ELDER TEIXEIRA - BYE BYE SPIDERS Closed the sector December 14, 2015

everyone ready for christmas?? 

ohhh how sad is the day today. This whole week i have had the impressions to 1 go through my luggage and organize it and get rid of things i dont want or will not be using and give them to my comp or members who need it 2 clean the house but deep clean it because its a desastor thanks to the missionaries in the past 3 get our area book all up to date every little thing and have everything in alphabetic order and in order with dates and numbers. I had no idea why i was doing what i was doing because my companion was the one that was leaving and preparing to go back home because she has completed her year and a half and i knew i would be staying here. well yesterday in the night i got really anxious that i need to have the house clean but clean and i knew it was not my OCD to clean ( like my mother and my second mother angela richins (; ) We have transfers wednesday and they called today! my companion goes home, they close my sector and give it to the elders that are in the other half of Rio Bueno and i leave for Valdivia that is 2 hours more north close to Concepcion. I could hardly believe it. We have only told our Mamita and she is really sad we have yet to tell the other members but i know they will have a cow.

This week we had A TON of success finding new investigators and we have a lot of them with dates for baptism or praying to know if baptism is important for them. it will be really hard to leave them because they have gotten really close to us and really want to learn more but i have a lot of faith and confidence in the elders here and know they will be baptised and i cant wait to hear about it. 

BUT the big news of the week was we had the oportunity to have a big conference with Elder Teixeira of the 70 who is in the Presidency of the area south america south. He is so wonderful and it was something else to be so close to a 70. His spirit was so strong and you could see the love he had for us and the way the light of our savior shone through him. He talked with us alot of focusing now in our missions and leaving everything else behind. That the savior wants us right now to be uttlerly focused in the work. He showed the Video ¨the will of god¨ and how heavenly father will cut us down over and over agian until we grow into what he needs. I really loved this video and really started to cry because it finally hit me that heavenly father wanted me to learn that he is the ¨garderner¨and i am the plant that he knows what he wants me to be and that i need to focus in the work here and i will learn ang grow. So this week i have put everything i have had in the sector and we now have 6 families we are teaching that will now be the elders. i have loved my time here in Rio Bueno and do not want to leave them. I have learned so much in this sector. I have learned to really count on my savior and come unto him. 

With that being said i have focused alot this week in Helaman chapter 12. the first and second verse really hit me right in the face and touched my heart. 

1 And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him.

 2 Yea, and we may see at the very time when he dothprosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trampleunder their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity

I realized that i was not having much success in my sector because i was not putting my trust in my father in heaven. i wanted to find people in my own way and do everything in my way and not really his. i was not listening to what the spirit was trying to tell me i was more frustrated with WHY DO I NOT HAVE INVESTIGADORS? WHY THIS AND WHY THAT. i was failing to realize that he wanted me to come unto him first and focus on him and the way he can change my heart that can change my investigators. i want you all to read this chapter and marvel at the world our savior and father in heaven has given us and let us remember that when things dont seem to be working the way we want or just seem dumb its because 1 we are not doing the will of our father or 2 its because he wnats us to have faith in him and come unto him knowing he has an end more glorious then our own mind can imagine.

i bought a hat for a baby of a inv and bought a cake for our mission leader for his birthday

I FOUND HERMANA BRAITHWAITE MY COMPY FROM THE CCM

My Beautiful Voice

I tried something a little different this week so you can all hear my voice (: let me know how you like it and listen to them in order so it all makes sense you can also get to know my companion a little more because she talked to you! i gave my testimony in espanol i love you all so much and want you to know how much this work means to me. i really do not want to leave the work its so amazing here. We have had a lot of problems with the ward but i think they will now help us alot more with the work and our new investigators we didnt find a lot of new people this week and might actually will have to drop the family oporto yarzo because when we went to visit them last i had a really bad feeling and the spirit told me to leave and we left. i am really praying right now for them and the guidance on what to do but we will see alot more miracles this week (: i love you and all hope you have a great thanksgiving and eat extra food for me because they do not celebrate thanksgiving here it doesnt exist (: 

 

A loud voice and house of spiders strikes again

WOW what an amazing week it has been i love my mission so very much you guys and it actually makes me sad when i think i would have to go home at the end... 

