Two Weeks of Miracles

Two weeks ago:

Another week, another p day!  But wow, this week was insane, we didn't have a single day where we could work in our area the whole day.  What with district meeting, multi zone conference, zone meeting, area attacks and the likes.... I don't know how we had ANY time in our area this week!  Our numbers weren't the best this week; but we sure learned a lot!  And we had a baptism last night!  That's all that matters in the end! :) 

view out of the van from our trip to the multi zone conference

SO, last night one of my very good friends here in Guatemala got baptized. She is named Carmin.  

She is the best friend of Gabriela Giron, if you can remember she is the wife of the family we baptized about a month ago.  So they invited their friends Carmin and her husband Alejandro to their baptism and BAM one month later they are now married and she is baptized!  Missionary work works people! But only when we do it with the members!  Please go help your missionaries!  So we have been teaching Carmin for a little bit now and she is just amazing, she told me the other day,  Hermana Moore I think I was born to be a Mormon!  Ah, she is the cutest!  We had their wedding and her baptism last night!  

Married!

My comp is a social one so she invited the entire zone and they ALL showed up, with their investigators!  Someone counted at one point,  I guess we had 81 people at the baptism.... that's more than sacrament meeting! 

All the siblings of the groom

Luckily someone in our ward is a distant relation of Carmin and decided to host the wedding, so she provided a dinner.... and I made a ton of cakes! 

serving up cake and an Elder being an Elder

The wedding part was fun, I was the first one to sign the wedding paper as a witness!  You better bet  I'm the first one, after the FOUR HOURS I waited in the Guatemalan government offices to get their paperwork all ready for the wedding. yeah that's something they don't tell you before the mission, all this legal stuff you have to take care of.  I don't understand this stuff in the US how do you expect me to understand it in Spanish!  It took me 2 months before I realized that one of the forms is called a fe-de-edad not a person saying federal really weird!  Hahaha.  But I'm glad all the missionaries were there, they helped soooo much1 couldn't have done it without them!  I am so truly happy for this sweet couple!  We are hoping that her husband follows her example and gets baptized in the coming weeks so they can start preparing for the temple :)  I just love her!  She wanted to get a pic of just her and I so we've got a few :)  Some people are just prepared!

In other news, this week we had a multi zone conference in Reu!  The whole zone packed up and headed on over to Reu on Wednesday morning bright and early!  

We had an amazing conference with President Amado, president of the centroamericano area. I actually met him when I was at BYU, his daughter was my Spanish teacher.   He is incredible!  He literally instructed us for a total of 6 hours and we were all like crying when he had to leave!  He is an incredible teacher and it made me so excited to go out and teach!  Especially about the Book of Mormon!  Wow, our leaders are so inspired!  And then we headed on back to Coatepeque out in the boonies as people say, and went to work!  I really love my zone. when we were in the bus we were all just having so much fun, they are all such incredible people!  I'm kinda thinking I'm gonna have transfers this week so it makes me really appreciate they wonderful people that I have the priveledge of seeing everyday! :)

Another thing we did this week!  Area Attack!  We went to the area of Coatepeque, Coatepeque.  It's the area right next to mine, somehow its even more city than mine!  Mine is more residential like a sleepy little town but theirs is like city!  So we were there all day doing divisions with their members and finding finding finding!  It was so cool.  I felt like I was training!  Their area has some insane hills, like it was comical how big some of them were!  But we made it and we contacted up a storm!  I had two different companions, one a 9 year old and in the afternoon a girl who got baptized like a year ago! She is 21 and wow, it was so cool teaching along side someone with a new testimony! 

This was one of my mini companion for the Area Attack.  She was asking everyone to come to church and handing out folletos to everyone!  gfierce!  

Ah I love this gospel!  And I love being a missionary! :) 

love love love,

hermana moore

p.s.  Notice how I didn't even talk about some type of food I ate this week?  What happened! hahahahahahahahahaha.  Truth is this week was a lot of cereal, we were running around too much! :) and churrasco.... typical Guatemalan meal.... meat. ha!  Tim would love it. 

p.s.s. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  Just a heads up that doesn't exist here, we are full swing into Christmas!  Christmas is everywhere, only thing missing is the cold, it's hot!  No more rain though, which makes me a very happy hermana! :) 

p.s.s.s.  What are you thankful for?  Your missionaries?  Go help the missionaries in your ward!  Do it! Do it now! 

Last Week:

What a week!  Looking at all my pictures this week I'm embarassed, we ate so much, literally all of my pictures are of food!  Ha!  So I'm grateful for food!  No really this week was incredible!

Cooking Pollo de Crema with an investigator family.
Hoping they get baptized soon!

Pollo de Crema - so freakin good!

INCREDIBLE!  One of the greatest weeks in my mission!  Oh, most important thing to say... I didn't have changes!  I am still in La Esperanza Coatepeque!  Hallelujah!  But theres a story that goes with this........ 

So we came to zone meeting on Tuesday and I am terrified that I have changes!  

