The most beautiful temple, San Diego.

   This week flew by! It's kind of weird, but the days go by slow and the weeks go by fast! So last Tuesday our zone went out to bike around Coronado Island! Look it up it's super nice! So we were by the beach, and oh man was it hard! It was hot that day and the beach was so close but the rule here is that if you even step one foot on the sand you can get sent home! Crazy but understandable! Anyways, it was still a lot of fun! Wednesday we visited a lady named Silvia. We taught her about Prophets and we invited her to pray. We stopped by her house yesterday and we could tell she wasn't really into listening to us anymore so she has been dropped. The term dropping someone is when we decide or they decide not to learn anymore so we no longer go and teach them. It's really sad, especially for me since I'm new and I feel like when we drop we are just giving up. But what can we do if they don't want to learn. After that we walked in our area and street contacted! It's so nerve wracking!!!! Sometimes I freeze and just smile but im really trying to talk more. Usually we start the conversation by inviting them to the Mormon Battalion Historic Site and then we give a brief history about how 500 volunteer soldiers from the church that marched from Iowa to California and how they helped build up San Diego. It's the best and easiest way to do it! We've gotten most of our investigators through street contacting. The rest of Wednesday we had the Mormon Battalion shift. Thursday was our full day! Usually we are out in the area knocking on doors and trying to find people to teach but that day we had weekly planning. Sometimes it's really hard to focus just because you have so much to think about, so many people to see, and so many things to plan. It usually takes about 2-3 hours to do!  But we did it! Then we had our appointments. We have these two investigators Arturo and Joanna which have 2 kids WHO ARE SUPER CUTE! Arturo wasn't there because he was working but we did teach Joanna and took a member with us, Hermana Quinonez. That lesson went ok. Our member kind of threw all of this information at her. We planned to teach about The Restoration but we didn't get the chance to. Poor Joanna looked a little scared by the end of the lesson but we were at least able to read the introduction of The Book of Mormon with her and explained what it is about. At the end we invited her to read more and pray. We did set up a return appointment so hopefully this app goes a little smoother. 
   Do you remember Joaquin? Well we took him to a lesson! It's not really normal to take an investigator to a lesson where they are the ones teaching but we feel like this is what he needs. He knows he should be baptized and he knows the church is true but for some reason feels like he needs to wait until April! So we are learning how to be patient. He went with us to a lesson to teach a lady named Edith and he bore his testimony about the Book of Mormon and how it has helped him! It was great! We invited Edith to pray and read the Book Of Mormon and ask if it's true and we set up another app; we'll see if she did it!
   Friday was our temple shift day! It was a little slow but I did get a referral!!!!! His name is Erick who is from Mexico. He was so amazed by the temple and you could tell her wanted to learn more! So I sent the referral to the the Elders in Tijuana, hopefully they find him and teach him!
   We taught an awesome lesson on Sunday. We taught a couple whose names are Cynthia and Carlos. Cynthia is catholic and Carlos christian and they are really willing to learn more! We invited them to church and they said yes so hopefully they will be there on Sunday!!!!! We taught them about The Restoration and I feel like Carlos understood it! Like it clicked and made sense! Which obviously it does so it was perfect.  Cynthia might be a little harder just because she was raised in the catholic church, but we know that she'll come around! We took a member with us, Hermana Ortiz! She is so awesome, and willing to come with us and teach! The lesson went great! Yay for missionary work! That same Sunday there was a Mission President Fireside! It was great, lots of great and talented people!!!! The speakers were the best! They  also chose about four recent converts to come up and share their testimonies; they were great examples! 
    Yesterday was another full day of proselytizing, sadly most of our plans fell through but it was a good thing because our car was dying!!!! Seriously our battery was dead! It was a miracle we didn't get stranded!!!!!! On our car we have something called TIWI. It basically warns us if we're going too fast or if we do something wrong. Anyways when we turned off our car the first time it said "Warning battery is low". We were freaking out but we had plans to go visit some people so we decided to live on the wild side and continue with our plans. Luckily every time we turned our car on it worked! We tried to visit everyone we could then we decided we should go and take the car to get looked at. We went to a Pepboys and they had to give us a new battery because ours was dead! It was a  miracle I think that it even turned on!              Today we get to go to the temple yay! I love the temple! Sometimes as members we take for granted the temples we have, so for all those who are members go to the temple! It will help you so much!!!! For those who aren't members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the temple is also open to you  but you need to prepare yourselves. In order to prepare yourselves you need to have faith, repent of things you've done wrong, be baptized by someone who has the authority of God, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and strive to be like Christ everyday!  

