Week 16 - Apostles and Puppies

Hola amigos!

Well, I would have to say the highlight of our week was going down to San Diego to hear from Elder Holland! Brawley is really far from San Diego, so we got up at 4:30 AM and all of the Sisters rode down in the van. It was quite the adventure. And then when Elder Holland spoke I felt at many times that it was specifically for me. One thing the said that really stuck out to me was "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you love." And so, in all experiences with anyone, whether it is a missionary opportunity or just talking with someone, I invite you all to show your love before you do anything else. Love is the root of everything!! And it's awesome. We were on the second row so I got to be yelled at by Elder Holland front and center! That man gets passionate about missionary work, let me tell ya ;)  Some other highlights that I wrote down -
"God loves everything about you and your zone and district.  Don't miss this it only comes once! Don't spend time wondering if it (the mission) is a good thing or a bad thing. It's all good! Even the bad days. Be the Best you've ever been.  What you're doing is the most important thing that can be done in this universe. Grasp this chance to save the human family. And that means you do it Gods way."

Also, we all got to shake his hand and introduce ourselves. So here I am, my big moment with an Apostle, wondering what I am going to say, or what he will say, and I get up there, I look into his eyes, and he says: "Wow. You look like you've been spending some time in the sun!"  My big moment with Elder Holland and he points out my sunburn! Haha but it was still good.  And then like 2 days later they released statement saying that Sisters could wear hats in the field to protect their faces from the sun....coincidence? I think not ;)

Then Sunday was a busy day! I spoke in both the English and Spanish wards.  And then in the Spanish ward I was so tired that I accidentally played the wrong opening hymn....that was awkward haha. Then that night we had the mission president devotional in English at 6 and in Spanish at 7 and I sang in a trio with Sis Lapp and Sheilds (they are the sisters in Calexico) and Sis Summers played the piano and Elder Castillo played the cello. It was actually a surprise that I was singing, I found out the day before because they needed a strong alto. But it ended up sounding pretty good I think.

And really, that's all I have to report this week! We're going to hear from one of the Quorum of the 70 next Friday so we'll be driving down to San Diego again!

I love you all. Jesus is the Christ, and He loves us. Have a great week everyone!

Hermana Fowlks

Week 15 - Sanctify!

Hola mis amigos! ¿Cómo están?

This week was pretty eventful! We have been busier than ever, working with the two areas. But this week I learned a lot about miracles.  I have been reading Jesus the Christ and I read a part where Jesus was in an area and he couldn't do any miracles because of the lack of faith that the people had. And it really made me think about my faith!  And every day I pray for miracles,  but it made me wonder if I'm actually believing and doing things to see those miracles. I then read in the Bible, Joshua 3:5:
 5  "And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."
This scripture is awesome! I've been really working to sanctify myself, well the whole mission has been working on that especially for the coming of Elder Holland. But I know that I am here to see miracles, and that as I sanctify and excercise my faith I will see them!

Saturday was awesome!! One of our new investigators, is having some health problems. So the Bishop and the 2nd counselor came over and gave her a blessing. And it was a really spiritual experience, and she started crying and just told us how bad she wanted to be baptized. We also had dinner with Bishop, and their little family is so cute. 

Speaking of miracles, Damian got baptized and confirmed this week! Yay! What was cool is that his mom and his sister, who are not members, came to both the baptism and the confirmation. The baptism was such a spiritual experience for everyone there, and Sister Tuia and I had the chance to teach the Restoration while Damian was getting changed. And there were a lot of investigators there! It was awesome.  But it was super stressful. Because we only had 2 hours to do everything to get ready, fill the font, make the programs, set out the table cloths, and everything. And Sister Tuia thought that we should only make 11 programs and set out like a few chairs.....I don't think she realized that we weren't in the Spanish ward.....so Sister Cook, the Relief Society Pres, got there and was like I know of 30 people that said they were coming. So then Sister Tuia and I had to scramble to make more programs and set up a bunch more chairs but then we realized WE HAD SPELLED DAMIAN'S NAME WRONG and oh my goodness. But the Cook family came in clutch. And they saved us. Haha.

Then on Monday we had MTE's! Which is where the Mission President and the missionaries have a training then we have exchanges! And I got to go to Calexico! It was fun to spend a day with Sister Shields, from Hurricane Utah, and learn from one another.  I learned so much.  And I got to practice my Spanish because Calexico is like 3 minutes from the border and everyone speaks Spanish. We actually were going to run to the border for excercise this morning but we didn't have time because we had to be at a meeting at 8 AM.  But yeah that was awesome!  Our zone is really close and it's awesome.  I feel like we all support each other a lot. And it's awesome!  The imperial valley is awesome. We were able to add 2 new investigators and set 3 people with a baptismal date.  And the training we got was also great!  They really focused on inviting and committing. Then Elder and Sister Reilly took us all out to breakfast because they are leaving this week! Super sad. They were awesome.

