Two weeks of blogposts

This week:

MY BROTHER IS A MARRIED MAN!!!!!!!!!!!! AND I HAVE A NEW SISTER!!!!!!!!!  From what I've heard of the wedding it sounds like it was an incredible experience.  I couldn't be happier for Tim and Katie!!!!!!!  Setting the bar high you guys :) 

Honorary bridesmaid!  Little did you know!!  You had flowers made of weeds, right?  Haha, that's all I could find.  Haha, I tried to wear blue!

We tried to wear the wedding colors!

Anyway, this week was a miraculous week!!  I have been super sore lately, not sure why, I was thinking it was Denghee but I don't have a fever or anything, so the whole week I was just sleeping during lunch and going to bed at like 8:30.  Now I'm on meds so it's not as bad.   But despite that, we truly saw miracles! 

tour of my house

the reason the house floods.  You see what I mean by open?

my kitchen

my desk

So we decided to go with all of the investigators that we weren't visiting any more but that had attended church once or more times with us this week.  Let me tell you, that was inspired.  We went with a man that was not positive in the past, but he has been going through a rough rough time and he basically could not have been more prepared!  Sometimes it takes big trials for us to come unto the Lord but it is all in the Lord's plan right?  This hermano was definitely going through a trial.  I've never seen a grown man cry before; but we just assured him that through the atonement he could, and would, be whole again.  Nothing is too big for the Lord! So with all that going with old investigators we also had a challenge from our zone to find a certain number of "news" this week, so we had to use every spare second we had to find new people to teach!  I am so grateful to have a companion because in those moments where I was like, "My body hurts and my head is going to explode I just want to go home", she was able to listen to the Spirit and we found the people we needed to find!  People that came to church!  Yeah we saw so many miracles!!! 

So we decided to fast on Saturday for a couple of reasons.  I am only human and not perfect, and I knew I would probably be pretty homesick that day, what with my brother getting married, so I was fasting for the ability to turn my whole soul to the Lord like it says in Omni 1:26, I think, and we were also fasting to be able to have investigators come to church, because that has been a real challenge for us this whole transfer!  Well wow, the fast worked so well, I have gained such a testimony of fasting on my mission.  I was able to focus on my work here and had a little quiet prayer at 11 when I knew Tim and Katie were getting sealed.  But the rest of the day I was so focused and we worked so hard, and we ended up having more investigators in church on Sunday than we have had the past 6 weeks combined!!!!  We just sat in sacrament meeting and saw our investigators coming and keep coming and keep coming!  We were like, hey I forgot we even invited you!  Another blessing of fasting, this sweet less active lady gave me this hug on Saturday afternoon and said something to me that mom has always said.  I truly believe that guardian angels exist, ones we can see and ones we cant. :)  

Before we started our fast we were gonna have lunch.  It was like 20 minutes till our lunch hour and we were going to quickly stop by a recent convert.  Well we got there and they were about to start making tortillas for lunch so I was like,  "YES we will help",  I love making tortillas.  We helped and then their lunch got there, three tamales for the 6 of them. these people are very humble.  So I was like oh maybe we should go so they can eat.  But then the hermana came up to me and was like this is for you, with a tamale in her hand.  She told us that she was so grateful that we always visited her but she never had anything to give to us, and finally she could share something with us. I was like, "No hermana that's for your 4 kids!"  She was like, "No, I insist!"  So while you guys were all at your wedding feast, I was having a little wedding feast of my own, a shared tamale and homemade tortillas.  It wasn't much, but it was more filling than anything I could have imagined.  Between the 8 of us we shared the 3 tamales and I just felt surrounded by love.  I am truly so blessed to be a missionary.  I wouldn't rather be in any other place. :) 

If you don't have a testimony of fasting,  I challenge you to make this coming fast Sunday a return to real fasting.  Fast with a purpose.  Fast for 24 hours.  Focus on serving others while you fast.  When you feel weak and just want to sleep, study and feast upon the scriptures!  Do it.  You wont regret it. I also keep a fasting journal and that has helped me a lot to remember why I'm fasting and write down relevant things that happen while I'm fasting. :) 

We are teaching someone from  the states right now.  Literally he only speaks English.  It's so nuts teaching in English but it has helped me strengthen my testimony that I was called to the right mission in the right language!!!  Haha it's hard to be serious when I'm teaching in English.  Thank goodness for Spanish and being able to be super blunt!!  Hahahaha.  But it was funny because he has a very U.S. like house.   It was made of sheet rock not cement!  I was like where am I!  There was this weird thing on the wall and I'm wondering what it is and he goes that's the air conditioner. AC????  What is that!!!!! HE EVEN GAVE US KOOL AID.  Oh sweet America. 

Happy Sunday.  I guess the Catholic church was celebrating Corpus Christi so they put balloons all over the city!

Fiesta Catholic style!

We had a fun birthday party for a 10 now 11 year old recent convert.  He is from very humble circumstances so we tried to show the parents that it doesn't take much.  Just some games!  So we did doughnuts on a string and this game with balloons!  It was so fun and we really gained the trust of the parents! :)  I love being a missionary and being creative with the way we teach :)

Thrift shop outfits, haha!

