Monday, June 24, 2013

The City Mouse returns home after an extended visit to the country

It is transfers, and I am going to Fort Worth!  That's right.  Big city here I come.  I am so excited!  This is going to be an amazing transfer.  

I will be in serving in the Fort Worth 7th ward, in the Fort Worth Stake.

My address is:

2504 Railridge Circle North #203
Fort Worth, TX 76133

My new companion is Hermana Gomez.  Hermana Hunter is going to Denton.  Her companion will be Hermana Jarvis (who just happens to be her MTC companion as well.)

Don't get me wrong. I love Stephenville with all of my heart!  The people here are wonderful and it truly is God's Country.  I have loved seeing the cows, and the goats, and the horses, and the chickens, and everything else.  I love the country roads, and the wide open spaces.  I have loved roping practice and Tarleton.  Stephenville is a special place! 

Love, 
Hermana Sanchez
 
 
My District
 

The statue in the Center Square of Stephenville.


 Mission generations.

Me, Hermana Valdez, and Hermana Hunter (me, my trainer's trainer, and my trainee)
 
 

 

Monday, June 17, 2013

Feliz Dia de los Padres!

We taught Lindsey again this week.  We took Sister McKinley with us, and she was the perfect fellowshipper for Lindsey.  Sister McKinley has gone through many of the same challenges and trials that Lindsey is now going through.  It was so wonderful!  Unfortunately, Lindsey is going to be moving north of Weatherford soon, so we won't be able to keep teaching her, but the missionaries in Weatherford are going to be real excited to get a new investigator!

As missionaries we have to meet everyone to find the elect, and we have definitely been running into some strange people lately.  

One of these was a real sweet old lady.  We went and knocked on her door and immediately she invited us in, before we even told her who we were.  We started talking and getting to know her and doing how to begin teaching and stuff.  We were communicating real well, even though our spanish isn't perfect, she understood us and it was good.  We found out that she thought that we were Jehovah's Witnesses and that was why she invited us in.  But, she said that she likes to listen to anyone who talks about God

Then we started teaching.  It was all good until we got to the savior's earthly ministry.  Then it was like there was a wall between us.  She couldn't understand a single word we said.  We might have well been speaking in Japanese for all the good we were doing.  It was really weird.  She literally couldn't understand anything we were saying.  

She blamed it on our spanish, but I know that wasn't the case, because we were communicating just fine a few minutes before.  I think that it is because she simply isn't ready to hear the gospel.  Someday, though, when the missionaries stop by, she will be ready and then she will understand.  

"He who hath ears to hear, let him hear." Mark 4:9  I never before realized that when Christ said this at the end of many of his parables, he was talking literally as well as figuratively.  There are some people in the world whose ears can't hear the gospel.

Then there was another guy, named Manuel.  Sister Potter and I actually tracted into him awhile ago, and we decided that we wouldn't go back.  But then the elders referred us there, and I didn't realize it was the same house until we sat down to start teaching, and then I realized that I had been here before in the almost exact same situation.  Deja vu?

Manuel is super smart and has read the bible many times.  The only problem is that he won't let us teach.  Before we can say anything, he just starts spouting off scriptures and rattling them off. Many of the scriptures that he shares with us are actually Preach My Gospel scriptures and many of the points that he makes are principles from Preach My Gospel as well.  

He is super friendly but he can't stop talking long enough for us to get a word in edgewise.  

But you have to find the crazies to find the elect.  That is just how it works.  

I spoke in Spanish Sacrament.  There was only one family there, and our investigator.  We definitely have some work to do to help build up God's kingdom.  

I shared one of my favorite mormon messages: Earthly Father, Heavenly Father.  Here is my translation:

Padre Terrenal, Padre Celestial

"Paternidad noble nos dio un vislumbre del divino." -James E. Faust

Estoy despierto.  Recuerdo de El.  Miro sobre ellos antes de salir.  Estan en su cama, no estan al corriente de que miro.  Yo salgo, ellos duermen.  La casita que proveo es su mundo.  Ellos juegan, exploran, apreden de moverse, de sentir, de ver, de conocer, no piensan como todo llego a existir.  

Creyones, juguestes, libros, todos son para ellos.  El refrigerador abre, la despensa abre, ellos esperan que hay comida.  Ningun pensamiento, ningun duda, solo hambre.  Cereal, leche, yogurt, dedos sucios, caras sucias.  Son llenos.

Ahorita es tiempo para los siestas.  A mi esposa le gustan las siestas.  Otra vez, estan en los comodos que proveemos.  Mientras que trabajo, estoy lejos pero cerca; siempre pienso de ellos.

