Twenty-sixth Week in the Field

Hola Everyone!

This week was crazy!  So much happened! 

It all really started on Wednesday...

At district meeting we had MLC (Mission Leadership Council) Bring Back and the zone leaders got to give us some updates and reminders.  One of these included the rule that we could no longer participate in the branch choir because it cuts into proselyting time.  We were a little bummed because we love helping them out, but we understood....this is where it gets interesting...

The huge stake Christmas program was yesterday...we were told that after practicing with the branch choir, we couldn't sing Feliz Navidad because it isn't centered around Christ...when we told the branch this, it was not taken very well.  Some people understood, but there was still a little tension. 

Our zone leaders had told us that we would be able to sing as long as we had investigators there at both performances, which we totally understood and were perfectly okay with abiding by that. We had told the branch and they were supportive of it, until the night of the actual performance (yesterday). None of our investigators came to the first concert and President Parra got really upset. He had told us that he had invited so many people and that none of them showed up, so we should get to stay because of the effort that was put forward.  He ended up calling President Castro and he gave us permission to sing "Noche de Luz (Silent Night)" in both concerts.  It turned out really well!  When the branch sang Feliz Navidad, I almost started crying.  I had never been so proud of the branch!  They did amazing!

We also told the branch that we couldn't participate in choir anymore because it cuts into proselyting time and they understood, but were still a little upset. I've loved being able to help them out, but I definitely understand that we have rules for a reason and I totally support them. I want all the blessings that I can get for being obedient. There was another bright side to this though. We told the branch that we'd be able to come if we brought investigators and used choir as a fellowshipping activity. They got really excited about this and were determined to bring more investigators to events! If their need of our musical abilities is what it's going to take to get them more motivated about missionary work, then I guess it's a good thing.

Our investigators are doing pretty good. Two of our investigators that had baptismal dates no longer do because they won't come to church. I really love working in this branch and in Spanish branches in general, but it gets really difficult when it comes to getting people rides to church or fellowship. Yesenia is currently our only investigator with a date, but we haven't seen her in over a week and we think she might be avoiding us. We texted her and asked if she was still serious in wanting to meet with us or continue being taught. We still haven't heard back from her.

Sandra and Reuben are still really enthusiastic about learning, especially Sandra. We were supposed to have a lesson with both of them on Saturday, but we found out that Sandra is in Texas currently trying to help her brother out with something that she doesn't want her family to know about. We talked to Reuben about it for a little bit, but he told us to come back when she was there so that they could continue learning together. He told us he would come to the Christmas concert at 5:00, but obviously that didn't end up happening even though we called him and reminded him at 4:00. Like I said earlier, he doesn't seem as interested as Sandra does, but we're still trying to figure out what is going to make him want it even more; what we can say to spark his interest.

We've been doing a lot of knocking this week because of the dwindling numbers of our investigators. We were knocking at this one apartment complex and decided to just hit every apartment in it. On the top floor of one of the stairwells, we met this really nice lady (who spoke English), Morgan, who invited us in and told us that she had lived in Utah when she was little and was one of the only Catholics on her block. She's a single mom who's working really hard to try to support her son and she told us that she didn't really get involved in religion in the past because it takes up a lot of time. She told us that when she gets involved in something she doesn't want to do it half-heartedly. However, she also told us that she wanted to get more involved in religion now that her son is starting to be able to communicate better. She wants to raise him with good morals. Even though she only speaks English and we had to pass her info on to the other sisters, she's so golden and ready. It's amazing how the Lord places people in our path who are ready. I'm definitely ready for a white Christmas! (D&C 4:4)

Also, at district meeting, the zone leaders also told us that we're going to have a Christmas Devotional this week with President Castro and two other zones.  I'm pumped!!  We get to sing as a zone a special musical number and we get to have to two other additional musical numbers per zone.  I get to play the flute!!! I'm so excited!! I'm doing a flute duet with Hermana Brown and we're doing a medley of "The Nativity Song" and "The First Noel".  I hope it turns out great!!

Oh yeah!! And I love my companion!!

Well...I have to go now, but thank you so much for all of the love and support that I've received.

Con amor,

Hermana Halliday

My Christmas Card I Sent Out

Pretty Picture of the Nauvoo Temple in the Ensign

Twenty-fifth Week in the Field

Hola Everyone!

This has probably been one of the most productive weeks that I've had on my mission. Everyday, we were so busy with talking to people and teaching lessons that when we came back home, I was completely exhausted. There were some nights, where I could barely stay awake during planning. Miracles happened throughout the entire week and I loved every single one. Moorpark is still on fire and I absolutely love being able to stay here and build up the work. 

