The gospel changes lives..........

Hola Familia!

I just love you all so much!  It sounds like things are going so well for you.  I'm so proud of all of you and what you're doing.  You're great!  And I am so excited for Cameron!!  I got a letter from him this week and he told me everything.  I'm so proud of you, Cam.  I know this will be the best decision you have ever made in your life.  Not that it's easy, but it's so worth it.  He told me he wanted to surprise you so that I shouldn't say anything, but I'm glad you know.  That was way to big of a secret to keep!

It's exciting to hear about all the people from our stake that are leaving on missions.  The Lord truly is furthering His work.  And I am oh so glad I didn't get called to Provo.  

We've had a bit of an interesting week.  I'm pretty sure I say that just about every week.  We had a lot of ups and downs, and a lot more downs than normal.  A lot of things fell through, and I think Satan was working really hard on us so that we would be discouraged and not want to work.  But we persevered and pushed through it.  We've had some really neat experiences and some heartbreak as well.  This week we've been stopping by this family that the Elders found for us and every time something has been up.  The first time the mom, Maritza was on the phone with Honduras and couldn't really see us.  Then the next time she wasn't home and only the husband was home.  He told us to come back, but no one was there.  And then the next time the repair guy was  there so they were busy then too.  But she told us to come back on Saturday and she promised that she would be there.  And she was!  We had the most amazing first lesson that I've ever experienced.  Her house was clean and quiet and she listened and asked questions and the spirit was really tangible.  Especially after the First Vision.  We just paused and felt the Spirit in the room.  After a little bit of silence we asked her if she thought that was possible.  That Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ would appear to a 14 year old boy.  She said that of course it was, because nothing is impossible for God.  She loved what we taught about prophets and about how we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it blesses families.  She wants so badly to do what is right and she wants to be able to raise her kids so that they know what is right too.  And she told us that she felt something special while we were talking and we were able to testify so strongly of the Spirit.  I loved that lesson.

And on to the heartbreak.  We stopped by the Castaneda house yesterday morning to invite Junior to church.  We had three amazing lessons with him this week, and he's really been progressing.  The Spirit is always so strong in the lessons we have and it's amazing.  And Junior feels it too.  He always talks about how he feels something in his heart and we always talk about how that's the Holy Ghost testifying of truth.  On Thursday night we also taught him some piano.  He knows how to play and he plays really well, really ,really well.  He just can't read music.  So he asked us if we could teach him.  We taught him some notes and practiced some things.  We also talked about taking piano lessons and I was telling them that I did not want to learn at first but that you made me.  And then I learned to love it.  Then Junior said that he begged his mom his whole life to put him in music classes and she never did.  I felt like the worst person in the entire world.  But I'm so thankful that you were insistent and that I learned how to play and I'm glad that we have this opportunity to be able to serve him by teaching him music.  I was wondering if maybe you could send some of the beginning piano books.  That would be really helpful.  Probably the level one will be good.  So back to the story: So he asked if I would play. And I played I am a Child of God and Hna Wallis and Hna Castaneda and the kids all sang.  It was such a special experience.  Our Heavenly Father loves us so much, and that love is so strong, especially as expressed through music.  Later Hna Castaneda told us that Junior told her that he needed to learn that song.  That he loved it and he felt something so special about it and he just wants to be able to play it so bad.  Fast forward to Sunday:  We went over to their house to invite Junior to church, and we had a repeat of last Sunday, but worse.  The Spirit was not there and Junior was different.  He didn't want to have anything to do with us.  And guess who else was there.  Jorge and Juan.  I think Junior is so worried about being made fun of by his cousins for doing "church stuff" that he just closes up and pushes us away.  It's heartbreaking, especially because we've had so many spiritual experiences with him.  At this point we really don't know what to do other than to be patient and keep trying.  He has so much potential and it's the worst feeling in the world to see that he isn't realizing it.

