Week two in Back to Sac

Hello Family and Friends,

It has been a super rainy week in Sacramento but we are enjoying it!

Sunday was probably my favorite day! I got to see all the members again and I was super surprised to see how many people actually remembered me! They actually remembered my name! Most frequent comments I got... "Wow, you can actually speak Spanish now!" and "Wow...you have gotten fatter"....thank you? haha!!!

Another cool thing is that there was an investigator who came this week that a month a go, I sent her as a referral to the Elders here....and she even remembered me! I met her at a less actives house in East Sac so it was so good to see her here.

We think that she will probably get baptized soon because she loved church. While her daughters wanted to go home to eat, she wanted to stay the full three hours!! SO cool! We are really excited for the elders.

Hermana Woodbury and I are hitting the pavement hard. We are doing everything in our power to find someone to put on date this month...and we have quite a few good options. There are three children from different less active families that are baptismal age so we are trying to get in contact with them and set up some appointments. Thus far...we haven't had any luck but we are still praying for that miracle.

We are working with quite a few people but we don't think any of them will be prepared for February...probably more in March. Solemn is one of them and we taught her how she could receive an answer through reading the book of Mormon and praying and then left her the commitment to read and pray about it...when we came back, she told us that she had done what we had asked her to but received no answer. That pretty much sums up most of our investigators. They keep commitments but are not receiving answers or not recognizing them. All of them want to be baptized but are not willing to commit to a date... yeah...it can be sort of frustrating sometimes but it is okay. We are just going to keep praying and working with them.

I really don' t have much to tell you all this week...sorry but I will try to find some good stuff to send next week!

Love you all, Hermana Paredes

What a crazy transfer/year/life!!!

 So family and friends...I hope that this email finds you well.

We just had transfers and the whole mission got flipped onto it's side!! (Well...I feel like it did...) Hermana Leon is training (I miss her so much!!!), Hermana Scott is training, Hermana Niemann and Nokes are training, and I have been shipped back to Sac to be an STL with Hermana Woodbury!!

Round two!!

We are so excited and I am actually surprised by how many people actually remember me...wow! so loved! Haha!

The first few days here were strange because of being trained here...so many good memories but I am way pumped to make some new memories with Hermana Woodbury! We are going to make Sac great again! (Not like it isn't already great... :) )

Update on Ivon: Hermana Leon and I decided to release him for a time. Not because he wasn't progressing but because his wife is very very against us teaching him and we didn't want there to problems with in the family. It was a super sad release. He was pretty heartbroken that we could not visit him anymore....he was so good! We left him the first chapter in the Book of Mormon to read and he read all the way up to chapter 22! WHY?! He wants to be baptized so bad! And he is saying his prayers and they have improved so much! He now has a great relationship with his heavenly father and he is progressing and he loves the Book of Mormon....it just make me so sad thinking about it.

But it alright. I find comfort in the fact that he has a true desire and if he has that true desire, the Lord will help him fulfill all of his commandments. Just like it says in 1 Nephi 3:7..."The Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way that they might accomplish that which he hath commanded them." (Probably not word for word but it is pretty darn close)

Everything will work out for him.

Update on Jackie: She is having a bit of trouble keeping her commitments and we are a bit worried that she is more worried about how the baptism is going to be like more then she is worried about the actual covenant that she will be making with God. Hermana Leon and I went over there and explained baptism to her again so that she would have a clear understand of what baptism is really and she seamed to understand it a little bit more this time. We have decided to move her date to February 18th instead of the 11th.

Hermana Leon and her baby will now continue to teach her...tear!

Oh!! By the way!! Our less active member came to church again and stayed the full three hours!! We were so excited!!! She is so great and she was so sad to hear that I was leaving! I love her so much!

Also I got to translate a special lesson given by the Stake Relief Society...about pornography....yeah...that was interesting. Thank goodness for Hermana Leon! She and I took turns translating but man! Some of those words really stumped us both so we would make up randomness and hoped that it tied in somehow to what they were saying! haha!

love you all, Hermana Paredes

It's another miracle week!!!

Dear family and friends!

 I am on cloud nine right now! Seriously just beaming ear to ear!

