Howdy, Howdy! - November 18, 2013

Hello Family and Friends!

 

I love you all so much, and we had such an exciting week here in the big city of Monahans! ... well, we had some time in Midland (which I STILL love!), because we had a Zone Conference there with all the missionaries in the Midland and Odessa Zones here, and it was WONDERFUL!

 

Some funny stories really quick though!

1- I actually enjoyed steak this week! It's not usually my favorite, but something about how they cook it here in Texas is pretty delicious. :)

2- We knocked on a woman's door this week, and she was eating a bag of hot fries, and she told us that her diet helped her lose 30 pounds! We asked her what her secret was, and she shook her bag and said "Cheetos! I just eat two of these a day, and boom, I'm 30 pounds lighter!" It was pretty great, and she wants us to come back and talk to her more about the gospel, so we're excited!

3- WalMart! Okay, so, I haven't been to WalMart in over a month... and we were allowed to go on our way back from Zone Conference, and OH MY GOODNESS! I never thought I'd feel like I was in a crowd at the store, but shoot dang, I can tell I'm in a small town again, because it was so weird!

4- Dishwasher. So I don't remember the last time I used a dishwasher, because I didn't have one in college, and I've never used one so far on my mission, and I started the dishwasher for the first time in like 4 or 5 years today! ... I think I'm gonna have to stick to hand washing... :P

 

 So now for the good stuff!

 

The main focus of the conference for us was teaching simply, and with clarity. President Augustin testified again and again how the basics are the most important. And the restored truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ are simple, we can teach them simply and they can be understood without getting a doctorate in theology. :P

 

It actually went along really well with some things that have stood out to me in personal study this week as I was reading in Preach My Gospel, and the scriptures.

I found a quote:

"True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior."

  

I laughed a little to myself when I read this and thought of my future professional aspirations, but I'm not gonna lie, everything that I've read in a study about positive thinking, the best way to learn, etc. has gospel truths in it!

 

Like thinking positively! I realized this past week, that in the scriptures, whenever a prophet is talking about how great the trials and afflictions are (either their own personal ones, familial ones, or just of their people as a whole), when they say "however" or "nevertheless" and acknowledge the Lord's hand in helping them through their afflictions, things always seem to get better!

 

And that is simply because Heavenly Father loves us so much! He wants to hear from us in prayer, and He wants to give us guidance, not only to make correct choices, but the BEST choices. And He will always answer when we ask, He will always help us grow from our trials, and He will never ever leave us. As we search for His hand, we will find it, and I know that He is filled with joy when we are able to take some time to express our love and appreciation for Him in our lives.

 

It's great being a missionary! And I love the simple precious truths of the gospel!

 

2Nephi 4:26-35 is just one amazing example of how turning to the Lord can bring peace to a troubled soul. :)

 

I love you all!

 

<3 Sister Lagrosa

 

pictures!

4- Chalked the wall at the Million Barrel Museum. :D

"Life is good, even if you wake up in the morning and it slaps you across the face 100 times!" - November 11, 2013

This post title quote is brought to you by Sister Martinez. :)

 

Howdy family and friends!

 

So, this week has been super wonderful! :D No one was sick, we were able to get out and teach a lot of peole and we saw so many miracles!

 

Building off of the humility I talked about last week, and just my constantly increasing testimony of Heavenly Father's perfect timing that has been both a slap and the face and subtle through my whole life, and here as a missionary, it's been amazing to find Heavenly Father's hand in His children's lives this week.

 

We have quite a few solid investigators right now who are amazing, and patiently waiting for some things to pass before they can be baptized, but we are also finding new people to teach. The people here are so friendl (like really friendly), but it's always hard to keep those return apppointments, becasue work schedules are crazy, and... well, let's be honest, things you can see (life and the world) gets in the way of working on the things you can't see all the time (God and faith). But, we've seen miracles this week with all of our investigators, and it's exciting to see them progressing and continuing to build their relationship with their Heavnely Father and come to know the meaning of Christ's Atonment that much deeper in their lives for themselves.

