hello everybody!
i am kind of running out of time but i will give updates:
-new companion: sister boyle from sandy utah. amazing! we are getting along like two peas in a pod.
-we will be getting another addition to our companionship tomorrow. hermana martinez. she was supposed to serve her mission in san antonio but is now coming to our mission. so sister boyle and i will be training her for the week and then she'll go to her own area.
-melody got baptized this weekend. it was so awesome. everytime i go to a baptism, i just know that god exists and that baptism is the gate to salvation. i'm so grateful to be a missionary and have my testimony of that strengthened all of the time
-my companion held two joints in her hand this week for the first time ever. we saw isaac walking down the street smoking. so we pulled over and told him to throw it away. we made him empty his pockets in front of us and we took all of his pot and cigarette related things and threw them in a dumpster after he left. i'm not even sure what you're supposed to do with illegal drugs or if i should be broadcasting that on the internet. but it was kind of funny how it all went down.
-we are going to our investigator briana's basketball game tonight. shoud be fun. she came to church again. she is the most amazing person i've ever met. but i think i say that about a lot of people.
that's all. love you all!
love,
hermana morrill
Also...if you're interested, here is a link to her mission president's blog: http://texastrayners.blogspot.com/, there are several pictures with Britt in them. :)
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Forever in Mission...
big news this week. in list form:
-sister busath is getting transferred to the land of white people and doors slamming: kingsville. she's opening up an area with another sister. should be awesome. i'm sad to see her go though. my new companion is coming from my old area in brownsville.. so i'll get to catch up on all the people we were teaching.
-remember our favorite pothead investigators from back in november? well, we were in their area and ran into one of them outside. he told us that he has quit smoking pot now, he's lost like fifty pounds, and found new friends. we are coming back to start teaching him again. we'll see what happens. there should be fun stories at least if nothing else happens.
-elvira (the one i told you about a couple weeks ago) and her daughter came to church this week. they loved it. they are so pumped to get baptized. we taught daughter briana's boyfriend too and he's getting in on the learning. he might not be as promising but he's cool. he told us, "what the heck, at least if one day i ever want to be on who wants to be a millionaire, they could ask me a question about mormon's beliefs and i'll know the answer." ha.
-the torres are still awesome. this week was diana's birthday. she turned six. they invited us over to celebrate. they are so cute. we are hoping for a miracle in getting them baptized this week. they know all that they need to know and have been to church enough times.. they are just scared of falling away after they get baptized. they don't think they have enough faith.
-this week, we will be baptizing melody silva. have i even told you about her? she's this sweet little 15 year old. her dad is a convert but is now inactive (still has a rock solid testimony) and she is awesome. we're hoping she'll get her whole family back to church. she is such a sweetheart.
-i am beginning to wonder if i will ever leave this area.
-i am beginning to wonder if i will ever leave this area.
-mariana is so awesome still and will be getting baptized soon. the elders are so happy they get to teach her. ha. sigh. i miss her.
-katie and tammy, those two sisters, ended up dropping us. their grandma is a super duper catholic and just absolutely will not have her granddaughters being anything else. it's really sad. they have testimonies of the book of mormon. i hope that one day they will have the courage to do what they want to do and not worry about it. but for now they are not budging.
..... um.. that's all. it has been a great week and should be a good one this week. hope that everyone out there in cyber space is doing well.
love,
brittany
Monday, February 14, 2011
Mariana
Hello, everybody. I would just like to share with you an experience we had this week as i said it in my e-mail to my president.
"...We have an investigator named Mariana. She has a baptismal date for March 6. She just got here from Mexico. She swam across. She has more faith and more love than anyone I have ever met and every time I talk to her I feel like I am close to heaven. She's been living with this family and taking of care of their children for them. She's been to church three times now. We were never able to teach her at home because the padrona wouldn't let us, so we taught her on sundays only at church. Well, this sunday when she got to church she was a hysterical crying mess. She told us that the family she lives with had accused her of robbing them and were saying that she owed them 5,000 dollars. They said they were going to take her posessions and take her back to Mexico.
