04/11

MIS QUERIDOS!!!!!!

Cuanto las amo! You don't even know. Best news of my life from the bear. I am SO STOKED to watch the pageant with you :) And see my friend Luke who I HOPE is waiting for me. Or does he think that's weird since we've never like officially met yet? And maybe since I am 22 years older than him? And Britt's lil friend is coming SO SOON I AM DYING!!!!! I am so sorry I haven't sent your lame package yet it is coming soon and also I will get you all much classier gifts when I get home.


So this week was amazing, once again. And Sara you once mentioned that I never express disappointment in my emails. Sorry, it exists. The miracles just always outweigh the disappointments. Well, To an extent. it's extremely discouraging when someone you love with all your heart chooses to reject something that will change their lives.. la perla de incalcuable precio! (I talked about that in my talk last night at the program at the VC) - but everyone is doing great. Lorenzo is so solid he wants to share the gospel with his wife and kids in his country so they can be married in the temple when he gets back. Eduardo is solid when I told him to "pray to find out if the Book of Mormon is true" he said, "IF!? It IS true- don't doubt that!" woops. I will use better word choice I guess. Fransisco had an incredible experience which would be far too sacred to express over an email, but we will just say that he got his answer. You can't deny the existence of God when you experience what you do on the mission. Although we have ALOT of opposition over here in DC right now cause of the elections. It's kind of exciting to be honest because it brings tons of people in to the VC cause they want to know if all the rumors are true. They typically end with, "THIS is what everyone is getting worked up about?" Because they see how our religion is centered on Christ and the family and everything wholesome. We had a zone conference on how to respond to insincere people because the antis are ON US right now! There are two men in Olney dressed up in suits "elders" (that are like 30!) who go around knocking the doors the elders just left to anti them. Where we teach in Laurel it's always really awkward cause this pastor comes and tries to take all of our people! We saw him taking our investigator to church last week! ahh. Luckily, those who are ready are ready and they are just solid. But the adversary is real. Here is that quick miracle about Shadrack. He is a friend of our investigor from a year ago. He was bashing on us telling us the mormons are crazy cause the bible never talks about Joseph Smith. One of the most hard hearted men I had ever talked to. He made my SUPER strong companion cry. He was SO MEAN. We prayed one day when we passed by that he wouldn't be there, but the Lord humbled us and showed us His will rather than ours, he apologized and said he read from the Book of Mormon and that is was very beautiful. So our words couldn't touch his heart, but the Book of Mormon penetrated it and now there is no going back! He got antied and for a while was away, he came into the VC and refused to look at me cause he felt so guilty at how mean he was to us, but finally I went up to him and asked how he was. He said, "I am good, I feel awful at how I treated you... I am getting baptized and I know this is true" It was amazing! The most incredible miracles to me are changes of hearts. One more tender mercy... I guess a man called the Garret Park Elders asking for me cause I had given him a card months and months ago. He felt bad he never came to church, but said he wanted to. They took him to church and now he is moving to Florida and He is getting BAPTIZED!!! HUGE tender mercy cause sometimes I feel like my efforts are wasted when I just give a card and nothing happens, but then I remember duh this isn't my work, God is doing His thing and I am just one of his weak little instruments. But it's the best work EVER. The church is true, I love you. Keep having cool lives. AMEN!

04/04/2012

WOW I have not much time, but so much to say. Just know I love you all so much. I havebeen una misionera super distraida lately cause I think of you all lots. I just like you okay!!!!!! I am still in awe at how amazing your lives are. Like weddings, babies, da best times of your lives. and soon enough I will be able to play wif your lil babes and help you plan your weddings and go to the botanical gardens with my mom ::))) Not that I am trunky or anything.....

