Baking in San Miguel

Time in San Miguel: 3 months
There’s something special about San Miguel. Hna Ortega said it reminded her of her home. It reminded me of Apopa. We found many prepared people. All San Migueleños in general were kind and welcoming, even when they weren't interested in hearing us. I loved it there. I even liked the heat (it was the hottest area for sister missionaries in the whole mission).
Companions: Hna Fuentes (1½ months), Hna Ortega (1½ months)

A few stories...

Meeting Joving, and the "Share the Gift" temple activity

"(Last night,) as we walked toward El Tesoro via Colonia San Pablo, I was feeling bad because we had had almost no street contacts still. I saw a young man a little ways in front of us and determined to speak with him.

"This decision was inspired, because the man- his name is Joving (pronounced JO-bing)- es super great. We talked and walked with him for only about five minutes, and in those five minutes he committed to go to the temple with us today.

"Fast-forward to today in the early morning- exactly 5:45 am. Joving arrived by himself at the taxi stop and accompanied us to the temple! He was very interested in everything and asked me before the activity started things like, 'Why can't I enter the temple?' During the classes and virtual tour, he must have been paying close attention, because at the end when we were all getting back on the bus to return to San Miguel, he asked me:

"'So anyone who's been recently baptized has to wait one year to be able to enter the temple? What do I have to do to get baptized? How lucky that I haven't been baptized by any other church, still. How can I become a missionary? Could I be a missionary?'

"WOW. This youth (he's 20) is a MIRACLE. And after all that, he also committed to attend sacrament meeting not only tomorrow, but EVERY Sunday he has off work. (It'll be every other Sunday.)" (Journal 3, 6 December 2014, self-translated)

Every bus is in a hurry in El Salvador...
"I jumped out of a bus last Monday because Hna Ortega had already gotten off but the bus started to leave again without giving me the opportunity to get off. It didn't stop for me, so I jumped." (It wasn't going very fast, maybe two miles per hour.) (Journal 3, 30 December 2014, self-translated)

El volcán Chaparrastique

8 Nov 2014--me, Hna Fuentes, Saraí and Saraí's member boyfriend at her baptism

Oriente super P-day with Presidente! All the zones in the oriente got together for a sports day

Hna Fuentes, Perlita, Hna Lovo, me

Hna Fuentes, Hna Lovo, me, Hazel

There was a bee flying around getting in everyone's hair. Hazel's creativity saved her.

5 Dec 2014--Hno Victor's baptism! He asked E. Acosta to baptize him.
E. Acosta, Hno Victor, and Hno Edgar (ward mission leader)

"Como dos hermanos," Victor said about his pose with E. Acosta :)

13 Dec 2014--A family that came to the "Share the Gift" temple activity

14 Dec 2014--E. Acosta, E. Belk, Kevin, Hna Fuentes, me

Hna Fuentes and I got along really well. I love her!

14 Dec 2014--With the Garcia family: Kevin, Adán, Jose, Flor

Cooking sausages at the Garcia home

15 Dec 2014--Me, Hna Fuentes, Hna Lea, Hna Yancy
Noche de hogar/farewell party for Hna Fuentes

Hna Fuentes with Yancy's cute kids, Jefferson and Joselin

Navidad 2014: To be a missionary is the best gift anyone could ask for

My parents sent me this Christmas tree

Hna Ortega had terrible luck with the mirror at our house. She accidentally broke it over and over again, until we were left with only this small piece. haha

I love Hna Ortega!

Dia de Navidad con Presidente--Hna Hall, me, Hna Ortega, Hna Sagapolu

For the Missionary Talent Show, one zone did a live nativity with a little help from Presidente, his wife, and one of their grandsons

La zona San Miguel with President's family

Group shot at the día de Navidad 2015

24 Dec 2014--Returning from another intercambio with Hna Huamani

Hermana y Hermano Brito invited us to eat panes con pollo for Christmas

By the river in Canton Miraflores (aka "el mongollano")

Hna Alcantara and her daughter

Hna Ortega made baleadas for a noche de hogar.
Hna Ortega con Hna Sonia

Hna Norberta taught us to make budin! A current investigator, Laura, came too :)

17 Jan 2015--One last miracle baptism: Joving!
Hno Edgar, E. Belk, E. Perez, Joving, me, Hna Ortega, Hno Darwin

With my volcano

Last cita with familia Lovo

Saying goodbye to Hna Adela

20 Jan 2015--Hno Edgar organized a surprise farewell party for me, Hna Ortega and Elder Perez

E. Perez, E. Belk, Hno Darwin, Hna Jackelin, Hno Edgar, Hna Ortega, me

The elderes and us both visited the familia Ayala

Joving somehow escaped work and came to our farewell party for a bit!

