Week 30: Juana Diaz Round 2

Hola a todos!!

 

So, I'm staying in Juana Diaz with Hermana Escobar!!!! WOO!! We are super excited because guess what...? We might have a baptism in November!!!! We are praying super duper hard!! But also, we might be moving houses, so don't send me anything til I know for sure next week.

 

So I just have to start with our amazing lessons that we had this week with Morgan! Oh my goodness, they were awesome!! So our first lesson with him we taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he took it super duper well - he already has a ton of faith and believes in baptism and the Holy Ghost and all of that, we just had to clarify some things. But it was so great because we had asked him to read a chapter from the Book of Mormon the week before, and he read the whole thing and basically taught us what the chapter was about! He read 3 Nephi 11 and he said he really liked how it testified of Jesus Christ and taught about baptism and the Holy Ghost. And then he said, I know it's true. Uhh, what? He has a testimony of the Book of Mormon!!!! I almost died right there in the lesson! But it's poco a poco so we are having him read a lot more. So at the end of the lesson, my companion asked him to be baptized - and he ACCEPTED, but he first wants to be able to come to church and keep reading a little bit more! So that's a start and we are definitely working with it! So that was Wednesday. So we went back yesterday with the Elders Quorum President and taught the first part of the Plan of Salvation. Again, he read 2 Nephi 31 and really liked it!! Ok, what I love about the lessons with Morgan is that when you talk, he really listens and ponders what you are saying. His desire to know is just incredible! Anyway, so as we rapped up the lesson, we asked him how he was feeling about everything. Then, he began to say how the other day when he was reading from the Book of Mormon, he started to feel something and he knew it was the Spirit; and how when we talk to him and teach him, he knows that we are all telling the truth, and that he can feel it. I was almost in tears!!!! And then comes the best part, his prayer! Oh my goodness I kid you not, my eyes even though they were closed, were full of tears! He said in his prayer, that he has NO doubt that what we were saying was true and kept asking Heavenly Father for the knowledge that he needed to keep going in the Gospel. AHHHH!!!! Can you say miracle investigator?! We just feel so blessed for the opportunity to teach him!! Now, of course he needs to be coming to church, so that is something we are really striving for. We have Stake Conference this week in Ponce... so that's a little bit of an obstacle, but we are hoping all will work out! Hna Boaz y Ramos have a baptism this Friday, so we are invited him to that!! Keep him in your prayers!!

 

So, with Carlos, sadly he didn't make it to church this week but the lesson with him about the Book of Mormon was so sweet!! So, I'm not sure if I told you, but he has an eye problem right now so he can't read. But, we wanted to give him a Book of Mormon so that we he can, he will be able to read it! Oh my goodness, to see his face when I gave it to him, wow! He just held it and looked at it like it was the most amazing thing in the world!! Which it is ;) We also taught a lady named Virgen and she is such a gem! She lost her mom 4 months ago and so was a little emotional when we talked about families, but she sald that she felt something different and that she really liked what we talked about!! Woo!!

 

So, that's what we are working with right now and we love every second of it!! We are hoping for exciting things this next week :) The church is true everyone. We talked to a lot of people about the Plan of Salvation and families this week - which is my favorite thing to talk about because really, the knowledge that we have has brought me SO much joy. I am SO grateful for the Restored Gospel and for all that it entails. Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us. Jesus Christ lives and I feel beyond grateful to be a representative of him. Have a great week everyone!!

 

Love,

Hermana Holt

On our P-day we got to take a trolley ride and tour Juana Diaz

 Enjoying the beauty of this place

The awesome foursome

Hermana Holt was here

I love being a missionary

Hi Mom and Dad, I found this old fashioned phone.  Guess where I am going today?

We finally got to go to the ocean

I love the Puerto Rican beaches

 Another cool statue

 They have black sand

I love these girls

Proud missionaries

Having a Titanic moment

 Say hello to my little friend

I think I'm gonna be ok

Hermana Ramos

Going on exchanges

Hanging on to Hermana Leonardo before she heads home.  This is our zone.  Do I look tan to you?

The Elders trunk at the trunk or treat party

the YW presidents son

The Stake President's wife and some young women

Week 29: the work is growing in Juana Diaz

Hola a todos!!

