December 6, 2021
Wonders of Wonders, Miracles of Miracles🌻
For p-day we did something that I had never done before, we went ax throwing. It was pretty fun! I am not very good while we are playing an actual game. Sometimes when we threw the ax it would bounce back a little towards us like a boomer-rang. We didn’t really like that. After that, we did some training for Hna. Marvin and went and printed off some family names for the temple. The lady over Family History said that the printer is broken… it’s not. I went Macgyver on it and it totally works.
On Tuesday we woke up bright and early to go to the temple. We have been waiting for this for about a month (I have been waiting for it for about 14 months.) I miscalculated the amount of time that it would take us to get there, so we were running 15 minutes late. Then we noticed that we were really really low on gas. We decided to try and make it there without getting gas. We would’ve made it if not for the unexpected traffic. We got off the freeway quickly and got gas. We made it in time for the pictures and everything worked out. We were there for 5 hours and it was a really special experience. There is just a peace that comes over you when you are in the temple. In the Celestial Room, I started reading in the Bible in 2 Peter 1:3-8 it says, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: (4) Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (5) And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and virtue knowledge; (6) And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; (7) And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. (8) For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” What stood out to me is that I need to be more diligent to receive all of these things. We have been promised so many things all we have to do is what is asked of us. I am so glad that I was able to go. I can’t wait until I can go again. They said in another six months, so I might get to go! President Monson came up to us after and said that we need to wait another 6 months before David can get baptized. I was super sad about that. I just want him to have all the blessings and happiness that he can, but I understand why. It will happen, just not when I am here. After that, we went and had dinner with the Shivelys. They made us homemade chicken pot pie and peach cobbler. It was really good and I ate way too much. Then we went and taught English Class
Wednesday morning we went out to lunch with Brother Bright. He took us to Wade’s again and I got turkey with cornbread dressing (gravy). It was pretty good. I was very full and then we had dessert. We had this giant slice of Peanut Butter Pie. It sounds weird, but it was delicious. Afterwards, we followed him to the mall and he bought us a Clemson hoodie. It was more than I would’ve paid for it. He told us it was our Christmas present and to not tell the elders about it. After that we went and had a little lesson with Natali. She’s the lady that we met at Virginia’s house. She is super nice and has an adorable daughter. Her hair was a little poofy afro. We were able to drink a healthy drink that tasted like peach rings and share the gospel with a lady who spoke English there. Afterwards we went and found two ladies to start teaching that are neighbors. We aren’t sure how interested they are, but we’ll find out soon. Then we had a great lesson with Milvian. She read the pamphlet! She loved learning about Joseph Smith and the restored gospel. Right after that we taught Jerlinson and Natalie. Jerlinson doesn’t really want to change his opinions or interpretations of the scriptures. We talked about the Fall of Adam. The Fall is viewed most of the time as a bad thing, but it isn’t. If they hadn’t fallen no one would be here, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to progress and make it back to our Heavenly Father. To end the night, we went and had dinner with Marla and Martin. We ate Carne Asada with rice, beans, and tortillas. It went really well and we heard the funniest story ever. Their son was in church and was being told a story about service. The guy in the service was helping a lady fix her flat tire, so he went and got his Gato from the car. (The son didn’t know that in Mexico it also means car jack.) Their son just started cracking up during this story that was supposed to be spiritual. I just imagined this cat getting smacked against the floor while saying, “meow! meow! meow!” Martin started dying of laughter and had to leave to go outside 6 times to compose himself. We were all laughing hysterically. It was a great way to end the day. Martin also said he would start reading the Book of Mormon.
We had a combined Zone DCM. We got together as a zone and went over some things and then we split up into our separate districts. We talked about extending invitations and why we do it. Most people won’t change their lives for the better without an invitation to do so. By inviting people to pray, read their scriptures, serve others etc. is inviting them to repentance and change through Christ. Afterwards, we went to lunch at this Chinese buffet. I abhor Chinese buffets here. They are all the same and the food is cold. Hna. Marvin said, “It’s alright.” Her fortune cookie said, “Turn your scars into stars.” We weren’t expecting that. Then we went and visited some more people before we went to the Mejias. They fed us Spaghetti which is funny because they prefer Mexican food. They only do it for their daughter, which is cute. After that, we went to Bella’s house and I paid for that Chinese food. I tried Flounder and I probably shouldn’t have. I was in her bathroom for 15-20 minutes, while Hna. Marvin was trying to hold a conversation. This only solidified more my dislike for Chinese food. Bella is leaving on a trip to Mexico for a month, so I don’t know if this will be the last time I will see her for a while. She is going to keep studying while she is gone. Then we raced to English Class and taught it. Alex told us too, that he is leaving for a month. He said that he is going to bring us back souvenirs for helping him. We told him he didn’t have to but he is determined.
