April 28, 2014: The Heat Is Back

Well...it's officially hot again..it has almost hit 100! NOOO..But it's okay because I'm in a car this time around and not on a bike!

This week was fantastic and I can't believe I'm already on the last week of the transfer..Hermana Bruneel is leaving me next week..NO! 

Anyways...I'll start off with a miracle. We've been working with a less active member, Ana Hernandez..Her sister, Mireya, is super active so we've been confused as to why these two sisters could live completely different lives..So we've seen her the past few weeks and every time we commit her to come to church she says, "Oh of course I'll be there!"...no. show..it's okay though, there's always next week, right? On Saturday, we visited her and taught her a very simple lesson on faith in Jesus Christ..Faith in Christ is something much more than just saying, "I know that Christ lives." True faith in Christ leads to change. It is to change to become the person that Heavenly Father created you to be. That is faith. She understood it and tried to dodge the church question but guess what? She came to church for all three hours!

Also, on Friday night we did an exchange with Huntsville! So..Hermana Hosking came to Bryan with me. Oh my goodness, we had so much fun...it was as if we were never separated! Being in charge of the area though was a wee bit scary..It gave me a glimpse of what the next six weeks are going to be like: HARD! I'm not completely familiar with all of the streets (our area is huge and we have no gps) and taking the lead on lessons certainly gets me out of my comfort zone..But I'm really looking forward to the opportunity that I'll have to step outside of my comfy zone and grow. I know that I'm going to have to rely on the Lord like I never have before and something that brings me comfort is that the Lord trusts me to do this so I know that I can.

We taught a lesson this week with an investigator, Anai..We also taught her about faith and prayer..And how through the power of prayer, we can truly know if the Book of Mormon is true. She understood it completely and we invited her to say the closing prayer and ask if what we've taught is true. She accepted and said an awesome prayer. We paused for a moment afterwards to let her feel the peace of the Spirit that had poured into the room. We pulled out Galatians 5:22-23 (the fruits of the spirit) and testified to her that the peace she was feeling was the Spirit bearing witness to her that it was true. She nervously giggled and then got up from the kitchen table and immediately started to cook. I know for a fact that she felt the Spirit and it broke my heart to see her sweep it under the rug. I love the hard lessons I learn every day..This was one of them..We can teach the Gospel to people who will know that it's true, but they have their agency and choose to reject it..

We set up a return appointment with her for yesterday but as soon as we pulled around the corner, they were getting in their car..Avoiding us? We drove by quickly and looped back around. The car was gone. We knocked on the house and no one answered. We left and note and began to walk back to the car. Their car swung around the corner, saw us, slammed the brakes and reversed out of sight. AWK. Okay, we get it, you don't want to see us! In a moment like this where we just faced rejection, we could have easily been saddened and discouraged. But we turned it around and just laughed it off..Laughter is the key! It is always our choice to be happy. No matter the circumstance is, we can still choose to be happy. Exercise that good ol' agency :)

We had a wonderful day of church yesterday..We had our less actives come and then after church, we had a break the fast (pot luck)..Some of the members from the English ward poked their heads in the gym just to breathe in the delicious food..yum!  At 6, Alexa Guillen got baptized! She's 8 and her family has been going through a really hard time for the last 6 months..One of their sons was diagnosed with leukemia..Keep Jonathan in your prayers! So it was great to see the family in high spirits..They're the life of the ward..They invite every less active and nonmember to any event that they have so there was a great turnout at the baptism..When Alexa came out of the water, she had the biggest smile and she couldn't stop giggling..Ahh, I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. It truly does bring eternal happiness into our lives...

 Isn't it amazing to think that we've prepared for a millennia for this short time that we have on the earth? This is our time to perform and do you know what the whole purpose of this life is? To make it back to God with our families. Any action that deviates us from this path should be avoided! I love y'all! Adios y vaya con Dios!

I love this work because it's true!

 for pday, we walked around "downtown" bryan and went into this cowboy hat store..pretty legit! it was the only thing they sold!

cue the lion king music

The Gullien"s

Alexa!!!!

Love,

Hermana Emma Seymour

April 21, 2014:#BecauseofHim

Hola my wonderful friends and family! 

Did you have the greatest Easter Sunday ever? Because I did! Even though Easter has already come and gone, I'd like to invite yall to check easter.mormon.org and watch the video called Because of Him..I could watch it every day for the rest of my life!

I have loved Christmas and Easter here on the mission because I feel so close to my Savior. I know that He lives!

Ready for 4 flipping awesome miracles??

We got a text from the Huntsville Hermanas on Tuesday night saying that they were taking Cady to the temple the next morning..We scrambled to get stuff organized (rides) and the next day, I was blessed to be able to take Cady into the temple with my two previous companions. I will never forget the smile on Cady's face as she walked through the temple doors..She has been waiting for this for a very long time..

