March updates from Sister Lott

                         February 15, 2021

        Pics from last week that I wasn't able to send

Lots of things happened this week, so let's get down to business. (I also forgot some pretty funny things from last week, so here is what happened)

(Friday 5th) We met a guy named Mirko at la noche de fútbol. We talked to him, set up a lesson and invited him to church. He told us he would invite his cousin Jean. They both came to church last week and we are teaching them. Jean came again to church yesterday. He is super awesome and is super interested in learning more and coming to church. 

(Saturday 6th) Hermana Bowen and I got invited to go to a (evangélica o católica) church. We are reaching some people and they invited us to the presentation/blessing of the baby. We said that we would love to go. They told us the service started at 7pm. We got there and expected to only be there for 30-45 minutes... we were there for 2 hours. We walked in during a prayer and the guy was talking so loud into a microphone for 10-15 minutes. I thought my ears were going to fall off. Then the first hour was singing and they had a full on band. The music was so loud. Then they had their service. Their pastor talked about Ana, the mother of Samuel. How if we want to have good God fearing children, we need to be doing that as parents. Then he blessed the baby and hoisted her into the air (imagine lion king🦁).

Now to this week's stuff:

Last P-day was super fun and it showed me how out of shape I am. We played four-on-four basketball for what felt like 5 hours but was probably only thirty minutes. My team won! I made three baskets 😎. Then we played dodgeball. I can't throw a ball hard and far at the same time, so I started kicking the balls. I don't know what the rules of dodgeball are but no one stopped me... Needless to say I hit Elder DeMille in the side of the face/neck. I felt soooooo bad😂. He is never going to let me live that down.

English class is going great! We are still teaching lessons after and it makes it really nice because we get to teach 3-4 people a lesson at the same time. It is really hard teaching Latinos with their work schedules. They all get off of work later in the day, but we can only call so many people or go to their house in the span of 3 ½ hours. BUT… with Heavenly Father’s help it happens.

Surprise suprise! Hermana Bowen and I went to Yorktown again! It is honestly super fun and educational. This time we got to wipe down all these plaques. It was super easy and while we did it we got to read about people and the events that happened. There are a lot of things that happened in history that I don’t know about. It is kind of a win win doing this service because I get to serve and learn about history. 

I have now seen a full alligator!🐊 I didn't really believe the stories about the alligator that lives in our apartment complexes pond. But then Elder Davis & Lake showed us a video they took of the alligator that apparently exists (while we were at Yorktown). When the STLs came over for exchanges after, we went straight to the pond. And lo and behold, there was the alligator just chilling on the side. I officially have a pet alligator, I just need to name him (unless I already named him Bert😂).

Then we went on exchanges. Sister Bertolio doesn’t know how to speak any Spanish so I was all on my own. That was not a comforting thing, but all is well. Hermana Bowen was in an English area so she got to speak english. We had three lessons and a member meal that we went to. The member meal was awesome. We had pollo y arroz. Diana and Eduardo are sooo nice. Elder DeMille and Skousen are teaching him. We had a lesson about temples and eternal families and the Spirit was super strong. Sister Bertolio said she knew what we were saying was true even though she couldn’t understand us. I then taught the plan of salvation twice, because one of the lessons canceled which was a little miracle. I was able to explain and answer Vondel’s questions with the extra time. It was really cool to just teach by myself. The gift of tongues is real! I haven’t seen it super vividly for a little while but I say it that day. I had all these things brought to my remembrance and I said lots of words that I didn’t even know I knew.

Vondel came to church!! And so did Jean, Eddy, David, Maria, and Vladimir! It was sooo awesome. A huge miracle because a lot of the people we have been teaching will say they will come to church and then they won’t come. Vondel and Jean said that they really liked it. I am glad that we started singing hymns again because it brings the Spirit. They both said they loved the hymns.

Hermana Bowen and I went over to Maria and Vladimir's house yesterday. It was super fun! They fed us arepas with cheese and butter, and this really good hot chocolate. They have been taught everything, but they haven’t been baptized yet. They are waiting for some divorce papers from Venezuela, so they can’t get married yet. They told us that they were meeting with someone today and that they would hopefully finish it! We talked about temples and eternal families with them. They can’t wait until they can go to the temple. We expected to have to drag in the idea of baptism again and then they said that they wanted to be baptized on March 13th. We didn’t even have to ask them when! 

Love you all!! Have a great week!

<3 Hermana Lott

Here are some pictures!

March 3, 2021

March 8, 2021

Sorry for no email last week, I'll get to the reason a little later. Life has been pretty crazy and exhausting! I really want to take a nap😂.