On Friday, we did our weekly planning and then went and had a lesson with David. We taught him about the covenant we make when we are baptized and told him that he has to wait another six months. He said he knew that that was coming and is okay with it. He still wants to be baptized and is going to keep preparing. After that, we went and taught Milvian about the Book of Mormon. She loved it! She wants to read it and learn more! Ashley loves her Book of Mormon Stories one. Then we went to dinner at Cicis Pizza. Hna. Ramirez said she paid for us and that we could just go in. We expected that she would be there waiting for us, but they weren't. First member lesson I've been to where the member wasn't even there. But it was still a lot of fun. Hna. Marvin and I ate a lot of pizza and enjoyed life. Then we went over and taught Mariola Sanchez. We also taught her about the Book of Mormon and she is excited to read it as well. We also taught the Huipes about it and they are going to start reading as a family. To end the night we had a really long call with Santiago. I thought we hadn’t contacted him yet so I called him. As it was ringing, I realized he had called us the other day. He wants us to start teaching him about the gospel now. When the call was ringing I thought about hanging up, but I didn’t. I knew that I had the thought to call him for a reason.
Saturday morning we went and visited a person on our born out of the U.S. list. Her mom answered the door and was just the sweetest thing ever. She told us all about her family. She wants to come to church, but for health reasons she can’t. She asked if we could come back later when her daughter was ready. So we went to the Pulga (the Flea market) to advertise for English Class. We met Maria who was selling all this Mexican candy. We set up a call for the next day. We found a lot of people that are interested in the classes. I bought some good old goat milk caramel suckers. I tried something really interesting called Boiled Peanuts. You pretty much boil peanuts for 10 hours and then voila (if I spelled that right). They are actually really good. They have the constistency of beans because they just disolve in your mouth. Afterwards, we went and visited Hna. Zapata. She made us this yummy drink which I got the recipe for. We talked about the temple and she really wants to go back. After that we went and had dinner with the Salinas family. They also made carne asada. It was delicious! I am loving all the meat that we are eating. They gave us two referrals! We are going to go visit them during the next week. Then Nicolás didn’t answer the phone for his lesson… his brother did (but we didn't realize that). His brother said, “Mi hermano ya durmió.” We heard, “Mi hermano ya murió ” So we were thinking that Nicholás’s brother had died for a second before we realized we were talking to him on the phone.
Yesterday was awesome. We had our separate Spanish sacrament meeting. I played the piano and Hna. Marvin was the chorister. David, Daniel, a guy named Israel, and Martin came! When Martin came in my mouth almost dropped. We don’t think he has been to church before, or it has just been a very long time. It was a miracle! (If you get the title of my email I will be very happy. It is a classic!) Brother Bright gave us back the guitar with new strings after church. I am still trying to figure out how to play and read notes. It will be a long process, but it is a lot of fun. After that we went and visited some people, and went to a 1 yr. old’s birthday party for Heidy and Manuel’s son Yahir. It was a giant party. So many Hispanics and they were all from her side of the family. We had some good food, but had to leave. Hispanics don’t rush their parties, they take as long as they want. Right after that, we went and had dinner with the Tilleys. As we pulled up we called Nicholás back and he told us that he is moving to Greenville. We won’t be able to teach him anymore which is sad, but hopefully the elders over there will be able to help him. Brother Tilley made this Moroccan chili that was good. One of it’s ingredients was raisins. We had prepped a family home evening lesson for them and they surprised us with their own lesson. We got taught instead of them. It was like the Platinum member meal package with dessert and all. We talked about the hard things we had overcome during this past year and how we want to improve. I want to be more Christlike and see the good in everything. For the game we played Snorta and ate ice cream. We listened to the Christmas Devotional on the way home and then called Maria from the Pulga. We talked about prayer and how our Heavenly Father always hears us. She wants to learn even more. After that, we called Santiago and taught him the same thing. He really wants to come to church. We are going to give him a Bible and do a lesson in person!
-Here are two quotes from Brother Bright:
“Obedience brings blessings, exact obedience brings exaltation.”
“When Satan tries to remind us of our past, remind him of his future.”
-One from David:
We told David to say someone is a jerk instead of the “a” word. He said okay and we moved on. Later, he looked at us and said, “What do you call a woman jerk?...” There was a little pause and we said, “a jerk.” English doesn’t have genders for words like other languages do.
Sorry that was a long one! Love you all!
This past week and a half were pretty crazy. Sorry that this is getting out so late. Hna. Marvin got an ear infection so we were at the doctors and then figuring out a pharmacy fiasco. Some good news… I’m staying for another 7 weeks!!! Hna. Marvin has to deal with me for even longer! We are so glad that we are still companions and that we get to keep working in this area together.
