The beginning: Barrio Montecristo

Time in Montecristo: 3 months
The Montecristo Ward, covering two colonias called Santa Lucia and Bosques de la Paz, turned out to be a wonderful beginning to my mission, for mostly two reasons: my mission "mama," Hermana Gonzalez, and my mission "twin sister," Hermana Winters.
Companions: Hna Gonzalez, Hna Winters
And a few stories...

First Day in the Field
The morning of my very first change meeting, after leaving President Glazier's house, I stood in intimidated silence with the group of new sister missionaries, munching numbly on giant muffins imported from the States. I was trying to listen in on the other group of sisters, also eating muffins and chatting casually in what sounded like perfect Spanish. A little Guatemalan sister caught my attention as she walked in with the mission nurse ("enfermera" en espanol). President called out to her.

"Hermana Gonzalez," he said in his heavy gringo accent, smiling mischievously. "Esta preparada? Porque va a entrenar dos."

"Dos?" Hermana Gonzalez raised her arm dramatically as if she were going to faint and looked at Hermana Bowers. "Enfermera! Enfermera!"

The joke helped me relax. She looks like fun, I thought, giggling at her antics.

Some months later, Hermana Gonzalez told me that the first time she noticed me was also in the very beginning of change meeting. After the breakfast, when the trainers, new missionaries and older missionaries were seated, she scanned the faces of the nuevos wondering who would be her two "daughters" (mission lingo for "trainees"). She saw me and thought I looked "noble." She said from that moment, she hoped I would be assigned to her.

I wrote in my journal later that day: "Changes meeting took several hours. I think President Glazier dragged it out on purpose. : / ... Hna Winters (nueva) and I are in Montecristo II with our trainer Hna Gonzalez. I already know I'm going to learn a lot from her--y Hna Winters tambien." (Journal 1, 4 Sept 2013)

Destroying the Bishop's Lawn
"We stopped by the bishop's house...and attempted to cut his grass and pull his weeds for him. Hna Gonzalez handed me the machete which the bishop's family gave to us and put me in charge of the grass. I was confused because the last time we used machetes, we were taking plants completely out at the roots. I looked at Bishop's grass and asked Hna G, 'Corto esto? Pero hay flores.'

"She laughed, 'No son flores. Esto es monte.'

"I'd never heard the word monte before, much less seen it, but I knew it was some kind of weed by the way she reacted. Comforted to some degree, I proceeded to remove ALL the plants, grass and all, from a patch maybe two feet long and a foot wide. Only then did Hna G take over--and I realized the grass was supposed to stay, only get cut! Bishop's son was nice about it, 'don't worry,' but I felt so bad." (Journal 1, 13 Sept 2013)

Reina's Decision
"Later, hours after the [October General] Conference, we went to the Paradas for a noche de hogar at 7:20ish. (Our cita before went long.) Each of us bore testimony about the meetings. The most powerful talks for everyone were about staying true to the commandments and about families. Hna Reina said she liked how much they talked about matrimonio... Then she said, 'Hermanas, I feel like the time has come for me to be baptized.'

"--Heart-stopping, breathless moment as I remember Hna Reina's response to our baptismal invitations in the past, 'I will be baptized but only Dios sabe la fecha.' I assume [my companions] were thinking along similar lines.--And then she was talking again.

"'Estaba pensando que quiero bautizarme en mi cumpleanos--el 25 de octubre.'

"Joy! I felt a rush of joy as I heard those words. Hna Gonzalez actually screamed, then apologized and burst into happy tears instead. I looked at Hna Winters. She was crying, too. So was Hna Reina, and her daughter Iliana.

"Hna G looked at me as tears streamed down her face and commanded, 'Hermana Henrie. Habla!'

"I bore my testimony about how the gospel blesses families while Hna G and Hna W prepared themselves to talk. Last of all, Iliana bore her testimony.

"That cita FLEW by. We were 20 minutes late returning to la casa, but when we knelt down to pray, Hna Gonzalez offered the most humble prayer I've ever heard. It went something like this:

"'Heavenly Father, thank you for la familia Parada. Thank you for the messages of la Conferencia. Thank you for this milagro with Hna Reina. We know You are working juntos con nosotras...' and she continued, naming our investigators one by one.

