January 3, 2011

Hi family,

Thank you for the emails! 

 

Mmkayo so this week! Had some up's and down's, pretty sure I've said that in every single email. Christmas lights are officially over! Don't know how I feel about that. You can read what I wrote in President's letter, but we had some good progress with our investigators...I feel like we're finally starting to get them to take commitments seriuosly. FINALLY set a date with Kim Baez. She said she had prayed about baptism, like we had asked, and she still didn't feel super prepared but she trusted us when she said she could be prepared by January 21st. So we'll see. It would be so tight to have her family all baptized on that day. It's gonna take a lot of work, we just need to get the memebrs involved and really help her feel prepared. Because so often we set baptismal dates, and Hispanics will like totally agree to it...but it takes a lot of work to get them to that point where they feel super prepared. So we'll see. 

 

Also...you know Ana, the lady that got baptized? Yeah...well, she's engaged! What?! Crazy, she's been best friends with this guy for like 20 years, and then right after she got baptized, he suddenly wanted her to be his girlfriend. She's been divorced for years and is in her late 50s, and we show up this past week and she tells us they went to California for the weekend and he wanted to buy her an engagement ring! Bah! So yeah, he's not a member...which makes us nervous. But he came to church with her, and came to activities, and she said that every time she comes to church, he'll have to come too. It was awesome, she was like "Yeah, I'm getting married civilly right now, but I know, and he will soon know, that temple marriage is my end goal." She's awesome. So we're nervous, but I think it'll turn out okay. He's a good guy.

 

Also, this past Sunday Sister Holladay and I spoke in church for the whole sacrament. One of the branch's goals for this year is that every family have a missionary experience each month...so we talked about how they could do that. It was a little stressful, having to get the talks done along with everything else, but it was a good experience. We've seen a lot of progress with the ward, so we'll see how it goes.

 

Also...chinchas! Bed bugs mystery=SOLVED! We are indeed being eaten by bed bugs, not by some other mysterious thing. They've been hiding in the WALLS! Elder Alldredge from the mission office came and treated it, and that night we looked and shined a flashlight on the wall and we could see a bunch, just chilling right there! Right in front of our faces the whole time. So now that we're aware of them, we see them all the time, and he's in the process of getting further treatment. Asi es.

 

Also, David and Guadalupe are doing good...they seem to be taking things more seriously. David didn't drink at all last week! And they were also reading more. Really good stuff. 

 

This past Sunday, in addition to talking, we also did an impromptu Young Womens lesson on the Holy Ghost. It turned out really good, and it was just with 2 girls...one of which just moved in, and she's been inactive and her younger sister isn't baptized! So we're pretty stoked, we're hoping to visit them this week.

 

We have a lot of good prospects for these coming weeks. I'm a little nervous about having all this time in the area now, I've forgotten how it works. But we found some good referrals and potentials and people that seem like they could easily become new investigators...so we'll see! As for Christmas lights being over, I have mixed emotions. I'm sad to see them go...it was sad last night in the VC when it was all dead. But I saw a lot of miracles this Christmas lights season. Oh, my last night of lights was really good. There were lots of hispanic people there which was good. But my favorite of all, was when I walked up to this lady and her 2 kids at the jerusalem table. And I just started talking with her, and we started talking about the Book of Mormon. And she was so fascinated, in such a genuine way. I read Moroni 10:3-5 with her, and she really really liked it. And I was like "missionaries would love to come bring you a copy of this, so you could find out for yourself" and she agreed right away. What's more, then her little 11 year old boy speaks up and goes "Umm...is it possible that we could maybe buy a copy of the BOok of Mormon here tonight?" and the mom was like "wow, that's so great that you're so interested!" to her son and so I got them a free copy, and they were really excited. Then I showed them the intro they could read, and Alma 32, and then she asked to see Moroni 10:3-5 again. They were SO prepared and just so ready to strengthen their faith. So I was really grateful that I had that last miracle family on the last night of Christmas lights. Also, in Luke 2, my very last showing of it, I was reminded of my experience in Jerusalem, and it triggered a memory that I had when I was in Bethlehem. So it was really cool, my very last testimony with Luke 2 I bore my testimony of my experience in Bethlehem, and how it was when we were away from all the gaudy, ornate cathedrals, and just singing hymns in a little cave, that I felt the spirit the most. So I was grateful that my Jerusalem experience was abe to be tied into it on the last night.

