Letter #29 03/30/15

Hermana Yost and Hermana Kingsley

The cutest little nina.  I can't ever handle.  This Sunday four ninos snuck
away from their families to sit with us during Sacrament meeting.

Okay, I just realized last night as I was meditating on my life and thinking about what I wanted to share today that you don't know anything about anyone I love here. And that made me super sad. Because, life is really so incredibly wonderful in the good ol' Potomac River Ward. And transfers are coming up and I'm so scared that I'm gonna leave. ): BUT. Enough of that nonsense, as my ward mission leader says, let's get down to the 'nitty gritty'. (Yup, that's right. My Bolivian ward mission leader quotes Nacho Libre better than Nacho himself.)

This is Isaiah, our sweet Iris's little boy.  Sad news, she's STILL in El Salvador, so no way
of getting ahold of her.  Pray that she comes home TODAY.  It's our only dream.

Our best pal, Nico.  He's one of the single adults in
our program.

FIRST off. La familia B. I remember mentioning them a few weeks ago, but LET ME JUST TELL you so many miracles with them this week. So, basically, their story is (if this is a repeat email, please forgive) that the two girls, Karen and Lisette, are going on 8 months of meeting with missionaries and they've been prepared for baptism for a while, but they're only 12 and 14 and so the past companionship didn't feel like they should baptize them. Meanwhile, they invited the mom to learn and she was actually really ready and has progressed super quickly.  Anyways, we had some awesome lessons with them and.. THEY'RE GETTING BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY after conference. I'm so excited! We've been having family home evenings with them each Wednesday and it's really like family. I love them with all of my tiny little heart. Ah! Also, C. C. is the uncle of the family, and we just invited him to one of the lessons a few weeks ago, and we absolutely adore him! He comes to church and every single adult activity and just eats it up. We had a beautiful lesson with him on Saturday morning, where we invited him to be baptized with his sister and nieces.. he's felt like he needs more time, but when we talked about it in the lesson, he was like, "well.. do you think I could? It would be so beautiful" and we were like, UHHHHH. Yes. Of course you can! :) So, he's getting baptized this Saturday too! Everything that's happened with them has just been this huge dream and I am eternally grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving me this incredible opportunity to see a few of his most precious children enter the waters of baptism. 

The five companionships that make up our district/ward.  LOVE them
so much.  Sometimes we have so much fun I forget that missions are hard. :)

In other news, another miracle human is G. He's 17 and easily the coolest kid in his entire town house complex. We talked to him and he already knew the entire plan of salvation just through pondering it, and as we taught him he nearly quoted Alma 32, the chapter we had felt prompted to give him at the end of the lesson. We had another lesson with him this week and taught the restoration. It was pretty powerful, but also pretty silly. He thinks I am the single weirdest human in the entire universe, not that it matters because it's not ever about me, BUT I didn't help my case any when I started to give an analogy relating God's knowledge of what we are going to do to your mom knowing that you love noodle salad and knowing that you'll choose it tomorrow for lunch. Uhh.. what's noodle salad, you ask? Not quite sure myself. Hahah. Talk about speaking the thoughts that are put into your heart. ANYWAYS. Basically, he prayed at the end of the lesson and we don't know if he forgot we were there, but he just said the most sincere prayer about how, even if he won't admit it, he met us at a perfect time when he was really struggling. HEAVENLY FATHER is so aware. It was really powerful. 

Also, another beautiful baby miracle. As we were walking to go G's door, we saw this lady who was clearly struggling having patience with her brood of children, but they went the other way, so that was done. But afterwards, as we walked back to the car, we ran into them again. There are no coincidences, especially if the Lord puts someone in your path twice.. so I ran up to her and gave her a Because He Lives card and just bore my testimony of Jesus Christ's love and understanding to her and all of the kids. The spirit was SO powerful and a silent tear ran down her face as she thanked me and hurried on her way. 

Sneaky visits from best friends back home
make a missionaries whole night!  Shout out to Chris & Madi Seeg. <3

Anyways, I'm just SO incredibly grateful for the opportunity I have to be here. It's been yet another refiner's fire and I'd be lying if I said I don't continually get frustrated when people continually don't understand me, BUT. We're seeing so many miracles. My prayers are answered every second and I KNOW that the Lord is here. Like it says in the Because He Lives, video. There are no exceptions, no lost causes. I know with all my heart that that's real because i've FELT it this week. No matter how many times we feel like we mess up, or don't measure up, he is ALWAYS right there. 

<3 Love, Hermana Yost

My companera make me draw things.  A card we
made for Abuelita.  She is really struggling healthwise.

