Monday, June 29, 2015

I Am So Grateful For My Mission!

Well hello friends and family!!

I am so happy! We have 3 investigators that want to be baptized. One of them is getting baptized this weekend!! 

I have a few pictures, the first one is of my companion, Sister Culala and I at Sister Livingood's house. She doesn't come to church, so we go visit her and sing to her and share scriptures with her. She takes pride in her garden, it is her passion. She loves nature, her yard shows it! The miracle was this week when we went over, her daughter also joined us for our lesson. :) We love them a lot and I love her yard! You should see her backyard!

The second picture is from this morning, we had a zone activity and decided to throw a birthday party for Sister Ann Ward. She turned 83 today and this was her very first birthday party! She loves missionaries so it was fun to see how happy she was to see all of us there. After we ate, we sang hymns to her and we talked to her about her life. It was so fun! I just sat there watching the Elders play basketball thinking of how grateful I am for my mission. I have exactly 6 months left so I was just thinking of everything I've done, the people I have met and then who I want to be when I am done. The only thing I am excited about is seeing my family, but I am not very excited about joining the real world again, maybe that will change.

I wanted to share a poem with you!! Its called "How do I love thee?"

“I love you, Mother,” said little John;
Then forgetting his work, his cap went on,
And he was off to the garden swing,
Leaving Mother the wood and the water to bring.
I love you, Mother,” said rosy Nell,
“I love you more than words can tell.”
So she teased and she pouted half the day,
Till Mother rejoiced when she went to play.
“I love you, Mother,” said little Fan,
“Today I’ll help you all I can.
How glad I am that school doesn’t keep.”
So she rocked the baby till he fell asleep.
Then stepping softly, she fetched the broom,
Swept the floor, tidied the room.
Busy and happy all day was she,
Busy and happy as a child could be.
“I love you, Mother,” again they said,
Three little children going to bed.
Now how do you think that mother guessed
Which of them really loved her best?
I love this poem because it makes me think of Heavenly Father. I want to do all I can to show him that I love him by obeying Him, following Him, and helping others do the same. I hope you all have a beautiful, vibrant, and blessed week!


Miracles and Blessings!

Hello friends and family!!! 
I am in the Pleasant View Ward and I love it so much! I love it as much as Cypress. Which is saying a lot. I  just feel like I am here for the people, I get along with everyone so well! So anyways, here's some miracles for the week!!
Miracle 1: This week I really wanted to prepare for my fast. Instead of coming up with something to fast for last minute, I had been thinking about it all week. I wrote it on each day of my planner so I wouldn't forget to think about it, and there's a lot of people that we are working with that have cancer. So Sister Culala and I were driving on Saturday and I asked her if she knows what she is going to fast for. She said she is going to fast for the people with cancer and that was what I decided to fast for too! So we fasted together. Then in Sunday School we were talking about Gifts of the Spirit. We mentioned the gift of healing, the gift of miracles, and the gift to be healed. Our investigator stood up and told all of us for the first time that her doctor called her the day before and told her that she had no more cancer! Her cancer was gone!! It was so cool to see our fast be answered so quickly. She had stage 4 colon cancer that was rapidly spreading through her body. After 36 rounds of chemo, she was healed:) She is my favorite person, I don't know how I get so blessed with my converts but she is on the same level as Hilary haha, they are so so so good, I love them! So here is a picture of her. She taught me how to tie a scarf on my head:) I think it looks so cute on her! I wanted to learn too. Haha anyways, miracles are real. Heavenly Father is real. He answers our prayers. 
Miracle 2: Our Bishop gave us some names of people in the ward that we haven't seen in a long time, so we went to visit them. We met a couple probably in their 40's. The husband grew up a member of the church but when he was 19 he was excommunicated. (That means he didn't want to have anything to do with the church and he erased that he was ever baptized.) So then 20 years later he was at Salt Lake City and he went to the visitors center. There was a sister missionary there that bore her testimony to him and he said that the missionaries can come see him at his home. They did and he was rebaptized! Then he went through a divorce and got remarried. So his new wife is not a member of our church but she is the cutest, nicest person!! She said we can come and teach her about it! So we are going to visit them twice a week and teach her about the Gospel. I am so excited, I love them a lot!
Miracle 3: We set a baptismal date with a lady named Tracy. She is going through a hard time in her life and she wants to rekindle her relationship with God. :)
Fun fact:I I am currently teaching: a Persian, and a Cambodian, and a Brazilian. I have previously taught: a Nigerian, a Vietnamese, a Tongan, a Mexican and I have been companions with: a Canadian, a Philippian, and a Tongan and I serve with other missionaries that are Samoan and there's more I just cant remember... haha isn't that cool!!
Something I've learned: Sister Santos was telling us a little about her life and she used to be married to a diplomat and she was engaged to someone that was really wealthy. She could have all she wanted. He would take her shopping for fun. But she still says that she has never been as happy as she is now in the Gospel. That just warmed my heart because the Gospel brings so much happiness and it brings peace into our lives. We visited a man that is dying of cancer this week. I don't think he will make it very much longer, probably only a week or so longer. All he talked about was how he wanted his grandson to go to church and to do boy scouts and go on a mission. He said all we need in this life is a testimony of Jesus Christ and everything works out ok! It was beautiful to hear those words. I just learned that we are so blessed to have so much knowledge about God and Jesus Christ. We are blessed to have our families and we are blessed to have two legs that work. I used to hate my body because I wasn't as pretty as someone else. I've learned that I am blessed to be healthy. I've learned that we don't need to have the prettiest friends because the best people probably aren't that good looking on the outside. I've just learned how to be happy and how to be grateful and let me tell you, those things aren't found in the world. They are found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. That's where it is found because Jesus Christ is the head of this Church and it is the safest, and happiest place you can be. Well ok now I am just rambling but I just love being a missionary!

