Family!

Yes it’s amazing the plan Heavenly Father has for each one of us. He doesn't let anyone slip through the cracks. One of the most amazing things about missionary work is seeing that plan unfold for each of his children. It’s beautiful. I miss Damien and my old area lots! I have never been so homesick for an area before! Which, by the way next summer I am going to have to come back because I have like 5 trips planned for me. The members said that all I need to do is buy a plan ticket and they will take care of the rest! but that brings me to my next point!! Soooo guess where my new area is?!?!?!?!

 HIALEAH!!!!!!!!! Yup! I am back to where I started!! During the transfer meeting when they said I was going back to Hialeah, I was shocked out of my mind! It’s really rare a missionary gets to end their mission where they started! It’s been amazing to be back at home! Although I miss Palm Springs my heart beats Hialeah! I have been praying since the day I left that I would be able to come back. I am with Sister Mosie. She has been out for 10 months and is from Spain. She is from the same stake as Sister Calvo. She is from Spain but her parents are Haitian. She is amazing. She is pretty quiet but funny and I love her lots. She is learning English. It is pretty limited so I am teaching her lots as well. She is helping me with my Spanish since that's the only way for us to communicate right now. I am good with talking about gospel stuff in Spanish but just random everyday things not so much haha. So I am learning lots! We live in the house by ourselves so it’s pretty chill. The one thing that has changed is the cockroaches! Which is awesome because last time I was here there were lots of them now we hardly see them which is a blessing because as long as I have been in Florida I am still not used to them!  

My new companion Sister Mosie!

It’s been so much fun to see the ward members! They were so surprised when I walked into church on Sunday! I got lots and lots of hugs and lipstick all over me! (Old Latin ladies) it was so much fun! I felt right at home :) It’s also been fun to go and see some of my formers like Daisy and her family! They are doing amazing! They are planning to take me on a trip to Cuba with them. Also I have been able to see my recent converts like Roni!!! He is doing amazing and is still active! Which makes me so happy!! I have missed him lots!

Reunited with Roni!

So this week has been fun and crazy. My companion and I both don't have a GPS. I haven super lucky and have been able to get away without having a GPS until now.  So I have been using a map and the spirit. It’s a good thing I served here before and remember where some things are.  It’s a good thing the grid system here is really easy. Pretty soon I will have Hialeah memorized! I think we have only gone on 3 adventures this week which is pretty good. Right now we are working with a family of a mom Cedellia and her daughter Liadett who is 11. Liadett is so cute and wants to be baptized so bad and so did her mom until we taught the commandment which was the Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity. She doesn't have a problem with the Word of Wisdom but she does with the Law of Chastity . She got really offended because she said she has kept it for all of her life until a couple years ago. She thinks because she kept it for so long and now that she is 45 it doesn't apply to her. We read scriptures and bore testimony but not a budge. She wasn't so happy when we left. She didn't come to church on Sunday and when we went back with a member so didn't say anything at all. We have been praying super hard for her, but if she decides not to be baptized then we are going to ask her if Liadett could get baptized. Maybe seeing her daughter get baptized will make her want to give it up. They are the only ones we are working with. We are knocking a lot of doors and trying to get referrals from members. This week will be filled with miracles for sure! We now hope we will find more families!! :)

 

​Reunited with Amanda!! An awesome YW in Hialeah!

This week I was reading a conference talk called The Strength to Endure. Man, was it written for me!! It talked about how important it is to be physically strong as well as spiritually and that as we have that spiritual stamina it will make it easier to endure. One quote I liked was "You must become a rock the river cannot wash away." I loved this because when I was praying about whether I needed to stay or go, trials were thrown at me from all directions. Satan was playing hard and there were so many times when I thought going home early sounds super appealing right now! I miss my family! I want moms help and a fathers blessing etc. And I knew that I could get a plane ticket home like that with just a call to President. But I knew that's not what Heavenly Father had in mind. It’s so important that we become strong like a rock so that when Satan tries to pull us and wash us away we can withstand him. Never give in!!! I love what apostle Paul said "Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is before us" Couldn't have said it better myself. I like to think of my mission as a track meet. I am running the two mile and just coming down the last stretch. In track when you reach your last 200 yards you are supposed to "kick it" which means go all out in a full sprint and that's what I am going to do! It’s time to kick it and sprint to the finish line! I want to be able to say at the end what Paul said "For I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."

Get so sad with this much hair coming out daily

Thanks so much for all you love and support!! Don’t worry about me I got this! And I know that when I get home everything will be able to get taken care of! Another quote I love is "Stellar spirits are often housed in imperfect bodies" ;)) ha-ha I miss you all so much!!!

My address is 161 W 63rd St, Hialeah, FL 33012. I don't think I need anything.....not that I can think of right now :) but I will let you know! :)))

Briaunna

Family!

