Week 22

June 17, 2013 

Family!

First Spanish FHE group this week: At the last minute there were several people who bailed on us, but we got one active member, one less active, and an investigator who came late. I was so stressed out trying to get it all together, but I'm sure happy that we were able to pull it off. All thanks to the Spanish Elders who lived in Clarksville, TN who brought a couple of people to support the group as well. Building blocks to a Spanish branch in hopkinsville. 

Also,we are teaching these three guys from El Salvador. THEY ARE HILARIOUS. We have really started to focus on one investigator in particular. His name is Angel and he has been in the states for about a year. He has an amazing story about how he made it from here to there. Anyways, one of our first visits with him we were closing the lesson and taking about if we could keep in contact with him through our cell phone. Then he asked us a question, which I had been dreading to hear... Anyways, he said something and all Hermana Healey and I understood through our broken Spanish was the word "novio" we looked to each other like uh, oh... We asked him to repeat himself a couple of times and he was just asking if it would be alright for him to text us. He didn't want to get in trouble with our "novios" or anything. It was a funny contact. The other day we were teaching him again and we asked him how old he was. He told us he was 21 and we were both taken back.  We guessed early twenties, but didn't think he was our same age. Then later we were talking and he asked about going to church. Then he looked at me and was like, "After I get baptized I'll go to your church and "nos casamos" I looked at Hermana Healey and she was confused. She doesn't know that much Spanish vocab as I do from my 4 years of high school spanish. It was really funny. He is such a flirt! But Hermana Healey and I like to call him and another investigator "our star student" because they are progressing. Speaking of progressing investigators, it is such a challenge to get our investigators to attend chruch. Hermana Healey and I have been working really hard to try and get a June baptism before President McKee leaves, but if we can't get our investigators to church, we can't baptize them. Angel has taken the lessons fantastically so far and he has expressed to us his desire to be baptized. I don't know what we are going to do. We fasted today and we have prayed a lot. The June baptism goal was a challenge given to us by the mission presidency, and we know that if he gave us a challenge he was giving it to us by the spirit. That tells us that there is a way. 1 Nephi 3:7. I'll keep you updated next week our June goes for us. We are teaching Angel this evening 

We have been challenged by our zone to approach awkward teaching situations. Last week when I was on splits with an English sister we gave a book of mormon to the lady at mcdonalds on the other side of the drive thru window. Book of Mormon in exchange for some ice cream... pretty good trade if you ask me. 

The other night Hermana Healey and I contacted these two Spanish guys drinking beer outside of their house. They probably had ten bottles around them and were listening to some ghetto hispanic music from their car.. TWO NEW INVESTIGATORS! Juan and Luis... those names are orginal, right? That makes for three Luis investigators that I've had now... haha. And I don't know what it is but all of me and Hermana Healey's real success is coming from our male investigators. They have been a lot more open to us and love to tease us and always invite us back. Where as all of the hispanic women we work with are pretty cold to us... kind of a funny thing that we have going for us.... Anyways, teaching males means potential priesthood holders and that is what you need to start a branch, right?

I love Hermana Healey! She is seriously a gem! Always willing to work, always willing to smile and go into awkward situations. I have found that since I've been training I do a lot more of the talking in our teaching and contacting situations. Most of that is because of my Spanish, but we went on splits last week and she stayed in the area and I left. I left her to our El Salvadorian investigators and she led a whole lesson without me! I just need to work on giving her more opportunities to let her open her mouth and develop her Spanish as well. I'll be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time, but I fake it til I make it... especially with Spanish! 

So I went on splits to Princeton, KY. I went with an English sister to her area and we hit a lot of small towns that they work in.... Cadiz, Fredonia... and when I say small town. It is small town! Small town, Kentucky drama is a hoot! Wow! My favorite quote from the exchange was this lady who was talking about how her mom's neice had an affair with her dad while her mom was passing away. After the dad died he married this lady. They were married for four years. So that means that this lady's cousin married her dad and became her step mom. Well when the dad passed away, a day after the funeral this lady hooked up with her brother... ew. they were cousins! Anyways, I loved Jennifer's comment, " I know we live in KENtucky, but it is Kentucky K-E-N, not K-I-N." Then when she said when she sees that lady again "God don't got her days numbered. I do." Anyways, I went up to the heart of Kentucky and it was a hoot. Every contact was an adventure!

Well, I've got to peace out, but I hope this email had a lot more meat to it than the others. Love you. I appreciate your prayers. They go a long way!

Que Dios les bendiga!

Con Amor!

Hermana Rich

"Choosing Jesus is a decision you will never regret."

"No matter who is president, Jesus is king"

"Let Jesus calm your trobled waters" (they had a typo there.....)

"God will reign, but the son will shine" (Think about that one, pretty clever, eh?)