Zaragoza - Week six

Hi FAMILY!!

JESSIE GOT BAPTIZED THIS WEEK!!! We literally had an incredible week. I don't even know where to start. So we saw Jessie Wednesday, and she had had the goal to be baptized this weekend but hadn't given us a definite no or yes yet. But on Wednesday she officially decided she would go through with it. We were PUMPED OUTTA OUR MINDS. Anyway, so things got willllldd cuz we had to plan the baptism in like three days haha. We called all the members to invite them and give talks and all that and got everything all figured out super nicely actually, we didn't have any issues. Annnndd after she told us the water was perfectly warm, gooo us!

The baptism was super incredible. Jessie really needed that in her life. One of the other elders baptized her, it was his first time and he totally nailed it. She bore her testimony afterwards about how she has been reading and praying a lot and how she has just felt a lot of peace about being baptized. I was so so happy! We met her only a couple weeks ago, and just like that, she was baptized. It just proves how much God is preparing people to be baptized. And Hermana Findlay was a genius and decided to do a voice recording with Jessie, so I'll send those too. You'll love to hear them.

Also another miracle this week.. so a few weeks ago I told you about a man named Carlos that we met in the street. At first he didn't want to talk to us, but I asked if we could pray with him and he let us. Afterwards, he let us take his number. Well on Saturday he showed up for english class! We talked to him afterwards and helped him a little bit more and then asked if we could share a scripture with him. He was super accepting of everything so we invited him to church the next day too. We got there right as the meeting started, and as I looked around, I couldn't see him there, I was way bummed. I sat and prayed and prayed to God that he would come. But then after the meeting ended, we found him! He had been there the whole time! We just didn't see him when we walked in. He stayed for all three meetings and he LOVED it. You know how much I would love to baptize a 60 year old spainard? I would die. It's happening. We're meeting with him again this week too, so we're super excited about that. It was such a miracle.

So I feel super blessed to be in this area, I know I always say that, but it's true. This area has really changed who I am as a missionary. When Hermana Findlay and I got here, we had nothing going. But we've worked and worked and worked. Five weeks later, we had a baptism, 7 investigators at church, and found 7 new investigators. We literally keep seeing miracle after miracle. I've learned how to really truly give my all to the Lord. When this week started, we had high hopes, but we thought there was for sure no way we could get many people to church. We have only had 2 consistently coming since we've gotten here, and one was Jessie. But we prayed really hard, and were super obedient, and we picked up two, and were blessed with 7 total that showed up. It was incredible. We have never been so happy!! So life is good. I love this area. It's really shaped me into the missionary I know I can be. I've learned that God is willing to show us miracles if we will just act, and show our faith. If you're obedient, and willing to be an instrument in His hands, He can do so much. Life is so good. Thanks for everything family!

Love you all!! Have a great week!


Love Hermana Reid

Zaragoza - Week five

hi faaammmm!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW NICK!

hows everyone? thanks for all the birthday wishes. YOU'RE THE BEST. Tell Kelsie and Grandma that both their cards made it, they are SO sweet for thinking of me. PS: Kelsie, I'm on the hunt for blueberries. Ill send you a picture when I get some :)

So this week was good! Ive been kinda sick all week though which has been a bummer. Yesterday I lost my voice haha I couldn't talk at all. But I think I'm getting better finally. Gah I feel old though. 21 is like the oldest ever. Haha. jk. I know all you are mad at me for saying that cuz youre all older.. sorry.
Anyway, my birthday was good! I woke up to tons of balloons and decorations all over. The other hermanas bought me a purple wig and made me wear it with my party hat. They made me super yummy crepes for breakfast too. They are so sweet. Then after, we had to do weekly planning for the week.. wooo.. it was so good.

