3/31/14 Un cambio excelente

Hola familia!

It has been a great six weeks here in Americas II. Hermana G’i is about to go home (to Massachusetts, no less! I hope you coordinate your days in the temple so that you meet her in these next few months...) and we have no idea about transfers. There's only 7 or 8 sister areas in the mission, so chances are I won't be in a new one! We'll see next week...But I am so grateful for the time I have had here in this companionship. I was thinking about it last night, and I've decided the biggest things I've learned this transfer are: first, charity (from the sincere love my companions have for the people we serve & visit) and second, the power of prayer. We have prayed specifically for several investigators and have seen miracles!

For the which I would like to start with this photo (3282) of our recent convert Eva.  

Eva's Baptism March 2014

We have been praying for weeks that she would be able to have the faith to be baptized (she has been going through some difficult family/economic problems recently) and this past Friday, she was! When we went to visit her the following day, she said, "Last night, for the first time in weeks, I slept peacefully." I admire so much the faith of our investigators and watching them change their lives gives me a renewed testimony that the Gospel blesses and changes our lives so much. People like Eva are an inspiration to me. Being a missionary really is the best.



Our investigator Felipe’s birthday

This other photo is of our investigator Felipe who had his birthday this week. I think I had a photo of all of us together but I'm not sure what happened to it. We got there a little bit late, but he (and his caregiver...since he's a little bit special) were so excited! They had been waiting for a long time but gave up hope that we were going to come, and had already divvied up the cake...but it was so big there was still some left for us! We also talked to his sister in the States via phone and she gushed to us, thanking us for visiting her brother.


I love you all!
Hermana Romero 

3/24/14 A week of miracles and much reflection.

Dear family,

I'm not going to lie, having an extra half an hour on the computer is throwing me off...I started an email, decided it wasn't what I wanted, threw it out, and now I'm starting again.

In my mission, I have become so much more conscious of miracles and how much the Lord blesses us with our righteous desires when we set our goals high and trust in Him (rather than ourselves). I often used to think that success was something I earned, or that when things went well, it was because of my efforts. Obviously, if I don't believe that I can achieve great things, or work as hard as I can, the Lord can't bless me, but miracles happen according to the Lord's time and his mercy. So I'm just going to keep giving it my everything and appreciating those little daily blessings.

Looking back on this week, I would describe it as a week of miracles. Nothing huge--just little things that just fell into place at the right moment... A member bringing her non-member husband to church, less active members who were ready for church when we stopped by their house Sunday morning, finding people to teach in spite of the huge soccer match that everyone was watching...and I'm sure many other blessings I didn't even notice.

It wasn't as if we were working differently than we usually do. The only difference I noticed was that we set our minds to achieve more, with the faith that the Lord would help us to do so. When evaluating what we had achieved during the week, I was surprised to discover that we had, indeed, improved in almost every single way! I have felt so grateful this past week as everything in this area that I love so much are finally starting to click.

One of my favorite experiences was last night, when the president of Young Women's in the ward called to ask us about the mom of one of our investigators, Fatima (she is 12 years old and has been waiting for months for her mom's permission to get baptized). Apparently the presidency of the Young Women's went to go visit her. Not only did this woman agree for her daughter to be baptized, but she said that she, too, would like to be a member and be able to enter the temple!! The YW President told us, "I almost put the fecha [baptismal date] right then and there, but then I told myself, you don't have the plaque..."

Speaking as a missionary, I would just like to say that members are the best. If they have faith and believe that something can happen, it will happen. That's why I want to work so hard, so that the members of this ward will begin to believe in our area and see the potential there that the Lord does. Always remember Moroni 7:37...God is a God of miracles.

Love you all. Do good things,

Love, Hermana Romero

3/20/14 The correct address

Dear Parents,

We have had a lot of confusion with the mission address. Ever since the division of the mission, the address in the packet was the address of the other mission, so much of the mail of our missionaries goes there, especially the letters sent from "Dear Elder". If you would please make a note of the correct address, that would be very helpful to us. They have finally corrected it in the packet, but for those of you with missionaries in the field, you will want to make this change. We are the El Salvador San Salvador East Mission, and this is the best address to use (even for packages).

