Jumper Cables & Speaking Portuguese

Heyo, loved ones.

 This is Hermana Mathis and Paulsen brought to you by: jumper cables!

 Well, no fires this week. Success! Almost... We had an even bigger  uh... happening this week. Let's start with our personal favorite story of the week:

 It all started when Hermana Mathis decided not to charge our phone Saturday night. (Mistake #1) Come Sunday morning, we were pumped and ready for Game Day unaware of the looming conundrum that lay ahead. 

 Things were going great. Great ward council. Great timing. Great member interactions. When, all of the sudden, while making our regular Sunday calls to remind people to come to church, the phone sounded informing us that we had neglected to give it its daily nourishment. Fortunately(?), we had a car charger at hand. So, being the brilliant and wise missionaries we are, we decided to charge our phone in the car and finish our calls. This is where mistake #2 takes place: Hermana Paulsen entrusted the keys to Hermana Mathis.

We charged the phone, woke up some drunk Latinos, and in a small way, edified the world. Remember, all was well. Church went swimmingly. Sunday game day (a day to ask for referrals) has proven to be very helpful.

 After three hours or so of whipping our team (the members) into shape, we slunk to our car exhausted. Mistake #3: Hermana Paulsen THEN asks where the keys are. Befuddled, we dug through our bags only to realize that... ... Here's the killer (literally): we had left the keys in the ignition with the battery on. All is well, verdad?. Wrongo.

We then walked the walk of shame to our missionary leader to ask him to jump our car. With our cheeks a delicate (or not so very delicate) pink, we were forced to explain how we had killed our car to the group of members still in the parking lot. Lesson learned? We shouldn't become casual about the keys we hold. This life is too short and too precious to abuse the time and talents we have been given.



Ok next story, this one and the ones following to be much shorter and much more uplifting.

 On Friday we had planned to do splits. For a couple weeks now a Brazilian member of our branch has been asking us to have family home evening with her and her family but we were never able to get it set up so this week we made a promise to her hat we would. Since she only speaks Portuguese and because Hermana Mathis is the senior companion in our companionship we decided that she would be going to the Portuguese lesson and Hermana Paulsen would go to an English lesson we had set up with another member. 

(Switching to Hermana Mathis voice) When I got to the members house NONE of her friends had shown up. So I just sat with them and talked for a half an hour while wiring for their friend to show up. What I wasn't aware of was that this dear sweet couple had invited every Portuguese speaking person they know to
 come! So by the time they did show up I was the only Spanish-speaking/American-raised person there! And I was expected to bear testimony of a lesson given in pure Portuguese! 

Luckily our members our the best and the lesson went really well. About the time we actually started, Hermana Paulsen and our other member had returned. We watched a seminary video about agency and it was a hit! Everyone participated in the discussion afterwards and they said that they actually could understand everything we had said in Spanish. We feel so humbled. We've also come to the decision that we're are changing our Spanish branch into a Portuguese branch ;)

 We had many adventures, teaching JWs, looking for a new apartment, and teaching random people in the street. We even met three generations of men named Jesus the last being born on Christmas Day. It was lots of fun!

 We had this amazing lesson with one of our investigators, Eduardo. Sergio, a recent convert, came with us. His testimony was perfect! Eduardo who hadn't come to church beforehand came for the first time. He's right on track for baptism. Sergio, who drove him home, said that Eduardo had a really good experience and loved church.

 Life has been an adventure this week. We'd like to end with a testimony that we know that God loves us. All of us. We love you. Got to jet!

 Con Amor de Sarasota,
 Hermana Paulsen and Hermana Mathis

The Importance of Keeping a Journal

Dear Family and Friends,

Sometimes it amazes me that so little and so much can happen all in one week. My first impression of last week was that nothing happened but when I was going through my journal trying to think of what to write I realized that a million things happened! Needless to say I've learned that keeping a journal is quite convenient. 

Here's my week.

