One Year.

With my year mark being just around the corner, I've been thinking a
lot about all that has happened over this past year and how much my
life has changed from serving a mission. I wouldn't be here if it
weren't for a loving Heavenly Father who knows just what I need. Last
June, I would have much rather been up in Logan and going to school
then getting ready to leave on a mission. One year before that though,
I received the most definite answer to a prayer that it was what I
needed to do, even if it wasn't what I wanted.

It has been HARD. Before I came out, I thought that missions were a
breeze. All you ever see is the happy, chipper side of missionaries!
Boy was I oblivious! There is speaking a different language which has
been a struggle, watching the people you love so much reject the
gospel, having enough faith to be exactly obedient, etc. The list
could go on.

BUT...

I can tell you that every single hard moment or trial of faith that I
have experienced has been worth it, and I would not trade this time
for anything in the world! I have grown and learned in ways that
wouldn't have been possible had I not decided to serve.

Each transfer that I have been out here, there has seemed to be some
kind of theme. Like one transfer was really focused on the plan of
salvation, the next on the importance of being humble, and another
about the blessings of the temple. Things that once didn't have a huge
priority to me now do. The gospel has become so real and it has been
the sweetest experience to see it changing the lives of the people
here, including my own.

Not only have I learned a ton regarding myself and the gospel, but I
have also had the chance to be around and learn from some of my
favorite people in the world. I never thought that I would be able to
talk with people from Chile, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru,
Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba, etc. I have been taught a ton about Hispanic
life. For example with Mexicans you should always expect to eat salsa
and a bunch of tortillas with every meal, and the tortilla is your
fork. It has been really fun learning all of the different ways that
people live!

Serving here in the Houston, Texas mission has been the best year FOR
my life. It has changed everything. I can't wait to see what these
next 6 months have in store!

It was a killer week. Especially with Ivonne and her family. Monday
night we had an FHE with them and she invited her neighbors! We played
"Don't Eat Pete" and related it to the Holy Ghost. We visited them the
next day and Stephanie (11) told us that she wants to be baptized! Two
days later, Ivonne told us that she wants to as well!
Ever since we met Ivonne, she has been very close to the spirit and it
is because she is so humble! She has recognized the differences in her
home and family as she has been going to church, reading the Book of
Mormon, etc. and because of that, she has been able to stay strong as
she has lost friends because of her choice to investigate the church.
So many of the people she talks to try to tell her terrible things
about the church, but she listens to her heart and has kept going
strong!
Because she listens to her heart and the spirit, she had a cool
experience this week. She had made plans to go out of town without her
kids, just for the weekend in order to go to a conference that she got
free rooming, food, and tickets for. Her mind was made up about it and
she was excited. On Thursday when we went to her house to visit her,
she told us that she felt like she needed to stay at home and so she
cancelled her trip. She was happy to do it because she felt like it
was very important that she was at home, even thought she really
wanted to go to meeting. Sunday morning came and her son ended up
having to go to the hospital because he was super sick and because she
listened to the spirit, she was able to be there when all of this
happened.

Great things are happening here! So many happy moments and miracles
are taking place! The gospel is real and the church is true!

Love,
Hermana Rupp

iPad Mission.

Right now, I feel like I am about 99 years old because I am writing
this letter from an iPad and I have no clue how to use it! After more
than a year of telling us we were going to be iPad missionaries too,
we finally got them three days ago. It has been different for sure,
but it is going to be cool to see how they will help hasten the work.
About three weeks ago, a member from the quorum of the seventy came
and talked to us about technology and it was super cool to hear about
all of the great opportunities we can have if we use technology
effectively now in the mission, and even more important, after our
time in the field is up! When we first got told that the iPads were
here I wasn't really having it. I was pumped to not have to worry
about technology for these 18 months as a missionary, so I really
didn't want one. I have already seen really cool things as a result of
having them and I know it is just another way that Heavenly Father is
fulfilling His promise that the gospel will be taught to all nations,
kindreds , tongues, and people!

Time has just flown by this week! It is so weird in the mission and it
seems like it is just getting faster and faster as I am getting
farther into the mission.

Yesterday was probably one of the most spiritual Sunday's that I have
experienced in life. We have been going to the Spanish and English
ward for the past few weeks because we are teaching people in both.

In the Spanish ward, one of the people we are teaching is named Kevin
and he is 14. We have been teaching him the commandments these past
few weeks to prepare him for baptism and on Saturday we talked about
fasting. He told us that he wanted to do it and it worked out
perfectly because the next day was fast Sunday! He came to church and
he told us that we was fasting and he felt really great, so that was
really special. He is such an example to me of being humble. As we
have taught him the commandments, he has been so willing to commit to
keeping each one without question. He is awesome!

