October 14, 2013 - Oscar and Guillermina Lucia-Anita Sanamiego Moctezuma: WEDDING AND BAPTISM

This picture is right after they got the marriage liscense!! yay!!

This is their son edgar. he is SOOOO cute

Dinner to celebrate the marriage liscense!! they found a place with super yummy gluten free pizza! yay!!

Right before she put on the wedding dress!!

The happy couple!!!

The first hug!! right after they got married!!

yay!!! they got Married!!

The bride and SISTER WISER. =D 

haha this is me tryng to be a photographer. They had fun. 

They are baptized!!! happy day!! 

Hello Family and Friends!!

This week hasd literally been the most INSANE week of my entire mission. SOOO MANY MIRACLES!!! First off let me give you a little account of the weekly schedule last week.  Monday- We had all of the new sisters- fresh from the MTC come to stay with us. It is SOO great to see the Greenie fire! What a blessing. Tuesday- Transfer day.  We had to pick up all the new sisters from the members houses they were staying with and take them to the mission home.  Then as we were dropping them off President Maluenda invited us to stay for breakfast with them as well.  So we went in and ate. Then while President Maluenda and the assistants were doing their thing and handing out 'new area callings' we did all the dishes and cleaned the kitchen.  It was nice to know that Sister Maluenda wasn't going to have to clean up after 20 new missionaries. So that was a nice little blessing we had. THEN-Tuesday afternoon OSCAR AND MINA GOT THEIR MARRIAGE LISCENSE!!!!! We were waiting there at the court house for them. Praying that they would show up. and sure enough, they did! They were so cute as well. Just happy and excited! I have pictures of everything that i will attatch. so stay tuned. 

Then tuesday night ALL the 'Dying sisters'(sister missionaries that were finishing their missions) came to stay with us.  it was crazy- Having ALL the newbies one night and the dying the next night.  It was really neat experience.  I have definately made friends on the mission that I will keep forever. 

Wednesday we did a training for a zone that we have sisters in. It was really fun! Our Topic was 'Overcoming discouragement'. It was fun. We were basically cheer leaders. haha. yay.  

Thursday we did an exchange with some of the Hermanas.  it is such a blessing to do exchanges.  I learn SOOOO much everytime.  At times I am not sure why I am an STL at this point. But I know that God is helping me to learn and grow. he is making me into the person that he wants me to be.  Such a blessing. I am so blessed. 

Friday- Sister Ninataype had a Doctors appointment- then we were filled with appointments with other investigators and people. 

Then SATURDAY!!! We started the day at our Mcallen Zone meeting. We did another training on the Book of Mormon and using it in helping the conversion of ourselves and of our investigators.  THEN THE WEDDDDDDIIIIINNGGGG!!! OSCAR AND MINA GOT MARRIED!!!! Everything turned out so beautifully. The ward was great and provied a really pretty cake. We had some members show up to help decorate. A member let Mina borrow a dress that was perfect. and one of the biggest miracles was Sister Neil.  She is a senior missionary in our mission. She is wonderful! She reminds me of Grandma Bassett. I give her a hug every time I see her. Anyways- earlier on in the week we were telling her about Oscar and Mina. and how we had a dress for her- but we didn't have a jacket/shrug/bolero thing to make it modest. And she offered to make one for her! So we showed her the dress and she made one that fit her perfectly in 2 days.  You can just see the love that she had for mina. It was such a miracle! Then Sister Ninataype and I  wanted to suprise her with a boquet. So we made one for her with the help of sister Neil.  Haha I never thought I would learn to make a wedding boquet on my mission. it turned out pretty good. =D yay. I did her hair and her new sister in law did her make up.  She looked beautiful.  She just kept saying thank you- over and over and over agian.  She really wansn't expecting anything- but it turned out beautifully. They were just SOOOO unbelievibly happy. The ceremony was super simple.  The bishop married them- and gave a few words of advice. Then they cut the cake and everyone got a peice. Then we took some pictures of them.  I think I might want to look into photography... haha =D it was fun.  They aren't the best quality pictures- but at leas they will have something to remember.  Then after that Oscars mom- Sister Rodreguiez- invited us over to eat tamales!! yummo!! They are super super super goood. All was well for the baptism Sunday at 12:30.

