Monday, January 30, 2017
Week 71
HOLA!!!
Well I dont have too many things to report from this week because I feel like I just wrote to you all... But here is the rundown from the rest of the week:
-Thursday: So the temple trip was amazing! And afterward we ate Taco Bell, so I was one happy camper! :) Then later we visited Gabriela, and well she told us that she wants us to keep visiting her, but that she is going to need more time before she can commit to getting baptized. That was kinda sad. Then we also visited the Ixquiac family, and were able to talk with them about why the aren’t going to church.. they opened up with us, and committed to go to church (...although on Sunday they didn’t show up...) Then we also went with the Grijalva family, and we showed them a video and it was perfect for them (and they gave us brownies!).
-Friday: WOW, it was nothing what we expected. In the morning, we got a call from the Elders telling us that a taxi was going to pass by our house in 30 min to take us to the house of some other sisters because they were having some serious problems. Well, 3 hours later we get back to our house just in time to start divisions with other Hermanas that were also having some problems… It made me really appreciate my companion... And well we don’t know if we are going to have to be in a trio or not... we will see this week. But in the evening the Grijalva family (knowing that we were with 3 other sisters) called us to invite all of us to eat dinner. They are so wonderful! And it was the perfect way to end such a stressful day!
-Saturday: The biggest miracle was that we found the Chiguichon Family. Some of the family members are inactive, and others aren’t members. We have gone for over a month trying to teach them, but they always have an excuse. But the bishop had told us that he wants us to visit them every week, so we keep trying. And well it paid off, because the lesson went great. The mom opened up to us about why she isn’t going to church, and her daughters (who aren’t members) were excited to listen to us, and really want to go to church. In the end they said that yes, they will come to church with us in the next few weeks. And then in the evening as we were heading for our house, we passed by the house of an Hermana, and my companion and I both felt like we should stop to remind her of church in the morning. Well, let me tell you how thankful I was that the Spirit told us to do that. We got in and she was an emotional wreck. She explained some of the things that have been happening with her husband. And well we went at the perfect moment to listen to her. And in the end she thanked us so much for passing by to see her. And yes, she did go to church on Sunday, and said that she felt much better!
-Sunday: Well Byron and Ana Maria went to church again! They are loving it so much! And more and more people stop to say hi to them! It is wonderful!
Well those are the highlights from the week!
Ponderizing: Luke 11:35 “Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.” Lately we have talked and studied a lot about light. In December the phrase was LIGHT THE WORLD. We know as members of the church we have a light, we have the Spirit. But we also know that our light can be dimmed if we don't make the right choices. I love in Luke 11:34 how it says that “The light of the body is the eye” You often hear people say that “There was a light in his eyes.” I want to encourage you all to find a way this week that you can have a little more light in your eyes! :)
Love you all!
-Hermana Garrett
Well I dont have too many things to report from this week because I feel like I just wrote to you all... But here is the rundown from the rest of the week:
-Thursday: So the temple trip was amazing! And afterward we ate Taco Bell, so I was one happy camper! :) Then later we visited Gabriela, and well she told us that she wants us to keep visiting her, but that she is going to need more time before she can commit to getting baptized. That was kinda sad. Then we also visited the Ixquiac family, and were able to talk with them about why the aren’t going to church.. they opened up with us, and committed to go to church (...although on Sunday they didn’t show up...) Then we also went with the Grijalva family, and we showed them a video and it was perfect for them (and they gave us brownies!).
-Friday: WOW, it was nothing what we expected. In the morning, we got a call from the Elders telling us that a taxi was going to pass by our house in 30 min to take us to the house of some other sisters because they were having some serious problems. Well, 3 hours later we get back to our house just in time to start divisions with other Hermanas that were also having some problems… It made me really appreciate my companion... And well we don’t know if we are going to have to be in a trio or not... we will see this week. But in the evening the Grijalva family (knowing that we were with 3 other sisters) called us to invite all of us to eat dinner. They are so wonderful! And it was the perfect way to end such a stressful day!
-Saturday: The biggest miracle was that we found the Chiguichon Family. Some of the family members are inactive, and others aren’t members. We have gone for over a month trying to teach them, but they always have an excuse. But the bishop had told us that he wants us to visit them every week, so we keep trying. And well it paid off, because the lesson went great. The mom opened up to us about why she isn’t going to church, and her daughters (who aren’t members) were excited to listen to us, and really want to go to church. In the end they said that yes, they will come to church with us in the next few weeks. And then in the evening as we were heading for our house, we passed by the house of an Hermana, and my companion and I both felt like we should stop to remind her of church in the morning. Well, let me tell you how thankful I was that the Spirit told us to do that. We got in and she was an emotional wreck. She explained some of the things that have been happening with her husband. And well we went at the perfect moment to listen to her. And in the end she thanked us so much for passing by to see her. And yes, she did go to church on Sunday, and said that she felt much better!
