Week #46 -- BAUTISMOS de Elena y Luciana!!!!!! (Elena and Luciana's Baptisms), our STINKY room, exchanges w/ HNA. SOUTH!

Aug. 24, 2015:

Wonderful Fam and Friends!!!! :D

Wow! This week was full of many adventures! OH MY HEAVENS TA BETSY! We were able to have TWO wonderful, amazing, and beautiful baptisms this week! Oh my heavens...so excited! These were the first baptisms in todo de mi mision!!!! :) Hna. Nielsen and I felt and are still feeling so very blessed! Elena and Luciana were VERY nervous but they were able to be baptized and confirmed after many prayers and helps. It was a very special weekend! Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts for these sweet daughters of God! They were confirmed and it was amazing! So super cute...Luciana (14) wore one of Hna. Nielsen's dresses on Saturday and one of my dresses on Sun! So fun! I was finally able to give them the very special Spanish CTR (mejor dicho...HLJ :)) rings that Mimi sent to me in a package! :D They loved them!

Baptism of Luciana and Elena

What an incredible night with these two daughters of God! :D 

Welp...our room is such an adventure! Jaja! The zone leaders called us on Friday morning and told us that we need to move...again! :( Kind of a big bummer...but our bathroom is really having problems...ready? Well our heater for our shower was put in and after the first shower our circuit blew because our whole room is wired with telephone wires and so now we get to shower and go to the bathroom in the dark (with my flashlight :)) and they took the shower heater out with the shower head...so now it is a little chilly and it basically comes out like a hose...then the toilet is clogged...and if we don't plug the shower up remember what happens? :) Yep you got it...all the bathroom stuff comes up the shower drain...and the toilet is leaking on the bottom too. Well this morning we were just laughing so hard...like Hna. what do we do?! jaja! I mean we love living with rats and cockroaches...they really help us in planning...but we would like a bathroom that works! So we really need to find a room ASAP! Which is kind of really difficult...but we know that with Heavenly Father...EVERYTHING is possible! :D (Sorry...don't feel bad at all...this is actually a fun adventure that we are laughing about now and will forever be laughing about!)

So we may or may not have found a random bone in our room.

I think the rat brought it in! jaja! oh buddy!

I was able to go on exchanges with HNA. SOUTH!!! this past week! So fun to finally be reunited as companions after the CCM! :D She sure is an incredible missionary and such an example to me! She really was able to help me and we were able to work hard...which felt SOOOOO GOOD! and have so much fun while at it!

RANDOM:

-We ate this dish called "Picante de la mar" and it was a yummy sauce with spices and with octopus, clams, and shrimp and it was actually super good! The octopus even still had all the suction cups on it! 

-My ringworm is getting better! jaja! :D

-During intercambios (splits)...Hna. Beasley made no bake cookies for us! So stinkin' delicious!

In our planning last night!

(planning the next day for their service and teaching)

FUNNIES Y INSPIRATIONALS:

-Well our room is super funny...we laugh a lot! We decided we only reply to "Hellos"...yes in English in the streets if the person or people are younger than 10! jaja!

-We had a wonderful training JUST for the hermanas in our zone...because we have the most hermanas in our zone in the whole mission! 15 hermanas! Wow! Hna. South and Hna. Blackburn planned if for us (our hna. leaders) and it was so spiritually uplifting! They asked me to share about my picking up coins habit and who my angel was with the sweet little poem that goes along with it! 

"I found a penny today

Just laying on the ground.

But it's not just a penny,

This little coin I've found.

Found pennies come from heaven,

That's what my Grandpa told me.

He said Angles toss them down.

Oh, how I loved that story.

He said when an Angel misses you, 

They toss a penny down.

Sometimes just to cheer you up,

To make a smile out of your frown.

So, don't pass by that penny,

When you're feeling blue.

It may be a penny from heaven,

That an Angel's tossed to you!"

Don't you all just love that!? So I sure hope you can all look for the "pennies" in your lives...the sweet tender mercies that sometimes we let pass by! Let's recognize them and thank our Heavenly Father for them!

Loves to you all!!!!!

Hermana Coleman :D

Here is an amazingly sweet letter we got from Hermana South's Mom that shares more about their experiences together!!  She forwarded it from Hermana South...

