Happy New Year (Almost)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I guess not yet...but still this week is when the New Year starts. The highlights of my week:

* Monday- we prepared for Christmas by buying gifts for some of our members and investigators. And also got to have lunch on the border of our area with Sister Ramos and Sister Ipson. 

* Tuesday- did ALOT of caroling!!!!!!! 

* Wednesday- got to sing in the big mall over here called The River. It was actually a really special experience and something I would like to do again. It was so interesting to watch people when we sang. The Young Single Adults arranged an activity to go sing next to the food court and invited all the missionaries to join in. It was so cool to be able to drown out the world for some people that stopped to listen. 

*Thursday- Christmas Eve!!!! We got to eat dinner with a great little family who gave us some champurrado (hot chocolate....kind of.) and tacos. Then we spent the rest of the night inside. I got the chance to read and study about the birth of Jesus Christ. It was also a special experience. I have never understood Christmas like I did this year. 

*Friday- I was a little bit sick but we worked through it and ate with a great sister from the wars, and then I got to Skype the family. It was so good to get to see at least some of my siblings. I adore my family.....it was so different being away from them this year, but I am grateful to be here. I got to see Christmas in a new light. I got to see why Christmas is important. 

* I got to speak in church yesterday about goal setting for the New Year and a little bit of repentance. We spoke last. The elders and I took up all of the time and Sister Erickson didn't even get to speak.....but maybe next week. I am excited for her to show off her Spanish. 

* Big news for the branch, they are splitting it. So we used to cover Cathedral City, Thousand Palms, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, and La Quinta....but they are taking La Quinta out and making a new Ward out of it and parts of the other Spanish Ward. Wow. That came as a shocker. We will be losing almost half of our leadership and some very strong members. But, what a great way for the branch to step it up and be stronger. 

Sister Erickson reminded me of a funny experience this week. About the beginning of the week we met a woman on the street named Petra....she is awesome and said we could come back to read the bible story of Jesus' birth with her and her husband. So we went over and they had been expecting us. We sat down and the husband said that he had always wondered what his purpose was in life. They told us that they have other missionaries come over from other religions too. We proceeded and gave a super brief summary of where we come from and why we are here and then read the bible story. They asked us to come back to talk more about the plan of salvation and we said w would. We closed with a prayer and in the process of getting up off the couch.... Someone knocked.....and guess who came in? The Jehovah Witness missionaries. The husband says, "the competition"..... Needless to say we got out of there after some brief conversation and laughed all the way the car.

I love you all I hope this week we will all take the time to make some really good goals, repent, and move forward. Next week I am sure we will have more news to share. I love you!!!!!!! This is the last week of the transfer..... Ahhhh I will let you all know what is happening next week 

Love,    
 Hermana Wright 

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!
To my dearest family and friends.

What a wonderful time of year. This Christmas has definitely been different. I miss the family, and watching Christmas movies, and sleeping in. BUT..... I get to see first hand WHY we even celebrate Christmas. That is so valuable to me, to see people's hearts, eyes and lives change because they come to a realization that there is a father who loves them enough to sacrifice his son.

A Couple of experiences-

- We have been doing a lot of caroling. We got to go with our Roommates the other night and sing to some older ladies that live in a retirement community. Every time we sang to someone, we asked if there was anyone else they would like us to sing to. After a couple times of doing that we were referred to someone name Laticia. She opened the door and we sang to her, at the end of Cantan Santos Angeles (Angels we have Heard on High) with tears in her eyes, she called one of her friends and then told her to listen as we sang Silent Night. She kept telling her friend how God had sent us. It was so awesome to see the Holy Ghost touch her.

- Another day we decided to carol to a couple of our neighbors, one who barely speaks English and just moved in, and then another named Amy who we know pretty well. When we sang to the first neighbor, she was kind of surprised to see us. We asked if we could sing one more. At the end she hugged us and started to cry. She invited us to come back and read with her the Christmas story from the Bible.

Some big things have happened this week.

-Last Pday, Maria and her sister Sophie took us to candy cane lane. It was really fun and pretty. Pictures to come next week.
-Thursday our roommates got a call from President Van Cott. He said that because of some recent changes the trio was going to be separated. The next morning Sister Romrell got emergency transferred. So we are one less in our apartment.

Love you All! I hope you have a safe Christmas! I love you!!!!!!
Hermana Wright

Mariah's Baptism

December 14, 2015

Well family and friends, we are quickly approaching Christmas and I hope you have ALL watched the video, A Savior is Born. Share it!!!!!!!!!! 

