What a week… The lord definitely had a lot of polishing for me. I learned a lot about trusting in the Lord, and that I really have no control over a lot of things that happen, but I can choose my attitude and I can always choose to be happy. Why not be happy? We have the restored gospel in our lives, and I have the chance to share it with everyone!

The biggest help to always being happy is my wonderful companion, Hermana Steel. I sure love her. I love that no matter what happens to us, we always are happy with each other and can find a reason to smile or laugh. We have studied a lot about auto sufficiency, trying to link it to the atonement. Why? Well our bishop invited us to give talks this last Sunday in the Progreso ward. What seemed like an impossible task quickly became an enlightening experience and I learned so much about the enabling power of the atonement. It truly is beautiful to see that the atonement is so infinite and applies to literally everything! I think that the talks turned out okay!

This week we did intercambios again with the sisters in El Arco in Auachapan, and I had the pleasure of working with Hermana Crowley. I love her so much. She is such an amazing spirit and a truly wonderful person. I felt that she was there to help me. That is one thing I love about working with the other sisters, you get to learn so much and it is also a chance to see other parts of the mission.

Speaking of seeing other parts of the mission, what madness happened to us! I had to go to Santa Ana on Friday to take some tests and such, but it also happened to be the day we were finishing intercambios… so I had to drop of Hermana Crowly and then go with Hermana Steel from Auachapan to Santa Ana…. it is about three hours on the bus, and goes through all but one of the zones in our mission. So it was a super quick tour of The Lords vineyard here in the mish. It actually was a sick version of “it’s a small world” el Salvador version pero, ni modo. We made it back home and then that night we got a call saying the tests did not work out so the next day we had to go back to Santa Ana…. wow… lots of buses. But I am sure the Lords hand was in it… somewhere. The icing on the cake was that we totally made it Christmas for some random stranger! Some wonderful child of God now has a new cell phone!!!! Some who pass for this situation would call it highway robbery, but since they call major streets carreteras here… I think we are good. It has been kinda hard communicating with others, but what a nice lesson on not being overly dependent on technology.

Sunday was my birthday… yay! I am officially 20…. It was a birthday that I will never ever forget. We had lost the phone and Hermana Steel was very distraught because her plans to surprise me with a cake and party totally fell through. Really, it was just a kinda weird day and I feel very old…. But last night we went to eat with one of our favorite members, Hermana DeLeon. The Elders came too and they asked if they could sing me happy birthday with the platanoes that she had made us. They even pulled out a giant candle that they only use for blackouts and funerals! #classy. Anyways, I went to blow out my candle and then they got mad cuz, apparently the birthday wish thing only works with real cake… So, Hermana DeLeon walks to the fridge and pulled out a cake! Turns out, the Elders totally planned the whole thing and bought a cake! I almost cried… I just am so blessed and so grateful. So, yah, craziness…

Other than that the work goes on… we had a couple baptismal dates fall through this week, but we saw a beautiful family we are teaching get married, and a great baptism…I know that if we trust in the Lord, that all will be worth it in the end and we will all come away stronger….. and a little crazier 🙂

I just love you all so much. I love the mission. I love my Heavenly Father!

Hoorah for Israel!

I am so excited for this change… I am really nervous and we are a little lost on how to efficiently work in both areas, considering that both are asking us to focus only on them. But, thanks to an amazing companion, I am doing well.

My new comp is Hermana Steel.. She is amazing, she is wonderful, and I feel she is my twin… she is from New Mexico.

I love Hermana Steel. I feel that she is my long lost twin and will become one of my closest friends. She loves working and in most of our studies we have focused on working with members and looked at examples in the Book of Mormon, like when Alma visits the Zoramites. I love it so much!

