And This Is My Joy!

Hello, hello!

This week was one of the BEST weeks I've ever had on the mission. I can't believe the miracles we saw this week. The Lord is my best friend. He's honestly working this area so much so the people can receive His message. I love being a part of that. 

Tuesday was a hard day. We had our farewell conference with our Mission President Brian K. Ashton that morning. It was so sad. We were all trying really hard to hold in our tears, but they came anyways.

President Ashton spoke to us a lot about what we're going to do with out lives after the mission. I appreciated the advice. He talked a lot about marriage and education. Sometimes I put those in the back of my mind because I know I still have a little while left, but I know it's good to think about them because, yes, they're going to come and I need to have a plan. 

President also told us how much he loves us. It was sad. I'm getting emotional writing this. I know why I was called to this mission and it was to meet President Ashton and his wife. They've really changed me and who I am. President made us all promise to him and Heavenly Father that we would read and pray everyday for the rest of our lives. It was a promise I WILLINGLY made. I can't imagine a happy life without those things anymore. I don't know how I got through life before the mission not doing those things. It's not a smart choice to go a day without scriptures or prayer. As we concluded the meeting, we sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," our mission song and everyone just about lost it. President and Sister Ashton gave us all hugs and said their goodbyes to us one by one in the gym. It was hard, but it gave me a small glimpse of how Heavenly Father felt when He allowed us all to come to Earth, trusting us. I just love them so much, so so much.

Thursday night is one that I will remember forever. John was baptized on Thursday. I've  never experienced so much joy in my life. All I've ever wanted for John and Savannah was for them to be happy and I can confidently say that when John was baptized, I saw true happiness and that brought me to tears. John was so ready that day. He was so excited. President Ashton spoke on baptism and I spoke on the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Then John was baptized and confirmed. His confirmation was more like a patriarchal blessing, to be honest. He was bawling after it was over and I could just feel his gratitude for the Lord in that moment. After the baptism he told me, "let's set up a temple date. When can we go?" I was laughing because he has to get the Priesthood first, but he was just so excited. I'm so happy that he's happy and his daughter, too. She'll be baptized soon by John after he's ordained to the Priesthood. It's been so great!

We also had a third missionary with us this week! Our stake did a stake-wide mini mission for all those who've completed one year of seminary. Our mini-missionary was 15 and her name is Sister Baum. She's from the Silverlake Ward close by and she got to be with us for 3 days. We took her tracting and taught her the ways of the missionary life. SHE LOVED IT. When the 3 days were up she said, "Can I stay longer?"

We had a testimony meeting last night for all the youth that served and Sister Baum said that she KNOWS she'll serve a full-time mission. It made me so happy!The Lord needs more servants. She's so great. We loved her so much just within the first hour of being with her. What a privilege. She taught us a lot, too.

In Relief Society they asked the sisters, "How can we help our children prepare to face the challenges of this world?" I said, "Send them on missions!"

Great week. I love this work. Church is SO true.

Sister Sanchez

Love my baby missionaries!

Love my baby missionaries!

Our new investigator, Dawn!

Storms, Impersonations And MIRACLES!

So y'all heard about the storm Bill? Yeah, Bill never came. Our mission leaders told us that we had to stay inside all day because they were worried the storm would hit and when it did it would hit bad. We were inside the church building all day and it never came ... they finally let us go out to work around 6 and we were so grateful. Staying in sounds fun, but for missionaries who want to work, it was really boring ... but despite that ...

This week has been SO great. My new companion is amazing. Her name is Sister Andersen and she's from right here in Houston. She's a mini-missionary, so I'll only have her for 6 weeks or one transfer. I'm so grateful for her. She's SO FUNNY. I haven't laughed this hard ever on my mission. I'm just so happy and loving every second with her. She's an incredible teacher, I'm not training her, she's training me!

I picked up Sister Andersen from the mission office on Wednesday at transfer meeting and then we drove home and started up with the normal routine. She loves the missionary lifestyle and her attitude about everything is so amazing. I have been so blessed to be her companion. She's teaching me a lot. The day I brought her back to Friendswood, we got a media referral on our phone of a lady who requested a Bible. We went to go visit her and this lady is SO PREPARED. I've never met anyone so prepared in my life! We taught her the Restoration and she loved it so much. It was really cool. We set up a follow-up appointment and we visited her again on Saturday. We went into the lesson prepared to teach the Plan of Salvation. She really grasped everything we taught her and in middle of the lesson, I felt the Spirit so strongly tell us to invite her to be baptized. I did! And ... she said YES! Like not even a hesitation, just a strong YES! She's so ready! Sister Andersen started crying because it was her first ever REAL experience as a missionary and she was so touched. It was incredible. We got in the car and gave God a prayer of thanks. We're so happy. We also talked to Fern's neighbor and set up a follow-up appointment with him! God is doing great things here!

