"When you listen to your heart you listen to the Spirit"

      In the YSA ward that I am serving there is someone from Rhode Island!!! He's actually in my home stake too!! I didn't know him from back home because he was baptized about 2 years ago but his name is Paul Lavasseur, does that ring a bell to anyone? He is currently in the navy so that is why he is out here. Very nice kid, but he said something that I just want to share with you. He said, "when you listen to your heart you listen to the Spirit". Throughout the whole week I've been noticing that because I am doing that I can differentiate between what the Spirit is telling me. For example, every night we send out "reminder texts" and we have a group already set, so we send it to the usual people, but last night I was impressed to send it to someone else. His name is Chris Lemin, he was baptized in January and has recently been having a rough time. All the text said was to "read and pray, enduring to the end isn't easy but we must exercise our faith", about a minute after we get a call from him. He asked us why did we send him the text. We told him the we thought he would need it. He expressed his gratitude because it was something that he did need and that at that precise moment he was thinking about leaving the church because he no longer found a "point to it". I know that we followed the spirit when we sent the text, I know that God answered his prayers through our text and I know that the small simple act of kindness helped him. Each one of us can have those simple, yet powerful experiences, if we follow our heart, do what is right, and try to live worthy of the spirit. 
      This week was a little stressful for us. We had to plan for Teresa's Baptism and had to basically teach her all that she needed to know in 3 days. We really learned how to teach simply and clearly during those lessons. As we made arrangements for her Baptism we kept running into problems. Once we would resolve one, another would show up, so it was a crazy week. But once she was baptized, I forgot about all the problems we had to go through and realized how blessed I was to be able to help her come closer to God and Jesus Christ. Every Stressful thing was worth it because you could just see her happiness. It was a great day, and she shared her testimony at her service, and she mentioned how happy she was. The Gospel is Happiness. It is the only thing that Brings us joy and everlasting happiness.

-Hermana Recinos

Pic- Teresa's Baptism! 

"Is there anything too hard for me?"

      We had a really good week! Yuset was baptized on the 14th! Her family came and supported her and we had some members come as well. Sister Seo, a member Matthew Schwendinger, and I did a musical number. Sister Seo played the violin and we sang Be Still My Soul, they said it sounded good so I am glad for that. 
      When Yuset was baptized we were scared that we wouldn't have anymore people to teach, but like always God provides a way! We were able to find 3 new people to teach and one of them has a date to be baptized for next Saturday!  Her name is Teresa and has been taught before, about 10 months ago, but her parents wouldn't let her be baptized, but now she really wants to! So she came to church on Sunday and we met her. Now we have a week to review everything she learned and prepare her for her baptism! We are excited but also a little nervous. I know that everything will turn out the way God wants it to. 
      Sister Seo and I have been trying to find more people to teach, so we've been doing more walking and talking to people. We've had some success, and some failures, but nothing is too hard for us!
We met this guy Tim, very nice guy who makes wands and canes as hobbies, they are really cool! 
       We had brother Diazi speak to us at church (high priest in the stake)who is from Boston and he has an accent. He said "Life is hard, and without trust in the Lord it is harder". I started to think about that more as the day went by and I thought about what trust is. It's hope and faith, and motivation. If we don't have any of that in our life we are literally just wandering. I am grateful for this Gospel that gives me motivation to be become more like the Savior. 

-Sister Recinos

Jose's Baptism.

      Jose was baptized on Saturday the 7th! That was just amazing he was ready and he finally realized it! It was a great service, lots of people went and Jose was so happy you could see it in his countenance! He's had a change of heart that comes through faith in Christ! I can't wait until they go to the temple and are sealed for all time and eternity!!! 
      Yuset is still working to being baptized the 14th! She has a problem with coffee, so we decided to help her out. We decided to sacrifice something that we liked as well. If you know me you know I love chocolate so I decided that I wouldn't eat chocolate if she wouldn't drink coffee. It's been a week and I haven't had any chocolate but let me tell you , it's felt like I haven't eaten chocolate in a month!!!!!!!!!!!! Now we didn't really specify if this is for life or just until she baptized, idk. My dad will be proud when he knows that I am not eating chocolate, he's been trying to stop me from eating it my whole life!
      This week we also had tamales! Guatemalan tamales!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sooo good!, Sister Seo didn't really like them, but I did!!! 
      I also went on exchanges this week! I went to a different area with another missionary, Sister Stockland. We taught a recent convert who's been struggling a lot and wanted us to to teach him about adversity. It was on the spot too but the spirit really lead that lesson. We shared experiences and scriptures. Specifically we shared about Joseph Smith, how much he had to face, and his struggles. We read how we are given struggles so that we can be made strong. When we trust in the Lord, and act in faith we can overcome all adversity because God is on our side. Then we testified about the Savior. He faced it all, and he was perfect We can't expect to have a perfect life, if even he, who was perfect had to go through pain and temptation.  I know that all we go through is for our benefit and growth. 

-Sister Recinos

Poc- Jose getting baptized!!

Tijuana!

      So if you've been reading my emails, you might have heard about a man named Jose. He was an investigator in my last area (Logan Heights). If you haven't here's a sum up. Jose is a man who has had 6 strokes, his wife and son were recently baptized in October, and before his last major stroke he wanted nothing to do with the church or missionaries. Well, he is now a changed person, he's accepted the Gospel and will be baptized this Saturday and because I taught him I can attend his baptism!!!!! I am beyond happy and excited to see him be baptized. After I was transferred I was worried that he wouldn't be baptized, he had a date for Feb 14th, but he's moved up his date! The Lord really does know what he is doing and he knows better than us!
      Everything is going well here in Chula Vista YSA. Ysa is pretty fun, lots of activities! We had an actvity, Karaoke night. We went because our investigator was going, and she's really shy. Well that night it was really hard for me to focus on my missionary purpose with all the singing and it was really hard for me not to sing along to some of the songs. I have to admit, I failed, I didn't go up and sing a song, but I might have sang along to some songs. My companion and I participated and went up to sing Amazing Grace. 
      We are working hard trying to find people to teach and we are trying to work with Less Active Members, so we will see how that goes! 
      I wanted to share a story, that someone gave in their testimony on Sunday:
 A Teacher had an empty jar and filled it with rocks and asked the class if it was full, they said yes
then he got pebbles and put them in the same jar, and asked the students if it was full now, and of course they said yes. 
Then he got sand, and put it in the jar and asked if it was full, and they said that for sure it was full!
Then he got water and put it in the jar and asked them if it was full, and of course they said yes, now it was completely full. 
Our life represents the jar, we've got work, and school and family, and other responsibilities and sometimes it feels like we don't have time for all the things we have to do, but if we prioritize then we will. 
We can't fill the jar with water first, because we wouldn't have room to fit anything else. 
So in our lives we have to prioritize. We must put the Gospel First. Putting God first will help us accomplish all that we have to and when we do that we are happier! I know it!! 
Hope you all have a great week! 

