Chapter 29 - Press Forward with Faith

4/4/2016

I hope you all watched conference and loved it! I don't know why but I just felt an overwhelming love for my family during it. I love my family! Conference was so inspired and I look forward to re-reading the messages (in English...). I hope you all got something out of it, an answer specifically for you or just heard words that gave you comfort. Study the words of the prophets because they are literally the words of God, the words that He would have us hear.

So I have learned a lot this week. On Tuesday, we had a really good zone meeting and I left the meeting feeling very uplifted and inspired. I had more determination to work hard and to simply do everything possible to magnify my calling. As we all know, and actually was stated in conference, whenever we have spiritual highs, difficulties often follow. These past few weeks a lot has happened and it has really been trying my faith. There were two ocasions where I felt a strong spiritual impression to talk to certain people so we went and contacted them and then taught them the first lesson but when we returned, they told us they weren't really interested. This made me kind of sad because I could see their potential and I know how much the gospel can bless their lives, but now isn't the right time for them. This is hard sometimes because we want so bad that they progress, but it is not in our timing, it is in the Lord's. I know that with these people, we were the ones planting the seeds and that missionaries in the future will reap the rewards, just like I am reaping the rewards of missionaries in the past. All we have to do is PRESS FORWARD WITH FAITH. A few other things happened where it seemed that me following the promptings of the spirit didn't profit me at all and Satan wanted me to think that following these promptings is a waste of time or he wanted me to doubt these promptings, but at that moment, I knew that it was the adversary trying to discourage me. I know without a doubt that following the promptings of the spirit is always the right decision. Sometimes Satan tries to get us to think otherwise, but God is more powerful than the adversary, and we are His servants, we have His power, and we are called to do His work. I am so grateful for the chance to be a missionary and I want to thank you all for your love and support. I can truly feel your influence in my life. Have a great week!

P.S. My Grandma Passey is famous! haha I was just sitting there eating breakfast one day, flipping through the pages of the March Liahona and then BOOM! A picture of my grandma appears in the top right corner of a page! wow! And I was just like HEY, GUYS, LOOK, THIS IS MY GRANDMA!! haha It was way fun and also another reminder that my family loves me! :)

Chapter 28 - God is a God of Miracles

3/28/2016

I hope you all had a good week and I hope all the women watched the General Women's conference. It was seriously so good and I could feel the Lord's love so strong! I can't wait for conference this week! I know that Thomas S. Monson is our true and living prophet and that he and his apostles are called of God and inspired as to what to say to us! Listen to their words, prepare to hear their words! Pray and have a question in mind as you watch, and I promise you will hear something that you need to hear! Pay attention and listen to the spirit! 

I hope you all had a good Easter Sunday. Our Sunday was really good and we had a super powerul fast and testimony meeting in sacrament. As I was sitting there listening, I noticed that lots of people bore testimony about how God is a God of miracles. This is exactly what I needed to hear because right before we went to sacrament meeting, we went to the house of the Macias Family and Antonio, the dad, said that they didn't know if they really wanted to be baptized....I just stood there, shocked. They were doing so good and were so receptive and the ward was so welcoming. What happened? The adversary attacked. Satan knows this family is a really good family who is chosen and prepared. They told us that they were talking with their family members (who are Catholic) and basically put lots of doubts into their minds and yeah so we are going to visit them today and try to resolve any doubts they have and any questions because I love them so much and I am ready to do whatever I need to in order to help this family. I don't know how it will be because my companion is leaving today to go to Guayaquil for a leadership conference so I will be with Hermana Mancuso and so I'm a little scared to be talking with them alone, without my companion, but I have faith that the Lord will put into our mouths the words that they need to hear. I pray that I can be the kind of missionary that the Lord would have me be and I pray that I can come to love all the people here. This work is hard. But it is so fulfilling. Thank you for all your love and support. Please keep the Macias family in your prayers!

