Hiii!
Friday, March 29, 2013
The strangest/funniest/best week of my life
Monday, March 18, 2013
My six month celebration, a baptism, and transfer news
Hi :)
I feel like so much has happened this week and I don't even know where to
begin. Tuesday I hit my 6 month mark, so I burned my tights on the roof. Since
Miron hit 18 months a couple weeks ago she burned a whole outfit. It was so much
fun, but now we have a pile of black nastiness chillin outside our window. We'll
have to do something about that I guess...
Wednesday we had district meeting. For the second week in a row it was
really incredible. Since I've been in Spain I haven't really enjoyed our weekly
district meetings. Number one, they're in Spanish, number two, I don't feel very
close to anyone in my district, and three I'm always nervous I'll be asked to
answer a question when I've decided to drift off in my thoughts. Well this week,
since it was the last meeting of the transfer, Elder Foster asked us all to go
around and share something we learned during the last six weeks. By the end
almost everyone was teary-eyed, some of the elders more than the sisters, and I
finally felt close to the elders and sisters I was serving with. It was really
cool.
That night we experienced a little miracle. We had a lesson with Carmen,
Paola and Jessica. We taught them the 10 commandments and it was really fun.
They each picked a commandment they wanted to work on and we set goals for the
next week. Afterwards, Carmen asked us to stay for dinner, but we told her we
couldn't because we had another commitment that we were about to be late for
(celebrating Hermana Coakwell's birthday with Eduardo). But she explained, "No
no, my husband has invited you to stay. He wants to get to know you!" This is
the same man who made fun of his wife and daughters for investigating the church
and who always left when we came over. We were shocked and figured it was
important to Carmen that we stay, so we did. She made us fish and rice and it
was so yummy. Her husband was super talkative and we even got him to laugh. It
was actually really fun, and I feel like from now on he'll be more open-minded
and supportive of Carmen and their daughters.
Friday morning we had a lesson with Victor. He's from Russia and has been
coming to church for the last three years or so. He would be baptized by now,
but his girlfriend is super hostile towards the church and has threatened to
kick him out if he gets baptized. And he can't afford that, because he doesn't
have a job and needs a place to live. It's kind of a tricky situation. Anyhow,
we watched this movie with him called "How Rare A Possession." If you haven't
seen it, I'd check it out. We watched it in Russian so he could understand
better. What was amazing to me was that even though I didn't understand a single
word, I still felt the Spirit. And afterwards Victor bore powerful testimony of
the Book of Mormon. He's read it cover to cover three times and has an
incredible testimony. Hopefully we can get Elena to soften up.
Well! Today is transfer day! Hermana Miron is gone. And I'm staying in
Leganés for another 6 weeks, at least. I'm with Hermana Olsen and Hermana
Blodgett. Hermana Olsen was living in the piso with us already, and I was in the
MTC with her, so I'm comfortable with her. and Hermana Blodgett is freaking
hilaaaaarious. I'm not excited about another trio (this is my fourth in 6
months), but I'm happy with who my companions are, so I'll live. Haha and
President said our trio won't last for long because we should be getting a visa
waiter soon and then it'll go back to being two companionships here, which is
better anyways.
I hope everyone is happy and healthy back home! Oh, and I don't think I
mentioned this last week. But the First Presidency is changing the Mission
Manual and we can now email EVERYONE instead of just immediate family. That
means I better get some love!
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I have 6 months, and Miron has 6 days left (last week obvs)
|
Miron asked if I wanted to do
anything special, I just asked her to sing to me while I showered. Haha so that
was fun. We went and visited a family from the ward and they fed us cheesecake.
We also played with their new baby puppy named Rex.