But after that, we went to a members house for lunch! The mom, Ines, is the sweetest woman ever. Shes from Spain but her husband is from Germany. They are fluent in spanish, german, and english. So she told me she wanted to make me a super spanish dish for my birthday so guess what we ate... squid in its own ink! Haha. Basically it was bits of squid in a black sauce with white rice. Ill be honest, it wasn't that bad! I'd eat it again. I mean who can say they spent their 21st birthday in Spain eating squid in its own ink? Probably just me. Ines made me a super yummy chocolate cake cuz she knows its my favorite. Also she bought me a scarf for my birthday, shes the sweetest. (you'd be bffs with her, mom)

After that we had a lesson with Kleber. Hes doing so good! Hes preparing to be baptized this weekend, so keep him in your prayers. Hes really ready for it, he just needs to get in that font already.

After that, we grabbed our stuff and headed to Barcelona! Its about a two hour train ride from here, it was super fun. Our hotel was really nice. I was pretty sick though, so we just went to bed. The food was good at the hotel though. You know I love hotel food.

The next day we had a conference with Elder Kearon.. the first counselor of the Europe area presidency. It was really incredible. He talked a lot about our worth, and the importance of realizing that we are special in God's eyes. He was an incredible speaker. On top of that, we got to see a ton of old missionary friends, I got to see Hermana Benson, it was SO fun to see her. Shes as cute as ever.

The rest of the week was good. Jessie is also doing so well! Shes hopefully going to be baptized this weekend as well. Shes reading and praying a ton. Shes so cute, yesterday at the end of church she left relief society a little bit early, and when I came out, she was standing there with a cake and 21 candles. How sweet! She bought enough to share with everyone. I felt so loved!

Anyway, I'm really loving it here still. Its been warm lately, which is the best ever. Except it'll probably mean it'll be brutally hot this summer. But better hot than cold. I'm really glad I've been put in this area; its really helped me to become the missionary I need to be. We have been working so hard and have had a lot of fun. Time is flying so fast! I can't believe its almost summer time again!  Life is so good! Thanks again for all the birthday wishes!

PS my package came! I got it a day after my birthday, I LOVE THE CLOTHES. you know me so well. gah. mint. and cadbury eggs are all I could ask for!! I got the credit card as well, don't worry. THANK YOU THANK YOU! I love you family!!

Hermana Fras

PS every woman over the age of 60 here has purple hair. for real. so strange.

Cute sisters that planned a surprise for me. They hung paper and filled it with balloons so it exploded when I opened my door.

 Some of us girls at the conference.

Jessie and the cake she brought me.

My birthday cake from Ines!

They bought me this purple birthday wig and cute hats...totallly rocked it!

Zaragoza - Week four

Hi everyone!

How’s everyone? This week was pretty good! Time is flying here, were already halfway through this transfer in Zaragoza. We are really loving it. Also it’s getting warm here. So were loving it a lot more! Hopefully it starts warming up for good. Also we've been running too! We run 3 miles every morning to the Pilar and back. It’s the best. And its real dedication too cuz we have to wake up early. Count it.

Anyway, this week was good! Hermana Findlay had to do a two day intercambio so I was with the other hermanas for a few days. It was fun to be with them, but it was hard to be out of our area. I was definitely glad when she came back. President and Hermana Pace came up this weekend too! On Saturday, Hermana Pace came contacting with us and to a visit with a menos activo. It was fun to have her! We don’t get to spend much time with them, so it was nice to have her for the afternoon. They came for church as well! Super fun.

So I don’t have a whole lot to say about this week since we didn't get to work a whole lot in our area. But Kleberg is doing well! He came to the baptism the other hermanas had Saturday night. It was good for him to see it. I heard somewhere that 80% of the people that see baptisms end up getting baptized themselves or some super high number haha like that... He has a goal now to be baptized on the 22nd. We had to change his date cuz we won’t be here this next weekend. But he’s progressing well; he even brought his girlfriend and her two kids to the baptism! Super cool.

