Friday, July 25, 2014

Raleigh July 21

HOLA!

They always say that after a really bad and hard week, it is a good week. And that was for sure:) last week was so hard!! we didnt find many people to teach, but now this past week was amazing.

So as a Spanish sister, its kinda tough because there are other little rules with teaching people haha. So when we meet someone and teach them a lesson normally it would be counted as a new investigator if we set up a return appointment. But since Hispanic people are all really nice and stuff (for the most part) we have to teach 2 lessons with a return appointment for them to be considered a new investigator. SO. If we were English sisters... this week we would have found 12-15 NEW INVESTIGATORS. Yeah. That is what I am talking about!!!! haha so now this week we just have to go back and complete the process. Alot of them are just really really great too. FAMILIES :) CHILDREN and parents! and also single mom families are really common too.. but yeah. it is just so great.

____ DOESNT HATE US!!!!!!!!! So we were really nervous last week about that.. We went to the mission office though and they let us have a LARGE print spanish Book of Mormon to give to her and so we wrote our testimonies in it and then we were going to just drop by and give it to her, but she wasnt there when we tried. So then we called her that night and she answered!! and said she had sent us a message and we just hadnt gotten it. WOO! then we set up an appointment with her and we were able to go and see her yesterday :) We gave her the Book of Mormon so now she can actually read it because she had a hard time seeing the regular sized one and her children just love us so much too. Ah. It makes me so happy, we are still moving forward with her and it is all good!!

Okay really funny story time. :)

So tuesday. We had some plans to go and visit people in the evening and we even had some exchanges set up to go with us! But the sky was really dark all day, and so of course it started POURING that evening so we had to change our plans a bit. But from walking...(running) from the church to the car, and then from our car to someones house we wanted to visit we got so wet (even though we had an umbrella) and I was wearing a white shirt....... so we had to go home to change. We made some changes in our plans and we got to go see the family with all the small children which was so great. :)

THEN. we got home to do our planning session and it was still raining a lot. and right as we were about to finish up planning the power went out! so we were using a flash light to help us finish up and then we realized that the power had been out for a little while and that sister evans had just bought ice cream last monday and it was going to be wasted and we NEEDED to eat it!! so we went into the kitchen with the flashlight and just huddled around the chocolate ice cream in the dark. Eating it right out of the carton. sister evans said "we are living every childs dream right now" hahahahah man I was dying laughing. Then after we ate BASTANTE ice cream we got ready for bed because it was time to and then the lights came back on haha.

okay one other funny story really fast.. we went into a gas station the other day to grab a fast snack because we had a huge lunch and didnt have time to eat a full dinner. But as we were walking back to our car there was this man and his girlfriend or something sittting at this table and he was like " you are the first mormon woman I have ever seen in my life!" and we were like what?! really? and so then we chatted a little and then concluded with well.. yup! we are real-life mormon woman AND we have a car haha they were really surprised about that one as well lol.

We went and served at the food bank for the first time this past week! That was fun :) we were in the warehouse.. cleaning pallets off and checking to see if there was mouse poop any where hahah fun stuff!

Well I love you all so much! The Lord really does love us so much. We are so blessed. I love being out here and I cant believe it has been 8 months! AH! Time is flying. My spanish is getting so much better. I have been just praying my hardest to be able to learn better and understand even more and I see His help. I love this work! I love you! I miss you all! I dont know if my mail has been getting sent back or what but I havent gotten any mail since I have been here really haha.. So pick it back up people! lol jk :)

love,
Hermana Weller

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

July 14 Raleigh

Woo! Another great week from Raleigh NC :) It has been definitely getting TOASTY here.. haha yesterday was incredibly hot. Man.


Not a whole whole lot happened this week...
This week was tough.
But it was good. We went on exchanges with the sister leaders which was interesting.. hahah I felt bad for my comp, Sister Evans because she stayed here in our area and had to try and find people to visit who spoke English, but that didn't end up working I guess haha she basically had to teach everyone by herself because all her lessons were in Spanish! But luckily they were just with less active members and such:) I got to go and speak just English! haha it was weird to be back in an English setting...haha but it was a good change.


Unfortunately after our really good lesson last week with ___ we haven't been able to get up with her! We don't know what happened :( But its really sad and we hope that we can some how figure out what is the problem and salvage that baptismal date! She is so great and we know that she really enjoyed everything that we had taught her.

So we have been having a really hard time finding new investigators to teach. This week we are just going to have to buckle down and double our faith we decided. We are going to have to pray more fervently and with more trust in the Lord that he is going to help lead and guide us to those we need to find! We have been doing a lot of good work with some less-actives and recent coverts though so that is really great. One of them that we have been helping get back is about 24 and he is now saying he is having desires to serve a mission!!! It is just so great to see the atonement really work in peoples' lives.

