I Like the Mission Life! -- A Postscript of Sorts

I figure it's about time I write down a few of the things that have been rolling around in my brain as I start so many responses recently with "That's one of the biggest things I learned on my mission!..."

It's almost hard for me to believe that I committed 80 weeks of my life to wearing a skirt, staying in one geographical area without getting on a plane, becoming even MORE technologically retarded, and being attached to another Sister 24 hours a day... but because the few luxuries of life I 'gave' up I've gained so much more perspective and love. I learned that I'm a deep thinker! Why I didn't know that the first 21 years of my life, I'm not sure, but I guess I also learned that I'm kind of unobservant sometimes. :P I learned more of my strengths and my weaknesses, and how to have that help me rely on my Savior. I learned more about what true charity is, how to not just look at someone, but see him or her as who he or she could become! I was tested, in every way and I learned the depth of my conversion, and decided to make it deeper. I've never had experiences where I felt so worthless nor irreplaceable... and all of these experiences, the extreme and the normal have come together for my growth, and my good. Luckily I was also able to be assistance in other's growth as well! :)

But now, I'm fixin' to head back west, which back in the day was the place to go for new beginnings, and it seems only fair that I give the mission chapter of my life a close and share some of my thoughts, goals, and resolutions (in as condensed of a form as I can muster up) for whatever they are worth. There are seven, just to keep it to a nice round, holy number. :)

1) Intention, Truth and Balance
Okay, so I could probably spend another 18 months just writing my thoughts about intention alone, but to keep this simplified I'll just relate this little lesson to Moroni 10:3-5 (a.k.a. Moroni's promise in the Book of Mormon). Where he promises that if you read, and pray with real intent, then the truth will be manifested to you by the Spirit of God.
As missionaries we invited people to make and keep commitments (like reading or praying) to help them come unto Christ. Just as the Savior Himself told His disciples that if they ask the Father anything [anything!] in His name, it would be given them. Well, we know that to be true; however, there is always a price to pay, a sacrifice to make for truth. That sacrifice is our will to be replaced with God's will. This can only be done with INTENTION TO CHANGE (see James 1:5-6).
Therefore, as we go about our lives, effectually to glorify our Father in Heaven, we need to do so with real intent. As we speak with others, we need to speak with intention to help, to love, just as the Savior did. When we look at ourselves and reflect upon our own actions and thoughts, we need to have intention and faith as we face truth that may not be the most enjoyable; and accept gracefully truth that is enjoyable without having it turn to pride.
With true intentions we can receive truth in a productive way and be able to balance out the negative and positive that come at us every day. To be able to rise above the negative, fiery darts of the adversary to ascend to our full potential; and to avoid the half-truths Satan feeds us as we may have a proclivity to be puffed up with unrighteous pride in our personal talents. As we do everything with intention, we receive truth and create balance.

...which leads to my 2nd lesson

2) You've Gotta Get Your Priorities Straight!
One of my favorite things ever said to me on the mission was on a Thursday evening in Midland Texas, from a man of rather large stature as we were trying to set up an appointment to return to see him and his family again. He said to us: "Now girls, there are only two things that matter in this world: God and Texas Football! ...this weekend is just not going to work"
Oh man that was classic, but it goes to show that we each have our priorities! :D For me though, what I learned throughout my 18 months was just a reinforcement of the two great commandments:

1st Love The Lord Thy God
2nd Love Thy Neighbor

With such a focus on becoming Christlike and everything it's sometimes difficult to remember the order of these two commandments in how we prioritize our lives. In my experience though, I've learned that you really can't love others to your full capacity without loving God fully first! With all of that though, with these priorities, I've learned that since we are imperfect our "fullness" capacity changes a little bit from day to day. So we need to work hard, and as we keep God first in our lives, and don't cheat ourselves out of the blessings of understanding our full potential, we will be able to love those around us without fear of our imperfections (or theirs) getting in the way.

...which leads to my 3rd lesson

3) Take Personal Responsibility (TPR)
This is one of my favorite lessons I've had re-edified on my mission! I always was taught as I was growing up to be responsible (which I've seen taught less and less over the past few years), but taking responsibility for your actions is the ONLY way that you can be the change you want to see in the world! Being responsible is the ONLY way you can have the freedom to do what you need to do to be your best self! And taking personal responsibility was taught to us very lovingly and honestly by our dear Savior, Jesus Christ.
Through His entire life, He exemplified that He was truly the Only Begotten Son of God. From teaching in the temple as a 12 year old child to His formal 3 year ministry that we have a little bit of a better record of... Jesus 1st knew that He was the Son of God and 2nd showed that knowledge (let's just say He took responsibility for that) by living in a way that everyone else who observed Him knew it too...
Even though it angered some, even though Jesus Christ was betrayed by one of His closest friends, He never ever blamed anyone else for the trials He went through, He never complained about the wickedness around Him and used it as an excuse to sin, but He lived true to who He was and what He was called here to do.
So the lesson I learned from Him, and from my mission, is that even though I have a million and a half things that I could blame for my shortcomings I simply cannot do it. I can't... I'm by no means perfect as my Savior is; however, I am an agent unto my own self, and I must act accordingly. My elevator may stop a few floors short of the the top of the building, and I may be tired from a long day of working my hardest and still not having everything done that I need to, but I can use that knowledge of my shortcomings and improve! I can take the stairs the rest of the way up, I can go to bed earlier so I'm not as tired, I can try to focus more, etc. But my shortcomings don't take away from my worth, but I know I'm meant for the top floor, so I'm not going to settle for less either!

