June 28, 2010
The story of my mission could be told in short bios of the animals I have met. Cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, mice and rats and guinea pigs, but mostly dogs and cats. And pigeons. And bugs, of course. I have watched a dog chase a mailman across the yard, I was recently clawed by one Naboo, the cat, dive-bombed by pigeons (if I were driving, I would try to run them over!), followed by all the mangy neighborhood dogs, and scared half to death by the oddest things that live in the homes of the people we teach.
On Saturday, "Sra. Sanchez" invited us in and pulled up chairs as her daughter, a new investigator, put her little boy to bed. As we sat down, Sra. Sanchez tried to send the dogs outside, but Daisy decided she didn't want to go.
Daisy. Friendly family dog crossed with a walrus. And she probably weighs 200lbs. I have never seen such a fat boxer before.
Sra. Sanchez got behind the dog and, like a linebacker, she put her shoulder into the dog’s hindquarters, pushing it out the door--- Daisy flopped down on the laminate floor, and slowly slid across the kitchen. Sra. Sanchez pushed, shoved, pulled, and called, and Daisy slid slowly, little doggie nails eeeeeeerrrrrr-ing softly across the floor.
I tried to get up to help, but I was laughing so hard, I could barely speak, "Puedo ayudarle?"
"Oh no no no! I've (Grunt!) almost (Shove!) got it! (HUmmph!) "
Mommy can we get a dog when I get home?
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
A prayer unto me. . . .
June 14, 2010
Haha, the little girls next to me are reading aloud the words to T-Swift's "Love Story." So weird. I haven't thought about that song in so long. I just sing hymns all the time.
I've been lucky enough to have companions who LOVE to sing, and Sister Nef has a beautiful voice, so we just sing all the time-- pretty much at every lesson. When "Loretta's" husband called us on Sunday morning to tell us that "Loretta" wasn't sure she wanted to be confirmed... we knew what to do.
Well, really, what we knew was that none of our words could change her thoughts or her mind, but only the Spirit, so we drove over, as fast as we legally could, and sat on her couch and sang hymns. She wouldn't even come out to see us, she just stayed in her room "getting ready" but her husband sat in the living room with us, and we sang and sang and sang. All our favorites, and a few of his, after a half an hour, we had to go (they asked us that morning to teach Relief Society that day... I LOVE being a missionary!) but as we waiting for our investigators outside of sacrament meeting, we saw Loretta walk up!!
YAY!! I slipped into the seat beside her as the bishop began the meeting. "I guess Satan was really working hard on me this morning" she whispered. "Well you're in the right place" I told her and gave her a hug.
This week I have learned, more than ever before, that missionary work is about realizing you can't do it. Elder Eyring said that, "You can't do it. Not by yourself." But Christ never asked us to do it alone.
Haha, the little girls next to me are reading aloud the words to T-Swift's "Love Story." So weird. I haven't thought about that song in so long. I just sing hymns all the time.
I've been lucky enough to have companions who LOVE to sing, and Sister Nef has a beautiful voice, so we just sing all the time-- pretty much at every lesson. When "Loretta's" husband called us on Sunday morning to tell us that "Loretta" wasn't sure she wanted to be confirmed... we knew what to do.
Well, really, what we knew was that none of our words could change her thoughts or her mind, but only the Spirit, so we drove over, as fast as we legally could, and sat on her couch and sang hymns. She wouldn't even come out to see us, she just stayed in her room "getting ready" but her husband sat in the living room with us, and we sang and sang and sang. All our favorites, and a few of his, after a half an hour, we had to go (they asked us that morning to teach Relief Society that day... I LOVE being a missionary!) but as we waiting for our investigators outside of sacrament meeting, we saw Loretta walk up!!
YAY!! I slipped into the seat beside her as the bishop began the meeting. "I guess Satan was really working hard on me this morning" she whispered. "Well you're in the right place" I told her and gave her a hug.
This week I have learned, more than ever before, that missionary work is about realizing you can't do it. Elder Eyring said that, "You can't do it. Not by yourself." But Christ never asked us to do it alone.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
84. Dulce tu obra es, Señor
My dear friends -- there is nothing better than being a missionary. My first transfer ends on Tuesday -- and a new 6 week adventure will begin. No matter where it takes me though -- the Lord will be in it. This is His work! I am learning, so slowly, that no one is "ready" to serve a mission, but, just as He promised, the Lord qualifies those He calls. Thanks for prayers & letters!
-Hna. Hales
-Hna. Hales
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
195. How Great the Wisdom and the Love
June 1, 2010
This work, este obra missional, of course, is all the Lord's-- His timing, His children, His message, His love.
Yesterday we stopped by Pablo's to follow up on his Word of Wisdom reading. We started to talk to him, but he wasn't really focused on our teachings so we invited his wife, "Juanita" to come in, and began talking with her. From our first visit she made it very clear that she wasn't interested in learning about another Christian religion, and as we began to discuss the Book of Mormon with her, she insisted that she had already been baptized by water and by the spirit at the age of 18, and there was no need to do all that over again!
