Now das was up!

Hola amigos y familia!

This week consisted of meeting and teaching AMAZING people. Here are some highlights!

Remember the dad that had dinner with us last week who wanted nothing to do with the church? We saw him AGAIN this week and he shared that he is reading the Book of Mormon!!!! 

Our investigator (Flower) came to church again this week! She has such a strong desire to be baptized cause she investigated the church when she was little and her mother was a member before she passed away. She is going through a hard time and believes we are evidence that her mother is watching after her in the spirit world and is guiding her to the right church. It was her birthday this week so we heart attacked her door and showed up at the restaurant she owns and brought her cake and balloons. It was so fun, we love her so much. I totally believe there are spirits in the spirit world watching over us.

 

We found a woman who had been taught in the past but had to stop going to church because her husband didn't like it. We knocked on her door and she quickly let us in. She talked about how she and her husband are splitting up and how she wants to come back to church and never let the person she dates affect her relationship with God. We prayed that she would be given the strength she needs to come back to church despite the conflict it might cause with her husband. She came to church yesterday with her two sons and she was so happy. It is so important to date someone that helps you grow and uplifts you. Spirituality is something so personal and can't be controlled by someone else no matter how much you love them. I am so glad we get to teach her this week again, she's incredible!

We are visiting a less active family and the husband who hasn't come to church in over 2 years came this Sunday and we almost cried when they walked through the doors of the sacrament room. :,)

Went on exchanges again so I went to an English area with the wonderful Sister Flake from Arizona. She is on her second transfer but is adjusting so well to missionary work and is such a great missionary. We stopped by to visit a less active in their ward when a young hispanic man in his early 20's opens the door. Turns out the less active had moved but the young man was interested in what we had to share. We briefly taught him the restoration and he was so focused the whole time. He understood everything perfectly and said it all made sense. At the end we invited him to read and pray to know for himself. We then shared that it was the same way we had come to know if it was true. He had his hand over his mouth that was wide open. He stared at the picture on the cover of the pamphlet for about 5 seconds in silence when finally he says, ".... Now das was up!" Hahahah! It was the greatest response I have ever received! They set up a return appointment with the English sisters. It's so great when we teach simply enough for people to really understand and feel the spirit testify of the restoration of the gospel and when it just clicks for them, THAT is "was up". 

My favorite line of the week (said to us by a less active hermana we felt we needed to visit): "Everytime I feel like God has forgotten about me he sends the missionaries to remind me he's still watching over me and loves me."

Sometimes I feel like I forget how sacred my calling really is and how I can't rely on myself. In my Book of Mormon studies I am in the first few Alma chapters and I am currently reading about the greatest companionship to ever exist: Alma and Amulek. They preach in a place called Ammonihah that is filled with people that hate them and reject their message. Nevertheless, they preach and fear no man. They have full confidence in the Lord and continue to teach until these people understand. All because their trust was in God and not themselves. Verse 32 is pure gold: "And it came to pass that they went forth and began to preach and to prophesy unto the people, according to the spirit and power which the Lord had given them." (Alma 8:32) Acknowledging that their power and spirit comes from God and not themselves. I realize that when I feel discouraged or stressed it is because I am trusting in myself; my knowledge, my abilities, my will and not the Lords. Whether it's preaching the gospel, raising a family, figuring out what to do with your life, choosing a career, etc. if you put your trust in the Lord and do the best you can, things will always turn out the way they need to.

Last p-day we went to the Manassas Battlefield Park with the sisters in our zone and it was so great!

Don't party too hard without me on 5 de Mayo! Los quiero! 

Hermana Tapia

"Pray About It"

Hola a todos! 

These last two weeks have been crazy busy and AMAZING! It's consisted of 2 Zone Conferences and I had to train at both (I made up a rap for chapter 11 of PMG, let me know if you want the mix tape). We also had exchanges with the greatest sister missionaries. Which is basically a day where we trade companions with a another companionship. It is always a good time because the sisters here are just incredible. They are all so diligent, loving, spiritual and hard working. I have learned so much from them! I'd have to say my favorite part of the mission is the people I serve and serve with.

I'm just going to jump in to my favorite stories of the last two weeks:

Any time my companion and I don't have the answer to each others questions we will sarcastically respond, "Pray about it." This is done so humorously and basically means, "I have no idea." This week I found myself telling that same phrase to a sweet recent convert family (except not sarcastically). The mother, daughter and son were baptized in February. The father however, wanted nothing to do with the gospel or missionaries from the start. In fact, he even hid from them! Wednesday night we met with this family and the mother expressed the struggles they are facing not having their father be a member of the church with them. They were very emotional and I felt the love and concern they had. I felt inspired to invite them to "pray about it" but as a family. To pray with faith that his heart will be softened and that little by little he can begin to learn more about the gospel. They promised they would do it that night. Fast forward to Friday. This family had signed up to feed us dinner. As the mother opens the door we are surprised by the huge smile on her face. She invites us in and standing there in the livingroom is her husband. He greets us and welcomes us in. We were seriously confused but I was too excited to waste a second. I quickly introduced myself and surely, together they took us out to dinner, and we got to know him (he's hilarious and we got along really well). We even got to briefly teach the restoration of the church to him and introduce the Book of Mormon. We bore a strong testimony that this message would bless and strengthen his family. He promised to read the pamphlet we left him and come to church. I still remember his wife's face... just so happy and could barely contain it. As the dinner ended and she hugged me goodbye I softly said to her, "the Lord always answers the prayers of faithful families." I know this is true. I strongly believe that if you have any righteous desires or need help with a trial you face you can always "pray about it". Oh! We are also teaching the sister of this member and she is AMAZING! We love her so so much, we taught her this week and she came to church and loved it. Her progress is so fast it's overwhelming but an answer to our prayers as well.