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| Baby Rex |
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| Parla District |
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| Finally a picture with us and Paola and Jessica! |
Saturday was baptism day! Everything went swimmingly. We sang "I Need Thee
Every Hour" and the people Eduardo chose to speak did a really good job. He bore
his testimony after the actual baptism and he talked about how before he started
talking to the missionaries he'd heard a lot of bad things about Mormons. But
that he felt something inside telling him they were wrong. My favorite part was
when he said, "This is a very special day for me. I know The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. The restored gospel has completely changed
me." Ahhhh, it was awesome. Afterwards I went up to him and was like,
"Eduardooooo you're Mormon!" and he said, "Hola. Soy Eduardo. Y soy Mormón." It
was the best part of my whole week. And to top off our Saturday night, Real
Madrid beat Mallorca 5-2 :)
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| My newly Mormonized Bolivianos :) |
Life is good. Tomorrow is my birthday and I can't wait. My birthday is my
favorite day of the whole year, besides Christmas of course. And we have a busy
day planned! March 19th is Father's Day here in Spain, so everyone has work off
today. But tomorrow, we have a lesson with Victor, followed by mediodia with
Eduardo at my favorite Bolivian restaurant here, next is cookies and juice with
Evelyn and her parents, and then at night Ana's mom is cooking me my favorite
food she makes. They're Armenian and she is the best cook in the ward. I'm not
suuuuuper excited about eating all day, but that's how people celebrate here,
and when they heard it was my birthday, well, they invited me over for
food.
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| Ana and me |
Love,
Hermana Munden
P.S. Welcome home, Sister Shackelford :)
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
8 days til I´m 22
Hellllloooooo!
Tomorrow I have 6 months in the mission. What the heck. I
can´t believe 6 months ago I was just a little baby hermana in the MTC. Time
seriously flies. In fact, I don´t have time to give you all the fantastic
details of the last two weeks, so how about some highlights and lowlights? Sound
good?
Highlights...
- Paola and Jessica are getting baptized May 25th! We´re hoping by
the time the date rolls around, Carmen will be on board too.
- Smooy for Hermana Miron´s 18 months in the mission.
- Evelyn´s class talked about different religions and when they
got to Mormonism she stood up and said, ¨¡Soy Mormona!¨
- Having a mission-wide fast the month with the purpose of knowing
how to meet our goals. It´s incredible to know that the whole mission fasted
together for the same thing.
- Connor´s baptism on March 2nd and getting this in an email from
him: “Yesterday was the
day! I am officially a member of the Church! It was a great ceremony. I felt
the Spirit so strongly. There were probably over 100 people there and they were
all so supportive! It was a great day!”
- Eating yummy
Ecuadorian food at Elder Vélez´s aunt´s restaurant for free.
- 4 new investigators
in two days.
- President Jackson
playing the accordian for us today.
- The really spiritual
district meeting we had last week.
- An all sister
session at the temple.
- Finding out that
my girl Yo who was my roommate in Ecuador is coming to my
mission!!!
- Having dinner with Arbolina and her reading us the dedicatory
prayer for the Madrid temple - which just so happened to be dedicated on my 8th
birthday, the day before I got baptized.
- The beautiful email I got from Stephanie today saying she and
Justin are getting baptized March 30th: ¨Justin and I are
being baptized on March 30th. And we couldn't be happier. I love you so much. I
wish you could know how grateful I am for all you did for us. You may never know
fully the impact you've had on my life...not JUST because you helped get me to
baptism...but because you showed me how to love, when it's hard to love, when
its easy to love...You are amazing and beautiful and I'm so blessed to have met
you and to have shared part of this journey with
you.¨
Lowlights...
- Having to eat at
literally every house we go to when there just isn´t room.
- One of the
references we received telling us he´s not interested and not to call him back
again.
- Three days of
not being with Hermana Miron for sister exchanges
- Rain and wind
for a week straight.
I´ll be better next week.
Love,
Hermana
Munden
Saturday, March 9, 2013
A Missionary's Testimony
So I've been thinking a lot about testimonies lately. Often
when we're in lessons, the person we're teaching will bear their testimony. Most
of the time they do it without even realizing it. But all a testimony is, is
stating what you know.