Monday-We went out to eat with a couple in our ward as part of P-day. We asked them how they met and it turns out that he had a spiritual impression that she was the one while he was on his mission. When he finished his mission he flew out to her country and married her within 10 days! Yikes! They are the best couple though. 

After that we had family home evening with a less active in our branch and her friends. We played the family flour game, a game where you pack flour into a cup then turn it over and put a penny on top and everyone takes a turn cutting off a piece and saying what can hurt the family until the penny falls and then whoever made it fall has to collect it with their nose. Everyone loved it! 

Our members friends opened up to us and we ended up having a REALLY good lesson with them. After that lesson, our less active texted us and told us that her friends wanted to meet with us again. After that we went finding and talked with some of the local Amish population. 

Tuesday- Spent the day finding and met with a bunch of new potentials. That night we taught the Landeros brothers about the Book of Mormon. The spirit was really strong. We set a date with Eduardo and confirmed Juan's date.  

Wednesday- We had district meeting up in Bradenton, but had to leave early to go to a member-present lesson that we had previously set up. The lesson went great and our new investigator, Pedro accepted the invitation to be baptized and will be baptized on Nov. 1st! He is really excited about it and yesterday at church announced it to almost everyone he talked to. 

That night we had a lesson with one of our male investigators and because we can't go into his house we asked him to come outside. He was really shy and didn't want to. Later we found out that he was scared that we were going to try to force-feed him the sacrament in the parking lot! Haha! We taught him lesson 3 and assured him that we would not force him to do anything. He was so relieved and said he would be coming to church in the near future.

Thursday- taught and planned all day. We taught lesson one to our less-active's friends again and they all accepted the soft-commit to baptism. We started the lesson with the usual (using the pamphlet and whatnot) but we could tell they weren't listening to it so we took a more personal route. By the end,  all three of them were crying because the spirit was so strong. Our member testified and it was beautiful! 

Friday- We taught Pedro lesson two and spent the rest of the day finding and biking around. That night we helped a new senior couple move in to their apartment which is right above ours and got to know them. Their names are Elder and Sister Anscough and they are from Salem, anyone know of them? They are amazing and we are so excited to have them here! 

That night we had a really awful object lesson with one of our other investigators. I was so embarrassed. For all of you missionaries who know of the tea-bag rocket lesson, NEVER do it outside on a windy night. The thing flopped and our investigator was more in shock than in awe... enough said. Luckily we recovered really well and he opened up to us about some things that have been holding him back from joining the church. What do you know, God really does "make weak things become strong unto us" ;) 

Saturday-We were going through our potentials and found this random guy we had never met. We called him up and asked him if we could meet up. He was more than willing to meet up and said, "Bring your Bibles," so we were really skeptical at first. What we found when we got there though was quite the opposite of what we had thought. 

His name is Ronnie and he's actually really interested. He told us all about how much he loves the Bible and how he has read it several times. He says that he just wants to know who Gods real people are because from what he's gathered from the Bible he knows that there was a falling away and that it is supposed to come back. He says he thinks its come back but he's not sure which one it is. As you might  imagine we were MORE than happy to clear some things up for him :) He's quite a talker so we didn't get to finish lesson one, but we left him with a good cliffhanger so our next lesson with him should be really good. 

We also met this really sweet old man walking around who had met the missionaries before and wanted to know more. 

Sunday- We had a really good day at church. We worked with all the youth in the ward to help them see how they could do missionary work. We pulled them out one by one and talked with them. It just so happened that one of our investigators was there that day and when it came his turn we were able to teach him and set a baptismal date. That makes 3 dates set this week! 

After church we had a lesson with our ward mission leader and one of the Landeros brothers. It was spectacular. I've learned that there really just isn't any other way to teach than with members. 

Then after that we went contacting for a bit. We went to this house where we had met three Cuban men before. The last time we had walked by they didn't seem all that interested and we couldn't even remember their names.  I wasn't feeling up to knocking on their door but my sweet little companion insisted so we did. I was so glad. We were able to strike up a conversation and then have a lesson. 

