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| Found some flowers in Shakopee and selfied with them |
hola
familia y amigos
First off, I hope all of you enjoy the solar eclipse but don't look at the sun! I hear it can basically kill you. Stay safe my people.
But
Wow wow wow what a great week it's been! Minnesota is still pretty and I have
more pictures to prove it. Also the people are amazing. I finally feel like I
know people here and I love them all so much.
So I'm pretty sure my mom told me about this before I came out but I can't exactly remember... One thing we started noticing all the time this week is that Hispanics say cada ocho dias instead of a week. Hermana and I really need someone to explain this to us because we really can't find the logic in counting the same day twice...?
On Wednesday we had exchanges. I was unfortunately with Sister Miller.. kidding I love her. Last week at interviews I went to hug her and she turned around so I had her in a head lock. Then a few hours later we were eating lunch and President walked in and Sister Miller goes, "I'll have you know, Hermana Hanson put me in a head lock." So of course we had to settle things on Wednesday. We wrestled in our BYU and Utah shirts and we're all good now so don't even worry. But seriously we had a blast together. I was a little (very) nervous because I got left in Spanish work and Sister Miller knows absolutely no Español. Well she knew "no hablo Español" and now she knows "tenga un buen dia" too becuase that's all she said all day.
Turns out I do know Spanish, but I know it's with the Lord's help and here's how. I was praying alllllll day that I could understand and communicate with all the people we came in contact with and wow we were having a lot of success. I could understand almost everything people were saying and I wasn't perfect, but I was able to respond. I was feeling pretty good about what I thought was my ability. Our last lesson of the day was with a member we are helping to prepare for the priesthood, his name is Leo (he's the best). So like I said I was feeling confident and Leo is someone we talk to all the time and so I had the attitude like "I got this one." I was relying on solely myself and my own knowledge of Spanish and let me tell you, I was struggling big time. I couldn't understand over half of what he was saying and I kept forgetting words I use daily. This was such a humblimg moment to realize that I am so fortunate to have the help of the Lord with my many short comings. It reminded me of a scripture I memorized while at the ccm, Filipinses 4:13 Todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortalece. In English, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." I know that Christ is our forever loving Savior. He has already suffered for our mistakes and our short comings and His infinite grace makes up for these things.
Our active member finding has gone great this week. As we have shown our excitement for the work and invited others to have experiences, they are more open to trusting us with their friends. In fact, one of our members boyfriend (Jesus) has has committed to baptism! He is so prepare and willing. It was amazing to see that some people are just ready. It makes our job as missionaries so easy to invite others to come unto Christ when they already have the desire to do so. I hope you all have had your own missionary experiences this week and continue seeking these opportunities daily.
So I hope you remember our small miracle in finding Orlando last week. On Wednesday during exchanges we were by his trailer and we knocked but no one was home. But as we walked out of the trailer park, a car slowed down and rolled down their window and it was Orlando! He said he had been reading in the Book of Mormon and we scheduled a return appointment (our other one fell through) for Saturday. Saturday comes and we have no idea what to do because he lives alone and we have this that you have to have either 3 men or 3 women to teach. So we decided we would tell him that our lesson was going to be at the church and pray that other people would be there so we could teach him.
So I'm pretty sure my mom told me about this before I came out but I can't exactly remember... One thing we started noticing all the time this week is that Hispanics say cada ocho dias instead of a week. Hermana and I really need someone to explain this to us because we really can't find the logic in counting the same day twice...?
On Wednesday we had exchanges. I was unfortunately with Sister Miller.. kidding I love her. Last week at interviews I went to hug her and she turned around so I had her in a head lock. Then a few hours later we were eating lunch and President walked in and Sister Miller goes, "I'll have you know, Hermana Hanson put me in a head lock." So of course we had to settle things on Wednesday. We wrestled in our BYU and Utah shirts and we're all good now so don't even worry. But seriously we had a blast together. I was a little (very) nervous because I got left in Spanish work and Sister Miller knows absolutely no Español. Well she knew "no hablo Español" and now she knows "tenga un buen dia" too becuase that's all she said all day.
Turns out I do know Spanish, but I know it's with the Lord's help and here's how. I was praying alllllll day that I could understand and communicate with all the people we came in contact with and wow we were having a lot of success. I could understand almost everything people were saying and I wasn't perfect, but I was able to respond. I was feeling pretty good about what I thought was my ability. Our last lesson of the day was with a member we are helping to prepare for the priesthood, his name is Leo (he's the best). So like I said I was feeling confident and Leo is someone we talk to all the time and so I had the attitude like "I got this one." I was relying on solely myself and my own knowledge of Spanish and let me tell you, I was struggling big time. I couldn't understand over half of what he was saying and I kept forgetting words I use daily. This was such a humblimg moment to realize that I am so fortunate to have the help of the Lord with my many short comings. It reminded me of a scripture I memorized while at the ccm, Filipinses 4:13 Todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortalece. In English, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." I know that Christ is our forever loving Savior. He has already suffered for our mistakes and our short comings and His infinite grace makes up for these things.
