Earthquakes and Good Weeks

Buenos tardes mi familia! Como estan?! Como esta la clima en Utah?

This week was SOO good!!! I don't feel like I have had a week like this in a long time. I was super excited when I had learned about being transferred but at the same time I was really sad. Honestly, I was having a mini pitty-party and was thinking that I hadn't helped anyone in that area and that nobody was going to really notice that I had gotten transferred. I know that isn't important but I was a little sad. That night however Heavenly Father heard my little prayers. For some reason we randomly had a dinner that night. (Usually we don't have members feed us on Monday nights) We ate with Hermana Valdez who I like a lot and when we told her that I was leaving she looked super upset. Then, she started to cry. She kept saying how we were the first missionaries that actually made her feel important. That we cared about what she had to say and even went out of our way to say hello to her. She then told me that whenever I want to come back, with family or by myself, she has several open rooms awaiting me. My heart was filled with such extreme gratitude and love. Even when we are a little sad, especially when it seems like something small, Heavenly Father shows us that he cares about us and that He does love us. 

It was really hard to say goodbye the people that I had been serving with for the past 4 months but now I am in Fontana and I am loving it!! My companion is Hermana Buttars. She is from Garland Utah, she is 19, a hard worker, and has been out for about 6 months. I love her so much! She is really dedicated to her work and has taught me so much about "leaving it all on the field." I have never been so tired but I also think that I have never been so happy! We have spent a lot of time trying to get to know people and teaching. We teach really well together. This area is super great! We have a lot of Recent Converts that we are working with and investigators as well. Surprisingly enough, most of the investigators that we have right now are youth! mostly from the ages of 15-30. It has been so wonderful to see that this age group has taken a stand and decided that what they want to do right now, is to have a relationship with God. I wish I had been better at everything like reading my scriptures and such at that age! 

Fun fact! On Friday morning at about 5:50 I work up to a HUGE clang!! It didn't surprise me because we live right next to the train tracks and there are always trains passing by.... but then I noticed that everything was shaking! It didn't last very long but I finally felt my first earthquake. It wasn't bad and it left just as quickly as it had started but it was kind of fun.

I hope you all know how much I love this mission. Even though it is hard, exhausting, frustrating, etc, it is honestly one of the most fulfilling things that I have ever done. It makes it so much easier to look back and see how much God has been able to work through me than to look back and realize that I just wasted my day away. As I have become aware that this is the Lords time and have strived to dedicate all this time to Him, I have noticed so many miracles, so much love, happiness, and joy! The Gospel really just brings us blessings. I wish more people could realize that. I am here trying to help them know that there is hope and that God loves them. I wish I could do this forever. 

Thank you so much for everything. I love you all, I love the Lord, and I love serving. 

Love always,

Hermana Morey

Transferred!

Buenos dias!!! 

Como estan todos? Ojala que bien! This week has FLOWN by!!! It was kind of crazy because the weather was amazing. On Saturday we woke up and went to exercise and it was so extremely humid. That whole day it just rained. When I say rain, I mean, it would feel perfectly fine and then a second later it would be pouring! The roads here aren't built for rain so there was a lot of flooding and several points were we were worried about our car! Fortunately both we and the car are okay. That being said, the past couple days have been in the low 80s and I think that is a miracle in and of itself! 

This week was also a good week for seeing people. We were able to meet a couple of new investigators and several less-active families that we have never seen before. One of these visits to a  less active family had a big effect on me. I found there teaching record in the area book while we were transferring information to the iPads and they looked like a very promising family. We decided to stop by and see them and not only were they home, but they invited us in. We were so excited!! We went in and sat down. Now, everything in the house was dark. There were blankets over the windows to keep the sun out, everything was a mess, and there was a complete absence of the spirit. We talked to the Hermana for a little bit and she finally told us that she wasn't interested in coming back to church or even having us stop by. She was super nice about it so that wasn't a big deal. While I was sitting in the house I could feel my energy draining away. When Hermana Jimenez and I got back in the car we felt so exhausted that we couldn't even move for a couple minutes. We talked about what we had felt while we were there and then we realized that these people were literally living in darkness. Spiritual darkness and even physical darkness. The darkness of sin can literally drain away our energy while light encourages us to keep going and to keep trying to be better. It was really interesting to see how as we keep the commandments we will have light. We will have the spirit and a desire to keep bettering ourselves. 

