Una Semana de Milagros!

February 23, 2015

HOLA!!!

Okay WOW. What a week of miracles! But like really! It was just such a great week. I was seriously dead at the end of the week, but it was a good one. :) We were able to find some really great people that are progressing nicely. :) We were just able to meet so many new people this week and I think for being so diligent in talking to everyone in the street the Lord blessed us with some great elegidos! Yamila is going to be baptized this week. Please pray for her!  She’s 9 and her parents are both members. Her mom really wants her to get baptized and her dad is mas o menos. Not too thrilled. I don’t know. But I REALLY believe she’ll be baptized this week. This Sunday March 1 (when she would be baptized) it will be exactly 12 years ago that I was baptized. So that’s fun. But yeah, I’m super old. Anyways, pleeeease pray for her!! :) 

Now onto mi hija:  Okay. So I don’t know, but I neglected to tell you all that my daughter is a HUGE Mirfanda!!!!!!! So we quote Miranda Sings a lot and talk like her a lot. Mi hija does her voice perfectly. I couldn’t be more proud. She really is my daughter jaja!!!!!! :) No but really, she’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. I love her with my whole heart! We have such a good time together! I also learn A TON from her! She’s incredible! 

Hermana Van is now a Mama! She is meeting her new companion that she gets to train!

A story about my daughter: Okay, so we were at a meeting for all the people that arrived this transfer basically so President can see how they’re doing and what not. So there’s like 30 new missionaries and basically half of them are gringos obvio so they would talk in Spanish and English in the whole meeting. At the very end the asked each new missionary to share what they had already learned in these last two weeks and they said that they could do it in either Spanish or English. So pretty much ALL of the English missionaries just shared their experience in English. Then it was my daughter’s turn and I was just like praying in my mind "Do it in Spanish just do it in Spanish" and She gets up and just whips out just about perfect Spanish! It was so impressive!! Everybody was just super stunned! It was such a proud mama moment!! But the thing is  I didn’t even teach her any of that. I think everyone now thinks that it must be for something that I did, but it totally wasn’t! She just came super awesome and willing to learn. But really she learns to quickly! I absolutely love the chance I have to see her incredible progress everyday. I feel like I’m not doing much to help her, because sometimes I really don’t know how to help her the best, but it doesn’t matter because she is progressing so much. The spirit is her trainer. Not me. But yeah, I love her. She makes me laugh. And we’re pretty much just BFFs jaja. :)

What else? Hmmm...we had divisions last week with the Hermanas Entrenadoras (STLs). That was really good. I really love divisiones because I learn so much from them! They are such great missionaries so it’s a really great opportunity to learn from them! I love it! 

Hermana Van saying good-bye to her Mama (trainer)!

Ah, just so many miracles this week. I just feel like this week has been a grand testimony to me that God knows we’re not perfect. He knows our imperfections even more than we do. But He still calls us to the work. And all He asks us to do is give it our all and try our best. As we do that He sees our effort and dedication to the work. And that is when He is able to bless us and work miracles according to our faith. But He is the only one that can work those miracles. He just requires us to give a little first. I know that He works miracles according to our faith and I would never want my lack of faith to be the cause of Him not being able to work miracles in my area. It’s not always the easiest, but I think everyday my faith is increasing. What a grand blessing it is to be serving Him!

Thanks again fams and friends for all you do! I love you all with my whole heart! Que tengan una hermosa semana! Remember, when we love the way the Savior does, miracles happen! And of course, Stay Anxiously Engaged! :) 

xoxo,

Hermana Van   

Voy a tener una hija!

February 10, 2015

Hola mis queridos!! Como estamos?

Okay, I don’t know how much time I really have to write, so I’ll be pretty brief....or so I say now jaja vamos a ver. 

So to start out...voy a tener una hija!!!! :) Or in other words, I’m going to train!! It’s super crazy to me! I still don’t know who she is because at 5:30 tonight we’re going to the mission offices in order to meet them and have President tell us who they are. I’m so nervous but at the same time I’m super excited :) Last night saying goodbye to Hermana Gomez was super rough. I love her so much. I totes cried. She is one of my greatest friends. I already miss her so so much! :( And the capa is now senior companion in super capital! :) I’m so proud of her. She has taught me and helped me so so much!! :) 

Sunday was the despedida of the missionaries that are going home this transfer. I have two companions that are going home this transfer. :( Mi mamá, Hermana Centeno, and my second companion, Hermana Quintana. I was pretty sad to have to say goodbye to them. They have helped me out so so much. It’s crazy to think that they’re really going home. Like they won’t be in the mission anymore. I won’t be able to see them at mission conferences or activities. Wow. I could cry thinking about that. New subject.

