Hermano Jose

Hermana Karen and her son were baptized December 6th and Jose was baptized the 12th! Ahh, some seriously special weeks! We had some really special lessons with Hermano Jose this week! One day we taught him about the priesthood and the importance of repentance with his Oscar. Wow, what a lesson! All of the blessings I have received from the priesthood just spilled out and we shared how much we depend on worthy priesthood holders. We talked about how the Lord’s expectations are really high. He commands us to be even as He is, but He’ll help us. We just wanted them both to feel like all of this was possible, they both shared their desires to have the priesthood and to always be worthy of it. On Thursday he had his baptismal interview and passed with flying colors! He even told us that he got a little choked up and before his baptism, it was the strongest he had ever felt the spirit. Our district leader told us how surprised he was in the interview and he tells us ¨He’s just a really good guy.¨

We invited him to share his testimony in his baptismal service, but he says ¨No Hermanas!  It’s because I don’t want to cry in front of so many people.¨ We left him some homework that he wrote his testimony and all that he had felt in these couple weeks. We started his baptismal service in the chapel and his mom and brother gave talks. Hermana Gonzalez and I sang ¨Yo Siento Su Amor¨ with the Paul Cardall track and it was awesome. I felt the Spirit and I really felt what we were singing. Before we started, Hermano Jose was looking a little nervous, but as we passed to the baptismal font we asked him how he was and if was ready and with so much confidence he says, ¨Claro que si Hermanas¨.

His baptism was so pretty and the next day he gives us his written testimony. He talked about being so involved in drinking and smoking and even drugs. He thought he was happy and really living the life. He talked about how he didn’t have the slightest idea of what it meant and how it felt to be full and complete. He talked about the weeks leading up to his baptism and all of the difficult things, the moments he doubted that he wanted to be baptized and realizing that it was all the adversary. He thanked me for sharing my testimony and for always helping and supporting and helping him arrive to his baptism and know that he was doing the right thing. 

After reading all of this I just felt the spirit a ton. This is what it means to be a missionary. The joy is so strong and I don’t think we fully realize what we give to people. I feel so blessed to be able to help these people make and keep sacred covenants. 

Tengo Fe

To my best friends in the whole world!

First things first … THANK YOU SO MUCH to all the ward and family members for my birthday treats!  We love the snacks and the kids just love all of their treats. Y’all are the best!

So lately I have been listening to a lot of Christmas music. Every once in a while we visit Esther (Antonio´s wife) and the last two times we sang Christmas hymns! I think I love it so much because one, it is just happy music; and two, it is so focused on Christ! Ahh, love it!  Needless to say, I think I’m always going to be the person that listens to Christmas music in July! 

We also had interviews with President Camarillo this week! He is literally the sweetest man. We talked a lot about the Atonement and how we can understand and apply it to our lives more. We talked about taking responsibility for all of our choices and making the most of this opportunity that the Lord has given us! He just really has a Spirit about him. He told me that Hermana Buttars’ Spanish is really good and he thanked me for being obedient as I helped her learn. He told me that he really trusts me a lot and gives me a lot of responsibility, even though I haven’t been out long. Wow! Now I just want to do everything in my power to never ever let him down! At the end of our interview I really felt like I should ask him for a blessing so I went for it. 

In my blessing, he blessed me with wisdom and a desire to study the Atonement more. He said that this study in the mission would bless and help my future spouse and kids. Wow! I am constantly thinking about my future family and now I can see why! I need to prepare so much so that I can be everything they need me to be. Something that really surprised me is that he said that I should give milk instead of meat to the kids that I teach .. that I should teach them line upon line. I was thinking that I truly haven’t taught that many kids, but maybe Heavenly Father has more in store for me! The kids here are truly so special to me. They are just so close to Christ! 

I was also encouraged to put complete confidence in the Lord. I think I still struggle sometimes to give Him everything. El Presidente gave me like a half hug after and I almost asked if that was allowed ;) He tells me: “Te quiero mucho Hermana Rawe”. He truly is an incredible President!

Hermana Buttars is the best. We had some real talk this week and I admire her so much. I feel like we both are changing a ton on the mission! We are just really firming up what’s important, what do we want for our futures? We talked about how so many people talk about missionaries that come home from their missions and then falling away.  We both have a fear of that, of just getting distracted when it’s not missionary work 24/7! We made a pact that we are going temple exploring in Utah every week and on the car rides recommitting each other to being good people every time! 

