Tender mercies

A week of tender mercies!  blessed small things that make the wheels turn continually turn, driving me forward:

Sunday:  president choi and sister choi visted our branch for sacrament meeting.  while they talked president martinez translated into the beatiful language of spanish.  Between all three it was kindof like getting spanish and english with a hint of korean.  it was great and I loved it, the only hard part about sundays is no longer do I get to enjoy the meetings.  no I have to force all my brain power to catch a word here and there try to connect the dots and form some kind of sentence.  It's like a giant puzzle, and i've never been all that great with them.  I just need bubbus and dad to help me out and then i'd be golden!  regardless, president choi is awesome.  If I could I would shrink him down into a bobble head size man and carry him with me everywhere.  He'd constantly motivate me, make me giggle, and push me forward.  he's one heck of a mission president and it's always a treat when he's around.  He loves to sing, and so definitely do lots of it!  Having fun with the spirit is his motto and having fun we do!

On tuesday we knock for about 2 hours and have no success.  finally we head to the car when we see a festive christmas lights appartment with lots of shoes... can only mean one thing, hispanic!  so we head there.  after sharing a message we feel  a lot better about ourselves and not wasting the Lord's precious time.  again we keep heading to the car when just like sweet motab music we hear the loud laughter and mexican music force us to a hault.  without a word said to eachother we turn around and are lead to the house by sound.  this is where we meet carlos and his family of 6.  Now they are great and were very welcoming.  We sung to carlos and just like that everyone elses little-big feet scampered to the door to hear our caroling.  One thing president choi knows is that hispanics love to be sung to and feel the spirit.  It's always a great way to draw the crowds, regardless of our capibilities in actually hitting the notes.  well yesterday on sunday we had another lesson with them and took two members from the ward.  after much mind power and well a lot of translation help from my compaion it turns out their family is struggling and the only reason why the parents are sticking together is for the kids.  Well luckly we brought the strongest priesthood holder men in the ward to bear testimony and fill the room with the spirit!  after watching a cheesy lds film on family and teaching them how to pray as a family, we all gathered around and Carlos offered up a prayer.  I wanted to burst out in tears it was so awesome!  the spirit was so strong and all I could do (since I couldn't talk)  was continually pray that they felt and recognized it as God sent.  We have another lesson with them next week, which I am looking forward too!  I know that this gospel will bless their lifes more than anything else.  They need it!  If they were to come closer to Christ they would come closer as a family! It's the biggest blessing someone could have. 

8:50 p.m.  we have ten mintues with nothing to do.  So naturally it translates to, "Ok we have 10 mintues to find someone, teach them, and commit them to baptism.. ready set go." ....cricket cricket... "where are all the hispanics hiding"....   well now there's only two mintues...  and out from a corner comes a women returning home from a birthday party!  and walla she's hispanic!  needless to say we got invited into her casa and shared a great message with her, once again we have a return appointment set up.   and yet ANOTHER man came up to us the next day (WHITE)  and asked if we were over the area for spanish.  Why yes, yes we are.  Well turns out he wants his girlfriend to talk the lessons, he's mormon.  Um ok, i've always wanted this to happen to me!  it's such a milagro in itself.  So switching information and we have an appointement for this week!  what can I learn from all these tender mercies?  that heavenly father is looking after me!  and that inorder to have success it requires diligence, effort, and faith.  Then once he trusts us, he'll let it show.  This week testifies of that, even if it's the very last straw, very last second, its worth all the effort up to that point.

so on caleb's birthday i'm not going to lie I was sad.  Very home sick.  I miss the little squack box.  I would think of how we enjoy the same things, and giggle at the same movies and cartoons.  No one enjoys disney cartoons as much as him and I.  Well after a hard day with not much going on ONCE AGAIN the last stop of the day was a tender mercy.  We stopped by the Reveles family, who are Less active, it was 4 girls and the dad.  naturally we named it a girls night, and he served us goodies. They even offered popcorn. well it took about .02 seconds for me to recognize that smell!  IT WAS STIR CRAZY!  dead serious.  I knew it, and I was anxiously boiling over with excitement. Did my nose lead me astray?  of course not, I could smell that smell from two miles away.  Out he brought my own bowl of heaven sent comfort food and a pepsi to go with it.  I closed my eyes and it felt like home.... ever seen anyone cry over something so small. well my companions did.  I was in heaven and it was my own way of God showing that he loved me and cared for me.  i'm constantly being watched and looked after out here, even if sometimes it comes in the form of food. (not to mention we went to Red robins today for lunch... hehe that's what happens when your companion has a gift card.) 

Needless to say this week has had major ups, and losest of downs.  I'm a mood swing  wreck as I start the day sweating reaziling that I don't know spanish, then get excited to go out and teach, get frustrated that their aren't enough spanish speaking people here (or they are all hiding under rocks... well no they all work a million jobs and are never home, lame economy), and then think i'm ok without spanish because i'm still in america, then want to cry because we talk to someone in spanish and I catch maybe half a word sometimes not even a vowel, and by the end of the day i'm exausted and happy to be a missionary and happy to go to bed.  Something along those lines about every day.  I could get motion sickness from this adventure.  Thank goodness for Tender mercies from the Lord. that is all I have to say at the end of this week.  Milagros keep me going:)

yo se que Dios es nuestra padre celestial.  Somos sus Hijos.  Dios nos envio que para crecer, apreder, progresar y obener un cuerpo fisicio.  yo se que, puede regrasar a Dios maneniendonos cerca de El.  Perque El nos ama El nos da la oracion.  yo se que cuando oro estoy hablando con dios.  El nos escuchara y nos conestara.  el en nombre de JesuCristo, amen.

Queremos Mucho,

Hermana Alley

"Yes this is just after 4 days people!!!  4 days and look how much water that is..... dang... people here love their water bottles!  but i'm not complaining cause I stay nice and hydrated!!"

 

" I found this shirt and couldn't resist.  how can you be sad when you have this shirt?  that's right you can't!   Whhaaaaa?  it's only my very favorite movie."

"Editor's note: Hermana Alley had no comment on this photo because of the sheer joy radiating from her. Stir Crazy is an Alley family favorite and Becca rates right up with the Papa Alley in her devotion to the savory treat!