Elise at temple

Elise at temple
Hermana Moser

Monday, September 29, 2014

There can be MIRACLES when you BELIEVE

My dearest family,

WOW. WHAT A WEEK. I know that I probably mention that the mission is an emotional roller coaster like every week, but this was the craziest week I have ever had. Emotionally, physically, and spiritually. 

It all started with these two ridiculously hard baptisms that we had planned for the same Saturday. If they hadn´t been planned according to answers to prayers, I can assure you we would have pushed one of them back. But, like Nephi, we were determined to GO and DO what the Lord hath commanded. It just turns out sometimes the acting part is exhausting. 

We first had Gloria, who had to get married before she could be baptized. The only problem was that the registro civil here in Zapata wanted some paper that was evidence that she was single. So that is lame because she is obviously not with anyone else. She has been with her current boyfriend for a while, and they have 8 month old triplets. HELLO. But, the law is the law and we are all about respecting it and stuff, so we tried to get the paper. The only problem with this paper is that it is super hard to obtain, and it was going to take too long to do all the paperwork. So we all went to Palenque (in another state) to get those two married. Why? Because the registro civil in Chiapas is WAY less annoying than the registros civiles here in Tabasco. So they got married and they are beautiful and perfect and Hermana Pasley and I are coming back in a year to see them all get sealed :) 
Wedding

Baptism

Future eternal family with darling triplets!
 
LUEGO (Then) we had good ole Jorge, who has the faith like unto Enos. (Enos is his favorite. He relates EVERYTHING back to Enos. I love it). As before mentioned, Jorge cannot move his lower body due to a nasty fall and a spinal injury. His preparations were even MORE complicated than the wedding. First we had to find a camilla, then we had to find an ambulance to transport him... Then he had a health scare and had to go to Villahermosa. Luckily, there are elders in Villahermosa that were willing to go give him a blessing. The whole week was just one big stress monster. Hermana Pasley and I just laughed all the time because we literally did not know what else to do.  WHAT are two super American sisters doing planning the baptism of a boy that cannot walk?! haha.. 
 
 
 It was quite the adventure, I tell you what. Long story short, Saturday there were still problems with our plans.. but thanks to some super supportive rama members, everything turned out fine. Jorge se bautizo, and it was the most beautiful moment I have ever experienced in my mission. 

 
Although it was really funny when they got him in the water.. Jorge on his blue camilla with like five priesthood holders surrounding him ready to push it all under... only to find that camillas float! haha... So the actual baptism was a little bit more challenging than we had anticipated. It took them four tries, but they eventually got him under the water. He was confirmed immediately after in the hallway. The point is he is BAPTIZED and miracles happen and it was the COOLEST EVER. 
 
Mom had a lot of questions this week. Ahem:
1,  The thing I miss most about America is the cleanliness. ALSO that the bathrooms are 1) free and 2) have toilet paper AND soap. I know dad complains about all the laws and stuff.. but I am starting to feel real grateful for how regulated the states are. 
2.  No. people are terrible with time. We told everyone the baptism would start at 5 so that it would really start at 6. 
3.  Our new apartment is really simple. Maybe I´ll take some pictures next week. There are lots of lizard like creatures, but it is WAY cooler.. literally.. than either Frontier or Deportiva. Love it. 
4.  Toilet is fine. Washer is weird, and it is at a members house. There are no dryers. 
5.  YES. The churches and the temples feel the same as anywhere else. EXCEPT for the part where there are no benches. Just cushioned chairs. And also there is no carpet. OH! That is another thing I miss about America!!!... carpet. And couches. I just want to lay on a nice, cushy couch once in a while, ya know?
I love you I love you I love you!
Hermana Moser

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

"He is trying to FIGHT me, sir!"

These first three pictures go with my story about being detained because I was not carrying my visa.  This was our blessed  post-"prison" meal.

Hermana Cabrera, who was good enough to speak up when border agents had not asked to see her papers, thus providing me with a companion during my detainment for 8 hours. She didn't have hers either.
   
President and his family....our rescuers!


Holaa ya´ll!

This week was... interesting. Like an emotional roller coaster the likes of which I have never seen. I laughed.. I cried... I was shocked AND appalled.. I was tired..Well, I am literally always tired, so that one is not really surprising. 

It all started with this lovely couple that we contacted about two weeks ago. Hermana Pasley had gone with Hermana Briseño (our sister training leader) to see them when we had divisions. Apparently, they had taught the entire first lesson and saw little to no acceptance from the lovely investigatores heretofore mentioned. The hermano didn´t want to read the Book of Mormon, but the hermana was willing to try it out. They left a Book of Mormon there for them, and set an appointment for this week.

Well, we went with the intention of helping them understand why the Book of Mormon is so important. However, this man was very very closed. He would not.. Oh dear....no me hizo caso.  How do you say that? haha.. whoops.  [ignored me] The point is, every scripture we had he would either 1) Disregard it completely or 2) interpret in a different form. It was more than a little frustrating. We showed him the video of Elder Hollands testimony. We bore our testimonies with all the strength of a gringa spanish vocabulary. We challenged him to read and to pray. And he said no. He did not even want an answer from God. He is just 100% content with the Bible.

 I felt terrible. I am not joking. The only thing I want here is for people to accept the gospel and all the happiness that it brings us! And when they don´t want it at all it just breaks my heart into a thousand tiny little pieces. I tried to keep it together, but during the closing prayer I just could not stop the tears. WHY can´t they feel the spirit? WHY is this so hard for them to accept? Am I doing something wrong? Am I not good enough? WHY can´t we just be Alma and Amulek already??

The next day I was reading in 1st Nefi where it says... in a rough English translation: "Because the things that some men consider to be of great importance, for the body as well for the soul, others will take for nothing and with trample them under their feet; yea, even the God of Israel do men trample under their feet...they count him for nothing, and don´t hearken to the voice of his counsel." (1 Nefi 19:7) 

I remembered the youtube video we watched in mission prep called "The Atonement and Missionary Work" where Elder Holland is talking about why the mission can be so difficult. It is so difficult because we are representatives of Christ, and it was NEVER easy for Him. If people rejected the very Son of God, who am I to expect that every person will accept what I have to say? It was a very humbling moment for me, and also a very direct and wonderful answer from the Book  of Mormon. I just KNOW that book is true! 

Hermana Pasley and I have actually had a lot of interesting moments like that this week. Moments of "Get away, drunk man... ya bug me." and "Why is this guy singing a hymn that nobody knows?" and "It is just so TRUE!!" Sometimes we just look at each other like, "It is so true. This church is SO TRUE!" Like, not even a little bit not. We are so blessed.  

But seriously.. it was such an interesting week. Someday you´ll have to ask me about Jose Fancisco´s American Idol audition... It was a great time. 

We also have a miracle baptism happening this weekend! I mean... Estamos esperando, verdad? jaja.. It is the young man that had an accident and is paralyzed from the waist down. We still don´t know how he will be baptized.. but when we challenged him he said yes immediately. He did not even have to think about it. It was the best feeling in the whole world to have someone SO prepared and so willing! We love him. We also love Gloria, who will be getting baptized this weekend too, as long as everything works out with her papers and she gets married this week :)

Love the Lord. Love the work. Love all of you.
I love you I love you I love you
Peace an blessin´s. 

Hermana Moser

Hermana Pasley and I

This is Chikis, who reminded me so much of my brother Jesse, on his baptism day.  I wrote about him a couple of weeks ago, waiting at the bottom of the hill in his church clothes, all smiles.


Monday, September 15, 2014

VIVA MÉXICO!!!! *cue mexican laugh*

Mí quierdo familia,

This week was wonderful! We had the baptism of Chikis, who turned 8 on sunday and was SO excited to be baptized he just couldn´t wait until Saturday. So we woke up before the crack of dawn so that he could be baptized and confirmed the same day. He was the most precious little child ever. We went to pick him and his mom up, and he was just standing at the bottom of the hill in his little white shirt and suit with a HUGE grin on his face. And then when he entered the water he just could not stop smiling! HE was the cutest! He reminds me SO Much of Jesse. I am not joking. Just picture a little Mexican Jesse, and there you have Chikis. (His real name is José Miguel, just by the way. All the kids in this familiy have fun nicknames. Poncho is the next on the list to get baptized :)) 

We also went with Gloria this week to check on her papers so that she can get married on Friday, buuuttt she is from Chiapas, and apparently she has to go to there to get her papel de solteria. (something that says she is not already married). This is silly, because she has been with the same guy for a long time, she is only 23, and they have triplets... but rules are rules. The only problem is that the offices won´t open again until wednesday, because today and tomorrow they are celebrating independence day, mexican style, and so all the official places are closed. We still have faith that it will all work out! 

Alright Mom, it´s FINE. I´ll tell you the story! 

Once upon a time we went to Palenque for zone conference. Except for we didn´t actually make it to the zone conference because we got stopped at the border by the immigration police. When they saw that it was full of Americanas, they asked for our visas. Pues, President Morales had forgotten to give me my real visa when I left Villahermosa, and all I had was a copy of the original. The immigration guy was really nice, and was going to let it go with a warning, but his boss-lady was like, "NO! TIENE QUE TENER SUS PAPELES! BAJALA! BAJALA!" So me bajé. But all of the other missionaries got off with me, because HELLO we are missionaries and we are all in this together. (*cue dance routine*). This made the lady even more upset. So she sent me to the prison van with the other foreigners that didn´t have papers. 

Meanwhile, my companion is freaking out, and all of them are fighting with the lady to just let me leave.. They´re calling the presidente.. Er´rything. None of them could come with me because they all had their papers. So lame. But then Hermana Cabrera, who hadn´t been asked for her papers because she looks Mexican, spoke up and said, "Pues, I´m from Peru and I don´t have my papers either.. So I have to go with her." She is a hero and I have NEVER been more relieved in my whole life than when I saw her board the van.

We actually had a great day. We sang hymns to the other inmates, placed a book of mormon and some pamphlets, got a reference... We also played with all the poor little kids that are stuck in there. They have got to be so bored. We were only there for like 8 hours and I thought we were going to die. But in the end President Morales and his family came, got us out, and took us out to eat. It is just one of those stories, ya know? Maybe you had to have been there.. 

So I was reading in a Liahona the other day when I came across a quote by elder Uctdorf that I like a lot. I am not really sure how to make it effective in English.. but I will give it a shot:

"We do not achieve humility by thinking less OF ourselves; we achieve humility when we think less IN ourselves." It made me think of the devotional we watched by Elder Bednar in the CCM called "The Character of Christ." Christ spent his entire life looking outward, and that was what made him the perfect example. We are not made humble by not recognizing our divine potential and the gifts and talents that God has given us-- we are made humble as we use and dedicate 100% of these blessings to the benefit of others. That is what Jesus did; that is what Jesus would do. Changed my perspective on some things, this quote. Gotta love that Elder Uctdorf.

Pues... I love you I love you I love you!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! YOU DA GREATEST MOM IN THE WHOLE WORLD!

Hermana Moser
 
Also: Shout out to Mom for the PACKAGE!!!! (I am in LOVE with the hot tamalles found therein. And I also like the half-ts you sent better than the ones we got from the missionary mall.. Just saying). And the dearelders from Mom, Jesse, Amanda, and Hermana Howell. Ya´ll are the best :) 
 

Friday, September 12, 2014

"The Immigration Adventure"

September 8, 2014
Thanks for writing me!

..Got lots to read, so this will probably be a short-ish email. Too bad, because a lot happened this week.

First of all, this is like magic-investigator land or something because the people here are AMAZING! I am in love with all of them. They´re just like "YES you can come to my house and leave me compromisos that I will fulfill." And "YES I would like to be baptized as soon as possible, please." It is the beesst.

Por ejemplo: We are teaching this family that has TRIPLETS. (No, you did not read that wrong. There are three babies). The hermano is menos activo since he was like 9 years old, and his... the hermana is investigating. She is perfect. Her answers and her questions are always exactly right. It is like clockwork teaching her. It is such a miracle that she even understands us since, well.. We are both very much American. Bless our hearts. But I love that family so much!!

