Mi Primera Navidad y el domingo de milagros (My First Christmas and Sunday miracle)

Dear family,
So much to tell you! This was a great week. It was amazing to hear your voices on the phone. When I heard my father`s voice, I started to cry. Then I got to talk to everyone! I`m pretty sure our reunion in heaven is going to be something like that. The moment we hear our Father`s voice call us by name will be a pivotal one, and along with Him we will be with all of our loved ones again.

We spent most of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with a family called familia Argueta. They are members that Hna E. helped reactivate in the Church recently, and they are the best! One of their daughters is a ward missionary and frequently spends entire days working with us. She`s incredible. She has a desire to serve a mission too, but as of now has not started the paperwork. She will be a wonderful missionary. :)

Yesterday was a milagro (miracle). One of the other ward missionaries (also joven (young) who will leave on his mission in February) always helps us bring our investigators to church on Sunday. Because our area is huge (it covers about 6-7 km, I`m not sure what that is in miles) we try to arrange for rides in a car, and it`s always this young man that helps us out. Except yesterday. Something came up last minute and we were left without a car at 8:30 am (church starts at 9). On top of that, two of our investigators called and said they couldn`t come to church anymore. We left to bring a recent convert that lives close-ish, thinking sadly that we would only have one investigator in church (an hermano who always comes on his own).

When we got to sacrament meeting, we saw a miracle: six of the members had brought friends, neighbors, or family members to the meeting. We had six new investigators in church! This was huge.

I know the Lord is blessing us for our personal sacrifices here in Refineria 2. A few days ago I had an Enos experience (see the book of Enos in the Libro de Mormon, it`s only a few verses, you can do it) where I literally felt a burden lifted from my shoulders as I prayed more intensely than I ever have before. And the very next day, miracles started to happen.

I know the very same experience is waiting for each one of you. Remember that effective prayer can`t be rushed. I encourage you to make your prayers with all your heart and soul. Tell your Heavenly Father everything. (He knows everything anyway. We can`t hide anything from Him.) Ask Him for help and comfort. He will give it. It doesn`t always come as quickly as it came for me this week (heaven knows I understand that), but it will come.

Cuìdense, todos. (Literally translates "beware all". I'm wondering if she means something like, "be careful") I love you so much.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! And Dad, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Write you again in 2014.

Hna Henrie

Opening Christmas gifts at 10:30 pm. It`s Salvadoran tradition to open the gifts at midnight on Christmas Eve, but I was exhausted and told Hna E that 10:30 is midnight for us. Five minutes later I was sleeping like a rock, through all the fireworks and music of our vecinos (neighbors). haha

Making Christmas cards for our 29 neighbors. Each one had a scripture, our picture and a brief message.

Eating tamales with family Argueta after I called you on the phone 

Chaparrastique volcano

Dear Parents,

No need for alarm, but many of you will have heard about the eruption of the San Miguel volcano today. All of our missionaries are accounted for and safe. We have evacuated San Miguel, Usulutan, and San Vicente to the capital for safety. All are well and safe. We felt the hand of the Lord in all that occurred today. The President felt that he should attend church in a city near the volcano. We saw it explode. We were able to reach San Miguel so quickly. All of the missionaries (54 of them) we were able to contact. (that is a miracle alone, because only 3 have cell phones, but because it was during church, we reached them all.) Our missionaries in Berlin (who were very close to the volcano) just “happened” to have the counselor in the mission presidency visiting. He had them in his car and on the way to San Salvador in a matter of 10 minutes. It was all such a miracle.

We are so thankful for your continued prayers. Please pray for the saints who remain in those affected areas. Pray that the missionary work will be blessed because of this disaster—that hearts will be softened and opened.

We are so thankful for your faithful sons and daughters. They were courageous, uncomplaining, and very obedient today. We are so grateful for their wonderful examples. They will all be writing you tomorrow of their adventures, but we wanted you all to know that they are safe and well and that God has truly blessed our mission this day, so that you, too, could offer Him a prayer of thanksgiving. How blessed we are! He is so magnificent. We are so grateful. God bless all of you.

Sincerely,

President and Sister Glazier

All pictures courtesy of Hermana Glazier (mission president's wife)

Note:  Jessica was about 60 miles from the volcano.  She was not part of the evacuation of missionaries.  She didn't even mention it in her weekly email home this week.  I have included this information on her blog because I thought it might be fun for her to look back on.

