Week 43 - Quito, Bella Aurora - October 27, 2014

Mi Querida Familia,

This week has been a great start to a great change. I´m very excited to be here with Hermana Dillman, she is very obedient, and we have seen many miracles since last Monday. We have a few investigators with baptismal dates, many prospective families to teach, and we are excited to see some progress here in the branch. Our goals this week include helping all the investigators know the church building by giving them a tour. The church actually is the 3^rd floor in a building complex, and there isn´t any huge sign, so it’s a little tough to explain how to find it. Also this weekend we had stake conference in the stake building which is about an hour from our sector so it was tough to get people to come. But stake conference was wonderful. Actually, its the same stake that I started my mission in, and the stake building was my first church building, in Iñaquito I got to see many people we worked with in that ward (members, less actives that are now active, Francisico and even Hermana Madrid who also is the Quito Stake but ina different ward too)

 

The best part was that we were able to sit in after the conference during Franciscos Ordentaion to the Mellchezedek Preisthood. It was so amazing to be there with Hermana Nadrid as we watched Francisco humbly fold his arms to receive the priesthood adn be ordained as an elder. Tears welled up in my eyes as we were able to see the fruits of all our labor in Iñaquito. After his ordination, Francisco was able to join in on the circle to set apart other Hermanos that we worked with, one recent convert, and a less active. It was a huge blessing to be there for Francisco. The spirit was so strong. Wow I just love being a missionary.

Fruits of Weekly Planning: In weekly planning this week, we were looking over many of the prospective investigators, old contacts, and we found a family, The Familia Cevallos Peña, we called them and set up an appointment. Getting to their house was a little tricky, because they live in the middle of Ecuadorian farmland, but when we taught them it was amazing. They are a family of 7, and the 4 that have the age for baptism, Margot, Jose, Melanie, Aseal, accepted baptismal date for the 22^ndof November. Margot told us in the second visit that she prayed about Joseph Smith abd felt a strong peace come over her and she is eager for her baptismal goal. Her husband Jose feels the same. They are a very humble family. They live in a tiny little room, probably the smallest house I´ve ever seen here on the mission. We learn what really matters here thorugh seeing the lives of some of the families in this sector. Jose for example had an illness in his leg, and instead of getting the surgery, because he didn´t have enough money, he chose to amputate. He is a very spiritual man and very humble and believing. I feel so blessed to know this family and we are excited to see their progress.

Vamos a Ver: We have another invesetigator Marialena Yaselga, who has been investigator for a while. She is super great, its just that she doesn´t come to church. We are going to give her one last week to come to church, and then we will let her go if we don´t see progress. Marialena is excellent though other than that challenge to get to church. She reads the book of Mormon, prays and knows its true. Hopefully we can help her to overcome this struggle to get to church Sunday morning. We will pass by her house this weekend.

Miracle Contact: After one lesson with Marialena we were walking onto the road from her fornt yard and we ran into Lydia. We contacted her even though she looked like she was in a hurry, and we found out that she was best friends with a member from her work until her friend left on the mission and they lost contact. Lydia is 31 and has 2 little girls, Melanie and Jenny. We set up a return visit because Lydia was very curious about the church and wanted to know more. Her return visit was yesterday. Usually with return visits from contacts they fall through, but this time she was waiting for us. She had read the proclamation for the family and said that she really liked it. We began to share lesson 1 the restoration. Lydia showed so much interest, had questions, and by the time we were relating the words of Joseph Smith about the first vision, the spirit was so intense. As I bore my testimony about Joseph Smith, tears welled into my eyes, and usually that doesn´t happen. But the spirit was testifying through my words in such a strong way. Without doubting, Lidia accepted baptismal date for the 22^ndof November. It was amazing. We want to talk with her husband this next visit that we have with her and set a date for him and her daughters as well. When we talk with Lidia, I feel like I am talking to a future member of the church. Its super amazing, she has so much energy and excitement to know the truth.

Anyway, its been a great week. I am so grateful for every opportunity we have to testify of the truth. Truly testimony is power. The holy ghost speaks as we open our mouths. I was thinking, God can command any object, the whole world just by the power of his word or his mouth. And he has called us as missionaries as well to open our mouths and preach repentance. He has given us a form of the power that he himself uses. The power of the word. It gives me such a cool feeling, an honor, to know that he has trusted us with his sacred evangeliio. Sé que soy una representante de Jesucristo. Esoty viviendo cada momento en gracias por esta gran oportunidad de predicar el evangelio y ayudar a los que estan buscando al venir a Cristo. Estoy contenta de estar así. No puedo imaginar mi vida diferente.

Have a wonderful week everyone! I love you all:)

Con Amor,

Hermana Powley

 

 

Week 42 - NEW AREA - Quito City - Bella Aurora - 20 Oct 2014

Hola Familia y Amigos!

And so I have been changed to Bella Aurora 2 in the Zone Quito Este!! It's gonna be an amazing time here. Hermana Dillman is my new companion and she rocks! She hails from Spanish Fork, Utah, and Utah State University. My first North American companion. Its gonna be weird to talk in English, every now and then, I also don´t think she eats a whole lot. Hopefully she doens´t judge me, I really like to eat. She seems really great and I´m excited to get to know her a little better. To start out my letter, I would just like to give a quick recap of Central 2, with our investigators. And I would like to say how grateful I am to have been to be with Hermana Torres. She has been such a good help´for me and a great example. We really ended up being close friends despite being together only 3 weeks. She´s going to train this change! Wahoo! shes gonna rock. I am so grateful for her faith and hope that she spread through our prayers in order to see miracles. I am going to miss Ibarra so much. I loved it there. We had 2 investigators with baptismal date. Jhony and Malena.

 Jhony was a miracle de verdad. I contacted him and his wife on the bus a couple weeks back, and turned out they lived in the sector of the Hermanas from Ejido. And so we passed the reference. A couple weeks passed by. We were outside of the capilla yesterday waiting for investigators to show up, and then, this special couple Johny and Nichole, passed by and asked us what hour started the meetings. We told them ya mismo! and then we steared them into the sacrament room. I didn´t recongize them at first as the couple I had contacted, but later I asked them if we had met before, and they did remember. I was filled with such a great joy, that I had made a small contact, almost insignifant that led to grand things. Turns out, they moved and now live in our sector!! Blessings or what? Jhony, we went to his house later that evening to teach him, and he accepted baptismal date, we gave a camino de fe, book of mormon, and have a family home evening planned with him and his wife (who actually is a less active who moved from the Oriente) with a member on tuesday. Its so sad that I won´t be able to be there to help them progress, but I know they are in good hands.

Malena, still has baptismal date for the 8th of November, she has great desires to repent and be baptized, but sometimes school projects on sundays keep her from going to church. I hope we can really help her understand the improtance of keeping the sabbath day holy this week (slash, Hermana Torres and her new companion will help her)

As for Betty, she was not able to be baptized this week, because of work conflicts and she wasn´t able to reiceive her interview . Then we passed by her house sunday morning a couple hours before church, and she was getting ready, doing her hair, wearing a dress and everything ready to go. But she didn´t show up to church. We have no idea what happened. Keep praying for Betty, that we will be able to solucionize her problems that our still yet a mystery, We have full hopes that she will be batpized this weekend if we can contact her. But then again, here I am in a new sector! SO with full hopes in this new sector we will see miracles too!

