I'm TRAINING!!

So this week I got my daughter. Her name is Hermana Mendoza, she´s from Texas and her parents are from Mexico, her first language is Spanish and her second is English so she´s going to be helping me a lot on my Spanish. She´s got such a big testimony and can't wait to share the gospel with others!

So this past week was awesome! We were able to bring 4 people to church! A family and an old lady and a man. The crazy thing is that the old lady after sacrament didn't want to leave. She said, "I´m going to stay here a little bit longer" and then after church the little girl that she brought had drawn a picture of someone praying and the old lady was so happy! She told us "I felt so much peace in there. I felt something in my chest and I cant explain it! I felt so happy and tranquilo! The little girl liked it so we´ll come back next week" Ha ha, She totally loved it! Please pray for this old lady, she can hardly see and is so sweet! 

Then the family that we brought is awesome! We haven't taught them that much but I feel like they want to be closer as a family. We´re also teaching this other family and we taught them lesson 1 and gave them a pamphlet. When we passed by the second time we taught them about the Book of Mormon and gave it to them. We usually visit them at night and they asked us if we could pass by earlier so that the kids could listen! I love it!!! This week we´ve seen so many miracles! I love the Lord so much! I seriously am so happy that he is guiding this work because if I was I would ruin all of it! 

On Thursday we helped some sisters with a wedding and a baptism and then on Friday we helped them with another baptism. It was so stressful but it was awesome! We got to eat cake! which is not the same as cake in the United states. Cake in the US is better but it was still good! Hermana Peterson and Hermana Fraire are companions now. Both of them are so awesome! I love all the missionaries that are in Rivas right now! 

This week try and listen to the song "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" by David Archuleta. It´s really good!

Love you all! 

Hermana Partridge

VOLCANOES!! I`m training!!

This week was a week of ups and downs. The ups were that we found a whole bunch of positive people to teach. The down, everyone who said that they would come to church....didn't come. We passed by for everyone and they told us an excuse, wouldn't open the door, or lied to us and told us that they would go by themselves which you should never trust and we passed by again and they had locked the door. My companion cried and one of our baptisms fell through.....BUT despite all the trials and tribulation Mario was baptized and confirmed!! I was so happy because I can see a difference in this man from the first time we met him to now! I am so happy when this happens and I can see the gospel change someone's life!

So today we got the call of who is going to have changes...and Hermana Gilbert is leaving and I'm staying in Rivas and I`m training!!!! Oh my goodness I am so scared and excited so please pray for me because this is going to be hard and crazy and wonderful all at the same time! 

This past week my companion and I got contacted by a old white man and he started to sing to us and his name is Bill. He told us he`s from Florida but he didn't learn anything in the United states so he came here as a tourist and has lived here since. He was crazy! He kept trying to sing to us and then he said, "Your religion is awesome! It allows me to have two of you!" Then he started to sing to us some more and then the Lords prayer.

Okay I just need to ask because our neighbor and everyone else has played this song for the past 2 months and it`s so annoying! The song by Justin Bieber "Sorry" or something like that. Is everyone else tired of this song as much as I am? BUT I love the Adele song "Hello" that came out because we`ll be walking in the street and hear it and it is awesome!! I love it! 

I do however have something to say about Music and the world. I have learned that the spirit works through a still small voice and I`ve noticed a considerable difference from when I`m listening to loud music from the world and then the soft music from the hymns. I just want to ask everyone to take an hour out of their day and listen to some nice church music and I promise you, you`ll feel more peace during your day. You`ll notice a considerable difference. We need to use more scriptures and family time and less computer and friends time. The world is against the family and that`s really the only important thing that matters. The music of the world has messages that slowly degrade someone. Now I`m not saying that all the music of the world is bad. I was singing the other day "ooohhh child, things are gonna get easier...oooh child things will get brighter" from Guardians of the Galaxy. But I do want to caution because really Justin Bieber "Is it too late now to say sorry, cause I`m missin more than just your body" REALLY!?? 

Also I live by 3 or 4 volcanoes and they are literally the coolest things ever! Even though they`re literally the hottest! Turns out there are more than 30 volcanoes in Nicaragua! If the world were to end it would be by volcanoes here!

I love you all! Have a good week!

Hermana Partridge

Fish

Not sure if something happened to Sister Partridge's message or if she didn't send one?  This is all she sent. INTERESTING!

