Zarahemla Week 24

Last visit with Herman Mendoza

Familia,

Mi última semana en Zarahemla! Me voy a una rama en Montréal Est, en francés (y tambien voy a aprender mucho criollo). Estoy muy emocionado! He pasado momentos muy divertidos aqui, y voy a extrañar serviendo en español, ¡pero hay que aprender francés!

Mon nouveau collègue, Elder Amichia, est de France, et nous allons ouvrir une nouvelle zone dans Montréal Nord. J'ai hâte!

{If you don't speak Spanish and/or French, you should go and use Google Translate to translate!}

My French definitely needs some work, but I'm so excited to be able to work on it with Elder Amichia! He's going to help a lot. I'm super excited to open up a new area, and I know I will be pushed a lot! It will be like being trained all over again since I haven't served in French yet! The area is actually within my area in Zarahemla, so I am fairly familiar with it. It'll be so much fun!

Elder Torres (and Elder Landetta in the background eating)

This week has been pretty good, and fairly busy. Last Wednesday I had an exchange with Elder Torres, which was SUPER fun. We studied together a little bit, then went to visit Hermano Sanchez. We felt prompted during the lesson that we should give him a blessing of comfort, and we did. He told us later how it made him feel more peace and calmness than he's ever felt before! He remarked that it was like "being high on the best drug," which I thought was super funny. Blessings really do have an impact when you need them. After, since it was a super nice, balmy 4 degrees C, we decided to walk around the Jean-Talon metro area again to catch the Hispanics to contact outside in the warmth. We found a lot! Then we went to Hermana Cosme's apartment to eat dinner again. We got there and visited while they were finishing up the food, and then Hermana De la Peña and Hermana Cameron (one sister team in our ward) showed up, then a bit later Hermana Hepburn and Hermana Peterson (the other sister team) showed up as well. None of us had any idea the other was coming, but it was a pretty fun and unexpected party! We're not really supposed to do that, but as Hermana De la Peña said, "No hay pecado en la ignorancia." It was really a lot of fun.

Last dinner with Hermana Guerra

On Thursday, we had our last district meeting of the transfer. We had a little "momento de apreciación" where each one of us mentioned a strength, or something they admired about each missionary. It was a little awkward, but super uplifting! We then left and went home, ate, then went to do some contacting and pass by a couple of potentials. Then we headed over to Hermana Guerra's house for dinner, which was amazing as always! Since I knew I was probably leaving, we took some pictures afterwards. She's so cool!

Friday was fairly chill. We left pretty early in the morning to help Hermana Piña move some things into a new apartment. We thought we were going to move a ton, but it only took a few minutes before we were done. So, we went back home, and did our weekly planning. After a while we left to do some more contacting. Lots of snow and ice had melted that day, but at that time at night it got really cold and it all froze again. I slipped pretty badly (I wasn't wearing my boots so it was my own stupidity ha ha) and got a little messed up. But it was really funny, so we just laughed it off. We then headed to visit Nicole, and had a little lesson with her and her mom. She's doing well!

Saturday was pretty busy, although basically everything we had planned didn't actually go through. But we had made a lot of backup plans, so it was all good in the end! We helped finish Hermana Piña move in the morning, which actually didn't take very long (again). Afterwards we passed by the familia Amador, whose father had just been diagnosed with cancer, and checked in to see how they were doing. They were basically the same loud, crazy, happy Dominicans as always! It was so humbling to see how positive they were able to be despite their difficulties. Although he should come out okay despite the long road ahead, their testimony in the Plan of Salvation clearly blesses them and comforts them a lot! We then went to a baptism of an investigator of some of the sisters in our ward, which was a great experience. Then we were able to pass by some people, and taught a couple who were very receptive. Then we went home and ate pizza while receiving our transfer calls! I was nervous since I knew that I was leaving, but I'm so excited!

Elder Landetta wanted to take this picture!