Last Monday was pretty mellow. We played some chair soccer. We went to wash our car and the car wash was closed. They had changed their hours…so we washed it in a ghetto one. It was funny! My vacuum broke and so I was just smacking the floor mat like the olden days. Then we went and knocked on a door in a gated community. They didn’t answer, but watched us through their doorbell. To end the night, we made lemon bars and peanut butter bars.
We had our Christmas Zone Conference on Tuesday. We took our dessert and left bright and early. It was with half of the missionaries in my mission (5 zones). It was super fun and I learned a lot. President Monson gave us a training on faith. When the Israelites were trying to cross the river Jordan, the miracle of the water parting didn’t happen until they put their feet in (Joshua 3:7-17). Faith is a word of action. We have faith for miracles, but do we have the faith to act. Faith is very powerful if we have the courage to act. I love the scripture D&C 9:7-8, “(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." Sister Monson said a quote, “Faith comes and revelations are received as a direct result of scripture study.” That is so true. We grow our faith as we study and we receive answers to our prayers and questions as we read the scriptures. After that, we ate a Thanksgiving-like lunch, frosted cookies for a competition, and had a talent show. It was really fun. I played the piano and got to enjoy great music and jokes. When it got over, we drove two hours to teach English Class. One of the ladies we teach is interested in learning about the gospel!
On Wednesday we went to go visit Natali, and she wasn’t there. The next 3 people we visited weren’t home either. We had this address of a member who lived by, so we went over. She let us in and she is super nice. We told her about church being in Spanish. She gave us 5-6 other Spanish speaking members that can help us out. We didn’t even have to ask. After that, we had a quick lesson with Heidy and set up a dinner. Then we raced to our actual dinner. Sister Ronson made us beef roast pot pie. It was the most delicious pot pie I have ever eaten. It just melted in my mouth. I am excited to get the recipe. Out on my mission, I have met a lot of people who have went through some very hard things. They told me and I was dumb founded. Even through all that, they are still strong in the gospel and won’t leave behind their testimony. Sister Ronson and Hermana Millie Sanchez are two of these people. I admire them and want to hold on to my testimony like them. Later, we went and visited Jerlinson. We helped him put up his curtains and taught him about The Book of Mormon and overcoming our trials through Jesus Christ. He seemed really interested in reading the part where Christ visits the Ancient Americas after his resurrection.
We had a great lesson with Milvian on Thursday. We read her the story about the stripling warriors in the Book of Mormon. The young men had strong testimonies because their mothers did and had taught them to choose the right. The spirit was strong! Afterwards, we went to a Relief Society activity. It was a Christmas activity with a program. Hna. Marvin and I translated it. Marla, Hna. Ramirez, and Johany came to it. I now know it is much easier to translate things into Spanish when what is going to be said is written down in front of me. It is a lot less stressful than when I hear things and translate them. They food was good, and so was that activity. After it was over we quickly went and caroled to one house. She wasn’t home so we sang Noche de Luz to a closed door. Then we raced back to the church to teach English Class. Santiago told us that he would be coming and had gotten a ride. Lo and behold, his ride was Nicolas’s cousin Nicolas Domingo. We totally already knew him. We taught them English and then about the Book of Mormon. They loved it! We are excited to keep teaching them.
On Friday, we went out to lunch with Sister Jeffery and Peterson, our STLs. We went out to Olive Garden. It was a bit pricey, but honestly all restaurants are costing around $10 a meal. It was really good. I had been craving my Chicken & Gnocchi soup and breadsticks for the past 2 months. My little dream came true. Then we did some training, and then had dinner. A mistake on our part to eat such a late lunch, but we survived. Hna. Ramirez fed us chicken with potatoes, tortillas, and this creamy spaghetti. It was good, but I was sooo full. After that, we went and met Carmen, and it turns out she is Marla’s sister. We did not know that, but we are going to start visiting her more often. Later, we went and visited Elida’s house again, and they were finally home. I have been visiting this lady’s house for 4 months and they have never been there. We were able to get to know them better, and set up another appointment. Her daughter is interested in possibly getting baptized. To end the night, Hna. Marvin used the perks of our vaccine cards and got Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I don’t like shots and needles, but I do like doughnuts.
