Buenas tardes todos!

So this week was pretty great. On Thursday we had a multizone conference, and it was honestly just fantastic. I felt the Spirit so strongly, and I learned so so much about how to be a better missionary. We were urged to use the Book of Mormon more. We read a quote from one of the apostles that basically said that we can`t start teaching our investigators until they have a Book of Mormon in their hands. We hadn`t been using the Book of Mormon that much, but they handed us giant boxes full of soft-back copies and we`re supposed to use the whole box in a couple months. Not wasting them, but teaching with them, and helping our investigators to progress by reading it. It just helped me even more in my testimony of the Book of Mormon, and how powerful it is in teaching and converting. We watched the story of Parley P. Pratt, and his conversion. Basically, he followed another church to New York, and there he met someone who had a copy of the Book of Mormon, and showed it to him, and told him the story. Pratt was intrigued, and once he got the book, read the whole thing in one night. Then he new he had to find Joseph Smith and join his church. Isn`t that incredible? He didn`t even need a missionary. Just that book was enough. Not saying we don`t need missionaries, but we need to rely more on the power that`s already been placed in our hands for us, instead of trying to convince everyone that they need to get baptized. I loved it, and I`m so excited to continue teaching more from the Book of Mormon.
And now I have a funny story. So my old companion just went home this week, so I new I`d be getting a new companion this change. So on Sunday, my comp and another sister from Matagalpa would be going to Managua together for their final interview, and her companion, Hermana Near, would be staying with me in Sèbaco. While we were here, Hermana Near got a call from her zone leader saying that she was closing her area, and she was going to have changes too. Basically, that meant running over to catch a bus to Matagalpa so she could pack and say goodbye to some people. And clean the house and take care of keys and everything. Thankfully there are still Elders in her area, so we just had to hand them the keys to the apartment and they`d take care of the rest. So, in the middle of our running around Matagalpa, my zone leader called me and said that Hermana Near and I were actually going to be companions!! We both laughed, saying that we knew it. We both did have a hunch, but now we knew for sure. That meant, also, that we didn`t have to take the long bus to Managua to pick up our new companions, because we were already together! We just had to finish packing and taking care of a few other details before we came back here to Sèbaco. One of those things was getting the keys to the apartment and her phone to the Elders in the ward, and they were going to meet us at the bus station. But as soon as our taxi (with a BUNCH of suitcases and bags) pulled into the station, we had people yelling at us, asking us where we were going. We said "Sèbaco," and so they just threw our suitcases on top of the bus and yelled at us to get on because the bus was leaving. I hoped on with my mountain of things and got settled, and I realized that Hermana Near hadn`t gotten on the bus, and it started to leave! So I ran to the door, and asked her what she was doing, and she reminded me that we were supposed to wait for the Elders. I didn`t know what to do, so I told her to get on, because that`s where our stuff was. So she got on, and called the Elders and said that they were going to have to get everything another time. They told her that that wasn`t possible, and that we NEEDED to get off the bus. So we headed to the front of the bus and told the driver that we needed to get off and we needed our stuff. So all the guys were all irritated, so the let us off (and I bumped into a bunch of people on that crowded bus...sorry guys. They were laughing at all the stuff I had. Not my fault, haha). And they chucked our luggage off the top of the bus, and also some random bags of plants and flowers and things that were up there too, that they somehow thought were ours...and then it left. We just stood there, thankfully near a gas station so we could tell the Elders where to meet us, and felt so bad for that poor lady who lost her bags filled with things she was probably going to sell. But we couldn`t do anything about it...so we left them there, hoping that maybe she`d think to come back and look. I`m going to be praying for that, for sure. Al fin, the Elders found us, took the keys and phone, laughed at how much stuff we had, and let us catch the next bus that came by where we were. And then, settled on the bus, a little calmer, we realized that we didn`t give the Elders the rent money, or the number of the landlord. We`ll deal with that later. Maybe they`ll find the number on the phone.
Then we got back to the house in TWO mototaxis, then started cleaning our crazy mess of an apartment.
And that was my p-day. Crazy and stressful, but amusing. A day I`m never going to forget, for sure. And we`re so excited to be companions, even though saying goodbye was really hard.
I`m out of time, but hopefully you all enjoyed my story. Lesson learned: Plan things out a little better. But as missionaries, we sure do get pretty good at winging it. We can handle ourselves here, right? ;)
Alright, I hope you all have a great week. I didn`t get to watch the Christmas devotional, but I hope you all take the time to watch it and enjoy it. I`ll sure do my best to get a hold on it :) I love you all, and remember to read the Book of Mormon! You WILL gain a testimony of how important it is in your life, and to the church. I promise.
Love, Hermana Oliphant