"I love being a missionary. I love the people in Montecristo.

"We have changes meeting next Wednesday. We're praying that we'll all stay here together. We all want to be there when Hna Reina gets baptized!

"My heart is full tonight. I am content. More than that, I am happy!" (Journal 1, 6 Oct 2013)

Vanessa
Vanessa is Reina's niece, who was living with Reina's family at the time we visited them and got baptized alongside her aunt. Although she was 14 years old when I met her, she had a way about her that made her seem much younger. She was innocent, blunt, hilarious and sweet. I loved her so much.

"For example, one day (Nov 15), we went to traer Hna Kicy and la familia Gomez to the Paradas' for a noche de hogar. I had put my mochila down for a minute and Vanessa picked it up to carry it for me. She wanted to know how the belt worked, so Hna W and I showed her. She's tall and skinny as a reed, and after doing the belt and quitando the shoulder strap, my mochila immediately sagged out to one side. But this didn't bother Vanessa. She put on a grin from ear to ear, threw her hands up in the air and gritó, 'VAMOS!'" (Journal 2, 20 Nov 2013)

Laughing with Hna Gonzalez

(while eating spaghetti at Hna Reina's house)

 21 Sept 2013--Luis' baptism

Hna Gonzalez, Luis, Hno Pocasangre, Hna Winters, me

Luis was an atheist at the time he met Hna Gonzalez and her two companions. He was preparing to be baptized when Hna Winters and I arrived in Montecristo. On the day of his baptism, he was running late, and Hna G pulled Hna W and I into the girl's bathroom to say a private prayer on his behalf. He ran in the chapel a few minutes later.

24 Sept 2013--Dayane is a valiant young woman, and was AMAZINGLY prepared to hear the gospel. Last I heard, she was preparing to go on a mission.

Hna Gonzalez, Tulio (Dayane's member friend), Dayane, Hna Winters, me

25 Oct 2013--The Miracle Baptisms of Reina and Vanessa

Familia Cruz Parada

Dec 2014--Mama Rosita, Hna Reina, Iliana, me, and Humberto "Betio"

(Betio sure grew a lot! His voice had even deepened.)

Dec 2014--Dear Hermana Flor and her son Salvador

(He taught us "globoflexia," the art of making things with balloons)

Dec 2014--Faithful Hermana Maira

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)

Hola from Ilopango

Hola familia! I love you so much! I feel super bad for the last letter I sent. In my opinion, it didn't really count as a letter at all. Thanks to everyone who has written: Grandma and Grandpa Henrie, Sara, the Drapers, and those who have sent or are working on cartas I have not yet received. Every letter means a lot to me.

Ilopango is east of the city of San Salvador. Segùn the gran mapa tenemos of El Salvador in the capilla, it seems to be a major town. (According to the great map we have in the chapel of El Salvador, it seems to be a major town.) To answer some of Dad`s questions as well, I`m not really sure how poor the area is because I don`t have anything to judge it against. People almost always include thanking God they have enough to eat/asking for enough to eat in their prayers. That`s probably as a good an indicator as any, although it could just be something they always pray for, kind of like we almost always include `Thank you for this day...` It`s a major town with a lot of people but not nearly as big or crazy as the city of San Salvador.

Ilopango is just East of San Salvador.

We went to migraciòn this week (I`m legal for the next 16 months now!) and San Salvador was soooo busy. It was a relief to return to the quieter Ilopango. Hemos recibido muchas bendiciones esta semana pasada. (We have received many blessings this last week.)  We had several pre-entrevistas para el bautismo (pre-interviews for baptisms) and other reuniones que (meetings that) cut our proselyting time, pero (but) Hna Gonzalez dijo que cree (believes) we worked harder this week than the last, because we taught about the same amount of lessons. We`re learning to use our time more effectively, and I`m feeling better about the idioma (language). We have a lot of unidad en nuestro compañerismo (unity in our companionship). When we pray as a companionship, the person praying almost always prays for her compañeras (companions) by name and I think this has had a dramatic effect on our relationship. Presidente and Hna Glazier always tell us they`re not just teaching us principles to be better missionaries, they`re preparing us for our futures. I know as couples pray together and pray for one another and thank God for one another, their unity and love a uno al otro (towards eachother) will increase. I also know as familias make an effort to have family prayer every day, the same thing will happen. It`s humbling and wonderful to hear someone thank God for you and pedir (ask for) blessings on your behalf. Love is a powerful motivator. It will effect change. I LOVE Hna Gonzalez and Hna Winters. They`re such good ejemplos para mì (examples to me).

