February 24, 2015

Summary:
It's been another week of lots of contacting, but things are looking up! We've found two new investigators, both old ladies. Also, we're working with members in getting more references. Best of all, people are finally starting to come home from their vacations because school is starting soon here!

Spiritual:

One day, we called a bunch of the people we needed to visit this week and they all told us they weren't able to or didn't have time for a visit. That same night, we were cleaning out a folder of old forms of ancient investigators by going around to houses listed and asking if the people still lived there. We didn't have much luck with the ancient investigators, but we ran into almost everyone we needed to speak with just in the street! It was a great tender mercy. 

People:

There is a fruit stand and a meat shop across the street from where I live. Every morning when I leave the apartment the workers yell "Hello! How are you!" or "Good morning!" They're always so excited to use their English.

Funny:

My companion knows how to say "I love you" in English and one day she asked me how you say "pies." I told her it's "feet." After planning she pointed to my feet and said "I love you feet." Haha I don't know if she was making fun of me or what because between the tan line on my feet and a pair of my shoes that dye my feet black everytime I wear them they always look pretty bad. So I just cracked up laughing and now she says it every night. "I love you feet."

 

I made Valentine's cookies for my companion

My companion, Hermana Vergara, eating a completo

February 16, 2015

Summary:

I´m still loving the mission, but this week has been pretty rough! Some days we walked around in the heat of day contacting and knocking doors without finding a single person to listen to us. We did find one miracle man that told us he believes in God and wants to be Mormon! He told us he would come to church on Sunday if we swung by to get him, but the bad news is when we ran across the sector on Sunday morning, he wasn´t there. The good news is my companion is full of lots of spunk for this work and I know if we keep trying we will find. Doubt not, fear not. D&C 6:36

People:

My companion is from Peru! She´s 20 years old and reminds me so much of Elena Castro and Meghan Beatty, two of my best friends from high school. I´ve been so impressed with her because I remember how badly my feet hurt and how hard it was to understand things in the beginning, (Well... it´s still hard to understand things) but I haven´t heard her complain! 

Spiritual Moment:

On Saturday, we knocked doors and contacted all day because all of our appointments cancelled on us. We didn´t have very much luck that day and were headed home at 10:00 a little discouraged. The very last lady we passed, after we said hello, said hello back and ask us if anyone had listened to us today. She told us she didn´t want anything to do with our church but wanted to hear our testimony. We talked with her about what we knew to be true, she thanked us for our faith, gave us each a peach, and then said goodbye. I don´t know what it will amount to for her, but I know for me she was an angel. It was a spiritual affirmation that God loves me. 

Funny:

Yesterday during companionship study, I asked my companion to read and then I would try to read along and copy her voice to improve my accent. When I started talking she couldn´t hear herself, so she started talking louder. Then I couldn´t hear myself so I started talking louder. Then all the sudden we were talking really loud and really slow in a terrible Chilean accent and we both just busted up laughing and couldn´t stop. Hahah

February 9, 2015

Summary:

My companion left this morning to her home in Argentina! I learned so much from Hermana Benitez. She was the perfect example of trust in God. She´s probably on a plane right now and she doesn´t even know where she´s going to live when she gets back to her house and her family is not going to pick her up. Luckily her bishop will be there and said she could live with their family for ONE WEEK while she figures things out. Man... that´s faith. 

So we have a 12-week training program here and I´ve had two different trainers because my companions have both been in their last six weeks of their mission. This past week I waited patiently to hear who my new companion is going to be and if there was a possibility I´d be with her for more than one change. On Saturday my Zone leaders called and said when they came to inspect our room they would also bring word of who my new companion will be. Turns out it will not be her last change, but her first. I´ll finish my training program tonight and start training another hermana tomorrow. I don´t know who it´s going to be yet, but I´ll let you know all about her next week.

Another big splotch of news is that another companionship is moving into our apartment and they are splitting our sector into smaller pieces! No matter how they cut it, there will be recent converts and investigators that will be transferred to the new hermanas in the ward. I´ll miss them but I have a feeling this upcoming change we´re going to see miracles. 

Spiritual Thought:

This week we had an appointment with a recently-baptised family that was very strong when I first came out into the field. Over the last little bit they´ve been falling into some bad habits and skipping church and family night and things like that. In the appointment we found out that they have not been reading their scriptures, and it hit me that when you do not read, you are not giving yourself a chance to listen to God´s words. We cannot hear if we are not listening. So, friends, let´s FEAST UPON THE WORDS OF CHRIST! 

Funny: 

The sun is very strong here. Here´s a picture of my feet for your enjoyment. haha

"Better Homes & Gardens"

February 2, 2015

Summary:

This week an investigator that we´ve had for a reall long time but could never quite get himself to church because he feels obligated to his Evangelist church told us that he is done with his old church and wants to continue with this one! (The true one.) I´m so excited about that! We´re also working with a few people on their family history and that is something that is so special to me. We also found a new investigator and have some other contacts that will be coming home from their vacations very soon. I'll need to be spending a alot of time on my knees these upcoming weeks!

Oh! And there´s some good news. We didn´t end up having to move. I was still out of the house this week because my companion is a Sister Leader and she´s in charge of exchanges and we had a bunch of them to do before she finishes her mission on the 9th. I find out who my new companion is this weekend. So far I've struck gold with companions so I hope we can keep this streak going.

Spiritual:

Yesterday was my companion´s 18th month-day in the mission field and I wanted to make it special, so I bought her a little treat and wrote her a card. She told me she didn´t like the treat and threw it away and after she read my card she just said something about how gringas always say the same things. Haha I felt so sad! Afterward we were at a baptism of an investigator of the other hermanas in our ward and they played this Mormon Message there. If you can, you should look it up! It´s this old man with shaky hands doing nice things for his wife who is paralyzed in a wheelchair. I cried so hard because I realized that I don´t need to do things for reaction or reward. Just do things for love. It´s like it says in 1 John 4:8. "For he who loveth not, knoweth not God. For God is love." Those words get me. God is love.

People:

One thing I like about the people here is that they respond to "Hola" in various hilarious ways. For example: "¡Hola mi hijita linda hermosa ángel!" Haha I don´t know anybody in the U.S. that I´ve said hello to and they said back, "Hello my little tiny beautiful angel daughter!" 

Funny:

This week we were talking to a man while he was watering his plants and my companion asked him what the name of the plant was. Somehow in my brain I skipped the part about the plant and just assumed it was the name of the man. As we were leaving I called him the name of his plant. Haha whoops!