April 9th, 2012

Hey Familia!

So my new companion is Hermana Spencer!  She's from Lubbock, Texas and yes...she's the one I use to blog stalk before the mission so she already knows I'm a creep....nothing new.  It's transfer #4 here so by
the time I'm done with this transfer, I'd be in the area for 6 months! But that's nothing compared to Hermana Spencer cause she was in her last area for over A YEAR!! Can you believe that?  So basically I wouldn't be surprised if that happened to me.  The bishopbric hunted her and the new elder down to give talks this coming Sunday.  "Haha in your face!"...except yesterday afternoon they called me and asked if I could give a talk this coming Sunday too. Whaaat?? I gave one in January! But whatevs. I'll just bore everyone with my imperfect
Spanish.  It's funny because everyday this week, all the members have cancelled dinner on us so poor Hermana Spencer has never felt so hungry.  She was use to eating really good (and a ton) food over in her last area so it was kind of a shock to her.  Luckily for me, she LOVES to cook so she makes me delicious chicken everyday...different types too. Love it. So I'm ok with taking a break from being force fed :) 


Anyways we've had a couple of miracles happen!  So we went to go visit a less active who is always less than happy to see us everytime we go but hey we gotta do what we gotta do.  But she wasn't home so as we were taking the walk of shame back to our car which was parked across the street, we saw a lady with two little kids on her porch swing outside her house.  So we decided to go talk to her since (from a distance) she looked hispanic (yup we hunt those babies down).  So we end up on her porch and the phone rings so she goes inside and leaves us on her porch with her two young grandkids.  They're super shy, so we decided to sing "popcorn popping on the apircot tree" (which I don't know any of the lyrics too, so I just mumbled like an idiot) and of course they just gave us blank stares, realizing that they probably don't speak English....nice. So I gave the little girl (who was the chubbiest little mexican ever) a picture of Jesus....which she ended up eating....yes eating...by the time the lady whose name is Margarita comes out with tears in her eyes.  She got off the phone with her son
who just went to jail the day before and immigration is involved so she's really worried about it (claro).  So we shared a scripture about Christ in the bible and said a prayer with her and she really appreciated it.  She wants us to come back and so now she's our newest investigator!! Woo.  It's cool because she told us that her old
neighbor was mormon and that she's been to the church before.  Turns out it's the Relief Society secretary in our ward! Perfect.  The Lord does prepare people.  It's a matter of "opening your mouth" to find them.  Hermana Spencer is really good at that...me not so much...I always feel like I'll look like an idiot and people look at us weird (well they do regardless) but I always enjoy it as we're doing it...it's just the starting the convo part is what I don't like....but I'm learning from her :) Hilda, our other investigator came to church yesterday!! Her husband
is the super christian guy who everytime we teach, he tries to teach his doctrine...so it confuses his poor wife.  But he's super nice and obviously it didn't phase her cause she came to church!  And SO many people introduced themselves so I hope she felt welcomed.  Pray that she'll keep having a desire to go!  She's awesome and so prepared as well. 


How was your Easter?  It was great for us, because that whole week we taught about the Ressurection aka the true meaning of Easter. I love it.  Yesterday as we were reading the story of Lazarus to our Investigators Martina (the grandma) and her grandson Anthony, they began to "fight" over reading.  We were suppose to read 3 verses each person but it ended up being a battle between them...they were literally raising their voices, racing eachother who can read faster and reading over eachother....me and Hna. Spencer were silently giggling because I don't think they even noticed that they were "fighting" eachother....yup a 55 year old lady with a 10 year old....and they apparently liked the story so that was good. So that's all I can think of for this week...but I love you all and keep Christ in your thoughts always...not just for the week of Easter. If we do, all will be well.  Have a good one!