But In reality, wow I have not seen the types of miracles I saw this week ina long time. It was... WOW. And first of conference was the most incredible experience ever. I heard talks specifically for each of you, for each of our investigators, and I went in with a super specific question that I thought would be a really indirect answer and it was SO DIRECT. It has to do with the anti mormon lit I am faced with on the phone and D Todd Chistopherson's talk. It was awesome. SO I don't even know which miracles to tell. I went on two exchanges this past week (now that I am a VC trainer we do lots of exchanges and get to know all the sisters and areas it's awesome!) I went to little Africa and then to one of the richest areas in the US. They are all government officials and politicians and all that (mom I thought you would like this - Harry Reid and one of his components are in this ward, boff of them!) Anyway I don't have time I want to tell you the miracle. There was a man that I completely judged and thought was a boracho homeless man in the house of our investigators that I never thought to talk to. Long story short, he was hurt and in the hospital asking God to reveal him the truth. He said he heard a voice that said, "I will send you someone" and he asked "Who?" he said he a had a vision of us (he had seen us in these apartment complex for a long time) walking up to him and giving him something in his hand. When he held the Book of Mormon he said that that was it and he already knew it was true. He said he wouldn have never talked to us before. I will think before I judge next time. Miraculously Lorenzo, our inv who wll be baptized on the 22nd has been addicted to cigarretes for years suddenly every time he looked at his cigarretes he felt sick, so when he taught him the word of wisdom he recognized God's hand and agreed to live the WOW. A muslim came to the VC who had dreamt of the Christus statue and now wants to learn more depsite her strict religious background.  You will have to remind me to tell you the miracle about Shadrack cause it's my favorite of all of them, but I don't have time.. The church is so true. There is no doubt in my mind. Despite what those antis say. The adversary is just as real. Eduardo who has a bdate for the 22nd, called us terrified last night because he had an experience similar to Joseph Smith before the first vision - he recognized that it is because he is learning about God and the adversary wants to stop him from making a covenant with the Lord. Pesecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble and columny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth nobly boldly and independent until the great Jehova shall say the work is done!!! (PS I love when Pres Monson quoted that)  Sorry this letter is intense, this week was just incredible. God is so good! I love you all so much and pray for you all the time. Ps please keep andres in your prayers. His tumor is big and he has started chemo. I LOVE YOU ALL!

3/28/2012

OKay, first off thank you all so much you all wrote me juicy long emails and they meant the world to me. 4rlz. How I miss you all! I just look around me and think how much you are going to love it all! I feel awful cause I wrote home a letter last week and forgot to send it with the details! I have to be released at home, but I get modified rules and we can go to NY ::)))) This has been mom's slash my dream forever and ever::))) Also you can drive on a bus for like 8$ from here to NY and we will have places to stay here and DC, so it can be super cheap. Can I just say I honestly have never seen a cuter child than Luke? I look at his pictures and think it's like a model baby from a magazine. I AM SO IN LOVE WITH HIM! Do you guys have so much fun? And baby boo Declan is coming SOOO SOON! I got some stuff for him :) Sorry I don't have the time/means to send nicer gifts. and Tawn for real is getting married? That BLOWS MY MIND! And I am genuinely sinceramente excited for her / you. How do you plan for a wedding? Where are you doing it? Is it fun? Do you like him? I LOVE YOU!

There are way too many exciting things going on at home to possibly try to add on to all that. But this week was so incredible. That depressing day last week I will just tell you was because I talked Juan who just got baptized in January and was so solid and he has already gone astray. It made me nervous to invite anyone get baptized because according to 2 nefi 31, we are kind of condemning them! Well, that was Satan talking to me. They have their agency, it just broke my heart cause I love him so much and he was one of the most solid people I had met. Anyway, but opposition is sweet and this week was full of miracles. We are teaching an entire family from the Domican Republic, love their accent, they're the coolest people ever. The daughter right when we started teaching them said, "Mom why won't you let me be baptized?" and she said they were still looking for the correct church. The dad was talking to us at one point and we were listening to their background conversation and she said, "But I thought we were Catholic?" and she said, "Non hunny, this church is more sana and verdadera (true)" jaja then when we invited them to be baptized for 4/29 the daughter jumped up and said OK YEAH! It was great there are five of them so pray for them! Families are oro! We got in contact with Eduardo, who we felt SO GOOD about, but lost contact with, and he called US and wanted us to come by, when we invited him for a specific date he said, "Me parece PERFECTO"- Lorenzo as well. Arcenio had a dream that he was at church, but it wasn't his, he knows it is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints :) God's hand is in it all. Luis got the priesthood and gave a talk on Sunday :) He is on FIRE! He comes on appts with us all the time and he just testifies and knows the doctrine  way better than I do. He NEVER cries, even when his beloved sister died. But the other day he started crying and said, "I look at you as daughters"- which meant the world cause he had just found out about dad. He buys us tres leches just about every day. Andres is slaving his life away with his patients. He hadn't been sleeping a fainted a few times cause he is so obsessed with helping others and reading every church material that exists (He sends me quotes and scriptures that are like amazing) and he said finally that it was cause he has Cancer that he was fainting. :( Prayers.

