BAHHHH! (March 2, 2015)

Hola familia y amigos! 

SOOOO this has been a crazy week and day. (Sorry this email is so late.) We had transfers and guess what!! I'M GOING BACK TO NAMPA!! In Nampa South Stake again. And I'm an STL. So a Sister Training Leader. I'm in charge of the sisters in Nampa and doing exchanges with them and all that. Good times. I'm kinda in disbelief right now. We've had a crazy day so far packing and getting all situated and everything. Sooo that's why I haven't been able to email until now. Not to worry anyone! There are so many things to inform you all on and the family history center closes in 7 minutes. SO I will do that all next week. I know I always say that, but I really will. 

Just take this photo of me, Sister Hernandez Yanez, Sister Ekonomo, and Sister Collins. We had a mission conference where Elder Perry came and spoke to us. We got to shake his hand. AWESOME! This church is really really true and I love it. 

Con amor, 

Hermana Shirley

Polka Dots (February 23, 2015)

Hola familia y amigos! 

How is everyone? I'm doing really well. This was a very interesting week. It has been a very introspective week and transfer. I don't have a TON of time left, and so I have to make the most of it. BUT, this week, some pretty cool things happened. We have a recent convert lady named Alma and she came to us and said she wanted to get married to her boyfriend (who we're teaching) THIS WEEK! They told us DAY OF. They just wanted to get it done! They asked us to help them out with a few things and they had already done all the paperwork. So we just made a little cake for them and helped her get all ready and then they went to the courthouse. We tried to get the bishop or SOMEONE to do it at the church, but because it was such short notice, no one was available that had the authority and knew Spanish. SOOO it was just us and an hermano from the ward and them. First and maybe ONLY time I'll be a witness for a wedding. Officially. I signed their papers. Hahah But it was really exciting for them. They've been working towards it and finally did it! She didn't want to make it a big deal, but we did our best to make it special for her. And she said her favorite color was black and blue. So we dressed up for it. We actually coordinated our outfits with polka dots and teal. We don't usually coordinate like that, but we did for fun. Everyone noticed the rest of the day. It was a good topic of conversation. haha

Also this week, our zone of missionaries are making a shirt and they put me in charge of it. We went over to a sister's house and she helped us put it all together on photoshop. It turned out really nice. Second shirt I've ever designed. Loved it. 

Also, we had a zone conference about the Atonement. OH MY GOSH. So good! It was about the enabling power of the Atonement. Because Jesus Christ did the Atonement, we can not only be clean from sin, but be STRENGTHENED. We can turn our weaknesses over to Him and be supported and given the help that we need, that Heavenly Father knows we need. THAT is amazing. My favorite thing about the gospel. The STRENGTH and POWER. This gospel is so true. 

Hope you all have an amazing week! 

Con amor, 

Hermana Shirley

Hna. Hernandez doing what she has to to talk to people. Hahaha

I'm really really good with selfies #alligatorarmprobs

My camera has a 3-photo timer setting, so here's the sequence of photos:

1) "JUMPING PICTURE! Ready, GO!"

2) "Oh no! Here comes a car!... Don't look like a tourist. Don't look like a tourist..."

3) "Should we try a jump... Ah. It's too late. We already look like tourists"

Amor y Amistad (February 16, 2015)

Hola familia y amigos! 

Happy Valentine's Week! In Spanish, it's the day of love AND friendship, so it's not just for those who are in love. But they also celebrate friendship. I like that. Hermana Hernandez is huge on holidays, so we had fun with it. We gave out a lot of candy. (MAY OR MAY NOT be left over from Christmas. Also, candy that was given to us. hahahah) And we shared about the love of God a LOT. It's a big deal. 

We also went out teaching with a few recently returned sister missionaries. One just got back from Peru this week and the other from Spain a few months ago. I was always hesitant to go out with people who attend english wards, but then I realized that it actually helps a lot to have another testimony and for people to see that other people believe this, besides us missionaries. ALSO, we got some referrals out of it and ideas for things to help with the work. It was a big eye opener. 

Also, all my mission I've been looking for one person or the people who I, PERSONALLY, was meant to come here and teach. Who I was meant to meet and who I would be able to touch with my experiences and knowledge. Yeah, there are a lot of people who I help everyday, but people who I need to find. I think I found one of them. Her name is Cammy. She's pretty rough on the outside. She doesn't actually speak spanish, but her boyfriend does. He's in our ward. He loves playing sports and comes to our sports nights every week. She comes along because she is with him. But she's told us that she's really not interested in the church and everything. But as I've been here and talked to her, I can see a change in her. She actually is willing to talk to me about little things. And Hna Hernandez said that she's never seen her open up that much with anyone. And now when we go, she comes up to me and gives me a hug. I don't know what will come of it in the near future, but I love her and hope that her heart softens with time and becomes willing to let missionaries teach her. It would help her a LOT. 

