Happy New Year!

Me, Hna Pettit, and Rolando at the Temple

Happy New Year!! What a week we had…and another this week. These holidays are throwing us off a little bit. It almost doesn't even feel like a holiday, we just have to be considerate of other people and their families with all of their parties and stuff. We have had another week of eating and eating and eating. I honestly don't know how I haven't gained any weight, because my morning workouts are horrible. If anyone has any ideas of 30 minute workouts I can do on a third floor apartment, please let me know :) hahaha

On Monday night we had 2 dinner appointments with some members. They all make really good food and they make us eat so much. In each meal I eat more than I ever would have at one time before, but now I do it twice in 2 hours...not that I'm complaining because it’s delicious. I've gotten slower than ever at eating. The members are starting to make fun of me for it! I just like to talk! And a lot of times we have Spanish lessons at the table, so it’s fun.

My family got to meet Jilma on Wednesday (on skype). She is the one who has been receiving the lessons for 6ish years. She is the only one in her family who is not a member of the church. We visited her a couple times this week and each time we learned something new. She thinks she has to read to entire Book of Mormon in order to know that it’s true.  I'm so happy that I know that we don't. It’s like eating cake. We don't have to eat an entire cake to know that it’s yummy, only a little slice, even though all of it is good and we will finish it. There are investigators who absolutely know that it is true without reading it all. The confirmation comes through the Holy Ghost when one is willing
to look for and recognize the answer. We have decided to be a lot more careful when we go over to their house. This time we accidentally drank some black tea because we were told it was herbal...definitely not herbal. That is the second time in about a month that I have broken the Word of Wisdom. Aren't you supposed to be even more obedient as a missionary? I guess Hermana Moberly should extend her mission so she can keep learning ;)

Overall this week has been super awesome and I loved it! We went to the visitor's center a couple times with different investigators and had a blast!

Christmas Eve- such a good day! We were told by president that we should visit members and families during the day and then we could go caroling at night, so we don't interrupt parties. Fun fact, Hispanics celebrate Christmas by staying up until 12 on Christmas Eve and opening their presents and eating a huge dinner...so different! So on Christmas Eve we visited the Deza family. I know I'm not supposed to have favorites, but they are really high up there ;) It was also Hno Deza's birthday, so we had to sing with them, and they fed us a meal, then cake, and then arroz con leche. And then we had a dinner appointment. So we went and ate again and met some members in the ward that we didn't know. But Peruvians still eat weird food. A lot of fish, but they cook it in weird ways, so I had something with fish in it, but I'm not exactly sure. Then we were just about bursting and went caroling with some of the English speaking missionaries and had some fun. Then we had a party 2 floors down at a sisters apartment with pizza, presents, and of course a nativity! And guess who I was?! The Donkey :) and the best one yet! I'll send pictures when I get them. It was a fun night and we celebrated Christ's birth a little differently.

Christmas day- We had another Sisters party at a different apartment :) I love parties! Then I had a Mexican Christmas lunch with Hermana Sanchez. Her mom actually lives in Pachuca Mexico, so there is a chance that Curtis knows her, which is pretty cool. Then I went to the Campos' house and I SKYPED WITH MY FAMILY! It was so much fun and for once I didn't cry :) it seems like forever ago already, but one thing I do remember is that I called and they answered, and before I could see them I heard Cory just yell my name :) they talked to Jilma a bit and Hna Campos was saying lots of nice things about me, but I think only Cory understood, hahah. So that lasted for 40 fantastic minutes. We stayed there and visited the family until we went caroling. We went to the Deza's first with the Hermanas, thinking we would meet up with the Elders later, but then they invited us in and we played a joke on the Elders. We told them to carol at the Dezas and that we would meet up later. It took a lot of convincing, but they finally did it. So they started caroling to them and then we came out and clapped for them. I don't think they thought it was as funny as we did, but the Dezas loved it! Then we did some more caroling the rest of the night and we even managed to drag along some of the Deza kids! That was Christmas and I loved it. I didn't feel homesick one bit because I know that I have family here too :)

Friday night we went to the visitor's center with Rolando and it went perfectly. He also came to a baptism on Saturday night and now he is super duper pumped for his own baptism! (Also I got to a familiar face from home and I got a hug from Vasty) He even asked me and Hermana Pettit to make food for it, but then we let him know that he didn't want us to make the food, especially if he didn't want American stuff. But he is set on being baptized on February 15! It’s a set date, and even if I'm not in Little River I won't miss it!

Those were really the highlights of the week, sorry it’s so long. But I'm still loving the mission, it’s going by way too fast, and I love you and miss you all. I hope your Christmas was as good as mine and that your new years will be great! I'll be watching movies again in a few nights. How to Train Your Dragon 2 and another one, but I hope
they're good!

Thanks for all of the letters and emails, it means a lot to me!

Before I finish I want to share some of the things I learned this week. BE ALL IN. This will be our theme as a mission for the first quarter. The word be has a lot of different forms including is and are. What we ARE will always matters most to God. As a missionary we do everything we can to BE what God knows we can be. The word all is an absolute. Everyone has a different amount of all. My all may be less than my companion's all, but that's all that is expected of me. Never compare yourself to others. Being IN is being where you are when you are there. So to be all in, we need to do all we can do and God will make up for the rest. 2 Nephi 25:23- it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do. You cannot be or do all that Christ did, but you can be and do the best that you can.

