Letters to Dad and Mom April 14, 2014

April 15, 2014

 HI daddy!

I love you!

Easter is HUGE here in Sololá. It`s called "Semana Santa" (holy week) and the people here order a special type of bread to be made and it`s really good. And a lot of people go to the Coast because it`s warm there. The only people that are going to be here for the week (more or less) are the people who work and can`t leave for the coast. So it will be interesting work-wise, but we`ll follow the Spirit and move forward.

And we have changes (transfers) this week. I`m leaving Sololá. I`m going to miss Sololá. I didn`t think I could come to love a people or a place as much as I love Sololá. It has been a special experience here and I`m glad I came here, I`ve grown a lot, I think, here in Sololá - in testimony and in being a missionary.

I`ve been singing a lot these past few days (in the shower, in the house, in the street) and I`ve come to realize that my voice kind of sounds like Kelly`s when I sing. Interesting thought of the day. I have no doubt that your singing with Sis. Moon and Jensen will be
amazing, like always.

And way to be a member missionary! I`m always so proud of you every time you share a missionary story. 

I love the patterns of light segments that Elder Bednar did. It explains the revelation very well and how it comes in different ways. I love Chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel - how the Spirit works with us and the different ways it talks to us in our minds and hearts (D&C 8:2-3). It`s good to remember
the basics and to be firm in them.

 Sometimes people get carried away with the "deep doctrine" of the Gospel, but it`s good to stick with the basics, sometimes. I talked with a man yesterday (a North American that`s Amish, I
think...I`m not sure) and he started going off on so many different things, like, "I`ve studied YOUR religion, of the Catholics, the Protestants," etc., and I simply asked him if he had asked specifically if Joseph Smith was a prophet. And he changed the subject to not answer. He was talking about many "deep doctrine" things but didn`t have a foundation in the basics, so it didn`t mean anything to him. I know that when we stick to the basics and have our foundations strong, the whirlwinds will come (like this man yesterday), but we will not be shaken. Our testimonies - though they may seem simple to the more learned people - will be strong and steadfast
and we will not be moved from this testimony that we have.

We use internet cafes every week to email and for mother`s day, we`re going to use the computers in the Stake Centers. Still don`t know much about it, but I`ll let you know when we know more.

I love you, dad! Have a "Hoppy" Easter! :) (that never gets old)  I pray for you and mom everyday and for our family.

Con MUCHO amor,

Hermana Conover

April 15, 2014

Hi momma!

I love you!

I think it`s ok with the nicknames. It`s not like there`s another missionary calling me Hermana Pooch-a-rooch..

.

And the field is a soccer field in Sololá in the area of the zone leaders. The reason for the backpacks - we were leaving when the zone leaders said, "¡Necesitamos tomar un foto!" (we need to take a picture). So, we took a picture. 

AND...I have changes. I`m not going to be in Sololá anymore. We have changes [transfers] tomorrow, so we get to leave Sololá at the bright and early hour of 5 in the morning to be in the Capitol at 8. It`ll be good. We`ll sleep a little on the way there, I think.

I almost forgot how Carol joined the Church. And how crazy that summer was. And it`s true - the small and simple things is how this work gets done and how we see miracles. One of our converts - the one who was baptized a few weeks ago after listening to us for 2 and a half weeks - is an example of this. He was working with our ward mission leader two or three years ago in the ice cream business of Sololá (more or less) and he listened to the missionaries then and wasn`t interested. He went back to Quiché and in February, was without work. He felt that he needed to go back to Sololá because "something was there for me". And he was baptized almost three weeks later. Miracles happen and it`s when the missionaries and the members work together. And when the members OPEN their mouths. Heavenly Father will put the words that we need in our mouths with the Spirit (Doctrine and Covenants 100:5-8).

