Belize!

Dear Family,

Sorry that I did not write on Monday like I normally do but as I am sure that you probably all know, it is because .........I AM NOW IN BELIZE!!!!!! CRAZY!!!!! President and Sister Hintze told me about it last Friday so the last few days in Sensunapan were super rough. I couldn't stop thinking about how it would be and all the what ifs. But it was tough to say goodbye to all the people that I have truly grown to love. After seven months in one area there are a lot of people like that. It was probably the hardest to say goodbye to the Magana Family. Tears were shed and emails were shared. Thankfully we will have a way to communicate after the mission because of facebook. But this change has come at almost my half way mark....which is tomorrow by the way :) Because of this and the fact that it isn't just a normal transfer but I am leaving El Salvador and probably won't go back until the end of my mission, I feel like I am ending one mission and starting another. And after being here for a day I really feel that way! The culture here is SO different. There are Jamaican, Latin, Caucasin, and a German people that are like the Amish. Depending on where you are, they speak english, spanish, or creol, or a great mixture of them all. I am in a town called Orange Walk that is pretty northern and close to Mexico. I honestly haven't gotten to work yet here so there is much that I don't know but you can just feel the "chill" atmosphere in the air. I live in a house that has two companionships of sisters. My companion is Sister Rodriguiez.....how weird to say sister!! She is super short and is from Guatemala and has been here in Belize for about five months. Before this week, there were only one group of elders in all of Orange Walk but we are splitting the town into three areas. We only have a branch here in Orange Walk but there are about 500 inactives.....YIKES !! We have a lot of reactivation work to do. But I am excited and a little nervous. I honestly don't know when to speak what language. I went through customs yesterday when we got here and I automatically started answering in spanish and the officer told me somewhat forcefully to speak in english because I was now in Belize. Oops. But that was in Belize City....they are on the coast and don't speak much spanish there, only english and creol. It rained almost the whole day and night when I got here yesterday. fun fun. There is mud everywhere and when I see the elders they are just covered in it. It is a whitish color. ha! And for the first two days I will be walking but after that we will have bought our bikes, yes, I said bikes. How very very different! The money is different and the food is different, everything feels different. But we hardly spoke any english in the house last night. There are three gringas and my companion but we spoke Spanish. Oh, random story, yesterday in the airport in El Salvador, we were going through all the check points and at one there was a problem and the man asked me in broked english if I could speak spanish.....I can't tell you how wonderful it was to say, yes, I speak spanish !! haha! Due to my pleading, the group of 11 of us who were leaving El Salvador were able to go to the temple yesterday morning before our flight. What a wonderful blessing!! I thought a lot about you Mom and Dad. I got to do inititory and a session. I LOVE THE TEMPLE !!

Well I will write more next week about how everything goes. That is super cool the Rachel Poche is coming to my mission!!! Out of all the missions in the world it is way cool that someone from Eagar is coming here at the same time as me. There is another elder from the stake in El Salvador who left a little before me but I cant remember his name. Will you guys send me his name? I am pretty sure that he ended up in the other El Salvador San Salvador East mission though. Well I hope all is well on the home front . I am waiting on pins and needles to receive a picture of my new niece (Bonnie !) haha. I am praying for ya! Oh and due to the fact that I am now very far from where they print the dearelders, please dear family, email me! Oh while I was waiting in the office for ever on Monday, I received my first birhtday package from Smelly. Perfect timing! Those snacks sum up all the food I own right now. ha! But I really appreciate it Mel. Thanks!!

I love you all!!


Hermana Heap

9 September 2013

Dear Family,

Thank you for the emails and keeping me updated on the goings on in Eagar. I hope all is well with you all.