Which leads me to my next lesson!

4) Love and Understanding
As I've learned about intention, priorities, and responsibility, I've realized that all of these practical life lessons (which pretty perfectly have gospel parallels... I'd even say they are gospel lessons, with mortal life parallels, but I digress...), with all of these lessons there is a root in love and understanding!

My life would not be, if it were not for love!

And it could not continue had I not sought for understanding.

Everything in my life is pretty meaningless without love... It's my motive for everything in one way or another. Love is understanding also. Quite a few of you who read this blog know my background, you know how my life has changed just a step at a time, and the reason for the great change that has come to be is the simple fact that I was able to feel God's love! Since that night I had my first prayer answered, I've been working hard to understand it more... it's no longer enough to just know He loves me... I need to experience it everyday, and my understanding of the truthful statement: Heather Ann Lagrosa you are a daughter of God and He loves you so much! just increases exponentially. I know I would not have chosen to be here on this earth had I not know that God loves me, I would not have stuck around had I not learned it again, and I could not continue to survive without the hunger to continue to understand that better...

Which leads me to lesson five!

5) The Basics Keep You Fit
In finding balance while progressing, I've learned that a schedule really keeps me sane! :D We always taught CPR (Church, Pray, Read Your Scriptures!) on the mission to keep us spiritually alive. And boy oh boy! has my testimony grown of that fact!!!! :D
In finding balance between the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual parts of ourselves in this crazy-demanding life we live, we need to do basic things every day to continue to function and stay fit (mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually!) For me, my basics are:
Mentally, I've got to be learning something daily- I need to stimulate my brain, make connections to things and find parallels and truth!
Physically- I need to run, walk, do something active to give my brain a break, and be more aware of this temple that holds my spirit.
Emotionally- I need to have depth in conversation, I need to focus on gratitude, and I need to feel productive/helpful.
Spiritually- I need CPR just like the rest of everyone else, I've also learned that I need to attend the temple, and I need to make a connection from the scriptures to 1- my life and 2- love EVERY DAY... otherwise I struggle.

Now these are just my basics, but it does lead to the next lesson I've learned...

6) Communication Is Everything
You really learn a lot about yourself and how you deal with other people by being attached to one other person 24/7 for 6 weeks at a time! In getting needs met, it is imperative that you have 3 lines of communication that are open.
1st- with Heavenly Father - I've learned that this truly is key to happiness is being open in conversation with Him, because He cares about the details of my life, but He doesn't micro-manage and just take all the bad stuff away when I ask, but He allows me to LEARN, and grow!
2nd- with myself - I'm probably the luckiest person in the world, because I get to spend 24 hours a day with myself! (...and I wonder why some people think I'm conceited... anyway, there is only partial truth to that last sentence :P) But, I've learned, especially on the mission that I need to be honest with myself about my own personal needs. They are different than most other people's needs, because I'm different, just like you, your family, etc.... but I need to be honest with myself so I can be teachable and open to 1- receiving help, and 2- growing and seeing my needs change
3rd- with those around you- Now this is not to say to just spill your guts to strangers on the street (although as a missionary you do just kind of give a piece your soul to everyone as you share your testimony with them...) but, what this means to me is that you need to be open with others so that you can receive help. We are all neighbors, we are all part of God's family, we all have a slight obligation to respect those around us. This is important to remember because Heavenly Father often uses others to answer our prayers, whether it's helping us gain a new perspective to giving us a shoulder to cry on, we need to have an open line with one another to be our best!

...and now for the best piece of advice:

7) DOCUMENT EVERYTHING!
Okay, so coming right after the communication lesson, this isn't something like: hey carry a voice recorder around with you and transcribe your life, but something I learned on my mission is that material items kind of suck, and you really can't replace memories! I know my most valued possessions are my journals and my pictures... aside from my scriptures lol, but there is no better way to 1- remember the awesomeness that you're blessed with and 2- show gratitude for it than by writing it down so you can remember it!
Journals, pictures, letters... all amazingness!
My study journal is almost more favorite than my regular journal, because it's neat to see how the exact same words in the scriptures have a different effect on me and my thoughts over time.
Also, I have random thoughts journals, and theories and memoir... all in the works, but hey, we're all a work in progress right? :D
But pictures... now THERE is something IRREPLACABLE! haha, now I'm not the "let's get the perfect picture" kind of girl -- which isn't always the best -- but, oh man, the FUNNIEST moments are caught on camera! And sometimes those snapshots are worth more than a thousand words! :D

So this has been my mission... 

