Week 21 - Enumclaw

Hola mi familia bonita!

So on Tuesday we had exchanges and Hermana Killingsworth went to Auburn with Hermana Ah-Hong and Hermana Sasangi and Hermana Singer came here to Enumclaw with me. The exchange was a lot of fun and I got to know Hermana Sasangi and Hermana Singer a little better. During the exchange we were able to have 7 lessons! It was awesome! We also did really good at speaking Spanish more!

One of those lessons we had was with a woman who had lost one son in a car accident and the other committed suicide. We taught her the plan of salvation and got her information to have missionaries go teach her in Mexico. It was a great miracle!

Also starting January 1st the Spanish Group will be depending on the Enumclaw 1st Ward instead of the 3rd Ward. So we've been having meetings and discussing with leaders to try to make it a smooth transition that  benefits everyone. I'm really excited about it and I  hope everything goes well! It looks like they want us Sister missionaries to translate the Relief Society lessons for the Hispanics so I better learn Spanish quick! Haha! Oh boy...well if we do end up doing that I'll have to let you know  how it goes.

I loved being able to skype you guys for Christmas! It was awesome!!! It was so good to see you! On Christmas Eve Hermana Killingsworth and I made tamales with Sister Rojas which was fun. We actually had Christmas dinner on the 26th with the Blads and that was great! They have a big family so it was really special. Hopefully I have a big family one day.

So this past week Hermana Killingsworth and I walked a lot one day to try to save our miles. We walked to Bro. Blad's house and he ended up feeding us dinner :) haha! Then we walked to our investigator Leonor's house which is farther. It was a little farther than we thought too. It took us about 40 minutes to get there. We talked in Spanish the whole way and Hermana Killingsworth was saying how she thought it was a little sketchy because it was super dark. Luckily though she had a flashlight. After the lesson Leonor was kind enough to give us a ride back home which was a blessing because I don't know if we could've made it back by our curfew if we had walked.

Also this past Sunday something really cool happened! A girl who is about to come serve in this mission Spanish speaking came to visit the area with her family and we were able to talk with her and her mom and answer some of their questions. The girl will enter the Mexico MTC in January and will be here in the mission field in the beginning of March. Also she and her family know Hermana Bown my MTC companion! It was so cool! They told me that Hermana Bown wrote them and told them that I was here. How cool is that! Haha! I bet I'll probably be her companion sometime.

So yeah, this transfer two Hermanas are going home but we also get two more. Then the next transfer in March we'll get two Hermanas (one being the one that came to visit with her family) and then in April we get no new Hermanas but in May we get two more new ones. Also after Hermana Dubon and Hermana Ah-Hong go home this transfer no one will go home until Hermana Killingsworth in September.

Hopefully I stay here in Enumclaw for one more transfer but we'll see on January 20th.
I just think it's so crazy how the time flies! I'm getting closer and closer to my 6 month mark and then 3 months after that is my halfway mark and then 3 months after that is my 1-year mark and then 3 months after that I'll only have 3 more months until finishing. That's just so crazy!

Anyways...

I was reading in Preach My Gospel earlier and I read a quote by President Gordon B. Hinckley that says, "Do you want to be happy? Forget yourself and get lost in this great cause. Lend your efforts to helping people...stand higher, lift those with feeble knees, hold up the arms of those that hang down. Live the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

I really love this quote because the first thing he asks is, "Do you want to be happy?" Then he gives us the answer of how we can be happy which is to serve others and live the gospel. I just love that. It's so simple and easy and yet sometimes we just don't do it.

I hope you all have a safe and wonderful New Years Celebration and that you are able to accomplish your goals!

A couple of mine are to work through the whole green book (it's for learning Spanish) and to also think more about what God would prefer rather than permit when I make decisions. After all, "Decisions determine destiny."- Thomas S. Monson

I love you all to the moon and back!

Love, Hermana Soliz

Christmas Package from home!!

Getting ready to open our Christmas presents!

Skyping with family!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ENUMCLAW!!

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Christmas! I'm sad I won't be with you guys but I'm excited to Skype you! It looks like Hermana Killingsworth and I are going to have a really great Christmas!

We had a Christmas party with half of the missionaries in the mission and it was a lot of fun! We did a white elephant gift exchange and there were a lot of good musical numbers. President and Sister Eaton also gave us a disc with some photos from the year on it and I'm in a few. There's a cute one of me and Hermana Mitchell so I'll have to send you that.

Also Hermana Killingsworth got a big bag of anonymous Christmas gifts from someone. There's something to open each day until Christmas and today it was stuff to bake cookies so it looks like we'll be doing that. :)

Our investigators are doing good but it's just really hard to see them around the holidays. Leonor is getting really excited about baptism!

We also had our Spanish Group Christmas party this past week and it was tons of fun! There was good mexican food and a lot of people! Hermana Killingsworth and I texted everyone in our phone inviting them to come. There were actually more non members there than there were members.

We ate and we did an activity similar to a "Posada" which is a tradition in Mexico and they also had pinatas for the kids and Santa Clause.

On Sunday we had our Christmas program and Hermana Killingsworth and I sang Venid Adoremos (Oh, Come Let Us Adore Him).

I'm really excited for this upcoming week! I Know miracles are going to happen!

Recently I've been rereading all of the talks from General Conference and oh my goodness...I just love them! I learn so so much from all of their inspired words! I encourage you all to reread them! And for those of you who aren't members I encourage/urge you to read or listen to this talk by Elder Bednar entitled Come and See!

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/come-and-see?lang=eng

Keep sharing the gospel and letting the light of Christ shine from within you! You have every reason to smile!

Something I learned this past week is that ALL of us are LITERALLY worth the life of a God. Don't underestimate your potential and keep striving to do better!