My comp is a;ways wearing big bows in her hair.  I'm taking after her now!

I can't think of anything else.  Haha I'm sure other stuff happened, but this is a pretty long email already!  Haha I'm off :)  Another week as a missionary.  Best calling in the world with the best and happiest family (of 6!!!!!!) in the world. 

I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

love love love,

hermana moore

Last week:

Subject: un año

Well just like that a year has come and gone, QUICKEST YEAR OF MY LIFE!  And now there's not much left :/. 

And that's all I have to say about that!

This week was very wet, are you surprised?  And very fun!  It went by seriously so quickly!

This week the primary president challenged all her 8-10 year olds to go out with us for an hour to visit their less active friends!  Okay seriously cutest thing ever!  Every day this week we had a lesson accompanied by a child.  It was amazing!  There are some amazing future missionaries here in this ward!  And they are pilas!  They were running around and we were like wait please walk slower!!! One of them helped us give service to this one woman carrying leña and we ended up find a new family to teach!  I really think that would be a great thing to do at home.  Mom, you could totally do it. Have your primary kids, and their moms of course, go out with the missionaries for an hour and visit the kids that aren't coming to their primary class!  It worked really well and we had quite a few more people in church this Sunday!

compita!

Speaking of my amazing ward... we have a group of members that love to help with anything that is missionary work.  So we assigned them to visit our recent converts.  They magnified... exemplified... blew up... that calling we gave them!  In 2 days these 4 men did THIRTY TWO VISITS to our recent converts!  Um what!!!!  Is that not incredible!!!!!  We were floored and as we speak they are doing it again!  They are going to do it every week on Mondays and Tuesdays!  It's incredible.  We are so blessed to have so much support!  We have started having mini mtc´s with them where we help them better their teaching skills because they are doing a lot of teaching now.  I feel like I'm working with future missionaries even though they are all over the age of 60.  This ward abounds in single old retired men that love to do missionary work!  Hahahahaha

On Friday we had some members that live in a very far part of our area that wanted to give us lunch! They live in Las Animas, and you have to take a couple methods of transportation to get there!  Then some tuktukero was trying to charge me 15 quetz for the ride and I was like no, absolutely not.  Take your 6 quetz and leave!  I learned how to be sassy and not be overcharged from Hermana Cadavieco. Those tuktukeros know not to mess with Hermana Amor now! hahahaha.  But anyway, we go to lunch and had a lovely little time with this sweet couple.  Then as we were finishing we hear this bus honking and they said there goes the last bus!  Wait ...WHAT!   We have appointments!  Then they said,  "Oh don't worry.  Sometimes tuktuks pass by... sometimes."..... and so a few minutes later we head out to... walk?  We didn't really know what to do.  We were a good ways from the house, 2 towns over! Separated by a banana finca!  So we went walking, and walking, and walking, and walking.... about an hour later a tuktuk finally passed by and picked us up!   He said, "Hey good job you almost made it home!"  So that's why I have a bunch of pics in Las Animas.  It was so fun though.  It was like a little escape from our world of San Francisco and a fun little vacation up the mountain! :) 

I know you all were hoping I would burn something on my year mark... sorry to disappoint but I didn't burn anything, what between being a bit sick and the abundance of rain... we didn't get to it.  Haha plus our house floods every other day.  Lots of rain.  This morning was hilarious.  When I wake up and get out of bed only to see water up to my ankles!  Welcome to rainy season.  Don't worry, nothing got ruined, and I have a lot of stuff hanging out to dry now, but the scriptures are safe!  That's all I care about!! 

One year anniversary for me and Hermana Goddard.  A Hermana gave us a cake with candles
so we could celebrate our mission birthdays!

I really hope you all can support your missionaries.  Just imagine how easy you all have it!  Text the missionaries and drive them to an appointment.  Yesterday the bishop, his wife and their 5 kids walked 30 minutes with us across a river and through a field to visit a family, in the rain.  But we all were so happy and it just does so much good!  Utilize your resources!  Work hard in this work! :) 

Okay and I have to put this in.... CONGRATULATIONS TIM AND KATIE ON YOUR SEALING!!!!!!! I'll be praying for you guys on Saturday :)  I couldn't be happier for you two! :)

and.... CONGRATULATIONS HANNNYYY.  My best friend is getting married!  Proud of you, happy for you!!! :)

SO MUCH HAPPINESS going on at home!  Nothing makes a missionary feel happier than seeing the ridiculous amount of blessings in the lives of all of her loved ones :)  Keep doing good so you can keep being blessed.  As the bishop said yesterday, "Blessings are for the faithful", loyal (fiel translation?)  Be faithful and loyal!! :) 

love love love,

hermana moore

p.s. on the picture.... didn't you know, these people are midgets!  And I'm a giant! :)  Hope this gives you all a little giggle :)  Her name is Hermana Luisa and she is 89 years old, very Catholic and very sassy! :)