Anyways these 6 months in Ibarra have been teh best. I have grown so much and learned the importance of honor. When we truly honor God and his plan and his commandments, there is power. One cannot exercise the power of God without honoring his name. Every object on earth honors Gods word, and for that God could create it. If we honor Him, he can transform us into being what we need to be in order to reach ultimate happiness. But what does that mean, honor? What do we honor, on this earth? Sometimes we honor more what others say, how many baptisms someone has, how well they speak the language, how much service they do. But when it comes down to everything, is the one we honor most, our very own father in heaven? I hope so. Because only then, are we given power from on high. Even though I don´t posess the priesthood, I can feel its power.  I am so happy. I know that the Lord is watching over us. And I know that he is protecting us. Everytime I read the BOok of Mormon, I know that I must continue to be fiel, keeping every one of the commandments and mission rules with exactness, even with love. I had a huge realization this week. We must act and obey, not just because we fear God and we know the commandmetns are right, but because we love God. I realized that prayer is the most powerful when we recongize the true love we have for our Father thanks to all he has given us. If we love God with all our heart, mind, and might, we have a clear way to return to His presence. This was my week, I hope the week that comes serves to be just as wonderful:)

Con Amor

Hermana Powley

Week 41 - Ibarra, Ecuador - 13 Oct 2014

Mi Querida Familia,

This week I have felt so blessed, God really answers prayers and loves us so much. We have been praying to find new families and this past week we have found 3! I know that if we continue hoping, praying for success in their progress many miracles will be seen here in Ibarra. Even though I`m pretty sure this is my last week in Ibarra I am going to work super super hard in the few days I have left. And nobody knows when it comes to President who stays and who leaves. But I have been here for 6 months so that's a little wild. 

We have a baptism this upcoming Saturday! Betty Salazar, we were able to find her again and visit her last week, many times. She is ready to be baptized. Probably the best miracle ever. She has been reading the book of mormon, praying, and even talking with her friends about the church. Her youngest son Jair even wants to be baptized as well but sadly he`s 6 and has to wait a couple more years. Also, a new member, Amanda, moved in close by to Betty and she also is a single mom and has a son close to Jair`s age, coincidence? I think not. Sadly after one lesson we had with Betty and Amanda, Betty`s crazy dog that happens to be named Mate (short for Mateo but also means kill in command form) bit Amandas son. Betty and Amanda truly bonded as they rushed him to the hospital to get shots etc. Amanda checks up on Betty now, they hung out after church, and are going to be friends forever:)

Also yesterday, another miracle. We had just prayed to know where we should go because an appointment fell through, and Hermana Torres wanted to go check up on an investigator that lived close by. As we were walking to her house, we saw a young mother and her 3 children walking up the road, we contacted them and it turned into lesson 1 the Restoration. When we got to talking about the book of mormon and how it is evidence that God has restored his priesthood power here on the earth through a living prophet, we asked Jenny (the young divorced mother) what she would be willing to do if she came to know the book was true. She quickly gave us an answer that I had never heard before, she said she would share it with all her neighbors and friends and make them read it. Jenny and 2 of her children later accepted baptismal dates for the 8th of November. Hermana Torres and I afterwards were talking about the answer she gave us to our question. We both decided that this was the best answer anyone could give, it is a sign of true repentance. Like Alma, Alma the younger, the sons of Mosiah, and even King Lamoni after they received a knowledge of the truth, the first thing they did was share and teach others what they knew. Jenny and her family are the type of people that I would like to call "pure of heart". We have a lesson with them on tuesday in the house of a member whom they also know.

Anyway this was our week! And it was great:) Our other investigator Malena wasn`t able to come to church yesterday and so her baptismal date fell, but she`s still doing great and we will have to change her baptism for the 1st of November, but its for the best because its a little difficult to teach her because she always goes to study groups for her high school, and hardly has time on weekdays... reminds me a little bit of me in my senior year of high school actually. Changing her baptismal date will give us more time to teach. Also fun story.... 

 

 

 We were out contacting one day when we came across a very awnry evangelico man. He acted super smart and told us that he knew a ton about our church and that women didn`t have the authority to be missionaries. We were like whoa excuse us.. look who`s talking... except we didn`t really say that we tried to be nice. I don`t htink he even told us his name. But I asked him if he had read the book of mormon and he said no, and I said well you can`t bash on us until you`ve read it. (also in a nicer way) And then left him with a pamphlet and he insisted that we take a few of his pamphlets. So we graciously did and  I shoved them into a small pocket of my backpack after he closed the door. After that, our day really just didn`t go that well. We were rejected and all our citas fell. Even up until the point that we passed by one the less actives that we have been visiting for awhile, ready to be reactivated....and boom.. he was smoking. (we didn`t actually see him smoking but I called him and the way he talked you could just tell he was stoned) I wanted to cry. And mybe a tear or two escaped but Hermana Torres started talking about Ammon and Alma when they went to teach the zoramites and we just kept walking. Suddenly we reached another street that we wanted to contact and I realized that the evangelico pamphlets were still in my backpack. I grabbed them out of my bag and threw them in the trash. Then everything turned around. We found a new family, and the spirit just sort of descended over us. Coincidence?Maybe. But I learned a lesson. The spirit can`t dwell in unclean backpacks. There is a lot of garbage that people give us, maybe its not always pamphlets that teach false doctrine, but its provactive pictures, swear words and crude comments on social media, negative comments about others. What do we need to do to turn our day around if its not going to well? Stand up for the truth, throw away the garbage, block it, and let the spirit bring peace and happiness to our hearts.  I invite us all to remember who we are and who we stand for, the Living Christ. We must be diligent and faithful and then miracles truly come, starting with our own attittudes. Amo ser misionera, y heck yes tenemos la autoridad de predicar el arrepentimiento. 

Con Mucho Amor

Hermana Powley 

PS! I saw Herman Madrid this week! It was magical:) Mother daughter status para siempre! I would send a photo if this computer would let me. Next week:)

Week 40 - Ibarra, Ecuador - October 6, 2014

Hola Mi Querida Familia,

          This week has been abnormally sunny, hot, and sweaty, we were tricked two weeks ago when it rained everyday and we thought winter was coming. But it really has been a good week, I love being here with Hermana Torres. She is very diligent and passionate about the work and we are going to see miracles in these next couple weeks. She was able to learn the sector super quick and do a great job even when I had to go off to Otavalo for divisions with Hermana Nogales. I am grateful to have Hermana Torres. Conference was also so wonderful. It helped me realize that we always need to be receiving personal revelation. We can receive revelation that confirms the words of our leaders, and also revelation from the scriptures. I loved Richard G Scott´s talk when he was talking about reading the scriptures daily, and he just looked at us all with a stern gaze and said, ”Do it!” It`s what I wish I could tell all our less actives and investigators. It was so cool to hear such a direct order from an apostle of God, which is basically from God, helping me realize that to read the scriptures daily truly is a commandment from Him. Anyway, we had a miracle this week.

               

        On Thursday we were knocking doors and got to know Melena Teràn. She is 17 and accepted the Restoration on the spot. She is super sweet and she told us that she felt like we came for a divine reason… well she was right about that. We challenged her to baptism, and she accepted just like that to be baptized the 25^th of October! She even told us she snated to serve a mission. Almost too good. We gave her a Camino de Fe (its a like a goal sheet we use to remind an investigator of their baptism, you mark it as you go to church, read, learn and prayer) and a Book of Mormon, and she was like thankyou so much, I love to read! She even came to conference and brought a friend. We have already introduced her to a couple of the young women who live close to her and we have plans to teach her in the church building this week along with her friend Jefferson. Melena was an answer to a fast and we are praying that she will be able to reach her baptismal date.

        

        On the other hand, we haven`t been able to find Betty Salazar this whole week. We have been calling her, passing by her house every night, and to no avail. She finally answered her phone Sunday morning and told us she was out of town with some friends. Knowing that, we changed her baptismal date to the 18^th of October and are praying to be able to find her this week to help her progress. The hard part is she just started up on a new job and there´s no really sure hour when she gets back to her house. It drives me crazy the type of opposition Satan puts in some peoples way.

                

          We also had the privilege to teach Christina Calvachi`s sister,  Patricia, who is 20 years old. We were actually passing by to visit Christina but she wasn`t home, so we taught Patty. Patty has actually been to church a couple times before knowing us, she had a  friend who invited her but long since has moved away to Quito. Patty wants to learn more and we had a very spiritual lesson with her about the Restoration and the importance of baptism by one who has authority. She accepted baptismal date for the 1^st of November. Now we will continue to teach Patty, Christina, and their other sister Gabriela. Its an exciting time for the Calvachi family.

