Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Another week has gone BYYYYYYYYYYY!!!

HOLA Buenas Dias a todos!!!
Me and my "love" package from home!

This week was just been lots of running around and things to do! Still working on finding new people to teach, but we've actually come in contact with a few less-actives who are really progressing and really have the desire to come back to church! We've never really had much success working with less actives here, but one day we felt to ask the bishop to think about some people we could visit. He got back to us a few days later with some names and we went out to visit them and they are great people!

One is a 19 year old named Jomeri and she is the SWEETEST girl EVER! Me and my companion just fell in LOVE with her! She is studying.... well I can't think of the English word BUT its like someone who makes pies and cakes and pastry stuff. But she was also working and so has been inactivate for a year or so. But now she's not working and we're helping her get back into institute and church! She's actually pretty excited!

Another is the the husband of an active member of our ward. He too is inactivate because of his work, but now has strong desires to be with his family more and come to church. So we're SUPER excited to work with their family!

With Alondra we've been working hard with her to help her find the courage to speak to her mom about how she wants to be baptized and FINALLY she did! Buuuut her mom was not to happy about it. But Alondra said that she's not so scared anymore and that she knows the Lord will help soften the heart of her mom and one day soon she'll be able to get baptized! I LOVE her so much!!

The scripture I was think on this week is from Alma 26:12 which says ''Yea, I know that I am nothing, as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast in myself, but I will boast of my God, for in HIS strength I can do all things''! And I just loved thinking over this scripture because it is the KEY, I think, to overcoming fear and doubt. In our lives we will always come up against trials and problems, and it can be so easy to want to shrink away. BUT if we can truly remember that we REALLY CAN do all things the Lord wishes for us to do through HIS POWER alone, it brings a great change within ourselves. A greater ability TO DO. I mean, GOd created EVERYTHING! I'm sure helping a little missionary like me is DEFIANTLY something he can do.

Love you all and have a FANTASTIC week!!
Hermana Stephenson

The sister in our ward who just had her baby girl! SOOO CUTE!



Sunday, October 25, 2015

Sunshine for DAYS

HOLA!!!!!!!!

YESH! This was quite the week of things to do! Lots of running around and people to see and visit. There are two ladies in our ward who just had babies, so we went over to help them wash clothes and hang their clothes and stuff to help them out a bit. It was SO much fun! I love service. AND newborn babies are SO CUTE!!!!

But other than that we really had a chill week! Jheremy's getting baptized this week and we're so excited for him! He just hasn't been able to get over his fear of water to get baptized. He wants to so bad (he's 9) but he's just terrified! So we had some really cool lessons with him these last few weeks and he's ready to try this weekend! His family is all going to go to the pool to practice this week. He's nervous, but excited. We're praying a bunch for him!

Also, something SWEET--we had a huge dance festival for the stake this week! Every ward prepared a traditional Peruvian dance and performed! BUT it ended up starting at 9 and we had to leave!!!! We were SOOO disappointed! It's all the ward has talked about for 2 months! But a kind member recorded it for me. Also we have a big WARD TALENT SHOW this week! It's going to be SO much fun. Me and my companion, ward mission leader and ward missionaries have a SWEET skit planned out and its gonna AWESOME.

For my PONDERIZE scripture this last week I chose Enos 1:3,12 that speaks about prayer. I love how it starts out as 'And my soul hungered'. It's quite the interesting phrase. I remember during seminary my freshman year, someone came and sang a beautiful song about this phrase. And as I pondered over it this week, it kind of reminded me of the feeling of homsickness. That feeling of longing we all have sometimes, but in this case it's a longing to know and REMEMBER more about our heavenly home and Father in Heaven. When I dilligently seek the scriptures and pray honestly and openly, I have found that I yearn to want to learn and understand more. And that helps me grow personaly AND help others to come to the same knowledge I have gained!

Love being here and ALWAYS am learning SO MUCH!
Love you ALL!
Hermana Stephenson
The line up of all the wards in their costumes! My ward is the far left with the baskets :)

Mi zona!

Monday, October 12, 2015

Week of Miracles!

HOLA TODOS!! Hope everyone had a great week!
Me and my little hijita, Hermana Hielo
While things are probably cooling off up there, down here summer is JUST STARTING and it's SO HOT! Seriously I think I'm gonna melt! But it's cool because I'll get a sweet tan I'm sure! :)

Anyway this was QUITE the amazing week here! Mainly is that my little hijita had her first week! Her name is Hermana Hielo (or Hermana Ice!) and she's from Arizona, the States! But her parents are from Mexico so she grew up speaking and hearing Spanish, so she speaks pretty great! She's pretty much the coolest (pun not intended!) The ward loves her and she has the greatest spirit about her. And because of that we are seeing so many miracles in our area!

