A #LIT Christmas

Hola familia y amigos!

Life has been so good! These last two weeks I have felt SO much joy and love during this Christmas season for those we teach and serve and for those I serve with.

Have you all seen the church's #LightTheWorld initiative? Every year the church releases videos and ideas of ways that we can serve during Christmas time to feel joy and become more like Christ. Here is the link to the videos if you haven't seen them all yet: https://www.mormon.org/christmas.

The majority of people we are teaching are going through difficult trials right now. Lots of them feel sad, lost and scared. Many are mourning over deaths of loved ones, having financial and family struggles and fear getting separated. As they have opened up to us and we have shared the #LightTheWorld message of service we have seen miracles.

One sister lost her mother a year ago the day after Christmas to cancer. As we shared the message of peace and love found through service this sister has felt overjoyed. We made plans with her to visit people in the hospital this week in the cancer center to sing to them and take them gifts.

Another sister is worried about her oldest sons who are becoming rebellious and making poor life decisions. As we had FHE with them she shared how our invitation to serve them has touched their hearts and made them have the desire to come back to church.

As we serve others our own burdens are lifted. I have a personal experience with this. Year after year after my parents' divorce I secretly dreaded Christmas. To me it meant separation, loneliness and I longed to spend it all together the way we had done so when I was young. As I have been out serving others I can truly say that this Christmas I feel joy, love, and excitement. I think the secret is I am focusing on others and not myself. I was so busy dwelling on what I didn't have and what was going wrong in my life, what I wanted. Me, me, me, me, me! There is so much power in looking outward.

"Satan doesn't care if you think highly or poorly of yourself. All he cares about is that you think ONLY of yourself." - President Caplin. I LOVE this quote. I have it written on my mirror. Service allows us to focus on others and love them. As we do so our personal needs are met and we become more selfless.

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." (Mosiah 2:17)

If you feel unhappy, lonely, or lost find someone to serve - you will be amazed at how much better you will feel. You will become more like Christ; who dedicated His life and every second to serving and sacrificing for us while expecting nothing in return. And tell me, was He not happy?

Love you all so much ! Have a great week and don't forget to Light Your Community this week!

Hermana Tapia

#LitTheWorld with the Ramos family, our recent convert and some people we are teaching by Christmas caroling and leaving treats for people we know this week to light our community.

This is Sister Kleven, we went on exchanges this week. We then got transfer news on Saturday. I am staying with Hermana Takahashi to finish training her and am becoming a split Sister training leader with Sister Kleven! This means we are going to have exchanges with the sisters in our zone, serve them and train in conferences. So excited!

Hermana Takahashi ate a microwavable spicy Asian soup and put HAM in it and it was so gross. We died of laughter and she ate the WHOLE thing.

"It's All About Love"

¡Hola mi pueblito!

Holy cow! The weeks go by so fast! I haven't written a week summary email since the beginning of the transfer and I feel like I wrote one last week. I guess these are "monthlys" and not "weeklys" at this point.

This transfer has been AMAZING! I love Hermana Takahashi so much! And I know I've said basically the same thing about every comp. BUT I'm serious, Hermana Takahashi and I get along SO well and I have loved serving with her. We will be lifelong friends for sure.

I'm gonna summarize my transfer so far into one word: love. It is all about love. Recently we had a mission conference with Elder Bennett of the 70. The main thing that was mentioned was being motivated by love in all we do. Why do you think everyone says you should choose a career you're passionate about and marry someone you absolutely adore, serve others, love our enemies and see the best in your family members? Cause it's all about love. If we are not motivated by love in all we do we will be miserable. I can't say I have ever felt miserable on the mission but times when I didn't feel as excited or motivated about the work I really wasn't making an effort to love my comp/area/people I served. As I have focused on love I have felt SO much joy. I have come to feel Christlike love.

This was a big theme for Hermana Takahashi as well. Adjusting to talking to strangers on the street and doing it in a foreign language has been hard for her. She was filled with lots of fear and so I was filled with fear that I couldn't help her overcome that. What is stronger than fear? According to modern and ancient apostles love and fear cannot coexist. Either we feel one or the other. As Hermana Takahashi has come to love Spanish and the Hispanic people it has become easier to overcome that fear. As I have loved Hermana Takahashi and have been motivated by love and patience in helping her we both have felt joy in the work. Whatever your problems are right now, your solution is: love.

1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." 

It reminded me of an experience I had when I was having a hard time before the mission. I remember kneeling on the side of my bed asking Heavenly Father for help. After my prayer I accidentally hit the table next to my bed and a letter came out of my scriptures. I pick it up and realize it was a letter that was given to me at my baptism by the elder who taught me, Elder Hill. (Shout out to the best elders ever, Elder Hill and Elder Stoneman. I love you both so much!) The letter was Elder Hill congratulating me on my baptism and sharing thoughts of the experience he had in teaching me the gospel. At the end he says that love has been a huge lesson he has learned on his mission. He finished his letter with the sentence, "Remember, it is all about love!" And inside was a heart made out of metal he had made for me. It was an answer to my prayers then but I don't think I truly understood that until now. It really is all about love.

Speaking of love, people I love were baptized this week! One of my best friends ever who I have been teaching named Selvin and my cousin Mikey in Utah!

Selvin's baptism was perfect. He embraced his brother who baptized him after coming out of the water and they hugged each other tightly and cried in each others arms. I didn't see a single person in that room who didn't also cry with them. Families can be eternal. Next step: the temple!!!

My cousin Mikey emailed me this last week explaining that he decided to be baptized cause he felt something special meeting with the Elders and knew he wanted to be sealed to his family and have God's help in his life. I'm so proud of him! Next step: the mission.   Jajaja! 

