Fifty-sixth Week in the Field

Hola Everyone!

This week was packed full of so many amazing miracles!

The Jones Family is doing absolutely amazing. After being totally inactive and on the do not contact list for a few years, we were able to sit down with them on Monday and talk to Chris and Justin (their oldest two sons ages 10 and 8) and talk to them a little bit about baptism. They both said that they wanted to! Their parents are totally leaving the decision up to them and they both seem like they really want it. On Thursday, we were able to have a lesson with them and teach them the Restoration. At the end we set them with a date of August 9th. The ward has been really good at reaching back out to them and including them in many of the activities that are going on. It's even better because they've already been to church twice. They weren't here this past week, but we're stopping by tonight to see how they're doing. 

Juan is progressing so well! At the beginning of the week we had a scare that he might have been interested in learning more because he was more interested in us, but when we had a lesson with him on Friday, he definitely seemed very sincere. We were able to bring different members with us that time and when one of them told his conversion story, the spirit was so strong and Juan could feel it. He's still on track to be baptized on the 2nd of August, but he wasn't at church this past week. He's only been once, but he can still make it the next two weeks. Everything that we've been doing with him has helped the members in the ward that only speak Spanish feel more involved and useful. It's really neat to see how this is strengthening their testimonies as well. 

Vanessa was a miracle. We were trying to contact a potential investigator that was in our area book, but he wasn't home, so we knocked on his neighbors door. It turns out that a less active member and his girlfriend live there! They moved to Santa Paula about six months ago from Fillmore. She had been meeting with Elder Carter and Elder Soubie when they were serving there, but when she moved, she lost contact with the missionaries. Her boyfriends parents are very active in the Fillmore ward, but they didn't want to push learning more on her since she's 7 months pregnant, so they didn't tell anyone where they lived. The visit got even better because she asked us what we wanted to study after about 15 minutes of talking. We felt prompted to read 2 Nephi 31 all about the gospel. At first, I was a little hesitant because it was all about baptism and repentance and the consequences of sin and we didn't really know her interest level yet. After we finished reading, she looked up at us and told us that that was exactly what she needed to hear and that she really wants to be baptized. We were so shocked and didn't know what to say for a few seconds. She is so prepared. She told us that she wanted to get baptized before they moved, but the main reason was that she was a heavy drinker before and it was hard for her to quit. When she got pregnant, she quit cold turkey for the baby. She also knows that she would need to move out or get married to Jared before she could get baptized too. She has a such a good understanding of what the gospel means and I can tell that she really wants this. 

Hannah is progressing really well. We were able to bring Daisy, a recent convert, with us to teach her. Hannah's been reading the Book of Mormon and coming up with specific questions to ask us. She's been marking up the copy we gave her and is really interested in learning more. The only hang up is that she told us that she'd come to our church if she didn't go to any other church this past weekend. We've been working with the young women's to coordinate more fellowship and involvement in the ward. 

Luis was another miracle that we had this week. We were walking back to our car when we were prompted to talk to him while he was working in his garden. As we were talking to him, we found out that just like Vanessa, he had met with missionaries in the past. He told us that one thing he loved about the "Mormon Church" and the missionaries is that we were always so happy and had a light in us. We explained to him that it was because we had the Book of Mormon and the truth of the restored church on earth (including a prophet to continue to lead us and guide us). He loved the idea that we had a prophet here on earth again. We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and set up an appointment later this week. When we went back, he had already read the introduction, all of the testimonies, and chapter one of 1 Nephi. He's so prepared. He told us that he would come to church this past weekend, but he didn't end up doing it.

We were finally able to get a hold of Christian this week! It had been a while and we didn't know if we should drop him or not, but when we talked to him, he told us that he was still interested in learning more and finding out if our message is true. As we were teaching him, he had a lot of questions and doubts about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. We ended up just being really bold with him and asking him if he's actually prayed about the message and the Book. He said he hadn't and we responded by telling him that that is the only way he's going to know. He finally understood that he needed to actually pray and ask God for himself before coming to a conclusion. Progress!

Garrett's been at Youth Conference and Scout Camp this week, so we haven't been able to see him, but as far as we know, he's doing great! Melissa wasn't able to come to church this past week because she hurt her back, but we stopped by yesterday and got to talk to her and Bruno for a little bit. They're still both so amazing and want to continue progressing in the gospel.

Exchanges this week were great! I got to work with Hermana Cannon. I was so happy because I've always wanted to get to know her better and learn from her. I learned so much about what it truly means to love those you teach from her. We were able to talk to so many people and get a few return appointments.

