Take No Thought

October 27, 2014

So this week was very emotional for a lot of people here. Because of the shooting that happened at the local high school. Me and my companion were actually one street over from the high school when it happened. It was a terrifying thing to witness as students ran from the school and parents ran to the school, praying that their child was ok. We were able to say a prayer with a big group of students that stood crying outside the school. We have been praying everyday for everyone involved, especially the families that lost a precious child. Please pray for them as well. We have had some very neat discussions with people about the Plan of Salvation after this event. This life is NOT the end. There is more. We have hope in our Savior Jesus Christ. Personally, I've received so much peace as I've prayed this week for comfort in trying times. I'm so grateful for the peace of the Gospel and grateful that I can share this message with others in this sad time. 

 On a happier note, we found an AMAZING family this week that we are teaching. They have 3 kids: Juli, Ameliano, and Evet. Absolutely incredible kids. We taught them the first lesson and they had such profound answers. Me and Hermana Weymouth were blown away! Ameliano told us he wanted to sign up to do what we do. He said he wanted a name tag like ours. Evet said "me too!" They are adorable. Two future missionaries. The next lesson, they wrote us both a note about how much they loved God. We told them we had a present too, and gave them both a copy of the Book of Mormon. They about wet their pants with excitement. We set a baptismal date with them for the 22nd of November and we are SO excited. 

 Also, we started teaching a family named the Gaspars. When we finished teaching them, the dad starts telling us about how much he loves to fish. And then he pulls out this 8-pound beautiful king salmon and hands it over to us. Our jaws just dropped. Haha. So Hermana Soto is going to filet it for us and we're going over soon to have a delicious dinner :D Tender mercies.

 So, one of Hermana Weymouth's themes is "take no thought", as in, as servants of the Lord, like is says in Matthew 6:31, "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, Whatshall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?" 

 So we ran out of milk and eggs on Thursday, and we don't go shopping until Monday. So were wondering what we were going to do. When we pulled in that night, one of our neighbors was unloading some groceries and we offered if we could help. She said no, but asked us if we by chance would like a gallon of milk and a carton of eggs because they had too much. Whaaaaaat?! Wow. Heavenly Father is aware of us and our smallest needs. 

Love you all,

Hermana Webb

Que Honda!!

October 20, 2014

Hellooooooooooooooooooo everyone!!!! :D:D:D How is everybody!? 

My week was great! Pretty exhausting as usual, but wonderful as usual :) My Sabbath day was beautiful! It was the Primary program and it was so cute! We also had a big meeting the last hour of church about something that is called JustServe.org and it is incredible! It's this new website that the Church has created that helps you find service projects near you. You just sign up and type in a place and it sends you back notifications of all the service projects that are near you. It was such an inspiring meeting! I am so excited because they are getting the missionaries involved in it as well and thinking about it just gets me so excited and I feel the spirit so strong! I love service! :D 

Also, we had three people come to church this week! One of them's name is Javier and he brought his little 8 year-old niece with him :) she is so cute! Cool story about them though: We got a referral like 2 weeks ago that was for Javier and it said that he had come up to missionaries in a store and had been trying to ask them where the church was and that he wanted to take the lessons. So we were pretty excited about going to meet him, but then Elder Gressier left and he took his GPS with him that he had lent us. We tried so hard to find him and we just couldn't find him! It was so frustrating! Finally though last Saturday, a member came with us that has a GPS and we found him! And turns out that he had been going to church with his brother in Spokane and he had loved it! Then he moved here with his sister and apparently he has been reading the Book of Mormon to them and has been trying to teach them about the gospel! CRAZY! So we got him the address to the church and him and his sister and her whole family wanted to come to church the next day! Unfortunately, the sister and her other two kids weren't able to come because the little boy had a soccer game :/ but Javier came and he brought his little niece! He is incredible! 

Another really cool thing that happened on Sunday was that we went to visit a new family that we found just last week who are incredible as well! And we had the plan to finish teaching them the Restoration; the part about Joseph Smith's first vision and the restoration of the Priesthood and praying to know if it's true. This part is always super intense for me because this is usually the part where the people decide whether or not the believe and want to keep learning. So needless to say we were praying really hard. We taught and the Spirit was strong and and they just kept nodding their heads and making positive comments. It just made sense to them. At the end, we have been leaving them "tarea" homework haha, and the homework was to pray specifically together as a couple to know whether or not the Church was restored and Joseph Smith was a true prophet. They said they would do it and let us know how it went :) I'm so excited to find out about their experience on Wednesday! 