March 26th

My week has been great!  Yup we've been having San Diego weather...but now it's cold.  Apparently it's going to be cold this week...jeez Colorado. I need some stability here. Just kidding...I'll take what I can get...as long as it doesn't snow.  I miss Nana's Mole...I'm always sketched out when other people make it so thankfully noone has made it for us yet.  We've had fish alot....because of lent ....you know since our members are catholic haha. (p.s TIA MARY!!! I thought of you the day of your birthday...i miss and love you tons.)  We got Nana's letter on Saturday...noone has written us both lately (my compa has an excuse since she goes home in a week)  but nana didn't fail us!! We loved it!! We'll write her back soon.  Tell her thank you and we'll video record something soon ok?  No worries about the makeup mom...Friday is good! Transfers is next Tuesday but I think I'm staying in my area. I'll let you know next Monday.  So want to know a typical day?  We wake up at 6:30 AM every morning and exercise for 30 mins (except on Sundays or Transfer or temple day).  We get ready from 7-8 and at 8 we start our personal study for an hour which means we either read the scriptures, general conference talks or Preach my Gospel.  Then at 9 we do companionship study and share what we learned from personal study.  We read the white handbook together and plan for the people we are going to visit.  At 10 we do language study and at 11 we have lunch and we're out doing visitas by noon til 9pm at night. Then we plan for the next day for 30 minutes and get ready for bed and we're in bed by 10:30PM.  So remember that Argentine investigator I have?  She's getting baptized this Sunday!!! General Conference week...woo! What a perfect time, right?  She passed her interviews (after us praying a ton for her...she had a drinking problem) and now she's ready to go!  You can tell she's nervous but excited at the same time.  She's grown alot in her faith since I've been here. The difference was that she's now reading the Book of Mormon.  It changes lives!  I have a personal testimony of it and it strengthens when I see other people obtain their own testimony of it.  Chisme! Teresa...our recent convert who was baptized in February found out by the church records that her son is a member and she had no idea!
Apparently he got baptized like 4 years ago in Mexico but never told her.  When she was living in Mexico she actually went to a Mormon church once with him but didn't know he was an actual member. Crazy right?  So she called him that second and told him the news.  She said "So..why don't you go to church?....you drink and smoke...you're not worthy!" and she goes on for like 15 minutes chastizing him like noones business!  HARDCORE!! We just sat there awkwardly of course. Her testimony is so strong that it hurt her so much that her son isn't active in the church and she's only been a member for a month and a half.  The last sentence she said to him striked me...she said "You're the one depriving yourself from the blessings".  It was powerfully rebuking but true.  How many times do we deprive ourselves from the blessing that God is so anxiously waiting to give to us?  Choose the right! He's given us everything to be sucessful in this life but it's ultimately up to us whether we want it or not.  Wow...just went on a missionary rant. Sorry. But anyways family...do your visiting and home teaching! Our ward lacks it and expects us to do it but it's not our responsibility as missionaries...we need the members help!! Just as much as members need us. If the missionaries and members are joined together, the work would just blow up.  So help the missionaries anyway you can ok? Even if they just come over to share a spiritual thought. I love and miss you all! It's my 6th month anniversary this Wednesday. Les quiero.

