Snow, Snow and More Snow

March 3, 2014

Today is snowing like crazy, which is a big bummer because it's P-day and we can't go grocery shopping. We are lucky our apartment complex has computers we can use so we don't have to wait until tomorrow to email.

We have had yet another crazy week! As always.

At the beginning of the week, we had a really good lesson with Tara, our 16 year old. We helped her set up her new bunk bed and taught a lesson at the same time :) She is so great. She wanted us to come back and make us dinner.

Well Wednesday was crazy. Every Wednesday, we have lunch at our bishop's house. They are Peruvian, and they make the BEST food. But Peruvian food is so filling, and so much. We normally don't eat dinner Wednesday nights because we are so full.

Well, we went to see Yamilet, our investigator and her son, Kevin who is a recent convert.  We had a lesson with Kevin, because apparently he's been having anger issues, and needed a talk. Afterwards, Yamilet came out with an entire plate of food. AH! Luckily it was mostly fruit, but still lots of food.

Right after Yamilet, we went to see Hermana Garay, who is our investigator too. She made us each a bagel and a giant class of Abuelita, Latino Hot Chocolate.

After visiting her, we went to see Tara and she had prepared us a dinner too. A giant plate of pasta, pears, and chocolate cake. Needless to say, we went home that night with stomach aches and giant bellies!

We had another lesson with Tara the next day, and we talked about the story of Esther and courage. We read from the verse Esther 4:14 "who knoweth whether thou art come to thekingdom for such a time as this?" We testified that this is YOUR time. There is a reason we are all here on the earth, at this time. We have a purpose. And by our small decisions, we can affect nations of people. That night, Tara committed to a baptismal date of the 22nd!! :)

We are excited for her, but we warned her that Satan will try and take her off course. We told her to read the scriptures or say prayers whenever she feels discouraged.

Last night, when we got home, Tara called us crying. She said she was having a few family problems. She was at her dad's and forgot her scriptures. She asked us to read her the book of Mormon over the phone to help her feel better. After we finished a chapter she said "Could you may be read a little bit more?"

We were so touched that she called us, and she knows she can find peace in the gospel and through reading the scriptures. It was a good learning experience for me.

Sadly, Sara and Flor left for Peru this week. We didn't get a chance to say goodbye to them, but they sent us messages on Facebook to say thanks and goodbyes. Sara bore testimony that she knows she came to the US at this time to learn of the church. We are going to start teaching them skype lessons, we are excited! :) We also are going to teach a few other lds investigators in Honduras over Skype too.

Did I mention we get Ipads this week!?!? Finally. We have a running joke in our mission about us never actually getting Ipads because they keep pushing back the dates. But, for sure this Thursday.

Friday was my mission half-way mark. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!?! 9 months already!? I still feel brand new.

I had a little miracle this week. I served with a few Elders in Sudley that had served here in Little River. Apparently there was this infamous Hermana in this area, that hated Sister missionaries. (Literally, everybody knows her at "Crazy Maria") She only let Eder’s in her home, but unfortunately there is no man in the house so the Eder’s aren't supposed to go in. President Riggs has been trying to send sisters over there for years, but she hasn't liked any of them.

I worked with one Elder that mentioned that she might like me. So at a fireside, he introduced me and my companion to her. She was very blunt in saying "I don't want you at my house" but she promised the Elders that if me or my companion ever got sent to Little River, she would let us in and give us a chance.

When I got sent here, I thought of her, but was way to chicken to try it out. She is a very blunt lady. I had seen her a few times at church and would smile at her, but never approach her.

Last Sunday, I was helping out in Primary (my piano skills are continually being abused). She was in there. At the end, she approached me and asked me if I was the Hermana that the Elders introduced to her. I thought she would have forgotten!!

She told me that, she has a small piece of paper on her fridge with my name, and my old companion's name. She had no idea, who put it there, or how it got there. But she has had my name on her fridge for months. We talked and had a good chat. I asked her when we could come see her, and she told me her schedule, but made me pinky promise to not tell anybody. She isn't somebody to like help or visitors.

This Saturday, we felt like we should take her up on her offer and go visit her. Apparently she had an operation 2 days ago and was in the need of help, but she refuses to call anybody. We left her with a spiritual message and promised to come back the next day with Ice Cream.

