Faith precedes the miracle

Well we had an amazing and definitely hectic week. Our wonderful young couple were going to be baptized this weekend, originally Saturday, but then we decided to do it Sunday so that it wouldn't be after the general women's conference. But then Friday night, we realized that they would have to wait 2 weeks to be confirmed in Sacrament meeting because of General Conference. So we made a few phone calls (LOTS) and scrambled up a baptismal service and program and planned to have it 9pm after the General Women's Conference. Only the Louetta ward would do such a thing. I love it so much here. Our ward mission leader is so passionate about the work. He told us that we are going to have a baptism every weekend. Whether or not we have someone ready, the font is going to be filled. I think my favorite moment of the weekend was sitting in the Relief Society Room watching the English version of the Women's Conference with a bunch of other missionaries, hearing the ward mission leader sneak into the adjacent baptismal font from the men's bathroom and turn the water on full blast like it didn't matter at all. It was so funny. All the missionaries looked around really confused and I just grinned and stared straight ahead at the TV.  Faith precedes the miracle.

The baptismal service was really nice. We got special permission to stay so late. When the wife came up out of the water, 8 months pregnant, in the largest jumper we had, she squealed, "Ay! Que frio!" and then waited off to the side as she watched her husband get baptized as well. When he ascended the stairs to the men's changing room you could hear her say, "Quiero darte un abrazo!" (I want to hug you!) That is what all this work is about. Just helping families be happy in living the gospel, and have the promise of eternity together. They have been amazing examples of faith to us. We met them 2 weeks ago and they have not faltered in their determination to live the gospel once they felt the witness in their hearts that it was true.

 

The wife told us how she used to ignore the missionaries and hide behind her door when they came knocking and always was irritated by them: "WHY do they keep coming? I will NEVER be interested in changing my religion!" Our miracles are the result of the hard hard work of other faithful saints. And they may never know the fruit their work bore! Never get discouraged! Every effort you make leads to wonderful things!

I don't have more time this week, but I sure love each of you. I have a wonderful new companion who was sent to me to help direct me in what I should do in the future. She is a landscape architecture major. She loves baking and humming to herself, and has red hair and her family lives in Farmington and she is just spring personified. I love being on a mission.

 

 

Transfers 3/24/2014

 

This whole week everyone was asking me if they thought I was leaving. I have been here in Louetta West for 4 whole transfers, 6 months! And have loved every single day. I feel very close to the members here and thoroughly entrenched in the work.  When I would stop to think about it, I just didn't feel like I was leaving, even though all logic dictated that I would be transferred. So I just kept calm and pretended like it wasn't happening. And then last night we found out that Hna Tu'ikolovatu is being transferred and I am staying! I am so happy. If I have learned one lesson over and over again on my mission it is that Heavenly Father grants us the desires of our hearts. My whole entire life Heavenly Father has either miraculously given me the secret desires of my heart or something much better. So I am going to start dreaming big. :) I really like Phill. 4:6 which teaches us to not worry about the future, but realize that you can dream and talk to God about those dreams, and then just wait to see what He deems best to grant you and what how He blesses you even more abundantly than you imagined.

Four transfers, I guess, in the books is a pretty long time in one place, but I still have a lot of fire in me for Louetta West. I am very grateful to still have the privilege of serving these people who I have come to love so much. And that I will get to be here for my birthday! (speaking of which, my address is the same...in case anyone has the prompting to send me birthday mail. Never ignore promptings :))

Our sweet little girl got BAPTIZED! And she got her cake too. I am just so happy that her soul is safe if she continues to live the gospel. And her dad stood and quietly watched the whole baptism and seemed very content and happy. I could tell the Spirit was touching him. I am very happy to see progress with their family. She shared her testimony afterwards, she just got up their and said, "Gracias Jesus por este dia muy muy MUY bonita. Gracias que yo podia ser bautizado. Gracias Jesus" It was so cute. I need to take a video of her because I have never met a child with quite as much charisma.

The miraculous family who we found last week, are all geared up for their baptism next Sunday. The ward threw together a fantastic wedding for them on Friday. It was amazing. Hna Tu'i and I were at the church during mutual on Tuesday and one of the leaders asked us if we needed help for the wedding. All of a sudden 3 other sisters surrounded us and said, "we heard the word help!" We gave them phone numbers and between them all they decorated the entire cultural hall, provided an elaborate dinner, a DJ, and a cake. It was just beautiful. I have never worked with people like them before. It is so endearing. God is so kind to us!

