Happy Holidays

Merry (late) Christmas, everyone! I hope the holidays have been bright for you!

This week has been a very enjoyable one, what with all of the holiday celebrations and general climate of peace on earth/good will to men 🙂

Christmas Day for me went as follows:

7am: The usual morning line up.

9am: Breakfast of bacon, cheesy/scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, oranges, peanut butter waffles and juice at the Loveridges.

10am: Watching of the 2013 Christmas Concert with the Tabernacle Choir (featuring John Rhys-Davies and an INCREDIBLE recanting of how A Christmas Carol came to be) LOVED it!

11am: OPENING PRESENTS (because after unlimited bacon, who needs to eat during the lunch hour?) I got so much chapstick, so many cute missionary stickers/note pads, and more chocolate than I could ever hope to eat in my entire life 🙂 What more does one need?

(The most unexpectedly awesome present that I got for Christmas, though, came from a certain BROOKE BLAU who left her amazingly cute Format pillow, a Christmas card, and some caramel popcorn at my apartment door last night! This is what happens when you serve in the same town as one of your most amazing roommates ever:) 

12-2:30pm: Skyping/Face Timing our parents at the Loveridges house, again. Got to use an iPone 6+ … it was pretty sweet to touch technology for a very short 60 minutes. It was weird to see that my parents do, in fact, exist without me being there. #SchrödingersParents

— trying to finish up cookies to deliver to people/service hour—

5pm: Dinner of incredibly cold lasagna that had already been mauled by the family we were eating with that night.

6pm: Caroling at President & Sister Ware’s house with Hermanas Williams, Johnson & Olgiun. As missionaries themselves, they couldn’t go see their families or anything like that, so they’d been alone all day. So they were very happy to visit with us for a few minutes in the mission home foyer and talk about how their cute little family is doing 🙂 It was so sweet.

6:30-8:50: Caroling at 11 other peoples houses, handing out cookies, and making follow-up appointments.

With all of the people we visited, we sang the David Archuleta & Mormon Tabernacle Choir version of Los Pastores A Belen, one verse of Noche De Luz, and Regocijad, Jesus Nacio 🙂 Then we read 2 Nephi 19:6, and said a prayer with them. It was seriously the most fun Christmas I have ever had in my liiife! Just watching little kids dance and light up with Los Pastores A Belen was the best thing ever, parents got all snuggly and cute with their tiny babies during Noche de Luz, and even though one door we knocked on had really bad swearing going on before we opened, they were in tears by the end of Regocijad, Jesus Nacio. The Spirit was just so strong, and I know that the angel were singing with us. It didn’t matter that it was about 20 degrees – those doors stayed open, and lives were blessed 🙂

And so we left a little joy, and we gave out about 15 dozen cookies. #Broke #SoWorthIt #SalvationOfSouls

Oh, and transfer calls came Saturday night! Looks like I am staying here in Kennewick for another amazing transfer 😀 The sad part is that Hermana Johnson is being sent up to Royal City to greenie bust, and Hermana Williams (my companion) is being sent over to Walla Walla to work in an English area for a while. What this means, though, is that MY NEW COMPANION IS HERMANA OLGUIN!! She’s incredible, musical, native in Spanish, and has what we call “Olguin Magic.” Entonces, all of my sadness for departures is overridden by excitement!

So, en fin, this week has been very busy, and very amazing. I just want to share some scriptures that really stood out to me during my studies this week. They are in The Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi chapter 13, when Christ is teaching the people in the Americas.

 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

 22 The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

I love these verses because I have been struggling to know where my eye is. I get frustrated with people, I get upset when things don’t pan out like they’re supposed to, and I get caught up in numbers; I am not seeing any blessings! And so when I read these verses, I realized that if I wanted to be filled with light, then my eye needs to be single, or focused, on what the Lord’s treasure is. And the work and glory of the Lord is the immortality and eternal life of man – not numbers, or hard things, or schedules! So I’ve determined to turn my focus outward, and my concern is now only for those whom I have been called to serve. This work is my treasure, and I will be filled with light as I seek to help others find theirs 🙂

Have a very happy New Year, everyone.

