9-29-14

Hola Familia!

I am glad you all aren't expecting too much out of me this week. It has been an interesting week to say the least, but the work continues to move forward. I can't believe it is already that time. AHHH! I could sit here and write something super inspirational about what i have learned being a missionary, but i can't even put it into words. I love it. Everything. The hard times the good times and everything in between.

I know God is our Loving Heavenly Father, and if nothing else i want everyone i talk to to understand that simple truth.

I know that Christ is our Savior and that everything that he did was for us. Individually and that through His Atonement everything is possible and that we can witness that cleansing power through repentance.

I know that we have Christ's church on the Earth today in the same way it was formed originally. I have no doubt. The Gospel just makes sense :)

Through the Restoration we have that Power to act in God's name and know that we are being led by Jesus Christ himself.

We have been fortunate enough to receive both modern revelation and ancient records that help us understand Christ's mission and life and our purpose here on the Earth.

AHHH!! I just love the Gospel it makes so much sense!! I love being a missionary. My life has been changed for the better and for forever.

Just to share a short experience:

Yesterday i had to tell Hugo that i wasn't going to be there for his baptism. It was sad because i have been teaching him since the begining and he loves it! he gets it. But as i told him, i thought he was going to cry, which would make me cry. ugh. But then he said the closing prayer and he prayed for ME. He prayed that all would go well for me and such. i felt so much peace in that moment. Besides the fact that i was about to ball like a baby. The Gospel changes lives. And for that i will forever be grateful!

See you all next week!

Hermana Ray

ps. i tried to send a picture of my hike today, but the card reader won't work... Sorry! just know it was Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lake mountains waterfall, the works!

9-22-14

Hola Familia!

Life here as a missionary is great. I got the opportunity to speak in church yesterday and that was fun. i wasn't sure how long i was going to have to speak for and i think that is one thing the mission can help you out with. You can make it however long or short as you need to. Plus Abigail got confirmed a member of the Church and i was so excited. There is nothing that sets the tone for a sacrament meeting like a confirmation. I also want to give a shout out to our amazing members. Of our 5 investigators at church this week, 4 were brought by members, and only one of them had to call us and ask for one. 2 of them were invited and brought by our members. it was amazing. They are super awesome and the work is progressing. When members get involved, the investigators feel like family in the ward.

Other great moments..

Thursday: we had a training with President where he really changed up the way that we organize ourselves as missionaries. But through that i realized that i have been humbled many times, and sometimes when we have humbling experiences we aren't always quick to accept the advice. But this time i was open to accepting the change, which to anyone who knows me isn't my favorite thing in the worlds. But change makes us better if we are changing in righteousness. The real adventure of that training was that we had to take the bus down. We got on the bus at 7 and when we got down to Wenatchee we were supposed to catch another bus... And we did.... going in the wrong direction. By the time i realized we were going the wrong way there wasn't a whole lot i could do about it. luckily some other sisters picked us up so we were only 5 minutes late instead of 30 something... The adventure never ends.

Also thursday night we went and helped 13 year old Selene study for a test of the United States. We talked about the power of prayer to help bring things to our remembrance. she liked the sound of that :) But as we studied, we didn't have a map, so looking off of a smart phone i drew the worst map of the united states ever. But hey you do what you can with what you have got! We went back on Saturday and she said prayer is so awesome and that she remembered all of them!!

Saturday: We had a lesson with Abigail Sr. She is so amazing and has such a good heart. As we sat down in their little house, her husband sat in for the lesson for the first time like ever since i have been here. As he talked to me, he told me about his life and some of his struggles and said that he didn't know how to change. so of course i shared the thought based on that we can always change and Jesus Christ will accept us. Then he told me he was coming to church Sunday but he didn't want anyone to tell him that he was a bad person. He didn't come but he is definitely opening up to the message of the Gospel. It was really cool, because other conversations i have had with him in the past were not the most pleasant.

Overall a great week. love you all! thanks for your love and support and have a great week!!

Hermana Ray

9-15-14

Hola Familia

I know that last week had a really cool miracle story and i think that is the theme of my life right now. Seriously so amazing! And i got to sit and witness these miracle in action.

Well, we decided that we were going to again take our schedule to Heavenly Father and ask if he would send us someone to talk to. So we did that and as we went to the park, we talked to one or two people but no one was interested, the a van showed up and was unloading chairs for a wedding. SO we helped with that and as we were doing that we noticed someone show up at the park and go off on their own. So as we talked to him, he was very open to the message and we realized that we probably would never see him again, but God kept his appointment with us and hopefully Aaron will be open to the missionaries next time he runs into them.

But that is only the half of it really. We had the coolest and craziest experience and got to witness a miracle. The story starts out like 2 weeks ago when we were talking to Abigail about Faith and miracles. We had decided to fast together so that hearts would soften and she could be baptized. It to this point had been a three year process and now just waiting til those hearts were softened. So with her and her mom we decided to fast on fast sunday (along with leaders of the ward) that hearts would be softened so that Heavenly Father could bring miracles... Then they didn't come to church. Not going to lie, little frustrated. It wasn't their fault, but life happens. Now i will give a review of the week.

Wednesday: Had a lesson with Abigail and another member of the church and talked about the simple things like prayer and scripture study. She said she had been having a bad day and that she was hoping we would come over.

Thursday: We were in Chelan so we decided to go teach Irasema a new member lesson (Abigail's daughter who got baptized a while ago) and were going to teach her about the gospel of Jesus Christ and focus on her baptismal covenant. So as we started Abigail wrote out a permission slip said she would be right back, came in 15 minutes later with a signed permission to get baptized and asked us if she could get baptized on Sunday..... to which we answered... OF COURSE!!!! Needless to say that night we planned a baptism.

Friday: Went and set everything up with her for the baptism and it was amazing. She was super excited and said, well, i don't really care what happens at the service because i get to get baptized.

Saturday: Baptism interview. Went so well, i got to hear her whole process of getting to know the missionaries.

Sunday: BAPTISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was super amazing! She was so excited and we had another investigator there who loved it and the baptism went better than i could have possibly tried to make it happen. And then after the actual baptism she bore her testimony and it was so amazing! I seriously can't even express!!!!!! So blessed. I just had to thank her for letting us be a part of it.

I absolutely love her!! GOd is a God of miralces. I know that Christ is my Savior and that this is His work. I want to end with a sentence from the bible dictionary under miracles:

"miracles... are simply works, or the natural results of the Messiah's presence among men."

Hermana ray

9-8-14

Hola Familia!