Last P-day we went to Charleston again! Surprise, surprise!! It was super fun, but we didn't end up doing a lot, but it was still a lot of fun. I think the coolest thing we saw was on the way to Charleston... it was a purple ambulance!🚑💜

Our DCM was pretty good this week. I would hope so because Hermana Bowen and I taught the discussion. We talked about setting goals and planning. It is super important in missionary work to have God involved in what we are doing. It is the same with just normal things in life too. It was cool to see how many people we were finding change drastically when we involved the Lord more. 

Wednesday morning Hermana Bowen and I got a text from a guy named Miguel who we have been trying to set up at time to meet. He said that he had some time, so we called him. He ended up having lots of questions like: Why are there so many churches? Is there a living prophet today? And so many others! Hermana Bowen and I looked at each other and we were both thinking well we have the answers for you😎. It was super funny because we would ask him questions and then in his answer he pretty much explained what we were going to teach him. So pretty much he taught himself😂. The rest of the lesson went well and we are excited for our next one. 

Later that night we had a member meal with the Castillo family. Hermana Castillo wasn't done when we got there, so Hermana Bowen and I got to watch. It was really cool to see all the ingredients come together. We ate rice,  some potatoes, beef, and this lentil sauce. It was soooooo good!😋 I want the recipe. 

Hermana Bowen and I started teaching a 10 year old, 13 year old, and their mom. Their mom speaks only Spanish and they speak English. They can understand Spanish pretty well and speak a little. We went over to their house for the first time on Thursday and again on Saturday. Isleda is 10 years old and she asked us if we could bring her a Bible. She said that she wanted to read it. So on Saturday we brought it over and finished teaching the plan of salvation. We ended up teaching the whole thing over again. We reviewed the first part and it was going really well... until Cookie (one of their dogs which I think is a chihuahua) comes over and steps on my little plan of salvation example. He would not go away😂. I do not like chihuahuas, especially when they interrupt a lesson. But I guess it ended up working out. Alex (13 yr. old) joined the lesson late but understood it. Him and Iselda started asking me lots of questions about tattoos, smoking, drinking, and how we recognize the Spirit. (Hermana Bowen was talking to their mom in Spanish) It was cool to see that hunger for answers and knowledge of the gospel in them. -> Fast forward to now. They have started reading the B.O.M, so we are happy. Their mom isn't really interested so we are waiting to see how that plays out.

Soo.... I am now broken😭. I broke my collarbone two p-days ago. I was playing 4 on 4 basketball with the elders. One of the elders was passing me the ball and another elder was trying to steal it before it got to me. (I made a couple of baskets!!😀😄) He accidentally slammed into me (his shoulder to mine) and this loud crack sounded. Everyone thought it was my tag... nope. I told everyone. My collarbone was broken and we needed to go to the doctors. They were all like how do you know it's broken, and I told them I know because it's happened twice before this. All the elders were standing around shocked and they didn't know what to do. I said, "Well all of you have the priesthood so can give me a blessing."(I was kind of sassy but I was in pain😅😂) I got a blessing from my zone leader and then we went to the doctors. I got an x-ray and it's broken. It's not a good break but it's not awful. I went and got another x-ray a couple days ago and it's worse. I don't know what happened!  I haven't even fallen like with the ones before. So I will be in a sling for the next transfer plus. I have another doctors appointment in two weeks.

We had Stake Conference last week and it was a very interesting experience. We had to translate it into SPANISH while it was happening! I didn't do it because I was a chicken. But it was good I didn't do it when I was going to because the Stake pres. said a lot of words I don't know. He was telling a story of how he watched a scary big foot movie and had to walk home in the dark. He heard a loud crack and a "MOOooo!" and he ran and fell into a ditch. It was a cow😂. The funny part is Hermana Bowen Mooed for the translation 🤣.

Vondel is going to be baptized soon! He is ready, but is just being indecisive about this Saturday. He is legit golden!🏅He was keeping the word of wisdom and the law of chastity before we even taught him it! He is so awesome! He asked how Hermana Bowen and I are and we told him... then he started calling us niñas!😂 I am not a little girl. He then started calling us chicas so that is a little better. Elder Skousen & DeMille had a baptism on Saturday! Edvino finally got baptized! It was really cool. It was my first full baptism that I have been to on my mission. Vondel came and he said that he really liked it. He said that when he gets baptized he only wants to once 😂(Edvino didn't go all the way under so they had to do it again). He also came to church and fasted. He fasted for his baptism and some other things. Please pray for him!🙏 

I am now in a trio 👩👱‍♀️👩‍🦰! Her name is Hermana Kurns! She is from Oregon. Turns out she was up in Rexburg at the same time that I was, and we know some of the same people. She also went to the dance nights that I went to. She is super awesome and we get along grand! She is super fun. She just got out of training so I am only one transfer ahead of her. She is actually a couple months older but I feel older than her😂🤷‍♀️. We haven't figured out the bed position yet so we have to play tetris in our tiny bedroom. BUT! it will be nice having two extra hands to help do stuff and to drive.

