Blessed

Hola Familia, The weeks just go by so so quickly. I dont even know what to do. We have had a good week other than the fact that I have a little cold. I have had some really special experiences this week that are moments that I will remember forever. It is amazing how much one can learn in just one week. Ill give you a little update about the investigators and everything that is going on in the area. Adan really is such a golden investigator. We had some special moments teaching him this week. He is still on track to be baptized February 14th. This week we taught him about the plan of salvation and he really liked talking about his purpose that he has in this life. He is like 62 i think and he always is joking that he is going to live atleast for 50 more years because God has a plan for him haha. But after the lesson we asked him if he had any questions about what we had taught and he said no but he was like "well i dont have a question about this.....but well the other night i had a dream and i dont know...in my dream Hna Timoteo was hear teaching and reading the bible with me, but hna groneman you werent there....i dont know....why wouldnt you be there?" ....me and hermana timoteo just looked at each other and i definitely started to tear up and then i continued to tell him that im finishing the mission in a few weeks and we explained to him that missionaries will always be here to support him and everything, but as we told him that he started crying too. It was a really touching moment and hard to realize im going to have to leave people. But after when we were leaving he was like "but these are happy tears because i know that you have helped me in my life". the whole experience was something to remember. Also he has been doing good stopping to drink coffee :) thats been the only thing but he wants to drop it completely so its not a problem. The other day we asked him "what do you need to do hermano to prepare for the day when we will all be judged?" and he was like "well i need to stop drinking coffee" hahah thats a first that someone actually really understood the importance to drop that. He is so great and he loves church. Also this week the familia posadas went to church again. I wasnt actually sure if they were going to go. I dont think they are going to end up getting baptized before i leave but iknow one day they will. They just have sooo many questions and they just want to be sure. We have some good plans for how we are going to help them with their testimonies. But they are such great people. It is just patience. They are a family super special to me and I know one day they will be baptized. Everything is going super well with my companion hna timoteo. We had some special moments together this week. She is getting really nervous for me to leave and be in charge of the area but i know she´ll do great. This week we had intercambios with the hna leaders and I went with hna murray (who also goes home with me) to her area and hna timoteo stayed here in the area with the other hna leader. She did a great job leading the area. but she is just so cute and im glad to know i have made a difference in helping her. the other day she kind of yelled at me saying "what are you thinking?? you CANT just leave me like this!" hahahahhaa. she is such a sweetie. Anyways all is well Im just feeling so so grateful for all of the blessings the I have received in this last week. We really are so blessed to have this gospel. Love you all so much! Hermana Groneman