I have so much I want to share and not enough time. I just hope you all know I love you all so much and am grateful for you all and my time here. I also want to give a quick announcement...

I will not be going home in January.

After a good interview with my President he felt prompted to ask me to extend my mission and stay till March. It was a shock to me since I have been preparing to leave in January so I prayed about it a lot and I have accepted the calling to extend and will be staying until March 5th.

I know that this is God's work and He is in charge. Because of that I know He is who has asked me to extend my mission and not just President Caplin. I love my Father in Heaven and want to please Him in all I do because I love Him. After all, it is all about love.

Chau!

Hermana Tapia

日本の姉妹 👭🏽

こんにちは everyone!!!

Hope you all are having a great start to November! It's been a blast and a half these last few weeks. Here's the updates: 

♡ I am a Madre again!!! I am training an adorable, funny and hardworking hermana from Lehi named Hermana Takahashi and this week was her first week in the mission. Her parents are from Japan and South Korea which is why she has the awesome last name. We were meant to be companions, we get along so well and are a lot alike! We have a goal to learn Japanese... after we make sure she learns Spanish... haha! 

♡ A sister we have taught for over 4 months read the Book of Mormon in 17 days. No lie! She was receiving a ton of anti-Mormon literature from people from her old religious congregation and she became confused. We explained to her that faith does not equal physical evidence and physical evidence does not equal faith. That the only way she can know if it's true is by reading it and praying about it. She did and she now knows without a doubt that the Book of Mormon IS the word of God. That it provides us with sacred truths that were lost after the death of Christ and clarifies doctrine that others have misinterpreted from the Bible.

I want to stop and talk about this point cause it's so important and I've been thinking about it a lot. 

This anti-Mormon literature, it's become a very common theme in my mission to have people we are teaching run into negative articles and videos on the restored gospel online. This sister shared how her friend sent her a video of a man who lost his testimony of the Book of Mormon and left the church after studying anthropology to prove that the Book of Mormon IS true. Apparently he couldn't find physical evidence and ultimately gave up searching and decided to throw away his testimony. 

As soon as she said that I thought of the story in the Bible on the Tower of Babel. You know what I'm talking about right? A ton of people want to prove God is real so they start building a tall tower in hopes that they will reach Heaven and prove that it really exists. Funny, huh. Well, what does God do? He gets offended! He gets mad that they would think of such a thing. That they would believe that physical evidence would help them believe in Him after He had shown them so many miracles and blessed them. So, God gets mad and He changes all their languages so they get all confused, stop building the tower and disperse. 

What does this tell us about faith and physical evidence? They are not a result of one another! If we still had the golden plates that contained the writing of the Book of Mormon we would believe it just cause we see it and not because we personally read it, pondered it and prayed about it. There would be no need to develop personal testimonies, it would completely eliminate a need for faith therefore eliminating personal revelation. 

Why are we so quick to doubt our faith and testimonies and so quick to believe silly things on the internet? When we have faith, exercise it and personally seek answers from God we can receive a PERSONAL, powerful, and a sure testimony of all things. I'm so grateful for this principle because it has allowed me to maintain my own testimony of the restored gospel and it was priceless to see this sweet sister experience the same. She read it, prayed and she knows it's true. Not because of any kind of physical evidence but because of the holy ghost as a result of her faith. 

Alma 32: 21 And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.

Ok, my faith rant is over now hahaha! 

♡ We have been teaching a family since April that never received a confirmation that the church is true but read their scriptures daily, came to church consistently, met regularly with us, etc. I became worried wondering what we had to do to help them. Every time I felt I had done all I could I would kneel in prayer to ask for help and I got a sweet confirmation from the spirit that it would happen in the Lord's times and that the family and I just need to be patient and consistent. Well, this week at the end of our lesson the oldest daughter says "Oh Hermanas, I want to be baptized." Then he brother goes, "Yeah me too, I've always known the church is true I was just waiting for my sister." And I was SO SHOCKED. It just came out of nowhere and was a result of them being consistent and faithful. After that lesson Hermana Takahashi and celebrated in the parking lot by jumping and hugging. Prior to the lesson I expressed concern that the family is not receiving an answer and just like that Heavenly Father reminds me that He has everything under control. I love la obra guys, the church is TRUE! 

♡ Yesterday we broke a zone record of 18 people at sacrament that we are teaching that have not yet been baptized. I almost died of happiness... and stress... but mostly happiness.  This area is awesome!!! I have 2 transfers left in the mission and since I will be training Hermana Takahashi for 2 transfers I will be ending my mission in my beautiful area of Spring Lake and I COULD NOT be happier. My area has become a temple to me. I love it so much. 

Other than that I just have fun pictures to summarize some adventures and events. Love you all to pieces, tengan una buenísima semana!!!

Hermanita Tapia 

Becoming as a Child

Que tal todos!!

I'm officially the worst at writing. It's been a few weeks but everything has been so great!

Story of the week!
Our recent convert has a 6 year old daughter who we will call Sofi. We teach Sofi and her 9 year old cousin once a week and they love the gospel. Sofi pays tithing on all her allowance money, reads the children's Book of Mormon, prays, loves church and dreams of someday being a missionary. She is seriously ADORABLE. She calls me her big sister and if I had the option to bring her home to Utah with me I WOULD!

