Elise at temple

Elise at temple
Hermana Moser

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Home Again


Upon my arrival, Idaho Falls Regional Airport looked a little crowded:



It may have been 10:30 pm that I arrived back in Idaho, but plenty of family was there to greet me!

Mi Familia

My Twinner, the "other" Hermana Moser, was also there to greet me.



Home Sweet Home.
June 6, 2015

Monday, June 1, 2015

Flying

Buenas tardes, mi queridisima familia,

Once upon a time, a young woman was abandoned by her family on the side of the road. A nice person helped the young woman with her baggage and steered her through some corridors until she came to a room where they welcomed her warmly and placed a black badge over her heart. The young woman was scared and excited all at the same time....Almost enough to sing a song called "scared, but excited," but she was surrounded by people and that probably wouldn´t have been appropriate.

The young woman studied and learned and grew and met 5 other young women who will forever be considered her sisters. They talked and laughed and did not dance because... well because they were missionaries and dancing is frowned upon in mission-dom. Then one day, everything changed. The 6 young ladies were shipped off to various parts of a foreign land, where they were expected to help change lives. What this young girl didn´t understand, however, was just how much her own life was about to change..

As she wandered through the tropical jungle searching for anything that would help her on her quest, she ran into tarantulas, iguanas, monkeys, bats and several other terrifying beasts. Good thing this girl is super mega brave. She was forced to eat chicken hearts and spicy peppers and chocolate chicken and cow stomach, and still she endured. She learned a new language, walked a bajillion miles, and met a thousand people that she came to know and love. All within  short, so short, 19 months.

But the most powerful of all her adventures, was her own personal journey of coming unto her Savior. Through it all, through the rain and the sun and the more sun, she was able to see miracles and tender mercies without number and she knew that God loved her. She came to know and love Jesus Christ. She came to understand the atonement a little bit better. She came to appreciate her home and family  whole lot more. She came to desire the same for every single person that she sees.

Now this chapter of the young woman's story is ending, and it would be a lie to say that she isn´t terrified of the thought of leaving her beloved Mexican family, but she knows that faith is pointed towards the future. She knows that progression is something that only comes with changes. And as one wise mentor said from the beginning:

"He said, Come to the edge
and I said no, I´ll fall..
He said, Come to the edge.
and I said no, I´ll fall..
He said, Come to the edge.
I came. He pushed.
I flew."

I am so grateful for the opportunity I have been given to serve as a missionary of Jesus Christ. It has been a dream come true to be able to help other people recognize His hand in their lives. I will continue to work as hard as humanly possible in the days I have left as a name-tag wearing representative of Christ, but I plan on working hard the rest of my life.

"...Porque nuestros hermanos loslamanitas se hallaban en la obscuridad, sí, aun en el mas tenebroso abismo; mas he aquí, ¡Cuantos de ellos han sido guiados a ver la maravillosa luz de Dios! Y esta es la bendicion que se ha conferido sobre nosotros, que hemos sido hechos instrumentos en las manos de Dios para realizar esta gran obra."

Thanks for your support. Thank you for your love  and prayers and letters. Honestly and truly I could not feel more blessed.

Nos vemos pronto. muuuuy pronto.

I love you I love you I love you.

Hermana Moser



ps. Please don´t forget me. I will be there late saturday night. :) Thanks. 

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Another week bites the dust. And so did my companion.

May 25, 2015

BUEEEnas tardes.

Hope you are all good and healthy and behaving yourselves.

Everything is just fine and dandy here in Mexico! Everyone keeps reminding me of how much time I have left... the bishop... the ward members... the invesitgadores... President Morales... But Hermana Knowles and I have decided that we are going to pretend that I am staying for another 6 months. It makes me feel way better about life. I think about going home and I get a liiiiiittle stressed out.

This week has been great! And emotionally challenging... but hey! So is every week in the mission! A highlight of the week was the following:

Here in Mexico you cannot drink out of the faucet. Well.. You can.. but you will get deathly ill and that is not good. So we always have to go buy 20 liter jugs of water from the nearest corner store and carry the thing all the way to our house. We are super strong, so we do it ourselves instead of asking for help. #'Murica. The other day we took a field trip in the middle of weekly planning to go get the water, but nobody had any. We walked pretty much all over town. Then we finally found someone close to home that sold our brand of water, and we bought it. Hermana Knowles, being the tough cookie that she is, hoisted that bad boy over her shoulder and off we went. She was complaining about how it was heavier than normal and joked about how she was going to drop it. I had literally just said, "don´t you dare drop that" when i heard a thundering crash behind me. DOOOWWN SHE GOES! She just pretty much face planted it into the pavement. Well... not really, but she did scratch her knees up real nicely. (Thanks Dr. Dad for the band-aids and antibiotic ointment). Moral of the story: Be grateful you can drink from the tap. It´s a real knee-saver.

I honestly think that I was supposed to extend my mission for the district class that I am in. We have the best district leader in probably the history of the world. His name is Elder Lopez. He only has 3 months in the mission, but his classes are so good! and they inspire Hermana Knowles and I to do things that we have never done in our missions before! And his inspirational stories are hilarious. You´ll have to remind me to tell you the story of him in the Extra. Writing it out just doesn´t do it justice. Know that it made all of us laugh until we cried.

Friday we had interviews with President Morales, where I cried because I still don´t feel like I have progressed to where I wanted to be. I won´t go into details...but President Morales is the best. He made me feel so good about myself and the work that I have done in the last months of my life, and he also made me feel a little bit better about going home. I am excited for the.... other interview next week! To make it even better, he took us out to dairy queen on the way to the bus station.. just Hermana Knowles and I. Pretty sure we are his favorites. :) I could be wrong...but I don´t think so.

