I love the work and the Lord!

This past week was insane! We got to watch the Women`s General Conference but it was in Spanish but I understood all of it!! I was so happy! Uchtdorf's talk was awesome! I learned a lot about keeping going until the 4th floor last door! Holland says that Man`s extremity is God`s opportunity. That it`s always the last door at 8 at night and it has to be raining but that`s when your showing the Lord how much your willing to sacrifice and he takes that and makes it an opportunity! 

Alveniz finally had his answer! We talked with him and my companion was talking and then she can't remember what she said but the spirit was talking through her with what he needed to hear and we kneeled on the ground to pray and he asked if this was the true church and then waited and then all of a sudden he looks up with a shocked look and says,  You know what happened now don't you?  We just looked at each other and smiled and he got a huge grin on his face and he got his answer!! I love the Lord! It was only through Him that Alveniz received an answer!! 

I have to go but I love you all and the Lord is absolutely amazing! I love His work!!

Hermana Partridge

One year mark, eggs, miracles, and the Atonement

This past week was an interesting week! Sunday of last week we contacted a house next to a house that sells tajadas and enchiladas and other stuff. So while we`re contacting this house. A little old lady comes up to us with so much energy and is like, Are you going to eat? We told her that we couldn't because it was Sunday and we cant buy anything on Sunday. She looked at us and said, No, I`ll give it to you for free! So she gave us so much food which was a blessing because we were starving but couldn't eat anything until we got home at 9:00 at night. Thanks to Heavenly Father for putting this lady in our path because after we offered to come back in the morning and help her clean the dishes. She accepted but when we returned she wasn't there. So when we went back she was sitting in her chair and we asked if we could share a message with her and then she told us a story about how her little boy had to escape to Mexico so that he wouldn't be in a war that was here a long time ago and how she lost touch and for years would cry until on day her other son told her that he had found his brother and that he was in the United States. Now she talks to him every Sunday and he has a family of his own but the story was so sad and then so happy! We taught her how families can be together forever and we taught her about the Restoration of the Church and she said, I want to pray about this but it`s going to be hard for me to change religions because my parents were really Catholic and I grew up Catholic. Please pray for her she`s so sweet and then on Saturday she gave us food for free again!

Alveniz, we had a little rough spot but now he`s reading his Book of Mormon and has a testimony of Jesus Christ which he didn't have before. The only thing is, that he didn't come to church this past week because he had a huge pile of clothes he had to wash! I was so flabbergasted! Keep praying for him though because he has a desire to repent and needs the Lord.

Dorissell is doing good. Her Book of Mormon got wet because it rained and she accidentally left it outside when she was reading it. She`s struggling a little bit but has been praying to know and reading so she`s rocking!

On Friday I hit my year mark! I think I`m in denial because I can't believe that I only have 6 months left....I want a whole other year! It`s not fair that the Elders get 2 years! I`m thinking of extending but they say it`s pretty hard to extend so we`ll see what happens. So for my one year mark we burned a skirt of mine and then while it was burning my companion comes up behind me and all I feel is a wack in the back of my head and gooey stuff running in my hair and I knew exactly what she had done! She had egged my head and yelled happy 1 year mark P-Ridge! (She calls me P-ridge) and so I had to take a shower at 10:00 at night. It was fun!

I love Nicaragua! Rice and Beans for DAYS!! Also I learned that Hermana Vasquez that lives with me, her parents were taught by a Elder Partridge and I asked her what his name is and it`s my first cousin who taught them!

This past week I learned about asking the Lord, What lack I yet? I love the talk about this because there are moments in our lives where the Lord shows us our weaknesses and it`s to help us grow and become the person he wants us to be. So whenever you feel like things aren't going right or something is wrong, kneel in prayer and ask the Lord, What lack I yet? And he`ll show you the things you need to change. And through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we have the opportunity to try again. To get up when we fall down and rise to the person who God wants us to be. But we can only do it if we are humble enough to ask that one question, What lack I yet? And then act on it not just saying, well I don't have a problem with that. Because God helps those who are humble and grateful and those people who are humble and grateful are those who will be first in the Kingdom of Heaven. Just like Jesus Christ said, Thy will, not mine be done.

Love you all!

Hermana Partridge

Multi Zone Conference

 

I can't really remember anything that happened this past week. We had a Multi Zone meeting about how to work with members and I learned a lot! President Brown taught it and that man is truly humble. His wife is funny too!