Anyways, so Sofi, her mom, Hermana Hasek and I were at a lesson with this couple. They are friends of our recent convert and she invited us over to teach them about the gospel. We were pumped! Then the husband quickly started becoming defensive and angry towards us when we introduced more scripture that wasn't the Bible. He would raise his voice, interrupt us, roll his eyes, he was just not having a good day I think. Haha! It started getting hard to feel the spirit and really invite it with his attitude towards our message. Suddenly as he was speaking 6 year old Sofi interrupts him and says "Excuse me sir, I would like to share my testimony with you." And she goes on to bare testimony of the restored gospel. No joke the man was amazed. The spirit instantly returned, the man didn't interrupt the rest of the lesson, he was able to understand how the Book of Mormon doesn't replace, add on to or take away from the Bible and him and his wife agreed to take a copy, read it and pray about it. All because of brave, humble, little Sofi.

I think this is EXACTLY what it means in the scriptures when it says we need to "becometh as a child". I think that as adults we can be filled with different forms of pride. Anger, frustration, anxiety, fear, etc. We might hold back from sharing the gospel or following a prompting from the spirit cause we may not be exactly sure what to say or our anger might fill our mouth with words of frustration. Children though, are very humble, brave and full of love. They really don't care who is watching them, we do. Sofi and I went up to the pulpit yesterday at sacrament during testimony meeting and together we shared that experience with the ward members and Sofi encouraged them to always share their testimonies. I then shared the following scripture:

Mosiah 3:19 "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

As we strive to become as a child we will be more patient, teachable, humble, and brave. I know little Sofi has a testimony, I know she loves Christ and feels the promptings of the spirit and it pushes me to be more sure of those things as well. We have so much to learn from little children. I hope we can strive to be more like them and overcome the natural man by avoiding pride and allowing love to take over.

Big events of the last few weeks/updates:

• We had our Noche de Hispanidad this weekend and it was a blast! It's an event where we celebrate our Hispanic culture and represent all the Latin American countries in the ward. There's music, food, dancing, singing, etc. Everyone is dressed up and tons of members bring friends. We had over 15 people we are teaching come and they all made friends and had a great time. It was AWESOME! Hermana Hasek and I sung a corrido with the family of our recent convert and another family in the ward. So fun. 

• Conference was amazing! Holy cow! I received so many answers to prayers, motivation and made goals to improve. How blessed are we to know that revelation didn't end with the writing of the Bible?! We still have it today because God loves us and won't leave us in darkness and confusion. The talks are online now so if you missed it watch them on lds.org! It was so cool to watch it with people who were experiencing conference for the first time and hearing the experiences of family members back home.
• I'm still in Spring Lake with Hermana Hasek and loving it. We have transfer news in two weeks and I am crossing my fingers that I get to stay here till the end of my mission. And if I stay one more transfer that will come true!
• The people we are teaching are incredible! They are progressing, preparing for baptism and really strengthening their relationship with Christ. A sister shared that after years of being Christian she finally understands who Christ is, exactly what He did, why He is important and how He can help her in her life. Sometimes we can fall into the routine of religion. But we shouldn't! We should constantly be asking, seeking for answers, attending meetings with an open heart, serving and striving to come closer to Christ. The only way to learn his gospel is to live it. If we don't live it, does it really do us any good to learn about it? Probably not.
• It's getting so cold over here with hurricane season. Everyone talks about hurricane Michael and we have no idea what is even going on.
• Here's more pictures from p-day adventures at national parks, I love Hermana Hasek, I learn so much from her everyday! 

I seriously love you all so much and am learning amazing things. Thank you for your kind letters and emails. You are all so important to me!

Les quiero mucho!

Hermana Tapia

La Oración de Un Niño

Holaaa mi gente!

DC is wet and cold this week but still, we had such an amazing week. I feel lame cause I say that every week but seriously, missionary work is amazing. Sometimes when I think about going home it really breaks my heart, the joy and spirit felt with my sacred calling is like nothing else. 

Today I wanted to talk about prayer. We have an investigator that has a CRAZY 3 year old son. I mean it when I say he is crazy. He has...

• Forced Hermana Bertagnolli and I to chase him ON THE PULPIT, DURING SACRAMENT.
• Punched Hermana Hasek in the face.
• Thrown a slobbery sucker at Hermana Hasek that hit her in the jaw.
• Pulls my hair every time he sees me.
• Rips pamphlets out of our bags and takes everything out of them.

The list goes on and on. Basically he is a really naughty child and does not listen to his mother no matter what she does. It can be a little stressful during lessons but we do our best to stay calm, bring toys to distract him and sometimes it works. Most of the time though, it doesn't. So, back to prayer. This crazy three year old has suddenly started to fold his arms, close his eyes and say prayers with us in our lessons. Which is a miracle because he never sits still for more then 2 seconds at a time.

This week we were having a lesson and the 3 year old's mom was frustrated with herself. She has tried for months to keep certain commandments that have been very difficult for her to keep. She felt unworthy and discouraged with herself. She even questioned her ability to be a good mother. She expressed that she has prayed as we instructed but that she didn't feel like God was answering or listening to her. Hermana Hasek and I shared the blessings of Christ's atonement with her and the spirit was so strong. We promised her that the Lord and her children see her sacrifices and efforts and that having the gospel in their lives will bring them unity and peace. Afterwards we offered a prayer to which I call out to her 3 year old, "Oración! The 3 year old drops what he is doing, sits down, folds his arms and bows his head for the prayer. And he stays like that the whole time. His mothers eyes were filled with tears and she looked at him. Even little Edwin can feel the importance of personally communicating with Heavenly Father through prayer. It is the only time he willingly will sit still and be silent. The hermana then realized God is listening to her prayers but she was just then realizing it.

