Well this week has been full of many things, but I will start out with a really cool experience that happened with one of our investigators named Cloudia. I will first tell you her history. She has been sick since she was 12 w/ having random spasms or seizures. She would go through times without remembering what had happened and often hurts herself or if she is holding her child and has a spasm, she ends up doing something like throwing the baby or hitting him/her. Its been a really sad story. She is pretty beat up from all of this and has just been living day to day with her medicine and almost never leaves the house. So her husband found the church about a year ago and was baptized after 3 weeks. It was awesome and he is a spiritual giant. Anyway, he commutes to see her and her kids because the only job that he could find is about 45 min away by bus. He comes home Wednesdays and Thursdays to be with them and works the rest of the week in the other town while she lives with her family. Now to the almost present. She has been receiving the missionaries for about a year now and has never made a commitment to be baptized. She has read the BOM but still is unsure about this commitment. Now to us.
So we were walking on the road and a little girl came running towards us saying mi papa mi papa (My Father, My Father) wants to talk to you. We look further down and see this giant of a man of solid muscle stalking towards us. We were a little nervous thinkig that maybe we knocked on his door and he was coming to tell us not to do it again. lol We had no idea. But anyway, he ended up explaining to us who he was and invited us to come and teach his wife (Cloudia). We have been teaching her for about 3 weeks now and have just started over with her with all the lessons. Sometimes when she gets an attack she forgets a little so we have been verifying every lesson with what she remembers. She has never been to church and has never wanted to be baptized. Anyway, this week, she was having a hard time and was having her problems more frequently, therefore, we offered her a blessing from a priesthood holder. She accepted it and so on Tuesday, she received the blessing and had not had a problem until Saturday. She had a little lapse but we explained to her that everything is based on our faith and that the Lord often heals in stages to test our desire and our faith. Like when Christ healed the blind man, it depended on his faith and he healed him twice. The first time he began to see but everything was blurry and couldn't tell a tree from a man. Then the second healing he could see everything. Christ often works in stages with us like in the Book of Ether. We will not receive an answer or, in many cases, a blessing until the trial after our faith.
After this experience, she was really different. When we went to visit, her she was all smiles. She never smiled. Never. She was so happy she was just glowing and she felt different. She said that after the blessing, she has just been experiencing a huge gust of heat coming from within her spreading to the tips of her fingers down to her toes. We talked to her and taught her about baptism and the importance of it and she accepted to be baptized even before I got through the question. lol It was an amazing experience and I was so happy to be a part of it. I love my mission here and all the wonderful experiences I am having and that the Lord is blessing me to be a part of it. Well, I have to go but I love you all very much and please keep praying that we will continue to find good people and that they will be open to receive answers from God to this message.
Love amanda
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Last Week
We went to an investigator's house last night for the last part of our night and we helped make empanadas....A TON!!!! We definitely ate a ton and had a lesson, but I guess they weren't very good for me because I ended up tasting them one more time just not in the manner that I would have chosen. ;) So that became a very interesting night, but I feel better now. I don't like being sick. lol
So this week we've been finding new people like crazy and just have not had enough time to keep up with everything!!! I am loving every bit of it. Well, we have two more people that will be getting baptized next week. They are so excited and I am also. Their mother is a little further behind in the lessons but will be hopefully baptized the following week with our two other investigators. He is 24 and is a friend of a member and is really intelligent. We really have been having some great success here and am excited to continue working in this area. My comp will be going home at the end of this transfer and I am sure that they are not going to take me out and leave it blank for two new people because that would be really hard for them like it was for us. I am sure I will have another transfer here and then I will probably leave. I love this area.
So here's a great story that I really excited about. We have a less active family that we have been visiting. They have not come to church since they were young kids living with their families. They are not married and are 27 and 30. The last time they went to church was when she was 19 and he was 15 and now they have 3 kids. One of the kids is from a different man and two kids from this man, but the man in this family is amazing. So their story: they were really inactive for a long time and she got pregnant from another guy. She didn't have anywhere to live because her family kicked her out. They were friends for about 2 years and so he offered to take care of her and her baby. She didn't know that he was a member until their second child, which was about 6 years later, neither did he know that she was a member. They were not married and so therefore never went back to church because they were not living the law of chastity. Well, here's where we come in, knocking on their door. She starts to bawl and said that she has been waiting for us. She drempt about us about 2 nights before we got there. She knew us by our faces from the dream and knew that my comp was called Hermana Aguas in Spanish (my comps name is Hermana Waters) so she was really emotional. We taught her about repentence, the law of chastity and so on, things to help her to change and to have hope of so doing. Sometime last week, we finally got an appt with her "almost husband" and we taught him the same things. We taught them about the atonement, setting goals and beginning to change their lives. Well this week, they told us that she is going to the civil register to sign up to get married asap and she went today! They are going to get married and invited us to come and to be their witnesses! I am way excited to go to a wedding and to share in their happiness. I am way excited! When they get the date, we are going to talk to the ward and see if they want to put on a party for them to help them feel welcomed into the ward and know that everyone is just as happy for them. The have set a goal to go to the temple when they get cleared by the bishop of our ward. I hope I am here on my mission when they get to go because I want to get the big letter with a fat picture of them smiling and laughing. They are so excited and have been doing great. They have really come around full turn and have been super humble and willing to do whatever needs to be done.
