25 February 2014

Dear Family,

Well this week was one of those weeks that just passed by without feeling like something significant happened. There were some fun things though that I will try to share. So Friday morning we got to put on Helping Hands vests and help the church donate 150 chairs to the government school in my area.....COOL!! The church also donated 250 other chairs to other schools nearby. I wasn't able to take pictures but I will do my best to get copies of them and send them to you all. It was cool to participate in just another one of the awesome things that the church does!

Helping Hands :)

I don't know what it is but revelation always seems to come to me in the shower. Sunday morning I was showering to get ready for church and the thought popped into my mind that maybe I should prepare a talk for church. I know a lot of missionaries that just write out several talks and always keep them with them so that they are always prepared. I am not one of those missionaries. The thought came and...I just brushed it away, assuring myself that that would not be necessary.  Two hours later, as I was walking into the church building, the branch president pulled me aside and asked me to give a 10 minute talk in church. Yikes! Why did I ignore the prompting earlier that morning?! Because of that, I had to try to rush and prepare a talk while playing the prelude and hymns for church. Needless to say, I did not pay very much attention to the beginning of church. I was a little nervous but it all turned out okay. I talked about Alma 32 and nourishing our "seeds" or testimonies. It wasn't anything amazing but I actually got a lot of compliments on it afterwards. It always makes you feel good when what you say is able to touch someone else. Lesson learned: never ignore the shower revelation!

So these last two weeks the three other sisters that I live with have all been sick. I have been lucky enough to avoid all of that until Sunday. After eating a huge lunch my stomach started hurting me. I figured it was because of all the food that I had in my stomach. But it didn't go away and shortly thereafter the lovely diarrhea and throwing up came. I was able to make it home in time though so I didn't have to have any embarrassing moments. But it was still no fun. I stayed slept for a very long time and did not leave the house on p-day. I am now feeling better though so no worries. Just another fun mission experience. 

Well the time is gone and I have to go. I hope all is well on the home front. Lisa, I need to see a prego pic before you have this baby. Allisen, Happy Birthday. Everyone: I love you so much!

Sista Heap

18 February 2014

Dear Family,

We have had a crazy week this week! I think that I mentioned that Sister Pocock was sick in my last email.....and her sickness lasted almost all week. Yikes! We had two investigators that were set to get married and baptized on Sunday and I was stuck inside all week, without a companion to help plan everything. Needless to say, my stress level was very high all week long. I just knew that something would make it all fall apart. But, these two investigators, Ramon and Myrah, were and are  just amazing! I have never had such golden investigators before. We literally met them about three and a half weeks ago and they were just so ready to accept the gospel and be baptized. Satan worked really hard to thwart our plans. All of their family turned against them, telling them that they shouldn't get married or baptized in the Mormon church. He is still looking for work and she has a job that works her like a slave and pays her nothing. Considering they had nothing, we turned it into a nice but simple wedding. The members really helped us out too. We asked a less active sister who hadn't been to church for years, to help us make decorations and to do Myrah's hair for the wedding. This sister just thrived on the opportunity to serve and came to the wedding and baptism. We also asked a less active brother to take the wedding pictures for us. He even came to church that morning too! It was awesome to see the investigators progressing and also involving the less active members. Everything turned out nice and, once again, the Lord's side won!! They have been trying to get married for months now. They have tried three times before and they all failed. But this time Satan lost.....WhooHoo!!

We have also been working with a less active sister named Marcela. We visited her once, she said she would come to church, she didn't come, we lost her phone number, and didn't get to see her again for a while. Every time we passed by her house, no one was home. One of the few days that we got to work this week we went to an appointment over in the same area as Marcela but they weren't home. We knew it would be doubtful that Marcela would be home that time of day but we decided to pass by anyway. Surprise!! She and her boyfriend, Arnold, were home. As we talked with them for a few minutes we found out that her oldest son (22 yrs old) had gone missing and she was really struggling right then. Well Sister Pocock and I don't have children and we have never experienced a missing child either but we tried to comfort her the best that we could. At the end of the visit she said, "I can testify that you are God's angels that He is sending to call me back to church." Both times that we had visited her she had really been struggling with a trial and we happened to be there to visit her. That was a super cool moment. The spirit was really there and I was left amazed at how the Lord works. Some how, even when we didn't plan on visiting her that day, the Lord had sent us there, knowing that she needed us. Missionary work is hard some days but then there are moments like that that make it all worth it!

This Sunday at church I was feeling a little over loaded. I played the piano the first hour, had to give the Sunday School lesson, and had to teach singing time in primary, and I hadn't slept well the night before. I was feeling a little less than excited for Sunday School because I hadn't had time to really prepare the lesson on prayer but I was just going to have to wing it. (that is completely against my personality!) We got to the gospel principle class with a bunch of investigators there and I actually didn't end up teaching much at all. I started the discussion on prayer and asked for personal experiences. One sister who was there for the first time shared her experience about praying after her house had fallen on her young son. She had never known who had pulled her son out from under the house that day but she would forever be grateful. I tried to continue the lesson but Arnold (Marcela's boyfriend), who was there for the first time that day too started talking. He said he felt awkward and felt like he needed to say something....he was the person who hard pulled the other sister's son out from under the house four years ago!!!! The whole room just sat in unbelief! The spirit was so strong as they continued to share more about that day and how everything had worked out. Other amazing experiences were shared and I just bore my testimony and ended the lesson. Thank you Heavenly Father for making Sunday School into an inspiring experience! It was just so crazy!

Well my time is gone but I just want to thank everyone for your prayers. I know that this church is true and that the Lord is truly preparing people to hear and accept the gospel!! Have a great week! Love you all!

Sista Heap

ps: someone asked about mailing info and I just got a new address: (Mom, will you put it on facebook for me please.)     