-Sunday: Well Byron and Ana Maria went to church again! They are loving it so much! And more and more people stop to say hi to them! It is wonderful!
Well those are the highlights from the week!
Ponderizing: Luke 11:35 “Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.” Lately we have talked and studied a lot about light. In December the phrase was LIGHT THE WORLD. We know as members of the church we have a light, we have the Spirit. But we also know that our light can be dimmed if we don't make the right choices. I love in Luke 11:34 how it says that “The light of the body is the eye” You often hear people say that “There was a light in his eyes.” I want to encourage you all to find a way this week that you can have a little more light in your eyes! :)
Love you all!
-Hermana Garrett
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Dirty Bathrooms, Road Trips, and More
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| FHE |
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| Our very long car ride back to the capital |
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| When we cleaned the sisters bathroom in divisions... The most disgusting thing I have done on my mission |
Week 70
HOLA!!
So it has been a crazy week.. and a few days! Here are some things that have happened!
- Well last Monday we had a farewell party for Sebastian (our old mission leader's son).
- Tuesday we were able to help lots of members, and actually they ended up helping us a lot! All the Hermanas in the capital had to stay the night together, and one member family offered to drive us to the house so that we didn't have to take the bus late at night!
- Wednesday we woke up SUPER early (at 3 am) to take a bus to Chiquimula for our Conference for Sisters! It was a LONG trip! But the conference went great! We were in charge of basically all of it, so we were relieved when it was all over :) And then we had the whole trip back to sleep… except that I had forgotten how draining the heat is outside the capital! But we ended up getting to our house at 8:50 pm. It was a long day!
- Thursday we found a young lady named Gabriela. She is awesome! And in the first lesson accepted a baptismal date! She is very open to learn more, and we are very excited to keep teaching her! She is the real deal because she is on a water polo team! How often do you meet people that play water polo in Guatemala?! ...yeah that was random!
- Friday we had divisions with some sisters in their area and it always makes me appreciate my area a little more when we go to other areas! :) And actually we spent almost 2 hours in the evening deep cleaning their bathroom… That was super eventful!
- Saturday we went to visit Byron and Ana Maria and we were talking with them about having a goal for their baptism, and Byron accepted a date! And well we are still working on Ana Maria! But after the lesson they gave us a huge bowl of fruit! That made us super happy because we have been focusing a lot on the Word of Wisdom with them because Byron has a lot of health problems.. but it looks like it is starting to work! :) We were also able to visit with an Hermana named Delia. She is actually a member but hasn't gone to church in some time. She is super sweet, but everyone in her family is Catholic, so she has a hard time. But in that lesson I felt so much love for her. One of the things I love about being a missionary is that there are some people that God just helps you love so quickly! I am sure it happens with normal people as well, but I have sure seen it here on the mission!
- Sunday was CRAZY! In the morning the members that normally pass by to pick up Byron and Ana Maria had car troubles, so we started calling everyone to see who could take them! We finally got a hold of someone, and well he came by to pick them up, but then as we were leaving his car almost didn't make it up the hill! I was freaking out inside thinking we were going to die! But, as you can tell, we didn't die :) But we did have to attempt to get up the hill a few times! And the other miracle on Sunday was the Grijalva family (except the mom) came to church! That sure made my whole day!! We were so very happy! They are sure making lots of progress!
- Monday we visited Byron and Ana Maria and they opened up a lot. They told us about their past, some more of their problems, and it ended up being a great lesson. And then after we went with some less actives that said that we had passed by at the perfect moment. And they kept telling us that they wanted us to stay longer with them! And well we were also able to find Wendy. She is going through some rough times, but we were able to talk a little with her, and we sure hope that everything smooths out. And then we had Family Home Evening with the Grijalva family, and we were able to talk to them about Priorities (thanks Adam for the idea*).
- Tuesday we visited some less actives, and some members, and it ended up being a great day! We were able to visit the grandmother of one of the members, and it was to good to be able to brighten her day a little. It sure makes me sad to see older folk all sad and lonely… But on the bright side the sun was shinning so much that I got burnt! But I was sure happy to have a sunny day!
- And well on Wednesday we had a conference for all the missionaries in the world! It was superb! They changed a few things with our schedule, and also with the dates that we report. It is a little different, but I am sure it will make things better!
