Nov. 24 Letter - Aloha

Aloha!

 Hey family! Happy birthday, Ross! And happy birthday, Jake! And Happy Thanksgiving!
 
 It sounds like you are having a great time in Hawaii! I would love to
 be there, but ''I am busy in a great work, and I cannot go.'' (see
 Nehemiah 6:3, though it sounds cooler in Spanish.) Also, I'd like to
 see some pictures and hear some more stories!
 
But really, I love this work, and I know the Lord wants me to be here. To be honest, this week has been TOUGH. There have been tears and frustration, but there have also been great miracles and tender mercies of the Lord.
 
 I don't tell you these things to complain, or so that you worry or  feel bad for me, just to share a little more about the mission life,  which I think is what you want.
 
 So, we didn't have any baptisms this week. On Monday evening we called
 R to see if we could go see them and they said they weren't
 ready for their kids to be baptized either, that her husband wasn't
 okay with it, and that J didn't feel ready either. They said they
 would call us in the week to tell us when we could go visit them, but
 they never called. They didn't make it to church yesterday either. We
 were confused because they were so excited before. They need their
 space right now, but we are still willing to help them with whatever
 they need and we love them a lot.

 So that was hard. Then on Tuesday we visited G. He said he's not
 ready either. He realizes that God isn't really a priority in his life
 right now; he feels stressed with work and everything; and he doesn't
 think he's "good enough" to be a Mormon. We tried to help him realize
 that this gospel will bless his life, and he's already seen the
 blessings, and that Heavenly Father will answer his prayers when is
 ready to ask sincerely. But everyone has their agency and we can't
 force him to do anything. He said he also wants time. He didn't come
 to church either, and we don't want to pressure him a lot, so we'll
 see what happens with that...
 
 Oh. And on Wednesday, I got bit by a dog. (Don't worry, Mom, I'm fine.
 I already talked to the mission doctor and everything's fine :) ) More
 than anything it was a funny experience that my companion and I keep
 laughing about and helped us distract ourselves a little from the
 challenges. In our pray that night we were laughing as we thanked the
 Lord for that experience. It sounds crazy, but it was kind of a
 blessing. :)

 Another HUGE blessing and tender mercy this week was that we had
 interviews with Presidente Garcia. It was great timing. I love my
 mission president so much. He loves us and he listens to us. He has
 more than 200 "children" he looks after and yet he makes me feel
 special and important to him and very loved. He helped me have a
 better perspective and keep working hard, no matter what. He reminded
 me that the Lord sees our efforts. People have their agency, and have
 to decide what they want to do with the knowledge we share with them.
 If they aren't baptized, it is not our fault. And if we worked hard
 and gave it our all, the Lord counts our efforts as good as if we were
 baptizing. I'm so grateful for such a wise and loving president.
 That day I also received a little package from the Oregon City 4th
 Ward Young Women, which was much appreciated. :)
 
 Another miracle: the E family (V, B and their
 kids). They are all so wonderful, and so ready for this gospel. They
 all came to church and we were so happy to see them there. They
 enjoyed it as well. :) They are progressing well and loving learning
 about this gospel, and we are loving teaching them!

 Today is transfer day, but gratefully, Hermana M and I are staying
 together! I am so excited for this transfer, and to spend
 Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's with her. I love her so much
 and I am looking forward to even more miracles we will see here in
 Paraíso.

 Please keep her and her family in your prayers, as one last struggle
 of the week was that last night Hermana M received a phone call
 from her family saying that her grandma was not doing well and was
 likely going to pass away soon. She was able to say goodbye and
 express her love for her, but it was very hard. I am so grateful for
 this great plan of happiness!
 
 I love you so much family! Thanks for everything! Have an amazing week
 and enjoy Hawaii! I know this is the Lord's work and that He has some
 huge miracles in store for us. I know this will be a wonderful week
 and we will keep working hard and trusting in the Lord!
 Love,  Hermana Loveland
 
 Grandma- Thanks so much for the emails! Sorry I don't always write
 back, but I do appreciate them! You should know, I made crepes for
 breakfast one day this week! They didn't turn out super great, and
 were definitely missing your magic touch, but they were all right. I
 love you lots!

