May 23, 2016 - I could make the best Patronus in the world

Hi! :) 

Great things from this week: 

1. Finding out Spencer's mission call!!!!!! When Sister Carmen called me on Thursday and told me that she knew where he was going...I couldn't wait til Monday! And Spain!!! I had been telling everyone I want him to come here but if he can't Spain is cool too I guess

2. Miracles!!! So we've been praying a lot a lot for Javier and Ivannia, right? Tuesday night we had a lesson with them and the Bishop came with us...And Bishop Crawford is seriously incredible. He's a convert of 8 years and since he got baptized he's seriously dedicated his life to the gospel. Anyway, so we had a lesson about the Family a Proclamation to the World, and mostly it was just the Bishp and Ivannia talking for like 30 minutes back and forth about how they LOVE the church and know it's true and talking about the churches they went to before...and me and my companion and Javier just sat their smiling....but then they ended that, and we had to get down to the real purpose of everything...and try to get them to commit to get married and baptized. But they kept on saying the same excuse, they don't feel like they can right now, they have to wait til their situation gets better......but the Bishop starts talking for like 20 minutes about how they need to do it now, and about pride, and just a lot a lot of things. And at the end.....they said yes!!!!!!! They'll get married and baptized on June 11. :) I was so, so happy at the end. Haha I felt like if I were Harry Potter I could make the best Patronus in the world. And they're so happy and excited too. so happy for finally have made the decision to follow more Jesus Christ in their lives as a family.  So yeah. We're excited and super grateful for the Bishop's help and to the Lord!! 

3. I turned 20! I honestly wasn't expecting anything big for my birthday, and I was already super happy with the week with Javier and Ivannia and having found out where Spencer was going. And then my companion gave me a banana for my present, and Hermana Tabora called me and sang to me in English...so my two favorite people in Costa Rica remembered me and I was so happy and content, it was a great birthday with just that! :) But...so we don't have a ward mission leader right now cuz he just left for Guatamala so the Elders told us on Tuesday that we were going to have the correlation meeting on Saturday at 7 at the bishop's house! and honestly I didn't expect anything...but I walked in and it was a surprise party! So so so so nice. And we ate pizza and they sang and the bishop's wife gave me a super nice bag, and they gave us another pizza...I love these people so much!! They're such good examples in how to really love people. 

4. rain and rain and rain 

And yeah. lots of other great stuff happened too but this letter is already long. But yeah. Thanks for your prayers and for being great and I love you all! 

Love Hermana Moon 

preparing for the party

still preparing (sorry it's sideways)

surprise!

from Hna Dominguez

bag is from Carmen

May 16, 2016 - if we're soaking wet, it's not just from the sweat!

Hi! :) 

This week was good. And really fast! I don't really remember what we really did....well, we preached the gospel! And the rains started this week, so that's exciting! I love the rain. And haha now if we're soaking wet it's not just from the sweat! ;) and it's been fun teaching my companion Primary songs in English that talk about rain haha. Dad, like you taught us Give Said the Little Stream in Spanish when we were like 4, she'll teach it to her kids in English! :) 

We're really praying for Javier and Ivannia. They're such Mormons!!! Honestly, them and their three kids are just the best, and have such good values, and everything...and look and act like members...Just...... they're not yet!! This week we were teaching a lesson outside to some new people and Javier and Ivannia passed on their bikes, and waved and smiled at us and them. Later we passed with Javier and Ivannia and they said that they're friends with them, and they want us to tell new people that they're members of the church. And we were like.........well........almost!!! Just missing a ring and a legal document and the water...and then yes, you're members!! In Central America this week the area presidency has a thing called Family Week, and they went to all the activites in Guapiles, and have lots of Sundays in church, and they're decided to be members...but...they just need to get married. And we don't really know what to do....they're trying to some land they have to have the money, and just waiting til they can find work....and they-re too embarrassed to like sell tamales which is what everyone does here when they need money, it's super normal and everyone understands. But it's been like two months now. I don't know. So we're going with them on Tuesday with the Bishop, and we're hoping that we can help them realize that everyone in the church is a big family and willing to help in situations like this, so they can make a covenant with the Lord and receive even more blessings!! So yeah. We sure love them, and praying a lot to know what to do...if it's okay to wait, or if we need to be hard with them....so yeah. pray for them please! :) 

I love teaching the Restoration to people who really want to know the truth. I love when we explain the first vision...and the people then ask, but how do you know that that really happened? And they have so much desire to be able to know for sure also. We had some really great lessons with Umber this week. When we first started teaching him, we mostly focused on repentance, and the Atonement, and everything.....and we talked about the Restoration, but not a whole lot. So this week we really focused on why Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon are so so important. He likes church, but he needs to know why he should keep going, no matter what happens in the future....that he shouldn't just get baptized because we were the first missionaries to invite him! He should do it, in this church, with this authority, because this really is the same church that Jesus Christ formed, and it's perfect.

And, I love the Book of Mormon a lot. I was just thinking about it this week, how much I love to go and read a chapter with converts or investigators, and I love watching them find a love of the Book of Mormon too, being so excited to find out what happens next in the next chapter. We are so blessed to have this other testament of Jesus Christ!

It's hard to always look presentable as a missionary. But it helps if you buy an umbrella to match with every outfit..