The Highs and Lows

Hola familia, I have come to the conclusion that the hardest weeks are always the most spiritual. And also the weeks that we end up having the most miracles. And that was definitely this week. To start off the beginning of the week was pretty tough. After tuesday and wednesday I was feeling pretty discouraged and down in my faith. The days are so tiring and I just didnt know what to do. Thursday morning we had a normal morning studying and all and then we had lunch and as we were getting ready to leave the house I was just feeling so down. I felt like I had no faith and I knew I couldnt leave the house like that. So I went to Hna Timoteo and I asked her if she wanted to fast. She happily agreed and we decided to fast specifically that we could just bring people to church this sunday. As we knelt down and as I started to pray I literally felt the faith grown inside me. i dont think I have ever felt anything like that before but i felt the faith fill my whole body. It was a testimony to me that God will help us in our weaknesses if we come unto Him. As we left the house I felt more hope and was ready to work. Turns out after that we had one of the worst days the whole week. The whole afternoon we walked and walked and walked. The sun was blazing and the only people who received us only let us in because its "la palabra de Dios". Really they didnt want anything. But the whole day I focused on my purpose to fast to bring new people to church. at the end of the day all of our appointments and plans had fallen through and all of the people close to us in that area had already told us they couldnt receive us. it was 8:15pm and we left some recent converts house. Honestly in my mind I just wanted to head in. I felt like there was no one who would receive us and i honestly felt like I couldnt walk another step. but i knew that wasnt an option. I knew we had to keep working to the last hour and that the Lord would bless us. As we left the house of the converts I also knew that I had to show more faith to my companion and be more positive even if it was just to be an example for her. So as we left I said "We are going to find a family!" even though i had no idea where. we started walking and we knocked two doors. The second door a lady answered and let us in. Inside was her husband and their kids. I knew it was an answer to my prayer. Turns out she was baptized when she was younger but her husband isnt a member. They have passed through some really hard trials and i know God sent us there for a reason. We are going back to visit them tonight. I felt so grateful when we ended the day for everything I had learned and really because I know the Lord is at my side helping me through. Then to end the week we had lots of miracles happen that I know were for our fast. We had a guy named Adan who came to church. We contacted him last sunday and he is golden. he has had lots of addictions in his life but he has managed to get rid of them all. in the past 4 months he been going to a group for Alcoholics...and he says it has helped a lot but he knows he also needs to search for God. He had a great experience at church. He knew a lot of people, he says its different from the other churches, and he says he really felt the spirit there. When we got to church in the morning he was waiting outside the church reading the book of mormon. Sunday afternoon we went to visit him and he has accepted to be baptized February 14th! i am just praying that all goes well, but he is so great and open to us. He is like 66 years old or something like that and he lives at the very top of a hill that we have to hike up. My comp loves it when he prays because he always thanks God for sending him the "dos angelitos". Also saturday we were out visiting with a member and he wanted to go visit the familia Posadas ( i dont know if you guys remember them) we kind of have stopped visiting them for a few weeks because we werent really sure if they were progressing. When we got there they were super excited to see us. Mario shared that he is really grateful for us and that we are really special people in our lives. he told us that he prays for our safety every day. also Carmen when we were leaving told me that she has missed going to church and that they were going to go tomorrow. And what do you know Sunday they came to church. I wasnt sure if they were actually going to come. When they were leaving Carmen asked me "where do they do the baptisms....and when do they do them??" So I showed her the baptismal font and she told me that during sacrament meeting she felt like she wants to get baptized. That was a huge turn for them. they have always been so doubtful about everything. We visited them with the elders sunday afternoon and we invited them to be baptized on the 7th of February. I am praying with all my heart because this family is super special to me and I want to be here for it. The elders also gave them blessings because they have had lots of problems with their health. Anyways things turned around this week. Im super excited for these people and I feel so blessed to have met these people. All is going well. I love the mission. I love how hard it is because in the end it makes it all worth it. Love you all. Take care! xoxox Hermana Groneman

A bigger Metapan

Hola! Another week has gone by and honestly I feel like I don´t have much to say. This week we had interviews and house inspections from Presidente Spjut. He came to have the interviews in our houses. Hna Spjut did the inspections and it was fun to just sit and talk to her while the others were doing their interviews. It was good to talk with President. He is amazing. So encouraging and helps us to be better missionaries. Last monday we had to do a huge cleaning of our house hahaha but we passed the inspection. This week we had our focus on finding new investigators. Better to work through the members, but when you don´t receive a lot of refferals there isnt really anything else to do other than knock doors. We went to a part of our area called the Guadelupe. I had only been there like twice, but we worked there a lot this week and that part of the are is HUGE. I feel like the Colonia is the size of my whole first area in El Espino hahaha. We found lots or people to teach this week. We found several people the had received the missionaries like a year ago and they seem pretty positive and excited to receive us, so we will see what happens this week. We havent been able to bring new people to church which has been stressing me out. We find lots of people, but then they arent interested in going to church so I am trying to not let my faith down. It gets so frustrating knowing that they are just missing out on soo many blessings. I wish the people could just see that. The mission can be hard at times. The rejections. The people that tell you to go visit them at 7 in the morning on sunday before church and then they aren´t there and it was just to see if you were willing to sacrifice to go visit them. The long days in the sun. But its all worth it. I love when we get to the houses of people and they feel like it is just a blessing that we have gone to visit them. I love when a member family brings us in and tells us they want to help us in the work. I love seeing people feel the spirit and bring happiness to their lives. I love you all so much and thank you for your support. xoxoxo Hermana Groneman