 

Rosindo (a.k.a. Rosey), is an awesome man we met on Tuesday while we were biking around (since we are in a small town, and far away from everything else, we are trying to not use the car as much as we can), and we went and talked with his mom and he came home early from work. We set up a time to come back and talk with them more about the gospel, and see what they had understood from missionaries that had taught them before (a few years ago).

So when we went back to his house we learned a lot about the short 35 years he's lived thus far, and how he's been prepared through these years to hear the peace and the comfort that come from the message we have to share. I was humbled, as I have been many times, by the strength that he showed as he explained some of the trials and experiences that have brought him to the point where he is at in his life now. We were planning on teaching him the message of the Restoration of Christ's church (which is usually what we share first), but instead we taught the Plan of Salvation, or the Plan of Happiness-- Heavenly Father's plan for us to return to live with Him again. He's lost many loved ones over the years, and as we and the member that was with us shared scriptures, experiences, and testimony, the Spirit was so strong in the room, and that stillness and peace that only comes from Heaven was there with us.

 

I am so grateful to know that the Holy Ghost testifies of all truth. I know that all of the 80,000 missionaries would be wasting their time teaching if the Spirit wasn't there to testify of the truthfulness of our message. I was so happy when we were able to explain to Rosey that our purpose was not to convince him of anything, but to invite him to ask God for his own personal witness of the truth of our message, that immediately he said: "I will." and smiled through some tears. It was humbling for me to feel just a portion of Heavenly Father's love for Rosey, because when he said that he would I knew, and I was able to testify to Rosey, that I knew that Heavenly Father would answer his prayers, if he only asked with sincerity to act on the answer he recieved.

 

I think I've said this a couple times before, but it almost seems unfair to me that we get to learn so much as missionaires from the people that we are teaching... It's probably because the Spirit is the real teacher, but still, I count it as a blessing every day.

 

Unfortunately Rosey wasn't able to make it to church becasue of his work schedule, but we had a new investigator, Leon, come to church yesterday! He stayed all three hours, and he actually found out that he is related to Sister Martinez (who was also able to make it to church for the first time in awhile this past Sunday, and taught Relief Society, where I got that awesome quote from). Leon's little brother actually was given a copy of the Book of Mormon from another 11-year old boy in the ward, and that's how we met him. He's about 20, but he's wanting to listen, and is interested in getting to know God better. We're excited to be teaching him, and almost everyone in our congregation went and introduced themselves to him! It was truly amazing, he only wanted to stay for the first hour, but he ended up enjoying all three. :)

 

I wish I could tell you all everything, but time's running out!

I do want to share a scripture from Proverbs I read this week that really sunk into my heart:

Proverbs 4:18 "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

 

One of our other investigators Esai described his life right now as "clearing branches on the path of Esai."

 

This scripture remineded me of him saying, that, and how we are all kindof on this dark path right now as we are far away from our Heavenly home. I thought about how, time and time again peole have described the hope and peace that come from the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ not only as the light at the end of the tunnel, but the flashlight we carry with us while we are walking. And I realized something about the trials we face, or the branches we have to clear or the mountains we are compelled to climb.

 

We really need that shining light in our lives so we can see. We're all walking the path back to Heavenly Father whether we are aware of it or not, and we all have branches, rocks, and mountains in our journey. Having that light in our lives from the Spirit, from growing our faith helps us to overcome those obstacles with more confidence and strenght, we can look forward and plan, we can look back and remember better what we learned, and we can have joy and hope through whatever ails us in the present.

 

I know with all of my heart that Heavenly Father wants to help us with our trials, if we but ask Him to. With enough faith that He will listen and provide us with what we need to clear those braches. I know one way he has provided is through the examples of other, of which I am eternally grateful, and there are countless examples in my life.