On a happier note though, Reyna came to church yesterday.  And she has a baptismal date for April 6th!  We invited her to be baptized that day and she said she would pray about it and let us know.  And then this week she told us that she's pretty sure that's what she wants to do!  She has so many trials but she has been so much happier the last few weeks than she was when we first met her.  The gospel changes lives.  Of that I have no doubt.  And as we accept it, that's when we find true happiness and peace amid the trials.  

We had more gross food this week:  Menudo.  Yep.  Intestine soup.  I just want to know how our tummies can digest something that was made to withstand stomach acid.  It's so yucky.

Other good news:  We have companionship exchanges this week and I'm going to Spring Lake with Hna Stewart!  I'm so excited to see her! Well family, that's about all I have for this week.  I love you so much and I'm so thankful for you.  Keep working hard and being good and the Lord will bless you. 

xoxo

Hermana Simpson

The Spirit really guided our words and wow

Hola Familia!

I just love you so much! It sounds like you are doing so well! I've been thinking about all of you a lot this week and praying for you too. Keep being so good! It's so exciting to see so many people getting mission calls. The Lord is truly forwarding His work! We're seeing it here. That's so exciting that Mason is going to Leeds. My good friend Eric served his mission in Leeds and loved it.

We've have a pretty interesting week. We're trying to hard to be obedient and to do everything right. And it seems like when we do so, we just realize even more of our weaknesses. But, as it says in Ether, if men come unto Christ, He will show us our weaknesses. So I guess that means we are coming unto Christ. And we just have to have faith that His grace is sufficient to turn our weaknesses into strengths. I know that it is. We're also learning how to be patient with ourselves, which is hard. There's so much we have to do and so much we want to do and by ourselves we just can't do it all. But when we put the Lord first and follow His will, everything just seems to fall into its proper place.

This week has also been a mixture of crazy, heartbreaking, and really neat. Let's start with the crazy. Tuesday night at about 8:00 all our plans had fallen through. We had no idea what to do, so we prayed about it. We felt impressed to head south down the Route One to see a potential investigator. So we made it to the apartments and knocked his door. No one was home. We were really relying on that, but it didn't work out. And there was no one out and about, so we were stumped. As we started walking back to our car we were both praying that we would have the opportunity to meet someone with whom we could share the gospel. We got back almost to where we were parked and there was a young guy waiting at the bus stop. So we started talking to him and gave him a pass along card. And he said, "Thanks, I really needed this right now." So we start talking to him more and asking if there's anything that we could do to help him out and he starts crying. It turns out that he had been living in Hawaii but his mom had just had a stroke so he moved here about a month ago. She was his best friend and now she doesn't even recognize him. He's also living with his dad, who abandoned him and his mom when he was a kid and his dad is a drunk and also really verbally abusive to him. He's also gay and HIV positive. He told us that he's been contemplating suicide. because he just feels like he has nothing left to live for. It was so sad. But we talked to him about the Atonement and we went to our car and got one of our few English copies of the Book of Mormon and told him that he would be able to find comfort and direction if he would read the Book of Mormon. We asked if we could say a prayer with him and he said that would be great. So I started praying and even though we were standing on the side of the street and cars were driving by and it was freezing the Spirit was so strong. I could just feel the love that Heavenly Father had for his child, even though he has made some major mistakes in his life. Afterwards we we all a little teary eyed and Alberto said, "Thanks so much, I feel a little better now. Can I give you girls a hug?" And before I could say no, he grabbed me and gave me a great big hug and a big smooch on the cheek. Oops. I don't know if there was a way to avoid that situation, but I got kissed by a gay guy this week. And that's all I have to say about that.

