"This week I saw many miracles and blessings!"

Hi everyone!! 
Another great week here in Gaupiles, Costa Rica!

First I want to say Happy Belated Birthday to Paula! Love you! 

Once again...we had to go to the office for legal paperwork for Hermana Tejeda. I forgot how long of a process that was in the beginning of my mission. Aserri was close to the office, so we didn't have to travel far to do my paperwork. The 4 hours by bus every time is so tiring. Luckily, the buses are super comfortable! I was able to visit with all of my friends in the office and I really enjoy that. I have to say, Its really fun having Elder Abel as the new secretary. He calls me all the time to come in for something and its really cool to hear a familiar voice and have someone from home in the mission!

This week I saw many miracles and blessings! We have been working so hard and my goal is to find those people here that are really prepared to receive the gospel. This past week, I got a call from Hermana Xyna. Her son Daniel has a friend named Steven who has been to church one time and wants to be taught. We were like "Okay! Lets go!" We had the privilege to teach him 2 times and he is a golden investigator. He's so ready and open to learning. He came to church again yesterday and has a baptismal date for February. This week we have plans to teach his family! Aside from that, we have had countless experiences this week that were really special. Hermana Tejeda and I are really focusing on the importance of the Spirit in lessons. After all, we don't teach, the Spirit does! I have been able to see our investigators really learn by the Spirit. It has strengthened my testimony and I have learned during the lessons too.

All of the missionaries in the world had a conference this past Wednesday. We were able to watch the transmission in the chapel as a zone. The title was "Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts". I LOVED IT. That title is everything. My goal in my mission isn't to baptize for numbers or reputation. That is all wrong. I want to baptize converts, strong members of the church with testimonies who are going to continue no matter how difficult life gets. We were able to watch training from Elder Bednar, Elder Ballard, and many more authorities of the church. I took about a million notes and hopefully I can apply them. 

Random things for this week. 

• There was a minor earthquake here! I have felt 3 in my mission so far! This time it was in the middle of a lesson. What was funny is that I reacted, but my companion and the man that we were teaching didn't, so I just thought I was crazy! Hahaha, Then everyone was talking about the earthquake and I was like "I KNEW IT!". Not crazy. 

• Something that I love about Hermana Tejeda is how healthy she is. Its great!! I'm back to eating piles of fruit!! Our snacks are fruit and nuts, and granola bars. Oh and I'm back to running everyday and I'm so much happier about that. We run far too! I feel so much better everyday!! Something a little funky though, she has me drinking this "tea". The latinas are very much all natural. One of the less active members has a huge tree in her back yard and apparently the leaves can cure any illness!! Now take that as you will haha. They gave us a bag full of the leaves and we drink the leaves in water every day in the morning and the night. It smells awful but doesn't really taste like anything. It's so weird hahah, but apparently its good for you!

• This past weekend I had the opportunity to remember my Grandpa Laguna as January 23rd was the date of his passing 9 years ago. It seriously breaks my heart to know that I can not talk to him face to face and have that relationship with him now, but I know that he is happy. I know that because our father in heaven has such a perfect plan for us. I know where we are going and I know where Grandpa is. Grandpa Laguna was strong and brave and quite funny:) I really hope that I can be that strong and brave too. When life gets tough I'm going to try my best to reflect those qualities that he had. He's my hero and I know that he's watching over me. 

I love you all and Have a fantastic week!! I'll be writing again before you know it!

Love Tay (Hermana Zerilli)

This is what my area looks like...gorgeous right!

IT'S OFFICIAL!! 

I HAVE BEEN SERVING MY MISSION FOR 6 MONTHS!!

I love this awesome personalized calendar my family sent me for Christmas...The date was already marked for me!

It reads, "We have missed you for 6 months!!"

This is my 6 Month breakfast from 

my companion Hermana Tejeda

 Yay to eating heathy...lot of fresh fruit and nuts.

"With The Lord, all is well!"

Hola!!

This Week flew by! In our continued search to locate all of the members of our ward we found ourselves in new parts of our area, and talking so many people that I have never met before. It was so awesome. I feel so comfortable in this area and it's true that I feel like we are now able to work more effectively. 

Tuesday Night was really interesting. The elders called us at about 10 pm and told us that we couldn't go to sleep yet. They said that some of the other Hermanas were in the hospital and were going to have to sleep in our apartment that night because there wasn't a bus back to their area late at night. We stayed up and waited and waited and waited... It wasn't until 1 in the morning that they came. Safe to say that we were extremely tired the next morning when we had to wake up early to go to San Jose (Wednesday morning). We needed to go to the office for Hermana Tejeda's legal paperwork along, with the other new missionaries that arrived when she did. All of the new missionaries left to go to a legal office and all of us trainers stayed back at the mission office. We waited for about 4.5 hours for them and eventually decided to go to the mall for lunch. When it was finally time to head back to Guapiles, it was 5 pm and we got back in time for 1 lesson. Tuesday and Wednesday were both super long.