Saturday was probably the best day of my life. I got to see Darci. She's my best friend whom I haven't seen since April of 2013! On Friday night, Sister Andersen and I got a call that was from an unknown number and we answered a little confused and a voice said, "Is Sister Sanchez there?" I was like, "Yes, who is this?" and the voice said, "This is Darci. I got permission to come take you and your companion to lunch tomorrow." I FREAKED OUT. I started crying so hard that Sister Andersen had to take over. She scheduled the lunch for 12 and I was so excited and nervous but so excited. The next day came and we were reunited. I've never been that happy ever. We both cried so hard hugging for the first time in 2 years. I love her so much. I honestly can't thank Heavenly Father enough for Darci. She has helped me though so much in my life and I know she really cares. We had lunch, talked about everything and then she had to leave. I'm so excited to see her again in 9 months. I'm so happy that she's happy. It was such a great surprise.

Also, JOHN is getting baptized this Thursday. Biggest miracle of my mission. We met with him last Sunday and he's ready. He passed his baptismal interview and he's so ready. We're so excited for him. When Darci came, I took her, her mom and her sister (both returned missionaries) to come and visit him with me! They loved him and he definitely loved them and expressed to them how ready he's for baptism. God is so good.

I love this work. So many miracles this week. On Thursday of this upcoming week, we'll  be getting another mini-missionary with us for 4 days! Trio! I'm excited, although it's a lot of responsibility, but they're amazing missionaries. 

Have a great week y'all,

Sister Sanchez

Darci Hallmark, my best friend, came to visit me! 

Friendswood Round 6 With A New Baby!

Hello!

So yes, you read that right ... we got transfer calls Sunday evening and President Ashton has asked me to train a new missionary again per request of the Lord. I was pretty shocked, to be honest, because I'm still learning so much myself, but I know that the Lord will provide a way as long as we're relying on Him in all things. I'm pretty excited also to help another missionary learn the ways of the Texas Houston South Mission and how to teach people. It'll be really fun.

I'm so sad to lose Sister Robinson. The friendship we have grown together has been so wonderful. I've never had such great comp-unity with anyone else! I love and cherish her so much and I know she'll do amazing things in her new area. It's just so hard saying goodbye, you know? I pray that she knows that she's capable. I love her so much.

We had a lot of miracles happen the week of June 8-15 and I cannot give enough gratitude to my Heavenly Father for all of it. First off, this past weekend was Stake Conference and we had a member of the 70, Elder William H. Stoddard, come to visit us. He focused a lot on missionary work and he had all the missionaries in the stake come and stand in the front. I WAS A PART OF THAT. How cool! I felt so extremely grateful that the Lord led me to serve a mission. I loved being up there knowing that I'm here to give my all and that I love this work. We also sang Called to Serve as the closing hymn and it was incredible. The Spirit was so strong. 

On Sunday, our new investigator Amador came to church and it was so awesome! Ever since we met him, he has been so eager to learn and improve his relationship with God. He committed to us that he was going to come to church and he did! It was so wonderful to see him walk through the doors with out recent convert, Minor, who's his fellowshipper. They click so well and it's a great support system. It was stake conference and, even though it was long, Amador seemed to really like it! He said he'll be coming next week for sure! 

While we were teaching Amador the other day, Minor was with us and we asked him if he would be willing to share his testimony and he said yes. He has a powerful testimony and when he bore it, I had to try very hard to hold in my tears. One thing he said will stay with me for the rest of my life. He said something along the lines of: "Amador, I have been investigating this church for 14 years. I have a past and I have done a lot of things that I'm not proud of and I was always pretty stubborn. I've had so many missionaries, but these two sisters were the only two that explained things to the point where they made sense. These two sisters were the only two that were able to bring me to the church." I was so shocked and speechless. I know it wasn't us, but the Spirit. I learned that day that, yes, we helped Minor, but we were merely just the instruments and the Spirit was the teacher. All credit to him ... but it did make me feel grateful to be a part of that conversion. The Lord is so good. 

Also, John Teate called us Saturday night and told us that he was coming to church, too! That was a huge miracle since we hadn't seen or talked to him for a while. He's so amazing. After conference, I took the responsibility to take him over and introduce him to our mission president. They hit it off super well and John told us late that night when we went by his house that he wants to be baptized before President Ashton leaves. How exciting is that?! We're so excited and ready to see the progress he's going to make. He has so much potential. We love him so much!

I love this work. I cannot express it enough. I love my Savior. I love my God. I love who I'm becoming and I love the changes I've made. I don't plan to ever be who I was. I love these people. I love revelation. I love trust. I love my companions. I love His plans more than my own.

Sister Sanchez

District photo!

Last lunch all together!

Take me out to the ball game! 

