Bowling on Pday

Pday

This week was honestly a week of miracles -- Heavenly Father loves us all so much! There is this old man in our area that has read the entire Book of Mormon, Principles of the Gospel and the book about Gordon B. Hinckley. He has like a year coming to church but never wanted to get baptized because he is catholic. We hadn't visited him for the whole transfer because he didn't want anything to do with the church. Long story short, Hermana Morales and I decided just to go visit him and we ended up having a lesson with him, inviting him to be baptized....AND HES GETTING BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY!!! It was the coolest experience to see how the Lord prepares and helps us in the work. We felt the need to visit him and NOW he's getting baptized THIS week....the work is amazing here:)

We're also working with two sisters that are less actives and we're teaching one sister's husband and the other's boyfriend. We are hoping that both of them will get baptized in the month of July!! We're also teaching a man named Carlos that the Hermanas were teaching before but he never read the Book of Mormon or prayed. When we had our lesson with him he read the Book of Mormon and he came to church this past week! He's going to an activity with the YSA ward this coming week and we're super pumped for him!!! We think he also will be getting baptized!

It has just been so amazing to see how this area has changed with lots of faith, prayers, and the Lord helping us -- and the members are helping a ton! Have I ever mentioned that I love to be a missionary??????!!! BECAUSE I DO!!!

Also the worlds SADDEST STORY!!!!! Hermana Ralph and Hermana Taylor were in MY AREA and I didn't get to see them! The Hermanas that they are training had to go to Guatemala City for their visas so they stayed the night with one of our Hermanas. We ALWAYS call the Hermanas every night to see how they're doing and everything, and OF COURSE we had intercambios this day so I went out and didn't have the phone so I didn't get to talk with them!! I was so bummed when Hermana Morales told me, BUT, I know one of these days we'll at least be in a zone together!!!

Here's a picture from my good-bye when I left Malacatan

This past week I have been thinking a lot about Jesus and how much love He has for us. I love Him so much and I'm grateful for everything that He did for us. I was reading in Matthew 14, right after he had found out that his friend, John the Baptist had been killed and went to help other people. The scriptures say that He had compassion to help them. How often are we stuck thinking of ourselves and our own personal problems? But Christ, when I'm sure He was VERY sad, still thought of others and helped them. He is the ultimate example of everything and I want to be more like him everyday. I love to be a missionary and be here in Guatemala. This is such a special place and it's amazing to see all the miracles that God does and helps us to achieve. I love my Savior and know that He lives.

Love you all, and happy birthday to my big sis SYD!!

Love, the Guatemalan missionary....HERMANA BRACHA​

The earthquake was crazy!!

My whole bed was shaking and the mirror fell down and shattered into like a bazillion pieces, but other than that we were fine. It was big, but not THAT big. Also, a big HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO THE BEST DAD IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD! hope it was good!!

Orlando's Baptism (He's in the middle)

Orlando got baptized!!! He was so happy and shaking hands with everyone and just ugh!! He is too cute and is so excited because he's going to get a calling this coming week. He also asked us if he could be a missionary to help other people like how we helped him. He wanted to know what he needed to do in order to get a nametag. Sadly, he's like 60 and not married so we had to explain to him that he can't. But he's going to be a missionary in the ward we think because he's so awesome!

We have this kid named Andy who is going to get baptized this coming Saturday and he's a stud. The only thing that stinks is that his family is really tough and are hard on him, but now we're trying to work with them too on him getting baptized:) So we'll see what happens!

Multizone Conference

I love to be a missionary! I was thinking a lot about a quote my dad sent us this past week from Howard W. Hunter that says, "If our lives and our faith are centered on Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing can ever go permanently wrong, on the other hand, if our lives are not centered on the Savior and his teachings, no other success can ever go permanently right". I hope that everyone of you have your life and faith centered on Christ so that He can help you in every situation that life brings. He is the light and the life of this world. I love my savior and forever will be a follower of Him. I love sharing this restored gospel with the people of Guatemala.

Me and Hermana Morales

Happy week!

Love you all,

Hermana Bracha

Hola!

Sorry no pics this week, I have been crazy busy and it rains every day. I don't want to carry my camera around because it's already ruined and I don't want it to completely break. 

SO MANY MIRACLES HAPPENED THIS WEEK!!! I can't remember how much I said about the 16 year old girl named Deysi from Malacatan that I tried my whole time there trying to get permission from her mom for her to get baptized and the mom just kept saying no no no no no!! WELL... drum roll....she got baptized this past week! In the multizone conference I got a letter from Hermana Jimenez (who I love and miss dearly) with a picture from the baptism. I was bauling, hahahah, I don't think I had cried as hard as that in the mission yet, but it was the best moment to see her with her grandma and her aunt! aww, my heart was so happy. I also got the update that Sharon is going to church regularly and Edbin and Henry are the counselors in the young men's program. and Alida is secretaria de la sociedad de soccorro. Everyone is doing so good there!!!

