"Increase Our Faith" Luke 17:5-10

Hello Family!

Thank you for the cute box! It is very surprising but for the last couple of weeks, I haven't needed any hand warmers, the weather has been crazy warm for January! But I am sure there will still be a lot of cold days ahead so THANK YOU for those! and also for the yummy treats!!

This last week was a crazy one! I got my new missionary on Wednesday! She is Sister Montoya and she is from Arkansas but she speaks Spanish! That was a relief for me because I thought that we would have to teach her spanish. Then I also have Sister Banka, from Michagan. She is fun and full of energy, and we kind of look related :) After getting my "trio", we headed over to a meeting for zone leaders, district leaders, and Sister Training leaders. We lost 2 STLs and he only replaced them with me :P There is just a little bit of pressure there, hehe :) 

We all work together really well and we have a lot of fun. But we also work hard, which sometimes doesn't happen in trios, you have too much fun that you aren't working hard each day. We had a great week last week and we are having a baptism this Saturday!! YAY! Mirna, Felipe, and Angel are all getting baptized. Mirna and felipe are AWESOME! She wants to go teaching with us, and she isn't even a member! She is so awesome.

We are teaching Kayla, 13, and we picked up Yaretzi, who is 9. She reminds me so much of Lydia, I feel like I am teaching Lydia when I am teaching her. She was so happy when her less-active mom gave us permission to teach and baptize her. She was jumping up and down, saying "Thank you, thank you!" She is super cute :) My trainee invited her to baptized and she said, "yes! I want to do it!" It was a great experience for my trainee, to see that there are people out there who are ready. I wish all people were like little kids, that they could recognize the truth and accept the invitation to follow the Savior without hesitation. 

Sunday, we had Stake Conference and we had a General Authority, Elder Katcher? He was very good and our stake president will be a general authority some day. He is amazing! You just feel the LOVE radiate from him. I want to be like that, when I serve other missionaries, I want them to feel the love that I have for them. 

Yesterday, I had Mission Leadership Council. I was scared to death. That is the meeting with President and Sister Moffat and the Assistants, the Zone Leaders, and the Sister Training Leaders. I thought that we would just be yelled at for everything that the mission was doing wrong, but it was the complete opposite. We started with what we need to improve on in the mission and how we can solve it and what our plan is. I have learned a lot about planning in the mission. It does NO good to find the problem and find a solution WITHOUT a plan to reach the goal. Concern, Solution, Plan, When. This is what we did for a long time! And by the end, we had a very specific plan on how to help the missionaries. Then we set goals on WHEN we will do our plans. I felt like we accomplished SO much by the first half of the meeting. After lunch, we went through the four zones and how we can help them. WE are very accountable here in the leadership, but it is a principle that NEVER goes away. It is an eternal principle. I stood up at the front of the room to report how many I have on date and my goal for next month. After I wrote down my goals, President asked me, "Sister Warren, how do you do it? You have 3 baptisms this weekend and you have more on date. What are you doing differently?"

I didn't know what to say really, all I could say is that I look for families and that I pray to find them and that I work hard each day to find them. I just want to love these people and help them be baptized. And now as a leader, I want to help my sisters to baptize. That is the thing that keeps you going through the hard times, the people that you can help to the waters of baptism. 

Something that I learned from President Moffat was how I can have more faith. Sister Jones asked that in the meeting at the end when President teaches us doctrine. She asked how she can increase her faith. Then President took us to Luke 17: 5- 10.

And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

 6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

 7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?

 8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?

 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow (think) not.

 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

It is interesting how the Lord teaches this to his apostles. How the servant(us) and the master(Christ) and that the Lord commands us to continue to serve him, even we have just been working hard all day in the "field", we come home and want to relax but we sit down and plan for tomorrow, always doing more and more for Him. As President said, "To increase our faith, we serve Him, and then we serve Him some more, and then we serve Him again!" 

