April 27, 2015

The dog we found.  Hermana Sellers had to take the back seat.

This has been the most bizarre week of my life. Missionary work wise we have been on fire...by on fire I mean we found a golden investigator.

His name is Ruben and I love him soooo much. He was sent in the exact time that I needed him. So the story of Ruben.....

Ruben is the nephew of a less active that we have been teaching the whole time that I have been here. He is 18 and kind of looks like a skater dude (I'll send a picture next week). He has only been in the states for about 18 months and so he doesn't speak English very well. Anyways, since the first time that I walked into that house I have felt like I needed to talk to him but it just never happened. Every time I would start I would get so nervous and shut down. I didn't know what to say to him and all my communication skills were going out the window and I didn't know what to do because I knew we HAD to talk to him. 

Well this week we went on exchanges and I told Hermana Webb that we HAD to talk to him. So we walked in and she was like "Ruben, you want to join us." and he was just like, sure. Anyways we just watched the Restoration DVD with him and he LOVED it. We were watching it and his phone went off probably 5 times and he didn't look at it ONCE. ( that is a pretty big indicator of someone's true intent...especially a teenage boys.) We finished the DVD and he was just soaking it up. We then taught him about the Book of Mormon. I read to him Moroni 10:3-5 and he loved it. He jumped up (literally) and grabbed his bible and said "Where is that at?" We then got to read the introduction of the Book of Mormon with him. When we got to the last 2 paragraphs we explained that these were our favorite and to pay attention to what it told us to do. We read it with him and the we said "what did you think about it, Ruben?" He just looked at us and said "WOW.....just WOW." and then we said what do you need to do? and he readily said "Read this book!" We asked him to be baptized on the 16 of may and he accepted. 

WE got to go back that Saturday and teach him again. The lesson was a little rocky but he still loved it. He bonded really well with Edward (a youth from our ward) and they became pretty good friends. We invited him to come to church on Sunday. Well, Sunday came and he didn't come. I was really upset because we even called to remind him. His aunt said that she'd see if he wanted to come. Well they didn't come so we went knocking at there door. Hna Sliva answered and said that she was really sorry that they didn't come. She then took us into the back yard where Ruben was on top of the house with his dad and uncle and they were re-roofing that house and building a roof for their porch. She said that Ruben had really wanted to come to church but his dad had made time stay home because it was his only day off work and they really needed him help to finish the roof. Suddenly all my anger was gone! They said that they would be there next week. I'm super excited for the next lesson we have with him

On with the week. 

Last night we had a lesson with the Esparza's (probably my favorite family here in Galt) and as we were driving there we found a dog on the side of the road. I hopped out of the car to see if it was okay and it came up to me. We were standing in the middle of the road so we almost got hit by a car. Finally I coaxed the dog over to our car and it just hopped it. He sat shot gun and Hna Sellers got booted to the back seat. We took him to the Esparza's and they just died laughing. They told us it was their neighbors so we took it over to them. Well...the owner of the dog opened the door and he was straight up naked....well he had a speed-o on but it wasn't leaving anything to the imagination....he was super startled to see that it was us but really grateful to see his dog. That was a thrilling experience. 

Those have probably been the best experiences of the week. Plus, when we were at the Esparza's we got to try pigs feet. They actually weren't that bad. Not at all. We also watched the Mormon message "The Hope of God's Light" with them and Luis was there and really like it. No response like last time but he still really liked it. It was actually the first time that we had seen Luis since he came to church. It was funny actually because a few visits ago Hna Esparza told us that Luis was scared of me. We were like "What? Why!?" and she said "Because of what happened last time." We died laughing. 

On with the week. It has been pretty hard with losing Grandpa. It is the hardest in the morning during studies and also at night. When I am out to work I don't think about it too much but when I have time to process what has happened I get pretty sad. I'm working on it though. I think everything will just take time. I feel really silly a lot of times because he was a grandparent and it is normal for grandparents to pass away but for some reason it is really hard for me. I'm just so grateful for the knowledge of the plan of salvation. That though our righteous efforts we can see each other again. God has a plan for everything and He know where grandpa needs to be right now. I'm grateful that I get this chance to be here on earth and continue to grow and choose the right so that one day I can be with Grandpa again. Things are hard right now because we are missing someone that we loved, a lot. But through time things will become easier. 

