Belleza Para Cenizas

Hey everyone!!

I know I've been slacking again, (shame on me), but I'll try to get y'all caught up and keep it short and sweet :).

It's hard to believe that just two weeks ago I was saying goodbye to the MTC and now I'm serving the Lord down in Kentucky!! It was definitely a bittersweet last couple of days in Provo. Our district had become so much of a family to me, and each of them has a special place in my heart. They have such strong testimonies and are examples to me every day. I'm so proud of them and I know they're going to change lives out there!!

The craziness started that last Monday in the MTC. Me and Hermana Harston were sleeping soundly in our beds and all.of a sudden some lady opens our door at 4 in the morning and tells me my flight was that morning! Our room was kind of a mess and I hadn't packed at all. Both me and Hermana Harston had misread the itinerary, so her flight was in two hours! We both got packed and way too soon I had to say goodbye to the best compañera ever!! I'm going to miss our laughing sessions and jamming on the piano with her. She was just like a sister to me and I'm so grateful to have had her as my companion, she taught me so much and I know that she is going to be an amazing missionary in Chile!! Good luck mi hermana!! :)

My flight got rescheduled for the next day, so Tuesday morning I woke up bright and early at 3am. Let me tell you, it is a whole process to get to the airport! We had to get on to this bus and then the train which took us to another bus, but the guy on the train said we had 45 seconds to get everything off at our station! Thankfully we somehow did it, pretty much a miracle. After that we got on the last bus and made it to the airport. From there we flew to Detroit, but that got a little delayed when some guy, bless his heart, got stuck in the baño for 30 minutes, but thankfully my connecting flight got delayed an hour so I had plenty of time to relax before heading out to Kentucky!!

I was met by Elder and Sister Zahlman who gave me a nice little rundown of everything I needed to know while we drove to the church. I got to meet my new compañera, Hermana Hibbard, who I love so much!! She is pretty much fluent in spanish and is super patient with me as I'm learning :). She does the best accents and is always making me laugh, I've been so blessed already just because of her example to me! That night we taught English class, and I did a lot of listening, but I understood a lot too!!

We went to the temple my second day here and almost died with our friend Rosaline driving 20 over, somehow we made it in one piece. Orlando, Aida, and the elders came with us too. Aida has been a member for about a year and is preparing to receive her endowment!! Me and Hermana Hibbard had lots of teaching appointments in person and over video call, so I've been getting to know everyone and I already love them! It's been a little intimidating to listen during the lessons because they all speak so fast, but I'm learning to catch on and I know that I'll get there someday :).

My first weekend here we got to listen to General Conference with the mission president and his wife! Because I was a day late to my mission, I still needed to do an interview with President Alder, but they were so sweet and fed us and watched the 1st session with us! A lot of our friends came to the chapel on Sunday and watched the morning session with us, which was awesome!! Even though all of it was in Spanish with them, I was able to take notes and figure out the main idea of the talk.

My favorite talk was definitely Elder Bassett's. He actually came to the MTC and spoke there, so it was fun to see him at GC too. He talked about the story of Lazarus, how in the culture of that time, once a person had been dead longer than 3 days, they could no longer be saved. When Jesus came to raise him from the dead, the people had already lost hope, they thought it was too late, that Jesus was too late. But He came, even on the 4th day, He came and restored their faith. It reminded me of when Jesus walked on the water to His disciples in the 4th watch of the night. Heavenly Father knows that the challenges and adversity we face will be what we can handle and will help us to grow and become what He wants us to become. We can't often see the same strength and potential that God can see in us, so we trust. We hold on to that hope that the 4th day, the 4th watch of the night will come. And we never have to do it alone. Jesus will leave the 99 to go after the one. He overcame the world for you. He kept the scars of His sacrifice as reminders of His love.

This past week we had to stop teaching a lot of friends, and we weren't left with a lot of people. We decided to pray for miracles that week, and God answered us that day. We went to go knock on the door of a yellow dot and the people who opened it were definitely not her, and they'd never heard of her. But then, Hermana Hibbard gets super excited and says: Manual!! It turns out that this couple who had used to go to English class and then we just lost contact were somehow living in that very apartment!! They invited us in and we were able to share a short Easter message and invite them to church, and yesterday Samantha came!!

That night we taught Sergio and his family from Alma 32 about faith and invited them to be baptized, and they said yes!!! Their family is so sweet and even though they will be moving into Arcadias zone, I'm so grateful that I get to be a part of this time in their lives!! They fed us tamales that night, and dad would be so proud of me eating them with hot chili sauce :). When we drove home that night I don't think I've ever felt that kind of joy that I did right then. I'm so grateful that God has trusted me with His children, to know that somehow He can touch the lives and hearts of others through missionaries like me, who feel imperfect and unprepared. And He blessed me that night, as I prayed to have the gift of tongues and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I felt the words just come, and I knew the Spirit was there, testifying of the truth to this beautiful family.

Being a missionary has its rough spots, but Jesus Christ "hath made everything beautiful in His time." (Ecc. 3:11) Trust in His time and in His way, the fourth day will come, hope restored, and there will be beauty for the ashes.

Love you all!!

- Hermana Neil

Photos in order:

- we love being awake at 4am :)

- temple trip!!! Don't get in a car with roseliin

- GC with the Alders

- styling the sweatpants and dresses

- cowboy hats and otterpops are the solution to everything

- lookin like we just broke out of jail

- enjoying the sunshine

- don't worry we survived by sheltering in the bathtub and eating hot cheetos

- starbucks!!!!