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