The people here really teach me to be humble and submissive. Whenever I read in the scriptures about being humble, meek, submissive like unto a child, I always think of my investigators & inactive families that totally change their lives and are willing to give up everything to have peace and experience joy!!! They truly are the examples of becoming like unto a child.
So another great story. This week was fast Sunday. Guadalupe is one of our investigators. We had invited to fast with us for her that she will be able to get married or separated so that she can get baptized!!!! Well, she loved the idea and jumped on the opportunity to fast to get baptized!! lol She is amazing! She is living everything we have taught. Her family always has their night time prayers, she reads everyday, and now she is teaching all of her friends that will listen about this message. She is now asking for pamphlets to start giving to people while she is at work in the plaza at night with Favian (the almost husband). Anyway, she fasted and has been amazing. She loved the experience and asked if it was going to get easier because her stomach was hurting and was really growling at her. lol We told her it does but to help through the hunger, remember why she is fasting to make her keep going and not to stop. She was a soldier!!!! I am hoping that things change soon for her because her and her non-husband are great people. I just want them to get married and to be happy. They are both living all the commandments, even the law of chastity. lol Favian is so afraid to let her touch him because he doesn't want to have bad thoughts to get through all of his pornography (which he doesn't know that we know. lol He was too embarrassed to tell us that he had it when we were teaching about why pornography is bad.) and now is starting to go through his music and taking out all the bad stuff. He no longer looks at other woman and Gaudalupe thinks he is so funny because they work in the plaza(park) at night selling hot dogs and there are always scanky woman parading around looking for a good time and now she says that Favian is so afraid to look up because he doesn't want to get bad thoughts. Every time he looked up and saw one, he started to sing the song that we sang with him last, 'count your many blessings name them one by one'. lol That's all he really remembers so she said he sang it over and over. She loves the change and we do also. He really wants to change, but now we want them to fall back in love and to be married. I don't want them to separate. He is afraid of getting married and then getting separated later or getting separated now and braking the law of chastity. He said that to be baptized one needs to really be prepared to make these promises with God because he doesn't think God would like it if he got baptized when they were separated and then had to repent big time after wards for breaking a commandment.
It has really been interesting to teach them and to get to know their personalities. We teach them separate during the week and together on Sundays, which has been working out great. They are not afraid to share things with us and to confide in us and have been progressing like crazy. They have been so humble and willing to do what we say. They have been a huge example of the real meaning of humility and submissiveness, which impresses me so much. I am truly beginning to understand what the promise of God was to us missionaries that if we are faithful and willing to do the work the Lord has in store, He will present to us wonderful people that He has prepared for us to teach and that He will work with their hearts. Our work is to love them and to invite them to make and keep covenants and to prepare them to live the word of God. The Lord has truly blessed me in the mission to have found so many people since I first arrived here.
This is the time in my life that I truly feel unworthy to teach these wonderful people I hope I never lose this feeling because when if I do I will probably become prideful and set in my ways. I love the mission so much, yep, I still have my trials of days when my comp doesn't want to talk to you and you have no idea why or doesn't want to teach or you just can't find a door that will let you in or the very, very, very annoying men that never SHUT UP!!!! One day, I may lose my cool and say some very un-missionary, un-Christlike things!!! Oops. It is rude to think it or even say it but I don't know how long my patience will last another year. lol Pray for me.
In reality, this is a time I wish that I could live forever. If there was one wish I wish I could have, it would be that I could be called to work like Ammon and his brethren were, like Alma and Amulek. That I could serve for 14 years and that I would know, like Ammon, that all of the people that he taught and were converted never fell away from the church. They knew without a doubt that God existed. Oh to be like Alma and to have all my converts taste the sweet joy that I have experienced from the gospel and to have seen angels. To have testimony that Jesus Christ is our Lord and our Redeemer!!! These are things that I hope, pray and wish for every night. I pray that my converts will know of my commitment to the Lord and that they will never fall away and that after this life, I will greet them again in the kingdom of God and we will celebrate that none of us was lost in the battle for our souls!!!! This is my testimony that I know God lives. That Jesus is the Christ. That the gospel has been restored and that all of the children of God can participate and drink of the joy and blessings of this tue and everlasting gospel.
So this week we've been finding new people like crazy and just have not had enough time to keep up with everything!!! I am loving every bit of it. Well, we have two more people that will be getting baptized next week. They are so excited and I am also. Their mother is a little further behind in the lessons but will be hopefully baptized the following week with our two other investigators. He is 24 and is a friend of a member and is really intelligent. We really have been having some great success here and am excited to continue working in this area. My comp will be going home at the end of this transfer and I am sure that they are not going to take me out and leave it blank for two new people because that would be really hard for them like it was for us. I am sure I will have another transfer here and then I will probably leave. I love this area.