Our service never ends! But the Lord will hold us up and work with us, and qualify us for this work that we are doing. As it says in Jacob,

 

72 And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things.

When I walked out of that meeting, I didn't feel heavy with all of the responsibility that has now been placed on my shoulders, but I felt uplifted, I knew that President Moffat LOVES his missionaries, and that the Lord is INVOLVED in this work, this is His work so why wouldn't he be involved?

Just know that I love you all and miss you, but know that I am working hard and doing everything to make this the best last 6 months of my mission :) I hope that everyone is doing ok. I got emails from Sister Merrill and Megan, with tips for me. Thanks!!

I love you all! I love this work that I am doing! I don't want it to end!

SLY!

Hermana Warren

With God All Things Are Possible

I like this face because this is how I am feeling right now :)   ----------------->

How are you all doing? Thanks for all of the updates on everyone. I am glad that you are doing great and having fun!

Sister Hunt did drop off the package. She gave me rolls from Texas Roadhouse and Monster cookies! I took the cookies to church on Sunday for our investigator and someone stole them! I was super mad because those cookies are amazing. But THANK YOU SO MUCH , BECCA!! When I saw your handwriting, I knew that is was you:) I love you so much!

Also, Mom, I got a new eye prescription right before my mission. You have the paper somewhere. If you can find it, let me know. If not? I can just go to Walmart and they can tighten my glasses, I will be find until the end of my mission.

The News:

Ok, anyway, I will explain why I am feeling this way.

I got a phone call on Sunday night from Elder Wishart, the mission secretary. He told me to come to the mission office on Monday morning because President Moffat would like to talk with me. I basically didn't sleep that night :) Monday morning, he called me in and asked me to be a Sister Training Leader! AAAHHH! I wanted to pass out. As a Sister Training Leader, I have to go on exchanges with other sisters and I am a leader in the mission. Megan Nielsen was one, wasn't she? If you are reading this Megan, please email me some ideas about this because I am scared to death. Hermana Merrill as well! There is a lot of pressure when you are a leader because you have to train other missionaries WHILE baptizing in your own area. President said he was a little hesitant about calling me as a Sister training leader because our area FINALLY started picking up when I got there and he is afraid of it going downhill again. But this gets even better. Then he told me that I will also be trainin
g a NEW sister that doesn't speak Spanish! And because I am also a sister training leader, he is going to put ANOTHER sister in our apartment, to help me when I am on exchanges so the area won't go downhill!

So, here is the summary:

I am training a new sister in a trio, and also serving as a Sister Training Leader.

AAAAAHAHHHHHH!

PLEASE PRAY FOR ME! I WILL NEED A LOT OF HELP THIS TRANSFER!

Sister Romero is going to the English assignment. She will be with one of the other Sister Training Leaders.

That is pretty much the big news of this week. it is going to be CRAZY!!!!

Other than that, we had the wedding on Saturday and it turned out great. The members helped us a TON! Then on Wednesday, we went to the Salt Lake Temple! Oh. My. Goddness. That temple is absolutely gorgeous. I was just in awe at all of the art work and beauty in every room. I was freaking out about the doorknobs! I have seen them in movies but never in real life! That place is beautiful and I didn't want to leave. President took our entire district to the temple because we didn't have a TRAX near by. After the temple, he took us to McDonalds haha, it reminded me of the week at Disneyland, where we only at McDonalds :) haha

I just might get married in that temple too:) It is beautiful.

I am writing in my journal almost every day. I am going back and reading my journal entries from a year ago. I am so glad that I have been really good about writing. 

The weather is GORGEOUS! Everyone here is so freaked out because the weather is not usually like this and they don't know why....I know why :) Because I have been praying SUPER hard for a mild winter hehe.

Sister Romero and me

We had a family night last night at the church and we had some recent converts there and one investigator. The members are great in this branch and we told them that we were having transfers again and that I am still staying :) All of them want me to finish my mission in this branch, and they are so excited for me to come back after my mission to play volleyball with them and to dance at the ward parties with them :) I LOVE THESE MEMBERS!