-Sister Recinos

1st Picture- Tijuana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so close! TACOS! :)

"Full-Pros"

      I got transferred, saying goodbye to the people from my last area was the hardest thing ever! I felt like I cried a river, no lie! But it was okay, I know that Heavenly Father will continue to help them. I am now in Wonderland! (we call it that because anything can happen in our area) I am serving in a YSA ward in Chula Vista, even closer to the Boarder of Mexico! People from here go to Tijuana just to get tacos! Crazy huh! That also means that I am now an English sister! So I dusted off my English scriptures! It is definitely different from Spanish work but I do like serving with the Young Single Adults, I can really relate to them!
      This area is also one of the biggest areas I've served in! We cover the whole stake! We don't have many investigators yet, but we do visit a lot of Less Active members, there are lots. We do have an investigator named Yuset and we invited her to be baptized on Feb 14th! She came to church and liked it! Ysa has lots of activities, FHE, Institute, movie night, dances, etc...We get to go to most of them so it's pretty fun. 
      My new companion is Sister SEO! She is from Korea, and sadly she doesn't know how to make Korean BBQ, but I still love her! She is really funny and her favorite words are Anyways and Holy Cow!!! She's been on her mission for 5 months, and she already knows English really well! She also introduced me to this Korean snack that basically look like Cheetos puffs, but instead they are chocolate flavored! I love them! 
Now I am "Full-Pros", that means for 3 months I will not be serving in the Mormon Battalion Historic Site. It's a little hard because you get used to being around other missionaries and meeting lots of people at the museum but I really like being full pros because that means we get to study a lot more! I am learning a lot, and I get more time to really study for investigators! Recently I've been reading in 2 Nephi 14-20. These Chapters quote Isaiah in the Old Testament. Isaiah is known for being kind of hard to understand but I came across a couple of scriptures that I really liked. Several times throughout a couple of Chapters it says "For all this his anger is not turned away but his hand is still stretched out" I think that this scripture really shows Gods mercy. Sometimes we make the same mistakes, over and over again, but because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can receive that forgiveness and keep moving forward. My favorite part of the scripture is that it says "his hand is still stretched out" and it will always be stretched out. We can always turn to the Lord for strength and he will provide it because he loves us! 
I hope you all have a good week! 

-Sister Recinos! 

White Wash

      We just received our calls to see if we will be transferred from our area. We've been "White Washed." In missionary terms that means we are both leaving the area and they will be putting 2 new missionaries here. It is kind of sad because the people we've been teaching can be lost, or maybe they will progress slower because they don't know and don't yet trust the new missionaries. But I know and have faith that Heavenly Father has a plan, and in the end everything will work out because it always does!!!!!!!! He has a greater plan that maybe is hard for us to see now, but his ways are higher than ours! 
      This week we had an activity at the Mormon Battalion with our branch. We had a bbq, hot dogs, and everyone watched Meet the Mormons. Senovio went and he really liked the movie and he is really close to being baptized! I know I say that all the time, but it is true! 
      I wanted to share some scriptures from one of my studies. I read Galatians 5:16
 "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."
When the Spirit is with us we can  resist temptation. 
 Gal. 5:22-26

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

      Solanchi Fernandez gave me a journal that says "The Spirit is Key" and that is so true! 
Without the Spirit we wouldn't receive our testimonies, I wouldn't be able to teach and we wouldn't be guided. I love the Spirit. I want and need the spirit. 
      Funny story! I accidently drank soap! 
I put some soap in a water bottle because I didnt want to carry the whole container. The next day I wanted water, and I didn't notice that I grabbed the one with soap, so I drank it, but I didnt swallow! It was really really gross! 

-Hermana Recinos

pic- my zone went bowling last week!

The best exercise of all!

      Exercising is great whether it's running, crunches, squats, push-ups, etc. Heavenly Father wants us to have strong bodies, but the best exercise of all is exercising our FAITH! 
PMG says
"Faith in Christ leads to action. It leads to sincere and lasting repentance. Having faith causes us to try as hard as we can to learn about and become more like our Savior. We want to learn what His commandments are and then obey them. Even though we will still make mistakes, we show our love for Him by striving to keep His commandments and avoid sin."
I think Heavenly Father gives us struggles, so that we can exercise faith in him. I've seen that a lot on my mission as I've gone through hard times. I see it a lot in the people that we teach.
       We have an Investigator Senovio! He has changed so much because of his Faith! He has noticed it in himself too. He loves coming to the Mormon Battalion Historic site and watching the movies. He came this week to see the Testaments movie. He loved it and got teary eyed. He is very close to accepting a date to be baptized and although he has a couple of doubts he knows if he is baptized it will be good. We had a lesson with him on Saturday, with a member Hno. Escobedo. After the lesson we went to see a baptism. As the man was being baptized Senovio asked if he could be baptized right then. He did say it in a joking way but I think he does have the intentions of being baptized. Now he has to exercise his faith and take that step. 
      Also, our investigator Jose, has accepted a date to be baptized on February 7th and his son, Angel who was baptized in October passed out the Sacrament for the first time! 

-Hermana Recinos

pic- senovio! 

Ring Out the Old, Ring In the New.

      Happy New years Everyone! 2015! It blows my mind that another year has gone buy. It went by so quickly! But by far this has been the best year of and for my life! I've learned more about the doctrine of Christ, I have been able to see so many people change and become more like him. I've been able to meet so many wonderful people at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site, I am learning what it means to study and apply the scriptures, I've learned to recognize the promptings of the spirit, but most importantly I've learned how to access the Atonement of Jesus Christ, both the redeeming and enabling power of the Atonement. Something else that I have learned that I know will help me so much in the future is setting Goals! Since it's a new year, it's a prefect time to set some, but of course it's not the only time we can. We should be setting goals daily! I know it's easier said than done! Here are a couple of tips on how to. There are good goals, but we want SMART goals! Here's an acronym:
S- specific -be sure to make a specific goal so that you can have a specific result
M-Measurable- make sure it is something that you can improve on, and you can measure the progress you are making, of note the difference in yourself
A- Attainable- You have to be able to accomplish it, if not you are setting yourself up for failure
R- realistic- no matter how hard you try creating a time machine isn't the most realistic goal
T-Time bound- you don't want to make a goal that you can only accomplish 20 years from now. You live in the present not in the future, do something now to be better! 
Goals motivate us! My dad once told me that if I dont have a dream or a goal then I won't have any  motivation. He told me he was happy with any dream I had, as long as I had one. I've really been able to apply it on my mission, if I don't set goals then I am not committed to my calling as a missionary. Make SMART goals! 

Elder M. Russel Ballard said:

“I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.”
I couldn't have said it any better! 
      We had an awesome experience earlier in the week! We have been receiving some awesome miracle referrals. We received information for this man named Javier a while back, we tried to contact him, but he wasn't home, so we tried again on Wednesday. He was home and so was his whole family. We testified of Eternal Families and had a great lesson on becoming more like Jesus Christ. We added them to our teaching pool! The Lord knows the best timing for everything!
Hope you have a great year! Set SMART goals! 

-Hermana Recinos

Ho ho ho.

