SEMANA SANTA (HOLY WEEK)

This week has definitely been better! We´re seeing a lot of improvements in the work, it´s slow-going but its going! And that´s all we ask for! Here in Spain is Holy Week in preparation for Easter, I´ve heard its a sight to see but we havent seen anything too crazy yet! Just wait until next week though! 

On Tuesday I celebrated HUMP DAY--9 months in the mission, baby! My comp made me breakfast and a cute sign and then later that night I attempted to burn a pair of tights (didn´t work and we gave up because it smelled REALLY bad). I´m not including a pic though sorry--it was taken WAY too close to bedtime.

My cute comp made me breakfast to celebrate 9 months! Love her! 

My miracle of the week is when we went to visit a young teenage member who we had been trying to visit for months!! The missionaries haven´t been able to get over there for forever but we finally got a visit in, which was a miracle in and of itself! We began to share a message with her but stopped after only 5 minutes because it was obvious that particular message was not what she needed in that moment. My compie and I felt the Spirit so strong to change the topic and we began to talk about the Savior and the Atonement and she just started bawling. We called her over to sit with us on the couch and just held her and listened to her and it was one of the most tender experiences I´ve ever had on my mission. I could just feel the Savior´s love for her so strongly, just emanating from my heart. I felt like a true missionary, an older sister, and a friend all wrapped up in one, it was amazing! It was an incredible experience that reminded me of why I´m really here! To help others come unto Christ by helping them feel His love!!

Speaking of which, our mission has been and will be working really hard sharing the new video that came out last week, "Because He Lives."

Its a beautiful video--you all HAVE to see it! Share it with everyone!! Its a good reminder of why we really celebrate Easter. I just want to share my testimony that I know my Savior Lives!! I love Him so much and I´m so grateful that I can share my testimony with the people here in Spain. Never be afraid to share your testimony! 

I love you all! Thank you for all the early birthday wishes! Dont forget to prepare for General Conference!!! I¨M SO EXCITED AHHHH!!!! 

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!

Love you all, 

Hermana Morrow

We ate at a members house this week. The man to the left of me is the Elder that taught and almost (she had to wait til she turned 18) baptized Hermana Vigo years ago. So cooL!

HUMP DAY!

9 MONTHS!!! Halfway there and livin´on a prayer!! (But really tho.)

It amazes me to think exactly 9 months ago, I said goodbye to my family and hopped on a plane to Spain for the next 18 months of my life! Looking back, I honestly had NO idea what I was doing hahaha. I thought I knew what a mission was but I really had no clue! You could say it was a leap of faith :) I´ve always wanted to serve a mission, from as long as I can remember. It has always been my dream and  has impacted the choices I´ve made in my youth. I´ve always tried to live my life in according to the teachings of the Savior so that not only would I be worthy to serve a mission, but that I could bear firm testimony of the gospel and the happiness and feeling of purpose it has given me with others. But I´m WAY far from perfect (just ask my mom haha) and I haven´t always made the right choices and i have a lot of regrets BUT I´m grateful for what I´ve learned on my mission. i have a testimony firmer than ever of my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I know the he suffered and died for our sins, for our weaknesses, for our trials, for our sickness, for EVERY pain we could ever have. And He did it for EACH and EVERY one of us because He loves us. I know He did it for me, and because of this knowledge, I can repent for all those things in my past AND I can continually repent daily! I love my Savior! I just can´t get over how perfect and amazing God´s plan is us, including and centering around the Atonement. And I´m so grateful to be able to teach this message of hope for another 9 MONTHS! LETS DO THIS! 

Anyway, here´s a quick sum up of this week:

It finally happened! After going 8 full weeks without neither of us getting sick (a record for me!), Hermana Vigo finally got the bug. She´s a trooper though! In fact, I think every companionship in our District has a sick companion. But we´re still working hard, I´m so proud of us :) But prayers are still needed!

We also had Zone Conference in Sevilla with three zones this week! It was so fun, it was the first time I actually feel like I KNOW people (I am in fact a seasoned missionary now ;) jk, I still feel like a complete newbie ahhh!) The Spirit was felt and my favorite part as always, is when we all gather in a big gigantic circle, put our hands on the shoulders of the person next to us and sing our mission hymn. Just watching 100 plus missionaries swaying back and forth singing their hearts out just makes me SO happy! I have an awesome video this time that i´m excited to send home!

