So hot

December 8, 2014

HOLA FAMILIA!!!

This week was a little more difficult than others. The weather keeps getting hotter, and this week it seems like we just walked around a lot. IT IS SO HOT! We walk outside and start sweating! We walk around with sweat marks on our backs... haha its really gross but thats just how it is. Hardly anyone was home this week, especially this weekend, I dont know why, but it was definitely a struggle to have lessons. On the bright side of things, we were finally able to reach our contacts goal!!! We were pretty excited. As hard as it was for me to contact when I first got to the mission it has gotten so much easier for me. Its been great to meet some new people and share with them a message that can change their lives. 

We still  are working on finding progressing investigators. I think the hardest part for us has been getting investigators to come to church. Some say they are going to come, and even agree to come with us, and then when we go to pick them up they arent home. We will be working on finding those prepared investigators again this week.

This week we were able to serve an hermana that just had her baby. She hardly has anything and she had to have a C-section and couldnt do much on her own and she has no family here and she now has 7 kids and not one hermana from the branch had visited her this week! Hermana Hess and I were just in shock! We visited her a few times to fold and wash clothes... all by hand, who knew it was so much work! I also cut her sons hair. I dont know who was more scared, him or me. Haha but thanks to Emy I think I was able to do a pretty good job:) But dad, be very grateful that you have Sister Shell as your Relief Society president.

This Sunday I also felt just at home... We had an older man have a seizure during the passing of the sacrament, a 1 year old kept walking up to the stand of the chaple, and a 6 year old little boy was twirling himself in the curtains and making noises, oh, and then the both of them helped me play the closing hymn (I dont understand how their parents didnt do anything to stop them). So dad, I guess our ward is normal:)

The highlight of the week was probably that we had a new less active, Marisol, come to church. We have been serving her for a while now and have been reading a little bit of the Book of Mormon with her, but she would never come to church. We visited her at her negocio to remind her about church and she if she still could come with us and she was really sick and said if she felt better she would come. In the morning we went to pick her up and she was still sick, but she came! Then Sunday night we were also able to get her daughter, Jeni, to come with us to the Christmas Devotional. I loved the Christmas Devotional. I hope that you were all able to watch it. It really inspired me to be more like me Savior Jesus Christ. It also made me miss all my favorite things about Christmas time... snow, Christmas music, family, decorations, holiday treats, nativities, Temple Square, lights,.... everything christmas because here there is nothing!!! My pensionista was just putting up here Chirstmas decorations today and it made me so happy!

This week I have been study in Alma still. I have been reading about Captain Moroni and his army and how they were dressed with armor and were protected and then they prepared places of security and were protected from the Lamanites (Alma43-48). First of all, dont we all just want to be like Moroni? (Alma 48:17) But like the Nephites, we too need to put on the Armor of God. We all are in a battle against Satan. We need the protection and help of our Heavenly Father. We need to pray, read the scriptures, attend church meetings and the temple..... But just wearing the armor wont do us any good if we arent in standing in holy places, if we dont prepare places of security. We need to strengthen our weaknesses and prepared these places of security, and put on the whole armor of God, and we will be able to stand against Satan and WIN. Whoever is on the Lords side will ALWAYS win. I am so grateful for the many guides we have been given to help protect us. We are never left alone. We can always have the protection and help of the Lord. The Church is so true! I love it so much and I am so grateful for the protection it has given me in my life! Being a missionary is so great!:)

I love you all so much! Thanks for your love and support! 

Les Amo Mucho!

Hermana Monson

Sorry I wasn't able to flip the pictures for some reason!

I'm an aunt!

December 2, 2014

FAMILIA!!!!

Another week has flown by! Really it is such a blur, I can hardly remember what happened. but.... IM AN AUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Little Goldie is the cutest!!!! Thanks so much for all the cute pictures! Also, thanks for the package! You are the best! I love everything! I have changed a lot because I can only have one cookie and that seems so sweet to me haha. Really thank you so so so much!

 As always we still need to improve, but we had a pretty good week. We had two rescates! (Max and Lucy). They are the cutest family. They have improved and grown so much since we started visiting them. They now attend church regularly, have callings, read the scriptures, pray, and they are starting to do family home evening. I really brings me so much joy to see how much they have changed and to see them do all of these great things. Before Lucy didnt really understand the importance of the temple and didnt have a desire to go, but now she says she wants to complete all of the Lords commandments and focus on getting to the temple. I was so happy when she said that. I love them so much. Now whenever we go their 4 year old daughter always says, "the prayer! I can say it!" She knows and has been taught them importance of these things as well. Max said that he has noticed a big difference in his 4 year old daughter since they have returned to church and he wants her to continue in that path of righteousness. They talk about their kids going on missions now when they are older. They are the greatest! 

We also had two new menos activos come to church this week, Alexandra (15) and Diana (17). They are Maxs niece and sister. We are working with them and Maxs mom. They are such cute girls and have also grown so much. Alexandra always shares her testimony with us and Diana has started to open up more as well. Now we just have to help them understand the importance of staying for all three hours.

I feel like my work in Olmos is more to help the menos activos. I feel like we have been able to find more menos activos that are receptive and progress than investigators. We still need to find investigators that will progress. Thats kind of the problem we are having right now, but we will find some!

It is starting to get soooooo hot! The sun is so strong. Even with sun screen I get burnt. We walk outside and we are already sweating! But with the sun comes delicious fruit! Everyone likes to give us watermelon since its watermelon season..... except they think they have to give us HALF the watermelon!!!! It is so nice of them. After we eat it Hermana Hess and I can hardly walk! hah its great;)

Because of Thanksgiving I read the talk Grateful in Any Circumstance by President Uchtdorf this week. I love this talk! We all will face many challenges, dificulties, and sorrows in this life, but "we can choose to be grateful no matter what!" I love how President Uchtdorf talks about how we usually think that we need to be grateful after we experience something, but really we should be grateful IN or DURING these experiences that we have. We all need to develop this attitude of gratitude. I know that if we look for the blessing we receive everyday and are grateful during the challenges we face everyday we will be so much happier and have a broadened perspective. I am so grateful for the challenges and experiences I have been able to have, especially here in the mission. I really have been able to learn and grow so much! 

Thanks for your love and support!

Les Amo Mucho!

Hermana Monson