Tue, May 19, 2015 PUT YOUR SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL! (This letter was received on MAY 19th, 2015 because of a Canadian holiday. The libraries were closed where they use the computers to write emails.)

         Here is a description of the Canadian Holiday on May 18th that we found on the internet.

Victoria Day    

Victoria Day is a Canadian statutory holiday celebrated on the Monday preceding May 25 in every province and territory. It honours Queen Victoria's birthday. In Quebec this holiday is called "National Patriotes Day" (Journée nationale des patriotes).In 2015 the Victoria Day holiday is on Monday, May 18.

Victoria Day is also commonly referred to as the "May two-four weekend" or the "May long weekend" and it marks the unofficial start of the cottage season where cases of beer* are consumed by hard working Canadians. That's what we heard anyway. Or maybe it's called May two-four because May 24, 1819 is Queen Victoria's birthday :-)

Hey everyone!!

Wow! What a week! After losing one of our companions, Hermana Johnson and I really had to figure out how to do this work again...but with just 2 of us now! We have been working so hard to reach the goals that have been set for us by the Mission President. There is no stopping us now! We have been working so hard, and praying even harder. We've really tried to not only focus on the Spanish work here, but also help build up the English work too! So we are setting return appointments with everyone we see, or trying to anyways! As we do this, I know the Lord will bless us with Latinos to teach! It's been so great to set a new expectation of diligence! 

One of the miracles that has come from this was meeting Juan. The same day we met Juan, we had been out contacting around a park! We were talking to everyone and just trying to have as many quality gospel conversations as possible!! Later in the afternoon, we met Juan. It was incredible, we were explaining the church and telling him that we have a Spanish congregation. He seemed really excited and interested to learn more. The best part about meeting him was when he told us that he had seen us out and about talking to everyone. He drove by as we were doing that! So crazy, I know that we were supposed to meet him and that the Lord was directing us to him! 

Oh man, we met the coolest girl this week. We were walking down a sidewalk and she was the only other person in the world it seemed...the streets were empty. So we yell, "Hello!". And immediately she stops, takes her headphones out, and introduces herself! What? That never NEVER happens! Throughout our conversation, she kept saying how she is going to change the world. She told us about her passions to help everyone and really make a difference! Crazy enough, she is only a senior in high school. A senior, and already changing the world. She told us that her home growing up was really rough for her. She was so depressed all the time. So she came to the conclusion...that she could either let her past dictate her future or she could change. She said, "One day, I decided I was going to be happy." How incredible and inspiring is that? Being happy is a choice. It's a decision that we all must make in our lives! Are we going to let everyday be just another day being shaped by our surroundings? Or are we going to find the happiness and shape our surroundings? I've realized that the happiness that world has to offer isn't the happiness that we are looking for. The only happiness that will bring us complete satisfaction is the happiness that the gospel of Jesus Christ has to offer. 

The last thing that I want to share is the realization that I've come to this week. My whole life, I've hated change. I've hated moving on, leaving things behind, and embracing the new. Well the other night, while I was praying, I realized that I was praying for change. I was praying that I would be able to change into the person God wants me to be. What? I never thought that I would ever do that. When one prays for change, they are praying for the experiences that will mold and shape them into becoming something new. Most of the time, those experiences are hard...sometimes even the hardest thing you will ever do! And I was praying for that! I'm so grateful for this gospel and for the chance to be better. That's what it's all about...isn't it? That's why we're here on earth, that's why I'm here on this mission, and that's why Jesus Christ did everything He did for us. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can reach new heights. We can become a new person! My invitation for all of you is to embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ..embrace the change that it brings to you! If you're not a member of the church! Consider the evidence that God has reached out in love to YOU. He has given you all of his truths and has provided the way for you to be the very best person you can be. I know that God loves all of you so much! For God so loved the world...and so loved YOU...that He gave His son, Jesus Christ, so that we might reach our potential! I love you all and thank you so much for the support!!                                 Love, Hermana Hoth

On exchanges with Lewis & Williamson

with Hermana Lewis this is where the michael buble song just haven't met you yet was filmed 

For all you Once Upon a Time fans! Here's Storybook

Mon, May 11, 2015 Our trio's down to two.