Love you all so very much!

Hermana Soliz :)

I can't believe it's almost Christmas!!

So this past week has gone by pretty fast and everything has just kind of blurred together. LOL! But I guess I'll start by telling you about my new companion.

Hermana Killingsworth has been out on her mission for 8 months and she's from Nebraska/Wisconsin. She's the oldest in her family and has three little brothers. She's really sweet and is a good missionary!

We're both more on the quiet side but we're working on that.

One thing I'm working on is testifying with more power and conviction.

Going along with that is putting complete and total trust in God and fearing no man. 

I'm loving working with our investigators and I'm excited to find new people to teach!

I encourage you all to find your own missionary opportunities to share the gospel and serve.

I also can't believe it's already December and that it's almost Christmas! I feel like I just left for the MTC, haha!  I'm so excited to skype you guys!

I love and miss you all!

Love & blessings,

Hermana Soliz

I'm staying in Enumclaw :) Best place ever!

I love being a missionary! I know I've said that before but I'll probably say it a gazillion times more because it's the truth!

This past week I had to say goodbye to my amazing companion and trainer, Hermana Mitchell because she's finished her 18 months. It was so sad and we both cried but I am so thankful for her example and the effort she put into to training me. I just love her so much and will miss her!

I already know who my new companion will be but transfers are at 2:00 so I haven't gotten a chance to talk to her yet. So I can't really tell you any details about her except for that her name is Hermana Killingsworth. I've only talked to her once or twice before but she seems really great! I'm excited about it!

Oh and this transfer there are no new Hermanas coming in. Just 7 Elders, 2 Sisters, and a visa waiter.

Since I had to drop Hermana Mitchell off at the mission home at 8:00 Monday morning I was able to be companions with Sister Heaton for the day. We had to follow each other home in separate cars and it was so weird! Lol But while I was with Sister Heaton I was able to teach Todd who is a man that Hermana Mitchell and I found and sent as a referral to the English Sisters! He's learning about the gospel! & he's committed to a baptism date! It was a really cool experience!

Anyways when Hermana Mitchell was still here we had something really awesome happen! Hermana Mitchell and I had done a lot to get our investigators to come to church and there were a few of them that told us they would for sure be there.
We were really excited to have these investigators come and we were sure they would be there because they showed a lot of interest. But sadly, none of them came.
Then after our first hour of church we got a phone call from our investigator Aura saying that her and her family were almost to the church. We were so surprised! We weren't even expecting her to be the one to show up! Aura and her husband Juan and their little boy stayed for the second and third hours. Since third hour is our sacrament they were able to hear everyone's testimonies. By the way I bore my testimony too :) They also stayed for a break the fast we had after and the members were really welcoming and they seemed to enjoy themselves.

I also thought it was really cool that when they left Juan said that they would be back next Sunday! (and we haven't even taught him a lesson yet- just his wife)
I learned from this that blessings always come when you work hard and that also we should have high expectations for ALL of our investigators, even if they may seem that they are progressing slower than others.

I can't tell you to much about our other investigators because it's been hard to see them and things are still being worked out. But don't worry! I'll make sure to tell you when they're baptized!

We also went to the church event we helped set up for called Celebrate the Nativity. We went all together with members of the group and it was tons of fun!

I love you all so very much!

Pray, read your scriptures, go to church and your life will change for the better!

Hermana Soliz

Love these sisters!

My Christmas stocking!

Merry Christmas!

Hiking Mount Peak

Best decorations ever!

My view at the summit

At the Summit

He is the Gift!

Hi Everyone!!

So first of all, sorry for not giving you the heads up that my p-day would be on Tuesday instead of Monday. It was kind of a last minute thing so I didn't really know about it. Anyways it was because here in Maple Valley the church has this huge Christmas event at the stake center and they wanted the missionaries in the zone to help set up for it on Monday. So since we spent a lot of time doing that our p-day got moved to Tuesday. The event is Friday-Saturday and we've been inviting everyone we talk to. It's pretty popular and people come from nearby to go to it. There's supposed to be tons of different kinds of nativity sets, music, a cookie room, and a live nativity where you can dress up and take a picture. It should be tons of fun and I think our Hispanic group is planning on going together. So yeah, A lot of the missionaries in our zone helped set up and it was a lot of fun and it felt good to do service! Hermana Mitchell and I put up a lot of Christmas trees!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! All of the missionaries had three hours to play sports and games the morning of Thanksgiving so I was able to play volleyball and basketball which was fun. I also saw Elder Brown so that was cool! Hermana Mitchell and I spent our Thanksgiving dinner with Brother and Sister Blad and their family! It was really good and I enjoyed it! They have such a wonderful family!

This is the last week that I have with Hermana Mitchell and I'm really sad about it. She's really amazing! I'm just so lucky I had her as my trainer. It definitely helps to have a companion that is truly consecrated at the beginning of my mission.

As Hermana Mitchell and I have worked it's amazing the miracles we see!

So the other day we were driving to an appointment and we saw a Hispanic boy walking on the side of the road. Sometimes it's hard for us to find Hispanics that we haven't already talked to so we were really excited! But we didn't have time to talk to him so we kind of just followed him home to see where he lived. That probably sounds creepy but we just wanted to get his address so we could try going and teaching his family later.

Then this morning Hermana Mitchell and I hiked Mount Peak and when we were at the summit I started talking to this man to see if he would be interested in hearing a message from the missionaries. Then Hermana Mitchell told me that right when I started talking to that man the English sisters texted us a referral. And guess what....it was the same address of the boy we followed home! Small world right? Lol

The man I spoke to wasn't interested in hearing a message but he did say he would go to the Christmas event in Maple Valley. Even though he wasn't interested in hearing the gospel we spoke to him and were blessed with a referral.