As we taught he gained more interest. I'm so grateful that we have people to help us in our journey through life when we have doubts or fears. 

After that we went to a part-member's home and had a dinner of beans, eggs (my favorite... not) and squid. Add that to the list of new things I've tried on the mission! The lesson was really good, it was one of those lessons where I knew that the spirit helped me to speak because my Spanish was a lot smoother than it normally is.

Monday- We went out to Longboat today to see some of the sights. It was beautiful! The island is super touristy probably due to the gorgeous beaches located nearby, so there's lots to look at. Florida is just starting to cool down and temperatures are perfect. We had so much fun going around and seeing new things. 

So there you have it some bits of my week. I hope you all have a great week! 

Con Amor,

Hermana Mathis  

I'm a Trainer!

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been amazing! I was so sad yesterday when it was over. I wanted it to keep going. 

So for starters I'm training now! It was a crazy turn of events but one morning before transfer meeting President called us and said that he needed Sister Gustafson to go down to Naples (commonly known as the "land of milk and honey") and for me to finish training Sister Paulsen. We packed as fast as we could and then made the switch. 

At first I was a little upset to let Hermana Gustafson go, but I love Sister Paulsen so much already! She has become one of my best friends (as have all of my companions). She is always positive and smiley. Her Spanish is also very good, she knows about as much as I do and she's only been here for 6 weeks! (I'm so blessed to have her as a companion)

Conference was in Jorge's words "grandioso!" It was such a pleasant surprise to listen to talks in other languages. We watched both morning sessions in English and both evening sessions in Spanish. It worked out perfectly that our investigators came to the sessions where people spoke in Spanish! We couldn't help but let out a few cheers ;) 

Aside from the fact that there were a few talks in other languages the conference was just what I needed! I love that every time that I watch conference I feel as though the speakers knew what I was wondering about beforehand. I especially liked Elder Bednar's talk of the final session. I loved that he addressed our investigators. It was interesting to watch their eyes light up as he spoke. 

After the conference I asked one of our investigators (Roman) what he learned, I was shocked when I looked at his paper and saw that all he had written was: read, pray, go to church, family home evening and go to the temple. I had thought for sure that he would have taken notes like me and my companion had, furiously scribbling several thoughts and impressions. I was humbled by the simplicity of what he had learned. Aren't those the most important things to learn anyways? Those are the very things that bring us closer to our Heavenly Father. I'm thankful that he was able to learn and understand those key steps.

We met several of our goals this week and have met several new potentials. I'm so glad to be serving the Lord right now. It is the sweetest experience, I don't ever want it to end. 

I hope you all have a great week. Keep up the good fight! 

Con Amor,

Hermana Mathis 

Cool Story

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week we taught Roman and Jorge about every day to help prepare them for baptism. All is going well. We have FHE set up with both of them tonight with different families in our branch.

We had interviews with President last Thursday and also a training from the AP's. We're really trying to step up our faith.

The same day was my exact year mark! :) To celebrate we did weekly planning. Haha. We also did an exchange with the Port Charlotte sisters. It was great! It rained a lot but we still got to teach a lot regardless of our wet hair and bicycles. We saw miracles.

I'm sorry I don't have a lot to say about the last week but I have a really good story:

I wanted to send this video because it has a really cool story that goes along with it. Once upon a time the Sarasota sisters got stripped from their singles branch and put into the home ward where they had nobody to teach and thus were forced to go finding.

While riding around one day they stopped to talk to someone, the man was not interested, but suggested that they should go see the neighbors down the street. The very same day on exchanges I and Sister Day went to go see this referral. They too were only half interested and only spoke Spanish. I talked with them and we planned a time to meet again when I could come with my other "friends" who speak Spanish.

The next week we went to go visit them. The visit went well but the couple made it evident they didn't have interest. On the way home we stopped to talk with as many people as we could. We gave a card to a man who was sitting on the side of the road. We thought nothing of it and kept biking.

