I Get a New Baby!

This week was sooooo great. The holidays as a missionary are the best. A lot of people get homesick and I do miss being with my family. However, I just love the spirit that one feels when they're in the service of the Lord around this time of year. More people seemed focused on the reason we're here on this Earth. It's great. 

We did a lot this week and there are so many miracles I want to share, so I will start out with Thanksgiving. It was such a good day! We started off seeing our two investigators and their mom, who is less active, in the morning. We're teaching her two daughters, ages 8 and 10, to prepare them to be baptized in the coming month! We taught them about gratitude. That was actually the first time we were able to sit down with them and share a message, so that was a miracle. Then we saw our member, Hna. Yolanda, and we had Thanksgiving lunch with her. She's one of the best member missionaries I know! We also visited our ward mission leader and helped them put up their tree with the family. When we got there, Hno, García was the only one in the living room, so they decorated ME, really fast, with lights and ornaments. That was so fun. Everyone just came out and started laughing. It was really fun. We love them so much. The rest of the night was spent with the second counselor in the bishopric and his family. We had turkey and CEVICHE (the bomb) with them and it was so fun. I love our members in this area so much. They mean so much to me and to the work!

We taught Dulce and her two daughters again this week on Saturday night and it was a really powerful Restoration lesson! They love learning and they understood what we taught. We extended a date and they accepted and their mom was excited, too! Milagros turned to her mom and asked, "Mom, can I please get baptized?" And her mom said, "Yes!" That was really cool. I love them so much. We're going to be working with them more often to get them on track to be baptized!

We met a family from Egypt this week. That was cool! We talked to them outside of their apartment and they just let us in so easily! We talked to them about Christ and they were sooooo nice! They have only been in the states for two months! They even gave us some Egyptian currency to keep. That was really cool! 

President called and informed me that I'll be training again and that I'll also be the new SSTL. It's the sister training leader that trains the other sister training leaders so they know what they need to be doing. It'll definitely be a new experience for me, but I'm excited for what's to come! I'm also excited for the new sister that is coming into the mission to be my companion! This area has so much potential, so we'll do good things with the help of the Lord!

Hna. Widdison will be transferred. I'm so sad to see her go. Really, I have loved her since the beginning and I just cannot wait to see her after the mission. She's taught me so much in these three short months. I really have come to learn what it means to work with all your heart and might. She's one of my best friends and I appreciate her enthusiasm and willingness to trust in the Lord in every circumstance. I just love her and we have had SO much fun!

Great week and great things to come. I love this WORK!

Sister Sanchez

Happy Turkey Weekend!

This week we had a whole load of experiences that have just made the week fly by! But, it was an amazing week as a servant of the Lord.

We did so much service. On Wednesday, every week, we participate in the food bank at St. John's Church in downtown Houston. We hand out food and it's probably my favorite service I've ever done. I love the people so much. There are some regulars that come and I have gotten to know them so well. There is one older Vietnamese man named Thomas. Although we can't communicate that well, he's my best friend! I just love him so much. He always gives me a thumbs up and this week he invited us over for dinner! I don't know if we can go, but we'll definitely send the Vietnamese missionaries over there so they can meet him. It's amazing how, regardless of language barriers, charity can still be shown! They are the sweetest people that just need so much help and I love being able to help them. We also did that service on Monday, hence our emails today on Tuesday. We handed out turkeys yesterday and some people were so happy because they have big families. It was a huge help that the Houston food bank provided food for their holiday meals. It's so great!

We had a really cool experience this week. We had finished the day and had about an hour left before it was time to go inside. We decided to visit a referral of some less actives that we got from one of our members. We've been meaning to visit them for a long time, but this last week was the first time we actually had some time since we have been so busy! I had been praying all day long that the Lord would put us in the path of someone that really needed us and that we could help someone new in some way. I had no idea how it would happen, but I just prayed that it would. Well, we said our prayer and knocked on the door and this man, Carlos comes out and we start talking to him. He knew who we were because he knows the missionaries. We didn't know what to say, so we just asked him if there was anything that we could do for him and he said, "Yes, do you have my number?" So we checked our phone and didn't so we put his number in and he said, "I don't have time tonight, but if you call me, we can set up a time for a visit. I have actually really been wanting to go back to church and I just needed that extra push and you both showed up at the perfect time." GOD IS SO GOOD. I'm often so shocked at how PERFECT His sweet plan is. It's incredible. We were so happy that we were able to be the Lord's instrument and help Him. It was a sweet experience. 

