Monday, November 30, 2015

Week #69 Empezando la Navidad!

Monday, November 23, 2015

Week 68!

HOLA HOLA!!!!

To start I want to wish my beautiful sister a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you Brooklynn and have a great day! :) Stay warm too! I don't know how it is at home but it's cold here! 
Okay, So this week was so great like always! 
Hermana Lewis and I have been working hard to update all of the potentials and formers in our area books. We haven't exactly received linear blessings from it yet but we are definitely receiving blessings in other ways! 
Hermana Lewis and I are doing so good! We have a great companionship and I am so thankful for that! We really want to work hard to find people who are ready to be baptized and we are working to help Rogelio, Lourdes, and Cecilia to make that step! :) 
On Monday we had a family home evening with them in the Sandoval's home and it was perfect! Hermana Sandoval prepared this awesome lesson on how to improve our scripture study. Hermano Sandoval and Rojelio really got along well with each other! 
Then we had a Relief Society activity this past week and we learned how to make cinnamon rolls! They were so delicious :) but what was even better was that we had five non-members there! Lourdes and Cecilia went and so did a woman named Margarita and her two daughters! :) It was such a blessing! We've been visiting Margarita's family for a while and the husband shows the most interest so it was so great that they came to the activity! 
We also had our branch dinner to celebrate Thanksgiving and Rojelio, Lourdes, and Cecilia all came to that! Then on Sunday Rojelio and Lourdes came to church! That's their third time coming!! :) 
We also had a lesson with one of the Elder's investigators this past week. His name is Enrique and he is from El Salvador. He opened up to us about his past and how he ended up in the States. The things he's gone through and the trials he has had are horrible. I am so lucky that I was born in the States. We are truly blessed to live in America! Enrique has such a strong desire to be baptized and he knows that he is here for a reason! I'm excited to see how he progresses with the Elders! 
Hermana Lewis and I were going through the ward list one day and trying to visit members that we didn't know. One of them is a man named Enrique. So this is a different Enrique just to be clear. But yeah Hermana Lewis and I are so excited to teach him and help him come back to church! 
Zone Conference was this past Thursday and it was my last Zone Conference so that means that I got to share my testimony at the end with everyone. I hadn't even realized that it was my last zone conference until that morning when I was getting ready. Yeah I can't believe it actually happened. I kept thinking, "Maybe...if I don't share my testimony then I won't really be going home..." but being in denial doesn't change things. It was different because usually there is a big group of missionaries going home and all of the elders give their testimonies first and then the sisters. At this zone conference the only ones going home were me and Sister Lee! We couldn't believe it! But it was really great and I loved the topic! 
The entire zone conference was on prayer. President Eaton had said that he had always wanted to focus on prayer but that other topics came up and he was super excited to finally be able to do it. I learned too much to say right now,
but I just want you to know that God answers prayers! I invite you all to think of how you can improve your prayers and then see how it goes. You might be more specific, or you might write down your thoughts and impressions after praying. One thing I want to do better is to prepare for prayer. I want to think through everything that I want to pray for before doing it. I love you all!! 

Con mucho carino :) 

Hermana Soliz
Sister Lee and I, our last Zone Conference. 70 days left today!!
For you Mom!!

