Mission Blog |
A dangerously acute account of 18 months in Nicaraguan Territory.
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We got to "hang out" with Naomi for a little while to celebrate Mother's Day. It was great to have her siblings who are far away join in too! We were snapping pictures, chatting in the chat box and chatting live too, listening to Naomi talk in Spanish to the people in the room with her, and best of all..... Naomi finally told us what she has known for nearly 6 weeks.... what is the sex of the baby that Tia (her sister) will be having in about 7 weeks!!!! We were all so excited to hear, especially Tia! It was great having the gang together again!
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by Dori from "Finding Nemo" Well, the ridiculous weeks of scorching sun have ended and we’ve entered into a down pouring of rain. It hit on Friday. When it first started off as a mist, everyone went outside to feel and enjoy but as it began to downpour, hasty retreats were made. I was on divisions with Hna. Walker and seeing that our best retreat were some trees, we quickly took shelter (not that it did anything to keep us dry). When it started to let up, we kept going. As we came to the first paved street, we beheld a grand river. It would’ve been cool had we separated it, as Moses did with the Red Sea, and crossed on dry ground, but we found that to be very unlikely. We had three other options: 1- wait it out (that would mean an hour or so), 2- find some empty bottles or some turtles and rope them together using the hair from our backs to make a raft (name that movie), or we could just wade the river. We opted for the third one and began to wade across water mixed with various substances. (I really don’t want to think what else was in there). We were about halfway across when Hna. Walker yelped and slipped. “There she goes!” I thought. “A gringa carried away by the currents of Nicaragua”. I caught up to her real quick and helped her up. We laughed and then kept going. And the missionary Handbook says we shouldn’t participate in water sports….oops! We also had an amazing lesson with a young couple named Paul and Beatrice. We were teaching them about the Plan of Salvation and Paul said, “Wait, Wait, wait, wait. I’m really confused. If God knew that we weren’t all going to make it back to live with Him, why did He send us here?” Think about that for a second. What would you have told Paul? It was interesting how we all reacted, the ex-missionary pulled out a scripture explaining that this is the plan that was from the beginning. My companion started talking about the war in Heaven, and I just kind of sat there for a second. I really wanted to answer his question, so I began looking in my own testimony. In my mind…. First, I went to the office of “Plan of Salvation”, opened file box “Why’s”, found the folder “We were all with God…will we all be with him again?” I opened my imaginary folder…and found it empty. Well, What now? CUE SPIRIT…”Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore, if you have faith, ye hope for things…” So there was an answer! I jumped in..”Paul, I don’t really know the answer to your question, but I do know that God loves us and that His ways are higher than our ways. I know that we will be happy if we keep the commandments.” It wasn’t a direct scriptural answer, but it made me realize that everything we do, we do because we believe we will be happier in the end. Who really knows the answer to Paul’s question, (if you have some insights, please email me!) but until I find it, I’ll just keep exercising my faith until I know! --Hermana Beatty PS Happy Mother’s Day to all the women in the world! You’ve influenced my life for the better! Keep raising stripling warriors for the Lord and you’ll keep seeing daily miracles! A deliciously large watermelon and my lovely companion! Playing soccer on p-day at the church!
