Can I Be a Missionary Forever?

This week was straight up, AMAZING.

I really have no words except for mounds of gratitude. The Lord is so good to us. We see it everyday, every where. He's always guiding us, protecting us and blessing us with countless miracles.

The biggest miracle this week was that ... JORGE WAS BAPTIZED! He's so awesome. We've been teaching him for a long time. In February he chose his baptismal date as March 27. It wasn't a very secure date, but he chose it, so we went with it and had faith. Well, since the time was approaching, we kept teaching him and he was doing really well. The hardest part was that he has family members who are really against the church, but he kept learning and coming to church. On Thursday, he got his interview and he passed! We saw him everyday last week and when Sunday arrived, he came to church, but we could really tell he was nervous and flustered. His baptism was after church at 4:30 with 2 other 8-year-olds. The church service ended and we went to find him and he was outside by his car on the phone. His family had called and they were telling him a lot of negative things but after it all, he hung up and came over to us and said he was going to do it. We told him that he could wait if he needed to be more sure, but he said, "Hermanas, if I don't do this now, I'll never know." And he did it! He got baptized. And it was the most spiritual baptism I've ever seen in my life. He entered the font and Obispo was there ready to baptize him. After he came out of the water, Jorge hugged Obispo and just started crying. So hard. He stood there hugging Bishop for a good 3 minutes. The room was completely silent. The Spirit was so strong. A lot of people were crying and Hermana Davis and I had no words. He's going to be an incredible member of the church. He received his Confirmation after and one of the elders blessed him and the blessing was amazing, too. He was so happy after. He told us that he'll never forget this day. We'll never forget it, either! SO WONDERFUL! We're soooo happy!

Carol, Brian and Carlos came to the church on Saturday. We invited them to our Church's General Women's Session of General Conference and they loved it. Carol was really listening intently. I could tell the boys were a little bored, so I gave them a paper and asked them what they want to do for God and Brian drew the First Vision on the paper. That was great! And Carlos drew Heavenly Father. We have high hopes for them to be baptized here pretty soon!

Norma is doing fantastic! Still on track to be baptized on the 10th! She's really feeling the need to continue to learn and to become a member. She has a powerful testimony of the Savior. Her member friends are REALLY helping her out. It's so cool to see it all unfold and her husband's heart is becoming so soft!

I was asked to bear my testimony in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday and wow, that was hard for me. I really have no words to express the gratitude I have to my Father for allowing me to serve a mission. I was reading my patriarchal blessing this week and it's SO CLEAR that I needed to serve. I can't believe it's coming to an end, but I know that with the tag or without it, I'll always be a missionary. I shared my mission scripture that I chose before I came out. Luke 15: 4-6. "What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost." It was amazing to be able to remember the scripture I chose and how my mission definitely encompasses that scripture. We also did a musical number. I played and 3 other people sang and played the flute. It was so pretty!

Last night, Monday, we had a special noche de hogar for myself and Hermana Palmer. She's leaving a week after I am. Wilson, our ward mission leader, invited so many people and it was so special. We all sat around in a big circle and Hermana Davis and I shared a scripture and we sang a hymn. Norma and Luis came! Wilson then asked everyone to go around in a circle and to share some words with us. Man, it was so hard to keep those tears in! Everyone said the nicest things to me and I just love this ward so much. It's going to be so hard to say goodbye. They're all my family and I've built such valuable relationships with each one of them. Then Wilson asked us to share our testimonies and I really had nooooo words, but I bore my witness of the reality of the Savior and it was such a special moment for me. A night I will never forget. Then, of course, we had the traditional PASTELAZO! We got cake EVERYWHERE. It was so fun. And Norma and Luis bought me a whole plate of Chick-fil-A chicken. I didn't share ... ha, ha, ha, ha. I love these people SO MUCH!

Today we went to the temple and that was inspiring. I remembered that to come on a mission I went through the temple to receive my endowments, to receive the extra strength to serve and now before I go home, I went through the temple to be endowed with power again as I close this remarkable experience. It was an excellent session. I love the temple. I love the Gospel. 