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

WEEK 67

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

The Bell Lap Letter.......week 66

Well everyone, it finally happened. I received my bell lap letter. I actually received it last Sunday and completely forgot to mention it. I've had companions who have received their bell lap letters towards the end of their missions and I always thought, "Oh that's so far away!"
Yeah, I don't think that anymore. 
When I got it we were waiting for a member so we could have dinner and a lesson and since we live in the same complex  we decided to check the mail. 
Hermana Lewis handed me a letter and it was from the mission so I assumed it was a media referral or something. I also had a lot of things on my mind so I wasn't even thinking that it could've been my bell lap letter! 
I was in the middle of saying something to Hermana Lewis when I ripped the letter open and realized what it was and well, I had an interesting reaction. 
Hermana Lewis was so confused because I just gasped and shoved the letter back in the envelope and kept saying, "No, no, no, no!"
I had all of these different feelings and I didn't even have time to compose myself or anything because we were about to have a lesson. So I shoved the letter in my purse and went to work!
Then at the end of the day when I could actually read it  I didn't want to. I was in denial pretending that if I didn't read it I still had more time.   
Also more big news is that today is transfers and Hermana Lewis and I will be staying together here in Auburn! I am so happy! :) I love the members so much I might even move up here one day! 
We don't have very many progressing investigators at the moment so we need to really work hard to find new people.
We passed off our investigator, Esteban, to the Elders the other day. It was so sad but since he is a man and we aren't teaching the whole family at this point the Elders need to teach him. Hermana Lewis and I were very sad and we gave the Elders all of the advice that we could think of so they could more easily pick up where we left off. Esteban came to the first hour of church this past Sunday, which is the Gospel Principles class but then he had to leave. Hopefully he will keep progressing and find the truth that he is looking for.
Our other family that we have been teaching are planning on coming to church for the second time this Sunday! Their daughter Cecilia also said she wanted to invite her friend so that he could translate for her in her classes! We haven't been able to teach the husband, Rojelio, very much because he is always working but I'm excited to help this family progress towards baptism and the temple! 
This past Saturday Hermana Lewis and I had the opportunity to go to two baptisms! :) 
The first was at 3pm and it was for Rebecca and her daughters Atong and Ajok. They are the family that I got to know and teach while I was serving in the White River ward. :) It was so great to see them be baptized! Sister Walker was also able to go to the baptism so I was able to see her!! :)  
The second baptism was at 7pm and it was for a young man that will be attending the Young Single Adult Ward. Esteban came to that baptism so that was great!  
This week I read some scriptures I really liked! 
They are 3 Nephi 6:18 "Now they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught unto them; therefore they did willfully rebel against God." This is such an important warning for us! We should always willingly follow God and if it's difficult to do we need to pray for a change of heart! 
And also, D&C 18:45 "Wherefore, the blessings which I give unto you are above all things." This is such an amazing promise that we can't even fully understand right now! :) 
Also the scripture that the whole mission is ponderizing this week is 2 Nephi 9:23 and it says "And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God." 
Bringing people to the knowledge and truth of the gospel is the most important work because it's the work of salvation. :) I am so grateful for my loving Heavenly Father and for my Savior Jesus Christ that love me unconditionally and help me learn and grow. 

Love you all!

Hermana Soliz



Auburn Zone Conference



Reunited with Sister Walker!

Monday, November 2, 2015

Week 65 in Auburn!

