We all carry rocks on our backs

Happy Tuesday!

This week was amazing. I was so exhausted in a good way. I love my mission and I love being a Sister Trainer. I love even more that the Lord allows me to continue to change and ask for his help. This past week was probably one of the hardest on my mission. I was able to call on the powers of Heaven though and ask for help with our area, and with our goals. I felt at peace and got the extra strength I needed to help me so much. When I prayed and then went out to work I could feel the love that the Lord has for the people we teach and the people we talk to as well on the street. That was something that I realized that I needed to do from the very beginning. God loves them so I love them too. 

On Monday night we had planned to have two other lessons, find two investigators and teach a less active member. When we went out that night after preparation day, we went to our lesson with Norma our less active member and we taught her a lesson on Agency and our purpose on earth. Afterwards all she could say was I choose everyday to follow God. It made me realize that we choose everyday to love our purpose and love those around us. Our mission is our choice and what me make of it is up to our personal agency. Our blessings are dependent on it. 

On Wednesday we saw how much the Lord can bless you because we received 5 referrals on one day. We decided to contact all of them that day and we were not able to meet any of them but as we made that choice when we went to our appointment that night a little bit early we were able to meet one of investigators Emmanuel and his mother Maria. She walked in and was a little shocked to see 2 sister missionaries and a member on her couch. She had just come in from outside. We already knew that she was a less active member but she didn't know that we were there. We invited her to join the lesson and she said that she couldn't because she only had a few minutes. We started asking her questions and 30 minutes later she was sharing with us why she no longer went to church and that she would love to come back. We are really excited because we have an appointment with her and her son who is working on being baptized. 

On Thursday we spent most of the day in traffic and at UCLA Medical because I had 3 doctors appointments on the same day. The blessing was that each of my doctors wanted to know how I was doing and I was able to talk to each one of them about my missionary work and how much love I have doing it. They all three accepted invitations to do something different and they said I could email them to see how they are doing.  We were also able to talk to 8 people while we were there! Afterwards we made it back to the east side of LA and we went out to work. Our first appointment of the night was to meet with Elias, his girlfriend is a member and he wants to get married to her but she said she would only get married in the temple. He had no idea what she was talking about so he came to church on his own about 2 months ago then he stopped returning our calls. Last week we were calling people and we came across his number and so we called. When we meet with him he said the only thing he wasn't sure about is the Book of Mormon. So we invited him to read the Book of Mormon from the beginning and look for the blessings of the people as they were going through trails and how the Lord helped them. 

Saturday was a day full of miracles! We were able to meet so many people. While we were street contacting and going to appointments we found two less active members who we didn't even know about. Both had moved into our area years ago but lost contact with the church. It is so amazing to see how the Lord puts us where we need to be so we can find them. That same day we were also able to contact a referral named Rosa, she at first didn't seem to interested in anything we were saying and then at the last moment she turned to us both gave us a hug and told us that she was grateful that we had come because her soul needed to be comforted and she knew that we were her angels. 

Then this week ended with a great night at the California Visitors Center with two returning members who are going to be getting sealed in the temple this year. We talked a lot about how the Lord lifts our burdens. (Watch this video: Lifting Burdens) I know that the Lord was aware of me the entire week and that he really did know how many rocks I was trying to carry on my back alone and #BECAUSEOFHIM I was able to have those rocks taken away. The Lord promises us in Mosiah 24:14-16 that he will make our burdens light:

"14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

 15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

 16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage."

May the Lord bless you all this week and continue to help you each individually as you ask him through prayer.

The loving arms of our savior

Hello Family and Friends!

This week I was reading in the Book of Mormon and I found a scripture in Nephi from the prophet Lehi, he said, "The Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love” (2 Nephi 1:15)

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This week Johnny Flores and Carlos Perez who are two of our investigators have also started to learn to trust in the arms of the Lord because they have begun their journey towards him. Carlos on Wednesday this week during a lesson told us that he went to bed and prayed and asked God to help him know why women couldn't be prophets. Then he woke up in the middle of the night and said he got an answer, it was so clear. He said that he remembered everything we had taught him so far and he felt like God was speaking to him. He said it was confirmed to him that only men who were worthy priesthood holders could be prophets and they would have to be called of God. When we saw him the next day he told us of his story and he was so excited to learn more! He also came to church this weekend and is continuing to progress.

Johnny also rode his bike to church and he was so excited to find the right church and join us in worship. I was so excited to that he found the church and that each and every pedal and mile was his way of building his faith. Instead of working out the details for Johnny we really just helped him by giving him the direction for the church and meeting him there. He wasn't able to stay all three hours because his daughter came to visit him but he was excited to stay with us for sacrament. 