from "My Fair Lady" the musical So our mission President is basically commanding all Latino missionaries to get their groove on and start learning English. He has put most companionships so that there is one North American and he gave everyone Books of Mormon in English and an English homework book. So, being the obedient missionary that she is, my companion got a move on. We’ve got the Alphabet down and some basic words. Now we’ve moved onto dialogue and pronunciation. We’ve started rhyming words, even though she doesn’t know what they mean. I first read all the words that rhyme with “van”. “pan, can, man, ran, tan.” She repeated and did pretty good. So we moved on to “plate”. “gate, mate, rate, slate.” She did good with those. Next came “main”, “pain, rain, plain, train, vain, gain” She tried, but couldn’t quite get the “a” sound. I repeated it again, but she was still struggling. We ended up working just with the first word “maaaain” I said. “Meeen” she replied. We went back and forth a few times before we busted into giggles. I laughed even harder, picturing “My Fair Lady” in the back of my mind. Unlike the famous musical, my companion did not burst into tears from discouragement but neither did she learn the sound and begin singing “The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly in the Plain.” Ha ha
We should actually feel really blessed to know English. The language in which the Gospel was restored. What a great blessing it is to read the account of Joseph Smith in his own words and know that it was real. We also were able to do divisions with some Hermanas and see so many miracles. We were able to bring 9 investigators to church and help them see and feel the difference in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It’s so different from any other and you can feel the truthfulness of it just by being there. Now, a quote from Elder Bednar “our works and desires alone do not and cannot save us” I think that many people, all over the world, have yet to grasp the fact that we are helpless without the Savior, we are nothing. So, why not come to know Him and His restored church so that we one day will be able to humbly ask for His help? He will come soon; “Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” (Matt. 24:42) --Hermana Beatty from the Musical "Oliver" Here in Nicaragua, it is definitely not a typical suburb life. It’s actually quite different. One thing, however, that I find quite interesting, is that people wander the street, laden with their goods, vending things of all sort. They walk the roads, broadcasting what it is, how much, where it comes from. All types of things: fish, fruits, remote controls, gum, hammocks, medicines, soap, paintings, ice cream, DVD’s, notebooks, shoes, cell phones, plastic dishware, dog food. Just about anything you might need/want is bound to pass by some day or another. Just the other day a little girl burst out of a nearby door and shouted “ICE CREAM!” and within seconds, two ice-cream men were offering her various delicious bars of ice-cream for her 7 pesos in her little hand. I told my companion: “I wish I could just step out my door and yell for what I want.” Maybe when I get home, I’ll try it out! “Husband! Future Husband!” ha ha, we’ll see who comes running. Ha ha ha ha ha On Saturday night we were contacting a family when suddenly a man on a bicycle stopped (to listen or watch I wasn’t sure) when we finished contacting them, we turned and the man extended his hand; “Hermana!” he exclaimed. It was none other than the famous Paulito, a man whom we’ve only taught once (for questions of work), but who goes to church with us when he can. We talked for a few minutes, made plans to pass by for him on Sunday, and then parted ways. Two minutes later, we were contacting a different family on the opposite corner when here comes Paulito once again. He said, “Hermanas! I bought you juice and tacos”! Oh these Nicaraguans! I love them. He gave us the bag and then went on his way. And yes, he did go to church on Sunday and yes, he is thinking about being baptized, fulfilling a prophecy found in D&C 84:88-90. This same Saturday, we were walking with our beloved Hno. Julio, talking about his non-member family, how his spouse wants to get sealed in the temple but doesn’t want to get baptized. Having been a member for 24 years, he’s tried just about everything. He told me “I know she will be baptized one day. I have faith that it will happen. And if it doesn’t happen in this life, I love God enough to trust Him.” I was stunned for a moment at the level of this man’s belief, here was a real soldier of the Lord, who fights little by little, not for what he wants, but for what the Lord wants. Wouldn’t our faith increase dramatically if we all did the same? I was also profoundly impacted by a scripture I had read before, but had never put attention to what it said: “For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round” (1 Nephi 10:19). Have you ever looked for a mystery from God? What great truths we might discover if we but diligently look for them! So, look for a mystery; or better yet, help someone else look for the mysteries they have yet to find, such as the ancient scripture The Book of Mormon, the truthfulness of the gospel, and the reality of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, restored once again on the earth. --Hermana Beatty **Hermanas, Uno, and ice cream. It doesn’t get any better!!
**My Guatemalan twin!! “California Rose” by Roy Rogers (from the movie “Son of Pale Face”) Changes occurred today. I, however am still in my beloved Chichigalpa. I’ve received a new companion a very beautiful Hermana called Hermana Palencia. She’s a bright El Salvadoran whose mom is from Mexico and her dad from Los Angeles. And her grandparents are from Honduras. So, she’s kind of Latino. But I think I shall call her my California Rose because she is so blasted beautiful, outside and in. This past weekend was super crazy. Mostly because Miguel (if you don’t remember him, review last week’s letter) is no where to be found. This weekend was supposed to be his confirmation, but you can only be confirmed if you are present in the congregation. It was really rough. Mostly because we work so hard to help these people have a better life, to help them be happier, and their own stupid choices get in the way. I bet that is how our Heavenly Father feels most of the time. He just wants us to be happy! Something funny that happened this week,. I’m walking down the street with Hna. Leon and we see this guy on the corner, a rather average man. Well, He’s walking towards us when he suddenly hops down into a hole. It came up to his ribs. But then we see that he’s unbuckling his pants. Rather quickly the whole rest of him disappeared in the hole, doing his business. Hermana Leon looked at me and said, “hey, there is a guy pooping in that hole in the street in Chinandega, in Nicaragua”. “Yep” I replied. Maybe that kind of stuff happens every day, but, I feel like it’s a rather rare occurrence to actually witness it. Hooray for abnormalities and rare passing’s. We also passed a bar and the TV that was in the window was definitely playing an all to familiar Darth Vader breathing. I had no idea that there was a new Star Wars coming out. It seems crazy that you could make such an awesome series even more awesome. Thanks to modern technology. But that one will just have to wait for a different day, when I’m in a house in Utah and not passing by a bar in Nicaragua. We also saw the lovely baptism of Alondra this past weekend. Her whole family are members of the church, she was just never baptized. We invited her to do so and she told us no, because she wasn’t perfect. But then we went to General Conference and heard Elder Dale G. Renlind say, “A saint is a sinner who keeps on trying”. And so she realized she could only have the chance to become perfect if she got baptized. It was a very beautiful service and I could really feel the spirit. I’m so happy for her. But I just keep thinking about this whole “keep trying” quote. I give myself an interview. Am I still trying? Do I let the Savior pick me up when I fall? I hope we each let Him help us. Just keep trying! --Hermana Beatty PS I don’t know why this is popping into my brain, but on the movie “Meet the Robinsons” there is a part where everyone sings and shouts and there are signs and fortune cookies that say “keep moving forward”. Maybe you can imagine that little fiesta in your mind the next time you feel low. *Finally saying goodbye to my H-town buddy Elder Smith, off he goes to Managua!
