🔔 Jingle [Wedding] Bells! 🔔

Hi guys! I just want to wish a Merry Christmas to my American friends today and a late Feliz Navidad to my Latino friends/family, porque ustedes saben que la fiesta verdadera empieza el 24 jajajaja!

Here's some fun random facts of the week!

• I ate so much that I am currently sick and still don't regret a single plate from last night.
• I accidentally ran over a squirrel this week on the way to a teaching appointment... oops.
• Met and am currently teaching a woman who was taught by Elders in El Salvador but then got in a car accident and literally forgot all she learned! However, she said what she does remember is the elders, church and this special feeling she had around them. SHE'S SO AWESOME! (I will write more on her next week) 
• Went Christmas caroling with my district last night. Twice when we went to visit a home and the less active family wasn't there, on our way out they would be walking in! That is more than just luck! 
• I get to Skype my family TODAY!
• Got calls/texts at midnight to wish us a Merry Christmas from investigators who don't understand our strict sleeping schedules. Although we couldn't answer we thought it was sweet that they thought of us and made the effort.
• My Colombian investigator is getting baptized this Saturday! She's awesome!! 

This week consisted of multiple parties. Lots of Christmas festivities and 2 weddings! Last transfer I wrote about a fast Sunday where an inactive couple Hermana Johnson, Hermana Doyle and I found came to church together for the first time in years and how the woman came up and bore her testimony with me. Their code names will be Queen and King. Well they have been active ever since AND they were married this Friday! This is a step they took so that in a year from now they can be sealed in the temple for all eternity! However they might wait a year and 2 months so that I can be at the sealing after my mission. :') They're so precious and dear to my heart, I love Queen and King! Also a family in our ward was sealed in the temple! We didn't get to go to the temple but they looked so happy after. Marriage, it's so wonderful... Okay enough on marriage I can't be thinking about that right now haha! Let's get to the missionary experiences! 

My testimony of the scriptures was strengthened this week after having a really cool experience with an investigator. This investigator is the boyfriend of the relief society president's daughter! His code name will be Nefi, because his desire to learn more about the gospel and follow the Lord resembles the faith and dedication of Nefi. Also because of the following experience I'm going to share about him. I have been teaching Nefi since last transfer. He has always been very interested, attends church regularly, loves the lessons BUT he hadn't gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon or Joseph Smith. This was important to me considering it's an essential part of the gospel. We decided to wait on his baptism until he felt confident in that decision. About 2 weeks ago we expressed the importance of reading the scriptures to understand and expand our knowledge of the gospel. He started reading and Wednesday night I was the proudest hermana in the whole world, Nefi had read almost 3 chapters and loved it! He said he prayed before reading like we advised him to and in his words, "It was so weird... I like understood everything and I could relate to Nephi and his experience. It was like it was speaking to me." That my friends is something powerful called studying the scriptures with the help of the holy ghost! He was so excited to tell us all he had learned and how shocked he was that it related to current situations in his life. We read all together with his girlfriend (she's the best missionary to him, I can't wait to double date with them some day and attend their temple sealing :') ) and it was one of the most spiritual lessons I've had. We decided to set a baptismal date for January due to his desire and growth. After asking how he felt about January 27th he pauses and says, "Can we do the 21 instead?" Um HECK YEAH we can! Hahaha! We were so excited! I just love Nefi and his girlfriend who is so cool for bringing her boyfriend to the gospel. Their families will be so blessed! Also they're engaged!!!!

I had the coolest experience street contacting. We spent around 2 1/2 hours in one apartment complex meeting all these wonderful refferals and potential investigators. As we were walking out of one particular building I see these two little boys playing on the steps. My initial thought was, they're children, they won't be interested or even understand what you are saying so just keep walking. Suddenly another thought came into my head, "What if those were your little brothers and someone passed on the opportunity to teach them about their Savior, Jesus Christ." Without even warning my companion I called out to them, "HEY GUYS!" I asked them what they knew about Jesus Christ, showed them a children's video from the church that explains who Jesus Christ is and these kids were MIND BLOWN. Within a matter of minutes they had around 6-8 of their little friends gathered around us asking us to show them the "cool Jesus video" and to talk to them about the Book of Mormon. They all thought it was cool all because the two original little boys thought it was cool. Here's me and my favorite little missionaries. Lesson one: This truly is a chosen generation. Lesson two: NEVER pass up on the opportunity to testify and teach of Jesus Christ.

And so, I would like to conclude my email with a brief testimony of my Savior and older brother, Jesus Christ. I know that He lives, I know He walked the earth and during His earthly ministry set the perfect example for us to follow in our lives. Although our journey through life will never be quite as perfect as His which is why He atoned for our sins making it so that we could repeatedly repent and try again after mistakes are made. This gives me hope because I mess up so much every single day! But because of Christ and his important role in our salvation we are never out of reach of Christ's atoning sacrifice. Being able to share this with God's children makes me realize how important my role is as a misiónera. I have seen this gift bless and change the lives of my investigators and members and it's only possible because He lived and died for us. I know He lives and that He loves us, because of Him we are never alone and I am ridiculously proud to wear his name on my tag and represent him for these 18 months.

Have a wonderful Christmas! I love you all!

Con amor,

Hermana Tapia 

A "Winter" Wonderland

¡Hola!

¿Cómo están todos? There is no way it's been a week I feel like I emailed just two days ago. The weeks are going by so fast! This week was filled with lots of lessons, beautiful people that I love, una fiesta navideña, humbling experiences and a wonderful baptism for my sweet girl Winter.