Scorpion, General Conference, Miracles!

So this week was a week of miracles and crazy stuff!! So first of all on Wednesday we went to visit a less active member named Karina. So we go over to her house and her and her two friends are playing hopscotch. So we taught them a lesson and we were about to leave when they invited us to play and my companion was like "Yeah, let´s play for 5 min." So we played for 15 min! It was seriously the funnest thing I´ve ever done on the mission! I felt so much stress leave after and we were so happy! We weren't worrying about numbers or anything! 

Then on Thursday we were just sitting at our desks reading the scriptures when all of a sudden my companion stands up and starts to dance and shake her skirt and was yelling a little bit and I was thinking "Oh it´s probably just a bug or something" and asked her what it was because after she was standing on her chair she said "It´s a scorpion!" So we called our District Leader and we´re like "How do you kill a scorpion?" So he told us to step on it, kill it with a broom, or spray bug spray and light it on fire. So I took a broom and it was so quiet....and I stabbed it! AND I HEARD A CRUNCH!! We both shrieked and the DL was like "what!? what happened?!" and the scorpion died a death by a broom. It was really exciting! Then we had to go through all of our clothes and stuff to see if there were any more.

Then on Friday we had Zone meeting and we left at 7:30 a.m. and it´s an hour to Jinotepe and so we're crowded in this van for an hour and the ZL´s call us and say "You guys need to hurry up because President just called and he´ll be here in a half an hour." We couldn't believe it! So during the Zone meeting President was there. It went a lot smoother than I thought it would go. 

So before I tell you about General Conference there are a few things you need to know first. It´s a mission rule that we can't watch conference if we don't have 4 investigators with us at church to watch it. We have to bring 4 different investigators each session and can't bring the same. If you have 3 investigators you still can't watch it and have to bring one more. 

So on Saturday morning we left our house at 7:00 a.m. not having anyone to go to General Conference and not knowing what to do but contact people. So we contacted people and no luck, so we sat down and said a prayer at 8:30 a.m. and decided to contact every single house on this one street and work our way around. So we contacted and contacted and every house is like "Soy Catolica" which means "I´m Catholic and even if my church's doctrine isn't true I was born a Catholic and I´ll die a Catholic". Then we come to this one house and invite this one lady to church and she says "Sure I want to go to church let me ask my 3 kids if they want to go" So at 9:45 a.m. we began to walk to church with this little family from Costa Rica and we were able to watch Conference with them and the mom loved it so much she wants to go back next week! MIRACLE! Then the afternoon session after lunch we were contacting and we contacted 3 teenage boys and we convinced them to come to church with us! So they came! But we still needed one more investigator and we show up to the church and Mario, one of our investigators is there! We were so happy and we were able to watch Conference! MIRACLE! 

Sunday morning we watched General Conference but we weren't able to listen to the prophet because we were late with a few investigators. Then in the evening everyone that we had committed flaked out on us and we had 14 people committed which means only 4 or 5 people will actually go but nobody came! So we walked around for 2 hours trying to bring people and nobody wanted to come! So we missed that part of conference but we were able to hear a little bit of Elder Holland and the prayer. 

So all in all we brought 11 investigators to church! The most was 12 so we were echando fuego! Then last night the DL called us and said we broke a record in the history of Zone Jinotepe and that we brought 11 investigators the most ever! So for our P-day we didn't sleep but we had a 2 hour drive to Jinotepe and back and we played some sports with the other missionaries which was really fun and boy am I out of shape!

I hope everyone got to enjoy conference! I understood for the most part some of it but when Uchtdorf started to give his talk I was a little lost. It was good over all! I loved the choir and the songs were amazing! Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing! AMAZING! The man that was in the choir that was singing it with all his soul was heart touching!

I don't have my scriptures with me so I don't have anything to share but this.....that we need to look for the good in others. You can always find the bad but a happy home is built on looking for the good in others. Being a missionary your companion does stuff that bugs you and I´ve noticed that if I´m fuming over what she´s doing wrong and not looking at what and how she´s supporting me and serving the Lord, I just have a bad attitude in general. We need to look past the quarreling over little stupid things and focus more on serving and loving the people closest to us because time is short and you never know when you won't have time. I love the saying "The bitter tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone" We need to start today to look for the sunlight in ourselves and in others! Don't dwell on rainstorms and the bad things but look for the good!