MOM I don't know how public your situation is so you can take this part out, but I can't even tell you how it made me feel reading your letter. I can't believe it. I was in shock. It was like my worst nightmare in the whole world coming true. But are you really okay now? Be honest. Thank you for being so thoughtful I think it would be hard not to say anything. I love you so so so much I wrote a letter to you about it you should get it soon. But just know I am fasting for you today. My comp asked me why I was so grumpy (I told her, "I Know how to drive!") jaja and I broke down has how it stressed me, just cause I love you so and you deserve to be healthy and happy. Are you okay? tell the truth, I love you mroe than you will ever know. I also didn't know about Dayna, I will fast for her Sunday. Tell her I love her I will write her today

3/22/2012 sisters do as sisters do

That songs is stuck in my head. I think cause I love my sisters. and I love my mom. And I love you guys the most. I just don't know how to possibly put into words with the 30 min I have on email responding to 1.Tawnee's proposal story, wedding plans, most beautiful dress ever, 2. Britt's baby boy is like a real human being now and all the pictures, 3. and Sara's little man who I dreamed about last night and the best news ever from her and mami. I just... don't have words. I feel like you are all these mature old woman having these mature lives it's weird. slash super cool. I LOVE IT! I thank the Lord soooo much every night that you are all being so blessed. It like makes me want to cry cause i :) wen u :) - I am writing you all today forreals. Maybe a group letter but I have a lot to say about all that. AH! Quick question... Tawn did you check my account cause I had 400$ missing I am a little nervous cause Julio really needs rent or I am nervous he will be quicked out so that's why I am being so insistent. Has money been taken out of either? (Ps maybe take that out of my mass email porfa!?) okay so... this week was ridiculous. Most depressing slash amazing week ever. Mom I will deliver the miracles and keep the depresing stuff out (I filter my emails cause I am trying to be positive) but I did have one of the hardest days of my mission this past week. But the rest of them were some of the best!? We have found the MOST PREPARED people ever. It astounds me. lorenzo- said he has been to other churches, but didn't feel right there. When we invited him to come to church he said he works Sundays (For latinos, work comes before everything cause most of them are here making money for their families in their countries) - but he said he will doing everything possible to switch it. He has had the hardest life, his first wife got pregnant while he was in the US making money for her the first time and he is just so positive. When we invited him to be baptized on the 15th he said, "I don't know, either the 8th or 15th"- jaja he is so prepared. Neftali. ah! and Rey and his wife!!! and Samuel! and JULIO! finally he has come to church every sunday for 6 weeks now and he can't read so we are working with him really slowly. And he doesn't want to "play with God" by putting a baptismal date. But finally our amazing recent convert Luis came to a lesson, and that's what did it. He wants to be baptized now on Easter :) Luis is that golden. He is SO GOOD. He will travel for hours to come to appointments and he just gives all his money away and just glows as he does it. His life is completely consecrated. And he was just baptized. Why after 22 years am I still not like that? Well, so many other wonderful miracles sucedieron, God is so good! Every single day He like amazes me so much. I love it! Even with just the weather/nature. All the trees have like thousands of huge gorgeous flowers with colors I have never seen before? It's like avatar. Okay Love you all so much thank you for the proposal story and da pic of the dress! Tawn... what on earth do you mean that YOU are leaving. explain. I love you keep having really cool exciting movie like lives!!!!!!!! <3 MOM I have things to say to you I will write you a letter now. MWUAH

Britt did you not get the pics last week? I will try to send them again. 