Another Week come and gone

Hola Familia! well this week has gone by super super quickly. I dont even know what to tell you so sorry if this week the letter is kind of short. First off i want to wish Colby HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Can´t believe my oldest bro is going to be 28. wow you´re old. But I hope you have a great day and know that Ill be thinking about you lots! This week we have been struggling to find new people who are positive and bringing new people to church. I feel like this week was a test of my patience and I know we just need to keep working hard and pray lots. One of our investigators is Hna Deysi. She has been receiving the missionaries for like 6 months now because her daughter was baptized 6 months ago. I love her and her daughter. They sell cupcakes and cookies and also Hna Deysi sews! haha. She has been living with someones but he doesnt want anything to do with the church. She has been waiting patiently to see if he will change, but he doesnt want to get married and he doesnt have anything to do with the church. So now after 6 months she has decided to seperate from him. Right now we are just looking for houses for her. She always goes to church and she is super great. Her birthday is on January 31 and so she wants to be baptized on this day too. She is like well if I am going to be "born again" and start this new life it would be a great day to do it haha so we are excited for her. We just need to pray that she´ll find a house. Also this week I had an interesting experience. Last week we contacted a lady and she said we could come back this week. So sunday we passed by and she let us in. we started teaching her and then her boyfriend entered the room. He came up to me and was like "I remember you! do you remember me?" turns out I had contacted him on the bus like 2 months ago. But when I took down his address I didnt know where that part of the area was and we never found his house. I feel like God has led me back to him and we had a good lesson with them. His name is Jose and her name is Jadina. Jose is really catholic but he likes to visit other churches. When we were talking to him he told us that he has some questions that he never has found the answer to in no church. One of these was "where did we come from?" haha sounds like the plan of salvation to me! we were able to share more and he was really interested. So we will see what happens there. Hna Timoteo is coming along with her spanish. She still struggles understanding people so I have to remember to be patient with that. I just have to remind myself how I felt at the beginning. But I feel like this week we had some special experiences where she bore a really strong testimony to one of the families we are teaching and she was able to express herself perfectly. Also she is starting to talk more in the lessons so that is great. Anyways those were some of the small things that happened this week. Also this week Cesar received the priesthood and a calling so that was great. Also guess who now lives with us? Hna flores had cambios this week and received a new companion. And it is Hna Mayorga who was my last comp in Ahuachapan! haha So now I live with 3 of my comps. Thats pretty cool. So ya anyways I am just hoping that this week we can see some miracles and find new people to bring to church. All is well here in El Salvador. Love you all! Hermana Groneman

Feliz Ano Nuevo

FELIZ AÑO NUEVO! Here comes 2015 and who know what the new year brings. It is so crazy that 2014 is already over, but Im ready to start out the new year working hard. This week I feel like wasnt the most amazing week of success stories and big miracles. But missionary work isnt really always about that. This week during sacrament meeting during the testimonies I was thinking about a quote that mom sent me for Thanksgiving that says. "Sometimes we should express our gratitude for the small and simple things like the scent of the rain, the taste of your favorite food, or the sound of a loved one´s voice." Joseph B Wirthlin There have been so many small simple things to be grateful for this week and that is what I want to share with you all this week. Tuesday during our zone meeting the assistants came to visit and shared a small mormon message video with us about how we have been preparing to be missionaries our whole lives, since before we were born, growing up in the church, and now we are here. To say the least I was definitely in tears just thinking that I have been preparing for this moment for so so long, and now it is coming to an end. I am so grateful for the privilege I have to be a missionary. Also I dont know if i told you this about Cesar (recent convert) last week, but before his baptism he asked us if he had to come to church in white shirt and tie and we told him that little by little he would feel more comfortable and come around to dressing up a little more for church. I didnt think he ever would, but this week he walked into the church building with long white sleeve shirt and tie and nice pants and shoes. I am so grateful just to be able to see the small signs of conversion in a convert. During the week i was able to talk to Hermana Isabel Trejo (my cook in my first area). And just to know how much they still think of me and how much I really miss them. I am so grateful for every person I have met here in the mission that has touched my life. Today during our bus ride Hermana Timoteo was just sharing with me how scared she is for when I leave and how weird she says she is going to feel without me here in the mission. I am so grateful for my companions and especially for the opportunity that I have to train. Really there are sooo many small things to be grateful for. And so this week instead of thinking about why I am stressed or anything I just remembered to be grateful for every little moment. I am so grateful for your support. Today we found out for cambios and me and my comp are staying here in the area as I expected. It is now my last transfer. It is a weird feeling but I hope I can have a great last cambio. Love you all! Hermana Groneman