hmm i will start off first with the fact that the elders are now begging us to take some of there investigators that they stole from us the transfer before ha ha ha. it turns out that they now have too  many investigators and they are all woman which means they need a member that is a man to come to the visits with them and there is not enough that are willing to go with them so needless to say i gladly with a huge smile accepted to teach Anna Castro and her daughter Daniela. We had a rocky lesson with them because the elders let alot of time go between visiting with them so they dont really remember a lot or understand the reason to be baptised and when we asked them to be baptised they said we have been baptised in the catholic church and cant do it agian. i began to explain that baptism need a certain power of god and before i could finish my very shy compy comes out with a scripture in acts that says that baptism is for immersion and anyother baptism is not vaild and then told her that her baptism was not vaild and anna didnt say anything and daniela almost smiled i just sat there with my mouth open because i couldnt believe she did that she has NEVER done that its usually me i was in heaven after the lesson but my comp felt bad but i know it was what they needed and i can feel that they will be baptised.

We also made a contact this week with a man that is catholic that yelled at us saying  COCAINE, MARIJUANA AND ALCOHOL IS GOOD FOR YOU! YOU MORMONS HAVE IT ALL WRONG. I can truly say he was not all right in the head because he then said i hate members of my church that is better then you church and then told us some sad sob story then walked off into his house saing BYE BYE. i just walked off laughing.

The next day i found anothe old catholic man that i bible bashed with for a minute then just walked off all irritated because i proved his point wrong but he didnt want to listen but one day (:

A less active member here Hermana Nelly told me that if she dies while i am here she wants me to dress here for her cascet in her temple clothes. i almost started to cry because she is really close to my comp and i, a grandma to us and she has surgery tomorrow and is talking about dying. she does have a lot of health issues and her daughter married and ex misisonary of this mission and moved to utah some odd years ago. so we will see what happens tomorrow.

Sunday was an eventful day for me because i got in an arugment with our mission leader. he was teaching the gospel princples class about the resurrection and the millenium. he was saying that when we are resurrected we will have the body of a 33 year old like chirst and all the children or anyone younger will too have the same body of 33 year old like chirst i immediatly said no we will have the body as when we were most perfect here in the earth and the parents of babies or children lost before they could raise them have the promise to raise them. he got all mad and changed the lesson and during sarament tried to prove me wrong and when he re read the book realized he was wrong but just said AY and nothing else so i just went back to listening to the speakers.

This week was a quite a challenging week for me spiritually because a lot of members including our mamita and papita that feed us everyday got mad at me and argued with me this week about them helping us as missionaries i told them i was grateful for all they did for us washing our clothes and feeding us but that i only wanted them to come out with us for 30 min to a lesson they began to tell me i was not humble and not a good missionary and other awful things i tried to stand up for myself but they cut me off so i raised my voice and felt so bad after. things have since gotten a little better. alot of other members are still not happy with me but a lot are because we had the change of 2 coming out with us and they saw that in rain and with people horrible to us we still knock doors and try to contact people they were really humbiled by the experience and have been sharing that with other members (:

Spirutally part of this week has been my scripture study. i read in Alma 44:4. This chapter really does have a lot of spiritually things mixed in with the wars and blood shed. When i read verse 4 i really used it to our time when people try to start a ¨war¨ with us about our religion and values. Its not just non members but members as well as missionaries. I used it that if we truly have faith in christ and follow his commandments we have the promise that he will help us and perserve us and keep us protected from all the bad in this world. Because i am a straight forward person and have such high values for the members, inv, and less actives here i recieve a lot of critism. they make fun of my spanish, make fun of the fact i am from utah the factory of the righteous un humble missionaries and that i am a youngin that doesnt know here bible stories or know what live is. i hav realized that with religion age does not matter. we all ahve things that are difficult for us we all have our personal challenges and spiritually experiences that possiblly a person with 80 years has not gone through but we are here to testify of chirst and move along with faith in him. i for the first time in my mission this week fell to my knees after a lunch of listening to such awful things from members that i loved. i fell down to my knees in my bedroom and prayed. i cried and cired sobbed and sobbed i wanted to go home. i want to be done. i promised myself before my mission i would never feel that way and here it was the breaking point. i didnt want to continue with this mission but as i prayed i can truly testify that i felt the saviors love for me. i remembered the talk from elder holland when he said that we are to taste not even a token of what the savior drank but that it was necessary to ahve a little to testify of him. i felt my heart being healed. i felt that i was truly loved and that he was there with me after i read my p blessing and things that didnt really get my attention did and i then wnated nothing more than to stay hre for ever to testiy of my savior and help those around me. i love this quote and see it everday 

