Week # 19

Tue, 22 Jul 2014 15:17:09 +1000

Subject:

Hello family!!!

Well first of all, mum i'm sorry if i got you worried when i didn't write yesterday! I should have told you last week that we have our p-day today because of going to the temple! Sister L. called me up this morning to ask if i was okay, and my response is that i am happyfantastic haha!!

just a heads up though, next week i may be writing to you all on tuesday as well because of transfers! Can you believe that time of change is already around the corner? Well i have a feeling that a lot of things will be changing in the k district!

Well a funny story to tell you happened last friday. So with english class we rotate between us and the k1 and k2 elders each week and last week was k1 elders turn. (And by the way the class has been growing we know have 5 people attending yay!!!) Sister C and I had the folder still at our flat and the stitch was figuring out a way to give it to them with no hassel. So because the k2 elders live in the same flat with them we made a solution to try to give it to them that day because we were in the K2 area. As we were driving out of the corner of my eye i see a man in a suit knocking from door to door and of course i thought this was one of the elders, as a matter of fact he looked just like elder K from behind. So i motion to sister C to stop the car and she does with much haste and we quickly grab the folder and start stalking after the supposed elder K! As we were so close to approach him he still had his back turned but once he turned to face our way... it was not elder K hahaha!!! We felt so embarrassed!! We quickly just turned around back towards the car laughing!!! Now you would have thought that i could've looked around if his companion elder K was there too because you would think it was strange that he was going tracting alone! Well i didn't think of that but next time i will be more careful haha!!

Love you all so much!!! I hope everything is going well with Aman!! I'll keep on praying for him! 

Oh and O's baptism is tonight!!!! YAY! All has gone well and she has prepared herself well for this special day!! She is so excited and i think Sister C and I may be even more excited than her haha!! next week i'll send you the pictures of her!!

P.S Mum i know you love me so much! I didn't get sad when i didn't recieve an email from you last week i new that you would have been busy :) But thank-you for the package that's on the way! You didn't have to send me more shoes but i will take them gratefully nonetheless haha! Thank-you R for offereing to drop them off!

Oh and i suggest you check out a blog called "F down under", it's by a couple missionary serving here and she puts pictures of us there so look out for ones of me haha!! But the F. are an awesome couple and they help us as missionaries so much and we just love them to bits!

pictures - me cooking chilli con carne for dinner, yummy!! And the primary class we taught last sunday :) I miss my primary class say hello for them from me and a big hug to each of them!

Hi president H

!

My core experience with God this week would have to be through a HUGE miracle Sister C and I had last Saturday!!! So we have this church head-quarter referral given to us a while back and it had been really hard to get to set a time to meet with her! Her name is H and just that saturday we felt to go by her house and check if she was home and SHE WAS! Not was she only home but she had time for us to come inside to teach her more about Jesus Christ as she kept on mentioning that she just wants to know more about jesus Christ!! Of course we had no problems with that and off we went from the beginning and taught her an amazing lesson on the restoration! Even though i felt like i didn't quite teach my best i felt the spirit so strongly and there was no backing out on my part to ask her to be baptised! because once we asked her she immediately said yes and we were able to committed her right there and then to be baptised on the 16th of August!!! I was in total happiness overload and what was more is that she didn't want us to stop teaching! her aunty was also sitting in the lesson and she was also captured by the spirit! next Sunday the whole family will be coming to church including H's children, husband, aunty and 2 cousins!! I feel so blessed that Heavenly father placed this who whole family ni our path who have been definetly prepared by him to be taught the gospel at this moment in time! 

My best practice for teaching as Jesus taught i feel has been the times we have been able to visit the members this week in their homes. Teaching them with the gift of discernment has been my main goal and as i have been sincerely praying for this gift from the holy Ghost as i put myself in their shoes and listen to them with understanding i feel that i have been able to share messages that feel the home with the spirit and help them to get motivated to do their missionary work. I'm quite excited to her more of our member's missionary experiences and it really feels me with great joy that we have been an instrument in helping them having more experiences.

My greatest fear as a missionary is time! I'm already shocked at how much time has gone by already since i've been here and i'm scared that time will just continue to fly by so fast that i won't be able to find all the people that i am meant to find! I think what i've done so far to help me overcome this fear is just by taking it one day at a time and working the hardest i can to achieve what i'm meant to achieve on that day. I know i can only do so much but i have just been doing my best and fully dedicating myself to the Lord while time goes by can help me look back on my mission with no major regrets.

Nothing confidential to share

Lots of love,

Sister Valdes x

photos

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week #18

hey hey hey!!!!!!