Well we are still working in two areas, Progreso and Orquideas. We went to church in Progreso, our first Sunday…. we had 10 investigators there and 4 families! It was such a tender mercy! I just love seeing how the lord blesses us…

We are also still stressing family seen, family contacted, so in order to meet with our daily goal, Hermana Steel and I left the house again at 8:50 at night in pouring rain, in flip flops, to find a family… we found them. They probably think we are crazy… it wasn’t their time yet. But, obedience brings blessings!

I also was able to participate in a “cultural activity” in the stake on Saturday. E. Roeller and I sang “Somewhere over the Rainbow” and I played it on the ukulele. It turned out alright I think. It was so amazing to be able to play ukulele again! But we were the follow up for a brother who is a professional musician… It was kinda sad, but everyone enjoys seeing crazy gringos singing…

What is the coolest thing that happened to you this week? Hope you have an epic week! Be happy!

I love the work, I have no idea what to do, but I am happy! Thank you!

Hoorah for Israel!

Well, transfers has come around again. Hermana Rodriguez will be in her house and I will keep on keeping on here in Juayua. I am really sad that she will be leaving me, I love her so much. She truly taught me how to enjoy my mission. Not a day went by where we did not laugh. She has been an amazing companion, and will be an amazing friend forever… (how else am I going to be able to go to Spain?

Anyways, to this week….. Wow. Where do I begin? So many crazy things happened. I was a little mal de salud the first couple days, but I had a great chance to do some personal study and to reflect on the little blessings in life. There really are so many.

On Wednesday we had another Baptism! Meet Daniela. She turned 8 on Tuesday and is such a sweetheart. We have been teaching her and her parents. They have received the missionaries for years and finally their daughter was able to be baptized. The spirit we felt was so strong, I love her so much. A lot of people came to support too… SO awesome! I honestly just don’t even have words. She is such a great example for her family. In the baptism her mother shared her testimony and there was not a dry eye in the whole room.

On Saturday there was another tender mercy from the Lord. Remember a couple weeks ago, when we went to the funeral and the young widow talked with me? SHE GOT BAPTIZED! On Thursday I got a phone call. I instantly recognized her voice and bawled like a baby when she invited me to come to her baptism. The Elders asked if I would sing for her baptism. I sand “come unto Jesus” and I think it turned out okay. I was just so happy! She was not even “my baptism” but I feel like she is a sister.

Other than that, this week was super tranquil. Yesterday our Zone Leader asked us to contact as many families as we could…my comp and I contacted 52 families and 140 people in 45 minutes! wooohooo!!! It was awesome to congratulate all of the mothers, even funnier when the Zone leaders did not believe our totals for the day.

Ni modo.

Anyways, I sure love you guys. Thank you so much for your love, support, and all that goodness. Please keep me in your prayers. We will see what the Lord has in store!

Hoorah for Israel!

Love, Hermana Hipol

What a week. I feel as though it was two or three weeks packed into one, and I do not think that I have ever been so exhausted, but I saw so many beautiful things…… it was all our madness to be completely honest, but hey, we do madness here.

Monday night we had a slumber party with the sister missionaries working in Los Naranjos, Hermana Wright and Hermana Guzman. Why? Well on Tuesday we had to wake up super super early to take a super long and hot bus ride to San Salvador. TEMPLE TRIP! Me encanta ver al tempo! But really, it was such an amazing experience. I did not have any profound revelations, or visions, but it was such a beautiful experience. I took my patriarchal blessing with me and read it in the temple for the first time. I felt so much love and learned a little more about who I am. It made me feel a little more important. The next time you go to the temple, take your Patriarchal Blessing! It was a crazy bus ride and extremely hot, but totally worth it. I love the temple.

This week we also had to do a ton of exchanges with the sisters and I had the chance to go and work with Hermana Wright in Los Naranjos (she is with me in the photo). My companion cheerfully volunteered to stay with the poor Hermana Guzman who is a little sick, and I took advantage of the opportunity to work with Hermana Wright. I love her so much! She is finishing the mission in this change, and I am so sad that she is leaving, but she is going to do wonderful things! I learned so many things in exchanges and I had such a great day. She is so consecrated and embodies a truly successful missionary.

