Week 70 - Stony Point

Hello hello everyone! Wow I really never know how to start these emails but we will just start off and I'll list some of the highlights from the week, it was a busy week. 

We had a lot of finding time, our area is pretty new to both of us so we are trying to get to know it. Holy cow it was only twelve million degrees outside. We were sweating so much like so so much but a couple interesting things happened during that time.

• At one point a cat walked up behind us as we were at a door but we didn't see it and he just walked on up and rubbed himself against Hermana Jimenez’s leg and she about lost it for a second which was really funny.
• We meet a man who called the huge pine trees in his yard his children because he had planted them in 1985.
• We meet a women and her super cute granddaughter who was trying to get us to hold the snails on the wall of her house.
• We meet a nice man who was working in his yard that got to know us and actually invited us over for dinner because he remembered meeting the missionaries at one point in his life and thought they were friendly. 

We helped out with a huge service project this week called the human race. We helped set everything up, tons of tents and tables and chairs and then helped run the event. It was pretty crazy and there were tons of people but it was good.

Volunteers of the human race with a 75 year old runner

We were also able to attend a volunteer dinner that was good.  There was a raffle that went on and everyone knew who the missionaries were because I guess they have been helping with the service for the past 9 years so we were included in the raffle. Funniest thing ever was that Elder Field won tickets to a baseball game. So yes, we had to explain that we can't go to that so it was put back in the raffle and then at the end the big prize was a toaster, microwave, griddle, coffee maker thing and Elder Jones was the one that won it. We were all dying but he literally walked away with this huge box with whatever the heck you call that thing. They definitely asked us what we were going to do with the coffee maker and we said we were just going to make ourselves some hot chocolate.

We were able to see how one person can completely change your day. Wow we all have an excuse to always be ready to help someone and give a smile and nice comment because we never know how much it could help someone out. After walking around for quite a while we ran into a lady that was so nice and talked with us for a while and it turned our whole day around and helped us to continue on walking and going.

We had food Bank which was good because we got to see Catalina. After doing the service she took us to the little market attached to the food bank and it's the cutest little store.

And everyone there was so nice. Catalina bought us a drink and then we were talking with the workers there and there's a rule that if you buy some food you get three things free from a certain section so we got some free food and the nice cashier lady told us that we could come back and that anything would be free for us.

As we were driving home to change I realized just how much I've come to love the Hispanic culture. I love their culture and the people. They are so outgoing, talk to anyone and where there's one Hispanic there are many and they all know each other. There's so much love and friendship. Wow I'm going to miss being with Hispanic people. Everyone at church stands and hugs and greets and there's always food haha there's never not. But I love it I love the people and I love being with them and it probably will be hard adjusting to that.

We had the greatest lesson with Catalina! We went over the restoration and we used an object lessons with cups that we have. It's a simple way of teaching and it totally made sense with Catalina. We were really focusing on the importance of the priesthood power. The spirit was really present during the lesson and we invited her to be baptized.

Her face was so intent as we extended the invitation and she answered saying that she would really like to be. She expressed interest in knowing more as well but accepted the invitation. We think that she could feel the spirit so strong, she may have not recognized what it was but she could feel it, and that was one of the greatest things to see. The elders were also able to give her a blessing of health and I think she could feel the spirit during that blessing as well. Afterwards she sat for a moment in just silence and was looking down. It was brief but I was able to see it, and then she said the closing prayer and she thanked God for sending the missionaries and then at the end again paused and then thanked him again for sending the missionaries. Wow. It was amazing and then of course she gave us some food to eat before we left.

After the lesson I sat pondering again just about how this is going to end soon. And whereas there are things to be excited for there are so many reasons that I don't want to leave. I love these people so much I didn't know you could gain a love for people as much as this and that's something amazing to me. I love the spirit that's in a lesson and the happiness that is felt when someone gets it and feels it too. I love the feeling of knowing you had a good day of finding and the feeling of knowing you knocked way too many doors that day. Being a missionary is hard and I think sometimes that can overwhelm a person but it truly is the greatest thing that one can do. The world is a very different place and I'm not sure if I want to be put back in it yet. :)

And then to end off we can talk about something I've learned this week because there's always something to he learned. This week a lot was discussed about our conversion and how necessary it is. 

During church one of the members said that the spirit told him very strongly that Satan knows what he's doing in this world and that he has plans to attack those who believe in Christ. So we talked about how we gain a conversion and how we keep it and I can't remember how many times I've said it but it comes to the little things. We will become converted to Christ through reading about him and trying to live like him and we will come to love God as we talk to him and obey him but we have to continually work to do those things because the minute we stop working is the minute that Satan can step in and work to destroy what we built up. So remember the simple things and always always do them! 

That's all for this week! Happy happy birthday to my mom the greatest mom ever and happy happy Mother's Day to all!!

Love you!!

Hermana Foster

Two pictures of this biggest rose bushes I have ever seen and they smelled so wonderful!