11-24-14 Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Hello everyone! 

Happy Thanksgiving this week! 

So as I mentioned last week, we had a general authority come and speak to us! It was Elder Foster of the seventy. and it was AMAZING. I don't think I've ever received so much revelation at a time before in my whole life. Our zone leaders had us read our patriarchal blessings the night before and bring three questions with us to the meeting. Other meetings that I've brought questions, I've received answers, but usually they're vague and I have to discern them from the spirit. This meeting, with Elder Foster, however, my questions were answered very specifically and directly. It was insane! For example, one of my questions was "How can we start a fire under our ward/investigators?" At one point Elder Foster told us an analogy and HOW TO START A FIRE. the answer? kindling. So simple and yet so mind blowing. 

He talked a lot about the work of salvation and I learned a LOT. At the end he emphasized how God knows and loves each of us individually. How God knows us BY NAME. The spirit was very strong as we closed with one of my favorite songs: A Child's Prayer. I felt God's love for me as I sang the words to that song and it just hit me how special each of us is to our Heavenly Father. It's hard to grasp the infinite love that He has for us, but I know that it's real. I'm only starting to get a taste of that love as I serve the people here in Corpus Christi and it is rich and sweet. Something Elder Foster told us was that everything we do should be motivated by love. Pretty good idea for servants of the Lord, right? 

Anyway, that was definitely the highlight of my week. Spiritual outpouring. 

Besides that the only exciting thing that happened was that we helped clean a very dirty apartment and I got really good at coexisting with cockroaches. Also a rat ran into Sis. Tait's foot. #memories

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and really stop to give thanks to our Heavenly Father for all He has blessed you with. 

I love you!

Hermana Lance

I got to see Elder Sherman, who's from the good ole Edgemont South Stake in Provo! Weird seeing someone you know from home, but fun!    #tbirds 

Sister Tait and my beloved Sister Sarmiento Wolff and her trainee. So much love!

Sister Emily Lance and Sister Sarmiento Wolff

11-17-14 WIND OUT OF THIS WORLD

Holaaa! 

Well, this past week our leaders had a three-day training in McAllen, so we didn't have any meetings till Saturday!! It was amazing. Don't get me wrong, I love our meetings. I learn lots and love being with the missionaries. The only problem is that we don't have as much time to proselyte and teach, especially since we live pretty far from the chapel and have driving time tacked on as well. So we were very grateful for the chance to just work all day long! Even when none of your investigators are progressing, there's still so much to do. So we had a busy, meeting free week. It was great!

This past week was pretty cold again. Definitely not as cold as in Utah, though! Burrr. It was in the 40's here and I felt like I was in Washington or something. Misty rain, really humid, Tons of wind, chilled to the bone. especially when you're riding a bike in a skirt. But it's ok cause at least it's not snowing! :) The weird part was that it went from 70's to 40's overnight. Today it will be in the 50's with WIND OUT OF THIS WORLD. Adjusting isn't a real thing. 

This morning was really funny because it was extremely windy and pretty cold. I felt like I was in a vortex of humid, sandy, and cold air. Quite the combination. Especially with hair like mine. (ps my hair is super long. mission miracles. :D )  Hermana Tait and I definitely laughed at ourselves a bit. 

As far as the work goes, our investigator from Honduras is out of town for the month (bummerrrr.) and the rest of them are not progressing. We're really trying to light a fire under them so they realize just how amazing this gospel is and start acting. Also we're trying to find more investigators because we just know someone is out there on the island, just so prepared for the gospel and longing for 2 sister missionaries to knock at their door and help them find what they've been looking for. :) 

This week we have a general authority coming to talk to us! I'm excited. He's a member of the seventy, I believe. It should be a great opportunity to learn and receive revelation for my area. I can't wait! 

This past week I reread President Monson's talk from general conference about walking as the savior walked. This really spoke to me this week. I want to invite all of you to read it/watch it/ listen to it this week. You won't regret it :) 

That's all for this week! I love you all! hope you're all doing really well and are always striving to walk as the Savior walked :) 

Love,

Hermana Lance

PS tomorrow is my 5-month mark. Pretty unbelievable, seeing as I've been here for about five minutes. 

