Mon, Feb 29, 2016 1:58 pm Working with the Lord.

Hello everyone!

We had such a neat miracle this week! Remember Karla with 5 kids?? She was one of our investigators when I was here before. I have been calling her and calling her trying to get a hold of her. We even dropped by her house multiple times...and nothing. Well we went on exchanges this week, and I felt like I needed to call her again. FINALLY she answered...she told us how she had been in El Salvador and Honduras and how her phone wasn't working. She told us that she had hoped that we would just come by or call her. She had been waiting for us!!!! So we set up a time to meet her and started planning for what we would teach. The missionaries that first taught her didn't really set expectations for the lessons...so that was our focus! Of course we are here to be friends, but more importantly we are here to share the gospel and prepare them to make covenants with God. So after we set expectations, we taught her the Plan of Salvation. It was a powerful lesson and she was so focused the whole time...mostly because she didn't have her 5 kids at home screaming and running around!:) At the end, we said the closing prayer, and after we said amen Sister Cendreda asks, "Karla, would you like to be baptized?" She said that baptism is definitely in her plans! So we will keep working with her!:)

EXCITING NEWS!!! Rosa had her baby!!! Emily is here! She is seriously the cutest little baby I have ever seen. She was born on Friday the 26th. We were able to visit them on Saturday in the hospital. Raul and Rosa are the cutest parents ever. They are all smiles. The Spirit was so strong in that hospital room...so much peace. It was so special to see them and thank Heavenly Father with them for His kindness and His perfect plan!

Rosa's baby EMILY is here!!

We worked so hard this week and we have seen such a miracle come from it. One day after a lesson with an investigator, we started driving away. We saw a lady and her son that looked latino so I parked the car and Hermana Cendreda jumped out. It turns out Sister Cendreda had met this family before in the mall. They told us that we could come back to visit them  and we did this week! The dad is Robinson, the mom is Angela, and they have two sons...Rodolfo who is married and is a member and Rouder. They told us about their son and how he was baptized in our church like 10 years ago. Robinson basically bore his testimony to us how he saw such a difference in his son. He said "my son was so happy when he was with your church." Well his son now is less active and Robinson just begged us to go visit him and his family. He also told us that when the missionaries were teaching their family that he himself wasn't ready to accept anything because he was so into his catholic religion but that he is more open now. So apart from teaching this awesome family. We went to go see his son! His son has a wife, Alma, and 2 sons. They were so friendly and want us to come back right away to teach them. This was such an incredible miracle for us! 

Rita was finally able to come to sacrament meeting, but she could only stay for the first hour. She is just so depressed all the time and when ever we ask her how she is she just says, "bad". It's so sad, but for this reason, I just want her to accept the gospel! I really feel like the thing she needs is a choice to have faith and to be grateful for what she does have. Of course I don't understand exactly what she is going through. But I know God does...and so she needs to turn to Him!!! 

So this week, I had the most amazing studies in the morning. I was reading in Alma 7 and I got to those famous verses that all the missionaries use to talk about Christ's Atonement. 

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him

the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death 

which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his 

bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know 

according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth 

according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that 

he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

After I read this, I realized that these powerful scriptures that we all use is actually Alma the younger's testimony!! He shared these things because he absolutely knows they are true. My question was...How does someone gain a testimony of Jesus Christ like that? And then I remembered his experience with the Atonement Alma 36 (my favorite chapter). He has this strong testimony because he used the Atonment of Jesus Christ. He had felt it for himself. He knew that Jesus Christ did that so He would know how to "succor" or help His people. Alma truly felt that even though he had made so many mistakes, that his sins had been "blotted out" or erased! I love this and it is my prayer that one day each of us can know, like Alma, that Jesus is the Christ. To receive this testimony, Alma had to go through a lot of pain and sorrow when he realized all of the sins that he committed. We will go through pain and sorrow in this life, but our purpose here is to learn how to always do God's will...so we need to repent. So our purpose in life is to repent! 

I hope that all of you can learn from the scriptures and apply them in your lives. It isn't that hard to share the gospel...especially when it is who you are!:):) I pray that we allow the gospel to become us!

Love, Hermana Hoth

OH! And Sister Cendreda and I get to stay together for her last transfer! YAYA!

Fun time with the Sisters on Pday with Cendreda, Ricks, Hubert, Travers, Hoffman

Cool garage. 

Hermana Hernandez and Jacky

And look mom...I shared my package with Jacky's kids!

Brother & Sister Snarr went home this month.  Love them!

Dear Elders and Sisters,

We are concluding our full-time missionary service this week and heading home to Utah. What an amazing experience it has been to serve in British Columbia, particularly in the Sidney Ward
. We feel so fortunate to have served along side the best of the best! Each of you have impacted our lives for good and we want you to know that. The meetings, discussions, study time, meals, activities, service projects, the laughter and a few tears. We are blessed that we were able to share it with all of you.