Sunday was my last time in the Zarahemla ward. I was able to bear my testimony and say goodbye to a lot of people, which was awesome. Although I'm sad to be leaving all of them, I'm so excited to start new relationships in my new branch! After taking pictures with a lot of the members, and saying goodbye, we went to go visit Hermano Mendoza for my last time. He was the first person I ever met on my mission! It was sad saying goodbye; he's been such an example to me of faith, strength, and positivity. He's an awesome guy! Afterwards, we felt like we should pass by Edward, an investigator who we hadn't seen in a while, and we were able to teach him on the spot! It was a really good lesson, and we were able to commit him to baptism! He's a super cool guy. We then went to the Familia Bravo, the Mexican family I mentioned last week that we finally were able to see after passing by tons of times. They surprised us and fed us some SUPER good fajita-type things with steak and Chorizo, horchata, and I had Chicharron for the first time! It was SOOOO good. Mexican food is probably one of my favorites! And they are such a special family!

Last visit with Hermano Sanchez

Monday was pretty good as well; we spent most of the afternoon passing by potentials and doing some contacting. After a few hours of that, we went to visit Hermano Sanchez for the last time and eat pizza with him. He talks a lot, so the lesson on top of eating pizza took FOREVER. But it was really fun! He's a really cool guy, and I really like him a lot! We then spent the night as well passing by a couple of people, then we went home and I started the long packing process.

I'm sad to be leaving Zarahemla. I've loved serving in Spanish. The people are so warm, the food is SO good, and Spanish was so much fun to learn. But, I'm really, really excited to get a fresh new start at a new area with a new companion, and I am really excited to finally teach in French! It'll be a very new experience with a different culture (VERY Haitian), which I am super excited for. I'm sure it will be amazing!

I love all of you so much, and I hope you all have a great week!

Zarahemla Week 23

Making pizza with our investigator Maria

Another great week in Zarahemla, and we're doing amazing, especially since the weather has started to warm up!

Last P-day we had planned to pass by a couple people during the night, but then Hermano Farfan (our ward mission leader) called and asked if we were going to come to eat dinner. Apparently, they had planned to feed us, but no one told us! Luckily, we weren't too far, so we were able to go over at the last minute. They are from Venezuela, so they cooked us some traditional food that was really good. I love getting surprise dinners!

Wednesday was pretty chill, as we didn't have many things planned. Were able to eat lunch with Derlyn and Delmis, who are from Honduras and were baptized about a year ago. They are super kind, and the food was great as expected. Then we went to the area near the Jean Talon metro station, where there are TONS of Latinos. Did some street contacting and knocking around there for a couple of hours, and then stopped by an investigator named Maria who owns a pizza place in that area. We were going to teach her and another potential investigator at her shop, but he didn't show up. But it was still good, because she let us make our own pizza! It was super fun! Went to pass by a couple of other people after that, and ran into a Haitian guy who invited us it to teach a lesson. It was super weird, as always, to teach in French, but it went really well and he was super excited to learn more! It's so cool to see little miracles like that all the time.

Elder Landetta slipped, and thus owes me a donut (a rule in the mission)

Thursday was really busy, which of course is always good! We had district meeting in the morning, which was great, then left right away to visit Hermano Sanchez. He opened up and shared a few struggles he has had in his life, and it was very humbling. It's been such a cool experience having people trust you so much in the mission; it’s really an amazing experience to have people open up to you like that. After him, we stopped by a local public library to do some studies since we didn't have time to go home. We then headed over to the familia Cosme for dinner. When we showed up, they had told us that they had invited two non-member friends who they wanted us to meet. It was really awesome for them to invite them, but we were stressed about what to teach! It all worked out though, and now they are new investigators! Members are so important in helping missionaries with sharing the gospel; small acts like inviting your friends to a dinner with the missionaries can really help open them up to hearing the gospel! It was so awesome! After the familia Cosme, we headed over to the brother of Hermano Mendoza (the one we always visit in the hospital) who is also a member but has been less active for a while. We ate some classic food from Venezuela with him, and were able to share a little message. It was really awesome!