Last night, we went with Ice Cream and we were able to clean her kitchen, dishes and living room because she can barely even walk. She has 4 kids, so we were there entertaining them and chatting with her. I LOVE her. I was so humbled by the experience. I know that I was sent to this area at this time for a reason. I learned so much from her. Here I was thinking that there is no way she would remember me, or let me in her front door. I was too chicken to go try. But the Lord is merciful, and even when I am lacking in courage and Faith, he sends another way. I am so grateful we were able to go help her and get to know her. We love her and we are so excited to continue working with her.

I know that we are all here at this time for a reason. We are in the hastening of the work for a reason. The Lord needed US. He needed YOU! There is a purpose you were born to be here at this time. You have a divine purpose.

I love this work, I am grateful for the Love of our Heavenly Father. I love being his missionary and his great messenger.

I love being a part of this hastening!!

I love you all,

Hermana Spencer

Lessons I Have Learned

March 10, 2014

Dear Familia,

This has been another crazy and spiritual week!

 I am officially half-way through my mission and I have been pondering of the past, and setting goals for the future. Something I have learned is the importance of setting long-term goals and short-term goals to accomplish them.

 We have been focusing our teaching a lot this week on the Book of Mormon. We had zone conference last week and President Riggs expressed his concern about not using the scriptures enough, personally and in lessons. We need to know the scriptures. Read them, understand them, and love them. The Book of Mormon is a conversion tool on its own. We literally have had investigators be completely converted and know that the church is true by just reading the book alone.

 We also have been focusing on authority and prophets. Throughout my entire mission, that has been the hardest and easiest thing to explain. People ask us ALL the time "Why do I need to be baptized again?" or "My pastor has authority too, what makes your church different?"

Through the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we literally have the exact same authority that Jesus Christ gave to his 12 apostles.

 We have the priesthood and authority on the earth again, after it was lost for many years. All priesthood holders can trace their priesthood lineage back to our Savior, Jesus Christ, himself. That is something to rejoice about! We have the restored gospel on the earth!

We have had to explain latter-day prophets many times this week, and latter-day revelation/commandments. We have a living day prophet that receives revelation, directly from our Heavenly Father, for us in our day. That is miraculous. And yet, many of us still find excuses or look for ways to not follow his great counsel.

We spent a lot of time working with the member, Maria, again. She so lonely, but won't admit it. She had us come over and help her put together posters for primary. She ended up dragging us to Staples, Subway and then back for hamburgers and her house. She just loves the company. We are learning a lot from her, she is great :)

 So the big news is...We have IPad’s!!!!!

Thursday we got training and received IPad’s. They are so fun! We love them. We literally have nothing on them, except proselyting things, but they make the work a lot easier.

 All of our records are going to be used through technology now. Our area books and everything are through our IPad’s. I love the Gospel Library app, so we don't have to lug around sets of scriptures and DVD's. The only hold up is that our apartment doesn't have internet, so we can only use a few things when at home.

 This Saturday, we finally had MUNDIAL MORMON! It was a mission-wide event that was solely planned by my district. Me and Hermana Sorensen were in charge of the guided tours of the church and a few other things. We were at the church setting up the night before, and we were at the church for 13 hours on Saturday. We were so dead tired.

A LOT of people showed up to play soccer, which was awesome! We did have a few people complain and get in arguments, but nothing terrible. Sadly, it was like pulling teeth trying to get people to go do the tours. President Riggs showed up to see if the event was being productive and luckily was able to see one of the tours.

 The Talent show at the end was hilarious. We had a few people who refused to get off the stage and we had to literally close the curtain on them. I proposed the idea of using cups to make a beat to a song, and we ended up getting all the missionaries involved. It was super fun!

 Liz, is on date for baptism! She has been investigating for over 5 years, and has been on date many times. She is losing hope in actually being baptized, but we see it for her! Her only hold up has been getting to church. We don't want her to fall off the map after her baptism, so we made her a deal. She has to come 3 weeks in a row before her baptism. This week she almost didn't come, but she ended up coming for a half-hour in the foyer and leaving. Gah!  We have so much faith and hope in her though. We see her getting baptized very soon.

