Week 56 - San Rafael

Querido todos,

Wow this week has been a full one! Transfers happened so there are some new missionaries coming around here, it's always so hard to say good byes to those who you get close with but it will make for a good reunion one day. :) We also had a worldwide missionary broadcast that was amazing. We were taught on how to be better teachers and missionaries; our purpose was really explained to us, we are here to teach repentance and baptize converts. The importance of the doctrine of Christ was also stressed, the gospel is so simple faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. All of the doctrine is connected together into one big circle and we should strive every day to deepen our understanding of the doctrine of Christ. There were also some changes made to our everyday schedule as missionaries. The jist is that we now have more flexibility when we do things and schedule things and the things we focus on each week were simplified to really stress that as missionaries we are working on finding those that are prepared for the gospel that have never heard it before. So that was a great learning opportunity this week. 

Hermana Méndez and I saw miracles this week. We had some hard times this week as everyone does, we had some rollercoasters during our days and at points motivation was really low when lessons canceled and people dropped. But there were two times this week we said prayers sucked it up and went out and so much came from those times! We were able to run into a couple people who talked to us and we even found a referral as we followed the spirit and we ran into him right as he was pulling into his driveway from work. The Lord really does bless us when we first put faith in him. But we have to put in work first to receive the blessings. The lord blesses us with miracles every day we just need to look and find them sometimes it's hard but they are always there.

As for this week, my goal is to really work in Christ like attributes to be in tune with the spirit we really need to walk as Christ did. Developing Christ like attributes isn't the easiest thing sometimes but it helps us become the person God sees that we can be. So this week I invite you all to pick an attribute to work on and really try to improve. Set a vision and then goals on how to achieve that.

I testify that Christ loves us so much and that he is always walking by our sides. How amazing it is to have that knowledge. This week it was really stressed how important it is to gain a personal relationship with the savior and how we can do that is by studying the doctrine of Christ. 

Que tengan un buen semana!! Cuídense! 

Hermana Foster

Random Selfie

Week 55 - San Rafael

Hola! Qué tal? Espero que todo es bien con ustedes.

This week has been pretty full. We got transfers! Hermana Méndez and I will be staying together in Novato! We are excited to have another transfer together, we are really hoping to find people who are prepared and in need of the gospel so your prayers would be appreciated!

The power of prayer is an amazing ability that we have and when we join together miracles happen! I have definitely developed a testimony of prayer on my mission. It's something we can do all day every day and it's an opportunity we have to talk to our dad in heaven who is listening waiting for the opportunity to bless us with what we need, whether that be trials or blessings.

Let's see I'll give a few highlights from the week: 

• We woke up early one morning and went to the beach to do a personal study. It was amazing! If you've never studied in a peaceful part of nature you should, the spirit is able to reside so strongly in a quiet part of the Lords creation. 

• We went to urgent care for Hermana Mendezs back and found out she has a pinched nerve and strained muscle. So we rested some this week but she's awesome so we really didn't stay in all that much and she received a blessing that helped her a lot a lot. 
• We got drenched at a service in the rain and then soaked again in church clothes while running to a lesson with an investigator. We met with the Elders and taught a women while it was literally pouring so hard. We taught her the restoration and as we talked the storm slowly but surely left and we walked out into peace. I mean it was all the spirit but pretty cool that the spirit calmed a storm :) The power of the gospel is so great. 
• We got to see President Wright because he just wanted to talk with us for a bit so we visited with him and it was awesome, I love him and am so grateful for him and his wife and all they do for the Lord and us.
• We had an awesome lesson with a less active we randomly found. It's amazing to feel the love the Lord has for everyone at all times. He's always there just waiting for us to go to him so he can reach down and love us.
• We got to do service at a part of the redwood forest and holy cow those things are massive, so so beautiful though. We helped clean out all the mud in the cracks of the boardwalk and move mud from off the trails so that was pretty fun. 

That's all I can think of right now but it was a full and good week. For this transfer I've decided to focus on a certain thing each week so I will try to remember to talk about that each week this transfer. This week is motivation. The quote behind it is: "Find happiness in ordinary things and keep your sense of humor." From Boyd K. Packer. I guess I don't ever really talk about hard times in these emails but I can promise you that they are there, it's just not what one tries to focus on as a missionary. Missions are the greatest. Quite possibly the greatest decision I've ever made was to serve a mission. But that doesn't mean it's not hard, it still sucks sometimes. It's hard, trying, tiring, stressful, frustrating, confusing, overwhelming, and yes sometimes there are points when you lay down and think wow I don't want to do this anymore but guess what? That's life, so you suck it up, of course offer a long prayer because those always help, and then you continue. Because that's the secret the Lord asks for a broken heart and contrite spirit, so to grow and become who we need to be it doesn't have to be hard and it does have to hurt.