* When I mixed this drink mix together, I began to sing to myself ¨I´m stirring and stirring my brew ¨oh how witchy I am. ha ha Sun in the sky, you know how I feel I just never seem to understand how such a short 48 hours of General Conference can change lives’. Isn’t it awesome to hear the revelations of our prophets, of love and hope, service and temples? Yes! You should know we were kind of bummed to not hear “Nicaragua” mentioned among the future temple sites, but I know that with time, the Lord will move His work forward and we will be blessed with His Holy House here in this land. It is probably one of the biggest trial of the mission, not having the joy of entering the temple, but I have learned to appreciate my covenants even more. I echo the words of our prophet, Thomas S. Monson “Go to the temple, you will find more peace and serenity in your life.” I personally, have plans to step off an airplane in December and go straight to a session. You’re invited, if you want to come!
So, we’re walking around the other day and I spoke one of my rather random thoughts: “is it just me, or is everything greener today?” My intelligent Honduran companion replied: “I believe it is called ‘photo synthesis’”. Ah, hah that would definitely be one of the biggest effects of this ridiculous sunshine. A nice sunburn would be another. A billion types of abundant fruit as well. It actually amazes me that fruit is so plentiful here. I know it pains you to hear it, but mangos are literally rotting in the street because we can’t eat them fast enough (and we’re not just talking one or two mangos in the street, I’m saying PILES of mangos). And it’s rather odd that no matter how many mangos you eat or how many bottles of water you drink, your mouth is dry and you have thirst. It’s a purely Nicaragua experience…But at least now we know where all the mangoes go! Although it was General conference, we were blessed to be a part of Miguel’s baptism. He is a young adult of 30 years who is trying to look for God. Well, he found Him in a book, a holy scripture called “The Book of Mormon”. Upon reading it, he discovered the true promise found in the introduction (Note: if you haven’t read the introduction, read it!), that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World, that Joseph Smith is His revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah. What was the next logical step? Baptism!! He was really nervous, but it all went smoothly. We finished the service with the “Because He Lives” video and we all really felt the Spirit. Another spiritual moment: walking down the street, looking for Pabl, but not finding him. Going to look for someone else, not finding them, trying to contact, getting rejected. Trying to do everything we could. Having exhausted all our ideas, Hma. Bradshaw suggested we pray, we kind of poured our whole soul out to Him, here were two gringas, standing and sweating in the hot Nicaraguan sun, just trying to help other receive the same blessings they had received. But when we were discouraged and our hearts, were depressed and we were about to turn back, the voice of the Lord cam unto us, comforting us. I remembered in the moment, a scripture I had read just that morning, “Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if you are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you. Look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not.” (D&C 6:34-36) Life is hard, missions are hard, but the Lord is with us. In this battle, good has already conquered evil. Christ has already won the war. We now have the duty to hang on until He comes. In the words of our prophet, “we marvel as we watch Him open doors we cannot open and do miracles we cannot imagine.” --Hermana Beatty And hear the word of God! Hello y´all.