Sunday Morning we got up- as usual. And went to go pick up the suit that Oscar had borrowed from one of the elders in the mission and drop off some ties for him to wear to church. And ALL of a sudden they said that they wanted to post pone the baptism. and inside I was just thinking 'NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" So I said a prayer in my heart- and Sister Ninatype and I started talking about the blessings of baptism. And they were not going for it.  Sister ninataype then had the idea to change it to 6:00 that night instead of having it at 12:30. and they tentitively agreed. So we left the house praying that everything would work out.  We had literally done ALL that we could- Almost!  Neither of us had eaten yet that day- and we decided right then to start a special fast for them.  It says in the scriptures that if we ask, having faith that God would provide.  So we went on with our day in Faith. At first I was really stressed and freaking out. But I said a prayer and I just had this feeling of calm. I knew that everything would be okay. And zi had this feeling that Oscar and Mina were in the hands of God.  He knows best. So we went to our Spanish ward in Pharr Texas.  And zi did a special musical number.  I sang 'How Great thou art" (Grande eres tu).  It went well.  I hope it brought the spirit.  Then afterwards one of the sisters in the spanish ward asked me to help play the piano in the primary. =D So zi am playing the piano with all the darling primary kids singing in spanish.  The primary program is november 18.  It is going to be great.  I was sitting at the piano- listening to all these wonderful children just bustin it out- spanish style. And I could feel the spirit SOOO strong.  Especailly when they sang a childs prayer.  It brought tears to my eyes.  I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to help them out with their primary program.  I am starting to learn all of their names too. So everytime they see me the ALL come up and give me hugs. =D I love it. =D So we kept going through our day. Waiting to hear from Oscar and Mina. and we still hadn't hear a word.  Then about 3:45 Oscar called us. and said 'HEY sisters!! whats up!! hey we were just wondering what we need to bring for our baptism at 6:00. it can still happen right?" AND I JUST ABOUT DIED OF HAPPINESS. Prayer works!! fasting works!!! it works SUPER well!! So we got everything ready for the baptism.  The ward really helped us to pull everything together.  They asked me to give the baptism talk- so that was fun.  It was so great to see them standing there- in their white clothes. They were both smiling from ear to ear. Then we went to the font. =D Mina got baptized first. and as she came out of the water she just had the BIGGEST smile on her face. then she watched from the stairs as her NEW HUSBAND was baptized. The spirit was SOOO sweet and strong. after they were baptized Mina said to oscar "hey babe! wanna give me a hug?" So they hugged right there in the font. It was just great! I was litterally jumping for joy. hah ( picture me bouncing around- because that is definately what happened).  Then our ward mission leader (who is a boss) invited them to both share their testimonies.  And they were the most beautiful and simple testimonies.  It literally brought tears to my eyes as Mina testified of the power of prayer and her excitement to go to the temple. And oscar testified of the power of the priesthood- and his knowledge was that THIS is the true church. The spirit was there SOOO strong!! AHH I get chills just thinking about it. After the service- Oscar's Mom (who is a member) came up to me and Sister Ninataype and just hugged us over and over and thanked us.  For helping her Son finally take the step of baptism.  He had been SOOO close so many times. How great missinary work is!! uniting families!! I am just happy. As we were walking to our car- oscar was like lets jump!! haha so he counted to 3 and we all jumped and said 'yay!' or something close to that. It was funny.  They are just SOOOOOOO happy!!!!!! yayayayayay!!! It has been such a blessing to be apart of Oscar and Mina's life.  It was a bumpy road- but my faith has been strengthened. I know that God is a God of miracles. HE loves us because we are his children. He knows the things that we need. When we put our trust in him EVERYTHING works outs.  AlWAYS. because he is in control- and in his Loving arms we are safe.  I love you all! have a wonderful week!

-Con Amor

Hermana Wiser

October 7th, 2013

This is me and Edgar. Oscar and Mina's 3 year old son.  He is hilarious. ever time he sees us he says 'HEY THE SISTERS!!!" then every time we leave he says "I LOVE YOU GUYS!!' so dang cute

one of the sisters had a birthday! so we celebrated with ice cream.  She is also alergic to Gluten. so i was able to hook her up. =D yay.

This is a picture of us drinking Mexican fruit punch. SUPER GOOD. Oscar tried to teach us to pop off the little metal cap things with a lighter and our big knuckles. funny joke oscar. it didn't work.

This is our STL board from last month. Crazyness!

This is a HUGE roach we killed. Sister ninataype started screaming one night. and this little friend was chillin on our wall. So we both got a raid can and sprayed it to death. yummo.

These are some humans in our zone that came to lunch after conference! at red robins they make GF burgers! i ate one with a bun! it was super super super good. =D yay.

its butterfly season. and i saved this butterfly from being squished.

This is a  picutre of us and our zone leaders. after conference President invited us to the mission home for ice cream. and then we had a little 'share your talents' thing. SO i sang come though fount. accomponied a couple of people. and then sang with SISTER SANDERS! my mission momma. and sister dudding. it was fun. yay

Hello!

How is everyone doing? What a wonderful week! We had a bunch of great miracles this week.  Good news- Sister Ninataype and I are staying the the great area of LA VISTA. I am SOOOO happy. I was praying that we could stay together another transfer.  It has been super super super great.  And we have SOOO much work to do here. ALL the people are going to get baptized. 

HMMM where to start. Literally we have just had a super crazy week.  We ALWAYS have something going on. (obvously.. we are missionaries) Ha but really- We always have appointments.  We don't have enough hours in the day.  We started the week off with a really great Family Home Evening with some BOSS members- The carpenters and Oscar and Mina.  Sister carpenter talked about eternal marriage and getting sealed in the temple. Which was perfect for oscar and mina. They are back on track!!! YAYAYAYAY!!!!! miracles.  So that was the start of a really good week. Then on thursday night Oscar's mom (who is a member in the hidalgo zone leaders area) invited them over for a lesson. Oscar and Mina wanted us there. So we went and ate some really great Mexican food and again had a lesson about the blessings of keeping the commandments(marriage=D).  So- The wedding is planned for sunday and the baptism is for sunday night.  We are getting the marriage liscense tomorrow at 3:00. then they are getting their baptismal interviews on thursday. Bah! it has been crazy and great.  THEN to top it all off- we had conference.  Oscar and Mina came to the saturday morning and the sunday morning.  AND THEY WERE PERFECT.  Haha you can always rely on the prophet to say it right.  I loved all the talks on baptism and keeping commandments and covenants.  They were literally perfect for oscar and mina.  And Mina was SOOO pumped to listen to the prophet.  They love Thomas S Monson.  It is super cool. it was just great. So- This week is going to be literally insane. The wedding WILL happen.  We are also doing 2 trainings at 2 different zone conferences. And this week we have all the new sisters coming from the MTC staying with us, then tomorrow all the sisters that are ending their missions are staying with us. Plus all the other missionary stuff. and an exchange on thursday. Yay! Craziness!  I am loving every minute of it. It truly makes the time FLY.  My Birthday is on our huge transfer calendar.  SO WEIRD.  We are thinking about november. AHH. We are setting baptismal dates for November.