So here's a great story that I really excited about. We have a less active family that we have been visiting. They have not come to church since they were young kids living with their families. They are not married and are 27 and 30. The last time they went to church was when she was 19 and he was 15 and now they have 3 kids. One of the kids is from a different man and two kids from this man, but the man in this family is amazing. So their story: they were really inactive for a long time and she got pregnant from another guy. She didn't have anywhere to live because her family kicked her out. They were friends for about 2 years and so he offered to take care of her and her baby. She didn't know that he was a member until their second child, which was about 6 years later, neither did he know that she was a member. They were not married and so therefore never went back to church because they were not living the law of chastity. Well, here's where we come in, knocking on their door. She starts to bawl and said that she has been waiting for us. She drempt about us about 2 nights before we got there. She knew us by our faces from the dream and knew that my comp was called Hermana Aguas in Spanish (my comps name is Hermana Waters) so she was really emotional. We taught her about repentence, the law of chastity and so on, things to help her to change and to have hope of so doing. Sometime last week, we finally got an appt with her "almost husband" and we taught him the same things. We taught them about the atonement, setting goals and beginning to change their lives. Well this week, they told us that she is going to the civil register to sign up to get married asap and she went today! They are going to get married and invited us to come and to be their witnesses! I am way excited to go to a wedding and to share in their happiness. I am way excited! When they get the date, we are going to talk to the ward and see if they want to put on a party for them to help them feel welcomed into the ward and know that everyone is just as happy for them. The have set a goal to go to the temple when they get cleared by the bishop of our ward. I hope I am here on my mission when they get to go because I want to get the big letter with a fat picture of them smiling and laughing. They are so excited and have been doing great. They have really come around full turn and have been super humble and willing to do whatever needs to be done.
The people here really teach me to be humble and submissive. Whenever I read in the scriptures about being humble, meek, submissive like unto a child, I always think of my investigators & inactive families that totally change their lives and are willing to give up everything to have peace and experience joy!!! They truly are the examples of becoming like unto a child.
So another great story. This week was fast Sunday. Guadalupe is one of our investigators. We had invited to fast with us for her that she will be able to get married or separated so that she can get baptized!!!! Well, she loved the idea and jumped on the opportunity to fast to get baptized!! lol She is amazing! She is living everything we have taught. Her family always has their night time prayers, she reads everyday, and now she is teaching all of her friends that will listen about this message. She is now asking for pamphlets to start giving to people while she is at work in the plaza at night with Favian (the almost husband). Anyway, she fasted and has been amazing. She loved the experience and asked if it was going to get easier because her stomach was hurting and was really growling at her. lol We told her it does but to help through the hunger, remember why she is fasting to make her keep going and not to stop. She was a soldier!!!! I am hoping that things change soon for her because her and her non-husband are great people. I just want them to get married and to be happy. They are both living all the commandments, even the law of chastity. lol Favian is so afraid to let her touch him because he doesn't want to have bad thoughts to get through all of his pornography (which he doesn't know that we know. lol He was too embarrassed to tell us that he had it when we were teaching about why pornography is bad.) and now is starting to go through his music and taking out all the bad stuff. He no longer looks at other woman and Gaudalupe thinks he is so funny because they work in the plaza(park) at night selling hot dogs and there are always scanky woman parading around looking for a good time and now she says that Favian is so afraid to look up because he doesn't want to get bad thoughts. Every time he looked up and saw one, he started to sing the song that we sang with him last, 'count your many blessings name them one by one'. lol That's all he really remembers so she said he sang it over and over. She loves the change and we do also. He really wants to change, but now we want them to fall back in love and to be married. I don't want them to separate. He is afraid of getting married and then getting separated later or getting separated now and braking the law of chastity. He said that to be baptized one needs to really be prepared to make these promises with God because he doesn't think God would like it if he got baptized when they were separated and then had to repent big time after wards for breaking a commandment.
It has really been interesting to teach them and to get to know their personalities. We teach them separate during the week and together on Sundays, which has been working out great. They are not afraid to share things with us and to confide in us and have been progressing like crazy. They have been so humble and willing to do what we say. They have been a huge example of the real meaning of humility and submissiveness, which impresses me so much. I am truly beginning to understand what the promise of God was to us missionaries that if we are faithful and willing to do the work the Lord has in store, He will present to us wonderful people that He has prepared for us to teach and that He will work with their hearts. Our work is to love them and to invite them to make and keep covenants and to prepare them to live the word of God. The Lord has truly blessed me in the mission to have found so many people since I first arrived here.
This is the time in my life that I truly feel unworthy to teach these wonderful people I hope I never lose this feeling because when if I do I will probably become prideful and set in my ways. I love the mission so much, yep, I still have my trials of days when my comp doesn't want to talk to you and you have no idea why or doesn't want to teach or you just can't find a door that will let you in or the very, very, very annoying men that never SHUT UP!!!! One day, I may lose my cool and say some very un-missionary, un-Christlike things!!! Oops. It is rude to think it or even say it but I don't know how long my patience will last another year. lol Pray for me.
In reality, this is a time I wish that I could live forever. If there was one wish I wish I could have, it would be that I could be called to work like Ammon and his brethren were, like Alma and Amulek. That I could serve for 14 years and that I would know, like Ammon, that all of the people that he taught and were converted never fell away from the church. They knew without a doubt that God existed. Oh to be like Alma and to have all my converts taste the sweet joy that I have experienced from the gospel and to have seen angels. To have testimony that Jesus Christ is our Lord and our Redeemer!!! These are things that I hope, pray and wish for every night. I pray that my converts will know of my commitment to the Lord and that they will never fall away and that after this life, I will greet them again in the kingdom of God and we will celebrate that none of us was lost in the battle for our souls!!!! This is my testimony that I know God lives. That Jesus is the Christ. That the gospel has been restored and that all of the children of God can participate and drink of the joy and blessings of this tue and everlasting gospel.