"Juanita" loves to talk, and evades interruption like a lawyer. When she asked us a question, "Do you know what Baptism by the Spirit is?" and actually paused for a response, I tried to teach as many gospel principles with my answer as possible "Bueno, It's a priesthood ordinance, by the authority of God--after Baptism, (by immersion) which is also an ordinance done by the AUTHORITY of God (which was restored after the Apostasy to Joseph Smith, by an angel of God, by the laying on of hands)--"
"It's speaking in tongues." she insisted. “That’s the baptism of the Spirit. And I was baptized by the Spirit after my baptism of water!"
I had to smile, because the gift of tongues was exactly what I was praying for at that very minute. How on earth could we convey (in our super-limited vocabular-- she speaks NO English) that the presence of the Holy Ghost is not the same thing as the AUTHORITY of God, and that her pastor didn't actually have the priesthood, and that her dedication to God was great-- fantastic! but that there were MORE steps to be taken.... funny, as I type this I realize I know all those Spanish words, but my companion and I were completely at a loss as to how we could convey that message-- she just couldn't understand us!
Juanita was telling us the story of her study and baptism (for the 3rd time, I think she was getting frustrated by the language barrier too), and then all of the sudden-- I started crying. I looked into her face, earnestly working to explain to us her conversion to the Good News of God, and I knew that God loved her. I didn't know what to say, I was not suddenly given perfect Spanish words that she could understand, but I knew that she was a beloved daughter of God, and that someday, someday, she would understand.
Sitting in the car after the lesson, I told Hna. Gregersen my thoughts, and she said "I felt the same way. She has great faith."
My objective as a missionary is to "invite people to come unto Christ... through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end," and we always focus our teaching on that goal of baptism and confirmation. But sometimes I forget that my purpose simply is to invite others to come unto Christ. That is my objectivo because Christ invites all to come, on their own feet, in their own ways, He invites them to bend their path and follow His straight road. It is humbling to remember that I am His servant, and He asks me in my imperfect way to care for His beloved sheep
This work, este obra missional, of course, is all the Lord's-- His timing, His children, His message, His love.
Yesterday we stopped by Pablo's to follow up on his Word of Wisdom reading. We started to talk to him, but he wasn't really focused on our teachings so we invited his wife, "Juanita" to come in, and began talking with her. From our first visit she made it very clear that she wasn't interested in learning about another Christian religion, and as we began to discuss the Book of Mormon with her, she insisted that she had already been baptized by water and by the spirit at the age of 18, and there was no need to do all that over again!
"Juanita" loves to talk, and evades interruption like a lawyer. When she asked us a question, "Do you know what Baptism by the Spirit is?" and actually paused for a response, I tried to teach as many gospel principles with my answer as possible "Bueno, It's a priesthood ordinance, by the authority of God--after Baptism, (by immersion) which is also an ordinance done by the AUTHORITY of God (which was restored after the Apostasy to Joseph Smith, by an angel of God, by the laying on of hands)--"
"It's speaking in tongues." she insisted. “That’s the baptism of the Spirit. And I was baptized by the Spirit after my baptism of water!"
I had to smile, because the gift of tongues was exactly what I was praying for at that very minute. How on earth could we convey (in our super-limited vocabular-- she speaks NO English) that the presence of the Holy Ghost is not the same thing as the AUTHORITY of God, and that her pastor didn't actually have the priesthood, and that her dedication to God was great-- fantastic! but that there were MORE steps to be taken.... funny, as I type this I realize I know all those Spanish words, but my companion and I were completely at a loss as to how we could convey that message-- she just couldn't understand us!
Juanita was telling us the story of her study and baptism (for the 3rd time, I think she was getting frustrated by the language barrier too), and then all of the sudden-- I started crying. I looked into her face, earnestly working to explain to us her conversion to the Good News of God, and I knew that God loved her. I didn't know what to say, I was not suddenly given perfect Spanish words that she could understand, but I knew that she was a beloved daughter of God, and that someday, someday, she would understand.
Sitting in the car after the lesson, I told Hna. Gregersen my thoughts, and she said "I felt the same way. She has great faith."
My objective as a missionary is to "invite people to come unto Christ... through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end," and we always focus our teaching on that goal of baptism and confirmation. But sometimes I forget that my purpose simply is to invite others to come unto Christ. That is my objectivo because Christ invites all to come, on their own feet, in their own ways, He invites them to bend their path and follow His straight road. It is humbling to remember that I am His servant, and He asks me in my imperfect way to care for His beloved sheep
77. Deja que el Espíritu te enseñe
May 26 2010
On Thursday we started teaching "Pablo." After we contact/try to contact a HQ referral (people who call in asking for a book of Mormon or a DVD or something) we always tract around that house. We know that Heavenly Father, the Great Orchestrator, has put us in that neighborhood for some reason-- we just have to find out why! Pablo, in his early 40s, (very short) with a huge smile, and two little braided rat-tails in the back, was just hangin' out on his porch, so we started talking to him. As a missionary you have to learn how to judge which porch sitters are just there for kicks, and who really is interested in listening, but "Pablo" set a return appointment with us, and we gave him a pamphlet on the Restoration to read in the meantime.