First week en Sébaco!

This week´s been pretty exhausting. My area really is huge, and the entire city of Sébaco ours! Oh my first day we went up a really steep hill, and there was a gorgeous view of the valley. My comp turned to me and said, "Take a good look, Hermana." And I´m just like...why? Then she responds, "This is your area. The whole thing." And she now only has 3 weeks to show it all to me. But I´ve seriously been helped out by the Lord this week. I´m learning my area so fast. For those who know me, I´m not super good with self-navigation. And I was pretty worried, but I´ve been helped out so much this week, and it´s really strengthened my testimony of prayer and hardwork (and paying attention when we walk).

It´s also super different, because it´s a branch here instead of a ward. There´s about 50 faithful members, but they´re so great. Everyone here is so warm and loving and has accepted me like part of the family. I´m so excited to get to know it even better!

 

Something interesting is also that people are much more fascinated by the fact that I´m a chela, or white. People are always staring at me, as if they´ve never seen a gringa before, and all the little kids I´ve met are so fascinated with the fact that I can speak English. All of them. Back in Managua no one really cared, and so getting here and having little kids all over me going "Talk English! Talk English!" And asking me a bajillion questions is super cool, and kind of exhausting. I´ve never been interrogated so much in my life, haha. But they´re so cute. 

 

And my apartment is much bigger than our old room in Managua. Much bigger. I don´t have pictures of it yet, but I´ll get there. And we do have a shower, (but honestly I wouldn´t mind bucket showering, it´s kind of relaxing), but no one here really has a washing machine...so we hand wash all our own clothes. Which I also don´t really mind. I´ve been washing little batches in the morning throughout this week, since I brought a massive load of dirty clothes from Managua, and then this morning I finally got to washing everything else. And after 2 hours of scrubbing and rinsing and washing and wringing, I finished washing all my clothes. And when I was hanging them up to dry, the clothes line broke. Sooooo I went and rinsed everything off again. Exhausted, but hurrying to get the things that fell into my bucket of bleach (yeah I bleach my own whites). And as I went to hang everything up on our OTHER clothes line, that one broke too, again dumping all my wet clothes in the durt. So, frustrated, exhausted, and feeling a little feverish (I´m really bad at keeping hydrated), I dumped all my wet clothes in the pila(the thing we use to wash clothes, see picture) and went to take a nap, haha :) Hermana Méndez and I basically spent all day cleaning our apartment, but it smells super good now :) I enjoy the cleanness. 

 

I´ve been doing lots of reading on temple covenants and sealings (I´m not trunky I swear), and the more I read, the more I understand how important it is to strive for the temple. It really is the single most important thing we could do, is go to the temple to make those sacred covenants, and then keep them! Remember 2 Nefi 31:19-20. I´ve only got it in Spanish, so you´ll have to translate. "Y ahora bien, amados hermanos míos, después de haber entrado en esta estrecha y angosta senda(here it´s talking about baptism, but I think it can apply to temple covenants as well), quisiera preguntar si ya quedó hecho todo. He aquí, os digo que no; porque no habéis llegado hasta aquí sino por la palabra de Cristo, con fe inquebrantable en él, confiando integramente en los méritos de aquel que es poderoso para salvar. Por tanto, devéis seguir adelante con firmeza en Cristo, teniendo un fulgor perfecto de esperanza y amor por Dios y por todos los hombres. Por tanto, si marcháis adelante, deleitándoos en la palabra de Cristo, y perseveráis hasta el fin, he aquí, así dice el Padre: Tendréis la vida eterna." [19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

 20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.]

