Last Week. Goodbye everyone!

Well, here we go. I didn´t really think this day would come, but here we are. Writing my last email as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It honestly doesn´t even feel real yet, but maybe it´ll hit me in these next few days ;)

I just wanted to share some of the awesome experiences that have happened in this past week! First of all, we´ve been experiencing a tumult of natural disasters lately. Well, just two. Well, three. A hurricane, an earthquake, and an active volcano threatening to erupt. But where I´m at, we haven´t been hit too hard. Just hearing a bit about everything. The hurricane passed more through the south part of the country and Costa Rica, and the earthquake had its epicenter in Masaya, or even more south. Which is pretty far away. And the volcano is somewhere over in that area as well. So don´t worry about me. I´m doing great up here in Tipitapa :)

Then, we´ve been working really hard with one of our investigators. Her name is Ana Julia, and she´s an older woman with 6 or 7 kids. She lives about half an hour away from where we normally work, but it´s still inside the area, and there´s an active member family over there, too. Another member who lives out there brought her to church last Sunday, and it´s been the most incredible experience working with her. She said that she almost got baptized in another church several years ago, but she felt something stop her. She felt that it wasn´t the right church. So she´s been looking for years. And her first day visiting the church with us, she felt this great peace. She felt something fill her heart, and she knew that this was what she was looking for, that this was the church that she needed to be baptized in. We´ve taught her the first three lessons (The Restoration, The Plan of Salvation, and The Gospel of Jesus Christ) and she´s accepted them wholeheartedly and with great humility and dedication. She´s helping us teach her children and their families, and she´s preparing to be baptized on the 10th of December :) I know I won´t be there, but honestly it´s been so incredible to meet her and see her grow. She´s been looking and searching for years and in a single day at church she found her answer. She´s going to be an incredible converted member, and I´m so happy that I got to be a part of her journey. Hermana Stubbs is going to send me pictures for sure, so I´ll make sure you guys can all see her :)

This past Saturday we had a baptism! It was a little miracle. Her name is Bertita and she just turned eight a couple weeks ago. Her parents aren´t members, but her two older sisters are recent converts, and they´ve been going to church for the past several months. She told us that she wanted to be baptized too, and the Branch President baptized her, and her whole family showed up to support her. She was so excited that she borrowed the white dress and the white shoes from her sister so she could show up all in white :) She doesn´t really have that many sins yet, but I could see the pureness of her heart as we took all the pictures and got her ready for her baptism. I know she´ll remember this day for the rest of her life, and I hope that one day her mom can join the church so they can all move forward together :)

We had special interchanges of companions this past Thursday :) I got to go back to my first zone (again) to work, but this time I was in Villa Venezuela. It was so fun working with Hermana Pehrson and I learned so much. We got along so well and we had an awesome day together! Then we finished the divisions with Pizza :) Pizza Hut it something I haven´t really missed from home, to be honest, haha.

And to finish off the week, I had my cumplemes 18  (I completed my 18 months) yesterday. Wow. Time flies by :) And to top it all off, the primary program was yesterday, and it was so cute. The primary is a decent size here in La Bocana. And so many less actives and investigators came to church. It was so wonderful to see the chapel full!

So I just want to share my last missionary testimony with you all :) I know that this is the restored church of Jesus Christ. I know it with all my heart. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion and the best way to come closer to God. I know that the greatest miracle that we can ever witness or experience is that of conversion and forgiveness. Conversion to the gospel and forgiveness of our sins. Christ is the reason for everything, and if we truly believe and understand that, we can accomplish many wonderful things. You will never experience true peace until you come to rely wholly upon the Savior Jesus Christ. I love this work and this gospel. There is no better work than that of salvation. And be it full time, part time, or how ever much time you´ve got, missionary work is for all of us. Never stop sharing the gospel. Never stop sharing your testimony. I love you all so much. Thanks for all your prayers and your advice and your support. This past year and a half has changed my life, and I´ve been able to witness firsthand in my own life and in the lives of others the miracle of the atonement. I´ve been forgiven and made whole from my sins and mistakes and weaknesses, and so can you. And so can everyone else. Never lose hope :) Just keep searching. He loves you and will answer your prayers. 

I´ll see you all soon!

Love, Hermana Sarah Oliphant

Pics

1-3. Bertita´s baptism :)

4. Pizza hut!

5. Hermana Pehrson!

6. Goodbye Nicaragua 

Crazy conference weekend

Hello, Everyone!

This week indeed was crazy. I`ll give a brief rundown.

