Week 11: MY FIRST BAPTISM!!!

Well... I have been here for a month and its been the best month of my life.  Literally.

DORIS was baptized yesterday and it was AMAZING! :) More about that later.

Monday: Funny story.. we went to the grocery store after I had e-mailed you all.  There is this cute little bagger there that has Down Syndrome.  He is there every week and makes sure to help us out, or at least talk to us while we are there.  This time was super funny.  He is in love with Twilight and asks us every time if we like Jacob or Edward. So… I walked up to check out and he looked at me and said, "Hello pretty lady.  Would plastic be ok with you today?"  I tried so hard not to laugh because it was so cute.  I nodded and said, "That would be perfect." He got really mad at me and said, "Um excuse me. I gave you a compliment." "Oh, thanks.  You are so nice!" Sister Lightheart was dying.  What can I say.. those kids love me! ;)  So then he asked me if I liked Edward or Jacob.  I told him I liked Jacob because I am not a fan of vampires, they are scary.  He started to make me feel guilty (especially as a missionary).  "Jacob likes to show his abs. are you really that type of girl?" haha So then I told him I liked Edward.  He looked at me with a smile and said, "I am just like Edward.  My family is from England. my skin is white. we have the same hair.  I look like him.  We are twins.... so YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON ME." haha I just started laughing.  I didn't know what to say.. oh the things that happen to you as a missionary.

Religious yard statues are common here

The inside of our house

Tuesday we had another interesting experience teaching P****.  We were planning on showing him the Restoration video but... he had a friend over.  D****.  D**** was super drunk and couldn't stay focused on anything he said.  We asked him if we could pray with him hoping that would help a little.  He let us pray with him and then he asked us questions about our church and what we do as missionaries.  He saw that I had my CTR ring on my finger and said.. "Ah man. You're married?" I told him.. "Oh no. This is a ring that my dad gave me before I left on my mission." "So... its a promise ring." "Uhh, not quite.  Its a ring that helps me remember to choose the right."  I wasn't going to argue because then he started to hit on Sister Lightheart.  It was a really awkward situation.  I can't even begin to explain.  The two of us just looked at each other and said.. uhhhh yeah, lets go. haha P**** told Sister Lightheart he needed to take her in private to talk to her about something secret for after her mission.  haha She was freaking out.. soooo we left and that was the lesson with P****. :) Mission life is awesome.  

Oh... and V***** ran away.  We don't know where he is... and we haven't seen him since.. so we are teaching G****.  Ok.. she kicked him out of the house... but I mean, still, he hasn't come back.  We gave G**** this tin of mints to help her quit smoking.  She loved the scripture.

A little present for G****

Wednesday we had our zone training with our whole zone.  First off, we have the best zone in the whole mission.  WE LED OUR MISSION WITH BAPTISMS. woot woot. :) We had to drive a ways to get to the training and it was soooo funny.  Florida highways are awful and so confusing.  We were trying to avoid the tolls so we didn't have to pay.  We were driving along following the GPS... and then all the sudden we realize that we were stuck in the "sun pass" toll lane... 100 dollar fine for driving in that lane if you don't have a pass. Yeah. We don't have a pass.  Sister Lightheart was driving and all I could do was laugh.  I was crying I was laughing so hard.  I felt bad for her... but it was soooo funny. She was stuck in the lane and so finally there was a break in the cones and she just shot the gap!  She is a good sport. :) We had an amazing training and it was sooo nice to see the awesome missionaries in my zone.  I love them all! :)

Typical daily meal with the members,  arroz con pollo (rice with chicken)

Thursday we had our last lesson with Doris to prepare her for baptism on Sunday! :).  She is awesome. She told us that she was so excited and felt that it was for sure her time. :) I love her.  She is amazing. She is really excited to go to the temple too.  