I can hardly believe that a year ago i decided to serve a mission! And now i am here in 'almost mexico'. It has been wonderful.

So something great happened this week.  I was talking to a lady- and i had a full conversation with her in spanish and it didn't even phase me! I think i am finally getting it! Yay! Gift of tongues. =D

Also- we have this amazing little japanese member in our ward.  She is a widow- her husband passed away a few years ago.  She is literally the sweetest lady ever. She doesnt speak much english. But she is helping us make TIE SKIRTS.  They are going to be great. So we went over there for a minute and we had done all the preparation (i have no idea how to explain this to you.. i can't sew.) anyways she looks at me and says "you sew?" and my eyes got really wide and i said... 'uh no... but i can learn!' and she said 'NO, no no you cant mess up this fabric.' haha epic fail. =D then she said. 'its okay its okay... i sew it. i sew it.' She is so darling.  We love her.  The great part was that we were visiting her one day and we told her that we wanted to make a tie skirt. and she stood up and walked out to the room. She came back a few minutes later with a tie skirt in her hand. haha she had already made one! So soon you will have a picture with all three of us wearing our tie skirts.  We are spoiled. =D

This week i realized how terrible i am at home making. I CAN clean. hah but can't always cook. and definately cant sew.  it is a work in progress.  Hey Grandma Bassett- Remeber those super yummy twice baked potatoes that you make? Yeah. I had a major craving for them this week.  And we were with oscar and mina and they wanted to eat with us after conference. So i volunteered to make those, and i really talked them up... and made them sound delicious. haha i had absolutely NO idea how to make them. So Sister Ninataype and I run to the store. and she was like 'What do you need?' and i said 'A cook book. Hurry!' so we are running through the isles of the HEB, looking for a cook book that has the recipe to grandma's potatoes. No luck.  So We just grabbed what i thought was in them.  Cream cheese, cheese, bacon, and potatoes. So sunday morning- we pull out all the stuff. and i still have no idea how to make them. So we bake the potatoes- but have to leave so we don't miss conference (mistake #1) they were almost done so we just turned the oven off and let them sit in there. When we got back we started making them and they were not cooked all the way.  But we had already cut the potatoes in half and put the insides in a bowl. SO i just started adding stuff.  I have no idea. And i said a prayer that they would work. =D haha like any good little missionary would. It was looking really bad.  So we just kept adding stuff. like milk, butter, cream cheese, salt and pepper. It tasted okay- but they were super gluey and nasty. But we decided to have faith and take them anyways. So we put the gluey nastyness into the potatoe skins and covered them with bacon and cheese then threw them in the oven to bake again.  We went over to eat, and i was so worried that they were going to be terrible. BUT GUESS WHAT?  We had a twice baked potatoe miracle.  THEY WERE SO GOOD.  Prayer works, and our oven must be blessed. They went from terrible-nasty-yucky- potatoe mush- To Heavenly-cheese covered-fluffy potatoes. they were a hit. =D haha. SO- grandma, maybe  you can send me the recipe? haha thanks. =D

AND CONFERENCE!!!!! AHHHH IT WAS SOOOO GOOD!! it is not every day that the Prophet of God says that this was his favorite session.  it was good.  Oh man i took so many notes i cannot even begin to share them all.  i loved the quote 'Doubt your doubt before you doubt your faith'. SO true.  And i loved all the stuff on missionaries and member work! It is so true! Without the missionaries and members working together it is impossible to have success.  NOW IS THE TIME.  Another thing that i thought was really crazy was when..i can't remember who said it... Said something like 'now is a time just a epic as the first vision'... and all the miracles of the past.  Can you believe that?  The Lord has truly saved us to do his holy work here.  The prophet has called us to help too.  It is such a miracle.  I loved the whole 'make a family missionary plan' thing as well. It every person in the world would invite 1- just 1- person to come unto christ by christmas- we could have 15 million NEW members. COME ON PEOPLE!! Start inviting! Even if it is something simple like to youg womens (shelby) or young mens(stanton) or relief society (mom) or motorcycling(dad) hah. What ever it is we can always be inviting.  Thanks mom and dad for always being such a great example. =D The time is truly at hand.  We are preparing for the coming of our Lord and Savior. When it is all said and done- when we stand before the judgement bar of God- I want to hear the words "well done my good and faithful servant." I know that we determine that conversation we have with God by what we do now.  If we do what God has commanded us and truly apply the atonement of Christ we can stand SPOTLESS before him. One day we will ALL have a personal interview with the Father.  I am SOOOO grateful that i have the gospel. That i have the truth. That i know the way back to the presence of GOD. We are so blessed. 'and when you are converted, strengthen your brethren'.  We are so blessed to be able to share what we know to be true. Lets do it! yay! we are apart of GODS ARMY! Lets go out and DO WORK!! WAHOOO!!

Love you all! have a wonderful week! i am excited to hear about all of your missionary experiences. =D An invitation given with love will never offend. =D invite! keep your missionaries super busy up there.

UNTIL NEXT WEEK!

-Hermana Wiser

September 30, 2013

This is Sister Vargus. She is from Brooklyn New York.  AH i love her so much! haha She says 'Man, Wiser! Yoo SO hood!' So i guess that i am ghetto fabulous. andale! I look more like a 50's style school girl in this picture.  Thanks for the skirt mommy! and the Shirt Gram!

Sister Ninataype and me. yay car pictures. =D

The first one is of me killing roaches up there before bed time.  Que MALO!! haha it is really terrible. kill ALL the roaches.

