6 Meses en la Mision?!

Hola bonita familia,

6 meses ya en la mision? 6 months already in the mission? Crazy how the time is flying but I couldn't be happier. This week was filled with so much joy I don't even know how to start.

Monday night we were in need of something to do. We had passed a house with a darker man outside a few days before and so I thought lets go there they're probably Hispanic! We went to the front of their house and their door was all insulated. They obviously didn't use it much..so he opens his window and shouts to us to come around back. So we went out back and started to teach him. (He wasn't Hispanic unfortunately just really tan) His name is wade and he lives with his girl friend and three children. He said he wanted to be baptized and we were able to set up a return appointment with him! So this Friday we taught him again with sister Benson and the spirit was so strong. All four of us were crying. We are really trying to find peoples specific pains by asking really bold questions so we can promise really specific blessings through the healing power of the Atonement and its so powerful! Anyways he came to church this week with his daughter and his friend and afterwards his daughter came up to us and said "its weird right now I just feel happier I really like it" sooo cute! And Wade thanked us and told us he knew the church was true. It was super powerful and one of the best Sunday's I've had hear in the field.

Marge is doing better she is getting up the courage and faith to act on the confirmation that this is the truth! We went over and made breakfast for her and Ben Sunday morning hoping to get her out the door but she refused. It was a little disappointing but she promised for next week. All in the

Lords timing right?

Tears equals the spirit that's what I have to say. We taught another lesson using the same specific blessing we did with wade to a man named Oscar. He was brought down into complete vulnerability and the spirit was really strong. There is so much suffering in this world and everyone has a pain they need healed that can only be healed through our Lord and Savior. I know that's true and I also know he is waiting with open arms to heal us.

We also taught an awesome family! The torres fam! Ricky, Jenifer, Xavier, adain, Zach, deandre and tierra! It was amazing I looove teaching families. They want to be baptized and felt the spirit. The kids also all sat still and weren't talking or fighting for an ENTIRE hour maybe even more. I was thoroughly impressed. hahah I was thinking hmmm I wonder if this would be the same for my fam? Hopefully they'll get to church this next week they are really involved in baseball and always have tournaments..sound familiar? :)

Haylee is being a 15 year old girl more concerned with friends and things of the world. I can't really blame her because she has no one helping her to change. We are teaching her today with an awesome laurel so hopefully all goes well there and they can build that friendship to help motivate her to take this hard but awesome step!

Well I love you all very much. The gospel is true. Prayer works. If we can get on our knees and pour out our souls to our Father in Heaven we can see miracles I know this is true.

Have an amazing week and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

xoxox

Hermana Pentelute

Pictures, Farewell to President and Sister Clements: 

1. Saying goodbye to Pres. Clements and his wife, I love them!!!! 

2. My zone,  we're the only hermanas!

Agradecido Por Todos

Hola Bonita Familia!

I am so glad to hear Olivia is doing well and recovering. It fills my heart with love and gratitude!

This week there has been some crazy weather! The highways are all flooded over and closed and there are just giant bodies of water everywhere from the constant rain!! The mosquitos are also having a hay day with my fresh blood! Its good to experience these new things haha. This week as we were teaching an investigator I was baring my testimony and the spirit was really strong then out of no where BOOM a bug flew straight to the back of my throat and I couldn't do anything!!! It was so hard to just keep talking and swallow. I think this is apart of Heavenly Fathers humor he has, seeing how we will deal with what he throws at us hahaha :) We also taught a Hispanic man named Juan this week in the pouring rain. We couldn't go inside of his house and so we just all stood outside with ONE umbrella over all three of us haha we were uncomfortably close but we were able to stay somewhat dry (the book of Mormon was dry most importantly) and its worth it to get to share the gospel!!

Haylee is doing good, we got over some young women and they invited her to girls camp, young womens and church! (I think she was a little overwhelmed:)) It was awesome though and she is progressing keep her in your prayers! It is cool to see someone so young really searching for the truth and it makes me so grateful to know I have found the truth!

We have been teaching a recent converts wife Marge Zieske on and off for a while now. She is a catholic and has a lot of physical and emotional pain. She has fear of meeting new people and really doing anything at all. Her heart was soften last night as we taught her about the plan of salvation and the Saviors atonement. I had been praying fervently this week to feel the love of the Savior and last night I felt it stronger than ever. I felt like I was looking through the eyes of Christ at this elderly couple. (in there 70's) They were beaming and glorious and the love I had for them was indescribable. I had fully given all my trust to the lord and as we taught the words that came from my mouth were not mine. Tears filled Sister Zieskes eyes and in that moment she had received a confirming answer of what we said was true. You could literally see in her countenance a relief flood over her. She didn't commit to a date to be baptized but I know it will be in the near future.This was truly a miracle and something I will never forget. That is one of the greatest parts of my mission, being able to see the atonement of Jesus Christ work in others and in myself. Truly feeling the love our savior and father has for all of us its amazing!!!!

