"Oh esta todo bien"

Well family...these weeks are going by super fast and I can't wrap my mind around it. But this past week was really good. Well I mean, all weeks are good. But we had a successful week and had some powerful lessons. 

Monday- We went to Goodwill and then ate some frozen yogurt with the other Hermanas'. And then we came back to the apt and hung out there until we went to dinner. After dinner we had an FHE with the Vargas and Garcia families. We read a talk from the July Ensign about the Pioneers called "Oh, esta todo bien" and we talked about how all is well in the end, in the end of this life, at the end of our trials, etc. God is always with us and we must have the mentality that all is well. We then passed by the Mercado family and had a small FHE with them. 

Tuesday- We did some contacting in the afternoon and everyone we talked too wasn't too fond of us, but at least we can go back in a few months and see if they are more ready to accept the gospel. We then had a lesson with Anahi and talked about our purpose here in the this life. We then passed by an older couple that we met a month or so ago and we sat and talked with them for a bit, but the lady has bad Alzheimers...so we probably won't teach them, but we gave them our card so we can come do service! That night we had a relief society activity for all the Hermanas' birthdays and we played some games and then ate fruit and ice cream. it was a lot of fun! And I didn't sit on a Hermana this time! After the activity we passed by the other Mercado family in our area and shared a small part from a talk about the Book of Mormon. 

Wednesday- We went out early to try and contact a potential named Olivia, but she was busy. So we tried by a couple other people and then met 2 Hermanas' from the ward to eat some lunch and I ate the biggest pupusa! And it was delicious! We then had a lesson with Marcos and finished teaching him the plan of salvation and then took him door knocking with us! He loved it and was amazed at what we did. We then passed by the Sarabia's and shared a scripture with them and Marcos helped out. He is already a great missionary! We then came to dinner a little bit early and took Sara, the Garcia's daughter out to knock some doors. We then headed with Hna. Garcia to an appt, but Rosa wasn't there so we passed by Olivia again and she invited us in! She had some great questions and told us she is very open to learning more. And later we passed by Abel and Kody and we taught them about the Armor of God. 

Thursday- We did our planning for week 6...! WHAT?! And then we went out contacting and passed by Rosa and had a short lesson with her about the importance of Church. And then we went by Hna. Miranda and shared a scripture and did an experiment having them think of a street that we can go knock while we pray. The members like it, it is different, but we get to see where they think we should go knock.

 (This is our district!)

Friday- We had district meeting and we did a training on the importance of being persistent with inviting to be baptized and then trying to set them with goals and dates to be baptized. After our meeting we went to the CALM zoo that is here in East Bakersfield and we got to rake some leaves and make all the walk ways clear and clean. They have some really cool animals! I am just glad we didn't have to clean up after the animals haha. We then had a lesson with Guillermina and taught the Plan of Salvation. We then decided to go walking around our area, and we got to talk to more people and then we found a lady named Emma sitting outside and we ended up teaching her! She is so cute and was so happy that we came to see her and talk with her about the gospel. And then on the way back to our car we saw the Utley family and we got to talk with them for a little bit!

((left) Our free slurpees! (right)  This is Francisco, the guy we were teaching a couple months ago.)

((left) Armor of God!  (right) FREE slurpees at 7/11 with Marcos)

Saturday- Our lesson in the morning with Emma got cancelled, so we tried by another lady with Hna. Alaniz and then went back to her house for a drink of water and we shared the same message that we did with Hna. Miranda and picking a street for us to knock. After that we had a lesson with Marcos and taught him about patriarchal blessings and he thought that is was pretty cool! We then walked to the 7/11 with Marcos and got free slurpees!! We then had a lesson with the Trejo family and talked about the temples and family history, they loved it and told us that they were so interested in learning more! We then had dinner and then passed by Emma again to see what happened in the morning and she told us that she left with her son. So we taught her a little lesson about faith and reminded her about church. 

Sunday- We did some morning visits to our investigators to invite them/remind them about church and we only got to talk to one of them. We then headed to church and guess what?!?! Marcos blessed the sacrament! It was so awesome to see him in a white shirt and tie! He was nervous, but Hna. Gonzalez and I both gave him the thumbs up and he did a great job! Then during sacrament meeting they mentioned me going home :( so they had me bare my testimony, so that was good. And it now just feels so natural to do it in Spanish. Not sure how hard it will be in English haha. After church we passed by the Rodriguez house and shared a message with all the grand-kids about the Armor of God. We got cardboard and everything and got them all dressed up! We then had a lesson with a potential named Eugenio and he was so cool! He loved what we shared and wants to learn more about the Book of Mormon. And then we contacted a little and then had a lesson with the Vargas family.

