December 5, 2016 - saying goodbye

She didn't really write an email today, but sent me some pics and some quick messages.  Thank you all for the prayers and support you've given her. 

Todd wrote her:  Holy Cow!  Last week!  Not that we are counting down, but you have fewer hours left than Spencer has weeks.

Are you sure we don’t need to come down and pick you up?  Because it is bound to be warmer down there, and it has gotten really cold here.  You are going to freeze!  Maybe we should all have Christmas in C.R. and stay until it warms up again in Utah.

She wrote back: yeaaaah come here pleeeaase!!!!!!!!!!!!! let's live in costa rica til may!! I have lot of friends here. and you could get lots of latino frineds. and practice your spanish. and we could preach the gospel together!! commmeeeee 

HUGE SPIDER IN THE HOUSEEE 

this doesn't even do it justice. It was a lot bigger here it is kinda curled up.

My companion killed it with the broom. 

Really it was like the size of my face 

I am gonna come home with zika (not really)

We're leaving Moravia! woohoo! Actually it's sad. Moravia is super cool. 

and Hazel and Ariel. LOVE them. They gave me the cutest note. I am excited to show you it .

November 28, 2016 - her umbrella and shoes know she's been out longer than 18 months now

Hi family!!

This week was so, so wonderful. We just worked a lot, and felt so happy. And, we've seen a lot of members get super excited in the work, and wanting to leave with us, and it's just been super fun. 

One of my favorite parts of this week was with an investigator named Julio Cesar. We just knocked on his door, sang a hymn, and explained things like 2 weeks ago. And we have passed by a few times but never gone to talk to him, because he's always had people over. But we passed one day, and a little boy comes running after us, and says, hey come back!! And Julio said that hymn we sang has been in his head for weeks, and he wanted the boys he was with to hear it. And he is like a 55 year old man, who just hangs out with all the teenage boys in the neighborhood, so they're not in the street doing drugs and bad things. And said he's going to talk to all the moms of them so they can all go to church on Sunday!!! I just met him... but I think he's one of the greatest people I've met in all my time here. 

Also, SUCH GOOD NEWS!!! Hazel and Ariel came back to church yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!! They were the ones who had some problems with  members, and stopped coming for like .... I don't know, almost 2 months!! but we've been visiting them, and they came again!!! And always they go in like street clothes, but they came in a white shirt and a dress!!!! I was so so excited when I saw them walking down the street coming. And we've been able to teach Ariel a lot more, because before we hardly could, and we explained on Thursday the Book of Mormon, and by Sunday he'd read up to 1 Nephi 9 and had a lot of questions!! So we're so so happy that they knew it was the right thing to come back. Hazel has such a strong testimony that it's the true church.

And also, it was neat, Jessica, the girl we met last week, read up to Alma in a week!! And had lots of really really great questions. And we invited them to church, and said maybe...... But Sunday she said that her parents didn't give her permission because they're very evangelicos. But she said she's going to keep asking permission this week!! She said she woke up at 8 and thought about escaping haha. And we know that's not right, we told her just keep praying that her parents give her permission haha. But it's been neat seeing how when we met her, she said she didn't want anything to do with a Church and wasn't sure if God existed.... but now that she has so much desires to keep learning. 

And yeah. lots of other great things 

Love you all!! Have a great week!!

These aren't the only shoes and umbrella to wear out, just the latest.  Just in time.

Her crocs and umbrella know the 18 months are up (yesterday was her 18 month date). She says she's carefully rationing contact solution and shampoo and everything.

Quick note: there was a hurricane in Costa Rica last week, but Kiana's area was not affected.  She said that the day it hit was the only day she's seen sun in the last month.

November 21, 2016 - finding people by helping them decorate for Christmas

Hi!!!

Sorry I don't really have much time to write this!! 

But this week was good!!! We were really really blessed to mostly just be in lessons, the whole week!! Just finding and finding and talking to people, and we've really found people interested!! we found more people by helping them decorate for Christmas so that was fun, and found a girl who said she was so interested in the Book of Mormon that she'd read it in a week... so hopefully when we go with her tomorrow it's true! :) And yeah. 

My companion is wonderful, and we're just willing to work a lot and teach and hopefully see a lot of miracles these next couple weeks!!! next week I promise I'll write more. 

