Thankfully, Thanksgiving!

Hola Familia!

Well once again I don't really have a whole lot of time this week...livin' the secretary life...

But this week was super super busy. We had 3 meetings, in just this one week, and of course I have to be at all of them. They were Multi-Zone meetings, and "mine" was on Tuesday. But I mean technically "mine" is all of them. Oh and one was today, so that is about 99.9% of why I don't have like any time :) Two were just here in Managua like normal, but one was in the city Chinandega. So that meant I got to do a little bit of traveling!! My comp, Elder Maradiaga stayed here in Managua because we needed someone to be in the office while we were gone, so I drove all of the assistants there. It was really cool because I got to see some other parts of Nicaragua! I can now say that I have technically been in 9 of the 10 zones in the north mission. I am just missing Puerto Cabezas, the super secluded zone. I'll get there eventually. But as great as it was going to Chinandega, it was just kind of the normal routine: running to the store to buy food for lunch and other things that President and Hermana Collado needed during the meeting. So it was alright...

Preparing lunch for the meeting in Chinandega!!! 

Eating the lunch that we prepared for the meeting in Chinandega!!!

still eating the lunch that we prepared for the meeting in Chinandega! :)

Got hit by the "afternoon sleepiness" bug.... thats what happens when you get very little sleep!

Also I have gotten like absolutely no sleep this week!! I have had two nights with just two hours of sleep! IT IS SO AWESOME!! I JUST LOVE IT SOOOOOO MUCH :) There might be a little exaggeration there. (I don't know how to spell anything). We were up really late one night getting things ready for the meeting that President needed. Like printing things off and getting materials ready and all the business!  That next morning we had to take someone to the airport. So yeah, I hardly slept at all that night. I don't know why, but a ton of people have been going home lately!! It is actually super sad!

OK so lastly, and totally most important, Hermana Collado invited us up to the mission home to have a Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday!! It was sooo awesome and I was so happy!!! All of the APs and secretaries were invited and we had turkey and stuffing and salad and green bean casserole and mashed potatoes and everything!! I was in heaven and it made me so stinking happy!! It was pretty funny because Hna Collado asked all of us North Americans how/what exactly to do because they don't celebrate Thanksgiving. So we had to let her know how things were done. But it all ended up being super tasty and super great! I love President and Hermana Collado so much :)

As far as things in the area go, I really don't have much to report because Ive hardly even been there this week :/ but tomorrow we are going to make some magic happen!!

Love You All,
Elder Moser

Pics from our delicious Thanksgiving dinner at the mission home...

Doing all of the dishes from dinner!

The Stress is Worth it!

Alrighty, well I've decided that I will never get into any kind of a routine while serving here in the office, because just when I think I have got everything figured out, something else gets thrown at me... haha it's really quite interesting. This week has been kind of a sad one...

Before I get into what I would like to focus on, this Sunday was kind of a sad one. We were working soooo hard with Bertha and Daniella this week, and we had talked about their baptism on the 19th every day and they were soooo excited. So come Sunday morning, we passed by the house and they were getting ready and everything, so we told them we would see them there at church. They didn't come. At first I was super frustrated because I knew they weren't going to be able to get baptized now because they need to show that they are going to be active members of course. And they didn't come, so we went to visit them after church and being a little frustrated, I was ready to go in there and "machete" them a bit. But luckily before I did that, we listened, and we found out that she literally got suuuuper sick and started feeling horrible right after we passed by in the morning. It was totally true too. Satan is working sooooo freaking hard on her it is not even funny. He is using every possible thing he can to keep her from being baptized. That must just mean that she is going to be a huge help there in the church after she is baptized, and he really doesn't want that ;) so anyway, we have been visiting throughout the week, and she has still been super sick. She still wanted to be baptized on Wednesday, but she knew that she shouldn't/couldn't do it yet. Elder Maradiaga and Elder Barker (yes the senior couple missionary Elder Barker who only speaks English helped us out this week for various razones) taught her a good lesson about the priesthood, and informed her of the option of a priesthood blessing. So with her, we have hit a few road blocks, but we're working our way around them one at a time.

Being a missionary in the office is a really interesting experience, and I have officially decided that regardless of ALLLLLL the stress and lack of sleep that I get, it is totally worth it. I have seen and experienced things in only 2 months of being in the office that have and will change my life. I know that a lot of times I tell about the stressful things about being in the office, and how it is hard that I don't get to go to the area as much as I would like most of the time, but this week, I am going to focus on the things I enjoy about being in the office, or the things that make it way worth it. I think I am able to think more accepting to this way, because I have been trying a lot harder to remember that I am here to learn something (or multiple things). God would not have put me in this position without a purpose in mind. :)

First: This week was a week full of taking people to the airport. I went to the airport on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and this morning. We took people to the airport for just about every general reason for why people go home early from the mission. There was one who went home for something he didn't clear up before the mission, and decided he needed to take care of that before he could continue. There was another who went home because she was having health issues, and could no longer be here with us. And there were two missionaries that went home for disobedience here on the mission. It was honestly really sad to see these missionaries go. So why do I bring this up as something good, or a "benefit" of the mission. Because I have decided that there can be light in these hard situations. I had the opportunity to be with these missionaries before they left. To remind them that in their situation, there was still a way "out" or a way to feel at peace with their decisions. I saw a missionary who left for issues before the mission, with plans already of when he was going to be able to return. I saw a missionary who had health issues, accept that maybe what God had in mind for her was a little different than what she had in mind. And I saw two missionaries who did something very disobedient on the mission, recognize their mistake, feel genuine sorrow, and begin repentance for this thing that they had committed. I have begun to see these things as opportunities to learn and grow in my testimony, and learn even to love others in any situation they can be found in.

