Man oh man.
Lots of disappointment and a few tears this week... but just know that I am good. I have found peace in the Savior and all is good and I am happy. More next week. Sorry.
Love you!!!!!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Mas fotos!! de las adventuras en La Gomera
Well, I already broke my goal of taking at least one picture everyday... but I´m still trying to take lots, don´t worry.
2317 - My new comp, Hermana Park!
2318 - My old comp, Hermana Angel :(
2319 - My mom, Hna Wetzel, and two sister, Hnas Johansen and Cuellar
2344 - My ugly face. Who knew that I would never have acne probs until my mish? ;)
2348 - Our neighbor who always gives us cocos!!
Love,
Hermana Marin
Monday, August 15, 2011
Changes!!!
You won´t believe... because I didn´t believe and am still in shock... but I´m with a GRINGA! It´s a big deal, because this doesn´t happen with the hermanas in this mission, just when people are training. Sister Park has 14 months in the mish, is from Orem, Utah, and is loving La Gomera. She´s pretty dedicated to Spanish, so we hardly speak english at all.
Hermana Wetzel is training for the third time, but this time my sister is Latina! Cool, huh. Hna Wetzel is still in Antigua and goes home in a little less than 6 weeks :(
I must admit that I´m a tad bit worried about my Spanish. 1- I´m in the coast... and they are not the most correct speaking-speakers, actually the grammar´s real bad sometimes. 2- I´m with a gringa... haha... but the Lord will provide!
There are cool, little things that help me realize the progress I have made with my Spanish: seeing Sister Wetzel, showing my area to a new missionary, being with a gringa again, etc.
Yesterday was a great day of miracles. 2 of the (REALLY) less active members that we visited during the week came to church, the same thing happened a few weeks ago with a different person, too. It´s amazing what a visit can do.
We met a bolo on the street and talked to him for a good while... I gave him some loving chicote... it´s okay. It´s just the second time it has happened. It´s really easy to talk to drunk people sometimes.
There was a PSYCHO storm Saturday night. Not too bad, just TONS of rain and a bit of thunder and lightning and wind. It started around 8 in the capilla, but we had to get home by 9 and by 8:30 it still hadn´t stopped, so we had to go out :) Don´t worry, we got home safely. It´s just that I didn´t have my umbrella (seriously... the ONLY day that I didn´t have it with me), so I got drenched :) And we usually have plastic bags to put our scriptures in, but I didn´t have those either, but I have an amazing backpack and cool book covers, so my scriptures just got a little wet.
We usually don´t knock doors that much, but yesterday we dedicated a little time. One family of a door we knocked let us right in and just started pouring out lots of questions. It was awesome. Hna Park is a little more on the quiet side (very opposite from Hna Angel), so I have been talking LOTS more lately and it´s fun to realize that I can actually do stuff and that I actually have a personality in Spanish. Crazy.
I gave the talk by Pres Monson from the sacerdocio session of general conference to a family that is having a few marital problems right now. It´s so hard sometimes, because we really aren´t the people who can or should be giving marital advice... but the prophets can! It´s an amazing talk.
We are dropping one of the families that we have been working with. Family Cristales. It´s not out of the ordinary to drop people, but dropping this family hurt a LOT more than anyone else has in the past. It´s just so hard to do all you can, truly want the best for people, knowing that our message can change their lives and bring them eternal happiness, but for whatever reasons have to leave them, at least for a time.
It´s amazing how roller coastery the mission is. Don´t worry, heartbreak still happens all the time. I remember talking and writing a lot more at the beginning of the mish how much heartbreak there is, but I don´t do so as much now. I don´t think it´s because there has been less, but tampoco do I think that I am getting used to it... I think it´s because my perspective and faith is changing, for the better. I still have way too much to learn... and I learn lots everyday. I just know that this message is true. I also know that we all have our agency. Heavenly Father truly just wants to the best for us and He has given/does give us everything that we need to return to Him some day. We can´t think for a second that we don´t have a huge responsibility or lots to do.. because we do. It´s not gratis.