It was an amazing week. This last week will be even better. Running to the finish with the Savior by my side. I love Him! 

Have a blessed week! Go find people to bring to Christ. 

Hermana Sánchez

 Soccer at the park!

Temple trip!

I love being a missionary! 

Temple trip! 

 Hermana Poa

 Breakfast with Norma.

Easter baskets!

Jorge's baptism!

Johanna and Abish!

Pastelazo!

I love Hermana Davis! 

Teach When You Find, Find When You Teach!

This week was really amazing! The Lord is so kind to us. I see this every week, but He just blesses us with so many miracles day after day. It really increases my testimony that He knows His children perfectly and He loves us more than we'll ever really know. I'm so happy to have the testimony I do and the ability to share it. 

This week we had a HUGE miracle with Norma and her husband Luis. We had been teaching them for a while ... about 2 months ago. Last week, on Saturday, we felt prompted to invite them to church and they came. And apparently they knew another member of the ward, Hermana Poa, from years back. She was friends with them before they lost their daughter at the age of 17. So when Norma and Luis surprisingly saw them, they freaked out and hugged and Luis was crying so much. Well, after the reunion, we planned a dinner with them in Hermana Poa's home and it was incredible. They talked about her daughter and the memories they had together. They cried a lot and we cried, too. Norma really wants to take her daughter to the temple to be baptized. She wants to be baptized on the 26th, but we can tell she's still hesitant. Her husband was really against it at first, but at Hermana Poa's house, he said that he'll support her in all she does! Awesome miracle!

I returned to Friendswood today and, oh boy, it's been one of the best days. We had lunch with John and Savannah, Fern, Sister Schott and my old companion, who I trained when she first got here. It was all so incredible. God is so good. John is so active. He's still a ward missionary and the high priest teacher! Savannah is still in Primary. She's a future missionary and just incredible. John went on trek last week and took a lot pictures! Fern is planning on going to the temple on the 30th and taking names! Jacob is planning on serving a mission! HOW COOL IS THAT!? Jade is active in the church again and everyone else is amazing!

My mission has been the most amazing experience of my whole life. I have loved these 18 months with my whole heart and I'll work, work, WORK until the last day.

Russhine is doing AMAZING. She loves, loves, loves her calling and she's so active in the church. Yesterday she came with her son, who is not a member and he loved church, too. She's coming out with us to teach! Actually, Norma lives in her complex, along with another investigator we're teaching. They all became really good friends and they set up a time to all go and meet at Russhine's house to practice their English! How cool is that!?

Also, Carlos, Brian and Carol came to the investigator devotional last night and they loved it. Brian is 12 and he was answering ALL the questions about Joseph Smith! Ha, ha. President Hall was so shocked. Jorge came, too! They're doing so well. Please pray for them. They're making big steps in their lives!

Well, amazing week! Great things happening. So many blessings. So much gratitude. 

I love y'all, 

Hermana Sanchez

Sister Sanchez

Lunch with Fern!

John and Savannah meeting Elder Rasband.

My old companion, Sister McCleery!

Drenched And Blessed

Hello familia! How are you doing?

IT STORMED THIS WEEK. We got soaked, but we were so blessed! It was incredible! 

Hermana Davis and I worked so hard. We came home at nights feeling like little kids after swimming all day, EXHAUSTED. It was the best feeling in the world to know that we worked so hard and did all we could do. And you know what?

The Lord blessed us SO much. We had 10 investigators at church on Sunday. I've never had that many people come to church and it was incredible. We needed more Hermanas Sanchez and Davis because we didn't have enough time to talk to all of them. Good thing we had there member friends on top of it. 