On a happier note, we had a great lesson with Teresa this week. We watched Finding Faith in Christ and talked about the importance of acting on our faith. She really liked it. She said that she would go to church on Sunday and that she wants to be baptized just wants to learn more first. That is good! Unfortunately she did not come to church on Sunday. She got ready and everything  but her friend didn't pick her up and didn't answer her phone so she couldn't make it. We visited her after to see if everything was okay and while she was disappointed to have not been able to make it she has a stronger desire to make it next week. We are trying to find another ride for her. She is progressing and I am going to miss her.

I forgot to mention, I am getting transferred!!! I have learned how to tell if I am getting transferred or not. If I feel like I am going to get moved.... I won't. If I feel like I will stay.... I won't. So.... not only am I leaving this dear little area in Indio.... but I am getting moved up to FONTANTA!!!! That is on the complete other side of the mission! It is one of the coolest areas in our mission and it is the very tip of our mission. I was shocked! My new companion is going to be Hermana Butters. I don't know her at all but I am excited to get to know her because I have heard amazing things about her! I have a feeling that I won't get moved back down to the desert since I don't have much time left and I will honestly miss it. Everything is just a lot more relaxed down here. I also finally felt like I got the hang of things! Maybe that is why I am getting moved.

Last thing, I got a call on Saturday asking me to play the piano in Sacrament meeting! So I did. :) I was also asked last minute to play in a baptism yesterday night. Those piano lessons are really paying off! I also am not as shy about playing anymore. That is really good! 

Thank you all so much for the letters, emails, and prayers that you are all sending my way. I love you all so very much!!! I appreciate everything that you do for me. I hope and pray that you are doing well. Thank you so much for everything!!!!

Love,

Hermana Morey

Epiphanies

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello! How are you doing?! How was your week? I hope you are all doing well! This week was a really interesting week. I would like to thank you all for your emails asking about Cecilio and him baptism. Unfortunately it did not happen. I went on Exchanges on Tuesday afternoon and I left the area, while I was gone they went to see Cecilio and Bertha, his caretaker, and she was really not interesting in learning more. She doesn't like our church any more and says that it is too strict and that we ask too much of people. She doesn't want to have to be perfect. They tried explaining that we don't have to be perfect but she did not want to listen. When we stopped by on Wednesday evening Cecilio said that he will not be baptized until Bertha is baptized and I am not sure if that will ever happen. We were so sad about that. I was annoyed because when I went on Wednesday Bertha was acting super interested and like she was the perfect investigator. However, whenever we stop by without a member she is really rude to us. So, in the end we decided to give them a break. We will stop by in a couple weeks or so but hopefully they can feel the difference of the spirit that we bring and notice what it feels like when it isn't there. We are still praying for them.

On the up side... we got a new investigator!!! She called us last Sunday and asked us to stop by. She had gone to an English ward even though she didn't speak English and wanted to learn more. The missionaries gave her our number and we stopped by on Monday. She is amazing. I feel like I say that every time but this time it is true. She is reading the Book of Mormon, praying about what we teach, trying to come to church, and even re-reading the pamphlets that we give her! She says she wants to get baptized and after we explained that we need to teach her first she got excited and asked if we could come over twice a week. Her named in Teresa. She is a little older and is a cancer survivor. We are taking it a little slow so that we don't have the same thing happen as Cecilio. 

As I mentioned earlier this week I went on Exchanges! I went to Palm Springs with Sister Dalton who is brand new in the mission. She is super fun! She is 6ft tall which is a big difference from the 4ft 11in of Hermana Jimenez. We are really similar and she helped me figure out some of the things that I have been worried about recently. We had a really good lesson with one of their investigators and we taught really well together. After that we had another lesson with an ex-member who wants to come back. It was rough. He kept talking and I felt super uncomfortable. I finally decided to take charge of the lesson and it worked for a little bit until I mentioned that as he acted on the invitations that we leave he will have a desire to be baptized. He got super mad at me and said that I was just assuming that he didn't want to get baptized, that I was falsely accusing him, and how terrible I was. I was stunned. For some reason it just made me frustrated so we hurried and ended the lesson and left. Wow. It was a little bit of a struggle but the rest of everything went well. I loved the exchange and I learned a lot from Sister Dalton. 