Thank you so much for you prayers and all the efforts at home. I love you all so much. 

Love
Hermana Porter

 

Pigs Feet

 



The Esparza Family

 

 

 

 

April 24, 2015 Grandpa Memories

I'm not really sure where to start or what to say. I guess I'll start off by saying I really wish I was home right now. I'm not sure how things would be different or that things would even be better but I'm just sad I am not with the family during this hard time. In some ways I knew this news was coming. When I saw the 3 missed calls from President Jardine this morning I knew exactly what they were about and I was struggling for some way to react. I could demand for a plane ticket home or do a million other rash things but all I could muster was to cry.

I think we all know that Grandpa meant a lot to me. We all thought it was pretty weird that I would call him often and just talk to him but now reflecting on it, I'm glad I chose to spend my time that way. I know everyone thought it was really weird and to be honest, I thought it was weird at first too but here is the reason behind why I started it. 

I had never understood why other kids talked so much about their grandparents. They loved their grandma and grandpa and going to their houses for dinner or for vacation and I never felt that. Well at least not with grandma and grandpa porter. Grandma Helen lived close so that was easy. I was ok to go there during spring breaks and what not but I wasn't thrilled. And for some reason when I was 15 or 16 I decided I wanted to make calling Grandma and Grandpa a priority. They were people who where suppose to be important in my life and I wanted them to be so I started acting like they were. 

 

I learned so much from Grandma and Grandpa over those calls and I was so happy to finally have a relationship with them. It was one of the greatest feelings in the world.

The topics that made it into most every conversation when grandpa was there...

G- "Hannah, you have a boy friend yet?"

H- " no net yet grandpa." 

G- "good. those school boys aren't good enough for you anyways. They're are silly and not going anywhere in life anyways."

H- " yeah grandpa, you're right."

For some reason we also always talked about NASCAR. I hate NASCAR and I know nothing about it but Grandpa loved it. We would sit out on the back porch and watch it and he would try to explain to me what everything meant and what all the different colors on the screen indicated. As a 16 year old I didn't really care and now as a 19 year old I still don't really care but I loved that I got to be with Grandpa. I got to see his passion for something that he loved and I'm so grateful I got to see that side of him. 

As I was pondering the time I had with Grandpa a few experience came to mind. 

One was when Obama was running for President the first time. Grandma was so excited and she was going to vote for him. We were all sitting out by the back door when grandpa walked up wearing a "nObama" hat. Grandpa started teasing grandma and she got mad and it ended with some cures words. 

Another was a time that mom, dad and I were traveling to Texas. Grandpa was so anxious for us to get there he probably called us every hour to see where we were. At one point he called my phone and i didn't answer so it went to voice mail. Well my voice mail was in Spanish because James had just gotten home from his mission and I thought it would be really cool to have a voice mail in Spanish. Well grandpa called and the voice mail said something to the effect of "Well I had no clue what that just said. Was that even English?" Then he rambled on for a little longer about who knows what. We all thought it was pretty funny. 

One I don't think many will remember is that Grandpa always told me he fought along side Elvis in the war. I thought that was SO cool so I told all my friends. No one believed me and so I told them I'd bring in a picture. Turns out, grandpa never fought in the war WITH Elvis just in the same war AS Elvis...I'm not sure if I miss understood or if he was just pulling my leg. 

Grandpa and I shared a love for ice cream. However I like any kind of ice cream but grandpa was a bit of an ice cream snob. He would ONLY eat Blue Bell ice cream because it was the best. It will always be the best to me. 

My last memory is one I'm probably most grateful for. One time I went and spent a week with them in Texas and every single day I was there, for breakfast and lunch I would have spaghetti. Grandpa was amazed about how much spaghetti I could eat. Every other time I visited they ALWAYS brought up that visit. I will forever be known as the spaghetti eater! 

This letter isn't very good and it is probably because I can't see the key board or screen from my tears but I just felt like I needed to give a little part of what grandpa meant to me. He was my role model and I'm so glad I got to be his friend and spend some time with him. I learned how to have fun and work hard at the same time. Grandpa always was telling jokes and I think I got some of my personality from him. Grandpa is and will forever be one of the best people I will ever know. He was the only grandpa I ever knew and I wouldn't trade that for the world. 

