It got cold this week! BRRRRRR walking around in tights, a coat, 2 sweaters, lots of layers, scarf, gloves, hat, etc. BRRR it´s windy here. but that´s ok it just makes it harder to find people in the streets because everyone stays inside, i have been sleeping with 3 blankets becase we don´t have heating in our house, so its cold inside too, last night we ironed our sheets before getting into bed haha.
I had an interview with pres. Calderon this week. it was good, i was able to learn from him.
We have a new goal in the mission, well a goal for the month of JULY. it is to have 200 baptisms in the mission. that means about 2 people each companionship. The truth is I am a little worried because we dont really have anyone that is progressing to that point. For example, we aren´t visiting Aida and Alejandra anymore, they weren´t there for our last visit, and they didn´t come to church, we might call them later this week but they don´t have the desire to be baptized so we are looking for new people.
We are trying to ask for REFERENCES of ward members- friends, neighbors, and family members, so that the member can accompany us to visit them.
I know i need to have FAITH and TRUST in the LORD. it´s just hard sometimes. I am learning to be closer to my Heavenly FAther. He loves me and I know he wants me to reach this goal. I worry that I¨m not doing enough here sometimes. But really I am putting forth a lot of effort, trying to obedient as possible, and have a good attitude, these things are important and we can´t always control what the people say or think or if they want to be baptized a lot. We just have to trust that the spirit will convert them and that they will recognize the answers to their prayers.I am also trying to follow the spirit more, and have the spirit be there, strong, in each lesson, or even when we talk to someone in the street. It is so difficult when we are surrounded by houses where we know there are drunk parties going on, bad music, there are dead animals in the streets, advertisements with pornography all around. I just hope and pray that people recognize me as a representative of Jesus Christ. The Son of God. And i hope that they realized that our message is true, and that they must come unto him to have their salvation, with their families.
I get discouraged easily sometimes, but I am trying to be better, and really put my whole heart into this work. Sometimes I don´t want to put my heart into it beacause sometimes there is heartbreak. When someone doesn´t get baptized that you love, it is so sad. Trying to improve every day and develop attributes of Jesus Christ.
I do love the mission though. I love that i have this time to devote to the lord. I hope that I can make the best of time time I hvae left- about 10 months is all! =( it is so short. sometimes when we are int he streets we check the time and an hour passes in what seems like 5 minutes.
Pray that i don´t freeze and pray that we can find people to baptize please! i love you all! So much! what a blessing to know we will have a forever family
love Hermana Tibbitts
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
June 20
Hello everyone, thanks for your emails and sending pictures!
This week was pretty hard because we had to leave a lot of investigators, it seems like we are always doing it, we visit a lot of people 1 or 2 times and then no more, so we have to talk to people in the streets and knock a lot of doors, so pray we can find people that will accept our visits and that will progress!! But we did find a few people who I am excited about.
Ok so about my companion. Well for one thing I am not supposed to write to you about anything negative about my companion, area, the investigators, nothing. So I try to do that. Sometimes things happen and I think, well, that´s something I´lltell them about after I get home. Haha. Do not worry, it´s just that we live in a hard place and it´s part of life. Like we get whistled at a lot. Stuff like that. DO NOT WORRY!! ok! I think the hardest part about being with Hna. Larsen now is that we have been together a long time. Not many missionaries stay together with the companion 3 transfers. We are friends but it does require a lot of patience sometimes. It´s not the easiest thing to be 2 americans in bolivia, trying to reach all of our goals as missionaries. We get discouraged a lot. We have obstacles that are huge that we don´t even know how to get over. But one thing that we know is that there is a reason. We are trying to be more loving and serviceable to each other so that we can hvae more success in the work. the mission makes one VERY humble, i think. and the lord gives us trials to give us strength.
anyways, about Martha, she is doing good, we don´t go to the sewing classes because it is not related with missionary work, but she likes it, and is happy. at the baptism when she spoke her niece was there, she is named Justa and is in another ward and is a strong member of the church, martha didn´t even know. But Justa has been sealed in the temple to her husband and she said that she did the temple work for martha´s mother. Justa also said that she had a dream after doing it and that martha´s mom accepted the work! Martha didn´tn really understand what that meant.. we ahven´t taught about the temple yet.. this week we will! it´s nice to know that Martha´s mom accepted the gospel and that they can have an eternal family.
