It is worth having a grumbly stomach, sticky shoes, and a sore bum from biking so much :)

Picture with the STL'S

 Some rappers...i don't know who they are, but my comp does :)

 

We had a grrrrreat week!

The highlight of the week, well the most interesting day of the week, was Saturday. To start, sometimes being a missionary is weird and awkward and insane. Saturday was one of those days! I was on an exchange with my sister training leader on bike. I LOVE being on bike :) Here is a summary of the day:

  

1. Friday we started the exchange. We got a random phone call from an old investigator. He wanted to start meeting with the missionaries again, so we scheduled an appointment for Saturday morning! A super cool miracle to start the exchange!

 

2. Saturday comes and we bike over to his house. We teach him with a member. We invite him to pray. We explained is very simply, but he wasn't completely understanding, so he folded his arms, bowed his head, and.... silence. We weren't sure if he was praying silently or waiting for one of us to pray, so we all bowed our heads, and I kept one eye open so I could know when he finished. Well we sat there in silence for 2 minutes! AND FOR THE WHOLE TWO MINUTES MY STOMACH WAS GROWLING! LOUD! REALLY LOUD! I could not get it to stop! My companion looked over at me, and it took all of our strength not to burst out laughing. Our faces were bright red. So for two minutes we listened to my stomach grumble, and finally J.......finished praying! Over all the lesson went really well. J..... accepted a baptismal date and even came to a baptism that same day.

  

3. We biked like the wind to our next appointment, and I got off my bike and stepped in a big wad of gum. Gross.

  

4. We ran into the apartment complex for our next lesson, and as I was running, I hit a car with my helmet and set the alarm of for a good 15 seconds. Face palm.

  

5. We biked for 20 minutes to get to our next lesson. It was with a family that is from Cuba. The kids prefer English, but I got to teach the Mom in spanish. Hopefully she will commit to meeting with the Spanish Sisters!

  

6. We biked like the wind to the baptism and sat with J......... He was able to take a tour of the church building after the baptism!

 

Phew. From 11-4 we ran around like crazy ladies, but that day I really felt like a missionary! I love being a missionary. It is worth having a grumbly stomach, sticky shoes, and a sore bum from biking so much :)

 

This week we had interviews with President Henrie. He asked me about my family and I told him all the good news!!! Our family is so blessed. I had so much good news to tell him! His response, "Don't worry about it. It will all be there in December. It will all be there X100!"

I hit 15 months this week in the mission, obviously my mind thinks about home and college, but I know I am exactly where I need to be. The San Fernando Valley needs me for 3 more months, and I need the San Fernando Valley for 3 more months!

 

p.s. please don't stop sending me pics and stories from back home...they are not making me homes sick :)

 

I love you Mom! I hope you have a super duper week!

 

LOVE, HUGS, AND KISSES

    Hna Moo

Eggs, Chorriso, Frijoles, crema, platanos, bolillos...yummmmmm.

Phew. This week we definitely rode the missionary roller coaster!

Things are still going well with G............ He is very emotional (anger, sadness, confusion, loneliness, etc.) about the death of his wife, so we are trying to be very patient and simple as we teach him. He should be coming to a Family Home Evening with us tonight, so we are excited for him to make more friends in the ward!

The crazy day of the week was Friday. We have been working with a recent convert who is also less active. She has been distancing herself from the church more and more, so we decided to surprise visit her. She specifically asked us not to come over without setting up an appointment, but we felt prompted to go over there. We knocked on the door and as soon as she opened the door we could smell the alcohol. She had just had a party at her house, and she was pretty drunk and emotional. We sat her down and listened to her cry and rant for a little bit. She was pretty drowsy, so we decided it would be best if she slept off some of the alcohol and we would come back later. 

We left for a couple hours, and when we came back, she would not open the door. She has a history of being severely depressed and has tried to commit suicide, so we got really worried. We started knocking and yelling in to the windows. Finally I had enough, so I yelled in the window, "I........! We are coming in!" I got in the door and ran to her room which was also locked. I pounded on the door for a few minutes until she finally yelled, "I am sleeping!" I felt like a 100 pounds was lifted off my back. I calmed down knowing that she was ok, and we got her to come out of the room. 

She hadn't eaten all day, so she ran to the freezer and grabbed a beer that slipped out of her hand and shattered all over the floor. My companion took her into the living room, and I cleaned up the spilled beer and broken glass. We went and bought her some taco bell, and she started to feel a little bit better. She told us, "I had all these guys in my house and all of the sudden they decided to leave. Then you two showed up like 10 minutes later. I think God did that...." I asked her, "Can you feel God's love, I...........? Can you feel just how much he loves you!?" Even though we had just experienced so much panic and chaos in her house, in that moment we could feel the spirit very strong. God loves His children. There is nothing we can do to change that. His love will always be there. 