Feliz Navidad

As the first order of business, I feel an apology is in order. The truth is, I have a mountain of Dear Elder letters I haven`t read. In the beginning, I didn`t read because they made me homesick. Then I wasn`t reading becauase there was so much to do. Now I am working my way through the mountain, but slowly. I have on average 10 minutes to read each night, so I usually get through about 2 letters. Only 100 more to go, and that`s probably the opposite of an exaggeration. (I forgot, how do you say that?)

I feel your love each time I open a letter and read what each one of you so thoughtfully put together for me. I`m sorry I`m not returning the same amount of love. There`s a lot of catch up work to do. But that is why I haven't written some of you a reply, because your letter is part of the mountain.

There is a story in Exodus that I really like, when the Israelites are traveling from Egypt and God tells them He will give them the land of Canaan. Moses sends two groups of scouts into Canaan. The first group reports that the inhabitants are giants and the Israelites have no chance of taking the land. The second group, Joshua and Caleb, report that the land is very desirable and fruitful and it will be easy to take the land because the Lord is on their side.

Later in his life, Caleb faced another obstacle of the same scale of taking Canaan, and in his faith and love for the Lord, he said in total confidence, `Give me this mountain.` He had complete confidence that he would overcome this obstacle and triumph.

This is what I say about the letters: Give me this mountain! But I plead for a little more of your patience.

Second order of business, FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!! Mission life here is great! I LOVE Apopa. Each day I love it more. I have a great companion, amazing leaders and a very inspired mission president. He invited all 100 plus missionaries to his home every day this week to celebrate Christmas a bit. We got to go on Wednesday, and it was a blast. He and his wife say they want us to feel God`s love for us through them.

I challenge each of you, as your gift to God this Christmas, to help somebody feel God`s love for them through you.

We had two baptisms this week. The Spirit was very strong in both. But it`s not just baptisms that make life on a mission so great, it`s the privilege of having your focus 100 percent, absolutely on the Lord. Every minute of every day is for the Lord. Many of my worldly cares have been lifted from my shoulders so that I can bear the responsibilities and expectations the Lord has for His missionaries. This makes me happy. What a blessing it is to be a missionary. I hope to never take it for granted.

Thank you for your extra efforts to be rescuers and member missionaries. This is the most important work we can be doing... almost. The most important is what is taught in your home, to your family. May we be upright examples at all times, and in all places.

I love you all so much.

Hna Henrie

Christmas in El Salavador

Jessica's mission President invited groups of missionaries to his home for a Christmas party.  His wife took these pictures and shared them with the missionaries.

What it's all about

Dear family and friends,

I love this thought President Glazier shared with all the missionaries in his email today:

`Aunque nadie le gusta dolores físicas Dios tenía grandes propósitos en estos cambios. Pueden meditar en esto. ... Dios ha proveído un Plan con una manera para que yo pueda superar esos obstáculos. Y El tuvo que hacerlo ofreciendo el Sacrificio Último, o Máximo, el sacrificio de Su propio Hijo, El Perfecto Cristo.`

Although nobody likes physical pain, God had great purposes in these changes. Think on that. God has provided a plan with the way in which we can overcome these obstacles (of death and sin). And He had to offer the ultimate sacrifice, the sacrifice of His own Son, the Perfect Christ.

That`s what it`s all about. That`s what the mission is all about.

It is what life is all about: learning about, learning from and following Christ. He is the only way in which we can return to live with our Father in Heaven (God).

That`s what everything is all about.

We`re gearing up to have four baptisms (ojalà, hopefully) this Saturday! Life is good here in Apopa!

Love,

Hermana Henrie

glitter fight 

¡Apopa, Apopa!

This picture was not sent by Jessica but it is what I picture when she talks about the busses in El Salvador

Dear family and friends,

I hear `¡Apopa, Apopa!` shouted from microbuses every night as Hna E. and I take the bus home after a full day of wonderful missionary work. Just thought I would share that with you. :) Fun fact: there is no one company or group that runs the buses. Here, individual people find their own buses and then register with the government for which route they want to take. This means each bus has a unique personality.