Winter had a wonderful baptism! I'm so proud of her and her example to her family. We had the young women sing and the primary children give the talks and prayers. Then Elder Nash who found Winter and her family baptized her. It was so wonderful to see her family there who hadn't been to church in years decide to attend and be reminded of the spirit at church they have been missing since they stopped attending. President and Sister Huntsman came to the baptism as well and loved it, they support and love us so much. Winter loved her baptism and we are so happy for her. We had hot chocolate and cake at her house last night after her confirmation and she loved talking about her baptism and receiving the holy ghost. Despite being so young she has a mature and bright spirit. She also decided she wants to "be like us" and serve a mission when she turns 19! I'm so proud, I really love my Winter girl. Winter is squatting in one of the pictures to not embarrass me for being the size of an 11 year old, hahaha! Also we found out her baptismal suit was on backwards 5 minutes before the baptism started so try to not make fun of me, it was only my second baptism okay! That's my defense! jajajaj!

After much fasting, praying and tears we decided we will have to stop teaching DJ within the next few weeks. He recently had something happen that lead him away from us and back into his addictions. Because he is ashamed of his actions he has been overcome with a feeling of unworthiness and has been avoiding us. The other day we got to talk to him on the phone. When I spoke he got emotional and said how great it is to hear my voice and how I have been a light in his life that he doesn't deserve anymore. I tried so hard to testify to him otherwise but there was only so much I could say. He is very unhealthy and unhappy. We love him but can't do much for him anymore. It really breaks my heart to watch him make bad decisions. I thought, maybe I didn't teach him well enough or maybe he didn't feel God's love for him through us. But at the end of the day everyone has their free agency which is the freedom to choose our own actions. But it's been hard letting him go and being so limited on our ability to help him. But I have faith that he will change his habits and come into Christ, while I am serving or in years but I know it will happen. All I can do now is pray that he will remember all he has been taught and apply it to his life.

All other investigators are progressing at their own pace, I love them and have met wonderful people this week that I can't wait to continue teaching!

The weather was horrible this week. It was ice cold outside + 400 mph winds + humidity + snow + shivering so bad our bodies shake and we can barely move - the sun ÷ the time it takes us to walk around from appointment to appointment and talking to people on the streets who are equally as cold and hate us for stopping them = December in Virginia. It seems that no matter how many layers of clothing I wear the humidity slips the cold air through the layers and into my body. Hand/toe warmers are basically the reason I'm still alive. Hahaha! I was also overcome this week with a feeling of homesickness now that Christmas is right around the corner. I was filled with loneliness and a longing to be with my family to celebrate this time of the year. Determined to stop being selfish and seek council from my Father I said a prayer and tried to have an attitude of gratitude only thinking about the blessings of my day. Later that day I read a conference talk given in the Christmas devotional given just a few weeks ago. A talk by Elder Kevin R. Duncan really hit home for me in his talk, Heavenly Gifts. He talked about Christmas as a new missionary in Chile and explained much of the struggles I am having, his words were just what I needed to hear in that moment:

"If Christ had left His heavenly home and come to earth to suffer and die for us, I could certainly leave my home and put up with a few little discomforts to share His wonderful message."

I am here for my Savior, to express gratitude for all He has done for me, these little discomforts are nothing in comparison to all He has done for me. This reminder was the turning point in my week. I just remember I'm working for my Father in heaven and my Savior who have done so much for me and suddenly cold weather, homesickness and tiny struggles really don't seem so bad. :) I am grateful to be here. I encourage you ALL to listen to that talk it is incredible and I bawled like a baby the whole way through! Hahaha!

That's all for now! Talk to you all on Christmas next Monday! Love you People!

Con amor,
Hermana Tapia

The Time Satan Sent a Blizzard the Morning of My First Baptism & Nearly Ruined Everything :)

The title sums everything up. I had the most stressful week of my life BUT HEY! Missionary work is still AMAZING, now let's talk about the blessings of adversity because somehow it ties into this! This week wasn't actually the greatest. It was kind of REALLY hard and stressful for me if I'm being 100% honest. I had to work a lot on personal stuff that was really hard for me. I got discouraged so many time that made me realized I was too hard on myself and it had stopped me from progressing. Discouragement is a tool Satan uses against us to stop us from progressing. BE CAREFUL AND BE AWARE OF IT! As I became humble enough to accept my weaknesses and relied on the Lord to help me change I was blessed as was my companion and my investigators. But like one of my favorite quotes says, "A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor." It seems it's always the most challenging times in my life where I learn and grow the very most. It has really helped me understand why adversity is necessary in our lives. It's evidence of God's love for us, that he loves us enough to make us who we need to become even when the learning process can be challenging. I invite you all to watch a video called "The Will of God". It is short and simple yet powerful and helps us understand how to seek and feel God's love through trials:

I just want to say I love my fellow Virginians... they're my people, my friends, my hermanos/hermanas, mi familia... but I can't help but laugh at how terrified they are of snow. When an inch of snow falls they shut down their businesses, cancel school and hide in their homes. They go into this emergency hibernation mode, hahahaha! Although I find it amusing, it also was the reason the baptism ALMOST got cancelled this Saturday. But THANK GOODNESS the show went on! 