First off Alondra, who we've kinda been fighting with her mom to let her get baptized is starting to open up more! Alondra has two younger siblings that she always takes to church and the Primary is having their program this next week. Her siblings really want to sing in it and the Primary was practicing yesterday and her mom LET THEM GO PRACTICE! It was so amazing. And Alondra says that her mom told them that she would come to church next week to watch them! AHHH!! I about had a heart attack and died of happiness...... :)

Also we found a couple to teach! They're names are Diana and Juan Julio and they are the GREATEST! They're MARRIED and she's 6 months pregnant! They are super interested and want to know more. Can't wait to see what happens with them!

Loving it! And this last week my scritpure that I PONDERIZED was in Alma 32: 36-37  that talks about how we should put to one side our faith once we've gained a testimony. But that we need to nurture it DAILY with GREAT CARE so that nothing can destroy it. Loved it. And LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!
Hermana Stephenson

Stake "Beach Clean-up" Activity--So much fun!!

Lovin' the ocean and all the boats

The Chimbote area "Sisters"


Monday, October 5, 2015

I'M a MOTHER!!

Hey EVERYONE!!!! CRAZY CRAZY week this week! Mainly because the next transfer is coming up tomorrow and guess what........ I'M GONNA BE A MOM!!! Or in other words, I'm TRAINING a newbie sister strait from the MTC! AGHGHGHH!!!! I'm sooooooo excited, and maybe a bit nervous :) But seriously, this next month and a half is going to be quite the adventure!

Anyway, our area is just chuggin along. Jheremy is going to be BAPTIZED this weekend! He's the 9 year old son of a family of less-actives that have started coming back to church. This kid is the funniest kid EVER and super smart. He always has the best questions that most the time I have to study a bit to answer for him! It's so amazing how open a child's mind is and how receptive to the Spirit he is. It's no wonder that Christs asks us to 'become as little children'.

Alondra is still pushing along with her mom, and we are praying and working on her little by little so that she will let Alondra be baptized. We taught her about the Temple and the blessings and promises that come from it and she has the STRONGEST desire to make it there!! I KNOW that she'll be baptized soon!

The other main point of this week was CONFERENCE!!!! YEAH! It was sosososo amazing I can't even put it into words. :) There were so many things I learned, but what stuck out to me was the importance of the SABBATH and the role and nature of the HOLY GHOST. I loved all the talks and pointers on how to ask the right kind of questions and how to get the answers we need to progress! I know that the 3 new apostles are called of GOD and that Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet of our living God!

Love this work and I am excited to see what comes next! Love you all
Hermana Stephenson
P-Day and some good ol' soccer playing as a zone

Me! in the Plaza Mayor De Nuevo Chimbote. It's SO COOL


Thursday, October 1, 2015

Choose to Believe!

Hoooooooooolaaaaa Todos!

This week has been CRAZY! A whole bunch of left swings from 'below' (that makes more sense in Spanish... sorry :) ). But it's all cool because it's through our trials, we can learn!

Alondra really has the strongest testimony and the desires to be baptized and we've been trying for weeks to get her mom to understand her desires. But this week we stopped by to visit her and her mom answered and told us to leave and never visit her daughter again! Needless to say we were all pretty sad. Alondra texted us later and said she still wants to learrn, but is not sure how if we can't visit! But we were able to talk to her about how our trials help us to grow spiritually, and in the end will be for our benefit! Even if we can't see the blessings right now. We're going to keep working with her and we've got faith that somehow we'll find a way to teach her AND help her mom! Please keep her in your prayers!

I absolutly LOVED LOVED LOVED the Womens Conference this last Saturday. EN SERIO. I felt as though everyone was just talking to ME! More than anything, two things stuck out to me. First was about how our trials are the VERY THINGS that qualify us for eternal life. Even though they can be so difficult or full of heartache, it is those experiences that will give us the knowledge and training that we NEED to be able to live with Christ and our Heavenly Father forever. One of my favorite scriptures is in Hebrews 11: 39-40 that says: "and these all, having obtained a (testimony) through faith, RECIEVED NOT the promise. God having provided some better things for them through their sufferings. For without sufferings, they could not be MADE PERFECT."

The other point that I loved in Pres. Uchtdorf's talk/story was the ability that we have to CHOOSE how we feel. It's sooo easy, as he said, to work our selves into a messy puddle of sadness and turmoil. But God didn't create us to be sad, but to have JOY! So we can choose to look for the blessings and good things in our lives, and I KNOW that it if we can, it will bring the light of Christ into our lives and chase away the darkness.

Love you all and have the BEST of weeks!
Hermana Stephenson

P.S. something SWEET that we got to see was a full lunar eclipse last night!! IT WAS SO AWESOME! We were staring at it for like 30 from our window.