Chapter 7: "...I'm gonna make this place your home." - February 24, 2014

Dearest family and friends!

 

Good news! --The Gospel!

 

Also, I get a whole six weeks more in the beautiful land of Hobbs, America-- with my awesome brown companion Sister Muaina! It's so weird to think that I've not spent this much time sleeping in the same bed/apartment every night since I was in high school! The Good Lord really knows how to teach His children, and I'm very much looking forward to another blessed six-week chapter here in Hobbs. I feel like I've always spent a lot of time moving around, sleeping in random places, traveling, adventuring, and here I am as a missionary learning just a little bit more how home feels like. I'm not the best at answering the question that people always ask: "Where is home?" ... I usually think to myself, well, it's with Heavenly Father! ...oh wait, you mean where I lived before my mission? Or where do my parents live? Or where did I grow up? Or where did I leave for my mission from? ...oh wow, this isn't supposed to be an essay question. okay... I generally just answer with an: "I grew up in Virginia..." and feel weird when the response is "Wow! This is a big change!"

 

But, even though my life has been rather short, and as Brother Tippett's said when I gave my 'farewell talk' in Provo, 7 weeks before I left to come out here: I'm kind of a woman without a country... It's odd to be here and have Hobbs growing on me so much, that it deeply saddens me to even think about leaving. The only thing constant in life, and especially in missionary life is change, and I feel like ever since I've truly learned how to love, I've not been anywhere, or with anyone long enough to be SUPER attached to them, you know? And here I am, formerly the traveling missionary, on my 3rd chapter here in Hobbs, AND I get to have my awesome companion with me again! I know for sure this next six weeks, I'll be learning even more how to strengthen my ability to love, and I feel very blessed to have this opportunity to live each day even fuller, to love deeper, and not be afraid of changes that will happen. Life is truly amazing, on an individual level, and the larger perspective.

 

Wow, yes! So, I'm excited, you should be too! ;)

 

As always there seemed to be a theme of the week! And this week, it had two parts: The Word of Wisdom, and Faith, pretty nifty huh?

 

Wow, so we for some reason had about 5 or 6 occasions this week where we were able to talk with our investigators, less-active members, and new members about the word of wisdom, and the blessings that come from living the Lord's health code. It was such a blessing to be able to bear sincere testimony that living this commandment truly does bring more joy and a greater measure of the Spirit into your life--and naturally into the lives of those whom you come into contact with. It's simple, but true, and it has to be a personal decision to live it and try it for yourself to experience the blessings.

 

It was interesting to me, as we were talking with a member about how she can help her friend (who is struggling with addiction right now), that she, the member, was surprised when I shared a little of my conversion story with her... I'm still getting used to people being more surprised about my testimony coming from my 'exciting/learning by sorrow experiences' than the 'reserved/learning by faith and the scriptures' testimony that we usually share as missionaries... Nevertheless, we were talking more about how we can help others, who are going through experiences that we have not yet/ever gone through. This was interesting because as missionaries, we run into this a lot speaking with individuals who may have even more than twice our life experience, and it's difficult to feel like we have any authority to speak sometimes... but I know that the principle of love is the common denominator for helping others as we are each on our walk home to Heavenly Father.

 

In this conversation we spoke of faith, and even though no one can perfectly understand another's experience(s) in life, we can have compassion and love and be a strength to others through their trials. We need to have faith to know that even though we do not know exactly what another is going through, we can still be of help to them. Loving an imperfect person is a huge act of faith, and it goes with trusting in the Lord- that 1) you can be an instrument in His hands to help another one of His children, and 2) that you can be strong even if that love is not reciprocated in a way that you can understand.

 

I thought about this as I was reading my favorite book in the Book of Mormon: Enos.

Verse 8 states: "...because of thy faith in Christ, who thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole."

 

Something struck me without faith we are missing something... faith completes us in a way. We read about miracles throughout the scriptures where those words are used: "thy faith hath made thee whole", but never before had I thought that without faith we are incomplete... it makes sense, that spiritually (even if we do not recognize it physically/consciously), we are seeking to be made whole. As we are filled and completed spiritually (which is being built a little at a time and is long lasting), that feeling of wholeness keeps us from wanting after the physical or temporal "fillers" that are immediately gratifying, but short-term. So there's a formula for sustained happiness right? Seek good, seek truth, and seek to recognize how you can be filled spiritually.

