HE IS RISEN!

So, it was semana santa. yes, so everyone decided to observe this holy week with reverence by going to to beach and getting...their drink on. So Minerva was like a ghost town. Friday there was absolutely nobody out, and friday night my companion and i ran hom because we felt a little uncomfortable being hte only ones outside.

Friday we went to a funeral, and i started thinking about life again. yes, i got something out of it. my companions feet were tired so she wanted to stay a while, and i fiured, well, if we're going to be here, i guess ill work. so i hope this wasn't messed up, but i started contacting the people at the funeral. started out with some small tal, askign about their favorite memories they had with the deceased sister, and then, BAM! I talked about the plan of salvacion! Well, what so you know, it was a hit! funerals... it may not look like it, but its a great place to save some souls. 

We got rained on the other day. it felt good. 

Im sorry, i feel like i dont have much to ssay but i know a ton of things happened this week. 

Today we went and did a service activity. my job, along with E'Saavedra, E'Sepeda, Y H'Varela, was to move rocks into a wheel barrel. Yes, so, i felt like i was in prison. it was fun.

It didnt feellike easter much. i was a little sad. i love easter, and i felt like we were rejected a lot. anyway, it was a good week still.

NOW I REMEMBER! Our investigadores put cockraoches in our food. i didnt know until after, and i understand why our food tasted sooo cruncy and gross. it was their kids. TRAVIESOS. the parents didnt know. i understand why the kids were laughing and watching me eat as i downed this tasty treat. YEP! Hey, at least it didnt have gluten!

Im sorry, i should write down what i want to say.

Anyway, i hope you have a good week!

Love always,

 Hermana Ramirez

splashing around in some green water

Dad,

 THIS WEEK WAS SO SWEET!

okay, ill cut to the good stuff. WE BAPTIZED HERMANITA K! yes, she was baptized saturday. What a blessing it was to be able to work with her family, and to keep working with her family. Her fmaily was inactive, and we brought the mother back to church, and realized she was over eight years old, so we prepared her for baptism. Her brother like us, but isnt keen on the idea of coming back to church, well, that was until hermanita K assigned him to say the closing prayer at her baptism. Well, he came to the baptism and then came to church on sundya! It was amazing! I love working for the LORD.

oh, the font water was green. i dont know why, but this is guatechula... the primary kids came to the baptism and wanted to play, and splashed their feet inthe green water.

  Dad, i really love being a missionary. The time goes too fast. I am informed that i go home in six month now, and oh my gosh. Dad, the time goes too fast.

   We also felt pretty used yesterday... used by the LORD! Well, we went looking for this family that found the chapel sunday morning, but missed the services, so they asked us to come back that night to htier house and teach them. I never taught them, theyre knew to the area. Well, we went to their house last nigh, and i was hesitant to go in. the dad seemed a little... under the influence, and it ws dark. well, my comp kept pushing me to go in... well, WE WENT IN. we talked, then sang, then prayed, and after we prayed and i started to tech the plan of salvacion, the sister burst into tears saying she knew that God had sent us. then mientras la leccion, i was talking about the atonement, and the other sister started crying.  I dont know why, i think my voice was so bad they just cried... no, the Spirit was so strong, we ended the lesson with inviting them to baptism. May 10th is their day! They just cried when we left and were so grateful!

  I loved it!

I am so sorry, i dont have time to write more!

I love you!

Remember the Atonement this week... and EVERY DAY.

I know that Christ lives.

I love you Dad!

Love,

 Hermana Ramirez 

ps. in that second picture, find the uninvited guest in my food cabinate. yes, there are cucaracha in guatechula...mala.

Fruit snacks and fiber bars! conferencia general!!!!!

Pops,

  how are ya? Are you enjoying life, and all the food options you have here in america? I sure hope you are! I am so hungry right now, and all i can think about is making sausage and peppers. I told one of the elders that, and they asked me to say sausage again with my accent. WHAT ACCENT?

