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

A Day in the Life of Hermana Tapia

All of the missionaries around the world follow a schedule and general rules/guidelines that help us be motivated, organized and hardworking missionaries. The schedule and rules given on the mission have blessed my experience and I am excited to share it with you all today. Here is a little of what my days are like as a missionary:

6:30-7AM: Wake up, pray and exercise.

It was rough at first, but now I'm used to it and love it. Starting my morning with prayer is so important. It sets the tone for the rest of my day, I feel comforted, motivated and I feel my Heavenly Father's love and support for the rest of the day.

7-8:30AM: Get ready for the day, eat breakfast, personal time.

8:30-9AM: Planning for the day.

We start and end planning with prayer. We have an app on our tablets called Area Book where we can organize our day, look up the information of the people we are teaching. We rely on the Spirit to know what we will be teaching and who to visit.

9-10AM: Personal Study.

Personally my favorite part of the morning routine. I start with a personal prayer. I always start off my studies reading a chapter in the Book of Mormon and another in the Bible. My love for studying the scriptures has grown SO much on my mission. Following scripture study I pick a Christ-like attribute I feel I need to work on most and I study that attribute and make goals for myself. I then read a section in Preach My Gospel. Following that I will study for the lessons we are having that day. The hour goes by fast!

10AM-12PM: Proselyting and service.

As far as service we are always looking for ways to help the community and those around us. Constantly doing service is one of my favorite parts of the mission.

12-2PM: Lunch, studies.

We are almost always STARVING by lunch time. Studies consist of companionship study, language study and 12 Weeks. 12 Weeks is a booklet that contains specific things a new missionary should study and do the first 12 weeks on the mission. It's has helped me adjust to the mission and I love it. Companionship study is just what it sounds like, we share ideas and scriptures and learn together. During language study we study Spanish. Sometimes I tutor Hermana McCracken or improve my own Spanish.

2-5PM: Continue proselyting and teaching.

Our schedule is always packed with a huge area!

5-6PM: Dinner!

We usually always have dinner at a member's house. The members are so sweet and sign up to feed us on a calendar that is given to us monthly. It's great because my area is so diverse. There are people in my ward from El Salvador, Honduras, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Bolivia, etc. So I get dishes from all of South America! My extra 15 pounds and I are happier than ever!

6-9PM: Proselyting.

Generally our "golden hours" when everyone is out or at home with their families and we are able to successfully contact more people. The goal is to have lessons in the afternoon and if not we go finding.

9-10PM: Get home, get ready for bed.

10-10:30PM: Bed time.

I am drained by the end of the day and fall asleep in seconds. I often have dreams about teaching lessons and sleep talk a lot! Hermana McCracken said I woke her up one night because I was teaching a lesson in my sleep! She said I even sat up to "Say the prayer" and said "Amen" at the end and went back to bed! Haha! 

This week was amazing! Here are some of my favorite experiences this week:

♡ - We met a girl this week that accidentally walked into an LDS church Sunday. She only spoke Spanish so the English sisters referred her to us. We met her Tuesday night and taught the restoration and the spirit was so strong and it kept telling me to invite her to baptism. So I did and she wants to be baptized at the end of this month! She is incredible and so excited to hear about the gospel. 

Us sisters with the girl from Africa

♡ - Having a humble Hispanic lady cry and hug me as I gave her a Book of Mormon with my testimony on the first page.

♡ - Update on the man our Elders gave a blessing to last week: he is walking, talking and even dancing now! He said the priesthood blessing healed him and that it was a miracle. He and his wife moved back to Honduras Friday so we took pictures and said some heartfelt goodbyes.

Us with the Elderly woman and her husband from Honduras. A took that picture where Santos is looking at me like 5 times and every time he would just smile at me!!! Hahaahha! He's so cute!

♡ - When our 14 year old recent convert got her temple recommend, this means we get to go to the DC temple with her next week I am SO excited!!!

♡ - Watching General Conference. If you haven't seen General Conference, DO IT NOW. Two times a year we hear from the living prophet and his apostles and it has blessed my life immensely. You can go here to watch it, I invite you all to do that this week!

I love being a missionary of the Lord. The people here and these experiences have blessed my life so much and I am excited to continue serving, learning and growing as I help others do so. We are all learning together, trying to get back to our Heavenly Father.

Have a wonderful week, los quiero mucho!

Hermana Tapia