Week 47

Las fiestas!

Hello friends!

So we have been experiencing some changes on the mission. :) Last Friday we had a mission wide meeting and had some members of the 70 come talk to us about the new training we will be having about working on-line. So apparently we were one of the iPad trial missions. This means that the authorities monitored us for a few months on our use of the iPads for the work and prayerfully came up with a program to implement this into other missions. So now that the program has been made we are "restarting", in other words, we have to forget all the things we knew or the habits that we had in the use of iPads and restart with this new program!... Yay! This will start this week but we will be off of Facebook for the next two months. 

Anywho! The mission wide conference was fantastic! Like I always say, "spiritually uplifted AND socially uplifted":D I got to see all my mission friends and see how they were doing. I even got to see Hna Rico, one of the members I worked with in Murfreesboro. The funnest part about all this is that the night before there was a slight chance of a storm coming in and so President had all the missionaries that lived in Kentucky move down to Tennessee and spend the night with other missionaries... Aka SPEEP OVER! We got to stay with the Clarksville hermanas, Hna Lapine and Hna Brown. It was seriously the funnest thing that has happened all transfer. Then we got to ride down to Franklin together and those two girls are way fun! Probably the funniest hermanas in the mission; they had me laughing so much my face hurt way before the time we had to be heading home. 

Also! On Saturday our little Spanish group threw me and Hna Hoferitza a birthday party:) we had tostadas de tinga and yummy cake that we smashed on each others faces. What a blast! This members are the best!

There were also some miracles this week. I don't know why but we don't have very many lessons down here in Hoptown but the lessons that we do have are good quality. We found some amazing new investigators who we are supper exited about. Also one of our most progressing investigator Rudy was able to come to church! Hna Hoferitza and I almost started crying we were so happy to see him there. Rudy loves to read the Book of Mormon and he is truly learning and living the gospel and he is starting to see some good changes in him. The only problem with him was that his work bosses didn't like Mormons so they wouldn't let him come to church BUT now he has!:D and hopefully he will come next week and then if he comes once more after that we will have a baptism! Yay!

Oh and also on Monday I went down to Clarksville for an exchange with the STL's and got to hang with the YSAs for a day:D. That first night on Monday we went bowling! It was a blast!

So this next week we have Spanish conference coming up on Saturday and on Friday Hna Hoferitza the Clarksville Hermanas and I are heading down to Paducah for a funeral. Ally one of the daughters of a member in Paducah passed away after having fought cancer for many years. She was only 19 and I had the pleasure of working with her the last couple of months I was in Paducah. Mostly Hermana Lapine and Hermana Hoferitza worked with her the most but being so close by we found ourselves someone to take us down to see the family. 

This week we also had my daddy's birthday in the 25 and my year mark the 26th:) also mom's birthday is coming up on Friday! Happy Birthday mamita bonita! Three cheers for the best parents in the world! Hip-hip-hooray, hip-hip-hooray, hip-hip-hooray!!!! I would not be here if it wasn't for their fearless example of righteousness. 

Love yall, 

 Hermana Orellana

Lemme explain...

-first three pictures: me bowling on Monday:D

-no, we certainly were NOT braking rules and sleeping on the same bed... I eventually kicked Hna Brown off of her bed and she slept in the floor... Btw, this was our sleepover:)

-las Hermanas, chillin in the back seat (Hna Brown y Hna Lapine)

Week 46

My birthday week!

This has been the strangest week of my mission so far. We went out only three days and we were only able to go out for only part of the day. So Hermana Hoferitza and I did nothing for our birthdays. Oh and by the way Hermana Hoferitza's birthday was yesterday. The members where so sweet though! Even though it was crazy outside we got many phone calls and cookies and birthday cakes and... birthday jell-o...? What? Yeah that was my favorite one:D (please see the picture bellow) 

On the days that we did go out it was quite an adventure! The streets where ice and some of the more adventures members took us out to buy groceries and attempted to do donuts on the parking lot. It was scary, but supper fun:) 

We Also had some pretty cool miracles! On Wednesday we invited one of our investigators names Vanessa to be baptized and she said yes! So what I didn't know was that She had been invited to be baptized before and had said no. Well I came into this lesson not knowing any of this. We re taught the restoration and afterward I felt prompted to invite her and she said yes! Yay! Hopefully we will be able to set a legit date with her this week and we will get her to church this Sunday.

