Comida x5

Hola Familia!

This week was amazing! We have been working with a lady from Iraq named Arebea, I told you about her last week. She is such a special women and has been through a lot in life.We do not realize the blessing that it is to live here in the United States. She is divorced and has 6 children 3 of which are alive and living here in Rochester. This week as we were teaching her about the plan of salvation and restoration she told us she was broken on the inside but you would never know from just looking at the outside. She asked how can I be fixed? It was a wonderful moment to testify of the Savior and see her faith in him even though she can not be baptized and be fully healed at this moment. I know he loves her and is blessing her for opening up to hear his gospel. I love meeting the people out here from all over the world. I also sometimes just get this overwhelming feeling for everyone around me. I just think there are so many people out there and every single one has a story to tell. Every single person has a pain and the gospel has answers for every single one of us. That's why I just want to shout it out to everyone but I am sure people would think I was crazy...I am pretty sure a few of them already do.

It was a great moment this week when we approached a lady with her windows rolled up blasting her loud music. You could have heard it 4 blocks away. We tapped on the window and she unrolled it. We started to chat and who would have thought she grew up in an LDS home. Her foster parents were LDS. She wasn't very interested but I know it was a good reminder to her of where real peace comes. :) 

So victor had been pondering alma 39 very deeply and was very upset by it-we are not completely sure why. But this Sunday he got up in fast and testimony meeting and shared his testimony of it and it was beautiful to see the spirit working in him. He keeps coming along slowly but surely. I have definitely been learning a lot of patience. I am so grateful for that too haha.

This week we did not eat very good....we went out to eat 5 times. Everyone just wanted to keep taking us out investigators and members I ate some real good food. I'll send a pic of the pho ga I ate. It is Vietnamese and it was one of the best meals I have had on my mission!! 

We have changed the date of Jose's baptism because of stake conference to the 8th of May. He sometimes leaves randomly for a few days and we can't get a hold of him. Right now that is happening but we are hoping he gets back soon...! 

We had one very special visit Saturday evening. We were visiting a lady and her son in the hospital who are less active. They have been here for a while at the Methodist hospital and will continue to be for a while more. We are trying to help them come back in this time of great humility. When we went in we were able to sing one of her favorite hymns. I love singing with all that we meet because it brings the spirit no matter where you are. After I choose one of the songs to sing "I know that my Redeemer lives" the spirit was so strong and when we finished she said the three songs we sang were her three favorite. Pretty cool the promptings of the spirit even the very subtle ones about which songs to sing. She said each of them had a different meaning to her and she had very good memories with them. It was such a special evening I wish I could explain the feeling to you. You know its like when you just feel the spirit so strong and you know what your doing is exactly what you need to be doing. 

Something I am learning to work on is gratitude for the little things. I am learning the real importance of involving more gratitude in my prayers.Our heavenly Father wants to know what we are grateful for and there is such a difference in my day as I am more grateful in my prayers. We have so much to be thankful for! 

Well I love you all very much.

Don't forget the power of a smile and how much god loves you!! :)

This is to Jacob...bienvenido a la vida real ojala que este bien y esta en mis oraciones. 

te quiero familia! Make it a great week

xoxox

hermana pentelute

Pics:
1. pho ga
2.  zone p-day
3.  Sis Borene at Victorias mmmm

Milagro de Jose

Hola Familia! 

Rain Rain Rain is coming down here and the grass is greener than it will be all summer in Utah. I can't wait for all of the green the spring and summer bring. We literally have been "sprinting" this week spiritually physically emotionally. We have been SOOOO busy. But we were also so immensely blessed. What a beautiful and sacred opportunity it is to be apart of the blessings of heaven!!!!!  

Monday...my companion was sick. She got a 101 degree fever which is super bad especially considering the fact we were supposed to go down to Wisconsin Tuesday to do a Blitz in the sisters area. So we pretty much stayed in all day and she got a blessing. It was hard to not be working the same but good it was a p-day. Tuesday morning she woke up feeling so much better! Good enough to make the trip down to LaCrosse. It was actually a blessing because Sister Roberts was very sick as well. She and hna rawlins got to stay in together while I went out with Sis. Tuescher and we had so much fun. We also saw lots of miracles. It is so great to learn from the sisters and support them. The next day we woke up and made chocolate chip oatmeal pancakes and eggs. It was great. We also got to go their district meeting and my testimony of the Book of Mormon grew. I have set a new goal. To give a book of mormon out every single day for the rest of my mission. I have done it 1 week now except for Saturday and so its going well. :)

