Love.

Happy Thanksgiving week!!

I totally did not know that thanksgiving was this week haha then someone asked us what we were doing thursday and i was just like "uhhh missionary work?" then i clicked!! Crazy that the holidays are already here. President Bateman put out a music policy for Christmas music and we get to listen to any lds artist christmas music so I have some James the Mormon in my head phones right now #sogood #yetsovirtuous 

Well this week was super great and a really good learning experience. We were able to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ a lot of different times and we emphasized what repentance was. A lot of people quickly assumed that it was a scary thing and that it meant we were a bad person. But we focused on the definition of it. Love, repentance is the outcome of love. For ourselves and for our Savior. When we love someone or something we are willing to change and thats the outcome of repentance. We recognize we want to become better and the Savior gives us love and grace to make that possible. How much faith does it take to repent? "Its not as much faith as it is to move mountains. Its not enough faith to speak in tongues or heal the sick" Its enough faith to feel remorse for our wrong doing and enough faith to feel love for our Redeemer. For the man who already took on our sins before we even repented of it. I think thats been one of my favorite things to teach/learn on my mission. Repentance isnt scary and it shouldn't be intimidating. It should be one of the most joyful experiences we have. We may feel pain from our sin but we will always feel love during the process. 

So this week we have been wanting to find new people to teach. We know there are people in our area ready for the lessons but who? and where?? We had no idea how to answer that question so we let Jesus do it!! We prayed and picked out 10 streets then we individually prayed and picked out 5. We had two in common and both agreed that they were the ones we had the strongest impressions for! So off we went. So many tender mercies on the street that He picked out. We didn't even have to knock 3 doors before someone let us in and invited us back(: We decided to try that everyday. We want the holy ghost to be the "senior companion" in our companionship. Its been amazing to let God lead my life. I didnt think i could let myself be this vulnerable and not be in control but more peace comes from his way(:

Oh this last week it also decided to get really cold!! Like actually cold... even though everyone says its going to get WAY colder 😱 My hands were so numb and it hurt to knock doors haha. Missionaries say to wear gloves and just keep a golf ball in your pocket to knock or an eos chapstick. Because its so cold though people either dont want to open their doors and let cold air in or are super quick to let us in and get out of the cold! 

This week my favorite thing I heard was at church yesterday. Everything was thanksgiving themed (duh) but it was a quote by Thomas S Monson... "To express gratitude is gracious and honorable. To enact gratitude is generous and noble but to live with gr attitudes in our hearts is to touch heaven. " The lady giving her talk went on to share how she had lost 2 children over the course of a couple years and how people would call her and ask how she is handling it so well. She said "choose gratitude to change your story". I thought about my mission a lot through out the talks and how truly thankful i am to be here in Missouri. Its not a normal opportunity to get to put life on pause to help the Lord in such a close way. Every person i meet and even every door that gets slammed is an opportunity for me to give thanks. 

Love you all have a good thanksgiving. 

XOXO

Sister Bustillos

always making friends with the animals

Potatoe sac dresses!!

Adios Mexico

Holy Cow this transfer has come and gone so quick! and its November? NUTS! Itll be Christmas before we know it! 

So the dreaded day has come and its time for me to leave Mexico ): It was one of the hardest things to be told that I am being transferred but after 6 months it was kind of inevitable. The weekend was full of goodbyes and lots of tears. I never thought i would come out on my mission and find people i consider family. It felt like i was leaving home for a mission all over again. Mexico will always have a piece of me and I hope and pray that i made a tiny difference there. I got my new call to Crystal City MO. I have no clue where it is. Just that its closer the St Louis, i guess! I know some sisters that have served there and have heard great things so I am stoked to be able to experience more of the mission.  Here is my new address:

3235 Richardson pl. Apt #8

arnold, mo

63010

Letters much appreciated (;

Okay so lets start with the funnies of the week shall we!?

First of all, who remember the shed we live in? Ya well the door fell off!! Like on the floor in the dirt off!! haha shed happens i guess(; But we had to wait around for the door fixer guy to come put it back on because we didnt want to just leave the shed with no doors on... plus the front door was hanging on by a screw...one screw!! haha it made for a funny story but the shed was covered in bugs!! Earlier that week we went to a members home for dinner but before we could go we had to drop off the daughter at riding lessons down the street and she insisted we bring bingo!! Whose Bingo?? Her pet goat! He is the cutest thing ever! I sat in the back with him on the 2 minute drive over and he just chilled by me the whole time! Someone get me a pet goat when i get back pleasse??