The second miracle...We pushed really hard this week to teach as many less actives as possible to get them to church on Sunday and the results were incredible..We had more less actives there than actives! I tried to count but I just couldn't! I was conducting the music for sacrament meeting and it was so awesome to watch less active after less active walk into the chapel...One of the less actives, Estela Torres (Santiago's girlfriend), brought her entire family!

Third...While at Ward Council meeting before church started, the bishopric discussed how there's a girl in the ward (in her 20s) who was baptized in mexico...But there is no record of it (this happens all the time)..So do you know what happens when they don't have a record of it? You teach them the lessons, rebaptize them, and actually record that it happened! Hermano Vasquez (first counselor) pulled us out of class during second hour to talk more about it...He said that he wants us to teach her and not only that but her husband wants to take the lessons too! He believes everything, his only hang up is Joseph Smith.. that is nothing! So we had two prepared people fall into our lap! Hermana Bruneel said that's usually how the baptisms go in this ward...They just happen!

Fourth...We were on an adventure yesterday to find a less active in an apartment complex..We had the address from the less active's brother so we knocked and a young white girl came to the door..This was clearly not the person we were looking for but we introduced ourselves and she said, "I know who you are, I'm actually a member of the church too." She went on to explain that she hasn't been to church in years and her records aren't even here in Bryan..So it was a huge miracle that the Lord led us to this lost girl! We received her info and she said that she'd be interested in having the English elders come over and teach her boyfriend..Ah!

 We ate Easter Dinner at the Gaspar's (primary president) and guess what we ate?? PASTA. My goodness, I haven't had pasta in like 4 weeks! Miracle! It was probably the most normal meal I've had in a long time (other than Little Cesar's at the Vasquez's on Thursday)..We shared the Because of Him video with them and Giovanni (18 year old son) had his nonmember girlfriend there! The Spirit was so strong as we invited each of the Gaspar's to share their testimony of the Savior.

Well..that's it for the week..

As you know, I restarted the Book of Mormon this past week and I feel so much closer to the Savior..At the beginning of the Book of Mormon, in the introduction, Joseph Smith promises that this book will bring you closer to God than any other book...I took this promise as a challenge because I've been reading the Infinite Atonement and I felt like I was so close to Him already. This new challenge has taken up a lot of my study time so I've had to put down the Infinite Atonement for now and focus on the Book of Mormon. And wow..Joseph Smith was right! The Book of Mormon truly does bring one to closer to God than any other book..Read it!

I know that the Savior lives and I'm so grateful that I get to bear witness of this every day.

Because He lives you and I will live again. Because of Him death has no sting. The grave has no victory. Because of Him we can start again and again. There are no endings. Because of Him.

 

easter.mormon.org

 

I love you all!

Hermana Emma Seymour

http://easter.mormon.org/ Amazing possibilities that have been captured through time.

Happy Easter!

remember last week how we got ice cream from an ice cream biker?? This is what they look like..

this is what the drive back to Bryan from the temple looks like..GREEN!

Cady and my old comps at the temple!!

happy easter! This is Hermana Gaspar :)

April 14, 2014: La Cucaracha

Howdy! 

Shall I start off this letter by telling you a story? Okay...so last night we went to visit Angelica and her sons (investigators)..We walked into their home and the first thing I noticed was a giant cucaracha, the size of my middle finger, crawling on the wall..Y'all know what a cucaracha is? COCKROACH. It was seriously the biggest one I've seen in my entire life..And trust me, I've seen plenty of them here in Houston. We sat down on the couch and Hermana Zabriskie and I couldn't take our eyes off of it. It began crawling towards us until it was 10 feet away (the couch was in between two walls)..I turned to Hermana Zabriskie and said, "Those things don't fly right?" Before she could open her mouth to respond, her eyes grew wide and the roach landed on my hand. Jeez, as if the thing heard me?!? I screamed like a little girl, flew off of the couch and ran around like a crazy person..So of course, Angelica was laughing hysterically..Cucarachas are no big deal to Mexicans...she got the broom and swept it out..

Anyways..I figured I should lift your spirits before I dump this news on yall...Hermana Zabriskie is getting emergency transferred...A sister down in Houston got her visa and so Hermana Z is taking her place :(....She's going to an area that has just been opened for sisters and it is the GHET-TO...Good luck to her!! I'm kinda freaking out because this means that I'm definitely taking over the area after this transfer because Hermana Bruneel is going home..But I know that I can do this if I just put my faith and trust in the Lord. 

This week was awesome! Remember the two referrals we received from the Segundo family? Well, we contacted one of them, Elsa, and set up an appointment for this past Saturday...Hermana Segundo came with us and we taught the Restoration...We invited them to come to church and guess what? They did! Elsa and her two young kids (10 year old boy named Angel and a 6 year old little girl)..Angel is adorable..As soon as we gave him the Book of Mormon on Saturday, he began to read it..