On Friday we had Sister Missionary Conference! We got all the sisters in the mission together and helped motivate them all to start baptizing. It was so cool! But we had to get up super early to take the bus at six to Santa Ana… only, we forgot it was Labor Day…. so there was not a bus that was going to Santa Ana. But, thanks to some amazing members, we got a ride! The Conference was great! We got a lot of positive feedback. The coolest part was when all the sisters that are leaving got on a discussion panel, and answered the questions of the other sisters. The spirit was so strong and many a tear was shed. I am so emotional…

On Friday we went straight from the office in Santa Ana to Ataco again (it was almost three hours in a bus that was has hot as infierno, not cool) and I was able to work with Hermana Izcano and Hermana Gutierrez. I love them so much! Hermana Gutierrez came with me in the mission, and Hermana Izcano is my sister! Well, she was also trained by Hermana Judd. They are so amazing and they taught me a lot! They are both such great examples of consecration and love. We had some amazing lessons as well that showed me they take advantage of receiving revelation in their companionship study.

At one point in a lesson, a rather disgruntled mother walked in as we were singing “I am a child of God” and told us to leave. It was the first time in my mission that I had been truly “kicked out” of a house, and it was a little rough, but the sisters just brushed it off and kept visiting with smiles as if nothing had happened. It taught me a lot.  I love them so much. It is sweet to be able to work with the other sisters…. but it is really exhausting at the same time.

Well, that is the sum of this week. A lot of traveling in overheated busses but a lot of happiness and a lot of miracles. I love the mission!

Be happy, be awesome, and be epic!

Oh, and May the 4th be with you!

Hurrah for Israel!

Love, Hermana Hipol

This week flew by so fast, I honestly don’t know where all of the time goes. No matter what I do we go from Tuesday to Friday to Sunday and then it is Monday again and we start all over. But this week was packed with so many crazy adventures, I really think that crazy is the new norm…

I honestly do not even know where to start. This week I had my first intercambios as a sister training leader. Hermana Rodriguez and I went to Ataco, about half an hour away to visit with both companionships of sisters there. I got to work with Hermana Caicedo from Columbia and Hermana Chee from New Mexico. It was so much fun, and even though I had no idea what I was doing, I learned so many things. Can I just say that sister missionaries are flippin’ awesome! Right now, we are working with Sister Spjut to plan a training for all of the sisters in the mission and I am so flippin’ excited!

This week, we also got a call from the Zone Leaders. The elders in a neighboring pueblo needed help animating one of their investigators for her baptism on Sunday, so we went for a short visit. Turns out we, did not know how to get back by ourselves and so we had to stay with the Elders for a little bit. They took us to visit another family they were teaching and a miracle happened.

This past week, one of their investigators was killed in a work accident and the elders were left in charge of all the funeral arrangements. Pobrecitos…. they were so stressed out. So, when we showed up, they were in the middle of the viewing. It was so awkward at first, I did not know anyone or how to console them. I honestly had no Idea why we were there, but I felt in my heart that is where we needed to be. We went to the cemetery and watched the burial. (Funerals here are SO different!) There were so many people there, and the Elders were able to dedicate the grave. The spirit was so strong, and it was a great missionary experience for the dozens of people who knew nothing about the church. The coolest part though, was after the burial. I was standing with the other missionaries and the young man’s girlfriend walked up to me. She asked me if I was the sister that had sung when we all went to the temple a couple weeks ago… I told her yes, that it had been me. She got tears in her eyes, and said, “Thank you so much. I felt the spirit so strong and he did too. He loved hearing you sing, and after going to the temple he told me he wanted to be an eternal family.”

The spirit hit me so strong. I did not even know her name, or who she was. The song I sang at the temple was a total train wreck too. But I felt the spirit so strong, and in that moment I felt so much love for her. In four months she lost her child and her boyfriend, literally had everything taken away from he, but she still continues with so much hope and trust in her Savior.

