The spirit of God

HELLO FAMILIA!!!!

So first of all its great to actually hear about you guys. Thats crazy you already started painting you guys are moving fast! Send me some picutres of the new house when you can. Also seriously so lucky that you guys get the beach ahhh, I wont have that for a little bit, nor salad so thats really depressing lol i guess i will learn to love other vegetables and fruits more. So this week was actually interestingly had a lot to do with what you and dad talked about: THE SPIRIT. So last wednesday night we taught our fake investigator and it went well but afterwards we felt like we really hadn't tapped into the needs of the investigator it just had been a basic lesson, so we started to discuss what we could do and an hour and a half later we were able to figure it out and have some serious spiritual moments along the way. Hermana Howell brought up having our investigatort bear her testimony. The spirit then prompted me that by doing that we would be able to see what she lacked in her testimony so that we could better address her needs. So i proceeded to show my companions how to find these things. I had Hermana Howell bear her testimony and then we would talk about what things she had a strong conviction of and what things she didn't quite have. Hermana Batty followed afterwards and did the same. Later I shared mine and had them work to see what they could find. It worked spectacularly and the spirit burned SOOO strongly. I don´t think we´ve ever had a better lesson planning session or more spiritual moment between the three of us. The whole time our Elders had been listening in and i think they were very intrigued. Later Hermana Baker shared hers and she started to cry when we shared what we had found. Then we decided what principles of the gospel each one of us would need in a lesson and how we would teach it. So the next lesson with our investigator we went in praying for help and to be able to discern her needs and IT WORKED!! It was so awesome and in all honesty, one of the coolest missionary moments we´ve had with someone who technically isnt a real investigator! Another cool opportunity we have had and serious spiritual moment was watching live the first session of the dedication of the Trujillo Temple. Elder Bednard lead it and Elder Uchtdorf presided and spoke. Also there were three other latino speakers and guess what I UNDERSTOOD EVERYTHING! It was so cool to hear their stories and testimonies in spanish and completely understand what they were saying. We did the Hosanna shout and sang "The Spirit of God" in Spanish and at the last verse i could really feel it burning in me. SUCH a cool experience! Finally yesterday, Tuesday was really cool! I have been learning alot about what things I should take to the Lord in prayer and one of the ones is to share with Him your goals and then return and report to him. So Monday night and Tuesday morning I reported and then asked for help and Tuesday I was able to work so much better in trying to accomplish them. In personal study i balanced my time with getting words, reading for my lessons and reading from the white handbook. Later in additional study and TALL(this learning program on the computer we have) I was able to memorize all my words, Moses 1:39 and work on my grammar (which btw is super hard, still hate preterite and imperfect tense). Also we spoke all Spanish that day and i was able to better see what i needed to learn and also how well i can actually speak. Later in Language study I started working on my talk for this week (because you have to´prepare a talk for every week and then they choose on the pulpit who will speak) about the BOM and i had some really cool revelations. I had heard in a Mormon Message we watched the other day to pray to "receive spiritual ears" and i wrote it down although i didnt quite understand. Later as I studied in 3 nephi 11:3-5, the people couldn't understand the voice, even though it says it "pierced them to the core". I couldnt understand how a voice you couldn't understand could have that affect on you. But in v.5 it says that when they did "open their ears" they were able to understand. During Language Study I read the talk "Is it still wonderful to you?" by Bishop Gearald Causee and he said " Ther are so many wonders in this world. However, sometimes when we have them constantly before our eyes, we take them for granted. We look, but we dont really see, we hear, but don't really listen." I realized that this was how the Nephites had been and how sometimes I am with investigators. I have to not only hear what my investigatores say but then understand their needs and how God would have me address them. Seriously SO cool!! The Spirit is vital in our lives and we need to do everything we can to keep it with us because you never know the moment that God will call upon you to use it. SO PRAY WITH ALL THE ENERGY OF HEART to be filled with the Spirit of God and he will bless  you.

Also Earlier this week my girls and i sang "Im dreaming of a white christmas" and "chandelier" at the top of our lungs which means we´ve made it to the offical friends level. HAHA and in class we were trying to plan our lesson and we were being our normal weird selves and our teacher was listening and she said we were probably the weirdest companionship she had seen... so SCORE! We are, Offically weird guys.

I have also got my visa officially!! WHOOO!

 

LOVE AND MISS YOU GUYS TONS!!!

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Subject: IM AN AVOCADO

Its so great to hear from everyone!!!!!!! AHHH I LOVE THE PICTURES AND THE BEACH LOOKS GORGEOUS I AM SO JEALOUS!!! Im also super glad that the ward is treating you well :) 

Not too much has happened this week , so it will be a little short.

