It's a Good Day

"its a good day to be alive, i know the sun still shining when i close my eyes, theres some,rough days in the neighborhood, but why cant everyday be just this goooood."_some country artist i cant remember 

 

dearest family and friends. 

it was a good week .what happened this week. not much actually. jsut the usual. contacting. finding. finding long lost members who havent been to church in years. finding needs, teaching to needs, finding out what and why and who is escogido and who isnt. just the good old work. i love feeling the spirit everyday. i LOVE my new companion hermana bills. she makes me laugh and makes me feel better bout myself when i feel silly and sometimes when i feel like a bad missionary or a weak leader, she reminds me about the atonement and how im NOT SUPPOSED to do this work by my efforst. she helps me live buy the power of the Faith. I AM VERY BLESSED TO HAVE HER. 

i felt the spirit in every lesson. sometimes i feel like wow, i didnt realize how long it has been since i felt the spirit like this. its REAL! and it is strong. i am afraid to come home and lose this sensibility that i have developed. the mission truly is a sacred thing its hard to put my week to words. 

i am happy. i have never been so happy. im grateful for the things that drive us to our needs. otherwise i probably never would go with all my heart. 

i love my ward, my investigators elvira, (who we just found out is nOT married. she is "conviviente"....great...) and rofrigo taught the lesson in his quorum this week and is taking prep for eternal marriage at institutes.... (what happend to mission=?) o well. as long as its eternal and by the authority thats ok. 

and sofia is GOLDEN. but she went to Tumbes this week. (thats really far) she will be back today so we will be visiting her a lot. 

thats the latest. i am working hard, praying hard. studying hard. i love my mission 

con amor 

hermana gonzales

CONGRATS JULIA!!!! youve made it ETERNAL now its time to make it CELESTIAL! i love you! and you are SO BEAUTIFUL! great call with the dress. you are a QUEEN! 

mom. you look good. beth, you went to the TEMPLE! i cannot believe all these kiddos are TEENAGERS! what happened??? ah! not cool. go family,. doing triathelons and stuff adn SOTW!!!!! that killed me. i miss that so much. i want to be there wtih you all. and hear bethanys surprise solo. i cant wait to see all the talent that has developed in the last 18. 

con amor

hermana Gonzales 

An Emergency Change

dearest family land friends. 

let me explain. i have never had an emergency change in my WHOLE mission cause i have been able to get a long with all of my comps. i have been very blessed. however this was a more challenging relationship that i had with this companionship. i have never prayed to be so humble in my life. i have never prayed to have more charity and compassion so much in my life. i learned A LOT with this one and god heard my prayers. 

 

my companion, has been moved UP on the totum pole of the mission and is working in the office. (kind of). she is now the Sister training leader TRAINER. so she is making a packet for all the sister leaders on how to be on top of things and keep things happy and healthy with all the sisters in the zone, how to do work visits, etc etc etc.. and she will be traveling around the mission visiting all the sister leaders and training htem. so she is living in the mission home and traveling and her companion is hermana marler. WOW. GO PAIVA! 

 

and i am still here.... happy and helthy , working in this part of the vinyard with my new companion hermana BILLS from UTAH who is also an AGGIE!!! GO USU! and she is WONDERFUL!!!!! she too went through a lot of the similar challenges with her previous companion and she too is happy to be with me. we really understand each other. whats wierd is that she was in a trio with the other sisters in our apartment. i already lived with her but she prosolyted in the other area. so the change wasnt too gerastic, but very awkward. she had to move all her stuff from one room to the other while her old companions were watching, sad, and bitterly. and i kinda looked like the bad guy and hermana bills felt bad.... sups tots awk. but we are ok now. she is all moved we have been prosolyting a few days and getting into a new groove.  so hermana bills and i are still the sister leaders for this zone. and we are so super happy to be working together and with the other sisters in the zone. what a blessong.- 

 

that is the latest and greatest. 

 

also this week we had a leadership meeting where we went to the temple to see the progress. and took pix by it. and i made a new covenant with the savior to, for the rest of my life, focus on RETENTION!!!! WE RELy so much on the members to help us in RETENTION. we need to keep the sheep inside the pasture so when the shepheard comes "they will know him as he knows them." and i will be an ACTIVE member the rest of my life. 

