Monday, September 15, 2014

7 Days, 7 People, 7 Books of Mormon

Good morning family!

This past week was I think one of the most amazing weeks I have had since being on my mission. It was THAT good :)

I am proud of my title, one because I though it was cleaver, and two because the Lord blessed us with many, many opportunities to share the gospel. 


Monday was chaotic as always, but it was good. We played volleyball for a good 2 hours with the district and my arms were bright red. I bought a new ball and lets just say it was kinda hard…haha. After dinner we headed to knock some homes and we found a lady named Evyln (Person 1, Book of Mormon 1). She is a Baptist, but feels that she needs something more. She has great faith and told us that she loves the story of Joseph Smith and that she will often watch "preachers from our church"...(I am thinking that is BYU tv and she doesn't even know it!) We started talking to her about the gospel and we told her about the Book of Mormon and how it has blessed our lives. We gave her one and invited her to read and pray, and she said that she most definitely would! It was such an awesome experience. 

Tuesday we had a slow morning, but it picked back up once we headed to the Food Bank for service. After the Food Bank we tried to contact some potential investigators until dinnertime. After dinner we went knocking and something that we are trying to do better is talk with everyone, those who are sitting outside, unloading their cars, etc. So we started talking to these two guys Jesus and George (Person 2, Book of Mormon 2) and started teaching them the Plan of Salvation and Jesus was asking really good questions and about how we know these things are true and we bore our testimonies about the great plan that God has for us and how it is the guide to our lives to help us along this crazy, confusing road. We then gave a Book of Mormon to George and told him that he can find all the answers to his questions through this book. He was excited to read it. 

Wednesday I had a doctor’s appointment to get a check up on my sinuses and to get blood work done because the antibiotics didn't help a whole ton. So yeah! It was a blast…haha. We then headed to the library to shelve a million and a half books. Before dinner with contacted a few streets and got a lot of return appointments to go back and teach these people, so that was a miracle all in itself! After dinner we headed to go contact a referral we got and we started talking to him, Prudencio (Person 3, Book of Mormon 3). We taught him the Restoration and it was an awesome lesson!! Like, one of the best lessons. He really understood the need for a restoration and that the Priesthood is essential for baptism. And he told us that he wants his family to listen and to come to church. Oh and one more thing that I thought was incredible that he told us. He said that when we were talking with him that he felt like he was talking with God...Missionaries are representatives of Jesus Christ. We have been set apart to be HIS messengers! How great is that! How real is that! And what a blessing that is! Sorry, back to teaching Prudencio- we shared with him our testimonies of the Restoration, the importance of the priesthood, and Book of Moromon. 

Thursday- We had an intense lesson with Manuel and we asked him about his doubts and concerns and we emphasized that he doesn't need the missionaries to tell him what to do, that he already knows what to do! We then set him with another baptismal date!! And he ACCEPTED!! Manuel's new date is Nov. 1st. We are hopping to move it up closer as we continue to teach him. We then had a short time to plan because we had all set appointments that night. Unfortunately 2 out of the 3 lessons got canceled, so we decide to head back to Jesus (Person 4, Book of Mormon 4) and George's to teach them more, but George wasn't there so we taught Jesus. We taught about the Book or Mormon and told him that he could find peace and joy through reading this book. He was excited to take it! And so were we! We then had a forever long lesson with Manuel and Teresa and we brought a member with us to help us teach and so she could tell her conversion story to them. It was a tough lesson, and I felt like we were teaching the same principle over and over again. So hopefully they understood it! 
     (Hermana Diaz and I)

Friday morning we had correlation and district meeting and then we had exchanges with Hermana. Diaz and Hermana. Poole. Hermana. Diaz came with me in my area and we did a LOT of knocking and we sweated like nobodies business. haha. And I think we got sunburned too…it was about 115 degrees that day! Perfect for knocking...!!! We knocked some more houses after dinner and at about 8:30 we decided to do some carding and we started walking up to this house and the door was open so I turned and asked Hermana. Diaz if we should knock on it and she said yeah. So we knocked it and this lady Maria (Person 5, Book of Mormon 5) came out and we started sharing a bit about our message and about the Book of Mormon and I bore my testimony of it and how it has changed my life and that I find great comfort, peace, and joy when I read this book. She looked at us and was like "can I have one of these books?" Hermana. Diaz and I were both like "YES!" She thought it cost something but we told her it was free and her face just lit up. It was so cool. We walked away from that house and I was like "what just happened!" the Lord gives us SOO many opportunities to share the gospel and give out Books of Mormon, but we must be willing to follow the spirit to know where exactly to go. 