We had a stellar lesson with some investigators last night! The father promised he would be at church next week. It is perfect timing because his one big question of the soul is how we can depend on a prophet in between us and God, and General Conference is going to just spark a fire inside of him. I can't wait! And I get to stay here in Louetta to see it all! Yay!

So that is what is going on in Louetta West. My home away from home. I love these members so much. I can't wait for some of them to visit us in Utah.  Preach My Gospel says that the relationships you develop with leaders on your mission will play a big part in your life, and that is definitely true. I have learned much from serving under these stalwart Priesthood leaders. I am really grateful that Heavenly Father is allowing me to stay here longer and get even closer to them.

I love you all!

 

 

March 17th - One Year!

It is pretty hard to believe I have been gone a whole year. I remember very clearly thinking, "Will time EVER pass? Will March 13th ever dawn again?" And it feels like I thought that last week, and now it is 2014 and I have so very precious little time left in Houston! It is the perfect motivation to give all I can to every moment. I am glad I passed through the middle months of my mission without feeling too comfortable to slack off...thanks to being in this amazing area. We have transfers next week, and oh how happy I would be to stay one more. But oh how exciting it would be to go somewhere new!

Heavenly Father has really been kind to me this past week. I have been trying to put more effort into my prayers, trying to really converse with Him and listen. And as a result I have gotten almost immediate answers. So immediate that if I am not paying close attention, I don't notice them! For example, after planning on Thursday, we realized that we need to find some new investigators who are just ready to accept the gospel.  Our investigators are progressing slowly but surely, but many of them have situations right now that prevent them from truly committing to the church--husbands, schedules, divorces, law suits, you name it. So I prayed about it.

Yesterday at church the other hermanas assigned to our ward brought the most amazing couple with them. They are the parents of a little girl that they taught in November who moved here to live with her Mormon aunt until her parents could get here safely. The parents received some lessons where they were living before and one lesson from the hermanas here and accepted the invitation to be married on Friday (FREE MARRIAGE activity by the bishop is actually going to work!) and baptized the next week. We were in awe of them on Sunday and then the hermanas came up to us and were like, "so um, actually this couple lives in your area.....so could you come with us tonight to have a pass off lesson?" YES we can do that. It was so awesome. They are the sweetest, humblest couple from Mexico. Young parents. The wife is about 7 months pregnant.  They are just giddy about their wedding on Friday, especially because the relief society is making the dinner and there will be dancing. And they are completely ready to accept the gospel. They want the Spirit in their lives as they have seen it in their daughter and their cousins here. As Nancy, the wife, said yesterday, "I want to enter this path because then even the worst of the worst will still be good." It was an immediate, abundant answer to my prayer!  I have a real conviction that Heavenly Father is kind. And He blesses just as kindly, mercifully, and abundantly as we can dream of and he deems wise.

That little 8 yr old, is going to be baptized THIS SATURDAY.  Her mom had to delay it again this week because no one at subway could take her shift. But she worked extra this weekend so that for sure on saturday she will be available. And the super awesome part is that the non-member dad is going to be able to come as well. I have been really impressed with him the few times I have met him, and I am sure their family will become a focus family of the ward really soon. As we left our lesson with them on Friday, the mom clasped my hands and looked directly in my eyes and said, "Thank you so much for the love you give us. Even though we don't deserve it." Funny. I feel the same way.

On Wednesday we promised one of our investigators to start teaching her English if she would start reading the Book of Mormon more earnestly. It was absolutely hilarious. Teaching English to non-native speakers is the best because you are automatically the expert and just feel so smart and helpful and excited about their progress. She works at IHOP so we taught her all the basic conversation tips she needs there: "How are you doing" "What would you like to drink?" "Are you ready to order?" "How is everything" and all the condiments, etc.

When we explained to her what "You too" means, something she always hears, and she practiced it in our conversation, she just laughed and squealed and clapped her hands. And she actually has been progressing more since then! So we have decided to take this English class public. We have some ladies at the Fiesta store that have been asking since December and we decided to take action. So we are really excited about our English class and hope it goes well!

Everything else continues to go about the same wonderful way. We teach a lot of lessons, we have a lot of wonderful members that support us in every way they can. We have a wonderful new ward mission leader who is probably one of the three nephites. He looks down his nose at me through his glasses, just like dad does, and I appreciate that. Also, he tells investigators directly that they need to be baptized and they need to do it now.