 

we had some good sacred experiences this week. i wish i could say them all. ill tell you when i get home. 

 

i love you all. 

 

the church is true. our savior is real. he LIVES. when we have FAITH in HIM, things happen. miracles come about. but heres the thing, its not faith in ourselves, not faith in our companion, not faith in the knowledge we have gained, but literally faith in JESUS CHRIST. and nothing else. we are perfected in HIM and no other way. HE is perfect. he makes me perfect. he covers everything i lack. and i lack a lot. therefore, i KNOW he loves me A LOT. he MUST cause i have seen His hand so many times and the blessings and the tendermercies that i KNOW i dont deserve. The power is real. he is real. he is my savior.

 

i love you all. i love this work 

the mission truly is so sacred. 

 

con amor

hermana gonzales 

 

 

 

The Silent Treatment

dearest family and friends. 

we are having an ok week. i mean, ive had better.... but we are hanging in there. 
this week hermana paiva stayed at home all day for her foot. she is on rest. so i had a different companion everyday for the last 9 days- i have gotten to know the sisters in the ward pretty well cause of it. so that is a blessing. and they have been able to see missionary WORK first hand. hahahah i have been doiong my best to keep her positive cause she feels useless. and sometimes she gets discouraged. to day she had a break down in front of everyone. and wouldnt talk to me. i didnt know whtat to do! i felt like ammon trying to dicern the thoughts of king lamoni. SHE WOULD NOT COMMUNICATE! i have developed some serious mind reading skills here on the mission. im sure it will serve me well down the road .also, hermana calle has been silent for a week as well. and her companions are discouraged cause they have not developed the mind reading skill quite yet. man. some sisters are pretty subborn. but we are learnign charity and compassion..... and like i said. mind reading. 
this week my companion and i recieved blessings from the zone leaders. we love our zone leaders. they are wonderful! 

rodrigo blessed the sacrament. that wasw a blessing.

sang o sole mio again this time for the YSA in the regeon. but paiva didnt dance. obviously..... 

our ZLs are AMAZING! our new one is the X AP! and an answer to our prayers. cause we stuggled with our last ZL. the ap finishes in november wtih me so he gets to pros in his last few months. 

presidetn told us this week that our zone is the model zone for the mission. so we gotta keep working hard.  also it is the largest zone in the mission. SWEET!!! way to rep . so we gotta keep it up with the interchanges and work visits to keep them working well. we also have 4 new MISSIONARIES in the zone. they are fun and i love their fresh faith. we are doing good. 

i love hte mission. we are working hard doing our best to stay positive and juggle all the little things. its hard. but its important,

i have been learning Compassion the most lately. and the law of consecration. how i can be a more consecrated missionary and member of the church. and how to take care and be sensitive to those around me. and staying positive. 

a good quote i found this week 

"...i think it matters but very little what i suffer, what i sacrificed...if it so be that i keep the faith, fight a good fight, and finish my course with joy," parley p pratt.

YOU SAID IT PARLEY! 

love you all 

hurrah for israil. keep the faith. 

con amor

hermana Gonzales 

 

 

Paz

Dearest family and friends. THERE IS SO MUCH I WANT TO SHARE!! and not enough time .... ahhh SO ill be brief. 

moms dear elder ... GOT IT AND I LOVE IT! i love your poems. and yes. this daughter misses her mother. you brought a tear to my eye. i have the best mom int he whole wide world. just so everyone knows. 

julias announcement.YOU LOOK SOO HAPPY with him. yes i got the announcement and the temple invite and its so bitter sweet. im so happy and you look SO happy like you could easily laugh ad smile with him FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER! thats how it should be,you have such a light and it warms my heart so much. felizidades querida prima. 

cambios.... im staying. im pretty sure im gonna finish my mission here in california. and my companion goes home in 6 weeks- ill be "killing her". never killed anyone before. but supposedly she is extending four weeks after that. so maybe ill be with her for longer... not sure. 

rodrigo. recieved the priesthood. was wonderful! 

hosting dying sisters. all the sisters who are finishing their missions come to our area to pros for their last days. so we have had like 5sisters in and out of our area dn we nave to mke double plans for us to be able to keep them working to teçhe end. but our numbers look GREAT this week. so thanks! 

elvira milagro... SHE IS OUR NEWEST GOLDEN

nightmare and fasting

elder andersen and the closing prayer .