On a lighter note:

1. We had a ward breakfast on Saturday. It was an El Salvadorian breakfast! Eggs, Chorriso, Frijoles, crema, platanos, bolillos...yummmmmm. We also helped fill up about 200 hundred water balloons for the kids :)   

2. The elders have a new investigator that can do magic tricks! He did a bunch of card tricks for us...it was insane.

Ok. I think that is it! Mission life is great :) Here is my fav quote of the week:

"The quality of our lives. It is an interesting phrase. I suspect most people think of this concept in terms of the comforts and conveniences they enjoy. But I prefer to think that the quality of our lives has more to do with substance than style. A quality life is one that positively influences others and makes the world around it a better place. A quality life is one that is constantly growing, expanding its horizons and enlarging its borders. A quality life is one filled with love, and loyalty, patience and perseverance, kindness and compassion. A quality life is one that is based on eternal potential and not confined to this life only. A quality life is a life well lived."

   -Elder Ballard (our search for happiness)

I love you Mom!

 Hna Moo

 We played volleyball when I got your package, so we decided to decorate the net!

thank you Preece family!!! I love you all!

 I like it is a Hispanic thing....they hang bags of water by the door because it is supposed to absorb the bad energy!

Your wife is alive! She is healthy! She is not suffering!

 With Helmets ---------------------------------------------Without :)
 I was back on bike for a day during exchanges! WAHOO!

 Cooking with Hna Mitome

 The food we cooked...just chicken and vegetables haha

We had an awesome week! We were able to do a lot of teaching which is the best thing ever as a missionary :)

The highlight of the week was finding G..........! We knocked on G.............'s door on Wednesday. He let us in because "I have a lot of questions that I need answers to." We learned that G..............'s wife passed away four months ago. They found cancer in her stomach and within 20 days she passed away. According to his Catholic beliefs, he told us he thinks she is in purgatory. He didn't like that answer, so he asked us:

Where is my wife? Is she suffering? Why did God take her so quickly? Why didn't he let her fight? What did I do to deserve this?

I could feel the spirit push me strongly to answer his first two questions to start the lesson. Alma 40:11-12. Your wife is alive! She is healthy! She is not suffering! She is happy, learning, and preparing!. 

He put his face in his hands and started to weep. He kept saying, "I hope so...I hope so.." We taught him more about the Plan of Salvation, and he loved it so much he invited us back the next day. Then the next day. Then the next day! 

We have invited him to be baptized, and he committed to prepare for baptism!!! He has loved learning about the temple and eternal families and he knows baptism is the important step towards the temple. 

I am very excited to be working with him! I love being a missionary. I couldn't help but cry with Guillermo as he learned about the spirit world. These are special experiences I will never forget! 

                                                                                                                                                                           Hna Lagaisse went home last transfer, and she came back to visit!

Saturday we got fed soooo soo so much food. Here is a summary:

Breakfast: Banana and a protein shake. Made by: Me!

Lunch: Salad, chicken, and a cookie. Made by: Me!

2nd Lunch: Bowl of soup, some bread, and watermelon. Made by: our investigator M........

Dinner: Panda Express. Made by: a member

2nd Dinner: two tacos and a glass of horchata. Made by: A less active member (who came to church this week!!!)

Other Random Stuff:

1. During knock-out this week we meet a Jewish man who was raised in Rome during WWII. He was taken to the Alps and given to a catholic family when he was 8 for 2 years until the war ended. He told us so many crazy stories. His piece of wisdom for us was, "There is no time to be sad. Move on and be happy!"

2.We got invited to a Jehovah Witness conference in Long Beach. Hey...I wouldn't mind going so I could hang out by the ocean :)

3. This weeks Wednesday Relief Society class: Is my poop healthy? What the!? I couldn't stop laughing!

Alrighty. I hope you have a wonderful week mom. I love you so much. so so so so much! Thank you for always being a SOLID, CONSTANT example in my life.

LOVE,

   Hna Moo

Every tear will be replaced with buckets full of eternal joy!

 North Hollywood Zone




Saying goodbye to Hermana's Warren and Jensen

The relief society had a weird activity about breathing...like breathing right when you go to the bathroom hahaha

this says "why through the nose and not through the mouth"

pday in burbank

Looks like another successful Preece Reunion! Everyone looks so old. Seriously though...all the cousins looks like they came off of a taffy puller - haha everyone is so tall and skinny :) Quinn is in my prayers!

