hello!
this was an overwhelmingly awesome week. we saw a lot of miracles happen. first of all, serena and saida got baptized and it was beautiful. their alcoholic butthead dad invited us to his house for dinner next week and said he wants to thank us for all of the good that has happened in his family this last little while. he said more good changes are coming. we're hoping it means that he is planning on stopping drinking or something, but i guess we'll see at dinner.
my favorite person right now is hilaria zapata. some of the elders actually met her but then found out she lives in our area so passed her info along to us. she told sister eisley and me that she has seen us in a dream before. when she saw us it was like she already knew us. the next time we came over she told us about how she was almost going to call us and tell us not to come over anymore because she was just getting confused. she's been getting pressure from her family and from her church. but she said she decided to read the chapter we left her in the book of mormon and then she couldn't put it down. she read it three times and said that all she could think was that she wanted to know more about our church. she came to the baptism and to church this sunday. she is amazing. she called us "tramposas" or in english, tramps. because we come to a town, get people to fall in love with us,and then we leave. (transfers.) ha. that was the first time i had heard that one. anyway, she will hopefully be getting baptized at the end of the month.
other loves: ted and blanca. they're a couple we met.. probably in their fifties. ted is a big white guy who loves glen beck so that's what got us in his door. his wife blanca is a mexican who speaks as much english as he does spanish. i'm not sure how they really communicate to each other, but they are in love. they also want to be baptized. they came to the baptism as well and ted said, "when they baptize me, they'll have to have two guys in there. baptizing me is like baptizing a bear." ha. i love him. but most of all i love the converting spirit that there is in the book of mormon. i have literally seen lives change from that book. including mine.
well, that's it for me this week. hope this letter finds you all well.
love,
brittany
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Out of the mouths of babes...
i just want to share a great experience we had this week. we've been working with this family.. the martinez family. the mom, leticia was baptized in the 1980s and hasn't been back to church since then. she now has a family of four children, two of which are of baptismal age who we will be baptizing this weekend. Serena is 13, and Saida is 10. Leticia was expressing some problems they are having in the family to us. the dad is an alcoholic and to say the least they do not have the safest home environment. he doesn't abuse them physically but there is not a lot of emotional or mental stability. anyway, she was mentioning how the dad is kind of questioning why the girls are getting baptized. saying they're too young, it's too fast. etc. etc. leticia said it won't be a problem for the baptism, but just that it's been on her mind. a few minutes later we went to different sides of the room to go over the baptismal questions with the girls separately. leticia sat in on Saida's side. as we were asking her the first question her mom lovingly interrupted and asked if she could ask saida a question. we agreed and she asked, "why is it that you want to be baptized?" i felta little bit of panic for a split second and worried that the mom was doubting the decision. as it went silent while little saida thought about the question, the spirit filled the room. i felt it burning in my heart more strongly than i've ever felt in my life. she replied with a simple, "i want to do the right things. i want to have the holy ghost with me always. her mom's eyes got watery and we were able to testify as representatives of jesus christ that what she was doing was the right thing and that things in their family situation would get better as serena and saida make these promises with heavenly father and as the whole family goes to church to receive more of the spirit of love for their home. it was an amazing experience. i know that the spirit of heavenly father can touch even ten year old's hearts. and that ten year olds have the power to change people's hearts and to be an influence for good in the world. it really strengthened my testimony of the savior's words,"suffer the little children to come unto me."i hope you're all having a great week.
love,me
love,me
Monday, August 16, 2010
Good Dog...
hello everybody!
this was a week of funny things. i also think that summer has officially hit here. it's so dang hot. i can't remember a time this week that my body wasn't completely wet from sweat. we talked about the word of wisdom in sunday school and how we should eat meat sparingly and that it is "pleasing unto me that ye eat it not at all except in times of winter or cold or famine." and one of the men said,"but texas doesn't have winter." so i made the comment that maybe nobody should be eating meat down here and they could all cut back ont he diabetes. they didn't like that though this week we went to a member's house and they had a cute little chihuahua named penny. she was sitting on my lap cuddling with me for a few minutes and then sister eisley called her over to her. she jumped off my lap and ran over to sister eisley's and promptly vomited all over her lap. i think that penny is a very good dog. my favorite lesson i taught this week was to a bunch of teenagers. i think i've said this before but i just love teaching teenagers. they are the best. so anyway, they were all sitting outside and sister carlos and i went up to talk to them. we taught them about prayer. how to pray. why to pray. and how keeping commandments gives us blessings. we told them it was the secret to getting the things we want in life. at the end we double dog dared them all to pray at least once every single day for the rest of their lives. then two of the boys taught me how to skateboard. it was awesome. have i told you all about this man we are teaching named vicente? he is awesome. his wife is a member. he has been investigating the church for fourteen years. he is getting baptized in september. he has cancer and is currently going through chemo. he has the coolest family i've ever met and i love them so much. i feel like they are my home away from home. they're all sarcasm and joking which is what it usually is around my dinner table at home.. so it's so fun.i love going over there. anyway. yes. best family ever.this week i'll be going to mcallen for a big four day training, so i'll get to see old companions and district members and etc. possibly even go visit some old investigators and such. i'm very excited. i'll keep you posted. that's about it for me this week though. hope all is well with everybody.
