September 24, 2012

Dear Family: 

We found on Saturday night a woman named Nina, momma, she is so sweet.  She is from Mexico and lives with one of her three sons, the other two live in Mexico with her parents.  She is working to support all 4 of them in Mexico.  It was crazy, as she let us into her apartment and we started to talk with her, I could just see how tired she was, how much she needed peace, the peace that comes from the gospel and immediately i thought of Mathew, when Jesus says, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and i will give ye rest."  I knew, in that moment that I was in the right place, that there was no where else in this world i needed to be but there, with her.   So we began to share with her and well, the incredible thing about her is that in Veracruz, Mexico, about 13 years ago she had spoken with missionaries, read the Book of Mormon and attended church regularly.  She lost contact with the elders when she moved, but we invited her to be baptized and she smiled big and said yes, that she had gone to baptisms of her friends and that was something she was wanting to do.  There is nothing more special than that, than finding someone who has been searching.  I know momma, that this gospel is true, that it is the thing that brings us eternal happiness.  I love you so much and am so grateful for the example that you are to me.  Tell every one I love them.  Be happy, cause momma, we are so blessed!

 

Cubo

RR

September 10, 2012

Mommy----

 

Sounds like Africa is just buck wild.  Keep enjoying it, just think, how many times will you get to be secluded in another country.  I love you so much and am so grateful for all your support.  Everything here is going good.  Just working hard and trying to make God proud.  I'm really trying to just focus on becoming the best that I can especially now that time is a matter.  Man momma, I love my mission so much, I'm so grateful for the things it has taught me and the way that I have grown...this will forever be the best decision of my life.  I think anytime we chose to draw closer to the Savior it's the best decision of our lives though, it just brings so much more light and peace to us.  This may sound wild, but I find more comfort and peace in my life now as a missionary with non stop days than I ever did in Hawaii.  It just goes to show, there is a difference between happiness and joy.  Happiness is the momentary satisfaction, its the fleeting gratification, but joy, it's lasting, it's an inner peace and it comes by following the Savior...(now I'm sure there is a balance between the two in this life and we need to find that balance.) But I'm grateful for the time I have to follow the Savior, to walk with Him and share the gospel with people.  That's the only thing that can truly change people's lives...so momma, those people that you see in Africa, I know how badly you want to help them and although you cant bring momentary happiness to them economically, you can give them joy - so snag some pass along cards from the missionaries and go buck!  Give em out like Matty did when he had just gotten home and we were in San Francisco for Christmas.  Remember how he gave them to everyone...I always thought he was so weird but now, I get it.  

I love you momma.
I'm so proud of you.

Tell everyone I love them so much.

 

Cubo

Raquel

September 3, 2012

MOMMMAAAA!!!!!

 

I'm so excited to write you!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

 

I couldn't wait to read my emails this week from you to hear about the AFRICAN ADVENTURES of you and Nonie!  That's gonna be such a fun trip!  I'm stoked you two are getting to play a lil bit.  So you are going to be there in Africa forever - haha, just embrace it, have fun and love the members. You should go out with the missionaries if you have time!  I love that you love the ward there in Africa, the Spirit you feel.  Its incredible, I love the gospel so much momma, but I Love it way more in Spanish, its so pure and true, these converts they know the difference between having the gospel and not having it and so when they have it, they share it, they feel it and they tell everyone what they love about it cause they know that that is the best gift in the world we can give those we love.  It's sick. 

 

Out here in Fredricksburg, we are just working really hard trying to find people.  The work is so much more different than before. It's good though, it makes me humble and rely on God more.  So the other night, we were out knocking on these trailers and it was late, we had about 5 minutes left so we went and knocked on the last door.  Right after we knocked it, this white kid came out and he smelled so bad, his whole trailer smelled like marijuana and the look in his eyes just looked empty.  In that moment, I told him who we were and asked if he had faith in Jesus Christ to which his response was a chuckle and a no.  I remember looking away right after that to grab a pass along card and I just felt fear, we gave him the card and left but I learned something from that experience that I wanted to share with you.  I learned in that moment how important the Spirit is to me.  How much I thrive off of it and when it leaves, it makes me sick, so sad and scared.  I was thinking about how before my mission, I had kinda lost that for a while, I lost the ability to feel and recognize the Spirit like that because I wasn't surrounding myself with the best situations.  Now, I am so grateful for my mission because it has help me come to see the difference.  I'm sure I've told you before that my favorite scripture is in Corinthians, where it says that by faith we walk not by sight.  Well I have come to realize, with the Spirit we can come to have sight, as we follow it we are given more and more, as we trust in it we are able to be in the right places at the right times to help those who need us.  Momma, the Spirit is so precious, we need it so badly in this life, and God knew we would need it, thats why He gave it to us.  I'm so grateful for it. I never want to lose it.   I'm grateful for you.  I love you tons.  Tell Boofy and Seth and Thomas Thales Sherry (and Cali) that I love them.  Enjoy the time you have with them. 

 

Cubo

Raquel
 

PS:  Katie Kat..Kiki, Katherine, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

August 27, 2012

Hope all are doing well this week. 

As for me out here in Fredricksburg, everything is going really well.  The work down here is way different than in the city, a lot more driving, less apartments, and there are less Hispanics, so you really have to go searching for them.  So we knock a lot of trailer parks which is just buck wild haha, so many different people, we are definitely in the south now haha.  It's so wild, so many silly stories there,  I remember watching on NBC Dateline once this documentary about the people who live in the Appalachian mountains and how there are so many that struggle with illiteracy and drink mountain dew instead of water cause its cheaper, and well, I've met a few people who come from that lifestyle, and all I want to do is give them the gospel and help them overcome it all, but its so hard to help them realize that the truth is right at their door...

 

Knocking on doors, you get to meet so many different people with so many different things happening in their lives and it's like they're are out there drowning in all of their social, physical, economic and spiritual problems and all we can do to help them is share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ, its like we are throwing them a lifesaver, sometimes they take it and a lot of times they won't, and it's mostly because they are waiting for the helicopter to come pick them up, waiting for the sign..  I hope and pray so much that someday these people, who are our brothers and sisters will come to find true happiness and joy, will be able to see that all the peace they need comes through Jesus Christ and His gospel.

 

Something awesome that has happened to us though is we have been blessed with an incredible miracle!  My first Sunday here in this area, an Hermana from an English ward came in to our ward with a women named Angela who had just moved into her house.  Angela is from El Salvador and was super catholic.  We went over to her house last week and started teaching her, she was telling us that she was super catholic until she started to read the bible and began to see that there were somethings that were missing, ever since then, she stopped worshipping the virgin Mary and started looking for the religion that had it all...and now is being prepared to be baptized this month!  She is incredible.  We were explaining to her about the plan that god has for us, why we are here, and all she could say was, "yo quiero vivir en el reino celestial con dios, yo me quiero bautizar! "  I want to live with god, I want to get baptized!   It just clicks for her, I know that she has been being prepared for this moment, I know that there are so many people out there searching for the truth but cannot find it because they know not where to look, and we, who have it have to share it.  I'm so grateful for her, for this gospel, for the truth I have in my life.  I know it's true.  I love you so much momma, thanks for being an example of truth to me.

Cubo,

RR

 

PS: Happy Birthday Nnika and Chris!  Love you guys!

Emily Lehikainen!!!! I'm so estoked for you babaaay gurl!  Love you