SHAWN WAS BAPTIZED

Hello friends, family, the young, and the old (looking at you Grandpa Bert ) I hope that all is well in your lives. This week was once again full of miracles. The largest one was that Shawn was baptized! He is 20 years old and has been doing so much to change his life. He faced a lot of opposition the week before his baptism and at one point we were going to postpone the baptism for another week. BUT SHAWN HAS MADE IT TO THE WATERS OF BAPTISM! This is something with eternal benefits and I could not be happier for him. He really pushed through some of the hard times and held true to the things that he did know. He knows the Book of Mormon is true and that this was a promise that he knew was needed and that he wanted. This is Shawn after his interview. It isn't the best picture but  I like how happy he looks in it. 

This is Shawn at his baptism he was baptized by Cesar who has been an amazing member to help Shawn get to where he is now. Being a missionary has helped me to realize the importance of members in the missionary work. There is so much that we need to do as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I encourage each of you  to fast for your own personal missionary opportunity and then to ACT on that opportunity. Ask yourself what you can do to move the work of the Lord Forward. (and how you can use the Book of Mormon to help you ((That's why we have it)) ) 

A little more about Miguel and how he is doing. He received the Gift of the Holy Ghost this last Sunday and the blessing after was so pure and beautiful. The spirit was so strong and he sat in the chair and cried for a little bit afterwards. He is the most pure and humble man. MEEK he is a meek person. When we told him he couldn't drink coffee he said, "Is that a commandment?" we said "yes" and he said "Tambien I'll do it!" he has always been ready to keep the commandments but just wasn't sure what all of them were. He was really one of the people who were kept from the truth because they knew not where to find it. It is an honor to teach him and to see him grow as a child of God and to have his own spiritual moments. 

MIYITO!!!!!!!!!!!! Miyito is doing as well as always he has been loving reading/watching the videos of the children's book of Mormon on the app and has been a wonderful member missionary. He comes and walks with us still and has introduced us to probably 20 of his cousins that live near him and is helping one of his cousins come to church next Sunday. The Gospel and Jesus Christ has really changed him and he is one of the happiest people I know now. It is again an honor to have him in this area. He is a really good missionary and calls us sometimes to remind us that we have appointments with some of his cousins for later that day. 

Thank you for all your love and support and I hope that your lives are well. Keep on serving the Lord in your area of the world. Have a wonderful week and GO FIGHT WIN! The Church is still true, everywhere you go. I hope that you are able to find a way to share the gospel with your family and friends. GO TO THE TEMPLE! I really miss the temple and I am so excited that we will have one in Puerto Rico soon. 

Reading Material for this week. Go read Recognizing the Spirit in Preach my Gospel. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/preach-my-gospel-a-guide-to-missionary-service/how-do-i-recognize-and-understand-the-spirit?lang=eng

For the ward:

Hello Riverton 17th Ward! My cute little island of Puerto Rico says Hello! First, the church is still true, God still loves his children, and go to the temple. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and our greatest tool in doing missionary work. If you have friends, family members, or loved ones who are struggling or who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, use the book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is the key to resolving doubts and building faith. It teaches the gospel of Jesus Christ simply and powerfully. I would encourage the ward to find a way to use the Book of Mormon to strengthen the ward as a whole and as individuals. We have been asked to read the book of Mormon everyday and to always be building our faith through its precepts. One of my favorite promises in Preach My Gospel  says, 

"Rely on the promise in Moroni 10:3–5. Every person who sincerely reads and prays about this book can know with certainty of its truthfulness by the power of the Holy Ghost. Do all you can to help people:

• Read the Book of Mormon and ponder its message concerning Jesus Christ.
• Pray to God with faith in Jesus Christ to receive a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration.
• Pray sincerely and have real intent, which means that they intend to act on the answer they receive from God.

You too should apply this promise regularly to strengthen and renew your own testimony of the Book of Mormon. This renewed testimony will help you maintain a firm confidence that anyone who applies this promise will receive the answer."

