Monday, March 23, 2015

Teaching Miracles

Good Morning everyone!!

This past week was a really good week! :) It was a slow week like always with it being the first week of the transfer, but it was a wonderful week and we saw miracles. 

Monday-  After emails we did some shopping and signed transfer journals. That night we did some contacting and we started talking to this guy named Carlos. At the beginning he pretty much just wanted to bash with us, but then we asked if we could teach him more. So he let us in and we sat down and began to teach him. The lesson was really simple, but the spirit was so strong. Something remarkable happened, from the beginning of the lesson or first talking to him to the time that we ended that lesson his whole countenance changed. It was amazing. We didn't force anything, the spirit just told us to testify of the message we brought. It was so cool. Hna Soto and I just walked back to the car quietly, just taking in what happened in that lesson. We then went to Pedro's and we read a chapter in the Book of Mormon about how much Christ really does love us. 

Tuesday- We headed out to contact and we passed by this family that we talked to the week before and we met the husband and started talking to him and he was really cool. Pretty much the whole time we were talking to him he was asking all the questions that a true truth seeker would, and all I wanted to do was scream and tell him that the restored gospel would answer ALL of his questions and that that is what we are here to share with him!! Well, we didn't get to teach him right then and there, but he said that we could come back and share more...We then ate lunch with a member and contacted around that area. The rest of our appts until dinner were cancelled, so we got lots of tracting done. We then had a lesson with the Alvarez family and we are starting the 5 week program with them to help them feel more comfortable with sharing the gospel and when we got there and prayed, they started asking us questions and quizzing us...haha. They are so cute!! But we had them teach us the restoration of the gospel. Then after that we had a lesson with Sheila and her family and we did practices with sharing our favorite scriptures with our friends who need uplifting messages. 

Wednesday- Again sadly all our morning appts were cancelled, which gave us more time to tract!!..haha yay..my favorite. But we talked to a kid named Eric so that was cool! He said we could come back and talk with his family. We then had an appt. with Aida and the coolest thing happened!! She told us that she 1-read in the Bool of Mormon, and 2-that it talked about baptism and how she wanted to ask us if there was going to be any problem with her getting baptized if she was baptized as a JW before... FREAK!! Aida pretty much just told us that she wanted to be baptized. She is SOO cool!! So we talked a bit about the gospel of Jesus Christ, Faith Repentance, and Baptism. She agreed with everything that we taught her. That lesson made. my. day. We then ate dinner with the Miranda family and then had a lesson with Carlos. We also taught him about the gospel of Jesus Christ and he really understood the need of repentance and baptism. It was such a good lesson. It also POURED while we sat there...we had to move our chairs to underneath the porch...let's just say we got wet cause it was raining so hard. After that we passed by Hna Harding and shared a quote from PMG.

((Left) This big vase was pretty cool! (Right) Planning outside!! Because it was so nice and warm!)

Thursday- We did our weekly planning! And then ate dinner with the Juarez family and had an FHE with them and talked about he importance of fellowshipping. We did an exercise with them to put themselves in the shoes of an investigator- someone who doesn't know about the church or who hasn't ever come to church on a Sunday- and see how it feels to come and not know anything and not have someone there helping you out. Once we ran through that, we had them write their feelings and the likeliness of them coming back to church. Most of them had lower numbers and felt scared, or unsure or confused. This is how investigators feel. They NEED that person to walk with them and answer their questions. That is why fellowshipping new members is so important! The Juarez family suggested the members should say hi to those who walk in the church, not the missionaries! What a great idea! haha. We then passed by Hno. Gutierrez house and talked to him for a bit on how we can help the branch out.

Friday- We had our district meeting and we shared personal experiences of when the spirit has lead us to someone who needed the gospel. I shared the time when Han Robles and I found Laura and in that time she really needed some uplifting message. We then had the challenge to always mention baptism in our contacts. Hna Soto and I were ready to take this challenge!! We then did some service at the Miranda's and then passed by Gabriel (a new investigator we found last week) but he wasn't interested at all to learn, so we just left and told him to keep the Book of Mormon. We then had dinner with the Valdez family and had a lesson with the Morelos family and finished teaching them about the plan of salvation and I really think this time Maria understands the gift that we have of the knowledge of the plan of salvation! We then went back to the Valdez family and had a lesson with them about sharing their favorite scriptures with their friends in need. 