We're super excited because this coming week Orlando and Andy are going to get baptized! And it's awesome because Orlando is learning, growing, and changing so much!!  He has so many questions because the church he went to before was SO corrupt! It's sad, but I'm happy because he is SO happy and excited for his baptism. His life is sad because every family member of his has past away and he lives alone, but the church has filled this empty whole in his heart (in his words) and he is just so happy and loves to know that the church is true! The work is going really good in my area, we have a couple of other people that are positive, but no families! I want to find and help families:)! but I know that the time will come when it comes!

I loved this past week because we had two intercambios and the multizone so it went by SO fast, but it was good and God helped us so much because we were hardly in the area, but the members and everyone is helping us a ton. I LOVE TO BE A MISSIONARY! The funny thing that happened is that I had a really bad allergic reaction but we don't know why!!! My whole face just turned really red and I had a ton of bumps and like a rash all over my body, but then it went away:) So I'm totally fine. I just carry around an epipen, but don't worry, I'm happy and healthy:) I like the area and my comp is awesome, the mission is amazing and I love everything that i do. 

In the multizone this week Presidente said something that really made me think "We don't always try to do bad things, but we do bad things when we neglect to do the good".. I was thinking about how true it is. There are so many times when we are focused on ourselves rather than on helping other people, or going to make visits. I really like this phrase. I love this church and I know that its true. I love the gospel and ALSO know that it's true. Every time that I get to share my testimony about my savior Jesus Christ I feel my testimony grow and grow, and the love, respect, and appreciation that I have for him also grows.

I love you all and wish a HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO MY COOL CAT DAD!!!! Love you dad!! Also...... Wednesday I hit 9 months! So crazy I'm already in the middle, everyone is telling me that "I'm already dead, and basically going home".... UHHH NO PLEASE! I still have 9 months thank you very much:)

Love you all! happy week!!!! 

Hermana Bracha

This week...woah!

Me and Hermana Morales

This week was crazy but God is so good and He is blessing us so much!! We had a baptism, Dina! This little girl is 11 and her WHOLE family are members, but she just hasn't wanted to get baptized. They never knew why, but she just didn't want to do it! So we went to talk to her and taught her about the Gift of the Holy Ghost and how he can be with us always to help us and she said, "Okay, sounds good, I want to do it then." hahah! We were shocked and the whole family too! It was so cool because her dad, who had been a little bit less active, was able to baptize her and now they are planning on getting sealed in the temple in the next coming months!!! WAHOOO, the church is true!

                                           Dina's Baptism

So there's a new rule in the mission, that anyone that is more than an hour away from the temple can't go...so, I won't be going to the temple for my half way mark. BUMMER!! But it also made me reflect and think a ton on the fact that they are putting so much urgency in everything that we do that they aren't even giving US time to go to the temple. The mission is all about the urgency right now that we need to find ALL the people that are prepared for the gospel! But it's good.. I just keep thinking about how awesome it's going to be when I go to the temple for the first time here in Xela with my family Garcia and Ruiz when they get sealed in the temple!! I love it. and.... you knew it was coming, I LOVE TO BE A MISSIONARY!

God is blessing us so much right now in the area finding people that are in need of this gospel! This man and his wife named Almilkar and Aida, they were going to get married and baptized like 8 years ago but something happened so they didn't. Now they are married and just are looking for a good church when we showed up at the house! The husband has a baptism date for the 24th and the wife is praying about this day too:) I love it! I love missionary work! This adorable lady, Hermana AIDA, she always calls me muñeca ... which is like doll. She won't call me Hermana Bracha, only muñeca because she thinks I look like one. haha

This week I have to give my first workshop in the multizone and I'm SO nervous because of two zones and a ton of missionaries, and Spanish! haha. But it's going to be good. Hermana Morales is the freaking best. It's like Presidente knows I love Hermanas from Mexico because I have had 3 companions now from Mexico and there's another sister that is from Mexico and she's my fave!

P-day on the coast

There's a verse in Mathew 6:21 that I have been thinking about this whole week. Where we have our treasure put is where our heart is.. its something like that! haha, right now I actually can't remember it word for word, but my point is that where we have our thoughts, words, and actions is what we love! God knows the desires and actions of our hears and minds, but we must show our efforts as well. Some days I come home SO tired and just want to sleep, but there are other things to do, other Hermanas to call and lessons to plan. Sometimes I think about what all the pioneers went through and the apostles in starting the church again from scratch. How tired they must have been and frustrated from all the persecution that they had, but they NEVER gave up, well some people died, but the church continued, they continued, because it's the truth.

I love this gospel and this church with all my heart. I love missionary work, I love seeing changes in other people. I know that this is the truth and I hope that one day everyone can know it like I know it!

Love you all and hope that everyone has a good week!

Love, Hermana Bracha...and my favorite spider .