If you have not applied this promise recently in your life please do so. Please ask again to know if the Book of Mormon is true. Always use this promise. He is here to strengthen your faith and your testimony. I know that we are living in a time that is hard and confusing. To the youth in the ward I encourage all of you to prepare to serve missions and to prepare by reading the book of Mormon everyday.  This has been the best decision of my life to serve a mission. I miss my family. I miss my friends but the love and joy that comes from sharing the gospel with others overcomes every difficulty in the mission. We don't have time to be casual with our reading of the Book of Mormon and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Build up your testimonies now. I love all of you so much. :) 

Hello :)

I do not have a lot of time this week to write out a lot but we did have a baptism this week for a man named Miguel. :) He is the one next to me. He is so amazing and has gone through so much. He was only held back from the truth because he knew not where to find it. We met him 3 weeks ago and now he is baptized :) I cannot explain the spirit that was in that room even though there were children crying and in was SO HOT and humid. But the spirit can triumph over all. 

 

The invitation for this week is to fast or pray for your own missionary experience and to look and find how you can move forward the work of the Lord. I love you all :) I am also looking for some good conference talks so if you all have some please send me your favorite talks :) We went on a hike this morning and here are some pictures. And a picture of my current zone :)

 DSCN0625.JPG

 DSCN0633.JPG

 IMG-2383.JPG

"THAT's PRETTY NEAT"

First, I have the best companion ever. Second, I have the best companion ever. This week we have been learning and teaching each other new phrases in Spanish and English. My companion now knows how to say "That's Pretty neat", "Nature walk", and "This is an aspen, you can tell by the way it is"  I feel like I have really fulfilled my purpose as an amazing companion. I still burst out laughing every time we walk by a tree and she says, "This is an aspen. THAT's PRETTY NEAT" She is the best companion. HERMANA PAREDES IS SWEETEST! She also made some Peruvian food for me and two other hermanas this week. She is wonderful.

This week we had some amazing miracles. We have 4 people on date to be baptized and this weekend we should have a baptism for a man named Miguel  He is the one in the middle of the picture below. We taught him about temples this week and He LOVED IT! I am really excited to see him enter into the waters of Baptism this weekend. He has gone though a lot in his life and he has had some amazing faith by jumping all into the gospel with his whole heart, might, mind, and strength. 

Some updates on our recent convert Miyito :) he wanted to be a missionary this week so we took him out contacting with us and these are some pictures of him walking towards us from forever away. When he finally got to us he was so tired and he said, "Being a missionary is a lot of work! WHEEW I am tired!" But he went out and walked with us for 3 hours and helped us talk with some of his family and cousins in the area.

We also taught Miyito how to tie some Ties :)  (The best that we could) These ties were donated to him by some amazing members and it has really made him feel like he is loved by the members in the ward. This is what it means to have no poor among you. We had a lot of fun taking pictures with are new tied ties and A quick shoutout to all the friends in high school and cousins in my life that taught me how to tie a tie. I know it is not the best and I probably did it wrong but now Miyito has some pre-tied ties an he comes to church looking pretty snazzy 

 

There are always so many things to talk about and so little time. But we have seen miracles and it is good enough to say that when you ask for something from God he will give it to you if it be through faith in Jesus Christ. He really is looking out for the people here in Puerto Rico but the people here in Puerto Rico are looking out for each other and this is how we are seeing miracles. The ward members and recent converts are really stepping up to get ready for the temple in Puerto Rico. They will have a temple but now they must fill it with people. 

When was the last time you reached out to the missionaries to see if you could help them with a member presence? or when was the last time you shared your beliefs with someone who has not heard of the Gospel or doesn't know how much Heavenly Father really does love them. 

I really do love the people here. I would encourage people to go on a mission if it is an option for you. It is worth it. But it is also worth it to live the gospel. Please live the Gospel and LET Heavenly Father bless you and give you the peace that comes with living the Gospel. 