5 June 2013 - 17 December 2014

18 Months

15 Companions

8 Areas

7 Moves

2 States

1 Life-creating Experience

I know I've got a long ways to go in life, and the lessons I've learned I'll continue to learn. I'm 2 years older, and 20 years wiser I feel... I served in a town with a population of 300 to a city with a population of 300,000. I talked with everyone I met outside with temperatures ranging from 10 degrees to 110 degrees. I taught inside mansions, 5th wheel trailers, and even outside with a man standing on a ladder! I increased my love for running, and escaped a few dogs ;) I learned how to ride my bike and turn corners without hands. I rode and drove so many miles I couldn't even estimate. I ate peanut butter... LOTS of peanut butter. Oh and 7 habanero peppers in about 20 minutes... that one hurt! I got the flu for the first time in my life. I had some of the BEST holidays ever. I read my scriptures. I went fishing. I laughed. I cried. I lived... and some nights it felt like I died before I woke up the next morning lol... I met some of my best friends, and I faced some of my worst fears. But overall the greatest accomplishment to have come from this experience is me... who I am right now!

It's only kind of a bummer I'm going to be changing [for the better] continually anyway, but I know I'm working on a foundation of stone. I love my God, and I love myself. I'm converted and I'm always moving forward. With love and with hope, because I'm not quite home yet!

I love you! Thank you!

With all my heart,

[Sister] Heather Ann Lagrosa

Drop-kicking The Bucket - December 15, 2014

Howdy Howdy my Family and Friends!!

This is my last e-mail as a set apart missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! It is SO crazy! AH! I'm not going to lie though, I had one heck of a last week, and the most non and less-active members of my entire MISSION show up to church on my last Sunday! :D

God is IN the details, and tenacity really pays off! Sister Clark and I were able to accomplish all of our goals for the transfer, and one of them (which we have been praying about for the last 6 weeks!!!) was to find a family to teach, and we met them this past Tuesday! :D It was AMAZING! They literally JUST moved into town, and they are so sweet. A young couple (younger than me! ...my missionary 'death' is making me feel old, and... man, I'm just feeling old haha) with 2 beautiful little girls! Anyway, they are wonderful, and I'm sad I won't get to teach them much, but I'm really grateful that God knows each of us and His timing is perfect! :D  

Saying "goodbye"/ "see you later" has been surprisingly not too difficult! I mean, I've definitely shed a few tears, bearing my testimony last week, during my talk this week, and talking with some of the members about occasions that will unite us again. But, it's nice to be confident in God and His timing and to know that there are many ways to keep in touch in the world today.

I am just so incredibly grateful for the time I've been able to spend here in Childress! On a member's wall this week I saw a cute little sign that said:
"Home is having a place to stay, Family is having someone to love, and having both is a blessing."

I loved that so much, and something that I've really been able to experience here on my mission is the truth of those few words! In a lot of ways I feel like I'm leaving "home" just because my heart has just grown so much here! And, these amazing people really have become family to me...

Through a lot of tearful goodbyes I've been reflecting on the pros and cons of loving people... just because it's so darn hard when you leave them, and agh... there has to be something easier right? haha, well, you all know that John is my favorite, so this came to my mind:

John 15: 9-10 "As the Father hath loved me so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love."

I know that we love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and loving God allows us to grow in love for one another. President Uctdorf taught: "There are no true endings, only everlasting beginnings." And I really believe that, our time is short here on this earth, shorter than any of us can imagine, and I am just so eternally grateful for the hope and joy and love that we get to experience! And that these experiences prepare us for the even greater things to come.

I love God, I love my family, and I love having more than just one place to call home. I love the opportunities we get to grow with each other, and I'm grateful for God's perfect timing!

I'm sad to leave my home in Texas, but I'm grateful, so, so, soooo grateful to have my family to go home to also. :)

With all my heart,

Sister Heather Ann Lagrosa

Pictures:

1- My last basketball with my lady bobcats this morning!

2- This is where the Texas Chain Saw Massacre happened!

3- Gas is OVER a dollar less than when I got here 4 1/2 months ago!

4- Sister Clark and I in our matching sweaters with our best friend necklaces!

5- Me and 'Lil Wayne (he thinks he could beat me up if he wanted to)

6- Hospital burritos!

7- You know you're in Texas when...

8- Nothing says comp unity like PINEAPPLE PANTS! #ilovesisterclark!!!!!

"Life is hard, that's the POINT, not the problem!" - December 8, 2014

Howdy howdy family and friends!