We`ve been working hard, and Hna Escalante and her prior companions did good work here. We`re seeing fruits of our labors, and it`s immensely gratifying. We had seven investigators in the chapel yesterday, counting both la reuniòn sacramental (Sacrament meeting) and the Christmas Devotional. We have a baptism this Saturday! And two more next Saturday!

Life is good. I love being a missionary.

Thanks for your cartas and tarjetas (letters and cards). I know our Savior lives, and He is the only source of peace in a turbulent world.

Much love,
Hermana Henrie

Map of El Salvador drawn by Hna Henrie

I`m in Apopa, en el departamento de San Salvador still. It`s south of Ilopango, where I was before. Our area is from Los Angeles to Nejapa. It`s humungous! We spend a lot of time traveling. Too much time. I didn`t know how spoiled I was in Montecristo. But I love it here. I love my companion. She`s from Auchapan (I spelled that wrong, but it`s the departamento on the west coast of El Salvador. It`s a different mission.)

ay no, tres minutos (Oh no, three minutes)

Standing in front of Lake Ilopango with Hna W. and Hna G.
They got permission to do some sight seeing because they were about to be transferred.

Va a creer (You won't believe), but I only have three more minutes of writing time. Increìble (Incredible)...

My most important message I have to express is how much I love the Lord. He has really been supporting me every minute of every day since a late-night phone call from President Glazier Tuesday changed everything. I had been told that I would stay in my area with Hna Winters and that Hna Gonzalez had changes. We cried together and wrote notes to each other and started packing all of Hna G`s stuff to leave. At 11:00, thirty minutes after we were supposed to be in bed (we were just finishing up packing), we got another call. President told us that he had been making some last-minute changes due to a missionary going home sick and that I also needed to pack up because I was leaving the area too.

In change meeting, we found out that Hna Gonzalez is in Ciudad Delgado as an hermana lìder (leader), I`m in Apopa as a senior companion (but really my companion Hna Escalante and I are seniors together, because we have exactly the same time in the mission and she knows the area) and Hna Winters is finishing up the training of another hermana in Montecristo.

Look up Proverbs 3:5-6 and then Doctrina y Convenios 6:36. They will tell you exactly how I have felt these past few days.

The Church is true! God is real. And He will never leave us on our own.

I love you all!

Hermana Henrie

Letter from El Salvador received 11/30/2013

More answers to my questions...

Q. What is the weather like where you are?
A. When I first got here, it could be counted on to rain only about once or twice a week. But starting about Wednesday of last week, I think it's rained at least a little every day. I LOVE my umbrella. It's the perfect size. It fits perfectly in the pocket of my mochila (shoulder bag) when I'm not using it and it's big enough for me and one other person if necessary. (The mochila's working out well too, by the way.) The force of the rain ranges from just sprinkling to torrential. More than once, the rain has turned the streets into rivers. Nobody has gotten flooded because the houses don't start until 10 or 15 feet from the street and there's a sidewalk and giant gutters to protect them. But when the streets get that way, we don't cross them until the water goes down. The current is strong enough that it could knock us over, so we don't play games with it. :)

Q. How are your shoes working out?
A. Shoes are doing great! Feet are very callused but healthy and not stinky as long as I remember to wash them in the shower. :) That little green washcloth I bought in Oregon has been worth 3 times its weight in gold. I use it to dry my feet every morning after I shower and every evening if it has rained. That helps, I think.

Q. Are you remembering not to pet the stray dogs? (We were warned they can carry disease. Jessica mentioned how cute all the stray dogs are and so I was reminding her not to pet them.)
A. There are times I really, really, really want to pet a stray dog, but I have remembered no to every single time. I do pet every pet dog our investigators or members have, however. They all love me. {>

Q. Is "Montecristo" a ward?
A. Yes, Montecristo is a ward. There's also the Valle Nuevo Ward nearby that meets in our building, and at the end of this year the stake is redrawing the boundaries to split these two wards (mine and Valle Nuevo) into three! the average attendance at church is 150, but I bet there are records for at least 200 people in the ward because we work with a lot of menos activos (less actives).

Q. Are you playing the piano much?
A. I've played piano for every musical number we've had at each of our baptisms. Hermana Winters plays too, but I'm the better sight reader (according to her, she's very humble) so I usually get chosen to accompany things. Hma W. has played in sacrament meeting.

