If you liked it then put a ring on it!

Dearest Family and friends,

week one of this new cambio. and its going awesome! yes i miss my daughter. but training is hard.... 

my new companion is a gem. she is wonderful. i couldnt ask for more. she is teachign me to be an hermana lider. (leader) 

Her name is Hermaba Carbone she is from Lima, she has 14 months on her mission, she has trained 4 times, has been an hermana leader for 2 or 3 of those times. she can do miracles and she is a cookie cutter missionary. she is AWESOME! she is humble, quite, full of the spirit, and laughs like squidward from spongebob square pants. but i want to be JUST LIKE HER!! she truly cares about this work and she works hard and is exactly obedient and has TONS OF FAITH! wow. but she too has been through a lot. it sad that you have to go through such hard times to become so wonderful. i want to become as wonderful as her, but i dont know if i want to go through what she has gone through to get there. but thats how it goes right? i have a feeling that for her, my area and this companionship is just what she needed. she is very happy to be here. and i am very happy to be her companion. she is THE BOMB!! 

at the same time, i have a feeling that this is the calm before the storm. i have had small storms here and there, but i have a feeling that now, as an ahermana asignada and time i have on my mission, heavenly father is preparing me for something. i dont know what yet, but its coming. and im a little nervous. but i am going to take advantage of what i got while i have it. and as of right now,  i am happy . 

found out this week that we are hermana asignadas for 2 zones! 6 hermanas. AWESOME! and guess what! hermana rejala is in the other zone! MI HIJA! so i can do work visits with her! yayayayaya! happy sister gonzales.however this other zone is an hour away! so it will be an adventure everytime we do work visits. which will be at least 2 times per change. im excited. 

leadership lunch. as leaders, we meet more often. this week we had our normal district meetings, then the next day we had a meeting jsut for leaders and my companion and i had to speak. (im not qualified. obv. but i wung it the best i could) then after we went to lunch! AWESOME! and next week we have another leadership meeting with ALL the leaders in the mission for activites and training and lunch and service. SAWEET! im stoked!! 

mom went to lunch with hermana downs and elder smith! like what the?? i saw the pic of elder smith standing so close to a sister missionary and then i remembered, oh wait, they arent missionaries any more. its ok. calm down. and whats more NEXT TO MY PARENTS! like ahhhh! a combo of two very different worlds all in one!! all teh people i love so dearly next to each other. it brought tears to my eyes. and im so happy that they had such a good time together. what a tender mercy. i am so happy. 

talked in church.... and my ward knows that i do wierd things in my talks, in the past i had them all stand and say our objective of missionaries. or raise their hands when i ask who here loves jesus? i MAKE them listen. this time, as i was praying about what to say, the spirit brought a memory back to my head. about one time, brother marzan in my home ward in utah put a big far of gumballs at the podium. but never said anything about it the whole time. we were all paying attention waiting for the explination.... but he never said anything! i decided to do the same. this week i got my easter packages from my dear sweet parents. so i put items from my packages at the pulite. an easter egg. chocolate bunny, my pezz dispensor.t hings that they have never seen before and i just left them there. finally at the end i made a relation how the things they see they are curious about. they want to try it. they want it to make them happy like it makes me happy. i talked about how in the church we have funny traditions like family night and mutual and it makes us happy. and people want what we have. and some hope that we share with them. 

i shared a lot of things in my talk. .like my experience when i recieved my endowment. it went well. i cried. they cried. they paid attention.  iw as happy. all was going great until....

i looked down and saw a note on the corner of hte podium that said "tiempo hermana"...

(aka time is up sister) i had been talking for over 25 minutes! and i hadnt realized! but the spirit was so strong!!! 

so i wrapped it up. felt good. and we didnt have time for the rest hymn and the stake rep had to shorten his talk. like a lot..... hahahah but its fine right? 

 

but after wards a lot of members told me they were sad that i had to cut it short. that made me feel good. one member came up and puta  ring on my finger.... that was a little wierd..... 

 

the ward makes lots of jokes about the time i have here. cause i have 10 months in el bosque. hahah that is wierd. i know. not many missionaries can have the time i have in one area. but i would like to share some of ward jokes:

 

"hermana gonzales, have you baught your house yet?" i reply " yes! bishop bought it for me already!  with your tithing! thank you so much!!"

"hermana! are you immortal?"

"how many companions have you killed?" 

