Following the Spirit

Buenos dias!!! Como estan? Como fue su semana?

So... where did August go? I feel like it is still June. I feel like I say that every week but time just seems to keep getting faster and faster. I can't believe that today I hit my 15 month mark and that I will fly home in just 3 months. Didn't I just get here? I feel like there is so much to do before then!

Before I forget.... I will NOT  be emailing next week!!! We are having a mission conference with Elder Gay so our P-day got moved to THIS Saturday. So I will have 2 preparations days this week and none next week. I feel like I am back in the MTC. Do you remember how weird that schedule was? I just wanted to remind you so that you can email for Saturday. :)

This week has been a really good week! I feel like I have learned and grown so much. I get a lot of questions on how I am doing and how is my companion. She is wonderful. Seriously, she is one of my favorites. We both just try and find ways to serve each other and it gets a little crazy sometimes. For example, I have made it a habit to get make her bed all ready before she goes to bed, I have time because she always showers at night. However, last week she did mine for me. So, last night I unmade them both and then quickly went to grab something. When I walked back in I was surprised to see that she had actually made my bed. As in, how I would make in the morning. For some reason it was so extremely funny that we laughed for a good ten minutes. I think she really enjoyed the look of confusion on my face. I love her so much and really hope that we get to spend another transfer together. She is a great missionary and she has taught me so much about making sure we use our time 100% effectively. I can't even express in words how much I have loved this transfer.

This week I have also learned a lot about listening to the spirit. There have been several times when I have felt the need to do something and then talked myself out of it.... and then things went really badly. For example. We have one investigator named Jesus. He is 25 and he is super smart and really nice. However, he is addicted to Alcohol. When I first met him he was drunk for about 2 weeks. It was really sad. However, he completely turned around decided to build up his life and then... Friday. We decided to stop by and visit him on Friday and he wasn't there. So we called him to make sure he wasn't there before we left, he answered and sounded nervous and said that he was with his "homeboys." That didn't sound good. I had a very strong feeling to say "Jesus, DON"T DO IT!!!" However, I told myself, he is doing well, he would get super offended if I said that... etc. So, I didn't say any of it. The next day he called us SUPER drunk. I was so upset with myself. We saw him that night and he was a little better and I had a good talk with him. I could feel the love that the savior has for him and then I felt that God was disappointed in me for not following a prompting. I felt terrible. Then yesterday, we had an appointment with Aileen and Natalie. We confirmed it, we were super excited. So, Aileen is 17 and wants to get baptized, Natalie is 15 and doesn't like mormons. She is super nice to us but doesn't want to listen, their mom is a recent convert. Yesterday we got a text from Natalie saying that they weren't going to be home so we shouldn't show up. (Usually she is super nice so we didn't think anything of it.) We both had a feeling that we should text the mom and make sure but we talked ourseves out of it by saying, they would be offended that we are doubting Natalie, etc. At 8:45, over an HOUR after our appointment the mom called and asked why we didn't show up. I felt terrible. I couldn't believe that I had ignored 2 major promptings of the spirit. Last night I prayed for so long pleading for forgiveness and I realized that I had my President Monson moment and committed myself to never ignore a prompting no matter how bold, or weird it may be. 

Yesterday was also good because we had a lesson with Marisol and Melissa. They are 21 and 17 and they are the BEST!!!! They are so interested in learning and they are the most prepeared people that I have ever met. I love them so much. They listen sincerely, they pray sincerely, and they believe that this is true. I have never felt the spirit so strongly in a lesson in my whole mission. I love knowing that God and his angels are preparing the people before we even talk to them. I know that there are so many people helping us on the other side that I feel God loves so often in the mission. I can't explain it but it is the best feeling in the whole world!!! I wish everyone could feel this way. I just feel so good!!!!

I am sorry this is a little long and I ranted a little bit. I hope it helped you as much as it helped me! I love this Gospel. I know that it is true and that it is the only way that we can have lasting happiness. I am so excited to keep learning and doing the work of my master. 

I hope you all had a wonderful week. if there is ANYTHING that I can do for you please let me know!!! I send all of my love from here in SoCal!!

Love always,

Hermanita Morey

Zone Champion

Malo e lelei!!!

Yes, I speak Tongan. Didn't you know? Fefe hake?  How are you doing?! I can't believe that August is already half way over! You probably didn't knotice but I accidentally typed in May and then caught my mistake and fixed it.. awkward! 

