No es Necesario que Busquen Pandilleros para Enseñar -Presidente Hensley

Holaaaa!

Wow!! So much happened this week and now its Monday again?! What the heck! Craziness.

This week we had SO many meetings and councils its not even funny jaja! Zone council, Central América Conference with Elder Gong, our Zoom Mañana de Hogar with the whole mission (by the way Hermana Saggeth and I got to give the 40 min training ohmyheck i was stressin for a real one ohmyheck but it went well), then we had the "just for missionaries" zoom call with Elder Gong (which was as awesome as it sounds :)), and then we had our Saturday session of Stake Conference and our Sunday session of Stake Conference.

If that was tiring to read just imagine how it would be to live that jaja my brain hurts xD but all is well! It was a good, crazy, busy week. 

Luckily with all the trainings and meetings we did get in some awesome lessons with our friends!! We are working hard with our friends Abi (who lives up the hill and is going to get married the same day as her baptism) and Edgardo (FYI not the future spouse of Abi lol). Please pray for them. Their baptisms are scheduled for this Saturday!!

Something super cool, (an 'Ah ha! Moment' in the words of my mamá) that my district leader said. In a phone call he asked me why Christ always went to the sickest, and the weakest, and the poorest? I thought about it for a minute and then he told me, "It's because there was no way that they could ever pay Him back". It was the best example of Christ-like service-- what it really is. Not looking for compensation. Not looking for recognition or a reward. That is the Savior's perfect example for us. 

When we serve like the Savior served we receive our reward in much greater glory in heaven than what we could possible receive on Earth. But as our very character changes and we become more like Him I believe that we become much less concerned about the reward and much more concerned about the children of God around us. We aren't in it for the reward, and our eyes will be opened and our hearts filled with love as we serve God by serving those around us. The sickest, the weakest, and the poorest. These are those who Christ repeatedly served and as His disciples we do the same.

Espero que busquemos a los que nos necesitan y que podamos seguir el ejemplo de Jesucristo cada día.

Les amo!!

xoxo

Hermana Wags

¡Dele Chele!

I completed 17 months in the mission this past week!! Some awesome highlights:

- We went and talked to people in the cemetery for Día de los Muertos and it was so pretty with all the graves flowered :)

- I had lots of awesome opportunities to share my testimony of the reality of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ!

- We went to a birthday party and there was a cake with a diameter longer than the distance from my fingertips to my elbow jaja

- We helped clear and then level the dirt to build a house. I now have 9 blisters on my left hand and I haven't been able to walk right for 3 days but 100% worth it. (Pictures included).

This week was awesome! We worked hard, and I know I talk about it all the time, but one of the coolest things was that we got to be eyewitnesses to the growth of so many testimonies!

Lately I've been thinking a lot about a scripture in Mosíah that I read this week. At this point the people of Mosiah are divided into two groups, much like today. The people who didn't believe in Christ were persecuting the members of the church. I think we see these things in the world today. The standards of the world are always changing, and sometimes that's hard for us as believers of Jesus Christ to be in the world and not of the world. However the scripture in chapter 27:7 brought me a lot comfort. During their trials, while the non-believers were persecuting them the scriptures say that "the Lord did visit them and prosper them".

I thought it was so profound how the Lord visits us in our hard times. I thought of two questions while I was studying. 1) How has the Lord 'visited' me in my life? And 2) What was I doing that allowed Him to get to me?

I invite you to answer these questions for yourself, and I promise that the Lord will show you His hand and will teach you how you can encounter Him more in your life.

Les amoooooo, espero que todos encuentren bendiciones y comida deliciosa esta semana!! <333

xoxo

Hermana Wags

Welcome Back to My Channel...

¿Qué onda gente?

Lo bueno: we had una fiesta de Halloween!! I had intercambios and got to spend the day with Hermana Barrientos, her original call is to Jamaica (whoot whoot!!)

Lo malo: i got a little sick this week :/ SUPER tired and bloated. Would not recommend if you have to walk everywhere... no es broma. I now have calves of steel. 

Lo feo: we're home wreakers.