Second: I have really begun to change my vision of President Collado and Hermana Collado. When I first arrived in the mission and saw President and Hermana Collado for the first time, I felt like I was in the presence of a celebrity or something like that. I really feel now like my perspective of them has changed. They have changed from being like "celebrities" to being like a father and a mother figure (No offense mom and dad). I have learned to love them in the exact same way I love my mom and my dad. I have learned to trust in them more than anyone else, I have learned to laugh with them, and most importantly I have learned which one to go to when I need money! ;) haha just kidding, sadly I don't ask anyone for money in this assignment, I just get asked by 216 missionaries for money :´( its a rough life... haha but the most important thing I have learned from them is everything! Or better said, their examples. They are such good examples of leaders, parents, church members. Everything!! It is such a unique opportunity to work with them so personally, and really get to know them! For crying out loud I take their kids to school almost as frequently as Hermana Collado does. But seriously, I still have soooooo much I can and will learn from them!!

I am about running out of time, sooooo I will just tell a quick funny story:

They cut the light at our house this week!!!! So we had to live a couple days without light! HAHA Sorry, I know it is not too funny..... but that is what happens when the owner doesn't pay the month before you move in........ :D Hooray for Nicaragua :D

Dinner by candlelight....... not so romantic. More on the frustrating side :)

Love You ALL

Elder Moser

Other pics this week...

Got the package you sent!!! Just about the greatest little surprise I could have ever received!! THANK YOU! :) haha

Pics of the new house!!!

Our Room

Our Closet (Only Elder Maradiaga uses that space, I use the one in the room)

 The Bathroom

Main Front Room

 Kitchen

Laundry Room that I think about using sometimes! :)

 Laundry room that I always use ;)

There are more rooms, but these are really the only ones I occupy at all.

Elder Maughan, a missionary who spent the week with us before heading to the atlantic coast to go serve in the zone Puerto Cabezas. It is basically a secluded little zone in Nicaragua where they speak Miskito. So he was just a little worried that he would never be coming back.... haha He was awesome! :)

Be persistant, but not insistant.

Dear family and friends,

So this has been my best P-day yet. I got to spend it;

-taking people to and from the hospital several times.
-Taking the presidents kids to and from school (this was all week, but today as well.)
-Helping people get to where they need to be for emergency changes.
-And, taking the cars of President and Hermana to have some things checked up.
So overall, a pday just like last week ;)

But regardless of that, here we are with a few minutes left and I have decided I should take some time to write home! :)

So this last week was actually really great!! But also frustrating! We will start with church on Sunday. We had 8 investigators at church last Sunday!! It was so amazing because we really did not have a ton of time like we had imagined in the area, but it was truly a miracle that that many people actually came with us to church!! And the other elders in the branch, Elder Chen and Elder Clark brought 12 investigators, so total in the branch, 20 of the 117 that attended were investigators!! It was really cool and we were so grateful to see miracles like that!

On the note of Ronald. We have been noticing that he has been a little less excited every time that we go visit as of like Sunday ish. So finally last night we went to visit, and he told us he didn't want us to come talk... It was really sad to see that because he had been progressing so well and we could see him getting happier and happier, and it was making us happier and happier. But something must have happened... and now he is really negative when we pass by. :( We will have to leave him for a little bit and maybe visit in a few weeks to remind him that we still care about him.

But on the other hand, 5 of the 8 that we brought to church are a dad and his two sons and their friends, and they are progressing surprisingly well! They are really accepting of the Gospel and willing to put their faith to the test to know if it is true! More info will be given on them as they progress! :)

But the best news of all however, is Bertha and her daughter Daniella. We decided that there was nothing else we as strangers missionaries could do, so we had to phone a friend. This friend was a friend of Bertha who had served a mission about 4 or 5 years ago, and she was just what we needed. Bertha has really been unsure about baptism, only because she is afraid of what her family will say and what they will think. So when this member friend began to speak, she bore her testimony about her conversion, and explained that after she felt that it was true, she knew that she had to follow, no matter what others thought, because what God told her was more important than what others tell. So at the end of the lesson, I felt prompted by the Spirit to invite her to pray right there in the moment with us to know if these things were true and if she should get baptized. We all knelt in prayer and she offered a wonderful prayer. The spirit was SO STRONG!! It was seriously the most amazing I have ever felt in my life! And so then we asked her how she felt, and she said super good. "So what is it that you are feeling?" and she responded "the Spirit". "And what is it that the spirit is trying to tell you?" and she said "that these things are true, and that i need to follow them!". So we asked "Will you be baptized on the 19th of November?" And she said YES!!! But that was not even the best part!! After she said yes, her daughter with special needs came up and gave her a great big hug!!! She could totally understand that that was a super special moment and that Bertha, and a few seconds later her daughter, had made a good decision!! So that was a really nice highlight of the past week :)

Other than that things have been alright, and crazy as normal! But for the lack of time this week, I'll have to cut it off there!

