Thursday, July 31, 2014

Valencia - Week Eleven

HIII FAMMM!

SO I don't have much to say about this week. Also I don't have much time because I sent some pics, and I've been emailing you all individually. So it'll be a short one. This week was pretty good, pretty average. We found two cute new girls. One from Colombia and one from Ecuador that live together. They are about my age and were super sweet. We're excited to teach them. Matilde didn't come to church on Sunday, which was a bummer. She does so well and is progressing, but she won't commit to church. Other things keep coming up first, but we will get her there next week for sure.

We had interviews this week with President. It was really weird actually. Time has really flown. Kinda scary. But life is really good in Valencia. I know I say that every week, but it's true. We are really blessed here. We have been finding so many new people lately, so we are excited to teach more and to help them get baptized.

I got to do an intercambio this last week in Barcelona, and this week I go again! I have been there once a week for the past 6 weeks haha. It's a beautiful train ride too. Three hours. Hermana Benson will come here with H. Vance. which will be super fun. And I'll get to go spend time with H. Findlay again!

Transfers are this next week as well, but I think I'm staying to finish training Hermana Vance. I won't leave just yet. I really like it here. I wouldn't mind being here a while. Sorry its so short. But I promise life is so good! LOVE YOUUUUUU FAAAAMMMM!!

Love, Hermana Fras













My water bottle fell.. behind this fence.. how sad. I can't get to it.



The lighting is bad, but its all of us STL... on the train!









My last time seeing H. Benson!

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Valencia - Week Ten

HHHiiiiiii family!

So pageants over? Remember that last year? The day after (which would have been today), I got set apart, and then Tuesday I was off to Spain! How weird is that? I thought about that yesterday as we taught these two Nigerian men yesterday on a bench.. If I would have known that a year ago, I probably wouldn't have believed it. Wow.

Anyway, this week was super good! I can't remember if I told you this story yet, so I hope not. We passed by a lady on our ward list a couple weeks ago named Matilde. The ward list said she and a few of her family members were members of the church. When we stopped by, we talked to her and her daughter and they told us that they not only were not members but that they had no idea what the Book of Mormon was and had never seen missionaries before. Anyway, we started meeting with Matilde, (her daughter has always been busy) and Matilde wants to be baptized! She's been reading a ton and we've taught her the first two lessons. Her goal is to be baptized the 9th of August. So that's super exciting. Sort of a crazy miracle. How did she ever end up on the ward list if she's not a member? Not really sure. But hey, now she will be!

We also did lots of birthday stuff this week. Ana and Nicole both had birthdays this week so we went and surprised them both with cake and balloons and stuff. It was fun. I think they were really happy that we remembered them.

Other than that, it was kind of a mellow week. We have been finding lots of new people lately, this week I think all of them were Nigerians which is cool. I loooveee Africans. One we found is named Glory, who is a friend of a recent convert. We met with her yesterday and she as well wants to be baptized and is preparing for the 9th! She's super sweet. She told me she might move up north (to San Sebastian!!) when Peace moves (which could be next month) so I hope she stays long enough so we can teach her everything. She was really sweet.

The elders had a baptism this week so I'll send pics of that. We sang at it as a district. We did a sweet rendition of come thou fount and Oh my Father. Everyone really liked it. Would I ever have sang in a group of 6  before the mission? Nope. I'm getting bolder. Also guess what else I did? Played the piano in Sacrament Meeting. I know 4 hymns. So those were the ones I played. Haha. We're gonna have to sing God be with you till we meet again every other week...

Anyway, tomorrow we have interviews with President! Then on Wednesday and Thursday I'm going to do an intercambio in Barcelona, and then on Sunday I head up to Barc again for concilio (which means I'll probs write on Tuesday next week) By the end of this transfer, I will have been in Barc on average once a week. My poor companion. She's doing so great though, we have lots of fun together.

Life is really good. We are working really hard and seeing lots of miracles. I hope I get to stay in Valencia a while, I like it a lot. The members are really great here. Have a fun week FAAMMMM!!! Haha I just remembered red robin YUMMMM! Go tytyb2. Remember how if someone said red robin the other one would have to say yum? Haaaaha. We are so strange. K love you lots!!

Love, Kassibaby2000 haha.
















Valencia - Week Nine

HIIIII!!!