Our active member finding has gone great this week. As we have shown our excitement for the work and invited others to have experiences, they are more open to trusting us with their friends. In fact, one of our members boyfriend (Jesus) has has committed to baptism! He is so prepare and willing. It was amazing to see that some people are just ready. It makes our job as missionaries so easy to invite others to come unto Christ when they already have the desire to do so. I hope you all have had your own missionary experiences this week and continue seeking these opportunities daily.
So I hope you remember our small miracle in finding Orlando last week. On Wednesday during exchanges we were by his trailer and we knocked but no one was home. But as we walked out of the trailer park, a car slowed down and rolled down their window and it was Orlando! He said he had been reading in the Book of Mormon and we scheduled a return appointment (our other one fell through) for Saturday. Saturday comes and we have no idea what to do because he lives alone and we have this that you have to have either 3 men or 3 women to teach. So we decided we would tell him that our lesson was going to be at the church and pray that other people would be there so we could teach him.
Saturday was a beautiful day because of some of
our members. The Montecillos came with us to a lesson but she said her house
was too messy for guests. Then they took us to lunch instead and told us about
this friend they had been wanting to introduce us to. Then they took us to
visit their friend who comes from a part member family. They shared their
testimonies about the Book of Mormon and encouraged him to read it too. On the
way home, they asked us what we were going to do next and we told them about
our issue with Orlando. They dropped us off at our car and when we showed up at
the church they were there! Hermano Montecillo said they were "just
stopping by for the bathroom" which makes no sense because they drove past
their house to get to the chapel. Wow they are incredible people to spend over
4 hours with us. We got to teach Orlando and it was such a special experience
to be in the chapel of the church with two members. We shared a scripture in
Amos about the Great Apostasy being a famine. He said that he feels like this
in his life, hungry for the truth.
I want to share a quote from the talk "Trust in the Lord" by Richard G. Scott (thanks for the suggestion Mom) it says, "This life is an experience in profound trust—trust in Jesus Christ, trust in His teachings, trust in our capacity as led by the Holy Spirit to obey those teachings for happiness now and for a purposeful, supremely happy eternal existence. To trust means to obey willingly without knowing the end from the beginning. To produce fruit, your trust in the Lord must be more powerful and enduring than your confidence in your own personal feelings and experience." We don't always know why certain things happen or don't happen in our lives. Luckily we know that the Lord's plan for us is greater than we can ever imagine. We must simply put our trust in Him and accept His will as our own. This is easier said than done but I know that as I have tried to do this, I have felt His strength helping me along the way.
Also feeling so blessed because in just 9 days we're going to the temple!! Wohoooooo I'm so stoked! This being said, I won't have another pday until next Wednesday so when I don't email next week, have no fear I am still alive and better than ever because I'll be two days away from the temp!
Quote of the week: "Not today Satan" -Hermana Meredith as she sprays the whole can of bug spray on her legs. Current bite count on our legs: 32
Have the best week ever, I know we will over here in mn!
I want to share a quote from the talk "Trust in the Lord" by Richard G. Scott (thanks for the suggestion Mom) it says, "This life is an experience in profound trust—trust in Jesus Christ, trust in His teachings, trust in our capacity as led by the Holy Spirit to obey those teachings for happiness now and for a purposeful, supremely happy eternal existence. To trust means to obey willingly without knowing the end from the beginning. To produce fruit, your trust in the Lord must be more powerful and enduring than your confidence in your own personal feelings and experience." We don't always know why certain things happen or don't happen in our lives. Luckily we know that the Lord's plan for us is greater than we can ever imagine. We must simply put our trust in Him and accept His will as our own. This is easier said than done but I know that as I have tried to do this, I have felt His strength helping me along the way.
Also feeling so blessed because in just 9 days we're going to the temple!! Wohoooooo I'm so stoked! This being said, I won't have another pday until next Wednesday so when I don't email next week, have no fear I am still alive and better than ever because I'll be two days away from the temp!
Quote of the week: "Not today Satan" -Hermana Meredith as she sprays the whole can of bug spray on her legs. Current bite count on our legs: 32
Have the best week ever, I know we will over here in mn!
Pics:
1-2.
Found some flowers in Shakopee and selfied with them.
3.
Sister Miller is the master of all
4.
Costa Vida opened in apple valley, Costa Vida Thursdays anyone? (If you get it,
you get it)
5.
Minnesota is pretty, do you get it yet?
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| Found some flowers in Shakopee and selfied with them |
 |
| Sister Miller is the master of all |
 |
| Costa Vida opened in apple valley, Costa Vida Thursdays anyone? (If you get it, you get it) |
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| Minnesota is pretty, do you get it yet? |
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