February 16, 2015 Happy Late Valentines Day

Haha, I didn´t know what to title this weeks letter and Valentine´s day just passed so I figured I would just put what I put for the subject line haha. Well, speaking of which, how was your Valentine´s Day everyone? Mine was pretty exciting! My companion and I went and saw a movie with a couple of JAS (young single adults) here in the ward and we ate chocolates and popcorn. It was a really fun day :) haha nah...we didn´t do anything but preach the gospel and hike mountains ;) oh! I did get a pair of shoes...for free! A less active family gave them to me! They are brand new and black with a lot of sequins (grandma Lee, you would love them. Maybe if they are still in good condition I will give them to you when I get home because they are a little bit big for me....I think they are like a size 7 1/2 or 8...) But yeah it was really really nice of them to do that for me. 

We were able to contact a lot of our references this week and I felt super awesome about it because we contacted 14 references and found 7 new investigators!!! Now the trick is to see how many of those 7 are going to actually progress....that is our biggest challenge right now. We have no progressing investigators and no one wants to accept a baptismal date or come to the church on Sundays haha. It´s a little frustrating but we are working on having more faith and hope in Christ and we keep working hard so that we can be doing our part. 

Hey, sorry that I have no more time. We went to Puebla today because my companion had an interview with tht President and we live really far from the offices so...it took a long time to travel there and we still have to go to our area...we are writing in cholula right now haha. But I want you guys to know that I love you all and I am really loving it here in the mission! It is the best thing that I have done up to this point in my life and I am learning so much! I will send more pictures next week when I have more time. Thank you for all your love ans support and for your thoughts and prayers too! It all means a lot to me! 

The only thing I can think of off the top of my head to share with you this week is...read chapter 11 in Hebrews this week and meditate the importance of faith in your life and how you can develop more of it :) Love you all! 

Love always,

Hermana Walker

P.S. I learned the song that they sing at birthdays this week and also the song that they sing when they do piñatas so when I get home we were all gonna do more piñatas and I am going to teach you the song that goes with it :) And I am singing "Las mañanitas" for you guys on your birthdays too. It´s gonna be a new tradition ;)

 

February 9, 2015 A Week full of Great Meetings

Well, so as you can see, this week we had a whole bunch of meetings....and so our numbers were a tad bit sad...they were really sad actually haha, not gonna lie. But it´s alright because we still tried and we still worked really hard...we just had to spend a lot of time in meetings and then nobody was home haha so that puts a damper on things as well. First of all, we have two wards that we have to visit and support and strengthen so we have to meet with two different ward mission leaders on two different days of the week. We also went to ward council with the ward Ixtazihautl and we had our zone conference and interviews with the Mission President this week so...it was pretty much a week of pure meetings haha. But! The interviews were amazing!!! We always get to have a capacitacion with the Assistants to the President and they teach us a principal that they think we need to most or something like that. Well, this meeting is the thing that called for our mission calls (Thanks aunt Cindy for sending it to me. I was really grateful that it was in my inbox when I checked, and I know my mom is grateful as well haha). But anyway, in this meeting I felt the Spirit so strong! We watched several video clips and one of the videos was a bunch of short clips put together of missionaries opening their mission calls. I cried haha. It was really beautiful :) (not the me crying part, the mission call part). After that, we all took out our mission calls and we went around the room, each reading the first paragraph of our calls. When it was my turn, I started crying before I even read mine haha which I thought was really interesting because I didn´t cry at all when I opened it for the first time....but in this moment I was really touched with the Spirit and since I am actually a missionary right now, my call means more to me than it did when I first received it. I understand what it means to be a full-time missionary. I understand what it feels like. I understand all the work that it is. I know how it feels to be a full-time representative of my Savior Jesus Christ and what it means to wear my name tag over my heart with the words "La iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos días" on it. In this moment, it hit me really hard just how much I love being a missionary and just how grateful I am to be able to be here and to be able to serve. I don´t know how to explain all the feelings that I had in this moment, i can just tell you that it was something really beautiful. In my mind time like fast forwarded to the day that I finished my mission and I was asked to take off my name tag...oh man....I started crying in real life when this was happening in my mind. It is going to be so hard to take it off. I am a little scared for that day to come...but at the same time I know that it has to happen because I need to move on with my life after and I know that Heavenly Father wants me to keep growing and keep progressing, I just have to do it without the name tag. But that time is a long ways away luckily so I don´t have to think of that right now :) 

