ANOTHER BAPTISM ON THE HORIZON

We got a reference from a member... Ricardo. He is a lawyer. He’s really awesome. We have only taught him twice and haven’t brought up baptism yet. We gave him a Book of Mormon, which is his real interest, and hope he can pray and receive a testimony of it. He’s a really cool and very smart guy, and he’s looking for answers in life. Perfect investigator. Just pray for the best with him.

We had a small miracle named Yuri this week. We found him knocking doors. It turns out that his aunt and cousin are members in a different state here in Uruguay. He couldn’t stop smiling as we taught him the first lesson and committed him to be baptized. He’s so excited. He said we found him, which we did, for a reason. In the meantime, we have taken many members to meet him and they all love him. Everything he says he’s going to do, he does. I LOVE COMMITTED PEOPLE! THEY ARE MY FAVORITE kind, especially here on the mission. He came to an elder’s baptism on Saturday and loved it. He was almost giddy with happiness and so we changed his baptismal date to a little earlier. It will be the 26th of November. Pray we can get him there. He loved church yesterday with the primary program. The way they presented it was inspired. It was about a girl sharing the gospel with her non-member friend and so they went over all the basics of the gospel and he loved it. We really feel like the Lord has prepared him for us to find. Keep him in your prayers. Ahh! Our beautiful new washing machine. Laundry will be fun now....

This whole week there has been much opposition, little things really. People we have contacted have started to push back. We’ve also encountered people who just try and steer us away from our testimonies, who have tried to reason us away from what we believe. I asked my comp yesterday, why when we are going about doing good do people have to oppose us? Then I quickly thought... hey, that’s exactly when the opposition comes, when we are doing something good. The more opposition we have, the better we are doing, the more good we are finding and the more people we are helping, right? Bring on the opposition, baby! We can handle it. We knelt down yesterday to pray for strength. We have had the Lord’s help, as always.

Loana’s baptism will still be this Saturday. We are so excited for that. It was awesome yesterday to see their whole family walking up to the church building with arms around each other, dressed in all their new skirts and ties and everything else they bought specifically for church. I just got so happy. Jose, the dad, blessed the Sacrament yesterday. It was so awesome. Go missionary work! It’s been great. I love this gospel. I love my Savior and I love all of you. Keep going strong, heads held high. I looooove, love, love you!!!

Love, Ash

A VISIT TO THE TEMPLE

So Christmas is kinda coming up, right? And we get to talk to each other, right? Welp, we had zone conference this week and Hermana Da Silva tells us... "Oh yeah! Before you leave, we forgot to mention that we are letting you skype your families this year!" Ahhhhh!!!!! Soo excited. Anywho, so we will all get to see each others pretty faces. Yay. Made my whole life.So this week... Aw! The temple. We got up at 2:00 in the morning to go. No joke! I have been so exhausted all week long. I haven’t caught up on my sleep yet, but it was so very worth it. We got there in the dark and everyone was freaking out, crazy stressed, freezing cold and then of course, we step into the temple. Aw! Home... seriously. I have missed it so bad. DO NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY THAT WE LIVE SO CLOSE TO SO MANY TEMPLES! You don’t realize what you have until it’s gone. Anyway, it was dead silent in the temple and we were the only ones in there... it was so awesome to see the pictures of Christ, to see him and feel close to him. Would you believe the temple workers and the couple who was in the session with us are from Utah? Yes! Senior missionaries rock. Anywho, it was awesome talking in English, but so hard! I’m gonna die when I get home. I can’t talk with people in English here. It’s messed up. I actually watched the session in Spanish even though I could have listened in English. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, right? I got in my white clothes and it just felt so good. I can’t even explain to you. I loved it. Seeing everyone in white, it was like... this is what we´re supposed to be doing, this is where we are supposed to be. I missed you. The temple is our goal in this earth life and it felt good to be there to be brought back to home, remember my purpose here on earth as a member myself, not just as a missionary.Afterwards we had a zone conference. It’s so fun being there. My pres was happy with me. I put some real good tips and thoughts up there. It’s like school here, only spiritual school. The best school. I love it. Then we had lunch and I saw one of the ladies that the elders baptized in San Jose. Her name is Laura. She just went through the temple. Her kids are all baptized now and she was so happy telling me so. That was so great to hear.

