Hermana Medeiros Texas Houston Mission: August 2014

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Week 5

Hey!! So lets see what happened this week?

Last Wednesday during our second block of classes it was really great. Hermano Hernandez first gave the guys a situation and us hermanas were the missionaries. The situation of the elders as investigadores was that they didn´t feel that god answered their questions. I caught on after a few questions and asked what he was expecting in an answer and elder Andrews responded that he expected to see a vision. Oo that was a tough one to explain. Then Hermano Hernandez gave us hermanas a situation. our situation was that we had an abortion and felt that we could never be forgiven. hermano hernadez told us that we could not tell the elders what our situation was until we felt their love and that they were really interested in us as investigadores. It took all of them a long time to get us to trust them. But it was amazing we all felt the spirit in each of our different practices. You really have to try to put yourself in the investigadores shoes and try to feel what they would feel.

With hermano alverez we did an ice berg activity. He acted as the investigator and I don´t remember what his situation was but we all asked questions trying to get him to trust us and to get under the ice berg. We really had to listen to the spirit to figure out what the problem was. Those we teach won´t always tell us what is really wrong and so we have to listen to the spirit. A few days later we taught our investigator Erik (hermano hernandez) He has been a real tough one because he just doesn´t seem to feel much or to even really be there in our lessons. So before our last lesson with him we prayed harder, we sang some hymns, and then we closed our eyes and tried to really feel what he might be feeling. We went into the lesson and the spirit was so strong the entire time. It was almost time to end and I felt that I should show him a picture our of the picture book I bought. its the picture of Jesus knocking on the door. So I showed it to him and at first he didn´t understand but I was able to explain it to him and how it´s like the door to your heart. Christ can´t open it for you. He won´t force the door open. You have to let him in. I don´t even remember everything I said in Spanish but I know I was being helped by the spirit. We knew that he felt the spirit too. And we were able to get under the ice berg. We felt so good after that lesson.

This week was able memorize D&C 4. It was hard. I memorized it in English in one night and then it took me about four days to get it memorized in Spanish.

One of the mornings last week I think it was Saturday maybe I woke up and I had weird bumps on both my wrists and by my elbows and they itched. So after we ate dinner we went to the enfermaria just to see if it was anything weird. The doctor there today was a lady who didn´t really speak English at all. I was so glad I could just point out was wrong and then I was able to answer some of the other questions she asked. She gave me some pills to take but later that day they went away. It was really weird.

Sundays are always the best day. The devotionals are always great and we watched the movie the mountain of the lord. I love that each Sunday they show us church videos. They are so amazing. Then afterwards we always have a testimony meeting with our district. Sundays are also the most beautiful day our of every week. It did get cold at night but the morning was gorgeous.

Yesterday (Monday) we taught Israel and we really didn´t have any plan because the time we normally fully plan our lesson we didn´t have today because we went over with our language part of class. We were planning on teaching him on baptismal covenants and the word of wisdom. We start talking to him and he tells us that he was fired from his job and he didn´t understand why God would punish him like this. He has been going to church, reading scriptures and praying and all those things. We had to explain that sometimes it´s for our benefit. But he still didn´t understand. I felt I should share D&C 58 2-4 with him. I love those scriptures. I remembered what 3-4 said but I didn´t remember what verse 2 said and for some reason in my head I just asked him to read 3-4. It definitely helped him realize that things will turn out ok and that God knows more than he does. After the lesson I looked up that chapter and realized verse 2 would have been so good for him to read. I wish I would have listened more and asked him to read those three verses. My companions thought the lesson sucked. they were focusing on everything we did wrong. Me yeah we forgot to do somethings but I felt the spirit and I know that he felt the spirit. I thought the lesson was great and the mistakes that we make we can learn from them and not make them again in the next lesson.

The food here is weird, they mix this meat with pineapple...I can´t stand it. Today we had eggs with some type of salsa. It was interesting. So my companions had me try this salsa and oh my gosh my lips had barely closed and my mouth was already on fire!!! But I ate the whole thing. Oh my mouth hurt for the next ten minutes. They made fun of me for a while but then they had a spoon full of it and they realized that it was quite spicy so they stopped teasing me there is this chicken that I love but it is so spicy. I love spicy but I hate how sensitive my mouth is. There was this other chicken that was spicy but it was SOOO good.

One more full week!!!!

Love you!!

Our district with hermano Daniel

My trio with hermana Johnson

Saying good bye to our sister training leaders. (the two in the middle)

Our district with hermano Daniel

Hermana Williams (from high school) and I

Hermana woodard and I

Hermana Johnson (she went to snow with me) and I. Yesterday was her last day.

I was studying and they took a picture of me with my camera.


Every Tuesday night we get pizza

This ice cream was so good it was half ice cream sandwich and half ice cream covered in chocolate.

