February 24th

Hi Mom!

I wish I had a bunch of time today but with yesterday having meetings all day I only have a couple minutes to write!

This week has been great! I have one more week of being trained.

This last week we focused on Socorro and her son Oscar. Her husband Nazario was baptized two months ago. She keeps saying that she isn't ready for baptism but we feel she really is. We are hoping to put her on date this week and have her baptized in the next couple of weeks. Keep Socorro in your prayers!

Also we met again with Siria. We tried to put her on date but she said that isn't ready either.  These people are definitely prepared they just don't realize it. Keep Siria in your prayers as well.

The work is super awesome!  I feel like I have been running from place to place for this last transfer and its awesome to be so busy.  We just need our investigators to start taking the big steps!

Yesterday we had a conference all day long about the iPads we will be receiving soon.  It was training about the iPads.  I was able to get so many more things out of it.  We talked a lot about being agents unto yourself. There are so many ways that we think we should be acted upon but it’s so important that we act ourselves! 2 Nefi 2:14.

Oh goodness well I am sorry this is so short.  I will make sure to send pictures and a longer email next week! Just know I love you and that the Lord is truly hastening His work. And he will NOT fail!

Love you lots!

Hermana Gifford

February 16, 2015

Helllo!

I hope everyone had a great week and lovely Valentines Day.

This week went by crazy fast. We have been very busy covering two areas. We were so busy we didn't have a single second to do any finding or tracting, just a bunch of visits.

This week we had zone conference. With combining the two areas there are a lot of investigators we are teaching. I wish I could tell you about every single one but things are a little hectic when you are working on two areas :)

President Samuelian talked about acting and not being acted upon. There are so many ways on a mission that we can be acted upon but the best missionaries act for themselves.

Sister Samuelian talked about conviction, conversion and the courage to do great things. Something that really stood out to me was how important it is that once we receive an answer, how important it is that we act on it. If we trust the Lord we need to act on promptings right away. I was able to receive a lot of answers to my personal prayers and I am so grateful for the way the Spirit helps answers our prayers!

We have a new investigator this week named Siria.  She is about 25 years old and living by herself.  She has a friend that was recently baptized and wants to learn more about the church.  She is going through a lot of hard things so we were able to talk to her a little about the Atonement.  It’s amazing how the Atonement is for EVERYONE.  Every single person in the world goes through hard times, but because of the Atonement we can get through them and feel peace in our lives.

Yesterday we were looking for a referral but he wasn't home.  We were walking back to our car and we saw a car the had a sticker that says 'Jesus is abundant'.  We found that apartment and inside we heard a lady yelling at her kids and very angry for some reason.  We were debating if we should knock or not but then the Spirit told us all to knock on her door! So we did and we met Laura!  

Laura moved from California a year ago!  And guess what else?  She is a member!  She was baptized when she was 16 and went to church in California. When she moved to Oregon she decided that she wanted to go to another church.  She invited us to come back this next week and get to know her a little more. I am so grateful for how the Lord works in mysterious ways! We weren't able to meet the referral but we met Laura!

As of right now none of our investigators are progressing but we feel that it is going to take off soon! The Lord helps us in so many ways!

Funny story…This one is especially for Sarah :)  We were at a less active’s house and they have a cat.  The whole lesson the cat was staying away from me so I was doing okay.  Then we wanted to say a prayer before leaving.  We closed our eyes and starting praying, and the cat jumps on me!  He was all over me playing with my boots.  I was shaking!  I seriously thought I might die right then and there...hahaha.  Hermana Meise was shaking because she was laughing because she knew I was terrified out of my mind.  Luckily they didn't hear our shaking and we were able to leave without the cat killing me :)

I am so grateful for the gospel and for the amazing opportunity I have to be a missionary!  I have been able to see how many ways I am blessed.  I am so grateful for our family especially mom and dad.  Mom does so many things for us daily and Dad is such a wonderful priesthood holder that always wants us to do the best.  This week, think of all the ways Mom and Dad have helped us become better people and closer to the Savior.

I hope that you all have a wonderful week!  I love you all!

Love,

Hermana Gifford

Thanks for the Valentine cookies, Mom!

And the cupcakes!

This is baby Nefi! He has the flu in this picture so he doesn't look that cute but he is the cutest little baby I have ever seen!

I love my companions!

The Hermana's in the zone

Just hiking in good ole Oregon!

​This is our zone! We are the only zone in the whole mission that is all Spanish speaking

We got to hike Silver Falls for Pday today! Part of Twilight was filmed here :)

February 9, 2015

Mommm :) Hola mama

Crazy to hear that every week someone else in the family is sick. You people need to start taking your vitamins :)

It was a pretty crazy week! Don't really know where to start. haha. Well we had our first lesson with Luz! Luz is a mom of four children. She was a referral from a member. The member came with us to the lesson and we talked about the restoration. She seems like a great potential and it was awesome to get a member to come with us. Members don't come out with us to lessons very often unfortunately. But we are excited for Luz and feel that she has potential.