The Church is still true. Heavenly Father still loves his children. GO FIGHT WIN

Revelation, Grace of God, Weaknesses

Jacob 4:7-8 "The Lord God Showeth us our weaknesses that we may know it is by his Grace and his great condescension unto the Children of Men that we have power to do these things 8. Behold great and marvelous are the works of the Lord, how unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that a man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the Revelations of God"

This week I learned a lot about what it means to really rely on the revelations of the Lord. Prayer is a powerful thing and there are a lot of things that we do not know and will not know for a long time. But revelation is such a wonderful thing and I loved this quote from James E. Faust, Communion with the Holy Spirit, that says "If worthy, we are entitled to receive revelation for ourselves, parents for their children, and members of the church in their callings. But the right of Revelation for others does not extend beyond our own stewardship"  As a missionary I am able to receive the revelation as to how best teach the people I am teaching within the standards and principals of the gospel. I am entitled to that as a missionary. The hard part is doing my part and asking for it. This week I had to try really hard to pray for the revelation necessary to help the missionary work progress further in this area. Through the Grace of God he decided to show me a lot of my weaknesses instead and really let me know that I can't do anything without him and his power. And after he let me see how really bad of a teacher I really am then he helped us out a ton. We have three people on date to get baptized this month and one of them is named Miguel. I am really excited for him. He is the best friend of Talito who is a new convert that drives everyone we are teaching to church every Sunday (Thank you Talito!!!!) This is Talito on the right and Miguel on the left. this is the night that Miguel accepted a baptismal date!! 

And update on Miyito who was baptized last week and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost this week but he received a lot of support from the ward and from one member in specific that I want to give a shout out to. Hermano Toro went out of his way to buy Miyito new clothes to wear to church. Miyito is a little slow and does not have the best living conditions and I have never seen such love from a ward before. Miyito and Hermano Toro are amazing friends now and when the scriptures talk about not having any poor among you I am going to think about Hermano Toro now and how to went out of his way to go visit this new member and make sure he felt like he was apart of the ward and looks like it too. 

We also found a Marcos Pizza in our city 

Wilking

BAPTISM!

I was transferred into Toa Baja and we had a baptism here! His name is Miyito :) He is about 40 years old but understands a little more on the level of a 12 year old. He is so pure of heart and the members help out a lot on getting him to church. One thing that I really do love about teaching Miyito is that the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. It does not matter if you are the smartest person in the world, if you are homeless on the street, if you have a pure heart and faith in Christ the gospel of Jesus Christ can be taught to you. Miyito is a wonderful example of being pure in heart. He is aware that he has a hard time understanding things and so he will call us every once in a while to read us the ingredients in the food he is going to eat in order to make sure he isn't breaking the word of wisdom. He is a wonderful child of God and it was amazing to see him enter into the waters of baptism. I love him so much. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is simple. Have faith in Jesus Christ. Have faith that he is the Savior of the world and that he is here for each of his children no matter their circumstances. Compared to God we are all the same.

A little bit about my comp: She is from Peru and she is the most hard working person. Im exhausted. BUT! She is an angel :) I LOVE HER SO MUCH! She has been out for 7 months and I am pretty sure she is the best gospel teacher in the world. Sometimes I sit in the lessons and think, "I knew that... but the way you explained it makes me feel like I just learned it with so much more clarity" She is incredible. This is going to be an amazing transfer in Toa Baja :) 

It has rained on us every single day here and I don't remember what it is like to be dry. I LOVE IT! We got stuck in a rain storm where I couldn't see my hand in front of me and we had to run into this house and we were able to teach the Restoration to this wonderful Joven. Once we finished the prayer the rain stopped. 

IF people are wondering....The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints is the Church Christ established in preparation to the second coming.  God loves you. He loves ALL his children. Jesus Christ Lives. 