Q. Are you using the mosquito net you brought?
A. I'm not using the mosquito net I brought from home because there was already one that's exactly the same strung up when I arrived. We use mosquito nets every night, but the mosquitoes haven't actually been as bad as I imagined. We use OFF! during the day anyway though, because it's just a good precaution to take against dengue.

Q. Do you have any "pets"?
A. We have a gecko or two that live with us!:) I'm fascinated by them. Geckos are really cool. But also shy, and we don't see them much, we just know they're there.

Thanks for sending your questions. With the new rule that keeps our writing time to 45 minutes total (15 minutes to write Presidente, 30 to write and read letters to/from you. I think everyone in the mission will be taking more time to send handwritten letters.

So, I'm doing ¡super bien! La pareja de (The boyfriend of) Hermana R., who was baptized last Saturday, is finally starting to feel the desire and motivation to take our lessons more seriously and read, pray and come to church. We have high hopes for him. He and Hma. R. still want to get married, but it won't be a rush job like it would have been had their boda (wedding) gone on as planned. They're going to do it right, and my deepest desire is that their wonderful family eventually enters the doors of the temple together.

There's a less-active member we visit, F., about 70, who is in the process of regresando a la iglesia (returning to church). We had a lesson with her tonight that was super simple and short, but powerful. Her daughter's family is moving to San Francisco and she's been praying and thinking about them a lot. She has a lot of love and a lot of faith, but she's alone a lot. We determined tonight to visit her more often than we have been, to lift her spirits as much as we can.

I've learned so much from my trainer, Hermana Gonzalez. I really, really love her. she's diamond-hard in her testimony, very diligent and hardworking and so full of love - for our investigators, the members, her calling, and for me and Hma. Winters (her "Ninas (girls)," or sometimes hijitas (daughters).")

I can hardly believe I'm halfway through my second cambio (change) en El Salvador. Time passes so quickly. I really feel like a different person already, because mission life is so different from "regular" life. It's an incredible privilege (and a great responsibility) to know God trusts us with His children here in Montecristo. It's amazing to be able to spend ALL DAY immersed in the scriptures, whether I'm reading it during morning studies or we're teaching during the day. As missionaries, we also have the chance to pray aloud many, many times each day.

I encourage you to find any way you can to get involved in missionary work. Catch the wave! :) There is no sweeter feeling than to share this gospel with people you love.

Take care. Thanks for all the letters!

I love you,

Jess

Letter in 10 minutes. Ready, set, GO!

Dear family and friends,

I sure love you, you know that? I pray for you and have trusted you in God`s care. People in the Church say that missionaries walk in the hollow of the Lord`s hand, but I know the truth--we ALL walk in the hollow of the Lord`s hand, no matter where or who we are.

It`s been a great week of hard work, with a recompensita (reward) in the form of a wonderful FAMILY that is now listening to the lessons. The very first question of the papa de la familia was: ´I´ve talked to a lot of preachers, and everyone I talk to says the same thing, that my family won`t know each other (as family--brother, sister, wife, mother, etc) in the life after death. But that doesn`t seem just to me. I just can`t imagine heaven without my family. What do you believe?´

It was a pure joy to pull out our folletos (literature) about El Plan de Salvaciòn (the Plan of Salvation) and explain that it`s in God`s plan for the families we have on earth to remain with us in the eternities. The papa is right, how could heaven be heaven without our families? I testify that God has prepared the camino (road). He has the perfect plan, and as we show our faith in Jesus Christ, are baptized, repent of our sins, receive the Holy Ghost and persevere in these steps to the end of our lives, we will receive a fulness of joy, the likes of which we have only barely tasted in our happiest moments on earth.

I love being a missionary. I love being your daughter, sister, niece, granddaughter, and friend. (Did I leave anyone out? I don`t think so...)

Take care, all.

Con amor,
Hermana Henrie

Something Important

Dear family and friends,

Thank you for all your support always. I love you so much.

Mission life has been great. I love my companions and we have some golden investigators we`re working with. I was disappointed last night when it was time to go home. I love this work, and I encourage every one of you to catch the wave of missionary work!