Foggy Temple Lights and Reflection

If you have the chance, look up the words to the hymn "dear to the heart of the shepherd". It is incredible and now one of my favorites!

I love you and miss you. Thank you for your prayers :) you are incredible, but we can all be better. Change isn't scary, it’s an eternal principle.

If anyone is willing, can you please look up information on David Huntsman and send it to me? He will be our next mission president starting in July.

Sorry again, I'm all over the place, but make this week great and be all in :)

Love always,
Hermana Moberly

P.s. Can you like my stuff on facebook please? It’s more effective in proselyting that way :)

Merry Christmas!

Hermana Pettit and I at the DC Temple

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I know it isn't until Thursday, but I figured I would say it now so I'm not too late :)  This week brings the celebration of the miracle of Christ's birth, and along with it, as early Christmas presents for me, we have had a week completely full of miracles! 

We found Rolando and I'm pretty sure I mentioned that last week, but there's more now! He is going to be baptized on February 5th. He picked the day himself because it is his birthday and he wants it to be really special. We had a doorstep lesson in the freezing cold twice this week because there aren't ever any women in the house. His mom will be in Bolivia for a while, so that makes things a little harder. But he has wanted to learn so much that he will stand out in the cold with us, even when it is 30 degrees outside. We had a lesson with him on Wednesday night at his house, then watched a Restoration movie on Thursday night, he went to the ward activity on Friday night, and we had another lesson last night. He is golden and ready to be dunked :) We have a lesson with him tonight as well. So different from what happened the last few times that we talked to him! He is ready now!

We saw some miracles with Blanche and Heather as well. They are part of the English program, but we have special permission to teach them because there are only Elders in their area and we found them. We went over on Monday with the Elders that have been working with them and a member of that ward. It was a strange lesson, but it was okay. The Elders said that it was the best and most focused lesson that they had ever had with them, so we will be the ones from now on teaching. They open up much more to other girls :) They have really, really been struggling with money. We went over there on Friday and at first we could tell there was a lot going on and they weren't getting along very well, but they decided to let us in and we just talked and everything changed. The mood was better and by the end everyone was 10 times happier. Then the next day we called President to see if there was anything we could do to help them get the things they needed and there was! There was a family that wanted to donate money to a family in need, and we had just that. So Saturday morning we went and picked up the money from President and got some cupcakes at the store and took it over to them. There were tears and hugs and a special prayer, but the best part was the joy they had. They were so grateful for what happened and I am so grateful that I was a part of it. It was an incredible morning! Then Heather went to church the next morning and it was perfect. She fit right in with the Young Women and can't wait to go back next week!

We had district meeting just like every Tuesday, and as always it was revelatory. It was awkward practice teaching in English, but I learned a lot. We always talk about things that I end up using that night or week while I'm out with investigators. This week I learned about confidence from Elder Walters. It wasn't even really part of what I was teaching, but I needed to hear it. He was asking how comfortable I was teaching in English versus Spanish and a bunch of stuff like that. Then he flat out told me that that didn't matter. All I needed was to have confidence in the Lord, not myself. I can do anything if I rely on the Lord. And I can only do so much, but I need to have confidence that the Lord will do the rest after I do what I can. It was really cool and I needed that for one of the lessons we had that night.

I've been doing some Facebook proselyting, and I was talking to one guy and started trying to teach the first lesson and it turns out that he was already a member of the church....so that was kind of awkward. Then he starts typing in English and tells me his English is better. Fun things happen as a missionary.

On Tuesday I went over to Stephanie's house because her mom wanted to make me chicken soup. Hondurans know how to cook. It was way good, and I got better pretty quick afterwards. It’s a good sign that she cooked for us. She isn't a member and has always liked the Elders better and this was the first time that she cooked for us!

Tuesday was just an awkward day all around. We knocked on a door and some kids looked out the window on the side and ran away from the door screaming about a monster...then their mom came and was apologizing for them and speaking partly English, part Spanish, and part Portuguese. Later on we knocked on a door and a lady from upstairs opened the window and talked to us from the second story while we were outside. I think I now know why RMs are usually awkward. So many awkward things happen as a missionary that it starts to not be awkward and eventually accepted. Live in the awkward, embrace the awkward, become the awkward.

We did exchanges this week and it was the first time that I left Little River! I went over to Arlington and worked in the Old Town ward. It was full of miracles, because exchanges always are, and we got a lot of work done. And then, as a tradition, I made chocolate shakes, Dad's style. It’s happened every time! The next morning we went to the gym there and I was hard core distracted because there was a man watching ESPN and I was trying so hard not to watch it. So hard, let me tell you.

We were outside of a restaurant looking at a menu, and a man comes out and says, "If you come in here, I'll give you free calamari." So we took it. Jokes on him though, we were going to go in anyways :) haha, it was a little Italian place. And I've never had fried squid before, but it was delicious.

We got chick-fil-a again this week :) A member took us there with her boyfriend. I thought they were married, so when I prayed I thanked her and her husband. Then she laughed really hard and explained to me that they weren't married...so that was a little embarrassing.

