Month: October 2018

Whoah, what  a week! It has been nothing but pure craziness up in here, but I am loving it as always. We have had some wild experiences. Last week, after writing, we were buying groceries in Econo when a guy died, it was so sad. They only have a couple of ambulances here for multiple pueblos, so by the time someone who could help got up here to Barranquitas, where we write and shop, it was way too late to help him.

On a lighter note, we finally got to go and visit Ana and Philip this week! They are the funniest members and I love them so much. Ana is having a lot of health problems so we are going to help her clean her house this week.

Another fun thing we did this week was carve pineapples with the jovenes for mutual! They turned out so cute and I think everyone had a lot of fun. Halloween isn’t really celebrated here because a lot of people in PR associate it with Satan-worshipping. But, we tried to bring in a few little traditions to celebrate. We brought them some candy corn as well, and they all hated it hahaha.

That was a super great day, until we finally got home and found that our apartment had been flooded! We have had a problem with our sink and it has been temporarily fixed a few times, but it completely bit the dust and we were left with a few inches of water. We cleaned everything out and our sink is off, so we are hoping to get it fixed very soon, along with our broken washer. Ay! We already have very few appliances, it would be nice if they would work haha. I’m not sure I can handle another one breaking haha. We also had a rat chew his way through a window screen! But, our apartment got one nice little update because a member was giving away some of her chairs this week. We will take what we can get!

Anyway, I will spill the beans on transfer news now! I am going to train here in Aibonito! Woot! I have never trained or taken over an area, but I think it’s going to be super fun. I am going to miss Hermana Rollins so much though!!! She is such an amazing companion and I have learned so much from her during these last two transfers. But, I know she is going to kill it in Mayaguez, finishing training another missionary!

I wanted to end with a quick quote for all of you that has really impacted me this week.

“In these times of commotion the Lord expects us to adjust our habits and be in His house more often.”
-Elder Neil L. Andersen

If you live close to the temple, never ever take it for granted! Go to the house of the Lord as often as possible for peace and comfort, for increased knowledge, and protection from temptation. It is a refuge for YOU!

Love,
Emma

Wow, this week was so incredible! It was probably the most miracle-filled week of the transfer!

First of all, if you didn’t know, flan is a huge thing in PR. And this week I tried pumpkin flan! Literally made my life. I love pumpkin more than I can express haha.

Also, we taught the cutest lady named Angie again this week and she loved our message! A lot of people try to tell us why we can only have the Bible as soon as we pull out the Book of Mormon, but Angie was so excited to read it!!

We also had a super great noche de hogar (FHE) with a recent convert and her husband who was already a member. It was so much fun! We also had an incredible lesson with Anangeli. We were able to be super bold with her because we love her so much! She is a really really special person and I am so excited for her to get baptized.

I also had a miraculous exchange this week. Hermana Jorgensen is so sweet and this was seriously the best exchange I’ve ever had. I learned so much and we accomplished our goals, and then some! My favorite experience from that day was a lesson we taught to Obdulia and her daughter Odalis! It was one of the most spiritual lessons of my mission and I know that they are truly searching for the truth and are going to find it!! We also talked with this lady named Sylvia. We were invited in and started singing “Families Can Be Together Forever.” She started crying and said, “Did you know my mom passed away just two months ago?” We were an answer to her prayers and I am excited to go back and teach her and her family!

A random experience for you all is that I was hugged by a really nice drunk guy last night! Awkward! Hermana Rollins and I were laughing forever haha.

Anyway, I hope everyone is still applying the things they learned from conference! Do not forget how important it is to follow the words of the prophets and do your part to help yourself and others around you continue growing in the gospel! Reach out your hand to lift others who are falling! Stand together with all those who want to follow the Savior and you will be unstoppable.

Love you all!
Emma

Hi everyone! I am mainly just going to be sending a mountain of photos because I am finally somewhere I can send them haha. This week has been really good, full of miracles and crazy adventures like always. Today we had a zone activity at a river in San Lorenzo, we were just chilliando (real word in PR Spanish). It was cool! But on the drive back the GPS tried to kill us so we took all these crazy roads in the pouring rain (with people following us). I thought it was actually pretty funny, but I was glad I wasn’t the one driving.

We had a really good zone conf this week, and we talked a lot about how now that a temple was announced in PR, we just need to keep working even harder! PR still needs a lot of work among the members and a lot more people need to become members before we can be ready for a temple. I am excited to be here at this special time!

We also celebrated Hermana Rollins birthday and a LOT of people gave us cake! It was a fun day and we also found sooo many people to teach! One lady named Angie started talking with us and then I asked her if we could pray with her. She said sure, so I asked if there was anything in specific that she needed us to pray for and she started crying! She took us inside to pray with her 95-year-old mom (people live to be really old here) and to pray for her grandson who is in the hospital. It was such a miracle!

And yesterday, we had a really spiritual fast and testimony meeting, in part because people are so pumped up about a temple! We were also able to visit with a less-active member who has moved back in with his parents after college and is thinking about serving a mission! It was so cool to hear his thoughts and to testify to him about the things I’ve learned and say that I truly do not regret my decision to serve the Lord!

Alright, this is short and sweet but I don’t have much time! I want to invite you all to read 2 Nephi 2:6-8 and think about the immense blessings and knowledge you’ve been given and how to share those things with others! I promise that you will find greater joy than you have now by sharing scriptures, personal experiences, and messages from General Conference! Les amo!

Hermana O’Barr

P.S. If you’re wondering about my title, you should go listen to the Nashville Tribute Band’s new album about the Bible!

I apologize for not writing a weekly last week!!! I had all the craziness in the world happen last p-day all because I tried to get a new pair of glasses, but all is well and I finally got an eye exam today.

So, I turned 20 this week. 😯 Shout out to the Cartagenas for surprising me with cake! They are the best!

The only other thing I am really going to mention from this week aside from General Conference is that a cute 15-year-old named Tutino is on-date for baptism now!! He is so awesome and is going to get baptized on October 26th!

Okay, now on to General Conference! As I’m sure most of you know, a temple was announced in Puerto Rico!!! We were watching in our branch President’s house surrounded by people we love, and when the announcement was made we all jumped up and screamed and then started crying out of pure joy. The Spirit was so strong and I am so happy for the people of Puerto Rico! The faithful members who have worked for this for so long are going to be so blessed, and this is going to open up the doorway to blessings for so many more people, who will begin working harder towards this goal. Estoy tan emocionada!!!!

I also wanted to mention a few other things from conference. One is the invitation I gave last time to mark the invites in the talks! I’d like to invite you to do that again. And, President Nelson invited us to begin studying them THIS week!

I wanted to tell you my favorite talks as well. I loved Elder Brough’s on Saturday morning, when he talked about how asking “why me?” never takes away the problem and how the Lord requires hard things of us, but we can do them with joy! I also loved how Elder Rasband said that fear limits our perspective and that we cannot be afraid–we MUST do the work assigned!! I was very touched by a talk in the women’s conference as well, by Sister Michelle Lynn Craig. When she talked about the difference between divine discontent and discouragement, it changed my view completely! It was a message that I really needed because I often focus so much on my weaknesses and faults and feeling bad about them, rather than just striving to close that gap between who I am and who I can be with the help of the Lord. The last talk I wanted to mention was from Elder Gerard on Sunday afternoon. I was so inspired by his invitation to step back and evaluate our lives, and if there is anything we need to fix, to remember that NOW is the time to do it!

Really, all of the talks were incredible and uplifting! I hope all of us can continue enjoying and learning from them in the weeks and months to come! Have a good week!

Love,
Emma

I will send pics next week!