 Wehad entrevistas Friday! It was great. President and Hermana Watts always bring oreos for us because President Watts says the oreos sold here are fake, not tha same. so they always bring boxes of oreaos, but unfortunately... oroes contiene gluten. lame right? so, darling hermana Watts brougth me fruit snacks, and these super chocolaty fiber bars. of my gosh, it was like a candy bar, so good. it was good that she gave me just one, because if i had a box, i would probably eat them all and thats not good because... they're fier bars. yep, so, it was a good thing.

 Meeting with President is always a good thing. He helped me a lot. I feel like i can be very honest with him, and he helps me. Also, Hermana Watts always has question she asks us, and she asked what do i think that she thinks of me. i think she saw a side of me that she wasnt used to. she tried to make me feel better, and she looked me int he eyes and straight up told me that she loves me. she told me how she is so proud of me, and that meant a lot to me. To hear hermana Watts tel me she is proud of me, that made me feel so good. She told me a bunch of other good things, and i felt like i wanted to cry. I really love Hermana Watts.Sometimes i feel all this pressure to be better abd better, and i have faults. i am a sinner like all of us here on earth, and i have faults. Sometimes i get overwhelmed because i see how i can be better as a missionary, as a member, as a companion, how i cdan be better in speaking spanish, the way i look, and many other things. her words really hit deep. i love Hermana Watts.
 

 GENERAL CONFERENCE WAS AWESOME. I loved how President Monson closed his talk. It was like he was praying at the end. How powerful! I really enjoyed the talk by Linda Reeves. Her talk hit on so many topics, and i loved it! Elder Hollands talk was awesome. Dont worry, what happened to those missionaries hasnt happened to me.. yet. but hey, i did get spit on more than once, i think about foru different times. yeah, but its better than mashed potatoes!

  So we have this girl we're teaching. She lives with this sister who is less active, but is coming back to church. well, this girl is the girlfriend of the memebrs son. yes, she lives with the family, but.. yeah, its a weird situation. anyway, the girl has a baptism date set, for the 26th. this week, we visited her, and friday when we passed by again, she broke the ice and straight up sadi " i dont feel ready to be baptized." umm, well yeah, thats cuz you're not. her fecha is for the 26th, and it was the 4th, falta mas de 20 dias, claro que uno no sentiria lista. well, the member cuts in ansd is like "yeah, i told her i dont think she is ready. Elders (talking to us) teacher her more." whoa, wait, what?I feel really sad becasue they seem to be busy when we come to appointments at their house, or we'll come, and well be sitting in their living room waiting for 40 minutes for everyone to come out, and we have other appointments. well, i felt really sad to hear this. we explained to the girl how she definately needs to learn more, and right now, at that monent, surely she wasnt ready. well, she saidshe doesnt know who joseph smith was, and we taught her twice about it. so i really hope that through our prayers and her eforts, she can prepare herself. i hope she can prepare herself, becausei know that being baptized will bless her life now, and for eternity. I love her, and i want these blessing for her!
 

  so, i made corn bread from yellow corn this week. i like it, it was good!
 

it's getting really hot now. i literally feel my skin quemando en el sol. i love getting tan. dont worry, ill come home all dark like a black bean.

hey, take care dad! I love you!

keep on going!

Love always,

 Hermana Ramirez

here are some pictures of all of us gringos mirando conferencia general en ingles.

the other pic is of a banana tree. yes, this was at a memembers house. SWEET!

ps. my friend Leslie got her misison call to GEORGIA! i love her and am so  proud of her!!!!!!!!!

Dad,

felicidades con su experiencia en el Temple del Senor. Le felicito, porque, yo se que ahora, usted tenga una nueva vista a las cosas sagradas y del Temple del Senor. Gracias por ser digno a entrar y hacer convenios sagrados.