I also got really sick this week. It started on Tuesday and just escalated from there. I also got a flu shot not knowing I was getting sick so that could have added to it, too. We were on an exchange with some sisters on Friday and when I woke up, I had to end the exchange because I was just so sick. I stayed in for about 2 days, but I feel better now. Took a lot of medicine and slept a ton, that helped a lot. It's NOT fun being sick on a mission ... staying inside drives us CRAZY! Glad I'm all better now!

We also had our ward Thanksgiving party this week! Not going to lie, the Hispanic fiestas make me miss my home fiestas and dancing, but I can wait, ha, ha. The bishop asked us missionaries to sing some hymns in front of the ward, so we sang 4 and I played. My voice was completely gone this week because I was sick, so I just played the piano. And on Sunday we had the Primary program and I played for that, too! It was such a good Primary program. The kids did a good job because we had all been practicing hard for weeks!

I've been studying a lot about faith this week and how important it is to believe and to CHOOSE to believe. It makes the world of a difference and the Lord promises that if we exercise the faith, he'll grant us according to our desires. In Mark 11:23 it says, "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."

What a cool promise. I've been trying extra hard to implement that into my proselyting and trying to have the gift of faith that these people can change. Y'all can do the same with work, school, family, etc. 

I hope y'all have a great week, that you remember that all the blessings we have come from the Lord and the people who have been His instruments to give us the freedom that we have today! I love you all!

Sister Sanchez

Prayer circle!

Service at St. Johns!

My homeless companion ... ha, ha, ha

Went to The Zoo, The Book Is Blue, Bounty Hunters ... TWO!

Wow, this week was so great. It went by really fast, too! Time is flying people and it's scaring me how fast it's going. I'm clinging on to keep up! 

Monday we went to the zoo as a district. It was so fun! I was hesitant to spend $15 to see some animals and smell some .... not so good stuff, but I LOVED IT! I'm so happy that I went. Our district got a lot closer and we had so much fun there. Teaching the animals the Gospel, you know, because we're missionaries! It was a blast. Houston has so many fun places, especially because we're in downtown, so we just need to explore!

We saw Russhine this week. Unfortunately, she left to Guatemala for one month on Sunday and we're so sad we won't see her for that long, but she's progressing and she took her Book of Mormon with her to read in her down time. She's so cool. We also had a lesson with her about the Plan of Salvation and she was blown away at the idea of a "Spirit World." She said it all made sense and she was joking around with us saying if she didn't accept it here, she could accept it there ... ha, ha. NO RUSSHINE. She was kidding, but we had a good laugh. She's so full of energy. We love her so much. We also went over the other night to help her decorate her tree and we met a lot of her family who were all so intrigued at what we do and what we teach. That was a good "planting seeds" moment! There was another shooting at her complex, too. We got there one day and there was a CROWD of people near us and we had no idea why they were huddled together until later, one of the apartment mechanics, told us there had been a shooting ... #Houston. We're safe, though!

We also got REALLY Bible bashed this week by someone we went to teach named Rene. It was so crazy. But we bore powerful testimony and invited him to come to Christ. Those lessons are always hard, but we say what the Spirit tells us to and then we head out. No reason to argue, because then the Spirit leaves.

I had the most awesome exchange with Hna. Rivera this week. She's from Peru, so we got along GREAT. We actually ... cooked pescado frito for LUNCH! (sadly missing the yuca frita) I know, so Hispanic, but we loved it and we felt right at home. It was really fun. We talked with EVERYONE when we were on exchanges in my area. She's a new missionary, so that's something she wanted to work on, so we talked with everyone in our path! We found about 8 new potential people we can visit! It boosted her testimony a lot of talking to people on the streets and now she's more confident to do it. I love her so much! We both agreed we were going to ask our parents to send us Peruvian stuff and then we're going to have a feast. So exciting! While we were on our exchange, we had just finished teaching our member and we walked down to unlock our bikes. We started to ride away to our next appointment when two guys stopped us and said "GIRL MORMONS?" Ha, ha, ha, ha, yes. Some people ask us that. We started to talk with them and it was strange because one of the guys kept looking around to see behind me ... We started talking a little about the Gospel and he says "good, this is good for our cover." WHAT? I thought he was selling drugs! But no, they were actually TWO undercover bounty hunters! It was so crazy. They were looking for someone and we just happened to try to talk to them about the Gospel. Hna. Rivera and I rode off laughing so hard that we had met undercover cops. How cool is that!? AND that we tried to teach them the Gospel. Ha, ha, ha. It was so fun. We got a kick out of that one!