Kept From The Truth Because They Know Not Where To Find It!

Hello once again! This week has been pretty interesting. But first and foremost, I'm feeling so much better. I took my boot off on Saturday because I was tired of walking around with it and I feel that I can walk without it. I feel free! And no one asks me anymore what happened, ha ha. I was supposed to get my stitches out on Tuesday, but I will be getting them out on Wednesday. I'm so excited! Finally time to feel normal again! Ha, ha.

So this week was pretty incredible. My favorite part about it was that we took Minor to the temple! It was his first time ever going to the temple and he LOVED it. We prepared him to baptize his late dad and his uncle and he was so touched. It was so awesome. When we walked out of the temple, Minor started crying and he just said "Wow"... He was so touched by the Spirit. He loved it and it definitely helped with his conversion. He's actually going to come with us to teach our new investigator tonight. We're so excited. He's PERFECT for this new investigator!

Speaking of him, his name is Armador. We found him while trying to visit our other investigator and she wasn't home, so while walking back to the car, we decided to stop by and talk with the neighbors who were outside and Armador invited us back. We ended up visiting him last Monday and when I say prepared, I MEAN PREPARED. He's so open and committed to doing this. It was so amazing. I've never met anyone more prepared on my mission. Him and his wife, BOTH. The Lord really blessed us by putting them into our path! We're so excited to see the progress they make!

We did a lot of service hours this week in Houston to continue with the flood effort. Sis. Robinson and myself completed 30 service hours while still proselyting in our area. We were so busy. Serving is so fun. On Saturday, we spent ALL day in Houston and we learned how to tear down dry wall! It was so great! If we had ANY anger at all, we took it out on the wall, ha. ha. The people we helped were so grateful to have our assistance. It was a great experience. Here are some videos of our service in the news!

http://abc13.com/weather/volunteers-work-to-help-storm-victims/755090/

http://www.khou.com/story/news/local/2015/06/03/meyerland-area-flood-victims-get-help-from-mormon-helping-hands/28437107/

This week was wonderful. I love to be here and I love all the experiences I'm having! Today there are two elders leaving their missions next week and we're all so sad. You really grow to appreciate every missionary serving and we all have the greatest friendships. It's sad to see people go, but we know that we'll be reunited again someday! The Lord is great.

I bore my testimony in church yesterday and it was incredible. I bore testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It has changed me and I cherish my mission. 

Sister Sanchez

Fake cop in Houston.

Hop Along Sanchez!

So yes, the week of May 25-31 was one of the hardest weeks on my mission due to my non-functioning ankle that's currently trying to heal. I am NOT one of those people that will sit down because of an injury, but the Lord has really been making me sit when I don't want to! 

I know there's something that I'm supposed to be learning from this injury, but I don't know what yet ... It will get better, though. The stitches come out June 9! I'm so excited to finally get this boot taken off! I've had so much support from our ward, though! So many people offering rides and making sure that we're okay, it's so nice of them. I'm praying that there's no infection and that the bruising goes away soon. I WANT TO WORK!

Because of my ankle injury I realized something really crucial that my companion pointed out to me. The night I cut my foot, we had a sister from Houston clean it out. First, she used peroxide, which didn't hurt at all, but then she cleaned the wound with alcohol. I remember laying on the ground and Sister Robinson was holding my hand. I had to cover my mouth to keep myself from screaming and I started to cry really hard. In that moment, I probably felt the worst pain I've ever felt in my whole life. It got us thinking about the Atonement. 

We taught Gospel Principles' class Sunday, May 31 at church and the topic was repentance. Our main focus was on Jesus Christ and what he did to make it possible for us to repent. We talked about my incident and about how the most excruciating pain I've ever felt was NOTHING compared to what the Savior had to go through and that was a lot. I started to tear up feeling immense gratitude for Jesus Christ. I love him so much and I'm so thankful that through Him, I can become clean again. This mission has taught me so much, even if it comes from a wound. 

Saturday, May 30, we went to Houston again to help out with the flood damage. There are over 4,000 homes that have been destroyed. It broke my heart to see all the families in deep sorrow because of their situation. One family we helped lost their daughter eight months ago in a car crash because of a drunk driver. They were on vacation putting flowers at her grave when the flood hit their home. It was so sad. We stayed there for about an hour helping them sort through things and clean up. I just wanted them to know so badly about the Plan of Salvation ... so I told the elders that work in that area to go back and teach them because if anyone needs the gospel, they do. It was a great experience, even though it was so sad. Please pray for all those who lost things in Houston. We're hoping to continue in a clean-up effort. 