hasta luego, me
this was a week of funny things. i also think that summer has officially hit here. it's so dang hot. i can't remember a time this week that my body wasn't completely wet from sweat. we talked about the word of wisdom in sunday school and how we should eat meat sparingly and that it is "pleasing unto me that ye eat it not at all except in times of winter or cold or famine." and one of the men said,"but texas doesn't have winter." so i made the comment that maybe nobody should be eating meat down here and they could all cut back ont he diabetes. they didn't like that though this week we went to a member's house and they had a cute little chihuahua named penny. she was sitting on my lap cuddling with me for a few minutes and then sister eisley called her over to her. she jumped off my lap and ran over to sister eisley's and promptly vomited all over her lap. i think that penny is a very good dog. my favorite lesson i taught this week was to a bunch of teenagers. i think i've said this before but i just love teaching teenagers. they are the best. so anyway, they were all sitting outside and sister carlos and i went up to talk to them. we taught them about prayer. how to pray. why to pray. and how keeping commandments gives us blessings. we told them it was the secret to getting the things we want in life. at the end we double dog dared them all to pray at least once every single day for the rest of their lives. then two of the boys taught me how to skateboard. it was awesome. have i told you all about this man we are teaching named vicente? he is awesome. his wife is a member. he has been investigating the church for fourteen years. he is getting baptized in september. he has cancer and is currently going through chemo. he has the coolest family i've ever met and i love them so much. i feel like they are my home away from home. they're all sarcasm and joking which is what it usually is around my dinner table at home.. so it's so fun.i love going over there. anyway. yes. best family ever.this week i'll be going to mcallen for a big four day training, so i'll get to see old companions and district members and etc. possibly even go visit some old investigators and such. i'm very excited. i'll keep you posted. that's about it for me this week though. hope all is well with everybody.
hasta luego, me
Monday, August 9, 2010
Wow! 8 Months already!
hello, peeps.
what a crazy week. we found out late last monday that sister carlos
was going to need to go to corpus christi for five days for a training
so sister eisley and i were left here with the FOUR, not three
mini-missionaries. life was crazy and we stayed up planning until
10:30 at least every night. but. it was completely worth it. those
mini-missionaries had more faith than anyone i've ever met and we
actually ended up setting 9 baptismal dates with them. we found a ton
of cool people and had some of the most amazing spiritual experiences
i've ever had in my mission. we were both completely exhausted by the
end of the week but i wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. i
plan on napping the entire rest of this p-day once i leave the
library. it was nice to have the girls around. i love working with youth. they're always my favorite to teach and find, and it was especially refreshing to have them with me all week. i had two girls with me, sister eisley had two girls with her, and we pretty much just split up the entire week and would only see each other at night when we would plan together for the next day. my girls' names were kristin and vanessa and they were the sweetest things ever. we had a blast. idon't think i've laughed so hard in one week. maybe i have. anyway.. one particular miracle that happened was with a man named brother juarez. he has been investigating the church for so long that everyone calls him "brother juarez." not his first name. anyway... he's had cancer for the last three years or so. has been investigating the church for about 14 years or so. in his whole 14 years he has never agreed to a baptismal date. never never never. he is one of the most stubborn men i've ever met in my life. but. this week he set himself a date. we didn't even pick it, he did. and he will be taking the plunge on september 12. it was awesome. we told the ward mission leader and he about fell off his chair because the man has never agreed to a date. and i owe it all to the faith of the mini-missionaries.i think i learned a lot of important lessons this week. like about how important it is to really have the spirit with you as you teach. and how i can't be so dependent on my companions all the time for certain things. and how attitude really is everything. i think i already knew most of those things, but a different light was shed on them this week. i think i gained a lot more confidence in my own skills as a missionary and how they can be amplified when we are humble and obedient. this was a great week and one of those weeks where you actually dread the going by of it because it means it's one week less you have on your mission. luckily i still have about 10 months. hope you are all well and happy and safe. until next week.
brittany
what a crazy week. we found out late last monday that sister carlos
was going to need to go to corpus christi for five days for a training
so sister eisley and i were left here with the FOUR, not three
mini-missionaries. life was crazy and we stayed up planning until
10:30 at least every night. but. it was completely worth it. those
mini-missionaries had more faith than anyone i've ever met and we
actually ended up setting 9 baptismal dates with them. we found a ton
of cool people and had some of the most amazing spiritual experiences
i've ever had in my mission. we were both completely exhausted by the
end of the week but i wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. i
plan on napping the entire rest of this p-day once i leave the
library. it was nice to have the girls around. i love working with youth. they're always my favorite to teach and find, and it was especially refreshing to have them with me all week. i had two girls with me, sister eisley had two girls with her, and we pretty much just split up the entire week and would only see each other at night when we would plan together for the next day. my girls' names were kristin and vanessa and they were the sweetest things ever. we had a blast. idon't think i've laughed so hard in one week. maybe i have. anyway.. one particular miracle that happened was with a man named brother juarez. he has been investigating the church for so long that everyone calls him "brother juarez." not his first name. anyway... he's had cancer for the last three years or so. has been investigating the church for about 14 years or so. in his whole 14 years he has never agreed to a baptismal date. never never never. he is one of the most stubborn men i've ever met in my life. but. this week he set himself a date. we didn't even pick it, he did. and he will be taking the plunge on september 12. it was awesome. we told the ward mission leader and he about fell off his chair because the man has never agreed to a date. and i owe it all to the faith of the mini-missionaries.i think i learned a lot of important lessons this week. like about how important it is to really have the spirit with you as you teach. and how i can't be so dependent on my companions all the time for certain things. and how attitude really is everything. i think i already knew most of those things, but a different light was shed on them this week. i think i gained a lot more confidence in my own skills as a missionary and how they can be amplified when we are humble and obedient. this was a great week and one of those weeks where you actually dread the going by of it because it means it's one week less you have on your mission. luckily i still have about 10 months. hope you are all well and happy and safe. until next week.