"hermana! did you see the memorial of you in the park?" i reply " ya! its next to the Virgin Fatima!" (there is a shrine to a vergin in the park. ppl pray to it)

"hermana, how many ward callings to you have?" i reply " three. im the bishop and the counsilors now"

 

and im sure there are more jokes to come. i love this ward. i love my mission. i love my companion. its definutely the calm before the storm. but im ready. bring it on. im a missionary! and i have power and authority! and i know God loves me. sometimes i feel like im his favorite. i am so so incredibly blessed. the work is coming. if you could pray for Suley. she needs a spiritual confirmation still. 

con amor

hermana gonzales 

ps. MOTHERS DAY IS COMING!!! WOO HOO!!! 

 

 

Birds, Guinea Pigs, and Fish, oh my!

Well my friends, this transfer has come to an end. my daughter has grown up and all fully trained. she is such a hard worker. she makes me so proud (sniff sniff....)

and we had an awesome week!

Monday: LOVED reading my letters from home and had an awesome noche de hogar with teh first counsilors family land a family menos activo.

Tusday:  our neighbor who has a little store, came up to us and handed us a bird.... yes. a real live BIRD! apparently it fell out of a tree and he didnt want to take care of it. we named him Manuel and took him home. aparently he wasnt even injurred!!! he could fly perfectly fine. he flew all around our room. well, time came to go prosolite so we took the bird with us, but for some reason he didnt want to fly away. he just stayed on my companions hand. we did some contacting and visited bishop for his birthday. we told him we caught him a bird for his very special day. jjajaja but he couldnt keep it. he has too many pet cats. so we kept the bird. finally, at 3:32 in the after noon....he..... flew away! what the?? nobody knows why?  he just decided to go. perfectly fine! we were confused. but it was nice to have such a beautiful creature accompany us for a few hours. we got some sweet contacts thanks to Manuel.

 

The bird whisperer

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, we broke up 2 dog fights. for some reason, all the street dogs wanted to fight. so we threw rocks at them to make them stop. it was wierd. 

tursday, a member invited us for Cuy! (guinie pig) i have never tried it before. and they heard that cambios were this week so they wanted to do something special for in case one of us leaves (most likely me cause i already have 9 months in el bosque) well, these members live in VERY humble cercumstances and to raise Cuy, is something that is their income. and cuy is expensive so they raise them all year, make them big and fat and sell them for christmas and stuff. 

well, the fact taht she wanted to give US cuy for FREE is quite the sacrifice.... and we couldnt reject. so we ate cuy. and boy was it GOOOD!!! made with love and everthing! so delicuos! 

however... i spent friday saturday and sunday on the toilet..... got the squirts. and boy is it AWESOME! however, now here is a miracle, it hasnt gotten TOO bad that i have to stay home from working. PHEW! but i do feel a little... off..... 

 

Friday: so here in peru, they celebrate "semana Santa" which means Holy Week. its like Easter, with out easter eggs, adn bunnies, and chocolate. instead they eat fish, NO MEAT! cause its the day christ turned the fish and bread to feed thousands. so no one eats meat. just fish so all el bosque smelt like fish. kinda cool. they also spend their time drinking. LOTS of drinking. kina ironic for a Holy Week dont you think? also, went to beautiful gardens in the back of a members house. complete with fish and frogs. TONS OF FISH°! 

 

Saturday: we were planning all tranquilo, whe PRESIDENT CALLED!!! president never calls you personally. its normally the office elders and the assistents. well, he called! and you bet we did a little panicing....

we were confused cause cambios werent until sunday night! we still had a whole day left! well.... he asked for me.... my heart dropped to my bladder. and well, not too big of a deal, he asked me if i would me an hermana asignada. :) SWEET! (sister training leader)  i asked him for what area? he said he would let the elders tell me.

sunday: cambios. seeing as i have spent my whole mission here, i let the ward members molest me about changing and so we took pix and planner a super FHE for tonight all thinking i would get changed. well the elders called that night. turns out IM STAYING IN EL BOSQUE!!! as sister trainer leader.... hahahaha go figure. however mi hija! SHE will be going to a new area. she will be opening an area. they have had elders there but never sisters. she and hermana lasike, (got stuck with her in the airport at the beginning of my mission) will be there. about an hour away. and i will have a NEW companion. :D her name is Hermana Carbone. i know nothing about her. just that she is "older" than me in teh mission, and that she is LATINA!!! NO MORE INGLES!  (al fin!) 

well that is the latest. this week we did some good contacting. we over achieved our goals. feeling good. working hard. letting the lord shape me. its not always easy. sometimes i wonder... have i changed? am i changing? im doing my best to put off the natural man. its NOT EASY that is for sure. im doing my best to show my desires to serve. im trying every day to love the lord and these people more. 

all i know, is that my testimony of jose smith, my savior jesus christ, and my heavenly father, is stronger today than it was yesterday. 

we did a fast this week. we fasted for a family. if you would like to add your prayers to mine, we are praying that the lord prepares a father, mother and child to recieve ordinaces of baptism and themple blessings .

i cant wait to go through the temple again

i miss it with all my heart. there is no other feeling in the whole world like there is in the celestial room of the temple. please. go for me! 