First huge miracle. On Monday night, while walking to see another investigator, we met this woman named Carol. She didn't have a lot of time, but told us we could come back and see her on Tuesday. So on Tuesday, while we were walking back, we saw our investigator Sherly. She was walking with this boy who told us he wanted to come to church, too. So we asked him to talk to his parents and Sherly told us that his mom was the lady we spoke with yesterday! So we went back to teach her and her two sons! It was awesome! They're incredible. We taught the Restoration and the boys are like sponges. They absorbed EVERYTHING. They repeated back to us word for word what the Restoration is and what happened. We committed them to read and pray. When we returned, they had kept their commitment! We extended baptism for them on April 10 and they all accepted. The boys came to church yesterday, too. Their mom couldn't come, but the boys did and they loved it.

Miracle 2! We saw Yamir and Jennifer this week! They were referrals we got a couple of weeks ago and we hadn't seen them in a while because of their work schedules. The other day, however, while it was pouring rain and all our lessons canceled, Heavenly Father prompted us to stop by and leave a note on their door, so we did. As soon as we were walking out, Jennifer walks up to us and says, "Hello!" Ha, ha. She told us that she didn't have a lot of time, but that we could come back on Friday! So we did and we brought Itzel with us, an awesome member about Jennifer's same age and we taught them the Restoration again! Yamir was there, too. And he always has the best questions. He asked, "So you all have your testimonies that this is true?" And of course we replied with a yes, and then he said, "We're going to get ours." Basically sounded like a challenge accepted. It was awesome! They committed to read and pray every night. Jennifer came to church yesterday and loved it! She told us after that she's going to ask her boss for all Sundays off! They also accepted baptism! Yay for miracles!

Norma and Luis came to church, too! We felt prompted to invite them and her husband said yes! They came! AHHHH, such a miracle. 

Our awesome member, Hermana Yolanda talked to a woman on the bus while she was busing home from work. It turns out that this woman she spoke to attended the church for 15 years in Venezuela and never got baptized. Moved to Houston and could never find a church. Well, she brought her to church yesterday and we introduced ourselves to her and she said we could come back and teach her on Wednesday! So cool.

Our less-active, Gabino, came to church, too! AND HE BROUGHT HIS COUSIN who isn't a member! We set up an appointment with him, too!

WOAH. 

Last but not least, EDILIA. Man, this woman is unreal. I wrote a little about her last week and this week we taught her twice. Once in a member's home, she took the bus with us there! And another in her home and the two lessons were focused on the Plan of Salvation. She has had so many questions about it lately. The second lesson was really powerful because she asked about what happened to those that die without the opportunity to hear the Gospel. Well, of course we had the answer. We explained all about the Spirit World and baptisms for the dead and we LOVED it. She shared a really sacred experience with us about how she has had dreams of her father, who has passed away, and he keeps asking her to help him. She said she has spoken with her mom about it, but they could never figure it out, so eventually they ignored it. So after we taught her the full Plan of Salvation, she told us with confidence, "Hermanas, I know this is what my dad needs." It was awesome! I shared with her the story of my grandpa YoYo and when we took his name to the temple. How Dad baptized Marito and mom was bawling. I remember asking her why, and mom confidently told me that she KNEW grandpa had accepted. That has been such a sacred experience for me and I love sharing it with others. Edilia is praying and studying the Book of Mormon and waiting on her answer. Please pray for her!

Love the work, love my Savior. I know that He works according to our faith, so we have to believe to receive. I am grateful for this time of year to celebrate His death and resurrection. 

Follow Him and find new life.

followhim.mormon.org

Love y'all!

Sister Sanchez

Love my companion! 

Teaching with Sarah!

 Rainy tags are the best!

Rain! 

ALL MY STUFF GOT WET!

WORD of wisdom!

Miracles and More!

This week was incredible! Hermana Davis and I started the week with a strong vision to find/teach/baptize and we set goals to do everything we could to talk to EVERYONE! It was awesome. Every day we came home so exhausted and drained, but we got up the next day and did it all over again. It's the best!