My interview was super awesome becuase President Stellmon invited me in and then asked me one question, to which I gave my answer and when I finished he asked me if I wanted to know what his thoughts were (in regards to the question he asked me) and I said, "yeah". He then proceeded to tell me his way of thinking and his expectations of me and the potential that he sees in me and all that. He spent the whole time talking to me and I didn´t really get a chance to talk much but, it was incredible because everything that he said was an answer to a question or doubt that I had in my mind and so, everything that I wanted to ask, he already answered! It was amazing! I felt the Spirit in my interview as well. I was able to get a new perspective and set higher goals and change my sight so that it looked more into the future and more on the eternal aspect of things and not just for every change (like every six weeks). I was edified a lot and given a lot of animation :) It was awesome! I know that my mission President was called of God and that he receives revelation for all of us missionaries here in Puebla. I know that he sets inspired mission plans and goals for us to accomplish and that he cares about every one of us individually. He always tells us that he and sister Stellmon are only here to save our souls. That is his job here. I know that that is true and that this is his main goal. I know that he wants the best for me and he wants to help me bring salvation to my own soul. He has great expectations of me, many times they are higher than I have of myself. He knows the potential that I have and he wants to help me get there. Just like my Father in Heaven. 

I learned a lot in this week that strengthened me spiritually. It was a really beautiful week! Even though our numbers were really sad and our one baptismal date fell through and we don´t have a single investigator progressing right now...it was still a great week because I learned a lot, I was humbled a lot and I was able to feel the love of my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ.

I know that this church is true, without a doubt. I know that every principle that we go out and teach everyday is the truth and that it is undeniable and I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and is another testament of Jesus Christ. I know that Our Heavenly Father knows us each personally and perfectly and that he is always there to comfort us and guide us so that we can become perfected in Christ and return to live with Him for eternity. I know that the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ is real and that is the power to heal, to forgive, to become better, and to break the bands of death. I am so grateful for the atonement in my life and to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am thankful for this knowledge that I have and for my testimony of the restored gospel of Christ on the earth today.

I hope that you all have a great week and that you can search for a spiritual experience this week so that you can feel the love of God more in your lives and you can keep adding oil to your lamps of testimony like the five wise virgins did. I love you all! Keep being awesome! :)

Love always,

Hermana Walker

Me and Hermana Lara finally at the pyramids - A couple of days before she went home from her mission! :)

Sunday Ritual- YM dressed as devils walking the streets making weird noises - They do this every week!

February 2, 2015 It's a Miracle

Haha ok well maybe the subject line is a tiny bit exaggerated...but it really was like a small miracle for me that this happened...

So, this week we had a lesson with one of our investigators that has accepted a baptismal date for the 21st of this month. Her name is Maleny and she is 16 years old. She lives with her boyfriend Brian, who is also 16, in his house with all his family (aunts and uncles and his mom ets..). Anyway, she and Brian are both really shy...it was really hard to have lessons with them because they both spend like the whole time looking down and they glance at each other when we ask questions and laugh and like, I don´t know it was really hard...so we have been praying a lot lately that we could have more love for her and that she could feel our love for her and that we could have more trust and confidence with her. Well, this week when we went to see her (actually I think it was yesterday) she actually laughed more with us and she answered our questions without looking at Brian first and she had her head up for a lot of the lesson instead of hanging it down and looking into her lap! It was amazing!!! She made a ton of progress and we were super excited!! Also, she told us that she and Brian have plans to get married either the 12th or 17th of this month and her date is for the 21st so if she can just read the things we leave with her from the Book of Mormon and if she can come to church every Sunday until her date, she can still be baptized! I don´t know, for me it was a Little miracle :)

