The Field is White: Week 19 -- Cambios!

Hola!

Okay to start off with Cambios!!!! My new companion is Hna V! She is a freakin' rockstar! Like she is awesome! She is from Utah and she is super obedient and a very hard worker. By the end of this transfer, I want to be a missionary just like her. She has 7 months in her mission. Her Spanish isn't perfect, but neither is mine, but miraculously we have been able to understand pretty much everybody! It's amazing how the Lord blesses us! I can understand even more than I could last week when I had a Latina companion! But really though, I am so glad to have her as my new companion. She made me realize how many rules Hna A and I were breaking. I wanted to be and I tried my hardest to do my part, but at the end of the day, the bottom line is that we were not obedient. I am so grateful for Hna V. She is willing to call people out. She called out some other missionaries for being late and for something else. She knows the rules and she is not afraid to stand up for them. I knew the rules, but I didn't stand up for them like I probably should have. I would like to think it was because I was the junionr companion in training and blah blah blah, but really I should have stood up for the rules more and I hope that by the end of this change I will be able to stand up to any of my future companions and defend the rules like Hermana V can. She works so hard. We literally had no appointments the past 3 days together but we worked and we contacted. Guess how many people we contacted my last change.... ONE! One person in two months. I am ashamed to say that! But in the past few days with Hna V we have talked with at least 40 different people and it's great! I never thought I would enjoy talking to strangers so much, lol. I am so grateful that the Lord has blessed me with her as a companion. I feel more energy to do this work, I am excited to do this work and I think that it will really prepare me to become the kind of missionary that I want to be.

Okay, in other news. I was going to use the doTERRA Past Tense because I had an ache in my chest for about a week. Like the muscles when I took deep breaths hurt me, but I'm fine now. Now I will probably just use it for sore muscles I will have from working so dang hard!

Elder and Sister John were ar our multizone conference...but I didn't have my camera so I didn't take a picture with them... They are so great though:)

1. What miracles and/or tender mercies have you seen this week?

Getting Hna V as my companion. I really was praying that I would get a companion that would help me work and help me be better and I definitely have that! I think it is a miracle that two gringas are together! And that we can understand what people are saying. Also in church on Sunday I got asked to give a talk literally 2 seconds before the meeting started. And I got to lead the music so I couldn't use that time to prep. So I pretty much got up and talked and I hope it turned out okay, lol, but I wasn't really nervous or anything. And it was in SPANISH!!!

2. What answers to your prayers have you seen/experienced this week?

Hermana V for sure, lol. The Lord knows exactly what we need and I honestly had lost hope for my next cambios. We were sitting in cambios and I was really worried and really upset that things weren't going to get better. I prayed for hope. As soon as I saw Hna V I was just filled with the greatest feeling of hope and excitement and that hasn't gone away. Everytime we go out and work I am just so excited.

3. What did you do for P-Day this week?

Today we deep cleaned the house. Hna Vance is super clean, too, and we cleaned the dang mold off the kitchen walls (in our zone conference the Johns showed the picture of my food next to the modly wall....it was pretty bad) and we cleaned our bathroom and everything that never got done before, lol. Then we went out and bought groceries. Did laundry. We read a talk to prep for our 2 noches de hogar (Family Home Evening) tonight and yeah, mostly cleaned and it was disgusting. Now we are here!

4. What was the best thing that happened this week?

Cambios...

5. What was the funnest/funniest thing that happened this week?

Well its not funny at all, but its a story, lol. So last Monday (still with Hna A) we had a noche de hogar and we were late. Then we had a dinner appointment. So we got there at 8:45 when we are supposed to be in our house at 8:30... so the other hermanas were there and Hna C was apparently in a lot of pain so they had called a doctor to come over. The doctor said she needed to go to the hospital... so instead of just their companionship going, Hna A wanted to go, too. So we ended up going to the hospital at 10 pm with the other hermanas. Then we called our Zone Leaders since our District Leader wasn't in his house yet.... they were at a party. But the Zone Leaders just assumed that we were with them breaking the rules doing bad things.... awesome. So then it was like 11:30 pm... I was freaking out because we were supposed to be in OUR house at 8 30! And we still weren't and there was really no reason for us to be at the hospital. Then President Dester called the other hermanas and he also asked that we stay with them. I was kind of devastated that he didn't send us home. But then I was talking to Hna A and I felt like Nephi. Like how you shared in your email this week, I felt like Nephi. There are rules, like be in your house at 8:30, but there are higher laws and when president tells you not to go back to your house although it is past curfew, you better listen to him! So I thought that was really interesting that you shared that story this week, because I felt like I lived it in a missionary way, lol. Hna C ended up being fine. It was acid reflux.

Here's one that is funny: We went to this house and asked to start with a prayer and so the hermana asks her friend who was there to say the prayer and so they start going on with Señor Jesus, gracias Señor, gracias Padre, espiritu santo, blah blah, and then she starts praying super loud like shouting over him and it became like a prayer battle between the two and it went on for like 5 minutes. Hna V started laughing and I just lost it and started laughing too and it was hilarious. Luckily they didn't notice that we were laughing because they were so loud.

6. What was the spiritual highlight of your week?

I loved Zone Conference. President Dester went over the rules and how important obedience is. We talked about the talk "Becoming a Consecrated Missionary" and I love that talk! But I always love getting to see President Dester and Sister Dester. I feel super excited to just follow the rules. But yesterday we went and visited a Menos Activo (less active member) who was offended 25 years ago by people in the church. He is starting to come back now and it is his goal to make covenants with the Lord in the temple. I was thinking about him a lot the other day and when we got to his house and started talking I saw a picture of the temple on the wall and I just got the overwhelming assurance from the spirit that this hermano can and will one day go to the temple to make those covenants. I could feel a part of the love that the Lord has for him and it was a wonderful experience.