Our ward members are SO amazing. I don't think I've ever cried so many tears of gratitude in one day. One ward member after another came up and was offering her help. The members of the bishopric, sisters in the relief society, elders in the elders quorom. One brother gave her a blessing after sacrament and it was one of the most beautiful i've ever heard, i think just because the spirit was so strong. By the end of the three hours, Mariana had people offering to buy her clothes, and she had an older couple offering her to live at their home and work for them. She is now living with a family in our ward, will be able to be taught by the missionaries (we passed her off to the elders in that area since it is far away from us) and will have a more loving atmosphere. She'll be able to save up money and help the rest of her family come across. I'm so grateful for humble and loving members who are willing to sacrifice to help people in need. I've been thinking about something that one of the members told her when he was comforting her.. he said, "don't worry. nothing will happen to you. you are in the best place. you are in the church of jesus christ." earlier in that sacrament meeting, our stake president gave a talk about how we as members should be doing and saying what jesus christ would say and do. we really are in the church of jesus christ, and you can tell by the way that the sweet members took our investigator under their wing. I'm so grateful to be a missionary and a part of his church. I'm so grateful to witness christlike love and I know that it's only possible for people to love like that because they have felt the love that Christ has for them..."
One day if you ask me, I will share with you the story of how Mariana came here to the U.S... she is the most inspiring woman that I have ever met.
I hope that you all are happy and healthy.
Until next time.
Britt
"...We have an investigator named Mariana. She has a baptismal date for March 6. She just got here from Mexico. She swam across. She has more faith and more love than anyone I have ever met and every time I talk to her I feel like I am close to heaven. She's been living with this family and taking of care of their children for them. She's been to church three times now. We were never able to teach her at home because the padrona wouldn't let us, so we taught her on sundays only at church. Well, this sunday when she got to church she was a hysterical crying mess. She told us that the family she lives with had accused her of robbing them and were saying that she owed them 5,000 dollars. They said they were going to take her posessions and take her back to Mexico.
Our ward members are SO amazing. I don't think I've ever cried so many tears of gratitude in one day. One ward member after another came up and was offering her help. The members of the bishopric, sisters in the relief society, elders in the elders quorom. One brother gave her a blessing after sacrament and it was one of the most beautiful i've ever heard, i think just because the spirit was so strong. By the end of the three hours, Mariana had people offering to buy her clothes, and she had an older couple offering her to live at their home and work for them. She is now living with a family in our ward, will be able to be taught by the missionaries (we passed her off to the elders in that area since it is far away from us) and will have a more loving atmosphere. She'll be able to save up money and help the rest of her family come across. I'm so grateful for humble and loving members who are willing to sacrifice to help people in need. I've been thinking about something that one of the members told her when he was comforting her.. he said, "don't worry. nothing will happen to you. you are in the best place. you are in the church of jesus christ." earlier in that sacrament meeting, our stake president gave a talk about how we as members should be doing and saying what jesus christ would say and do. we really are in the church of jesus christ, and you can tell by the way that the sweet members took our investigator under their wing. I'm so grateful to be a missionary and a part of his church. I'm so grateful to witness christlike love and I know that it's only possible for people to love like that because they have felt the love that Christ has for them..."
One day if you ask me, I will share with you the story of how Mariana came here to the U.S... she is the most inspiring woman that I have ever met.
I hope that you all are happy and healthy.
Until next time.
Britt
Monday, February 7, 2011
Brrrr!
hello team!
it has been another great week in the valley. strange things happened this week. it went from being 85 degrees on sunday evening to being 30 degrees tuesday afternoon. i don't know how it is possible. i haven't seen ice on a car in over a year but i saw it this week. crazy.
we are teaching amazing people right now! heavenly father is really blessing us lately.. i think because we went through some major opposition in january. the torres family is doing wonderful. they will be getting their baptism interview this sunday and then getting baptized the following. i continue to be humbled every day that i talk to them. i've never felt so much love for somebody.