P.S. if you have not seen the church's video about Easter, look for it on the internet with #HALLELUJAH

Chapter 27 - The Power of Prayer

3/21/2016

This weeks was a good week. We are still looking for new investigators, as always, and we are starting to see the fruits of our labors, so that's nice. This week we had an experience with prayer that strengthed my testimony about how real it is and how the Lord will always answer our prayers. On Tuesday we were getting ready to leave our house to go to our zone meeting and we were running a little bit late and so as we were praying, Hermana Gonzales prayed specifically that a taxi would meet us at our door step as we walked out the door. Anyway, we got all our things and headed out and sure enough, a taxi was pulling right in front of our house. It was an immediate answer to a prayer. Because of this experience we were all able to see how real the power of prayer is. Sometimes the Lord answers our prayers immediately, but we should also remember that it doesn't always happen that way. Sometimes we have to wait it out and continue to pray until we receive our answer. Sometimes our answers are hidden and hard to see, but they are there, we just need to look at life with a different perspective sometimes. Another thing I learned from this experience is that when we listen to the spirit, we can be answers to other people's prayers. As we were talking with the taxi driver, it turned out that he was a member of the church and whether he knew it or not, he had listened to the spirit and was the answer to our prayers. The Lord works through us in order to answer the prayers of others, our friends, our families, people that we don't even know. We always hear people talking about this, that we should listen to the spirit and act upon the promptings we recieve, but we always talking about it because it's true. If you feel a prompting to call someone, do it. If you feel like you should visit a friend or family member, do it. If you have any sort of prompting to do something for someone else, do it. The Lord will bless you as you strive to be an instrument in His hands and you will experience a joy that is unlike any other. I know this is true because I've felt it; there really is no greater joy than knowing you've helped answer someone's prayers.

On that note, I just want to say that I am really truly coming to love the people here. We were watching a video from The District the other day in language study and the words of one of the Elders really hit me. He says something like "the reason you're here isn't even about you at all.." and I just thought, that's 100% true. I am not here for me, I am here to serve my Heavenly Father and His children. Sometimes I get distracted but I am trying harder to focus and really focus on the people and when I do, the lessons are a hundred times better. When I really focus on them and how to help them, I forget about my needs or wants and start to feel a genuine love for them. We found a lady who is so great and receptive and when we left her house, I was just filled with love, a love for the gospel, a love for her, and a love for the Lord. I love teaching people about the gospel, it makes me so happy to find the people who are ready and to help them come unto Christ; this really is such a fulfilling work.

So this week the Macias Family came to church! YAY wow it was so great. They are so ready. The dad, Antonio, gave the closing prayer in the gospel principles class and the mom, Karen, went up in front of the Relief Society class with some people from her group, because we did a group activity, and helped teach part of the lesson.....I was floored. It was so amazing. Hermana Gonzales and I couldn't do anything but smile and feel happy. Ah, it was so great.

Salchipapas for my 6 months

A food called Tonga.  Its rice, peanut butter and chicken.

Chapter 27 - 6 months!

3/14/2016

So this past week I completed 6 months in the mission...and I have no idea where the time went. It has gone so fast but I have learned so much. Here is a little summary of some interesting things that happened this week:

1. When we were leaving our zone meeting last week, that taxi with all of my companions almost left without me..like it was driving away with the door open and everything haha but it all worked out and it stopped a little ways down the road..crazy taxi drivers..

2. One of our less actives has a part in their back yard that has like 6 hammocks and so we taught two lessons this week in hammocks..that was fun.

3. The other day the bishop invited us to his house for dinner and so we went and it was all sorts of meat and one of the meats was some weird part of a cow that I'm still not really sure what it was...but I ate it..I think it's better that I don't know...

4. To celebrate my 6 months we went and bought salchipapas which is basically french fries with hot dog and this special sauce and it's super good! So yeah we had a little celebration. I'll try to put some pictues on.