Things you can do right now: never go to church alone. Stop by someone who doesn`t come as regularly and invite them to come with you. Notice new (or infrequent) faces at church and make an effort to make them feel welcome. Be everyone`s friend. Invite everyone to spend time with you. That includes people who aren`t members, as well as people who are. The `work of salvation` is the work of the members. Missionaries are just there to help out. :)

Love you all!

Hermana Henrie

Letter from El Salvador Received 11/13/2013

In this letter, Jessica answered a bunch of my questions.

Q. What do you do for exercise?
A. Daily exercise is mostly a lot of stretching.  I think of it as mission yoga.  The only things I really do that make me sweat are push-ups and sit-ups.  Everything else is to loosen up for a day of walking.

Q. What is the church building like?
A. Our church building is really nice. We attend in the stake center, and it looks a lot like our home chapel except with two floors, stairs and an elevator. The bottom floor has classrooms and the family history center (where we write home weekly letters). The top has the chapel, basketball court, a few more classrooms, kitchen, and is air-conditioned. I freeze during sacrament meeting. :) Who knew I would actually wear those cardigans in El Salvador?

Q. What is the area like?
A. The area is mostly flat. There are lots of trees. Almost everyone has one or two in the patio in front of their house. There are also lots of houses, all right next to one another. Each one has a gate or two before you can get to the puerta (door), and every window is always barred. Nobody has glass in their windows - it's all open to the air and bugs (unless you close your blinds). A typical house, from what I've seen, has one bathroom, a living room, a kitchen, and 3ish bedrooms. Several houses have a second floor with a few more rooms. Very few are bigger that that. Every house is painted bright, happy colors - but 95% of them are faded and peeling. Basically, I'm driving as a member of the Salvadoran middle class, and every day I'm impressed by the humility and goodness of these people. I love every one!

Q. How are you sleeping?
A. I'm sleeping great - like a rock! Hna. Gonzalez lent me one of her extra pillows, but I use it to keep the mosquito net off of my face, not to lay on. so I don't really have one, but it's fine. no trouble with bed bugs! :)

Q. Any tummy trouble?
A. Nope, no tummy trouble. As for healthy... remember when you told me someone told you I should fatten up before leaving for Mexico and El Salvador? Ha! That was a really funny joke! I'm well fed between lunch with our wonderful cocinera (cook), the refreshments our investigators and our member friends frequently feed us (which would be impolite to refuse) and the food I cook for my self twice a day (breakfast and dinner). Hna. G loves to tell everyone we meet about how much I typically eat: "¡más de yo y Hermana Winters juntos!" (more than me and Hermana Winters combined) (which is an exaggeration, but not too far off the mark) whenever we're lacking for conversation. She herself has the appetite of a diabetic bird. We make a great pair.

I'm pretty sure I'm fatter now than I was before and don't worry about the bluntness of that statement, it's normal here to refer to todo el mundo as "gordito." (all the world as fat) Although if you said the same thing to me, I might be offended, because you aren't latina... :) No, no, mentira ¡Chiste! (I was joking). I know you ask because you love me. {> Just know I'm happy, healthy, and well oiled. (Literally... they use oil frequently when cooking here.)

Q. How often do you receive letters?
A. Based on the past 8 weeks, I'll receive letters de verdad (real letters vs. email) about once every 2 or 3 weeks, although personally, I'll keep pretending I only get them once every six weeks so I'm not disappointed during the weeks of no letters. I've gotten letters 3 times in the past 8 weeks, and it's always a big packet of Dear Elders mixed with one or two "real" letters. I LOVE IT. Thank you and thank Grandma and Aunt Debbie and Aunt Connie so MUCH! I expect to hear about every boyfriend Kayla has at BYU - in the fall. Grandma tells me she's breaking the record for dates with the lessened male population. :) Yes, I got your letters. Thank you!

Q. What is your house like?
A. Our casa has two floors. There are two baños (bathrooms)with each its own shower, which is a rather rare blessing, especially since another compañerismo of two live with my trio. We have a tiny kitchen and 5 huge desks which are perpetually piled with folletos (pamphlets)and groceries. My desk also contains the microwave. It's a bit bigger than everyone else's desks. We have a couch and two chairs. We have a coat room where everyone has their clothes ans suitcases and other personal items and a bedroom on each of the two floors. The room where my companions and sleep barely fits our three beds, but it has hooks to hang our mosqiuto nets and it's very comfortable. No complaints. We also have a hammock strung in the middle of the living room, which is a very common thing in El Salvador, which is fun to relax in sometimes. We don't really have time to relax, which is good, becaue that means we're busy. :)

to be continued...

