8-26-13

Hola Familia!

Life here in Royal City is going good.Happy Birthday MOM!!!!!!! You are the best!

Life is full of adventure. Last night we were eating dinner and when we left the house it was pouring! turns out they get crazy random rain storms just like we do.

Some fun facts I have learned since being here:

1. I live with one of the Pioneers of Royal City. She was one of the first five families to move up here to farm. Her name is Doreen Iverson and she is just the sweetest lady there ever was. Grandma, she actually reminds me quite a bit of you!

2. We know we have found the right street when we realize it as we are passing it.... Everytime. This is the conversation between me and my companion the other day.

Me: "Oh, i think that was it."

Comp: "Of course it is, i just passed it."

It is very fun and exciting and we are slowly but surely becoming masters of the area. My favorite thing is that almost every road we turn on say warning: primitive road no warning signs.

3. The value of writing in Pencil. Learning to roll with the punches and the changes thrown our way. Writing in pencil just makes our lives so much easier.

4. I am learning all about different crops. Yesterday my directions to dinner said pass the bean field and then turn right. (luckily he described what a bean field would look like)

5. It is Harvest season/Apple picking season = very busy people in Royal city and... wait for it.... FRESH FRUIT AND VEGIES!

Overall we are having some pretty good success here. I really like it. THe members here are nothing but helpful and encouraging in every way. They have showed me what i want to be like toward the missionary effort after my mission.

This week was pretty solid. We are teaching some great people. We are working with a girl who is really awesome. She was baptized a number of years ago and we are there to be her support in the church. So the other day we asked her to read the intro to the Book of Mormon. When we came back she summarized paragraph for paragraph for what she read and told us that before we came over that she had set a goal for reading the Book of Mormon all the way through and that she wanted a stronger testimony. She is 13, what an example it is to me that she was able to find the truth so early in her life and want to be strong in it. Being a great example to everyone else in her family.

Also we will be having a baptism next week! His name is Owen, he is from Jamaica and i think i talked about him last week. He is such a good example and basically follows everything that will make him a good person. He calls everyone younger than him his children and so to us, and Darwin (his friend). He is just a crack up. But he really does know that this is what he should be doing and everyone in the ward here already loves him and have been more involved with his conversion than any missionaries. I am excited to see him make this step in his life.

As well as with investigators, we spend lots of time right now getting to know members and i have had the opportunity to learn so much from them. This week i learned a lot about having compassion for other people and how we can learn to know and serve other people better. Everyone has a different background story and that leads everyone down different paths and we need to learn to help those people in whichever way we may need.  I also am learning everyday about following the spirit and trying to be more and more in-tune everyday so i can fully be an instrument in the Lords hands. Right now i am reading the chapters in the Book of Mormon about Moroni and the wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites. Almost to the Stripling Warriors but not quite yet. And I never ceased to be amazed at the difference of having the Lord on your side. He is never failing . Everything we do with him happens for a purpose. Moroni cared about his people and did everything in his power to protect them and help them be prepared for what was coming. That is what President Monson does too. Last conference his talk was on obedience, and right before that he gave thousands of more young people the opportunity to serve a mission. And obedience plays a huge role in missionary work. Let me just say i am glad to have the Lord on my side, and i will work everyday of my life to keep him there.

Yesterday and today so far have just been pretty awesome. Yesterday we had a huge chunk of time where there we didn't have a specific plan and we were knocking doors in one of the three place there is to knock here and we ended up both finding people who were interested in the gospel as well as having an opportunity to share the message of Jesus Christ with them and bear testimony of him. It was huge proof that the Lord is on my side and i am so grateful for that experience.

Last little spiritual pick me up for the day. we were getting gas at the station in town and as i am washing the windows a car pulls up by our car, rolls down the window and asks us if we are from a church. We of course smiled at the opportunity and shared with him who we were. He told us that he had just moved from California and was looking for a Christian church to go to. Luckily we happened to know of just a place. He was from a neighboring town, but it was a short and simple way that i could do my part in sharing the gospel with him.

The Church is true. I love you all and hope that this email is finding you happy and healthy. Until next week, hope you will join me in finding joy in our journeys where ever they may be.

Con Amor,

Hermana Ray

8-19-13

Hola Familia!

Well this week actually went really well and i easily survived my first area change.

My last few days are in Pasco. We taught a lot of people and they were are doing really well! I was sad to be leaving when they are all doing so well, but i hope that they will continue to do really well!