           

     I am so very grateful to be on the Lord`s errand here in Ibarra. Sometimes I get hard on myself because our numbers don`t always display our efforts. But  I know that this church is not a church of statistics. Its about changing lives. We can change lives here in the mission, starting with our own. I know that I have changed for the better her on the mission and I am excited to keep progressing and become more Christlike. We learn new things from each companion, each division, and each lesson. I love being a missionary! This morning I took a moment in the end of my personal study to just take off my name badge and look at it. A rush of thoughts came to my mind. I thought of my Mom`s nametag, and of all the future Hermana Powley nametags (from sisters and cousins) I thought of Christ and who I represent and why I am here. It was a great moment.  I never want to lose sight of what really matters here in the mission, Jesus Christ. And I guess in life, I never want to lose sight of my Savior.Let us all continually seek revelation through knowing our grand potential in the sight of God and the beautiful gift of the Atonement. 

Que todos tengan una linda semana llena de chispas y sonrisas:)  Les quiero!  

Con Amor

Hermana Powley  

Week 39 - Ibarra, Ecuador - Sept 29, 2014

This week has been a great week. Starting off the week with a special conference for the leaders in Imbabura on Tuesday, another conference in Otavalo with all the missionaries in the area with President on Wednesday, a birthday party for Hermana Pinto on thursday with the zone, divisions with Hermana Berrospi in Quinchuqui (a little bit outside of Otavalo) on friday, and the women's general conference on Saturday (in Spanish---amazing the difference in what I now understand from what I could understand 6 months ago). What a week! Even more so, we got a call last night, (sunday) saying that we had emergency changes, and that Hermana Pinto was to go to Otavalo to be companions with Hermana Tarax, and my new companion is Hermana Torres. It almost sounds like a joke but it's not.

 

After all this time together, I would just like to say that I am so proud of my mission daughter, Hermana Pinto. We have grown so much in miracles, in faith, and in love. She has helped me be more diligent and she has always been such a  strong support. I am so grateful that we were able to be companions for her birthday last monday. Don´t worry, I made her french toast breakfast in bed, cake with candles, and cute little notes. It was fun:) Even more so, we were able to really have a weekend of miracles, 22 lessons over the span of 3 days. I´m glad we were able to finish things off together with a boom. Now I am super excited to be with Hermana Torres, we have a lot in common, she´s from Honduras and a family of 10.. all members. I love it, because she has the same accent as Hermana Madrid and I miss that accent. I know I sound a liitle creepy but its true. Hermana Torres is 20 and loves to run and eat healthy, she also really wants to learn English and likes to sing, I know we are just going to have so much fun. Hermana Torres and I are going to rock Ibarra right out of its socks. Anyways this week we have 2 investigators with baptismal dates.

Betty Salazar: Betty recently got a job working as nanny for a family where her son goes to school. Its perfect because she doesn´t have to work on Sundays and she´s happier. She´s also been reading the Book of Mormon, and even though she wasn´t able to come to church yesterday because of an emergency trip to Otovalo she still looks good for the 11^th of October. We have a lesson with her tonight with a member, and I hope everything will go well. She accepted the Word of Wisdom with shining colors and she feels good about her baptism.

Daniel Ipyalez: Daniel is a contact that Hermana Pinto made on the bus when we were on divisons yesterday afternoon with some members. Hermana Pinto taught him about the restoration and he accepted a baptismal date fro the 18^th of October right there on the spot. Even though I don´t know him yet, I have faith that he will progress. He is an Evangelist that feels like he´s missing something. He said that he wants to feel sure about his religion and right now he doesn´t feel so sure. He accepted the challenge to pray and read the book of mormon. Anyway we have an appointment with him this Wednesday, hopefully we will be able to find him because he lives in a little pueblo up on the mountain, but with God everything is possibleJ

Anyways I also would like to share a little story that left me amazed. Yesterday I was on divisions with a member of the Sagrario Branch who was accompanying me to make a few visits. And we were trying to get back to the church to meet up with Hermana Pinto when the bus just wouldn´t stop for us. We had to wait 20 more minutes for a bus that finally stopped. On this bus, sitting across from us there was a young couple with a baby. I was a little tired and  the couple was busy talking and kissing. But their little baby was just staring at me. I smiled and waved and he smiled back, his parents didn´t seem to notice. I looked away and then back, the baby was still staring at me. I don´t know how to describe it, but I felt as if the small little baby that couldn´t be more that 8 months old recognized me as a messenger and disciple of Christ. I could feel it from his penetrating gaze.I know its sounds weird but you just had to be there. The baby seemed to be saying, I have come into this world to be a part of the Lord´s army, and you need to talk to my parents. I thought it was just my imagination so I looked away again, only to see out of my peripheral that the baby frowned at me and looked away too. I can´t describe what I then felt as I opened my mouth to talk to his parents. And you´ll never beleive it...his mother told me that she was a member of the church but had fallen away. She told me about how her family was active but she was living with her boyfriend. She later expressed how she wanted to have an eternal family and she wanted her boyfriend to get baptized. Whoa. It was pretty amazing. Sadly they don´t live in our area, but we passed the reference to the Hermanas de Ejido. Anyways, I am happy for that little baby who was just so persistent, and I´m glad that I was able to open my mouth. I will never let a time pass when I don´t open my mouth to talk to the people.

I know that the gospel is true. I know that we are set apart as missionaries by the holy priesthood of God, and that we as members and missionaries alike have a light. Maybe not everyone notices, but some do (like little babies on buses). I am so grateful for the small miracles that God shows us everyday. I know that if we continue in diligence we will be able to see our investigators progress. I love to be a missionary. And I am so excited to start another week, preparing for general conference to be able to recharge and reevaluate. I love to be a part of this grand restoration of the gospel of Christ!!

 

Gracias por todo de su apoyo y ayuda a través de oraciones y obra misional personal en sus propias barrios y hogares. Sigan esforzando al leer las escrituras y fortalecer sus testimonios en Cristo y en esta plan de salvación. ¡Sean preparados para la conferencia esta fin de semana con preguntas especificas! ¡Tengan una feliz semana!!l

Con mucho amor

Hermana Powley  

Week 38 - Ibarra, Ecuador - Sept 22, 2014

Mi querida familia,

So the rain has begun to pour, but our excitement for the work has never been greater! This week we have been able to see some progress with investigators and also with less actives. It makes me so happy to be able to see change in the people we are teaching. FInishing the week off with District Conference was beautiful . The spirit was so strong and the messages that  Pres. and Hermana Richardson shared along with Presidente & Hermana Montoya really touched not only my heart, but many of the members that came as well. Sometimes I start to lose hope about the growth in Ibarra, and then BAM, we are reminded that the Lord can do anything for us if we keep the commandments, faith, and support our leaders. Anyway! On to our investigators with baptismal dates!

Cristina Calvach: 11 de Octubre. This week we had a tour with Christina in the church, and she got to know a couple of the other young single adult members her age. I think that helped her a ton. At the end of the tour, Christina told us she still hasn`t asked God if the Book of Mormon is true, and that she`s scared a little bit of the answer, because it would signify that she would have to change. So she basically already knows the answer.. its true! We talked a lot about how the changes that she would have to make as a member, aren`t super drastic, and that she can still be her cute, adventurous self. That we can wear jeans, we can dance, we can hang out with our friends. And all of her knowledge that she already has about God and Christ, isn`t just going to be tossed aside, its going to be added upon. It was great to have one young single adult there, Gladys, to bearing testimony of her own conversion.

Roberto Santacruz: 11 de Octubre. Roberto is a little tough, at the beginning of our latest lesson he told us he wasn`t drinking, but he let it slip towards the end of the lesson that he did drink! And we were like, why didn`t you tell us!? But its allright. He truly has a desire to change., and he know the Church is true. Roberto also has a challenge with keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, He has to work on Sunday. We just have to really hit home this week with him, and tell him that in order to feel the influence of Christ in his life at the fullest he has to keep ALL the commandments . AKA Look for a different job. Ah I just love being so blunt.

