69: ¡Its a Tortilla Miracle!

Living in a house with two comapnionships is the craziest life I have ever lived I think. Last night we were in our beds for half an hour talking and joking around. I read this articlefrom an old liahona and we decided that whenever something good happens to us well just say "ITS A TORTILLA MIRACLE!" Its like were saying "its a christmas miracle"...but catracho :-)

This week was our ward conference, so we did a lot of visiting ward members and investigators in divisions with the sisters in our ward. We had over 160 people attend church yesterday, thats incredible! Both sets of missionaries had investigators as well. ¡Barrio Porvenir tiene buenas cosas por por venir!

We will be chambeando all week to invite more people to baptism with a baptismal date. Right now, Estefani and Yajaira will be baptized at the end of this month, and we have in plans a few more along the way.

I have been studying and trying to develop more the Christlike attribute of patience, and reading in Alma 32 this morning helped me understand why it is so important to be patient along with being dilligent, faithful, etc...

41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing upunto everlasting life.

42 And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruitthereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.

43 Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.

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Everything I desire is most precious, sweet above all sweetness, white above all that is white, pure above all that is pure. It will not come until after I have planted the seed and worked dilligently, patiently, and faithfuly. But one day we will all reap our reward. If I want the purest sweetest fruit, I have to give my purest, sweetest work, in every aspect of my life and not just missionary work. Nothing less, because nothing else would be worth it.

I know that Christ lives! All my inperfections can be made pure and white through Him. He is the Redeemer of all sin, all weakeness, and all tribulation.

1. Her first Wendys frosty :-)

2. Guatemala proud

3-4. Distrito San Luis

68: Take It Easy

Days and weeks are flying faster now, I cant beleive were here in Pday again...

I didnt take a single picture this week...me arrepiento.

Highlight this week: Our wards temple trip on Saturday. Two of our investigators went! We did not have permission to go with the ward, but the members took good care of them thw whole day. Estefani and Yahaira came back but SO excited to live to the gospel and get baptized. Temple trips with investigators work miracles. They both have a baptism date for the 28th of July.

We have been visiting a lot with different members of the ward and I have found my favorite member already: German Gonzalez. He is awesome! He has the thickest southern honduras accent which makes his little english phrases even funnier, my favorite "take it easy!" We went on a few visits with him the other day and contacted all of his neighbors. Pilas.

Training is still a lot of fun, it is pure teaching, both investigators and my companion. This week our focus was Alma 10:12. How can we ASTONISH people? How can our companionship astonigh people. In the MTC they show us a talk from Jeffrey R Holland where he says "go astonish people!" and that is our goal as we preach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Alma and Amulek did it sharing parts of their lessons and testifying of the words of their companions. The few words that we share with people should be the most powerful words they hear that day, and we should plan well enough that they really are FEW words. Menos palabras, mas poder.

Good week, preaching repentance and soon to be baptizing in Porvenir B.

Hasta El Fin :-)

67: Todo Está PORVENIR (B)

Im back in the south!!!!!!!

I didnt think I missed it, but I missed it. The heat, walking a lot, 4 liters of water everyday, everything. The good thing is that we completely missed the summer and now were in rainy winter.

And...Im the nurse again! For the south. They told me the day of changes, but we wont be as busy as before in Tegucigalpa. So heres to hoping nobody gets sick so we dont have to leave our area while Im here!

Everything is great! I got my hija on tuesday, I ate my last baleada from baleadas express, and we headed south. This whole week the bishop arranged for us to go out with members and meet the whole ward and their references this week. The incredible thing is, we hardly contacted this week and had a ton of new investigators. Member missionary work is power!

This area is about to explode, we see a lot of success coming our way. It is really exciting being here. The only downside has been that we live with sisters that live about 30 minutes away, but we should be moving into a house within our area in this week. 

My companion is...Hermana Dueñas! She is from Quito Ecuador. She is already an incredible missionary. Im hoping well stay together for her two changes of training. 

1-2. Saying goodbye to Hermana Rosa...

3. Family home evening in our ward mission leaders house in Prados

4. The wasps that showed up in our house the day before we left...sorry to the new missionaries who got to our house

5. Golden investigator: Marco Antonio

6. The sisters at changes

7. Hermana Dueñas

8. Hermana Wengert and I and our daughters (plus another hermana in trio)

9. First comida catracha!

10. First day of proselitismo  

11. My favorite pulperia buy...BURBUJAS

66: Hermana Morgan Es Mamá

Yooooooouuuuuu heard it! Im going to be a mom! I'm training and opening a new area, Porvenir B, in Choluteca.

AND we are closing Prados as the sister training leader area for the city. Hermana Conza is leaving to open Valle de Angeles as the new sister training leader area. Lots of reasons behind it, and were disappointed, but this change will be for the better. Valle de Angeles is an amazing area and will be an even better example for the sisters in the city.