Well family, this coming week is my last week and I can't believe that it has come this fast. I wish you all a wonderful week and I will talk to you for the last time through email next week!

Adios, love you all!

Love, Hermana Aase 

Lets just say it was REALLY hot

HI FAMILY!!

So I am not dead...thank heavens. The weather this week was horrible!! We were talking with our ward mission leader and saying how some of the houses we walk into/outside felt like el inferno!! hahah. I'll let you google translate that if you want! But besides the heat, it was a good week. Nothing to complain about.

Monday- We did some contacting before our FHE. We had a referral, but she wasn't home. So we passed by the Miranda's but Hna. Miranda was sick, but we talked to her daughter for a little bit. We then headed to FHE with the Garcia's and the Hermosillo's. We talked about the Atonement and watched the Mormon message about the current bush and how sometimes we may be cut down, but it is so we can grow and become who the gardener wants us to become. 

Tuesday- We also did some contacting and knocked some doors on a street that we hadn't ever been to, and we found a new investigator! Her name is Carla. She is in her 20's (?) and is interested in reading from the Book of Mormon. So we taught her on her door step, and it was about 110 degrees outside...and we were sweating like NO OTHER..it was bad! haha. We then went to have a lesson with Melody, but she was asleep...so we passed by the Rodriguez house to fill our water bottles and we talked with them for a bit until dinner. After dinner we did ward visits and the less active's we had on our list weren't home, so we decided to pass by one of our less actives, Veronica. We shared the scripture in Moroni 7 about charity and shared some things we can do to show love and charity to others. 

Wednesday- We again did some more contacting, on the same street as we did on Tuesday, and we found another new investigator!! We really like this street now haha. But her name is Rosa, she is a mom of 5 kids. When we knocked on her door and starting talking to her we asked her if she had faith in Christ and she said "yes..but that her relationship wasn't very good". So we asked her if she wanted to increase that and she said, "well of course". So she let us in and we taught her and she was very receptive to the message and wants her family to be closer. We are hoping to teach her and her husband and kids next week!! We are really excited to teach her and see how she progresses. We then passed by the Trejo family and we read the "Safety for the Soul" talk, and we talked about the Book of Mormon and shared our testimonies of it. After that we had a lesson with Guillermina and read in the Book of Mormon. After that we had a lesson with Nelly and taught the 10 commandments with hand signs and the importance of following the prophet. We then did some contacting, but sadly all the people we talked to weren't interested. But then we went over to Abel and Kody's house and had a lesson with them. We talked about patriarchal blessings and how wonderful they are. 

Thursday- Planning day!...it was weird to plan for week 5...that can't be real. We contacted in the morning, but the lady that we talked to needed us to come earlier, so we will pass by her the following week. We then ate lunch with a less active, Guillermina, and Hno. Duran. It was tostadas and they were SOO good. (that is something I will be making when I get home) We then went home and planned until dinner time. Sadly Nelly wasn't at home for her lesson, so we knocked on some doors and then had a lesson with Marcos about the Book of Mormon and prayer. We invited him to share his testimony on fast Sunday and he said he would!

Friday- We had zone training meeting and we got the results of the number of baptisms we've had...we got 39 for the month. We didn't reach our goal, but we have some exciting things coming for the month of July. We talked about the difference of disappointment and discouragement. With disappointment, we get up again and we try even harder to make the new goal. And with discouragement, we look down on ourselves and don't have that motivation to keep going. That is the lesson to remember. We then headed out to south Bakes for our exchange with the STL's!! I was with Hna. Moore for the day, and I just love her to pieces! We did some contacting, and met some cool people...not interested, but nice to talk to! We had pupusas for dinner and then tried by the set lessons...sadly they weren't home. So we decided to go by a former investigator to see if we could talk to her dad more about baptism.  We began talking to him and he asked us questions like "what makes your church different than mine", so we talked about the restoration and the priesthood...and that wasn't getting into his brain and the thought kept coming to me to talk about temples, and the work that goes on inside them. It was random, but I acted upon the thought. He seemed to be interested and said he wanted to "ask his pastor"..of course we told him to pray about it as well. But he said that he would come visit the church to see what his daughter was getting into. Once Hna. Moore and I got back in to the car she told me that he had had that question before and could not find any scripture reference to it..until we shared the one in 1 Cor 15. It was such a wonderful experience and it made me a bit sad to think that this time is quickly coming to a close. 

