Noche de Hogar con mi familia! Notice the deer with the sombrero on... priceless.
hasta luego Elder Harris!Monday, March 31, 2014
email 3.31.14
Hola mi familia!
Spring is
springing here in Virginia, and oh boy is it making me happy. I forgot
to get a picture before we came in but I will get some this week.
Bloosoms are popping up everywhere. It is so fun! It has been raining
all weekend, but it is nice and sunny today. We are still working on
the temperature, but it will come.
This week has been awesome. On Monday
we had another AWESOME family night with the Mendez family, just the
joy of my life. It was really great for Hermana Rosen, a little parting
gift. And boy how I miss her, she is a good one, a reeeeally good one.
On Tuesday
we went to transfer meeting which was very bitter sweet. They switched
transfers around so now the departing missionaries go to the meeting.
Hermana Carn and Elder Harris both bore their testimonies, and changed
my life. It just made me want to be a better missionary, to talk to
everyone, to change as much as I can, and just love everyone to death.
It really just helped me gain a new perspective. My new compy comp is
Hermana Hiebert. She is a real gem. She is from Canada, and has been
out one transfer longer than me. She has spent her whole mission until
now in Charlottesville, so she is going through some big changes. She
is a champ. She actually reminds me alot of Jessie Agle, she has some
of the same mannorisms/attidute, I can't quite figure it out, but all I
can say is Jessie Agle! So that is just fun. She is awesome, she
thinks outside of the box and has brought a new perspective to the area,
so that is just fun.
But like I said after the meeting on Tuesday
i just wanted to be different, to be better, happier, all the things,
so I just did it! I talked to literally every human I saw all
week...white, black, hispanic, you name it. And It just made me happy.
Sometimes is hard when everyone falls through or no one is home or you
can't find any cute hispanics, but I just changed my mind about it. It
was so happy. I am so happy. And we even got 6 referrals for the
Engligh Elders and 4 for the sisters. I just love being a missionary.
I love being happy and friendly and confident, I just never want to
leave!
We had two grande miracles this week! First things
first, Christian and his bff Ruben (16 yrs old) came to church, AND they
know it is true, and they are both going to be baptized. I about died
of happiness when I saw them walk in the door, I really just wanted to
hug them, but I restrained...but just barely! They are just the cutest.
The second miracle was on Saturday.
We had an appointment that fell through but we had a member with us,
so we decided to go check on a refferal that the english elders had
given us, always a little sketchy. So we get there and these two jolly
men named Orangel y Jorge let us right it. We went in a chatted with
them for almost two hours. They are obessed with miracles and God and
they just chatted our ears off. We told them a little about the plan of
salvation and eternal families and they were floored, they said that
that is what they have always wanted. They were awesome, and we invited
them to the baptism that was going on at the church that night, because
they both work at another church that happens to be at the same exact
time...sad. But then they came to the baptism, and loved it! The boy
who got baptized is named Luis, he is 17 and just the coolest. He has
such a strong testimony and just loves the gospel already. It was
perfect!
The funny for this week happened in a Mexican
Restaurant called Pepes. We are paying at the front, and just chatting
with the little guys there (because we love to have the chats in spanish
and then invite them all to church) and the guy asks me if I want to
work there, and I say "no podemos porque somos misioneras(no we can't
because we are missionaries)"...but he thought I said "no podemos porque
somos prisioneras(no we can't because we are prisoners)", everyone was
just staring at us all confused and then we all had a good laugh!
The General Relief Society meeting also
changed my life. I still have some more pondering to do, but the main
message I took away was love your sisters. Use them, cherish them,
serve them. And I want so badly to be Christ-like enough that people
can see him when they look at me. They talked about how after baptism
we are changed forever, and I want to live up to the covenants that I
have made. In one of the songs they sang one of the line was "I will
live to serve the Lord". I love that I really would love to be a
missionary for the rest of my life. Right now I truly am living to
serve the Lord, and I want it to change me, change the rest of my life.
I know it is worth it, and I know it is the only smart thing to do.
This gospel is so happy and so true and so perfect!