We had our ward Christmas party. It was supposed to be 7-9, but in the Hispanic world that means 8-11:30. At 9 we were told that all of the missionaries had to stay so that we could sing for them. We were called up to sing 2 Christmas songs. We only had one microphone and 8 missionaries, so Hermana Memmot decides to hold it for us. I felt like I was on a singing show because she kept moving it back and forth between us, so you only heard one voice at a time :) that was rather strange too.

I was in DC last week and some member from Utah came up and talked to us. One of her sons asked me if I had a little brother and if his name was Jake. Apparently they went to EFY together a while ago. His name is Jack Johansen, so Jake, if you remember him he says hi! Then I met a girl name Katherine yesterday from somewhere in California and she asked if I knew a Ryan and Kristal Moberly and says she knows Kristal's family. The Mormon world is very small for white people. It’s definitely not the same with the Spanish speakers.

Sorry my letters are so long, but I wish I could write more. All the things I talk about are important to me, so sorry if they are boring to you. They make my faith grow daily and test my strength. But I know I have the Lord on my side and he won't ever let anything happen that will break me. He is my strength. God has shown us His love by sending His son to suffer. But through that suffering that lasted only a little bit, He is able to help all of us every moment of everyday. I know that this is what He does and He does it because He loves all of us so much. I will never be able to comprehend His love for me, but I know He is always there. Not just for me, but for all of you too. Don't forget the reason for the holiday. It’s the best one there is :)

Love,

Hermana Moberly

DC Temple with Christmas Lights

Our little tree and presents.

Calamari

Pancho Claus

Washington Monument

So, last week I wrote home that I was better from whatever weird sickness thing I had, but I was wrong. I have been sick all week until yesterday, but now my voice is gone. Gone, gone. Sometimes it’s louder if I whisper. That makes it a little harder to talk to people. But the good news is I have more energy now, and I didn't have a problem making people listen!

It’s been a pretty good week, the weather has been super nice, I don't have anything to complain about. Honestly today I sat down and I can't think of anything that happened before Friday, except that we had zone-training on Tuesday which was super awesome. We learned about the importance of teaching with power and having our investigators choose a day when they want to be baptized instead of asking them to prepare and pray for a day that we choose. Also on Monday night we went to the temple visitors center and looked at the lights :) It was freezing, but they look so good!

On Friday we had our annual Christmas Conference with the whole mission and it was super awesome. There was a talent show kind of thing, and we have some hilarious missionaries here in DC South! Two of the Sisters wrote an awesome rap specifically for President and it was on spot. President Burton, the one that I said was kinda weird, read/screamed a spin off of Twas the Night Before Christmas, but it was called Pancho Claus. It was all in Spanglish and had to have been one of the funniest things I have ever seen performed. None of the Missionaries from the English Program understood it, so it was even funnier just seeing their faces. And then of course we had some incredible songs performed and played on many instruments, including the bagpipes! Then we had a devotional given by a man that works with the government and he told us some really interesting stories about crazy things that happened, and accompanied it all with a really strong testimony of how everything works out when we put the Lord first and do all that we can do. I have seen the blessings of this in the last few months. I've dedicated my time to the Lord, and when I do all I can for the work I see miracles every time. This week is a big one. I worked as hard as I could and we found some former investigators that are now ready! We went through or list of investigators, whether we have seen them recently or not and we decided that if they don't answer the door again, this time we will drop them. By this, we found ROLANDO again! This time he will stay for good, I'm sure of it! He went to church yesterday and we will be teaching him in a little less than an hour! It’s incredible!

There always a first for everything, right? Well yesterday, we were sitting in sacrament meeting and Bishop gets up and says that there is a gas leak in the building, so we are only having Sacrament meeting and then we are going to ask everyone to leave the building. So church got canceled yesterday, weird, right? haha

Today, me and my companion went to DC and we went to the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. I'll be sending pictures shortly.

Sorry this is so short, we didn't have any time because we found a Chick-fil-a....so we spent some time there :)

Basically things are going very well and we are working hard and this week will be full of miracles. In the scriptures, Christ always gave thanks to God before he performed the miracles, so we should too. Please give thanks for the miracles I will have this week :) Love you!!!

Love,

Hermana Moberly

Christmas Conference 

Chick-Fil-A

Christmas Conference

It's December!

Hola!

Christmas is coming, can you believe it? I can't! It doesn't feel like Christmas time, but I've been listening to Josh Groban for months! If you haven't seen the video He is the Gift, go watch it now, it’s the best!

It’s been a pretty good week! We started off with a 1/3 mission training with President on Tuesday, which was incredible. We learned a lot about charity. I learned that charity is not just loving someone, but making every single thing you do an act of love for others. In a way, it’s never thinking about yourself, even when you feel justified to do so. It is a way of living and a gift from God. If you sincerely ask for it, you will receive it, but it won't be easy.

