Dec 22, 2014

Ok family, well this email is going to be short because I want to be able to save my stories for when we talk on Thursday. But don't worry becauase in 1 month I will have you all bored with my stories anyway. I do however want to tell you all that I am so grateful to be a missionary in this time of the year, being able to talk to everyone about Jesus Christ, how He was born, lived, and died for every single one of us. That is the best present that I have ever heard of. So this year try not to get too wrapped up (that is punny) with all of the christmas worldly stuff. Read the story of Christmas and think about what gift you can give back to Him this season. I love you all and I will talk to you thursday :)

Hermana Willardson

Pics!!1

More miracles!

Happy Missionary!

Breann loves good food!  Check out that smile!

Miracle Baptisms

The whole district

Dont look too close in this pic

Dec 15, 2014 Miracle Baptisms!

Can I just first start off saying that I love the mission, I love it with my whole heart and its the best thing I have ever done in my life. :) I love Puerto Cabezas, I love the gospel, I love these people, I love spanish, I love miskitu, I love drinking from coconuts, I love being a missionary!!!! 

This week to start off the transfer we had a big bonfire on the beach with the whole zone :) it gave me animo to go and start my last change and we are starting off with a bang.SO remember last week when I told you all about the super awesome family of Anastacia? Well I dont' remember exactly what I told you all but I am going to explain again so taht you are all caught up to the story ;) ok so there is one little house and in this house live 6 people. Anastacia (mom) her son juan and his girlfriend maria izabela (at first I thought she was anastacias daughter but we found out this week that she is actually the girlfriend haha.) Sulema and her husband Josue and their two kids and Jenifer (daughter of Anastacia.) And they are the cutest family in the whole world. They are so so so receptive of the gospel seriously it blows my mind. Anyway the original plan was to baptize anastacia and Jenifer this saturday and the rest of them on sunday. But then we decided it would be more special to have all of them be baptized on Sunday. So we called the lawyer and paid him in advance for the 2 weddings so that we wouldn't be paying on sunday.. hahaha... and got everything ready for sunday. 

Also Friday night we got a call from a number we didn't know, and it was an hermana that only spoke miskitu, So I was listening and the only thing I understood was "two daughters baptism." and the dirrection to their house. So we went to see what was up. When we got there all these little kids came running out and gave us huge hugs, you can imagine our surprise haha. So when we got talking to the mom we were both like... ok laikra we don't speak miskitu, is there someone here that speaks spanish? and her daughter that is 10 told us she could translate. Turns out that this family had just moved from panama and were members there but they were less active for about 2-3 years and when they moved here they really wanted to return to the church and baptized their two daughters. So we told them that the two daughters could be baptized on sunday :) 

So sunday comes and we go in divisions to bring everyone to church. I went to go help anastacia and her family. So we get there and they are all getting ready, bathing and everything so I was like sweet I am going to let you guys finish getting ready and I am going to pass by for a couple more investigators. So I leave and hit up some other houses. check. Get them ready waiting for the bus. Then I returned back with anastacia and Sulema was really pale looking and I asked her if she was ok. She told me that she didn't feel good but that she knew that it was just a trail that Satan was putting in her path. SO I was like "ya hermana just trust in God, He will help you through!" haha. So we get them all ready and head out to the bus stop. In the way Sulema had to take a break because she was feeling dissy so I gave her the crackers that I had packed for my lunch. So then we were waiting for the bus and it was 20 minutes late :( but it finally came and I was incharge of telling the muchacho where he needed to go. So there I was hanging halfway out the door of the bus yelling directions in spanish hahaha it was a good moment. Anyway we stopped to get people on the bus and Anastacia comes up to me and she was like "hey sulema doesn't feel good i don't think we should go" and me being the annoying missionary said "no hermana these are just trials don't worry just trust in God" so she was super cute and said "you're right we are going to keep going!" So then we go to pick up another group of people and the bus gets stuck in the mud...... freak... so there I am with one of the elders because they were also in divisions and a whole bunch of angry members because it was hot and the bus was stuck in the mud. So we start trying to push the bus.... ok... me and like 10 other men start pushing the bus hahaha picture that one. One white girl in a dress and 10 latinos pushing a bus. hahaha... anyway everyone had gotten off the bus and I didn't see sulema so I got on to see if she was there and there she was with anastacia and I saw that she was sleeping... so I go up to them and asked if she was ok. to which anastacia said "hermana, she fainted..." WHAT??!?!?!?!? I was shocked because she told me super calmly hahaha so I was like freak ok I am going to go get a taxi. So I grabbed the teenager that was with me and we went running to find a taxi and of course there wasn't any... haha so we ran for about a mile, in rain boots, and dresses- we finally found one and I sent sulema her husband and her mom to the hospital... I even took her off the bus in my arms ahaha. So then we could see that the bus was not going to move and the branch president called us and said "pay for everyone to go in taxi." So then we had to go looking AGAIN for taxis haha. We FINALLY got everyone to the church and juan and maria izabel, jenifer, juslady, and amy were all baptized :) through the trials came the miracles. The elders also baptized 2 muchachos and it was super awesome. This is why I love puerto. 