Once we´ve made these covenants, we can´t quit! We´ve got to stay for dessert. Don´t just eat the salad and then say you´re good. We need to remember and keep these covenants that we´ve made, and then and only then can we have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.

 

So that´s about all for this week. I´ll attach some of the fotos of me and Hermana Palencia running around saying goodbye to everyone last week. I hope you all have an excellent week, and read your scriptures. It´s the small things that make all the difference. I love you all, and I hope you all have an awesome week!

Att. Hermana Oliphant

final selfies

final selfies as companions

La Familia Aguirre! We reactivated them and baptized their niece Adela, and they´re still going strong! I´m going to miss them so much.

Jefferson. He´s 18, and less active. We´ve been visiting with him trying to get him back to church, and we got pretty close. He´s my bud. He even speaks a little English, haha. I´mma miss him too :)

La Familia Paredez! He´s in the stake Presidency in Villa Flor, and his wife and daughter. And Elián, his nephew, who got baptized earlier this year, and he´s super excited to get the priesthood!

Hermana Mayra, her daughter in law, and two of her grandkids. Her daughter in law isn´t a member, but we´ve been using the slow and steady method with her. But they´re a super cool family (the ones who fed us lunch every day and washed our clothes), and I´m definitely going to miss them :)

 

Changes have arrived!

Last zone activity in La 14

I´ve finally moved to a new area! It´s called Sébaco and it´s in the department of Matagalpa, in the zone Estelí. It´s actually pretty cool over here, which is so weird after 4 months of sweltering heat. But it´s so beautiful and I´ve fallen in love with my area. Which is good, because I have to get to know it really fast since my new companion, Hermana Mendez, is going home this next cambio. And this next cambio is only 4 weeks instead of 6 weeks so missionaries aren´t coming right during Christmas, so I´ve only got 4 weeks with her to learn this GIANT area, and all the people and everything. But I´m so excited. I´m so sad to leave behind all the wonderful friends I´ve made in La 14, but I know I´m here because the Lord wants me to be here, and I´ll go where He wants me to go. Por donde me mande, iré!

Also, they´re closing La 14. There´ll be Elders working in there de vez en cuando (now and then), but there aren´t missionaries assigned to the barrio (ward). I hate having to leave all of our investigators and recent converts, but Hermana Palencia is still close by in a neighboring area in the same zone, so she can go visit our investigators and keep them animados! I know they´ll all be alright. We have some awesome members in that ward, and they´ll keep the work going, for sure.

 

In my last week in La 14, I just had some awesome experiences. I got to feel the Spirit work through me when I open my mouth. It´s exhilarating to start talking and just feel the words flow so effortlessly and perfectly with a peace and Spirit that practically screams that it´s the Lord talking. It´s such an honor to be able to be his mouthpiece to these people, to be able to help and guide these lovely people in a camino (way) that will lead them to true happiness. I just saw so many small miracles this week because I listened to the Spirit. One of the great things about being on a mission is learning to word hard, of course, even when you don´t want to, but also learning how to recognize and follow the promptings of the Spirit. You don´t always see the results of that decision immediately, but when you do it feels like a slap in the face when you realize that, wow, that´s how it works.

 

Thanks for all your prayers and love and support. I can´t believe I already have 5 months on the mission! Almost a third of my mission. I´ve still got a year to go, but I´m so excited to learn and work and teach and baptize and reactivate these incredible people of Nicaragua!

Hasta la proxima!

Att. Hermana Oliphant

 

(If you want to see the church map to get an idea of where Sarah is at, click here.)