Sunday was all-out madness. Running through two areas trying to get people to attend two different wards is a little crazy, but hey, we only do craziness here. As we were finishing the meetings, a less active sister came up to me crying, and asking to talk to me. We went into an empty room and she told me some of her struggles and she asked me if I would say a prayer for her. I felt so much love for her. She took my hand and I started to pray. The spirit hit me like a brick wall and consumed me like a wildfire from within. My mouth quickly stopped being my own as the spirit gave me the words to say. I felt so much love for her and through me the Lord promised so many specific blessings to this wonderful woman. I think this was one of the first times that I had truly ever experienced the power of  my calling, being a missionary set apart and given power to teach and represent the Almighty. I am no one, a poor servant, and I have so many things to do better. It was a very humbling experience, and we both left blessed with a touch of our Heavenly Fathers love.

On Sunday, we also went back to visit the Elders in the baptism of the first young woman that we had gone to animate. They asked us to sing the special musical number and Hermana Rodriguez and I sang “Lord, I would Follow Thee.” The spirit was so strong, and it was a beautiful baptism. I did not really know her but we took a pic anyways…

And then the madness continues… this week we hit nine months…. I have been thinking about all of the things I have done these past nine months, and the things that I want to do these nine months that come… I was reminded of the ageless question of whether the cup was half-empty or half-full. Many missionaries are so quick to countdown the days ‘til they can go home… others dreading this day. Before y’all go accusing me of being “trunky”, this has been a time of great self-reflection… and it does not help that my dear comp only has three weeks left in the mission. But I am so grateful for the time the Lord has blessed me with to work and to serve my brothers and sisters. I have seen so many miracles and been touched buy the beautiful people here. I have had nine months of some of the greatest trials too. I have had to truly forget myself, and as I have done so, I have learned to better remember the things that count. I love my Heavenly Father and have had nine months to study the atonement and see it in action every day. I am so excited for the next nine, for all the adventures that still wait.

So for me, the cup is more than half full, it is filled to overflowing.

I love you all so much. Thank you for your support, your love, and your prayers.

Hoorah for Israel!!

Love,

Hermana Hipol

P.S. We hit rainy season!! Juayua is so beautifully foggy all the time! It is also horribly muggy but we try to stay positive

I know it is quickly becoming redundant to say that it was another crazy week… but I think that the madness of the mission has become the norm for me, so it is just a matter of adapting to the craziness. I love the mission, and really the Lord taught me so much this week. I am way to much of a control freak and I really learned that I don’t need to stress out to much because the Lord really takes care of me and always shows us miracles.

Really there were so many tender mercies this week. All week long we had meetings in Santa Ana with the other leaders and with the Zone. Along with the madness of leadership, we also had to finish moving all of the stuff out of the house in Progresso. We officially only have one house now, and I am so grateful for that tender mercy… I wasn’t too keen about living in two houses at the same time. We missed buses, had tons of bags of trash, but always got to where we needed to be in time, and our house is not too messy. The responsibility of Training Leader has not driven me completely crazy, so that is another plus. But this week we will start to do interchanges with the sisters to help them in their own areas. I am excited, but I have no idea what to expect.

I think the greatest miracle this week was our baptism on Saturday. I have not had a convert baptism in months, and the Lord finally poured out his blessings. I don’t think that I have ever fought harder for a baptism. This young woman, Tania, is a miracle. Though she is from the old area of Sister Rodriguez, and I did not really do anything, it was such an honor and a blessing to feel of her sweet spirit. Tania has been listening to the sisters for a long time, but was always making excuses to not be baptized, mostly out of fear. But, she finally accepted the date, passed her baptismal interview, and we finally came to the final day before her baptism. She called us in the morning with new doubts, we could not find keys to the church, or witnesses, or white clothes, and we had an hour window to have the baptism. There was so much madness going on, but I felt a great peace in my heart and I knew that everything would be okay.