(It was so much fun to Skype with Emily on Mother's Day! She looks and sounds great! So fun to see her hilarious facial expressions and to hear her awesome laugh!! She taught us some of a lesson in Spanish and then we had a prayer together at the end of the call and she prayed in Spanish! She sounds so great speaking Spanish! We sure do miss her, but couldn't be more proud of her! She is growing and learning things she couldn't learn anywhere else! We Love this girl sooo much!!!)

Hola mis amigos,

..out tracting   Hermana Cobb, Hermana Johnson, Herman Hoth

One of my favorite parts about this week was the opportunity to study our Mission President's weekly news letter! This week was all about charity. He took it and analyzed so many different aspects of charity. My favorite was how he explained charity as being part of "self-mastery". I absolutely love that! The whole point of a mission, and life, is to be able to master yourself. Master the natural man. While we are here on earth, or on our missions, we are learning heaven. We are learning how to become more like God and His Son, Jesus Christ. I love that when we are turning outward and focusing more on others, we are learning "self-mastery". The natural man automatically turns inward and focuses on yourself, but those who turn outward are those who learn who they are and who they can become at a faster pace. I'm not someone who loves change, but I love the opportunity to be on this mission so I can change everyday. I love how much the mission changes you. Change is usually a scary thing, but embracing the change is the exact thing that allows us to become like our Savior. To become the person He wants us to be and needs us to be!

Our theme song for the past few days has been the Lion king song, "our trios down to 2". Haha, I can't believe it. We got our transfer calls on Saturday. Hermana Johnson and I will be staying in Surrey, and Hermana Cobb is being transferred to Vancouver speaking english. I really am so grateful for the opportunity I had to have 2 trainers! As crazy and hard as it was, I'm glad I'm coming away from it being a better person than when I started this transfer.

So this week we had so so many lessons planned and we had members from the ward coming to every single one. Everything seemed like it would be a really fantastic week, but sadly, all but 2 lessons fell through! Good thing too, or else we wouldn't have met so many amazing people. One of my favorite experiences from this week was when we met Mat. 

On Saturday, we were just walking back to the car after contacting at Surrey Central. Hermana Cobb walks up to this man who doesn't look homeless, but is laying down on the cement. She asked how his day was and he got so emotional and said how hard it was for him right now! He really didn't want to listen to us at all, but I asked if we could at least say a prayer with him before we left. So I said the prayer and after he said, "Okay, I feel better now." He told us how badly he wants to change and how he doesn't like where he is in life. He said he felt trapped, and I know that he feels trapped because he has been choosing Satan's way over the Lord's way. He talked about how drugs are literally taking control of his life; it really is so sad. I absolutely know that choosing the Lord's way and keeping the commandments makes us free like it says in Mosiah 5:8. We told him that he truly can change through the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was incredible, during our conversation, his girlfriend texted him and told him that he can move back in. He took it as a sign/miracle from God. It was incredible. He asked us to text him every now and again with uplifting thoughts! I know he is so prepared for the gospel and for the change that can only come through Jesus Christ. I pray that he will take this opportunity to change!  

I got to go on exchanges this week...again...4th week in a row.:) It was so great to be with Hermana Williamson and Hermana Lewis in Vancouver! Haha they are so great and hilarious...oh and they have ice cream. So that was a pleasant change from all the veggies!;) My favorite thing about those two Hermanas is how they look at their mission with such a positive attitude all the time. Almost every other minute they we're saying, "what a blessing." Haha I loved it. If everyone just looked for the blessings in life, everyone would be happier!

Yesterday for mother's day, the hermanos handed out roses to all of the madres at church. Us three each got a rose, but we decided that after skyping our families we would go hand them out to our investigators. We were able to take one to Carla. She is always so busy with her five kids so she can never meet with us, but she was home! We were able to share a quick message with her. She told us that she "feels bad that she hasn't been able to meet with us or come to church. Not because she feels obligated to, but because she feels like something is missing." I thought it was so incredible that she recognized how big of an impact the gospel has had on her just after going to church once!

