Change is Good!

Hey everyone!

So today is transfer day so we will all be dealing with lots of changes. Hermana Edmonds is getting transferred to Kent with Hermana Palmer and I am staying in Auburn and will be training a brand new missionary. There was some miss-communication with our Zone leaders so we thought that we were both staying here but Sister Eaton called us yesterday to let us know that I would be training and that Hermana Edmonds would be leaving. 

I am so excited to train but at the same time a little nervous! This time last year I was being trained! I feel like I'm getting a little taste of what it feels like when parents have their first child. I just want my new companion to have the best experience ever and I want to help her start her mission off right like my trainer did for me! :) 

I want to be a good example to her and help her in any way that I can! It's a change but it's okay because changes are good and they help us grow! Hopefully, I don't stress myself out! 

Apparently the new missionaries will be getting here later than usual so I will be at transfers at 2:00 and Sister Eaton said hopefully we'll be home by 7:00. It's going to be a long day! 

Also we are getting Spanish Elders back in the area but the catch is that they will be on bike. In the past the Elders were able to cover the whole Auburn Stake which really helped since we cover Auburn and Puyallup. But now that they'll just have bikes there geographical area is going to be smaller. Hopefully they can share a car with another companionship on certain days or something.

I'm still really grateful we're getting Elders back in the area though! They'll be a big help!  The members are going to be so excited about that! 

Another change was that I had to say goodbye to Sister Walker on Sunday. :( It was so sad! I love her so much and am going to miss her! It'll definitely be harder to get to the gym in the morning knowing that she won't be there to talk to. She is like a sister to me and I am so grateful that God gave me the opportunity to be companions with her!

By the way! Didn't you just love the General Women's broadcast! It was so good! I loved all of the talks and I learned something from each one! I really liked when one of the Sisters was talking about after this life and we'll think, "Was that it? That was all I had to do?" It will be a very humbling and sweet experience.  

I know this life has difficulties and that life is hard sometimes. But just like President Hinckley said, "Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." Too often we think that God asks too much of us when in reality He is giving us every opportunity He can to have us decide to come unto Him. He does not ask very much of us. We just need to be obedient to His commandments and accept His will. His commandments aren't like a fence to keep us gated in. Instead they are like guardrails to protect us from danger. I know that as we keep His commandments and repent each day we will grow to have a more Christ-like character!

I love you all! Here's a picture of our last district meeting this transfer and one of all of us sister missionaries here in Auburn! 

Hermana Soliz

The last week of the transfer!

Transfers will be happening again in a week and I can't believe it! I am so scared that I am going to get transferred. I don't want to leave! But it's okay because everything always works out! A few other missionaries think that I'll be training but no one ever really knows what's happening until transfers.

Hermana Edmunds is so funny and she also struggles with keys like I do. It always takes her a while to get the key out of the door after unlocking it.

The missionary work here is going great as usual! I love the people here and I stress sometimes because I want to do everything perfectly to help these people progress but well, no one is perfect. But everything always works out as we really try our best! 

Sometimes Satan will try to make you feel like you are inadequate and that you have no idea what you are doing. But it's not true. It's a lie. It's that simple. So don't you give up! You keep your head high and you keep trying! I promise that this isn't just a pep talk for me, LOL! You all need it too! 

Just put your trust in God and follow His inspiration! You can never go wrong when you are striving to get closer to God. Keep doing the little things to build your faith like reading the Book of Mormon every day. I love reading from the Book of Mormon every day and it has brought blessings into my life by giving me a stronger testimony of my Savior, Jesus Christ. 

I'v been reading about Alma and Amulek and Ammon and I just love their examples of faith! They are so bold and full of love for God! Even in their afflictions they are so patient and love God! 

It reminds me that this life is not always going to be a cake walk but that I need to stay strong and humbly put my faith in God. 

I love you all and hope you are doing great! 

Just so you know rana means frog in Spanish. Also look at the minion! People are already getting ready for Halloween! 

Hermana Soliz

 

Ready for Halloween!

 

I love Auburn!

I just absolutely love serving my mission here in Auburn! I love the members and I love our investigators! We have amazing leaders and everyone is so excited about missionary work! There are also a lot of Hispanics in this area so we get to talk to them a lot! I just love them all so much! They're like family! :)

Hermana Baird, Hermana Edmunds, and I are all getting along great! Hermana Edmunds has a talent for cracking jokes! She is always cracking us up! She also can quote movies really well and every classic episode of Spongebob. 

One day Hermana Edmunds was looking at my charm bracelet and she said, "Why does this say velo?" & then Hermana Baird told her that it said love. You had to be there but it was so funny! So things are great with them and I love them both! We all have different strengths so we work well together! 

I have no idea what will happen with transfers in two weeks. I really hope that I get to stay here in Auburn! I wouldn't mind just finishing my mission here! 

We had Zone Training this past week and I really liked being able to review the Doctrine of Christ and what we need to do to keep the faith and endure to the end. 

One of the questions the zone leaders asked us was about how we could apply everything that we are learning here to situations we will have at home. I answered the question by saying that we should continue to have faith in and trust God and involve Him in everything. We should pray about all of our decisions. For example, where to go to school, what to study, who to marry. etc. 

And well, when I mentioned the example of who to marry it got a little quiet in the room...I was like okay everyone calm down. It's not like you all weren't thinking it! Haha! And besides it's true, you should pray for guidance in all things.

This past week we overbooked appointments so we went on our first split as a trio. Herman Baird and Hermana Edmunds went together to do visits and then I went with Hermana Zepeda and Hermano Moreno to teach people.

 Sadly, our appointments fell through but I was still able to teach a former investigator with Hermana Zepeda and Hermano Moreno. Everything always goes so much better when we have members with us! I'm so grateful for their willingness to help us! 

Saturday there was a big Stake service project but we were separated into our wards and branches. The Spanish Branch was in charge of cleaning up trash along a trail by the railroad tracks. It was a lot of fun to work together with the branch! Then that same night we had a fiesta!

It was a lot of fun! It was a cultural party so there was food from several different countries and it was all good! We had ten people who aren't members of the church at the party so that was good! We were hoping for more but ten is better than none. Everyone had a really good time! It was a success!

Also the biggest news is that Daniela is reading the Book of Mormon and she has lots of questions for us! :) At the fiesta she asked me how long I had left on my mission and after I answered her she made a comment about hoping that I would be here for her baptism! :) I love Daniela so much! She is basically already a member. She just needs a little more time to grow and she will be ready to get baptized! :) 

Love you all! Keep praying for help to overcome your shortcomings and I know you'll see the hand of God in your life! 

Hermana Soliz

A random statue of the Pope we saw...I don't know why it's there of all places.

Flowers for us from Hermano Simon

Zone Conference-Hnas Baird, Soliz, and Edmunds on the left

Service Project with the Branch, worked hard and had fun!

TRIO!

Hey big news!

We are now in a trio! Unfortunately one of the sister missionaries had to go home for health reasons so now Hermana Edmunds is here with us in Auburn! Hermana Edmunds is from West Virginia and she came into the field at the same time as Hermana Baird. They've been out for about 5 months.

It's so nice and convenient to be in a trio because we can teach singles too, without having to have another sister with us .

This week went by so fast! The days just all blur together sometimes! I had a dream that we had 8 lessons with members with us and I was soooo HAPPY....and then I realized that I was just dreaming. But it will happen!

Something funny that happened this past week was when we went to go visit a potential investigator named Juan. We knocked on the door and for some reason instead of opening the door he opened the window and talked to us through there. He was saying that the magnet necklace he was wearing helped his heart work. Then he started talking about how his wife didn't like the magnets but that he needed them to live. He also asked us if magnets were against our religion. There were also some cables that were attached to the ground and he explained to us that he needed to be attached to them to keep his mortal body alive. Yeah...It was interesting to say the least.

The best things of this week were of course the spiritual ones!

This past Sunday Jaime received the gift of the Holy Ghost and became an official member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! He was so happy and had a huge grin on his face! He is now preparing to receive the priesthood! He also says one day he is going to be a bishop! How cool is that?! :)

Another miracle was that we found someone new to teach! :) His name is Jose and we found him in Pacific! We don't really go there too often because there aren't a whole lot of Hispanics there but we felt like we should go on that specific day and we found Juan! He was outside working and he let us right into his home to teach him the restoration! We are so excited to go back and teach the whole family!

This experience helped build my testimony that our Heavenly Father is the one moving the work forward. We just need to keep ourselves worthy of receiving the guidance of the spirit to help us make decisions. Sometimes the decision can be very simple like this one and sometimes they are much bigger decisions. Either way it is important to have the guidance of the spirit and then to act on the promptings we get.

I love being able to be a part of these people's lives!! God is truly blessing me and blessing them every day! :)

A lot of the members are so excited about missionary work right now! A few of them have volunteered to come out with us to either teach or knock some doors. We are planning a big cultural fiesta for this Saturday so hopefully we can get a lot of people there and teach them about the gospel!

I want to take advantage of every moment I have to be a good missionary and to help as many people as I can come unto Christ and be baptized in the Lord's way!

You are all in my prayers and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Hermana Soliz

We are a trio! Hnas Soliz, Edmunds, and Baird

Hnas Killingsworth and Soliz