A girl has got to do what a girl has got to do

Hi family and friends,

 So things have calmed down in our area. It isn't as crazy anymore...thank goodness! We still have a lot of work though but we are enjoying it. And especially enjoying being in a trio! There is just so many things you can do in a trio! There is always someone to talk to, someone to be with you when the other goes to the bathroom (unless both of them have to go.... 😑), someone to lift you when you are feeling down, you can divide and conquer as long as one of them can see and hear you still....I submit trios are the best. Especially with Hermana Zaugg and Hermana Scott. It is funny how different they are but it just makes our companionship so much better!

 This week we had another baptism. Her name is Laura Guzman and she was the other sisters investigator but when the areas were combined she became ours but man, her baptism was one of the most interesting ones I have ever done. All the planning went fine and she did great, it was just getting the baptismal room ready. So our ward mission leader forgot to call someone to fill the fount (and who can blame him, the guy has like three different callings in the ward...stressful!) and we thankfully showed up a half an hour before the baptism was suppose to start. We realized that the fount was not filled and we did not have a key to get into the back rooms to turn on the pump. Thank goodness someone had left the curtain to the fount unlocked, do Hermana Zaugg wasted no time. She hiked up her skirt, climbed over the glass railing to the fount and jumped down into the fount. She then ran around the back way and got to the doors to unlock it so that we could get in. I then had to pick the lock to the plumbing...not an easy fleet and we finally were able to get the water going but man for a moment there, we were scared that we weren't going to be able to have a baptism!

The baptism turned out great even though Laura had to do it four different times because we accidentally stopped the water before it was all the ways filled... Oops! 😅Thank goodness she has such a good humor. She told us "well I better be clean now if I got dunked four times!" She is so funny! 😂 We really love her! Also Hermana Scott and I sang for her baptism...that was terrifying because President was there! And Hermana Scott wants to so badly be in the Psalms of Sac and I sure did not want to mess that up for her. (Psalms of sac is a music cd that the mission makes every year featuring the missionaries musical talents) It turned out pretty good and the whole ward says that now they know that we can sing, they are going to be using us more....well.. Great. Haha!

 We added a few more new investigators this week! One who is really cool! His name is Jesus! Apparently he was Hermana Vergaray's old investigator and when I was on a exchange with her we tried to go find him but couldn't....but his week we found him! And he is awesome! He told us how sometimes when he talks about a god or Jesus he gets a warm feeling in his chest and that he wants to build his faith! We got the opportunity to teach him how he can directly communicate with Heavenly Father through prayer! And he said one! A real one! Apparently the only prayers he has ever done are his recitations so that was his first true prayer! We are super excited for him!

 One last miracle! I got a call Saturday night from President telling me that Pedro had been baptized! A little bit of background, Pedro was an investigator that Hermana Justiniano and I put on date back in Elk Grove. When Hermana Justiniano and I got shotgunned out, somehow his information was not transferred over to the elders so they couldn't find him. Hermana Justiniano and I were devastated. I remember praying that somehow he would be found and he was! Three transfers later, they find him! And he was baptized! Hermana Justiniano was able to meet him at a multicultural event and he told her that he still remembered us! And that we were the Angels that changed his life around! Wow! That is such a tender blessing! In my time in Elk Grove, I thought we hadn't done anything for that area and then after we lost Pedro, I really felt horrible but it is all worth it now that he is baptized!

 It has been a great week! I hope your alls week is great too!

Hermana Paredes

Weddings, awkward contacts, and trios...yeah it is a good life 😂

Hello family and friends,

 Honestly, I love the trio life....I LOVE IT!! We are having so much fun working together and it is so nice that we are all on the same page when it comes to missionary work! I love Hermana Scott and Hermana Zaugg...though we look like the mafia just came to town every time we knock on a door....haha!