What a fun crazy week it has been! Sounds like you are all getting lots of water down in the valley which is a good thing with all the dryness there is. Being in a farm town i hear all about how there isn't enough water to farm in most places this year.. I fear that i will never be able to adjust backto the city...

But really this week was really cool. We had a lot of great lessons and are talking with so many cool people.

The main thing of the week was when Hermana Jaccard told me that we should try something a little bit different. After talking or praying we decided to make an appointment with the Lord. So that is what we did. We told him that we would be at Manson Bay Park at 2:30pm and to please put someone in our path to talk to. Well we got there and there was only a lifeguard lady, an old man, and a young spanish guy sitting off by himself reading a book. So as we went and started talking to him, we learned that he had a friend drop him off from the other side of chelan (probably like a 30 min drive) just to be around the Lake and was reading a book on how he could better himself. We taught him about another book that could help him change his life, The Book of Mormon, and he really liked it and accepted to take the lessons with the Elders. We were awe struck and couldn't believe it, like did that just happen? But it had. We ran into the Elders later that day and told them our miracle story and gave them his information... Well later that night we get a call from the Elders saying that they had just met him randomly when trying by an investigators house! Eutimio was meant to meet the missionaries that day!! It was super amazing!

The Lord has his hand in our lives and we should be grateful every day for that fact. Sorry this is a short one, but I love you all and hope you have a great day!!

Hermana Ray

Hna Jaccard and I and the View from Manson Bay park on an overcast day

9-1-14

Hola Familia!

Another good week has gone by. And i feel like time is just a rolling... Henni I can't believe you had your homecoming already! That picture of you an Emma is adorable. But it was super fast this week because we had transfers, I got my new companion, and we spent quite some time in new missionary meetings.

Let's start off with the new companion, shall we? Her name is Hermana Jaccard. She is from Pleasant Grove, Utah. Her parents both served missions in Sweden and her mom is actually Swedish. So ya.. if we run into anyone in this town that speaks Swedish, we will be in luck because she is fluent. She is 19 and has 2 little brothers. She took Spanish in the past so she understands it quite a bit and i think she will pick it up super fast.

The week started out busy with getting ready for transfers, then on transfer day we don't spend a whole day in our area. because we are far away from the transfer site, so i get buddied up with some of the Sisters down in Wenatchee. Then on Friday we had a meeting down in my old pueblito of Quincy, so we spent lots of time in the car and in meetings. But it was good. the adjusting time of a new transfer.. ready or not here it comes

Early in the week we had a super amazing lesson with an investigator that has a new baby girl and we got the opportunity to talk about baptism and why we didn't baptize people as babies. it was really cool. She really like that because she herself was baptized as a baby into a church that she has told us she doesn't want to be a part of. It helped her t understand that it was a belief that she already had that we had in common. Plus the member of the church that came with us bore super strong testimony about families and how the gospel can bless them.

I think the crowning spiritual experience was on saturday/sunday. The Nelsons are a couple from our ward (we lived with them for like my first few weeks here) were speaking in church on Sunday before leaving on their mission to Romania. They also we the ones who had been teaching daily dose, the churches learning english program. They had formed a really good relationship with the people that they were teaching, so as we were thinking about who we needed to invite to church, her name popped into my head. And as we called and invited her, we told her that the Nelsons were speaking in church (the motivation). As soon as she heard that she was like. ioh, claro que si mijas, manana nos vemos! like oh of course i will see you tomorrow. As we hung up the phone i was kinda of dumb founded. we have been trying to get Dulce to the church for months. it was one of her biggest stumbling blocks. Sunday came and we came outside to meet her and she showed up at exactly the time she told us she would. It was amazing! That was one of the best sacrament meetings that i have been to on my mission. The talks were for her, the love in that room was amazing. Ahh, it seriously was so good. She felt the spirit for sure and she stayed the second hour. when she went to leave she had really liked it and i asked her if she was still nervous about coming to church and she was like no, i really like it! :) It was awesome. That made it worth it. It made it a great day!

I love my Savior and have never ceased to be impressed at what he will do for us. As we act in faith and follow spiritual promptings, he will provide a way for us. Hope you all have a great week and learn something new about your relationship with your Savior because i know that i do!

Hermana Ray

My first apple right off of the tree for the year.

8-25-14

Hola Familia!

Ok, life never ceases to move too fast. Haha but the good news is, I get to end my mission in Manson!!! We got transfer calls on Saturday, and naturally my new companion was freaking out knowing that the possibility of us staying together was slim. But it is going to be the fastest six weeks of my life. You want to know why?? Huh Huh? Because I am training a new missionary again! Well, sort of, i mean i only have 6 more weeks, so it will be like half training her. But I am excited for the new challenge. I would Love to tell you who it is, but i have no idea. I will meet her on Wednesday Night. Always the element of surprise with new missionaries.. Stay tuned

The apple harvest will be starting any week now... And i am so excited i can't even stand it... I had my first apple the other day. we were "taste-testing" for Bro. England to see if it was time to pick yet :) APPLES!!!!!!!!! So excited.

It has been a pretty crazy week. We found a super cool new investigator. Hugo is super humble, and so ready to hear the message of the gospel. He just recently moved here from California and is trying to make it here. We were looking for someone else we were teaching and he was outside. After we knocked on the door, and she didn't answer, we almost didn't go back and talk to him, and i am so glad we did. Right there we taught him the first lesson and about why having a prophet was important and how the Gospel of Jesus Christ could help his family. We left him with a pamphlet that talked more about the Restoration. When we came back a few days later, he had read all of it!!! Usually we are pulling arm and leg to get people to read them. He loved what he read about and we didn't have lots of time on this visit so we left him with a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and told him that is what we would talk about next time. He was reading it as we pulled out of the trailer park. Within 2 days he had finished the whole things and we had a great lesson! He is sooo open to the gospel and to the Spirit. It was amazing. He accepted baptism!! Not sure when yet, but he is making great progress! He then gave us his families address in Mexico so that we could send the missionaries to them! This will be the 4th address we have gotten in the last week to send to Mexico. I hope the missionaries there are ready for it!

We have been working super hard this week on getting people to the church so that they can feel the Spirit inside. So after some sporadic calling around and crazy planning we had 2 super amazing church tours! The first was with a mother and her 3 little boys. And her favorite part of meeting with the missionaries is that she says she feels a peace and then we leave that peace with her, at least for a little while. So when we were standing in the chapel we asked her how she felt and she was talking about how she felt peaceful and i was just like BINGO! That is why we need the Holy Ghost in our lives. The other one was super amazing as well, another family we were teaching, and this one was cool because we had Irasema and Abigail come with us. It was so powerful. Abigail bore her testimony about why she comes to church and how she came to know it was true and how she was so grateful that the members supported her. It was one of the most powerful testimonies i have ever heard on a church tour and it came from someone who hasn't even entered into the waters of baptism yet.