I love you all so very much and know that the Lord will bless us if we are true to our covenants.
amanda
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
National Holiday
Wanted to let everyone know that I am doing great but I don't have time to write today. It was a national holiday so all of the internet locations were closed. I was able to get in somewhere to send this quick email. Sorry, but I have to go work now. I love you all!
amanda
amanda
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Week Full of Experiences
What an interesting week! We found some inactive families at the most random times ever. We were able to find one family that has been inactive for about 14 years. They told us that we came to their door two days after finding out that their daughter was murdered by her husband. The couple got into a fight and he killed her. He is now in jail, but the family is now stuggling with the after effects. On the same day that they returned home from the funeral and court, we knocked on their door. They instantly let us in and told us the story. We shared with them the plan of salvation and I shared some other scriptures to try and help them have hope. All in all, it has been very interesting. We are trying to help with anything they need and we have included the ward with bringing them back to church and making them feel right at home. They now asked us to teach two of their children, ages 13 and 11, because they are having a really hard time with the death of their sister. Down here when people die, they don't really take the time to cover up anything or try to hide the victim so I guess the whole family saw this horrid scene and now the little kids are having a really hard time. We will continue to assist in any way that we can by continuing to teach the children and really focusing on getting them through this. Things like this can scar their pure, precious minds and it makes me so sad to see what so many little kids experience and the many horrid things in this world.
The next family that we found had the mother leave unexpectedly the day before. This woman lived with her mother, father, brothers, sisters and her two children, a girl 16 and boy 14. She left a note on the table apologizing but stating that she had to leave. She asked for their forgiveness and said that she loves her kids. She told the grandparents that her kids are now theirs. This woman that left was a member and a convert of about 8 years. When we knocked on the door, the grandma answered. We talked with her for a bit and then she just started crying. We asked to come in and she invited us to do so. She then showed us the letter and explained everything. That night, we shared with her Ether 12, which is all about faith. We left her and said we would come back the next day and every day this week to help out. My comp and I prayed that the mother would at least call or write the family. When we stopped by the next day to chat with the grandma, we found her to be a completely different person. She had read the chapter and had prayed. She said that she knew her daughter would call and 5 mins. after we left, she called. The woman said that she didn't know why she was calling because she wasn't planning on ever calling again or talking to them, but she was holding the phone dialing the house number. It was weird for her and she really didn't say anything, but it made the grandma just ecstatic and she begged her to come home. Well, they are now waiting on the return of their daughter and the grandma told us that the Book of Mormon changed her that night and that real prayer did it. She now wants to go to church, be baptized and make us shawls. We are still waiting for her daughter to return, but will continue to have faith that she does.
We worked really hard this week to get more people back to this branch. Last week, there were about 24 people at church and this week there were 49 people at church. I was so excited! My comp and I are hoping that we can continue to have energy to visit people and bring them back. Our goal is to continue to double our numbers every week.
When I get home at night, I change my clothes, plan, and hit my pillow. Before I know it, 5 mins. later, my alarm goes off and I want to throw it against the wall, but I don't. I lovingly turn it off and brightly bounce to the shower happily singing a song while I get ready. lol Yeah right! I'm pretty sure I drag my dead body to the shower, sit at the bottom of it and bathe. I then turn on some music to take away my grumpy morning thoughts of ¨the sun's not even up and there are another 80 newly fat plump cockroaches on the counter.¨ Happy thoughts! lol Yep, being a missionary is really funny hard work. There are sad and good times, but I love it all and will continue to serve with all my heart until I am done.
love amanda
The next family that we found had the mother leave unexpectedly the day before. This woman lived with her mother, father, brothers, sisters and her two children, a girl 16 and boy 14. She left a note on the table apologizing but stating that she had to leave. She asked for their forgiveness and said that she loves her kids. She told the grandparents that her kids are now theirs. This woman that left was a member and a convert of about 8 years. When we knocked on the door, the grandma answered. We talked with her for a bit and then she just started crying. We asked to come in and she invited us to do so. She then showed us the letter and explained everything. That night, we shared with her Ether 12, which is all about faith. We left her and said we would come back the next day and every day this week to help out. My comp and I prayed that the mother would at least call or write the family. When we stopped by the next day to chat with the grandma, we found her to be a completely different person. She had read the chapter and had prayed. She said that she knew her daughter would call and 5 mins. after we left, she called. The woman said that she didn't know why she was calling because she wasn't planning on ever calling again or talking to them, but she was holding the phone dialing the house number. It was weird for her and she really didn't say anything, but it made the grandma just ecstatic and she begged her to come home. Well, they are now waiting on the return of their daughter and the grandma told us that the Book of Mormon changed her that night and that real prayer did it. She now wants to go to church, be baptized and make us shawls. We are still waiting for her daughter to return, but will continue to have faith that she does.
We worked really hard this week to get more people back to this branch. Last week, there were about 24 people at church and this week there were 49 people at church. I was so excited! My comp and I are hoping that we can continue to have energy to visit people and bring them back. Our goal is to continue to double our numbers every week.
