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

29 July 2013

Happy Birthday Allen!! Happy Birthday Riley!!

Well I hope that everyone enjoys the family reunion this week. Think about me when you all are playing games and eating wonderful food. ha! I am glad to hear that Eagar has been getting rain lately and is nice and green. It is always nice and green here :) We didn´t get rain almost all week here and let me tell you, it was a hot and miserable week! I had the opportunity to go on inter changes this week with the sister leaders. I went to another city, Santa Tecla for a day. I have only every worked in Sonsonate so it was SOSOSOSOSO refreshing to work in a place that is not roasting hot! ha! It was cool to see another city and experience another area. I have to admit that it made me want transfers pretty badly. But Heavenly Father has a sense of humor so I will probably end up staying in Sonsonate for another three months. :) Working with Hermana Mejia in Santa Tecla was really interesting because she is from the other mission. They had different rules and ways to teach so it was interesting to work together and learn.

Fernando is still progressing and preparing for his baptism. We passed by his house yesterday in the morning to see if he was awake and getting ready. Surprise Surprise, he was still asleep. He had stayed up until three in the morning. We were not about to let him get out of going to church so I grabbed one of the sea shells that they have in their house (he works in ships so he has visited a ton of different places in the world and has a lot of exotic stuff in his house). I took the shell and I blew into it, making it into a horn. It is a little to blow just right but when you do, it make a super loud horn sound. haha! After a few times loud honks, he started to get up and get ready for church. ha! I am still a little worried about whether he will be ready for his baptism this week because he has a ton of questions but we are going to fast and pray and do todo lo posible!

So the other day El Salvador was playing the US in soccer. We were knocking doors and found this guy who had his house plastered in decorations for one of the soccer teams. I was just trying to be friendly and talk about something that he was interested in so I asked him if the game was over yet and how it had gone. I honestly was expecting him to say that El Salvador had won. Well, he told me that the game had just ended and the US had won, by something like 5 to 1. Without thinking a loud Whoopee! came right out of my mouth! OOPS! haha. needless to say it was a little awkward and we left pretty quickly. ha! Tango que tener mas cuidado.

Well my time is gone.....I love you all! Travel safely!

Hermana Heap

22 July 2013

Happy 8th birthday Amie!!! Be sure to send me pictures of the baptism :) Wish I could be there!

Almost a month ago we were knocking dooring in the night time when we found this family. They had a ton of visitors in their house so we set up an appointment to come back a few days later. When we came back, only the wife (Ana) was there. We quickly found out that she was baptized when she was 9 years old but stopped going to church 2 years later. She is now 29 so she hadnt gone to church for almost 20 years. But she was super positive and started coming to church that week with her two daughters (they are the cutest little El Salvadorenian girls ever!). They all love the church. Ana is reading the Book of Mormon and is just soaking up the gospel. Her husband, Fernando, is not a member and almost always hides from us when we come to teach him. We have tried for weeks to get him to come to church and finally this week he told us that he would come. We arrived at their house early Sunday morning to bring them to church and Ana told us that he had left early in the morning to visit a friend who is sick. Our hearts plummeted. But we were waiting for a few minutes while Ana was getting the girls ready to go. We had someone else that we needed to pass by for so we were about to leave when Fernando came out and asked us where we were going. He was all ready to go to church and everything. It was all a joke. ha! I could not have been more happier than to see him ready to go to church with his family! I really really love this family! They went to church and I hardly could pay attention because I was praying so hard that he would like the church and feel the spirit. When we got to Relief Society Ana told he that he had been asked if they could leave early. I dont have a clue what the lesson was in the class because all I could do was think and pray that he would like the priesthood class. After church we didnt have time to talk to him so we passed by in the afternoon. He was sleeping so we visited with Ana and she said that he liked the church. We were determined to talk to him so we came back in the night time. He was in the street with his friends but invited us in the house so that we could talk. He ended up REALLY liking the church. He said that when he left the church he felt like a great burden had been lifted off of him. This family has visited a lot of churches but never had found one that they liked. But he liked the church even to the point of defending the church when talking to his super evangelica mom. ha! We still have a lot to teach him but we invited him to be baptized the 4th of August. We didnt know but that day happens to be his birthday and he agreed to prepare to be baptized this day! He said that he wants to keep learning and attending the church, wants to baptized and married in the temple. In that moment you could not have found two happier missionaries in the world! Satan still has a lot of time to get him to change his mind but we are praying with all our might that that wont happen. I honestly havent found a family that I love more than this one in El Salvador. Fernando likes to hunt and fish and tease so he reminds me a lot of Clif and Allen :) I hope to send a picture of them soon. Pray for them please!

We have had several crazy thunder storms. I just love it because I dont have to worry about fires so I can just sit back and enjoy it. The other night the power went out at about 9pm and didnt come back until 9am. Luckily we had a few flashlights so we didnt have to stumble around in the dark. We have a balcony and right before we went to bed we went out and just watched all the thunder storm and had moved to the coast. No one in the colonial or neighbor hood had power so it was super super cool to watch the storm. I will definitely miss all the lightning and thunder when I get back to Arizona. Luckily I have a lot more time to enjoy it :)

I hope all is well. Love you all!!

Hermana Heap

15 July 2013

Hello again dear family! I feel like I just barely wrote so I am wracking my brain for something to write. This week we had three investigators in sacrament meeting which is a lot more than we normally have. One of them was this crazy guy that goes by the name Chepito. We found him this week and he barely let us talk at all. He was preaching to us for twenty minutes before Hermana Mendoza interrupted and told him to humble himself and listen to us for a minute. ha! I did not want to return to this house but he told us he wanted to visit the church so we passed by for him Sunday morning. We had other people with us too so I sat with them and left Hermana Mendoza to sit with Chepito. Pobresita! When we got to the church he knelt down in the pew and started praying outloud with a lot of Alleluias! (I don´t know how to spell it). hahaha! And during the meeting he was arguing with Hermana Medoza about the sacrament and baptism. Then when she had to give a talk, he slept. In the end of the meeting they were confirming the daughter of the bishop and he just stood up and walked out in the middle of it. I imagine that he just couldn't handle feeling the spirit. but wow......hahahahah! What an experience! Almost everyone goes to church here. There are about a billion different chuches in my area. So we encounter quite a few super super devoted people here like Chepito but never have be brought one to church before.

So finally I have a bruise that can compare to all the bruises that Wendi had on her mission. Unfortunately I cannot send a picture of this one because it is on my rump but it is a good one! The stairs in our house are super crazy and dangerous. We sleep upstairs so the other morning I was carrying the fan and the cd player down the stairs, so I was going down the stairs without a free hand to support myself. It resulted in a grand KABAM!! Ouch!! Needless to say, I learned my lesson and will never do that again. ha!

Well hope all is well. How cool that your fast in Eagar brought the rain!! Faith and sacrifice brings blessings! Love you all.

 

Hermana Heap

This was the result of our quarentine in the house for Hermana Mendoza`s strepp. Needless to say we went a little crazy!

 

Bruise-causing stairs! yikes!