Yesterday in Sacrament Meeting, the translator was going to be late, so one of the Hispanic brethren asked me if I could translate for the first part!  I thought it was going to be a lot harder than it really was a first, but it was actually kind of fun!

Thanks for all the love and support! 

Con amor, 

Hermana Halliday

1 Nephi 13:37

 

Si se puede street

 

Exchanges with Hermana Cannon

 

Me with my beautiful companion!

Fifty-fifth Week in the Field

Hola Everyone!

This week has been such a good week!

Garrett got baptized on Saturday!! It was such an amazing experience to be able to be apart of. I've loved being able to see him grow and set such a good example to his family and friends. His faith has surpassed anyone that I've ever met. He knows it's true. Hermana Killpack, Hermana Newland, Hermana Wallace, and I were able to sing "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" for the special musical number and it definitely invited the spirit. It felt as if angels were singing with us to help the spirit be even more present than it already was. There were a couple non-members there (including his grandparents) that I know were touched by the simple yet powerful program that was arranged. On Sunday, he was confirmed! When someone gets confirmed, I appreciate it almost more than the actual baptism. The spirit was even more strong. We were able to sit by him and his family during Sacrament Meeting, so when he came back down from being confirmed, we asked him how he felt. He told us that he could literally feel the Holy Ghost entering into his body. It's amazing how in tune he is with it and how he recognized it right off the bat. Right after he was confirmed, the young men blessed and passed the sacrament. I was fortunate enough to be sitting right by Garrett, so I got to pass it to him and he was able to partake of the sacrament for the first time. The way he treasured it was so sweet. I could tell he was enjoying every minute of it. This week he's going to youth conference and then directly to scout camp, so we're not going to be able to start his follow up lessons for another two weeks, but at least we know that he's being taken care of. The ward's been so supportive and is jumping on helping us out with that. His mom told us that she hopes we can stay around until she gets baptized in October! I hope I can too!

Eusevia is doing amazing! We were able to have a lesson with her on Tuesday with Lucy from the ward. We taught the Restoration and Lucy was such a great help. She had so many great insights that Eusevia really appreciated and she even offered to lead her to church on Sunday. Eusevia readily accepted and said that she would bring all of her kids as well. Unfortunately, Eusevia wasn't able to make it to church because her sister came into town, but Lucy is still reaching out to her and we're going to have another lesson tomorrow. Hopefully we'll be able to set her with a date tomorrow as well.

Hannah is a new investigator that we found last week who is so prepared. She's 17, but is turning 18 next week. She's getting ready to go off to college and is really interested in learning more about the scriptures and God. We gave her a Book of Mormon last week when we first met her and when we went back for our return appointment this week, she told us that she read. When she opened up her copy, we noticed that she had highlighted and made notes that she made while she studied. She had amazing questions and asked us if we could come back this coming week at the same time. We already found a young woman to go with us and she's really excited to come and meet her. Hannah wasn't able to come to church yesterday because she ended up going out of town with her family, but she said she'd come next week. 

Jasmine is still doing okay. We haven't been able to have the blessing yet because one thing or another came up, but Brother Kurtz suggested that we invite her to their home to have a family home evening to help her understand how to invite the spirit into her home. She wasn't home yesterday, so we didn't have the chance to talk with her, but we're going to jump on that and get it organized as soon as we can. 

Juan is doing so amazing! We had another lesson with him on Thursday and we had our ward mission leader come with us. We called him right before the lesson to make sure he was still going to come and he asked if he could bring a friend along as well. Of course, we told him yes and he ended up coming too! His name's Hector and he has a lot of potential. The lesson (Gospel of Jesus Christ) went so well and we were finally able to set Juan with another baptismal date for the 2nd of August. He's so prepared and so ready. It got even better because he came to church for the first time yesterday! He showed up right before Garrett finished getting confirmed and waited with Brother Ennis out in the foyer. He stayed all three hours and enjoyed the whole thing. During Sacrament Meeting, Saul, one of Juan's fellowshippers got up and bore his testimony directly to Juan. It was so amazing! During the other two hours, Juan participated and great comments. Tony, another brother in the ward, told us that Juan is definitely prepared to enter the waters of baptism and make that change in his life. We're so excited to keep working with him! We have another lesson with him on Wednesday.

The Jones family came to church again! They enjoyed it and that they wanted to become more active again. We were talking to Sister Jones after church and we found out that their oldest son, Chris, wasn't baptized yet, but that they would talk to him to see if he would be interested. We're going over to their home tonight to talk about teaching him and getting him ready! 