Well, I am healthy and happy and working really hard. I am still not the perfect missionary, but I am realizing that I don´t have to be in order to help others. Nor do I have to be a full-time missionary to serve the Lord for my whole life. But I WILL take FULL advantage of these last two weeks that I have. Ugh. There.. I said it. SO WEIRD!!

Love you. Praying for you.

I love you I love you i love you!

Hermana Moser

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Cunduacan--week 19

May 18, 2015
Heeeeey!

So.. last week was waaay better than the week before. Still nobody wants to get baptized, but we have been meeting new people left and right that are so awesome! Sometimes I just think to myself about how cool all the people are. Everyone has a story. You see someone on the side of the road, and you think that you basically know what they are going to say, and then you actually talk to them and you realize that they are nothing like the person you thought they were. Everyone has surprised me with the depth of their thoughts and how much they have gone through in their lives. It is the coolest to be able to talk to everyone. I have learned so much through the stories of other people. 

In other news: hermana Knowles and I are pozol champions. Literal champions. We drank so much pozol last week that I am pretty sure we each gained 50 pounds. What is pozol, you ask? It is kind of like a tortilla smoothie. With cacao. I thought it was dirt in a cup the first time I drank it, but it grows on you. They say that it takes away the heat and the thirst.... And since it is one billion degrees outside all the time, the whole world has been giving us pozol. One time we drank like a whole liter before lunch. And then we had to go to lunch. We both thought we were going to die. Here´s to a week with less pozol, eh? 

We are making more of an effort to pray specifically for our investigadores. Sometimes it is hard to remember all of them, but we do our very best and we have been seeing mini miracles. For example: José half accepted a fecha! He still says that it will only be if he feels ready or "when he says"... but we are working for May 30th! We have been praying really hard for him to feel a strong desire to be baptized, and that we will be able to know whatever it is that is holding him back. He has his interview scheduled with our district leader (who is a super missionary....Seriously the best district leader ever) this friday. We are super excited for him, even if he is still not 100% sure. 

Thanks for all the support you have given me, mi familia. I feel incredibly blessed to have been born to my parents, and to have had the childhood that I had. I am grateful for every part of my life, and I want to do everything that I can to show my Heavenly Father just how grateful I really am. Thanks for letting me stay out here a little bit longer. :) And for NOT reminding me how many days I have left. haha

I love you I love you I love you!

Hermana Moser

Monday, May 18, 2015

11 de Mayo.... y sigo misionando

May 11, 2015
HOWDY FAM!

It was so much fun to see you all yesterday! I am sorry that the connection was so bad... That is what we get for being in Mexico where the internet... pues.. doesn´t really work. But at least we got to see each other, right? even if it was super mega blurry.

So today is the day that my misson card says that I should be going home. But I´m not! I am still in Mexico! WHOOOO!!! And I am not sure if I should repent or not, because I am pretty sure today it is 1000 degrees outside. We have been dying all day. And the bathroom has turned into a sauna. But it is okay... I am pretty sure I can deal. I am just so grateful that I have the opportunity to continue in the Lord´s service a short time longer. I do not feel like I have done everything I was sent here to do!

This week was really hard. No one wanted to get baptized, and actually it felt like no one was ever home. I was grouchy about it, which I shouldn´t have been, but 18 months in the mission apparently does not make you perfect. That has been a hard lesson to learn as well. Sometimes you just get so frustrated with human frailties. If I have been a missionary for a year and a half, why am I not super awesome yet?! I should be so happy and so obedient and have all of the attributes of Christ by now, right? But I am learning to be very patient, and to be nicer, and to be a more loving person generally. We are praying that this week will be way better.

I feel like I was going to write something important, but I do not remember what it was..... Probably because I feel like there is nothing much left to write. em... I hope you all have large days, and that you are happy and well and bringing the gospel to ALL THE PEOPLE!!!

I love you I love you I love you!!!

Hermana Moser

PS CONGRATULATIOONS TANNNER!!!!! (I still love you... even though you never write me and will probably not even read this. Muchas felicidades :)

Friday, May 8, 2015

May the fourth be with you

May 4, 2015



So we had a really good week last week. I mean... it was probably the fastest week of my entire mission.. like I cannot believe I am already here again...but I guess time flies when you are HAVING FUN! WHOO!

We had two baptisms on Saturday! The two little brothers of Liliana! They were the cutest. They had been wanting to get baptized for a really long time, but the parents kept saying that they were too young blah blah blah. So we were going to go in there and planch those parents with scriptures and such, but we didn´t. We had the calmest and most spiritually powerful lesson. I felt 100% guided by the Spirit, which is always the best feeling in the whole world. They told us they would have a family council on the matter and that we could stop by the next day, which was last Monday. Monday we went to talk to them a little bit nervious. They came out, sat down, and the mom said, "You´re here about the baptism, right? Well.. we talked about it, and we decided that yes they can get baptized." WHAT?! YEAS!!!!!! It was so exciting! They were so precious in their excitement, those two little guys. Love them. And what I love more is that BOTH of the parents went to the baptism AND the confirmation! And the mom stayed there for the whole block! (Which was fun because relief society was really...erm...exciting).  We are really super excited about teaching them about the restored gospel so that the entire family can get baptized and then get sealed and then be happy!!!! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!

Last week was also awesome because it was rainy and cold. and that means our wardrobe about doubles. We also had the consejo and therefore the zone class in cardenas. Gooood times. I don´t know HOW I get so lucky, but an assistant ALWAYS comes to our class. This time I really didn´t think one was going to be there, but then, right before it was my turn to speak, in walks the Elder. Awesome. But it was all good! It was a really good class! We have some really good zone leaders, and I think all of us got good and PUMPED to work super duper hard.