Don't freeze to death!

Also here's a picture of one of the greatest sunsets I've ever seen.

11-10-14 Manna from Heaven

Hello, hello! How are you all? 

This past week was grreeaatt! Hard, of course, but really great. Lots of daily miracles. We even received manna from heaven. no joke. There's a german bakery on the island and through a member friend of the owner, we got to go and get their left over bread on Friday. We're talking three huge flour sacs FULL of delicious german bread, people! Sis. Tait and I are real big fans of bread, so we definitely had a wonderful time. Luckily we had zone meeting the next day and we gave most of it away to the other missionaries, but don't worry. we still have lots in our freezer.
You know the scripture in the bible about tithing and how if we pay it we'll receive more blessings than we have room to receive? that's what our bread blessing felt like. God is very good to his missionaries. :) 

Spanish is coming along. haha. we try to speak it as much as we can together, which is limited because of our lack of knowledge, but we try! haha. Language study consists of many things. haha. we have grammar books we work out of and do activities and practices together and test each other on vocab. everyday is a little different :) also Spanish lessons with real people hardly exist. we teach this very old mexican lady sometimes. She's cute but MUMBLES. We just smile and pretend we understand. it's cool. and now we have Carolina! great stuff. 

Guess what I found out!! Turns out it's not a rule that everything has to be sent to the mission office. I think Sis. Sarmiento Wolff just thought that cause all the mail she gets is from Chile and stuff. I dunno. but ya! packages are safer if you send them to the mission office because otherwise they sit outside our door till we get home, buttttttttt ya! woo!! fun fact. whoop whoop! 

So once a week we go to Port Aransas, a small fisherman's town that is about a 25 minute drive from North Padre. This week when we went, we taught a lady from Honduras! in Spanish. and she accepted a baptismal date!! Milagros. The gospel must be true if two very new missionaries can teach someone in broken Spanish and have them want to be baptized. That was a cool experience cause it was Sis. Tait's first BD and it was in Spanish! in Corpus! so awesome. 

As I briefly mentioned above, we had our zone meeting this past Saturday. We had some great trainings and then we got in a circle and all of us bore our testimonies of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The spirit was very strong and I loved every second. I have a strong testimony of the atonement, and it's growing more and more every day. As missionaries, we're responsible for A LOT of things and we make A LOT of mistakes. I'm so grateful that even though I make a lot of mistakes and that it's hard, I can be forgiven and keep moving forward and progressing. The atonement is real. Its healing power and its enabling power know no bounds. We are so incredibly blessed to have access to such infinite power. I cannot fully express my gratitude for it. I love my God and my Savior!

I'm loving being a missionary and learning so much everyday. Thanks for all of your prayers and support, I need it. :) I love you all!

Hermana Lance

PS This past week got pretty stormy and chilly. That's what I get for sarcasm. haha :)

Sorry these pictures are kinda crumby. 

HAHA

                                               

                                                               Manna from Heaven

                                               

11-3-14 Cold front in the 70's

Hello all!

Como estan?

Things are going great down here in Texas. This last week we had a bit of a cold front and lots of wind. Cold front meaning the low 70's. It was roughhh. Good thing it's back up to the 80 degrees so we don't completely freeze! That was a close one. (I hope you all appreciate my sarcasm and slight depression because I really did get cold. haha) The other night I definitely had some hot chocolate. Don't judge me.

This week was pretty normal. None of our investigators are really progressing, so that's a bummer, but we're seeing lots of daily miracles that are keeping us going. No one said this work would be easy (in fact everyone said the opposite), and that's ok with me! The slower, harder times make us strong and refine us. We're going to keep working hard and we know we'll have success. Patience is key :)

If you ever want an incredible example of fighting through pain to reach success, take a look at Genesis 32:24-28. This is when Jacob gets his new name of Israel. He wrestles with an angel and even though his hip gets dislocated, he fights all through the night and demands his blessing. SUCH A BOSS. "At the end of pain is success." -Eric Thompson, motivational speaker.