Love you all!!

Elder Moser

Chupa la Pina

Well well well,

I think I could probably start copying and pasting my emails and it would be sufficient to get the message across of how my week went! Haha it's not really that funny, that was just a courtesy laugh :)

Sooooo we kind of started off since last Friday with some "clean up all the messes from the week before" business. The first item, someone came to our new house to do a deep clean/organize all the junk that has to be kept there! They did it while we were gone, so when we got back on Saturday night, we were surprised with a wonderfully clean and organized house! And everything was just wonderful! We were pretty dang happy! haha (I apologize now for the lack of fotos of the house, I will try to remember for next week.) After talking about it, Elder Maradiaga and I have decided that we like this house better, because it just feels like our house since we are the ones that moved into it and established everything. It sounds kind of weird when it is put that way, like we are a couple that just moved into a new house or something, which is exactly what it is, its just not weird, because were missionaries.......... :) anyway...

We went to go talk to Bertha on Saturday, and she told us that she could not commit to being baptized because she could not leave her other religion behind (Devout Catholic). We didn't give up there though, she means too much to us. I asked her how she felt about the Book of Mormon when she read, and she told us she knows that it is true. So we explained to her that if the Book of Mormon is true, than the church is true and that she needs to be baptized by someone who has the authority of God. We invited her to come to church with the question in her heart of if she should get baptized, and she said she would come, buuuuuuuut she flaked on us...... I am pretty sure that it has something to do with her sister, like she doesn't want to offend her sister by converting. But that doesn't mean she has given up!!!!! We are going to go visit her tomorrow with a super good member friend of hers that helped us get to know her from the start!! I know that we will be able to help her have a true and lasting conversion so that she can be a great example to her family that is putting doubts in her head right now!

On the other hand, Ronald has been doing well! We found out something really important this week!! He told us on Saturday night that he is really looking diligently for an answer to his prayers to know that the church is true. He said that as soon as he knows, he will get baptized right away!! I was so excited to hear that, and now I want to do everything possible to help him get his answer and have a testimony! He came to church, and when we passed by his house after church on our way to lunch, he was so stinking happy and said hello to us and everything, but wouldn't tell us why!! I think it was something about the church that had him all happy. Sadly they are going through some hard stuff with their house so when we had the chance to go visit him throughout the week, he wasn't as happy like he was, in fact he seemed a little bothered!! Hopefully he can get through this challenge. We keep offering help, but they say they don't need anything!

We have definitely had more time in the area this week, and that has been sooooo nice! That doesn't mean we had much time, or that it was always convenient, but we had more time than last week, and the week before! On Sunday night we were out working with a member, and they brought us to a house of their friend so that we could meet them and hopefully begin to teach them and all the works. Everything went normal, we met the woman, and then it came time for us to leave. She first said her goodbyes to her friend, the member with us, with a customary handshake and kiss on the cheek. Then she went to say goodbye to Elder Maradiaga, and started to go in for a kiss on the cheek too!!!!!! Everything started moving in slow motion! It was crazy. Elder Maradiaga starts backing away super quick while the member is yelling NOOOO NOO. So the woman felt suuuuper bad, and just went to shake my hand and we all parted ways. It was probably one of the more funny moments of my life. Luckily, no contact was made, so I didn't have to call President or anything ;) We all just laughed about it afterward.

Anyway overall a good week. It has been difficult for us being in the office so much these last few weeks, and we have both been dying to get out of these air conditioned rooms. All the missionaries have this false vision that office missionaries just chill all day in the office doing nothing....... I don't think I have heard a more false statement in my life. I have not "chilled" anywhere for the last 5 weeks or so.... Until today :D today we made plan "chill" for pday. We hung out in the house and went and got some breakfast, then back to the house to clean up a bit, and then some chilling!! It has been really great!! I'll keep you updated on some potential new investigators that we have found this week!! I am really excited to see if they keep being as positive as they were for the first visit :)

Love you all!! And thanks for the support! I love getting the letters from the ward and stuff! They are fun to get!

Elder Moser

Pics this week...

I was often found in this position during the changes and everything this week...the office life will do it to ya!

                                     We ate out with the Barkers, the senior couple in the mission!!

My attempt at doing on the spot service. Brought back memories of when David Alecu, Matt Smith and I were helping clean up someones yard one time for some service thing, and we had to chop up this tree, and we had an axe. After much work, and not as much progress, the axe broke....... luckily that did not happen here....haha!

                                         Our breakfast during "plan chill" for p-day today :) super tasty!

A little motivational poster I made for Elder Maradiaga and I!! It says, "And he said to them: You will baptize even though you are in the office!" haha I like it :)