I love you grandpa. I hope they have carving in the spirit world! haha

 

We all just have to give good lives so we can be with him again. Right? Tell the whole family that I love them. I really wish I could be there. Tell Grandma she picked a good one and that I love her SO much. Give her a big hug for me. Don't worry too much about me. It is going to be hard for a few days but hopefully in a few days it will be better. I know grandpa is happy now and he is about of pain so that makes me happy. Tell dad that I love him and that I'm so sorry. There aren't really comforting words to give but I loved grandpa and so did so many other people. He brought joy everywhere he went and I don't think there is a soul in the world who didn't love him. 

Monday, April 20, 2015

 The Whole District with Sinai.

 Sinai 

 Sinai at her Baptism

Well, the back half of this week has been really stressful. We moved....for the 3rd time this transfer. I tell ya, I am sick of moving. If we could just stay with the other Hermana's for forever I would be grateful. Because of our hectic schedule we were not able to go out and work at all on Friday. Saturday was service ALL day. I Love Lodi, but not that much. Then we went to the baptism of Sinai, I'm going to count her as my first baptism because I taught her 3 or 4 times until she moved, and then we had dinner and 1 hour of weekly planning. Sunday, we had church, ward council, and then we have to finish weekly planning. We did get a great Family Home Evening in with the Esparza's though AND Hermana Esparza was at church this week!!! I'm excited to do missionary work! 

The thing I noticed about not being out, in my area, working is that I get really sad and moody. I feel like I am doing nothing. Everything I am doing is perfectly acceptable and I'm not wasting any time. In fact I'm working really hard and the work we are doing will allow us to get more work done in the future but I just get really anxious and short when I'm not doing what I want to be doing, which is the Lord's work. I'm working of figuring out a way to cope with things that don't go exactly my way or the way we had planned the night before. Prayer is helping but I think I need more, for Hermana Seller's sake. 

We had three really great lessons this week. One with Emilio and Hortencia. We were thinking about dropping them because Hortencia was really offended by the Catholic church and said she wasn't really willing to go to another church. But when we showed up for our next appointment and Emilio came out and said "So, who is this Lehi and Nephi guy and which one is the prophet. Also, I think it is really cool that they listened to the Lord and went into the desert. They must of had a lot of faith!" We almost died we were so excited. We read in 2 Nephi 31 with them and they brought up the question about kids being baptized as a baby. We read them a scripture in Moroni and they were tickled pink that we didn't baptize little babies. The spirit was so strong in that lesson and they are excited to learn more. We tried to invite them to baptism but they kept avoiding the question. We are going to be bold on Tuesday when we have our next lesson with them. 

The next was Estela A. We found her son Jonathan last week and he told us to come back. We did and his mom Estela was home. Estela was actually a potential of ours and when we showed up she told us to come in and share our message with her. It turns out that her husband had died not to long ago and she is really struggling. She wants us to come and visit her because she think God can make her life better. We were really excited to add her. 

Then Estela H. Estela couldn't come to church this Sunday because she had chemotherapy.  We only got to see her once because she gets so sick after her treatments. But the lesson we did have with her was great. We asked her last time to read the page about the apostasy. When we got there we asked her if she read it and she said no. We were like "Aw man, Estela you need to read." Then she continued to ask us questions about the stuff she was suppose to have read. It turns out she didn't read the scriptures on that page because she didn't know if it was in the Book of Mormon or the Bible and she didn't have the energy to search though each of the books. It was super sweet. We can't wait to see how she is doing on Tuesday. 

Like I mentioned. Sinai got baptized this week. We taught her for ahwile and then she moved so the Elders taught her and then the Sisters finished teaching her and baptized her. I am totally counting that as a baptism for me! (well, I guess for the Lord...) Me and Hermana Sellers were really happy to be able to attend. 

Other than the stress this week has been really good. I'm really grateful for the Elders who helped us move and our wonderful STL's who we are now living with! Life is great! 

