September 17, 2012

Hey family!!!

Wow this week was crazy! Lots to share. I feel bad but I have to read your letter later again. This week my letter to the president I wrote it all out and just when I was about to send it the computer shutdown....I hate computers ha. So I had to write him all over again and that took up a lot of my time I am sorry.

But so yeah, I got a new comp this week her name is Hermana Sanchez, she is amazing!! I absolutely love her. I have to say, my brain hurts many times throughout the day because she speaks very little English but we talk in Spanish all the time so my Spanish is getting so much better!!  Sometimes there is a time that I can speak English and I try and my mind is still in Spanish mode and its hard to go back to English. I am realizing how hard it will be after a year and half to go back to English. Ha I am excited for that and you all will make fun of me and everything.

But I learned my comps name once and I can’t remember it so I’ll get back to you on that. But what I can tell you is that I am going to work and work hard and I am so excited!! With Hermana Baird we worked but not as hard as I wanted to and being new I didn’t know how to work hard or what we could do but Hermana Sanchez wow is great! We walk everywhere and every minute of everyday is planned and we are doing something and its nonstop. I love it because at night you get home are so so tired but so happy you heart is so light and you find yourself smiling without a reason. It’s the greatest feeling.

We are working really hard with Magdalena right now thank you mom for putting her name in the temple. I have seen miracles because of it. We taught her last about the gospel of Christ. We talked about answers and she said that she thinks she got an answer from God and that this is what he wants for her!!!! We are so exited! She came to church yesterday and she walked the whole way!!! She just got her cast off her foot last week and she walked all the way to church. She said they left really early to get there in time. She was there 10-minutes early and my heart lit up when I saw her there.

Carlos, the man we have been teaching who can’t walk very well said he was going to come to church with us this week so we went to pick him up and he said that he couldn’t because his sister got in a car accident and was in the hospital and he was going to see her. Family, I have to testify real fast that I have seen Satan working against us while being here. Every time that we are sharing the first vision something happens, the phone rings or dogs or kids run in something always distracts the spirit and now when an investigator has decided to come to church something happened to make it so he can’t. It makes me realize how much harder we have to work to overcome these obstacles. Pray for him.

Oh I am sorry, I didn’t tell you where Hermana Sanchez is from, she is from Mexico. She is amazing! We have been talking lots last night we were talking until 12. I know I know, bad but we were following the rules we were in bed talking we just couldn’t fall asleep until 12 hah. Any who she comes from a family of 5 she had 2 other sisters and one of them served a mission too. She is amazing because growing up her family was inactive and she came back to church and decided to go on a mission. Her parents are inactive still but she has such faith that I am striving to be like her, to have her faith.

I have to tell you, the man that I wrote to you last week, about watching the John Tanner movie, he came up to me again in church this Sunday and he said the last time we talked he went home and wrote in his journal that he had met a descendant of John Tanner and he told me he wrote his side of the story but he wanted to hear how I felt about being a descendant from John Tanner. It was kind of on the spot and I tried my best in Spanish to express my feelings. I hope my answer was something of what he expected. He admires John Tanner so much and I wanted to give him a strong testimony of faith to strengthen his but I don’t know, my weaknesses in Spanish and in general expressing my feelings.  I felt I came up short of what I was trying to express to him but I have learned it’s not what you say or how you say it, if you have the spirit it doesn’t matter because he is the one that will talk to the persons heat so I just hope that the spirit took up where I fell short.

Family, I want you to know how extremely blessed we are. I can’t express my feelings of how many people hear do beg for food, it’s a way of life and to have the blessing from a prophet of the lord that we will never have to do that .......to these people down here that is an amazing blessing. Jacob, be prepared to answer such questions on your mission about how you feel about being a descendant of such a faith filled man who literally gave his all to the Lord. Remember he gave his all to the lord and we are asked to do the same for two years or a year and a half. Literally give your all Jacob, don’t hold any part back from the Lord ,we need to live like those that went before and continue what they started and did. I love this gospel it is true there is no better work than to try and bring this great blessing to others. If you truly think about what you are giving to people when you offer them the gospel.... wow the worth of it is above price. It is hard work because like Elder Holland said salvation is not a cheep experience but it is valle el pena... here that means it is worth it.

