Vancouver and such...

Weekly Highlights

·   My new companion/Trainer:

Hermana Grass from New Mexico. She is a great...a ginormous relief. She likes to work and clean and me likey that mucho. Our dynamic with teaching is going well and she has only been out 6 months on the mission. I'm sure I will have more stories of ours in the future, but so far we have no complaints about each other. :) We are in the only sisters in our area and the only other spanish speaking companionship so we cover a wide range.

·   We live with Sister Wise:

An english member from Vancouver who is probably in her 60's and her husband passed 6 years ago. She is very easy going and loves her dog, Molly and she has severe pain from Fibromyalgia (spelling?) and really misses her husband. She teaches a small preschool out of her home to 5 kids since she was a school teacher all of her career and had 6 kids. Since living alone and being physically challenged it seems that she has kind of left her home alone...so I am glad to know how to clean, I just wish I had more time to do so. Ok, one funny thing and one spiritual thing about her and her home this week. So, above the her living room T.V. is a painting of her husband...but it is a painting of a picture of him and he's got these awesome 80's glasses on...but the thing is that it totally reminds of Magnus' painting that chases Trunchbull on "Matilda!" A bit creepy...but he's the center of the room and I have to just look everywhere else, otherwise I will laugh or scream. Haha! Ok, spiritual thing with her...so we had a couple of our evening teach appointments fall through on Saturday and we are not supposed to go home early. So, we kept trying to visit other people etc. and nothing was working and this week has had a lot of changes in the mission that have prevented us from really planning or studying or organizing anything to be better prepared to teach. So finally, Hermana Grass said that we'd go home and do that so that we wouldn't be giving up early, but still doing what we needed to do at home. Well, we walk in the door and Sister Wise is trying to put lights on a small Christmas tree and just looked totally depressed and sad. So, we immediately start helping and she gets all cheery and says, "Thank you. I have not felt like putting any Christmas decorations up since my husband passed and having you here is the first year." She told us stories about each ornament and admired the tree the rest of the night. Although we didn't find more people to teach that night, we think the spirit forced us home to be there with her.

 MTC Stuff I wanted to tell ya:

  First, here's a picture of Hermana Wright & I in our silky robes.

  Okays, so finally in the MTC I begged and forced everyone to watch Elder Holland's "The Miracle of a Mission" and finally we did on our last night in class and everyone was enthralled and afterwards it was the most spiritual meeting our District ever had together as everyone shared some pretty personal and cool stuff about serving. Afterwards everyone thanked me and I just told them to thank my brother who actually talks, acts and thinks just like Elder Holland. 

Current Missionary Work

·   Maiah - 28 year old gorgeous girl who started dating a recent (2yr.) Latin convert and noticed that his family had a happiness and wanted to know more so she came to church twice and then the Hermanas before me taught her a week and 1/2 and then she got baptized last weekend. So all of that happened in less than 3 weeks...basically while I was at the MTC. Anyway, we are continuing to teach her and Hermana Grass kept telling me about her and she was a "golden investigator", then I met her and I call her a "gleaming gold" because she is the happiest, most loving person I have met because of the gospel in her life. She and I really click and she actually only speaks english. We are continuing to teach her, but she is really meshing with the branch.

·   Francesca - Early 30's, from Mexico and has 2 young boys. She is very confused why everyone claims to have the truth and she was very interested in the concept of Modern day prophets. I told her that she reminds me of a man called Joseph Smith who was also confused...BINGO! However, she is very angry with God and has not prayed to him in 2 years because she feels that he has not blessed her for leaving her family behind in Mexico. This has been my most spiritual lesson because I was able to answer many of her questions through listening to her and the spirit very intently and answering clearly and concisely. In the middle of her explaining her past, she suddenly stopped and said to me...your gaze is so intense and so loving...you really believe in what you are doing here! That touched her and she is letting us come back. I found out later from Hermana Grass that she has been approached before but nobody could get through to her and having me there, Hermana Grass was amazed that Francesca shared so much and wanted to hear more. We've had a couple more of the same kinds of situations where Hermana Grass can't believe that after chatting with me that they are letting us come back! I am not magic...but of course I instantly feel the love that God feels for His children when I meet them and apparently they can feel that through me, so at least I am doing that right...I'm still getting used to the mission...it is weird...but it is good. Haha!