Sister Cassie Heap

C/O Victor Galvez

PO Box 9

Orange Walk Town, Belize

CA

12 February 2014

Happy Birthday Brandon!! Hope you have a great day!
My last week has been quite crazy actually. Friday we had a multizone conference in Belize City. Friday night we had to be in Corozal so that early early the next day we could take the water taxi to San Pedro. We spent a few hours on the island then had to return home. Then poor Sister Pocock has been sick almost ever since we got home. We had to stay inside nearly all day yesterday because of it. I feel like I haven't had a normal day in forever!
Okay, now I will explain a little bit more. There was the dedication of the new chapel in San Pedro this Sunday and the open house was on Saturday. So the sister missionaries from my zone (we REALLY lucked out) got to go there for part of the day to spread the word, hand out fliers, and invite every body to come to the open house and dedication. It was truly a super cool experience because only elders serve on "the island" so we were like the first sister missionaries ever to get to go. Oh, I guess I should mention that San Pedro is like the hottest tourist spot in all of Belize because the beach and ocean are just goregous! And, I doubt that many missionaries, while on the mission, get the chance to boat out to an island in the Carribean Ocean. Remember that time, Jake, when I opened my mission call and you told me that I wasn't going to serve a mission, I was going on vacation? Well I thought about that this week. haha! It was way cool. We had to sleep on a hard floor the night before and wake up super early. We saw the sun rise on the ocean and it was one of the prettiest things I have ever seen.

Sunrise in Corozal

Ready to go!

Boat ride

The sun is SUPER hot and strong so even though I put sun screen on.....I got fried!! It didn't help that I am was already sunburned. Yikes! It was an exhausting day but truly awesome and worth it all!

Ouch!

Crazy tan lines!

Well I hope everyone is doing well. Oh, fyi, we were told to now have all mail sent to the address in Belize, even the packages. I love you all! Have a great week!

Sista Heap

Sunset in Orange Walk

5 February 2014

Dear Family,

The weather here has finally started to shift so there is less rain and a lot more sun. I have forgotten how very hot the sun is here in Orange Walk. But it is great and I am very happy that the rains are fading away. haha

We have been seeing a lot of miracles lately in our area. They are small miracles but to me and Sister Pocock they mean so very much. About two weeks ago we showed up to the house of Mirta Chan. She was baptized about 1.5 years ago and is incredible. She is always trying to share the gospel and help the missionaries. She told me one day that she works so hard because she wants a temple here in Belize. Ahh. I wish everyone would have that vision! Anyway, we showed up to her house to teach one of her neighbors and it turned out that her nephew, Ramon, and his girlfriend, Myrah, had just moved in with them. So we met them and started teaching them too. Ramon is super smart and loves to study all the time so he was over joyed when we gave him the Book of Mormon. They have both been looking for the true church because they recently came from a little village next to Guatemala that was super super corrupt. They were a little odd but we were excited to have someone new to teach. Well they have progressed so fast. They loved church when they went the first time. They felt the spirit there. They have read and prayed about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Ramon told me the other day that he is 200% sure that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and restored the true church.....WHAT?!?!?! That is something that I have NEVER heard in my mission and will probably never hear again. They are just super super positive and ready to hear and accept the gospel. Ramon studies the Book of Mormon with the seminary study guide for hours and hours each day. Myrah is shy and has started working all the time so we haven't been able to talk to her much but they both want to be baptized. They have to get married first though (that is quite common here in Belize). So we are planning the small wedding and baptism for the 16th of February. Everything was going well and then Myrah got the job and has to work every Sunday morning and couldn't go to church. We fasted and prayed for a miracle and a friend of her boss was able to talk him into giving her just an hour off in the morning to go to sacrament meeting. MIRACLE!! Satan is working hard against them but we just know it will all work out. A few months ago I had been praying for Heavenly Father to bless me with an investigator who would actually read the Book of Mormon and love it like I do, for someone who would understand the gospel and love it like I do. This experience has been incredible so far and I know that the Lord has answered my prayers. 

We have also been working for months with the Vargas Family. They have been together for 25 years and are not married. They have about 8 kids too but we have mostly just worked with the parents. We have fought and fought to help them but Brother Vargas just won't stop drinking, it is so very sad. But we started trying to teach one of their daughters a few weeks ago. Her name is Karina, she is 22 and has two little girls. At first she didn't seem very positive but we have been working with her. She has a friend who is investigating the church too and that has really helped her to progress. The other day we came for our appointment and she had just gotten off of work, had to change her daughters clothes, and was just feeling very stressed; you could just see it. She sat down and was trying to skim the chapter of the Book of Mormon that we had given her to read because she hadn't had time to read it earlier. We saw her stress and told her to not worry, we could read the chapter together. After reading it and talking about it, I asked her how she felt when she read the Book of Mormon. She the expressed the great calming affect it had had on her. She had had a crazy stressful day but all of those feelings had just flooded out of her as she read. We helped her see how that was the Spirit telling her that it is true. Then we invited her to be baptized. She said she wanted to think about it so we invited her to pray and ask God if she should. Fast forward until a few days later: she hadn't come to church because she was doing her laundry, and she wasn't home for our appointment so we stopped by to check on her and set up another appointment. She had actually read the whole chapter that we had left her and so we left her more to read before out appointment. I asked her it she had been praying about being baptized. She said yes and that she had basically made her decision. We didn't have time to really talk it all out but I asked what decision she had made. She said "yo creo que si!" HURRAY!!! She has basically decided that yes she will be baptized. The Lord is truly blessing us with miracles! 

Well I love you all. Thank you for the emails. I hope all is well, that Lisa has a great baby shower,  that everyone travels safely, and that Adam has a great birthday!

Love,

Sista Heap