I know that Jesus Christ lives and I know He loves us.
Les amo mucho!
Hermana Fowlks

Damian's baptism!

 

Imperial Valley Zone with Elder and Sister Reilly

Week 14 - THE PESTILENCE AND THE SANDLOT

Hey everyone!

This week was a super great. We had a couple of really fun adventures.  First off, Salvador didn't get baptized this week, which was sad. But we want to make sure he's converted! So we're thinking this Saturday or the next. But, one of our other investigators, Damian, is getting baptized this Saturday! He's super solid and we're excited for him.

At the beginning of the week, however, we experienced a biblical plague. And you may laugh, but I'm serious. We came home after a long day, and our house was infested with giant, flying ants. Everywhere.  So I put on my big old rain boots and starting smashing them and killing them and doing everything I possibly could to kill them all!  And after about an hour. We got all of them. And we swept them all up and threw them outside. Everything was fine.
But then...  We woke up the next morning and there were MAGGOTS all over the floor!! So our excercise that morning was killing maggots. We were sure we were living the plagues.  But after we got that taken care of, we went throughout our day.

Then on Wednesday we had zone meeting with our new zone leader, Elder Burt. It was great! The stake president, President Smith, came and talked to us about getting the members involved and really helping every member become a missionary. And helping them all get to level 3, which is where they are actively doing missionary work and feel comfortable having lessons in their home and inviting other people to come to church activities. So, we're working even harder by trying to get more members comfortable with missionary work. So we all felt really pumped up to get out there and encourage our members!! Then after zone meeting Elder and Sister Reilly took the whole zone out to lunch, so that was super nice of them.

Also, we had a potential investigator we were going to go visit. And she told us that she had big dogs. We were kind of wary to open the fence and walk up to the door, but we thought about what Jesus would do if he were there, and He would go in! So we went in.  I was knocking on the door and my companion was keeping watch. So I was knocking, and I turn around and Sister Tuia is gone. And then I look around the corner, and I kid you not, dogs bigger than the dogs in the Sandlot were running at me. So I start running, and Sister Tuia gets out of the fence, and whether in her rush to get away from the dogs or because she wanted to leave me as bait I don't know, but she SHUT THE FENCE. So I had to scramble to open it again and barely made it out alive.  I was shocked that she would just leave me for dead like that and I made her buy me a smoothie afterwards. But then we found out later that the lady was home! She just sent her dogs after us and watched us run.

Sunday was a really good day, church is awesome. Everyone in the English ward is so happy to have sister missionaries, so it's cool.  Then we had dinner at the Cook's, (Sarah Royall's cousins) where we taught Damian, who is getting baptized this Saturday. Then Sunday night we had a fireside. Damian went, and so did one of our other investigators named Danitza! And she really liked it. She's a sweet girl. Then we finished off the night by visiting an awesome family who are less active, but are just so sweet. The daughter that lives there just lost her son about a year ago. He was four months old when he died. And she really depends on her Heavenly Father for everything. It was really cool to see her strength.

So that was our week this week. Slightly terrifying, but good because  we're doing the work of the Lord. I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Fowlks

One of our old investigators gave us these ice masks to put on our face because she said we have dark circles around our eyes....and I feel kind of like a superhero when I wear them. Please ignore my messy hair.

 

Bowling with the District in Brawley.

Week 13 - It's getting hot!

Hello family!

This week was a pretty great week. We have been working like crazy to be able to get to know the English ward and all of their less actives.  I have never been so tired in my life. But it's good! We sometimes just have to plan standing up so we don't fall asleep haha.

But this week we added two people with a baptism date! They just moved here from the Phillippines and their parents are members and they want to become members as well. They're super sweet girls. We also have a baptism this week! The English Elders were teaching someone named Salvador, and his baptism is this Saturday. So we're trying to make sure that he is ready and that he has what he needs in order to become baptized! We're really excited! :)

On Wednesday we went throughout our day, had a couple of appointments, talked to some new people from the English registros, and then had our power hour where we talked to a man that was convinced we were a cult and that Jesus had already done His work and we didn't need to do anything but believe in Jesus, that He is the only way.  He was concerned for us because we were so young and they forced us to come out here and blah blah blah.  Anyways, we continued on throughout the day, and it was good.  We had an appointment with Bishop Smith from the English ward, and got some guidance from him.  And the day finished out great with us visiting a family from the Elders who are so prepared for baptism.