Not much to say. We gave Aida and alejandra a book of mormon this week. I hope they read! I hope they will. They didn´t come to church yeseterday, don´t know why, since we saw them saturday and they said they would come, i´m sure it was an emergency or something. We are getting pretty attached to them, Aida is like a mom to us in some ways.
We have interviews with Presidente tomorrow, and a conference int his week with the Area authorities, i believe, not sure, we´ll see.
I love you all. keep praying for me please. Be good! Read the conference talks. I love the talk Guardians of Virtue. Read and meditate and make your lists of what you do and won´t do!
love. Hna. Tibbitts.
This week was pretty hard because we had to leave a lot of investigators, it seems like we are always doing it, we visit a lot of people 1 or 2 times and then no more, so we have to talk to people in the streets and knock a lot of doors, so pray we can find people that will accept our visits and that will progress!! But we did find a few people who I am excited about.
Ok so about my companion. Well for one thing I am not supposed to write to you about anything negative about my companion, area, the investigators, nothing. So I try to do that. Sometimes things happen and I think, well, that´s something I´lltell them about after I get home. Haha. Do not worry, it´s just that we live in a hard place and it´s part of life. Like we get whistled at a lot. Stuff like that. DO NOT WORRY!! ok! I think the hardest part about being with Hna. Larsen now is that we have been together a long time. Not many missionaries stay together with the companion 3 transfers. We are friends but it does require a lot of patience sometimes. It´s not the easiest thing to be 2 americans in bolivia, trying to reach all of our goals as missionaries. We get discouraged a lot. We have obstacles that are huge that we don´t even know how to get over. But one thing that we know is that there is a reason. We are trying to be more loving and serviceable to each other so that we can hvae more success in the work. the mission makes one VERY humble, i think. and the lord gives us trials to give us strength.
anyways, about Martha, she is doing good, we don´t go to the sewing classes because it is not related with missionary work, but she likes it, and is happy. at the baptism when she spoke her niece was there, she is named Justa and is in another ward and is a strong member of the church, martha didn´t even know. But Justa has been sealed in the temple to her husband and she said that she did the temple work for martha´s mother. Justa also said that she had a dream after doing it and that martha´s mom accepted the work! Martha didn´tn really understand what that meant.. we ahven´t taught about the temple yet.. this week we will! it´s nice to know that Martha´s mom accepted the gospel and that they can have an eternal family.
Not much to say. We gave Aida and alejandra a book of mormon this week. I hope they read! I hope they will. They didn´t come to church yeseterday, don´t know why, since we saw them saturday and they said they would come, i´m sure it was an emergency or something. We are getting pretty attached to them, Aida is like a mom to us in some ways.
We have interviews with Presidente tomorrow, and a conference int his week with the Area authorities, i believe, not sure, we´ll see.
I love you all. keep praying for me please. Be good! Read the conference talks. I love the talk Guardians of Virtue. Read and meditate and make your lists of what you do and won´t do!
love. Hna. Tibbitts.
June 13
Hello!! Thanks for the emails. This was a good week!
