man did NOT evolute

howdy my lovely friends and family! if you still read my emails, I love you! sorry they're a bit wild and all over the place but you know that's just how my brain is for the most part so sorry not sorry!

 

this week has been another emotional rollercoaster haha. we have had many happy moments but also 2 major breakdowns but life be like that sometimes and you just gotta keep pushing forward! 

 

small plates: 

-uhhh we had a Dan Jones at church yesterday?????? (aka a random person that we've never met came to church) like this never happens here cause not only are there 10.5 Spanish people here, but the people never come to church so this was awesome!!! blessings on blessings!!!!

-visited our bffs Cesar and Daniel in the trailer park and they told us they had just been talking about us right before we walked up which was loco because we just had a random prompting to stop by and visit. theyve been taught a ton and aren't super interested but we visit anyways because we've become really good friends with them so I'm glad that they actually like when we visit hahahaha. maybe one day

-we taught our friend Reinalda the plan of salvation and asked her to be baptized and she said yes! buuut we don't think she 100% understood because she also answered that she wants to live in the telestial kingdom because she thinks stars are brighter in the sun haha but hey the desire is there deep down! 

-CRAZY STORY WITH A MIRACLE!!!!!!!!! we pull into some apartments and literally .5 seconds later we see all these cops with bulletproof vests and guns surround the apartment in front of us and are about to break down the door soooo we left cause we ain't trying to interfere with the law, so we just went across the street to a neighborhood hahah. at first we thought we'd have no success because it look like an all American neighborhood, BUT THE SECOND DOOR WE KNOCKED WAS 2 HISPANOS AND THEY WERE INTERESTED!!!!!! CRAZY!!!! DIVINE INTERVENTION IS REAL!!!! 

-had another lesson with our friend Javier, and once again he blew us away with his knowledge of what hes learned so far in the book of mormon. he also has many questions which we love because it means hes thinking deeply so we're excited for him. pray we can get him to church soon cause thatll be key

-we had a Spanish devotional in Seattle! and it was so awesome! theres like 30 or so of us Spanish missionaries and we gotta sing in a choir and then there were some testimonies of converts from different religions and it was so so cool. the people here are awesome. 

 

large plates:

-we keep running into that man who kissed us a few weeks ago and everytime I have a lowkey panic attack hahaha. our friends Daniel and Cesar offered to kill him or cut off his toes because they're pals with some sort of gang in Seattle so theyve got the in

-gotta do some real service Saturday!!! my companion and I dug up a whole ton of soil and hauled sod around by a trail in the community while the elders used one shovel to rake some dead leaves around so you can see who knows how to actually work in this area (juuust kidding). it was good to get my hands dirty for the first time in a little bit. I even got stung by a wasp so that made the experience all that more exciting!

-got called out of the audience to sing a musical number in church yesterday and had to walk up and sing straight outta the hymnbook on the stand. I should never have said anything about the fact that i can sing hahahaha 

-my new district leader's name is Durango Dodge. no joke. funnily enough me and my companion both drove Dodge Durangos all throughout high school so we give him lots of crap hahaha. 

 

spiritual food for thought:

repentance! often associated with a bad connotation but actually repentance is so awesome. it's a gift that we have been given through the atonement and helps us to become more like our Savior and feel the spirit more and more in our lives and oh is it so awesome. i did a lot of study on repentance this week and it's been incredible so I'll share some tidbits :) 

"When Jesus said “repent,” His disciples recorded that command in the Greek language with the verb metanoeo. This powerful word has great significance. In this word, the prefix meta means “change.” The suffix relates to four important Greek terms: nous, meaning “the mind”;gnosis, meaning “knowledge”;pneuma, meaning “spirit”; and pnoe, meaning “breath.”

Thus, when Jesus said “repent,” He asked us to change—to change our mind, knowledge, and spirit—even our breath. A prophet explained that such a change in one’s breath is to breathe with grateful acknowledgment of Him who grants each breath"

 

mosiah 27: 25-26

25 And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;

26 And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God

 

once we begin to truly repent and actively try to change our mindset and how we live, we will begin to experience the true joy of the gospel. being born again and becoming new creatures in Christ allows us to truly be worthy to have the spirit with us which is an incredible blessing. let the atonement take root in your life and come unto Him!!!

 

LOVE YOU ALL! I hope you all have such an incredible week!!! the church is true the book is blue!!!!!!

 

con amor, 

hermana hess

 

fotos:

went out to eat for the first time on the mish!

yes. those are all garden gnomes

hermana jacksons nightly routine of microwaving a bowl of water because her feet get cold

our bff/angel/lifesaver miguel