The home wreaking story: so... we called thing random guy because we had his number... he answers, we chat. It goes well so we ask if we can call him back, he says yes. This is where the story gets interesting. When it comes times to call he doesn't answer (honestly a common occurance... but then a day later we get a voice memo in our WhatsApp from this guy. And this is what he said: his wife saw he called us and FLIPPED. She broke his phone and turns out our one little phone call trying to share the gospel ruined their marriage. By the time he had let us know he had already moved out and bought a replacement phone. He asked us to please stop calling. We're pretty sure we saw him the other day giving us a dirty look on his moto as we walked to church.

Definitely
one of the wilder things I've experienced on my mission.

Anyway... spiritually. I was reading in the Book of Mormon and I read this verse this week. In Mosiah 5:15 it says:

"Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen."

This scripture helped me through this week man. With the Savior's perfect wisdom, power, justice, and mercy we can be saved. As we are steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in good works, He will "seal us as His". What does it mean to be sealed to the Lord? Or yoked to the Lord? It means we have access to His power. His power doesn't always change the circumstances of our lives but it can change US and our perspective. He is there to heal us and to carry us. I have felt His healing power as He carried me through this week.

It's okay to have weeks like that. I firmly believe that we need the hard times in order to strengthen our relationships with our Heavenly Father and our Savior. They love us. Their plan is perfect.

Les amo, querio que tengan una buena semana y que puedan comer más saludable que yo comí estos días XD jaja

xoxo

Hermana Wags

My Shoes are Like Submarines

Nos mojamos BIEN esta semana. Jaja!! But this week was good!!

Updates: 

- We had cambios, but I'm going to finish my misión out here in Juayua with Hermana Saggeth!! Super excited for that!! 

- I am still telling people that I'm from Chalatenango when they ask where i'm from jaja (its where the whiter salvadoreñas are from)

2 El Salvador Things:

- We legitimately got soaked this week... like come home peal your clothes off and hop in the shower AND i had my first hot shower in months!! And my first ever bucket shower!! So we heat up water on the stove and then put it in a bucket and then put that in the shower. Use another smaller bucket to dump water on yourself. Ta-da!

- Second thing, jaja, we don't have running water today so pro tip. Here you have to keep your pila full and then when you'

re done using the bathroom you dump (again with the buckets) a bucket of water into the toilet :) problem solved. :D i'm a plumber. 

This week I had a really cool experience with one of our friends!! We called our friend named Edgardo and he brought up a talk I gave in church about 4 weeks ago. He said he was STILL thinking about what I said! He told me that the things I said touched his heart deeply, that God was speaking through me, and that what I said that day was a big reason why he wanted to (wait for it!!) be baptized!! What?! So we are excited for him!! 

We are never going to know how many hearts we touch but the Lord uses US to extend His hand to the people around us. I just felt so happy to know that, yes. God is working through me. The words I said weren't mine, but through me he saw a light. The light of Christ. I love Jesus Christ. :))

So just know that if you're reading this God loves you, and He's proud of you. Your efforts aren't in vain.

Les amo a todos!!! <333

Saluuuu!!

xoxo

Hermana Wagner

The One Where I Became a Wedding Planner :)

Holissss!!

I learned how to make pupusas this week, we got lost in a laberinto, and went on two long trips to San Salvador and Santa Ana. 

As the title says, we are planning a wedding for our friend Abi!! She the one who lives up the giant hill jaja she is really awesome, and despite lots of challenges she keeps pressing forward. On Sunday she came to church which was actually a miracle. It has been really cool to see the change that has happened with her!! I love Abi!!

Also something funny... I got asked to give a talk in the sacrament meeting... during the sacrament... so I had 10 minutos to give a talk in spanish, ohmyheck!! XD las cosas que pasan en la misión jaja

I don't have much to say but I wanted to share a quote I read this week, "in this Church, we believe in the divine potential of all of God’s children and in our ability to become something more in Christ. In the Lord’s timing, it is not where we start but where we are headed that matters most" ("Becoming More in Christ: The Parable of the Slope" by Elder Gilbert)

Les amo!! Espero que ustedes tengan una buena semana!! <333

xoxo

Hermana Wags

Bishop Bought Us TWO Pizzas XD

Holissss!!! Que onda???