I love you all. this work is WORK and it is so sweet. the lord truly loves us. AND DONT YOU FORGET IT! dont ever forget your potential. i invite all to look at themselves in the mirror and see your potential. imagine what heavenly father has in mind for you. its amazing. explain this potential to someone this week. it feels good. 

Love you all 

con mucho mucho amor,

hna gonzales 

 

 

PS! shout out to the young women of the leander ward. got their giant valentine

to the evans family. the cute twins and nichole for their adorably decorated note

and letter

and my aunt bev! WELCOME HOME NICK!!! aunt bev, i got your st patricks day note. so cute. so fun. your kids are AMAZING!! 

love you all }

love moe

I like to look for rainbows

Dearest Amistades,

i got THE BEST NEWS this week from home that i would like to share. 

Julia Liddell-- FOLLOW YOU HEART BABY! your heart is CLEARLY in the right place and you have THE MOST righteous desires. 

now i know you are all asking yourself.... what is moe talking about. well my cute darling cousin julia got her mission call to ARCADIA CALIFORNIA! where i was searving  before peru, and she was all set to go. but then, cute mark, her love, swept her off her feet. and after much praying, fastinga dn crying (i know this process, oh do i know this process) she has a set to marry the love of her life mark (cant wait to meat you) for time and all eternity. CONGRATS GIRL!"!!!! i LOVE love. its the sweetest thing. and i am so happy for you. 

now.... can you please postpone the wedding til december?? pretty please pretty please??? 

 

and kenzie huey-- MY OTHER FAV CUZ! she will be serving in  CALI TOO"!!!! spanish speaking baby! WOO HOO!! the latinos are Gods chosen people. i promise you that. you got teach some gospal girl. im excited to hear about your adventures. and all you learn. 

 

Porter WIlkins-- i gotta go watch priesthood session choir to find you! how did you get that gig?? im so super jealous! i wish i could sing in a choir for the lord and for the whole world to see and feel of your spirit. WOW! what do i gotta do to live your life. ps how is your cute new wife?? 

 

wow. my family ROCKS! i am so blessed to be part of such awesome people. Heavenly father truly loves us. and his blessings are SO REAL! 

 

this week. in the life of little Hermana GOnzales. 

first of all JORGE IS NOW OFFICIALLY A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH! wow. it feels so good. his baptism was saturday. and get this.... we show up to the church and there he is, with his mom (non member) and andre (who came home early from his mission, but now is worth of baptising) 

 

 

 

AND a rainbow! like for real...?? i thought stuff like that only happened in the ensign. there was a rainbow at the most meaningful baptism of my mission!!! i couldnt help but shed  a few tears. heavenly father approved. it was such a tender mercy. and the baptism went PERFECTLY! 

 

 

 

we had the whole singles ward, the members, two musical numbers, great talks, one by joan our recent convert and lidia, who is preparing for her mission. 

my comp and i sang I am a child of GOd. jorges favorite hymn. and since jorge also speaks inglish my comp sang a verse in inglish then we sang ingles and spanish together. so cool. the spirit was so strong. and my ukulele sounded AWESOME! 

the part of the song that says "has given me parents kind and dear" he touched his moms knee.... andi lost it. i was already emotional but that was the last straw. i started to cry right there in the middle of my verse. and then , HE started crying! AH! It was probably the MOST emotional and spiritual baptism of my whole mission so far. 

ah! i feel so good. 

and i feel like i accomplished what i was meant to accomplish here in el bosque. next week is transfers. we will see what happens. 

 

 

this week we also got locked out of our room. the owner left and was gone all day so we couldnt get in! i was this close to climbing through the window, ( of the second floor) when the apartment owner came out and asked what we were doing. and, of course, had a better solution. she left and came back with a shovel.... i was a little nervous of what she was going to do to that window with thath shovel.... well. turns out, she jsut needed to wiggle the knob lose and it opned easy breezy. peruvian winows are wierd. its hard to explain. but we got it. EXITO!" 

 

thats about it with the news from  my life. 

 

thank you for your prayers.(especially for jorge!)  thank you for your love. thank you for your faith in me. 

I love the lord, i love this work. yes it is hard, yes i am being pushed, and yes i am growing. growing into what heavenly father wants me to be. 

and i hope i turn out better than i came. 

the church is true. truer than true. and i am so blessed to be here. 

 

con amor

hna gonzales 

Conference Weekend - a piece of home

dearest ALL! yes EVRYONE!! 

this week:

played my uke. in the multi zone. was sweet. did an arrange ment of Come thou Fount and How great thou art (the two themes of my mission) in inglish and spanish. cool. 