03/14/2012

K I have to be quick cause I just lost my whole email just erased and I have like 2 min. First off, Tawn you still haven't told me about how Daniel proposed. not okay! I espero now the story! What could you possibly be doing that is more important than emailing me? Also, Britt you are having a baby! Bear your pics are the highlight of my week, mom can you write me a handwritten letter? Sometimes I pray to receive one from you. is that weird? I just miss you. And prayer like works. Like really well

This week was amazing slash really hard, but I don't have time to write about it all . One of our investigators that has my heart and we spend like every other day with him and he has come to church every single week, every single baptism and activity, dropped us. Well it was a mutual drop, it was just hard. He doesn't have intenetions to ever be baptized :( But lots of amazing things happened, we met the most incredible people. I talked with mom on the phone! It was crazy, she was an inbound call and she said her name was Pattie and she is a widow and she feels so bad because her daughter is in college and feels the need to stay with her and all this stuff. I was like MOM!? I told her about you and it was the biggest tender mercy because I was able to comfort her and let her know how much her daughter loved her and how much the gospel would bless her in her life :) She said the name mormon kept coming to her mind so she called. We also got a chat of a woman who was praying for answers and she had a dream of her going to mormon.org chat. I have kept contact through the phone and she is getting baptized in a couple weeks and is so happy. I am sending her a dress cause she doesn't have one, all of our investigators are so poor it is breaking me heart. Many literally don't have money for food. The majority of the people we teach left their families in Mexico Chiappas for 6 - 10 years to work for their families. They leave everything and struggle finding work and have big families and literally cross the desert on foot to get here. My year and a half is nothing in comparison. Well, I am out of time. mom write me handwritten :), Tawn tell your story. PS I found out my leave of absence was invalid and maybe lost my scholarship. ps I love you all. Oh and please let me know about coming to pick up, it's super inportant that I let them know for sure cause flight plans go out this month for thos going home in July. Now that I have lost my scholarship possibly I might  be able to stay until Aug, what day is the wedding? k LOVE YOU! Just had transfers too, love you!

3/7/2012

Sooo Britt just got back from Puerto Rico and is pregnant, Tawn is getting married, Bear has a babe and is a nurse. I just have to repeat that over and over cause it just blows my mind!!!! AHHH! How are the wedding plans?! I want little details so I can be part, liiike where/ um WHEN and what food you are having, also very important question.

Tawn I am like da best wedding planner evur so you should just hire me. I'll send you pics of Stephanie's wedding to see what we were able to gather with our 0$ budget. jaja! and I just kept thinking, aww tawn is planning her wedding and I don't get to be there :( I will just live vicariously through planning stephanie's! It actually was great, Lots of nonmebers came and we got there info, we had a lot of help from the ward and had tons of food and latin music and decorations, it was una fiestote. Next day (Sunday) was her BAPTISM! I have to send you pics you will just die to see how much she glows! and just a couple short hours later was Miguel's, Jorge's and a little boy's baptism whose dad just got baptized the week before. Oh my... I don't think I have ever felt the spirit so strong in muh life. We were singing "I believe in Christ" and the spirit was already tangible in the room and then in walks 5 people all in white. My heart couldn't handle it. Miguel has such a huge pedasote of my heart and he just looked so.. complete, and full of gozo. He is the one whose wife left him with his two daughters and has had it so hard, but immediately accepted everything and could cope with his desfaios through the gospel. Jorge could not stop smiling, I felt hopeless for a while with him cause we would try so hard to gethim to church and he worked Sundays, but NOW he's got his priorities straight :) The little boy I only taught him and his dad in the VC one time, but they have an incredible story. The little boy was going to have to get his leg amputated or he would die when he was young (sounds familiar?) the dad is super intelligent, a lawyer and was extremely wealthy and had just lost everything, had never really known God. He held him up in the air and told God he knew He could heal him, and would commit his life to Him after. He was healed and his leg is now perfect, but he went to another church and became super involved. WHen I gave him his tour they themed it on authority, he seemed very iffy and the elder promised him that he would get his answer the next day at church in the sacrament. He went to his OTHER church, took the sacrament, and felt his answer. He was in the wrong church, got up and left and 3 weeks to the day later was baptized. and his son last week. SO point of the story is God is so good! and The gospel is so true! We have met a lot of other really prepared people, and our greatest desire a super awesome family that we are teaching tonight, and a couple others. I love you all so much you have no no no idea. On the 5th I was thinking about Rachel and that all of you were probably together. Although I was sad not to be there, it made me happy to thin abouty it :) I can't wait to see my lil babes Declan and Luke and hopefully like help with tawn's wedding if it is not within the next 4-5 months???!!! I LOVE YOU SO! MOM how is mitt romney!!?? You are beautiful, I was looking at a pic of you today thinking that. IN my prayers. love you da most