¨Just think of it: You´re known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful and glorious being in the universe!! You are LOVED by the king of INFINITE SPACE AND EVER LASTING TIME!!¨ pres. dieter f uchtdorf

we are loved by the most perfect being and he is here for us i can truly testify. my dear loved ones in missions or at home dont give up  and dont allow satan to make you feel like you need ot go home or give up on standing up for whats right. the world is changing we cant have one foot in the world an one foot in the gospel we need to choose what side we want and i can say after this week i want the winning side that has the blessings more glorious then i can imagine because my savior is shaping me to more glorious ends then i can imagine in the name of jesus christ amen

my favorite member family here has a pet bird that loves me he climbs my skirt then my shirt to sit on my shoulder and he talks and then when i knod my head he knods his

this is pichangas!! for thanksgiving!!



the sign says we have food colder then the heart of your ex!

 

 

Madisyn's 1st Birthday away from home

November 16, 2015

Well i dont know where to even start with this last week.. the most ridiculous things happened and i am still amazed that i didnt lose my temper.

I guess i will start it all off witht he big BANG of the week yall ready? 

 

So once upon a time a man contacted us in the street. His name was Juan. Juan was really interested in the church and said he has assisted the church one time and really liked it and even asked us if we still had a bautsimal font. so we wrote down his name and his number and planned to visit him. Tuesday night at 8 we were supposed to visit him but we couldnt make it because we had exchanges this day and it put us behind schedule and the appointment with a less active was going longer than expected so i called him and asked if we could move the visit to the next day at the same time and he said yes of course because i just recently got home from my farm and it works out better or me. Well after a long day of contacting we got back to the house an i planned as my hermana leader was going through our area book reviewing everything. I finsihed planning and wanted to go straight to bed... well as we were going sawing logs the phone rang at 1 IN THE MORNING and as all of you know i could sleep through anything so naturally i thought it was a dream but the hermana leader wakes up to everything so she answered the phone and later told me the next morning that a crazy lady called cussing us out saying we were making moves on her husband but that he is angelic well the hermana leader tried to calm this lady down and tell her not to worry that we would call later that day click.. well she called back again 2 times so we had to turn the phone off well the next morning during our district meeting this same lady called 3 times and each time it was a diferent number and each time she cussed us out sayig wierd things but finally the district leader took the phone and said to stop calling and not worry we couldnt do anything to them or visit there house welll after that she called again but we didnt answer.

I honestly could not believe it along with the fact on friday we had a really awesome lesson with the family oparto yarzo (victor javier, renata, carla, and victoria) we talked about the restoration and they loved it asked questions and were really receptive but then all went to the toilet because they had a question so i said yeah what? are you a virgen? umm what? we want to know if you have to be virgens to go on missions. my comp was dying because she doenst talk about anything like that ever she doesnt like saying she needs to use the bathroom. so i just laughed and basically taught the law of chastiy. they were really happy and said its always good to have gringa missionaries because they are open about everything and will teach all the stuff. i was laughing so hard after because to this day my comp is freaked out.

So a thing to share with my friends and my littke brother because im sure you guys will find it funny my comp is learning english and asked for my help so when we were out contacting a lot of people rejected us so i asked my comp so say something in english so we could practice and she could cheer up. and she says YA´LL NEED JESUS! i busted out laughing because she has the best accent. she also has determined that i need to marry into her family because she has a brother that is 21 and she cant live without me she says.

Okay enough with that on to the spirit experiences this week

Miguel Angel had a rough experence with church yesterday and was bulled a little by the other kids in the primary so him and his mom left church early but everything is okay right now and i think he is still okay for baptism. during our lesson before he stopped and said i need to pray then knelt down and began to pray it was such an amazing experience.

This week i have spent a lot of time studying the examples of Ammon, Alma and Amulek in the mission. they were such powerful missionaries and full of the spirit. They always wanted to follow the lord even when others were suffering. in Chapter 14 they are watching the wrath of god upon the people by fire. The fire is comsuming all and amulek turns to alma when he sees the innocent woman and chilren crying and perishing. ¨how can we witness this? cant we reach out our hand to them and rescue them? and Alma says no this needs to happen but those that are innocent are in the pressence of our god and they are happy. I was so amazed at this because many times in the mission we have to leave non profressing inv or less actives and my heart mourns for them but in the end i know we can stil give them littel notes at there door and pray for them. 

