Wow! What a week!

 Gotta love El Paso! Check out this magnet we found at Walmart!

On Monday, we had a family night with a wonderful woman, her son, her sister, and their many children! Our pyrotechnic lesson on faith had quite the audience! (Are you wondering what a pyrotechnic lesson on faith is? You'll have to come sit in on a lesson taught by the incredible Sister Klaus, the queen of object lessons!)

On Saturday, we got a chance to witness the baptism of an incredible young lady. She has such a sweet spirit and a lot of faith. We are so happy for her in making this exciting covenant, or promise, with our Father in Heaven. When we are baptized, we demonstrate to God that we are willing to keep his commandments and always remember Christ, His Son. The blessings of baptism include the promise that, when we are righteous, the Holy Spirit can always dwell with us.

This week has been such an exciting one! And it has been filled with simple reminders that the Lord is watching out for us. And if he asks us to do something, no matter how hard it may seem, he will always support us as we strive to accomplish it.

Hope you have a fantastic week!

Two Kinds of Weather!

Well, it has been a great week! It's 80 degrees in El Paso and we're only halfway through spring. You know, I've found that there are only two kinds of weather down here: we get hot, sunny days, and we get dust storms. And when it gets windy and dusty, just hope you're wearing a straight skirt and plan on taking a long shower!

This week, we got to teach a lesson to two families with six kids total, most of them under the age of 8. We talked about the parable of the wise man who built his house on the rock and the foolish man who built his house on the sand. Of course we sang the Primary song, with actions. (If you haven't heard the song, you're missing out!) It reminded me that Christ is our rock, he's the foundation we should build our lives on. Then when the storms of life come (or dust storms, as it were), "they shall have no power over you...because of the rock upon which ye are built." In Helaman 5:12, there is a promise that Christ is a sure foundation, "a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." Wouldn't that be great? To not be able to fall?

As a missionary, we do a lot of praying, as you can imagine. So we were excited to see that a neighborhood down here is actually named Amen Corner.

That's it for this week! Hope you have a lovely day!

The House of the Lord

Yesterday we got to go to the temple in Albuquerque. What a long drive! We left the house at 6:30 in the morning and didn't get back until 10 at night! But it was so worth it. The temple is the house of the Lord, just like the temple of Solomon (in the Old Testament) or the temple of Herod (in the New Testament). Just as in Biblical times, the temple is a place where you can make sacred covenants, or promises, with the Lord. It's also a great place to ponder and pray.

 

 

 

Twice a year, all of the missionaries in the whole mission come to the temple for Missionary Monday. Normally the temple is closed for cleaning every Monday, but on Missionary Monday, workers volunteer to come in and open up the temple for the missionaries. It was so fun (read, spiritual) to have so many missionaries packed in the temple together. Another wonderful thing about the temple is the beautiful flowers that always cover the temple grounds. If you've never wandered through the grounds of a temple, you really ought to. It's a wonderful place to enjoy the beauty of nature and to feel close to God.

 

 

This week, we had the chance to talk about temples with a few of the families we are working with. One couple told us that they are looking forward to being married in the temple. You might wonder, why get married in the temple, rather than some other pretty building? Because when a couple is sealed together in the temple, their marriage is not pronounced, "until death do us part." Instead they are able to be a family, "for time and all eternity." We are so excited to help people prepare to make these sacred covenants, because we know that they will receive so many blessings from Heavenly Father for making him a priority in their family.

 

Well folks! I hope you all have a fantastic week!

RIP Fernando

Well folks, I have some really bad news for you. My cilantro plant, Fernando is dead. That's right. He lived nearly 10 days. Tragic to be taken from this world at such a young age.

But agricultural travesties aside, it's been a great week! This weekend was General Conference, where the prophets and apostles of our day teach us how we can better follow Christ in our lives. People around the world gather in chapels and in their homes to watch the broadcast. Since we watched in Spanish, the parts that stuck out to me most were when they quoted familiar scriptures. And, over and over again, I heard, "Venid a mi," (Come, follow me) and "Venid y ved" (Come and see). Christ's invitation to us is always the same. He invites us to come, to learn of Him, to follow his example. He teaches, inspires, and exhorts. He never forces or coerces, because he values our agency (our ability to choose). And when we do make choices that bring us closer to Him, it brings him so much joy. The best way we can demonstrate our faith in Him, is through our actions, by keeping his commandments and following His example in every way.

Have a wonderful week!

Sunburns and Psalms

 Well, I've never gotten a sunburn in March before! I'm definitely not in Oregon anymore! On Saturday, we had a barbeque at the church - hamburgers, bouncy house, music, lotteria (which is a lot like Bingo)... It was so good to get to meet more members of the ward (or congregation). Sister Klaus and I got so ridiculously sunburned! Check out our classy tan lines!

 

 

Also, here's an El Paso quirk. When you go to someone's home they always offer you a drink, but the water here isn't very good so they'll offer you a water bottle. It's so nice of them because it's hot and we don't want to get dehydrated. But it also means that when we clean the car, we end up with a pile something like this-  

 

 

We've been keeping busy and teaching lots of people this week. In one of my favorite lessons, we talked about a chapter in the Book of Mormon often nicknamed, "The Psalm of Nephi," (2 Nephi 4: 17-35) .  Nephi was a prophet, but at this point in his life, he was having a hard time. His father had just died and his brothers kept trying to kill him (that always puts a damper on my day). Also he's upset with himself for being imperfect. Do we ever get down on ourselves for not living up to the perfect standard we hope to achieve? I know I do. 'The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.' Well, Nephi is feeling pretty down on himself so he pours out his heart to God. God loves us. Each and every one of us is His child. And like any parent, He wants to hear from you, even if you're not sure what to say, Nephi just tells God exactly what he's thinking, how frustrated he is, how much he wants to be a better person. I love to see how, over the course of this prayer, his tone changes. Through prayer, Nephi's heart is comforted and he's given a renewed hope.

 

You should read the Psalm of Nephi and tell me what you think! You know you want to. It's just one page. And what else are you gonna do right now, scroll through your newsfeed? :) http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/4?lang=eng

 

Well, I love being a missionary, sunburn and all. I plan on having a fantastic week this week and I hope you'll do the same!