When the Spirit Speaks.

One thing that I have been learning a lot this transfer is to listen closely to the promptings of the Spirit. I feel very guided by Him and I love it when we can recognize that the Spirit led us to someone's house or the Spirit prompted me with something to say. 

I always want to live worthily to have the Spirit in my life to guide me and comfort me. 

Yesterday I was especially grateful for the Spirit. We were at a less active member's house eating dinner and we started to talk about her history in the church, like when she got baptized. Then she started to tell us about how she went inactive and the sad and sensitive story behind why she doesn't want to return to church. While she was telling us this, I was getting pretty nervous - one part of me wanted to change the subject, but I knew I couldn't. 

It takes work to help people talk about the Gospel and the church - and I couln't turn this opportunity down to share my testimony with her. As I listened to her, I literally had no idea what to say, when the idea came to me, or in reality, the Spirit whispered to me that I should share an experience we had had earlier that day. So I did. 

We had been walking home from church and had just contacted a man who didn't want anything but seemed to be friendly. We bore our testimonies left him with a card and continued on our way home. My companion turned to me and said, " Did you hear what he just said?"  "No" I said. Well apparently he had said something pretty bad about us. I felt hurt that he would say something like that about us, when we were just trying to help. But, then I thought about Christ and how he was mocked and scorned after having given the ultimate sacrifice for the people who had just mocked him. 

In thinking about Him, it helped me to remember that I do the things I do because I love Him. So, I shared this story with this inactive sister and then told her that I was sorry for what had happened, but that Christ knows and that we go to church because we love Him. Then I was able to bear my testimony to her of the truthfulness of the Gospel and the blessings that it brings to us. I don't know what she will decide - I hope that she decides to come back, but I know that I could not have done or said any of that without the help of the Spirit. He guided me in everything that I needed to say to her. I am so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost, especially in the mission field!

Mangos por la Manana.

Dear Family,  Well, to start off – I’m sorry if I sounded kind of drama the last week. I think that I didn’t express myself as well as I wanted to. But, everything is good but I’m thankful for your prayers. When Ruby wrote in her letter that she was praying for me and when I remember how many people are praying for me – you guys, grandparents, etc. it just makes me feel so loved and helps me remember how much divine help I have on my side. “Thanks!” 

Ok, so sometimes I think of little things that I need to write you throughout the week and I write it down in my planner. There are three things this week. Well maybe more... so I’ll bullet them, just for kicks.

•   My companion is enjoying the Gabisms of the week just as much as I am. We even quote one pretty frequently. After stressful situations we tell each other, “I just feel so free!”

•    I’ve realized that I’m becoming in a lot of ways like you mom, which I love.

•    I’m also becoming Grandpa Holt. You know when something happens sometimes like he drops something or you try and take the clicker away and he says, “hooooo” I don’t know if you can imagine it. But, I say it all the time. Its usually when I’m driving but I say it all the time.

And from last week I forgot to tell you a serious island of enchantment moment last week. After washing the car, the landlord who lives above us with his family, gave us a mango from his young mango tree. It was really nice of him and I wasn’t too excited to eat it but I was going to anyway because it was really nice to give it to us. It was the BEST mango I have possibly ever eaten. It was an awesome island of enchantment moment  - just eatin’ a mango for breakfast from the mango tree in the front yard…love it.

I decide the only bad thing about living in P.R. after my mission would be cleaning. One word – mold. I deep cleaned a lot of nasty things in our apartment this morning but it was kind of fun and felt good now that its clean. Random sorry.

Ok, I promise. This is the last random thing. But we are LOVING the CD from the Campbells! Wow, #1 is our favorite song. It talks about how the father of King Lamoni would have given up everything to know Christ. I love it so much. Their voices and the lyrics help me feel really close to the Savior.

Ok, Well the big news of the week is the baptism!!!!! Elliot was baptized! Yay! It was really super awesome. He shared his testimony at the end and it put everyone in tears. His son was there and he kind of talked to his son for a minute and said that what he had just seen his dad change in that last half and hour (when he got baptized). He told him that he didn’t ever have to be ashamed or embarrassed of his dad anymore like he once was. Then, the next day Elliot showed up in a white shirt and tie that someone had given him  AND with his son Toni! We went by to congratulate him on Saturday and he was just glowing and was so happy. The members gave him a ton of church books and a year subscription for the Liahona too. It was just really awesome. 

He has been the most converted person that I’ve baptized and I know that he will be a great example to his children and other people as he grows in the Gospel and is blessed by it! Saturday night was another “this is why I came on a mission moments”. Seriously I am SO grateful to be here and don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t have served a mission!

I can’t remember if I told you last week but we have elders here too! All of the members are really excited. I was kind of nervous at first but they are both really good elders and they will help the branch a lot. We had to divide the area though which was a little hard. I wanted to stay in the north part and the decision was totally up to us. But, something just kept telling us that we needed to be in the south. We have a couple of investigators that we want to stay with in the North but you gotta follow the Spirit! So, we decided to stay in the south. Even though I don’t know why, I know that the Lord has a reason for everything and that we are always blessed when we follow the Spirit. The Spirit is so awesome!

