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HOLA FAMILIA!!!

Well, the time continues to fly by! On Sunday I will complete 7 months in the mission! So crazy! I now have 6 months here in Olmos and.... tomorrow I have a transfer. I wanted to stay one more transfer in Olmos with Hermana Hernandez, but I guess thats not what the Lord has in mind. It will be good to have a change, but Im a little nervous. Its such a pain to pack my suitcases.... I feel like I have given a lot of stuff away and still my suitcases weigh a ton! 

This week has been a little hard. We don't have anyone progressing. We visited a lot of new people but no one wants to learn about the gospel, they just want to have us be their friends and visit them. The menos actives don't want to change either. They don't want to have anything to do with the gospel. It's so sad!

We were able to visit some elderly people this week. First we visited some members that are elderly. They haven't been to church for about a month and a half because they have been sick. When we got to their house they said, "Oh, what a surprise! You haven't forgotten about us like everyone else." and then when we left the hermana gave us a big hug and said, "When are you going to come again? You can visit us whenever you like!" We were able to visit some other elderly hermanas that arent members as well. It's so sad how lonely they are. They just want someone to talk to. Often we forget about these people. Please do as President Monson has said and DONT forget to visit the elderly. They need our help and they want our visits. 

Other than that nothing too exciting happened... oh, I did wake up with a high fever and have been sweating ever since. Hah its great in the heat here. I cant stop sweating. I could not sleep. I think I might have slept for a good 30 minutes and that was it for the whole night. I even tried sleeping on the cold tile floor but that didn't help. But Im getting betting so thats good!:)

I love you all and I am so grateful for your love and support!:)

Love, Hermana Monson

P.S. many of the people here eat like Jaxon- like a scoop shovel... hunched over their food and they eat really fast. I even found a kid in the branch that talks like Jax. haha Love ya Jax:)

Remember to practice the piano! It will help you so much! I am leaving the area and now they dont know who will play the piano because I played every week and they need someone to play because they dont know the tunes of the the hymns. Practice practice practice!!!

Funny dad that you said to stay away from the fish because we eat fist everyday day.... if not twice or three times a day!

Gift of Tongues

January 19, 2015

HOLA!!!

Wow. This week was so great! I dont think I have ever felt so tired in my life, but we have been working so hard here in Olmos. We dont know how, but we were able to accomplish almost all of our goals for this week. We had more help from the member and we talked to pretty much EVERYONE in Olmos! The Lord was really helping us out this week. 

We had interviews with President and Sister Williams this week. Like always Sister Williams said I always look so happy. Hah she asked me why the mission is so great. Hah but it really is. I love serving the Lord and I really am so happy all the time... even if I am so tired I can barely move. President Williams told me that many times we measure our success as missionaries by baptisms, but sometimes we just need to measure our success by how hard we are working. I really needed to hear that. I feel like for the longest time we havent had many progressing investigators, but I feel like we have been trying our hardest. All we can do is our part, and then we have to leave the rest to the investigators if they want to accept the gospel or not. 

Yesterday I had to give my first talk in Sacrament Meeting in Olmos. The Branch President asked Hermana Hernandez and me to speak on Saturday. We were both so nervous. I didnt know what I was going to share, but I was so proud of myself that I could prepare a talk without the help of dad hah;) When the sacrament was being passed my heart started racing. This whole week people have told me they cant understand my "English" when I was speaking Spanish and I have just been a little frustrated with the language because I thought I was improving, so I thought no one would be able to understand me and I would struggle through my whole talk. I was the first speaker and when I stood up all those feelings left me. I was able to give my whole talk without looking at my notes besides when I shared a few quotes or scriptures. I was not myself. I dont think I have ever spoken Spanish like that. Hermana Hernandez told me my Spanish was so clear and pretty much perfect. An Hermano that was visiting came up to me and told me I have the Spanish down. He said I will be fluent in a month. Hah I dont know it was not me. I know I couldnt have spoken like that by myself. I am so grateful for the gift of tongues!