Saw this funny sign that says 'Jesus Rocks'. Yes, yes he does.

Hello Family!!

Crazy week, as usual. (So there are 2 hispanic men sitting at the computer behind me, and they are speaking rapid fire spanish about furniture and random stuff. its a little distracting- because i can understand them. haha weird. yay spanish!)

Anyways.  This week.  I cannot believe september is over!! where did it go!!! man.  SO i have some bad news.  The wedding didn't happen on saturday.  They were driving to the courthouse to get the marriage license(cant spell this odd word), and they never made it all the way there.  And we were going to go with them, but we were stuck in a zone conference for one of the other zones that we cover. So, that was super sad.  But i have actually learned a lot from the experience.  It truly is the saddest thing when you love these people SOOOOO much, and they don't accept one thing or another.  After they called us telling they were going to the courthouse, we didn't hear from them again until saturday night.  They had a bunch of crazy family things happen, so they were NEVER home.  They went missing in action for a few days.  BUT we did call them last night(sunday) and set up an appointment for that night at eight.  And we have some BOSS members in our ward that called them saturday and set up a FHE for tonight! So that is great.  SO anyways- we went to go and teach them, but they were at the landro-mat (i have no idea how to spell that word either. haha sorry!).  They tried to cancel the appointment but we were like 'NO!! haha Where is it? we will come help you fold laundry!"  So we went to this super ghetto laundry place and talked with Mina. Oscar had to bounce, but we had a nice long talk with mina.  I was able to share some personal experiences about following the commandments and following the answers that i had received. Like how i knew that i needed to be here on a mission- and how i had a LOT of adversity before coming. I think she was able to relate it to her life. She remembers the answer that she recieved.  She knows that they need to get married, she just got cold feet. So- They will get married. hopfully soon. We need to have a smack down lesson and set a wedding date and a baptismal date with them this month.  Feel free to pray for them ;)

The crazy thing was how all over again I learned the importance of relying on the Lord. That when we do all we can, the lord will carry the load the rest of the way. There are so many times when we just think- 'I have to do this! I don't need help!!' (kinda like a 2 year old) But then we are humbled and realize WHO it is that we rely on. Alma 26:12 - I know that i am nothing, as to my strength i am weak, therefore i will not boast of myself, but i WILL bost of my God, for in HIS strength i can do ALL things. I know that this little trial that Oscar and Mina had will make them stronger. It will help them get to the temple. To be sealed for time and ALL eternity!   When we overcome temptations, or adversity- THAT is when we truly become converted. THAT is when we see miracles. So i guess in a way this little sad thing was truly a blessing.  I know that things happen for a reason, and that we may not know that reason. But GOD does know.  Trusting in him is just easier than being distraught.  So that is what we have been doing. =D  I really think it will be a blessing in the long run.  I have never prayed for an investigator as much as i have these two.  man.  It is going to be a good week. =D miracles are on the horizon.

SO- ALL of our other investigators are in the spanish ward now. hah we did a complete switch from ALL english to ALL spanish!  It has been alot of fun. Man- there are SOOOOO many ways to express things in spanish.  I love it.  I am going to be a spanish master someday. Hopefully sooner rather than later. We currently have 3 investigators. Antonio (and his 2 children). Gustavo- who is married to a super super super less active member that we didn't know existed. and Maria.  Who is wonderful.  She is truly looking for God in her life.  She is so sweet. Also a man names Jesus. and another less active member named Alma. ALL of these people are in Oscar and Mina's apartment complex. So we are there A LOT. haha it is funny.  Last night we had a off the cuff group lesson with Jesus, Gustavo, and Antonio. and we had our ward mission leader with us.  He is a champ. =D I love the people here. =D yay!!

Relief society was SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD!  I loved it. I feel like everything that was said was directly applied to me. yay. =D If you haven't had a chance to watch it- check it out on line.  It talked about keeping covenants. SOOOO good. =D i will let you all look it up.

Man!! i am pumped for conference! WAHOOOO!! Can you believe it a year ago at conference they changed the age for sisters and elders? Super cool.  I can't believe it has been a year already. Supes Cray. I am looking forward to hearing your favorite talks and such. =D Write down what stands out to you! Personal revelation is real!

This week is also insanity! We have an exchange tomorrow after district meeting, MLC wednesday. Zone conference friday. and General Conference this weekend. =D it is going to be a great last week of my 4th transfer. =D  Transfers are next week already!

OH!! I read an AMAZING talk this week. it is called Grace(or something) by Brad wilcox in last months ensign.  it is simple- but SOOOO profound. i love it.  Read it.

Well i Love you ALLLLLLLL.

Thank you for you love, support and prayers.  They are all greatly appreciated.

Onward and upwards!  Enjoy the words of our beloved profeta!! Oh wow that spanish word came out. Prophet. =D

-Hermana Wiser

Boda!!!!!---WEDDING!!!!! September 23, 2013

It was sister Ninataype's birthday!! yay!! And sister Garry was there because we did an exchange with them. It was AWESOME. Best Day Ever!!

little girl names Abril. She is is the spanish ward and wanted to learn how to play the guitar. SOOO cute.

The second picture is the group that sang. My voice was SOOO gone that i was sining as low as the elders! when i couldn't i  just mouthed the words... lame i know. o well. such is life.

Hello everyone!!!