Moral of the story? Missionaries find the prepared people to teach THROUGH THE MEMBERS...As missionaries, our responsibility is to ASSIST the members in missionary work..hint hint...Members know the people who are prepared.

Saturday was just an all-around awesome day..We did exchanges from Friday night to Saturday night so Hermana Fletcher came to Brazos and Hermana Bruneel went to Huntsville with Hermana Hosking..I loved seeing my old companions, I nearly tackled them when I saw them!

On Tuesday, we had interviews/training with President Pingree and I realized that it was my last interview with him :( He's going home July 1st...agh..but the new mission president is super young and it's going to be great!

My studies this week have been great..President Pingree has just asked us to start the Book of Mormon over from the beginning and finish before June 30 (his last day)..He invited us to take a paperback copy of the Book of Mormon and highlight/make a note of any reference of the enabling and strengthening power of the Atonement..He has promised us that by doing this challenge, we will grow even more closer to the Savior..He received this challenge from Elder Bednar this past week so if Elder Bednar thinks I can read the Book of Mormon in two months, I can do it!

I've also felt more inspired to study charity and love--two of the many Christ-like attributes. Since doing this, I've felt my capacity to love the people increase by leaps and bounds..I know that by loving someone with pure love, we lose ourselves in the work and become consecrated servants of the Lord. Charity is a gift that we must strive to have. Ultimately, we do not possess charity..The gift of charity possesses us.

 Sorry this email so short but we gotta get on the road to Houston!! Keep the general conference fire burning bright!!

                                         In the trailer parks..there are no ice cream trucks..only ice cream bikes..yep..people take box freezers and attach them to their bikes and ride around selling ice cream! Seeing that it was super hot and we hadn't eaten in 7 hours, we got some ice cream while we were with Hermana Fletcher!   

                                                     meet Hermana saldival...we stopped by on Saturday and found her cooking 50 lbs of beans for a wedding..She was stirring this pot with a small spoon and saw that it was no use..She went in the house for a few minutes and came back with this block of wood and shoved it in the beans and began to stir....

                                 I love Bryan! The wildflowers are everywhere and the trees are 
                                 finally green! The weather here has been amazing! But it's starting     
                                  to get hot and muggy...it hit 93 the other day!   
                     

                                                                     reunited

                                  meet Abraham. the cutest Nicaraguan little boy in the world.

                                                       this is how we paint in brazos 

                                                               Rafa was a little sleepy...


Love,

Hermana Seymour

Half Way There!

        Emma is half way through her work for:  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

April 7, 2014: Conference Weekend!!

Ah!

 Wasn't conference like the greatest thing ever?? By the end of those eight short hours I felt an undeniable closeness to the Savior. I felt like I know Him so well. I love Him so much and I feel so blessed to serve Him for these 8 months to come.

So! I hit my 9 month mark, crazy right? I was reflecting back on those months and I just couldn't believe that this has passed by so quickly. To celebrate, we went to a taqueria and then got mint chocolate chip shakes with the English sisters..

I'm trying to think of some fun things to share...hmm...

On Friday, we had zone meeting in Madisonville and I got to see Hermana Hosking and Hermana Fletcher (my previous two companions)..I didn't realize how much I had missed them until I actually saw them..I couldn't believe that it was only ten days ago that I had seen them! After zone meeting, we taught a few lessons and then went to Hermana Maria Ramirez's to eat dinner and paint her living room. I think I've already said this before but I'll say it again, that woman is crazy! But I love her so so much..Painting was a challenge..The paint was purchased from a used paint store (I didn't know those existed..) and it was super thick..While my companions painted the edges and corners, I painted the walls..Arm work out to the max! After the Saturday afternoon session, we went to the Segundo's for dinner...Hermana Segundo needs her own restaurant, the food was incredible! She feeds us every other Saturday..Hermana Segundo is a single mom who doesn't have a car..She gets rides everywhere she goes and not a single murmur escapes her lips. She's incredible..For our dinner thought, we felt inspired to share the message of the Restoration..We shared James 1:5 and related the story of Jose Smith..I said the first vision and afterwards, we asked if anyone was on their mind at that specific moment...She gave us two referrals! Wahoo! That is the way this area works: the members..We don't knock any doors, we just work with less actives and members..And the baptisms just keep coming!

After the Segundo's, we had two people to visit: Santiago and a less active. I felt very strongly that we needed to see Santiago right away..We hadn't seen him since last week and we had tried by a couple times this week..As we pulled up to his home, he was standing outside, talking on his phone. We got out of the car, he hung up, and he let us in. We taught him and Estela (semi-active member/girlfriend) about general conference and the Book of Mormon. We invited them to conference and Estela came! but he didn't....there's always next week!