Nov 17, 2014 Letter and Pictures

Hello family!

How are you? Thanks for the letters and support as always! I hope
Claire had a great birthday!

It has been a crazy week! But a really good one!
 

On Tuesday we had a zone training with our zone leaders. They are
incredible missionaries and wonderful examples. I learned a lot.
 

Mom, you were asking about what some of the trials are as
missionaries, one of the biggest ones is when investigators don't come
to church! We have everything planned out, they have rides, they
commit to come and are excited, and then on Sunday morning, nothing.
Sometimes they don't answer the phone, or they aren't home or
something comes up and they can't make it. And if they can't make it
to church, that impedes their progress towards their baptism and it is
a tough thing for us. That's how yesterday was. We only had one
investigator there, who was G. We were excited to see him and
grateful he came, but we were hoping to see many more. But we keep
working and try to better next week.

Speaking of G, his baptism is planned for this week and he is doing
well. We'll have to follow up with the Word of Wisdom and make sure
he's ready, but I think so.

R and family are doing all right. We were able to see a huge
miracle and a brother in the ward has "connections" to help get them
married fast, but it turns out R doesn't feel ready to get
married and they felt kinda pressured about it. But we talked with
Presidente Garcia and we can baptize the two kids, J and K,
this week. :) They are such great kids and I am so happy for them!
 

Another investigator (family) is M. We have taught her and her
"husband" (also not legally married, but we'll work on that :) ), and
her daughter and son-in-law, I and M. I and M are
married. :) They are a great family and excited about learning more.
Yesterday M said the closing prayer after our lesson and started
crying a little. You could tell that she felt the Spirit. She really
has desires to change and draw closer to God.
 

V and her family are doing well. Turns out her brother-in-law
that lives by them is a member! He's been less active for a while, but
he wants to come back, and he was able to help them as well. They said
they aren't going to work next Sunday because they want to come to
church. They are also a wonderful family.
 

I love teaching families because I know this gospel blesses families
and they can progress and prepare to be an eternal family! This gospel
is so wonderful and I love this opportunity to share it!
 

Les quiero mucho! Que tengan una excelente semana!
Con amor, Hermana Loveland
 

P.S. Have a great time in Hawaii, and send pictures!

 Pictures made for the missionaries

 With Hermana M.

 A Belated Happy Birthday.

Nov. 10, 2014 Letter

First of all, I hope you had an incredible birthday, Mom! You are the
best mom ever. I love you lots. :) I took a picture for you, but I
don't have a way to send it right now...sorry. And yeah, your birthday
actually was a pretty great day for me as well. :)

This week was a really good one. :) We have found more investigators
and seen some miracles, along with the trials and difficulties, of
course. :)

R and her family are doing well. But last Monday after our
lesson with them we learned that they aren't legally married! That is
always tough news for a missionary as it tends to postpone baptisms
for awhile. We were able to see them again finally last night, and we
taught about the law of chastity, together with eternal marriage. It
went well, and they are willing to get married and they seem to have
all there papers, so we'll see what we can do to help them out. Their
baptism (R, J& K) was planned for this week, but
we'll see how it goes, we might have it next week instead. They really
are a wonderful family.

G keeps being a huge miracle for us. This week he told us he
probably wasn't going to make it to church this week because of a big
event they had for his work. (He is vice president of a huge company).
But he came anyway! He was super busy, and could only stay for an
hour, but he came! The Lord has prepared this man so well for the
gospel. He such an incredible person and a wonderful blessing in our
lives. Also he took us to iHop today. haha he's funny.
 

This week a member, Hermana A took us to met a friend of hers,
V. She is a young mom of 3 kids. They are D (12), H (8)
and D (4). They are great family. They are very receptive and
interested. We haven't taught her husband yet, but he seems receptive
as well. They couldn't make it to church yesterday, but they said they
will be there next week. Also D has the cutest curly hair. He's
adorable.