The Sister on the right is going home this week...finished her mission!  I'll miss her.
These are the girlies from my house....my loves.

And what do you know, I did.  The zone leaders wrote my name and a lot of other names on the board and told us to pass to the front to give our testimonies... so I was first. so I go up and just start balling in front of the whole zone.  I'm like, I hope you all take care of my beloved Coatepeque and I will come back one day and visit because this is my home and that was like all I could say because I was so sad!  So I sit down and one of my zone leaders, we will call him elder A, turned around and was like, you are going to return sooner than you think... so I'm like what in the world... then he goes up to the board, erases all of our names and write, amen su area... or love your area.... WHAT THE HECK ELDER.  So yeah, it was some kind of object lesson to love your area.   I could have punched him!  More like my comp could have punched him, but lucky for him I was so happy to be staying that I wasn't mad, not mad that I cried in front of the whole zone for no reason.  Oh elders... when will you learn.  But it's okay, now he owes me a chocolate ice cream cake.  So its really a win win situation! hahahaha

But all that being said, the ward thought I was leaving, I already have 4 months here.  So a family in the ward kinda threw me a despedida!  

That's like a farewell!  I showed up and I was like sorpesa!  6 more weeks with Hermana Moore! hahaha!  We had yum tostadas and a lesson with a family we are teaching!  Oh and of course, I made a cake.  Of course! :) 

Fast forward to Thanksgiving Day!  So this day was awesome!  In the morning for zone meeting we had a breakfast of eggs, pancakes and fruit!  

We all went around and said what we are grateful for! :)  I love my zone!  It was so fun!  Then we went to lunch, ha, and Hna. Guinac made something that I told her mom always makes!  Spaghetti with sausages!  Oh this woman!  She is too good to me!  I could have cried!  

Then we went out to work and had an incredible miraculous day!   We ended the day with a real Thanksgiving dinner at the restaurant beneath our house!  They both used to live in the states so they made us turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green beans and PUMPKIN PIE!  We are way too spoiled here.  I am just so happy, fat and happy! hahaha!  I love Thanksgiving! :)

too much food.

Oh, this week I gained a testimony of something I had only ever heard about.  Latinos are really nice... I had heard that if you compliment something they will give it to you... yep that had never happened until this week!  The free things I received were... this cute Mickey cut out of wood, perfume, and my personal favorite... earrings... that she literally took out of her ears and gave to me!  I was like noooooo hermana no they are yours!  But she insisted!  So I'm racking up the free things, maybe I should stop complimenting!

So now time for some miracles that happened this week.  I honestly don't think i'll have time to write them all! ahh!

We are currently teaching 5 families and I LOVE it!  It is incredible the difference between teaching one person and teaching a husband and wife and their kids!  We have been so incredibly blessed and led by the spirit in finding these wonderful people!  So Monday after p day we were going to meet with a less active but she wasn't home, so we went out to contact still in hopes of finding a less active... so we are walking and we pass by this shack of a house but there is a HUGE christmas tree inside!  A huge one that is white with beautiful ornaments and lights!  So I stopped and I was like woah, hermanita where did you get that tree!  And then bam, she turns out to be a member!  I'm not kidding! We ended up finding the less active we were looking for and are now teaching her whole family! Miracles of miracles!  It has impressed me so much how much these people LOVE Christmas!  I have seen so many beautiful decorations here in the most humble of homes!  It is incredible!  It has also gotten us into a lot of houses cause I'm always like, "ohmygosh iloveyourtree!" and then they let us in!  

So some of the other families we are teaching are just incredible!  I decided something, this change I am going to teach like there is nothing to lose, because really there isn't!  I've been teaching really directly and WOW what a difference!  These people respond to directness!  We've just been really focusing on following the Spirit and wow, like I said, best week of my mission!  We found 20 new investigators this week!  I have NEVER found that many in my mission!  It was just like the people were there waiting for us to teach them!   We just followed the Spirit and found them!  One man, we were teaching about sabbath day observance and he goes okay what time is church at, we are coming! Another woman straight up quit her job on the spot when we told her about sabbath day observance! That story was incredible because then someone knocked on the door, not kidding 2 minutes after she told us she was quitting her job so she could go to church, and they offered her a job!  I'm not joking, she literally got offered a job 2 minutes later!  We were like jaw dropped so in awe!  The Lord really does do miracles in these days.   Wow, we made a goal with the husband of the woman who got baptized last week and now he is getting baptized!  Missionary work is real, it's so incredible!  

Say hello to the new choir pianist!  Pray for me.  And our beloved ward mission leader is directing.
Again....pray for me.

I just can't even describe how incredibly happy I am here.  I mean there are hard days but for the most part, I feel like I'm walking on sunshine right now.  How does the saying go?  Seriously so blessed and truly, I'm grateful for all of you!  I can't even express how much it means to me when I read all these emails from friends and family, I'm so sorry I never have time to respond but I truly appreciate it!  Keep on keeping on people.  Live your lives to the fullest and share the good word with EVERYONE!!!!!!!!! 

love you so much.

love love love,

hermana moore!