Week 64 - Ice cream, Cockroaches, & Life!

It's Great . . . except for the bad parts.  What kinds of
movies and music are you feeding your mind?

October 31, 2016

Hola!

Esta semana...wait this week has been so, so, so amazing!! We had a noche misional (missionary night) on Wednesday and we talked about the Word of Wisdom with a little object lesson we had shared while teaching, and how their family was happier when they took care of their bodies! We as missionaries talked after about what it was and I explained it with aguaje (eww) icecream and a cucaracha (cockroach)...both of which are in abundance here! We talked about how  when we let a little of the bad in our lives, everything is contaminated! This is the same for our spirits, not just our bodies.  We have to be careful what we put into our bodies, minds and our spirits. Thanks for the FHE lesson mom years back, but instead of cucaracha, you put chicken poop...never going to forget!

"Good Things To Come"

Also we had a BAPTISM!!!! For a young woman who is so ready!!!! She already seemed like a member before she was baptized, which I guess is how it should be. But I am so grateful for baptism and that we have the ability to become completely clean through our Savior Jesus Christ. I was thinking about the scritpure D&C 6:33-37 and how if we don't doubt and we follow Him, that we can be clean!

We also saw a complete miracle happen with a woman that a week ago said she was Catholic and would always be Catholic...and never would come to church! Well guess what??? She accepted to pray to be baptized and came to church this Sunday!!! Hearts can change if we are willing to do what God has asked!

I love this gospel. Life is hard...period. I know that more and more every day. Hard doesn't even sum it up. But I KNOW that life can be beautiful through the hard, and that the hard is to help us grow. 

Keep smiling and keep progressing! 

Love, 

Hermana Briggs

Week 63 - Faith & Service

What Mormons Believe About Jesus Christ

October 24, 2016

Hello all ya'll in the US and I guess all over the world! 

This week was a really good week to learn about faith. I feel like in everything I have studied and heard has been about faith - especially in Jesus Christ and that through Him we can be perfected. 

Something cool that happened this week is that we visited a less active last week that has been having super big family problems...she still knows the church is true but has stopped doing the little things. We left her a little to read in her Book of Mormon and she read! The next time we saw her there was a different light in her eyes. Her challenges had not disappeared, but she was learning how to put her faith in Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful for this light and change that we can have if we choose to put our faith in Him. 

How can we increase our
faith in Jesus Christ?

This week we did service for a family that wasn't super receptive to hear us, but we cultivated and cleaned up their back yard with my expert machete ability (I'm not kidding :) and they agreed to let us come back to visit them! When we went back they accepted to pray about our message and we are going back tomorrow! I know that through serving others we can help all come unto Christ!

Sorry, it's so short this week!

Keep smiling brightly and put your faith in Jesus Christ!

How can you develop faith?

Love,

Hermana Briggs

Great Videos about Service!

The Old Shoemaker by Leo Tolstoy

Dominoes

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Week 62 - Egg Drop FHE & lots of fruit!

October 17, 2016

Familia y amigos!!!

I love hearing about all of you and am glad that you are doing well. 

This week was so crazy! We are teaching a deaf family right now and they are absolutely incredible!!!! The first time we taught them my brain hurt when we got done from translating in my head from English to Spanish to signs! But we found that all the lessons are on lds.org in sign language so that should help!

"Family Night"

We did a demonstration with eggs for a family home evening lesson on Monday and showed how when we don't have protection we break, but when we are covered by lots of clothes in a bag ( like reading scriptures, praying and all that stuff) we won't break....well psych!! The protected egg broke, too, when we dropped it! And then it all clicked...we still are going to break. We are still imperfect even when we try to do all the right things. But the super glue that doesn't leave any marks is called the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know He can heal us, to better than what we were before. I think I learned more than anyone else there did! 

Yes, it rains a lot here! Recently it has been super duper hot too!!! Like, I have a fan on me to sleep and I woke up in the middle of the night to move it closer because I was so hot. It's always hotter in October, but in Tarapoto it burns your skin. Our house is super nice! It has a room to sleep and another to put our clothes and another to study...it's really clean and that's what I like! The food is the same basically all over the jungle....lots of chicken. But there is an abundance of fruit and vegetables here so they are cheap! We have found 7 cocconuts in the street which we bring to our pensionista to open, and people give us mangos and guanabana (passion fruit)...it's basically heaven.

The people here are super receptive here too! They ALL are super friendly and the branch here is super united. Ya, you run into the people who don't want anything but they are country type people...good hard working people. 

I love you all! Keep smiling and putting your faith in Jesus Christ. Remember, it's the little decisions in this life that determine our destiny! 

Con amor,

Hermana Briggs

Week 61 - Tarapoto & Conversion!

October 10, 2016

Hello Everyone!!!

So big news! I got changes to go to Tarapoto!! I really wasn't expecting it and it really surprised me! But now I'm in the area Aeropuerto 2, with Hermana Huaycho...her last name is how little kids pronounce my first name :) She is from Arequipa and is absolutely amazing! She has been in the mission for 10 months and already has everything down to a T. I feel like my Spanish has gotten worse and shes helping me a lot with my pronunciation and such. I love her!