Friday was pretty chill; we were able to do weekly planning which took up a large portion of the day. But we were able to get in contact with an old investigator that I haven't seen in a long time and teach them which was great, and also found a couple of new people to teach. We also have been passing by this one house where less active members live for the past few weeks now, and we decided to pass by that night for the last time. This time though, they opened the door, and invited us in! We were able to teach a little thought, and they were so thankful that we were thinking about them! It was such a miracle, since they said that usually they are never home on Friday nights, but something had fallen through so the whole family was home. It was so cool! Especially since we said that it would be the last time trying to get in contact with them! They should be coming back—It looks like they just needed a little push!

Saturday was also pretty busy, even though a lot of our appointments fell through. We just kept getting other things to do and it all worked out perfectly! We left pretty early to visit Guillermo again. We had a great lesson with him talking about a few of the commandments, and he is so committed to be baptized! He will be baptized soon, and I hope I'll be able to see it! He's such a cool guy! Later on in the day, we were able to have a lesson with Jesus, which was great since he has been so busy these past couple of weeks. We were able to talk with him about a lot of things that he had doubts of. He has been coming to church almost every week, and has been progressing fairly fast now. It's so great to see him changing! His wife, Yeni, has lost interest in learning more for the time being, but she is still super awesome and nice to us. They invited us to eat with them after the lesson, and we had a couple appointments fall through, so we did. It was super good! They made something called pastelitos, which were SO good. They're actually pretty simple, kind of similar to an empenada, but fried. They were SOO good. We then had a little meeting with the other missionaries in the ward and our ward mission leader, and talked about ways the members can help in the work. It was an awesome day!

Sunday was also very busy. We weren't able to go home basically all day long! We went to church, and I had an amazing time. I've been trying so hard just to let go of my stress and enjoy the meetings, and it really has improved my expériences. After church we taught Guillermo again, trying to help him get prepared with baptism. He should be ready within the next couple of weeks! We then left with a different Guillermo, a member who returned from his mission a couple of months ago to visit Hermano Mendoza in the Hospital and give him the Sacrament. It was awesome, and Guillermo loved feeling like a missionary again. We then passed by Eddy, who is doing awesome. He finally is reading (listening) to the Book of Mormon! I don't know why we didn't tell him you could do that earlier! I hope this is a breakthrough with him! We then went home and ate some food that members had given us at church. It was a really great Sunday!

Monday was not as busy; we didn't have much planned. It was fairly warm outside (relatively), so we went to the Jean Talon metro area to do some street contacting. We got a lot of potential investigators! It really is like South America over there (besides the cold)! Passed by a few former investigators, had a baptismal interview with one of the Sister teams' investigators, and got a few contacts. It was a pretty chill day!

This next week will probably be my last week in Zarahemla! I know I said that at the end of last transfer and was wrong, and although I hope I'm wrong again, I know I'll be excited for the next transfer nonetheless! I will find out next Saturday!

Hope you are all doing well, I love you all so much and hope you have a great week!

Zarahemla Week 22

Family,

This week was pretty cool! We were able to see lots of miracles, despite a lot of our plans falling through. It was still an amazing week though!

Last Wednesday we had our interviews with President Phillips. It was such a special experience, as always; he's an amazing person and is super Spirit driven. After interviews, we started exchanges, and Elder Clark went with me. He's a really cool guy! He's from California and is really nice. We went and were able to pass by Mauricio, which we hadn't been able to do in a long time. He has to work so much, so it's super hard to see us sometimes. He's slowly but surely progressing though! After that we went to the Lemus family (who were the ones that hosted us for calling on Christmas). We ate classic Salvadorian Tostadas which were AMAZING. They are such an amazing family. Then we went to visit Alex and Neli again, and had a great lesson with them.

Thursday was pretty chill. We had district meeting, ended our exchanges, and did weekly planning. We were able to visit with Edward again, who we weren't able to see last week due to some illness in his family, but they're doing great now. We taught him with Hermano Farfan, who is also from Venezuela, and is our ward mission leader. He's a really helpful member!

