Adventures in Mesa: She Knows the Gospel Of Christ Will Bring Her A Strong Family

Hello family and Friends! (Email 4-14-14)

Sounds like you all had a great week! Yay that is so good to hear! We did too! If I can only remember what happened though is the real question....

The heat started this week. It is officially summer here in Mesa, Arizona. Say hello to sweat, dehydration, acne, and all other lovely things for the next 5 months of my life. You may ask what happened to spring, which would be a very good question. But I am coming to learn that there is no such thing as spring or fall, ok not even winter in Mesa. Just summer. Eternal summer. Haha but I love it of course. My goal is to not complain about the heat for the whole summer, so we will see how that goes! But I actually kind of like it in a weird way, just because it makes me feel more like a missionary. It makes me feel like I have to work harder and give more of myself and really work for all these people that I am trying to help. I don't think a mission should be too comfortable. It’s supposed to be work and trials, so I am excited for what is ahead.

We found a couple new families this week, so we are excited about that. One of them is the Familia Ramirez. The dad is a less active member that only speaks Spanish, the son got baptized a few months ago, and the mom and daughter both want to get baptized. The English missionaries have been working with them for a while, but things have kind of stopped progressing (the mom has sleep problems and hasn't been able to come to church), so they are thinking maybe if we can get the dad reactivated, that will help the whole family. We haven't really taught them yet, because they are super expressive and love to tell stories. It is funny to talk with them. They have a really strong testimony of the gospel, especially of the Book of Mormon. So hopefully we will be able to unite all the family and help them progress towards making covenants through baptism.

We also had our first lesson with that family we did the service for before in the trailer park, Jime and Lupita. Her brother, Miguel, wants to learn too, but he wasn't there for the lesson. They are SUPER prepared. Alexandra was telling us about how the world would be such a better place if everyone was Mormon. She always talks to us about how good it is that we are going to marry Mormon boys because then we will have strong families. I guess a lot of Jime's friends drink and she really doesn't want him to go that way. She wants to have a strong, happy family and she can see that the gospel will bring her that. She’s already asking questions about baptism and things like that and we haven't really taught anything more than how to begin teaching points and explained the Book of Mormon. They said they were going to come to church yesterday, but didn't so that was a bummer. But we have an appointment with them tonight and a member that is going to get along so well with them is coming. We are going to teach the restoration and invite them to be baptized so be praying for us around 6pm tonight! :) Miguel knows a bit more and has gone to church at Valencia, and the other sisters say that he wants to get baptized too, so we are excited to start teaching him. What great blessings, right?

We had the Easter Pageant on Saturday and that was really fun. Have I told you about the Rojas family? They have the 2 teenage boys that are obsessed with? Haha, well they are great. Pretty much no religious background. They came to the Easter pageant with us! They came super early though so we entertain them for like 5 hours. We started off with a convivio/party in the park where all the Spanish wards came and we had dinner there and talked. Then we walked over to the Visitor’s Center and watched the show. It is beautiful. I couldn't watch too much because their little 5 year old daughter was literally asking me questions and talking to me the entire time haha. It's just this live show that has a bunch of actors and dancers that displays the entire life of Christ. I got to see Manuel, Karen and her family, and a bunch of other people from Liahona 3! And I saw my old investigator Marta and Consuela! They ran right up to me and hugged me so tight! And guess what! Consuela got baptized on Saturday! Yay!

We also did service and got to organize and clean out the Vega’s pantry haha. It was really fun actually. They are the best family and are always so willing to help us at a moment’s notice.

We taught Paula the law of chastity this week. She accepted it well. Mina is going through a depression though with everything going on with her dad and has decided not to get baptized with her mother. Please pray for her and this whole family. They are going through a hard time. Last night we visited Paula and went through the baptismal interview questions with her. She is pretty ready. She had been drinking coffee a little though, which bummed me out a little. But we stressed the importance of living it, especially these last 2 weeks before her baptism. We talked about the importance of the covenants that we make at baptism and just really tried to help her understand the importance of this step she is making in her life. I just feel like something is missing or not quite right, but I can't quite put my finger on it yet. Please pray for them. And pray for us that we might know how to best help them.

We are really enjoying every minutes. Some days are hard of course, but the hard times make the good times that much sweeter. I have absolutely loved being able to study the Atonement lately and learning more about my Savior. I am coming to understand that there is really nothing that we cannot overcome through Christ. If we humble ourselves and have faith in Him, truly anything is possible. He set the perfect example for us and we need to strive every day of our lives to emulate Him.

I love you all so much, and I love my Savior! I hope you all have a great Easter and that you are truly able to feel the Saviors love as you contemplate the importance of His sacrifice for us. Have a great week! I love you!

Con amor,

Hermana Haynes

Easter Pageant