Oh another funny thing that happened! So we went to visit one our investigators, Leonor and her daughter Alice. Now this visit was totally in Spanish. Well Leonor was talking and saying that Alice had a "pajaro" that was like family and that she should bring him out to meet us. "Pajaro" means bird...but what I heard was "pareja" which means couple but people here use it all the time to refer to their boyfriend or girlfriend. Haha! I was so confused! I was thinking Alice is only 13, how can she have a boyfriend and how could Leonor already be saying he's like family. And then Alice brought out her new pet bird...the pajaro. Hahaha! Oh it was hilarious! Maybe you just had to be there but it was funny!

Oh and also just yesterday sweet Brother Blad brought us a real Christmas tree for our apartment! He wenrt and cut it down himself and everything! He is so great! I love him!

Before I go I want to leave you a scripture I just read and now live.
It's D&C 112:28

"But purify your hearts before me; and then go ye into all the world, and preach my gospel unto every creature who has not received it."

I am so glad that I am a missionary and that for this short time I can focus on the gospel literally 24/7. I hope that as I learn more I can continually work on purifying my heart. I know that the closer we come to Christ the more pure our hearts will be and the stronger our desire to share the gospel will be as well.

I love you all so very much!

Remember to check out the short video He is the Gift that the church put out! It's amazing! It's at christmas.mormon.org

I also love the Because of Him video they put out for Easter at easter.mormon.org

My next p-day will also be Tuesday because of transfers so until then!

Hermana Soliz

So I have a lot more pictures from this past week but I forgot my camera cord. So the only one for this week is a picture of the zone that was sent to me. Sorry...but there will be a lot next time!

This is a beautiful life!!

Absolute truth does exist!
We can all know for ourselves that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God's ONE AND ONLY TRUE church on the earth today.
Jesus Christ established ONE church when He lived on the earth. Only ONE. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is that church.
Jesus Christ established His church with the power of the priesthood. The priesthood is the power and proper authority of God to act in His name.
When Jesus Christ was crucified and His apostles died the proper authority to act in God's name was taken from the earth.
The true church of God was no longer on the earth because the power of the priesthood was missing.
People became confused and started forming their own churches.
Some sincerely wanted to follow God and others changed the Bible to fit the needs of mankind.
Either way, all of these churches were missing important parts of the gospel, including the power of the priesthood. People were confused and they couldn't find answers.
We needed a restoration of the power of the priesthood and of the true church of Jesus Christ.
Through the power of God Joseph Smith was called to be a Prophet and restored Christ's church on the earth.

I love the gospel so much! I know with all of my heart that is true. The gospel is the way to divine happiness.

Here's a link to the video Because of Him from last Easter. I love it and I love it in Spanish too! Let's all try to remember Him more often in our lives each day. After all it is because of Him that we are able to live again with our Heavenly Father,

http://easter.mormon.org/

Being a missionary is hard work but it is a beautiful life. I am having experiences that I would have never had if I hadn't decided to serve a mission. I am so glad I decided to serve because if I hadn't I would have been missing out! I think of how much I love the people here and I can't believe that if I didn't serve I would have never met them! It really is a privilege to serve!

My trainer, Hermana Mitchell finishes her mission and goes home of December 8th along with three other Hermanas. It's really sad and I'm going to miss her a lot. I've learned a lot of great things from her and I hope I can apply the things she has taught me throughout my mission!

Right now we have 13 Hermanas in the mission and they are all just great girls! I love them all so much!

Since Hermana Mitchell will be leaving I started driving this past week. She said it would help me learn the area faster and that it would be good since I will most likely be staying in Maple Valley.

I hope you all have a fantastic and safe Thanksgiving this week! Know that I am thinking of you! Brother Blad invited us to have Thanksgiving with his family so that will be a treat!

Sorry there's no pics this time mom.

All my love,

Hermana Soliz

Family of 3 baptized!!

This is so crazy! I never know where to begin with my emails because so much happens in the week! Haha and we always have plenty of miracles! :)

So this past Saturday Juan, Rosa, and Bryan were baptized!!! It was a beautiful service and the spirit that was felt there was really strong! I felt so honored to have the opportunity to be there with them as they took this step. I can't even describe the feeling of happiness in words...the closest comparison I can even think of is maybe how a mom feels proud to see her kids do the right thing.

After the baptisms Hermana Mitchell and I gave a short lesson of the restoration and showed the first vision. I was so nervous to speak in Spanish in front of so many people but with the help of God I did it and it felt so good! :) We then continued with the rest of the service which was beautiful. They were also able to have Hermana Wright on Skype and she talked to Juan, Rosa, and Bryan and bore her testimony. Hermana Wright is the one who found their family a year ago so it was really special that they were able to hear from her.

Seeing Juan, Rosa, and Bryan get baptized made me so unbelievably happy! I am so excited to work hard to try to have others come unto Christ through being baptized into this restored gospel of Jesus Christ! It is just an incredible feeling to see these people get baptized! There is nothing better!

On Sunday they were all confirmed and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Juan and Bryan also had their interviews to receive the Priesthood and they are so unbelievably ready for that. The gospel has really changed their lives so much. They all just glow with the light of Christ!

Being a missionary is great! Oh, also since you asked for a rundown of our schedule it usually goes something like this:
We wake up at 6:15 and work out at the gym at the church.
At 7:00 we get ready and have breakfast
At 8:00 we have personal study, companionship study, training, and language study all for an hour each. By the way at the the end of this transfer I will be done with training!
Then we have lunch for an hour and go out proselyting! We go to our appointments and try to find new investigators.
Every Tuesday morning we have a District Meeting. Every Tuesday night we have a Coordination meeting. Some Thursday nights we have a meeting with Spanish Group members and we go out proselyting. Every other Sunday we have a Ward Council Meeting. We also have either a Zone meeting or a Zone Conference every transfer. As well they have started having a Spanish Fireside every month that all of the missionaries go to with members and investigators.