One more story! Last week Hermana McCracken and I kindly asked a woman on the streets who was NOT interested in our message if she knew anyone that could use service or an uplifting message from God. She looked around and pointed at a random house and said, "She is hispanic, go talk to her." And so we did. She turned out being a member from Honduras who didn't know the church existed in Virginia so has been less active for 3 years!!! We had a lesson with her last week and she never showed up for church. This week we go to see her again. She explained that she is nervous about going because she feels unworthy as a result of all she has done since she has stopped going to church. Hermana McCracken and I both love this member so much and could both relate to her in different ways. She asked why God would allow her to fall away from the church if it was true and if He loved her. We talked about the restoration of the church and when we talked about the apostasy (time when the gospel wasn't on the earth after the death of Christ) I felt inspired to ask her why she thought the Lord would allow His children to be without the gospel for a time. She answered something around the lines of, "Well... they rejected the church, so it's their fault. And maybe they needed to see what life was like without the truth so they could value it more once it was back on the earth." Then she stopped to think. I smiled at her and she realized I had made her answer her previous question about why God would allow her to be without the truth for a while. The spirit was so strong and she really opened up to us. We watched the Mormon Message "The Will of God" which I invite EVERYONE to watch- it's incredible and makes me sob like a baby every time. I know that God loves all of His children, even if and when we fall away from Him or when we sin. But when we repent and come unto Him we will feel that love so much stronger and we will, just like K said, value His love and His gospel so much more if and when we return.

Random stuff:

• There are fox EVERYWHERE in this area and I am terrified of them. They walk around our apartment at night and I freak out every time.
• It's finally getting warm over here! (goodbye leggings)
• Last night as we were getting into our car to leave an unsuccessful area we hear a man out of breath yell to us "MORMON MISSIONARIES! COME TO MY HOUSE PLEASE!" Someone was running after US!!! They were an amazing Indian family that ended up feeding us, showing us their traditional dances and had been taught 2 years ago but lost contact with the English sisters. #rightplace #righttime
• I've been super duper sick so keep me in your prayers. :)
• Finally feeling settled in with the Sudley ward, the members are great.
• We are finding great people that are so prepared, I can feel the Lord's hand in the work that we do and we feel so so loved.

Well, another week has come and gone. My comp reminded me that last Monday was my 8 month mark and I was shocked. This is going by way too fast! I love you all and I hope you are having a wonderful Spring. I know we sure love the heat over here!

Los quiero mucho, have a great week!

Hermana Tapia

Moving back in with my mother... as a missionary

Hola amigos y familia!

The moment of truth... my new companion is MY MOM! Hermana McCracken AKA my trainer! Is it just me or does anyone else see a pattern where I go back to my previous companions? It's quite insane that we are back together serving as STL's but it's also super great and it feels so good to be reunited. I love Hermana McCracken dearly and am so excited for this transfer.

Sudley is such a great area, I met the members this week and I felt so loved and welcomed. This area recently baptized two families so there was a lot of time spent on them and now there isn't really anyone else that we are teaching so we do a lot of tracting and working with recent converts.

One of the families that recently got baptized is SO AMAZING. I love them so much already. We will call them the Incredibles. The mother of this family has family members in Peru that started investigating the church and were baptized last summer. They spoke to her about the gospel and she started becoming interested when BOOM! Two English elders from the Washington DC South mission knocked at her door with a Book of Mormon. The language was a barrier but she knew exactly who they were. She asked for Spanish missionaries and they came. The family was so prepared. They were all baptized within 3 months of being contacted by the Spanish Hermanas. It really goes to show that other religions prepare people to receive the fullness of the gospel. They were a happy family but always felt like there was something missing. They are the perfect example of what the restored gospel can do for families. I am totally paraphrasing this next quote: "The gospel makes sad people happy and happy people happier.