      This week has felt like a long week, so many things have happened. Everything before Christmas day is kind of a blur. So I'll start with that. Thursday the 25th was a glorious day! It started out with Santa Clause. 2 Elders, Elder Hernandez and Elder Hayes had served in my area a year ago, and they know a family that we are teaching now. They wanted to do something special for this family so they talked to their local church members and asked them to donate any extra toys they had so they could give them to this family. We asked around for extra sheets/blankets for them because they didn't have any. We wrapped them up and on Christmas morning went to go and deliver them. The Elders dressed up as Santa Claus and an elf.  We went at 8am and we woke them up and gave them their presents, it was so great! The kids were happy with their new toys and shoes and candy.
      The day got even better, we studied for a little then we got to skype home with the family. That was the shortest 40 mins of my life. It was great to see their smiling, yet tired faces (because they partied all night.) I didn't open presents that day, because I opened them the night before, technically it was already 12 am in RI :) After the skype with the family there was a dinner for all the sisters at the Battalion, it was super good. Then we went to the temple that night. So many people and we gave away some Book of Mormons. It was a great Christmas. Unfortunately because of the holidays and our schedules we didn't get to really teach people but the Lord still blessed us!  
      Friday we had a baptism! Joyce was Baptized! She is very overweight and very weak because she has no cartilage in her knees, so it's very diffucult for her to stand and bend, we were worried about that. We made sure that some other Elders were in the front to help lift her up and give her support. I was a little worried but with the Lords help she was baptized easily and she said she had no pain at all! It was great!
      On Sunday we went to contact some referrals that we got. We knocked on the address we received and asked if Maria was home, the girl who opened the door told us that no one named Maria lived there so we walked away a little disappointed. There were a couple of kids playing outside and we asked if they knew a Maria that lived in the complex? They said, "you mean Doña Maria in number 8?" We said sure, so we went to go knock on her door, it was slightly opened so we could see inside, she was in one of the rooms talking on the phone. She signaled us to wait, so we did, it felt like we were waiting for about 5 mins, she came to the door and let us right in! We hadn't even introduced ourselves and she let us in! We told her we were missionaries sharing a messege of Jesus Christ. It was her and 2 kids, Yenia(9) and Irving(7). We sang a song and before we started we told them to listen to the words, we sang "famlilies can be together forever", once we stop we hear someone crying. We look to Irving and he is in tears. It was silent  for a minute then Maria started explaining that the parents of the kids aren't with them right now that she is a distant aunt and is taking care of them. Everyone was in tears at that moment, but we were able to testify of the Saviors love for them and how he knows what they are going through, and if they have faith they will be united as a family soon. It was a powerful moment. Maria said that she knew we were sent by God to help them. We set a return appointment and will be seeing them this coming Saturday! 
      Monday was another miracle! We went to contact more referrals, we couldn't find the address to one of the referrals so we asked a man who was washing his car, he said he didn't know. We introduced ourselves and he knew who we were, he said his wife used to study with missionaries and she got baptized! He isn't a member and has no interest but he said we could go talk to his wife. So we went to knock on the door, her name is Hilda. She welcomed us in and we got to know her. She still knows the church is true and says she wants to go back so we invited her to church and watched "He is the gift" with her. She said the we came on the day she's felt the most sad and she was happy we found her. We will be seeing her next week and most of her family are non-lds so we've got lots of work! It's crazy how everything works out. Even though we didn't find the referrals we found people that really needed us. We find what we want the most from where we least expect it. 
Hope you all have a great new years!

-Hermana Recinos

pic- Joyces' baptism!

Vitamin T

      I have been eating lots of Vitamin T. For those who don't know what it is. Vitamin T is: Tortillas, Tacos, Tortas, and Tamales. Delicious. We already have 2 Christmas Eve Dinner appointments! 
      This week has been a little hectic, we had lots of meetings and since we serve at a museum it was hard getting to see investigators, but the Lord still blesses us! Senovio came to the Battalion again and loved it, and said he would get baptized, we haven't gotten him a date but we know it'll happen.
      This Friday we have a Baptism! Joyce will be getting Baptized! She is super excited! and we are too! We are working with a part member family. Tomasa (mom) and Angel (son, were baptized in October, and the husband Jose isn't a member. He is the one who has had 5 strokes. We went to their house on Sunday for Dinner. It was super good she made soup, which was perfect because it's getting a little chilly, but I know not as cold as Rhode Island. We had a lesson with them. We talked about The Family Proclamation to the World with them. How they can be an eternal Family! Tomasa really wants to be sealed but he is progressing slowly and really enjoys church. They told us that some Elders asked him on Sunday when he was going to be baptized, which really meant a lot to him because it showed him that other people care for him. When we left I was in the kitchen with Tomasa and Sister Lopez was talking to him in the living room (No worries we were still in Sight and sound) but she asked him when he would be baptized and he said the first week of January!!!!!!!!!!!! We know he is ready to be baptized!!!!! They are a great family that has been through a lot, but the Gospel has been helping them become more united!!!!
      Yesterday we had a Christmas Devotional with our whole mission! All 250 missionaries were there, it was a great sight, and really cool to see all the missionaries that i've served with.  
Last Thursday I hit my year mark! It's crazy how time flies!!!!! 
      We also had Zone Conference last week. Elder Brent Nielsen of the seventy came and taught us. He is powerful and knows so much! We really focused on the enabling power of the Atonement. One thing he talked about was how fear and faith don't coincide. If we have fear it is because we don't have faith. It was kind of shocking to me because I am always scared of talking to people so I need to have more faith. The antidote for fear is faith!  I will be better! 
Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!!!

-Hermana Recinos!

"Persimmons and Strong Hands"

      If I could describe my companionship with Sister Lopez it would be these words "Persimmons and Strong Hands". Persimmons because we love eating them, every week we buy some. "Strong Hands" is a song that we play at least 3 time a day! I even made up a video of it in my head, it is pretty good! 
      This week has been crazy with schedules because of the visitor center so we haven't had much time in our area. Sometimes it is frustrating because we have so much to do and sometimes no time, but I've definitely have grown in my testimony that after we do all we can, the Lord will take care of the rest. For example, our investigator Senovio. We haven't been able to visit him as much as we want, but we went over on Friday night. We sang and we asked him to give the first prayer. Every time we would go over, he would give excuses not to pray, saying that he doesn't know how to, even though we teach him how to every time but this time he didn't! Before he prayed he started to say that recently he has been feeling different, that he's starting to believe in what we are teaching him, that he has been changing! At that moment all I could do was smile! We explained to him that he is feeling the spirit! It was amazing. He prayed, and we had planned to teach him about the spirit, and praying, and the Book of Mormon, and we did. We really focused on the Atonement. It was a really good lesson! 
      That day we also went to the Battalion with our investigators, Ricardo and Alejandro! At first I didn't think they would really like it, but they did! At the end we asked Ricardo how he could apply the story of the Battalion men to their life. Ricardo said "by becoming a Mormon!" It was pretty great. 
      This week we have Zone Conference! We are excited! Elder Brent Nielsen from the Seventy will be coming. This month's Stepp talk is about the Atonement, the scripture I chose is:
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 
"9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."
Hope you have a good week! 

-Hermana Recinos!

Transfer 9.

      A new transfer! I am staying with Sister Lopez and in Logan Heights! Whoo-ooo, there was a slight chance that I could be leaving, but I am not! Logan is a great place, a little sketchy, but that's okay. This week was a little slow, we had some days where we would try and visit people but no one would be home. When this happens I like to think that Heavenly Father is testing our diligence and faith.                       
       We had a pretty cool experience with Alejandro again. Throughout the whole week, we would stop by and try and see Alejandro but he was never home!  So we stop by yesterday night, his mom answered but she asked us to come another day, so we left. We were going to visit another investigator. We are leaving our car and Sister Lopez notices that we were missing our house key. We decided to retrace our steps so we went back to Alejandros house, and we see his car! He was home! They helped us look for the key, but no luck, then he invited us again to Starbucks! So we went, and again he didn't get coffee! We sat there, he told us that he read the testimony of Joseph Smith, then he started to do his research, he said he liked learning about other religions, but isn't looking for one right now, we respected his honesty. He did say that if he felt he should, he would be baptized, so we will try and help him feel the spirit, which probably means no more Starbucks, but that is ok! He was as eager to read the Book of Mormon, so we left him Mosiah 3. 
      This sunday was stake conference! There was a session in spanish and I played 2 songs on the piano. Jesus lover of my soul and Savior I would Follow Thee. I messed up a couple of times, but not too bad! :) 
I want to attach a letter that our mission President sent us, that I think can help everyone. 