Betty Salazar 11 de Octubre: Betty is our miracle neighbor. She came to both the sessions of district conference and told us that she never wants to miss a Domingo, becuase she felt like as she was listenting to the messages something warm was filling her bosom. She was able to recognize the Holy Ghost, and is excited for her baptism coming up. She tells us she feels like she is changing, and she feels so much closer to God as we continue visiting her. She has 3 sons, 2 of them being teenagers. She really wants them to be baptized as well. But its a little hard to find them and teach them. Betty told us that she will start by making the example and that she wants all her sons to feel this same type of peace.

Maire Bolaños: 11 de OCtubre . Maire accepted baptismal date this week. She is sort of an eternal investigator. Because she knows the church is true, but she just is sort of living in sin. I don`t understand it. But she`s living with her boyfriend, who is a member of the church! And he doesn`t want to marry her, and she doesnwant to marry him because it hurts her so much that he feels that way. Anyway. Gah. Where is the love? The Proclamation for the Family was written for a reason. She told us that by the 11th of October she will be living the law of chastity. We have to keep following up with her. And a lot of other missionaries have given up hope on her, but I feel something when we go to teach her, that tells me we just have to keep trying. Maire needs to progress and we are going to help her do it.

Anyways, its been a great week here in Ibarra, and I am so happy to start a new week! There are a couple families that we are teaching right now, that are very prospective. We just need to be able to fit everyone in the schedule! I feel like thats a little bit of challenge. There`s just so much to do! And so little time... I feel like the Lord is blessing us with so many people to visit we just have to be able to step up to the calling, and manage our time a little better with shorter lessons. I know this is the Lord`s work. And we are called to serve. The Lord walks before us, preparing the hearts of those we meet on the street, touching the hearts of those we teach. I wanted to share a quick story! I was on divisions with Hermana Sanchez this week (My first divisions by the way!!) And she is doing great. But we ran into a funny little old lady while we were contacting. She told us that she needed money because a dog bit her (some people are just so creative) but she wouldn´t show us the dog bite. We told her we didn`t have money but we had something even better! A message about Jesus Christ and how his power is restored on earth. As we started explaining the restoration, she just made a huge exasperated sigh and walked away without even saying I`m not interested. Hermana Sanchez and I just burst out laughing. We have officially discovered the best method to get people to go away when they beg us for money.

Also in district conference this week, our zone was asked to sing. Everyone knows I`m musical, so they were all like, Hermana Powley, tell us what to do. So I whipped out some of my choir director skills (which don`t exhist) and tried to make our zone sound good. Its a little tough with Latino Elders, but it turned out all right. I think it doesn`t matter if we sound like BYU concert choir or not. When we singpraises to God, especially as missionaries we are inviting the spirit and what everyone else hears is pure beauty.

To finish off, I would just like to share another cool experience. We are teaching a new family, La Familia Chamorro. The father one day just showed up at the church and said my son wants to be baptized, how can we do this? The father, Javier has been less active for quite sometime, so we set the goal to rescue him so he can baptize his son, who sadly is 8 and can`t be an investigator. but we are also teaching his wife who is not a member, and she`s actuallly a judge, so that pretty neat. We taught them the Restoration last night and as Hermana Pinto and I were teaching about the Book of Mormon, I shared my testimnoy about the moment when I prayed to know the book of mormon was true. When the words left my mouth, as I said, Sè que el Libro de Mormon es la verdad, I just felt a powerful peace come over me and the room. I almost shed a tear. It was something so simple, and something I always say, but for some reason this time the spirit was even stronger. Maybe each day as I am reading the book of mormon, I am strenghening that testimony, and each time I bear testimony its even stronger. If you have never prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true. Do it. This family is prepared. We are excited to keep teaching them. I love to be a missionary. I know that I am changing into a disciple of Christ. I love Him and I love this work. I also love you all! I hope you have an amazing week!

Con Amor

Hermana Powley

 

 

 

 

Week 37 - Ibarra, Ecuador - Sept 15, 2014

Mi Querida Familia,

Wow what a hectic day! We just got back from Quito because Hermana Pinto took the English Exam and we don´t have very much time to write!

Sorry this letter´s not as cool as some of the others I´ve written) The bus ride to Quito is delayed two more hours than usual because they´r fixing the main road. We drove 8 hours roundtrip through cute little Ecaudor pueblos and mountain tops. It was super pretty but alas... a lot of time. Also Rainy season has started which makes me super happy.. I love the rain because I can whip out my spiffy Eddie Baeur jacket and rainboots. .

Anyway! I´ll just get right to business!Investigators with fecha for October 11th:

Betty Salazar: Our neighbor who we started visiting last week and she is super humble and ready to accept the gospel. With her we jsut have to help her be more persistent with reading the Book of Mormon. She hasn´t come to church yet due to problems with health but we´re hoping that this week is gonna be the one!

Diego Bedoya: He is a friend of a lot of the young adults in the branch and we just foudn out he´s not member, he comes to church a lot. I think his biggest issue is that he doesn´t take things super seriously, and he doesn´t have very high self control. Law of Chastity and Word of Wisdom are gonna be kind of tough for him. But we´re gonna visit and work hard with him so that hopefully he can really let the atonement work in his life.

Cristina Calvachi: Cristina is super sweet and she is 22 years old. At first she didn´t accept a baptismal date but this week she did!She says that she feel super peaceful and calm when she reads the book of mormon. So we will just keep watching her progress. This week we have planned to have a couple lessons with some of the other young single adults in the bracnh with Cristina. And hopefully that will just blossom her conversion.

And last but not least, a new family that we went to visit with a member, Betty Fuentes. The Family Salgadas. There´s 7 of them, but we could only teach 4 , The mother, Maria, and her 3 youngest kids, Leslie, Leidy, y Alejandro, And they all accepted baptismal date. This family is very special. Yesterday afternoon we were out doing visits with Hermana Betty adn all our appointments fell through, we decided to pray,a dn Betty said that she felt we needed to go visit an aunt of her husband (Maria) We were surprisingly close to her house. So we walked down, met the family,and had a super amazing lesson. The spirit was jsut so strong. Maria is recovering from breast cancer and she sort of has a really open mentality about the restoration. She really wants to be with her family forever. When we talked a little about the temple at the end of the lesson the room jsut got so stilla nd sweet. Hermana Pinto and I have very high hopes for this family! And they already have a strong freinds that will be a great support in the branch.

Our other investigators from last week, Roberto, Bilma, Luis, y Alejandra were not able to come to church this sunday for un forseen reasons which we shall hopefully be able to solve this week. Its kind of funny because we really hit it hard with Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy this week with jsut about everyone and they weren´t able to come. But asi es la vida. Its allright. I promise to myself that I will never miss a sunday... ever. Its soooo improtant to give that one day to the Lord and to rest from all our daily labors. God gives us instructions for our own good, and its the least we can do.. keep the commandments.

Any way! I would just like to finish with my testimony. That I know that obedience with exactness is what the Lord expects form us.He will pour blessings upon us if we can stay true to the guidelines he has given. I love to know that he also has provided us a way to be clean and free from guilt through his everlasting atonement. Hermana Pinto and I have been reading Jesus is the Chrsit together and it really just adds such a strong spirit to our studies and it makes us even more sure of the authority we hold as missionaries and disciples of the Son of God. Amo ser Misionera!!! (

Con Amor

Hermana Powley

Week 36 - Ibarra, Ecuador - Sept 8, 2014

Mi Querida Familia,

This week has been one for the books! We had a great turn out on Sunday… finally after much hard work. One of our recent convert families brought a ton of friends to the church who are interested in the gospel. Their friends live in the other sector, but still, its amazing to see how the Lord works even with his newest members. I guess it makes sense because Christs apostles were basically recent converts if we really think about it. Also! Today we start another change, and I`m staying in Ibarra with Hermana Pinto! This is our 3rd change together and we are growing so much. It will be pretty cool now to just be normal companions instead of trainer and new missionary. I guess there really won`t be that much of a diference... just that now we lose that extra hour of studies that the new missionaries get for their 1st 12 weeks. Also more crazy news, I have been called as Hermana Leader, which basically means that I will go on divisions with all the sisters in the 5 zones of Imbabura in this change and for the rest of my mission to help them reach their full potential. I feel a little bit inadequate, but I know that the Lord will help me know how to act and what to say and how to help the other hermanas. Hermana Madrid, my first companion is Hermana Leader too, and I learned so much from her. As Hermana leaders we will get to see each other more often in the mission conferences for leaders, so I guess you could say I`m a little excited. Anyways! I`ll just get right to business now with our investigators with baptismal dates:

Bilma Patiño. Bilma is the sister of Andreina. We had a really interesting lesson this week with Bilma and Andreina, We were teaching the Plan of Salvation and at the end we were talking about baptism. Andreina started to get really defensive for some reason saying that she was already baptized and such. Every moment that she opened her mouth the spirit just left the lesson. And then the phone rang and she left the room to take the call. We started talking to Bilma about the Restoration and the importance of baptism. The spirit just whoosh.. came down, and Bilma accepted baptismal date for the 27^th. She also came to church with her 6 year old son on Sunday. Her husband had to work all night and was too tired to come but they are a definite propsective family that could progress and be baptized. Whats even better was that Dirrian, Bilma`s son, was super wiggly during sacrament meeting but then realized that two of his schoolmates and friends were sitting 5 rows ahead of us, children of strong families in the branch. He was so excited and the member children even more. Dirrian ran off to primary like the happiest kid in the world with his member friends, and Bilma was able to stay for Gospel Principles and Relief Society. I`m so grateful for mini missionaries in the primary!

Roberto Santacruz. Roberto is a reference that we contacted earlier this week from a member that, I will admit, is slightly crazy. So we were a little hesitant to contact the reference. But to be honest, I am so glad we did! We contacted Roberto where he works. He is a money collector in a public bathroom of a catholic cathedral in or sector. Roberto was super excited that we came and brought out a couple stools so we could teach him, but in the bathroom. Probably one of the strangest places we have ever taught someone. After the message of the Restoration he accepted baptismal date for the 27^th and also came to church on Sunday, man of his word. Roberto is very sweet and definitely prepared to receive the gospel.

Luis Cuenca. Luis is married to a less active and they have two little kids. Usually Luis travels to Guayacil because he is a fishermen, and is only home every 24 days. But this month, we are super lucky because he is home for all of September. He used to have a very hard heart but it is being softened because his wife and him almost separated but when we ran into them in the street a month ago (the same night that Marco didn`t show up to his baptism) we helped them get back in line through assigning them scripture study, prayer, and giving the family proclamation. Luis came to church with all his family on Sunday and really liked it.. it was our little miracle. He has a baptismal date set for the 27<sup>th</sup> of September as well. I just would like to say that I know that everything happens for a reason, and even though Marco put us through a lot of pain when he didn`t show up to his baptism, we were able to find this family.. .. and now in the long run Marco was baptized, and we have found even more people ready to receive the gospel! The Lord works in mysterious ways that sometimes we don’t understand at first!

Alejandra Vila. Alejandra is doing so great! She is reading the Book of Mormon, and even though we don`t get to see her a whole lot for her work, we leave her notes of encouragement when we go to visit Silvia. We are also teaching her little boys (Silvias grandkids) and even though they`re not 8 we talk about being obedient and loving others. I believe its helping little by little. These little boys love us so much, and Alejandra will be able to see a change in them and be fortified even more in the gospel. We will be having another lesson with Alejandra this weekend. She has baptismal date for the 11^th of October.

What a fulfilling week. I know there are some weeks that it seems like we never see the fruits of our labors, but then there are weeks like this, when we can see progress! We did have a couple other familes fall through with us this week. But that’s OK, because it just lets us be able to find others that are ready to receive the gospel. I am so grateful to have another change here in Ibarra. Hermana Pinto and I are ready to work! I know that all of these miracles are only possible through fasting, specific prayer, diligence, obedience adn more than anything the help of our savior Jesus Christ. In my studies this week, I came across a little bit of revelation. I was studying about our purpose in life, as children of God and I was reading the 4^th missionary, an excellent talk on missionary work. The answer I received was Change. Change is our purpose. To keep on changing and improving and never staying lukewarm. To choose the right and pass through challenges and be changed for the better. We are spirit sons and daughters of God and we have been placed in bodies that are always changing, this world is always changing, every day we are faced with little changes. If we do not strive to improve we are not fulfilling our purpose in life. And how do we improve? Through trusting in Christ and his atonement. He came to earth so we can repent and CHANGE. Those who say they can`t change are neglecting the purpose for which Christ came to earth, they`re neglecting their own innate potential. Anyway! Deep thoughts from Hermana Powley! I know that we can change first and formost from scripture study each day and personal prayer and obedience. Through doing these things we become more humble and diligent.

I invite us all this week to strive to make little changes each day. Maybe in moments where you have the decision to be angry and treat someone with less respect, you can choose to be like Christ and express kind words and love in exchange. Or maybe if we have the option to stand up for a standard, we can choose to lift our voices and not hide behind friends, phones, or fear. Let us be like Christ, and reach our full potential! I love you all so much, and I know that each day as we learn to trust more in the Lord, He is making us more into what He needs us to be.

Con Mucho Amor,

Hermana Powley

 

 

 

Week 35 - Ibarra, Ecuador - Sept 1, 2014

Mi querida familia,

This week just flew by! With divisions, and Hermana Pinto getting sick again, when we had time to be out, we worked so hard! I feel very satisfied with our work this week. Our numbers have improved so much, and we really have tried to talk with and contact every family we see! I`m kind of competitive, so when our District Leader told us that it was a competition with our companions, who could start the most contacts with families, I`ve really put in a little extra effort. Right now we only have one investigator with a baptismal date, Alejandra Vila, who has a date for the 10th of October. She came to church yesterday with Silvia, one of our recent converts, and her two sons. We didn`t have much time to talk with Alejandra afterwards because one of her sons was complaining so she left, but we have a cita with her on Tuesday to talk and see how she felt about churchJ It was just so great to see Silvia with her little row of family in the church. Proof that there truly are miracles.

We have other investigators and less actives with whom we are working, but the majority struggle with keeping the Sabbath day holy, working on Sunday, and so didn`t come to church. I guess the real problem is faith. If one has enough faith in the Lord that he will bless us with better circumstances as we strive to keep the commandments.. o sea to not work on Sunday, then we will have more investigators progressing. But that’s a little tough to just say to people.. You need to find a different job! We will keep praying about what we need to do to help our investigators progress.

I would like to share a cool finding experience. We were out contacting one day and I noticed a young lady trying to open her door, she looked a little annoyed and so instinctly I thought, lets just not contact her, but somehow I realized that I had already opened my mouth to say Buenas Tardes and we struck up a conversation. The door opened and out came her husband. We talked a little bit and found out that Paola actually is a member but has bee inactive for the past couple years due to some terrible girls in the young womens. She told us that she needed to talk with her husband in order to see if we could visit her. Usually that means.. "no" in Latino, but 30 minutes later we got a phone call and she told us to please come and visit her, her husband didn`t want to listen but she did. This week we have visited Paola a couple times and foound out that she had been praying very hard for the past couple weeks that God would show her what she needed to do. She wants to come back to church. She has a strong strong testimony and wants her husband to be baptized. Now we just have to get on his good side because he`s apostolico or something like that and thinks that every other church is of the devil, but little does he know!

The Lord is blessing us in so many ways in this sector. We have found so many new amazing people. Including a family of 5 that are practically neighbors to us. When we contacted them in the street, we started to share a short message about eternal families, and the Mother started to cry. We didn`t know why she was crying, and for the first time in my mission I felt a strong gift of discernment. I said out loud, you``ve lost a child haven`t you? And then her little son next to her, said yes. There used to be 6 of us, but 3 passed away. Apparently Mercedes, lost 3 children when they were babies and she is very interested to know how the family can be eternal. Last night we ran into them again in the street, this time with her husband. We felt inclined to leave them with a prayer, and by the end of the prayer her husband, Luis was also in tears. We have an appointment with them tonight. And I am super excited!