So Yesterday we got to have a pretty cool experience before we left Mexico. I taught a lesson in SPANISH!! Okay not really but we taught and a member translated for us. I was so so nervous going into this lesson because of the language barrier and was quiet the debbie downer with my negative thoughts. I didnt think the lesson would go well or that anything would be undertsood so i went dove in with the worst attitude! We asked sister loyd ( the member ) to give the opening prayer in spanish and that instantly changed the mood of the room. The spirit quickly softened my heart and gave me a reassuring touch. We jumped into the message of the restoration and the words flowed out of our mouths. The lady we were teaching seemed to follow along quiet well and had a lot of good insight. We were all able to watch the first vision video in spanish and it brought tears to my eyes as Heavenly Father said " " (thank you google translate  ) but the spirit touched me so strong as those words were said because i was able to get a little glimpse into how much our Heavenly Father loves us and how true this gospel is anywhere in the world. and im only in missouri!! Our Heavenly Father knows how great each soul is worth and He is able to show that love to anyone in any language. He loves us so much that He will give us every opportunity to feel that love. As the lady who we were teaching watched the miracle of the first vision it was made known to me by the holy ghost that no matter the language barrier He was going to make sure that this daughter of His felt His love and have the opportunity to experience more truth. With both me and Sister Ellertson leaving im not sure what will happen with her but i know that the little lesson we had with her planted a seed that Heavenly Father needed to be made. We walked away saying how cool of an experience it was to be part of something like that and for our testimonies to grow on how true this gospel is and that the truth has been restored!!

I am so so sad to be leaving Mexico but Im ready to go share my love for the Lord in Crystal City!! My mission is changing my life in ways i didnt know were possible and I can honestly say its because I have the chance to be around such amazing people and focus on them and not myself. I'm always so happy with the decision i made to come back out to Missouri and even more greatful to my Heavenly Father for directing me to do so.

 Love you all!! 

XOXO

Sister Bustillos

Do you have a boyfriend?

Good morning! Good morning!

Woo I am getting very distracted this morning with writting this mass email so sorry if its all jumbled. Ill try by best here😏

I guess i can start off with my subject line!! We volunteer twice a week at the senior center helping serve lunch. Ive gotten to know the seniors pretty well! There is this one man who came up to me a few months ago and asked me if i have a boyfriend and when i said no he was shocked and said "What!? Why not?? Dont worry...a girl like you Itll happen" hahah. Then everyweek after that he would come up and say "Sister, have a boyfriend yet?" I wold just shrug and say no haha. He went a few weeks with out asking then this last week my shift started with "Do you have a boyfriend YET?" I said nope but maybe in a year or so and he came back later to me and said "you know.. you dont need a man. They all lie!" haha me and sister ellertson laughed and laughed at the story that followed. That was my funny story of the week! Theres more but they are lame haha.

This week we spent a lot of time up in Columbia. I love it up there though! Real buildings and more than one stop light!! haha

But first we had exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders. I normally dread exchanges because Im not in my area with my companion and its just unfamiliar but Ive grown on the idea and sort of like them now! Sort of..(; but i was with sister segner and we spent the day finding new people to teach and we found some awesome potentials and it just taught me that i need to try harder. Some days it feel like i cant try any harder but theres that last 5% i should be putting in and thats what i remind myself now in the mornings is to push myself and apply everything I have. The next day we had president interviews. We each go in one at a time and get to just chat with President Bateman. He is an amazing man and makes you feel so comfortable and loved! We had a really good discussion about my work and who i am/want to be as a missionary. I left that interview feeling really good about the person i am becoming and the missionary that ive worked to be. It was really rewarding to have someone acknowledge my work but makes me want to work harder to keep it up! We spent all that day in columbia for president interviews and then Barbra came down for her baptismal interview. She said it went really well and walked out with a big smile. Her baptism is set for this weekend but some issues occured with the building so keep her in your prayers and that Saturday will work(:

Sorry this email was short... limited time!

but i love you all!! Thanks for the prayers and thoughts! They dont go unnoticed. Love you all(:

XOXO

Sister Bustillos

On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was

"it's october 3d"

Happy National Mean Girls Day!! My morning has consisted of quoting as much mean girls as possible, wearing pink, and annoying Sister Ellertson with continuous singing of Jingle Bell Rock. It has started off a good pday(;

This week went pretty dang good if i do say so myself! Lots of tender mercies with our lessons and work. I love seeing prayers answered through other people. It was the first week of the transfer so made sure to go hard and set the tone for the next 5 weeks and we did just that(: For p day last week we took it easy because we were both getting sick but at our dinner appointment that night the kids wanted to play football and oh my heck it was freezing outside! It felt like winter but apparently winter is way worse than that haha but it was really cold and the grass got a little icy. It was a fun time though! There are no outdoor lights in the country so we put a big flash light on the outdoor table and played in the dark! I didn't hurt myself that time(;