The next day the Sarasota sisters receive a media referral for that guy. I was on a split with them because my companions had to go visit someone at the jail and they only allow two visitors. While I was with the Sarasota sisters, we went to go meet with this guy. This is where it gets awesome.

We walked up and before we could even get off our bikes he comes out saying, "You got to be kidding me!" A bit alarmed, we invited ourselves in. He told us how he had been praying that we would come. We started with the classic how to begin thing bullet points from Preach My Gospel. We hadn't even showed him, "Because of Him," yet and he was tearing up.

We watched the video and then he just broke down. He told us how much he had needed this message right now, he told us that he was desperate for forgiveness. The spirit had filled the room. We were all a bit misty eyed.  We asked if we could come back the next day and he was anxious to say yes. It was amazing!

He is now one of the sisters investigators. :) Every referral you give to the missionaries makes a difference, Even if the person you refer doesn't accept their invitation. God knows each and every one of his children and their individual circumstances. He knows when they are humble enough to receive His messengers.

"When Alma heard this, he turned him about, his face immediately towards him, and he beheld with great joy; for he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them, and that they were in a preparation to hear the word."Alma 32:6

In the middle of the lesson I had the very strong impression to record whatever he was going to say next, I hit record on my iPad and this is what I recorded:

More Miracles

Querida Familia, 

"I Prayed and the Lord sent me you guys, why would I reject this opportunity?" said Roman's brother, Juan, when we asked him if he would continue meeting with us. Next day, we introduce the Book of Mormon and he states, "I believe this is another manifestation that your church is true." 

We ask, "So will you read it?"  He replies, "Of course!" Two days later we teach Roman. He commits to coming to church. The next day at church, he commits to being baptized next week. 

Me and Hermana Snow at Mayakka

As you might have guessed we had a pretty good week. 

It's amazing to me to see the changes that the gospel can make with time. This past week we had a lesson with Jorge about giving up coffee and cigarettes. He came to church yesterday and with a smile on his face proudly exclaimed to us that he hadn't had coffee in three days even though he had told us previously that he "could never" give up coffee. He's also quit smoking since we invited him to last week! He says he doesn't even feel tempted by those things. 

This last week we saw a change in his demeanor. This once woeful man is now smiling and counting his blessings. He is feeling the spirit and finding joy in reading the scriptures. He came to church and is making an effort to be a better father. Haha he even said that we could call him our father. 

Another Gator

Juan is a new investigator we have. He is Roman and Humberto's brother. When we met with him for the first time, we asked him to pray to know if the church was true and to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet. He told us that he ALREADY knew. I thought, "How could he possibly know it is true without asking?" Then he told us all about how he had met with the missionaries in Mexico and learned about the church from them!  What a miracle right?! 

Hermana Mathis and Hermana Snow

We're also now teaching their OTHER brother as well, Eduardo. This means that we are officially teaching all the Salazar Landeros brothers that live in the United States. It's pretty awesome!

We've had lots of lessons this week, it was really nice. I also had the opportunity to translate during sacrament meeting because our investigator didn't make it to the 11 o clock meeting so he came to the singles ward. Its not an easy task to do when people use words like juxtaposition. Our investigator understood though which was good. 

I hope all of you missionaries are seeing as many miracles as I am! I read about miracles today in Ether 3 (or 4). Moroni explains that sometimes God's works are small and cannot be recognized by men, but if we really look we will see them. I know this to be true. 

Have a great week all!

Con Amor,

Hermana Mathis

Dinner at Margaritas! That is traditional Mexican corn on the cob
made with mayo and lemons with queso fresco and chile seasoning.  

Hey Everybody!

This week's email has got to be short because we don't have a ton of time to write today because we are having our Zone Development Day and we have to get to a training meeting.

This past week we got a third companion! Her name is Sister Gustafson and she is the cutest sister ever. We absolutely adore having her here, it makes everyday feel like a party. She was trained by Sister Holloway so her teaching style is a lot like hers. It's a great addition here in Beneva.

