July 6th 2015

July 6th 2015

July 13th 2015 

Wow, what can I say this past week was filled with so many miracles,as usual! :) The week was so amazing because we received  many referrals from members/missionaries. As we have been trying to contact all of them we haven't had the greatest luck finding them at home. However, that is okay because we just keep on trying. It's been so neat this transfer because we have been blessed in different ways than I noticed before. I never really thought how special it is when someone gives you a name for someone they want you to teach. It's like getting a golden ticket! haha Remember in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and they are all searching for this golden ticket! When they finally find it they are able to go to the factory and see all of the unlimited possiblities haha. I know it's kind of a funny way to explain it, but it really is like that. Them giving us that "golden ticket" really shows that they trust in us. 

Our other miracle of the week was the baptism of Angel Sanchez! We had been planning on his baptism for today however when we went and visited him on Friday he wanted to get baptised on Sunday. And he didn't want to wait any longer. His mom wasn't baptised because she still needs to get married but we feel that soon it will be her time to be baptised!! The baptism was so great and was one of my happiest moments on the mission! Even though we didn't have much time to prepare for the baptism everything ended up working out. As Angel was in the water about to be baptised my companion and I were holding the towel for him so we could give it to him after. As he went into the water we saw his face and he was just smiling. It was such a special moment.

All of Sunday actually was super special! The whole day we were basically running around like crazy people. We went to an English sacrament meeting in the morning because we had a baptism to go to for my companions old investigator in her last area. Sacrament was so great because they talked all about service. At that moment I realized again that I have a testimony of service and a place for it in my heart. Afterward we were able to go to 2 of our meetings in our ward and talk about the new law of same sex marriage. That was such a great meeting because it reminded me that Gods laws never change and that whenever people do things contrary to our beliefs we don't have to take their side just to be nice. No, we need to stay strong to our beliefs and not let anyone else tell us differently. And of course we do all we can to love them. 

After those meetings we went to the baptism and it was super beautiful! I saw some people from my last area there so it was super special. As soon as that was over we came back to our area and got ready for the baptism!!! Hermana Villanueva came back for the baptism and it was super nice to see her!! She's doing great in her new area and is just as great as ever! It is actually so neat how you can have so much love for every single one of your companions. That's one thing I learned as well that you can always keep loving more and more. There's not a maximum amount of love! 

Oh and my last exciting news is that we got a new Ward Mission Leader!!!!! We are so happy and excited to see the work in this area just take flight!! haha. Our ward mission leader is Hno. Ruiz and is the brother that we eat dinner with every Tuesday! Well this week is going to be super great as well! My companion and I will have the opporunity to speak in Zone Training Conference about finding ha. So wish us good luck! I love you all so much!!!! You are always in my thoughts! Only 7 more months till I see you all :)

les amo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hermana Buys

July 20th, 2015

Hi Family!!!!!!!

we had transfer calls and...........................................I'm staying here in Redwood City!! haha. I'm happy but also sad because it will probably be my last transfer here. Also 10 missionaries in our zone will be getting transferred so we will have a bunch of new missionaries. This transfer will be a short 5 weeks as well. ha. So I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can :) 

Last Pday we had a bbq and one of the polys cooked meat for us! It was so good as you can tell! We listened to music and ate some smores as well. It was a great activity since we haven't really done much with our zone this past transfer. And what made it even better was that the smores were gluten free!! haha. 

Well, as I talked about last week that I had to teach ZTM! It went well! The Zone Leaders talked to my comp. and I after and they said that the message we shared was what President was looking for :) So it made us super happy!! It still was scary but worth it.

I know that our miracle last week was referrals, but it is still a miracle we are continuing to see! It's insane I really don't know where all of these referrals are coming from. It is truly a blessing from God. Because really this past transfer was one of the hardest ones on my mission. But as I'm going through these trials I just keep seeing more and more blessing and success!!

Another miracle was that we have another baptism coming up! Our investigator Kenya will be getting baptized August 1st! So next Saturday!!!!!!! She went to the temple(visitors center) last Sunday and told us that she had an amazing experience. We asked her if she'd like to be a member, she told us YES!! haha. We were so astonished and so we planned the date then and there. It's so great because we had only taught her 2 lessons. ha. So in order to make sure she knows everything for the baptism we will be seeing her about everyday this week and several times next week. When their time comes you just have to be ready and fully embrace it!! :) God always has a plan already there for us. 

A super exciting and fun thing that also happened last week was that we had a ice cream dance!! One of our members is a DJ and so he came and played music for us. We had a really good turn out and my companion and I got everyone dancing! When they all arrived they didn't want to do anything. But when the DJ started doing line dances it got everyone involved :) The best part was that our Investigator Edwin came to the activity and brought his dad along. His dad isn't investigating but we are starting to see him every few weeks for activities so it is definitley progress!!! 