02/29/2012

WHOAH!!!!!!!!!! I CAN NOT BELIEVE TAWNEE IS ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that makes me feel weird. BUT SO EXCITED for her :::::::::)))))))) CONGRATS BABY SISTER!!!!!!!! I am only upsetted by the fact that well, I got NO DETAILS! I demand them asap! PORFA! I  must hear how dis all went down!! Ans Britt is back from PUERTO RICO! I need deets about that too! And how she is having a baby and how bear has a little grown man son now?! Remember how I still can't fathom that? I love them so much :) And MOM a new missionary came in that looks just like you and it made me miss you so much :( uygh I miss you. But I love you so. And I LOVE the political updates you know I die to hear  them every week!

I pray for Mitt all the time. whoa... TAWN IS ENGAGED.ps tawn that ring is tTO DIE FOR. I LOVE IT SO MUCH STOP BEING CUTE AND ADULT.

this week was great! My sister got engaged. And my other sister was in Puerto Rico and my other one had a baby and is a nurse and I love my mom the most ever. And Dayna is in WA with curt, super fun. I miss you all. That's about it...

oh and this is gonna be the best weekend ever. Stephanie is getting married Sat so she can be baptized SUN! So tawn that makes us both planning a wedding right now. It's like super stressful, very exciting

:) Then my sweet Miguel and Jorge are getting baptized Sunday!!! I can't put into words how much these people mean to me. You will see when you meet them. They have all of my heart. Miguel is the definition of golden and despite his wife and 2 daughters leaving him he turned to God and was crying sharing his testimony yesterday.

People can just feel this is the truth. We visited a woman named Melissa on our exchange like 2 months ago, and because it was an exchange they never really went back. We knocked their door looking for someone else and ended up teaching like 7 people in their house. 2 were superr strong in their religion and just bashed us and we left feeling "Why did we feel like we needed to go there?" there was a woman just chilling in the back who listened to it all and felt really good about what we shared.  She ran out the door yesterday saying "SISTERS! I have been looking and waiting for you!" I need that book, I am so lost and looking for truth, I am so confused, please help me. She has been such a miracle. Her and her husband (well bf, planning another wedding!) literally almost left each other because this church they are in are splitting them apart instead of helping them grow closer. She has had such a hard life and those couple min we were in that house, she knew what we shared was true. It was miraculous. That also happened with a man Arcenio this past weekend. taught in housefull of 5 people and he just  took it all in, came to church the next day and said "You have a new hermano in the church!" We invited him right then to be baptized and he said, "of course"- these are real people with real challenges and I can't even tell you what a thrill it is to see them change their lives for the gospel. Many of them are literally going hungry and have NOTHING, they all leave their families, cross the desert on foot, come to america to work, share a tiny apartment with 10 people and barely can afford to eat. Then they know when they hear the message why they are there. I have been so blind my whole life to how ready people are. ugh it's just the best

I love you so much, think about you all de tym. Please keep having super exciting lives and getting engaged and having babies. I MISS YOU SOOO!!!!