 

I'll end with one more scripture in 2Nephi 33:4-7

"(4) And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people. And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and endure to the end, which is life eternal. (5) And it speaketh harshly against sin, according to the plainness of truth; wherefore, no man will be angry at the words which I have written save he shall be of the spirit of the devil. (6) I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell. (7) I have charity for my people and great faith in Christ that I shall meet many souls spotless at his judgment-seat.

 

In this chapter Nephi is writing his last testimony, and is speaking of the record he kept. Verse 6 really stood out to me, because Christ is at the center of EVERYTHING, and we can be persuaded every day to recognize that a little bit more, or we can be persuaded to get caught up in the complexity of life. I know each and every one of us has much to learn, and do while we are here, but we are made PERFECT only in and through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and we can have hope to stand spotless before Him at that judgment day. I know this because I'm learning it every day, I've seen, and plan to continue to see His hand abundantly in my life and the lives of those around me, and I know without a doubt that He leads us today. We have testimony of Him in the scriptures from prophets of old, and there are modern prophets that have been called in these last days to prepare us for Christ's coming again. They bear witness of His perfect example, and raise their voices to give us hope in this chaotic world, warn us of consequences that come from disobedience, and continually testify that our God's standard will help us to keep our highest level of happiness as we navigate our course back to Him.

 

I am so blessed to be here, serving as His missionary here in Hobbs, and I know without a doubt that this church contains the fullness of truth, even if the people in it are still imperfect. And I know with all of my heart that God loves each and every one of us perfectly, as we strive to continually be grateful for His love, we are able to have faith and hope, which anchor our proverbial souls in the rough storms we all weather.

 

I love you all, and leave my words written in weakness, with hope in the name of Jesus Christ that they may be made strong unto you.

 

Keep searching for His Hand, I gaurentee that you will find it!

 

All my heart,

Sister Heather Ann Lagrosa

 

Pictures:

1- We had studies at a member's house yesterday because we were traveling home from a meeting, and I got to cuddle with her cutesicle puppy named Honey! :D

2- I beat Sister Hall arm wrestling lefty during exchanges NBD. :)

3- our goofy district!

 

 

"Everyone has an interestin​g story about how they ended up in Hobbs." - February 19, 2014

Howdy Family and Friends!

 

I can't believe it's already the last week of this chapter of the mission! It's weird to think about, but life is going great! This week started off in a most excellent way! I got a little bit of a hair trim, and a little extra portion of my hair shaved off! Haha, don't worry, it's mission appropriate, and actually is a nice little vent for when it's toasty outside (our temperatures this week ranged from 30-95, so, I did get to test it out. :P) So, yeah, missionary excitement! :P

 

But more exciting was just how excellent this week was! Oh, man! We were able to get out and walk around, and actually talk to people outside, because it wasn't SUPER cold or windy, and actually was really nice a few days! Also, Sister Muaina and I are both feeling a lot better, and we have a lot more energy to put into the work! :)

 

Something that really stood out in the lessons we had, and while we talked with new people outside was how the Spirit really testifies of truth, and you can feel at peace when you search for truth. One of the adversities (any religion faces, but) we especially face as "the Mormon" missionaries is stereotypes, hearsay, and people preaching against our church in other churches down here. Generally people are respectful, but there are people that see us walking down the sidewalk, and cross the street, or make it a point to let us know where they think we are going after this life. But, there are some truly Chirstlike people here that, even though we don't have the same beliefs speak to us, and we are able to feel uplifted and edified by the Spirit. Jesus said in the New Testament to "Love one another as I have loved you", and in the Book of Mormon that: "Contention is not of me."

 

It was really refreshing this week that we were able to have some edifying conversations with people, but one conversation that really stood out was some Jehovah Witnesses we spoke with. Usually they are the ones that just avoid eye contact with us, but this man said "We can't take any literature, but we would love to hear a scripture." It was really wonderful to hear, we shared a verse from the Book of Mormon and talked about how rare it was for this (good) conversation to be happening down here in the Bible belt. That was just really edifying, and it was possible because we were both (us missionaries, and the two men we were talking to) searching for truth, instead of fault -- that's how people need to treat each other, always, but especially when you are just meeting them. :)

 

In addition to the wonderful gift we have of truth in the world, another theme of this week was families. We taught the Plan of Salvation a lot, and the promise of eternal families through the restored priesthood power on the earth today has been an amazing blessing to testify of. We talked about the Family Proclamation to the World, with Krissy this week, and with some of the less-active families we've visited with, and it was really amazing!

