The Field is White: Week 70 -- It's the Little Things -- Like Making Cookies

1. How is Hna S doing?

She understands everything that I say...but I hope this week we can really focus on speaking!!! We have been working hard on teaching lesson 1.

2. Have you received any more packages or letters?

I got a letter from the Swansons with a picture of Brinley and I got a drawing from the Stylers but packages, not yet.

3. How are D and her family doing? Is their son still in date to be baptized in February?

Yeah, he is going to get baptized on the 28th so at the end of the month. He is excited but a little shy so we just have to keep teaching him... but it's a little difficult when we can only see him once a week. But I'm sure that everything will work out and the whole family is excited. And they all came to church on Sunday.

4. How was church yesterday? Did you have many investigators and less active members there? Did you learn anything new?

We had 10 investigators! The Familia M and Familia R came, so that was awesome! I hope that those two families can progress and that maybe one of them will be able to be baptized while I am here!!!! And we had some menos activos (less active members) as well and the guy who got excommunicated. So there is progress here... it's just slow and not in the form of baptisms.

5. How is Familia R?

Their taxi broke so this week they have had to take it in a lot to get fixed and it's just been hard for them. They are starting school now. But other than that they are excited for church and they all went on Sunday and they are so good about receiving us and loving us. :)

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

We went to the beach and chiilled and took pictures for a little bit and then we went to eat at Pizza Hut as a zone. There was a guy creeping on us so bad, hahaha, he was like using his menu to hide it but he kept creeping and we were all laughing so hard. Good times.

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

I think that it is so hard for me to be out in the rain... like it kills me. I hate it so much. But the Lord has truly blessed us to have citas (appointments) and maybe some fall through but we find others so that we aren't out in the rain all the time. But today is sunny again so I'm happy, lol.

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

Well, we went to a menos activos (less active members') house and made chocolate chip cookies with them and it was really fun and she let us use her kitchen and all her stuff and we did a little family home evening and it just felt a little bit more like the States. And Hna S really, really wanted to make cookies, lol.

9. Have you spent more time with Familia G this week?

We left with M and B again on Sunday. They are just so great. And they invited us over to eat lunch after church! And they invited us over again for dinner since they always give us dinner on Sundays. They are so sweet. today is Hna Doris's birthday so we are going to go by and give her a little present.

10. Did you have a favorite appointment or lesson this week, one that went really well and that you felt like the person you were teaching was really receptive to?

We met iwth a new investigator, Y, and she says that she is evangelica but doesn't even feel good in her own church. She had read the pamphlet that we left with her and she said that she really liked the story of Joseph Smith. She was really receptive and sweet and knew all the answers and is looking for the truth. We really, really hope that she really is this pilas. We have a cita (appointment) with her this week so we will see how it goes. I haven't met with anyone that interested or that remembered that much in a really long time so it was refreshing.

11. How are Hna Maritza and her family doing?

They are doing alright. She came to church on Sunday with her 3 kids but her husband still hasn't come... but hopefully he will come back soon... I really hope so. They are starting school again but are doing well.

12. How have you served someone this week?

We went and visited a menos activa (less active member) who has diabetes and can't really take care of it the way shes supposed to so she has bad hearing and is going blind and they have had to amputate some of her toes. It's just a really sad situation and we went to visit her and cleaned her house for her. She doesn't have a working stove and lives in one room. It's just sad. But we were able to wash her dishes and clean up a little bit for her.

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

It was raining this week until the end of the week... so the first half of the week was terrible and there was no one to talk to but we were able to talk to more people when it has been sunny.

14. What was the best thing happened this week?

I think that it was sunny today and I really did like making cookies and being with Familia Galeas. I like that people are showing us love and lots of it. It makes me feel good and like we really are doing something right.

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

The guy that was creeping on us today in Pizza Hut, haha.

16. What have you learned about the Savior in the last few months?

That He is so patient with us. We make so many mistakes all the time and I'm sure it would be so easy to just give up on somebody and to lose hope, but He never does that. He is always there no matter how stubborn we are or how hard we fall. He is always there time and time again. And I think that we need to be patient with others, too, and especially with ourselves.

17. Who else are you teaching right now and what can we pray for for the people you're working with?

Pray for Familia M and Familia R that one of them can get married and get baptized! And that we can find other people who are ready to hear the gospel

18. What was the spiritual highlight of your week?

We were in church yesterday and it was fast and testimony meeting and a little kid got up who is 9 and he got baptized like a month ago. And he got up and was talking about how his cousin just got home from a vacation in the States and they all had a big party and were just so happy to be together. And he said that he thought that must be what Heaven is like when we are all together again. I think that it just kind of hit everybody.

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

I finished Jesus the Christ. And I am almost done with Revelations in the Bible in Spanish. I'm rereading the conference talks still. I really, really love Pres. Uchtdorf's talk, "Lord is it I?" I think there is so much we can learn from that talk.

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

Always

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

Today is really, really sunny. :) YAY

22. Did you have any unusual experiences this week?

Well, I threw up this week... I have only thrown up once on the mission until this week. I just didn't feel good but I decided to eat all the lunch they gave me anyways and it didn't go well. So we were in a cita and I just couldn't do it anymore. But luckily they had a really nice bathroom, lol, and then we went home. I felt bad. Luckily they were old people and they understood and were very nice about it.

23. What has been your biggest challenge this week?

Trying to help Hna S get lesson 2 down, the Plan of Salvation. That is the hardest lesson and we spent 3 days going over the doctrine and translating the folletos.

25. What's the most unusual thing you ate this week? What was the best thing you ate this week? What was the worst thing you ate this week?

I don't really know... I didn't eat anything really gross. But yesterday we got fried fish that was really good. I like fish in general. But we did find white chocolate covered Oreos that were delicious!

Yeah... so today I hit 16 months... thats kind of a lot.

I love you!

Hermana Gisseman

Making cookies today