So, it's been an exciting week! So, I found this quote (the title of this e-mail) in my notes earlier, and it kind of went with the week. :P

So as y'all know, from last week's e-mail we were a little sick start to the week, but we rallied it up, and we got to work, and it. was. FANTASTIC! God KNOWS exactly what we need, and He definitely answers our prayers. :)

One Wednesday, we finally got to work the entire day, and we went to a little bitty town, Estelliene, where Danny met someone he said that we should go see, and we went out there and met a woman named Charley! She's so sweet, 83 years old, and full of energy! We found out on Friday (when we saw her again!) that she even cuts her own lawn, in the summer time... she's waiting on someone to help her with her roof, but I have no doubt she'd be up there herself if she could make it up a ladder! :P Anyway, we went over there, and at first she thought that Sister Clark was my MOM, and then thought that we were Jehovah Witnesses, haha, but we got to talking with her some more, and found a framed pass-along card in her living room lol! But it was good, we talked with her about Christ, and #HeIsTheGift, and then answered some of her questions about what we believe. On our way out, she cried with gratitude because she knew that we were truly sent from God to see her that day, and she felt the Spirit that we carry with us... that was amazing to me, just another witness that God is truly mindful of His children, we are all of such great importance to Him!

This week was highlighted a lot on Estelliene, because we went back on Friday (to see Charley) and we also met with a man named Mark (and his two neighbors Joe, and Jaime)... we got to bring Danny with us, and it was perfect, because he actually graduated high school there, and KNEW the men that we saw! haha, they played ball, and beat each other up back in the day, it was an amazing reunion, and seeing Danny glow as he was reunited with old friends was amazing to me!

On a sorrowful note, the baptism we were supposed to have this week has been postponed until after I leave Childress. :( Nevertheless, God is good, and I know that His will is being done... it lightens my heart to know that the trials we go through truly are for our benefit and God looks forward to our successes, rather than back on our transgressions, we just need to do the same. We are given obstacles to grow and become strengthened! :) I LOVE IT! (though, not always in the moment :P)

We got to go to the temple on Saturday, and I felt very blessed to be able to go and learn more, and, as usual, I got to see some of my Hobbs family there! :) It was AMAZINGGGG!!!! :D :D :D As hard as it is going to be to leave, I am looking forward to being able to attend the temple more often, and learning there, I really do feel that everything just comes together so much better in there. :)

Also, it was the BEST Sunday ever this Sunday, fast and testimony meeting, and I felt like I needed to get up there, especially after Sister Wyatt bore such a strong testimony of the blessings of the gospel and reflected on a lesson we took her with us to this week, and then spoke of the lasts she is having with her son, as he is leaving for his mission after the school year is over. The Spirit was making me cry a little! :P But they were happy tears, it was good to get up there, I feel I've learned a lot of the doctrine of conversion my entire mission, but I've really seen and experienced conversion the most here in Childress with the close tight-knit family they do have here, even though a lot of the members are spread out over a vast area. I got a little choked up there, it was good, and I was just so filled with gratitude. I know I'm the set-apart teacher, but I've been learning so much and it's all coming together at the end of my mission.

The most important thing though that stood out to me was that earlier that day I had this feeling that I could not be any happier or more content. And I know that that was true, but I know I've felt it before and it was true as well! I know that as I continue to follow the path the Lord wants me to take that I will continue to just be happier and happier, to be filled to a point where I feel I can't be filled anymore, and that I'll become exactly who I was intended to become since I chose to be here on the earth.

I love each of you! It's weird to think I'll be in Florida next week! I'm giving a talk on Sunday, and it feels like it's more of a farewell than the one I gave before my mission, haha but, I know that God's timing is perfect, and we're always blessed as we do His work. Just like He doesn't stop, neither does His work!

With all my heart,

Sister Heather Ann Lagrosa

Pictures!

1- Christmas Lights in Texas hahahaha! :D

2- We sealed our hardwood floor! :) I've learned all kinds of home construction out here! from wiring to hanging walls to painting to flooring! Watch out!!

3- Amber and I, with my new hat she gave me for my birthday! :D

4- Everyone at the temple!

5- Brother White, and his favorite Sisters!

6- Best. District. EVER!

7- LOVE this nativity!

8- My favorite redneck :)

The Struggle Bus is Real! ...and it Broke Down in Childress! - December 1, 2014

Howdy howdy family and friends!

So, at a recent Zone Conference our wonderful Mission Mom (Sister Heap) started a new phrase (the Struggle Bus) when she said that President got on it that morning. haha, so this week has been a rollercoaster, and it ended with the struggle bus breaking down in Childress, so get excited to hear about that haha.