I will never forget these things I am learning. I will never forget what it feels like to sacrifice and love. I try to ingrain in my memory the moments of joy, really breathe them in. That has helped my soul a lot in realizing what we are really here for and the things that matter most. We are happy here in Houston. And I can't believe how soon I will be home with all of you.

 

Oranges and Lemons

We had the best service opportunity this week. I felt, last Sunday, that I should go and sit by this recent convert in our ward before relief society and just tell her how impressed I was with her faith and diligence in keeping her covenants. As I got up to go play the prelude music afterwards, she stopped me and said, "I have something to share! There are 2 fruit trees in my backyard that are just loaded with fruit and I need to pick it all and give it away. Will you help me?"

HA! Sometimes God inspires us to do things not to help others but so that we ourselves can receive blessings. It was the best morning of my life. We spent about an hour picking oranges and lemons, eating as we went. Lemon-picking is quite a beautiful experience. As you get all tangled up in the tree, you start to realize that the air actually smells like perfume, and your hands smell like....pine and lemon! and then later your hair smells sweet and fresh. These lemons were so ripe that we could eat them raw without even wincing. What a sweet blessing.

 

We got to go eat dinner again last night with our dear investigators.  This time it was pupusas. So many pupusas. But don't worry. I have mastered the art of avoiding Hispanic pressure to eat too much. I just eat my food REAL slow, and while they are all partying and shoveling down more they don't notice and then they bring out another plateful of pupusas and they say "ALL of these are for you sisters! Eat more! Come on! How many are you at?" and I just laugh and say, "Yeah! Pupusas!" and then they leave again and never know that I snuck away with a perfectly normal amount of food. heh heh heh.

But the real point of the story is, it is just super sweet to be loved so much. As we sat there eating, first all the little girls gathered around us just to ask us questions about our lives and tell us all about theirs. Then, the older daughter came and planted herself next to me just to listen and chat. Then the mother came and sat down in the middle of her daughters and we all just talked and laughed and joked. It felt like a family reunion, and I really felt like I was with my family. The mother once said to us, "You girls have become really special to us. You are a part of our family now. I know that God puts people in our lives for a reason." And that is going to stick with me forever.

Louetta is still doing great. The investigators are still investigating, and we are trying really hard to teach them according to their specific needs and help them progress. Stake conference was all about how the members and missionaries need to work together, and we are excited to see members start inviting more friends to listen, even though they are already doing a fantastic job. We finally convinced our other investigators daughter to come to mutual last night. I have never so blatantly tried to convince someone to do something on my mission. We were pretty much begging her to come, and with every reason she could think of not to we were like, "Yeah.....but just come!!!! If you don't come we'll bring it to you!!!" but I think she is secretly really excited, and the father is going to come too so that we can have a lesson with him at the church. So please if you could remember to pray that everything will go well on Tuesday and she will get scooped up by the kids, that would work wonders for the father.

Have a wonderful week,

Hermana Carter

I never want to stop being a missionary!

 

This week I just keep having moments where we are walking or talking or doing whatever we normally do, and I think to myself, "I never want to stop being a missionary!" It isn't that I love Houston in particular, but I sure love being in the service of my fellow men. And that is what I am coming to realize is the best part. My mission is only training me to sacrifice and serve for the rest of my life. I never have to stop feeling this way! I think of Mom and Dad and the things they do every day that are just pure service, and I am so grateful for the years that lie ahead of me.

Some great things that happened this week:

Hermana Tu'i and I are really getting into the swing of being together. For example, we were knocking doors the other day. We see all the neighborhood black kids gathering to the community basketball court...there's about 40 of them.....with all sorts of sweet afro's and combs in their hair and stuff. So as we are just kind of standing there on the balcony, another kid walks past on his way to play bball, and I was like, "Hey! Are you gonna go chill out, max, relax, all cool?" and Hna Tu'i goes, "Do you spend MOST of your days on the playground?" And then we turn to each other and were like, "were you born AND raised in west philadelphia?" And then we just bent over laughing. He didn't hear any of it. But that is about how it goes out here in louetta west when we are too bored. I really enjoy being her companion. Except for when I remember I am just a straight-laced white girl still. Tongans are a lot of fun.

