Dear Family! 

Hola! It’s crazy that it is so hot there! It hasn't been like that here, well sorta, lots and lots of rain. I brought Washington with me, go figure but that's okay I love it! My favorite thing to do is at the end of the day we usually walk and I love the walk home when it is cool and there is lightning. The lightning storms are awesome. It is a great way to end the day.

I am getting more comfortable speaking Spanish in lessons. Speaking in front of big groups of people makes me nervous still but I will warm up soon. When we Skype I should be able to answer every question in Spanish. That's my goal.

The president is awesome! I love him more and more. We get to have an interview with him this Friday and I am so excited! He is the best and reminds we a lot of grandpa Carter so he feels like family to me.  Oh, this week I got a package from the Robinson’s and it was great! I got a bunch of junk food! And two things of fruit snacks. They all wrote letters and it was really cute. Caison is adorable let me tell ya. I miss all my little cousins so much!

Kathy and her mission call opening

  So this week! One of my favorite things that happened was one of the Young Women who goes out with us a lot got her mission call! She invited us to come and it was crazy! All the people here make a party out of everything! There was a bunch of people and food, it was crazy but she is going so Barcelona Spain!!! It reminded me of my mission call opening and when I invited the sisters to come! Who knew I would be one of the sisters at one of the yw mission call opening as well! It was a great experience and I was so happy for her! It was crazy it seems like just yesterday I opened my mission call.

    We found some great new investigators this week! One is named Esteban. We found him harvesting and wanted to more and was really interested. We came back the next day and introduced him to the Book or Mormon. He said he was going to read it all the way through. He was so excited! We are going to see him again today and see how it is going. We are so excited for him!

Another was Mina and Dyanna. Mina is 50 and lives alone. Her husband was murdered in Honduras 14 years ago. She makes the best baliatas. Which you guys should make sometime! They are just homemade tortillas, refried beans, Mexican crème and Mexican cheese. Sooo good! I can’t get enough of this Honduran food. Anyways she is reading the Book of Mormon but has a hard time praying so we are working with her on that. But she is so nice and loves learning. Dyanna just moved here from Cuba with her son who is 2. She is a single mom and very humble she has very little but always offers us what she has to eat. She is reading the Book of Mormon and loves learning about the gospel she is so elect. We love her.

Another cool experience this week. We were harvesting and knocked on this door. This wonderful lady about 60 answered the door and invited us in to pray with her. After she told us that her mom lives with her and that she is 100 years old! She came out to see us and is so healthy and talks and hears great! She is awesome. While we were talking to them it started raining so hard! They wouldn't let us leave because we were riding bikes and they didn't want us to get wet. So after an hour of being there the rain died down and we left. The streets were flooded and our bikes and helmets were soaked but we didn't care. We started on our way and got so soaked but we were laughing the whole entire way to our next appointment which was Daisy’s house. When she opened the door her mom freaked out because we were so wet and gave us a towel and blankets and fed us a warm meal of rice and pork. It was such a blessing that we knocked on that families door because they were so nice to let us stay and wait till the rain stopped because it could of been a lot worse and we were so thankful for Daisy’s family. It was a fun blessed experience.

  This week in district training we learned about having gratitude and humility. Having gratitude and humility is having an eye of faith for the future. In Doctrine and Covenants 78:19 it talks about if we give thanks we will be blessed. Some of the ways we can show gratitude is by smiling, identifying miracles, and not being lazy. In 1 Nephi 18:16-19 is an example of how to be grateful. Nephi at the time was tied up on the ship and his circumstances were terrible and it seems like he didn't have anything to be grateful for but he still gave thanks to the Lord. We need to be thankful in our circumstances. In Mathew 26:38-39 it talks about humility. Humility coupled with gratitude brings great success. 

 In my personal study I have been studying a lot about faith and what faith is and how I can have better faith. I learned that to have faith in Christ we must have a hope in Christ. Which leads to an assurance in Christ. Elder Bednar said that assurance and hope make it possible for us to walk to the edge of the darkness expecting and trusting that the light to make and illuminate the way. An example of that is in 1 Nephi 4:6-7. Having that hope and assurance leads to action which leads to evidence which leads to a stronger hope and assurance in Christ and Heavenly Father. Faith is an action word and is something we must act instead of being acted upon. We need to exercise that agency we have. Instead of waiting for someone to teach us the gospel we should study for ourselves. Joseph Smith said the best way to obtain truth and wisdom is not to ask it from books but to go to God in prayer and obtain divine teaching. This is called learning by faith. When Moses was parting the Red Sea, the people didn't just wait on the shore for the sea to part the started walking into the sea. They got their feet wet first before the sea parted and they walked on dry ground. We need to act and get our feet wet first. This shows Heavenly Father that we have faith in Him and then he will give us the evidence we need. When we learn and act in faith we need to have an open heat and mind and put of the natural man when we do this we become teach able and are willing to do whatever Heavenly Father wants us to do and he gives us miracles.

