March 30, 2014

Hna Moffett..... She died (was released from her mission) with Hna Hurley.... I miss them so much!!

EVERYONE,
This has been the most stressful week of my mission thus far. I'm am so surprised that I didn't just quite. It seems so crazy that transfers were only on Wednesday. Hermana Hurley is home with her family and is feel so weird with out her. Just to know she is not in the mission any more breaks my heart...MY MOM HAS DIED. I'm an orphan :(

Why has this week been so stressful? I moved. It was the worst experience of my life. What I have learned from this experience is that I'm never going to own a house and I'm going to live in one place for a very very long time. We decided that the wise thing to do would be to pack on Friday morning because we were going to be leaving Friday afternoon. The Elders were going to come help us move, along with Elder Anderson in the afternoon. When we asked the Elders what time they were coming they said 10:00. We just about died. So Thursday night (after correlation) we went strait home and packed until 10:30. Then we work up at 6:30 and started packing again. The Sister Training Leaders came over around 7:45 to help us finish packing. We got most of it done before the elders came. We spent all day Friday moving until 5 when we had dinner and appointment. 

Friday we didn't get ANY missionary work done. We had service in the morning and then we had to clean our house. So this is what Saturday looked like. 

8:00- Elder Anderson came with dresser

9:00- 2:00- Egg-stravaganza

2:30- 4:30- Cleaning the house

5:00-6:30- General Woman's Broadcast

7:00-9:00- Quincenera 

It was crazy. We had totally forgot about the GWB and the STL reminded us about it that night. We were so stressed about it. I have been stressed about of my mind and I'm living out of boxes. In case you were wondering...this girl does not do well living out of boxes. 

The place we are living at is only temporary. We are living with an English family, The Crociers, they have 4 kids. Davy (15), Jeremiah (12), Laura (10), and Lucy (3). They are so cute and an awesome family. We are living in their garage that they converted into an office and a school room. The only thing that stinks about it is the fact that it is bad for my allergies and that the bathroom is inside. But is really nice to come home to a family every night. They are SO funny. 

Other than the move this week has been really good. We decided to drop all of our investigators because NONE of them were progressing. We felt really good about that decision. We kept one, Jesus Ramirez, because he came to church last week. We haven't been able to find him since so we aren't sure what to do with him. We have a lot of faith that the Lord is going to help us find this week and we are really focusing on listening to the spirit to find those people. We are excited to get out and WORK! 

One really cool experience we had this week. It was 8:00, the hardest hour for us to find things to do. Everyone in Galt goes to bed really early so we didn't know what to do. We said a prayer and we decided we should go see this guy we met named Carlos. He told us we could come back on Monday at 7:00 but he wasn't there. We felt like we should go back and see if maybe we could catch him that night. We stopped by and there were a bunch of people out side of his house. We asked if Carlos was home. They said yes, but he was sick. We said that we would come by another day. A guy told us to wait. He went into the garage and then came back out. He said that Carols had expected us the night before but had to leave. This guys name was Juan Carlos. He stood out and talked with us for about 20-30 minutes. He said he was really interested in our message. He would come over to hear our message whenever we came to see Carlos. 

That experience was really cool for me because it showed me that the Lord knows where we need to be and when we need to be there. It was a great lesson for me. That is why we want to try to listen to the spirit more...that way we can be there for who needs us. 

Alright, so I guess we can talk about the elephant in the room....Zayn left one direction....I wish I could say that I don't care and that I'm over that wordly stuff...but I'm heart broken. It was included in every single one of my emails today except for 2...needless to say, I cried...like a baby. I don't think my companion realized how sever my obsession was until today.  

Back to spiritual missionary stuff....

I made goals for this transfer this week. Here is what they are. 

At some point in my high school years I remember a prophet saying that he always wanted the Lord to know He could count on him if He ever needed an errand run. That has been on my mind a lot lately and I decided this is what I want. I need to change some things to get there. I want to be ready for whatever the Lord calls me to do and I need to be a lot more diligent if I want the Lord to feel like

He can count on my. I'm going to focus on that this transfer, being worthy to run the Lord errands for Him. 

Alright! I love you all. Can't wait until next week. 

Love, 

Hermana Porter. 

 

Hna Sellers bought that hat at the Flea Market.... she hasn't taken it off.