 Tara, is on date as well but we are nervous for her. Apparently, last minute, she moved out of her house and back in with her mom and dad (who are divorced?). Her dad does not like the idea of being baptized, at all,  but we are hoping for a miracle. She has such a sweet spirit and so ready for this step, we just have to get her there! :)

 Every Wednesday, we eat Peruvian food at our Bishop's house. This week, we had a nice big plate of Cow Heart. Yup "Corazon." It was actually pretty good! But it still grossed me out a bit when the Elders kept reminding us that it was pumping a few days before. Bleh!

I am officially on my 4th pair of boots as a missionary. I am not sure why I have the worst luck with boots! I have gotten cheap pairs, and nice expensive pairs. But they still seem to always find a different way to break on me. This week,  I had to go get a new pair of boots. Not my favorite way to spend money! But there is a running joke among missionaries, that how hard you worked is determined by how many shoes you have run through. Apparently I must be working oober hard. :) 

So many babies coming! I have gotten a few baby announcements in the mail from college friends, and 3 of my old roommates are getting married! So crazy. Being in the states on my mission, and having Facebook makes me still pretty connected with the world, which is both good and bad :)

 With the new technology, we know the work is hastening! D&C 88:73.

 I am jealous that you guys get to go on a  cruise soon! Sunny weather sounds fantastic right about now in cold Virginia :)

Also, I am convinced that Todd needs to date my cute friend Katie Bailey from BYU-Idaho. I have no idea how they would meet, but I am convinced it could happen :)

I am learning so much. The more I focus my actions outward, the closer I become to my Savior, and my Heavenly Father. That is why on the final days of his earthly ministry, the Savior gave us the new commandment to "Love one Another." Truly, by heeding his counsel and direction, we can become more like him.

 My long term goal is to be like God. To one day, return to his presence, have eternal Life and be like him.

I am willing to take every short-term goal, and every step to get there. I am far from my goal, but I know that is possible nonetheless. Our Heavenly Father has made it possible for each of us to get there!

 I love being a missionary! It brings so much satisfaction and joy to me! I hope that you are all doing well, and working hard in the vineyard as well. There are so many souls prepared for us to find them! :)

Con Amor,

Hermana Spencer

I Love to See the temple!

February 18, 2014

Hola Familia!

I could never say that I have not learned anything on my mission. I learn something new every day. Whether that means, I learn how to be a better person, teacher, or friend. Or even if that means I learn how to back out of a parking spot with snow behind it. I learn something daily.

In that case, I learned a lot in the past week!

I didn't get to email you all yesterday, because of the Holiday, but that was good news for me because we got to go to the temple instead. I LOVE THE TEMPLE. There is an unexplainable peace and reverence inside the walls of the Lord's holy home.

Yesterday, we had the unique opportunity to attend a short conference on the 7th floor of the temple. The senior couple that drove us found out about it and we were able to attend. It was remarkable! We were able to go to the special conference room that most people don't get to go to, and we had a few speakers talk about (in more detail than outside of the temple) the sacred temple ordinances. I learned so much.

ALSO I got to see the new temple video! (Finally!!!!) Not the new new one, but the new one. It was absolutely beautiful, I cried almost the entire time. I was so grateful to be able to attend the Temple yesterday.

It snowed a TON this week. Okay, not that much compared to New Hampshire, but all of Virginia was freaking out. It snowed a little more than a foot, which meant school was out....and we couldn't drive. We were stuck in the apartment all day Wednesday. I got a lot of cleaning done...although it didn't last past Thursday (Surprised dad?).

We have been working with two of our investigators, Sara and Liz. Sara got to the US about a month ago, and she is staying with her cousin Liz. Liz has been investigating for over 5 years now. She has such a strong desire to get baptized, but something always got in the way so she is losing hope. But since Sara met us, she has been reading the Book of Mormon and asking LOTS of questions. We are trying to help her get baptized before she leaves for Peru again....NEXT WEEK. We will need lots of prayers and miracles, but we have the faith!

Liz's sister is in the Hospital right now because of her extreme anorexia. It is really doing a toll on the entire family. But Liz has committed that she will be baptized when her sister is out, so she can come to her baptism. Soon!

We started teaching Noel, Rosemary's son, this week. The first lesson was chaotic and confusing. He has lots of questions and personal opinions. He had 2 sister missionaries, his mom, and Melissa (who came with us) all throwing answers at him. We prayed that the next lesson would be better. IT WAS! We had a great lesson with him last night. We read with him and promised him the blessing of the truth through the Holy Ghost. He wants to know the truth. We see a lot of potential in him.