(Just taking pictures while planning.  Nothing new :))

Saturday- In the morning we went to a relief society breakfast activity and Maria Morelos came!! And a lot of the Hermanas' talked to her :) We then finished planning and headed out to contact. So we tested out the challenge that our district leader gave us to mention baptism while contacting and guess what -- we found 2 new investigators!!! It was a miracle!! We then had a lesson with Carlos, and Bryan Rasch came with us and we taught him the first part of the plan of salvation and read with him about the role of the spirit. Something really awesome that happened in that lesson was that we asked Carlos how God shows his love to him and he told us that he is always protected and that he always feels that everything is going to be alright. Oh amazing! God really does love us and he will show his love toward us more and more as we recognize his role in our lives. 

Sunday- Church was great! Carlos came!! And I gave my testimony in sacrament meeting and I shared a scripture from the Book of Mormon - 3 Nephi 5:13 that says "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life". I love this scripture because all of us are disciples of Christ and called to share this wonderful gospel with those around us. We then visited Patricia Durant and shared a quick message with her and she told us that she has been really missing church. That it is apart of her and she feels at home when she is at church. We then had a lesson with the Rasch family and they finished the 5 week program!! woo hoo! We then did some contacting and no one was home. But then we had a lesson with the Rojas and talked about fellowshipping. OH also, I hit 14 months!! CRAZY STUFF!!!!!!!!

Well family, I am so grateful for your prayers and support. I can feel it everyday!

I hope you have a wonderful week and I will send some sunshine your way to melt all that snow!!

Love you!!

Love, Hermana Aase

#think20

Hola familia!!

Well this week was so much better! :) So much better! Like the best week of the transfer. The miracles of week 6!

Well to first start out, I am staying again!! This will be transfer 5 here in Joshua! I am so happy to stay again. I love this area and we are going to see miracles this next transfer for sure! So by the end of this transfer it will be 7 1/2 months in the same place! Does it feel like that long, not really! But crazy thing is after this transfer ends, I will only have 2 more left...

So, onto the week!

(It is a good day when you find a pass along card already on the post!..there is more to this story though...so look on Wednesday in my email :))

Monday- We had a zone activity and we just ate food and played sports, soccer, football, volleyball and slack lining. We did a bit of contacting before dinner and the amazing thing is- IT DOESN'T GET DARK UNTIL 7!! I love it! We then ate dinner with the Rojas family and then had an FHE with Sheila and her family. We also started a theme within our district called #think20. We are doing this because most of the missionaries here are having trouble finding new investigators, so we had this in our minds all week to have more faith to find people. 

Tuesday- We headed to some service in the morning and then contacted more before our lesson with Rosemary. With Rosemary, since she didn't come to church on Sunday, we had a drop talk with her- pretty much told her that we can't do anything more- she has to make her own decision to go to church or not. So we left her with the commitment to come to church and that once she comes to church then we can help her start preparing for baptism again. It was sad, but we can only do so much until someone has their own agency. We then had dinner with the Rasch family and then stopped by the Juarez family and shared a quick Mormon message about Hope from Pres Uchtdorf. And then we passed by a less active, Jeny Ortiz and read a scripture from Mosiah 24:14-15 about burdens and how Christ can really lift those burdens as we trust in him. 

(Birthday celebration in the branch!)

Wednesday- Not much happened this day, but #think20 is going on it's way! We found a new investigator!! His name is Arnold, he is a 28 year old with a daughter and came from Honduras. He has been catholic for his whole life, but he has a lot of questions about the Plan of Salvation and simple gospel things. He has never met missionaries before, but he let us share a message with him. So it was cool to talk about the gospel. And we are hoping that he will want to learn more! That night we were in charge of the relief society activity and we threw another birthday party and it was a blast! Of course, we are in Spanish work, so everyday is a party! :D But we had desserts and we played 2 truths and 1 lie. And then we played another game like the fruit basket called "Ha visto me chiva" (have you seen my goat) and you ask a person that and they respond with what someone is wearing and you can also just respond with making a goat sound! Yeah, imagine all these older Hispanic women making goats noises and running around the room trying to get a seat before someone else. FUNNY!