I know that this church is true. I know it was restored by the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father and a Savior Jesus Christ who lives and stands at the right hand of God as our advocate and brother.

Keep up all the good missionary work and tell me about your experiences! Be bold and loving and proud of being a member de la iglesia de jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias!!

Te Amo!!!

xoxoxo

Hermana Pentelute

Pictures:

1. All the young women we taught them how to have a conversation in Español

2. Insane flooding right up to the highway

  

Yo Tengo la Fe por Milagros

Hola Familia!

I am not sure where to start, let me start out by saying the Lord loves us and is aware of our every need. I am humbled sitting here to get the news about my dear liv. Tears come to my eyes and it is very hard to think someone I love so much has been placed with a trail so immense as this one.

However I know that ALL things are done in the wisdom of the Lord. I know that his plan for us and our families is PERFECT and I know that his will is what will bring us the most lasting happiness joy and peace. In this time of trail and maybe even test of our faith I know that through sincere prayer and fasting peace will come and we will receive strength. God never leaves us, he loves us and his love is perfect. Just like the lord eased the burdens that were put on the people in the Book of Mormon he will ease the burdens put on our backs. He will give us strength, the strength that we need to bear up our burdens with ease. Mosiah 24:14-15

Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his GREAT power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel. Alma 26:16 Anything and everything is possible through the Lord. I know that he will provide a miracle for our family.

This week was amazing! I have a new comp like you know Hermana Rawlins. She is from a family of 3 who lives in snowflake Arizona. She loves treats like me and she is really cute and sweet and we are a lot alike! I know we are going to see miracles together! The Lord is really blessing St. Peter. We were locked out of our apartment and our keys to the car were inside of the apartment so we went to knock until we could get some help! As we were walking we saw a young girl named Haylee taking a walk and stopped to talk. We set up an appointment to meet with her the next day. The next day when we stopped by for the appointment she was there (miracle within its self) she informed us she was just talking with her mom about how she wants to find the truth for herself the day before! Her mother sat in on the lesson and gave her permission to be baptized and to choose the church of her choice. Haylee is getting baptized July 19th! She is prepared.  She came to church and the young women fellowship to her was amazing! She left with personal progress, true to the faith, for the strength of youth and an invitation to girls camp! I was so happy to see how the girls opened up and how much Haylee enjoyed her experience. I am SO thankful to the Lord for this miracle and it just shows you every thing happens for a reason even if you do get locked out of your apartment!

Another miracle we saw this week was so unreal I thought we were being pranked! We were walking to our English lesson Friday afternoon and a guy calls out to us and says "hey are you Mormons?" And so we obviously went over to him and said "YES we are!" He said awesome I have the Book of Mormon and I read it and I try to live by it and I want to be baptized. hahah WOW! I was chuckling because I couldn't help it! I was so thrown off for someone to make my job that much easier! He asked if he could be baptized again because he wants it and all this other good stuff. We got his information and will hopefully get to start teaching him soon!

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true and only true church here on the earth today. We have the fullness of the gospel which means we will be able to receive a fullness of blessing if we live by it now here on earth. Now is the time, choose God. Choose to have happiness. To be happy is a COMMANDMENT from God. I know the Lord will bless us as we pray and do his will. Christ is the living Savior and President Thomas S. Monson is God's mouth piece here on the earth today. 

I love you all dearly and am filled with gratitude and happiness. There is no greater work than this, we are so blessed.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK. 
I am praying for Olivia and The Osborn fam!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

xoxox

Hermana Pentelute

Pics: 

1. My new comp in the middle blonde hair 

2. Farewell to Hermana Jones.  Sister Jones last supper with our ward mission leader and his wife.

3-4. Jones leaving and her goodbye cake

Change in the Area!

Hola familia! 

Just another week in paradise! I am staying here in St. Peter for another transfer yay!!! And I am getting a new companera! Her name is Hermana Rawlins... she just got done training so I am excited to get to know her but I don't know anything else! I will miss Hermana Jones we are best friends and sisters but change is always good.

Let me just tell you a pretty amazing statistic! Our mission baptized 28 people this week and 43 the first two weeks in June... wow so cool to see.

This week we taught Gaspar an English lesson our last lesson before Hermana Jones leaves...we told him at the end one of us would be leaving (probably her) and he got all sad but the spirit was super strong because we prayed together one last time and he said the prayer. As he prayed he prayed for us and the work here and for our families, his prayer was kind of like a thank you to us and it was one of those "glorious moments". Talitha is having a lot of struggles right now, going through a rough time. We were able to stop by this week and help her a little in the house even though she didn't want the help. She didn't really even talk much but we knew she was appreciative. We told her we loved her and that the lord loved her and she had tears in her eyes. Even though her progress is slow I know with out a doubt we were placed in her life for a reason to bring her hope and peace. I know she will never forget the spirit she feels with us.

