August 31, 2015

Mis Cariños

Here we are again! I really can't believe how fast the weeks go.

Tomorrow is September! Crazy. You sound like you all are doing great.

Always a highlight to hear from you :) This week was great. The big

news is we are having our Zone Conference with all of the missionaries

on the islands. So fun! Having the Packs here is the best they are the

greatest. We had a great week this week I am excited to tell you all

about it.

First off- Susi got permission to be baptized the 20th!!! :) :) You'd

think i'd learn not to worry about things and just trust The Lord by

this point. She is so excited it is the cutest thing. I think 3 times

this week she came up to me and asked me what are all the things she

needs to do to get baptized. I keep telling her that all we need to do

is wait for the 20th! She really is so prepared. Her daughters still

need to wait until they are 18, but her example is going to help so

much. I am so excited for her to be a member she is going to help the

church here in the Canary Islands tremendously.

Not much of an update with Lilian and Vanessa. They both are still

incredible and I love them dearly! Just playing the waiting game. They

are doing their part in the process though, so I can't complain.

Speaking of Lilian, she is the nicest. She did the nicest/most

embarrassing thing this week. She bought me anti-frizz shampoo 

I guess it's time to use my straightner again.

Okay, Danny. This man is gold!!! We were going to teaching lesson

three this week, but then he wanted to know about the commandments we

had in our church. Normally we teach them one at a time so it's  not

too overwhelming and we decided to start with Word of Wisdom. He

accepted everything and said what next? So we taught the Law of

Chastity. He accepted everything and said what next? We taught tithing

and fast offerings and accepted everything. He came to church for the

first time yesterday and loved it. He's great I'm so excited!

We had a great experience with Marina this week as well. Between work

and a vacation to the south, she didn't have time to meet with us this

week. She didn't get home until 3 in the morning Saturday night and we

were almost positive she wouldn't come to church yesterday seeing as

the last time we saw her was last week at church. But guess who showed

up all on her own! Marina :) Greatest miracle! I think the biggest

reason was from the member that was her friend last week. It makes the

biggest difference! If the missionaries bring an investigator to

church, go sit by them! The missionaries will love you and more

importantly, the investigator will too.

I think that is about it for this week. I love this gospel! I really

am so grateful to be a member of the Church. And especially grateful

to be a missionary! The greatest blessing. Thank you for the love and

support. Have a great week!! 

xo,

hermana marsh

These pictures are to show you how crazy our hair is here... I promise
I leave in the morning with normal hair!! It's just a joke by the end
of the day.

Yay for lice free hair!!! Thanks mom! 

 Time for a picture in real missionary clothes.

August 24, 2015

Mis Queridos

So fun to read about your weeks- you sound like you are doing great! I

am so thankful for your support. You really are the best! To answer

questions, I got to know a little bit more about my new companion this

week since I was with her 24/7 ;) She is 21, from Michigan, studying

photography, and guess what! Youngest of 6 (me too), 4 to serve a

mission (me too), and has 8 nieces and nephews (me too if you don't

count Kevin haha). She is great though I feel so lucky to get to serve

with her. Hearing her testimony every day is such a great experience

for me! She is a hard worker, and i'm very excited for this transfer.

My "not my will but thine will be done" lesson was put into practice

this week. First, with Susi. The reason why she picked her baptismal

date was because it her mom's birthday who died a few years ago. She

was SO excited, not kidding when I say every time she saw me she would

tell me how many days are left. The problem is that weekend is our

Stake Conference and so we aren't allowed to have baptisms that

weekend. Her face was so disappointed when she found out. We are

trying to see if we can move the date around, but she has her heart

pretty set on that day so we will see. Vanessa and Lilian are kind of

in the same situation, only with different commandments. We tried to

set some plans with them involving dates, but by the end my companion

and I both felt like as far as baptism goes, we felt we needed to be

patient. They both have strong testimonies and desires to be members

of the church, but have things they need to work out first. Is it the

most ideal situation for us? No, but I learned this week I want what

The Lord wants to happen. The Lord has a plan for these three

incredible women and I am so grateful for the opportunity to teach

them and see their testimonies grow every week.

On a happier note though, I have two new people to tell you about! The

first is Danny. He stopped us on the guagua wanting to know more about

the mormon church. It was so cute he came to english class and when he

was introducing himself he said, "Hi i'm Danny, and I'm here because I

want to learn more about Mormons." Ah! We met with him after that to

teach him lesson 1 haha :) He is accepting what we have taught so far

and is reading, so we are really excited to see his progress! We also

got a reference from the hermanas in Telde of a woman named Marina.

She is from Brazil and she is the most caring person! We were able to

have a lesson with her this week with a member from Brazil, and now

they are best friends. She came to church yesterday and loved it! She

fit right in it was great.

The Miñaca Family is doing great as well. Their situation is a little

different because they are practicing evangelists. Like, the dad is

the priest and everything. I was super intimidated at first, but we

started teaching and The Spirit took over. We taught The Plan of

Salvation and they had so many great questions!! They also have a son

that isn't active in their church that they want us to meet. I'm

trying not to get my hopes up, but they love the Book of Mormon and

want us to teach their son, so I can't help but be excited for this

family! It will be little by little, but they really are great.

