So this was a hard Easter .... especially for being in a
country that turns it into a whole week. We did not see the video about Christ (Because of Him).
In fact, nobody even really talked about Christ on Sunday in church and we didn't sing any
Easter hymns... EVERYTHING was closed this week...it really looked like a ghost
town and it made finding appointments super hard. I'm really tired....this week was really hard. We walked around for hours and hours because everyone was on vacation. This week I was the most tired I have ever been. I was soooooo tired. And it's not like we even had citas (appointments) or anything, but just walking and the physical, spiritual, and mental exhaustion.
I'm
jealous that you guys got to go sightseeing! I love going to museums. And
the Holocaust one is actually really really good so Daddy should go.
Mom, if
you really want to cut your hair, you can -- it's your hair! I did get a
haircut this week.... I really needed one and so I just sucked it up. A girl in
the ward cuts hair and she does missionaries for free.
Aw:)
I miss working at Ann Taylor and all of the people there! Tell them hi for me! What Paige Brudnicki wrote about us and that she thought I was a leader -- wow! I guess you never know the impact you have on people. She's so sweet.
1. How was
church this week? I’m guessing attendance was low because of semana
santa?
Yeah, it was terrible... We only had 80 people there. There were no
special musical numbers. The branch president did talk about the miracle of
raising the daughter of Jairus so he did talk about Christ but none of them
really talked about why we celebrate Easter or anything. We didn't sing any Easter
hymns like i said. It was like a normal Sunday and it made me really, really sad.
2. How is Jorge
doing? And the two Wendys? And the other people you are working
with? Is Jorge still planning on being baptized this month?
Jorge is
probably the best investigator that I will ever have. He told us that he knows
Satan is trying to keep him from being baptized but he just won't have that. He
is determined to get baptized on the 26th, not a day sooner and not a day later,
lol. And he wants to follow the example of Christ and be baptized in a
river.... we were super worried about this so we brought our temporary mission
leader with us to try to talk him out of it because there aren't rivers in our
area. But our mission leader instead encouraged it even more and set all the
plans! THANKFULLY our ZLs called the APs who gave us permission to leave our
area for a baptism in a river. :) So this Saturday, with or without family
support, Jorge will be baptized in a river like Christ. Jorge is just so
great! He is so prepared and all the people who know him who hear he is
getting baptized are shocked because he apparently used to be a very different
person. But he is so ready now! He told us that he has a testimony of the Word
of Wisdom, too, because he prayed to know if he should give up coffee. The next
day his wife made him a cup of coffee and he said he didn't even feel like
drinking it and he hasn't touched it since and he used to drink it every
morning. :) He's jsut so great. Difficult sometimes, well all the time, lol, but he
is great! And probably my only baptism in Santa Rosa because we will have
changes the next week. Wendy the investigator was on vacation this week and so
we haven't been able to visit her for a while. The menos activos Wendy... she's going to
move again and we don't know to where... but we helped her make ticucos this
week which are a traditional semana santa food. They are like tamales but tiny
and they almost look like they are in tiny bags. They have the masa or cough (???)
from tortillas with beans, sometimes chicken, and they are soooo good! We
got lots of ticucos this week haha. Honestly we have no one to teach...again. After
Jorge gets baptized it will be interesting to see what happens because we don't
really have anything. We have had to drop all the people that we found and now
we are starting over again. I almost wonder if President Dester will take both of us
out and put in elders because if ever there was a time to switch us out it
would be now when we really won't have anything.... but vamos a ver (time will tell).
3. What
miracles and/or tender mercies have you seen this week? Answers to your
prayers?