To finish our week off we were going to go to the visitors center with an investigator family, however the got sick and couldn't make it. Because we already had a ride they were able to take us to the Outgoing fireside!! As always, it is such a great motivation to continue working strong. To love the people with all of your heart and to share the message of Jesus Christ with everyone. I learned one very important principle as well. Pride doesn't just mean that you are into yourself. Another way that we can be prideful is by not doing or completing the things that the Lord asks for us. We really have to understand and gain a testimony in him, that if he believes we can do something than we can do it. God is the all powerful being and he trusts us and believes in us. JUST DO IT!! :) I have a testimony of these things and I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Con MUCHO AMOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hermana Hollie Buys :) :) :)

July 27th 2015 

As usual it was a crazy, hilarious, random week!!

The week started off random when we visited Maria and Jose Monday night. We went to talk to them about the ten commandments and after we explained it they said that they had a problem. They told us that they didn't want to give up their mexican music. We were like what?? Why would you need to give music up? It turns out that they thought to be baptised they needed to give up listeneing to any music other than church. Super funny right?? I was laughing inside. I don't know how they got that. We didn't say anything like that to them ha. Glad that they told us though :) 

Another funny experience was on our way to a lesson on Thursday! There was tons of traffic and we finally got out of it. As we were driving my comp. didn't take the right turn so she had to turn somewhere else. When she turned we saw a car that looked like one of the mission cars. We kept driving closer and we saw that it was indeed a mission car. In it were Elders and they kept turning in circles over and over again. We were so suprised that they were doing that. We laughed really hard and turned back around. Luckily they saw us and turned around too and got back to work ;)

Well, Wednesday morning I was lucky to study about the signs of the coming of Jesus Christ when he came and visited the Americas! We went to service that afternoon and were at a small old folks house. They were reading in the bible about the death of Jesus Christ. I found it super interesting that I was able to read about the signs of his coming in the Americas and also see what was happening in Jersualem. It was like all of my studies were intertwinned! It gave me a bigger understanding of what actually happened and how important the Atonement is!!

Another thing I noticed during this week is that God is in every single part of the work. We had a lesson with Edwin our investigator. He has been struggling with coming to church and he was telling us reasons why but it just didn't make sense. I asked him if there was anything else that was really going on. He didn't say anything and so we shared the lesson. At the end of the lesson though I felt prompted to ask him if he had any comments or questions. After I said that he shared with us something horrible that happened in his past and that was the reason why he didn't come to church. Wow, we were both sooo shocked. It was amazing to see that the spirit spoke to him to let him know that he needed to share this with us. I'm so grateful that he did so we can give him the help that he needs. This experience with Edwin has taught me that repentance is real and the Atonement is real. And I'm so grateful that we were able to promise him that repentance will take away all the pain. I can't always trust in other things but in repentance and the atonement I can. 

To add to the excitement of this past week we got a call on Thursday night. We will be receiving a Mini Missionary!! She is a girl that was in my last ward in my last area. I am so excited!! She will be staying with us from July 31st-Aug 14!!! I know that it's going to be a great experience for us as a companionship and for the area and especially for her!! Even though I've never trained before I feel like the excitement of a mini missionary is pretty close to the training call feeling, haha. It's going to be a new adventure and we cant wait! I will take a lot of pictures and send you some next week :) 

Well I just want to leave my testimony that I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He is literally our BIG BROTHER!! I felt that today. I know that he loves me and he loves every one of you. I know that this is his gospel. I have a testimony of prayer and that the Holy Ghost is real. I know that it is the comforter and  it brings peace into our lives. I know that it's one of the best gifts that we have been given through our decisions to be baptised. Please always live worthy of that gift. And seek to feel it, listen to it, and follow its promptings! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Con Mucho amor,

Hermana Buys :D  :D :D

MONDAY JUNE 1 2015

June 1 2015

Hello Family!!!!!

This past week we had to bike the whole week!! It was crazy and so much fun! We are so lucky that we have such great members in our ward that were able to take us to appointments the last few days :) On Tuesday we had interviews with the mission President and so that is always fun! We had a good conversation and I had the opportunity to teach Sister Mella! It was super scary, but ended up being fine :) 

On Wednesday we had the meeting for Ipads!! We went to the meeting expecting it to just tell us how to use technology, however it was so much greater!!! Elder Evans and Randall came and taught us about "Missionary Work in the Digital Age" The first thing they started talking about is that our purpose as missionaires is everything! As long as we remember our purpose than we will be successful and we won't lose track of why we are on the mission. They really went into great detail of how God is giving us the "ipads" as a tool just like a pen or a liahona! It's there as a tool to help us! Along with all of the many great things I learned...I think the biggest thing is that through using technology we are going to learn how to conquer satan better. With the skills we will have to use we will know how to take away temptations and time wasters! Basically how we use technology will affect our future and our families futures. 

