Feliz Navidad!

Wow. I love the work. This week was super crazy, and filled with so many miracles and so many lessons to be learned.

Here in El Salvador, the tradition for Christmas, is a little different than what I am used to. Here the tradition is a huge dinner in 24, Noche Buena, which consists, of chicken, rice, potato salad and bread… They also have fireworks, firecrackers, and a ton of small devices to lite on fire. I was on my toes all week long, and I was so startled a couple times. It sounds like world war three here.

Anyways, In Noche Buena we had dinner four times! I felt like I was going to explode! I honestly never want to see chicken again in my life. But I am so grateful for this ward and all of the support that we have received.

Our Christmas miracle came when we went to visit a family that was recently baptized. They live in a tiny community behind our house and have some neighbors that we have tried to visit, but weren’t super positive. Well, we were walking by and the sister shouted “Hermanas! Come here! I have a question!” We went over and asked her how we could help. She is a beautiful young woman and has a young baby and her boyfriend. Well the first thing that she said was, “Hermanas we need your help to get married, we would like to be baptized.” I honestly had no idea what to say. It was the perfect Christmas miracle. The Lord is so merciful and this work is so beautiful.

We have been trying hard to get people to come to church. With so much going on, it is easy for people to make excuses to not go to church. Well, yesterday Hermana Avila and I went to church without a single investigator. I felt so bad and was having a major self-evaluation. Well just before I broke down into tears, one of our ancient and eternal investigators walked into the chapel. My heart stopped. I love this little old man. He is kind of super crazy, but he wanted to come to church, and thoroughly enjoyed himself. Wow… How merciful our Heavenly Father.

Wow, what a week. As we get closer to the new years I have tried to dedicate myself more to the basics of the gospel and missionary work. I was reading a general conference talk from Dieter F. Uchtdorf and I loved this quote, “Your testimony of the Living Son of God… may not come as quickly as you desire but I promise you this: if you do your part, it will come. And it will be glorious.” This work is so glorious!  It really helped motivate me to start over, and make sure that I always do my part.

I love you all! Thank you for your love and support!!

Hurrah for Israel!

Love Hermana Hipol

Hola Hola from El Salvador!

This week was so crazy, I am not sure where to start. My companion and I got lost in the Capitol, we had a Multi Zone Conference, and ended the week with Stake Conference. The Days are getting shorter, and the Lord is hastening this work, we are just trying to keep up with him.

This week I finished the Book of Mormon for the first time in Spanish! I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I love this book so much. It was as if I had read it for the first time ever, every page had some new insight, some precious treasure of knowledge. Though I did not understand every word, It really helped me improve my Spanish a lot.

This week was a week of Miracles. I have learned so much about prayer and about true scripture study. I know that as we focus on the small, simple parts of obedience, the Lord will bless us. This week was also a week of Faith. There were so many times when we had done all that we could do, and all that was left was trust in the Lord and in his timing, and without fail, every time He had a blessing in store for us.

I know this work is true. I know that the Lord Lives. I know that he loves us perfectly. I know that Heavenly Father is a God of Miracles. I know that he protects and leads his missionaries.

It’s just a short one this week, but thank you all for your love and support!

Hurrah for Israel

Love,

Hermana Hipol

Hola! Well, hello my friends and family! Here we are, plugging along and still keep in at it here in El Salvador. I sure love being a missionary.

This week the Lord has taught me so much. There were so many times where I thought I could literally not take another step and there was the Savior taking it with me. I go around all day saying. “Si se puedo, si se puedo” channeling my little engine vibe. It has been a little crazy but at the end of the day I can look back and see all of the miracles that happened.

This week we had another Baptism! His name is Julio and he is so awesome! We have only taught him about a month but he was so prepared to receive the gospel message. When we met him he had shoulder length hair and a mountain of problems. He changed so many things, made so much improvement and, al fin, cut his hair and on Saturday was baptized. It was amazing to see the atonement work in his life. I am sure that he will be a great missionary one day.

This week I had a very sacred experience. Hermana Avila and I were walking by a member’s house and the Hermana called us into her house. Her family is trying super hard to prepare to be sealed. She told us about a dream that she had. She saw an image of the nativity and heard a voice saying “I am he that was born of Mary in a manger and because of your sacrifices you will be sealed with your children in the temple”. The next Sunday every member of their family stood up and shared their testimony.

I love this work. I love you all!

Hurrah for Israel!
Love
Hermana Hipol!

What an absolutely crazy, crazy week….