The Lighter was giving me a hard time.

Aurelio... he started calling me 'baby-face' this week... he made up a song and everything.  He said, "you got a baby-face!"

Happy 6 months (actually on my 7th month).  I finally got around to burning something,

 Don't worry mom... They aren't the Life Time Warranty socks :)

 

 There are like 10 little chicks living right outside our bedroom.  They are SO cute!

Me and Hna Webb at the Quince

Luz and Edward Cardona.  It was Luz's Quince and Edward was her escort.  They were so adorable.

The Elders came to help us clean.  We left while they cleaned.  When we came to lock up the house this is what was left on our driveway!  #lovelodi  We have some pretty awesome Elders here !  haha

This is Natasha.  She is Russian and super cool  We met her once in February and she came back to visit us and the Ku.  She is so cool!!!

Me and Emma and a puppy we found (dog whisper).

Me in our new place... It was weird going from a house to a room. :(

Me and Hna Webb dancing at the Quince.

 

 The Whole Zone: Hna Moffett, Sister Wilson, Sis Beck, Elder Padilla, Elder Gammell, Elder Snow, Elder Wendt, Elder Soper, Hna Sellers, Me, Hna Bowen, Sister Pisa, Sister Amos

 

Elder Padilla, Elder Gammell, and me.  Elder Gammell left to go to North Sac with Elder Ward.... that lucky duck!

 Elder Wendt and Elder Soper.  Elder Soper left me again.... I'm sure we will be reunited again.

 

Super cute kid named Dylan.  His family just moved back into the ward!!

 

March 24, 2015

Me last P-day.  I sent a ton of letters out.  I'm almost out of stamps..... Help a Sista out??

How's my girl this week?

This week has been great. We have been on fire and we are really starting to feel good about our efforts here in Galt. We are relying more and more on the Lord and learning to change the things that He wants us to. We are seeing so many miracles, IN OURSELVES. It is so beautiful when you can see something change in yourself. 

Did you get transferred?

I did not get transferred. Saying here is Galt :)

Any changes in your city, companion?

Me and Hna. Sellers are staying together. We felt like she was leaving so it is a bit of a shock to us. We were a little sad that we were staying but I think the move should switch things up for us. We are also switching drivers for the transfer so we shall see how it goes! 

What is the best thing that happened this week?

I cannot remember what has happened. That is so bad. I forgot my old planner at home and that is really making this hard. But here are a few stories that are funny. 

1. Yesterday we were contacting. It was a little later than we usually contact but we saw some guys close to our car so we figured that we would go for it. I walked up to them and said "Hi, we are missionaries. I know you are busy working on you car but would it be alright if we gave you a card?"  I think one might have been a little drunk and he said "I've already got a green card." I said "Oh, well that's great. Here is a multicolored card that you can have too." He said "OH WOW! I am finally a somebody." Me and Hna Sellers DIED laughing. It was so funny. He said he would check out the website though, lets see if he remembers it in the morning. 

2. We do service for Meal on Wheels. They give food for elderly people. We go and help April pass out food. As we were waiting and talking with April and lady came up and said "I bought some shirts for Randy. I notice that he always wears long sleeve shirts, summer or winter, and I a saw some at Kohl's the other day so I bought some for him." April said, okay, I'll give them to him. In walks Randy and April said "Randy, here are some shirts for you!" He said "OOOHHHH! Summer clothes?" Nope, not summer clothes but it was still a good laugh

How's the allergies?

Not too bad yet. They were really bad before I got medicine but I got pill and so I'm doing a lot better. 

How was church yesterday? Do you understand them?

It was good. It was our Branch Conference. It was really good. The talks were about missionary work and making sure we are fulfilling our callings. I kinda understood them but it was also in English because there were English people there. 

What will you do for p-day?

We are went to the Pulga (the flea market). I spent a ton of money but I only bought one thing for myself. Then we have emailed and then we are going to a zone BBQ. I will take a ton of pictures and send them next week. 

What is your new address?

I don't know. 

How much does your mom love you? :)A LOT!!!! More than One Direction! 

 This week has been really good. Me and Hna. Sellers have been really stressed about transfers and what not and so tensions have been high. We have been snapping at each other a lot. I'm really irritable but I think it was just because I was nervous about transfers and also about not having a house. Today has been better and we feel a lot calmer. We are excited to start this new transfer together. 