I love love love you all very much!
con amor, Hermana Myer
email 3.24.14
This week was awesome, I mean it is always awesome. But the sad news is
we got transfers calls and Hermana Rosen is leaving me! We were both a
little broken up about it, but we know that God has his plan and his
will for both of us and we have just been so grateful to be able to
spend so much time together. God is good, and he knows best. So I will
get my new compy comp tomorrow and then the new adventures will begin!
This week was awesome. I just love working hard, and really seeing the Lords blessings.
We
went out to eat with the Sister Bennett and Silva (who we live with)
for Sister Bennett's birthday, naturally we went to Pepe's, because we
can't get enough mexican food. But the point is I just realized how
much I love speaking spanish. I am so so so grateful that I have been
able to learn spanish and embrace a whole new culture, and whole new
group of humans, that I never fully appreciated before. And also how
fun that just because we speak spanish we have the opportunity to share
the gospel with everyone that we can find that speaks spanish. They
always ask how we learn, and every time we get a potential investigator.
We had Zone meeting on Friday and all the trainings
came from the Mission Department who came and gave trainings to all the
leadership earlier in the week. It was awesome, it made me want to be a
better missionary. We talked a lot about planning and how key it is to
plan in a way that is effective so that we can in turn
teach effectively.
This week I have been studying a lot about mourning
with those who mourn. I re-read all the talks from the last General
Relief Society Meeting and it just made me want to be better. I am
trying to learn how to love more, more pure, to have charity, for
everyone, always. I just want Heavenly Father to use me to bless and
love his children. This week I have been thinking about how grateful I
am for every soul that I have had the opportunity to teach. We have so
many awesome people that get put in our path. Sometimes its hard to
keep on keeping on when they don't respond the way we want, but it is
worth it. It is worth it to truly understand these things for myself.
I am so grateful to be a missionary.
Okay our milagro this week was again with Christian.
First of all we got a ride home from the Zone meeting with President
because he is our neighbor and we are running out of miles. On the way
home he asked if we wanted to stop and get something to eat. We have
been trying to find a way to stop by the restaurant where Christian's
dad works so that we could talk to him and get his permission to teach
and baptize Christian. But the restaurant is way out of our area and we
didn't know exactly where it even was. But I decided this was the
golden opportunity because we happened to be in the area that the
restaurant was. So I quick looked it up on President's Iphone (the real
joy of instant technology) and we went on our way. When we got there
we asked if Jose Ramirez was there, and the guy laughed and said which
one because there was a few. We gave him all the info we knew, and
while we were eating he came out to meet us! We explained to him who we
were and what our purpose is, and how much we care about Christian. He
didn't exactly have any interest in us teaching him, but he gave us the
permission that we need to teach Christian! It was a miracle. Later
in the week we had an awesome lesson with Christian. He told us that
knows that Heavenly Father is listening to him when he prays and that he
is excited to be baptized. We about died. We are not sure what
happened because he didn't come to church yesterday, but we will see him
today. We have a little more ways to go with him, but it is always
such a blessing to be able to see progression.
Yesterday at church was an emotional day, all of us
hermanas were in tears the whole time, and the elders just stared, it
was classic. Our bishop got released because he was called into the
stake presidency and we had our last meeting with him. I really love
him, he has been such an example to me. I have never seen someone have
so much love for a group of people. I guess its a bishop thing, I have
just been able to see it really close up. Also it was Hermana Carn's
last week, and she has been in this area for like half her mission. I
am so sad to see her go. She has been such an example to me and just
really good at showing the love for everyone. This new transfer is
going to have some hard changes, but you know what that means, growing!
Yay!
The funny for the week: During our lesson with
Christian I called him "hombrecito" when I asked him to say the prayer,
which means "little man", and he got a really suprized look on his face,
almost disgusted and looked at me and said, more like "hombrecote"
which means "big man", and proceeded to say the prayer. Just a classic
13-year-old boy.
I hope you all have the best week ever! I love love love you!
xoxo Hermana Myer
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Milagros!
Noche de Hogar (Christian, Said, Korina)
Hermano Mendez making the Carne Asada.
Hermana Mendez and Pinky!
Perhaps the closest I'll get to downtown Richmond!
Some weekly planning, sun worshipping.... oops.
Making pupusas with tiny, cute Hermana Avalos.