We also had divisions in Peguche, a cute town outside of Otavolo, and I was with Hermana Stevens. We found many families that day as well. If I learned one thing with Hermana Stevens its that I really just love to be a missionary. Hermana Stevens is wrapping up her mission and she is just so cute and works super hard! It was also nice to talk some English for a day. She also looks just like taylor swift! We really had a very spiritual day and contacted so many people, who were all indigenous.. which means that they are the remnants of the Lamanites! Whahoo! Just gathering the 12 tribes of Israel up here in the Andes Mountains! Hermana Stevens and I also went running in the morning to a waterfall, el manto blanco! It was beautiful! I just love Ecudaor!

I know as we follow the spirit the Lord places us where we need to be with the people that he needs us to find. There really are people who truly are suffering because they know not where to find the truth. I am so very grateful to be a missionary and to be a representative of Jesus Christ. I know who I am. I know God`s plan. And I`ll follow Him in faith. Have a great week everyone! Thanks for everything and don`t forget to pray!

Con Amor

Hermana Powley

 

 

 

 

Week 34 - Ibarra, Ecuador - August 25, 2014

Mi querida familia,

This week we had a baptism! Miracles surely happen. Marco Bone has been one of our investigators since the first day Hermana Pinto and I started working in this sector together. He was a contact, and he had a baptismal date about a month back, but he never showed up because of some things his friends said. After a lot more work and patience and help from the Branch, Marco recognized that he knew the church was true, gaining a testimony, and entered the waters of baptism Saturday night. We are very happy for him. Even more, his confirmation was beautiful. One of the Hermanos in the branch that gave him the blessing hardly knew Marco, but everything he said in the blessing was inspired by God. It was a perfect blessing for Marco. Something did make me a little sad though. We wanted his Mom to come to his baptism so bad. So we went through a lot to change the hour of his batpism to be later in the night, so she could come after work. But when we called her at 6:00 to ask if she was still going to come, she told us no, that she wouldn´t even think about coming. After that phone call. It made me want to cry. Here was Marco, filled with so much conviction about his decision that he came alone to his baptism. He is a great example of courage and loyalty for me.  Now the goal is to get him out on the mission! Everyone was super excited about Marco in ward council yesterday. Everyone wants to be his family. The single adults even went to his house last night to have a family home evening with him, without even us having to ask them! I love it when the members just start to do great things inspired by the spirit. It makes me realize that we really are working together.

As for investigators right now, we are currently teaching Daniel Figeroa, his cousins are members in our branch, and Daniel always lives at their house on the weekends. He has been to church several times and told us that he wants to be baptized. Daniel is a great kid! We are going through the discussions with him and I just love how he is so attentive and eager to read the scriptures. He also came to Marco´s baptism, to get a feel of how his will be next week on the 6^th of September.  

We also are teaching Alejandra Vila, who really is a miracle. Alejandra is the daughter of Silvia, the best recent convert in the whole world. Alejandra refused to see or even communicate with her Mom for 6 months, and about 2 months after Silivia was baptized, Alejandra´s heart was softened after , many prayers from Siliva and also from us, and she returned home. We jumped at the opportunity to teach her. Alejandra is so ready to accept the gospel! Her only problem is that she works for the government in policia and can only come to church every other domingo. We set a baptismal date for Alejandra for the 10^th of October. Alejandra really wants to be baptized and promised us she would read the Book of Mormon every day in her lunch break. It’s a little  hard because we can´t teach her as often as we would like, but we have an appointment with her this Saturday and will try to call her everyday in order to make sure she is cumpliendo con sus compromisos.

And so, another week has come to pass in the city of Ibarra. We are filled with hope for this coming week. Hermana Pinto and I are writing at this moment from a cyber in Otovalo (the tourist city 30 minutes from Ibarra) We got permission from the assistants to take a quick pday shopping spree to buy cool Ecuadorian merchandise. I splurged and bought a hammock for $12... bartering it down from $24. Yep...hopefully it was a good deal. Also, hopefully I can figure out how to use it in our house or maybe just wait a year or so to use it at home. Also we had a talent show on saturday and our district performed a number/skit for the branch. The skit was Querido Juan.. or Dear John. And it was just my luck to have to play the part of the girlfriend. (Its the story of the missionary who goes off on the mission, and then his girlfriend writes him saying that she married his best friend.. hehe) It was pretty funny. I think one of the members filmed it and put it on youtube. AKA eternal humiliation. But its all right because at least its all in Spanish. 

Anyways! I would just like to finish this letter up baring my testimony that I know as we are obedient and faithful the Lord makes us instruments in his hands. I love in Matthew 5 when Christ plainly tells Peter who is fishing, Follow me, and I will make ye fishers of men. And this is so true for us as missionaries and members alike. We must simply follow Christ and he will make us what he needs us to be. Often we overthink our responsibilities and we get stressed out, depending in ourselves more than in the revelation we can receive from reading the scriptures, praying and partaking of the sacrament weekly. We always need to actively exercise our faith in order to achieve the ultimate purpose here in the mission; discipleship, fishers of man. I love how I can feel myself growing closer to Christ than I ever imagined.  I love being a missionary! I love not having to worry about myself. It’s the cure to any challenge or grief that we face here in this life. To forget ourselves, as Christ forgot himself and gave us everything. This is my testimony!

Have a great a week everyone! Thanks for your support, you all are in my prayers!! 

Con Amor

Hermana Powley

 

Baptism.

This is a pícture of us with Lorena and Jenifer, two young women who we are visiting along with their dad who is less active. They are progressing so much! And we love them!

 

Week 33 - Ibarra, Equador - August 18, 2014 - "Earthquake"

Mi Querida Familia,

Hola! Coma les ha ido! 

 

This week has been a great week despite some days where we couldn`t work in our sector for much time due to searching for a house and working on getting a contract signed and stuff... did I mention a new pair of missionaries is coming to Ibarra!? We are super excited. But that also means the sectors are going to change and we are going to lose some people we are teaching but its all right, we are more excited because the sectors are going to be smaller!! My companion and I found the perfect house. Its cheap, there's tiendas and internet within 30 seconds from the front door, members for neighbors, and there`s a park for exercise just across the street. Talk about the dream of any missionary right?  We had interviews with Presidente on Tuesday and I asked him from the bottom of my heart to keep in Ibarra for the next change. He said he`d think about it.. So that basically means I`m leaving right? NOOOO. Speaking of Tuesday. My first earthquake ever! It was wild. We were just sitting down to eat lunch, and casually the room starts to rock. I`m thinking, wow the wind must be pretty strong to make the building rock. Hermana Pinto just looks at me and laughs. Es un temblor!  I replied, Un Terremoto! Ah vamos a morir! But luckily for us we just felt the temblor, or a tiny little earth "shake". I heard that Quito was a little worse. Hopefully everyone's fine! 

Anyway! We have really great news. Por Fin!.. con fe... Marco Bone will be baptized! He had his interview on Saturday and everything's all clear for his baptism this weekend. I don`t know if you all remember but Marco`s baptism fell about a month ago and we had a really hard time getting a hold of him for a couple weeks after that. But with much help from the young single adults in the branch, he is back on track. His greatest fear (the reason he didn`t show up to his previous baptism) was centered around how he didn`t want to miss out on being a regular teenager after his baptism. We were like, but wait! We have MORE fun when we`re members! So we worked with the Branch council. Many leaders went to visit him without us, including the President of the Elder`s Quorum and his son, our ward mission leader (who also was baptized around the same time so him and Marco have a special bond) the President of the young men's, and the president of the Young single adults. After all that work, the young single adults put together a dance specifically for Marco.. he never found that out of course… and he loved  it so much! And better yet, during the weeks we weren`t able to visit him, he had been reading his Book of Mormon. Now Marco is in Alma, and just coasting along in his lectura! Looking back, he is more prepared for his baptism this week then before. We are praying and fasting that everything will go smoothly this week for Marco.

Other investigators that we still have high hopes for include, Andreina and Bilma. They both have open minds, and are anxious to read the Book of Mormon. Their Evangelist mother came to town last week so that caused a little bit of confusion, but everything's all good now, and we have a family home evening planned on Wednesday in the home of some stellar members, the family Montes de Oca,  whom just happen to be neighbors to Andreina and Bilma. We were able to watch the first Vision with them last week, and it really touched Bilma`s heart . She told us afterward that her curiosity had just grown like 10 times more to know if the church was true. We feel so blessed to have them as investigators. They also love to feed us. And they cook coastal style which is even better… When our Mamitas fall (our planned lunches with the members) we call Andreina and she is more than happy to help!