So yeah, the work is progressing, my spanish is progressing (I can now understand about 85% of the conversations we have with people- yay! :) And I am happy as ever! Thank you all for your support and love! Have a wonderful week! 

-Hermana Webb

PS I am starting to like real hispanic food! Slowly. Haha. And my tolerance for spicy stuff is increasingly rapidly! :D

Avelino's for lunch! 

YAY for Fall! And Hermana Weymouth!

I love sunsets on the lake! Prettiest area ever!

Celebrating Fall with beautiful trees & caramel apples!

Busy, Busy Week of Baptisms!

October 13, 2014

Where to start?

Ah, sooo two baptisms that I've gotta tell y'all about! :D

First, Avelino was baptized!!! After 9 months of meeting with missionaries, Avelino finally made the necessary changes in his life because he had such a strong desire to get closer to Heavenly Father. He loves the commandments, which is awesome. He has such a rock solid testimony. He has had a very rough life, more so than anyone I have ever met, and it was such a sweet moment to see him go down into the waters of baptism and see that all erased. He gets to start over. He said that as he went down, his mind was completely clear and at peace. He is so happy, now having the Holy Ghost with him all the time. He called us last night and said "Sisters, thank you for showing me the way." That's really what it all comes down to: we've found the way, the way to happiness and peace and hope and how to return back to a loving Heavenly Father. Now, we have to show others. 

Second, beautiful little 9-year-old MiKenzie was baptized after church on Sunday. She walked in wearing her beautiful white dress and looking like a little angel. Her mom and dad still need to get married before they can get baptized, so MiKenzie is leading the way for her family. Her mom, Jessica, invited her whole family to come and we really wanted them to have a good first experience with the Church. It was such a beautiful day. And somehow Hermana Weymouth convinced me to sing a duet with her during it of "I know that my Redeemer Lives." I sang the first verse as a solo. Uhh, yeah. Hermana Webb sings, whaaat? Haha. I was so nervous I almost passed out. But I got through it. Whew. The things you do as a missionary because you love your investigators. Haha. 

And my absolutely FAVORITE quote possibly ever from a talk called "The Fourth Missionary:"

"Just give it up. Surrender your will to Him. Unconditionally. Withhold nothing. Turn it all over to Him; all of your desires, wishes, dreams and hopes. Be true and faithful in your head and in your heart, not just in your behavior. Trust in Him. Trust Him who knows all things. Trust Him who has all power. Trust Him whose love for you is perfect. Trust Him, who alone suffered, paid and atoned for your sins, and for your weaknesses as well. Trust Him that He will make of you, immeasurably more, than what you will ever, ever, in all eternity, make of yourself. He will create of you a masterpiece. You will create of you only a smudge. You will create an ordinary man. He will create a God."

Give your whole heart to God and He will mold you into something extraordinary. That is my testimony this week. 

I love my mission. I love the Church. I love my family. And I love my Savior Jesus Christ,

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Webb

Love this little angel!!

Avelino is on the left. The most humble, kind person.

Mikenzie Marie Marroquine Doucette and her parents.

Lots of Firsts

October 6, 2014

Wow. What a week. First of all, general conference! Blew my mind. Definitely would encourage everyone to go back and study the talks again. There is so much power in the words of prophets and apostles. My favorite was definitely Lynn G Robbins where he asked us which way we face- towards God or men. We must be bold and keep our standards high no matter what the world thinks of us. "Courage is the form of every virtue at the testing point." Christ was Fearless. Let us follow His perfect example in this.

Other than conference, this week was full of firsts for my mission. I went on my first exchange. With an English-speaking sister over a YSA ward. Super cool! But weird to be speaking English. I kept saying "Hola" to everyone. Haha.

My first experience with a mad dog almost biting off my leg. Ok, it was a Chihuahua. But man, those things can be intimidating! 

My first time getting handed a BRAND NEW car to drive. Wow. It's a '14 Chevy Cruze and it is niceeee. We are spoiled! Probably never gonna get a new car again in my life. Haha.

My first time going a whole day on solely fruits and vegetables. Random health challenge. It was fun. I ate a big can of corn for lunch like I was eating a bowl of cereal. Haha. 

My second time setting a baptismal date with one of the most humble, incredible people I've ever met: Angelica. We set her baptismal date for November 1st after she prayed during our first lesson, asking for confirmation that Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God. She got her answer right then and there. An incredible moment. 