But this week and especially this past weekend has been amazing!! So I fasted to prepare for our proselyting activity at 12. Then our district asked our elders to give us blessings before we went out and let me tell you of my testimony. There is one boy who at first didn't impress me as being super spiritual but the rotation worked out that he would give me my blessing and from the very beginning I felt the spirit so strong. I know for a fact that he spoke the words of God for me and that those Elders do indeed hold the Melquisideic Priesthood; the authority and power from God. Later we left for proselyting and my companions and the other two girls were on the bus with all the latinos to the Lima Sur Mission. Hermana Howell and I went with two latinos and a missionary from that mission walking around and talking to people and also going to appointments from 2 to 6. In the first home, I was able to understand some things but I still got to bear my testimony and give the closing prayer. The woman we taught called me Castellano but im not sure if that was a compliment or not. We "taught" another lady who literally talked for 45 minutes and I understood maybe 3% of it. But it was still one of the coolest experiences and honestly I cannot wait to do this everyday!!! Everytime we get out of the CCM, part of me doesnt want to come back in. Especially after the proselyting activity I just want to get out in the field. But the newbies just showed up today, latinos and north americans and this group of latinos are the ones we will be leaving with to our missions. 2 MORE WEEKS!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  I CANT WAIT TO PREACH THE GOSPEL!!!!

A day in the life of a busy sister Missionary :)

This is evidence that Kayla should not play soccer, but should stick to Volleyball!

Kayla and Sister Anna from Frozen!

Silly Sisters!!!

Pictures

Learning by the Spirit

HOLA TODA MI FAMILIA

This week has been sooooo awesome!!! First off I'm so glad to hear about you guys and how well the moving went. I´be been praying for you guys all week and I´m so glad all is well and that you love your new ward. I thought of you guys when reading about the Jaredites crossing through the sea and how they had to go through "furious winds that never did cease" in order to actually move to the promised land. I hope you guys are having as much fun in your new place as I am in mine. This week we have been working as official intermedios and it is awesome. We are talking solo  en Espanol en las classes and we try to do it as much as we can outside of class as well. This Saturday we actually go out and proselyte for almost 6 hours!!! IM SO PUMPED but i was also kinda nervous earlier this week. Earlier this week I learned the importance though of how the lessons are not just for your investigators but for you!! I bore testimony in one of our lessons about Repentance and the Atonement and I got really choked up but honestly I think I increased my testimony on the power of teaching the Atonement.

Also, I LOVE MY DISTRICT. The Elders in our district are so on top of their lives and so are the Hermana's. It never ceases to surprise me how much the Lord has blessed me. Kanoah, so there is an Elder here that i told you reminds me of you. Seriously, its sometimes weird how similar you guys are. But he has the strongest testimony for an 18 year old boy and he is not afraid to share it. While in class one day all the Elders were not studying like they were supposed to and Elder Wilde was the only one doing his work. In his testimony, you can see that his hard work really pays off. So in one of our mini district testimony meetings I told him (but in general all the elders so they didn't feel bad) how i hope that one day you, Kanoah, will be like them. Elder Wilde started crying and so did Elder Vance. I'm glad that not only are we here to strengthen and lift investigators but also each other!! Don´t forget that you can always bless someones life!

On Friday, at special request from the first presidency we watched the funeral for Elder L. Tom Perry live. It was so touching and beautiful to see how much the plan of salvation changes things like death for us. From the words of President Monson during the funeral I decided to create this logo/poster thingie. It´s not quite finished yet but when it is I will send you a picture.

On Saturday we had service and I did probably one of the most disgusting things of my life next to cleaning that apartment that was filled with cockroaches. We had to wash and scrub out the trashcans with the food for the CCM in it. I literally reeked so bad afterwards and i could´t get the smell of my hands for a day. The workers here are so kind and I have so much more respect for them. We also started our fast and I did my first 24 hour fast, into Sunday. During my fast on Sunday i was so surprised at how much more attention i payed during classes and how much more the Sabbath meant to me. We plan to fast before proselyting as a district and I AM THRILLED. I literally cannot wait. 

Also, on Sunday was KEANU´S BIRTHDAY!!! I hope your birthday was awesome dude and i wish i could just give you the biggest squeeze right now. Keep being awesome and don´t forget how much i love you. I cant wait to hear how everything goes at your new school and football and all that fun jazz.

Also I have felt nonstop love here from my Heavenly Father. Every time i have had the smallest struggle or feeling slightly awkward or left out, someone gives a devotional, or i read a scripture, or someone invites me to join them in something and i just know that its the power of the spirit working with people and in me to feel the love that god has for me. So on Tuesday we had TRC. Which basically was that we didn't know anything about our investigator but that we had to teach them about something for 40 MINUTES!! At first we were all kind of anxious but when we went inside for the lesson we asked the right questions and then she told us how her husband had died. We taught the plan of salvation and when i testified SHE STARTED TO CRY. I was so shocked because it wasn't actually real but the spirit was still there!! However one of my companions was really struggling and when we turned the time over to her she freaked out and said she didn't know what to say and to move on. She started to breakdown down, especially afterwards she started crying. The Elders also came back struggling in spirit. I think this was kind of a reawakening for many of us that the mission is not just memorized lessons. We have to understand the gospel and then work by the spirit. It was so powerful and later we talked and worked things out together.