A tender mercy: I remember a menos activo that we visited when I first
came here. It might have been my first Sunday in Santa Rosa. We were with
members of the rama (branch) and I didn't say anything until a member asked me to bear my
testimony of the Book of Mormon. I still couldn't speak Spanish well at this point in time. There
were like 3 members with us so I was embarrased. I still didn't have a
relationship with my companion and I didn't know this hermano (brother/man). We have visited him my
whole time here. At first he came ocassionally to Sacrament Meeting in jeans
and a t-shirt. Then he was there for all the Sacrament Meetings. He even came
without his wife who is a member. Then he started staying for classes. He told
us how he wanted to read the Book of Mormon but it was hard, confusing and he didn't know
how to start. I remember reading the first chapter of the Book of Mormon with him and I
gave him a scripture marker so that he could measure and see his progress. He
has been reading ever since. The branch president even asked him to wear white shirts
and ties on Sunday. He has for the past few weeks. :) He used to not leave with
us (go out on misisonary visits) but in the past 2 weeks he has left with us like 4 times and each time he
has been willing to participate and share his testimony. He is now reading in
Mosiah (I think) and we don't have to stop by as often to just check up on his
reading. Well, anyway, I have had the blessing of seeing his whole attitude
change as he has come back to chuch after 25 years of inactivity. He told us
this week that we were the ones who activated him and that now his goal is to
go to the temple!!! It will still be a long road for him to get there, but it
has just been so amazing and a blessing to see the change in this hermano and
for him to recognize and thank us for the time we have worked with him. I just
know that Mario will make his goal. I remember feeling that when I sat in his
house that first visit and I looked at a picture of the temple that was
hanging on his wall. And now he really will go and I'm just so glad to have been
able to be here to help him. I guess I talked about him last week but I will just say it again.
4. How was your
English class this week? What kinds of things are you teaching? How do
you decide what to teach each week?
It was pretty good! A menos activo came
with his family who aren't members which was awesome! We visited them for the
first time on Tuesday and they showed up at class on Wednesday! And we have visited them
2 more times since then and they told us last night that we already have their
confianza (confidence). They showed us their garden and their hen house and it was just
really special. They are all really shy but they share with us which is
awesome. Anyway, they came to the class. :) We usually review how to introduce
oneself because we taught that the first day but there are always different
people so we practically teach it everytime, lol. Then we taught a basic
conversation, how are you, what do you like to do. We have reviewed colors and
the alphabet and numbers. We try to pick practical things and have speaking
games or activities that are practical and everyday things. The big problem
here is that people know words or some phrases but don't know how to use them or
pronounce them...so we really just try and help them to speak. There are
usually 6 people in our classes...which isn't a ton but it's still really
nice.
5. How has
someone else blessed your life this week?
People gave us food, lol.
6. What did you
do for P-Day this week?
This morning we cleaned like normal, did laundry, played
frisbee with our district and some elders from Entrada--our zone leaders and another
companionship--and then we ate at Pizza Hut. And our Distric Leader
asked me to give some of the capacitation (lesson) tomorrow for our reunion de distrito
(district meeting) so I tried to prep some of that until we found out we are going to San Pedro
Sula tomorrow because Hermana V's retainer broke... and now we are here.
7. What was the best
thing that happened this week?
Everyone gave us ticucos! I literally didn't cook
this week, haha, everyone gave us food and lots of it. :) I jsut love food. :) Oh, and
we saw a Catholic procession the other night. It passed right by our window and
it was really weird....they had a float of Christ and he was tied up and
blindfolded....and there were trumpeters playing really creepy music.... and
all the people were just walking through the street....it was kind of cool to
see weird stuff and the traditions of semana santa.
8. How are your
investigators going? Find any new investigators this week? How
about your less active members? I’m guessing that since it’s so hot now it
might be harder to find people for the next while?
Yeah, it's been really hard to
find people...we actually haven't found anyone new for the past like 3 weeks
which has been REALLY hard. We did visit the family that I talked about in the
English class... familia de Baldemar, but that's about it....
9. What was the
funnest/funniest thing that happened this week?
In our district meeting this
week, the zone leaders came and afterward we played Signs but we always play Signs so
to make it interesting we played it with sounds....which doesn't really work, lol,
but it's super hilarious to listen to everyone try to make the sounds.
10. What was
the spiritual highlight of your week?
Working with Jorge.
11. Were you
able to do any service this week? Go out with any members this week?
We
halped Hna Wendy make ticucos and we have been helping Bayron with his english,
but he left for Guatemala again today and so it's probably the last time that I
will ever see him. :(
12. What are
you on in your personal study right now, and what stood out to you this week?