Another miracle that we had was that we were able to have five new investigators again this week! It is amazing how the program of ¿Cómo se llama? Works! (Our Mission President told us that he wanted us to use this in our lessons) and it totally Works! Basically we just ask the members, less actives and investigators "¿Como se llama su vecino?" or "What´s your neighbor´s name?" and we ask about their families and all that until we receive a bunch of names! Then we go and contact them :) And we find a ton of new people to teach every week :)

Oh! also we found a new investigator (well, he´s an old investigator of other missionaries but he is new for us so he counts) but he knows EVERYTHING!!! He has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and the Restoration and everything! He was quoting things from the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants and all that...I was blown away!! I was sitting there all innocent thinking "Holy cow!! He´s perfect!!! He´s gonna get baptized!!" and then there was my companion on the other hand "Nope. This guys a member. He´s excommunicated." hahaha!! We had completely opposite opinions about him. But I was right! He isn´t a member! And we have plans to ask him and his son-in-law to be baptized this week. (not that they will be baptized this week-we are going to ask them this week. Sorry, I am not writing very clearly today haha).

Um, what else.... we had two mice in our house and caught them with those sticky traps! And we put peanut butter on the traps because I remembered that dad did that when we had mice in our house. It worked like a charm! (Thanks Dad! :) But who could blame ém? Peanut butter is enticingly delicious! ;) Well, Heidee and I love it a lot... I know there´s a lot of people who don´t like it...

Oh yeah, we also have another investigator who is super excited about the church! Her name is Guadalupe but we call her Lupita :) She wants to enter the temple haha! But her husband told her that she can´t yet because she isn´t baptized... she can´t get baptized because she isn´t actually married to her husband and he isn´t divorced from his wife...yeah it´s a bit complicated....there´s a Little bit of a problem with the law of chastity here....and I was studying that last week and it is really bad to disobey this law....but I don´t know how to teach it in a way that they understand how serious it is.... but yeah, Lupita loves the church and she likes to learn and read and she really wants to enter the temple because she told us that it looks beautiful on the outside and her mother-in-law told her that it is even more beautiful inside. So she is super excited and she´s a really good person and has a lot of potential as an investigator!

I went to the colonia this week which is another part of our área. (our área is HUGE!!!) The path to get to the colonia is like hiking. Literally. It is a Little dirt path among trees  and bushes but not only that-it´s dang hard work to hike! It is super steep going down and super steep going up...and it´s long...it´s like hiking up a gorge... the colonia is on the other side of the gorge haha so we live in Ixtaxihuatl on one side of the gorge and we have to walk through the trees and shrubbery to the other side of the gorge. It´s crazy!! :) I took a picture but it might be hard to tell how steep it is and all that...just believe me when I tell you that there are some days when I want to die...I don´t know how my body can make it through the day without killing over and how I am not sore the next day haha. It´s a miracle!

Alright well, apparently this computer doesn´t love you guys because it won´t let me upload my potos haha...so you will have to wait until next week and I will bring the cord and try again because it doesn´t like my memory...

Well, I shared a lot of things about the mission/the work I am doing in the mission (for once haha) but I hope that you guys have a really great week! I love you a lot and I am really thankful for all you love and support! I have a scripture for you all :)

Moroni 6:4 :) I want you to read it and apply it to your lives this week...and actually for this whole month since it would be really hard to only apply it for one week...

It talks about new converts to the church and like, our responsibilities as members of the Church. But I also thought that it could apply to our less-active brothers and sisters. There are a lot of things that I can take from it as a missionary but also as a member of the church and it is something that I am going to work harder at when I get home.