Funny thing that happened this week. As a zone we are tying to contact 1830 people this transfer. Well Hermana Sellers and I have been horrible at contributing to this and so last night on follow up calls Elder Anderson said, "Sisters, do you want to make a contacting goal?" We said Elder Anderson, we will contact at least 1 person every day this week. and then he says, all dramatically "OHHH SISTTERRRSSS. that is a fantastic goal! What if Monday you get one, Tuesday you get two, and so on?" We all DIED laughing. Just because he said "OOOOHHHH SISITTERRRSS." He was so satisfied. 

Alright everyone, I love you and thank you so much for your prayers. 

Love,

Hermana Porter

The Crosiers got a puppy the night before we left.  That is Tessla, or I call her Porter!

 

Exchanges photo.  I was with Hermana Bowen (the blonde)

Tessla

Moving

Elders in our apartment?  Say WHAT???  We are a whole bunch of apostates!  haha

Finally!  A 5 minute break.

All of us in our new house.... apartment!!!

Hermana Webb

 

Me and Laura and me and DJ the night before we left.  He cried when we had to leave. :(

Dinner with Aurelio and Hno Ku.  We had to sit at a different table because we forgot to find someone, lady like, to come with us.

Aurelio.... I love him!

The District.  Hna Sellers, me, Hna Webb, Hna Bowen, Elder Anderson, Elder Williams

 

April 13, 2015

Exchanges!!

So I forgot to put this in my email last week but here it is. So, I cant remember if I mentioned the fact that I am driving now. Hna Sellers and I decided it would be because for our companionship because I am the worst back seat driver in the world. Anywho, we were driving and I pulled into the chicken lane because we were trying to find a house that we got a referral for. (By the way, it was almost 9:00 so it was pitch black.) I slowed down and we realized that we had missed it so I kept driving so that I could pull onto the next street. Well in the mist of all of this I didn't realize that there was a police car behind me. It was super confused about what I was doing so it kept driving but then once it realized that I kept driving too, it stopped, got behind me and pulled me over. I was mortified.....

By the end of it I had a ticket for $100 for unsafe driving. Can you believe that? Me, unsafe driving. Ugh. I was so mad. Now I understand James' and Brad's annoyance for tickets. 

ALSO, this week a little yellow ! came on it our car. We didn't have time to fix it before so we went into dinner and when came out our tire was completely flat. We didn't know what to do so we went back in to get Hno Ku (our ward mission leader) to help us. It was really funny because Hno Ku is the little tiny man but he was amazing at changing the tire. He was cracking a lot of jokes to. It was a great experience for all of us. After we got the spare on we took an hour drive home on the back roads. ( We were in Lodi and we had to get back to Galt. WE also couldn't exceed the speed limit of 45.) It was quite the experience. We have a lesson every Sunday night with Luis and Teresa. They are a really old and don't quite understand what we are saying. They get really mad if we try to drop them so we are kind of looped into it. We showed up late and they were mad. But we told them what had happened and they understood. It was a quite and eventful Sunday. 

It was also a little sad for me this Sunday because it was Stake Conference. Let me tell you, I don't like stake conference one bit with out dad. It just isn't them same. I miss the tension in the air leading up to that weekend and the unexpected fights that break out. I really miss it. Also, it is a little bit trunky seeing all those families together. But the plus to this stake conference is that I MET BROTHER HURST! Finally, after 3 months in Galt we meet. It was a little bit awkward but it felt like a little bit of home was with me. (I have no clue why because I have never met him before. I think it is just the association with home.) 

This week was awesome though. We had exchanges and I was with Hna Bowen. I learned so much from her. We added 2 investigator and two really good lessons.

1. ESTELA. We had a lesson with Her and Hna Paniagua. We taught her the plan of salvation and the spirit was so strong. It was really amazing. Hna Paniagua was able to explain everything that she didn't understand and answer all her questions. Hermana Paniagua knows how to explain it so simply with really good examples. She really should go on a mission. Here is a miracle that happened with Estela. We were knocking on her door and she wasn't answering. We had been by the day before but she didn't answer either. We saw her husband and he said that she was feeling really good so she went out but we could come back the next day. So we came back and were knocking and she wasn't answering. We knocked the usual 3 times and started to walk away. Then I felt like I needed to leave a note. As I was writing the note, she walked up and we were able to have our lesson wit her. If we had just walked away, we wouldn't have been able to have that lesson. The Lord really knows everything we need to do. He helped us out big time with that. 

2. Hugo. We didn't get to add him as an investigator because we wasn't willing to have us back but I don' think I have ever felt the spirit so strong in a street contact. Me and Hermana Bowen were super bold with him and it was amazing. It was really sad because he felt the spirit. He was even crying but when we asked if we could come back, he said no. It was an odd experience but we prepared him really well with it. 

This week we also had one of the biggest experiences of my mission this week. It was like big big. I don't feel comfortable putting all of it on here but I'm going to write mom a letter and she will let you know about it. But it ended up with the whole Esparza family coming to church on Sunday.  Mom, Dad, Luis, and Yesse. All of them were there. was like....WOW. I still am in shock from it. The Lord loves each of his children and he knows what they need and exactly when they need it.

 

Anyways, we had an amazing week and I cant believe how many miracle we have seen. I wish I had time to tell you about all of them.

I love you all so much,

con amor,

Hermana Porter.

P.S. I didn't actually get a $100 ticket. It happened on April Fools so i figured i should make it into some sort of joke. The police just wanted to make sure we were okay and didn't need any help. 

 

  

Me and a Puppy :)

Car Fun

Me practicing.  I am the only pianist the ward has :/.........

 Cheese tasting with the Crosiers after a long hard day.

Tire Changing Pictures

 

 

Stake Conference.  Aurelio really gets jazzed up for church. :)

 

April 6, 2015

One last picture of our house before we had to move.

#Trunky

The #Trunky is in reference to General Conference this past weekend. If you are a missionary you will know exactly how I am feeling. All of the missionaries in our zone were gathered at the Century Building watching and making awkward eye contact with each other about how all the talks were based on Marriage and Families. Although all talks mentioned this and it is not quite the stage of life I am at yet, I still learned quite a lot. One thing that I learned is the importance of a family. Getting married and having a family has always been a goal of mine. While growing up people would say "I want to be a doctor" or "I want to be a lawyer" but I always said "I want to be a wife and a mother." However, in recent years that has changed. I always wanted to be married by 21 but the closer I get to 21 the more scary the thought of me being married is. I don't feel quite old enough. Now 41 seems like a better age. But after this conference things have been put back into prospective for me and I need to make having a family a priority. I should not put it off for selfish desires, I should be a "Defender of the family unit."

On a missionary note though, the things I learned from conference is that I, Hermana Porter, need to be more organized and diligent. Diligence and obedience is key and it is something I'm not the best at. I'm not the worst but there is a lot of improving I can do. I also need to start focusing on the principle I am learning here on a mission and also how that applies to real life. Everything can help me out later on. I should understand the principle behind mission rules and I can understand how that can help me thoughout my whole life. 

I love General Conference and I am so glad that Lord has given us a living Prophet that can lead us and guide us. I'm grateful for the spirit we can feel while listening the words of the prophets and the apostles who have been placed on this earth to guide us and help us remember the "eternal perspective" of life. General Conference is one of the many evidences that there is a loving Heavenly Father who wants to guide His children. 

This week out in the mission field has been quite crazy. It is, in fact, quite hard for me to remember what has happened over the course of these few, 7 to be exact, days. Here are some of the exciting point of the week that I CAN remember. 

1. Every Monday we go over the Araujo's (mom) and the Paniagua's (daughter) for FHE. We read the book of Mormon with them. The have just recently started coming back to church so really want to read the book of Mormon. They are on fire. Hna Paniagua's boyfriend (Jorge) is investigating the church and has a baptism date for the 18 of April. We are so excited for him. Anyway, they alternate going to church here, in Lodi, and there, in Brentwood (Jorge's designated church building). That Sunday, in Brentwood, the lesson was on the importance of missionary work and helping the missionaries with finding people to teach and going out with them. She said "I didn't know I was suppose to be doing this...when can I go out with you?" 

That experience with her taught me something super valuable. She had learned something in church and then decided to apply it in her life. How often do we do that? Do we ever do that? She took a leap of faith, stepped outside her comfort zone and asked us what she could do to help. So often I got to church and by the time I get home I cant even remember what the speakers have talked about let alone what I should do with what they have said. I need to pay more attention and be like Hna. Paniagua. See what I am not doing, and then do it. 

The miracle with that story is that Hna Paniagua came out with us the very next day. We had a lesson planned but it fell through. Instead of saying, "Oh man, next time," we asked her to come to our back-ups with us. We had 3 planned and none of them were there. Then the last person we took her to was Estela. She was there and it turns out that Hna Paniagua and Estela needed each other. Estela has cancer and so did Hna Paniagua's mom. She was able to fellowship her perfectly and we were able to add Estela to our teaching pool! It was a true miracle. After that spiritual experience Hna Paniagua gave us some referrals. She felt the spirit of missionary work and then acted. 

 

2. We added 4 new people this week! 

Last week we dropped all of our investigators. None of them were progressing and we felt like it was a waste of the Lord's time to keep going by people's houses that weren't even home. We took a leap of faith and drop everyone. 

We made a goal this transfer to contact all the drops in the drop book. We started this week and we added some of them. 

- Ortencia and Amilio. They are a wife and husband and they are awesome. Ortencia used to be really sick and that is why they dropped her. When we first stopped by they were on their way out but said to stop by Friday. It didn't seem too sure that they would be there. Friday we went over and knocked on the door. Amilio came out and said "We've been waiting for you. Ortencia needed to go to the store but I said 'the muchachas are coming over!." She should be back soon." We told us to sit down and tell him everything we had to say. He wanted to know our whole message. We taught them the restoration twice, once again when Ortencia came back, and they loved it. They want us to come back on Tuesday. We added both of them :)

-  Estela. I already said a lot about her. She is just really sick but she has a lot of faith and we are really hopeful about her. 

- Noemi. We aren't sure how solid she is but she was really nice. She was at her moms house and told us to come back the next week so she could learn more. We are going back Wednesday!

Back onto things that happened this week. 

3. I killed a chicken. 

The Crosiers went out of town, the family we are living with (brother crosier texted you mom, we live with them), and they left us incharge of their animals. They have some fish and a duck and some chickens and some baby chicks. I warned them that I am NOT good with animals...the example I gave them was Frady (the cat). They said they were going to leave Hna Sellers in charge then. The day they got home we came home and one of their chickens had gotten hit by a car...I warned them! haha 

They weren't mad at all thought, they said it is a part of life and that is the 15th chicken they have had that happen to. 

QUESTIONS

How's the language coming along? You haven't mentioned that for a while.

Meh. It hasn't changed much as far as I can tell. I'm studying a lot more but I don't feel like it is much better. 

How is Galt and how's the work going?

Picking up. We have a lot more goals this transfer and we are relying a lot more on the Lord and what He wants us to do and WHEN He wants us to do it. 

Did you get the package for Easter and conference?

I did! Loved it. Got a ton of letters on Saturday too! thank you! 

How often do you ride your bike? 

We haven't since we moved. We are far out in the country. We are really stressed so not sure when it will happen again. 

What is the best thing that happened this week?

Adding Estela. That lesson was amazing. 

What is the funniest thing that happened this week?

The Easter package went on quite an adventure. The Stockton Zone leaders accidentally took it so Elder Wednt and Elder Snapp had to go pick it up. They got it Saturday in-between conference sessions. They texted us and said "We got the package for you and opened it, so no worries." I said "Oh yeah? How does the Easter dress fit?" and they said "A little tight in the hips." and then I said "Oh no! If it doesn't fit you then how is it going to fit me?" It was really funny. 

They then made me open it in front of them. They LOVED the whoopy cushion. Elder Owusou saw the period medicine and said "oh, I wont be needing that." It was really funny. 

What are you studying for your scripture study?

The Book of Mormon. I'm reading it and highlighting every time it refers to Christ or God and their attributes or the times it talks about the Doctories of Christ. 

How is it going living with the family?

We LOVE IT! It was so amazing. 

How was it driving the mission car?Love it. We don't get in as many fights :)

Alright everyone. I love you so much and I'm grateful for all the prayers you are sending my way and everything you are doing for me! 

Les Quiero, 

Hermana Porter

 

PS - Oh yeah, Thanks to Sarah Faulstick for the package.  I am not very good at remembering to say thank you but my ward and family are great!!

 

The pigs from the flea market.

 

 Me doing Planks with JD.  Punishment.

My bag from the flea market.  We get a missionary discount.