All the Sister Missionaries in the San Fernando, Sevilla 1 and Sevilla 2 Zones

The rest of the week has been pretty quiet. It´s been another rough week but we find comfort in the knowledge that we´re doing the best we can. We´re imperfect but when we give God our weaknesses He makes us strong. It´s so hard, so so so hard, but i´m trying to live in accordance with His will! 

Before ending, I´d just like to remember my dear, beautiful, angel-friend Heidi. It´s been two years this week from her passing but I still think about her often. And I find comfort in the knowledge that she is working right alongside me and all of her other friends that are serving missions, to bring others to Come unto Christ in the Spirit World. I love you Heidi!! You will never be forgotten! 

I hope you all have a great week! I love you ALL!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

Love,

Hermana Morrow

And shout-out to Allie! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hers was last Monday but I´m super lame and forgot to mention it in my email. Gahhhhh I´m so sorry! I LOVE YOU ALLIE!! 

                                                                Mission Pics

Reunited with Hermana Carmen-my companion from the MTC

Frank, aconvert that I knew when I was serving in Huelva. He was serving a mini-mission with missionaries in our Tri-Zone. He´s preparing to serve a mission soon

VALE LA PENA!

This week seemed like it was a year ago! So many crazy and exciting things happened AHHHHHH! Just have to freak out for a moment! First of allllllllllllllllll ARIZONA!! Who knew! Haha I just had to laugh when I first found out...you guys really had me going there for awhile, talking about Germany and Japan and Hawaii every other week and then we end up moving to the desert hahahaha. Nah, I´m totally excited ESPECIALLY since you´ll only be NINE HOURS away from BYU!! Seriously, such a blessing! I miss you guys so much, i don´t know what I´d do if I had to be so far away from you all again. So basically, I´m already in love with the idea. Can´t wait to be there.

And honestly this week was pretty rough. After the 11th appointment failed us, not gonna lie, I was pretty down. But then I turned to my companion and there she was smiling and singing the mission hymn and Called to Serve and it just melted my heart. Who can be sad or tired with an amazing comp like her! And the best part is, she loves me too. Haha she tells me like a hundred times a day, its pretty awesome ;)So even though we have are bad weeks,  Vale la pena! It´s worth it! I´m seriously so so so dang blessed to be able to serve with her!! 

And plus, we also did a lot of things this week that totally made up for it! Like first, we got permission to go to our investigator´s wedding! Carolina is the daughter of Isabel (our golden investigator) and we´ve been teaching Carolina and her son, Jose Manuel for about just as long. They still have a long ways to go in regards of preparing for baptism, but we love them a lot. I was grateful for the chance to show them our support and they loved that we came! Hahaha I just have to share this one--the husband of Carolina was so excited we came, he jumped up and attempted to give me besos (kisses on each cheek) but I stopped him and then Isabel´s son yelled "Son muñecitas, no se pueden tocar!" "They´re dolls, you cant touch them!" But he was just so excited, he ended up just kissing my shoulder hahaha. Definitely the most awkward beso encounter as of yet.

But, I just love this family. Sometimes Ive thought that in order to see the fruits of my labors, I had to be there to see her baptism. But even though it doesn´t look that way, I am happy because I know I did what I could and I can see the affect Isabel´s change has had on her family. She tells us all the time that her family is just amazed at how much more loving and calm she is. There´s less contention in the home, and she´s not afraid to share the gospel with her friends or family. By following the Savior´s example and embracing the gospel, Isabel has given her family more hope, more peace, and more of the light of Christ in their lives. And just seeing that makes it all worth it. Again, vale la pena! 

Another sweet memory was being able to go to a baptism of Taylor, an 8 year old boy in the American branch. It was a special moment for me, especially knowing that I might not be there for Eric´s baptism. It was a beautiful service and I only cried a little :) I´m grateful for this young boy´s example and that he chose to become a member of Christ´s church. He made a choice and even though he knew it wouldn´t always be an easy path to follow, vale la pena! 

We also had Stake Conference this week which was just SO cool! It was in a hotel about 45 minutes away so our district and two wards here rented a bus to travel to the meeting. None of our investigators could make it (which also added to our discouraging week) BUT it was a beautiful meeting and just looking around and seeing so many beautiful Spanish members and missionaries brought so much joy to my heart! I love Spain, I love the people, I love my mission! And I will continue to work hard to bring more souls unto Christ and strengthen the amazing wards we have here in Southern Spain. VALE LA PENA! 