Remember Cleo? Well we lost contact with her for a few weeks. She doesnt have a phone and she works two jobs and is going to school so she was like never home! We decided to stop by her house after a few weeks off. We walked right in because she saw us coming and said she was just thinking about us! We caught up with her some but she had to leave to get to class so we had a quick discussion about the restoration and focused on the b. of m. ! It was short and sweet but the spirit testified. She had a lot of questions. She studies a lot from the bible and said she read about how there was a book missing ( Ezekiel 37: 16-17) and was curious if the b of m was it. We talked to her about how they are seperate books but work hand in hand to complete the gospel of Jesus Christ. I invited her to read the last two paragraphs of the intro page of the b. of m. and before we could even discuss what it said she said she wanted to accept the invitation and read it for herself and if we had an extra for her to keep. How amazing!  Since she is so busy we wont be able to see her frequently but both me and Sister Ellertson left with the same confirming feeling that Christ would bring her to the truth when she was ready. He just needed us to plant the idea and resources there first. 

This Week we also had the chance to have dinner with a family who has been less active for years now. They have been inviting us into their home pretty often because they have a desire to be happy and recognized that they were the happiest when they lived the gospel. We shared the plan of salvation with them at the end of dinner and made it a discussion. We focused on our purpose here on earth. My ALL time favorite scripture to share with people who are looking for something is 2 nephi 2: 25. (for real sister ellertson knows how much i reference this scripture!) but its because its true. And i testified it to them. One of my sentences started " I think.." then I paused and said "No, i dont think, i know" and talked about our purpose here on earth. We discussed the atonement and asked them what that word meant to them. None of the family members could answer the question because they didn't recognize the word any more. The fathers voice was full of sorrow when he explained to us that he couldn't remember what it was. We lovingly explained the atonement and the huge role it plays in our daily life. He said "wow how could i have forgotten that?". That stuck with me a lot this week. Am i forgetting the atonement? I know the definition of it but am i remembering to use the action of it? The rest of the lesson with that family opened up their eyes and hearts to recognize that this life is more than going through the motions and surviving. Its finding pure happiness through the atonement of our Savior. Its allowing Christ to change our lives to a celestial potential. 

Then came the weekends of all weekends.... CONFERENCE! woot woot! oh my it was a different feeling than i expected. I learned so much and felt the spirit in so many different ways. Saturday we watched it at different members houses. I got so much out of those sessions and i knew that the following day would just over fill the cup. Sunday morning we watched it at the church and then the afternoon we watched it at Ashleighs home ( an Inv. ). I went into this conference weekend with one specific question and every talk given had an answer to it. But the best answers I received were to the questions i was too afraid to ask. It confirmed to me that Heavenly Father is aware of every feeling we have. He knows the depths of our souls. He "caste a light on the depths of my heart". The woman we watched it with said she got a few things out of it but didnt connect much with it but the more we talked about it the more she opened up and the more she realized she got out of it. She admitted to wanting happiness in her life and knew that it would be possible through Christ. We were able to testify of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it is through this church we can reviece joy. It was really cool adding my witness to the ones she heard that evening. During the morning session while Russel M Nelson spoke i couldnt help but write her name on my notes. We invited her to read that talk and that we would help her on her effort to find real joy. She read this line and agreed:  “When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation ... and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening — or not happening — in our lives”

Our spiritually high weekend seemed like it woudnt damper any mood and then we got to our dinner appointment... DUN DUN DUUUUUN!!! hahah i dont think ive ever laughed so hard on my mission. We got to dinner with a a woman and her family whose home we have never been in before. Maria (the 5 yr/o) insitisted on showing us her pet alvin. She returned with a giant black long tailed rat!! I stayed come because i knew what she was doing but sister ellertson screamed! Of course maria found humor in it and chased her with the rat haha we all laughed at her attempt to get alvins tail to touch Sister Ellertsons leg or arm. This went on and off for about ten minutes until Maria thought of something funnier to do. You could see the wheels spinning in her head and she came up to me and whispered in my ear, still holding the rat, "im going to kill your friend." At that point i got kind of worried but still knew she was young enough to just be playing. She started chasing Sister Ellertson again but this time when Sister Ellertson ran Maria chucked the rat across the room onto Sister Ellertsons back! The rat whipped its tale on her face and proceeded to hide in her hair and get stuck! hahah we were all laughing so hard we couldnt help her so she kept screaming and running around. I had tears come down my face!! hahah. Oh man thatll be a mission story i remember for ever!!