As for the work here in my area of Maldonado ... things are well. We had progress with everyone this week. We showed Alejandra the Testament movie this week and she felt the spirit so strong. You could see it. She cried every time I was crying and I knew I was feeling the spirit so I was sure she was too. At the end she kept saying, today has been so special. She’s finally starting to get it. She finally went to church this week and loved every second, even though her baby kinda gave her some trouble. She made lots of friends this week. We also took her some extra food the members had prepared for us and she started crying saying that she had nothing to give her kids that day. She said Heavenly Father heard her prayers. He always does :) It feels good walking on sacred ground and being an instrument in Heavenly Father´s hand to bless the life of someone else. We have seen miracles like this all week long.

Deina and Daian’s mom said they couldn’t get baptized yet. She thinks it’s too soon. In the meantime, we are still going forward with faith with their baptismal date. We have since gotten the ward members involved in picking them up and looking after them. Hopefully if she sees more people will take care of them, she will change her mind. Keep them in your prayers. They also came to church yesterday and will be in the primary program next week. That’s great. The ward continues to love them.

Nataly is progressing. She took out her piercing for real, for real and gave it to my comp. Wahoo!!! She is talking so much more, is way open with us and loves the gospel. She left this whole week and was with her friends from the ward. Go team!

As for Gladys and Jose and family… oh man, I love them so much. They are probably one of my favorites. Gladys is such a giant sweetheart, so kind and giving. We took her to go befriend Alejandra and they instantly became friends. They were together all day long and haven’t really separated. She took her more food, told her to keep the Sabbath day holy, is giving her the courage to pay tithing and everything else. She took her to some ward activities this week and it’s been great. That’s how we see success: in the hands of the members. Jose received the priesthood yesterday and Gladys bore her testimony. She said she has been a member for 17 years, but she fell away. Then she said we two angels found her in the street and came into her home: loved her, taught her, gave her a boost and loving hand, some support and a little bit of hope and faith and today "my husband is here to receive the priesthood to baptize our daughter in two weeks." She started crying and said we really are her angels and she will forever be grateful to us. She said I love them and I adore them and will always remember them. I started crying too, of course. It was so awesome. THAT IS MISSIONARY WORK! I really do feel like I was supposed to be here to help her. She is one of THE ones I was supposed to find. I love their family.

On top of that, Natalia has finally made it back to church. Work gave her a hard time and then another miracle came along. Her doctor said that she couldn’t work anymore because of her pregnancy. She came to church for the first time in a very long time yesterday and loved it. She participated in every class. On top of that, Damian got the priesthood, taught priesthood and then blessed the Sacrament for the first time since he was young. Oh man... blessings, being showered down on us.

At the end of church the bishop stood up and thanked me and my comp for our work and love. Everyone was so grateful to us. As we filed out of the hallways when the meetings were over, everyone was coming up to us and hugging us. I felt an extreme amount of love. I will really be sad when I have to go from here. I have learned to love everyone here soooo much. I have learned the most in this area, serving the people in Maldonado. I have grown and been stretched and tested so much, but I’m so grateful for it and I would never take it back. These people are a people of God. I love them.

I guess that’s the blessing of being in an area so long. I get to see the fruits of my labor. I do feel that way. I feel like everything I have strived for here is finally coming to pass and I’m being rewarded for the hard work we’ve done. Not that I need to see them, for this is the Lord’s work and he deserves all the praise.

It’s been a good week. I continue to love this work and I’m growing in the gospel every day. I hope you can feel of the spirit when you read my words. I want you to feel the things I do and experience them with me. It’s hard, but I’ll be home one day to tell you the tales for real ;) I love you all more than you’ll ever know. I continue to miss you and appreciate you more and more. Keep being the most amazing family in the world. Until next week... love, Ash

THIS WEEK WAS THE BOMB!!