Saturday morning we had a lesson with Hermana. Duran and we read with her in the Book of Mormon and told her that she can find strength as she reads just a little bit in the Book of Mormon each day. I know that as I have read and studied the scriptures that I feel so much happier and have so much more peace in a day. Why wouldn't we want this?? We then exchanged back and Hermana. Robles and I had to finish planning. We then headed to a baptism that our zone leaders were having for one of their investigators. It was so spiritual and such a wonderful service. Then after dinner we headed out and knocked more and this one house we came up to had super loud music on that was not pleasing to my ears, and so Hermana. Robles and I started singing primary hymns and it helped so much!! haha. We then knocked on this house and as always someone drove up as we were walking away from their door. We stopped and talked to a guy named Archie (Person 6, Book of Mormon 6) and found out that he was baptized years back, but stopped going to church a long time ago. So we gave him a Book of Mormon and told him that he can feel that happiness he had when we was learning about the church and when he was baptized. He said that he would read and pray about it! 

Sunday we headed out a bit early before church and invited a few of our investigators to church, all said that they had something to do which was sad, but they said they would come next week- so we will make that happen!! Manuel (like Manuel and Teresa) came to church again. He came for gospel principles AND stayed for priesthood! It was so awesome!! Sooner than later he will be staying for all hours! We then were trying to contact a referral and there was a lady washing her car and so we walked over and started talking to her. Her name is Lisa (Person 7, Book of Mormon 7) and we found out that she is a Baptist and had such a strong faith in Christ and we shared how as missionaries we help people grow their faith and knowledge in our Savior Jesus Christ and she really liked that. We shared with her about the Book of Mormon and testified to her that this book is the word of God and that it can bring her closer to Christ as she reads it. She willingly accepted it and she told us that she would read it and pray about it. Later after dinner we headed to a potential that both Hermana. Rolbes and I had felt we should stop by and when we walked up to him we asked if he was Julio and he was like "you remembered my name". We taught him about the restoration and invited him to be baptized and he said he would, but he wanted his wife to be with him in this process and for us to come back in about a month. 

This week was amazing. And the Lord gave us SOO many opportunities to share the gospel

Yo quiero compartir mi testimonio sobre el Libro De Mormon. Yo se que este libro es de Dios. Que el puede me traer mas cerca a mi Salvador, Jesucristo. Yo se que cuando yo leo este libro, I puedo sentir mas paz, gozo, y el amor de Dios. Yo he orado saber si este libro es verdadero y yo he sentido el poder el contiene. Yo les invito leer este libro y orar a saber si este libro es verdadero. Yo se que, Dios contestara su pregunta y el espĂ­ritu santo testificara de el verdadera.

I love you all! And I am so grateful for your love and support and prayers!

I will talk to you all next week!!

Herman Aase

prayer list- Cindy, Mike, Jesus, George, Manuel, Manuel and Teresa, Rogelio, Valt, and Pruencio.

COME TO MY HOUSE!

Well Hello Family!!

Sorry this email will be a bit short because we don’t have much time left. But this past week was filled with some up and down moments! 


Monday after sports at the church with the other missionaries, we found a nail in our tire...yeah that was fun! So we drove out to the middle of nowhere to get someone to fix it. We then headed to our appointment with Maria De la Luz and by the time we got out of our lesson our tire was practically flat…So we drove around trying to find a gas station that had an air pump so we could fill our tire up enough to get us back to the house. So just picture two young girls in skirts trying to fill the tire of our car with air…funny, right? Well we had to get someone to help us, and long story short, we filled the wrong tire with air because the sensors in the car were wrong…SO we drove home and talked to the car guy for our mission and he said to just let our car be. 

Tuesday morning a guy came to our apartment to fill our tire (now completely flat) with air so we could drive it back to the same place that fixed it on Monday night. But we got a new tire and we don't have to worry about that anymore!! Later we headed over to meet our little band of followers, and they weren't there. One of the girls who was in the group told us that a boy took all their Books of Mormon and threw them over the wall to a dirt field…so not cool!!!! We were so sad, so we just headed to another area and knocked there for the rest of the night. 

