Tuesday, October 29, 2013

October 29, 2013 letters

October 29, 2013

Hi daddy!

Answer for the day: When we get that wet, I let my shoes dry for about two days and hang my clothes to dry. It´s humid, but most of the time, it feels about like San Francisco on a rainy day. And when it´s hot, it feels like Utah in the summer, with a little more humidity. I love my skirts - they´re perfect for running and the weather.

What - there´s a new chapel in Brentwood? Since when? And what did President Westover say? (mom mentioned it in her email) Have you read Unbroken? That is such a good example of trials and overcoming them.

We get to go to the Temple this week - one of Hermana Cruz´s converts is getting sealed on Saturday and we get to go with them. We´ll have to get up around 3 to get to the session (at 7 am), but, it´s "vale la pena" (it´s worth it). And we have cambios (changes) tomorrow. And we´re getting another companion! We´ll be a trio in Rivera del Rio and I´m excited. We don´t know who it is, but that´s ok. She´ll be amazing, I can feel it.

Oh - we saw fireflies last night when we taught in the colonia. It was so pretty.

Prayer is such a fundamental thing in our lives, but especially in the mission field. We pray all the time for our investigators, our recent converts, our menos activos (less actives), and pray for our lessons and the ward and everything in between. But for investigators, it´s especially important. Through prayer, investigators receive answers and feel the Spirit (but not just prayer - going to Church, reading the Book of Mormon, and keeping the commandments are fundamental, as well). Prayer is a two-way communication with God and we talk to Him and He responds in His own time and way. We have to be patient. In the Bible Dictionary, it says that when people don´t pray, it´s because they don´t understand our relationship with Heavenly Father and how He is literally our Father in Heaven and we get to talk to Him. He, the Eternal God and and Infinite God, talks to us, miniscule beings in comparison. I love the quote by President Uchtdorf where he says something to the effect of how we are nothing compared to God, but yet, we are everything to God. I know that when we understand that Heavenly Father loves us and wants to hear from us (about our successes, failures, happy moments, frustrations, our days in general), we will "instinctively" kneel and prayer to our Father.

Lately, when explaining prayer to someone who won´t pray or doesn´t understand prayer, we´ve used the example of a long-distance phone call with someone that we haven´t seen for a while that we love and want to talk to. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and when we want to show our gratitude for the things in our life or need help or need to talk, we have prayer 24-7.

I love you, dad! Say "Hola" to the rest of the family and I´m sending my love towards the States!

Con mucho amor en Guatemala,
Hermana "pumpkin" Conover
 
 
 October 29, 2013
 
Hi momma!
I´m embracing everything. I really like the food (who would have thought?) and there´s only a few things that I don´t like. And when I get the recipe, I´ll send it. [referencing a cooked banana dessert that Michelle really likes.]

We have cambios tomorrow (exchanges) and we´re "receiving" another Hermana. We´ll have three in our companionship! Excitement! And we´ll get letters and packages tomorrow. I´ll let you know next week if I get the package. [Mom sent Michelle a three pound jar of peanut butter--the jar of peanut butter cost $ 4.50, the postage was $ 38.00-- Michelle eating peanut butter--priceless!]
 
And the stamps [on some of the letters she received] were the international ones and I didn´t have to pay extra. Oh - and we found a tienda in our area that sells small bottles of JIF creamy. We indulged last night. It was good. So I´ll probably save the other for when I am in an area that doesn´t have peanut butter.

Oh, the Book of Mormon. It is so important in the conversion process of anyone. It softens the hearts of investigators and testifies again about Jesucristo to members and non-members alike. And, at the moment, I´m studying the Book of Mormon in English and when I have time, I study in Spanish. And I´ve heard both ways, too. How you learn Spanish (or another language) better and faster when you read the Book of Mormon in that language, but I might get lost. I read them side by side sometimes and when I don´t understand the Spanish, I automatically look it up in English (if we´re home - I don´t carry my English scriptures with me while we´re teaching).  And yes, it is hard to not underline everything in the Book of Mormon. I have a feeling that when I get home, everything is going to be one color or another. But, I love the Book of Mormon. There´s solace, comfort, and help in this book. I know it is true.
 
In 1 Nephi 6:6, Nephi gives a commandment to his descendants to not fill the plates with things not of importance to the children of men. Entonces ("so" - I use this word so much throughout the day), everything in the Book of Mormon is there because it is important for our day, because the Book of Mormon was written for us. Every chapter, verse, and word is there because the Lord knows that it will help us in our lives today.

There´s a recent convert in our ward and she is such an example to me and (I think) to everyone she meets. She has cancer and every 15 days has therapy (treatments), but she is so happy. All the time. Her testimony is so strong and she has a love for everyone she meets. I re-realized this week that it is a decision to be happy and when we decide to be happy and act on that decision, the days are better and the work is better. I know that. I have a testimony of that.

I love you, mom! Thanks for the football updates! [BYU's football team is playing in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl at AT&T park in San Francisco on December 27th.]
 
And no, our crossing paths over the internet didn´t mess me up - I was excited, actually. [Mom happened to be checking her email on the 22nd, and noticed that Michelle had just sent her letter, so she was able to send a quick message and get a quick answer back from Hermana Conover.]
 
I love you! I hope you´re feeling better!
 
Con MUCHo amor,
Hermana Conover

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