And, the Lord took care of everything. She made it to the church in time, we had witnesses, and water in the font, and she looked beautiful in her white dress and the spirit we felt was so strong. Not many people could come so I had to conduct the baptism… I had no idea what I was doing, but I was so happy I could not take the goofy smile off my face. After the baptism, Tania told me, “When I entered the water I felt a great emptiness in my soul but as I left the water I was filled with the spirit. I feel happy.” Such a miracle. Though I had not taught her that much, I felt the spirit so strong and so much love for her. I love the Lord, and I am so grateful for his tender mercies.

The miracles did not stop there. On Sunday, we had so many investigators come to church. Well, considering that our area has two wards and we were running all over Juayua to make sure people were in church, it was a miracle. We had been fasting to be able to find someone that is prepared and ready to accept the gospel. We walked into the chapel and there, sitting reverently and waiting to listen, was an ancient investigator that I taught once with Hermana Little. I had honestly almost forgotten about her, she never could come to church, and we had lost contact for about a month. But she had vacations and felt the desire to go. She called a member and asked her if she could go to church with her. We talked to her a little after the meetings and she said that she loved church, and that she wanted to be baptized. Hermana Rodriguez and I were literally dancing with joy!

I know that if we are patient the Lord will bless us. All we have got to do is keep the faith and work our hardest and keep doing what we know is right. I love you all so much. Be happy! Be patient. Be epic!

Hurrah for Israel!

Love, Hermana Hipol

Hola!

Wow. Just when I think things cannot be crazier, The Lord brings me to a new level of craziness, and really, all I can do is laugh and keep working. I love being a missionary.

This week we had changes! Hermana little finished her training and they sent her away to open an area. I am so proud of her! I love her so much.

My new companion is Hermana Rodriguez! She is the first sister here in the mission from Spain. She is crazy and I totally love her!! Changes meeting was madness. A lot of missionaries went home and not very many came in. I was also blindsided with my new assignment… Hermana Rodriguez and I are Sister Training Leaders. I have no idea what I am doing, but I am excited to see what the Lord has in store… The thing is, that Instead of having us both in one area, they decided to mesh our old areas together. So Hermana Rodriguez and I are currently living in two houses, we have two areas, two wards (but we only attend one), and it is madness. We have definitely had to master our planning skills.

Besides changes, our schedule was so packed! On Thursday we had Zone meeting, and on Friday, we took our investigators to the temple in San Salvador. They told us last minute that Hermana Rodriguez would be teaching and I would be doing a special music number. So, we were up til about three in the morning making sandwiches for the investigators, and making a giant plan of salvation for her class. I ended up singing Beautiful Zion with two other Elders and it actually turned out really pretty. The spirit was so strong. I just love the temple! I invite all those who can, to take the time to get to the temple this week and just feel the love of your Heavenly Father.

Well, we finished with the Temple and then on Saturday and Sunday we had a beautiful General Conference. Thanks to some technical difficulties, I could not watch it in English. It was a little bit of a bummer but the spirit was the same and I learned so many things. How interesting that they talked so much about the families right? So crazy! I think that my favorite talk was definitely that of Elder Uchtdorf when he talked about Grace. If I have learned anything on the mission, it is that we really do nothing. The Lord asks us to give our all and he will always fill us to overflowing. I have not been able to take one step in this mission that was not powered by the grace of my Saviors Atonement. He carries us and helps us achieve our potential.

I love you all so much. Never forget that the Lords atonement applies in every aspect of our lives.

Now, go change the world and apply what you learned in Conference!

Hurrah for Israel!

Love,

Hermana Hipol

Another week, and we are officially in Semana Santa! I honestly cannot believe how fast time is passing. This week we have changes again, but I will stay here in Orquideas. My daughter, Hermana Little, is going to have changes and I cannot help but feel a little sad. I love her so much, but we will see what the Lord has in store.