My testimony of sincere prayer has grown so much on my mission. Hearing others pray for the first time is something so special. I have heard the most sincere and humble prayers on my mission. We have taught people the proper order of prayer. I love that we can all personally go to the Lord with our pain, fears and sorrow. Along with that we can also go to Him in moments of excitement and joy. He is there listening to it all and most of all, He cares. We can speak what we are really feeling. Nothing recited or memorized, just a conversation with our loving Father in Heaven. This being said He also answers prayers in His time and in His way. Not in our time and our way. I have learned that the hard way. But what is required of us when we pray? Elder J. Devn Cornish said in the October 2011 General Conference:

"We must not imagine that any kind of prayer, no matter how sincere, will be very effective if all we do is to say the prayer. We must not only say our prayers; we must also live them. The Lord is much more pleased with the person who prays and then goes to work than with the person who only prays. Much like medicine, prayer works only when we use it as directed.

When I say that prayer is a sweet privilege, it is not just because I am grateful to be able to talk to Heavenly Father and to feel His Spirit when I pray. It is also because He actually answers and speaks to us. Of course, the way He speaks to us is usually not with a voice we hear. President Boyd K. Packer explained: 

“That sweet, quiet voice of inspiration comes more as a feeling than it does as a sound. Pure intelligence can be spoken into the mind. … This guidance comes as thoughts, as feelings through promptings and impressions”

I have personally experienced this and have witness others do so as well. I know we can all receive guidance from God through prayer.

One more story with this sister! She has been studying for her drivers license test and was stressed all week about it. We felt impressed to promise her that she would pass the test if she studied the manual and read one verse in the Book of Mormon either before or after studying. She still was stressed and called us Friday after her test. "Hermanas, I didn't study very much so I knew I wouldn't pass the test... but every time I got worried I read the Book of Mormon and.... I PASSED MY TEST!" She was so excited and we were celebrating over the phone with her. It was so awesome!

I gained a really strong testimony this week of serving when we are in need. To focus on others in times when I have felt lonely, sad or discouraged I have been filled with love, joy and peace. If you are feeling sad go out and serve someone. The joy is contagious! A sweet friend sent this quote last week that I love, "When you're drowning in fear, doubt, or discouragement; don't forget your lifeguard walks on water."

Les quiero,

Hermana Tapia

"Yes Hermanas, I did pray. I know your message is true."

Hola!!!

Hermana Tapia here, sorry I haven't written in a while but this week's miracle will make up for the absence of the other letters.

We met a family 2 weeks ago. The parents were both very skeptical about learning more of our message because of bad experiences they had with other Christian churches in the past. They are a very spiritual family but had a hard time believing in one church. We had a powerful lesson on the restoration and instantly the mother started asking where she could find evidence of it in the Bible. Little does she know my favorite lessons are ones where I can bring up verses in the Bible that actually teach about the restoration through the prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. (Hit me up for some solid scriptures on the restoration found in the Bible.) It's interesting because I found those scriptures when I was an altar girl in the Catholic church and was confused about some of its teachings. Investigating the church helped me to make sense of those Biblical verses. Anyways, back to the story. The mother was shocked after I shared the scriptures. They said they felt something special as we taught and that it all made total sense. Still, we invited them to get the personal witness from God himself and to pray about our message. We thought it would be overwhelming to talk about the Book of Mormon as well so we decided we would introduce it in the next lesson.

WELL, this week we go back with a Book of Mormon for them and plan on reading some of it with them. We weren't sure what chapter yet but we decided we would let the spirit tell us what chapter to read with them. We get to the house and after the prayer I ask them if they had the time to pray about our message. The mother looks at us, pauses for 10 seconds and says "Yes Hermanas, I did pray. I know your message is true." Instantly the spirit flooded the room. She went on to tell us that after we left that night she prayed and after she had a dream. In her dream she said she saw a tree with white fruit. And that Hermana Hasek and I were in her dream and we were inviting her to eat of the fruit. She said that she did and when she did the fruit was SO delicious. She said that when she woke up she realized it was God's way of telling her that our message was like that fruit and that if she continued meeting with us she would get closer to God and find his true church. UMMM YEAH, CRAZY RIGHT? BECAUSE, in the Book of Mormon in 1 Nefi chapter 8 there is a prophet named Lehi who had the SAME DREAM SHE HAD! With a tree, white fruit and everything! I instantly ask her if she has ever heard of the Book of Mormon before. She looked at it with a puzzled look and says, "No, what is that?" Immediately Hermana Hasek and I flip open to 1Nefi 8. The lady was AMAZED. "That was my dream!!!" She exclaimed.

Holy moly you guys, this is SERIOUSLY the work of God! These miracles have completely changed me and strengthened my testimony. I know it was no coincidence that this sister had a dream that was exactly like a chapter in the Book of Mormon without ever reading it or even hearing about the book of scripture. I know this is God performing miracles and that the days of miracles have not ceased. They happen every day if we look for them and live faithfully and with strict obedience to the Lord's commandments.

In other news:

• Our recent convert's whole family in investigating the church and her mom and brother who we have been teaching for 3 months are getting baptized next month! 
• That same recent convert and our investigator Pitbull bore their testimonies at Sacrament Meeting last Sunday. 
• I was nearly kidnapped one Sunday. (It's a long story...but I am okay!)
• This whole transfer we have had over 10 people at church every Sunday. It has been a blessing as we have focused on teaching whole families and have been exactly obedient and prepared spiritually to teach God's children! 
• It has been raining like crazy and it is going to rain every day this week. Here is evidence of how crazy it is getting. Also looks like hurricane Florence is coming in our direction so pray I don't get washed away! 
• I found out I get home January 23rd and I am freaking out. Trying to enjoy every second I have here and working hard till the end! I can't believe how fast time is going.
• Hermana Hasek is literally an angel. I love her so much and I have cherished every moment of training her this transfer. She is so hard working, kind, patient and amazing. We are almost exact opposites and have managed to work together in love and unity and become more like each other. It's so important to appreciate differences in others and enjoy diversity. Hermana Hasek has taught me that. Because of her I am more open minded, patient and kind. I love that we are all unique children of Heavenly Father and have so much to learn from one another. It is by divine design that none of the voices in God's choir are exactly the same. 