Hey everyone!! Hope you all had a great and fun Halloween!
Hermana Lewis and I really enjoyed the Halloween parties they had at the church! 
It was fun to be able to see the different costumes that everyone had! 
On Monday we had a Family Home Evening at the Sandoval's home. Hermana Perez and her three girls were there, and so was Hermano Moreno and his friend. Also, our investigator Esteban was there!! It was perfect because there were several members of the church there for him to meet! He also was talking for a good while with Hermano Sandoval so I think they hit it off well! 
Hermana Sandoval shared a cute poem about two pumpkins, one named Patty and the other Perry. Patty was not a nice person and Perry was. She had two pumpkins with faces on them to be Patty and Perry. The moral of the story was that we should be clean inside and out. So when you looked into Patty she still had all of her pumpkin seeds but Perry was clean. It was a cute poem and was a really good spiritual message as well! 
At the end of the lesson Hermana Sandoval asked everyone if they wanted her to include a special blessing in the closing prayer and everyone went around and said something. Esteban quickly responded to the question saying that he wanted help to be baptized!! :) It was so awesome! And he is still preparing to be baptized on November 28th! 
We were also able to have two other lessons with Esteban this past week and we had members with us for both of those as well. One of them we had just last night and he was talking about how we wants to have his insides be clean as well! So not only did he listen to the message at the Sandoval's but he wants to apply it! 
We also had Lordes's family come to the Halloween activity and to church this Sunday! Lordes. her husband, Rojelio and their daughter Cecilia all came to both the activity and to all three hours of church! It was the most amazing thing ever! They really enjoyed the activity and even though church was way different then what they're used to they seemed to like it! Rojelio knows a lot about the Bible and some other religions so he enjoyed the classes where we get to talk and learn from each other. It was fast and testimony meeting and all of the testimonies were so strong and special! And everyone was so welcoming to them! Hermana Perez even invited them to her house for dinner but they couldn't make it. 
It was super crazy though because never have I ever had the fire alarm go off in the church and this past Sunday something happened where the alarm went off and we all had to exit the building for a while. And it was during the sacrament of all times! Right after they had blessed the water! I was thinking, "Really Satan!" But it's okay because we still had a really nice sacrament meeting.
We are going to have a lesson with them on Tuesday so we can find out more about how they liked it and if they have any questions! Rojelio started reading the Book of Mormon so hopefully we can get them reading as a family! 
Things are kind of crazy right now because we are trying to figure out what to do about our phone. I was washing my face and when I grabbed my towel off of the counter to dry my face I knocked the phone off the counter right into the toilet...So yeah, we don't have a phone right now. We put in rice to try to dry it out but it's shot. They gave us a new battery to hopefully fix the problem but it's acting weird and we can't actually use it. Hopefully we get it figured out soon because we need to keep in contact with the people we are teaching! 
Also this Saturday Rebecca and her daughters, Atong and Ajoke are getting baptized in the English ward! She is the woman that showed up to church one day just to pray when I was companions with Sister Walker! And now she's getting baptized with her family! :) 
Also the scripture that the whole mission will be ponderizing this week is Ether 12:3,
"For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled—"
That is some intense praying!

Have a great week and transfers are next week so pray that I stay in Auburn! :)

Love,

Hermana Soliz
 


 

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Week 64! Reflections....

Through all of the ups and downs of this past week I have seen the blessings of God in my life! God lives! He loves us so much and just wants the best for us! Many times we just need to set aside our pride and remember Him. I'm in Helaman right now in the Book of Mormon and I've read a lot about how the downfall of the people was their pride. Every time it's pride that gets in the way and causes them to forget God. So I am making it a goal to be more aware of my pride so I can more fully set it aside and become more like the disciple of Christ that God wants me to be.

I just watched the new mormon message called Reflections and I loved it so much that here is the link. Watch it! It goes right along with what I've been learning in the Book of Mormon. 


Sunday we had the Primary Program and it was so cute! I loved seeing all of the little kids give their testimonies and sing! The Hispanic children even gave their parts in Spanish so it was really cute! Between us and the Elders we had four investigators there to watch it! It was great! 

Also...great news! We had a church tour with Esteban and he is committed to prepare to be baptized on November 28th! :) Yay!! I'm so excited to help him recognize the Spirit and his potential! Pray that we will be good teachers and help him progress! :) 

Also I hope you all enjoy and are safe on the dia de bruja this weekend! I still can't believe that it is going to be Halloween! And then before you know it, it's going to be Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years! Then I'll be home!! Yikes! 

Love you all! 

Hermana Soliz 

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Week 63!

