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