I'd like to end with the topic of obedience that ties into the story at the beginning. Obedience is so important. That would have to be the #1 lesson I have learned being a missionary. To feel more joy, peace, the spirit, to receive answers to questions, to know if the Book of Mormon is true, to gain strength to repent and be better we must be obedient and do what God has commanded of us. If any of you are struggling ask yourselves what you can change to be more obedient to God's commandments. And as a servant of the Lord I promise you that you will feel the difference and have God's help in your live.

1 Nephi 17:13 "And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led."

Los quiero mucho!

Hermana Tapia

About a Year Ago...

Hola a todos!

Hope you are all having a great end of summer and have a great school year! It's so weird the summer is ending. I HIT MY ONE YEAR MARK ON THURSDAY! The mission has been quite the experience and I honestly think that no matter how hard I try it's too hard to put into words the experience I am having. It's so hard, amazing, rewarding, crazy, etc. And I love it so much! This week I pondered a lot on the importance of the spirit and making sure I move out of its way when I teach.

Our investigator "Pitbull" has been investigating for almost 3 months now. He has a strong testimony, is overcoming addictions, comes to church every Sunday and is preparing for baptism this coming week. This week a member of a different faith who he also meets up with found out he was getting baptized soon and instantly shared lies about the church and tried to talk him out of it. Pitbull became very confused and started doubting everything because he was told the Joseph Smith is secretly our God, that the Book of Mormon is our replacement of the Bible and you know, all the things people say that don't know very much about the true doctrine of the church... luckily Pitbull doubted his doubts before doubting his faith and opened up to us about all this man had told him. In that moment I was SO ANGRY! I was frustrated that he was being confused by complete LIES and twisted doctrine and that someone could have such evil intentions. I wanted to completely tear apart everything this man had told Pitbull but something stopped me. I had a million things I wanted to say but all that came out of my mouth was. "I know this is the true church. And that through the holy ghost we can know the truth of all things. So, is it okay if we say a prayer so that the holy ghost can answer your questions and not me? Because I know the holy ghost is the true teacher here." He accepted and the lesson went SO WELL! I know its because every word my companion and I said was inspired from God. It didn't target any other religion, it was not filled with lies or anger, it was 100% true doctrine and love and respect for God and all His children. Pitbull said he has felt a peace meeting with us he hasn't felt in any other church or meeting with any other missionaries of other faiths. He also said that he knows this is the true church and that meeting with the other man gave him bad feelings.

This brings me to the spiritual thought of the week: Personal revelation. Revelation is communication from God directly to His children. It can be as simple as finding answers to questions in the scriptures, thoughts and impressions during prayers, dreams, etc. This is ESSENTIAL for having a testimony. If we don't have personal experiences asking for confirmation on what we believe we are actually just following what other people believe. This is something we emphasize a lot with our investigators. Not ONCE on my mission have I taught someone who was converted because of what I said or because I was good at speaking. It is all purely 100% the holy ghost that converts. And this is possible when a person makes the decision to personally address God and ask for themselves if this is true. Without revelation anyone can make us question everything we believe from one moment to the next. The prophet Russell M. Nelson said in his most recent conference talk:

"You don’t have to wonder about what is true. You do not have to wonder whom you can safely trust. Through personal revelation, you can receive your own witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that this is the Lord’s Church. Regardless of what others may say or do, no one can ever take away a witness borne to your heart and mind about what is true."

I would highly advise each and every single one of you to seek revelation for these things. I am so grateful for the holy ghost and personal revelation. Because this means I am not doing missionary work on my own, this is God's work. He is the one that provides answers and teaches His children. I am simply just an instrument in all of this.

ALSO!!! My cousins were baptized on Saturday and I was able to give the talk on baptism through technology. I am so grateful for their decision and that my family is receiving their own personal revelation of these things as well.

The holy ghost + the restored gospel + my family members are coming to know of the truth + amazing investigators + amazing companion = the work of the Lord. It doesn't get better than this!

Love you all!

Hermana Tapia

"The B Word, Baptism."

Hola amigos y familia!

It's been an amazing few weeks being a servant of the Lord. Here are some quick updates:

• We had transfers last week, I am still in Spring Lake and am training a brand new and incredible Hermana, Hermana Hasek from Iowa! 
• I have two cousins from back home getting baptized this week and I am giving the talk on baptism by sending in a video that will be showed at the baptism and I feel so blessed and am so excited!
• I wore pants the other day for a service project and I don't know if I will ever get used to wearing pants every day ever again. They felt so uncomfortable! Have pants always been that uncomfortable? I guess I'll find out in January.
• I hit my 1 year mark next Thursday. Where has the time gone? Time is literally nonexistent on the mission.
• We are teaching a lot of people that are progressing and gaining testimonies, the Lord is really helping us and sanctifying our flawed efforts. 
• A couple we are teaching are working to quit smoking and drinking and they have been sober for a whole week! 
• I still feel like I'm going to die every morning when I wake up at 6:30, I think people lie when they say you get used to the schedule...
• An investigator tried to hold my hand at church last week and I still cringe when I think about it. (I'm not a believer of the motto "flirt to convert" Jajaja)
• AND One of my best friends and investigators was baptized and confirmed yesterday!