Also, we happened to notice one of our potential investigators outside the other day when we pulled up and  hurried and helped grab some groceries to carry in. Her house always smells like animals. When we asked if we could explain more about the church she explained how she really has no time, because she had to clean and cook and get everything ready to take to her husband's rancho for the weekend. I was like, "Excuse me? Did you say.....rancho?" and then she started talking about all the animals they have to take out to his ranch and beckoned towards the garage and we went and opened the door and it was FULL of cardboard boxes with chickens and chicks and little baby ducks with their mom duck. I am telling you, Heavenly Father never ceases to fill my days with tender mercies. She even let me feed them all when I explained to her that it wasn't actually service--I enjoy doing that kind of thing. She even offered me some eggs! Then I realized that she had incubators in her living room filled with eggs that are going to hatch soon. She said one day I could come out with her to help on the rancho. It is probably outside of the mission, but the fact that she offered makes me feel that I must have looked pretty good while feeding her chickens. After that I was super understanding that she didn't have time for the missionaries hahaha. We will definitely keep working with her. She likes us even more now!

I love being a missionary. I love this area so much. It is paradise. The ward is amazing. they are always asking us about our investigators, they drop everything to do service or go out with us, and they are completely oriented on missionary work. Yesterday in ward council we started planning the next ward activity: FREE MARRIAGE! by the bishop. hahahaha. yep. we are going to offer to all of our investigators a free marriage! It is quite the common problem here among the hispanic population. You are teaching people with 4-6 kids who have been together for 10-20 years and then you find out they aren't actually married. Sometimes they want to be married but the problem is that they have to get divorced from their first spouse in Mexico first! Other times they are like, "I can't get married to him! What if tomorrow when I wake up we don't love each other anymore?" hahaha. You've been loving him for 14 years......

It is teaching me a lot about commitment and that we are our own agents. If you truly want something, you will do it. There is no "I will try my best...." Do or do not. There is no try. I think a lot of times Satan blinds us to our own agency. People feel that they are victims of fate or that they have no control over the future. If you always want to be active in the church and gain eternal life, then keep your covenants everyday. By our simple, daily choices, we decide who we are and what we achieve.

Sure love all of you! I can feel the support of your prayers.

Also last night Carolina and Kaylyn invited us over for a BBQ with their cousins who are members of the ward, the Alvarenga family. We are talking Mexi BBQ. It was so good. And we were the special guests of honor simply because they love us. Also during the week Carolina and Kaylyn had a "girls night" during which they read a chapter from the book of mormon and watched "The Restoration". ! Doesn't that just make you so happy????

 

Humility

Time just keeps a-truckin here. The weeks fly by, and we keep doing our best to improve ourselves as missionaries and teach with the Spirit and help these people progress. I love this point on my mission because I am no longer so overwhelmed by the work. I understand how it goes, I have lots of experiences with teaching and with understanding how the Spirit works, and I feel much more capable of helping others. I remember one of the hardest parts of starting my mission was having so much desire to do good and be good and not feeling like I knew how to channel all that energy. But that experience has to come with time, so I can't say that I regret anything either. It is really nice to be able to feel like I have always done the best I could, even if "the best" was rather pitiful.

There are several families in this ward, active members, that I love so much. They are really feeling the fire of missionary work and are always asking to go out with us, giving us service opportunities, and inviting us to teach their friends. The other morning we were helping a sick member clean out her house with all of my favorite women, and as we sat talking and working together I felt like I was with Sister Jones and Welch and Mom, just being happy and serving. I wanted Mom to be there so bad and to meet all these women, and then it struck me how strange it will be that they won't be able to understand each other! If I can understand Spanish, you all can too right? It is just very strange to me that I have learned another language all of a sudden (after hours of study and frustration and hard work). Funny how hard things always seem so easy in hind-sight. I am so grateful for everything I have been able to learn so far on my mission, especially the chances I have had to develop Christlike attributes. Right now I am really working on humility, and it is such a joy. Why didn't anyone tell me it was so fun to be humble? haha. I learned this week that it's so much better to look at my mission (and life) as an opportunity to learn, rather than a test of my personal worthiness, and it has lightened so much stress and filled me with much more love. I am trying to ask everyone for help with everything, and because of that I am learning so much, making great friendships, and enjoying my mission much more.