I am so thankful for this time that the Lord has given me to see how much he really has embraced me in his arms and to have felt his mercy and his strength and his grace. This week as I have studied "enduring to the end" I have been able to see the joy that comes along with it and that as we apply the gospel principles in our lives daily we can truly feel the Savior's arms of peace, joy, happiness, love, mercy, comfort, promise, and protection. I have a testimony that as I stay strong in the gospel and apply the principles that that Lord has allowed me to share with my brothers and sisters over the last 18 months that I will be able to share them with my future children. I know that I can trust him. I have trusted him so much. I know that he trusts me. I am forever grateful to him for the trust that he has shown me and for the confidence in the gospel that I have been able to gain as I have have lived and grown over the past year and a half. 

As we move closer to EASTER let us all remember to real reason why we rejoice in Christ. It is #BECAUSEHELIVES 

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the 12 of Apostles said, "One of the most significant of all scriptural phrases is found in Matthew 28:6, “He is not here: for he is risen.” Given by angelic messengers near an empty tomb, this proclamation declared that the Lord Jesus Christ had overcome death through His Atonement and Resurrection. Later He appeared to His Apostles and charged His followers to declare their witness to the world that He lives. As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ in these, the latter days, we have also been charged with testifying of the realities of the Savior’s Atonement and Resurrection. This Easter season gives each of us a personal opportunity to discover His sacrifice, embrace His teachings, and share His joy." 

#BECAUSE HE LIVES <--Check out the Video on March 28th

Jesus Christ lived. He walked the Holy Land, working miracles and teaching truth. Then, He was crucified. But His death was not the end.

Because of His resurrection, we will live again. Because of His sacrifice, we can rise above sin to experience true joy. Join us as we share the good news with the world.

Love, Sister Weller

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What is the most important thing in your life?

Hello Family!!!

This week has been so great for Sister O and I! If you missed it last week I am staying in SFS until the end of my mission!!! I am super excited because I only now finally feel like I know some of the members. We have been working really hard to get to know them and help them to trust us and work with us. I just LOVE THE MEMBERS. They are really like family when missionaries are away from their own families. 

This week we have been working with the C family. They are a less active family who is working on coming back to church and prepare to go to the temple. Every time we go they are so excited to see us and I know that they can feel the spirit. We are hoping that their entire family gets to come to church soon so that they can make these steps together.  

We also went back to see Nelly, she is a lady in her 40s who grew up being of a different faith and since about a week ago started meeting with us. We had such a powerful lesson with her the other day were we talked about how the Gospel blesses us and our families and she told us she wants to be baptized the only thing is that she isn't married. We are going to help her by starting to meet with her boyfriend and get him to come to church too.

Our other investigator Edgar wasn't able to make it to church this past weekend so we were a bit bummed. He ended up having to work again so he wasn't able to make it. One thing that was so amazing was we visited him during the week and we talked about how we believe in the Godhead and how we can improve our personal relationship with him. We then closed with a prayer and he said that he has always had a relationship with God but he didn't understand why it was so important to improve it.

Lupe, a woman we have been meeting with since November came to church this weekend!!! We had not been able to see her in about a week and a half, but we called her on Saturday night and reminded her about church and she came! She said that is made the different for her because when she came she felt the spirit and it gave her the motivation she needed to continue to overcome her problems. We then saw her on Sunday night and she thanked us for continuing to go and see her and help her. She called us her angels! 

In between seeing our investigators and members we have also been talking with 20 new people a day. Something we have been asking people we talk too is what is the most important thing in your life? Most people respond with family. Really that is how I normally would have responded too but then someone said their belief in God. When we asked why, they said because without their belief in God and in the importance of family relationships their families wouldn't mean anything. It really hit me, my family means everything to me but without knowing the importance of families in the eyes of God, it wouldn't matter. We saw the same thing with one of recent converts. We read The Family - A Proclamation to the World with them and they said they knew what they needed to work on together as a family. They are so excited to put these things in practice. 

My invitation this week is for you to read it and see what you may need to change in your families and lives to come closer to Christ. Will you read it?

I love you!! Have such a great week!

Hermana Weller

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We can all be FREED

How is the month of February!! The month of love!!???

This week has been so great. My back and neck still hurt but I am thankful that Sister F and I were able to go to Physical Therapy. We were both given a few stretches to do that will help! I have been so full of joy this week as we have been able to work.

To start this week was GREAT AND FULL OF JOY!!  

To share a quick miracle or two, Sister Franks and I were making calls one day while we were in our house and we talked to a man named Henry on the phone. We had called him a few times, he told us he wanted to learn more and so we setup an appointment for him to meet us at the church building. When he meet us at the church building he said that he remembered talking with and visiting with missionaries when he was a small kid. He said they even went to the Visitors Center. When we asked him the last time he talked with missionaries he said it was when he was 10 and he is now almost 30. Well we meet with Henry and invited him to come to church and on Sunday he came. He also brought his girlfriend who also has talked with missionaries before about 5 years ago. The Lord helped us to find Henry I know it! 