((left) We ate lunch with Manuel!!  (right) Don't mind me...I am just holding the flag backwards haha)

((left) Exchanges! And the forth of July celebration!  (right)  Love these Hermanas'!)

((left) we made red, white and blue pancakes!  (right) I really wanted to watch the fireworks...we could only see a couple... :()

Saturday- 4th of JULY! Hna. Meacham and I went running in the morning...I was super slow haha. But I ran!! And then we made red, white and blue pancakes and did our studies. We then met Manuel Felix for lunch and that was awesome! I miss that man!! He is still slowly progressing, which is good to see. We then got back into our area, and Nelly again was gone...they left for vacation...ugh. But we contacted a bit and then passed by the Sarabia's house and shared the scripture about God giving us free agency. I thought it would go well with the freedom of our country that day!! After that we had a short lesson with Guillermina and read some more in the Book of Mormon, and then ran to Marcos house and talked about the pre-earth life and the importance of God's plan. We then ate dinner with the other Hermanas' at Abel and Kody's house. He made BBQ pork sandwiches and coleslaw and had cake. It was yummy! We then went home because we had to be in early. We watched a church movie and made the decorations for an activity we are having for the relief society next week and watched...a few...fireworks from our window. 

(Guess who came and visited me...Hno.Gutierrez and PEDRO!!!!! haha :) gotta love these two!)

Sunday- Church was good! We didn't have any investigators there, but Marcos and Guillermina, and some less active families came so that was great! I bore my testimony in sacrament meeting and so did Marcos and Guillermina!! Hna. Gonzalez and I were smiling so wide while they were up there. And then guess who came and visited me...?? PEDRO!!!! and Hno.Gutierrez. It was so funny. but so good to see them. Pedro and I talked and he is doing so good and progressing so well!! AHH it just makes me so happy to see those two :) After church we had a lesson with Marcos, since ours on Saturday was short, and we talked more about the plan of salvation and then we took him door knocking and we told us that he is thinking about doing what we do..!! How awesome would that be?!?! That night we visited Hna. Alaniz and shared a scripture with her and then we went home and broke our fast and ate dinner with the Hermanas'. 

It was a busy week and you can tell. But things are going great. They are going by really fast. But I love it, I love it, I love it! 

Thank you all for your love and your support!

Have a wonderful week!! And I'll talk to you next week!

Love, Hermana Aase

I Love to See the Temple

Hi family!

How can it be another Monday...they come up really fast. But! Onto the week!

It was a pretty good week. Not the worst, but not the best. But that can always change, right?!

Monday- Pday was nothing too special. Just relaxed around the house and wrote some letters. Sadly as the day went on, everybody cancelled...dinner and our FHE. So we decided to pick some streets we hadn't knocked on yet, and to knock them. We found a couple Spanish houses that we are going to return too. We then passed by the Rodriguez's and had a small FHE with them. We shared a Mormon message and talked about the need for trials and burdens in our lives. Without them, we don't learn or grow. 

Tuesday- We had a lesson with Marcos and taught the Restoration and read some scriptures and explained in detail more of the Gospel. He says that he feels different with the Holy Ghost, but that he now knows why we as missionaries go out and knock on doors and teach people. You can see him learning more and more everyday. We then had a lesson with Candy and taught her more about the Holy Ghost and the importance of the church. She is progressing...just very slowly. So we aren't quite sure if we are going to teach her much longer. We haven't been able to have another lesson with her dad, so we will see. After that we passed by the Morales' house to see if their granddaughter was there and she was! So we taught her and set her with a baptismal date for July 11th! So all we need is her parents to sign the permission form to be taught and baptized. She is a cutie and loves church and learning. That night we had ward visits and we passed by a few less actives' and then headed back to the Morales' because Hermana had a referral for us. So we met her and set a time for a lesson. 