 

I love you all so much! But know that God loves you more. :D

 

~Sister Lagrosa

 

p.s.

more fun facts about the mission:

1- Sister Rose thinks I look like a carebear! And my new nickname from her is L-G

2- I LOVE being able to see the stars so bright again! And the H2S gas from the oil fields reminds me of the pungent-ness of Dexter a little bit :P

3- It gets dark now around 6:30 (because of the time change), so it makes evenings a little more interesting when our plans fall through/people cancel. We have to carry around flashlights to help us see! :P

4- My comps are trying to bring the hashtag (#) thing back... so I have to do this:

#lovebeingamissionary!

 

pictures!

1- sometimes we eat cake and play dominos!

2- Me in between my SUPER TALL companions

3- an AWESOME sign we see every day :P

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Happiest Halloween! - November 4, 2013

Howdy Family and Friends!

 

So this week was exceptionally eventful, and uneventful at the same time haha.

We had some amazing experiences this week both in Monahans and mission wide!

 

I think the highlight of the week is that we were able to attend the temple on Halloween! It was so incredible, and was a great reminder to me about why I'm out here on a mission. The Spirit there, was beyond description, and the simple hope that comes from the gospel was reaffirmed to me once again. It is so great to know that the temple truly is the Lord's house here on earth, and the peace that we feel in there as we learn and grow closer to our Heavenly Father is something that cannot be duplicated by any earthly means.

 

This week, Sister Rose and I were a little sick, so sadly we weren't able to get out and work as much as we had wanted to, but, we were able to take some extra time for studies as we took turns sleeping. Something that really has stood out to me - from being sick, some letters I recieved, studies, visiting the people we were able to, and going to the temple this week- is humility.

 

I think I've mentioned a few times how amazed I am by the people that we meet out here as missionaries. As I'm taking this short time to serve the Lord, I've realized that I'm being stretched and growing more I think than I am aiding others to grow sometimes. On Sunday a woman went up to bear her testimony about how she has always found comfort in the Lord, and she said that "we are all only here for a short time and then we get to go home." She was talking about this short time we have here on earth, and the joy we will be able to feel as we return home to our Heavenly Father, but it made me think about how short of a time missionary service is.

 

These song lyrics were brought to my rememberance: "I'm old enough to know that time doesn' t move slow enough, but I'm yound enough to know that I can't ever be too old enough to trust you."

 

This week has really just reminded me of how much trust we need to have in Heavenly Father. In His plan, His timing, and the Atonement of His Son.

 

In the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon, Chapter 3, The Brother of Jared (the spiritual leader of these people at the time) is praying to God for guidance and direction in the next steps that he is to take to help out his family. In verse 5 he states:

 

"...we know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understnding of men."

 

I stopped and thought about that for a solid 5 minutes when I came to that scripture. I thought about how I, Sister Lagrosa, could overlook the great power God shows in my life. I thought about how often I say "There's a miracle!" or "My God is a great God!" and I thought about how sometimes I do overlook the small details that Heavenly Father so clearly takes care of for me every day.

 

I thought about a talk given in general conference, where one of the apostles of the Lord promised that, as we are obedient to God's commandments we can be able to look through spiritual eyes, and have a better understanding of the Lord's hand in our lives.

 

As we have meet with some of our investigators this week, I've been amazed at their great faith, and hope in the Lord. The humble steps they have taken in their lives to get to where they are now, and their confidence in the steps they will be taking in the future as they are preparing to make those importnat covenants with their loving Heavenly Father.

 

I think we can all use a little more humility, and I know that He knows just what trials we need to be humbled in our lives. I'm grateful for the support of family and friends as I'm out here in the TLM! I know that I have grown in strides because of the seemingly small examples that I've had in my life, and I am grateful, that as I grow, even a little, in the understanding of my Father in Heaven, that I can see the greatness in those seemingly small instnaces.

 

I love you!