Thursday was super awesome! We had our normal Zone Conference with Zone Limon (a zone of all Elders because its too dangerous for hermanas), and President Hayes. The whole conference was really inspiring. I learned so much and I loved to receive new insights about the work and true conversion from President and the assistants. 

Friday, while Hermana Tejeda and I were studying, Hermana and President Hayes sent us an email that said that they wanted to come visit us in our apartment to study and to interview us. At about 1:30 they came and visited with us. They want to visit everyone to have an idea of where we all live and to check in. President answered our questions that we had about Isaiah. Hermana Tejeda and I both are currently reading in the Isaiah chapters of the Book of Mormon. President loves Isiah and he taught us about how Isaiah prophesies of 3 things: 1. The scattering of the house of Israel. 2. The gathering of the house of Israel and the 2nd coming. 3. Jesus Christ. That helped us so much. When we don't understand a scripture...because the majority are so complicated...we can put it into one of those contexts. We talked more about doctrine which was super interesting. President is a BYUI Religion Professor so he is great to learn from. He interviewed Hermana Tejeda and I separately. President is so great. He really knows each of us really well and he knew exactly what to say to me to help me. He told me to keep having patience with myself and my area. He knows that I'm here for a reason and he told me in the end that me training...is pure revelation. I have so much faith and trust in President Hayes and he trusts the Lord. With the Lord, all is well. Haha. 

Other than that, this week I got really sun burnt which wasn't fun. In San Jose it is soooo hot and the sun is sooo strong!

Then My companion helped an investigator with her math homework. Math and Spanish. Statistics and Spanish. Together, oh my...I'm sure God was laughing at me as I tried to understand haha:)

Well, that was my week. This week I have exactly 6 months in the mission!! How crazy is that? 

Love you all and think of you everyday!! Take care:)

Hermana Zerilli

Best example of when a missionary enters the mission field...
and then by the time they leave.
This is 100 colones or kind of like a dime.

It's incredible to me how in one week, I have seen such amazing progress!

Hola!!

Wow this week was incredible. It was very different but I enjoyed it a lot.

Well I am training! In the mission here in Latin America, our terms are a little different than English. "Greenie" which is the reference for new missionary in the states, is "bebe" here. The trainers then are "Mama" or "Papa". Yeah it's wierd haha:) Well my "hija" is named Hermana Tejeda and she is from Guatemala. She is amazing! Seriously, for about a year before her mission, she went out on visits with the missionaries. She knows a whole lot, and at times I ask myself why she's not training training someone else! This week was fun, teaching her how to find new people to teach and how to be obedient. This is not easy, but it's so great that I get to watch her grow as a missionary. I am so excited to see what this next 11 weeks will hold for us together.

I have made it my goal to know my area better, to work in different parts of this area, and to meet and work with the members of the ward here. With Hermana Herrera, I honestly didn't learn everything that I needed to. The cambio was unexpected. However, this week I learned so much and was able to strengthen my relationship with the members by visiting them. I want to gain their trust and it seems that we are. All of a sudden, the members want to invite us over to have lunch, to have family home evenings with their non member friends and to give us references. It's incredible to me how in one week, I have seen such amazing progress! Remember how for Christmas we had almost no invitations?! This next week we have plans each day to work really hard with the members of our ward and I'm so excited. seriously I feel so much closer with the members. They are calling us to come to their house!!

This week we had a really cool finding experience. We found 2 brothers working in their house. They work with seamstry. We felt prompted to give them Books of Mormon after talking with them for about 5 minutes. They both told us that they felt something very spiritual when we were there talking with them and that they were going to read. We went back about 2 days later and they were both able to tell us about how Christ came to the Americas and how Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon through the power of God. They had read so much. We were amazed. I know that if we work hard, the Lord will guide us. 

Not much happened this week other than those few things but it was a really great one. In regard to the question about whether there were places for me to go shopping, like if I want to get clothes or anything...yeah, there are stores, but I don't want to buy anything. The clothes here are those things that the U.S. doesn't want, and it's expensive! 

I hope you all are doing well. I miss you and pray for you everyday. Love you to California and back!

Hermana Zerilli

Meet my new companion- Hermana Tejeda from Guatemala 

I Love these pictures and love that they combine my favorite thing (the Gospel of Jesus Christ & Missionary service) with my second favorite thing- Disney!! 

Shout out to my Cousin Lexi who is starting her Disney Internship this Week!!

