May 25, 2015

Summary:

This past week went very well as far as finding people go. We just really struggle with getting people to church. It's rough because often times we'll feel the spirit so strong in their homes and then they don't come to church to develop the little testimonies they get from those feelings and then it just ends there. (At least for a while.) 

Spiritual Experience:

We were in the house of a new investigator and had just finished teaching about the restoration of the gospel. We asked her at the end if she would pray this week to know if Joseph Smith is a prophet and if this is all true. She got a confused look on her face and said, "To know?" My companion said, "Yes. To know if it's all true." She responded, "I already know."

We're hoping to get a baptismal service for her soon. The only thing is she can't leave her house very often because she is recovering from chemotherapy. Pray for Hermana Riquelme!

Funny:

Sometimes we only have about ten minutes to throw something together for breakfast. On top of that, the kitchen/laundry area is really small and narrow and there are times when all six of the hermanas that I live with are trying to grab something in there. The other day I threw some strawberries and fruit and yogurt into the blender, put the top on, and pushed the on button. It didn't turn on. I took the top off to see if it was jammed, then looked over and realized it wasn't plugged in, so I plugged it in. The bad news is, I didn't un-click the "on" button or put the lid back on, so when I plugged it in, smoothie flew everrrywhereeee. haha. 

May 18, 2015

Summary:
I'm not sure why it goes like this, but we have weeks full of appointments and weeks when almost every single one of them falls through. This past week was one of them when almost every single one fell through. We did have a great opportunity to do lots of contacting on the street though! This coming week should be good too, because we scheduled lots of appointments with new people that we contacted. 

The patriarch's son came to church again! He is doing great, along with his less-active sister! There are also about five or six other less-active members that are sooooooo close to coming back to church.
 

Spiritual Experience:

As we were walking through the street contacting the other day, we were approaching a man that was smoking and looked a little angry and tired. My initial thought was that I should walk past him and contact someone else that looked a little nicer. Then the thought came to me about how God is no respecter of persons, and I am not the judge. I reached out and handed him a card, the one with Jesus Christ coming out of the tomb. He immediately stopped and tears welled up in his eyes. He kissed it and then looked at us and then at his cigarrette and said, "Me... doing this. And you guys... handing me something so precious.Thank you. Thank you."

Funny:

After teaching a lesson to an elderly-lady investigator, she asked us if we could stay and have some tea with her. We said yes, but we don't drink most types of tea. She opened up her cupboard and asked, "Well what do you drink?" There was literally  nothing in there that we drink besides about a cup of dehydrated strawberry milk. Haha! Before I knew it, she poured the milk into her teapot of hot water and was all, "Well I'll guess we'll try this..." hahah my companion and I were trying so hard not to laugh or show our fear about what we were about to drink. We finished off the lesson with a nice tea party of watery milk.

May 11, 2015

Summary:

This past week went great! The weather is perfect and we've found a few sheep that are ready to hear the gospel! It was great talking with the family (especially you, mom). Also, the patriarch's son that has a problem with the word of wisdom that I wrote about last time CAME TO CHURCH! It's been years and it was amazing to see him there.

Spiritual:

Earlier in the week, we passed by a less-active member's house as he was getting out of his car. We stopped to talk to him and the spirit said, "he's got a problem with the Word of Wisdom." Then I denied it in my head because he seemed totally normal and sober and healthy. I didn't ask him about it or anything. A few days later, we passed by his house again as we were looking for the address of a reference. He said he just needed a few minutes to wrap things up, so we should go look for the reference and then come back to have an appointment with him. Long story short, we found this reference and she has been in bed for six months with cancer. She said she has never asked God, "Why me?" because she knew the risk she was taking when she smoked. After speaking with her, we went back to the less-active member's house and out of the blue he tells us he has a problem with the Word of Wisdom. We were able to share the story of a lady we had just met and tell him what he needed to hear the first time we passed. It really moved him and he came to church yesterday for the first time in a long time.

Funny:

The other day we kneeled down to do a companionship prayer and it was my turn to say it. I was super tired and I don't know if my brain was just in overdrive or what... but I closed my eyes and then instead of starting the prayer I started counting, "uno, dos, tres...." By the time I realized it, my companion was already just looking at me and cracking up laughing. haha

 

This is a picture of Hermana Showalter and me.  We always come out of our rooms in the morning wearing the same outfit. haha!

Mother's Day 2015

We loved our precious 45 minutes to talk with Kylee on Mother's Day!  Marissa left on Monday for a BYU internship in Mexico, so we had her Face time us on the iPad and held it up to the screen to talk to Kylee. It worked pretty well even though I'm sure there is a better way to get them both on the same call. 
Her cute companion had a message prepared for us in English.  She knew all our names (including the dogs). She said she loves us and she is grateful for Sister Martin. Sister Vergara is so sweet and Kylee is loving her time with her! Kylee seemed very happy and she loves the cute family that let her use their computer to call us. She is excited about the work happening in her area.

May 4, 2015

Summary:

We recently got word that I will be staying here in this ward with the same companion for another change! I´m especially grateful because we´ve recently found a few new people to teach and are seeing more excitement for the church in some of our less-active members. Oh man, I think every day we contact at least one person who was baptized but hasn´t been to church in years. This is a major re-activating mission. Anyway, we´ve got a lot of work to do. Last week, six less-actives promised us they would come to church. They even got their work off and set a time for us to pass by and walk with them and everything. We passed by each of their houses in the morning before church and every. single. one. had a different excuse of why they couldn´t go. I think I´ve heard every excuse in the book by now. haha. We´re not going to loose faith, though. 

Spiritual:
The other day we were in the house of two less-active members. Their mom isn´t a member and has never wanted to participate and the only time I´ve really heard her talk is when she yells at her daughter to say we´re waiting at the door to go to church.  Anyway, this day she came out of her room and listened to the lesson. She started asking questions and acting really interested. Come to find out, her dad was a member of the church and she always felt something different when it came to his religion. She said she felt from her room when we came in that the house was "purified or something." Her name is Susana. Pray for her that she can get work off and come to church and realize that this is all true!

Funny:
Our apartment is really small and the laundry room, kitchen, and beds are all in the same like 15-square-foot area. We sleep on bunk beds. The other day one of the hermanas that´s my roommate was getting off the top bunk after my other roommate had just made a salad and set the bowl on the floor.  The hermana getting off the bed slipped and fell straight onto the salad and broke the bowl. I looked over and she was just laying there in the middle of all this salt and lettuce and tomatoes laughing. 

The Sisters from the Trinidad Ward