The Field is White: Week 22 -- Thankful for Tender Mercies

Happy 5 months to me! Where has the time gone?

So we went to Copan Ruinas today which is why I am late and probably why this email will be short and have poor grammar. It was fine. We took a private bus this time which was nice so we could all go together. We had to wake up at 3:45 though and that was EARLY! We saw a tender mercy in that we were able to find a taxi to take us to where we needed to be. Usually taxis aren't out at 4:15 in the morning, but one happened to drive by and could take us where we needed to go without us having to run there. It wasn't as fun as it was last time and idk if it was because I had already seen it all or because Hna M wasn't there. She and I have so much fun together, but it was probably a combo of the two. It was good though and I have more pics....we will see if this computer lets me upload them...

I got 3 packages this week! I got 2 from Mom, one with Valentine's Day stuff and the other with the Crocs sandals and headband. I got 2 letters from Grandma and a card from Mom:) Thank you thank you for all your love and support!

We MOVED this week! Another tender mercy...we had time on Friday morning because our appointment wasn't home. We needed to talk to a brother in the branch to help us move. Like the only brother who has a truck. So we had literally these directions: 4 blocks from the church, near a pizza place and a truck will be outside. We walked for about 30 minutes, but we found the house! And he was able to help us move. We couldn't just call because guess what? We still don't have phone service. At least in our other house we could send and receive text messages....yeah, in our new house, I guess because it's closer to where they are having propblems controlling the signal, we don't have any service. I had a little panic attack yesterday because we found that out and we didn't know what time we had to meet anybody or what the plan was....but luckily a member lives next door to us and we were able to use her phone to call. But yeah. We moved and now we have water everyday. It is just Hna V and I in this house. We are definitely a TON closer to our area -- 5 minutes instead of 30 minutes, which is a huge blessing especially considering that we were able to get the apartment so fast and move so fast. So yeah, all is well with that.

1. How was church attendance yesterday? Did you have some investigators and less active members there?

We had 2 investigators at church. G came for sacrament meeting. He will be baptized one day and I know that. I just don't know if it will be while I am here or not. And another investigator named G. She attends another church that she doesn't like because it doesn't let women participate in anything. In our first lesson with her she was really stand offish and in our second we asked if they had read in the Book of Mormon and she said other people had told her bad things about it and she was confused and so she was really hardened towards it. We had an hour lesson with her and her daughter explaining more about he Book of Mormon and showing her that it isn't a book to confuse people. After that she was softened and we invited her to come to church and she came! We passed by her house and she was waiting for us! She couldn't stay for all of it, but I think she will come back for another Sunday!

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

I think I have sufficiently described several already and due to time I will not further comment.

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

We had investigators at church!!!!! We moved! I was praying that we would get the apartment... and we found a taxi in the morning. And we were able to call our zone leaders from Hna M's phone (she lives next door to us)!

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

COPAN RUINAS!!!! Then we shopped SUPER fast and now we are writing!

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

We MOVED!!!!!

6. How are your investigators doing – Y and G? C? What specifically could we pray for to help them? How about that less active sister (family of familia M) that you went to see and felt such strong love for?

Well, Y hasn't been home for our appointments with her and we haven't been able to visit G y C either. We passed by their house but they were eating dinner.... so that was annoying, but we will visit them this week and see how things are going. We are slowly having more investigators. And some of them are progressing very slowly. But some progress is good progress. We do have one sister, though, who is so ready for the gospel. She has been praying and reading in her scriptures and feels the spirit when she does these things and she really wants to come to church, but her husband and family don't want her to. We think her husband abuses her...so we will probably have to stop visiting her which is heartbreaking because she is so sweet. The less active family is doing well, still haven't come to church yet, though.... Just pray that we can find people who will progress and who are prepared for the gospel.

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

We were both so tired one day when we got home and we went to say our closing prayer for nightly planning we both just started laughing and it was like when you and Grandma just start laughing and can't stop and then you start crying, LOL, and that's what happened. We tried to pray like 5 times and neither one of us could do it. So finally we just laughed our way throgh and said amen... but it was really funny and quite refreshing.

8. What was the spiritual highlight of your week?

We were with an hermano (man/brother) in the presidency here for the district and he was talking to us and he told Hna V and I that he feels like we will see a baptism if we continue working hard the way we do. That was really uplifting because its been hard. The other sisiters had a baptism this week and everyone asked us when we were going to have a baptism. So that was hard this week that we still don't have anyone with a date or anything.... but we are working so hard. So when he told us that it just made me feel like there is hope and that our work will pay off.