October has already kicked off so well here! I want to go on and on about conference but i know you all listened and got things out of it that you needed to hear(: This is going to be an AMAZING month, i can tell! love you all!

you go Glen Cocoa

xoxo

Sister Bustillos​

Wake me up when September Ends

Hey Sister Bustillos, guess that! You get to stay in Mexico!"

woot woot! best phone call of the weekend(: I get to stay in Mexico for another transfer! Gonna make it count since itll be my last one here.

Hey Fam bam!

What a week its been. It was SO dang hot last week. My flats tan line is coming a long very nicely haha. There was a walk back in time festival at one of the parks in mexico that we went to and helped a member show a hand cart he made. Sister Ellertson pulled little kids around and i applauded from the shade. haha jk i walked with her and told storied of pioneers. It was a cool experience. We even got home made rootbeer float ice cream as thank you for helping out #winning!

haha i just had to lean over to sister ellertson and ask "what did we do this week?" thats what kind of week its been. Busy busy! plus im coming down with some kind of cold flu thing that isnt really hitting me but just teasing me and playing with my immune system. Like, go away virus! We got to meet all of our investigators this week which was awesome! 2 baptism dates for October! We also got two amazing new investigators this week! Me and Sister E both agree that we met them in the coolest ways and walked away from the first lessons knowing that God prepared them for us. We are excited to continue to get to know them and help them come closer to christ. 

(okay side note: i think waka flaka just sat by me in the library)

We also had womens conference on Saturday. oh so good! Uchtdorf had me in tears by the end of his talk. Its amazing to know how influential missionaries can be and that if I follow Christ in the work i can become one. It was weird not sitting on the couch in pjs wrapped up in a blanket listening the the messages but there was such a power and spirit about listening as a missionary. Made me a little home sick but that feeling was outweighed by the confirming feeling that i am where i need to be. Carol (RC) was able to come and watch it at the church building too ( she was called to be in the RS presidency!!) and she had the biggest smile on her face the whole time! She would even look back and give us a wink anytime baptism or missionaries where brought up. Shes the best! We all talked about how it was really cool to watch the screen pan across the conference center and see all those seats filled and then to look in our little relief society room and see the chairs filled and then to think about how all over the world there are little towns and foreign countries all gathered together listening to the same thing. Listening the the same authority. The restoration made this possible! is what i kept thinking. I am so excited to watch the rest this weekend. I encourage everyone to watch and prayerfully ask a question before the next few sessions start and then seek out your answer. Some times our questions are hiding in the words of those inspired to speak to us. 

Friday we also celebrated our 6 month mark! We blabbed on and on how it feels like we have barely been out two months and how crazy fast then next 6 months will go. It was cool to think back on the last few months and think about where ive come and the things ive accomplished. It also put it into perspective how much we need to take advantage of the time we have here. We may get to serve the Lord 24/7 for 18 months but our time here will never compare to what the Lord did for us. This work goes beyond 18 months or 2 years. Its a daily effort that i will take with me forever. When it comes time to take the tag off it will truly be written on my heart forever. This work is something i never want to stop doing. Even those days in the heat where no one will talk to us. Those are the days i know that my Father above is cheering me on and helping me carry my heavy book of mormon loaded purse until i get to that "last door on the forth floor". 

I love this work because I love my Father and I love my Savior. They are the reason i put my face to the sun and work. 

Xoxo

Sister Bustillos

pics

bought blankets in 100 degree weather! best decision of my life. Mexican blankets bought in mexico! ( real mexico or not. still amazing!)

Sister Missionary selfies!

Our new 11 foot friend in front of the shed. Obvi october is about to get real fun!

at home pedicures!

If you aren't obedient enough, do you think you love Jesus enough?

OKay, we may be no Kanye West or Taylor Swift but its funny how often people notice us haha. We got the chance to go "hiking" last Monday in columbia which was awesome! and we got to the bottom and we heard a hey! where are you sisters from!? haha its funny how people recognize the tag with out the skirt! Its also cool to be able to just point out the LDS people around. They really do have a light!