I spent two days this past week in McMinville with Hermana Johnson who was in the MTC with me because Hermana Meise was doing leadership stuff.  It was pretty intense that they put two trainees together, but it actually went super well. One of the days we decided that a family they are teaching is ready to be baptized so we needed to put them on date.  I was pretty nervous, I had never put an investigator on date before.  We gave them a date of February 15th and they were so excited.  It was awesome they were saying how ready they are to be baptized. I know without a doubt that the Spirit was helping us talk because our Spanish is definitely not up to par to just get someone on date for baptism haha.  I am super grateful for that experience.  Exciting for their area that a whole family will be getting baptized!

When we were driving to McMinville we had to use the GPS.  We were just going a long with it.  Then, all of a sudden it said, “In point three miles board ferry.”   The GPS seriously wanted us to board a ferry haha.  What a joke!  Also, we were looking up history on the GPS and we saw that you were cruising 95 mph on I-15....real smooth mom hahah :)

There was a man in the ward that passed away a couple of weeks ago. He has a grand daughter that is a senior in high school that was living with him.  She took the lessons back in the summer but the missionaries dropped her because she wasn't reading or praying.  When her grandpa passed away we went and visited her for awhile but she said she wasn't interested in taking the lessons again.  Last night she texted us and asked if we could come over this week and teach her something about God. We are super excited.  We know the plan of salvation will help her life tremendously.

This week Hermana Meise and I read a talk by Tad R. Callister about becoming a consecrated missionary and what that means.  Before coming out I thought if you were exactly obedient that means you're a great missionary so I have always made sure that I am being exactly obedient.  I was thinking how I would feel if it was my time to go home tomorrow.  I definitely would not feel like I did all I could do.  Being exactly obedient is great but that isn't enough.  A consecrated missionary puts everything on the "alter of sacrifice" and is focused on their purpose 24/7 in all they do.  I know it is going to be a process but I want to become a consecrated missionary so that when my time comes to go home I feel like I did all I could to serve the Lord.

Three again....Well I am back in a trio!  We are now joined with Hermana Aubrey.  Her companion went home so we will be in a trio for at least three weeks until the transfer is over.  Being in a regular companionship is definitely a lot different than a trio! We will be covering two areas for three weeks so we should be busy busy!

Well I feel like a lot happened but I guess it is not that much!  We are hoping that we have more time in Salem this week to get some work done to bring people unto Christ :)

I hope you all have a great week! Love you all!

Hermana Gifford

We got these shirts for 3 dollars. Thats what happens when you lose the national championship...

Hermana Johnson and I in McMinville

​So pretty here!

Herro.....

3 months down!

Hello everyone! I hope all is well over there in the promised land. ‘Twas a great week.  Looks pretty fun that you got to take the kiddos out on a date!

Tuesday there was a training for the leaders.  Since my companion is a Sister trainer leader I was invited to go as well.  It was a great meeting.  Of course it was a lot about leading others, but even though I am not a trainer or anything I was able to learn a lot from it.  I learned that the way someone will trust you is by truly loving them.  I think that is so true.  Our investigators won't trust us unless we truly show love for them.  

President Samuelian also talked about having a vision.  Having a vision for your mission, investigators, and for your life.  I feel like Dad has probably talked about this a few times as well haha.  But it helped a lot because I made some vision goals of how I want my mission to be and my future!

We had interviews this past week.  President Samuelian told me that he knows without a doubt I am serving a mission to accomplish just a small part of my life, that I have so many more important things I will accomplish in my life.  It was kind of like a spiritual pump up talk.  Haha.  It's crazy how much a mission will help me do other things.  I can already see this.  I have been able to see how important it is to raise a family centered around the gospel.

Well, if you remember about 6 weeks ago, we met with a lady named Maria? We were finally able to meet with her again!  We taught her the plan of salvation and the Spirit was awesome!  She is a great potential investigator.  It’s just difficult to see her often because she is trying to get her GED and she works full time. But it was a blessing to get to see her this week!

Rogelio…Rogelio was a referral we got from some English speaking elders.  He sells oranges out of his truck bed parked in a parking lot all day long.  This guy is prepared to hear the gospel.  He was asking us why there wouldn't be a prophet today if there were prophets in the past.  We said, “Whoa buddy, do we have the answer for you”!  Haha.  So we are hoping that we will get to meet with him again this next week.

There was an 8 year old boy that got baptized on Sunday.  I have never felt the spirit so strong in a baptism so much.  His father baptized him and his dad had been completely inactive and basically against the church until a year ago. They talked about the changes they had in their life to come back to the church.  I know that no matter what we do we can always change and repent because the Savior's Atonement is infinite.  Sometimes we may feel that we have made too many mistakes but I know that we can always, always repent.

Here's something to chuckle about…So about 90% of the time that we get fed by members it is rice, beans, tortillas and some sort of fatty meat.  A couple times this week the member would say while we are eating, “Oh, and don't get too full we have dessert”!  So of course I am thinking its going to be brownies or something.  They come out with rice in milk…Rice for dinner…Rice for dessert.  Haha.  I love the members here.  They are super awesome and so nice to feed us but they sure now how to yank my chain.

Well I love all of you and hope you have a great week!  I challenge you to use the Atonement daily. 

Hermana Gifford

Oregon capital building..Looks like it could be Moroni up there.