We are going home to a busy schedule of visits with children and grandchildren, work, and a remodeling project. All of you, on the other hand, will have a number of important decisions that will not only determine your near future, but your long range future. Don't let that worry you. You are or have faithfully been on the Lord's errand, and He will help direct you on the important paths ahead. We are excited to hear how things unfold. For those of you living or visiting Utah, we would love to hear from you and hopefully make it to some of your missionary homecomings (yes, we know they don't call them that anymore). Then in October 2017, we look forward to President's first mission reunion and it will be wonderful to cross paths again.

Again, we express our love and confidence in each of you. We know this work is true. The Lord lives and His gospel is the sure way of finding happiness in this life and in the life to come.
Be good; be true.
Love,
Elder and Sister Snarr

Mon, Feb 22, 2016 1:32 pm Learning to Trust God

Dear family and friends,

I am so grateful for my mission. I love God and I love this amazing work. I can't believe that I have been on my mission for a whole year. It seems so unreal. But God has blessed all of us so much this year, don't you think? He has truly guided us through the storms to the promised blessings. Isn't He so good?

One of the greatest lessons I have learned on my mission is to trust God. To trust His plan and find the joy in the journey. It has been amazing to me as I have allowed God to lead me through my mission and through life that He always tells me that He wants me to be happy. God's plan is not only the best thing for us, but it is the plan that will bring us the most happiness. I know that this is the gospel of happiness. I learned this week that those times in my life that I'm not truly happy are the times that I am not truly living the gospel. I'm not truly having faith in Christ, repenting or changing, staying faithful to my covenants, and instead of enduring and enjoying to the end, I'm just going through the motions. To find the true joy of the gospel we must give God our whole hearts and follow Him. I have learned what it means to have faith. Someone with faith trusts the Atonement of Jesus Christ to take care of the past and trusts God's plan to take care of the future. 

So we haven't heard much from Rita and Lenin...I know that he is recovering slowly but surely. Rita is still a bit shaken up by all of it.

We have had some great lessons with Rosa and Raul this week. It has been so fun to watch them prepare for the little Emily to come. Sister Cendreda and I have been praying that when Emily comes they will realize the need and their desire to live the gospel and have an eternal family. Who wouldn't want that? 

We didn't have any lessons with Colombia this week, but we finally got a hold of her yesterday and she said that she has been sick all week! So this week we should be able to see her!!:):)

So yesterday, Obsipo (Bishop) Riquelme was released. It was so sad for me because he has been the Bishop for so long, the whole time I have been here. It was amazing to me to watch him change from when I was here first to now. He is happier and more energetic about sharing the gospel. I learned so much from his selfless service. As he was being released, I realized that all of the callings we receive within the church are really just opportunities for us to serve. Opportunities for us to be the Lord's hands. (Moiah 18:8-10) I have loved my calling as a missionary. Sister Cendreda and I were talking about this the other day. We realized that some of the members forget the missionaries that have passed through their wards..even though they are just one person, just one name. But us as missionaries, we remember their names, their faces, their families, their stories. Why? Because we have truly learned to love them. We pray for them and think about them constantly. This is what a disciple of Jesus Christ does. This is true charity.

We have been working so hard with our recent converts Jacqueline and Jerermy. We realized that our lessons weren't reaching her and weren't sticking with her. So this week, we took a step back and made a gameplan. We had a lesson with her on Thursday and brought a member with us that had just moved from Mexico. Her name is Jessica and she is seriously such a good missionary. She has a goal every year to finish the Book of Mormon..how perfect! We had her testify of the Book of Mormon. We taught Jacky the Restoration again and her face just lit up. She remembered the joy of her conversion and realized that she had a testimony of the things we taught her! It was was such a powerful experience, and I realize now the importance of remembering our conversion and testimonies. We must be seeking the Spirit every single day! 

Yesterday, I remembered a girl that Sister Johnson, Sister Cobb, and I had met like 10 months ago. Her name is Kayla and she is like 20 years old. When we met her, she was so friendly and so open. It was really neat because she told us that she has 2 friends that are serving missions right now! They must have been great missionaries before their missions because she really respects them and the church. We were able to see her and visit with her yesterday! Right now she is busy with midterms, but soon we will be able to see her again!!

I pray that all of you are doing so well and seeing so many things to be grateful for. I know Heavenly Father loves each and every one of you! 

Love,                                                                                                                              Hermana Hoth

Rosa is almost going to have the little Emily!

With Hermana Ciastillo

Sticky noted from the sisters on my 1 year. 