Valencia is just the best. I really love this place. I am always dripping in sweat, but it's fine. Kinda like being in New York in July right? haha Valencia is a great place to be. We had a good week this week. It fleeeewww by.

Monday night we had an FHE with Ana and her kids at a members house. We watched the 20 minute restoration video (pageant flashback oh my gosh, it's so weird to think about how I was at the Joseph Smith home a year ago and now I'm in an Ecuadorian home in Spain teaching a woman from El Salvador about the most important thing in my life) Big throwback. Anyway, we watched the video and Ana reallly liked it. I think it was good for her to be able to see the restoration and to feel the Spirit that the video brings. She told me afterwards that it really touched her and that all of the scriptures from the bible that the movie quotes, she knows from memory. She's doing really great.

Sad news, we saw Veronica this week and she told us she was having doubts about different things. So we read together in Alma 32 about faith. We taught her about how faith starts with a desire. She told us she mostly struggled with believing that the BOM prophets were true because she was more familiar with the ones in the Bible. We explained how everything starts with a desire. If she has the desire to know its true, she's just got to be willing to act on it by reading the BOM and asking God about it. She told us she had the desire and everything ended well. Unfortunately after we left her house that night, she called us and told us that her desire really wasn't in it. I'm not sure what happened but she said she was content where she was and didn't want to continue anymore.

I was really devastated. It was really really hard. It's hard to see someone progress so much and start to recognize the Spirit and feel good in church and then just change their minds. I think she just got scared. I don't think its all completely over with her, but it was really, really hard to hear her say she was done. At the same time, I felt a lot of peace about our part as missionaries. I felt we had really taught clearly and the Spirit guided us in the lesson and I don't feel like we should have done anything different.

So I don't remember if I told you but we are teaching a Pakistan man named Farooq. His English and Spanish isn't very good, so we have to keep it really simple. He contacted us. It was really cool though because yesterday I had a moment as we taught him on the bench. I sat there with my Spanish Book of Mormon, he had his BOM in Ardo  and Hermana Vance had hers in English. I just thought man, if  you would have told me a year ago that I would be in Spain, on this bench, teaching Farooq the gospel in three different languages, I wouldn't have believed it. It was a really tender moment. I am really glad to be here. I love the mission so so much.

Oh one last little thing. On Tuesday, Hermana Munns and I went to Barcelona for our conference for sister training leaders. It was really good! We talked about how we can lift the mission and help unite the sisters. It was a really powerful meeting. President and Hermana Pace are incredible. They are so inspired, I love being with them (Also they gave us homemade Cafe Rio salads, talk about being in heaven) After the meeting, I got to go out and work with HERMANA FINDLAY. it was THE BEST! I love her so so much. It was the biggest tender mercy, especially since last week was kinda rough. We just laughed and reminisced about when we were in Zaragoza. Love her.

Also, for any of you that ever get nervous about leading music.. try leading a group of 100 people without a piano.. this last Sunday got wild, let me tell you. But I loved it. I volunteered to play the piano sometimes. Because I know four songs. One of them being God be with you till we meet again haha that'll be a regular Sunday one now. We have no pianist! Help! Anyway, life's good. I'm glad pageant is a blast. Tell them all I miss them and love them.


I love you fam bam!

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Valencia - Week Eight

Hey fam!

I hope you all had a good week! I can't wait to hear about it someday... haha sorry, I guess I must have made it sound like I wasn't going to be on today.. my conference in Barc is on Wednesday.. awkward. that's okay, I'll tell you about my week.

So this week was kinda rough to be honest. We had lots of great visits and such, I was just more tired than usual I think. My animo was down. But we ended the week really strong so that was good.


We saw some really good miracles this week!

One miracle was that we started teaching a girl named Veronica, a friend of a less active. We met with her this week and taught the first lesson. Hermana Vance said the first vision for the first time and rocked it. She invited her to be baptized too and Veronica gave a solid YES. It was so great. She's preparing to be baptized on the 19th! She was so excited the next time we came back she asked if we could send missionaries to her family in Paraguay! She and Maria came to church on Sunday too! Veronica doesn't have money for the metro so they walked an entire hour there and back. It was incredible. Maria told us normally she cant walk more than a block because she has bad stomach problems but that she was willing to sacrifice for Veronica. Later she told us that as they walked she didn't have pain the entire two hours of walking! Maria as well told us that ever since we have been meeting with Veronica, she has completley changed. She's had a better attitude and has been super sweet. Maria said she's been praying for Veronica for a long time now, and now were seeing miracles. Such a blessing. I am really really praying that she will be prepared for the 19th. It would be a huge huge blessing.