So a week full of adventures and wonderful experiences that only a mission can provide. The joy that you feel when you see others coming closer to their Heavenly Father is indescribable. Wouldn't trade these 18 months for anything in the world. 

Que tenga una buena semana! 

Con mucho amor, 

Hermana Webb

Exercising in the pouring rain with our favorite family

We have fun

Love these people

Apple pie.. We love Fall!

Me and Madison - cutest little 2-year-old around

Our brand new Chevy Cruzeeee

I will never get tired of this view

This pretty much sums it all up

Vale La Pena

September 29, 2014

That's my favorite phrase learned in Spanish so far: Vale La Pena. It means "It's worth it." Also, primero Dios. Which means God first. Hispanics say that ALL the time. They just throw it in conversations and text messages and I love it. Haha. Because even though being a missionary is hard and life is hard, it's worth it. Every trial and struggle we face is worth it because of the hope of eternal life. 

This week we found 5 new, amazing people to teach which was so exciting. As a mission, we've been praying really hard to have the Spirit poured down upon this people so that their hearts and minds are ready to receive our message. The verb in Spanish is "derramar," which I like better than English because it kind of means to dump- to dump a big dose of the Spirit in this area. So what an answer to our prayers- finding 5 people who are ready! They are amazing. 

Also, the guy who got baptized last week, Omar, got ordained to the Aaronic priesthood this week during church. He wore a brand new white shirt and tie, and helped pass the sacrament. Such a beautiful moment to see him progressing in his conversion. 

We are still working with that family with the two little girls. We are hoping to have the daughter's baptism really soon so we took them to the church and showed them the baptismal font. We brought Omar with us and he shared how he felt so happy and so at peace during his baptism. Then we said a prayer with them, and little 2-year-old Madison right at the end of the prayer says "Ameeen." So cute. We all died a little inside. Her mom was so proud of her. Haha. It's the little moments.

Ooooh! Also, Hermana Weymouth is planning on study massage therapy and already has a lot of training, so this week I pulled a muscle in my shoulder and got LITERALLY the most intense massage ever. Bonus! My trainer is the best. Haha. 

After the General Women's conference, I am SO excited for general conference. What a great opportunity to increase our testimonies and receive answers to our questions through a living prophet. Everyone:watch conference and invite your friends! Perfect opportunity for missionary work! :D There's my plug for the week. Haha. 

Love you all! 

Have a wonderful, wonderful week and remember: Vale La Pena. 

-Hermana Webb

Me and my little friends at women's conference!

Omar in his new white shirt and tie! Happy Day!

Hermana Esperanza, which translates to "hope" in English.
She is the hope in our little branch.

B FOR BAUTISMO

September 22, 2014

This week was crazy. Looking back, I'm still not quite sure how we managed to do what we did. On Monday, we had a great family night with my favorite two little girls- Mickenzie and Madison, complete with Frozen-themed cupcakes and a lesson on the role of families in God's plan. Such a powerful moment for me to envision this beautiful family all dressed in white, being baptized and completely clean and then at the temple being sealed as family for eternity.

On Tuesday, we went over to our investigator's house and he had this big meal set up for us outside. It was so nice. He had Mexican sodas and chips and everything was covered in lime and chile. I guess that's the thing to do. Mango with lime and chile. It was surprisingly yummy. And then he served us a HUGE plate of rice, beans, salad and meat. Seriously I don't think a full-grown man could have eaten that much. Plus my mouth was on fire the entire time. It took some serious will-power to get through that plate. 

The next day, we met with Omar. His baptism was scheduled for the 1st weekend of October. So we start teaching him about the commandments, and then Hermana Weymouth says "What do you think about getting baptized this Saturday? You're ready." He said yes! AHHH. So excited. He just had so much faith and knew that what we were teaching was true. So the sooner, the better. 

We frantically planned the baptism, including putting together a special musical number, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," my favorite song in the world, but in Spanish of course. We didn't have any music, so me, Hermana Weymouth, Elder Coles, and Elder Phillips kinda just threw together 4 parts. So, Saturday comes and I was so excited. We had everything set and ready to go. This song turned out so beautiful and Omar almost started crying. The Spirit was so strong as we walked to the baptismal font. Honestly, I kept thinking: "Is he really gonna do it?" They opened the font and PANIC. The water level had gone down like a foot because the drain was broken. Whoops. As I watched him walk down those steps though, I was so amazed at his faith. President Vergaray baptized him, but the first time, his elbow stuck up. So Omar had to kneel down to be able to be totally immersed. Wow. I will never forget that day. Omar was completely clean and he was beaming. And I COULD NOT wipe the dorkiest smile off my face. Such joy. It is indescribable. 