This past week was jam packed of things to do! And I loved it! Missionary work is always the best when you're busy! For the first time in a while we literally had to run to get from appointment to appointment.
We had interviews with President Eaton and I always enjoy those so much! I always come out of them with more spiritual strength to keep pressing forward! 
After our interviews President Eaton had a referral for us and she just so happened to live down the street so he walked over to her apartment with us to talk to her. On the way President Eaton started talking to this 15 year-old boy that looked way older about families and the gospel. The whole time I was thinking, "I'm contacting with President Eaton! The pressure is on!" Haha! That doesn't happen every day! 
We also had Elder Lawrence and his wife visit our mission and we were able to receive some amazing counsel from them! But before I get into that I'll answer some questions my mom sent me. 
So my biggest challenge this week was probably...eating two dinners in the same day. Haha! Yeah we'll communicate better next time to make sure that doesn't happen. 
My biggest success was probably having more members present at lessons with us! We had more this past week than we've had in a while and we plan to keep working on it! 
My favorite person this past week has been our investigator Lodes and her husband Rojelio. They are Catholic and they are just now learning about the gospel. They are not committed to being baptized but they are so open to learn and they both understand that baptism is a promise  and commitment with God so they want to take it seriously! 
My favorite tender mercy this week was when Sister Eaton sent us all the talk entitled, Becoming Perfect in Christ by Elder Gerrit W. Gong. It is such a great talk and I really needed to read it! She also sent a document about perfectionism and the healthy and unhealthy stages of being a perfectionist. It was super great of her to do! 
My goal for this week is to have a bigger focus on baptism in every lesson.
This coming week I am excited about finding people that will accept the invitation to prepare and be baptized! 
The scripture that has the biggest impact on me this past week is Alma 57:25 when it talks about how all of the stripling warriors survived the battle,  however still received many wounds. This reminded me that as long as we are on God's side we will find success and we will be saved. It also reminded me that we will all receive wounds in this lifetime. I'm talking more so about spiritual wounds rather than physical wounds. But I know that through Jesus Christ we can all be healed! 
Now, on to the most amazing part of this week! Training with Elder Lawrence! We started off the meeting by listening to Sister Lawrence talk about the House of Israel. She talked about why one of the names for Jesus Christ is the Holy One of Israel and how he preached the gospel first to the Israelites. She explained what it meant to be an Israelite and a Gentile which led her to talking about "believing blood." I had never heard of that before but it was all so interesting to me! She explained the lineage from Abraham on down, so it was a lot of history information. It totally fascinated me! I learned so many new things and was reminded of other things that I have learned but forgotten. She talked about the different tribes and how the lost tribes are scattered but predominately in the area of Russia and those countries. She also explained that before this life many of us promised to serve missions and to help gather scattered Israel. I literally have pages of notes from her talk! I loved it so much! I can't even begin to describe it all to you in detail. Because of the meeting,  I now have the goal to study more about the gathering of Israel and to learn all of the names for the twelve tribes.  I also learned that the symbol of the tribe of Ephraim is an ox! Haha! Oxen are hard working and stubborn so maybe that's why I can be so set in my ways sometimes! 
When Elder Lawrence spoke to us he mentioned how he was really impressed with how all the missionaries handled themselves, so that was a nice compliment! :) He also taught about the importance of finding Israel. He said that we have been preparing for this from before this lifetime so we have no time to waste. The time we have to be full-time missionaries is so precious! He talked about having a
better focus on baptizing! We shouldn't just expect miracles, we should expect baptisms! He and the leadership of our mission met and they made the goal to have 40 baptisms in the month of November! How cool is that! The whole mission is focusing on this right now! We have all committed to pray for 40 baptisms in every prayer we say, to think about a verse of scripture about either baptism or the doctrine of Christ each week, and to prayerfully sacrifice something so that we can more fully focus on bringing others into the waters of baptism! I'm so excited about this goal because the whole mission is going to be more unified and working hard to achieve it! Elder Lawrence gave us excellent advice on having faith and being fully believing instead of doubting. If it is a righteous desire it can happen! 
There are a lot of things we need to do in order to reach our goal but I know that as we all pull together and try our best, that God can provide the rest, and we can help 40 people on their way to receive salvation! 
There was also a lot of talk about being born in the covenant at our meeting. Before, I thought being born in the covenant meant you were born in the church, but I learned, or was reminded, that it actually means that you are born to parents who are sealed in the temple. I have always wanted to get married and sealed in the temple to a righteous man for eternity and Elder Lawrence talked about how we all need to have that be our goal. Talking about marrying outside of the temple he said, "You were not prepared for that." He said that the saddest thing would be that we return home and marry outside of the temple and that is so true! We are eternal beings and we need to be sealed to our spouses for the eternity! We are the kind of people who strive our best to become like God and we do that by making promises with  Him in the temple! 
I love this church because I know that it's God's church and it provides us with the way back to Him! 
And on a completely unrelated note here are some funny pictures of us! I love the different colors of the trees! 

Love, 

Hermana Soliz :) 
 
Me and Hna Lewis
Happy Fall Everyone!