We stay busy for sure! There is always something to do or prepare for! Haha!

Oh and a funny thing happened yesterday. So we had dinner at the Blad's home and it was really good! After dinner though I was full. I really didn't need the second piece of meatloaf but Bro. Blad insisted so I had it.

After dinner there we went to go try to teach Joel and Lucila who are some of our investigators. They had some family over but they still let us in. It turns out they were just about to have dinner so without even asking they just put hot chocolate in front of us and gave us tamales. So I drank the hot chocolate and ate a tamale. It was good but I just was not hungry. Joel tried to get me to eat more but I just couldn't do it. Lol!

Then after that we went to Juan and Rosa's to get their information for the paperwork for their baptisms. So we're there in the living room working on the papers with Juan and Rosa brings out two big glasses of this sweet milk with white rice in it. I don't know what you would call it...but anyways, so then I had to eat that. It's just so hard to say no, especially when they just put it in front of you. Lol!

Anyways, I'm not starving! Haha!

Love you!

Hermana Soliz

View from my apartment! Mt Rainier

Juan, Rosa, and Bryan

Javier Garcia, Juan, Bryan, Rosa, Bro Blad, and Bro Jepson

Hermana Soliz and Hermana Mitchell with Bryan, Juan, and Rosa

Fear Not, I am with Thee...

Hola mi familia bonita y amigos! Esta semana pasada fue muy bueno!Tuvimos un reunion con Elder Hamula y lo era muy espiritual! Elder Hamula darnos mucha ayuda para ser missioneros buenos y como tener exito. El dijo que algo missioneros tienen la fe servir un mission pero este es no bastante. El dijo que necesitamos la fe tener exito en la mision y no solomente la fe servir un mision. Necesitamos hacer mas.
Some things I really like that he said were that we need to not hold onto anything from back home when we are on our missions. We need to forget and not worry about home. We just need to focus on the work and our purpose here. Going along with that I also liked that he said we need to learn to give up everything that we are for the Lord. Until we do that, we are at risk of spiritual death.
Also as part of the preparation for this training with Elder Hamula we read Elder Uchtdorf's talk entitled, "Fear Not I Am With Thee." Go and read it! It is an amazing talk and very powerful! I had the whole thing marked up! There is a story about missionaries in it but this talk is not just for missionaries. It's things we all need to hear.
So when we were getting trained by Elder Hamula all of the missionaries cars were being inspected. We have to clean and wash them every week and then wax them like every month. Well Hermana Mitchell and I were really busy so on the same morning of car inspections we had to wake up early to go wax it. Anyways, the companionship that has the cleanest car wins the "Gold Plates". It's this frame for the license plate and it's literally gold and says, "Gold Plates". Hermana Mitchell has wanted to win them her whole mission and she finally did. Haha! We won the gold plates! Haha, it's pretty silly but it was kind of a big deal.
Hey guess what?! I went on my second exchange this past week! Except, instead of me going to a different area I stayed here in Enumclaw!I stayed here and Hermana Mitchell left. Also the missionary that came here was Hermana Webb who entered the MTC with me. So yeah, two "greenies" aka new missionaries were left alone. And since it was my area I had to take charge. It was pretty interesting and fun. I was able to practice more of my Spanish because Hermana Webb and I are basically on the same level with the language.
We also had the baptismal interviews for Juan, Rosa, and Bryan and those were great! They are so rock solid!
We also had a dinner with them at the Ramos's home and Juan told me that one of the times we taught them I was talking about how once we know the truth we shouldn't wait to be baptized. I talked about how when we wait that just gives Satan time to change our minds and that by waiting we're holding ourselves back from receiving promised blessings from God. I also talked about the importance of acting when we know the truth.
Anyways, Juan told me that it really touched him and it helped him make the decision to be baptized!! I was so happy! Seriously, it made my day! It's moments like that that make the mission and all the little frustrations of trying to speak the language worth it! I know that as I work hard in learning the language that it will come but until then it's nice to know that the investigators are still feeling the spirit through my broken Spanish.

Oh and hey....the wind here in Enumclaw is CRAZY! I was literally being swept away! It was so cold but luckily it wasn't raining too. That was a tender mercy from the Lord. But really, the storm lasted for 48 hours and it's still supposed to last until tomorrow. There's trees and signs that have fallen down everywhere! Hopefully the destruction of the storm will give us some good opportunities for service though! :) The storm also made like all of Enumclaw lose power including our apartment. Bro. Blad was kind enough to bring us a propane gas lantern and tons of blankets and jackets to keep warm! Luckily, in the morning the power was back on so that was good!

I have so many scriptures I want to share with you guys but I'll just share one...

D&C 68:6 - "Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come."

This scripture has given me a lot of comfort and has also reminded me of my duty as a missionary. So many people think that Christ is just far away watching over us from Heaven. Also so many people think the same thing about God or they question if there even is a God. This scripture says that Jesus Christ will "STAND BY US" and it also says that He is the son of the "LIVING" God. I testify that Christ lives and God lives. They are not waiting on some cloud waiting for something to happen. Their hands are in everything and they are at work trying to help us return to them. The Gospel is true and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only church that contains the fullness of the Gospel. The Gospel is the only thing that will bring us eternal happiness. I am almost finished reading The Book of Mormon which will be the third time I've read it so far in my life but the first time finishing it on my mission. I love The Book of Mormon and would do anything to keep it safe. I am now understanding more about why the ancient prophets did everything to preserve the records and even gave there lives for it. Fear not, God is with you! Strengthen your testimony. Act and don't be acted upon. Share the Gospel with others, it's our duty.