Our area is so beautiful! Everyone wanted to come to Tarapoto and I understand why now. There are MOUNTAINS!!! I haven't seen mountains in over a year! It rains a lot here and also burns a lot :) But its super fresco (cool) at night. 

We had a baptism of a 15 year-old young man whose family recently has come back into the church! To see how happy the gospel has made them has been so incredible! I have loved to see the incredible strength this branch has. There are not wards here, just branches, but they are so strong! The spirit was so strong in sacrament meeting yesterday because the people were there for the Savior, and nothing else. That is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ does when you are really converted. That is what we are concentrating on: conversion. What does it matter if we get baptized or start to follow Christ, if we don't continue?! 

Love you all to the moon and back!

Con amor,

Hermana Briggs

Week 60 - Conference!! & How to Find Joy!

October 3, 2016

Bonita familia!

So I think the highlight of most people's week was General Conference, and there's a good reason why! Our zone leaders were really nice to us gringos and set up a room to watch it in English. I had told myself I was going to watch it in Spanish, but it's just not the same when it's not coming from their mouths. If it was given originally in Spanish, by golly I would watch it in Spanish. But, I think my favorite talk was also by Elder Nattress...and I'm not even a mom yet. But, it made me think a lot about my family and also our investigators and members in our ward. I loved that he talked about "The ONE". That is the motto BYUI has as well, and it is what our Savior focused on. The one person who needs to be loved. Also, I loved the focus on the plan of salvation! The plan that our Father has to be like Him and return to Him! It is the one theme that when we talk about with people, they seem to take the most interest in...I believe because it is truth and so it's familiar. 

I remember this week my companion and I were doing divisions because we hadn't had a lot of time to work in our area for different reasons, and that night I was just not feeling up to it. I was tired, a little emotional, and just felt weak spiritually. My first thought was, "Hermana Briggs, you should say a prayer." So I did. I prayed fervently,

because I didn't really know where else to turn. That night we didn't find very many of the people we had planned to teach, but I felt SO happy! I wanted to share this message that brings me so much happiness with everyone! As we learn of the doctrine of Jesus Christ we become happier, because we start to understand our part in the plan and HOW we can be happier. 

I have also seen the power of members in our lessons this week. We had our Young Women's President and Young Men's President share their testimonies with our 2 strong youth that are going to be baptized. The members really are the missionaries, we are just the support team. I have felt so uplifted this week and felt the power also of Family History. If you want to find JOY in your life, I promise you if you do family history, it is inevitable, you will find JOY. 

I am learning to find joy in the little moments through Paneton, seeing an investigators face change as we teach them of their purpose, or a member to take us home when all the lights go out in Iquitos :) 

I love this work and know that it is true through and through. I know my Savior is our Redeemer. Pray to him. Plead with him. 

I'm starting to sound like I'm giving talks every time I write :) Sorry...it just feels more natural. Love you all to the moon and back! Keep smiling brightly!

Con amor,

Hermana Briggs

Also my sd card is weird so I don't know when I'll send pics.  There are viruses on all the computers.  It says it wants to fix it ...I'm SO sorry I'm just scared of losing them all!

Week 59 - Helping with English & The Book of Mormon Brings Peace!

September 26, 2016

Oye Familia!!!

This week was crazy! To say the least! Our baptism that was set for this Saturday got canceled because out of nowhere, he moved. But great ending to the story is that S. informed his son, who is a member, that he is going to be baptized and his son is flying him to Lima so he can baptize him there! I'm just so happy he is getting baptized because he is so converted!

We were walking down the street after our appointments fell through yesterday and I felt impressed to knock on a door. A young 18 year-old girl opened, and after talking, she invited us in to visit with her. She had been passing through so much, just from the look on her face. We shared a message of our divine nature and how we lived with God before this earth. We gave her a Book of Mormon, taught her how to pray, and when we left, there was literally a new light in her eyes! I love what the Gospel can do if we are willing to do God's will. 

The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints during General Conference.

M., one of our fechas (investigators) came to the General Women's conference! She absolutely loved it and I remembered a little of my family as I helped distracted a 6 year-old coloring the whole time :)  We told her to be early to church on Sunday...it starts at 9, and she came at 8:15!  She can't read very well and we are taking it slow with her, but she wants to change and has already seen the changes in her life! 

Also, last night we went to contact a reference from our primary president. The woman was a little stand offish and said she had to help her son study for his English test....so we offered to help with his English! She opened up to us so much as I practiced saying snake, and rabbit and fish. Missionary work is more than just teaching lessons, its about serving and loving people. 

There are a million things I could write, but there's a little sip of it :) I was reading in Alma 37:8-10 this morning about how through the scriptures thousands of people were converted. I invite all of you to read The Book of Mormon every day! Just a little bit and I promise you your lives will change. You WILL feel of the peace that comes through our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Love you all to the moon and back! Keep smiling!

Con amor

Hermana Briggs

sorry no pics...my sd card is messed up. but i have friends that will fix it!