 

Then, everything came together at church (as it usually does lol). We had quite a few of the less active members we have been working with and more investigators than I've ever seen on my mission at church! On top of that our wonderful speakers talked about things that truly endure, and one of the sisters in the ward talked about her conversion, and some of the opposition she faced (While she was explaining that, Krissy leaned over and whispered to me "That's my life she's describing!"), and then how she ended up in Hobbs... and how trusting in the Lord's plan is really what we need to make the highest priority in our lives, no matter how it may not make sense at the time. She testified of eternal families, and the enduring nature of the gospel-- which really testifies even more that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, He is unchanging and enduring. 

 

Then in Sunday School, we talked about prayer and receiving answers to prayer, and Krissy shared her story about how she had been wondering why she was in Hobbs, and had pretty much given up on religion (not God, but organized religion), and then we (Sister Muaina and I) walked up and started talking to her. She'd grown up in a church that had preached against ours, so she was curious, and she prayed to know if what we were sharing was good. So we came back, and what started out as curiosity, she feels might be one of the reasons she ended up here in Hobbs! It is so amazing to think of... the little events that bring us to the places that we are today. It was really great.

 

In the last hour of church- Relieve Society- we talked again about the family (pretty neat huh?) and it was so, good! We talked about how we will always face opposition, but it is such a blessing that we have our families, and how it is God's plan to have them endure forever!

 

It was such an amazing week, and I feel so blessed to be here serving the Lord. Time is going by so fast! But it's good to be learning how to cherish each moment and work every day like it's the last one out here! God is so good, and I know that as much as we allow Him, we will be able to see that goodness in others, because we are all His children, and we need to look for that goodness, that divine nature that is within ourselves, and while we do so, we will be able to see it in others as well. We are all here to help each other, and we need charity, we need to love one another to find peace in this world. I know with all of my heart that Jesus Christ is at the center of helping us to learn this, and only in and through Him can we be able to change, grow, learn, and have a positive impact on those around us.

 

There is so much to be thankful for!

Make a list this week, of some of those blessings you've received. :)

 

All my love,

Sister Lagrosa

 

Pictures:

1- Sister "Kray"-Ray shaved a little section of my head :P

2- Sometimes I study during dinner, and since we don't have a kitchen table, this is what the floor looks like :P

3- One of the cooler days we had :)

 

"As I have loved you, love one another." - February 10, 2014

Howdy howdy family and Friends!

 

I hope this letter finds you well, and that everyone is super excited for Valentines day festivities... I feel that the more and more people are referring to it as "heart day" is this true? Anyway, it's all fun, and, being a missionary it all makes me think more and more about God's love! :D

 

This week was really weird, I'm not exactly sure why, but partially it was because both Sister Muaina and I felt under the weather... it's been swinging from snow to sun out here, last Sunday we had beautiful snow, and this Sunday it felt like summer! It's been hard trying to dodge the crazy flu and bronchitis that's been going around, but we got a little bit of something this week... no worries though, the headache I've had for the past couple weeks is going away, and I know our trials always make us stronger, and we're back to playing the game: "How much vitamin C can Sister Lagrosa consume." :D It's going good, and I've found a new love for grapefruit! haha

 

So fun news here in the Hobbs' ward! There is a young man in our that just returned from his mission about a week and a half ago, and he and his whole family spoke in church on Sunday, it was really great! Two wonderful things happened it got lots of people excited for missionary work, and we had to open up the divider/curtain that separates the chapel from the gym/cultural hall! We have a really large ward, but this was the first Sunday since I've been here that we had to do that!! We've been really trying to make an effort to get to know the ward better, and help them come out teaching with us, and reach out to some of the less-active members, and it's going pretty well, it's an interesting balance to maintain as a missionary, but it's good, and I really feel like we are doing well, and helping the ward out, and that  we are becoming a closer knit family here in Hobbs-- which is what the Lord's work is all about!

 

I'm sorry this e-mail this week is so short! It was a little uneventful this week (no good pictures either!), but we are always learning! And Sister Muaina and I have been talking a lot about transformation lately-- how the Lord really grows us each and every day, and we've been discussing how that change occurs. Our favorite quote right now is "Transformation is not a future even, it is a present activity." It not only being in the present time, but a gift too!