My favorite part of the week other than lots of contacting, meeting members and having leadership meetings was going to Young Womens the 3rd hour of church. Everytime I am in a new area I like to share my conversion story with the young women. I always share the picture of me at my baptism with all the young women in my ward who at the time were my very best friends. I shared how the Elders taught me and did an amazing job but how I also consider the young women to be my missionaries. It's always so fun to share how Rocio (my best friend that invited me to go to church with her) and I ended up being companions in the MTC. There is always gasps and "awwe"s when I show a picture of us together in the MTC. We encouraged them to pray about bringing a friend to an activity or to church and about the blessings that come from doing so. We also stress the importance of being united as young women and daughters of God. It's a great way to get to know them and help them get to know me. The 5 year anniversary of my baptism is coming up so it's a good time to reflect back on that day. I will never forget it and I still feel the spirit from that day every time I share it. We also got to make Salvadorean pupusas with the young women this week one night which was super good. The leader presented my pupusa to everyone and announced that it was a perfectly made Pupusa and everyone clapped. My inner Mexican tortilla making self was really proud. ;) 

I am giving my first training at Zone Conference this Friday and I am kind of nervous but also super excited! More on that next week! Being an STL has been so great! I love it so much already.

My last Monday in Little River was really fun and also really... depressing. Hahaha! We had a huge Noche de Hogar with families in the ward, recent converts and investigators. At the conclusion of the lesson I bore my testimony on the topic of the lesson (personal revelation). Then out of nowhere one by one the people in the room thanked me for my time in Little River that later lead to hugs, tears, picture taking, an hermano asked to record my testimony... hahaha! And then CAKE AND FOOD! It was like an early birthday party for me since I won't be with them for my actual birthday. I was sad but I was also excited for the new ward and it has been great! Here are just A FEW more amazing people. ALSO GUADALAJARA IS ON DATE!! Yay! I love those people so dang much and miss them and feel weird not being around them but it's been an exciting first week in Sudley. Here are some pictures from the birthday party haha!

Spiritual thought:
I have been studying the death of Christ at the cross since Easter. Recently I came across this quote from Elder James E. Talmage who was a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, he said: "death by crucifixion was at once the most lingering and most painful of all forms of execution. The victim lived in ever increasing torture, generally for many hours, sometimes for days. ... The welcome relief of death came through the exhaustion caused by intense and unremitting pain". 

I realize now more than ever that I will never fully grasp how much pain Christ went through for all of us. Sometimes we see his death and Atonement as something distant that happened for the whole world. And while this is true it is also something very personal and special to each one of us. Something that can comfort us in time of need. To know that Christ loved us so much he went through excruciating pain so that we wouldn't have experience our pains alone.

I'm eternally grateful for this time I have to dedicate to Him and learn more about Him. I really feel like I am coming to know Him personally and it's brought me so much peace and understanding. I know I have said this many times in my email but I invite you all to gain a personal testimony of the Savior and His Atonement and consider how it could be of relevance in your lives right now and in the trials you are going through.

Missionary work is so hard... but SO great! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love siempre,

Hermana Tapia

Little Lili Leaves Little River

Hello all!!! (Challenge: Say the title 10 times super fast)

Did any of you get to watch conference?! It was so great! Here are a few impressions I had during it:

1. Offering service and forgiveness to others brings us lasting joy and personal peace.
2. How I treat others should reflect how I feel about my Heavenly Father.
3. Quick shout out to Hermana Reyna Aburto who has been in my home ward since I started investigating the church and is now a general authority. She gave her first talk yesterday in the morning session and it was beautiful! LA QUIERO HERMANITA!!!
4. Christ's life is what makes repentance possible, daily repentance brings blessings and protection.
5. Gratitude for men called of God in the dispensation to lead and guide us. I don't even know what I would be without the guidance of the Lord's apostles and prophet. It really supports what the Bible states about how God is the same yesterday, today and forever. If he called prophets and apostles then how would he not call them now? And wow, I feel His love so strongly through them.

Speaking of organization in the Lord's work... there is also leadership among missionaries here on the field to assist to needs of other missionaries and help organize the work in all areas. The Elders can be called as Zone leaders, district leaders and APs (Assistants to the President). The Hermanas can have a calling to be an STL (Sister Training Leader). It is a calling given by the mission president and we have specific duties and meetings. It provides missionaries an opportunity to teach and serve the other missionaries and it's a very humbling opportunity. I got a call from President Huntsman Friday night to be an STL in a new area for this next transfer. I will be heading out to my new area tomorrow BUT I am keeping my new comp a secret. Because... you know her pretty well... anyways! I'm really excited for this opportunity! Christ was such a humble, meek, patient and loving leader; maybe this is my opportunity to develop those qualities as well! Because to be honest... those are all qualities that I really admire and STRUGGLE with. But... the Lord asks us to try, I think I can do that.  More on that next week!

So I am leaving but it's sort of a miracle cause remember how Nefi moved and we couldn't visit him anymore?? He is in my NEW AREA! My new area is the Sudley ward, I've heard wonderful things about it and I can't wait to love and serve the people there! Although... this was a week filled with tears, goodbyes and testimony baring for the last time with my Little River family. I wish I could put into words what they all mean to me and what they have taught me about our Savior Jesus Christ and God's perfect love for all his children but instead I'm going to include a few pictures so you can just see how great they are!

I have to go pack but I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week! Watch Conference if you can and study the talks if you've already seen it, I know it will bless your lives. Los quiero un monton!

Hermana Tapia