Ok now for the spiritual things.. So this week we went and visited the Macias family and wow. it was one of the best lessons we've had in a while. We watched the Joseph Smith movie about the restoration and I seriously love that movie. I think I've said that before but it's true. Every time I watch it I almost cry...It really is such a powerful representation of the restoration of the true church here on the earth. Anyway, we watched it and when we finished we were talking and I was sitting there like trying not to cry and when it was my turn to speak I just bore a simple testimony of how I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that I knew the Lord had placed them in our path for a reason and yes I was crying...and it was such a powerful moment. The mom was crying and you could feel the spirit witnessing to them that there was a reason we were there. This sunday they didn't come to church because the mom Carmen, it was her birthday so we were a little bummed because it's been two weeks and they haven't come to church but I have faith. I KNOW they are a family that is prepared and we just need to help them come to know of the love God has for them. Satan also knows how good they are and will try to do everything he can to make it so they don't progress, but Satan has no power. God is all powerful and if we do what we are supposed to, we have every right to have that power to be with us. Pray for them! oh, and us, please pray for us too.

Another spiritual thought. Yesterday we were sitting in Sacrament meeting and we were listening to a young single adult speaker and something she said really struck me. She was talking about how sometimes in the church we are asked to do things and we feel inadaquate or we don't want to or something and make up an excuse about how we can't or we're busy but we should trust in our capabilities. The Lord trusts us and we should trust ourselves. We are not inadaquate. I am only a 19 yr old girl and there are probably many other people who know a lot more about the bible or the gospel than me and yeah, sometimes I feel inadequate but I know I have authority. I know that each missionary is called of God to do this work and I know every memeber of the church has the resources necessary to carry out whatever task is laid before them. Remember, the Lord does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called.

Chapter 26 - Investiggador de Oro

3/7/2016

This week started out with me being stuck in the house for a couple days with my sick companion. My companion got Dengue....poor thing. Needless to say, I read a lot those two days...haha we didn't leave Monday or Tuesday but it's all good now and she feels better so we are back hitting the streets looking for people to teach.

The title means Golden Investigator. Ah, this week we had a baptism of a young man named Johnny and he literally is the definition of golden investigator. The Lord's plan is perfect and every day I am just amazed at how aware he is of us and how often His hand can be seen in our lives. Anyway, one night we were walking around and thinking, ok what do we do next because our appointments fell through and there's no one to visit. Well, Hermana Gonzales said that we should go to the church  because every Thursday in the church the members get together and play soccer and is basically like a ward family night and so anyways we went and just thought we might as well see if there is anything we can do to help or if there were any new people there that we might be able to teach. We went and this one girl in the ward came up to us and was like Hey! I have a friend who wants to be baptized...A little taken aback, but thrilled nonetheless, we set up an appointment to meet him the next day. He was so receptive and accepted everything we taught. He had meet with missionaries before but didn't progress. Now, however, he was ready to accept and follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized. He went up in sacrament meeting yesterday and bore his testimony and it was so powerful. He loves learning about the church and reading the Book of Mormon. With his testimony, I know he is going to be a great missionary. I know there are people who are ready and I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to teach him the restored gospel. 

Sometimes it's really easy to get discouraged when people don't progress, but I know that there is a time for everything and for everyone. We found a really great family the other day and I am so excited to teach them. Again, we were in the same predicament as we were the night we found Johnny, walking around contacting because our appointments fell through. Anyway, we walked by this one family and I was in my own little world not really focusing and my companion was like Hey, why didn't we contact that family? And I was like, oh, I don´t know, I need to focus... Anyway, we walked up to a house of a less active and as we were walking to the door, I saw a family that was out talking a walk and I just felt like we should go talk to them. I didn't care if the less actives were home or not, I knew we needed to talk to this family! Anyway, we went over and talked to them and set up an appointment. We met with them this week and they are soooo great! It's the Macias Family and it's a mom and a dad and their three kids and they are so kind and receptive. I am excited to see their progress and work with them. Another gift from the Lord.

Chapter 25 - February 29th

I couldn't think of a creative title so February 29th it is...sorry...but hey, It's February 29th and that doesn't happen every year so I guess that's cool too. So this week was pretty good. We have been contacting a lot, trying to find new investigators so I am hoping we will see the fruits of our labors this week!