Thanks for all the prayers and love and support. It’s been rough but nothing I can’t handle. I have a firm testimony that Heavenly Father doesn’t give us anything we can’t handle. This week we had interviews with President Richardson and we talked a lot about me going home early and he gave me a priesthood blessing which was really awesome and helped a lot. But on Sunday I fasted on what Heavenly Father wanted me to do. During Sunday school I received my answer. It’s funny how Heavenly Father gives us answers in funny ways. In Sunday school we were talking about service and how important it is to serve others and Heavenly Father told me right there that I was selfish for wanting to go home early and that through service is how we are able to forget the pain. Basically Sunday school ended with me in tears. So I will be staying for the rest of my mission. I know that by staying I will be able to meet people and experience things that I wouldn’t have had if I decided to go home early. I know that Heavenly Father will give me the strength to continue to the end!:)) You can call me Warrior Heacock haha.

One of my favorite Elders!

 Thanks Dad for all of your support. I wouldn’t know how to get through this if it wasn’t for your example!! I know it’s been hard for you, but I think I can speak for all of kids that we never thought you were boring at all because we still got to do so many fun things with you just like other kids and we knew that it was a sacrifice for you to do that so thank you!! To us we have an amazing Dad. You have taught us to be tough. That no matter our limitations we can do anything!!! Because of that, its helping me finish my mission. Heavenly Father’s plans for us are so perfect because he knew I would need a strong example like you to help me and to show me how it’s done:) I love you daddy and am so grateful for all you have done for me and our family!! :) 

My District in Palm Springs. I will miss them!

Thanks as well for that talk on perseverance. https://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/04/the-blessings-of-perseverance?lang=eng  I really needed that!! Thank you so much Dad. Super inspired!!You’re right it’s not in my dna!! haha And those zoodles sound so good!! I have changed a lot of my eating habits on my mission too eating better to i am excited!! :)

It was so much fun!!! We got paint and pool toys and went at it!!! Soo much fun!! :)

So we got transfer calls last night and I am transferring!! :(  It was a big shocker because in my interview, President Richardson said I was staying. I am going to be super homesick for this ward. Pretty much everyone has plans for me to come back and stay with them and go sightseeing. So we will have to visit soon! It’s really hard to say goodbye. I feel like this is my home away from home but I know Heavenly Father has other amazing things in store for me and I am excited to see what it is and to find out who my new companion will be!!

Saying goodbye to the Espinosa family! Their son is Magic Dan. I love them so much!!!

I am sad to say goodbye to Damien too:( This kid is amazing!! On Sunday he came to church and Bianca came and she has a problem with the church’s stand point on same sex marriage because she supports it. So the day before on Saturday we talked about the church’s stand point. We read the letter from the prophet and the family proclamation. Then on Sunday in Relief Society that’s what the topic was on, and I love this ward but the lesson was a bomb shell. It could have a whole lot more spiritual but instead it was a lot more of people’s loud opinions and bashing. So Bianca was in tears at the end. We were on our way outside to talk to her in more of a quite setting and then Damien comes up to us and starts talking to us. Then out of nowhere he stops and looks at Bianca and says, “Can I talk to you?” He then just starts bearing testimony about the church and how true it is and sharing his conversion story. He starts talking about how amazing us missionaries are and the whole time I am in tears because the spirit was so strong. I was so happy and proud of him. He said, “I don’t know why I needed to share this with you, the Spirit just told me too. I don’t know what’s going on but I can tell you are having doubts and all I can say is don’t just believe.” It was so boss and so inspired. Bianca was crying and was so touched!! It was the best experience ever!!!! I love Damien so much!!! I am so grateful and blessed that I got to find and baptize him and see him grow!!

​This is the white family!! Saying goodbye to them :( miss them lots!!

I don’t have much more time, but thanks for everything family. I have to go pack. I love you all so much and I am so excited to tell you about my new area and companion!! Oh and so i hope you haven’t sent my package yet because I won’t be at that address anymore.....  I will send you my new address next week!!!

   

Briaunna

Family!

Yes we were able to go to the Florida Keys for the service project! It was awesome! It was so cool!! We just cleaned up the beach and we got helping handsT-shirts! It was lots of fun! I was able to see everyone from Hialeah again. They said they can’t wait for me to go home so I can be their friends on Facebook. I love my Latin’s :) The service project I did was just moving a family. I did lots of lifting. Probably wasn’t the best idea. I knew you would be mad at me haha.

Doing service at Florida Keys with the Stake! So rewarding

I am glad you liked talking to Sister Boga! I was there when she called you :) She is amazing. She is one of my best friends. She reminds me so much of mom. She is the closest thing i got. When I told her about the ER and about how I might have lupus she said her sister has it and she asked if I knew anything about it. I said no. So we went online and did research and turns out I have more of the symptoms then I thought I had. I have the fatigue, butterfly rash, hair loss, mouth sores, constipation, joint pain, the tips of my fingers are red etc. If I have lupus it attacks my joints, so Sister Boga who has Hashimoto disease has problems with her joints too. She gave me a supplement to help them.  After she talked to you, me and her had a one on one talk and she talked about how my health comes first and about praying to see if I need to come home early. She gave me an awesome pep talk and really helped me.