The subject line is a quote from a church production called The District. It's a show about missionaries in San Diego California. The camera crew goes in and follows them around to show how missionary work is done. When you are new to the mission you watch the videos with your trainer as an example of how to do missionary work. There is a video where two elders teach a young girl who is afraid to commit to baptism. The elders realize it is because she doesn't understand the spiritual meaning behind baptism. This is often a problem in missionary work. People not understanding baptism and what it means.

To be brief, baptism is a covenant with God. A covenant is like a "pinky-promise" with God that you are going to do your best and keep His commandments and in return He blesses you and helps you. So it's a two way street; you do your best and the Lord does the rest. Baptism is the first great covenant we make with God. When someone goes into the water all their sins go in with them but when they come up the sins are gone. But that is not it, you aren't clean forever after and suddenly have a perfect life. You are still tempted and have trials, the difference is you have God's help more abundantly. I love helping investigators understand this.

The sister that got baptized this week understood very well the importance of baptism. She had a rough past and really wanted to change. She has consistently come to church, prayed, read her scriptures and made changes in her life to come to this amazing day. She has such a strong testimony of the gospel. Yesterday she was baptized. When she came out of the water her smile was bright and wide. As she came up out of the font I wrapped her towel around her and hugged her and she instantly started crying in my arms. She whispered to me "Hermana, I did it! I'm clean." Almost immediately I started crying as well and hugged her tighter. The spirit was so strong and I knew in that moment that she had been baptized by someone holding the power of God and that she really was clean.

I'm so grateful for my experiences here. The miracles, the hard days, stress, the blessings, the tears both good and bad. It is all worth it to bring souls unto Christ. I cherish every second I have here and know this is nothing less than the work of the Lord.

Los quiero muchísimo!!!!

Hermana Tapia

"Una Familia Dios Me Dio, La Amo de Verdad"

Hola hola!

This week I was able to feel deeply the love I have for my family and this amazing work, la obra misional.

First, my mom had a baby so I will be going home to another adorable baby brother and I am so excited about that!

Also, I have family in Utah investigating the church that I have been emailing throughout my mission and I got to surprise them along with my grandma from Mexico who is visiting Utah. Their elders Skyped me in on a lesson and I got to share my testimony with them and offer a prayer. We all cried a lot. The second my grandma saw me she cried and I couldn't hold back the tears. The spirit was so strong throughout the Skype. 

On top of all of this I have an aunt in Mexico who I have been emailing and teaching and she agreed to have me send her a Book of Mormon to read it for herself. Two hermanas in Mexico dropped off the Book to her and my aunt expressed the love she had for them and the Book of Mormon. She said when they knocked on her door she felt as if it was me there. She set plans with the hermanas so they can continue to meet and she made plans to go to church with them!

In the Book of Mormon a father named Lehi has a dream where he eats this fruit that is delicious and explains his desire to have his family partake of the fruit.

1 Nephi 8:12 "And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit."

That fruit to me is the love of Christ and the knowledge of his gospel and I can for sure say that, much like Lehi, I have always had the desire to share it with my family. Although I was shy about it because of fear of rejection. My time as a missionary has taught me so much about never giving up an opportunity to share this wonderful message and it has brought so many blessings to my family and me. My aunt and cousins now have plans to be baptized and I can't properly express the joy I have felt from these experiences and the love I have felt for them and I have seen them partake of this fruit.

We had a great FHE with a family I love. They have family visiting from Honduras that are members of other faith and don't have the warmest of feelings towards the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. So half way through our lesson on the restoration one of the family members starts... you could say "bible bashing" us and saying all these negative things and expressing doubts. We were on exchanges so I was with an English sister and she had NO idea what was going on so I was basically on my own. As he concluded I turned to this family's 17 year old daughter and asked her why she thinks this church is true. She bore the most beautiful, sincere testimony that brought everyone to tears. I then invited the other members of the family to bare their testimonies and every single one of them got emotional sharing how they received a personal witness of these things. There was not a single person that didn't cry or feel the spirit. I've learned that with sharing the gospel there really can't be hate or conflict, that drives away the spirit and there's no way we can tell if things are true or not. The second they bore their testimonies the spirit was invited and the negativity from the grandpa was gone. The whole family came to church this Sunday including the grandparents. And we are now teaching a brother that was there because he said he felt something he had never felt before that night.

In Lehi's dream there were a group of people the were angry and rude trying to convince others to not partake of the fruit. Those who listened to them never tried the fruit. But those who avoided them and tried it anyways felt joy and were able to taste of the delicious fruit. PLEASE, do not be scared to share the joy and love you feel with anyone. Even when its nerve wracking, even if you are afraid someone will make fun of you or reject your message. I promise that light is so much more powerful than darkness and love is so much more powerful than contention. I know that the Lord sanctifies our efforts and wants to help us. I really needed to learn this message to be able to properly go home and continue being a missionary to my family. Share this message in your homes, with your family! I also know that families are given to help us learn together and they can be eternal, in fact they are meant to be eternal.

I love you all so much! Share the gospel, ask God if this is His true church, read the Book of Mormon and love your families!!!

Hermana Tapia

"Remember, O Remember"

Hola amigos y familia!

