Part 1 & 2 🎉🤯
3-21-22
Part 1-
Sorry my last couple of weeks have been crazy!
Last Monday was super fun! We woke up at 5:45am to go to the beach and watch the sunrise. It was really pretty! The water was freezing! After a minute my feet were kind of numb to the cold. After that I got a yummy bagel breakfast sandwich and then took a fat nap. Later that day some of our lessons canceled, so we went to dinner with Roberto. We went to El Nuevo Vallarta. I got a tostada and a chimichanga. It was really fun! Roberto brought his cousin Pedro. We were able to teach them about the steps of repentance. After dinner was over, we drove to West Columbia. Elder Navarrete and Forsburg waited for us and we followed them there. We lost them for a minute and it was raining. All of a sudden, we see red lights and Hna. Williamson slams on the breaks. We barely didn't hit the semi in front of us. I don't know how we were able to slow down so fast, but we did. It was scary but neat. We stayed with the hermanas and they stayed with the elders there. We slept on the floor like a sleep over!
We were able to go exercise Tuesday morning instead of driving forever. We got ready and then we went to Spanish Conference!! It was awesome! We learned a lot of great ideas and things. Something that I really liked was the training on the Atonement we had. There were pictures of Jesus and then the 5 steps in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the holy ghost, and endure to the end). They all relate back to Jesus Christ and his infinite Atonement. Without it we couldn't do anything to become like our Heavenly Father. We also learned a way to get into more people's homes so they can feel the Spirit. We are going to try it out and see how it goes. It was Hna. Stewart's, Kurn's and my last Spanish conference so we gave our departing testimonies in Spanish. I was so nervous, but I was able to say what needed to be said and heard. For lunch, we ate hamburgers and fruit. I had been craving a burger for ages. Then we drove home 2 ½ hours. I was sick of driving by the end. I drove past Charleston too! We got home just in time for our dinner with the Lynch family. They fed us Lasagna and brownies. It was perfect after a long ride. We did the human pretzel activity with them and they loved it. It was super fun! Then we taught English class and gave the elders their long awaited food.
On Wednesday we had DCM! We pushed it back because of our Spanish conference. For lunch we went to Ihop. I got Mexican Tres leches pancakes. They were good but the cake is better. Afterwards, we went and visited Tami and Chris. We taught them about the Great Apostasy and First Vision. The spirit was super strong. We visited and sang some people after that. We talked to a lot of new people. Then we visited Donovan and talked about repentance. We went over the steps of repentance and read it in the pamphlet. He said it was just what he needed to hear. Afterwards, we went and saw Ezequiel with Rafael. They are just two adorable old men who will hopefully become good friends.
Not a lot happened on Thursday. We worked on some lists and had Family Home Evening as a Zone. We had a good lesson with Belkis and then had dinner with Brother Freeman. He took us and the elders to a fancy Italian restaurant. I got this Alfredo gnocchi dish. It was super good. The waiter was awesome and let me swap the tomatoe sauce for Alfredo. Then we taught English class to end the day. We called Donovan and followed up on the goals he made. After that, we had a stuffed animal fight. They we getting launched all over our room.
Friday was a super awesome day. Donovan wanted to experience the life of a missionary so he came to all of our lessons. He helped teach, handed out English class cards, and shared his testimony. We had lunch with Sister Miller and he loves her. It was super fun! We got two giant pizzas and shared funny stories. Donovan said that Sister Miller is going to be his mom here in South Carolina. After that we had a lesson with Aurelio. We went over the baptismal questions and learned some things that we can do to help them both out. We found some new people to teach with Donovan and got rejected too! We had a super awesome lesson with Richard, and Deblin and their families. We taught them about the restoration and they are going to pray about it. Then we went out for a late dinner. We went to a Mexican restaurant. Donovan and I got a Molcajete to share and Hna. Stewart and Williamson got enchiladas. We had a fun time and talked about Donovan’s experience. He said he doesn't think he could do it everyday. We said that going on a mission is hard but worth it. After we finish, we continue to share the gospel with others, just not 24/7.