 

Ether 12:27

 

Through Christ's grace, we can have our weaknesses made into strengths! :D

There is a lot to be grateful for, and a lot we can look back on and recognize where we have changed. :)

 

Smile at someone new this week! Keep staying strong, and don't forget to look to the Lord for guidance! He's always listening, and His arm is outstretched towards you!

 

John 13:34 --:> Have a great week filled with love! <3

 

All my love,

Sister Lagrosa

"Well, they are savages. That's the difference​." - February 3, 2014

Hello family and friends!

 

Okay, so it was an awesome week... filled with ups and downs like usual, but not as roller-coaster-esque as last week... but the crazy weather made up for that! :P 

 

One of the highlights of the week was having dinner with Elder and Sister Sears (the Family Services missionary couple). We taught an investigator, Wes at their home, with his wife, Heather (who is coming back to church, and it's not too weird teaching someone with my name lol) and their two little girls. :) It was so wonderful, and the title of this e-mail came when we were discussing what/how the Elders eat as opposed to the sister missionaries. We were talking about how I cook, and Sister Muaina eats, and we both kindof worry about our Elders' nutrition sometimes. Heather asked "Wait... is there a difference between how you and the boy missionaries eat?" Sister Sears piped up so fast and said: "Well, they are savages. That's the difference." And she then went and described how in old missionary etiquette videos, the Elders were always the ones doing things inappropriately, and the Sisters were the polite ones... it's pretty much true lol, but what do you expect with young boys right?

 

The highlight of this week was definitely truth and trust.

 

It makes sense because we are always searching for it and teaching it, but we found that a lot of the less-active members we have been working with are really happy that we, as missionaries go into people's homes seeking good and not judging. Not that we are perfect in that by any means, we are human, but something Sister P told us really struck my heart and mind. She said: "You guys don't come in here looking for what's wrong or judging anyone, you look for what's right. The world needs more of that."

I thought about how true that is. For our purpose as missionaries. We help people build on the faith that they already have, and we seek good. God seeks the good in us as well. Even Christ, as He told the woman taken in adultery to "go thy way and sin no more." He knows us perfectly, and He knows what we can become as we go forth in faith. It takes a lot of love to see people as they are, and a lot of faith to trust that they can truly become better. I know it's so true, the world does need a little more of that positivity to help it run a little smoother, and judge a lot slower.

 

This was really evident in an amazing lesson about the Plan of Salvation that we had with Krissy this week. When we were talking about the Spirit world, she said: "That's what I've always thought, well, no one's ever told me that before, but that really makes sense!" We were able to tell her, "It's because it's true! This is God's plan, and it's true!" She had a couple questions that we couldn't answer, and she told us really plainly when we told her we don't know: "I really like how you don't immediately shoot things down, if you don't know them. A lot of people don't consider anything, even if they don't have any evidence to prove me wrong."

We find a lot of people that are really are looking for flaws, because of our current status as missionaries it's mainly in the church, but even just in relationships between people, there is a lot of searching for flaws, and not enough inventorying of the good-- in the world, in our relationships, and most importantly in ourselves...

 

I think if we all took a little more time to assess and search for the good, for the truth in the world, we would all progress and love each other better.

 

It is the second of the two great commandments to love one another as He has loved us. I know there is a lot of guidance to be found in the scriptures to our every day problems. I just opened my quad this morning with a very non-overtly scriptural question, and I feel into Alma 43-- a war chapter, but as I read with the Spirit, I received an answer, and applied it, and I get to ponder on it some more now. Verse 47 stood out to me as to why we fight for good, and just how much effort we need to expend as we are in a constant spiritual battle with the adversary.

 

I know that God is good, and as we seek truth, and seek goodness we come closer to Him, and are better able to follow His plan to bring us eternal life.

 

I love you all! Find some truth this week!

 

All my heart from the Land of Enchantment,

Sister Heather Ann Lagrosa

 

Pictures:

1- The Flawless Foursome (Sister Plante, Lagrosa, Hall and Muaina!)

Basically we love eachother. A LOT!

2- We broke our fast with chicken adobo! :D (You can be proud Tatay!)

3- Me and Sister Muaina! :D