We had a lesson with G****** and M******* to prepare them for their baptism on Sunday too.  We had to cram so much into this lesson... the awesome Law of Chastity lesson (sorry your parents are not following this commandment....) and all!  It went a lot better than we thought it would.  It wasn't awkward at all.  Thank goodness!  I've had enough awkward moments this week already to last me a lifetime.  After we crammed so much into the lesson T*****, the mom, told us that they wouldn't be getting baptized Sunday.  WHAT??? Ugh.  Stab to the heart.  She said that their dad was coming from Honduras and wanted to take the kids for a few days.  So... they wouldn't be back until Monday.  Dang.  But the kids really want to be baptized this Sunday, the 21st... sooooo YAY! :)

Friday we went on a full exchange with the Sister Training Leaders.  I learned so much.  It was a wonderful day.  I was working with Sister Bird who is probably the world's best missionary.  I look up to her so much. :) We went to her area which was the YSA for Snapper Creek.  Their area covers 12 other "normal missionary" areas.  A lot of driving but AWESOME people.  It was so fun hearing stories from investigators closer to my age and people that I was able to connect more with.  It was a great experience.  It was nice to have a little change of scenery too... and language.  They only speak English.  I was sooo happy.. but then we went harvesting and it was only Spanish.  Great.  Sister Bird doesn't speak a word of Spanish... and so I had to do all the talking.  Now I had no idea what the people were saying, but I just prayed with them anyway.  It was probably a joke.. but oh well.  An experience to never forget, that is for sure.  I guess I do know more Spanish than I give myself credit for.

Sister Training Leaders

Saturday we received a referral from other missionaries and we tried to go contact them.  We realized that we didn't have the apartment number and we were so bummed because they told us they were pretty solid with baptism.  Sad. :(  So.. we decided to go knock some doors.  No one was answering.  It was a disappointment.  As we were leaving, I had a feeling to knock on a door so I just stopped and knocked.  It was the home of a really nice lady.  As soon as we told her that we were representatives of Jesus Christ she opened her door all the way and let us in.  She talked with us and cried telling us how lonely she was and how hard she was praying for people to come into her life.  We said a prayer with her and then ended up teaching her a lot about the gospel.  She is really interested in having us come back and tell her more.  It was amazing.  She even asked us for a Book of Mormon.  Seriously.  It is so important to listen to every prompting that you receive from the Spirit.  You never know what you could miss!  There was a reason that we knocked on N****' door that day.  She had been praying that we would come.

Sunday, DORIS WAS BAPTIZED.  She was so cute, too.  She kept smiling and laughing and was just SO happy.  The gospel works miracles in lives.  Its amazing to see that.  I have seen a huge change in her, and its been amazing!  I am so happy for her.  I am happy that I get to share this message with other people and see it change their lives. :)

The Hernandez Family

Hermana Snow, Doris and Hermana Lightheart

Also.. P**** came to church.  MIRACLE.   We have been working with him for weeks trying to get him there.  He strolled in with his black jeans and his blue t-shirt and aviators on.  I started to laugh then he got so excited that we were sitting on the stand and he just started waving at us like crazy.  He literally stared at Sister Lightheart the full hour.  When they passed the bread around, he took a handful and shoved it in his mouth.  I laughed soooo hard.  Oh my gosh.  He is a nut!  After church he asked us, "Can I get baptized next week?  I feel so happy!" We were shocked.  OF COURSE YOU CAN!  But... sadly he is YSA age so we had to pass him to the YSA Elders that are in our area. :( But.. it might be for the better..  We tried to go see P**** last night to tell him that the Elders would be coming from now on and he was asleep apparently so we didn't get to see him.


We had a super funny experience.  It had been raining and there were a bunch of muddy puddles in the street.  Our car, unfortunately, was parked on one of them.  I had to back Sister Lightheart out of her parking place and so I was standing on the sidewalk hoping that she could see me.  She backed up,  I opened the door, put one leg in the car trying to avoid falling in the puddle... and then Bam!  She started to drive away.  I just screamed and threw myself back on to the sidewalk.  She turned around, looked at me.. and I just said, "What are you doing??"  The two of us died laughing.  Apparently, she thought I had gotten in the car and it was safe for her to drive away.  Truth is... I think she wanted me to fall into the puddle.  JK.  We laughed about that for a solid 10 minutes as we drove home.  Yes it was dark and late and we were tired.

Missionary work is the best, and I really appreciate all the support I have been receiving from so many people.  I love all the notes, little letters, packages that I receive.  It makes me feel close to home and close to the ones that i love so much!  You are all the best and I thank the Lord for all of you everyday. Keep me updated on everything. :) I love to hear how you all are doing.  I give you a really detailed message of my life.. every week. :)  Your turn! ;)  JK.  I know you all live busy lives.

I love you!  Keep working hard!

Con Amor.

Hermana Snow