 So we had a wedding this week for our investigator, Laura. Originally she was he other sister's investigator but when we combined our areas she became ours. Let me tell you...there is nothing like a Latino wedding...it is seriously the best. 😉The ward really pulled together to make her wedding perfect and worry free for her. Our relief society is amazing! They seriously have the best presidency. And Laura...oh! She is such a sweetheart and she looked gorgeous! I think she will be just fine in this branch. She also got her baptismal interview this last week so she is all set for her baptism on the 8th! We are all really excited for her because this has been something she has been looking forward to for a long time and it is finally going to happen. We are all really proud of this step that she is taking.

 We had so many awkward contacts this week...so many! Not really sure why but they sure do make some great memories. For example, we were going to knock on this one guys apartment and when we turned the corner we saw this guy waiting right outside the door we were going to knock...so of course we started talking to him, asking him if he lived there, if he had talked to missionaries before, all of that good jazz. He was pretty tight lipped and didn't give us many answers. I also noticed that he was dressed pretty nice and I kept wondering why...well I got my answer soon enough. The door opens to reveal a girl who is also dressed really nice and I could catch a whiff of perfume...that's when I put two and two together...they were about to head out on a date and he was on her doorstep to pick her up....and we were third wheeling! (Do you see what I did there, third wheel? Trio? 😉) oh so awkward! She was all like "alright I'm ready to go." And then she saw us. The guy quickly ushered her back into her house and then scurried in after her and shut the door. We just stood there. Not knowing what to do..... So we walked away. Haha!

 I love that on the mission you never know what is going to happen when you contact someone. Every time it is something new...and interesting. 😂

 Some thoughts from General Conference...so I don't have many because my companions and I had to keep running in and out of general conference to fix the tv that was broadcasting conference in Spanish but this is what I do have. I loved what Russell M. Nelson shared about joy and how having Christ as our focus is the only way we will truly have joy.

Also Robert D. Hales when he talked about if we love the savior more, we will suffer less. That is so true! I'm have come to know that if we always have our focus on the Savior our lives are just...better. It is like the formula for everything. Are you sad? Rely on the savior. Are passing for trials? Rely on the savior. Are you feeling lonely? Rely on the savior. Anything you need, want, hope for? Just rely on the savior. How often do we forget this. He is literally the solution to everything! I loved what Elder Quentin L. Cook said, "Jesus Christ is the Mark." I absolutely love that! He is the mark. The perfect example. He is everything. And finally one last thing...he knows us and he knows where we are and he does not want to lose us. I love how so much of this conference focused on coming back to the fold and talked about his invitation to repent and come and know him. What a beautiful thing repentance is and how merciful is Heavenly Father to give us something such as repentance. I couldn't imagine my life without this great gift and experiencing it. I know that my life wouldn't be filled with so much joy if I hadn't experienced the healing power of the atonement. It is truly amazing to me.

 What was everyone's insight on general conference? I'd like to hear it.

 Hermana Paredes

It was the week before transfers...

Hola amigos y familia!

 Okay so this email is going to be short but contain a lot of pictures....lots!

 So first off, Juan. Man this week was crazy with our investigator Juan! So Monday night we tried to call Juan. No answer. Tuesday morning we tried to get ahold of him. No answer. Tuesday night, called him again. No answer. This continued to Thursday night when we finally got a hold of him. I about cried with relief. Apparently he has just had a very busy week and was going through a lot and wasn't able to get back to us but he told he had listened to our voicemail, read our texts, and Facebook messages, and the note that we left on his door filled with scriptures....yeah we are a bit persistent. Haha! But everything is good. Juan was baptized this past Saturday and confirmed Sunday morning and his daughter was able to come and witness that. It was amazing! He just was beaming from ear to ear! And he even gave his testimony at the end of the baptism. I love listening to converts testimonies!

 Basically my whole week was chasing down Juan and taking care of Hermana Niemann. She got really sick....the poor thing! She came down with a fever and chills and aches and had to stay in bed for 3 days so we didn't get much work done. About the only interest thing that happened was the baptism and transfer calls.

