July 5, 2010

Oh I love u my familia!

Its interesting to read ur letter mom and think of all that in the states then look out the window and see a world so different. soo different.  But its good to be here and live in another world for a while. i appreciate the things at home so much more. like a washingmachine or cars! dry air!  my family!

 

we have baptized 4 families since ive been here in Jinotepe! i didnt realize that until yesterday. its awesome!  cuz eternal life is for the families!  

 

we have our new presidente de la mision but i havn’t met him yet. i think tomorrow we will. it will be interesting, and i’m sure lots of changes will come. we shall see. 

well, to be in a trio is definatley interesting. sometimes very difficult. i think we are co-mayor, hna ramirez and i. so we both make the decisiones and many times we dont agree. But there is so much that i am learning from her. I am still no where near where I want to be right now in my growth. Sometimes I feel sad and that i am failing miserably. 

well, i hope u guys have a great summer/July. yesterday was 4 of july and i totally forgot. my bishop congradulated me for the day and i was confused until i said the day in english, then i remembered. many times it doesnt have the same significance in spanish. its like friday... here viernes is just another day, but Friday in the states is a great day. Here Lunes is great, but Monday no. funny, no?    

well, i hope everything is great up there. its good and hot down here. im praying for u all!

Les quiero bastante

 

Hna Weatherhead 

June 28, 2010

Hello familia!

 

another week here in Jinotepe! yeah, cuz i really didnt want to leave. because im getting to know my recient converts and others better.  It was awesome, we had a meeting for batallon mormon saterday to try and get more people to help us bring people to church and visit them in the week. we have twin recient converts that barely come to church, but i invited them to come help in the batallon mormon and also see a baptism, and they showed up! we said we were going  to meet at the churh at 630 AM to divide and conquer, and bring people to church, and they came! bright and early, when normally its difficult to get them to come to church once a month. There is the dang Mundial (World soccer competition for this whole month), so they stayed home many sundays to watch futbol.  But it was awesome to see that they were willing to help. many people need to feel important, so they need responsabilities and opportunities to serve.  

 

oh but this last week has been tough. It is hard to be on top of everything when there is so much to do and so  many  responsibilities I have. There are 3 of us but for this week it almost made it worse cuz it added other things to my list to be in charge, because they wernt helping me too much.   But my comp. hna RAmirex has 3 months less than me but already was senor, so we are mas o menos senors together here. She has her own problems and i look up to her for the strength she has to deal with it all and still be a power house. since coming to nicaragua she has hurt her leg gavely and many times has problems walking. she also has a condision with the sun and the heat so she has to wear long sleaves in the heat and constantly have an umbrella. It costs us sometimes but we are doing good and trying hard.  

Mom, are u gonna get a personal trainer or no? I think it would be a good idea. Someone to push you, instead of only yourself. i know u can do it. stay active too. now that it is just u in house, u need to find activities with people. visit more people in the ward, like menos actives.    Do u have a job, or is it only the duplex?     oh another thing, can u send me also, new rechargable batteries, mine are dumb now and dont really work or charge. um and a new thing of Clean and Clear face wash. maybe u remember what mine looked like... Blueish purple with green, but not sensitive skin.  i think thats it for now. 

well tengo k irme, hope is all well. enjoy ur summer!

 

ur fav misionera!

Hna Weatherhead

June 21, 2010

hello familia!

 

well, another change. always changes... but this time i didnt go anywhere! my comp didnt either. Still here in Jinotepe! for the 1st time! but of course pres. gives me surprises and now we are in a trio. yeah for 3! mas o menos. her name is hna Ramirez chapin from guate of course and we are good friends. she came the change after me so has 8 months. But yes it is difficult to have 3, and to work together well is the challenge. its a work in progress.

We are trying to look for sisters endowed that can help us divide and be more productive with the 3 of us and visit more, cuz this area is big. We divided yesterday and i worked with a RM missionary from the other ward that just got back from her mission about a month ago. she is awesome and helped me out alot. even though im senor comp of us 3 is still have much to learn to be a leader, much!  