This week is the "Semana Santa" (holy week) and WOW. There are so many people in Panajachel and Sololá for this week. And there`s a special type of bread here, as well, that the people eat. It`s really good. And everyone is talking about "HOly Thursday", "Holy Friday", Saturday, and Sunday, as well. And Pascua - I thought it was Spanish for Easter, then Passover, only to find out that it means both. Who knew? But a lot of people are going to go to the Coast for the week and the people that are still going to be here are the people that are going to work. So misisionary work wise, it`ll be interesting.

We`re reading Preach My Gospel as a mission and this morning we read pages 12-14 - the quotes of the Prophets about Missionary Work. I love how almost all of the prophets used the word "responsibility" to describe this work (and they also used mission, as well). This isn`t just the work of members, or missionaries, but of both and of the Lord. With the Lord and when we rely on the Spirit, we`ll see miracles (Chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel).

I love you, mom! I hope you have a wonderful Easter with our family and have some ham for me (if you`re having ham). I love you! I pray for you and our family everyday!

Con MUCHO amor,

Hermana Conover

Sent: Tue, Apr 8, 2014 12:46 PM PDT
Subject: Re: conference

Hi daddy!
I love you!
First thing - WE GET TO SKYPE ON MOTHER´S DAY!!! I don´t know the details (we just found out today), but I´ll let you and mom know when I know more.:)

I loved conference - I loved how direct everyone was. Especially Elder Holland. Fantastic. And I loved Elder Bednar´s talk - how we need trials to help us move forward spiritually and "return home". I got to watch conference in English and I´m very grateful that I did. Yes, I know and
understand Spanish, most of the time (thanks to divine help), but it´s nice to hear it in English.

Yes, of course dark M&Ms. They´re pretty good.

I´m fine with clothes. And shoes, as well. There are "pacas" here in Sololá and it´s basically Goodwill (it´s stuff from the states) and I´ve bought a few shirts and a skirt and a jacket, but it´s all good. It´s not a lot and it´s cheaper than you and mom sending it from the States.

This morning I was asked to give a spiritual thought in our Zone training (in English, which was really hard to do. I almost started talking in Spanish two times). I shared Alma 37:6-7 and how it´s through small and simple things that great things are brought to pass. I shared that a lot of
people think that the small and simple things aren´t going to get them back to God and that it has to be some great thing (and, on the other end, some people think they don´t have to do anything but just be baptized). But it´s through the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we return back to God and Jesus Christ with our families. Just faith, repentance, baptism (by someone that has the Priesthood), receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. Just these five things. Is it hard? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Like Elder Holland said in his talk how it´s completely worth it when you think about the alternative. I love this Gospel and know that it is true. It is what we need to do to get back to the presence of our Heavenly Father with our families forever. Live the gospel and keep the faith.

I love you, dad! I pray for you, mom, and our family everyday!

Con MUCHO amor,
Hermana Conover


April 8, 2014
Hi mom!

THIS FIRST - WE GET TO SKYPE ON MOTHER´S DAY!!! We don´t know the details yet, but we get to Skype. We found out today. So I´ll let you know more when we know more.

I only got one of the pictures...just the one of the garden with the two huge missile looking PVC pipes with plants. (Mom sent Michelle pictures of our vegetable garden from her kindle  The missile-looking-PVC pipes are and invention of Dad's.  We are growing strawberries in them.)

We didn´t get to watch the women´s session. Just the four general sessions. And one of our converts watched the Priesthood session with her husband. It was awesome. And we got special permission from the Assistants so I could watch the conference in English with the Elders. I´m VERY grateful that I could watch it in English. But yes, six months does make a difference. I loved Elder Bednar´s talk and how we need tribulations and hard things in life to help us move forward spiritually. And Elder Holland´s talk, as well. Very direct. I loved the two sessions on Saturday - everyone was very direct and straightforward.