"GOING TO GETHSEMANE:

In a meeting with the MLC the day after Thanksgiving, Elder M. Russell Ballard was asked what was required for missionaries to have success. Elder Ballard's response was quick and unequivocal: "The first thing that a missionary must do is to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ." He continued by teaching us that, in our minds, we must spend more time going to Gethsemane in order to know the Savior. As we ponder on His sacrifice for each of us, then we will develop a strong personal relationship with the Lord. 

Elder Ballard continued by sharing one means whereby he draws strength. When he is feeling fatigued, Elder Ballard looks at a pass-along card of the Savior emerging from the tomb ("He Is Risen" by Del Parson) and, in Elder Ballard's words, "He gives me strength."

Is waking up at 6:30am difficult for you? Is it hard to learn another language? Is it challenging to study and plan daily? Do you find yourself worn out after a day of walking or riding your bike? Is it difficult when people reject the gospel message you share, or no longer want to continue with the lessons? Are you having a hard time loving someone - your companion, your district/zone/sister training leader, other missionaries, ward members, or even yourself? Is there a particular commandment or mission rule that is hard for you to obey?

For each of these questions and every other permutation, the answer is the same: go and spend time in Gethsemane. Come to know the Lord Jesus Christ.

Today and every day, please take time to go to Bethlehem, to the Mount, to the Sea of Galilee, to the Temple, to Gethsemane, to Calvary, to the Tomb, and to the Americas. Your mission will not be complete if you do not come to know the Lord Jesus Christ.

As President Monson taught in October Conference, "As we examine the path Jesus walked, we will see that it took Him through many of the same challenges we ourselves will face in life. ... The Savior’s example provides a framework for everything that we do, and His words provide an unfailing guide. His path will take us safely home."

Hope you all have a great week! 

-Hermana Recinos! 

1st pic running one morning and we took a pic!  "san diego california"

Starbucks!

      I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! I did:) Our branch President had all the missionaries over. Our branch President is Puerto Rican, so they made "arroz con wandules" not sure if I am spelling that right, but I loved it! I haven't had that since I was home, so it was good. We also ate at the Battalion, the senior couples made food for all the sisters it was really yummy, but I was stuffed! We also made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, soo good and so easy to make! theres a pic. 
      We had a really cool miracle! We started teaching a family. The Gonzales/Servantes. It's a mom and 3 sons, who are older. The younger one is 17 and the oldest is 26. The mom Amada knows a lot about the church because her mom was LDS and she remembers going to church and the activities, she even remembers who the prophet was (Spencer w. Kimball). She was never baptized but she wants to change her life and she wants her kids to change as well. On Wednesday we went to our appointment with them. When we got there another lady told us that Amada was alseep, so her son Alejandro came out and we were going to teach him. He was present at our last lesson and he was the most attentive out of all of them. We thought he wasn't going to be home because he said he was going back to Mexico, so we were a little bummed that we wouldn't be able to teach him, but he was there! We were going to have a lesson outside his house so that we wouldn't disrupt his mom, but he asked us if we wanted to go to Starbucks instead. We told him we wouldn't mind sitting outside, but he told us his mom was drunk and felt bad for us and didn't want us to be at his house, so we went to Starbucks. When we got there we told him that we don't drink coffee, he was stunned and we explained why, then he said that he would drink hot chocolate with us! Awesome right? So we had a lesson about the Restoration with him. The lesson was kind of everywhere because he had some questions. For some reason we ended up talking about the Second Coming, and then we asked him how he knew that Jesus Christ was the son of God, so he turned to the bible John 3:16, then we told him to read Alma 7:11-14 which talks about the Atonement and Baptism. After he finished reading, he looked up at us and said "I need to be baptized, what do I do to be baptized?" I was stunned, all I could do was smile and nod my head. We told him he had to have a desire and go to church and read the book of Mormon, he said he would, he said he wanted to know more about Joseph Smith, so we told him to read Joseph Smith's Testimony, he turned right to it and started to read in his head halfway through his testimony he turns to us again and said that it was very interesting. He said he would read the Book of Mormon in one month. It was a great lesson. He told us that he would be leaving soon back to mexico, but that he would be back in January so we were bummed again. We did a drop by to see Amada and her other 2 sons, we walk up and Alejandro is there again! We were happy. He told us that he had lost his Green Card so he couldn't go back to Mexico. You could tell that he was stressed, and Sister Lopez said "Well, have you prayed yet?" He was silent for a little and said no, so we decide to pray with him. He gave the prayer and was very sincere, we had a little lesson and left. We went back yesterday and his mom told us that he found it and that he knew Heavenly Father answered his prayers! Heavenly Father always answers our prayers. It was a good week! 
 What alejandro read was Alma 11-14:

"11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

 13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

 14 Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness."
Love you all! 

-Hermana Recinos!

Happy Thanksgiving!

      Last week (tuesday) we had an appointment with a family we are teaching. This family has been taught for quite a while, but for he longest time they wouldn't do anything, pray, read or go to church. I don't think it was their fault, I think it was our fault as missionaries. Every time I would go into a lesson with them I wouldn't go with the best attitude. I didn't teach them to their needs. When Sister Lopez came that all changed! She's helped me realize that I needed to change in order to help them change. The past lesson we had with them we taught about Jesus Christ, who he was, what he did for us, what example he set and we mainly focused on the parents. We asked them to think about the example they are setting for their kids. We asked them what they wanted their kids to be when they grow up, Eva, the mom, said "Missionaries!" Little by little we are seeing the change in them. We invited them to think about one thing that they want to change in order to be a better example to their kids. Carlos the dad, at the beginning when we arrived told us that he drinks on weekends (thats why they didn't go to church). During this lesson he was able to reflect on how that is something he needs to change. I think he knew that he should stop drinking, but now he WANTS to stop. We will be seeing them tonight and we are excited. 
      This past week we had MTE's (Missionary Training Exchange). We received instruction from Presidnt Schmitt on how we can be better teachers and we talked a lot about conversion. There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that I really think helps you think about your own conversion. Alma 5:14
"And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?"
Conversion is a change of heart. When we submit our wills to the Lords will, when we do that we are promised blessings. In Matthew 10:39 it says, 
"He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it"
I know that this is true! Lets try and be more like Jesus Christ. 
Also visit christmas.mormon.org to watch the true meaning of christmas! 
#sharethegift
Happy thanksgiving!

-Hermana Recinos

 1st pic- we decorated our apartment for the holidays!

STEPP

      President Schmitt (Our mission president) has told us that every time we have a meeting he will call on 3-4 missionaries to give a STEPP talk. We take 3 minutes to share a Scripture, our Testimony, an Experience, and Promise/Preach my Gospel on a certain topic. This month it's on Conversion. I started thinking about scriptures I could share, I couldn't think of any because I don't have too many scriptures memorized. I was looking through my scriptures and I found a scripture that I really liked. It talks about my purpose as a missionary and also conversion, which is perfect. It's in Omni 1:26:  

"And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him , and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved."

