December 3, 2013 Letters to Dad and Mom

Daddy!

I cannot believe it´s December. It feels like yesterday was June or May. I cannot believe it. But it´s been a great four months in the mission.

You´ll have to send a picture of the nativity and our house with all the lights. That´d be fun to see. : )

I like the idea about the WML [Ward Mission Leader]calling every night to see how the day was. That would definitely bring more unity within you and the Elders. I like that. And it keeps you up to date on the goings on of the work in Pittsburg. That´s a good idea. We might have to try that. We´ll see.

I hope the weather is good for the parade, too. Say "hi" to the guys for me.

I really like teaching about the Restoration. We teach that one the most, but I like it. And I really like teaching about the Apostasy for some reason. I think it´s because it shows that good people were on the earth during that time and tried to reform the churches to get back to the way it was. Yes, people changed doctrines to get gain (1 Nephi 13 and 4 Nephi 1:26), but good people also looked for the truth, but it wasn´t time. But because the Lord loves us and that we´re children of God, He restored the Gospel for us. It´s central to this message and it´s true. I loved what one of the counselors of the Bishopbric said the other day. We teach teh restoration first and the first vision because it shows that God has a body of flesh and bones and that He loves us and that the true church is on the earth today. We teach it a lot (because a lot of first visits) and every time, my faith and testimony get a little bit more powerful in this message.

We have an investigator right now and he has problems with the Word of Wisdom. We taught him the word of wisdom and he committed to live it, right on the spot. No coffee, smoking, or tea. He dropped all three (or, committed that he would). And he´s really close to a set bautismal date for the 22 of December. He´s attended church one time and he reads what we give him and prays. He´s awesome and we´re excited for him.

Oh - and read moms letter this week for an experience with an Atheist. That was fun.
The language is coming along. I can comfortably teach lessons and understand almost all of what people say. Sometimes, it´s hard to understand (stories are hard), but I just take a deep breath and keep going. It´s good. I´m not fluent in any respect, but I can teach and testify, and that´s what´s important. I´m going to keep improving my Spanish and work with it, but it comes little by little. So here´s to persevering! :)

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I love you, dad. I am very grateful for the prayers - they help me when we´re looking for appointments and people to teach. I feel your love, even though we´re thousands of miles apart. I love you, dad!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana "Pumpkin" Conover

Hi mom!
I love hearing about the crafts! And the silhouette idea sounds amazing. I´m tired for you. And yes, I´ll have to watch Airplanes and Monsters University in Spanish when I get back (that´ll probably be the only language I´ll really understand at that point). And the cookie exchange sounds delightful - eat some cookies for me. And some soup.

Our Turkey Day was really good, actually. We planed in a half an hour and RAN to make dinner. We made potatoes, warmed up turkey slices, made gravy (which actually wasn´t that bad - I thought I burned the flour at one point, but it was good), black refried beans (because we´re in Guatemala), and bread, and apple cider. In 20 minutes. I don´t know how, but it was 20 minutes. And it was pretty good. So, my first Thanksgiving in Guatemala was pretty good.
This week, we had four days where it was FREEZING. Not by Utah standards (not by a long shot), but for Guatemala,. it was cold. It was windy too (like our house windy) and it was probably around 50 Fahrenheit for most of the day. It was cold. And we didn´t really have sweaters for it, but that´s okay. We had lessons during the coldest parts of the day, so it was okay.

Spanish is coming along. I´m at a point where I can teach comfortably (most of the time) and I understand a lot of everything else. Sometimes, it´s hard to understand people (like this one lady we teach - she talks fast and she´s old and she likes to tell stories, so it´s a little hard sometimes to understand). I´m still working on my grammar and vocabulary, but that´s okay. Always learning, right?

And here´s a story for the fan club. We taught an Atheist this week and he was very adamant that God doesn´t exist and that it´s not important to him, at all. And Hermana Weatherford had said that God is her Father in Heaven and he said that those were just words that we repeat. But a little later, I bore my testimony that God is MY Heavenly Father and that He loves me. And that those aren´t just words that I repeat, but I KNOW that He loves me and that I am a child of God. After the prayer, he said that I have a lot of conviction for this message. But that wasn´t the most influential part of the lesson. when I bore my testimony, it was as if floodgates opened in my heart and the Spirit testified so strongly to me that this message is true. And that God is my Heavenly Father.

 
And, for the lady at the bank, say, "Que le va a bien" for me. (it means something like, "let everything go well for you"...more or less).

Anyway, this week has been good. We´ve been working hard and praying hard and I love it when we´re busy. It feels good to teach people about Christ and how to come unto Him through the principles of the Gospel. I love it. This Gospel is true and I know it is. I have seen the Lord´s hand in this work. And some miracles, too. I know that we are helping in a divine work for the Savior and the children of our Father in Heaven.
I love you, mom! Have a wonderful week and don´t work too hard! If you need hep with the tree, ask Jen or Seth to help. And have the kidlets put the kid friendly ornaments up. Maybe for an FHE or something. I love you!

-Hermana "Pumpkin" Conover