Also Jessie is doing super good! She’s our cute friend from Ghana. She came shopping with us last preparation day. So fun. She also came to the baptism. She accepted a baptismal goal for the 22nd as well! She’s progressing a ton. We ate at her house one day this week  and in the course of the conversation she told us she doesn’t drink or smoke, or even like coffee, so that makes our job even easier.

Other than that, there’s not a whole lot else new this week, sorry. The work is going well here! We have been finding a ton of news lately. I don’t think I have ever seen so many miracles. We are literally teaching in every opportunity that we have. We teach a ton in the street, it’s been a really different experience from my last area, but I love it. This area has been really good for me because it’s helped me get over any shyness I had about contacting. I've got no shame. Come at me world.

Also we have a conference this next week in Barcelona with an area 70. We are really excited. We’re heading down Wednesday night (my birthday actually) and we will stay in a hotel down there. So it’ll be a party. I’m excited. K sorry this email was kind of boring. Buttt I love you all!


Love Hermana fry

Zaragoza - Week three

Hey Fam!

How are you all? It sounds like it was a good week for everyone, I really miss you all!

So this week was a week of miracles. I don't think I've ever seen so many miracles in such a short span of time in my mission. Hermana Findlay and I worked so, so hard this week.

So you know how we decided to put our area into five zones to plan out passing by members and such? So this week we got to work and started visiting less actives along a few of the routes. My goodness, we saw great stuff. Basically we got off the bus in our area (we live 30 minutes away from our area) and we started contacting every single person on the street. Hermana Findlay got wild and tried to contact a man on the phone. It was hilarious. But we saw some incredible miracles and had a ton of lessons in the street everywhere we were. It was amazing to see how when God knows where you are and where you're gonna be, He puts people in your path. I've never had so much success contacting. In fact, at the end of the week we had 13 new investigators! The thing is with news, not all of them keep interest all the way till baptism. But the more news you find, the more quickly you CAN find the ones that are prepared.

We talked to this one old Spaniard in the street one night and started testifying to him what we believe. He thought it was nice, and took our card, but wasn't interested in giving us his number to set up another visit with him. He just said we would run into him again on this street sometime.. haha.. so I said to him, "well can we at least pray with you before we leave then?" So, I said a prayer and asked God to bless him and his family. After the prayer, he looked at me and said, super sincerely, "thank you, that was really kind of you. Did you want to write down my number?" I sat there stunned! It's really incredible what happens when you let the spirit work on people. I love to pray with people, we try to do it as much as possible to let them feel our message. The spirit really works miracles.

Also we met a Spaniard woman named Rosita this week, she was a reference from the elders. She's about 70 and has about 6 teeth. When we met her she was wearing some sort of nightgown with an apron on top. Well at least I think that's what it was .. anyway she LOVES Americans. Oh gosh she was obsessed with us haha. She wants to learn English and loves to hear us speak it.The first time we visited with her she asked if we could come dance at the discoteca with her haha. She's wild. We saw her again yesterday and she gave us strange stuff to eat. She told us it was only chicken and flour (some fried circular thing) but I couldn't identify any chicken.. so who knows. I eat weird stuff here. But anyway, we talked to her about baptism, she's read in the Book of Mormon and has really liked it. We asked her how she'd feel to be clean of all her past, and she said she would love that. But for some reason she has it in her head she's not worthy for baptism. But we're planning for the end of the month as a goal for her. I would just die if I could see that woman get in the font.

Also Kleber, he also has a baptismal goal for the 15th. He's doing so well! He's all the way at the end of Alma in his reading. In church he answers questions like a member. He's so golden. So keep him in your prayers that he will get baptized.

Oh also we met a girl from Ghana (but she's been living in England) the other day on the bus. Her name is Jessie. Way cute. She loves us. I think she's coming shopping with us today too haha. She came to church yesterday and all the members were way sweet to her so hopefully next time we meet, we can set a fecha with her as well. Miracles!