Much love,
Jess

Feelin´ good!

Dear family and friends,

I´m pretty sure these past few days have been the best days of my life.

This week we put a special emphasis on serving the members and serving with the members. I´ve done a lot of painting, weeding and sweeping up to today. :) We met six new people who are interested in learning more about the gospel, one of which is a lady with a heart of pure gold. Her name is Rosa, and I´m so excited to start teaching her. The day we returned to her casa to teach lesson one, we were surprised to find her lista with a broom, machete and garbage bags. She led the way to her neighbor´s house, who is sick, where we cleaned up her yard. She came to church yesterday, where President Glazier and his wife spoke for our stake conference.

We also went by the house of one of our recibidas (street contacts) from several weeks ago and were astonished at how prepared he is. Another investigador of pure gold!

I´m happy. Super, super happy. :) This church is true. I know it. I love it.

Take care, all. I love you!

Hermana Henrie

La Semana

Dear wonderful family and friends,

Thank you so much for the letters! I`m going to try to send a reply to each person who has sent me mail sometime before Christmas. Note that doesn`t mean you`ll get your letter by Christmas, just that it will be postmarked from El Salvador before Christmas. For some it will be an early present, for some right on time, and for some a bit late. But please know I appreciate each and every note or letter. That means YOU, Aunt Connie, Aunt Debbie, both sets of grandparents, Brother and Sister Davis from Dry Creek Ward (your Halloween card arrived en punto! Well done!), Professor Young from BYU, people from the Deseret News, people from Alta, Jill, Sara, Jennifer, Tyler, Melanie, Mom, Dad, Agnese, Ashley, Kiera.

And now... the week!

We didn`t celebrate Halloween at all. Nobody celebrates it here because it`s the `dìa del diablo.` (Day of the devil) What they do celebrate is two days later, dìa de los muertos (day of the dead). It`s kind of like Memorial Day. Everyone goes to the cemetery to leave flowers for their loved ones.

We had some really spiritual training sessions with the assistants to President Glazier this week. They shared some tips with us to improve our teaching and use our time more effectively. It has inspired Hermana Gonzalez, Hermana Winters and I to rethink our plans for how we`re going to accomplish our metas (goals) for the week and for the month. I`m excited to put them into action!

Lesson highlight of the week: we went into the new part of our area and contacted the boyfriend of a member. We talked about the importance of prayer. The Spirit was palpable. As a missionary, I think that`s one of my favorite things - we have lots and lots of opportunities to feel the Spirit. The Church is true! I can feel it every time I share my feelings about the Church.

Much love,
Hermana Henrie

What a Week

Hola, my dear family and friends!

First off, I hope all is well with you. I love you. I know God will care for each of you. As you do your best to follow Him, you can have complete trust that everything will work out to your good.

The wedding didn`t end up happening, but the two baptisms did! It was truly a marvelous experience to see two of the people I`ve come to love a LOT enter the pila bautismal para hacer convenios con su Padre Celestial (baptismal font to make covenants with Heavenly Father). As Hermana Winters said, `I LOVE baptisms!` It`s completely true, and it`s not because we`re counting numbers. Each baptismal record represents a treasured person. Alma, one of the prophets in the Book of Mormon, wrote my favorite description of how I feel about each and every person we teach. I think it`s in chapter 31 of Alma: `their souls are precious.`

So far, I have successfully, sincerely made friends with each person that we visit on a regular basis. The mission is a great place to meet people from all walks of life, and I know one day I will return here to visit everyone.

I testify the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. It is the same iglesia (church) that Christ Himself established on the tierra (Earth).

Much love,
Hermana Henrie


We learned to make balloon animals from a menos activos (less active) member we visit.

Things I never thought I would do on my mission...

We made cinnamon French toast this morning! Delicioso (Delicious). :D

Hola familia y amigos queridos,

I have been richly blessed to remain in Montecristo with Hermana Gonzalez and Hermana Winters for another six weeks. The three of us were overjoyed to hear the news, because we will be able to see two major fruits of much labor...

WE`RE GOING TO HAVE A WEDDING! AND a baptism! On the SAME DAY! There is no way I can express in a carta how much joy I feel to write these words. Hna R. and her niece are getting baptized!