 For those of you who haven't had the joys of experiencing transfer calls...it is the same kind of feeling as when you were a little kid waiting for Santa. Usually they call us about nine to nine thirty ish but our zone leaders didn't call us till ten! We were dying!! I sort of knew that I was going to stay in North Sac, but I was not prepared for the call. They combined the other sisters area with ours so Hermana Leon and Hermana Stout were transferred out and Hermana Niemann (this one came as a shocker to me) was transferred out to Rancho Cordova. And I stayed here...and I got two new companions!! I'm in a trio again! What?! And my area is huge! Double what?! I seriously cover the whole stake except for Del Paso Heights which is the elders!! And this is my first time leading out an area too!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! (I know I seam like I am freaking out but actually I am pretty calm....Sort of....haha!)

 So yeah....that has been my crazy week. Oh and I also went to the temple today! It was beautiful! 😊 

Love you all,

Hermana Paredes

Bringing in the Seven!

Hola familia y amigos!

 We had one of the coolest week! Oh it has been so great!

 First off, our investigator, Juan, got his baptismal interview this week and of course he passed with flying colors! Oh we are so excited for him. Though we were a little bit worried this past Sunday because he didn't show up to church and he wasn't answering his phone....scary. Turns out he went out to his car Sunday morning to drive to church to find that his battery of his car was dead. Nothing he did could get it jumpstarted....arggggghhhhh! Satan is definitely at work but Hermana Niemann and I are working harder. He is totally not going to win.

 Also another story with Juan! Hermana Niemann and I were trying to get out of our dinner appointment so that we could get to our investigator's appointment. We even had a member, Lorenzo, meeting us at Juan's house but the member kept talking and talking. Strangely enough Hermana Niemann and I were pretty peaceful about out it. By the time we were actually able to leave the appointment, we were 15 minutes late. We quickly sped over to our appointment and then looked around the apartment complex to find Lorenzo. We couldn't find him anywhere! So we finally gave up and decided that we would just have to go to Juan's. We knocked the door and to our great surprise, Lorenzo opened it! They had been sitting at the table just talking and getting to know one another! That was an answer to a prayer! Juan had been telling us that the number one thing he was finding difficultly with was finding friends at church but know he has one really good friend. And you can tell that they are really good friends because during the lesson they kept on cracking inside jokes!!! Oh my gosh! It was amazing! The spirit was so strong with those two! I swear, Lorenzo is the best member missionary ever! For example at the end of the lesson, Juan was telling us of some of the struggles he faces and before Hermana Niemann or I could open our mouths, Lorenzo began to bear a powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon! He told Juan that if he ever feels sad all he has to do is read the Book of Mormon! "It just makes me feel better anytime I read this book. It brings me peace!" I love my recent convert.

 So this week we got seven new investigators! And I'm going to share with you a miracle...

 Hermana Niemann and I had had a very long day without much success so we were about to just head to our last back up and it wasn't even eight yet... Plus the backup was a member. We were pretty bummed especially since that morning we has been praying really hard to find the lord's elect and we felt like we had seen much success. We were driving to our members house and out of the corner of my eye, I see this guy fixing his truck on the side of the road. I didn't think much of it and kept driving, but then I got the feeling that we should turn back and talk to him. My thoughts were, " well...we got nothing to lose!" So I flipped a U turn. Hermana Niemann was so confused and she was said "Wait! What are we doing?" "We are going to go get us a new investigator" and that is exactly what we did. Turns out this guy had visited to missionaries before...when they were Elders. That was a long time ago! He said he had always wondered why they had stopped visiting him. When I asked him if he would be interested in having missionaries con over again, he got really excited and said yes! He even said "I still have that book that they gave me! The Book of Mormon!" Oh we are really excited about him. Best part...he has a family! Three cheers for family! Whoop! Whoop!