 

well, I know there is so much for me to learn. im not anywhere near were i want to be. I still have so much spiritually to grow. It makes me sad to think that i work in the work of the Lord everyday and am studying and praying so much more than at home, but still many times I dont feel a difference. Or maybe i compare myself to others and how spiritual they seem, and how much im not. It makes me analyze what on earth i am doing here. just working but not growing too much, not coming closer to know my Heavenly Father as much as i should or even close. At least it gives me the perspective or drive to do better.

 

Well i love u guys so  much. ur such a great example to me and im glad things are going good there. enjoy ur summer!

 

Hna Weatherhead

 

*yes mom i finally got the package. thanks for the confernce ensign! i was hoping for that. the stickers too.  i love u very much mother

June 14, 2010

 

everything is good here is Jinotepe. but we shall see if por fin i stay in an area for more than a change or if once again i go to another wonderful place.  who knows.  but i like it here and want to stay.

the division in the mission is this next week. Pres Fraatz leaves I think next monday and in comes our new Pres. Its gonna be a grand fiesta! and the last time im gonna see many of my missionary friends.

Kenslie is still a bald baby. just like kaibre was! cute too.  Lucian is adorable and looks like Cory and Brett

 

thanks mom for all ur advice. i always need it. im trying to think of the difficult times and good times of many great missionaries, and how they have success. its a boost to be a better missionary, and to always remember i lack alot and have much room to grow.  The letters from the twins are always great to see their perspective and it gives me animo to do better too. at first i just didnt have time to read them, but now i love them and am always waiting to get them.    no sorry mom, no package yet.

 

We have two family recient converts here that we baptized and they are both great.  Carlos is full of energy, wants to learn and is waiting to go to the temple with his wife. They do everything, read the scriptures, pray, fam home evening, church,etc. it great.  And its awesome to see that we have helped, or at least he really appreciates us and what we have done. to know that we mean something to them.    Carmen, the other familia,  is good. Her husband always has questions and doubts. he is really confused. he was with the catholics and the jehovas witnesses before.  really confused, but we are helping him. he wants to believe. he loves the plan of salvation, he just needs to pray sincerely.

i dont want to leave our recient converts.

 

well, thats all for now. i love u guys so much and hope all is well. thanks for always being great examples. I always look up to you guys when life is tough.

 

dale pues, nos vemos

 

June 9, 2010

hello wonderful familia!

again i have littel time. another long pday where i didnt accomplish anything because we had a super pday and got sent far away to visit a volcano becasue Pres is very proud of us and the mssion is about to divide. thre are so many missionaries that i wont ever see again! how sad.  oh i got burnt again today. yeah.

um,. sorry mom i dont have them answers. with this day so crazy busy and out of town i didnt have time to bring or think about it. next time.

mom, i think u need a personal trainer. someone that will help and push you. becasue u can give up on your own will, but the trainer is to push you. they know your abilities and what u need to do to improve. finish up on the shots but i advise getting a good trainer and letting them push you food wise and excercise wise.  

enjoy the rain because it doesnt come very often in Idaho. at least i hope it is making it more green and lively.   at least you dont have to walk in it every day like us here. thank goodness for cars!

no i havnt recieved the package of pics yet. sorry. 

i will try and send pics. these pics are from 3 different areas. jinotepe, esteli, and diriomo. dont have time to explain them.

i love u guys sooo much and am so gratful for your support and good examples.

have an awesome week and dont forget to study the scriptures every day and converse with your Heavenly Father.  The other stuff isnt worth it to take away your time and growth spiritually. God first, the other stuff later.

les Quiro bastante!

su hija, hna, nieta, amiga, prima, ect.