Happy Halloween to all. My comp and I bought masks. haha She’s the alien and I’m Frankenstein. We can only wear them in the house though. So this week has been something else... I have so much to tell you all. Be prepared to be blown away because this week has been the bomb!We have seen miracles up the wazoo and have had numerous answers to prayers. It’s been humbling to see the Lord’s hand at work and we are just trying to go where he’s pointing us. It seems to be working pretty well. Where do I start?

I got letters from mom and Regan. Thank you so much for those. They always boost me up during the week. Love you mom. The week started out pretty normal. We were teaching Nataly every day so Satan couldn’t get to her before her baptism. It’s what we do for all our investigators who will be baptized. And we were teaching Loana from the Rodriguez family. She is so incredibly smart. I just remember thinking on Tuesday, seeing them read their scriptures... "Wow, this is the greatest thing in the world when we can see these people making changes in their lives by using the gift of the gospel." I was blown away by how touched I was. It’s even better because we have more than one person at a time who is doing so. That’s how missionary work should be, right?

Miracle 1: Nataly

Nataly was baptized!!! Baptism days... oh man, they are always so crazy and stressful and bad things always come up, but we made it. I don’t know how it has been, but this transfer we have had a renewal. The spirit of the work has changed. We worked really hard to make this baptism a great one. We had all the youth do the program and everything went so great. Nataly went to young women’s finally, even though she dragged her mom in there with her. What a champ. Pretty much the entire ward showed up to her baptism. 42 people (not all pictured). Alright, not the whole ward, but the families who go every week. The spirit was amazing. We were praying for a good turnout so she would feel loved and inspired. She went to a previous baptism and only the mom, us and the elders were there. I think she was taken aback, but she loved having the support, even though we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off. Everything went without flaw. Thank heavens, or Heavenly Father, I should say. It was fantastic. I finally put some of my flower talent into practice. My comp and I found flowers all throughout the day to make her a wrap. It was really pretty. I think she liked it. On Sunday she made friends with Belen and Sheyla. We all went to visit Sheyla with the both of them because her mom isn’t letting her come to church. So, she was baptized and confirmed and we have a new member of the Church of Jesus Christ and for that we are so grateful.

Miracle 2 and 3 : Deina and Daian.

