March Pictures - 2

 Saying good-bye to Herman Mendoza, first companion in Mexico.

 With new companion, Hermana Torres

 Hermanas T-shirts from Hermana Missi

"I"m a Mormon; I know it; I love it; I live it."

March 17, 2014 Letter

Hola familia!

First of all, TRANSFERS! Hermana Mendoza went to Mexicali and my new companion is Hermana Torres. She has about 9 months in the mission. She is from Queretaro, but she also lived in the US, in Georgia, for 11 years and speaks English. It'll be weird having a companion who speaks English, but we're going to keep speaking SPanish most of the time anyway. I miss Hermana Mendoza but I am excited for what this transfer will bring and for the opportunity to learn from another missionary as well. 

 

This week we had a zone training and I really enjoyed it. We talked about our goals and how our zone is going to break records this month. I am excited about that. Our zone leaders are really awesome and I love learning from them. I am always really excited to work harder and more diligently in order to meet our goals and help people know the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

About a week and a half ago we contacted a woman walking in the street and she was super receptive and said we could come visit her. We had a lesson with her on Tuesday and it turns out that her "husband" (not actually married...) is a member and even served a mission, but has been inactive for more than 10 years, but he wants to come back to church. They are really great people and they had also talked before about how they want to be an eternal family. :) I am so excited to teach them and work with them, help them reach their goal of being sealed as a family in the temple! 

 

On Thursday we got a phone call from Hermana Missi (one of my many favorite members here) and asked if we could all ( the four missionaries) be at her house at 8. We went and she had a surprise for us: t-shirts! She made t-shirts for us at a place in California. On the front it has a missionary badge personalized with our names and on back it says, "I'm a Mormon. I know it. I live it. I love it." in Spanish. I love it sooo much! I'll send pictures. 

 

Well I don't have much more time, and it's difficult for me to translate my thoughts into English. haha I love you all! Have an excellent week! Come what may and love it!

Dad- Thanks for the email! I'm pretty sure I'm not going to do anything special for St. Patrick's Day, but who knows. haha. I'm excited that you are doing such great missionary work! You are awesome dad. I love you!

Mom- Thanks so much for the photos!! I love you!

Love, 

Hermana Loveland

March Pictures - 1

 Las Hermanas de Playas

 Carlos' baptism

 Hermana Urbina, Serena's MTC companion

Zone Conference

Miracles!

My lovely family!

How are you? Thanks as always for the letters and updates. I love my family a TON. Thanks for being so great. :) 

So this week has been a week of miracles. But I'll get back to those in a little bit. First of all on Wednesday we had our conference with Presidente Carreon. I loved it. I love learning from our leaders, feeling the spirit and of course being with a bunch of other missionaries. All of the new missionaries and departing missionaries got to share their testimonies, and since we didn't do it in January, that included me too. :) Presidente Carreon talked a lot about the Sabbath Day. That's something lots are struggling with here, is getting investigators to sacrament meeting. We talked about the importance of the Sabbath Day and especially partaking of the sacrament. He talked about the sacrament prayers and how we can apply them in our lives and help our investigators apply them as well. I really enjoyed the conference. It's super cool to be able to be go and learn and feel the spirit and be super excited about missionary work, but the trick is applying it when we get back to our areas. But we can do it! 

I also got some letters that day, which I was very excited about! Just a reminder to use the San Ysidro address, because I get letters a lot faster that way! 

Okay so for the miracles, C was baptized and confirmed this week! Woohoo! The baptismal service was great. I love this ward! C was kinda nervous at first, but he has a lot of faith and knew that it was the right choice. I'm so happy for him! Raul was not baptized this week becuase he didn't feel ready, BUT he has a goal for this Saturday. :) He also has lots of support from the ward here especially the young mens leaders, which is great.

Another miracle: remember A? She recently married a member and she's been going to church for months but wanted to receive her answer and KNOW that the Church is true and this is what God wants for her. On Sunday she came up to us and said she had news for us. She said, "I'm ready to be baptized." Woohoo! We are VERY excited for her. She is going to be baptized on March 18th. We don't know the whole story, but that she received an answer and KNOWS that the Church is true. She is so great. :)

The Lord is truly blessing us here in Playas, and I know that as we work harder and more diligently He will bless us even more.