I bold that part because it is what we have to do to be converted, submit to the Lords will. It is hard, and Heavenly Father knows it is, that's why we have the Atonement. As we, everyday, commit ourselves to the Lord we will be blessed, we will be able to help others, and as the scripture promises us we will be saved. 
      This week has been really good for us. We've been trying really hard to teach people not lessons, praying to know what the people we teach need. We've added people to our teaching pool. One of our investigators, who doesn't want to be baptized, told us that he really likes church, and he actually prayed, took us about half an hour to get him to do it but he did it! 
      I constantly have to remind myself that this is all new to these people. They don't know about the scriptures, they don't know about our Heavenly Father's plan, they don't know about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I am so privileged to bring that to them. 

-Hermana Recinos!

1st- Sis. Lopez, Sis. Cazares, and me.

Elisia's Baptism.

      This past Saturday Elisia was Baptized. There is always such a sweet spirit at a baptism. It's when we can actually visualize the use of the Atonement. When we wash our garments, so that they may be as White as snow. Elisia was a little nervous, but once she came out she was so happy! The use of the Atonement brings us happiness! As Alma the younger stated 

"17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.

 18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.

 19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.

 20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!" 

      We dont forget our sins, but the pain and guilt we felt is replaced with JOY! Our purpose is to be happy, and Heavenly Father provided the way for us to find joy! It isn't a temporal joy but an eternal joy. It isn't a world joy but a spiritual joy. 

-Hermana Recinos

1st picture- sunset cliffs!
2nd- Elisia's Baptism!

Halloween Costume.

      As missionaries we are supposed to be home by 6pm on Halloween, since the Mormon Battalion Historic Site is basically home, we had soup and treats and we studied till we closed and it was super fun. I did dress up! I was a pioneer fairy! I will send picture later. What we were assigned to study was a couple of chapters in the scriptures about Unity. I learned that we must be unified with the LORD and his will. There was a talk in General Conference that talked about the Godhead, sometimes in the scriptures it is hard to differentiate when they talk about God, our Heavenly Father, or when they talk about Jesus Christ. They are so unified that it is hard to differentiate. That's how we need to be with him. Align our will to his, it's easier said than done, but as we work and try our hardest, one day at a time and as we use the Atonement we can accomplish it.
       My new companion's name is Sister Lopez, she's from South Jordan and she played Rugby! She's really sweet! 
       Elisa our investigator will be getting baptized this Saturday! She has been one of the the most humble and kind person ever. She truly has a desire to follow Jesus Christ. I know that I say that about everyone but she really is putting trust in the Lord. We give her pictures of Jesus and she always hangs them on her wall. This Sunday she gave us a surprise! She called us Saturday night and told us that she wasn't going to church because she wasn't feeling well. We were bummed because that meant that she wouldn't be able to be baptized. When we walk into church, the first person we saw was her! I was so happy! It made my day! 
I hope you all have a great week! 

-Hermana Recinos 

Apostle, baptisms, and transfers!

      This week has been crazy well more like the weekend. We were visited by an Apostle, Elder D. Todd Christofferson! I did not give him the tour, but I do have a picture! We didn't get to talk, just shook hands, but it was still pretty cool. There was a conference for Mission Presidents in San Diego and they all came to take tours so there were lots of tags! Mission Presidents serving in California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, lots of places, it was really nice to think that we all have the same purpose. No matter where we serve, we are one body.
      This weekend we also had a baptism! Angel and Tomasa were baptized! Another cool thing was that another set of missionaries had someone be baptized and the branch had their own baptism! So four people were baptized, it was great! The best thing was that Tomasa's husband came. He is recovering from his 6th stroke. He is paralyzed in half of his body and we were worried because before his stroke he didn't want anything to do with us. He was very closed minded, but once he saw his son, Angel, come out dressed in white, he could not hold in the tears. He was so happy, he even said "para la proxima soy yo" basically "I am next". It was a great service, the spirit was very strong. 
      Transfers... I am staying in Logan, which I am really happy about, and I will be training a new missionary. I am a little scared, nervous, but excited. I am grateful that the Lord has trust in me. That's something that I have to constantly remind myself. The Lord trusts in me, so I need to trust myself. As inadequate as I feel, he trusts and loves me. I need to do the same. Trust and Love him. Be obedient, work will all the strength, open my mouth and proclaim to the world about his restored gospel. If I haven't told you I am learning how to play the piano! I can read notes, but it takes me a while to know them. I did learn one hymn with both hands, Jesus Lover of My soul, which is my favorite hymn! Yay for discovering new talents! hope you all have a great week! 

-Hermana Recinos

1st photo- battalion sisters and elder and sister Christofferson
2nd photo- sister martindale, angel, hno garcia, tomasa, me, and jose
3rd- Chicano park, really cool murals on the coronado bridge. 

So many preparations!

      I feel like so much happens in the week and when I go to write it to you all I have no idea what to say! The most stressful times for missionaries are the weeks before the week of baptisms. We have to plan and coordinate with the building coordinator, our ward mission leader, our district leader, zone leaders, the branch presidency, the branch auxiliaries, and with the investigators that will be getting baptized. To add to that the adversary is right there trying to stop and tempt the investigators. At the end of last week our investigators had no time to see us, they canceled appointments and I was beginning to get really nervous.  For a moment I thought that they wouldn't be able to be baptized because we still had a few things to teach, but the Lord always provides a way, ALWAYS. We had to set up a day when Angel and Tomasa (our investigators) could have their baptismal interviews. We planned it to be this coming Thursday but we thought it would be too close to the baptism so at the last moment we called them to see if we could do it yesterday. It all worked out, they passed and are really excited for their day.
      We are also preparing Elisia for baptism. She will be getting baptized next Saturday and we aren't through with all the lessons. We will be seeing them everyday till their baptism. Let's hope they don't get tired of us. On top of that Transfers are coming up next week, so we are scared to see what will happen. Sister Martindale has been here for 6 months so she might be leaving, or I could be leaving, I don't know what's going to happen I am pretty nervous, but know that the Lord has a plan and I need to trust in him. 
      On Sunday we had a mission Fireside, Elisia went and she loved it! So you know how in conference some talks were in the native language of the speakers? It was kind of like that at this one. In San Diego, there is a spot where there is a big population of arabic people, so in our mission we have 4 Elders that speak Arabic. A recent Convert named Muhammad, (I probably didn't spell that right) gave his testimony in arabic! It was great! 
No Matter what race, culture, what traditions you  have the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ bring us the most happiness and it is for everyone. We still have trials and downfalls, but we can get right back up and continue pressing forward, with steadfastness in Christ, With a perfect brightness of hope. I am blessed to be able to help others come to Christ and blessed to have the guidance of the spirit. 

-Hermana Recinos

Logan explosion.

