Arlington; Sunnyside Branch - Week 30... The News

23 March 2020

Hello friends and family!

I have felt all your love so strongly this week. Thank you so much for your prayers and emails!!

For those of you who have not yet heard, I have been flagged as "high risk" to be in the mission field and have been informed that I will be going home due to my asthma.

To explain in short the way that I feel right now, it would be completely devastated. I used to think that the hardest thing the Lord would ever ask me to do was to serve a mission. Now I know that the hardest thing that I might ever be asked to do is to come home.

My mission has not been easy. It hasn't always been fun, but it has been the most rewarding thing that I have ever done in my life. There is nothing that I would rather do than be in the service of my God, and the times when I realize all of this is real I simply can't breathe.

I have been thinking a lot about Alma 29:1-3 lately,

1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.
3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.

I would give anything to finish my mission. My one and only desire is to "declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth... But behold, I am [just a Sofie], and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me."

The past 8 months have changed my life in the most profound, dramatic way possible. I will be forever grateful for every day, every hour, and every minute of my mission. It has been a refining experience that I could have never created on my own.

I am nowhere near the disciple that I hope to be, but I can confidently say that these past 8 months have given me the tools to use the Atonement of Jesus Christ to continue progressing toward that person.

I know that God is a real being - our loving Heavenly Father. He cares about you. He cares about the things you do and the way you feel every minute of every day. I know that there is nothing that can't be healed by trusting in Him.

I know that Jesus Christ is who He says He is. 3 Nephi 11:10-11,

10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.
11 And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.

He is a light that cannot be darkened. Where his light shines, darkness cannot prevail. Fam. Please embrace His light. The healing that He brings is infinite and eternal. He is bigger than all of this. He is bigger than Corona, He is bigger than loneliness, He is bigger than despair. All he asks of you is to come to Him and leave it all at his feet. I know it isn't easy, but it's the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life.

Mosiah 14:5

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

I love you all so much, and I know these times are so difficult, but I know that if we put our trust in God, all will be made well. He heals broken hearts and feeds hungry souls. Every tear that has been shed will be compensated for. I know it.

Finally, I want to leave you all with this statement: Just because my full-time mission is over does not mean that I am not still a missionary or that I am not on a mission. We are all on a mission to invite others to come unto Christ!!! That mission never ends, and we better all be wearing his name on our hearts. So that is my invitation to you. Be the missionary He needs you to be. Be converted. Be helpful. Be valiant in your testimony of Jesus Christ. I know that as we make an effort to be His hands, we will be better able to see His hands in all that we do.

I love you all so much,

God loves you so much more,

Hermana Jimenez

Saying Good-bye to Hermana Fuller

Saying Hello to Charlee

Here's the 24-hour follow-up to Sofia's email...

We received an email from the Mission Monday afternoon telling us that the Missionary Department is swamped with all of the comings and goings of missionaries and that if we wanted to arrange for a flight on our own or go pick Sofia up from the mission, we could. Because they had no idea when she would be getting home (she's not as high on the priority list as overseas missions that have to be evacuated).

So we thought about flying her home, but then Nikki suggested that she could just drive up and get her. So, Nikki drove up Tuesday morning, met Sofia at the Mission Office, and drove her back to Corvallis. So, tonight Sofia will have a video conference with President Patterick to be released from her mission. Then she will self-quarantine for two weeks at Nikki's. Then... she'll come home to us. I think she's just trying to beat Nikki and Alex in their travel times home from the mission :)

We are proud of Sofia's service and know that she has served the Lord faithfully and completely. We cannot wait to see her in a couple of weeks!

Arlington; Sunnyside Branch - Week 29

16 March 2020


LISTEN FAM,

Wellllllllll... Corona is alive and well out here. Hahaha. We are preparing for the worst in the mission. We all have 2 weeks worth of food just in case we end up being isolated and we're studying up on how we can better prepared to proselyte using online tools.

Whether or not we end up being isolated, the work is going to keep moving on. We're doing what we can where we can and trusting in the Lord.

We went Saturday night to the store for one last good stock up on food and it was basically all gone. Crazy times we are living in right now. Hahahaha. My companion had to take a pic.

Anyway, don't worry about us out here. We're doing good!! We're surviving and I have faith that we will be able to continue preaching the gospel even with all of these crazy restrictions.

Today we went on a hike called "Old Robe Canyon" which sounds super lame but was actually totally awesome. Hahaha. It was literally the whole crew. Lily, the Elders in the branch, and our English class ladies all came, so it was a lot of fun.(;

Anyway, this week has been extremely slow, but we were able to pick up a friend! So we had been teaching this lady named Sonia who owned a little tienda here in our area and we would mainly teach her at her store, but every once in a while, we would stop by her house. One of those times, her sister, Carmen, happened to be there and seemed super interested. We were so excited.