I am so excited to apply what I've learned in General Conference...I want to be charitable and always have an attitude of gratitude. I'm so grateful for my Savior. I know the load of trials that is placed on our backs is (as Elder Bednar said) "spiritual traction" that will move us forward, back to our heavenly home. This life is the refiner's fire..I would never wish for my trials, but I'd never give them up. I'm grateful for them and I'm grateful for the bright hope of my future.

Everyone needs to hear this message, we are all going to return to our Heavenly Father one day, so why not lend a helping hand and share the beautiful message of the gospel?

 

I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ.

 

Love,

Hermana Emma Seymour

March 31, 2014: My New Area: Brazos (Arms)!!

Howdy y'all!

 So last week, I got transferred! We drove down to Houston for the transfer meeting and President Pingree told me that I was staying spanish speaking, and going to the Brazos Ward, which is in the same stake as Huntsville (and the same zone so I'll get to see my old companions!)! Basically, we drove all the way down to Houston just to drive back to Bryan/College Station! 

and so it begins!

Ah...this place is amazing! College Station is the home to the Texas A&M Aggies and we drive by the campus everyday..It's huge!

The rumor here is that Bryan is 80% Hispanic! I think this is true because I have yet to see a white person! jk..I've seen a few. Brazos was made into a ward one year ago and there's a lot of work to be done. All of the members are converts and most of them were actually baptized here in Bryan. Only 4 people from the ward have served missions and for all of the members, this is the only ward that they've ever been in....So it's hilarious!  

Welcome!

 I'm in another trio (my 4th..including the MTC)..My companions are Hermana Zabriskie..She's from Ogden, UT (my first Utah companion!), 20 years old, and came out with Hermana Hosking a year ago..My other companion is Hermana Bruneel, she's the Sister Training Leader, 22, from Idaho, and goes home at the end of the next transfer..They're the hardest working companions I've had and we get so much work done!

I can already tell that my Spanish has rapidly improved..Every single lesson we have is in Spanish and all of our church meetings are in Spanish..Ward council was interesting yesterday because I've never done it before in Spanish! The first counselor in the bishopric asked me to say the opening prayer in sacrament meeting...helloooooo anxiety! But good thing it was the first one so I got it out of the way :)

Seeing that yesterday was fast sunday, one of the things that I fasted for was an improvement of my Spanish..As part of the fast, I felt it necessary to speak only Spanish, even with my companions. So from Saturday night to sunday afternoon, the only thing that came out of my mouth was espanol! I know that the Lord will increase my abilities even more so that I'm able to be the missionary and teacher that he wants me to be.

This ward is on fire..We've seen 5 baptisms since the start of the year and there's incredible potential...There are many less actives and part member families...aka..the pot of gold for finding people to teach..

One of the lessons we taught this week was with a part member family..Santiago (nonmember) andsemi-active  girlfriend, Estela..We taught him the restoration one night and as Hermana Zabriskie said the First Vision, the Spirit blanketed the room..We sat there in silence for a moment and Santiago said, "Wow, I've never had this feeling before..What is this?" We explained to him that it was the Holy Ghost testifying to him that these things were true..At the beginning of the lesson, Santiago was taking everything lightly..but at this moment, he experienced a great change of heart...It was amazing!

Two nights later, we planned on teaching him more about the Book of Mormon and how it shows us what we need to do in order to return to our Heavenly Father..I sat there quietly, I felt the Spirit put a promise in my mind and I asked myself, "Should I say this? This is pretty bold!"

Before I could think it through, I opened my mouth and said, "Santiago, if you pray, right now and ask if this is true, I promise you that you will receive an answer. I paused for a brief moment and continued, "As representatives of Jesus Christ, we promise that this will happen, as soon as you finish your prayer, you will know." I've found that on my mission, my silence can be my most powerful tool. That when I do say something, it's pretty darn important!

As I made the most powerful and specific promise I had ever made, I felt my face flush and the room felt like the temperature had just been cranked up.The Spirit surged through my body and I felt like I was being supercharged. I never broke eye contact with him and he was silent for a moment...The Spirit hit him like a ton of bricks! He prayed.

When you voice to people very simply and clearly what they have to do...and they don't do it...They're too afraid to change..This is the easiest thing, and it'll bring so much happiness!

Well..my purpose is to INVITE people to Christ......So, I have to keep that in mind at all times!

That's all I've got for the week y'all! The ward is amazing...It's like my Hawaii ward just on steroids...there is so much love! and food!

  
  This is Hermana Bustemante's mother..She taught me how to make"gorditas"...fat, fried tortillas that you stuff food in.  I had cactus this week for the first time! So yummy! You might have to roll me off of the airplane when I come home lol...

meet Cosita (little thing), my new Chihuahua.

I love you all!  This is His work!

Watch conference this week!

Love,

Hermana Emma Seymour