      This week was amazing! We went from having no progressing investigators to having 6 progressing. Four of them came to church; Angel, Tomasa, Felipe and Elisia. Three of them have committed to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized the 25th of October (Angel and Tomasa), and Elisia will be baptized the first of November. 
      On Monday we got a call from a member, Hermana Soriano, saying that she had 2 new people for us to teach! She just rented out  a room to a Joyce and Elisia and she invited them to hear about the gospel and they said yes. We went to their house and taught the restoration and they accepted a Book of Mormon then we invited them to a baptism on Saturday. Only Elisia was able to go and she loved it! After the baptism she told us that she wanted to be closer to Jesus and that she wanted to be baptized. A couple of hours after the baptism we went to their house to teach them. We decided to watch the Restoration movie and we were going to teach the Plan of Salvation, but we felt we should teach that instead. After the movie Elisia was crying she felt the spirit and recognized it. She expressed how much she wanted to be baptized, she was anxious to share her experience at the baptism with her mom. Elisia went to church as well. She really liked it too! 
      Angel and Tomasa have a date. Tomasa was baptized before but her record was lost, so she needs to be baptized again. She didn't want to be baptized again but the spirit finally convinced her so her son and her will be getting baptized!
      We had temple shift this week. While we were sitting outside there was a little boy named Mosiah, from mexico, trying to pick these berries that are on the trees. He was nine years old so he couldn't reach, we tried helping him out but I'm really sure I wasn't much of a help. So I decided that I could try and throw something. I Decided to throw a bag full of pass along cards. Bad idea, it got stuck! Haha Mosiah tried throwing an apple, it was pretty funny. 
      I finished the Book of Mormon in Spanish today! I started at the beginning of my mission. Some say that is pretty long but it doesn't matter how long it takes you to read, it matters what you learned. Here's what i learned: I learned about our divine potential, to become gods and goddesses we must submit to God's will, put off the natural man and become as children through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We won't be able to comprehend everything but we can trust that the Lord and Heavenly Father loves us and knowledge will come through our obedience. As we obey his commandments we will find true and eternal happiness. I know it. 

-Hermana Recinos! 

General Conference!

      I hope that you all had a great week! This week was awesome because it was GENERAL CONFERENCE! I hope you all got a chance to see it, and if you didn't no worries! It's online!
lds.org/general-conference
All the talks were amazing! It's crazy, I think back at all the general conferences before my mission, how I never really paid attention or really cared but I've gained a testimony of the prophets and apostles, that they are true messengers of God, and the importance to hear their words, which are words of Christ. 
      This week we've seen miracles! We had 3 investigators who went to church and watched General Conference, they loveeed it! One of them has a baptism date for the 25th of October. We taught him the Word of Wisdom this past week and after everything, we told him we should put in our body, he would say "check, I don't do that" His name is Angel he is 14 years old, has autism, but is very smart.
      Most of our teaching pool consists of kids! No wonder the Lord wants us to "be as little children". We are teaching Jesus and Mariana whom are 10 and 8. They are very active, but love to learn, read and sing. We've taught them several times now, they love us and we love them. Their father doesn't mind us teaching them, but he doesn't want to learn for himself, and he also doesn't let them go to church. I've heard several times of parents punishing their children by not letting them go to church. That makes no sense what so ever. 'Parents let your children learn about Christ so that they may build upon the rock of foundation which is Christ' (Heleman 5:12). I love teaching kids, because it helps me remember the simple truths that I've learned, that my parents have taught me. I know my Redeemer lives! Hope you have a great week! 

-Hermana Recinos

Pic 1- I cut my hair because after straightening it I fried it and killed it, so I had to chop it, now I have to curl my hair in order for it to be curly. I've learned my lesson. Any good products anyone knows for damaged, burnt, fried, dead hair? 
 

Pic 2- ​The Browns, Senior Couple that served in our branch.

Meet the Mormons!

     This past week we had Zone Conference. It was great! We got to see the movie, "Meet the Mormons", which comes out in theaters in October. Basically it spotlights 6 people from different parts of the world in their daily lives. It is great and inspirational! I don't know where they will be showing it but if it's around you watch it! I know that after it comes out it will be on Netflix and YouTube and the visitor centers.
      My favorite spotlight was "The candy bomber". Basically after WWII, Gail Halvorsen, a young pilot in the US Army Air Corps was assigned as a cargo pilot to the Berlin Airlift in which US forces flew much-needed supplies into a Soviet-blockaded Berlin. On his missions, he dropped candy to children and became known as the Candy Bomber. It really taught me that small little acts of kindness can go a long way. 
      I love Zone Conference because our Mission President teaches us. President Schmitt helped us to understand the purpose of our calling. We are to help others come unto Christ. Others, meaning members, less active members and non members. We are representatives of Christ, of the church, and of our families. He counseled us to "fear no man". We must be bold, we must talk to everyone and invite them to use the Atonement of Christ and make the essential promises with God to receive exaltation. 
       General Womens conference was awesome too! Since we were on shift at the Mormon Battalion we didn't get to see it live but watched it the next day. There were some technical difficulties with the projector here so we ended up watching it on an I-pad. It was great! I loved the focus that each speaker had on the temple. We are so blessed to have so many temples today. I really loved when they said "As temples are prepared for us, we must prepare to go in". No matter how long you've been a member preparation to go into the temple is vital. As we prepare to receive revelation in the temple, we will be more receptive to the answers. I love to see the Temple and I am grateful that I get to serve the Lord and others.

-Hermana Recinos

Pic 1- Sister Martindale and I at the temple today. 

Pic2- ​We went to the HABIT!! (Sister Cazares and Stephens) 

Celebrations!

      It still blows my mind that half of my mission has gone by. In this email I want to focus on the things I've learned from each companion and area.
      My first area was Sweetwater and my companion was Sister Benfield. She taught me all the basics, everything I needed to know. But she really helped me to have faith and confidence in myself. She pushed me to step out of my comfort zone. I am grateful for that because I learned how to trust in Heavenly Father more.
      My second companion, well in this transfer we were in trio, so we had Sister Rex. That transfer was filled with hard and good moments. I really learned about the importance of communication. How to talk with Love. How to serve others in little ways.
      My third Companion was Sister Stephens. I loved Sister Stephens because she looks at things in a completely different perspective. She's really thorough about the people she taught. She thinks about everything! She has deep meaningful conversations. Some of my best  memories are of us at the end of the day talking about things that really mattered.
      My second area was La Mesa, I trained Sister Calderon. I feel liked I learned how to be more obedient. Not that I wasn't obedient, but I learned how to love to be obedient. I really wanted to be a good example to her and help her, so as I tried to be better she was able to learn and grow and be better herself. I also learned from Sister Calderon how to relate more to people. She just had a way to automatically be best friends with them.  
      Then I was with Sister Milla for a transfer. Sister Milla is great, even though our time together was short I learned diligence. It's easy not to try your hardest, to slack off, but I learned the importance of working hard.
      Now I am in Logan Height with Sister Martindale. Here is a little bio about her. She is from Utah, she wants to be a vet, and she is super sweet! She is learning Spanish, but she already knows it better than me! She has a love for the people, for the work, but especially for our Heavenly Father. She has such good insights. She knows how to relate to people and she knows how to teach according to their needs. I know I am going to learn a lot from her!
      I am now in Logan, and we have church in an elementary school! It's pretty weird. The branch is a lot bigger than the last branch I was in. Funny thing is that my last area covered 4 different cities, it was pretty big, but it was hard to find spanish people. My current area is about 20 times smaller, i am not kidding, but there is more work, because about 80 percent of the population is spanish! It is pretty great. But it is a little scary.
      This week was a week of celebrations! I hit my half way mark 9 months and I have pics to show! So it's a tradition when a sister hits 9 months to stuff our bellies to show 9 months "pregnant". 

-Hermana Recinos

Pic 1- Here's Sister Martindale and I!
I also celebrated my 20th Birthday!​

​

Transfer #7.