Well everyone I hope you're doing great! Thanks for all the love and support! Remember how amazing God is and I challenge you all to look for ways to change. Look for ways to become better and more like our Savior!

Love, Hermana Hoth

...on exchanges crossing over a beautiful bridge in Vancouver

& Dad's version of the picture, (MISSIONARIES IN MIRROR ARE MIGHTIER THAN THEY APPEAR)  :)

May 4, 2015 Roosters actually don't "Cock-a-doodle-doo"

Hola,

Wow, this has been quite the week! To start off, last Pday we were able to do something fun!;) Haha we went to a part of Surrey with tons of East Indian shops. It was so cool to go to a Sikh temple...their culture and religion is so fascinating for me! Everyone in the temple was so pleasant and helped us find our way around. The rest of the night was amazing. We decided to stop by Luis and Rosa again. She was so excited to see us! It's interesting, they've decided to not go to any church because "all of them are so man made". So they hold their own little service at their house every Saturday just with their family. It sounds a lot like Family Home Evening so we asked if we could come and visit for an hour one Saturday. There family is adorable. They have 3 little boys and the youngest one is always dressed up like Spiderman when we visit. Then they told us of another Latino family in the area. So we knocked on their door...and MIRACLE! It was a girl that we had met at Surrey Central a week ago. I was so glad that I remembered her name, and she remembered us too. She said, "You're kind of hard to forget!". 

So one of my favorite experiences this week was when we visited an old investigator. She hasn't taken the discussions in a long time, but we felt like we should stop by! Her name is Virginia and she is from Argentina. She invited us right in and we started talking like we had known each other for years! The first thing she said when we walked in was, "I've been thinking about joining your church." Haha, well great!!! That's exactly why we're here! The coolest part is that Virginia, her boyfriend, and one of her little boys came to church. It was incredible! All of the lessons at church seemed to be tailor fitted to them! And also, Rita and Lenin came to church again! They loved hearing all of the little kids bear their testimonies! It really was such a neat experience!

Check out these cats and veggies. Yup..my life!  

So one of my least favorite experiences this week was when we were talking to EVERYONE...and I mean everyone...on the streets. Haha, it's actually pretty funny! Hermana Johnson and I were talking to this huge man from Africa! He said his name was, "God's Will...something something...with God all is possible.", but he goes by "Bright" for short. He was pretty cool at first, but then he started saying stuff like, "you know as representatives of your church you probably shouldn't have so many "infections" (which means zits I guess). So then he went on for hours about how pineapple juice would cure everything. Wow...Haha...one of our favorite members to take to lessons with us is Hermana Moro. I will have to get a picture with her sometime to prove how awesome she is! Every Sunday she wears like 9 inch high heels, a huge sock bun on top of her bun, blue eye shadow, bright pink lipstick, and matching sunglasses that she wears on top of her head. Haha. But on our way to lessons, she always gives us so much advice and tells so many stories. This week, she was saying that when she moved to the U.S., she read childrens book to learn English. She told us how messed up the "animal sounds" are in English. For example, roosters don't go "Cock-a-doodle-doo-" but "EEE-EEE-EEEE". Haha she went on and on...it was hilarious. She was like, "Animals don't talk, I think you've got it all wrong."

This week, I was studying in Enos. Everything that I was going through this week was basically summed up in that one chapter. I love how he explains how diligent the people are in trying to restore the Lamanites. They were hard working missionaries, but the Lamanites wouldn't change. Mission work is so hard, but like Enos says, he "rejoiced in it above that of the world." Why would this hard work be the thing that he rejoices in? I believe it is because we get to watch people change, see them feel the Spirit, and witness the Lord opening their eyes. This work truly  is incredible! I would invite all of you to be a missionary...not specifically one that wears a name tag...but one that wears the Savior's name on their heart. Reach out to people, help them see the joy that you have felt from the gospel, and change someone's life. If we work with all our might to be our best and to help others come unto Christ, then we will be able to hear the same words that the Lord said to Enos, "Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father." I promise you that there is no greater joy than the joy that the gospel offers us! It is everlasting and eternal joy. I'm grateful that I have it in my life, it has changed me. I hope and pray that the love and joy of the gospel will change each of you too!