OH MY GOODNESS. I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT THIS.  Prepare yourself. 

WE HAD A REAL, LIVE, EATING, BREATH, LIVING, INVESTIGATOR AT CHURCH ON SUNDAY!!!!. This is my first one ever. WE are and were so excited. He was even there early so he wouldn't be late. I cannot tell you how ecstatic I was. That was my only goal for the transfer and it happened! 

Also, Sinai is being taught with the elders and she also came to church on Sunday. She really misses us but she is so excited to be baptized. We are going to help her. She said the elders are weird but they are nice. We are excited that she is taking this step towards following her Heavenly Father. She is amazing. 

Also, Jorge, Hna Paniagua's boyfriend, is getting baptized. We can't be his missionaries because he lives outside the mission but he has a date for April 28. He is so excited and it cannot some soon enough for him. 

We are a little sad all these people we found turned out to not be for us to teach but we are so happy that we could build a relationship with them and help to unto the waters of baptism.

Alright, this letter is bad because, like i said i forgot my planner. Next week should be a lot better! 

Love you all, 

Love, 

Hermana Porter

 

Hno. Ku and potato sack races.

Reunited!!!!  Hna. Sheffer is training this transfer!  How crazy it that?

 A part-member family.  Ian and Liz are members but Nate is not.  He is thinking about maybe getting baptized.

 

 Hermana Sellers, me, Hermana Moffett, and Hermana Bowen at District Meeting.

 

La Familia Esparaza!!

Me and Rango.  Leave it to this Hermana to convert all the dogs in the world :)

All the Sisters/Hermanas in the Zone!

 

March 16, 2015

Me and Hermana Sheffer at the Elder Bednar conference

So I'm a little bit grumpy right now. My week has been really good except for last night and this morning. The ladies in the FHC are talking out the waazoo and it is making it really hard to type and concentrate. Bleh, they are interrupting my happy time.

I'm going to start off with the bad experience and then head to the fabulous part of my week. So I don't know if I've already told you but our district consists of Me, Hna Sellers, Hna Moffett (STL), Hna Bowen (STL), Elder Padilla (DL), and Elder Gammell (basically also district leader) and as you can tell it is a leadership packed district. I HATE it. It just feels really unbalanced but I'm getting used to it little by little. Anyways, at district meeting we decided to start a contacting game, because contacting is something Hna Seller and I struggle with. We would report our contacts every night and the companionship who had the least amount of contacts had to make treats for correlation. We all agreed to the terms. Hna Sellers and I were super excited because I would help us make the initial contact with people, we even biked a few days to see if we could see a few more people. We made this game on Thursday, Friday was Elder Bednar, Saturday was weekly planning, and Sunday was church. We did NOT have a lot of time. Anyways, last night during follow up call Elder Padilla was like 30 minutes late calling and I was G-R-U-M-P-Y. Then he said, Sisters, your numbers are really low, if you would just start contacting you would get your numbers up. I was pretty heated about that. It just makes me a little upset that this game turned into this. I've forgiven them though, I've just realized how hard it is to be in a district with a whole bunch of leaders...I don't find it very fun. 

This week has been awesome though. On Tuesday we had interviews with President Jardine. He just kept saying, "It is so good to see you happy, Sister Porter." It was really touching. I love him and Sister Jardine SO much. I really hope I don't get transferred to the new mission. I don't want to leave them. President and I just talked about the importance of missionary work and my view on it and we talked a lot about the scriptures in Mark 4 and Alma 26, none of which were the scriptures we were assigned to read. It was really nice. 

Elder Bednar was amazing. I got to see Hna Hurley, Hna Cuesta, Hna Kaaa, and Hna Clark (who is Hna Hurley's other baby, aka my sister). I also got to see Elder Ward, Rindlesbacher, Poulton, Gove, Ross, Packer, Steidley, and Simms. I LOVED seeing everyone I LOVE. 

Elder Bednar had us prepare by studying his talks about Asking in Faith, Conversion and Testimony, and acting. I love that he taught us that we are all living, breathing, moving people. We are NOT objects and we should not be acted upon. We should have the ability to choose whether we act or not. That involves us to change the way we teach. We tell people that they will see blessing when they pray and read but really we should be inviting them to look for those blessings as they pray and read. He did a great job showing this to us. 