Thursday- We had a lesson with a potential named Susie- another #think20. She is a single mom of 4 boys, and is friends with a member in our ward- Shelia, and that is actually how we got to start teaching her. She has been taught by missionaries before, but didn't really have time with work and her MS disease. But this time she wants us to come and teach her. We are excited for her and to see her progress. We taught her half of the Restoration because we spent the first half of the lesson getting to know her and telling her what we do as missionies. We then went and visited Rosaura to say hi. We then planned for week 1 of the next transfer...! what?? Yeah, its happening. We then were contacting later that day and we knocked on a guy's house. His name is Carlos, he is a younger guy and has been through a hard life, but has now been sober and reading the bible more and when we knocked on his door we talked about the Book Of Mormon and he said that he wants to know if this book is true. He loves to read and we are excited to keep teaching him and help him understand the gospel more and more. So he let us sit outside and teach him more! And he accepted to be baptized and he has a baptismal date for April 25th. That night our lesson canceled with Pedro because he wasn't back from work yet, so we stopped by Hna Harding and shared a message with her from PMG. 

Friday- We had district meeting this morning and I gave a spiritual thought on 2 things- a talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland ("Missionary Work and the Atonement") This is the part that I shared with them -- 

"Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why doesn't it go better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren't there more people joining the Church? It is the truth. We believe in angels. We trust in miracles. Why don’t people just flock to the font? Why isn't the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font? You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary. Now, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacrilegious. But I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price. For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul. If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn't an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn't an easier way. The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life." 

I love this talk. It has changed my mind and helped me really understand the power of the atonement. And then I shared the scripture in 3 Nephi 18 5-10 about bringing other unto Christ. As we bring others unto Christ and help them understand the atonement, we at the same time will better understand the atonement. We then contacted a bit and found another new investigator! His name is Gabriel- he is an older guy and has been taught by missionaries before, we are not sure how interested he is, so we will be going back this next week and seeing if he wants to continue learning. He likes to talk and ask lots of questions. We then ate dinner with the Alvarez family and then had a lesson with them and read some of Alma 5 about really being prepared for when we see God. That night we had a lesson with the Morelos family and talked about the spirit world and the importance and power that it is to do the work of our dead in Holy temples of God. 

Saturday- There was a baptism in the branch for a 13 year old boy named Antonio! He is so cute and so ready to accept the gospel! We did the missionary minute and it was really spiritual and his non-member family was there. So it was cool to have them there and see the baptism and feel the spirit really strongly. We then contacted before dinner with the Gutierrez. That night all our appts were cancelled, which was a bummer, but we headed to correlation with Hno. Gutierrez.

(LOOK WHO CAME TO THE BRANCH TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY BEST FRIEND!!! It was so good to see her and talk with her again :) I have missed her like no other!)

Sunday- Church was good, we sadly didn't have anyone come. Aida was going to but then her ride couldn't go to church and then she wasn't ready for church when we stopped by...bummer. And then guess who came to the branch!??!!? HERMANA LAU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I saw her coming into the church building and I ran down the hall and gave her the biggest hug ever!!!! I have missed that girl so much and it was so good to see her again. We then had a party/dinner at the Gutierrez for Hermana Lau and her family and then we left and contacted a bit and stopped by Carlos and had a lesson with him about the 5 principles of the gospel. And then that night we had a lesson with the Rasch family and the Rojas family. 

Well family, I am loving my time here. I have been through hard times, but I have also been through great times. I have learned a lot and have more things to learn. 

I love you all and am so grateful for all you do!!

Have an amazing week!

Love, Hermana Aase

Another transfer come and gone...again!

Good Morning family and friends!!