We had a bit of a slow week. Everyone is going on last minute vacations before school starts next week. We were able to find 3 new investigators which is exciting! I love that we have 2 hours to knock doors everyday. Yes...sometimes people are mean, but it is such a cool opportunity to meet people and testify according to their needs. I have heard the coolest stories while out knocking doors. It is amazing how much people trust us. People will really open up and share their stories with us. They feel comfortable because they recognize us as true servants of Jesus Christ. What a privilege and a blessing! 

For example we knocked a door this week, and a Hispanic man in his 40s started to weep and he told us his wife had recently passed away from cancer. He is left to care for his autistic son who is really struggling with the death of his mother. You can't help but feel so much love for this man and his family. We testified of eternal families and the atonement of Jesus Christ. I am 20-years-old. I have no idea the pain, anxiety, and loneliness that comes from the death of a spouse, but I do know that Jesucristo understands. He understands perfectly, and Heavenly Father has a perfect plan that allows us to experience eternal happiness. Every tear will be replaced with buckets full of eternal joy!

me waiting to teach the YW...hahah just a random picture I found on my companion's camera. We taught the YW about the importance of family!

RANDOM

1. We started teaching english class again! I. LOVE. ENGLISH. CLASS. We have 7 people coming on a regular basis.

2. We had a zone training this week all on obedience. I really dislike talking about the rules in big groups because everyone starts asking "what if" questions, and everyone starts to get sassy with each other. We made it through with no tears shed ;). Obedience is the first law of everything, so it is something we need to talk about!

4. We have a new sister in our zone that is 34-years-old. Cool huh!? She is super nice!

 

That's about it for the week. I hope you have a GRRRREAT week Mom. I got my license thing, so I will be good to drive until January. Muchas gracias for all your help!

I love you mom!

   Hna Moo  

10 missionaries circled around a huge box of onions, with tears running down our faces

 A Work of Art
 we like to have daily contact with our investigators. Sadly our investigator had to work, so we went a visited him AND GOT DONUTS!!!! yummmmmm                      (Another work of Art)

Happy August! 

August marks 14 months in the mission! I have three transfers left (3 transfers=18 weeks ahhhhhhh!!!!) This week is transfers. Hna Gomez and I are staying together! I am excited to stay in North Hollywood because we have some pretty sweet investigators! It has been cool to see this area progress. It was a shut down area 12 weeks ago, but now it is catching fire! We are losing a lot of missionaries this transfer, but word is next transfer a lot of missionaries are coming in!

GOOD NEWS:

1. We have a ward mission leader! His name is Hno T      :) he is from Chile and he is always    bringing his friends to church with him. He is a recent convert, and he is an awesome member missionary.

2. We brought an investigator to a baptism this Saturday. I love going to baptisms. The spirit there is so stinkin' strong. Our investigator takes care of his grandmother who is a member. She is 100 years-old!!! She is pretty sad, tired, and sick, but he brought her to the baptism. She kind of reminded me of Grandma Barfuss, so I sat right next to her and put my arm around her. She has a hard time hearing, so I sang the hymns as loud as I could, so she could enjoy the baptism. It was a special moment for me. I felt God's love very strong that day. I could feel His love for the man getting baptized, and I could feel His love for our investigator and his abuela!

RANDOM NEWS:

1. This week the Food Bank asked us to peel onions for them. Just imagine, 10 missionaries circled around a huge box of onions, with tears running down our faces hahaa. IT WAS SO PAINFUL! We all smelt like onion for the rest of the day. Not the best smell when we are trying to get into people's houses to teach them :)

2. I am getting into water coloring. I do it at night before I go to bed... is very relaxing :) I will send some pics

3. A less active member asked me to mow her lawn. I WAS SO EXCITED. The bad news was a could not start her lawn mower! I pulled and pulled and pulled. It reminded me of my lawn mowing days on Bench Road. I was getting very frustrated with myself...turns out she needs oil in her lawn mower. Hopefully I can mow this week (I thought I would never say that hahaa)

Welp that is everything. I am excited to see what miracles will come this August! Here are my fav quotes from this month's Ensign!

"smooth sailing is its own test- and a difficult one. The absence of problems can soften us if we are not careful."

"try a little harder to be a little better." -Presidente Hinckley

"It is not possible to judge another fairly unless you know his desires, his faith, and his goals...People are not in the same position...It is not where you are but the direction in which you are going that counts." -Elder N. Eldon Tanner

I love you Mom! I hope you have a great week. Thank you for helping me with my license and my college stuff. I will make sure I get my recommendation from Presidente Henrie. LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!

Hna Moo