One thing that we are really working on here is reactivation and helping the group become super unified so they can support one another. And it has been amazing that as Hermana Alcocer and I have focused on this, the numbers in church have been jumping up and we have definitely seen them start to feed off of each other and doing their visiting teaching and asking how the other sisters are doing and if we have seen them lately when we go to visit. It takes time but vala la pena. This group will be a branch yet if I have anything to do with it.

I love missionary work! The Lord really is showing us the way and giving us people to teach. That doesn't mean it is going to be easy and we are foolish to think it would be. We are helping these people/families fight against the World and come unto Christ, but it will be worth it. every person we bring one step closer to Christ has been blessed by the fruits of our labors.

Lately in my studies, many times the subject of knowledge has been crossing my mind. This morning I read a talk by Elder Holland that said that we always need repentance and that is the Beauty or the Mercy of Christ. He also said that we need to beware of bondage and give the example of the bondage of ignorance. That really intrigued me. He talked about learning and how it is ok to make mistakes as long as we are willing to do the work of going back and fixing the problem and not letting ourselves fall into the trap saying, well i what i don't know won't kill me. But to seek knowledge. And i feel like my mission has given me that desire to gain spiritual knowledge. So don't be affraid of making the mistakes that are natural to make when we are learning to do something new. The mercy and the Atonement of Christ have got your back. Have a great week. Love ya'll!

Hermana Ray While waiting to get picked up at the bus stop in Wenatchee, I found the perfect shade... My companion found the perfect picture.

8-18-14

Hola Familia!!

Life has been great. We had some crazy weather this week, but by the time the storms were over, we FINALLY have clear skies. Like no smoke or anything. the weather got really nice with super blue skies. It has been quite delightful. But the storms this last week brought like 14 inches of rain in a few hours which has been pretty crazy, they aren't used to that much rain here. Because of that we had a slight flood in our basement, but nothing a mop and a bucket couldn't fix.

This week has been really cool. I have been focusing on writing down spiritual impressions that i have and reflecting on them. It has been really cool to see just how much the spirit influences me all the time. As harvest approaches we are focusing on trying to build up our teaching pool in hopes of being able to retain them during "la pisca".

Honestly the week started out in kind of a whirlwind. I have really been trying to understnad my investigators and know how to help them without going to far out of the lessons. Knowing when to go off and answer and when to try and pull them back into the main message. And as i have been more aware of searching for spiritual promptings, i have found them.

-My week took a hit when one of my favorite investigators told us that she was confused and wanted to learn, but made a promise to her sister that she wouldn't talk to anyone until she got home from Africa. I honestly still don't know if i have digested it all the way. She was one of those people that i had to pray and ask heavenly Father for help to love her despite her circumstances. And that is what i learned to do. And i to this day will never forget her and continue to love her with hopes that another set of missionaries will find her. Yet at the same time Heavenly Father comforted me to know that he would be taking care of her. I wasn't angry, a little sad, but i felt like everything would work out how it was supposed to be. To me THIS is the hardest part of missionary work, letting go of those oyu have come to love.

-Later that night, we were going to teach a lady who stopped meeting wtih missionaries because of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. She had agreed to let us come back after we had answered some of her questions at the door. As we got ready to go in, I didn't want her to just hear about the Book of Mormon. I wanted her to experience it! The only problem in my plan is that she doesn't know how to read. I got the impression to read 3 Nephi 11 to her. I was thinking, ok, that works. I was worried that she would get distracted (like i do lots of times when listening to someone else reading) But she sat there totally soaking it in. The Spirit was so strong!! By the end we asked her if she thought the Book of Mormon was truly a book from God and she said yes! It was amazing. That is why we follow impressions. Because he knows better than us!!

-We took a few members out with us this week, where it looked as if all the lessons weren't going to work out, but we kept working and kept praying... And they all worked out in the way God intended them. It didn't matter what the situation was, we were working hard, and we were finding people to teach. Yet it is rarely through tracting. We tract, but it is a hard area to tract. it is either spaced out houses or town with is about half vacation homes. As we do all in our power, God helps everything else work out.

We had a Spanish church activity on Friday night. We only had 1 investigator there (we were hoping for like 10-15) But almost all of the members of our Spanish group were there or a member of their family. It was awesome! we had carne asada and an open gym. It was funny to watch all the little kids playing 3 or 4 different games. I think i at one time was playing volleyball and kickball at the same time. Since I have been here, the community and attitude of the members has been changing for the better. They talk and interact, it has been really cool to see the difference.

Overall, the mission experience is still AWESOME! I love it. Although some days you can't believe how tired you are. You blink and realize, Oh my gosh! i only have one transfer left! It seems so unreal. We had Zone conference last week, and it flew by! It was my last one so they have all the departing missionaries share their testimonies. It felt so unreal. As i sat and watched all the missionaries i am close to bear their testimony, and finding myself up there, i thought back on all the experiences i have had, and it has been amazing to see what i have grown to become. As i got up to bear my testimony and shook President Ware's hand he just looked at me and said, "No Hermana Ray, You can't stay forever." I had to laugh. I think I have asked him that every time i have seen him my entire mission. Later after the closing hymn, he says, "Hermana Ray, as we sang the closing hymn it thought of you." he then pulls out the hymn book and opens up to The Spirit of God, then points to the line, "The Lord is Extending, the saints understanding" then turns to me and says, "see Hermana Ray, the Lord is the one extending and that is why i can't" He thought he was Sooo funny. But we got a good laugh and i can only imagine what he will say when that time actually gets close! Zone conference other than that was super good. Sister Ware taught about Happy and Hard go together, we can do hard things and choose to be happy while doing them. I absolutely love the Spirit of learning from President and Sister Ware.

The Church is True, Jospeh Smith was a Prophet and through him Christ brought back His church. Christ still leads the church today through Thomas S. Monson. The Book of Mormon changed my life, and I love you all!! Have a great week, and stay tuned for transfer update next week.

Hermana Ray

What happens when you get 14 inches of rain in a few hours and you don't have sidewalks.

8-11-14

Hola Familia!

So guess what my day started out with? Home made rolls. I made a small batch for Len and Lesa. But the weirdest thing happened. While the first batch was in the oven, Hna. Alcocer and I went to vaccum out the car and when we walked back inside the house it smelt like home... It freaked me out a little bit but it was kind of nice. WEIRD!

