Week #26 - CRAAAAAAZZYYYYY

Hola Hola!

This week has been CRAAAAAAZZYYYYY! Probably one of the fastest weeks on my mission thus far. It seems like EVERY thing happened!

The weather has been so nice which has really been a blessing since Hermana Howton and I have been on bike week. We had a wonderful zone conference on Wednesday where we got to meet with a lot of the other Spanish speaking missionaries we all gathered around one table to eat lunch. It was crazy packed but it was super fun! I have noticed that this week my comprehension of what is being said has really increased. So I know that your prayers are working and all I have to say is Please keep it up =D 

I am so glad that Sister Bryant got to e-mail you. She is SO amazing! She is really into essential oils she is actually an aromatouch practitioner with douterra! It is super cool getting to talk oils with her! lol I can actually hold my own in that conversation. And she has really been getting my thinking about going into message therapy when I come home... who knows, maybe yes, maybe no.

The area is fabulous! We had both of our investigators with a baptismal date at church! I have had some really amazing spiritual experiences this week with the work. I have really come to know that Heavenly Father is aware of every aspect of our lives and especially this work. We decided to try contacting at the city park, and I was a little timid about it (I have repented already) but hermana Howton made the comment that we would see a miracle if we just went and did it. So we went and it wasn't terribly successful and as we were walking away I had seriously just had the thought, "some miracle" when we heard someone call out to us. It was Francine one of our investigators that we had been having a really hard time contacting because she had been so busy! And we were able to talk to her and continue to encourage her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. I love this area so much and the people here are so amazing I have really been able to feel the Savior's love for them. We have an investigator Rabbit who has been really just struggling with everything going on in her life. And I just felt prompted to share my testimony that Heavenly Father knows each of his children and that she is so very precious in his sight. I can't tell you how amazing it was to truly be an instrument in His hands to share his love. It has been an answer to a priesthood blessing! And that love has really helped my testimony to grow about how much the Savior loves me. 

I love Hermana Howton so much! She has such a sweet testimony and is a wonderful example. She knows her Savior and has been amazing in sharing that testimony and belief with others to help them come closer to Him.

We had a pretty crazy bike week...on Thursday first Hermana Howton's skirt got caught in her bike wheel and got ripped up pretty bad. and then my back tire kind of exploded.... so our bike week quickly tuned into a walk week. And let me tell you how EXHAUSTING walking is! It is super crazy you wouldn't think it would make you that tired but it does! 

I am studying Mosiah 1-5 I have only gotten to chapter 3 but I have really learned so much mostly about how our Heavenly Father has promised blessings to those who are obedient to his commandments and the more exact we are in following the more immediate the blessings. I hope throughout this coming week that I will be able to let go of little thoughts or actions that keep me from keeping a strict adherence to the schedule and to really take advantage of talking with everyone that the Lord has placed in my path. I know that I am in Warren for a reason and to help very specific people and I hope that I become more obedient I will be blessed to know how to better help them come unto Him. 

I am loving my mission!

Hermana Ives

Week #25

Hola padres!

The weather has been so fabulous for the last 3 days! I can hardly believe that February could be this nice. But I am getting a little concerned for July and August. 

Don't you just love lessons with the missionaries? I know I certainly love member present lessons! The members really bring a very sweet spirit with their testimonies as well as a non-intimidating presence as just a regular person. I love the Book of Mormon so much! I have made it a personal goal to read the entire Book of Mormon before my birthday and I have really found some gold nuggets this time through. 

Naw! Valentine day dances!!! That sounds like so much fun! did you get to do any twinkling in the waltz? I know you both have that waltz move down =D

Ok, so I have had a very strong and real testimony of prayer but it has really only gotten stronger as my mission has gone on. This morning my companion prayed that we could share the gospel with someone as we went about our p-day errands....after we has just checked out one of the cash register ladies asked me what exactly it was that we do... I was super surprised having someone ask me about what we do instead of being the first to tell people what we do.... anyways I was able to share a little bit about the restoration and give her a pass along card. I really pray that I didn't mess it up with as surprised as I was.

The area book is SOOOOOO helpful. Couldn't do missionary work without it. I wish I was better at utilizing the area book, progress record, and my daily planner. I guess that all comes with time. 

Wow, Tyler and Laura are really racking up the brownie points for calling aren't they! Good for them! I hope they keep up the tradition! 

Thank you SO much for the CDs! I have been listening to them non stop since I got them! Gotta love new music! And thank you for all of the pointers and thoughts about learning Spanish. 

Oh hey...I just realized that you still don't know who my companion is! Can you guess?!? Hermana Howton and I are companions again! I am so excited I love her to pieces! The Lord welcomed us to Warren because on the first day we made it a goal to focus on referrals and we received 3 before we even left the apartment! =)

Oh Erma's husband Rod now has a baptismal date for March 16th! I can't wait! He is really going to be a huge help in establishing a Spanish branch someday!

Love you bunches!

Hermana Ives

Week #24 - Happy Valentines Day

Hey family!

Happy Valentine's day! Do you know how awkward Valentine Day is as a missionary? Just think about that... yeah... So we will probably not be attending the family Valentines dance....

But I am glad that you and dad will be able to go! I am super excited to start dancing again when I get home! I have really been missing it.

Naw! Super parents! sending me CDs and stamps! Two of my favorite things! Thank you so much I can't wait to get them!

I am glad to hear that Grandma got her letter. I love her so much! 