As we got toward the end of our week is when we really saw the members getting involved! On Friday we went to appointments back to back and for every one there was a member present! It made the lessons so much more powerful :) One of our appointments was with an investigator and our ward mission leader! As you all know, before we were having problems. Now though we are seeing a big change! He came to the appointment with us and really fellowshipped the investigator. It actually turns out that they were friends before! WHich makes things even greater! Another big thing is that we are having Missionary Correlation every week for an hour! 

I guess the last thing that I really wanted to mention is that most of our investigators are progressing really well! We are having a hard time with Maria and Jose because they think that they have to keep learning and know everything. We have already taught them twice and have set multiple baptism dates. Today is really the final moment to see if they are going to accept the gospel or not. So! Please pray for them if you could :) That would mean a lot! We really want them to recognize that they've already received many witnesses that the gospel is true :) 

Well I want to end by sharing my testimony that I know that this is God's work. He provides so many miracles every day and all we have to do is open our eyes and take away that umbrella that is covering our spiritual vision :) When we recognize these miracles we continue exercising faith and start to strengthen other people as well. In which, we are keeping our baptismal covenants and making our lives dedicated to his TRUE gospel! I know that the gift of tongues is real! I've seen in it my mission and it is only according to righteous desire when we want to help bless the lives of others. We can always receive more spiritual gifts as long as we are obedient and continue exercising faith in God. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Con MUCHO AMOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hermana Buys


JUNE 8 2015

Happy Monday everyone!!!!!

Well, as you can tell this week is a new transfer, ah!!!! My companion got the phone call and is transferring out..We have been blessed to have a really good companionship and so I know it's going to be super hard for me. I loved what one of the Elders in our district told us yesterday, "You are the most united companionship I've seen in the whole mission." Wow!! That just made me so happy!! I'm so sad to lose that, but I know that it has to happen. I'm so happy though that we will hopefully be rooming together after the mission, so I guess that's what gives me hope :) I will defintely miss having her as a companion though!

This week before we got our car back we were biking and my companion had an accident. She scrapped her legs really bad and when we got home I had to clean it up. The next day we couldn't go out and she just had to let her leg rest since she couldn't walk. It didn't make me annoyed or upset or anything. For me it was actually really nice to finally serve my companion! She always takes care of me so it was nice to return the favor :) And when we got our car back we were even more grateful for it! 

Some great news from this week is that we received Ipads!! WOOhoo!! It's been a fun and interesting addition to the work. We arent able to do everything yet because we are learning one thing at a time, but already we are really enjoying it! It was super funny as well when we received them because we were all so worried and cautious with them. It took a little bit for all of us to remember how to use technology haha. 

Well, since my birthday is on Thursday and my companion is amazing!! She planned a surprise for me EVERYDAY last week! Monday she attacked my desk with notes. Tuesday I got a gluten free birthday cake and was sung happy birthday to. On Wednesday the Elders bought 13 balloons and we ate out as a District. Thursday I ate gluten free pizza with an investigator and less active! Friday she drew me a picture and cut it out into puzzles. Saturday she blind-folded me and bought a tiny pinata. Sunday we ate at the Matutes and they had a Tangled pink pinata that had lemon and salt candy haha. It was so great!! 

I know a lot of this email is just events ha, sorry about that! I guess the thing that was really spiritually uplifting for me this week was that we took Maria y Jose to the temple! They were in love with it! The most precious moment was when the sisters asked them if they would commit to getting married and sealed in the temple. Maria and Jose said yes! That was a miracle to me because they aren't even baptized yet and they already have the goal of the temple!! They still have some challenges to overcome, but I know that they'll get there.

This transfer has really shown me how important it is to be self-less and go out and serve. This is one of the big principles that my companion has shown me. I've also learned that you really can't and shouldn't please everyone. The person you want to please is your father in Heaven and if you're doing that then you know you're doing what is right. As the mission goes by faster and faster I realize that I really don't know much. I continue to learn and try to improve and set higher goals. I'm thankful for changes and obstacles that help remind me of my purpose! Not only on the mission but the purpose and mission of my life. I know that the gospel is true! I know that God puts us where we need to be because he loves us and wants to help us change. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Buys

JUNE 15 2015

Hello everyone!! First things first, my new companion is Hermana
Blanco! She is originally from Colombia and moved to New York when she
was 8. So it's super funny that my past 2 companions have been from
New York!! Another cool thing about Hermana blanco is that she joined
the church when she was 14! also she has been on the mission for only
six months so I'm the older one in the companionship haha. It's funny
for me because I'm always the youngest for everything ;) haha.

Well I must say that my birthday was pretty great! I was woken up by
Hermana Villanueva calling and singing happy birthday to me :) it was
the best! Then I opened up the package that Mom and dad sent! Best
thing ever!!! I actually have a video of me listening to the tape
recorder ha. I was crying when I started it and heard Derricks voice
:) THANK YOU SO MUCH!! To do something fun for my birthday my
companion and I went to this food place where they make special
smoothies and have granola and other yummy things on top it was great.
You will all want to try it when you come :) My birthday was made even
greater though when I found out about the birth of Milo! Oh my it's so
great that we share the same birthday!