On Saturday, we went out to lunch with Rafael. I got this guayaba drink and it was pretty good. I got a flauta and chimichanga. The restaurant we went to, we have been there almost every week this transfer. The elders aren’t getting fed and we are getting fed all the time. Afterwards, we had a lesson with Tammi. It went good, but I have decided I don't like March Madness especially when it distracts people. Then we had a lesson with Maria and Kailer. Kailer remembered a little from before! We taught them about the restoration and played down by the banks. They had so much fun. Afterwards, we did a couple phone call lessons. We drove up to Paris Island for Hna. Stewart's going away party. We went to Elder and Sister Reynold's house. They fed us pizza and a cake cookie which is just a giant cookie with frosting. Then we had a quick lesson with Efrain and his friend Oscar. We invited them to read the Book of Mormon. Right after that, we met up with some of Hna. Stewart's friends from West Columbia who came to see her. It was very interesting and I will never forget that. Later, we went and saw Donovan. He was having a hard time, but was so happy to see us.
Sunday was testimony meeting. I got asked to lead the music and I really enjoyed it. I bore my testimony too. After church, I gave Donovan a drawing of Christ for his birthday and we gave him a bear. Then we went and visited this one family but they didn't answer. So we went and knocked on the door across the street. A guy named Oscar opened the door and was really nice. We sang to his daughter Iveth and him. They told us that we could come over another time! We were not expecting that. It was the spirit that lead us to knock on their door. Later, we taught Gabriel and then a lesson with Nicol. We taught her the rest of the restoration and she accepted it. She was super excited when we gave her own Book of Mormon. After that, a lot of our lessons weren't home, but Ignacio was. We taught him the whole plan of salvation. He accepted it and had no questions which means he understood it. It was funny because he would start to argue and explain stuff. We would then agree and he would be shocked that we believed the same as him. To end the day, we had an impromptu lesson with Roberto. We called before we went to knock the door. I did a Tow-mater when he asked if we were waited outside and said he was going to check. It was hilarious, you had to be there. Hna. Stewart and Williamson were cracking up laughing. We did a quick lesson about faith. I shared two stories with him that have related to me in my life. One was when Jesus talks to the people and says, "Oh ye of little faith." The other when the man comes to Jesus and asks him to heal his son. Jesus asks him if he has the faith and the man said no. Then he said, "Lord, help thou my unbelief." I explained that we can be those people of little faith or we can ask God to help us with our faith. We can't grow our faith on our own, we need almighty help.
On Monday we went to the Ayalas for lunch. She hadn't finished so I was able to help her make tacos. They gave their goodbyes and we went to visit some more people. We finally were able to meet Derrick, Anthony, and Eric. Super nice and hilarious people. We said we would see them next week and they pointed at Hna. Stewart and said, "not her." All of our lessons didn't answer until dinner. We ate at the Bejar's house. They fed us tortas. They are a super sweet family and want to help with Donovan and Roberto. Later, we visited this house. The guy told us his name was Angel and we knew there was another one that lived there. So we asked, "Is there another Angel that lives here?" Hna. Stewart goes, "Yo!" We couldn't stop laughing. Right after that we went and saw
Aurelio. He gave us this giant cake that was chocolate tres leches. We ate cake and shared a spiritual thought. Then we went and saw Donovan. We made him a list of good things he can do when he is feeling down or discouraged.
Tuesday was great! We had our last DCM of the transfer. We talked a lot about following up. If we invite people to do things and then don’t ask how it is going or if they did it, why invite? I think that it also relates to when we make goals in our lives. If we don’t measure and follow up on our progress and change, then we aren't accountable. We make a goal and then we don’t even do it. This happens a lot with me, but I am trying to be better with them. For lunch, Hna. Stewart wanted sushi, so we went to a Hibachi place. I got Hibachi and it was good, but they didn’t make it in front of us. Then we had our apartment inspection. We didn’t have a ton of time to clean, so I was stressed. We passed! They didn’t notice a lot of things that I thought they would’ve. We are never in our apartment, so there is never any time to clean it. Then we went and talked to a ton of people about English class. We went to the Bacon diner and got the owners' numbers. After that we had a lesson with Nicol and Erika came. They got along great and will hopefully become great friends! Nicol said she hadn't read the Book of Mormon, but found it online and has listened to a LOT of it. She started recounted it to us. We were all shell shocked. We taught her about the first part of the plan of salvation and ate the flan that Nichol made us. She is just the sweetest! For dinner we went to the Lynch’s house. They fed us Salmon stuffed with crab cakes, carrots, and my favorite part chocolate cake and carrot cake. The elders did a cool object lesson to explain the power of the holy ghost. Get a little bowl and fill it with water (represents the world) then sprinkle pepper all over it (sin) and stick your finger in it. It comes out all dirty. Then cover your finger with dish soap (gift of the Holy Ghost) and stick it in it. It will come out clean and it repels all the pepper away. The Holy Ghost is powerful and will help protect us if we are choosing the right. Then we taught English class and it was great! I taught my favorite Hondureños! We ended class with Malta Goya🤢 and presents for Hna. Stewart from Roberto.