Every single time any words come out of President Riggs' mouth I feel called to repentance, which is good, but hard, haha. Last week in my letter to him I said something about how I felt like we worked really hard during the week, and even though we didn't reach our key indicator goals that I felt good. Then at the training we talked about the importance of those key indicators. So today when I email him I will take back what I said last week. :/

I made a banner for our apartment that says, "Finish Strong--Start Fresh". It’s to remind us that even with the Holidays coming we can't stop working. We can make this time of the year the best part of the year. And then when the New Year starts we don't want to have slacked off and build back up, but we want to continue being as strong as we were and make goals to improve and change. This works perfectly for missionary work, but it works for you in your lives as well! Finish strong and start fresh. Just keep moving forward :)

Our Christmas Tree

We got a package one night this week from Hermana Pettit's friend. We have a couple presents to open every day until Christmas with scriptures that match them. We read the scriptures first and have to guess what it is before opening. We are a really good guessing companionship!

One day when we were in the library, we met a guy named Simon who thought he knew me, but I had never seen him before. He was talking to us about Thanksgiving and said he celebrated Jimmy Hendrix's birthday. Hna Pettit didn't know who he was, so Simon said, "He's like the Joseph Smith of rock and roll!" I laughed SO hard! It was so funny, even though it’s not that accurate, haha

This week I ate cow heart. It was really weird. I'm sure I would have liked it if I hadn't known beforehand what it was. But I had a hard time eating it all. Peruvians eat weird things!

We went over to the Deza's house again. This family is so incredible! They were baptized in June, but you would think they had been members their entire lives. They are super strong and amazing! Hno Deza was telling us about a trial that he is going through in his family. He is the only member, so his siblings are having a hard time with it and it was a whole long thing. And I was there listening, and because I am a baby, I cried. I was so happy that they trusted us enough to tell us this whole story and if I was in the situation I wouldn't know what to do. But it broke my heart that he had to go through something like that though. I know that we were there specifically so that we could hear that story, strengthen the trust and bring more people unto Christ. I am so amazed by the strength of these members and I just love them all!

We went to lunch with the other Hermanas in the ward one day. We went to a house of one of their investigators. It was so extremely awkward. Me and Hermana Pettit were trying so hard to talk to her, but she would give some pretty short answers and then keep eating. The others weren't really making an effort to talk so we ate in silence...easily the most awkward situation I have been in on the mission.

Jilma is going to get baptized when she gets back from Guatemala!!! She is leaving in January and coming back in February and then she will join the church! We are so excited :) It’s been a long time coming, and we still have a while to go, but she's going to do it :) I am seriously so happy!

As a missionary, sometimes you do service activities. The one we got to do this week was for a birthday party. We built some beautiful cakes! They were like wedding status cakes. I was so proud of them. We made tres leches with Hna Soliz from our ward and then decorated them and took them to the church. Driving those things gave me a heart attack. We had one part in the trunk and Hna Pettit was holding one in the passenger seat next to me. I was so scared they were going to move and get ruined, but it was a success! I didn't get to eat any of it, but it sure looked pretty!

We got an MP3 player in the mail from Sister Smith in the Cuillard's ward in Utah and we found "Glorious" by David Archuleta on it and we have been listening to it nonstop since then. It's amazing. Thank you Mama Smith!

Yesterday was a great day, but also the hardest day of the week. It started off perfectly with an ideal lesson about the Plan of Salvation. Then we went to church and that is always great, I just love taking the Santa Cena. During third hour I started not feeling so well, but I had to lead the music at a baptism right after church. It was a great baptismal service and Anael was so happy to get baptized. He is 17 and from Honduras, learning English. Afterwards there was dinner. It was fast Sunday, so normally I would have been super hungry, but I only ate a few bites of salad, so I knew something was wrong. We ended up staying at the chapel until 6:30ish and then went to another 2 lessons. I was just praying the whole time that I would be good enough to teach, so during the lessons I felt great! But when we were driving and when we got home I just had no energy. At 9 last night I had a 99.7 fever, so I went to bed early and tried to sleep it off. When I woke up this morning it slowly went away and I'm fine now. But I wasn't feeling good enough to go to DC yet, but next week I will! Oh, and another miracle from last night, Francisco is going to be baptized on January 24th :)

Ups and downs all week long, but I always know that I am where I am supposed to be. I'm doing my part in the hastening out here and working as hard as I can. I know this is going to be one of the best Christmas's ever because I have the opportunity to be doing the Lord's work. I am beginning to truly understand the meaning of Christmas and how important it is to share what I know. I love you all and will miss being with you, but know that I'm loving where I am :)

Love,
Hermana Moberly

PS-A JOKE: Why were the Lamanites knees always sore?
There were too many Nephites (knee fights)
I know my dad will love that one :)

Wow...December

Dear Everyone,

This week went so slow but so fast at the same time! At the beginning of the week we unintentionally broke the word of wisdom, so it started off a little bit different. We got this really good vegetable, fruit drink from some members when we went to teach Jilma. Afterwards when we were talking about how good it was I looked at the ingredients and saw that there was Green Tea in it...oops! But that same night, after we repented, we had a miracle lesson! We went to the Deza's home for dinner and had an idea of what we wanted to share. If you haven't seen the video "He is the Gift" yet, watch it! It’s so good! I also posted it on my facebook page, so you can watch it there (click on the English one). So anyways, we shared that video with them and gave them a bunch of pass along cards to give to their friends. Then we set a date. The Spirit was super strong after the video, so we said a prayer and were thinking of a date. No one in the family wanted to say the date they were thinking out loud, so they made us. But we said December 14 and Hno Deza started crying and the Spirit was there and we had all been thinking of the same date. So on December fourteenth, we are going to teach a lesson in their home! It is going to be a miracle!

