Saludos From Chi-Town!: July 7, 2014 Chicago 5th

Oh elllooo!
Week was crazy! Got a lot done.

Monday. Organized a little group of Hnas to go down to the Aquarium to celebrate my birthday. I'm convinced the aquarium in ABQ is larger and has cooler fish. If a Chicagoan ever tells you to wait in line for 1.5 hours outside to go to the Aquarium...DONT LISTEN TO THEM. The company was excellent though, so that was nice :) H.Ramirez, being the Mexican that she is, made me a piñata. And H.Kenedy made me the most cat fabulous card eva! I'm attaching photos. Now on to missionary things that matter.

On Tuesday, President and Sister Woodbury went out with us for two of our lessons. BEST THING EVER! That was a first for me. Everything might have been in Spanish...and they might have only understood a little...but President shared his testimony in what little Spanish he knew, AND IT WAS AWESOME! Andddddd, afterwards- they took us out for ice cream for my birthday! #bestnightever

Wednesday. Taught English to this adorable little family that moved into our ward a few weeks ago from Guatemala. The two high school aged girls know just about nothing in English, which is kind of expected...so we're trying to help them out with the basics :) They're adorable though! Haha, they're confused about me being a 'New' Mexican, why I'm not brown if I'm from there, and why the whole state doesn't speak Spanish. Haha. Sighhh. Anyway. Later that evening we walked for about an hour (no buses for some reason?) trying to get to the bishops house, which is in the other Hnas area. Took what we though would be a shortcut, and ended up on the wrong side of the freeway. Figured by the time we back tracked and actually got there, it's be too late and we'd have to leave for our next apt. Soo then we walked allllll the way back to our area on to our next apt. And to make it all better, it was raining on us. But more like a sleet almost snow kinda thing. It was weird, but wonderful! Haha. Friday. One thing I've learned about Spanish wards....when they have a party, it's a party. They got together at about 10am at the park...we got there at about 3, left at 5ish...and they were still going strong. It was a good time though! Nothing like carne asada fresh off the grill while the members bust out their guitars and start singing away #livingtheMexicandream.

Saturday could be referred to as super service Saturday. These two cute, older Hnas, who aren't actually related, invited us over for lunch...and then had us paint one of their rooms. These two ladies probably win the award for funniest old ladies. They're roommates and DO NOT get along. Haha, guaranteed, one will disagree with what the other says or likes, just to argue about it. It makes for entertaining times, that's for sure. The one that originally invited us over started making pancakes- but the other said you can't eat pancakes for lunch, so she made us each eat 2 tamales (they were so weird! {they're from Honduras which explains it}Rather than meat on the inside, it was just straight corn/masa stuff. Basically a tamale-shaped, corn bread thing, wrapped in corn husk. You following? Topped with Mexican cream on top) beforehand, and then fried us up some yucca(?) to eat afterwards. Almost died.

JOSE CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY!!!!!!!! (he's the adorable elderly man that I love!) ......and then he told us that he was polygamist for a while and had more than one wife...........sooooooooooo.....that makes the whole marriage-to-his-active- member-roommate-thing-before -baptism a little more difficult. Sighh. One step forward. Two steps back. But it's alright! Because he's still reading.... And he's trying as hard as he can, despite his poor health conditions, to come to church and do what's right. BLESSINGS, people. He'll be baptized soon. No doubt. Oh wait. How could I forget!! President came to our lesson with Jose, and we talked to him about the Spirit World and tied it into temple work...and towards the end, Jose went off about how blessed he is to have heard the gospel during his life (even though he's had to wait 80+ years)...and I felt impressed to tell him how his diseased spouse and other family members didn't have that opportunity in THIS life, but are waiting for him to do their work for them....Jose got his cute little old man grin....and then President, again, probably not understanding very much about what was going on, testified of the same thing #doublewitness #Spiritguidedtestimonies #backedmeupwithoutknowing . Ah. So awesome.

I know that this is the Lord's work, and that we get to be His little helpers. I've come to be more aware of how mindful Heavenly Father is of us and EVERY aspect of our lives. I know He's watching over us. Always!
I love you all so much!
Hermana Mortensen

President and Sister Woodbury's FIRST selfie:)

View from the aquarium!! Such a pretty day!

Buckingham Fountain.

Meet Genesis! You could say we're BFFs. She was going thru pictures on my iPad one time and now always asks to see 'the babies'....referring to Audrey, William, and Clinton. She thinks they're all adorable! Her mom sent me this picture. She asked to do her hair like me. Ohhhhhoo! Melts my little heart.