"This week started out with something really special. There have been a few of the 14 hermanas in our zone that have been struggling a little bit and we wanted to do something really special for all the hermanas as hermana leaders. We got permission to have a morning where we could all meet up as hermanas in our church here in Barrio California and just have a recharging of spiritual batteries here. Sounds awesome right? Well... then we have to plan it... haha and it's safe to say that me and han Blackburn were pretty stuck for a while cause we just wanted it to be GREAT!... We got a feeling to call hermana Marler and see if she would talk.. she said that she would miss interviews that she was doing just to be there for it... ( I stinking love her) then we were just lost a bit again... we wanted to use the girls in the zone to talk and be in charge of giving different talks because there are so many amazing girls in this zone. While proselyting one night han blackburn and I were talking while walking to our next appointment... we decided to stop and pray for help... so we prayed that we would be guided in choosing who we should have help put the activity together and what they should speak on. Almost immediately, and I kid you not, Hna. Nielsen and Hna. Coleman's names came to our minds. Hna Nielson is an AMAZING pianist... and we decided that we should ask her to bare her testimony on music and the spirit, and how they work together for her and then have her play a piece after. Then hna Coleman's sweet testimony came to my mind.. while in the CCM with her, it didn't take me very long to recognize that she had a very special spirit and person that was with her. Its almost startling how powerful her spirit is.. She has a very very special angel that is with her in her mission named Hyrum. Hes her little brother, and Ill say hes one of the missionaries called here in Trujillo Peru because you can literally feel the work that he is doing here. I made the connection with her sweet spirit... and the amazing sweet companion that I have right now.. She also has an angel, and we know that he is working in a trio with us right now. His name is Keltson and he is her older brother, and really.. an amazing missionary. Both Hna Coleman and Hna Blackburn have been my comps.. and its funny cause the second you meet them you can tell they are so pure and being with them is heart warming and they glow with the spirit of the gospel which is an empowering force in their lives, I have noticed something about them both as well.. they both collect pennies.. and coins. Whatever ones they see on the ground! As you get to know them they will share with you that these pennies are very special to them, and they aren't just ordinary pennies! They are pennies from heaven. There is a sweet quote that they both have up in their rooms that is called "pennies from heaven." I don't believe coincidences... a coincidences is just when God is the author, and decides to remain silent... but in about 1 min, I made that connection and asked Hna Blackburn if she would be okay with sharing her testimony and story about her brother and angels in missionary work. WE asked Hna Coleman to do the same.. and they went above and beyond. They copied out the poem for each hermana, and translated it into spanish for everyone... They told about their sweet angels and how they have felt their influences in our work here.. and Hna Coleman gave everyone one of her special pennies... It was amazing how we could FEEL the spirit almost tangibly and we all knew that this work was bigger than just us. We have help from the other side, our angels and the angels of the people here. We are helping them do the work here and it is so important to them. I'm so grateful for my amazing companions!!! My testimony is growing everyday thanks to the wonderful people that I meet here, and I love helping the lord and his angels do this work!!! I is truly an honor to be a missionary of The Lord!! Also, Hna Marler's talk was amazing... she talked about each of us individually and our talents and gifts that she has seen and felt, and she gave each of us a bag of her favorite candy and a CTR ring. I LOVVVVE HER!! We also got permission to watch "errand of angels" with the hermanas!! We popped popcorn and the zone leaders were actually there for the whole thing, and I think they loved it all as well even though it was hermanay and girly haha! As a zone I can feel that this helped that the hermanas felt ready to get back out and do this amazing work we have such a short time to do! I'm so thankful for the spirit and for the help that we can receive directly from the lord!! Its AMAZING!

I also had an intercambio with Han Coleman this week... she is INCREDIBLE!! WE had soo much fun together and taught some AMAZING lessons! And guess what? That was our first time teaching together since the CCM and we can actually speak spanish now!!! Hahaha... it was so fun thinking about the great amazing and spiritual times we had together in the CCM, she truly is one of my very best friends and a dear person in my heart! When she teaches every word that comes our of her mouth is filled with love and powered and backed up with the truth that comes from the spirit!! AHH! I was blown away! We taught the first lesson to one of our investigators, and when she said the first vision I was mesmerized, and my heart was super filled. The spirit testified of the truth of it too cause the guys was like., "holy cow that happened I didn't even know that!!" Hahaha.. thats why we are here!!! I love her, we made no bake cookies at night together and took pics with our AGGIE and BYU shirts together, and our prayer at night was super special and one ill never forget."

           



With Hermana South in the CCM and Now!!
                                                                                                                                          

Nuevo cuarto!, sicky :(, ratas, milagros!!! :D

Aug. 17, 2015:
Amazing fam and friends!!! :D

(Diana and Nate! I am so stinkin excited for your sweet family! Braden and Janna too!!!! :D Jaclyn I sure loved all the fun pics from your wedding! I'm so excited to get to know your husband!!! :D Wow! so many fun things!)