Hna Weatherhead

May 31, 2010

well familia all seems to be going well alla in the states.  thats good

sorry for the bad weather u are having with the rain. well wala!  RAIN RAIN RAIN for us too. THE RAIN HAS STARTED! wednesday was the first and the worst. It rained the whole day! i think it might have stopped for maybe a minute, maybe. oh but we were so wet and cold the whole day its a miriacle im not sick yet. the wind just brought all the rain up to our waist even though we had umbrellas.  Oh and always the people take the excuse of the rain and dont come to church or the activities or, ect. ´por la lluvia´ everyone says.   but i must say we are spoiled in the states b/c if its raining we have our cars so we dont get wet. that is life.

oh great news that here in Nicaragua we have won... 100 families baptized in this month of May!   this is amazing and we have been working hard for this. Its been a goal of Pres Fraatz and ours to gain this for a while. its awesome especially because what the 200 missionaries here can do in one month, its takes all the rest of the missionaries in Central America to do the same. Here in Nicaragua we see the miracles! Now we just have to work hard this month to retain them all in the church! we can do it!  And why not?  this is our moto now... and why not.  when the Lord commands or if something is required we try to think ´y por que no?´ instead of excuses of why we cant.  well, that is it for this letter. we had a super pday and went to managua cuz pres was so proud of our success, so we didnt have time to do anything we planned for today, so.. mom i will answer the questions of the misionary next time and try to send fotos.

les quiero bastante!

su Hna Weatherhead

May 24, 2010

well, i have no time what so ever sorry. im thinking very hard for the thoughts you want mom. 

well, um, I think well the only thing i can share is that there is so much to learn. this life is learning how to align our will with the Lords. We do what we want, so how do we do what the Lord wants? recognize that what the Lord wants is what will make us happy. cuz what we want isnt good enough so we need to suck it up and see the truth.   the other thing that im learning is if the Lord has confidence in me or no. If i have sucess it is because the Lord trusts me. The Lord loves everyone, but he doesnt trust everyone, so... how much does the Lord trust in me. If its not very much, how much worth is it that we do when the person that knows us the best doesnt trust us. Our goal is to gain this trust. That is my goal, the trust of anyone else is far less important. so the question is, does the Lord have confidence in you? and what does that mean to you ?

 

im sorry mom i dont have time left to think.  i love u and i will try to send fotos next time.

 

yo daughter

hna weatherhead

May 17, 2010

Hey fam

my beautiful nephew! He is cute, not like a dragon at all.  tell me Cory how its like to have a baby to take care of constantly?  He is gonna be huge when i get home. congrats for the hard work and pain to have such a little bundle of joy, i hope, lol.

Thanks fam for writing me this week!

oh, there really isnt much difference this week. We are still working to find people to baptize and it is hard work but we have to rely more on the spirit to guide us cuz our wisdom just isnt good enough.  The area is nice. Huge! We are just in transiction to get more help from the members. Referencias are the key.

Well i hope everything is grreat with the fam. Mom I know is happy to have another grandbaby! 

Shawn good luck in Seattle. Busca for a wify. Im praying for ya!

Micah keep it up with the studying and swing dance!

Mom i love ya and hope u are staying strong with self discipline.  u can do it.

grandma i love you too and take care of mom and snick, and the new babe with his mom.     u guys are great!

feliz dia!

hna Weatherhead

May 10, 2010

Well, famila it was great to talk to you yesterday. great to here your voices.

Yeah for Cory and her new baby! I still cant believe she thought to write me when she started her contractions. I love that girl. tell Lucian Auntie Cristi says hi!

Well, im here in Jinotepe wihich is up kinda in the mountains but more just higher elevations and flatish.  It used to be elders here for 9 yrs so we are a surprise to the members. Its also a ward which is new for me.  More walking! oh how tired we are when we get home. Im madrastra, step mom, here and my comp´s name is hna Xocop.

The food here is really good and hope to learn how to make it so i can make it when im in the states and dont only have boring american food.

um the culture here is different than other countries, but that is the same with all countries.  They talk in ´vos´ alot, eat alot, and... i forgot what more. next time.   

oh, when i was in Esteli, it had seemed the rainy season hard started cuz it rained almost every day for a week. But here in south it hasnt rained yet. but it will come and be very green and wet. oh and only when it has rained does it compare much with Houston, but normalmente the heat isnt as bad. Everyone else says its horrible but ive known worse.

 

oh mom here is some advice for the premisionary:

-bring bed sheet with elastic band, single size.