I love you all and hope your week is great! 

Con amor, Hermana Hoth

Mon, Apr 27, 2015 Oh the anxiety! Oh the joy!

Buenas Dias! 

Wow it has been a week of growing. I truly feel like I have been thrown into the refiner's fire. I've been thinking a lot about how God gives us so many opportunities to change and to be better. Going through those experiences that make us better is definitely not the easiest, but sometimes it is the only way for us to learn what we need to. So my advice...from personal experience of course...when God gives us situations to grow, don't just walk through it. Let it go through you, let it change you. Each day/ each moment is there to make us better. Use those times to become the person God wants you to be. If we do this, we allow God to make a masterpiece of us. In Isaiah 64:8 it says, "But now, O Lord, thou are our father we are the clay and thou our potter and we all are the work of they hand." If we allow ourselves to be molded, even though it's uncomfortable, we will become a work of art. 

Hermana Cobb, Hermana Johnson, Hermana Hoth

Last P-day, we decided to go check out Vancouver City. We got lost...so ended up only having like 15 minutes walking the streets. It was still beautiful though. While we were got in traffic on the way home, I found myself looking at all the people walking on the side of the roads. Everything seems to be so different as a missionary, especially the way you look at people. These people seemed to be walking so aimlessly. Though they had purpose in each step, they looked so lost. They're missing something. They are missing the WHOLE point. I'm so glad I have the opportunity to share with people the purpose of life and the way to have everlasting joy!! It truly is amazing to be part of the work of saving souls!

Haha...so one of my refining experiences happened at Surrey Central this week. I was just off doing my thing, talking to people, and nobody would listen. Everyone seemed so hard-hearted. I might sound like a baby, but I just started crying. I told my companions, "There's no way I can do this for a year and a half." My companions comforted me and then out of nowhere this crazy man walks up and starts giving me a pep talk on missionary work. Haha, apparently all of the missionaries know who he is because he loves talking to missionaries. His name is Rav...and wow...he is something else. Haha here's part of his pep talk, "You know...don't let people get you down. THis work stinks and it's hard, but let their words go in one ear and out the other. You know what you have is good, don't let them tell you if it's good or bad. They can take it if they want, but if not, move on." Haha what?? He should probably be baptized...he was way cool.  

Hermanas with Lenin & Rita

MIRACLE!!! Obispo (or Bishop) gave us a referral to a lady named Rita. So we called her last week and she was thrilled to set up a meeting this week. We went to her little Latino Cafe and had a great lesson with her. We really got to know her and explained how God is our loving Heavenly Father and how the gospel blesses families. She is incredible. Right now her husband is dying from cancer and she is just looking for something to give her peace. I know that she absolutely felt the Spirit and the peace that the gospel brings. We extended the invitation for her to be baptized and she accepted! So we will work with her and be her guides as she prepares to make the huge step in her life! The next day, I was on exchanges in Vancouver again, but my companions were able to visit Rita at her house. A few ward members went with them and gave Rita's husband, Luis, and their daughter a blessing. What an incredible family that has been so prepared!! Rita and Luis came to Sacrament meeting yesterday and loved it! The Lord is really providing people out there to receive the gospel.

Hahaha...okay...so the funniest thing this week happened at a dinner appointment. A family in the ward invited us over for dinner. When they opened the door, the food smelled amazing! They had made stake, beans, veggies, and tortillas! Everything seemed pretty normal until the mom pulled out a roll of toilet paper and starting hand us like 10 squares for our napkin. Haha...I was dying. Just thinking about it makes me laugh! 

Well...there are so many more miracles that I wish I had time to share...but next time for sure!!! I love you all and truly am so grateful for all of the support! I have you all have a great week!