Next week are cambios. I was so ready to leave Olmos. At first it was a little hard to work with Hermana Hernandez and now we have so much fun together. I dont want to leave!... We will see what happens next week. :/

The Church is so true! Life is so much easier when we follow the path that our Savior has already prepared for us! Always remember to read the scriptures, pray, and have family home evening! 

I love you all so much!!!!

LES AMO

Hermana Monson

this is what we found in our appartment the other day!!!

I taught Hermana Hernandez and our pensionista how to make chocolate chip cookies... it was a little difficult becuase they dont have all the ingredients here in Olmos and I felt like I was using a little easy bake oven haha

Oh, and theres no such thing as a bosh here hah

Muchos Platinos

January 12, 2015

HOLA FAMILIA!!!

This week was a pretty good one! Hermana Hernandez and I keep improving with our goals. This week has been so much better and it feels more like we are good friends and its not awkward. YAY! Really she is great and it has been fun working with her. 

This week we had a few step backs... we had an investigator that was ready for baptism and she has improved so much spiritually, but there was a big thing that happened here in Olmos with one of the members and she didnt agree with it, so she said, how could she join a church where people are like that when they have more time in the church than she does? She told us she was ready to join the Church of Jesus Christ but that ticked her off and now she doesnt know. She said that we can visit her in a month once she has some time to think. I wanted to cry. I think I did shed a few tears. We have worked with her my whole time here in Olmos and she has started to read the Book of Mormon and understand it. I felt so sad for her. We tried to explain to her that just because we are members doesnt mean we are perfect, but the gospel of Jesus Christ is SO perfect. I realized that I really do love our investigators and I care a lot about them. It is so hard to see people come so close to making a decision that will change their whole life for the better and then they turn away, but we can not force anyone to do anything. I hope that she will find the missionaries again someday. 

We are still trying to have investigators with a baptismal date. Still on the search for people that want to hear the gospel!:)

This week I was reading in Ether and I cant even imagine living in that time, when everyone is horrible and all they do is fight in wars and eat, sleep, and wait for the next morning for their death. They didnt want to change. They continued following Satan. We dont have to eat, sleep, and wait for our death. We have the great hope and knowledge the gospel brings us that there is so much more to this life. We need to learn to change and apply the gospel so we can LIVE (forever and ever:) ) The gospel is so great!:)

This week I think I had platinos everyday for breakfast, dinner, and sometimes lunch.... fried, boiled, mashed..... I think our new pensionista really likes platinos!!! Hah

We have also found a frog, lizards, cocroaches, ants, and grasshoppers in her house. I have improved so much because it doesnt bother me as much anymore:)

Love you all!

Hermana Monson

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

January 1, 2015

FELIZ ANO NUEVO!!!

Hola familia. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I couldnt have asked for a better Christmas present, talking to you was amazing! Sorrry mom that I could only talk for 30-40 minutes- missionary manuel:)

This week not much happened, other than the temperaturas continue to rise. Yesterday was worse than it has ever been, and everyone says this is only half way to the high temperaturas. I have become used to sweating constantly and have learned to love freezing old showers. Everyone is worried about my skin and tells me I am red, but I dont know what else to do, I use sunscreen everyday. But the work keeps moving on:)

Funny story... we were visiting this older lady who only has one arm and we were teaching her how to pray. Hermana Hernández said you can just fold your arms and close your eyes... this Little grandma couldnt hear very well and she said, WHAT? and Hermana Hernández went to repeat herself and then she realized that she couldnt fold her arms. Good thing she couldnt hear. Afterwards we just had to laugh. It was pretty funny. This Little grandma is so cute though. She is the first person to accept a baptismal invitation in a long time. We hope to continue to help her.

We also have another investigator named Maria. She has been an investigator for a long time. Her husband and son are members but she says she is still waiting for an answer. I know she knows the church is true. She goes to church every week, she bears her testimony to her neighbors, she gives us references,.... shes practically a member but she still wont be baptized. It makes me so sad that she doesnt realize the happiness she could have by becoming a member of the Church of Jesús Christ. I know one day she will be baptized. I just feel like a parent right now. I know what she needs to do to be happy, but she wont do it. She is so amazing she just needs to recognize her answer.