And I think it's important that you, my family, and the
people I care about most, know that I know that God lives. I know that He is our
Heavenly Father. He knows us by name and He loves us. He's aware of our
circumstances, needs, wants, desires, goals, plans, and our daily lives. I know
that as imperfect, flawed, and insignificant as we are, we mean everything to
Him. So much, in fact, that He prepared a Plan for us to return back to Him one
day. I know that the key to that Plan is His son Jesus Christ, who humbly came
to this earth, was born to a virgin mother, and lived a perfect life. I know
that while He was here He performed miracles, taught in parables, served
everyone, and established His church. He was the perfect example for us in all
things, and truly, the Life and Light of the world. I know that He paid the
ultimate price and died for us. I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ isn't
just something we talk about, but that it actually happened. Christ not only
saved us from our sins, but he suffered so we wouldn't have to. He is the Savior
and Reedemer of the world. I'm thankful to know that there is someone who has
walked my paths before, who knows what it's like when I feel sad, homesick,
lonely, heartbroken, betrayed, and hopeless. I also know that through the
Atonement we have the opportunity to change - to become a little better every
day, a little more like Him. I know that Christ rose on the third day, and that
He lives still. I know that in the Spring of 1820, a 14 yearold boy went to a
grove of trees with the faith that his question would be answered, knelt down,
and offered a prayer that changed the world. That boy was Joseph Smith, to whom
appeared God the Father and the Son. And it was through him that Jesus Christ
restored His church. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, and
that he translated the Book of Mormon through the gift and power of God. I know
that the Book of Mormon, though written centuries ago, was written for our day,
contains the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and is another testament of
Him. I know that prayer is direct communication with our Heavenly Father, that
He listens, and that no prayer goes unanswered. I know that families are forever
and that I'll see those that I've lost again one day. I know that missionary
work is the work of the Lord. I've been called by God through His prophet Thomas
S. Monson to teach, serve, and love the people of Madrid Spain. I know The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the same church Christ
established when He was here. The knowledge I have of the restored Gospel of
Jesus Christ has changed my life and gives everything I do meaning. It is the
reason I'm here and the reason I am who I am. I know all of these things by the
power of the Holy Ghost. I've prayed, received an answer, and will never deny
what I know to be true. I leave this testimony and all my love with you, in the
name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Love,
Hermana Munden
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
1 month in Spain and 24 weeks in the mission. What the...
Hiiii!
I know I say this in every email, but this week was
fantastic! Thursday we had a lesson with Carmen. She´s so cute. She wanted to
learn more about faith, so we read Alma 32 together and stopped every couple
verses to talk about what was going on. Halfway through the chapter, Jessica got
home from school and she read the rest of it with us! We promised her a few
weeks ago we´d bring her a present, so we gave her the child´s Book of Mormon we
had for her and she loved it. After the prayer, Carmen went into the kitchen to
cook and we stayed and visited with Jessica for a few minutes before we had to
leave. She told us she wants to get baptized! We encouraged her to talk to her
mom about wanting to be baptized and that we´d talk about it more the next time.
Now Paola and Jessica have both said they´re ready, so we´re just waiting on
Carmen. But she´s doing just fine, so we´re not too worried about it. We
looooooove them.
Friday the elders in Móstoles were having a baptism, so we
called Evelyn to see if she wanted to go, and the three of us went to that. The
baptism was for a 27 year old girl from Honduras named Suany. We thought it´d be
good for Evelyn to see what a baptism was like, since hers was the next day and
she´d never been to one. Afterwards we hugged and kissed Suany and congratulated
her and she said to Evelyn, ''Thanks for coming to support me today, I´ll be
there for you tomorrow!'' It was pretty cute.
Saturday was the baptism! It was beauuuuutiful. I had to play the piano, which stressed me out un poco, but oh well. Her parents each prayed and they both cried. So that made Evelyn cry, and then we cried. Hahah there were a lot of tears. The Young Women sang a song and then Carlos baptized her. He´s 18 and he was so sweet with her. Hermana Miron and I stood next to the font to watch. The place I feel the Spirit most is the temple, but second most is convert baptisms. It´s incredible. Evelyn came out of the water and when we were in the bathroom with her I asked how she felt she said ''SUPER BIEN'' :) Carmen and her girls were there, and so was Eduardo. Evelyn asked Hermana Miron and I to share our testimonies so we did, and then it was Evelyn´s turn. She got up there and just started crying. When she could finally talk she said ''I know this church is true. And I am so, so happy.'' And that was it! But that´s all anyone really needed to here. It was such a good day.