Yes it was a shock that we are staying together. We had to make a lot of goals to keep working well together. But it is exciting too! We are trying to find more ways to serve each other and love each other. something that i like is ¨no hay una companera perfecta, séalo usted¨-- there is not a perfect companion, so be one yourself. ahh i can´t translate it very well.. haha.
something good is that We get more time with Martha, our golden convert! She is doing so well. Every week for R.S. Activity they are making sheets to give to an orphanage, and Martha is teaching all the hermanas how to sew... she used to sew clothing as a job. She went to the distribution center and bought a Bible, BOM and hymnbook... it´s weird because here you have to bring your hymnbook, there aren´t just ones you can use in the benches. We are teaching her daughter Paula when we can find her. She usually gets home from work at about 8:30 at night and we have to get home at 9 so it is a little difficult. But she is interested so we are trying to help her learn. Martha gave her testimony in the baptism that the other hnas had this week. Basically she just said that the gospel has made her feel a lot more peace and tranquility in her life and that she is happy she has it. :)
We finally got the Liahona of the conference talks this week.. it was like christmas!! We were super excited. In english too! So we were happy. We take turns reading it haha. We also got for the strength of youth pamphlets. They are really helpful! !
On monday after i wrote you we went to a market with winter clothes and i bought a bunch of winter clothes!! So i won´t freeze! It was cheap and new stuff, so i was happy, also I bought a fuzzy warm blanket, the mission puts blankets in each apartment but they are itchy so i bought another one, it was a happy day!! My birthday was really good! We kind of kept it low key but we did get pizza at night, yum yum. On Saturday the other hermanas had a baptism and hna. Julie, my pensionista in my last area came with her husband Edgar!! She brought me a little cake and a gift and notes from Hna. Castro and the other hermanas that are there. I was happy! They wrapped up a can of american coca cola... haha. To remember them since we drank coca cola almost every day. Took pictures but can´t get them to upload... next week!
Also i bought gummy bears in honor of my birthday, and green apple soda :)
Something i remember from the MTC from a talk i listened to by Elder Holland is that the best gift you can recieve at this age is the gift of the mission!! So just keeping that in mind made me happy. I am really doing the best thing possible for me at this moment. even thought it is so hard sometimes i am happy.
We are still teaching Aida and Alejandra. We are starting to get kind of attached to them, they are like great friends we have. They always are so happy when we come visit. They came to church again on sunday and we taught the plan of salvation. We also invited them to baptism but they didn´t accept... we probably should have done better to address their problems, but they want to keep learning so at least we will have more chances. Alejandra is still stuck on the father... it stresses out Aida too as her mom.. they feel like they can´t forgive him right now so we taught about the atonement and how we have to forgive.. i understand what they are feling though, it´s not easy especially since he brought so much pain into thier lives.
Well things are going good here in the mission. Every day is a challenge but just have to keep perspective. I am glad to hear you are making goals. Hna. Larsen and I had a talk about that this week. We have so many goals it is almost overwhelming. there are so many things we want to work on. But we know the Lord will help us! Trying to work on patience, faith, charity, the list goes on. See chapter 6 of preach my gospel. i have a long way to go. but i take comfort in ether 12:27.
I love you all. Keep being good and working on your goals. that is how we can be happy!! trust in Heavenly Father and he will help you. He wants you to be happy! The gospel is true and changes lives, and i am so happy i have a family that has the gospel, i love to remember the covenants that keep us together and that keep us safe from satan! Love you all. have a great week. Hna. Tibbitts
Yes it was a shock that we are staying together. We had to make a lot of goals to keep working well together. But it is exciting too! We are trying to find more ways to serve each other and love each other. something that i like is ¨no hay una companera perfecta, séalo usted¨-- there is not a perfect companion, so be one yourself. ahh i can´t translate it very well.. haha.
something good is that We get more time with Martha, our golden convert! She is doing so well. Every week for R.S. Activity they are making sheets to give to an orphanage, and Martha is teaching all the hermanas how to sew... she used to sew clothing as a job. She went to the distribution center and bought a Bible, BOM and hymnbook... it´s weird because here you have to bring your hymnbook, there aren´t just ones you can use in the benches. We are teaching her daughter Paula when we can find her. She usually gets home from work at about 8:30 at night and we have to get home at 9 so it is a little difficult. But she is interested so we are trying to help her learn. Martha gave her testimony in the baptism that the other hnas had this week. Basically she just said that the gospel has made her feel a lot more peace and tranquility in her life and that she is happy she has it. :)
We finally got the Liahona of the conference talks this week.. it was like christmas!! We were super excited. In english too! So we were happy. We take turns reading it haha. We also got for the strength of youth pamphlets. They are really helpful! !