Also, we are working with a less active member, Marcelo Ortiz, who has a major problem with smoking. But since we have started visiting him he has gained so much desire to change. The change that we have seen in Marcelo has been a miracle pero de verdad. He has so much more confidence in himself, and he really understands now his relationship with Christ. We shared with him on Saturday that his war with the cigarillo is like the wars we always read about in the Book of Mormon. God always helped the nefites win when they were righteous and when they prayed for strength. And so.. in order to win this war Marcelo needs to depend now more than ever in the Lord, and less solo in himself. He had a new light in his eyes when we left Saturday. We left him with the goal that every time he passes those little tiendas (shops) and thinks about buying a cigarillo, he has to buy a chocolate for Hermana Powley instead. He told me that by our next cita, on miercoles, he will have a lot of chocolates to give me! Wahoooo! Double win! Saving souls and eating right! (seems to be the theme of the week)

I know that we are called to serve as Christ would serve. I am trying everyday to align my will with God`s . I know that we are not perfect, but through the atoning sacrifice of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ we can improve ourselves daily through repentance. I have started to read the Book of Mormon yet again here in  the mission, but this time I`m reading in English, and I`m marking everything that relates to diligence and how we can be more diligent servants to our Lord, not just in the mission field but in life as members of the church. I invite you all to ponder, are we truly being diligent members of the church? Are we putting others needs before our own, are we always trusting in the savior, or trusting more in the day to day way of life that the world knows so well? Are we humble? Are we patient like Nephi, always forgiving and loving his older brothers no matter how hard they bring him down with doubts, sharp words, and even violence. Ask yourself in situations of toil with family members or friends, when means are tight and everyone seems to be complaining. What Would Nephi Do? I am receiving revelation that I never before have received. I love in 1 Nephi 15:11, how Nephi straight up promises us we will receive answers to our deepest desires and questions if we just ask, but believing we will receive. It is so true. God wants us to have the faith sufficient in our hearts, to believe that he truly is right along side us, ready to give us the words and promptings we desire through the Holy Ghost. First step is to soften our hearts, second have faith, third believe we will receive, and fourth be obedient. I have felt the power of prayer more than ever here in the mission. I know that God is with us. Just a quick story that I want to end with, it was 8:00 Friday night and all our plans had fallen. We were on a main road where its pretty tough to contact. We decided to say a prayer to know what we needed to do. I felt in my mind the words distinctly to look in your planner. We looked and we noticed we had written as back up plan a recent contact we made a couple weeks back. We turned on our heels in the direction of his house, and 10 seconds later we made a golden contact, Joanna, who started talking to us first and asked us to come visit her! Wow! Talk about miracles! We see miracles everyday. I know Christ is with us. I know we need to make the steps in order to align ourselves with his plan and his desires. The scriptures teach us according to how much effort we put into them. If we casually read them from time to time, we will casually learn from time to time the ways of God. If we want to live the way of God, we have to live and love the scriptures. This is my testimony. I am so grateful for all and your support! Tengan una vaconasa semana!

Con Amor

Hermana Powley 

 

 

Week 32 - Ibarra, Ecuador - August 11, 2014

Mi Querida Famila,

            This week was pretty miraculous! We found a new family, discovered that one couple we were teaching actually is married, had a really awesome tour, seen the fruits of service, and we have 2 investigators with baptismal dates. Pero ya mismo vienen mas!

First off: I will talk about Andreina. Andreina is one of our miracles this week, we were walking down a main road when I felt the urge to turn down a little road to the side. I saw a house at the end of the street and distinctly felt to go knock on the door. We went over knocked on the door, and out came Andreina. Andreina is from the coast, is 25 years old, and has listened to the missionaries 2 times before us. But this time she is progressing! She told us that she feels like God is sending her a message thorugh us so that she can be on the right path. She came to a ward activity 2 days after we found her, introduced us to her sister, Bilma who also is very prepared to receive the gospel as well. Bilma also accepted baptismal date along with Andreina. Bilma is 23 and has a 9 year old son, her husband is also very open to learn more but he works a lot so we just need ot find him! BIlma is also pregnant right now waiting on another little boy! Bilma and Andreina both came to a tour that we held on Saturday and stayed  to see a baptismal service. They  felt the spirit very strongly, and Andreina came to church the next day. Andreina keeps saying how she wants to go to the temple and serve a mission too. Bilma couldn´t come because her husbands work shift changed that day and she had to stay home to cook. But don´t worry, they both have real intent. And they practically begged us to come over to thier house to have lunch today.. So we did! And man... food from the coast is so much yummier than the food here in Ibarra. Back to the spiritual side... Andreina says that she has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying to know if its true. She feels a new peace. Whahoo!

Second off: We were recently visiting the Familia Figeroa, a less active family that we were able to rescue last Sunday. They are the best. Usually when we visit them, Hermana Figeroa´s nephew is there too. He is not a member. But they always bring him to church on Sunday. Daniel Figeroa is 14 years old.. we gave him a book of Mormon last week and went to visit the familia figeroa yesterday. We decided to focus the lesson on faith, baptism, and repentance, for Daniel. In the end of the lesson, Daniel told us that he has been reading the book of Mormon and wants to be a member of the church. Miracles or what? We set a baptismal date for Daniel for the 23^rd of August. He just needs one or two more charlas, a tour, and permission from his parents. The Familia Figeroa is very excited for Daniel!

This week we also have had some amazing experiences seeing the fruits of service. There is a family that we have been visiting aveces en cuando, when we have time because they haven´t really progressed, the Familia Fuertes.(Like the Strong Family but latin style) All this time we thought that the mom, Betty´s husband had died in Colombia and that she was a single Mom, we  also thought that were teaching a family friend, Pedro as well when we went to visit them. We actually found out on Saturday that they´ve been tricking us and Pedro really is married to Betty and that her husband really didn´t die in Columbia because obviously pedro is alive! Oh the Familia Fuertes… They´re a tricky bunch…. They also are a family of 6… (we fasted for a family of six on Sunday) Back to the frutis of service. We gained a lot of trust from Pedro and Betty this week because we visited them and they seemed a bit sad. So we just started to wash their dishes outside on the dish washing rock. This was special to them because they were all feeling a little sick. Then they gave us food (Colombian food.. which is super delicious) and we shared a message. The next lesson we had with them we found out that they read the book of Mormon and wanted to know more about baptism. We invited them to the baptism on Saturday and they came! Also I started teaching piano to Martha, their 9 year old daughter on Saturday. Martha is so cute!!!! We have gained a stronger bond with this family and they even came to church on Sunday. Ya mismo they will have a baptismal date. It makes me feel super great that many talents I developed before the mission are serving such a greater purpose out here in Ecuador. Like learning how to teach piano... Thanks Bridget!!

I would just like to end sharing my testimony that I know that this church is true, and I know that I am a disciple of Christ. I know that as a disciple we must always remember our purpose and the great love which Christ has for us. When things go well and even when they don´t we must always remember whose name we bear and whose life we  follow. We are disciples of Christ. We are latter day saints. And we must be obedient, and always search to have the holy ghost abundantly guide our lives. I know that we are being guided by the Holy Ghost as we strive to be obedient and filled with love for others. Amo ser misionera!

Con Amor

Hermana Powley

Week 31 - Ibarra, Ecuador - Aug 4, 2014

Mi Querida Familia,

This week...Ah... was definitely one for the books. First of all... It was a little rough because I got sick on Wednesday and we had to return to the house midday and also stay in the house on Thursday as well due to vomiting and other unpleasant symptoms. But have no fear! The priesthood is true, and after a sweet blessing from the zone leaders I have been healed! I guess with the climate change and something I ate just left me in a bad state, but now I feel chipper! As far as animos I feel all right, just that we weren´t really able to work in the field as much this week. 