The baptism was wonderful! I will use code names to not confuse you all, the recent convert and his wife love Mickey & Minnie Mouse so that will be their code names for today. If you go back to my first transfer in Old Town you will find a story of me with a sweet woman (Minnie) I once met at an elderly mission couple's home one Sunday for dinner. She opened up to me about her struggles with her husband, we cried and talked for hours. I promised her things would get better as she remained faithful and the Lord had a plan for her and her baby. She said she would pray so that I would get transferred to Little River. Guys, it was HER HUSBAND that got baptized this Saturday! It has been a crazy, incredible journey! I remember when I first got here my companions were terrified of Mickey and he never wanted to talk to us... NOW?! Now he has given up all his addictions, is an INCREDIBLE father and husband, is now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is just kicking Satan's butt! We're also his best friends now, he finally likes us! Minnie is SO happy! I don't know what I did to deserve the opportunity to meet them and be an instrument in the Lord's hands to watch this incredible conversion. I LOVE my mission, I LOVE the people I teach, I LOVE the gospel and I absolutely know it is true! If you would have told me the night I met Minnie that I was going to teach and later baptize her husband I would have thought it was a joke! But here we are, the Lord is powerful, He is All-Knowing and I don't care who you are or what you're struggling with, if you have the desire to change and follow God you can and you will. Mickey asked me to speak on the Holy Ghost at his baptism, I got to sing a special musical number, "Caundo Me Bautice" and nearly the whole ward was there, we almost didn't fit in the room! Minnie and I totally hugged and bawled during his baptism, Mickey gave a beautiful testimony that ended in him bearing his testimony of his Hermanas Misioneras and that made my life complete. Here are two very special pictures to me, the day I met Minnie in my first area and the day we attended her husband's baptism. What a special family and story that I will cherish forever.

I'm liking this code name thing so it's going to continue. Remember the 11 year old who is reactivating her whole family? Her codename will be Winter! So basically she's the little sister I have always wanted and is getting baptized this Saturday! She is still beautiful, strong and an amazing example to everyone! She is done with all the lessons and I was asked to sub for her class this Sunday at church which was so fun! If you know me, you know I love children and teaching them about the gospel. Winter also got to sing at our ward Christmas concert last night that I also performed in with the missionaries and sung "Mando a Su Hijo". Here is a cute picture of Hermana Gonzalez, Winter and I after the Christmas concert. I'm excited to share about her baptism next week! 

DJ is still breaking my heart and making me really dislike free agency. Keep praying.

Snow is a missionary's worst enemy because when it snows we aren't allowed to drive our cars. What does this mean for a missionary in the DC South mission? Well, we cover multiple cities and our investigators live quite a ways from each other. We had amazing members and investigators take us to and from our appointments and dinner Saturday, bless their hearts. I wanted to take a picture of the snow for you all but literally after Saturday it stopped snowing and by Sunday morning it was all melted! So it decided to snow for the baptism and our super busy Saturday evening... Hermana Gonzalez and I are sure it was Satan trying to ruin the baptism. There's no more snow but praying we don't have more snow days. I'm including a winter missionary selfie because I'm so excited to wear warm winter clothes!

Anyways, adversity is a learning opportunity, the gospel changes lives, snow is my worst enemy, I love being a missionary and I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Con amor,
Hermana Tapia

I'M A MOM!!!! ❤

¡Hola queridos!

Sooo, on the mission when you become a trainer you become a "mom", you love your companion like your own daughter! This means I'm officially a mom! I'm excited to introduce you to my my nueva compañera/daughter, Hermana Gonzalez! Did I trick her into thinking I only spoke Spanish for the entire transfer meeting up until the very end? I most definitely did. And did she completely fall for it? Yes, yes she did. Hahaha! It was a great way to break the ice, we get along SO well and I love her! We have had a great and very eventful first week together. I never thought I would have a Latina companion since I'm a native Spanish speaker but here we are just killing it. (also SO grateful I don't have to teach her Spanish, the Lord knows I don't have that much patience... yet!) She is a Paraguayana, she's so funny and hard working! We are different in many ways yet hold the same love for the gospel so that has allowed us to establish a great friendship and love for la obra misiónal Here's a cute picture of us hugging for the first time when President announced companionships. (How adorable are President and Sister Huntsman in the background? I just love them, they're seriously like parents to us. Pretty sure I could dedicate an email to bragging about them... stay tuned.)

Sad news, DJ is struggling hardcore... please keep my bff in your prayers. He's going through a really hard time and things aren't looking too good.

The Columbian investigator is doing so well! She passed her baptismal interview and then her mother-in-law had emergency surgery the week of her baptism which made things hard cause her father-in-law was supposed to baptize her. Her mother-in-law's surgery made it impossible for them to travel to Virginia from Pennsylvania. But her mother-in-law is all better and they should be coming this week so we can move forward! She has made many friends in the ward and loves it! We love her!

This week we saw so many blessings. We received a call one night from our zone leaders about a less active member who wants to come back to church and wants his 11 year old daughter to take the lessons. This little girl instantly fell in love with the gospel, brought her inactive family to church on Sunday that led to getting their records from their old ward, them loving our ward and deciding it is time to come back. This little girl is reactivating her father, grandmother, aunt, uncle and niece. She is also a spiritual powerhouse and got really emotional in our lessons this week. She has such an old spirit and this thirst for the gospel of Jesucristo even though she is so young. She reminds me of myself when I was her age, so curious and desiring of a relationship with God. She is also set for baptism this month. Her and her family can't wait. Here's her and I at church on Sunday. I love her SOOO much!

I have my first baptism this week with the woman from Peru's husband!!! I can't believe the time has come. I feel like just last week they were on the verge of divorce and their relationship was so unhealthy and NOW we go over and they're either serving each other, cooking together or cracking jokes. And when he's at work she just talks and talks about the incredible change in him and how his decision to repent is blessing her life and the life of their newborn. AH! I just love them so much, I wanna pack them in my suitcase and bring them home to Utah with me! I never want to leave them! My dear Tia Karry was saying how their example is proof this is the work of God; what 19 year old girls can save a marriage? They can't! It's the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord is saving their marriage through us. What a privilege it is to be His hands here in the DC South mission. I know that as we follow Him we can all be His hands and help move forward the work in these days.

