New area, new companion, new ward, new experiences, and the Lord's same work!

New Companion- Sister Rubio

Large Plates 

New area, new companion, new ward, new experiences, and the Lord's same work!

Monday night we taught my last lessons with some of my favorite people! We had a video call with Rosalba, where we talked a little (and I cried a little). She said when she gets baptized she wants me to come, so I'm really hoping we can make that happen!!

After our call, we headed over to Graciela and Juseli's. It was kind of a strange visit, because Juseli was in the kitchen pretty much the whole time. We chatted with Graciela and Pablo for quite a while, and Juseli chimed in from the kitchen, which wasn't far away. Then, she finished up in the kitchen and I realized what she had been up to. She made us arepas! They were so good, too. We ate them and chatted about how good it has been to meet together and learn from each other for these last couple of months. Pablo said he's going to start learning and preparing so he can get baptized too! I told them I want an invite to their sealing a year after they all get baptized, so I'm pretty excited for that. I'm definitely going to miss them. In fact, I already do. But I know they're in good hands, with Sister Peterson and Sister Jackson:)

Tuesday was transfer day! I finished packing up the rest of my belongings, and we headed for the church. I sat in another trainer meeting, just like the one I had when Sister Jackson came to the mission! Then, all of the new missionaries came in and Sister Schmeil helped us all find our new companions! My new companion is Sister Rubio and she is an absolute sweetheart. She's from Southern California and she loves nature just like I do! 

From the Church, our adventure began. We took the hour drive out to our new apartment and let me tell you: this has gotta be the nicest missionary apartment in the mission. It was so clean when we got there, and everything is in such good condition. And there's so much counter space in the kitchen! I'll send a picture. 

We attempted to unpack a bit, but we had to leave to go get groceries before it got too late. The apartment had no food, except for about 30 cans of doctor pepper haha. We filled up our cart and dropped a fortune on restocking the pantry, and then headed back home to the utter chaos we had left behind. We spent the rest of the night unpacking and setting ourselves up for a good week!

Wednesday was definitely an interesting day. We had district council, which was so good because I got to see Elder Cash and Elder Harmer, who were in my district this same transfer a year ago! After DC, we stopped by a sweet member's house, Sister Smith's, and we helped her move a couple of things that were too heavy to move on her own. Then we sat down for a bit and heard her whole conversion story! It was really powerful. 

Wednesday was also the day we had our first non-member lesson! Except this was one of the strangest lessons I've had haha. We got a call from an Indian telemarketer and he asked if we wanted to sell our home or any other property to him. I said "no thank you. But, we're actually missionaries for Jesus Christ! Do you believe in Christ?" Which prompted a discussion about the Law of Moses and why it's okay to eat pig haha. He wasn't interested in learning more, but appreciated us sharing with him. 

Thursday we had such an amazing miracle!! We went to a park to do a bunch of phone calls as we figure out what's going on in the area, and we met someone there! We talked to him and found out that he is actually a member, and hasn't been to church for a long time. We got his name and phone number before he had to leave. Then, when we sat down after to continue working through some of the member lists, his name was right there! He's a prospective Elder and the ward has been trying to work with him for a long time, to no avail. But, we know he goes to the same park every day for his break, so we know where to find him;)

Friday was one of my favorite days for sure. Although we got bashed by a grumpy old member who has gone completely crazy, I'd still call it a good day. Why? What could make that day good? Well, you see. I have 2 new amigos cubanos!!! Which means I get to use my Spanish!! I made friends with a guy named Yoannis on Facebook, and I told him about the Book of Mormon. He was so intrigued, and wanted a copy. He lives outside of our area, so we had the Elders bring him a book. When the Elders got to his house, he let them right in to meet his whole family and tell them about the book!! The only catch is that neither of them speak Spanish haha. But! Elder Salden used his Portuñol and they had an awesome lesson. 