I love you all and I hope blessings are sent your way!

I love you tons!

Hermana Soliz                                                                                                  

Me and Hermana Mitchell

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.......

Beautiful Enumclaw

Love the trees!

Mt Rainier

Surrounded by evergreens as we drive...

Can't do too much for ourselves during the power outage!

And we're off! Another beautiful day in WA!

Enumclaw is such a special place-Love it!

OK! So let me start off by telling you a story! So the Garcias are this really great and strong family we have in the group! They are amazing! Their son Javier has cancer so they are definitely going through their own trials but they still manage to be strong. I think something that really helps the whole family to be strong is Javier's testimony. He has so much faith and you can just tell that he tries his best to be a disciple of Christ. He also reminds me so much of what I think  Christopher would be like if he didn't have his handicaps. 

Anyways there was a Spanish Conference last week and for part of it members were able to go do temple work. Brother Garcia and Javier both went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. Brother Garcia baptized three women and then it was Javier's turn. Javier was really sick  though because of the cancer and the chemo treatments. He looked yellow and like he was about to pass out. 

As he got in the water people were asking who he was and saying that he looked so sick that maybe he shouldn't do the baptism. His dad, Brother Garcia, looked at them and told them that Javier was his son and that he was sick because he had cancer. He also said that Javier had the faith to do it so he was going to let him. Javier was really weak but he was able to baptize an elderly woman who had brought a name of one of her ancestors. 

When Brother Garcia told me this experience he was in tears and so was I. Brother Garcia has been a part of the Spanish group for nine years and he says that sometimes when our investigators don't want to come to church he feels like not trying to help them and quitting. He sometimes thinks it's ridiculous that his son who has cancer has the determination to baptize and to go to church and do all these things for the Lord but that others can't go to church on Sundays. 

Javier tells his dad that he can't quit though and that he has to keep trying.

I just wish you could meet this family! They are going through such a hard time but it is making them stronger and bringing them closer to God. It really is true that all things are for our good. 

I really hope that when I'm faced with my own trials and heartaches that I'll remember that. 

This past week we also had the Trunk-Or-Treat at the church and we had a good turn out with investigators, in actives, and members that showed up. It was a combined activity for all three wards plus our group so there was a lot of people there. 

The next day Hermana Mitchell was really sick so we stayed in. We had both not been feeling well for a couple days but Hermana Mitchell felt too sick to go out. I feel like I might be getting a little sick so hopefully I can keep it under control and get better. Hermana Mitchell and I both still need to get our flu shots. 

Some of the members found out that Hermana Mitchell was sick so the Ramos's brought us dinner. It was super nice of them! Also Brother Ramos and Brother Blad came over and gave her a blessing. 

While Hermana Mitchell was trying to sleep her illness off I studied, cleaned, updated the Area Book and looked for any potential investigators we could try teaching. So, eventhough I was stuck in the apartment all day I was able to keep busy so I didn't go stir-crazy.

Oh and just so you know the Juan, Rosa, and Bryan's baptism set for the 15th is still on! :) 

Also Adan is so unbelievably close to getting baptized! He is going to be such a strong member when he makes the decision for himself! 

Also Leo is getting closer and closer to proposing to Betty! I think they're planning on getting married the day after Thanksgiving so we'll have to see what happens there. I really need to send you pictures of all of these people! 

Sorry I haven't sent more pictures. I either forget or I'm not sure if it's an appropriate time to take a picture or not...So ya, I'll send you some in my next e-mail.

Which reminds me....our next P-day is Nov. 12th. I think it was changed to that day because we have Elder Hamula speaking to half of us on Nov. 7th and the other half of us on Mon. the 10th which would've been a P-day. Isn't that so awesome though?!! Elder Hamula is coming to our mission to speak to us! I'm going to be able to shake his hand! :) 

Oh and I received the letter the Ward sent me. It was really sweet and they even got President Brown to write a little note in it. Let the ward know I really appreciated it and that I love them! 

Until next time! :)

Hermana Soliz

I get to stay in Enumclaw for another transfer!

So a funny thing happened last week that I forgot to tell you. Our investigator, Juan, gave the closing prayer in sacrament last week...Haha! But he's an investigator! Hermana Mitchell and I were like, "Is that allowed??" Haha!
By the way Juan, Rosa, and Bryan have all officially set their baptismal date for November 15th!!!! I am so excited for them! It's going to be great!

Oh and just a side note...During our weekly planning Hermana Mitchell and I could not focus because there was two wasps in our apartment. We would try to focus on our investigators and discuss how to help them but then we would hear them flying and freak out! Seriously, it was hilarious because we were trying to be brave and get them out of the apartment but we always ended up screaming and running like little girls. Haha! But today a sweet old man killed them for us so they're finally gone!

So there is this couple, the Corbits, and they are in one of the English wards and they are just great! We go over to their house every  other week to get free bread that the grocery store is getting rid of and then we give a lot of it to our members or investigators.
We went over the other day to pick some bread up and we were able to eat dinner with them and chat for a little bit. Sister Corbit has MS so physically she can't really do much at all. She is super talented though! Her house is full of paintings that she did herself and they are all beautiful and have really cool and personal meanings behind them. One of them is of the Mona Lisa and I think it is just as good, if not better. She also used to be a really well known ASL interpreter among the deaf community. It's sad though because with her MS she's not able to paint or use ASL anymore.
Her husband, Brother Corbit, is a very sweet and funny man. During dinner he had to feed Sister Corbit her spaghetti and then he would put a piece of garlic bread in her hand and she would slowly get it to her mouth. It just melted my heart to see the love and care in their relationship! They are a great couple!

Also this week I bore my testimony in a lesson we had with Adan and Felecitas and it felt really good! My grammar was horrible and my Spanish was simple but it felt so good to try to speak my mission language and to feel the Spirit. I seriously love feeling the spirit. It's the best thing in the entire world. I wish I could feel it strong, like in that lesson, all the time.

This past week we also planned to have a dinner and a lesson with the Valera's at the Ramos's home but the Valera's couldn't make it anymore so it just ended up being us. Even though we didn't have a lesson we still shared a scripture which was D&C 68:6. We had a really great spiritual discussion and it was really nice!

I just love all of our investigators so much and I want them to be able to enjoy the blessings of the gospel!! I am so glad I am here for the next transfer to continue to work with them! It is going to be so sad when I am transferred to a new area.

One thing I learned more about this week was that all of our trials, tests, and just plain old bad things that happen to us that are out of our control are all for OUR good. They are all for our good and they are to strengthen us and help shape us into the valiant disciples of Christ that God wants us to be!

I love you all with all of my heart and miss you!

Hermana Soliz

Hola Otra Vez!!

Working with our main investigators is so amazing! They are all making huge strides and are progressing!
One family's 14 yr old son told us that he wants to get baptized so he can go on a mission and teach other people about the true church of Jesus Christ! How cool is that!! O mi corazon! :) Hermana Mitchell and I could hardly contain our excitement and joy. That is such a miracle! This is a boy who in the beginning didn't even really know if there was a God and now he knows the truth for himself and he has the desire to share it with others! That's a miracle! He and his family have such strong testimonies and they are so ready to make their individual covenants with God and be baptized! The mother's faith is being tested right now as she is searching for a new job that will allow her to attend church on Sundays but I know that  the Lord will bless her for her efforts and that if she makes the commitment to go to church no matter what God will provide.

Another investigator we are teaching is doing great! His wife has been a member for about two years now and her dad is an inactive member and then there is her mom, who is also investigating the church. Her mother was almost baptized before but her other two daughters convinced her to not get baptized. We are really trying hard to teach this wonderful sister's husband, father, and mother so that they all enjoy the blessings of the gospel.  There are many obstacles they are slowly overcoming and it is amazing to see them grow and make changes as the spirit softens their hearts! Reading the Book of Mormon has a big part in these changes!

We have another couple investigating and they continue to grow and are trying hard to put some things in order to get themselves ready for baptism.

One miracle from this week we were not expecting..... we dropped one of our investigators,because she was not keeping her commitments and she was always bailing on our appointments but then out of nowhere...she came to church! And she stayed for all three hours! That's huge because a lot of the Hispanics only come for sacrament.

Also, this past week while tracting,  we talked to a lot of people downtown. One man we talked to was telling us about Joseph Smith and I was shocked at the things he was saying about him. It's ridiculous how the world has twisted the life of the prophet Joseph Smith. It makes me sad to hear such things about the prophet and it makes me even more sad to see that people believe it.
The Prophet today, Thomas S. Monson, and the other general authorities truly were inspired by God to warn us to strengthen our testimonies of the true power of the priesthood and of Joseph Smith and of the restoration of the church for a reason. People in the world are going to come at us with twisted lies. They will go on and on about "facts" that they have found. They will try to convince you that your testimony- what you know to be true, is wrong. They will try to tell you that your perspective is clouded. But do not listen. They are the ones with the clouded perspective. They are the ones that contradict themselves.
So, even if you already have a strong testimony of the priesthood and Joseph Smith, pray for a stronger one. We want our testimonies to continuously be strengthened, not become weaker.
I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, called by Him to restore Christ's original church on the earth. I also know that Joesph Smith translated The Book of Mormon through the power of God. He was a righteous, faithful man and his name deserves to be respected.
"Praise to the man- Millions shall know Brother Joseph again."
I now know a little bit more about why people say a mission will be both the hardest and the most rewarding thing you could ever do. It's hard because we are constantly faced with people who are wanting to challenge our testimonies. They want to bring us down and  pull us away from God. Every day we are able to experience some sort of miracle but also every day we come face to face with people who are deeply confused by Satan. Being a missionary gives you a different perspective of really living in the world and not being of the world.
Now even though we do run into many different kinds of people- some being nice and some...well not so nice, our job is not to judge. Our job is to love. Jesus Christ was the perfect example and He really showed us how to love others perfectly.

Also I really have grown to love the scripture Ether 12:27 even more! It is a great one! Satan uses despair to try and take away our hope but when we humble ourselves God gives us hope. God can make our weaknesses strengths. As long as I put in effort God can help me make my Spanish better. He can help me to be more humble. He can help me be more loving. He can help me live more like Christ.

I love you all so so so much!

Hermana Soliz :)
     

My first birthday out on the mission!

Hey mom! So I just opened my birthday package and it is awesome!  I loved the cardigans and the card! The birthday package was perfect! Can you believe I'm 21?? Gosh, I'm getting old ;)

I love and miss you so much!

Ok, so we just left the apartment and realized that our house key and the car keys are locked inside...woops! 

Now we can't use the car to get around! 

Anyways, we called our manager and he didn't answer so we decided to just walk around town trying to find people to teach. We did some tracting in some apartments nearby and found Jessica who speaks English. Jessica is 20 and she has a 7 month old baby girl named Avery. She also has a boyfriend named Dakota but he was at work. 

Anyways, she was really nice and let us into her home to share our message. She was also really honest with us about her feelings and her past experiences with church. Then at the end of the lesson she asked us both a really good question. She asked us how the gospel has changed us and how it felt to be so devoted to the gospel. It was a really good question that I wasn't expecting but it showed that she had a genuine interest in our message.

So then Hermana Mitchell and I bore our testimonies and it was so great! The spirit was definitely there! Jessica also said that she would pray to know if our message was true and you could tell she really meant it. She also said she would be willing to hear more from the missionaries! 

The only sad thing is that since she only speaks English we have to pass her on to the English Sisters. 

We also found another Hispanic woman named Ruby that said we could teach her at another time. 

We walked all the way downtown so we were able to talk to a lot of people. It was pretty cool because we would have never talked to any of those people or found Jessica if we hadn't locked ourselves out of our apartment without the car keys. 

Luckily we were able to get into our apartment around 5:30pm or so which was great because we had an appointment with Adan at 6:00pm. The lesson went really well.

Also we had a lesson with Juan, Rosa and their son Bryan tonight. 

The lesson was more for Bryan but it was still really good! One of the things we talked about was the word of wisdom which we have taught his parents before. Juan and Rosa have been living the word of wisdom and stopped drinking coffee but they weren't aware that there was still some in the house that Bryan had been drinking. Bryan said he only drinks coffee on Saturday mornings. I guess it's just become part of a routine or habit for him. 

Anyways, we asked him if he would like to receive a priesthood blessing to help him not have the desire to drink coffee and he said yes. He really wants to follow the word of wisdom so he can be baptized but he was nervous about being tempted and drinking coffee. He was especially nervous because the next day was a Saturday. 

So Brother Sugihara and Brother Corbit came over and gave Bryan a blessing. Rosa also found the last of the coffee and threw it away so now there's no temptation. 

It was really neat that Bryan knew that Heavenly Father would help him keep this commandment and that he wasn't afraid to ask for help.

Then after the lesson guess what?!

Juan, Rosa, and Bryan had bought me a cake for my birthday! How sweet is that!

So then they sang me happy birthday, I blew out the candles, and we all had cake. It was great!

Also Hermana Mitchell made me breakfast for my birthday and had all of these birthday notes around the apartment for me to find. She also wrote me a very sweet note and gave me a card with her favorite quote on it.

It says, 

"Tabernacles and temples are built with more than stone and mortar, wood and glass...They are built with service and sacrifice. They are built with trials and testimonies. If any...within the sound of my voice feel unprepared, even incapable of responding to a call to serve, to sacrifice, to bless the lives of others, remember the truth: 'Whom God calls, God qualifies.' He who notes the sparrow's fall will not abandon the servant's need." - President Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, May 1987 

Isn't that such a GOOD quote! I love it! And I know I have heard this and many quotes like it before but things are tough sometimes so it's a great reminder that with God we can do amazing and sometimes hard things.  

So even though we were locked out of our apartment for most of the day it was still an amazing day and a great birthday full of miracles and opportunities for me to grow!

I've only been on my mission for two months and I am already learning so much about myself and how I can improve. I'm learning more about my strengths and weakness. I'm learning a lot more about faith! 

I'm learning that I do, indeed, have some pride that I need to just get rid of. I'm learning that I need to have more confidence, especially when I try to speak the language. 

I just have so much to learn and do out here! I hope that through helping others learn about the gospel that I too can grow closer to my Heavenly Father and return home a different and a better disciple of Christ. 

The message we share as missionaries is extremely important and life changing. As missionaries we really should invite every person we see to listen to our message. Everyone needs the knowledge of the gospel in their lives. 

Some people we talk to are not interested at all. Some people don't like organized religion. Some people don't believe in God. Some people say they believe in God and that they're "good" so we should go try to help other people doing worse than they are. Some people don't even say anything, they just look at you like you have some sort of disease. 

However, some people do listen. Some people have been looking for absolute truth and peace in their lives. With some people you can just tell that God has been preparing them to hear the gospel and then he leads us to them. 

How awesome and amazing is that?!

Missionary work is just the best thing ever!

Sending you all my love!

Hermana Soliz 

Finally got out group pic from when we arrived on Sept 18th!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! THANKS JUAN, ROSA, AND BRYAN!

Sending my love from Enumclaw!

I love missionary work! It's hard but I love it!

So I realized I haven't told you much about my companion besides the fact that she is amazing and wonderful! Haha! Anyways Hermana Mitchell and I are one month apart. She turned 21 the week I arrived in the field. She loves sports and she is obsessed with cereal. Seriously, she loves cereal and is always trying different kinds. She is from Oregon but her family moved to St. George, UT. She also went to BYU for a year before coming on a mission. She will be finishing her mission and going home on December 8th, so she's almost done. She's an awesome trainer!

This past week flew by! Some of the days were long but now that it's another Monday I feel like it went by so fast!

Every other Monday the Spanish Group has Family Home Evening all together at the church. We had one this past Monday and it was awesome! Five of our investigators ended up going which made me and Hermana Mitchell very happy!! The investigators that went were Juan and Rosa and their son Bryan who is 14 years old. Also David and Yesmin went.

We ended up watching the video they showed at the General Relief Society Broadcast about temples. They also talked about an upcoming temple trip for the Spanish Group to go to. Rosa really liked it and said she wants to go to the temple!!! That's so great! We need her to get baptized first but that is awesome that she has the desire!

After that we all played volleyball which was fun! Sister Ramos also made chicken enchiladas and dessert for everyone to eat. She loves cooking, especially for the members!

Also this pasty Tuesday we had a special training with President Eaton where we discussed Effective Scripture Study Skills. We also had the opportunity to watch the movie coming out called Meet the Mormons. It was really great and guess what?! It comes out October 10th!! That's my birthday in case you forgot! LOL! So for my birthday present you should all go watch the movie! It really is great and it would be good for all of you to see!