Then Thursday morning during personal study, I read in 2 Nephi 28. And it talks about the last days and false churches and men and whatever else. And some of the verses in there were the EXACT WORDS as we heard yesterday from those people who were so against the Church!! Crazy right?? I witnessed prophecy coming true right there.

 

The next few days we visited a lot of less actives, or tried to anyways. A lot of them weren't home.
But Sunday was such an awesome day! After I talked to you guys, we went and taught Damian, and had such a good solid lesson with him. He really is preparing himself to be baptized. And the Cook family, his fellowshippers, are also so awesome.

The only downside to this week, is that it is starting to get really really hot. And the Lord is testing me that's for sure. After a while of walking around in the heat, my body just starts to shut down and my motivation levels drops rather quickly. And we've still got like 20 degrees to go before it gets to the hottest part of the summer!  So....I guess all I can say is please pray that I don't melt. ;)

But, the work here is so good, and I am really starting to see how big of a role that Heavenly Father plays in my life. God is good!

Les amo mucho mucho!   Tengan un buen semana!

Hermana Fowlks

Week 12 - Ask and Receive!

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone's week was good, mine went by really fast and it's hard for me to believe that it's already Tuesday again.  This week was a crazy week! To start it off, we had exchanges which are always good.  I love being able to teach more people and I learned a lot.  I went to El Centro again with Sister Summers.  I love our Sister Training  Leaders.  I really do learn so much from them.  And then, I learned an awesome lesson about patience...
So in this awesome package that my mom sent me, I got this little flower thing. And I wanted it to grow really bad. So I watered and watered, and nothing! And then, throughout the week, we had to drop almost all of our investigators. They just weren't progressing.  And I started to think, will I ever see a baptism out here?  So there I was, thinking that my flowers were dead and that baptism just wasn't possible for me. BUT THEN. One morning, I woke up and there was little green things sprouting out of the dirt! The flowers were growing! And then that night, we received a referral for someone named Jazmine. So we went and saw her and she was so prepared! And she and her husband (who is a less active member) want to get sealed in the temple. She is on date for the 28th, and we are really excited. So, just when you're ready to give up, don't! Because the flowers will grow. 🌻

We also saw miracles this week!  We had one of our investigators that we were ready to drop tell us that Jesus answered her prayers (which is huge considering she believes in the Virgin Mary) and she is also going to come to church with us!  She was out of town this Sunday, but we had a lesson with her for the first time in the church on Friday.  We also gave her a church tour.  So hopefully she will come to church next week! 
So that was an awesome part of the week! And Sister Tuia and I are really trying hard to become the best missionaries we can be.  It was transfers this week and since I am being trained there were no changes in our companionship. However, they dissolved the English part of the mission in Brawley, and so Sister Tuia and I now have the English and Spanish parts of Brawley! We got all of the investigators of the English speaking Elders...and we've got a whole ward to get to know. But Sister Tuia and I have been praying for more people to teach and ta da! Here you go! We are excited for the challenge, and a little nervous as well because we are both still new. So if you have any roomin your prayers for us, they are appreciated. :)

Les amo mucho! Have an awesome week.
Hermana Fowlks

 

Hermana Fowlks and Hermana Tuia with ward member Gloria. 

 

Week 11 - Imperial Tour (Dun dun dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun)

First, all of the duns in the subject title are the imperial march from Star Wars.  This week was great! I'm really starting to have less fear of talking to people and really loving the work.
I can feel myself getting closer to Jesus Christ everyday :)

The week started off interesting, because Tuesday night, we finished planning at like 9:20, and Sister Tuia was like "Have you ever dyed hair before?"  And I was like "No." And she was like "You're about to learn!" So I dyed her hair black. And it actually looks pretty good because we got the chance to talk for an hour or so and we became a lot closer.  And it was a crazy trust exercise because she was trusting me with her hair!  Maybe I've found my new calling. ;)

We did some service this week, and painted a table and chairs! Then my hair ended up getting colored red from the spray paint....so that was exciting!  But it was good to do some service.  Then on Saturday we had a ward activity that Sister Tuia and I planned.  It was a lot of work getting everything set up.  We had to set up the projector and screen.  And then we wanted to have something for the kids to do in case they weren't interested in the movie.  So we set up a table with paper and crayons for that.  And then we were going to set out blankets to sit on, but then we remembered that we have a ton of old ladies in the ward.  So we took all of the red chairs and ugly floral couches out of the foyers and carried them into the gym (that was quite the workout, let me tell ya!  Those couches and chairs were not light!)   It was good, we watched "Meet the Mormons"! We had a less active member come and a couple other people from the branch came. We found out they might be dissolving the branch because there are not enough priesthood holders, so we're trying to bring out less actives to keep the branch alive.  If any of the priesthood holders go out of town, we have to call someone in to help bless and pass the sacrament.  And we only need one person to pass because the branch is so small.   There are about 70 members total, but only about 12-15 come out on Sunday so its hard.  But we'll see what happens !