This week was also our zone conference with Presidente Garcia, which
was wonderful as always. I learned a lot. One of the things Hermana
Garcia invited us to do is pick a Christ-like attribute each day and
write in our planner, and work on that attribute during the day. I
like the idea a lot and I hope it will help me become a better
missionary and improve a little every day. I also really loved hearing
from President. He is an inspired man. One thing he mentioned is that
was should never be satisfied - always happy, but never content. I
like it a lot. I hope to enjoy my mission more and keep looking for
ways to improve.

Well, that's a small part of another exciting week in Tijuana. I love
you all! Thanks for everything.

Come what may and love it!
Love, Hermana Loveland

Nov 3, 2014 Letter

Happy November! We've officially started singing Christmas hymns in
our house. I love this time of year. It's still pretty warm out (we
are in Mexico..) but it's cooling down.

Yeah, this week I hit one year in the mission...I can't believe it.
But it is super fun to be here with Hermana U so we can celebrate
together. :) We had ice cream cake to celebrate. It is fun being with
her and remembering this time last year. We both have grown and
changed a lot.

On Halloween we didn't do anything really exciting, except we did eat
KFC. haha. And we had to be home early to avoid whatever crazies there
might be. Being at the border, lots of people here celebrate
Halloween.

G is doing well. Sometimes it's tough to teach in English, since
we're so used to teaching in Spanish. We practiced teaching the Plan
of Salvation in English in our companionship study and we were
laughing a lot because of how much we were struggling to translate it
to English. But it's not too bad. :) He is so fun to teach, and so
anxious to learn more. He came to church again this week.

This weekend was stake conference. They reorganized the stake
presidency and Elder Benjamin De Hoyos (Mexico Area President) came,
so that was cool. We were hoping a lot more investigators would come
to church this week, but we are grateful for the ones who did come. :)

Another investigator we had at church this week is J. He was a
referral from the elders a couple weeks ago. He is very excited to
draw closer to God and is preparing to be baptized on November 28th.

S is doing well, though she didn't make it to church this week.
She understands well what we have taught and believes the Book of
Mormon is true, and it just makes sense to her. But she is fairly
involved in a Christian church and knows she has to decide between the
two. We invited her to read the Book of Mormon and pray to ask if it
is true, and she said she will. :)

Hermana M is such a great companion, and an excellent missionary. I
love that we can set goals together and help each other out in meeting
them. Each day we are trying to be better missionaries and improve,
and make the most of this time. :)

I love you and I hope you all have a great week!
 

Love,
Hermana Loveland
p.s. Have a wonderful birthday week, Mom!

Oct 27, 2014 Letter and Picture

Hello family!

Thanks for all the updates and support as always! I love you lots! We
are doing great. :) And we have seen miracles here in our area, and
have seen how the Lord truly is preparing people to receive this
gospel.

G is doing super well. He came to church and has read the Book of
Mormon and is just very excited. I love it. He is so cool. Also he
lives in mansion. His house is so huge. He is a funny guy and excited
about learning more. I just love how well he understands things. He
read 3 Nephi 18 and we asked what he learned and he siad, "We need to
go to church so we can partake of the sacrament and remember Jesus
Christ and His sacrifice." He's the best.

One family I didn't tell you about last week is R and her
kids. They were actually a referral from the mission doctor, Hermana
Meza. Yesterday was there 3rd time in church and the kids even
participated in the Primary program. They are so excited. Her kids are
J (15), K (8) and E (6). We can only see them on Monday
evenings because of their busy schedule, but they are so wonderful.
Last week K and E had drawn us a picture while they were
waiting for us. They are so sweet, and very smart too. The husband,
R, is also fairly interested, and asks lots of questions. But he
works on Sundays and can't make it to church. They are a wonderful
family and I am so grateful for the opportunity to teach them.
Having lessons with a member present is always an adventure. 

This week a brother in the ward introduced us to his neighbor, S who is
pretty receptive. The lesson was going well, and as I was explaining
about Joseph Smith, and about to share the First Vision, the member
totally interrupts me and starts teaching it. I was kinda shocked and
didn't really know what to do. He started reading out of Joseph Smith
- History, which is a much longer version of the clear and simple part
we normally share as missionaries... When he finished we tried to
gain control of the lesson again. Silvia really does want to be
baptized, and accepted a baptismal date for November 28th, and came to
church yesterday. :)

Mission life is so full of ups and downs and funny experience and
spiritual experiences and tough experiences. It's the best thing ever
and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I know that this Church is true.
I know that our Heavenly Father knows each and every one of us and I
know that we can pray to Him at any time and He will always listen. I
am so grateful for the knowledge and I want to share it with others,
which is why I want to work hard and give everything to the Lord and
His work is this short time I have to serve him!

