Hey

i really do love this area and the members and just being here with my comp. i think everyday how it is such a blessing to just be here and to be learning so much. i know that there is so much more to learn and that i need to work to get it... haha. but this week we were busy the whole time.... but it was such a good week. it was fun just working with Hector and Nataly. hector is amazing, he has changed so much and his daughter said that he is not the same person, that he has changed so much. this man and his family no words can describe my experience with them. this past month i really have thought about the scripture that with the faith of men miracles happen and after a lot of work among them they began to have a lot of success. Alma 32:2. i know the Lord change the heart of Hector and he was prepared to be baptized this day. i love what hna Estrada always says, people can look at the case of family Rodrigues, Jose Luis, Hector and Nataly and think how easy those baptisms were, but they do not see the years before when they had their hardships and moments when they felt so lost. each of these personas were prepared for this time to accept the gospel and we're just instruments in the hands of the Lord. i know that we are not perfect but i am so thankful that we can work on becoming better people.

so funny story and cute. we got to see Hector propose to his wife thursday night... it was great, i really enjoyed it, it was really cute and she was crying so hard. after 24 years he accepted to marry her and be baptized. she told us that he would get so mad when she would go to church and with the kids as well and would not talk with any of the elders but within the last 3 years he changed. ah this man was one person i have so much respect for. it was great teaching him and working with him. Nataly had missionaries for years teach her too. when she got the Gift of the Holy Ghost a lot of the people in the ward were surprised and so happy because for years she investigated the church.  

sad story but one i learned a lot. so saturday was a lot and i was not feeling good because i m fighting a cold right now. but after the wedding of Hector we had the baptism and during the bapstim we went out of the room to get the scriptures of my comp. while she was getting them i looked outside and saw a group of men driving off with the motorcycle of our bishop... i was at first thinking why is that young man staling in his moto he knows how to drive and why is there a bunch of them and hey that moto is the color of bishop´s... i then told hna Estrada i think they stole the moto of bishop and she was like how do you know i explained it to her and we were like what do we do tell him now or after the baptism.... we decided to wait a little and when she finished her talk we talked with his wife and she was like we will tell him after. we told him and he was like really well and said "i'll talk to the girls and you can go report it." my bishop is amazing, he has so much patience and one who gives his all for his calling. he is always teaching me lessons and helping me see the most important things in life. he did not get mad, did not show any anger or sadness in his face, but just that he knew that there were important things to do first. he had the patience to explain to his daughters what had happened. one of his daughter was like "dad i do not feel good" and he took the time to explain about the Holy Ghost and when we feel that way we do not have the Holy Ghost. he then took all the kids and started to teach them so they would not bother us when we were cleaning. i was very impressed and thought to myself if this happened how would i have reacted. i am so thankful to have seen this and learn by his example. 

Nataly

the bride and groom (Rosenda and Hector Lopez Ramos)

baptism of Hector

This week was great

i am so grateful to see the wonderful blessings of Heavenly Father....so this week was great... we are working hard here and are seeing the fruits of our labors... this week has been filled with so many good things that everyday i think to myself how merciful the Lord is. so right now we have two other personas preparing for baptism this staurday. one is an old investigator and she came to church sunday and decided that she wanted to be baptized... she had missionaries before for years and one night she had a dream that made her think about her life and wanted to change. her name is nataly hernadez. but her brother is a member and is a great person. he is always willing to work with us and help us out. also we have been working with hector. he is a man that did not want to see missionaries in his house and his kids are less active. only his wife...well his women because they are not married... is a member. we are working with him to be baptized this saturday and have his wedding before the baptism... with this family i have been exercising a lot of faith but i have seen such a beautiful change in him and in his family. he has so much more light to his face and he keeps all the commitments we give him. he reads the Book of Mormon every morning at 2 am, so he can not read well and his eye sight is really bad but we promised him that if he prayed before reading he would be able to see and understand it. it was fulfilled and this week we bought him a big Book of Mormon that he can read without trouble, when we gave it to him he almost cried... it was so touching, also he is very proud of his Book of Mormon. 

the Lord is really blessing us right now with success and i know that it is all Him. i know that i am nothing without my Heavenly Father. we are working hard and are trying to find new people to teach. i think it is amazing how as missionaries we can help people feel that there is hope in their lives with the gospel of Jesus Christ that we can help people see that life is not just pain and hopelessness. i have seen the Lord use us to find certain people and say the right words for them. i am so thankful to be here and to be in this work. please pray for hector and nataly this week so that they will have that extra strength...  