Ice Skating as a District

And mom,  I like what you said, as a missionary, my goal is to keep the lessons we have SHORT and interesting. I use pictures and ask questions and I love having a discussion with the investigators. I also love what dad said, I can FEEL myself changing and I just LOVE these people that I am serving. I feel like I am learning more about Heavenly Father's love and I am see these people as His children.

I love you all so much and thank you for the support you give me. I am so grateful for my family. Keep helping the missionaries and give them helpful tips on how to improve. I would like that if the members helped us like that, to see how I can improve my teaching.

LOVE YOU ALL! SLY!
Hermana Warren

Happy Anniversary to me!! 1 year out!

Hola Familia!

Can you believe it? I have been on my mission for an entire year!!!!!! WHATT? This year has been the best and craziest year of my life. Nothing compares to worrying about and doing everything for OTHER people and helping them receive salvation. IT is the best! I hope ALL of my sisters go on missions, you grow so much and learn so much about the Gospel. Don't deny yourself the opportunity to dedicate EVERYTHING to the Lord for a year and a half, and to possible learn a new language. It is an amazing experience, you learn things and do things that you won't be able to do anywhere else. What other time in your life will you be able to talk about the gospel FREELY? People EXPECT you to talk about the Gospel when they see you walking towards them on the street hehe...and sometimes they run away :) 

Thanks for all of the pictures. It is so weird to think that you were all so close...and yet so far! I love temple square. We are going to the Salt Lake Temple next wednesday!!! I am so excited. I have never been through the SL Temple before and I can't wait to go through. If you have any names to go through, you can send some to me :)

I hope you all get better! I am feeling good. The weather was so cold last week! I forgot my Hot Hands one day and my hands were going to FALL OFF! They hurt so bad. I have to take hot hands every day because my hands can't stay warm, even with my thick gloves. I don't think I am meant to live in cold areas, my hands and feet can't take it. But members help us so much and I am so grateful. I have my coat and the weather is actually warming up this week! The snow is melting and it feels wonderful! I am PRAYING that this winter won't be that bad. I just need to get through these 2 months.......and then it will get warmer and warmer and warmer! I love when it is HOT outside! Even on a bike :)

This week was a great one! We were super busy with people who we are teaching. I hate when we have nothing to do. When I first came into the area, we had NOTHING and the days felt long. I am determined to never have that happen again, I am always looking for more people to teach and baptize. 

WE are teaching a lot of couples. Irene and Hernan, Mirna and Felipe, Angel and Claudia, and then Diana and Kayla, she is 13 and reminds me alot of Sammie. BTW, did you get my package I sent? I want to make sure that it gets to you!

We are planning for a wedding on the 17th, next week is going to be CRAZY!!! I should just be a wedding planner when I get home, I have already planned 3 of them! Then we will have one more on the 31st. IT is fun to do and to decorate....but it is very stressful.

I love the new year! The time to set goals and make plans, that is something that I have learned on my mission. "Set goals and make plans for......" It is great that we have goals, but how are we going to reach it if we don't have a plan? IF you have't set goals yet, read in Preach My Gospel, chapter 8, in setting goals. It really helps! I was setting some goals and realized that I need to set some goals for my mission and for AFTER my mission! That really threw me off.

I bought some more wool socks at Costco today. A member took us, it was so weird because the Costco here in JUST like the one at home......it was like a wave came over me and I was suddenly back in Richland again! SUPER WEIRD!!

We are having some "sister"drama here in among the spanish sisters. I thought that I would get away from that stuff when I came on my mission but I guess you can never avoid it. It's ok though, I don't let it bother me :)

I am trying to think if there is anything else from this week........just keep praying for missionary opportunities! I know that there is someone who you can bring to the Gospel this year. MAybe before I come home from my mission? That would be awesome! 

I hope that Pongo is ok from his surgery, give him a big kiss for me!!!!!