 

On Wednesday we taught this women named Maria Salas that´s Catholic but isn't active. She really likes our message but the problem is her husband. He might not let her go to church but we prayed and she couldn't come to church apparently but this week we´re praying! Then a woman named Dorissell who was a reference of a member went to church 2 weeks ago and then this week told us that her husband left her and her two kids after church because he has problems with money and drinking so she told him to leave and she´s a little devistated. So we had a good lesson with her about the gospel and she´s reading her Book of Mormon and is praying about it too! She´s awesome but really needs your prayers.

Juan Carlos and Pedro came to church and Juan Carlos´s wife came too! Turns out their having marriage problems because as of a year ago he stopped doing a lot of the things the husband needs to do and she works all the time and supports them all. She came and hopefully this week we can have a good talk about marriage and how families need to help and support one another. 

We´re teaching a women named Carmen and her daughter named Hazel and they are SUPER CATHOLIC! But want to hear more about the gospel and this past week Hazel came to church with a friend that she works with that´s a member! She told us that it was really different but she liked it. 

Please pray for Alveniz because he is struggling right now and really needs your prayers!

The Lord is truly amazing! Sunday we don't have dinner because nobody gives us dinner and then Saturday night we contacted this lady who sells tajadas and she asked us to come back Sunday and eat. We told her we couldn't because we cant buy stuff on Sunday and she said, "Don't worry it will be free" So we show up on Sunday and she gave us a Ton of food! The Lord is awesome. WHY? Because he touched this women´s heart and she gave us food. We offered to come back on Monday and wash dishes and she said that was fine! 

I want to share what quite possibly could be my favorite scripture of all time! I only have my Spanish scriptures right now but if you could look up Ether 12:27

"y si los hombres vienen a mi, les mostrare su debilidad. Doy a los hombres debilidad para que sean humildes; y basta mi gracia a todos los hombres que se humillan ante mi; porque si se humillan ante mi, y tienen fe en mi, entonces haré que las cosas débiles sean fuertes para ellos"

I love you all and have a good day! 

Hermana Partridge

 

My companion and I contacting down this dirt road

My companion and I

Heavenly Father is wonderful!

This week I've learned the importance of how obedience brings blessings! This week has been an amazing week! We worked with members and found new people and at the end of everyday our agendas would be full for the next day! We would go to bed everyday dead tired but it was an amazing day! So one day we were contacting and we contacted this really rich looking house and they had a pool in their backyard which means that you have money! Here in Nandaime is pretty poor and so to see that we were shocked! But the husband answered the door and told us to come back later. So we came back later and him and his wife were there and they didn't seem too happy. We entered into the house and they both sat down with us and basically the husband started to say that they have marriage problems. He told us how he used to have a drinking problem and how he`s really open with his wife but his wife is really quiet and doesn't want to talk about her feelings. So we started to teach them how the gospel can help them and they're not very religious but they agreed to start praying. They told us they couldn't go to church this past Sunday but want to go this Sunday! 

Also, we are teaching a man who I never thought would be interested in the gospel at all. His name is Alveniz. We were teaching a less active a few weeks ago and her ex husband and her are still friends and he comes over to her house every night to be with his kid and help her out because he lives down the street. Anyway, he never seemed like the person who would want the gospel until one day I asked him when he was going to come to church with us. And then basically we started to talk about the gospel and now he comes to church and wants to learn more. He has changed completely from the man he was before! In just 2-3 weeks he has put his love and trust in the Lord and wants to learn more about the gospel. Before he was catholic but he hated being catholic because he didn't believe in anything they did at church. And he was a little scared to go to our church because he thought it was going to be the same but he loved it! We asked him if he would be baptized and he said YES but that he needs a little bit of time because he wants to learn more! Please pray for this man he is trying to change to do good but his family is really Catholic. 

Also there`s this man named Juan Carlos who has a son named Pedro but they can't get baptized because he`s not married to his wife and his wife doesn't want to get married or doesn't believe in marriage. Please pray for his wife that her heart will be softened because he wants to get baptized and pay his tithing! 

Love you all so much and just know that God is great and we can do everything that is expedient through him. The Atonement of Christ changed my life and I know it can change the world, just like Christ like love!

Hermana Partridge

 

Classic Nicaraguan Flag in the wind.

The ferry between the Island and Rivas.

Here is Hermana Partridge with
Hermana Acosta.  She is from Belize.

Hermana Ramos and I she`s from Dominican Republic. 

Hermana Vasquez and Hermana Carla (she cooks us lunch everyday.)

Hermana Vasquez and I! I love this sister so much! I think we knew each other in the Premortal existence.

Hermana Naumu my companion (Her hair is all crazy) and Hermana O`Donnal

Here is part of my zone with both my ZL`s. 