 Family I love you and am do grateful I have a family that is so strong in the gospel and that support me in this work and understand why I am here. The gospel is true.

I am super exited to read your letters. Sara emailed me, tell her thanks and that I will write her again soon. Thanks mom for giving me what you learned this summer, I appreciate it.

I hope you all are doing great I haven’t hear from Maren in a while but it’s probably because she started school and is busy with homework and boys ha and such, man! that seems like such another world away. It’s going to be hard to come back.

How is Jake doing at collage? does he like UVU? I loved how small the classes were. Did he change any of the classes he is taking? Is he taking the one we talked about?

Nathan how’s life? How’s basketball? I have a feeling I will come back and watch you play and you will be this superstar basketball player and you'll have too many girls after you. You won’t know what to do ha hah.

Caleb how’s school and everything? I hear you are going to be in a play!! That’s exciting! Which play? 

Zac how’s life what’s new?

Simeon, tell me all about how you’re liking school.

Tania is working tons and doing great at it. I am so proud of her. Ha I was thinking about it, I remember what her patriarchal blessing says and it’s so cool to see the promises of the lord being fulfilled.

Thank You Mom and Dad for writing me each week. You have no idea how much missionaries like to get emails and letters. Thank you so much for the time you take to write me. I love you all.

I have to go but know that I am doing great. The bugs love me so much down her pray that they will stop biting me......I don’t know if I should tell you this hah but guess what? I have lice.  My head itches so bad but no worries, I got medicine and everything, just pray that they will all die!!! Hah cause I don’t want to cut off all my hair, I would be so sad......truly so ha pray really hard ha.... I love you all don’t worry about me; I am the happiest missionary out here and loving everything.

Until next week love you all!

Hermama Hale

September 10, 2012

Hey family

So I don’t have much time to write, we got to the church late but I’m have had the coolest week here so I have to share lots. Here it goes. But first thanks for all the letters and the updates on everyone. Tell Tania I just got all her dear elders and it was so good to hear from her. Tell her not to work too hard. Tell Jake I wish I was there to help him get ready for a mission we could talk for hours on how amazing this experience is.

Ok so first off last week I told you about Carlos or at least I hope I did. We found him in the street, he can’t walk very well but his has such strong faith and we have been teaching him so much the last week and every time has been with the spirit and it’s great to see him progressing so fast. We had him pray the last time and he gave the humblest prayer I have ever heard asking the lord to help him know if this message is true. I know he will get an answer because he is doing all that he is suppose to, God has to answer his prayers ... I love seeing the joy we bring to people.

Ok and Magdolena is doing really well too. We have taught her a lot this week and she is reading and praying. She will take a little longer but she said she really likes everything we are teaching her. I will see if I can get a picture that Hermana Baird has on her camera. 

