26 August 2013

Hola family!

So much has changed this week! On Tuesday afternoon, the sister training leaders came to our apartment. (Sister training leader is a relatively new leadership position the church created with the influx of sister missionaries.) They told Sister Tajiboy and me that we were going to have emergency transfers. I was going to be sent to another area in the same ward (but not the area that has the apartment in the same building). It wasn't the news we wanted to hear. We really enjoyed our companionship for the two weeks we had it. I'm grateful to be in the same ward. Things are going well with my new companion too. I learned a lot with Hna Tajiboy, and now it seems that there are things the Lord wants me to learn with Hna Maldonado. Every missionary has a different teaching style, different strengths. The scary part is that I might only have four weeks to learn my new area before Hna Maldonado leaves. With all the new sister missionaries who are coming we don't think that we'll both stay in the same area. We don't know what will happen, but Hna Maldonado thinks she'll be transferred.

Tuesday afternoon we worked as usual and in the night I packed. Right now I don't have that much stuff, so it wasn't that hard. I managed to be in bed by 11. But even so, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep because I was thinking about transfers.

My new companion and I are off to a good start. We've taught a lot, prayed a lot, and laughed a lot. We've also eaten a little too much junk, but we're gonna do better this week! She's from Guatemala and almost 21. (Thus far I've had 1 Mexican and 3 Chapinos as companions. Chapino--noun--person from Guatemala.) We have almost the same amount of time in the mission, but she's been in Honduras one transfer longer than I have. She is the first member in her family, but her Mom recently joined the church too. I'm learning that a lot of the Latin missionaries are converts, often setting the example for the rest of the family.

Scripture for the week. Isaiah 55:8
 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

Basically, I was super comfortable where I was. I loved my comp and my investigators, and I loved having more missionaries downstairs. I was happy to stay where I was, but the Lord had other plans. So if the start of the school year doesn't go just how you want, just know that the Lord is giving all of us opportunities to grow.

I love you all so very much. At every moment we are telling people to read the Book of Mormon. I think you all are reading, but just in case you are slacking....read it! I hope you have a great week.

Love,

Hermana Davis

19 August 2013

Dear Family!

Hello, hello. On Wednesday, we had a multi-zone conference. Elder Ochoa (Seventy and also in the Central America Area presidency) came and talked as well as Pres Klein. Elder Ochoa wants us to emphasize the fact that as missionaries we are representatives of Jesus Christ. He wants people to know it both because we declare it and because it is evident in our actions and countenance. He also wants us to focus on teaching by the Spirit, using the Spirit to discern the needs of our investigators and also to discern which people are prepared to receive and act upon our message. He says if we rely on the Spirit we will be more effective with our time and our teaching, but we're going to have to increase our faith. Thus we are back to Gospel Principle number one, which is probably a very good place to start. (When you read you begin with a,b,c. When you preach you begin with faith, repentance, hope, and charity.)

Also, our small miracle of the week: On Saturday, we had to wait in a certain spot for a member to show up before going to one of our lessons. While we were there waiting, a 20-something-year-old named Pablo came and sat down near us. We started talking to him. We invited him to church. We testified to a few key principles of the Gospel. He agreed to go to church. And he actually came! I have plenty of experience with investigators who say they will come to church and don't. When a street contact comes, it's pretty impressive! Sometimes the Lord brings people to the missionaries.

Sunday was ward conference. The six of us missionaries in the ward sang "A Child's Prayer." I doubt we were very musical, but the Spirit was still there, which is the important part.

This week's thought: Doctrine and Covenants 138:56.

56 Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men.

My comp shared this scripture in companionship study this week and it came up again at Ward Conference. Overtly, it applies to church service and missionary work, but it's broader than that. All of us have a spot to help in the Lord's vineyard, and we've been prepared to labor in that spot, even if we can't remember the preparation.

Love you all,

Hermana Davis

12 August 2013

Dear Family,

It's been an interesting week. It's really strange to be in a new area! But I'm still not complaining about the running water. Today, I'm writing on an American keyboard, so I have to readjust to where the punctuation is!

Strange fact: I am now sporting my placa (nametag) on the right. When the new missionaries arrived, all the sisters had their tags on the right. Apparently President Monson wants us to make the change because when you put your right hand forward to shake someone's hand, their attention goes to your right. The Elders will keep their placas on the left, because that's where the pocket is. It is really strange to have the placa on the right now! I can't tell you how many times I have started to point to my left to help someone with my name, only to remember my tag has migrated!

We went to contact a reference last week. We arrived and the house was vacant. It seemed they had moved, so we went to a neighboring house to verify. They had in fact moved, but we introduced ourselves and the husband said, "My wife is a member." So now we have an inactive and her non-member husband to teach. She was baptized in a different ward, so we never would have found this family just by asking in the ward or consulting the ward directory. It was a nice miracle to start off the transfer.