 Okay one more miracle lesson. So we went back to one of our new investigators house because we had missed our appointment with her due to Hermana Niemann's throat swelling up. (Not really sure if I told you all that story or not.... 🤔) When we knocked on her door, she was like "come in! Come in!" She told us that she has been reading the book we left her, the Book of Mormon! She had so many questions and we were able to teach her the restoration but what really caught her was the bible and the fact hat so many plain and precious things had been taken away. She to,d us that she had always wondered that. She especially got excited about the restoration of the priesthood! She said that she had been studying in the bible about the priesthood and the power of God but had always wondered what happened to it! She is just so prepared but the most interesting thing was when we were trying to show her a scripture in Moroni, she freaked out! She said that in her grandpas bible, there was the book of Moroni, 3 Nephi, and Ether. Weird right. So we are going to have to do a bit of re-explaining to her because now she thinks the Book of Mormon is the missing book from the bible...oops! Well she is still a really cool investigator. 😅

 Funny story: as missionaries, we need a backer anytime we back out of a parking spot. Hermana Niemann was backing me out of my spot and this guy was just staring at us. Hermana Niemann turned to him and said "we have to do it." He just looked at her and replied "It is okay, everyone has got to learn at some point" and then he gave me a thumbs up and shouted "Good job!" Bahahahahaha! He thinks I'm learning how to back up! Hahahaha! It was so funny! We had a good belly laugh! Sweet guy! 😂

 Well, I think that is all! Next week is transfer week so I will be emailing Tuesday.

 Love you all!

Hermana Paredes

God is not a hater

Hi family and friends

 The quote above is just another great thing our friend on the corner always yells out...he has got some pretty good points. 😉 Anyways! This week! It has really just been a great week. Sorry I didn't write last week...it was to darn stressful. I spent half of my last p-day trying to organize a musical number and honestly writing a whole weekly email would have stressed me out more....hope that didn't ruin anyone's week! Haha!

 So yeah, I organized a whole musical number for zone conference. That was super stressful trying to coordinate with everyone's busy schedules but it ended up turning out really good. I recorded it so I will send it along. Zone conference in general was amazing! I love listening to President and getting trained on how to be a better missionary but the biggest thing I got out of the training is that the lord is hastening his work and he needs more then ever missionaries who understand his purpose which is to "bring to pass the immorality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39) It really reconfirmed to me how 100% focused I need to be on this work! Heavenly Father so deeply loved us that he wants each one of us to have the opportunity to hear this incredible message about the atonement and the gospel. And he so deeply loved us he desperately wants every single one of us to return to him but he has to rely on a bunch of 18-26 year old adults to do that work for him....scary but then kind of not. I'm amazing that he would put that much trust in our hands and I am more determined then ever to not let him down or my brothers and sisters down. Someone I loved that President said this that no one of us has ever walked pass just a mere mortal....so so true! We all are children of God with the capacity to become like God...none of us are mere mortals.

 So something really cool this week is that our investigator, Juan, gave up coffee. Stopped cold turkey. We literally had a lesson with him about the Word of Wisdom and he was like okay, and handed over his coffee! He is the coolest and one of the most converted people I have ever met. He has such a great faith in the lord and his plan for him that he is totally willing to align his will with the lords. I am honestly amazed by him. We are going to go and buy him some Pero so that he has something to help him ease off the coffee.

 Isn't it amazing how much the gospel changes people?! I find it amazing! Just by hearing it, it just makes you want to be a better person! Wow....I can't imagine a better gift from our Heavenly Father. Giving us something that just increases our ability to become like him. He just thought of everything for us.

 Something that I'd like to share with you all is a scripture found in the Book of Mormon. I was reading this morning and this verse really hit me.

It is found in Mosiah 5:13.

 "13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?"

 My first thoughts where how can we know he savior without serving him...we can't. We can know of him but not actually know him. I've seen that difference in so many people I met here. You can tell when they know the savior and when they simply know of him. This is something I love about the gospel, it teach is us to know him! To actually know him! To have a relationship with him! That is incredible to me. This is why I love being a missionary! This is the reason why I am doing this! I'm so grateful that this gospel teaches me to have a personal relationship with my savior. I couldn't imagine my life without actually knowing him. What a blessing it is! And I want the whole world to know it...and someday they will.

 I love you all and I hope you have a great week! If you all have spiritual insights or tips on teaching or anything else that would help me be a better missionary, please send it my way!

 Hermana Paredes! ❤️

Facebook and all sorts of other craziness!