Hermana Mrozek

PS: Thank you to all who have sent me letters, presents, and love in all forms. I am working on getting out proper thank you cards that my mother would be proud of 🙂 I have so many sister missionary accessories now, I can’t even handle it. Thank you so much:)

PPS: First new years & Christmas without a LaPorta party. What.

Everything is Awesome

This week has been AWESOME! I don’t even know where to start!
If I had all the time in the world, I still wouldn’t be able to write everything I want to!
Hermana Johnson and I found this incredible 15 year old girl on the 6th while walking back from an appointment that fell through. We taught her about Heavenly Father and prophets, and set up a return appointment. When I was telling her that her Heavenly Father loves her, and wants to help her, she started crying. We’ve had two return appointments, and taught her the Restoration and about the Book of Mormon, and she’s been keeping all her commitments JOYFULLY. This past week, I asked her if she would prepare to be baptized (my first baptismal invite EVER) and she. said. yes!!! I just feel like she is just a blessing from Heavenly Father, because every time I am in a lesson, teaching her about the Gospel, I can feel the love Heavenly Father has for her radiating through me. She is so incredibly special, and I just want her to know it! (And on January 10th, she is going to look SO good in white 🙂
I have found those same feelings coming more and more when I am working with the other Hermanas in their area. The Lord has some very special people here, and watching these people come unto Christ, and bringing their families with them… it is the most wonderful experience ever! Azalia and her family, Bernice and her family, the children of some of our Part-member families, Lupe, and so SO many more! I love them so much, and yesterday at church we had such a high investigator attendance.
If only we could get back the sheep that have fallen away from the fold! That would be SO wonderful. That’s what Hermana Williams and I will be working on this coming week. We will be taking over most of the PMFs and RCLAs that Hermana Johnson & Olguin haven’t been able to make progress with. This area is so wonderful, and I have very high hopes that we can (as missionaries and a branch) help guide these brothers and sisters back to the Iron Rod, help them hold on fast, and walk with them on the path to the Tree of Life.
Because that’s all I want. Honestly. For others to receive the blessings that come from righteous living, for them to know with a CERTAINTY that Christ is the Savior and that Heavenly Father has provided a way for us to get home safely. I have felt of my Heavenly Father’s love, and I know that when we are founded upon Christ, and when our families are founded on Christ, we need never stand alone. Or be blown about on the winds of change. Or get trampled by circumstance.
This week we return to normal companionships. So all of these PMFs and RCLAs will be Hermana Williams and my hands. This concerns me, because I alone and not adequate. But I have learned that where there is fear, there is no faith. There is no room for fear in the work of salvation. The best I can do is my best, help my companion to do her best, and rest well at night knowing that the Lord will make up for the remainder.
I have to say, though, that Hermana Johnson and Hermana Olguin are two of the most exemplary missionaries the Lord has in His artillery right now. I have learned so much from them, and I know that even though we are all relatively “young” in our days as missionaries, they fulfill the Missionary Commission. Splitting the work with them, planning with them, helping them, being able add my fire to theirs… it’s like being one of the Sons of Thunder. Except, you know, for the fact that we are all Hermanas. But the imagery is the same!
So essentially, I am just so thankful for the time I have been afforded to learn and to grow. I am so thankful to work along side some of the best, in one of the most fertile parts of the vineyard. I don’t know if there is any other place where the investigators put themselves on date for baptism, or go above and beyond commitments because they feel God’s love when they act in faith. But I have actually been able to see the fruits of hard labor here. And I have seen the Spirit work miracles. I have seen the downtrodden be brightened and the weak be made strong. The Church is true, the Savior lives 🙂
Have a good week, everyone!

I AM IN KENNEWICK

Once upon a time, the mission president called Hermana Williams and I on Wednesday and told us that we would be Emergency Transfered out of Ephrata… in 20 Hours. So now she and I are in Kennewick East Zone (#LoSientoEphrata). But it’s okay — all good things, all good things.

We went from having a Spanish Group of como… 6 personas? To a branch of over 100. And we had a baptism this past week. And there’s around 5 more FAMILIES on-date.