Here's my new district! Literally everyone is new to Little River except for Elder Andrus (The district leader) and I! We now have an all Spanish district so that's exciting! I was told my cheeks are getting chubby in my recent pictures so basically there goes the last of my self esteem. Hahahaha! I'm kidding! I am going to be honest though I have had to get rid of some skirts... hahaha! I love you wonderful people! I will talk to you all next week! Don't forget to serve someone to today! Los quiero! 

Con amor,

Hermana Tapia

2 Transfers & 20 Pounds Later...

Thankful moment: my family and friends back home. I love you guys so much. You have all been so important to me and I'm grateful for you all. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember to have grateful mindsets every other day of the year. I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with lots of food and family. The following pictures perfectly depict what mine was like after 4 dinner/dessert appointments. This is what we felt at the end of each visit:

Dinner #1:

Dinner #2:

Dinner #3:

Dinner #4:

Updates:

• The pregnant hermana from Peru had her baby Friday! Her husband that we are teaching is doing AWESOME! The baby and the mom are happy and healthy and taking care of them was the highlight of my week. I love babies sooooo much. Not being able to hold this baby is torturing me.
• Got lost on our way to a lesson one night and were lost for about half an hour then Hermana Doyle accidentally turned onto an express lane so in other words I experienced the most stressful 30 minutes of my entire life this week.
• DJ is still my favorite person ever and progressing every day. I think has a date with a single woman he met in our ward this week. ;)
• Visited the cutest widows in the whole universe this for Thanksgiving. Here's us with one of my favorite Hermanas ever. Do not lie and say she's isn't the cutest lady you've ever seen. Also, she literally changed into this outfit for this picture, I have picture evidence of her looking through her closet after asking if we could get a picture with her and her tree hahaha! 

For the moment of truth... transfers. 

Okay before I say anything I just want everyone to know that I am truly, internally freaking out and Hermana Doyle is one of the hardest goodbye I've had to make... I love her so much. But... I am staying in Little River!!! And I wish I could tell you who my new companion is but I can't... she's brand new and will be arriving to DC today and I will meet her tomorrow. Yep, I am training a brand new missionary. I almost passed out when I received a call from President Huntsman asking me to train so early in my mission. Missionaries train toward the end of their missions but President is sure and confident that I am ready to train. I pray some of his confidence in this decision rubs off on me. Aside from being nervous I really am so excited to train and the fact that the Lord has called me gives me peace. I am also excited to learn as much as I can from my new Hermana! I love her already! Expect to hear from her next week!

Milagro:
I think this Sunday was the best Sunday of my entire mission. We had 11 investigators at church with their families. Guys! Hard work pays off I pinky promise! They learned so much more about what we have been teaching them and got to know the ward members. The peace felt at church is incomparable and is a way we demonstrate our desire to follow God and learn more about him. They all loved it and I was SO happy. I LOVE my investigators and this ward so much! I'm so glad I get to stay and continue working here.

Despite not being able to listen to the Michael Bublè Christmas album this year... I AM SO EXCITED FOR CHRISTMAS! If you haven't already I invite you all to go here and watch the #lighttheworld videos. Starting the 1st of December the church will have a video and service ideas that we do worldwide everyday leading up to Christmas. This season I invite you all to think of ways to give to those in need. Service on the mission has impacted me so much and has brought many blessings to my life and the lives of others. I know that as we think less about ourselves and our needs and more about others that we will live happier and Christ centered lives. I also invite you to study the life of Jesus Christ who dedicated his life to serving others.

Transfers are always sad but I am grateful for the friendships and experiences of my first two transfers. This was my last week being a trainee. Here's one more picture of our awesome Chinese/Spanish district who will all be separated next transfer, they're some of my greatest friends now. I love being a missionary so much. I love you guys! Hasta la proxima semana! 

Con amor,

Hermana Tapia

The Miracle of the Restoration & My BFFs

Hola Hermanos y Hermanas!

Starting off with the thankful moment: My fav. investigator DJ.

I have to start this week with DJ. I had NO IDEA I would love my investigators as much as I do! Our awesome, 40 year old Bolivian DJ is such a champ. He suffers a lot with depression, anxiety and temptations. But he is working so hard to overcome that rely on the Lord. His baptism is in 2 weeks and he is doing so so well and preparing so much! We had a lesson with him everyday this week and he LOVED church on Sunday. (President Swift, the president of the DC temple came and spoke with his wife. I got to translate for Sister Swift and that was awesome! Everything they said was exactly what DJ needed.) We really just love him and he tells us how much we mean to him and how much he loves us. I am so overwhelmed at how well he is doing and progressing. Our ward just loves him! He in teaching the young men how to DJ and the stake asked him to DJ for a stake dance coming up, he says he finally has friends and he finally has the Lord's true church in his life and how it has brought joy to his life after being so alone for so long. He is the greatest person, I can't tell you guys how much he means to me. Here's us and him taking a #churchselfie.

Go back a couple weeks and you will learn about a cute recent convert from Peru who is pregnant and prayed I would get transferred to Little River. Welllll, we visit her almost every week. And at every visit she would talk about how much she is struggling with her marriage, how her husband suffers with addictions that started as a young boy that he never took care of. It broke my heart. So I made it a goal to teach his husband and we have been for the last 4 weeks and guess what... He has not missed a day of church, their marriage is so much better, he is now overcoming his addictions and changing. This week he said he was ready to be baptized and will be baptized NEXT MONTH!! I love them so so much! They are one of my favorite couples I have gotten to teach. Lessons with them are incredible, I look forward to the one tonight!