We had so many less actives come to church this Sunday (three to be exact) and the Relief Society of our ward is amazing! They totally surrounded them and made them feel so welcome! So extremely blessed to have a ward that has such a big heart! They are all so great!

One of the ladies hasnt been to church in over 11 years so this was her first time coming back and because of the love she felt at church she said that she would be returning! YESSSSSS!!! You member have such a great influence on people, you have no idea! So thank you!

By the way...the past few weeks, Hermana Leon and I have totally turned this whole area around. We haven't had less then six new investigators per week! That is a miracle for us because the first time that Hermana Leon got here, we had only one investigator that we were going to drop so we basically had no one to teach! The lord has been extremely merciful unto us. I'm blown away by the out pour of love from our Heavenly Father. She and I both agree that is only through His mercy and grace that we have this many people to teach. We now have one progressing investigator and soon to be someone on date! We are so excited!

Update on Ivon: Still no change. His wife will not change her mind but we are now just looking for ways to serve her and praying every night for that family. Thank you for your prayers for them. We are going to continue teaching him at least once a week so that he can continue to grow his testimony.

And now I know you all want to know about my birthday...it was pretty good! haha! Quite honestly...I didn't tell anyone it was my birthday other then my companion so we didn't have a birthday dinner...at least not on my birthday. Hermana Leon and I just went out to eat at Chilis for lunch and she told the waitress while I was in the bathroom that it was my birthday...even though I told her not too! haha! It's all good! I got a cup of ice cream out of it! (thumbs up!) And then we went out bike riding to find people. We didn't find anyone that day but it is all good. Our zone leaders are hilarious though!! Some how word got around to the zone leaders that it was my birthday (cough cough Hermana Leon cough cough) and so they hunted us down while we were proselyting and sang to me out their car window and gave me a small jar of peanut butter (I don't remember this but I may have told them I had a Peanut Butter addiction...which is totally true! haha!) That was probably one of the sweetest surprises but I think what was even more sweet was our investigators! Juana and Isidro have three little girls that some how found out that it was my birthday (I think that was Hermana Leon as well.... she is funny) so when we pulled up to their house for our appointment, all three of them charged the car screaming at the top of their lungs "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!". It was so funny! They were all jumping all over me and gave me a tiara and demanded that I wore it the whole lesson. That busted everyone up! They also gave me a stuffed animal bear that is holding a heart.

I love those girls so much!!!

And I love Hermana Leon! She is so thoughtful and kind and just the best example for me! Honestly, I could be happier to be her companion. Everyday is a blessing to be with her....I am seriously terrified for transfers because I do not want to leave East Sac or her....I am going to do some begging with the lord and President..haha!

Oh I forgot!! Lorenzo my recent convert called me and wished me a happy birthday! I absolutely love him! He was the cherry on top of everything!

I also had an amazing Birthday dinner this past Friday with the Thompson! Seriously love them so much! The crack me up all the time!

Okay enough about me...I'm starting to sound like the Cookie Monster.

One more thing and then I done! I promise! One of the Elders just had his first birthday on the mission, so Hermana Leon and I baked a cake for him for P-day. It was so funny trying to sneak it into the church! She and I are totally not sneaky at all...we were falling over ourselves laughing at how obvious we were being! haha!

By the way!! We got permission to put Juana and Isidro's daughter on date! We are soooo excited! So far we have had one lesson with her and she totally wants to be baptized. We also brought a member with us and she bore a beautiful testimony about baptism and the gift of the holy ghost. It was very very powerful and now Jackie is so excited to be baptized. We will be putting her on date tonight! Pray for us!!!

I think the number one thing I learn this week is how beautiful the gospel really is to me. Our district leader had us as each other the baptismal questions before Sunday...that was a very interesting experience for me. Everyday, I get to bear my testimony to random strangers but this one was different. This was soul searching.