Marissa Avalos/eating pupusas!
email 3.17.14
Holllllllla mi familia!
This week was awesome. Still slow, but full of milagros, and mostly having to do with Christian!!!
Starting
with last Monday...we had the best Family Home Evening, or Noche de
Hogar, in my whole mission. It is hard to describe the spirit that was
there, and the love that I felt, but it was a sacred experience for me.
So Hermano y Hermana Mendez invited us over to have a noche de hogar
with their family (them, their less active son-Pinky, his girlfriend who
is Christians mom and our investigator too-Amilicia, Christian-13 year
old investigator, Angelita-baby sister, niece of Hno. Mendez-Joanna, and
Korina and Siad our Recent converts) Lets just say, the trailer was
full. We taught a lesson, had an activity, played jenga, and ate carne
asada tacos...your typical noche de hogar. But it was just something
else, to see this family coming together and just enjoying each other.
And we were a part of it, i feel like they are my family, and always
will be. I feel so blessed to have been in their home and to feel
the spirit, and to see the gospel working, changing people.
Later in the week we had an awesome lesson with Christian. We had given him a baptismal date of March 29th,
but he was still feeling unsure about the whole proper authority
business. I decided that an analogy was in order. I asked him what he
would do if an Ice Cream truck tried to pull him over versus if a Police
Man tried to pull him over, and related that to the Authority we have
to baptize, like the authority they have to give tickets. All the
sudden the wheels started turning and he smiled and he agreed to be
baptized, AND promised he would get to church on Sunday.
Which was a challenge, and leads me to the third milagro with him.
Every other weekend he goes to his Dad's house, which is in the area,
but he never would come if he was with his Dad. We helped him work out a
way for Pinky to pick him up and drop him off, and he said he would
try, but wasn't positive. But lo and behold, he came, and Hermana Rosen
and I about cried. He knows it is true, and he is acting! We are just
so happy for him and his progress. Who knew 13-year old boys could be
so tricky? But he is on his way, and we are just so happy for this
family.
On Saturday
one of the members in our ward, the Avalos Family, who are fairly
recent converts and the cutest humans on the planet, invited us to come
and make Pupusas at their house. Pupusas are from El Salvador and one
of my favorite hispanics foods of all time. It is a homemade corn
tortilla stuffed with yummy-ness. We were super excited and had the
best time learning how to do the whole process. This family has been
such an example to me of how the gospel really can change anyone's life,
and how much joy it brings.
This weekend was stake conference, and it was all about Temple and Family history work. We were able to go to the Saturday
night session, and it was amazing. They showed a video of a few
families who started doing family history work together and how it
brought them together. It made me want my own family really
bad...ooops...But really just made me happy to see such good examples. On Sunday
our Bishop got called to be the Stake Secretary, so next week we will
be getting a new Bishop. Everyone was really sad, the ward really loves
this Bishop, but they are excited for what the Lord has in store for
them.
This week Hermana Rosen and I have been working
through some trials together. I am so grateful for her and her example
to me. It is so interesting to be a missionary, and to see life through
in a whole new way. Mostly I have just been very aware this week of
how much my Heavenly Father loves me, and how often he sends his spirit
to guide us and everything that we do. I love this quote by President
Monson from the last General Relief Society meeting, "My
dear sisters, your Heavenly Father loves you—each of you. That love
never changes. It is not influenced by your appearance, by your
possessions, or by the amount of money you have in your bank account. It
is not changed by your talents and abilities. It is simply there. It is
there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful. God’s
love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is
simply always there." Sometimes we decieve ourselves to think that
Heavenly Father sometimes abandons us, but when we really pay attention
we recognize that he actually has never and will never leave us.
I am getting sad because this is Hermana Carn's last
week. We had zone Conference and she gave an amazing training on the
importance of studies. Sometimes studies are hard for me, I am tired
and cold, and sometimes I have a hard time focusing. But this week I
have been trying to say much more specific prayers before and after my
studies to help me learn a specific thing and apply it in a specific
way, and it has been working! Also after Zone Conference we got to go
out to dinner with President and Sister Wilson! It was the best. Last
week they accidently stood us up for dinner at their house (we are
neighbors) and so they made it up to us. It was amazing to spend so
much time with them. They really are inspired people, and I love them
both very much. I just wanted to ask them all the questions I have ever
had, and then just soak up every word they said.