Part 2-
Wednesday was pretty chill. We went and signed airplane journals and then went shopping. Hna. Stewart spent a lot of the time packing. She did it pretty quickly. I take long time to pack for a one day trip. Later, we went and visited Oscar. Before we went in I looked over and Hna. Stewart had tears in her eyes. Hna. Williamson then said she would start crying if Hna. Stewart did. We knocked on the door and they both were 75% crying and the door opened. We got to meet Oscar's wife and it turns out this one guy we've been trying to teach over the phone lives there. We sang a song and then left. Hna. Stewart said the mom looked very concerned but Hna. Stewart just smiled. Then we went and sang a song to Jonas. After that, we had a really good lesson with Erik, Erika, Jocksan, and Deblin. We taught them about prayer and sang "Did you think to pray" with them. Erika is so young and knows so much. I absolutely love teaching them! After Ward coordination, we went over to Rafael's house. He had made a giant fire. We talked, ate snacks, and sang hymns. It was super fun! We watched the sky over the trees light up with lightning thinking that it was coming towards us, but it went the other way. Rafael brought out a giant rope and tied up Elder Navarrete so he couldn't leave. Hna. Stewart said she wouldn't leave so he didn't tie her up… she still left.
Thursday we drove to meet up with some other sisters and they took Hna. Stewart to Columbia. After that we went to some tiendas and we talked to lots of people. Then we had a lesson with Nicol. We taught her about more of the plan of salvation. We talked about baptism and invited her to be baptized. She said no and then said she was joking. She wants to be baptized on April 22nd! It was a really cool lesson and the spirit was strong. We didn't plan on asking her but felt like we should. Then we drove to our lesson with Belkis and Katherin. They are doing pretty good. We are going to get the headphones so they can listen to the Book of Mormon. We taught English class and to end the night called some people.
Friday morning we planned for our week and then went to lunch with the Clives. They fed us chicken quesadillas, fruit salad, and vegetables. Brother Clive is going to help us out with some of our lessons! After that, we had a call with Obert. He is awesome! He wants to come to church and change his life. The only hard thing is he lives so far from the church and doesn't have a car. But God will provide! We had dinner at home. We have done that a lot this week and it is good. We just haven't bought anything to make food, so we just throw stuff together. After that, we went over and had a lesson with Gabriel and his son. They are going to read the Book of Mormon and hopefully come to English class. Then we met with Donovan. We talked about following the prophet and the word of wisdom. Afterwards, we went to Jonas's house. We reviewed the restoration with cupstoration and he seems to be getting it this time!! To end the night, we called Roberth. He is awesome. Turns out he has friends that are members. He told us he has lots of questions. We were able to answer a couple of them. We read a scripture and he said that was all he needed to answer one of them.