We have experienced a miracle however, as usual. Our last appointment Saturday night with a recent convert family fell through and so Hermana Pinto wanted to go visit some of our older investigators, la familia Morales. The one and only Jessica Morales was supposedly in Quito recovering from eye surgery. We decided anyway to stop by her house to see if we could share something little with her siblings. When we began to walk down her street, we found her little sister, Fernanda and began talking.  We walked with Fernanda back to her house and she told us that Jessica had just barely returned home. We were pretty ecstatic. Jessica is fine! And she is on for her baptism on the 23^rd of August.   She came to church in order to witness a beautiful testimony meeting. Also we found out that one of the less actives we are working with right now is good friends with Fernanda, so she can help us now with missionary work. I love finding missionary opportunities for less actives who are returning to the church because there is such a power when one shares the gospel, It strengthens and teaches the teacher just as much as those who are taught. The blessings of the spirit! Jessica is so great. She reads the book of Mormon and her prayers are indeed sincere. Even when she was in Quito and she couldn´t read because of eye patches, she made her aunt read to her. She told us that she believes the Book of Mormon is true because of the thoughts that come to her mind while she reads. She feels peace and love and enlightenment. After many challenges and setbacks, Jessica is finally progressing!

Testimony meeting was one of the more beautiful testimony meetings I´ve witnessed here in the mission. One new member of the branch, se llama Natalie went up to bare her testimony. She is a convert of 3 or 4 years I think. She began to express her deep gratitude for the church then she looked at all of us and began to express how deeply she wanted to see her whole family filling  up one of the chapel benches. She testified that she knew one day they would be here too. I started to think that its a little detail but its true, there are so many members that come alone to church because their family are not members, and I began to feel extremely grateful for my own little chapel pue at home, Our family of 9 and all of our memories that we hold, all being active in the church. And it made me incredibly sad that not everyone has that same treasure. I want so badly to find a family a help them all come unto Christ, so they can fill their own chaple pue with smiling faces.  

Also I may have shed a tear because our sweet convert Siliva, bore her testimony in front of everyone! It was her goal the week after her baptism to be able to share her testimony in sacrament meeting and she did it! It was so so beautiful! Siliva also finished reading the Book of Mormon and has started over. I feel like she is teaching us more than we are teaching her. We gave her a large photo of the Guayacil temple to put on her wall, and she looks at it everyday and is reminded of her goal to go to the temple. She also is super excited to start working on her family history. We had an excellent activity in the church on saturday for the whole district to get to work on family history. A huge step for Ibarra. Many less actives, recent converts and investigators came. Woot woot!  . 

I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know that I can´t be hard on myself for getting sick because it makes for a bad vibe and that is the last thing we need. I need to always be super optimistic and hopeful for my hijita Hermana Pinto. Sometimes I´m always looking for the ways we can improve and I forget to mention what we do well. I can be better with showering her with praises and showing my appreciation for everything she does. She really is such a help for me.  If I focus on my companion, like Christ always focuses on others, I will see a new light come into our companionship. I will feel even more love for her, and also for this work. So for this week! I invite you all that you may look for the good in each one of your siblings, parents, spouses, or friends. That you may tell them what you appreciate of them. Help them see that they are needed. Because we all need each other. Sometimes when things don´t go according to plan, when our investigators we think are true hang up on us and ignore us, when we have to stay in bed curled up in a ball because we´re sick, we need each other. I know that Christ helps us change for the better. Things never go exactly how we want them too but we never can lose hope in Him. I love love love Helaman 10. One of the best chapters for missionary work in my opinion. I invite you all to read and put yourself in Nefi´s position. And write down how you feel!

I love you all and hope that you have an excellent, funfilled week of summer! 

  

Con Amor

Hermana Powley

Facto Ecuatoriano: The toothfairy in Ecuador does not exist. Rather children place their lost teeth under their pillows in hopes of the ratón de los dentes (the tooth mouse) who will come during the night and leave a couple coins in exchange for a tasty morsel (teeth)

Week 30 - Ibarra, Ecuador - July 28, 2014

Mi Querida Familia! 

Here in Ibarra we have had a good week. We sadly don´t have any investigators with baptismal dates but we´re working on it. We have been diligent and the fruits are coming, we just have to be patient. Also this week we were served chocolate cake for the first time in forever from a lovely member family. I asked for a second helping. No shame. I am thoroughly content.

This week we went to Quito for verification! After the first six weeks of training for the new missionaries, the newbie and his or her trainer get to go to Quito to eat pan de chocolate, and subway, and recharge our missionary batteries of excitement and ganas de trabajar! It was great! While Hermana Pinto and the others from her group went on a little efiel trip to sight see Quito, it was nice to learn along with the other trainers in a group discussion how I can improve and be a better “Mom” for Hermana Pinto. I´m working really hard with making sure that she can feel the love I have for her, and hopefully it will be a good example for her for the rest of her mission. 

I am very grateful for this week we were contacting the other day in Caranqui, and found a sweet young mom, Doris Suarez, with her 3 kids, one is 9 years old, so a possible baptismal candidate! She told us that her neighbor was a member of the church who had recently moved to Quito and that she was interested in learning more. We got really excited and challenged her to baptism right there on  the spot. And she accepted! The only thing was she wasn´t able to come to church the next day even though she said she was going to L But Oh well! We have a cita planned for this Wednesday with her so we will see what went down sunday morning. 

Also we are still teaching Piedad and Erica, who are reading the Book of Mormon, and have a testimony that it is true. They were preparing to be baptized on the 9^th of August but weren´t able to come to church yesterday because they received and urgent call from Piedad´s mother about her health. They rushed to visit her Sunday Morning and weren´t able to come to church. We still have high hopes for them, and we will change their baptismal date to the 16^th tomorrow!

Remember Marco? Our fallen baptismal candidate...There is still much hope for his progress because he keeps reading the book of Mormon. And we visited his Mom, Maria for the first time on Thursday and she really opened up to us.. how she doesn't believe that the Evangelical church she is assisting right now is true and so on. She even started to cry because she ahs felt so distant form Family and from God. We gave her a book of mormon and she promised to read!, She really wants to know what church is true if there is a true church. AKA She has real intent!  Also with Marco, we visited him this week with the JAS (Jovenes adultos solteros) and he connected really well with them. We made plans in Consejo de Barrio for the Jas to go and visit Marco this week without us, so that Marco can feel more of a friendship with the members without the missionaries being the middle men. Marco still is on for his baptism this Saturday, but we feel like it would be best if he waited a week, because he was out of town this Sunday and didn´t go to church. We are excited for the progress of our investigators and we pray for them everyday! Hopefully we can also find new families this week, we will be looking and contacting as many as we see!

Also huge change in Ibarra! Another pair of missionaries is being added to each branch. We will be a stake soon! I know it! That means we had a long meeting with our branch president yesterday afternoon and decided the new limits for our sectors and such. Hermana Pinto and I will be changing sectors which is really exciting. We have to look for a new house.. which is a bummer because our house is the maxima.. pero nos toca!

I know that the field is ripe and ready to harvest, and we are here in Ibarra for a grand purpose. I have learned so much about diligence this month. Feeling greater satisfaction and truly understanding the importance of the Atonement when we want to develop cualquier atributo. Estoy super animada por el proximo cambio y sé que vamos a ver Milagros, bautismos, y mucho éxito. Estamos tan felices a ver los frutos de 6 rescatas, la familia Figeroa en el mes de Julio. (A rescatada, is a family that once was less active but now are going to chruch each week and have received all the missionary lessons once again and have had interviews with the Bishop) Sabemos que hemos tenido un gran propósito retaining converso recientes y ayudando menos activas. Estoy contenta. Sé que el Señor vive, y que somos sus siervos, pero aun más, sus amigos. Quiero ser aún mas de un ejemplo y representante de Él. Tenga una buena semana Presidente! Gracas por todo!

Con Amor
Hermana Powley

Attached is a pic of our wait for the transfer calls. Have no fear. Hermana Pinto have another change juntas! AHH que animo! I made Patacones. A super delicios plate that hails from the coast of Ecuador... Large fried green bananas.