FIRST BAPTISM!!

This week was great. So many opportunities and memories made! 

We had a Christmas party as missionaries with Presidente and Hermana Spujt. As a Zone we danced and sang to Santa Claus is Coming to Town. We exchanged gifts, played games, and watched a short Christmas movie. It was so much fun- a lot more fun than I expected! 

The next day was the 24th and the 24th is when people here celebrate. They have parties with food and dancing. 

Christmas Day was the absolute best! It was our best working day this week and I got to see and talk to my cute family!! Best day ever. 

The other exciting thing is that I had my very first baptism!! TANIA GOT BAPTIZED yesterday after our church meetings. She didn´t have any family or friends there to support her. It was the missionaries, the Bishop who baptized her, and some members in the ward who participated with prayers and talks. It was a really small baptism but the Spirit was so strong. She came out of the water smiling and just glowing. It has been an amazing journey watching her change and grow in the gospel and then to see her enter into baptism. The Lord prepared her and He brought us to her. 

I love being apart of this great work of the Lord. We are simply instruments in His hands. Time is flying by! Sister missionaries have 13 changes in their mission and I have already completed 2 of mine. It is so crazy! 

Well..this year is coming to an end. It has been a year full of amazing oppotunites. I can´t wait to see what 2015 brings! I will share what I tell all of the people here. This life is our time to progress. We can´t be the same as we were yesterday. Every day we have to change and better ourselves to become more like our Heavenly Father. Our time is now, and it goes quickly. Our eternity depends on our decisions and actions in this life. Right now, today, tomorrow. So with the new year, set goals. Make changes in your life that will help you become better. And then become better. :) 

Thank you all for everything, I hope all is well at home! I love you all!!! 

Feliz Navidad!

Hello everyone! 

This week was fun! We had a lot of fun activites. 

On Saturday we had a ward party. We had a big dinner with rice, beans, fried bananas, eggs, bread, hot chocolate, and arroz con leche. It doesn´t sound very good but it is seriously my favorite meal here. It was fun to be together as a ward and to celebrate this holiday season! The picture is a cooler of the fried bananas, I laughed at the cooler part. 

On Sunday my companions and I spoke in Sacrament. I spoke on Christlike attributes and how this holiday season and new year is the perfect time to change and delvelop the attributes. I shared the story of Christ feeding thousands with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. I used the quote, 

If The Lord Can Do Great Things With a Single Loaf, Imagine What He Can Do With a Single Life.

I shared how important is it to become who we are meant to be and develop the attributes of our Savior.We also sang with 2 members, Hermana Flor and Hermana America. We sang O Come, O Come Emmanuel, O Holy Night, and Que Nino es Este? So basically all of Sacrament was the missionaries singing and speaking! 

Last night we had a Christmas activity in the park. We showed different Christmas videos on a big screen and sang a bunch of  Christmas songs. The activity was for 3 different wards so we had a good turn out. 

As missionaries we aren´t allowed to ride in the back of  pick-up trucks. And the bus was broke down. So we had to take a motor taxi. They have three wheels and they are just tiny little cars. We had 7 people with us who needed to get to San Juan de Dios to do the baptism interview for our investigator. It was an adventure for sure! 

Our invesigator, Tania, is still progressing. She couldn´t make it to church yesterday though so her baptism is pushed back another week. It is a bummer but she is still doing so great! 

We have another investigator, Misael, who is interested but he would never pray infront of us. We tried and tried so finally this last visit my companion asked if he would repeat her in a prayer. So he repeats what she says then he finally beginnings praying on his own. The Spirit was so strong, he did it! After the prayer he told us he would come to church with us. It was a blessing! 

All is well here in El Salvador. I hope all of you have a great week and enjoy Christmas!! I love you all. :)

Con mucho amor, 

Hermana Ferre 

It´s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Enjoy this holiday season and remember the reason why we celebrate Christmas, our Savior Jesus Christ!! 

Feliz Navidad :)

Milagros (Miracles) en El Salvador!

Go Forth and Bear Your Testimony and You Will Witness Miracles

In the CCM, my companion and I did an exercise about the importance of our calling. We represent Jesus Christ. Our teacher had us promise in the name of Jesus Christ something to our companions. Hermana Timoteo promised me in the name of Jesus Christ that if I did my part, the Lord would provide and I would touch the heart of someone in the first part of my mission. The Spirit was so strong that night. Anyway, it happened! I have a baptism date!! Hermana Tania Suares. She is 19 years old and has a 3 year old. She is so prepared and so ready to be baptized. Her baptism is going to be the 28th so Merry Christmas to me! She is a miracle. We found her and since day one she has been progressing. Milagro!! 

During a different lesson with the Siete Family, I learned how to make tortillas! It was just like Cafe Rio, so I am pretty sure I qualify to work there after my mission. It was in a little barn looking thing and the smoke was so thick but it was fun! Later that night my companions said something about Alma Siete. I was like who is Alma Siete? They just stared at me then started laughing because they were talking about the chapter in Alma. So funny!

                           

We go to Young Women multiple times a week. On Saturday we learned, well I learned, how to make tostadas, then we all ate together. 

On Thursday, we had intercambios (exchanges) and I was able to work with Hermana Evans!! It was such a great day. She is like a piece of home. It was fun to see her progress and to learn  from her. Her mom also sent me a card for Thanksgiving. It was so thoughtful, she also sent a picture of Christ that says I Am Always With You. 