The rest of the work is going well. This cambio marked an interesting change in all the mission. We now have full-time missionaries in Montecristo whose main focus is to reactivate less-active members. The new movement is called the rescate, and I`m super excited to see what milagros will happen as a result of this inspired change.

Hnas G, W and I are still `regular` missionaries with the same focus as before, on finding new people to teach and baptize, but our area has doubled. President wrote in his letter this week, and I`ve felt the same, that something big is coming for this mission. We are going to see even more milagros than we have already, and I can`t wait!

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. Don`t worry about me. The Lord takes care of me, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Truer things have never been spoken.

Time. :P

Con mucho amor, Hermana Henrie

The zone leaders chartered a microbus to take us to President`s house last Monday for our super p-day! Hooray zona Ilopango!

My companions and I with the view from President`s house in the background. He lives close to the temple and a volcano.

Plan B & C

Hola familia and amigos queridos!

We had a crazy week. Crazy meaning lots of plan A`s fell through and we ran around accomplishing plan B`s and C`s. Saturday in particular was very busy. On Friday night during daily planning, Hna Gonzalez, Hna Winters and I planned to clean the patio of a member`s home Saturday morning. Then the zone leaders called and said we were having a zone service activity painting a children`s hospital, so we scratched out our plans and put theirs. Saturday morning we all arrived at the children`s hospital to find out the member that had all the paint wasn`t home and the hospital didn`t need any more help other than with that. Everyone split up except for the Hnas and I, Hnas Bowers and Walstrohm who live in our casa with us, and our district leader and his companion, Èlderes Best y Teyul. It was with this group that we went to the member`s house and cleaned their patio after all. I love this member family. They`ve been a huge help in la obra misional, inviting their friends to noches de hogar, going teaching with us, to do. They`re an example to me of selfless service.

After that, we had a ward mission activity where we opened the capilla for guided tours. Each organization (Young Women, Young Men, Relief Society, Priesthood, Primary) decorated inside the room they meet in on Sundays and explained their organization to the people we (the missionaries) brought. It was amazing to see the unidad del barrio as they set up their rooms and bore their testimonies about the inspired organizations of this Church. We had several investigators and less active members attend.

After the activity, we went teaching as usual. We did a lot more standing on Saturday than we usually do, and all three of us slept like rocks that night.

Last night we had one of the most spiritual family home evenings (noches de hogar) I`ve ever had. We met with la familia Parada, and we did not follow our preplanned lesson por nada. Hna Winters felt what we had planned wasn`t what they needed in that moment and on the fly shared a scripture about how the Lord strengthens His people in their trials. The Spirit came immediately, boom!, one of the strongest times I`ve ever felt it. We asked the family how they had felt the Lord`s support and bore our testimonies about how He has strengthened us in our own lives. It was a beautiful experience.

The Lord has taken good care of us this week. We have cambios (transfers) on Wednesday. We`re all terrified we`re going to leave. I had no idea cambios were such a big deal, but I think my companions have run through every possible speculation. haha by this point, I just want la reunion de cambios to be over. I know President Glazier will put me where I need to be. I have complete trust in the Lord even though I don`t want to leave this area. But I don`t like speculating about an uncertain future. Drives me crazy... whoopee.

I know Christ lives. I know every trial and difficulty that we experience has a purpose, that God doesn`t allow His children to suffer needlessly. I know that He is always there with an outstretched hand, more than ready to strengthen and help us if we only ask. It`s important to remember, sometimes He provides a solution to our problems when we pray for help and sometimes He only consoles us and guides us to find our own solutions. (What better way to learn?) But He is always, ALWAYS there.

Con mucho amor (with much love), your missionary (and His),
Jessica

The inside of our fridge. My food is on the bottom right. :) Fatten up before the mission, my foot. Haha I don`t starve por nada.

At Pizza Hut with her Zone

Heaven sent

We made s`mores on our counter stovetop. :)

Dear family and friends,

La Conferencia was literally heaven sent, wasn`t it? The Hnas and I worked super hard to get as many people as possible to see it, knowing there would be something in it for each and every one of them. We made about 30 paper invitaciones, handed out every single one, and invited a few others just by word of mouth, and as a result we had seven investigators at one or both of the reuniones on Sunday.