I have a great story I want to share with you guys!!!! One that touched my heart and made me realized how blessed I am.  Me and Hermama Baird were teaching Magdonlena and a member came and dropped by to give her family a movie that he promised to give her and I realized that the movie that they were talking about was the story of John Tanner our ancestor. I got really excited and was trying to tell them in my broken English that this man was my ancestor. Hermana Baird helped me. you need to know that this movie was this members (his name is Calors Martines ) favorite movie and the moment he understood that I was this man’s flesh and blood he came over to me and shook my hand with both of his. He looked me straight in the eye and he looked at me in a different way. It was kind of unnerving. He had awe in his eyes. I was able to tell him that the promise that the prophet gave to John Tanner was still in effect today that we had never begged for bread. This man with his hand still in my was trying to fight back tears.......I was so taken aback and touched by his feelings. You need to realize that her money is a big deal and too see John Tanner give all he had to the church to what he knew was right. His faith was so great he gave all to the church and was left to beg for food for his family. People here can relate to that because here everyone has at least once had to beg for food in their life. This man was so touched that the promise of the prophet was fulfilled and that we had never had to beg for food.  I realized the great heritage I come from and the legacy of faith and diligence to the gospel that we have to live up to. I realized I needed to have greater faith and I wanted to have the same faith that John Tanner had and wanted to sacrifice all I could to serve the lord. Jake just remember what kind of people you come from and when you are on a mission how much people will look up to you because of your ancestors and we need to live up to the legacy that they have left for us.  We come from a rich inheritance with amazing promises and blessing for our family. I thought it was an amazing experience. I hope you all realize how blessed we are and how amazing it is that you are a living testament that God speaks through the prophet and that he keeps his promises.

Ok so that was my week!!! I love it. I am not going to lie I am jealous hearing what you all are doing. Fall is my favorite time of the year and I miss the colors and the cold and the mountains and football ...American football......everything to do with fall and harvest and aww.. I have to stop ha ha ...everything is just hot here. I love the thunderstorms though, they are awesome. But i am glad that mom and dad could get away for a little bit that sounds like a lot of fun.

Jake is collage! I still can’t believe that.. How do you like high school Nathan?  I heard that Timp beat PG. congrats that’s...cool… I guess… hah basketball starts up soon yes? Are you excited? Tania sounds super busy I hope she is not working to death. Maren, how are doing? What classes are you taking what boys are you dating? I heard you and Tania went on a double date and that made me really jealous. How did it go? Tell me all! I want to hear everything you all can write me on dear elder so it makes it easy. I love you all!!!!

My testimony about faith has grown this week, that if we just show a small amount of faith to the lord, we see great blessings and that increases our faith. Many times the blessings don’t come in the way you want them, but they do come ... do we recognize the blessing that God gives us? I am working on that because when we find these blessing our faith is increased so much. I learn so much as I try to teach other people. I realize that the gospel is so simple, and we just need to do the simple things that we teach the investigators every day.  Missions are so cool hah Brothers do everything you can to get on one they are the funnest things ever!!! Don’t miss it.

Oh and don’t worry about me and the parasites, I just finished up my medicine last night and I feel absolutely normal. I will be going to get tested again in a couple of weeks to see if they are all dead but really I feel great and it does not affect the work at all. I think it was because I have been taking the medicine that mom gave me that I did not get sicker than I have...... but I do still need your prayers because down here they are having an epidemic of Denge, which is a really bad sickness you get from mosquitoes. They are having a hard time keeping the mosquitoes down and many missionaries are getting this sickness. There are 3 types and one is really dangerous.... and I am not going to lie, I get bit pretty much everyday so if you could pray that I won't get bit my a mosquito with denge I would appreciate it, hah.  

 Okay I am going to try and upload the picture now, I hope it works cause this picture is funny the woman is Magdolena and the man is her father. Her father broke his shoulder and she broke her foot kind of funny. The little girl is Naomi she is so sweet. I love her to death, she is 7. Oh and I will try and send you another picture of Mercedes and Rony... Rony is the one that is gay...he just moved back to Nicaragua witch is sad cause we can’t keep teaching him. We never got to teach him the law of chastity but he promised to look up the missionaries in Nicaragua and we gave him this same picture because he wants to show them that he talked to missionaries before.....if you can’t tell in the pictures I am really tall down here, everyone is so small here I feel like a giant. On the buses many times you have to stand up and when I did this last week that I realized that I am the same height or even taller than all of the men down here, it’s crazy, it will be wired to come back and be average again.

Well got to go, we are going out for pizza and then we’re going to watch the best two years as a Zone... fun fun.