Wednesday we had a lesson with Manuel in the morning and we tried to finish teaching the second half of the restoration, but we didn't get too far. But we stopped on the point when Christ came to the earth and his earthly ministry. Manuel asked us "why did Christ have to be baptized". Which was a really good question. And so we read 2 Nephi 31 with him, which talked about how Christ was baptized to fulfill all righteousness and to set that example for us. How wonderful is that. Christ's whole life is an example for us, and a goal that we can all reach with His help. We then had fun at a service activity, and then headed to Laura's and taught her the Restoration of the gospel. And guess what?? SHE READ the Book of Mormon! She told us that she didn’t know where to start, so she just started at the beginning! She was so receptive to what we were teaching. We had a rally good lesson with Cindy about the 10 commandments and keeping the Sabbath day holy. She told us that she can feel that this church is true and that it is right, and how it is really hard for her to not follow something she knows is right. Hermana Robles and I looked at each other with huge smiles!! We were so happy to hear that from her. We know that she is ready, and she knows that this church is true. We contacted some potentials and knocked for the rest of the night. Now, some may not like knocking, but when you make it fun, you could do it all day!!

Thursday was planning day and that was fun! We put on some EFY music and planned until our hearts were content. We then had a lesson with Ramon and taught him the Law of Chastity. That was fun! haha. I will be for sure good at that by the end of my mission. The awkwardness will never go away, but knowing how to explain it will get better down the road. We then headed to Manuel and Teresa's and guess what.... THEY READ!!!!!!!! THEY ACTUALLY READ WHAT WE LEFT THEM AND THEY HIGHLIGHTED IN THE BOOK TOO!! We were soooooo happy :) They had so many awesome questions and we got to teach about Joseph Smith and the importance of the Book of Mormon with them actually listening and taking in what we were teaching. It was an answer to our prayers :)


Friday morning we had correlation and then had ZTM, and that was awesome. We learned about how important it is to teach simply and working hard and diligent in our areas. We know that there is a lot of potential in this area, but we must be obedient and work as hard as we can to see those miracles. We then planned to just knock all afternoon and night, and we found a new investigator!! We also took pictures with the sketchy house across the street...haha. We then started walking toward this one house and this little boy in his underwear yelled at us "COME TO MY HOUSE!!!!" haha. It was the funniest thing ever! We had a good laugh. Later we had a lesson with Cindy and we watched Finding Faith in Christ and her kids came in and watched it with us. They had some really good questions and the youngest was like "I don't like how mean they were to Jesus…Why were they so mean," and we told him that they were mean, but the best part is that He lived again. So funny story-- Friday night when Hermana Robles, and I were asleep I woke up and talked a bit and then fell back asleep. Then the next morning I asked Hermana Robles about it and she was like no...I don't think so. And then a bit later she was like I think we were planning in our sleep for Manuel and Teresa's lesson!! Hahaha. The life of a missionary!! 

Saturday we had another lesson with Manuel and we read with him in the Book of Mormon and we asked him what he thought about the Book or Mormon and he told us that is was a guide for him and we were like “YES, Manuel!! That is exactly right!!!” We then read with Hermana Duran a bit also and then contacted for the rest of the night, but sad day...Cindy texted us and told us that things are hard and she is having trouble with her "husband" and she has to pick her battles, and that right now we can't come over anymore and teach her. It was hard to read that. We both felt like we just got broken up with, and this one is even harder. We then talked with a guy we had contacted a bit ago and he asked us what we believed in and told us that he was wondering if his church was even the right one to go to. 

Sunday was fast and testimony meeting and guess who came to church - MANUEL (like Manuel and Teresa, Manuel) It was awesome! He actually came!! We were so shocked and excited at the same time!!! We then contacted the rest of the night and found an awesome new investigator. He was so open and willing to listen and he prayed for us at the end of the lesson!!!

Well Family - All is well. I love it out here and I love the work of the Lord. I know this church is true with all might heart, might, mind, and soul. It is incredible how much the Lord loves us. 

Love you all!! 



Hermana Aase

Little Band of Followers

Good Morning Family and Happy Labor day!

