to pay for things?

Yep exactly, they gave us a debit card that they load each month so we just go take out all the Pesos each month. We have a Walmart pretty close to us so that is nice! We went there last week!

February 16, 2015 - WEEK 2 Complete!

Hello my amazing Family and Friends,

Life here in San Buenaventura is going well! Hermana Blanco and I are getting along well! I am starting to feel more confident in my Spanish so now I am starting to joke around in Spanish.  The first few days I hardly said anything haha, but now my companion can't get me to shut up haha! She is great and has a lot of patience with me. 

We taught the Gomez Fraga family and the Cuevas family this week! The Cuevas family is going to be baptized next Tuesday, February 24th! SO exciting! They are the bomb and are so awesome and so excited about the Gospel! The Gomez Fraga family is progressing each lesson, but they want to know more before they commit to being baptized!

Last night all of the Hermanas in the mission went camping! Haha weird I know! We went to this little campground place that is about an hour and a half away from San Buenaventura and it was really fun! I got to know a lot of girls and just had a blast!

OKAY I am in Mexico and it should not be cold! But seriously it is FREEZING!!! I wear my coat ALL the time and sweaters! I didn't know it was going to be cold! Haha.  And I had a terrible cold last week but am feeling much better this week!

Still no hot water in our apartment, but we go over to the Angeles every morning to shower with their hot water! HOT WATER BOOOOYAHHHH!!!! Haha. It really is the best thing ever!

A day in the life of me goes something like this:

6:30 - Wake up

7:00 - 8:00 - Get ready

8:00 - 9:00 - Personal study

9:00 - 10:00 - Companion study

10:00 - 11:00 - Language study

11:00 - 12:00 - Study "The First 12 Weeks"

12:00 - 1:00 - Visit someone

2:00 - 3:30 - Eat with a member and share a message

4:00 - 9:00 - Visit peees

9:00 - Plan for the next day

10:30 - Go to bed!

I absolutely love being a missionary and LOVE the people I have met here in San Buenaventura! The Gospel is SOO true and we experience miracles everyday! Teaching about the Restoration of the Gospel is such a blessing and telling families that they get to be with their family forever is amazing! I am so grateful for my Savior and the love I feel here! Thank you so much for all your prayers and support I can truly feel them! I love you all so much and pray for you everyday!

Love,

Hermana Murray

February 9, 2015 - VIVA MEXICO!! and HASHTAG Culture Shock!!

Hello Family and Friends!!!

Mexico is so awesome!! I am serving in the San Buenaventura area! The people here are amazing and our ward is so amazing! Members are always SOOOO willing to come out with us to visit investigators or less-actives. My companion is Hermana Blanco and she is from Peru, she has been out about 5 months. She is really great! Its a little difficult because she doesn't speak ANY English! So ya sometimes there is a language barrier but we usually can get around it! Haha.  She is so nice and so sweet.  I am pretty sure I am like a solid foot or more taller than her. But ya we are doing awesome!!! 

Hermana Blanco and I, she is so little, I could probably carry her in one of those baby carrier things all day.

We are both new to the area so we took a couple days to get around and get to know the streets!! Our área is huge! Right now us and another set of sister missionaries are in our ward, but in 2 weeks they are splitting our area and bringing in 2 more sister missionaries! HALLELUJAH! Our area seriously is HUGE! Haha. We walk SOOO much everyday, my feet have about a million blisters on each foot, so thank you Mom for the band-aids and all the first aid stuff! I would be dying without it!! 

The other two sisters we are serving with are Hermana Sánchez she's from Springville and Hermana Boyer and she is from LA California! They are awesome and its nice to have someone to talk to in English, because man do I miss English! Haha.  But I know with time and once my Spanish improves I will be comfortable! 

Mexico is SOOOOO different from Utah.  Our apartment doesn't have hot water, and we had this thing that would heat the water and then we use Tupperware to pour the water on our heads.....but that broke so we are waiting to get a new one haha.  Today our neighbor let us shower at their house! SO I HAD MY FIRST WARM SHOWER!!! and it felt amazing, so all you peeps best think of me when you're taking your hot showers errrryday and know how jealous I am of you!

We have 2 families who are really receptive of the Gospel right now, one family is Fridel and Hilda and their son Omar, they have a baptism date for February 24th!!!! SO AWESOME!!!! The other family, Gomez Fraga, are progressing, but didn't except our invitation to be baptized. We are still working with them! They are really interested in the Gospel though! They really like it!! 

Being a missionary is so awesome and I see blessings everyday!!!! Thank you so much for all the prayers and the support! It means the world to me!! I am so grateful for this Gospel and for the amazing changes it brings to peoples lives!!

Love, 

Hermana Murray

For service, we served at our local Granja! (farm) Haha.  It's the weirdest thing ever but the community loves it. They have SO many animals! ITS CRAZY!