Love you all!

Hermana Partridge

This is a picture of the scorpion that was on my companion while we were studying. She looked down and it was on her skirt and she started to do a dance while singing and shaking her skirt. I as like, what´s wrong? And she was on top of her chair saying A SCORPION!! Then we had to kill it.......Poor Scotty the scorpion.

My companion and I LOVE mangos! We throw rocks to get them and use sticks all the time! They´re so good!

 

My companion and I started to play hopscotch with some of these little kids, the little girl is a less active. Let´s just say, it was the most fun I´ve had in a long time!

My breakfast when we don't have food in the house and run to a pulperia! Oreo cereal and chiverias!

 

This is our bathroom where we take bucket showers! 

Semana Santa (Holy Week)

This week was HOT! We were literally sweating showers of water. I am going to be so grateful for the snow and fall when I get home. Right now I´ve missed one winter and will miss another and have to wait for the next one after my mission! That´s crazy! So this past Friday we had the baptism of Nixon. He´s a pretty big guy so when the baptismal clothes didn't fit him we spent the next 2 hours running around calling people to see who had clothes that would fit him. When we finally got the clothes it was so late and when we finally left the church the AP´s showed up with the ZL´s. Turns out they wanted to meet some of our investigators so we went and showed them around. It was just a really stressful day on Friday due to the clothes but all was well after that! Then on Saturday we had the Women´s conference! Except it was in Spanish so I was able to enjoy most of it but the new missionary in our district Hermana Peterson didn´t understand anything. I tried to translate a little but that didn't happen so we just sat there in the church with our top ramen noodles in a cup and it was basically the best thing of my life! I loved how they talked about serving other people and how we need to look beyond ourselves!

So we have this investigator named Mario and he has gone to church two weeks in a row and I have had the opportunity to see him grow and change. When we first met him he was like "I´ve never been baptized because none of the churches interested me and I´ve been to a lot but this and that and this, so I guess I´ll hear your message I like to talk about Christ with people" So we taught him about the Restoration and invited him to church. But he didn't go! So we we passed his house and we were like " why didn't you go to church? You promised us." and then he got offended and started to argue with us and then I got frustrated and started to argue with him but my sweet comp. had patience and we visited him that Saturday and we thought " ok, if he doesn't come to church, we´ll drop him" BUT HE CAME!!! So we gave him a book of Mormon and he loved the church and how everyone was reverent and everything but wanted to hear more from the Bishop. Also this one girl gave a talk on Adam and Eve and after he had so many questions so we taught him The plan of Salvation and every lesson since he´s changed a little and we just taught him the Word of Wisdom and HE testified of what we said and was like "Yeah, our bodies are a temple and we need to keep them clean" So he has made goals to stop drinking coffee! He is seriously one of my golden investigator. I cannot believe that I was like " we need to drop him, he´s not that positive" Now we laugh and we can talk about the gospel and he really wants to change his life around and follow Christ!

I love a scripture that says "There is more joy and rejoicing in the heavens for one sinner that repents than 99 that need no repentance" I love that because it´s like a " YOU CAN DO IT!" It shows that we all need repentance and through Jesus Christ we can become a little bit better!

Love you all -

Hermana Partridge

Here is my companion and Hermana Peterson. Hermana Peterson is the really white one. Elder Olsen is in the background creepin.

 

Nixon's Baptism

New Area/New Companion: Semana Santa, Parasites, Miracles, Managua and More!

This is last weeks post:  Yep, I`m in Rivas with Hermana Gilbert who just left her training and she has one month less than I do and I`m Hermana Lider.  Ooops nope, I`m Hermana Mayor not Hermana Lider. She's from Utah Kaysville and she`s awesome!