Dear family and friends..

 Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! This week was insane! My brain is fried! We had so many crazy changes and met so many crazy people this week....I love the mission!

Here are a few funny stories from this week.

We added this sweet old lady as a new investigator but she is so confused. Hahah! We went back for our return appointment with her and tried to follow up with her about her reading in the Book of Mormon and came to realize she couldn't read the paper copy because the letters were too small. So we tried to help her download the gospel library app onto her smartphone but for some reason or another it wouldn't download, so she told us to wait a minute and then she wandered into another room and grabbed an iPad. The iPad was dead so she went to the other room again and grabbed a charger. Her eyesight must be really bad because the charger was totally wrong. It was so funny because she was standing there trying to plug the charger in but of course it wasn't working so she was getting a little frustrated...poor women. Haha! Of course I tried to inform her that it was the wrong plug but she kept on insisting that it had worked before. She is just so cute! After five minutes of trying her hardest, she finally gave up and we told her that we would get her a Book of Mormon in bigger print but it was so funny because Hermana Niemann was trying so hard not to laugh that her face was getting red. Oh I love my companion!

Next funny story takes place while we were tracting in this neighborhood. So there are several clues to finding a Spanish home, number one being "do they have Christmas lights strung up?". There was this house that had Christmas lights strung up so we knocked. To our surprise, a short Russian women answers the door. That kind of caught us off guard! But Hermana Niemann is an excellent missionary and immediately asks if we could show her a video about Jesus Christ in Russian. As soon as the words "Jesus Christ" come off her lips, the lady goes loco crazy! She is all like "JESUS IS FRIEND! Love Jesus! Amen! Amen!" And wringing her hands everywhere.

We were afraid she was going to give herself a heart attack by how excited she got! Finally we got her to calm down by saying "yes, Jesus is our friend too! We love him too!" and we tried again to show her the video but she played gestures with us till we figured that she was trying to tell us she was busy cooking so not right now. We respected that and said our goodbyes and then walked away. We are like a block down the road when we hear a voice behind us yelling "Girls! Girls!" and we turn around to see her running towards us waving a book in the air above her head. She gave both of us a book named the Life book and then pointed at it and said "Jesus! Friend! Your friend!" and then gave both of us a hug and then ran back to her house....well that was a first! Haha! Hermana Niemann and I skimmed through it and honestly it solidified my testimony more of the Book of Mormon and the church and how everything just is true. In this book, there was just so many confusing interpretations of Jesus Christ and God. I'm so grateful we have the Book of Mormon that solidly tells us truths.

Super spiritual moment: We had a lesson this past Sunday with Juan and his daughter, Fatima. They are amazing! Just super humble and super prepared! I don't think I ever told you all this but Juan is on date! For September 24th! And now we are working with Fatima to get her on date but this last lesson we had with her proved that she wants this. Even though she is an eleven year old girl....she wants this.

We were teaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ which consists of faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. We focused a lot on baptism and ended up showing Fatima and her dad the baptism of Jesus Christ. (The bible video form). As soon as the video was done, I asked her what she had felt while watching that. She was quiet for a long time just really thinking about it, and then finally she said "I felt loved".....wow....I have never heard that response before. So many times I have heard peace or calm...but not love.

I then asked her why she thinks she felt love. Again she was quiet for a while (she really is a deep thinker) and then she said "because of everything he did for me and now he is showing me the way". Wow, I could of hugged her in that moment. She totally understands! She understands who the savior is for her! That is incredible! We had the opportunity to extend the baptismal invitation and she said yes immediately. And I know it is because in that moment she felt the savior's love for her.

So some of you may have noticed that I'm back on Facebook again! Our mission officially has permission to do online proselytizing. It is super weird! We got on them this week to clean them out and it brought back so many old memories and some of the things that I miss about home. To be completely honest.... It was rough and it was so easy to become distracted while cleaning it out but as soon as I remembered my purpose, the spirit came back and then I could see how marvelous this tool is! I think it is amazing that the lord is using something such as face book to hasten his work and I am super grateful for this opportunity to use it! What an incredible blessing!