Also Hermana Woodbury told me that my Peruvian family are all being baptized on the 8th of March. I about cried when I read it. When we met them, the dad was so not into the church, and now they are all being baptized as a family together. I'm so heartbroken I can't be there, it's really hard to know I'll miss it. But, nonetheless, it'll be incredible.

Anyway, I'm really loving Zaragoza. The members here are absolutely incredible. We have seen so many miracles and we are finding so many news to teach. We are really working so hard. I don't think I have ever contacted so much in my entire life haha. It was an exhausting week. But it's good for me. I feel blessed to be white washing. It's hard, but I feel so accomplished every night, knowing we literally talked to everyone we could have. I'm excited to see more miracles!

Hermana Findlay is an incredible missionary. We are really having tons of fun together.

Love you all!

Love Hermana Fras

Zaragoza - Week two

HIII FAMILY!

So the more time I have in the mission, the more it gets real weird to me that I had a life before this life haha. Life at home just seems so foreign to me. I've been out 7 months, today! How weird. Speaking of, the other day we went grocery shopping here at a store called Carrefour. In my last area, all the shops are just super tiny markets, but this place was like WALMART. It BLEW my mind. I totally had forgotten about how nice grocery stores are. SO much selection! It was wild. Basically I fell in love.

Anyway, this week was soo good! It's been weird being in a new place. It was especially weird at first because I felt like I did when I left home. I felt like I left my family again (my san se family) because they were just gone, and I couldn't talk to them. It was super weird. The four of us missionaries up there were like family, so it was strange to be put in such a foreign world all over again.

BUTTT I looovvveee my new companion. Hermana Findlay. She's from Salt Lake and she did a year of school at LDS business college. She's super cute and super sweet. She's taller than me, so we look like a super tall pair walking down the street haha. She's brunette though.

Anyway, so I'm starting to figure out what whitewashing an area means.. its wild haha. I think 9 out of the 12 missionaries down here are new. They basically just cleared this place out. I think its because most of them really struggled in this area to find people to teach and such so they just did a complete wipe out. We definitely have a ton of work ahead of us, but I'm super excited for it. I'm ready for the challenge.

So basically we have been trying to figure out our area all week haha. This city is huge and there's a whole complex bus system we are learning. Luckily we found the church and our area, so were golden. We've been trying to get to know all the members that live in our area. So we passed by a few this week to visit with them, we literally know nothing about anyone.

Ok so this is cool. So the ayudantes in the mission told us to map out a route in our area for how we will pass by investigators and menos activos and such. So when we don't have stuff to do, we can follow a route mapped out on certain streets. This way, in between visits, we can contact everyone on the way, and then try and stop by peoples houses as we get to them. If that makes sense. That way, God will always know where we are and He can put people in our path. So we divided our area into five groups and made separate routes. I wish you could see what we did, but honestly it's genius. It gives us so much more purpose as well, cuz it's not just like we are wandering and contacting for hours, we actually have a route of where to go and people to try and stop by. It'll be sweet. It'll really help us to get to know our area as well and make really good use of our time.

Anyway, yesterday was our first Sunday and it was way fun. The branch here is super cute. The president and his wife are INCREDIBLE and all the leaders are super pumped about missionary work. So that makes it way fun. The next three Saturdays in a row we have missionary activities with the members. It'll be fun to help them have more animo about the work.

So basically, the Hermanas before only had one progressing investigator. His name is Kleber from Ecuador. He's incredible. He's been reading the BOM and is already in Alma 32 or something. The only thing is, he just moved in with his girlfriend, so he can't be baptized yet. But we will work with him. He always comes to church and always keeps his commitments. Other than that, they really didn't have anyone, so were starting from scratch. Kinda intimidating, but kind of fun. Our last area we always had people to teach, we rarely had extra time ever. So this is a huge change. But I feel super blessed to be here. I feel so grateful to know that God trusts my comp and I with helping the work progress here. He could have sent anyone, and He trusted us. I'm pumped.

