That's a wrap, folks! March 15, 2016

Oh my goodness. Where do I even begin?!

I'm now in the last week of my mission so this is the last time that you'll be hearing from me as a full-time missionary. This has been quite the journey and I can't believe it'll be over so soon!

Oh, side note: an Hermana got sick and had to go home so Hermana Torres was emergency transferred on Saturday morning. We are still getting used to it. On Sunday night at like 1 in the morning I woke up because Hermana Moss was sleep walking and said she was looking for Hermana Torres hahaha.

This week has been full of miracles! I am enjoying every second that I still get to be a missionary.

It has also been more tough than usual tracting. I've had more doors slammed in my face this week than ever before. It's crazy! Last night we were knocking on doors and faced a lot of rejection. We started to get discouraged but knew that we needed to press on. We crossed to the other side of the street and as we were walking up a driveway I told my companion that there had to be a rose among all those thorns. Behind the next door was a member of our church who had just moved her from Las Cruces. She had lots of issues going on with her ex-husband's family and had to move down here without letting anyone know. They are in hiding and seemed very scared and reluctant to answer the door. She thought someone found out where she was and had sent us. We told her that we know Heavenly Father loves her and is very aware of her. He knows exactly where she is and what she is going through even if no one else does. We told her that people had been really mean on her street but we knew there had to be a rose among the thorns and that rose was her! I am so grateful that we were diligent and allowed ourselves to be led by The Spirit to find her. I know that it was not a coincidence and I'm so grateful to have been an instrument in the Lord's hands!

I had my departing interview with President Miller on Sunday and am feeling peaceful, grateful, and excited. I know that my time to serve as a missionary in this capacity is almost over but that I am really just beginning! I am looking forward to taking all the things that I've learned and skills that I've acquired and using them to help others for the rest of my life. My work isn't done and it never will be!

There are 2 things that I want to share with you to try and give you a glimpse of what I'm feeling: a poem and a song. I wrote this poem of the course of 9 months during sacrament meeting. And this is the song that I wrote in January.

There aren't words to describe

what I'm feeling inside

I have a Savior that died for me

upon the cross of Calvary

He felt all my pains,my heartache, my guilt

And on this foundation my testimony is built

I stand all amazed each and every day

I feel the strength of His love as I learn to obey

I still stumble and I still fall

But I know His grace will catch me

so I'll give Him it all

I will stand for truth and light

As I covenant to strive with all my might

That one day my Master I shall meet

To bow and adore Him at His feet

I know that my Savior lives. I know that He loves me and knows me perfectly. Every thought, every worry, everything! I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to share His love with the Hispanic people here in Texas and New Mexico. I have come to know Him better as I have strived to do His will and obey His commandments.

Thank you all for your love and your support over the past 18 months! I love you all and will see you real soon! :)

Love,

Hermana Dearden

T-2 Weeks! March 8, 2016

Hello!

This week:

We went to the temple!! It was so great. And I got to see a lot of old companions and friends. Pictures coming later, sorry!

I got to see JOSE! His granddaughter finished her mission so the family had a big welcome home party and he was there. We talked about plans for him coming to Salt Lake to go to the temple this summer! smile emoticon

We (my companions, the bishop and his fam, the ward mission leader and his wife, and Juan himself) all fasted for Juan Cigarroa that he could receive his answer. We haven't heard from him yet but he was really touched that so many people were willing and wanted to do that for him. I sure love that man. And I want this so bad for him.

I had my prayers answered so quickly this week! On Sunday morning I prayed that I would be able to receive a confirmation from Heavenly Father that the work I've done on my mission is accepted and that He is pleased with me. I've been reflecting a lot on my mission lately and have been hard on myself and focusing too much on all the things that I could have done and didn't, etc. I had been warned that that happens to a lot of missionaries as their missions come to a close and not to focus on those thoughts...but it happened anyways. But the comfort that I was looking for came quicker and not in the way that I had expected. During sacrament meeting there were several less-active members that we've been working with that got up and bore their testimonies. I was so proud of them and felt the spirit so strongly! They each mentioned us, the sister missionaries, and how grateful they were for us and how much we had helped them. That was something that I so needed to hear. And that was my answer!