Not much time for Hermana B, but just wanted to invite each of you to bring your questions to the Lord this weekend as we listen to His Prophets. I know that they speak for God and that if we follow the counsel they give us, we will be blessed. Lots of Love, Hermana Beatty P.S. Just so you know, ¨smoking¨ in Spanish means ¨tuxedo¨. Dear everyone, I felt like quite the traveler this week, only spending three complete days in my area and two nights in my assigned bed. Between Managua, Chinandega, and Chichigalpa, I think I’ve gained enough travelers points to hop on a bus to Japan! (ha ha as if there were buses that go all the way to Japan) Something I loved was working with so many other Hermanas. It’s a weird atmosphere, the mission life. You actually hear about other missionaries you feel like you know them even before you’ve actually met. And when you do actually get to know them, you realize that their reputation rings true or it’s completely off base. That’s why it’s better just to think and hope the best about people you don’t know. The same is true for the Gospel though; we think we can perceive who is going to accept the true message of the restoration, but we never know for sure. So it’s better if we just share it with everyone. It’s like Elder Oaks said “The Lord loves all of His children. He desires that all have the fullness of His truth and the abundance of His blessings. He know when they are ready, and He wants us to hear and heed His directions on sharing His gospel. When we do so, those who are prepared will respond to the message of Him who said “My sheep hear my voice…and they follow Me”. That’s really helped me to overcome my awkwardness of talking with everyone about the gospel, just knowing that He has prepared them and in my weak human state I have no place to judge which ones they are. We had a conference in Managua on Thursday with both the missions and their Presidents, Bishop Dean M. Davies from the Church Presiding Bishopric, and Elder Ochoa from the Quorum of the Seventy and his wife. It was really neat to hear them all talk. I especially loved when the wife of Elder Ochoa mentioned that Christ lives and directs His work, and just as our mission presidents work with us in the streets, Christ does too. More or less, her message was work with Christ, every day, in every contact. It was super funny for me to see Bishop Davies and his wife do their presentation. There was a big hula-ba-loo about it. The chapel was painted, there was a bunch of cameras…a big paparazzi almost! What made me laugh was about half way through the meeting…”Wait” I thought “just wait one second…I’ve heard this presentation before! But it was definitely in English. And it was definitely not with air-conditioning…I seem to remember the chapel heaters running. Must have been a devotional I attended while I was attending SUU!!!! It was still a great message… just a little déjà-vuish! We were walking the other day and a guy on the corner just kept saying, “How, How, How”. I’m not sure if he just didn’t know how to finish “How are you?” or if he really was intending to greet me with a native American “How”. It was a rather odd moment in the heat of the Chichigalpa sun. I thought…”Whatever, like those Indians (and Annie Oakley) I’m an Indian too!!! I’m so excited for one of our investigators Miguel! Quick background on him: 30 years old, lives with his member cousin, has been taking our lessons since the seventh of February (a REALLY long time for being Nicaraguan), finally chose to be baptized, told his dad, his dad disowned him, and for the first time in six months he drank again! We were super sad, thinking he would not be able to be baptized for long time. And the worst part was he kept saying, “Hermanas, I’m so sorry. Can I please still be baptized? What do I have to do?” Bringing our problem to the Bishop, he decided to accompany us to get to know the guy; Bishop talked with Him a good deal and then said, “Well, I think you’re ready for the first week of April” (Cue the Hallelujah Chorus!) Can’t wait to see him in the waters of a true baptism. Can I just remind all you returned missionaries how awesome the mission is? And for all who haven’t gone, I hope you can see how wonderful a life can be when you share the gospel. I’m just looking forward to the Spirit World, where my time as a representative of Jesus Christ won’t be limited to 18 months (9, of which, are all that remain for me; Feliz Hump-Day). So here are some tips for this week: 1) Love someone enough to give them an Ensign or other church magazine. 2) Hum, Whistle, or sing a Hymn at work or school 3) Greet someone with “How”, if the awkwardness continues, you may add a “do you do?” afterwards!!! Have a golden week! -Hermana Beatty Not much to report from this side of the glove, only that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has two new awesome members. WaHOO! J