This week, Hermana Gonzales went to a leadership conference, and so I got the chance to work with Hermana Mancuso. It was truly a great experience and I learned so much. I always learn a ton from companion exchanges and am so grateful for the chance to learn from other missionaries. It was interesting because we are from the same group and so we are kind of in the same place as far as missionary experience goes, but it was fun to see how far we've come. It was also interesting because during our lessons, we could both understand and answer the questions that our investigators and less actives had and was just like wow, the gift of tongues is real.

In one of our visits I remember we were about to start a lesson with a less active of Hermana Mancuso's who had some doubts and we were trying to figure out some scriptures to share and what to say and I remember Hermana Mancuso saying "If Hermana Velez was here (her companion who has like a year in the mission), she would know what to do" But I just turned to her and said, well, Hermana Velez isn't here, we are and we are here because the Lord has put us here in this situation at this time. The words we say are the words she will need to hear because that's the way God has laid it out to be. We may not have as much time as other missionaries but we have our testimonies and I believe that we know more that we think we do. When we have confidence and trust in the Lord, relying on the spirit, we have the power to be illuminated and say the things that are needed in that very moment. Ne}ver doubt the importance of your words. There are things you can say that no one else can and there are people out there who need your help and comfort. Sorry this letter isn't too long, but I hope you all have a great week and follow the promptings of the spirit to help those in need!

Chapter 24 - I'm in for the long haul

So this week was pretty good. Transfers came and went last night and it looks like I'm staying here in Portoviejo and I'm good with that, I like it here. I said I'm in for the long haul because this transfer will be for 8 weeks instead of 6. They changed how long the Latins are in the MTC for (it's 3 weeks now instead of 2) so they had to have this long transfer to balance it all out. I'm glad though, because I love my companion and so everything will be great.

So this week we went to Guayaquil for a nursing conference. I don't know if I said this in an earlier letter but I am training as a misison nurse. Hermana Gonzales is a mission nurse and is super good and I'm just like wow, I don't know if I can do this...but I know I can do anything with the Lord's help. There are 6 mission nurses and so all the missions are split up between us and we help the missionaries in these areas. It's extra responsibility but I know that it's important and there will be extra blessings. Anyway, we went to Guayaquil for a conference and it was really good. 

*A side note about traveling to Guayaquil. So we stayed in the temple housing which is always super awesome because THERE IS HOT WATER and so we get to take warm showers which actually feel pretty good because there is air conditioning and everything as well. Yeah, it's great. Anyway, so our breakfasts (and sometimes dinners) in the temple usually consist of yogurt and cookies and ham sandwiches and so basically I ate a ham sandwhich for breakfast and dinner for like 2 and a half days...haha (Tell Remy, I thought of him)

Anyway, Hermana Gonzales was super excited to go back to Guayaquil because she was there for 10 months and we actaully got to go with the Hermanas in our old sector and go teaching with them one afternoon and Hermana Gonzales was super happy because we were going back to teach one of her converts oh and it's kind of my convert too, but I didn't really teach her, I came in at the end and I was there for her baptism, it was my first baptism in the area and yeah anyway I was just sitting in the car as we were driving to the sector thinking.."am I really helping these people, am I really making a difference in these people's lives? Does anyone even remember me in this ward, I was only here for like 3 months" And all these thoughts were in my head but something happened that changed everything. So we went in to the house and the Hermana was really happy to see us and I was like oh, yeah, like she's probably more happy to see Hermana Gonzles but ok this is good, but then it got better. We were sitting in her house and these two little girls from a family that we spent a lot of time with and taught a lot came running to the door. They are 10 and 12 and they just ran in and gave us the biggest hugs and Nicole, the 10 year old just started crying...they both started crying and in that moment I knew I had made at least a little bit of difference in the lives of these two girls and for that I was very grateful. I know that these people remember us and that I really am making a difference. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to see His hand in my life and feel of his love. If you ever feel like He's not there, look for His hand in your life and I promise you, you will find it. God is in the little things. I love you all and I hope you have the best week.

Love,

Hermana Roylance