So we are finally at today which has been THE BEST DAY EVER. We decided as a goal for this week for our district to talk to at least three people and then give away at least one book of mormon while we were out on the streets. So we first saw two girls and we gave them pass along cards. Then we saw this one lady and we asked her if she new about the church dn all the basic questions. She spoke so so so fast but guess what..... I UNDERSTOOD EVERYTHING. I asked her if she believed in prophets and she said yes that she believed that people today had the powers of prophecy and seer ship and the gift of tongues. My heart leaped up as I knew at that moment that God was giving me the gift of tongues. We gave her a Book of Mormon ad we were so thrilled!!! I really cannot wait to get out in the field and start this work. i love the CCM, i love my district and I LOVE THIS GOSPEL!! Don´t be afraid of teach the gospel because people are ready!!

I love love love you guys and miss you tons. Also bros and lei listen to dad and memorize the scripture masteries!!1 YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HELPFUL IT WILL BE!!!

LOVE, Hermana Tanuvasa

I am the Lord's investigator

So sooooo much has happened this week!!

First after I emailed you guys on Wednesday i had an amazing talk with my companion Hermana Howell, she told me how when we all met that first night on the plane she really wanted to be my companion and she got her wish! She is really quiet and not very confident but we´ve been working together to get her to be louder and talk more in our lessons and also for her to help me to be quieter., In Peru everyone like whispers spanish here. and of course you guys know i am totally deaf so i can´t hear much of what they say so im constantly saying "repita?" lol. This week a lot of the North American missionaries got sick but luckly i was not one of them! I think it was just a funny bug.

Friday we were reading in 2 nephi 32 and Hermana Luna, my teacher asked us before reading to write down one thing that we had a question about in our hearts. I wrote down # how can i be the best servant i can be while on my mission?" then right in the beginning of the chapter, it says why do you worry about what you should do once you have entered in by the way? Dont you remmeber that after you have received the holy ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? Hermana Luna compared the way with the mission and i realized that i shouldnt worry about hte specifics of what i should do but trust in the spirit and testify. Later after we had done an activitiy iin class, Elder Wilde (who reminds me SO MUCH of Kanoah lol you can imagine that, but he is actually alot like kanoah in that he is very sensitive and spiritual) he asked everyone one thing they learned from today and everyone shared amazing things. I told them that i had felt the spirit when they testified and that was the most important thing they needed when teaching an investigator. Elder Wilde actually got choked up and i saw it touched a few other people. Im really grateful for the strong testimonies that we have in our district.

Also my personal study has been getting better. Since ive realized that i should not just study for my investigator but for me! I am the Lords investigator and there is always something that i can learn and improve upon to receive greater light and blessings. I also played soccer on Saturday! Keirra, you should be proud of me, I make great passes and i shot a couple goals! WHOO! although i think sometimes i am too eager to get the ball because we arent allowed to have contact with anyone for safety issues but i always end up smashing into someone... Lol.

Sunday was awesome also and i came up with alot of great "OPEN YOUR MOUTH" scriptures. You guys should try that sometime, for any topic really, just start looking for scriptures that have to do with a certain topic and write them down in a little notebook. You'll thank yourself later!

Monday was rough lol because for some reason my alarm clock died in the middle of the night so we woke up late! but luckily we woke up at 7, giving us 15 minutes to get ready. Then in soccer i got a soccer ball nailed to my ear BUT DONT WORRY MOM IM FINE NO CONCUSSION BRUISE OR ANYTHING!

But yesterday was the Best!! We taught our fake investigator/teacher Karin in the morning and we nailed it! We made the allotted time and finished our whole lesson and spoke pretty good spanish! I felt sooo pumped after that! Then we taught Yadira at night and nailed it again! We got her to commit to baptism and although it wasnt "real" I felt the spirit so strong and its helped a lot. Also the new latino missionaries came in last night and i was able to hold tons of conversations with them going full speed spanish and i hardly had to ask any questions!!! It has been soo soo amazing! And today the new batch of North American missionaries came in. I know one of the girls but i forgot her name lol anywho, after yesterday and today I am so so so excited to be a missionary and though my spanish needs some work the Lord has seriously blessed me with the gift of tongues. But i promise you that the gift of tongues doesnt not come unless you put the work in, like every gift. That is the lesson I have learned this week. Is that the Lord will help us "after all that we can do". Some of the other missionaries slack off during study times and dont practice their spanish with the latinos ANYWHO I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK AND I LOVE THE SCRIPTURES!! The temple is the house of God but the CCM is the house of the spirit and boy can you feel it here.

Yo se que El libro de Mormon es verdadera y que Jose Smith tradujo El Libro de Mormon. Este libro es la palabra de dios. Yo se que La iglesia de Jesucristo de Los Santos de Los Ultimo Dias es la iglesia con el sacerdocio de dios y que el evangelio de Jesucristo puede bencide su vida. Yo se que Dios es mi Padre Celstial y que Jesucristo es su hijo.

En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen