Toto, I think we are not in Kansas anymore.

I love Copperas Cove.  It is farther south, which means that it is going to be warmer. 

 

There aren't very many streetlamps (not to mention that the town shuts down at about 8), which means that the stars are gorgeous!  I have never lived in a place where I could see so many stars.  I saw the Andromeda galaxy the other day.  I've never been able to see it with my natural eye before, even though I know where to look.  It was sweet!

 

The major differences that I have noticed about Copperas Cove and Killeen is that: 1) The majority of the Spanish community is from Puerto Rico, not Mexico, 2)The majority of the Spanish community is also bilingual and speak English perfectly, 3) almost everyone here is either in the army or they were in the army, and 4) most people have only been here for a few years (Everybody is from somewhere else, including the English Speakers, but there also seems to be a fairly large German community here as well.  I wish that I could speak German, then I would be unstoppable). 

 

The branch is fairly large, I am sure that it will be turned into a ward soon.  It is a lot larger than the branch was in Waco, and most of the people that we meet are either Recent Converts or Less Actives.  The Branch was only organized about 1 year ago.  It covers everything from Harker Heights to Killeen to Copperas Cove to Fort Hood to Lampasas.  There are two sets of missionaries in the ward, but our area is Huge.  We cover everything west of the stake center, which is in Killeen, so that means that we cover Copperas Cove, large parts of Killeen, Fort Hood (But we can't really go on base, so it is really just a big gulf in middle of our area), and Lampasas (I still don't know where Lampasas is, but I think that it is really far away.)

 

Sunday was awesome.  Everyone was super excited to have sister missionaries in the ward.  Everybody wants to give us food!  Everybody wants to meet us, and everybody wants to help us teach!!!

 

Our Branch Mission Leader is awesome!  He is super excited about the work, and super excited to work with Sisters.  He started setting up exchanges and everything for us before he had even met us! 

 

So far, I have met several families from Puerto Rico, una Hermana from Cuba, una Hermana from Argentina, a family from Pero, un hermano from El Salvador, un hermano from the Dominican Republic, and a few families from Mexico.  This is a very diverse place!

 

Hurrah for Israel!

-Hermana Sanchez

Yesenia's Baptism

Hey Y'all!

 

The most exciting part of this week was Yesenia's baptism.  It is so good to see someone that you love enter the waters of baptism.

 

She has made great changes in her life, and those changes show in her actions and in her face. 

 

As I approach this new change in my mission, I am sad to leave behind Fort Worth and all of the people that I have come to love here.  I know that the Lord has used me to accomplish a great work here, which work will continue for years to come.  Fort Worth is a very special place, and the gospel is just beginning to take root among the spanish people here, but I know that it will continue and that there will be many many souls who will help build up this small part of the Lord's Kingdom. 

 

I am very excited to serve in Copperas Cove.  I have always loved the southern parts of the mission (maybe because my first area was Waco.

 

Hurrah for Israel!

Hermana Julie Anna Sanchez

 

Yesenia's Baptism

Yesenia's baptism!!!

Randi, one of our best exchanges, and one of Jenae's friends!

 

Sister Lewis and I on exchange

 The party on September 14

 

Game Night

Hola Familia y Amigos!

 

Ojala que todo este bien.  I think that y'all should learn Spanish, so that I can type my weekly emails in Spanish.  That would be could, but since y'all don't know Spanish, I will stick with English, for now.

 

I went on an exchange to Park Glen 1st and 2nd wards this week.  It is part of the Hurst Stake.  Sometimes it is nice to interact with English people.  Sometimes I forget that there is an entirely different culture here in Texas.  I was reminded that Friday night is Game Night, during high school football season, and that most English-speaking Texans go to the Football games.  I also realized that I may have burned out my taste-buds by eating all of the spicy Mexican food.  We were served Chinese food, and they told us to beware of one dish, because it was spicy.  I couldn't taste the spiciness.  I thought that it just tasted good.

 

My companion in Park Glen was Sister Tullis, and we have decided to be roommates at Utah State next fall.  She is majoring in Math Education, and went 1 year before her mission.  We had so much fun during the exchange we came up with a bumper sticker, "I believe in the empty set."  :)  We also did a lot of good, did a lot of service, and taught a lesson to a woman from India.

 

The big news for this week is that Yesenia is getting baptized!  She is finally ready to make the step, and we are so excited for her.  This has been a really long journey for Yesenia, and we are very excited that she is finally ready.  During the last month she has changed and grown so much.  She is living the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity!  She has been tempted a lot to break both of them, but she has stood firm, and said no.  She has told her boss at the Pulga that she will not work on Sundays, and she isn't backing down.  It is so good to see the positive changes in her.