I am a little bit at a loss of what to say. It has been a HARD week. The Lord is sending me trials and more trials right now that have really taken away my desire to work. So it has been a rough week but I hope that all will get better from here. I am doing my best to humble myself and learn what the Lord wants me to learn. I had been wanting to talk to President and Sister Hintze for weeks now when suddenly they came to Sonsonate for interviews. I really really like them and can feel their love for me. President Hintze reminds me so much of you, Dad. Because of this, I couldn´t hold back my thoughts. I spilled out all of my thoughts, doubts, and tears in my interview. The poor man. But he told me everything that I am sure that you would have told me, Dad, reassuring me of my worth and the love that Heavenly Father has for me. The only thing that lacked was the hugs that you always give me Dad. No one can take your place for those. I will just have to wait 9 more months to have them. I am so very grateful to be in this new mission with the Hintzes. The Lord knew that I need parental figures here in El Salvador. Unfortunately President Hintze could not fix all of my problems and make the mission easy but his words really did help me to have strength to keep going. He also gave me some good news. Transfers come the 18th of September and from the mouth of President, he said that I will be changing areas. After seven months and half of my mission here in Sensunapan I finally will have the opportunity to get to know somewhere else. The problem is that I now have way too much time to think about where I could go and all of the options. 29 new missionaries are coming this time and 23 are North American. 8 are sisters and all of the them are North American. Only one sister that is already here is ending her mission right now so they have to open new areas to fit all of the new sisters. Sister Hintze told me that 3 of the new areas are in Belize and only one is here in El Salvador. I won`t lie, I am dreaming of going to Belize. Ha! Just because I want to so much, I will probably stay here in El Salvador. But there is a super high chance that I will be training because there just aren´t many sisters in the mission and so many are already training. It would be interesting to train a gringa. Who knows what will happen but it is really making it challenging to work. Ooops. That is probably why normally they dont tell us the transfers until the day before. But I am determined to have a good last week here in Sensunapan. Oh, random thought, but I finally figured out what Sensunapan means....it is an word from the natives here that means large river. We have the Sensunapan River in our area. It all makes sense now. haha.

Well I hope all is well with all of you. Please keep writing. :) I love you all!!

Hermana Heap

2 September 2013

Okay okay, a few of you have been asking for an explanation for the video that Holly posted on her wall. Barrio Sensunapan is my ward and we have been trying to do little activities each Sunday to help people have a better experience at church each week. This week was testimony meeting so we decided to go with the theme of "Yo elevo mi voz" (I raise my voice) to help animate and remind people to share their testimonies. This video was put on the facebook page of the ward and also when the people came to church they got to fill out a little paper that said "I know that..." This helped people remember and be more willing to share their testimonies in testimony meeting. I turned out well. This is the third week that we have done an activity like this and we are starting to see the results. Yesterday an inactive sister came to church for the first time in years because she has seen the efforts of the ward on facebook to be more positive and bonding. She no longer lives in our ward but came and asked for a book of mormon to start reading again and asked that we send the missionaries to her house. Wow!

This week the community of Sensunapan turned 38 years old so their have been parties all week long in our area. Tons of people, music, fried food, and beer. This made it difficult to meet with people because everyone was in the streets or not in the mood to listed to missionaries. Oh what fun. I am pretty happy that the party is over now. Unfortunately soon the independence day festivities will begin. ugh.

This week has been a little tough because we have had next to no money. Thank goodness the new month has arrived. ha! We were only able to buy a little bit at the grocery store last week. I was left with 3 dollars for the week. And then the zone leaders called us to inform us that we had to go to San Salvador Tuesday morning bright and early. Oh no! We had to scrap together every last penny to pay for the bus rides. I used every last penny that I had. haha! We still had some random food in the fridge that we were eating all week. But then Saturday came and we were about to start our fast. I was already dying of hunger and could not handle the thought of having to start my fast with an empty stomach. So I caved into my carnal nature and used my own debit card to order Pizza Hut. It wasnt the cheapest food but it is the only thing that we could have sent to the house and that would accept my card. But it was a good thing that we ordered the pizza because we ended up not being able to eat lunch on Sunday where we had planned so the pizza was the only food that we had to break our fast. haha! Needless to say we are super happy that it is now September!