Sorry for the tangents.
Love you all!
Hermana Marin
Monday, August 8, 2011
Anyhow...
1938 - a typical backyard where we teach :) We taught/teach Fernando here most of the time.
1950 - the chapel is Sipacate
1970 - Fernando and Presidente Telón (Sipacate branch president - who actually lives in La Gomera, but there isn´t anyone else in Sipacate able to do it...)
1995 - If you look closely, you may just see a real big lizard in our window... and it was not outside.
2028 - BEACH!!! I hadn´t seen one in over 10 months!
2085 - This is what happens when previous missionaries don´t stay organized...
2094 - Our recent convert, Ana, had her bday. It was one of the most humbling experiences... she has never had a bday celebration (and what we did was real small, but she was overjoyed), never received a wrapped present, and had never cut a cake before....She didn´t even remember or realize that it was her bday!!
2119 - Chapel in La Gomera
2089 - We share our backyard (technically our part only is a small part with a pila, but the owners of the house are real nice and let us share, Faustino and Evangelina)... we had a nice lunch the other day under a palm tree.
Really... those pictures are just a taste of life in La Gomera. I have not done any justice. I can´t wait to share all of the great photos and experiences someday... and even drag a few people back to Guatemala with me :)
This week was a tougher one with one of our investigators who was going to get baptized. I have just really been having a tough time understanding the choices of others. I want to be able to help people truly understand the importance of the Gospel... That´s probably the biggest challenge here. Satan just really really sucks. But hope is never lost. Heavenly Father is infinitely more powerful.
But don´t worry, life is good. We went to the beach in Sipacate :)
Tonight, we find out if we have changes. Most likely (but definitely not for certain) Hna Angel will leave and I´ll receive someone else here in La Gomera. I´ll let you know in a week :)
All my love,
Hermana Marin
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Baptism in Sipacate! (Week of 8/1)
Hola hola...
Yep... there has not been one baptism in Sipacate this year. It´s our area that we are only able to go to twice a week, has an attendance of about 15 people, and needs lots more support than what we are able to give.
He´s a niño of 8 years old. His grandparents are members, his mom wants to be baptized, but her husband won´t marry her, so she can´t... so we´ve been teaching him for the past couple of months. He´s the greatest. Yesterday, I helped him pay his tithing (1 quetzal), he gave the closing prayer in sacrament meeting, and he was just all smiles during his baptism! He makes us too happy.
Funny story: the other day we were teaching Carlos and Rosa. Carlos is going to get baptized this Sunday, but his wife still has doubts. It´s the same family that I talked about before... the husband always responds for his wife. We always have awesomely interesting lessons with them. We were teaching them about the Palabra de Sabidurìa (the word of wisdom) the other day. Long story short, near the end she said to her husband "No. ¡Vamos a sequir tomando nuestra cafesito!" We still have big dreams for this family... we´re gonna keep on luchando.
Yesterday, we were visiting a family reference that we had received. La familia Sanchez. When we first started, we only saw one lady, but then a few other people walked in and we realized there were already a couple of people in the room that we hadn´t seen before. So, really there were 5 people in the room. All family. We were mainly talking to the couple (parents and grandparents of all of the rest). By the time we went to say the closing prayer, there were 8 people in the room (still all family members), and when we opened our eyes at the end of the prayer there were 11 family members in the room with us!! They all just kept on walking in. Most of them were teenagers, so I thought they were going to bail out, but they all came in and actually stayed and talked with us. It was awesome.
I love how the families here are all just so huge, most live close to each other (sometimes in the same home, sometimes neighbors, sometimes in the same town, and occasionally some live far away), and they´re always together or getting together to spend time. It´s fantastic.
Life is great. We´re happy, healthy, and trying to be better everyday... even though I can still have my grumpy times... whoops :)
Love,
Hermana Marin
Yep... there has not been one baptism in Sipacate this year. It´s our area that we are only able to go to twice a week, has an attendance of about 15 people, and needs lots more support than what we are able to give.
