FAM!

Hey! So all of you sound like you are doing great! Thank you for all of your b-day wishes today. It was a good day.  I honestly forgot for most of the day that it was my b-day until the night time when my pench put together a little get-together with some of the leaders and members in our ward which was really sweet! I felt like I was at a Bennett party ;) They all went around and said something they admired about me which was kind of funny to hear the answers because I have only been in the ward for three weeks haha. It was a really happy day for me—just to serve the lord like each day here in the mission!

But yesterday I got the most amazing birthday present ever—our investigators and less-actives at church! Heavenly Father is truly blessing us with people who are truly prepared. Maria Ester, the one I was talking about the other day came to church for the first time and she absolutely loved it! And also our investigator Ana also came and after church it was so sweet—she asked for a blessing for her health from the bishop. It was such a special experience to see an investigator getting blessed through the priesthood. But what was the most beautiful about this day was that one of our less-actives who we are trying to rescue walked through every class, explaining every little detail of the church to Maria Ester.  And on the other hand our most recent convert, Totti, was doing the exact same thing with Ana. What a blessing to see them sharing the gospel!

This week we also went out to do divisions with the sisters who are in Ilo, which is about an hour and a half away from Moquegua.  I was given the opportunity to go out to Ilo which is beachy—it reminds me of California. It was so beautiful. It was really fun to get to know Hna Alciden from Mexico. She is from Mexico but she said her parents spoke in English to her all the time at home but here on the mission she hasn’t had the chance to practice so I practiced with her. I love doing divisions because I get to ask these girls who they are and what life has taught them that maybe I haven’t learned yet. I learn so much from each of their individual gifts and talents! 

This week I truly experienced the scripture where it says, “Mas o menos...." Many are looking for the truth but just don’t know where to find it. The other night we met with a family with two cute little girls and we just started out by asking them basic questions like, “What do you think your purpose it here in this life? Why do you think you were blessed with a family? What do you want for your children?” And honestly each answer to these questions was, "I really don’t know." It was unbelievable to me to see these children of God so lost.  So lost in fact, that they have no idea why they are here or what they want in their future. At the end of the lesson we asked the family to kneel and pray together.  They all hesitantly got on their knees as if they had never done so in their lives and after we said amen everyone was silent.  The mom and dad looked at each other almost confused saying, "What is that feeling?"  In that moment my testimony of the spirit and the light of Christ grew tremendously. The light of Christ is in each soul and it is just our job as members of the church to reawaken this light in others that has been dormant for a while!

Well, this week has been full of miracles and I have felt Heavenly Father guide my each step. However, if we want to see miracles in our lives, we need to go and find them and work to see them.  They won’t just come! Each day I am humbled realizing my complete reliance on my Heavenly Father. I love each of you so much, thank you for all your prayers. I couldn’t do this without them. Now, go out and reawaken the light of Christ in another person who is looking for the truth—in the street, at your work, in a drive through—anywhere! And the easiest way to spark that light of Christ is through your SMILE! love ya. Talk to you next week!

Love, Jess

Thanks Mom!

Hey fam!

Sorry I’m extremely late. My companion has been having some problems with her health and because our area of Moqugua is very off in nowhere land there aren’t any doctor’s clinics that can do all the tests and labs that she needs to do. So, this morning we got up early and got on a bus to Arequipa in order to make her appointment in the afternoon, so I didn’t have time to write this morning. She is doing fine. The mission nurse just wanted us to do these test to make sure nothing is wrong. But it was fun today to be in Arequipa and talk with president for a while. We plan on getting the results tomorrow morning and heading back to our area to work as fast as we can! I love my new area!

Funny thing that happened today, right as we were walking into the clinic guess who walks in right after us? Our investigator from Moquegua! Haha she was so surprised and happy to see us. Her name is Ana and she has cancer. We have been teaching her these past two weeks. She loves coming to church and just seems like she is craving to learn more about the plan of salvation because she doesn’t know when she will be taken from this life. We talked to her for a while in the clinic. She just feels so tired and weak all the time but is trying as hard as she can to read the Book of Mormon. She has such a sweet and gentle spirit. We are going to challenge her again this week. We are feeling that she is ready. Please pray for her!

Our other investigator, Maria Ester, was the one I talked about last week who told us that she felt she had known us before this life. She is progressing extremely well. She knows so many people in our ward and every person who knows her has been telling us that she is a very closed person and will not change her ways. However, the first lesson we had with her she committed to a date in December! She is amazing and honestly seems like a member of the church already. She lives alone in a big house and has told us she feels lonely and she wants to become the person that God wants to her be but doesn’t know HOW. But, through the gospel of Jesus Christ we can know the HOW of every question we have in life. Especially if it is about reaching our divine potential! I am so excited to teach her more this week!