I am sorry this week's letter is not very exciting!!! I don't have a ton to report about this week that was super stellar. I do KNOW though that Christ really did suffer for me and truly has grace and mercy for all of us. I have been relying on his grace so much lately in helping me be able to learn and understand Spanish more... I know that obedience even if we dont really understand it or agree with whatever the commandment or rule might be will bring blessings EVERY time. I LOVE the Book of Mormon SO much! I have been in Alma 26-29 and I seriously just want to be like those missionaries! They are such great examples. I want that joy!! I want to make all my hard work worth it in the end, and that I can pass out because of my exceeding joy just like Ammon did;) hahaha..

Well I hope you all have a great week. and I love you so much. Trust in the Lord. He WILL help us if we have the faith and belief that He will.



-Hermana Weller

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

July 7 Raleigh

Yet again a fantastic week! :) To answer everyone's questions.. The hurricane didn't really effect us at all! It was kinda windy and it rained a tiny bit, but other than that nothing much happened!

Ok well let's just get to the good things that have happened this week!:) starting with yesterday.

Yesterday was fast sunday. they are always the best!! We came home after church and did a quick comp study and then we went out to visit some referrals we had. Literally for 2 hours we knocked doors and tried going to see other people and no one was home.. It was HOT and it was hard because NO ONE was opening up. But then we went home and ate our feast dinner haha.. and went out again to see some other people. and again no one was home everywhere we tried. Until at 7 we had an appointment with our investigator, _____ and we had a member coming with us to that lesson. All day through out my fast and as well as the hard times during the day I just kept praying that she would at least be there and we would be able to meet with her. We got there and she opened the door! and we had a lesson with her! :) It was such a good lesson too.. we really helped her understand the WHY of the gospel for HER. why SHE needs the gospel.. the blessings of the spirit that come after being baptized and how we need faith and hope to get us through this world. She said that since we have been meeting with her she has felt a lot of peace.. She said we have a peaceful feeling to us when we come and talk with her. :) and then... SHE ACCEPTED A BAPTISMAL DATE! woohoo! for the end of this month! please if you would, just keep her in your prayers that she WILL continue working with us to achieve that date:) She is amazing and just needs it so bad. She has 2 little kids that are so cute and they love us so much. and her husband.. well he is going to maybe need a little more time for things:) But one day he will join the church too and then get sealed as a family!!!! :) ah. so great.

A few other things that I have really learned this week from experiences we had..


We went and saw that family who apparently on the ward roster it said do not contact but we did anyways haha.. and they fed us some really yummy food. they are from Peru! But anyway.. when we shared our message we started talking about forgiving people because that is why the wife doesn't come to church any more is because she got really offended or something and the ward doesn't even really know what happened... but it just was so sad. I started crying when I was telling her that the Lord has so many blessings for their family that he wants them to take part in! It wasn't chance that we got into their home that first day.. The Lord is giving her this chance to take part in everything that he has for them and we love her and the Lord loves her and wants her to go to church. But she doesnt see the need. She has strong faith in Jesus Christ.. but as my companion said.. It is just misplaced. She doesn't understand that the "manchas" (stains) or scars that still might hurt from whatever happened can be healed through Christ. We don't have to forever have those bad feelings.. After we left we just were so sad. I imagine it almost as the judgement day. Jesus Christ will be there and he will basically BEG people (like we basically did with her) to accept him and his gospel so that they can have eternal happiness and they will reject it STILL. Makes me think of Alma 28:14. We see so much good from the gospel! but then we also feel the sadness that comes when people don't accept it. :( But the bishop said we have done more in the 3 visits we have had with her than they have ever gotten done in the past 3 years so he wants us to continue going to see her.

I really know just HOW important the family is.. How much we all need both a mom and a dad paired with the gospel! There is a single dad in the ward who recently joined the church and his little kids are just going to have problems.. you can already tell. It is so sad. It breaks my heart! one of them sat with us during sacrament meeting though. he is too cute.


We had a really really good zone conference this week! I seriously love the Berhisel's SO much! they are just amazing people. So inspired and just so loving. :) one of the new assistants was my zone leader when I was in Raeford and he was SUCH a good zone leader so that is so great! We were just very inspired after zone conference and we have been able to apply new things in our teaching from what we learned:)


Well.. that is all for this week really. I love doing this work so much. I know that the Lord loves each and every single one of us on this earth SO much. I have been trying to see every single person that opens the door to us as Heavenly Father sees them and it is just great. My companion is so good at always baring her testimony of that love to those we teach and so i am trying to develop that same charity for these people! I love you all so much and I am so grateful for this short time I have to give everything to the Lord. Our district leader did some math and of a 24 month mission 16 of them are used in eating, sleeping, meetings, church, etc. and only 8 of those months is proselyting time. That perspective has really hit me! Time is ticking! I am going on 8 months of being out! I just want to make the most of this time:)

I love you and I know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you even more! Have a great week. :)


Hermana Weller