Family!

That is crazy what happened to Trevor!! How scary that is but I am so grateful that the missionaries gave him a blessing and that he is taking the lessons!!! I have been thinking a lot a lot about Karissa and Trevor these past couple months. Such a miracle! I pray that even though he says he is just learning, his heart will be changed and he will want to be baptized and in the future enter into the temple to be sealed to Karissa! I am so grateful that he has such amazing brother laws to look to for an example! :)

So this week not a lot happened. We have been knocking and knocking and knocking to find people to teach. We have been knocking for about 5 hours a day. We still haven't found anyone yet but we have been planting lots of seeds. We have been praying to find a family of 3 from Honduras with a mom and a dad and son who is 12. We got super close when we found this Honduran family who has had lots of interaction with the church and even has family who are members! We thought this family was the one but they weren't quite ready yet. But that's okay because God is a god of miracles and things happen on his time table and not ours. We know he is preparing an amazing elect family for us and as long as we are faithful we will find them :) An exciting thing that happened is I almost got attacked by a dog! A huge American Bulldog. We were going to knock this house, so we opened the gate and clapped and whistled to check if there was a dog. After waiting nothing happened so we walked in and as I was almost to the door the dog came running fast. Sister Moise was close to the gate so she got out fast but I had to book it and had to push her out of the way. We made it safe but it was scary! Sister Moise is amazing!! We laugh so much! She has taught me a lot and is like my big sister! She is always positive and always uplifting.

So a while ago dad asked why we ask people to get baptized right after we pray with them and I still haven’t answered it so now I will! Yes it is a  mission thing to invite people to be baptized right after we pray. In 3 Nephi 11:18-23, when Jesus Christ comes to the Americas, the first thing he does after letting the people touch his wounds is he invites all the people to be baptized. He doesn't waste a minute because he knows how important it is. We follow that same example. We know as we are bold (3 Nephi 6:20) the spirit will be there to testify and touch their hearts because like it says in D and C 29:7, the elect will hear his voice. We believe in only working with the elect. Being bold and inviting people to be baptized lets us discern if they are elect. If they say yes and have true desires to change we will continue to teach them. It seems weird and at the beginning of my mission it scared me but it has helped my faith and trust in Heavenly Father and it is true His elect will hear His voice. I have seen lots of miracles come from it! :) Although we do not do it every time because we do believe as well leaving them feeling better than before and sometimes if they are strong in their faith an invitation to be baptized can offend some, so we really try and listen to the spirit but we make sure that everyone is given the chance to be baptized by the priesthood power and change :) pretty cool huh? :)

My funny Zone Leaders

So this week has been revelatory during my personal studies! A missionary’s mom sends me talks each week and the one she sent me this week was amazing! It’s called “Why Didn't the Angle Just Take Him Out?”   It starts like this, "I read Jane the story of Daniel in the lion’s den tonight. When we got to the part where the angel appears and shuts the lion’s mouths she asked, “Why didn't the angle take him out?” Don't we all ask that question sometimes? Why aren't you taking me out of this situation? Why aren't you taking away this illness? Why aren't you fixing this problem or relationship? Why aren't you answering my questions or taking my doubts away? I KNOW YOU CAN! Isn’t this faith? Isn't faith supposed to produce results? So Jane presents a valid question. If Daniel is a man of great faith, and faith produces miracles, why didn't the angles just take him out of the lion’s den? He could have. Because if he did Daniel would have missed the whole experience of being IN the lion’s den but not being eaten alive. He would have known God’s power to deliver him FROM difficulty but he wouldn't have experienced God’s power to deliver him IN difficulty. That is a whole level of power and requires a whole different level of faith. There was not just a single lion in the den. There was a whole group of them ready to rip him apart. But his faith was sufficient and God’s power was sufficient that none of them got a single bite. At times in our lives we feel like we have been thrown in the lion’s den. But instead of spending our energy wondering why God isn't taking us out we can step back and realize I am not going to be eaten alive here,.....even though I should be. Somehow I am going to come out of this alive. Then look around and see God’s angles who are holding back your lions."

Daniel in the Lion's Den

I loved this talk and often I find myself asking God why don't you give us people to teach, why don't you make this easier? Why don't you make my body feel better? There have been moments when I have felt like I am in the jaw of a lion but I am here and alive and stronger. As I reflect on my mission, I just stand in awe realizing I should have been eaten alive but I wasn't. Many people’s testimonies and faiths can be broken but mine isn't, it is stronger. I have grown in ways I never thought possible. My faith is deeper, and my foundation is stronger and my hope is brighter because of my mission. I have grown as a daughter of God in ways I never thought I could have otherwise. At times I have begged to just be taken out of this. But look at what I would have missed! I would have missed a deeper relationship with God and I would have missed the person I have become. So be grateful for your lions. When you experience deliverance IN the lion’s den, suddenly your faith and trust rise to a whole new level. One that never would have been possible had you just been delivered FROM it.

I love you all soo much and miss you like crazy!!! Thanks for all the love and support!!!!!!! :)))))) have a good week xo

Briaunna

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