Hermana Rosemary Julia Baratta Romero
Mision El Salvador San Salvador Este
Apartado Postal #3362
San Salvador, El Salvador
Centro America

Thank you so very much. How very grateful we are to you for the faithful service of your young sons and daughters. We feel very privileged to work with them. May God continue to bless you and your family.

With love,
President and Sister G

3/17/14 Learning from the examples of those around me.

Dear family!

So today, we had a fun P-day activity of cooking a dish from our native country...My group made mashed potatoes and gravy, which turned out surprisingly well (given our limited access to American cooking supplies and the fact that we were sharing a kitchen with about 5 other companionships of missionaries!) and I got to enjoy a lot of new dishes.

One of the things I have noticed this week is how much I can learn from the examples of those around me--whether it is from the diligence and love that my companions have for being missionaries and helping others, or whether it is from the faith of an investigator deciding to make hard decisions that allow her to be baptized and provide a better future for her children. When I think of how much I can learn and change in my life, sometimes I marvel to think that I will ever be able to achieve all of it.

I was talking about this with one of the other sisters in my zone this week, and she told me that, as she thinks about it, our desires to improve show a desire to follow Christ and make repentance a part of our daily life. We recognize that we have things that we need to change, and we WANT to be better and more Christlike. The seeds of rebellion and the bitterness of not feeling good enough become rooted out of our heart as we really want to become better. Our very desires change, not just our actions. This is why repentance brings peace. Because we let go of everything that impedes us from being in tune with God's will and His commandments and we are in harmony with His desires.

Love,

Hermana Romero

PS. We're writing in a different Ciber this week...Plus side is that it's air-conditioned, down side is that there is a person playing a REALLY loud video game directly behind me!

PPS. Sorry for the short letter! I couldn't think of a funny story to include...but I'll make sure to come prepared next week!

3/10/14 Faith is what you do when you feel discouraged.

Hola mi querida familia!

Sometimes Pdays come so fast...I can't believe Hermana G’i will be ending her mission and going home in three weeks. It feels like I got to Americas yesterday! And it feels like we're really starting to see progress in our area, including the part that everyone said wasn't going to have any success--hah, we chose to have faith!

I'm very happy this week! Well, actually, I've been happy since Tuesday. Before, I was a little bit sad and stressed out...but then we had exchanges with Hermana V (former companion, current sister training leader) and that helped me a lot. I had been feeling like I couldn't do the missionary work and that feeling discouraged meant I didn't have faith, but she helped me understand that faith is what you do when you feel discouraged. Everyone faces negative feelings every once in a while, or feels tired, or limited by their own capacity...but what determines if you have faith is how you respond to them. I committed to praying for the Lord's help and working with all my efforts whenever I felt tired. I have decided that being tired is a decision...or rather, that letting yourself stop working because you feel tired is a choice. I love the talk by Elder Eyring where he talks about how Christ spent his three days between death and resurrection ministering to others in the Spirit world. He never rested or stopped serving, and as a representative of him, I want to be able to do that as well.

On Wednesday, we had a special conference about setting goals and plans. In part because of the part the Assistants to President contributed about having faith to work miracles, and in part because President had asked us to come to the conference with our own personal vision of the mission, I decided I needed to elevate my own vision. As Moroni 7;37 says, God is a God of miracles, and he is only able to work them according to our faith. I decided to get to work and elevate my vision and focus more on helping everyone I come into contact with to progress towards making and keeping the sacred covenant of baptism. I realized I needed to work harder to accomplish the Lord's vision in this area and strengthen this ward.

I have been learning so much since I set my mind more fully to the work. For instance, Thursday as I realized that we could use the how to begin teaching points from Preach My Gospel in street contacts. I have been searching so long for a way to powerfully testify in my contacts, and I really think this was the answer to my prayers. I went out and put it in practice that very day (one of my goals being to apply inspiration immediately and be promptly obedient)...It was an amazing experience! I felt happy, even as some of the people rejected me because I was testifying of Christ. And even better, some of them surprised me by saying yes! It was our best day this transfer for this key indicator, so I know the Lord is blessing us for our increased efforts.

Hermana G’a has been working really hard on finding as well. We talked about this in our companionship exchange with Hermana V, how the both of us have a little fear when it comes to contacting. I am so impressed that she has been doing so well in confronting that fear. I love her a lot. Hermana G’i has beenimparting her wisdom as a well seasoned senior companion and missionary to Hermana G’a and I. I have gained such appreciation for her these past few weeks. Her faith is so strong--unbreakable, it seems to me--and I want to be just like her.