I was thinking today about how today should have been my very last pday, and I was thinking, "Boy, I am really glad that today is not my last pday." And then I started feeling the pressure, because now it´s like a race against time. There are just so many things that I feel like I still have to do, and so very little time to do it in. Hermana Knowles and I are going to work with all of our MIND all of our MIGHT and all of our STRENGTH in these last weeks to make sure that our Heavenly Father is happy with our effort. They say the mission is a marathon, not a sprint.... I´m no runner, but I am pretty sure this last little bit is about to be a sprint. HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

And I don´t know what ya´ll had planned for Sunday... but I was thinking that we could maybe skype? If you wanted? I was thinking that maybe we could chat at like 4:30 or 5 my time? If that would be possible? Okay. Awesome. See you there.

Remember who you are and what you stand for.
No kissing or swearing. 
Share the gospel.
peace and blessings.

i love you I love you I love you

Hermana Moser

I don´t know about you... but I´m feeling TWENTY TWO!!

April 27, 2015
Wow.. I feel like I haven´t even written you people since I was a least 21 years old! MAN how times does fly, doesn´t it? hahaha.... Kidding. In case you didn´t know, I am now 22 years of age, which is a lot. It is super weird. I still hadn´t really come to terms with being 21. Guess that´s life, eh?
 My people treated me really well on Thursday. My companion made me french toast because she loves me, and also decorated my wall with a "Feliz cumpleaños." It is hilarious because the s keeps falling off. Guess even our wall decorations want to be choco. haha. "Feliz cumpleaño a todo" hahaha Goood times. Then at night, we had a meeting with the bishop and his counselors to resolve a pequeño problema que tenemos... and then it was over and we only had like 15 minutes to get home and so when all the hermanos left... we did too. When the bishop saw us all he said was "Why did you leave the room? Go back to the room." So we went back to the room and just sat there awkwardly until ...


...the door opened and a bunch of members came in singing happy birthday and carrying a cake. hahaha They are the best. We had to do the traditional cake face smashing and cutting really fast, though, because the misioneras had to go! Good thing ward members have cars and are willing to drive us home. :) Other than that it was a pretty normal day. We have found and taught a lot of really awesome people, and it has been hard to decided who we need to focus on.

Feeling 22 and loved.
Traditional birthday cake face plant.
Trying to share some frosting "love" with Hermana Knowles

We have this really super awesome investigador named Jose. He is AWESOME and he is so ready to be baptized he just hasn´t realized it yet. Sometimes he gets frustrated with us for talking about it so much, but what else are we supposed to do, ya know? Last week we went to see him, and he said that he has increased his faith, and that he has repented "a little bit" and that he really has seen a change in himself. So we decided, after much talking, probably too much talking, to say a prayer. The only one that really knows of Jose needs to be baptized is his Heavenly Father. It was a really sweet prayer. And afterwords he just sat there and looked at the ground (we were outside sitting under a tree because it is HOT). We sat there for about 5 minutes, until one of us finally asked what he had felt. And he told us that he couldn´t concentrate because the chickens were making too much noise. Sigh. This week we are going back to see him again. Don´t worry, he will come around someday. 
 Sorry that you were all so confused by the Zapata thing... It WAS pretty confusing for all of us. They (the president and the office elders) were bringing to pass some sweet special conferences that required some heavy duty divisiones. Sometimes the president went out with missionaries, and sometimes Hermana Morales, and the office elders... but there are no hermanas in the offices, so they called the liders capacitadoras to help out I guess. But they gave us NO notice. So I went for 24 hours to my old area to help out. That is all. It was pretty great.

Hey good job Naflin in nationals!! Can´t wait to hear all about it!
I love you I love you I love you!!!
Hermana Moser

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Zapataaa

April 20, 2015 

Once upón a time, Hermana Moser received an interesting phone call from President Morales. 

"Hermana Moser, are you doing anything important today?"

"Just missionary work, president. You?"

"We were just wondering if you could hop on a combi and get to Villa. We need you in Emiliano Zapata today, and we are about to leave."

"WHAT? The emiliano Zapata that is super far away?"

"Yes." 

"Bueno, pues. Alli voy."

And so that is the story of how I got to return to the place that I love OH so dearly. 

it was so much fun! I got to see Jorge, Gloria, mis bebes (one of them can walk now!), Juan Pablo and his familia... And also Hermana Solis! And then in the ADO I saw the bishops wife from Frontera!!! WHAAAAAT?! Plus, on the way there, President Morales bought me a Subway sandwich, and let me watch the restoration movie in English with his daughter on her super nice laptop in the back of the van. It pretty much just felt like one giant birthday present from my Heavenly Father. He loves me. :)
Gloria.
Juan Pabloa and his wife, who also got baptized!  YEAS!

Hermana Solis

We had a wonderful baptism! Her name is Liliana and she is AWESOME. Probably the most spiritually intelligent 16 year old I have ever met. Which is a good thing, too, because I was definitely on the other side of the mission when the elders did her baptism interview. She was totally ready. The only sad part was that nobody from her family came. Her little brothers were sleeping, her little sister is a bit of a stinker and didn´t want to come, and her parents had left town. But we had Hermano Bartolo, who is her neighbor and a GIANT helper in missionary work, do the ordinance. He was  happy, she was happy, we were RIDICULOUSLY happy.... I love baptisms. 
Sister Knowles, Liliana, Me, Hermano Bartolo



HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSSEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! Wow. 9 Years. Sometimes I look at other kids that have 9 years, and I can´t believe that my baby brother is that big. Freaky. Sure love you, kid. Hope you´re being good.

My Week in Pictures:

This is a picture of my joy at seeing a dog in a bag. Hilarious!