But the week has been really good. Sorry this will be pretty short. It is still rather smokey outside. today you can't really see the mountains very good in any direction. the fire isn't super close, but it is smokey.

Our investigators are all doing good. We have a few more weeks before picking starts for apples and everyone gets busy again. But As we taught this week we really wanted people to understand how important the Book of Mormon was. It seemed like every lesson we taught was some how brought back to the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. For many people we had knocked on their door for the first time ever and they told us that they had talked with the missionaries before and that they didn't get the Book of Mormon. They felt as if it was the only thing we ever talked about. As we talked and listened with love to help them understand rather than going on the defense about the Book of Mormon these peoples questions were answered that helped them and they set up other appointments with us. President Ware is big on that. We always need to be praying with faith and listening with love. Then we need to be open honest and direct in the spirit of helping. That is what this work is about. Helping others come unto Christ..

Mom i finished that "Come unto Christ" Challenge and it really helped me. As i studied the verses and tried to apply the teachings, i have realized just how awesome this opportunity that i have is. It has taught me that God is close to us and ever watching out for us. Making things happen for a reason.

Yesterday we were reading Alma 32 with Alondra, a 13 year old investigator, and after as we were talking she just talked about how Mormon people are just so nice. They start talking to you and treat you as if you have been one of their friends forever. The impressions these people get at the beginning make all the difference!!

This week i got a good lesson in obedience. Talking to different people, we hear stories about missionaries in different parts of the world (probably here too) being disobedient. It is so important for me to know that i am doing the right things because it is what i want to do not trying to bend the rules just to make sure i don't get in trouble. The commandments/mission rules are given to us to bless us. And as we live them it is so true that we are free. I have no doubt in that! And i am grateful that President Ware stressed the importance of obedience. He says this a lot and i love it:

Jesus Christ is the Reason, Obedience is the Price, Acting in Faith is the Power, Love is the Motive, and The Spirit is the Key.

I absolutely love everything about being a missionary, from studies in the morning, to knocking doors all night until the 1 person lets you in at 8:55 to racing to get home on time. Jesus Christ is my Savior as well as all of yours! The Book of Mormon helps us to learn of him and changes lives. I know this Gospel is true and i love helping other people come unto Christ. Have a great week!

Hermana Ray

Hna. Alcocer's first Ray roll

Letter to Jannae titled Fuzzy Navel. It was an inside joke about Bahamas Bucks

I saw this sign when we were driving and decided that i needed to turn the car around and take a picture. so we parked and after going through all this work just get a picture with this sign. i was like this is rediculous, maybe we should just go. but it was funny. on the way to the sign to take the picture we ran into an investigator who we haven't talked to in weeks because she moved and is only 16 and doesn't have a phone, plus she just moved into the methodist ministers house. and she was so happy to see us and set up an appontment.

crazy how even in the mission field you got my back!

8-4-14

Hola Familia

Wow another whirl wind of a week. not quite like last week, but hey everyday is different. I honestly don't know why we ever plan anything anymore because nothing seems to go as planned!

To start off, before coming to email, we got to go shoot baskets at the high school on the gun and i was in Heaven! It felt so good to be on the court and getting a real bball workout. I might have to talk them into letting me go do it again! Also.. I am out of shape and my shot could use some work, but you win some and you lose some. I am one happy missionary. plus now i have been thinking about it and can relate part of my week to a cheesy sport analogy. enjoy!

Really i have no reason not to be. We went to Brewster and Pateros a couple days this week to help out. a couple days we were sorting donations and one day we went out and cleaned a house. Hard work no matter what we were doing. But it makes you very grateful for what you do have and makes you think about what is important. If you had less than 20 mins to evacuate, what would you take? Do we understand what is really important? Do we understand how blessed we are? I have come to realize how blessed i am the longer i think about it.

This week Irasema was confirmed in church and it was awesome! They showed up to church a little earlier than usual and we had a good turn out. that is 2 weeks in a row that we have had really good attendance. As she was confirmed by Bro. Hinkley, the Spirit filled the room and set the tone for the rest of the meeting. It was amazing. During testimony meeting Abigail got up and bore her testimony and it was really powerful. Just through out the meeting there was a peaceful feeling there. There is just this feeling that Manson/Chelan is on the edge. On the edge of breaking that thresh hold and bringing miracles. I can sense it. Quick flash back to help this make more sense. I was in Royal for 6 months. Shortly after i left, the area exploded. It was starting to just before i left. We had more people than room in the Spanish Sacrament. A short time after i left they had to change the chairs so they could fit more people. It was amazing. And it is easy to think, ugh of course right after i left. But i haven't really. I got to see some of the members from Royal last week and it was so good to see them. The relief Society president was excited to tell me how good the work was going there and that lots of the families are active. What better thing can you ask for? The members building up, strengthening each other, and just getting it. I feel that we have that potential here. I love the Members here they are all absolutely wonderful and support each other. the last 2 weeks were really important because in the past it was hard because they would all come on different weeks and feel as if they were alone, so they slowly stopped coming. But when they all come they feel supported and comfortable. It is amazing what can happen if we know we are loved.

Other missionary work was good this week to. Busy teaching, loving, supporting, and helping. I have felt that i am part of the community here. Our families that we are teaching are doing really well, this week many of them have made different leaps or strides and they truely are in the process of conversion. Over and over people have been telling us as we invite them to be baptized that they don't want to commit to something that they are just going to give up on with time. And we say PERFECT! because that isn't what we want either! But they truly want to be changed by Jesus Christ.

I have read a lot about that lately, because i finally finished reading Believing Christ. (not long, but always something else to study) It relates back to that topic. If we understand Christ and his mission than we won't want to make the commitment short term, but we will want to be in it for the long haul. We understand that we do our part to show our love and gratitude for Christ giving us Mercy. It is amazing what we can learn when we are constantly reminded of what is important. Mom, I also started doing those "Come unto Christ" Challenges. We appreciate them :) They are helping me realize how my mission has changed my outlook on so many things. I love getting to learn about Jesus Christ, because it gives me a desire to follow him. I actually went through the bible the other day and read every story i could find when Jesus Christ says some form of "Come Follow Me" And i know that as we do so, we build our ability to be like Christ, we practice our attributes. Like both mom and Dad mentioned in emails this week. Whatever we are doing, we have to be practiced. If we are a missionary it takes time, If we are David fighting Goliath it took practice, and if we are followers of Christ, it is going to take a lot of practice. How many times are we told that we will miss 100% of the shots we don't take. Likewise we will miss 100% of the opportunities to be Christ-like if we aren't looking. Today i had a good chat with someone who isn't a member of the church about being good people and that no matter who we are, whether rich, poor, popular, shy,etc. we control if we are going to do the right thing. So i want to invite all of you to take that shot, look for that opportunity. As we find those opportunities we are allowing God to mold us into who he wants us to be.