Love you all!- Hermana Recinos!

San Diego!

   So I made it to San Diego!!! It is beautiful here!! It's always sunny and warm, with a little breeze! It is perfect! So my first day here, we went to the mission home! Oh my goodness, it is beautiful, it's on a hill/mountain and it overlooks all of San Diego! One day I'll have a house just like it!
   So we got to know all the other missionaries and our mission presidents, we took pictures with them, we ate, and then we had interviews! While everyone was getting interviewed we got to take naps! Best thing ever! I was sooooo tired! After all the interviews were done we had orientation with the AP's (Assistant to the Presidents) They are super cool! After that we had dinner and then Pres. Clayton (Mission president) sat down and talked to us about rules and all that good stuff. Then we went off to bed and all the girls stayed at the Mormon Battalion Historic site and the next morning we had transfer meetings. So what happens there is you get assigned who your next companion will be for the next transfer! I was super excited yet nervous!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My trainer is super awesome! She's really layed back and down to earth, but a hard worker. Her name is Sister Benfield, she's from Las Vegas, she's a gringa but knows a lot of spanish, probably more than me, which isn't hard to believe since you all know im horrible at spanish!!!!! BUT i'm getting better! So after transfer meeting we had temple shift! I was happy! The San Diego temple is gorgeous as you all know!! But in person its indescribable! It takes your breath away! So at the temple all we do is walk around the temple and try to answer any of the visitors questions. A lot of people who aren't members come because they see it off the highway and wonder what it is! There was this one family who was from some part of the middle east. They wanted to go in and see it but we told them that they couldn't, but we did show them pictures and they liked it. Then we started explaining about our beliefs. They didn't agree about our belief that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit were 3 different personages. At first we were kind of scared of them because they were almost yelling at us, but towards the end they were more open. We ended up giving them 2 Book of Mormons! BOO-YAH!
   After our temple shift we went to go visit some investigators! It was good! To my surprise I actually said some things! It isn't as hard as I thought it would be! You know what is hard, street contacting!!! Oh my I'm horrible at it!!!!!!!!!! Next day we had a full day of proselytizing, that was fun and hard, we added 2 investigators that day AND we invited them to get baptized! BOO-YAH! They have a date for feb 22!!!! The next day we had a shift at the Mormon Battalion!! Yaya! It was my first time actually going on a tour, of course I didn't say anything, I just sat in the back watching and learning! I have a lot to learn but I almost have it down, hopefully by tommorrow I will be able to do my first solo tour! Wish me luck!!!!! 