Well this past week was better, a little bit more exciting, but I can't believe it is already the end of the transfer...where did the last 6 weeks go!?!?!

(Nurf gun war!! This is what it looks like! It went down fast after this.)

Monday- We had a fun district activity, that was a NURF GUN war! It was fun! We set up tables in the gym and all had guns and pretty much just shot each other with darts! I was really bad, but it was still fun to watch the other missionaries. We played it like real life, so if you got shot in the arm - you lost that arm, or if you got shot in the leg you had to limp around. That night we ate dinner with the Juarez family and then had an FHE with them and taught them about the word of wisdom! After that we headed over to Sheila's and had a lesson with them and helped them share the gospel more with their friends. 

Tuesday- I hit my 1 year in the field today! Crazy that a year ago I left the Mexico MTC and headed for the real deal! I am glad that phase is over, it was quite nerve wracking! haha. But we had a lesson with Esmeralda, she is a less active, and we talked about how we can help her daughter Rosemary get to church and then we shared a little bit from talk from Conference about keeping the commandments. After that we passed by Rosaura's, and she sadly told us that Maura (her daughter) and her son in law don't want us to come over any more because they think we are stealing, which is crazy. Rosaura was really sad and started to cry because we couldn't come over anymore. But we told her that we were going to stop by another time before she headed back to Mexico. We then had a lesson with Rosemary and read Ether 2-3 with her and talked about agency and how she has the choice to go to church or not, or to read or not, or to get baptized or not. But she must make that decision and follow it to reach her goals. That night we ate dinner with Hna Roman and then headed to the Alvarez family...but funny story, so we are running late and they called us to see where we were and they said they were waiting for us to...EAT DINNER!!...we got there and they had this huge dinner prepared...so that night we ate 2 dinners, and we were so full and felt so sick afterwards...haha. Life of a Spanish missionary...

( MLC Friends!! )

Wednesday- We headed up to MLC that morning and learned some really awesome things. A couple things they trained us on was faith. It seems that our mission is going through a rough patch with Faith, so we talked about how we can raise our faith and that we all must personally re-evaluate our faith. Also we talked about how to get our investigators at church because that is one of the hardest things to accomplish in missionary work. Later we shared a quick message with Hna Rodriguez about the Book of Mormon. Before dinner we did a bit of contacting and we had a referral named George and we found him at home and talked to him for awhile and simply shared the restoration and gave him a Book of Mormon! We are hoping to begin teaching him in the coming week. We then ate dinner at Hna America's and shared the restoration, which lasted an hour...haha. 

Thursday- We did our planning for week 6!! CRAZY how fast the transfer went by...like I don't get it anymore! We ate dinner with the Lara family and then contacted another referral named Susie- she is Sheila's friend and we got a return apt with her! We then passed by and taught Melanie (she is a 15 year old girl who got baptized about 2 years ago). And we also read with her in Ether 2-3, and something that has really stuck out to me in these 2 chapters is that God isn't always going to give us the answer to our prayers or questions, but he wants us to come to him with what we think is right and then he will let us know if it is right or not. What an awesome lesson we can learn from the Book of Mormon. We then had a lesson with Pedro! And we were helping him share his favorite Book of Mormon scripture with those who are going through a tough time. 

Friday- We had ZTM this morning and Hna Soto and I gave a training on using family history work to find new investigators. We then contacted until dinner and found out that a few of our less actives don't live there anymore, but we found a couple potentials that said we could come back and share a message with them! We ate dinner with the Ramirez family and then had a lesson with the Morelos family and we taught about the fall of Adam and Eve, about agency, and then about the atonement of Jesus Christ. It was such a good lesson!

Saturday- We did some service at the Hilton's house- we were pulling weeds, and there were a bunch of spiders..so I was screaming a lot..haha. We then had a lesson with Chris Parra and it was so good! He is changing so much and has such a strong desire to be better and get to the temple. We contacted a bit before dinner with Hna Arnold. After dinner we made some church calls to get our investigators at church and then we had our coordination meeting with Hno. Gutierrez. And quickly before we headed home we passed by Hna Ponce de Leon, but she was already sleeping. So we didn't get to talk with her. 