 

So yesterday was a holiday or something here in Puerto Rico, so the library wasn't open to write! But this week we had some awesome lessons and I'm super excited to talk about them!!

 

So, first I want to talk about Morgan - not sure if I have talked about him yet but he definitely has potential!! He has a big desire to know the truth, which makes him super humble when it comes to asking in prayer! When we taught the Restoration, he took it really well and was super open to Joseph Smith. But earlier when we were talking about the Bible with him, which he has a TON of faith in, we knew he was going to probably have some trouble with the Book of Mormon. We prayed all week in preparation for this lesson on the Book of Mormon (to be honest, I was a little nervous myself) and luckily, we were able to have a member present. The lesson went SO well!! Morgan and one of the Hermanos in our ward had things to talk about after like the first minute and the member ended up teaching more of the lesson than we did! The member served a mission as well so he had all these explanations and stories that helped with the lesson! It was awesome!! And when we invited Morgan to say the closing prayer, and to specifically ask Heavenly Father in this prayer if these things were true, we all kneeled down and he asked in the most sincere way!! And, he should be coming to church this Sunday! Woo!! We are hoping for the best!

 

Another investigator with potential is Carlos! He is an older guy who actually lost his wife a while back, but has the most faith I have ever seen in one person!! He has complete faith that the Lord is control of every aspect of life!! So, that's of course awesome, and we definitely talk about faith in every part of the Gospel that we teach! He has been sick this past week, but promised to come to church with us this Sunday so we are praying!!

 

We haven't been able to teach Lucy and her husband yet and it's making me sad!! We were supposed to have our lesson Sunday but they had to go to Ponce, so hopefully this week! But get this!! So I don't know if you guys remember about Celinette, the YW who was just baptized, and that we went to go visit her family? Well, when we vistied, the mom was definitely not happy with us there.. but we decided to pass again and oh my goodness!!! We have NO idea what happend, but when we stopped by she was smiling and laughing and it was like all of us were old friends.. how crazy is that?! Crazy amazing!! And now, we have an appointment with them this Saturday :) It's super exciting!!

 

Well, this week is the last week of the transfer, can you believe it? To be honest, we have no idea what changes are going to happen this transfer, but we are both hoping to stay! The work here is starting to grow! But whether we stay or not, we are super excited for all the work that is happening here in Juana Diaz!!! Have a great week everyone!!

 

Love,

Hermana Holt

 2nd pair of shoes down

 Yikes! That's what walking and moisture will do

We decided to take Elder Uchtdorf's advice and enjoy the blessings

 Our Stake President's wife is so good to me.  She keeps me stocked!

 Hermana Escobar's birthday

 My district in Juana Diaz

Elders:de Oleo, Diaz, Sepulveda, Alfaro, McGary & Poroj

Hermanas: Yo, Boaz, Ramos, Escobar

 Hey look!  My mom grew up in Los Angeles

 I'll forever be grateful for the beauty of Puerto Rico

 My cute companion is always packing her pepper spray

These frappes are divine.  This one is strawberry guineo.

Week 28: "I'll go where you want me to go"

Hola a todos!

 

Well, I forgot my mission planner and now I feel like I can't remember anything that happened in the week haha.. but can we just start with GENERAL CONFERENCE?!?! Did you guys just LOVE it?? I definitely did, it was amazing! I can't even explain how grateful I am that we have a living prophet and apostles who guide us here in these last days. Their words are truly inspired words from our Heavenly Father!! I hope everyone will take time to read and study their talks again once they come out. I know that we can all improve on something and that as we pray to Heavenly Father, He will help us to know what to do and where we can improve! It was absolutely incredible, and I testify that ANY question that we have, we can gain our answers through Conference - through the words of living prophets and apostles. My questions were answered and so I know yours will be too. Wow!! I just can't get over it haha I'm pretty sure that us missionaries haven't stopped talking about it since yesterday!