Melissa keeps coming out with us. We love it! She loves working with us and bearing her testimony. She has grown so much since I met her, and even more since her baptism. Her understanding is increasing. We had a talk on modesty with her, and she looked like she was about to faint (haha) but then we brought over a pile of Sister missionary hand-me-downs in our apartment and she got excited.

On the way to one of our lessons, Melissa said to us in the car "You guys make me want to be a missionary" and since then, she is thinking about going on a mission!!!!!!!! Even if she doesn't go, the process of deciding and preparing is life-altering. I am so excited for her. She is literally a light to our entire Ward.

Yamilet is incredible. But she is so darn frustrating! She has a testimony, she knows it's true. She comes to church every Sunday, she reads the Book of Mormon, and she says her prayers. She lives and loves every commitment! But she says she still doesn't have the "desire" to be baptized. She asks us to pray for her to have this desire, and she is as well, but for some reason she just doesn't want it!

We took her to the temple visitor center on Sunday night with a family that is good friends with her. It was remarkable. We watched the video on the family and afterwards we sat in the room and talked. Yamilet never cries. She cried! The spirit was SO strong. We all bore testimony of eternal families and how the gospel blesses families. I was so grateful for that experience. We are hoping that the experience helped her with her "desire." We care about her so much.

This week, when we went to go see Yamilet, Hermana Sorensen pet a stray cat outside and it started following us. When Yamilet opened the door, the cat ran in. We spent the first part of the lesson laughing our heads off and trying to get the cat out of her apartment! The rest of the lesson the cat sat outside the door meowing.

Things are looking excellent here in Little River. We are still planning and prepping for our huge event, Mundial Mormon! We are all really excited, and stressed :)

My companion and I are learning a lot together. She is unlike any companion I have had so far. I am learning a lot from her. I hope she is learning from me!

Our mission theme for the quarter is "Step out of the Boat." Meaning, when Christ came to his apostles walking across the water, he invited Peter to join him. Peter did in fact walk on water. BUT, he had to take the first step of faith, but stepping over the edge of the Boat. Oftentimes, when we are on the boat all comfortable, it is really hard to make the step. We are unsure if we will actually going to be able to walk on water, if the miracle will actually happen. BUT, by taking the step we are exercising the faith that it will happen.

I encourage all of you to "Step out of the Boat" and exercise your faith. I promise that walking on water and other miracles are possible! They happen every day in the mission field!

Never forget the goodness of this gospel. There is a sweet goodness from being a part of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I testify to that! Although life itself is hard, it is our reaction that determines our consequences. As Dieter F. Uchtdorf said "It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself that determines how your life's story will develop"  

So....react well :)

I love you all! Thanks for everything.

Con amor,
Hermana Spencer

Dallin: Happy Birthday! I cannot believe how old you are getting! I still think of you as the cute little brother who was once shorter than me! I hope your Birthday was fantastic, and I hope that you are still charming all the ladies. As well as doing your fair share of mission prep! Keep it up. Love you! OH....congrats on regionals! I hope you had a blast :)

1.Me and the Carliles...love them!

2.Me and Hermana Sorensen in front of the Temple

3.Yamilet and us after we caught the cat!

February 10th, 2014

February 10, 2014

Hello Familia!

I hope that all is well with you all. This has been a slow week for me! Not bad slow, just felt like so much has happened. Busy busy!

 Looking back though before my mission, I LOVE being busy. Being busy is such a blessing. Yes I love the occasion lazy moments, of getting to relax. But I love looking back at my weeks and seeing all that was accomplished in such a short amount of time.

Just remember that business is good. Don't ever try to run faster than you have strength, but it is a blessing.

 Monday, we had zone sports. Because in our mission, everybody lives so close to each other, we get to have activities as zones and districts pretty often.

 Last Monday, we did dart gun wars. We literally had Pvc pipes and we would shoot darts by blowing through them. It was SO fun. But, in the midst of our games, my companion went to go "tag" an elder, and he ducked the wrong direction and she ended up punching him right in the face. As a result, he has an amazing scratch across his face, and my companion sprained her thumb!

 We thought her thumb was broken for a while, so we had to go to urgent care to check it out. Sadly it took us 4 hours in a doctor’s office to find out we just need to ice it and take Advil.