Thanks so much for everything! Les quiero mucho!
Con amor,
Hermana Loveland
 

P.S. Here is the picture of A's baptism that I never sent. :)

Oct 20, 2014 Letter

It's been a pretty good week here in Paraiso. Hermana Muir is an
awesome missionary and is lots of fun. It's fun being two americanas
together, and we get some interesting comments... Some crazy guys
yelled the other day and asked if we were twins...haha. But we are
having a good time. I like the ward and the area. My legs were a
little sore at first from walking, since there are a few more hills
here than in San Luis. But I've gotten used to it and I am enjoying
it. One struggle we have is that so many people just aren't home when
we visit them, or are busy. But we don't give up and we just keep
trying other people. This weekend we were really praying and hoping
for some miracles, and we've seen a few. :)

My favorite miracle this week was G. We were walking on Saturday
and this guy pulled over and asked if we spoke English and if we could
give him directions. He was asking about who we are and was very
interested and said he wanted to come to church! He is such a funny
guy and just gets so excited. We weren't able to get a hold of him to
remind him to come to church or see if he needed a ride, but he showed
up on Sunday! He said he was driving around for awhile before he found
it. He is so awesome. He loved church even though he doesn't
understand much Spanish. We taught him (in English) and he accepted a
baptismal date for November 21st. I am so excited for him! 

This week we had our zone training, with our zone leaders which went
well. We were invited to be more consecrated to the this work, and to
leave our nets (Matthew 4:19-20). We were invited to get rid of things
in our houses that distract us from completely focusing on our purpose
as missionaries. So I'll probably sending a package home soon of
things I really don't need right now. :) I know this is an extremely
short time that I can serve the Lord as a full time missionary and I
want to do my best to give it my all and lose myself in this work.
I am praying for you all! Keep smiling and trust in the Lord no matter
what happens!

I love you!
 

Love,
Hermana Serena Loveland
 

P.S. About the pictures...my memory card seems to have a virus or
something and it won't let me send... but I'll see what I can do. :)

Letter - Oct 13, 2014

Hola!

First of all, transfers. Yep, I left San Luis. It's hard to believe
it, and it was hard to leave. I was there almost 6 months. There are
lots of people I will miss, and also my bicycle. haha I will have to
remember how to walk... I really enjoyed the time I spent there, the
sun, the sweat, the flat bicycle tires...all that good stuff. haha but
really I love San Luis a lot and the people who I met there who are
now an important part of my life.

I will especially miss Hermana C. I love her lots and I'm so
grateful for all that we experienced together, and all that she taught
me. She is a great missionary and I know she'll have lots of success
throughout her mission. I really admire her faith and diligence and
her dedication to serving the Lord.

And now I am in Tijuana. The ward is called Paraiso (Paradise :) ),
which is actually the mission president's ward. My companion is
Hermana M, who is an americana from my generation. She is from
Utah. It's kinda funny being two americanas together, but it will be
lots of fun. It will definitely be an adventure. :) Another fun thing
is that Hermana U is serving in the same ward, and we live in the
same house. It's fun to be with her again. :)

My last week in San Luis went well. We had a zone conference with
Presidente Garcia which was excellent as always. He is fun and I
always learn a lot as well.

The sad news is that A didn't make it to church yesterday, so she
wasn't confirmed. But she said she'll be there next week. :) She is
doing well. We still haven't taught her family, but I know they see
her example and soon they'll follow it.

And C...is doing all right, but still doesn't feel ready for her
baptism. But she does have a desire to be baptized and I hope she can
feel the importance of it soon. :)

Sorry for a short letter again. Next week I'll have more information
about my new area and our investigators and all that good stuff. :)

Have an excellent week! Trust in the Lord, and "Come what may and love it!"