The gospel really does help us with everything that we go through. As we come closer to Heavenly Father, personally, we also come closer to our families and loved ones. As we work on going to Him, everything else in our life falls in place. That's how it always works, and it's never a coincidence. 

Well, hope you all have an AMAZING week! 

Con amor, 

Hermana Shirley

We got plates dropped off at our house on Valentine's Day. 

We made heart pancakes. :) 

There was a Valentine's dinner for the stake. Each table was decorated differently. That was our dinner. 

We met a cat with 6 toes on each foot. 

Updates. Talks. Squirrel. (February 9, 2015)

Hola familia y amigos! 

So in these past 2 weeks, a LOT has happened. I, once again, don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to highlight a few awesome moments. 

Last week, we had a lunch appointment with one of the members of our ward. His name is Hermano Sanchez. We couldn't go into his house alone, so he invited another family in the ward. It was a really good time. He lives out in the middle of nowhere in Marsing. It was a beautiful view. He did a barbecue on a homemade/makeshift barbecue. It was awesome! He is an awesome man. When he was younger, he worked on a cruise ship and pretty much sailed the whole world. It was really cool to talk to him about it. 

We also had a girl who taught us how to do makeup. I wanted to know how to do a smokey-eye. 

We also went to these people's house. When we first met them, they seemed receptive, but not that much. We went back and their older son was there. He's a teenager and doesn't seem like he would be interested. He was very dark and loved anime. We just started talking to him and he wasn't talking that much. But we showed love and just testified. We could see a change in his countenance as we talked to him. At the end, he opened up a lot and said that it sounded "interesting." I think he was trying to keep up the image of being a defiant teenager. But he was definitely interested. I learned something pretty cool. You never know who is ready. Also, it's important to just testify in every moment. It makes a difference! 

Also, this week, I've been sick. I got sick about Thursday and it has been miserable. And yesterday at church, I had to give a talk in our Spanish ward. In Spanish, of course. All sick and everything. My throat was all dry and I started coughing/eyes watering and everything, ON THE STAND. Great, huh? But the actual talk went well. I got through it. No other talk will EVER be difficult. 

Also, we met a family who had a squirrel as a pet. In their house. They were taking care of it because it didn't have back feet. 

We also had a realllllly cool zone meeting. The spirit was REALLLLLY strong. We talked about sacrifices and how we need to sacrifice to be better. We all prayed separately about what we needed to sacrifice. It was a really cool experience. The gospel is true! 

Well, hope you all have a wonderful week! 

Con amor, 

Hermanita Shirley

Hno. Sanchez

In Marsing, with the barbecue. :)

 

SO MUCH AIR

With our makeup done

It rained a lot this week, but now it's SUNNY! 

Squirrel

She was burying his nuts in the laundry

We did exchanges. #curlyhaircrazyhair 

The STLs

THIS WEEK! (February 2, 2015)

Hola familia y amigos! 

So I literally have no time to email this week! Here at the family history center, they are very very strict. We have to email from 10-12 and if you come late, you still have to leave at 12. SOO, I have 5 minutes to write you all! 

Pretty much to sum up my week, it's been so good. I'm getting to know the people. We had a ward activity and it was really good. Also, yesterday, I bore my testimony in sacrament meeting and then the bishopric member asked me afterwards to speak next Sunday. That's what I get! 4th talk in sacrament meeting in Spanish. Good times. 

Also, I had a lot of little answers to prayers this week. Heavenly Father is aware of me. I love seeing that and learning every day. 

Con amor, 

Hermana Shirley

Sooo... pictures next week! SORRY! 

Caaaaaldwell! (January 26, 2015)

Hola familia y amigos! 

How is everyone doing?! Hope all is well at home. As for me, I'm great! Finished my first week in Caldwell. Not gunna lie, it was a LONG week. I've gotten used to change and dealing with new things by now. But, no matter how much time you have in your mission, there's always a little bit of an adjusting period when there are changes. And that was this week. I still don't know the area that well or the people, so I had to depend on my new companion, Hna. Hernandez, to do the planning and figure out the needs. I just helped where I could. BUT, she's been awesome! I said a little about her last week, but as for a little more about her, she was born in Mexico City, Mexico but moved to the US with her family. First to Florida, then she went to Utah to go to school. So she's pretty adjusted to the US. She's a little older, 25, so she's mature and know's what's up. She has a good perspective and wants to work hard. So that's awesome! We get along really well. 

