Letters to dad and mom 7-1-14

July 1, 2014

Hi daddy!

I love you!

I hope you had fun at Girl`s Camp. Maybe next year we can both go. :)

Well, I talked to the other Norte in our district and we`re going to have Correlation on Friday and we`re thinking that we might buy a watermelon and eat it. That will probably be about it.

For Chester`s baptism, maybe you can say this for me:

"The Holy Ghost is a gift that our loving Heavenly Father has given us. We can have the guidance of the Holy ghost when we`re obedient to the commandments of God and listen. It`s hard sometimes to hear the Holy Ghost sometimes, but if we pay attention to our feelings and our thoughts, we can feel the guidance oft he Spirit. It might just be a feeling to do something. Or it might be a thought. But when we follow the promptings of the spirit, we will see blessings in our lives. 

I`m so proud of you, Chester, for making the decision to follow the example of Jesus Christ. As you move forward with "steadfast faith in Christ" (2 Nehi 31:20), you will have the guidance and friendship of the Holy ghost to help you make decisions in your life. I love you."

That would probably be about it. Thanks for asking.

The preparation for the mission and for life is crucial. If we`re not prepared when the trials hit, we`ll crumble. But if we are prepared, then "we shall not fear" (in Doctrine and Covenants, but I don`t remember where exactly). The formulative years of young men and young women are crucial. I am grateful for strong, youth leaders and how they have helped me grow my testimony. I`m also grateful for the mission - it builds your testimony of faith so much. And your foundation. I am grateful for the experiences that we have in life and what these experiences do to help us grow and move forward (like elder Bednar`s talk from conference about loads). We need trials to help us move forward and we need to build our character between the trials so that we can learn and grow from them and not crumble.

Do you know what President Brough thought about angels in the mission? They`re our ancestors and our future kids. Our grandparents and our children are the angels that God sends to help us out and watch over us. I`m grateful for angels - I have seen may instances where I have been helped by angels. I`m greatful.

I love you, dad! I hope that you and our family are all good! I pray for you and mom and our family everyday!

Con MUCHO amor,

hermana Pumpkin Conover

July 1, 2014

Hi momma!

I love you!

Yes, our investigator said yes to baptism - he`s getting baptized this Sunday. 

I love missionary work - I didn`t really have a huge love for it before my mission but now I do. And it`s so important - like almost all of the prophets have said (if not all of them) that it`s our responsibility to share the Gospel with everyone. Our family, friends, acquaintances, the people in the store, etc. It`s crucial that we help our fellow men and women - our siblings - find this Gospel. And a lot of them are waiting to hear it. They just don`t know where to find it. 

I`m excited to hear about the sisters in the ward. And the missionary work that will move forward there, as well.

That statement is indeed brief, but profound. It teaches doctrines such as the Priesthood, Apostasy (and what it is), service in the Church, and the Plan of Salvation. I love how the Lord works - clear and simple. You can`t misinterpret what it says.

We looking for more people to teach and are trying to help them realize the importance of coming to church.

I remember I wrote dad in the CCM about feeling the presence of Grandpa Jones and Conover next to me. This morning, I felt Grandma Jones. I thought you`d like to know that. President Brough (and Hermana Markham) both believe in Angels that attend us, especially here in the mission. Angels exist, but they`re usually there to help us along in our journey and console us

I love you! I pray for you and dad and our family everyday! I hope all is well and that you can feel my love, all the way from Guatemala.

Con MUCHO amor,

Hermana Sweetie Conover

June 24, 2014 letters to dad and mom

June 24, 2014

Hi daddy!

I love you!

Yes, I love the people of Guatemala. I love the people that we teach and love seeing how the Gospel can change their lives and how it changes their lives.

 Girls camp will be good - you always enjoy Girl`s Camp. And I can`t believe that Chester is 8. That doesn`t seem real to me. But, that`s life, I guess. It`s always going by faster than you think and faster than you want.

That`s a great idea - having the missionaries work more with the youth to help them prepare. It`s true - the more you know before your mission, the more time you can spend in your studies studying for the people you`re going to teach.