We haven't been able to visit M this week, but we'll be in contact with her this week and we're hoping she'll be able to come to church next week.

G came to church this week. He is awesome. He really enjoyed being there and learning more. 

A less active famlily we've been working with are S, who is 27 and her two sons, J and D who are 7 and 1 and a half. I love them. They are really funny. A week ago on Sunday we have a family home evening with them and a family in the ward which was really cool and fun. They are always so excited to learn more about the gospel. 

So yesterday with daylight savings time, we forgot to change the clock on Saturday night...oops. But our district leader called us at 6:40 AM to make sure we were awake, which was much appreciated! The attendance in sacrament meeting was down a little, and lots of people showed up late, oh well. haha.

I hope you all have an incredible week! Keep smiling! Also, next week is transfers, so that should be exciting. Most likely Hermana Mendoza will be leaving, though we never know for sure. I'll be sure to let you know!

Come what may and love it!

 

Mom- I'm glad you guys feed the missionaries a lot, that's awesome. Missionaries are pretty cool ;) Thanks for everything Mom! I love you! Also if you could send me some pictures every once in a while of my siblings (and nieces!) so that I can recognize them when I get back, that would be great. I have a feeling they keep growing and growing!

Dad- That youth conference sounds pretty awesome, I wish I could be there! I have lots of fond memories from Youth Conferences in the Oregon City Stake :) I'm excited you get to go to general conference and your mission reunion! Have lots of fun!

Ross, Jeremy, Autumn, and Wesley- I hope you haven't forgotten about your sister on a mission! :P I love you!

Love,Ena :)

Here's my address again in case you need it:

Serena Jane Loveland

Mision Mexico Tijuana

PO Box 439056

PMB 157

San Ysidro, CA 92143-9056

March 3, 2014 letter

I can't believe it's March already!

 

First of all, Happy birthday to my adorable niece, Aoife! I hope you have a great birthday tomorrow. :)

This weekend we had some crazy weather. On Friday it rained like crazy and they actually cancelled our zone conference we were going to have that day. THere was lots of rain and wind and that afternoon was an adventure. We got a little soaked, but it's all good. It was fun. I'll send some photos today.

 

R and C are doing great! Their baptism is this Saturday and they are excited. I am too! 

On Wednesday, we stopped by to visit S and she told us that she'd been talking to her niece who is Christian and was saying that she shouldn't listen to us or go to our church, she doesn't need to change her religion and stuff like that. She told us she didn't like to say it, but she wasn't going to be able to come to church with us. It broke our hearts. :( She did say that we are still her friends and once she get moved in to her new apartment she's going to invite us over. There's still hope but it was very hard to hear. 

But then on Thursday we contacted a woman named M and she is amazing! Turns out she has a brother who lives in Ciudad de Mexico and he's a member of the church, a bishop actually. She is very sweet and excited to learn more and come to church. I love her! We couldn't stop smiling the whole day because of how happy we were. She couldn't come to church this week, but she'll be there next week. :)

 

Also on Thursday we had an activity at the church and a few people just showed up for the first time. They just moved here from Guatemala and had passed by the church before but it was always closed. THey went to church for about a year and listened to the missionaries, but were never baptized. The mom is S and her daughter is E who is 16 or 17. We taught E on Saturday. She is great. :) Since she's heard the lessons before she knows them pretty well and was pracitically reciting the First Vision with me. haha. She says she loves the church and the people and the values and standards, but she wants to be really sure before she is baptized. I hope we can help her know how to gain the testimony she's looking for. :)

 

M is also doing well, and we are teaching her friend G. They are both really wonderful and progressing well. The slight challenge we have with them, and with many is church attendance. It's so important that investigators can come to church. Also here in Mexico they standard from the Area Presidency is that investigators come 5 Sundays before their baptism. This is to help with retention and help them really be converted. But sometimes it's tough. But we'll keep working and doing our part to help them get there. :)

I love you! Have a terrific week!