 

It has been another great week here in McAllen Texas. =D it has been rainy!! super super rainy!! It has been such a great week though.  Yesterday we woke up at 6:30- of course.. haha- and got ready real fast to go wake up all of our investigators.  And we walked outside and it was 70 degrees! I was in HEAVEN.  It felt SO good outside. I just kept thinking- yay!! Utah!!! but then I saw the palm trees and the lack of mountains. but  It was a pretty cool day. the hottest it got was like 85ish.  I wore a sweater. =D

SOOOO this week is the big week!! Oscar and Mina are getting married and baptized on saturday! then confirmed on sunday!! It has been super super super crazy. super.  AHHHHH miracles!!!  They are excited.  And they are starting to save up now for a big wedding for when they get sealed in the temple in a year. We might be taking a trip to texas to see them get sealed in the San Antonio Temple. =D I love the gospel! it is just amazing the change that you can see in them.  They are so excited for the fresh start. Everyone is just happy. =D haha.  Now it is crunch time though.  We have a lot to do to get everything ready for this week.  We are also setting baptismal dates for the last week of october.  So we have to have a HUGE finding week this week. There is a family here that is ready to get baptized. I can feel it.  So we are going to find them this week.  It is crazy- the amount of balancing you have to do as a missionary.  Making sure we are Finding, getting refferals, contacting the refferals, teaching our investigators and helping them prepare for their baptisms, doing member work, reactivating less active families. Then- throw on the responsibilities of keeping the apartment, car and EVERYTHING clean.  AND sister drama. =D SO fun.  I love my life right now.  haha Somedays i just feel like i can't learn another thing then i do. That is the great thing about the gospel- there is always room for improvement.  For me there is a LOT of room.  I feel so blessed for the opportunity to serve. it has been such a blessing.

So we had zone conference this past week. and guess what!! hahah the assistants to the president played a part of living scriptures' AMMON. haha it was great! I LOVE LIVING SCRIPTURES!! and they are great in spanish as well.  We watch them sometimes in spanish. So thanks daddy for the living scriptures!   It was a really good Zone conference. We have the best mission president in the entire world.  They are wonderful. 

AHHHH!! I gave a talk in the spanish ward yesterday! my first one!!! I was so dang nervous. I originally offered to do a musical number, then they called and asked us to speak as well. Then last week i completely lost my voice.  it was SOOO ODD.  I am not used to not singing. but i literally could not sing. it was terrible. I don't think i have ever lost my voice so bad in my life.  So instead of singing i played the piano for the elder that was originally going to play for me.  We just switched it up a little bit. It went well.  And my talk went really well too! Thanks to the gift of tongues and my wonderful companion. =D Hahaha.  We were contacting on the streets the other day and were talking to this guy and he asked me where i was from. and jokingly i said 'soy de monterrey'.  Monterrey is a city in Mexico that has really fair skinned people. So we joke that we are from Monterrey Mexico.  Anyways- The guy believed me! hahaha. I died.  So then we explained that I am really from Utah. una Gringa. haha super funny. But he said my spanish was good.  and that i don't sound like a guera (pronounced wear-ah)(which means white person). Yay!

We have a return appointment with him, his name is Jesus. And we will invite him to be baptized. yay baptism!

Also- haha the best thing happened.  So our spanish ward in Pharr is wonderful.  We had a celebration for Mexican Independence Day.  It was great.  There was a group of 12 missionaries that sang at it. We sang 'Celieto Lindo' and used the new guitar( which i named Quatemoc Don Quijote de la Mancha). Then the ward mission leader made up a missionary version. it is super hilarious. I will try to send the vidoes.

Well i have to run! Pray for Oscar and Mina this week.  We need ALL the divine intervention that we can recieve.  I love the mission! Onwards and Upwards!

-Sister Wiser

September 16th, 2013

Here is Shayna's email from September 16th, Sorry it's late - I have been out of town.  -Laura

Buenas Tardes!!

 

How is everyone doing??  We are doing just great here in Mcallen. It has been another crazy crazy week in the valley. =D SO in church yesterday they announced the Hurricane.  And yes.. Its true! Hurricane Ingrid in the gulf right now (i think that's what they named it).  AND I ate my 72 hour kit.. I guess i got a little hungry last week.  Thank goodness today is P-Day and we can replenish them. It is supposed to hit down in mexico and completely miss us.  But we have flood warnings and lots of great tropical rain storms.  So it has been really fun. =D Yay hurricane season! Yay drenched missionaries.

This week has been really awesome. We had exchanges again this week- of course. I am sorry if i repeat things... i can't remember what i wrote about last week.  The weeks all smooooosh together.  They are going by so fast.  I hit my 6 months on the 13th! Crazy right?   Man i feel like i just left the MTC. That was a weird day.  Haha time flies when you are having fun and working hard. =D I don't think i have ever been so exhausted in my life.  We just GO GO GO.  I love it.  So anyways- exchanges- I went up to Edinburg with a Sister named Sister Church.  She is actually a visa waiter- waiting to go to Argentina.  We had a lot of fun and saw some great miracles in her area.  We were playing detectives and looking for a less active member- that no one had contacted in years- and we find this little house with a fence around it. And there are 3 very unhappy looking dogs. 2 littles and a big. And if we got near the fence they would freak out.  I put my pencil in through the fence to see if they would really bite us.. and it definately bit the pencil.  Haha stupid sister wiser. Don't know why i thought that would be a good idea. Anyways... So we decided to leave a note.  Then Sister Church had the idea to knock on the neighbors door to see if anyone knew who lived there.  So we knocked the square around house.  The neighbors weren't home, so we turned around to go back to the car- and Sister Church Stopped suggested that we knock one more door.  She felt like we should knock it.  So we went and found a new investigator! He was super prepared to.  He asked us for a book of mormon and set up a return appointment for the next day.  it was legit. Following the spirit really works.  It is amazing. I know i probably say that every week-  But everytime it works it just strengthens my testimony SOOO much. =D it is wonderful.  i learn so much from all the sisters on the exchanges we go on.  I am so blessed.