We have been having a few problems in the ward lately which made yesterday a pretty hard day. So today we decided to do something different and we went and played soccer this morning. It felt SO good to exercise. Honestly we hardly ever exercise in the morning because there just isnt much time and my companions hate exercising. It felt so good to play and run out all of my frustrations. We also are not very good so there was a lot of laughing going on too. It is very different to play soccer here because they play with a weird plastic ball and they play on the basket ball court or on cement. haha very different! But it was great! I am going to do all that I can to convince my dear companions to play more often with me.

I hope all is well. I love you all!!

Hermana Heap
 

26 August 2013

Dear Family,

Mom said that Eagar is getting a ton of rain. I am pleased to hear that you are all experiencing the same weather patterns as I am. We are getting a lot of rain as of late. One day this week we were working in the lomas or in a part were there are a lot of hills when it started to pour and pour and pour. I dont know what it is about this area but it attracts the lightning. I have never experienced so much lightning and thunder that was so close to me in all my life. We had umbrellas but still got soaked from the waist down. Everything is cement here as well so the water could not soak in but rather rushed off and down the hills. We had to cross several mini rivers in the streets. Finally we took cover in this man´s garage because the lightning was just so close. We waited and waited while it poured and poured. Finally it calmed down and we could try to work again. I have to agree with you Mom, it is just hard to get any work done with the rain.

This week we had a meeting with the first counselor in the stake presidency, President Sanchez, who is in our ward. We were about to start when he looked at me and started speaking to me in english saying, "I know your family Sister Heap." What? How? "I just feel whisperings that I know them." He had mentioned to me the other day that he had been chatting with Wendi on Facebook. I thought that Wendi had been searching for my ward on facebook and had found President Sanchez. But in this conversation I asked President if he had been the one to look for my family. He said that yes he was the one searching for them and that now he is friends with Wendi and Holly. Whoa. I have a ton of respect for this man, he is one of the greatest leaders that I have ever met. I don´t know why but he feels a connection with our family. How interesting. So please dont freak out if he adds you on facebook. :) ha! Needless to say, this conversation really affected me and left me thinking a lot about you guys this week.

This week Elder Kevin R Duncan from the area presidency came to Sonsonate for a multizone conference. It was a great conference and I thoroughly enjoyed it. He taught all morning and then we took a break for lunch. My dearest companions had to go to the bathroom and when we came back, there were no open seats. So the elders got some chairs for us and put them right in front of President and Sister Hintze and Elder Duncan...gulp. So I sat down and tried to eat and listen to them talk to my companions. Then Elder Duncan asked us to share why we had decided to serve a mission. oh dear. This is not a story that I like to share because I have to admit that I am not like everyone else. I did not want to serve a mission and I never received an answer to serve either. I tried to hide behind my roll to avoid having to share but pretty soon, it came to me. In my aweful spanish I explained my experience and waited for the responce of Elder Duncan. When I ended he thanked us for sharing and stood up and left. Okay.......I was left very unsure of what to think. When the conference started again, a question came up about following the spirit and receiving personal revelation. And Elder Duncan asked me to share my experience with all the the zones that were there. GULP! Elder Duncan still left me a little unsure of what he thought about my experience but there must be something that can be learned from my experience. Oh dear. What an experience. But other than that somewhat embarassing experience, the conference was great and very inspiring.

Well once again the time is gone. I hope all is well. I love you all. Oh, and I have figured out that I can take pictures of emails and read them later at home on my own time. That way you guys can just email me instead of dearelder me because it takes a long time to get the dearelders.

Love you all!!

Hermana Heap

19 August 2013

Wow! Thanks Wendi for the photos of the rain. That is SO awesome!! I am glad to hear that you guys are experiencing a little bit of the same weather as me. We have been in some special type of storm this week down here that has  caused it to be cloudy and rain a lot more than usual. Due to this, I have had to battle a little bit of the flu, fevers and all. But the work must go on whether I feel good or not. Luckily, after only a couple of miserable days it went away and I feel back to normal again.