Saturday was the baptism! It was beauuuuutiful. I had to play the piano, which stressed me out un poco, but oh well. Her parents each prayed and they both cried. So that made Evelyn cry, and then we cried. Hahah there were a lot of tears. The Young Women sang a song and then Carlos baptized her. He´s 18 and he was so sweet with her. Hermana Miron and I stood next to the font to watch. The place I feel the Spirit most is the temple, but second most is convert baptisms. It´s incredible. Evelyn came out of the water and when we were in the bathroom with her I asked how she felt she said ''SUPER BIEN'' :) Carmen and her girls were there, and so was Eduardo. Evelyn asked Hermana Miron and I to share our testimonies so we did, and then it was Evelyn´s turn. She got up there and just started crying. When she could finally talk she said ''I know this church is true. And I am so, so happy.'' And that was it! But that´s all anyone really needed to here. It was such a good day.
| Us with Evelyn on her big day |
| The Young Women |
Evelyn and Carlos
|
Yesterday President and Hermana Jackson showed up to our
district meeting with SNICKERS BARS. It tasted like heaven.
Yum.
That's all I got! I'll talk to you guys Monday though :)
Love,
Hermana Munden
Thursday, February 21, 2013
I officially have less than a year left as a missionary. Whoa.
Hi Everyone!
This was probably one of the best
weeks I've had in awhile. Last Thursday was Valentine's Day and we had the
Mission Tour. We were in Pavones (where the temple is) for Mission Conference
with Elder Kearon from 9 in the morning until like 4 in the afternoon. It was a
long day, but so SO good. We learned a lot and it was cool to be with almost all
the missionaries in the mission (the ones serving on the Canary Islands met with
Elder Kearon Wednesday). He taught us about sanctifying ourselves so we can
teach with power and a lot of other really insightful things that are going to
help improve our teaching. Oh, also! President Jackson told us that we currently
have 110 missionaries in the Spain Madrid Mission and by the end of 2013 we'll
be at 220, with 58 of us being sisters. Pretty neat if you ask
me!
Thursday night was Rosi's birthday, so we went over to her house and had dinner with her family to celebrate. After we left, Hermana Miron and I put a ton of hearts on her door to suprise her. She called us later saying she felt really special and she was going to leave them up so all her neighbors could see :)
Thursday night was Rosi's birthday, so we went over to her house and had dinner with her family to celebrate. After we left, Hermana Miron and I put a ton of hearts on her door to suprise her. She called us later saying she felt really special and she was going to leave them up so all her neighbors could see :)
Friday night we sang in the street and contacted a little bit. We picked a spot on a street between our piso and the church and set up camp on a bench. We had some pass along cards and a few Books of Mormon and we sang hymns for about half an hour. We didn't end up having very much success. One man came up to us and said he'd heard of the church before. Hermana Miron asked him if he'd like to learn more and he said absolutely not, that he liked his own church just fine. Haha oh well, it was still really fun. Since we weren't talking to very many people, we left and walked to the church.
The Young Men and Young Women in our ward had a Valentine's dinner/activity thing to raise money for EFY. They fed us dinner for 3 euros and there were cards and flowers for sale and then an auction. Oh my goodness, it was so much fun. There was singing and dancing and games and husbands went up in front of everyone and told their wives how much they loved them. Ahhh it was the cutest! Eduardo, Carmen and her daughters, Nicol and her parents, Evelyn and her parents and Lorena all came. It was awesome.
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| Bishop getting lipsticked |
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| Fabian getting lipsticked |
| Eduardo at the Vday activity |
Saturday and Sunday we had Stake
Conference. Hermana Miron and I were the only missionaries there Saturday night
and the session was about missionary work. President Jackson spoke and he asked
us to stand up and then called us angels. Haha it was cute. Also we learned that
45 years ago, there wasn't a single member of the church in all of Spain. Now,
we have 3 stakes (one being formed in the islands), 1 temple, and 10
missionaries serving just from our stake. After the session on Sunday, everyone
went outside and took pictures by the temple. It's so preeetty. I love the
Madrid temple.
| Ana and me after Stake Conference |
Monday and Tuesday were the best
though. Evelyn had her interview and everything is set for her baptism Saturday.