I also LOVED that he told us we need to pray with a question in mind and we need to ACT. We need to have an action question. That is so simple yet so profound. I love it. 

There was a lot more that I learned but I don't have my notes with me, maybe next week? 

Mom said she wanted to know more  about my investigators. Right now we are teaching Maricela and Yareli. They are mother and daughter. They had known someone who was a member of the church before and they were really excited to let us in. Maricela really thinks this could help them and their family and she is really excited. This week we were going to teach them the plan of salvation but it didn't happen and the lesson we did have with them was super rocky. It was a really bad lesson but they are super sweet and understanding. They told us they couldn't come to church this last week but they really wanted to the next week. We are really excited. 

Sinai- she moved out of the Esparza's house so we cannot teach her anymore. She has a date but lost it because she didn't come to church. The other Hermanas are going to teach her if we can find her. She is really sweet though. 

Jorge- he is the boyfriend of a member who recently came back into activity. He is amazing. He doesn't live in the mission so we can't technically teach him. We sent him to the Oakland Missionaries. HE has been to church 5 times with us and went to church 1 time in Brentwood. He really wants to get baptized and he is hoping he can find a house here. Maybe we can start teaching him? Figures crossed. He is really awesome but we can't count him as an investigator. 

Lupe- she is amazing. We contacted them on the street a few weeks ago and every time we went back she kind of avoided us and wouldn't let us in. Then finally we went over after 3 last week and she invited us in. She said we had always stopped by when her husband was home and he is not interested. She is having some problems and she really seems ready for help. She said she kept getting the feeling that we have what can help her. She is really cool. WE have a lesson with her tonight. 

Jesus y Rosalea- we haven't added them as investigators yet but it is a really cool story. Their house was a potential for us that we had knocked 5 or 6 times this last transfer. The girl always blew us off and wasn't very interested. Then, our ward mission leader gave us their address in correlation and we said "Hno Ku, we've knocked this house tons of times." he said "no you didn't" we said "Yes we have." He then told us to go back and tell them that Jesus Ku commanded them to be taught. We went back and they answered the door. We told the lady that Jesus Ku told us to come and teach them. Then a man walked up and said "You are from Jesus' Ku's church? I need to know more. Come back MONDAY?" Of course we will be back Monday. WE are really excited to teach them tonight. 

This week has been amazing. 

Alright, a few reminders....

1. Transfers are in a week. So don't send stuff to the house anymore. I'm actually really nervous for transfers because it is very possible that I could leave. The house we live in now is being sold and so we need to find a place to live. Too bad we haven't yet and we only have a week left. 

2. Letters are welcome. My inbox was a little empty this week so feel free to shoot me an email. 

I love you all. Hope you have a great week. 

Love, 

Hermana Porter

P.S. Don't forget to write me your conversion story...please!

 

   

           My favorite Elders.  Elders Ward, Rindlesbacher and Poulton.        FOOD!

    

                                                    Me and Hermana Sellers

                                    Hna Paniagua, Jorge, Hna Araujo and Eddie

                                                                On the way to see Elder Bednar!!!

  

                                 Some pictures from Jose in N. Sac!

 

 

 

 

 

 

:) Me being a pony (again)

 

 

 

 

March 9, 2015

Me and Hermana Moffett on exchanges

 

 

6 Month Hang-over

How are you liking your branch?

I love them. We have a lot of little problems that make missionary work hard but it makes uplifting the Branch easier. We had dinner last night with the Branch President and his wife and we are working with them to hopefully kick start home teaching. The only think really holding us back from becoming a ward is the Home Teaching is REALLY down. There is a problem and no one can seem to fix it. We all realize there is a problem so that is a good start...right?

We also visited with the Elders Quorum President to see how we can help him. His wife has been really sick and his life is really stressful right now. I think he enjoyed the visit and is glad to have us there to help him. 

 

How's the Spanish doing?  Do you talk more in English or Spanish?