We had a ward party Saturday morning. It was fun but super windy. I felt like Marilyn Monroe with my skirt blowing all over. We weren't able to stay for lunch because we had lunch with Rafael. He took us to a new taco truck this time. It was good, but the other one is amazing. Then we drove all the way out to Hardeeville. It was our first time actually going out and investigating there. We visited a tienda real quick and I took a couple wrong turns before we ended up at the house we were visiting. Right after we arrived a car pulled up. Which wouldn't have happened if I would've taken the right turns. He was the lady's husband. We are going back later this week to see them. Then we went and visited a member named Irma who is super cute. We went to go visit this one guy but he moved. We were able to talk to the family that lives there and they talked to missionaries before covid! The kids brought out their kids Bible book. We are going back during the end of the week. We dropped off a birthday present for the people we met last week. Afterwards, we had a lesson with Maria and Kailer. We finally met his dad. They are so sweet and Kailer and Aurora (Lola) love us so much! They are going to start reading the Book of Mormon. For dinner, we went to a Chinese buffet with Roberth, Sergio and his friends, and the elders. I went for the company and not the food… It was a lot of fun. Roberth is super awesome and really wants to learn. Then we went to a lesson with Efrain and Pedro. We taught them about the First vision and ate pizza. The rest of the night our lessons fell through.
Sunday morning we had our last choir practice and we performed. It went really well. Glad that's over! It was funny because we joked about getting transferred so we didn't have to sing but we ended up staying. Sergio, Roberth, and Jose Ramos came to church!! After church we went and visited a tienda. We were able to talk to a ton of people. Sometimes it is awkward and some people just ignore us, but we just laugh it off. The worst is when they say they speak English and know no one who wants to learn. It happens to me all the time. After that, we had a lesson with Nicol and Jesús was finally there. We retaught the first part of the plan of salvation so he could know it. Then we taught the rest. They had lots of good questions and loved when we read about it in the pamphlet. When we talked about what we need to do on earth (gospel of Jesus Christ) Jesús said he hasn't been baptized and that he needs to be. Nicol had a question about infant baptism. We talked about that and read a little from Moroni 8. Jesús agreed that baptism is for people who know what they are doing. Jesús is going to pray and think about baptism! Nicol loved her baptismal calendar and said she wouldn't share it with him. She wants them both to have a calendar. One the way home, we dropped off a present for Camden on the porch. We relaxed, had dinner, and then drove back to the church to pick up tamales. Hna. Solid left us some in the fridge. While we drove we called a guy named Juan. He wants to start coming to church again! Then we called Obert and he just made my day. He is just so excited to learn and said he will do everything we ask him to do. After that, we had a great call with Bryan. I tried to play off that I was from Honduras and he started to fall for it. He said he didn't fully believe it because he is from there. I was so close but couldn't keep a poker face.
Last Monday was pretty chill. We didn’t really do anything and it was awesome. We drove up to have a lesson in person with Jose Ramos. We talked about some of the baptismal questions with him. He is getting so close to baptism. Please pray for him that he will be able to make his decision. Then, we went to dinner with Donovan. He took us to Longhorn Steakhouse. I got steak, mashed potatoes, and fries. It was really good, but was a lot of food. We taught him about fasting. We got home very full and went to bed.
Tuesday morning we had DCM. We had a good discussion on why we even do DCM. We need to counsel with others and share ideas to grow. After that we had lunch. I had some Wendy's chicken nuggets and this weird garlic rice and quinoa thing. It wasn't great, but the chicken nuggets were delicious. Then we went and prayed in a trailer park to call Roberth. He is just so awesome. We taught him about the restoration and he understood it pretty well. Then we knocked some doors and found some new people to teach. Hna. Williamson got into both of them and it was awesome! After that, we made some cookies. They turned out alright and we went to dinner with the Lynch family. Sister Lynch cut my hair real quick before dinner. Then we ate pot roast, potatoes and gravy, this pretty good salad (I liked the sugar coated nuts), and carrots. I love when we have meals like this. For the thought we played a game. Everyone got a paper and they drew the shape of their face. Then we pass the paper and the next person draws an eye, pass it again and they other eye, until you finish the whole face and have some accessories. The pictures came out pretty ugly. We read 1 Samuel 16:7. Heavenly Father looks on the inside and not the outside. We need to not judge people on the way they look but be charitable to everyone. Then we ended the night by teaching English class.
