Hey all,
Welp I only have 15 minutes but in summary: We made history this month in our zone and had 11 baptisms for the first time in years. Actually I don't know if it's ever happened but for sure the goal has never gone above 9 in over a year and a half. Wahooo! Ahh I don't even know how to begin talking about my life this past week. Basically we all feel very happy and united. This is definitely my favorite zone despite what everyone says about how hard it is, how it's a dead zone blah blah blah. El Señor nos ha bendecido mucho. I wanted to write about the law of sacrifice and the idea of personal offerings of sacrifice to obtain blessing of the Lord but I don't think there's time. To be continued in a snail-mail letter!
Other updates: We finally have a baptism this Thursday! I think I've already told you all about him-his name is Alexander and he's 15 and loves going to church. Now he goes to all the activities and seminary too. He was the miracle we were waiting for in May but he kept saying he was unsure and never accepted his date for May 29. Then Sunday, May 30 after the second class he came up to me in the hallway and said "Hermana, cuando me voy a bautizar?" (When am I going to get baptized?) Yayyyy! So it's all set for Thursday and we're stoked.
We have several other positive investigators, including a family with 3 children. When we gave the mom a Book of Mormon, she was so grateful and looked at it like it was the most precious gift in the world. :)
Uhhh, I feel like so much has happened this week that I don't know how to reduce it down to an email. Sorry. Basically I am really really happy. Despite the challenges I've been having (this week and last week have been quite the struggle with my companion) I feel happy to be here on the mission. I love the people, I feel like they're my people. And I get sad when sometimes they tell me they want to go to the U.S. to work for a while and I think about the way they'd get treated there. I think I'm starting to sound like a hippy-peace-harmony-onelove person but it's true! Like this one family in our ward, famlia Diaz, are the most amazing and supportive family in the ward. I think I've told you about them (they're the ones that come out with us as a famliy almost every Sunday to teach). Well Sunday the father got called as the ward secretary (his first calling after he started coming back to church about a year ago) and when he stood up to get sustained the word that came to my mind was noble. That night when they went out with us to teach he told me that he's always wanted to visit the U.S. to work construction. They're amazing and very humble, but when he told me that I got sad because I started thinking about how if he goes to the U.S., everyone is just going to say he's another ilegal Mexian there stealing jobs. They don't know the great person that he is and how amazing his family is. Ahhh :(
Oops I'm out of time, sorry to end on a sad note. Nope, life is good, I'm happy, I love the people and I love you all. Cuidense mucho!
Love,
Hermana Dance
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
I almost put an emo title but then thought better of it...Mission life=the biggest emotional roller coaster ever
Hey all,
Thanks again for the emails and updates. I feel like a lot has happened since I last wrote and I don't know where to start. Eek!
Friday was our last zone conference with Presidente y Hermana Madrigal. It was amazing as always but the end was the saddest I remember feeling in a looooong time. Wow. The three zones that go to this chapel for zone conference decided to practice a song and surpirse them with it at the end of the conference. We all met in our own zones the day before to practice it (it was a Jenny Philips song...whoever that is) so in the conference was the first time we all sang it together. Despite the lack of musical talent among the Latinos it was still beautiful because even if they don't sing in tune or know it they sing with their hearts. I know that sounds super cheesy but it's true. So we sang the first part of this song with the background track playing and then Elder Funk, an elder who was in my district in the MTC in Utah started playing on the piano to merge the first song with "God Be With You Till We Meet Again." It was so beautiful and hearing the first few notes of that hymn made everybody pretty teary eyed. We only sang the first verse but the Spirit was so strong and we were all crying (more when Presidente and Hermana Madrigal started crying too).
After we finished we listened to the prayer and then everyone went through a line to say goodbye to them. Ahhh! I wasn't expecting to feel so sad. Plus seeing my zone leaders and other elders all crying (one of them goes home this transfer and most of my other friends go home in July or September) made it even more sad because most of the Latinos if not all of them I'm never going to see again. Ahhh! I realized for the first time how sad I'm going to be when I go home. Later I was talking to our zone leaders about it and how we didn't expect it to be like that and how we felt so sad, honestly like someone had just died. I think mission life exagerates our emotions/ our capacity to feel because I don't remember feeling that way before. Yikes.
I also started thinking about how it will be when you two go home, and how your missionaries will feel the same way. But at least they're all American so you can have reunions :). Thanks for being awesome and for being my parents and the adoptive parents of so many missionaries.