I had an epiphany this week!! We’ve started making these huge posterboards for families. We made one for the Reynaga family that says on top -  Tengo Fe en Jesucristo. Below it has the name of every single member of the family and we left some stickers. Every time we pass by, we’re going to see who has stickers and how they showed their faith. The kids LOVE it. Thanks to my package I got this week, we have sweet prizes too! I started thinking that we could do something like this for so many families depending on their needs. Some of them have trouble sharing the gospel, so we made ones that say -  Soy un Representante de Cristo. Every time they represent Christ and share the gospel ... sticker on the chart! I was just really loving this all week! We made one for Rosa Elía and her family too. First we watched a video about finding faith in Christ with the kids. Both Alexis and Nickole all snuggled up with Hermana Buttars and I. Not gonna lie, gave me major mommy fever. After the video, we talked about faith and how we can have it. All of their faces lit up when they saw the chart and the kids are so excited. I just love when you can see on people’s faces that they know that we care. 

We had two pretty special lessons with the Reynaga family this week. First, we taught the Law of Chastity with them.  We’ve been feeling that they need a refresher on some things and we taught it a little different. We started with the scripture in Corinthians that says that our bodies are temples. We asked the kids what temples are like. They start describing the temples and then Roxton says, “But, I drew on my hands on this morning, and I haven’t bathed in 3 days!”  Then he kind of does the classic Lexi head drop. I love this kid! These kids get it. They are so smart and they are learning so much about the gospel. They are reading the scriptures as a family and going to church. Even our teenager’s attitude is starting to change!  On Sunday we visited Hermano Pedro to see how he was doing with cigarettes. He asks us if we’re starting to see the fruits of our work in their home. Love this old fart to death. He tells us, “I don´t know if you noticed, but when we got to church, I went with JuanCarlos and Roxton and we sat on the other side.  I thought the girls were going to follow, but they went and sat with you two. They see something in you. Our home really is changing.” Wow! It’s so true. Their home is changing, they’re not perfect, but they’re improving. I couldn’t help but think back to when I was wondering why in the world do we come here?  They don’t want it!  The Lord testified to me to love them and stick it out and look at where we are. Ah, the Lord truly always has a plan. 

Now on to my other family members here, the Contreras and Flores families. We ate with the Contreras family on Saturday. Guess who was there to eat? Hermano Carlos and his son Fernando (who is also not a member).  We taught about how we can truly be cleansed from our sins. Wow! What an incredible lesson! I don’t know what it is, but I truly feel the spirit so strongly every time we teach Hermano Carlos. He talked about how he wants a clean slate, he just doesn’t feel like it’s possible, but he has this dream of his whole family being together after this life. My brain is about exploding at this time with the word baptism!  I talked about how there are things we have to do to be an eternal family, one of them being baptism. I invited them both and I don’t think I have ever extended a baptismal invitation with so much love in my life. Fernando and Carlos both said yes!! We talked about the preparation, about what it really means to work toward an eternal family. The night before I felt like their family poster should say -  Nuestra familia es eterna. Seriously!  We weren’t even planning to go there with the lesson and look where we ended up! Two hermanos preparing for baptism and a chart to mark when they make efforts to get there. I love this family. I love them almost like I love you guys.

We ate with the Flores family on Sunday because our food from the hermanas fell through and we decided I’m going to marry Angel (the Contreras son that’s on a mission right now so I can be in their family). Hermano JuanCarlos sticks his hand out and says, “Sister in Law!”  Ha! Ha! He and Blanca are literally Brad and Laura … so sarcastic, a little wild, but so committed to doing the right things. Entonces, guess I’m marrying a Mexican!

In all honesty, I got a little sad this week. It hit me that there’s a big chance I might be leaving in two weeks. I can’t believe almost another three months has passed by so fast. I love the people here and I think I might cry if I miss the baptism of Carlos and Fernando, but the Lord always has a plan right? I know that He takes care of us so much and I’m willing to go where He wants me to go. I’m willing to do what He wants me to do and I’m willing to be what He wants me to be. I love Him, more than I have ever loved Him in my entire life. I am committed to Him more than I ever have been. I just want to be someone that He’s proud of. I want to represent Him with every interaction. I feel so blessed to be here, to be with these people. I love my mission. 

Don’t worry, because I love you guys too, so I will come home at some time! Be good! Be examples! Share the gospel with everyone! Love you more than you know! 

Farewell to the MTC -- Vamos a Mexico!!

So our Branch Presidency let us email home before we head tomorrow since it'll be until next Monday before I have another P-Day!  Mexico here I come!!

My last block of class with our homeroom teacher Hermano Hopoate was really significant to me. He was having a rough day and we could tell he was a little off. He eventually told us that he had a lot on his mind and that he needed some help. He gave us two minutes as a companionship to come up with an inspired question. He had every companionship ask their question and he answered and then we all sat in silence for a few minutes. The Spirit was so strong and I felt nothing but pure love. Our message was centered on Christ and His Atonement, but our whole district gave strong, heartfelt messages in just a few minutes. All of the messages were inspired and there was so much love in that room. Hermano Hopoate bore a powerful testimony after and by this point our whole district is in tears. He prayed that we might always have motives as pure they were today. The reason our lessons were so powerful was because they were motivated solely by love. I was a little nervous and this experience helped me so much. I just got really excited to be a missionary. I felt like I could do it, like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ would help me. I felt like I would come to know Spanish and that I would be supported in all things. I felt that I would always have the companionship of my Savior. I loved it and have loved all of my experiences here. 