The way we ended my birthday was super funny though! We were walking
home from an appointment and we said hi to this man. He turned around
and said "oh you're Mormons" we said "yes, we're missionaries" and
then he tried to explain that his relative was in jail and showed us
3$. I told him we don't have money and he left. We tried to offer a
prayer for his relative but he wouldn't let us. He ended up coming
back to our side of the street super drunk and angry. He said some not
very good things and it was scary! Luckily we made it home though.
That night I remembered that being a disciple of Jesus Christ is never
easy and Satan just wants to do everything to discourage us. We
already know that though,  so we've already won the battle!

Well, this week as I've received a new companion and had to lead the
area it's been really successful and also challenging. It's been
challenging in the sense that I am trying to show and teach her
everything and I feel so unqualified ha. So I'm praying that I'll feel
more confident with it and that we both share responsibility over it.
It's been successful in the sense that we've already found 2 new
investigators! We also were able to teach a lot of people. The people
in this area are already super receptive with our companionship. So
I'm excited to see what these next 2 transfers will bring! And a
miracle that we saw yesterday was that Maria will be getting a nerve
block shot. This will hopefully make it so that she can walk again and
not have to take pills. Also it will make it more likely for her
baptism to move closer :)

Well it is my hope that my emails all leave you on a spiritual high so
I'd love to share his quote from general conference, "muchas cosas son
buenas, muchas son importantes, pero solo algunas son esenciales."
(Many things are good, many things are important, but only few are
essential!) Please remember this as you go through your week! Remember
the essential things and put them first. God always promises that as
we put him first everything else will fall into place. I'm a testimony
of this, as I've been on the mission I haven't had to worry about all
of the little things. As I've focused on God and put my trust in him
he's made everything work out :) I know he'll do the same for you! I
say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Hollie Buys


JUNE 22 2015

Hello family!! Well I'm sure many of you are surprised to see me
emailing on Tuesday haha. This week our pday got changed because of
zone conference ha. So surprise!!! Well I hope you all had a wonderful
Father's Day on Sunday :) When it was Father's Day I was thinking of
how blessed we are to have dad! He is so amazing!! I also was wishing
that I could be there at home with the family. Even without being
there though I still felt you all near by :) One thing that I never
thought about before on Father's Day was being thankful for my
Heavenly Father. I don't know why I didn't before, I just hadn't. I'm
ever so grateful for him and for his limitless love. For giving us
bodies and families and this experience here on earth. As well for
giving us the opportunity to return to live with him and be together
with our families forever. Wow! That's a BIG DEAL!

At zone conference president Mella made a remark that relates
completely to this. He told us to imagine every day when we go out to
do missionary work that Christ is right beside us. He is sharing the
gospel with us and just doing everything side by side. I love this!
And it's so true because the spirit is always with us guiding us and
helping us know what to say. I really want to remember this so that
every day I go out into the world and do my best. Because he is there
to help us!

Well one of the great highlights of this week was that I was able to
talk to my recent convert in my last area, Arthur. We had a good
conversation about the gospel and how he needs to start living it
again. He's having some problems right now and is struggling to
remember the baptismal covenant. As I had this experience with him it
made me realize how our Heavenly Father must feel when we go astray.
He's not angry, but sad. He just wants us to come back and have true
happiness again. I'm so grateful to have been a part of Arthur's
experience because it is marvelous to see someone's life change from
the gospel. And I will continue rooting for him :)

The other highlight of this week was Edwin! We came to the lesson with
him prepared to teach church, prayer, read, obedience, but no,
Heavenly Father had something else in mind :) we ended up teaching him
about baptism again. He told us that is what he wants to do! He's been
praying about it and it feels good. The only thing that's stopping him
is going to church. So he told us himself that he needs to change that
and come. He now realizes the importance of it. He also mentioned that
his family thinks that he is crazy, but it doesn't bother him. Wow! He
is so ready to be baptized and we loved what he said about his family
thinking he's crazy. Because a lot of people don't understand what we
do as members. They don't have that same goal as we do and we can't
always please the world. But we are always pleasing God and making him
happy!