Hermana Ray

Don't we look fabulous? This is after being outside about 5ish hours. consider me humbled.

7-28-14

Hola Familia! 

This week was a whirlwind and so fast. i can't believe it. Lots of growth took place this week as I have learned to put things in the Lord's hands.

The week started off with me in Wenatchee for a day on exchanges. It was kinda weird... There was so many people and buildings. Anyway you will never believe who we ate with.... Bro. Michuads uncle that lives in East Wenatchee. I walked in the asked me where i was from, followed by "Do you know any Michauds?" (first indicator that they knew you all really well was because they pronounced your name right) SO i said that i did and that i knew Trevor and Kenley was my brother-in-law. Not to mention i had know them for quite a while. It was fun to sit and chat and weird when you can connect things to home. Other than that being in Wenatchee was fun, talked to a lot of new people.

Meanwhile being in Wenatchee, my companion and Hna. Rockhill extended a baptism date to one of our other investigators, and he accepted. So we will be preparing for another baptism in the near future :) 

Life is going so good here. We are really being blessed with people to teach and work to do.

This week we really focused on getting Irasema ready for her baptism and we had some cool experiences. Her grandparents from Mexico are here and so that is why the baptism was planned for this weekend. we were cruising this week and all was smooth sailing.

Saturday we spent almost all day up in Pateros doing fire relief projects. It was a stake activity and it was a good experience. We brought Alondra and Serafin (13 and 15) with us to do it. Their family is investigating the church and their mom really wants them to be good people. So we had them come and it was really cool. they had a great time and overall we went through and cleaned up 2 houses. combing through the ashes for things that might have survived the fires. and taking all the metal out. It was a very humbling experience. Saturaday was great! ... until about 10:20 pm. We got a call from our ward mission leader telling us that we were only going to have sacrament meeting and that after whoever could was going to go to Pateros to volunteer. The problem with this. We had a baptism at 1:30 (after the 3 hour block) and all ward leadership was basically going to be gone. So the ward mission leader asked us to get a hold of Abigail (Irasema's mom) to see if we could change it to 11:30. It was too late to call that night and i didn't know what to do. I felt totally helpless. Everything we had been working for for the past couple weeks was about this baptism. We were working with the family as well as getting a bunch of less active families excited to be there. Fear creeped in. How on earth we were supposed to change this important event in like 24 hour notice (when most of that 24 hours they would be asleep). I was upset and helpless, i seriously couldn't believe that we had worked so hard for things to fall through or be changed and not work out right. I cried. No lies here. I was so tired of every good plan i have had on my misison falling through last second. I prayed and i talked to Heavenly Father and i told him exactly that. I told him that i couldn't do it anymore and that I didn't know what to do. I told him i don't know how we can work so hard and still have these things happening. After that i went in and tried to sleep (good one right?) i turned on our cd and the song came on called Better than I. Talking all about how God knows better than us

 "You know better than I, 

you know the way. 

I've let go the need to know why, 

for you know better than I"

I must have finally fallen asleep. We finally got a hold of Abigail the next morning and she was a little confused but seemed ok with the time change. We then had to send out messages to inform all of the Less actives and investigators of the time change. And off to church it was. Needless to say i was a little bit of a ball of stress yesterday morning. Irasema showed up with her family and one of the less active families a few minutes into the meeting. As soon as i saw them, all the stress left. i finally got some peace that Heavenly Father really did know better than I did. All ended up being absolutely amazing! the talks were short, but so sincere and perfect for the moment. When she went down into that water i realized why it was all worth it. Why we had worked so hard. To help this little girl who just wanted to be baptized and to be a missionary one day. It was such a great feeling. Many people were at the baptism and many people felt the Spirit and it was just AWESOME! Couldn't have gone any better. it was the definition of a miracle. God knew what was happening and He was going to make it work how he needed. Looking back i can see reasons for the change of time besides going to help in Pateros, but it just goes to show that we only see a piece of the puzzle, but God puts those pieces together to make a bigger picture.

I learned that Heavenly Father listens to our prayers. I have always known that but this weekend he was aware of me. I will keep pushing on, even when the craziness comes. There will be much more service to come in the towns that got partially burned, but hey lets say if i have learned anything it is how to roll with the punches. Even if it feels like i am rolling head over heals down a mountain. I am glad to be part of this work. I feel blessed to have this opportunity and have got lots more work to do here. With all the talk of fire, Manson is Spiritually on fire right now, in the best way possible. Thanks for keeping the people in your prayers and keep looking for ways to help others. Have a great week!

Hermana Ray

From left to right: Abigail (JR), yo, Carmen, Irasema, Hna. Alcocer, Abigail (SR)

 

Cleaning up in Pateros. Super humbling experience.

Our car in clean up crew. Left to right: Yo, Serafin, Hna. Alcocer, Alondra, Sis. Aleasha England

7-21-14

Hola Familia!

Life is well, literally crazy here about now. So i don't forget to mention this later, i will do it now. Not sure how many have seen it, all i know is it is the only thing on the news in Washington. Washington is like number one in the nation right now for forest fires. Don't fear, Manson/Chelan are not in danger. It is up the valley quite a ways. But some people in our stake have been affected by it. A couple have lost homes. It was cool to see the whole stake pull together in a special fast for these people. The church is already on board to help provide relief to these people. We have had the opportunity to help out a little bit doing some translating and just visiting and playing with people who have been evacuated from their homes into the highschool in Chelan. But no worries we are safe :) Just keep these people in your prayers :)

Other than that this week has been good. We have found some new people to teach and Heavenly Father blessed us to have a little contact with all of our investigators. Lots of them have been working in the cherries and we don't always see them every week, but this week we saw ALL of them! It was really fun :) They are all doing well and i think being prepared for the gospel. The Lord always has a way of putting into our minds what the people need even if it wasn't something that we were planning. We are focusing on helping out the second generation. Everyone we are teaching is concerned for their kids, and as they see their kids changing their heart is more receptive to the message. It is really cool. Because the kids are also the ones who are being proactive. In one of the famillies, when the kids learn the aren't going to church, mutual, or a ward activity they complain. (And they are 15 & 13) Mom i bet you wished we were like that. And the other family. the 13 year old daughter is the one who always does her reading! it is amazing!