He´s a niño of 8 years old. His grandparents are members, his mom wants to be baptized, but her husband won´t marry her, so she can´t... so we´ve been teaching him for the past couple of months. He´s the greatest. Yesterday, I helped him pay his tithing (1 quetzal), he gave the closing prayer in sacrament meeting, and he was just all smiles during his baptism! He makes us too happy.
Funny story: the other day we were teaching Carlos and Rosa. Carlos is going to get baptized this Sunday, but his wife still has doubts. It´s the same family that I talked about before... the husband always responds for his wife. We always have awesomely interesting lessons with them. We were teaching them about the Palabra de Sabidurìa (the word of wisdom) the other day. Long story short, near the end she said to her husband "No. ¡Vamos a sequir tomando nuestra cafesito!" We still have big dreams for this family... we´re gonna keep on luchando.
Yesterday, we were visiting a family reference that we had received. La familia Sanchez. When we first started, we only saw one lady, but then a few other people walked in and we realized there were already a couple of people in the room that we hadn´t seen before. So, really there were 5 people in the room. All family. We were mainly talking to the couple (parents and grandparents of all of the rest). By the time we went to say the closing prayer, there were 8 people in the room (still all family members), and when we opened our eyes at the end of the prayer there were 11 family members in the room with us!! They all just kept on walking in. Most of them were teenagers, so I thought they were going to bail out, but they all came in and actually stayed and talked with us. It was awesome.
I love how the families here are all just so huge, most live close to each other (sometimes in the same home, sometimes neighbors, sometimes in the same town, and occasionally some live far away), and they´re always together or getting together to spend time. It´s fantastic.
Life is great. We´re happy, healthy, and trying to be better everyday... even though I can still have my grumpy times... whoops :)
Love,
Hermana Marin
We were almost all healthy (Week of 7/26)
¡Hola hola!
Well, last week, we were both pretty much all cured, but a few days ago, Hna Angel started getting a nice bit of tos (cough) action. She isn´t too bad, but she doesn´t have too much energy and has an awesome horse cough at times. We´ll see how this goes again ;)
La Gomera and Sipacate are great! I´ve been realizing a lot of things that I need to change and improve in the way I teach and be a missionary overall... I know I know... I almost have ten months in the mish and am still trying to get everything figured out... but I know I will not even feel like the missionary I want to be by the end of 18 months... poco a poco and there is always room for improvement. I am learning though. Before, when I had the realizations of the ways I needed to change, I felt bad about myself and what I was doing, but now I see it more as a good thing. We must realize and face our weaknesses and challenges in order to improve. It´s the only way.
I´ve also been thinking a lot about our desires lately. Everything starts with our desires... our thoughts, actions, faith, etc. I´m trying to figure out how we can help people with their desires. If someone doesn´t have desires to change, they won´t. We can´t force anyone to change their desires...that´s the tough part I have been faced with lately.
Hope all is well and all are happy!
Love,
Hermana Marin
Well, last week, we were both pretty much all cured, but a few days ago, Hna Angel started getting a nice bit of tos (cough) action. She isn´t too bad, but she doesn´t have too much energy and has an awesome horse cough at times. We´ll see how this goes again ;)
La Gomera and Sipacate are great! I´ve been realizing a lot of things that I need to change and improve in the way I teach and be a missionary overall... I know I know... I almost have ten months in the mish and am still trying to get everything figured out... but I know I will not even feel like the missionary I want to be by the end of 18 months... poco a poco and there is always room for improvement. I am learning though. Before, when I had the realizations of the ways I needed to change, I felt bad about myself and what I was doing, but now I see it more as a good thing. We must realize and face our weaknesses and challenges in order to improve. It´s the only way.
I´ve also been thinking a lot about our desires lately. Everything starts with our desires... our thoughts, actions, faith, etc. I´m trying to figure out how we can help people with their desires. If someone doesn´t have desires to change, they won´t. We can´t force anyone to change their desires...that´s the tough part I have been faced with lately.
Hope all is well and all are happy!
Love,
Hermana Marin
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