God answers prayers!

This week was crazy but so amazing! For the first time in my whole mission, I needed to sleep a little extra with today being P day. I was exhausted!!

Well Monday, like I had written, I went to San Jose to have the training for the trainers. They fed us yummy Price Mart pizza so it was all worth it haha. At night, I went to work with Hermana Montepece in her area. I met Hermana Montepece my first night here so it was really fun for her to see my progress with the Spanish language and in teaching. We visited some people and had a family home evening with some members in her area. They fed us a whole lot and honestly I had no room in my stomach. I am arriving at my limit with plantains I think. 

The next day, we headed back to the office. We waited a long time for the Latinas to get there. One of the Latinas was already there and she was from Mexico. I love Mexicans. Hermana Perez is Mexican, we are Mexican right? Seriously, I don’t know anymore, LOL:) I was thinking about how fun it would be to train a Mexican but we were still waiting on the other Hermana to get there so I wasn’t going to make any assumptions. As time passed, President called us in to the room to announce the companionships. Normally, he tells the trainers before he announces it but this time he didn’t. The other new Hermana had just gotten there, He started announces the companionships and when it got to the Hermana Mexicana that was there, Hermana Moon ended up being her trainer. That meant that the other Hermana was my companion! WELL, as it turns out she had flown in directly from Mexico, her home! I’m training a Mexican! Her name is Hermana Velez and she is so amazing!! I love her already!! Honestly, since Hermana Perez, I haven’t felt like I’ve really had a companion who has been a good friend for me. They have been great and we have seen miracles together but they were all a little serious and didn’t smile much. I prayed to my Heavenly Father for someone who could be a friend. Well apparently Hermana Velez did too. She had to wait in Mexico for her Visa so she had a companion there. She says that her companion was sooo serious and wasn’t very much fun. When she got to the office, for the few minutes that she saw me, she had a prayer in her heart that I could be her companion. Well, God answers prayers!! She has such a fun outgoing personality like me. I’m looking forward to this change!

We came back to our area Tuesday and then left again Wednesday to stay the night in San Jose. That night, all of the Hermanas were there that were heading home! They didn’t let us sleep! They were all crying and laughing and playing music loud. It’s okay though because I got to say bye to all of them! I really can’t imagine leaving the mission. It’s crazy for me that they are all home now.

Thursday we got up at 4 am, after not sleeping, to go to the Temple!! I can’t express to you all how much I needed the Temple. 6 months is too long to go without the Temple. It was so beautiful and we went with Zone La Paz, so I got to see Hermana Herrera who is in Aserri, and other friends of mine. Thursday was our P-day and we got home really late.

Friday we visited like normal and we had an incredible lesson with Carolina, the ex Jehovah’s Witness. She is progressing sooo well. We shared with her the Book of Mormon and she is reading it! She loves to ask questions and some are actually a little funny. She asked why we, as missionaries, don’t knock on every door. I joked that if we don’t like the color of the house we don’t knock! Hahahaha no! I told her that we are guided by the Spirit. I testified of the Spirit and I shared my personal spiritual experience of when I felt the Spirit pull me to her house. She started to cry and tell me that for weeks she had been on her knees praying to God to show her that he hadn’t abandoned her. She had felt lost and without the truth. She said that she needed something in her life to show her hope. "and here you are!" she said. I felt so good, I can’t even explain it. In that moment I thought, "I am doing my job!!"

This weekend was conference. I’m going to be honest, I didn’t learn as much as I should have… butttt I know that their messages were inspired and that everyone who spoke is a servant called of God. I watched all 4 sessions in Spanish. It was tough! Yes, I understood it but the entire time my brain was fighting to hear the English in the background and I couldn’t focus!! Ugh!

By the end, I was absolutely exhausted, the other elders too. I miss English a lot at times. I am looking forward to the Liahona Conference Edition hahaha. However, I was very interested in the overall themes of this year. Priesthood. Family. Temple. The Restoration. I think it’s clear now, more than ever, that we need to be living/sharing what we know. We are incredibly blessed to have the knowledge that we do but just as we heard, knowledge isn’t enough. We need to believe!

ALSO! Remember how I said that the Stake President here traveled to Salt Lake City to attend conference with his family....well his name is Luis Claudio Chaverri....a new area 70!!! They announced his name in conference and all of us freaked out!! I know that our Heavenly Father is very much aware of us. I am in little ward Pococi in Guapiles, Costa Rica, that is a tiny little country, and Heavenly Father knows exactly who should serve. It’s awesome to say that in my mission, we taught lessons with the area 70 haha!

Well I love you all more than you know!! Thank you for your prayers and your love. May God bless you always!! Besos y abrassos a todos! 

Hermana Zerilli

ps fam... I found Riley Matthews in a 

Liahona(magazine) hahahaha!

I went on divisions with Hermana Montepece and the little girl gave us drawing....I’m having a “first vision” moment with the pillar of light directly above my head hahahaha

Hermana Velez 

When the bus terminal is full of missionaries…

Another 3 generations picture with me,

Hermana Perez, and Hermana Velez!

District Zion! Poco-sion and Gua-sion

My MTC friends

I told Elder Henry to take a picture for 

our moms and he made that face!

Hermana Moon and I

It’s blazing hot so I bought a dress that a lot of the ladies here wear. It’s easy, breezy and only 5 mil!! 

I love Hermana Hayes, my mission Mom. We all sat there in the Celestial Room at the Temple and I just bawled. It just hit me, everything that I need to do better. The Temple reminded me of the eternal consequences of everything I'm doing and the reason that I'm here. Hermana Hayes talked to me in the changing room and told me that I need to stop compairng myself to others because they are looking at me and saying that they want to be like me! She says that President Hayes has so much confidence in me and knows that I can do big things. Ahh, I needed the Temple! The mission kicks my butt at times. I don't want to be a floater, I want to work hard all of the time!

In the Temple, they thought I was one of the Latinas. Hermana Gividen was behind me in line and the Gringa worker went straight to her to ask her if she wanted to do it in English! She didn't ask me at all hahahahah! She just sent me to the Spanish worker! 

This is Brother Alejandro Chaverri's family (he's the brother of President Chaverri, the new area 70). His wife's name is Teresa, everyone calls her my twin (even though we don't look alike), hahaha. they call her Tere, so they call me Terre, which kinda sounds like Tay! We ate with them and the Stake1st Counselor's family, and talked a whole lot about General Conference with them. 

Teresa is next to me in the tan colored dress in this picture.