When I get home at night, I change my clothes, plan, and hit my pillow. Before I know it, 5 mins. later, my alarm goes off and I want to throw it against the wall, but I don't. I lovingly turn it off and brightly bounce to the shower happily singing a song while I get ready. lol Yeah right! I'm pretty sure I drag my dead body to the shower, sit at the bottom of it and bathe. I then turn on some music to take away my grumpy morning thoughts of ¨the sun's not even up and there are another 80 newly fat plump cockroaches on the counter.¨ Happy thoughts! lol Yep, being a missionary is really funny hard work. There are sad and good times, but I love it all and will continue to serve with all my heart until I am done.
love amanda
Thursday, April 29, 2010
First Week in New Area
So this week was a blast! It was really interesting to say the least because there have not been missionaries in this area for over 7 or 8 years. We are serving in an even poorer area than my last. We spend most of our days in the sticks walking around to houses made out of mud, cement/sticks and tarps, with the majority being tarps. I love them all.
We also have a large area that is way bigger than my last one, which I thought that was huge. Our zone is so spread out because we are serving in the country. I love to go walking in part of our area that is full of sugar cane fields. It's about a 45-1 hour walk depending if we book it (lol), but it's nothing but sugar cane fields on either side of us. I have yet to try it straight from the field but all of the people want to give us some. Right now we are in the proccess of finding a machete or a very large pocket knife to skin it so we can eat it. lol
In this new area, we are starting from scratch. We have no investigators, no converts and a very very old carpeta de area, which translates to knocking like crazy. Every day for at least half of our days we are knocking, but I especially love knocking in our areas. We are having some good luck and currently have 12 new progressing investigators and 6 people commited to baptism at the end of the month. We will continue to teach them to help them prepare for this date that they will feel confident of their decision. I am so grateful to be here and to have this opportunity to serve them and to share in their life experiences. Because of the size of this area, we have a lot of work to do but I know that president has confidence in us and we have to prove him right. lol I don´t know how but we are trying!
My comp is a good, good worker. I love her to death. I didn't know how I felt about an American comp because I like speaking Spanish all day with my Latin comps. It really helped me with my Spanish and I have developed a good accent but being with her is still great. We are working hard and giving it our all.
This week we asked the Bishop for a blessing to work in his area and we also wanted to talk to him about how we could help get the ward growing and going. Well he said he would but then started to talk to us about his life and how this calling has been very difficult for him and within the first couple of minutes of listening, I knew that this night was not for us but just to help him out and to listen. It was a good conversation and quickly found out that this ward needs a ton of help. There are about 450 members but only about 25 go to church. I was shocked! So this week we are going to be setting up activities with the R.S and Priesthood to visit menos activos. We are going to have a meeting and talk about the importance of members in this work and their role as members. A lot of them are really young members and don't really understand how these programs run and the importance of them so we will be having a lot of activites/meetings to learn about the church programs and the role of being a member. I'm excited but I feel a bit overwhelmed, but what can I do, this is the mission right?! So I'm just going to suck it up and work all I can during the day and sleep hard in the night. lol
I love the mission and I know it's going to be hard to leave them. Dad was right when he said that it is hard to leave people when you have invested so much into them and when you serve them with all your heart, you feel like you belong with them.
love amanda
We also have a large area that is way bigger than my last one, which I thought that was huge. Our zone is so spread out because we are serving in the country. I love to go walking in part of our area that is full of sugar cane fields. It's about a 45-1 hour walk depending if we book it (lol), but it's nothing but sugar cane fields on either side of us. I have yet to try it straight from the field but all of the people want to give us some. Right now we are in the proccess of finding a machete or a very large pocket knife to skin it so we can eat it. lol
In this new area, we are starting from scratch. We have no investigators, no converts and a very very old carpeta de area, which translates to knocking like crazy. Every day for at least half of our days we are knocking, but I especially love knocking in our areas. We are having some good luck and currently have 12 new progressing investigators and 6 people commited to baptism at the end of the month. We will continue to teach them to help them prepare for this date that they will feel confident of their decision. I am so grateful to be here and to have this opportunity to serve them and to share in their life experiences. Because of the size of this area, we have a lot of work to do but I know that president has confidence in us and we have to prove him right. lol I don´t know how but we are trying!
My comp is a good, good worker. I love her to death. I didn't know how I felt about an American comp because I like speaking Spanish all day with my Latin comps. It really helped me with my Spanish and I have developed a good accent but being with her is still great. We are working hard and giving it our all.