Poor Sister Ninataype was sick this week.  She was a trooper though and pushed through. Thank goodness for the priesthood and ALL the doterra. haha =D yay. =D - Little side note- It is freezing in this library. i am shivering. weird. That NEVER happens here- Anyways. She is on the up and up though.

SOOOO Oscar and Mina.  We had an amazing miracle with them this week.  We had some good lessons. Started the Wedding planning. Then on thrusday night Mina texted us and told us that she needed to talk to us. and we were like 'OH NOOOOO!!!" So we prayed a lot and went over there friday afternoon.  And we sat down and the first words out of her mouth were 'We aren't getting married anymore!'.  She kinda just blurted it out and then went off for like 15 minutes.  So we just listened. I was literally praying the entire time for the spirit, so that we could know what to do. I know sister ninataype was as well. And after she had finished we were just like 'okay'.. then started teaching.  And to be honest i have absolutely no idea what we really said.  But we talked a little about the importance of keeping the ten commandments and blessings.  And i was super strait up and bold about the Law of Chastity. BAHHHH. JUST KEEP THE LAW OF CHASITIY!!! c'mon people. marriage is great! not that i have ever tried that- i just know the blessings i have seen from keeping the commandments. la ley de castidad!!!  I don't think i have ever been so bold in my life. and i can be pretty bold. I just love them SOOO much. and I can just see how the gospel will bless them!! So i was super fuerte with love. After we had talked for a little bit we just stopped and asked her what she had learned.  And she just said 'its super important to keep the commandments.. and we are blessed when we do.'  Nothing more than that. but you could tell that the wheels in her brain were turning. So we left her with a prayer and a commitment to share some scriptures and watch 'finding faith in christ' with Oscar.  we set up an appointment for saturday.  And decided to do a special fast.  So we were fasting and praying with all of the faith we had.  We went back Saturday and oscar had to leave. So we went over 'finding faith in christ' with Mina and answered some questions she had.  She is searching for the truth.  She wants to know everything. and ALL the details.  it has taken us 3 lessons now do to the plan of salvation. and we are not even done with it.  They just love to learn and have a billion questions. That is why it is so important to teach people- not just lessons. Everyone is so different. And different things stick out to different people. Oscar said he would be back around 6 and so we went back later in the evening when they were both there.  I don't think i have ever prayed so much in my life. because i knew that we had to bring up the marriage thing. and i was dreading it - just because we weren't sure how to approach it.  We felt like we just needed to teach them. and not address it.  So we started off where we left off with the plan of salvation.  We were teaching our life on earth.  and started with a song (i am a child of god) Then went right into faith.  And the SPIRIT was there SOOOO strong.  I cant even explain it.  I felt prompted to share Mom's cancer story. and how as kids we prayed that mommy wouldn't lose her hair. And the miracle we saw as a family through fasting, prayer and faith.  It was wonderful- the spirit truly testified as we shared our testimonies of faith. Then oscar asked us a question.  he had an experience when he was young- when the man that introduced his mom to the church( yeah- we found out that his mom has been an active member for years- crazy right) had lost his 14 year old son in a swimming accident. he then asked why bad things happen to good people.  The family when to church every sunday, kept the 'laws'( that is what he said) and their son still died.  It really shook him up.  I then shared the experience with Grandpa Wiser.  I felt prompted to.  With tears in my eyes i was able to testify of God''s plan for each of us. And even when we have the faith and prayers- We have to follow the will of God.  And that through our trials we are made strong. And how i WILL see Grandpa Wiser again. because of the blessings of the temple. I told them about Grandma Wiser. and her strength and her example. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. Sister ninataype backed me up with a powerful testimony as well. I then felt prompted to have them close their eyes. (weird right? i had no idea what was about to happen or what words i needed to say) but the words just came.  And i told them to picture their lives right now. the trials and thngs they were going through. then i had them picture Jesus Christ. The savior of the world.  Then to picture their cute little family ALL dressed in white. Entering the doors of the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity.  Then i shared my testimony on forever families. The spirit was THICK. i get chills just thinking about it. after we asked how they were feeling.  And they were both like.  'we need to get married!' and we were like!!! AHHHHH!!! THE SPIRIT!!! MIna then said that when she was picturing christ- she knew that she was focused on the wrong things.  she wanted a big wedding- like any girl would- but she said- i know what god wants me to do and the material things just dont matter.  The best part was that we didn't even say the word marriage until this point.  It was wonderful.  They came to church on sunday- and in relief society - Mina shared the entire experience and shared her testimony. it was amazing.  I feel so blessed to be  apart of the work here!! it is truly amazing.  Fasting really works! Prayer really works!! The spirit is real!! and we are having a WEDDING!!!! AHHHHHH!! Missionary work is the best. The spirit really truly does change people.

So- we will keep you posted on that.  Pray for Mina and Oscar! we still need miracles with them. =D yay for bodas!!! wahoooo!!

THis week is insane. we have 3. yes THREE. exchanges. back to back. and zone conference. and ALL sorts of things. keeping it busy down here in el sur de tejas.

Well! i love you all! and i am praying for you! look for missionary opportunities.  help our brothers and sisters come unto christ. Be bold and OYM! (open your mouth!) I would love to hear about your personal missionary experiences.

Moroni 10:32-33 -> mosiah 27:25-26

 

Love you ALLLL!! Have a wonderful week!

 

Con amor,

Hermana Wiser

 

-Also pray we don't die in a hurricane. haha just kidding. we will be fine. pray though. =D love love love!!