First, Jorge is doing awesome! He had a hard week last week because he posted a picture of him in church, and a lot of his family said very rude things to him. So he got really discouraged. We prayed so much that he would be better and he did! We had 4 lessons with him this week! On Tuesday, we had a lesson with him and we had a girl named Sarah out teaching with us. She's preparing to go on a mission and she was so helpful. We read in the Bible about Judas betraying the Savior and how the Savior knows how he feels because he had his closest friend betray him. That really got Jorge thinking and Sarah bore such a powerful testimony. She told him that she's so proud of him because she's been a member all her life and has never had the courage to put anything on Facebook. She said she was always scared of the criticism and judgments others would make and now, looking back, she realized how selfish it was to not say anything. It really hit home in the lesson. She cried, Jorge cried and we ended with a kneeling prayer. He texted us after saying that he has a lot to think about. Heavenly Father is so good, Sarah was exactly who he needed! On Thursday, he came with us on a church tour with our new investigator and that helped him. Friday, we had a lesson with him about 3 Nephi 11 and how Christ visited the Americas. Hermana Davila came with us and she also bore a powerful testimony of how she was disowned when she joined the church. That helped him. Saturday we ate dinner with Obispo and Jorge. That was great! He came to church yesterday in his white shirt and tie! SO COOL. He told us that he's praying his mom's heart softens and that his heart does as well. We look forward to his baptism on March 27. Please pray! We saw miracles this week!

Sherly, our 12-year-old investigator, came to young women's this week, LOVED IT and was at church yesterday in a dress. She has become such good friend with one of the girls in the ward. She wants to go to girl's camp and everything! We scheduled her baptism this week for April 3 and she's excited. We just need to get permission from her mom in Honduras and her aunt here, but her aunt is really nice, so we don't see a problem there. We just want to make sure, 100%, that she will have the support she needs to stay active. And she's 12, so we can get her to the temple! Love that sweet girl. She has such desires to do good.

We finally taught a new investigator this week! Her name is Edilia. We contacted her 2 weeks on the street and she told us that her son had the missionaries teach him in Mexico, but that she never listened, but they were over all the time! Well, that was the perfect lead in to allowing us to teach her because she was familiar with who we are. We saw her on Wednesday and taught her the Restoration. SHE LOVED IT. In the beginning of the lesson, the Spirit told me that if we teach with Him guiding, she will cry, and when she cries, we will know that she understands. Well, after we finished the lesson, we committed her to read. She said that we have left her with a lot to think about and she committed to read! She starting talking about salvation and how she wants to know what she needs to do to be saved. She wants her children to be saved and then ... TEARS. She got it. She told us that she needs us to give her the answer and we told her we have it. She came to English class on Thursday and we gave her a church tour. She loved it and recognized all the pictures from the pamphlets. SHE'S AMAZING. Pray for her!

The Lux family is great, too. We spoke to Miguel this week and he really wants to change. He's soooo willing and ready. We need to help them progress and we know that they will come to church soon when they understand the importance it will have on their family! Please pray for them, too!

I have been studying about prayer lately and I just love the fact that we can communicate with the All Powerful Creator who loves us beyond imagine. In Preach My Gospel we are taught, "The trouble with most of our prayers is that we give them as if we were picking up the telephone and ordering groceries—we place our order and hang up. We need to meditate, contemplate, think of what we are praying about and for and then speak to the Lord as one man speaketh to another" (Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, 469).

"If prayer is only a spasmodic cry at the time of crisis, then it is utterly selfish, and we come to think of God as a repairman or a service agency to help us only in our emergencies. We should remember the Most High day and night—always—not only at times when all other assistance has failed and we desperately need help." (Howard W. Hunter, The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, ed. Clyde J. Williams [1997], 39)."

We need to pray with real intent ... as if we are in front of the Father. I invite you all to make your prayers better and more focused on others with real intent. That's my goal this week!

P.S. We street contacted this random man on our way to an appointment and as I stuck my hand out to shake his, he grabbed it, pulled me in and planted a kiss right on my cheek. OH MAN, it was so awkward. I pulled away so fast, telling him that we can't hug. My companion, thinking she was in the safe zone, stuck her hand out and received the same "gift"... ha, ha, ha. That was an adventure. We biked away with the best laugh ever.

I love you all! Have an awesome week!

Sister Sanchez

Elders' glasses in their car!

Conjugating!