On Wednesday, we went and had lunch with Margaret. She took us to the Crazy Crab. I got fish and chips. The fish was a giant piece. During lunch, Margaret found out about my experience with going home and said it touched her a lot. She said I changed her and helped her. It was neat hearing that from her. She is just the sweetest. Afterwards, we visited a tienda and talked to a lot of people. Then we had a lesson with Nicol. She made us this yummy lime layered dessert. It has this lime spread and then cookies. We read the Book of Mormon with her and she told us that she was going to try and come to church. It was funny because she said she got off Sunday because someone invited her to church. I thought, "who else invited her to church?" Then it dawned on me that it was just us. On the way to the church, we called Obert. He is super awesome. We taught him about the Great Apostasy. He was a little confused and it didn't help that the phone kept cutting out. At the church, we planned a little more for the MTC activity with the elders. After that, we called Jose Ramos. We found out that he is married to Elia. We didn't know for sure, but now we do! He agrees with the Law of Chastity and wants to learn more about temples. We are hoping that they will start progress as a family. Right after that, we had lesson with Deblin, Erik, and Richard. They liked the idea of the Book of Mormon at first and then started to bash a tiny bit. We just bore our testimonies and find out the truth of it for themselves through study and prayer.
A lot of our lessons fell through Thursday morning. But, we had a great video call with Roberth. We introduced the Book of Mormon to him. We asked to read the introduction and he said he already had. Then I remembered he picked up my Book of Mormon in church and had read it. By then we had already sent him the link. We asked him to read the last 2 paragraphs and he read the whole thing! He told us that he is going to read the whole book when he gets back from Florida. After that, we went into the tienda and talked to some people. This lady has this smoothie, ice cream booth and she gave us a free Mango smoothie with spicy stuff in it. She is so nice and knows member of the church. We are going to go visit her again. Then we had dinner with Rafael. We went to the Nuevo Vallarta again! And we sat in the exact same booth! He told us that he will be getting a calling soon and we are super excited for him. He also keeps bringing up how he wants to eat my goats at home. I keep telling him no and that they are my pets. Now he just thinks it is hilarious. Afterwards, we went and visited Belkis. She is just super busy all the time and isn't really keeping commitments. We are going to let the elders teach her because they are on the Island more often. Then we taught English class and had a call with Bryan.
We planned for our upcoming week on Friday pretty quickly and set off on a road trip to Savannah, Georgia. We hadn't found really anyone new to teach this week, so we made a goal to find 8 new people. On the way we called Charles. We met him last week. When we got to where we were going it was a gated apartment complex. As we were driving to the entrance, we said God will let us in and the gates were open. We knocked on the door and there was no answer. Asked the neighbors if they lived there and they said no. Went to another door, and thought maybe we should look at the address again. We had knocked on the wrong door, so we found the right one. Hna. Guerrero opened the door. Turns out it was her daughter's apartment and she was watching her grandson. We shared a message with them and then thought, she can take Obert to church. He is the building right across the street. She gave us a quesadilla to go and said she would do it! We knocked on Obert's door and a lady answered. We explained what was going on and asked to come in. She said no (caught Hna. Williamson and I off guard) and said just kidding pasen. Obert was running late and told us to not leave. So we started to teach Ofelia. Obert arrived and brought his friend Pedro Batman. It really is his last name (At church I kept telling people he really is Batman. It was pretty funny. A last name I will never forget.) They were so engaged in the lesson and gave us their full attention. The spirit was super strong. We are going back next Friday and Pedro is going to join in on the calls we have with Obert. Then we drove back up to Hardeeville. We talked to a ton of people in a tienda and bought delicious ice cream. We went to visit an address we had already visited before. So we drove up a different road and saw a work van parked by a house. We thought, someone Spanish probably lives here. Then we saw the family next door in their backyard. We knocked, no one answered, so we went to go talk to the family. Their little girl ran and opened the front door and told us to come in. We shared a message with them and got to know them. They are going through a hard time and the gospel is just going to help them sooo much! The mom thanked us for coming and we told her that God sent us because we originally were going to stay in Georgia for longer but felt like we needed to go somewhere else. Then we went and visited Jonas. His friend Erlin came over and wants to learn too! We taught them some of the plan of salvation. On the way home we called this guy Jose Sanchez. He wants to start coming back to church and learn as well. In the end, we found 9 new people to teach. Heavenly Father really does answer our prayers. He leads us and guides us in the things that we do, we only need to ask Him.