Que mas que mas....Oh yeah so after the zone conference on Friday, Saturday morning I got to go through the temple with Charlyn. It was soooo good to be in the temple and to see her. Plus 3 of my recient converts from Volcn where there doing baptisms so I got to see them and all the members. I feel like I'm finally recognizing the fruits of all my prayers asking to love the people more. God is the best.
Yesterday we had 5 investigators in sacrament meeting which is pretty much a record for this area. My companion had pretty much lost all faith in contacting but then God blessed us with great, really positive family Tuesday night who came to an activity in a member's house the same night we met them and then the mom and her son came to church yesteday. Plus we finally have a new mission leader who is active in the church! And our bishop started coming back to church too. Things are changing things are changing. Yesterday we talked with the second counseler and he told us that he "didn't want to throw us too many flowers" but that we are unas de las mejores misionaries they've had in their ward. God definitely sent us a ton of tender merices this week.
Welp I'm almost out of time but love you all and I hope you're doing well. The missionary Disney music concert sounds pretty sweet-it's crazy how different our areas are but the awesome part is that God gives us each revelations on how we can change things in our respective areas. I feel like more and more God is helping me come up with new ideas and giving me the capacity to put them in practice. Life is good.
Love,
Hermana Dance
Acts 20:35-38 this is how it felt at the zone conference. Minus the kisses, haha.
Thanks again for the emails and updates. I feel like a lot has happened since I last wrote and I don't know where to start. Eek!
Friday was our last zone conference with Presidente y Hermana Madrigal. It was amazing as always but the end was the saddest I remember feeling in a looooong time. Wow. The three zones that go to this chapel for zone conference decided to practice a song and surpirse them with it at the end of the conference. We all met in our own zones the day before to practice it (it was a Jenny Philips song...whoever that is) so in the conference was the first time we all sang it together. Despite the lack of musical talent among the Latinos it was still beautiful because even if they don't sing in tune or know it they sing with their hearts. I know that sounds super cheesy but it's true. So we sang the first part of this song with the background track playing and then Elder Funk, an elder who was in my district in the MTC in Utah started playing on the piano to merge the first song with "God Be With You Till We Meet Again." It was so beautiful and hearing the first few notes of that hymn made everybody pretty teary eyed. We only sang the first verse but the Spirit was so strong and we were all crying (more when Presidente and Hermana Madrigal started crying too).
After we finished we listened to the prayer and then everyone went through a line to say goodbye to them. Ahhh! I wasn't expecting to feel so sad. Plus seeing my zone leaders and other elders all crying (one of them goes home this transfer and most of my other friends go home in July or September) made it even more sad because most of the Latinos if not all of them I'm never going to see again. Ahhh! I realized for the first time how sad I'm going to be when I go home. Later I was talking to our zone leaders about it and how we didn't expect it to be like that and how we felt so sad, honestly like someone had just died. I think mission life exagerates our emotions/ our capacity to feel because I don't remember feeling that way before. Yikes.
I also started thinking about how it will be when you two go home, and how your missionaries will feel the same way. But at least they're all American so you can have reunions :). Thanks for being awesome and for being my parents and the adoptive parents of so many missionaries.
Que mas que mas....Oh yeah so after the zone conference on Friday, Saturday morning I got to go through the temple with Charlyn. It was soooo good to be in the temple and to see her. Plus 3 of my recient converts from Volcn where there doing baptisms so I got to see them and all the members. I feel like I'm finally recognizing the fruits of all my prayers asking to love the people more. God is the best.
Yesterday we had 5 investigators in sacrament meeting which is pretty much a record for this area. My companion had pretty much lost all faith in contacting but then God blessed us with great, really positive family Tuesday night who came to an activity in a member's house the same night we met them and then the mom and her son came to church yesteday. Plus we finally have a new mission leader who is active in the church! And our bishop started coming back to church too. Things are changing things are changing. Yesterday we talked with the second counseler and he told us that he "didn't want to throw us too many flowers" but that we are unas de las mejores misionaries they've had in their ward. God definitely sent us a ton of tender merices this week.
Welp I'm almost out of time but love you all and I hope you're doing well. The missionary Disney music concert sounds pretty sweet-it's crazy how different our areas are but the awesome part is that God gives us each revelations on how we can change things in our respective areas. I feel like more and more God is helping me come up with new ideas and giving me the capacity to put them in practice. Life is good.