This week, to be honest all of the weeks are just meshing together and I am kinda forgetting all that is going on…. We just work, and sweat, and work some more. I know that the Lord has miracles waiting ,we just have to be patient.

In preparation for Conference, and a trip we have to take investigators to the temple we had the coolest district activity. In the park by our house they have a huge street fair every Saturday. So, we got two tubs of water, bought some Tang and handed out free lemonade in an attempt to contact people and invite them to the conference and to the temple. We contacted 180 people in about two hours. It was so much fun, and it was a great way to contact people. We found a bunch of people that were super positive. I hope that they come!

Saturday evening we also got to see the General Women’s Conference. Thanks to some tech savvy members, we got to see it in english, and it was such a tender mercy to hear my native tongue, that I cried almost the whole time for joy. I loved it so much! I think that it there were so many beautiful messages. One of my favorite things said was “God can only make perfect souls.” If I have learned anything in the mission it is that no one is perfect. But the Plan that our heavenly father has made is perfect, and all we have to do is put our trust in him.

I just love you all so much. Be strong. Be happy!

Hoorah for Israel!

Love,

Hermana Hipol

Hay un Dios en Israel!

This week was filled with so many tender mercies, so many miracles, but I just want to talk about one very big one, well actually two….

I have quickly come to realize in these eight months that my mission is not going to be filled with hundreds of baptisms or things like that. Like the Savior, my mission is a lot about the “one.” When I came to this area, I quickly realized that the Lord did not call me here to find new converts, the work he needed me to do was hidden in a little wooden hut at the outskirts of our area… We have been teaching eight year old twin girls, Nicole and Fabiola. Their mom is a less active sister, and so they had gotten swept under the rug and forgotten about. But this saturday we found two little white dresses and they were baptized!

It was a joined baptism with the zone leaders. Five children were all baptized, and I think that it was the most beautiful baptism I have ever seen. The spirit was so strong!

So, even though these twins don’t count as convert baptisms, or for mission numbers, it really does not matter. Two little princesses got that much closer to their Heavenly Father.

I love this work, I love you all so much. Keep smiling, and find the “one” that needs your help and we will work miracles.

Hurrah for Israel!

Love,

Hermana Hipol

Hola Hola!

Wow, I sure love you guys. I am apologizing in advance, this week’s letter will be a short one. You see, right now I am writing in a tiny tiny cubicle in some computer lab in El Salvador. It is pretty crazy….and so legit. Anyways, I love it!

This week had so many lessons to teach us, most having to do with patience. I love my area. It is so beautiful… and so hot. We are going into the hottest weeks of the year and to be outside all day…. I am getting my modesty tan on. But, Modest is Hottest, so no worries there.

We are still fighting trying to find those chosen souls that the Lord has Prepared. They are really good at hiding, but I know that the Lord will guide us. Our biggest miracle happened yesterday. WE FINALLY HAD AN INVESTIGATOR IN CHURCH!!

Sunday mornings are craziness always, passing by investigators reminding them and helping them to come to church? In my whole time here we haven’t been able to have anyone come, but yesterday the Lord had a little miracle for us. We had walked by all of our investigators and no one could come to church. So, we headed towards the capilla [chapel] and I just said a little prayer “Heavenly Father, I know you are a God of Miracles and that you will never cease to be God of miracles. I am just asking for a little miracle.” We walked into the chapel and there sitting in her own pew, was our little cook, Paty. She is not a member and a bit of an eternal investigator, but there she was with her little baby, ready to hear the good word of God.

I almost cried for joy. So the message this week is to be patient and to trust in the lord. He is a God of little miracles, and if we look, we will find them in every moment of every day. I love and miss you all! Please write!

Hoorah for Israel!

Love,

Hermana Hipol

Photos:

We have started teaching the local animals….. Let’s just say it is not their time.

Styling my comps dress and the good word of God.