 Esta semana fue bien, nada especial paso en mi area. Last night we met with some investigadores, and one of them explained to us his thgouht of religions. he said that religions are like languages, and that languages are different in various parts of the world, and religions as well. He said that religions were created according to the needs of the people, and that wehn people needed something to change,they woudl change of creat their own religion. He concluded withthe fact that he hopes that we can all unite, and be one, no importa su religion. Well, i respected his thought, and i spent my night thinking a lot about what he said. I guess it all comes back to this: what are our needs? We need a way to be happy; we need laws and commandments and self accountability or else we would have anarchistic societies; we need family structure or else there isn't a proper way to teach and raise children and the future generations; we need love, ect. I read all of these things and the Gospel  of Jesuchristo offers us all of these things.

 you asked what you could help me with back home? Well, if you could look into the fafsa stuff again, i cont remember if it is too late, but look into the loans again. I might go back to school right when i get home. also, some utah state stuff about the gpa, act/sat scores i need to get in. im not sure why, but tuah state has poped into my mind a bit while ive been out here. but, i havent thgouth too much about it, so i dont know. i dont really think about it too much, so its not fo sho.

  grandma sent me a letter with TONS of picture of the family through the years. i found a picture of Nellie! Okay, i dont know if i ever told you about a very special experience i had when i did the sealing work for nellie in the Temple. Well, i dont want to go too into detail, but ill explain later. well, i found a picture of Nellie and i am so happy to finally have a picture of her. So now im just waiting on Angel's letter about our family history and maybe even some pics.

  A sister told us about how her son had a dog when he was young, and she hated the dog, so she paid a bolito to go take it farout and lose it. well, the dog came back, and she said the dog was outside with a pack of dogs, and stopped and just stared at her. anyway, she kept it a secret for her kids for like 20 years, but then she toldus. anyway, im not sure why i found this story interesting, but, yeah. haha

  Hey, its getting super hot here. i finally broke out some of my clothes from Puerto Barrios, yep, its hot. it was 35C the other day.

Take care!

I love you!

Love,
 Hermana Ramirez

 

Blessings, blessings, blessings for all!

Hey Pops,

  I think all these elderes here are thinking that i am going to die. I read your letter, and o man, I can't believe that you're going to the Temple this Saturday! En las palabras de lo que Elder Gonzalez medijo que yo debo decirte "quiero papi, estoy muy orgullosa de it." El le manda felicitaciones!

  This week! wow, i learned a lot. I'll be honest, it was a little rough. I felt a little sick thursday and friday, and I got a letter just in time. I received a letter from Hermana Hutchins, (mi hija!) who i trained in Puerto Barrios. She is one of the best people i have been privelaged to know. Also, i believe she has a blog... anyway, she wrote me about a month ago, and i just got the two letters. anyway, they helped me a ton. I wont go totally into why, its one of those things ill telly ou after the mission, but for the record... I am feeling more love for my companion. I have lreaned that people are products of their environment until they decide to change themselves (good or bad).

This is something that was like... no duh, but i really understood it more. I lived away from you and Mom for a while in Rexburg, and so i grew away a bit. I learned about other people and how thay are. I also feel like i wasnt inthe house much when i did live at home. With church activities and sercives, friends, running, work, ect. i wasnt at home all the time. i learned how i can be who i wanted to be. I am grateful for that time because i learned a lot. For those that have never lived away from home, and always were guided by their parents, probably havent been giventhe same opportunity. Dad, I feel liek people liek that are usually just like their parents, unless they choose to willingly be different than them. I have found more love for my companion and her family. I am grateful for the fact that Mom always showed her love for us. I am happy that i have been able to become likeher now. I am grateful for that because when I feel unloved or forgotten, thats okay. People are products of their envrionments and the mission is a place to grow. Anyway, i love the Lord!