My tire popped on Saturday. My first one! It was so sad ... I could hear the air escaping. When you're on bikes and your tire pops, it ruins your whole day, ha, ha. But we luckily used the elders' car to go buy a new tire and got it all fixed up. It was one heck of an adventure!

I have studied a lot about prayer this week and how grateful I am to have the communication we do with the Creator of the Universe. I have been thinking a lot about my prayers and how sincere they are. Do I rush to get the prayer over with? Do I pour my heart out to the Lord? Am I praying for others more than for myself? Am I thanking more than asking? I really feel the Lord wants to talk to us so much. That's why He made prayer a commandment! I'm grateful for the opportunity to talk with my Father and to have the knowledge and belief that He will listen and reply. I invite you all to re-examine your prayers and see how you can make them better. 

I love you all. Have the best week! Teach someone about the Gospel. Heck, you might even meet some bounty hunters. (:

Con amor, 

Hermana Sanchez

Sister Sanchez

35 Questions or Cold Showers!

Hermana Widdison and I have come up with a "finding idea" that we're so excited about. We learned last week from Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge, of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that we need to be talking to everyone. While doing so, we need to find the "most important thing" from every lesson to share. Hermana Widdison and I have had an increased desire to talk to everyone because we were promised that there are thousands of people in our area that are prepared. We came up with 5 questions, one from every lesson that encompasses the "most important thing" and we have 15 days to ask it 35 times! We thought, what's the worst that could happen ... they could tell us no? Well, great, then we keep moving. Our punishment is cold showers for 5 days ... so we're going strong! Talking to everyone and inviting them to come to Christ. On Sunday we had a weird contact where we asked this man, named David, if he would like to listen to a message about the steps to receiving eternal life through the Gospel and he said yes. So we started teaching him. Keep in mind it was really cold outside and Hermana Widdison was shivering and he, touching her arm, asks, "¿Tienes frío?" Ja, ja, ja, ja. She freaked out. It was a little strange ... It's so much fun to talk to everyone! There are so many amazing people in this world!

Soooo, I have gained the most powerful testimony of trying "antiguos" from the area book. We had the coolest experience this week that just left Hermana Widdison and I completely speechless. I really had no words after the lesson was over and I know, 100%, that it was inspired by the Lord. It was so cool and I'm so blessed to have been a part of the experience. So, we were putting up English class flyers one day in a couple of different apartment complexes and we just had the thought that we should go try a person in that complex who had been taught previously and see if maybe she was home. We knocked ... no one answered ... knocked again ... no reply ... so we CELESTIAL KNOCKED (the third knock that we only do on special occasions) and someone answered! It wasn't the person we were looking for, but this lady was really friendly, so we asked her one of our questions! If she would like to learn about how families can be together forever and she said yes! So she let us in. We were still in shock. We sat down and she started asking us so many questions. We taught her the Restoration lesson and it was probably the best Restoration lesson of my mission. In that lesson we got her on LDS.org and introduced her to President Monson. She was SO INTRIGUED. She told us that she wasn't really looking for a new church, but this sounds so interesting to her, that she wants to check it out. It was incredible. She's a young mom with a beautiful little girl and her husband lives with them, too. He works a lot and she said he's not very religious. We asked her to invite him to church. She was really nervous to, but the next day when we went back, she said he said yes. He would want to go! How cool is that? Our second lesson was focused on the Book of Mormon. We started reading it with her and she got it. She was asking where Moroni is now and where the plates are, etc, etc. It was the coolest thing. We're so excited for her. She also says the temple in the Dominican Republic is right by her home! She's wonderful. The Lord really led us that day to find her. TESTIMONY BUILDER. 

We also had a blitz this week to help the other sisters' area and that was really fun. It's always nice to help other missionaries because we're promised that our area will be blessed, too. 

I have really been studying a lot about how to come close to Christ and finding out the ways we can change. I have seem a huge change in myself on the mission of how I see others. I remember before I used to judge them and think weird things about so many different people, but the mission and the scriptures have really helped me to grasp the understanding that we're all God's children and we have no idea how other people have gotten to be who they are. We don't know what circumstances have transcribed in their lives and how they have been taught. We need to love them all. I'm still working a lot on having charity, but I know without it, we are nothing. We have to love everyone. 