((Left) And then we hit some really bad traffic, due to a brush fire on the mountain. (Right) Saw this sign and HAD to take a picture of it :) haha. "Bello?")

Wednesday- TEMPLE DAY! We left and traveled down to LA...but got stuck in some traffic, so when we got the temple we ran in and got dressed. Being inside the temple was so nice. Just peaceful and full of the spirit. I miss being able to go every week. After we got out, we took pictures, ran to the store and then headed back out into the traffic. Hna. Rodriguez told us that the ocean was 3 miles from the temple..! WHAT?! Why did NO one tell us. So we drove by it and I got some pictures of the water. We then headed into traffic and it was horrible, and plus there was a HUGE fire on the mountain, so that wasn't good. We made it to In-N-Out and ate dinner and then headed on our way again. By the time we got home it was 7pm. We had a lesson with one of our members and watched a couple bible videos and talked about the temple. We were so tired by the time we got home. Even though we didn't do much, being in the car for 5 hours makes you tired. And some news...Guillermina (our recent convert) and Hno. Duran got married!!!! 

 (All the Hermanas' from La Cresta!)

(​(Left) So no one told us the ocean was 3 miles from the temple, so we drove by it! I haven't seen water in 18 months! (Right) East Bakes..where people take napes on the side of the road...)

 ((Left) LA temple (Right) I love the temple!..and flowers!)

Thursday- We did our planning and then passed by the Hermosillo's to see if Candy and Alejandro were there, and they were, but Alejandro was busy. But we shared the story about the Good Samaritan. Our other lesson got canceled, so we decided to pass by a potential named Carmen and she let us in and we talked for a little bit. She now knows who we are and said she would come to church one of these days. Quickly before we headed home we passed by Guillermina and gave her a picture of us and her at her baptism and talked with her for little bit. 

Friday- Went to district meeting and learned some really awesome things. We did this role play on helping our investigators feel and recognize the spirit. It was one of the best role plays I've heard. When we share something that will invite the spirit and help our investigators recognize that that feeling is the spirit. It just makes the spirit even stronger. After that we did some service and got to wash some fruit and then cut cabbage. We then headed over and had a lesson with Nelly about the gospel of Jesus Christ and did a demonstration to help her understand it. And then that night we had a lesson with Guillermina about the Plan of Salvation. 

Saturday- In the morning we helped Hna. Rodriguez frost some cupcakes for her b-day dinner that night. And then we contacted a little bit before our lesson with Marcos. We taught Marcos about the armor of God and the spirit. He told us that while he was out teaching with the missionaries he was sharing what he knows about the Book of Mormon and he felt this overwhelming good feeling and told us that he got his answer that the Book of Mormon is true! It was so awesome! I just couldn't help but smile. We then passed by the Juarez family and invited them to church, and then passed by the Garcia family. Sadly our lesson with Ana the referral from Hna. Morales got cancelled. But we went out to contact and started talking to this young guy that was really interested, but he wanted to go to the YSA ward instead. But it was still cool to talk to him! We then passed by the Sarabia family and shared a scripture with them. We stopped by the b-day dinner and ate quickly and said happy birthday to Hna. Rodriguez and then went back to do studies. 

(Claudia, A recent convert in the ward. She is so awesome!)

Sunday- We had correlation in the morning then did some studies and headed to church. The music director wasn't at church...so guess who had to lead the music in sacrament meeting?...ME! haha. I didn't do too horribly. We had Marcos, Guillermina, Nelly and the Sarabias at church. After dinner we came back to the church for the baptism and then went back out to contact. We tried to teach this lady named Angela, but when we go to the Book of Mormon..she wasn't too happy. But we hope that one day she will think about what we shared and will invite the missionaries to her home. 

Well family, I love you all! 

These weeks are flying by...but I am trying to make the most of it :)

I'll talk to you next week!

Love, Hermana Aase

And under the water he goes!

Well family, Monday again! How do these come around so fast!?

This past week was good, it definitely got better throughout the week and ended wonderfully :)

Monday- Pday adventures, we went to the beehive store and looked at books and got a few things. And then we chilled at home until dinner time. Sadly I had a horrible headache, so we were inside for a little bit and then went out to contact a lady named Elvia, which she was busy, so we reschedule for another time. And then we passed by a less active's house, Hna Acosta, to see if she was there. And guess what?! SHE OPENED THE DOOR! We got the know her and then shared a scripture with her about being disciples of Christ. 