Like I said nothing really happened this week. Not many people are home, so we spent a lot of time walking around:)

I hope you all are doing well. Thanks for your love and support!

Les Amo Mucho!

Hermana Monson

Progress

January 5, 2015

FAMILIA!!!

Well, I think these past couple of days might have just been the best ever! We are finally starting to see progression in our investigators! It is the best feeling ever. This week we also received a reference from a member, actually this hermana named Maritza went to this member and told her that she wanted to have the missionaries visit her. We went and she said she had been waiting for us. She told us she wanted to be closer to God and she wanted to start putting him first in her life. She told us her life problems and just cried to us (I cant even imagine experiencing what she is experiencing right now). I am just a 19 year old little girl and sometimes I feel like there is no way I can help these people when I hear all of their problems, but then I remember that its not me, but Christ that can help them. I have never felt the Atonement so real before in my life. As I testified of the sufferings of our Savior Jesus Christ I was filled with so much love for this woman that I hardly even know and I felt the grand love that Christ has for each of us to suffer all of our pains and give His life for us. The Atonement is real. It is the only way we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. 

We also had another little miracle the other day. We were looking for the house of a reference and I thought her house was this one where a man was sitting out in front, so I asked him if this hermana lived there. He said no but he said he had seen us all the time walking by the park but we never talked to him (yes, I felt like a failure of a missionary for not ever contacting him). Turns out he was an ex mayor of Olmos. He also wants to be closer to God. He asked us if we had a pamplet for him (he pretty much contacted us). We then invited him to church and he came!!! (we have never had a contact come to church just from a contact!) He was there early and everyone wanted to great him because he is the ex mayor. He had a lot to say in sunday school and understands everything really well. He said that he probably cant be baptized this month because there still is a lot that he doesnt know, but maybe the next month. We were like WOW!!! We hope that we can start to teach him and help him make changes in his life. The Lord really does prepare people and guide them to the light!

Pretty much these last couple days have been full of miracles. After a long drout the rains always come:)

I love you all and am so grateful for your love and support!:)

Les Amo Mucho!

Hermana Monson

Feliz Navidad!

FAMILIA!!!

 

Well, another great week has come and gone! This week was a bitter sweet one... Hermana Hess went home today, so this was our last week together. We were happy we were at least able to spend Christmas together (we had our little multi-zone Christmas part on Wednesday. It was so fun. Every country was represented by the missionaries from those countries to share Christmas traditions and songs. We also had to do skits as a zone... some elders like acting a little too much, but it was hilarious. We watched a video to end the meeting called What can you give? or What will you give? its like a mormon message type video. Its so good. What can/will we each give to Christ this Christmas?)

Like I said Hermana Hess is leaving so I get a new companion tomorrow. I have just been camping out with some hermanas in Chiclayo. They are so cute and nice. I like being in a trio. But I´m a little nervous to get my new companion. Im pretty sure I will be getting a Latina companion, so goodbye English! A lot of new things are coming my way, a new companion, a new pensionista (Hna. Vicki has to have surgery so we have to find a new pensionista), a new language probaby, and a new year! Hah Hermana Hess said Im pretty much getting a slap in the face, everything at once, but thats okay.:) Thats life right?

One thing that I studied this week was in Alma when the Nephites are trying to keep their cities and not let the Lamanites overtake them. I like Alma 59:9. its so much easier to do the right thing and maintain our standards, than to have to try and fix them later. Hermana Hess shared this quote with me that sums it up perfectly.... "its better to prepare and prevent than to repare and repent". Choose the right! It makes life so much easier I promise:) Also read in Alma 53-57 about the Strippling Warriors. They are amazing and such great examples for all of us!

The Church is SO true!

 

Thank you all so much for your love and support! Sorry this letter is kind of lame this week!

LES AMO MUCHO!

Hermana Monson