The Field is White: Week 66 -- We Are Never Eating Store-Bought Tortillas Again!

I don't mind if lots of people are visiting when I get home and I have to give up my bedroom...I can sleep on an air matress or the couch, lol. Heck, I could even share a bed! LOL But it so sweet of Brie to think of me and not want me to have to give up my bedroom as soon as I get home. That made me teary. I love her idea of you and Daddy going on a date while we're at Disney World and me and Brie going out to dinner and having our own sister time while we're there.

I love crema, too. You should buy a tortilla press because then we can make tortillas faster and they really are sooo much better made at home! I can never eat store bought American tortillas again in my life, hahaha. Now that you know how to make corn tortillas and I know how to make both corn and flour tortillas, we are never eating store-bought tortillas again, unless it's an emergency! I make tortillas by hand, but a tortilla press would be good to have so you should buy one. But really, they're pretty fast by hand. Another thing...when I get home, I do not want any chicken that has bones in it. I'm so tired of having to work to get chicken!

1. Have you received any more Christmas packages?

Nope, not this week.

2. How are D and her family doing? Did they go to church yesterday?

They didn't...They are doing alright. Hno F is really negative and so D wants to go to church but when he starts complaining and she has to get 4 kids ready by herself it disanimates her a little bit. But we went to visit and she's still so ready to get baptized and they are talking about getting married this year so we will see what happens. We set a date for their other son who is 9 to get baptized for February 7 to keep motivating them to progress so he will get baptized and we hope that the month after they can get baptized.

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

We went to the beach as the 4 missionaries from this ward. It was cool because when we were able to leave it was raining in Puerto and we could see it coming, haha, it was like a wall across the water and then it caught up to us and it rained a little bit. But then we went out to eat at a new restaurant and it is one of the best resaurants that I have eaten at here.. It was way good and now we are here writing.

4. What did you do for New Year's Eve?

We didn't do anything... Well, that's a lie, lol. A family invited us to come over. We played UNO that I got form the Swansons until the food was ready and then we ate... it was actually really good. Here they eat pork for like all holidays or chicken if they can't afford a pig leg. And we had cheesecake. Lots of people gave us tamales, too. I finished the last of them today for breakfast, lol. Then they dropped us off at our house. But there was a family there from La Victoria. The 2nd counselor in the bishopric/branch presidency and his wife have family in our ward here and it just so happened that we went to their house to eat so I got to see them and that was nice.

5. What miracles and tender mercies have you seen this week?

This week the members showed us a lot of love and so we could feel a little bit of the love our families have for us.

6. You said that when you were walking home last P-Day a lady stopped you and told you to visit her. Have you been able to go see her?

Yeah, we went to visit her this week and she seems really pilas. She had an uncle who was a member but he died when he as like 17... but their family had received missionaries before. She is really sweet and we are hoping to visit her again this Saturday.

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

An hermano invited us over for lunch one day and I don't know why but he reminded me of Daddy. Maybe becasue he wears athletic clothes all the time, too (haha) but he just invited us to eat, and bought us some fruit and treated us like we really were part of his family. He has a daughter serving a mission, too, so maybe that's why. But It was nice because we could really feel his love for us and for all the missionaries.

8. How is Hna M doing? And her husband?

He is doing better. We went to visit her son this week and we have a noche de hogar (Family Home Evening) with them tonight. I am hoping that with the new year they will be a little bit more motivated... we shall see. But M and her daughter who is more active came to church yesterday so that made us happy.

9. How have you served someone else this week? How have you served your companion this week?

I made her bed. I don't know! She makde me a bookmark that is from a drawing of missionaries and there was one with blonde hair and she decorated it for me and gave me a pen from Guatemala which was really sweet. I end up doing most of the cleaning in our house, lol. We did do a big service project as a zone this week. We went to campana and built a ramp for a man in a wheelchair... I don't know that that ramp is going to work but whatever... we had to look for big rocks to use as a wall and support and pretty much we just dug dirt out of the side of the mountain for the ramp... it wasn't a ramp of wood or anything fancy. But it took forever! And I didn't enjoy looking for rocks in the trash -- that was just icky. But whatever. And the elders just dont think! They weren't getting anything done until we stepped up and told them what to do... oh, elders! LOL

10. Have you been able to talk to a lot of people this week?

Not really. The weeks of Christmas, New Years and Semana Santa are the hardest and this week we felt it a little bit. There weren't people outside really at all. And we left with more members and a bad habit that we have is to forget about contacting when there is a member with us... so we weren't able to contact as mane people as we wanted to.