So that was the highlight of my week! 

I want to share a quote from an amazing talk called The Infinite Power of Hope: "To all who suffer- to all who feel discouraged, worried, or lonely- I say with love and deep concern for you, never give in. Never surrender. Never allow despair to overcome your spirit. Embrace and rely upon the Hope of Israel, for the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow, and gladdens every heart."

I know that we can overcome all darkness through the light of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Never give up on Him.

-Hermana Webb

PS Omar is the one on the right! (:

My first baptism!! Omar!

Hey look! They have barns and cornfields too. Feels like home(:

My feelings about authentic mexican food...

My first full on mexican meal. SUCH SPICE!

SUNNY SIDE UP!

September 15, 2014

I've been assigned to serve in the Sunny Side Spanish-speaking branch here in the Marysville Stake. With Hermana Weymouth as my trainer! Love her to death. 

I could literally write a novel from only one week in the mission field. So much happens every day it's unreal. I've never been so busy in my whole life. But I love it. I get to teach people about the Restored truth and Jesus Christ all day every day. As Alma said in the Book of Mormon, "O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ. Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious....; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our bretheren, again unto thee." This is my prayer every day. The people that I am teaching are so precious to me and to their Heavenly Father.

Well, I left Mexico and my wonderful MTC family on Tuesday and got on a plane to a whole new unknown. Me and Hermana Frei got 3 hours of sleep and so it was kind of a struggle to stay awake the whole first day. We got to the Atlanta airport, and came up the escalator to find...FAST FOOD. Oh it had been so long. I was about ready to cry when I saw that first McDonald's golden arch. Merica. It was also super hard to speak English surprisingly. I kept speaking to everyone at the airport in Spanish! Ah. 

And then I got to the mission home in Everett and got assigned to Sunny Side and Hermana Weymouth. One of the first things she said to me I'll never forget: "I'm going to train you the way my friends taught me to snowboard. Start at the top of the biggest hill and keep up." GULP. Haha. You really have to start swimming right from the start or you're gonna drown. So I'm grateful for her determination. She is AMAZING at Spanish. After 6 weeks in Mexico, I was feeling pretty good about my Spanish abilities. HA- No. I am like level 0. It's crazy how humbling this first week has been. So much to learn still. 

We have 7 people on date to be baptized within the next month which I am so excited about. There is some great work going on in this area right now. I've met so many amazing people and my second day here, I got to see what a mission is all about. We drove over to Gustavo and Jessica's house and started teaching them and their two adorable little girls- Mickinzie and Madison. It was so beautiful. A whole family sitting and listening to the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time and feeling the Spirit with them in their home. At the end of the lesson, little 2-year-old Madison comes up and gives me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. O mi corazon!!!

And then the next day was the biggest miracle!! Hermana Weymouth had been teaching this lady named Mary. We stopped by and she wasn't home but her daughter was so we started teaching her about the Restoration. I testified that God loves us and He gives us prophets to help us return to Him. I promised that if she would ask God if the things we taught were true, she would get an answer. Then Hermana Weymouth asked her to do it right then and there. She did and after her prayer, Hermana Weymouth asked if she wanted to be baptized. She said YES! My soul was singing. Such amazing faith on this young girl, Laura's, part. 

Also, I had my first authentic Mexican meal with Alejandra and her 2 little girls. She made us posole. It was actually super good. And then there was the salsa...oh boy. Me and her little girl dared each other to try it. I was chugging my water bottle and she was gulping down her Danimal for like 5 minutes. Haha. That stuff had some serious kick!!!

So now you see I was quite serious about the novel thing. Haha. But honestly, thank you so much for all your support and love! I feel your prayers for me all the time. I LOVE what I'm doing in bringing people to the joy of the Gospel. When I fall down exhausted at the end of every day, I know that every ounce of energy and effort I put in is worth it. Because the Gospel doesn't just change people's lives, it changes their eternity. 

Hermana Webb

ADIOS to my amazing MTC district

Herman Weymouth and our awesome mission president's wife
Sister Bonham

Wearing baby ties under sweaters

Prayer mat selfie! So much praying!

It takes all my will power not to go jump on these every day

WASHINGTON IS SO BEAUTIFUL