Week 3 in McAllen

HELLO EVERYONE!!!

Wahooo!! We are starting week 3 of the transfer here in La VISTA. Man, It has been a wonderful and crazy week.  This week we had MLC(missionary Leadership Training) for zone leaders and STL's and STL training.  It was super fun.  I just learn so much everytime.  It is interesting having to focus on ALL the missionary work AND ALL the sisters in our area.  Ha. But the Lord provides us with miracles.  President kept saying 'by being obedients in your own areas and serving your 'flock of sheep' the Lord will bless you beyond mesure.  Baptism is not an objective, It is a consequence.' COOL RIGHT?  I really loved that.  When we as missionaries are living right, being obedient, having faith- we will have the consequence of baptism. =D It really made sense in my head.  I am striving every day to be the best missionary i can be. Man i have SOOOO much to work on.  It is great! Good thing that we have eternities.

SOOOOO- This past week we met a bunch of times with Oscar, Mina, and Rueban. Oscar and Mina are on track to get MARRIED!!! We are going to have a wedding!!! AHHHH!!!  Hahaha i don't think i have ever prayed so much in my life for inspritation during a Law of Chastity lesson.  Man i was dying. Ha Sister Ninataype and i were joking about going and getting them rings- then at the end of the lesson kneeling down and  proposing- "will you two marry eachother so you can enter the waters of baptism and become an eternal family?" it didn't work out that way. haha.. well the invitation was basically like that. But without the rings.  Anyways-  they are all for it.  Man they are too cutesy for me.  Bah. =D I love them SOO much and i am so excited for them to start their eternal family.  They love the idea of being sealed in the temple for time and all eternity.  SO- in the next couple of weeks you will be hearing about a wedding. YAY MARRIAGE. (after the mission) =D haha

I also had my first exchange on saturday.  Man that was crazy.  it was with Sister Vargus.  She is a missionary from Brooklyn New York.  She is super legit and black.  I love her so much.  I think we laughed ALL day.  OH MAN.  I must have lost my brain though-  So we had a zone meeting to go to.  So we were leaving early to go pick up some elders to give them a ride to the meeting- and i accidentially left the car and house keys in the house.  They definatly got LOCKED in there.  Man it was terrible.  Sister Vargus was just laughing her head off. So I had to call the zone leaders and the AP's to see if the office was open.  But it was closed- just my luck- because it was saturday.  AVERGUENZA! Embarrassing. SO- Sister Vargus pulls out a card from her wallet and we spent a good 20 minutes trying to break into our apartment.  NO LUCK.  Then- After dying in the Mcallen heat we decided to talk to the building manager.  So we went and found her and she had a key! Yay. So we got back into our apartment.  The entire zone meeting teased me about that though.  Such is my life I suppose.  it was a fun way to start of the day i guess!

Then yesterday Neida, Mina, and Rueban ALL came to church! it was AWESOME.  We had stake conference- so it was kinda really crazy. there were a million and a half people there. But it was great. and i loved it. =D AHHH!! I got to see my recent converts from DONNA!! They were there at stake conference.  Remember Ruby?  The 9 year old? She came up and gave me the biggest hug.  She was SO excited to see me.  Man it feels good when your investigators become strong active members.  her mom (who was less active) was there too. YAY part member families!!  I also saw Ana Ramos- the one that married the return missionary.  She is ALL sorts of married now.  She wants to come to mcallen to do lunch sometime.  so that should be fun.  AND MYRA.  AH that was the best one i think.  Probably because i prayed and fasted so much for that woman.  I love her so much. =D  So that alone made my day great.  I will send pictures next week- I forgot my cord again. oops.

We have another crazy week this week too. 2 exchanges and ALL sorts of things. Fun times being a missionary!! Well! That is about all for this week!  it has been wonderful.  I can feel my testimony growing more and more each day. I know that my savior lives! He loves us! and the atonement is SOOOO real.  I love testifying of its cleansing and enabling power.  The church is True and the book is blue! yay El libro de Mormon!!

Te quiero MUCHISISISISISISISISMO.

Espero que tengan una buena semana!!

Until Next Week!

 

-Hermana WIser

Yeah!! hey mom President Maluenda Gave me permission to buy a guitar today! is that okay with you and dad?  i will use it in lessons and FHE's, ward activities, and missionary meetings. Also to give the Maluneda children lessons! cool huh?  is that okay with you?

Hello from the Valley - September 3, 2013

Hola! HOLA!

How is everyone doing?? Sorry i didn't email yesterday- it was labor day! and yes- we were laboring. haha pun... okay-  i am doing great.  A week ago, last tuesday i got transfered down to the valley again.  It has been crazy! seriously crazy! I am speaking spanish again and eating la comida mexicana.  it has been great! SO- I am serving in the area called La Vista.  It is a part of McAllen.  It isn't really a seperate city- it is just a missionary area within Mcallen.  President Maluenda y his family are in our area and attend our ward.  So we get to see them ALOT.  it is super cool.  They are awesome.  SO- i am still learning the role of STL.  I have no idea what i am doing- but that is the fun of it.  keeps me on my toes. Basically we deal with sister drama, problems and concerns.  There are 3 sets of STL's in the mission.  We cover 6 companionships.  We do exchanges with each companionship every transfer- and if they ever need anything, we drop what we have and we go over to help them.  We also have all sorts of meetings and stuff.  STL is kinda like zone leaders- we are just over the sisters.  it is fun being an STL here in the valley though- Because we help the AP's a lot. Today we had kind of an emergency zone conference in one of the zones that we cover-  So we went to that.  We had a really newat meeting with president and the ap's and the zone leaders for the mision zone.  I learn so much! MAN our president is so inspired.  it is crazy.  i literally learn new things ALL the time. IT was really good.  I feel blessed to have the opportunity to help the hermanas of the mission.  it has been a fun first week.  Tomorrow we have MLC(missionary leader council) then thursday we have an STL training. Then saturday we do our first exchange. So we don't get a TON of time in our own area- but literally we are seeing miracles.  SO many!  it is crazy.  We currently have 5 investigators: Oscar and Mina- they are a young couple- they are getting baptized on sept 15, Rueban- who is a friend of oscar and mina- he will be getting baptized in september also.  Neida (who is the sister of a less active/becoming active member named Enidena) is preparing for baptism on sept 29. and Enrique- is going to be baptized on the 29th.  Man! SUPER COOL!! last week we found neida, enrique, and rueban.  Oscar and mina were found the saturday before I got to the area.  it has been so fun. 