Love,
Hermana Dance
Acts 20:35-38 this is how it felt at the zone conference. Minus the kisses, haha.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Hey family,
Mom and Dad, your life is super busy. But you are awesome for going out to work with the missionaries. Mom I bet the hermanas were sort of nervous but happy to have you there. You's a stellar missionary and mission president's wife :)
We were supposed to have interviews today but some sort of emergency came up so....who knows when that will be happening. This last week was a bit difficult. I think Satanás nos estaba tirando las bombas. I don't know, but mi compañera y yo both felt a little down on energy levels and faith this week because of a series of unfortunate events and mysterious icky feelings. Boo! But we've overcome it and this is a new day and a new week and I read the notes Dad sent me a couple of weeks ago so we are saying "Here am I" regadless of what happened last week. Boom.
Alexander is going to get baptized. He still hasn't fully accepted the date of May 29th, but I know he'll get baptized. Even if it's not this month, he will because he's reading in the Book of Mormon, he's always excited to go to church and learn more, and whenever we come he loves hearing about the gospel. Yesterday when we got to his house he was sitting outside in a rocking chair doing nothing. After we started the lesson we talked about the Book of Mormon and he told us that when we came he'd been sitting there thinking about it. Ahhhh I love when people I love fulfill their commitments and take the steps that I know will lead them to recognize and accpet the truth. Definitely a tender mercy God sent me yesterday.
Oh yeah because yesteday before we went out my companion told me that she didn't know if Joseph Smith really was a prophet, that she had lots of doubts, etc, etc. and I was really worried. I talked to her about it for a while and shared a couple scriptures (Alma 32 about how faith isn't perfect knowledge) and then when to the bathroom and said a prayer asking God to help me help her. I came out and told her "You already know. I know you already know, because you've told me how you've felt when you've shared the first vision or when we watched the video of the restoration. You know. Don't let a tiny thing that some angry, unbelieving person says discredit all the spiritual experiences you've had." (She used to tell me how when she repeated the first vision she felt "like she was being teleported" or that it was as if she were on the airplane again for her first time. )
She thought for a little bit and said "Yeah, you're right. I've had lots of experiences and I wouldn't have come here if it weren't true." I think it helped her a little bit and after that we went out but I'm still a little worried and I'm praying for her. Things will work out ok. One of my favorite lines for the Joseph Smith movie (we just watched it again in an activity saturday night) is when Hyrum says to Joseph "Whatever happens, the Lord is in it" So true.
Love you all!!
Natalie
Romans 5:3, Romans 8: 18, 28
Mom and Dad, your life is super busy. But you are awesome for going out to work with the missionaries. Mom I bet the hermanas were sort of nervous but happy to have you there. You's a stellar missionary and mission president's wife :)
We were supposed to have interviews today but some sort of emergency came up so....who knows when that will be happening. This last week was a bit difficult. I think Satanás nos estaba tirando las bombas. I don't know, but mi compañera y yo both felt a little down on energy levels and faith this week because of a series of unfortunate events and mysterious icky feelings. Boo! But we've overcome it and this is a new day and a new week and I read the notes Dad sent me a couple of weeks ago so we are saying "Here am I" regadless of what happened last week. Boom.
Alexander is going to get baptized. He still hasn't fully accepted the date of May 29th, but I know he'll get baptized. Even if it's not this month, he will because he's reading in the Book of Mormon, he's always excited to go to church and learn more, and whenever we come he loves hearing about the gospel. Yesterday when we got to his house he was sitting outside in a rocking chair doing nothing. After we started the lesson we talked about the Book of Mormon and he told us that when we came he'd been sitting there thinking about it. Ahhhh I love when people I love fulfill their commitments and take the steps that I know will lead them to recognize and accpet the truth. Definitely a tender mercy God sent me yesterday.
Oh yeah because yesteday before we went out my companion told me that she didn't know if Joseph Smith really was a prophet, that she had lots of doubts, etc, etc. and I was really worried. I talked to her about it for a while and shared a couple scriptures (Alma 32 about how faith isn't perfect knowledge) and then when to the bathroom and said a prayer asking God to help me help her. I came out and told her "You already know. I know you already know, because you've told me how you've felt when you've shared the first vision or when we watched the video of the restoration. You know. Don't let a tiny thing that some angry, unbelieving person says discredit all the spiritual experiences you've had." (She used to tell me how when she repeated the first vision she felt "like she was being teleported" or that it was as if she were on the airplane again for her first time. )
She thought for a little bit and said "Yeah, you're right. I've had lots of experiences and I wouldn't have come here if it weren't true." I think it helped her a little bit and after that we went out but I'm still a little worried and I'm praying for her. Things will work out ok. One of my favorite lines for the Joseph Smith movie (we just watched it again in an activity saturday night) is when Hyrum says to Joseph "Whatever happens, the Lord is in it" So true.