Pray for Norma that she'll be baptized! And that Tiffany and her family will progress.

Keep on doing good things. The Lord loves you so much and I love y'all, too. 

Sister Sanchez

Bullet holes in an apartment complex!

His Saving Grace

This week was amazing, really wet and full of meetings. Being a missionary is the best calling in the world!

So to start off, we had a lesson with our investigator, Norma, on Tuesday and we brought two members with us, a mother and a daughter who were previously Catholic (like Norma) and who lost a loved one like Norma, also. They were PERFECT for the lesson. Hna, Madora bore her testimony about the missionaries finding her in Mexico and her conversion at a young age. After she bore her testimony, Norma bore hers! We did not see that one coming. She said that a long time ago, she had missionaries visit her, but because of work, she never had the time necessary to sit down and pay attention. She said they would teach her sometimes, but she never understood or even tried to understand. Then, 10 months ago, she fell and hurt her back and has been stuck at home ever since and, low and behold, Hna. Widdison and I show up and she has time! She testified that she knows her accident happened so she would have the time to sit down and actually listen to our message. WHO SAYS THAT? We were so blown away that she made that connection and believes it to be true. She's incredible. Then, she said she's received her answer. She said that she has a house in Mexico that she has been praying and trying to get someone to rent and no one has ever wanted to and she really needs it to happen so she'll have the extra money to provide for herself and her husband. Well, she said that right after we left the lesson, she started to pray and ask Heavenly Father if this was the path for her and she said that right after she prayed, she got a call from her mom saying that someone is prepared to rent the home. Norma said this was the answer to her prayer and that she felt like God was telling her "I am here." It was so cool. She wants to be baptized. Please pray for her and her husband who is very Catholic. She hopes that he'll want to be baptized with her. She's also very excited to baptize her daughter in the temple. SHE'S AMAZING!

We carved pumpkins with our members and our less-actives this week! It was SO FUN! Melvin is the less-active and he's slowly, but surely, returning to church. They're so cool. And yes, my pumpkin says "HALA MADRID", best pumpkin ever! We also had the trunk-or-treat on Friday and we were so lucky it didn't rain! It was really fun and there were so many kids and so many cool costumes. Halloween was fun. We had to go in early at 7 p.m., but it was super fun to see all the cute kids! We put candy outside of our door so they could take some. (: 

I had the craziest experience this week, which strengthened my testimony that we're watched so closely by angels. And also strengthened my testimony in patriarchal blessings! Mine promises me that I'll have angels to protect me and this is definitely what happened this week! We did get a lot of rain here and it's hard because we can't bike in the rain ... but this day the rain was really light, so we decided to go biking and there was a puddle that looked pretty shallow, so I rode through it but my companion rode around it because she knows the roads by memory and knows exactly where to bike. Turns out it was a pot hole and my front tire went in pretty deep and the back of my bike flew in the air. I should have fallen on my face and my bike should have flipped over me, but I have no idea how my foot slipped off my bike and I caught myself and I was standing there, with my back tire in the air for what felt like 10 minutes. I know it was an angel or something that stopped my fall. My companion looked back and said that all she saw was my back tire in the air and my face looking down. It was crazy. I have no doubt that we're extra protected as the Lord's missionaries. If I would have fallen, I could have broken my neck, or broken something. That was a miracle. I walked away with wet feet. ¡Qué suerte!

We also taught our new investigator, Russhine. She's awesome. Please pray for her!

Elder Corbridge, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, visited our mission this week and he taught us so many incredible things. The one thing that I really loved is how real the Atonement of Jesus Christ is and how His grace IS SUFFICIENT. I never really understood that phrase personally until this week. I feel like I hear people use it all the time, but as I studied it this week, that's when it became a part of me. Jesus Christ is there with us the whole way. Not part way, not towards the end, but the whole way and He can give us the strength to continue on and to overcome qualities we need to change or behaviors we need to adopt. I know He loves us. I know He does.

I hope y'all have an amazing week!!!

P.S. Getting yelled at is so fun!

Sister Sanchez

HALA MADRID

Pumpkin carving!

Gifts from Hna. Widdison's mommy!

Elf!

Halloween face masks!