Sunday- Well sadly no one showed up for church. It was disappointing because we were planning on 3 of our investigators on coming, and they didn't. We ate an early dinner and then contacted for an hour or so and we talked to this really cool guy named Saul, he knows a lot about the church and was asking us some questions. We then had a lesson with the Rasch family and had them do role plays to feel more comfortable in member present lessons. Members are so essential. I can't say that enough. There is something more powerful when members share their testimonies than the missionaries. MEMBERS must be involved! We then passed by Pedro and talked to him for a little bit and then we had a lesson with the Rojas family. 

Well family, the mission is a time to grow and learn. To grow your faith and to let it shine. There will always be hard time, but we have our Savior Jesus Christ and his atonement to help us and to lift us. 

I love you all and I am so grateful to know you and to have your support.

Have a wonderful week and I will talk to you next week!

Con amor, Hermana Aase 

Monday, March 2, 2015

The oldest Hermanas' in the mission together again!

Good morning family and friends!

This past week was a little rough again...our appts fell through with almost all of our investigators because of some cold virus going around. BOO VIRUSES!! 

Monday- We didn't get to play sports with the Elders, so we made other plans! We went to Goodwill and I found a skirt and new shoes for $12! That night we had 2 of our appts cancel, so we contacted a potential that the Elders found for us and we talked with him for a while, but come to find out that he isn't quite ready for religion and all that. So we will check back up on him in a few months. We then stopped by Rosemary to see how she was and talked to her for a bit. And then we passed by a family in the branch and we shared with them Luke 15 about the lost sheep and rescuing those who have fallen away from Christ. 

(Our district!!)

Tuesday- We started our exchange with Hna Poole, Han Usher and Hna Cartwright. I was with Hna Poole and Hna Usher - guess what that means?? THE OLDEST HERMANAS' ARE BACK TOGETHER AGAIN! It was a good time! We contacted in an area that we hadn't been before...no one was home, but we still tried! We then walked like 8 blocks because Hna Soto and Han Cartwright had the car and were in a lesson a little bit longer than normal and we had interviews to get to. So we walked to a members house and switched back quick and then headed to interviews. Interviews went well! A question President Wilson asked me in my interview was "what was the hardest thing going from a non missionary to a missionary?", and I told him not being able to talk to my family everyday, or text them. A cell phone, yeah that was hard at first, but that doesn't matter, and movies and music, I got over that quick. But talking and being with my family, that was and is the hardest part for me. He told me that I must have a great family and I smiled and said "yes, they are the greatest!" We then headed to dinner with the Alvarez family and sadly our night appts fell through, so we passed by the Juarez family and had an FHE with them. Even though our appts fell through, it was a good exchange and great to be back with old companions!

Wednesday- We ended our exchange and ate lunch with our hermanas' and our afternoon appts fell through, so we contacted a little bit before we headed to Rosemary's lesson. With Rosemary we went over her baptismal calendar and talked about things that she needs to do before her baptism on the 28th of March. We then had all our appts before dinner cancel, so that was not fun! We just contacted and talked to a few people. That night we went to the Relief Society activity and talked with some of our less actives. 

Thursday- We ate lunch with Sister Hilton and then we started AND finished planning. We planned out in the sun again :) it felt super nice! And then after dinner we contacted a bit and passed by a few potentials and then had a lesson with Pedro about sharing his favorite scripture in the Book of Mormon with those going through a hard time. 

(Meeting up with family friends-- Karen Gilmore)

Friday- District meeting was great! We learned that if we have the Love of God with us we have a 101% chance of succeeding in life. Wealth, looks, talent, etc won't make us succeed. But the love of God will. After district meeting we ate lunch with the daughter of my grandparents friends. She told us about her mission in Guatemala and it was cool to hear her Spanish too from so long ago. After that our afternoon appts cancelled as well...so we contacted until dinner with the Valdez family. After dinner we stayed and did role play practices with them so they can feel more comfortable sharing the gospel. 