Due to the fact that we are training Hermana Morales we spend all morning in the house studying. We used to be able to work until 9 or 9:30pm but they changed the rule for us sisters this week. Now we have to enter at 8 or 8:30. Now we have very little time to accomplish our weekly and daily goals. But because we are a trio, it is super easy to do divisions. Normally Hermanas Morales and Mendoza go together and I get to work with the member that is helping us. At times it is fun but both Hermana Mendoza and I miss working together teaching the lessons. We have enough time together now that we have figured out how to teach together and where the lesson is going. That is the wonderful blessing of having a companion for more than one transfer.

We as a ward are trying to improve the Sunday experience for the members and the investigators that come. Yesterday we did an activity that everyone had to write what they were grateful for on a post it when they entered the church. Then with all of the post its we  made a big heart on the bulletin board for everyone to see. The activity was very successful because it helped people leave behind their negative feelings and be in a good mood for the meetings. People were also more friendly with each other for the whole three meetings. It was something small but really did have an impact on the ward. A young sister, Stefany, and I got to figure out how to put it up on the bulletin board. It was an adventure but turned out well. We are hoping to do something simple like this each week to help the members bring the spirit and leave the distractions at the door. This will help them have a better experience in the church and have more desire to come back. Little by little we are increasing our ward attendance. We have a ton of inactives on our ward so we are focusing a lot in rescuing the lost sheep. There is so much work to be done that is makes me want to be a normal member of the ward with a normal calling so that I can help them in the cause. We as missionaries are helping, but we cant be the permanent help that they need. Oh there is so much to do!

I hope that you all are doing well. Keep me informed of the goings on back in Arizona and Utah. I love you all so much!!

Random event: We were contacting in the street the other day and I wanted to stop and contact this man who was selling earrings. So I casually started asking him about his earrings and in the end I ended up buying the loudest earrings that I have ever bought in my life....all for the opportunity to talk to this man. Ha!

12 August 2013

Well I was so excited to tell you guys last week about Fernando that I forgot to mention that I knew that was going to train. ha! The day has officially come when I have to train. But the Lord softened the blow a little bit by assigning both Hermana Mendoza and I to train in a trio. I have to admit that I was pretty done bummed to learn that I did not get to change areas but there is nothing I can do to change that so I am just going to enjoy it. I find that just walking down the street takes a lot longer that it used to because I know so many people and I have to stop and talk to them. Ha! I think it bugs my companions a little bit that I happen to know A LOT of people. I remember when Dad was the Stake President and where ever we went, we had to stop so that he could talk to EVERYONE and their dog! ha!

 Okay, back on subject, our new companion, or "daughter" is Hermana Morales from San Miguel El Salvador. She is waiting for her visa to go through for her mission in Argentina so will be serving here with us until that happens. She is 22, giggles a lot, is confident, and wants to work. Honestly sometimes I forget that she is new because she handles everything so well. Training makes me think a lot about my training, something that I have tried to forget. But I can see how frustrating I must have been in the beginning, without the spanish and the confidence to know what to say. Wow, maybe I really am progressing more that I can see. The other day it hit me, all I do all day, every day, is teach. I am teaching an english class twice a week as well. teach, teach, teach. Before my mission I almost never taught. I am definitely getting a lot of practice teaching. My confidence is growing too. Sometimes I think about what it would be like to be a teacher for a living. If I did that, I would love to teach American History! Ha! random thoughts. But teaching requires a lot of patience, especially with one of my english students. Hermana Blanco is 60 and wants to learn so badly but just cant get it. She thinks that she knows a lot more that she really does and when I teach the most simple of simple things....it just doesnt click in her mind. ha! I have explained and explained until I and holding back screams. hahahaha! What learning experience. I have been living in a spanish world long enough that it is starting to feel weird to speak in english. One of our investigators speaks english and the other day she was asking me about Joseph Smith in english. I WAS SO HARD TO TEACH IN ENGLISH! I have learned how to teach the gospel in spanish so now it is just weird to teach it in english. ha! This last week was a little hard in the transfers meeting because Hermana Bryce was ending her mission. Also two of the best zone leaders in the world ended their missions and are now home. It was tough to say goodbye and keep going without them. Hermana Bryce will always have a super special place in my heart. It is hard to let go of her. But the mission is one change after another after another. I am forced to get used to it.