Minor, our recent convert, received the Aaronic Priesthood Sunday, May 31 and we'll be going to the temple with him this weekend to do baptisms for the dead. We're so excited. Every time we meet, he becomes more and more consecrated. The Lord blessed us a TON with him. We love him so much! We're also going to go with Shirley, a less-active that we reactivated to get her endowments this weekend! It's so exciting! So many wonderful things are happening here in Friendswood. I love this area. I LOVE MY MISSION!

We have a lot of potentials at the moment. We're now just trying to find the time to meet with them to help them progress. Please pray that they'll meet with us and that they'll come to church. I've realized that my mission is everything to me. I cannot even express in words of gratitude how eternally thankful I am to be here. It saved my life. It saved me. I'm a better person than I ever was before and I owe that to the mission. Yes, it's hard and things stink sometimes, but it all teaches me how to become like Jesus Christ. I feel sorrow, I feel despair, but I also feel happiness and strength. I'm a different person now because I served a mission and I have allowed the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change me. The mission will mean absolutely everything to me for the rest of my life and I'm so blessed to be called of God and to have the special mantle that only lasts a short amount of time. I know the changes I've made and I know that I will not let them go away. They're a part of who I am now. The mission has allowed me to experience a happiness that I will never be able to explain nor comprehend, but I know it's there. The mission saved me.

If you're considering a mission, SERVE. 

Love you all,

Sister Sanchez

Flood And Stitches!

HELLO! So last week was 100 percent the craziest week on my mission. The week flew by, but only because of all the things that happened. Nonetheless, it was great like always. We were blessed.

Monday, May 25 was Memorial Day, so we didn't have a preparation day. President Ashton wanted us to be out talking to all the people who were home, so we did. We ended up visiting some people and offering service to our members. We had a great dinner with our members and had some BBQ, which was so good. We also enjoyed a lot of laughter, which is always the best. I just love being a missionary so much. 

Monday night we drove to downtown Houston because Tuesday we were going to the Houston Texas Temple with all the sister missionaries in the mission. Our session was for 6:30 a.m., so instead of getting up really early on Tuesday, we decided to drive down the night before to get more sleep and have time to get ready the next day. We drove down with the sister missionaries from the Bay Brook Ward who live with us in our complex.

At about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 26, I woke up due to all the thunder and lightning. I looked outside the window and the rain started to cause a flood that I could tell was only getting worse! I woke up all the other sisters and we were all so shocked by the rising water. The sisters' apartment we stayed with in Houston is located in the middle of downtown, so the flood was the worst where we were. Luckily, we were on the third floor, so their apartment didn't get any damage. 

During the flood, cars were going under water and there was about 4 feet of standing water running down the whole street. We kept hearing people at about 2 a.m. needing help, so we left the apartment to assist them and make sure they were okay. Their first floor apartments were so flooded, it was really sad. We helped three main people that I remember. One wife and husband just about to have a baby, an Indian family whose baby was crying and another lady who wouldn't get down from her table because she was scared of the dirty water. We were already in the water, so we just figured we would keep helping. 

Moving in that large amount of water, we lifted flat screen TVs, mattresses, couches, tables, etc. Anything we could carry out, we did. As I was lifting a mattress, I stepped on glass that had broken in the water and I cut my ankle open pretty badly. Luckily, no infection or anything. The sisters took care of me and poured rubbing alcohol all over my ankle ... I held in that scream SO BADLY! It was really painful, BUT WORTH IT, because those poor people needed the help. I don't mind the injury. I had to stay in the apartment with the cut for about 11 hours because we couldn't get out due to the 4 feet of water. 

I ended up going to the urgent care around 2 p.m., when the water had cleared enough for the senior missionaries to come and get me. The doctor gave me 9 stitches and a walking boot with some antibiotics to take care of any infection due to the dirty water. It was pretty crazy. I got to watch her stitch me up right after she numbed my ankle. It was cool! But of course, I'm in a TON of pain trying to proselyte and be a missionary while trying to heal at the same time. 

We went to the temple Wednesday, May 27 after the flood cleared and they made me wear a white covering on the boot. I didn't even know they had those, but they do! I wore it all throughout the Endowment session. It was pretty funny. I learned a lot during our trip to the temple, I love learning how the Spirit speaks to me and how it teaches me. I'm continuing to grow!

Anyway, it definitely was a crazy week and It didn't even feel like those two days happened, but they did and it was a good experience. The Lord is allowing us to serve hundreds of people in Houston to increase and hasten the work. About 4,000 homes have serious water damage and thousands of cars are ruined. Our car was one of them. It was completely underwater ... He commanded the elements and they listened. But it's okay! I love being here, even through the hard times. At least we have awesome stories to tell.

Love you all, 

Sister Sanchez

Showing off my boot! 

Seven mission cars were destroyed during the Houston floods. 

Sisters represent at the LDS Texas Houston Temple. 

No caption needed! 

"Try to be like the turtle ... at ease in your own shell." ~ Bill Copeland