Transfer Meeting was exactly what I needed! I loved what Sister Castro said especially.  She talked about how we need to find our own inner peace before we can help others find their inner peace. I realized that sometimes I'll stress myself out and then I'm not able to be as productive in sharing the gospel. I've decided that I'm going to take some time during lunch each day to relax and meditate to help me get more focused on what really matters. Even though I love transfer meetings, it was still hard to say bye to all the missionaries leaving!  I knew most of them too! :(  BUT...they were all some of the greatest missionaries I've met :)

So, Linda doesn't have her baptismal date anymore. She still hasn't come to church even though this past time she let us find her a ride. She's never there for her appointments, so the only time we can meet with her is if we just stop by randomly and hope she'll let us in. She's not really showing any desire to be baptized anymore, but she still wants to be with her son again (he was killed in a car accident earlier this year). I care about her so much, but at the same time, I just get so frustrated with her sometimes. I know that this can bless her life, but it's almost like she doesn't care about this life and the decisions we have to make to get back to live with Heavenly Father. 

We were able to meet with Sandra and her husband Reuben yesterday. She's still so loving and has such a strong desire to learn more. She didn't come to church, but we did find out that she never works on Sunday, so we'll make sure we get her coming more often. We also invited her to the Stake Christmas Program this coming Sunday and she said that she'd hopefully be able to make it. She loves music so much, so every time we go, we always sing a hymn to invite the Spirit. When she found out that the Program would include music from around the world to celebrate Christmas, she got really excited. We told her that we were singing with the branch choir too, so hopefully that'll get her to come too. We weren't able to have a full on lesson with her, but we did an introductory lesson for the Plan of Salvation. Since her mom is a Jehovah's Witness (pretty hard core), she was excited to understand what life after death would be like in our viewpoint. Since she works a lot, our next lesson with her isn't until Saturday.

Pablo is doing great! He still is really lonely, but his testimony of the gospel is still really strong. He knows that he'll be able to live with his wife again and is still aiming to go to the temple in May. Not only will that be his year mark, but he wants to wait until Hermana Romero comes back to visit and she can go with him. He's so amazing.

We got to talk to Osvaldo (a less active) this week about the priesthood and how he needs to uphold his baptismal covenants and his priesthood responsibilities. It was pretty bold, but he handled it well and he told us he's trying to change his life around so that he can come to church more. He also said he'd try to get his mom (non-member/former investigator) to come with him too!

On Thursday, Hermana Shepherd and I went tracting a lot. At first neither of us really wanted to, but every door we knocked on actually opened up and we were able to talk to them. Most of them were really friendly, but there were a few that weren't and didn't want to hear what we had to say. It felt good though to talk to so many people.  I'm not trying to be racist, but all the doors that were "slammed" in our faces were white people and everyone that listened was Hispanic.  I love Hispanic people so much!!  I'm pretty convinced that when I go home I'm not going to want to talk with anyone who doesn't speak Spanish.  :)

On Monday, Hermana Faletau, Sister Heslop, and I were able to go visit the Escriba family and teach them the Restoration as a Family Home Evening with them. We started teaching them and then, a few minutes into the lesson, Nancy, the oldest daughter, walked in with her boyfriend, Leo, who they had referred to us, but we had never been able to get a hold of. The lesson went great and he even asked a few questions. It was really neat to see Nancy helping teach her boyfriend too. She's such a great member missionary and is going to be such a great full-time missionary someday. 

So, my companion, Hermana Shepherd, is one of the coolest people I've ever met and practically the most loving too!  I love her so much!! I know that I don't know her that well yet, but I'm excited to get to know her even better over the next six weeks!  A little bit about her:  she's from North Ogden/Pleasant View area, she sings amazing, she went to Utah State for a year before she came out into the field, she wants to study cardiac rehab, this is her third transfer, and she hates dogs (como yo).  Fun fact:  she was Hermana Higgs companion last transfer and now she's mine....Hermana Faletau is now with Hermana Higgs!  We just switched companions.  

Life is so great here in Moorpark and I'm so glad I'm going on four transfers here.  Best place ever on earth!!

Thanks so much for all the love and support! I really appreciate it!!

Con amor, 

Hermana Halliday

 The Escriba Family

 Hermana Romero at Transfers

 Hermana Higgs at Transfers

 Saying Good-bye to Hermana Faletau at Transfers

My New Companion, Hermana Shepherd

Hermana Coleman

Sister Bennett

Elder Eastman (Best ZL Ever)!

 Sister Kiyotani (Best Japanese Missionary Ever)

My New District

Twenty-fourth Week in the Field

Hola Todos!!

So many wonderful miracles happened this week! There was some unfortunate news though....Sister Appel had to go home because of all of the migraines that she'd been having.  But, on the plus side, Sister Heslop got to join us and we had a trio all week!