Well...this week was sure eventful, full, different, long, short! Wow! jaja! Hna. Nielsen has been sick since Thursday so that has been tough...because I really want to help her feel better...but we also need to keep working too...there is definitely a balance! 

Poor Hermana Nielsen..sick! :-(

We were able to move into a new room (apartment)...finally! After about 2 1/2 weeks of searching and searching! Whooo Hooo! Oh my...so the first night in our new room...as we came in from proselyting we turned on the lights and all of a sudden a big sized gray rat runs up our wall and up on this pipe and outside! AAAAAHHHH! Then we realized each time we flush the toilet...what we flush :/ comes up the shower drain in a little fountain! :/ Ay ay ay! So much fun! But we actually were able to plug it up! Whew! :D 

Jennesa and Hermana Nielsen in their new apartment!!

"We had a sleepover out in our big room (in our old room) to celebrate my 10 months! Then I didn't have to get up on my top bunk without a ladder! jaja! I use a chair and my non-existant abs...jaja! But really it's true! :/"

We were also able to see some really neat miracles this week though! 

This week Elena and Luciana passed their BAPTISMAL INTERVIEWS!!!!! :) So amazing! Luciana is 14 and Elena (her mom) is about 47. They were referencias del templo (temple referrals) and they were so golden...so Hna. Nielsen has told me. They are so cute, humble, happy, and loving! Luciana gives the best hugs ever...she squeezes very hard and then moves from side to side! (My back might crack every time...but I love them still!) They live in a very humble one room adobe-mud-brick house with one bed...a desk...a little stove...a t.v....and they hang storage stuff (clothes and things) on nails that are sticking out of their wall. Their bathroom is outside...kind of like alittle shed/outhouse thing. They have 3 dogs that they LOVE and treat like their babies! :) I have already grown to love them both so much! :D The gospel is going to bless their lives so much! So exciting! They are super excited for their baptism...we told them we were going to take care of the refrigerio...pie de limon! Wow...22 de agosto! (Aug. 22nd) What a special day it will be! :D I just kind of want to scream thinking about it! Yiiiiiii whoooooo! :D

Another amazing thing that happened this week...we received a call from Saul (one of our investigatores...we had actually tried to call him to get an appt. with him but he didn't answer) Anyway...he told me he had read the Book of Mormon in the chapter we has asked (3 nefi 11) and that it talked about boutismo. I think he was driving in his taxi as he was talking because the wind was super loud...so I had to ask him if he would repeat...casi todo! (like always!) :D But he went on to tell me how it talked about how we need to be baptized to follow the example of Christ and how he wanted to keep reading and learning more so he...could...be baptized...AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! :D Isn't that amazing! I was kind of freaking out on the other line! :D Such a neat experience! I sure hope he can progress with his wife and his little girls! :D

This week I was able to read two amazing talks outloud to Hna. Nielsen! So we both benefited! :D When you have time...look them up! "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox and Adversity in Prayer by H. Burke Peterson. They are incredible! A couple quotes: "As we learn to develp this two-way communication, the standard of our life will improve. We will see things more clearly, we will try harder to do better, we will see the real joy that can come through trials and testing." "No, we are not earning heaven. We are learning heaven. We are preparing for it." Loved these two talks! :D Thanks for sending them to me so stinkin fast dad! :D

RANDOM:

-I think cockroaches scream...or squeak when you kill them...I had to find out the hard way! :Z

-Got your package this week! With the blue shirt, pink sweater, granola bars (that we love!), and all the amazing notes...and the amazing binder! I LOVED IT! :D

-We made the best b-day card ever for an hermana in our district! So stinkin cute! You are all going to love the pic!

The minion b-day card! So fun! :) It turned out so cute! 

Loving the pink sweater you sent me! Wore it to church yesterday and got so many comments!

Love you all so much!

INSPIRATIONALS Y FUNNIES:

-Cool thought I found in my scripture/spiritual journal..."2 Nefi 24:14 "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds and I will be like the Most High." "I" in the above scripture is Satan. Interesting how he said he will be LIKE the Most High but he will not be EQUAL TO or HIGHER THAN...he is not more powerful than our Heavenly Father. How comforting. He can fool us to thinking he can be LIKE him...but no." I loved that! :)

-We were laughing so hard last night with our pensionista and her family! They were trying to speak English and we would help them but we were just all busting up! Fun to relax and just laugh! :)

Love you all!

Loves,

Hermana Coleman :D

Aug. 11, 2015:
Dear incredible familia y amigos!!!!

(Seriously love you all so stinkin much!!!)