 

We've been thinking about it, and we decided that when Yesenia really started to progress was when we got her a picture Libro de Mormon.  Yesenia is still learning to read, and missionaries have been trying and trying to help Yesenia read and understand the Book of Mormon.  Some missionaries, even bought her the Book of Mormon on CD, but  it is hard for her to understand all of the big words.  But with the picture Book of Mormon, she can read and understand the stories of the Book of Mormon, and there is definitely a power in the Book of Mormon.  Whenever someone reads and understands the Book of Mormon it changes lifes!  The Book of Mormon is the best!

 

Also I have been thinking about John 4:35-36. "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together."  We are really seeing part of that here in Fort Worth right now.  Our district leader, Elder Barnett, served here, in my area, last year.  He taught Yesenia and her family a lot.  Now he is back in the ward, in a different area, but he will still get to be part of Yesenia's baptism.  In fact, Yesenia, asked him to baptize her. 

 

It is a good time to be a missionary.

 

Hurrah for Israel,

Hermana Julie Anna Sanchez

 

 

Panda Express on Hermana Bush's hump day!

 A random cow at the Stockyards

God Bless Texas

 Sister Tullis

 Yesenia just after her interview!

 

Elder Pino Conference

Today, Elder Pino came to our mission.

 

He spoke in Spanish and he had a translator.  It was wonderful to be able to understand both the Spanish and the interpretation.  (Part of the reason why he came to our mission is so that Stateside missionaries can have the experience of listening to a translation).  Every time I listen to a translation, I am the more convinced that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that Joseph Smith was only able to translate it by the power of God.

I learned a lot about revelation.  Revelation is something that comes by the spirit, but that we have to seek it. 

 

A testimony can only come by a witness from the Spirit. 

 

Alma 32:28 is the test to know if something is true.

 

Without the spirit, you will never succeed regardless of your talents or abilities. 

 

As missionaries, we have the trust of the Lord.  It is a sacred calling to serve the Lord.

 

We are also going to be able to hear Elder Pino speak tonight at a special fireside for Spanish members.  I am really excited.  I love the Spanish language more than words can tell (especially English words. )

 

It is truly a great time to be a missionary.

 

Hurrah for Israel!

Hermana Julie Anna Sanchez

Santiago

Hola Todos,

 

We had our car examined, and they estimate that there is about $6000 to $7000 worth of damage in the car.  Poor thing. 

 

We kept driving it for the week, with our trunk that wouldn't close, and the back door that wouldn't open. 

 

But then on Friday, we had to go back to the mission office so that the insurance guy could come and look at the car.

 

We spent most of the morning with Elder and Sister Winters in the mission office, and I really enjoyed getting to know the office missionaries.  They are so cute and so sweet!  We were talking with Sister Winters and we realized that the new convert letter hasn't been translated into Spanish.  So they had me translate it for them.

 

But the insurance guy and Elder Winters realized that the car is not safe to drive.  If we were to get into another accident the car would not be able to protect us.  So we get to drive a cute little red sports car right now.  We named it Santiago.  It is a 2010 Toyota Corolla.  I really like the way it drives.  I would buy this car, if it came in manual transmission.  

 

During Conference on Saturday, I was able to listen to it in Spanish and in English at the same time.  It was broadcast in English, but there were headphones available for those who wanted to listen to it in Spanish.  So by keeping the volume level at about the same, I was able to hear both the English and the Spanish translation at the same time.  I learned a lot of new words that way.

 

I loved the theme of missionary work.  We are planning to read some of the talks with the members in our ward, during dinners and stuff. 

 

I also saw a theme of the family and the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

 

Hasta Luego,

"Eldera" Sanchez

And the adventures continue

We got rear-ended on Thursday.  We were driving along, when the car in front of us decided to stop quickly so that they could turn right.  So I slowed quickly too.  Unfortunately the man behind us was not able to stop.  He started to slow, but hit a patch of water, and just kept going.  We were a little shooken up, but we are fine. 

However, our car needs a lot of help.  The trunk won't close, and the back bumper has popped out.  I am sure that we are going to be spending a lot of time getting to know car mechanics.  {we already have, the people at pep boys recognize us by sight, and have our car number memorized}.

And then I ate a habanero pepper.  It was the hottest thing that I have ever eaten.  I knew it was hot, when I ate it, I just didn't expect it to be that hot.  It burned going down, and then my whole face started to burn.  It worked it's way in a circular motion out from my mouth.  I was sweating, and my sweat would burn.  It felt like my skin was literally on fire.  When it reached my eyes, I was just dying.  The tears that would come out (I couldn't control them they just came) would burn as they left.  I would take napkins and try to soak up all the sweat and tears before it could spend any time on my face, because it hurt so bad.  NEVER EAT HABANEROS!