The lords work. This week was a week full of trials and yesterday i recieved another answer i have been searching for. our brake president of the ward had lunch with us and shared a story that President Gordan B Hinckley was feeling sad and down that a lot of things were working the way he had wanted that he felt unworthy and inadequate for this work and that in that moment he heard very clearly the voice of our loving father in heaven saying Gordan Gordan this is my work not your work. This literally pierced my soul. When we as missionaries or members or leaders in the chruch take pity on ourselfs or feel down that something didnt turn out the way we wanted or that we are not doing enough we need ot remember its not our work ITS THE LORDS WORK and in his time and way he will have things happen. My compy and I really studied that this morning to foucs on the fact that we cant control the work and we arent ment to we are ment to simply live our lives in harmony with the commandments and teaching of our savior and he does the rest. i love you all remember to always be ready to share the gospel an when things dont go as you wish remember its not our work but the lords (:

November 9, 2015

WOW you guys I am starting to really not want mondays to come around... this week flew by and i am closer and closer to completing 6 months in the mission and it makes me really sad! I will turn 20 on the 19th and the day after complete 6 months in the mission so you can bet that i have been planning ways to hid when my time here is up so i dont have to go home ill probably just crawl into one of the many huge spider web houses.

So this week has been a week of a lot of spiritual thinking for me obviousy as a missionary i have a lot of spiritual thinking but this week was more so than ever. I spent a lot of my free time putting our Area book in order, reading Liahonas, studying scriptures and my patriatical blessing and ended in a fast on sunday. I have been searching for an answer to a long awaited question that i have had since i started my misison and the passon to find the answer grew when i  was transfered here in Rio Bueno. 

I was searching for a way to forget all that has happened in my past. I wanted to find a way to finally forgive myself, along with others. i have wanted to find a way to easily forgive others the way the lord forgives others. I have tried to ¨fake it until you make it¨ convincing myself that i have put it all in the past. All my attempts have yet to work until this week. As i pondered this week over the needs of our investigators a common factory kepy coming and that was the atonement and forgiveness. As i talked with my comp it became more and more clear that some of the same problems they were having were the inner battles i was struggling. I finally decided to random open my scriptures. the verses that i recieved were D&C 24:8 and Moroni 10:3-5

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know thetruth of all things.

I at first was like ¨really.. the same scripture we use all the time with investigators it must be a mistake so i being stubborn closed my scriptures and did it again and once again i got this scripture but this time the words stood out bigger to me ¨SINCERE HEART¨¨MERCIFUL¨ i then decided to spend the whole week searching through the atonement and i found the best talks that all had the phrase use the mercy and grace of god and let it go, let it go. i continued to look and look thinking wow its not coming ill fast and so i fasted and yesterday i ended my fast and felt tremendously better but was still missing something so i spend the morning reading but it was until today when i recieved a email that confirmed what i had already known from earlier during the week.

 

                                                           LET IT GO

The letter i recieved had parts of a mormon message that i love about a man that loses his wife, unborn baby, son and daughter in a car accident and how when he had saw the other car he immediately didnt feel hate or anger towards the car only a confirmation that it wasnt his burden to bare and he needed to let it go. 

I can truly testify that i heart a still voice say to me personally ¨Madi let it go¨ as  i sat at my study desk my heart grew a million sizes and i knew that i had received all that i had needed that it wasnt my burden to carry because my savior had already done it. I KNOW MY SAVIOR LIVES. i know that i have seen his work here in chile with those i am teaching and i know that i can help them LET IT GO. i am so grateful for the power of the atonement and the ability to truly feel at peace. i want you all to know that when somehting happens it happens because it needs to happen. i know now more than ever that THINGS HAPPEN WHEN THEY NEED TO HAPPEN and that we need to have a more eternal perspective maybe something big happens in our lives or a small thing happens in our life that can effect our lifes or more importantly others. i have been thinking a little to much abut me and not enough about others i have a plan to only pray this week for others and i challenge you do do the same. the lord knows our needs and will bless us so i want others to recieve more blessings i love you all so much and i am grateful for every isngle email i recieve i read them all and save them all. i want you to know that you are missionaries with me and i need you to find those walking in darkness and help them. i cant wait to see what this week holds!! 

ALL MY LOVE XOXOX

CON TODO DE MI AMOR   Hermana Kogianes 

same earrings as a little girl in the ward that i love

WE FOUND A SHEEPS HEAD HAHA UMM also a pic from our clean house in hopes for permission to leave the sector to explore

fotos are of a dead sheep head being cooked because they eat it here, a rainbow from sunday, me and my comp eating popsicle because its been so hot here and the daughters of victor javier and renata! the daughters victoria and carla

 

November 2, 2015

WOW!   I can not begin to express to all of you how amazed i am that another monday is yet again here! i am really beginning to hate P days because that means another week gone. Today is transfers annnnnddddddddddd i am here in RIO BUENO! and the best part... HERMANA TORRES is stil my lovelyl compy. i am super excited to continue my work here with her and get to know each other even more! it is her last transfer in the mission (tear dropped on the keyboard) i am so sad to think that she will be gone in a short 6 weeks but we have plans to work really hard and eat tons of food before she returns to Argentina.