This week was really great! I don't have a lot of time, so I will be quick, but

 *Mariah got baptized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so great and she is so awesome! Tonight she and her family are taking us to Candy Cane lane to see the lights before P-day ends. woohoo!!! I love her so much! The baptism was awesome, and the spirit was so strong. Her mom bore her testimony and kept talking about how it took so long for her daughters to want to join the church. They are so excited because now that both of the daughters are baptized, the dad will be next. 

*This week we went to have a lesson with Mariah before her baptism (maybe Wednesday). They told us that Mariah got in a car accident and totaled her car!! She is perfectly fine though...MIRACLES!! It was so cool to hear her bear her testimony about how she knew that Satan was trying to get in the way of her getting baptized.WOW!!! She is so great!!!!! 

*Got to go on exchanges this week. I was so impressed at how well Sister Erickson took over the area. I came back and she had contacted TONS of people and found some golden investigators. What a great way to help the sisters we do exchanges with. WOW!!! She is great! 

*We are preparing for Christmas over here. We are giving Christmas to a few families in need and we are going to do lots of caroling. I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOHOO! 

We also had the Branch Christmas Party right after Mariah's baptism. It was really great, they had Posole (I think that's how you spell it, that's how you say it...) It's a really good soup. It was super delicious and they also had Champurrado (a type of really thick hot chocolate....super delicious as well). I have officially become completely Spanish. For groceries, all I buy is Mexican yogurt, tortillas, avocado, and cheese...sometimes beans and rice. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you guys for your love, support and prayers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Hermana Wright

 

Almost Christmas

Christmas package from home!!!

Well family and friends, we are starting week 3 of the transfer already. It is almost Christmas and I hope you are making the most of this time of the year to share your testimony of Jesus Christ with others. 

Good news: I am still alive. We actually haven't seen any effects from the terrorist activity in Redlands earlier this week. It was about 1 1/2 hours away from us....so rest assured, we are doing great. 

Also, MARIAH IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!! Her baptism is this Saturday, I am so excited. She is the sweetest and I really do feel like we are best friends. She is AWESOME! The cool part is that if she goes to the temple within the next 30 days after her baptism then we can go with her. She is beyond excited to be able to be baptized for her grandma and other family members. 

Sister Romrell & I in matching coats.

We had some more lessons with Ben...needless to say; he is the most awesome person ever!!!!!!!!! We got to finish the restoration and bear testimony of the Book of Mormon...which is my favorite part. We talked about how it will help him resist temptation. He is so great. He is really sensitive to the spirit. After I was bearing my testimony of the Book of Mormon he talked about how he could feel it, and how it helps him know there is hope because it worked for me and it can work for him. It was really cool. He complimented me how on how I said it with emotion.  He came to a baptism the next morning and the Christmas Concert the stake did that night. IT WAS SUPER AWESOME!!!!  I love Ben....he is so great, and also really prepared. 

One experience that I have been sharing with EVERYONE!!! (especially other investigators) is a lesson we had this week with Maria. We were talking with her and asked her how she has been feeling since we have been coming over? How she feels about the Book of Mormon? She told us that she knows it's true because she feels fed. She feels like it builds up a shield against Satan. She said that she can feel her faith growing. WOW....it made me so excited! Why? Because I have found someone who feels the same way about the Book of Mormon as I do! WOW!!!!! I have said it before and I will say it again, but the Book of Mormon changes lives, it changed mine! I am so beyond happy and fulfilled to know that it has helped one more person. No, not all of her life problems are solved, and no not every waking moment is filled with happiness and prancing through daisies, but YES her life is better with it. I have been able to share that experience with several other investigators who NEED the power that you can receive from the Book of Mormon, it is REAL! If you are worried that your friends won't accept the gospel or that the neighbors will never speak to you again because you invited them over to eat with the missionaries, think again!!!!! This book is power. You are offering them a chance of a life time. If they take the lessons with the missionaries and really do the things they invite them to do, they WILL feel it!!!!! 

 

Roommates

I was able to receive a blessing this week from President Van Cott. It was so personal and so helpful. We talked about some of the things I am struggling with in this area and as a missionary. He helped me feel understood and then gave me some great counsel! It was very much needed. He gave me a priesthood blessing and I knew that Heavenly Father was at my side, and not just then. He has always been at my side, always. He never left. 

*This week I invite you to ponder what you can give Christ for Christmas---an old habit, more time, service....a sacrifice. I know that as soon as we talk about sacrifice something always pops in our heads, but we tend to push it out because we don't want to give it up, or know that it would be hard. I encourage you and invite you to get up the courage this Christmas to repent and be better. That is the whole purpose of Christmas. God has given a practical gift that he would like us to use. What better way to give back to him than to use the gift he has given us, Jesus Christ. Please remember that this Christmas season, the best most valuable gift you can give is the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Doctrine and Covenants 15:6). 