Since Hermana Faletau and I were with Sister Heslop, we got to do a lot of English work as well. I know that because we were doing extra work, we were being blessed. We taught a lot of lessons combined and did a lot better on our declarations on average than we had in the past. 

This week, we were finally able to get a hold of one of our referrals that we had received a few transfers ago. Her name is Marisol and we've been trying at least once or twice a week to get a hold of her since we received it. The other Hermanas had told us that she had committed to be baptized before she left Thousand Oaks. When we finally got in touch with her and set a return appointment, we found out that her and her husband have been through so much in their lives and want to come closer to God. When we met with them, the Spirit was really strong and we were able to teach one of the best Restoration lessons that I've been in for a while. They soaked everything up and wanted to keep learning more. We invited them to be baptized on the 11th of January and they committed to be baptized, but they said that the date was too early. We tried to explain to them that when we set goals we're able to have extra help from God, but they still wanted to think about it more. They are so golden and I'm really excited to continue teaching them. 

We got to meet with Yesenia, one of our investigators with a baptismal date, this week as well. We had just met her last week and committed her to baptism, but when we came to visit her, she confided in us how stressful her life is and how she's trying to find more peace and joy. She had just gotten through a hard breakup and wanted someone to talk to, so we were able to give her some comfort by sharing Helaman 5:12 and explaining that if we turn to Christ, our trials will be easier to withstand. She loves it when we come over and teach her because she knows that she can feel the spirit. 

We've been able to meet with Pablo a few times this week and every time we go, I always get so happy. It is kind of sad though because he talks a lot about how much he doesn't like where he lives because he family doesn't really care about him. He also talks a lot about how much he misses his wife. On the plus side though, he is still preparing to go to the temple to be sealed with her in 5 months! He's so excited for that!

Working with Sister Heslop this week has been great! She has such a strong spirit and desire to share the gospel with others around her. At first, I thought it would be a little hard being in a trio again, but it was a lot easier than I thought. It helped that we all already knew each other and lived with each other. Earlier this week before Sister Appel went home, Sister Heslop confided in me that she'd been fasting and praying to know what to do with Denisse. She told me that she felt like she needed to drop her for a while and, then, if Denisse is ready, start teaching her again later. It was really neat to see her be able to truly recognize inspiration for one of the first times in the mission field for her investigators.  It also added to my testimony that dropping an investigator can be a good thing, not always bad.

We got to go visit so many of the English members because we were with Sister Heslop.  We got to teach Nancy about the Plan of Salvation again because she's getting ready to go to the temple.  We got to stop by Amie's house and sing to Lilly and Hunter again.  We got to stop by and visit Brother Levine and see how he was doing...he's doing great!  He has his recommend to finally go to the temple.  He just hasn't gone yet...we don't know why, but we're still pushing for it.  We also got to visit a few new investigators that they got since we left the ward.  The best part (not quite, but almost) was that we got to eat Thanksgiving dinner at the Smith's house!!  We actually had a Thanksgiving dinner and didn't have to go to Denny's!  I was so excited to actually eat real food! It was really good too.

Also, because Sister Heslop joined our companionship, she got to go to the Spanish branch for church yesterday!  She told us that she didn't understand anything that was going on, but she could feel the strong spirit that was there.  We got to translate for her, but it worked out because all of the members practically just spoke English with her... :P  In the Sacrament Meeting yesterday, the branch choir got to perform our song "Oh, Que Se Cosechara?"  Even though the members aren't the best of singers, the spirit was really strong because you could feel them putting all of their heart into it.  It was their way of sharing their testimonies.  I love being a part of it!  We also got to go to practice for the stake Christmas concert that's coming up in two weeks.  The branch is singing "Feliz Navidad"... yes...that one...it's probably the most stereotypical Spanish Christmas song ever, but hey it's fun performing it with the branch.  

OH YEAH!  I forgot to mention that we got news about transfers!  I get to stay in the branch!!!!  I'm so pumped!!! Going on four transfers in Moorpark!!  BUT, Hermana Faletau is leaving me :(  She's going to Santa Paula AND she gets to be companions with Hermana Higgs!!  When the zone leaders told us that, I was so jealous!  They're going to be great!  My new companion is Hermana Shepherd and she came into the field with Hermana Faletau.  Life is great right now!

I'm absolutely loving it here in the field and am excited to still work here in Moorpark and in the branch!!!  Thanks for all the love and support!!

Con amor, 

Hermana Halliday

Sister Hedrick and Me

Sister Vargas and Me

Me with Myan.  She's 103 now!

 Lupe and Me

Our Branch Choir