So long this week I'm so sorry! I need to share something funny. We

had a stake activity this week up in the north of this island and I

got absolutely fried. Seriously everyone was calling me a lobster

yesterday at church. Missionary tan lines are the best! We went hiking

this morning to a place called Roque Nublo, and that didn't help

anything haha! Way fun though, this island is gorgeous.

I love being a missionary. This is The Lord's work and I am so

grateful to be apart of it! I love you and hope you have a great week!

xo,

Hermana Marsh

 Stake activity! First with my companion 

 and later with Naty and Stefi,  Susi's girls :)

 Missionaries in Gran Canaria!

Hi tenerife!

 Here we are at the top of Roque Nublo!

 

Yami came!! Words don't describe how much I love her. She really is
one of my best friends!

 The most amazing views!

August 17, 2015

Querida Familia :)

What an amazing week we had! To start off though, I'll fill you in on

transfer news. Hermana Rossberg is going to Madrid to serve in Barrio

9! I have heard great things about that Barrio so we are excited. My

new companion's name is Hermana Griffin. I don't know that much about

her other than she is one transfer younger than me and a really great

missionary! We are picking her up tonight, so i'll be sure to give you

the run down next week. Hermana Griffin and I have also been called as

the Sister Training Leaders for the Canary Island Zone. This is the

first time they have ever had STL's in the islands, so it was a big

surprise! Little nervous, but excited for this next transfer it is

going to be great.

Okay now on to the good stuff. Cory and Judy's baptism! :) It was

absolutely amazing you guys these girls were so ready! Vanessa was

absolutely shining the whole time as well. She's going to be next!

They all looked so beautiful it was such a great day. I can't even

express the love I feel for this family! Also, the Elders had a

baptism and the son of one of the members got baptized too. Our ward

in Las Palmas grew by 4 this weekend!

My testimony about having members in lessons absolutely exploded this

week. We had the most powerful lessons! We taught about temples this

week with Lilian and Kleo and Hermano Guerra helped us. He was able to

share his testimony about eternal marriage and share experiences of

him and other people in the ward that were absolutely perfect for

them. Lilian is incredible!! I don't know when it will happen, but her

testimony has grown so much and she is ready to be a member of the

church. I have no doubt it will happen soon!

We had two lessons this week with the help of members and they both

were incredible. I am so thankful for the members here! We really

couldn't do this work (or atleast as productive) without them. She

came to them baptism this weekend and is literally counting down the

days until September 19th. Still praying and working for a miracle to

get permission for the girls, but if nothing else they all have a

strong foundation of the gospel and will be an eternal family one day!

I'm clean from lice :) por fin!! No me gusta piojos para nada. 

We made the trek up to the North of the island this week and met with

Carolina and her family again! They are so nice to us I can't even put

it into words. We taught the plan of salvation this week and they

absolutely loved it. They are reading and love meeting with us, just

the getting to church part is a little hard since they live so far

away. But we are working with them!

Our other new investigators are doing well too. Normally after a

baptism I feel like we are stuck a little bit, but not this time

around. There is lots of work to be done in Las Palmas! The people we

are teaching have a lot of potential and I'm excited to see the

miracles this next transfer. Thank you so much for the love and

support you send my way every week. I can't thank you enough! I love

you and hope you have an amazing week 

xo

Hermana Marsh

Also, this picture is payday for a missionary. Yami went to the temple this week! She absolutely loved it. 

I love this girl!! 

 The Last Supper with some of our favorite members :)

 Hermana Rossbergs mom sent us friendship bracelets. We love Annie!!

 Baptism day! :)

 Rainy day in Arucas!

August 10, 2015

Querida Familia!

So great to hear from you all. Thank you so much for the updates, pictures, and videos. They are such a highlight for me! I can't believe it is already Monday again. The weeks go by so fast it's incredible! I am excited to tell you about this week haha it was one I will never forget.

To start off, the WORST thing happened to us this week. And if you are going to judge just go right ahead and skip this paragraph. We got lice. Yep, you read that right. LICE. It was terrible!! One of our investigators had it and it didn't take long before we noticed them in our hair. After some phone calls to the Packs on what to do (Hermana Pack is our life saver! or "lice" saver haha I just came up with that ), we spent all friday trying to get rid of the problem. Turns out listerine in your head does the trick haha! Oh it is nasty stuff. We have spent a collective 15 hours  picking at our heads this week... but we are almost clean! Heavenly Father knows about every hair on my companions head, and now so do I. The weird part is apart from all of the craziness, we were able to have one of the highest weeks of lessons taught. How does that even work we were inside for almost two days straight?! Miracles.

Of those lessons we taught, we able to get Cory and Judy ready for their baptism on FRIDAY! The best! Vanessa still has some things she needs to work out, but she has a rock solid testimony and I have no doubts that she will be following her daughters examples soon. These two girls are angels and are so excited for their baptism. Everytime they see us they remind us how many days until August 14th (as if we aren't counting down the days ourselves!). They are going to be
amazing members of the church I am so excited for them.