This week Hermana Jimenez and I had an epiphany. We were having Companionship Inventory when we started talking about how we both felt like terrible missionaries. That isn't because we are doing anything wrong, but because nobody has told us that we are doing a good job. We keep hearing things that we are doing wrong so the missionaries have all started judging themselves really harshly. As the conversation continued we found out the whole problem of what is lacking from the missionary work here and also the problem for just about anything in the world! it is a lack of LOVE. Now, before you all think that I am crazy and that I belong in the 70's let me explain. We realized that as we feel loved, we become less critical and then we have the power to act. If an investigator doesn't have that strong love for God, he isn't going to want to change. If a missionary doesn't feel loved they become self-critical and unhappy. When government leaders have a genuine love for the people they act out of love for what would be best for the people that they serve. When we feel loved we become happier and better! Also, as we feel loved we strive to help those around us feel that love.  I don't know if I am explaining this very well. But the answer is literally always love! Didn't Dumbledore say that in Harry Potter? We focus on it so often that we forget about it. It truly is important to help others feel loved so that they have a desire to improve and don't just tear themselves down. We are working on applying this in our missionary work and with other missionaries in our mission. Just helping them feel loved!

I hope that you all had a good week. I love you all so much and I am so grateful for this time that I have to be serving the Lord.  This is such an amazing experience and even though the work is a little slow, I am loving it. Thank you so much for your prayers and letters. I really appreciate them!

Love,

Hermana Clarissa Morey

The Person I Want to Be

Buenos Dias!!!!!!

Como estan? I hope everything is going well with all of you. I hope that you all enjoyed a wonderful 4th of July especially to those who have been out of the country for the past couple years. Did Sariah enjoy the fireworks? I think it is really fun that I was in California for the past two, last year to visit James, and this year as a missionary!

This week has been really good! On Monday we started teaching Cecilio. He is a 94 year-old man. He is the sweetest person in the world. He has such a strong desire to get baptized before he has to pass on to the next life. We talked to President Van Cott and he said that we can change a couple of the rules for him as long as he is in compliance with Doctrine and Covenants section 20. We really just changed the fact that he won't have to come to church the full 3 times before he gets baptized. His baptism is scheduled for this coming Sunday! He came to church yesterday and he really liked it. Everyone was really nice and came and introduced themselves. When we taught him about the word of wisdom he just said "I only drink water!" So we are really excited for him. He is very sick and we aren't sure how much longer he will live but I know that he has a sincere desire to follow the savior. Yesterday he looked at us sadly and asked if it was too late for him to get baptized because he had waited this long. We explained to him that it wasn't and that God is proud of him for making the decision now. I love him so much and we are so excited for this weekend. Please pray for him! We have a member named Suzanna who is an amazing help. She is a registered nurse and is the person who introduced us to Cecilio. She is amazing!!! She will do anything for the people she is trying to help bring into the gospel. She came to our ward so that she could be with them so that they would know someone. She is always willing to share her testimony and to encourage them to keep progressing. She has done so much for us and it showed me that I hope to be a lot like her when I go home! She was introducing Cecilio and Bertha to everyone! It was perfect.  

Other than that most of our investigators aren't progressing. We have Bertha who takes care of Cecilio who also came to church yesterday. She really feels the spirit when we are teaching her and when she came to church but sometimes just doesn't feel like acting on it. It is sad but we know that as she realized the importance of following Christ she will feel the happiness that she is searching for.

This week I have really learned about the type of person I want to be when I go home. I have noticed that over the past 13 months I have learned so much about people and have seen good and bad qualities. I just want the Lord to know that I love Him and that he will always come in first place. Hermana Jimenez and I were talking about this yesterday. There are so many things that we put in front of God without even meaning to. Some of that is in keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. I am so excited for when I go home and can try my best to show Heavenly Father that I love him.

I hope that you all had a wonderful week. I thank you all for your letters, your emails, your prayers, and so much more! I am so grateful for all that you do for me. Have a wonderful week and know that I love you!

Love,

Hermana Morey