Oh, by the way! Church got canceled last Sunday! Yes, you read that right. The roads were so icy and the parking lot was so dangerous that there was no church. This is the first time I have ever heard of something like that happening EVER! What a crazy week! And I know I say that ever week but seriously, this week it really was crazy. 

Also we taught some lessons by phone and this one particular guy texted us Saturday night and told us hat he had been reading the Book of Mormon (we had never actually taught him yet). Well we were quite curious because we had never actually given him a copy yet, but it turned out he found one online... I know, sketch... And that he had lots of questions. He wanted to get together with us so that we would help him understand. And then he tells us that since starting to read the Book of Mormon he has stopped smoking! Apparently he had been trying to stop smoking for a long time and reading the BOM was helping him quit. What?! Yep, that's cool!

Well that was my week. Thank you all who sent me cute things for my birthday:) I love you guys. It was a good birthday:) 

Tata for now<3

Pictures:

-Hermana Hoferitza;)

- the crazy snow 

- my snow gear

- hna Hoferitza's snow gear;)

- my birthday/valentine/yearmark present from MamaBear<3

Week 45

Hoptown!

Greetings, from the far far away land of Hopkinsville.

It is snowing! it has been snowing since last night:P it's ether close

to 12 inches or more... I really can't tell. Everything is closed

though. No cars have moved. No ones owns shovels over here. His

morning Hermana Hoferitza and I went out to play in the snow and we

helped our neighbor who needed to get his mom to work (she works at

the hospital, hospitals don't get days off). We were using brooms...

There was literally nothing else to use:) so hopefully the streets are

cleared by the time we have to go out tonight or we might be having

personal study for the rest of the night (we live in the middle of no

where and can't get very far without a car).

Side story: As I was sitting here trying to get some emails sent to my

fam my compa runs to the door and bring in a big bowl of what looks

like snow. She runs back to the kitchen and in a few minutes sticks a

spoon full of now colored snow in my mouth with a spoon... She made

snow ice Cream! And it was delicious!:D Kentucky makes me fat!

Hoptown has got to have some of the coolest members! We got fed every

day this last week. Everyone here is super helpful and loving. We have

a small Spanish group that consist of a couple Hispanics and a big

handful of members who served missions in Latin countries and now

speek Spanish. Have I ever told y'all that I love my culture!?

Sometimes it can be a little much, but most days it's fabulous. The

rowdy jokes, and the laughs, and the parties, and the dancing, and the

drama!:) ha it's all so silly! I love it.  What I love the most though

is when white people act like Hispanics! Its the best!:D mostly really

though, their unbreakable testimonies of the restored gospel. It's

supper inspiring to see their life's change and the good that they do,

their dedication and love for service. I love my mission!

So I will introduce yall to my new compa:) she's from Syracuse Utah.

She went to Weber to study vocal performance. She wants to me an opera

singer:D yesterday I made her sing me some phantom of the opera

songs.... I almost peed my pants it was so awesome!! Her favorite

color is purple. She loves chocolate and when I play with her hair:)

she's awesome!

Leaving my last area must have been one of the hardest things I have

ever had to do in my mission so far. I love Murfreesboro with all my

heart. I can't wait to love all these new people!:)

We have a lot of things happening this transfer! We have lots of

meeting and activities... And birthdays;) it's actually my companions

birthday the 22nd:) we will both be turning 20 this month. How crazy!

I hope hall enjoyed your valentines:) mine was was one of the best so

far. I love you all!

- Herman Orellana