I hope that you can all read it and ponder it during this month and that you can find ways to apply it to your lives :)

This week my testimony of the Plan of Salvation was strengthened because we taught it a lot this week and I was able to feel the Spirit distinctly testifying to me that this plan is true. I know that God created the Plan of Salvation because he loves us and wants us to be happy. I know that every part of the plan has a purpose and that it´s order is perfect because every step makes perfect sense. I am so grateful for the chance I have to be here on the earth to receive my body and to have experiences that help me grow. I know that the fall of Adam was necesary in order to fulfill God´s plan and I know that Adam truly did fall so that we could have joy because if he never fell, we would never be able to come to earth, we would never know the sweet from the bitter, the good from the bad. We would never understand what it feels like to be happy because we would never feel how it feels to be miserable. If we never came here, there would be no reason for a Savior because there would be no imperfection nor people on the earth to save. Our Heavenly Father is intelligent above all and He knows us perfectly and he knows what we needed to be able to become like Him. That is why we have this marvelous plan of Redemption-so that we could be redeemed from evil and sin and return to live with Him in His kingdom of glory. I know that these things are true and that I am a part of the true góspel on the earth today. There is no doubt in my heart or my mind. I share this testimony with you guys in the name of my Savior Jesús Christ, amen.

Have a fantastic week! It´s almost Valentine´s Day! Do something special! :) I love you all!

Love always,

Hermana Walker

 

January 26, 2015 Hill Climbing and Two Funny Stories!

Hey everyone! 

So I am now in my second area called Nealtican :) We have two wards, one that is above and one that is below. The ward above is called Atexca....c... haha I don´t know if there is another c at the end because I have seen it written both ways but you say it like this: uh-tes-cah :) The ward below has a super weird name and I don´t know how to say it and I have seen it spelled a few different ways but this is the way my companion told me: Ixtaxihuatl :) haha have fun with that one :) um and so basically I am in another pueblo (small town) it is not a city :) AND!! Grandma Lee would hate it here because...remember that "huge" hill in Daybreak we made her walk up that one time? Yeah well my whole area is giant hills :) The streets are super steep. It´s basically like mountain climbing all day everyday in skirts :) It´s awesome :) haha the only bad thing is when they give us a ton to eat because we have to "hike" the whole rest of the day and we can´t breath or walk well when we are filled to the throat with food...not fun! Luckily that hasn´t happened very many times :) Oh yeah and it is really close to Cholula (my other area) I think it is like...20-30 minutes away or something like that. But I´m not sure...It was kind of funny because I was talking to sister Lindford when we had our exchanges and she was telling me about this area when she served here and how it is like mountain climbing and all that and I told her "I wanna go there!" and she said, "No you don´t". But I really did want to come here so I could do more walking and stuff so I thought it was pretty funny how I got changed to this exact place haha and that it is actually a little bit bigger now since we have two wards :) But anyway, I just thought that you might think that was interesting :) 

My companion´s name is Hermana Oaxaca :) (wha-ha-ka) like the state in Mexico :) But she is from Chihuahua so that´s kind of funny :) she is really short and super skinny and she is 27 years old :) I will send a picture next week because I don´t have one haha. But yeah we´ve been together one week so I still don´t know how the companionship is going to go...the only thing that I already know is that she is a little bit more...I don´t know, like she doesn´t really listen to me when I am telling her things like stories or asking her questions....I think she just expects me to already know spanish super well and to memorize where people live and who they are after one week....so it´s been a tiny bit rough already but I am getting the hang of how she is so I think I will manage just fine. But yeah she´s super cute :) she has 14 months in her mission and she finishes in April. She thinks that we are only going to be companions for this change and then she is going to have changes and I am going to stay in Nealtican so we will see what happens :) 

Well this week we were able to have five new investigators which is the goal that our District wants to have so that was super awesome and I was really happy that we were able to reach that goal. :) This area is a little weird because we have to wards and two bishoprics and two ward mission leaders and two of everything haha so it is different and I am going to have to adjust for sure haha. It is going to be a lot harder to feel closer with the members here since we have two wards and I am going to have to remember who lives in which ward haha. But yeah it´s pretty great. I like it :) I get a lot more exercise in this area than in my other haha. 