 

Then yesterday was Pday, and all the VC sisters went and hiked camelback! So my second camelback experience. I really enjoyed myself, but I felt bad because it kind of ended poorly for Sister Holladay...she got left alone for part of the hike! Which is partially my fault. Because we were all going at different paces, we all kind of just went with whatever sisters were going at our pace, so we weren't w/ our actual comp (again...us VC sisters, flexibility, I tell ya). But then the group she was with got ahead of her, and she was alone! I felt really bad afterwards. Then they threw me in a different car, and she didn't know where I was and freaked out. And then the car she went in, a sister threw up all over her. So sad haha. Lesson learned. But it was really fun other than that!

 

So Christmas lights have been a huge rollercoaster, but I'm so grateful for the things that I learned from it. I learned so much about the Spirit, faith, prayer, and diligence. We would see so many miracles when we just prayed for them. It taught me how to pray fervently. It taught me how to be bold, I saw some sisters who were so bold, and their conviction made all the difference. I learned that numbers are not what matters, it's the spirit that matters. When I remember my experiences at Christmas lights, it's just a small handful of "top boxes" or "pmr's" that stand out to me, and those are the ones that made the difference because the Spirit was there. I learned how much I love to testify, and how much that can be such a motivating, rejuvenating thing...its what we live for! It's what brings the Spirit. So I learned a lot. I'm so grateful that I'll be here for at least part of Christmas lights this December, and that we have Easter Pageant too. I'm grateful that there are constantly changes on my mission, it keeps things exciting. One change I'm not looking forward to is that the White's are leaving in like 10 days. Oof, I'm really sad about that...I don't know what the VC will be like when they're gone, and I'm going to miss their influence a lot. But everything happens for a reason, and I hope that I'll come to love the new VC director as much as I love this one. Then transfers are in like...3 weeks? Something like that? That'll be interesting, it'll probably be my first big change. Makes me think about what all I've accomplished in this area, and how there's still a lot more to be done. We will see.

 

So anywhozle, that's about it! Lengthy email for you, eh? Anyways, I love you guys so much. I love this gospel so much! I know that the mission is changing me, and now I'm really trying to focus on how it's changing others...what am I doing to serve them? Love you all! Hermana Fors

Pictures of Christmas Time!

With Sis. Holladay after a temple trip

With the Hernandez family at Christmas dinner (Jose, her investigator, is on the right)

Sis. Holladay and Brittany as Christmas "Elves"

With the group at Christmas breakfast

Christmas breakfast



 Dance number at prep meeting

Margarita and Lupe with cupcakes for Brittany and Sis. Holladay

Christmas lights in the neighborhood

Opening gifts Christmas morning

A depressing day -- sick, raining, trying to find an investigator

Sis Holladay painting prayer rocks

Prayer rock goody bags for investigators

December 26, 2011

Hi,

 

So, my Christmas was GREAT. After talking with you, we went and delivered presents to Ana and Griselda. We gave Ana a photo album w/ pics from her baptism, and little notes everyone had written her. Then we felt like we should go visit Jose...he's the investigator who had the gambling issue who we've challenged to baptism like twice. Anyways, so we go there...and he's there just sleeping on his living room floor, totally alone on Christmas day. So sad. You could tell he was trying to not make a big deal of it. So Sister Holladay, being great, goes "well we're going to eat in 10 minutes...wanna come with us?" and so he came along with us! To eat with the Familia Hernandez, who's one of my fave families I've met. The grandma/grandpa joined the church in Mexico 30+ yrs ago, and they're just a solid family. They have a son whos 19 who has down syndrome, and the dad is always talking to us about missionary work...it's the only family that ever brings up the topic with us at dinner appointments. So we called them up real quick, and they were down to pick him up, so he came along. So we had some good old pozole and tamales and those sugar-covered deep fried things that I forget the name of. It was a good dinner appointment, and I think that it made Jose feel not so alone.

