Whew! What a week, what a week.
This is my new companion, Hermana Page:
(Yes, it's COLD!)
She's from Boise, Idaho, but she was born in Guatemala. We actually came out at the same time!
This week, there were many reasons to be grateful.
Day 1
First of all, my new companion and I successfully located our new apartment. There were remnants of Elders - a Nerf gun here, a pair of slacks there. We cleaned it out and tried to bring order to the place. We acquired a map at a nearby Walmart. We then had dinner with a family of Investigators that've been coming consistently to church for over a year now. We heart-attacked many people that night!
Day 2
Ready to take on the day. We stopped by the Miera Family by request. She was recently called to be the Relief Society President - she was very excited that there were now Hermanas in the branch! She took us to meet three people - Hermana Greaves, Sandra, and the Huerta Family.
Hermana Greaves wouldn't sit still - instead, she took the three of us on a grand tour of her house, showing us her dog and the newborn puppies, her back porch that she'd built, and the carpet she planned to pull up. For a woman with cancer, she sure has a lot of energy!
Sandra wasn't thrilled to find missionaries on her doorstep, but when she looked past us and saw Hermana Miera, her face lit up! She simultaneously shook Hermana Mieras hand and pulled her into the apartment. That's the power of member missionary work! If we were alone, we never would have contacted Sandra - but Hermana Miera knew Sandra! It was a beautiful thing to see.
Then, finally, we went for a quick visit to the grandma Huerta. We planned a Family Home evening with her.
We were shocked to discover in our correlation meeting with the President of the Coronado Branch that we'd been missing a page of the ward list!! Luckily, we were able to print a new copy. :)
Day 3
We literally "lost ourselves" in the work today. The dirt roads of Rio Rancho show up on Hermana Page's GPS, but there are no street signs out there in the wilderness! After popping by the Branch President of Bosque's mansion for a quick meeting, we headed up for the hour drive to Thanksgiving dinner. And what a dinner it was! There was turkey, ham, yams, and of course, chile, limon, and agua de coco. :) The member told us that everything was gluten free and sugar free. We felt very grateful to be a part of that dinner! It was fun because we were assigned to the kids table. They have two tiny little kids - and boy, could they talk! :) We then went for a visit in the home of the Bake's. They just recently returned from a full-time mission in Guatemala. It reminded me of my grandparents, who also served a mission in Guatemala! :)
Day 4
The spirit of missionary meetings is definitely different up here in Albuquerque. The missionaries in my district here are wonderful - very upbeat and positive. They motivate me to be more prayerful and faithful about the work. And because there are less missionaries here than in El Paso, the other sisters were so excited to have us here. One of them told us that she'd never had other sisters in her district for her whole mission! We then tried eggplant casserole - not bad! We then tried by a member and met her neighbor, Kimi. She was very nice! She told us to stop by anytime. We then tried by a man named George - he told us he wants the lessons again, even after a year without seeing the missionaries! We felt so proud to be able to tell the branch mission leader that we have more time now to focus on Bosque. He said, "Hmm. Good job, Hermanas. Here's some more people for you to find." :)
Saturday
We went to help out a family that is moving out of the branch. In a branch of 14 people, one family leaving makes a huge difference. We had dinner with the Quipse family. The Quispe boys are the only two youth in Coronado - the older one, Carlos, is planning on serving a mission! We also stopped by an investigator family named the Perezes. They have been investigating for a while, and the mom is a member. They are a young family - her boys are 13 and 15, so we plan on inviting them to a Family Home Evening with the Quispes.
Sunday
8 HOURS OF CHURCH!! Being a missionary is the best. :) We're lucky that the two branches meet at 9 and 1, so we're able to attend most of both of them. :) Bosque had a farewell dinner for the Andersons, who are moving out. It was a great turnout- almost everyone in the branch was there!
It has been fantastic. More miracles to come next week!
Love, Love, Love,
Hermana Smurthwaite
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