The other thing I wanted to tell you about is Junior. We love this kid so much! Last Monday he came to fhe and loved it. We've been getting really exciting because he really seems to be progressing and he's feeling the Spirit more and more. He's been reading the Book of Mormon and he likes it. Fast forward to this weekend. Juan, his cousin came into town (he lives like an hour and a half away). Juan is Hna. Castaneda's son and he's bad news. He's been inactive for longer than he's been active, and he's just exactly the influence that we don't want for Junior. So we had a mini lesson with Junior Saturday but he didn't even want to read the Book of Mormon with us. He's super shy and I think he was embarrassed because there were so many people there and I don't think he really wanted to talk about church stuff because he was feeling pretty uncomfortable. So we just shared a scripture and invited him to church. He said maybe. And told us that they were going to a party that afternoon. I hate parties. So we stopped by Sunday morning and invited us to church and Juan was still there, they had been out late, and they had been drinking. We asked Junior if he was going to come to church and he told us no, that he was too tired. We tried our best, but he wouldn't be convinced. He told us that he really wanted to sleep. But he did ask us if we were going to come back in the afternoon. So I guess that was good that he still wanted to see us. I told him I hoped he changed his mind (it worked last week with Hno Castaneda) but it didn't work and he didn't come. We were pretty disappointed. At church Hna Castaneda told us that Junior also been talking to his mom in Mexico and that she's been discouraging him from moving forward so that's hard too. But we went back Sunday night and we had a completely different lesson. We asked him if he got his nap in and he said kind of. Then we asked if it was worth it. And he said kind of, not really. We asked him why not and he said it was because he should have gone to church. We then started reading in 2 Nephi and we talked about how Lehi had to sacrifice everything to leave and he still praised and thanked the Lord. Why? He had to give up everything. His gold, his silver, his home, his friendships. Why was he still so grateful. Junior said, because he knew that the Lord had saved him. We asked him if it was worth it, even though he had to sacrifice so much. And Junior said yes. And that's where the Spirit took over. We talked about sacrificing so that the Lord can bless us. About giving things up that don't really matter. And about doing what we know the Lord wants us to do, even if sometimes we don't feel like we want to. There were times when you could have heard a pin drop. Which never happens in that house with the million people that live there. Hno Castaneda and Pili were there and they had the opportunity to testify. The Spirit was just so strong! I wish I could explain it more. So yes, we chastised Junior, but it was done in love and it was done because we were so sad that he was missing out on blessing, on the opportunity to receive answers and on the opportunity to grow a testimony. And it was amazing. The Spirit really guided our words and wow. I think that's often how Heavenly Father is with us. He chastises us because he loves us. He knows what we're missing out on when we're disobedient or when we put other things before Him and He wants us to be happy and He wants to bless us. But he can only do that when we are doing what we need to do.

So that about sums up our week. It's been another good one. I love being here so much and I love being a missionary.

And to answer your question about the unmentionables, let's just say that Rocky Mountain Oysters are probably the closest. Just know that it was so yucky. And I never want to experience that again. And this week we got fed liver. Also disgusting.

Well family, I love you so much. I hope you have a great week this week! You're the best ever.

xoxo

Hermana Simpson

p.s. Can you give Dani my email address. They email policy has changed and we are now allowed to email friends as well. Thanks so much. A thousand hugs and kissies.

We Had A Miracle Happen......

Hola Familia!

I love you so very much!  It sounds like you've had a pretty busy week!  We have too!  And Mom, I'm so proud of you.  I just think you're the coolest person in the world.  And the best mom ever.  I'm really excited for this next quarter for you.  It sounds like it's going to be really good.  You're going to learn so much so that when you start working you're going to be the best nurse in the whole wide world.  You're such a good example to me and I'm so glad to hear that things are going well for you.  I absolutely love the skirt that you sent!  It's so cute and so comfortable!! I would wear it ever day if I could.  And it is so fun.  It looks super cute with boots (see below picture), but I can't wait to wear it in the summer!  And my hair is so long.  I'm thinking about cutting it today, but it just seems like such a boring way to spend a Pday.  And I'm scared to get it cut because I don't trust anyone as much as I trust Amber.  So we'll see what happnes.  And yes, there is a couple in my mission, Elder and Sister Harris, that work in the office, and they are the parents of Connie's daughter in law.  They told me that a couple of weeks ago and were pretty excited about it. They're so sweet.  Elder Harris is the car czar and we've talked to him quite a bit the last few transfers because we are always having car issues.  Speaking of transfers though, I'm still in Old Town!  I almost cried in relief when we found out.  I had been really praying to be able to accept the Lord's will with where He wanted me to go this transfer but also praying that if it was His will, I really wanted to stay in Old Town.  I think I would be perfectly content to spend my entire mission here.  I'm so grateful to be here and I love the people here and I love the work.  And I feel so blessed to be able to be in such a wonderful area.  Transfers are starting to get really scary now, especially with the formation of the new mission this summer.  We still don't really know what's going to happen with that, other than we're loosing Woodbridge and Stafford.  So it could be that when they form it, whoever is in those zones might just end up in that mission.  And that's scary.  I know that wherever I end up is where the Lord needs me to be, but I really hope it's in this mission.  It's so exciting how much the work is progressing though.  We got 25 new missionaries this last transfer and it has been crazy trying to figure out new areas and zones.  Rumor has it that next transfer we'll get another set of Spanish missionaries in this zone, so we'll have four sets of missionaries in the ward.  That's so many missionaries.  

