Tuesday, April 30, 2013

April 30, 2013 - The Week I became a Spanish Missionary

Family!!!
 
This week has been CRAZY. Definitely a week of memories and adventures. We haven't had a dinner calendar since I've been here, but they decided to bring it back this Sunday. This resulted in 3 dinner appointments on Sunday and 3 more on Monday. 6 meals within 36 hours.

Mom. Dad. On Sunday at approximately 3:30 your daughter successfully ate tongue. In a taco. Tacos de lengue. Do you know what tongue tastes like? Cause I do. I ate it all. Actually it's not that bad. You just can't think "I'm eating something that has tasted heaven-knows-what for heaven-knows-how-long" while you're eating it.

So after the tongue incident, we has tamales, tostadas, quesadillas, burritos, abondigas (don't know how to spell it. But it's meatball soup), fish tacos, and hamburgers (THANK HEAVENS FOR THE ONE AMERICAN PERSON WE ATE WITH). And I successfully did it without getting sick. Holla.
 
We had all of these with the 2 other sets of elders in our ward, so it was nice to have others to share the pain with. And as a result there was much district bonding to be had. I love being in a district where everyone is obedient and hard-working, by the way. At our last appointment they all put a chili de arbol on my plate and said that if I didn't eat the thing, I would never be a full-on Mexican missionary. So I did. Cause I'm dumb. And tried not to throw up because I was afraid that it would burn more coming up than it did going down. (TOO MUCH INFORMATION). But I was welcomed into the clan with open arms and many laughs. And many tears of pain on my part.
 
On a less "shake your head cause my daughter is super classy" note, I love teaching about the restoration. There is a particular spirit that is there when you recite the first vision, no matter what language. No matter how crazy the lesson is going, or how loud the kids are, or how many dogs are fighting under your legs, it always goes silent during the part of the lesson where you teach the first vision. I love and live for those moments! Even if they don't accept the message to be true (which happens more often than I would like it to), they can't deny that they felt the spirit when a missionary says "vi una columna de luz.....". There is a power in those words that is undeniable.

Our investigators are having a rough week. None of them kept their commitments and none of them want to come to church. We actually asked one of them named Delores why she kept inviting us over, and she said "I just like you girls. I'm always happy when you are here, because when you are here I don't feel alone". I absolutely love it when they say that, but I don't know if we are accomplishing our purpose at those houses. Dropping investigators breaks my heart. I guess there is a point where you know that they just aren't willing to change, and you have to stop teaching them but I always have problems with deciphering just when that point has been reached.

Cool moment of the week (also a tender mercy for me): Yesterday we were teaching at a couple's house, when I said something in a sing-songy voice (you know, that annoying one....) and the woman said, "Do you sing!?!? Will you sing for us?!" I said that I loved music, so I sang "I am a Child of God". My favorite thing in the world is looking into peoples' eyes when I sing. You just KNOW in those moments that they can feel the spirit. You can always tell, looking into their eyes, when the spirit is working and they are feeling something. That flicker of recognition is like a missionary pay-day. It makes the hard moments so worth it and I can't believe Heavenly Father let me be a part of that experience. They then told me they had three sons they wanted me to marry and asked that I bring them more songs to sing during their next lesson....
 
Sorry this letter is a bit random and not super spiritual. Know that I love you guys more than anything. I love this work. I love these people SO MUCH! I even love the language....

Go aggies:)

Hermana Hess

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

April 23, 2013 - Mexicans have loud laughs!



Hola y'all!
 
It's 100 degrees here. Welcome to the Imperial Valley, family. Welcome.

Honestly, my heart belongs to the Valley. It belongs to the people here and it belongs to the work. I know I say this a lot, but I am continually amazed by how much LOVE my heart can hold now. It's funny how the longer you're on a mission, the more your prayers become about the people you teach and less about you. I love the ward, I love the less actives even thought they don't come to church because they are in Mexicali getting tacos, and I love the investigators even though they aren't progressing because they have visions of their dead husbands telling them they need to go to another church (True stories). I love the 15 other missionaries in our zone, and I love it when we get together every P-day and try to think up of adventures to go on without crossing the border and not being able to come back. I love the language even though I'm riding on an eternal struggle-bus when it comes to speaking it. I love being on a mission. It's hard. It's worth it. Holla.
 