Tuesday my comp had a meeting for all the leaders in the mission. So I was in Managua on divisions, and guess what area I ended up going to? La 14. My very first area in the mission. It was so amazing to see some old members and old investigators. I showed the new sisters there a couple investigators I had, and one of them accepted a baptismal date! I got to say hi and bye to almost all the people I love there, and it was bittersweet to be back there and helping the other sisters find new investigators :)

Wednesday we had a zone meeting and there was another earthquake...in Momotombo again. Everyone in Nagarote felt it, and the house of the Elders in Momotombo fell down...so there`s that. But we were in Leon and so it wasn`t that strong. And we came back from the meeting so excited to talk to so many people, invite them all to be baptized and hand out Book of Mormons. It was a really good day :)

Thursday was weekly planning. And it was different because a couple sisters in the zone aren`t getting along super well, and they called my comp asking for help, so we had to deal with that. But the rest of the day was pretty normal. We decided in the night time that we were going to be even more exactly obedient, and finally have a normal awesome day, starting with going running in the morning. And that`s where all the craziness starts.

Friday. I wake up early, go to my backpack where my running clothes are at, reach in my hand (remember that I`m still half asleep at this moment) and I feel this giant prick on my ring finger that startles me half to death and knocks me on the floor...five seconds later and it`s still stinging and burning and I`m yelling and I realize it was a scorpion that stung me. I yank my ring off and me and my comp get to work on my backpack. Dumping everything out looking for the culprit. And finally, we found it. A giant, nasty scorpion sleeping calmly inside my running pants. So we shake it outside and kill it. We thought it was all over. And then I start feeling some pain in my lower back, on the left side. It`s the same as a back pain I get after sitting too long in hard chairs, so I figured I`d lay down and it`d go away. As I lay down, my finger swells up and my lips and tongue go numb, and my back pain just spreads. It spreads all the way to my lower stomach area as if I was having normal cramps. But it`s a constant pain that doesn`t subside, and it`s really strong. Both in my back and my abdomen. It`s honestly the worst pain I`ve ever felt in my life. I call the nurse, and she said I might have strained my back in my reaction to the sting. So I wait. Then pain gets worse. I start getting cold sweats, throwing up anything I try to eat, all the while enduring the pain. We had lots of sisters from next door who came over doing everything they could to help me. But nothing worked. Our branch president came over to give me a blessing, and then we go to the emergency room in the health center. They check me out, give me a shot for the pain, and then I wait a bit, and the pain disappeared. Just a little ache in my back. But after 4 hours of almost unbearable pain, it was finally gone, and I felt like skipping, quite honestly. During those hours I had a moment to consider what it would be like for Christ. He suffered all that and more in the garden of Gethsemane. I prayed very fervently that if it be His will, that he`d take the pain away. And after a few hours, he did. I especially got comfort in our branch president`s blessing. That this wouldn`t affect me in my mission, and that it would be a growing experience for me. So as I contact the nurse again, we decide I should head down to the hospital in Managua to see what`s up. She and her husband were down there anyways looking after another sister who was really sick, so we spent the whole afternoon with them. So we`re down there, and in between a urine sample, an ultrasound, and a CAT Scan, and LOTS of waiting, they tell me that I have a...wait for it...

Kidney Stone. That`s completely unrelated to the scorpion sting. So they give me medicine and send me home telling me that it should be out in five days. And I`m still waiting. But it was definitely an interesting experience for me. I learned a lot and have a newfound compassion for those who suffer from chronic pain. Because I definitely would not like to repeat that day.

Saturday was Conference. And after all the sessions, I was sleepy and in a whole bunch of pain, so we ended up staying home and I tried to hold very very still so I wouldn`t start hurting again x3

And yesterday was so great. We all went to conference as a branch, and we all had such great experiences. Because we could only watch it well in Leon, we took a giant bus and stayed the whole day, taking a sack lunch with us. Luis came and also another investigator who we`ve been teachings. Her name is Ninosga, and she brought her niece and her little boy, and I know she had a great time. And later that night there was another crazy lightning storm, the power went out, and we got soaking wet getting to a lesson. But even using cell phone flashlights and candles, the spirit was so strong as we testified about the restoration. I know the Lord needed us in that  house in that moment and not hiding from the storm in our home. 

Today we had a fun zone activity. Making tortas fritas, eating McDonalds, and telling crazy old mission stories. We all bonded and it was a great time, even if we got home a little late :)

I just learned so much from Conference. I hope to truly apply all the things I know I need to do better into my life. The mission has really been a training center for life, and I`m so lucky to be here. I`m strengthening my own dedication and testimony of the gospel by helping others doing it as well, and I know there`s always room for improvement. I invite you all to truly ponder the conference talks that stood out to you and think of one thing you want to do better. I hope you all have a wonderful week. I love you all!

Love, Hermana Oliphant

Pics

1. Our delicious microwave lasagna...and pinolio, a corn and chocolate drink native to Nicaragua :)

2. The scorpion that started it all...sorry that we didn`t take pictures while I was in the hospital

3&4. Our branch eating lunch in between sessions at General Conference

5. Zone activity! Making tortas fritas. Basically fried sweet breads native to Uruguay. There`s an Uruguayan Elder in the zone.

Miracles Siempre :)

Hey, everyone! This week was really great. 