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

Eh. Last week since we had divisions we had more lessons, but this week we had tons of lessons that were just fantastic! The people participated and seemed really receptive. So I think that having more quality lessons is more important. We did have a lot, but we also had a lot that were just awesome!

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

I am still reading in the Nnew Testament and it's really interesting now that I am out of the first four gospels becasue it is stuff that I really have never ever read in my life. It's such a shame that I never read the Bible all the way through before! I encourage all the members of the church who have never read the Bible cover-to-cover to read it! I think a lot of times we put too much emphasis on reading the Book of Mormon cover-to-cover while we forget that the words in the Bible are just as important. I really like the conversion story of Paul, it reminded me of Alma! We studied the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 in our district meeting this week. We all have different talents. We don't have the same amount of talents as others and no one has the same type. But the Lord expects us to multiply what we have. Both the man with two talents and the man with five talents doubled what they had and received the same reward, to be masters over many things. While they didn't start off with the same number, and certainly didn't end with the same number, they received the same reward because they worked according to what they had been given, and multiplied what they had. I don't know....I really liked that because I compare myself too often to others. The Lord has given me my talents and I just have to work with what I have to develop my gifts and multiply them. I also realized that even God doesn't get what He wants. We expect to get what we want so often in life. God has already lost one-third of His children. We every day make so many mistakes that make Him sad and all He wants is for us to return to Him. He knows that not everybody will BUT He is happy. I assume, anyways. He is hopeful for us even though it must be so sad for Him to not be able to get all of what He wants -- to get all of His children back to the celestial kingdom. I don't know...it just hit me that even the greatest of all, our Father in Heaven, has already lost so much of what He wanted. I don't know if that makes sense. I have to type so fast today.

11. What is your typical daily schedule like right now?

We wake up and study like normal, but we leave at 10:00 to teach and come back at 12:00 for lunch and language then leave again at 2:00 to teach and don't come back until 8-8:30.

12. Did you see anything unusual this week?

Nope...really things are getting to be really normal to me.

13. What have you learned about yourself this week?

I still am not good about not freaking out in situations that I can't control.... When the messages in our phone wouldn't send I freaked out...and thats not good. I should have more faith that all will be okay! But I am still working on that. Also that it is really hard for me to give my ALL over to the Lord. I feel like I am too prideful and that I am still holding onto things that I just need to let go and give to the Lord, like what I will study when I get home or, I don't know, just stuff like that. I have my own ideas and my own plans, but I really need to put those in a box in my mind and let them go. I was reading in "The Fourth Missionary"and just realized how much of my own will I still hold onto. It's really hard to give your ALL, EVERYTHING. I have been thinking about that this week.

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

We have been working on having hope this week. Having hope that we will find people, that we will have a baptism together, etc. I have really seen that our lessons have been SO GOOD! And I think that that has a lot to do with the fact that we are working on having this hope for the people we are teaching.

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

Eh... mas o menos (more or less). It's been hard this week, to be honest, to find moments to have fun and be happy. I was happy that we had investigators at church and that we had really good lessons, but it's been hard this week with the other sisters' baptims.

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

Always

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

I always love the bus rides through the mountains and we got to see the ruins again!!!!

18. How has the weather been this week?

Hot:) The sun here is really strong but i like it and I am getting my tan on! But in the nights it still gets cold which kind of annoys me because I don't want to carry around a jacket.

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

We still have our competitions to do dishes and I always carry some of her bags for her when she buys food. I don't have to buy much, LOL.

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

We talked about Matthew 25.

21. 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 V, Hna A, and familia M?

Yeah, and we actaully had an hermano leave with us Sunday and we got bunch of references. But yeah, with phones still down it's hard....

22. When is the next transfer cycle?

Transfers will be on the 19th and we think that we will be together for another transfer.

Anyway, weird foods, mango with chile and salt....ew. I ate papaya and it made me not feel good.

I lost another clothing item to the pila this week.... sad day! So yeah, that kind of sucks.

I really don't have time, but I love you all. Thank you for your prayers and support. Please let everyone know I'm sorry I didn't have much e-mail time this week but I'll catch up next week.

Hermana Gisseman

Our new house