Love, Hermana Hoth

Mon, Apr 20, 2015 East Indian? Filipino? Chinese? Latino? No se.

Hola everyone,

Haha, our struggle everyday is finding Latino's on the street. So hard...we see lots of East Indians, Filipinos, Chinese people...some even look like they are Latino. It's always so disappointing when they don't speak Spanish. Haha, but we have found a few Latinos lately so that's amazing. The Spanish work is really picking up here in Canada. 

My first Canadian Money!!

Well this week has definitely been a week of miracles. One of my favorite miracles was when we were going through the area book looking at the records of people who had only been taught a few times. On one of the records, it said, "Don't go over...,they're not interested." or "pray before visiting them." Kind of scary, but we felt good about visiting this family. We knock on their door and Rosa and Luis come out! They were so friendly and so excited to see us! They don't really remember meeting with missionaries in Canada before, but they met with them in Peru. They invited us right in to share a lesson with them. They told their 3 boys to sit down, listen, and to be respectful. We taught them the Plan of Salvation and the whole time they were nodding and making comments.  Rosa was so nice...she kept saying how she wanted her boys to grow up and be just like us and that she prays for her future daughter in laws every day to be like us. It was so nice for someone to recognize that we are good people and not trying to shove religion in their face. All we want is to invite others to come unto Christ and know for themselves if what we teach is true. I know that all who take the time to do this will know for themselves that it is the truth. And this truth will change your life. After our lesson, Rosa grabbed her little boys hands and said "everything these girls said is true." We were in awe. We found a golden family and hope to meet with them soon. Such a miracle!

These are little things we like to call K POPS. So good!! 

This week I was able to go on exchange with Hermana Wilson and Hermana Williamson in Vancouver! Wow, that city is beautiful!! There was a Canucks hockey game that night so everyone was dressed up for that! It was so fun to teach lessons with those sisters...oh and eat doughnuts from Tim Hortons. Best day of my life. Finally didn't have to eat a sweet potato or avocado. :) 

Finding work is definitely not the easiest in Canada...especially since we are looking for Latinos. I wish more people would understand the sacrifice we are making and let us share what we know is true. Think of it...I'm 19 years old. I left my family, my friends, my home, and everything I've ever known. I did this to come to a strange land for a year and a half. I'm giving all that I have to God right now and to His work. Every thought, every word, every action is dedicated to Him. Everything I do is for Him...but in some way it seems fair because everything God did...He did for us. I'm glad to give my time to the Lord and I pray that all of you will make time for Him in your lives. 

So another miracle this week was Carla. She is from El Salvador and has 5 kids. We found her old teaching record and decided to stop by. Carla loves missionaries and says she's been meeting with them for 2 years now. So we asked her questions just to know where she is coming from and what her beliefs are and we came to find out she doesn't even know what the Book of Mormon is? What?? She had been taught for two years and didn't know what the key to our religion is? Crazy...but....she came to church with her two youngest kids. It was such a miracle to have her come! I can't believe it! She even stayed the whole 3 hours. After church, my companions, and I were able to attend Horacio's baptism. He was taught by the Spanish speaking elders in our ward. During his talk after the baptism he talked about the the Sunday school lessons that the 3 of us taught. My favorite part is that he called us "Muchacha Elderes" haha meaing "young lady elders". Haha so funny. :D

Haha...some of my favorite people to talk to are East Indians. They are always so friendly and also I'm so fascinated by their turbans. By the end of my mission, I'll know how to wrap a turban...it's my goal!!;)  But we like to interrupt their little Sikh parties (a bunch of East Indian men playing cards) and talk about the gospel. They are always so happy to talk to us, even though they never want to learn more. Aw well. But at the Newton bus exchange yesterday we go up to a Sikh party and ask how their day is. One says, in an East Indian accent, "Grateful for the sun, for the weather, and for that airplane." Haha. We died laughing. He was way cool...and we really liked his Nike football cleats. The casual look for Sikh men in Canada. 