March 19th

I'm doing great. I'm glad you got the picture and like my haircut! People either say I look like a little girl or asian...thanks people..I don't even know if I should take that as a compliment.  Haha so you heard me the other day? It was me....telling you to buy me something at whatever store you were at :) Makes sense right?  I miss you too momma. Lots.  No I haven't tried to open the video...I'll try it after I write you.  Yeah Jackie wrote me and told me that she's talking alot and she's super smart.  It makes me have hope that my babies are smart too...right?  Your sunday dinner sounds great...we had white people food for dinner (thank goodness...sometimes you get sick of mexican food...all...the...time.)  So we had corn beef (never even heard of that..?), asparagus, potatoes and jello for postre.  Our bishop's wife is white so we're always excited when we eat at their house!  So glad we'll be having 70 degree weather!  It really has felt like San Diego the past 2 weeks :) I love it.  Especially when it's sunset...minus the beach.  It makes missionary work so much easier...plus people are happier in general when its warm outside.  We're sooo excited for Nana's letter.  Especially Sister Coughlen....and thanks for typing it up...seriously her poor little handwriting. Bless her heart.  Nope Brianna Lopez hasn't written me yet...I told her parents to write me but nada yet.  Umm...I only got one letter this week...from the mckenzies and that's about it.  Noone writes me! It's ok...people have lives..yada yada yada.  So bad news...we were suppose to have a baptism this week on the 25th but our investigator Susana (from Argentina) drank wine last thursday...they have to be living the Word of Wisdom (don't drink, smoke, etc.) for 2 weeks before they can get baptized so her date is now the 1st...which is the last sunday before Hna. Coughlen leaves home so we've been praying our butts off so that she can make her date!! It's a big deal that she committed to a date because she's been investigating the church for like a year...she goes to church every sunday and reads the book of mormon every day but she's just a doubter...or a worrier? If that's even a word.  She was also a alcoholic so it's been a hurdle for her to jump.  Dang Satan!  So hopefully she'll make her date.  Pray for her!  We watched "the testaments" the movie where Christ visits the Americas (mom you've seen it) with Teresa our recent convert.  And of course, we all balled our eyes out (who doesn't?...unless you don't have a heart).  She said something interesting...she liked how the father said "wherever you go, you will always be my son" and she said that most children forget their parents, but parents never ever forget their children, no matter what.  I liked that because its similiar to our relationship with Heavenly Father.  At times, we forget him with the choices we make.  They really do reflect our love that we have for him. Obedience is the key to happiness.  Don't ever forget him...we have prayer to be able to communicate with him.  He wants to hear from you because YOU are His child. He's waiting to help you in any moment.  I read something in the Ensign the other day but I only have it in Spanish so here's the quote " El amor del Salvador es tan enorme que pienso que El y nuestro Padre Celestial esperan ansiosamente bendecirnos por el bien que hagamos, por mas pequeno que sea, porque esa es su naturaleza."  How great is he?  I hope you enjoyed that.  I love and miss you everyday. Have a great one! Les quiero

February 27

Happy Pday Familia,

Well for me atleast.  This week was pretty mellow but great.  The weather has been beautiful, sunshine just like San Diego...except it's 40 degrees and windy (not cool) but hey I'm not complaining, it made me so happy! I can't wait for summer time.  I'm over boots!  Anyways so the work has been great.  Teresa (the lady who got baptized last week) is on fire!  We went to visit her the other day and she is so cute.  She was worried that she didn't have anything white to wear for her "baptism of fire" (her confirmation).  Like legitimately worried.  Yesterday she came in all white and all ready for her confirmation.  It was so powerful because you could feel her desire to receive the Holy Ghost.  It was beautiful.  So that was the highlight of our week.  We're going to the temple with her soon to do baptisms for the dead because we just had a lesson about it and she ate it up!  She's going to be the stake relief society president or something..I just know it!  We had a lesson with her boyfriend (our newest investigator) Nico the other day and he told us that he read to 3 Nefi...WHAT?!! We gave it to him like MAYBE 2 weeks ago...incredible, right?  Other than that, our other invesitgators haven't been doing so good.  We taught Martina (Investigator) the Word of Wisdom and literally 2 days later we saw her smoking outside her house...come on people!! and then we visited a less active the other day cause she (por fin) came to church and we asked her how she felt and she's all "I love church!...I don't know why I don't go..." it was hilarious!  But then the next sunday didn't go... ayyy! freakin hispanics.  So we visit this less active who we basically just clean for her cause she's kinda sick but she doesn't even go to our ward but we hadn't gone in awhile. She called us on Wednesday night crying hysterically telling us she got beat up!  We seriously couldn't understand her and said we were on our way to her home.  Ends up that she was taking the bus to her appointment and walking down a sketchy part of town and got mugged.  He pulled her by the hair into an ally and kicked her with his boots.  She's a 50 year old lady..how sad, right?  And she wouldn't let go of her purse and she only had 6 dollars! She's so funny though, she kept saying "I could of died for 6 dollars!!...I don't even have eyebrows!' she's awesome.  She use to be a ex drug dealer and she's been through alot but she has a solid testimony.  We had to help bathe her because she was too sore to do anything (she also JUST recovered from pneumonia poor thing). She now leaves us random voicemails telling us how much she loves us. So cute.  Well anyways that's all I have for this week.  Write me family! via letters. I heard Zoe got into BYU!  Awesome. I'll write her soon. What's dads email? I want to write him too.  Welp have an incredible week. amo!