We have been praying specifically for 20 conversations all day and to ask people to be baptized and we are doing that. The other night we needed 4 more conversations so we said a prayer as we left our investigators house and we decided to walk in the opposite direction of our car. When we followed that inspiration we found 4 new people to teach. Two couples! One of them recently lost her mother and just moved into the trailer park we were visiting. She said that she loved hearing messages about Christ and invited us back for this week. She said that she needs to find peace.

We went to the Visitors Center with Lupe again this week to focus on the Atonement. We walked around and saw the Witnesses of Christ and Lupe could feel the spirit so strong. She said it is really helping her to keep her desire to stay clean from all of the things she used to use. She has been clean for a week! She also started AA classes this week with a member of our ward so that she can get help and support. We are so excited to see where Lupe goes. We know that she can continue to work towards baptism once her body is ready to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. When we were at the Visitors Center we watched a Mormon Message called We Can ALL BE FREED. WATCH THIS VIDEO.

We also had one of our less active members at church this weekend. She told us she wants to start coming back and go to the temple for the first time. She shared her testimony and so did her daughter Samantha. They both have such strong testimonies and we are so excited to continue to work with their family and help them prepare to go to the temple.

We also had a lesson about Faith with one of my favorite families! We planted seeds and the little kids have been watering them and they are growing!! It is so cute because each time we go to see them we stop and see what they look like and how they are doing. Their family is growing so strong as well.

Also, I got a new companion this week she is from Texas! Her name is Sister O. She is the other Hispanic in all my future pictures. :)

Love Hermana Weller

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What do you know about the Book of Mormon?

Hola Familia!!! Como esta? Que saben acerca del Libro de Mormom? Think about it....

That question has blessed Sister Franks and I so much this week. We have ran into so many people who already know about the Book of Mormon or have family who are members and don't really know about it at all. This past week our mission president shared a video with us called "What do you know about the Book of Mormon?" It was a video made by 3 return missionaries and it was so cool to see. It got us all excited to go and ask people on the street what they knew about it. 

Today we found a lady who was washing her laundry and she told us that her father and uncles are all Mormon, we setup an appointment with her for this Tuesday to share more with her. We have been able to testify more and more all throughout the week and that makes us so happy to share it with other people! I love sharing my testimony and sharing it about the Book of Mormon get's me more excited each day!

Our area has been seeing so many miracles since we have been able to get out and work on most of the days. Lupe one of investigators this past week asked if she could be baptized. We said of course, she has been struggling to overcome an addiction she has. We pray for her each and every day and we also go and see her daily. She told us that when we are with her that she feels the strength we bring to her. She had not come to church in about two weeks and we were super sad. We decided on Sunday before church we were going to go and see her in the morning to make sure she was up and ready for church. When we knocked on the door and just started crying. We asked her what was wrong and she just said I was just going to go to bed and give up on today and not go to church. She said that us going to her house was a way that God showed his love to her. She came to church and got a blessing and then the sisters in our ward had a baptism that night. We invited her and she said no, but we invited her again and asked her to pray about it. Afterwards we stopped by at her house a little before the baptism and asked her again. She went and when the man was about to be baptized she asked if she could get closer so that she could see the baptism. When she watched the man be baptized, she instantly felt the spirit. She asked us what it was and we walked into the hall and talked to her about what she was feeling. Then she turned to use and said anytime I want to use I am going to imagine myself being baptized. Afterwards we kneeled down on the floor and prayed that she would prepare herself for January 31st. She just told us to keep on pushing her and never take a NO for an answer. We told her we would always be here for her.

We also had another investigator named Edgar who came to church. His sister is a member in another ward and she told him he should go to church. Edgar is finally letting us come and see him during the week and we have been able to teach him about the Book of Mormon! 

Also, one of our new members named Juan is getting ready to get the priesthood. He is so excited to be able to help his family even more and continue to be an example for them.

This week has been so much fun, we have seen miracle after miracle and have seen so much love from our members. They just want to help us in any way possible and want to help us with our investigators and I love it! 

The work is real, the Lord is here helping Sister Franks with our health, our investigators, and our families I know it. I have felt his love so much this week and I am excited to feel it always. Something I read this week really helped me, it said something like:

Happiness is Everlasting Eternal joy because of Jesus Christ. It is so true. My happiness that I have know will be magnified in the eternities! The happiness I feel as a missionary must be what Christ feels every time we decide to apply the atonement in our lives and come closer to him.

Love always, Hermanita Weller