This is what our desks end up looking like when studying...not so dramatic but if you put everything on them then this is what you get.

what heaven looks like when they restock the yogurt drinks

Bumps on my arms

The note our teacher left us

It´s so pretty here!!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Don't be the weak link in your chain

This past week has been pretty great. On wednesday we got our new teacher. Since our other one is now starting going to college. During the week on one of the days we learned how to teach about the book of Mormon. It was so much fun. Its so great seeing how much i really know in spanish. It is always so much fun when we get to teach in class. Since we have an even number of people in our district we each get paired up with one other person and we teach eachother. But i swear all last week i was always the first one to teach! oh well haha it was good practice.

So two Sundays ago, Hermana Haslam and I, Elders Torres, Nibblet, and W were going to sing I need thee every hour in sacrament meeting. But that Sunday everyone was sick and so we couldn´t do it. We changed it to this past sunday but last Wednesday Elder torres (our zone leader) came up to us and told us that Elder W was going to be leaving to go back home. We ended up singing it for his district. It was so sad to see another elder go home. He had been here one week longer than I have. Hopefully he will be able to fix what ever happened and come back out when he is ready. When we sang it for his district the spirit was so strong. I loved it.

This past week I have memorized the purpose and the first vision in spanish and now as a district we are working on memorizing doctrina y covenios 4. 7 verses that are pretty short...shouldn´t be that hard...I just memorized the first one today.

So on one of the days last week I almost got hit with a basketball like 4 different times during gym. Hermana Haslam wanted to play basketball and so she and some other sisters went onto one of the courts and played basketball. Hermana Woodard and I laid in the grass and studied, I also did some small exercise things. There were these elders playing basketball on another court and kept trying to make half court shots. Every time I moved the ball would come directly toward me. I moved 4 times and every time if I didn´t look up I would have gotten hit. one of the times I looked up and caught the ball in my hands. Those elders. haha

So on Saturday I asked Elder Hickman to give me a blessing. And it was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. It answered a question I have had for a few years and it helped me with all my other smaller questions/doubts. I could not believe it. It was the best night ever.

In our district at night we have started this thing wehre we choose two people and then go around the room and say nice things about them. I wrote down a summary of what was said when it was my turn.

Elder Riding said he could see how loving and caring I am and he can see what a great mom i will be in the future.

hermana Boulton said how selfless i am and how i just care for others. She said that she thinks that i am the Mom of the group. And she knows i will help bring many people to the truth.

Herman Mcarthur said how caring and loving i am

Elder Maher said i am the silent example to our district on being obedient and hard working

Hermana Woodard told everyone how grateful she was for me when she was sick nd how i spent all my time helping and taking care of her

Elder Hickman said anytime he talks to me he feels cared about and then he added don´t worry just in a missionary way.

Elder Andrews said he also thinks of me as the mom of the district.

Hermana Haslam said i have a strong testimony and how loving and caring i am.

Elder Nibblet just said bank geeks for life. he played the saxaphone.

Elder Torrest thanked for for playing the piano in sacrament when needed

and Elder Jensen who doesn´t really know me (other zone leader) just said he knows I have a purpose and i know why I am here.

So I counted and we average on saying about 15-20 prayers a day. Maybe more depending on what we do.

My companions love to tease me because when ever I am in the shower I only take about 5-8ish minutes.

I started this thing where I read the book of Mormon in Spanish really slowly, I have my dictionary and my English scriptures near me and as I read I find the words I don´t know and I look them up. It takes so much time but it is great to see that i really do know more than i think. I have a picture of one of the pages.

Oh this Sunday was the best day ever!!!

Relief society we talked about not being the weak link in our chain of generations.

In sacrament meeting I had to give my talk. It was on repentance. Yeah they don´t even tell you before church. they just announce it during the meeting. Oh i was shaking so bad and i repeated the same line twice...luckily no one but the branch presidency really (tries..haha broken spanish) listens.

Our first devotional was on saying specific prayers.

Our second devotional was about becoming a life long missionary. we listened to a devotional given by Elder Holland so yeah as you can guess it was pretty amazing.

The video for that night was Joseph smith the prophet of the restoration. I wrote about 3-4 pages of notes. Just my thoughts.

Our district devotional after that was amazing. I bore my testimony I was the second one.

Sundays are the best days at the CCM!!!

On Monday night there was a HUGE rainstorm. A ton of LOUD thunder and a ton of lighting. It was down pouring for a while. Luckily when we walked back to our house it was not raining as much because neither of us brought our umbrellas with us.

Today we went to the temple and it was so amazing. It was really sad that we couldn´t go in but we got to look at it and got into the visitor´s center where we got a tour and watched a film on families.

I love it here!! Can´t believe how fast the time has gone so far!!!