Mom and Dad- Thanks for the family history info, and thanks Mom for
the pictures of the cutest nieces ever. :)

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Loveland

P.S. I owe you guys lots of pictures, but I didn't bring my memory
card reader today...I'll try to send them next week!

Letter - Oct. 6, 2014

Well, it was an eventful week. Full of miracles and blessings and
 challenges and answers to prayers. It was great!

 First of all, A got baptized! That was the biggest miracle, because
 there was some uncertainity as to if her parents were going to sign
 her baptism record (since she's under 18 we needed a signature). But
 the Lord answered our prayers and worked some miracles and everything
 worked out. Her parents were at her baptism as well and excited for
 her. I'll send pictures :)
 
 C is doing well, and she came to General Conference and loved it.
 We are hoping and praying she'll be baptized this week, but she
 doesn't feel "ready." She wants to do it, but is kinda waiting for an
 answer or something to be sure it's the right choice. I think she
 already knows it's right, she just needs a little help in recognizing
 that answer.

 This week we contacted I and invited him to
 general conference, and he came. He enjoyed it and is excited about
 reading the Book of Mormon and learning more.

 In a little sadder news, K and M told us they were moving to
 Mexicali this week so than can be closer to her family and he can have
 more work opportunities. :( I'm going to miss them so much. But they
 said they'll keep going to church and are going to give us their
 address so we can send the missionaries there. :)

 This week we also had exchanges, and I went with Hermana B, our
 sister training leader in her area. She is a great missionary and I
 learned a lot from her example.

 And of course, another highlight of the week, General Conference. I
 love Conference sooo much. I don't think I can choose a favorite talk.
 I felt like some of them were written especially for me and I received
 lots of answers and help that I needed. I love that the Lord calls
 prophets and apostles to lead His church and guide us. I know the
 Church is true and I know God lives and loves each one of us, and He
 shows us that love each and every day.

 I love you all!
 
 Love,
 Hermana Loveland
 
 P.S. Next week is transfers...and it's pretty likely I'll be leaving
 San Luis Rio Colorado...so I'll let you know. For now I am going to
 enjoy my time here with these people, and with my bicycle. :) haha

Letter & Update - Sept 29, 2014

Hey all!

What a week! The weather is changing here in San Luis and it's pretty
nice out. It's getting cooler, 

especially in the mornings and evenings
and it's lovely. :)

On Friday we had a meeting in Tijuana for all the trainers and
trainees, so we traveled on Thursday afternoon, stayed the night with
some of the missionaries in Tijuana (with Hermana Urbina, my MTC
companion :) ) and went to the meeting on Friday morning. It was a fun
little trip, though the traveling was kinda tiring. It's about a four
hour bus ride. I enjoyed the meeting we had and all that we learned
from Presidente Garcia, the assistants and other missionaries, and we
came back even more excited to work diligently and see miracles. Also
in this trip we stopped by the mission office and I got my package
from home. Thanks so much mom! :)
 

Our investigators are doing well. A and C came to church and
are doing well, and preparing for their baptisms soon. K and M
also came, and it was so great to see them there! They still haven't
been able to set a date for their wedding, but we're working on that.
K is progressing well in the gospel and is a great example and help
for Manuel. I love them a lot.
 

S and J didn't make it to church, but they are doing all
right and said they'll come next week.
 

I loved the Womens Conference on Saturday. I loved what Sister Neill
F. Marriott said about being a light to others, and I especially loved
President Uchtdorf's talk. I LOVED what he said about our blessings
and the rain. Such a beautiful metaphor, especially for this Oregon
girl ;) but it's so true. It's always raining blessings, but usually
it's our fears or our doubts that are that umbrella that keep us from
receiving them. And since I've always thought umbrellas were
unecessary, let's get rid of them so we can receive all the blessing
the Lord pours down on us! :)
 

I am so excited for General Conference and for all that we will learn
from our prophet and leaders and the answers and help we will receive!
It's the best! Be sure to tell me what you like best next week. :)
 

Have a fantastic week! Come what may and love it!
Love,
Hermana Serena Loveland

 On the bus trip to Tijuana - with Elder Ivins and Elder Hernandez as well.

 With Elder Valenzuela

A family home evening we had last week