This branch is mostly Spanish. So I speak a lot of Spanish. I thought I was doing a lot better until today when Hna Sellers told me I wasn't doing that good. But I feel like my communication with people is better. I'm having trouble accepting correction from my companion. I want to improve my Spanish but the more she tells me I say things wrong the more embarrassed I get and the less I want to speak it. I'm trying really hard to work my way around that. I'm not sure how to do it yet but hopefully I can figure my life out. 

Did you get my package? What did Hermana Sellers think of the pillowcase?

Haven't gotten it yet. Hopefully today? 

Did you get the Target package? Did you get one from Jessica?

Yes. I LOVE my bike shorts. They are amazing. I wear them even when I am not biking. Haha I wear them to bed, when I clean the house, when I'm around the house, etc. I LOVE them. 

I also got the package from Jessica. Special delivery from the Zone Leaders. I loved all the candy and what not. I see she did not include GRAPE Kool-Aid packets....is that from the hatred of grape or something like that? haha. I also LOVE the Indiana Necklace. I haven't taken it off. It is like I have a little piece of home on my neck! I love it. 

What kind and color of car do you drive?  Do you miss driving?

We drive a Gray Toyota Corolla. I miss driving so much. Plus, Hna Sellers is NOT a good driver. She has a fear of driving. She said if we are together another transfer we are going to call and get the drivers switched. She really is not that good at driving. I like having control of the car. Plus, we all know i am the WORST back seat driver. 

Have you ever rode your bike?  Do you like it?

I have. We bike tract a lot here. I love the bike. I road it a few times in N. Sac too. The seat was really uncomfortable so I stole the seat off of Hna. Pitchers bike (She died (this means she finished her mission, not really died) before I came to the mission and she left her bike here.) The seat is so much better. Riding in Galt is 40x Better than riding in N. Sac. N.Sac is hilly and not fun to ride in busy street traffic. 

Moving again?  Do you have to find your own apartment or does the mission find it?

The mission finds it. We might live with members or we might have an apartment. There are not a whole lot of apartments in Galt so it will probably be with a member. We should be moving after transfers, the last week of March. 

What is your favorite thing to teach people about?

I like to teach about the Restoration. I feel comfortable teaching it and I also feel comfortable using scriptures while teaching it. I also like the plan of salvation because that sparks peoples interest. It is a lot harder for me to communicate during the plan of salvation though.

How was Elder Bednar?  Did he speak to your mission?That is this Friday, the 13 of March. We get to take a mission picture with him. When he come it will be the only time the WHOLE mission will be together. Isn't that crazy. 200+ missionaries in one room. I am really excited. 

Alright, so continuing what I've learned here in the mission. 

What I have learned about others. 

1. Members are lazzyyy. I really can't blame them too much because I was the exact same way at home. But seeing it from a missionaries perspective it is something I really want to work on when I get home. It is really aggravating when the ward is not involved in missionary work or even their own calling for that matter. It makes it hard when things don't run smoothly. Plus, when you make a goal of x amount of member presents but you cant find members to go with you...ugh. Not every ward has a Diana Ochoa who helps you out. :)

2. The human kind is not a friendly species. 

Alright, so in contacting, if you want to get someone to continue talking to you, you DO NOT begin with "Hi, what is your name?" Because you will get a very rude "Who is asking?" That is really aggravating. I always want to say "A child of God that wants to be your friend...jerkface." But then I realize that is not very Christ-like and quickly repent. It is a lot better if you can start off with saying who you are and then try to get to know them. You learn things on the street...

3. We all need to do better to magnify our callings. I think enough is said. I really want to make sure I do this when I get home. I makes life so easy when we are all focused on building the Lords kingdom. I was not good at this before my mission. 

4. People want to give us a hard time. But when we start to share our message, some of them change. It testifies to me that the spirit is here and it can change lives. It can speak to people so quickly and it is amazing to see that change in them. 

Alright, that is about it! 

This week has been great! We have two investigators with a baptismal date. 

Sinai and Andrea. 

 

Sinai didn't come to church this week so her date is invalid but she is been to all of the lessons we have with her. She is a little slow but she is really seeming to understand. She is really serious about this. We are super excited about her!!

Andrea wasn't there for  our return appointment. We were really bummed about that. She has a track record at being really hard to find. We were really hoping that giving her the date would help her be more accountable but it didn't. When we see her next we are going to make sure we tell her that it is REALLY important that we keep the most basic commitment, which is appointments. 