We survived walk about Wednesday.  It was snowing and freezing and we got soaked.  It was really cute because we went to eat lunch with one of the grandmas in the ward and we got there and she saw how wet we were, went back to her closet and came out with this two pink nightgown things.  She told us to put them on and then she took our clothes and went and put them in the dryer.  It was the sweetest thing ever.  And so funny.  I wish I had had my camera with me so that we could take a picture.  Just imagine it though.

The work is going so good here.  It has really just exploded this week.  Last transfer we had a hard time.  None of our investigators were really progressing and we were focusing so hard on finding.  All of that hard work is starting to pay off.  Heavenly Father has blessed us so much.  We are finding like crazy and we have people that are so nice and super cool.  And they're reading the Book of Mormon.  We met this one guy a couple of weeks ago knocking on his door.  He was busy then, but told us that we could come back a different day.  We left him with the Restoration pamphlet, but weren't able to visit him the next week.  By the time we stopped by he had read the Restoration pamphlet and wanted to know if we had anything else he could read.  His wife still wasn't home, so we couldn't come in, but we scheduled another appointment.  So the time comes for the next appointment and he wasn't home, so we just left a copy of the Book of Mormon on his doorstep.  We came back a couple of days later and he thanked us for dropping that off and told us that he was reading it!  He really likes what he's reading and is super excited to learn more.  We couldn't believe that he was reading the Book of Mormon all on his own.  We can't even get our investigators that we've had for months to do that.  We've seen so many little miracles like that happen this week and it's been amazing.  We are so busy, and I love it!  

We also are seeing so much progress with Junior.  We had a miracle happen this week with him.  He was supposed to be working in North Carolina this weekend, so we didn't really have any hope for him for coming to church this Sunday.  But Saturday afternoon we were teaching a combined lesson with the Elder Rivera and Elder Creager and they told us that they had just visited the Castanedas and that Junior was there.  So we went over and visited him and read with him.  It's been so hard to try to help him understand why he needs to read the Book of Mormon.  But we read just the first three verses of Nephi and explained them and he asked us questions.  He never asks us questions!  So that was really good, because if investigators are asking questions it means they're thinking about it and trying to understand.  And Junior is starting to understand.  So we also invited him to church, and he said maybe.  Saturday night we bought doughnuts and Sunday morning before church we took him some doughnuts and said that we just wanted to help him get up and get ready for church.  And then we invited him and he said he'd come.  We also invited Hermano Castaneda who is super inactive and he said not this week.  I then I put my bold pants on and when we were leaving I said, "Well hermano, it was good to see you, but I really hope you change your mind and come."  And guess what.  They came!  The whole family came.  And Junior really liked it.  And last night we had a baptism and Junior came.  And he loved it!  We asked him how he felt afterwards and he said that he just felt really good.  Like this feeling of peace had just washed over him.  There was a different light about him last night, and he's changing.  It's taken a while, but step by step he's learning and he's progressing, and he's starting to grow a testimony.  And that's what this work is all about.  I love it so much.  It's so good.  We've had a ton just amazing experiences, I could spend hours telling you about it, but that gives you a taste of it.  Missionary work is so hard.  But words can't describe the sweetness of experiences like this.  This is really what it's about, inviting people to come unto Christ.  And when they do, step by step, there's no greater happiness that I've experienced.  I wish I had words to say what my heart is saying.

