Transfer Time.

After spending 18 of the best weeks of my life serving in Oakcrest, I got the news last night that I will be leaving tomorrow! Getting the news was expected, but still brought a whole lot of emotions! 

I felt sad because I will be leaving the people that I have come to love so much. The people that I have met here have become like family to me! They took me in and made me feel right at home. There are members here that literally tell people that I am their daughter! Being away from my own home and family isn't always easy, but being here has made things better than I could have ever imagined. 

I have had the chance to meet people from Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras, Beliz, Guatemala, Venezuela, Peru, etc. and each one of them has taught me different things that I will treasure forever. I have learned about different cultures like drinking Mate with Argentines, or celebrating birthdays like Mexicans. I have been impacted by watching and being around some of the most humble, hardworking people that I have ever met. I have grown spiritually and my testimony has been strengthened as I have taught and been taught. The list could go on and on! Needless to say, it has been a life changing time here!

I felt excited because I will get to go experience something new and meet more incredible people! I remember when I left my first area, I didn't think anything could measure up to what I had experienced so far there. I was so wrong. I know that it will be the same with the new area that I go to; that I will be able to meet new people to love and to teach. 

Out of the many feelings that came to me when I got the call that I am being transferred, I most of all felt a lot of gratitude. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father who let me spend these past 126 days here. When I got told that I was being brought into this area, I remember thinking, "where the heck is Oakcrest?". I hadn't ever heard about it, so I didn't know what to expect. It was the best thing that could have ever happened to me though! My heart is so full of gratitude for the memories that I have made here and the things that have happened. It has been one of the greatest blessings!

I can't wait to see where I will be going and who I will be meeting next! Being a missionary truly is the best thing ever! 

Love,

Hermana Rupp

An egg fight. The eggs were filled with confetti.

Beautiful Texas scenery.

Celebrating Easter.

Dying eggs. 

Papusas! YUM. 

Apparently after conference there were commercials about Utah that made Lindsay die. haha

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter this coming weekend! Easter at my house was always the best, we'd get candy, have easter egg hunts, etc. My parents always made sure we knew why we really celebrated though.Celebrating holidays as a missionary has been the best because I have been able to focus on the importance and true meaning of things even more than before! 

If you haven't watched the new video put out by the church for this happy time of year, do it now! It is AMAZING!

http://www.mormon.org/easter?cid=HP_FR_3-272015_dMIS_fMRMN_xLIDyL1-A_

Because of our savior Jesus Christ, the opportunities that we have in this life and after are endless. His life has changed mine and I am forever grateful. 

Our week has been full of great things like always. We are being blessed in so many ways! Two awesome miracles that happened were:

- We have started teaching the golden family! There are five of them and they are awesome. Last Monday, we had an FHE with them. There was such a special spirit there that night. We sang, talked about prayer, played games, and just had a great time. The next day, the mom brought two of her kids to mutual! They are looking for something to strengthen their family and the gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect for the job! We are going to start teaching them the lessons this week! 

- Two of our investigators plus someone that they brought came to the women's broadcast on Saturday. It was especially great that they came because the message was all about the family and that is exactly what they needed to hear! 

Both of those things made for reasons to rejoice and then to add to that, I also had the chance to see a very sacred and special tender mercy take place in someone's life. 

Yesterday was one of my favorite member's birthday! Her sixteen year old daughter passed away about two months ago and it has been really hard on her. We were at her house just talking and laughing when her friend came to the door. She dropped her off a little gift and then left. A while later, as she opened the card her friend had given her, she started to cry. In the card, her friend had stuck in a note that said,

 "Happy Birthday. I hope your day is great! Love, Chantal".

Her friend had gotten a card from her daughter (Chantal) the day she had died, for her birthday. 

As this member showed us the little note, she told us that she had been having a really hard day and praying that she'd find something from her daughter who'd leave her mom cute little notes all of the time. She had been going through all of her things hoping to find something, but she hadn't until her friend came and gave her that. This small act of kindness made her entire day. 

Heavenly Father is so aware of us. He knows each trial and struggle that we face.If there is one thing that I have learned from serving a mission it is that He is in every detail and that He loves his children perfectly.

I am so grateful to be serving here and for all of the experiences I get to have. I love the gospel!

Love,

Hermana Rupp

Lindsay about to eat a crawfish. The sequence of these pictures are SO funny. Lindsay HATES seafood.

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haha. She also hates birds. This bird sat on her shoulder the whole lesson! 

Funniest. Kid. Ever. According to Lindsay. :)

Lindsay and her companion bought this for a lady who lost her 16 year old daughter 2 months ago.

More baby turtles. 

Celebrating a birthday.

Role Playing. 

Passing through the German Street Festival.

The little boy is helping her crack the shell off the crawfish.

haha.

The missionaries taught Primary. Lindsay said she has SO much respect for Primary leaders and teachers now. 

Obedience Brings Blessings.

As a mission, we have a rule that we are supposed to knock doors every night from 6-8 unless we have set appointments. So that is what we have been doing all night every night in order to find more people to teach. I would say out of the many doors that we have knocked within these past few weeks, only three people have had an interest in our message and have let us come back.