On Friday we went to a Multi Zona Conference. My companions spoke, we did different practices, and recieved direction from Presidente y Hermana Spujt. It was a lot of sitting but it was a nice break from the running we do every other day. We also sang a special number as a Zona. We sang What Child is This? It was fun to be involved! The best part was getting my letters, I had like 6. 

                               

                                  

This week had a lot of adventures! The area we are having most success in is like 20 minutes away so we take a bus, then we walk through the jungle. The area is so crazy. Super green and all sorts of hills and bridges. The teaching is going well. We have some invesigators who are progressing well, and others who make us sad with their choices. I just always have to remember that people have their agency and many people are prepared and waiting for us to find them! 

I seriously cannot believe that is it Monday again, this last week flew. My companions and I love P Day. It feels like Christmas, all of us get so excited and jump out of bed! How lucky am I that I get to experience the happiness of Christmas every week? Today for P Day we are going to a different city to do some shopping and we are practicing with our Zona for the Christmas Activity. We are singing and dancing to Santa Claus is Coming to Town! 

I hope you all have a wonderful week. Enjoy the holiday season, it is the best time of the year!! I love you all! 

Con Mucho Amor,

 Hermana Ferre

Here are some extra pics from Hermana Ferre's apartment! 

                     

                            

La Familia y Los Amigos

Hello! What a week!! This week went by a lot quicker than the first week. 

We are having a lot of success with our investagadores. One lady is Hermana Tania. She told us that she didn´t have any doubts about our message and that she knew it was true. The Lord has prepared her. It was such a special experience with her. We have a baptism date planned for the 28th but it won't be a set date until she attends church this next Sunday. So please pray for her and her sister!! I will keep you updated on their progression. 

There is a family that I absolutely love. The Aguilar Family. They aren´t members but they want to be baptized but because of name changes they can´t get married yet so they can´t be baptized. Hermana Ana, Hermano Erasmo, and their daughter Daniella. We teach them a lot and I really love them!

During a lesson on Friday, a lady straight up started breast feeding infront of us while we were teaching. No blanket, no modesty about it. It was so funny to me. 

People are really down to earth here. People show up to church in jeans and a t-shirt because it is all that they have. People give the best that they have to us as missionaries. I really do love the people! 

I contacted a lady. I introduced myself as a missionary, my purpose, my message. She then says ¨I am a Jehovah Witness and she pulls out her book and starts preaching to me. It was so funny. First time for that one!

I have had a few experiences running for my life from dogs. There are so many stray and annoying dogs. We just run and laugh!

 We have a grocery store.I bought Ramen but havent ate it. I bought apples (crazy right) I actuallly haven't ate them yet either haha. The store is pretty much the same but just smaller. Fruits, veggies, meats, ice cream, body wash and random things like tupperware. No mac n cheese though!  I have been eating a lot of cereal and milk because I am craving milk haha and it is cheap. We had Spaghetti yesterday for lunch and I have yogurt and pb&j so I am surviving. We have a stovetop but no oven. We literally have a little shelf thing with pots, pans, bowls and food. We also have a fridge. Our kitchen table is a table like we have camping. And we have plastic lawn chairs.

Lots of good things happened this week and I know there is many to come. Thank you for all of your love and prayers. Enjoy your week!! 

Con mucho amor, 

Hermana Ferre 

First Week!

Hello hello!

Wow, what a week! My first week in El Salvador has been a success, I made it! 

My area is Progreso and my Zona is Juayua. It is super green and rocky. I am definitely in a hiking area. It is super windy and surprisingly it has been cold. Who would have thought!

 

My companions are Hermana Sien and Hermana Najera. Hermana Sien is from Arizona and Hermana Najera is from Honduras. They are both so great and have helped so much with helping me adjust and with the language. Our house is nice and safe. It is blue on the outside and we have a nice set up inside. We have hot water and a kitchen which other missionaries dont have. I have a mosquito net that I sleep under and we apply bug spray morning, noon, and night! We also have a cook who cooks us lunch, Hermana Romi. 

 

Okay so my first lesson! We literally walked through a jungle to get there. The house looked like an old old cabin. We go inside and it is just an open room with beds and clothes hanging everywhere and dirt floors. We began with a hymn and a prayer and I could not read the hymn book because they did not have lights, it was that dark! His name is Carlos and he is a less active member and we talked about the Book of Mormon. 

 

That night the Bishop had us over for dinner because he wanted to meet me. He is great. He and his family have been so welcoming. He read my palm that night too. I do not know if that is a thing or not but apparently I will have two kids and lots of guys to choose from for marraige haha. The Bishop is really involved in mission work. He is really good about helping us and having us report our progress with the less active members. The members are all wonderful too. Seriously. They make me feel so welcomed. We are in a progressing ward of about 75 members, crazy. And there are some families that we visit almost every day.

 

I had my first experience contacting a bus. I literally stood up in a moving bus and introduced ourselves as missionaries and what our message was. It went suprisingly well, kinda fun! 

 

I also got to attend my first baptism. It was loud and had a lot of people talking and kids running, but that is just how they do things here. 

 

I was teaching a section of the Restoration to a lady named Angelica. It was the first lesson with her. My companion, Hermana Najera, said that my Spanish was perfect and that she knows I had help. 

 

Things are good here on my end. I am learning lots every day and I see the Lords hand in all that I do. This work is amazing! 

Have a great week, everyone! I love you all! 

Hermana Ferre