And then.. the adventure begins! Wednesday I headed off to Royal City. It ended up taking all day to get both me and my companion in the same place. Now a little bit about Royal City, it is a farm town. One of those everyone knows everyone and everywhere. It is a totally different environment than Pasco but i am really excited. I am covering both an English ward and a Spanish branch. It is definately an adventure, neither of us have served there before and finding a map of the place isn't really that likely. The longer we are here the better it will be. People give directions based on where other people live and "the four way stop" and the yield light. It is called "the four way stop" because it is the only one in town. I am excited for this Farm town part of my life! A memeber was nice enough to loan us the GPS she had... and only parts of the city are recognized on the GPS. We have been working on trying to find people/find places. It is a new adventure every day.

Yes, I have met Susan relatives, they were very nice to me. What are the chances of me going to Royal City and knowing people? It is very fun! The members are amazing here. They are super willing to help us out with anything, and hopefully we will figure out what to do so they can help us with it!!

We do have a baptism coming up of one of the most humble people i have ever met. He is from Jamaica , and is super excited to learn and be a member of the Church. I am really excited to be seeing the progress.

My companion is Hermana Heninger from...... Gilbert, Arizona!! She went to Highland and ASU as well. We are actually in either the same major or a similar one. She is pretty awesome. Also the sisters that we split the branch with are both from Arizona too! Hermana Hatfield actually went to Mountain View and graduated in 2012. Small world right.

We live with a member, Sis. Iverson, she reminds me a lot grandma actually. She is wonder woman! Very nice and wonderful. Everyone in town knows her.

As for the title it is like a treasure hunt because every time we go try to find someone or are looking for someone new it is an adventure and we have to search for them. But we get fresh fruit and vegies a lot and it is great!

I will report more on my area when i know more about it! Just know that i am really liking it here. Only one direction to go and thats forward.

Love you all and pray for you! remember that God loves you and there for you!

Con Amor,

Hermana Ray

8-12-13

Hola Familia!

First off, congrats Mom!! Sounds like you rocked that tri-athalon! I couldn't see the pictures, but Sarah also gave me a play by play! So Proud!

This week has really been a growing experience on how i can love other people. At zone meeting and everything, we talked about having God's view in our eyes for other people. Once we see them as God sees them we have a desire to help them and bring them to the same hope of God that we have found in our lives. And since we talked about it this week and i was learning about it, of course Heavenly Father blessed me with experiences to go along with what i am learning. We have been working really hard as a companionship to try and make sure we are teaching the lessons specific to the people. And because of that i have had some really cool experiences.

1. We were at the home of the Salinas Family and they are awesome and so strong. We have been helping her learn to use the atonement to overcome our fears. As we were teaching her about President Uchtdorf's talk from the last young women broadcast, "Your Wonderful Journey Home" she told us that she loved us and what we were doing for her. She said that she can tell we have taken her life and looked for things that could help her. We have taken some of her burdens and she knows that we love her and really are there to help her. And it is true, every time we go and teach her a lesson, I want so bad for her to know of God's love for her and that we all have different Roadblocks on our road of life, but we have a map and Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are our guides and with them we can't fail. It was a really cool experience.

2. The other was with one of our investigators. She has really has been given a hard life that has and probably will continue to challenge her. She has been good at turning to God in these times, but she has just never really felt that any place was for her, but she does have a really strong relationship with God. As we took the time to take a whole lesson and focus it on one of the questions she had, she began to trust us more and thanked us over and over for helping her understand. As i studied and prayed about what to share with her, my love for her and desire for her to find what she was looking for grew and i just really wanted her to know that we were here for her and so was her Father in Heaven and her brother Jesus Christ. It strengthened the relationship between us and she realized that as missionaries we weren't just there to help her learn but to help her build, grow, and change the things in her life that she didn't want. It was a cool experience. Also cool about this investigator, she has lived in AZ before, Tucson, Phoenix, and Mesa. Cool huh? She used to live off of Broadway, who would have thought? 

One thing i do know is that I like helping people. As i have been learning about loving in the way that Christ would want me to, my love for other people and my desire to serve them has grown. 

We also were looking for new way that we could find people to teach. Hermana Pierce got a letter from someone that talked about using your talents to improve your missionary work. We then wrote down our talents and then each others talents and then we had the other sisters that we live with write down our talents too. From that list we are praying to figure out how we can use our talents in our missionary work. It is still a work in progress and as we start to weave in our talents and trying to use those to help other people we will be able to find and connect with people.