Ponderizing: Luke 5:31-32
Well sure do love you all!!!
-Hermana Garrett
*The idea was to teach about putting the most important things first in life through an object lesson. I (Adam) used eggs to represent what should be our highest priorities (making and keeping covenants/commandments) and sugar to represent the other daily things, as well as riches. See Jacob 2:18-19
Monday, January 16, 2017
Week 69
HOLA!!
So this week flew by! Here is the rundown:
-Monday: We had Family Home Evening in the church building with a some members, and it turned out great! We are trying to make it a weekly activity!
-Tuesday: We had divisions, and were able to do a lot of service for some of our less actives and some investigators!
-Wednesday: We had our district meeting, and in the evening we visited the Jacinto Family and the Grijalva Family. Both are inactives/less actives.
-Thursday: We traveled to Palencia to do divisions with the Hermanas over there. AND MAN I felt like I was outside the capital! It was super hot, and I got super burnt! :) It was kind of nice to have the small town feel again. Everyone is a little more relaxed.
-Friday: Krista, a member in the ward, visited with us. She showed us where some people live, and we were able to find some more less actives. And then in the evening we had a Family Home Evening with the Benevente Family. That went super well, and afterwards they gave us some references of some really great people!
-Saturday: We explored in some parts of our area, and found a couple people that the missionaries were teaching a while back. We also found the houses that were burnt down the week of Christmas.. That was really sad to see. And it was crazy how we found them, we were looking for someone that we had been given as a reference, and we were going down all these little streets trying to find the house, and then we turn the corner and there was all the burnt houses. It still smelt burnt. It was really sad to see. There were 7 houses affected. And it all started from a little girls playing with fireworks... THAT IS WHY CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH FIREWORKS... But we found one of the families that was affected, and they explained a little more about what happened, and how it was their first day back in their house. The dad doesn't have a job, and so we told him about the program that the church has to help people find work. We hope he will go.
-Sunday: So we went to go pick up Byron and Ana Maria, and they were all ready to go! And then when we got to church, Byron started to sweat a ton, and felt like he was going to throw-up! We were sitting there in sacrament meeting, and then he was like, I have to leave. So we went to the foyer with him, and he explained that he suffers from low blood pressure. And he said that he only has problems when he walks too fast, or when he gets too excited. And well he told us that the whole week he has been looking forward to Sunday so that he could go to church with us! :) We told him not to get too excited! And that he can come every week! Well the Elders gave him a blessing, and afterwards, he was perfectly fine!
Well that was basically our week, and this week is going to be crazy because on Wednesday we are going to Zacapa for a Confrence just for the Hermanas! It'll be great!
Ponderizing: Mark 8:17-21. I love this because I feel like it happens to us as well! We have all seen miracles and blessings in our lives, or in the lives of others, but sometimes we are in a situation and it is like we have forgotten that God can still work miracles. That He can still help us. That if he has done it before for other people, he can do it for us.
Love you all! Oh, and next week we wont be writting until Thursday because we are going to the TEMPLE!!!
-Hermana Garrett
Monday, January 9, 2017
Week 68
So this week went great!!! Here is the rundown!
Monday: Family Home Evening with a part-member family. We talked about setting goals for 2017, and it went super well!
Tuesday: We had a super great lesson with a recent convert and her family!! Her brother is great and knows so much!! We are going to keep working with him!
Wednesday: We went and painted a school as a zone service project! It was so fun!! And then in the evening we found Andrea!! She is super great! The missionaries were teaching her like 3 years ago, but then we aren't sure why they stopped... but she is very very receptive!! She accepted a date to get baptized, so we are sure excited for her, and are working with her!!
Thursday: We had a member that went out to work with us! It was wonderful, and she showed us where lots of members live!!
Friday: Zone conference and interviews! And then in the evening we went with some inactives. They actually love us! And it went so well! We are slowly, BUT SURELY, making progress with them!
Saturday: We invited everyone to church! haha It was a great day, even though my comp and I were both sick, and it was FREEEEEZING!!! haha But then on Sunday we saw so many miracles!! Here is from my journal!