Funny of the week: At dinner with President and
Sister Wilson, Sister Wilson finished her food before the rest of us.
She looked down at her plate, and then very innocently looked up and
said "ooops, mine must have fallen on the floor". She is a gem.
I hope all is well on the homefront! Keep working hard! I love love love you all so much!
xoxo Hermana Myer
email 3.10.14
Nueve meses!
This week has been pretty calm here in Midlothian. The
weather is starting to improve, which makes for a very happy Hermana
Myer. Hopefully spring is on its way...pray for that, we need it!
Thats right folks, I have officially completed nine months of my
mission! It was a bitter sweet day. After being here for nine months I
am thinking I am starting to get a hang of things, ex. the language,
the food, the meetings, the missionary times. But It is also sad to
think that it is half way gone. But we don't think about that!
This week has been a little slow, but we are working hard. We have
a new challenge for extending commitments, so implementing that has
been fun. We have been giving our investigators printed out assignment.
So we give them chapters/verses to read, with questions to ponder
while reading. We tell them to start with a prayer, read, answer the
questions, pray again, read again, revise answers, and pray one last
time. This is all written out, and they have to write out there answers
too. It really helps them to really learn how to study the scriptures
and apply them to their lives. We are still in the beginning stages,
but we have been busy trying to figure it all out.
We had a few miracles this week. On Thursday one of
our members, Oralia fed us dinner. She is the best cook in the whole
world. She made us sopes, which is a corn tortilla, with the sides
turned up like a little dish, with black re-fried beans, carne, lettuce,
avocados, queso fresco, and salsa. I think they are my favorite food I
have eaten! Anyway when we were eating with her she told us that we
should go visit her friend/neighbor Teresa sometime. Then a couple of
days later we were in the Wendy's parking lot, and we see a hispanic
lady and her daughter walking through. Then there is this super loud
shooting sound, like a gun or something, and we all look around to see
what happened. Then I yelled out to her and said, whoa that scared
me...but in spanish. Then from there we naturally starting chatting
with her. And she invited us to pass by on Tuesday, turns out she is
Teresa. Turns out we really need to teach her!
We have been working with the sweetest Lady, Corina,
ever since we came to Midlothian. She is from Guatemala, and the
nicest lady. We always have the best lessons with her. She has so much
faith, and is always reading and praying. But she can't be baptized
because she is not married. And she has only come to church a couple of
times, and that was way before we even got here. So its been hard.
But we have kept working with her. She missed our appointment during
the week, so we decided to pass by on Saturday night to invite her to
church. Her son who is 17 opened the door and said that she was on the
phone, and she couldn't talk to us, so we invited him to church, and he
said they would be there, just like they say every time, and we went on
our way. But then when we walked into Sacrament meeting yesterday,
there they were, the whole fam, sitting on the back row, and I about
cried. Her husband has not wanted anything to do with us, and she kept
saying she wasn't coming to church because she wanted her whole family
to go. And for whatever reason, the stars aligned, and they all came.
It was the best ever. She is the sweetest ever. And Heavenly Father
is real, and when we trust in him, anyone can get to church!
This week I was studying in Mosiah 23 y 24. They
are some of my favorite chapters. I love the story of how they are
doing everything right, and the lord still chooses to give them tests
and trials. But he always delivers us from our afflictions. In 24 vs.
15 it talks about cheerfully submitting to all the will of the lord.
Not just part of it, but all of it. I just had a revelation that
whatever is happening on my mission, if I am teaching alot, or not, or
where I am, or my companion, all of it is the will of the Lord, and I
need to submit to it ALL, cheerfully. Sometimes its hard, but he always
delivers us.
Yesterday in young womens we had the most awesome
lesson on the Atonement. I realized how very very very short this life
it. And How I really want to make the most out of it. We have so
many opportunities to be better, to help others to be better, and in the
end to return back to our Heavenly Father. Our Savior has made it
possible for us to repent, to be clean, and he really does know every
single thing we feel. I love him very much, and I am so grateful for
his love for me.