So many fun things to write about this week! I got to go to my first Quinceanera!! A member of the Branch was having one and it was so cool. They told us to come for the dinner part. It was really fun. There were so many people there! It was exactly what these big parties seem to be all about! Of course Alma looked super pretty and it was really fun and a great bonding experience for the member because the whole branch had been invited! They sure know how to throw a party.

 

Now... for the big news! Well at least in the life of a missionary. On Wednesday I am being transferred to Othello!  I am not exactly sure where, i just know that my area is in the Othello Stake. Where is that you might ask? I don't have any idea. I know it is north of my current location, but that is about it. I will tell you a little more about it when i get there i guess. Although i am sad to be leaving Pasco, the branch, my companion. I am excited to be off on a new adventure. Luckily i know one thing. The church is the same everywhere you go. I never really thought of how nice that was before, but it is truely a blessing. The church can be a solid foundation no matter where you are at on the map!

I love you all and hope you are all doing well. More to come next week on the new area and all the adventure that brings. What i do know is that both me and my companion are new to the area, so let the maps and the "adventures" begin all over again!

Remember that Jesus is our Savior and that he loves you all very much, we are never alone. Remember that everyone is a child of God. Simple service is a very easy way to show people that you care and that "no effort is ever wasted."

Con Amor,

Hermana Ray

 

8-4-13

Hola Familia!

Another great week has passed here in the State of Washington! Nothing like talking to people all day about Jesus Christ. Some days it hot, but we have dropped below the 100's again so it is pretty nice. 

The fun thing about this week was that literally everyday was different! We had a mini missionary 2 days this week and it was really fun. Had very new experiences and learned a lot, plus i had exchanges with Hma. Robison which was so fun. 

Wednesday was the first day that we had our mini missionary. Her name was Ashley Moto. She was really energetic and excited to learn. Let's back up, a mini missionary is something our mission does. For 2 days a young man/woman goes with the missionaries and lives the same life from 8am-9pm. We literally do everything together. Anyway since we had the minimissionary, we also went with a member and went to 2 lessons at the same time! I was in charge of teaching the lesson and it was a little terrifying at first, but then i realized that i could do this!! It was a really good experience for me and i am learning a lot the more i work with different people.

Thursday we also had fun adventures, once again it was us and our mini missionary. She is one the Seminary counsel at the high school in Pasco, so we spent some of the day working on finding the incoming Freshman of the branch and getting them signed up. Oh seminary, learned so much over 4 years about every book in the scriptures. That night Hma. Pierce got permission to go to a baptism so it was me and the mini missionary. Again i went with the mini missionary and a member to teach a lesson. I seriously have learned so much over the last week. Hma. Pierce knows i will work hard so she doesn't take it easy on me. Over all we have great fun together. And Cynthia wasn't confused about what i taught and i understood her. Those are two miracles all in themselves.

Friday We had a cool experience with seeing the hand of the Lord in everything we do. We were trying to find a member of the branch to take to a lesson with us and we thought about it for like a week and finally asked Hma. Salgado to go with us. When we got to the house of Eren and Martin, we found out that Eren and Hma. Salgado knew each other! They actually were really good friends in jr high and the last time they had seen each other was at a Quinceanera about 12 years ago. It ended up being really powerful and exactly who needed to be there. We are not alone in anything we do. Sometimes we don't even see what happened until after. it was eally cool.

I got to go on exchanges with Hma. Robion who was in my MTC district. It was soo fun! Well, it was lots of hard work and knocking on doors, but again i learned a lot and it was really nice to spend time with her. 

Today, we went and hiked the "mountain" that is here in the tri-cities. it is probably about the size of the wind caves but it is just dirt with dead grass. None the less it felt good to be outside hiking, it gave me a small workout and it was fun. Plus i got to hike the mountain in the area. 

On the more spiritual side, Hma. pierce share something really cool with me this week. It was in a talk by Bednar about Nephi, when his brothers bind him up. He doesn't pray for God to loosen the bands, but he prays for the strength to be able to do it. He asks for the strength but is willing to do his part and put in the effort. Nephi had so many bad things happen to him, as well as most prophets. some of the strongest people have faced the worst adversity. Like Joseph Smith in Liberty. We all have spiritual mountains or wildernesses, but we can pray for strength to work through them. God doesn't always deliver us, but sometimes gives us the strength we need to work our way out with his help. And there is my spiritual soapbox of the week.

Love you all and pray for you. Have a great week!

con Amor, 

Hermana Ray