Match Maker

January 5, 2014

Hola Mamacita!

Our zone really didn't change that much at all. We lost 3 members of our zone during transfers: Hna Burke, Elder Wilson (one of our Cambodian DLs), and Elder Van Leeuwen, who had been here for 4 transfers. It was sad to see them go, but they all needed to leave, they'd been here for 3 or 4 transfers :P To replace them we have Hna Bowen, Elder F (he's Polynesian), and a trainee from the MTC. So our Cambodian DL is training! His trainee is actually a visa waiter for Brasil. I think he's going somewhere south because I told him Avram went to Curitiba and he knew where that was. So that's probably pretty fun, a Cambodian and a Brazilian doing English/Cambodian work! Then we also added the Marshallese/Tongan/Liahona Elders to our zone (they used to be in South Sac). It's really not as different as I thought it would be. We already saw the Marshallese Elders a lot because whenever we had a baptism or something, they would be having some kind of party at the church. The Polynesians love their parties! and their food! They were having an Eagle Scout thing and they had cooked pigs sitting in the kitchen. Haha they're fun. 

I think by far one of my favorite things about this area is that it is so diverse! In our stake/zone, we have English, Spanish, Cambodian, Hmong, Tongan, Marshallese, and there's a Vietnamese guy that always comes to our Spanish congregation. It's really cool how the church has missionaries all over the world, and yet even in places like this we still try to find a way to preach to everyone in their own language. It's really beautiful. 

Hna Bowen is super awesome! She is super enthusiastic about the work and therefore I'm super enthusiastic about the work! not that I ever wasn't :P She is from Farmington Utah (pretty far from Fruit Heights, right?) and she just hit her 7 month mark yesterday. So she is two transfers ahead of me. She really likes to clean. Haha the first day she was with me, all we did was clean before we had to have a zone activity for the New Year’s Eve. I think that's pretty cool, cleanliness is next to Godliness! I am learning a ton from Hna. Bowen. She's my follow-up trainer, but I kind of feel like she's a little more like a trainer and that my training got postponed a little bit. Haha I love Hna Burke, but I think we can both agree that we had no idea what we were doing last transfer. :P I know the Lord was helping us and we couldn't have done it if we didn't have such great support from the ward and our zone. Our baptisms last month were not because we were good missionaries, but rather because the Lord wanted it to happen and he made it possible through us. I think I'm starting to get a better idea of what I am doing and how I can help this area improve. I'm really glad that Hna. Bowen is my companion because I know she is going to help me learn so much this transfer. She said her area in East Sac was hard and after every lesson we have here, she just gets so excited because of all the people that have so much potential and are so willing to increase their faith. Our area has so much work! It's fantastic! Yesterday we had a lesson with a member and the father of her children that she has been living with for a long time. It was really neat because a lot of missionaries have tried to teach them, but weren't able to progress because the father was not willing to talk about marriage. But yesterday we invited him to be baptized (and possibly married) on February 14th and he said, "I can't because we're not married." But after talking with them a little longer we could tell that the member wanted to get married so bad because she knew that what she was doing was not right and that she wanted to change. They didn't commit to anything, but they told us without us asking that they would pray and that they would talk about whether it was something they needed to do. Then we had him pray and it was such a sweet prayer. He said he was grateful for his family and his "future wife". That got us so excited! Haha I have so much hope for them! I think it's neat that so far all of my baptisms have been linked with weddings. I feel like we're match makers or something! I love this work! I love Hna. Bowen because she is really helping me to understand what missionary work is all about! It is exhausting, but it is so rewarding!  

I hope all is going well in Utah and that it's not too cold. Haha I forgot that California gets cold, all I remembered was the heat in the summer and some rain in the winter :) How are you doing on your temple goal? I remember you set some goals for while I'm on the mission.

I love-a-love-a-love-a-you!

Para Siempre Dios este con Vos

Con Amor,

Hermana Twitchell