we also met this cool lady named elvira and her family. they have gone through some opposition this past few years.. they were abused by their husband/father and have kind of pushed god out of their lives but they are really searching for him and are feeling the healing powers of the sacrifice of jesus christ. we invited them to be baptized. in her prayer at the end of the lesson, elvira expressed that she wanted god back in her life, and that she was so happy we met her, and that she is excited to be baptized and start a new life with god again. she is so amazing and the spirit was so strong in that lesson.
we also found these two sisters.. tammy (15) and katie (13)... they are adorable and katie reminds me a lot of me. maybe that's why i like them so much. so conceited. but anyway, we set a date for them on the 13th of march and they are just so stinking funny. i forget how much i love working with youth.
we had a miracle happen with this man named oscar. maybe i have told you about him. he is this old man who has been taught by the missionaries since early july last year and has come to church ever since. he calls us every now and again telling us that he wants to be baptized, but in the end can't because he is absolutely unwilling to quit drinking coffee. well he has been going through some humbling experiences the past few weeks and for the first time since i've known him, he has told us that he is willing to quit coffee. so we bought him this coffee substitute stuff made from garbanzo beans and he is going to give it a try and if he can show that he has really quit it, we are going to baptize him by the end of the month.
we are continually being blessed and stretched and tested and tried and blessed some more and i am so grateful to be a missionary at this time in my life and for the things i am learning about myself and about my heavenly father and about mankind. i hope that this e-mail finds everybody happy and not ice cubes from the storm this week.
nos vemos!
hermana morrill
Monday, January 31, 2011
Getting warm....
hello everybody.
we got a little glimpse of the summer texas weather this weekend. it was back up in the high 80s yesterday. it was nice. i miss sweating profusely.
this week was so amazing. the torres family, remedios, luis, florencia, and their kids have just been a constant light in our lives these past couple of weeks. they are so inspiring and sweet and humble and grateful and amazing. yesterday was the one year anniversary of when remedios lost his legs in the accident. they expounded on the story of it for us. remedios and luis (father in law and son in law) worked together at a granite field in hebronville, texas. the family had left everything behind in mexico to come to the united states, six years earlier. they worked their way up from having absolutely nothing, to having a nice home and enough to get by. then one day at work, remdios was moving some of the big granite stones with the tractor. something went wrong with the electrics of it all and it jerked the whole tractor, which in turn bumped a large, 15-20,000 pound stone right onto remedios' legs. luis saw the whole thing, was probably about ten feet away from him when it happened. florencia, (luis' wife, remedios' daughter) had just had their 4th baby a few days before. they rushed to the hospital, remedios was life flighted to mcallen. when he woke up he asked the nurse if she could elevate his feet because they were in pain. the nurse burst into tears and told him that he didn't have legs any more. remedios just put his hand over his heart and didn't say anything. the job that they were working at fired luis and remedios and to this day are not helping them financially with the results of the accident, although they are going through a legal process and trying to get money from it. they had to leave all of their things in hebronville and move here to mcallen to be closer to the hospital. they live in the humblest little home you can imagine with mice and cockroaches and not enough chairs for everyone in the family to sit and eat dinner together.
we told the ward mission leader about their lack of chairs, and directly after that, without us knowing, he and his wife went and bought them chairs and delivered them to their house. when we went over for appointment that night they had new folding chairs and they were so grateful. that's when they told us their whole story. they were so grateful to find people that cared about them and gave them chairs. florencia and luis were thanking us and then remedios said, "no, it's a blessing from god." he is the most cheerful and faithful man i have ever met. everything is a blessing to him and he's just so grateful to be alive. they are so excited for the friendships and they things they are learning at church and for the blessing they can have to be a family forever and follow jesus christ together.
last night i was just reflecting and thinking about them and had the deepest feeling of gratitude i have ever felt. i am so humbled to know them and i know that heavenly father has not put me here to help them, but has put me here so that i can learn from them. i have never loved a family like i have loved them before. i am so grateful for the many blessings that i have in my life, and this opportunity that i have for even just a small time in my life to dedicate my life to giving back and helping others.