- bring a backpack and a side bag, probably like mine that i bought but they sell cheaper versions in the CCM in Guatemala.

-if u like hats bring one for pdays

-come prepared with little activities or games that u can do with familys or about 4 people for Family home Evening

-look through Liahonas/ ensigns for pics that fit well for the principals in Ch.3 of PreachMyGospel.

- bring lots of post-its of colors, big and small

- have a camera with a battery pack instead of AA or AAA batteries, its lesss frusterating intead of recharging all the time. 

-bring a jumpdrive or ipod like mine to store things

- medicine: ibprifin, for diareah, and colds, tums or whatever for gas because almost everything is in grease or oil. I have never had so much oil!

- if there is room to bring a pillow, maybe try it. but they arnt provided so u will probably have to buy one when u get here. thats what i did. 

- It would be easier if u make me a list of ?s that i can answer.  

 

bueno pue, les quiero un monton!  send me pics!

 

Hna Weatherhead

May 3, 2010

well, i only have a little bit of time

 

no baby, sorry Cory!  u look beautiful pregnant, if that helps.  I cant wait for a new sobrino. I cant beleive that Kristen is prenant again. And gonna have the baby before i get home too.  Kailee is huge!  So i have to choose like this week if im coming home the first week of feb or coming home in march.  I dont really have a pressing need to get home sooner, so it will probably be be in march, but what do u think? 

 

um, i forgot about my wieght and how i am. i think it is the same, maintaining.  Um, here in esteli we have the family in where we live that makes our meals, all 3 everyday. I like it. The food is good. usually never food from the states.     

Um yes and smile but sometimes no. But i have seen the difference it is when I smile. the people are more reseptive at least to listen to us.

I love your thought about surrenduring. That is what i am learning this week, what a coincidence. I cant give up. I have to keep trying and do my best to be obedient and complete my goals everyday. Here they are so focused on our daily goals and reaching them. It makes life hard, but i can do hard!

 

Well, i love u guys!  um, probably i will call u guys sunday, but i dont know when. we shall c and i will probably call to set up a time.   yeah, for mothers day!!

oh and cambios this week! we shall c what happens. I think like 40 new missionaries are coming in because of the soon to be division of the mission. exciting changes!

 

love you all, have a great week!

 

Hna Weatherhead

April 26, 2010

Hello fam!

 

I saw the pics, they are good. The fireplace looks good and u too mom!  

um advice for Courtney...  memorize D y C 4 en espanol, remind her there arnt tampons, dont bring polyester, read the script ref. in the teaching section of Preach my gospel.  Study spanish before like flash cards.  dont bring alot of makeup.  Can have a little bit of casual dress. Much of the very nice clothes is for the mtc and for conferences.   um i will think of others later.

 

well, I do know that i have to work harder here. Its easy to slack off instead of always going strong. Working in the world distracts you so much from the spirit. So staying focused and hopeingthat your comp is doing the same is difficult.  I try to remember alot how my attitude was in the mtc and readjust. It changes so much when you have been in the mish for a bit.  But when I remember u guys and your great examples, it helpls me to be stronger. 

 

Here is real interesting. Our goals are so high. Nicaragua has so much to progress and there are people to baptize, u just have to find them.  Here in Estali it is a little more difficult than other areas. In Diriomo we found many people and baptized lots, but here we just baptized those they already had and now we are looking for the next ones.   But it is always great to see the lives change of the people we are helping. For the next letter i will try to include more about the culture here.

 

well, i love u guys and hope all is well alla!

 

Hna Weatherhead

April 19, 2010

Hey family

bueno, I got the pictures you sent mom. I love the mail box. its bonito. you guys are always working on one project or another. Its good to keep ya busy.  Im sorry about teh cold there in Idaho, im living hot here. Not too hot. I still havnt felt like it is like Houston at all.  When it rains and is sunny after is the only time that it comes close.  The rain is starting here and will make it more green I hope. Because before it was very dry.