Mmmmmm...homecooking! That sounds fabulous! I made some hashbrowns, and salsa the other day... that was pretty awesome! not to mention tasty. Dad, you probably would have thought my salsa was wimpy but I will have you know that I put a pepper in it! ...and it may or may not have been called bell...

You are going to spend Easter in Utah? That sounds awesome! savor a little chocolate egg for me! 

This week was pretty good. We didn't have any baptisms this Sunday but we did have 3 investigators at church! that was great. 

So we got a call this morning.... from the APs... yeah I am pretty sad, Sister Smith is being transferred. But I am pretty excited that I get to stay in Warren! I am also a little nervous about how many Spanish investigators we have and how I will now need to translate in Spanish. But I know that the gift of tongues is real ans that the Lord blesses us according to our needs. 

Saturday was a pretty rough day so on Sunday I asked the Elders if I could get a blessing... I am not sure if you have ever felt overwhelmed by a blessing. But it is an extremely amazing feeling. And it really strengthened my testimony about the power of the priesthood and that Heavenly Father is real and that He truly loves each of His children. There isn't a concern that I have had for the past little while that Elder Mulvey didn't touch on. And there is absolutely NO way that he would have known what to say if he was not receiving inspiration through the power of the priesthood, the power of God. It was so beautiful and I know without a doubt that God hears and answers our prayers. 

I learned this past week at Zone meeting that President Petersen does not know how to count...He said he wanted to leave us with 2 invitations...and we left the meeting with 11! As if study time wasn't short enough... now we have a ton of invitations to try and complete and not much time to get it done...super crazy...

Well...I'm not sure what else to tell you... 

I love ya'll bunches and I hope you have a wonderful missionary week!

Love,

Hermana Ives

Week #23 - Happy February

HOLA!!!! 

I can hardly believe that January has come and gone and that this transfer is almost over! It has really flown by and there have been so many great and exciting things that have been happening in the Warren area with this great and maravillosa obra!

Hey your January sounds super productive! Look at you go! Being all missionary minded! That is fabulous! Oh and that reminds me, put Cafe Rio on our list of things to do when I get home! (I can't believe it opened right after I left! lol, the suspense is almost unbearable...not really but I am still excited to have some when I get back!)

We thought that it would be fun and interesting to write each other's families! So we did. Did dad love the graph?!? I thought he probably would. And yeah...I was actually the one who said it is now or never with the pork brains. I just wanted to say that I have done it! And now I can! teehee

Awesome thank you so much for putting some music together, if you could find any Spanish church songs that would be cool...I have all the hymns in Spanish already but some new songs that don't all sound the same would be cool (but don't worry about it...I have NO idea where you would look to find it...)

Ahhh...snow! I miss it so much! I think it is hilarious how everyone dreads the snow. They get a half an inch and practically everything closes down and everyone barricades themselves indoors. 

Yeah time to cook is pretty much a joke... and peanut butter has become a staple...I need to start eating more salads (I bought a bag of precut lettuce last P-day and didn't realize how much I have missed fresh food.) So I know I need to be better and I made a list of fresh foods that I am going to get this P-day so maybe I can steer away from top ramen (I actually haven't eaten any for an entire week. So don't be too worried.)

Mmmmmmm! Home cooked food! That isn't deep fried or from a box! That sounds awesome! my food adventure of the week was Mac 'n Cheese with honey drizzle...pretty much a dare that started with a simple joke...so both me and sister Smith tried it...yeah we can be pretty dumb sometimes...but the taste really wasn't that bad, only the honey made the cheese sauce have an extremely weird texture. But it helped with the swallowing process.

Among other silliness, my companion received a package in the mail a couple weeks ago from her family that had a portable bike pump in it. she quickly discovered its musical capabilities when it is placed on her cheek and them pumped vigorously. So I have been serenaded by her squeaking pump for a week and a half now... she practices almost everyday and she is becoming quite proficient. 

So this week has been pretty much amazing! We had the opportunity to go spiritual harvesting a lot on Saturday and we were able to find 5 new investigators! They are pretty much the elect too, so we are pretty stoked to teach them! 

We actually had a very interesting experience this last Friday... So we have weekly planning on Fridays and we always end weekly planning with companionship inventory. And in companionship inventory we suggest ways that we could become better teachers, missionaries, and more obedient. Well something that I have been working on and will probably continue working on my entire life is speaking up more in all teaching and finding activities. Right after planning we had a lesson scheduled to teach a new investigator. We went to his home and he had a friend over... maybe slightly drunk...(no maybe's, he WAS drunk) But we started with prayer...I have never had anyone tell me that I didn't pray right... so that was pretty interesting but no worries they made sure I had another "chance" to pray at the end of the lesson... anywho, it is super difficult to talk to drunk people. that was pretty much the moral of the story. And he actually refused to allow Sister Smith to testify to him...it was super interesting to see how people can't find fault with the gospel or with truth so they instead turn to find fault in the messengers. I guess what I really learned is that truth is truth and that the Lord is our strength and it is He alone that really matters when all is said and done. 

Learning Spanish is becoming slightly frustrating... especially in Warren and especially in this English branch... So if you have any ideas on how to learn a language or how to love the language I would be more than willing to listen but to try as well. 

Pues... life is pretty great we are hoping to set 3 baptism dates for this Sunday... So if you could keep us in your prayers specifically for that, that would be awesome! 

I love you all so much and I hope that you are staying nice and warm. If you wanted to make me super jealous you would send me a picture of all that 'icky snow'! ;)

Love ya'll so much!

Hermana Ives