Okay, so, I don't really have a ton to say (I always say that but somehow always end up typing til the very last minute) but this is a good thing because...now I have to send Richie emails as well! Which means my email homes may be a little shorter then they normally have been. Just a heads up. Before I tell you of the changes in the mission...thank you Elder Chas Adams-Hart for my letter! And yes...I DO remember you from seminary haha I was so shock to get a letter from you! I saw a lot of people from home this week....Tia Martha, Jose and Myra came in on..Friday? I got to give them a tour which was so fun! Then I saw my friend Anthony Debenedeti (sp? haha my bad.) on Saturday at a service project and then I saw Chrissy YORK and her hubby Elliot yesterday! As much as I love seeing people...I think some of the sisters are getting annoyed cause, lets be honest, I've seen like, 14 people I know since I've been here haha BUT they are never planned! But still, if anyone is planning on stopping by to see if I'm there...wait til the Holidays ;) Thank you!! But it was so fun to see all of those people this week!! Man, I miss everyone and I hope they are doing wonderful!
So...the changes. Okay, so last Monday we were about to end our shift and start our P-day until....we saw the AP's (they are two Elders who are assistants to the Mission President). They told Sister Cole that she had an appointment with President Baker. She laughed and thought they were joking because they never call people in on Monday's but then they told us to check our phone because they left us a voicemail. Welp, turned out that she DID he an interview with President! So we go to get our haircuts, get some shaved ice and then off to the mission office to do her interview. I just wait for her and everyone thought it was going to be for me because well, everyone thought I was going to train. They were all shocked it was for her! Well, when I see Sister Cole I get up and start walking out the door until...I heard President Baker's voice saying, "Sister Baeza, can you come into my office for just a moment?"....WHAT!?!?!? My heart DROPPED and I couldn't believe I was going in for an interview. I go in and President is just stumbling with his words haha and he is just FREAKING me out! Eventually, he invited me to move out of my area and move to the Westwood area where....I would be companions with...SISTER MERCIALES! I was shocked! Sister Merciales and I came to the mission the same day so we are both in our third transfer! It's rare that you are put with someone that you came out with, especially this early on in the mission but, it was clearly inspired and I obviously excepted it! He invited me to be senior companion which, I think it's because she can't drive since she's from the Philippins and doesn't have a license so...that means I'm driving :) FINALLY! Haha. Anywho, he wanted to have another meeting with us on Wednesday to explain how I'm senior companion to her so she doesn't take it offensively but haha she is such a chill person she didn't care. And neither do I to be frank. We are both at the same level and we both even out responsibilities and it's great! So no...I am not training this transfer but I have an awesome companion! I'm also not in a Spanish area anymore which means...my Spanish is going to disappear most likely :( But, Sister Merciales is amazing at reminding me of my weekly goals so with her, I'll be studying Spanish a lot to keep it with me!
Sister Merciales reminds me a lot of myself...we act the same, we don't like talking a lot haha, back home we have more guy friends then girl friends, we don't get mad at people really easily, we like silence, etc. So, I'm not too worried about this companionship. It was a little bumpy the first few days because since we both finished training, we want to show off what we learned and go straight into work mode. But!...we both weren't trained by the same people :) I was trained to do things one way and she was trained to do things another way. So we've been working on finding a balance on the things we've been taught and mending everything together. She is hard worker, especially in the VC. She already has taught me so much. She has a great love for the people and I can actually feel that she loves me! She always includes me and my family and Richie especially in our companionship prayers and the first time she did that I just cried. She is 4'8? But has such a big heart! She's learning English but it's already great! We have high hopes for this transfer so I'm excited! :)
This Saturday we got to do service with our Zone for this church called Fame. It was really fun because I got to meet the other missionaries from my new zone and another zone in the area as well. It's always fun to meet other missionaries. We weren't allowed to teach people or even say we were missionaries, it was kind of sad. BUT! We did talk to a girl about why we were missionaries because she recognized the tag so we just briefly explained it to her. Apparently we as a church are really close to this church and we invite them to events and they invite us to events. So that was the reason why we had to be respectful and not really explain who we were. But...lets be honest, it's kind of hard to not read the name tag and have people assume who we are haha. It was a really great experience and I hope we get to serve with this organization again soon!
Well...I really don't have much on what happened this week. We didn't go out in our area that much because we had District meeting, Weekly Planning, the service activity, etc and the rest of the time during those days we were in the VC. I'm just really excited for this transfer! We got 6 new referrals from the system and I'm stoked to contact them and make return appointments! I know that if we have faith, success CAN come!
There was a hymn that I heard yesterday at church that I want to close with:
1. Know this, that ev’ry soul is free
To choose his life and what he’ll be;
For this eternal truth is giv’n:
That God will force no man to heav’n.
2. He’ll call, persuade, direct aright,
And bless with wisdom, love, and light,
In nameless ways be good and kind,
But never force the human mind.
4. May we no more our pow’rs abuse,
But ways of truth and goodness choose;
Our God is pleased when we improve
His grace and seek his perfect love.
I am grateful for the gift of agency. Heavenly Father loves us so much that He gave us that gift before we even came to Earth! In the pre-mortal existence, we chose to follow His plan. We chose to come to Earth to receive a body, to gain earthly experience and to choose to return home to Him one day. He doesn't want to choose for us, He wants us to make our own decisions! Even if that means us choosing the opposite of what He hopes for us. The people that we get to teach have that same agency and it can be so frustrating at times because we KNOW that the Gospel WILL improve the quality of their lives but they choose not to accept it. But, who are we to get mad at them? It's their choice. We can be upset about it but ultimately, we are not here to make people be baptized; we are here to share the message of the restored Gospel and teach them the power of the Holy Ghost and that by it, they can know the truth of all things...for themselves. I know that everyone here on this Earth CHOSE to follow Heavenly Fathers plan. We have all been taught the Gospel before we came here, that's why the Spirit is able to bring a remembrance to us when we hear its message. It's nothing new that we are learning...we are merely just trying to remember it :) I hope that this transfer I can work even harder. My first two transfers were great. They were incredibly hard, lots of tears were shed but...I changed. And it was HARD to change. I didn't think I needed to change that much. But, I know that I'm a better off person now then I was 3 months ago. I know that transfer will be hard as well but, I think Sister Merciales and I are going to really hit it off and not only will we actually grow as a companionship but we will fulfill the work that the Lord wants us to accomplish this transfer in this area. The church is true! I love it! I can't imagine my life without it. I hope you all have a fabulous week!
Love,
Hermana Baeza
1. my new companion...love her!
2. we were all freezing during lunch so we found the most random sweaters in the free bin
3. so...maybe we literally rolled out of bed at 6:15 and went to service at 7am?
4. all of the sisters who served! and yes! we got to keep the shirts :)
5. oh heyyy anthony.
6. i look disgusting but her face....it's priceless! kills me every time!
7. :)
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