"To testify is to know and to say; to be converted is to do and become"

I don´t have any scriptural references, but I do have a story. There´s a sister in our branch right now that shares the Gospel with EVERYONE. She talks about the Church with all of her friends, her family that aren´t members, and so on, and testifies that this church is true, and challenges people to listen to the missionaries and be baptized. But she doesn´t go to church. She testifies that this is the true church, but doesn´t live the fullest or most obedient she can to receive the blessings. She´s not completely converted. Now, we´re not perfect, that´s the truth, but we CAN repent (change) to be become better disciples of Christ. When we testify, our faith is strengthened and helps with our conversion. But if we don´t work with that faith, our faith weakens and eventually dies (James 2:17). We can develop our faith with the small things (or "Sunday School answers") - read the scriptures, pray, go to Church, keep the commandments. It´s through these small things that great things will be brought to pass (Alma 37:6-7). A lot of people don´t believe that these things have a lot of power in our conversion, but if we don´t do these things, our faith dies. And it´s a lot harder to be converted without faith (pretty much impossible). Another example are the priests of King Noah - Abinadi said that they taught the law of Moses, but didn´t keep it. They testified of this law, but didn´t work with it. They didn´t show that they lived it. When we truly believe something, we´re going to live it (that´s my personal belief). When we believe in Christ and testify of Him and understand more of His Atonement, we´ll want to show our love for Him by keeping His commandments (John 14:15). When we´re converted, we also testify and our faith grows more, helping our desire to do good more (Moroni 7:16-17). I hope this helps. You don´t have to use it, if you don´t want to
. 

And yes, that is normal in a Latin culture - we usually start activities about a half an hour late, if not later. Church we don´t start late, but the activities, yes. But that´s normal. It´s a little hard sometimes because I like starting on time or being on places in time (thank to you and dad), but sometimes it doesn´t happen. That´s when I breathe, pause, and move on.

I think the first week when I´m home, you and I can go around to ALL the people you talked with while I´m gone. And we can have min-missionary lessons. :)  You´re doing a great missionary work, mom, and all because you "open your mouth". That´s the hardest part and you´re doing a great job. Thank you.

I felt close to you and dad, as well, this conference. During some of the talks, I thought, "Mom and dad are watching this right now, too" and I am very grateful for satellites and televisions so that we can watch and partake of the "good word of God".

I love you, mom. I pray for you and our family everyday.

Con MUCHO amor,
Hermana Conover

April 1st letters to Dad and Mom

April 1, 2014

Hi daddy!

I love you!

The drive was about an hour and a half. My companion and I went to Chimaltenango and met up with the training sisters and I stayed while one of them went back to Sololá with my companion to work. I stayed overnight in Chimaltenango and the next day, we came back to Sololá. It was refreshing to work out of Sololá. Don`t get me wrong - I love Sololá. But it was nice to see and meet new people and contact there and teach different people.

We didn`t get 400 baptisms this month - 323 was the final number. But we saw miracles - our two baptisms were miracles and we`re infinitely grateful for them. Our retention usually is good. As a mission, it`s been a little lower than usual, but it`s pretty good. We work without converts and help them a lot to stay in the church.

We`ll be watching conference in the chapel in Sololá. It`ll be live, I think. I`m still confused with the whole time change, but it`ll be good. Not a lot of members have computers in their house or internet, so they go to the chapel to watch conference.

The weather has started to get hot here in Sololá. [It is] A little chilly at night, but not overly cold. The summer is right now. And in May starts the rainy season. there are a lot of tourists, but most of them are in Panajachel [one of the hotel communities on the shore of lake Atitlan.]. Very few are in Sololá and when there are, I try to contact them in English (it`s really hard for me to contact in English, but it`s getting better). We don`t teach by the lake - we just go there for some p-days as a district. it`s about 40-50 minutes from Sololá to get to the lake where the pictures are.