We had a bautismo el sàbado (baptism on Saturday)! The hombre (man) who was baptized is named Luis. He can play Rachmaninoff on the piano from memory! Hna Gonzalez had already been working with him before Hna Winters and I came, but I feel we know him pretty well even though we didn`t teach him as long. The service was beautiful. The miembros (members) really pulled together to help us out. One of our progressing investigators who isn`t even baptized yet donated hours of time and floras to make a centerpiece for the table, and also for sacrament meeting. They were gorgeous. We weren`t expecting her to go so all out when we asked for her ayuda (help) with a decoration, but she went above and beyond. I love her family so much. I really want to be there when they are baptized. I know how much the gospel will bless their lives.

Last Sunday, all the missionaries in our zone fasted and prayed that we would be able to find more new investigators that would be willing to keep their commitments. We prayed for the success of each companionship in our zone and yesterday during sacrament meeting the stake president came. He gave an incredible talk about how the members can participate in missionary work. I believe this is an answer to our prayers. We are so excited.

Much love. Take care.

Jessica

About her companion: She is awesome!!! Very driven, very hardworking, very rule-oriented, very diligent, very, very VERY good ejemplo. She laughs a lot too. :)

with her CCM companion Hma Broadhead

Goodbye Mexico, Hello El Salvador

Q & A with Mom:

 Q. How long has Hermana Gonzalez (Jessica's trainer) been on her mission? How old is she? Is she patient with you? What is she like?
A. Hna. Gonzalez has been out one year. She´s from Guatemala, 22, and is VERY patient with me. Hna Gonzalez is Guatemalan and has been out a year. She has truly grown to love the people in this country, especially those in Montecristo. She´s a good example for me. Most people are extremely polite to us, even when they´re not interested.

 Q. Where is your area?
 A. Actually, I am in Montecristo! The areas are named for the wards in which we serve, so for me it´s Montecristo I. We live in the Colonia Santa Lucia. Yes, I really do feel completely safe. Hna. Gonzalez knows this area well, and as we walk all around it from noon to 8:30 p.m., it seems to be pretty quiet. We stick to the well-lit streets.

 Q. Do you have any investigators you are teaching? How do you find new people to teach?
 A. Yes, we have lots of investigators we´re teaching! Our biggest challenge is helping them keep their commitments and finding new people. The biggest way we find new people is through street contacting, where we talk with people on the street and explain our purpose and a little bit of our message. Sometimes, if they don´t look busy, we get out our folletos (what´s folleto in íngles?... oh, pamphlets) and explain the first two or three pages of The Restoration pamphlet. My mission is testing a new method of teaching for the Church Missionary Department where we only use the photos in the folleto to teach. We start with the image of Christ holding a lamb on the front cover, move to a picture of a family followed by a painting of ancient prophets. I LOVE this method of teaching and I really wish I had learned it in the Centro de Capacitación Misional (CCM). It is very helpful in helping me narrow down our message to the basics of what people need to know, and I think it´s more interactive and interesting for the people, too. Of course we´re always encouraged to follow the Spirit and listen closely to what our contact is saying so we can know what they need. In that way, we can recognize people´s needs and really give them something useful and applicable to their life. I testify the gospel can help anyone in any circumstance. I´m seeing it being done here. We don´t knock doors unless someone has referred us to a specific house. We never knock on just random doors. 