The questions are the following: 1. Do you believe that God is our Eternal Father? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world? 2. Do you believe the Church and gospel of Jesus Christ have been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith? Do you believe that [current Church President] is a prophet of God?What does this mean to you? 3. What does it mean to you to repent? Do you feel that you have repented of your past transgressions? 4. Have you ever committed a serious crime? If so, are you now on probation or parole? Have you ever participated in an abortion? a homosexual relationship? 5. You have been taught that membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes living gospel standards. What do you understand of the following standards? Are you willing to obey them? a. The law of chastity, which prohibits any sexual relationship outside the bonds of a legal marriage between a man and a woman. b. The law of tithing. c. The Word of Wisdom. d. The Sabbath day, including partaking of the sacrament weekly and rendering service to fellow members. 6. When you are baptized, you covenant with God that you are willing to take upon yourself the name of Christ and keep His commandments throughout your life. Are you ready to make this covenant and strive to be faithful to it? We didn't ask question number four because that would be an awkward one to answer but all the others we did answer...and with everyone that I answered, the spirit confirm to me that it was true....I do really believe in all these things. I do know for myself that Jesus Christ is my savior. That I have a Heavely Father who loves me personally. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that he did really Restore Christ's church...I know that the first vision really did happen. I know that repentance IS the plan of happiness...not the backup plan and I know that anything can be wiped clean through his atoning blood. It is something so real to me. I know that this gospel blesses families...it is the only way to happiness and the only way back home. This earth is not our home. We had another home before and if we life a worthy life we will return to it and a Heavenly Father who can love us more then we imagine. I seriously can not wait to arrive there so that I can personally thank him for loving me enough to let me go and live this life....despite the challenges and hardships. Despite my loneliest nights. i have grown and learned so much this far and I know it is all part of his great plan.

If you are struggling with your testimony or if you just done know, I would invite you to discover the wonders of the gospel. You will never regret that you did.

love you all, Hermana Paredes

Best Christmas Ever!!! 🎄

Okay so is week was insane.. we had Elder Renlund visit our mission and speak to all of us missionaries. Super cool! Got so much personal revelation! To bad I got sick in the middle of it and had to run out to throw up...haha!

 I also walked up a hill to get to the temple for a special conference...I will tell you all about that later. But it was totally a spiritual experience.

Even when you are biking in freezing weather...

Wow! I still can not believe that another transfer has flown by...that is crazy!

 Hola amigos y familia,

This week with Hermana Leon has been so great. She is a super on task missionary and we are really getting things done here! We have been able to visit tons of less actives and our investigators as well. Actually we had quite a few miracles with the less actives.

We were out knocking some potentials doors as well as trying to locate our recent convert that has been to church in ages, and we were just not having any success. So she and I decided that we would go back to our car and go to our backups. Funny thing is that she and I kept on getting the feeling that we were missing something. That there was something in this area that we were suppose to do but we couldn't figure it out so we were just going to leave. As we were heading back to our car, we saw two Latino men further down the road walking to an old broken down truck. It was one of those awkward distances were you weren't sure if it would be weird to just start walking towards them or not. (If that makes any sense...it made sense in my head at the time). Yeah....so she and I were just going to hop into the car but the passenger door would not unlock. No matter how many times I pressed the unlock button, nothing would happen. We both just stood there staring at the car not sure what was our next move so I said "Well....it looks like the lord wants us to go talk to those two." And that is exactly what we did...turns out one of them is a really less active member and the other was his friend. We were able to get his phone number and address so that we could send the missionaries over to him since he doesn't live in our area. As soon as we were done talking to him and his friend, I was able to unlock the doors with no problem...interesting right?

Another experience with a less active. Hermana Leon and I, after giving service in IRC, decided to go to Panda Express 🐼 and as we were ordering food...a less active walked in. We hadn't seen her in quite a long time and hadn't been able to contact her. So it was a total miracle that she had a craving for Americanized Chinese food at the same time we did. Haha! We were able to invite her to the ward activity and she said that she would come (she ended up not coming but hopefully she will come to church this next Sunday for our Christmas program). But not even two minutes after we said goodbye to her, this young man came up to us and asked us what our tags said...Let me tell you, missionaries get so excited when people approach us instead of us having to approach them! We quickly answered his question and told him a little bit about what we do as missionaries. He was in a rush so we were only able to give him a #LIGHTtheWORLD card and a commitment to visit the website. He said "I will!...no I really promise I will! Thank you so much!" What a miracle! And during our lunch break as well!