...i hope that this email finds you all happy and that we can all remember our blessings and remember to reach out to others.
love,
me
we got a little glimpse of the summer texas weather this weekend. it was back up in the high 80s yesterday. it was nice. i miss sweating profusely.
this week was so amazing. the torres family, remedios, luis, florencia, and their kids have just been a constant light in our lives these past couple of weeks. they are so inspiring and sweet and humble and grateful and amazing. yesterday was the one year anniversary of when remedios lost his legs in the accident. they expounded on the story of it for us. remedios and luis (father in law and son in law) worked together at a granite field in hebronville, texas. the family had left everything behind in mexico to come to the united states, six years earlier. they worked their way up from having absolutely nothing, to having a nice home and enough to get by. then one day at work, remdios was moving some of the big granite stones with the tractor. something went wrong with the electrics of it all and it jerked the whole tractor, which in turn bumped a large, 15-20,000 pound stone right onto remedios' legs. luis saw the whole thing, was probably about ten feet away from him when it happened. florencia, (luis' wife, remedios' daughter) had just had their 4th baby a few days before. they rushed to the hospital, remedios was life flighted to mcallen. when he woke up he asked the nurse if she could elevate his feet because they were in pain. the nurse burst into tears and told him that he didn't have legs any more. remedios just put his hand over his heart and didn't say anything. the job that they were working at fired luis and remedios and to this day are not helping them financially with the results of the accident, although they are going through a legal process and trying to get money from it. they had to leave all of their things in hebronville and move here to mcallen to be closer to the hospital. they live in the humblest little home you can imagine with mice and cockroaches and not enough chairs for everyone in the family to sit and eat dinner together.
we told the ward mission leader about their lack of chairs, and directly after that, without us knowing, he and his wife went and bought them chairs and delivered them to their house. when we went over for appointment that night they had new folding chairs and they were so grateful. that's when they told us their whole story. they were so grateful to find people that cared about them and gave them chairs. florencia and luis were thanking us and then remedios said, "no, it's a blessing from god." he is the most cheerful and faithful man i have ever met. everything is a blessing to him and he's just so grateful to be alive. they are so excited for the friendships and they things they are learning at church and for the blessing they can have to be a family forever and follow jesus christ together.
last night i was just reflecting and thinking about them and had the deepest feeling of gratitude i have ever felt. i am so humbled to know them and i know that heavenly father has not put me here to help them, but has put me here so that i can learn from them. i have never loved a family like i have loved them before. i am so grateful for the many blessings that i have in my life, and this opportunity that i have for even just a small time in my life to dedicate my life to giving back and helping others.
...i hope that this email finds you all happy and that we can all remember our blessings and remember to reach out to others.
love,
me
Monday, January 24, 2011
Baby!
Her email to me (her mom):
"baby!
i have no words. i've just been sitting here looking at pictures with watering eyes for the past thirty minutes."
Then came this:
"hello everybody.
this week i have wasted my entire e-mail time looking at pictures of my new niece! happy birthday (today) to my favorite older sister in the world and to her new baby layla.
love,
hermana morrill
"mom, will you put up the cutest picture you can find of the baby? or maybe just the one you sent me of rachel holding the baby. then it has both of them."
"baby!
i have no words. i've just been sitting here looking at pictures with watering eyes for the past thirty minutes."
Then came this:
"hello everybody.
this week i have wasted my entire e-mail time looking at pictures of my new niece! happy birthday (today) to my favorite older sister in the world and to her new baby layla.
love,
hermana morrill
"mom, will you put up the cutest picture you can find of the baby? or maybe just the one you sent me of rachel holding the baby. then it has both of them."
Here is what she's been looking at: http://4wardthinking-terry.blogspot.com/
Monday, January 17, 2011
Happy Preparation Day!
hello everybody. feliz dia de preparacion.
this week has been good. we got a new sister in the apartment.. straight out of puerto rico and learning english. its nice to practice spanish a little more. hermana feito is her name.
sonia and jose dropped us. sadly. they got into some anti-mormon literature and after some trying to battle it out with the spirit, jose said, "i will NEVER believe this." its sad that someone can feel the spirit so strongly and then through doubt or fear or lies completely deny it and be seem so miserable. the spirit in their home and eyes had changed very dramatically within a two day period. sad. BUT. we did find amazing people this week. when one door closes another opens. (anyone get that horrible pop song stuck in their heads? "i hope you daaaaaance.") yes i still battle with getting songs of the world out of my head.