 

So the work was a little bit slower this week, but we were able to contact a lot more people and we have some potentials, so hopefully this week will be better in lessons! This week I had exchanges with Hermana Ramos and it was so fun! She is absolutely hilarious and has no fear when it comes to talking to people haha and I mean none!! Haha I have been so blessed to work with sister missionaries who have no fear speaking, it has helped me a ton! In the process of the exchange I was introduced to two new less actives that we were able to teach, so we are super excited to work with them! One is a sweet family of 5 who actually got baptized about a year ago or so, but they are super humble and we are praying really hard that they will have the desire again to come to church! They have a daughter who is 16 who is more willing than the others, but we are hoping that we will be able to help the parents feel the spirit. The other one is an older lady and she actually got baptized into another church... last saturday... but! She lets the missionaries into her house so we'll see what happens!! Haha faith, right?

 

So do you know how in the hymn I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go it says, "...over mountains or plains or sea.."? Well, this week we DEFINITELY walked over mountains. Haha well what happened was, the other Hermanas told us that there was a road they hadn't been on that was now in our part of the area and that one day we should see what there is. Haha so we did.. oh my goodness it was literally just a one way windey road for miles in the mountains!! There were some houses a long the road thank goodness but it was insane!! As we kept going and going and going we ended up in an area called Rio Cañas Arriba which when you take the main road, is about 20 min IN CAR from where we live... and we got there through the mountains!!! Yeah, my body has been pretty tired this week, but all the hard work comes with the name tag, right? So it's definitely worth it!!

 

Well, I hope everyone has a good week, my time is limited this week because the Library is full so they are kicking us off! I love you all!!

 

Love,

Hermana Holt

Week 27: 6 months!

Hola a todos!!

 

Pues, six months DOWN, ONE YEAR to go!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, what a whirlwind these past 6 months have been, but how excited I am to know that I still have one year to serve the Lord!! I love being a missionary and I feel so blessed to wake up everyday and to put on my name tag and get to work! These past 6 months definitely have not been easy, but it's through the harder times where we are able to learn and grow; when we can put all of our trust in Him and everything turns out the way it needs to be! I still have a lot to learn here in the mission, so here to another year of the best 18 months of my life!! WOO!!

 

So, this week went by SUPER duper fast it's crazy!! But I am super excited because we are starting to really see miracles here in Juana Diaz! First of all, I don't think I've walked and contacted so much in my entire mission than I have in these past 3 weeks.. haha. En verdad, it was getting super hard for my companion and I, because in all those days walking, some days we wouldn't have any lessons and talk with almost no one! But, really the only thing that we can do is keep going, right? And now, here we are with 5 investigators!!!! Woo!! Heavenly Father definitely is preparing people here, and we hope that we are able to help them understand the importance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it can bless them more than they could have ever imagined!! So, we'll see how this next week goes!!

 

I'll talk about two of them, Lucy and her husband! Lucy was a contact that we talked to about 2 weeks ago and told us to pass by everytime! When we passed by the first time she didn't have a lot of time, so we talked to her really fast, but oh my goodness she is SO sweet!!! And so receptive and willing to listen! They had the missionaries in their home about 10 years ago, so we'll see what happens this time! We stopped by again Sunday afternoon and this time her husband was home, score!! They are SUCH nice people and were totally open to everything we talked about. They have a lot of faith and really want to know which path really is the correct one. We gave them the Restoration Pamphlet and have plans to visit them this next Sunday (that's when the husband doesn't work) and I'm super excited!! They are in their 60's and also have a daughter who is the sweetest!! She gives us rides basically whenever we need it! I really hope everything goes well because they have great potential!

 

We also have a guy named Morgan. He also has talked about with the missionaries, but it's been a while too! He also is looking for that right path and is super confused why there are so many different churches and paths that people say you should take. We've only had one short lesson with him, but we have an appointment with him the next week, so we are praying that he will notice the difference and feel the truth of our message! It really is a message of joy!!

 

In both of these cases, I've noticed something. That they both have met with missionaries before! As I've thought about this, it gave me so much hope that all the people that my companion and I talk to here, if they don't accept it now, that doesn't mean that they won't later!! Everyone has their timing, and we just need to trust in our Heavenly Father, because He knows exactly when they need it!! That has given me more motivation to just talk with everyone, no matter what! Because who knows, the next time the missionaries talk to them, they might be ready!