When we called him that night, like we had planned, he showed us his new book, and he was so excited about it. He thanked us for reaching out, and said something along the lines of "This book is so interesting, why don't you hear about it in Cuba?" Which broke my heart. I've grown really close to a lot of Cuban members over the last year, and my heart aches for their country. Yoannis then explained to us that his brother is still in Cuba, but he really wanted him to know about this book. We explained that missionaries can't go to Cuba, otherwise we would have them bring a book to his house, just like we did with Yoannis. He then asked if his brother could just join our video call. We said of course! His brother was so intrigued by the story of the Book of Mormon, and Yoannis explained to him what he had learned from us! My favorite thing is watching the people we teach teach someone else. Anyway, I'm really excited. Yoannis couldn't come to church yesterday because he was out of town but he's coming next week! 

Sorry, I know this is a long email. Good job if you've made it this far! Saturday was also crazy. We went to a Relief Society activity to try to get to know the ward, and we walked away with a homemade ornament, an advent candle, a tummy full of Christmas cookies, a couple of borrowed rakes, and a bunch of new friends.

Why rakes? We had a service project that day! This cute little old lady named Pat needed help cleaning up her yard after Hurricane Nicole. We went to do service with the Elders from the other ward in our building, and I found out that one of them went to Ridgeline! And he did choir, so he knows Mr. Baer! What a small world. I didn't know him, though, because he's a few years younger than me. 

Last but certainly not least, we were called by the Sisters in a different ward in our stake to come help them with a different service project!  This one did not involve rakes. We were in a parade! The Viera ward had a spot in the city's Christmas parade, and we went to hand out Church invites and candy canes. It was tons of fun, but wow I was tired after. I have no idea how many people I waved at or how many times I said Merry Christmas. But, hopefully lots of seeds were planted!! 

We went to bed nice and early Saturday night to prepare ourselves for Sunday! It was a big day–we were finally going to meet our whole ward! Sunday was a good day. Our ward is so awesome! The recent converts in this ward are actually Hispanic, and are learning English. So they need a translator every Sunday. Brother Rusk does the translation and he does an incredible job. I really like him and I really like Sandra and Valeri, my other new amigas. Everyone was so excited to hear that we had a Spanish speaking Sister in the ward!! Although it has been confusing for everyone because my companion, Sister Rubio, is Latina, but doesn't speak Spanish. Everyone thinks she's the one who does, so they ask her questions in Spanish, and then I have to translate or answer for her haha. She really wants to learn Spanish though! She was called to speak English, but is already picking up on a bit of Spanish, too! 

After church we had dinner with the Loftus family. They're a cute little family of 6! From there, we had a lesson in the car with our new friend Philip! He's very cool and really loves Jesus. 

We finished off the week with a Christmas devotional at Sister Nalley! She reminds me a lot of my aunt Miriam. So, you can say we enjoyed being in her home ;) She had a bunch of Charcuterie set out, and a few soups to try. We had just left a meal shortly before, but I was still hungry because it was Fast Sunday, so you already know I ate so much Charcuterie haha. It was a good way to end the night and to end the week. 

Small Plates

Christmas gifts

As I'm sure you have all noticed, the Christmas season is upon us. There's a lot of hustle and bustle, and a lot of talk about gifts at this time of year.

It's beautiful. We turn outward and think about those around us. We sacrifice time, money, and energy to bring joy to others. Ahh I love Christmas!!

I want you to imagine for a moment that you are a parent, and you want the perfect gift for your children. You go to every store and search day after day for something that would bring them all joy. After days of searching, you find it. The perfect gift. 

It's just one thing, but you know it'll make all of your kids happy. It will bring them more joy than anything else you could give them. They'll learn to love and appreciate it more and more with time. And as they share this precious gift with one another, each of them will feel more joy. It truly is the perfect gift.

Now take a step back. Put yourself in the shoes of the child. You have been given the perfect gift. 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Christ is the perfect gift. Heavenly Father knew there was nothing more special He could give to us than His Only Begotten. 

And just as a good parent wants their child to appreciate and to share their Christmas presents, our Heavenly Father wants us to come to know and love His Gift, His Son. He wants us to appreciate that Gift, and to share it with everyone.

This Christmas season, come to know Christ better than you ever have. Share his love like you never have before. Make this Christmas season more meaningful than any before.

Rosalba