First things first….. I am training!! My companion is Hermana Avila from Honduras. She is super awesome! It has definitely already taught me so much. It has been kind of hard adjusting to speaking Spanish 24/7 but she is a great help. She teaches without fear and is super bubbly. She automatically loves everyone and was ready to go right to work. I realized that I have no idea what I am doing… at all. But, here is where the Lord steps in and reminds me that I do nothing, and that it is his work. I don’t think I had ever truly prayed in my life until this week. I have spent so much time on my knees in conversation with my Heavenly Father, and every time I pour out my heart in prayer, he fills me again with peace and strength. I have definitely learned that I can do hard things, and with Hermana Avila, I think the Lord has a lot in store for us this change.
We are working hard to find new investigators that are really truly positive and ready to receive us and progress… We happened to baptize almost all of the investigators that we had 🙂 Speaking of which, we baptized a family this week!! It was Hermana Avila and my first day together and she got to watch a family enter the waters of baptism. I love this family so much! We contacted them through the hermano, Carlos. We helped them build their house and from there started to teach them. Their daughter was baptized about a month ago…we just had to help them get married first. But, he is from Guatemala, and so it was an extremely long and complicated process. But, with the help of the members and miracles from the Lord, this last week they were married and then baptized. I straightened the Hermanas hair and members gave them a cake and nicer clothes. Another Hermana in the ward is a lawyer and she married them. It was so beautiful they were so happy! My trainer, Hermana Judd and her family got to come too, and it was cool to see her one last time. How beautiful works our Heavenly Father!

De, alli… we have just been working, working, working…. we are hoping to have another baptism this weekend! We just got to keep plugging a long and find new people to teach.

I love this work!
Thank you for your support, your love and your prayers, I have really felt your strength this week in moments when I needed it. I love you all!
Hurrah for Israel!

Love
Hermana Hipol

This week has been very hard as it has sunk in that Hermana Judd is leaving. We have worked harder than we have ever worked before and she has such a strong desire to finish to the end.  I dunno what I am going to do without her. I love her so much! I just found out that I am going to be training this next change. I am not sure what to do… at all, But the Lord knows what he is doing.

This week we visited with one of the families with which we have been working for the longest time and a miracle happened.  We have prayed and fasted and then prayed some more that this family could finally accept a fecha to be baptized. They have had so many amazing experiences. Their daughter Katharine was baptized my first Sunday here but they have never been baptized. Hermana Judd and I have shed so many tears for this family, because no matter what there is always a huge doubt or disanimo, really it is a rollercoaster every time we meet with them. We love them so much though.  Well, on Saturday night we watched them step into the waters of baptism and yesterday they were confirmed members of the church. It was so beautiful and I have never felt the spirit so strong at a baptismal service. The Hermana looked so beautiful in her white clothes. Their daughter gave one of the talks and Hermana Judd and I sang. We tried to heat the water (#epicfail). Tons of members came to support them, we didnt have enough room for chairs for everyone! It was so amazing. What a tender mercy from the Lord. I love this work!

Sorry, just a short one this week, but thank you so much for all of your love and support. Go change the world! If i have learned anything in my short time here it is that when we can go no farther, when we have given our all that is when the miracles will come. The Lord not only makes up the difference, but he gives us the strength to do all things. He has truly filled me to overflowing. This is not easy…but it is so worth it.

Hurrah for Israel!

Another amazing week in the field. I have learned so much about trusting in the Lord this week and accepting his will, and not using that as an excuse to rest. In my personal studies I learned so many things. This week my study was focused on my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon, 46-48. I love Captain Moroni. All of my life I have looked up to him as a scriptural hero who achieved an unattainable greatness because he was so consecrated. But it says, that he was just “a man of God.” I have set a mission goal to become a “missionary of God.”

As we finish up this change a lot of the members are doing really nice things for us…. I know it is just because my companion is going to finish and I hate the constant reminder that our little infinity is coming to an end, but I just love these members! This past Thursday one family took all six missionaries out to Pizza Hut for dinner. Hermana Judd and I came a little late but it was a great treat…. until the elders played their little joke. I was enjoying some beautiful pizza when a whole bunch of waiters came over to our table and asked if someone had a birthday… All the elders began to shout and point at me…. the next thing I knew, I had a paper hat on my head and a bunch of El Salvador waiters were shouting some birthday jingle at me. It was traumatizing. I was so humiliated! But, it was a good laugh after the fact. I dunno why that happens to me all the time.