~Sister Lagrosa

 

p.s. I'll have to send pictures next week!

Eatin' Elk - October 28, 2013

Howdy Family and Friends!

Transfer week is ALWAYS eventful! And the start of Chapter 4 was a good one!

When we got to Monahans, we went to work, and when we got home for dinner, we had Elk meat in our refridgerator! So, we've been eating some elk, and it's amazing.

 

But even more amazing has been meeting the wonderful people of Monahans! Our ward members are so amazing! I guess, members are always really nice to the Sister Missionaries, but it still never ceases to be wonderful! :D

 

Both Sister Rose and I were able to have an opportunity to stand up and bear our testimonies in sacrament meeting to introduce ourselves to the ward, and it was really great. On top of that, we were also able to teach our Gospel Principles class, as a companionship, during Sunday School, and it was all about prayer!

 

I just love how it's really just a deeper understanding of the simple things that really build our testimonies. There were many experiences shared during that short hour that testified of miracles, and Heavenly Father's perfect timing (while not necessarily our preferred timing), in our lives. One testimony that was particularly strong came from a woman who's returning to the church, and her family was recently baptized this year. They've been falling on some difficult times, and she testified of how much strength and Spirit come from prayer. She also testified about how when things just get a little too rough for her during the day, she alwaysjust turns to the scriptures, and she can find her comfort.

 

This week has been very humbling for me. I love how much joy there is in the simple things, and how great it is that Heavenly Father really uses imperfect people to move His work along. I am more and more amazed at His grace and love every day I'm out here, and I feel really grateful to be even a small part of His work.

 

All my love,

Sister Heather Ann Lagrosa!

:D

  

Pictures:

1- My dream boots, I might purchase for my birthday? :D

2- Sister Hymas with our new best friend (an adorable puppy!) we met in Grand Falls!

3- Me and Sister Rose just brushin' our teeth, so we can smile big.

 

Chapter 4: Miracles in Monnahans! - October 21, 2013

Hi Family and Friends!

So exciting news, transfer calls came in and I'm packin' up and going to Monnahans! ... It's actually going to be really hard leaving this area, but I know the Lord's vision is broader than mine, and I really do love that town! I feel really blessed that I was able to work there for a day this transfer, and I'm really excited to continue to see the people that I was able to meet there!

I'll be there for at least 6 weeks, and my new companions will be Sister Hymas and Sister Rose! Both of them are awesome, and REALLY tall (especially compared to me) so we're gonna be a funny bunch spreading the gospel! 

The best quotes of this week are:
"How has Jesus changed your life today?" (which was going to be the title of this e-mail if transfers weren't happening.) But Alena, a woman we've not been able to really set up return appointments with said that to us, and it was just the most amazing beginning to talking about how having Christ at the center of your home can bring more peace and joy as a family.

"Where my book at!?!" This was said by JJ! He's a maintenance man we met who asked us for a copy of the Book of Mormon, but then he was sick and we hadn't seen him for a long time! So we were carrying around his book for like 3 weeks, and then we had to give it to someone else, becasue we were out, but we saw him the other day, and we (well, I guess Sister Turner, and the new sisters) are going to start teaching him this week! :D

This week was really great! I was a little sick this week, the weather is definitely getting cooler, and windy-er, but it's still a great time to be a missionary, and I've gotten well just in time for transfers! Miracles that have come to us this week have happened as we've taken members out teaching with us! It's so powerful to hear the amazing people from our congregation come out and testify! It's more meaningful in a way I feel, them not being a missionary, because all we do all day long is share the gospel, and they are "normal" lol, we're kinda weird as missionaries haha.

I'm sorry it's so short this week! But stay tuned for more miracles from Monnahans! :D

All my love,

Sister Lagrosa

Pictures:

1- We went to W's childhood home!

2- Our Goofy District :D

3- Us missionaries and our AMAZING Relief Society Presidency! :D

"Be Thou Humble"/"Adventure Is Out There!" - October 14, 2013

Howdy Family and Friends!
 