Last night one of our teachers asked if they could leave a blessing on our district. He blessed each person individually through prayer and I was blessed that I would have a desire to learn and study the gospel and to always be searching that I might have power and become the person that Heavenly Father needed me to be. 

Last night we had some elders in our zone give us blessings as we head out into the field! About three days ago, I felt like I really needed to ask Elder Neider. He gave me one of the most powerful blessings. It was so unique and I've honestly never heard things so straightforward before. He talked about how important my calling is and how I've been called of God. I have been found worthy and called by a prophet of the Lord. My blessing talked a lot about my influence. I was told that I would walk down the street and influence people that I would never even meet. I was told that people would develop their opinions and feelings about the Church solely on how I chose to act. Wow! Talk about a big responsibility! I was blessed that through scripture study and sincere prayer, I would come to learn the language. I was also blessed in regards to y'all. To be honest, I haven't had a lot of family worries since I've been here, but my blessings offered peace in regards to family. I was told that powers of heaven were directly to me and my faithfulness and would have a direct effect on you all. Isn't that so amazing?! I was also given a fervent warning in my blessing. I warned that Satan did not want me to have success on my mission and that he would set up pitfalls for me. I was counseled to turn to my Savior more fully. I was blessed with power for the second time that day as well.

I am so grateful for all the missionaries I have met here in the MTC!  I love Hermana Daniel and am so grateful we were put together as companions.

 

I love all of you. Thank you for the Dear Elders and packages and all of the support. I promise to be honest about my adventures! But really, I have been raised with the most incredible family and I hope to always make you proud, but also to be a source of strength and support when any of you need it.  We're all in this together, right??!!

Love you! Wish me luck tomorrow! 

My Setting Apart

     

I can’t believe it’s already here!  Time truly does fly…tonight I was set apart at as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  My family and my Grandma Janice came with me to the stake president’s house and there was such a special feeling in their home.

President Gottfredson tole me that he had two things he wanted me to remember as a missionary ... One, is to work hard!  If you want to have a positive mission, maybe even an easy one, then stay focused on the work and give it your best.  The second is to not get discouraged.  Discouragement is a tool that Satan uses that to knock missionaries off the path and to bring them down.  So stay positive by looking for those positive things in every single day.

I was really surprised when President Gottfredson asked each member of my family what they thought my strengths were and what characteristics of mine they believed would help me on my mission.  I was so touched by the different things that my family mentioned.  I feel so blessed to have been placed in the family that I was placed in.  Our relationships are so strong and we truly love each other.  I hope to someday be able to create this in my own family.

Dad:  This girl was born to be a missionary.  She has a huge heart and is quick to love.  She also loves the gospel and has a strong desire to be a positive influence where she can in the world.

Rach:  She has been my best friend since we were little kids.  She is such a people person.  She reaches to everyone and is always concerned with how other are feeling and doing.  She looks for opportunities to make people feel special.

Mom:  Ditto to everything that has been said!  I would add that she has an ability to bounce back quick and look for the positive.  When those challenges come, she will push through and stay positive.

Megan:  She can teach anybody anything!

Grandma:  There is a grace and ease about her that makes people feel comfortable and draws them to her.

As President Gottfredson and my father put their hands upon my hand, I could already feel the power and authority.  I knew that they both had priesthood power and that my calling to serve came from the Lord.  There are specific people that I need to touch in and around Guadalajara and I can’t wait to meet them.  President talked about how I would radiate and that my infectious smile and personality would draw others in.  He talked about how I would have the opportunity to work with many less active members and help them to feel the same spirit that they once felt.  He mentioned I will have some more difficult companions, but he blessed me that I might know what their needs are and how I can better serve them.  He said that my testimony would change lives.  This is such an incredible concept to me. Through my experiences and the things that I have learned, I can impact others.  I can make a difference in their lives.  President blessed me that I might be able to follow the Spirit and learn how to come to know the Lord’s needs.  Lastly, the President told me I was loved.  My Heavenly Father is proud of my righteous living and knows that I have a desire to do what is right.  I absolutely loved this wording. My Heavenly Father knows my heart.  He knows the things that I desire and He knows my motives.  He loves me perfectly and my blessing was perfect.

I am nervous about missing my family and know that I will definitely have my days. However, after tonight, I feel so much peace. I know that I have a purpose. I know that nobody but me can do what I need to do. I just feel excited at this point. I am so ready to jump in and get to work and start the next 18 months of my life!