But, I love you all!! And hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! :) 

Love, Hermana Moon 

​she also wrote this to me:  and it's good because I don't feel like I'm ending, I feel like just starting and wanting to do good!!! I just don't want them to have to close the areaaaaa :( because there's 2 girls (me and Mendoza) leaving right now, and 5 more with Zerilli (Kiana's friend who leaves midtransfer at the end of Dec)... and only two more coming. Sooo they have to close areas :( and it's not that we don't have anything..... but it's cuz our ward has 6 missionaries, so it makes the most sense to close our area. :( I hope notttt!!!! because the relief society president talked to us yesterday and they have a plan to do divisions EVERYDAY with us next year....

November 14, 2016 - even dropping phone in gutter is tender mercy

Hey family!!

this week really was just really good. we just worked a lot harder, I felt like, than the week before, and I just felt a lot better!! We found a lot of really great new investigators... really, like every person we met really was interested in listening to our message, instead of just preaching their church to us hahah! because almost every week me and Hermana Vargas have only found people who like to preach to us. So we feel really blessed to have found such incredible people this week! And, we found two inactives who live ridiculously close to our house... like, two minutes walking..... one has been inactive for years, but her grandpa is a temple worker here, and she just got married four months ago to someone who has never heard anything about the church!! and she said we can come whenever we want, and theyre really interested in learning about how they can have a stronger marriage... and the answer is the gospel! :) And then the other, the guy is the member, and he was baptized years and years ago in nicaragua, but now he's living here with his wife who isn't a member! but he has a super strong testimony. They got here, and looked for the Mormon church!! But, they didn't find the church in Moravia, they found one in a close by city, because the church in Moravia is kinda super hidden haha. But the bishop there gave the reference to the elders in Coronado, who gave it to us, and we've passed by like... five times looking for them but haven't found them. And last night we tried again, and the people said that she didn't live there...... So we were like well.... that's weird! but then I dropped the phone in the gutter (like I do like three times a week.......) so we had to dry it off and fix it and all, and in all that time, she left the house!!! so the Lord had a purpose in us dropping the phone so we had to wait more time there so she could come out. And we had a great lesson with her, and she's super intersted in being baptized and the church and everything. So yay! So hopefully we can go back soon with her too!! 

What else happened this week.... well, everyone here is suuuper obsessed with Christmas!! People started decorating in September haha. and they all put SO many decorations and everything. And this week we were just walking, and saw a lady decorating her Christmas tree, and we asked her if we could help and she said yes! and it was my first time decorating a tree in two years so it was so, so fun. and then we got to teach her!! :) 

Also.. we invited So many people to church yesterday, ...... and at the end, no one could go. So I was feeling a little big sad.... but we get there, and a guy named Onasis shows up!!!! He is the guard in like the little grocery store they have right by our house... and I think we invited him my first week in Moravia.. so like... 5 months ago! And yesterday, he finally came!! and, he loved it. So that was a great tender mercy. :) 

Anyway. talk to you next week! 

Love you all! Love, Hermana Moon

November 7, 2016 - I have met so many wonderful people here

Hi family!!

This week was good!! Honestly... I can't really remember what happened.... but it was pretty normal!! 

We had had good lessons with Karol and Bryan this week, with members and everything..... but neither came to church, Karol's mom came and took her for the weekend, and Bryan we don't kn

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w what happened!! So hopefully everything is fine! 

Something else cool.... well, we invite a lot of people to church every week! and, sometimes people say yes, but just don't show up. But there's this lady that we found a few weeks ago named Wilma, and we've gone with her like two times, and she always says she's super super Catholic, but she said she'd come to church! That was on Thursday. We didn

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t see her til Sunday morning, and we pass by her house at 7:50, and she's there ready waiting for us to go to church! :) So that was neat, people who really are true to their compromises! and in camino to church, she just kept saying, that she was just going because she likes us, and that she's not going to change religions ever. But, really, it was like the most perfect Sunday ever. Testimony meeting was perfect, principioes del Evangelio was perfect, and it was like the best Relief Society Class ever. and she was participating, and I think she left really, really, happy. So we'll go tomorrow with her, and hopeful

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y she'll say she wants to keep coming!! I left church really really happy and motivated, so hopefully she could feel that too!! 

Also, we met the nicest family of Jehovah's Witness yesterday night!! Normally they don't real

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y talk to us, but yesterday we were just walking and a guy yells, Elders!! We're sisters, but, it's okay hahah we understand. So we went, and he was like come in, wife, make them hot choco

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te and give them cookies!! And we talked to them, and they said the Mormo

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s have ran into them like four times!! They are VERY religious in their religion, but they said that whenever we come to Costa Rica to visit we can go to their house to stay so we don't have to pay for a hotel! hahaha so that's nice! But no, we're going to try to go back this week and just talk more to them about the Restored Gospel ,because really, they're wonderful. 