I am still reading in the Bible in my personal study time because I have a goal to finish the New Testament by the end of February...I am hoping I can make that goal...but it has been really cool to read it and learn more about the life of Christ and His teaching style and also about all the things that the prophets and apostles did after Christ was resurrected. (haha I can´t spell that right in English...how sad...) but anyway, I was reading today in Romans and there was a lot about like, agency and how the prize of sin is death and  the prize  of obedience and righteousness is eternal life... it´s like an obvious thing but I like how it says that the prize of death (or reward or something similar) is death because we receive a spiritual death...and I really like that because it is applicable to active members, less-actives and investigators because we all have free agency... Free agency has been on my mind a lot lately haha. 

Also, I studied the law of chastity today and learned a lot of things that I didn´t really realize before...I knew that breaking the law of chastity was really bad but I didn´t realize just HOW bad it was! It´s a serious sin...it´s up there with killing the innocent and denying the Holy Ghost....which is an unpardonable sin... So yeah...pretty bad.... There´s a lot of problems with this here in this area...a lot of men leave their wives and have other wives in the United States, there is a lot of infidelity and all that and it just really made me want to help the less actives and the investigators to look further into their future...at the day of judgement and all that so that they can have desires to change their way of living and save their souls. It´s really cool how the scriptures are being ful-filled in these days but at the same time it is really sad because there are a lot of people who don´t understand or can´t grasp the concept that there is more than just this life...that one day they are going to have to answer for all their sins and it isn´t going to be a pretty experience.... I want to help them realize this and change and save their souls!!! But I don´t know what to say sometimes haha because some scriptures are pretty strong..haha... and I don´t think they would take it very well... 

But yeah, those are some of my thoughts and some of the things that I have been studying... I am trying to become a better missionary, teacher and person and I am trying to see things and people as Christ and Heavenly Father see them, myself included. I am also thinking a lot more in my future and how the choices I make now are going to affect me and my life....and my final judgement haha! Don´t worry, I am not thinking so deeply in my final judgement that I am losing hope in redemption or anything like that, I am just thinking about it enough to motivate me to become better :) 

Oh hey, could you tell Grandma Carole thank you so so so much!! (for the money she gave me) That was so nice of her!! Really, she didn´t need to do that...it was super nice and I am really grateful to her... I love you Grandma! :) Oh and aunt Cindy, I love you so much! You are such an example to me, always have been. I feel so awful that you are going through all this and I don´t understand why it is happening but I always pray for you and your family and, well, OUR family that we can feel comfort and that you can have some strength too. I don´t understand the plans of God but I do know that He has a plan for every single one of us and He gives us challenges so that we can become stronger.... Keep being strong Cindy and keep fighting! I know it is exhausting, well, I don´t know from experience but I can imagine, and I know that it is hard....but I know you can do it and you can do ANYTHING with the Lord. You have so much faith and so much love for and in the Savior and I know that He feels the pain that you feel and He knows exactly what you need. I know that my mom told me that you like to read my emails haha and that you think they are funny (I don´t know how you think they are funny because I am not a very funny person....) But I am glad that you like them :) I thought of you and a story that I could share because to me it was super super funny :) hahaha!! Actually two stories :) So the first one happened in my last area. We were walking to a house to teach an investigator and we always took this one path that is like a tiny short cut so that we could get to the house. Well anyway, the short cut is like a tiny little dirt path and there´s like plants and a little house on one side and on the other side, super close to the path, is like a mini wall of bricks. Well, behind this tiny wall of bricks, we encountered a drunk man named Thomas. He is a less active who is super addicted to alcohol...it makes me so sad everytime I see him that way because we knew him when he was trying to quit and he is really nice and really wanted to quit...but it´s hard for him. But anyway, so we talked to him for a while and then while we were walking away we said "adios!" and I crashed into Sister Lara haha and said "oof!" and Thomas thought I said "Om" like "um..." haha so he said, "Om, Om!" and we were a tiny bit freaked out cuz he´s this drunk guy and we were in a small area a little bit solo...and he was really close haha but nothing bad happened so don´t worry :) But anyway, so he came to us and had two roses in his hands. One was fully bloomed and the other was a little rose bud. So he hands the rose to my comp and tells her that it´s for her and then he hands me the rose bud and says "this one is for her because your vocabulary is more open like this flower and hers is more closed like this one" and he was motioning to our designated roses. hahaha! oh man, I thought it was so funny! He called me "Om" and then told me that my vocabulary is like a closed rose bud...but the funny part is is that he was DRUNK and still was able to think of that comparision! It was super creative :) I didn´t get offended because of the situation but if it was a perfectly sober person who told me that...I would probably feel pretty bad about my spanish haha... :) well, maybe it´s just me but I think that story is super funny :) if you don´t think it´s funny I´m really sorry...the mission is changing me into a really weird person and sometimes I think things are funny when they aren´t all that great haha. 