Irasema is still set to be baptized this weekend and we are so excited!! This is the families first step towards being able to be together forever. We are trying to set a time for the baptism that the Dad can come. Abigail told us that he has softened up a little and wants to be there but has to work at the time we had it set for, so we are trying to change that. It has been really cool to see them changing and growing in the gospel. They are currently the most active members of our group and they aren't actually members yet. Irasema just makes my day because she always talks about going out with us and being a missionary someday. What more could you ask for when you are helping someone come to Christ's gospel?

The gospel changes lives. that's it, it is that simple. For investigators, members, missionaries, anyone. No matter who we are if we begin to LIVE the gospel of Jesus Christ rather than just learn it, we change. We apply repentance and the Atonement. We Believe Jesus Christ. Commiting myself to serve a mission has been one of the greatest blessings in my life because i began to learn, aplly, and use the Doctrine of Christ in my everyday life. We got to have a training on the Doctrine of Christ again this week. I have been to this training 3 times now, and everytime i leave thinking, i have read this chapter so many times and still didn't get that out of it. As we learn of Christ, we want to be like him, and because he is merciful, one day we can be. We CAN be perfect, we CAN be happy, we CAN receive all the blessings Heavenly Father has for us. BUT those are all our choice. We have to choose to follow him and we are promised to recieve these blessings. 

I hope you all have a great week! Talk to ya next one! 

Hermana Ray

Smoke coming into town, not the best picture, but the only one i took.

 

 

7-14-14

Hola Familia!

It has been a fun filled adventurous week. I don't even know where to begin. Well lets start with the heading of the email. The member we live with is out of town, so we had to find some living arrangements for while she was gone. So they put us in a lovely little camping trailer for a week. It has been good fun and no complaints. it was one of those times where life is more fun with a little adventure. From the pictures i took this week it looks like i did nothing but eat... I did do missionary work, but you wouldn't think it looking at the pictures. But i did learn how to make spanish rice this week as well as try tamarindo for the first time. (don't ask me what it is... I have ask like 5 or 6 different people and no one could explain it, so a group member just went and bought it for me so i could understand.) Lots of missionary work as well is taking place.

We had a baptism yesterday in the ward for one of the 8 year olds in the ward. And we had Irasema come so that she could see a baptism. She really liked it and is getting more excited about her own baptism that will be coming up shortly :) We sat while they were playing music after the baptism and talked about what we were going to do for hers. Then she asked me if one day she could come with us to teach some one and bring her Book of Mormon and her notebook in a backpack. Basically she is my favorite and I love her and her family and can't wait til they can make promises with our Heavenly Father.

The rest of the week we talked to a lot of new people. it was fun. We had some lessons with people of many different beliefs, but had good discussions with them and helped them understand what we believe. Yesterday we had a really good discussion with a lady name Kristen. she was probably a little older than I am and she is a Jehovah's Witness missionary. we sat and answered some questions and shared some beliefs and by the end they wanted us to stay and eat pizza with them, but we had already eaten some big meals pretty close together (i told you i felt like all i did this week was eat.). All in all, it was a cool experience of seeing how religion can get along as long as they are asking questions with a sincere desire to know.

But as we talked to people, it was interesting how many of them were excited to see sister missionaries, they say, "that is so cool usually we only see the boys, it is fun to see you girls." It makes me laugh every time. 

As i have been studying this week i have been reading in Acts. In the past when i read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John i had stopped after John because that is all my institute class had required of me. But as i have started reading I love how much i have learned from just the first few couple chapters. They truly went around teaching by example and doing all that Christ would have done. They were dedicated servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even to the end of their lives at times. 

I also finished reading the conference Ensign. It was really good. if i were to sit and write out all the things that i liked, i would run out of time and just have a lot of Random thoughts. One of my personal favorite talks was on the Savior. (because i have studied so much on the Atonement lately) Elder Christofferson sure has a way with wrods, i wish i could understand him better sometimes, but i loved this quote, "Having satisfied the demands of justice, Christ now steps into the place of justice; or we might say He is justice, just as He is love.²² Likewise, besides being a “perfect, just God,” He is a perfect, merciful God.²³ Thus, the Savior makes all things right. No injustice in mortality is permanent, even death, for He restores life again. No injury, disability, betrayal, or abuse goes uncompensated in the end because of His ultimate justice and mercy."

Also i liked this statement that he made. the If-Then of the reality of Christ,

IF...

"Consider for a moment the significance of the Resurrection in resolving once and for all the true identity of Jesus of Nazareth and the great philosophical contests and questions of life. If Jesus was in fact literally resurrected, it necessarily follows that He is a divine being. No mere mortal has the power in himself to come to life again after dying. Because He was resurrected, Jesus cannot have been only a carpenter, a teacher, a rabbi, or a prophet. Because He was resurrected, Jesus had to have been a God, even the Only Begotten Son of the Father."

THEN...

"Therefore, what He taught is true; God cannot lie.²⁵ Therefore, He was the Creator of the earth, as He said.²⁶ Therefore, heaven and hell are real, as He taught.²⁷ Therefore, there is a world of spirits, which He visited after His death.²⁸ Therefore, He will come again, as the angels said,²⁹ and “reign personally upon the earth.”³⁰ Therefore, there is a resurrection and a final judgment for all."

"Given the reality of the Resurrection of Christ, doubts about the omnipotence, omniscience, and benevolence of God the Father—who gave His Only Begotten Son for the redemption of the world—are groundless. Doubts about the meaning and purpose of life are unfounded. Jesus Christ is in fact the only name or way by which salvation can come to mankind. The grace of Christ is real, affording both forgiveness and cleansing to the repentant sinner. Faith truly is more than imagination or psychological invention. There is ultimate and universal truth, and there are objective and unchanging moral standards, as taught by Him."

I know Christ lives and loves us, I have felt his hand in my life. Love you all and have a great week!

Hermana Ray

"May we realize how close to us He [God] is willing to come, how far He is willing to go to help us, and how much He loves us.  -Thomas S. Monson

Elva teaching us how to make food.. i am behind my companion, you just can't see me :)

Me eating said food

 Oh also we have transfers this week, but I am not going anywhere, neither is my companion. one of the Elders in our area is leaving which is sad, but other than that we don't see anyone.. So we have transfers, but life won't really change

7-7-14

Hola Familia!