There were a lot of very powerful moments this week that I was blessed to be a witness of. We have been working with a young girl for the past month or two and on Tuesday we got to meet with her again. She is very lost and has such a strong desire to change and better her life, but has no religious foundation, no familial support and not very many good friends, making it hard for her to recognize the progress she has made. She knows she needs to be baptized but has yet to get a confirmation that she is ready to make this covenant. Well, earlier this week we went to visit with Elder Juarez and Elder Perez, to see if they could help her accept a date to work toward. We had a powerful lesson about the atonement and repentance where the spirit was so strong. At the end of the lesson we all kneeled down to say a closing prayer. We invited her to say it, but she is extremely shy and didn’t want to pray in front of the Elders. Then, a miracle happened. Hermana Judd reached over and took both of her hands in her own, bowed her head and offered the most beautiful prayer I have ever heard. The spirit was so strong. I felt, as the Nephites did when they heard the Savior pray for them. There was such a strong outpouring of the spirit. When she finished we continued to kneel there. The young girl wept silently. It was the first time that she had felt true love in her life.  We were there for twenty minutes as the spirit continued to pour out upon us. She did not say a single word, or let go of Hermana Judd’s hands. The power of the atonement is so real. I have seen a lot of miraculous things on my mission but nothing describes the power and love that I saw as I kneeled in an investigators home and witnessed my companion holding a young girls hands, pleading with the father that she could feel his love. I love this work so much. The atonement is so real.

Thank you so much for all of your love and support.

I love and miss you all!

Hurrah for Israel!

Love

Hermana Hipol

Wow, another week to learn and grow in the vineyard. I learned a lot about the love of our Savior. One of the blessings of missionary work is that as a representative of Jesus Christ, we are given access to feel the love that he has for his children and it is so beautiful. This past week my personal study was focused on the love of Christ. I don’t think that we will ever be able to truly comprehend the love that our Savior has for us. I found a new favorite scripture in Romans 8:35-39. Nothing can separate us from the love of the Savior. I think it was Jeffrey R. Holland who said that there is no place dark enough where the light of the atonement does not shine. I have really come to see that this week. There are so many miracles that I have seen in my mission and all can be traced to the miracle of the Atonement. The people I teach live in such dark situations that often times they cannot escape, and yet they are filled with such hope and trust. It is beautiful to see.

This past week we decided that no, matter what happened, we would keep working and stay positive. This little decision to choose to be happy made all the difference. There weren’t huge changes in the things that passed but we felt so much less stress. She is such an inspiration of positivity. Really, it helped me recognize the importance of our message. We are representatives of the Savior, and our message is one of happiness, so as the messengers, it only makes sense that we be happy too.  Hermana Judd and I have tried to apply a 24-hour smile. It has made such a difference. So if you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay. Quickly turn it upside down and smile that frown away!

This past week was awesome! Hermana Judd and I met with the youth and coordinated their mutual this week. We played missionary tag, and then we brought all of them inside. We had this super cool week long activity that invites them to take “selfies” with the Book of Mormon. It is a way to get them involved in la obra through social media. We talked a lot about the Book of Mormon and I got to share my favorite story from the Book of Mormon… as you know, I have many but I shared about Captain Moroni and the title of Liberty. Hermana Judd and I took an old ratty skirt we found in the house and we made our own title of Liberty that we had all the youth sign and we put it in the bishops office… I dunno how it went (since we can’t get on Facebook) but I thought it was pretty epic. I love the youth here…

Yesterday Hermana Judd and I got the chance to sing in Sacrament meeting. We had a bunch of investigators come, a lot, with the strong desire to feel the spirit as an answer that they need to be baptized. Hermana Judd and I sang O Mi Padre but to the tune of Come thou Fount… I kinda figured out a harmony and we just did our thing. The capilla fell silent, something that never ever happens… The spirit was so strong, and it had nothing to do with our singing skills, believe me. But we do have a Heavenly father that loves us.

I love being a missionary. I love my brothers and sisters here.

Hurrah for Israel!

Wow, so many things to share and I dont even know where to start.

This week in my personal studies I was reading the missionary chapters in Alma. It has been so amazing to compare the missions of Alma and the sons of Mosiah. I have learned so much about how to be a more consecrated missionary and about my own mission. I was really struck by the faith of the Lamanites as they buried their weapons of war as a testimony of the covenant they made with the Lord. So, I have decided to do the same. Each week of my mission I am going to pick a “weapon”, something that keeps me from being more consecrated and I am going to work on that throughout the week. This week we witnessed so many miracles as we tried to be more obedient.