This week has been really really good! To start out, I went on Exchanges and I got to go to the Tongan ward with Sister Peterson! It was a blast. Everyone was super nice and I learned how to say a couple phrases in Tongan. I am super not good at them but it was fun. I also got to try Lamb. I think the best part though was the fact that we got to leave the mission boundaries! Since the Tongan area is HUGE it covers up to Moreno Valley. I never thought it would be so exciting to leave the area but Riverside is pretty nice.  It was an exchange full of experiences. Sister Peterson is one of the most loving people that I have ever met and is really good at making everyone feel loved and that she is genuinely interested in you. I really need to work on that!

Also, today we had a really fun P-Day. We get to play Zone sports once a transfer and we did that today! This was my first time because my other zones haven't done it. We played soccer outside but it was too hot so we went into the Stake Center and played Chair soccer. It was so much fun! We were all just running around and laughing. It was good exercise! I am also please to announce that the last two people in were my companion and I and she let me win. :) She is the best. I love her so much! so now I can say that I am the Zone Champion at chair soccer. 

This week we had a mini missionary for a day! It was a last minute thing but on Tuesday night our roommates got home and told us that we would be having one of President Van Cott's niece come out with us on a day long "mini-mission." Her name was Adria. She is from Utah and is 17 years old. She came and did studies with us and then came to a couple lessons. it was a lot of fun to have her and we really hope that she enjoyed her experience... It was a little odd having her because she was in jeans and was really shy so she didn't talk much. However, she was a really good sport about everything and made it a fun day.

This week has been my miracle week. I have been praying very hard that we might be able to find people to teach and in one day we found 3 people who live on one street who have all been prepared by the Lord. We had great conversations with them and even though they said that they aren't interested right now, I know we made a difference in their lives. All of them were super friendly and told us to come back whenever we wanted. It was amazing because it showed me that the Lord really does have control of His work. Things don't happen in my timetable... but in His. Doesn't that make more sense? Why do I always want things to happen in my time?! 

Also, our investigators area progressing really well!!! We have an investigator named Bishop who is 17 and not religious at all. however, this week he was really able to notice how the Lord has been preparing him to accept the gospel and be baptized even though his family makes fun of him for being religious. Another investigator named Aileen had a dream that she and her sister died. They went to the other world and got a card. They were super happy because they got the same card until they saw that everyone else around them had a magical card. They had something that Aileen didn't. Unfortunately in her dream she had to go to what she thought was Hell. She woke up super scared and had a very strong feeling that she needed to work harder to find out if our church is true or not. Now she is reading the Book of Mormon, praying daily, coming to church, etc. She wants to get baptized but is worried because she knows her extended family will make fun of her.

I am so extremely grateful for a family that supports and loves me. I can't even imagine going through what they are going through. They are youth but they are so much stronger than I am. We are really trying to help them notice the answers to their prayers and helping them recognize the spirit. This work is amazing!!!! There is really nothing else that I would rather be doing right now. I would wish that it were 20 degrees colder... but I can live with this.

Ofa Lahi Atu! I love you all so very much. I hope you know that I know that this church is true. I would not still be here if it wasn't. I hope that you all have a wonderful week! You are all such great examples to me. :)

Happy Birthday Zack!!! I hope you have a great day!!! I know it isn't until Sunday... but... I get to be the first to say it!!!

Love always,

Hermana Clarissa Morey

Menudo

Hello family and friends!!

How are you on this beautiful August afternoon? Happy birthday mom!!! I hope that you are having a wonderful day and that you get plenty of "Love mom time" from the girls. 

This week has been really good! It has been a little hard but overall it has gone well. We have continued trying to contact people and we even almost had luck with one of them! She invited us back and then found out that we were LDS not Christian, and then didn't want us to come over. We talked to her for a little bit about our religion and she basically called us false prophets. For some reason I wasn't mad, or upset. Just sad. I was sad because she was so nice and I wanted her to be able to have the gospel in her life. I felt sad that she was turning it down. 

This week we had some really good food. We had Papusas, sopes, and Seviche. Seviche is a dish where they cut up shrip, and other fish, and cook it in lemon. then they mix it with cucumbers, onions, cilantro, tapatio sauce, etc. It is SO good!!!! It is one of my favorite things that we eat over here. I need to learn to make Mexican food. 