On Friday we had another exchange, this time with the Zone Leaders. I went with Elder Turcott to his area, which is in French. It was super weird to teach in French! I've been able to have little lessons here and there, but since I don't focus on French speakers, I haven't had much extensive experience. It was very fun though! One of the guys we taught was actually fluent in Spanish as well, so I just taught with him in Spanish, and Elder Turcott did parts in French. It was super weird! We taught this Young Haitian family as well which was interesting, there I had to use my French a bit more. We also brought a Haitian member with us, so she could speak Créole with them and connect with them a bit more. It was very interesting! Later that night, we went to the chapel to start setting up some mutual activities that we were in charge of. It was so fun! We answered lots of questions that the youth had about missionary work, then we had an activity for them where they raced to get ready like a missionary in the morning. They had to get out of bed, do 15 push-ups, eat cereal without their hands and without milk (because missionaries are too lazy to wash spoons and too cheap to buy milk haha), get dressed in a shirt and tie or a skirt, and memorize a scripture and recite it perfectly. Then we taped the companionships' hands together so they were always in "sight and sound," then they went to knock some doors in the building and teach some other members of the ward. It was so fun, and the youth loved it! It was an amazing opportunity to get them thinking about missionary work!

Saturday was pretty chill, we didn't have many appointments, so we spent the bulk of the day passing by potential investigators. It was very productive though! We saw a really cool miracle that day though. We were walking down the street heading to a potential when we felt like we should go into this apartment building to our left. So we walked in, and felt like going to the top floor. The first door we knocked was a Haitian guy, so we asked in French if he knew of any Spanish speakers in the building. He then spoke to us in Spanish, and invited us in. We taught him a full 30 minute lesson, and it was amazing! He really loved it and was super interested! It was such a crazy miracle to see how the Spirit can guide you to find those who are ready to listen. Because he's Haitian though, we gave him over to the French missionaries so he can understand better. It was SO cool though! After a time of contacting potentials and doing some knocking, we headed to Hermana Gregoria's house to pick up some food. We went home, ate, then went to Nicole's house. Her brother and step dad weren't home, so we had to teach her outside in the cold, which was funny. We're getting her ready to go to the temple, and she's very excited!

Sunday was fairly busy. We went to Nicole's house to pick her up and take her to church using the busses, then had ward council. Our meetings were great, and our investigators had such great experiences. We set up an account for Nicole to start doing genealogy work, and she's excited to get going. After the meetings we taught Guillermo in the church. It went really well, and he's close to getting baptized! He's ready, he just needs to be taught a bit more! We then went and ate at the Amador family's house, and they made some classic Dominican food called Sancocho. It was SUPER good! Then we went and taught Eddy after passing by a few people. We told him that you can listen to the Book of Mormon on the app, and he freaked out! He HATES reading apparently, but now that he can listen to it he told us that he will be able to read a ton more now! It was such an awesome breakthrough with him!

Monday was pretty decent, and very busy. We woke up early and left to go visit Guillermo. He finally secured a job, which is awesome, but now it's going to be really hard to see him. We're going to wake up and visit him early in the morning so we can teach him. He's so solid! We then went to do a baptismal interview with one of the other team's investigators, which was super awesome. After that we went to a mental hospital to give a blessing to one of the Sisters' investigators. It was a very interesting experience, and very humbling. Then we were able to go visit a family in our ward who's 18-year-old son has cancer. He couldn't come to church last Sunday due to his health, so we wanted to pass by to see how he was doing. Luckily, he was doing a lot better. He's such an amazing example to me. Despite the knowledge that he is going to pass within the next couple of years, he has the most positive attitude you can imagine. He's always cracking jokes, is always having fun the best he can, and absolutely loves the gospel. With him and people like him, I've been able to see how much of an impact the knowledge of the gospel has in someone's life. Despite some of the hardest challenges you can imagine, when one can lean on Christ and His gospel, they can still live life to the fullest. After visiting him, we got to go back home to do some studies, then went to the familia Vinces for dinner. They are Honduran, so they made us some classic Honduran Baleadas. They were so good!

I'm doing amazing and having so much fun, as always, in the field. I love all of you so much, and I hope you have a great week!

Elder James