I'M GETTING A NEW COMPANION AND I'M GOING TO BE A TRAINER!!

Happy 2016!!!!

 

Ahhh a new year!! I really can't believe it!! It's safe to say that in the mission, nothing feels different. The first of January was just another day. Normally I feel some type of difference, the normal writing 2015 and scribbling it out because you forgot it is 2016; but no. Maybe because in the mission, dates are everything.

 

We spent the 31st with Hermana Senya and her family just like we did the 24th. It was so fun!! We ate a whole lot. We had pizza, cake, ice cream and then another birthday cake because Hermana Senya's son, Daniel, turned 15 at midnight the 31st. How cool is that? Then we also made paticonyas? It's basically a fried plantain and you eat it with refried beans or natilla (their verson of sour cream here). I have developed a  love of plantains, and pataconyas are super yummy. At their house we talked about goals and about the mission, played with marionettes, and sang classic New Years kareoke on youtube. Hahaha! I had no clue what we were singing, it was quite interesting. We returned home at 9 and went to bed at 10:30 as usual. HOWEVER, I COULDNT SLEEP ALL NIGHT. BOOM BOOM BOOM! No joke, the people here don't sleep on holidays. The fireworks were an all night/early morning thing. Not to mention the never ending Lady Gaga that my neighbor felt like playing. I have been trying to catch up on my sleep since then. 

 

One thing that I love is how happy everyone here is about the New Year. Everyday since the 31st I have been told "Feliz Ano" by so many strangers. It's hard to be sad about the New Year when everyone is so cheery!

 

This week in general has been really great. Hermana Herrera and I worked super hard to catch up on the lessons that we lacked since the holidays. I want to start this new year off strong and continue that way all the way to the end!!

 

We have a lot of investigators. I'm so grateful for the Lord and the blessings and miracles I see everyday. It's so true that when I got here I made it my goal to better our area, HOWEVER, this work is not my own. He makes it happen! This is The Lords' work and nothing that I accomplish, or that my companion and I accomplish is that of our own doing. The Lord is with us every second and He is the reason why we have success. If we are obedient and do our part...He will always do His and more!! We had 11 progressing investigators and 2 with a baptismal date. Right now we have 24 progressing and 14 with a date. I'm so happy with our progress!! We are back on track and everyone else in the zone sees that.

 

Well, I have news! President Hayes has made changes to the transfer process....or cambios to our cambios haha. Normally, we find out about cambios Sunday at night. If we are being transferred or no. Then if we are being transferred, we need to be in the office Wednesday morning to meet our new companion and head to our new area. Remember the powerpoint? Not anymore. Now we know Saturday and they tell us everything! Where we are going and who is our next companion. Monday, P-day, we then need to head to our new area and meet our new companion. That means, theres a possiblitity that we go alone!

 

This week is cambios...or today! Hermana Herrera and I thought that we were safe. She only has 4 and a half months here and I only have 4 weeks. I need to learn a little more...I thought. We recieved a call Saturday that Hermana Herrera is being transferred...wait for it...to ASERRI and I'M GOING TO BE A TRAINER!!! Whatttt?! We seriously thought it was a joke because a lot of times the Zone Leaders joke and trick us into believing something that's not true. I mean, out of all areas in Costa Rica Hermana Herrera is heading to my old area...what are the chances! That's crazy?! Well no... It's real. So right now, we are getting ready to head out for cambios. We have to be in the chapel at 12 and then we recieve further instructions.

 

Apparently I will need to be in the office in San Jose at 3pm today and I'm going to go work tonight with another Trainer in a different area. I will stay the night there and come home with my new bebe (trainee) tomorrow evening. I'm lucky that Hermana Moon (my friend and the specialista here) is training too. I am honestly nervous beyond belief but I'm so excited. I feel a huge responsibility to help this missionary learn to teach and be obedient. I hope to give her the best training experience and enjoy it myself also. I was really shocked to hear that Im going to train. Also, I only have 4 weeks here in Pococi. I barely know the members and the area. However, I have faith and I will trust in the Lord. There are only 7 hermanas coming and 50 here in the mission with more experience than I have, so President Hayes must have a lot of faith in me too! The Gringas come tonight and Latinas tomorrow, not sure which I will be training yet; I will find out tomorrow:)

 

I can do this. Obviously I'm not perfect, no one is, but I will try to teach this new missionary everything that I have learned and we can learn together also. 

 

Well, that's what I have this week! Unfortuntaley I forgot my USB converter so I dont have pictures until next week. Sorry! I love you all so much and pray for you every day. It's the truth that I can feel your prayers in my life and they help me so much. Thank you so much for the love and support. You are the best!

Hermana Zerilli