WEEK 9 - Alma 28:8

Hola all!

So, the reason I put Alma 28:8 as the subject line is because that's what a mission is like. Especially this weekend. Let me tell you about it.

So Friday we went on exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders. I went to "their" area which is part of ours too because we cover the same ward. But we were teaching in English so that was cool! It was a fun exchange and I learned a lot, but I missed our people! We exchanged back on Saturday morning and I heard about all the miracles that took place while I was gone! They were able to see a less active who we had tried to see several times but with no success. That's just one example. I was so excited about that!

Later that morning we went to the ward Easter party, because we had invited people to come. One of our investigators said she was coming so we were waiting and waiting and she actually came! And she brought her little one year old son, her esposo, and her esposo's sister! We were so excited that they actually came!!! We gave them a church tour while we were there and they really liked it! The esposo recognized the Spirit he felt there and they said that they would come to church! And they were excited about it and we were so happy!!! I was just so, so happy.

That night we were visiting with the Pachecos and one of their friends was there. We brought stuff for them to make scripture cases so that was fun. After that, they came to the general women's meeting broadcast at the church and brought their friend too! So I was super excited about that. They said they were going to come to church the next day too-  they want to come back to church but their parents aren't members so it's hard for them to come unless their parents want to. But that night their mom said they would come!

I loved the women's meeting! Especially Sister Marriott's talk. It was amazing!

So Sunday morning I was super excited! We were supposed to have three families at church- Pachecos, Evelia, and Jackie and Leonardo (from last week's email- they said they were planning on coming). None of them came. I was devastated! Like really devastated. I was so, so sad and I couldn't shake it for a while. I haven't felt sorrow like that in a long time. It was so weird. The day before had been one of the best days in my mission so far and then I was feeling the most sorrow I've ever felt on my mission. It was crazy. Eventually, as the day went on, I felt better so that was a blessing.

That night we went over to one of the Bishop's houses for Easter dinner. They live in one of the coolest places ever. They have this little farm and they live in a house that's like 200 years old. It was so amazing! And beautiful! Virginia is just too perfect. Every day I just can't believe how beautiful it is here.

So, even though Sunday was a little rough, I've seen some incredible miracles this week. Heavenly Father is so good. I see miracles every day. And I'm so grateful to be having the experiences I'm having and teaching the people I'm with right now. This experience is such a blessing and so eye opening. I am so grateful for the understanding we have about The Atonement because of the restoration and because of the Book of Mormon. I'm so grateful for all the things we know because Heavenly Father has restored His Gospel again. I love being a missionary! Have a great week!

And a huge thank you to everyone that has sent me letters and packages!!!

Hermana Eddington

WEEK 8

Hola!!!

I love being a missionary. It's seriously the best. It's just one of the happiest things ever. I love it!!!

So, a lot happened this week!

First of all, remember how I told you all about Evelia last week? And how she didn't answer the two times we went by to see her? Well, she texted us earlier this week and said she was sorry, she had something come up. We were so relieved!! I was starting to give up on her. (Which was not very faithful of me to do). But we were so relieved about that! She's such a sweet lady. It's so cute because whenever we come she looks so happy. We came by this week and tried to teach her, but her husband was there this time, and let's just say he loves to talk (so do a lot of the people we teach :)) So we didn't really do much teaching, but we're going to try to start teaching him now too. So we'll see how that goes.

We taught Iris again this week. She would get baptized if she could but there's something holding her back. We had a really good lesson with her though- me and my companion were both guided by the Spirit as we talked with her. And we invited her to come to church, and we tried to show that we really wanted her to come. She didn't end up coming :( I now understand the feeling of disappointment when your investigators don't keep commitments. It's so hard. It has made me realize that this is how it is with us and Heavenly Father. So it's very humbling to think about it that way. I just love these people and I want to see them progress and see their lives changed by the Gospel, but they don't always do the things we ask them to do in order to help them learn and feel the Spirit. But that's just how it is with us and Heavenly Father. He loves us so much and gives us so many things to help us, and He probably just thinks, "If my children only knew how happy they could be!" I'm trying to improve on following Heavenly Father's guidance for me.

On a happier note, we played soccer with the Pachecos this week! One of the girls brought one of her friends from school, and two other member kids came. It was actually really fun! We played in the church parking lot, and we watched a Mormon message afterwards. It was really cool!

We started teaching this little family and they are so cute! We taught the mom earlier this week and she was so cute. We sang 'Families Can be Together Forever' and she said she got goosebumps when we sang! She has a really cute little baby, and she's from Honduras. We stopped by last night, and her husband was there too. We read the Book of Mormon with them. We talked about church and he said he's going to come! We were so surprised! He wanted to come! It's usually much more difficult to get people to come. And I actually believe they will do it! He's a sharp guy and he seems prepared for the Gospel! I could totally picture their little family as members of the church last night.

Our Spanish group is really, really small. There are only two active Latino members that come, a few people from the ward who speak Spanish, and then us and the Elders. We really want to build up this group!!! I want to have enough people to start a branch!! I love these people so much. They're so humble and loving. And it's so cute cause they call us "Hermanitas" :)

I love it here! I love being a missionary and helping people all day long. I've found that serving others brings me so much happiness. I know that when we lose our lives to find them, we find that our lives are so much happier! I love my Savior, and I'm so grateful that I am able to be in His service. Happy Easter everyone!

