July 13, 2015
Hola Familia,
After the craziness of this past week,
it has finally slowed down a bit. I love my new comp Sister Hernandez. She's
from Mexico City and we get along really well, although she's super different from
Sister Hawn and Guti- I love her just as much! I also love Caldwell! It is
certainly nothing like Ontario, and you know what? I think I could actually
live here because it is so
beautiful!. The work is slow, and we contact a lot. Sister Hern tells me that
this is the slowest she's seen it throughout her whole mission!
We live in a house with an older woman
named Sister Waite, whose husband died not too long ago. She's the nicest
person, she reminds me so much of Grandma Diane- I could just sit with her for
hours listening to all of her stories. She has such strong faith, and I am so
grateful for her example and all the things she has taught me thus far. One
morning this week we had some Jehovah's witnesses come and knock on our door.
We of course told them that we were missionaries, and we kept them on our
doorstep for a while asking them questions about what they believe. They sure
do know their scriptures! We could totally tell that we made them a little
uncomfortable. Just speaking with them made me uneasy too. Their spirits were in the right place,
but it was just palpable that they didn't believe in the full truth as we do.
The whole encounter reminded me of that experience I had in Ontario with that
man who wanted to Bible bash us, haha y'all remember when I wrote and said that
my testimony was shaken a little bit because he was so smart? Anyway, we talked
some more with Sister Waite afterward and she complimented us for our patience
in talking with the JW and for having an open mind, then she expressed her
faith about the Plan of Salvation. I just love her so much! All the previous
uneasiness I felt dissipated within minutes after talking with Sister Waite,
and she makes Sister Hern and I feel like we are Heaven- sent Angels that walk
the halls of her home. Y'all have to meet her one day!! You know what else I
realized? Even if someone were to leave the church, it would be hard to join
any other church because they only learn partial truths and they wouldn’t have
the Spirit all the time. I love living
by the church's morals and standards.
It makes for a good God-fearing family. I feel blessed to be true blue,
died in the wool Mormon. The
Church is true. I know it with all of my heart!
This Friday, we got a ride to Ontario
for Sister Meza's, Juanito's and Patricia's baptism!! It was interesting
because earlier that morning we almost weren't able to go. We had secured a
ride with a recent convert named Juan, and since it’s against the rules for
sisters to ride with any members of the opposite sex without another
responsible woman present, Juan had asked his niece to come along too. Well an
hour before it was time to go, we found out that she was working and wouldn't
be able to come! So we started calling all the woman we knew and asked them to
come, with no luck. I was so worried and disappointed, how could we have worked
so hard on getting there and not been able to see the fruits of our labor in
Ontario? But, I knew that it was
more important to follow the rules than to break them just to go to a baptism,
and I had faith that the Lord will help us find a way to get there because of
our willingness to follow the rules. Just about 20 minutes before we had
planned to leave, we got a call from one of the other sisters who told us that
she got special permission for all 4 of us to go with Juan! It was my tender
mercy of the week. I know the Lord rewards those who are obedient, no matter
the situation. The baptism was beautiful and I counted all my blessings the
whole way there as I was sitting squished up against the side of the back of
Juan's super slick mustang!! haha It was a great day!!
This Sunday, I was asked to give a talk
in the YSA ward about the Constitution. Oh mom, you would've been so proud of
me haha! I prepared for this talk for days, so when I got up there and I spoke
with all of the conviction of my heart and the best Texan accent I could pull
off. It was a great talk, it was based off of Ezra Taft Benson's 'The
Constitution: a Glorious Standard' and I highly recommend everyone reading it
for themselves. One of the things I made clear was that our nation has been
preserved for the coming of the restoration and that the scriptures mention
several times that we can only stay here if we are obedient and diligent in
keeping the laws of the land. I felt very patriotic afterwards! I love giving talks, even though I may
not be very good at it. But I know that it helps me grow and excel in my
speaking abilities.
I love y'all and hope you have a blessed
week! (insert Texan accent here)
Hermana Moss :)
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