We went to re-contact a family we had set an appointment with, but they never ended up being there. It was a family: mom, son and 2 daughters (ages 9 and 11). We went to their house and they were there this time. The mom said we could teach them. So we did. I had this strange feeling as we were sitting with them that the girls would progress and be baptized, but not the mom. It was really odd. We taught the restoration and we were asking them all if they would like to know for themselves if Joseph Smith was a prophet. The two girls were just nodding their heads yes over and over again. And then I wasn’t surprised when the mom then told us, "This is nice and all, but really I just don’t have an interest. I don’t really want to know." Well alright, there isn’t anything we can do about that. It was said, but the girls were so into it that the mom said we could continue to teach them if we liked. The girls said yes and so they agreed to pray and re-read the pamphlet about Joseph Smith. Yes... so we anxiously waited until Friday when we could see them again. We sang with them, prayed with them and then verified how everything went. Welp they prayed... they didn’t get an answer though. They were expecting Jesus and God to come like they did for Joseph Smith, even though we explained beforehand that that wouldn’t happen. It was ok. They read the whole pamphlet too. So we started teaching them the Plan of Salvation. I don’t know if you remember those cutouts I made to teach the plan?... but we taught and used those and afterwards we tested them. They nailed it all. They pretty much re-taught it to us. It was great. We told them we were having a baptism the next day and they could come. They wanted to see how it was. Their dad is a pastor, along with his new wife, for some other church and they started telling us that they can’t be baptized in his church until after they are 18 (even though they were baptized as kids in the Catholic church). We told them in our church we get baptized at the age of 8 and they said they both wanted to. We told them we would explain that later. They are very smart and in tune with the spirit, because of the things their dad has taught them even though they think his religion is weird. As we left the lesson, I asked my comp what she thought... she said "It was weird. While we were sitting there, I felt like the girls were going to be baptized, but not the mom." I just started freaking out because we had both felt the same thing. It was so strange but sooo awesome.We went over the next day to get them for the baptism. They got all dressed in cute skirts and we talked on the way to the church. They said they had prayed. The oldest of the two, Deina, said she had gotten her answer the first time she prayed, but she just wasn’t paying attention. She was looking for a different type of answer. But they said they knew for sure Joseph Smith was a prophet. It was awesome. We showed them around the church, they loved it. And they watched the baptism and also loved it. Every single ward member adores them... they kept telling us to take care of "our little princesses." The ward is in love and you will be too. At the end of the baptism, they said they wanted to be baptized. They wanted hymn books and Books of Mormon. We asked what they were going to tell their mom when they got home. They said that they want to go to church every day. So cute. We got to their house and they ran in so excited to tell their mom everything. I think she was taken aback by how much they loved it. They said they wanted to get baptized and she said, “Whoa, whoa! You gotta learn a lot more. You can’t be baptized RIGHT NOW, RIGHT NOW." She is very supportive though. She says she will let them do whatever they think is right in their lives. We explained they had more things to learn, but with time they can be baptized. We went and picked them up on Sunday for church as well. They loved Primary and we suggested the date of the 29th of November for their baptism. They love it. Now we just have to clear it by the mom. I don’t think she will have a problem with it... I hope not. We are a teeny bit worried about the dad. We’ll see. We continue to teach them, they continue to become smarter in the things of the Lord and growing in the gospel.

Miracle 4: Alejandra

She still hasn’t been to church so we had to move her baptismal date back to the 29th with the other girls. But she has grown immensely in spirit and in testimony. She went to a Relief Society dinner this week and went to the ward cleaning on Saturday before the baptism and stayed to see Nataly be baptized. She felt the spirit there and was so sad when we had to change her baptismal date. But she is so excited. She is reading and praying, getting her clothes ready for the baptism and planning everything. We are pretty sure she will make it. We just gotta help her get to church. She is so happy though lately and we are happy for that.

Miracle 5: Rodriguez family

They also made it to the baptism. So Loana could see how it’s done. They all loved it. Yesterday they came to church and the ward actually had them stand so everyone could welcome them back into the fold. My comp got teary eyed. It was a tender moment. We talked to the bishop about Loana getting baptized and seeing as how we have 3 baptisms on November 29th, we talked about having her baptized then. They interviewed with him and the bishop suggested that date and also said he wanted Jose (the dad) to have the priesthood so he could do the honors!!! Whoa! He went with the bishopric later to their house, said all he has to do is come back to church, they will count him as active again and he can get the priesthood. Then he can baptize Loana and then pass the Sacrament and so on and so forth. This is amazing. We were in awe and just so happy for them.

On top of that, our zone leaders called us and said thanks for all our work. They said the zone has had problems and difficulties this week, but Hermana Laursen and I are pressing forward and with our faith, prayers and hard work, we are seeing miracles. It has been amazing!

I wish you all could have been here to see and experience the things I have this week. Prayers have been answered, miracles have been produced and the impossible has been made possible. That’s what happens when you are part of the greatest work that ever was or will be. I know this is the Lord’s work and I am so grateful to be part of it. I’m grateful he’s allowing me to see these miracles and participate in the changing of lives. I can honestly say that this has been THE BEST WEEK OF MY MISSION SO FAR. Every good thing that can happen on the mission, has happened. We are working with the ward, they want to participate in the work, they are seeing we are working by our own efforts and having success and they want to be part of it. They came, they supported, we found, we taught, we baptized and everything in between. I love this gospel with all my heart. I’m so grateful for this work.