Well sorry that this letter is pure randomness. I hope that it makes sense. Thanks to all of you who sent me pictures. I love them! The wanted pictures turned out awesome! ha! Dad mentioned something about there being three pregnant women in the reunion. Who isnt telling me something?! I only know about Karen and Bonnie. Fess up! ha! I am super happy to hear that Eagar is getting rain. Someone should send me pictures of the greennesss. Well take care everyone. I love you all!!

5 August 2013

Dear Family,

It sounds like the reunion was a bunch of fun. I hope that you all remembered me :) You are all in big trouble! But Wendi is the only one that is off the hook because she sent me a few photos. I expect to receive more pictures from the reunion from all of you!

"Tuesday we were teaching Fernando and Ana when the brother of Ana and his family came to visit. We started talking with them for awhile. Fernando got a phone call and afterwards he called Ana into the other room. This made me worry A LOT! But we kept teaching the other family. When Fernando and Ana came back she was in tears and his eyes were red. She said domething to Hna Mendoza and she too started crying. I didnt know what was going on or what to do so I finished up the lesson so we could leave. We left the house and I asked what had happened. The phone call was from Fernandos boss telling him that he had to ship out (he works on ships for 6 to 8 months at a time) the next day. He still has almost 2 months of vacation time but if he says no, he loses his job. He told them that he felt sick but the guys said he would call back and that Fernando should get ready to go the next day. His baptismal date was for this Sunday. Hermana Mendoza broke out into full on sobs in the street. Ana came out and invited us back into the house. We all cried together. We left to go to an appointment but said we would come back later. We went to Enmas house and said a heart broken prayer pleading for helpt to know what to do. We called the zone leaders to see if he could be baptized the next day before shipping out. After many calls, we got the clearance to go ahead and do it. We went back to the Magaña Familys house to see if Fernando even still wanted to be baptized. Miraculously he said that yes, he wanted to be baptized the next day. We stayed there for 2.5 more hours teaching him the rest of the lessons. I was super worried about the Word of Wisdom and tithing because these are touchy subjects with him. It actually miraculously went quite well. We left at 9:30 pm with him promising to be at the church at 6:30 am for his baptismal interview. We rushed home to make some phone calls for the bpatism. Bright and early the next day we were at the church and he actually came on his own accord. The baptism was at 7:30 am July 31, 2013. One of his daughters couldnt be there because she had to take a test in school. Because it was last minute, there werent many people there but all went well and the spirit was super strong. At the end of the baptism Fernando shared a small testimnoy, crying and all. He is a big rough and tough guy so this really touched me. To end, Elder Burrahm and I sang Did You THink To Pray. I looked up to see Fernando and Ana both in tears. I had to look away to avoid the tears as well. Ana told us afterwards that becore the phone call, Fernando was about to tell us that he didnt want to be baptized this Sunday. The phone call changed everything. Ironically, Fernando still hasnt had to leave yet. Ha! The Lord knew that Fernando needed a little more of a push and shove to actually be baptized. I truly have witnessed a miracle! Fernando told us that their marriange was in the worst state, on the brink of separating, when we knocked on their door. Almost immediately when Ana started going back to church things started to change. Before, he felt a bad spirit in the house but now he feels peave and love in the house. Now their relationshop is starting to flourish again. Wow! I really feel like an instrument in the hands of God. After his baptism Fernando felt like he was relieved of a great burden or weight that he was carrying. What a wonderful and special experience my Father in Heaven has given me! I would be content to end my mission right now! :) "

(I didnt feel like writing it again so I just copied my journal entry.)

Thank you all for your prayers. I love you!! Oh, ps, I cut my hair :D I just couldnt handle the heat anymore.

The man by me in the pic is the bishop. The others are Fernando, Ana, and Valeria