      This week is the start of my 7th transfer. As sisters we get 12 transfers. It is crazy how fast time goes by I still feel like I just got here! I am sad to say that I will be transferred from La Mesa, I don't know where I am going yet or who will be my next companion but I will find out tomorrow! I guess I have mixed emotions, La Mesa is a hard area, there aren't a lot of Spanish people but the members are GREAT! There are so many people that I have grown to love as I served them. I am sad that sister Milla will no longer be my companion, she is great, but the good thing is that I will be at the visitor center so we will see each other often :) 
      This week was great! Last Tuesday we went out to find an Investigator that we hadn't seen in about 3 weeks, and we finally found her! We didn't have much time to teach her a lot but we committed her to read Alma 5 which is known for asking questions of the soul. We also set up a return appointment. As we were leaving her apartment complex we see a guy across the street. We said Hi to him and asked him if we could share something with him. Usually the responses we get are "I don't have time" or "I am atheist"  or some people ignore us completely, but miraculously this guy didn't, he said "yeah, why not!" We were both shocked for a minute and I was tongue tied for a second because this never happens! Haha after a few awkward seconds as he was crossing the street, we introduced ourselves. He introduced himself as Franky. We asked him about his family, he has 2 adorable twin girls that are 9 months. We asked him about his religious view, he's christian but hasn't gone to church but really wants to go, then he asked us what church we go to. We told him we went to church right down the street, he said he would try to make it on Sunday, we didn't have to invite him! We started talking about the Natural man and shared with him Mosiah 3:19 He loved that scrpture, then he asked how he could get a copy of that book. Coincidentally we were standing right next to our car, we opened our trunk and gave him a Book of Mormon. He doesn't live in La Mesa, but he is always there visiting family, maybe we can teach his family! It was a great miracle! 
      Thursday we had an end of summer BBQ and Farewell for Sister Romero. All the senior couples and sisters serving at the battalion got together and had a good time
      On Saturday we had zone meeting and it was great! All the missionaries in our zone had a meeting and we talked about how we can be consecrated missionaries, how we need to act and not be acted upon and what are the differences. How sometimes we have to go through difficult things in order to grow and be better. We compared  2 scriptures Matthew 5:48  "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect", and 3 Nephi 12:48 "Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect." Christ gave this counsel at 2 different times. In Matthew 5 he gave this counsel before his prayer in Gethsemane, before he died on the cross. In 3 Nephi he gave it after his resurrection when he came to the Americas. The difference is that one says be prefect like our father in heaven and the other says be perfect as I or our father in heaven. Even Christ had to be better, and had to go through afflictions to grow. He had to go through the Atonement and suffer for our sins in order to be like our Father. The same must be for us. We have to go through our trials, suffer through them patiently, in order to be more like the Father and his son. I am grateful for the trials I've gone through, even though at the moment it didn't seem like something positive. I know that as I go through the hard times I am refined, I am better, stronger, I am more like Chirst. He is the Example I want to follow. 
      Yesterday was a great day! We went on a special exchange. We were in a trio for a day. Sister Stephens, Sister Milla and I. We covered both areas, La Mesa and Sweetwater. Sweetwater was my last area so I was excited to go back for the day. We went to go see the Lee Family! I taught them earlier this year and they were baptized in March. My heart was beating fast, I was so excited to see them! It had been about 5 months since the last time I saw them! We didn't get to teach them much but we sang and prayed with them. They are doing good. I was really sad having to say bye again but I know that I will see them again. I love them. 
      I love my mission, I am learning a lot. I know that what I am doing is the best thing for me. I know this is the Church of Christ in which he is well pleased with. 
Love you all! 

-Hermana Recinos

"I can't hear you."

      This week has been good. We are still working with Dolores and her smoking problem. We called her one night and as we were hanging up I said "Hermana no fume" her response was, "I can't hear you". Imagine it in a Mexican accent  haha, we started to laugh, it was funny. She laughs about it because we always repeat it. She is super funny. We went over last night and taught her about the Book of Mormon, she's old so we have to explain things simply and clearly. That is the best way to teach. Clear and simple. Some people get caught up with doing it in depth, but as you do that you dig yourself in a whole that you can't get out of and you just become more confused. 
      It was fast and testimony meeting this Sunday. We have great members with such strong testimony. One in specific that I want to mention is Brother Patterson. Bro. Patterson speaks Spanglish. He should have a dictionary. He married a Mexican and she speaks almost no English so they go to the Spanish branch. He is a convert, was baptised before and knows the bible super well. I think he converted when he was in his 20's and he is now in his 50-60's. He talked about his brother who recently passed away. His brother was a non-member, did drugs and alcohol and smoked. He talked about how he didn't live the best life and he compared it to his life. The difference was the gospel. Bro Patterson tried to share the gospel with him, but his brother didn't want to give up worldly habits. He gave his own definition of sin. "Sin is the sacrifices of tomorrows blessings for the selfish pleasures of today." When I heard that I was blown away. The definition is simple; it's clear and it is powerful. Every time we sin, we lose a blessing that Heavenly Father has for us. Every sin we commit is because of our selfishness. The Natural man takes over. How can we put off the natural? King Benjamin answers that perfectly in Moisah 3:19. It is through the Atonement of Christ we can be perfected.  Put off sin, as Elder Bednard says "TURN OUTWARD" There is a scripture in the bible that I really like. It is in Ephesians 5:1-2 and says, "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." When we walk in love we see others as Christ sees them. But we also see ourselves as Christ sees us. He doesn't see us for what we are, he sees us for what we can become. I hope you all have a good week! 

-Hermana Recinos

"El Mero Mero"

      We are visiting a Less Active member named Dolores. Dolores is so sweet, she was baptized last year and we are trying to help her go to the temple. In order to do that she has to stop smoking. She stopped smoking when she was baptized but picked it up again:/ The Church has a smoking program that we are teaching her. One of the first steps to the program is grabbing the cigarettes and crushing them. We told her that and she was very hesitant at first and didn't want to do it, but she did it! We were surprised! We left that night happy. We called her and asked her about her smoking, and she said she didn't want to talk about it and hung up... So we went over the next day or so and she told us that she smoked, turns out that that night she had an extra pack hidden and she did it because Sabado Gigante (a spanish tv show) was on and wanted us to leave so she could see it.... silly lady. We are not going to give up, we know we can help her stop. We usually go and visit her 2-3 a week, she's an older lady but a very funny one. She asked about the President of the Church, she didn't know his name so to describe him she said "el mero mero" haha that reminded me of home, she's great! 
We helped Bradley, 10 years old, make a scripture case, and he loved it! We also had breakfast at his house yesterday. The best breakfast ever. We had beans, carne asada, egg, rice, and chilaquiles. I think it was more of a brunch  and it was super good! Oh and we also had cake! Hermana Chavez is the best! 
      We went to go visit an investigator named Mauricio. He was a referral that we got a while ago and we added him to our teaching pool last week, we set a return appointment but when we went he wasn't home. We tried several other times to contact him but no luck. On saturday we agreed that if he wasn't home we weren't going to stop by anymore and 2 seconds after we said that he opened the door! Miracle! We talked to him for a little bit but he said he didn't have too much time because he had to go to work. He owns a shop in Old Town. We Told him about the Mormon Batallion then he gave us little turtle toys! Turtles are my favorite! That was a tender mercy. 
      We visited our investigator Lupe, she is a very nice lady, has lots of faith which is great and she's open to us coming but doesn't really want to change. We invited her to be baptized and she said she already was, so we need to focus on authority with her. We also started to teach her daughter Carolina, she has lots of faith in Christ so we explained how Christ came to the Americas and she was amazed. We hope that she will be able to progress and read the Book of Mormon. 
     Every week we have "Mormon.org time" which means we get to go online and watch church videos. There was one that I really liked! It is called "God will lift us up" here is the link! 
  http://www.mormonchannel.org/youth-videos?v=1483206187001
 Love you all! 

