Hard Work

This week for P-day we went to a really pretty place close to the capital and to a museum here in Managua. We also played soccer in the morning and I sprained my ankle. It´s pretty swollen. Soccer here on P-days is super fun, we play with the ward and also with the zone some times. I´m reconnecting with my soccer skills and my love for the sport too. It´s real fun because it´s the fast paced, less players and space kind of soccer. I love it, and I´m not too terrible either. (= We also work out at the church at 6 in the morning every morning with whoever is willing to come that early (usually just the Elders and us).

 

This week Hermana Rochelle and I worked so hard, we contact everyone, try to have lots of lessons including lessons with members. Like all my time here in Nicaragua, but especially this week when I hit the bed I´m out like a light. We had a really rough end of the week though. We had a total of 0 investigators and 0 recent converts and the number of people in the church was super low too. It´s been weeks since we´ve had a family in church. I don´t know what to do differently though, and I´m out of ideas. We´re always really obedient too, even though the culture of the mission isn´t very strict on the rules. That´s the story of our whole district (minus our district leader, he´s some how got it figured out-- how to find success or something like that)-- we´re probably the most obedient district, most hard working most inventive district, and the district with the least success. It´s just a good thing that God´s in control of the work and not me because He says that his work will continue and that no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. So there´s hope. He works with flawed servants and the work still progresses.

 

I love all of your letters, they give me so much strength through the week!

Hermana Heather Merrill

Hand in Hand with Members

I don´t have too much to talk about this week, so I think I´ll do a list of 5.

5 things that are different about Nicaragua (besides all of it):

1. The brightly colored houses

2: buses-- they´re crazy!

3: the first thing I hear in the morning is someone yelling out what they´re selling

4: they eat a big breakfast and lunch and hardly eat dinner

5: all the houses continue or touch another house

Nicaragua Capital Building

(I might have mentioned some of these things, I don´t remember)

This week, President Collado met our zone and introduced us to his family. He´s really nice. We made banners that said we are the hands of Christ and put all of our handprints on the banner. It is based of the statue of Christ without hands, we are his hands.

Also this week we had a RS activity met a really awesome lady and her kids that are super excited about the church, had a great asistencia (number of people in the church), Arenoldo received the Priesthood.  Belen had a firm date for her baptism and wedding and then she didn´t come to church. Another awesome thing the elders started is FHEs in members home a lot. The family commits to bringing a family or friends or less actives or recent converts, and we try to do the same. We pass around a calender and families in the ward sign up for different days (not exclusively on Mondays). This week we´re also starting to go out with all the visiting teachers to do their visits with them and visit others (nonmembers, less actives, friends, neighbors). We´re are also trying to do lots of splits with the YW in the ward. Really with the Elders in our ward we´ve talked about doing all these things, but the elders really took the lead in getting it started especially this past week. It´s hard to find a balance though-- we have to have so many contacts and visits and families teaching. I really would like working with the members to be hand in hand and helping us reach are goals, but sometimes I feel like it´s working on opposite planes. Especially because we focus in families and we´re not always visiting complete families when we go with the members. My comp is really traditional in the spirit of the mission too, and we´re trying to change it a little bit. She´s willing to work different too, and we´re trying to find the balance together. She´s really awesome though, and we are a great team for reals. (I hope so anyway, when people can understand my spanish (= ). As I´m reading this it sounds like we´re doing everything and having tons of success. That´s how my ideas sound to me too, there are a lot of problems though and lots of things that fall through. (I know I said I didn´t have a lot to talk about, bet I surprised even myself)

A lot of you commented on my spanish because I mentioned about it last week. Just so you know I still sound like a baby, it´s just slowly getting better. (= The cool thing about the mission is that you don´t need perfect Spanish to do God´s will.

John 15. solid.

                                                                      

Hermana Heather Merrill

P.S. Did you bring a cardboard of me on the camping trip? Love you all (= 

 ( Heather obviously still has her quick wit!  For those that are a bit lost by this PS ...my brother and his bride had a life size cardboard cutout of the bride's brother that was not able to be at their reception reception due to being on a mission.  And yes, we went camping this past week and Heather was missed and we should have thought to bring a cardboard of her on our trip!)

New Mission President

New things:

 Companion. She´s from Utah! Pleasant View, se llama Hermana Rochelle.

I bet one of us gets transferred this next change though because they usually don´t keep two gringos (that´s what all the white people are called here) together for too long. The people talk a lot slower to us because we´re both not native Spanish speakers. I think I´m going to get overconfident in Spanish skills, because right now I can understand most things, but funny, a week before I couldn´t... (= She´s really awesome and I´m learning tons from her. I´m in trouble when I go to other areas of Nicaragua. She served in Matagalpa and she says all the time how absolutely spoiled she feels. Once she said that Managua felt like she thinks Salt Lake would feel. She and I are both in for a shock. Me for when I go to a different area, poorer and with less accessibilities, and she for when she goes home. (= I came from the States and there is definitely a difference. Definitely experienced culture shock. 

President Collado.

 He wanted to meet us missionaries in Managua on Sunday and I love him! I could definitely feel the inspiration of his calling. He told us about a conference he and all the other mission presidents had with all of the 15 (the quorum of 12 and the 1st presidency). He said the spirit in that conference was incredible. He was describing it like this- I turned around and talked to Elder Bednar, and then turned around again and was talking to Elder Holland, and then... The thought of it just makes me shiver. that would be so incredible. He also said the Managua North Mission had gained a reputation. He said when he was asked by other mission presidents which mission he was serving in, they would all respond by saying that´s a really awesome mission. We baptize. a lot. The goal for the mission was 100 families a month as a mission. That´s a whole ton! When President Collado came and talked I could feel his inspiration. He´s only 38, has a wife and kids that we get to meet this week and looks so nice! 

I´m so blessed! I just can´t handle it! This week we started eating at a new food cita (for lunch). The member that´s cooking for us is a Chef. It´s so awesome. Every time I turn around it seems like I´m blessed twice over. 

Hemana Merrill

I love you guys so much! Thanks for the awesome letters! They give me animo (animation, excitement) for my whole week!