Saturday- We did some service at Sister Hilton's and helped clean a part of her house and we jammed out to Jenny Phillips! It was a lot of fun haha. I call Hna Soto and I the "Professional missionary house cleaners!" We then had our appts cancel again, so we stopped by Rosaura and had a quick lesson with her about the sacrament and the importance of going to church and then we passed by Rosemary and Aida's to invite them and see if they were planning on coming to church. They both are planning on it! So we are crossing our fingers. We then ate dinner with the Quinteros and after that had coordination meeting and then ran by Sheila's and got a referral from her! 

Sunday- well, no one showed up for church today :( sad day! We were so looking forward to seeing our investigators came and then they didn't come...After church and our studies, we had a lesson with the Rasch family and did the same thing we did with Pedro, we had them share their favorite Book of Mormon scripture with a friend going through a hard time. We then taught a cool guy named Edwin! He didn't become a new investigator because he didn't make a return appt and didn't want to get confused with the church he just started going to, but we know that he will get baptized sometime in the future! He has a lot of faith and is curious to know more. We ate dinner with the Parra's and then had a lesson with Presidente Rojas and his family and we started the 5 week program with them and did role plays to help them share the gospel more simply. And we celebrated their daughter Korina's birthday! We sang happy birthday and ate cupcakes. 

So...lots of cancelled appts...but this week is bound to be better! 

I hope all of you are safe, healthy, and happy!

I love and miss you all!! 

Oh and guess what, I hit my year mark of being IN the field tomorrow! Crazy how fast time flies!

We will talk next week!

Prayer list- Rosemary, Aida, Manuel, Andres, and the Morelos Family

LOVE YOU!!

Hermana Aase

It gets worse before it gets better!

Good Morning Family!!

What a wonderful day today it is...it is a whole 50 degrees outside and I am dying...! What am I going to do when I get home and it hits winter...? But it is supposed to be warming up this weekend. So fingers crossed! 

This past week was SOO, SOO much better. Like 3x better than the first 2 weeks put together. We had a great week of meeting and having lessons with our investigators and finding new people to teach!

((left) Me on the slack line! it was kinda hard, but a good challenge! (Right) Zip line!)

(Swinging)

Monday- Well, the Zone Activity that we had was SUPER fun! We went to this backyard giant play ground! It was cool! They also had a trampoline so I got to jump and flip on that. I was in heaven for sure! But, my body was hurting later..haha. That night we had a lesson with Miguel and we read more in the Book of Mormon and helped him see the importance of daily reading. We then had our other appts cancelled, so we went to a potential named Mary, and she was home! And she had her friend there, so we got to teach her and her friend! We then stopped by a members house, and invited her to a lesson we had with an investigator. 

Tuesday- We headed over to the soup kitchen and did service there, but guess what?! NO one showed up to volunteer in the kitchen, so Hna Soto and I took care of the WHOLE kitchen by ourselves!! Stressful?...just a tad! We then passed by a members, Hna Rodriguez, and shared a short message with her. And then we headed to a different street and contacted until dinner time. After dinner we passed by another members house and shared a message about the lost sheep parable in Luke 15. I love this parable, because we, at one point in life, have been lost, but others and the Savior can help us come back to the fold and be happy and safe. After that we had a lesson with Sheila and her family. We are starting to do a 5 week program with some active families, less active families, and recent converts in the branch. The program is to help them feel more comfortable sharing the gospel with their friends and family. We did a role play with Sheila and her family about sharing the message of the Restoration in 3 minutes. That was a blast!