Love you all so much (I just got Mom's Valentine's card...So cute!)
and I'm praying for you.
Hermana Romero

Here's us planning by candle light when our power went out






Here’s me painting a less active's home



3/3/14 It's been a good week.

Dear Family,

It's been a good week. I love my companions, and we're starting to see some success from all our hard work these past two weeks (finding new people that want to be baptized/read the Book of Mormon/come to church and follow other commandments). I can't think of anything particularly of note this week. It's been pretty funny (especially since my new companions are hilarious) and I am happy to be working hard.

Speaking of my companions, here's a photo of them!


Me and Hernanas G'a & G'I

Hermana G’a is really great at talking to people, and her faith and firmness really impress me. I'm learning a lot from her, and from Hermana G’i...how she values people and ALWAYS is putting them first, even when she's tired. That's one of my goals for this transfer, to develop this level of charity. I think it starts in your heart, and then proceeds to your actions, so I have been trying to change my thoughts to be more outward-focused. Lately, I have felt that when I look at people with the intention of helping them come unto Christ and seeking their salvation, I am

more able to recognize the people that are prepared and will accept us.

Okay given that I can't think of anything else to say, I'm going to share some spiritual insights I've gleaned from the past week. This morning, I was thinking about how the prophets of the Book of Mormon mention that the promises of the Lord are fulfilled SO OFTEN. It made me think about how often I recognize the blessings of the Lord in my life. How often I can say that a promise of his has been fulfilled in my life.
 
So I looked through Preach My Gospel to see what some of the promised blessings for obedience to the Lord's commandments are (things such as the guidance of the Lord as a blessing for praying with faith, or greater spiritual sensitivity as we keep the Word of Wisdom), and wondered how many times I think about these in my daily life. I promise these blessings to so many people, but very infrequently think of how I can see these blessings in my own life. So I'm setting a personal goal (and invite you all to do so as well!) to count your blessings and see that the Lord really does fulfill his promises.

Fun fact of note: I am, according to a slightly crazy man who attends one of the wards in my chapel, the future queen of Spain. I'll have to tell you that story when I get home I think :)

Love you all and praying for ya!

Hermana Romero

2/24/14 Welcome to AMERICAS I !!!

Hey folks!

Guess who had changes again this transfer? Hermana Romero, welcome to Americas I...which just so happens to be the neighboring ward to Colonial (we even share a chapel!) so I have the blessing/heartbreak of seeing my former converts, investigators, members, companions, etc. several times during the week. I didn't get to go to change meeting, which was a bit of a bummer, because it's always a great experience.

Attached are my last moments as companions with Hermanas C and V. Fun fact, Hermana V went on to become sister training leader this transfer (and she has as much time in the mission as me which is a little bit crazy! but I know she'll do a great job) AND Hermana W, my trainer from Montecristo, is another one of the sister training leaders (there are 4, in charge of the 30-35 hermanas in the mission)...Basically, as I have joked about it to a lot of people, I train the sister training leaders. (All three of my senior companions have shortly thereafter been placed as sister training leaders).

Okay enough about missionaries you don't know.... Let's talk about my new companions really quick. I have some exciting companions. One is Hermana G’i, who is about to finish her mission and is from MASSACHUSETTS! We have decided coming from a traditionally "hard" missionary area will help us in our new area (redivided as of last Wednesday to include the upper class part of the ward)...And the other is Hermana G’a who is quiet, but hilarious. She is from Guatemala.

It's been a pretty tough adjustment, but I know I will love my new area and new companions. Heavenly Father knows what we are capable of and he gives us the experiences we need to progress. I am learning that I don't need to excel in the eyes of the world to be of infinite value to the Lord. We are his children, and what he thinks of us is more important than anything else.

This morning, I was thinking about how I tell that to my investigators all the time, but in my heart of hearts, I don't always believe it. I let myself get discouraged with my efforts or feel that I am not good enough. We literally are children of God. Our mortal experience is a brief separation. His plan is perfect and I know that he is always willing to help us. Remember who you are.

Love you all,

Hermana Romero