I hope you all have a great week. Read your scriptures, keep praying. I love love love you!
love, Hermana Myer
another crazy week
Christian and Angelita- the gem of all pictures.
The cake!
Two of my investigators from Harrisonbug got baptized! I forgot to tell
you. I didn't get to go back, but here in the picture from Hermana
Sevilla. I couldn't be happier for them. Ivan is the 23 year old, who
lives with Flor and Jose, and Isaiah is the grandson of Hermana Zelya,
the old Relief Society president! Yay!
email 3.4.14
Hola mi familia! We did get snowed in yesterday, so that was the worst. But things are melting up and we are happy!
We
had a really awesome week, full of very random adventures. Our
teaching pool has been decreasing, so we planned to have a ton of time
finding new investigators...which mean knocking doors! yay! I really
do love knocking doors, it is just so exciting, you never know what you
are going to find. And let me tell you, we found some classic people.
Lets just say we are weeding through those who are not prepared! But
we did find a couple of diamonds in the rough, so it was all worth it.
We had another awesome lesson with Waleska this
week. She is so sincere and there is just something about her.
Something that makes you want to love her and be her best friend. I am
just so thankful that we have the opportunity to know her and teach
her.
We also had the opportunity to teach Christians
family. His mom is not a member (we are teaching her separately) and
his moms boyfriend, Pinky, is the son of one of our fuerte members, and
then he has a little sister. We caught them all together and had a
lesson about the temple and being an eternal family. It was great. We
are working with them slowly but surly, Heavenly Father really did bless
us with the opportunity to teach them all together.
We have the sweetest member, her name is Oralia, and
she comes out with us at least once a week. She is such an inspiration
to me. Her husband is less active, and when she came out with us this
week she told me a story. I guess a couple of years ago she stopped
coming to church, she said the missionaries came by to visit her and
they bluntly told her that she was not completing her baptismal
covenant, and she needed to. She said that she needed someone to be
blunt with her, and she felt so silly after, and since then has never
missed a Sunday. I was so touched by her example, and the realization
that sometimes we need to be blunt, but with love.
On Friday we had another miracle. We passed by
Daniela's house to have our lesson with her, but she was sick. But her
mom (who really doesn't like us or ever want anything to do with us, and
never talks to us) let us in! We were freaking out, well inside, and
sat down and tried to be super casual and nice. We ended up sitting
there and just talking for her for an hour. She told us all about her
family and Columbia, and her life story. She really opened up to us and
told her about how much she has relied on God and how much he has
helped her in her life. We we so happy that she actually talked to her,
we about died. One tiny step for humanity, and one GIANT step for
Hermana Myer y Rosen. When we came by on Sunday to teach Daniela, her
mom sat in for the first time! We are making baby steps, and so happy
about it.
We had exchanges this week with the Sister Training
leaders, and it was the best. Hermana Carn came to be with me and
Hermana Rosen went with Hermana Stapley. Hermana Carn is my idol. She
is going home at the end of this transfer, and I am devastated. She is
such an example to me and gives me hope. She strikes the perfect
balance of being obedient, and still being a human as opposed to a
Robot. I learned so much from her about teaching and finding and just
being a happy missionary. We found the cutest new investigator, Norma,
and had the best first lesson ever. We also helped serve food at a Boda
(wedding) of someone in the ward. It was the most classic thing I have
ever attended. The EQP was the MC, wearing his gold chain, white t,
and his sports coat...the oldest man in the ward was the DJ, with a
doo-rag, and Elder Burbank (the biggest spazz) was the photographer. So
you know the whole thing went swimmingly. It was just too classic. We
really enjoyed ourselves, and now they are married, so hurray!
Yesterday ended up not being too bad. The sisters
that we live with got picked up by a member to go make a legit
St. Patrick's day cake for a recent convert in their ward, and we got to
go with them. Bill, is Irish and loves St. Patrick's day, so they
decided that a cake was in order. We made little leprechauns out of
fondant and everything. It actually turned out really cute. Then we
stayed in the whole night and called everybody in our area book and
cleaned. It was a good day!
I am happy. I love being a missionary. I love
being here in Virginia. I love my compy comp. I love my mission
President. And I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father. I hope you all
have the best week ever!
Con amor, Hermana Myer
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)