It is weird to be on a mission and have holiday because they really don't feel like holidays haha. But that is okay! I hope you are all doing something fun to celebrate!

This past week was really good. Not a lot happened, but then at the same time a ton happened.

Monday- So after the doctor appointment on Monday we emailed and then did some shopping and then relaxed in the apartment until it was dinnertime. After dinner we stopped by our investigator Hector’s house to see how he was doing and to see if he was still interested in learning about the gospel. He told us that right now he is focused more on trying to find a job right now, but that maybe sometime in the future he would have time. As missionaries, we learn that some of the people we find and begin to teach are still being prepared by the Lord, and that we must always go by the Lord’s time even when we don't want it. But we all know that God has a plan for us, that he knows what is going on and he knows when the right time to lead his children to the Church. We then had a really good lesson with Hermana Maria (she is a less active, but becoming more and more active) and we read with her in Mark 5 about the women who had enough faith to heal her by just touching the robes of Christ. What an amazing example that is to us. We can have that faith to be healed from all things if we just act.

Tuesday- We taught Manuel in the morning and read with him in the Book or Mormon, which then lead to talking about prophets.  He then told us that he feels rejected from the church because he didn't pass his interview. So we talked about why we have interviews and to not feel rejected but to feel like you have a goal to reach, because that is what we are all working towards. We then had fun giving service at the food bank until our lesson with Cindy. We taught her about the word of wisdom and seriously, she is just amazing! She is so open to listening and accepting and applying what we teach her. It is awesome to have her as an investigator! Later that night we headed to check up on two kids we are teaching - Elizabeth and Christain, but they were at home so we headed to another person’s house. As we were walking there, we saw her sitting with her friends and so we walked over there and she came up to us and was like "can you teach us about Jesus?" And of course we were like “YES!!!” So long story short, we read with them about the plan of salvation and by the end of that lesson we had 7 of their friends listening and asking questions. It was so cool! We gave them all Book of Mormons and told them we would come back next week! So now we have a little band of followers :) But something that we have learned when we teach children is that God really DOES trust us to teach his children, the most precious ones, and that in itself is such a humbling, learning experience. 

Wednesday- We went over to Hermana. Duran’s and read with her in the BOM and talked with her for a bit. She wasn't feeling to well, so we didn't stay long. We later did some service at the Library and got to look at a whole bunch of kids books, and man, haha, some of these things that these books teach! We then did a ton of knocking, but had little success. But that happens and we learn something from each door we go to!!

Thursday- Was planning and that was fun in itself! haha. We ate lunch at a recent convert’s house and she makes AMAZING food!! SOO good. No regrets there! The scripture we shared with her was from JSH 24-26, and I would invite you all to read this. It is amazing!! I have such a strong testimony of Joseph Smith, each time I teach about what he did and the faith that he had, I strengthen that testimony in him. We then headed over to a members house and we talked to her a bit. We then had a good lesson with Ramon teaching him also about the word of wisdom. And then headed to Manuel and Teresa's house and we watched the Finding Faith in Christ video with them and that was wonderful. The video we show is not one directed toward any specific religion, it just strengthens our faith in Christ, which we all need to do :)

Friday- Was busy having correlation and district meeting. But I gave a talk in district meeting about faith and it went pretty good for being ALL in Spanish! I talked about how faith in a principle of power and how God uses his power when we use our faith. Also that faith is not just to believe something, but it is to act upon that belief. ACTING is key!! And then I also talked about how we must have our faith-centered on our Lord Jesus Christ. That when we have faith in him, trust and hope in him, all things are possible. We then baked some cookies for service and gave them to all the members who have helped us out with lessons and driving investigators to church, etc. We then had our lesson with Cindy and taught her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it was such a powerful lesson!! She had some good questions about feeling ready for baptism and feeling worthy and we know that we can feel clean and worthy through the atonement of Jesus Christ. For the rest of the night we just knocked! FUN, FUN!