Although I have made lots of mistakes on my mission, and maybe haven't been able to see as much success as others do, I know that I have fulfilled my purpose and been able to help others come unto Christ. I that is why I came. Not to get a certain number of baptisms or social recognition...but to help others feel the happiness of the gospel, the love of our Father in Heaven, and to use and feel the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. I have loved this work and these people so much. I have kept going even when the trials were almost too hard to bear. I have learned to love with everything that I am. And I have to trust that that is enough. That my Heavenly Father is proud of me. I am so grateful and amazed that He has given me this opportunity to be a missionary and to learn and grow and change. To truly live the gospel and help others to do the same. This really is a labor of love. When we feel God's love in our lives we want nothing but to share that with others!

My heart is full. I know that He is always there to love and guide and bless us as we let Him.
With love,
Hermana Dearden

It's March! March 2, 2016

Hey y'all!

This week:

-An 82 year old member from the ward went out with us. She is the coolest (she reads the Hunger Games, Divergent, Lord of the Rings, etc and likes to watch stuff like NCIS) I was thinking, "Here I am on a Friday night at Carl's Jr with an 82 year old that doesn't speak any English. When will this ever happen again?!"

-I had a lice scare. Don't worry though, I'm clean.

-Ericka came to church by herself and stayed all three hours! It was so awesome! Also Jackie and Gabriel came again. smile emoticon

-We had a fun FHE with Jackie and Gabriel and Cynthia's kids. I made a little Word of Wisdom game that was a hit.

-We were out contacting and I got pooped on by a bird. All down my hair and my back. Lovely, right?

-We found a new person to teach! Raul. Sadly, his wife died a couple of weeks ago.

-Leslie (who we taught and was SUPER awesome and then dropped off the face of the earth) kinda reappeared. Andrea (a member) saw her and she told Andrea that she loved the lesson we gave her a ton and feels so bad that she hasn't been able to see us because she is really busy with school. And she was embarrassed that she hadn't been reading the Book of Mormon yet but now she is and she really likes it and has lots of questions!!

-We are still just trying to plug along and "teach and preach and work as missionaries do."

Have a great week! Remember that your trials can shape you if you let them.
Love,
Hermana Dearden

February 23, 2016

Hello hello!

Good news:
-Jackie isn't moving!
-My good friend Elder Acevedo (that had to go home a couple weeks ago for medical stuff) IS COMING BACK TO THE MISSION!

This week was a real toughie but looking back on it there was a lot of good stuff that happened.
We found Patti again! She had moved and we couldn't find her new apartment for a long time but we finally did and then went back and taught her a different night. She is so awesome! We taught her the plan of salvation and she had happened (totally not a coincidence) to have been watching some program about salvation the night before and she said that what we taught her felt so much better and right than what she had watched.

We invited David to prepare to baptize Ericka and Gabriel to baptize Jackie. They are both really excited about it and want to do it! Also Jackie and Gabriel came to church on Sunday and stayed ALL 3 HOURS for the first time! It was so great. Definitely the highlight of my week. smile emoticon

We invited Juan Cigarroa to pray about being baptized on March 12th. He is so so ready but is just having a hard time taking the step. His son (the Bishop) told me that he told his dad that I wanted to baptize him before going home so he better watch out! Haha! (but yeah, so true). Also he bought us carmel apples this week. What a gem.

The Pope came to Juarez last week so everyone was out of school. Most of the people that we found at home were Christians because all the Catholics were in Juarez. It was a really good opportunity to teach our investigators about the prophet though!

We were really frustrated last week about not having many people to teach and that the ones we are teaching aren't really progressing. And then I got a first hand taste of spanish ward drama. We got pulled into it and it was... just ridiculous. So on Saturday afternoon we had a breakdown. We just felt like we were trying really hard and doing everything we were supposed to and not seeing anything good coming from our efforts. I felt stressed because there's a lot of pressure on me with having so little time left. And so I decided to text all the potentials and former investigators in our phone (there are a TON) and we actually got some replies! One of them, Rosa Sifuentes, replied right away and we were able to teach her last night! The missionaries stopped visiting her in 2014 when she was going through a divorce and asked them for a break. She was so happy to have us and missed that spirit in her home. We had a really powerful lesson with her last night. She is really longing for truth and for the healing power of the Atonement. It was so great to be able to teach her and to feel the Spirit so strongly with her. I think she really is prepared now to receive this restored gospel! Miracles!

The Lord really is aware of our situations and is with us every step of the way. I strive to be an instrument in His hands and have felt the purest joy in doing so.

