1/6/14

Dear folks back home,

It was so great to talk to you all this week! I love you lots and I

hope all is going well in your lives. I am a little sick right now

with a cold, so I'm having a little trouble putting my thoughts

together.

To sum it up, we had a pretty exciting week. First, we ate four

Christmas dinners Christmas Eve (which is when all the Salvadoreneans

celebrate Christmas...Christmas Day is just for sleeping). Then that

night, at about 11 PM started the fireworks...and they just kept

going! Luckily, we were pretty tuckered out from all the eating so we

fell asleep right away. Then we skyped our families on the 25th. But

remember what I said about people sleeping on Christmas? Yeah, the

people who owned the cyber cafe where we were going to go to skype

were no exception. We had asked them to open for us at 2 PM, but they

just never opened. Luckily, (thanks to the graciousness of our mission

president and our cook) we were still able to talk to our families. It

is an experience I have recorded in detail in my journal, for future

entertainment. Then, on Sunday, a volcano erupted in San Miguel, El

Salvador yesterday. But don't worry, it's a couple hours from where I

live, and all the missionaries that live there were evacuated safely.

We are keeping all those that are affected in our prayers.

Oh wow, I almost forgot about our baptism! Our dear friend Fressia (of

the incredible, wonderful P____ family) got baptized this week, which

means we are only waiting for one more daughter (who doesn't live with

them), and the boyfriend of the mom! They are an amazing family, and

they really like to take care of us missionaries. We even had a secret

Santa gift swap with them on Christmas!

As far as spiritual experiences, I found a lot of strength in all the

little daily trials this week (that seemed extra hard because of my

cold) by reading the Book of Mormon. I was reading about Nephi (of the

book of Helaman...sorry, can't remember the reference), and how the

Lord made him mighty because of his faith and diligence. I told

myself, "If I can get up and work, and follow the example of Nephi,

the Lord will help me find the energy to work this entire day." So I

did, and lo and behold, I was able to get through the day. Which was

really important, since one of our investigators had a pre-baptismal

interview, and we really needed to be there for that.

Happy New Years!

Love,

Hermana Romero

12/30/13

Dear folks back home,

It was so great to talk to you all this week! I love you lots and I

hope all is going well in your lives. I am a little sick right now

with a cold, so I'm having a little trouble putting my thoughts

together.

To sum it up, we had a pretty exciting week. First, we ate four

Christmas dinners Christmas Eve (which is when all the Salvadoreneans

celebrate Christmas...Christmas Day is just for sleeping). Then that

night, at about 11 PM started the fireworks...and they just kept

going! Luckily, we were pretty tuckered out from all the eating so we

fell asleep right away. Then we skyped our families on the 25th. But

remember what I said about people sleeping on Christmas? Yeah, the

people who owned the cyber cafe where we were going to go to skype

were no exception. We had asked them to open for us at 2 PM, but they

just never opened. Luckily, (thanks to the graciousness of our mission

president and our cook) we were still able to talk to our families. It

is an experience I have recorded in detail in my journal, for future

entertainment. Then, on Sunday, a volcano erupted in San Miguel, El

Salvador yesterday. But don't worry, it's a couple hours from where I

live, and all the missionaries that live there were evacuated safely.

We are keeping all those that are affected in our prayers.

Oh wow, I almost forgot about our baptism! Our dear friend Fressia (of

the incredible, wonderful P_____ family) got baptized this week, which

means we are only waiting for one more daughter (who doesn't live with

them), and the boyfriend of the mom! They are an amazing family, and

they really like to take care of us missionaries. We even had a secret

Santa gift swap with them on Christmas!

As far as spiritual experiences, I found a lot of strength in all the

little daily trials this week (that seemed extra hard because of my

cold) by reading the Book of Mormon. I was reading about Nephi (of the

book of Helaman...sorry, can't remember the reference), and how the

Lord made him mighty because of his faith and diligence. I told

myself, "If I can get up and work, and follow the example of Nephi,

the Lord will help me find the energy to work this entire day." So I

did, and lo and behold, I was able to get through the day. Which was

really important, since one of our investigators had a pre-baptismal

interview, and we really needed to be there for that.

Happy New Years!