I want to take the opportunity to share with you how I teach the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ using these simple cups along with great references from the Bible. Here it is:

1. This is the church Christ established on the earth when He came, the principles, His teachings and His 12 apostles. We know this because of the records of the life of Jesus Christ found in the holy scriptures.

2. Following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the death of His apostles came the great apostasy that the Bible talks about in Amos 8: 11-12. During this time the fullness of his church was lost, there were no men that held the priesthood, without it ordinances could not be done properly.

3. Although the gospel was no longer found on the earth there were still good people that wanted to follow Christ. So, they all took portions of the Bible and tried to interpret it, took some teachings and started churches of their own. These are some of the many, many churches we have on the earth today. They were started by great people that wanted to follow Christ but simply didn't have the fullness. This is part of the great apostasy found in Amos. 

 

4. But, God loves his children and planned the restoration of the gospel to take place through a prophet by the name of Joseph Smith. Through him we now have the fullness of the gospel that Christ establish when He was on the earth. 12 apostles (There have been changes recently so this isn't up to date), a living prophet, the priesthood (that gives men the proper authority to baptize and act in the name of Jesus Christ himself) and the same principles and commandments Christ taught during His earthly ministry. This leads to the conclusion that there are many great churches that are guided by the Savior's teachings but only one that has been restored by them and has the proper authority and the completed set of scriptures referring to the Bible & Book of Mormon. Because of the many translations and interpretations of the Bible there needed to be a second book mentioned in the Bible in Ezekiel 37: 15-17. As you can see Christ is still at the head of the church but leads and guides us through a living prophet that receives revelation.

 

I really want all of you to know that I believe this, that I have read the Book of Mormon and I have asked Heavenly Father if it is true and THAT is why I know. Not because a friend told me, not because a family member told me or an acquaintance but because my Heavenly Father has let me know through the holy ghost. I encourage you all to get an answer in that way as well. Asking Him and reading the book. I know you will get your answer. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Another highlight of this week:
We had another mission conference Friday with Elder Arnold of the quorum of the 70 and it was amazing. I love him and his wife so much. They were mission presidents in Argentina then lived in Brazil and have gorgeous Spanish/Portuguese. Their training and talks were exactly the council I needed and I grew to love them very much! Here is Hermana Doyle and me with Sister Arnold who is now one of my favorite women ever!

Transfers are this Saturday and if I get transferred right now I will LITERALLY be heartbroken and I will hide in Little River forever. (Hahaha I'm kidding... maybe) But next week I will give you all the big news on transfers, pray lots for me to understand the Lord's will! Love you wonderful people, have a wonderful Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for you and this amazing, restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It has changed my life and it's a blessing to watch it change the lives of my investigators (Almost all of them were at church yesterday it was awesome!). Cuidense, los quiero!

Hermana Tapia

A Surprise Visit from an Apostle!

For the month of November I am going to start every email with one thing I am especially grateful for.

This week: my companions/their families. Our kind, hardworking and beautiful Hermana Johnson went home for personal mental health reasons. This surprised all of us but she knows it is what God has asked of her and she has the faith to follow it. We love her and are grateful for the time spent together. Second, Hermana Doyle. Fun fact: Hermana Doyle and I were friends on Instagram and messaged before our missions. She got here two months before me and we hoped and prayed we would be companions. We were SO EXCITED to be together and guess what, we are staying together here in Little River! Lastly, I am grateful for the Doyle familia. Her family sent Hermana Doyle a package this week that included letters from her family members for ME! (I'm a sucker for handwritten letters) Familia Doyle, if you read my blog I love you all so much and am SOOO grateful for your thoughtful gifts and amazing daughter/sister, Hermana Doyle, I love her very much!

This week was SO great! My investigator from Columbia decided she wants to be baptized ASAP and passed her baptismal interview Thursday night! I met her in Old Town and we have the same Catholic background and just clicked. I love her so much and am excited for her baptism! I also had my first baptism this week and... I got to meet and listen to Elder Neil L. Anderson from the quorum of the 12 apostles, the presiding bishop of the church, Elder Causse, and two members of the quorum of the 70, Elder Neilsen and Elder Calderwood. We weren't notified until 3 days before. It was AMAZING! They came and spoke to my whole mission and guess who was asked to say the closing prayer at this conference? Good ol' Hermana Tapia and in Spanish! After my prayer they all kindly thanked me. I also got to shake all of their hands! I really cannot miss an opportunity to testify to you all that this is the exact same church Christ established on the earth. Just like he had his 12 apostles then, He still has them now, to lead and guide His church and His people. Just being in the same room as these men that are called of God. The spirit testified to me that they truly have been called of God. We took a panoramic mission picture with all of them and I was told it would be emailed to us in the near future so stay tuned in the next few weeks for that. I was on the very front row (I am finally seeing the blessings of being short) right behind President, his wife, & Elder Anderson.

Also here is something crazy: This whole transfer I have been stressing to my companions the importance of working with the youth (when I was baptized the youth program made a huge impact in my conversion, I have a big testimony on this) and the importance of contacting referrals immediately and being organized with them. (I went a little overboard and made a notebook of every single referral we had received this transfer and all their information) These two things really stuck out to me this transfer and I wasn't sure why... it was not my own wisdom but things I felt strongly about every time I prayed for guidance. Elder Anderson decided to shared with us yesterday these two main things:

1. The importance and blessings of working with the youth.
2. Taking referrals seriously and contacting them immediately.

