email 7.28.14

Querido familia! 

This week was wonderful, I had a few Nicole moments this week, which always makes for happiness.  As you know my dear friend Nicole is just filled of wonder and love and joy and happiness always...and sometimes those emotions get the best of her and she just cries...and me too sometimes! 

First I went on exchanges to Stafford.  I got to serve with Hermana Clark, who is just the coolest person ever.  She is Natalie Boud re-incarnated into Hermana misionera.  BEST DAY EVER.  She was just so peaceful and calm and I just sat in the front seat and worked with her in Stafford.  We even got to go to a trailer park where we met this awesome family and invited them to be sealed in the temple as the commitment for the lesson.  It was so cool.  The spirit was so strong, they accepted and are excited to learn more.  Then we ran across the trailer park in the pouring raid because we were late for our dinner appointment, and then I cried again.  Because I was just so happy to be having the most classic missionary night.  Feeling the spirit in a trailer park=happiness. 

The second Nicole moment I had was at the annual noche de talentos..aka Talent show...in the Hispanic ward=so priceless.  We were forced against our will by the Ward Mission Leader to do a number...and because we don't have any "showable" talents we decided to rap the restoration in Spanish.  Out of control, but so good.  We even had props..Ill send a picture.  They thought we were really funny, so that was a success.  But then the best thing happened, our investigator Silvestre showed up.  We met him a few weeks ago and he was completely drunk outside he house, but we talked to him to a few mins, and then taugh him again last week.  He works with a member who had invited him, so he decided to come!  And he even decided to sing!  It was the most unreal.  So here I am eating some pollo y ensalada, sitting next to Silvestre, enjoying the noche de talentos, and then someone gets up and sings la Bamba, and Everyone is singing, and then, I cired again.  I was just so happy.  I was with my people, everyone was happy and singing, my investigator came and loved it, and there was just not one thing to be sad about.  I love being a missionary so much, I would not change one thing.  It is just so good. 

Lastly we have been visiting a less active family in the ward, the Ascencio family.  Less actives are my FAVORITE, I just love them so dearly.  So we have been having noche de hogar with them every week since we have been here.  They have three kids and are just lacking in animo to get up and come to church.  But we have been working with them, loving them, the whole 9 yards. And then yesterday they came to church!  Just walked in with big smiles on their faces, stayed all three hours, and everyone was so good to them!  They were just happy, we are hoping that this goodness continues! I cried, I was so happy.  Mostly just so grateful that they are trying to strengthen their family so they can all get to the celestial kingdom together.  They are the cutest. 

So this email is dedicated to my dear friend Nicole.  She inspires me to be happy and to have adventures and to love people, and just to love life. 

This week I have continued studying in the Doctrine and Covenants, and I have been reading about the different Kingdoms of Glory, and the requirements and all that jazz.  This morning I read about how we really do choose which kingdom we go to, based on what we decide to do. Verse 32 of section 88 says: And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received." How crazy is that, they are not willing to enjoy what they could have had.  How silly!  We have to be willing to do what it takes to get the reward that we can have, and we have the potential to have all of the rewards in the whole universe!  It is so worth it to keep working! So keep working!  I love you all so much, thank you for being the best family ever! 

xoxox Hermana Riley Jane

Trees trees and more trees

email 7.21.14

Once again this week I realized how many darn trees there are in this place, and then I think about how hard it would have been to even put anything else but trees here, aka houses.  But I am so glad they figured it out, because it is so pretty, and my favorite, and I love it.  I love Virginia, I am so grateful to be here! 

This week has slowed down a little bit, for whatever reason, but still good.  We are still being missionary preaching that good gospel, and we still saw miracles, of course. 

We started off with a lovely P-day, going to the "beach" of the Potomac river...they had a dock and everything!  It was not quite what I am used to, but I really really really enjoyed the time outside in the sun :)  And also part of the dock is actually in Maryland, so we got a little rebelious and crossed over. 