We have some investigators, Zeda and Angie. They are a mother and daughter from El Salvador. Zeda really wants us to bring Angie to church with us, but Angie doesn't want to go. So now we are trying to help them both come together and see how important it is. But the father, Arturo promised to come sometime soon and do what he can to get them to go as well. Kind of a strange situation.

We have had quite a few changes with this last transfer. One of those is that we don't have Spanish Zones anymore. We are once again mixed in with all of the English missionaries as well. On the bright side I'm meeting more people than before, but it’s weird having meetings in English. There is a pretty big difference in the Spanish and English programs, but this will be good. I have a zone leader, Elder Walters from La Canada, CA and he says he is related to the Murphy's! This world is so small.

Because we are separated, we had a Spanish Forum last week. It went really well and we got some good training. Some of the things we had learned we used that night and found a new investigator. But one thing I also learned is that Little River is the best district in the mission :) Not by numbers necessarily, but in unity. Our meeting got turned into a vote, because there were problems in other areas about who gets referrals and who visits what members, in or out of their area, if we will have areas at all, and things like that. These were all things that Little River hasn't dealt with because we all just work together and have good communication. It has probably been caused by lack of communication with the other missionaries. When you are working in a ward with 3 other sets of missionaries, you have to talk a lot. But we are unified and I had no idea there were problems like that. On the bright side, when I get transferred, I won't have to learn the hard way :) And by then things will be back to normal!

So this week, it snowed! It was really exciting and kind of scary. Don't worry, I think I can drive in the snow ;) Elder Collins seems to be a bit worried about me, but I'll be fine! I'll just go slow. But really it was fun and I only had one tiny snowball thrown at me.

This week our teaching pool has been growing. As Christmas gets closer, people are more welcoming and want us to share things with them. The downside is that we have a really good first meeting and then they don't always answer the door the next time. We just keep pushing along :) We'll find the prepared ones who are ready now behind some of these doors! It’s a little bit sad when they don't answer the door, but I feel good at the same time because I know that I am doing what the Lord wants me to. I'm helping Him with His work and he will use me to do what I can :)

I found some scriptures this week in the New Testament that have made me think a lot. 1 Corinthians 13:11- "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." The first time I read it I thought it was really funny. I thought of it as a child. Now I just think it’s kind of funny :) I can see how true it is, even just in these last few months. I am putting away childish things and growing and learning every day. I think of where I would be if hadn't chosen to serve a mission, and I don't want to go back. I like who I am now, but I like who I will be in the future even better. This is my time to become more than I was while I walk with the Lord. And then in 2 Timothy 4:7- "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." This is what Paul said at the end of his ministry, and this is what I want to say at the end of my mission (only applying to my time as a full-time missionary). I am fighting and keeping the faith, but there is so much more that I can do. Those are just some of my thoughts right now :)

Hermana Pettit and I have been working on our knocking. President tells us that we should make our knocks intriguing, so the people will want to know who knocks that way. One day we were out knocking doors and Hermana Pettit starts doing a strange knock. When she finished, she looks at me and I can see she's trying not to laugh and just says, "That was SO awkward!" and we had a good laugh. Just in case you didn't know, some knocks really are kind of awkward and we've used them. Also, when it's cold outside it hurts to knock on a door and gloves make it quieter, so Hna Pettit said something about using a golf ball. But when I was cleaning up a little bit at home I found my lucky hockey puck that I got from my dad and we have started using that instead. Its 100% successful so far!

Along with other funny things, I also got asked to be someone's girlfriend this week....that was awkward, because I don't know Spanish, so I just said my purpose and things were weird, but then I hung up. That was a very awkward moment in my life, haha.

For Thanksgiving we had fish for dinner at the Maldonado's and their family from Maryland. I got to sit at the little table that was like the kid's table at our Thanksgiving dinners, except there was only one girl younger than us there. So it was a little table, but for adults as well. Haha, we had some fun and we learned some of the slang words in Guatemala.

Overall the week was great, the work is moving and Christmas has started. I now have added to my imagine dragons pillowcase with a duck dynasty blanket. The collection will grow. Please pray for good weather here and for my investigators and for me and my companion. I can feel all the prayers you have said for me already. Thanks for all you do! I love you and miss you! If you get the chance this week, read "You Matter to Him" by President Uchtdorf, it’s really, really good!

Love always,

Hermana Moberly

Peru!

Snow!!!

Peruvian Family (and Purses ;)

Thanksgiving

My first day in the field here, right after I got off the plane, I went to a member home with the Sister Training Leaders. It was the home of the Castaneda's. I saw Hna Castaneda on Sunday at a fireside and she remembered my name and where I am from and everything! It was incredible and it made me so happy :)

Last Monday we went to a Zone Activity and ended up playing volleyball for 3 hours with President and Sister Riggs, which was super fun! Who knew they could play so well?! Haha, that's one of the few things I miss, being able to go out and play sports whenever. But there are better things to do!

It got pretty cold this week. One day when we ran to the gym, we checked and it was 26 degrees...that's kind of cold. But today is 70 and really nice. There is a rumor that it is supposed to snow on Wednesday though, so that is kind of scary!