   So we have this investigator named Joaquin. He's a little fustrating. He says he knows the church is true, he's been taught all of the lessons, we know he's ready for baptism he just doesn't want to commit!!!! One day we were texting about the things he's been reading and oh boy can he text, at one point we recieved 15 messeges from him, it was crazy! So then I decided to invite him to get baptized on Feb 1, he didn't text back until the next day. He says he knows he needs to be baptized but he doesn't want to do it until April! April!? We tried to explain to him that baptism is the first step, that it's an act of faith and that he shouldn't hold off on it, but we are being patient and trying to help as much as we can. He's been taught all the lessons already so there really isn't much we can do, so we've invited him to come with us to go and teach other people. We told him to read preach my gospel and he loves it!!!!! He's been texting us all about what he's learning and hopefully as he keeps learning he will realize that he needs to be baptized now. 
   My area is Sweetwater, this is kind of a poor area, a lot of the investigators live in trailer parks. There are a ton of Mexicans, which is understandable because Tijuana is like 15mins from us! They are great people, very humble and nice! Our ward is pretty small, about 50 members, but we are working on it! We have sooo much to do and so little time! Since we are Mormon Battalion Sisters we don't have too much time to visit all our investigators and potential investigators or our members! I haven't had a home cooked meal, I've been living off of turkey and cheese sandwiches, cereal, pb&j sandwiches and snacks! But everywhere we go all I smell is tortillas and I really want some! But it's okay, at least I won't be gaining too much weight! 
   Missionary work is hard and frustrating! BUT its totally worth it!!! Nothing better than helping someone realize that God has a plan for us, he loves us and wants to give us all he has! My challenge to you all is to try to find a missionary experience this week, share your knowledge of the true gospel of christ!  You can do it! I love missionary work, even though I've only been doing it for a week, I've learned so much as I share it with others! It's hard but not impossible! Love you all! 

-Hermana Recinos 

Pic #1- This is my Zone! 

Starting from the left: Sister Tucker, Sister Dunaway, Sister Benfield (my momma/companion) and me! 

Last Day at The MTC.

   This is Hermana Vargas, she is from Spain and she was my companion while I was at Temple Square. She is super sweet and has a great spirit! Temple Square was a great experience! We didn't do many tours because there weren't many people just because it was sooo cold! But overall I learned a lot. There are going to be people that don't really want to know much about the church, and its my job as a Visiting Center Sister not to pressure them, and Hermana Vargas was great at that! She didn't try to teach them doctrine, she shared a small testimony and passed out the mormon.org cards. That's all we need to do as members, share our testimony. 

   Sunday was a great day! We had a departure devotional and an Elder gave his testimony. About a week into his mission his mom died. He was such a great example to me, he was so strong and so positive. He has such a great testimony of the plan of salvation. He said something that really stuck with me, its so simple! he said "BRING IT ON!" I love this because we don't know what we are going to have to deal with, but when we have the lord on our side we can face and overcome anything!! SO BRING IT ON! 

   Today has been such an amazing day! We had class, and then its another p-day because we are leaving tomorrow so we have a lot of cleaning and packing! We were on our way back to our apartment when we ran into an investigator that my companions taught 2 weeks prior. They were catching up and wondering how she was doing and how her father was doing (He's sick and needs a kidney transplant) and we ended up going to a room to talk. We ended up talking for 2 hours!!!!! 2 hours! But it seriously felt like 20 mins! The spirit was so strong, and I finally had that experience where the spirit told me what to say! I've never felt anything like this! It was truly amazing! We talked about prayer, temples, the plan of salvation, and answered her questions. She's been receiving the lessons for 2 months, and today, while we were talking, she made the decision that she wanted to get baptized! She finally knew that this gospel was true! For the first time, she said out loud "I am getting baptized"  We agreed on a date Feb. 15! That is going to be a great day! Unfortunately none of us will be there for her baptism, but we got her information and are definitely keeping in touch. She will be going to San Diego in Feb, so maybe, hopefully, she can go to the Mormon Battalion Site and visit! She is such an amazing person, and I am so thankful for the opportunity to be able to share with her my testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel. She is definitely ready for baptism. I know it, my companions know it, Heavenly Father knows it, and SHE finally knows it! Missionary Work is the best! I challenge you all who have a testimony of this Gospel to SHARE it! There are so many people that need it! If you do this the Lord will provide you someone that will listen I KNOW IT! 

Love you all! 

-Hermana Recinos

Three P-days in a row!