Love you all!!
Natalie
Romans 5:3, Romans 8: 18, 28
Monday, May 10, 2010
May is the best month ever
Hey!
It was so good to talk to you all this morning! And it's nice because the first time we talked I still felt like a lost puppy and I got a little sad thinking about everyone all together for Christmas in Latvia and me in Panama but this time I feel normal and it wasn't sad, just happy. Plus it's cool thinking about how I said "In five months I'll talk to them again" and now I'm here five months later and the next time we talk I'll almost be home. Wahoo! Mom I'm glad you got the letter I sent, I was going to ask you about that. And thanks for the pictures and updates about the extended family. I feel like the promises of the hearts of the children turning to the fathers and visa versa are being fulfilled more in my life personally because I feel a lot more love for our extended family and I feel like I want to find out about our ancestors and all that fun stuff. Well not like I didn't love our family before but it feels different now, I pray for them more and feel more connected to every in our family even though we're farther apart. Sort of ironic....
Today we're going to play volleyball with water balloons and ultimate frisbee if I can find one. Oh also, Saturday night our zone participated in a talent show and we acted out a parody of this talk show called Case Closed that everyone loves here. It's like a cross between Judge Judy, Maury, and one of those evangelical preacher shows, and I had to be the judge because on the show it's a woman. Eek! It was fun and everyone loved it because the elders played their parts really well (the case was that two companionships were fighting for custody of a family or the rights to teach a family because they were both from the same ward but one companionship crossed the boundaries to teach this family) Ok, I guess it's just one of those things where you had to be there but it was fun and we got it on video so when I come home you can see my debut in Latino television...woot.
Ok sorry this is short but a.) you know I always run out of time and b.) I feel like I don't have much to say because we just talked this morning.
Just know that I love you all and am so greatful for your love, letters, and support.
Have a great Monday!
Love,
Hermana Dance
It was so good to talk to you all this morning! And it's nice because the first time we talked I still felt like a lost puppy and I got a little sad thinking about everyone all together for Christmas in Latvia and me in Panama but this time I feel normal and it wasn't sad, just happy. Plus it's cool thinking about how I said "In five months I'll talk to them again" and now I'm here five months later and the next time we talk I'll almost be home. Wahoo! Mom I'm glad you got the letter I sent, I was going to ask you about that. And thanks for the pictures and updates about the extended family. I feel like the promises of the hearts of the children turning to the fathers and visa versa are being fulfilled more in my life personally because I feel a lot more love for our extended family and I feel like I want to find out about our ancestors and all that fun stuff. Well not like I didn't love our family before but it feels different now, I pray for them more and feel more connected to every in our family even though we're farther apart. Sort of ironic....
Today we're going to play volleyball with water balloons and ultimate frisbee if I can find one. Oh also, Saturday night our zone participated in a talent show and we acted out a parody of this talk show called Case Closed that everyone loves here. It's like a cross between Judge Judy, Maury, and one of those evangelical preacher shows, and I had to be the judge because on the show it's a woman. Eek! It was fun and everyone loved it because the elders played their parts really well (the case was that two companionships were fighting for custody of a family or the rights to teach a family because they were both from the same ward but one companionship crossed the boundaries to teach this family) Ok, I guess it's just one of those things where you had to be there but it was fun and we got it on video so when I come home you can see my debut in Latino television...woot.
Ok sorry this is short but a.) you know I always run out of time and b.) I feel like I don't have much to say because we just talked this morning.
Just know that I love you all and am so greatful for your love, letters, and support.
Have a great Monday!
Love,
Hermana Dance
Uh, phone call? I'm always the last one to find out anything...
Hey all!
Ok, before I forget-Is Mother's Day next week? Doh! I don't know anything about days, times etc that we get to call. I know it's sometime in May but they haven't announced anything.
Thanks for the pics and happy emails. Eeek so much I want to tell you all!