Q. How are you doing with Spanish?
A. Spanish is hard. Usually, I feel comfortable speaking. It´s understanding what people say back to me that´s the problem. :) I understand about 90 percent of what Hna. G says, I understood about 50 percent of church and what people say during lessons, but I only understand about 10 percent of what is said to me on the street. For this reason, street contacting is my biggest challenge right now. Hermana Winters is my third companion. She was in the CCM in México with me but not in my same district, so I haven´t really gotten to know her until now. She´s very sharp. She didn´t speak any Spanish before the CCM, but here we are six weeks later and she usually understands more than I do when we´re on the street. Her example, and the high bar that Hna G is setting for us, motivate me to work harder.

Q. What are you eating? Will you do your own laundry?
A. We go to a cocinera for lunch every day except Sunday and preparation day (today!), who so far has made pupusas (DELICIOUS), rice and gravy, chicken, tortillas and potatoes. She´s super nice. She has two children and is a member of our ward, Montecristo I. She will also wash our clothes for us this week. We pay her for her services, but really it´s a pleasure to just visit her house. The abuela of the family also lives with them.

Q. What is the ward/branch like there?
A. The members of Montecristo I are super willing to help us with the obra misional! In the past week, we´ve had three or four members of the ward go street contacting with us.

Q. Are you experiencing culture shock?
A. Actually, there isn´t much culture shock. The general feeling on the street is similar to Utah and BYU. Strangers greet strangers with a friendly, "buenos días/tardes/noches," "buenas," or "vaya bien," which Hna. G explained as similar to "take care!" I don´t have any problem with either being greeted or greeting people I don´t know.

Q. What is the weirdest thing you have to get used to?
A. It is an adjustment to greet the women we know with a kiss on the cheek. I hope I covered up my initial awkwardness okay. It´s coming more naturally now. I like the tradition a lot. Thankfully, as missionaries, we don´t greet any men with a kiss on the cheek. Not even hugs - only handshakes. :)

If you want to know what El Salvador is like, step into the bathroom right after Tyler (or Sara, if this is one of my college friends reading this) has showered. When we first stepped out of the air-conditioned airport, my glasses fogged up right away. It´s hot and steamy. But you get used to it. I don´t notice it anymore.

I shower with lukewarm water from a bucket. We have a shower, but the shower head is broken, so hence the bucket. It´s not a problem. I kind of like it. We probably save a lot of water.

I cooked dinner for us one night this week. Hna. Gonzalez made tortillas with beans and cheese for Hna W and I our first night with her, which was Wednesday after transfers meeting and working hard that afternoon, but my attempt to emulate her skills ended up being a little more interesting. One of our roommates, Hermana Bowers of the USA (companion Hna Wohlstrom of Peru), saw my tortillas and remarked, "Oh... bien creativas." We ate them anyway. ("Bien" also means "really," by the way. Salvadorenos use it all the time. I never learned it until now)

During the day, Hermana Winters and I follow Hna G around everywhere, very closely, when we´re out on the street. I feel like a duckling trailing behind its mother. I usually have very little idea of where we are, but I ´m learning as Hna. G teaches. It helped when I realized we mostly just walk around in circles every day, combing our designated area for people that might be interested in hearing our message about Jesus Christ, looking for opportunities to help people and rushing to teaching appointments.

One of my favorite activities we do besides service is holding Family Home Evenings. We´ve had some good ones this week. :)

On Saturday we had a service project where we cut the grass around a gazebo within a residential area and we cut the grass with machetes. It takes a lot of muscle. The hnas and I got blisters.

 There are dogs everywhere. But whoever told me the dogs wouldn´t be cute was wrong. Every one is cute. I see many that remind me of Z, Tippy, Lacey, and how I imagine Milo to be. There are cats too, but not nearly as many. One of the members we visited has two.

I love you all. I pray for you. Yes, you! Also, thank you so much for the letters you sent me in the CCM.

Sorry I can´t write you individually right now.

Hermana Henrie

The flight to El Salvador. I felt like we were flying through heaven. It was beautiful.

President Glazier took us to the temple right after he picked us up from the airport. It`s not in our mission, but I've been told we`ll be able to go at least once in our mission with special permission from Presidente