Being a missionary is so cool. Hermana Bertagnolli and I have been focusing on how we can teach with more unity so that the people we teach can really feel the spirit and it has helped so much. I am learning so much about the importance of relying on others and working as a team. Also about the spirit and how it testifies of truth and how we can all feel it

There is a lesson we teach as missionaries called The Plan of Salvation. It basically lets us know where we came from, why we are on earth and what happens after we die. It's so cool and makes so much sense when you really take the time to learn about it. In the plan of salvation its explained that we all lived with God as spirits before coming to earth, this is called the pre-mortal existence. But since we didn't have physical bodies and couldn't make mistakes and learn we couldn't progress or learn very much. So God created The Plan of Salvation. A plan that we would all come to earth, have a physical body, make mistakes, learn, progress, have families and depending on our decisions there we would be able to live with God again. BUT- none of you remember this right? Well, that's because we all went through something called a veil and this was all erased from our memory. Why? So we can really be tested. So we are basically here to try and remember that all and live good lives so we can live with God and our families for eternity.

We are teaching a man I will call Ben who we met last week. We taught him, his sister and girlfriend this week. We taught them the restoration Wednesday, they came to church Sunday and after we had a Plan of Salvation lesson and it was so cool. The girlfriend said she felt like a light bulb went off in her head as we explained the pre-mortal existence and the purpose of our life on earth. I had just explained that we go through a veil when we are born and we forget everything about our life before. And that when we learn about the God's plan on earth and we have comforting feelings it is almost as if our spirits are remembering it all. I realized that maybe that is a way the spirit works, it makes us feel almost as if we are being reminded of something we once knew. I definitely know that when I was learning about the gospel it somehow felt like I had known it all before and was just being reminded. There is so much power in learning about the gospel and paying attention to how you feel when you do so. I seriously believe that every single one of us were face to face with God at one point before coming here and promised to do the best we could to remember Him and remember His plan here on earth. And we all have the potential to live with Him again I don't care who you are or what you have done. Also, his little sister read 8 chapters in 1 Nephi in 2 days! She's only 13! I feel a special connection with her because I was 14 when the elders taught me and loved the Book of Mormon! It's so fun to watch something similar happen to this cute girl that we met just this week!

Here's some more random pictures from the week!

Cow day at Chick-Fil-A was this week so us hermanas went after district meeting on Wednesday to get some free food. 

This investigator has two teenage daughters in Honduras who were recently baptized! We teach her and she told us this week that when she sees us, she sees her daughters preaching to her. Precious. :')

Hermana Bertagnolli is such a great comp and makes really yummy burnt cookies. ;)

Los quiero!!!!

Hermana Tapia

Consider the Lili(es) in the Swamp

Que tal?!

I have come to the conclusion that Virginia is a swamp. There is no better way to explain this place. It is a swamp. This week we reached the 100's and the humidity was crazy. But, I sure do love it!

This week we had a super fun 4th of July with members, investigators, other sister missionaries and lots of good food! Hermana Bertagnolli street contacted in downtown Herndon before the fireworks and met so many interested people! Blessings of working hard even on 4th of July night! We might have snapped a few pictures in between....

This week we were having one particularly REALLY crummy day. All our lessons fell through, no one wanted to hear our message, we were tired of walking around all day. And then we decide to visit a member close by. On our way out of their home we see that their neighbor is getting home from work. We decide to say hi and he immediately opens up and practically begs us to come in and teach him. A little startled now but excited we stay and he quickly opens up about a huge trial he is going through. His wife had been unfaithful to him, he was losing his children, home and job. In that moment I felt this overwhelming feeling that we were where we were most needed in that moment. I found myself feeling inspired to tell him that sometimes trails in our lives are ways Heavenly Father direct us in different paths. Saying that I realized that maybe we were having a crummy day because Heavenly Father was trying to direct us in a different path as well so we could find this man that needed us so desperately. All of us were comforted and it was a very spiritual lesson. It was all so worth it just to talk to that man that was in desperate need of a message of hope and faith in the Savior.

I was asked to give a last minute talk in sacrament yesterday and it was perfect because I desperately needed the topic I spoke on. Pride. One particular quote that I found that I want to share says

"Pride is the opposite of humility, which is a 'willingness to submit to the will of the Lord.' When prideful, we tend to take honor to ourselves rather than giving it to others, including the Lord. Pride is often competitive; it is a tendency to seek to obtain more and presume we are better than others. Pride often results in feelings of anger and hatred; it causes one to hold grudges or to withhold forgiveness. Pride, however, can be swallowed in the Christlike attribute of humility." - Elder Gary E. Stevenson

The best way to avoid pride is by being humble. And that doesn't necessarily mean we can't have confidence, we must learn to direct all the confidence we have towards the Lord. How powerful is that. As we actively strive to overcome pride we will overcome temptation and mindless comparison.

Also! 2 of our investigators that we found just last week have let us know they have gained a personal testimony of the Book of Mormon and wow... This church is so true. As our investigators gain their testimonies it strengthens mine. Nothing tops this full-time missionary service. I love these people and the gospel with all my heart!

Hasta la próxima semana!

Hermana Tapia

New Transfer, New Me

Hola a todos!

A new transfer has begun. I have a new companion and a new ward. Hermana Bertagnolli (Bert-noli) is an amazing companion and I love Spring Lake so much already. Our new president, President Caplin, got here on Friday as well. As much as I will miss President Huntsman it is still so great to meet President Caplin and feel of his love and spirit. I can already tell this is going to be such a good transfer. 

Here are all the hermanas in the mission at transfers.