I finished Joshua in the Old Testament and the pattern of kings is in the Bible, too! We talk
about it as a pattern in the Book of Mormon with the people in Ether and how Mosiah
refuses to be the kind after he reads the Jaredite records.... well, in Judges
there was a chapter where the people wanted this guy to be
their king and he said no. Well, years later after he died, they appointed a
king and the people fell into wickedness again.... I love finding patterns in the scriptures. I am reading Our Heritage again about the
pioneers and Satan will always work hard against the church because it's true!
Everytime the church makes a stride, he works even harder to slow the progress.
But God's work will not stop. It's amazing the perserverance and dedication of
the early saints and pioneers.... I really don't know that I could have been a
pioneer....
13. What have
you learned about yourself this week?
I really need to be married to someone
funny or fun....I need people to help bring that side of me out. In this work we have
to have fun or else it's just work and we will get burnt out and I really felt
a lot of seriousness this week and it made me so dang tired.
14. In what
area do you think you’ve improved this week?
I think that I am a lot less shy
than I used to be. Hna V commented that I am getting a lot better at just
starting lessons, too, and I realized that I really have. I can start whatever
lesson and really teach any of the lessons without a problem. So that was
good.
15. What was
your happiest moment this week?
Opening my mail. :)
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?
We went to the top
of Santo Eduviges like 50 times this week (lol - not really but a lot) and we
usually don't go in the morning but we had a cita (appointment) that fell through, but we got
to take in the view in the morning. And another time we went in the morning we
took our cameras so there are pictures, but it's really high up and we have to
hike all the way up that mountain!
18. Did
anything unusual happen this week?
The Catholic procession.... but other
than that nope. It was pretty dead. Oh, I did eat another traditional food...but
I don't know what it's called. It was a flour and water drink with herbs in it with
really, really sweet platanos in a carmelish sauce.... the flour drink
apparently takes away the sweet so that you can keep eating, lol, but it was a
little weird.
19. What is an
area book and how is yours the best?
It is a book that keep track of everything
we do really. There is a page that we make and fill out for every
investigator. We mark off the lessons we have taught, the compromisos (challenges) we have
extended, we write a little summary about every lesson we had with them and how
they responded, there is a map to their house since there are no addresses....
and in the book there are old investigators so ones we have dropped, new
investigators, investigators with baptismal dates, and everything has
to be updated all the time and organized and ours was the best one. We do a
really good job at keeping it up to date and nice and neat.
20. Tell me
about a time you felt the Spirit this week.
Just when we are with Jorge and he
starts telling the story of how we found him off the street when really he
talked to us first and his testimony just helps me to see that the Lord is
preparing people. The Lord put him in our path and we really haven't done
anything and now that we are finalizing details for the baptism it just really
hits me that its the Lord's work.
21. Have you
had more pancake nights this week? ;-) If so, what unusual toppings
did you put on them?
Nope... we finished our pancake mix. LOL
I did realize
something this week. Wellm like Ian had told me that there are some missionaries
who don't need to see the baptisms to convert themselves to the gospel. That's why everyone is here right, to convert others, but really to convert ourselves.
There are some people who need those baptism and some people who don't. I think I'm one of
those people who doesn't need the baptisms. It was just a testiment to me
that I really am strong and that I don't need to see these baptisms to know that
I am working and to know that I am converted to the gospel.
Love you all! Thanks
for all your support!
WIth Hna V and the Hermana Training Leaders
So this is a pretty normal sister missionary thing...when someone reaches 9 months on the mission it's long enough to have been through a pregnancy....kind of a weird sister missionary inside joke thing...
New hot pink shirt that I bought last week.
With Jorge and Hna V
Cute scarf from Morgan and her mom -- thank you!
The Catholic procession we watched out our window
The view from the top of the mountain
The cute Easter decorations Mom sent
Thanks for the Easter goodies, Mom!
I love the new skirt, Mom!
Thank you, Morgan and Mrs. Meilinger!
Lots of food!