Today, my comp needed to have some dental work done. I've been totally exhausted, so I took an hour-long nap sitting in a chair. Not the best sleep I've ever had, but still nice. We also had a chance to do a little shopping in a city as well. I picked up an inexpensive wheeled suitcase to help with transfers. Right now it's also full of my groceries.

We taught a man last night who had a very interesting question. He wanted to know why, since we have agency, we couldn't pick where we were born. He thinks he might have chosen to be born in Germany. He got to pick to come to Earth, but not when or where.

It's kind of the same with missions. I chose to send in mission papers. But I didn't pick my mission. And with my foot, I had very little say in when I came. Sometimes I think I would have picked somewhere a little less hot, maybe a lot less hot. But I guess the Lord wants me to learn something here! I'm trying to learn it, but it isn't necessarily easy. I really appreciate your prayers and your love. Keep going on the home front. I know you have your own battles to fight there as well.

I like this scripture in Alma 17:2-3.

2 Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God. 

3 But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.

We are in different places and different climates with our own individual challenges, but we are united by the same thing, the Gospel and temple covenants that make us a forever family. I want to know that when we see each other again that we've all been growing together in the same thing.

Love you all!

Hermana Davis

7 August 2013

Dear Family,

Greetings from Honduras! We've made a lot of comments about the problems inherent in using the reply-to-all functionality in email, but I just want to say that for my purposes right now, it's bien macizo to be able to just click reply-to-all because that's what I actually want to do. I'll try to not abuse the privilege. Just so you know, ''macizo'' is Honduran speak for ''really awesome.'' In the dictionary ''macizo'' just means solid. When I first got here, I had no idea what that word or a whole bunch of other words meant.

Monday night my zone leader told me, ''Hermana, tiene cambio'' (Literally: you have change. But in essence: you're being transferred.) Tuesday morning we had our last zone/district meeting of the change/transfer. Those of us who were leaving shared brief testimonies, we took a few pictures, and wrote in people's ''baggies.'' (Baggie-- noun. A journal or notebook in which you write notes and contact info for comps and friends in the mission, kind of like a yearbook.) In the afternoon, our zone met the new missionaries and we went contacting with them. There was a whole mob of us (20ish from our zone and 33 new missionaries). I trioed off with an American sister and a mini missionary from here in Honduras. In our contacting we experienced a bit of everything. One person who had just received a Book of Mormon from some of the Elders who were also contacting asked us to stop and give one to his friend. In another attempt we wound up talking to a Jehovah's Witness who just wanted to contend. Mostly I just watched and was super impressed as my two comps did awesome. The American had limited Spanish, but she made up for it in sincerity. The mini missionary already talked like a seasoned missionary. My main contributions were collecting contact info from one interested person and helping to wrap up the conversation with the person looking for an argument...as well as a bit of testifying. I felt like I learned as much from the activity as the people I was supposedly helping. (Mini missionary--noun. Someone who is serving a brief mission for a few weeks or a few months. They have a tag and everything. I think sometimes people do mini missions while they are waiting for a call or for paperwork. I don't know for sure.) In the evening I went around and said some goodbyes to members, recent converts, and investigators.

Also, as we were gathering at the end of the activity, one of our investigators who was wandering through the park approached me. We know he's struggled with a drinking problem, but this was the first time I'd seen him drunk (or ''bolo''). He was really drunk, and it was kind of scary, because he wasn't maintaining any kind of distance; he was getting right up in my face. I was really grateful for the Elders nearby who stepped into help! Sometimes you just need Priesthood!

This morning we had the change meeting. Guess what? I changed areas, but I'm in the same zone. Today I am writing in the same internet cafe and I'll do my shopping in the same places as I have for the past three months. The area I am in divided into two areas. Hna Petersen and Hna Tajiboy were both in La Paz. Now Hna Tajiboy and I are in La Paz 1 and Hna Petersen and Hna Baltizar are in La Paz 2. And we're neighbors! We are going to have great times serving in the same ward together; I just know it. Guess what else? There is running water in my apartment! I am just about on cloud nine. Water comes out of the faucet in the kitchen and in the bathroom! All the hours of the day! I also hear the shower works too. I'll verify that soon. :)

It's kind of strange to be so very close to my old area and yet somewhere new, but it's gonna be great. By Monday, I should have stories for you about my adventures in my new area.

Scripture of the week: I like the promise that as we strive to come unto Christ, we will have experiences that allow us to testify of the power of God.

Moroni 10:32
Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

Love you all!

Hermana Davis