So as you can see there are so many miracles and so many adventures happening here. It I such a blessing to serve the lord in such this short time. It really is just a short time. What a blessing.

I love you all,
Hermana Paredes
Over and out.

The reason I wanted to serve a mission

Dear family and friends.

Lorenzo's baptism
Hermana Niemann, Hermana Sofia, Hermana Woodbury,  Hermano Lorenzo

I have so much to tell you all but I probably won't have enough to time to say it all so I am typing as fast as my little fingers will allow me. (Curse my little hands and slow typing skills!)

First of all, Lorenzo got baptized this week....MY FIRST INVESTIGATOR GOT BAPTIZED THIS WEEK!! I am beyond over joyed to be able to make that announcement. Though still the begin of this week was super stressful because we had to basically set up everything. Talks, piano player, who would baptize him....the whole shabang! (And probably spelled that wrong...oops) but it turned out amazing. I have been to many baptismal services before but I Have never felt the spirit so intense as this one. Not even in my own baptism! Literally as soon as he came out of that water, time seemed to stand still. He just stood there in the water with his chin trembling and there was just a different glow about him. He has always had a glow about him but this one was brighter...more brilliant. When I looked into his face, I just knew that he knew it. That he could feel it so deep in his heart. I about leaped out of my chair and to the baptismal fount to hug him. I wanted to tell him I felt it too! I haven't had that much joy in my heart before.

I have had many joyful experiences in my life but nothing like this....I'm probably going to start crying writing this but it is so hard to explain what I felt. My heart was pounding so hard, and I felt like I could run miles, shout for joy, I don't know! Something! I had to do something! I imagine my joy will even be greater when I get to sit with him in the celestial kingdom some day.

I think also it is more special to me because I was with him from beginning to end of this process...all the way until he stepped into those waters. I seriously cannot even began to explain what it felt like. I wish I had the words....but I seriously don't. But I think the sweetest moment was when he bore his testimony. That just really reaffirmed to me that all the sacrifices I have made to come out and serve were all work it. My joy was filled.

Can I just brag about Lorenzo for a second? Lorenzo is the best! He is the absolute best! This past Sunday, the Sunday he got confirmed, we asked him if he would come to visit a potential with us. Just because he is super cool, he said yes. This potential's name is Juan and he has a daughter. Apparently they have been to church before but in a different ward in Rancho Cordova. He was going with a friend for a while and from what he told us is that he saw something different about his friend and now he wants the same happiness for himself. So he agreed to have missionaries come and teach him.

We got his contact information and ended up calling. We set up a time to meet him Sunday and now that is were we are at in this story. So Lorenzo came with us....and he was AMAZING! We were just talking to Juan, trying to get to know him and he was telling us somethings that had happened to him in his past. Lorenzo just starts talking out of nowhere and starts bearing his testimony about how he knows that our message could help him with whatever he was dealing with....Our recent convert was doing missionary work! How cool is that?! Wow but anyways we ended up adding him as a new investigator and Lorenzo even invited him to church next Sunday...without us even asking him to do it! As we were walking away from that appointment, Lorenzo kept on telling us how great that felt and if we were going to visit him again to call him because he wants to help Juan accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Can you really ask for a better recent convert?

This past Saturday, we had a multicultural event at the church. There were all types of food and dances from everywhere. Everything from the islands to Asia to Mexico! Super cool! What was even cooler is that one of the recent converts in our ward, Henyuri, did a Venezuelan dance! I will send the video along! But it was so awesome to be part of that.

Okay last thing....our mission is getting Facebook. That is the weirdest thing for me to say! It really is but its kind of cool at the same time...it is just proof to me that the lord's work is hastening more then we think. There are only 14 missions that have Facebook now and we are now one of the 14. Man that kind of tells you the level of trust the lord has in his missionaries. I will tell you more about that as I get information.

This week has been amazing...honestly there is no other place I'd rather be then right here in Sacramento California serving the lord.

I love you all and pray for you always!

Love Hermana Paredes
Over and out.