HUCKLEBERRY!!!! I love Hermana Weaver and I love her MORE
when she shares her packages.
The other day we were walking, when suddenly Hermana Knowles disappeared! I turned around and.. lo and behold.. she had stopped in the shade. It is HOTT here.
#Ishott!



Well... That is about all I can think of. Love your guts!

I love you I love you I love you!

Hermana Moser

#statusofficialmexican

April 13, 2015

Ways to know you are officially Mexican:
1. You eat mole without batting an eye. Because you actually like it.
2. You get really hot, and you actually crave pozol.
3. It is not considered ridiculously hot until every part of you is sweating. Eyes, neck, knees... all of it. 
4. You can carry a 20 liter jug of water from the nearest corner store to your 2nd story apartment without putting it down.
5. You CAN break into your own apartment through the tiny window in the bedroom.  
This week was a weird week. I think all the weeks are weird. haha... Just nothing here happens the way I imagined. Today, as we were sitting on the kitchen floor eating freshly made pancakes, we talked about how even 2 years ago we never would have imagined our lives here in Mexico. And now I can´t imagine my life without my time here. It continues to be the BEST. Every day I am amazed by some new thing, or some new word, or some new way of thinking. Every day i learn something new about the gospel or about the love that God has for LITERALLY every single one of His children. The mission is the best ever. So... Sorry if i don´t go home. :) haha kidding... I have already had one run-in with the migration police... Don´t really want to repeat that experience.  
Wait, about the weird week we had: 
It started with Tuesday, because Tuesday we went running. (insert gasp "BUT she doesn´t run!" here). We had been going up to the roof to excercise, because the rule is to go outside for 30 minutes, but I know that Hermana Knowles used to be a runner. She has adapted to other things for the sake of her other companions, but I thought "Hermana Knowles, if you want to run in the morning.. I will support you." You know what that was? A bad idea. We came back from our run (sweating bullets because, pues, it´s Mexico en Abril) only to find that our bedroom was locked! That was completely unacceptable because the fans were in there! We tried opening it with tweezers, knives, bobby-pins... all kinds of things. Nuthin. So then we went outside in the little hallway there and thought, "Well... there is a hole there where the invisible air conditioner lives... Maybe we can get through that!" hermana Knowles tried it... but it didn´t really work. And then I tried it... and I got in! hahaha it was really hilarious and scary and awesome. We still can´t believe it actually worked, and it happened a long time ago.  
The rest of the week was weird just because we were exhausted. I blame running. Then my companions blood pressure spiked yesterday and we had to go to the doctor and she had to get a shot... I am telling you. running is not healthy.  
It was also hard because one of my favorite investigadores dropped us. I hate it when that happens. It just hurts every time.  
We have a baptism planned for this Saturday! For a lovely young woman named Liliana. She is the greatest. I think I sent a funny picture a couple weeks ago with us and her brothers. We are super excited for her, and also for her whole family. Her little brother Kevin turned 8 like a month ago, and is repeatedly asking his mom when he can get baptized. :) I love them. 

Well I´m super stoked you got to go to Hawaii! That sounds great. How about you take me with you next time, eh?
I love you I love you I love you!
Hermana Moser - Mexican.

Gracias a que ¡EL VIVE!


April 6, 2015
Sooo... Last week was awesome.  
I mean, not awesome in that no one was home and there was zero transportation and we walked a lot a lot and it was really hot.... but awesome in that those things didn´t even matter one little bit for Hermana Knowles and I. This new video from the church is the best thing that has happened since El es la Dádiva, and we shared it with the entire world (and by that I mean the pueblito de Cunduacán). It was AWESOME. We spent all of our time testifying of the Atonement of Christ, of His Resurreccion... of His church and His prophet that we heard speak this weekend!!!! 
 I LOVE CONFERENCE! It was the best thing ever! We only had one investigador come. Turns out conference coincides with the same week that all of Mexico goes to the beach for the week. Ni modo. Our investigadora is named Jessica. She is 17 and the sister of a young man that has been less active for about a year. They BOTH came to conference, even though they had cousins at home! We were so excited! Well, I was so excited! Hermana Knowles didn´t even really know that she was an investigador. haha :) Love cambios, right? She said she really liked it, and asked when we could go to her house. She is awesome. 
And so was conference!!! IT WAS AWESOME! Except we didn´t know abou the dissenting votes... And what happened to Elder Scott?? And is president Monson sick? No one tells us anything, so if there is something we should know about.... 
We were just super excited to hear all the messages. It is literally better than Christmas in the mission. I have probably said that before. But seriously.. we go to bed all giddy and we wake up and put our best clothes  on. Well.. this time around that really didn´t happen either because we hadn´t done laundry in 2 weeks gracias a los cambios and we were both running low on clothes. Also we had daylight savings on saturday that robbed us one whole hour of precious sleep, pero bueno. We survived and today we ate pizza and last weekend was conference and IT WAS AWESOME! I loved the talk by the man that spoke in Spanish. And the talk by Elder holland. And the talk abou the Sabbath Day. That is one of our biggest problems in this area. i have no specific quotes to send you because my notes are all in some sweet spanglish. Lets just say that a lot of my questions were answered, and the spirit was felt. I love conference. We are going to use these talks to help the whole world! :D I am very jealous that you all got to go. I am also jealous of that pie that I see in the picture at grandmas house. "What is that... pie? What does that taste like?" 
I also loved when President Uctdorf started speaking in Spanish. The voice over people had a good chuckle as well. They are funny. :)

I love you I love you I love you!
And today i bought a camera. :) So.... Maybe you´ll get pictures next week.
Paz y bendiciones
Hermana Moser

Compa Americana part 3

March 30, 2015
Heeeeeey guys,

Sorry about last week. I was as sad about it as you were, trust me. My companion was just REALLY fascinated by all of the animals found in la venta, and took a picture of every single one of them. She didn´t understand the time crunch we were in, I guess. And then we took a combi that took us faaaaaaaar away from where we wanted to be.. and then we got stuck in traffic... It was a wonderful time. Trust me. Also it rained. The good news is that La Venta is really cool! When you two take me back to Mexico I will bring you and I will buy you dulce de coco and pozol. Because it is the best.