Anyway this morning we went to go check up on Sulema (yes we work on pdays :) ) and she is feeling better, the doctors don't know what she has but she was super cute she said "the minute I feel better we are going to the church and I am getting baptized. I love that family... seriuosly they are incredible.

So that was the miracle of the week!!!!!

I hope you all know I love you :)

Love hermana Willy

Pictures!!!!

Last Transfer!!!!

Hey there family!!!

Wow so this is a strange feeling, I am officially in my last transfer of the mission... Freak.. the time is flying by as well and it scares me. So we aren't going to talk about it. Anyway this week was awesome, and crazy just like all the weeks here in the mission but even more in Puerto Cabezas!!!

So it started out like this, my companion went to managua for the leaders meeting (because they can only take one of us because its expensive so I will go next month.) and I stayed here working with the other hermanas. Here in Puerto there is one companionship of elders miskitus and one of hermanas miskitas and they are in charge of teaching all the people that only speak miskitu. So I went with them and it was seriously so fun. We would get to peoples houses and I would present us in miskitu (because its the only thing I know how to say hahaha) and then they would go off and start teaching hahaha I felt a little useless because I honestly couldn't help them with anything but we all laughed and had a good time with it. if you want to know how to present yourself as a missionary in miskitu say lang nani misionera sna jesus christ priska watla. Hahaha I hope you all try to say that out loud :) but I love love love the people of Puerto. The members here are so supportive and want all of their neighbors to know about the church. Its awesome. 

Anyway so this week we decided that as a zone we were going to go to the big park here in puerto and show the mormon message of christmas i think it is called something like "he is the gift" I just know that it is "Él es la dádiva" so we all bought christmas santa hats and went to go talk to everyone in the park and invite them to the pavillion to watch the short movie about christmas and then invite them to church. It was super fun because we were all dressed up for christmas and inviting people to come unto Christ :) what a better way to spend this holiday season hahaha!! No but really it was really awesome to be able to have this Christmas be even more different from the others where I am really focusing on giving back to God for the gift that He gave to all of us. His only Son.

So this week it has rained a lot and it leaves the streets with little lakes of water so we wear rainboots everyday :) my feet get hot but then I just sick them in a puddle and all is good. But you better believe that we get home with our skirts went and covered in red mud :) 

Hahaha I had a funny moment this week, sunday we were fasting and after church we went home to eat something really quick before the Chirstmas devotional and we were STARVING because it was 5:00pm sunday night so we get home and there is literally nothing but 5 eggs 2 cans of corn and a can of tuna... so we thought hmmm well we need to eat now and at night so lets eat the eggs with tuna right now and save the canned corn for dinner. SO that is how i ended my fast eating eggs and tuna :) then at night opening the can of corn and putting in a little bit of salsa. It was quite humorous and I laughed at my delicious Sunday dinner. :) 

Here in Puerto we don't usually ask for water from the members houses because if we drink too much rain water we get sick so I have started just asking for coconuts instead :) because they grow like crazy here and the people are more than willing to climb the tree and cut you a coconut with their matchete. So this week I drank coconut water every single day.

Ok are you all ready for this? This week we were lost in our area (because we are both new) and we decided to ask this Señora for directions because we were in the middle of a swamp haha. She was super nice so we introduced ourselves and asked her if we could go to her house to meet her family. So she took us to her little wooden house where she lives with 6 adult children. (adult children? does that make sense?) her 5 kids that are adults pues.... and we taught all of them about the restoration of the gospel. They are all so so so receptive and even told us that they knew it was the truth. So we invited them all to church and put a baptism date with them for this weekend and they all accepted. In this house it is Anastacia (mom) Mariazabel (17) Jenifer (20) and her son of 2 months and Sulema and her husband Josue. Sulema and Josue have to be married but they are all so so ready. All of them went to church except Josue because he had to work so this weekend we will have the baptism of Anastacia and her daughters and next weekend will be the wedding and baptism of Josue and Sulema :) I am super excited. I am going to work until my dying breath because I am eternally grateful for the chance I have had to be here. I hope you all know that I love you and I love my Savior. 

Also a special happy birthday Shout out to my lovely mother :) I might not be there but I will be for the next one :) I LOVE YOU MOMMY

Love you all!!!