Needless to say it's been a great week! The highlight was meeting the Brillones family. We met them through a member. This family is absolutely beautiful, and come from extraordinarily humble circumstances. When we walked in the door of their little shack there was just mattresses and a little TV on the ground. But the moment I walked in, I immediately felt a "This is one of the reason's why you are here, Sister Hess". This family is struggling. The dad, Saoul, is sick and needs to go on dialysis a few times a week, they have 4 gorgeous kids, one being a brand new baby, and they literally have nothing and are starting to lose hope. I am so excited to teach these people, they already have a huge claim on my heart!
 
We taught a lot this week. The English elders in our area gave us a list of 44 less active hispanic people in their ward to go visit, so we've being doing that for a good chunk of the week. Basically none of the addresses are right so we've taught A LOT of people at the door. It's basically the closest we get to tracting, so it's been a blast. I've started to carry a copy of the Book of Mormon in my hand wherever I go, because I think it's just a shoot-dang good-looking book, which in turn makes me more good-looking and will attract more people to the Gospel.
 
That last part was a joke. But I really do carry one in my hands wherever I go.
 
Yesterday we taught a group of 5 little kids (side note-i love teaching kids.). They're all brothers and sisters and have been passed around by so many people that they don't have a lot of discipline. Right now they are living with their grandparents under a tarp attached to a broken down trailer. These cute kids were yelling and kicking and just being kids to each other (ironically, we were teaching "Love one another"). My favorite part was we asked them if they could do one nice thing for someone else this week. Everyone said "yes" except for one, who said "I'll start tomorrow" and then proceeded to throw something at his little sister. CUTE. Actually, it was really cute, because at the end when I was bearing my testimony, they were all silent. Love them.
 
We had dinner at the ward mission leader's house yesterday. His little brother is an incredibly piano player and we sat down and just talked about Rachmananov and Whitacre and theory. It was so fun to talk music again!! He said that he has a bunch of music he wants to give me, and he wants me to sing in a bunch of ward and stake meetings. YES! It's nice to have my music back!
 
On Sunday, the bishopric told me that I was "Weird, which is refreshing" and that they liked my sense of style and pink shoes and are glad that I am here. I still can't get over how much I love this ward. They are progressing so much and are really starting to own their callings!! On of the youth members actually went to the temple to do baptisms with the stake!!!! MIRACLES!!!!! Oh man!

I started to drive this week. I still get lost all the time.
 
We've taught a lot of the restoration this week at a lot of doorsteps. That is by far my favorite lesson to teach, especially the first vision. The spirit is undeniable, and with a copy of the Book of Mormon in your hand, there is power. The spirit brings power. I pray that whoever we teach will just have the faith the remember the feelings that they felt when the spirit was working through us.
 
Sorry this is a bit of a boring letter. But I love you all with all the love I have in my growing heart! I can't believe that next week is transfers already. Time is flying. Life is good. I love you, my family, more than you know!!
 
Love,
Hermana who sings "Oh what a beautiful morning" at 6:30 AM

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

April 16, 2013 - That one time where a G.A. came to San Diego/preparation precedes the miracle?

Hola familia!!

Can I just say how much I LOVE you guys?? Cause I do. True story.

This week we went to San Diego twice, one for a trainer/trainee meeting and another for Mission Conference. It's a 2 hour drive one way, so we basically lost 2 days of proselyting, which wasn't my favorite, but the meetings were so great that it was worth it! Especially mission conference. Elder Whiting of the Seventy came and he's a really amazing person. He shook every one of our hands and when he asked where I was from and I said "Denver", he exclaimed, "FINALLY, SOMEONE NOT FROM UTAH". We became great friends.