This week we asked the Bishop for a blessing to work in his area and we also wanted to talk to him about how we could help get the ward growing and going. Well he said he would but then started to talk to us about his life and how this calling has been very difficult for him and within the first couple of minutes of listening, I knew that this night was not for us but just to help him out and to listen. It was a good conversation and quickly found out that this ward needs a ton of help. There are about 450 members but only about 25 go to church. I was shocked! So this week we are going to be setting up activities with the R.S and Priesthood to visit menos activos. We are going to have a meeting and talk about the importance of members in this work and their role as members. A lot of them are really young members and don't really understand how these programs run and the importance of them so we will be having a lot of activites/meetings to learn about the church programs and the role of being a member. I'm excited but I feel a bit overwhelmed, but what can I do, this is the mission right?! So I'm just going to suck it up and work all I can during the day and sleep hard in the night. lol
I love the mission and I know it's going to be hard to leave them. Dad was right when he said that it is hard to leave people when you have invested so much into them and when you serve them with all your heart, you feel like you belong with them.
love amanda
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
My New Area
My mission president is sending me to St. Pedro, Jujuy (San Pedro de Jujuy, Argentina). I am going to open up a new area for the hermanas with an hermana that is finishing her mission in 2 months. I am so excited but I think my president is crazy for sending me to open a new area! I don't know what I'm doing!! LOL
I am now in my new area and I'm so excited to have the opportunity to open up a new area! I don´t know really what I'm doing here but President thinks I can do something so I guess I will attempt to do ¨something¨. lol
Anyway, this week was really amazing but terribly sad. I never realized how attached I was to my area until these past two weeks. I have not been able to stop crying. I do fine until they hug me and then start crying, or the men shake my hand and the grip gets tighter and tighter as they begin to cry also. I always thought that I could hold my own in a hand shake, but man they can squeeze hard when they start to cry. It was almost as if this was their way of hugging me, but these types of hugs were a little stronger and a bit more painful than the kind I like.
This week was great! Veronica and Celeste were baptized and their whole family came along with many people from the ward! It was wonderful! I learned the song 'His Hands' in Spanish to sing for their baptism because it was the two converts' favorite song. That was really fun to do for them. Then our other investigator showed up with a huge cake that she made at the house for everyone that attended the baptism to eat afterwards. It was amazingly delicious!
Afterwards, she asked if she could speak to me alone. As we walked into the chapel to have some privacy, she started to cry. She then began to tell me how happy she was that we knocked on her door 4 weeks ago. Before then, she really never had faith in God, but every time we enter her house, she feels different and wants to keep her commitments of reading, praying and going to church. She said that we have given her a new strength, especially this week with her and her husband. They have not talked this whole week because he is gone for business and hasn´t come back yet. She said that prayer has helped her to come closer to God and that she knows with a surity that the Book of Mormon is true and that this is the Church of God. She thanked me for sharing this gospel with her and the blessings that come from it and she wants to be baptized now and not wait any longer. I just lost it. I was so happy for her and I feel so blessed to be a part of her experiences! She has invited us to start teaching her children more regularly now and they all want to be baptized. Now all of that is left for my old comp and her new comp to talk to the father more about these things and teach him more firmly. I am so grateful to be here and to have this opportunity to serve the people in Argentina. It's not always easy but I have learned to love in a different way that is more profound and more sincere. I am beginning to understand more about the pure love of Christ and how I can obtain it and grow with it. The mission is really humbling and I realize every day how much pride I have and that hermanas are difficult. I feel for those elders that have to deal with us, but out of all of our stupid girl problems, I know that we can make a difference when we work with everything that God has given us and forget about our personal pride and self needs.
I am excited to be in my new area and excited to open it up and to break ground here and be the first to tread the ground and share what I have. Next week I will send pictures of my new area and also of the baptism. I love you all tons! Remember to thank God for all that we have because we really do have it all and the people here that have nothing are more humble and grateful than we have ever been. I love it here and I think it is going to be very difficult to come home. I miss you all very dearly (don´t think that I don´t .. lol) but I am learning what true service is and that my heart and soul is truly with them right now.
love amanda
I am now in my new area and I'm so excited to have the opportunity to open up a new area! I don´t know really what I'm doing here but President thinks I can do something so I guess I will attempt to do ¨something¨. lol
Anyway, this week was really amazing but terribly sad. I never realized how attached I was to my area until these past two weeks. I have not been able to stop crying. I do fine until they hug me and then start crying, or the men shake my hand and the grip gets tighter and tighter as they begin to cry also. I always thought that I could hold my own in a hand shake, but man they can squeeze hard when they start to cry. It was almost as if this was their way of hugging me, but these types of hugs were a little stronger and a bit more painful than the kind I like.
This week was great! Veronica and Celeste were baptized and their whole family came along with many people from the ward! It was wonderful! I learned the song 'His Hands' in Spanish to sing for their baptism because it was the two converts' favorite song. That was really fun to do for them. Then our other investigator showed up with a huge cake that she made at the house for everyone that attended the baptism to eat afterwards. It was amazingly delicious!
Afterwards, she asked if she could speak to me alone. As we walked into the chapel to have some privacy, she started to cry. She then began to tell me how happy she was that we knocked on her door 4 weeks ago. Before then, she really never had faith in God, but every time we enter her house, she feels different and wants to keep her commitments of reading, praying and going to church. She said that we have given her a new strength, especially this week with her and her husband. They have not talked this whole week because he is gone for business and hasn´t come back yet. She said that prayer has helped her to come closer to God and that she knows with a surity that the Book of Mormon is true and that this is the Church of God. She thanked me for sharing this gospel with her and the blessings that come from it and she wants to be baptized now and not wait any longer. I just lost it. I was so happy for her and I feel so blessed to be a part of her experiences! She has invited us to start teaching her children more regularly now and they all want to be baptized. Now all of that is left for my old comp and her new comp to talk to the father more about these things and teach him more firmly. I am so grateful to be here and to have this opportunity to serve the people in Argentina. It's not always easy but I have learned to love in a different way that is more profound and more sincere. I am beginning to understand more about the pure love of Christ and how I can obtain it and grow with it. The mission is really humbling and I realize every day how much pride I have and that hermanas are difficult. I feel for those elders that have to deal with us, but out of all of our stupid girl problems, I know that we can make a difference when we work with everything that God has given us and forget about our personal pride and self needs.