I close with my testimony that I know this is Gods church. I know that
his gospel is perfect and that every fiber of our being needs it. Our
spirit needs it. Please don't forget to feed your spirit everyday by
reading the scriptures along with other church books and praying  :)

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Hollie Buys

JUNE 29 2015
Hello everyone!!! As usual this week was quite an experience. Of all
the weeks in my mission I could easily say that this was one of the
hardest. It's been really difficult because everything that I hold
dear to on the mission has been kind of attacked this week. To say
that I'm having a difficult time adjusting to the companionship is an
understatement ha. It's been really hard to communicate because when I
do I am attacked. When I shared what I felt and heard her response I
was so shocked that I was shaking. I've never have felt that way
before. Now I'm not sharing this to make people feel bad. I just
wanted to let you know that it's not always easy out here haha. It
took me several days to convince myself from wanting to return home.
But today I am still here :)

I really believe that the reason I'm still here in the mission field
is because of the love my savior has for me. I really had to come to
understand that this week. I'm learning to be patient and loving even
when those around me don't show those same traits. I know that the
hard times are just for a small moment and that afterward will be even
greater. I thought it was very fitting as well that we talked about
charity in Sunday school. I truly felt like that lesson was for me! As
I've tried to have more charity we saw 2 major miracles this week!

The first miracle is Angel! His mom and him were going to be baptized
in May. Because of doubts the mom was not baptized and now does not
wish to be. When we were thinking about this we thought of asking
Angel what he thought. He told us last week that even without his mom
he wants to be baptized. So, we saw him again this week and he had
talked to his mom about it already. She told us that she is okay with
it! So he'll be getting baptized on July 13th!

The second big miracle was our summer ward activity! We've been
planning it for a whole month. Then 2 weeks ago our ward mission
leader disappeared. He wouldn't answer any of our calls or messages.
And he didn't come to church. When we finally got ahold of him we
scheduled a meeting. We went and he was there but never came to the
room we were in. The day before the activity he told our bishop to
cancel the activity. So we got together with the bishop and had a
calling party. We called different people to bring things to the
party. Because of our bishops help the party happened! Our
investigators came! A bunch of less actives came and it was a success.
Even when everything appears to be falling down you just have to try
again one last time. And that last time is the effort that is most
important and essential. It shows if the thing we are hoping for is
really worth it or not.

I have a testimony of Gods hand in all things. He sends others to
watch over us and help us in our hard moments. He sends us blessings
everyday. We just have to look for them. I know that God really does
make weak things strong. We just have to do our part to let him mold
us. Sometimes it's a long hard process, but the process is what is
great! I have a testimony of these things in the name of Jesus Christ,
amen.

Les amo!!!!!!'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Hermana Buys

April 20th 2015

APRIL 20th 2015 -

Hello Friends and Family!!!!

Well as with every week on the mission this past week was quite an adventure!! On Tuesday my companion and I challenged each other to only speak Spanish the whole day!! We did break during district meeting, but besides that we kept going for the rest of the day. It was awesome!! We are going to do it again this Wednesday! Also on Tuesday we had a lesson with Maria and Jose, our investigators. Marias caretaker was there as well. We were sharing the plan of salvation and then during the part we talk about our life on earth the lady started asking a lot of questions. She didn't understand why we need to be baptised in this church if they already have before. We answered it in like 5 different ways, but she still kept going at it. It was soon that I realized she just wanted to bring contention. It was frustrating because she just blocked them out. And in the end I brought out a scripture for her and she couldn't say anything after that. We testified and then quickly left. Even though it was kind of a weird way to leave I'm glad we didn't get into an argument with her. I think God is trying to teach my companion and I just to be super blunt with people! So now, that's what were doing :)

Last week we also found old investigators! They had not so great experiences with missionaries in the past. We just told them to leave everything behind though and start fresh. So! We started all over with them! I'm excited to see them start progressing! Their names are Javier and Maria! We also went on exchanges last week and I went with Sister Smith. She is in the English program which is super cool. I really enjoyed it because we taught a lesson and extended a baptism invite! Sometimes I miss just being able to teach it in English haha. So that was fun for me! As always though, it's nice to get your companion back! :) 

Towards the end of the week I got super sick one day and we had to come home during dinner. I slept until 9 pm and we just had to plan for the next day. It was super hard, but my comp. is amazing and just takes care of me! 

Sunday was super amazing because we had sacrament combined with the English ward! After church we had food and got to know other people. We also were lucky and had a member take us to the missionary farewell fireside. This was my all time favorite!! There was amazing musical numbers and the talks were just so motivating. I think the overall message that I got from it is that we can't really be happy when we know this message of the gospel and just keep it to ourselves. The only true joy is when we share it with others! And that's why I'm here now!!! Even though I may not be the best teacher or person to do that I know that God has called me to do it. I know that because it's his will he will help me. He also wants everyone of you to share this message too!! He knows you can do it and is counting on you :) 

Te amo mucho!!!!

Hermana Hollie Buys

P.S. We had transfers and I'm still in Redwood City! :)

APRIL 27th 2015 -

This week was such a blast!!! We went to our Family Histor Center and helped our recent convert do family history. The funny thing was though that my companion and I both havent done family history before and he can't read. So it was an adventure!! We figured it out though and he has a lot of work to do, so great!! I can't wait to do family history work when I return home :) 

Other great news is that we visited our investigators Gloria and her son Angel!! We took courage and invited them to be baptized! At first they had doubts and all of that but by the time we visited them at the end of the week they committed to baptism!!!!!!!! Its not going to be an easy journey for them because of their family situation, but it will help them soooo much! They will be getting baptized May 23rd!!!! 