It really was a treat to see them both, Brother Felipe and Hermanita Francys. They both had such different needs as investigators, but, thanks to the Holy Spirit, they both ended up with the answer that this is the true Church of Christ. Let me tell you about them. First, Hermano Felipe reminds me quite a bit of my own grandfather. Maybe it’s the mustache. Anyways, he’s just an old guy who lives in the house of some members as a gardener/housekeeper. He’s about 70 years old, but still going strong. He’s got it all: spunk, real interest, jokes, witty responses. He is a perfect old man: But, with every cute little baptizable viejito, there always comes a few trials. First off, Hno. Felipe doesn’t know how to read. We overcame that one by giving him discs of the Book of Mormon. Something a lot bigger, however hit us. Well, hit me, He doesn’t hear very good. A natural cause of living so long, or so they tell me. So we kind of yelled the lessons. What made me laugh and cry is that it didn’t matter if I shouted or whispered, he couldn’t understand me. He nodded his head like he did and then ask his buddy, “What’d she say?”…Oh, the trials of a second language. But I love this little man so much. He came out of the water saying, “I’m new! I’m new! He may not have understood everything I said, but he knew that baptism would cleanse him from his sins. Our other baptism was just as precious. The daughter of inactive parents, Francys wanted to be baptized from the moment we found them. The biggest problem was helping her be brave enough to do it alone. But in the end, it was worth it...alone or not...When she came out of the font, I was the first to greet her. Soaking wet, literally dripping water everywhere, she saw me and went to give me a huge hug. Luckily a towel was quickly put between us. But I’ll never forget what this nine year old said; “What joy! What joy!” Even a nine year old can recognize when she is doing the Father’s will. There are always obstacles, especially when it comes to making covenants with the Lord. But we, as human beings and brothers and sister, should always be willing to help, to do ANYTHING, so that our loved ones can experience the same happiness we are so blessed to know. --Hermana Beatty then the moment’s gone…Dust in the wind. All we are is dust in the wind… You know, I thought I was a pretty active, healthy person. Maybe not as active and healthy as I once was, but I still get around a lot better than many other people. At least, that’s what I thought until a member introduced us to his aged friend, who was chopping sugar-cane in his yard. This old-man was working quite diligently, he didn’t really have time to listen to us, but I still thought he was cool. As we walked away, the member commented, “He’s 104 years old.”
“Ooh, dust in the wind; all we are is dust in the wind” As missionaries, we work a lot with people who’ve just been baptized, recent converts who sometimes have no idea what’s going on. There is one recent convert named Juan, whom I have only seen in church two times in the six months I’ve been here. It’s mostly because he has a serious drinking problem. Everyone kept telling me, “oh, he was SUPER!” “He was the best member!” “He always worked with the missionaries.” I thought it was impossible that this black-eyed sad man could be the same member they were talking about that is until I saw him. Yesterday morning, dressed up more spiffy than any member in Nicaragua, ready to help us bring more people to church, while we were walking, a conversation started. “Hey, Hermano, did you go to the parade yesterday?” “Of course not, Hermana” “Why not, Juan?” “There are too many temptations there that can make me become how I used to be.” “Ooh, dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind.” Most of the time, missionary life is just you and your companion in your area, working hard, saving souls, but sometimes other missionaries get involved. That was a real trial this past week. With another missionary in my zone spreading rumors that just aren’t real. (Sigh) It was quite strange to feel a little angry and a little sad. About the things they were saying: I could tell it was bugging me and impeding my sensitivity to the spirit. So, I called one of my beloved leaders and he basically said “Hey, just forget about it, The Lord knows you. Let it go. “And it seemed that in that moment, it hit like water on hot pavement and was gone. Oh, the sweet sense of peace. “Ooh dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind” Walking in the heat of the day at 2:00pm is rather boring in Chichigalpa. Everyone is working or sleeping. Contacting is about the most fun you’re going to have, so why not do it? Right? We had just finished telling some very catholic people about the happy message of the restored gospel, when we looked up. There was my beloved San Cristobal, its volcanic heights rising above the neighborhoods of Chichigalpa. But this time, furious black smoke billowed from its mouth. I felt a thrill of excitement as a million things ran through my mind: *Mordor, *epic Spock scene in Star Trek, *Mount St. Helen’s eruption, *Walter Mitty long boarding in Iceland as a volcano explodes. Unfortunately, nothing more happened, as in fire or sparksL, (Sigh). “Ooh, [ash] in the wind; all we are is [ash] in the wind.” Something has been up with the weather as of late (perhaps, Jesus Christ comes soon), but Sunday was especially frustrating. Such a furious wind storm settled in that almost no one came to church, for all the sand that was in the air. Upon arriving to our house, we found a nice thick layer on everything. Yeah, and that was INSIDE the house. We won’t talk about the shower I took that night. I love my Nicaraguan life, and the church is still true! J “Ooh, dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind!” -Hermana Beatty |
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November 2015
CategoriesAuthorhola! I'm Naomi and I love reading, my amazing family, and the color green. |