As for this week, I met a lot of new people. It's interesting to come into a situation when my companion already knows the people pretty well and what they need and all that, and I'm just getting to know them. With each person it's different. But I love it. I really enjoy getting to know people now. I don't think I really did before my mission, but now it's great! 

As for stories, one kinda funny one is that we went to this family who recently got baptized. It was around dinner time and the mom was exhausted, so we offered to make dinner. We were making popusas and I was doing the beans. One of the little boys was helping me. The pan of beans was on the stove and heated up, and I was holding the pan while someone smashed them. It was going great. The kids were taking turns smashing them. Then Alex, the littlest boy, steps up and starts. He's going at it when all of a sudden, the smasher slips and a whole BLOB of boiling frijoles jumps onto my wrist. BAHHHH! It was right at my watch. So my arm was all red but there was a white spot where my watch was. I acted fast and whiped the beans off and got my arm under cold water. It was red all up my arm. They cut a tomatoe and told me to put that on it. It actually helped. I just had that on there the rest of the time we were there and by the end, it had actually gone down a TON. So I now just have a tiny spot where a blister formed. But the rest was totally fine. I was super surprised! So that was exciting! 

Also, we had a pretty cool answer to prayers. We invited this little old man to an english baptism just on saturday. We didn't think he would come, so we didn't plan on going. Then at the time that it started, we got a call from other missionaries saying that a man had shown up who only speaks spanish. We had forgot that we even invited him, so we were just racking our mind of who it could be. We walked in and saw him and I just had a huge smile on my face. It was definitely a blessing. 

I'm so grateful for Heavenly Father's help in this work. 

Hope you all have a wonderful week! 

Con amor, 

Hermana Shirley

PS. Sorry no pictures this week! 

Avoidance and Revenge (January 19, 2015)

Hola familia y amigos! 

So this week was transfers. I GOT TRANSFERRED!!! I'm in Caldwell now with a new companion. Her name is Hermana Hernandez Yanez. She's pretty awesome. Came out at the same time as Hermana Ekonomo. She's from Mexico City but has been living in Florida and Utah for the past few years. Hermana Ekonomo stayed in Nampa and has a new companion. She'll do great! My baby's growing up! *little tear* It was really hard to leave, though. This has been my longest area and I really love those people. The ward is amazing and we have some really prepared and awesome people we're teaching. 

But it was a great week! We did a lot of service with our district. So that was really fun. I was the designated person to climb around in the moving truck and pack things. I'm not gunna lie, I'm an awesome packer. I've gotten really good at it. But by the end, I was climbing around up really high and squeezing little boxes in all the cracks. It was fun. I left with... quite a lot...of...cat hair on...myself. BUT it's all good. I was really sneezy. 

We had a pretty funny story this week. We knocked on this door last week and met a young man who had recently moved to Nampa from Mexico. Awesome. He was really nice and invited us to come back this week. We had an appointment and everything. That's always kinda a hit or miss. People are either really expecting you and if you show up late, they're upset. OR, people are conveeeniently not there. One or the other usually. So we weren't expecting a ton, but we got there on time. We knock on the door and a different lady answers the door. We talk to her for a bit and ask her if Josue is there. She then tells us that he doesn't live there. The day we came, he was just visiting... He failed to inform us that. Sooo we were a bit bummed. We asked her if we could come in and teach her, but she straight-up said she wasn't interested. Alright. THEN, she says to us an exact address. Out of nowhere. She gives us the address and says "He lives there! Go find him." Bahahah So she wanted us to go get him back for not telling us the truth. And we wanted to see his reaction when we show up on his doorstep. He thought he could get rid of us that easy! NOPE! So that was pretty funny. We went and tried the house, but no one was there. That happens sometimes. 

Heavenly Father is there for us. He's aware of what we need. Someone in Caldwell needs me here. Or maybe I need the people here. Probably all of the above. I'm excited! 

Hope you all have an amazing week! 

Con amor, 

Hermana Shirley

I HAD TO take a picture with the sugar beet factory in Nampa before I left. Even if it was raining. 

The processing part of the factory. 

The stacks and stacks of sugar beets that are just chillin' there. All year round. 

Chinita-- nicknamed that because she has squinty eyes. 

She stole my camera. Worked out pretty well. :)