But we'll start with the good stuff! Sister Clark (along with some awesome neighbors and help) succeeded in making the celebration of the completion of 23 years of life the BEST ever! I think my birthdays that fall on Thanksgiving end up being the most memorable :P

But, yeah, last Monday our neighbor started off the week with making me a 3 tier birthday cake! And delicious Mexican casserole, we had cake again on Tuesday at our district meeting, crazyness on exchanges following that, the STL's helped make Wednesday the be Birthday-eve ever, then my actual birthday was just filled with SO much Thanksgiving fun (I got sung to by a lot of strangers, we had Thanksgiving with the Keys clan, 4 generations of them! (and one generation has 10 kids in one family!), we played football and someone even pulled over to take a picture for Me and Sister Clark, when we were taking a picture near a Childress sign!) and then the struggle bus pulled up and I was just kind of knocked out Friday and Saturday with the flu, and then Sister Clark got it yesterday... 

I have honestly never been so sick in my life, as I was on Friday, I felt like a little kid, because it just hurt to move, open my eyes, or even lay there, I didn't even have enough strength to open a bottle of water and y'all know I"m not a wimp! :P haha, when Sister Clark made me eat 2 bites of banana with the medicine she gave me, we were both surprised that I just burst into tears! :(

I finally got feeling well enough Saturday to go out for a couple hours, but by Sunday everything except my stomach was pretty functionable! :)

Anyways, the missionary work this week went great too! Even better than birthday festivities. We had one of the BEST district meetings of my mission, and we were able to really see Heavenly Father's PERFECT timing at work during exchanges!! :D Also, Scottie, our wonderful recent convert, Danny's nephew is going to be baptized this coming week!

So, so soooo much goodness. Since I can't talk about everything, because time is really running out, I just want to talk about the 2 highlights of the week: 1- Heavenly Father's timing and 2- Service in Quanah!

First, Heavenly Father's timing, so we had my last exchanges this week with Sisters Plante and McFarland, and we had surprise construction on our house start haha, so literally EVERYTHING was moved around in our house, and we couldn't cook for almost 2 days because they were sanding the floor, and part of our front wall to our house was missing hahaha! But it all worked out sooooo perfectly, because, we really needed an extra set of missionaries with the appointments we had set up, and we taught literally every hour we were out! Heavenly Father knows what's up! And later that night when I was a little anxious, becasue the house was a wreck, y'all know I like things organized right... anyway, he answered a really simple prayer, and I woke up, in the same disorganized house the next morning with no anxiety! :) 

Second, SERVICE IN QUANAH! this overlaps a little with Heavenly Father's timing, because having the other sisters here was sorely needed for help in the kitchen on Wednesday (good thing we were all Sister Missionaries!!) Then we got up early and spent 4 hours thanksgiving morning in Quanah and made over 200 meals for people in town and in some of the surrounding areas too! It was probably my favorite service activity that I've ever done, I'm excited to try and top it next year! :P

Ah! Well, my time is far spent, but I love, love, LOOOOVEEEEE you! and my scripture for the week is:
Alma 34:38 "That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yoursleves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you."

Keep looking for truth, searching for the spirit, and living in gratitude! I'll do the same!

With all my heart,

Sister Heather Ann lagrosa

Pictures:

1- Football on Thanksgiving!

2- Struggle Bus Day 1

3- Sunday Night :(

4- The front wall of our house kind of missing!

5- Our Quanah Crew on Thanksgiving day!

6- Birthday Flowers from my Mommy and Pops :D

7- Making sure those teeth sparkle!

8- Awk district pic, we made the elders try to look like they love each other :P

9- Yep, I'm a 23 year old woman, and we took a picture next to "Butts" road

10- Our Thanksgiving assembly line!

#ShareTheG​ift - November 24, 2014

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

First off: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!! (on the 26th!!) Thank you for being born, and then giving birth to me 30 years and one day later.... even though you'll always be 40 to me :) 

Well, to all of my other family and friends who I love, and I'm also quite delighted with the fact that y'all were born too, but not as excited as my mother's birth, anyway, I love you all! And I'm happy to be writing to you today about the FANTASTIC week that I was able to have! :D 

Can I just start with saying how fantastic Thanksgiving time is? In sacrament meeting yesterday Brother Jones, who isn't a member, but is married to one here in Childress got up and bore his testimony about families, and how this is really the best time of the year, and there are a LOT of families in town. :) It's exciting stuff, family is amazing! I think the only missionary rule I'm struggling with is not holding babies! They are so cute! Ah, anyway, there are so many blessings that come from the work out here, and I really am feeling SO blessed to be out here working at the BEAUTIFUL time of the year!