Yesterday we had a really cool experience.  President invited us over for family home evening.  We invited Neida and Enidena to come.  So we call them and set it up.  Were super excited- the only thing he wanted us to do was prepare a special musical number.  So 5:00 comes around and we were rushing to get all the p-day things done. quick ate dinner then left to go to FHE at 7:00.  We called Enidena to make sure she was ready for the FHE- and she didn't answer the phone.... AHHH! So we were freaking out and praying.  We originally told her that we were going to meet her at the church so she could follow us to presidents house- so we went and waited for a good 15-20 minutes and she didn't show. So we went to her house- there was no answer there. and we called her like 50 times, probably.  So we just went to president's house.  We were dying- partly because of embarrassemt- partly because we were super sad.  So we go in and tell Presidente the situation- and he still invited us to stay. and about 20 minutes into being there our phone rang- and it was Enidena! She ended up coming.  We were so releived. it was a miracle.  Neida couldn't come- but we had a super less active that really needed a family home evening to come.  it was super cool.  The spirit was there.  And the entire thing in spanish.  I am trying to get my 'spanish ears' back.  It has been an adventure.  So anyways- we got to have FHE at the mission president's house.  it was super fun. 

My companion is awesome!!! I love Her so so so so much!  She is absolutely hilarious.  We are constantly laughing our heads off and having a good time.  It was super hard to leave Sister petersen- but I know the lord knows what we need.  And i am already enjoying this transfer.  it is great.  Sister Ninataype and i went to high school together- i actually graduated with her younger sister who is serving in bolivia. So it's cool! we both have a sibling out.  She is a great missionary and a great example.  We get along great! I love her!

HMMMM. what else can i tell you about this past week. Oh- our apartment is really old and gross.  There is a cochroach infestation. So that is gross.  It is like in the foundation of the entire complex... So they cant fume-i-gate the place really to get rid of them.  So we kill cockroaches and ants everyday.  That is an adventure. IT was a mess when i got there.  There was just a bunch of crap that leaving misisonaries had left behind.  So sister Ninataype and i completely re-arranged EVERYTHING. and cleaned the crap out of it. literally. OHHHH- We tried to use the vacume- and i went to take out the nozel part- to clean the corners of the floors- and a huge, nasty, moldy, hairy, discusting pile of dust crap fell out.  it was nasty.  So we cleaned out the vaccume.  it took us a good 25 minutes.  No one had emptied it for years- The last person to empty it was probably Joseph Smiths Mother.  Literally. it hadn't been emptied in ages.  It worked better after that.  we had a entire walmart sack full of ALL the nasty stuff.  So at least it kinda works now.  We deep cleaned and organized everything.  I got in the 'wow, we need to throw ALL the things away!" mode. -it looks pretty good now.  just needed some TLC.

We also had a cool experience with Enrique- i will tell you that.  The members in our area are stinking awesome! SOOOO great.  we were looking for a referral on saturday- an we could not find the house.  The house number that we had didn't exist.  there were two houses next to where it should have been. - So we decided that we were there for a reason. And knocked both the doors.  We set a return apppointment with the first door, then the second door Enrique came out.  He answered the door and we gave him the 'we are missionaries' spill- and he asked "SO.... do you want to sit down and talk about this?' Of course we said yes.  Taught him about the doctrine of chirst and baptism. He had a doubt- he said that he had already been baptized.  So we talked about it.  And the we ended up talking about real repentance.  He said that he had things in his life that he wasn't proud of. And we promised him that he could be free if of that if he was baptized by the proper authority.  He then answered 'Okay, where do i need to go to be baptized so i can feel better?"  =D it was great.  We just smiled and told him.  He accepted a date for the 29 of september.  it was awesome. and totally led by the spirit. YAY the Spirit!  I have such a testimony that God is leading this work.  he is- he is- he is!  He knows his children and exactly what they need to be happy and receive blessings. It is such a cool opportunity to be the instrument- the mouth peice.  AH- i just feel so blessed.  I love this work! I know that it is Led by God. Jesus Christ Lives and loves us.  If we take his hand he will lead us home.  !tengas confianza en El! 

 

love you all so much!! have a wonderful week!! onward and upwards.

 

Con amor,

La Hermana Wiser

 

PS- Invite someone to listen to the missionaries or come to a church activity this week.  Pray for a missionary experience- and you can help change the lives of God's children here.  Today in District meeting we did a roleplay and the elder that i was practicing with asked a great inspired question - He said 'think about the people you love, your friends, your family, your neighbors.  think about the blessings that are missing out on.  how would it be for you if you were passing through trials without the gospel of Jesus Christ in your life?' it put it in perspective for me.  Every member a missionary.  Go do WORK. ANDALE!!

 

love ya!!