More papusas to celebrate my 1 year mark with Melida Hernandez

We love rice pudding. And my hair looks so blonde. I'm sad about that.

Maria Christina....haha...she's totally not interested in learning anymore but she was really nice!

Heh Heh

Did you get this yet?

Sister Hemenway...last week in exchanges

Rangel family

Yes to Kenia's baptism. We got to sing at Kenia's baptism. She is is so sweet!

Yes to knocking doors.

Yes to lovely members.

Yes to curls

No to this.

But Yes to Pupusas!

with Jacky

Mon, Feb 15, 2016 2:11 pm One year of blessings.

 Dear family and friends,

I want to start my letter off with talking about my experience in Vancouver, my last area. This is something I have been pondering about for a long time now. I questioned God so many times..."why is it so hard? Why do we go out and do the same thing every day? How come none of our miracles are complete?" Hermana Polanco and I asked ourselves these questions many many times, but despite that, we went out and worked every single day. Was it hard? Absolutely. But I know now more than ever the goodness of our God. I felt that when I left Vancouver that I hadn't really made a difference. We worked so hard, but didn't see much come from it. That time for me was a trial of my faith, but I endured and enjoyed to the end. I have been praying about my experience there ever since I arrived in Surrey. I just wanted to feel good about it and know that all I did there was not in vain. So there have been so many answers and miracles that God has given to me to help me know that my time there was effective and worth it. I was pondering about it one day, and the Mormon message came to my mind about the current bush and the gardener. In the video, the current bush was growing so well...that's like me..I felt like I was a missionary on fire in Surrey and Sidney. Even though the bush was growing so well, the gardener saw it fit to cut down the bush....that's what I felt like going to Vancouver...that God had cut me down. But we learn in this video that the gardener knows best, and that he cut the bush down so it could grow bigger and stronger and more beautiful. Like the gardener, God knows it all. He cut me down, knowing it was exactly what I needed. I needed this trial of faith so that now I can have stronger faith. He cut me down to allow me to grow, flourish, and become a stronger disciple of Jesus Christ. And I have done just that. God consecrated the work I did there. Nothing was in vain. All of it was for Him. Hermana Polanco has been writing me every week and telling me about the miracles and success that her and Hermana Kartchner are having in Vancouver. They are teaching and meeting with people we found. They are doing amazing things there. I love that there are so many miracles happening here in Surrey, in Vancouver, and in Sidney. I'm grateful that I decided to serve a mission. Best decision of my life.

So this week! Rosa...my guess is that she is going to have her baby on my one year mark. That's right...one whole year of being a missionary for our Heavenly Father! I can hardly believe it! I feel so blessed. Rosa told us that her desires to be baptized are growing. We asked her and Raul what their goals are for their family and I absolutely know that the gospel can help them with those righteous goals that they have. It was really neat, in our last lesson with them we all wrote down our testimonies of Jesus Christ. Rosa's testimony was so beautiful. She said that when she belonged to the Catholic church, she still knew Jesus Christ and He has never changed for her. The only thing that has changed is the love that she feels and has for Him. I love visiting Rosa and Raul because their home is so filled with the Spirit. It is so peaceful. Sister Cendreda was telling me that it is because they are about to have a baby and so they are so close to Heaven! I love that.

With Rosa and her "trouble" that is coming soon!! 

So Colombia. She was going to come to stake conference yesterday, but then everyone told us that their wouldn't be Spanish translation so it didn't work. But when we got there...guess what...there was translation. We were pretty bummed out that she could have had a really spiritual experience. But...theres next week! We were able to meet with her and teach her the gospel of Jesus Christ! Its amazing...she always has baptism on her mind and is the one who brings it up. The Spirit was so strong in that lesson and she is going to pray to see if she should be baptized on March 13! I hope that all of you will pray for her!!! She is such a miracle for me. God is so good.

Familia Rodriguez! 

Stake conference was such an uplifting experience. It wasn't a normal stake conference because it was a broadcast that only some parts of the world would watch for their stake conference. There were two talks that really stood out to me. The first was by James J. Hamula of the 70. He talked about how crazy and scary the world is today. But he reminded us all of how many times Jesus told us to "fear not". He asked us, "So how did we not have fear?" He then gave 3 answers. 
1-Keep your sight on Jesus Christ. I love this because if you are looking at the world and are so tuned in with what is happening, you're going to have fear. But if we look to Christ in all things, we will have faith and hope. 
2-Trust in the Savior and His power of Salvation. We must remember that Christ has overcome the world. We must believe that absolutely ALL will be mended through His Atonement. 
3-Support the church and the leaders of the church. I know that the prophet and apostles are called of God. What they teach is straight from God. They teach the truth and we can trust their words. You should all read Luke 21:26-27...it's my ponderizing scripture this week! The second talk that I absolutely loved was by Dale G. Renlund one of the 12 apostles. He taught the importance of teaching the restoration to all. I felt so strongly as he spoke that he is an apostle of God. He witnesses to the world that Jesus Christ lives and that this is truly his church. So powerful.