Oh yeah, I forgot my cord for my camera so I won’t be sending pictures today from my birthday. But it was a really great day! We visited with the members a little bit. Ate lots of cake and ice cream and pie and we just had an awesome time! They all really made me feel at home ya que no estoy en mi casa. It was a really great day!! :) 

Basically my mind is super jumbled because I’m nervous and thinking about 100 mil cosas. Que digo? Bueno, umm....fun story. Hermana Gomez and I had a nice little conversation in Spanish while we were sleeping the other night. The sound of our voices woke me up. How weird is that?? Jajaja! Too funny!!! :) 

Okay, no se mas. Life is good here in San Fernando. It’s crazy to think that I have 11 months. It’s the craziest thing in the world to me! I’m just loving the mission so much. Its crazy the love that I have developed for this work. There is nothing like it. Nothing at all. I’m so incredibly grateful for this opportunity of a lifetime to serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. I’m also so so grateful for every single one of you for the support you all give me. I am so incredibly blessed I can’t even believe it. Thank you so so much! Also, please pray for me. I’m really going to need it as I try to help una nuevita learn the ways of the mish. Once again, nervous and excited. Remember, when we love the way the Savior does, miracles happen. And of course, Stay Anxiously Engaged!! :)

xoxo,

Hermana Van 

Chau Adolescencia!

February 2, 2015

HOOOOLLLLLAAAAA!!!!

Wow!! What a week it’s been! But then again I’m pretty sure I say that every single week, no? This week passed by in the blink of an eye! And now I’m 20...that’s weird!! jajaj! Nah, but seriously, thanks so much for birthday wishes! It’s kinda weird not being a teenager any more. I’m just getting so so old jaja. ;)

Happy Birthday Hermana Van

Okay so where to start. Well, we had interviews with President. Oh how I love that man. He is the greatest mission President JAMAS! He really helped me out a lot in deciding what to do about school and what not in the fall. We also talked about my companion and how I wanted to stay another transfer with her here in San Fernando. He just laughed and said it was time for her to leave San Fernando and that I have a lot of fun things coming in the future and that we’re going to have fun in the future. So yeah, I was pretty sad about to hear that my companion will be leaving. :( This week is the last week of the transfer, so it looks like I’ll have a new companion next week. Veremos que pasa. Also, he just mostly thanked me for the work we’re doing. He said that I’m an amazing missionary and a great example for the Hermanas. So yeah, that made me feel good. He’s just so so great. So yeah, interviews were really good. :) 

What more can I say? Oh yeah. Saturday we talked to a straight up crazy man. Or at least I seriously hope he was crazy! He seemed to be super great at the beginning of the street contact, but then he started getting all crazy. He started waving his finger in our faces saying that God doesn’t exist. Then he told us all about his spiritual experiences with the virgen de guadalupe and how it was thanks to her that he has everything he has and that she tells him what to do every day. Then he said that God killed His Son Jesus Christ and tons of other stuff. I was just about fuming jaja. My companion said that she always knows when something the investigators say bothers me because I start speaking really firmly with a lot of authority. But honestly, I can’t help it. It drives me nuts when people start saying things that are just straight up apostasy. So yeah, the crazy man was just telling me that God didn’t exist and that I needed to think about that. Whatever. I’m hoping he’s literally crazy so he can’t be judged according to even his catholic knowledge that God does exist and is our Heavenly Father. So yeah.

This week I taught the Restoration in English to an investigator that wants to practice his English. It was the most awkward lesson of my life. I don´t like talking about the gospel in English. It´s awkward. My companion totally helped teach the lesson in English! She is such a rock-star! She´s learning English so well! The official English classes haven´t started yet, so we´ll see what happens with that.

My companion gave an invitation to two Jehovah Witness missionaries this week. She didn’t recognize they were JW, but I did, so I just watched her be a cute little missionary talking to everyone. Que CAPA!! She’s awesome! It was super funny!! They gave us a pamphlet and I felt like a little card for a pamphlet wasn’t a fair trade so I gave them the pamphlet of the Restoration. That was a fun experience. :) 

Hmmmmm....Que mas?? Yesterday we had two investigators at church: Ivana and Monica. When we went to pick Monica up for church we realized we didn’t have our cell phone. It turns out she was calling us to tell us she wouldn’t be able to go to church but not having the phone we went any way and we were able to convince her to go for just an hour. It turned out forgetting the phone was a HUGE miracle/blessing! Also, Sacrament meeting ended up being super spiritual since tons of youth bore their testimonies since they just got back from EFY! It was so so great! 

Overall it’s been an incredible week and it’s crazy to think that this transfer is coming to a close! It’s been one of the most incredible transfers of my mission! I’ve loved every minute of it! Also, please pray for Ivana! There’s a huge possibility that she can get baptized this last week, but she just needs to feel the urge to get baptized now instead of later since she already wants to get baptized, just not so fast. Anyways, if you could pray for her, that would be great! Thanks so much for all you prayers! I love you so so much! Have a wonderful week!! :) Remember, when we love the way the Savior does, miracles happen. And of course, Stay Anxiously Engaged!! :)

xoxo,

Hermana Van