We also taught Yubiri, the mother of a member. She will be going back to Venezuelaon Tuesday, but we are going to be lifelong friends.  I love her so much.  Hopefully she will get baptized soon in Venezuela.

Hurrah for Israel,

Hermana Julie Anna Sanchez

One of my favorite ways to teach the apostasy is to take a temple picture, and say that it represents the church that Jesus built, and then as the apostles are rejected and killed, and the doctrine is lost, I start to rip up the temple picture.

Then the ripped up picture becomes a puzzle, and we encourage the children to put it back together.  But even if they get the picture pieces in the right order, it is still not perfect.  There are rips and tears in the picture. 

So then we talk about the need for a restoration, or that God reestablished his church in its perfect and proper form and we pull out a new temple picture and talk about Joseph Smith.

We gave one of our investigator's children the temple picture pieces and told her to put it back together.  She took a gluestick and went into her room and put it together.  When she came back, this was the result.

I think that we can clearly see the need for a restoration! :)

3 Leches Cake

• Make 1 vanilla cake according to the directions on the box.
• Combine 1 can sweetened and condensed milk, 1 can evaporated milk, 1 can Crema in a separate bowl.
• Optional: add pineapple juice as well.
• Poke lots of holes in the cake.
• Slowly pour the milk mixture into the cake, allowing it to fully soak in.
• Top with Whipped Cream and fruit.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

This was a really exciting week. 

 

Why did the chicken cross the road?  To get to the other side.  We watched one cross the road this week.  We had just gotten into our car, and we saw a chicken start crossing the road.  It was amusing.

 

Last Monday, we went to the zoo!  It was exciting.  We saw lots of animals, and we saw a baby elephant.  I found lots of stretched penny machines, and I was super excited, because they were the first stretched pennies I have gotten thus far on my mission.

 

We also got invited to a noche de hogar/birthday party with about half the ward, and one of our investigators.  She had a great time, and we were excited to see her getting so much fellowship.  I think that if all of our investigators could get that type of fellowship, more than half of them would be baptized.  Really.  All many of our investigators need to help them along in the process of conversion is a friend.

 

We have been working with a less active named Noemi.  She is amazing!  She has a ton of questions, and we always end up talking about something weird, but she is also so much fun to work with.  Noemi is working on a zombie movie.  She is currently writing the script for a zombie movie. 

 

We went to dinner on Thursday night, and we walked inside, and we realized that no one was home, beside the 13 year old daughter and her younger sister.  We stood up and were like, can we eat outside, please?  Then, we took a wrong turn on the free-way and we found our way into the Arlington zone, oops.  Plus it was raining cats and dogs.

 

Then we went home, and our toilet exploded. It wouldn't flush and water kept gushing up and up and up.  Fortunately, Hermana  Bush figured out how to turn off the water.  Then we called Elder King, the elder who helps us with all of our apartment and car problems, and he called our apartment complex, and they sent a plumber to our apartment.  He came at about 10:50 pm.  And because it was so late, Elder King had us just stay in the apartment with the plumber, and we called Elder King as soon as he left.  So there are some more rules smashed to smithereens.  Like being alone with someone of the opposite gender and being in bed by 10:30.  I'm not really sure how many rules we broke on Thursday, I am just really glad that God understands, and repentance is real.  :D

 

After going to sleep Thursday night, we were woken up Friday morning at about5:40 am, by a really loud CRACK.  Hermana Bush sat up, and said, "Who got shot?"  Then she looked out the window looking for fire.  I'm not sure what she was thinking, she isn't either.  But we are pretty sure that Lightning struck our apartment.  Immediately after the CRACK, all of our power turned off. 

 

We showered and studied by flashlight.  It was fun.  We left the apartment at12:00 pm, and the power was still off.  It was back home when we returned home that night.  So we were without power for at least a little more than 6 hours.

 

And our oil needed to be changed on the car, so we spent a few hours at Pep Boys while they changed it.

 

Friday, we helped Pedro and Valentina set up for their reception.  Valentina is a member of about a year and a month, and they got sealed on Saturday, and they threw a big "wedding" party for everyone.  It was so exciting. 

 

And then, on Saturday, we got a call, saying that we needed to get the brakes on the car fixed, so we went back to Pep Boys. 

 

And then we went to the reception.  It was so amazing!  We were so excited for them.  And Yubiri (Valentina's mom, whom we have been teaching while she is here for the wedding), announced that she wanted to join the church!!  And I placed a Libro de Mormon to one of Valentina's relatives, that is going to go to France, because she lives in France.

 

And this morning, our ceiling decided to cave in over the shower.  Just another adventure in the life of a missionary.

 

Hurrah for Israel,

Hermana Julie Anna Sanchez

 

Romans 6:15