Motherhood and Tsunami´s

April 7, 2014 3:35 PM

 Hola Querido Familia Mio,

Well, this week has definitely been interesting. Monday, we got the call for cambios. SOOO I was up packing until the wee hours of the morning, and then had to get up early to head out to my new sector in MACHALA! So I get to Machala and meet my new compy, she's a gringita from Colorado, Hermana Brule, and she's got 7 weeks in the mish! Guess what that means: I'm a MOM! ha-ha Step-mom really, but it's almost the same thing. Anywho, so we go out to work and we don't really have a program for various reasons so we were doing a lot of member and conversos visits. In the last visit,  we see the report of the Tsunami, and how the whole coast of South America needs to be on alert. SOO we head back to the apartment and get a call from the elders:"you´re all going to Santa Rosa". I start freakin out because I'm so excited to go back to my home land, and everybody else starts freakin out because of the tsunami. obviously, I've got my priorities straight. So yeah, we head to Santa Rosita and with my really good luck we stayed in my old house. However there were definitely 10 of us sleeping on 4 mattresses.... so yeah that was fun.

Not to worry, nothing happened in Machala and we came back the next morning safe and sound. Then the rest of the week was pretty normal. We are still looking for people to teach, and we just seem to be in a dry spell, but I'm not giving up hope!! If there is a will there is a way right? RIGHT? 

So yeah, it's been fun to be in a new area, but it definitely was sad to leave everyone in Santa Rosa. I learned so much there and I feel like it's my home away from home, but I know that I will be able to make whatever area I'm in feel the same way. 

OK: conference, I really didn't get to watch it because we were stressing about investigators and all that fun stuff, plus it was in Spanish and when I'm stressin´ my Spanish brain doesn't work as well. So when the Liahona comes out with all the talks, I'll let you know what I liked! ha-ha

Well that's all my fun news! can't wait until next week :)

Hermana Whitmore

TJ´s and Baptisms

March 31, 2014 

Hola Quierido Familia Mio,

This week was a little difficult in the work, which is a little disappointing with conference right around the corner. BUT it's all good, we are keeping our spirits up here in little ol´ Santa Rosita. We had the baptism of Brigette! Por FIN![finally] she is the cutest girl, 12 years old. And she is super pilas, and gets along super well with all the girls in the rama[branch]. I think that she is going to be just fine when we have cambios[transfers] and she has to survive just on the members. 

This week we got a reference from the other zone and this lady is sooo ready. She put her own baptismal date. How awesome is that? She was a TJ (Testigo de Jeovah)[Jehovah's Witness] and came to the church to see if we really worshiped  Joseph Smith,found out we didn't and that we only talk about Christ and all this good and now she's  soo ready to get baptized!!! Her baptism is planned for right after the Sunday conference. YEEHOO! 

It's amazing the difference between teaching people that are ready and truly prepared to learn the gospel and teaching people that need a little convincing. The people I've taught are about half and half. The ones that are prepared, definitely had the spirit teaching them everything. We just had to say the words out loud so that they could understand what the spirit was whispering. It's sooo cool!!! Los demas[the other] are fun to teach too because we get to use the scriptures and guide them to the right pathway to return back to our heavenly father. 

I had the greatest blessing this week to watch 3 of my converts help with the sacrament this week!! AHHH! 2 of them blessed it and the other helped pass it out. OH my word. I almost started crying- it was soo tender. I love being able to see the fruits of this work unfolding right before my eyes! Blessings Blessings Blessings! 

Well that's all I got for you this week folks! Les Quiero MUCHISISISISIMO! 

Tengan una buena semana![Have a good week]