 I am feeling like my communication skills are not their best today. 

Probably because we had transfers. Transfers always jargle the noggin. My dear Hermana Rivero dela Guarda went to who-knows-where, and now I am here in Cunduacán with Hermana Knowles! (That´s right! American companion #3 for the WIIN). She is from Riverton, Utah, she has 14 months in the mission, and she is awesome. We are about to rock this place. 

This last Saturday we had three baptisms! Of Estrella, Blanca, y Zuri. They are the family of Enrique and they are WONDERFUL! I love them so much! When we go there I feel like I am going to an Aunt´s house or something. And they are super fun to teach because they do everything we ask them to do and more! Like they have read the entire Gospel Principles book. They understand everything so well, and they were so excited to be baptized! 

Something really cool happened with Zuri. She was always kind of not sure about whether or not she wanted to get baptized on Saturday, so on Thursday we went with her and read in Alma 32 about faith and then said a prayer asking God if that was what He wanted her to do. She said after the prayer she felt something like "whooosh" and all tingly and warm... so then we talked about the Spirit and everything and she seemed more calm about her baptism date. Friday we did not see them because we had a party celebrating the relief society in the which all of the hermanas came dressed up as pioneers. Hilarious, because they all brought their bonnets and their 6-inch heels. I love Mexico! haha. Saturday morning we went, and Blanca and Estrella were super sure about what they wanted, but they said that Zuri still was not sure. And she wasn´t there! she was out with her friends!! AHH! We were  super nervous, but we trusted in the answers that we knew God had already given her. 

So then all three of them were super late for the baptism service, and I was super stressed out because... well, baptisms stress me out. Until then we saw Zuri walking up the sidewalk all beautiful in a new dress and smiling and happy and ready to be baptized!!!! WE WERE SO EXCITED!!! But this is where the cool part happened: 

Zuri came back that morning more confused than before. So Blanca, her mom, started reading Mosiah 18 with her. Zuri was crying and not sure, and then she noticed that something was written in the front of her Book of Mormon. She asked her mom to read it, and it was John 3:5! "El que no naciere del agua y del espiritu no puede entrar al reino de Dios." (Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ) She took that for her answer. :) But the weird part is no one knows who wrote it! It is the book that we gave her, but we never wrote anything... and they have asked everyone that had access to it... nothing. Super cool. Heavenly Father is AWESOME and He ALWAYS answers prayers! 
I can´t remember much else that happened. I am exhausted. haha.. I am glad that you had fun in Seattle! Mexico is better, but... next year :) Also, THANK YOU for the clips of Naflin singing. That kid is GOOD! My goodness gracious... Even with the videos being upside down I was amazed. :) haha "If I were a rich man" was my favorite. Loved the shimy. 

I love you I love you I love you!

Have a good week!

Hermana Moser

PS.. Mom, the president said today that I will be going home on the 6th. I will be traveling by myself... but now you don´t have to worry about scheduling conflicts. 

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

SORRY!

March 23, 2015

Dear loved ones,

We have approximately zero minutes to write today. What happened was that we went to La Venta (a sweet museum in Villa) with Hermanas Pasley and Zuñiga and it took longer than expected. Actually, what took the longest was the getting lost in Villahermosa part. The point is, now we are home and happy and safe and SUPER late. Just wanted to write a little something, since I know that Monday´s are probably the day you look forward to the most. :)

I love you I love you I love you!!!

Pictures look awesome!

Hermana Moser

IF I WERE A RICH MAN... diddle diddle dirrl dirle divleridlad dum!

March 16, 2015

[insert jewish salutation here]

So... I am super jealous of the talents of my baby brother that I haven´t even had the pleasure of seeing... WHY hasn´t some sort of video footage been sent this way?! 

This week was waaaay better than last week. Three important things happened. They are as follows: 

1) Thursday we had a wonderful zone conference with the President and his wife where we watched Conozca a los Mormones! Finally! It was wonderful! And so funny. I loved the football coaches wife. "WHY would you even do that, Chris?" hahaha gets me every time. Got a little teary eyed when the mom sent off her missionary... It is just a really good movie. I approve. 

We left really fast after the conference because our district leader was there and we wanted him to do some interviews. Didn´t think much of it, since the stake president was there having a meeting with president Morales. Then at like 10:15 I get a phone call.

 "Sister Moser?"

 "Yes president?"

 "...You locked us in the garage." (he means parking lot)

".....ahhahahahahaha I am so sorry!!! Do you need us to come rescue you?"

"No. I have my ways. But if you want to get rid of me, there are better ways to do it. I won´t forget this, Sister Moser."

hahaha Do you get it? The conference was in Cunduacán, so we were in charge of the keys. We had opened the gate for the presidents car to pass through.. and then we had locked it back up. hahaha whoops. Good thing the stake president has the keys. hahaha it STILL makes me laugh thinking about it.

2) Friday I went on divisions with Hermana Wood!!! My MTC companion! IT was so fun! It was awesome to see how much we have both progressed in the  last lot of months. I just kept remembering how we were the WORST in Spanish, and now at least we are understandable. haha It is AWESOME. The mission is AWESOME. There were also Reeses in the oxxo in her area, so that was exciting. 

3) Well, this part did not actually make me happy. Saturday night our lovely neighbors decided to have a party. It started at approximately 12:30 am and ended, are you ready? at FIVE in the morning. I was so ticked. Sleep is precious, and I was so sad I was awake that I cried. hahaha The music was just so loud! Like the walls were vibrating loud. Hermana Rivero slept through the whole thing. 