My two investigators both received their baptismal interviews and are ready, but one is unsure if he will have to work Saturday, and the other for some reason just keeps wanting to wait. But the good news is, they are both ready. They have accepted the gospel, they have repented, they have desires to make covenants with God, and that is huge progress that I feel blessed to have seen in them. Hopefully, the first will be baptized on Saturday and hopefully when the other one sees that baptism he will follow in the next couple of weeks. It is really tender to see people open up to the Spirit in their lives. Their countenances truly change and we all feel an outpouring of Heavenly Father's love.

I can't think of many more things to say other than how much I love each of you. I am so grateful to have this time as a missionary. I will cherish my mission for the rest of my life. I will cherish these people as well.

 

Estephens

These are photos of the wedding. Me with Alexandra and her little boy Christian.

Also, A burrito at the taqueria norenita where the members get us free food. I don't think that picture captures the size. It is bigger than my face. Also, did I mention I know how to make flour tortillas. Next goal: tamales. That one is going to require a p-day.

The joke continues:

This week we were having a family home evening with one of the most amazing women I have met on my mission. She reactivated herself and actually just finally married her husband this week so that they are living the law of chastity and maybe soon he will be baptized. We are actually really excited about how much his desires are changing and how the gospel is becoming significant to him as he watches how his wife's decisions are blessing his life. Anyways, she is very strict about doing FHE exactly as it should be done: lesson AND games. So we were playing "Basta" Which is basically scattegories and we had to come up with a name that started with "E". They both speak English and Spanish so we just do it in whichever language we like. The name the wife chose for 'E' was "Stephen". We all were like "Stephen? Are you kidding?" And she was like, "No! Like that Disney channel show  Even Estephens!" hahahahahahaha.

Our area is still just doing awesome. Here are the updates: (I am not sure if I have even told you about all these people because time is so short each week, but they have pretty much been my life since October)

One husband & wife are both scheduled to be baptized on the 22nd of February, but both are a little hesitant about it: "Yeah let's set that as the goal but if I'm not ready then we can push it back!" And something ALWAYS prevents him  from coming to church. But we are trying really hard to help them both recognize the spirit, know what to expect as confirmations from the Spirit, make sure they keep progressing with their commitments, and make sure members are present at every possible lesson. Members are the way the Lord is hastening His work. It is incredible. The investigators progress so solidly and we have no worries about their true conversion when the members are there to share, testify, and be their friends. This ward is amazing because missionary work is their focus. Each member is so willing to go out with us and they are all getting real excited about inviting their friends to learn more.

Another investigator has received all the lessons, kept all the commitments, says she feels the Spirit the most in her life at church, and is fasting and praying to receive "her answer" from the Spirit. But I really hate that phrase because these people have all received their answer! The fact that she feels the Spirit the most at church is her answer! The fact that it all makes sense is her answer! Yet it seems like people need "something more" before they can commit and take a step in the dark. The biggest problem is that I don't think they can even define that "something more" for us. They just "aren't ready yet", they "Need to know more". So we spend a lot of time talking to people about faith, how the purpose of life is to learn so we will never know everything, how baptism is the DOOR to learning and how the gift of the spirit will accelerate their spiritual progress, and promising them all sorts of blessings for faith that I am so glad I know will truly come to pass.

My companion and I were also discussing this morning how people believe in God, they believe they trust in Him, and they always say "Primeramente Dios" (God first), yet they can't make the bridge between their belief in Him and acting according to their belief. They think that their belief in His existence is faith. But faith is acting on that belief. Faith is coming to church even when you have lots of work to do. It is reading in the Book of Mormon and asking if it is true even if you think you are satisfied. But life is demanding, and Satan has filled every nook and cranny with all sorts of ways to lose time. Time is one of the most precious resources Heavenly Father has given us, and a crucial factor of this probation we are living. I decided this morning that my greatest fear in returning from my mission is going back into the world of the Internet, and movies, and good hobbies, that can all be fun and good uses of time, but not the ESSENTIAL things I can do that will bring me and mine joy and eternal life. The two questions that are going to govern everything I do are "Is it bringing me closer to the Lord? Is it bringing me closer to my family?". If not, why am I doing it? All I want to do is love you guys and serve others for the rest of my life. I am so excited for a full life of love and service. Too excited. Sometimes-I-can't-sleep excited.

I love all of you so much. It still is hard to be away from you. But I know that any sorrow I feel now is going to be eternally compounded into joy that I cannot comprehend in the eternities with you!

Have a great week,

Hermana Carter