Hermana Willardson

Dec 1 2014

So here is an embarrassing fact for you all... I totally forgot that thanksgiving was this week because I keep telling myself that it is only October jajaja.

Thursday I was working all day like normal and I was in divisiones so I honestly forgot that it was thanksgiving, but when we got to the house I went to the bathroom (haha I know you wanted to know) to wash my feet as well and when I came out the hermana Reyes had cooked eggs and beans for me and gave me the plate with a big smile on her face and said "happy thanksgiving!!" Hahahaha I just started laughing to see this sweet latina sitting there with a plate of eggs and beans for our thanksgiving dinner :) and honestly, I was very very grateful for that dinner. :)

Ok kids, Puerto is CRAZY!!!! Seriously, I can't even explain it. I want to explain the 3 miracles that happened to us this week.

1. Guerry y Sara, this is a family that the hermanas had been teaching for a long time but they always thought that they couldn't be baptized because sara needed a divorce, so this family has been waiting and waiting to try to get money for a divorce because its super expensive, so last Sunday we did a special fast with them and on Tuesday we went with Hermana Sara to see about the divorce papers, when we got there, I started asking some annoying questions and turns out her other marriage was never written in the books of the country... I don't know how to explain that very well, but the thing is that her other marrige didn't count. This news was AWESOME because she is a member and Guerry has been wanting to get married and baptised for a really long time. SO we called Sara and gave her the good news and told her that they could be married the next day!!!! She was all for it but we knew we would have to get the ok from hermano guerry to do the wedding so fast, so my companion and I went to his place of work (the fire department :) ) and we told him the great news, in that moment I watched his eyes fill with tears of joy... Being able to bring him this news that he has been waiting for was one of the best moments ever. In that moment he got out his phone and called his parents I couldn't hear a lot but what I heard was something like this "Mom... tomorrow I am finally going to be able to marry sara and then be baptized... the hermanas found a way!!!!! I have never felt so happy!!!" Seriously guys it was one of the most rewarding moments. So Tuesday night we called the lawyer and got everything set up, and Wednesday night they got married and hermano Guerry was baptized. He was seriously SO happy... these miskitus are so incredible.. seriously.

Cristina, is our old rich lady :) hahaha when I got here the hermanas had been teaching her and the first time I met her I knew she was ready for baptism!!! She always told us that it was time for her to accept Jesus and she was going to be baptized. So all of this week we were getting her ready for baptism and on Saturday she invited all of her family and was baptized :) when we talked about tithing and the word of wisdom she was super open to it all. She was like "if it is something that the Lord tells me I need to do I need to do it!!!" I call her our old rich lady because she has the biggest house I have seen yet in puerto :) hehehe... 

Ricardo, ok this one was a crazy story, here in puerto we enter the house 1 hour earlier than normal.... just for safety reasons.... anyway so it was 8:05 Saturday night and we were on our way home. When all of a sudden out of no where appears a young man, who stops us and says "hey you guys are the missionaries right??" and with pride I said "why yes we are!!!" he then began to tell us that antes he had been recieving the lessons from the missionaries and was about to be baptized but they called him into the military so he never could. But he told us that he also wanted to be a missionary someday, he is 18, normally when people come up to us like that and say that I feel like they are lying but in this moment the spirit told me that it was true and this kid was telling us the truth. So I opened my mouth and this is what came out "well you can be baptized tomorrow if you want!!!!" Hahaha my companion looked at me like a crazy woman, but the next day he was interviewed and baptized :) He is super pilas (awesome) and has already asked to do visits with us to help us find more people to teach. He introduces us to his friends and everything. Seriously awesome.

The people of puerto have taught me so much. This morning as I pulled my water out of the well and then washed my clothes on a wooden wash board I realized how blessed I have been... But not only for the material things that I have waiting for me in the house but for the chance that I have had to live amoung such incredible people. So humble and so receptive to the gospel... so ready to do what the Lord asks them. If I could only say one thing for the which I am grateful this thanksgiving it is for this time I have been able to come to Nicaragua, to change my life, to love these people, to learn from them and be like them, and to help them find the way to eternal happiness. I am SO incredibly grateful for every morning that I get to wake up at 5:30 to go pull water out of the well :) seriously I am grateful for that. I am grateful when my companion doesn't tell me I am eating turtle until I am done eating haha which by the way turtle is super delicious... but it makes me SUPER sad to eat it.... so I try not to. I am grateful for every single one of you guys that have been there supporting me :) I couldn't do it without you.

Thank you all for everything :) and happy thanksgiving

Also thanks for not telling me that you were in california this week until after it all happened haha. But I am not jealous because my thanksgiving dinner was eggs and beans :)

Love you all!!

Hermana Willardson