If I've learned anything from my comp, it's that you ALWAYS draw a picture
on your progress record.  The ward council eats it up like meat and rice. :)

Letter #28 03/23/15

I'm just really happy, today. Life is goodgoodgoodgoodgood. I've just learned SO much this week and really feel like I've been changed on the inside. Life is always gonna be hard, and throw those little baby curveballs at us, but as we keep going and ESPECIALLY as we keep going arm in arm with Our Savior, we can do it.

Basically, it all started on Tuesday morning. We had exchanges with our Sister Training Leader's at 11:45, but had to go to Walmart to get some things for the single adult activity that night. While walking through Walmart, I made super deep, real eye contact with two of the saddest looking Hispanics I've ever seen and.. didn't talk to them. Just didn't do it. I don't know if I was scared or what, but I walked out of the store easily feeling like the most terrible human/missionary that ever lived. That's something I've really struggled with like my entire mission, not feeling like I can measure up to the human I feel like God expects me to be. Ah. So, we exchange and I got the wonderful privilege of going with Sister Johns whom I love dearly to her area. A part of which is the wonderful, gloriously beautiful town of Dumfries, VA. Okay, you have to laugh. Pls. Isn't that the funniest thing ever?

Okay.. maybe not. BUT. Anyways, we stopped at their apartment to grab something for a lesson, and I went to the bathroom. After I closed the door I just prayed super hard to my Heavenly Father like, PLEASE I want to do thy will, I want to talk to everyone, I want to feel happy and successful in your service but I obviously can't do it on my own. And I knew that He would help me. I exit the bathroom go into the kitchen and immediately see this quote from cute President Hinckley on their wall..

DO WHAT YOU CAN DO

Rise to the great potential within you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope you will not nag yourselves with thoughts of failure. I hope you will not try to set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know how. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass. 

And everything changed. I went out, and just WENT for it.. and I had one of the happiest days I have ever had on my mission. 

I know that the Lord does not want us to feel discouraged. I know that!

"It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines”

He is ALWAYS there. We saw so many miracles and happy times this week and I KNOW that His purpose for us is to have JOY. 

And we find that by living the gospel. He's incredible. Life is incredible. He wants us to feel and become INCREDIBLE! And we can, through Him. 

SO much love.

<3 Hermana Yost

Letter #27 03/16/15

What has been going on with you?  Tell me a bit about your companion.  Where is she from? how long has she been serving?  Is there anyone that you are teaching?  How is the language coming? -Mom

how is your companion? do you like her? -Megan

Okay, okay, okay.. #questions4days. HI. Here I am, emailing once again. Apologizes for last week, I went a little too hard emailing random humans and forgot the importance of the general family email. Perdoname, por favor? :*

What's been going on with me? The past two weeks have been nuts town crazy so much learning and growing and feeling completely inadequate and crying because the gospel is BEAUTIFUL and these people are incredible and just the opportunity to be here. Meet them. LOVE them. Is unreal. I never leave a lesson without professing my love for these humans because there's just so much of it. People are so neat. 

My companion? Is quite possibly the most incredible human that ever lived. Get this: She grew up in Turkey and was baptized in the Mediterranean Sea, she bit off her upper lip once.. um, yeah. She's just really cool. And also SUCH a good missionary. Like, she's teaching me so much sometimes I feel like a little missionary baby again but the gratitude is so real. She's been out for a year on the 26th and is known throughout the mission as the "trainer of thousands, mother of millions". She's living the sister missionary version of the Abrahamic covenant, her prosperity never ends. 

Is there anyone you are teaching? YES. Yes, yes, yes. We have two main families that we're teaching, and a lot of really solid potential investigators. The work here is super dreamy.

La familia La/Ben, are the super stars of the century. Past missionaries started teaching the two girls, L who is like 14 and K who's 11, so they're practically pros and know all of the lessons by heart. Hna Kingsley and her previous companion invited the mom to learn and she comes to church now, and this Saturday night the cute little grandma who occasionally joins but never participates actively participated and we invited their uncle C and he is basically GOLD. We have faith that he could turn out to be a three week miracle, like he came to church yesterday and LOVED it. They are just so magical and the spirit is always SO strong as they learn. We taught all of them again last night and the little abuelita just kept saying, "Ya know, i'm gonna ask for work off so I can come to church this week.." MIRACLES, man. And I really feel like a lot of the miracle came from having a beautiful member with us. Two young white girls can come into your house and, meh.. but when a young mother from Peru comes in and shares how she gained a testimony and how it changed her world, people are so much more apt to listen. 

Iris ..the tiny name does not do her beautiful self or her beautiful story justice. SHE IS OUR BEST PAL. Ah, love her so mucho. She never ever let missionaries in before, but she was going through a really hard time and feels like we're little angels. We talked about it in our last lesson and she just cried. She is currently separated from her husband with a little boy named Isiah and she really feels like the gospel is the light at the end of the tunnel.. and it IS! In every single dark time we go through, the gospel, the hope of God's promises, are always that light. We can brave any storm or wind, knowing that he's gonna get us through- because He will. 