Dad- Thanks for the portuguese...haha I prefer Spanish :P You are always such a great example of service! And member missionary work! That's the best. :)

Mom- Thanks for the updates and photos! And yeah, I really do have to translate when I write and English is getter harder and harder. haha :) The downstairs looks great! Is it warmer down there now or do you just bundle up to work? 

Love,

Hermana Serena

Feb. 24, 2014 Letter

Hello everyone!

I hope you all are doing well. Thanks again for the letters and updates! 

 

No, S didn't make it to church, though we were really sure she was going to be there! Who knows what happened. But next week they should be living in Playas again so we'll go by and bring them ourselves. :) 

 

Also A came! I guess she didn't end up going out of town and she started a new job instead. We'll have to see when we can visit her again. :)

 

R and C are doing well. And yes, there is a great youth program in this ward! The leaders are awesome and the youth are great too. They aren't a ton of youth, but it's growing. :)

 

On Thursday it was Hermana Mendoza's "cumpleaños" in the mission, as in she's been on her mission for a year now! We ate that day with the Ceron family again and Hermana Ceron bought a cake and put little flags with the amount of time we each have so we could take pictures. :) It was cute. I'll try to send the pictures today.

 

Okay Mom, you said you wanted to know more about my companion. Hermana M is the 6th of 7 kids and the first to go on a mission. Her whole family are members, except her dad. And her older siblings are not active in the church. But she's great! I've learned a lot from her. She is a great missionary and seems to know what she's doing here. :) We get along pretty well. I think sometimes we try each other's patience a little, because when you spend 24/7 with someone there are going to be things you don't understand or like, plus trying to express myself in Spanish was tough at first, but that's gotten better as I've learned more. And it's all part of the missionary experience. :) Our district is really great too. Every companionship right now is a mexicano training a gringo. haha it's pretty fun. 

 

I feel like this letter is really lacking, but I don't know what else to add and I don't have much time. Sorry! Please know that I love you all soooo much! I am loving my time in Mexico serving the Lord. I know I still have a lot to learn and improve, but this is the work of the Lord and I know He will help me. 

 

I love you all! Have a grrrrrrrrreat week! 

 

Come what may and love it!

Mom- Yep, I received the package this week, thanks! I'm glad you are having a great time in California.

Dad- We don't have transfers here until March 17th. That's crazy that your won't have the Y to visit anymore. I think you've been their home teacher forever! Thanks for the updates as always. I love you!

Grandma J- Thanks for the email! I haven't received my Valentine from you yet, but I imagine I'll get it soon. THank you! Thanks for the updates too. I love hearing from you. I love you! (Love, your favorite oldest granddaughter :) )

I love you!

Love,

Hermana Loveland

February Photos

Locked inside their apartment - read the blog below for the story!

 At the beach - San Diego in the background.

 Quatro Hermanas!

 View from the Cerons apartment. 

Hermano Ceron is the ward mission leader and the rescuer from locked apartments.

  Ian Ceron is three years old and when we were getting ready to leave he said he was going to come with us and had his missionary bag and his scriptures. So cute!

 Ward Valentine's dinner. We were invited to join to the table with the single hermanas :)

 The food was really good!

We put our badges on the map where we're from.

 I have Jake's mission tag on this little hidden pocket on my bag. :)[While on his mission, Jake carried his older brother's mission tag in his inside pocket. This mom  thinks its a wonderful tradition the kids started.]

 

  

Feb. 17, 2014 Letter

Mi querida familia!