It was amazing to see those seven there, even though I wish all 30+ had come. It was a true miracle to see one hermana in particular. Hna Gonzalez has been working with her family for awhile, but she hadn`t really progressed because she had never come to church. She has a phobia of large groups of people. Knowing the power of the Libro de Mormòn to touch hearts and change lives, we started to read it with her together and over the weeks we`ve seen a change in the atmosphere of their home, and she came to the morning session of General Conference yesterday!

When we got to the capilla, she started to feel uncomfortable, seeing all the people who had gathered to hear the prophet and apostles speak por medio del televisor. We found two of èlderes and went into a quiet room where they her a priesthood blessing of health and comfort. Then Hna Winters and I walked upstairs with them, dropped her and Hna Gonzalez off in the chapel and went downstairs to the English room. Hna G said she did great, watching all two hours of the meeting surrounded by people.

 Another milagro pasò last night after. There`s a family in Montecristo that Hna G and the hermanas before her have been working with for awhile (since February-ish, I think). Much like the hermana with the phobia, we`ve been seeing a change in her family over the past several weeks, and it`s because of the Libro de Mormòn. The mom, Hna Reyna (I`ve told you about her before; I love her and her family so much) is developing a very powerful testimony and love for the Libro de Mormòn. We`ve invited them to baptism repeatedly and Hna Reyna keeps saying she wants to, but `only God knows the date.` She went to Conference yesterday and last night she said she feels the time has come, and she set her own baptism date for her birthday, the 25 of this month! Not only that, but she said she`d been thinking about and planning for that date for a little while, she just didn`t want to tell us until we got closer to the date.

This is an answer to many heartfelt prayers and lecciònes. We know it`s a modern-day miracle! Dios es misericordioso de verdad.

I know Christ lives. I know He is our Savior. I know we can and must be permanently changed by His love and Atonement. I know this is a lifelong process filled with challenges, but I also know there is no greater joy than what can be found within this Gospel. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the fulness. It has the priesthood keys. It is directed by Christ Himself por medio de revelaciòn a su profeta y sus apòstoles. I invite each one of you to investigate this church a little bit more, to pray to God and ask if it is true, and to act on the response. It will bring lasting happiness in this life and eternal joy in the world to come.
Much love,
Hna Henrie

Interesting (but awesome, wait for it) week

We had an interesting (but awesome, wait for it) week. On Tuesday a jovencita (young woman) named Dayane was baptized! On Wednesday, her member friend who baptized her left on his mission. On Saturday, Hna Gonzalez lost her voice and couldn`t speak hardly at all the whole day. She still tried even though the enfermera de la misiòn (mission nurse) forbade her. Nothing can keep her down. :) She told me el Señor (the Lord) is trying to force me to talk more in lessons. :) Needless to say, I tripled my efforts to speak during lessons. I think I`m usually pretty good, but I`m trying to be better cada dìa (every day).

Sunday was almost perfecto. Several investigators came to church. Hna Winters delivered a powerful talk and I shared my testimony during sacrament meeting. But the best part, we had some AWESOME lessons, where all of us felt fulfilled and empowered and I know the Spirit was with us.

My favorite lesson was the most recent, a noche de hogar (family home evening) in the home of a part member family. We shared the story in Juan 21 (John 21) where Jesucristo le pidiò a Pedro (Jesus Christ asked Peter), ¿me amas màs que èstos? (Do you love me more than these?) The Hnas and I asked some questions and shared some thoughts and then one of the members we had with us delivered a testimonio PODEROSO (Powerful testimony) where he said flat out, sometimes we have to choose between `èstos`(these) and our salvation. The Hnas and I shared a glance that meant, WOW. This is EXACTLY where we had planned to take the lesson. (The member had no idea, he spoke with the Spirit, and that was more than enough.) This is EXACTLY what the mamà of this family needs to hear.

Sorry for the short letter and few pictures. I got a huge stack of letters this week! Thank you so much!

Love,
Hna Henrie

Lunch with la familia Parada. I love them so much. La mamà has a bien fuerte testimonio (strong testimony) but is not yet a member of the Church. Several of her children are, and they are powerful members.

My compañeras Hna Gonzalez (Guatemala) and Hna Winters (Bountiful, UT)