anyway, we found la familia torres. sister busath and i do service every week at the church employment office. luis torres came in looking for a job. he had been to our church in corpus years ago with the missionaries and liked it, so he knew we had an employment office and searched us out here in mcallen. we set up an appointment to visit him and his family on saturday. long story short: they are so amazing. it's him, his wife, his wife's father, and they have four children under the age of 5. we went over on sunday morning to help them get ready but they were all ready already, including the wife's father, who has no legs. they were cut off in a work accident almost a year ago and he is in a wheelchair now. the seven of them came to church and loved it and are planning to get baptized, although they are still being scared about accepting a date to prepare for.
we also met a woman named diane. she had an aviary with about 200 birds as of yesterday. she sold them all to the botanical gardens in corpus. we helped her rake all of the bird poop and seeds. at first she was very cold to us and didn't want us to even talk to her. then as we continued to talk we found out she had an aviary and asked her if we could help her clean it and after some time she finally caved and let us come back the next day. when we came back and got to know her we found out that the aviary was really her husbands and that he left her, took all the money, left her with all the birds, and hasn't talked to her since. she said that she has been really trying to work on her relationship with god lately and that the other day when we came over, her initial reaction was to shoo us a way, but that she felt like god had "slapped her on the back of the head
" and said, "LISTEN!" so she let us come back. after sharing a message with her she asked us if she could read the book of mormon and told us that she knows god sent us to her. she is a great lady. she cried and expressed her gratitude for us coming over to help. and she gave us chocolate chip cookies. i love being a missionary so much. i love seeing that god really does love his children and reaches out to them always.. we just have to let him in. and listen to him.
hope everybody is doing well. until next week.
britt
this week has been good. we got a new sister in the apartment.. straight out of puerto rico and learning english. its nice to practice spanish a little more. hermana feito is her name.
sonia and jose dropped us. sadly. they got into some anti-mormon literature and after some trying to battle it out with the spirit, jose said, "i will NEVER believe this." its sad that someone can feel the spirit so strongly and then through doubt or fear or lies completely deny it and be seem so miserable. the spirit in their home and eyes had changed very dramatically within a two day period. sad. BUT. we did find amazing people this week. when one door closes another opens. (anyone get that horrible pop song stuck in their heads? "i hope you daaaaaance.") yes i still battle with getting songs of the world out of my head.
anyway, we found la familia torres. sister busath and i do service every week at the church employment office. luis torres came in looking for a job. he had been to our church in corpus years ago with the missionaries and liked it, so he knew we had an employment office and searched us out here in mcallen. we set up an appointment to visit him and his family on saturday. long story short: they are so amazing. it's him, his wife, his wife's father, and they have four children under the age of 5. we went over on sunday morning to help them get ready but they were all ready already, including the wife's father, who has no legs. they were cut off in a work accident almost a year ago and he is in a wheelchair now. the seven of them came to church and loved it and are planning to get baptized, although they are still being scared about accepting a date to prepare for.
we also met a woman named diane. she had an aviary with about 200 birds as of yesterday. she sold them all to the botanical gardens in corpus. we helped her rake all of the bird poop and seeds. at first she was very cold to us and didn't want us to even talk to her. then as we continued to talk we found out she had an aviary and asked her if we could help her clean it and after some time she finally caved and let us come back the next day. when we came back and got to know her we found out that the aviary was really her husbands and that he left her, took all the money, left her with all the birds, and hasn't talked to her since. she said that she has been really trying to work on her relationship with god lately and that the other day when we came over, her initial reaction was to shoo us a way, but that she felt like god had "slapped her on the back of the head
" and said, "LISTEN!" so she let us come back. after sharing a message with her she asked us if she could read the book of mormon and told us that she knows god sent us to her. she is a great lady. she cried and expressed her gratitude for us coming over to help. and she gave us chocolate chip cookies. i love being a missionary so much. i love seeing that god really does love his children and reaches out to them always.. we just have to let him in. and listen to him.
hope everybody is doing well. until next week.
britt
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