We were also able to contact another less active and he told us that he had been wanting to come back to church but he doesn't drive and is currently having a few surgeries that he needs to recover from. He was going to come to our ward activity but couldn't make it do to being in traffic while trying to drive back from San Jose.

It was really interesting to me how the lord worked this week. We did not get so many new investigators but we were able to get in contact with some of Heavenly Fathers lost sheep.

I love the scripture in Mathew 18 11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Heavenly Father doesn't just want us to find new people but he wants us to take care of the old as well. He is mindful of all his children and loves each one equally. He put them in our path this week and I know it was for a certain reason. He will keep trying to bring me back to the fold. He will never give up.

This Christmas season, i would invite you all to reach out to those that have strayed from the fold. Your less actives and those that maybe struggling with their testimony. Bring them back. That is one of the greatest gifts you could give your savior.

I love you all and I will write next week! ❤️ Hermana Paredes

P.s. I am singing in the Christmas program! Ha...hah...ahhhhhh!

Miracles just before the Transfer!

Hi Family and Friends!
 So we had another transfer and I am not a Sister Training Leader anymore.

There were too few sisters in the mission at this point so Hermana Nokes and I got released. I am now with Hermana Leon...and she is from Peru! So we make one Peruano and a half!!! YEAH! No, honestly I already love being her companion. She has got so many bright ideas and is super sweet. Plus she makes me laugh a ton! Seriously could not ask for a better companion.

 There have been so many crazy things happening this week and we had some AMAZING lessons! I am super excited what the results will be from those!

First off we had a lot of lessons with less actives this week and there is one less active who we have been really working on. She really wants to come back to church but there are just some circumstances holding her back but she truly wants to come. We have been praying a lot for her and trying to make some specific plans to try and help her come. Nothing has work these past few weeks but we had a miracle this past Sunday. SHE CAME! When she walked through the door, I about cried! Oh it is the most beautiful thing to see someone come back. She was so happy to be there and she told us at the end of church, that she is going to try to come every week...even if it means that she can only stay one hour. Wow! God is so good!

We also have started teaching a family. The father is a member who was baptized when he was eight down in Mexico but never was active in the church so we are working on helping him understand the blessings of staying with the church. His children and his wife though are not members. When we first met them, we asked them what they thought the purpose of life is. They told us they could not honestly answer so we asked them if we could teach them and they accepted. Along with that first encounter, we were able to defend our belief about eternal families. The father told us that it was not possible to have eternal families because we are all part of the family of god. We then asked him if this was something that he wishes could be true. That we can be eternal families. He told us yes but it was impossible.

There is something so powerful about testimony. Something just amazing and powerful. As Hermana Nokes and I testified about the power inside temples to seal families and how families are part of God's eternal plan, there was a hush that came over the room. Not one of them tried to contradict us as we testified. Probably one of the most powerful moments that I have had on my mission.

I can testify that the only reason they accepted a return appointment is because the spirit witnessed to them that our word were true. I am so grateful to have the Holy Ghost as a companion. It truly is the only thing that can convert us and change us. I love the feels that I get as my companion testify or as I testify or (my personal favorite) our members and recent converts testify. Testimony is a powerful tool to bring others to Christ. People need to hear our testimonies in order to feel that witness from the spirit! But how can they hear it if we do not open our mouths.

Here is the scripture of the week!

"Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble." - Mosiah 28:3

If we have felt the cleansing power of the atonement, then let us reach out so that others may feel it as well. Let us be desperate enough to not see any of our brothers and sisters perish that love fills our hearts and we open our mouths and testify! Only your testimony can bring them to the knowledge of the gospel...Therefore share it! I love you all! and I will send pictures next week! Hermana Paredes

tidings of great joy

WOW! I can't believe it is Monday already! This week went by crazy fast! I am just so amazing by how fast the time flies by...probably because we are always so busy. :P

 Well hello Family and Friends!

This week is has been pretty great! I am seriously enjoying every moment here in the mission...I still can't believe that it is December already! WHERE DID THE YEAR GO?!?!