The cookies were really good. We used M and Ms because we couldn`t find chocolate chips, but they were still really good. But not like how you make them, but good. :)

Two weeks ago, I met someone in Sololá from school (BYU). It was so funny - we had just gotten the keys to the chapel and were walking to go to the chapel. One of the members was walking and I saw a really tall white guy walking next to her and we looked at each other and said, "I know you!" his name`s Sean and he lived in Glenwood while I was there. It was so funny. And weird. Thousands of miles away from the States and he was there. It was really weird.

Conference will be excellent this weekend, as always. I`m looking forward to it. I always like to go into conference with three questions that I have to have them be answered during conference. I`ve only been doing it for three years, but it really helps me listen for what the Lord wants of me and wants me to change and become better.

I finished John in the New Testament today. I love the last chapter of John and the talk that Elder Holland gave about it, about "feeding the sheep" of Christ. We need to help those around us. We need to be missionaries and home teachers and visiting teachers and faithful members of the Church that lift other people up and help them with their burdens (Mosiah 18:8-10). We need to bring this Gospel to the whole world and teach by the Spirit and help others recognize the Spirit and follow the Spirit. I love this work and am excited that we`re planting seeds in the hearts of the children of men. We might not see the fruits now, but later, the fruits of our labors will be seen.

I love you, dad. i pray for you and mom and our family every day.

Con  MUCHO amor,

Hermana Conover

April 1, 2014

Hi momma!

I love you!

Your talents never cease to amaze me. That cake must have been great.

I got an email from Laura saying that they`re moving to New York. And that the road trip for the "girls" in the family is going to happen - when is it? Just curious.

And thanks for signing in to all of the accounts. The Amazon account has always been weird, so don`t worry about it.

Two weeks ago, I met someone in Sololá from school (BYU). It was so funny - we had just gotten the keys to the chapel and were walking to go to the chapel. One of the members was walking and I saw a really tall white guy walking next to her and we looked at each other and said, "I know you!" his name`s Sean and he lived in Glenwood while I was there. It was so funny. And weird. Thousands of miles away from the States and he was there. It was really weird.

Well, this week we`re still working hard here in Sololá. [We are] Working to find new investigators to teach and to help accept this Gospel. At times, the work is a little rough, but we push forward and press forward and do a little bit more to find people to teach. 

This week we finished Ether and started Moroni. It`s astounding how quickly the Jaredite nation prospered, fell, prospered again, and fell again to destruction. But Ether didn`t lose hope. Or Moroni, like when he wrote Ether 12 and his civilization was falling into ruin, as well. I also finished John today in the new Testament and I love chapter 21 (last chapter of John) and how Christ kept saying, "feed my sheep" (I kept thinking about Elder Holland`s talk). It`s important that as members and as missionaries that we find the people that are ready and help them accept this Gospel and to plant seeds with everyone else. And as members, to help less actives or inactives come back to the Church. They made covenants with the Lord that they need to honor, as well.

The Atonement is a grand gift that God has given to us, and it`s true - we need to revel in this gift. Through it, we can change for the better and better ourselves every day. And we can be forgiven of things that we have done wrong. It`s a grand gift, it`s true. I read the prayer of Jesus Christ when he was performing the Atonement this week in John and it`s so powerful. We need to recognize the potential that we have a take part of the Atonement.

Life and missionary work isn`t easy, but "salvation isn`t a cheap experience" (Elder Holland). It`s worth it - all the problems and all the difficulties. Just remember that we decided to come here to have these experiences.

And we had district conference this weekend and it was really uplifting and centered on missionary work and going to the Temple. It was really good.

Oh - and yesterday for p_day, it was with the zone and we played kickball and frisbee. And ate pizza. It was the best p.day I`ve had in the mission. it was fantastic.

I`m looking forward to Conference this weekend. Like Elder Hales said in the last conference, if we listen, we`ll hear the Lord`s voice in the talks and hear what He wants us to do.

Well, I love you - I pray for you and our family every day. I love you!

con MUCHO amor,

hermana Conover