This change has been in process for the last few weeks, weve been doing extra divisions, comparing all their weekly dats, to consult President Chase in this decision. We were expecting it, but the decision was final Saturday night when we received our changes. 

Our investigators are doing well, were leaving some really incredible investigators for the elders, Jorge, Rene, Marco Antonio, Ivan...the last two are fairly new and both attended church this week and are progressing quickly toward baptism. Im really excited to hear good news about these investigators.

Started in the south, and after 10 months in the city Im headed back to finish. Im going to miss the city. Just wait to see my pictures next week bien quemadita!

1. We found our new favorite restaurant in centro...Mopitos!

2-3. Our noche de hogar with Jorge in the bishops house

4-6. Lunch with familia Molina

7-9. New friends I made in divisions in Santa Maria, with Hermana Wengert :) las gringas making gringas

10-11. Not too far from home: cobbler in divisions

12. Going hard on the area book this week 

13. Last district meeting

14. Familia Davila

15. Tatiana and Dana

The rest: Saying goodbye in Prados...

65: Fe. Esperanza. Caridad.

Not a lot to say about this week, lots of curveballs. Emergency divisions left and right, extra sisters staying with us, up all night puking, a baptism falling through. Thankful for many things this week, but two in particular:

1. The Spirit. We had a lesson with Jorge on friday night and it was very apparent that he was not ready to be baptized the next day.  I was upset, testifying to him with everything I had of the reality of prophets as a sign onf Gods love for us and the importance of acting in faith, continuing to repent and getting baptized. At the end I shared Alma 34:26 with him...

"Mas esto no es todo; debéis derramar vuestra alma en vuestros aposentos, en vuestros sitios secretos, y en vuestros yermos"

He said right then "I feel like if I accept all of this, the church, Joseph Smith, everything, that Ill be failing someone". He pulled out a picture that he carries in his wallet of a bishop that taught at the catholic high school he went to. This bishop has been like a second father to him, he taught him the good priciples he keeps up to this day. I was so happy I was in tears as he finished explaining himself. The Spirit inspired him to tell him what is keeping him from pouring out his whole soul in prayer! He has had a hard time recognizing impressions from the Spirit, but now we know he is receiving them without a doubt. We have a family home evening tonight with him in the bishops house, so were excited to see where we go from here.

2. Our zone leaders. When we explained to them the situation with Jorge, that he would not be baptized, they sent a message to the whole zone asking them to pray specifically for Jorge, so that he could be baptized this Sunday, and if we didnt have faith, that we read Moroni 7. We read the chapter, prayed, and went to bed. Im not kidding, the next day I woke up a new person, partly because I was no longer so sick, but mostly because I had a new hope about the situation. I was calm, I was happy, I was at peace. For circumstances out of our control, we could not get that baptism to happen this sunday, but it will happen! We are a lot closer!

1. La Conzita

2. My companion for a day and half, Hermana Gonzalez!

3. The two newest sisters in the mission: Hermana Rosales and Hermana Gonzalez

64: Las Golondrinas

Jorge is getting baptized this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He has been an investigator for at least two months, we started teaching him when Hermana Bissell was here and he has started to recognize the answers God is giving him. And we have seen pure miracles, a lot of obstacles that before kept him from going to church the full amount of time, or going at all, are gone. A lot of it came from a fast we did with him. He was really hesitant to do a fast, we planned it a few days in advance and he called us the morning of and said no. Even though we were upset, we went to his house to try and start this fast. And he did it, and we did it. He went from being agnostic a few years ago to calling us and praying with us on his knees at night. He knows he has a Heavenly Father, and he knows He loves him.

This morning I started the day the happiest woman alive. We had planned with our zone and zona Esperanza to go to Las Golondrinas in Valle de Angeles, and while waiting for the rest of our zone at the bus stop, Dennis Tercero  sees me and stops to say hi. He is the dad from the family that got baptized in my old area in January. We were talking and he said "were just waiting to finish the year out so we can go to the temple and get sealed" !!!!!!!!!!!!! He talked about how theyre planning a trip to the temple and are working on their family history to take names to the temple !!!!!!!!!!!! Tender mercy.

I was a little stressed this week, we have been busy teaching classes in zone conferences, reviewing area books of all the hermanas with their zone leaders, helping hermanas struggling in their areas, trying to baptize. But were getting there. Every day is a new day. Every day I can repent and come closer to Christ, leaving those stresses behind.

Cristo es el camino, no hay otro nombre por el cual podremos salvarnos. El es el que carga nuestros pesares y nos da vida eterna.

Lean el libro de mormon, oren, ayunen, asisten a la iglesia, preparense para hacer convenios aun mayores.

1. Took a wrong bus in divisions and ended up in Comayaguela...whoops

2. Divisions with Hermana Clark

3. Divisions with Hermana Crespin

4. EL GRANDOTE

5-6. My surprise this morning going to Valle de Angeles...Dennis Tercero!

7-14. Las Golondrinas