Haha in Hermana Cobb's words "So we found this super cheap farmers market in Surrey, but we are currently living in Richmond so for P day we are in Richmond. Last Monday we had the great idea to not buy produce on P day and wait to buy produce during a meal break during the week so we could buy it from the cheap farmers market. Well, day after day passed without opportunity to go to the farmers market and we were all slowly withering away hahaha. Literally, at every meal all of us would say at least one of these lines, "I don't want carbs anymore. Nothing sounds good. I don't even like eating anymore. I hate carbs." because it was all we were eating. The last couple meals before finally going to the farmer's market, we were literally eating spoonfuls of peanut butter (and that's all for our whole meal). We went through half of our jar of peanut butter in ONE day." I actually really enjoyed the peanut butter. ;) I'm shocked that I would ever say this, but I was so glad to get some veggies.  

THE VEGGIE HERMANAS!! (Em's Padre made this in honor of her trio :D

One of my favorite moments from this week was when we decided to rock out to Motab in the car. Anyone driving by probably thought we were listening to some awesome rock music. Too bad they didn't actually know were listening to "The Battle of Jericho" or "Down to the River to Pray." So funny. 

One more miracle to share. One Wednesday we decided to do part of our studying in the food court at the mall. We didn't think much of it when we planned it the day before, but then when we got there we realized how weird it was. But we studied away anyways. While we were studying, we noticed two men next to us speaking Spanish! When one of them left, Hermana Cobb started a conversation with him. His name is Mainor and he was amazing to find out that he had been familiar with the church since he was 14. We were able to talk to him about the Book of Mormon and set up another time to meet with him. We told him how the Lord must have know that he needed to meet us..I mean who else plans to study in the mall?? I know that the Lord is so aware of each of us. He gives all the opportunity to hear of His truth. I hope all of you take the time this week to come to know God more...through the scriptures, through prayer, or whatever. I know that He loves you all and has a plan for you. Have a great week!!!

Love,

Hermana Hoth

Mon, Apr 13, 2015 ~The Sky is Bigger in Canada~

Hola everyone,

WOW! It has been a crazy full week in Canada! There is always so much to do, and never enough time. But I'm so grateful to be part of this amazing work and share my testimony every single day. People reject me all the time, but all is well because I know that I am sharing the most important message that these people will ever hear. I wish more people would take the time to listen. Haha this week has definitely been a week full of laughter. I love both of my companions so much. They are incredible missionaries and have such powerful testimonies. One of the best parts of being in the trio is the constant laughter!! Haha, we always laugh when Hermana Cobb pulls a pepper out of her purse or when we hear the crunch of a cucumber from the back seat...we like to call these moments "Cobb probs". Haha...and they happen on a daily basis. Haha and for Hermana Johnson...she is obsessed with cats. Why?  I have no idea. But she is pro at making cat noises. Our new favorite thing to do is sing some gospel raps as we are tracting. Haha...yesterday we were doing a nice harmony while knocking on a door. She took a long time to answer the door so we had lots of time to come up with a sweet rap. It went something like, "hey hey hey (all in different pitches) so you should be baptized. this is the truth. your family can be forever so you should be baptized baptized baptized).  Right as we finished the lady opened the door. Hermana Cobb and I looked at each other and lost it. We could not pull ourselves together. So Hermana Cobb had to dismiss herself while I tried my best to testify with Hermana Johson.Canada has the MOST amazing sky ever. It's huge and this week it hasn't been cloudy so it looks like it goes on forever! Golden hour reflecting over the docks, mountains, and trees is amazing!! Oh and Dad, I get to see Whistler (ski resort) lit up on the mountain every night on our drive home! Pretty sweet!!