This week we also started planning out giant multi-ward activity called "Mundial Mormon" which is basically the Mormon World Cup. Our district came up with the idea for our ward and we decided to make it bigger and go mission wide. We are inviting EVERYBODY in our mission (well, Spanish speakers).

We are doing an all-day event where we have a little bit of Volleyball and then a giant soccer tournament. We are having a bracket and everything. At night we are doing a talent show and food. Not to mention, we are planning church tours, movies and games throughout the entire activity in the other rooms. We have a Hermana who is studying marketing, so we are trying to get the word out to everybody. We are so excited! And the English speakers are all really jealous... :)

This week was transfers. Me and Hermana Sorensen are staying in little River for another transfer. Last minute, our mission president called the entire mission to come to the transfer meeting for a whole-mission conference (which isn't very common).

He had seen the new movie "the Saratov Approach" earlier that week and got special permission to show it to all of us. It was such an emotional experience for us. I am not sure if you have had a chance to see it, but it is a must see. There were many lessons that I learned. It's about two missionaries in Russia that got kidnapped and held ransom. They had incredible faith and amazing examples.

It was really cool though, the day before we saw the movie, we were in a neighborhood we are always in. Me and my companion looked at each other and said that we needed to get back to our car. We are quite sure why still, but all we know is that we need to go back...and fast. The movie and the experience freaked my companion out a bit, but we had the senior couple across the street come over and give a blessing.

I honestly, felt at so much peace. I knew that I was safe. My patriarchal blessing, my setting apart blessing, and many blessings after that have promised me my safety on my mission. Obviously, as long as I am listening to the spirit. I have had so many moments in my mission where we have been guided to somewhere, OR away from somewhere. I feel at so much peace having the gift of the Holy Ghost and "Angels round about me."

 Saturday, we went to the Serrano's house (Melissa's family) for Pupusas. They are the most common food in El Salvador, and I am learning how to make them! But it was so fun. They were celebrating their oldest son's birthday, and they invited the missionaries on purpose because their family would be there that need the gospel. I LOVE getting member referrals. Going through the members is SO much more effective than our own efforts.

We also had a little girl stop us in the hallway yesterday to tell us she wants her friend to "join us." She was asking for advice on how to bring up the missionaries. It was so fun to give her the advice and tell her that we would pray for her missionary opportunity.

Melissa and her family both got their temple recommends on Sunday, so we are planning a trip to do baptisms for the dead. Melissa's mom looked like she was about to cry when we found out she was allowed to go in the ACTUAL temple. She's still waiting for her year mark to be sealed as a family, but they are so excited to go to baptisms.

We had an amazing lesson with Sara last night. I met Sara with Hermana Memmott a month ago, while helping her cousin paint. Sara was super cold to us at first, but over time has warmed up to us. She is reading the Book of Mormon right now and already is in 2 Nephi! At first she came to us with MANY questions and doubts, but after a few lessons about the Holy Ghost, she has changed. Last night she told us that she knows the book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that this Church is the Church of Jesus Christ. Sadly, she leaves back for Peru in 2 WEEKS! So we talked about baptism with her and we are hoping to help her get baptized before she goes.

 Noel, Rosemary's son wants to get baptized too! Honestly, because of his mom's example and the other youth's example, he has had a change of heart and mind towards the church. I am so happy for Rosemary, since her baptism she has just blossomed!

 We are working with a teenage girl that just got baptized a month ago right now. We are working on teaching her family, but right now she is suffering from extreme depression. We are doing the best we can to help, but we can only do so much. We are trying to keep daily contact with her and keep her spirits high. She is such an incredible, and strong girl, I just wish she could see that! Or we could help her see what we see! Or more importantly, what her Heavenly Father sees.

 Dad mentioned something in his letter that I have been thinking about ALL week. The basics. Our investigators cannot progress or come unto Christ unless they are doing the basics. We have so many people so close to baptism, and commitment keeping, but they simply won't read the scriptures, or say their prayers or come to church! It's frustrating knowing how much this will bless their lives, but they simply won't act. When people act, they receive blessings and answers. It is incredible how simple the recipe is, but so difficult it is for us sometimes.

 Even when we are missionary, or a parent, bishop, or whatever we are. We have to continue doing the basics. Every day! That is part of Enduring to the End. We have to exercise our faith, and keep covenants we made.