On monday after i wrote you we went to a market with winter clothes and i bought a bunch of winter clothes!! So i won´t freeze! It was cheap and new stuff, so i was happy, also I bought a fuzzy warm blanket, the mission puts blankets in each apartment but they are itchy so i bought another one, it was a happy day!! My birthday was really good! We kind of kept it low key but we did get pizza at night, yum yum. On Saturday the other hermanas had a baptism and hna. Julie, my pensionista in my last area came with her husband Edgar!! She brought me a little cake and a gift and notes from Hna. Castro and the other hermanas that are there. I was happy! They wrapped up a can of american coca cola... haha. To remember them since we drank coca cola almost every day. Took pictures but can´t get them to upload... next week!
Also i bought gummy bears in honor of my birthday, and green apple soda :)
Something i remember from the MTC from a talk i listened to by Elder Holland is that the best gift you can recieve at this age is the gift of the mission!! So just keeping that in mind made me happy. I am really doing the best thing possible for me at this moment. even thought it is so hard sometimes i am happy.
We are still teaching Aida and Alejandra. We are starting to get kind of attached to them, they are like great friends we have. They always are so happy when we come visit. They came to church again on sunday and we taught the plan of salvation. We also invited them to baptism but they didn´t accept... we probably should have done better to address their problems, but they want to keep learning so at least we will have more chances. Alejandra is still stuck on the father... it stresses out Aida too as her mom.. they feel like they can´t forgive him right now so we taught about the atonement and how we have to forgive.. i understand what they are feling though, it´s not easy especially since he brought so much pain into thier lives.
Well things are going good here in the mission. Every day is a challenge but just have to keep perspective. I am glad to hear you are making goals. Hna. Larsen and I had a talk about that this week. We have so many goals it is almost overwhelming. there are so many things we want to work on. But we know the Lord will help us! Trying to work on patience, faith, charity, the list goes on. See chapter 6 of preach my gospel. i have a long way to go. but i take comfort in ether 12:27.
I love you all. Keep being good and working on your goals. that is how we can be happy!! trust in Heavenly Father and he will help you. He wants you to be happy! The gospel is true and changes lives, and i am so happy i have a family that has the gospel, i love to remember the covenants that keep us together and that keep us safe from satan! Love you all. have a great week. Hna. Tibbitts
June 6
Happy Birthday to me!
I¨m gonna be 22?? what?? weird...
We didn´t have cambios! I am still with Hna. Larsen in Guaracal! We were so shocked when we found out. WE have a lot of challenges but we are happy we get to stay. ... FYI transfers are every 6 weeks. So we have at least 5 weeks more since 1 week has already gone by. Hna. Harman that was in our house went to my last area, la cañada and is companions with hna. Castro. She will have 6 months in that area. Hna. Broome is now companions with hna. Ortiz. Hna. Ortiz trained her and now they are back together. CAmbios are funny sometimes.
Thanks so much for your encouraging words. ...investigators come and go really fast sometimes...We didn´t see Cokie or her daughter Dirse this week, unfortunately. We called Dirse on saturday night and we think she was in a bar or out dancing or something. I heard music and then she hung up on me. So don´t think she is living the word of wisdom. Melgars did come to church! But the mom didn´t stay all 3 hrs.
Alejandra and her mom Aida came to church on sunday! For gospel principles we watched the restoration video (1st vision), the spirit was super strong in the room, and they are going to pray to know if Joseph smith was a prophet. Some of the members knew alejandra from high school and university so that was good to find out.
A lady named Jersey accepted a baptism date for 2 july. She is really great, has a lot of faith, she is looking to find peace in her life, she told us that she gets angry often and doesn´t want to be that way, her husband is out of work and her 17 year old son´s girlfriend who is also 17 just had a baby... they are both still in high school.