Oh my heavens bless...guess what?! We were able to go to the Trujillo Temple today as a zone...with Pres. and Hna. Marler!!! My first session in the Trujillo Temple! I LOVED it! (For this reason our p-day is today instead of yesterday) What a special experience...I was really able to feel the love of my Savior and grow in MY love for Him! What a blessing in our lives that we have a Savior who can save us if we let Him and come unto Him! 

Our awesome district in front of the beautiful Trujillo Temple!

Wow...another week! Where does the time go...seriously? This week we were able to see some neat little miracles. We were finally able to find one of our temple referencias, Yolanda, in her house and she invited us right in! We were talking to her about her life and she was so golden...she kept making comments about how we were guides for her and how she wanted to follow the example of Jesus Christ. So even though we hadn't even started with a prayer we both felt to invite her right then and there to be baptized when she came to know the truth for herself...and we HAD NOT planned this so....I showed all 5 of my fingers...for the 5th of Sept. and we invited her with a date too! Whoooo Hoooo! It was really so special...she is so sweet and really wants to keep learning how she can better her life. In our other lesson with her...she was so cute in her prayer...she asked that "her hermanas" could keep coming back to help and visit her! Wow! I sure hope she keeps on progressing and coming closer to her Heavenly Father!

Holy Cow...this week I reached 10 months in my mission...so odd how fast time flies! Wow! I need time to slow down a little! I am loving to get to know the people of Vista Alegre and I am definitley loving having Hna. Nielsen for my comp! She sure is amazing! 

I am trying to improve my obedience to be more exact but to also have fun and enjoy my mission...there is a balance for sure and I am trying to find it. 

Me and Hna. Nielsen enjoying some good American pizza! :D

Our eyes even look the same! :D

Checking out some sunglasses!

Wow! We were able to have interviews with Pres. Marler, Hna. Marler, and the assistants this week!!!! I always love interviews so much...always come out uplifted and more excited! 

"Our interview with Hna. Marler was AMAZING!! We always have companionship intervies with her. We talked about our carpeta de area (area book) and whew! It was up-to-date because we had been working on it...and now we have new desires and a goal to do it for just like 10 min. each night. Oh something new for me was that we did our whole interview in ENGLISH! Really interesting...Hna. Marler tols us that we need to be saying at least one prayer in English each day because it is our native language and we will be using English to teach the gospel more in our whole lives than Spanish. It made me stop and think...because I am always thinking about my Spanish and how I need to improve it and how I need to speak more in just Spanish. But now I have realized that with a North Americn comp, Hna. Nielsen, it feels SO GOOD to fully be able to communicate my thoughts, ideas, and feelings. 

Hna. Marler said so many things that I needed so badly...but beforehand I didn't know I needed to hear them! She talked about her convesrion story and how the missionaries who first talked to her marker her life...and to them she is forever grateful. She was baptized about a year later...but those missionaries helped start the process. :) It just shows that every moment is precious and we need to give our all in every lesson with each person. We are touching lives...even if we aren't baptizing! What relief to hear...and what a blessing. Hna. Marler was so sweet and personal with us! She told us how special we are and how much she loves us! It was such a neat interview...and she even gave us a scrumpcious homemade cookies afterwards! :D"

                                

Getting into a mototaxi!

RANDOM:

-So uhhhh...we were playing futbol as a zone this week...and I totally jammed my finger...I shook it off and kept playing (cuz I didn't want to be a wimp ;)). Then I ran to stop the ball from going out and as I put my foot on it to stop it...I totally just kept going with the ball and fell HARD right on my tailbone (QUE VERGÜENZA!) Yeah...this is plain evidence that I am seriously lacking in my foot eye coordinancion! jaja! So it was a little tough to get up...so I was just taking a few minutes on the sidelines...but I felt horrible! Totally light headed...then Hna. Nielsen came up and said that my face was SO white and I told her that I felt I was going to pass out...and that is exactly what I did...what a baby right?! jaja! She said my pupils were so huge...there was hardly any color in my eyes! But NO WORRIES AT ALL!!! :) I am good now! Just a little sore! My finger is good too! I should have just slept in that morning...jaja! :) Gotta love the adventures!

-We have an amazing member who is on break this week from school and she just wants to accompany us all the time! her name is Krizia! She is the bomb!

-Guess what?! Hna. South is my hermana leader and we are in the same zone and DISTRICT!!!!! Can you believe it!? So stinkin fun!

Hermana South and Jennesa!!

(Companions in the CCM!)

FUNNIES Y INSPIRATIONALS:

-Oh my! So I have ringworm...just a little...we just like to laugh about it...I have cream and everything! So it is taken care of! 