*I love you all! Please also take some time this week to watch and Share with 5 other people (member or nonmember, but preferably the latter) the new Christmas video, A Savior is Born (or Ha Nacido un Salvador). It is such a powerful tool. Help out your neighbor, your friend, or even the stranger. Let's be what we are meant to be this Christmas, the salt of the Earth, the light that cannot be hid! 

*Tell your missionaries you love them, give them an extra hug, and give them someone to visit or carol to! 

 Love you!

Hermana Wright

Happy December...

We volunteer here every Thursday & have met
some GREAT people!

November 30, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving! And beginning of December. 

Bear with me as I do my best to remember what happened the last week or so.

Updates:

*We were just told that our transfer dates were pushed back a week so I am August 9th.



*Maria- Doing awesome. I have talked about her a lot. She is so awesome! I love her SOOO much. Really though, we are pretty much like family! I'm not just saying that...I mean it. We have had some really great lessons with her as of late. 2 lessons ago we talked about how the best way for her to help all of the other catholic people in the world is to do temple work. To help those who have already passed on without a knowledge of the gospel.  Yesterday we taught her (in our cars, through the windows because no one was in the church building :)) about faith. We read Alma 32. It was really good and we followed up with our last invitation, which was to pray about the baptismal date to see if it was when she needed to be baptized. She got an answer!!! She said that she felt like it was right.....BUT....now she is praying to try to convince God to give her more time :). Silly people! We talked extensively about it and she is now going to pray for understanding. It was such a great opportunity to share experiences when I have needed to demonstrate my faith even though I didn't want to, or even when I thought I knew better than God. She is doing great and will continue to progress!



Michelle, teacher at Braille Institute.

Brenda, student at Braille Institute.

 

*Mariah- Also doing great. She is also struggling with taking the final step of faith to set a date for baptism. We keep praying and fasting for her. It will be soon though, don't worry. 



* This week we gave 2 investigators to the elders. One of them was the library guy ;( sadly, but it will be better anyway.  We are also giving one of our miracle people this week to the Parkview English speaking sisters. It seems we are pretty good at funneling all the investigators to the right missionaries (no sass implied :)).



* MIRACLE-- Last weekend we got out of the car and talked to the very first person we saw, a woman named Sara walking with her son. We talked to her and eventually got her address. We went to go visit her and taught the Restoration, invited her to be baptized and got her a baptismal date of January 9th. WOOHOO! It was pretty cool. 

*We also have a new investigator named Ben (referral from a member). We had a great lesson with Kandyce Torres (who came out with us that night to some lessons). We taught the Restoration. He (Ben) loved it and cried about how he wanted to have more power in his life and how he wanted to leave his past behind. We invited him to be baptized and he said yes!!! So awesome!!! 

*Brendy is doing great! She is a newer investigator that is super awesome! She has the cutest little kid! She is super sincere about everything but a little skeptical. She is so cool! I will probably talk about her next week more. 



*Walking miracles. We always find little miracles when we walk and talk with everyone. Just this past week we were on our way somewhere and I just kept feeling that we needed to be somewhere else. We stopped and prayed and we decided to go to our area called Area 1 (I know...super original, you would think with my mom I would've come up with something more clever...). We walked and stopped to talk to everyone...all very cool people....but wait, there's more. We stopped to talk to this guy that was cleaning his car. We invited him to a Christmas concert. Then I asked him "If you had the opportunity to ask God one question, what would it be?" He said he would ask God why he and his wife can't have kids. Whoa...I had no idea what to say to that..... But, we talked about the Plan of Salvation a little and testified of the power of the Book of Mormon and that it would answer his question. When we went to ask for his name, his last name sounded familiar. So I asked if he knew someone name Brendy, and he said "That's my sister!"....So we found a brother and sister who live in 2 different cities, that both randomly know us and said they would read the Book of Mormon. Pretty cool. 

*Still cleaning out our pool of investigators. We have some people I just cannot let go of!!!! But, we are finding the elect. We are here to harvest the field that is white! Not to plant the field that is brown or cultivate the field that is yellow. 

Thank you family and friends!!! Love you! 

Happiest of Birthdays to my Joshy Poshy and Lyla Lou!!!!!!!!!!! 
 

Miracles happen!

Don't have time to write....

About an hour ago we came in the library to email. We passed a man and I said after we walked by that we should've talked to him. So, we went back to the car to 'get something'.....but really I just wanted a second chance to talk to him. We gave him an invitation to a Christmas concert and a restoration pamphlet with our number on it if he needed anything. We sat down to email and 10 minutes later he came back over and asked if we could explain the pamphlet to him. So we taught him about the restoration. His name is Martin. He is super cool. We have a return appointment for Wednesday.