The highlights of this last week included a fun zone conference, service, rapping, another frozen 5K Friday and teaching, teaching, and learning! Oh man, there were many random times throughout the week that we were working, and I just got this feeling of homesickness, like I already miss being out here, I already miss Childress, and my companion, and the mission life, and I just feel so blessed to be able to have joy in my time out here. It's humbling, and comforting all at the same time. :P

At Zone Conference we learned about the Share the gift initiative that the church is doing this holiday season! :D (Can I just say that I LOVE the Christmas Spirit!!!?!??!??!!) Ah! So, SO, SOOOO exciting! This is truly the best time of the year! :D But, basically on the 28th there's going to be a video on youtube, and it's gong to be awesome, it's short, and it just helps us to remember Jesus Christ, and how He was the first gift. So as we discover Him, we feel a change in our lives. As we embrace Him, those changes last, and then we have to share our testimony of Him because of how mush joy comes from His love! :D So we each get to Discover the Gift, Embrace the Gift, and Share the Gift! :D This video is even BETTER than the #becauseofHim video we put out for Easter! 

Oh, man, so besides that we were REALLY spiritually fed on Tuesday, and it was weird to be with 4 other sisters in our zone who are all going home in a few weeks! TIME HAS FLOWN! And yet we are still learning! It is a personal life goal of mine to just always keep learning and feeling like there is no possible way I could learn any more. :)

Service this week was AMAZING!!!! We got to paint (and it was Sister Clark's first time as a missionary!) and we helped out at the food drive, and it was probably the most fun we have EVER had! ...also just in saying hi to everyone I've realized just how long I've spent here, because I feel like we know half the town and half the town knows us, because we are those crazy girls that ride our bikes in skirts around town. :P hahaha, anyway, it was fun. We randomly got a load of ice cream in, and a few boxes got squished, and we were a little hungry becasue we moved like 800 pounds of food to give out, and it was lunch time, so we had some ice cream, and took some goofy pictures! :P One of the men who always helps out, Tom, is diabetic, and there were sugar free pops in there, and he had about 8 of them... after the 6th he said: "I don't feel so good!" and 15 minutes later... "... I guess it's time for another one!" hahaha, this town is really the best! 

Last highlight... we rapped for the young women on Wednesday night, to help out with an activity they had, and we taught them about service! It was SO MUCH FUN! I haven't rapped in awhile, but I taught cute little sister Clark to beat box, and we rapped about how serving is fun to do! 

It was a great, great week, and we are so excited for another week of fun and service, and we are looking forward to playing football on Thursday!!! Also, sister Clark is determined to make this the best birthday week of my life... and she already is, even though surprises are hard when you're around someone 24/7, but we're having fun, and always on the run! Teaching and learning... this really is the LIFE!

DON'T FORGET! On the 28th (yes black Friday!!) everyone needs to go to: christmas.mormon.org and Discover the gift. Embrace the gift. and Share the gift! :D

With all my heart,

Sister Heather Ann Lagrosa

Pictures!:

1- For my LAST zone conference Sister Clark and I got our outfits from the back of our closet! :D

2- Fun Selfie with our Branch Mission leader, Bro Burcham, and our Elders (Thomas and Winward!) :D We remind them daily that we are their favorite Sister Missionaries!

3- We painted our names on the wall!

4- All bundled up and eating ice cream!

5- One of our members walking his dog, in his golf cart! It reminded me of Florida! :D

Did you know that water can start a hay fire?

Hello Family and Friends!! So I've been learning a lot of cool things on the mission... like if you get hay bales wet, they can totally combust, because when they start to decompose they get hot, and in 110+ weather, boom! flames happen! Crazy right? Anyway, this last week has been pretty crazy, it rained SO much last night, and it cooled of to a nice 82 degrees today! Mom, I can now understand why it's so hard for you to handle 60. :P An update on the crazy house we moved into... well, it leaks... a lot, and the celing in our kitchen kinda ended up on the floor too (when it rains here everything floods becasue I don't think the ground knows what to do with all the water lol), but we are moving out tonight/tomorrow morning into a house that used to be a Methodist Parsonage! :P Opening up a new area is hard work! It's so cool to get to know the members of the branch we have here, there are quite a few less active members that we have been able to visit, and invite to come back to church. As for new investigators to teach, we've had a couple lessons, but people are really busy, so it's hard to get return appointments here. Our days start with us waking up at 6:30 and exercising for 30 minutes after our morning prayers. Then we get ready and eat breakfast, and have personal scripture study time from 8-9. From 9-10 we prepare for our day's lessons by doing companionship scriptures study (with all three of us) and we role play how some of the lessons will go, and then we go over some of our training packet from 10-11. At 11 sharp we are out the door and talking to everyone we can about the gospel. We have a quick lunch sometime in the next couple hours there, and try to have dinner before 6 (if we don't have a dinner appointment scheduled). Then we try to have a lesson sometime in the evening before we return home at 9 to plan for the next day, get ready for bed, and get to sleep at 10:30. The schedule seems pretty reasonable, but there seriously just NEVER seems to be enough time in the day to get everything done, even when appointments (and their back-ups) fall through all the time! We've had 2 great lessons the past week, and I realized that I am so much better at listening than teaching when it comes to the gospel! Sister Hoover (the other baby missionary in our trio), who is secretly shy like I am, did SO well teaching the restoration to a really amazing Catholic woman, Felipa, and I was just amazed by how strong her faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is, and wanted to hear more about her life. I was able to bear my testimony to her that the message we are sharing with her will increase her faith, and the joy that she has in her life, and that  even though she already knows so much, and sees Heavenly Father's hand in her life, that accepting the fullness of His gospel will bless her and her family even more. After the lesson, I turned to Sister Johnson and asked her how I could possibly learn to teach some of these people who know Him so much better than I do, about the restored gospel, and her answer surprised me. She said, "Sister Lagrosa, we are in the bible belt, people here, they know their bible, they know their Heavenly Father, and they are good Christians. But we aren't here to teach what they already have, we are here to teach about what they don't have, and that's the fullness of His gospel." After thinking about that for awhile I realized that I think I learned about the restored gospel backwards... I never knew Heavenly Father, but I got to learn from the Missionaries, and the Hamm's and the Brambleton Ward, about what the restored truth is. Then when I knew that, and I finally decided to ask God if it was true, once I knew Him, then it all just made sense... and I've always questioned things, like I've mentioned before I ask myself questions every day. If I'm living what I truly want. I have to cut this e-mail short, but enjoy the pictures! We made cookies in our car because it's been so hot! 