We tried to call her a million times to set up appointments and she would always pick up and tell us she was busy, but that she would text us when she had time, and then... never would. Haha. You know. The usual. We felt prompted on Friday to call her and it was the usual rundown all over again. She said, "I'm busy right now, but when I get home in a couple of hours I will send you my address so you can come." Same as always, so we were hopeful, but not sure. Welllllll she called us!! And we were able to go over and have a super spiritual lesson with her and her two kids. We can't wait to go back. It's funny how the spirit works.

Anyway, I'm super short on time, so I'll talk to you all next week. Remember! The Lord is with us. Have faith and find a way to partake of the sacrament and be spiritually nourished each week. I am serious. Do not forget what matters most when we all need it most. Just because we can't meet doesn't mean we aren't still the church of christ, so let's be disciples and serve where we can, and ask for help from the person who knows our needs perfectly.

I love you,
Heavenly Father loves you a whole lot more,

Sofie

And... from the cheating mom... I'm just glad that Sofia is still in her first area, living in the basement of members so I can send packages directly to her house. I said I wouldn't do it again, but... given the circumstances, I just had to send some GREEN FUN!!!

Arlington; Sunnyside Branch - Week 28

9 March 2020

Hey fam, what's good?

This week was pretty crazy town.

It started really slow, but on Wednesday we had Zone Conference and ever after that, the week has flown.

So Corona wasn't a huge deal last Monday, but by Wednesday when we showed up to Zone Conference it was. Hahaha. Last time I heard, there have been 12 deaths and who knows how many cases in our mission. Crazy town. There are a couple people in our area who have gotten sick, too. By a couple, I mean a lot. Hahaha. We were talking to a sister in our ward and she said that when the CDC did tests on the first corona cases here in Washington, they found that the corona here is a bunch of steps older than the corona that was in Asia, basically suggesting that before they even found the "first case" covid-19 had been in WA for around 6 weeks. Also Everyone and their dog in our area has "a cold" right now that I'm almost positive is Corona. Hahaha. No one wants to go get checked because they are all so positive that it isn't Corona Virus, but I'm like 10/10 positive half of WA has already gotten it. So that's the tea.

Also there is basically a shortage on everything out here. Hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and water. People straight up think it's doomsday. The hand sanitizer makes sense, but TP and water? Anyway. Hahaha.

Enough of the Corona talk. I'm sure all you people who watch the news are sick of it.(:

Other than that things have been pretty great. Zone Conference was really good. We talked all about how we can use our strengths to share the gospel in normal and natural ways. I loved it, because when I first got to the mission I thought I had to fit this mold of what a missionary is and that's just not the case. I was sent to Everett, WA because WA needs Sofia Jimenez.

I've definitely changed, but what I've realized is that it isn't about fitting the missionary mold, it's about becoming a disciple. If we're out here just trying to conform we're going to go back home and turn right back into the person we were when we left, which is fine I guess. lol actually jk it TOTALLY isn't. I'm not out here consecrating a whole year and a half, 24/7 of my life to go back to Herriman, Utah the same old Sofie I was when I left. That would be a joke. I'm out here to change my nature, I'm tryina' go from Charmander to Charizard, ya know what I mean? (I didn't... so I had to look it up - its a Pokemon reference - I should have figured with Sofia...) And the only way that happens is through the daily use of the atonement of Jesus Christ. That's what the mission is about. I'm not out here to be a missionary I'm out here to become a disciple through sharing the gospel.

Anyway. Food for thought. Zone Conference was the best. It was also straight-up Christmas because I got packages and mail and MY MOM SENT ME COOKIES AND SLIME. The best. Now if I get isolated I will be more than entertained. Hahaha. Thanks, momma.

The work is going steady. We have a couple really solid friends that have a lot of potential. We just need to actually meet with them. Appointments just keep canceling on us, so it's been rough, but ya know. That's the mission life.

Now I'm tryina' talk about Hermana Mora today. The one and the only. The woman is a legend. Hahaha. We had a dinner appointment yesterday and she made us pasta, torta de pierna, and watermelon. It was amazing. I think my new favorite food is Hna Mora's Torta de Pierna. Imagine a cubano, but spicy and 2x more delicious. Haha.

At an appointment this week with a member they told us this wild story of how they know the church is true. So when they were little, their little sister got hit by a car. It was really bad and took off the whole left side of her face. The medics thought she was dead and put her in the morgue, but when her dad went looking for her among the dead she straight up, sat up, and asked for Posole. Crazy town. Anyway. Her dad takes her to the hospital and she ends up getting a sickness from one of the transfusions she received that would affect her for the rest of her life, but, she survived. And ever after that, this member's sister had experiences with spirits visiting her. Still, when they were young, her sister would recount to her that she received visits from these students from a strange place called "Utah" who's bus got hit by a train and they died. When they came to visit, their countenances glowed and they had magnificent gowns on. The member one day asked her to draw what one of the gowns looked like and was completely astonished at the sight. Well, time passed and the member's sister died from the sickness she contracted from the transfusion. The member parted ways with her old home and eventually received the restored gospel in WA. She learned about baptisms for the dead and desired to be baptized for her sister. 