Funny story about mission conference. The week before, our mission president asked us all to write a 5 minute talk on the Doctrine of Christ because Elder Whiting was going to randomly call 3 elders and 2 sisters to share them in the middle of his talk. I kinda (along with the REST OF THE MISSION) forgot about it until after conference started, but didn't really worry about it because "they're not going to call on a brand-new missionary where there are like 200 people here".

Funny joke. Guess who got called on.

When he said "Sister Hess", my heart DROPPED. My only thought was "I AM ABOUT TO SPEAK IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE MISSION, THE MISSION PRESIDENT AND HIS WIFE, A GENERAL AUTHORITY AND HIS WIFE, AND ALL OF THE SENIOR COUPLES AND I FORGOT TO PREPARE A TALK". It was a stressful moment.

So I went up and sat on the stand next to the other 4 missionaries (all of whom were looking a little pale haha) and asked "Ok, Heavenly Father. What can I say to these people who already know significantly more than I do? What can I say that will make them think? What can I say that will bring the spirit, above anything else?". The only thought that came to my head was "Home". We have been given the gospel, because we are HIS. Because he wants us to come home. We have faith, so we know whose we are. We have been given the opportunity to repent so we can stand before Him, when we are finally home, and be welcomed into open arms. We have been commanded to be baptized, so we can make covenants and say "Heavenly Father, I know that I am yours". We receive the gift of the holy ghost so we can feel the love that our Father in Heaven wants us to feel. We are commanded to endure to the end because He, our Father, wants us to be happy and live in a way where we can come Home. 
There are so many other facets about the Doctrine of Christ, but Heavenly Father told me to talk about that. So I did. The other 4 missionaries' talks were completely different from each other too, but combined we were able to share the importance of this Gospel in 5 different ways, somehow creating a big circle of doctrine. It was a major tender mercy, being able to go up and share my testimony and teach about something that means so much to me. I've been pretty down on myself for my lack of ability to speak and share the way I want to, so having that chance to do that was an answer to prayer. It gave me a major boost for the rest of the week and I learned that you don't need to have perfect spanish to effectively teach. Just the Spirit. And hard work. My lessons have been a lot better this week after that experience. Not perfect, but better.

That being said, I am never not preparing again! It worked out perfectly this time, but NEVER AGAIN am I subjecting myself to that kind of terror haha. Preparation preceded the miracle, dad. Dang Straight. (Side note for mom and dad: they WEPT like.........I refrain from finishing that statement in hopes that I won't be judged.)
Because we live so far away, the Mission President gave us special permission to go to the temple. You guys, I seriously have no words for that experience. That temple is the most spectacularly beautiful building I have ever seen. Family reunion post-mission? YES. I thought about you all a lot while I was there and felt your presence really strong. It was good to hang out with the entire fam again!

Funny moment of the week: me and the other sisters contacted a guy at a stoplight the other day in the city. Rolled down the window, gave him a Book of Mormon and a pass-along card, bore our testimonies, and went on our way. All before the light turned green.

Ok, mom. Go buy vocal point's "Lead thou Me on". You don't need to pre-listen to see if it's good. IT'S GOOD. Buy it, then burn me a copy and send it to me:) Their version of Danny Boy and Praise to the Man are LOVELY. Also: Mom, dad, whoever is reading this, if you wanted to send me object lesson ideas for FHEs or shorter lessons, that would be awesome.

The ward keeps getting stronger and stronger!! I'm so proud of them! We had an amazing testimony meeting, and my heart was just filled with love for these amazing people, who don't have much in their lives, but continually strive to serve the Lord in ways that they can.

We are teaching an older woman named Yolanda, and at the beginning of the lesson she said that the church she goes to told her not to have us over anymore. We were pretty bummed, but decided to teach her about the gospel. By the end of the appointment she said, "I don't care what the other church said. You come come over Thursday!" She is the best!
Well, family, I love you! SO MUCH! I hope that all is well and that everyone is so happy. You better be....
 