Saturday morning we went and visited Maria from last Saturday. She was ready today, so we were able to talk to her. She speaks Spanish and English. She moved to the U.S. when she was 2. The thing that fascinates me is that she is blond and blue eyed but Hispanic. I think that it is really cool. You would never know that she speaks fluent spanish. Never judge a book by its cover. She invited us over for Christmas Eve. Then we had an amazing lesson with Daniel. Millie came with us and we taught him the whole restoration. The spirit was so strong, and it was honestly one of the best lessons that I have had in a long time. It helped that we came prepared with our lesson and ready to listen to the Spirit. We were able to find out Daniel wants to know more about the Apostasy and wants something more. Inspired questions helped us out. He is very quiet and doesn’t open up very often. After that, we had a lesson with David. He gave us some churros and we talked about how to overcome our suffering and temptations through Christ. It isn’t easy, but it is possible. For dinner, our plans changed up a little bit. We didn’t go out with the Shivelys, but met them at Bishop’s house. We all ate take out from Papas and Beer. The street tacos were pretty good. I asked bishop, “How often do you have tacos and beer?” He looked at me and said, “I’ve never had that before.” I said the wrong thing. I said tacos instead of papas. It was pretty funny and we all got a good laugh out of that. We shared with them a story of some people who converted to Jesus Christ. They took all of their idols and threw them into a giant waterfall. They didn’t put them in the shallows where they could get them back again. They put them in a place where they weren’t retrievable. We need to take the things holding us back and throw them into a waterfall. After that, we caroled to the Colecio family and gave Hna. Colecio cookies. She let us hold her puppies!
Here is the link to the talk. I invite you all to read it: Unwavering Committment to Jesus Christ https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/10/16renlund?lang=eng
Before their conversion, they worshipped inanimate objects, believing that the items possessed supernatural powers. 3 After conversion, many made a pilgrimage to one of the countless waterfalls along the Congo River, such as the Nzongo Falls. 4 These converts threw their previously idolized objects into the waterfalls as a symbol to God and others that they had discarded their old traditions ... www.churchofjesuschrist.org |
Sunday was a really good day. David and Daniel came to church. I had a really humbling experience. I was translating sacrament meeting and the sacrament was getting passed. I realized halfway through the water that they forgot to give me the bread. Then they forgot to give me the water. I tried to get their attention, but it didn’t work. I got super sad and emotional because I was so excited to take it. I had a hard time not bawling, but I had to choke it back to translate. I was able to get it after sacrament meeting was over because I ran up and explained what happened. I now know even more how much the sacrament means to me. I don’t want to put myself through this experience again by not going to church. We need to sacrament to renew our covenants with Jesus Christ. After church, we found a new part member family that we are going to visit. We found another family that is super nice. It was funny because the dad didn’t come to the door. He sent out his little daughter to come talk to us. We spoke to her in Spanish and then the dad came to the door. We are going back next Sunday to see them. On the way to the Baker’s house, we stopped and talked to a guy walking down the street. It took some crazy turns, but now we have his number. At the Baker’s house we had dinner and then made candy cane cookies. It was a long process, but a lot of fun. I have found out that I really hate almond flavor/extract. It is disgusting and these cookies had it. We took some cookies to our lesson with Elida that night. We officially have permission to teach her kids and it is great!!
Monday morning we woke up bright and early again to drive to Columbia, except we had Spanish Conference this time. We learned how to work better with the Hispanic people out here. We dove into the pattern of apostasies in the Bible and what God does with his prophets. It will really help out during teaching. We ate this weird pita bread tacos and played apples to apples. By the time we got home it was late. We felt like we needed to visit Johany, so we did. She had some questions about tithing and we were able to explain that. They really want to come to the ward Christmas party! I am super excited to go to that and invite so many people to come.
Yesterday we woke up pretty sick. The problem was I was going to teach the discussion for DCM. We were a little bit late, but everything worked out. I focused on CH. 2 in Preach My Gospel. We talked about the importance of personal study. It is important here on the mission, but it is just as important after. I am excited to start improving my own studies and work to getting the most out of them. For lunch, I had a CookOut oreo cheesecake shake. It was interesting, but good. After that, we went to teach the part member family. We had about an hour before the lesson when we got there. So we did some training and contacting. Hna. Marvin parked at Target and we proceeded to watch some training videos. I kept falling asleep and crying because my sinuses were so full that they were pushing out the tears. When we went to her house, Mayra wasn’t there, so we called her and rescheduled. She is going to feed us this Saturday. We fed a stray cat and continued on to our lesson with Milivian. It was such a good lesson. We taught her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I got the feeling to invite her to be baptized. I was nervous, but did it anyway. She accepted! and wants to be baptized on her birthday Feb. 6th!! It was a really neat experience. She is such a sweet lady and we just want her to be even happier. For dinner, Heidy took us out to Texas Roadhouse. I got a 12 oz. Ribeye, chili, and a loaded baked potato. It was delicious! I absolutely love free food. We raced to English Class and only Daniel was there. We taught him that, and then had another lesson with Millie. It went really well.
Something funny that happened: We were telling David that Hna. Mejia doesn’t like Mexican in a restaurant (meaning she likes her own Mexican food better). David answered back, “I’m Mexican, and I’m in a restaurant.” It was hilarious.