   I have kept reading Revelation, and i rememebred how much i used to have fear for the Second Coming of Christ. I remember how i used to feel from the way we were taught, before we came to know the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I used to be afraid, and as i was reading revelation, i coudlnt help but think about why i should or shouldnt have fear now. I just thought about how i know if i am "saved" or not. I am proud to say that I have been baptized by someone who holds the Priesthood authority of God. I continue to work to live my life in accordance with the commandments of God. I remeber the Lord and His sacrifice by renewing the covenants I had made by participando en la santa cena. I know i am not perfect, and i have many faults, but i have faith in the Lord and i try to follow His ways so that i can return to Him at the last day. I know the Book of Mormon is true because it testifies of Christ and His gospel.  Anyway, i know the Lord provides a way for us to return to Him, and I know He has sent me here to share this knowledge con la gente de Guatemala. I am so grateful.

   We have been very blessed to have been able a poner dos fechas bautismales con dos hijas de Dios este semana pasada. Pues, ayer... anoche, las pusimos. One of the girls is nine, and the other girl is 15. theyre not from the same famiy or anything like that. anyway, we feel so blessed. Sometimes i lose faith. Its true, i dont always thinks about it either. But when I fail to invite people to be baptized by someone who holds the priesthood authority of God, wehn I fail to invite people to make covenants with God and be washed of their sins, i am disrespecting this sacred calling that I have. About two weeks ago, Elder Ochoa came to visit us and told us to not be afraid to invite people to be baptized. anyway, i figured, that when i fail to invite, i am denying my testimony of baptism, and i am disrespecting my calling here as a missionary. Well, i got over my temor, and i... poped the question. Now we have two sisters that are going to be baptized. We are working and praying that they continue to prepare for this day.

   Are you inviting Elder Higbee or Fragiacomo to go to the Temple with you this Saturday? Tell the missionaries there if you want them to come!

  I love you dad!

Keep working!

With love,

 Hermana Ramirez

here is a view from our house. i tried to do the panoramic pic, but im... confused. anyway, yeah!

Minerva is the bomb!!!

Dad, 

how the heck are ya?

  Yep, it's st.patties day, and i am happy to be here and be amongst the guatemaltecos who wont be drinking... anymore than the norm today. unlike NY, who is probably already... half in the bag. Good luck my dear state, good luck in waking up tomorrow... Some people are irish; some people aren't irish. who cares,  i'm irish and thats cool, but im mormon too, so this holiday doesnt apply to me anymore.

  Well Pops, this week was chilerisimo! oh, first off, i dont have transfers. it is transfers week, and i aint leavin!

   Hey, remember the inactive sister that came back to church, Hermana T? Remember her future missionary son? Well... HER SON FILLED OUT HIS MISSION PAPERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! What is this amazing feeling of joy? puchica, dad, this work is amazing. i love being a missionary. sometimes its hard, pero vale le pena. 

  Hey, pleaso let the ward know that i am NOT in the south mission. I still get letters sent there. Forget the south, forget it, throw it out the window, im inthe EAST. make sure that thing ( where ever the newburgh peeps are getting my address from) changes to the East mission. 

  Oh, go watch that video from Elder Nelson Man's Heart shall fail them. i watched that a ton before my missoin, and i watched last night, dang. it was good i didnt have mascara onyesturday, because those tears went rollin. its so good that video, and the elder holland one. yeah, he should have just got a new car. 

  we met these awesome guys that play guitar, and theyre evangelicals. and gues what, they were playing dc talk, and they sing in english. i was like, AHHH! DC TALK! i asked them if they know about sonicflood, and they said no. me hert broke a bit. anyway, they like jars of clay. i love these guys, theyre so talented. they should totally seguir el ejemplo de Jesucristo y al ser bautizado por algien que posee la autoridad de Dios. yep, they should. 

  I was reading in Revelations 7.13-17, and i just thought about how marvelous it is that we have the proxy work in the Temple. what a great blessing it is to know that everyone gets the chance to hear and accept the Gospel. Our Heavenly Father is so merciful! He just loves us so much, and for that He sent His Son.

  Im still reading the miracle of forgiveness, and its starting to hurt a bit, not a lot, bit just a smidge. 

  Okay, i am so grateful to be here in Minerva for another transfer! I really love this area, and we are really seeing a copious amount of blessings, like a plethora just layed out in front of us. so were working heard. 