 

she is gold. iour investigator. she said she recieved her answer that it is all true through and email her missionary grandson sent to her. she said that was her sign and her answer. and she came to church with us for the first time yesterday. she is wonderful. i hope one day my email or testimony will tuch ssomeones heart and they will feel thes spirit. 

 

the night before elder andersen came, a very weierd thing happned. at 4 am i woke up to my comp screeming! not like a whimper, not a cry out loud, but a loud strong, geuinely paniced screem!! like a cry for help to escape something, i woke up and found MYSELF screeming too!! she scared me so bad!!! but i was so confused cause i didnt know WHY!!! I LOOKED around frantically loking for the cause of such a horrible reaction. but i saw nothing. abosluely nothing and no one. i pulled myself together a little and started yelling her name. "hermana paiva! HERMANA! HERMANA LOOK AT ME! hermana tranquilate! tranquila!!! " when that didnt work, she kept screeming, i started saying "i love you hermana come back to me. what is happening. i love you look at me" nothing. she was freaking uot. so i bravely jumped from my bed and and into hers and grabbed her in a big hug and tried to wake her up. finially she woke up and calmed down. i said "we are going to pray" and i cried to heaven with all my herat cause i was so scared to death. there was such a bad eary feeling in the room i hated it! i cried to heaven to save us from such a dark feeling. i said "with the power and authority i have as a missionary and representative of the savuior, in the name of jesus christ, clean this room from, any dark or evil spirits" and we cried and prayed together. then she was back. she said she had a reallybad nightmare where an evil spirit was choking her and she felt a lot of pressure on her chest and it wouldnt go away. 

 

family. i have never felt such a horrible feelign in mywhole life. after, we said another prayer. and family, i cannot tell you how much power there is in a simple prayer. it was like a restoration.i icannot explain it but it was like the peace was restored. yes i was still a little shaken but for some reason, what i had in my mind was the workd "paz": it was like the spirit commanded "Paz" (or peace) to my mind. and i felt "restored". but you BET we slept with the lights on after that. i woke up two huors later with a question in my mind "why, if we are fasting to have a spiritual experience for elder andersen, would such a demonic thing happen to us?" 

 

my question was answered as we listned to the gener authorities that were visiting the next morning. Elder Zuarez was telling a story and he made a similar question. he said "why did my father have to die on his mission? when he was serving the lord and doing his will?"

 

ithen he said "the spirit told me, there is no better time." and that too was my answer. fasting gives you spiritual strength. there is no better time to "cast out devils" so to speak, than when you are fasting. i cant imagine how different it would have been if i had that experience with out the spiritual power to do so. 

 

truly inspired. and my testimony of the "opposition in all things" concept has been strengthened as well.

we had an amazingly spiritual "charla" with the general authorites. they taught us on high. and ill share more after the mission but i was truly edified spiritually. 

 

AND they asked me to give the closing prayer. and i was so grateful cause i was so filled with joy and gratitude for the spirit that i personally felt that i could express that in behalf of all the misisonaries and in front of elder andersen. 

 

and i shook his hand after and he looked RIGHT in my eyes and said "thank you. thank youso much". like he was sayig thanjk you for havig the spirit. and i was so happy. 

what a blessig. this was a good week. a wierd but good week 

 

con amor

hermana gonzales 

Packages and Gifts

I LOVE YOU ALLL!!!! so dang much! THIS WEEK was a good week. :) estoy MUY feliz este semana. por que? les cuento....

first of all i got a package from my family. :) complete with peanut butter, american chocolates. (my favs!) photos and little decorative flags with notes from my cousins aunts ucles grandma and siblings. and a sweet note from my dear sweet mom. AND THEN i got nother package from my BFF MIKE! and his brother and his wife. THANK YOU!!!! they sent me Face astringent and shower lufas. THANK. YOU! now i feel clean after 4 months. what a blessing. 

Package from the FAM!!