Also I saw Elder Brown there! I walked in and out of the corner of my eye I saw an Elder waving and I looked and it was him. I was surprised because I wasn't expecting to see him but it was good to see a familiar face when I'm so far from home. He told me he has been out for 10 months and is doing good.

And of course, General Conference! Wasn't that just amazing!! I loved every second of it! And it went by way too fast! They should make them longer ;) I loved all of the talks and Eduardo Gavarrett actually spoke to us in the Mexico MTC so it was cool to hear from him again. I'm trying to think of a couple of my favorite talks but they were all just so good!

Also, I received my birthday package mom! Thanks so much! I haven't opened it yet because I'm practicing my patience and waiting until my actual birthday. Can you believe I'm turning 21? Gosh...I'm getting old. Haha!

Te amo much! Hasta luego!

Hermana Soliz

Week 2 in Enumclaw

Hello everyone!!!

So I am loving my time here in Enumclaw! There is a good chance I'll be here for at least 3 transfers but I am hoping for more!

My Spanish is very simple and I can't say much but out investigators are nice about it. We were teaching a lesson to a part-member family the other day and the father was really nice to me. He's an inactive member and he told me that their home was my home and I could feel comfortable to practice my Spanish there.

Also one of the Sisters in the English 3rd Ward made me a necklace and matching earrings. It was really nice of her to do!

There was some rough spots this past week but a lot of miracles also happened. My favorite miracle of the week was that SEVEN of our investigators went to church this past Sunday. Not one or a couple but SEVEN!!! Hermana Mitchell and I were just so ecstatic! I'm a new missionary but according to Hermana Mitchell that never happens!

Everyone in the Spanish Group was so happy that we all took a picture together! Oh, and Mom, I keep calling it the Spanish Group because we are technically not a Branch yet. So yeah, they call it a group so that's what I call it.

This past week I also went on my first exchange to Renton. I had the opportunity to teach with Hermana Webb and also Hermana Clark, who is one of the Sister Training Leaders.

I keep learning more about the gospel everyday and I am loving every second of it!

We had some great lessons about the tree of life this past week and I learned some new things I hadn't thought of before!

Also all of the members in the group are so strong!! They are always  so willing to help out and the do a lot to try to help the investigators.

One of the families in the group is the Garcia family. Their son Javier just came home from his mission. He came home a couple months early because he has cancer and he needed to come home for treatment. He gave a talk last Sunday and this past Sunday he bore his testimony. His faith is literally unwavering! It is admirable how much faith he has. I don't know very many people who would refer to cancer as "this little sickness," but that is exactly what he called it. He is so humble and trusts in God so much. He knows everything is going to work out and it's great to see someone be so strong during such a difficult time. So I know they say not to ask people back home to pray but if you could include Javier and his family in your prayers that would be awesome!

Also I read something this past week that I really liked. I don't remember what it was called or who said it but the main thing it said was, "You don't know what you have."

 It was a convert saying that she didn't really think members, who have grown up in the gospel, really knew what they had. In other words. many of us take it for granted.
Please try to think of a way that you can strengthen your testimony and then do whatever that is. Whether it be to pray or to read the scriptures more or to go to church. Do something and really ponder on and use the atonement in your lives.

I love you all and always pray for you! I hope you're being blessed!

Love, Hermana Soliz

On exchanges with Hermana Clark

Loving it in Enumclaw!

Finally in the WA!!

My mission President and Sister Eaton!

Hey guys!!!

Sorry but this email might be on the short side. There is just so much to do. 

Anyways my companion and trainer is Hermana Mitchell and she is great! She is also really good at Spanish so that should be helpful for me. She has only two transfers left until she goes back home and she will most likely be my trainer for both of those transfers which is great! 

We are serving in a town called Enumclaw and it's really pretty here. The town also seems pretty cute from what I've seen. There are three English wards in Enumclaw and and one Spanish Branch. So we're serving in the Spanish Branch but we are the only Spanish missionaries for the whole Zone so we cover all of Maple Valley. 

On Sunday they had me bear my testimony and I did it in Spanish but then I added some stuff at the end in English. The second counselor for the Spanish Group is Brother Blad and he doesn't know Spanish so we're learning together! He's a cute old man and everybody calls him Grandpa. He's really nice and he gave me my "Mission Wings" which is this little gold pin of the Seattle Temple.

The Spanish Branch is really small. On Sunday I counted and in total there was 29 people there. There is so much work to be done though and the group has a lot of potential so I'm excited!!

We have dinner with members on Sundays and Mondays so last night was my first dinner at a members home. It was at the Ramos's house and Brother Ramos is the President of the Spanish Branch. It was so much food and so good! It's a good thing members just feed us twice a week though because I don't want to get fat! Sister Ramos also gave us homemade bread when we left so it's true that people always give the missionaries food. 

Also I wore the navy striped skirt yesterday! I was surprised to see that not only did it fit but it was a little lose. I thought that maybe you had let it out a little. Haha! But since you didn't I guess I did lose some weight. Also I loved the new outfit you and grandma sent me! I already wore it and it's really cute! Thank you! 

The Spanish is still really hard for me but I'm trying. A lot of our investigators keep asking me why I'm Mexican and don't know Spanish. LOL.

I already love the area here and I hope I pick up the Spanish quickly because the members and investigators speak really fast!

I love you and my next email will be longer!

Make sure you read the Book of Mormon every single day!!

It's amazing and we need to be reading it and applying it's teachings!

Love, 

Hermana Soliz :)

My "Greenie" package that was waiting when I arrived.

My apartment

Quiet little town

Our zone covers the most area.