Baptism of Jose Luis

Familia Rodriguez

My mission president's mother-in-law visiting from Nicaragua and we taught her...
she is one tough lady. I hope she gets baptized someday

when we were at a museum

I danced for an activity.

July 9, 2012 - Such a Wonderful Weekend

after 5 months of work familia rodriguez were baptized on saturday and were confirmed members on sunday. it was such a wonderful and tender moment when i saw them take these steps in their lives. i was so touched by the blessing that each of them got. ah my heart is so full.... i was so happy saturday and also jose luiz was baptized on saturday. he is so excited about going to church and changing his life. that is what the gospel is - hope. when we go to church with hearts ready to receive revelation every week we can feel like the convert that goes to church for the first time, looking for a place to find refuge from this world that at times is hard to bear. i know the gospel is true i have seen the book of mormon change hearts but most of all i have witnessed this change in my own heart.... i have been reading the book of mormon in spanish every day and my goal is to finish it in 3 months and so far i have been loving it. there is always something more to find and things to change in our lives. i know that there are things that we need in it at different points in our lives. i love what my mission presidente said about how when we read the book of mormon we receive a lot more joy and that extra push to be happy. i know this to be true when i am sad or feel terrible about an investigator. i read the book of mormon and have received that comfort that we needed. i think to myself how much easier life would have been if i had been reading the book of mormon for all these years from the start.... i know that if we rededicate ourselves to read the book of mormon, pray everyday and go to church with hearts ready to learn we will have much joy and faith to work through all things. i love how it says in preach my gospel about how faith is confidence in Jesus Christ. when we have that faith and we act on it we show our love for our Heavenly Father. i am so thankful to be here and to be changing things in my life. i am so thankful to have so many wonderful people in my life and to be touched by their love for me and this work. i love my ward so much and this area. 

oh happy day

    so this week was great! i love being here. we are working hard in our area and i am so thankful that i am here with my comp and i can work hard. she is always wants to work which is good. it was just wierd when we hit one year in the mission together... i cannot belive how fast it is going. 

well this weekend we have 4 baptisms schudule. family rodriguez.... i am so happy for this one... but i am so happy to see the faith that they have... so the wife is a member and she was so sad becuase she wanted to be baptised with her family. she said that the baptism was not correct because she was little and was so mad at her mom for the baptism. but we learned and explained that the authority was right and it was vaild but that she can have better experiences with her family in the future. the baptisms almost fell but freddy said that he knows that it is true and this is just a test of his faith. i have learned so much for them and am so thankful for them. it was great. then the other baptism is going to be jose luis. he is 22 years old and has so much in his life that he wants to change. when we were teaching him i saw him feel like a little bit of his burden has been lifted. i know that there is so much more that we need to do to help him to use the atonement more in his life. i am so grateful for the atonement and the opportunity to learn about it. i dont know it completely but i know that with the atonement it can take away all the pains in the heart. i know that jose luis right now is feeling the power of the atonement. 

also the youth had an activity with 5 differnent stakes and they had a culture night. they asked me to dance in this and i was so happy to do it becuase it was a family that we eat with every sunday that asked me and i could not say no. but i thought it was going to be a small activity but it was huge! i was freaking out.. but it was great so many people loved it and i thought how wonderful that i had the opportunity to share this beautiful dance with them.... i love dancing and am thankful that i can. after i danced i was so happy and was ready to go out and teach.... it was great.... i love the people here. they are so amazing. i know that i need to enjoy it more and work harder.