Saturday- We taught Manuel...a very long lesson. We taught him the first half of the restoration and ended up talking about prophets for a long time. Sometimes we must teach people the same lesson over and over for them to understand it, but that is okay! That gives them the opportunity to gain a better testimony and knowledge of the Gospel. We then read in the BOM with Hermana Duran. For the rest of that night we contacted referrals and potential investigators and talked with a lot of people. Something that I find so sad is that many of these people that we talk to have or song have a religion and when we ask them if they want a relationship with Christ, they say no...It breaks my heart when they say no, but like I said earlier in my email, God is preparing people at different rates, and we must be patient to follow the Lord's timing. We also stopped by Manuel and Teresa's and invited them HARD CORE to church...and they agreed!! SO we are hoping they come :)

Sunday- Was awesome! So as we are walking into church the person yells "AASE!!" from a car and I turned and looked to see who it was, and guess who it was?? HERMANA MUSIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I booked it to her and gave her the biggest hug ever. I was so happy to see her and see how she was doing!! Then for sacrament meeting it was focused on missionary work and so I gave a short talk, which went pretty well!! The Spanish is becoming a bit easier so I am happy about that! After church we knocked the street where we found a potential and they weren't home so decided to stay in the area and knock and we both had the strongest impression to knock on this house, so we did and this lady came out and was not sounding interested but we told her about how Christ has been through everything that you have, and she somehow let us in and the lesson we had with her was so amazing, the spirit was so strong there it was incredible. She has been through MANY hard, hard things in her life but as we told her about the gospel, about the Book of Mormon, about Christ, her whole demeanor changed. It was incredible. The instant we left that house Hermana Robles and I agreed the spirit was guiding every word we said, there wasn't one moment where we had to think of something, the spirit just told us. It was such an amazing experience! For the rest of that night we just contacted and talked to a few people. 

Well another week gone and another new week ahead!!
Thank you for all your support and love, I greatly appreciate it!

Prayer list- Connie, Cindy, Mike, Manuel, Laura, Manuel and Teresa, Jose, Elizabeth and Christain

LOVE YOU ALL!!

Good luck back to school tomorrow :)

Love, Hermana Aase

I am truly a momma!

Buenos dias familia! :)

This past week was an interesting and sort of uneventful first week of the transfer, but that is alright! We made the best out of what we got!

After getting calls Sunday night it was kind of a mad house on Monday night in our apartment with packing and signing journals and cleaning and me freaking out that I would be training. SO that was fun! Haha. We headed over to a few peoples homes to say goodbye and take pictures, and then stayed up late getting everything ready for Tuesday. 

Tuesday morning I had a meeting for trainers and we talked a lot about things that we learned from our trainers and things that we want our trainees to learn when they leave the nest, and it really opened my eyes. It helped me feel a lot calmer about training and begin the lead companion and all. We then had transfer meeting. It was crazy! Said goodbye to my momma Hermana Dodge, and then I saw the Winterton’s from my first area and then I met my BABY!!! Well a little bit about my baby – Her name is Hermana Robles, and she is from Houston, TX. She has a big family and has such a cute personality! We will get along very well :) Later that night after we got her all moved in and unpacked we had a lesson with Manuel. We did a prep baptismal interview with him and he truly does know this church is true, but still has some doubts. We then did some contacting and I broke her into the field! 


Wednesday we stopped by Hermana. Duran and read more in el Libro de Mormon with her and talked with her for a bit. After that we headed to do service at the library, and while we were there we found this WICKED awesome book on the mission of the Church. WAY cool to see that in the library. We might have sat and looked through that haha. We unfortunately then had all the rest of our nights appointments canceled...NOW, to look at the positive side, I turned to Hermana Robles, and was like "Welcome to the field! These days will happen!" I think it was good for her to see a slow day in the mission, because then when we do have set appointments with investigators, you can be that much more appreciative of them. It was a slow day, but we got to contact and knock on a bunch of doors. 

Thursday morning we had another lesson with Manuel talking about his doubts and concerns about his baptism, and he apparently doesn't have any, which is good, but also concerns us. For the greater part of the day we planned. Woo hoo! I love seeing the reactions of new missionaries with planning. Haha. Hermana Robles said after like 3 hours of planning, "are we done yet!?" haha. I just turned to her and was like, "not even close dear :)" haha. Although planning takes long, I am grateful for it because without it, we wouldn't have anything to go off of. That night we had a lesson with Manuel and Teresa and we planned to teach them about the priesthood and the apostasy, but right before we went in we were like, “umm lets teach something else because we don't feel comfortable teaching it...” Needless to say, Heavenly Father taught us a lesson and we ended up teaching about the priesthood and the apostasy. 