Honestly it has been a great week! I have so many reasons to be happy! It has been weird not to be doing 4th of July activities, but that is ok. Town was really busy on the Fourth! All weekend actually. It was kind of nice. our chapel was filled to the brim and they had to open it up more than normal which was fun.

Congrats Jenny on the Call!!!!!!!!!! Welcome to the force :)

We had lots of lessons this week and the Lord was definitely watching out for us. The first experience that really helped me grow my faith was on Thursday. Up to this point everything we had been trying to accomplish here had been cancelled hours before it was to happen. Whether it was a member having to tell us they couldn't come or an investigator, we hadn't had a very successful week to this point. But thursday we had good plans. The spiteful side of me was like ya... we will see. Luckily my Faithful side was stronger. We called to confrim our appointments, and one of them wasn't home and we had no way of contacting her... So as a last resort, we dropped a note of at her work and I just thought, "well Lord, i have Literally done everything in my power to let this happen." The outcome wasn't looking great. But we left and went back to work hoping for the best. That night we had dinner with Abigail, one of our investigators. She is the sweetest soul on Earth and will hopefully have the chance to get baptized soon. After dinner, the conversation changed pretty quick when Abigail asked us what Irasema (10) needed to do to get baptized. Well we set a plan with her to be baptized and it was literally God answering so many of my prayers and lifting my spirit all at once. Then was the moment of truth. to see whether or not Jasmin got our note at work. I seriously was on such a high from the lesson before and a whim hoping that she was there that i wasn't even sure what to do. We knocked and she answered the door and was ready to go. it was a miracle!

Then since it was fast and testimony meeting and my companion is newer in the area we were going to bear our testimonies. But we were hoping to see Dioci who is one of the Less active YW we are working with. We started doing personal progress with her once a week to help her build her testimony. (I know those who know me really well are laughing right now. oh personal progress) But i am now starting to appreciate it more than i ever did as a young woman. And her experience this week could be checked off by bearing her testimony about Jesus Christ in Sacrament meeting. we had been studying about the Atonement. Well, sunday came... and so did she! We sat in the more full than usual chapel and she was super nervous. But when she got up she sis awesome. it was very short and started by saying that she was nervous because she had never done it before. She did awesome. And it was a really cool experience. To see someone taking such an action to increase her faith.

This week more often than not has fallen back on the Atonement. It is at the forefront of my mind and everything I have been reading has come back to that. I wish i could understand/comprehend it more fully, but i am also grateful for the knowledge that i do have. I am so glad that Christ chose to be obedient and do the will of his Father. It really hit me this week that everything that we do as missionaries will come back to the fact that Christ is our Savior. It is the center of our teachings and always should be our motivating push to help other people! I love the testimony that i have of him and would love to share it with anyone who would let me.

Oh ya Fourth of July. We had a good fourth of July. We had a BBQ with the Englands including steak and chicken and whatever other things you can imagine! My companion wasn't feeling very good so after dinner she headed off to bed to try and beat whatever it was before it came. So it was a rather lonely one.. Haha the family we live with went to they beach to watch the fireworks. So i went out to watch the fire works at like 10:15 when they finally started and i could only see about half of any given fireworks. Not quite as good as stadium of fire, but i'll take it. I love the fourth. Sarah rockin job on the earings. all the England grandchildren loved them!

Have a great week! Hermana Ray

The second photo is for your birthday Sarah! this was the back view off of our porch at about 9:15 on your birthday :)

6-30-14

Hola Familia!

Another week has seemed to fly! This week was interesting because we got to go to the Temple. We took our trip and a trip it was. the Columbia River temple is 3 1/2 hours from here(ish). But it is always nice to be in the house of the Lord and feel that peace. 

The work has been kind of like a seek and find game this week. We have been trying to find our investigators when they might be home... With Cherry harvest in full swing the next to weeks will be fun. Actually probably til August. I never thought i would be happy for apples season to start. But when we have found them at home we find them in good spirits and open to the message. We have found chances to be in the right place at the right time with people. Our members are starting to rise to the challenge oh having relationships with our investigators outside of what they do with us and it is cool. Claudia came to church with some of her kids and it was really good! Sacrament meeting was really powerful and then Sunday school was on the importance of a Christ-centered home. So good!

We had some overall great spiritually uplifting experiences this week. This week we had a really cool lesson with Ilda. We went into her house and she was kind of stressed. we asked if we could share a message. She let us in and we got her kids to sit down and we watched Finding Faith in Christ. It brought the Spirit better than we ever could and as always she opened up and we found a lot about her knowledge of Christ. She said it was peaceful unlike lots of the other movies that talk about Christ and focus on his suffering. It was so peaceful in that house when we left that we didn't want to leave. They are spirits who are definitely close when it comes to being able to feel the Spirit. Very receptive. It was one of those cool relaxing peaceful moments that makes you sit back and think, that is why we are missionaries. to help people find the peace that the gospel brings. 

I have been reading the conference ensign and focusing on what scriptures they use in assocation with their talks. It has been really nice. I am currently reading a talk from President Uchtdorf about sleeping through the Restoration. I really liked what he said about when we get to heaven. When we get to Heaven will we get to say that we rolled up our sleeves and worked or did we sit and watch at all the wonderful things that happen. He also talked about how we were made to saor and not to tie ourselves down with temptation that puts ourselves in a straightjacket and leaves us tied down. I loved it! Another on of the talkes talked about how we need to be willing to change and that as we are open to change, good things will happen. That we are supposed to all be progressing which means life will always be changing. Before my mission i wasn't a big fan of change, and i can't say that it is my favorite thing now, but i can appreciate it now.

Thanks for all your love and support! be happy, look for how you can change for the better, and work hard to serve others so that we can dig in and take part in this wonderful time that we live in! Have a great week!

Hermana Ray

P.S. you probably want an explanation for the pictures. the first is my Zone at the temple. the second was yesterday i was walking and thought of how pretty that sight was. i don't even like fishing and it looked fun! And third... haha crazy experience. we were knocking a street and started down this driveway to what we thought was a lake front property and about a half mile steep downward drive way we get to the bottom... no house built yet.... ugh, so we go a little more to make the trip worth it to take a picture by the lake, my companion turns around and sees this Yhetti on the tree. Naturely a picture was required. (pic attached in other email)

 

 

6-23-14

Hola Familia

It has been a great week up here in Chelan/Manson, and I can't think of any better place to be... (ok i might not have thought that when i saw someone on the lake getting ready to wakeboard this morning. i will be honest) But it really has been a good week.

I have been so exhausted i don't think i know what way is up anymore! But it has all been for a good cause. We had exchanges one day this week and Hermana Rockhill is a little fireball! We were constantly moving and having so much fun teaching and trying to help people.