 So basically our week consisted of so many meetings and Sister Training leaders things we hardly had no time to work in our own area! But we still had some amazing miracles.. :) Saturday was basically the only day that we had to proselyte in our area and WOWOWOWOWO!!!! WE talked to SOOOOOO many people! We have this thing in our mission called park your car day, were all the missionaries have to park their cars and ride bikes the whole day. The whole idea is to get us talking to more people. The past two Saturdays have been full of rain and cold but this Saturday was gorgeous! Absolutely beautiful! (Blessing number one from our heavenly father) And we everyone we met were super friendly and actually open to hearing our message! (Blessing number two) AND we got two new solid investigators just from Saturday alone!!! YEAHHH! (Blessing number three). They are really really cool. One of them at first wanted nothing to do with us but then she told us that her niece got recently baptized and I just happened to know her niece from my last area! She opened up a lot to us after that. She began to tell us how she had searched into a lot of different churches but was struggling to know how to find the truth....well...we can help with that! :) We ended up setting up a return appointment and left her with a promise that this was an answer to her prayers. Now that I think about it, our appointment is tonight! I'm super excited to teach this sweet spirit.

 We also contacted someone else in the same apartment complex who apparently use to be a former investigator. She too at first was not interested but we saw that she was struggling to carry her groceries in so we offered to help and she opened up to us. Isn't service the best? We ended up getting to know her a lot more and she told us how she was here alone in the united states and how she missed her kids down in Honduras. She also told us about how most of her family members have passed away and how she is not exactly sure if there is an afterlife. Perfect teaching moment! My lovely companion shared with her a few points about the plan of salvation and then I had the opportunity to testify to the truths that she stated. The spirit was so strong in the room and before Lourdes was half listening but now we had her full attention. Could totally tell she was feeling it. We asked her if she would be interested in learning more about this message and she gave us a solid yes. We have an appointment with her on Saturday! Whoop! whoop! :)

 The Lord is truly blessing us here in East Sac, and not just us but the Elders as well. According to Hermana Nokes, the elders haven't had investigators at church for the past three transfers. WELL.....they had one come this week. Actually, they have had three in the past two weeks and one really solid one named Jose! He is super super awesome! Comments in gospel principles, loves what we teach....he even stayed after church to practice the song we are going to be singing as a ward in our Christmas program! He just fits right in! We are super excited for the Elders!

 So for meetings, we had MLC (Mission Leadership Council), Team ups with the other Hermanas, and Zone Training. Zone Training is always super stressful but it always turns out good. Hermana Nokes and I were assigned to train on Joy and Goals and we had planned out about 20 minutes to do....well the Zone leaders went a little bit over with their training and left us about five minutes....GREAT! We ended up trashing our original plan and just depending on the spirit. IT. WAS. CRAZINESS! But we got it done! President was also there for our Zone Training and when he gave his closing remarks, he said that we summed up perfectly what he had taken him a whole hour to train the leaders on at MLC! Talk about compliments from President! :) He even said that we should do the training for next MLC! (ha..haha...noooooooo thank you!)

 He is really great. :)

 But I think the biggest thing I learned from this week was actually from our training (Funny how when you are preparing to teach others, you end up learning something yourself). As I was studying about joy, I realized a few things. First, joy is a choice. Sometimes we mistakenly think that Joy is the consequence of a choice we make but actually it is quite the other way around. Joy is the choice we make. There is something that Elder Russell M. Nelson said in this last general conference that I just love. He said "My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." So very true. I just think about the many times I have had to walk or ride my bike in the rain or deal with difficult members or investigators, or even the time our car tire popped and we were stranded for a good two hours or so and I felt complete joy! I felt so joyful during all of these circumstances. It is so empowering to know that joy is a choice.

 Second, I feel the most joy when I am fulfilling my purpose. Hard work is a really good source for joy! I remember how many times I wasted so much time back home and hours later, I would look back and feel totally unfulfilled. I think the reason I feel so joyful out here is because I am actually fulfilling something. I have a purpose. A goal. It is wonderful.

 Third, the source of all joy is Jesus Christ. It is because of him that I can even feel joy! I am seriously so grateful for this time of year and that we have the opportunity to celebrate his birth. What a wonderful way to worship him... I love you all, Hermana Paredes

Hermanas Paredes and Nokes