In the English ward, the family of 7 that we are teaching came.
Stephanie (11) ran up to us when we got there and brought out a paper.
She had written down her testimony and wanted to get up and share it
and so she did! She got up and talked about how she is so grateful to
God because there is more peace in her home now and she and her mom
have a greater relationship ever since they started coming to church.
The spirit was so strong and many of us in the chapel were crying. A
few minutes later, her mom felt like she too needed to get up and
talk. She shared with everyone that she now knows that there is a God
because of the things that she sees in her family now. There is
nothing more special than seeing the gospel changing lives!

One thing that really had an impact on me this week is just how real
the gospel is. Heavenly Father has made this plan that is so
incredibly personal and is molded to each individual. Because of that,
we can change and we don't have to hold on to things of the past.  The
sacrament can help us do that. There is one lady who attends the
English ward and she only speaks Korean. She comes and doesn't
understand anything, but she does it because she knows how vital it
is. She is such an example to me. I have been so blessed by these
incredible people who continue to teach me everyday. I love being here
in the mission!

Love,
Hermana Rupp

Earning Trust with our Investigators

This week has been a total blur. I can't remember a ton of what happened, but I will try my best! 

One thing that I did see this week that was really good is that a lot of our investigators showed that they really trust us!

Each Saturday, we visit a family and we teach them the gospel, English, and eat pizza with them. So two days ago we went over to their house like every other week. When we got there, the mom opened the door and didn't seem pumped up like she usually is to have us there. We asked her if she had time for us to come in and teach them and she told us that she had sent us a text telling us not to come anymore (I was bad at checking my phone before my mission and I am even worst now), but she let us in anyway. We sat down and got talking to her and her husband and they told us that they weren't feeling great and we could tell because they just looked so sad/scared/uncomfortable. Turns out the night before, someone had held a gun up to the husband's head in the parking lot of their apartment complex. He told us he was sure that he was going to be shot because the men that assaulted him were super angry and determined, but something stopped them and they ended up running away and just taking his wallet and phone. 

They were so shaken up by this experience, which makes sense. We ended up staying for two hours and by then end, they were their happy selves again. They even thanked us for not looking at the text and told us that they are so happy when we come because they feel really great. We let them know that it was the spirit that they could feel. 

They came to church the next day, still shaken up. Some awesome members of the ward ended up giving a blessing to the hermano. I am so grateful for the Priesthood. It is such a special thing, and it was a very cool experience to see him being administered to. 

Another one of our investigators had a crazy week too (the adversary is working hard on these great people). We have been trying to teach a mom and her 12 year old daughter, but it has gone really interesting and we have felt pretty bad at the end of each lesson because they have just been train wrecks. We didn't feel too much of a connection with them because of it. We got a call from the mom one day at about 5:00 in the afternoon and she was hysterical. Her daughter had tried taking her life. We asked what we could do and she asked us to come down to the hospital and talk to her. We turned out to be the only people that she had invited to come and see them; no family or anybody. She cried to us and we gave the best comfort that we could and then talked to her daughter. It was a really special experience and we were able to see that they trust us. 

We have been teaching a family of seven and they are WONDERFUL! It is a single mom of six little kids and they just love to learn and they love the church. They came to church on Sunday and the mom raised her hand in Sunday school and talked about how before, she really struggled and things were hard. Ever since she has been meeting with us and coming to church, she has seen a huge difference in her life and she feels so calm. She also reads in the Book of Mormon 20 minutes everyday with her oldest daughter despite the fact that she is a busy, single mom. There is seriously never an excuse to not read in the Book of Mormon. If she can do it, anybody can do it! 

I am so grateful for the gospel! I know it is true! 

Love,

Hermana Rupp

Tornado Weather.

So much craziness has happened this past week that I don't even know where to begin! 

- It has been CRAZY weather here. In fact, Sunday morning we got woken up by a warning on our phone saying that there was a tornado (thank goodness we get weather warnings since we don't have Internet, else we would be clueless). We looked outside and it was nuts. I have never seen weather like I there has been here these past two days. The tornado hit about 3 streets away from where I am living, but it wasn't too big, so all is well. There has also been some gnarly flooding. Despite all of this, the work is still going and there is so much going on! 

- We had the best experience ever with the Torres family. They went to the temple with us last Sunday and just loved it. We went to their house the next Saturday to go and teach them English like we always do. Right when we got there, Hna Torres started talking about the experience she had at the temple and how beautiful it was outside and how it made her feel so good being there. She then asked us, "So to go inside of your temple, you have to be a member?" We told her yes. She then said, "Do you have to be baptized?" Again, we said yes. Then she asked us the greatest thing that a person could ever ask us. She said, "Well, what do I need to do to be baptized then because I don't want to just be standing on the outside anymore. I want to go in!" 