Waiting in the ER

So about the visit to the Emergency Room. So every morning we go on a mile jog. Usually it’s a slow one haha. Anyways, so on Thursday, I was just doing my normal jog and all of a sudden my back clenched up super bad. It hurt so bad I fell and had to catch myself. I thought it was just a back spasm because I usually have a couple of those every day and they just last like 5 min or so. So I kept jogging, but it hurt so badly. So I started to just walk. It took everything in me to walk back to the house without crying. When we got into the house I told Sister Smith, I can’t move. My whole back felt like there were pliers going up and down my spine clenching my back together. Even just moving my eyes to look down hurt so badly.  I called Sister Richardson at 6:40 in the morning. She told me to just lay down and try and relax my whole body. So it took me 15 minutes to actually do all that because every move killed me. So I laid down for 2 hours with a towel in my mouth trying to relax. It was about 8:30 and we had an appointment at 10 so me being me I was like okay I need to take a shower. I get to ancy just sitting for too long because I know I need to be doing stuff. I always have to be moving now haha. So I tried to get up. Yup it wasn’t happening. It took me 25 min to stand up. After I finally stood up I called Sister Richardson again and she said just take my normal meds and call Sister Martin our mission nurse. So I did and she said to just put ice on it. I was so frustrated!!! I asked can i just go to the ER? Both Sister Martin and Richardson said no because they would just give me meds that I already had. So i just took my Flexeril and knocked out for a couple hours. I woke up and it was worse!! So Sister Martin said go get a heating pad so I did. That didn’t help. I kept asking can I please go to the ER, I just want to get rid of this and get back to work! The other sisters that we live with were just about to take me. So since they still said no, I stayed in bed in tons of pain until 6. When I said  “okay I am just going to go work.” So we went to our meal apt then to ward correlation. We got home at 9:00 and by 9:30 they finally said that I could go to the ER.  I was like okay let’s go!!! Sister Smith came with me as well as one of the other sisters who I love. First Sister Richardson said to go to urgent care. We did and what do you know? It was closed.  So I was like bump this take me to the ER. So they did. We go to the ER and they took me in, got me evaluated and everything. Then they said they were going to give me two shots full of narcotics and steroids. So they come in with the shots both with needles 3 inches long!! But I didn’t care I was willing to do whatever it takes to get this pain gone. Which is saying something because I hate needles. I got a shot in my arm and the other in my butt, that one hurt the most. I was screaming. Then they left and kept me for a while to monitor me. The drugs worked! I felt like a dead fish. My muscles were so relaxed haha. I don’t remember the car ride home I was so high. Apparently I thought I was a penguin on the ride home. We didn’t get home until 3 in the morning and then I didn’t wake up till 9:30 the next morning. I was out cold!! But it worked and the nurse also prescribed me for Vicodin in case it happens again. So now I am fine just getting really tired an exhausted. 

Sister Boga said that my back freaking out could have been a flare up of lupus. I also told the Riggin’s about it to yesterday. They and Sister Boga are the only ones who know. I have been keeping it all on the down low but turns out Brother Riggin’s mom has lupus so they have been helping me and sending me info about lupus. They have been lots of help. So yeah that’s what happened. I can say though I really wish I was home!! haha I have been praying really hard about what to do because I don’t really want to come home early. I only have 12 weeks left. Today I was reading in Alma 58:40 and it talks about the Stripling Warriors and how they had wounds but they still kept fighting and kept going forward. So I think that was my answer that I need to stay but we have interviews with President Richardson this week so I am going to talk to him about it and receive a blessing. I just don’t know what to do. I am getting tired, I am 20 and my body feels like I am way older but I know that this work is so important and I want to finish strong. I will let you know what happens next week. But I most likely will stay unless something crazy happens. :)

Went to Fort Lauderdale Temple with Sister boga

This week we got to see Melvin and Bianca. They are the 2 most solid people we are working with! They are both getting baptized on the 21st! :) Melvin is amazing. We have pretty much taught him everything and loves church so much and the Book of Mormon. He has no Word of Wisdom or Law of Chasity issues so that’s good! :) He is boss! It’s like teaching another Damien! Bianca is amazing too! She is 23 and married and so sweet!! I love her so much!! She is already listening to conference talks! She just loves the gospel!! Teaching her has been amazing!! :) They are so elect and ready!! God is good!! 

            Oh and Damien!! So Damien wasn’t able to get work off on Sunday but we went and saw him that night. Man that kid is a boss! I was telling him how next Sunday might be my last because transfers are next week and how he needs to pray that I will stay until I go home and he said, "I will pray, but remember if you leave you leave. That’s part of missionary work. God needs you other places. Look at Sister King. It’s like you are a secret agent and every six weeks they call you and tell you, you have another mission to complete somewhere else. Its Gods work not yours." So, Yup! My recent convert threw down on me about missionary work. I love Damien. Next Sunday though he will pass the sacrament :) 

I don’t have time to write more but I love you all so much!!!! Thanks for everything!! I miss you all tons!! And thanks for the support and love!

Briaunna