Lots of love,
Hermana Dearden

 

I LOVE being a missionary! February 16, 2016

Hey everyone! smile emoticon

This has been SUCH a good week. Mainly because I've just been SO happy and had lots of little moments where I realize how much I LOVE being a missionary.

We had interviews with President Miller last week and he gave me the motivation and enthusiasm that I needed. I've only got a couple of weeks left but that's all the reason to work harder than ever before!

Sad news: Jackie is moving. frown emoticon

Good news: We are finding new people to teach!

Everyone is in commotion here because on Wednesday the Pope is coming to Juarez. They even cancelled school that day! It's super crazy here!

We got to spend Valentine's Day visiting a couple different single sisters in the ward. It was the perfect way to spend it! I felt so much love and compassion for them and their situations but also marveled at their strength and testimonies even amidst such heavy trials.

On Sunday I got to give a talk in sacrament meeting about charity and love. I focused on the forgiveness part of it. I really learned a lot from preparing it. I love the quote from our dear prophet, Thomas S. Monson that says, "Love is the very essence of the gospel, and Jesus Christ is our Exemplar." It is so true. He gave the greatest act of love to ever be given. He made it possible for us to love and to let ourselves be loved. Christ's love is the purest and most perfect love that there is. He also gave us the perfect example of forgiveness. If He could forgive those who betrayed Him and those who still do, we can learn to forgive anyone as well. I have realized that nobody is perfect and that when we withhold forgiveness from someone who has hurt us, we are only distancing OURSELVES more from perfection (Christ).

I'm so grateful for the trials that help me to learn and grow and show me that Heavenly Father is aware of me and that he knows me better than I do.
I sure love you all!
I invite you to pray and ask for more opportunities to serve and show charity this week.
The best way to feel God's love for you is to serve those around you!

Love,
Hermana Dearden

Lengua Ruins Lives February 9, 2016

Hola!

This week was good! I'll have to send the pictures next week though, sorry.

Hermana Torres turned 21! Woo! It was a good day except for the part where we had the worst meal of all of our missions: tongue. Not even in a burrito or anything. Just straight up cross sections of tongue including the taste buds and veins. *gags*

Our investigators are doing good! Ericka might be getting baptized this Saturday. If not, next Saturday. We had a new powerhouse lesson with Juan Cigarroa and he is honestly the most converted person I've ever taught. He just lacks the last leap of faith and he knows it. We are working with his son (the bishop) and doing all we can to help him get baptized! We had a miracle with Jackie and Gabriel...he got Sundays off work!! Wohhoo!! This is what we have been waiting, praying, and hoping for. This is going to make a huge difference in their relationship and progression and we can't wait! The downside though: they are probably going to be moving to Juarez soon.

We found a new family and got to teach them on Sunday and were super excited. Turns out the wife doesn't speak any Spanish though so we'll have to pass them off to the English sisters. After teaching them lesson one in English we realized how hard it was! And I really think it's because Spanish is our assigned mission language. It's not like we struggle to speak in English but teaching is a whole different story. It was pretty cool.

Sunday night we had to be in the apartment at 4pm and couldn't leave because of the super bowl.

Last night we had a really cool and unexpected experience. The Elders gave us a referral so we went and turns out it was a less active Korean family from the English ward. The two daughters both have schizophrenia and my companions were both really scared and awkward and didn't know what to do but I didn't feel that at all. Actually the complete opposite. I felt SO much love for them and was able to have a really good visit with them. That's a really shortened version of the story but the conclusion is that I think that was an answer that I've been looking for of what career path to take! Prayers really do get answered. Heavenly Father loves us and is always looking out for us!

Love you all!
Be good.

Hermana Dearden

Transfer #13 February 2, 2016

We were all surprised to find out that I will be staying in Transmountain! Hermana Rigby was transferred to Las Cruces and Hermana Moss and I received a new companion. Her name is Hermana Torres and here are her fun facts:

-She is from California (like the majority of my comps have been)
-She was baptized almost three years ago.
-She has been out on her mission for a year.
-She loves grilled onions.
-She wants to be a fashion photographer.
-When Elder Holland came last year in February he put his hand on her face and cried and asked if her family are members. When she said no he paused and then said very firmly, "They will be." It was the coolest experience! And tomorrow her mom will be taking her first discussion from the missionaries!!

I'm excited for the transfer and hoping that it'll be the best one of my whole mission!

Hermana Dearden

ps: it snowed again yesterday!