(Sunsets are the prettiest thing to look at here in desert Bakersfield!)

Tuesday- We did some service at the homeless shelter and helped mop the floor and clean the tables off. After that we went contacting and we found a new investigator named Maria! She didn't want to let us inside because her son is a Jehovah Witness, but she said that we could teach her outside so we proceeded to teach her. She said she would read and pray about the Book of Mormon. We then headed to dinner and after dinner we went to ward visits. I split and went with a few hermanas' while Hna Gonzalez went with a few others. We visited the Juarez and Sarabia family and shared scriptures with them. They were grateful for our visits. And it is nice to have some more time to see how they are and see if we can help them with anything. 

Wednesday- We contacted a little bit, not too successful. We then had lunch with Hno Rodriguez and Marcos and taught about temples and family history work. He thought that it was really cool! After that we ate dinner and had a lesson with our new member, Guillermina! We taught the restoration, but used more pictures this time :) haha. That night we passed by Able and Cody's house and shared a message from preach my gospel about the importance of new converts having friends in the church. 

(you know you have a wonderful companion when she takes apart your whole bed to kill a bug for you!)

Thursday- I headed to my last PT appt and the PT gave me some exercises to help my neck/headaches, so hopefully the more I do them the less my headaches will get. We then planned until dinner time. We passed by the Guido family because they weren't at church, so we stopped to check up on them and see if there was anything we could do. We then had dinner and a lesson with Marcos and the Garcia family. We taught about enduring to the end and getting all set for his baptism the next day! While we were there the brother of Hermana Garcia knows a lot about this Chinese acupuncture thing, so he did that to me and they are supposed to help me relax...they look kinda funny. So we will see how well they work! At this point I am willing to try anything haha. Ill send a picture of my ears with them on. We then headed home because Hermana Garcia said that they really relax you so I shouldn't be driving with them for the first day haha. 

(the weird acupuncture things!)

Friday- We had district meeting and got some awesome training on how to invite people to be baptized in a more loving, simple way! It was probably one of the best district meetings I've been to. Afterwards we had a pow-wow with Bishop to make sure we are all on the same page in the ward. We then headed out to contact and teach before Marco's baptism. We had a lesson with Candy and taught about repentance and baptism and then set her with  a date to get baptized on July 11th! So we are really gong to try and teach her and help her be ready. We then grabbed the program from the Rodriguez's house and then had a lesson with Guillermina. We asked her how she is feeling since she got baptized and she told us very good, and that she feels a lot more sure and safe :) that makes me so happy to hear!! We then ran home, frosted the cake, freshened up and then got to the church. We had to set everything up and all. The baptism started a little bit late, but all went well! We are happy and so is Marcos! 

Saturday- We contacted pretty much all day, but we found Art at home, finally! So we had a lesson with him and taught him about Faith, repentance and baptism. We re-invited him to be baptized, but he told us that it is something he will still consider. He wants to learn more and read more in the Book of Mormon. We passed by the Trejo's and had a good lesson with them. Talked about their testimonies of the gospel and the Church. After that we stopped by Anahi and shared about temples and invited her to the Father's Day activity. And then we made our way to the park where we were having the ward activity. A good amount of people came. We ate and they played soccer and we got to talk with Marcos some more as well as our less actives that came. 

Sunday- Church was great! Marcos got confirmed and I couldn't help but smile the whole time! After church we ate with the Rodriguez family and shared a message with them. We then tried by a few potentials but no one was home. So we passed by the Morales's and shared a message from preach my gospel about us as missionaries needed members to help us in this work. We really truly need the members! Without them we can do nothing in the work of the Lord. We also found a good looking potential. It is Hermana Morales granddaughter. She really wants to be baptized. So we are going to go back in the next week and hopefully teach her. We then had an almost new investigator...we started teaching him and then he didn't want a Book of Mormon and said he was going to Mexico...so yeah. So close, yet so far! haha. 

Well family, this next week should be good! We have a ton planned like going to the temple and a couple other baptisms for the other missionaries in the ward. 

I hope you have a wonderful week and we will talk soon!

Love and miss you tons!

Hermana Aase