It was quite the week here in the TLM for this missionary! We bought boots on Monday, and were a little disappointed when it was really warm this week, but then yesterday it POUREDDD! I guess that's how winter goes here, it's a little cold, VERY windy, and the rain comes down!

 

Sadly though, there aren't many/ANY street gutters for the rain water to wash away in, so some of the roads become rivers! I was driving yesterday, and it kind of felt like we should've been canoeing instead!

 

So, yes, besides the crazy weather, this week was full of miracles! One of the sisters (Sister Fife) over in the 1st ward, (we are in 3rd ward here), had an appendectomy on Wednesday! It was truly a miracle that she made it that long, because she just thought she had the flu on Monday. Sister Turner is the Sister Training Leader for our little area of the mission, so we were in Monnahans on exchanges with the Sisters there when we found out Sister Fife was in the hospital! We drove back on almost no gas, but we were able to see her and have one of her companions stay with us for the night while she was in the hospital with her other companion.

 

It actually worked out really well to have 2 sets of trio Sister Missionaries here, because we're switching off staying with Sister Fife while she is recovering for the next week. It's humbling to know and experience that God is a God of miracles, and that He really is looking out for all of His children.

 

This really was a theme I saw this week. Heavenly Father's timing is PERFECT! ... and it takes a LOT of faith to trust it sometimes. When we were in Monnahans on splits with the Sisters there, it was amazing to witness the beautifully orchestrated timing that was SO apparent as there were 6 missionaries working in that town for the day.

 

When we returned to Midland, well, clearly Sister Fife was a miracle, but there was also beauty to be found in the timing we had as we were able to meet with our investigators we've been working hard to contact.

 

We taught Chris this week about the Plan of Salvation! Well, the first part of it. We spent a long time talking with him about why we are here on Earth and why there are so many hardships that good-and bad- people have to face. It was amazing the Spirit that was there as we testified to Chris about the joy that truly does come from this gospel. As we come to understand that relationship we have with our Heavenly Father and start walking that path back towards Him, we are able to get through EVERYTHING. We are meeting with Chris again tonight, and we are hopeful and excited to share with him more about where we go after this life, and the comfort that truly does come from the scriptures, as he continues to study them and pray to know if what we are teaching is true, that he will find that peace he is searching for in his life.

 

One other miracle that came to us this week was Anetta! We met her when we were walking around an apartment complex and she prayed with us. We saw her and read from the Book of Mormon with her on Friday, and Sister Tooley and I went back yesterday (while Sister Turner was with Sister Fife), and she didn't read the chapter we had left with her before because she had given her copy of the Book of Mormon to her daughter to read!

As we read from 3 Nephi 11 with her, we had the most amazing discussion about baptism, Christ's Sacrifice for us, and I was just in awe at the humility and truth that Anetta radiated. When we talked about baptism and how Christ walked 40 miles to be baptized by John the Baptist, who held the proper priesthood authority to baptize, she expressed how she knows that baptism by full immersion is how it should be done. This isn't always the case down here, with many different churches. I asked her if that was something that she desired -- to be baptized in the same way as Christ, and with the proper authority from God. She said yes, and I was able to testify to her that this is the great message we have to share. That the proper authority from God is again on the Earth today! We shared with her Moroni's promise in the back of the scriptures (10:3-5) and I promised her that as she reads and prays to know the truth, she'll get her answer that this book is true. And as she comes to know it is true, she will be able to strengthen her relationship with Christ so much more, and that we can help her to work towards baptism.

 

Being a missionary is quite the adventure, and I'm so grateful for those humbling moments that help me to remember my God that much better.

 

I love you!

 

~Sister Lagrosa

 

Pictures:

1- Me and Sister Fife at the Hospital

2- Me and Sister Tooley trudging through the rain while Sister Turner was with Sister Fife

3- Our street, which is actually a river.