So, fun experience of the week.... Actually I wouldn't use the world fun for this one... In spanish the phrase "a menudo" means often. However, the word Menudo means a soup with boiled cow stomach in broth. I was super excited because I had made it through my WHOLE mission without eating it. Most people understand that we don't like food like that, however, yesterday was when it all changed when a bowl of menudo was placed in front of me. So, one thing I have learned in the mission is that you eat everything whether it was good or not. However, it was the worst thing I have ever eaten. I would rather sit there with everyone putting there feet all over me than to try and eat it again. I think the texture was the worst part. One side of it was fuzzy, almost like tongue. Ugh. It was the only time that I didn't eat most of it. I did try, but in the end it just made me throw up. I felt so bad! We told the story to some members and they just laughed and laughed! It is really funny to look back on! Hermana Buttars couldn't even try a piece of it. It is super funny now. :)

We need people to teach. That was the theme of the week. Some of our investigators asked us to stop coming, others just aren't progressing, etc. We are working so hard to find people to teach. Some people may think that is because we want more baptisms. that is not true. We want others to be able to have the happiness that we have seen in our life. That has been something that has really stood out to me this week. We aren't here to tell people that they are wrong, and that we are right. We just testify to them of what we have done, and felt, and that we know is true. We literally just try and guide them to be able to have their own personal relationship with God. That is the most important part of missionary work. We want people to know that they have a loving Father in Heaven. I hope that you all know that as well!!

I am so happy here. As much as I miss all of you I absolutely love serving the Lord. Is there really anything better than I could be doing right now? I know that this work is true. I know that God loves each one of us and that he will always be there to fight our battles. Sometimes we try and fight them alone, however, he will always be waiting until we are ready to let him help us. 

I hope you all have an amazing week!!!!

Love,

Hermanita Morey

He Will Deliver Us

Happy August!!!

 I can't believe that it is actually August. I never though I would make it to July let alone August. Where is all of the time going?!?!?! It is really interesting because in my District there are 3 of us going home on the same day so I finally have someone who can relate to how I am feeling. However, all of the missionaries that I am serving with in my ward still have a year left. So that helps me stay focused on working hard. I love that!

This week was a really good week. It went by so quickly that I can't remember everything that happened. However, I know that it went well! When we got iPads the referrals that every area has received in the last 2 years was updated so this area ended up getting about 50 referrals and since it looks like we just got them we get to try and contact them again. It has actually been a really good experience. Even though some people still don't want to listen we have met some really good people. Hermana Buttars is really good about being optimistic so that makes it really fun to talk to people. We have also had some really interesting encounters with some people so that always keeps us entertained. Even though it is hard it has been really fun!

Hermana Buttars tried her first Helote this week! It was really fun and even though it was messy she enjoyed it. Yesterday as we were getting ready for church we didn't see what the other person was wearing until we were about to leave. It turns out that we were both wearing the exact same colors and just had a matching day. A lot of people commented on it and we just laughed. It is funny how as companions you just start to think alike! I really love her and I am really enjoying serving with her. 

We also have had really interesting lessons with two recent converts this week. The difference between the two of them is the fact that one is doing what  they should be, such as reading the scriptures, praying, going to church, etc. while the other one has not. They are both wonderful people but it has been such an amazing experience to see the difference between the two. The first one has been really working hard to live worthy of the covenants they made at baptism. Before her baptism she had a little bit of a rough background and had an aggressive tendency. This past week there were 3 people at her work that were bullying her and it even got to the point where one pushed her. Normally, she would have turned around and just punched them but she knew that wasn't right so she said a prayer to help her, walked away, and then called us to help her calm down so that she could be worthy of her covenants with God. That was so amazing to me because I know a lot of times when things get hard I don't think "would this be something good that will help me be worthy of that covenant that I made with God?" I think I will start doing that. The second person is super friendly and fun to be around. I really like teaching them! However, they have not been living up to their covenants, they aren't reading, they aren't happy, and now they are dealing with the consequences of actions that they made while knowing that it was wrong. The first person is happy, the second person is not. As we strive to keep the commandments and do what God has planned for us, we will be happy. It won't be easy, but God will give us the strength to move forward. I love the scripture Alma 58:11.....

"Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him."

Even though we will still have trails, we have the faith and the hope that God will bless us. He will never forget about us and even though he won't take away our challenges, he will give us the strength to overcome them. As long as we are living worthy of His help. 

The work is amazing! I wish that everyone could have this opportunity to share the Gospel. Hermana Buttars and I were talking about it and we realized that the mission is so hard because we are constantly trying to put off the natural man. it is a daily fight. We are constantly trying to forget about ourselves and serve others. It never comes naturally but it makes us so happy. I love how the mission has given me a chance to learn and to grow. I just hope that I can take all the things that I am learning and put them to use in my own life when I go home.

I love you all so very much. I say that every week but it is true. Don't worry about me, I am doing well and loving every moment. Remember, you can do hard things! 

Love,
Hermana Morey