We have had some really amazing experiences this week that i keep reflecting on. 1. Andrade Family: As we sat to teach them, he liked to talk, but when we finally got the Restoration dvd in, they sat, listened , and felt the Spirit. It was followed by an amazing testimony of a member. The mood of the whole lesson changed when we got the Spirit there. We listened with love and if he would have taken a second he would have realized that EVERY question he had would have been answered if he had just listened. But It all went according how it did to lead up to the point that our member could bear testimony. And she did and it was so strong it was unbelievable! Later that week we invited them to get baptized and they said they would. they want to learn way more, but that desire is there!

2. Parra Family: Also invited them to get baptized and they expressed some concerns that we weren't aware of. They have felt the Spirit and recognize it, but are still connecting the dots. They are so awesome and even though they face adversity, they know it is a good thing. Kind of Crazy week for them. Alondra (the 14 yr old daughter) went to girls camp... And LOVED it! But long story short, camp ended a day early because there was a flu outbreak in Wenatchee and it came and spread through camp. Luckily Alondra came home fine... until we got a text from Claudia Sunday saying they weren't coming to church because 3 of her 5 kids had the flu. Crazy how much good and bad can happen at the same time!

3.The love that President Ware has for us. Thursday was just one of those days. we had to drive to Wenatchee(about 50 mins) to a meeting with President and Sister Ware. well about 3 miles out of Chelan, her car broke down... not to be revived. She takes out her phone. no cell service. Elders, no service. We take ours out and says battery dead turning off... We had just charged it so we took the back off. water everywhere! (Where did it come from? we have NO idea!) Happy ending to the story missionaries were sent to rescue us, meeting started about and hour late but we got there, and interviews were great! and after a day we were able to save our phone! Plus interviews really showed me how much i had come to love being a missionary and how much i have learned. President asked us what helps us stay connected to our purpose. My answer was my scriptures. and many other things but really those because it is through those that i gained a personal love and understanding for Jesus Christ.

4. Watching a less active member battle back to get a current temple recommend. She is quite possible one of the people closet to my heart. we read scripture together the other day and we watched her apply it and find strength.

5. Standing outside the door of a man who tried to destroy our faith. He began telling us we should do our research on what we really believe. I hope these people realize that when they say all these things, it just solidifies what i believe. As i knocked on his door and tried to have a friendly conversation and asked if he believed in Christ.. He then went on with all of these things on how my church couldn't possibly be true (citing the internet...) and how we weren't even really Christians... UM HELLO DUDE, i wear Jesus Christ name on my shirt everyday and promote people to find their faith even if they don't share my belief! (insert my dad sigh here.) people.

I have been reading in the Conference Ensign, and i am loving every second of it. I can't pick favorites.. But i really like what Elder Anderson said, "Build more firmly your foundation upon the rock of your Redeemer. Treasure more completely His incomparable life and teachings. Follow more diligently His example and his commandments. Embrace more deeply His love, His mercy and grace, and the powerful gifts of His atonement."

Love you all have a great week!!

Hermana Ray

My comp and i made a candy bar poster for President Ware's birthday... he loved it! the starburst fel off... luckily elder Rosero picked it up.

6-16-14

Hola Familia!

The world continues to move here in Manson and Chelan, but at the same time it seems to not be moving. It is hard to believe that it is like the middle of the summer. But not for the reason you would think. It hasn't been super warm outside. And that has been really weird! I have worn my jacket like every night this week... In the summer.. Who does that? But that is ok, because there was much needed rain that passed through the area. With the rain everyone has been super busy with work. Because they may not work they day it is raining... but everyday after that is crazy.. especially with Cherries. Everyone is succumbed to the will of those darn things.

Start the day off with a good dog story. Saturday we knocked a door. No answer. We knocked again, no answer. We turn to leave and hear a dog bark (outside the house). My companion didn't realize this and wondered why i was headed to the gate with such speed. Well she found out quick as a pit bull came from around the corner. Getting out of the gate, thinking we were safe, we slowed down... until the pit bull got through the gate. Running again until it finally stopped chasing us just after the end of their property. All i thought was run, hope my companion was ready to take on for the team. we need to work on her fight or flight reaction... I love when people do that, can't they just open the door and say no thanks? oh no let me let my dogs out the back and tell them to attack. ya thanks a lot.

But overall it has been a really good week and we are seeing miracles all over the place despite the cherry harvest. We finally got to meet with Claudia. She has been super busy cause she just picked up another job. But it was really cool. We talked about the Doctrine of Christ and her feelings as she has been learning about it. She tried explaining how she felt and she was like, "it is hard to explain, i can't really put it into words." As she said these words, she explained the Spirit and we were all smiling from ear to ear including her. Although she hasn't decided when she is going to get baptized i know it will happen! :) So excited for her! that family is truly one of the nicest and most humble families that I have ever worked with on my mission. 

Also we had a miracle happen at church yesterday. As we were looking for potential people to contact, we were talking with some members and they brought up a name of a girl that was very close to their family. We then saw her name on some papers we had and we were like, ok not a coincidence, lets go try and see her. After trying the house 2 times and not getting her and the second time, no one bothered to come to the door after asking who it was, we were pretty discouraged that we had this inspiration and then to hit a dead end. (Because it has happened to us multiple times this week) Then, Las Abigails (A mother and daughter both named Abigail) brought a friend to church. We get talking to her and guess who it is. The same person we had been trying to get a hold of earlier that week. turns out she is related to las Abigails. It was a miracles! we got it set up to come visit with her. It is through moments like these that you know God's hand is in your life.

I finally finished The Book of Mormon this week and i think my companion is pretty excited because everyday i was so amazed at what i was learning about and I wanted to share it! But i really got a lot out of it that I personally needed. A lot about the prophets and how they set the example for us in Christ-like service to others. Then the first two talks of the Conference Ensign have the very same topic, of being disciples of Christ though love and righteousness. Elder Holland said something that really made me stop and think.

 "take heart. Pure Christlike love flowing from true righteousness can change the world."

"Christlike love is the greatest need we have on this planet in part because righteousness was always supposed to accompany it."

That last one just really stuck out to me. I love being a missionary. I love my Savior Jesus Christ, and i know that if i serve others and try to be like Christ then i have nothing to fear (well, except man eating dogs). I hope you have a great week and take some time to read from the Book of Mormon, it has changed my life and my testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ. I can't wait to get back into its pages. Love you!

Hermana Ray

Len and Lesa were out of town so we were on Llama duty