This other story is really funny though :) haha I wanted to laugh SO hard but I couldn´t because my companion was the one that did it and she was totally serious about it like it was nothing haha so I had to hold my laughter in and it was SO hard!! But anyway, so this one happened here in my new area. We came home one night and started our daily planning session and all of the sudden my companion farted...like, a good one haha! It was pretty loud haha but all she said, completely serious, was "Ándele" and that was it! Hahaha oh man... I was DYING! it was so funny! her tone of voice...oh man...yeah well, that is all I got...sorry. This is why I am not and will never be a comedian haha because I am not funny…but whatever. I´m happy so that´s good :) 

Well...this is super long and I still need to give y'all a challenge :) 

The challenge this week is....*drum roll please*.... to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and then start reading the Book of Mormon itself from the beginning because in the introduction Joseph Smith tells us that it is the most correct book on the earth and that we will grow closer to God if we read it AND live by it´s precepts. So, the challenge is to not only read the Book of Mormon, but to ponder on the words that you read and find some way to apply it to your life. 

I know that what Joseph Smith said is true. We can grow closer to God by reading the Book of Mormon because it is the word of God and I know that it really is the most correct book in the world. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and it holds all the answers to every question and every circumstance. I know that if we pray for the Spirit before we start studying or reading that we will receive inspiration and the Spirit will open our minds and our understanding so that we can apply the precepts of the Book of Mormon to our personal lives. I know the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and that when we let the light of Christ penetrate our lives we will live more happily and more fully.  

I hope you all have a great week! I love you all!!

Love always,

Hermana Walker :) 

January 19, 2015 Changes and Hermana Lara Goes Home

Hello! Well, so we got the phone call last night at 10:00ish...and we were told that we both have cambios. I already knew that Sister Lara had cambios because she is finished with her mission and is going to her house....but I also have changes!!! I can`t believe that we are both leaving the area and that two new sisters are going to come to our area...they have to learn everything by themselves...well and with the members too haha but I think that it is going to be hard. I was here for 6 months...one third of my mission is already over! I can`t believe that either....

We finally went to the pyramids and took pics but we also went to Atlixco today so that hermana lara could say goodbye to the people there since she is going to her house so we have no time again haha ...sorry! I will write more next week and send pictures and tell you where my new area is and who my new comp is. 

Hope you have a great week! Remember that change is a part of life and that sometimes it isn`t easy but God always has a better plan for us than what we have for ourselves and he will always give us things and experiences to make us stronger :) 

Keep reading the scriptures and praying and make sure that you are also doing your family nights because these three things are super important and the prophets said in conference that if we do these three things we will live less stressful lives :) 

Sorry that this is lame but I need to go. You are all awesome and I love you all a lot!