Con Amor,
Hermana Eddington

WEEK 7 - Cómo están y'all?

Hola a todos!

Dad, the subject line was for you. I hope you appreciated it. It's proved to be a pretty accurate description of my experience so far, actually.

So, wow SO much to tell! I'll start at the beginning.

So, I miss the MTC a lot! It's so funny because I knew this would happen. I was so excited to leave and I kept thinking "I'm probably going to miss the MTC when I'm in the field", and I was right. But it's ok, I'll everyone again before too long!

Monday morning we left for the airport at about 4 in the morning! We ended up arriving in Richmond in the evening, and we met our mission president and his wife at the airport. We drove to a stake center from there, and set up our iPads! Can I just say how much I love that we have iPads?! They're so amazing for missionary work! It's so nice because almost all of the stuff I used to have to carry around is on my iPad! And it's so cool because we can pull up Mormon messages to show people during lessons! It's also so easy to look up scriptures super fast and our area book and daily planner are on the iPads and that is SO nice! We can look up people in whatever area we're in throughout the day. The iPads are such a blessing. Dad, you would certainly appreciate the efficiency of these in missionary work.

So, that night we drove to the mission home. The neighborhood it's in is basically a forest. I was in awe. But it got even better. Because we drove up to the cutest, most perfect and picturesque house you've ever seen. And President said that it was the mission home! I couldn't believe it. It just seemed too good to be true that I was finally here in Virginia and I was spending the night in this picturesque house that was pretty much in a forest. Probably the only thing that could have made it more dreamy would be if there were some nice southern folk in period dress waiting for us on the front porch, maybe with some lemonade. But it's ok, I'll take whatever charm I can get.

And speaking of charm, that brings me to my next subject. Yes, I am most definitely in the south. My first night here, I saw lots of churches and a Waffle House, so that was my first indication. And while driving the other day we saw a truck with a giant confederate flag waving proudly from the back of it. So I think it's pretty safe to say that this is considered the south.

And that brings me to what area I'm in! Dad, I know you're excited to hear! And my first area is... Culpeper! It's this little town that's about an hour and a half north of Richmond. The drive up was beautiful. This is beautiful country I'm in here! And literally, we are in the country! So it's this little country town, and there are two English wards, with a Spanish group. We cover both wards. And so we're working with both English and Spanish speakers. It's interesting because we have to switch back and forth all the time! And Dad, for your statistical information there are 10 missionaries in this area. Us, a set of Spanish elders who cover both wards and then a set of English sisters for one ward, and English Elders and sisters for the other one.

Another thing that confirms this is the south are the accents! At church yesterday, lots of people had a southern/country accent. It's awesome- I love it!

But it's so interesting, because while there are all these country folk, there are also a lot of Latinos- more than I expected I think. Most of the Latinos we meet are either from Honduras or Guatemala. And a few are from Mexico, but I would say that the majority are from Honduras. Oh and, I had my first encounter with Latino food the other night 😧 I was scared- I thought, "oh no, I finally have to start facing my fear." I looked at the plate in front of me that contained fried bananas, a fried egg, rice, and beans, trying to gather up the courage to try something on that plate. So I tried the banana, and let's say it was interesting... Wasn't a fan but the rice was really good! And the passion fruit guava juice or whatever it was was good. Oh and there were tortillas too. The lady we were eating with was so cool, and she was so sweet and she kept telling me that it was ok if I didn't like the food. So yeah, I didn't eat all of it and felt bad, but I just couldn't. But its ok, mi compañera ate the rest of my bananas.

I've already had so many cool experiences! I love the people. The Latinos are so kind and loving. Last night we taught this sweet lady who had so much faith. We started teaching the restoration, and when we talked about the Book of Mormon, she said she already had one. And she had read from it and she knew it was true! That night, we were looking at her teaching record and it turns out that she had been taught quite a lot by missionaries. There's something holding her back from baptism, so we're going to try to help her. So hopefully she can be baptized on the 9th like we invited her! I hope everything works out! She is just so ready and so prepared.

We found this other lady earlier this week while we were looking for someone else. Her name is Evolia or Evolina- I'm not sure which. But we taught her a little bit and asked if we could come back the next day and she said yes! So we came back and taught her the restoration the next day! It was hard, because of kids and noise, but we tried to do the best we could. And at the end of the lesson, I asked her how she felt and she said she felt peaceful! I told her that it was the Spirit! We had planned to come back the next day, but she wasn't home :( and then we went back later and she wasn't home :( I was really disappointed. We're going to stop by again this week and I really hope we can keep teaching her! 

So, Spanish is getting a little better! My companion speaks really well, and can understand really well, so she's a lifesaver when we're talking to people because they talk so fast! I can pretty much get the gist sometimes, but sometimes I have no idea what they are saying. So I'm so glad my companion knows what's going on! And I feel so dumb sometimes talking to people with my gringa Spanish. But a lot of times I'm able to say things a lot better than I think I can!!! The gift of tongues is real!! I'm getting there!

