Ok. Wow. I feel like this week went by so fast. It seems like I was just emailing you, telling you about the previous week yesterday. Mission time. I tell ya, its not normal... haha
I don't even know where to begin. Bittersweet feelings all week long but I am hanging in there.
Monday.. bless their hearts, we got a phone call from the Elders. There was a dead rat in the wall of their house. They said it SMELT HORRID. I can only imagine. They had to stay at their house all day long... for p-day... because someone was supposed to come help them out.. and they never showed up. I am surprised they didn't die... but... later on down the week they just decided to climb up in the attic themselves and find it. Turns out it was a HUGE Possum. Sooo gross. They are good sports for putting up with so much. (You'll find out what I mean later.)
Tuesday, Melanie came out with us.. all day... and she got the phone call... "YOUR MISSION CALL CAME IN THE MAIL!!" So.. needless to say we drove to her house and .. peeked maybe. ;) We made a tiny hole in the envelope and looked at where she was going because her mom didn't want to know. :) Such a funny experience. Never ever have I had permission to peek at someone's call. It was awesome. She's going to be a FABULOUS missionary. She was called to serve in Mexico City North... Speaking Spanish, obviously, and she leaves to the Provo MTC on March 4th. :) We are sooooo excited for her! :)
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| Melanie gets her Mission Call |
We taught a lesson to Z*****, who we had previously taught and ended up dropping just a few weeks ago. She called us and said that she wanted us to come teach her again and she received an answer from God that this is the church she is supposed to be a part of. MIRACLE. Complete 180 change from the last time we visited her. I LOVE HER. She told us that she has really loved going to church and loves everyone there. BLESSINGS.
Wednesday…. So the people here buy a lot of their clothes at Goodwill but sometimes they can't read what the clothes say because they are in English and don't understand what they mean. Anyway, we went to teach Doris and she was wearing this t-shirt. It said... "Status Update: I am in a Relationship." I about passed out laughing. We asked her if she understood the meaning… yep, no. Funny thing is I think her son who knows English picks out the shirts for his parents.. whatever. Then her husband, Rene, walks up and his shirt says "Something not so chill happened last night." haha I died laughing, almost to the point of tears. These people are so funny. It kills me. I LOVE THEM! :) Doris told us about a dream that she had. She wasn't able to go do the temple work for her mom last week because she was sick when the ward went to the temple. She was so heartbroken. Then she had this dream. She saw her mom and her mom was sad. Then her dad appeared and he just kept saying. "Nefi Ocho. Nefi Ocho." (Nephi 8) So.. when she woke up she tried to find Nephi 8. It doesn't exist. so she asked us and we told her maybe he was meaning 1 Nephi chapter 8. Turns out…it is the vision of the tree of life. Lehi's Dream.
Thursday was kind of tough. We don't have a very big teaching pool right now, and we went to go visit J**** and C*****. We were on our way to invite them to be baptized. When we walked in, they were so happy to see us but they told us that they needed to tell us something. They told us that they believe everything that we have been teaching them but they feel like right now is not the time. They have some hard things that they are trying to work out right now and its hard for them to come to church. They felt bad because they were never able to keep their commitment to come to church. They said that they feel like they will be baptized later on down the road but right now isn't the time. I wanted to cry. It was like I had to say bye to my kids. Ugh. I HAVE FAITH that they will accept this message later on down the road. I hope missionaries go back to see them!
Friday was a great day. Well... we were asked the question by our zone leaders, "Do you feel Godly sorrow for your inability to baptize?" I was so frustrated. We are trying. We are trying our hardest to find those that are willing to accept the gospel. God has different plans for Sister Lightheart and I right now. I felt like a huge failure. Like I wasn't making a difference AT ALL. But my lovely companion, who always knows exactly what to say, looked at me and said, "Sister Snow, I want you to know that I have felt like I have been the best and most successful missionary with you as a companion." She is wonderful!
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| Sister Calvo, Sister Lightheart, Sister Karl and Sister Snow |
We also had a huge ward party where we celebrated all the Latin countries. Everyone brought the traditional food and wore the traditional outfits. It was so fun. America, you bet we represented you. Sister Lightheart and I made a cake from a box and the other American members of the ward brought….. McDonalds and Burger King. SO FUNNY! The kids went crazy over our table.. ;)
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| Our USA table |
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| Brother Diaz from Chile |
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| Wearing Our Red, White and Blue |
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| Alejandra, Hermana Snow and Melanie |
Saturday we went to invite Javier to church. He was asleep in his car outside his house with his seat belt on. At first we thought he might be dead or passed out...but no, he was just asleep. We woke him up, shared a gospel message and walked away thinking.. "that was awkward." haha Something I will never forget. We got a good laugh out of that one.
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| "I can't believe she trusted me to cut her hair!" |
We taught Z***** again and she told us that she has plans to get married so she can get baptized. Its a difficult situation right now but they are working on it. Probably in a few months. :) I am so happy that she accepted this message and knows exactly what she needs to do in order to receive the blessings that God has in store for her and her family.
Sunday our ward was changed to ONLY Spanish so the English speakers have to go to a different ward now. Sad day. It's officially the Riverside Spanish ward which means all of our English speaking investigators have to be given to a different set of missionaries... good thing we don't have any! :) Javier came to church. #rescued! WE WERE SOOO HAPPY! :) :) :)
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| Sister Carranza, Sister Snow and Elizabeth We have dinner with them every Sunday. |
We visited Geraldo and Michelle and their family…. and they were heartbroken to hear the news. But, they understand.
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| Geraldo and Hermana Snow |
Oh, and the Elders were harvesting.. and they watched as their bikes got stolen. Broken lock. Everything gone. I felt sooo bad for them. I was going to let them ride Susana Oria this last week...but then they got new "ghetto bikes" (using their words). Bless their hearts. Literally, it was a rough week.
During my scripture study this morning, I came across a scripture that I loved. Mosiah 4:9. "Believe in God; believe that He is, and that He created all things, both in Heaven and in Earth; Believe that He has all wisdom, and all power, both in Heaven and in Earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend." I don't know why I loved that so much.. but this morning it really touched my heart. Simple statement. Believe in God. We HAVE to have faith. Without it we would have no reason to do anything. Have faith that we will someday become something that God is shaping us into. Have faith that we really do have a purpose and that the work that missionaries are doing everyday has a purpose. Sometimes it is difficult because we don't see the immediate fruits of our labors.. but we have faith and that's all we can have.
I love you all so much. My heart is so full today! You ARE THE BEST! <3 <3
Con Amor-
Hermana Snow
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