Hermana Doyle looked turned over to me in that moment in shock. "Woah...How did you know?!" She whispered. Hahaha! The truth is I had NO IDEA. I just followed that feeling and did what I knew I needed to do. Sometimes it is really that simple! Just praying for guidance, following it and doing what you already know you need to do. Those two simple things will make a difference in your life. I love that Heavenly Father allows us to all receive personal revelation, that is evidence of his love for us.

Missionary fact: Once a week (usually Fridays) we have to spend hours planning and scheduling appointments for the following week. It is called weekly planning. It can be exhausting and sometimes is hard to enjoy but is very important and helps us stay organized and hardworking! I am very grateful for it so Hermana Doyle and I were thinking of ways to make it more enjoyable. Soooo, this week we made some pumpkin-spice-weekly-plan-cakes to spice things up ;) (The Lili puns don't stop, not even as a missionary) Hahaha! Point is, no matter what we have to do, if we have positive attitudes and try to enjoy them we will be happier people! Christ was so optimistic and so we should strive to be that way as well.

My favorite moments this week:

• Praying at J's baptism and feeling the spirit so strongly 
• Eating my literal favorite hispanic pastry in the world, alfajores. (Only the original Peruvian recipe, like this one here.)
• Praying during the conference with Elder Anderson and hearing him talk about his wife (I cried, I'm not going to lie. He loves her so much it's literally beautiful.) 
• Organizing my Colombian investigator's baptism.
• Having our investigator gasp after our lesson of the restoration and saying, "Oh my gosh... it makes so much sense now!" (He is pure gold)
• The many hugs and kisses of the amazing elderly women in my ward that I ADORE.

Thank you for your love and prayers, can't wait to share more next week! Con mucho amor,

Hermana Tapia 

la Hermanita Mexicana

Dear Everyone,

Yesterday was testimony meeting at church and I decided to go up and bare my testimony to introduce myself to the ward. It is an important part of building their trust when they see how dedicated we are to la obra misional when we are willing to share our testimonies and experiences. It also makes them excited to work with us. I started off my testimony by introducing myself as Hermana Tapia from Utah then went on to say I was Mexican. After sacrament meeting many of the ward members came up to thank me for baring my testimony and almost every single one of them mentioned how excited they were to have a Mexican missionary and how they love Mexicans. It's really refreshing because on the West Coast the majority of Hispanics are Mexican and here they aren't as common and everyone loves us! It's great! Hahaha!  I am now known as "la Hermanita Mexicana" here and will only respond to emails that address me as that from now on. Hahaha! Just kidding!

Miracle Moment:
We received a call from a less-active couple this week that expressed to us their desire to come back to church. We met with them one night this week and it was such a spiritual lesson, yesterday they came to church together for the first time in years. I sat by them and when I was about to go up to bare my testimony I asked them if they wanted to come with me. To my surprise the wife said yes! In her testimony she shared how she had prayed so much that her husband's heart would be softened and that he would go to church with her again and how sitting by him today was an answer to her prayers. Tears were streaming down her husband's face. We scheduled an interview with the bishop for them and we are now working towards getting them sealed in the temple! I love watching how the gospel shapes and changes peoples' lives. God is so mindful of all of his children.





DJ Update: 
Oh we love DJ so so much. He struggles a lot with depression and often times deals with these feelings by doing drugs and partying. We received a random call from him one night where he asked how we were doing and told us about what he had read in the scriptures that day. It was random and unexpected, but we were so excited to receive the surprise. This week he shared with us about how he was really depressed that night and had decided to go to a casino to drink and party. He shared that as he was driving to the casino he stopped and thought about us and all we had taught him and in that moment he made a U-turn, drove back home, read his scriptures and called us to tell us all about it. We teared up. He is the perfect example of striving to overcome addictions and taking it one day at a time. He is one of the strongest people I have ever met and his baptism is coming up! We all have problems and weaknesses, but they do not define us. What does?

Happy November!
This is a little reminder to count your blessing this month. The mission is incredible, but sometimes we get caught in the routine of everything and forget to enjoy every moment and count our blessings. This is much like life back home. As you go on throughout your week keep an eye out for blessings and remember to have an attitude of gratitude. In honor of this month our trio made a "miracle wall" in our apartment. We hung it up this morning and throughout the month will be posting little miracles we saw every day to remind us to be grateful and positive. I invite you all to put up a "miracle wall" in your lives  this week. Whether it be at home or a mental wall. "Miracles happen every single day we just have to look for them and they will be there." -President Huntsman.

Funny moment: 
As you know I love children and dancing. I was teaching ballet to our investigator's daughter one night and it didn't go to well.. here is a gif to explain what I mean. 

This week was a little bit of a harder one for me. All week long we had a lot of investigators asking about life after death and we taught the Plan of Salvation probably 3-4 times a day. We even had a family home evening about it one night with a family. As I bore my testimony that families are eternal I got emotional. I thought about my sick step-grandmother who was dying of cancer back home and in that moment the spirit told me she would be okay and that what I was teaching would get me through the week. The next day I received an email that she had passed away. I knew Heavenly Father was allowing me to teach the Plan of Salvation to remind me what I believed and to prepare me for the news. As I read the email my  own words of the things I had taught and testified ran through my head and I knew they were true. I am grateful to be a missionary at this time and I know my step-grandmother is no longer suffering and that I will see her again. I am so sure of this that I probably would not even be able to express it in words. I really appreciate all of your kind words and am so grateful for the people back home comforting and helping my family at this time, you are an answer to my prayers.

Los quiero mucho, no se les olivde a contar sus bendiciones!

(AKA La Hermanita Mexicana)

Hermana Tapia 

La Semana de Milagros

Lots of great people, food and miracles so I am just gonna get started!