So this week is really focusing on motivation and the reason I am here. No need to worry I'm doing fine. Everyone has hard days in a week though and it's no different for missionaries. But I'm here and I'm here because I have seen the change in me because of this gospel and I feel of its truthfulness and the blessings that come from it, and how selfish of me it would be to keep that to myself. Everyone deserves to hear what gives me so much hope in life. So, I invite you all to think about what you do and why you do it this week. Find the why, look at who you are because of what you do, and then continue to find and see why you have the motivation you do. 

I love you all and hope that your week has been awesome!

Seguir adelante!!! :) Have another great week. 

Con amor

Hermana Foster

PS - Sam and Elder Field sang at a zone conference.  This is a mash up of Come Thou Fount and If You Could Hie to Kolab.

This one I guess is exercise but appears to be Yoga and the lighter side of being a missionary:-)

Dora who provides dinner for them once every week.

Weird Selfie!

Week 54 - San Rafael

Well hello hello! It's already been a week?

What happened this week? Well we had some pretty darn awesome lessons. We had two with Jairo this week! WHAT! We went deep into the restoration and the plan of salvation and it was so awesome. Jairo also brought his brother with him to hear the message that we are sharing, we gave him a Book of Mormon and dove into the deep end of teaching with him. We also taught one of the Elders investigators the restoration and everyone bore powerful testimony!

Today I read a talk called The Perfect Lie and you should all go read it because it is legit awesome!! It talked about Satans perfect lie, which is to be more Christ like we need to do more, be more, have more, or work more. He lives by the equation me+more=Christlike. He makes us think we are never good enough and when we are focusing on that we are never able to remember that the saviors grace is sufficient for all. What we need to realize is that in reality the equation is me+Christ=more. When we stop chasing perfection and we chase Christ instead our world will change and our progress will explode.

I invite you all to always ALWAYS bear your testimony. It is such a powerful thing you have and the people around you deserve to hear what you have in your heart, they don't feel the happiness you have.

The spirit very much worked through me this week and it was amazing to see. I've come to appreciate the spirit on a huge level. The gift of tongues is so real there were lessons this week that things just flowed from me and while they did I sat and thought wow I'm very much not doing this on my own.

And then to take it a step farther the perfect things were said in the lessons by my companion and I as well as the Spanish elders. It is SO true that if the spirit isn't with us nothing will ever be accomplished. 

I did also go on exchanges with Sister Gardner who is probably the cutest and sweetest person ever. She was going to college for music before her mission too so we talked for quite a while about that. We also did an insane service helping someone move two storage units into one.... on a different floor. It was an adventure that we were told wasn't going to take too long, that was false but we got to Tetris boxes into a storage unit so somewhat fun.

Sister Gardner taught me how the spirit is really very sensitive to our surroundings. It can't be with us in a hectic atmosphere so we really need to be careful what we watch and listen to. I love her and was thankful to get to be with her for a little bit.

And then to finish off the week we got to have an amazing zone conference where I learned many things! I also sang at the meeting with Elder Field, a mash up of come thou fount of every blessings and if you could hie to kolob and it was probably one of my favorite performances. The spirit was so strong and singing again was so fantastic. That was definitely one for the books.

I learned so many things but there were a few things I wanted to just slip in here. The first is that the greatest human condition there is to exist is a condition where the spirit is present and that the worst is one where the spirit is gone.

Second is that there needs to be more of an emphasis in the work of the Lord. Missionaries are in the world to help the members not the other way around. The work of the lord is hastening and the second coming is on its way and we do need to prepare ourselves and we have to keep the covenants we have made and be in the world finding those who need this gospel.

And finally something I loved was when we talked about Peter. Being a missionary can be hard but what great examples we have. Peter went and preached, helped, and served the very people that crucified and tortured his Lord and our Savior. How many Christ like attributes he must have had to not think about himself, to not judge or be angry at those who had committed this act. How much love he must have had for Christ to put himself behind him and go to give what he loved to those who would end up rejecting him anyway. I love being a missionary and we are all missionaries and we need to work together now to BEGIN harvesting the field that is so white and ready to harvest.

I love you all and thank you for your prayers and support it is felt, I hope your week was great and I hope this week you can share your testimony with 2 people!!

Love you all!

Cuídense 

Hermana Foster 

Hermana Lewis who returned home and came back to visit!