And yes. That is true. You will have at least one convert on your mission if you`re doing all you can - yourself.

Yay...Sister missionaries! Just love them. It`ll be good for the ward.

President Brough is going home today. By the end of the day, we`ll have President Markham. We`re all a little sad to see President Brough leave, but here`s to being exactly obedient and diligent in all things, still. We`ve learned principles from President and Hermana Brough and those won`t change.

We had a "last conference" with President Brough last Thursday and it was amazing. We learned about principles that aren`t going to change in our lives (being exactly obedient, having faith, working diligently, and a few others). I know that as we learn principles in our lives, we can move forward in the faith that everything will be alright and that we`ll have the guidance of the Spirit. 

Thank you for all the prayers and the support of coming on a mission. Something that President Brough told us was "Be changed". Allow the mission to change you. I know that in the mission, you learn so much. About service, the Gospel, yourself, and how to work with other people. It prepares you for life. And I can`t think of my life now without my mission. I know that this is the Lord`s work and anyone who comes on a mission to work hard, to give it your all, will be blessed. Heavenly Father will never curse someone for serving a mission - only blessings. Will it be hard? Definitely. Will it tax your strength? Without a doubt. Is it worth it? Yes - infiinitely worth it. I know that. I can`t see the changes in me, but I know that I am changing for the better and that this work is bringing souls unto Christ and when we "lose ourselves and go to work", we``ll be converted, too.

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

Con MUCHO amor,

Hermana "Your Sunshine" Conover

June 24, 2014

Hi momma!

I love you!

Thanks for sending the package!

Interesting stuff happening at home, right? I`ll keep it to myself - but thank you. It`s good to know. And of course I`ll be nice to the other missionaries. We are different, but we`re working towards the same goal of bringing souls unto Christ in His vineyard. Thanks for the reminder. Really.

Today, president Brough goes home. We`re getting a new mission President - President Markham. He`s from California (but I don`t remember where). I`m excited to work with another mission President and to continue working with everything I have. With all my heart, might, mind, and strength. 

Today in District Meeting, we talked about the importance of listening to the Spirit in our daily doings (chapter 4 in Preach My Gospel). Sometimes, as missionaries, we count too much in our own strengths and abilities and don`t listen as we should. We get caught up in what we`re doing wrong with the language or something happened that makes us sad, or what have you. But as we listen and rely more on the Spirit, we can have the assurance to do what the Lord wants us to do. If we`re being exactly obedient, wee are being diligent, and have our faith and help it to grow through our studies and prayers, then we have the promise of having the guidance of the Spirit. I know that learning to listen to the Spirit is like learning a language - it takes practice and effort on our part. But I also know that as we are learning to recognize the Spirit and ACT on these promptings, then we can see the guidance of the Spirit in our lives and our testimony grows a little bit more. And then, after a time, we have the assurance and testimony that we can listen and follow the Spirit. I love being able to see the Spirit work in missionary work. I know that the Lord guides is through the Spirit. Hermana Claudia - she was a contact I had on a flete and she was mas o menos. Not extremely positive but not negative, either. But, one day, we were working in an area and I had the thought to look for her. We did and she was a three week miracle. I know that it was the Spirit that guided us to her house. It wasn`t us - it was the Spirit. We put forth our effort - we contacted, we talked, we opened our mouths, and followed through, and then the Spirit guided us to her home. 

I know this is the Church of Jesus Christ in these latter-days. We need to help our brothers and sisters find the Gospel. There are many waiting and don`t know where to find the truth, but are waiting. We need to give them as many opportunities as we can to help them see the light of the Gospel and find this path back to our Heavenly Father with our families.

I love you, mom! I pray for you and dad and our family every night! I hope everything is well back home!

Con MUCHO amor,

Hermana "Sweetie" Conover

June 17, 2014 letters to dad and mom

June 17, 2014

Hi daddy!

I love you!!!

Happy (belated) Father`s Day! 