  I love you dad! 

kepp going!

love, 

Hermana Ramirez 

"i was the kind of kid that always wondered what bark was made our of on a tree." -Hansel

the pic is of the elders playing jenga. elder Sepeda was putting the block in, but literally one second after, the whole thing fell. you can see the first piece falling.

New House, the Temple

Dad,

  I feel like this letter you sent me came at the perfect time! I am so proud of you Dad! I am really really really proud of you! Enserio, yo no se si yo puedo expressar como siento yo de estas buenas noticias. march 29th will be so awesome, i hope you make the most of this day as you enter the Temple. I honestly cannot believ you have a date set for your Endowment. I seriously am so proud of you!
  

Dad, today we went to the Temple. That is why i didnt write you monday, because we changed our p day to today. We went to the Temple, and I saw the new presentation! honestly, it looked neat, and the technology is cool, but... anyway - we can talk about it after... in like, October. Dad, i had such a great time in the Temple today! I hadnt been since May! I will admit, i had a good Celestial room cry, it was nice. i really felt the Spirit, and someitmes tears come in. I couldnt help but think of you and mom, the whole family, and it just really tried my hope, but i know we will all enter the Temple together as a family one day. I know.

Hey! We got our new house! We moved out of our old house, and quit love-shacking with the other sisters from lo de fuentes, and we moved into our new house! It is huge! Two stories, with a walk up roof and we hang our clothes to dry up there, but my comp doesnt like it up there on the roof. I love it because you can see the whole capital, and its like getting away for a little while. "up on the roooof"

Im an english teacher! I love teaching English Dad! I have the class learning "I am a child of God" in english, y mucha gente llega! I get really into teaching, and elder Sepeda y Elder Saavedra are sit in on our classes if investigdores llegan. pues, saavedra me dijo que ellos pienses que yo debo ser una maestra... psshhht! yeah right. anyway, its fun teaching english!

Dad, this less active sister that came back to church. We reactivated her! And now... get ready, but her inactive son... ACTIVE! but hay algo mas,.... get ready.... HE WANTS TO SERVE AMISSION! I feel like my labors as a missionary are really showing fruits! Its amazing! We didnt have anyone to acompany us Sunday, and we ate lunch at his grandmas house, and my comp was like... what do we do, we dont have a member with us.. and i was like WAIT! Daniel! get ovr here, come with us, lets go save some souls! guess hwat, he came with us! I really love the way the Gospel chages people when they let it. I saw him yesterday, and when he told me the mission news, i shared my testimony with him, and how everything around me felt like it was falling apart when i started getting ready for my missin, but the Lord had his hand on my back pushing me through. He cried! I love this work! yo amo la obra, yo amo el Senor, y yo se que no es facil a trabajar en la obra del Senor porque siempre hay pruebas, pero El nos apoya.

 Dad, i just want to tell you how much I love the Lord. I have gone through such rough parts of my mission, and the times that i had sat on the cement floor of my apartment crying, and know that i wasnt the only one there, but the Lord was there reaching his hand out to me. The times where i have felt, and sometimes do feel, very alone, or forgotten, i know, withour a doubt, that the Lord is right there with me. I have been filled with His Spirit so much these past few weeks. Some morning i wake up and i am just filled with this joy in my heart, and full of love. I will be honest and tell you that things come through the day, problems, difficult people, and some of that joy disappears, or hides, but i know that He is always with me. That song i sang when we went to those evangelical churches many years ago, This little light of mine. It says not to hide the light under a bushel, or to let satan blow it out, or to hide it. Thats how it is, we cant hide it. I love the Lord, and i feel like i know Him better than i did before. I love the restored Gospel.

yo Pops, the other morning i woke up (in our new house!) and i heard that song by Jay Z and Alicia Keys, oh mannn. i thought of how much better new york is than idaho, and i killed a cockroach.

anyway, i love you!

Keep on trucking!

I love you dad!

Hey, enjoy watching the news!

Love,
 Hermana Ramirez