And yeah. I love you all lots and hope you have a blessed week! :)

May 9, 2016 - so happy to stay in Guacimo!

Hi! 

I loved seeing you guys yesterday!!! Everyone looks great. :) And Spenstar, I'm super jealous that you can juggle so well. That's so cool!!! And so fun seeing Joseph and Kennedy and Matthew so big, and Jennie too haha.... but yeah. It was so fun talking to you all! :)

another perezosa!

Pineapple fields - love, love, love the fruit in Costa Rica

But yeah...I don't have changes! :) Hooray! I'm so happy I get to stay in Guacimo for six more weeks. I love the members, the investigators, the fruit store super close to our house.....and we're teaching some great people and I hope so much we can see progress with the families we're teaching in this next change!! 

It was a good week! It was really cool...I had to go to Guapiles to help with playing piano on Saturday, so my companion stayed with a member to work in Guacimo..and she found such a great family, and we went again with them on Sundaynight. We taught about prophets and dispensations, and we asked at the end if they had questions.... and the stepdad said no, that we explained everything perfectly...because he was a member! Just inactive. And then he starts takling about Nephi and the Aaronic and Melquisidec Priesthood and the sacrament. Haha we were so surprised! But it's cool, he really wants to go back to church, and his family wants to too! So we're excited to keep working with them! 

Teaching at zone conference (pic from Sis. Hayes)

We're also working a lot with Natasha...she's the cousin of Richard and Reymond, she's 11, she started going to church after they got baptized. And she's always asked us when she can get baptized! But I felt bad, we were just super busy and could never find her in her house.....but now we're really working with her and hoping she can get baptized in May. She went to Stake Conference yesterday, and while they were waiting to start she was just asking my companion everything...what was good, what was bad...if it's bad to use fake fingernails, if it's okay to play cards....she just wants to know everything! I don't know. It's been a good experience for me to see kids who grow up in environments that really aren't good (her mom was in prison for a long time, and it's just not a too happy home) that are so willing to follow Jesus Christ and do the right things! I don't know. I really liked the General Conference talk where the guy talked about kids who started going to church by themselves, but became missionaries, mission presidents...I don't remember who it was haha. But it was good. And yeah,  we can't really know the potential of these people, and what they can become after years of being faithful in the church! 

Zona Atlantica (pic from Sis. Hayes)

We had Zone Conference and Stake Conference this week, and I loved hearing words from leaders about how to be better! President Hayes talked a lot about happiness...how really, humans do the things in their life that they think will make them be happy. Some people find happiness in bossing lots of people around, others in having money...others in the gospel! We came on the mission, probably because we were looking for happiness! And, it's not easy, but really we can find joy in doing it, that it's a great work. So yeah. We should find joy in the journey, in everything we're doing. :) Also it was cool listening to the three Seventy that were at the Stake Conference, where they called the Stake President to be a seventy...they really are the Lord's servants! Elder Alonso talked a lot about how we should all spread the gospel...and it was super cool because he said that he feels like there should be a temple in the Zona Atlantica of Costa Rica :) So, there's lots of work to do here! And yeah. they said lots of other great stuff. But I forgot my notebook and there's not really time haha. But I learned lots this week and it strengthened my testimony that this really is the Lord's church, and the leaders of the church really are called by revelation! 

picture from Hna Zerilli - at an RS activity - skit?

And..yeah! I love you all! talk to you later! :) 

Love, Hermana Moon 

May 2, 2016 - Temple!

Hey!

at temple

This week we got to go to the temple with the ward on Saturday! It was so so great. Iraida, and Jose, and Richard were able to go and do baptisms, so that was super exciting to go and watch them and see them see and enter the temple for the first time, and they loved it so much. And it was fun running into people from Cartago there, and my two mini missionaries that I had last fall, they both were there to get their endowments because they're going on missions this summer!! So that was super exciting. I've gotten to meet so many wonderful people here! 

Primary stake conference choir

We had some good lessons with the families of Javier and Marcela. Javier and Ivannia said that the next lesson, they will have decided the date in that they can get married, so they can get baptized!!! He still doesn't have work, but they understand that it's important to sacrifice and keep the commandments first, so they're willing to talk to the people they need to talk to so they can have the money to do it! So hopefully they can very soon!!! And Marcela and Marvin, also said next lesson they will have decided a date too!!! So hopefully. It was sad, neither of the families could go to church yesterday because there were people sick in the families. But they've both gone three times and they love it and we're just super hopeful for them! 

with Hermana Zerilli

And what else happened...ummm...well, we started teaching a guy named Umber like two weeks ago. He's 20, and he has a really bad sickness, and mostly just has to stay in his house all day! But so he's really interested in the plan of Salvacion and just knowing everything!!! And we talked about baptism, and he really, really wants to. He had just said he didn't want to go to church, because he was embarrassed going with this sickness, because it makes his leg all weird, and he can't walk very well, and he lives like 20 minutes away from the church walking. But we invited him on Saturday night! And then Sunday we were sad because the families of Javier and Marcela couldn't come..and then he walks in!! It was a really great miracle. Anyway. I'm excited to keep teaching him, because he really wants to know everything!

And...yeah! Everything is great here. :) I love you all and hope you have a great week!! 

Love, Hermana Moon