The member prepared the whole week for the temple by praying to be able to receive a witness that what happened in the temple was true and good and that her sister was there.

Another sister picked her up to take her to the temple, and they set off. When she got to the temple, they gave her clothes to change into. She left, changed, and as she was walking to the baptistry, she accidentally ran into the sister who brought her to the temple. When she looked up to say sorry, the sister was wearing the exact dress that her little sister had drawn for her years and years ago. The member was shook. Then in the baptistry, she had a vision of her sister with a complete, healthy, body telling her that she was still there and that she was in the right place. Crazy town.

Anyway, she found out that Utah is the headquarters of the church, too, and was shook about that and then recently, she found a news article from way back when of a bus of college students that got hit by a train in Utah. Full circle. Hahaha. Pretty crazy, though. 

Anyway, I think I'm done with this email. Hahaha.

Thank you for all of your prayers, I can really feel them.

I love you,

God loves you a whole lot more,

Hna Jimenez

PS: Kaylee Jenson you better email me about your mission call!!!

Pics from Zone Conference :)

Arlington; Sunnyside Branch - Week 27

2 March 2020

Hellllooooooooooo lovely people!

How's everyone doing?

I'm doing pretty good! I went to PT and that went pretty well. He gave me some exercises to do on a fitness ball, so I'm officially the coolest kid in town because I get to play with a ginormous bouncy ball every day. Hahaha.

Also, it's true. Coronavirus is officially here in the mission, so I guess we're all going to get sent home. Hahaha. A joke, but yeah, it's in the mission. I guess it's not a huge deal. They have us stocking up on food and stuff in case it gets crazy, but I'm pretty sure we're all going to be super fine. So there's that.

This week has just been crazy town. Getting everything ready for the baptism was a trip. We really wanted people to be there to support Jairo, so we personally invited almost everyone in the branch and posted on Facebook like 5 times. Jairo was so excited for his baptism and we were completely overjoyed when there wasn't room enough in the relief society room to hold all of the people who came to support him. There were literally people standing outside because after we put up more seats, there still wasn't enough room. It was amazing. His family came to support him and a super less active member from our ward came as well. Multiple of our friends also came, so not only was it an amazing experience for Jairo, but an awesome missionary opportunity for everyone involved. He got up at the end and bore his testimony about the truthfulness of the Gospel and the reality of the Holy Ghost. You could feel the spirit so strong.

So yeah. Everything just came together perfectly. No fonts were flooded, either, so that's a big win for me.(;

Other than the baptism, it was basically your average week. Now that Jairo is baptized we really want to work on our friends Anayeli y Yamilet, who come to English class and church all of the time. We are finally getting to the point where we can have real sit-down lessons with them instead of casual principle sharing in-between conversation, so we are really excited about that. We also are starting to teach a family which is the most exciting thing in the entire world. I have only ever taught single people or part-member families for the most part, so this is really new for me to have a whole family of non-members to teach. It will be an interesting dynamic for sure.

ALSO, I would highly recommend having a newly returned missionary in your branch, because it's the best. thing. ever. Hermana Lily Roberts returned home from the Gilbert, Arizona mission 3 weeks ago and it has been the biggest blessing in the entire world. She comes to lessons with us whenever we need her, supports our friends, helps us with our Spanish, she even bought me Saints vol 2 the other day so that I can read it while Hna Fuller is in the shower. Basically, Lily is the best thing since sliced bread and we're super blessed to have her.

Yeah! For all you people out there who are inviting the missionaries into your home, accompanying them to lessons, and feeding them, thank you! It means a lot, and it makes a way bigger difference than you might think. So thanks. You're the real ones out there. Hahaha.

Anyway, these moments are what it's all about. A man was baptized and confirmed a member of the restored church of Jesus Christ. He is on the straight and narrow path and as he is faithful, he will receive all of the promised blessings of making and keeping covenants with God, including eternal life. Jairo is a boss, and we are so happy for him.

Okay. A game:
We're back in the time of Noah and God has told you that the flood is coming. You've made your boat and it's time to choose who you're going to try to invite on board. Okay now stop. Make a list of everyone who you want to be saved from the flood. I'm talking everyone. If you don't write them on the list they're drowning. I'm serious. Make the list.

Okay. Now I want you all to circle every person on that list who hasn't entered into the covenant of baptism with the Lord yet. We all have someone. Now I want you to think about how much more important their spiritual salvation is than their physical salvation. If they were worth writing down on a list so they didn't die in an imaginary game, they are worth jumping out of our comfort zone to invite them to come and see. That's all anyone asks us to do. Nothing overbearing about it.

So that's my invitation to you, today. Start inviting those people on your list to come and see the joy that the restored gospel brings. Just do it.

I love you,
God loves you a whole lot more,


Hna Jimenez