I love you! Thanks for everything. :) 

 

The mission conference this week was really great! Bishop Davies and his wife spoke, as well as Elder Valenzuela of the Mexico Area Presidency and his wife. It's so cool to hear from such amazing people and feel their spirit and love. It was also awesome to meet with the WHOLE mission. About 210 missionaries I think. It was sweet. Missionaries are so cool! haha :)

 

Once again S  didn't come to church. :( We visit them and teach them throughout the week and S especially is always excited to come to church, saying, "This week we'll be there, no more excuses." And then they don't make it. :( We don't know where they live currently (they don't know the address and it's kinda far away) so we can't go pick them up. Last week they ended up going to another Christian church with a friend, other times they sleep in or have to work. But I have faith and hope that they will make it one day! I'm hoping for next Sunday. :) They are progressing well in everything else, especially S with her Book of Mormon. She reads it while she's at her tamale stand and has read quite a bit. She's also progressing with word of wisdom as well. It's so cool to see that through the Gospel of Jesus Christ people can make changes and improve their lives and become more like our Savior. I love being a missionary and having the opportunity to be an instrument in the Lord's hands.

 

Okay, so with A, she went out of town and doesn´t know when she'll get back...so I guess we'll have to wait. :/

 

We have a couple investigators who are getting ready to be baptized on March 8th. They are R and C. THey are brothers, R is 16 and C is 13. Their  mom is a member and was inactive, she actually found us in Walmart about a month ago and wanted us to teach her kids. They are really great and love going to activities and to church. They also have a couple friends who are very interested in learning more about the church, so we'll have to see if we can meet with their families and teach them as well. :)

 

This week I finished reading the Book of Mormon. In Spanish! Then I went into the bathroom (the only place a missionary can be alone..) and I kneeled and prayed and asked if it's true. The answer wasn't as powerful as I thought it might be, but I felt peace and joy and I know that it's true! I am so grateful for this book, and I know it's the word of God. Presdient Hinckley has said that even after we've received a testimony we can put Moroni's words to the test again and ask again if it's true, and we'll receive the answer. I invite you all to do that! Read the Book of Mormon and ask if it's true. :) I love the Book of Mormon.

 

Here's a funny story for you: on Thursday we were locked in our apartment. haha on Wednesday night we shut the door and then it didn't want to open again. We were going to go running in the morning, but we couldn't leave. We tried to take apart the handle and see if we could figure it out, but we were unsuccessful. Later we called the other hermanas and they came to see if they could open it from the other side, but with no luck. We called our ward mission leader and he came and rescued us. He took apart the handle and got the door open, and then put it back together again. We have a great ward mission leader. :)

 

Okay, well I'm going to try to send some photos (probably lots :) ). I hope you all have a fantastic week! I love you!

Dad- I have no doubt your talk was amazing! I wish I could have heard it, but I'm having a good time in Mexico too. :) I'm glad  you got some good movies, and I hope you are enjoying them! :) I love you!

Mom- I love you! Thanks for everything. I haven't gotten the package yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Thanks! I hope my letters are sufficient for you. :)

Autumn- Thanks for your letters and for your prayers. I love you!

Have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Serena

Feb. 10 2014 Letter

Hello wonderful friends and family!

 

Feliz dia de amor y amistad! (love and frienship) I hope you all have a great Valentine's Day this week! :) And I hope you are all enjoying the cold/snow in Oregon!

 

I love having four missionaries in our ward! It's wonderful. The other two are Hermana Rivera from the state of Mexico, and Hermana Tree from Montana. They are soooo great. I especially enjoyed sharing p-day with them. We went to the pure corner of Mexico, at the border and the ocean. I'll try to send pictures today, but who knows with these computers... It's also lots of fun to have another "gringa" around. :) Also on Thursday we did exchanges fora little bit so Hermana Mendoza could help Hermana Rivera get to know her area a little more. Which left me and Hermana Tree to work in our area. :) haha it was fun. It was a good way to put my Spanish to the test and practice teaching without my trainer. It went pretty well. Sometimes I still don't understand everything, but it gets better every day. :) 

 

Updates on S- didn't come to church again yesterday. :( We don't know why, we'll have to visit them today and see what we can do so that they can come next week. But they are still super awesome. On Friday we visited S and made a plan with her to help her stop smoking. We taught her about fasting (actually she brought it up before we did!) and she and we fasted. She was very excited. I'll be sure to keep you updated on her. :)

 

M didn't come to church either, because she was sick. But we visited her earlier in the week and she is progressing well. We're hoping to be able to teach her and her daughter this week.