Monday was one of the most discouraging days I've had so far on the mission.  Everyone we talked to said no, and our investigators wouldn't let us come over or weren't home.  We taught like two lessons.  But we tried to have a good attitude because attitude makes everything on the mission!

Then today (Tuesday) the Senior couple, Elder and Sister Reilly, took us on a tour of Imperial Valley!  It was really cool, and I'll attach a bunch of pictures from the tour.

This week I read a really good talk, it is called "The Healing Power of Forgiveness." And there was a quote from it that really struck me:
"Brothers and sisters, please do not misunderstand. To forgive is not to condone. We do not rationalize bad behavior or allow others to mistreat us because of their struggles, pains, or weaknesses. But we can gain greater understanding and peace when we see with a broader perspective."

So I invite you all to broaden your perspective! Look at people as the children of God that they are! Because when we look at people that way, we are happier and the people we associate with are happier. :)
I think that's all for the week! Here's some pictures from the tour today. I love you all and hope you have a great week! ❤️

Love,
Hermana Fowlks

Imperial Valley Swap Meet

 

The Hermanas in our hats from the swap meet.

 

 Salvation Mountain.  Made of clay, paint and straw.

 Slab City is a place where people live in trailers without electricity or running water.  Its crazy but cool to see a different way of life!

 The second tallest flagpole in the world!

Week 10 - GOATS 🐐🐐🐐🐐

Hola a todos!
This week a lot of funy things happened.  At the beginning of the week, we had interviews with Presidente, which went well. After the interviews, he like motioned me over to where he was standing, and I got all nervous like oh what happened? Then he proceeded to take out his iPad and was like "my wife thought it would be cute if I took selfies with the missionaries." So we all took
selfies! I'll attach them. But it was fun.  I've also made a new friend in our little branch!  Her name is Hermana Barragan, she's old and loud and I literally can't understand a word she says, but she's really funny. And for some reason she has taken a special liking to me, and has me walk her to every meeting and she has like this death grip on my arm as we walk together. But I actually enjoy it because I can practice understanding Spanish and I am making a new friend while I do it!

Also, I forgot to mention this last week, but Elder Holland is coming to visit the mission at the end of May! And with that, Presidente has asked us to all recommit ourselves to becoming consecrated missionaries and practice perfect obedience. So, I have loved being able to work on following every rule completely. This is something (though I am not proud to admit it) that I have never done before in my life. And what a better place to start than on a mission where the rules are so critical and so numerous? I've already seen the blessings come, and I look forward to becoming more consecrated as the weeks go on.

Also, the highlight of the week was the GOATS. Many of you may know that I really like baby sheep, and these baby goats were almost just as cute. One of our less active members that we went to visit let us see all of her goats and I even got to hold one! I'll attach a some pictures and a video, and if you listen closely in the video, you can hear the goat's adorable little sound he makes. She also let me hold a baby rooster. And on top of that she offered to come sit in on a lesson with a referral, which was even better than the goats! We're having that lesson on Thursday, and we're really excited.

This week, I've been working on developing Christ like attributes and the one I am working on is patience. WORD OF CAUTION: if you pray for patience, just keep in mind what you are signing up for. Lots and lots of opportunities to lose your patience! Haha. But it's been good, I've noticed a change already. There's a quote from President Monson in Predicad Mi Evangelio que me gusta mucho:
"Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature. There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for one and all. Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required.”
I love this! And I read it almost everyday to remind me that I am developing patience, I'm not just going to receive it. And that patience is so so so important in our everyday lives, because we have many challenges every day. So I challenge you all to practice patience in your lives! No matter what, we all can become more like Christ, and patience is a good way to do just that. And I would love to hear about how excercising patience is changing you for the better. :)
I love you all so much, and I'm so grateful for your prayers. 💘💘
Hasta la proxima semana!
Hermana Fowlks

 Goats!

 Hermana Fowlks with a baby rooster!

 Selfies with President Schmitt.

 Hermana Fowlks and Hermana Tuia with President Schmitt and the elders from the zone.  There are also two other Sister companionships and one other companionship of Elders that had not made it to the meeting yet.

 Video of Hermana Fowlks with a goat!