Funny moment of the week:
I sleep talk SO MUCH! All my companions tell me that sometimes they wake up to me teaching a lesson in my sleep at 2 A.M. and I have no memory of it at all! I forgot to warn Hermana Bertagnolli and one morning I woke up to a cup of water at my bedside. I had no memory of it and just brushed it off. Then Hermana Bertagnolli asked if I felt better after last night and I was confused. Turns out that in my sleep I was panicking and asking for water. This woke up Hermana Bertagnolli and so she ran and got me a cup of water but came back and I was asleep. And I remember absolutely none of it.

The beginning of the transfer always brings great miracles. One day it was so hot. I swear the humidity will be the death of me. And I was so tempted to just go home and rest for a little because the wounds from my surgery started to hurt. But I told myself , "One more person." So we were walking in this neighborhood of town homes and we see these two men working on a yard. They were super nice. We taught them the restoration and I was sweating so bad and was so uncomfortably hot but they were paying such close attention and had heard about the church in Peru. Long story short we ended up setting an appointment, teaching them 2 days later. They came an hour early to church Sunday and we gave them a tour, they stayed all 3 hours and LOVED IT. And are reading the Book of Mormon to pray to know if it is true and feel this is something they have been praying for. This is NOT common here! I am so glad I didn't just quit and decide to go home. I know that when we push ourselves and trust in the Lord He will bless us for our efforts and when we have faith and are willing to sacrifice we will become instruments in His hands.

I know that story makes you all assume that I have not been taking care of myself since my surgery. But I promise I have rested when necessary and continue to make the most of my short time being a full-time missionary for the Lord. There is nothing better I could be doing with my time right now. Amo la obra misional. And I am recovering just fine. :)

I am super excited to spend the 4th of July in D.C. this week! It reminds me that God prepared this Country for the restoration of the gospel and because of religious freedom Joseph Smith was able to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ here. And now it is all over the world. I am so grateful for this and cannot help but feel the spirit as we celebrate the freedom of this great Country.

Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July and remember the Lord sees your sacrifices and your desires.

Los quiero!

Hermana Tapia

An Unexpected Visit to the E.R.

I am going to be honest, I am so prideful.... so Heavenly Father taught me a humbling lesson in a really unique way. This week many big events (lessons, meetings, two baptisms) were scheduled and so I was ready to work hard. I prayed, worked and studied harder than ever and I was in game mode. I thought all week, "I got this." And then I found myself collapsed on my bed Wednesday night after meetings and lessons in possibly the worst pain I have ever felt and it had lasted all day long. I was just barely letting myself rest after a long, busy day and I could not get out of bed. I was taken to urgent care and they sent me directly to the E.R. I really did not think it was necessary but I went anyways with my President and his wife by my side. After a C.T. scan, blood work, hours of waiting for test results and pain the doctor came in and let me know I was scheduled to get my appendix out within hours. All the events of the week came running to my head and there was no way I was going to be able to attend any of them. I was so STRESSED. But I really didn't have any other choice. I was admitted to the hospital and got some rest before I was taken into surgery hours later. 

The surgery went well! The hardest part has definitely been the recovery. Laying in bed all day, taking medication, eating very little and the pain of the wounds really got to me. I felt so sad and so frustrated. To top things off our investigator and his son that were getting baptized this weekend called to see how I was doing and let me know he was cancelling the baptism to let me recover and that we could meet after I felt better. It was so sweet and thoughtful but I thought NOOO!!!! I tried so hard to promise him I'd be ready but it just wasn't possible. I appreciated the love and concern from the investigator but it felt as though all our hard work was going down the drain.

Our amazing week ended up being the worst week of my mission. After letting myself soak in my self pitty I took advantage of my alone time when my comp left the room thinking I was asleep and I said a prayer that was kind of a selfish, angry prayer. I was so upset with how the week had turned out and all our cancelled events we had prepared months for. I asked why? Why now and why like this? I had worked so hard and I thought I could do it. And these words quickly came to my mind. "You are not in charge here, I am. Just trust me." I realized I had been relying on myself and trusting in my plans and abilities and not my Heavenly Father's. I was forgetting to incorporate Him into all the plans and ask Him for help. I have also been sick for months and hadn't had the time or opportunity to get checked until now.

I learned a few huge lessons:

1. We are not in charge. God knows so much more and so much better than us. 
2. Because of this His plan will always be infinitely better than ours.
3. We just need to trust and accept His will even when things get hard, especially then.

So the week ended and we had 0 lessons, no baptisms, lots of cancelled and highly anticipated events, I can barely walk or eat and although it all stinks right now I know that Heavenly Father knows why this needed to happen. And until I know I will do the best I can to be thankful for the medical attention I desperately needed and was able to receive, the loving members, investigators, leaders and missionaries who were right by my side the whole time. I trust Him, I know Him and I love Him.

On a brighter note, the nurses were awesome. I got to explain to them what I do as a missionary and here are some funny responses.

On the fact that we can't watch TV or movies:
"Do you have any idea how much Netflix you need to catch up on when you get home?!"
"So what do you do when you're bored?" (We don't have time to be bored.) 

Having companions:
"But like what if you don't like your companion?"
"So it's like an arranged friendship for 6 weeks?"
"Do you hate each other yet?" 

Seperation from family and friends:
"That's soooo sad."
"So they sort of kidnap you from your family?"
"I need a break like that from my family." 

Service for 18 months:
"That is so long, how do you do it?"
"So were you forced by your family to do this or do you actually like it?"

After sharing what missionary work means to me and why I am doing it:
"Awe... you're so cute. I would never do that."
"You should start a T.V. show about this, I'd watch it."

OH YEAH! Also I am getting transferred to Springlake and getting a comp who is new and I'm so excited! Wish me luck so I can pack, I should be back to normal by Wednesday. Have an awesome week. I am getting better every day! 

Los quiero!

Hermana Tapia