8 de Enero:
SO TODAY WAS AWESOME!! So in the morning Hermana Montes de Oca and Sebastian passed by our house so that we could go pick up Byron. Well when we got there we were freaking out that maybe he would say no… well when we got there him and Ana Maria came out and they BOTH came to church!! It was so great! And everyone knows Byron! They call him Papa John! (I have absolutely no idea why... haha) Well they came, and then we literally ran to go get Josselin and Esmeralda so that they could come too! It was wonderful! And they stayed for Gospel Principles and that went well. We talked about the Word of Wisdom! (coincidence? I think not!) And well afterwards when Sebastian was taking them home they said that they wanted to come back next week! YAY!!! And then we had Chinese food for lunch! Some of our favorite members invited us! :) Then we visited the Grijalva family because it was the Hermano's birthday, and we brought him a little cake and a card and as we started to sing, I started to sing in Spanish, and my comp in English! It was so funny and we were like, WHAT IN THE WORLD?! And later in the evening my comp told me that all day she had been feeling like we needed to visit a certain family, so we went right then and made an appointment to come back on Friday, and then the Hermano came walking in and started talking to us, and then invited us over on Monday for dinner. We were like, "Okay!!" So tomorrow we will be going with them!! Today was just a good day! And then we were able to start making food for P-DAY tomorrow!!
And well today we made enchiladas for the zone!!! It was super fun and now I know how to make them!! :)
Ponderizing: 1 John 1:9
Love you all!
Hermana Garrett
Monday: Family Home Evening with a part-member family. We talked about setting goals for 2017, and it went super well!
Tuesday: We had a super great lesson with a recent convert and her family!! Her brother is great and knows so much!! We are going to keep working with him!
Wednesday: We went and painted a school as a zone service project! It was so fun!! And then in the evening we found Andrea!! She is super great! The missionaries were teaching her like 3 years ago, but then we aren't sure why they stopped... but she is very very receptive!! She accepted a date to get baptized, so we are sure excited for her, and are working with her!!
Thursday: We had a member that went out to work with us! It was wonderful, and she showed us where lots of members live!!
Friday: Zone conference and interviews! And then in the evening we went with some inactives. They actually love us! And it went so well! We are slowly, BUT SURELY, making progress with them!
Saturday: We invited everyone to church! haha It was a great day, even though my comp and I were both sick, and it was FREEEEEZING!!! haha But then on Sunday we saw so many miracles!! Here is from my journal!
8 de Enero:
SO TODAY WAS AWESOME!! So in the morning Hermana Montes de Oca and Sebastian passed by our house so that we could go pick up Byron. Well when we got there we were freaking out that maybe he would say no… well when we got there him and Ana Maria came out and they BOTH came to church!! It was so great! And everyone knows Byron! They call him Papa John! (I have absolutely no idea why... haha) Well they came, and then we literally ran to go get Josselin and Esmeralda so that they could come too! It was wonderful! And they stayed for Gospel Principles and that went well. We talked about the Word of Wisdom! (coincidence? I think not!) And well afterwards when Sebastian was taking them home they said that they wanted to come back next week! YAY!!! And then we had Chinese food for lunch! Some of our favorite members invited us! :) Then we visited the Grijalva family because it was the Hermano's birthday, and we brought him a little cake and a card and as we started to sing, I started to sing in Spanish, and my comp in English! It was so funny and we were like, WHAT IN THE WORLD?! And later in the evening my comp told me that all day she had been feeling like we needed to visit a certain family, so we went right then and made an appointment to come back on Friday, and then the Hermano came walking in and started talking to us, and then invited us over on Monday for dinner. We were like, "Okay!!" So tomorrow we will be going with them!! Today was just a good day! And then we were able to start making food for P-DAY tomorrow!!
And well today we made enchiladas for the zone!!! It was super fun and now I know how to make them!! :)
Ponderizing: 1 John 1:9
Love you all!
Hermana Garrett
Monday, January 2, 2017
Week 67
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!
Well this week was interesting with the holidays and everything! But this week everything will go back to normal! :)
Well they have changed our schedule a little bit as far as when we have studies, so that has been a little interesting!
We had an amazing lesson with Elizabeth this week! We had only met with her once before, but when we went back she was so excited to let us in, and wanted to give us an offering, and we explained tithing and offerings to her. It sure touched us, because she really doesn't have much, but she still had such a desire to share what she had.
Some have asked what are the traditions here for new years:
-eat 12 grapes (12 wishes for the new year)
-run around at 12 am with suitcases (so that you will travel during the year)
-put money in your pockets (so that you can have a lot of money in the year)
-AND SET OFF A TON OF FIREWORKS!!!
Ponderizing: Enos 1:11. I love this whole chapter! It is such a great example of how we should pray. I was reading this week in Jesus the Christ about the Lord´s Prayer, and how we can learn so much from it. I loved one part that said that God without our prayers will still continue being God; but us without our prayers lose the ability to enter into His Kingdom. We have such a need to pray!!
Love you all!
-Hermana Garrett
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