Wow was it a surprise to hear that you met the L's!!!! It was actually at a dinner appointment that someone told me they saw the pictures you took with them on facebook but unfortunately i haven't seen them! I am so glad that you met them! It was quite funny though because before they left they were actually going to grab your number that they could call you if they had some spare time to meet you all. but that didn't go through and so i was wondering how in the world they were able to meet you without that contact!! But then i was told the whole story on Sunday and how they are related to the T's!! Well they loved meeting you too!!!

Thankyou for sending the package though!! I hope it wasn't expensive!!! But i will let you know when i recieve it!

yes i heard about D's call and that is so exciting!!!! I've been emailing her so it made me so happy when she told me!! And that's exciting to hear about A. call too!!!!! 

You don't know how happy i am to hear that A is taking the missionary lessons!!!!! Aaaaahhhhh that it soooooo amazing!!! How did that all come about??? i want to know the story Jaysen!!! Well i will be praying for him and from what i can feel at the moment i'm pretty sure he will be baptised!!! 

Well more news about O. her baptismal date has now been changed to the 22nd of this month! Due to scheduling issues the 12th was too soon but O still has the excitement spark in her eyes!!! It made me so happy to see her at church yesterday as well!! because she recently turned 12 it was her first time at young women's!! The young women's president, sister k is amazing and she is looking after her well and getting her more comfortable with the other girls too!!! So that makes Sister C and i so full of joy!! We have our next lesson with her tonight and that will be on temples!! So i can't wait til then! Seriously i get so excited going over to teach her because her lessons are just so fun and i love the feeling of the spirit in their home! 

I love you all heaps and heaps!!!! have a great week!!!

Con mucho amor,

Sister Valdes xx

P.S how is the family history going?? :)

Hello President H,

My core experience with God this week would have to be through a miracle we had last Thursday. It was after the zone special conference and we had planned to go see some members hoping they would be home so that we could share a message. However both families we tried weren't home, then interestingly enough sister C and I felt the same prompting to go over and visit a less active women we hadn't been able to see in a while. Even though we knew her house was further away from where we were at that time we had the urged to drive over there anyways. As we arrived at her door and after knocking a couple of times, we had the door opened by her border named A! At first he was a bit reluctant to speak to us but we ended up having a wonderful conversation and taught a little of the restoration and the atonement! he seemed really keen to learn more and was even excited to come to church! My heart wouldn't stop beating and i was so filled with joy that we were able to properly meet him and teach a great lesson there on the doorstep. He later became a new investigator that night! I know that this miracle was a result from following the promptings of the spirit and having that little prayer in my heart to have something great happen after having had a real spiritual boost at the conference! I don't know how many times i have already said this, but I know heavenly father truly answers prayers! 

My best practice for the week in teaching as Jesus taught i think would have to be my improvement on talking to people on the street. I have now come to love going up to people and getting to know them and somehow turning the conversation toward the gospel.  My love for the people in this area has immensely grown and i feel that it is because of this that i growing my eagerness to share the gospel with them. I am wanting to become more like the sons of Mosiah where they were filled with this strong desire to declare salvation unto every creature and couldn't bear that one soul be lost for the thought of it caused them to quake and tremble! As i strive to apply more of the atonement in my life i know i will be able to have this same desire, knowing that it is through the atonement where one can have hope and a greater happiness in life. 

As a result of the last special zone conference, i now am striving to be more driven by my missionary purpose through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I find that as i have been applying the atonement more intently I have felt more positive about the work and I am striving more to recognize what things i can give of myself despite my weaknesses to help others come unto Christ and feel of the spirit. I loved the training on patriarchal blessings and this too has motivated me to read it more often and to continue to work on my vision that will help me to be purpose driven and focused. 

Nothing confidential to share

Lots of Love, 

Sister Valdes

Week # 17

Hola familia!!!

Wow it seems like so many things are happening for you all lately!!! It's makes me so happy to read that everything is goin well but i hope you get better soon papi! lets see if those oils will help! So far i really like the one you sent me mum! It smells so good and i think the smell is helping me sleep through the night better! You know sleep is truly so precious on the mission and to have every single minute of it is a blessing haha!! 

Well funny moments for this week have been that the whether has been quite windy and poor Sister C has had some Marilyn moments when she realised she picked the wrong skirt to wear on those days haha!! Lucky no one realy has paid attention and of course i've been therre to cover them up haha!!

This past week has also been amazing with all the meetings we have had. We had both zone training meeting with our zone leaders and zone conference with president and sister Howes! WOW have i learned a lot from them!!