Love, Sister Lagrosa!

a little dust devil! (They are EVERYWHERE down here!)

The BEAUTIFUL cloudy New Mexico Sky from THIS MORNING!! :D

a TRACTOR on the highway! (Old Dexter Highway is 2 lanes!)

This is why you can bake cookies in the CAR! (it said 133 earlier) BUT IT"S 5:30 AT NIGHT!!!

We baked cookies on our dashboard at Zone Conference (a conference with all of the missionaires in our area which is New Mexico)!

Leavin' For Lubbock on Monday!

Hello Everybody!

There have been SOOOO many things that have happened this week, I'm going to hardly have time to go over them all! But good news though, I have tons of pictures to send as soon as I get out to Lubbock!!

First I'd just like to say, I'm sorry you got that call from the MTC Health Clinic Mom. I PROMISE everything is okay, I just took a soccer ball to the face during gym time on Wednesday, and the blind spot I had for about 20 minutes after the impact was sitll there in low light. Sister Heward (the wife of one of the members in our Branch Presidency) made me promise to go to the doctor if I woke up on Friday with the blind spot (in low light), and since I did, I felt obligated to do it. Dr. Neilsen at the MTC referred me to an opthamologist, just to make sure everything was alright, and Dr. Meyers (said opthamologist) dialted my left eye and took a look at my optic nerve and retina. The upper left (mirror of the bottom right where my blind spot was) wasn't the normal brownish/pinkish/orange that it should have been, it was kind of white. He called it a mild form of commotio retinae, which would heal on its own (it's just a little bit of sheering injury from the impact of the soccer ball). Missionaries truly are blessed with health! (There are pictures to come of the little bruise I had, and me with Sister Hoover who is the one who got me with the ball! She is such an energetic sass bucket! :D) (And it was way cool to be out of the MTC, as a MISSONARY!! People called me Sister Lagrosa! :D)

Something I've really come to realize this week is the power of prayer. As I've struggled a bit with feelings of inadequacy, among the other usually new missionary feelings, I realized that there truly is so much power in going to hte Lord with all of the desires of your heart. As most of you all know I am really a people person too (which is why I'm so excited to get to Texas soooo bad!), and it's been hard to not have the time I usually spend talking to people, and my roommates seem to get so much mail lol, but I know that there are so many people out there praying for me individually, but also for me as one of the Lord's missionaries!
Also, we kneel so much every day here, my favorite parts of the day are kneeling with my companion after a lesson (even if it wasn't successful at all) and having a prayer of grattitude for our investigator, and for the gifts the Lord has given us.
Sister Metzger (one of our teachers) had us do an activity with prayer that was so powerful. After we talked about some instances of prayer in the scriptures, we identified this patter of preparing to pray, and spending more than five minutes on our knees. After that she had us take a few minutes to write a letter to our Heavenly Father, preparing for a prayer about anything weighing down on our hearts, and then we all got on our knees and prayed. It was so impacting for me to feel my Father in Heaven's love for me with so much strenght, that I've made it a goal for me to follow that pattern (think, write, pray) at least once a week for the rest of my life.
One last thing about prayer I'd like to share is a really uplifiting experience as a zone (our two Lubbock districts) that we had on Thursday. One of the sisters (Sister Scott) going to Lubbock is from Australia, so she has had quite a bit more of an adjustment to the missonary schedule than a lot of us have. During our morning block of classes she passed out on the floor, and started hyperventalating. Two of the elders in her district were able to adminsiter a priesthood blessing for her while another called for the EMTs. She woke up just as the blessing was finished, and she ended up being okay. It was a really emotional expereince for us as a zone, mostly because we didn't know exactly what was wrong, and it was a trial of faith to know that she would be okay. We knelt together as a district and had a prayer together. And then we sang the hymn: "The Spirit of God", and I just started crying the Spirit was there, and it was so strong. After a short testimony meeting, we had some time for personal scripture study about the Atonement, and we shared some of what we learned with our class. I read in John 14, and my calling as a missionary was reaffirmed to me again as I read the words that Christ spoke and understood a little bit more that His power can truly heal us in whatever way we need it.