Aw, man - I wanted to drive the Bobcat when I got home...I guess that won`t happen, nwo that yuo`ve moved the rocks. Oh, wait! You`re going to change it again, so I still can next year! :)

That`s funny that you should mention water running downhill - there`s a place a little outside of our area where the water runs uphill. There`s a dip in the road where it looks like you`re going downhill and if you put your car in neutral, you`ll start rolling up the hill. I`ve never been there, but I`ve heard about it. So that`s good that water still runs downhill there. 

And yes, we had 5 baptisms this week. I still can`t believe it. And her husband is going to come to church next week and we`re going to help him be prepared to be baptized for the 6 of July. I`m excited for them - they`re going to be a strong family in the Church.

It`s ok - we all make mistakes. There are days when I make some pretty silly mistakes that I usually never do - switch a word in Spanish, what have you - but it`s ok. If we make mistakes, it means we`re trying to do better. There are still some parts of Spanish grammar that are hard for me and I still make mistakes with it, but we move forward. We correct, repent, and move forward with a firm faith in Christ.

This week I`m reading Helaman (well, I finished it today) and I was impressed by samuel the prophet and how he proclaimed repentance and faith to the people. hat`s what we`re here for - to invite people to come unto Christ through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, Repentance, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. And the first two principles are really what start it all. If people have faith, they`ll want to repent and will have the faith to be forgiven of their sins. If they repent, they`ll want to show that repentance and their willingness to change through baptism. And baptism by water isn`t complete without that of fire, through the Holy Ghost. And after that, we don`t just sit back and relax but we work, we endure to the end. I know that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it is the only way we can return to the presence of our loving Heavenly Father (2 Nephi 31:20-21). 

I love you, dad! I pray for you and mom and our family everyday! I hope that you are doing well and remember that "It`s all good! ¡Está todo bien!"

Con MUCHO amor,

Hermana Pumpkin Conover

June 17, 2014

Hi momma!

I love you!

The crafts sound fun and that it kept the kids focused on other things than bugging Kelly. :)

That`s cool how you got to talk to a former mission president`s wife. What kind of questions did she ask? The CCM president is President Nicolayson. He`s home now, there`s a new CCM president. 

It`s weird to think that in a week we`re going to have a new mission President.  We`re going to have two conferences this week - one for one half of the mission and another for the other half. We`re having ours on Thursday.  It`s also weird to think that for a lot of the missionaries, this will be the last time that they`ll see President Brough. Maybe not for the Nortes (North Americans), but for some of the Latinos, it will be the last time (in this life). But, we`re excited to meet President Markham and his wife and to learn from them, as well. We`ll still continue being exactly obedient and diligent and work on increasing our faith. I am grateful for the lessons that President and Hermana Brough have taught me here in the mission about obedience and love and faith and diligence. I will carry these lessons with me throughout my life. And now, we have the opportunity of learning from another man called of God to be a mission president and work and pray hard. I know that this is the Lord`s work and He calls people to do this work. He doesn`t call the qualified, but qualifies the called.

We had 5 baptisms this week on Sunday - and the Elders in our branch also had 5, so we had a joint baptism. It was really good and I`m excited for them. They`re going to do great things in the church. And the sister that we baptized, we`re going to help her husband prepare to be baptized the 6 of July. He`s going to come to church this week and I`m excited that they`re going to be a strong family in the church.

This week I have been learning about humility. Humility isn`t a weakness, but a sign of spiritual strength (Preach My Gospel, chapter 6, "Humility"). The opposite of humility is pride. But being humble means that we submit to the Lord`s will and do what He wants us to do. We pass through trials, it`s true, but we can have the faith and peace and strength to move forward and learn from our experiences. Through the Atonement, we can have help to do what we need to do and change what we need to change. I know that through the Atonement of Christ - His sacrifice for each of us - we can become better and clean from our sins. It`s only through this sacrifice that we can go back to the presence of our loving Heavenly Father. It`s only through this sacrifice that we can find peace - true, everlasting peace that is only the peace Christ can give and not the peace of the world.

I love you, mom! I hope that you are doing well and know that I pray for you and dad and our family everyday!

Con MUCHO amor,

Hermana Conover