Sister Snow, Sister Mathis, Sisster Gustafson

We had our missionary leadership conference this past week in my old area. It was great to go back to some of the old familiar places where I had served. We talked a lot about keeping an "eye single to the glory of God." That alone basically encompasses every thing that we do as missionaries.

We were trained on how to follow up and help other missionaries set baptismal dates. We also had a training on planning. Before my mission I never would have planned out my life like I do now, but now I'm thinking that I may turn into one of those people who carries a planner everywhere and has to schedule EVERYTHING. The blessings that come from planning, like having time to do every thing that needs to be done, are just too great to pass up!

Family Night with the Bizzaros

We weren't able to teach a ton of lessons this past week due to some bugs that are going around but we did have a few great member-present lessons. We also learned how to make tamales while teaching the Restoration one day! (These are the perks of being a Spanish-speaking missionary)

We made these!

Right now our most progressing investigators are Jorge who is going to be baptized at the end of this month, Frances who just had her baby, and Margarita whose husband was just endowed in the Orlando temple :) Your prayers for them would be much appreciated!

Have a great week!

Con Amor,
Hermana Mathis

"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship. ... There are no ordinary people. ...Your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses."
-C.S. Lewis

 "37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

 38 This is the first and great commandment.

 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

MLC on the beach

Missionary road trip: MOTAB, Cheezits, and Miracles

Querida familia mía,

This week went by super fast. Wow! We've been keeping super busy as sister training leaders. We went on two exchanges this week one with the YSA sisters and another with the Sebring sisters. It was great! I loved going to Sebring and meeting the Hispanic members there, it was cool to put faces to all the names I had heard about from my trainer and from my MTC companion who served there.

The Spanish branch there was dissolved so the sisters were excited to have us there to go visit all the Spanish families who are now going to their English ward. We were also so fortunate as to find a new investigator for them who actually goes to play basketball at the church with one of the members!

The trip out to Sebring was like taking the road trip from Spanish Fork to Beaver, UT. Maybe not quite so far, and not as brown, but there was certainly lots of farmland. It was beautiful and reminded me of home. Granted at home we wouldn't have driven through an impromptu storm, but still.

That brings me to another cool story! I was on an exchange with Sister Trebotitch (she's top notch missionary for ya!) and it seemed the whole day was going downhill. Many appointments fell through and we had run into several crazies that morning, then while we were teaching our recent convert it starts to downpour. We decided rather than wait awkwardly for an hour underneath his porch we would brave the storm. It just so happened we had decided to walk that day. So with our iPads secure in a plastic baggie and an umbrella to share we made our way into the watery windstorm.

The streets were flowing with water, appearing as though they were actual rivers. Then God surprised us with a miracle. In the middle of the drenching downpour we found one of the sisters investigators! We taught her and were able to respark her interest in the church! It was such a blessing! After the lesson we finished walking home, water up to our knees splashing and singing. This is just more evidence to me that God is so aware of the work we are doing as missionaries.

As for our own investigators, we set a date with Jorge and Margarita who fasted with us about baptism. Yesterday was a really slow day and by the end of it we were ready to throw in the towel, but with 20 minutes left we couldn't just give up. We had visited all of our Sunday usuals and nobody else seemed to be able to meet with us. We were about to resort to Facebook when a potential I met last transfer on an exchange came to mind. We pulled up to her small humble home and knocked on the door, fully expecting her not to answer, but she did! We had a great lesson with her and were able to set up another appointment. So many amazing things happen on missions, all the stories I heard when I was younger I never thought I would actually live but I'm finding that walking through rivers and last minute lessons aren't as crazy as I thought. Miracles can happen every day with a great deal of faith.

"For I am God, and mine arm is not shortened; and I will show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all those who believe on my name. And whoso shall ask it in my name in faith, they shall cast out devils; they shall heal the sick; they shall cause the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk." D&C 35:8-9

Have a great week! Love you all, sorry I haven't been able to write you all personally.

-Hermana Mathis