November 18, 2013

Hola familia y amigos,

This was a good week.  So so so s so so many miracles.  I am all about miracles, there are seriously always miracles.  Always look for the miracles everyday.  They are always there, you just need to be watching.  

I love the Book of Mormon!  I love it so much!  And I love sharing it with others.  It really is the greatest tool in conversion.  The first thing we teach people about when we meet them is the Book of Mormon, and we have started reading 3 Nephi 11:10-11 with them.  A lot of the time they are a little nervous about us reading scriptures from it, but after we finish reading to them the words of Jesus Christ they feel something.  We have heard people say, "Wow.  That is beautiful." or "I've heard this before, someone has read this to me before." and we will testify of the truthfulness of it and they agree.  Most people agree that it is the word of God.  

I invite you all to pray about someone/a family that you can give the Book of Mormon to for Christmas.  It is one of the greatest gifts.  I don't think I would have ever done it before my mission...but that is because I didn't have the strongest testimony of it.  So if you are too nervous, then study it.  Read it.  And obtain a testimony of it.  And then you will want to share it.  That is actually how my mission president got baptized.  He was given a Book of Mormon.  It's amazing.  I love it.

I don't have much time.  Sorry about that.  But I am thankful for the prayers and the thoughts.  I love the letters, thank you to those of you who send me letters.  I love it here in California.  I love being a missionary.  Have a fantastic week. 

Love,

Hermana Ah Mu

P.S.  For those of you who still call me "Alex" ...It creeps me out...So I'd love it if that would not continue...hahaha My name is Hermana Ah Mu.  I am a missionary.  So please!  Call me "Hermana Ah Mu"  (I work hard to be an Hermana....)

November 11, 2013

Hola!!

 

How is everything?? 

 

I've had a great week!!  I have learned that I snore.  A lot.  My poor companions.  But hey!  I'm just happy that I am finally getting sleep!!  My first two transfers I could never sleep no matter how exausted I was.  So this is awesome.  I lay down and I am gone.  It's great. 

 

Mom!  I got the blue and white skirt!!  Are you sending multiple?  I didn't understand?

 

Here's something funny, there is a little boy in our ward.  His name is Benjamin.  I love him!!  He is 4, and he always tries to hug me.  I met him in Primary (I haven't been able to get away from primary...I love it!!  And they need help teaching and playing piano).  But anyway, yesterday I saw him and I said, "Hey Benjamin!!  How are you?"  You wouldn't believe what he said...He replied, "Hey beautiful!"  And he WINKED at me!!  Hahahahahaaaa. 

 

We had the Primary Program yesterday!  It went so well.  I played piano.  Hermana Hardy conducted.  And Hermana Player held up the signs with lyrics on them.  I have been told multiple times that I am a future Primary president....let's hope that doesn't happen for a long, long time!!  Too stressful!!  Sister McKee, you are a strong woman hahaha It's hard!!!

 

We teach a homeless man, he is less active.  So we have to go looking for him if we want to teach him.  And we randomly run into him.  But anyway, last night we ran into him and he said, "Hey, I wanted to give this to you."  He handed me a brand new wallet.  I had to ask him where he got it...I never want to take anything that is "borrowed"  but it was brand new and he said he got it from his cousin.  He is so nice.  I met him my first transfer.  He calls us angels, I always tell him that we are missionaries!!  But he insists that we are angels too.  hahaha.  

 

I had the wonderful opportunity to go out with Sister Castro this week!  It was probably one of my favorite things that I've been able to do on my mission!  She is the ultimate missionary, and she's just so great.  But I felt so lucky to work with her.  She taught me a ton.  We made a goal to do 10 declarations and 2 lessons.  We had a lesson with a man, Beto, right when she got here.  We went looking for Beto at his house, but someone else opened the door, Maria.  She told us Beto wasn't there and so we started teaching her.  Sister Castro just whipped out the Book of Mormon and had her read from 3 Nephi 11.   Maria said that maybe Beto was home, so she went and grabbed him.  Then we talked with both of them.  I loved how easy it was for Sister Castro to relate to them.  We found out a lot about Beto and Maria.  And it was really cool because Maria didn't seem all that interested, but right after she read some of the Book of Mormon she listened and then grabbed her husband to listen as well.  It was so neat!  Right there I realized how great it can be to read straight from the Book of Mormon in declarations!  We have been doing that ever since then, and it gets people listening because it is in fact the word of God.  It's so cool.  Sister Castro and I did a lot of finding.  We met lots of people, I really enjoyed it.  She helped me be more confident in speaking.  I loved how she didn't even acknowledge that we were speaking Spanish.  She didn't tell me I was doing well or comment on how bad my Spanish was.  Sister Castro had never gone out with Spanish sisters before, and she said she never went out finding, she only went to lessons.  She loved coming out and teaching in Spanish (Spanish is her first language).  It was funny because it was actually my idea to see if she could come...I didn't know if it would be I guess...appropriate to ask the mission President's wife to come out with us.  But I called her anyway.  She was SO happy and thankful.  While we were out walking and finding she asked, "So...who's idea was it to ask me to come out and work anyway?"  I laughed and said, "Mine!!"  She says, "Hahaha...I had a thought that it was probably you!"  She has a great memory, some how she remembered that this was only my 3rd transfer...I have no idea how she keeps track.  But anyway, We did reach our goal!  It was cool.  Sister Castro is awesome!!  We hope that she can come out with us again. 