Love you all with all the love that I have in my heart,

Hermana Hess 

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

April 9, 2013 - D. Todd Christofferson quoted Les Mis!

Family!
 
Wasn't general conference the greatest thing in the History of the World?! I thought so too. I always thought it was funny how missionaries got so excited about conference, but now I definitely understand why haha. It really is the superbowl of missionary work and I soaked up every word that was said! Me and the other sisters were contemplating sneaking into the Priesthood session, but then decided against it. Skirts would look a little out of place.
 
I could name off all my favorite parts, but that would take me forever. Quentin L Cook's was one of my favorites. I've always loved the concept of "peace" because in my mind, it's greater than happiness. In my opinion, peace is when you know you are doing what God needs you to do, and in turn that generates the highest of happiness's (is that grammatically correct?) in one's life. I learned that while I was preparing to serve my mission, and I appreciated that reminder from Elder Cook...
 
I think my all time favorite was Elder Holland. I always love it when he speaks, and this time was no different. He is an incredible example of faith, and I think my all time favorite quote from him was "If your faith is tested, lean on mine." I want that so bad. That perfect faith that is so immeasurable, that I can invite others to lean on it if theirs is waning. I've learned that since being on a mission, faith needs to be obtained individually. I can't give them some of mine, or let them lean on it no matter how much I want them to. They need to find it and experience it for themselves. What an amazing calling that I am able to have, that I get to help them find it and realize the joy that faith in their Heavenly Father and Savior brings to their lives.
 
Dad, I think you and D. Todd have the same tie.
 
This week was awesome! We went on exchanges and the Sister I went with is leaving this next transfer, so she definitely has a "fire" about her. We ended up finding 4 new investigators that day and 2 of them committed to baptism. (Although after one of them said "yes" she started talking about how the ghost of her deceased husband visits her nightly, and she'll have to ask for his permission.) Yep. It was SUCH a good day. Missionary work is the best!
 
Cool moment of the week. We were in a lesson with an investigator and she was having a really hard time believing what we were saying and feeling the spirit. Then your letter came into my mind, mom. The one where you mentioned singing your testimony. Heavenly Father said "Sing 'I am a Child of God', Sister Hess!" So I did. I invited her to listen to the words. After I finished she had tears in her eyes. It was a cool moment and I'm stoked that she felt the spirit so strong. I feel very blessed that Heavenly Father gave me that chance.
 
I LOVE working with members! Man. We have the awesome chance to work with tons of less-actives, and the best feeling that I've experienced so far is seeing that flicker of "oh yeah, that's why I joined the church" come alight in their eyes. We are gaining the trust of our ward and they are incredible about giving us referrals. Especially with the youth. Mom and dad I now know why you love working with and serving the youth so much!! They are so solid in the gospel! I just want to say, "KEEP GOING. YOU'RE DOING GREAT" to the three active ones in our ward. They're the best!
 
We have mission conference on Friday and another meeting on Wednesday, so we are going to San Diego twice this week (ROAD TRIIIP. Bustin out to MOTAB!!). Our ZL's gave us special permission to go to the temple on Friday because here in the Valley we never get to go with the mission when they go every 3 months. I AM SO EXCITED.
 
Want to know another favorite quote from conference? Falabellas "A child who sings is a happy child". Dang straight.
 
We hear the famous "And this is My work and My glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" scripture all the time. I always blew it off as another scripture mastery to memorize. But during personal study last week as I was reflecting on what I wanted my mission to be, it became something totally different. I re-wrote the scripture in my mind (I don't know if I'm allowed to do that. Did it anyway.).
 
This is My work, and His glory.
 
This is my work, to go find these beloved sons and daughters of God and bring them home. It's amazing how personal it becomes, when you realize that God trusts you enough to go find His children and remind them of who they are. It's incredible to go about the business of reminding. Not converting. Reminding. I didn't realize how personal it became until we had to drop an investigator, and it broke my heart. Funny how the Lord changes your heart, and allows it to hold more love than you ever thought it could.
 