Susi is still progressing toward her baptismal date for September 19th as well! We did receive some sad news this week though. Susi is divorced and the father of her girls isn't going to get them
permission to get baptized. We still have time though and are praying for a miracle! The girls want to get baptized so bad it is the cutest thing. The Lord is in charge though and know that He has a plan for them. If nothing else, Susi and her girls have taught me that! This family really is such a light for me in my mission I am so grateful for them.

So remember how sometimes I overreact and get worried about things that don't really need to be worried about? Yeah the mission hasn't changed that haha Lilian is fine! They just had work until 5 in the morning (instead of 2 or 3), so they couldn't get up in time for church. We met with her twice this week though and she never ceases to amaze me. She has so many hard things going on in her life, but she never loses her faith. An amazing example to me! This week she told us that she and Kleo need to get married soon so she can get baptized :) The best! It will still be a little while, but she has the desires and there really isn't anymore we can ask for as missionaries!

We have been meeting with lots of new people that have a lot of potential. One family that I wanted to tell you about is the Mañeca Family. They were on vacation in the north of Spain and guess who
contacted them? Hermana Toone :) She got their information, gave it to me, and it turns out they live just around the corner! We were able to meet with them yesterday and wow this is a family with a lot of faith.  They were so grateful to have the chance to talk about Christ with us and were very receptive to the idea of the restoration. We have another appointment with them this week and are excited to see their progression.

I think that is about it for this week. Apart from the lice, we really had a great week. We organized a ward talent show and it turned out great. I played the piano for a skit for one of the members (without
music- ah!) and the missionaries sung a "Love Story" but with missionary lyrics. It was hilarious haha such a fun night. We have a very full week ahead of us! Thank you for the love, support, and
prayers. I don't know how I got so blessed to have you as my family! I love you and hope you have an amazing week.

xo,
hermana marsh

Sent from my iPad

Canarian platanos! This pic was taken in honor of my mother ;)

Every thursday we eat with Gianni and his family. Cutest people! Here
is their daughter Donna :)

 Lice treatment... so gross.

 We got to eat with annie this week! We were spoiled rotten.

August 3, 2015

Hola mi familia!

Can you believe that it is August already?! The time is going by way too fast. It seems like just a couple months ago that Doug & Kim told me they were pregnant and now our sweet Amanda Jayne is here! She is gorgeous. Very proud aunt over here :) Thank you for all of the pictures and videos you all look great.

This week was a week of miracles- we have baptismal dates for Vanessa & her girls and Susi & her girls!! First I'll update you on Vanessa, Cory, and Judy.  We were teaching them this week and brought up their baptism and how they were feeling about the whole thing. The girls said that they were ready to go and wanted to get baptized right then and there! We discussed it a little, and are preparing them for August 14th. That's next week! They are progressing so well and absolutely love the gospel. They have come for 4 weeks in a row now WITH their grandfather. He was inactive for 16 years!! Miracles miracles miracles.

Now to Susi. We had a lesson with her this week with the bishop's help and WOW was it great. We didn't even teach haha the bishop said everything that she needed to hear! We left feeling very hopeful for the future.  Yesterday at church her girls shared their testimonies and during relief society she told me she was going to pick a date for her baptism. She wasn't ready to tell me when, but told me that she had received an answer. Then we ate at the Roka's after dinner and she told us that her and her family want to get baptized September 19th. Amazing!!! It's still quite a bit away, but the fact that she received her answer and picked her own date is outstanding. So excited for them!

Update on Lilian. Remember how we were excited for the move in hopes that we could work out the law of chastity thing? Turns out it hasn't been that great. They moved super far away- almost an hour in guagua. We haven't had a lot of contact with them this week and they weren't at church yesterday, but we haven't lost faith yet! 

On the brighter note though, we found new investigators!! Her name is Carolina, her husband Isaac, and her daughter Laura. We contacted her on the guagua and met with her this week and she really is one of the nicest people I have ever met. Our very first visit she fed us lunch, gave us flowers, and drove us around to see the island a little. The only down side is she lives in the north of the island which is about an hour away, but again, we have faith! A lot of potential with them we are excited. 

Also, I saw a chicken get its head cut off this week. That was gross.

I was reading a talk this week by Sylvia H. Allred and even though they are her words, they are my feelings exactly so I thought i'd share them with you :) "My mission had a great impact on my life. I learned to rely more on the Lord, to seek the guidance of the Spirit, and to feel an overwhelming love for God’s children. My knowledge of the scriptures and my understanding of the doctrines increased. So did my desire to be obedient and to keep the commandments with exactness. My testimony of the Savior and His infinite Atonement was strengthened. My missionary experiences became part of who and what I am. Missionary work became my passion. It has impacted my life and that of my family more than anything else."

I know the church is true and am so grateful for the light it is in my life. We are so eternally blessed! I love you all and hope you have an incredible week. Un beso!

xoxo

Hermana Marsh

Sent from my iPad

We went hiking in San Mateo today! BEAUTIFUL!

 Carolina and Laura :)

 Mini Hermana Marsh and Rossberg!