 Member missionaries are amazing! We have an amazing lady in our ward named sister cragun. (she speaks Spanish score!) She is always willing to do missionary work, she is a great example to me! We went teaching to a lady named arisely this week and Sister Cragun was able to touch her and help her open up that we have never been able to do. That was our best lesson we have had with Arisely. It just shows you how powerful members can be in this work. SO the less active we found last week Jesus we learned some more about his knowledge of the gospel. He is a talker let me tell you! Talkers are kinda hard to deal with out here hahah but we learned how he knows the story of Joseph Smith. He said that he got tarred and feathered and so he was sad (obviously) and went running into the forest crying and prayed and an angel came to him. Hahaha we were like okay, lets clear some things up for you :) He is going to be a blessing though to the Spanish movement here we just have to clear some doctrine up first!   

I am so blessed to be out here at this time it is such a blessing. Don't stop doing the little things everyday to bring you closer to God that's what will bring you strength and happiness!!

I love you all! Make it a great week :)

xoxox              

Hermana Pentelute

Pics: 
1. Me and Gaspar  
2. a wood park just like at home! 

 

8:55 Miracles

Dear Familia,

Well where do I start? The weather here is unreal. I feel like I am always on vacation it is just beautiful! It is really hot but beautiful and GREEN. The bugs on the other hand are not my favorite...hahah I am fresh blood and being eaten alive its all good though because through our trails we are strengthened right? haha 

This week was a little slower than usual we have had some real tests of our faith. We taught Adolfo Monday night and it didn't go quite as planned! We reviewed the Word of Wisdom with him and after we asked him what it was in his own words and he couldn't explain it back to us so we taught it again and we aren't sure of his understanding but we asked him to re-commit to stop smoking and he said he would stop for good, we asked him if he had cigarettes with him in his pockets or in his house or anywhere and he said no. So we were a little worried going out of the lesson but even more worried when we saw him smoking!!!! Literally as we were getting in the car he walks out and starts smoking! Oh my goodness talk about heart wrenching I wanted to cry. It was like WOW can you see us we are right here! So we are slowing down with Adolfo. We aren't sure of his accountability. It is very hard to see that but it's all apart of the experience and the Lord works in mysterious ways! After that we stopped by Marvel who we have been taking a break with as well. We started out the lesson and something was different. He was a lot more open and receptive. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and it is changing his heart. If you want miracles, read the Book of Mormon. He was excited to show us things he had learned and read and he even said "amen" after our prayer. He has always refused to pray but said he really would this time. Going out of that lesson I felt like crying again but tears of joy. Oh the love our Savior has for us. The miracles he puts in our lives each day astounds me! Being a missionary is a roller coaster on minute you see your date set smoking the next minute you see the power of the Book of Mormon and it is just awesome. 

Another miracle this week, we call these the 8:55 miracles because curfew is 9:00! So we needed something to do with our last 10 minutes we had to work and we had the impression to go to a recent converts house. We knocked on the door (in the pouring rain and when I say pouring I mean you are drenched if you step out side) to find a man named Jesus. He was baptized when he was 17 years old in Mexico. He hasn't been to church for years but remembered so much and about how he loved it. He used to go every week. He didn't think he was still a Mormon because he hadn't been for so long but we are like yes yes you are!! It was such a blessing to find him he came to church with us the next day and he is getting his records updated and everything. He will make a fantastic addition to our Spanish efforts. God is good. He is providing was to hasten this Spanish work!

Even when the week is slow or even when we think we are not successful God provides a way for us to bring his children back to the fold. I am astonished every week how aware he is of every single one of his children! I am so greatful for the hard times that teach me to work harder and look forward with hope. We have hope because of our Savior Jesus Christ. True happiness resides here in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In my family there are members who have fallen away. I just want to challenge you specifically to go to church. Just try it one time and pray to God to help you to have the courage if you do he will get you and your family through the doors. Bring your whole family with you. I can promise you if you do this, our loving Father in Heaven will open up the windows of heaven and bless you I promise if you open up your Book of Mormon once again read and ask god with a sincere heart to confirm the testimony you once had you will receive an answer and your family will have abounding more happiness. I know this is true. I love you all!

Have an amazing week, I love letters from everyone even if they are short :)

xoxox

Hermana Pentelute

Pics:

1. Me and Hermana Jones at the cheese factory 

2. best food ever from member restaurant this morning

3.  My crazy district!