Happy Halloween!!!
Hi from Costa Rica. I hope that everyone has a great Halloween. They do not celebrate Halloween here so our district put me in charge of coming up with an activity to celebrate. Our cook said that he would make something..."Halloweeny" and we said we can share scary stories or scary movies.I have no idea what "Halloweeny" kind of meal we will have....my guess...something with rice and beans! haha Everyone is being so nice about it. For Christmas, we have so many families in the ward and investigators that want us to come to their homes to celebrate Christmas. There is a lady here that really wants me to teach her how to make an apple pie....help!!!! I need a recipe???? We are in such a wonderful area. I think that I am going to stay in this area until January or February. At first I wanted to be transferred more often - so I can see more of Costa Rica - but really, the ward members are so awesome and we love our investigators. I am starting to find my nitch here. I love the weather here right now. It is not super hot. Yeah, it rains a lot but I love the rain and not the heat...Plus, no sunburns haha...ok...maybe I did get burned...bad one day, but I didn't want to tell you that. haha.
We had another earthquake - yep- felt it pretty strong but it happens so much that it doesn't phase me anymore. It's just a shake and nothing more. We do live by a volcano in the mountain area by our home. It is absolutely beautiful when we wake up and the clouds are so low over the mountains. It's literally like a jungle up there. We aren't allowed to go hiking because it is not safe for missionaries. Both men and women work in this area. Kids go to school - sometimes part day in the morning then the next day they go in the afternoon. At one school kids learn English and another French and another Italian. In collegio (high school) kids can learn all. I'm teaching a few kids English here.
As for an update on people we are teaching:
We generally go from home to home and we let the people know that we would love to bless their home and pray with them. So many invite us in and we explain who we are. Our zone had 57 new investigators this last week. It doesn't mean that we will always have that many people that continue to listen to our lessons - but we have made a great deal of progress. Heavenly Father has been so good to us and our area. This week, we are going to go help another district that is struggling. Their ward is also struggling. Actually, I think that it is smaller than a ward or congregation - it might be considered a branch. We are working with a lot of inactives in all of our areas.
We were able to visit the temple with one of our families. The temple president spoke to them and explained the purpose of temples and what takes place there. They loved it. The lady said that her father had died and she always wondered where he is and whether she will ever see him again. We talked about families being eternal and that there is life after death - and Heavenly Father loves his children and that she would have the opportunity to see her father again. We have another one that she wants to be baptized but her boyfriend is not as interested. We have another investigator that has talked to her friends who hate Mormons and is trying to discourage her from listening to us. We have another one that loves the things we have been teaching. She loves to hear our lessons. We have been teaching a person who has had problems with drugs and alcohol. They might be selling drugs too - we aren't sure. We saw him for a second lesson. He asked us to smell him - he said that he hadn't been drinking or taking drugs. We have had many interesting experiences.
Funny Story: we were teaching two families... a referral of a member family in our ward. They made dinner for us...so nice!!!! I was putting hot sauce on my food for flavor when I looked up and saw that everyone was listening to the head of the house praying for the food. I didn't even realize that he was praying. Wow, I know Spanish!!!! Yikes!!!! I wanted to bust up laughing, but had to keep it in. Did not even know they were saying a prayer. Note to self: Study more Spanish!!!! Actually, many people say that my Spanish is coming and I just keep on working at it every day. It is interesting that again, when it is something important that I need to say - the Spanish comes quickly. My mouth just opens and words come out. It happens when I bear my testimony of various things. I am able to just say things and conjugate it all. I can read Spanish and understand it. I can almost understand the fast talkers. But the language is really coming along. No mishaps like last week. I have been helping teach English - to our district, my companion and a few people in the area - a lot of people want to know English - for better pay! I have had so many wonderful opportunities. Heavenly Father has helped me every day. I love you all - I pray for everyone. I do miss you all. Love, Hermana Jones
No comments:
Post a Comment