So Sister Santos taught me how to tie a scarf on my head, here are some pictures from this week:)
This is a less active couple we visit--the Mathey's :)





Have More Faith and Be An Example

Alright, let me tell you a little about my week:)

We have been teaching a lady named Sister Santos! She is from Brazil and she is beautiful and very exotic. Her sons used to meet with missionaries but she never joined the lessons. One day something made her want to come to church, so she came and drove around the parking lot one day. She ended up talking to a member of our congregation who told her when church was. Three months later she came to church on her own. Her first Sunday was Mother's Day and we have been teaching her since then. She will be baptized on June 20th.  She has already noticed how much peace has come into her life since she has started learning about the Gospel. She said when she used to get flaming mad about something, she would yell. Now when she is mad, she just takes a deep breath and she prays and reads her scriptures, then she feels better. She has had a lot of trials since she decided to be baptized which is pretty normal. But her faith cannot be shaken and nothing can stop her! She even got online and searched "mormonism" on google (ever do that) and she read some anti material. She said it made her very depressed but that she knew it wasn't true and she has had the powerful witness of the Holy Ghost that she is making the right decision. It didn't even phase her.  I am so grateful for Sister Santos, she has brought me so much joy the past few weeks! I wish you all could meet her!

So since I have a leadership call, we have SO many meetings. This week we had leadership training and we had Missionary Leadership Council which both go from about 10 or 11 am until 4 or 5 pm. They are so inspiring and really help me want to be a better missionary. They make me want to have more faith and be an example. They make me want to lead like our savior Jesus Christ would lead. I feel so blessed. 

This morning I was able to go to the New Port Beach Temple. It was so lovely, I love the New Port Beach Temple because it is so beachy:) If you haven't gone go to a Mormon temple and just walk around the grounds, its very peaceful and you can feel the love of God there.

Well I don't have too much time so that's about all the important news. I love you all:)

So this is my companion, Sister Culala from the Philippines.

Then I attached a picture of Sister Anderson and I. She is done with her mission and that is when we said goodbye. Seems like just yesterday that she became my companion but it has been a whole entire year. woah:)


At the temple today!!!
And with Sister Nissen:)
And the classic missionary pose!







Wednesday, June 17, 2015

He lives and He loves Us

This week has been soooooooooooooooooooo long! But I really love my new companion Sister Culala. She brings the mellow out in me because she is pretty quiet. It is super low stress and we teach really well together, so I am very blessed.
I also really love this area but since I have been moving around so much between Huntington Beach and Huntington Beach North, I get confused as to where I am, so when people ask I fumble through saying that I am in Pleasant View in Huntington Beach and I used to be in Beach Ward in Huntington Beach North, so I usually get something wrong and my companion corrects me. 
I went on my first exchange as an STL. That means we switched companions and I was in her area for a day. I helped Sister Amalaga organize her area book and helped her know how to train and lead an area. You probably don't know what that means but its all missionary stuff. It was so fun, we just laughed the whole time! She is from Samoa and all the Polys have a great sense of humor. We even found a new investigator the last 30 minutes of the exchange! It was a huge blessing!
Ah, I'm running out of time but I wanted to share this scripture found in the Book of Mormon, Moroni 7...

45 And charity suffereth long, and is kindand envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provokedthinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth...

I love this scripture. I know that this is not a to-do list for us but that we can read this scripture as characteristics of Jesus Christ. This is who Jesus Christ is and who we need to become. I know He lives, I know He loves us. I hope all is well at home! I love all my friends and family!