The picture i've sent is at zone conference with Sister R in the beaches zone. What's so cool is that i served in the MTC with her sister who is currently serving in new zealand so i was super excited to meet her!

I love you all so much!!! Keep being happy!!!

Lots of love,

Sister Valdes xx

P.S sorry to ask you for another favour and i know you just sent a package but could you please also send my white walking shoes? Turns out that bad luck is on my side and i am getting terrible blisters with my black shoes. The good thing is there going away but i think maybe the white ones could do some help! Thank you!! Also if it's not too much to send the nice blazer jacket and a few skirts too :) Love you!!

 

Hello president H!!

My core experience with God this week would have to be in the trial of my faith. This week in particularly has been one filled with miracles and a number of disappointments. These disappointments have come from investigators, whom I have grown to love and cherish, deciding not to investigate the church any further. Just all of a sudden when we previously had amazing lessons that were filled with the spirit, something happens that changes their minds. The first few were a bit devastating but as surely as i feel the wind, I felt heavenly father there with me to bear me up and through the atonement i have found comfort and patience with the work. I have come to really understand that these fall throughs aren't failures but they have been success' in that we had invited them to exercise their agency in choosing whether to accept the gospel or not. And those that have decided not to still have that seed planted within them and now know more about the gospel than they would have before. So we never know, that maybe sometime in the future this seed will begin to grow and they'll want to learn more again. 

My best practice for the week in teaching as Jesus taught would have to be in my progression in feeling the spirit more when i teach. I feel as though i am learning more to trust the spirit and be lead by it and through this an amazing miracle happened where Sister C and I finally set a baptismal date with our investigator O!! I am so excited that she has finally come to feel more comfortable in the idea of being baptised and I am going to strive to do the best i can to continue to let the spirit guide me so that this baptism will happen, and i do have faith that it will!

P.S and her date is also for the 12 July like the lady in Sale that you have told me about papi!! AAAhhh that's so cool! I'll pray for her as well that he date won't fall through

How i felt in sacrament meeting yesterday was unusually very happy! It was a morning where i was really filled with excitement  knowing that mark, an investigator, and his family was going to come to church however after waiting outside for ages we received a text from him which basically said he was grateful for having invited him to be part of our church but decided he would stick with going to the one closer to home. I think because there was a number of similar situations like this that happened earlier in the week, discouragement didn't get the best of me and i knew that Heavenly father's love was wrapped around be! I felt peace and the talks which were spoken in both sacraments were amazing that had words that really spoke and comforted me. I know that Heavenly father never asks of anyone to do the impossible, and so because he has personally asked me to assist Him in hastening His work as a missionary, this means that if it is helping someone come to church, it is possible in the K area! So with that i know i need to be patient and strive to trust him more as well as work even harder to find those people who are being prepared by Him.

Nothing confidential to share

Lots of love, 

Sister Valdes

Shannen week # 16

Yay!! still in K!!

Hello everybody!!!

Thankyou for the package i received it yesterday from the zone leaders and I am currently wearing the boots! Much needed as today is pretty wet! Thankyou also abuela and tata for your letters and the gifts!! I love you both heaps!!

Wow it's so exciting to hear that j and j are both going to M wow!!! I need you to to send me lots of pictures, okay! haha!! And J asking g out oooooo... well i hope that all works out j! G is a really nice girl so i can't wait to get to know her better then when i get back home!

This week has been pretty good we found 2 more new investigators which i'm excited about!! One of which we are seeing later today so pray that all goes well, her name is R from I! 

Sorry again this being a short letter but i love you heaps and heaps!!!

Hello President H!

My core experience with God this week is one that relates to the weather! It really has been such nice warm week, so unusual for it being Winter! However on one particular it started to pour down with rain. Sister C and I had planned to visit some potentials which meant getting out of the car and run in the rain towards their front door. Remembering President Uchtdorf's talk last general conference, the thought of being grateful in any circumstance came to mind so before we left the car I prayed in gratitude for the rain no matter if we were going to get wet. In closing the prayer and getting out of the car the rain slowed down to a little drizzle allowing both of us to quickly walk over to M's door without getting too wet. As we reached the covers of her door, the rain rain then started to pour down harder again! at first i thought that was pretty neat that we just missed getting drenched but for a fact i know there is no such thing as coincidences! because again, as we then began to head back to our car the rain turned into a drizzle and as we stepped into the car the rain started to pour down hard again! During this time we tried to visit a couple of potentials and we weren't having too much success in finding them home yet i knew that heavenly father was looking out for us that whole time protecting us from the rain and then lifting up our spirits later with providing us with a beautiful rainbow to admire! 