Something I have learned while being out here is the importance of being obedient. Obedience truly brings blessings. Although we haven't found a ton of success through our tracting efforts, we have been blessed in different ways. Especially this past week! We have been getting calls from members in English wards out here who speak Spanish, telling us that they have friends who want to be taught about the gospel! They are people of gold too. It has been amazing to see that when we do what we are supposed to, we blessed.

I read a talk by Elder Bednar a while ago that describes this week perfectly. He said,

"The stripling warriors in the Book of Mormon (see Alma 53; 56–58) prayed earnestly that God would strengthen and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies. Interestingly, the answers to these prayers did not produce additional weapons or an increased number of troops. Instead, God granted these faithful warriors assurance that He would deliver them, peace to their souls, and great faith and hope for their deliverance in Him (see Alma 58:11). Thus, the sons of Helaman did take courage, were fixed with a determination to conquer, and did go forth with all of their might against the Lamanites (see Alma 58:12–13). Assurance, peace, faith, and hope initially might not seem like the blessings warriors in battle might want, but they were precisely the blessings these valiant young men needed to press forward and prevail physically and spiritually.

Sometimes we may ask God for success, and He gives us physical and mental stamina. We might plead for prosperity, and we receive enlarged perspective and increased patience, or we petition for growth and are blessed with the gift of grace. He may bestow upon us conviction and confidence as we strive to achieve worthy goals. And when we plead for relief from physical, mental, and spiritual difficulties, He may increase our resolve and resilience."

Our efforts will always be recognized and our prayers will always be answered, often times in ways that we least expect though! About three weeks ago, a sweet member taught me that sometimes things have to happen a certain way (even if we don't like it) so that we can have experiences and blessings that we wouldn't have had otherwise. I know that this is true with all of my heart. Heavenly Father works in His own ways and they are perfect. He knows what we need and when we need it. 

I am so grateful to be serving out here. The church is true! 

Love, 

Hermana Rupp

P-day with her zone.

Playing basketball.

Amistad (Friendship) Street.

A member makes balloon creations for a living. She taught them how to make baby rattles.

St. Patty's Day fun.

They slept on their deck because Lindsay misses camping. haha.

Lindsay and Chino.

Soaking wet. 

Another good church sign. 

Half Way.

Exactly 9 months from today, I will be on my way back home to Utah! I can't believe that I am halfway done with this incredible adventure! Lucky for me, I still have 9 more months to enjoy! 

After having a week where things didn't quite go as planned, we we blessed with a week where basically everything worked out!

Too much happened to share, so I will just throw down a few of my favorite moments! 

We were visiting one of my favorite people Tuesday night, and we finally got to start teaching the restoration. We began to talk about when Christ was on the earth and some of the things that He did. We talked about how He established a church, and then after my companion asked him about what else Christ did while he was here. He looked at us being 100% serious and said, "Well first he constructed His church and then after he constructed a hospital." Haha there is never a dull moment out here. 

Friday, we went on exchanges. A brand new hermana (who has been  out for three weeks) came with me for the day and that was really fun! We went to visit the miracle lady that let us in last Saturday and we had a really great lesson. I ended up teaching most of the lesson. Whoever has been praying for me, THANK YOU. It is moments like that when I am in a lesson and I am blessed with the language and I can feel divine help!

Right before I was about to teach about the apostasy, this lady looks at me and asks, "Why are there so many churches? How am I supposed to know which one is true?" I talked to her about what happened after Christ died, and how Joseph Smith wanted answers too. Then we shared the first vision. Never in my life, have I felt the spirit as strong as I did that night as I have talked about Joseph Smith's vision. It filled the entire room.I know that Joseph Smith saw our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and the spirit testified to everyone listening that what we were saying is true! 

Saturday, we had a stake activity! Hispanics sure know how to party! They had a bbq (but of course that meant rice and tortillas still haha), we played sports (basketball, volleyball, soccer, frisbee, etc), and then there was dancing because Hispanics know whats up. FUNNEST DAY EVER. I love Spanish culture, we had such a great time! 

Sunday, we had temple tours. Our investigators with a date originally were going to go with us, but then they ended up being sick. We found another investigator that wanted to come with her family, the problem was that she didn't have a car and it was really late notice to find someone in the ward. We literally called probably every member, but only about four answered and they each ended up being busy! We were freaking out. It seemed that the adversary was doing EVERYTHING to keep this sweet lady and her kids from coming with us. 

We eventually got them there because of tender mercies, and just in time for what we were told would be the last tour. It ended up being in English though, which they don't know! Thankfully, I have a cool mission president who let had someone give them their own personal tour. That ended up being REALLY good. They absolutely loved it and the spirit could be felt so strong! After much stress, things ended up working out better than I could have imagined! 

I am so grateful for these past nine months that I have had to share the gospel! I am so grateful for the time that I have left! 

Love, 

Hermana Rupp

A cute member that Lindsay says feeds them SO much. She says she feels like she leaves with 7 food babies.

Lindsay took this picture for my Dad. 

First sunny day in a long time. They both got sunburned. Also, notice their Texas pride shirts.

Stake Activity. Playing sports, etc. 

Temple tours at the Houston temple.

More from the stake activity.

They found a baby turtle in the volleyball pit they were playing in. SO CUTE.