Thanks so much for all the love and support!  Keep the faith!

Con amor, 

Hermana Halliday

Alma 53:20-21

 

 

Garrett got baptized!  Brother Mansfield baptized him.

 

Hermana Wallace and Me with Garrett on his baptism day.

Fifty-fourth Week in the Field

Hola Everyone!

This week has been such an amazing week with so many miracles. We started out the week great by teaching Garrett (who is getting baptized on Saturday!) and going over the baptismal interview questions. He's so prepared to finally enter the waters of baptism. Everytime we see him, he brings it up and how excited he is to finally be able to take the sacrament on Sunday after he's been confirmed. He had his interview yesterday and passed! We're so excited to be able to be here to witness the changes that he and his mom are making in their lives. This week we're planning on doing a few "keep the fire going" lessons to help him keep feeling the spirit. His mom is doing so amazing too! She's such a great support for Garrett and even though she can't get baptized until her and Bruno get married in September, she still wants it really bad, is coming to church every week, participating in every way possible, and constantly shares her testimony. She's such a chosen spirit too!

Juan is doing absolutely amazing! We were finally able to have another lesson with him this past week after a month of not being able to see him. We were able to take Hermano Guerrero with us and it went perfectly. They clicked right at the beginning and the spirit was definitely present. Juan has such a desire to follow God and connect with him better in his life, so when Hermano Guerrero shared his conversion story and what he's been through it helped so much. We were able to sing "I Am a Child of God" for him too which made the spirit come in even stronger. He told us that he knows that we're sent from God to help him and that he wants to be able to keep feeling the spirit. We invited him to be baptized, but he was a little hesitant to completely commit though. Hermano Guerrero did a wonderful job at explaining the blessings that follow after baptism and Juan said he'd think about it. Also, he's still been sober after a month since we first met him. He's progressing so well.

Beto is a less active that we were finally able to meet this week. We've been working a little with his non-member brother, but little did we know that he was listening when we stopped by the last time. When we stopped by this week he told us that he heard the entire conversation and decided that he needed to come back to church. It's amazing too because he remembers the amazing fellowship that Brother Kurtz offered to him a few years back. He wasn't at church yesterday, but we're planning on stopping by more this week to get him to come back. He's so prepared to come back.

The Jones family is progressing so much out of no where. On Monday, we found out from a sister in the ward that they were trying to get a hold of us, but didn't have our number. We stopped by on Wednesday and found out that they were wondering if they could get a copy of the children's Book of Mormon so they could read it to their kids. They threw away all of the copies of the Book of Mormon that they had two years ago when they went inactive, but after they took their kids to church that one time a few weeks ago, their kids want to start learning more. We found out that their oldest son isn't baptized yet either, so we're hoping we can help their family get reactivated so that he can. We stopped by yesterday to drop off the copy after we got it from our district leader and they were still really welcoming. She even instituted a hug at the end when before they didn't even want to look at the missionaries. They told us they were going to be at church again next week!

Jasmine is struggling a little right now with feeling the spirit in her home. Just like she had issues with evil spirits a few years ago, their family is starting to notice creepy things around their house that are signs of evil things. We decided to randomly stop by when we were in the area this week and Jasmine just broke down crying and told us how she felt. We sang "Nearer, My God to Thee" to calm her down and re-invite the spirit. We asked her if she would be interested in receiving a priesthood blessing and she accepted! We talked to two brethren in the ward and we're working out a time to be able to stop by asap to get the blessing arranged. I feel really bad for her, but I know that it'll definitely help her and her family out. 

Celeste is doing a little better. Her back aches came back, so it's hard for her to come to church or really do anything for that matter. We had a really good heart to heart with her and she told us that we just need to be persistent with getting her to do things. She's been reading her scriptures, so of course that helps, but she's still really overwhelmed with her newborn baby as well. We're coordinating with the Relief Society to get her visiting teachers and other sisters in there to help. She really does have a very sincere desire to come to church more frequently though.

President and Sister Castro left on Friday, but now we have President and Sister Felix!  I haven't met them yet, but I'm really excited to get to know them a little better.  The Trumans are leaving tomorrow and it's going to be really sad because they've been here my entire mission too.  It's even more sad because they attended church here in Santa Paula too, so we saw them all the time!  I'm really going to miss all these people, but I'm excited for all the change that's happening and all the new things I'm going to learn.  

Thanks for all the love and support!

Con amor, 

Hermana Halliday

 

Our District

 

Hermana Wallas and me with the Truman's

 

Me with the Truman's