Friday morning we had district meeting and we talked about bearing testimony. I have seen a huge blessing in bearing testimony while I’ve been on my mission. Doctrine of Hermana Aase - I feel that the spirit testifies harder when you are bearing testimony, then when you are just teaching the lesson. Of course when you do both, the spirit testifies to those we are teaching that these things are true. We then had a lesson with Cindy and Heavenly Father taught us the same lesson. We were going to teach about the Law of Chastity but her kids were in the room and we felt awkward and then for some reason her kids didn't stay in the room for the lesson so Heavenly Father was like "teach law of chastity" so we did. And it actually went pretty well and she understood the importance of it and we hope she can figure out the things that are holding her back. The law of chastity is kind of a hard lesson to teach to people, but with the spirit and love you can teach it with great understanding. The spirit is a beautiful thing I tell ya! We had dinner with Hermana Duran and that was good. She made mashed potatoes! The rest of the night was contacting and knocking and we had a great experience. One of our investigators wasn't home for our appointment, so we walked across the street to a guy that was fixing his car. He told us that he hasn't found complete happiness and how he feels the Catholic church doesn't read the bible enough. So we started talking about the Book of Mormon and how wonderful it is and how when we read it we feel that COMPLETE happiness, and that through our church we can feel peace and comfort and fullness. So we are hoping to find him at home and teach him more about the church. 

Saturday we had a lesson with Manuel and we talked about prophets and how great of a blessing it is to have one on the earth today. When we got in the car I asked Hermana Robles about how she felt about Manuel getting baptized and we both felt that he wasn't ready to get baptized, that there are still some things he needs to work. But we still felt he should go through with the interview. So that afternoon he had his interview and he didn't quite meet all the requirements and both Hermana Robles and I felt that was right. That Manuel needs to more time to learn and gain a testimony of prophets and the Book of Mormon. The rest of the night we traced and had some fun talking to some interesting people haha. 

Sunday we headed to church and then tracked for the rest of the day, and we got to teach a few lessons and get some practice on teaching together. 

I am figuring out how to train and what things I need to work on. We all make mistakes, but that is why repentance is beautiful. It is that opportunity to have a restart and become better!

Thanks for all the support you have given me!

Prayer list- Connie, Cindy, Manuel, Ramon, Manuel and Teresa, and Elizabeth and Christian.

LOVE YOU ALL!!

Herman Aase

Have a great day!

She is ABOVE golden...oh and I'm having a baby!

Good morning family!!

This week was a pretty good, but crazy week. 

And too explain my subject line... Look on Wednesday’s day and Sunday’s day.

Monday was good as always with p-day and such. My head was hurting really bad so we knocked a little bit and then headed home so I could get some rest. 

Tuesday we taught Manuel about temples and about family history work and he was actually really accepting and excited to learn about that. We told him that him and his wife could be sealed for time and all eternity and I asked him how he felt about knowing that, and he responded that he believes it and that he would want that. Manuel is progressing so well and we are so excited to get him more prepared for him baptism coming up in the next weeks!! We then did some service at the food bank and then headed to a lesson with Rueban and taught him about the gospel of Jesus Christ and we realized that he has a desire to change and wants to, but just doesn't know how, or where to get the motivation. So we are trying to figure out what kind of things we can do to help him have that motivation. The rest of our appointments that night unfortunately got cancelled, so that was a bummer!


Wednesday we knocked all morning and we thought since it was early that it would be cooler...yeah…it wasn't! haha. That’s alright!! We started talking to a lady sitting in her garage and started teaching her the restoration and we got to the part about how the priesthood was not on the earth after Christ and his apostles died and she didn't really agree with that and stared to bible bash with us, and we didn't really know what to do but just pray and leave. Never done that before, but it was a good experience still. We then we headed over to the lady we are teaching English too but she wasn't there so we headed over to a potential that we have been trying to coordinate a time to meet with and she was home and invited us in. Long story short we taught her the restoration and found an ABOVE GOLDEN investigator. For those who don't know the term "golden" it means an investigator who is ready to learn and read and pray and just really has a desire to learn and grow. So you can guess from the above golden in all caps that she is pretty legit. She was talking about how she has a goal to be baptized (before we even invited her) and wants her family to be close and married in the temple like her uncle’s family (he is a member). And to feel her spirit was just wonderful and I am so excited to see her grow and learn more in the gospel. We then tried to stop by and visit Ishmael, but he wasn't home so then we headed over to Ramon's and had a lesson with him about the Plan of Salvation and really got to know what he thinks about the gospel. 