-Hermana Recinos

Adobe Falls!!!!

      We did a really cool service this past week, we went to clean a canyon in our area, called Adobe Falls.  ​It was pretty cool, some of the graffiti was bad, so if you see anything, look over it. We picked up and cleaned lots of trash. Bottles, wrappers, cans, etc. It was really hot that day, but after a member bought us subs, they were really good. 
      This week has gone by pretty fast! Things are starting to look up, We've found a couple of new people to teach so that is good. We really want to involve members more in our work. 
      Recently I've been reading the Bible! I am currently in Exodus! I know, not that much, but I am making progress. I didn't know how awesome the Bible was until I actually had the desire to read it! It is kind of, sometimes, making more sense, but I have to read it slow, with a dictionary, and I won't even try to pronounce the names ha. Here's what I've learned, and I know some of you who read this will be giving yourself face palms because it's kind of dumb that I didn't know this before. 
Benjamin was born before Joseph was sold by his brothers. Moses had a speech impairment and the lord gave him a spokeperson named Aaron. I tell ya, these Disney cartoons are missing lots of information. 
      What I want to focus on is Moses. He felt inadequate because of his speech impairment but the Lord assured him that he would help him. Twice he says, "I will be thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say". That gave me a lot of comfort. I know that is exactly what the Lord is doing for me. The Lord also sends Aaron to help him. I was talking about this with other Sisters here and we talked about how sometimes so many people are born with some sort of disability, and we were wondering why? We came to the conclusion that it was so that people can give service. Aaron helped Moses talk, and that gave Aaron the opportunity to grow and to learn. I know it's the same for everyone else. King Benjamin says, "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."
      I was also reading in this months Ensign a talk called, "Act upon this land as for years".  It is a great talk! I recommend EVERYONE to read it and can be applied to anyone's situation. The part that really grabbed my attention was, "if we spend our lives wondering while we wander, we may miss out on wonderful opportunities for spiritual growth." I Hope that you all can enjoy life now, see the blessings that God has given you. I love you all! 

-Hermana Recinos

Last minute talk.

      On Sunday 10 minutes before church we (Sister Milla and I) were asked to share something for 5-7 minutes, piece of cake right?....not.... I am really bad at last minute things. We were asked to talk about missionary work, seeing as I talked about that 1 month prior, I think I did pretty well. 
      This week we have been trying really hard to find new people to teach. We try and find people to talk to on the street but there are never any people, but since this is the Lords work he provides a way! This week we received 4 referrals from other missionaries! It was great! We contacted one of them and added her to our teaching pool. Her name is Lupe, she is super sweet! She is so great! She has been saving up to on day have a charity event in Mexico. We will visit her again on Wednesday.  We had a great day at the temple. A girl who came to the temple with a group of friends asked us how she can be a member of this church. I was stunned, we don't get that everyday. Her friends were LDS, they had returned from a humanitarian service project and they took her to church and to see a baptism. She shared that for the first time in her life she felt a part of something. It was a great day! I know that there are people prepared for this gospel. I know that this gospel is for everyone, but not everyone is ready. that is the hard thing to accept as a missionary, that not everyone is prepared to learn to grow and to change. Like Jacob says in 2 Nephi 6:3
"Nevertheless, I speak unto you again; for I am desirous for the welfare of your souls. Yea, mine anxiety is great for you; and ye yourselves know that it ever has been. For I have exhorted you with all diligence; and I have taught you the words of my father; and I have spoken unto you concerning all things which are written, from the creation of the world." 
I love how he said, "nevertheless, I speak unto you AGAIN". I wonder how many times he must have tried to share the gospel. No matter what happened to him, no matter if they rejected him, he kept sharing. I will keep sharing no matter what, because I know how important it is for everyone to hear. I love my Savior, that is why I am trying to do his work and will! 

-Hermama Recinos

New Companion.

     Transfers!!!! I am still in La Mesa, but I have a new companion! Hermana Milla!! We were in the MTC together and it has been our dream since the beginning to be companions! The Lord hears and answers prayers, I know it! She is great! She is from North Carolina! She is so dedicated to this work. She has a strong Testimony and she's not afraid to be bold! We are going to work hard and have fun while doing it. I am slowly convincing her to come to school with me in Idaho, we'll see how that goes! Cheers to a new beginning. 
      Speaking of new beginnings I am happy to say that David, has decided to start his life over, have a new beginning and be baptized! David was baptized on Friday the 8th of August! We began teaching David in June, and I have been blessed to see him change, to grow, and truly build a relationship with the Savior. After his baptism we invited David to give his testimony. His testimony has been one of the most sincere testimonies I have heard. He expressed how thankful he was, how much he has learned, but the most touching was his reasoning behind getting baptized. He said he knew that he needed to change so that his son, named David, could have someone to turn to. A role model, an example, but most importantly a good father. He wants to give his son everything and he knows the importance of having God's help. He shared how he was looking for the truth, he wanted it, and how he has found it! He knows the church has been restored and that it brings blessings. 
      I ask myself, why can't all the people we teach have that desire like David does. We teach many people who like us, and like what we share but they don't ACT, and at times it is frustrating, I can't imagine how Heavenly Father feels. The only way I can help them is by teaching as best as I can, inviting them to change and be better, helping them see the blessings they can receive through this restored Gospel. 
I know that this Gospel is for EVERYONE. Yes, some people are more prepared, but God wouldn't make a plan that isn't for everyone. He loves everyone. 
Sometimes I get discouraged because our Investigators aren't progressing. Sometimes I get Lazy, which is really bad so I am trying to have a better attitude. 
Here is my favorite scripture of the week, something that I want to do everyday of my mission. 
D&C 123:17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.
-Hermana Recinos

"Stay Nice and Stay Good Lookin'."

       This week is transfer week...drum roll please....I am staying in La Mesa! But I will be getting a new companion! I don't know who yet, but I do have some guesses! I am very happy that I will be staying in La Mesa because this weekend we have a baptism. David will be getting baptised! This past Sunday was fast and testimony and guess who gave his testimony!? DAVID! It was awesome! He expressed how happy he was and how he knew that this was the right path for him. 
         A sister in the La Mesa 1st ward shared her testimony and has this saying that she uses all the time.  She says her kids hate it but I liked it! She said "We don't have to, we GET to." It's so true.  When we have that mentality things turn to an opportunity instead of an obligation. We don't have to pay tithing, we get to. We don't have to do visiting teaching/home teaching, we get to. We don't have to serve others, we get to! 
         Now to explain my heading. We were at the temple on Friday. Friday is wedding day! We saw 7 brides! It was crazy! (but thats nothing compared to SLC temple) each had different styles and colors it was pretty fun and of course when we see them we daydream about our own wedding. Anyways there was a kid, his name was Austin (7yrs old), as he was saying goodbye he said "stay nice and stay good lookin", it was pretty funny and cute. That's my story. 
        We took a potential investigator to the Battalion. His name is Mario, he is in his late 20's and he is really funny. As we were going through the tour he said, "Great let's go see how the Mormons destroyed my people (meaning Mexicans)". It was so funny! But the thing is that even though the Mormon Battalion enlisted during the Mexican American war, they didn't have to fight, he was surprised after the tour. 
Here's a scripture that I really liked and has helped me on my mission: Ephesians chapter 6,
 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

 19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Arm yourself with righteousness! 
love you all! 
-Hermana Recinos!