brittany
Monday, August 2, 2010
Yard work and missionary opportunities?
hello world!
this has been an adventure filled week, to say the least. first of all, i got proposed to. ha. my new companion, sister eisley and i were out contacting while our other companion was with a member at a lesson. and we saw these two guys out doing yard work. so she talked to one and i talked to the other. i shared a little about what our message is about, what we do as missionaries, blah blah blah. then he said, "will you marry me?" i said, "what?" and he said "will you marry me?" .... "um, no, sorry." "oh, ok. i'm really well behaved. i just like it when people are into the bible and stuff because they are well behaved. you are really pretty." ha. i thanked him, gave him a pass along card, and moved on. i was flattered. it's just that he was probably 45, being paid minimum wage to be doing yardwork, and probably just wants to marry a white girl to get his papers. anyway. it was awesome. other funny story of the week which also happens to involve yardwork: sister carlos and i were in this trailer park going to an appointment and we saw a guy cutting and moving branches. we asked him if we could help and he let us. as we were helping him drag branches to a pile across the street, he asked us some questions. about what we do, whyj esus is important, stuff like that. and he was really cool. i think both me and sister carlos were thinking he had some potential to be an investigator. well then as we finished helping him and asked if we could come back and visit him sometime his crazy switch went off. literally. like his whole countenance changed and he got a crazy look in his eye and started talking about this whole shpeal about all these times he's bible bashed with people and how he was analyzing us psychologically the whole time we were helping him and how it's not right that we go by "sister" and we should just go by our first names because we call him by his first name and it was psycho. then when we asked him to say a prayer before we left, his prayer was super long and it started pouring rain. but the funny thing was it was a perfectly clear blue sky out. and not 45 seconds after his prayer ended it stopped raining. no joke. that man does voodoo magic or something. it was crazy.anyway.. things are good here. we're just trying to figure out how to make a "tripanionship" work. and we will also have the blessing/headache of having three "mini missionaries" with us this whole week. 16 year old girls from mcallen will be following us around til sunday. should be interesting. i will update you all next week. hope this email finds you all happy and smiling and doing well.
xoxo brittany
this has been an adventure filled week, to say the least. first of all, i got proposed to. ha. my new companion, sister eisley and i were out contacting while our other companion was with a member at a lesson. and we saw these two guys out doing yard work. so she talked to one and i talked to the other. i shared a little about what our message is about, what we do as missionaries, blah blah blah. then he said, "will you marry me?" i said, "what?" and he said "will you marry me?" .... "um, no, sorry." "oh, ok. i'm really well behaved. i just like it when people are into the bible and stuff because they are well behaved. you are really pretty." ha. i thanked him, gave him a pass along card, and moved on. i was flattered. it's just that he was probably 45, being paid minimum wage to be doing yardwork, and probably just wants to marry a white girl to get his papers. anyway. it was awesome. other funny story of the week which also happens to involve yardwork: sister carlos and i were in this trailer park going to an appointment and we saw a guy cutting and moving branches. we asked him if we could help and he let us. as we were helping him drag branches to a pile across the street, he asked us some questions. about what we do, whyj esus is important, stuff like that. and he was really cool. i think both me and sister carlos were thinking he had some potential to be an investigator. well then as we finished helping him and asked if we could come back and visit him sometime his crazy switch went off. literally. like his whole countenance changed and he got a crazy look in his eye and started talking about this whole shpeal about all these times he's bible bashed with people and how he was analyzing us psychologically the whole time we were helping him and how it's not right that we go by "sister" and we should just go by our first names because we call him by his first name and it was psycho. then when we asked him to say a prayer before we left, his prayer was super long and it started pouring rain. but the funny thing was it was a perfectly clear blue sky out. and not 45 seconds after his prayer ended it stopped raining. no joke. that man does voodoo magic or something. it was crazy.anyway.. things are good here. we're just trying to figure out how to make a "tripanionship" work. and we will also have the blessing/headache of having three "mini missionaries" with us this whole week. 16 year old girls from mcallen will be following us around til sunday. should be interesting. i will update you all next week. hope this email finds you all happy and smiling and doing well.
xoxo brittany
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)