Mi celular llama al timbre, solament escucho el respirar.  Sonreo; el celular de mi esposa ya esta perdido. 

Hago todo para ellos.  Trabajo para que pueden crecer.  Confian en mi; yo quiero hacer el mismo.  Ven poquito de como todo llego a ser, no hagan preguntas, solamente confian.  

Regreso a mi casa, brazos.  Ahorita soy un caballo.  Cenamos.  Nos cepillamos los dientes.  Tiempo para las pijamas.  Finalmente, es tiempo para dormir.  Otra vez, duermen en las camas que proveemos.

Sera su protector, sera su amigo amiable.  Sera el conyuge fiel de mi esposa.  Soy un padre, tambien soy un hijo.  Y mientras no entiendo todo que El me hago; se que todo que soy y todo que tengo es por que El es un Padre para mi.  Estoy al corriente de que todo llego a existir.  

"De todos lo titulos de respeto y honor y admiracion para Dios, El nos pido a dirigirle como Padre." -el Quorum de los Doce Apostoles

I then read Abraham 1:2 and talked about the connection between fathers and the priesthood, shared some examples of righteous fathers from the scriptures.  {Adam, Jethro, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Lehi, Jacob, Alma the older, Alma the younger, Joseph - the husband of Mary, etc}.  It is interesting that the Book of Mormon begins with a tribute to a righteous father.  I talked about how Parents should teach their children, and talked about my righteous father and all that he has done for me.  Then I connected it all back to our Heavenly Father and bore my testimony.

I am so grateful for the righteous fathers in my life: tanto mi padre terrenal como mi Padre Celestial.  (both my earthly father and my Heavenly Father, it sounds better in spanish). 

-Hermana Julie Anna Sanchez

Monday, June 10, 2013

Exchanges

So, we have been doing some double exchanges lately.  Hermana Hunter goes to a members house and teach them the gospel, while I go with another member and preach the gospel.  

While I was out with one of the members, we found a new investigator, Alfredo.  He seemed super prepared for the gospel, so we set up a return appointment, and we went back with another member.  He has lived in Utah and he loves mormons, he even committed to being baptized.

Then we went back with Hermana Hunter later this week, and Alfredo wouldn't stop flirting with her.  He told her that she had pretty eyes, and that he thinks that he needs to marry a mormon before he gets baptized, and that he would do anything for her.  

Needless to say, we left just about as quick as we came.  But, before we could get away, he kissed her hand goodbye.  And now, we will let the elders teach Alfredo.  We will definitely not be going back.  

I have started reading Jesus the Christ again, and I am about halfway.

-Hermana Julie Anna Sanchez

Monday, June 3, 2013

Granbury Tornado

Hola todos,

Well, Hermana Hunter's Migraine continues.

I copied the phone book this week onto little cards we can take with us when we go tracting.  I found everyone in the phone book that has a spanish last name, and copied them down.  Every street has their own card.  I figure that we are supposed to look for clues when we go tracting, and I figure that having a spanish name in the phone book is just as good a clue as, say, a mop on their porch.  I also went through and put all of our potential investigators and former investigators and members on those cards as well.  So now whenever we get to a street, we can just pull out the right card, and know a lot about the people on the street.   I have definitely spent a lot of time in the apartment, to decide that copying the phone book would be a good idea, but the cards are great, and I am sure that they will be super useful to me, and also to the missionaries that come along after me.  :D

On Saturday, we went and helped out with the Tornado Cleanup in Granbury.  It was my first time being around a natural disaster.  It was crazy to see everything that it did and all the damage.  Entire houses were gone and other houses were literally torn apart.

We were cleaning up an area where there used to be a construction sire for habitat for humanity.  They want to get it cleaned up and rebuilt so that they can use it as a base of operations for the clean up.  

So, where we were working, was a place that has been worked on before by other volunteers, but it was still really bad.  There was debri and glass and nails and ripped apart walls and roofs and housing stuff everywhere.  

And the end of the day, we went and walked to some of the other houses where other volunteers were working and it was so much worse.  

They said that there were 20 acres of houses just like the one we were cleaning up.

We got to wear the helping hands vests and everything.  It was a great day.  It felt like the missionary version of Lagoon day or something like that.  It was wonderful!

Best Wishes,
Hermana Sanchez


My MTC district (those who are in the Fort Worth Mission, we are all serving in the same zone right now.  Elder Jensen in the District Leader in the other Weatherford zone, and Elder Black is in Cleburne)

Team Stephenville
 

 
 You know you are in Texas, when at the Tornado cleanup you find...


Tornado damage