 

So then after that we headed to the VC. I was companions for the night w/ Sister Lopez, who's a fullfield sister who got called to the VC for christmas lights, and she's a total rockstar. So I learned a lot from her, and the whole VC was just on fire. Everyone has improved a lot. So...last night, Christmas miracle, we got EIGHTY top boxes! The most we've ever gotten on any other night is 40. Exactly doubled our record...I call it a Christmas miracle. Then at the end of the night Sister Holladay and I handed out presents to the VC sisters that we had gotten for them. We went to the dollar store and loaded up on bumpits, silly putty, fuzzy socks, and whatever other cheap gifts we could find. And then we headed home and went to sleep. So it was a great day! I am very satisfied with my one and only Christmas I'll have in the mission field. Sister Holladay made a big effort to make sure we didn't forget about Christmas, and I'm glad she did. At first I was worried that it would be too distracting, but she made us put Christmas cheer into everything, and I'm now really glad about it. So that was good. Sister Holladay has done a good job of "loosening me up"...I'm learning how to have fun on the mission with her. It's a fine balance, but one that I think is really important to find.

 

Saturday was also a good day. In the morning we had a prep meeting, where we all got together and had brunch, and then different people did different cultural dances. Then Sister Holladay and I rounded a bunch of missionaries up to go caroling to our investigators and members, so that was really fun. There was one lady who started crying, and there was another lady we caroled to randomly and she told us that she wanted to come to our church the next day. So that was fun.

 

Also, had probably my favorite top box this past week! It was such a spirit-driven conversation. You know how I said how I feel like I can follow the Spirit more when people are mourning/going through huge losses? well this was one of those. I walked up to this lady in the VC, and she said that her chiropracter had told her that the Mormon temple was the most peaceful place he knew of, so she should go there to get "spiritual healing". (Ps that's the third person I've heard of getting referred to the VC by chiropracters...some chiropracter out here is doing a lot of good missionary work.) Anyways, so she tells me her life is in shambles, etc, and so I decided to take her to the Christus. We walk in and she was like "My doctor told me to find this statue! But I didn't know where it was!" and so then I read Alma 7:11-12 with her, and I told her to look at the christus statue as I read it to her, and afterwards she goes "that's crazy, as you read that I felt like my back pains almost got lesser." Whaaa?! Anyways, then I read Ether 12:4 with her, and we talked about hope and she said how that's exactly the thing she's been feeling like she needs. So we listen to the christus, and she really likes it, and she tells me how she feels like she just needs to start listeing to God more. So then I thought of a mormon message "listen to the voice of the spirit" that we have, so I took her to go watch it. And so we watch it, and in the middle she laughs, and afterwards we're talking and she's like "I laughed because it quotes E.B. White (I think that' the name?) and he's my favorite poet." and she just said how everything that we had been talking about are the exact things she's been thinking about. And so then I'm just like straight up "well the next step is talking to the missionaries, because talking to them and getting baptized is what's going to help you feel this feeling all the time." and she's liek "I would really like that." baaahhh! So then I gave her a book of mormon, adn she filled out the referral card, and she's like "where do you recommend I start reading? Just from the beginning?" so I gave her the intro, Ether 12:27, and Moroni 10:3-5 to read. And then she told me that she would come back and bring her son with her. And she gave me this really big hug, and as she walked out she just goes "Thank you for listening to the Spirit." It was crazy! It sounds almost too good to be true, but, I know it was genuine because I really just felt the Spirit guiding it all. Anyways, it was so great. She was awesome, and I hope to see her again.

 

Anywhozle, ok I will send some photos your way. Thank you for everything! You are the best! I don't know how long youl'l all be together this week, but hopefully you do some fun things together. I love you lots! Love, Sister Fors

December 19, 2011

Hello familia,

 

Again, not much time to write. All is well.

 

Alrighty so this week was pretty goooood. Christmas lights are really fun! We're getting about 5000 visitors in a night this week, so there's lots of work to be done. I've seen some cool miracles in how the Lord works and prepares people to come into the VC. One thing was cool...this past Saturday I set a goal for 4 top boxes that night. It was like the last hour, and I had only gotten 1. I was out on the front steps, and I was a little nervous it would be totally dead. But then, in like the last 40 minutes of the night...I got those 3 more top boxes! It was cool how the Lord provided those people that were prepared, and when that happens its only like a matter of seconds before they agree to meet with missionaries. One had met with missionaries before but had moved to a different area. One lady was awesome, and was talking about how important it was to teach her son that they could always be together forever, so I just testified of eternal families and she was great. It's really fun at night, because it's just talking to tons and tons of people, just for like a matter of minutes. It's cool to see how you can improve over time, as all the sisters do. It's also cool because we're with different companions each night, so you learn from each of them.