Thursday morning we taught Manuel about the priesthood and explained how one day he can be ordained a priest and administer the sacrament and give blessings and all that good stuff :) He understood it, but I think this will be something that takes a little time for him to understand and apply in his own life. We all see SO much potential in Manuel and we hope he can see it soon too. We then planned all day for week 1 of the new transfer so that was crazy!!!! They just go by so fast. And then I had another chiropractor appt. and that was good. I have come to the conclusion that the chiropractor is helping my body and back, but it is not helping my headaches...so on to a new plan of action! We then had a lesson with Manuel and Teresa about the Book of Mormon and what the purpose of it is. We hope that they will have the desire to read and pray about the Book or Mormon. It is such a powerful book that brings us closer to Christ. I don't understand how someone would not want that! 

Friday morning we had a district meeting and we gave a training on inviting members to lessons. And something that we taught was that you must explain why the member is chosen to come and teach with you. For example why they fit the investigators or how wonderful of teacher they are, etc. The members are SOOO important in missionary work and to have them help in the hastening of the work just makes the work go a lot better. We then knocked a little bit before we headed to our lesson with Cindy, which was amazing!! We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and how she can live with her family forever and how great of blessing that is to have in our lives. She of course was so prepared and studied the pamphlet we left her and all that!! And we set her with a baptismal date in October, which we are so excited about!! :) She was so excited and accepted right away with a huge smile! We then did some more contacting and then finished planning. 


Saturday morning we had correlation and after we had a lesson with Manuel and talked about Eternal Marriage some more and then after that my head was pounding pretty bad so I took a nap after lunch. We made a cake for one of the Elder’s birthdays in our district during dinner, so that was fun!! And then we headed out and contacted for the rest of the night and while we were out we found ELOTE!!...so this may sound disgusting, and it wasn't too horrible gross...actually it was kind of intriguing...haha. But is it corn on the cob with mayo all over it, then it has cheese sprinkled all over it and then chili powder haha. You can see a picture at the bottom of what this looks like and what I look like eating it haha. It was a must have experience. 

Sunday was good and was nerve racking too because we were getting calls later that night about transfers, so all throughout the day we were on our toes wondering what was going to happen with us! Church was good but kind of sad saying goodbye to people but that is alright!! After dinner we tried to contact some potentials but none were home, so that was a bummer. And then we headed inside for a bit because Hermana Poole wasn't feeling too good, but while we were inside I got a call from the AP's telling me...inviting me…extending to me the calling of a TRAINER!!! I will be having a BABY! The rest of the night was kinda hectic but yeah!!

I hope all is well with you!! I love you all and you are all in my prayers :)

prayer list- Maunuel, Cindy, Connie, Hna Duran, and Ishamel. 

LOVE YOU!! 

talk to you all next week!! :)

Hermana Aase

Sopresa, Uvas, y El Espiritu Santo

Hello Family!

Good to hear from all of you today! I am happy to hear that all is well that the summer has been blast and you are enjoying the time you have together as a family. I am sad to not be there with all of you, but I love being out here. I think I have hit the point in my mission where I absolutely love what I am doing, even when it is hard and I don't have the energy. The Lord has blessed me so much and is helping me out with everything in His work. 

Now to explain what my tittle of this email is about, I’ll explain our week!

Monday after p-day festivities we headed to contact some potentials we found the week before and we started talking to a guy named Hector and we taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel and he shared with us some amazing stories of faith and miracles and the spirit was so strong in that lesson. We set him with a baptismal date and he accepted!! We were very excited about that! We then tried a referral named Cristina that we got last week and we ended up teaching her the Restoration as well...this lesson did go as well because there were many, many distractions. Satan is a huge fan of distractions unfortunately, but we kept teaching and kept trying to keep the spirit there. Miracle for the day: We found two new investigators!!