The work here is really starting to pick up. I feel like I am being effective, finally. We have an amazing Ward Mission Leader. Hno. Ku. He is the BEST! I will try to send a picture next week. We have REALLY good correlations. I love that little man. 

Alright. I'm excited to write about next week. I have interviews with President Jardine this week and also, David A. Bednar. Can't wait to tell you all the things I've learned. 

Love you, 

Hermana Porter. 

SHOUT OUT

Danny-boy Rentz

Sarah Harward

Mom

Dad

Lindsey Beers

Diana Ochoa (2x)

 

 Exchanges

Heart-attacked Hna Cardona's door.  She had surgery :(

 My package from Brad and Jessica.  I love the Indiana necklace!!!

 

His Grace Is Sufficient

to read:  http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1966

to watch:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLXr9it_pbY

 

Alright, so I wanted to write you some of my thoughts about, His Grace Is Sufficient, by Brad Wilcox.

So, I 100% love this talk.  It like changed my life.  I have always had great appreciation of Jesus Christ and everything He has done for me.  There have been times when I have felt so strongly about it I felt my heart could burst.   I have felt the spirit testify to me that Christ had suffered for me.  It wasn't until this talk, however, that I understood an aspect of the Atonement of Christ.  He isn't asking us to repent for Him.  He is asking it for us.  Every aspect of His gift is selfless.  He wants us to repent so that we feel comfortable living with Him again.  He gives us commandments to live by so that we might feel comfortable living in His presence again.  How marvelous.

I'm not perfect nor will I ever be, nor am I expected to be.  I am asked to do my best.  I'm given knowledge little by little and I'm asked to do the best with what I know.  Christ's Atonement has covered everything already.  I want to learn as much as I can right now so that I can feel comfortable in His presence.  I want to use the atonement to show my dedication to my Lord.  His grace truly is sufficient. 

March 2, 2015

Oh okay...exciting news. David A. Bednar and Lynn G. Robbins are coming to speak to the mission on the 13th of March

I AM SO GREAT! My life has been changeeeddd.

Aright, so a few weeks ago mom asked me to consider the things that had changed in my life over the last 6 months in the way of the gospel, myself, and others.

I'm not going to lie. I really had a hard time with this at first. I have been so sad lately because as I was approaching 6 months I reflected and I had never had an investigator at church, never had anyone close to baptism and etc.. I was feeling really down and felt like I wasn't really making a difference here in the mission. The days dragged by and were so long, I was not enjoying the work at all, and I was all in all in a bad mood all the time. About two weeks ago, I knelt down and said a prayer because I was having such a hard time. I was really unhappy and I just wanted to know what I needed to do to be happy because I knew this work was something that I loved, so why didn't I love doing it? I got the impression that I needed to call President Jardine. 

I finally sat down and talked to Hna Seller about all the things I was feeling. I told her that I felt like I needed to call President but I had no clue what to say to him because I really didn't even know how I was feeling. We, after talking about it for hours, decided that I was feeling unsatisfied. I know that I don't need to base my success on numbers, I really don't care if I am getting a lot of baptisms or not. But if I know this, why am i feeling so UNSATISFIED? So I finally had something to call President about...I had pinpointed it to a feeling. I called President Jardine and we talked for awhile. I told me that I felt unsatisfied in a work that I loved and I couldn't figure out why. He asked me what I considered to be a successful missionary. Step by step we talked about what I could be doing better in what I thought was a good missionary. I was talking about how I don't feel like i feel the spirit guide me. Finally he said, "Sister Porter, it sounds like you are really anxious all the time."  I said "yep. basically" He laughed and he said, "How do you expect to feel the spirit if you are anxious and nervous all the time?" Good question, President.... After that conversation with him I feel SO much better. I feel like I have somewhere to start working and I'm no longer sad with my results. I feel successful and I feel like I have purpose again. I take missionary work as best as I can and I do the best I can. I no longer feel anxious about meeting goals no one as set for me. I just need to use the atonement every day to make up for the little flaws I have that way I can forget and move one and continue to try to progress. 

This is where "Remember Lot's Wife" comes into play. I realized....I AM LOTS WIFE. I was looking back. Not longingly but I was looking back. I wasn't hopeful in the Lords ability to give me the better future that He had for me. I was almost turned into a pillar of SALT! I'm glad I wasn't and I realized the error of my ways soon enough. Thanks for that talk mom. It really helped.  