  Another cool experience that happened this week was with this less active Lui. He recently started drinking again and was having a really hard time as we were visiting him a talk came to my mind. It was from that new guy in our ward who I thought looked kind of like Ryan Carter. He gave a talk about a guy when he was on his mission who had a smoking problem and they promised him that whenever he felt like smoking that if he just held on tight to the Book of Mormon he wouldn't have the desire to smoke anymore. I had a strong impression I needed to make that same promise to Lui and so I did. The next day he called us and said that he was holding on tight to the Book of Mormon but needed help so we prayed with him and now he sleeps with the Book of Mormon and reads it and his drinking problem is getting better. It was so cool. I felt the spirit so strong as I made this promise to him. So grateful for the Spirit.

My Pic Wall

    I hope you guys have an amazing week! I pray for you guys every day! Thanks so much for all your support!! I love you guys like crazy! wish you could be here with me! Oh and another cool food I tried is seviche!  Tell everyone hi for me!! you guys are the best! :)

Love,

 Briaunna :) 

Dear Family!! Hola!

Dad thanks so much for sharing with me experiences from your mission! It really helps! I never really asked about your mission before I left and I should have so I am so glad that you are sharing them with me! They are really inspiring. I look at the picture of you and grandma standing at the Provo MTC a lot and it makes me smile and gives me hope that if you could do it and finish strong I can do the same too!

Speaking of grandma, while harvesting this week we met an old guy 83 of age and his wife just got cancer and she was living with his daughter because she could take care of her better, so he was living all alone and he started crying as he told us that she couldn't leave him because she was his sweet heart and right when he said that it made me cry because it reminded me of grandma and grandpa Heacock and how much I miss them and how much I wish I could write them. But I know that they are watching over me and are proud of me. So that was hard.

I really love the scripture in Alma! Alma has become one of my most favorite book in the Book of Mormon here on my mission. Right now I am reading about the Stripling Warriors. One of my favorites! I really like the scripture in Alma 56:47-48 where it talks about how strong they were because of their mothers and their teachings but this can be applied for both mothers and fathers. Thanks so much for everything that you guys have taught me about the gospel and about life as well even if I was a little stubborn at times I really am thankful for it :) Because of you guys I am happy to say that I am a part of the stripling warriors, ready to serve the Lord and cannot deny him :)

While reading about the stripling warriors I have been studying a lot about faith as well. I decided I wanted to master faith in Jesus Christ and go a little bit deeper into what faith really is and I have learned that although faith is things hoped for and not seen, faith is a gift, something that we have to work for. Faith needs to be centered on Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. Faith doesn't bring miracles but rather miracles come to confirm ones faith. The stripling worriers had so much faith as they marched off to war knowing that Heavenly Father was on their side and would deliver them out of the hands of the enemy. When we have a strong faith, that's when dreams, visions, and healings can happen.

It has rarely been hot because of all the tropical storms. None of them has reached full hurricane but they have gotten close. No damage really has happened except really flooded streets.

Young Women took Daisy out for ice cream

This week the Young Women took Daisy out for ice cream and we came along and it was really fun! She loves the Young Women’s program and church. It’s just getting baptized that she isn't sure about but it will happen.

We found this awesome guy named Sam who is 17 but so mature for his age and loves religion. He came to church on Sunday and loved it so baptism might be in his future. He such a great young man. We also have Sara, that as we were going to church a couple weeks ago found just sitting outside her house so we stopped and invited her and she came this week and loves the lessons. She is 82 but has a coffee problem so we are working on that with her.