We got some serious revelation on Tuesday at our district meeting. We were practice teaching about prayer, but I felt like I should start talking about fasting and I used some scriptures. Afterwards Elder Erickson said that it was exactly what he was thinking and that they were going to use that the next time they saw an investigator, which they haven't yet, but hopefully it all works out! It was a pretty neat experience :)

I remember at ward and youth activities we would always have the missionaries be our judges for things. That's what we did this week. It turns out that a piñata represents all of the evil things in the world that we fight every day. And when we overcome them, good things happen and we get candy. Pretty cool, so all of the youth made their own cereal piñatas and we got to pick our favorite, which naturally was the unicorn :) haha Sometimes it’s still strange to me that I am a missionary, even though it’s not weird at the same time. I don't know how to explain it, sorry! haha

I met a man from Puerto Rico this week and I've never heard so much Spanglish in my life! It was so hard for me to be switching from Spanish to English and I got a headache.

Peruvian chocolate is at least 20 times better than the chocolate we have here. The Deza family went to Peru for a few weeks and brought us back purses and chocolate :) They are the sweetest!

Every time people would say goodbye to Hermana Haubner they would cry and I would almost start crying...every time! Sometimes I'm just a baby :)

Wednesday night we had a miracle. So we got a referral from Hna Memmot in our ward, so we called. We set up an appointment to visit them that night. We went over and found Pia, Brandon and Jordan. Pia is a less active member, Brandon is her boyfriend and Jordan is their 4 month old son. She wants to get to the temple and he is super interested in the message. He told us how he wanted to be baptized when he was younger, but his mom didn't let him and that he hadn't thought about it again until now. He said we rekindled that desire in his heart. We asked him to pray before we left and he said, "I met 2 people today. I feel something different when I am with them and I know that after today, things are going to change." It was incredible and we are so excited for him! I'll have to keep you posted on this one.

Thursday morning I got a new companion :) Drumroll please.....Hermana Pettit from Highland, Utah! Same ward as the Cuillard's! How cool is that?! She is super cute and sweet and I love her already! We have already seen some miracles! We knocked on her first door on Friday and found a whole family from Honduras. They invited us in and we spent some time with Iris and we are going to go back on Thursday. We left them with a Book of Mormon and a little girl picked it up to ask what it was to Iris and she just said, "We are going to read that". So far, they are golden and can't wait until Thursday!  Hna Pettit’s Spanish is so much better than mine was when I first got out here, which means she's really good! She already understands almost everything and isn't afraid to jump in and start talking. And if she messes up, whatever, we just help her. I wish I had been more like that!  My Spanish recently has been on spot, which is a great blessing!

We had a Thanksgiving dinner for a ward activity on Friday, so we went early to help. It was supposed to start at 7, but didn't start until 7:45...Mormon standard time plus Hispanic standard time is not a very good combination, obviously, haha.

Saturday we had 2 baptisms! Two little 8 year olds and one investigator. We did a "Restoration Presentation" and used a bunch of candy to explain the apostasy and then the restoration and importance of the Priesthood and it went really well! We were popular with the kids because they all really wanted the candy that we had.  We had invited a bunch of investigators that said they were going to come, but they didn't. Unfortunately it happens a lot. But we had another amazing lesson that day. We went to visit Some of the recent converts and they had all of their family over. I talked to a couple of them and shared some scriptures and invited them to the baptism. One of the ones I was talking to started telling me all about his life and how he got to where he is now. He said at one point that he had never told anyone this story before, but for some reason he felt like he could trust me. So I shared a few more scriptures with them and a couple of them thanked me a few times and said that was what they needed then. It was so cool and the Spirit was so strong. I'm grateful we went against what we had planned and followed the Spirit to find them and help them.

Church was really good yesterday. Dad, I got to help out with your dream calling! During third hour yesterday I played (or at least attempted to) the piano in Primary. It was just kind of hard because we only had one investigator there and it was Byron, who told us that he was going to London, but he is still here...Bishop talked to us about it and says that he wants the Elders to start teaching him. We agree that it is probably for the best, except we have no idea where he is living and he avoided us the whole time at church. He can get away pretty fast.  I received some revelation on Sunday at church for a way that we can start to get more referrals from members, so we will put it into practice this week and see how well it works!

Everything else is going pretty well! We have a busy week ahead of us and it is going to be great! I'm so grateful for all of the things that I have. I'm grateful for a wonderful companion who is ready to get to work. I'm grateful for my weaknesses. I know that through Christ I can continue to make them my strengths now. I am grateful for the people here and all of the lessons they teach me, which is ironic because I'm here to teach them as well. I'm grateful that my family is supporting me in everything that I am doing and I want to thank you all for helping me become who I am. I love you and miss you and I'll be thinking about you this week.

Lots of Love,

Hermana Moberly <3

Welcome to Hna Pettit from Highland, UT

Three Generations, Hna Pettit, Hna Moberly, and Hna Haubner

The Washington DC South Spanish Program...No Smile Hispanic Pic

Washington DC Spanish 2014

My Cali Peeps

My New Purse from Peru

Gratitude

November 16, 2014

The weeks just go by faster and faster. This week as I have been doing personal study I have been re-reading the conference talks. This is the first time I have done it, but I love it! There is a lot of stuff I remember, but I learned a lot more and different things stick out to me now. I love it and I can't believe it took me so long to finally do it.