Love,

Hermana Romero

　

12/16/13

Hey Mom and Dad,

This week was super cool... We got to go to the temple! It was an

incredible experience, just as I expected it would be. My favorite

thing about going to the temple is remembering that I am a daughter of

God and that I have a purpose here. He wants to give each and every

one of us personal direction in our lives, and help us to be better

servants. I have a better idea of what I need to do to be a more

effective missionary (which is what I had been praying about before I

went in). The temple here is so beautiful, and just like every temple,

you can feel the Spirit so strongly. Also, it was a fun experience

driving over there because we rented out a bus (for the 1.5 hour bus

ride) that was just for our zone of missionaries.

It's weird because it doesn't feel like it's just about a week away

from Christmas. With no snow or cold weather, it just doesn't feel the

same! But I'm very excited that this week I get to spend the day at

President Glazier's house to celebrate! And all of our adopted

families over here want to have us over on Christmas day, and we will

be watching the Joy to the World video a lot, so I think that will

help me get in the Christmas Spirit.

Another really cool experience I had this week was watching the John

Tanner video. It is by far my favorite church video because it is so

powerful seeing how he sacrifices almost everything for building up

the kingdom of God. He is so dedicated, and he knows exactly what is

important in life. Really our families/friends and the Gospel are the

only things that, in the long run, matter. Everything else, in the

long run, doesn't last. But our testimonies, the changes in our very

nature that come from giving up everything, THESE are the things that

endure. We will never be able to lose those.

That's why I'm so grateful to be a missionary, even when I have

moments that are so hard. Because I know that every sacrifice I give

in the service of the Lord isn't really a sacrifice. As Matthew

13:45-46 shows us, eternal life is like a pearl of great price. I want

to be willing to trade everything I have to recieve that. I hope you

all take a little bit of time this Christmas to think of the

friendships and family you are grateful for, for the Savior whom we

are celebrating, and why we rejoice in this season.

Love you all,

Hermana Romero

P.S. Don't worry, I won't forget our funny experience of the week! We

talked to an interesting lady at church on Sunday, who spent about

fifteen minutes explaining that when she was two years old she lived

on a planet called Loro where everything was made of silver and her

brother had four arms. At least, this is what I was able to understand

of what she said. Luckily, my understanding of Gospel-related words in

Spanish is pretty good, which is I guess more important.

12/9/13

Hey howdy Moms and Popsicle!

I have been getting a ton of Dear Elders lately, and I am a little

behind in responding to them, but I have designated a full hour to

letter writing today, so that will be great! I'm so glad to hear that

all are doing well at home. I love your weekly updates, Mom and Dad!

It's fun to hear about everyone and how they are doing. Oh, and I got

the Lowerys cookies this week! Tell Sophia they were great :)

Whenever we walk someplace, we try to talk to everyone to find new

people to teach, and this week Hermana W. had an...interesting

experience. She started off with small talk--hello, how are you,

etc.--and when she asked the man for his name, he responded, "No tengo

un nombre. Soy ateo y tengo dinero. No necesito nada." (I don't have a

name. I'm an atheist and I have money. I don't need anything). Which

is weird enough as it is, but he continued for about 5 minutes

explaining how the trees only need water and how tortillas have 5

proteins in them and the randomest of topics. Finally we managed to

excuse ourselves and went on to our scheduled appointment. It's weird

to me to think sometimes that my life and the things that seem

completely normal to me are so separated from the non-missionary

world, because stuff like this happens pretty much every day.

But seriously, I love my mission, and I am still learning so much! I'm

so glad they give us 12 weeks in the mission to train, because this

extra study/practice has been so useful. Hermana W. takes her job

as trainer seriously, and she gives me really good advice pretty much

every day. It's crazy to me that she only has 6 weeks more in the

mission than me because she teaches so well, is so focused, and really

understands our purpose as missionaries.

I am still learning how to think of others first and myself second.

Maybe that will be a lifelong task, but I think I'm getting better on

this point. (Hermana I. was an incredible example of this

attribute to me, and I will be forever grateful for the 6 weeks I had

as her companion to learn from her example). On Sunday, I had an

incredible experience in Sacrament meeting, listening to a talk about,

of all things, tithing! It was, I think, because I came to church

earnestly praying that I could feel guided by the Spirit to say the

things the ward needed to hear (since I was also giving a talk). As I

was listening, I felt incredibly powerfully, a great love for my

Heavenly Father. True obedience, when you give over your whole heart

and will and actions, really stems from this love. It was a profound

realization, and I'm not sure I'm doing it justice.

Love you all,

Hermana Romero