The Field is White: Week 47 -- A Baptism and My Birthday!

Thanks for all the Birthday wishes! I got a birthday package from the Swansons, and cards from Bishop Clark, Coach K, and Grace Clark this week. Thank you! I am so spoiled and blessed. Thank you SO much!

1. Tell me about your birthday! Did you like your gifts? Do they fit? Do you like them? What did you do?

We celebrated my birthday on Friday. So my companion actually didnt feel well and we went back to the house a little bit early and waited for Marcia and at like 7:30 she got home and we made brownies (like American Betty Crocker ones) with Nutella on top and a fruit pizza and Marcia made her hamburgers which I really like. Then we opened my gifts!!! I LOVED my skirts! They were so cute and I loved all my gifts, actually! I got a scarf and a really cute tiny wallet crossbody from the Swansons. Andrea sent me a hilarious book (haha!) and the lotion you sent smells really really good. I love the earrings that Brie sent. But, yeah, I don't remember everything because it was like four packages, LOL, but I loved it! And Grandma and Papa's box had a bunch of shredded paper in it and Marcia ran up and threw it in the air and then we had a shredded paper fight and there was paper EVERYWHERE as you can see in the pictures! Then for my actual birthday we had ward conference so I had to play the piano... and afterwards we ate more cake with Marcia. And then we ate cake with Iris since she got baptized and Angi, her niece who is a member and she has like 10 years, painted my finger nails to look like watermelons, lol. And we had dinner with Israel and he told us that he prayed and felt like he got an answer so that was a miracle! And, yeah, I wanted to watch a movie so when we got home we watched "The District", how exciting, hahahaha. But, yeah, my skirts fit. I haven't tried the shirts on but I'm sure that they will fit just fine.

2. Tell me about one of your days from this week. What did you do, where did you go, what did you teach in lessons, who did you meet with, etc.?

This week we had divisions with the Sister Training Leaders. So after our district meeting on Tuesday we went home and waited for them... and waited for a good hour and a half. So we missed the 2 citas (appointments) we had that were real appointments and it was our first day getting back to work so everything was scattered and weird.....so we left at like 4 pm and visited a menos activo and her daughter... and we read a scripture with them and left because really they aren't progressing.... then we found some new folks and we left pamphlets with them and set appointments to come back and explain.... and we stayed in this colonia (neighborhood) whose walking distance from one end to the other is 5 minutes... it's TINY! We try to talk with whoever is outside and who isn't moving because it's creepy and hard to contact people who are walking towards you....

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

Hna N and I went to get pedicures today!!!!! But they are different as far as the atmosphere.... there were lots of cockroaches and they don't have massage chairs.... but whatever. My feet feel nice now, lol. It's funny because the style here is to wear your toenails realllllly long which is weird... so I asked her to cut mine and she was like for real? LOL. Then we went to Fesi (the stake center) to practice for the choir I'm directing this week.... and I had to transpose the song into a different key which was hard but I did it and I felt like a boss. I think the Lord is blessing my musical abilities a lot.... then the stake president bought us pizza for lunch and now we are here!

4. How did the musical numbers go at ward conference yesterday?

Three musical numbers but I only played for two of them and I also played the hymns. It wasn't that bad.

5. How was ward conference? Did you have investigators there?

It was pretty good. I felt a lot better after my playing the piano was done. We had six investigators there so that's more than normal. And Hna I got confirmed!!! Hna S and her family came and E, and Israel:)

6. How are Hna I, E, and Israel doing? And Hna S and her family?

Hna I got baptized! We didn't fill up the pila as much as we should have so when our Mission Leader got there he turned it on so it was on for all the talks.... UGH. But anyways, I shouldn't complain because she got baptized and now she's a memeber and she's just so dang cute! And E came to church so now he will get baptized this Saturday:) Israel came and we challenged him to get baptized on the 6th of September (wow, it's almost September) and he is supposed to pray about that. But he didn't say so there is definitely a change there which is really, really good! And yeah, Hna S is so pilas and ready to get baptized... she just has to get married but doesn't want to yet because her boyfriend drinks and used to do some not great stuff and she just hasn't seen a big enough change in him yet... but we are getting there.... so, yeah, the people we have who are progressing are so pilas!

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

Israel got an answer to his prayers!!!! That's pretty huge and Hna I got baptized and the ward conference went well and it was a pretty good week. I think that's a miracle in itself. When we were on divisions it started pouring rain during a cita. but it stopped when we were about to leave and didn't come back all day!

8. How has someone else blessed your life this week?

Marcia! She is jsut so dang cute! And the little party she threw for me was just so nice. I felt like I was with family. And they took a ton of pictures so I hope they all upload.

9. How have you blessed someone else’s life this week?

I don't know. I think that this week I was a little to impatient with everyone since I had to prepare for the conference, the other conference, and divisions with the sister training leaders, and I'm old now and so on and so forth...I should probably look for ways to serve more.

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

My little birthday party with Marcia. And Angi gave me a rose for my birthay. It's so cute!

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

I don't really know.... probably Marcia throwing the paper everywhere

12. What did you learn in church yesterday?

That I actually really love playing the piano....

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

We talked about questions and how we can ask more effective questions. And Elder Scott always makes us do practices and I hate them and I never talk so they all think I suck.... not really. But I hate practices and I just...ugh...can't do them.

14. What was the spiritual highlight of your week?

I don't really know.... I think it was Hna I's baptism.

15. What did you learn from your personal study this week?

I was reading in Jeremiah and in chapters 42 and 43-ish there was a group of people who asked Jeremiah to pray to ask the Lord something and they were like "we promise that whatever the Lord says we will do!" and so Jeremiah went and prayed and it says he got an answer 10 days later (which shows we don't always get our answers right away) and the answer wasn't what the people wanted and he told them that if they went to Egypt that they would die pretty much and then they got all bent out of shape and went to Egypt anyways and didn't listen to the Lord. So I thought that was interesting because as people how often do we tell the Lord that we will do whatever He asks and then when push comes to shove we don't do it?

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

Always!

17. What was the most beautiful thing you saw this week?

All my birthday presents... heehee!

18. Did anything unusual or strange happen this week?

Not really....there were a lot of cockroaches in the beauty salon that did our nails though....

19. What are you looking forward to this week?

The conference with Elder Alonso.... I'm leading the choir for that, too! We're singing an arrangement of "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go" and I'm also leading the hymns

20. What was the best thing and the worst thing you ate this week?

Best thing... cake. Worst thing was some club crackers with mayo on them.... I hate mayo! But I think I will be a soda addict when I get home... we literally drink it everyday, haha.

Just so you know, our mission is 70 percent Latino and 30 percent gringos.... I can't believe Becky Rhoden is home already and that she really went skydiving! Wow -- that's crazy! I feel like I have s much time left to go but I guess it will go way too fast. I really don't have that much time left.

Hna U said she got a package from you this week and she loved it. :-)

Thanks for all your love and support!

Hermana Gisseman

(Aaah...I'm so old now!)