This week I will buy a camera. Promise. Well.. if we have time. It´s just that there´s no time! 

I love you I love you I love you! 

Hermana Moser (Sister of the broadway star Naflin Moser) (I´m serious about the video thing).

Granny Shoes

March 9, 2015


Soooo this week was a weird one. Felt like we hardly worked because EVERY DAY something weird happened that prevented working like I would have liked. But it is okay... (It took like three tries to write "it is okay." What is wrong with me?!)  
Tuesday the offices called and wanted a bunch of paperwork that involved running from the house to the ciber to the house to the ciber again and took a solid 2 hours of our day. 
Wednesday we had the consejo! AND I SAW HERMANA HILTON!!! IT was so much excitement! I could not stop smiling. President probably thinks we are crazy, but I don´t care. I have not seen that girl since we got here, practically, and so it was AWESOME to see her and also to see how much we have improved. We laughed and laughed about the MTC... Oh goodness those were good times! We got home at like 6 and then started working again... so not much was done in Cunduacán el dia Miercoles. 
Tampoco jueves, because we had the zone class. My poor companion was not feeling very well, and we asked for a blessing from the elders. One of the assistants to the president was the one who gave the blessing, but he had another brand new elder do the anointing. _He was so nervous. He said that he didn´t want to do it because he didn´t want it to not work if he said something wrong. haha It was precious. But then hermana Rivero told him that she wanted him to do it, and he did! I tell ya, when those three worthy young man placed their hands on my companions head the spirit was so strong. I am so incredibly grateful that the priesthood was restored to this earth! IT IS AWESOME!  
Friday night our bishop bought us pizza (He´s kind of awesome) annnnd it made my companion sick again. Poor thing. She was up alll night long, and then felt terrible Saturday morning. We studied, but then she felt like she needed to go back to bed. She slept for SIX WHOLE HOURS. I do not think I have ever been so bored in all of my live-long days. I cleaned the house, I painted those paint-by numbers you gave me for Christmas, I organized all the letters I have received, I watched the district.... and together... and a movie about the Salt Lake Temple... I blew about a thousand bubbles... I tried to decorate something for Estrella's baptism that I KNOW will be in the near future..I wrote a talk.. I read a lot... Oh my goodness I was going crazy. I CANNOT be in an enclosed space for more than 3 hours without loosing my mind. But then we left and we worked a little in the night and I felt better.  
Sunday I gave a talk! I talked about the promise all of us made before we were born to take the gospel and the sacerdocio to ALL THE WORLD. And your prayers must be working, because we had 9 ( NINE ) investigatores in sacrament meeting. They are all progressing.... buuuut none of them want a fecha. We are concerned about that, but we know that faith is stronger than doubt. We just have to help all of them realize the answers that they have already received!  
Also we finally found an investigator that we taught back in January last week. He said that he had read "more than half" of the Book of Mormon and had some questions. So we went and talked about his questions. He says he has no doubt that the book is true, but he still hasn´t made the connection between the Book of Mormon, the restoration, and priesthood authority. We are going to see him tomorrow.... But then at the end of the lesson, just out of curiosity, I asked him more or less where he was. He showed me: "ummm..... Por aquí... Moroní 8." I´m sorry... WHAT?! HE READ THE ENTIRE BOOK OF MORMON IN ONE MONTH! I will keep you updated. We were really excited about him. 
Also fun thing that happened this week: Ate iguana. Tastes like chicken, but if you think about it too much you start to gag. Trust me.
Took your advice, too, and bought myself some new shoes. Not sure how I feel. They look like 5 year old girl shoes. Missin' the granny shoes right now.
I love you I love you I love you!
Hermana Moser


Las muelas del juicio

February 23, 2015



So.. sorry that I am writing way earlier this week. I know I am catching some people (coughparentscought) off-guard, but my companions wisdom teeth will hopefully be taken out this afternoon, and so we decided to write home before she is in a lot of pain. 

This last week was AWESOME in the part of that ENRIQUE GOT BAPTIZED!!! YAY! It took him a thousand years to accept a baptismal date, but once he finally did it her never looked back even once. And it was one of the most spiritual baptisms I have attended in my whole mission, too. Not that anything was really different as far as the program, but when the person being baptized is really ready and they want to be baptized and they understand exactly what it is they are doing.... the spirit is just really different. It is the best feeling in the whole world, and I never want to stop feeling it. His face when he came out of the water was PRECIOUS. He was beaming from ear to ear and even gave the bishop (who performed the baptism) a big ole hug. And that´s weird for him... Enrique is a pretty serious guy. But he was so happy and so content and it was a wonderful evening. 

And Estrella, Blanca, and Zuri came too!!! After all was said and done they were talking about their OWN baptisms. That was when we told Blanca and Zuri that they have to go to church before they can be baptized. They weren´t going to be able to go because Estrella´s mom got really sick suddenly and they were going to leave early Sunday morning to go visit her. But then we had that conversation and Sunday while we were saying hi to the members IN THEY COME!!!! ALL THREE OF THEM and of course Enrique. We were so excited!!! They are progressing so well and we love them SO much!! I feel like I am with family when I am with them, and that is a big deal. Not every house feels like that. haha.. I am really excited for when they get baptized. :)
I was assigned 2 new companionships last night, and I am really excited about it because in one of them there is Hermana Pasley and in the other one there is Hermana Wood!!! YAY!! hahaha I am ridiculously excited about my new assignment, even if it means I have to travel a lot more all the way to Villahermosa. ugh. It is one of those tender mercies that my Heavenly Father has given me. :)
Nothing else really happened this week. It was just another week SUPER weird for Hermana Rivero and I. We travel a lot. We are in charge of all the ranches around Cunduacán and also Jalpa de Mendez. We went ALL the way to Rancho Nuevo and then back home and then to jalpa and then back home in ONE DAY. And all the traveling was done in combis. We were exhausted. We even had to buy hard candy to keep ourselves awake through the last few lessons of the night. haha (I know that whole paragraph probably makes no sense to you. Someday I will explain. I have a map).  