Have I ever told you about the familia Tamés?? They are less active but they are so fun. We go there when we are tired at night and just talk and talk. They live in a 1 room humble brick house. The mom is single and has 2 teenage sons and 1 teenage daughter. The mom, victoria has a really strong testimony, she was baptized as a kid and all her family are members, most are inactive too though. She wants to go to the temple and she wants her 19 yr old son to go on a mission, but she wants him to have the desire to go.
The mission is so hard but i am learning a lot and really learning how to rely on the lord. The Lord really wants me to be humble and patient in this time I feel. We have so many goals that we want to make and we are always making plans. It is so exhausting. My shoe inserts are great :) but my feet still hurt every day when i come home. i go to bed every night exhausted.
Sorry not much time to write, trying to get these photos to upload but it doesn´t want to cooperate very well. Thanks for your prayers and letters and the packages.
I¨m gonna be 22?? what?? weird...
We didn´t have cambios! I am still with Hna. Larsen in Guaracal! We were so shocked when we found out. WE have a lot of challenges but we are happy we get to stay. ... FYI transfers are every 6 weeks. So we have at least 5 weeks more since 1 week has already gone by. Hna. Harman that was in our house went to my last area, la cañada and is companions with hna. Castro. She will have 6 months in that area. Hna. Broome is now companions with hna. Ortiz. Hna. Ortiz trained her and now they are back together. CAmbios are funny sometimes.
Thanks so much for your encouraging words. ...investigators come and go really fast sometimes...We didn´t see Cokie or her daughter Dirse this week, unfortunately. We called Dirse on saturday night and we think she was in a bar or out dancing or something. I heard music and then she hung up on me. So don´t think she is living the word of wisdom. Melgars did come to church! But the mom didn´t stay all 3 hrs.
Alejandra and her mom Aida came to church on sunday! For gospel principles we watched the restoration video (1st vision), the spirit was super strong in the room, and they are going to pray to know if Joseph smith was a prophet. Some of the members knew alejandra from high school and university so that was good to find out.
A lady named Jersey accepted a baptism date for 2 july. She is really great, has a lot of faith, she is looking to find peace in her life, she told us that she gets angry often and doesn´t want to be that way, her husband is out of work and her 17 year old son´s girlfriend who is also 17 just had a baby... they are both still in high school.
Have I ever told you about the familia Tamés?? They are less active but they are so fun. We go there when we are tired at night and just talk and talk. They live in a 1 room humble brick house. The mom is single and has 2 teenage sons and 1 teenage daughter. The mom, victoria has a really strong testimony, she was baptized as a kid and all her family are members, most are inactive too though. She wants to go to the temple and she wants her 19 yr old son to go on a mission, but she wants him to have the desire to go.
The mission is so hard but i am learning a lot and really learning how to rely on the lord. The Lord really wants me to be humble and patient in this time I feel. We have so many goals that we want to make and we are always making plans. It is so exhausting. My shoe inserts are great :) but my feet still hurt every day when i come home. i go to bed every night exhausted.
Sorry not much time to write, trying to get these photos to upload but it doesn´t want to cooperate very well. Thanks for your prayers and letters and the packages.
May 30th
helloo... well another week has gone by. I GOT PACKAGES THIS WEEK!! the one from Tracee for easter and the shoe inserts from G&G hindman. Thank you!! i was happy! Can't wait to get more!!
Your lives sound crazy! glad to hear your heads are above water. my life is crazy too right now.
There are transfers this week!! I am pretty sure that I or Hna. Larsen will have cambios. We don't know anything yet! it is sad!
haha, so Martha is doing good. She is going to all the activities and the institute class that they ahve for the adults in the ward and everything!! she has friends and so all is well!! attaching pictures from her baptism. my camera died there, it was sad!
yes we did teach the man in the park and his family. it was nuts. We couldn´t control the lesson at all. they were just asking questions and talking in english and spanish. next time we go we are just going to show them the restoration video i think.