I love you all! I will try to get a good picture of me and Sister Romero this next week. I don't look good today so we can take one when I look better :)   

Training is going good :) We have transfers again in 2 weeks! 

I love you all!!!! BE MISSIONARIES!  :)

SLY!

Hermana Warren

Happy New Year!!

Hola Familia!

I can't believe that it is the new year! I remember thinking when I left for my mission that I had to wait until is was 2015 before thinking about going home and school and all that stuff........and 2015 is in 2 days! I am still amazed at how fast the time went. When you are so busy each day, the days, weeks, months, and now YEAR go by so fast!

Thanks for making my Christmas so special! I loved seeing you all. It is hard for me to grasp the idea that I still have a family at home, even when I see you on skype. I don't think it will click until I am giving you all hugs haha. Christmas was interesting and different though. We slept for like 2 hours on christmas, I was so tired and P-days are really busy and it is hard to sleep. So I enjoyed that time to rest and watch videos about Jesus Christ. I guess the best part was the Zone activity that we had at night. We played soccer and volleyball and it was fun to be with my friends. I really love being with the other missionaries! We are all homesick and alone on Christmas so it was really fun to be together. The hard thing about those days is that it is hard to get back into the swing of things the next day. It is like going back to school after winter break but HARDER! The change is so big in your schedule and you are just so tired! But it was hard to feel like a missionary on Christmas because I wasn't doing what missionaries usually do. I remember walking through some apartments on Saturday, thinking about Christmas and then I said to my companion, "Now I feel like a missionary again!" I was so relieved to be back to work! It was a cool feeling, which made me think about when I have to go home and I can't be a Full-time missionary again.....that is going to be horrible! I need to make the most of the next 6 months!

I am so jealous that you all went to the lights at temple square. I guess I will have to go next year. You should have told me that you were going to be down here....I have a lot of stuff that you could have taken home with you. I have a lot of clothes that the girls can wear. I guess when Jess and Jordan are going to go back up there, they can take some stuff with them :)

This week was a good one, we have been blessed with a lot more people to teach. With the Velez family being baptized, you always get worried about having no one to teach. I have been praying for help to find more people and we have been blessed with people who have been prepared by the lord. A lot of them have big trials going on in their lives and they are very humble and searching for God. We had a cool experience this weekend.

We are teaching Diana, who is prepared to hear the gospel. We found her in the area book and I had gone by her home with other companions but I had never met her. We went by one night and she opened the door and looked sad and surprised and we asked if we could share a message with her. She let us in and we began talking to her and she opened up to us and told us of some of the trials going on in her life. Then she started to cry and then explained that she had been praying to God and was asking for help and then we knocked on her door! I was just amazed. I didn't realized that the Lord was guiding us in our planning the night before. We were just going through the steps and wrote her apartment down when we were planning. The Lord will guide us to those who are prepared! I love these moments! It is just another testimony builder for me that God knows his children and sends us to help them.

I have everything I need for winter. A member bought me a long coat from Burlington, it isn't very water proof but it will keep me warm :) I also bought another pair of boots with the money from my landlady. They are TOTES too but they have more grip on the bottom. I can wear both now. The ones you sent me are AWESOME! I just chipped off a lot of the rubber on the heel of the right boot, from biking and have to catch myself from falling. My shoe slid across the pavement and now a lot of the rubber is gone and it looks like it is going to break through....and then water will get in :( So I bought other boots and these should last me for a while, I can even take them to Provo for school!

Thank you so much for being an awesome family! I love you all and I sent your present today in the mail. The wrapped one is for the family and I have Sammie's present in there too! I also have a small thing for mom and dad. It isn't a sticker........just so you know :)

Have a great new years! Think of me while you are celebrating at midnight :) I will be sleeping haha......to bad we can't celebrate this holiday! It's ok!

I love you all and miss you! Good luck going back to school hahaha

SLY!

Hermana Warren

We made the Red Lobster biscuits you sent and a member gave us shrimp
! RED LOBSTER!!!