I don´t have dental issues right now.... buuuuut my camera is broken. I will try to find someone to fix it, but they say the nearest place is Villa. So don´t expect very many pictures in the next few weeks, okay? Alright. 
I love you I love you I love you!!
Hermana Monse

Monday again?!

February 16, 2015


Buenas tardes!
How was your week? Ours was good... A little weird, but no bats were involved, so I guess that´s a step up, right?

Rodelmar and Laura did not get baptized. :( They suddenly dropped in their excitement and we are not actually sure why. We tried to see them every single day, but usually only succeeded with Rodelmar. Laura always avoided us. Rodel did get his interview---and passed!---but he wants to wait until he knows he has the full support of his wife. We are super bummed, but we haven´t given up hope. We are going to back off a little bit and let the ward to their thing this week. Then we will go back and talk to them and see what all of this was about.
 
We do have another fecha for this week! His name is Enrique and he is AWESOME. He has been ready to be baptized for forever, but this week he finally accepted a date! We had a super lesson with the bishop and the assistant ward mission leader and the spirit was so strong. Members are SO important! SO IMPORTANT! And now the bishop has just taken him under his wing like his own personal little buddy... We are very happy. :) Enrique´s mom is also thinking about being baptized. She had been to church 2 weeks ago, but then last week she hurt her back really bad and couldn´t even get out of bed. She wanted to go to church but couldn´t, poor thing. But then Sunday after church we went with Bishop and the mision lider and they gave her a blessing. (Enrique said that when he left his cousin and her daughter, who we are also teaching, asked him what the incredible peace was they had felt. He told them it was the Holy Ghost. They are progressing MUCH more now). The next day Estrella was standing, and by Saturday night was walking around like nothing had ever happened! IT IS AWESOME! The priesthood is such a real and powerful thing! I am so grateful that it has been restored to this earth. What would we do without it?? So she came to church as well on Sunday, and we were very happy to see her. :) 

Her husband (who is also named Enrique, confusing, I know. Welcome to my life. We are teaching like 3 Marios too) is progressing slowly, but surely. The first time we were there he didn´t leave the kitchen. Then he was sitting at the table.... then the next visit he was sitting in a kitchen chair by the couch... then the last time he was sitting ON the couch with the rest of his family! He doesn´t say much, but I can tell he is feeling the spirit. Estrella told us that she didn´t come to church when we invited her the first time because she was afraid of what he would say. But then she talked to him about it and he said, "Save yourself first. You save yourself...I'm right behind you." AH! QUE BENDICION! 

So I guess that´s it. We are very happy to be here in Cunduacán. The heat is starting again, so that is unfortunate... but I guess that means that time really is moving forward. Sometimes it feels like I have lived in Mexico my whole life and that I will always continue to live here. It is a weird thing, mission time. I did not get any flowers from strange men this year on valentines day, but I did get a zebra necklace from a very old woman. Mexico is awesome.
I love you I love you I love you!!!
Hermana Moser

Thursday, February 12, 2015

nananananananana BAT GIRRL!



February 9, 2015
Hola!

Do you want to hear a good story? It is a really good one. BOY will you ever laugh.

Once upon a time, we (hermana Rivero de la Guarda de la iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias and I) were doing our daily studying. I thought, "I need something from the bedroom." So I got up and walked into the bedroom. When I opened the door two huge creatures flew at my face and almost knocked me over before flying out the window. I thought to myself," HOW did birds get in here?!" Then I looked to my right, above the bed where sleeps my lovely compañera, and there were bats. BATS. Dangling there like they owned the place. Well I commenced screaming and turned on the lights, which only made the bats scared and they started flying again which made me scream more which made my companion wonder what in the world was happening.... It was quite a good time. I think I have had just about every little unexpected creature crawl into my room. YEAH Mexico! haha

I am sure you are now wondering, "But HOW? How did bats get in there?" I will tell you the other side of the story: 

We live in one of the upstairs apartments, and there is a full house downstairs. No one is renting the house downstairs because they want a ridiculous amount of money for it. But the owner was there the other day cleaning it, and when he turned on the lights he spooked all the bats that had mad their residence there. So then the bats flew up through the hallway and in through our window that has a whole in it where we keep the invisible clima (air conditioner). He had thought that they had flown away away.... Until he heard the screaming. :) Then he came upstairs to save our lives. 

So that´s the story. 

This week I was called to repentance repeatedly. First, in the consejo de liderazgo that we had with the zone leaders and with president. We talked about how to be better leaders and better missionaries and I felt like I have definitely not been doing enough. I have been super selfish and that is not okay. We will see what will happen  with the cambios this weekend... I feel like my days as a leader will be over since the only other companionship of hermanas in the zone are going home and their area is closing. So we will just have to see what happens. Hopefully I get the chance to make restitution so my repentance can be complete :) We also got to go to the temple and it was awesome! I love the temple. It never gets old, and I did not want to leave. 

We had a baptism on Sunday! Of a sweet little girl named Johana whose parents are being reactivated. Her dad talked with the bishop, and he said that he could baptize his daughter! SO that was really awesome! They are the sweetest people. They just love instantly and are so humble. They live about 1000 miles away, though, so it is hard to see them. (It´s like a 20 minute combi ride). She will be confirmed on Sunday.