I think thats it for this week, we just got back from P-day in Jerez with our zone. We played football and then ate out a fancy restaurant you all may have heard of, Burger King. I got to be reunited with my MTC comp, Hermana Carmen again and it was just a blast! Perfect end/beginning to a rough week! 

Oh ahnd shout out to the ward youth! I got my Valentine package Sunday! Seriously, LOVED it! Dont know how much it meant to me! I love you ALL so much and I think about you and pray for you more often than you know.  

And SHOUT OUT to Sorella Frandsen! Her birthday was last Monday but I´m a punk and totally forgot. But I hope this makes up for it! I love you BRIE!!!!! 

I hope you all have a great week, I love and miss you all so much!!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!

Love, 

Hermana Morrow

And remember, Vale la pena! 

NO ONE IS EVER LOST TO THE LORD

Miracle week! We had our ups and downs, but we were blessed to find time to rest and relax which was what we really needed after 6 weeks of hard work! I gave a talk this week in the Spanish ward (didn´t blush this time, say what! Didnt know that was possible ;) And we were able to spend a lot of time with Paula and Isabel, our progressing investigators.  And I just remembered an experience we had that I forgot to write in my last email so here goes:  

So it was the last week of the transfer and we were pretty sure I wasn´t leaving but just in case, we decided to switch roles so that Hermana Vigo would be the trainer and lead me around everywhere and plan appts etc etc And let me tell you, she did AWESOME. Haha it was super fun! She rocked it and even though we got lost a couple times, we actually saw miracles as a result. 

For example, we finally had our closure with Fatima. Remember the woman we met with and she told us she wanted to learn more about the Savior and follow His example and be baptized? Wellllll we never were able to meet with her after that because her work schedule is unpredictable SO anyway, we had been "lost" for awhile one day when wa-la! We turned the corner and there she was! 6 weeks of trying to get ahold of this woman and there she was! Long story short, she talked to her husband and he doesn´t want us to visit them (nooooooo!) so thats why she hadnt been able to contact us. She was so sweet and parted as friends and even though it was sad to let her go, it was nice to finally know that we had done all that we could do. Even though we knew it in the bottom of hearts it was probably a lost cause, for 6 weeks we tried to call and stop by her house when we could because there´s always just that sliver of hope! 

Thats one of the hardest things I think you have to do as a missionary.---you feel so much love for the people you teach and you never want to give up on them but sometimes you just have to let them go. Maybe the time isn´t right and all that the Lord needed for us to do was plant a seed, and thats okay! This experience also showed me how the Lord also works through our weaknesses (not saying that Hna. Vigo was weak for getting lost---you get what I mean! ;) but even though we got lost, Heavenly Father was able to work through us to find Fatima. This gives me a lot of comfort--knowing how imperfect I am and how I make mistakes constantly, its okay because Heavenly Father knows I´m trying and He will work through my weaknesses. I just love being an instrument in His hands! I have to share another experience we had this week that just strengthened my faith in the power of prayer so much! 

Hna. Vigo and I were in Rota and some days before, we went out to a cita with Hermana and Hermano Rodriguez. We just happened to pass a street and they told us "Hey, the bishop told us there´s some inactives living there but we don´t know their names or which building it is." So later that week, we had just 30 minutes extra in between a cita and we felt prompted to go and try to look for them. We got to the street, determined to knock every door until we found them, but lo and behold, there were forty-six. FORTY SIX. There was no way we were going to be able to knock them all in half an hour, and besides, what if they weren´t home? But being the faithful missionary she is, Hermana Vigo told me we were going to say a pray and in her prayer, she told Heavenly Father that we were willing to knock all those doors if we had to, His will be done. We ended the prayer, and within seconds I felt prompted to knock this specific door. Now to be honest, I really wasn´t expecting anything, in my mind it was more of just like a "well, we got to start somewhere" moment BUT we knocked the door and someone answered. A  name came to my mind that I had seen in the Area Book weeks before, and so I asked, "Manuel?" And he answered "Si" Haha we were both in shock, it took us a couple seconds before one of us got the senses to say "Umm well uh hey, We´re missionaries, are you Mormon?" (Alright, I´ll admit it was me who said it--I was too shocked to be more eloquent haha) And he said YES!!! The FIRST door we knocked!! And we even remembered his name!! 

AHHHH! I ´ve seen a lot of miracles on my mission but to me, this one was definitely simplest, yet the most powerful. We haven´t been able to visit them yet or hear their story but I´m just truly amazed at how the Lord hears and answers our prayers. We don´t always recieve our answers as instanty as that time, but they always come. Of this i can promise and testify. I also know that we can be an instrument in the Lord´s hands without even knowing it. 

