1 Nephi 10:19

This Saturday we had a "Noche Latina," where all the members in the branch brought food and decorations from their native country! It was so cool, I ate so much good food! I love how much culture their is in Latin America. It made me think about if I went to another country and had to represent the United States, what would I do? Probably make hamburgers... but that's all I can think of. I love that, since I am serving in the states, I get to experience a little bit of almost every Spanish speaking country!

Yesterday, Evelyn made the missionaries real Mexican enchiladas for dinner, and they were amazing. I ate 10 of them.

Yesterday, Presidente Castiblanco was released! Hermano Batioja is the new branch president. it was such a bittersweet sacrament meeting. Presidente Batioja is awesome, and we are excited to work with him, but we are definitely going to miss Presidente Castiblanco. He was branch president for 8 years, and he and his family do SO MUCH for the missionary work in the branch. 

Something interesting that I have been thinking about this week is the concept of work. One of our investigators, Jose, tells us that he never prays for money, but he often prays and asks God for work. I think that is such a great perspective to have!  We can find the same concept in 3 Nephi 6:3. It is important to apply this principle to our spiritual needs as well as our physical needs. We shouldn't ask Heavenly Father for immediate answers to all of our questions, but we should absolutely ask him to guide us as we search the scriptures and help us to recognize the answers.

Conferencia General!

So we got snow yesterday. I guess I said that I wanted cold weather, and we are rewarded according to our desires! Heavenly Father is probably just laughing saying "Just wait until January..."

I have discovered that I love "finding" time as a missionary. My companion hates knocking on doors, but I have come to enjoy it. It's like a mystery game! They could laugh, they could cry, they could yell, they could look at you through the curtains so that you know they are home but they don't open the door anyway, they could slam the door... you never know! You see it all as a missionary, but it keeps me going knowing that the Lord is preparing people to hear the gospel. What I have found, too, is that most people are actually really nice! We find the occasional grumpy person, but most people are at least willing to have a bit of small talk with us. I also have yet to find a correlation between someone's religion and how they treat us. We meet really nice Catholics and really rude Catholics. Really nice Atheists and really rude Atheists. We get to see it all as missionaries, and I love it! 

Isn't General Conference the BEST?! I hope you all watched all of the sessions, they were amazing! They talked so much about missionary work, and so many of the talks were centered on the pure doctrines that we teach from Preach my Gospel. I can't tell if Conference was really that much different this time, or if my perspective as a missionary is what is different (probably some of both!)

One of our investigators, Jose, walked all the way to the chapel to watch the Sunday morning session of conference! He lives at least 3 miles away, and he's probably about 60 years old. He is SOLID. 

My favorite talk was Russel M. Nelson's talk about having joy during all times in our life. What an awesome reminder that Heavenly Father wants us to be happy, and if we choose to mope or whine excessively, we are just listening to Lucifer, who wants us to be miserable, like unto himself (2 Nephi 2:27)

If you didn't watch general conference, I would like to invite you to do so. I can promise you that if you will, you will be able to feel the spirit and you will find answers meant specifically for YOU!

Have an awesome week!

Alma 26:35

This has been an awesome week!

I had an exchange in Tahoe again which is always a great time. This time I was with my awesome STL Hermana Gatten! We had a blast, and I got to meet lots of people who knew my companion when she served in Tahoe.

When we were finding in a certain apartment complex, we went to ring a doorbell and just found a bunch of wires sticking out of the wall. So, me being me, I just touched the two exposed wires together, and we heard the doorbell go off inside! Hermana Martinez thought it was the coolest thing ever, so of course she had to try. After a few moments a woman actually came to the door, and I imagine she was thinking something like "I took the doorbell out because I didn't want to hear it..." but she wasn't mad, and we were able to set up a return appointment with her!