Things like that don't really ever happen out here, so when it did I almost died. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! We then set a date for her and her husband to be baptized and they are so excited! We have started teaching them the lessons and they just love it! They have told us how they feel like one of the reasons they came to America almost two years ago is so that we could find our church. They also told us that they feel like God is telling them to choose this path because they feel so great with us. THEY ARE WONDERFUL! 

- Sadly, we had some rough goings with Tono. About a week ago, he found some anti-mormon stuff and it has just changed everything. We were able to see the gospel change him and bring so much joy into his life, and we are now watching the stuff that he has found change him again. Because of what he found, he is convinced that what we are teaching him isn't true now despite all of the great things that he has felt and now recognizes. We taught a lesson to him, but it didn't really go anywhere because he was past the point of listening to us. All we could do was share our testimonies and hope he felt the spirit. We left pretty sure that he had dropped us and that we wouldn't be going back. Yesterday, he sent us a text saying he had almost finished reading the entire Book of Mormon, but nothing had changed. It is so sad to see someone rejecting the gospel, but I know that one day he will even if it isn't right now. He is an AMAZING guy. 

If anything, I have learned a lot from this experience. Especially that, "spiritual questions deserve spiritual answers". We sometimes make things a lot more complicated than they need to be. Heavenly Father is the source of everything and He will give to all who ask! It is so simple, and it is a sure promise! 

- I also ate MENUDO. That my friends, is cow intestine. It was different. Take that as you will haha. 

- I am awesome at Spanish and invited someone to come and "feel" with us during a lesson instead of inviting them to come and sit it. They thought that I was a freak haha. 

Then while we were teaching English class in the church (we also teach it in two schools), we decided to teach them "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" because they love it. Welp, I say incredibly dumb thing and told everyone to stand up then yelled, "Let's learn our bodies". Thankfully, that was in English and since they are learning they didn't understand too much. The other missionaries did though and they wanted to die haha. 

It was just a really great week! We are being so blessed out here and I am so grateful for this experience that I am having! 

Love, 

Hermana Rupp

Rain Miracle.

Another six weeks have flown by and another transfer is beginning! Hermana Christensen and I will be staying together here in Houston 10 and I am so pumped! We have so much fun together and really great things are happening here! 

To start off our week, we got to go to the temple with Litzi! She was baptized on Saturday and was able to go and do baptisms for the dead just a few days later. That was so special! She was so excited and talked about how good she felt being there! 

We also got to take some investigators (the Torres family) to a tour of the temple yesterday after a lot of faith and prayers! Houston has been really rainy for the past week and yesterday wasn't any different. We had been planning to go with them for a few days, but when they saw that it was raining, they told us that they weren't going to go anymore (none of the Hispanics that I have met out here like to drive in the rain). Hermana Christensen and I began praying that their hearts would be softened and that the rain would let up. We sent them a text telling them that it would be nice weather by the time the tour came, and by 5:00 PM, the sun was shining! I know with all of my heart that God answers prayers and that he is very aware of His children and their needs. 

The temple tour was the greatest thing ever for this family! They couldn't stop talking about how good they felt while we were there. By the end of it, they told us that they want to enter into the temple some day! Someone told them that in order to do so, all they had to do was have faith, repent, and be baptized. They then said that they want to be baptized! 

They are some of the most humble and prepared people that I have ever met and they LOVE our church. Although they are Catholics, they talk it up to everyone they meet! It has been such a great blessing to work with them and to learn from them. 

We are having a rough time getting our investigators with dates to progress, but I know that Heavenly Father has a plan and it is perfect. Things will happen in His time and not ours as long as we continue working hard! We have been blessed to meet some incredibly prepared people! I am so grateful for the chance to be serving here. I am learning and growing everyday from being around these awesome people! 

Love,

Hermana Rupp

Baptism!!

Life in the hood is going really, really good! This last week was especially great because… LITZI GOT BAPTIZED! 

Getting her ready and preparing for the baptism was a lot more stressful than it should have been, but it was all worth it! We had a couple scares during the week like learning that she isn't living in our ward boundaries, in fact.. she doesn't even live in the mission! Then the day of the baptism, she showed up about a half an hour late. That wasn't too big of a surprise though because Hispanics always show up a lot later than they are supposed to haha. Everything worked out though and like I said, it was all worth it! 

Her baptism was BEAUTIFUL! She is fourteen years old and her dream has been to go to the temple to do baptisms, and now she gets to this week! She is such a great girl with a solid testimony! 