Also! We have another new investigator!! We visited one of our less actives and found out that her husband isn't a member. So we shared the Restoration with him and it turns out that he was taught by missionaries before, crazy!!! He was taught for years, but he said that other missionaries were different than us. haha. He said they just shared messages and didn't make him do anything. He said we are super blunt! haha score!! We told him to offer the prayer and he objected for several minutes, but then he did it!! It's so neat how happy you can be from just seeing someone pray for the first time! To take that first step! It turns out that he had never prayed in his life! SO we can see a lot of progression with him! His name is Hermano Pech! 

Well, one thing I haven't shared with all of you is that our bishop has only been in for 4 months or so. He is a really new bishop and this ward is in need of quite a bit of help! We were having problems with our ward mission leader and we finally talked to the mission president. And now the problem is going to be fixed! haha. We are finally starting to have ward correlation every week. So I can see that the Ward is going to start doing so much better very soon! It has so much potential!!! 

As I was thinking about the week I was wondering what made it so good? And I realized that it was because we involved members in so many of our lessons. I really do believe that what preach my gospel says is true. Involving members really is the key to lasting conversion!! Another thing that is really helping as well is that we are trying to get to know all of the ward members! I'm also so thankful for my companion! One thing I noticed is that when we both set a goal we have our minds set on it and we accomplish it!! I'm so blessed!!!! Thank you all for your love and your emails haha ;) 

Con muchooooooooooooo amor,

Hermana Buys

MAY 4th 2015 -

Well...I don't have a whole lot to say about last week because I was basically sick the whole week. It was defintely a challenge for my companion and I. We started out going to as many appointments as we could and then would come back home and I'd sleep for like an hour. After doing this several times though we realized it didn't work out. Then finally I just had to stay home for the whole day. I was so grateful though to have my companion who did her best to take care of me! In the end I ended up getting a blessing and it was so neat!! The key word that stuck  out to me was that my sickness was to help me become a better missionary and mother. After receiving this blessing I was shocked!! It made me remember that everything we do isn't just for the moment right now. God has it in our lives because we are going to have things happen later in our lives and we need to be prepared! He's making us stronger for the battle :) 

The other thing that really made me SUPER HAPPY last week was that we finally met with an investigator that we contacted my first week in Redwood City. We were doing How to Begin Teaching with him and asked him his religious beliefs. He ( Rosalio) told us that he was just looking at the "Mormon" Church. We were shocked! It just so happens that he met the missionaries 2 years ago and then he left to Mexico and lost contact. He came back to the U.S. about the day or a day before I came to this area and God put him in our path. Literally, there are no coincidences! We shared the Restoration with him and committed him to be baptized! His date is the 28th of May!! The only thing that "could" be stopping him is going to church. So if you could...please pray for him! That he will be able to go to church and continue progressing!! 

Since I don't do this too often I want to share my testimony!!

I know that the priesthood is restored here again on this earth. Because of the priesthood the earth was created, we have eternal families, we can be healed, cleansed, made whole again! I know that God lives and he directs this church. This is his church. We are always learning and progressing and the knowledge about his gospel never stops. I also know that as we put our trust in him we will be able to have that true happiness and sense of peace. It doesn't matter where we are and who we are with we can be happy!! I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Con Amor,

Hermana Buys 

MAY 11TH 2015 - 

We had a ward party that was super fun! Here's some pictures of me, my companion and I, and the district!!!!!!! 

Wow! What an amazing week it was! Of course the best part was Mothers Day!! It was so great to talk to all of you :) I think the highlight was defintely when you sang happy birthday to me. Oh my goodness, I just have the best family in the entire world!!! I hope you all know how much I love and miss you. It's always hard to say our goodbyes...but it helps knowing that we are able to write every week and skype in not too many months ahead :) haha YOU'RE THE BEST!!!!

Well, this past week I feel like we really focused on the less actives. We went to doors we had knocked many times and by a huge miracle they were home!!! I didn't even realize it before, but there are so many of them in our area. So it's our new goal now to focus on these people! Our ward needs a lot of help! One of the neat experiences we had with one less active was that we went to her house not knowing if she actually lived there, haha. She answered the door and said that it indeed was her and she hesitantly invited us in. We shared a scripture with her and her husband and they just kind of looked down ashamed. By the time we left their house though they were smiling and laughing with us. They didn't feel ashamed and they were excited for us to come back! It was such a drastic difference because it was the spirit! We had the spirit with us and we didn't go to their home to chastize, but to invite them back. We went to show them that they are missed and loved. We are so excited to go back and visit them!