Missionary work is cool. Loving this much is cool. Singing "Oh what a beautiful morning!" at 6:30 in the morning is cool.
 
I love you!! With all of the constantly-growing love I have in my heart!
 
Hermana Hess

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

April 2, 2013 - Donuts, Chinese Food, and Pitbulls

Familia!!
 
Mexicans are obsessed with donuts. And Chinese food. There are restaurants solely for Donuts and Chinese food. I don't get it.
 
Hola from El Centro! It's currently 100 degrees here and the palm trees are waving in the breeze. I don't know why there are palm trees, because we're smack dab in the middle of the desert, but they exist.
 
Missionary work here in the Valley is a bit different from other areas in the mission. We work mostly with the ward members and less actives/recent converts. At first that really surprised me. We have a very small ward (100 people on REALLY GOOD Sundays), but there are 6 missionaries assigned to it. When I got here I couldn't believe that there were 3 companionships in one ward, but now I definitely know why. The bishops wife passed away just in September, and he is struggling with his health as well. He carries a very large burden, and has no one to delegate responsibilities to. The ward members don't know how to operate a ward (it's relatively newer) and there is a lack of leadership, so a lot of the responsibilities get passed to the missionaries. We get to do a lot of the behind-the-scenes work in the ward and our goal to help it get off its feet and start involving the members in leadership positions. The people here are incredible-they just don't know what to do, they've never had a strong example. So we get to help them out. It's stressful, and some members don't like being led by a couple of gringo teenagers, but my love for the people has grown so much as a result. I can't wait to see what happens in a few months! So we teach a lot of members and less-actives. Me and my companion have 7 investigators that we are working with right now. Our main goal is to get them to CHURCH, but they all leave on the weekends for Mexicali (the city right across the border). Mexicali is our greatest enemy. Family is super important to the Mexican culture, so very few people actually go to church because they spend their Sundays with them. I hate Mexicali.....hah.
We had zone conference on Wednesday, which I LOVED. Our mission president is just a shoot-dang cool guy. He started off the meeting by saying "I only send the strongest to the Valley. You guys can take it". At about that point I started laughing. I'm definitely NOT a strong missionary. I actually think I'm the comic relief of the ward, the members laugh at me a lot...But if I can make them smile, I consider it a job well done. It really made me respect the missionaries in my zone, and made me very grateful for the opportunity to be learning from these incredible people.
 
Mexicans don't eat with utensils. The universal utensil is the tortilla. And homemade tortillas are GOOD.
 
Success of the week:I ate refried beans without throwing up. Good week. I am going to have to get used to beans being a staple, here. Heavens have mercy upon my soul.
 
Whenever we ask an investigator to come to Church, they always say, "Si Dios Quiere" (If God Wants). I've learned that this means "No". It's a tad frustrating. We're working on it.
 
We taught a woman named Lorena on Sunday, and while we were teaching on her front porch, her two pit bulls began to fight right underneath my chair. I thought I was going to die.
 
YOU GUYS. GENERAL CONFERENCE IS THIS WEEK. IT'S LIKE CHRISTMAS. I wonder is our Prophet will drop any more bombs this weekend.....
 
This is hard. Missionary work is hard. It's frustrating, and at times it's heartbreaking, but it's worth it. Heavenly Father has given me a lot of tender mercies these past 2 weeks. Yesterday I taught the entire restoration, all in Spanish, and saw that tiny flicker of the light of Christ enter into a man's eyes as he listened to the first vision. That one single moment made all the hard and frustrating things that has happened this past week worth it. Missionary work is worth it! I treasure that experience, and I draw great strength from it.
 
Hey family, thank you for your prayers. I feel them every single moment of every single day, and there have been times where that's what keeps me going to the next house. I feel you surrounding me constantly!
 
I have no words to describe my love for the Savior. He's given and shown me a lot of grace. I couldn't do this without Him.
Being Here Is Worth It.
 
All the love that I have in my heart, I send to you.
 
Hermana Hess