Tuesday was mostly just crazy.  It had been super super super humid, like i am sure over 100% humidity, the most unreal.  And then at night time it will storm, these super awesome thunder/rain/lightning storms, we always get a good show on our drive home.  But on Tuesday it started raining at like 6 and did not stop until 12, and our appointments kept falling through etc, and when we got home it was like we had been in the shower...it was so fun!  We were literally dripping, and freezing, so we got into jammies to plan and even made hot chocolate, in the middle of the summer! 

This week I started the Book of Mormon over again, and I have been studying it a little bit more in depth.  Yesterday I was reading in chapter five verse five says,  "But behold, I have obtained a land of promise, in the which things I do rejoice; yea, and I know that the Lord will deliver my sons out of the hands of Laban, and bring them down again unto us in the wilderness."  I was sitting there thinking about the fact that he was rejoiceing in the promised land, that he would not actually get to for another 8 years!  But he was already rejoicing, because he was depending on the promise that he was given.  I need to do that more!  I have been promised so many things, in the temple, in my call letter, and in my patriarchal blessing, and I may not have all the blessings right this second, but I can have that hope and happiness that one day I will!  Just put things back into perspective for me! 

We had a return and report meeting in Richmond for all the trainers and the trainees, and it was awesome.  The APs trained us on not only inviting to baptism, but inviting people to be sealed in the temple.  Because that is really our goal.  I got my fire reignited to just talk to every single person, to helpt them repent, and be happy, and mostly to go to the temple!  hurray for meetings! 

Mostly this week I am just thankful for my family.  I am thankful for people that love me and want me to be happy, that really care about me.  We have been meeting a lot of people that just don't have that.  Last night we finally taught a potential named Silvestre, he has no one, he wants to be happy.  He is going to be baptized, because this is what he needs.  He needs hope and love and care and support, and that is what we have.  I makes me sad when people don't want what we have, there are so many that are suffering, I just want to help them! 

Yesterday my sweet trainer came to church to visit me!  She has been working at EFY for a few weeks and she suprised me at sacrament meeting.  I about died.  She is a gem.  She taught me so much, and it was just good to see her again.  Anyway, we had a great week!  I still love being a missionary and teaching and finding and praying.  That is pretty much all we do here, oh and a lot of loving.  I love love love you all! 

xoxo Hermana Myer

Felicidad

Birthday!

Cute Hermana Penaloza

Ivonne y Fulovio

Our cute member Betty who comes out with us all day every Wednesday, who is moving to Utah this week :(

email 7.14.14

This week was amazing!  Being a missionary just gets better and better every day and also just so classic always.  And mostly just felicidad. 

First I did have an awesome birthday, it was super tranquilla, and relaxing.  I got my nails done, we had a party, and ate brownies.  It was perfect! 

On Tuesday we had exchanges and my favorite Hermana Penaloza came to Woodbridge, I lived with her in Harrisonburg.  We had a wee of a time, and just did WORK.  It was so fun to be back with her, especially right before she goes home, and to learn and laugh and all that good stuff.  She is s real gem.  We took a member out with us who ended up knowing all of the people we visited and had a break through with some less actives.  It was awesome. 

We also had another breakthrough with a less active family that the elders have been trying to visit for ages, but have not been able to get in their home.  The daughter called us to ask us if we could help her with a paper for college, so we jumped at the opportunity.  She is in the Pathway program at BYUI so her paper was about why we have trials and how we can get through them.  She shared all her experiences with us and bore her testimony, and then came to church on Sunday :)  we were happy.  I love getting to know all these cute people and know their lives and just love them. 

We had the coolest miracle with a referral from Headquarters.  It was from the temple and we knew they had member family, so we headed out!  We met Ivonne and Fluvio, the cutest little Columbian couple.  They are SO prepared.  Their son and his family are strong members that go to an English ward, and their granddaughter is on a mission.  Basically they said that they want to be members of the church and when can they be baptized.  We didn't know what to say, so we started teaching them.  Ivonne told us that the sprit has touched her and she knows it is the right time.  I think they have been being prepared for a long time, and we are so so so excited to teach them!  They had to go to New York this week, so hopefully as soon as they get back we will be able to start teaching them for real!  It was such a miracle.  And they are the cutest little things.  Ivonne reminds me of Grandma Jane and I even had a little moment of crying in the bathroom, because really Grandma Jane's Columbian twin was sitting outside.  It was a happy happy day. 

