Baptism Blue!

~ Sent Dec.15th T..... and Hna. N. are abreviations ~ 

Hola everyone!

I have so much to write about, but today was transfers so I have seriously no time and a killer head ache.

Hna B. has left me to head of to El Monte where she will actually be companions with one of my friends from the CCM. My new companion is actually the trainer of my CCM companion which is way fun. Her name is Hna N.  and she is so fun. I'm really excited to work with her. 

We're kind of going to be figuring everything out together though. When I first came into the mission I was in the area 'Covina roam' which meant we covered all of the Ward of Covina which includes three cities. When we were in a trio we were covering 'Covina roam' and 'Covina south', which meant we had twice as many people to visit which was awesome and super busy. This transfer I have officially been reassigned to 'Covina south', and while I've been working in this area a bit, I don't actually know it or the investigators here very well. Thus we are going to be figuring this out together. I think it'll be fun and cool to kind of start out fresh. There aren't enough Hermanas now for all of the areas they were covering before so the 'Covina roam' was closed down. I'm still in the same Ward which is super nice, but I still get the experience of a new area which is also super nice. 

Because of the area change I'll be staying in this apartment instead of going back to live with the English sisters. It was really hard to tell them we weren't moving back in with them because we love them so much and we had a lot of fun together. But it's all good because this Saturday is the mission Christmas party so we'll all see each other soon anyway. 

Okay enough of that. Now for the cool stuff. This week my mind has just been blown by how awesome it is to serve a mission. Don't get me wrong, it's the hardest thing I have ever done. But it's also easily the best thing I've ever done. I get to help people make real changes in their lives. For some reason God blessed me with the humbling opportunity to bring these people hope and help them leave behind their worries and mistakes.

This week we had our very first baptism. T..... has been such an example to me and in every lesson I felt like she was teaching us. She was so prepared for this gospel. When we told her that in a year she could go to the temple and make more covenants with her Heavenly Father she started crying out of happiness. She bore her testimony after she was baptized and it was so powerful. We are going to start working with her family and I couldn't be more excited. President Villanueva and his family came to the baptism and he wants to come on a lesson us this week, so we're excited for that too.

I love you all so much! I'll try to write better next week!

Hermana Hamilton

Buenos días!

~ Sent Dec. 8th ~

¡Buenos días!

I wish I had more time to write, but today we learned how to make papusas! They are delicious and I can't wait to make them when I come home (don't worry Torie, I promise I'll teach you).

Yet another update on the companion situation. This past Friday we dropped Hna R. at the airport so she can go home for a few months to figure out a few health issues. It broke my heart to watch her go. We had less than 24 hours notice that she was leaving. Being in a trio was seriously the most fun I've had on my mission and I learned so much about how to be a good missionary. I am so thankful for the experiences I was able to have with both her and Hna B. For now Hna B. and I are covering 2 areas at once. We have two phones, two area books, and a lot of people to visit. It's wonderful because we are never in short supply of work. It's hard because we have to prioritize and we can't make it to everyone. Next week however, is transfers and no one really knows what is going to happen. There are a million possibilities, but we'll just have to wait and see.

We also had a big service project this week. 56 missionaries volunteered to help staff a Christmas parade! It was so much fun. We worked crowd control and got to watch the parade! It was a lot of fun and very cool to see the whole community come out and celebrate. 

It's starting to feel like the Christmas season. Its weird because I'm still wearing short sleeves and it doesn't feel like winter, but I feel like this season people are becoming more generous and that is what makes it feel like Christmas. I really think we will see miracles this month. 

One miracle is coming next week! Our investigator T.... will be baptized this Sunday the 14. We had the great blessing to go with her to the temple visitors center this past week. She is so incredibly prepared to become a member of this gospel. When we first invited her to be baptized we invited her to make it her goal and she replied 'that may be your goal for me, but my goal is to go to the temple and be sealed!' How golden can you get?! She is the sweetest and most charitable person I have ever met and I am so excited for her. I can't wait to let you all know how it goes.

I have a firm testimony that God really does prepare people to receive this gospel. He sends us to find those who are in need of the atonement and who are ready to accept it. There is no pain it can not heal and no wrong it cannot correct. If you have some time read Alma 7:11-13 and just ponder on his sacrifice. Something we've been having people do is think about all that our savior has given them and to then think of what they can give him this Christmas. It can be anything from promising to be kind to your sibling to committing to quit a bad habit.

I love you all and hope you're all having a great day!

Hermana Hamilton

Hola!

~Sent on Dec. 1st~


Hola!

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We had dinner with our Ward mission leader
and his family. The food was amazing and they had pecan pie which is
my absolute favorite so I was happy. We spent most of our time
listening to different members of the family tell stories from their
missions. It was really interesting to hear their experiences. After
dinner we went and visited a few elderly investigators we are working
with. We had a really powerful lesson with them where a formerly
atheist man expressed that he is beginning to have faith in God. It
was also really nice to visit them on a holiday when they couldn't be
with their families.

On Saturday we did service at a wedding reception at the church. It
was beautiful. The whole ceiling was draped in white fabric and white
lights. It was super hard to be able to hear music and not be able to
dance. I have to say Latino weddings are a lot of fun and super
lively. We spent the evening in the kitchen washing dishes, but they
gave us food and cake and we got to watch their first dance so it was
a pretty awesome evening.

On Sunday we, as a district, taught the third hour of church. We
taught about how to use the Internet for missionary work and
introduced the 'Él Es La Dádiva' initiative (He Is The Gift  for all
yall English speakers). The church is spreading this message of Christ
through all different kinds of media. There is a billboard in time
square, a video on YouTube, the hashtag "SharetheGift", and on Dec 7
the main ad bar on YouTube will be about this message. The video is so
beautiful. We've already shared it with so many people and I can't
wait to show everyone. I highly recommend it. Just go check out
christmas.mormon.org

I'm running out of time, but I love you all. Have a wonderful week!
Hermana Hamilton