Jorge went to teh priesthood session. BEFORE BAPTISM! first time i had ever seen his wear a suit and tie. felt pretty good to see him take it seriously. he will be baptised(FINALLY) Saturday. KEEP PRAYING FOR HIM! just in case opposition comes

also found our menos active we are rescuing go to conference. first time i have seen him in a tie as well. adn he said he has a fried he would like us to meet! REFERENCE! awesome! 

this week we contacted 115 people! our goal is 70.... feeling pretty good. 

kim hamilton: rob dows son is my zone leader. elder dow. 

GENEREAL CONFERENCE! 

enjoyed PB&J sandwiched for the first time in A LOOOONNG time with the fellow american missionaries as we listened to our profeta and his 12 in INGLES! it felt like a piece of home. 

a run down: i felt like the theme of this conference, or what stood out to me was, the importance of LOVE and RELATIONSHIPS in the home. maybe, it means i need to treat my companion better. oh no.... but it made me think of what is going on in the world. i only know little El Bosque. 

things that stood out to me. hermana gonzales. a 20year old sister missionary in a foreign country: 

Hale: 

obedience. obedient to mans law or to my knowledge IS NOT OBEDIENCE! and it takes self mastry to discern between this and obedience to God. 

rationilization does not change the spiritual consequences. 

obedience makes us stronger to  endure to the end.

Zivic : LOVED HIS TALK! all of it. you bet ill be looking htis one up again. 

Holland: cool story about hte sister missionaries eh? DEFEND YOUR BELIEFS! it takes courage and courtasy. sometimes i forget to be courteous when i want to tell people (bible bashers) how DANG CONFUSED THEY ARE! but i hold my tong. or an angel does it for me.... anyway....

burdens. worry. just want to weep. the painful part of descipleship. i often ask myself "isnt the gospal supposed to make you HAPPY? then why am i so grumpy or discouraged!" its part of the burden of salvation i guess....

GOd is not a "comfortable God". doesnt only speak soothing words. is not passive.  he corrects. he teaches. 

and love, christlike love, may not be the most popular. 

sis,. reeves:

nothing takes presidence over your spouce! 

she shared a special experience she had with her daughter about kneeling in prayer and the honest conversation they shared. it brought a tear to my eye and filled my heart with gratitude for my own mother. Brenda simko. as she tenderly taught me and prayed with me and we hsared momentsl ike this. and in that moment i prayed to my father in heaven that i could be a mom l ike my own mom. that i could share moments like this with my future daughter. 

she also said

its ok if hte house is a mess, the kids are still intheir PJS what s important is the scriptures adn prayer. and i said yet another prayer, thanking my father in heaven that my mom MADE SURE we had this. scripture and prayer. same time everyday with out fail. GO MOM! i feel bad for all the opposition i ever gave. sorry..... 

anderson: same proportoion of spreading hte gospal, so will satan and his power...

(idk if that made sense) just know that the opposition IS REAL! but 

trees that grow up in windy environment grow up stronger. and god is taking care of us. adn preparing us.

Eyring:

never force righteousness. it MUST be chosen. (that gave me hope in the less actives. they will learn. if not in this life, in the next. this is all part of gods preporation for them)

if the effects were immediate, there would b no room to develop faith. 

things will work out. 

Uchdorf: LOOKING THIS ONE UP TOO! 

gratitude. sometimes, i think, maybe if i learn to be more grateful my burdens of salvation will be lightened. lol 

when my world is falling apart, adnim ian imperfect missionary, i need to remember, be thankful IN circumstances, not FOR things. happiness or gratitud is NOT the number of blessings. 

gratitude is humility and fosters empahty. ( need more empathy) especially when i am listening to excuses of why people didnt keep committments. 

a thankful heart is the parent of all virtues. 

you bet ill be working on that the next..... rest of my life. 

Bednar:

parable of the Truck, the snow and the wood. 

just go read it. i could never do its justice. i have too much to say about this one. it will forever be close to my heart. 

i love bednar. he is so inspired. and i am learning yet agian, what it means to have strength beyond my own.

burdens are made light not cause he takes them away, but cause he strengthens us. he will carry just enough to help us remember that we need him. 

 

MOnson
charity in the home. 

well, that is all i have time for. THIS IS MODERN DAY SCRIPTURE! and i KNOW (and i taught this a dozen times this week) that if the savior were here on the earth today, standinga t the pulpit on the tv screen,. he would be saying ALL THE SAME words they said. cause we need it. and its specific for us. 

the church is true. gen conf is  a fruit of its truthfulness. 

con amor

hna gonzales