Its nuts that this is the last week in the transfer. I'll be getting transfer calls this Saturday letting me know if i get to stay or not. Wherever the Lord needs me! Im happy to go where ever(: last week was busy and we were all over Missouri. So much driving. The funny thing about driving in Missouri is that it doesn't feel like your moving because when you look out the window all you see is corn and bean fields so its the same thing for the whole 2 hours haha. Also another crazy thing about the week was the thunder storm! okay, even the slightest sound of thunder makes me crawl up in a ball and cover my ears so imagine me being woken up 2 in the morning to the biggest crack of thunder! my first thought was "Cover your head we are being bombed!!!" haha the thing about living in a shed and thunder storms is that it not only echoes for an extra 30 seconds but also makes it feel like you're having an earth quake! Sister Ellertson ended up waking up to asking if i was okay. We slept with the lights and music on that night(:

We have been focusing on finding new people to teach the last few weeks and decided to go "spirit tracking". So sister Ellertson looked at the map and picked a street and i agreed on the feeling. We started on the top of the street and knocked getting the same reactions, No. We ended up knocking on this guys door who came out and talked to us for a little and agreed to have us back. He introduced himself at the end and i was like "hold up! I know you! have you met with missionaries before?" He met with missionaries like 3 years ago and i used to always look at his teaching record and want to teach him but we found out he didn't live at the address listed anymore and guess what! We found him tracking on a random street! Who knows how far we will get teaching him but clearly the Lord needed us to continue to "water" that seed that was left from so many years ago. 

On Friday we got to go to st louis for a mission tour. Elder Anderson of the seventy and his wife came to talk to our mission. Such a cool experience! The mood in the room changed when we all stood as he walked in. They had a lot of good advice for us missionaries but all of it was extended beyond just missionary work. It could of simply been applied to being a good lds person! Our mission president pointed out that we are a "covenant congregation". Meaning we all take on the same promises and need to live up to it. The work of salvation isn't just the missionaries job or the bishops job etc but everyone's calling. We shared that in ward council. Elder Anderson and his wife shared such amazing things with us i wish i could just copy and send my study journal to you to read it! Although my notes probably wouldn't make sense haha you'd get the gist of it i guess! One of my favorite things he said though was "If you aren't obedient enough, do you think you love Jesus enough?" BAM! talk about a wake up call! the easiest way we can show our love for Jesus Christ is following his commandments. Its really not easy at times but when we break it down to what Elder  Anderson said "do i love Jesus enough?" Ill be a little sass to Sister Ellertson when she's about to break a rule and say "hey sister ellertson, do you love Jesus enough?" She will usually just give me a big eye roll hahah it gets us thinking though!

well fam bam I'm off to do some farm work! haha seriously though i'm going to go help a member on their farm for pday. Woot! i love it!

love you all so much! thanks for all the love and prayers!!

xoxo

sister bustillos

4th of July

woah! Another transfer down! and guess what! I am staying in mexico with sister white!!! We are both super excited to stay here(: we have a lot we want to do and plan on making this new transfer count!

hmmm where do i even start? Last week we went to the st louis zoo and it was so fun! and so hot! but i loved every minute of it! We even got to pet and feed sting rays and sharks. It took me a while to work up to touching them but eventually I was touching any of them that got close to me! I didnt want to leave that section. haha i am such a 6 year old. We went to the st louis mall after for lunch and I felt right at home haha Sister White was teasing me about that. It was funny because the kids we went with were in shock with how big it was and how many stores there were haha they kept looking around with big eyes and pointing. its still so funny to me the whole farm life thing haha the members like to tease me and sister white about that. we just think its so foreign! For most of the week it just rained and rained and rained and was freezing! okay it was like 65 degrees but still i was so cold! i got used to the 99 days real quick! I am quickly catching on that i need to get a rain coat or something because i spent the week soaked!

We had austins baptism on Saturday which was so good! he had tons of people show up to it. Almost the whole ward plus his extended family who all drove here. He has been waiting 12 years to get baptized... 12 YEARS! crazy huh? he was so prepared for that moment it was crazy. I had tears in my eyes as i watched him come out of the water. Heavenly Father really is aware of all of us and our different situations. Even though Austin had to wait 12 years for that day he knew the God was preparing it for him. You can tell this kid is going to be an amazing missionary soon. I loved getting the chance to teach him the lessons. After we would just discuss what we had taught and he always had the best input and testimony to add. He reminded me to trust in the Lords timing.

Yesterday was the 4th of july as you all know! me and sister white got matching old navy shirts and rocked it until the whipped cream fight broke lose haha. i still smell like milk! or maybe thats just the cow smell you cant get rid of here...(; but because it was p day we got to spend the whole day at the Haubners! and we had a good old fashion merica party! barbecue and watermelon, flags and games, smores and fireworks. anything american we did it!! Me and sister white were in charge of the games and we had a ton planned and didnt even get around to all of them! but we had so much fun. We played a baseball game out in the hay field. The tricky part wasnt trying to run to our cardboard bases but trying not to step in the cow pie while doing it haha i dont think we could of got more american than that!

the library is about to close so i am cut for time but i love you all! have a good week and enjoy the beach for me (:

love,

Sister Bustillos