 

I had one cool experience in the VC. I don't know if you remember back a few months ago that there was a lady that came into the VC, and had had this crazy miracle in the temple, adn told me about it, and I ended up calling/confirming her daughter? Anyways, so her and I have kept in touch a little bit since then, and she came back in this past week with her family! Including her less active daughter that she had been praying about in the temple that day. So the lady gave me this printed up story of that day, and how much her experience in the temple/VC meant so much to her, and that was really nice of her. They were so sweet. And her less active daughter then referred her nonmember father! Who i'm going to call up. So I took them through God's plan and it was all really good. That was really cool, because it's not too often that you get to see the fruits of your efforts/ the full circle here in the VC.

 

Que mas...also, the BAEZ FAMILY all came to church this past week! All 6 of them! Sitting on the pew together, it was a great sight. And we had a really good christmas program, the Choro Hispano that's from the area came and sang (made me think of what you've told me about the tujunga ward choir :) ), and I think they really liked the program...the members were really nice. You can read the update of the investigators below. It's tough, because this past week there's some days when we've had only like an hour in the area, because both Sis Holladay and I have been sick and they want us to rest so we don't miss Christmas lights. Christmas lights is so fun, but it does weird things to your area haha.

 

I had an experience I won't soon forget this past Friday. So, Thursday night...I kind of had a break down. It seems like every VC sister has a break down during Christmas lights, just because it's so stressful to manage it, and there's so many things you have to let go of. Anyways, so I had a breakdown, after we had been sleeping off our colds and our bites and all of that. (Good news...they came in today to treat for the bugs, so hopefully this will be the last of them...we think they might be spiders now, who even knows!) Anyways, so I had a breakdown. And basically, I had just been winding myself up a whole lot this past transfer, to the point where I just wasn't finding joy in the work, and I felt like I was losing my personality. Who knows, it's so hard to balance...and I think it's something that will continue to be a really hard balance for me. I think I've mentioned before, that just the hardest thing for me this transfer has been to figure out how to balance stress, and also how to combat guilt...I was told that on missions you feel guilty a lot, and that has definitely been the case for me....and it's impossible to work and to focus on others when I feel guilty myself. So, anyways...I had a big breakdown over all that. Oh, sister missionaries :) I love it, you would never hear an elder writing home about having a breakdown for feeling guilty. Well, maybe you would. Anyways, so, moral of the story...the next day we had a temple trip, and I just LOVE the temple. I am so grateful for it. I felt so so so much better afterwards, so much more myself. The temple is such a powerful place, just the peace that you find in there and after you go there can't be mistaken for anything else. Anyways, so then later that afternoon, I asked Elder White for a blessing... because he kind of empathizes with the situation, as he kind of went through similar anxiety-type of things when he was a stake president. Anyways, so we talked all about it, and then he gave me this incredible blessing. In it, it was really interesting...he actually pronounced me clean, using the same power that's found in the Sacrament, from the Atonement. Anyways, who even knows the details of all of that...but all I know is that it WORKS. Afterwards, I felt such a load off of my back. It was crazy. The temple and blessing helped me so much, I felt like an entirely new person afterwards. So there you have it...I have such a testimony of the temple and the priesthood. All I could think about was just how much POWER each of them has...something that can only be found in Christ's church. And all I could think about was just how much I've gotten to the point where it's like my #1 desire is just to feel the Spirit, and to feel it working thruogh me. It's all I want! It's all I want for Christmas! Hahaha. Anyways, so yes...that is my sappy sister-missionary experience of the week, your fair dose of Sister Fors for ya. But yeah, so if any of you have any insights on just like guilt, and daily repentance, the Atonement, anything, life, just let me know...because I think it could help out. I trust your opinions!

 

Alright, well we gotta go. Thanks for everythign. I love you all and I'm so grateful for your examples. Merry Christmas! Safe travels! See you in less than a week! Love, Hermana Fors