It seems that during almost every time I have to study the scriptures I am reminded that it is this knowledge that I have that I get to share with others. It's not fair for me to know so deeply that Christ is my Savior, that I not share that with others. Our purpose as missonaries is to: "Invite others to come unto Christ by recieving the restored gospel through, faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." I know this is going to be a difficult calling, but as I've settled in to being Sister Lagrosa, I KNOW with all of my heart that this is the Lord's work, and I cannot let my own reservations keep me from being a bold missonary and do my best to share the gospel with eveyone around me... even if it just by my actions.

I don't have much more time, but I did want to say that it is crazy to think this time next week, I'll be in an area I'll be serving for 12 weeks! In the Lubbock Texas Mission! Something we learned during in-feild orientation is to get to know the ward as soon as possible, so if the Bishop where ever I am agrees, I'll hopefully be able to speak or bear my testimony in sacrament meeting next week!

If you get an opportunity please watch Elder Holland's Mormon Message "God's Work Never Ceases". He loves you!

I know His grace is sufficient for us all.

Love always,
Sister Lagrosa

p.s.  I just want to say Happy Fathers Day! I hope you got my cards, and happy Birthday William! When I get home I"ll be 23! :D

I love you all!

Day 3 of the MTC

Hi Family!!!

So our district (our class basically) has 10 missionaries who are ALL going to Lubbock! Also there is another district next door to us with another 10, so in total there are 11 Sisters and 9 Elders departing the MTC on Monday the 17th!! We already received our travel plans, and we are leaving here at 4:30 in the morning!!! Arriving in Lubbock at 4:30.

Since we only have 30 minutes to e-mail here, I'm going to try and keep this short, also, I don't think we can upload photos yet... but I'm out of here soon, so you'll get some!!

First thing first though, wow, getting dropped off!!! Eliza, drove me down and Jen and Steph (aka ginger bear) met up with us for my final minutes of pre-MTC-ness. It was a whirlwind that night, everything went so fast I found myself forgetting to take a breath. After getting a brand spankin' new black name tag, I went to drop off my luggage, literally we just dropped it in the room, and went to the classroom to meet our teachers and our companions. My companion is Sister Bradford, a wonderful 20-year old UT grown Aggie (USU) from up north, and she is SOOOO GREAT! We are really different, she's quiet, more reserved, etc. but, wow is her faith BRIGHT! She is a hard worker, and I've felt over the past few days that it's difficult for her to feel discouraged, she is so strong and it's really amazing to be with her all the time.

Our days are jam-packed here, I love how perfectly they are scheduled, but I feel so rushed, and my heart is just aching to be in the mission field! Classes are amazing, and it's interesting to be back in them since I've graduated. The BEST part about classes is that it's more apparent to me more and more every hour my purpose as a missionary!

I'm inviting people to come unto Christ. How great is that?

The gospel is so simple, and it is testified to me over and over again here that Heavenly Father loves ALL of his children all that He wants for us is eternal happiness.

I'll have to admit though, my multiple inadequacies and shortcomings are MORE than apparent here. I've had to really rel on the power and strength of Heavenly Father and my calling to keep me from getting too discouraged. Sadly our first lesson was like a train wreck in slow motion.

But it's the little things that help us pull through. I've run into both of the Sumsion Sisters here (Tabitha and Kelli) and actually had a great conversation with the latter last night. And I've seen so many young sisters from the Brambleton Ward and from my time at BYU. I even ran into some return missionaries (RMs) that are now teachers here (you know they are teachers because they are walking by themselves lol).

I love the Spirit that is here, even though my heart is yearning for Texas. I am trying (and succeeding quite well may I add) at being an exactly obedient missionary (following all of the rules) and reading my Book of Mormon everyday for 30+ minutes! Our branch president gave us those commitments last night.

I love you, and my time is just about up! I want to share one more thing with you before I go though.

One of my teachers, Sister Metzger shared this scripture with us

D&C 100:1 "Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my [friend Sister Lagrosa], your families are well; they are in mine hands, and I will do with them as seemeth me good; for in me there is all power."

I know Heavenly Father is with you, and I know that you all are blessed.

Love Always,

Sister Lagrosa

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