 

I'm doing so great.  So much better than I was at the beginning of this transfer.  I love my companions.  I love Oxnard.  I love being a missionary!!!  I love this work.  Have a great week y'all!!

 

Love,

Hermana Ah Mu

 

P.S.  I did hear from Sharree that Charlee got her call...but Sharree refused to tell me!!  And now I haven't heard from Charlee yet...But THANK YOU for telling me!!  I'm happy to finally be finding out where she is going!!  Tell her I love her so much!!  And to write me ASAP!!!  Por Favor!!!  Gracias!!!

Hermana Bartschi and I

What a week!

November 4, 2013

This was a good week.  Very good week.  It was also probably the hardest week I have had so far. 

We had exchanges with Hermana Coleman and Hermana Linford.  Hermana Hardy and I went with Hermana Coleman.  I had a really hard time that day.  I felt so out of place.  I know I let myself get very discouraged about everything, so that didn't really help.  It was just hard to work with two other people (instead of just one) that really know Spanish.  I wanted to cry all day.  It was the hardest day of my mission, silly right?!  During the exchange review I really figured out I just needed to get over it, and stop being selfish.  Because this isn't about me.  Hermana Coleman helped me to make the goal to talk to EVERYONE.  And to speak up.  That's always my goal, but this week after exchanges I REALLY put it into action.  The day of exchanges was hard, it's hard to work in three's, but I really learned that it's best to just to get over it.  And talk to everyone, to "invite everyone to the party" as Hermana Coleman put it.  Because this gospel is available to everyone, any time.  And not everyone will want to accept it right now, but atleast they know they're invited.  And this is better than a party.  But when it's all said and done...I like my trio.  Hermana Player and Hermana Hardy.  We are what's best for each other, and I never want to go on exchanges in a trio...hahaha ever.  But if I do, I will know what to expect now.

We had a miracle that day, we ran into a woman that Hermana Coleman and Hermana Corniea had run into last exchange.  We talked to her and taught her the Restoration!  She asked amazing questions.  She committed to reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it.  It was so cool.  At the end she was crying and asked us, "Why do you glow?  I just see this glow about you, and you're happy.  It almost makes me mad because I want to glow like that."  We told her about the Holy Ghost.  It was pretty neat.  She is ready and prepared for the gospel. 

At the beginning of that day we had exchanges we all decided to pray that we would be able to find 5 new investigators.  So all 5 of us prayed all day for this specific miracle.  By the end of exchanges we each got two, so we still had to find one more!  We had about 45 mins left to work, we kept praying that we would be able to find 1 more.  The last house we were at we found one more new.  It was a miracle, and we are thankful that we were able to really put our faith into action.  It would have been easy to give up, but we didn't.  I love praying for those specific miracles.  There are miracles everyday, we just need to slow down and look for them. 

We had visited with a less active.  His name is Sal.  He is homeless, he is really hard to find and we hadn't been able to find him for about 2 or 3 weeks.  We just decided to go check this house he does laundry at and he was there!  Turned out he really needed us there to pray with him, and he gave us a refferal out of no where!  He said he knew this person needed lots of help and could use the gospel in her life.  The referral's name Denise. 

We went looking at Denise's house right after we talked with Sal.  Turned out no one was home.  Then 2 days later we tried again.  An elderly man opened the door.  We asked if Denise was home, he said no Denise lives there.  We decided to give him a Book of Mormon card and explain to him the Book of Mormon.  Time went by, I felt we had been there longer than we usually are for declarations and such, but turned out that someone drove up.  We asked this man, Fransisco, who it was.  He said it was Denise!  She walked up and we told her who we were and that Sal had told us to come.  She had us come in and we just started teaching!  We taught the beginning of the Restoration, but a lot of how to begin teaching.  The lesson went beautifully, especially the fact that Denise asked us if it would be alright if we came and taught her, from the beginning I might add.  So that was pretty cool.  Denise is in fact prepared and ready for this gospel in her life.  She cried a bit.  She described the Holy Ghost when she would explain the reason behind her crying.  It was amazing.  Golden referral.  Just golden.  We are excited to see where this goes.  

My goals this transfer are to talk to everyone and speak up, to rely  on our Heavenly Father when I speak, because I need tons of help with my Spanish.  I have already seen how these goals are helping me, I love it. 

This is a transfer of growth for me.  Lots of growth.  I am so happy, I love this glorious work.  It's just glorious.  I was bummed to miss the wedding and baby blessing.  But, this is all worth it, I wouldn't want to be any where but here on my mission.  This will be a great week, I know it!  We are getting so much work done!!  SO MUCH!!  Oxnard is hoppin!!  I love it!!!  I love Camarillo too.  We are going on splits with Sister Castro (President's wife) this week!! :D  I'm so excited, she is so awesome.  

 

Thanks for all the support and prayers, I feel it.  And I need it :)  It's great, thank you.  Ollie and Ashley, did you get my card?  Isn't it just the cutest thing you've ever seen?  (Kinda like Katie, ;) right?)  Mom and Dad, I wrote a letter to you and to Auntie Dida...don't know her address though, so if you could get that to her?

 

I hope everyone got home safely from their travels.  Have a fantastic week.  Look for miracles..

 

Love,

Hermana Ah Mu