We were able to find a few new investigators this week...Lidia and Carolyne! I will tel you more about them next week! 

Well, it has definitely been a year of blessings for me and my family. This mission is the best thing I have ever done. I love my mission. I was reading in PMG this morning and it says that "our attitude towards our mission experience is a reflection of our love toward God." I realized that I really love my Heavenly Father. He has blessed me so much. I love my mission and I love that I have been able to meet and love so many of God's children. I pray that you all are doing well and that you pray for God's work to continue to hasten. I hope that you are all reading the scriptures every day, praying everyday, and going to the church every week, and going to the temple every week. God asks a lot of us. But I decided from a young age to do the things that matter most...I pray that you will all make that choice too!

Love,

Hermana Hoth

WHY??   Haha...we have no idea...I was just trying not to be by it in the picture...i can't believe she took that. she's obsessed with pics!

Tue February 9, 2016 Another week on fire...

Dear family and friends,

It has been anther incredible week in Surrey. I love being with Sister Cendreda! We kind of started the week off rocky. Sister Cendreda had the flu so we stayed inside all day long after getting her a priesthood blessing. It was fine...I did lots of calls, planning, cleaning. I literally sanitized everything in the house. There is no way I am getting sick a 4th time in my mission. Haha.

Finally a sunny day!

But after that...we went out and worked so hard. Our latest update on Lenin is that he needs to get heart surgery. Poor Rita...we are feeling so sad for her. But if anything, it is helping us turn to God and have more faith and trust in His plan.

The relief society put together a baby shower for Rosa this week. It has been incredible for me to see how the ward is embracing Rosa and helping her progress in the gospel. I remember the first time Rosa and Raul came to a ward activity...Sister Johnson and I ran from member to member, making sure that everyone introduced themselves to them. Now they are friends with all of them. Seriously, this ward is so good. Her baby shower went really well and was so fun for all the hermanas to be together! I love going to Rosa and Raul's house and watching them prepare everything for their sweet baby girl. They are going to be such good parents and have the cutest eternal family!:) We had a powerful lesson with them on Sunday night. I was able to tell them how grateful I am that God has allowed me again to be a part of their lives and conversion. I truly feel so blessed. God is so good to me. We told them very boldly that God's plan for them is Rosa to be baptized and Raul to be an active member in the church. The Spirit was so strong in this lesson, especially as we sang Families can be together forever!

With Rosa & Jacqueline

So Colombia...wow, she is so solid. It has been such a long time since we have had a solid investigator. We have no way to get a hold of her so we just showed up at her house to set an appointment with her. She said that we can't meet in her house because she shares it with her cousin and they wouldn't like that. So she took two buses all the way to a gas station where we could meet her and then walk to a member's home where we could have the lesson. We had the lesson at the Rangel home, Hermano Rangel is our ward mission leader. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation. It was neat for me to come to the realization that the world has such a limited view of God's plan...all they see is the here and now and occasionally worry about going to heaven or hell. It was such a blessing to help her see the entire picture. I know it brought her a lot of peace because her mom just passed away a few months ago and her husband has Alzheimers. This lesson was a bit challenging for me because its been so long since I have taught the Plan of Salvation in Spanish. But if anything, I know she felt the Spirit as I told her about my sweet grandma who had Alzheimers. The plan of salvation is not something I just believe in, but something I know. I know my grandma still lives and I know that I will see her again. 

Cendreda, Hoth, little Emily

Cendreda, Jacky, Hoth, Moro

So remember Alejandra? She is the cute little old lady we would visit...she always sat in her big chair as we read the Book of Mormon and sang hymns to her. We went to visit her this last week, and it was so shocking to me to see her. She is so different...very ill and very frail. She just laid there as we sang hymns to her. Then for just a moment she had so much strength. She sat up and started singing families can be together forever with us. She is so special and I know God is watching out for her. 

This week, I have really found a love for repentance and receiving forgiveness. I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is not just for sinners, but for everyone. I think sometimes people think of repentance in a negative way, but for me I LOVE IT. I love having the opportunity to change every single day and account to God what I did with His time each day. I love reflecting on the question, "how did I use the Atonement today?". It feels so good to be filled with the Spirit and receive God's forgiveness, love, peace, and comfort. I pray that each of you will be able to remember our Savior Jesus Christ and use His Atonement. We have been seeing miracles here because of YOUR prayers and YOUR faith. So thank you thank you thank you. I pray that you will all receive stronger testimonies every single day. 

Love,

Hermana Hoth