Welll, yes being the senior comp is alot harder. My comp waits for me to give word on many things. Im not used to that.  Its already hard enough to make my own decisiones let alone decisiones for others that effect the both of us. That is new to me.  And yes im defnaltely finding out many things about myself. Good things and bad things, and trying to make better the bad ones. this is the time to learn!   It is amazing really to think that truely one of the most important things we do here in the mission is process of perfecting ourselves. If we cant do that and are only focused in work and completing goals of the mission, we will return and become nothing.    Im trying to figure out what the Lord has for me to learn here. Lots of things, im seeing. ;)  there is never enough love in the world

um, im not sure waht to say for the Pre Misionera. Im excited to see her here, even though its not for like 4 months. I will think of something and tell u next week.

Oh but it was way cool. Yesterday we found a woman who had received visits from the missionaries 10 years ago. They visited the family and left a really good impression. So we will start visiting  with her.      It is cool to see the effects of other misionaries preparing the people.

well, got to go, les quiero mucho!

Hna Weatherhead

oh ps. no going to Italy until i get back and can visit!

April 12, 2010

hey familia!

 

yeah, Brett an d Micah have jobs. lo siento shawn on the job thing. persevera hasta el fin!

oh right, from last week. It was april fools day, which rminds me   happy birthday Jared! and Kenslie!

So the Elders decided to do a prank and called us at 11 pm when we were peacefully sleeping to tell us we had a conference the next morning in managua, there are no buses so we have to take a minibus that will cost us 200 cordabus 10 bucks- expensive!  at 3 AM so only 2 hrs of sleep, and yeah i think thats it. I new it was april fools still so it was hard to believe but i hung up stressed. i told him, were are we going to find a taxi to show up for the minibus at 3 in the morning¨!?  i was more annoyed that i was sleeping happy and gave me stress. But the gerks recorded the whole thing on their phone. lol  it was funny, annoying but a good joke.  boys...sheesh

 

Well, being senior is different. I told my comp it was her job to worry about finding people yesterday cuz i didnt feel good at all, but she still didnt take the iniciative until after i first would talk with them. it reminds me of me as junior. Like u said micah, we just coast as juniors but as seniors we have the responsability to do so much because there isnt anyone else to do it or to enforce it. we think we would do it together as companions but there is a known agriance that the senior makes the choices.  ah more choices. im not a very decisive person or quick to choice. so we sit for planning at night thinking forever of waht we will do the next day. im horrible!

 

I finally had my first familia baptism! It is so great. the family is bonita with a cute little girl of 2 yrs. reminds me of kaibre. we have another familia this next week too. its a great feeling. The littile girl is always saying ´im going to the sun with my family!´ this is the celestial kingdom she is taking about. so cute. 

 

well, got to go

hasta la proxima semana!

 

Hna Weatherhead

April 5, 2010

well this week has been interesting but i will have to tell u next week. i really have no time to write. 

conference was good. part in ingles and part spanish. 

mom one thing i liked that i thought of you was - ´the spirit is willing but the flesh is week.´  Take control Mom! your spirit is strong and i know u can beat this weight thing. dont let the flesh beat you.  the spirit and mind have control of the body.  

thanks shawn for ur thoughts on conference.

well, i love u guys, i will write more next week. there is alot.

 

oh, im in Rosario, Estali.

dele pue

 

adios

hna weatherhead

March 29, 2010

hola familia

sorry i dont have much time to write much

the picture of cory doesnt show of course! dumb internet.  no i havnt changed my email becuase it is dumb and wont let me, so i will lose all my emails in the next day or so. chupa mi vida.

yeah for shawn to perobably have a job! going up.

well, im in Etali right now and i will most likely be staying here in the north mission. my compa´s name is Hna Avila from Guatemala. practivallly all are from Guatemala. of my compas yes all are from guate. she only has 3 months in the mission so it is interesting being senior, we work together more. im senior but dont act like it. its my first time so i have to adjust to not having someone with more experience. its cool but hard too. i have to do more of my part.

She reminds me of Cory alot. THe type of clothes she wears, her manerisms, her figure, etc. Its funny to see.

I miss ya sister!   i still havnt seen ur pregy belly, but one of these days a pic will come through.

Bueno, les quiero un monton!

enjoy conference!

Hna Wederjed