This week I have really grown with my spanish and ability to speak. i have also decided to try and learn Argentina spanish from my comp. In Argentina they have an accent that is spanish but with a more italian accent its really awesome.

Alrighty so this week we had a lot of really good things happen and a lot of really lame things happen so to be honest i am not really sure what to share with you so i will try to share a little of everything.

Monday we met with victor javier and his family. his wife renata really doesnt like the mormon church and when we went over she was really rude to us and cold. she told us she would never meet with us and that our church is wrong and a lot of awful things but after a conversation of 30 minutes and us expressing that we really loved her honesty and sharing her feelings she asked for our forgiveness and said that she would love to meet with us and that we are welcome anytime.

Tuesday was a huge blessing for me! i was having a really rough day so after lunch i decided to start fasting. i had prayed for a lot of things, one of them being for the ability to feel the spirit stronger and to know that i could help the people here. 20 minutes after my fast i recieved a phone call from my trainer! i could hardly believe it as i heard her voice on the other line. i was able to talk to her for a good 5 minutes and hermana braithwaite my companion from the ccm. She shared some things with me and told me how much she loved and adored me. after the phone call i was so shocked i could not believe that i had so rapidly recieved a long awaited answer to a fast.

Wednesday we met with Elaina and tonia! it was a fantastic lesson about the restoration and they really loved the clip we showed about the joseph smith and they both argreed to read and pray. they both expressed the joy and peace they felt when we were there and that they just cant stop smiling because they feel so good. We also had a party for a returned missionary that was so weird for my comp that we eventually left because she couldnt stand to think that she would be doing that in a few short months (december) 

Thursday was a crazy day... a lady almost hit me with her car but nothing happened and i am fine mom so dont worry. Eliana felt so strongly to have us visit a friend of hers that is having a hard time. her husband has recently been lost in the mountians and they cant find him so we taught her the plan of salvation and called the elders to give her a blessing of comfort and then after they stole her from us because she lived 4 houses into their sector needless to say i was not happy but i am at peace with it now because atleast she is getting to hear the lessons. my compy is still flaming mad about it and says the elders always do that. we were also yelled at by an angelic lady that said we believed in joseph smith and not god and that we are bascially losing salvation and that we need to read the bible i literally had to bite my tonuge after testifying to her about the book of mormon.

Friday we had lunch with Eliana and tonia it was such a great afternoon and they were still progressing so much and even agreed to read some chapters in the book of mormon.

Saturday and Sunday we spent the day in osorno for the stake conference this weekend that was really great! the stake president and our president of the mission really gave it to the members about helping out the missionarys and our convents about baptism. the sad part of the day was that we went to visit Eliana and she dropped us saying she couldnt read a false book. what happened was when we had lunch with her she took pictures of us with her and posted it on facebook well are her friends and family that are angelics gave her alot of anti mormon stuff so she rejected all the spiritual feeligns she had felt and said we were a cult and wouldnt meet with us i was so sad to see satan win a battle with someone that was really progresssing but i have faith that she will one day see the light of christ.

the most spiritual thing i want to share with you is a video that we watched during this stake conference from Jefferey R Holland about missionary work. he shares the story of peter and christ when christ asks him 3 times if he loves and each time peter says yes more than anything. then he tells him ¨THEN FEED MY SHEEP¨  If we really love christ than why is it so hard to give up our worldy things to do missionary work? i really loved this question because as a missionary we have our things that at times make it so we do not feed the sheep of christ. as members of the church why do we not visit thoughs in need? why is it so hard to visit teach people we are given even when they dont want us to visit or still arent coming to church? i want you guys to pray and ask heavenly father ¨what is it that you want of me today?¨ look for those in need of missionary service this day. When we entered into the waters of baptism we said YES LORD I WILL FOLLOW THEE AND DO THE THINGS YOU ASK we didnt say well maybe i will today or down the road decide no. when it comes to commandments and good doings we do not need to kneel down and ask heavenly father if we should or shouldnt do it we already know the answer from when we were baptised at  tender age of 8 years old and for some older but thats not important what is important is we promised to feed his sheep (: i love you all ponder this and when you have an experience or want to share what happened send me an email i wooukld really love tohear it love you all so much 

con amor xoxox

Madi took pictures of flowers that she knew her Mother would love

My hair is a dream here for all of the girls that are attending beauty school.

we made MILANESAS food from argentina!