#gospelrambles.. but ANOTHER beautiful thing. We've heard about her sister that lives down the street but doesn't want to meet with us like SO much, and on Saturday we stopped by to surprise Iris, invited her sister to join us, and she came! And it was awesome. AND they both came to church yesterday! And her sister (Vi) cried in Relief Society and we all joined her and it was the happiest thing. 

ALSO miracles for DAYS. 

1) We invited a random group of teenage boys playing soccer in the street to come play voleibol with the ward on Friday night, and one actually came and brought his older brother (single adult- woop woop!) and also TWO of our potential single adult investigators came and we ended up having more investigators than members.. haha. We took the opportunity to teach the restoration and give a church tour and it was super happy.

2) We went exploring 'the edge' of our area that missionaries have never gone to before and found a.. wait for it... TRAILER PARK. Spanish missionary gold mine, I tell you! We were driving through this ritzy foresty neighborhood for DAYS, our hearts were depressed, we were about to turn back.. turn the corner and.. BAM. It was like we had reached the promised land. 

Odds 'n' ends:

* We met a guy from Afghanistan street contacting the other day and.. he kissed each of our foreheads at least three times and then proceeded to kiss me on the eyeball. BUT it was all worth it because he actually came to church! Haha. 

* I would just like to formally apologize for making roughly three too many really terrible/cheesy scripture references throughout this email. 

Letter #26 03/02/15

And, what do you know?  Hermana Clark my trainer, and Hermana Flitton my MTC companera are both serving in the ward too. haha.  So every Hermana here has been my companion at on point.  #familyrenion

A whole new worrrlllldddddd!  Once upon time in the land of Crewe, VA, Hermanas Yost and Thompson were going over their lessons and plans for the day (Tuesday) before they made the trek up to Amelia. All of a sudden, their phone buzzes. Who could it be? Hermana Yost looks down, and sees that it is the zone leaders. She slides the keyboard up, opening the text that reads something along the lines of..

"Hey, Hermana Yost is getting transferred. Hurry and pack up your entire life in two seconds, okay?"

..And I was like, what??!?! After a moment of complete shock, I break into straight sobs. We call the ZL's, and they explain it all. Basically, on Saturday night the assistants to the presidents had somehow forgotten to call us, so when President called our name at transfer meeting on Tuesday, we obviously weren't present and.. yes. Frijoles locos, my friends! They then told us that Hermana Thompson was getting transferred too, and it was just the craziest thing. So we had 3ish hours to pack up our entire lives and try to clean up our house the best we could and call members and investigators and get it all figured out for the missionaries taking over the area and... whoaaaa. There was many a nervous laugh and many many a tear shed. Haha. They've got to at least know me well enough to understand that my stress/anxiety levels COULD NOT take a transfer surprise. But alas, it happened.

Learning to make paposas!  So good!  This is the life my friends! Oh and HI this is La Hma Kingsley

The sweetest of all the Macheca girls, Liana and Aixa!  I love their family so! :)

So, here I am. Residing in.... WOODBRIDGE, baby! Woop woop x3,000. The Potomac River (Spanish speaking) WARD. I quite literally feel like I'm in El Salvador right now. Minus the snow, and the super nice houses and all things American, when I look around me at any given moment, regardless of where I am, EVERYONE is Hispanic. It's NUTS!  This city is like 60% hispanic or something ridiculous. I can't even describe what it has done to my heart. It's thrown me for the biggest loop EVER. Like, I don't even remember how to be a missionary, haha. But the merciful thing about that is, I'm serving with..

La Hermana Kingsley! The queen bee of all the mission. She is such a champion. Like, I just sit in lessons with my mouth gaping open like, uhhh.. just keep talking forever, haha. I've learned SO much from her already. 

How I feel to be here in the Wood Hood! :)

How Hermana Kingsley feels to have me here.

I don't really have super tons else to say, except for the fact that, HI. Heavenly Father is SO SO merciful. He really does deliver us in our times of trial. He wants us to be happy and if we endure the rough stuff well (or even not so well sometimes #yikes) He will give us more than we could ever wish for. His love is SO real and He wants to see our dreams come true. 

God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if you don’t pray, and He can’t if you don’t dream. In short, He can’t if you don’t believe.

I love Him and I LOVE you guys. And I love spanish sososososo much. Keep trucking along through the ups and downs of life. They will ALWAYS come, but just as God reached out in love once again with the restoration of the gospel, He will ALWAYS reach out, pull us up and out of the hard times and give us something greater.

SO MUCH LOVE.

La Hermana Yost <3

Odd's and End's-

* A cute lady in Relief Society passed around a tupperware of baby marshmallows yesterday, so.. haha.

* Hermana Kingsley and I are working on a SINGLE ADULT program here in the ward. My YSA dreams are being fulfilled!