We are now living in the STL’s apartment across the complex from our other Hermanas (they were the only ones that had a spare bedroom) but they are incredible. Hermana Pullens, before she left, would NOT SHUT UP about Sister Love, and I now know why. Sister Love.. how do you even begin describing Sister Love? She is such a spiritual giant, and a true delight to work with. Plus, she’s funny. And she’s somehow roped me into doing a duet with her at the Christmas Devotional this coming Thursday 🙂 #panic

The other STL is Sister Pugh, and she is incredible, too. I can’t wait to do exchanges with them and get to learn as much as I can while I’m here. I might not be here for more than these two weeks left in the transfer. But I might fight tooth and nail to stay longer because…

I have never had a more amazing week in the field as this last week has been. Because we weren’t replacing any companionship down here, and the area hasn’t been split, Hermana Williams and I are working as a 4-Panionship with Hermanas Johnson & Olguin. Can I just say.. I love them. They are so hard working, so dedicated, so — everything! And this kind of change (randomly receiving two different missionaries into your area) is NOT regular. They’ve handled it like champs, and I’m doing absolutely everything I can to delete the learning curve and get to work!The hardest part about all this change is the driving/introductions to the area. I need to get a GPS so bad. Most of our time has been wasted trying to “drop us off” at our appointments. I’ve met/had lessons with about 80% of the people in the teaching pool, but only because we’ve been splitting off every day. So since arriving, I’ve been working with Hermanas Olguin or Johnson individually. And it’s interesting because Hermana Johnson took over the area at the beginning of this transfer (she came out of the MTC with Williams and I) and Hermana Olguin has only been out one transfer longer than all three of us. So she’s (Olguin) triple greenie busting in an unfamiliar area to her, and she’s a BOSS. Native Spanish speaker, sweet and strong, bold, ah! Not enough positive adjectives!

My Meyers-Briggs is an INTJ. Hermana Johnson is an ENTJ. We work well together, and I can already see the impact. She told me about all the reasons that she came out on a mission, and the 18 months she spent in preparation, and it’s incredible. I feel like she might actually be a sister from another mister.

When I was in Ephrata, I honestly firmly believed that I would never meet anyone who was interested in the message of the restored gospel of Christ. Because that’s all I had experienced. Hermana Pullens and I tracted the place out, the work wasn’t going anywhere, the passion I have for sharing this message was falling on hostile ears, and I was struggling with my companionship with Hermana Williams really REALLY badly.

So while I love it here, and I love the opportunity that I have to touch the lives of those seeking for the help of their Savior, I am still struggling with the fact that I’m the reason we had to be moved out of Ephrata. I am constantly hearing Hermana Williams tell everyone we meet how much it “sucked” there. I feel like I am personally responsible for her bad experience there, and every time she says something like that, I feel a knife in my chest because I REALLY tried! That was my stewardship – Ephrata. We went out EVERY day to try to find just even one person with whom we could share the Gospel. And I loved the ward members – the Esquivels, the Ross family, the Salas family, the Nelsons, THE MAGNIFICENT ALLREDS, the Lybberts, Sister Smith, everyone! Couldn’t have been more blessed! But the work wasn’t progressing, and I was going insane with stress. And the Lord knew that. So, being merciful and making the call that was for the best, He told President to move us, and so here we are. (The only residing problem is that we took the area phone with us, and people from Ephrata keep calling/texting, and we can’t respond.. so it’s awkward. I hope they announce our leaving soon.)

And I now know that the field is indeed white and ready to harvest. I know that this message we bring will not always fall on deaf ears. I know that the Lord lives, and that our Heavenly Father has never stopped being mindful of His children.

I am so excited to keep pushing forward in this new area, and I have the highest hopes in the world that the Lord can help me overcome the struggles with my companion. There’s a whole section in Preach My Gospel on Christlike Attributes, and anyone who is having problems with interpersonal relations should scour it. There is great blessings and help that come from trying to be just a little bit more Christlike every day 🙂

Okay, that’s all for now! Keep praying for me! And if you see the missionaries out and about, make sure to honk!:)

Hermana Mrozek