Like I said this week was crazy, let me keep telling you why. So last week we found some new investigators and we had return appointments with two of them this week. One is a family who just moved here from Mexico and they have been here 3 months. We already have a great relationship and I feel like they are my family. We are teaching them English and of course the gospel. It was pretty cool because we found out the dad is a less active member of 27 years!!! So excited to work with them. Also! We found another less active member and new investigator through Bre the other less active we are working with. It's complicated but the Lord is bringing his children back in mysterious ways! The other person I wanted to tell you about is someone named Arebea. She is from Iraq and she is amazing. We found her in the elevator while going to see if Jose had returned from Chicago. She is actually a Muslim but she is very interested. She felt the spirit very strong with us. She speaks arabic and luckily we have a member from Sudan who is amazing who came and taught her in Arabic. She came to church with us sunday and the bishop told us he saw her tear up a few times during sacrament. So special. She is such a kind lady who has been through a lot and I would be so happy if her family received the  blessings of the gospel or at least the knowledge of Christ.

We had an amazing miracle this week was with our investigator Hermano Jose Angel Castillo. He had left to Chicago for a trip and we didn't think he was getting back for awhile because his son said he wouldn't be back till then end of May :( but then out of no where he called us up this week and said he had came back! He told us that he had been reading the Book of Mormon while he was in Chicago and still wants to be baptized May 2nd! It was such a good feeling. He has such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and it's amazing that even though he was gone and we weren't meeting that he continued to get stronger spiritually because he was feasting on the Word of God! That just shows what is can do for us. It is going to be a crazy to weeks preparing him for his baptism because we have a new ward mission leader and we may have to change the date because we have stake conference that weekend but I will keep you posted. I know our prayers are being answered, thank you! 

The next miracle that happened was with Victor! We fasted with him this last fast Sunday that he would receive an answer and more clarity on what he already knows to be true. On Tuesday we meet with him and brought a returned missionary to teach. When we were preparing her for the lesson the thought came to her mind to bring a specific article. In that article Victor received an answer and so did we to our fast. The answer was in the form of the question. Do I trust God above everything else? He was able to realize that he hasn't been trusting God and what he needs to change. It is amazing as we do the little things the Lord asks us we are blessed. Fasting is a real thing. Isiah says it best in chapter 58. 

I was reading in Mosiah 4:19 today and I love the way it states the question. Are we not all beggars? Do we not all rely on the Lord daily. I love that I know I can trust my Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for his constant hand of redeeming grace in my life. 

I love you all so much! Thank you for your support and prayers. I think of you all often!

Make it a great week!

xoxoxo

hermana pentelute

Pictures:
1. sleepover with the sisters, they came over last night for our zone pday today 
2. Jose Castillo
3. doing peoples laundry for service 

Bendiciones a los Enfermos

Hola Familia!

The sun is shining and the grass here in already green!!!

MLC this week was amazing. We had the privilege to listen to Elder Stacey. He was in our mission presidency and now just as of conference, he is the active 70 over here. It was so amazing because we were the first people he talked to after he had spent the whole weekend with every general authority living on the earth. You could just feel the spirit radiating out of him. He was nervous and excited and it was so cool that he was being real with us. He told us that we are on the apostles and prophets mind. That the missionaries and the youth were talked about so much. He talked to us about not getting distracted. It was funny because he told us why we need to be modest. He said "sisters you're hot!" it is just a distraction from our goal to be immodest. It was pretty funny hearing that from a general authority. Our goal is to be sealed in the temple. We can't be distracted from that. It was pretty cool and I left filled with the spirit.

Kimberly's baptism was very special this week. We saw Satan work hard right before it. We had to end up canceling it on Saturday last minute and pull it together Sunday after church but it worked out and she is now a member. I love that little girl and her love for the Savior. Children's testimonies help me so much. I am so grateful I have awesome little brothers who always share theirs! :) 