Sorry this is kind of short but I don't have a lot of time. Asi es la vida de los misioneros, verdad?

Love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Lance

PS: Soul-mate update: Sis. Tait has a small bladder too. We're literally a match made in heaven.

PPS Lisa is moving to a different part of Texas. so that's a bummmerrrr. I still love her though. Don't worry she'll be active forever. :)

10-27-14 New Companion!

Hello, all!

Well I'm sure you're all dying to know about my new companion. Wait no longer! Her name is Sister Tait and I think we're soul mates. She's from Ceder City, UT and went to the U of U for a year before coming out here. (don't worry we're past the BYU vs UofU thing already) She played volleyball in high school and we have similar senses of humor. I love her! Plus she's got a powerful testimony and is ready to work hard. It's awesome! We're both working a lot to improve and become the best missionaries ever. I think we're going to learn a lot from each other and grow a lot this transfer. It's exciting. :)

**side note: Sis. Sarmiento Wolff found out at 10:20 Monday night that she's training, too! so from my last district, 5 out of 6 are training. 3 of them are white washing/opening new areas, one is also my district leader, and one just finished training (aka me). CRAZY.

This week has been reallllyy slow pertaining to the work. For our whole zone, really. We didn't find anyone new to teach and neither did most of our zone. Ouchhh. We're not sure what we're doing wrong, but we've got a lot of animo still and are gonna kill it this week. Cause there are souls on the line and we don't have time to wait. Bring it onn!

This past Saturday we had interviews with President Maluenda. Guys. He's incredible. When I hear the words "inspired man," I think of my mission president. Every word he says is powerful and feels just for me. I love it.

Anyway, I'm still going strong and loving life! Being a missionary is the best, even on weeks that no one wants to listen to you.

Happy Halloween!!

Hermana Lance

This is our family picture: Sis. Wannacot, Sis. Sarmiento Wolff, Sis Cannon (Sis. SW's trainee), Me, and Sis Tait

10-20-14 Big changes coming

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!! Hope you have a fabulous day! Love you bro :)

Well. This has been one incredible weeks. To answer all the questions, yes! LISA AND JACKIE GOT BAPTIZED AND IT WAS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFEEE. 

I can't actually describe the way I feel about their baptism, but let me just say that I'm full of joy and love and gratitude. and lots of other great feelings. I love Lisa and Jackie with all my heart and am seriously just full of happiness.

Yes, I did get to see the "Meet the Mormons" film. Two other zones came to Corpus Christi and we all watched it. SO GOOD. a lot of us got kinda trunked-out though with the last story. haha. it was really great though. The goofy dancing reminded me of Dad. ;)

Also I have news about transfers. I'll start with a little story. 

This past Thursday night Sis Sarmiento Wolff and I had just finished daily planning and were starting to talk and such as sisters do, when our phone rang. I will now describe a basic version of the conversation before, during, and after this phone call.

Sis. SW: Who's calling us? *picks up the phone and screams: IT'S THE ASSISTANTS!

me:WHAT. (inwardly: CRAP.)

Sis. SW: answers the phone

"Hi this is Elder Walker (AP), Sister Sarmiento is your companion there?" 

me: hiiiii.....

E. Walker: Sister Lance are you sitting down? (me:yes.....) 

E. Walker: Good, because the Lord has called you to TRAIN A NEW MISSIONARY. You need to be in McAllen tomorrow at 10am for the new trainers meeting, see you there!

End phone call.

Sis. SW and me: AHHHHHH!!!!!! 

And so. I'm training, folks. Friday 4 other elders and I drove down to McAllen and I got back just in time for the baptism. And tomorrow I get to go down there again and pick up my new companion, fresh from the MTC! 