We have been receiving many references from the members -and the other day we received a reference of a family of five. We went over to their house to do a NDH and the mom expressed to us that she has always loved our church because of our focus on the family and she has been praying for something to come into her life in order to make the changes necessary to become a stronger mother and family! Tomorrow we have another lesson with them and my companion and I are super excited to teach them about eternal families and the covenants they can make in the temple! Temples are my absolute favorite thing to talk about in lessons!

Also, this week we had a training over satellite by the area presidency on how we can be a more effective ward council in order to hasten the work of the Lord! It was so amazing. We have so many things to change but right after this meeting we met together as a ward council to talk specifically about the things that we want to change which was very powerful. And from that, I know that from now on the investigators and less-actives will be in good hands here in the ward!

I went on divisions with Hna. Flora the other day who is from my same group at the CCM. It is crazy that just about nine months ago we were praying that one day we could be companions and the other day we got to be companions for a day!

Well, that was my week this week! Many miracles seen because of the guidance of Heavenly Father. This week I truly felt the power of the atonement through the sacrament. Before the mission I honestly didn’t understand the significance of partaking of the bread and water, however, during the course of my mission I have tried to actively participate in the sacrament. Taking the advice of the president of the primary I think this last conference who spoke about the sacrament that during the sacrament we should make a list of the things we want to CHANGE in order to be more perfected the next week. I would suggest this to all of you! As you do this, you will feel the power of the atonement flow through you as you renovate your covenants during the sacrament!

Well, I love you so much. Thank you for all your prayers and love. I couldn’t do this without you! Up until next week, keep smiling. Especially when you don’t feel like it! Love you!

Love, Jess

Doing divisions with Hna. Flora. She is from my group on the CCM and now she is in my zone.

 

FAM!

Hey! How is everyone this week? You all sound like you are doing great! Well, this week has been a little bit of a crazy one.  I rode on my own on Monday night to my new area.  The bus ride was about four hours long.  I arrived at about 8 at night and didn’t have a cell phone. Haha just a little bit confused, however, the tender mercy of the night was that as I walked into the terminal with my suitcases and everything, no one was in there.  As I looked around helplessly all of the sudden I hear, "Hermana!" I turned around and it was a young couple who just happened to be members of the church! Literally they were the only ones in the building. They offered me their cell-phone to call my comp and talked to me for a while. Wow, such a miracle of the day. 

My comp and my pench came to pick me up. My comp is exactly like me.  It’s kind of scary.  It’s like I’m looking in the mirror when I’m looking at her and all of the characteristics she has. She went to Skyline and we have many of the same friends but we didn’t know each other before. Crazy. She also went to BYU before she left studying piano performance. This is her last transfer but seeing how diligent and obedient she is, she doesn’t seem like she is finishing! My penchanista is the cutest thing ever! She just loves to talk and talk and talk and she plays Christmas music 24/7.  The first thing she said to me was that I look like the child of the famous actor on Italian job.  Haha I have no idea why. Her family is adorable.  Her two sons call me their sister and her husband is the bishop so as we are eating there it is an amazing opportunity to talk to him and what he needs us to do for the ward.

My new area is completely different that Arequipa. Arequipa is like a New York—kind of crazy with a bunch of people. Here, it’s a small town with a lot less people. It is so CALM here. The streets are small and everywhere you look there is an old fashion hotel. The atmosphere kind of reminds me of Europe with all the old buildings. But so far I love it! I can’t wait to get to know everyone!

I’ve done a lot of traveling this week.  I’m putting my Stever travel gene into practice. After I came in on Monday we worked Tuesday and then it was off the Arequipa another time for the leadership conference (!) on Wednesday and Thursday. I loved the conference.  I learned so many things that I can’t even explain--mostly just how to be more humble. There was such an amazing spirit there as we talked about our goals as a mission and how we can hasten this work. Also, I truly learned of the love that our mission president has for each and every one of us. He truly does feel like a dad. As we were in the mission home that night all the sisters got in their pajamas and were talking in the living room. And all the sudden president comes out in his pajamas just to talk and laugh with us! haha He is unbelievable--a true example to me of humility.