My companion is awesome! She's so sweet and nice. I love her, and we teach really well together.

Another cool experience that we had- we were visiting with these two less active girls who I love. They're so cute. They and their brother are the only members in their family, so they don't have a lot of support. We read a chapter from the Book of Mormon with them, and then they started asking us questions. It was so cute cause they really opened up and were asking us about things that they didn't really understand. We loved answering them, and the Spirit was there- it was really cool. And so as we were nearing the end, I got the sense that one of the girls still had a question she wanted to ask, but we were on a different subject. 

It was getting late and we had been there for awhile, so I didn't know if I should ask her if she had another question. But I felt like I should, so I did. And there was something she was concerned about that my companion was able to answer so well!!!! The Spirit was so strong. She shared a scripture that was just perfect. After, my companion told me that she had been thinking about that scripture all day. I'm telling you, the Lord is so involved in this work!

Well, sorry if I wrote too much, but it's been and eventful week! I'm so grateful for this opportunity that I have to be a missionary. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored and that the authority of God is here on the earth today. Heavenly Father loves us so much. That's why He's again restored the Gospel- because He wants us, His children to be happy in this life and the next- and so that we can live with our families forever. I love Moses 1:39- God loves us so much and all He wants to do is help us. He's provided a way! We just have to accept it. And He lovingly waits for us to do so. I am so grateful for this knowledge that I have gained, and felt. I love being a missionary! I miss everyone, but I know that this is where I'm supposed to be right now!


Con armor,
Hermana Eddington

Hymn of the week: Lead Kindly Light

Scripture: Mosiah 8:18

WEEK 6

Hi Mom and Dad!

I'm here, safe and sound. We went to the Stake center, had dinner, took pictures, and we've been setting up our iPad minis and having interviews with President Wilson. It's so pretty here! So many trees! It's perfect :) 

Tomorrow, we'll have breakfast, and then having some sort of training/orientation. And then there will be "transfer announcements." He mentioned that they don't having transfer meetings anymore, so we'll see what that consists of. I'm so excited about our iPads! I think they're going to be super useful. Well, I love you both so much! I feel a little lonely and unsure, but it will get better. Talk to you next week!

WEEK 5

Hola a todos,

Well, it's here- my last week in the MTC! Too crazy. I'm going to miss the MTC- it's been a lot of fun, but I'm so excited to be in Virginia! I can't wait!!!

One thing I forgot to mention, Elder Rasband came a couple weeks ago for our Tuesday devotional! He talked about how our calls to where we are going are completely inspired- they come from God. Also, we've had Jenny Oaks Baker come, and Rosemary M. Wixom (General Primary President). 

So, this week was our last week teaching one of our real investigators. She is such a sweet person. She goes to UVU and her boyfriend is a member of the church. She's just such a sweet person. For our last lesson with her, we finished talking about the Plan of Salvation. And then at the end, I invited her to be baptized. It was so cool because I was totally and completely led by the Spirit in the way I invited her. At one point I didn't know what to say, so I just paused to think, and listen for the Spirit. We've learned how important that is to do, so that we can really teach by the Spirit- because only God knows what the people we are teaching really need. So I just paused- and it seemed like a long time, but I'm so glad I did, because the Spirit told me what to say! I would just talk, and thoughts would just keep coming about what I should say. I was also prompted to share a scripture with her- Matthew 7:13-14. And she said yes to being baptized! I was so excited and she looked so happy!! Her countenance was just full of happiness! It was so amazing. One of the things I love most about missionary work is the constant opportunity I have to be led by the Spirit. It is just so cool. It's humbling, but also encouraging. I know that this is God's work, because I have seen His influence more times than I can remember- just in the last week. It's incredible.

We went to the Temple today. I prayed to feel peace- and it was so peaceful. It was wonderful. One of my favorite feelings is just pure peace and stillness.

It is really cool because I've seen how Heavenly Father gives us the revelation and inspiration we need! We were having a district meeting, and I was writing in my notes, and thoughts came to me that didn't really even connect that much to what we were talking about. And something finally clicked about my Patriarchal Blessing- it was such a blessing to receive that personal revelation! It's really cool, because I've been trying to read my Patriarchal Blessing like it's just for my mission- and it's so cool! It's amazing how our Patriarchal Blessings can apply to every stage of our lives!

We get to "host" new missionaries tomorrow! :) That will be exciting!

Muchas gracias for all of your prayers :) I hope everyone has a great week! Look for the Lord's hand in your life- He is a part of your life EVERY day! I know this to be true. I love this Gospel- I love the peace and knowledge that the pure doctrine of Christ brings. I am so grateful for this opportunity to be a missionary! 

Con amor,

Hermana Eddington

Hymn of the week: I Need Thee Every Hour

Scripture of the week: Mosiah chapter 14- it's so beautiful

Also, this video is amazing!  We watched it in class this week- it is such a beautiful portrayal of the mercy and love of Christ!

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-01-007-to-this-end-was-i-born?lang=eng

All the missionaries going to the temple.

My MTC District