And that's a thing I love about being a missionary. I love meeting people. I have met so, so many wonderful people here, who are so kind to us, without even knowing us, why we're there, or anything. I've felt so much love!! And I hope I can learn to show such love to strangers when I get home. 

What else..... oh, we had zone conference! That was fun. I like being with missionaries. It's so fun. 

anyway, I love you all lots and lots!! 

​Toyopan Zone  - she's the only gringa​

October 31, 2016 - things will always work out!

Hi family!!!

This week was good! Super super super crazy.... but it all worked out wonderfully at the end because Maria Elsa and Alejandro got baptized!!!!!!!!! They told us Monday night that they wanted it to be that week, so we talked to members fast, and they had their interviews.... but then, they've told us since....forever ago that they have passports cuz they're from Nicaragua so they need those to be baptized. But we sent the papers Wednesday morning to the lawyer, and he told us that the papers from Alejandro didn't work, that he'd need to go get a provisional passport for 25 dollars. So Alejandro went Thursday morning to get it... we send the papers again... and the lawyer tells us now that the papers of Maria Elsa had to do the same thing!! so she goes Friday morning, the morning of the wedding and the baptism to get hers.... and we didn't know for sure until like 3 hours before the baptism that everything was fine! But, all ended perfectly and we saw so many miracles and the Lord helped us so much, and so so many members helped us so much. The members in Moravia are the best. And they were able to be married and baptized!!!!! The daughter, Anais, who is 8 was also going to be baptized... but she is like terrified of water, so she stepped into the font and started to cry and cry. So, not yet! one day!! it was really sad. But, all ended super well, and they're happy, and we're happy! :) 

And I'm trying to think if anything else neat happened this week...honestly mostly we just were running around for the wedding every day! But, Bryan came to church again, and we've had some good lessons with him, so hopefully in the next couple weeks he can stop drinking coffee! the lesson in Principios del Evangelio on Sunday was about sacrifice, and it was really good for him to hear Alejandro share his testimony about sacrificing coffee to be baptized. So, yeah. :) 

Maria Elsa and Alejandro got baptized!

The Relief Society president in Moravia really magnifies her calling with decorating for weddings for the investigators.

Wow!

And....everything is great!! next week I'll have more stories about different people hopefully. But yeah. I know that the Lord loves us so much, and that this is His work, and that things will always work out!! 

Love you all! 

October 24, 2016 - and a really, really good week

Hi family!!

This week was really really good. 

Miracle!!! So Alejandro and Maria Elsa went to a Noche de Grupo on Friday night, the member was super great to go to their house to pick them up with all their four kids and bring them there cuz they live suuper far away and they really, really liked it. On Saturday, Alejandro told Maria Elsa that he wanted to be married and baptized as soon as possible, and told us that on Sunday when they came to church!!! so we are so so so so happy!!!! So, we just need to figure out if we could plan things for this weekend.... it's just there's the worldwide service day on Saturday in the morning, and we need to ask the members if they could on Saturday night, and do the baptismal interviews like tomorrow!!! But we are so so so grateful for the members here who are being wonderful with them, and for the Lord who really is changing the heart of them and helping them realize the blessings of the restored gospel!! So happy. So, hopefully this weekend, or the next!!!!!!! 

Also this week we went with Bryan! He had had a fecha for the 22 of October.... but... he didn't stop drinking coffee and we couldn't really see him because he had a lot of karate tournaments. But, we went with Humberto, who is seriously the coolest convert ever, and he gave a great testimony about how the sacrifice is worth it, and how Bryan should just start drinking hot chocolate. So we put a new date for the 5 of November, so hopefully he can do it!!! 

What else was cool this week... ummm..... oh, last week we found a 20 year old kid named Diego who said that in the bus he sat by a missionary and she gave him a book, and it was the Book of Mormon, and he said he'd read like most of it!! so we explained to him the Restoration, and he said, he felt something! That listening to people from other churches, he had never felt something like that before, that he just felt good, and felt like it all made sense!! So, we're hoping that we can keep meeting with him and that he can go to church and really really feel that this is all true!! 

saying goodbye to friends she'll see at BYU

jump roping for a lesson at leadership council

And yeah. I love you all! Have such a great week!!