Another great moment of the week was an appointment we had with a potential investigator. We had actually forgotten about the appointment we had with him and were 45 minutes late. ( I know, pretty bad) When we got to the church to meet him he was sitting in front of the church looking up at the building. He smiled at us and we gave him a church tour!! He told us that he hadn't gone to church for over 10 years! And that he was ready for something different. He even told us the days we could visit him. Wow!! This is just another example that it's Gods work. If it were through our own merits he would have left and would've missed out on this great opportunity! We are just the tiny tiny part of this HUGE process of bringing souls unto Christ. 

When I get discouraged or feel like I'm not doing enough I just remember all of these miracles that we have. I remember that it's just a small moment of hardships and that it's necessary for my progression! If this work was easy it would not be work! I have a testimony that God calls us specifically and when he has a task for us he makes it possible so that we can accomplish it! 

Con MUCHO AMOR 

Hermana Buys 

MAY !8th 2015 -

Temple Trip with investigators:

More picures!  Yipppeee!!!  The rain looks like here the past two weeks its rain just about every day all day on and off.

 

Crazy!!!!

WOW!! This week was just quite a week!! As my companion continue to see missionary work is always spontaneous and unpredictable. We had a really neat experience this week as we went to go teach a lesson at a members home. On our way we saw a woman 2 times. We then found out that this family wasn't home and went on our way back to the car. On the way back we saw the woman again! We finally decided to talk to her haha. At first she was friendly but not really interested in what we had to say. After she made a comment about there being so many churches we decided to talk about the Apostasy! After that we continued teaching her about the Restoration. As soon as we got to the picture of when Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ she stopped us. This woman told us that she saw that exact light. She told us of how she believed that her son had died but that she knew she would see him again. We confirmed to her that she would! It was such a neat experience, and even though she doesnt have a telphone number we can contact her with I know we'll see her again. We just knew that she needed to hear the message that day! 

Another big miracle this week was that we went to the temple with a less active, recent convert, and investigator! It was amazing to see how our investigator was so ready to receive the gospel. He is very spiritually sensitive and loved the temple!! We are expecting to see great changes in him and hoping that he will start bringing his father to the lessons as well. He is from Guatemala and has only been here for 4 months! It's only his father and him that live here and so he is seperated from everyone else. 

Among the miracles we have seen we have also gone through MANY struggles! This whole month has been a testimony to me that Satan is real. That he does not want us to progress or have any bit of happiness. We've battled sickness for weeks, feeling so unqualified, 3 investigators dropping us, and much more. Another one of these trials we experienced was Saturday night. On our way from home we were driving and the person in the lane to the left of us didn't signal or check their blind spot. They started driving into our car and luckily there was a slight change in the road to the right of us. My companion swerved to the right and they hit the left side of our car. If it weren't for my companion though then they would have hit our car really bad. My companion and I felt a huge impact in our car but when we pulled to the side of the road we had a tiny scratch. This is a testimony to me AGAIN that God has his angels watching over us. There was no way we made it out of the car perfectly fine without him. 

My companion and I are so happy that we are okay and we are just really enjoying this area we serve in together. Even though we only have a couple of weeks left together we are really trying to make the best out of it. 

I just want to say that I know that God is so mindful of everyone of us. We have a HUGE plan in store for us. All we need to do is read the Book of Mormon, obey the commandments, read our patriarchal blessings regularly and continually pray to him!! 

- Life is Good :) 

TE AMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hermana Hollie Buys

MAY 25th 2015 -

Hello Family!!!!!!!!!!

WOW! I think that every week just gets crazier and crazier haha. To start out..we took our car to the mission office and they said that we would have to return it today and they will fix it. It won't be fixed completely for a few days though..so we are back to biking! Ha. The problem is though we have a flat tire..so hopefully the elders here can help us fix our bikes :)

Oh and the exciting thing is that we got 2 booklets on Wednesday that we had to read before this Wednesday. These booklets are like our "mini-training" to receiving the ipads! Well, my companion and I were so excited that we ended up reading them in 3 days haha! :) Now we are all prepared though for the training on Wednesday!

Well, last week was full of many miracles!! One of our investigators that just disappeared, reappeared! He came to church last week and this week. Not only that, but we had a lesson with him and know he has a baptismal date!! It's for August 8th, but we're going to bring it up closer :) 

In addition to him attending church we had 2 other investigators that came! It was Edwin and Maria! Edwin shared a comment in the lesson about fasting and it was so inspiring. He basically already has a testimony about it, so cool!!

As well, we found another investigator that disappeared! We ended up eating dinner with him and answered his questions about why he needs to be baptized again. He really understood and now he wants to be baptized!! We still need to figure out a date..but either way we are super pumped!! Along with this man another investigator named Hno. Peche is progressing a lot! As I mentioned in earlier emails he was taught by other missionaries for years! They never had him do any commitments so he hadn't progressed. Now though, we can see his progression! He gets really deep into reading the scriptures and when he heard about baptizms for the dead he got super excited! He always has lots of great questions as well :) We are expecting a baptismal date for him soon!