We have two more fechas for this weekend, and we are SO hoping that they come to pass! Their names are Rodelmar and Laura and they are so funny. The other day Hermana R. had this idea out of the clear blue to go see if we could find an investigator named guadalupe (who is Roder´s brother). So we get there, and Laura is sitting outside! They had just finished a reso (no se como se escribe) for the dad that passed away 5 months ago. I noticed that she put her drink down really fast, and so I asked her what it was. It was coffee! haha But it was still full. She said they had just barely handed it to her and she didn´t know what to do. And then when her husband got there and saw a cup of coffee on the ground he was like, "But the missionaries are right there!!" and started laughing at her bad fortune. hahaha it was really funny, actually. We are working hard with them and praying that they will stay strong for Saturday. We love them so much!

The people here are awesome! I love the work! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!

I love you I love you I love you!

Hermana Monse. 

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

FEBRERO!




Feb. 2, 2015

HOLA!
This week we FINALLY had our interviews with the president. I have been waiting for a very long time. The actual interview was actually really short and there are no problems and I didn´t even cry! He helped me a lot with some super difficult investigatores that we have and he is just the best mission president ever. His wife is super intimidating, though. While we took turns going to the interviews she gave us a special training. It ended with this crazy game that was terrible. hahaha It was a dice that had a different terrifying question on each side. One side was "memorized scriptures" (because we all have had to memorize 2 scriptures for cada principio of the lessons) and another side was "Predicad mi evangelio." The worst side was "30 second contacts" where she would give you a material and tell you to contact someone while she timed you. The best side was "personal questions".. but one elder was asked about his family and he couldn´t remember anything! hahaha.. He is about to finish his 2 years, bless him. It was a good time. 

Then afterwords.... CHRISTMAS CAME! hahaha I think it´s hilarious that everyone is smack-talking the mexican mail system the week that it finally arrived. :) You all out-did yourselves this time. The elephants... the handmade necklace.. . the recipe book...(subtle haha)... It was all so exciting to unwrap! And then...a book. I was really confused at first because I was thinking, "Ah..bless them. They sent me a Christmas book IN ENGLISH. How will I share this with people?" And then I realized what it was. And then I pushed the little button. And then I cried because all of your voices came out at me from the tiny speaker. And then I laughed because when Nathan says his name he says it really funny. It is the best gift I have ever received. Thank you VERY much!!!!

And let´s stop bashing my country, aight? No one got their Christmas packages in December. I think they were just super overloaded. Also... They say that it is good to send stuff through the US post. They are the ones that never get opened. So good job, family. :) 

We have an incredible ward here in Cunduacan. They members are super excited about the work! They have been giving us references like crazy. And our mission leader loves us! And he goes on visits with us! Last night he taught us right from the scriptures in our correlation meeting, and it was awesome! I love this ward. I am just afraid of messing it up. haha

I am trying to think of other funny or random things that happened this week... but I can´t. Tengo prisa. Sorry about it. I will write things in my journal and we will read it together someday. :) 

I LOVE YOU I love you I love you!

Hermana Moser

Lovin' the Pineapple

January 26, 2015

BueNAS!

I apologize for what I am sure will be a super lame email. I do not know what is wrong with me. I feel like every day is monday and that there is nothing new to tell... I probably should have read my journal or something to freshen up on the happenings of this last week but... I didn´t. So let´s just hurry and remember things, shall we? 

On Tuesday we had divisions with the sisters in Comalcalco. They are so fun! The hermana I was with has SO MUCH HAIR!. So much. And it´s huge and curly and awesome. Kind of like the princess in the movie Brave. It made me feel a little weird with the um... less than a lot hair that I have haha. She was really nice and I learned a lot from her. Both of those sisters are about to end their mission in 3 weeks. I know that I am the one that is supposed to be helping them, but I really just feel like it´s the other way around. They are totally the ones teaching here. Hermana Rivero and I are always like "SHARE YOUR WISDOM!" They are great. 

One object lesson that hermana Hernandez taught me we used with hermana Bertha. Have I told you about hermana Bertha? No? Well let me just tell you... She is a lovely daughter of God, but she is a piece of work. It is exhausting to teach her because sometimes she is just in a mood and will back talk every little principle you teach. It is awesome. But she wants to get baptized and she is the wife and mother of members.... We are practicing patience with her. She is wonderful, really. She gives us food all the times, and blankets too because it has been FREEZING these last few weeks. Gracias a this new object lesson and also the spirit that was there, she actually agreed to read the book of mormon! This is enormous progress with her!!! YAY!
Speaking of crazy neighbors.. We have this neighbor who is Adventista (I am not sure what religion that is in America). She is trying to convert us and also trying to marry us off with her sons. THAT is not going to happen for a plethora of reasons, pero bueno. She is super nice and always willing to give us food. She believes that everyone can be a prophet and that Saturday is the Sabbath. She is not currently progressing.

We do have two investigadores with fechas though! For the 14th of february. They are precious. We taught the first lesson this week, and they asked all the right questions and gave all the right answers and didn´t even hesitate to the baptismal invitation! YAY!!! We are so excited!

I have a food story. Ahem: 

Yesterday we were eating some tacos. Normal, right? I was DYING inwardly because something was super spicy and I could not for thelife of me figure out what it was! I tried the meat with only the salsa... the meat only with the other salsa.. the meat alone... Do you see where I am going with this? It was only when I tried only the meat and the PINEAPPLE that I realized what was killing me slowly. THERE WAS CHILI IN THE PINEAPPLE! Who  even does that? That is sneaky sneaky. hahaha Hermana Rivero and I got a good laugh about that afterwords because she had done the exact same thing with the taste testing. Listen... I can eat chili... but not THAT much chili. WHOO. 

WElll.. I am happy and healthy and I hope you are the same. 
I love you I love you I love you!

Hermana Moser