  I love the skies here!






Hermana Vasquez fell asleep on the floor after planning .

 

 

Another sky pic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week was amazing! So I took the council of my President and for the first time in my mission made the effort to work with members. We normally couldn't work with members because of how busy we were with other things but we took the time and made a goal to work with members everyday this past week and WE COMPLETED IT! 

So this past week my companion and I made a goal to work with members everyday to see what happened. Monday we couldn't because it was family home evening night. Tuesday we left with a member named Katherine and she helped us a lot in our lessons! She mixed it up a bit because sometimes teaching the same thing everyday we begin to be repetative but with her she testified and said different things that our inv. needed to hear. She also showed us and gave us a ref. of her cousins who aren't members and how she wants to leave with us another day to go visit them and invite them to church. Then that day we passed by a menos activo named Kevin who told us that he has a friend that he works with that has been asking him questions about the church and wants to talk to us! So we set up a date to go with him with his friend to meet him. Also in the morning we sat down with a map of our area and prayed about where we needed to contact. We both felt like we needed to contact an area se llama los chinamos and then I felt like we needed to also contact another part. So we both prayed about the first area and both felt like we needed to go there at 7:00 on a certain road that we don't normally go down, and then we both prayed about the other part and during my prayer I felt....."blank" and then I asked Hermana Naumu how she felt and she told me that she felt..."blank" and I was like, "THAT`S HOW I FELT!" We were both in awe and so in the evening we contacted that street and we found 3 new people who were ready to hear the gospel! It was awesome!! 

Then on Wednesday we did the same thing with the map and we felt like we needed to contact a certain street and we were contacting and not finding anyone and then we contact this house and this guy with a beard is working and turns out that he`s a member but nobody ever knew. He got baptized in Granada when there wasn't a church here and was super faithful until he had to start this job but now he said he can come to church. We didn't necessarily find a new person but we found someone who needed us. Then the same thing happened on Thursday, we found some more menos activos who needed to hear our message again. On Wednesday we worked with a member who also gave us a ref. who was her dad who isn't a member but lives with her two brothers who are members but are less active. Then on Thursday we worked with the Relief society pres. and she showed us a house that is FULL of Menos activos. A whole family and then another family to complete. Then as we talked with her and her husband, her husband gave us a reference of a friend of his! There are so many more stories that I could tell you of how we found new people this week and how working with the members helped a lot! There are a few things that worked and didn't work but I`m learning little by little what things do and don't. But we completed our goal of working with a member everyday this week, and it helped A LOT!

This week has been so different! I love you all and hope that all is well! I just want to testify that when we work with members the people we baptize stay in the church and also we find more people to teach! Don't be afraid to give ref. to the missionaries because it helps us and the people who we teach! Call and ask your missionaries if you can go on divisions with them or come with them to a lesson. I promise you that if you do this, that you will receive blessings but that you will help someone else receive blessings and change their life!

Hermana Partridge

 

 There`s the coke in a bag in front of her face.

Hermana Naumu and I with a friend! Hermana Naumu doesn't like to take pictures so this is one of the only ones I have of her without her hand on her face or a bag of coke in front.

God is great, life is good!

This past week I learned a lot about humility and how attitude effects everything! Tuesday we went and did divisions with the Sister training leaders and slept over at their house! I definitely learned a lot from them. Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday we worked hard. It´s almost like the days are blurring together. Then I think the biggest miracle was on Sunday! We only had 4 investigators at church and didn't complete with the 7 but we walked into the chapel at 9:05 and sitting in the chapel were 7 less active members that we had talked to the day before and told us they would come to church. AND THEY CAME!! It was amazing! I realize that it´s the lives of the people we touch that matters the most. If we left them better than they were before than we did good. Sorry that I failed in my long letter again but really I cant remember what happened during my week and I forgot my journal. Also it´s because I´m really tired and want to go take a power nap really quick! Hehe. Just know that God is good and life is great!

If we follow the Lords will everything will work out!

Love you!

Hermana Partridge

Here is the LONG letter I promised everyone

Here is a picture with Hermana Brown the wife of our new president. She is probably one of the sweetest souls I have ever met and she is hilarious!

Here is Volcano Mombacho that I live next to.

So this past week we had interviews with our new President Brown and he is the bomb! The interview was so spiritual and he talked about teaching more with the spirit and with love and that man is truly inspired! His wife is hilarious and so sweet! That`s about all because I don't have that much time to email but I promise I`ll write a longer email next week! Love you all!

Hermana Partridge

P.S. sorry mom it`s not longer!