My best practice for the week in teaching as Jesus taught was through a miracle we had in visiting a lady named J! We first had contact with her a couple of weeks ago during tracting and thought to drop by and see how she was doing. The miracle was that she remembered us and she invited us inside with such joy!! She later told us that, that the first time we met her we caught her on a day that she just had a surgery and she was quite in pain and feeling sad for herself being in her situation. At the moment she is currently fighting breast cancer and the good news is that she is doing well! However by just showing up on her doorstep with smiling faces and giving her the message of the plan of salvation really had made her day! hearing this touched my heart and i knew that she felt the spirit with us! So in teaching as Jesus taught i felt that in our second visit with her i was able to testify and teach certain principles all throughout the conversation we had with her! That no matter what topic we talked about, I knew the spirit directed me to know what little thing i could testify about that related to that topic.  She wants to have us back soon so i'm really praying that she'll continue to progress towards baptism!!

In regards to how i'm feeling about my mission so far,  well I'm really loving it! I get so much joy out of finding people and teaching them the gospel and I have seen that i am changing from once a sister who got nervous thinking about going to our next appointment to now someone who get's excited and can't wait to teach in following appointments! Even though it does get hard sometimes, especially this week where we have had our ups and really hard lows, i always feel heavenly father is near by and encouraging me to keep pressing forward and to not lose hope in what the future can bring if i move forward with faith.

Nothing confidential to share

Lots of love,

Sister Valdes

Week # 15

Hi family!!!

Well yet again I survived another transfer!! This will now be my 3rd transfer in k with Sister c However  there have been some changes made with the elders in both k1 and k2! From k1 Elder W, our district leader, has left which is sad because he was only here for one transfer and really brought about some great progress in the ward! So now our ditrict leader is elder keefer which is exciting! from k2 elder c, the t , has left and the new missionary is soon to arrive here in Sydney on wednesday to be trained by elder k, so this is also exciting!! and with that i'm no longer a new missionary! my 12 weeks training is all done and i'm now an adult haha!! It really is amazing how now i look back and i can already see how much i have changed! I hope i can continue to improve and be the best missionary i can be! 

Okay well mum i would absolutely love to get the emails of A and R so that i can write to them. 

 

It is sad to hear that A has now moved out of home so i hope that maybe i can be of an influence to help her start questioning this decision....

I wish i had time to write more but unfortunately like always time slips by!!! However a scripture that i'm really loving at the moment is Alma 30:44! It describes how we can just look at this world and see it as evidence that there is a God. It's funny because I really get goosebumps whenever remember that He really did create this beautiful world just for us and by this I know that heavenly father is mindful of us and wants us to receive the same joy he has! 

Lots of love,

Sister Valdes xx

Hello President H!

My core experience with God this week would definitely have to be an instance where heavenly father truly did answer a prayer for me. It was on the Saturday night where I specifically prayed for the opportunity to sing, as I had the feeling of wanting others to enjoy the singing of missionaries and feel of the spirit. So the next day, being Sunday sister C and I walk into the k 1st ward sacrament meeting and right then on the spot a sister from the ward asked us and the elders if we could sing a musical item! I was taken by surprise and just felt pure joy inside of me that heavenly father really had answered my prayer and so promptly as well!! I guess sometimes for me i forget that heavenly father truly does hear and answer our prayers and it is an added strength to my testimony every time i recognize this. I know that the Lord is there watching down on me and  i am so grateful to feel of his presence and influence in my life.

My best practice for teaching as Jesus taught would have to be through developing the Christlike attribute of hope. Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to do a little training on 'hope' for district meeting and through my preparation and studying of this Christlike  attribute i have really come to understand what this word really means and how much it really ties in with the atonement! How it is only through the Saviour Jesus Christ that we are able to have hope in life and receive the blessings of eternal life. Often this word is commonly used in relation to uncertainty but as we read in the scriptures hope is firm and unwavering and it is through our faith that we can exercise it. So having this in mind everyday since that district meeting i really tried to help others have hope through the atonement, to know that their lives do have greater meaning and that we can live happily and eternally with our families because of Jesus Christ. 

A time that i have felt spiritually fulfilled would be during my last zone training meeting! We had some great missionaries speak on topics that i exactly needed to hear and an amazing training and great words of counsel from the Zone leaders! I feel that it was during this meeting where i really felt the Holy Ghost totally fill inside of me and assure me that i am not alone doing this work and the areas of improvement i can work towards to hasten it. In addition i really felt that this past transfer meeting was amazing where i too felt spiritually fulfilled!

Nothing confidential to share.