I promise I will write more next week!

Love you all!

<3 Hermana Lott

HERE ARE SOME MORE PICTURES!😁

March 15, 2021

Hola Todos! ¿Cómo están? ¡Les extraño mucho! This week has been really good and crazy as usual. Fast and slow at the same time!

I still love P-days, but I have to find new ways to keep me occupied. The past two weeks have been zone p-days so lots of missionaries kicking around or throwing balls. I honestly think Satan is trying to control the ball so it hits me in the shoulder.😂 Like legit sooo many balls have almost hit me. It is whack!

This week's DCM discussion was on the Spirit and receiving personal revelation. I have studied the Holy Ghost and receiving personal revelation many times, but I always get something new out of it. Dallin H. Oaks said, "[A person may have] a strong desire to be led by the Spirit of the Lord but … unwisely extends that desire to the point of wanting to be led in all things. A desire to be led by the Lord is a strength, but it needs to be accompanied by an understanding that our Heavenly Father leaves many decisions for our personal choices." There are things that we aren't going to get answers for and that means it is in our hands to make the right decision. Heavenly Father trusts us and wants us to learn from it. I also like D&C 9:7-8 which says, "(7) Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. (8) But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right." If we desire to receive personal revelation we need to study it out, go to the Lord, and act.  

After DCM, we went out for lunch as a district to Cicis Pizza. It was a pizza, pasta, and salad buffet. It sounds very familiar 🤔. It was pretty good, but PizzaPieCafe is for sure better. It was really fun, and they were playing great music. We will probably go back again.

Hermana Bowen, Kurns, and I finally got to go to Yorktown again (4th time for me?😎) It was super fun and funny. I keep forgetting that they haven't seen me since I broke my collarbone. I was called half a sister 😂. Well I guess we aren't a trio anymore, we are a 2 1/2. We cleaned out trash cans. It was such a nice day and we set up a time to meet with a guy named Corey. We planned to do a Bible study with him and it went really well. He is super awesome.

Phelippe took us out to dinner and we went to a place called Jim 'n' Nick's BBQ. It was absolutely delicious. Biscuits, brisket, and baked potatoes...😋. 

Our lessons after English class are going really well. It depends on the day how many people stay for it. On Thursday we had 7 people, 2 members, and 5 missionaries. It is good because the people we are teaching get a lesson or a recap and we are able to find new people. A couple weeks ago Hermana Bowen said "Hello," and Francisco said, "it's me." It was hilarious!😂 It is fun teaching the people how to pronounce words. When we say the word how it is supposed to be said and they just give us the look "IT'S THE SAME!😐😑"

Friday was amazing and full of miracles!! The day was going great. We had a picnic with the STLs... Sister Robinson got transferred to Charleston and is now my STL!😆AGAIN! But this time she isn't my companion. It was super fun to talk and relax   under the shade in a park. (Off topic, it is now in the 70s outside. It's the beginning of March and I'm already getting my tan on.) That night we had a lesson set up with someone named Marisela we met at Edvino's baptism last week. She is friends with him and Hermana Mendez. We drove to the address... it was the wrong address. We called her, got the right address, and ended up being a half hour late :(. We were originally just thinking we were going to talk to her and her daughter, but her husband and son joined! They are such an amazing family. They know a little about the church and love missionaries! The Spirit was strong as we shared scriptures and our testimonies. We are going over again on Wednesday! I can see this family being baptized.😄

We tracked down an ice cream truck and bought ice cream! Ice cream is delicious and it is even more fun when you get it from a truck.🍦🚛 Then, Hermana Kurns and I Binge-watched Safely Zone during dinner. Safety-Zone is safety videos that were made for missionaries and we had to watch them all before we came out into the field. They are super cheesy! 😂 It was really fun! Hermana Kurns was eating her pop tarts and I was eating tilapia and baked potatoes. Best movie time ever!

Sunday was going really chill until after dinner. All of our lessons fell through one after the other. But it's okay because there were other things that were supposed to happen. We ended up finding two more people to teach and we FINALLY got a hold of Francisco!! We explained the Book of Mormon more and he says he is going to read the whole book by listening to it for a hour a day!😄The night was crazy but it was super awesome! It was honestly the best. It didn’t go as we planned, but it went the way the Lord planned.

¡Les quiero! Have a great week!

Here are some pictures: