February 29, 2016

I held a snake!!!

Is my last week in Modesto. I seriously cannot believe that I'm going into my last full week as a missionary. I hope you have gotten something spiritual out of my emails for the last 18 months or 72 weeks and I hope I can express in this email what my mission has meant to me.

 The experience of going on a mission is something indescribable. You just have to go on one to understand what it's like. You learn so much in such a short amount of time and a lot of what I feel I have learned can't be described. I feel a burning in my heart to serve my Heavenly Father for the rest of my life. I hope that feeling continues. On a mission, you learn not only because of experience that happens to you but also because of experience that happen to those you are working with.  You develop such deep relationships with people because of the blessing you have to be called to serve them. I've got a family here in California that will always be in my heart.

 I have had transfers where I am more obedient than others. I've had transfers that I was more happier than others. I've had companions that I liked more than others. I have investigators been baptized, dropped, and in limbo. I've had tears of frustration and tears of joy. I've had days where you fake it till you make it and days where you are making it so much that some people think you're faking it. I've seen trials and blessings. Most importantly, I have seen myself grow along with my testimony.

Before my mission I felt like I had a testimony. I felt that these things where true. Now that I've been on a mission I realize that a testimony isn't just saying "Oh, I've felt that spirit." Now I can say that I know these things are true. I know that Heavenly Father restored HIS church through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that as we put the Lord and His work and commandment before anything else, we will be provided for. The Lord has shown this to me though my own experiences and also though the experience I've seen my investigators and members go through. Beatriz and Enrique are my biggest example. They put it all out there for the Lord. They decided to follow him and obey all of his commandments. That meant stopping drinking coffee and changing a few other things. Because they did that and accepted the will of the Lord they were able to face the other trials that were ahead of them.

 I've also learned the importance of studying the scriptures. The Lord hasn't given them to us so that they can gather dust. Scripture reading is an act of faith. We are showing our Heavenly Father that we are ready to receive His revelation when He is willing to give it to us. We are opening up windows to receive answers for ourselves every day. Because of the simple action, the Lord as promised us he will bless us. His prophets and apostles have also promised happiness for obeying the Lord and demonstration our faith.

 As missionaries we commit people to do things. The first commitment we extend to them is to pray, next read, then come to church, then be baptized. We don't expect those who aren't praying or reading to come to church and we don't expect those who aren't coming to church to get baptized. That applies to all members. If we are less active, we have got to start with the basics. We've got to start praying and reading then that will give us the strength we need to come to church. If we ever feel like we are wavering, we need to go back to the basics and have faith. Eventually the promised blessing will come.

 I'm so thankful for all the things I've learned on my mission. I've gained insights on being a friend, being a wife, being a mother, being a sister. I've learned about budgeting and healthy eating. I've learned more than I can ever say. I hope that I can reflect on my mission for the rest of my life and always have this desire to be a Representative of Jesus Christ. I'm thankful for all the many blessings I've received.

I love you and will see you in a little over a week!

Love,
 Hermana Porter

Baptism:  Angel, Mikey, and Andres

On top of the super large silo.  Super high up.

Elder Lino (from Peru. He is buying me llama) and Elder Smith. We went on exchanges this week and I treated Hna Alacraz to hecka expensive mexican food. I ended up getting food poising from it. The elders came and gave me a blessing. Then Elder Lino told us the story of how he met is girlfriend (or fiance because they are getting married August 5). It was adorable. 

 

 

Naomi got baptized!!  Jessica decided, last minute, that she wanted her to be baptized so she could prepare to go on a mission.  She is going to start helping her save money so she can be a missionary like us.  She got her own scriptures and she is so excited.  She said, "I can use these on my mission one day."

 

 

Yocelyn came to the baptism the twins and Naomi. It was so good to see her again. Her mom and sisters didn't come but she it! I was so happy to have one last photo with her.

 

This is the Contreras. They are so so SO cute. I hope that we can see them. There are so many people that want us to come visit, I'm not sure we are able to get to see all of them! They had us over for dinner last night and we had some SPICY tinga. It was so good though. They are talkers and they are so funny. Hno is the only Hispanic Man that smiles in photos apart from Hno Esparza. They also raise baby lambs. 

 

February 22, 2016

Can you believe only 2 weeks left? I honestly don't feel it at all. The trunkyness hasn't hit at all. Although this week on My Plan we are doing "Dating and Temple Marriage" BLECK. Mom and dad, I hope you are okay with my plan to live in your house for the rest of my life. That is my "Dating and Temple Marriage" plan. "I'm a baby." haha

This week was really good. We started it off with a SPECTACULAR Noche de Hogar at the church. The turn out was fantastic. Hna Pimentel and I had 6 investigators there and they all thought it was exactly what they needed. We talked about the atonement and forgiveness and watched the video of the guy whose family dies in the car crash. They were all crying and they all loved it. It was kind of awkward at the beginning but then the elder turned the time over to us and we livened things up with a fun game of Dedal lleno de agua also known as thimble full of water. Mom, I honestly don't know why you hate that game so much, everyone I've taught it to here LOVES it. haha We had a good spiritual time and also a lot of laughs. 

This week I have been reminded time and time again that the trials we go though, are specifically for us to help us grow and become better. Heavenly Father knows each of His children so well and He will never give us anything that we can't handle. So many of the people that we are teaching have health problems or family problems or addictions that they blame others or even God for. They have such a hard time seeing the blessings that the Lord has prepared for them through their trails. They blame God for giving others a better life than what they have. Something that I have found comfort in during the last week and also during my trials is the knowledge that I have that we were spirits before we came to this earth. We were spirits living with our Heavenly Father and we had a desire to become like Him. He proposed a plan to us which included us coming to earth, experiencing trials and sickness, and all manner of bad things. We knew what that was and we had faith that we would be able to come here, rely on the Lord and the atonement of Christ and get though all the trials that would be placed in our way. We accepted His plan, we have our bodies and now is time to use the knowledge that we have to get us back. Though the Savior, all things are possible. 

This week we were able to get a lot of CRMA work done too. One of them invited us to their sons birthday party. He was turning 13 and he told us that he LOVES chocolate chip cookies. I told him that I'd bring him some cookies and we was so excited. This kid is the cookie monster in human form! haha I made 40 good chocolate chip cookies and he ate 20 of time in the first 20 minutes of us being there. His dad was like "see, we told you he LOVES cookies." He kept saying "this are the best cookies I have ever eaten. Will you bring them when you come over again?" I think I gave the kid diabetes. haha Anyways, the start to the party was awkward but then towards the end, the wife (who isn't a member) and her sisters sat down and talked with us. They talked to us for 2 hours and we have return appointments with all of them. It was such a cool experience. They loved talking to us and felt the spirit. I'm glad we went and brought the cookies. (They were a huge success with everyone)

The hardest part about nearing the end of the mission is meeting all the cool people and knowing I won't be here for their baptisms. I love all of these people so much and have developed relationships with them, I pray for them, I love them and I wont be here anymore. It almost makes me want to slow down and put some walls us but I know that won't do any good. I've decided to work harder and help more people out. I can plant the seeds even if I wont be here for the Harvest. All the people here have become my family and I love them so much. It is going to be so hard to leave them. Maybe I'll just move back here?! haha 

Have a good week. Don't get trunky now, ya hear?!

Love,

Hermana Porter           

February 29, 2016

> This is my last week in Modesto. I seriously cannot believe that I'm going into my last full week as a missionary. I hope you have gotten something spiritual out of my emails for the last 18 months or 72 weeks and I hope I can express in this email what my mission has meant to me.
>
> The experience of going on a mission is something indescribable. You just have to go on one to understand what it's like. You learn so much in such a short amount of time and a lot of what I feel I have learned can't be described. I feel a burning in my heart to serve my Heavenly Father for the rest of my life. I hope that feeling continues. On a mission, you learn not only because of experience that happens to you but also because of experience that happen to those you are working with.  You develop such deep relationships with people because of the blessing you have to be called to serve them. I've got a family here in California that will always be in my heart.
>
> I have had transfers where I am more obedient than others. I've had transfers that I was happier than others. I've had companions that I liked more than others. I have investigators be baptized, dropped, and in limbo. I've had tears of frustration and tears of joy. I've had days where you fake it till you make it and days where you are making it so much that some people think you're faking it. I've seen trials and blessings. Most importantly, I have seen myself grow along with my testimony.
>
> Before my mission I felt like I had a testimony. I felt that these things where true. Now that I've been on a mission I realize that a testimony isn't just saying "Oh, I've felt that spirit." Now I can say that I know these things are true. I know that Heavenly Father restored HIS church through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that as we put the Lord and His work and commandments before anything else, we will be provided for. The Lord has shown this to me though my own experiences and also though the experience I've seen my investigators and members go through. Beatriz and Enrique are my biggest example. They put it all out there for the Lord. They decided to follow him and obey all of his commandments. That meant to stop drinking coffee and changing a few other things. Because they did that and accepted the will of the Lord they were able to face the other trials that were ahead of them.
>
> I've also learned the importance of studying the scriptures. The Lord hasn't given them to us so that they can gather dust. Scripture reading is an act of faith. We are showing our Heavenly Father that we are ready to receive His revelation when He is willing to give it to us. We are opening up windows to receive answers for ourselves every day. Because of the simple action, the Lord as promised us he will bless us. His prophets and apostles have also promised happiness for obeying the Lord and demonstrating our faith.
>
> As missionaries we commit people to do things. The first commitment we extend to them is to pray, next read, then come to church, then be baptized. We don't expect those who aren't praying or reading to come to church and we don't expect those who aren't coming to church to get baptized. That applies to all members. If we are less active, we have got to start with the basics. We've got to start praying and reading then that will give us the strength we need to come to church. If we ever feel like we are wavering, we need to go back to the basics and have faith. Eventually the promised blessing will come.
>
> I'm so thankful for all the things I've learned on my mission. I've gained insights on being a friend, being a wife, being a mother, being a sister. I've learned about budgeting and healthy eating. I've learned more than I can ever say. I hope that I can reflect on my mission for the rest of my life and always have this desire to be a Representative of Jesus Christ. I'm thankful for all the many blessings I've received.
>
> I love you and will see you in a little over a week!
>
> Love,
> Hermana Porter

February 22, 2016

Mi Familia Mexicana!!

Can you believe only 2 weeks left? I honestly don't feel it at all. The trunkyness hasn't hit at all. Although this week on My Plan we are doing "Dating and Temple Marriage" BLECK. Mom and dad, I hope you are okay with my plan to live in your house for the rest of my life. That is my "Dating and Temple Marriage" plan. "I my a baby." haha

This week was really good. We started it off with a SPECTACULAR Noche de Hogar at the church. The turn out was fantastic. Hna Pimentel and I had 6 investigators there and they all thought it was exactly what they needed. We talked about the atonement and forgiveness and watched the video of the guy whose family dies in the car crash. They were all crying and they all loved it. It was kind of awkward at the beginning but then the elder turned the time over to us and we livened things up with a fun game of Dedal lleno de agua also known as thimble full of water. Mom, I honestly don't know why you hate that game so much, everyone I've thought it to here LOVES it. haha We had a good spiritual time and also a lot of laughs. 

This week I have been reminded time and time again that the trials we go though, are specifically for us to help us grow and become better. Heavenly Father knows each of His children so well and He will never give us anything that we can't handle. So many of the people that we are teaching have health problems or family problems or addictions that they blame others or even God for. They have such a hard time seeing the blessings that the Lord has prepared for them through their trails. They blame God for giving others a better life than what they have. Something that I have found comfort in during the last week and also during my trials is the knowledge that I have that we were spirits before we came to this earth. We were spirits living with our Heavenly Father and we had a desire to become like Him. He proposed a plan to us which included us coming to earth, experiencing trials and sickness, and all manner of bad things. We knew what that was and we had faith that we would be able to come here, rely on the Lord and the atonement of Christ and get though all the trials that would be placed in our way. We accepted His plan, we have our bodies and now is time to use the knowledge that we have to get us back. Though the Savior, all things are possible. 

This week we were able to get a lot of CRMA work done too. One of them invited us to their sons birthday party. He was turning 13 and he told us that he LOVES chocolate chip cookies. I told him that I'd bring him some cookies and we was so excited. This kid is the cookie monster in human form! haha I made 40 good chocolate chip cookies and he ate 20 of time in the first 20 minutes of us being there. His dad was like "see, we told you he LOVES cookies." He kept saying "this are the best cookies I have ever eaten. Will you bring them when you come over again?" I think I gave the kid diabetes. haha Anyways, the start to the party was awkward but then towards the end, the wife (who isn't a member) and her sisters sat down and talked with us. They talked to us for 2 hours and we have return appointments with all of them. It was such a cool experience. They loved talking to us and felt the spirit. I'm glad we went and brought the cookies. (They were a huge success with everyone)

The hardest part about nearing the end of the mission is meeting all the cool people and knowing I won't be here for their baptisms. I love all of these people so much and have developed relationships with them, I pray for them, I love them and I wont be here anymore. It almost makes me want to slow down and put some walls us but I know that won't do any good. I've decided to work harder and help more people out. I can plant the seeds even if I wont be here for the Harvest. All the people here have become my family and I love them so much. It is going to be so hard to leave them. Maybe I'll just move back here?! haha 

Have a good week. Don't get trunky now, ya hear?!

Love,

Hermana Porter

 

Jessica's Birthday

Our STL's stole our clothes while we were playing sports.  I had no clue.  I walked in and said, "Hermana's have you seen our clothes?"  They were laughing and I was like, "What? OUR CLOTHES ARE MISSING!"  Hna Pimentel said, "Ummm... They are wearing them!"

 

February 15, 2016

Kitten!!

It has been a pretty crazy week here in Modesto. Yesterday at church we had a Regional Broadcast and it was quite interesting. I had never seen one of those done before. James J Hamula spoke and so did Elder Dale G. Renlund spoke and so did Bonnie L Oscarson. It was a really good conference and it included over 80 stakes in California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. They talked about the importance of actively living the gospel and not being dormant. It was a really good reminder that if we want to help Heavenly Father in His kingdom, we've got to work for it.

We are still working with Jessica. She chose her baptismal date to be for this Friday, her birthday. I feel a little bad because I'm lacking a little bit of faith. It just has been so long that we have been working towards it and it is still the one thing holding us up. The branch really doesn't think that it is going to happen, which also makes me sad. I'm praying for the faith to believe that it will happen and the Fidel uses his agency for good. Jessica says she is so excited to meet my mom and dad. She talks about that at almost every lesson. She says "I can't wait until I'm a member and you come back with your parents and I get to meet them." She is seriously the CUTEST. I have a picture of the family on the back of my planner and all her girls know everyone and who is my sibblings and what not. I love that family so much. 

We had a cool miracle this week. So remember me telling you about Alberto and his family and how we started teaching them? Well, we gave them a little break because his cousin gave me the creeps. I just felt like that we needed to give them a little pause. Which we both felt good about. Well, this week we felt like it was time to go see them again on Saturday. We went over and his mom was in the kitchen with him and  his dad. Alberto said he was too dirty to meet with us, we would have to wait until he was showered. SO we went in and started to talk to his mom and his dad. Every time before this one, his mom (Maria) would run out of the room before we could talk to her. We started to ask her question and she said "Girls, look. I don't mind you coming over and talking to my kids, but to be honest with you, I'm Mormon. I don't want to argue with you but I don't want to change either. So come to talk to my kids, but I don't want to switch." Hna Pimentel and I looked at each other and we just DIED laughing. I said "Hermana, somos mormones tambien!" and she said "de veras?" We then died laughing and bonded. They had just recently moved to Patterson from LA or somewhere like that and she couldn't find a church anywhere (because it is in Crows Landing) she was so happy to know that her kids were meeting with missionaries. They committed to come to church (although they didn't because their dad kept them up to 5 in the morning) and the FHE we are having tonight at the church. She gave the prayer and cried the whole time. It was so cute. Then she told us about how her nephew (the cousin that was giving me the creeps) really does have interest in the church. He had to go to LA for some time though, so it will be awhile till we teach him again. 

It has been a really good week. We have seen a lot of miracles and we are getting a lot of work done. I'm so thankful for this transfer and for all the progress we are seeing. There have been a lot more up than there have been downs and I'm so thankful for that. I love you and hope you are doing great. 

Love, 

Hermana Porter

 

 

Almond Trees

 

February 8, 2016

Another crazy week here in Crows Landing 2nd Branch. We have been living the life yet again.

We added 2 new investigators this week. Remember how last week I told you about Alberto and how we found him? Well, turns out that house is a jackpot for missionaries. We added his cousin, Eliseo, and his sister Elizabeth. We had 2 really good lessons with them and they all accepted a baptismal date for the 5 of March. I pray that they continue to have the desire to come unto Christ and accept Him in their lives. This gospel has brought me so many blessings and I know that it will bring them blessings too. It is so cool to be able to see people who want to make their lives better and get out of trouble. It like the scriptures say, people are looking for the truth, they just don't know where to find it. I love being able to help them FIND IT. 

JESSICA GOT HER OWN APARTMENT!!! She finally moved out of the crappy place she was living and now she gets her own kitchen and her own room and bathroom and everything. She is so happy. She can see all the blessings that God is giving to her and it is beautiful. She is still struggling with getting Fidel to marry her/him getting the desire to find an ID. I fasted for that yesterday, that he would get the desire or she would have the faith to follow the Lord and his commandment and leave him. I just feel that we've been trying for so long to get them married and it isn't happening. Maybe the Lord's answer is leave? We are going to set another baptismal date with her and make sure this one she is spiritually connected to. That way she knows what she has to do if it gets close and he hasn't decided to change and marry her yet. I'm praying I get to see her baptized. She's like my sister and I want to be there for her and Noemi when they are baptized.

Coming home is getting real. I got "trunky papers" in the mail this last week talking about the final days in the mission. Bleck. Shipping the bike home and all. I am not excited for the last few weeks. Next week, I hope to ship some boxes with clothes home for the sisters. Merry Christmas! ha ha I'm looking forward to being able to work in the ward and help the missionaries. I think that is the thing I'm most excited for, apart from seeing the fam. I hope everyone is planning to keep me super busy. I don't want any down time for the first few days. It is going to be weird going from being super busy to not busy at all. I PRAY that I make the adjustment well and don't have any breakdowns. I feel like I adjusted to the mission well so adjusting to home won't be too bad, right? 

I love you all and hope you have a good week. 

Love, 

Hermana Porter

February 1, 2016

Holy Moly we have had a CrAzY awesome week! It has been full of hard work and excitement. I thought that being released as a STL would make me feel like slacking off or not as busy but that is quite the opposite. Hna Pimentel and I have gotten busy and our little area here is flourishing. It is good to be a normal missionary again where we get to go out to work at 12 and we only have one meeting a week to attend. There is so much more time to be spent in our area and with those people who need the gospel!