Know that I love you all and I miss you tons, but know that I know this is where I need to be that I am meeting the people I am suppose to be and that feeling is the greatest feeling to know you are doing and saying the things you know you need to be. It’s a good feeling ha.... well anyways I love you all! Have a great week and brothers and sisters you all need to write me. I am pretty sure I gave you all an assignment to tell me one thing you learned this last summer and I haven’t gotten anything from any one. Ha! I hope to hear from you soon! Love you!

Hermana Ale or pull I just realized that my name means pull down here it’s on all of the doors ha kind of funny

Family so something just happened, we just got the news of who is changing this cambio and my trainer who is not done training me yet is leaving!!!! I will be getting a new trainer and I have no idea who it will be. I feel so bad for Hermana Baird, she has been here her whole mission and she has been working with so many people. Evelyn is getting baptized next month and she planned her entire wedding and baptism around when the next combios were when we thought that Herman Baird was leaving so now she won’t see him get baptized and also another investigator she won’t get to see get baptized!!! I am so scared. I have no idea where everything is without her. Pray for me this week!!! Please!

September 3, 2012

Hey Family.

So I don’t have very much time so I didn’t get to read your letters before writing you but I saw the pictures dad sent!! Man I wish I was there! Simeon you looked so happy and Jake that is so cool that you could do that for your brother!!!  I hope you remember how you felt because I want you to have that feeling over and over again on your mission. Using your priesthood to help someone come closer to Christ, wow it makes me jealous that I can’t baptize. To know that your actions on behalf of someone else has eternal significance, that’s so cool!!! 

This week for me has been kind of crazy. I found out right after writing to you all last week that I have parasites. Haha, sorry Mom ha.... but I feel like the water and pills you gave me helped so I didn’t get really sick. I have still been able to function and do my work and I am grateful for that. I got medicine so don’t worry about that either. They will hopefully be all gone in 4 weeks.

This week was also crazy because there was a girl in the ward who was turning 15 so they had a huge Quiseniera. It was insane! It’s like it was a wedding but without the man. That’s how big it was. She had a huge ball gown with her ¨"bridesmaids and grooms men" (all her friends). She had a huge cake and flowers. I was shocked to see how much money went into it. But me and Hermana Baird went and helped serve food. There were so many people and they had so much food they needed all the help they could get! It was so much fun to be there and see what a quisenera is like and to serve at the same time. They had a DJ and they danced all night, I have decided I will learn how to salsa when I get back cause it looks like so much fun!!!

Don’t worry, I did do work this week too. We found a new investigator, one that I contacted on the street actually, my Spanish was horribly bad but I managed to stop and talk to this man and then my companion came over and helped a lot. He had acutely already talked to missionaries before, like 3 years ago but because he we in school they couldn’t find him all the time so they dropped him. He is so ready for the gospel. I hope he will read and pray like he said he would. We also committed Elena to baptism on the 29 of this month and she said she would prepare for that date so that is exiting. That was a cool lesson, we were reading 3 Nephi 11 and after talking about what Christ taught the moment he came which was baptism and how important it is. My companion was a little preoccupied with a kitten and I was really feeling like we needed to ask her some hard questions and wasn’t sure if I could do it in Spanish but I opened my mouth and the Spanish was not perfect but it surprised me the amount I could still communicate and say. I asked her some hard questions and I then talked to her for a bit about her answer which I understood and then I committed her to baptism.....she said yeah but not yet ...... we pushed to set a date so she could work to get ready and she agreed to the 29th we were so happy. 

Magdoliena, the one who broke her foot came to church with her son; we got a member to help drive her there. Her foot started to hurt at church and I was amazed at the sacrifice some people make to come to church and be where they are supposed to be. I know she will be blessed for that. 