 

Anyway, another detail this week, I really really really REALLY dislike mosquitos!!! I have over 40 bites on my legs! Yeahhh that's right! 40. Haha I am dying cause I keep itching! Oh, the talent show was super fun!! Us missionaries sang "En Mi Viejo San Juan"- a Puerto Rican classic, so everyone loved it!! Us missionaries color coordinated and everything! Good time!

 

So I hope all the women watched the Relief Society Coference because it was AMAZING!!! It was a little bit different for me because I had to watch it in Spanish, haha but from what I understood it was SO spiritually uplifting!! Love it. And I loved how basically it was all about our covenants and the temple!! How important they are!! Really, we can receive so much strength as we keep our covenants. And come on, how amazing is President Uchtdorf?? He makes me cry every time. We are all children of our Heavenly Father!! DON'T YOU FORGET THAT!!

 

Pues, I can't believe that we are already half way through this transfer... gahh!!! But all is well :) The church is true everyone!! Have a great week!! And don't forget that General Conference is this weekend!! I know that as we prepare ourselves, we will hear exactly what the Lord wants us to hear.

 

Love,

Hermana Holt

 the beauty of Puerto Rico is breathtaking

a quick car ride

 Happy birthday Hermana Ramos

 both celebrating: her bday and my 6month mark

WooHoo!  6 months

 falta 1 ano

 we get lots of free soda

 Juana Diaz sign

 another 3 kings statue

 me and my comp

 my comp celebrates one year

 our practice investigator

 "Pincho" follows us everywhere

 waiting for the wedding

the ceremony

 young women from the ward

 a stray horse

Week 26: Missionaries walk and walk and walk and walk

Hola a todos!

Pues, there isn't too much to say about this week, Hna Escobar and I are still trying to get the hang of things here. This week has been absolutely full to the brim of walking and contacting haha so we are absolutely exhausted! But luckily, our nights have been in the chapel because the ward started some activities! So Tuesday nights are Family History nights (taught by the missionaries), Wednesday we have mutual of course, and then Thursday nights they just started a Scripture Study night (also taught be the missionaries haha). But they just started them this week, so the turn out wasn't the best, but it was still fun!! I know that with time, more people will come!

So just as last week, this week we also have been trying to get to know the members more and we have actually been able to teach some less actives and a recent convert! One of the less actives, her name is Genesis and she is only 15 years old. She is such a sweetheart! Her mom was also baptized, but it's been a little bit harder to have her in the lessons. But anyway, the lesson we had with her was so precious. We shared a scripture with her, one that she was able to substitute her own name in, and the Spirit was super strong when she read it! As we were talking about what the significance of the scripture and what it meant to her, she expressed how she knew that what the missionaries had taught her and what she was learning in church was the right thing and that she did have a desire to do what was right, and that the moment she read the scripture she could feel the Spirit - Yay! So as we talked of course we took the opportunity and invited her to church this (past) Sunday, which she accepted! But sadly when we passed yesterday, she couldn't go. But! We have hope for this next week! We are just really hoping we can gain some more trust with the mom! Really, such a sweet family.

The recent convert is Celinette - oh my goodness she is such a doll! She is only 12 and got baptized about 8 months or so ago and attends church with her Gma who is a member. So none of her family are members! So, we have taken that opportunity as well and were able to get a hold of them yesterday! Her mom wasn't too surprised with us being there haha but the dad is more receptive and actually has read parts of the Book of Mormon and has gone to church, so hopefully everything goes well from here!

So this week we have the ward Talent Show and they want the missionaries to participate.. hahaha! Not sure what we are doing yet but I'm pretty sure I'll let you know about that next week!

We actually do have some appointments this week, so wish us luck with those!! Haha it's weird because my companion and I feel like we haven't taught a lesson in forever!! We have such a desire to help the work grow here in Juana Diaz, so we'll see what this week brings! All of our faith in the Lord, because right now that's all we can do!

SO excited for the Relief Society General Conference Session this Saturday and then General Conference next week!!! WATCH IT :)

Love you all, have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Holt

 Sliced my finger on a nail

 More of the beautiful Juana Diaz

 broke through my first pair of shoes

using our jump ropes to hang our laundry