Love,

Hermana Walker :) 

January 12, 2015 Agency; A Gift From God

Weell....I didn`t know what to title this weeks letter so...I just put how much time I have in the mission haha, how boring right? Well, whatever, I am not having much luck with the creative juices right now haha. 

So, this next week we are having changes...literally...a lot of changes! We are having the changes that the mission has every month and a half (the 20th of this month) and my comp is leaving for her house because she finished her mission..well almost. She is going to finish her mission this coming Tuesday. It`s really sad and really weird that she is going to die soon...It`s kind of funny because I was born in this area and she is going to die here...a little ironic :) I don`t know if I am going to have changes this time around or if I am going to stay here in my area for another month and a half. It could happen either way because I think we can stay in our areas for a while...like nine months or something and I have six here. If I have changes too it will be hard for the other missionaries because they are both going to be new to the area and they won`t know where anyone lives or who anyone is or anything like that. But yeah, we will see. I will find out this sunday night so I can let you know next Monday :)

Guess what!? We are FINALLY going to the pyramids today since my comp has never been in all her mission and I haven`t gone (and I have 6 months here in this area, which is super close to the pyramids) so we are finally going and the son of our Ward Missionary Leader is going to come too so he can give us a tour since he knows a ton about the history of puebla and of the pyramids and all that. It`s going to be great :) We are also going to go with Brother Juan and his wife Marina. They are going to drive us there and all that. They are also going to feed us after we finish writing since it is going to be kind of like a going away meal for Sister Lara. We are going to eat mole haha which is pretty typical... :) We eat it a lot haha. It`s really common/famous here in Puebla. It`s super yummy but...it`s pretty heavy...like, it isn`t a light food like salads haha. And you have to be really careful that you don`t spill it on your clothes because it doesn`t wash out very easily...

Anyway, so yeah it is going to be a pretty great day today :) I will send pictures of the pyramids next week :) 

My leadership responsiblities are going pretty well. We are almost finished with all the exchanges. We have two more companionships left that we are going to do this week and then after that we have changes...and I proabably won`t be a sister leader anymore but I have learned a lot from being in this position and I have met a lot of really great sister missionaries that love the work and they are always looking for ways to improve and become better! This is awesome :) Our Zone is really great :) 

Um...I don`t have a lot of time left so...I am going to finish up now :) I just wanted to share a scripture with you guys and I want you to go and read it during this week. It is a short parable that the Savior gave in the Bible. I want you to all read it when you have the chance and apply it to your lives because it is really cool and really applicable too :) It is in Luke 8:5-8; 11-15.

It`s the parable of the sower :) I read this in my personal study (since I have a goal to read the New testament in two months haha and the old testament in three and the Book of Mormon in two) so I just read this the other week and I liked it a lot because it can apply to full-time missionaries, member missionaries and us as members individually in our lives. My challenge is that you can read it and study it this week and put it in practice :) Record your thoughts in a journal too so that your study can be a little more edifying :) It helps a lot :)

I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and that this is the true restored church here on the earth. I know that God has a plan for everyone of us individually and that He knows us perfectly. He wants us to be happy and to become who He has planned and so for this reason He sometimes sends our ship through storms and rough waters so that we can humble ourselves and go to Him in prayer to ask for His help. He wants us to surrender our will to His. I know that He can make of us more than we will ever make of ourselves, we just need to trust in Him with hope and faith. He has all power and is the gardener of our lives. Trust Him that has the seeds and prepare your hearts to accept His seeds so that you can harvest the fruits and blessings of the gospel. 

I read in a talk that God has given us everything and so we really can`t give Him much...we can`t give Him our time because He gave that to us. We can`t give Him our lives because He gave them to us too...we can`t give Him something that is already His.... The only thing that we can give him is our will....our agency. He gave us the Gift to choose and that is the only gift He gave us that He can`t take back. He will never force us to surrender to His will. We have to make that choice and sacrifice our desires to Him so that He truly can make of us what He knows we can be. That is something that I am learning here and something that I am working on as a missionary. I know that I need to give Him my will so that he can truly mold me into the missionary and the person that He wants me to be. It`s really hard but I know that it is possible and I am really grateful for this chance to serve as a missionary and for this opportunity that I have to grow the way that He wants me to. 

