First Week in the Field!!! (9/30/13)

So starting from the beginning...

My companions and I had to wake up at 2 am to meet the other missionaries at 3:30 in front of the chapel because that was the time the bus was supposed to come. But the bus came an hour late! It took forever for the airport to check the bags of every missionary (there were around 30 missionaries all going to my same mission!) so many almost missed the flight. After the hour long flight, we arrived at the Denver Airport where the mission president's wife was waiting to greet us. She hugged every sister missionary. After she hugged me, she looked at my name tag and said, "Sister Flores! You're a native Spanish speaker, right?! That's good because we NEED Spanish sister missionaries! You will definitely use your Spanish as well as your English!" You have no idea how happy that made me!

The next day was transfer meeting where President Murdock announced the new companionships and whether we would be going over to the mountains or staying in the metro area. Soon it was my turn, and President Murdock announced, "Sister Flores with Sister Dotto in the Denver 1st Ward". She came over to hug me, and we sat down together. We both talked to each other in English and I found out that she is from Argentina. I looked at her name tag and realized it said "Hermana Dotto" instead of "Sister". So I asked her if we would be teaching in English, and she said no because we were the Spanish missionaries serving in the Spanish ward! I was so excited and happy!!!!!! It was such an awesome surprise!!!! I had no idea I was serving in Spanish in my FIRST area, because I still hadn't (and still haven't) had my interview with the mission president. I feel so grateful and blessed!!!!

I love Hermana Dotto. She is amazing. She is 27, but looks like she's 21! She is GORGEOUS inside and out. She converted a couple of years ago and is the only member in her family. She faced a lot of opposition from her family when she decided to go on a mission, but she knew that was what she needed to do. We get along soooo well! We work hard together, and we have seen blessings and miracles, but we want to work harder and receive more miracles! We work HARD. I LOVE IT. I LOVE MY MISSION. It fills me with purpose.

So if you haven't guessed already, I'm in the metro area right outside the city, and there are A LOT of Hispanics. It's like a mini L.A. from the movies, NO exaggeration! I was told that I might see some Latinos. Pfff, there is A LOT of us, and pretty much 90% of them are Mexican. There are so many taquerias and Mexican restaurants! There are businesses that have titles such as "Latina Clothing" or "El Catracho's Barber Shop". It's awesome! I serve in the ghetto pretty much haha. There are many poor areas. People don't have much but seem grateful for what they do have. Many of the stories from the people I've taught are pretty much the same; they came to America, but they haven't really been able to move upward from where they are now. It's so sad to see that a lot of them have been in this country for many years, and haven't been able to truly progress. However, it is so humbling to see how grateful they are for what they have.

One of the families we are teaching is the Luna family. I LOVE them! This family has faced so much affliction. The mother cheated on the father several years ago and left him with 4 kids. He took his kids with him and now they live with his parents in a tiny, really ghetto, old house. Josue (the father) is amazing. He is doing his best to move forward with his family. He was baptized as a teenager, but wen inactive. Josue Jr. (18), Steven (17), are also baptized but inactive. Kari, whose eight, just got baptized a couple months ago. Hermana Dotto taught her. :) Johnathan (13) is the only one who is not baptized and we are teaching him. I have this connection with him; I see him, and it's almost as if I'm looking at myself when I was thirteen and going through almost the same family problems he's going through. Hermana Dotto says that I'm the missionary he needs, because he smiles when I'm teaching him but never did with the past companionship. I love him and I understand how he feels. The last lesson we had with him, Hermana Dotto invited him to be baptized the 13th of October. He said no because he didn't feel ready. Then I talked to him and told him how this gospel helped me through my hard times, and even shared some of the things I went through. I told him that he could feel his Savior's love and healing power if he prayed with his whole heart and soul about everything he felt, and about the questions he had about this gospel. I promised him that if he prayed to Heavenly Father for help to help him prepare, he would be ready. So he said he would prepare to be baptized on the 13th of October. :D

I went to a ward activity and I met a man who served in DC South back in '92 (?)and knows a lot of people from our ward when it used to be the
Encinos Branch!!! He knows the Walters, Rocio Aguilera, the Colinas and more. I asked him what his name was. His name is Julian Luna. I was like, hmm that's not going to be hard to remember because I'm teaching the Luna family. Then Hermana Dotto told me he was Josue's brother! It's crazy how there are so many connections to why I'm here! I know it sounds silly, but I know that I was supposed to meet the Luna family. I love them so much, and enjoy teaching them with Hermana Dotto to help them become active in the church. I LOVE THEM. SO MUCH.

Yesterday was my first Sunday in the ward. We sat next to Candelaria and Julian (Josue's parents). Candelaria reminds me soooooo much of my abuelita!!!! Anyway, the consejero called on me to come up and present myself to the whole congregation. As I was presenting myself to the ward and giving my testimony, I was filled with a deep love for them. I am so excited to serve them!

Yea. I'm pretty much loving being a missionary.

"One of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work. If a missionary works, he will get the spirit. If he gets the spirit, he will teach by the spirit. If he teaches by the spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people, and he will be happy. There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families because all time, talents, and interests are centered on the work of the ministry.

That's the secret. Work work work. There is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work."

I know this work is God's work. I know that He wants His children to come back to live with Him so badly, that He is providing many ways for them to be able to. This is His work. I cannot waste any time. I know that this church is true, and that this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

Love,

Hermana Flores

Miracles this week:

-We were looking for a lady we drove past but Hermana Dotto and I couldn't find her. I said a quick prayer, and the next corner we turned we found her.

-We went to visit Kevin, an African American male in his twenties, who we met when we randomly knocked on his door. When we first met him, he told us that his aunt had just gone to the hospital. This visit, we asked him how his aunt was, and found out that it was the lady next to him. We asked her if she would like a blessing from the elders and she said yes. We told her we would contact them to let them know. As we were leaving, the elders pulled up! They said that they were just about to check on Kevin. It's amazing how the Lord knows the needs of His children and looks out for them.