This week's post:
OH MY LANTA!! This week was insane! So Sunday night on the 13 we recieved a call saying that Hna Gilbert and I needed to go to Managua to get her Cedula which is like a Visa but Managua is 4 hours away by bus! So Monday morning we got up at 4:30 and left on a bus FULL of people at 5:30 and when I say it was full I mean that every seat was taken and that we were tightly squeezed together standing so I stood for 3.5 hours straight and about an hour into the trip a man offered my companion his seat which was very nice of him. We got to Managua and had to wait 7 hours in immigration for her Cedulla and then took a bus back to Rivas and we stopped to eat at a place and then went to write but the whole day I kind of felt "car sick" which never happens to me but my stomach was seriously feeling weird. So after we wrote I was like "Hermana Gilbert my stomach hurts so much.....I think I´m going to puke" but we still went to work but half way though the night I had to sit down on a curb because I was seriously going to puke and after 2 min a man came up to us with cigarettes and we started to teach him the Word of Wisdom and he accepted a baptismal date and then while my companion was talking to him a girl came up to us and said that she wanted to stop smoking and drinking so I taught her the Word of Wisdom and she accepted a baptismal date and then she told us her cousin was baptized and he´s a less active that my companion has been trying to find for 3 months and then out of nowhere she was like "There he is right there" and pointed to a teenager and we waved him over and we got to talk with him! Seriously it was a night of Miracles! BUT at 8:30 we returned to the house because I was not doing so hot. So I layed down for about an hour and I woke up at 9:30 and puked......I puked for the first time in over 10 years! Let´s just say I´m grateful that it took that long up until now. But seriously I was having some bad diahrea with my companion the day before and the same day so the next day we called the Nurse and she told us to take a poop test. So we went and had a poop test and we both had two parasites. So we started to take medicine after that and I´m doing so much better right now! 

Then on Wednesday I hit my 6 month mark! I cant believe it!!! But while we were working we made so many bathroom breaks!

Then on Thursday we had a Multi Zona and so we had to wake up at 2:30 to go to Managua and we heard some great things from President about being a better missionary and how there´s a difference between a consecrated missionary and a bad missionary. Then at 5 we left and had another 4 hour ride to Rivas and didn't get back until 8:00 and worked for a half an hour and then went to bed.

So on Sunday we had three investigators come to church when last week we had 7!! We have to complete every week with 7 but this week was just 3 and so we were kind of down the whole day but it was good because they loved the church! Then we ran out of toilet paper!!! DUN DUN DUHHHHHH! So we used paper from our notebooks. Let me just say it´s better than using our hands. Also everyone here is practically catholic. We have this huge cathedral here and I keep thinking of the movie Notradam.

This coming week is Semana Santa which is the hottest week of the year here! Pray for us that we don't die of dehydration because that´s a problem here because of how much your sweating.

Also why didn't anyone tell me that Snape died!!!? I would have liked to know that! Anyway back to this week.......

All in all it was a good week. My companion is really good at finding the little miracles and tender mercies here and there. 

This week is I CAN DO IT!! We need to look forward with a positive attitude 

WHY I CAN'T. --> WHY CAN'T I??

Set in stone, can't change. --> Hope, Possibility of change

Change the way you feel!

Love you all! 

Hermana Partridge

Now Is The Time For Change

So usually in the mission you only have 2 MAJOR problems to worry about.

1. Getting attacked by a dog and bitten (happens a lot)

2. Getting attacked by a drunk or sober and robbed (happens a lot)

So this week past week I got attacked............by a dog. It wasn't that exciting actually. So the Bishops dog that´s vicious is usually tied up in the back where I wash my hands and I went back there to wash my hands and I was just about to wash my hands when I saw the dog....and then I saw he wasn't tied up......and I thought "Ah crap" and then the dog started to bark and ran right to my leg and started to nip at me and the Bishop's wife came running out when she heard the barking and by this point the dog had already bitten my foot. Luckily it didn't hurt and there wasn't blood. It was great!

Other than that this week was pretty chill and normal! This week is changes and I think I´m going to leave my area because I´ve been here for 5 months. Who knows maybe I´ll go to Granada the hottest place on earth. This month is Semana Santa, a week of the month where it is the hottest and seriously people tell me that people die in the street because of how hot it is. If missionaries in Granada are getting sick from the heat right now, I can't imagine what it could be like this month. I´m excited though, maybe I´ll have changes and have a new area with a new companion, new exciting things! But I´m really going to miss my companion Hermana Perez, she has seriously been there for me through the hard times and has helped me be a better missionary! I love her so much!

I put the title Now is the time for change because we can't just stay in one place our whole lives, we have to move forward and get out of our comfort zone to grow and learn! Don't be afraid of change because through change and discomfort the Lord can mold us into what he wants us to be.

Today I want to share a scripture with you in D&C 123 verse 22.

 22 Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free.

Isn't that just great! I love this scripture! Keep fighting forward toward Christ and don't let anything get in the way! Love you all!

Hermana Partridge