I love you all so much. I hope you enjoy this week’s news, the pictures and the spirit. Be strong, be good, hold strong and we’ll talk next week. I love you all more than you know.

Love, Ash

P.S. We are getting washing machines!!!!

A BAPTISM FORTHCOMING...

This week has been insane, not gonna lie. It was Stake Conference week and Stake Conference here is a big deal. General authorities: Elder Arnold and President Da Silva and the temple president all come out for it. So you can imagine, the members here were going crazy in preparation. It’s interesting how people react when a general authority comes along, isn’t it? All week long everyone was cleaning the stake center and decorating. Elder Arnold told everyone to visit the less and inactive families so all the people that we have been working so hard with got visits from the ward. It was amazing. And then all weekend long we’ve been at conference sessions. It’s been crazy.

One thing I can say for sure that we have accomplished here is success with our less actives. It has been so awesome! We found a lady in the street, she said she was already a member and we asked if we could come visit. This was back at the beginning of my transfer with Hermana Laursen. We went and saw her and her husband tried to push us away, saying he didn’t believe in the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. Then we asked for his wife and she let us in. Come to find out they had both been baptized many years ago, went inactive (obviously). It was as if they weren’t even members. They have a daughter who is 8 and needs to be baptized. So we have been working with them. It was rough with them at first. Her husband didn’t want us to come at first, but then we won over his trust. Because of the doctrine we were teaching at one visit, we caused them to argue in a lesson and he left mad. Oops! We felt really bad, but we then had the opportunity to talk with the wife alone about everything. She said she wanted to go back to church as a family, but he refuses. She loves the church and knows it’s true. We said she needs to set the example and take her two little kids to church and later he might follow, but she then realized the importance of going without him. She showed up last week to church. It was awesome. Since then we had decided her daughter will get baptized, even though it won’t count for the mission. It’s technically a ward baptism since they are both members and she’s 8. A visit to Punta.... Ahhh!
Then with Elder Arnold being here we asked the bishop to go visit them and so Elder Arnold sent them over. The husband made some friends, they worked miracles, gave a blessing to their daughter who had major tooth pains and now they all want to come to church and get back. It’s been a miracle in the working, but a miracle nonetheless. The timing worked out so perfect. We are giving them their set of scriptures today as a family. Hermana Hite sent me a Bible and triple combination so we are excited. They came to conference yesterday and it was awesome. Their names are Gladys and Jose. And their kids are Jose and Loana. I will let you know when she gets baptized but, it’s in the hands of the bishop.

In the meantime, Nataly is getting baptized October 29th. We have been trying to get all the youth involved in the program. I hope it goes without flaw. She had a blast listening to Elder Arnold. He is so great, has such a great sense of humor and love about him. Nataly loved it. Conference was energizing and it was great being around so many fantastic leaders. It always is. We got to talk with president a lot and he laid down the law with all the members about missionary work. So did Elder Arnold : ) I hope we can all be better at that. They also talked about the temple a lot which is good. I haven’t been for so long. I can’t wait. Next Tuesday... it’s gonna be awesome.

One thing that has been reiterated to me on the mish… There is so much good in every person. As missionaries, we get to go into the homes and see the hearts of people right off. Whether it be less actives, non-members or members. We see their challenges, efforts and progress each week and we get to watch them overcome them. We rejoice with them when they do. It’s so wonderful. The problem that so often occurs is we, as members, don’t get to see that because we don’t give them the time of day. I encourage all to do so. They are such good people.

I love this gospel. I talked to a convert who said, "Yeah this gospel is good. It’s a part of me." I just stared and said, "This gospel IS me." I love it with all my soul and heart. That’s why I’m here... it’s really hard doing what I am, but I do love it. I love my area. Can you believe I will have been here for a third of my mission when I’m done here? Six months, that’s crazy. Good thing I love it.

I love you all. Be good. Be an example of the believers. I love you sooooo much. Big hugs from me. Until next week... Love, Ash.