As Elder Bednar said in an MTC address, "Quit worrying about it, just be a good boy or a good girl" Dont worry if you feel that you never get spiritual promptings or that you dont know how to recognize them. Just do good things: read your scriptures, say your prayers, go to church, repent and try to be better daily and I PROMISE the Lord will guide you and you will have experiences that will strengthen your faith. You will be the answer to the prayers of others. You will feel His love and the constant companionship of His spirit. 

Thank you for all you prayers, I really do feel them! I love you all and I hope you all have a great week! 

I LOVE YOU!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

Love, 

Hermana Morrow

 

I love mi hija. She makes the best Peruvian food! Arrozchaufa this time

Shout out to my District. They always have a lot of Bromance going on hahaha 

With an investigator

Our ward missionary leader celebrating his birthday . We surprised him with a cake before our weekly meeting

We made crepes! Mom, tell Oma. She´s be proud of me ;) 

8 MONTHS!

Sorry i´m writing later than usual! Hermana Vigo made a Peruvian dish called Papa de la Huancaina (my favorite dish that I´ve tried here in Spain!) for our whole district so we´ve been busy all day. The four elders from our district came and the Guffeys too and we all just hung out in the chapel woohoo! My comps the best, she has a lot of Peruvian pride haha! I´ve learned more about Peru in the past transfer than I´ve learned about Spain here in 8 months, I swear ;) (like how I slyly dropped in there that I´ve hit my EIGHTH MONTH MARK haha)

Anyway, transfers came and went and Hermana Vigo and I are staying here in Puerto for at least 6 more weeks! TOMA! In fact, our whole district is staying together which almost NEVER happens! Its awesome though because this District has been by far my favorite, we all click really well and the Elders always keep things exciting haha. Plus, what would I do without our Guffeys!! But anyway, Hermana Vigo and I are really excited to stay, we´ve worked really hard this transfer and its paying off! But seriously though, I don´t think I´ve ever worked this hard on my mission thus far....in fact, its the first transfer I´ve had where neither me or my comp had to stay in piso for a couple days on account of sickness or injuries. So we´ve literally been going non-stop! And we´ve walked SO much. So much. My calf muscles are HUGE, I can´t fit them into my old jeans hahaha. But yeah.  I´m so proud of hermana Vigo-- I´m exhausted and I´ve been able to get used to the mission life whereas this is her first transfer! Seriously, I love this girl! She has just such energy and love for everything and everyone! I don´t know what I´d do without her--she´s a big blessing and a big part of my time here in Puerto.

So now to the miracles! I´m so excited to share this one! ------

PAULA CAME TO CHURCH! But first let me explain the background that made this miracle such a tender mercy! So first off, Isabel still doesn´t have permission to be baptized so we were down about that. And then our other progressing investigator, Paula, told us on Wednesday that she might be moving to Huelva for her job (noooooooooo!) We tried to mask our disappointment but I think she could tell that we were so sad to have to say goodbye! But anyway, flashforward to sunday when we come to church and we were in the bathroom when Elena Rodriguez came into the bathroom and told us we had a surprise waiting for us in the hallway and when we walked out there was Paula!! Seriosuly, we weren´t expecting it at ALL! This was her first time at church and she totally came on her own (we didn´t do anything because we thought she was in Huelva) and on top of that, didnt tell us anything because she wanted to surprise us because she knew how much it´d mean to us! Dawwwwww. Tender merciessssss! She loved it and told us she wants to come every week! I just love how the Lord works, i don´t know how many times I´ve told this story but I´ll tell it again--we initially contacted her mom only because she was interested in our english classes and out of this came the sweetest tender mercy of my transfer! I love Paula!! Its hard to see her because she lives in Rota but its so worth it! AH! Rota blessings!

To be honest, nothing else really crazy happened this week....this is the first time I´ve been stumped writing a letter home! Just know that all is well here and that my testimony is strengthened every day. Seriously, every day. I will never forget this time here serving the Lord. I love being an instrument in His hands as He molds me into the person He needs me to be! I LOVE YOU ALL! Pray for us, that we can have the energy to keep going strong this transfer!! 

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!

Love, Hermana Morrow

Shout out to Sister Young in GERMANY!! You survived the MTC ;) (thats a joke because the MTC is like the best thing ever)  Do work!! I love you so much! You´re already an amazing missionary!