On Saturday we watched the general women's session of conference with Evelyn (while filling up the font!) and it was amazing! I loved president Uchdorf's talk (shocker, right?) and his story of how the missionaries found Hariot. It made me think about how, as a missionary, I am helping to find someone's eternal companion! They are just waiting for someone to find them and bring them the gospel. I can't ever give up, and I can't ever stop working. Future generations are counting on me! (no pressure)

After the conference we had Evelyn's baptism!!! It was amazing. Roberto was able to baptize her, and he was nervous, but he did really well. Her hand didn't go all the way under the first time, so she had to be baptized twice. After Evelyn was baptized, she said "I just feel beautiful!" and she looked beautiful too! Evelyn and Roberto are some of my favorite people, I just love them so much!

I might not have converted thousands of the Lamanites like unto Ammon and his bretheren, but after Evelyn's baptism I don't think that any man (or woman) has ever had such great reason to rejoice! Evelyn is such a beautiful daughter of God, and watching her take this important step towards her eternal progression is something I will never forget!

Investigadores y la Iglesia

This has been another great week! First of all I would like to thank every English teacher I ever had for all the bits of grammar knowledge I never thought I would use. Hermana Martinez and I are helping to teach English as a second language for our service, and I love being so prepared to answer questions. It is awesome knowing English, but also having the experience of learning Spanish as a second language. It helps me relate to all of the women who are struggling with various aspects of English. I am realizing more and more how the knowledge and experiences that I have gained, in school, life, and on my mission, give me an increased capacity to serve others! Remember that you have unique talents and abilities that you can use to bless the lives of others!

Yesterday we had 2 investigators come to church for the first time! One of them, Miguel, was actually a former investigator. We dropped him because he never read the Book of Mormon or came to church, no matter how hard we tried. We were shocked when we saw him waiting for sacrament meeting to start. He told us that he (finally) read the introduction to the Book of Mormon, and he realized that he needed to come and see what he thought about the church. Seeing him at church was a huge miracle this week!

As a missionary, church is an entirely different experience. The hour right before sacrament meeting is the most stressful time of the week, because we are trying to contact investigators, make sure they have rides, talk with members as they come and make sure that our investigators have someone to sit with. During sacrament meeting yesterday it was so hard to focus because I was so busy thinking about what my investigators must be thinking and hoping that they are having a good experience. The members are so critical during this time. We were thrilled to see plenty of members talking to Miguel before sacrament meeting. Unfortunately, when we talked to Miguel after church, he said that he was disappointed to see someone sleeping behind the pulpit. Oof. It made me think of Alma 39:11. As members of the church (especially missionaries!) we have such a huge responsibility to represent the church well. Every member has made a covenant to take upon themselves the name of Christ, so we are all his representatives. 

Yesterday a member took the sacrament for the first time in a while, and with tears in their eyes they spoke about how strongly they felt the spirit, and how much more they appreciated the gospel after losing it and finding it again. That was a powerful experience for me, and it made me remember how special and sacred the sacrament truly is. 

Oh remember remember... remember your baptismal covenants and who you represent!

Life in Tahoe!

So it's transfer season, and I'm going all the way to... South Reno (my current area) and my new companion will be Hermana Martinez (my current companion)! I'm actually really thankful that I don't have to leave all my investigators (at least not yet...)

I may not be getting transferred, but this week I did have the opportunity to go on an exchange in Tahoe! It was so pretty there! And it was with Hermana Monroe, who was in my district at the CCM! It was great; it felt a little too much like vacation. In the morning Hermana Monroe and I went to the beach for exercises. She even made me breakfast that morning, she is awesome!

Yesterday we had a "Why I Believe" fireside where recent converts share their testimonies. It was in English, so we couldn't invite most of our investigators, but we were able to invite Evelyn and her boyfriend who is a member. They are young so they speak perfect English. It was such a powerful fireside! They both cried; I'm glad that they were able to come!

One of our investigators let us hold his pet lizard, so that was exciting. 

This week, between bright blue Tahoe and beautiful sunsets, I am thankful for the beautiful world that has been created for us. We have been given such an amazing place to live, and it was created by priesthood power, the same power that we have in our church today! Wow.