¡Hola!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I had a great week and had many things to be grateful for!
Back to the yellow shirt on Thanksgiving for service!
I got to go back to Canyon Lakes for two baptisms this week! Remember Juan Carlos? He finally got baptized! He told us about two months ago that he was going to get baptized on November 21st, but we had to keep it a secret! Here is what I said in my Facebook post: “Today was one of the best days of my mission! Juan Carlos has had contact with the Church ever since he met his wife over twenty years ago. His wife raised their kids in the Church, and one of their daughters is currently in Paraguay serving a mission. Before I got to Canyon Lakes he started going to church every week and staying the whole time. Megan Peña and I would go over every week to eat dinner and share a message. Juan Carlos told us he would get baptized one day, but he wasn’t ready yet. One night Maleny Calderon and I were driving home after going over to their house when he texted us and told us he was ready to get baptized! He told us he wanted it to be a secret because he wanted to get baptized on his wife’s birthday and surprise her! His wife serves in Young Women’s, so she was told she needed to be at the stake center at 7 for an interview. Meanwhile, the whole ward got there at 6 to wait. She walked in and realized she was at her husband’s baptism! There wasn’t a dry eye! In a year his daughter will be back from her mission and the family will go to the temple to be sealed together for time and all eternity! ❤️ “ (You can go on my Facebook to watch the video of her reaction!)
Juan Carlos’ baptism!
In addition, I got to go back on Saturday for the baptism of Julian and his sister Natalia! Julian is 10, and Natalia is 8. They are super cute kids, and they were so excited to finally get baptized! (Missionaries have been working with them for awhile now, but they don’t have very stable lives and kept moving into different wards!)
Julian and Natalia’s baptism!
We had a good Thanksgiving! We spent most of the day doing service at a center for the homeless. We helped set up for the Thanksgiving meal, sort through clothes, and sort food boxes. Then we served food and helped pass out the clothing. Later we went and ate Thanksgiving dinner with some members. It was really good!
I also got to attend my first quinceañera on Saturday! (It was technically a Sweet 16, but it had the elements of a quinceañera! She just wanted to wait until she was 16 to have the big party.) It was so fun! We went to help set up everything the morning of. It was super nice! Probably nicer than my wedding will be! 😂 I love Hispanics and their parties!
Barrera Quinceañera/Sweet 16!
We had some good luck with investigators this week as well! At the beginning of the week we started visiting people in the ward directory we don’t know (there are a lot of them!) We went to visit this one lady who lived way out in the middle of nowhere. At one point our GPS took us on an unpaved road. Eventually we came to a dead end in the road, but we really felt like we needed to see this lady! So we looked at a map and found a different route. Eventually we got there, and the lady was sitting outside in her driveway. She was happy to see us and immediately got us some chairs and invited us to share a message. She said she hasn’t been to church in about five years. Her ten year old son, Edgar, came to join us. He never got baptized, but remembers that he loved going to church! He loves to pray, and he said a really sweet closing prayer when we left. We are excited to work with their family again so they can all come back to church and Edgar can get baptized!
We had met a lady named Lidia (my middle name!) while knocking doors a couple weeks ago. She had gone out of town, but we were finally able to get in with her. She is so cool! She just moved here from Honduras and has a new baby. She is scared for her kids to grow up with all of the bad stuff happening in the world, and she has been looking for a church to raise them in. We know we were lead to her, and we are excited to continue teaching her!
Our other investigator, Yesenia, invited us over so we could learn how to make Honduran flour tortillas! She has been reading in the Book of Mormon a little bit, and she came to church with her two kids yesterday! Our other investigator, Laura, came to church for the third time yesterday! So, we are hoping to set some baptismal dates this week! I love the mission! (But I do hate that when you come to love an area you get taken out!)
Those of you who knew me before the mission know how close I am to my family, especially to my mom. Many people (including myself) weren’t sure about how I was going to leave without getting to communicate with my mom in the same way (in high school we would hang out all the time, even at school because she was my choir teacher! When I moved to Utah for school I would still call her almost every day!) The night before I left for the Mission Training Center (MTC) I told my family we were going to say goodbye and get all of our tears out that night so I wouldn’t cry at the airport the next day and my makeup would still be nice when I got to the MTC! The next day we got up really early and they drove me to the airport. We hugged goodbye, and I went off to go through security with no tears! My parents told me I was going to do a great job and that they loved me. I was terrified because I really didn’t have any idea what was going to happen, but I knew I was going to have a great experience that would change my eternity. I went on a mission because I had prayed about it and knew it was part of Heavenly Father’s plan for me. I was excited for the experiences I was going to have.
This week in district meeting our district leader asked us to ponder about what Heavenly Father might have said to us before we came to Earth. While I don’t know exactly what He said, I can imagine He probably told me that He loved me and knew I was going to do good things. I was probably scared because I didn’t know what was going to happen, and I was used to being in my Heavenly Parents’ presence every day, but I was excited! We read in Job that we shouted for joy! I was happy for the chance to progress and excited for the experiences I was going to have.
Then I came to Earth! On Earth we have ways to grow and develop that we hadn’t had before. We prove ourselves, choose to come unto Christ, and prepare for eternity. My mission has been one of those opportunities for me! While we aren’t in the presence of God anymore, we can still communicate with Him through prayer. Prayer has saved me on the mission! I have learned to rely on prayer in a way I was never able to before.
In 9 days I will get off the plane and will run and get to hug my family again (and there will be a lot of tears!) I know the happiness and joy I will feel in 9 days won’t even compare to what I will feel in the reunion with my family and friends, including my Heavenly Parents, when I have departed from this mortal life and return to my heavenly home.
The mission is like a mini life experience. Life, like the mission, can be really hard sometimes! We have to keep an eternal perspective. This life is so short! We need to have faith and make the best of every moment! I love all of you! I am so grateful for the love, prayers, and support I have received these past 18 months. I am going to go into this last week of my mission with faith, and I will make the best of every moment! I look forward to what is to come!
Love,
Hermana Bettridge
P.S. go watch this years’ #LightTheWorld videos on mormon.org !
Fotos:
Bowling with Kyonee and Oscar last p day!
Thanksgiving dinner with the familia Vasquez! (And their cat, Simba!)
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