 We are going to Washington DC today. We are going to tour some museums and to shoot part of a commercial for "Mundial Mormon"

It is cold outside though! Washington DC is a LOT better than New Hampshire. We have barely been hit by bad weather. It is cold, but we get little snow and it doesn't get below 30 degrees normally.

All in all, Things are good here. I really can't complain. Things are not easy, but things are possible. Honestly, my mission hasn't been extremely hard. Not because I don't get trials and it is not a test of my faith. But I know in every circumstance that the Lord is with me. And, the burdens don't seem so heavy, because of that. Also, we are seeing so many miraculous things, that the good outweighs the bad!

I love being a missionary. It is incredible. I love being a part of this work.

I love you all!

 Con mucho amor,

Hermana Spencer 

 

1. Me and my district

2. Nerf gun war-zone. So fun!

Exclamation Point!

January 27, 2014

Hola familia!

Well, I just wrote you a very length letter and then accidently hit the discard button. So here I go with take 2.....

We had a very eventful and productive week!

First things first, we had 2 amazing baptisms this weekend!

Rosemary, our investigator from Bolivia got baptized this weekend. She had only been taking the lessons for a little over a month, but her testimony is incredible. Rosemary had a double baptism with another investigator named Juan, who the other Hermanas were teaching.

Melissa, our other investigator who is 17, has been investigating for about 5 years now. She has had many people teaching her in the past. Her entire family recently got baptized, except her. A few weeks ago, she opened up to us and some of her concerns. We were able to teach and talk to her more and develop a relationship with her. She finally decided to take the step! Her baptism was beautiful though. She never looked more beautiful.

Saturday was a stressful day for us. We had a whole mission conference all morning, and then we had the baptisms that night. We had to be at the church early to fill the font and set things up.

Rosemary had to get her baptismal interview as well. President Burton, of the mission presidency had to give it, but wouldn't be back in town until an hour before her baptism. She was supposed to show up at 5:00 and came an half hour late and didn't get out of her interview until after the baptism was supposed to start.

Also, the member of the bishopric who was supposed to come give us the keys to the font came 15 minutes before the baptism. So we had to hurry and fill the font.

 Another Hermana sang a musical number in the first baptism, while I played the piano. (I am officially named "the Hermana that plays the piano"...again). But Melissa asked me to sing a musical number in her baptism.  It was funny though because me and the other Hermana ended up doing the same song....oops.

Our whole mission conference was awesome. We had S. Gifford Nielson of the seventy come speak to us. Yep....Exclamation point guy! The first thing he said when he walked in was "Exclamation point!" He was a very animated and enthusiastic speaker. It was great to learn from him. He told some great stories and talked about the hastening of the work, including member and missionary work. He also talked about Ordinances and their associated covenants.

President Riggs and Sister Riggs both spoke as well and it was fantastic. Something I learned there was "Never settle for mediocrity" We were not sent to this earth to achieve mediocrity, we were sent to the earth to achieve perfection.  

I also had interview with President Riggs this weekend. We had a great interview and I walked away with a lot of insight. He mentioned my confidence. He asked how I became so confident. I mentioned that my family moved a few times and I learned a lot from that, and also performing has helped. But he mentioned how my companion might struggle with confidence and in that case, I have to lead and support.

 Something else he said was "Hermana Spencer, you are never ever somebody that I have to worry about." That makes me so glad. I never wanted to be a burden to this work, I wanted to help. That was my goal, to be somebody he didn't have to worry about.

But, I realized I have a new goal now. I don't only want to be somebody that he "doesn't have to worry about" I want to be somebody that he "Doesn't know what he would do without"

I don't want to settle for mediocrity!

Virginia is getting colder. We had some pretty bad snow on Tuesday, so we were stuck in our apartment all day. Unfortunately, in the Spanish program, if you can't drive you are stuck. Our areas are just too big to walk!  Virginia is crazy about school, they cancelled school the entire week!

 I love how I am improving. Something I thought about this week is that my mission really hasn't been that hard. It HAS. But it hasn't.

I have had plenty of trials and difficult, discouraging moments. But the closer I get to my Savior and my loving Heavenly Father, the easier they seem. I look back and I don't even recognize the hard moments. All I see are the miracles. All the blessings I see on my mission have outweighed every hard moment.

 I love this work. I hit my 8 month mark this week. How crazy is that!? I am excited to continue working in this work of salvation.