I hope you all have a great week and that you have the chance to read the parable. I also hope that my email makes sense...we really need to leave so I don`t know how it will turn out but I hope it makes sense haha. I love you all! 

Love,

Hermana Walker :)  

January 5, 2015 Six Months Old and Miracles!

Hey everyone! Wow! I can`t believe that it is 2015...this is too crazy! I only have one year left in my mission! I only have one year to totally change my nature and become a consecrated missionary and a consecrated person...it`s a hard thing to do because it requires that I change my way of thinking and that I change my heart. I need to have a heart that is totally and completely willing to do what the Lord wants me to do, regardless of the fact that sometimes I am not going to want to do some of those things because they are super hard or...who knows? It`s harder because I have to let go of habits or change my attributes and attitudes. It`s an internal change that will in turn, change my exterior and my whole being. It`s something that we talk about a lot in our mission and it is something that I really want to obtain-a change of character. 

There are two really great talks that I really suggest you all read when you have the time! Yes, they are more centered around missionaries in the field, BUT, the principals still apply to us as members in our everyday life because we are all missionaries and we are all disciples of Christ and we all need to make changes to become worthy to enter the Kingdom of God, so, I highly recommend that you read them when you have the chance :) Especially you Cody because you can get a little bit of a head start on the "spiritually changing and preparing" part of your mission :) I will try to attach them here with this email but if it doesn`t work I can tell you the names. One is called "Becoming a Consecrated Missionary" By Tad R. McCallister and the other....It is a letter written by an Elder who was trained by someone named Elder Ricciardi in his mission to England. There are 3 parts. I don`t know who wrote it haha or what it is called so hopefully you can find it or I can get it sent. I am going to have to send it in three different emails. But anyway, they are both super great and I learned a ton!

Ooh, ok so yesterday was the last day of the week to work super hard and make our numbers a little bit better for the week...because we call in our numbers every Sunday night. Anyway, so we really needed more lessons with members present and new investigators. So we went to a members house to ask her if she could come with us to visit her neighbors and...she wasn`t home...(her name is Lucia) but...(miracle #1) her mom was home and told us that she could come with us for the appointment! Whoo! While we were walking across the street to her house, I was praying super hard in my head and in my heart that they would be home and that they would be able to receive us. We knocked on their fence and yelled Buenos noches and we waited. The lady that we had the appointment with (Karina) came out and told us that we could come in (miracle #2). When we came in their house we got all the seats ready and everything so that we could teach them and bom! Miracle #3 happened! Her husband was there and he isn`t a member...and he listened to us!! We got a new investigator!!! It was AMAZING!! During the whole lesson we were praying in our hearts that the Spirit could guide our words and that we would know what to say and I thought it was amazing how quickly and perfectly the Lord answered our prayers. It was a really awesome experience for me and I am learning all the time just how amazing the Lord is and how good He is to us.

This was one of the spiritual experiences that I had this week, and I had more but right now I don`t have a lot of time to write so I have to say goodbye... I love you all and I hope that you have a great week full of happiness and success! You are awesome! All of you :) 

I know that the gospel is true and that it was restored by Joseph Smith through the power of God. I know that the Book of Mormon is true scripture and that it is the word of God and that together with the Bible, we have the fullness of the gospel in the palms of our hands. I know that the Lord knows us all individually and that He loves us and wants us to be happy. He answers our prayers when we ask in faith and He promises that if we ask it shall be given to us, if we seek we shall find and if we knock, He will open the doors for us to pass through. Ask the Lord in faith, seek His will in your lives and knock freely on His door so that you can receive all of His glorious blessing and promises that He has ready and waiting to pour upon us. I know all of this is true and I share it with you in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, amen.

Love always,

Hermana Walker :)