Another miracle was that Abi and Ana and their whole family came to church again! That was a miracle because the other day Abi told us they were probably going to get kicked out of their house on Monday and every time we saw them they were super stressed. So I thought there was no way they'd come. AND THEY DID. I shed a few tears when I saw them. It was the most tender mercy from God.  They are really incredible. I really hope we can help Ana be baptized this month. She's so ready, we just need to help her realize it. The members were super sweet to them as well.

We also had a miracle with a man named Farooq. He's Pakistani but wants to know about the Bible. He contacted us and told us he's searching for the truth. We have met with him a few times now as well, and HE walked to church too! He told us he would leave at 7 so he could be there at 9 30 when it starts, and HE DID! It was a huge miracle. We were really blessed this Sunday.

Anyway, life is good in Valencia. It is hotter than hot can be, but were surviving it. I think it'll still get hotter before it gets cooler...

Also Mom, I cut a watermelon today just the way you always do it (I think it's the first time I've ever cut an entire watermelon.. embarrassing) anyway, it went well. Personal Progress points? Yes.

I love you fam! Hope youre enjoying pageant!

love Hermna Fras





Valencia - Week Seven

 Hiiiiiiiiiiiii

It's pageant time again! That's the best! Thinking about pageant made me think about when I received my call. Remember how we were all wondering when I would leave and Rockstar (this is why we call him Rockstar) totally knew that I was going to leave July 24th, three days after pageant. And it happened. I was thinking about that and how much of a tender mercy that was for us. It's really interesting to see how God works. Obviously if I would have been called to report before pageant, it would have been fine and life would have gone on.. but God knew how special it would be for me to be at pageant right before I left, so He let me. For me that was one of the biggest testimony builders that God is really involved in the little details of our lives. He wants us to be happy, and what's important to us is important to Him. He really loves us. Besides, I'm pretty sure He knew I would totally rock that King Noah crowd scene last year..

Anyway, life here in Valencia is good! It's.. hot! haha. But not as bad as Palmyra in July yet.. but I think it'll come. People say theres still more hot coming. We had a really good week last week. It was kind of scattered because i spent half of it in Barcelona getting my new comp. But the second half of the week was good.

Sad news, we went to visit Ana and she told us she's just not ready for a baptismal date yet. She wants more time. I know we can keep working with her though. We explained how it's just a goal, and that it can be changed, but she wasn't ready for it yet. So that's a bummer. I know that she will get baptized this month though. Keep her in your prayers.

Other than that, to be honest I don't remember much from last week.. sorry. We had a lot of good visits though. Hermana Vance is doing great. She's a hard worker and she's up for anything. She's not nearly as sensitive as I was when I first got here. It's weird how I keep asking her if she's okay or if she's sensitive or if she's tired.. (cuz that's how I was when I was new) but shes a champ! So it's been way fun. She's willing to do anything and everything, I'm really glad to be with her. Especially because she's blonde. Blondes are the best.

So Sunday night, five of us (2 zone leaders and 3 STLs) went to Barcelona for concilio. We got to sleep over at Hermana Findlay and Bensons piso (yes they live together, so not fair!) but it was SO fun to see them. I love them so so much. On Monday we had concilio. It was really incredible. We have been working as a mission to work hard to find new investigators together. It's been really uniting and motivating. I love going to those meetings. They are always so inspiring and the Spirit is so strong. I feel blessed to be able to go. Next week we have a meeting in Barcelona again for the sister training leaders. That's three weeks in a row that I'll be in Barcelona haha. It's like a 3 hour train ride so it's not bad. It's fun to do it with the other STLs as well. We have really bonded a ton.

Anyway other than that, I don't have much for this week. This week we have coming is going to be great! We're super excited to work really hard and to make some progress with the people we are teaching. I love this work, it has blessed me so much. Have a great week fam!

love, Hermana Reid

Valencia - Week Six Pictures