Along with the success we are seeing with investigators we also had a huge success story with a less active. The missionaries have been trying to get into her house for a long time (even before I got here) Well, on Friday we felt inspired! We went to her house were about to knock on the door and it opened!! We were invited in and we shared the video #becausehelives we even have an appointment with her on Friday! I'm so excited to see how things will continue progressing with her and her family :)

To end my email with a funny story....we ate dinner with a woman in our ward. A man in our ward came with us to dinner so that the elders could come eat as well. He was telling my companion and I the same story about his past and how his wife left. My companion told him that maybe now is the time that he needs to forgive her ( since it had been over 20 years ago) Then I said, "Remember the Atonement is real!" He got a good laugh at that and smiled and said, "Okay!" haha. I hope that made you all laugh! At least a little bit :) Well, I must say that I'm super excited for the exciting changes that we're gonna see this week and how the work will continue to move forward even more!! I love you all so much!! You are my greatest support!! Please remember how much I love you :)

Con MUCHO AMOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hermana Buys

P.S. I ate an oyster yesterday ( pretty gross!!!)

Email from Hollies companion Sister "V" -

This week was interesting! We have been doing so many visits to those who aren't so active in church and those who just recently got baptized. We are very happy because of that. This Wednesday we got 2 booklets we had to read because this Wednesday we will be getting Our Ipads. We will be getting trained on them and we are not sure if we will get them this week. We will soon find out. I love how much miracles we had this week though. Maria Chaves, Edwin and Raul came to church! Yeay for those who want to Learn and are progressing in the gospel! we were so happy for the first hr  is gospel principles. and then the 2nd hr is relief society and Priesthood. Maria Chaves couldn't stay for the 3rd hr which was sacrament and later we went to the Elders and asked where was Edwin and they had no clue. We were looking all over the place to the class before to sacrament and then we texted him and 4 mins later he texted us. He said he felt a bit weird and just left. Sister Buys and I were so sad. We were a bit down at sacrament. It was the strangest thing because he even participated in the 1st hr. He is very sensitive to the spirit. We know that because of the way he expresses himself when we are teaching him the restoration lesson and then the plan of salvation. 

Raul finally got a baptismal date for Aug. 8th. He knows this is true and we will see if we can move it closer to June. We will explain that it isn't good to leave so much space for the adversary to try to change his mind or do something. We also invited to baptism to Oscar Ramirez, someone who disappeared completely and now wants to change. The only thing is that he works on Sundays. So we will see if he will talk to his boss. 

We saw familia Gaminos!! they are less actives in this ward and ever since i have been here meaning December i never met her. we never found them home. and this week as we were driving i felt prompted to tell sister buys to go and visit and we parked the car and walked to her house and right when i was going to knock a little girl opened the door and we said "Hola Hermana!" she welcomed us in and we shared the video of #becausehelives. Also this Sunday, before going to the church we did a visit and parked at a less actives parkway. As we were pulling in he steps out! "hola Hermano Victor!" I say looking at him and then at Hermana Buys and begin to smile! I couldn't believe it. He was a bit busy but we made an appointment with him so hopefully we will see him this week. 

Members here tell us their personal stories. A brother told us the same story twice and I told him " Hermano debe de ya olvidarse y mover adelante" giving him a smile and saying it with much love! Sister Buys goes and say's "it's why the atonement is for Hermano!" We both smile at each other and continue to finish hearing the Brothers story. Looking at each other we said *we tried* hehe

Hermano Pech is a husband of a member in our ward. He is really interesting of learning more. We are excited to teach him and his family this week. 

We will be in Bikes today till Thurs. which i love because we will see miracles as we bike to our appointments. I am excited for this week!

I know that as we pray for specific things to happen, then it will happen! I know that We have a father who loves us! who knows us! who cares for us! I love this message in this time we are sharing it with those in California. I have grown to love these people with all my heart. I want to continue being selfless and watching for others needs. I love serving those around me. I love Sister Buys with all my heart. We have gotten so close we just look at each other and communicate what we need to say. So many news things happen EVERY DAY! *she would tell me* and I am glad that every day is different. Every day is a new start and a new beginning. I know that Jesus Christ suffered for us and it is because of God's perfect Plan we are able to return to Him, when our time comes. However, for now let us all continue to polish what we can and let Our prayers reach the Heavens so we can be better each day through Him. I love my Savior! Do you? I can invite you ^_^ to continue to search for Him and Learn of Him. Walk by His side and He will never let you go. I love this gospel and if we continue in this path, we will have eternal life. 

Have a beautiful day, week, and weekend!

Que tengan un Buen Dia! 

Love,

Hermana Villanueva