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

I suppose New Year's, LOL. We met together as a zone and we had planning together and afterwards we went out to eat together. It was nice. Pretty chill.

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

I don't know... we were eating with a family and there was a sopa opera on and I think a lady was about to kill herself and the dad in the house was making fun of the novela and was saying "oh, just kill yourself already" and after he said that there was a firework that went off outside and shook the house and it scared him and it was really, really funny. But I think that you had to be there.

13. How are J and N doing?

Well... J is doing well and wants to come to church again and her son wants to get baptized so we will be able to work with him some more so he can reach that goal. But N apears that she really doesn't want to make the changes necessary... so that's okay. But J really seems like she's ready to come back to church.

14. What was the spiritual highlight of your week?

I think that being at church yesrterday and seeing all the hard work that we have done. We had 8 investigators there, including a new family that we found! And Hno C, the excommunicated member. And we had 10 menos activos (less active members), and the 2 members we helped to reactivate were there, too. It was just really nice to see all of our hard work finally. It was a very good Sunday.

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

I have been reading from the talks that the family sent me for Christmas and they are all really, really, really good. So thank you all! I have been learning lots actually. I really like "Life Where You Stand." I haven't finished them all yet. I have just read some. Also I am reading the Liahona that President Dester gave us about Christ from November 2008 or something like that. But it's good, too... Nothing earth shattering, but it's good. It's been hard to study well when I'm just so dang tired all the time.

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

Always

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

Today we ate at a new restaurant and I ate a fish fillet with a coconut sauce... it was soooo delicious! One thing that I like about being at the beach is that there is fish and it's really good! Also people gave us cheesecake two times! Woohoo!

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

When the rain came in today there was like a line over the ocean. I don't know how to describe it but it was sooo cool!

19. Did you have any unusual experiences this week?

Actually yes... this week we got robbed. We went to the grocery store and you have to leave your things in a cubby but there is a huge fat guy who guards them... so we bought a cake to share with the family who invited us for New Years and someone had given us tamales... well, when we came back the tamales, which had been on top of the cake, were gone. Someone robbed us of our tamales! And the most ironic thing is that they were selling tamales right outside the door... really, folks? Really?

20. What has been your biggest challenge this week?

I think accepting that we are going to have changes. We have gotten so used to being with each other and it is going to be hard to get used to a new companion. This companionship has helped me to learn to be more positive. I am hoping for a positive companion.

21. What are you goals for this week?

I like your goals, Mom... I think that my first goal is finish the mission, lol. But I want to excercise more, too. In the misison my body is just TOO tired now. I honestly just can't do exercise. I have never been this tired in my life, lol. I walk so slowly now, too. But don't worry -- it's normal -- missionaries are always tired. I'm fine. But when I get home I want to run again. I want to learn more about the gospel and the Bible and everything so I want to read more church books and take more religion classes at BYU... especially Isaiah because I just don't understand that book. I don't know... I want to go back to school... I don't know. I haven't really thought about it because most of the things involve being at home so I don't want to be baggy, haha.

22. What do you think will happen with changes this week?

I think that Hna A will have changes and that I will get a new companion and stay here in Puerto Cortes...but I'm sad because I have really enjoyed my time with her. :/ We'll find out tonight what is going to happen.

Update: We just found out that Hna A is being transferred and I will stay here and be a trainer to a new missionary...who doesn't speak Spanish!

Happy aniversary to you and Daddy and happy 15 months to me!!!

Oh, and a member of the ward here got baptized with an Hermana Butikofer in 1983 and so could you get in contact with the Butikofers..tthis is really important. That last name isn't common... and he would really like to get in touch with that hermana to let her know how he is doing now... so that would be really nice if you could do that for me.

Love you all!

Hermana Gisseman

GIfts from Marcia