Saturday morning, we went and visited Astrid. She wasn't there, but the rest of her family was. They invited us to sit down for breakfast. We had this egg, bacon, sausage, salsa, and chicharrón mix. It didn't look good, but tasted good. They want to start coming back to church and are really a sweet family. After lunch, we went and visited some tiendas and handed out English class cards. Then we had a lesson with Robert. We taught him about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then we drove out to Hardeeville to visit this one family. Their kids are so cute. Hopefully they will progress. Afterwards, we went to go contact some English people. One door didn't answer, so we started talking about how Heavenly Father is going to put English people in our path that are ready for the gospel. We got to the next house and a man and a kid were outside. We started getting to know them and asked for Barbara. Then the son Mike (around 12-13) said, "Give me one second. I'll go see if she is ready for you." Hna. Williamson and I look at each other thinking what is going on. We've never met this lady before, and she hadn't really met the missionaries. He came out and said, " She's ready. You can come right in." We didn't know what to do, so we followed him inside and went into the room. She said, "What are we going to do today?" finally sees us and goes, "You aren't my PT (physical therapist)." We then tell her the whole story of what had happened and how we are missionaries. She told us that she broke 3 ribs and hurt her back. She has been through so much and is still fighting through it all. We are going back next Saturday to see her. She said she can't promise long term studies, but wait til she bears what we have to tell her. When we came out of the house, her son-in-law asked us what exercises we did with her. We explained again what happened, and he didn't get mad. He told us that he tries to share the gospel with others and when they don't accept it he prays for them. We are hoping that we can start teaching this whole family! That experience was one I had never experienced before. For dinner, we went out to eat with Jose Ramos, his family, and Brother Clive. It was awesome. We have a much better relationship with Elia now. She told us she had questions about what we do and why we decided to come out here. We were able to explain and Bro. Clive said just the right things. We talked about sacrifice and how it brings blessings. Then we drove to our second dinner. Efrain was having his birthday party. We ate posule and got even more stuffed. They had pig and chicken feet too. I wanted to try it so I can say I ate it, but I knew I would've thrown that up. We invited his friends to come to church. We realized he put us in the dining room away from all the people that were drinking, and we ate with Pedro and Alejandro. It was really nice of him.
Yesterday was pretty fun. The English ward talked about how the gospel is simple, and it really is. In the Spanish Branch they talked about Relief Society and the importance of it. Every hymn was sung by them (including Hna. Williamson and I) in front of everyone. Obert, Pedro, Roberto, and Cristian came. We were so happy when we saw Obert and Pedro because it was a legit miracle that brought them. After church, we had a linger-longer that was themed on Relief Society. We ate pretty good food, had dessert, and talked. After church, we went and visited the Quirinos. They are a super sweet family that hasn't been to church for a little while. The kids are crazy but hilarious. We are going to watch General Conference with them. Afterwards, we had a really good lesson with Nicol and Jesús. Jssus wasn't there when we taught the restoration, so we went over it again. They really liked the first vision part. We invited them to pray about all of it. Something cool is, Nicol like to press and preserve flowers like me. I'm going to bring her some for a project she is doing. Then we had a couple lessons fall through, so we went home for dinner. It was nice to sit and just eat guacamole for a couple minutes. Then we went and saw Bryan in person for the first time ever. He is super nice and really has a desire to find the truth. We invited him to pray about the experience of Joseph Smith. After that, we went and saw Ezequiel with Rafael. We talked about the plan of salvation. Little by little Rafael and him are going to become best friends!
I had taken a little break over the last couple weeks from reading Jesus the Christ to read El Milagro del Perdón. Now I am reading both of them at the same time. They are super great books. What I was reading in Jesus the Christ really stood out to me yesterday. Jesus Christ was rejected by the city that he grew up in. He is our Savior and Redeemer, but they couldn’t think more of him than just a carpenter. They saw him healing people and working miracles, but they still wouldn’t believe. It still ceases to shock me how many people won’t accept the gospel and make changes to have a better life. Then I think about Jesus Christ, even people were rejecting him. I shouldn’t get down on myself, and think there was something better I could’ve done. We have to be optimistic and pray that maybe they will accept it in the future.