Not just because Luis got baptized...that´s just part of it :)

Our week started off with interviews with President, which are always great. I always feel like he really cares about me personally and wants me to progress. I´ve got so much to learn and I´m always learning from him :)

We´ve had a hard time getting a hold of our investigators, but we keep looking for them. We want them to hear our message :)

We went on divisions this Friday, and, finally, Luis decides that he´s going to be baptized :) Saturday was his birthday, and his friends had planned a giant trip to Granada for the whole weekend. He knew that baptism and church were more important, but he didn´t want to disappoint his friends. But he came to the realization that this was a trial the Lord had given him to test his faith. And he passed :) At about 9:45pm we called him (as he asked us to) and told us that YES! He would get baptized that day.

I decided to keep it a secret from Hermana Knowlton, just to surprise her :) Until the next morning when she got back and we had "An important appointment with Luis". She was so nervous, but then so relieved when he told her that he´d be baptized.

And so he was :) He was so nervous at first but afterward, he was smiling and taking pictures of everything. And of course we sang to him because it´s his birthday :) He´s giving up so much to be a member, he´s even having problems with his job. But he´s passing the tests with flying colors and I know he´ll keep growing spiritually.

We also watched the Women´s session of general conference. It was so beautiful. I loved every single bit of it and can´t wait for this weekend :)

And then there was a crazy storm and the power went out. And we walked home for 20 minutes in literally pitch black darkness. The only light we had were the lightning bolts every now and then, haha.

And yesterday we had two fabulous lessons. One on the temple with Adriana and her boyfriend and their family, which was great for her to learn more about the temple, to give her an idea of where she should get married, and also for the family, to remind them of their ultimate goal, to be sealed in the temple.

The other lesson was with a new investigator family. They weren´t so positive until we taught lesson 1, the Restoration. They understood everything perfectly. They had so many questions, and when we testified about Joseph Smith and the first vision, something changed in the mom´s eyes. I know the kids are all curious, but the mom was truly touched, and they all committed to reading the Book of Mormon. I´m so excited to see how they progress in the gospel :D

Alright, time to hop off now. I love you all and hope you have a great week! Don´t forget to prepare spiritually for General Conference, and then have some paper and a pen handy! You´ll get so much out of it that way :)

Love, Hermana Oliphant

Fotos:

1. Our baptism set up :) The pila just barely got painted and they added stairs. "I knew they did it just for me!" - Luis

2. Taking selfies on a setting that gives us flawless skin...I like it

3. Before the baptism...he was kind of nervous

4-6. After when he was feeling better :)

Bautismos y Carpinterìa (Baptisms and Carpentry)

[Comment from Mom: Last week the missionary email system had a massive glitch, and thousands of emails home never made it. This is last week's letter that Sarah did send, but I only received yesterday.]
Hey guys!

This week was pretty normal. We did have some interesting intercambios this week. Our zone and the zone right next to us had divisions amongst all of us! I ended up staying in my area (that I barely know) with Hermana Morales, who just barely got to the mission field two weeks ago. It was kind of interesting, training for a day. Talking to her brought back so many memories of when I just started (which feels like yesterday...oh dear). She`s the cutest. We worked hard together, and it was just a great day overall.

Jose' Before baptism

dressed for baptism

After baptism with the member family that introduced Jose' to the gospel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Then on Saturday...we had a baptism! His name is Josè, he`s 17, and he was a reference. He works for the family business (making pupusas) of a member in the ward. He`s also really good friends with her two oldest kids. Together with their help, he readily accepted the gospel (starting just a couple weeks before I got here) and made the decision to be baptized. He`s already talking about a mission! It`s been such a privilege to be a part of his growing testimony. But I know for sure I didn`t really do much. The Spirit and this amazing family brought the gospel to this great kid, and I was just there to teach him the principles and invite him to act. He was so shy throughout the whole process...hates pictures, and the idea of being confirmed in front of everyone scared the bejeebies out of him, but he did it. I`m so happy for him and can`t wait to see his progress :)

Earlier on Saturday, we decided to help this lady carry large wood slabs into her house...and she almost didn`t let us, but we forced her :) And then we go out in to the back, and it`s a carpentry. We ask if we can help them with the work, and they gladly oblige. I ended up sweeping, and we both sanded a bed frame. It was super random, but it was so fun meeting all the people who live there and talking to them and getting to know them. Who knows, maybe one day they`ll get baptized ;) We`re going to go back this Wednesday to sweep again, haha. But this time to leave a message as well. 

Sanding a headboard

 

In my BoM study this week, I found some great scriptures that really stood out to me in 2 Nephi.

Ch. 8
3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
 24 Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
 25 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

Ch. 9
18 But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel,they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever.

 19 O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he delivereth his saints from that awful monster the devil, and death, and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.

I know the Lord WILL comfort Zion. But for us to be comforted by the atonement of the Savior, we need to become a part of Zion. It`s not a location, but a people. The people of the Lord. I know this gospel is so true, and we`re all so blessed to be a part of it. I hope you all have a great week! :)

Love, Hermana Oliphant