The Field is White: Week 42 -- My Lines Aren't Straight, but It's OK

Hola! It has been so dang hot this week! I think that it went up like 10 degrees or something, lol, but I broke down and took out my umbrella to use as shade like the people do here, lol, but I felt like a tesitigo so I put it away after like 3 minutes but it has been so hot... we saw a sign today that said 30 which is like 86 fahrenheit but it feels so much hotter!!!!!

Anyway....

1. What did you do for P-Day today?

This morning we went to the bank to pay the light bill... my comp is out of money and so I am paying for everything -- water, light and whatnot.... It's a good thing that I am stingy! Then we went to the stake center to play games like normal... we played slaughterball again, a little bit of basketball and we attempted to play Capture the Flag but it went down hill and so, yeah... then we ended playing. And we went toWendy's and now we are here! And there weren't any repercussions from the broken door at the stake center. at least that we know o,f because they still let us into the building to play and everything but now they won't let us turn on the air conditioning because it costs too much. Be grateful for air conditioning!

2. How was church yesterday? Did you have any investigators there? Did Iris come to church? How about Nakima? How is Israel? What about the "crazy lady" from last week?

Church was pretty good. Iris came to church! She is so going to get baptized! She is very shy, though, so I don't know exactly when she will get baptized but she looks so much happier now and her family is supporting her since her brother and his family are members now. That was it.... I was supposed to give the lesson yesterday but I got out of it, heehee. We had a meeting with our lider misional (ward mission leader) and, yeah...we haven't had contact with him really this whole change and we have met with him once.... so we met together yesterday and he proceeded to machete all of us and tell us what we aren't doing right and what we need to do and it sucked....

3. How are Hna Marcia and her family doing?

They are doing alright. It was Steven's birthday this week and we got invited to the party so we helped cook and make the piñata-a minion from Despicable Me. And we got to hit it a few times, too!

4. When are the next transfers? Do you think you or your companion will be transferred?

I think that my companion will have changes but we will see.... we find out tonight. I could live stay with her. She's so sweet and a really good worker and now that we have addressed the fact that we need to share time in the lessons we have had REALLY good lessons and have found some great people. But I feel like it's time for her. Two new hermanas are coming so maybe I will train... I doubt it, though.

5. What kinds of places do you go contacting, or do you just go house to house?

In the street. We aren't allowed to go contacting like knocking on doors, or at least that's what I have been taught... so we contact people outside their houses or in the street.

6. What miracles and tender mercies have you seen this week? Answers to your prayers?

There area always little things like someone gives us food or juice when it's blistering hot or when we find someone super pilas! Or when the lights go out sometimes and we can go to bed a little early, lol.

7. How has someone else blessed your life this week? How have you blessed someone else's life this week?

We did A LOT of service this week for the familia Castro (Andrea who lives below us and her mom). We washed clothes, cleaned the house, helped cook, helped make a traditional cape, headdress, apron and other little things for a competition for Dia Del Indio (the Day of the Indian or something like that). But it has been fun.. .except for the fact that we have NO water right now... and we have been without for 4 days now... yay.... Hna Juana the mom yelled at me because she yells at everyone and because it's part of the culture and I didn't understand and it made me cry a little bit... but whatever. We had Family Home Evening with them, too, and it was so good! One of the daughters gave the lesson about prayer and everyone shared their experiences and it was really beautiful.

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

That we got to do a lot of service.

9. How is it going, teaching English to Hna Ugarte?

It's going pretty well. This week we were a little tired so it's hard to study when you're tired so those days were a little rough, lol, but she is learning.

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

Well, we were in a lesson with a preacher and he told us that he knew that Mormons didn't drink coffee and then proceeded to bring us coffee... and so we just looked at each other and then looked at him and looked at each other again and there was an awkward uncomfortable silence, hahaha, and after the lesson we just laughed and laughed. And we started making up different lyrics to the hymns to apply to missionary life like Dios Da Valor (God Speed the Right).... El Sol Da Calor. (note from Alyssa's Mom -- I have no idea what that translates to!) Things like that and it was really funny.