 

 So after I had the fresh perspective I can finally, JOYFULLY, write you the things that I have learned over the last 6 months.

GOSPEL SENSE:

I've changed in almost every way possible. Last night, I was talking to some boys and their family about the church and the importance of serving a mission. This family just got sealed in the temple last November and the boys, who are 15 and 14, are not sure if they want to serve a mission. I realized while taking to them that your testimony becomes so much more firm of everything your have learned growing up when you serve a mission. You realize the importance of EVERYTHING because you see people, up close and personal, who don't have it. You realize the impact it had made in your life, for the better. As you teach people about these simple truths your testimony grows into something you never thought it could ever be. 

My testimony has been strengthened so much, especially pertaining to the word of wisdom. I've seen so many people struggle with it while here in the mission. Active, recent convert, non-member, all of them I've seen struggle with it and it isn't easy for any of them. There was a family that the other Hermanas taught in N. Sac that the mom wanted to get baptized so bad by she smoked, drank tea and coffee, and alcohol and so it took them a while. Finally, she knew the word of wisdom was true. She realized that anything addictive that make you crave it all the time could not be from God. So it was New Years Even, she went outside and smoked 2 packs of cigarettes, drank a pot of coffee and a bottle of beer and said when she was done she wasn't going to touch it ever again. She held to her word. The withdraws she experienced were excruciating but she did it and they were baptized 2 weeks later. Her husband now has the priesthood and they are working to be sealed in a year. Just the fact that things are so addictive has proven to me that the word of wisdom is true. It dulls your sensitivity to the spirit. Can I get an "Amen" to prophecy?

My relationship with the Lord is also something that has changed a lot, even in you the last week. I'm learning to rely on Him a lot more. My prayers have become a lot more meaningful and I now understand what "pleading" with the Lord feel like. I'm better understanding the way answers come to me and I'm recognizing the spiritual promptings more and more. I can feel the spirit in the lessons I teach and the contacting I do. The lord has blessed me exceedingly. 

MYSELF:

I am not perfect. Welp, there it is. Took me awhile to figure this out and now that I have I sometimes think I am the runt of the litter but I'm getting used to it.  I'm having a hard time finding the balance of thinking  I'm good enough and thinking I'm the best. It seems to just be the one or the other. It is a slow transition for me but I'm trying to find my place as I am surrounded by so many great missionaries, it is sometimes hard to hold my own. But like I said before, I'm relying on the Lord more and I'm slowly finding my place. 

I'm also not a very good leader. This is mainly in the day to day companions things. Hermana Gigger and Hurley were really good at starting contacting. I'm not. This is really hard. I get really self conscience and it is hard. Once it is started I'm good and I can go with it but starting is a struggle. I really need to work on that. REALLY REALLY. One step at a time. 

Also, I'm still ok at connecting with people. I just re-realized this last night. We had dinner with our ward mission leader and his wife. His wife isn't know for being the nicest or most welcoming person in the world. I was absolutely terrified I was going to get yelled at. I decided I was just going to do the best i could and hope she'd like me. turns out...she LOVES me. She kept saying "me encanta tu felicidad." she said it like 10 times. Then when we went to say goodbye we all hugged her goodbye. I was the last one and she grabbed me tight and said " You're beautiful. I love your happiness. Always have it because that will be what leads people to you and the message you share." Then she started to cry. Talk about heart melting...the ice queen herself is crying while hugging you. Needless to say, I started crying too. Then after that we went to the Castillanos house and I connected really well with their family. It was go great to have my mojo back. 

I'm really good at connecting with less-active teenage boys. I'll tell you what. If I meet LA teens, seminary is in their future...

Alright, I don't have time to type the other's portion of this email so you will have to keep waiting until next week. I have to have some incentive to keep you reading :)

I just want to leave you with my testimony that I know this church is true. I know it more than anything and I love this message I share. I fasted yesterday for the burning passion of this work and it is here. I feel as if I am on fire. I love being able to share the Restored Gospel to those people who are here in California. The Lord has truly blessed me exceedingly. I'm a one lucky Child of God to be here doing His work. 

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

Love,
Hermana Porter.