-In my interview with Pres. Marler we were able to talk about fervent and mighty prayer...We need to really picture Heavenly Father's face when we are praying, because we really are talking to Him! 

Life is so good! Go out and do something for someone else! 

Love you all!

Loves to the moon and back and farther,

Hermana Coleman :D

CRAZINESS!, Goodbyes, Lagartija, familia de oro!, Hna. Nielsen!

Aug. 3, 2015:

My wonderful familia y amigos!!!!!! :D

Wow! What a week...with goodbyes...with cambios (transfers)...with a new companion...HNA. NIELSEN!!!! (She's amazing!)...with a new area...etc. This week has sure felt really long...but we have had many adventures. It has been a little weird having a gringa (not a Spanish-speaking native) companion for the first time in my whole mission...but I am really loving it. We are able to actually share ALL of our feelings, thoughts, and ideas with each other...and it has really been helping me. But I do need to keep my Spanish up and it is tough for us not to get really excited and just speak in English in our room and in the streets when we're not talking to people...so I really want to work on this! Because this is one of my fears...that we are going to regress (is that even a word?) in our ability to speak Spanish. But I love it so much!!! :) 

HNA. NIELSEN:

-Is incredible!

-Has about 6 months in the mission...went home to have her gal bladder taken out for two months right after her training...so she came out about 8 months ago

-From Greenleaf, Idaho

-Comes from a family of 8 kids, she is the oldest

-Studied for a year and a half at BYU-Idaho (did her generals to become a nurse)

-LOVES RUNNING!!!!!

-Fav. color: yellow

*Ok...we are so similar it blows both of our minds sometimes! jaja! But really...even little details about our lives...for example...both of our hands got stuck under the tredmill when we were little, her little sister had heart problems like Hyrum did...but she is doing great! :) So incredible! We really were meant to be companions!  

Jennesa with her new companion, Hermana Nielsen (far right) and Hermana Sanchez in the moto taxi!

It was super hard to say goodbye to my sweet hija, Hermana Maydana and everyone in wonderful Laredo! I did cry...especially when the members gave me cute notes, hugs, and said such sweet things. Laredo will always have such a special place in my heart! :) But I have a good feeling about Vista Alegre too! We have lots of things in our heart right?! :) 

Saying my goodbyes...the awesome family of my old bishop! The Ortechos and my amazing pensionista...Hna. Santos! The family Ticlia! :)  We had to do funny pics after the normal smiling ones and they turned out so good! :D

We were able to teach a whole family this week and it was so very special! The Family Santa Cruz...we were just planning on teaching the mom...but her whole family was home. So we were able to teach her, her three kids, her niece, and her husband the first lesson! What a special spirit...the Dad and the niece were totally interested too! We both just felt a really special spirit with this sweet family and we were able to invite them to our ward activity on Friday...and the mom and her three kids came! And they loved it! Whoooo Hooooo! They didn't come to church...but we are so excited to help them have the gospel in their lives! 

We get to go to the temple this next Tuesday as a zone and I am so looking forward to it! I haven't been able to do a session yet...and I can't wait! Whoo Hooo! :D

RANDOM:

-Been getting blisters for the first time in my mission...jaja! but they're not too bad! 

-Hna. Nielsen is my new personal trainer...so awesome because before her mission she actually was a personal trainer! I am so sore though! jaja! 

-We've been searching for rooms...and oh buddy! So tough...but ya know! The joys! 

INSPIRATIONALS Y FUNNIES:

-Oh my heavens..so we were walking down the sidewalk and I saw a lizard...so we decided to catch it!!!! :) So Hna. Nielsen opened her wallet and we caught it! They are little...we were totally laughing and of course one of our investigatores (investigators) looked out her window and saw us! jaja! Those gringa missionaries! ;) So in our lessons that night we held her little coin purse with a little hole for air...for our LAGARTIJA (lizard in spanish). That night we kept him in there...he was sitting in the coin purse on our desk and in the morning...he wasn't there!!!! aaaaahhhh! So we randomly find him on our wall...and we aren't exactly sure where he is right now...but hey! fun memories! jaja!

Their lizard friend on their wall!!

-I heard something really neat yesterday in Fast and Testimony meeting in our ward that I loved! That the temple is just like a cell phone charger for our lives! We can go there to be recharged and to receive more energy and excitement for our lives, our difficulties, and our pruebas (problems)! I love that cool thought! :)

Wow! I sure love you all! 

Keep smiling and living the way Christ wants you to!

Loves,

Hermana Coleman :-)