I also realized this week during our weekly planning session that I'm changing too.  It's been so subtle, and I don't even know if it's that big of a change, but I was so scared that I would be too stubborn or maybe just too thick headed to let the mission change me.  But it is.  And it hasn't been easy.  There's been a lot of really hard things, but I can see how Heavenly Father has been using these experiences to help me grow and to help me become the missionary and the person he needs me to be.  I'm so thankful for this opportunity that I have to be a missionary.  I couldn't have picked anywhere better to be right now.  

Also, I've really grown having Hermana Wallis as my companion.  We're still together, and I've learned a lot from her.  It wasn't as easy for me to love her at first as it was for me to love Hermana Stewart.  We're very different and we have different opinions.  But we've learned a lot from each other and I have so much respect for her.  And we do love each other now and we've really learned how to work together and we've seen so many miracles.  It's just so neat.  I can't say enough how much I love being a missionary.

I've also learned a few things this week.  Mainly this:  Bedbugs are more than just a silly rhyme you say before you go to sleep at night.  They're real!  And they bite!  And we are about 89% sure that we have them.  It's disgusting.  We're going to try and figure out where they're coming from today.  Happy Pday to us.  And yep, I'm allergic to them.  They're way worse than mosquito bites.  

So that's about it for this week.  I love you so much and I hope you're doing so well!  

xoxo

Hermana Simpson

Pday bowling last week.  I may be the worst bowler in the history of ever.

Last district meeting of the transfer.  Except none of us got transferred.  So we took the picture for nothing.  And I have hippie hair.

Chinese food after district meeting with the Sanchez family.  We love this family so much!  And I want Melina's purple pants.

Blessing in Being Diligent‏

Hola Familia!

I love you all so so much!  And I am so proud of all you are doing.  Mom, you got a job!!!  I'm so happy for you!  I knew you could do it!  I've been praying so hard for you.  And all your hard work is finally going to pay off.  You did it, Mumsie!  And that will be so nice to have a break from clinicals for the rest of the quarter too.  I have no idea who Brandon Mull is, but I'm glad that you and Taz were able to go do that.  I'm so surprised at how fast the weeks have started going.  I never ever thought I'd say that, but yesterday I realized that it was already Sunday again.  It felt like it was just Sunday.  And also, transfers are this week.  Wild, right.  We just had transfers.  And yeah, this has been only a five week transfer, but I can't believe that we're already almost through.  I'm getting really nervous though.  I really don't want to leave Old Town.  I love it here.  It has really become home to me, and I can't imagine leaving the people here.  I love them so much.  Really truly.  I can't really even explain it in words.  But I know whatever happens will be the Lord's will, and it will be hard, but I'll go where he needs me.  We'll find out what's going to happen tomorrow night.

This week we've had some really amazing experiences.  Some of them came out of trials, but my testimony gets strengthened every single day that the Lord is so involved in this work.  So we'll start with the hardest part of the week.  On Tuesday morning I woke up at about 5:00 and I was so sick.  I was throwing up about every half hour.  It was miserable.  I couldn't keep anything down, not even water.  But we had lessons to go to and district meeting, so it really wasn't an option to stay home.  District meeting was miserable, I couldn't even sit through the whole meeting without being sick. Afterwards the Elders offered to give me a blessing.  It helped.  We had to take a little break Tuesday night, but it was more miserable not to work than to be sick, so we headed back out.  I was really worried for Walk About Wednesday, but Heavenly Father is so good.  Somehow I made it through, and wasn't completely miserable.  We walked about nine miles, I hadn't eaten anything for almost two whole days, but we made it.  And we were happy.  We met a ton of people and taught some lessons in the street.  Hopefully some of these people will turn into investigators.  It was so worth it to work and to do my best, even though I felt like dying, and I know that Heavenly Father blessed us for being diligent.  It was a great lesson to learn.  He is always waiting to bless us when we put Him first.  And we were way happier too.  And don't worry, I've gotten over those sickies and I'm doing great now.  And I got the box!  Thank you so much!  I got it on Tuesday night when I was so sick and so sad and it made my whole day!  It was kind of a bummer not to be able to eat those fruit snacks right away, but I've more than made up for it.  Thank you, thank you!  You're the best mom in the entire world.  And Kelley, I love the earrings.  They're so cute.  Thanks for thinking of me.