We're still lost everywhere we go, but it's a huge adventure and I love it. It's fun to whitewash because we learn everything together, the members get to know us together and we learn the area together. It's super different than before. Anyway, I'm doing well, especially cuz its getting warmer here! And bonus, it never rains. Just windy sometimes. I love you all so much! Thanks for everything,

love,

Hermana Fry

Zaragoza - Week one

HIIIII!!!

Soooo I'm still in San Sebastian!! Haha jk. not. So I got transferred! I'm in a big city called Zaragoza. This is where Hermana Woodbury got transferred from so she was so excited I was coming here! What are the chances?!! So I'm still in the north... well ish. Idk really. More towards the east. But it's flat as flat can be. And not rainy. But I hear its super windy here. Also you didn't hear this from me, but it's not as pretty as SanSe. But it's okay, I was ready for a little more ghetto in my life. So there are 12 missionaries here. A ward and a branch. I'm in the branch. There's 2 sets of sisters and 4 sets of elders. I think. If that adds to 12. Also Mom, Elder Ballam got transferred here too. The sweet thing is that us four sisters live together, so I'm pumped about that. The piso here is super nice. My new comps name is Hermana Findlay. She's not here yet actually. She's coming. She is one transfer ahead of me. She was comps with Hermana Woodbury in the mtc. She was in my zone for my first transfer so I kind of know her. Basically she's super cute and I'm way pumped to work with her. She will also be a sister training leader here. So we have a big adventure ahead of us.

Also I miss Hermana Woodbury. I'm having withdrawals. We were twins. It was hard to leave her. She's actually gonna be training this transfer. And I think she's getting a native cuz four out of the five newbies are natives. Hopefully!

So this last week in San Se was good! It was weird to say goodbye to the ward. They were my family! It's all I've ever known. But I'm excited for the new adventure here. The hardest part was leaving our Peruvian family. I sent pics. The boys are planning to be baptized on March first and couldn't be more excited. Their uncle who is a member is coming down from Las Arenas to baptize them. I love that family so much. I am having a hard time with the fact that I won't be there for their baptism. Gosh, they will be great.

We also had a lesson with  Jeudi (Thursday) this week. We taught the word of wisdom and it went super well. I was glad cuz that's a hard one sometimes. The only thing is he doesn't have much prisa to be baptized. He just wants to take it slow and not rush into it, so well see. Well Hermana Woodbury will.

Okay moment of truth, I hardly remember anything about this week. Tyson mentioned Valentines Day in his email and I was like wait, that was this week? So sorry, I don't have many stories haah. This week was short anyway cuz we had conference Monday and Tuesday, preparation day Wednesday, and Hermana Woodbury was sick Thursday. So we didn't have a whole lot going on. Lots of last minute visits with people. Also Max fell off the face of the earth. We couldn't get a hold of him before I left, so I was sad about that. Hopefully he will get baptized someday soon..

Oh ps I think I ate animal tail yesterday. All I know is a member was telling us what was in his "ragu de todo" or ragu of everything and he told us there was tail meat in it, I don't know what animal.. or what kind.. but I think I ate tail. whatever it was, it tasted normal.

Oh also we had a lesson with a new lady on a bench the other day. She was saying the closing prayer and during it, I heard someone grunting.. at the end of the prayers I opened my eyes and this homeless wild man was standing right in front of us and mumbles "hola guapas" haha it was hilarious. My life here is so strange, I love it so much.

K well thats all really! I am SUPER PUMPED for this new adventure. It'll be wild. We are white washing which means both of us sisters are new to the area. So we don't know any of the investigators they were teaching before, or the members, or anything haha. We don't know this area at all. So it'll be an adventure figuring it out. I'm pumped for the challenge. I love the mission so much.  I love you a lot! Thanks for everything!


Love Hermana Reid

Also Shannon... I got my hair trimmed. so I think it's shorter than yours. I'm sensitive. It wont grow. My life is so hard.