She's so excited, and I can't wait! Monday night we visited Eduardo. We taught
him HOLA (cada hombre tiene que orar, leer, y asistir la capilla - every man has
to pray, read, and go to church) to help him
understand the importance of daily scripture study and prayer and going to
church every Sunday. It was a really good lesson. He said he's still waiting to
feel "fire" but that it comes when he reads the scriptures, so he wants to get
baptized soon. We ended on a good note and he offered the prayer, and we went
home.
| Us with Eduardo at the temple |
Today we went to Pavones with the Elders in the district next to ours for Elder Sepúlveda's birthday. We made rice with chicken and peppers and it was yummy. Tonight we have a lesson with Lorena and Ruben and then tomorrow one with Carmen and her daughters (finally) after almost 2 weeks of not being able to meet with them.
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| Elder Rodriguez and Elder Sepúlveda on Sepu's birthday |
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| Nilson (my visa waiter buddy) on Sepu's birthday |
I can't believe I come home a year from yesterday. That's so weird. Time is going by way too fast. But I'm enjoying every second of what I have left :)
Love,
Hermana
Munden
P.S. Starting March 4th our P-days will be changing to
Mondays. Hooray! Wednesday P-days are just too dang
weird.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Galatians 2:20
Hiiiiiiiiiiii
I can't believe I've been out 5
months. It feels like I was in the MTC just yesterday. It's incredible how fast
the time flies. I don't want this time to end.
We had a pretty good weekend.
Friday night we ate with this family from the ward, whose oldest son is actually
going to baptize Evelyn. They made us pizza and sandwiches (yay for normal food)
and then we shared a quick message before we left. Hermana Miron was talking
about reading the scriptures and the importance of immersing ourselves in daily
study, and then the husband said something I really liked... "You can't love a
person without knowing them." I've been thinking about that a lot lately. We say
we love Heavenly Father and we love our Savior, but do we really know them?
That's what I've enjoyed the most about being a missionary - this time I get to
ready and study and serve and strengthen my relationship with my Father in
Heaven, to teach what the Savior taught and to learn to see people the way He
did.
Saturday we went to Carmen's to
help Paola with her English homework. Afterwards we ate lunch and I shared a
scripture in Mosiah about the covenant we make with God when we're baptized.
Hermana Miron bore her testimony and then asked them what they think about all
this. Paola told us she knows that what we've been teaching her family is true.
She doesn't just believe it, she knows it. As soon as she said that I
felt this intense feeling and I became super aware that I know it's true too. I
know that God lives. I know that the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the
gospel. And I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the
church that Jesus Christ established when He was on the earth. And Paola knows
it too! Ahhhh I'm so excited. I can't wait til Carmen and Jessica know it
too.
Monday night we visited this lady
Lorena. She's less active and she lives with her boyfriend Ruben who isn't a
member. She made us dinner and we visited for a little bit. Ruben tried to help
Hermana Miron with her foot. He did this weird thing to "clean her aura." It was a
good opportunity to talk about the Priesthood and how it's the power to act in
God's name.
Today we went to Sol, which is
basically the center of Madrid and a big tourist spot. There's fountains and
magicians and old buildings. It's really cool. We ate churros and drank hot
chocolate and walked around. It was pretty fun. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and
it's the Mission Tour. A member of the Seventy is coming to check out the
mission and we're gonna have a conference with him. I'm
excited.
Life is good. Really good. And I
got the best news ever today. When I got to the Locutorio to do emails I had a
message from Sister Cha. CONNOR IS GETTING BAPTIZED MARCH 2ND!!! I cried. Haha
it's seriously the best news and I'm so so so happy for him. I'm just super
bummed I can't be there for him. It's been a long time coming and I can't
believe it. Yay for Conman.
Well, that's it. Hope you all I have a great week :)
Well, that's it. Hope you all I have a great week :)
Love,
Hermana Munden
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