 

Another investigator we have is A. She recently married a member and comes to church every week, goes to RElief Society activities, she even sings in the ward choir! But we haven't been able to visit her until last week. When we did visit her she was very receptive and wants to be baptized, she just wants to make sure she has her testimony beforehand, wants to be sure of what she is doing. She is really great. She has a baptismal date for February 20th. I am very excited for her. :)

 

Other exciting news, tomorrow we have a conference for the WHOLE mission with Bishop Dean M. Davies. I am very excited. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. :)

 

I hope you all have a fantastic week! Keep smiling! I love you!

Mom- Thanks for the updates and stories. :) And yep, we're still running. I love it. :) 

Wesley- Thanks for the email! I'm sorry you've been sick, hope your life can get back to normal soon! Thanks for "checking in." haha have a great day, punk!

Love, 

Serena

Feb. 2, 2014 Letter

Helllllloooo my wonderful family! 

 

Honestly I didn't even know that yesterday was the Super Bowl. haha but I did have a pretty good day! :) 

 

So updates: first of all, today are transfers. Yeah, my companion and I are both staying, but the exciting news is that we're getting 2 more sisters in our ward!!!! Woohoo! Today we've been running around like crazy doing stuff to get their apartment ready for them. We're going to pick them up tonight in Paraiso, the stake center where they have transfers. And we do know that one of them will be an americana, and her trainer. I'm soooo excited to meet them. Previously we were the only hermanas in our zone and stake, but now we'll have 4 in our ward!! Yaaay! We are very excited. 

 

Updates on S and M: turns out they had slept in last week... oops. So things continued as normal and they planned to come to church this week, but when we went to pick them up, they said they couldn't come. Yesterday was Dia de la Candelaria or something, which is apparently a big day for tamales, and she had to make more... sad day. But we'll keep working with them and we hope they will come next week. :) Also we had a scare where they were going to move, and we weren't sure if it would be in our ward, and if it was, it was going to be in the area of the new hermanas, and we didn't want to have to give her to other missionaries. haha but it turns out that everything was wrong with that apartment, and then someone else offered them an apartment that is way closer and more secure, and still in our area. :) So we are also super excited about that.

 

This week we received a referral from a member (which is the best way to do missionary work) and we went with her right then to teach her. The investigator is awesome! We taught her the Restoration and she was excited to read the Book of Mormon. And she and her 10 year old daughter came to church on Sunday! It was wonderful. 

In other exciting news, we started running in the mornings (which we were not doing before) and it's the BEST. I love it. I have more energy and I feel great. And I LOVE mornings. I never thought I would love running, but it's one of my favorite parts of the day. We also get ready faster in the mornings, so we can eat breakfast BEFORE we study, which is also a lot better. Presidente Carreon said that in our personal study, we are investigators of the Lord. I love that. I love the time I have to study especially the Book of Mormon. That book is so good and so TRUE. 

 

I wish I had time to tell you all of the tender mercies and miracles that occur. I am very happy and I hope all is well with all of you!

Mom- Thanks for the video! It was adorable. And for the Valentine's package...I would really love a smallish picture of the Portland temple, one I can put in my scriptures and carry with me. ANd I am always accepting Reese's. Oh! Apparently peanut butter m&ms don't exist in Mexico or something...sad. 

Dad- Thanks for the letter and the quote! I'll think about those themes of missionary, and get back to you next week, though I don't know if that's too late... Thanks for helping with the missionaries so much, I know they really appreciate it! :)

Autumn- Thanks for your letter! And thanks for being the best little sister ever, and a great missionary too! Keep smiling!

I hope you all have an excellent week! I love you!

Love,

Hermana Loveland

P.S. My Spanish is getting better and my English is getting worse. haha Yesterday I was talking to someone in English and I had to think really hard and kept accidently using Spanish. and I've only been in Mexico about a month and a half!