Have a wonderful week :)

Goodbye Guayama

Our last Frappe (Just a smoothie) in Guayama with some amazing members (Jenny and Hermana Andujar)

Hermana Peredes

Miyito at his Baptism

Our first night together :)

TRANSFERS! I'm the new AP!!

There has been a change in leadership around here and our president has decided to call me and another sister to be the AP's for the Mission president's wife.

Jokes. That is not happening :) I'm going to Toa Baja with Hermana Paredes! This is the baby area of Hermana Boston's and she has given some good tips on where to go and who to talk to :) I love transfers! I will be leaving my beloved Guayama :( the people in this ward are some of the most amazing people I have ever met! There is Maritita Pellot, Jenny Andujar, Devon Benincosa, Elcita!! Los Marreros! And so many more amazing members! It is very much Zion here. The members here have been an amazing example to me of faith and diligence. These members do so much for the missionary work and it has really inspired me. About 90% of the ward is made up of converts and they have the most amazing stories of true conversion. These people have been through it all. They have had to leave their families in order to find their faith but they have blessed their families more by putting God first. It is such a testimony builder to me. 

This week has been an eventful one and it was hard saying goodbye to the members this week. We found some amazing people and there is a ton of potential. The elders in our district had a baptism that we had the opportunity to help out with. It is so special to see someone enter into the waters of baptism and to feel the spirit that is there. I love being a missionary. 

We found an iguana on our front porch yesterday and took some pictures with it and then took it to a safe place to be free :)  I hope you all enjoy them :) He was a little tender mercy for the day that was really needed :) 

Candle of the Lord

https://www.lds.org/study/ensign/1983/01/the-candle-of-the-lord?lang=eng  

I want to write a little bit about the Spirit. The third member of the God-head and what he does for us. My writing is not the best and I would encourage anyone who wants to learn more about the Holy Spirit and who he is to use the link above to learn more. 

One of the best things about being a missionary is having the opportunity to invite people to feel the spirit more in their lives. Seeing people have their first encounter with the spirit is one of the most beautiful things. Last night we taught this wonderful family. We had an amazing lesson about the Restoration and the spirit was very strong. I invited them to take a second and recognize the differences that they were feeling at that moment. I invited them to ponder about what they felt inside. I then invited them to write it down tonight. After a moment of pondering we asked them to share with one another their feelings. The young daughter said that she had felt lost and tired for the past few days and had not slept well for the last 3 nights because of anxiety. She then explained that she felt safe, calm, and no longer lonely. The mother said that she felt refreshed. As if she had just come home from a long trip and things seemed familiar. The father said he felt like he just walked out of a darkness of mist. I don't know what the Lord has in store for this family but it was a humbling experience to listen to them describe the feelings of the spirit. I cannot imagine my life without the help of the spirit in every moment. I know that this Church is true and that there are people out here and in every part of the world that are being prepared and ARE prepared. We only need to open our mouths and share the knowledge that we have been given. Everything that we have is a gift.

1 Timothy 4:14-16 

14 ^aNeglect not the ^bgift that is in thee, which was given thee by ^cprophecy, with the ^dlaying on of the ^ehands of the ^fpresbytery.

15 ^aMeditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy ^bprofiting may ^cappear to all. 16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both ^asave thyself, and them that hear thee.

I am so grateful for the gifts I have been given in this life and it is an honor to use them to share them with other Children of God. Please read the link above. Study it and change what you need to change to have the spirit with you always. 

Fun facts, We have not ever bought apples or mangoes but we have 2 drawers full in our fridge. We received 23 mangoes on Sunday alone. I love mango season. The Lord blesses his missionaries and it was fun carrying 23 mangoes. 

We had a great lunch by the beach with Jenny Andujar. She was a missionary in Utah and she got home about a month ago. She is always coming to our lessons and I love her so much! She drops everything to help the work move forward. Thank you my dear Jenny!!