On Thursday we had one of those experiences that I've been waiting my whole mission to have.  I know that doesn't mean a whole lot because I haven't been out that long, but it was beautiful.  So we have this investigator named Junior.  He's 22 and he's the nephew of Hermana Castaneda who is a member in the ward.  He's super shy, but we've been teaching him since New Year's and it's been fun to see him warm up to us.  The problem is, we haven't been able to get him to pray.  He always says maybe next time.  But he really hasn't had a spiritual experience and he really didn't even understand why prayer is so important.  So we decided to dedicate an entire lesson about prayer.  We read Matthew 7:7 and he told us that he didn't really understand it and so we explained it.  It's a little different in Spanish than in English, but basically we explained that it's like we're on one side of the door and Heavenly Father is on the other side.  He's waiting to open the door and He wants to let us in and answer us, but we have to let Him know that we're ready and that we want to come in.  We asked Junior if he believed that and he said yes.  And then we turned to 3 Ne 19:24 where Jesus is praying with the disciples.  Part of Junior's problem with prayer is that he doesn't really know what to say and he's embarrassed that he'll say the wrong thing.  We read this verse where the disciples aren't really worried about what they're saying, and it touched Junior so much.  We asked him if he understood the verse and he said, "It doesn't matter so much the words I say as what's in my heart."  Hermana Castaneda then bore a beautiful testimony about how much Heavenly Father wants to hear from us and how much he wants to talk to us.  And then we asked Junior if he would say a prayer with us and he said yes!  He didn't even hesitate.  It was so beautiful.  Hearing people prayer for the first time is such a neat experience and the Spirit was just so strong.  Afterwards we asked him how he felt and he just had this big grin on his face and he said, I feel kind of strange.  And he put his hand to his heart and said, it's something I've never felt before.  He was so happy, we were so happy, it was so good.  I wish I had more words to say how it feels, but it's something that words can't really express.  But it's so true.  I know it, and I love helping other people come to know it too.

Yesterday we had another neat experience.  After church we had plans to check on someone we had found knocking the other day.  We went to his apartment and knocked and he wasn't home.  We were kind of bummed out.  So we were trying to decide what to do next.  We both really wanted to go home and break our fast (we were starving) but we had a potential that lived in the same complex, so we decided that it would be best to see if we couldn't get a lesson in with her.  So we did, even though we didn't really want to.  And Heavenly Father blessed us. We realized that we had gone to the wrong building to find Marvin, and the building that we were heading to was actually his building.  So we knocked on his door (the right one this time) and he was home!  And so was his wife so we could go in!  We taught them the first lesson and they loved it.  His wife, Jenny, said, I didn't realize I could pray like that.  I guess it's really important that I come to know if this is true so I can know if I'm really doing what God wants me to do.  And to think, we wanted to go home and break our fast.  Such silly hermanas.  Heavenly Father is so good to us.  There are blessings in being diligent.  It's truly how to be a happy missionary.

I love this work, I love the Lord, and I love His gospel.  And family, I love you!  I pray for you all the time, and I miss you oodles, but that's okay, because I know that we're all where we're supposed to be.

xoxo

Hermana Simpson

p.s. Isn't it wild that they're splitting Brady's mission too?!  The work is progressing!  Our bishop told us that they're opening 58 new missions in the world!  So exciting.

Also, here's a picture of the baptism for the week.  This is Alisson and she's the cutest little girl ever.  Her parent's have been less active for a while and they've just started getting active again so they asked us to come and teach her and help her prepare for her baptism.  It was so good!