When we showed up for our next appointment, "Pablo" had read the entire pamphlet, looked up mormon.org, started reading some of the Book of Mormon and was asking us questions about the Plan of Salvation! We couldn't believe it! His face had changed-- it was so hard and dark when we first saw him, but slowly, as we started meeting more and more with him, he started to grow lighter and lighter. Neither his wife nor daughter wanted to learn more, but he loved to read the pamphlets we gave him, and he was so excited to show us what he had found online all about the church. We invited him to come to church on Sunday, and then came by before church to remind him.
"Voy a tratar..."
"No!" (this is Hna. Gregersen's pet peeve) "There's no trying on this one, are you coming are aren't you?"
"Hm.... pues...." --I think Hna. G. and I were praying a mile a minute-- "Ok, I'll go change"
We said we'd meet him at church, and drove back to our building.
The hour for church came and we waited out on the street corner for him. It came, and like all good Latin meetings-- the hour to begin stretched a little late, and then a little later, but "Pablo" was not there. Hna. Gregersen and I had been praying and praying-- we hadn't got a single investigator to church yet, (other than "Loretta", but she's been practically a member for months now)
We waited until we felt we could not be any later-- and slipped in during the opening song.
I finally understood what so many missionaries had talked about--- the eternal HOPE each Sunday morning, as you wait for each of your investigators... and the disappointment as they each fall through... once again.
As we sang the Sacrament hymn, the phone buzzed in my lap. We didn't' know the number, but they texted us a few moments later. "Call me"
"Pablo?!
We looked at each other, cringed, and slipped out of our seats at the front, scurrying out the back doors... and there was "Pablo"! standing in the lobby in a slick black suit, purple shirt and purple tie. He had changed the ties on his rat-tails to all back -- he was nicer dressed then most of the congregation.
Hna. Gregersen and I could not stop beaming! He stayed for all three hours, and then for an extra hour to attend the baptism of a young boy in the ward. As I explained the boys confirmation to him, "Pablo" said, "I've never seen anything like that." then he paused, and touched his heart, "But it feel right, It feels true."
We have set a baptismal date for "Pablo"-- June 6th!
On Thursday we started teaching "Pablo." After we contact/try to contact a HQ referral (people who call in asking for a book of Mormon or a DVD or something) we always tract around that house. We know that Heavenly Father, the Great Orchestrator, has put us in that neighborhood for some reason-- we just have to find out why! Pablo, in his early 40s, (very short) with a huge smile, and two little braided rat-tails in the back, was just hangin' out on his porch, so we started talking to him. As a missionary you have to learn how to judge which porch sitters are just there for kicks, and who really is interested in listening, but "Pablo" set a return appointment with us, and we gave him a pamphlet on the Restoration to read in the meantime.
When we showed up for our next appointment, "Pablo" had read the entire pamphlet, looked up mormon.org, started reading some of the Book of Mormon and was asking us questions about the Plan of Salvation! We couldn't believe it! His face had changed-- it was so hard and dark when we first saw him, but slowly, as we started meeting more and more with him, he started to grow lighter and lighter. Neither his wife nor daughter wanted to learn more, but he loved to read the pamphlets we gave him, and he was so excited to show us what he had found online all about the church. We invited him to come to church on Sunday, and then came by before church to remind him.
"Voy a tratar..."
"No!" (this is Hna. Gregersen's pet peeve) "There's no trying on this one, are you coming are aren't you?"
"Hm.... pues...." --I think Hna. G. and I were praying a mile a minute-- "Ok, I'll go change"
We said we'd meet him at church, and drove back to our building.
The hour for church came and we waited out on the street corner for him. It came, and like all good Latin meetings-- the hour to begin stretched a little late, and then a little later, but "Pablo" was not there. Hna. Gregersen and I had been praying and praying-- we hadn't got a single investigator to church yet, (other than "Loretta", but she's been practically a member for months now)
We waited until we felt we could not be any later-- and slipped in during the opening song.
I finally understood what so many missionaries had talked about--- the eternal HOPE each Sunday morning, as you wait for each of your investigators... and the disappointment as they each fall through... once again.
As we sang the Sacrament hymn, the phone buzzed in my lap. We didn't' know the number, but they texted us a few moments later. "Call me"
"Pablo?!
We looked at each other, cringed, and slipped out of our seats at the front, scurrying out the back doors... and there was "Pablo"! standing in the lobby in a slick black suit, purple shirt and purple tie. He had changed the ties on his rat-tails to all back -- he was nicer dressed then most of the congregation.
Hna. Gregersen and I could not stop beaming! He stayed for all three hours, and then for an extra hour to attend the baptism of a young boy in the ward. As I explained the boys confirmation to him, "Pablo" said, "I've never seen anything like that." then he paused, and touched his heart, "But it feel right, It feels true."
We have set a baptismal date for "Pablo"-- June 6th!
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