So yeah, there have been so many miracles this week. One night we were supposed to have two lessons with investigators, but both of them fell through. So we decided to go tracting. We were diligent and tried to find those people on our records without numbers. We went to this place looking for Sara, but Hermana Cobb remembered a different family that spoke Spanish in that same area so we gave it a shot. His name is Guerralla from El Salvador and he really wasn't interested at first, but as we all bore testimony we could feel the Spirit so strong. We were praying our little heart out that his heart would change. It was amazing, we did see his heart change instantly. He began to cry and opened up to us. I have never witnessed anyone being so overcome by the Spirit. He said, "I can't talk right now...I don't know why." We will hopefully visit him this next week. The Spirit really can change the hardest of hearts. Another cool story happened when we were finding. We always pray so hard to find Latinos because there is hardly any in Canada...at least that we know of. But we tracted into a family this week ....a mom and 3 kids! Her name is Ana and she is so sweet! I'm so excited to get to meet with them again! She was so excited when she found out that there was church in her language!

So basically Hermana Cobb is a poet. Here are a few things she has said this week. "This life is the climax of our eternity." and "When it comes to dreams...just go for it. You might not get to your dream, but the journey along the way will become the dream." So good. It's all about living for right now...enjoying every moment...loving each day..and embracing every adventure! 

Hermana HoT, Hermana Cobb, Hermana Johnson

My absolute favorite moment happened when we were contacting at Surrey Central. We were about to cross the road when a homeless lady caught my attention. I felt prompted to go and talk to her. So Hermana Johnson and I taught her about the Book of Mormon and she was so happy to learn about it. Haha...she definitely wasn't all the way there, but she was so excited to have the FULL truth and some new friends. So now I have a new friend named Shelly. Before we left, we asked if we could say a prayer with her. Haha, she hurried and got on her knees and held out her hands. So there we were on our knees holding hands with a homeless lady in Surrey Central. During my prayer, I said "please bless Shelly" and then she interrupted my prayer and said, "and bless sister Johnson and Sister....HERMANA???? WHAT'S THAT???" Haha in a whisper I told her it was Spanish for Sister and then she was like, "Oh Spanish....do you know what buenas tardes means??" Haha yeah "good afternoon" then I continued on "please bless Shelly..." Haha. Then after that we were talking to someone else a little ways away from Shelly. But as soon as she noticed we were talking to someone else she yells, "Listen to them!!! It's true!!!". Haha so funny. 

Another funny moment was when we knocked on a random door and this man in short shorts and a long stringy, white beard answers the door. Before we had he chance to say anything he was like, "uhhh...I don't think I'm interested." We didn't know what to say. I can just picture all of us standing there with huge grins on our faces in disbelief that someone rejected us before we stated our purpose. The only thing that came out was a little laugh "he he" from Hermana Cobb before he closed the door. I died. It was so funny.  

A really special moment for me this week was when I finally got the courage to talk to people at Surrey Central all by myself. It was so crazy and hard. There was one girl that really wanted to have an argument with me. It's in those moments when they are teaching you more than you are teaching them that you have to walk away. I just bore my testimony of truth and said have a nice day. But no worries...that didn't get me down. I walked to this man and tried talking to him, but he was deaf and couldn't talk or anything. So I pulled out a picture of Jesus and pointed to mormon.org on the back of the card. He was so thrilled that someone paid attention to him and cared enough to put in the effort to talk to him. It was so cool. 

My first time in the Latino ward was a success!! I can't really understand all that much, but the people are so loving and have such strong testimonies! It is a huge ward!!! And the members that we have been able to visit are always so loving. They think it's insulting if you don't take anything to eat while you are there so we always get really yummy food. Oh my goodness...and no one can say my name. So I am now officially Hermana Hot. I should order a name tag with my new name. They think it's so funny that my last name is "caliente" or "hot" in Spanish. 

The most important lesson I have learned this week is that faith is an action word. If you have faith in God..it's not enough just to say so. You must show it. I have to show that I am dedicated to this work and willing to talk to everyone. The moments that I show my faith, the Lord blesses us so much! He gives us opportunities to teach and testify. My favorite thing to tell people is that they need to try finding out if this gospel is true for themselves. I'm not here to convince them what to believe, but to share what I know is true. It is there job...and your job...to find out for yourself if this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Show your faith, show your desire to learn more, and to find truth, and God WILL let you know that it's true. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love, Hermana HoT