Thank you all for the love and support. You are in my prayers, and your prayers are felt and appreciated :)

Con Mucho amor,

Hermana Spencer

12/16/2013

 Hola Familia!                                                                                                                                      

I am overwhelmed with happiness right now.  I had quite the week. I didn't realize it, until now that my week was very eventful.

This week was literally impossible to get investigator lessons.  We tried and planned for investigator lessons every day this week, but we could never get in the door, or we kept missing people at home. We visited a TON of less actives and Recent Converts this week though.  I was feeling very discouraged because our numbers were extremely low this week for investigator lessons. Just as most missionaries, we want to feel proud of the numbers we accomplished for the week.

Last night I recognized what the Lord was trying to teach me.  I finally understood what it meant when everybody says "Numbers are not everything."  I have never found myself of somebody that is obsessive over numbers, but I was not recognizing the miracles we saw this week.

We were able to help MANY people this week come unto Christ. Our purpose is to simply invite others to come unto Christ by faith, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.  This week, we helped many of God's children come unto Christ, although it may not have been investigators and through baptism.  I truly learned this week to appreciate the little miracles this week.  I also learned to submit to the will of the Father, not Hermana Spencer's will. His will is much better. He needed us to feed his sheep this week, his less active and recent convert sheep.

It snowed pretty bad on Tuesday and we were told to not use our cars, but to walk.  Unfortunately, Hermana Argueta picked up my horrible cold and we had to stay inside most of the day.

This week, we visited Heidy quite a bit. We had some great lessons with her.  I want her SO badly to just get through the next few years and then move out and go to BYU-I or something (Although I just might be bias towards BYU-I :)).   She has SO much potential, but all day every day, she has a house full of family members telling her that she worth nothing and has no potential. It's hard helping her recognize her divine worth. That makes me so grateful for my family, and for Young Women's helping me see the potential in myself.

This Thursday, we had the Whole Mission Christmas Conference. THERE ARE SO MANY MISSIONARIES!  It was such a great conference. The first half was a talent show. I didn't sign up for anything (I get too chicken!), but then I got roped into accompanying.  I was so glad the accompaniment was fun to play and we nailed the song.  It had to have been one of the best songs.  I played for an Elder that I swear will be famous one day.

Afterwards, we had lunch and got to visit with other missionaries.  It is so fun.  I am not sure if I have mentioned quite how Hispanic my companion is.  She makes me laugh so much.  She had her very first Baked Potato this week.  I had to show her how to eat it :)  We had a good laugh.

After lunch, we got to hear all the testimonies of the departing missionaries this transfer.  It was great to hear some of their advice and their testimonies.  There were a few missionaries that gave some...odd testimonies.  It made me think about, "What am I going to say when I leave?  More importantly, Who will I have become when I leave?"

Also, I got some (stupid) news. Ever since my cold, I was getting some pain in my ribcage and sternum.  It was extremely painful to cough, or to sneeze.  Finally after 2 weeks of this, I called Sister Riggs and she had me call the doctor.He told me that I got Costochondritis.  He thinks that I must have gotten a virus in my sternum from my cold, which caused it to hurt.  So all I have to do is to be taking an anti-inflamatory 3 times a day for 2 weeks.  He said it might take 4-6 weeks to heal.  Luckily it's not too bad, I can still run, walk and do whatever.  Sneezing just hurts like crazy!

We saw a miracle yesterday. Our investigators, Jamie and Jennifer, who we haven't seen in weeks showed up at church yesterday.  Their dad came to us and told us that he talked to their mom and she said that it was their decision to be baptized!!!!  We are so happy.  We just have to explain a few more things, and we invited them last night to pray about baptism this week.

Because, it is most likely my last week in this area, we are saying a lot of goodbyes and hellos to people this week.  Tonight, for dinner, we are going out to eat with Jhoana, Esperanza, and (hopefully) our investigators, Adela and Mary-Lou (Their other sisters!).  We also have a Hermana in our Ward that does nails and wanted to do our nails as a goodbye/Christmas gift.  So we are going to do that today.  I am so spoiled on my mission!

Our Ward is really growing.  I am so proud of Sudley!  Our new Bishop is STELLAR.  Have I ever mentioned before that our Ward Mission Leader has been inactive?  He lives outside our area too, so we can't go see him.  Well, we are getting new one soon and getting 10 new ward missionaries.  We are so excited to see the hastening of the work!  We do have help from others as well, we have ministering angels helping us along!  When the Lord hastens his work, he hastens it on both sides of the veil!

