Happy Easter

Hola familia! Happy Easter!

So this week has been quite the roller-coaster.  So as i told mom and dad already i got sick on Wednesday with food poisoning or something and was throwing up for 2 days straight,Ii lost about 10 pounds in the process and i just barely am getting my appetite back. So that was no fun. This week we have had ZERO luck with investigators, it's vacation week, and holy week, so everyone was either out of town, or out in the streets drinking. So we had only a few lessons and we would visit houses for hours straight not getting a hold of anyone, which was a little frustrating. I also pulled a muscle in my neck earlier this week, and is just now getting better. So this week has definitely been a test of my patience! But, i figured i'd start with the bad things before i got to the good things, because there were also some really good things about this week too:)

So on Wednesday night we had our first meeting with the bishop, and he is way cool! but he's been sick all week so he asked us to give him a blessing. and he asked ME! so i was a little nervous to say the least, but it went really well and i definitely could feel the spirit working through me to say the things in Spanish that needed to be said. So that was really cool. Then the next 2 days I was sick, but then Saturday and Sunday we were able to meet a lot more of the members which was good. Church yesterday wasn't really what i thought it would be at all, it seemed like it wasn't even Easter. But it was still good! Just a little different. I definitely was missing you guys yesterday thinking about the Easter egg hunt i knew you guys were having! I bet that was a lot of fun. But after church Yesterday we ate with the Barrajas family, who is the family of the ward mission leader, and they remind me a lot of our family! and their son is literally Caden's Mexican twin. But the fed us menudo, i am not sure how to spell it exactly, but it's cow intestines! i had no idea what i was eating until after, but I had an idea that it was something weird, i just didn't want to know for sure until after i finished eating. haha, but it was alright, really weird texture. but yep! so that was the weird food for the week. We finally did some cleaning in the house which was much needed, so now there aren't as many cockroaches everywhere. And it turns out i kinda like washing my clothes outside, i feel like it gets the job done better. But i have lots of pictures to send so you can see my work:) Also, we didn't get a chance to buy gas yet but i think we are going to try and do that after this so hopefully we can have some warm water finally. I actually haven't minded the cold showers so much this week because it's been super hot the last few days. I have gotten like 7 shades darker.

Sorry if my emails seem scatterbrained, i write down things in my journal throughout the week that i want to remember to write about, so i just have a bunch of random thoughts i want to share. But anyways, today was the best day here by far! We had a zone activity and went to a military exhibit in Saltillo, which was WAY cool. I will send you guys all the pictures after i send this. but that was way way fun, and then we went to.. Sirloin i think it's called, which is a buffet. Which was EXACTLY what i needed after losing 10 pounds this last week, i'm pretty sure i gained half of it back today. but i really like our zone a lot, there's a lot of cool guys. in my district there are 8 elders, 5 Latinos  and 3 Americans. So a pretty good mix. there's on elder who is my generation brother, Elder Watts, and then our district leader, Elder Hernandez, only has a month before he goes home. But today was a lot of fun!  we just barely got back before coming in here to write. Some interesting culture things about Mexico here that i noticed this week i that people don't fill up their own gas, there's a guy who does it for you. so that was a little weird. Also, the age limit to work here is different, idk if there really is one, i'm sure there is, but there are 11 or 12 year old kids that work in almost every store or restaurant we've been in.

I have made an effort to make goals this week so i can see my progress, especially in Spanish. and it has made a HUGE difference. I can see myself slowly progressing and getting better, i still have a really long way to go, and i still can't understand a lot, but i am getting better and more comfortable, which has been a huge blessing.
So this week i've really been focusing on putting my trust in the Lord. It was really tough at some points but i have been able to find peace knowing that God has a plan and he knows what is best for me. A scripture i have read a lot this week is Proverbs 3:5-6. Which talks about trusting the Lord with all your heart. And that is so essential for us, because we are always going to have trials in life, but God knows what is best.

I love you all and you all sent me super long emails so i am going to print them out and read them more thoroughly throughout the week so i can respond to them better in my next email. Pay attention to conference this week! There will be some great lessons taught to us and i'm excited to listen to our leaders. Also i'm interested to see what it's like in Spanish... ha. But i love you! miss you! thanks for all your support! :)

Elder Bird