Con Maria and Kristina

Laura came to our house on our last night to say goodbye

21 Jan 2015--With the "hermano taxista," a recent convert from a different ward who was ON FIRE

(and a friend of ours)

Hna Sagapolu gave Hna Ortega and I each a Samoan lava-lava

Hna Cano and Hna Huamani grabbed us for one last picture

Hna Cano, me, Hna Huamani, Hna Ortega, Hna Herrera

Hna Guerrero and a brand new missionary took over the area when Hna O and I left.

14 Feb 2015--Kevin got baptized on his birthday! (and Valentine's Day)

(In the picture, his member girlfriend Soraya and Soraya's father, who apparently baptized him)

The time is short

That`s my volcano Chaparrastique! :)

The time is short, the days are shorter, can time just PAUSE for a second and let me breathe??

Dear family and friends,

We had a bit of a down week. Hna Ortega and I are fighting the baggy monster con todo by this point. We were able to teach varios lessons but one of our goals this week is to talk to EVERYONE in the street this week!

We`re doing great though, Jovinh is progressing and excited con todo for his baptism on Saturday, and we`re both very grateful that God is giving us this last great miracle.

I hope you`re all doing well. Take a second out of your busy day to say a prayer in your heart thanking God for all the blessings in your life. We have MANY blessings from Him, and we receive more every time we OBEY His commandments.

I love you! Take care!

Hna Henrie

Another semana (week) gone by

Hna O and I went to El Taurino`s last Monday for lunch. It`s an authentic Mexican food place. It was really yummy (I ate a `gringa,` haha, it was basically a flour tortilla burrito) but a bit expensive. We`re not going to return. This yellow dress was given to me by a member in Cojute. I`m bringing it home, because I like it. :)

Dear family and friends,

This was an excellent week. We did all the normal missionary things, then add in the AWESOME fact that Jovinh passed his baptismal interview yesterday, making his baptismal date pretty darn sure. It`s a tender mercy of the Lord to be able to see one more baptism here in El Salvador before January 21, and Jovinh is so prepared to make this important covenant with God. Hna Ortega and I are super excited!

Love you all. How`d it go this past week looking for opportunities to serve?

Take care.

Hna Henrie


This is a part of our area called the canton Miraflores. I`m not sure how to explain what a canton is. It`s like a pueblo, a tiny little town with no stores and no streets, just one (or three) room houses. There are maybe 100 houses there in total. Everyone has their own well where they get water.

Merry Christmas

Dear family and friends,

The week of Christmas always leans a little more toward the fun side of mission life than the work-like-a-dog side. We didn`t have as many lessons as I would have liked, but we did get to visit a LOT of members and help them feel the Spirit of Christmas. We had seven invitations from members to eat on Christmas Eve, and yes, we did go to all seven. What we couldn`t eat in the moment we packaged up and took home. By now, I only have a few leftovers left.

It was great to see my family on Skype on Christmas Day! I felt a little odd, though. My little brother has turned into a tall, deep-voiced teenager. My little sister is also tall, and is becoming a beautiful young woman. Time sort of freezes while you`re in the mission. Missionaries have a tendency to forget that life goes on as normal at home. We`re so completely wrapped up in a whole different world that we forget the old world. At least, I have forgotten a lot about what it was like to live in Utah, USA. It`s a bit of a culture shock to talk to your family and see the inside of your house, and everything.

I hope you all had GREAT Christmases! This week I only want to make on invitation: look around. Take your eyes away from this screen a moment to see who is by your side, or to think of all the people that surround you. They are your family, your friends, your neighbors... hasta the little old lady in the grocery store. I invite you to look for the needs of those people. Be Christ`s hands in blessing the sick, comforting the sad, and strengthening the weary. Even if you think you yourself are in need of a blessing, or comfort, or strength, focusing outward instead of inward will help you feel the Spirit of God, and will bring you happiness.

I`ll be doing it too, this week. We will see miracles.

Love,

Hna Henrie

1. Hna Ortega made baleadas for a family home evening last Monday. They were delicious! This foto is her making the dough for the tortillas.

2. part of a delicious pan con pollo. We ate about five of them this Christmas season. They`re basically just chicken sandwiches. This one had chicken, lettuce, tomato, remolache (I don`t know what that is in English, but we have them in the States too), cucumber and mayonnaise. It was super yummy!