Thank you all for everything.  I am excited to talk to you all on Christmas!  It is coming up! :)

Always remember the truth of this gospel.  Christ is the light and way to happiness . How could this gospel NOT be true?  There are over 80,000 missionaries right now proclaiming and preaching the gospel.  How could it not be true of over 80,000 immature and young adults have a testimony of the truth enough to go teach others about it?

I love being a missionary. I definitely miss home and family, but feel peace and joy in knowing that I am exactly where I am supposed to be and where I want to be.

I will keep you all posted if I get transferred!

Con amor,

Hermana Spencer

1. We made a ton of these to give our investigators, members, less-actives and Recent Converts!  Aren't they cute? We are giving them with a card and the "Joy to the World" DVD

2. Me and My old MTC roommate, Hermana Trunnell.  Unfortunately, she left for home this Saturday for knee surgery. She is coming back in 4 months though!

3. All of the Hermanas at the Christmas Devotional!

4. This is how desperate we were to get a lesson this week! I have had to hop that fence SO many times. This picture cracks me up!                                                                                                                             

November 4, 2013

Hola Familia,

Hope You all had a fantastic week and a good Halloween!

Our Halloween was fun. That morning we had a meeting, and at 5pm our whole zone got to get together and watch movies! We got to watch Monsters University and Monsters Inc. It was really fun to hang out with the other missionaries, eat popcorn and treats!

We had an interesting week this week. Lots of work. We sometimes lose contact with Esperanza. She now has a car so she leaves a lot, and the only way we can go see her is if she unlocks the gate to her door, and she rarely answers the phone. Needless to say, we have a hard time trying to visit her and Jose. This week, she calls us hysterical. I guess she and Jose were having some marital problems and she was very upset. We rushed over to see her and we had NO idea what we were going to say. (I'm not very experienced with the whole marriage thing yet). We were able to help her and calm her down. We left her with a prayer and invited her to ask Heavenly Father to give her the right words to say to Jose. Later that night we went over to follow-up and the elders came to give her a blessing. She mentioned that she really did feel Heavenly Father helping and was with her in her conversation with him. It was a very touching experience.

On Halloween we also had a very touching experience. One of the Elders in our district got a call from President Riggs. He called me, Hermana Argueta and his companion, Elder Creager into another room. Apparently, Elder Creager's aunt had an unexpected bad asthma attack and didn't make it. It was a very touching experience and he felt like us Hermanas needed to be a part of it so that we could help.  It was a very touching experience. Apparently his aunt was a single mom, and her oldest son had been out on his mission for 6 months. It made me very grateful for the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. It also made me grateful for the spirit, the comforter. It truly helped the Elder through the situation and helped all of us to be able to help as well.

We taught our progressing investigators this week, Christian and Kayla Arias. They are getting baptized in 2 weeks. We only get to see them once a week so we are hoping that all goes smoothly. They are sweet kids, they just have an attitude issue at times. But they love the church and they love the spirit they feel at church.

We also taught our other progressing investigators Jamie and Jennifer last night. They get baptized at the end of the month. They are SO excited. Jamie is super shy, but she is excited too and LOVES going to primary (She's 10). We taught them a super scattered lesson last night because they kept asking different questions. We taught them the word of wisdom, prophets, obedience, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost and making good decisions. It was a sweet lesson though. We love those girls! (Plus, in Jennifer's prayers she always said "thanks for sending these gorgeous girls to teach us" :))

This week I thought a lot about parents. I thought a lot about how important the lessons we learn in the home are. Parents have a HUGE impact. Some parents think "My kids are too young to know what is going on" but in reality they pick up a lot more than we think. It’s no wonder our Savior invites us to become as little children. They are innocent and submissive. They contain every Christ like attribute that we lack, even if they are unaware of their actions.

The home and how parents raise their children have a huge impact on the choices they make and who they become later in life. (Thanks mom and dad!)

My favorite quote from Jhoana this week was "Others try and tell me that this church is not true. It doesn't matter what they say, I know the truth. I am going to prove it to them by the way that I raise Jordan." 

I love you all so much. Thank you for the love and support. I know that this is the work of the Lord and I am honored to be one of his servants in the vineyard. Keep being great member missionaries!

Con Amor,

Hermana Spencer