This week we have been so blessed to have a ton of members come out with us, and it has made our work so much more productive.  And we have been able to have some awesome lessons with less actives.  I have been trying to focus this week on improving my prayers for others.  It is so silly to try and help people by ourselves.  I love the example of Enos, he pleads for his people, because he knows it works.  And I also know it works.  The work is moving forward here and we are so so so happy! 

DC 58:3-4, read that, its good.  I love the Doctrine and covenants so much. 

Funny: This morning when we were working out outside our funny neighbor was going to take the trash out.  He is a funny bald guy, who is 50 but thinks he is 20, rides a skateboard around and is always trying to chat with us about our car, and we call him Rex.  Anyway he asked us how our workout was going, and told us he a personal trainer and used to be a body builder, and told us we were doing a good job.  Then he informed us that the whole apartment complex has been talking about us and how they want to join that "couple" for the morning workouts!  He thanked us for inspiring others, and then we died laughing.  What a gem. 

I hope you all have the best week!  I love love love you!

xoxo, Mana Myer

Bueno

Sneakers, our investigators dog that kills me. He is a puppy and runs around like crazy and that was the best picture I could get, we were all crying/laughing.

God Bless America.

Feliz Cumpleanos, thanks for all the party stuff friends!

email 7.7.14

Todo esta muy bien aqui en Woodbridge.  Hemos tenido un semana LOCO.  Como siempre.  Pero me encanta la vida de ser misionera. 

But really good good good week.  The work is rolling right along and we are talking to everyone we see.  We had a training at the beginning of the week at district meeting on how important the people in our immediate surroundings are, how God litearally places them there, and if we don't talk to them, we are doing the work of God a diservice!  So we got fired up on offering the gospel to every single human, and it has really changed the week.  I just feel happy when get to share the gospel.  This morning we saw two hispanics when we were on our walk, so you know we talked to them and we even set up appoitments!  Mostly it was lucky we both remembered our tags!  Life is just happy when you talk about how happy the gospel is, you should all try it :)

This week we were so fired up about talking to everyone that when we were stuck in HORRIBLE traffic (we are super duper close to DC so the traffic gets really bad here) we decided to roll down our window, and would you guess, there was a hispanic right there in the car next to us!  We chatted and invited him to church, and even threw him a pass along card.  The next time we stopped we were next to another hispanic, so you know we just continued the pattern.  Hermana Collins thinks I am nuts sometimes, but she goes with and and we always have a good time! 

We have been blessed to mee some really gem humans here.  The other day we were knocking doors and this guy just stuck his head outside of the window from the 2nd floor and then we proceeded to teach him the restoration from the lawn.  We call him window popping Juan, he is a gem.  We aslo finally got to meet with a family yesterday that the other sister had been teaching and they are GOLD.  We taught them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we had a member with us, who pretty much taught the whole lesson, invited them to church, and the whole nine yards.  They are so prepared and asked really great questions, and with a fuerte member friend, they are going to be solid.  We are so excited for them! 

The fouth of July was pretty darn good!  The morning started off with a classic Breakfast with the ward.  There is nothing more rich than the Hispanic 4th of July Breakfast complete with tortillas and beans and even pupusas.  Also donuts and orange juice and all that jazz.  They played country music, sang the National Anthem, and even had USA trivia.  We were in heaven, it was just so classic.  Our Bishop is hilarious, we were sitting with his sons, and we were all dying at his trivia questions, which he ended up not even knowing the answers to.  So good.  Of corse we dressed in red white and blue, as I demanded, to get into the spirt and we had a pretty successful day contacting and even had a couple of lessons!  Sadly we didnt get to see fireworks, but we did have some glow sticks the grandma Jane sent me, so we had a good time.

I started studying the Doctrine and Covenants last week and I just can't put it down these days, the history of the church is so cool.  And all the revelations for us today, I mean we are so blessed.  I am so so grateful for the truths that we have here on the earth today! 

Mostly things are good here in the Woodhood, just working hard and loving being a missionary as always, and just trying to find all my cute humans to share the happienss with!  I love love love you all the most!  Have the best week :)

love, Hermana Riley Jane