Wednesday- Was a busy busy day! We had a lesson with Rosaura in the morning and we talked about the importance of baptism and we set her with a baptismal date for March 21, right before she heads back to Mexico. We then had a lesson with Rosemary and we talked about the power of fasting and prayer. And we talked to her about how she is feeling about baptism, and she still feels good about it, so we decided to pray with her and help her pick a date. While praying she felt sometime in March, so then we prayed again, and she felt the 28th of March, so we prayed one last time to have her confirm for that date and she just smiled and said "yes, this is the day"! The spirit was really strong in that lesson and we were so happy! We hope and pray that she will be baptized at the end of March! After that lesson we did a bit of contacting before our lesson with Aida. With Aida we taught about the importance of going to church, praying and reading. We call this CPR - just as CPR revives your heart when you stop breathing, going to church, praying and reading revive your spirit when it is down. Aida then told us that she wanted to come to church! So we hope to see her on Sunday! We then ate a quick dinner and headed to a lesson we had scheduled with a potential named Andres. He was waiting for us to come when we got there! Who does that?? We taught him the Restoration and he had a few questions but committed to read the Book of Mormon. And lastly we visited the Alvarez family because Hna Soto hadn't met them yet, and we talked and then shared the parable of the lost sheep. 

Thursday- We didn't have such a busy day, but our appt with Rosaura got cancelled, so we tried to visit a couple of Hna Arnold's friends that she wants to share the gospel with, but none were home. We then sat outside on our balcony and planned in the sun! It felt so good to feel the sun on my skin. That night we stopped by Enrique and Claudia to see what was going on because we haven't seem them in 2 weeks. Enrique was sleeping, but we got to talk to Claudia for a bit and see how she is feeling. She told us that she isn't ready to commit and change religions, but would still like to learn. It was good to see her and she what she was feeling. That night we headed over to Pedro's and did the 5 week program with him and it was so much fun!! He was getting mad cause we were quizzing him on the lesson, but he got to role play and practice sharing the gospel. I am sure I say this about Pedro every time we have a lesson with him, but he is so awesome!! He is growing and everything!

(Hna Meacham and Hna Flood on exchanges)

Friday- We headed to District meeting and I had the training for it and I talked first about being personable, with all that we come in contact with- so smiling, being open, asking questions, and the most important, listening. Listening is key and if we don't listen to our investigators or members, then they wont be as open to telling us what they are thinking or feeling. And then the other thing I trained on was attitude. Now, I always feel like when you are assigned a talk in training, it is more for you then those you are teaching...haha. But I talked about how we need to have that positive attitude all the time in missionary work, we are doing the Lord's work, that should give us joy right!? What I like to think is, "happy attitude = good things to come." After lunch we started our exchange with Hna Meacham and Hna Flood. I was with Hna Flood and we started the day out with contacting. We met this guy named Tino and we talked with him for like 45 minutes about church and the gospel. We are planning on going back for sure! We then contacted a bit more before we went to dinner, and then after dinner we stopped by a former investigator's and talked to her for a little bit and made an appt with her! Then we had a lesson with Maria Morelos and we taught about the Atonement and what it can do for us in our lives right now. It was a good lesson where our Spanish was being tested for sure! haha. Lastly we went to a lesson with the Valdez family and did the 5 week program with them as well.

Saturday- We got out and contacted a little bit, and then the Hermana's left to go back to their area, and we contacted for the afternoon. Before dinner the bike elders in our branch did a blitz in our area and helped us find a couple more people to teach and talk to. After dinner we passed by Hna Paty and talked to her about family history work, had correlation, and then tried to visit a couple investigator, but none were home.

Sunday- Aida came to church!! And she loved it! We were so happy she came. After church we had a lesson with the Rasch family and started the 5 week program with them as well, and it was really fun to watch them do role plays and to practice sharing the gospel with their friends. After that we did a bit of contacting and talked to a few people. Later that night we visited the Rojas family and shared with them what this 5 week program is all about and invited them to do it as well, and then we shared a quick message with them. 

All in all it was a much better week! We are excited for this week! We have exchanges and interviews with President. So, it should be fun!

I love and miss you all tons!
Can you believe that I only have 5 months left...NOT COOL! haha. But "come what may and love it" right? I just gotta love and cherish every moment here. 

I hope all is well with you! Stay warm and we will talk next week!