11. What did you do for your district meeting and zone meeting this week?

Wel, President Dester sent out a machete letter last week... like SUPER machete! And we reread the letter as a district this week and got more machetied... BUT I decided to raise my hand and share! WHAT! I never share! But it was something from one of the pages President Dester gave me. It was from a book by Michael Wilcox and in one of the sections he told a story. He was preparing a lesson for Sunday and he was marking in his scriptures, underlining and writing in the margin. He didn't really notice, but his 5 year old son came up next to him with his Book of Mormon. When he had finished he looked over at what his son had been doing. He had been copying every detail of the page. He had underlined all the same scriptures and marked them with the same colors. He was amazed that his son had matched his markings so closely. Then he noticed that his son started to cry and he said, My lines arent straight like yours, Daddy. He went on to say that our lines aren't straight. but that Heavenly Father really doesn't sit there focused on the fact that they aren't straight, because He knows that we will get them right in time. So I shared that with them... And I really like it.

12. What was the spiritual highlight of your week?

I think our district meeting... I think that we all left feeling like we really could be better.

13. What did you learn from your personal study this week? How is your reading of Isaiah coming along?

I am almost done with Isaiah! FINALLY ! Only like 5 more pages or something like that.... but I finished the Liahona for this month so now my study will be a liitle better, I think. But I was comparing this week King Mosiah with George Washington... and how Mosiah told the people that they should have a king and how he freed them and didn't treat the people like slaves or anything but out of the love that he had for them, just pure love, he gave them the system of judges and I was thinking about how George Washington must have cared about the people and the country to have given up the presidency and the power and how he set a good example for our generations of politicians.

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

Always

15. What has been the most beautiful thing you've seen this week?

The lights went out this week and while my companion was washing clothes I just laid down on an extra matress we have outside on the balcony and watched the sky and everything was dark and there were some clouds and it was really pretty and peaceful.

16. Did anything unusual or strange happen this week?

I ate cow udder. I only ate two bites so let's not get too excited... the flavor isn't bad but the texture is terrible... it was like eating rubber.... ew!

17. What are you looking forward to this week?

We probably have changes this week. Im not saying that I want to get rid of my companion! Shes sooooo great! But I always love any opportunity to see and listen to President Dester. But in fact my companion said this week that she has been able to be more obedient with me than with any other of her companions! That made me feel really good... .

18. What have you learned about yourself recently?

I was reading the talk again, "Becoming Perfect in Christ," and there was a part that said a missionary who wants to be perfect now may become anxious or discouraged when leaderships positions don't happen fast enough... I was thinking that that has been me and then I thought about what President Dester said to me in our first interview, that I would learn things in this mission that I wouldn't be able to learn anywhere else... and I think that this is one of them because maybe in another mission I would already be a trainer or a companion mayor (senior companion)...I don't know...but here I have the opportunity to better myself in this aspect and be more humble and overcome a little this deep rooted perfectionism.

19. What can we do to better support you as a missionary?

DO FHE and PRAY and READ THE SCRIPTURES AS A FAMILY.

20. What did President Dester have to say this week?

He talked about the importance of study and how really we need to be more strict in obeying the miossionary schedule and in having our studies.

I hit 300 days in the mission this week!!! I can't believe how fast the time is going....I only have six changes left...that's so crazy. I am finishing my 7th and I only have 6 left! That seems so short to me! I feel like time goes way too fast. We are almost done with July! Aaaaaaaaaack!

My companion never gets any mail from home or e-mails so if anyone wants to write to her, feel free! (Note from Alyssa's Mom -- if you're interested in writing to Hna Ugarte, just contact me and I'll give you her email address, or you can send cards/letters to her at the same address on this blog, just addressed to her instead f Alyssa.)

Here is a quote from my friend Daniel's mission president: "In this life, if we do not learn to work, there will be no place for us in the eternities, for even the devil works."

Well, I hope you all have a good week. And enjoy your air conditioners.

Love,

Hermana Gisseman