Other than that, we have found some more really great people to start teaching the gospel to! We have been visiting a single mom of six and she is golden! She told us that when she went to church and when we come over, she feels so much peace and like she is at home. The spirit is working magic on her! We taught her how to pray and she just cried. It is one of my favorite things teaching people to pray for the first time because they are always such humble, beautiful prayers where the spirit can be felt so strongly. 

We weren't able to see Tono too much this week, only once. He hadn't been reading in the BOM and he didn't come to church. We read in Mosiah 4 and had a very spiritual lesson with him that really touched him. He told us that the night before, he had said a prayer and then went to bed. He woke up a few hours later and had this feeling in his heart that he couldn't describe, but it was strong and he couldn't go back to sleep because of it. He is feeling and recognizing the spirit! 

We also set two more baptism dates with people! Things are looking really great! 

One thing that our mission president wants us to focus on is how many people are attending sacrament so that we can find out who are the ones we are missing each week. Houston 10 is a huge ward with a lot of members. About a year ago, 210 people would come to church on average, but over time the number has gone down about 50.  Yesterday, we increased in numbers by 20 and had 181 people! Slowly, but surely we are seeing great things happen in the ward! 

Everything is great out here and I am so happy to be a missionary! 

Love, 

Hermana Rupp

The Most Prepared People.

I am only 20 years old which should mean that I am awesome with technology and such, but I am not. In fact, I think that my abilitly to use it has gone down drastically from being totally deprived for the past 10 months. That being said, I couldn't write about last week due to my lack of knowing how to use a computer so I will be killing two birds with one stone today! 

Last week and this week were GREAT! We are seeing so many incredible miracles and finding some of the most prepared people in the world! We have been so, so blessed! 

One of the coolest things that I have ever experienced from my time as a missionary has been within these past 4 weeks with one of our investigators. My first week here, a man came up to us asking who we are and what we did. We explained a little and asked if we could go to his house and talk to him some more. He said yes! His name is Tono and he is one of the most humble people that I have ever met. What makes him really great is that he truly has a desire to know. I don't think I can even begin to explain how hard it is to get people to act, but he reads in the BOM and prays some of the most beautiful prayers that I have ever heard, and he has come to church! He even has accepted a baptismal date so we are preparing him for that! As he has been doing the things that we invite him to do, I have literally seen a change in him. There is something different about the way he acts and the way he looks; he is happier! I am getting to witness the Atonement of Jesus Christ working in someone'fe life and it has been so special! 

Although Tono has accepted a date and is seriously made of gold, he still has his doubts and hadn't gotten his answer to know if all of this is true. We visit him three times a week and each time, we stress the importance of asking God to know for himself. Thursday, we had a great lesson with him and finished it off by him giving the prayer. We left and went on with our day. About five hours later, we got a bunch of texts from him, but we couldn't see any of them (the problem of having phones from the dinosaur ages haha) so we didn't know what was going on.

Saturday, we went on splits and I went to visit him with a member. He just couldn't stop smiling so I asked him why he was so happy (because he doesn't really smile too much). He began to tell us that after he finished praying on Thursday, he felt something different. He felt so much peace and happiness, but it wasn't like anything that he had ever felt before. It lasted throughout the whole day and he didn't know what was happening. I asked him why he thought that he felt that way and he didn't know. I told him that it was the spirit testifying of the truth. Tono got his answer!! Even though he doesn't realize it, he got it. I think deep down he knows it too! I am so grateful to be working with this great guy! 

Something awesome that happened this week is that one of our investigators who is 14 got the thumbs up from her mom to be baptized! She is so prepared and has wanted to be a member for a while, her mom just wasn't feeling it. We finally decided to go and visit her alone while her daughter was at school. All we did was ask her how she felt about her daughter joining the church and she told us that she was cool with it. So we got written consent right then and there, and this Saturday, Litzy will be baptized! The spirit works wonders and definitely helped soften the heart of her mom! We are so excited! 

Here in H10, we teach English classes A LOT. We teach it twice a week in the church, and then at two different schools as well. Some of the people ask that we come to their houses during the week to help them practice a little more too. One little family that we go and help every Saturday are just the sweetest and most humble people ever. Back in Mexico, they had some missionaries visit them and they really liked it, they just never acted. They moved here and the missionaries started visiting them again, but only to help with English this time. As we have continued seeing them though, we have been able to share the gospel with them and they love it! We taught them how to pray and they have noticed such a difference as they do it as a family. Then when we visited them just two days ago, we talked about church and the promise given in D&C 59:16 that if they go to church, they will have the abundance of the earth. They loved it and wanted it, so yesterday they came! The spirit was so strong and it definitely touched them while they were there. They are just so special! 

I am so grateful to be out here! I know that as we are obedient to what Heavenly Father asks us to do, we will be blessed! 

Love,

Hermana Rupp