I am excited to be in my new area and excited to open it up and to break ground here and be the first to tread the ground and share what I have. Next week I will send pictures of my new area and also of the baptism. I love you all tons! Remember to thank God for all that we have because we really do have it all and the people here that have nothing are more humble and grateful than we have ever been. I love it here and I think it is going to be very difficult to come home. I miss you all very dearly (don´t think that I don´t .. lol) but I am learning what true service is and that my heart and soul is truly with them right now.
love amanda
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
I'm Being TRANSFERRED
Hi All,
This week was busy! I found out ahead of transfers that I am changing areas because my comp is going to be a trainer. We are going to be in a trio this week. The new girl will arrive here tomorrow and I will leave Monday in the morning with everyone else. I don´t know where I am going but I will find out Friday so Monday I will email you again. I am really sad because I love this area and my comp is so much fun. All this week, I have been telling the people here that I am going to another area and that I leave on Monday. Well, it's been nothing but water works. Everyone, I mean every family, investigators, and members have been crying. I was doing great at first b/c I always knew that I had to change areas as some point, but darn it they are making it really really hard. I have cried with every one of them so it has been pointless to use makeup because it is all gone to waste after the first visit.
So now for the funny story of the week. We were at a member's house and I was sitting at the table talking with the family & my comp and playing with the dog. Their dog has a toy and I was playing fetch with him. Well, we had been playing for about 10 mins. while I was just sitting at the table. He would bring me the toy and I would throw it so on and so on. Well I had the toy and my comp asked me a question and I began to look at some book with her and our member. I had completely forgotten about the anxious dog and had my left arm up on the table to prop my head (my body leaning forward) and my right arm on the top on the table with my hand hanging off the table in front of my chest (this hand had the toy). Well, not more than 1 min passes by and the anxious dog wanted his toy so in his haste to snatch the toy from my hand he bit my chest the first try and then bit my hand with the toy on the second try. He then tried to run off with the toy and my whole fist in his mouth, but lucky for me he was a pup and doesn´t bite hard. So basically I just felt a sting in my chest and slobber and a bit more sting in my right hand, but that is the story of my life.
Well I have to go but I will talk to you later. I love you tons. love amanda
This week was busy! I found out ahead of transfers that I am changing areas because my comp is going to be a trainer. We are going to be in a trio this week. The new girl will arrive here tomorrow and I will leave Monday in the morning with everyone else. I don´t know where I am going but I will find out Friday so Monday I will email you again. I am really sad because I love this area and my comp is so much fun. All this week, I have been telling the people here that I am going to another area and that I leave on Monday. Well, it's been nothing but water works. Everyone, I mean every family, investigators, and members have been crying. I was doing great at first b/c I always knew that I had to change areas as some point, but darn it they are making it really really hard. I have cried with every one of them so it has been pointless to use makeup because it is all gone to waste after the first visit.
There have also been some good things this week. I have two baptisms this week and 3 next week. I am sad that I can´t be there for the 3 next week b/c they are a family that we found while knocking doors that have been inactive for about 12 years. We started teaching them, we have family home evenings and now their kids want to be baptized, including their cousin. They are 3 boys ranging from 10-13 years old. I love them to death and now the family has been active this past month. I am so happy for them! The two that we are baptizing this week are two sisters that are part of a inactive family also. They were a referral from their aunt, who is a memeber. We started teaching them and invited them to be baptized. The mom is a member and always talks during the lessons. She talks the whole time but always finds an excuse to not go to church, which is really irritating. And now she has been resisting us to baptize her younger daughter. The two girls are amazing! One is Veronica, 22, and the other sister is Celeste, 9. They are so smart and always keep their compromises with us!! Regardless of the silly mother, they are both going to be baptized this weekend.