This month our mission is focusing on gratitude, so in our Zone training we had a cheesy circle and said what we were grateful for. It was kind of cheesy, but also really special. As a missionary, there are a lot of little things you realize you are grateful for, like pass-along cards. But we find that there is gratitude for everything we have, even trials and weaknesses. On a mission, your weaknesses are pointed out to you very quickly, but through Christ and this work, those weaknesses turn into strengths. One of the things I am so grateful for is my weaknesses. I am so grateful that I can make them my strengths now, rather than waiting until I get home. I am going to grow so much faster out here than I would ever be able to at home.

We were supposed to have a surprise party on Tuesday for Hna Haubner, but one of the other Hermanas let it slip, so she had to pretend to be surprised. Whoops! You all know it wasn't me, because I'm really good at keeping secrets ;)The party was fun, we had a really good dinner and Hno Maldonado gave a little speech about Hna Haubner and it was really sweet.

On Wednesday, my companion went to the temple, so I went on exchanges with an English sister and it was so much fun! I taught my first Skype lesson to Sister Ellis's brother's girlfriend. It was also the first missionary lesson that I have taught in English. It went so well and she wants to be baptized and meet with the missionaries in her ward. Also, we went to go pick up some food from one of the members of the Spanish ward, but she wasn't home and we met a man named Roberto who proposed to us. So that was really weird, haha. Sister Ellis now thinks that that happens to us all the time :) It doesn't, don't worry. We also taught a lesson in Spanish, so when I say we taught a lesson, I really mean I did because she didn't know any Spanish and this was one of the members who speaks zero English. On the bright side, I was able to take care of it on my own. Not as good as it could have been, but the Spirit was there and it didn't really matter what I said as long as the Spirit was teaching her. Then we taught another lesson in English and it was incredible. We taught a girl named Lynnise who is getting baptized this Sunday and she is so ready! We talked about the Sacrament and had a little part of the lesson in the chapel and it just went perfectly.

We switched back companions, had dinner and then went back to work :) We taught an Evangelical woman and she was really interested in everything we were saying until we brought up the Book of Mormon. By the end she said she would come to our church when we go to hers. Looks like I get to go to an Evangelical church sometime soon...as a LDS Missionary, haha, it'll be fun!

Things are going well with Jilma. She still hasn't gotten her answer, but she has been reading everyday and is still coming to church. We started talking about the need for baptism with her starting with the Fall and we think she understands it, but doesn't feel it. We just gotta keep praying for her!

Good news with Byron! He moved out of Hna Portillos house! Bad news, he came up to us randomly at church yesterday and said that he is going on Tour in Europe with his band on Tuesday and he won't be back until January, but he will be baptized when he returns. So on the bright side he will be baptized and the divorce will be final when he gets back...but that is almost 2 months that he won't be with any missionaries. So, we aren't really sure how this is going to work out, but it will! Just keep praying for him too!

We made decorations for a birthday party for a service project and I will include the picture. We actually did a lot of service this week! We blew up balloons (which I have had practice with that one year Trevor asked Cory to Prom and we filled her room) and hung streamers and it looked so good. And then we also helped Sister Helmick unpack and clean her new house. She is hilarious and I wish I could explain to you how awesome she is, but I can't!

Last night we had a "New Members Fireside" where all of the recent converts speak. It was really, really good and the new members are so strong and we just love them all. They love the missionaries because we are the ones that bring the message to them.

Sorry the email isn't as long as last week. Also, I love all of your emails and letters, but sometimes I don't have enough time to respond. But I do love and miss you all. I will have a lot more to say next week. By this time in a few days I'm gonna have my little greenie! Wish me luck and pray for me!...I'll need it!

Love, Hermana Moberly

Musical Disaster

Another week has gone by, maybe even faster than before. It blows my mind how time is flying when I look back at what I've done. So crazy. Can you believe it’s been 3 and 1/2 months already?

I have never worked so hard to wash a car before. We had a zone conference this last Friday and had to get our cars inspected, so we vacuumed and washed everything. And then we had to wax the car, so I felt a little bit like the karate kid. It wasn't as fun as you would think it would be, but the car looks nice :) haha

We have a member family, the Maldonados. They are amazing and we love them. We plan to go over to their house to stay for 20ish minutes, but it always ends up lasting for about an hour. They are so great and they feed us EVERY TIME. Hna Maldonado is a cook, so it’s delicious and they give us so much. Families like that are the reason that I am going to get fat out here. We had a Family Night with them and two less active young women in the ward and it went so well. They had fun and one of them came to church on Sunday :)

I finally learned how I am supposed to use Facebook as a missionary, so I'm on more now. I have actually taught quite a few lessons on there and it has worked out really well! You can add me if you want. I try to put all of my posts in Spanish and English, so everyone can understand.

We are trying to visit part member families more and teach those who are not members so that they have a built in support group and we don't have to rely on the members of the ward as much. I think our ward is amazing though, they are almost always willing to come with us to lessons, especially the young women and we love it. I wish I could have done that while I was in the youth program, but we only ever had elders.

I have had some crazy dreams recently! We have been working so hard that I sleep so deeply and dream about people that I met at school and people that I see here during the day. It’s always super funny when I remember what it was.