4- I may have a peanut butter problem. I've eaten like 3 of those jars since I've been a missionary!

"I Always Wanted To Read That Book!" - October 7, 2013

Hello family and friends!!

 

The seasons are changing here in West Texas! Surprise! It gets cold! Also, I think my wardrobe is improving as a missionary, aside from the fact that I'm in a skirt every day, I bought a cute scarf today! Yep. I said cute, I know you're proud mom ;) Also, this week I've had more actual Mexicans think I was Mexican than I've ever had in my life! It was flattering, and I'm kinda bummed winter is going to start soon, and all my brown from knockin' is going to turn white again (which I guess works, so my 1/2 Filipino shows half the year and my 1/2 white side shows the other half :P) 

 

I guess the most amazing thing about this week, was general conference! I had some of the things I feel like I've known or learned before just sink deeper into my heart. Of all of the amazing talks, I really really enjoyed Elder Maynes' talk about facing challenges in our lives--some for a short time, and some for our life-time. Followed by Elder Scott's talk about weaknesses verses "open rebellion against God". It sunk into my heart how the trials that we are blessed to grow from in our lives are kind of like the friends that we are blessed to have in our lives: some are here for a day, a month, a year, or a lifetime, but all are there for a reason. Coupled with Elder Scott's counsel about how our loving Heavenly Father truly does know our hearts, and our weaknesses and imperfections. He doesn't hold us accountable for anything that we have not yet learned, and  He knows the difference between us struggling though trying to be obedient, versus completely disregarding His laws.

 

It reminded me of Proverbs 16:3 --> if we can consecrate our works to the Lord, He will establish our thoughts. As we try our hardest to follow Him, knowing that all we are experiencing in our lives-good AND bad- we allow ourselves to be changed and molded by Him. How great is that message!?! I just love that we are able in our time to not only study the great counsel and words from ancient prophets in the scriptures, but we have a living prophet and apostles today who are able to give us specific guidance for our time, in how we can find happiness in this life and the next. 

 

I also love that we don't have to take anyone's word at face value for it's truthfulness. We get to ask our Heavenly Father to know if it's true, study the talks that were given and receive a witness for ourselves from the Holy Ghost. As Rickey said about President Monson when he talked about his late wife: "What a powerful speaker for a white man!" You can feel the power, because he spoke with truth and with love.

 

And of course they talked a lot about missionary work! I'm excited for the work to continue to move forward, and have everyone hear more about the gospel, and hopefully want to learn more about it too! As a missionary, them talking about missionaries was just really exciting, and I realized more than ever how I need to let this experience that I'm having now change me forever. I know that the things I need to do to be happy aren't great, they are small. Small steps like personal scripture study and prayer every day, achievable goals to look forward to, and going to church every week to renew the promises I've made to God. Which also reminds me of this amazing scripture I rediscovered this week in Romans 15:4 (about reading the scriptures) - "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." The patience part is the difficult part, but hope comes from God's word! :D

 

I love the gospel and I love the simplicity of it in this world that is so complex. I love that God's requirement of us is so simple, yet we are able to grow infinitely, and all that is required of us to start is faith. Faith that He is there, faith that He loves us, and faith that He will lead us in the direction that will bring eternal happiness. :D

 

I love you!

 

~Sister Lagrosa

p.s. The quote is from an amazing woman, Sheila, we met this week, who immediately hugged us and invited us into her home. She said that (the quote in the title) when we gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and explained how it is another testament of Jesus Christ. We have another appointment with her tomorrow, so we'll see where that goes!

also, pictures!

1- We went to the Petroleum Museum on Monday! And found this awesome trash can.

2- There was a fun exhibit with race cars.

3- All the sisters in Midland! (we did learn how pumpjacks work... and a lot more about oil, but sadly I've forgotten a lot of it, good thing y'all have internet to check it out for yourselves :P)