I had a miracle happen this week! A couple that I met my very first week and worked my whole time with my first comp finally came around. Their names are Diego and Marisol, both 30 yrs old. They have a kid about 2 years old, are not married but are amazing people. They were my very first investigators and I love them to death, but when it came down to it they didn´t want to get married. Well I should correct this he didn´t want to get married, but she is dying to be married to him. So about 4 weeks ago we stopped visiting them because they were not progressing and they can´t be baptized without being married. This has made me so sad. But this week, a member ran into them and started chatting and told them about me leaving and all of the arrangements. They asked the member if they could talk to me one more time before I left and if it was allowed that they see me off at the terminal. Well obviously this member called us asap and my comp and I stopped by their house this week. We chatted and caught up on life. They gave us the usual tea and bread and my comp pulled out her scriptures to share a part and then we would leave. After she shared her part and started packing up, about this time I was thinking to myself that this is sad because I love this family but I am so irritated with them that they won´t talk about getting married at all. I really love them! They were my first family and I wanted so much for them but you can´t help people that don´t want help. Just as I started to stand up, I felt a strong pulse in my body to sit back down, so I did. The next thing I felt was my heart beating rapidly like I had just ran a hundred meters. I have never felt like this before and had no idea what the heck was going on, though for a split second I was sick or something of the sort, but just as quickly as all of these thoughts came, they left. I can never forget the next feelings and thoughts that came to me. I looked at Diego and Marisol and felt more love in my heart than I can describe. I knew clearly what I needed to say to them and had no trouble explaining my thoughts or feelings to them. I began to tell them what they meant to me and then with all the firmness that I possessed, I don´t know why but I began to tell them all about marriage and the importance of it for them right now!!! I told them that they had to get married now and set a date and start to change their priorities to the things that they knew to be right and true. SO basically, I talked for about 10 mins. and then ended with a question. I asked Diego if he wanted to be married to Marisol, which he replied yes. Then I told him to ask his wife. SO he did he ask her if she wanted to be married to him. She beamed at him and said yes! It was the first time she had heard this question from him and was so happy. He was shocked! He asked her again if she really wanted to be married to him...to him!!...( well it was a new experience for all of us) lol After that, he asked when they wanted to be married and she said that July was enough time to get all the things ready for the wedding and for her family to save some money to visit. I just wanted to cry. I was so happy! So the miracle is that they are going to be married on June 24th and then be baptized the following weekend. They are now in the process of getting their paper work done. A member in our stake gave them the paper for free, which is normally 350 pesos. That's a lot of money for them, but now they have more money to save. I am so happy for them and I cant´wait to write them from my new area and hear about all the plans.
I had a miracle happen this week! A couple that I met my very first week and worked my whole time with my first comp finally came around. Their names are Diego and Marisol, both 30 yrs old. They have a kid about 2 years old, are not married but are amazing people. They were my very first investigators and I love them to death, but when it came down to it they didn´t want to get married. Well I should correct this he didn´t want to get married, but she is dying to be married to him. So about 4 weeks ago we stopped visiting them because they were not progressing and they can´t be baptized without being married. This has made me so sad. But this week, a member ran into them and started chatting and told them about me leaving and all of the arrangements. They asked the member if they could talk to me one more time before I left and if it was allowed that they see me off at the terminal. Well obviously this member called us asap and my comp and I stopped by their house this week. We chatted and caught up on life. They gave us the usual tea and bread and my comp pulled out her scriptures to share a part and then we would leave. After she shared her part and started packing up, about this time I was thinking to myself that this is sad because I love this family but I am so irritated with them that they won´t talk about getting married at all. I really love them! They were my first family and I wanted so much for them but you can´t help people that don´t want help. Just as I started to stand up, I felt a strong pulse in my body to sit back down, so I did. The next thing I felt was my heart beating rapidly like I had just ran a hundred meters. I have never felt like this before and had no idea what the heck was going on, though for a split second I was sick or something of the sort, but just as quickly as all of these thoughts came, they left. I can never forget the next feelings and thoughts that came to me. I looked at Diego and Marisol and felt more love in my heart than I can describe. I knew clearly what I needed to say to them and had no trouble explaining my thoughts or feelings to them. I began to tell them what they meant to me and then with all the firmness that I possessed, I don´t know why but I began to tell them all about marriage and the importance of it for them right now!!! I told them that they had to get married now and set a date and start to change their priorities to the things that they knew to be right and true. SO basically, I talked for about 10 mins. and then ended with a question. I asked Diego if he wanted to be married to Marisol, which he replied yes. Then I told him to ask his wife. SO he did he ask her if she wanted to be married to him. She beamed at him and said yes! It was the first time she had heard this question from him and was so happy. He was shocked! He asked her again if she really wanted to be married to him...to him!!...( well it was a new experience for all of us) lol After that, he asked when they wanted to be married and she said that July was enough time to get all the things ready for the wedding and for her family to save some money to visit. I just wanted to cry. I was so happy! So the miracle is that they are going to be married on June 24th and then be baptized the following weekend. They are now in the process of getting their paper work done. A member in our stake gave them the paper for free, which is normally 350 pesos. That's a lot of money for them, but now they have more money to save. I am so happy for them and I cant´wait to write them from my new area and hear about all the plans.
So now for the funny story of the week. We were at a member's house and I was sitting at the table talking with the family & my comp and playing with the dog. Their dog has a toy and I was playing fetch with him. Well, we had been playing for about 10 mins. while I was just sitting at the table. He would bring me the toy and I would throw it so on and so on. Well I had the toy and my comp asked me a question and I began to look at some book with her and our member. I had completely forgotten about the anxious dog and had my left arm up on the table to prop my head (my body leaning forward) and my right arm on the top on the table with my hand hanging off the table in front of my chest (this hand had the toy). Well, not more than 1 min passes by and the anxious dog wanted his toy so in his haste to snatch the toy from my hand he bit my chest the first try and then bit my hand with the toy on the second try. He then tried to run off with the toy and my whole fist in his mouth, but lucky for me he was a pup and doesn´t bite hard. So basically I just felt a sting in my chest and slobber and a bit more sting in my right hand, but that is the story of my life.
Well I have to go but I will talk to you later. I love you tons.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