  

All time favorite

and sheeeeeeeeeeee's safe!!!!

This is my all time favorite picture from Madi playing high school softball.  She slid into home plate so hard that the catcher dropped the ball and Madi scored!  It was so awesome as it was a state championship game against rival Spanish Fork.  Oh how I miss watching little miss feisty play!

Madisyn's Email October 26, 2015

WOW what a week it has been here in Rio Bueno! it is starting to get really hot here and am i loving it? YESSSSSS my compy however is dying she hates the hot and loves the cold. the only bad thing is its warm for 2 days out of the week and the rest is freezing and cold or its hot in the afternoon and raining in the night and morning... everyone says utah has bi polar weather you have never been to Chile (:

We found so me really amazing investigators this week knocking doors but guess what..... LESS ACTIVES. ahhh so right now we currently have 15 less active familys that we are trying to re activate and help assist the temple. however the president of our mission sent out and annoucment that we are not super visiting teachers or home teachers we are misisonarys and need to focus in finding new investigators... we are currently trying to get the ward more involved in helping us and taking the load off our shoulders with so many families and recent converts

We did however find a new investigador named Victor Javier. He has 2 daughters and a wife that we have yet to talk to. He is really interested in the church and this isnt the first time that he has listened to the missionaries so we are hoping that we can help him improve. we have an appointment with him today.

Next we found Dolmitro! he is the coolest old man that has a lot of questions about all the churches and when i asked him what it was that he wanted out of his life here on earth he said I want to find the true and perfect church. i smiled and testified to him that i had found that church and i was now a missionary preaching the gospel for that church. he agreed to meet with us again this week so we will see what happens this is the second time he has met with misisonarys but he said before he didnt really pay attention.

the sad news of the week is our cute little recent convert cristel is having a hard time right now well her parents. Christian the dad was doing really good in the beginning and trying to assist all the classes in church and live a good life however recently he has started drinking with some guys from his work. Now during our visits he is very indifferent and is very angry most of the time and says he doesnt think we need a prophet and apostles in front of cristel. we tried to calm him down and explain things but he wouldnt listen and i soon lost my patience with him and we left. Sunday he met with the president of the branch and i think it helped but we will see what happens this week when we visit. i lost patience with him and i felt really bad after.. i feel bad for cristel because she wants to live the gospel more but her parents are struggling spiritually and it has affected her a lot. the good thing is that the mom cecilia has called us asking for help and we have a brother from the ward that is helping us with them.

the spiritual part for this week. i want you all to try 2 activities for me in the book of mormon. the first is i want you to think of a doubt, problem, affliction, question you have about the gospel or anyting happening in your life right now and i want you to read 3 nephi 11: 1-17 while reading have this thought in your mind and find one of these verses that stands out the most to you and there is your answer. The next... pray... pray for the ability to find something you need in the book of mormon and answer of peace or help with current things in your life when you are done praying just open your book of mormon and randomly and the first verse your had is one or is marked and stands out to you read it. i can promise you with all of my heart that it will answer and help you in all that is going on in your lives right now. my sector is currently going through some hard times. a lot of people have severe and mild depression and i have watched it tear families apart as well as tear a person apart spirtually. do this activity and spend time with your family. if you are not currently reading the book of mormon as a family and praying as a family everynight i encourage you to do so please (: the family is so important in this gospel and when one in the family is trying to be better and the others are not satan is attacking your family and you need to fight back. when the family is all doing well satan is even worse than before and will do anything to end it. nightly family prayer and scripture study allows the spirit to enter the home more i have witnessed families on the verge of seperation become one again. i have seen families suffering the death of a love one feel more peace in the home. i love you all so much and pray for all of you. i konw a lot of you ahve difficult times right now and are passing through things difficlut. the savior is here for you and he lives for you. he suffered all for us all he asks is to come unto him. reach out to those around you and express your feelings seek the guidance of the savior

D&C 121: 7-8

 7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

 8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

D&C 24:8

 8 Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; butendure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days.

xoxox

Made Brownies with some investigators

Adriana and her boys

We ordered french fries and had them delivered at 10 p.m. one night.  Sausage, tomatoes and egg.

A little bird that Madi almost stepped on

Eating french fries