Tuesday we had a lesson with our Manuel Felix friend and read in the BOM more and cleared some of his doubts about the gospel. We all feel that he is really close to being baptized, but we first must set him with a date, which in the past has been very difficult. We then did some knocking and found this REALLY cool house with a mailbox that was an exact replica of the big house. Of course I took a picture of it and we knocked on it. We found hopefully a family to teach!! Later that night we had a lesson with a former investigator who is now taking the lessons again and his friend we are now teaching. Long story short, the lesson didn’t go for very long, and they ended up talking about how they wanted us to come over and eat dinner, dance, and drink with them…yeah we shot that down REAL fast!! haha. And we taught them that we don't do that. For some reason, older Hispanic men like to hit on young white missionaries…this is a slight problema! We then surprised attacked a couple we are teaching and had an intense lesson with them about baptism and how we have the authority from God to baptized people…not sure how much they got out of that lesson. I have found it hard to explain this concept to people in Spanish. One day I will learn!! Miracle for the day: we saw this tree while tracting that had toys in it!! 

Wednesday we had a good lesson with Hermana Duran. We read in the BOM and again talked about the importance of coming to church. We then did a little service at the Food Bank and then afterwards my head was bothering mereally bad so I took a little nap before we headed to a lesson with a less active named Maria De La Luz. With her we talked about the atonement and how Christ can heal us from anything through his atonement. After that we had an awesome lesson with another one of our investigators Ramon and we taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we invited him to be baptized as well and he said yes!! It was a good day. And the miracle for the day: Maria De La Luz said that she was going to be bringing Nadia and Natalie to church again!! 


Thursday we had another lesson with Manuel and we talked about pg. 59 in the BOM (aka about the Fall of Adam and Eve)…that lesson was kind of crazy haha. Manuel had some interesting thoughts about why the fall happened and about the original sin, which we cleared that up!! That man…haha. You NEVER know what he will throw at you! We then planned for the rest of the day until my chiropractor appt., which man felt good for my aching body, but unfortunately did not take my head aches away...we are not sure what to do anymore...hopefully they will go away…I don't want to live with them any longer. But if this is something I must go through, I must go through it with hope. Miracle for the day: result of chiropractor- I can breath again!!

Friday we had zone training meeting this morning and that was really good! We talked about how we must have quality investigators who are progressing and have real interest in learning about the church also about asking inspired questions, and listening with love - two very important things while teaching. We later had dinner with Hermana Duran and she made us pupusas, which were amazing! We then did some knocking and found a new investigator and that lesson was really good! One of my favorite things is teaching people about the restoration the first time we meet them or contact them. Later that night we had a lesson with a sort of less active in the ward and we watched the Joseph Smith Restoration DVD, and the spirit was so strong in that lesson I loved it! Watching that strengthens my testimony of the restoration each time. Miracle for the day: EVERYONE and their dog love to give us grapes! We got this HUGE bag of grapes, which are delicious!


Saturday we had lesson with Manuel and we went in with a plan…a plan to set him with a baptismal date! So the lesson started out kind of slow, but we talked about goals and what a goal is and he had the perfect answer - so you aren't just going in circles or progressing, and we were like "EXACTLY!" that is why we want you to have a baptismal date. We invited him to be baptized on Aug 30th and HE ACCEPTED! We seriously wanted to cry and jump up and down and give him a hug and scream and everything else!! We were so happy to hear that he accepted a date and said he would prepare himself for that day! The rest of that say we contacted and carded some houses and my head was bothering me really bad. But yeah! Fantastic day cause Manuel is going to get baptized! Miracle for the day: MANUEL IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!


Sunday we had church and Manuel and Hermana Duran came again so that was awesome!! We then had a really long meeting after church with the Bishop talking with him about how the work can go better and all. We ate dinner and after dinner I was feeling really sick and my head was about to burst so I took a nap and ended up falling asleep for a while…We then went out and carded a couple houses. 

This past week was amazing, but hard. But the Lord helps us out when we need it and the spirit is what really converts those we teach. 

So explanation for title-- sporesa = surprise, uvas = grapes, and Espiritu Santo = the sprit. 
These three things describe what the week was like!

I can’t believe we are going on week 6!! Only one more week and then we will have transfer calls and be possibly moving!! I’ll let you all know what happens :)

I love you all and I am thankful for your prayers and support!

prayer list- Manuel, Hna. Duran, Jose, Connie, Ramon, Rueban, and Hna. Franco

Love, Herman Aase
2 Nephi 25:26