We didn´t get to teach cokie this week. she wasn´t home when we went to the lesson. that happens a lot. the mission teaches patience. we have an appointment next week. We did get to teach her daughter Dirse though. She is 25 and a single mom with 2 kids. She doesn´t like living in her house because basicaly her mom is raising her kids not her, because she works and goes to school. She wants to move out. hopefully she doesn´t move far!!
only the daughters in the melgar family came to church this week. the less active people have such a hard time sometimes. i don´t get it. we visit them, they say they are going to church, and then they don´t show up. it is frustrating. patience!!
this week we taught a lady named Aida and her daughter Alejandra. Alejandra is a single mom and is 22. Her son is 4 and is named justin and is a wild crazy kid. I guess they wanted to hear from us to get help for Alejandra. She is still in love with the father of justin, but they didn´t get married when he was born, and now he lives with another chica and she is pregnant and they are not married too... Alejandra thinks that he may come back to her.. i didn´t even know what to say, it was weird, but my awesome companion said... i don´t think he wants to come back. which was exactly what i was thinking. it was perfect. and she is praying to figure out what the lord wants her to do. So we were happy to help with that, and help her realize that she is a child of God and can do better!
well i don´t have much time today to write you, had a lot to say to pres. calderon. but i love you all and pray for you all too. we are looking for people who want to be baptized but it is sooo hard! Satan really works hard with all our investigators. We found out some sad things about a few of them this week. Satan really does try to destroy families. Trying to keep going forward with a lot of faith and love for the people. The mission is really hard sometimes!! i love you all. i would love to get more letters from friends and family!! DEar elder is great!!
love hna. Tibbitts
Your lives sound crazy! glad to hear your heads are above water. my life is crazy too right now.
There are transfers this week!! I am pretty sure that I or Hna. Larsen will have cambios. We don't know anything yet! it is sad!
haha, so Martha is doing good. She is going to all the activities and the institute class that they ahve for the adults in the ward and everything!! she has friends and so all is well!! attaching pictures from her baptism. my camera died there, it was sad!
yes we did teach the man in the park and his family. it was nuts. We couldn´t control the lesson at all. they were just asking questions and talking in english and spanish. next time we go we are just going to show them the restoration video i think.
We didn´t get to teach cokie this week. she wasn´t home when we went to the lesson. that happens a lot. the mission teaches patience. we have an appointment next week. We did get to teach her daughter Dirse though. She is 25 and a single mom with 2 kids. She doesn´t like living in her house because basicaly her mom is raising her kids not her, because she works and goes to school. She wants to move out. hopefully she doesn´t move far!!
only the daughters in the melgar family came to church this week. the less active people have such a hard time sometimes. i don´t get it. we visit them, they say they are going to church, and then they don´t show up. it is frustrating. patience!!
this week we taught a lady named Aida and her daughter Alejandra. Alejandra is a single mom and is 22. Her son is 4 and is named justin and is a wild crazy kid. I guess they wanted to hear from us to get help for Alejandra. She is still in love with the father of justin, but they didn´t get married when he was born, and now he lives with another chica and she is pregnant and they are not married too... Alejandra thinks that he may come back to her.. i didn´t even know what to say, it was weird, but my awesome companion said... i don´t think he wants to come back. which was exactly what i was thinking. it was perfect. and she is praying to figure out what the lord wants her to do. So we were happy to help with that, and help her realize that she is a child of God and can do better!
well i don´t have much time today to write you, had a lot to say to pres. calderon. but i love you all and pray for you all too. we are looking for people who want to be baptized but it is sooo hard! Satan really works hard with all our investigators. We found out some sad things about a few of them this week. Satan really does try to destroy families. Trying to keep going forward with a lot of faith and love for the people. The mission is really hard sometimes!! i love you all. i would love to get more letters from friends and family!! DEar elder is great!!
love hna. Tibbitts
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)