And Consuelo .........oh Consuelo, she broke my heart this week... we taught her twice this week the first time was about the first lesson and at the end we pushed her to say the prayer.... so important that we do because when they pray the spirit comes and testifies to them. This is what happened she began to cry in her prayer....of course that got me crying. She said that God knew she needed him in her life and that that was why we were there; she asked to find out if our message was true it was a beautiful prayer. So after that lesson we were like yes she is going to read come to church.  We were so exited. She even told us about a dream she had 3 months earlier that she took to mean that God was trying to tell her she needs to find him because in her dream there were two paths and one was harder to find than the other.  (It’s crazy how many people down here get answers to questions in dreams it so cool I think there is a prophet that said that would happen, anyway its cool to see it happening).  Any who the next lesson we decided to read Lehi’s dream and hope that she make the connection which she did all by herself which was so cool.  We have to read to her cause her eyes are bad and she can’t read without it hurting so we read it to her as she sat looking at the picture we gave her. The lesson went well but just as we were about to ask the hard questions and ask her to start changing her mom dropped by....we talked to her for a bit about the gospel too and we finished our lesson as best we could and we told her that we were coming to pick her up for church tomorrow and she said she would be ready and come. So yesterday I went on splits because we had to bring a lot of people to church so I went with Hermana Rosa who is a saint by the way... but we dropped by at 10:30 to pick her up and she made a weak excuse that she had to run and buy something for someone. I was trying to understand her excuse so that I could say “no you need to come to church” but my Spanish isn´t that good yet but I still was trying my hardest saying she had broke my heart and that she had promised that she could go buy the thing after but she wouldn´t...... she even told us the day before that she felt Satan was working hard to keep her from church cause every time she would try something would come up. (She also feels bad about going to church in pants because she doesn’t have a skirt, many people don’t here). We tried to tell her that doesn’t matter and everything and we got her to say she would come but in the end she didn’t and that broke my heart. So pray for her please that she will find the courage and the desire to come to church. She needs it so much in her life and she knows it too. She just has to put forth the action and faith to do it. 

Well anyway that was my week, I was wondering what you guys to with my letters I hope you are keeping them cause I realized this is documenting my mission so if you’re not please do.

Well don’t worry about me and my little friends in my tummy. I have a feeling mom will worry... don’t ha I am fine. I really haven’t been sick that much and the pills are helping so much. the good thing about parasites is that you lose weight or at least they tell me you do, I haven’t see it yet but I got to get rid of the weight I got in the MTC with the food........oh talking about the food it is so good here !!!! I just had El Salvador enchiladas last night way different from what ours are but so so good. We also had homemade Pupusas, so so so good! Anyways that’s a side story ha know I am happy and well. I still have those moments where it hits me “oh yeah I am in another country this is so cool.” So I am loving it here the people are so great and nice. 

I am running out of time. I just want to testify about the importance of the sprit this week. I have felt it in our lessons when I needed words to express myself they were there, it so important to live worthy of the spirit. It helps you in every aspect of life. It’s such a good indicator that you are on the right path because if you are worthy to have the spirit with you, to have a member of the god head with you, you are worthy to stand with God. I know that without the spirit we do not teach. I have seen the difference in the lesion and in my study time. Simeon, you now have this gift live worthy of it. It is just a great blessing....all you live so you can have it. I challenge all of you to find one thing in your life that maybe you like doing but that may offend the spirit and try get the desire to stop doing that thing; to leave that behind and choose to become closer to God.

I love you all and hope that everything is going well. I can’t wait to read all the letters about Simeon’s baptism!!! I am sorry I couldn’t read them before I wrote this week. And by the way, I found out you can still use dear elder to write me. It will just take about 10 days to get to me but I am ok with that as long as you all just write ha. Love you all!!! Simeon I am so proud of you .........and Jake I can’t tell you how amazing it is that you were able to baptize him!!!  I am so proud of you and the amazing example you are to all your brothers. Always stay worthy to use your priesthood to bless others... and start preparing now for a mission it will help so much you will have no idea until you get out here... but do it. This is the most important work on the earth and we need to be the best at what we do. 

Love you all 

 Hermana Hale