This week we started our English classes that we are teaching at the church every Wednesday in order to find new investigators and help current members. It was a good turn out and really fun everyone liked it! This week someone asked me if I was Cuban so that's a good sign that I am improving on my Spanish. When I told him I was a gringo he laughed and was surprised

Me and my comp have become so much more unified and are working together so much better! The first month I couldn't wait till training ended but now I don't want it to end so we can be companions for forever. She is awesome and has taught be a lot. She is really OCD and it has kind of rubbed off on me so yay! We have a new greenie in the house and its fun to help her and share experiences with her. She is fun and is going to do great here in Florida.

Sister Calvo

Oh this week we went on exchanges with the STLS, sister training leaders, and I had to take over the area while Sister Calvo went to Pines and I was so scared. The STL that I was with spoke good Spanish thank goodness but still was scary. But as the day went on I loved it and it was to be in charge and take the lead. It was a good day and I learned a lot!

  I hope you guys have a good week!! I miss you guys and pray for you guys every night! Keep smiling and staying positive! :))) Thanks for everything:)

 Love,

 Hermana Heacock :)

Hi family!!

 Sorry I didn't write yesterday, the Monday before transfers is a work day. So we got transfer call yesterday and of course me and my comp are staying but one of the sisters in our house is now going to be training so we will have a greenie in the house and now I am not the new one yay!! I feel more like a missionary.

I love America and so glad that Heavenly Father knows me and sent me to a place that doesn't feel like I am in America, but I am at the same time. Such a blessing. I really love the Cuban people so much I don't want to get transferred from this place ever! I want to be in Cuban central my whole mission. :) 

So this week we got a new mission president and he is the best! He is so focused on helping people stay in the church, reactivating people, and getting new converts to the temple! Which I love because that's one of the reasons why I wanted to serve so others can be with their families for forever. He is so down to earth, loving and loves to have fun but likes to work hard as well. He is the best. He loves to talk too. He could talk for hours. His wife is really awesome too and down to earth and loving like him. It’s funny everything that me and my companion and been worrying about this last couple weeks when our focuses had changed he touched on all of them. It was so crazy. It’s awesome to know that we were in tune with the spirit and so was he that he knows what changes need to be made and what this mission needs.

New Mission President and his Wife

 This week me and my companion set a goal to be exactly obedient and I didn't know how important being obedient was until now. We saw so many miracles this week. All this week we were on time to all of our appointments, and we got to see everyone we wanted to see. I have such a strong testimony of obedience. It’s so crucial that you are exactly obedient. A quote I read this week says "If you almost keep a commandment you almost get a blessing", and it’s so true! When we are exactly obedient Heavenly Father blesses us and we are able to have the spirit with us at all times.

   As for Daisy, our most awesome investigator and now really good friend, is having such a hard time with setting a date for baptism. She told us this week that she isn't ready and that she has to know for sure that this church is true and it just breaks my heart because she has had so many great experiences and she just hasn't recognized them as a confirmation.

Another quote I read this week really helped with my doubts this week with Daisy it says "As you emphasize your faith and not you doubts your faith will grow". I shared this with her as well but learned that I cannot have any doubts that I have to trust in my Heavenly Father and his timing for her because my timing isn't the Lord’s timing.

 

Some of the weird things that I have eaten this week is Malanga, yuich, iron beer which is a Cuban spiced root beer, Malta, and guava cheese which is Mexican cheese with guava jelly on it and I love it so much! haha I love trying new food and they all taste good but Honduran food is still by far my favorite. 

4th of July night together

 Fourth of July was amazing! Our church bbq was a great success and we gave a chapel tour to some of investigators there which was a great spiritual experience. That night we had an early curfew of 7:30, and we share our house with two other sisters. So we bought a bunch of junk food, moved all our furniture and sprayed the floor with poison of course and moved our mattresses into the living room and watched the church movie Legacy and watched the fireworks. It was a fun night although none of us slept well because we were all afraid of the cockroaches. Blah. 

Huge cockroaches!

Oh this week we and the other sister we share the house with are going to teach English classes for free at the church for anyone who wants to learn English to help us find new investigators so hopefully it goes well. Oh our new president also said by the end of this year we will be an ipad mission and possibly fb so we are all excited for that! woot woot. haha yeah it’s crazy how much is changing. I don't know I feel about it because I like using my physical planner (my life saver) and stuff and serving that "normal" mission but we will see maybe it wont be that bad.

  I love you all soo much!! Thanks so much for all your prayers and encouragement. I am so glad I have such a loving family because a lot of people here don't have that at all. Have a good week!! love you guys!!! :)))

  Love,

 Briaunna :)