This week we had some cool miracles with being here in Rochester near the Mayo clinic. Two different times this week we received calls from members in Utah who had told their non-member friends about the power of the priesthood and receiving a blessing. So we were able to go and administer to those people in the hospital. The coolest experience was last night. A lady from North Dakota and her husband and daughter were all there with her. She has ovarian cancer and she is going in today for lots of tests and surgery. The elders gave her a blessing and they asked for her full name. Her name is Sharon Ann. They went on and did the blessing and it was amazing and then after we were testifying to her. Sister Rawlins started to share her feelings and decided to share something special. Her grandma just died a few years ago from Ovation Cancer and her name is Sharon Ann as well. She felt as though her grandma were there like an angel to look out over this lady and we all could feel that too. It is so amazing how Heavenly Father works. He know us. He has a plan and if we listen to the spirit and let it guide we can be a comfort for those surrounding us. A few ward members and investigators we work with are going through lots of health challenges as well and it is amazing to me to see their positive outlook and the miracles happening in each of their different stories. We all have a story to tell. We all have experiences we need to live. The greatest part is we can chose how we want our story to end. We can chose our happiness and we can choose God. 

This week Victor Lechner finally opened up a bit more. He received his confirming answer of the Book of Mormon a while back and ever since that his progress has gone down hill. Now he is trying to do everything in his power to prove that wrong. He is scared for what that answer entails. He says he now gets a bad feeling while reading the Book of Mormon. He says he doesn't trust in his feelings so we are going to help him learn to recognize the spirit. Its hard to see the opposition he is going through but we have faith he is going to come out on top!

Jose has been out of town all week and Bertha came down with a bad sickness. Misty is still struggling on hos pis and we are just there to serve and comfort this family in such a hard time. So there is not too much of an update with them. Prayers headed their way always helps. 

I have been studying more intently from the Book of Mormon this week to try to deepen my conversion. It has been amazing what that has done as I have put myself in every story and asked my self questions the whole way through. I am reading in Alma right now about the conversion of the Lamanites. It is amazing their determination to follow God. Their covenant or promise with God. They never turn back, and I think that is so important. Keep moving Forward. 

Things are great here out in Rochester. The field truly is white already to harvest and we are putting all of our heart might mind and strength into every day. 

I love you all and you are in my prayers. 

Make it a great week :):)

xoxox

hermana pentelute

Felicidad en La Obra :)

Hola Familia!

Happy late Easter! Wasn't this past weekend just amazing? I loved every second of it. It was amazing to be celebrating the resurrection of the Savior Jesus Christ and listening live to his very living prophets. I learned so much and am so grateful for all of the question of mine that were answered. They truly are men called and inspired of God that I know! Two of the most powerful lesson that I learned was what Dale G. Renlund taught, it's more important to God who we are becoming than who we were or what we did in the past. That helps me keep my eyes up. Keep going forward keep pressing forward. That is what is important. Who I am today and who I am striving to become. Also I loved how much the family was talked about. I truly agree with L. Tom Perry that through our focus on family we can be a light on a hill and that family is the center of life and key to eternal happiness. If we teach and focus on strengthening families I think there will be much more peace in this world. I also believe this is how we will all unite together in the last days to bringing all to the knowledge of the Savior regardless of denomination.

I am doing fabulous and me and Hermana Rawlins are working wonderfully together. It is great to be back with her it feels as if we are fire already. We are best friends and we are having lots of fun together. We have been so busy this week but we have made it through laughing some how :) yay for amazing missionary companions and friends!

Hermano Jose angel Castillo is still working to the date of May 2nd and came to conference where there he felt the Saviors love. He has been very distraught this week with the death of his wife and son. Conference changed his whole week. I get this immense sense of gratitude seeing these changes in people knowing that this message, this unique and only true message brings real peace and changes people not just for a decade but their eternity. Even my own eternity. I have a renewed desire to proclaim the truth to all I see from after hearing conference!

This week has been so special sharing #becausehelives. We have been able to share it with so many different people. I truly know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of us all. I know that he lives and I know that he is here with us. Through all we pass through. He never leaves. I know he is eternally patient and loving along side our Father in Heaven. I am so grateful for his matchless gift!

Also! I dropped Sister Smith off and she is home now. It was sad to say bye but I am excited for her. When I was up in the cities I was able to see some of my old investigators and work in Richfield for the day with Hermana Hougaard! It was the best treat ever :)

Do you remember the Rodriguez family I was teaching last summer who out of the blue got up and left to mexico? They are baptized. Also 9 other people from the my last area that I all taught. SO cool.

I love you all very much!

Make it a great week :)

xoxox

Hermana Pentelute

Pictures:
1. Back together....., Hna Rawlins
2. Hna Hougaard and Scholl
3. bye Sis Smith!