The days where we don't have very much success getting into doors seem like they last forever and unfortunately we have had a few of those today. We try to hand out as many copies of the Book of Mormon as we can. We tried to give it to one boy who was a Jehovah's Witness, but he backed away as if he was scared of it and it was really strange. Then he closed the door on us, so that wasn't too fun.

We went to visit Yajayra (pronounced juh-high-ruh) and her daughters, so I did the Frozen knock on the door. They responded by singing the song and it worked out really well :) We went a few times this week and got some real Mexican food and taught some real good lessons. The only thing is that Francisco, her husband hasn't been reading the Book of Mormon, and that is essential in the process of coming to know if all of this is true.

We had another investigator, Byron, on date for this last weekend, but he hasn't finished his divorce yet, so it didn't happen. We thought he was trying to avoid us for a little bit because he knew that he wasn't ready. So one night when we went to visit them they weren't home. But then one of their neighbors heard us and peeked her head out. Then she realized we were from the same church. She has just started coming back to the church after a long, long time, so she told us her life's story basically. I think she is a very lonely woman and needed someone to listen to, so that's what we did for her. Anyways, back to Byron, something we learned from President Riggs this week at Zone Conference was that we should be bold, but loving, like a Hispanic Mom. So that's what we did. We asked him very boldly, with a lot of love and with the Spirit to move out until the divorce is finalized and they get married. So we are going back this Wednesday to see what the decision is. Please pray...very, very hard.

We got an oil change earlier this week and we were told it would take 20-30 minutes, but ended up taking 3 hours. So that was good study time, but took a lot out of our schedule. Afterwards we went to visit Jilma (hill-ma). This lesson we had with her was a miracle. The Spirit was so strong. We have been focusing more and more on prayers and receiving answers to the. My Spanish came out of my mouth perfectly and I used words that I didn't even knew I knew. She is right now "on date" to receive an answer about baptism by this coming Saturday, so we are going to need a lot of prayers for her as well. But we basically told her that if she reads the Book of Mormon and prays every day and has faith that she will receive an answer, that it will come. Because it’s true. It works every time, even though we may not always like the answer.

As far as Maria and Francisco, we still haven't been able to contact them. We have tried everything, calling, texting and going to their house every day (and leaving notes) without any luck, so pray for them still (and us so we can be led to find them again). They are so sweet and we want them to have all of the blessings and happiness of the gospel, but we can't do that if we don't see them.

Zone Conference was amazing. We had it on Friday. We didn't watch movies like the other Hermana Moberly got to, but I was fine because it was incredible. I was supposed to give the opening prayer. I planned on saying it in English since President doesn't speak Spanish along with a few others, but when I got up there, it kind of just came out in Spanish and I felt awkward switching to English, so I just went with it, haha. Whoops! We learned so much about the Atonement and how we can be better teachers. We have been focusing more on the doctrine behind what we teach. As members we think more about the blessings that we receive from the things we do, but do we know why we do it? Why do you keep the commandments? Why do you pray? Why do you go to church? All of these questions come down to keeping the commandments because we love Christ. And the answers are found in the scriptures and also in Preach My Gospel. It was a great day and kind of scary because I found out that for sure, starting next Thursday, I will be training a new missionary. How crazy is that?! I finish my training on Wednesday and get to train someone else the very next day. It’s a bit intimidating, but I know it is possible. President wouldn't be impressed to have me do this if he didn't know that the Lord will help me with everything. Funny part of that day, we did a Musical number during the conference. Hna Moleli played her uke, Hna Haubner played her viola and Hna Brown and I sang. But the viola and uke started in 2 different keys and it sounded horrible at first...but then we fixed it and started over and it sounded much better. When we first started I couldn't stop laughing because it really sounded sooooo bad. I was just looking at the other missionaries faces and I wish I had gotten a picture. It was so funny.

Yesterday in sacrament the topic of the meeting was missionary work, so 3 missionaries gave talks and then we all sang El Ejercito de Helaman, which was much better than what happened at Zone Conference. Haha. Looking back on this week I can see all of the blessings that we received as a companionship and the lessons that we learned. It was far from perfect, but the things I am learning I wouldn't trade for anything. I am with the other Hermana Moberly and can say that the decision to serve a mission is the best one I have ever made. I don't even want to know where I would be at without these daily lessons, but I never want to go back to what I was before. Everything that has happened has changed me and helped me become better in a lot of ways. There's still a ton that I need to work on, but I know how to use the Atonement to become better. Don't forget that the Atonement is a way for us to receive forgiveness, but also, it is a way for us to find more strength and comfort to overcome the hard things in life. I love you and miss you all. Pray for me so I can be a good trainer and a good teacher for my investigators. But more importantly, please pray for them. :)

Love,

Hermana Moberly

PS. Quotes from President Riggs, "BYU, BYU, where the girls are girls and the boys are too!" "Be bold like a Hispanic mom." "Everyone is Expendable." "Good morning Sinners!"

I wish I could explain how funny he is...he also took a selfie with Elder Holland at a mission president's conference. But he is an amazing man and we love him so much! He also said, "Make this 18 months a fast from everything but God". I learn a ton from him, and even though he is funny, it’s not all jokes and games. He is truly incredible!