What a WiLD week!! We had our Mulitzone Conference, Interviews, I took a trip outside of my mission to to San Salvador, and I ate my first Chocobanana :))

Lots of trips in Mircobuses, which are like 17 seater little stalker vans. We had to go to San Salvador for my Visa stuff. We stayed the night in my old area with my old companions to shorten the trip. On the way there that night we ended up picking up a bunch of the new elders from the states to go through migración también. Our route lasted from 7pm to about 10pm jaja nice BUT the good things is that the APs bought us dinner from Wendy's so :)) The drive the next day was super beautiful, its SO GREEN here!!!

It has been really cool to see how the Lord has been working in our areas! This week one of our friends who is preparing to be baptized this month told us that her sister wants us to start visiting her and teaching her too!! So cool!!

ALSO!! Yesterday was kinda rough, we had 4 visits fall through... that doesn't sound like a lot but including walking time thats like four and a half hours. We ended up sitting on the side of the road and Hermana Saggeth told me, Hermana tengo ganas de llorar...She felt like crying... and same... we called the people we had appointments with and they canceled :/ so we decided to visit a family in the ward. We had passed by their house a little earlier but we left because we had an appointment, (which fell through) but this time we stayed. Turns out the grandma is not a member. She told us she wanted to learn more! She watched General Conference last week and she loved everything we shared! The lesson went really well and we're going to start teaching her!! Milagro!! God puts us in the places we need to be when we need to be there. :)

My invitation for you guys is to find out why you are where you are right now. There are lots of reasons and lots that you won't ever know but if you ask God He will reveal to you at least one reason why you need to be where you are. I loved how in Conference they said that Christ taught us how to serve and He has called us to be His disciples. Ask Him what He needs you to do. <333 

In Doctrine and Covenants 6:14 it says:

"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time."

Les amo un montón, besitos besitos y un gran abrazo a la distancia jaja espero que tengan una semana feliz!!

Saluuuu!!

xoxo

Hermana Waggy

Gabi Feliz

Buenos días estrellitas, la tierra dice hola!

This was a good week! We had exchanges this week with the Hermanas Líderes and it was super fun! I got to go with Hermana Pastul. We also had a ton of Family Home Evenings with the families in our wards and they were so good! 

Also!! Conference!! My brain feels like its going to explode with all the spiritual insights, and the Spanish jaja (all 5 sessions in español!! Whoot whoot!!) 

One of my favorite parts of conference was the emphasis on how we are not alone. When we exercise faith in our daily actions we open our hearts and lives to our Savior and our Heavenly Father. They fill us with the Holy Ghost to guide us and give us direction so we don't walk in circles. 

I loved the quote by Elder Wilcox, "We are not walking to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, we are walking WITH Them" :))

I love you all and I hope you are enjoying fall porque aquí no hay jaja!! <333

Saluuuu!

xoxo

Hermana Wags

Who Prayed Me Out of Quarantine bc THANK YOU

¿Quiubio? ¿Cómo están?

This was a LOOOOONG week, but! I wasn't in quarantine all week!! Just 5 days of full quarantine, so that was good!! This week Hermana Saggeth and I had some of the coolest experiences HOLY COW!! Seriously so cool. I am mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted jaja!

The fun stuff: we had a really cool activity in the Progreso Ward: dances, food, confetti! We ate lots of pupusas this week, and had a little scare one morning when I went to the bathroom and found a RAT scurrying around my feet. My vocal cords took about 3 days to fully recover from screaming ja ja :) an adventure.

The spiritual stuff: We have felt inspired to talk about the Restoration and start doing Come Follow Me with the families in our wards. This week we started by focusing on the Restoration, every lesson that we have had has been SO POWERFUL.

Lesson after lesson I found that the Restoration is a key part of how we find direction in our lives. Without the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we don't have the complete picture or the fullness of the Gospel. This testimony has given me direction in my life. I have felt comfort through the knowledge that my Heavenly Father knows me, loves me, and has prepared a way for me to get back to Him. And He speaks through a living prophet in OUR DAY! It was so cool to hear the testimonies of the members we visited and a few were brought to tears. The Spirit definitely testified to me that this is true.

I just want to finish with a scripture from Doctrine and Covenants that I read this past week that motivated me. The Savior said,

"Wherefore, fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full" Doctrine and Covenants 101:36

Thank you for your emails, for you prayers, and support. I love you guys, and hope you all have a great week! God loves you! :)

Saluuu!!

xoxo

Hermana Wags