We also have another investigator that is paralyzed from the waist down because he had a nasty fall of about 3 stories. The lessons with him are SO powerful. Yesterday we read Enos with him, and he loved it. He was applying it to his life like a pro. Afterwards, we prayed there with him. (That was funny, because we said we.. meaning Hermana Pasley and I... were going to kneel down, and he just looked at us like "Hermanas. I can't kneel down"."And looked at his legs all pointedly. He is hilarious). We prayed, and after he said he felt something like indescribable joy and peace in his heart. We asked him what he thought it was, and he just said, The Spirit, right? YES! It was amazing. He wants to get baptized soo bad, but the doctors say that if he bends like that it could make the damage permanent. We are all praying for a miracle.

I suppose you are now wondering about the Great Immigration Adventure of 2014. I think you[ll have to wait til Christmas for all the details... But I will tell you that I spent Saturday in immigration detention and President and Sister Morales had to come rescue me. And by me I mean us, because Hermana Cabrera was a superhero and came with me. I DO NOT want you to worry. It was just a Little mix up with my papers. Everything is fine now, and it will be a great story. "Remember that time they took me to Tenosique...?" haha.. Good times.

Pues... I love you I love you I love you!

Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Enos 1:8

Con amor,
Hermana Moser 

HE CAMBIADO!


September 1, 2014
Hellooooooo!

Once upon a time, everyone´s favorite Mexican missionary was sitting in nightly planning with her beloved companion. Suddenly, the phone rang. "Asistente 1," it read. "WHAT?!" The bewildered sisters exclaimed. "The cambios are done already?!" 

"Hermana Ayala?" El Elder said. "Are you ready for the cambios?"

"Yes Elder. Tell me," she replied. In Spanish. Because they both speak Spanish.

"Your compañera has cambios, Hermana. Your compañera has cambios." 

What is the moral of this little story? YOU BET YOUR LIFE I HAVE HAD TRANSFERS! Así es, mi querido familia. Now I am in some place named Emilio Zapata with Hermana Pasley. That doesn´t sound like a very Mexican name, you say? Ya got that right. My lovely companion is from St. George Utah, and I can already tell that we are going to be best friends. Apart from the fact that I´m compañera mayor in a new place with an American companion and that I am freaking out, I am REALLY excited for this cambio! 

Zapata is a little more like Frontera. No Walmart. No... well... much of anything. 
It´s all hills, so that´s awesome, and our house is ant-free. #itsamiracle. I mean, I prefer ants over cockroaches, but if there are neither then that would be the best. 
Also my ex-compañera hermana Martinez is here in the branch! apparently there are 8 missionaries here. 

Saying good-bye in Deportiva was the worst, though. I am not joking. Nancy came to the bus station this morning, and sat with me for the whole 2.5 hours I was there, just so that she could see me off. She is the best. I cried. Everyone we saw yesterday was just so nice! I felt SO much love from the members and from the investigatores. And the other missionaries. I did NOT want to leave Hermana Ayala, Weaver, and Perez. They are so wonderful, and I had SO MUCH FUN living with them.  I feel like I´m leaving home all over again every time we have cambios. Ugh. 

This weekend was stake conference and it was amazing. Elder Lester Johnson, an area seventy, came to speak to us. The Saturday night session was amazing for two reasons: #1: Hermano Gustavo, an hermano we have been working with that was baptized in March, said the opening prayer. And it was beautiful. It is so fun to see their progression after baptism!!! and #2: The entire meeting was on the work of salvation. It was awesome! They talked about member missionary work, retention, activation, family history, and temple work. I think every person there walked out feeling more responsible for the obra (work) of salvation.

 O sea, Moses 1:39. "For behold this is MY WORK and MY GLORY, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

Do you know why being a missionary is so great? Because for 1.5-2 years of your life, you get to have the EXACT same work and glory as our Heavenly Father. No wonder we feel so close to Him when we participate in this great work! It is the most humbling, satisfying, and spiritually edifying thing one could ever be a part of. It is de beeeehhhsst. I am so blessed. 

Welll... I´ll try to go send pictures. 

Please don´t forget about me. 

I love you I love you I love you!

Hermana Monser.

PS: MASSIVE congratulations to BFF Karissa y su marido Cody. It´s so weird, but I´m happy for you!