DOS HERMANAS!! [Letter 64]

FAMILY!!!
I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! Seriously it is awesome. It has a small town feel but is about as big as my area in Almería. So its fabulous. The ward here is awesome. And i´m not joking when I say that we fill up every seat in the sacrament room. I have heard that they are going to build a new chapel but it won´t be done for about a year. Then it really will be over flowing. The people here are really really nice. It is so much fun talking with them. My new companion Hermana Ramsay is AWESOME!! She has a very bubbly personality and people can´t help but love her. It is a lot of fun to work with her. I am laughing all the time and we get a lot of work done. She walks really fast. She is a great teacher and she relates to people like I´ve seen nobody else do. I am learning so much from her.

This next week we have some great plans to teach and find people. I´m excited. Also guess what time of year it is? EASTER! and that means Semana Santa here in Spain. No joke yesterday when we were RUNNING home to be in on time every street we turned down was blocked off by tons of people and the giant parade of KKK dressed people with giant candle sticks and a gigantic trono with a lady on it carried by about 20 men. The band followed behind with drums and trumpets. It is very unusual but also very Spanish  It is fun to be here for the cultural things. Experiences never to be forgotten for sure.

Well my lovely family I love you. I know that Christ lives and I am excited for this next week to really focus on Him and His resurrection. Many ask if Mormons are Christians why don´t we display the cross like so many others. I am happy to respond that as a disciples of Christ we worship the resurrected Christ. We focus on His great victory over death. I am eternally grateful for His sacrifice on my behave and I am grateful for this opportunity to serve Him and His children here in Spain. I hope everyone has a great week and I invite you to ponder on what this Man means to you and how He can/has changed your life. I love you all so much and hope for you the best ever!

Love,
Hermana Petru

MILAGROS!! [Letter 63]

Well my dear family I will start off with the okay news. I´m moving to Dos Hermanas. te he. yes there are dos hermanas in Dos Hermanas. My new companion will be Hermana Ramesey. She has been in the feild for 3 or 4 months. So it will be fun to learn from her. She served state side for a time before coming here. I am excited to get to know her and a new area of Spain. I will be changing my stake for the first time so there is a lot of new stuff to learn. Culture wise as well. The people from Málaga have a rivalry with those of Sevilla although they are all Andeluceans. Accent is different too soooo lots of changes this transfer.

and now for the AMAZING NEWS!!

Okay so awhile back I told you about the mother and daughter who were gonna get baptized. The mother yes got baptized but I didn´t have the heart to tell you all that the daughter backed out the day before. Well this last week we were praying because we knew that she was ready to get baptized. She has a testimony but she was building walls of doubts. They were just getting higher and higher. But after much prayer we felt like we needed to invite her to get baptized this Saturday. We had the appointment with her on Thursday. as we planned the lesson we truly felt guided. We decided to talk about the Life of Christ and all the things that He did. We prayed and prayed to have the spirit with us. Well as we began the lesson everything was going well the Spirit was there so strongly. Well after we both testified of Christ and His atonement. I asked, "He did all of that for us. But was do we give to Him?" She responded "well we follow Him." My companion "Christ has invited us to be baptized like we read (alma 7:14-15). If Christ was here and invited you be baptized would you do it?" Her face lit up and she said "yes of course without a doubt." I then testified "We have been called by a profet of God as respresentatives of Christ and we are asking, will you be baptized by someone who has the authority of God?" -silence- "yes i will."

That night we fasted. Giving thanks to God for His spirit and begging that she focused on her testimony and not on her doubts. The elders came and an hour and 15 minute interview later they appeared. "I´m getting baptized tomorrow" she declared. And that she did. We had an amazing miracle baptism. The Lord is in this work. I have no doubt. Mircles happen everyday. Big or small it doesn´t matter they are miracles. I love this work and I am sad to be leaving Málaga. I love the people here. But I know the Lord will take care of them and I will see them again someday. Love you all and I pray that your week is full of blessing.

love,
Hermana Petru

NEWS! [Letter 62]

HELLO PEOPLE that i love!

Well it has been a wet week but awesome. Life is going good. Still learning and growing like crazy. as my year mark came up I kind of freaked out. I calmed down but I have started a new habit that I wanted to share with ya´ll. I heard this from a General Authority I think. But I have started to ask in pray "what more can I give?" Well after this prayer I study. In my studies I always come across a Christ like attribute that stings a little. You know the feeling. That little pika that says "oh man I need to work on that or change that." Well I make a internal goal to work on that attribute that day. As I go throughout that day I find that the Lord gives me little chances to repent. like  when I learn about patience (no laughing). Okay I need to really work on that one. But as I made a goal to be more patient that day.

So when we meet with a less active that tells us that she has started to smoke again instead of responding with chastisement I have the opportunity to testify of the love that the Lord has for her and that she can truly keep the commandments. Or when my companion leaves the phone at home and we find out after we arrive in a pueblo. These little choices that the Lord gives me to make can help me become more like Him. I am not perfect by any means and that is way the Lord keeps giving the chance to choose the right. I am so grateful to a loving Heavenly Father that takes the time and has the interest to help me reach my full potential. It is a wonderful time to live.

Also this week we have found a wonderful family. It is a single mom with two kids. She is such a great person. She has a hunger to know about the Gospel and how she can have a happier existence here on the earth. It is such a blessing to be there to testify to here of the power of the Atonement and how Christ truly can help lift and bear burdens. I love this work!!

Next GUESS WHAT!?!?!?! I got word from president today that we are allowed to email family, friends and preisthood leaders. So I would love to here from people. I hope everyone is having a great day and that your week continues with many blessings. I love you all!!!

Hermana Petru

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the Plain [Letter 61]

HOLA!!

Okay so this one is going to be short. Sorry!!  Everything is going really well here. The work is moving forward even though the rain dampers the skies it does not damper our excitment. Life is going good. Hermana Hodson and I are having a wonderful teaching, learning and growing. This week we have seen some major progress in our friends. They are changing their lives to come closer to our Savior. They are finding happiness in the gospel and it truly is a blessing to see. I love the MISSION!! Tomorrow I get to go on a wonderful exchange with a sister from another area. It is going to be fun.

We did exchanges with the hermanas in the Malaga 1 area this week. President says that the hermanas will have more of an opportunity to do such things now that we are closer together. I love it because we get to learn and teach with other companions. I always learn a new way to explain something or a new technique that I could improve on. It really is a great opportunity. And also when we come back to our companions it is always nice to talk about and such because they learn new things. We get new insights on investigators and it is just and all around awesome thing. This week in the Book of Mormon study I have been reading in Alma and his efforts to rescue his brethen. I love to read his sweet testimony about the Savior and His Atonement. Truly Alma is an example of a great missionary. I have been working on that myself actually and as I read I am learning new things about teaching, repenting and being like my Savior. I love the scriptures. Well I hope everyone has a great week. I´m sorry I told you this one was going to be short. LOVE YOU ALL!!!


Hermana Petru