Package from Mike

then i got a package from my HEAVENLY FATHER! we call them Baptisms here  on earth, but surely in heaven they are like gifts from our heavenly father. something i have learned. 

success is a gift waiting to be recieved. and God is preparing us to recieve this gift. and he only gives it when we are ready and prepared if we are going to recieve it well. and the preparation comes through opposition. and trial. and trying and failing. and perservering then, when it looks like all is lost, and youre about to give up.... he comes in and rewards you for your patience and your hard work. and you are SO GRATEFUL and you feel like you dont deserve it. and maybe i dont deserve it still, but then you see to grace and Mercy that comes through the atonement and you are filled. filled with gratitude, love and joy! 

 

Rodrigo con las jas (ysa)

Baptism

 

 

Yesterday Rodrigo was confirmed a member of  La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos dias. And he glowed. he was so happy. I WAS so happy. and his baptism was something special as well. all the YSA who went kept saying "i cant belive he is baptised! i never thought id see the day. wow rodrigo is actually baptised!" its cause he had been assisting for about 8 months and never had any desire to be baptised. some guys are kinda hard hearted., but for some reason we got to him and he accepted. and the YSA and bishopric were astonished. (as was i). they told us how he used to be anti mormon, he would tease the members and make fun, he has a strong character, and he never even wanted to talk about it. and now! ITS OFFICIAL! and his testimony was SO strong. when we were giving the pracitce interview, we asked him to share his testimony of Jose Smith. and as he was talking, and sharing, and reviewing the words of jose smith, i had a small vision. now im not a visionary woman, but this was like.... a VISION! i saw him with a shirt and tie and plaque, teaching the restoration. when he finished there was a silence, and i broke the silence by asking, "rodrigo, have you ever thought about serving a mission?" he sat there for a second thinking... .and said "yes. i have." the two members who were there with us looked at him in amazement. (as did i). we sat there in the spirit a minute and then continued. .... it was a beautiful moment. then he did the same thing at his baptism. as he shared his testimony and we all just sat ther in the spirit. no one wanted to break the silence. AH! it was SO REWARDING! i serisouly am thinking, WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS! 

 

it went perfect. hermana Paiva and i did the musical number with my faithful Uk. we arranged his favorite hymn "brightly beams our fathers mercy" its beautiful in spanish. it was a good day. 

UPDATES: 

Elder Anderson is coming this sunday! and i was asked to participate in the choir. b ut just I was asked. and i didnt feel right about that. so i asked the director of my companion could participate too. (she cant sing all that well....but she LOOOOVES music!) the director, considered... she was thinking. she obviously didnt like the idea. but i just looked at her like we are UNIFIED! please. its BOTH or nothing! (OBV I DIDNT SAY THAT... but she got the point.) 

so now we are BOTH singing in the choir for Elder Anderson. EXITO! so we are pretty excited about that. 

this week they put Angel Moroni on the Trujillo Temple! its looking good. we get lots of questions about that. its a great way to find new people. its funny cause its right next to a catholic cemetary. a popular cemetary so everyone has seen it. and its the biggeset most beautiful building in all of peru. and for that we also get judged. the mormons with all their money. why would they build something so nice when there are people starving and suffering..... 

ya those are fun to explain. 

this week i had a small infection in my intestines. ok really ive had it for a week and a half but didnt want to scare mom.... i had a little internal bleeding but im ok now. :) happy to report. 

also, my President is THE MAN! did you know he loves country swing dancing and Broadway musicals?=??? sound familiar...? im pretty sure we were friends in the pre existence. 

he told me i had to keep up with my passions the rest of my life and teach my children to appreciate the arts. im glad we have a lot in common. 

and that is the latest and greatest in the life of sister gonzales her ein good old California, Trujillo , Peru. 

Con amor

Hermana Gonzales 

Scriptures of the Week

 what touched my heart this week from personal studies. 

2 Tim. 1:6-7

6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the giftof God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and oflove, and of a sound mind.

2 Tim. 2:21-26

21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be avessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, andprepared unto every good work.

 22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity,peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

 23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that theydo gender strifes.

 24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentleunto all men, apt to teach, patient,

 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if Godperadventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging ofthe truth;

 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of thedevil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

for me this is comfort. and a wake up call. the second of the two is who we ought to be as deciples of christ and more importantly, as a missionary. this has helped me mature a little bit. helped me take my calling, my power and authority a little more seriously. and realize just what i represent and act accordingly. i love this work. i love the scriptures. i love learning of the savior. and i am becoming better. 

con amor, 

hermana gonzales