There's a recent convert in Little River that I met when I was in Old Town at a dinner. She shared with me how she was baptized in July after investigating for years and how her daughter was baptized in Peru and that because of her daughter's example she started investigating here in the U.S. Her story made me so happy and hopeful being the only member in my family. She and I talked that whole day and we got so close. She told me she was going to pray that I would be transferred to Little River. She must have a lot of faith because here I am! Hahaha! She was so excited to see me! I now have the opportunity to teach her husband who is investigating the church. They are now one of my absolute favorite families. As we teach him she bares testimony of what we teach, you can feel just how much she loves her family and wants them to be all together in the gospel. It gives me motivation to work hard so she can have her whole family at church together. She is so faithful and a huge example to me. Here is a picture of us cooking AMAZING Peruvian food with her. I'm kind of obsessed with Peruvian food now cause there are so many Peruvians here and I refuse to leave without learning how to cook my favorite dishes. Cooking with her was so fun, she is pregnant and due in 3 weeks, so prepare for baby pics soon! 

Update on my DJ investigator!!! HE IS ON DATE FOR BAPTISM! He is so willing to change his life around and be better for his children. He is a serious, intimidating, bigger man but in our lessons he is so emotional and open. He will come with a question or doubt and once we give him an answer with scripture references he will just be mind blown and say "HERMANITASSS!" Every single time without fail hahahha! This week he found out news about his best friend doing something behind his back. DJ has trust issues because his wife in Bolivia was unfaithful to him and he has a hard time trusting people. When he told us what had happened he was telling us he was done changing and that he was going to stop trusting people and that he just wanted to be alone. We rushed over to his office and he just went on and on about how he was going to be heartless and mean so people would stop using him and how it was his fault he had always been let down because he let people use him and lie to him. He was filled with so much anger and refused to let us speak. He was convinced being a mean person would prevent heartache. In that moment I thought about Christ. The second he stopped talking I said in a soft voice, "Who would you say is the person that was treated the worst on this earth and suffered the most?" DJ said he didn't know. I pulled out a picture of Jesus Christ holding a lamb and I pointed at Christ. DJ covered his mouth with his hand and with tears in his eyes now, he let me speak. We talked about the ministry of Christ. About his example of selfless love, forgiveness and charity. That lesson he decided to set his baptism date and is stronger than ever and willing to be like Christ. I think we have all felt like DJ before, I know I have. But as we strive every day to love those who hurt us and simply be kind no matter what, then we will feel joy in our lives. We should never let other people affect our discipleship or who we are. I am so grateful for Christ and his example and my humble prayer is that we can all strive to be like Him.

Miracle Moment #1: 

Saturday morning our lesson fell through and we didn't know what to do. We decided to go to a neighborhood by our next appointment. We had about an hour and a half until our next appointment so, just as we were going to start knocking doors, we receive a call. It was from the DC temple visitor center. A missionary was calling us about a family that went to the temple Friday night that really wanted the Hermanas to stop by and teach their family. She gives us their address and we check our maps and guess what... We were RIGHT BY THEIR HOUSE!!!! We sprinted to their house and knocked on their door and they are new investigators and an AMAZING family. Those moments remind me this is the Lord's work! He knows where we need to be and who we need to teach. This is not the church of Hermana Tapia but instead the Church of Jesus Christ and He is at the head of this work and this church.

Miracle Moment #2:

Hermana Johnson lost her tablet and we were all worried sick! We had been driving for about 30 minutes looking for it until we decided to drive back home and see if she had left it there. As we parked the car and got out Hermana Doyle says, "Umm.. Hermana... I think I found your tablet." As she points to the back end of the car. Her case literally gripped onto the back of the car and survived the bumps and turns of crazy Virgina streets and traffic! We freaked out! Hahahah! I have picture evidence of this.

Weather Update:

Don't ever come to Virginia at the end of October, the wind will break your windows, tangle your hair, and make you do backflips in the air. Okay, I'm exaggerating! But seriously it is so windy! And it's terrifying when you're as small as me and weigh like 7 pounds! Other than that I can't complain I LOVE Virginia. Just pray the wind won't blow me away... Speaking of weather! It rained a lot this week! If you know me pretty well you probably know I love the rain because it reminds me of my grandfather. Every day he would water his plants. The whole week he died up until his funeral it rained. My aunt mentioned that it was almost as if he was watering the plants one last time. Now it always happens to rain on the hardest days when I am having a rough time. I feel almost as if the rain is my grandfather comforting me, encouraging me to keep going and keep working.

My companions and I are on our way to Burke Lake now so I will talk to you all next week! Can't wait to hear from you and have a safe Halloween! 

Los quiero!

Hermana Tapia 

The Trio in El Río

For those of you that don't speak Spanglish and don't understand my title this week I am in a trio! I have TWO companions now, Hermana Doyle (Utah) and Hermana Johnson (Idaho). My new area is called Little River (Río Pequeño) and I love it so much already! The ward is so powerful and loving! One of my favorite things about the mission is meeting the members in our wards. They are basically like my family on the mission! 

I need to talk about my investigator, we will call him DJ (He's literally a DJ and one of the coolest people I have ever met). DJ is what we call an eternigator. He is a man in his mid 40's from Bolivia that has been taught for a little over a year now and has so many questions. We met with him almost every single day this week and is now one of my best friends, we love him so much! He had questions about the gospel that I also had before getting baptized and we just clicked! He is progressing so much and guess what.... he told us two days ago that he wants to be baptized now! Hermana Johnson who has been in Little River the longest was shocked, she said he had never been so determined to get baptized. He is really receiving a testimony of the Book of Mormon which is WONDERFUL. And as of last week he has been bringing another friend of his for us to teach! Already a missionary!  :')  I cannot say how grateful I am to have met him, he is the best and I cannot wait to update you on DJ every week! Also, he is trying to stop drinking coffee so he invites us to drink hot chocolate with him every morning at McDonalds and we read in the scriptures with him, haha! It's awesome.