While we were sitting here, a random lady was sitting behind him listening. Later she came up to me and said, "Can you say a prayer for me right now"....and I was like ....ok.  So, we got her name (Sue) and number and she said she would call us to come over on Saturday!!!! It suffices to say that miracles happen.

Hermana Erickson & I with Nayeli Duarte

 

I am not getting transferred. Our whole district is staying the same.  I cover the same sisters in Palm Springs except now it is Hermanas White/Hall and Hermanas Ramos/Ipson.

Love you all !!!
Hermana Wright

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Church.

 

 

Temple Trip, Zone Meeting and Good Stuff!

TEMPLE TRIP... It was so great to
go with 3 of my MTC Companions.
The temple was great. It was nice to
have a little quiet time to receive
revelation and to sit and not necessarily
worry about what we needed to do. 

This week was a great week!!!! We had temple trips and Zone Meeting and good stuff!




There are 4 sister companionships in our zone (Palm Desert Stake) Left to right-- Hermana Nichols, Hermana Jimenez (Thermal Sisters), Sister Romrell & Sister Lewis (Parkview Sisters), and us , there is one more companionship that wasn't in the picture Hermana Killpack & Martinez. 

Funny Moment/Language Moment: In Relief Society yesterday they were talking about Missionary Work. The ladies got a little off topic when they started talking about how God protects his missionaries. They started talking about how some missionaries get killed in the field..... Hermana Erickson wasn't listening 100% until that part and she turned to me with panic and said "WAIT, her son died on a mission???" and I just started laughing so hard. You probably had to be there....but it was pretty funny. Also, 2 Sundays ago she was reading from the gospel Principles book for Sunday School. In the book it talked about the 10 tribes of Israel being scattered by a battle (guerra, pronounced ge-rra--as in get). When she read however she pronounced guerra as (gwuerra). That may seem small but she taught some false doctrine. She read that The 10 tribes were scattered by a white girl.... (PS they call us Guerritas in the stores and stuff). HAHAHAHAHAHAH! IT was pretty funny! 
 

All the Hermana's that went to the temple.

Testimony Moment: This week I learned (from all of my experiences) that God loves us so much. I have been really praying for our investigators Mariah and Maria that they will be able to baptized soon. and that we will be able to help them resolve their concerns. I really do love them so much. My heart hurts when I think about how much I love them. I tell heavenly father that...I tell him that I just want to help them and that I love them so much I want them to be able to feel the happiness that comes from being baptized. The answer I kept getting was, "Don't you know that I love them too?" I 'took' them to the temple with me to seek inspiration and I was told I need to let them work it out. They will get there. 

 Lesson Moment: This week we had a lesson with Maria with our new Branch President (President Jackman). We talked about the Book of Mormon and WHY it's so important in her knowing whether or not she should be baptized. She told us that her appointment got canceled 2 hours before our appointment and she decided she needed to catch up on her reading. She was so in awe at what was happening. She said she knows it is true and that she spent half an hour praying to know what to do. It was definitely a week full of progress for her!!!! We are still praying/fasting that she will be able to receive/recognize her answer!!! 


Veterans Day flags next to our house.

Tender Mercy Moment: This week Sister Erickson and I went to the baptism of someone in our branch. The elders helped a Part member family baptize their 11 year old and 8 year old. We went because we are the only ones that play the piano. So as we were waiting for it to start, two other elders come in that are from the Fontana Stake (we are allowed to go to baptisms of people we taught). So one of them was talking with the elders and all of sudden Elder Juarez pointed at me. The Fontana elder turned around and said, "Did you teach the Ocampo's?" and I said yes, and my heart rate picked up. He said, "We found them and their Mom and Jonny are getting baptized." At that point I almost burst into tears. The Ocampos (Mario, Cesar, and Jose) were my very first converts. They got baptized and soon after stopped coming to church. A transfer after seeing them only a couple times they moved suddenly and we lost all contact with them. No one knew where they were and no one was able to contact them. Every time I see someone serving in Rialto 4th I ask them about the Boys..... I have been praying for them for a long time. As a missionary, things like that really eat at you! I can say that my heart was a little broken when that happened. I cried through the baptism as I thought about this tender mercy. The Boys were found and even better, their little brother and mom now get to join them! I am invited to the Baptism on the 29th of this month. I am so grateful!!!!!! My eyes even tear up a little when I retell the story! WOW!!!!!



At the River Mall on P-day.

Thank you so much everyone for all of your prayers. THEY WORK!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for praying for me and my investigators. THEY WORK!!!!!!!!!!! We are thrusting in our sickle over here, and we are making it a November and December to Remember!!!!

LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!!!!!!!   Hermana Wright