I love Hermana Judd. She is so amazing and teaches me more and more every day about the love of our Savior. She has let me take the lead in a lot of aspects now, prepping me for when she finishes the mission and I wont have her there to lead me along. I think I am still in denial that she is leaving, but it has given me a lot of practice that I need. This past week was halloween, so, in true Gringa fashion, we dressed up! I wrapped Hermana Judd up in toilet paper and threw my bedsheet over my head and we were spirit world missionaries. Super, cheesy, but super fun all the same! We had way too much fun trying to race the camera timer. I love her so much!

There are two experiences that really stood out to me this week. The first was when we were teaching a family that we have been workin with for a long time. They have had dates but hust havent really committed yet. They finally told us that they dont want to be baptized. So, we went to visit them with the bishop and we read 1Nefi 8.  We talked about the vision with the whole family and the spirit was so strong. And then, the craziest thing happened…. the sister looked at us and said she didnt want to be baptized. We quickly corrected the misunderstanding and things were getting a little tense. I was so shocked I had no idea what to say or do. Hermana Judd did her thing, testifying with power and i just argued with myself. I finally heard a voice in my mind, almost shouting, telling me to open my mouth. So, I did. I dont remember a lot of what I said, but I know that the words werent my own. I just wanted them to know I loved them and that we are here to help them prepare to be an eternal family but that there is no other way to obtain eternal life… I just wanted them to feel how I felt. I practically begged them to pray, to ask the Lord if this message was true. Then i pointed to my tag and said, “I promise as a representative of Jesus Christ that if you pray with this desire to know that you will remember these experiences that you have had and will know that this is what you need to do.” There was dead silence… I actually felt a little embarrassed. I looked around at this family, at the bishop, at my companion. No one said a word. Then, the sister looked at me and simply said, “You have great faith, Hermana Hipol.” I am not sure what the Lord wants us to do with this family but I know what I am supposed to do… I will just keep testifying and trusting in him….

Our second experience was with a young man named Julio. He was just a guy we contacted in the street, but he is so positive. We met with him one morning and we taught him the restoration and he loved it. When we went back and asked if he had prayed he looked at us and said “yep, I prayed and I know that all you say is true.” We were so blindsided. We have been trying so hard to find new investigators that want to progress. We invited him with a date and, bless him, he said yes! He came to church with us yesterday and he loved it as well! He is reading the Book of Mormon in English and in Spanish. He is just so cool. It is so humbling to see how the Lord trusts us so much, to let us teach his children.

I love you all so much! Thank you for your support!
Hurrah for Israel!

This week was filled with so many tender mercies. I truly love the work here. This week I focused my personal study on the temples in preparation to go to the Temple. So, on Wednesday we got to go to the temple as a zone. It was so amazing and so beautiful. I love the temple. So, we tried to emphasize the temple when we taught this week. It was amazing to see how excited some of the families got when they realized that they could be an eternal family and to see them make this goal to be sealed.

This week I witnessed an amazing miracle. It has been very interesting to see that as we try harder to be exactly obedient and rededicate all to the Lord, that he often tries our faith even more. One day this week we had almost every single cita fall through. We had not been able to contact anyone that was really positive and we had an hour or so left in the day. We felt impressed to visit with an inactive sister in the ward. This sister is such a rollercoaster. The last time we had visited with her she told us she did not want anything to do with the church and refused to even look at the Book of Mormon. But Hermana Judd felt like we really should go so we headed over and she let us in. We sat down, talked a little and sang a hymn. We were going to say the opening prayer when she suddenly opened up to us about her life. She got very quiet, looked at us and said, “I am not a good person. I have lost my way and rejected my Savior. It is time for me to change. I want to forgive the people that hurt me and to be a better person, to be a better example for my sons.” I think my jaw might have dropped. This woman had rejected us and anything associated with the church and here she was asking for forgiveness. Hermana Judd looked at her and invited her to pray right then and confess to her Heavenly Father, asking for his help to overcome these things. She bowed her head and said the most humble, heartfelt, forgiving prayer that I have ever heard in my life. It was a sacred experience. When she finished she looked up at us with tears in her eyes and said, “I know that this church is true. I know the Book of Mormon is true… I know my Savior lives.” It was a miracle. We are still working with her but this was huge progress.

I am so grateful for the atonement. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary because I have learned so much about the enabling power of the atonement. I heard a story this week at zone conference. Hermana Judd told me about an 80 year old convert. She joined the church and after some time she received her patriarchal blessing. In her blessing, it said that she could have been converted to the gospel much sooner in her live had it not been for one young man who decided not to serve a mission. This hit me so hard… The time the Lord has given us to serve really is so sacred. I hope to use it to the best that I can. I love you all. Thank you for your support!

Hurrah for Israel

Hermana Hipol