Crazy, right? for those who are wondering, I'm definitely just finishing my second transfer and my own training. so.. that's cool. 

Am I ready? probably not. But to be honest I'm really excited to see the miracles that are going to come from this experience. I know it's gonna be really difficult and all, but I know there's a purpose behind this. God does everything for a reason. In our training meeting Presidente Maluenda talked about Joshua, the prophet after Moses. Joshua 1:5-9. Sometimes when we have hard callings and don't feel sufficient it's easy to get discouraged/overwhelmed/stressed/etc. But just as the Lord counseled Joshua as he tried to fill the shoes of flipping MOSES, all we need to do is "be strong and of a good courage," keep the commandments, and never give up. I can do that much, and so nothing else matters. God will be there for us and will bless this area according to our faith. :)

Sad part about all this is that Sister Sarmiento Wolff is leaving! :( She's going to Beeville next. Also everyone in my district, except my district leader, is leaving too. Definitely bittersweet cause we've grown super close. in our last training meeting we all may or may not have cried a little. But it's OK because God never takes anything away without giving us something better in the long run. So I guess since this transfer was so great, I just gotta be patient and I'll have even more fun! 

Well that's all for today. Pray for my new companion. She's gotta be trained by a baby. haha. 

Love you all! 

Hermana Lance

Bishop Sturgis and Sis Wolfe and Sis Lance

Our district

At Jackie and Lisa's baptism

Jackie and Lisa's baptism

Happy Days

10-13-14 This is not a drill!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! hope today is amazing :)

Well I definitely have a lot to say. And before I tell you anything, I just wanna say that GOD IS GOOD. and that miracles are so real it's insane. My heart is full of gratitude and joy. Literally about to burst. Here's why.

THIS FRIDAY AT 7PM 2 BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS OF GOD ARE ENTERING THE WATERS OF BAPTISM.

This is not a drill. This is real life.

Guess who? JACKIE AND LISA. 

Surprise!

So on Friday we got a call from a hysterical Lisa. There was a conflict between her boyfriend and her mom and the police were called and her boyfriend peaced out for good. So she called us (fist pump!) and we dropped everything and hurried over. When we got there, there were 3 police cars chillin'. When we got there they left cause they knew Lisa wasn't gonna be alone with her slightly crazy mother. 

Longggg story really short. We took her and her daughter over to Sister King's house (the best member on this planet) and we had a super powerful lesson with her after she calmed down. We watched President Uchtdorf's talk from women's conference a couple weeks ago and she was like, "that was crazy. it was like he was talking right to me!" (prophets, seers, and revelators have that effect.) Anyway. After that, we committed her to be baptized the next week and she accepted!! She knows that this is the only way to have true happiness.
Doesn't that just make you wanna cry tears of pure joy?

Also we have Jackie! She's a boss and super ready as well. We asked her why she wanted to be baptized and she told us that before she met us she had prayed to God to know what He wanted her to do and then we showed up and she took that as her answer. WHAAAT. God's amazing, guys.

So: thanks so much for your prayers and support on their behalf! Please continue to have them in your thoughts and prayers as this week goes on. I'm sure Satan has tricks up his sleeve to try and prevent their salvation and all. But don't worry cause good will always overcome evil. Cliche but super true. :)

This weekend has been insanely busy with planning everything for the baptism and all the other stuff we do. Today we're having a relaxing Pday cause we're tired. haha. We're gonna go with Lisa to buy a dress for her baptism and then we're having a district-BBQ. Life's good in Corpus.

Wow does Fall exist? I totally forgot! we've been having a lot of rain so it's a bit cooler, only in the 80's! burrrrrr. hahaha.

Also this last week we got to drive a brand-new truck for a day. There was a mix up with cars. but hey, I got to drive it for a day! #lifemade

Well. That's all. I love you all! Have a great week!!

Hermana Lance

A beautiful Texas sunset for you

Me with the glorious truck that Sister Sarmiento named "Fluffy"

Me, Jackie, Sister Sarmiento Wolff, and Lisa