Also my district also covers the area of the Mandarin speaking Elders and it is so fun having district meeting with them. Our mission covers many languages because it is so diverse I love it!  We have awesome investigators, members and leaders in Little River and my companions are some of the kindest and most Christ-like young women I have ever met. I love them so much. I am excited to continue working here! 

Last P-day we went to Mount Vernon (home of George Washington)! It was amazing and so interesting. For some reason history is a lot more interesting on my mission than it ever was in school... haha! I feel so blessed to be serving somewhere with amazing historical sites that I have the opportunity to visit.

I am going to conclude this email with a brief testimony of the Plan of Salvation. Many people on this earth do not know the purpose of their lives here on earth along with where we will go after this life. This is something I teach a lot on my mission. The Plan of Salvation answers these questions, it teaches us that we are here on the earth to go through trials and progress to one day live with our Heavenly Father and loved ones again. As I teach this message it changes lives. I hadn't realized the importance of this until my grandfather passed away almost 2 years ago. I was reminded of the importance of it as I received news today that someone very important and close to me was once again diagnosed with cancer. This loved one of mine was told she is in her last days and should expect to pass away soon. I got the news and could do nothing more than cry. Then, the Plan of Salvation came to mind. This peace covered my body and I was reminded that this is not the end. My goal is to share this peace with everyone I meet. I know we will see our loved ones again one day. I wholeheartedly believe God has a plan for us, that no matter who you are or what you have done this perfect plan can help you find your purpose in this life and can bring peace when loved ones pass away. I invite you all to learn more about this plan on Mormon.org.

I love you all and really needed/appreciate all the loving emails this week. I know God has a plan, I do all I can to follow it and I trust him, even in these difficult moments.

Los quiero mucho,

Hermana Tapia 

Singing in the Charla Fogonera

Here is the video of Hermana Tapia singing at the Charla Fogonera (Fireside) on October 27, 2017.

The video doesn't show the sisters the whole time, but at least you can hear them!

"I Need Thee Every Hour"

Guys....I'm Leaving!

Hahaha no, I'm not leaving the mission, I am leaving Old Town and getting transferred!! I am just as surprised and confused as you all are. I have completed my first transfer and am now being moved to a new area called Little River in preparation for becoming a trainer. I can't think about being a trainer right now, I just got here! But anyways, here's some awesome stuff from this week:

My first day in Old Town I met a wonderful family who had a son who had been inactive for many years. I made it a goal to help him as much as possible but he didn't seem like he wanted to listen to us. Suddenly this last week everything changed. We met with him after he opened up to us and had 2 amazing lessons with him. We had the most sincere lesson on faith and how one thing is to have faith and another is to act on it. This young man felt he had failed at acting on his faith and we were there to get him get back on track. He is so devoted to getting over his drug and alcohol addictions. It was so great watching him grow and seeing that determination. Saturday night we received a message from his mother who is an active member in the church. She thanked us and told us she had almost felt as though all the missionaries had given up on her son and that because we reached out to him her prayers had been answered. Can we just stop for a second and talk about the power of the faith of a mother? I am convinced it can move mountains and change hearts. I felt the power of his mother's faith as I testified to him and that made all the difference. A big reason the 25 year old wanted to change was for his family. I now understand the stories in the Bible of the mothers whose faith healed their children. I know that still happens in these days. It was beautiful watching the Savior change that young man's heart, something I will treasure for a long time. I cannot wait to one day teach my children about faith (many, many years from now, don't worry!)

We had a Charla Fogonera this week where recent converts and returning members get to speak and all of the Spanish missionaries come and listen. It's such a spiritual event and also SO fun being with all the spanish speaking missionaries.  Next week I will post a video of the musical number I sung in! Singing is something Hermana McCracken and I do a lot as we testify and it is such a powerful way in which I bare my testimony. I hope you will enjoy it!

Hermanas in my zone.

We met great people this week that were really interested in our church and some were SO excited and willing to learn more. One woman in particular has a sister in El Salvador who is a member of the church and had been looking for missionaries and guess who happened to knock at her door? Hermana McCracken and I! We taught her and her nephew the restoration and the spirit testified the truth or it to them, it was sweet to see how the Lord is really preparing them. Sadly, I will not be able to teach these people anymore since I am leaving the area but I am grateful I got to meet them and know the Lord has wonderful things in store if they are willing to follow the plan He has for them.

Hermana McCracken and I got to go to the Arlington, VA temple this week! Hahaha I'm totally kidding, this is the George Washington Masonic Memorial. I'm excited to share pictures with you from this! The historical sights here are so fun to visit. I'm actually going to George Washington's home after emailing today so that will be in next week's email!

This week was so wonderful.... I cannot believe I am leaving Old Town. I love the people here so so much. I have devoted the last 6 weeks of my life to loving, serving and teaching them and I did not expect to be moved so quickly. It has been so hard to prepare to leave but this is a reminder that I am here to do the Lord's will and not my own. Yikes, imagine the world if it was all according to the will of Hermana Tapia, that would be a mess! I am so grateful it is instead according to the will of an all knowing and loving father in heaven. Tomorrow I start my first day in Little River and I am excited to let you all know how it goes. I love this work, I will continue giving it my all. Love you wonderful people.

My district

Con amor,

Hermana Tapia