7. How are your investigators doing? K? C and G?

I dont know. None of them came to church again. G talked with his brother about baptism and he said that while his brother was being baptized he felt like it was him. We talked with him about how that an answer from the Lord and that it was the Spirit telling him that baptism is for him! He accepted the date the 22nd but then he didn't come to church so I don't know what happened... C was out of town. K just didn't come. I am really sad that no one came again.

8. Were you able to teach more lessons this week? Find any new investigators? Do any service?

YEAH, WE DID !!!!! We had 2 less days in the week (really almost 3) because of changes and our zone conference and we still managed to teach the same number of lessons that I would have taught in a normal week before. We talked with EVERYBODY that we could this week and we are finding people...slow and steady. Because really we have nothing. Nothing has been done the past 6 months in this area. Hna A and I did practically nothing. And it just about kills me. So we have contaced a ton and met so many new people! But there have been some people who seem very prepared to receive the gospel. We will see what happens.

9. How is your personal study going? What are you studying, and what stuck out to you this week?

I didn't get much personal study in this week becasue of all the traveling we had to do, but I finished Matthew. I was reading in Our Search forHhappiness and I am almost finished with that. I read a talk that Hermana Veronica gave us and I don't know what it is called in English, but it talked about how a lot of times we expect our prayers to be answered in a certain way and the Lord has His own plan. We need to conform out will, our thoughts, our prayers to His will. We need to have a positive attitude in our trials tambien (always) so that we can learn. All trials have a purpose and we may not see what that purpose is in the moment, but everything is done in the will of the Lord and we need to have the trust in Him, the faith in Him to know that what we are going through is what we need to grow. I really liked that having come out of a really difficult transfer.

10. What kinds of new foods have you cooked or eaten this week?

Not much. We had a ton of people cook for us this week. I haven't cooked much... I would like more Nutella, though, if anyone wants to send that. Haha You guys can always send me beef jerky, candy, mashed potatoes, Minute Rice, Nutella etc... Now that we are working hard I don't have the ganas (???) to cook stuff...

11. Did you see anything unusual this week?

Not really. Everything was pretty chill and normal as it could be for this week in Honduras.

12. What have you learned about yourself this week?

I had become complacent. I think that's terrible. We can never become complacent or satisfied with where we are at. We need to always work to be better! Hna V has helped me see all the rules that I just let us break and it's because I just stopped trying. I became complacent. We can't do that. As a church, as people in general, we always need to work harder and be better or we will never become anything, we will simply become what we always were.

13. In what area do you think you’ve improved this week?

Talking with everyone. I honestly never contacted people before. Before this I talked to one person and her name was Carolina. With Hna V we talked with everyone and it's really not as hard as I thought it was!!!

14. Have you found it easier to enjoy yourself and be happy this week? What was your happiest moment this week?

Yes. It is so much easier to be happy when we are obedient. I love the scripture in Mosiah 2:41 that says the obedient are happy and blessed and it is so true! I have been so much happier this week simply because we have been obedient.

15. Do you know that I love you SO much and I miss you?

Always:)

16. What has been the most beautiful thing you’ve seen this week?

I always love the trip to San Pedro because it is through the mountains and everything is green and it's just beautiful.

17. How has the weather been this week?

Warm:) It has been sunny with scattered clouds. The nights still get chilly when the sun sets but during the day it is nice and toasty.

18. What ways have you found to serve your companion and others this week?

I have done dishes, I have helped clean. I wrote a nice note to Hna V to tell her how awesome she is. I am trying to share my food and my things....but that's really hard for me, lol.

19. What did you learn in your district meeting or zone meeting this week?

I don't remember, to be honest. I don't remember the capacitacion (lesson) from the meeting... It was really short and I'm sure they talked about how each one of us should work harder to be better this next change, lol, but so much has happened this week that I just don't remember.

20. Are you and your companion asking for more help from the branch? What other families in your branch are helpful to the missionaries besides Hna Veronica, Hna Amanda, and familia Miranda?

YES! We are trying to figure out still who can come with us and help but we will definitely be making an effort to ask for help and find members who will come with us. The problem this week is that the phone companies are having problems. Apparently a law got changed and the phone company has to change its signal so we can't call anyone...and nobody can call us... so that's a problem when we are trying to get members to come out with us.

21. What suggestions do you have for us to improve our member missionary efforts?

Always be willing to go out with the missionaries. PLEASE befirend their investigators. Every new investigator needs to feel comfortable in the church and they need friends. Sit with them, talk to them, welcome them, invite them over for dinner. They need support from the ward.

Okay in other words, for exercise we left one morning to run and I am working my way through the ab and pushup month challenge... it's getting hard... I'm at 40 pushups and 80 situps and 140 crunches... lol. But we get tons of exercise walking so I'm not too concerned. For right now I am good with exercises.

I got letters from Tania, Oma and Opa, Grace Clark, Bro Peterson with a bulletin from the ward in GA, I got pics from Mom, the book from Erin with her darling children, and a box from the Stylers with food!!!! It was a pretty good mail week:)

I feel so weird becasue I finished my training now and I am like a real missionary and it's so weird! We actually leave in the mornings now (we were supposed to leave at 11 before but we didn't and now we have to leave at 10 and we actually do!). I feel like I am participating more in the work which is awesome. And Hna V and I have shared the lessons really well! I am surprised at everything that I have to say now.

I love you all and thank you for all of your support. Keep praying for all of the missionaries around the world! We need all the help we can get.

les quiero mucho

Hermana Gisseman

See? Grandma's kitchen rug!!!