Love, Hermana Aase

I guess the will of God is to knock doors

Hi family!! Well, this past week went by a lot faster than the first. Not much happened, but it was a better week. Our spirits were higher :)

Monday- After emailing we did shopping and had a bit of time to relax at home before we came back to the church and played sports with the other missionaries. We then ate dinner with the Rasch family. Sadly our 6 and 7 o'clock appts cancelled, so we ended up contacting a bit and then we had FHE with Sheila and her family. We read Ephesians 6:11-18 about the armor of God and drew a lovely picture with it. After that we had our "refreshments" and Hna Soto decided to warm hers up in the microwave, but forgot about it, and 3 minutes later there was smoke coming out of the microwave...haha. We opened all the windows and doors and let the house air out. It was pretty funny. The whole bottom of the dish was melted...Good times, good times.

((left) Note to self -- DO NOT microwave a cake in a plastic cup for 3 minutes or it will create fire...! (right) Lancaster...where you can find shopping carts ANYWHERE!)

Tuesday- We did service with Miguel and helped him clean up his yard and then we had a lesson with him and read in the Book of Mormon. We then contacted for pretty much the rest of the night until our appt with Claudia and Enrique was cancelled, so we headed over to a friend or Hno. Gutierrez and we taught him about the Restoration and it was a spiritual lesson! He is interested and already had a Book of Mormon. After that we ran by Hna. Ponce de Leon and shared the Armor of God with her as well. 

Wednesday- the definition of Wednesday was contacting...having our appts cancelled..and more contacting. BUT we found some really awesome people who want us to come back. God has a different plan for us, and it is our responsibility to align our will with God's. That night we had a lesson with Chris about the power of the Atonement and it was, like always a good lesson. He is changing more and more every time we go over there! It is so awesome to see! 

Thursday- We had a companion study with the AP's and we did this really cool role play where we were contacting people and we had to talk to them about other things for 5 minutes before we introduced ourselves. It was fun! I love just talking to people, it is a lot more natural and easy flowing. Who would have thought! We then stopped by and visited a less active for a little bit and then headed home to plan! That night we had a lesson with the Valdez family about baptism. The youngest daughter is turning 8 this summer, so she is getting ready to be baptized. SO the lesson was more for her...funny thing is is that she fell asleep haha. 

Friday- We had district meeting in the morning and we did a similar role play where we got to know the person first and then shared a small gospel message. And then guess what we did..CONTACTED! haha. But here is a funny story for you all, we knocked on this guys door and no one answered, so we knocked again...a second later this guy pops his head out of the top window and he is shirtless and is like "I am busy right now, so it isn't a good time!"...so we asked if we could come back another time, and he was like "I am busy right now, so it isn't a good time..." The funny people we find here in Lancaster...haha. Our appts later that day were cancelled, so we picked a couple streets and knocked doors and we found a few interested people so that was a miracle! 

(Valentines day!!...not a super special holiday for missionaries, but we decided to take a picture anyways!)

Saturday- Valentines day! The holiday that means nothing to missionaries..haha. But we contacted all day, and the good things was because it was valentines day, they were all nice to us! Win win for us! Hna Soto and I took ourselves out to eat and then we got some ice cream, thanks to my grandma :) And then we had a lesson with Pedro, and we also taught him about the armor of God. He enjoyed it! Like most people do. haha

(Okay, tell me what is wrong with this picture...HAHAHA...THE GIANT T-REX!)

Sunday- Sadly we didn't have any investigators come to church, but we had a guy named Mario that we met while tracting come to church! And he brought his friend..who didn't know any Spanish..so I translated...(well, tried to translate) sacrament meeting for him. He said that is was good. He has never met/talked with missionaries before, so it was a really cool experience to just share a bit of what we believe with him. Later we had a lesson with the Rasch's before dinner about family responsibilities and we watched a Mormon message called "Heavenly Father, earthly father". If you haven't seen it, I am telling you to see it! It is such a good message! That night we had a hard time finding people at home, but we made it through!

Well, I hope all is well with you! I am doing good! Just pushing on every day. I love what I am doing and it is crazy to think that I only have 5 months left!... 

Thank you for all the support and prayers, I can feel them for sure on those hard days. 

I love you all! And I'll talk to you next week!

Love, Hermana Aase