We came back late at night on Thursday and got ready to work on Friday! We have a few investigators that are progressing. One of them I met yesterday and we had the idea to go to the farm of one of our recent converts with some other members and the bishop to have a lunch and a testimony meeting with Maria (our investigator). She truly felt the spirit and bore her testimony also, telling us that she felt like she had been with us before this life. What a miracle. She is very Catholic but we are going to work with her a lot more this week, but yesterday was a big step for her thanks to Heavenly Father and his guiding hand!

This has been a crazy week and I am continually, even more now, recognizing my weaknesses and realizing my complete and utter reliance on my Heavenly Father. Without Him and His guidance I could not do anything. I wouldn’t know where to turn, what door to knock on, what words to say. He guides me and comforts me in every step that I take. I love Him. He is my Savior, my comforter and most importantly my friend. Every day we need to SET APART our TIME to KNOW Him, and if we do our yoke will be fastened with his and our burdens will be made light! I love each and every one of you so much! Thank you for all that you have done for me, without each of you I wouldn’t be here right now. Well, I will talk to you all next week but until then! Keep SMILIN! :)

Love, Jess

lunch after the leader conference

with the sister leaders from TAcna

cooking llama with a member!

FAM! 

Hey how is everything? Like always it sounds like you are doing great down there in Utah! I heard that it snowed down there that is so fun! Well today is bitter sweet for me. I am getting transferred.  It is an area called Moquegua which is about four hours from this area that I am in now. The first thing all of the people in my ward said to me that it is so unbelievable hot down there.  And that I will be eating a lot of "palta" which is avocado. My new companion in Hermana Benion.  I haven’t met her yet but she is an American from Utah! It will be extremely hard to leave these people here in this area, especially the people in the ward.  We have grown to be extremely close but the hardest part will be leaving my companion. She has taught me things that I never even thought possible. She has been such an angel in my life!

This week my companion and I really tried hard to find those people that are waiting and prepared to here this gospel because before we didn’t really have many investigators progressing.  However, this week we found many new families and people that are willing to listen. So I will have to keep in touch with her to know how it goes with all of the new investigators that we found this last week.

However, the true miracle that happened this week was yesterday. We had been praying and fasting for the ward members and the less-actives to feel the need to come to sacrament meeting because only about 65 were coming. But yesterday Heavenly Father answered our prayers and our fast.  My companion walked into the ward house and counted 120 people sitting there ready to take the sacrament and renew their covenants. I will never forget the feeling that I got as I looked out into the audience seeing less-actives and families that are struggling to receive the ordinance of the sacrament that I honestly think they haven’t received in over a year! A true miracle from our Heavenly Father! As I sat there I was thinking about the progression that we have made here in this area and we have only had two baptisms during this entire time together.  However, the work of the Lord is not just that it is to ALL (members and less-actives) come unto Christ and that is truly what we have been focusing during our entire time here, to visit the families to strengthen their conversion and yesterday we were able to see the fruits of the work of our Heavenly Father! So amazing. Heavenly Father gives us miracles each day, we just have to look for them.  We can look for them in the way that we want them to come but in HIS way. And as we look at everything as a miracle we will begin to have an attitude of gratitude which cures any difficulty, problem or struggle we may have. 

Last night I didn’t know this at all but as we went back to our pench’s house to eat for the night. I walked into the door and the entire ward was sitting there waiting for us.  I cried right on the spot.  I couldn’t believe that they would take the time to do this. Everyone said some words, my comp sang and the all the little kids sang a number also. In that moment I got a little taste of what heaven will be like when we all meet back as an eternal family. The spirit was unbelievably strong in that room and I felt bad because I honestly couldn’t stand up and talk.  I was just bawling (haha thanks for that gene Stever and Grandpa Mahas).  It was so special. But now I am ready to take on this new assignment, area, and companion to be able to learn new things and make an entirely new family in this area! 

Even though it is extremely hard to leave, changes (the changes we have in life) are a blessing because they allow each and every one of us to step out of our comfort zones, to be stretched and tried.  To become the daughter or son of God you we’re meant to become here on the earth, even as HE is.

Well, I still haven’t met my companion but right after this I am heading on a bus out there so I will have to give you a report of it all next week! I just want all of you to know how much I love you.  The power of our family has sustained me throughout this mission and it is the motivation for me in order to push along each day! Well, we will see what this new week brings but up until then....guess what’s coming....KEEP SMILIN! I love you so much!

Love, Jess

Helping a member paint her house

Cooking with the best family in the world!

Yummmm!

 

Saying goodbye to the bishop's daughters

As a surprise, the whole ward showed up to say goodbye

Fam Meza has been asking me this entire transfer to pick up their dog but I had refused up until last night--this is a milestone!