          So this week has been great! 3 p-days in one week, my companions and I were able to go to temple square on Wednesday! It was amazing as always!! Since we're going to the Mormon Battalion Historic Site this whole week we have training for that. We also get to chat to people through mormon.org and answer their questions or help them in what they need! It's super neat, but there are some wired people, and some people that take it as a joke, which is a little frustrating, but I keep reminding myself that we are all children of God and he loves us all, so I need to try my best to love everyone no matter how hard it can be. Another cool thing that we are going to do is teach lessons over the phone! AND we can have a member from ANYWHERE (hint hint- Rhode Island) help us teach them! Isn't that Awesome?!?!?!?! So hopefully I can do that. This Saturday for our training we are going to temple square again, and this time we will be doing the tours!!!! I'm super excited yet really nervous!!!!! but I'm Ready!!!!!!!! 

             New Years was good, we had a guest speaker. His name was Elder Stanley Eliss (of the Seventy), and he talked about repentance. It was great! We aren't perfect and sometimes we do the wrong things, but Heavenly Father gave us the way back to him. He sent Jesus Christ to pay for our sins so that one day we can be perfect and live with him for all eternity. What I really liked about his talk was that instead of using an example in the Book of Mormon or the Bible about repentance, he used the example of Ebenezer Scrooge. As you know Scrooge was a heartless man, and after being visited 3 times by different ghosts, he realized that he needed to repent and to be better so he changed his whole character around. He had a change in heart and mind. That's what we need to do! It isn't easy but it is totally worth it!! I know that as we use the Atonement of Jesus Christ on a daily basis and ask for forgiveness for the things we've done wrong, we will have that change of heart, we will be better people, and we will be blessed for our efforts. I've seen this change in myself as I've learned to use the Atonement. The Atonement is for everyone! Whoever believes and has faith in Jesus Christ can have this great gift! Another thing that Elder Eliss talked about was that we don't have to change right away, it isn't an over night process, we need to set goals. So for this new years I challenge you all to think of something that you can change, and really work at trying to be a better better person! I know you can do it, and as you do it you will feel that change in yourself and you will be blessed! 

   I love you all, when you decide what you're going to work on send me an email to let me know! i would love to hear from you all! 

-Hermana Recinos 

1st photo: Me with my headset ready to start calling people, although I didn't call anyone that day!

2nd photo: Temple Square Trip!

Two P-days in a row!

   You're probably wondering why I'm emailing again today, well i get to have 2 p-days in a row! Yay! Since Hermana Caceres left today, her p-day was yesterday, and since I was her companion I got to have a p-day too! Since Hermana Caceres left, i am now in a trio with Hermana Cazares and Hermana Milla and their p-day is today!! They are both going to the Mormon Battalion Historic Site! They are awesome! I'm so blessed to have been able to meet so many wonderful people in the MTC. Occasionally, there are those people that we bump heads with, but I always try to remember that we are all sons and daughters of our heavenly father, we have the same purpose, we aren't perfect, and i need to love everyone with a Christ-like love. 

    Yesterday during our personal study I wanted to read about the story of Samuel the Lamanite because it's such a great story! I love it! So I started reading in Helaman 13. I didn't get to read the whole story because I was reading it in spanish and english and if you know me my spanish isn't the best. Plus, there was the occasional dozing off, I know horrible, I'm working on that!!!!!!! I Promise!! But I really liked how the holy spirit guided him and told him what to say to the people. I'm hoping that that's how it's going to be for me. That I may know exactly what the people need to hear in order to come closer to Christ. I know that this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ, that he loves us all, that the Book of Mormon is another testament of him! I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet called by God to restore the church in these latter days. When we have faith in Jesus Christ and follow his example we will inherit the kingdom of God. 

       I hope you all have a great new years, have fun, but don't get into any trouble! 

-Hermana Recinos

1st photo- The best district ever and our teachers, one of them wasn't there for the picture so we used his family pic to subsitute him.

2nd photo- Me and Hermana Izaguirrez, who's going to Mexico, she's so sweet and cute!

3rd photo- Me in front of the Provo, Utah temple.