Navidad en la Mision

Feliz Navidad! Well it´s been a great Christmas here in Metapan. It was so fun getting to talk to you all on Christmas! So weird that the fam is all separated for Christmas. But Im so glad that everyone is all doing well! I feel like this week we had a lot of activities, but at the same time it was a horrible week for the work. Which is normal for christmas. Tuesday the familia Torres got married and then we had the baptism of Ana and her two kids at night....so tuesday we didn´t get that much done work wise. But the baptism went well. I gave the two kids those gifts you sent me mom and they love their CTR rings. Then Christmas Eve is when they celebrate christmas here so that was exciting. We had lunch with some members and also dinner with another member family so that was good. At night we went around singing christmas hymns to some of the less actives and converts and members so that was fun. It was super fun that we live with the other hermanas because it made christmas really fun. THen Christmas morning we woke up and opened presents! haha. But after we called you guys its was a pretty boring day. The town was dead. no one was on the streets. But we were able to get a little bit done. Then later in the week on saturday we had the ward christmas dinner. That was super fun. THey did a presentation of the Nativity. It was fun that Cesar participated and I was happy that the ward is including him. Then Sunday we didnt have anyone in church. So that was the way to end the week. No but next week will be better because we will have better luck working this week. The only thing that was sad is that this week the Familia Posadas have been a little bit discouraged. They are so sensitive to the things that other people tell them about the church and they have a lot of doubts but I am hoping we can still help them progress and that we wont lose them. Anyways I dont have much to tell you guys. I just hope you all had a great christmas and that you have a happy new year! Put good goals and work towards achieving them! LOVE YOU Hermana Groneman

Feliz Navidad

FELIZ NAVIDAD! Wow I cannot believe its already Christmas again. I´m so excited for another Christmas here in El Salvador! This week I feel like we have a lot of fun activities going, but also the work on christmas day and christmas eve kind of sucks because everyone is out doing their activities...so we end up walking around all day. But we have some good plans, so I´m excited! This week went by really quickly but it was a good week for the most part. Ill just let you know some of the highlights for the week. Mostly the end of the week we had a lot going on. On Friday we had the mission christmas activity so that was a ton of fun! It was with half of the mission so I got to see a lot of friends - Hna Alvarado, Hna Murray, Hna Lucero, Hna Elms and lots more. Also The daughter of President Spjut returned from her mission so that was fun to meet her. We had like skit presentations, watched some christmas music videos, gave gifts, ate a lot of food, played games, and watched the Ice Age christmas clip. It was tons of fun and a relaxing day. It finally actually felt like Christmas haha. Then i got all of your packages!! i had the package with the gifts for little kids, the package from mom and dad, and then grandmas package. Also thanks Grandma and Grandpa for putting money on my card, im excited to buy some souveneers to bring home! im excited to open up all the gifts on christmas! Also ive started giving out the gifts and the kids really get excited so thanks mom. Also Saturday we had a baptism!!! wooo! Hermana Timoteo was super excited to have her first baptism in the mission. I feel blessed we were able to baptize in her first few weeks because it is helping her to be excited to keep working hard and it was a neat experience for her. Cesar is great and he has a great potential in the future. He has really learned a lot about obedience and his conversion was really quick actually. I know that the Spirit helped him a lot to know the truth and to be committed to following the commandments. Also I am really greatful for the Family Umaña because we always taught Cesar in their house and they were a big help. The only funny thing is that he told us on sunday that saturday night on the way home from his baptism he was on his motorcycle and he had one of the other kids in the ward with him and the other kid didnt have a helmet so he got pulled over for a ticket for not having a helmet. So there is a good way to start out his "new life" after being baptized. haha but it was funny. But all is well. I was sad that yesterday the familia posadas couldnt go to church. they came down with the chickungya or whatever its called. So yeah But they have been starting to read the book of mormon more and they really love when we come over. Like i have always said with them I feel like its patience with them but I really feel like they are going to be baptized in the future. Anyways all is well here in the mission. We really just need to focus on finding more people. this week should be kind of hard because of the activities of everyone. On christmas eve we are going to go around caroling with the other missionaries and ward members here in metapan. I love you all so much! Enjoy Christmas! Im so jealous of you mom and dad that you are going to Jerusalem. Take tons of pictures and send me lots of details! Also take care and dont get sick! Cant wait to talk to you all on Christmas morning!!! Con mucho amor, Hermana Groneman