Observations:
1. Even though fasting has always been super hard for me and I used to do it grudgingly, it works miracles. My compnion and I have the goal to fast every week this transfer for our investigators and the members because we feel that they need it and we do too. We fasted two weeks ago for the ward, and yesterday tons of less active people came to church and our sacrament mtg attendance was 20 people higher than it normally is. It's like I stressed out and freaked out trying to save the ward and nothing worked (because I had the mindset that I had to do it all alone) and then we fasted and all these people came, our bishop returned after 2 months of being inactive, and the meeting was very spiritual. Yup, fasting rocks
2. I finally feel like I have been able to be an instrument in God's hands to bless the lives of other people. I hope I've been doing it my whole mission, but I guess what I mean is that yesterday God gave me the blessing of receiving a conformation or witness of that. Por ejemplo, Yomare, the woman I told you about who said we were an answer to her prayer a couple weeks ago bore her testimony and talked about how "two angels" came to answer her and when we started talking she felt as though Jesus were in front of her personally answering her prayer.
3. There is an oppostition in all things. This also works in our favor, because it means that when things are going rough and are super hard, we're guaranteed other experiences that will cause our joy to be as a sweet as was our pain (can't remember the scripture in english but it's in Alma 36:16ish?) Saturday we spent all day knocking doors on one of the hottest days of the summer while fasting, and the whole day we only taught one lesson. I felt super tired and discouraged by the end of the day, but then God gave me Sunday to help charge me up again. Every house we contacted on Sunday responded in a positive way, I felt like the Spirit was leading me by the hand, and we taught one of the most spiritual lessons I've ever been in. The woman let us in and we sang I am A child of God as the first hymn and in the second verse she started to cry. When we finished she told us that her mom had been mormon for 20 years and she died 3 months ago. We were able to teach her the Plan of Salvation and the Spirit was so strong. God is so merciful and loves us all so much.
Yikes there's so much more I always want to say but never enough time....until the phone call!! :) Love you all so much!
love, Hermana Dance
P.S. No changes. I'm with the same companion (Hna Ruiz) that I've been training and we're still in San Miguelito 2.
Ok, before I forget-Is Mother's Day next week? Doh! I don't know anything about days, times etc that we get to call. I know it's sometime in May but they haven't announced anything.
Thanks for the pics and happy emails. Eeek so much I want to tell you all!
Observations:
1. Even though fasting has always been super hard for me and I used to do it grudgingly, it works miracles. My compnion and I have the goal to fast every week this transfer for our investigators and the members because we feel that they need it and we do too. We fasted two weeks ago for the ward, and yesterday tons of less active people came to church and our sacrament mtg attendance was 20 people higher than it normally is. It's like I stressed out and freaked out trying to save the ward and nothing worked (because I had the mindset that I had to do it all alone) and then we fasted and all these people came, our bishop returned after 2 months of being inactive, and the meeting was very spiritual. Yup, fasting rocks
2. I finally feel like I have been able to be an instrument in God's hands to bless the lives of other people. I hope I've been doing it my whole mission, but I guess what I mean is that yesterday God gave me the blessing of receiving a conformation or witness of that. Por ejemplo, Yomare, the woman I told you about who said we were an answer to her prayer a couple weeks ago bore her testimony and talked about how "two angels" came to answer her and when we started talking she felt as though Jesus were in front of her personally answering her prayer.
3. There is an oppostition in all things. This also works in our favor, because it means that when things are going rough and are super hard, we're guaranteed other experiences that will cause our joy to be as a sweet as was our pain (can't remember the scripture in english but it's in Alma 36:16ish?) Saturday we spent all day knocking doors on one of the hottest days of the summer while fasting, and the whole day we only taught one lesson. I felt super tired and discouraged by the end of the day, but then God gave me Sunday to help charge me up again. Every house we contacted on Sunday responded in a positive way, I felt like the Spirit was leading me by the hand, and we taught one of the most spiritual lessons I've ever been in. The woman let us in and we sang I am A child of God as the first hymn and in the second verse she started to cry. When we finished she told us that her mom had been mormon for 20 years and she died 3 months ago. We were able to teach her the Plan of Salvation and the Spirit was so strong. God is so merciful and loves us all so much.
Yikes there's so much more I always want to say but never enough time....until the phone call!! :) Love you all so much!
love, Hermana Dance
P.S. No changes. I'm with the same companion (Hna Ruiz) that I've been training and we're still in San Miguelito 2.
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