One Tuesday we found an awesome new investigator. His name is Alberto. We were tracking a street and Hna PImentel looks down an alley and says "there are 2 girls down there, let's got talk to them." I kind of laughed at her because the girls were like 4 blocks away and I didn't think we would get to them before they walked away but I agreed. As we started to walk we saw 2 men sitting in their car and we said Hi and then started to talk to them. They had seen our commercial (I didn't know we had a commercial) and said that they liked how we gave people better lives. They could see the wickedness and they didn't like that. They really like that we were out teaching people about Christ. They readily accepted a return appointment and were prepared to hear the message when we returned. We went back on Friday night and we had 2 members with us. The lesson was fantastic. The spirit was so strong. Alberto asked a lot of questions and all of them were on topic. He has such a desire to know what God would have him do. He said that he was raised catholic but he didn't feel like that was the right place, the Jehovah witness wasn't where he needed to be either. What he has seen from us, he really likes and he wants to continue to know more. The members testified and he listen. The spirit was guiding that lesson. What I've learned from meeting Alberto is that Heavenly Father knows each of his children. He will guide them to the things they need to do in this life. That is why it is so important that we follow the spirit. Could you imagine if Hna Pimentel hadn't followed the prompting to go down the alley way? We would have never found Alberto. Following the spirit is a continual struggle but it is something that I'm getting better at and hope that continues to grow. If we want to be on the Lord's errand we've got to be willing to listen to him, right?

This week with Jessica has been a little stressful. She is still progressing wonderfully but she still isn't married. Ughhh, peoples agency is the worst. We have run out of things to teach her although we have some promptings. We think that it is just a lack of faith. I can only imagine being alone in the USA with only your boyfriend, not family, and wondering how you are going to provide for you family if you leave him. But another thing that I learned this week, if we make the "kingdom of god" our first priority everything else has it's place. (Matt. 6:33) That is something that I want, to make the kingdom of god first because I know that as I do that all the blessings will fall into place. We have to take that leap of faith though and do everything we can to live by his commandments. If we are doing something contrary, change it and the Lord promises to bless us. New goal of mine. We are scared that she wont make her baptismal date of this weekend because they still aren't married. I'm praying, praying PRAYING that her dream can come true. Hopefully we can help her find her answer in what she needs to do to get baptism. 

A plus with Jessica, she is so ready. This week she asked us if she could go out with us so she could share her story with those we are working with and she also sent all her family as referrals to missionaries in Mexico. How cute is that? She is so excited to be a member. She has plans to go to the temple in a few months to do her sisters work and in a year to take out her endowments. Isn't that so cool? The spirit is totally working with her. 

This week I started a thing called "My Plan." It is to help me adjust to being home. I do it once a week until I go home. It helps me set goals and make plans for how I can continue to grow. I LOVE IT. I've only done the first section so far but it is so cool. It is very interactive and very spiritually uplifting. There are going to be a lot of blessings that come from it. I'm a little nervous about coming home but I'm excited to start the next phase of my life. The Lord has taught me so much over the last 18 months and I'm excited to apply what I've learned. A quote from My Plan, "The Mission field is the MTC for Life" haha I can't wait to see how that is true. 

I'm surprisingly not trunky. I only had one real trunky moment this week and I got a letter from the Elmer kids. One line from Porter's letter made me trunky. He said "I can't wait to be at the airport holding a sign that says 'welcome home hanny' on it." That kind of  hit me that I'm coming home soon but it also made me want to work harder because the nap is insight! haha

Love you all. Have a GREAT week.

Love,

Hermana Porter

 

I forgot to add something.

The downer to this week, one of our investigators "fell in love with me." Sister Dimpter is convinced that he is my husband but I think other wise. He called this week saying he had called his friends in OH and got a job with them so when I go home he can come with me, but only if the feelings are mutual. I let him know that the feelings were NOT mutual and we passed him off to the elders. Hopefully that is the end of that. I mean, the man is old enough to be my dad (he is 55 which is the age of dad!) and he has a drinking problem. I think I can do better. HaHa. If anything comes back up, we are going to call President. 

Also, Sister Dimpter informed me that I made her friend, who is also 50, Top 5 Hottest Women list. Watch out world. Apparently I've gotten super attractive here in my last 6 weeks as a missionary and people can't keep their eyes off me. I'm sure to be a heart breaker when I get back! haha