Well, really long letter but I love all of you so much and am so grateful that you are my family.  Sister Neff

Hi guys!

So, um the library lady just came up to us and said that we have like 5 more minutes. I really don't like this library, but we had to come here because... well long story and not too much time. But I did get my package this week!!!! Thanks so much! I am so excited about everything - especially the jump rope and the Salad Dressing! I screamed when I saw it and my companion thought that I was weird because I was so excited about a Salad dressing. Anyway, I am super excited about it! Thanks!

So, this week has been good. Elliot had his interview and is getting baptized this Saturday! He is so cute - he was telling everyone on Saturday when he was getting interviewed that we were his angels. Also, I am staying here for this transfer!!! I am SO excited!

Ah, They are kicking us out!

Baptisms and Cockroaches.

You know you have to invest in some Raid when you find what you think is a baby cockroach in the lid of your face wash. Ya, just an update on the ol’ apartment. But, I actually am enjoying kind of roughing it like that. I mean its not everyday that you get to greet a few new friends when you go into the bathroom.

HI Guys!
Ya, that was what happened last night and I just had to share. I hope you don’t get worried or anything. Its totally not a big deal but just really funny. Well, Thanks so much for your letters this past week! I enjoyed them both so much. That is so so neat about Lance, Dad. Like you guys say that you are proud of me I am equally proud to be in this family. You guys always have been an awesome example of serving the Lord and giving everything to Him.

Congrats to Devin for graduating! Ruby for making the soccer team! And Gabe for his Hopkito test! Which I’m assuming Hopkito is like Karate or something right? I think that you told me but I couldn’t remember. Oh, and ya, you can totally send stuff to the p.O. Box this week (and maybe last weeks email if you want)because transfers are next week – which I’m really scared about because I really don’t want to get transferred. I just love all the people here so much. And, Elliot isn’t getting baptized this week because he actually is going to be interviewed by President Martineau on Friday and he is the one that is going to set the date. So, I hope that I get to be here for that!

I am going up to San Juan this Wednesday. Its always fun going into San Juan so that will be exciting. Its always like major eye candy/temptation for me because I’m like out in the middle of gallina-ville and am so far away from pretty buildings then when I go up there there are so many things to look at! The good thing though is that I feel like when I get back you guys are going to be totally confident with me driving in California. I’ll be coming back a totally different driver. I actually really enjoy driving to Utuado (where we do email) because there are a bunch of curves – well the whole way is curvy but its fun to drive. There are some elders that said they’d go around the curves and use the emergency brake. Don’t worry. I’m not that gutsy.

But, it has been a great week. The baptism was really awesome. It is always really crazy with what happens the day of baptisms. We had to go up to Arecibo where the Walmart is located, about 45 minutes away and actually ended up being up there for like 4 hours because one thing after another kept happening like our car alarm going off randomly and not being able to start the car etc. But, we said a prayer and like right after ran into a senior missionary couple and some people in our ward that helped us and we were able to get to the baptism!

It was really really awesome.

Well, the rest of the week has been great. There are always testing, hard and trying times where you just have to say a prayer to have the strength to keep going but when you get back home at the end of the day there are always so many more “highs” than there were “lows” - like feeling the spirit in a first lesson testify of the restoration, a less active committing to read the Book of Mormon again, asking to be led to someone who is prepared and then seeing Heavenly Fathers hand put them in your path… it is just countless. Anyway, my letter is getting really long and I’m getting a huge cramp in my left pinky (do you like that I include random details like that?). But, I love you guys so much and am so so so grateful that you are my family. I know that this Gospel is true. I love the Book of Mormon so much and know that it is the word of God. Wow, there are so many things that we can pick out of like one page of it and we have like 500 of them! Its just awesome!

President Martineau,

As always, its been a great but interesting week. We have improved on the unplanned contacts and this next week will report a perfect 140 or better! This week I really want to work on breaking down the barriers of the people that we talk to – to get them to open up. That is my “mystery of God” (from Alma 26:22) that I want to discover this week.
This morning I had a really neat study (I feel like I always right something kind of related to my studies that I have on P-day mornings. I guess it is because it is just what’s on my mind) So, this morning I was searching for how to improve my contacts and I ended up reading Alma 8, a chapter that I had never really studied before. Wow. It has to be one of my favorites now. While I was studying I imagined Alma loving the people so much but being saddened by the hardness of their hearts and then being spit upon and cast out but having the faith to go back to the city to preach again.

The Lord was preparing Amulek’s heart to receive him and then they went out to preach together! First it was a testimony to me to have faith in the Lords purposes and commandments and then when it talked about them preaching to the people it said they taught by the Spirit. That was my answer! I need to have the spirit with me more as I contact and listen and rely more on the Spirit to tell me what to say. I am excited because I’m going to prepare a bunch of different contacts and ideas to talk about with the people I contact so I can be more prepared and then feel and listen to the promptings of the Spirit!


Elliot – our candidate for baptism has been doing really awesome too. The ward has given him a lot of friendship and a lot of love. He continues to progress and is super ready for the interview with you this week.

We also had our baptism this week with Hector Santiago. It was amazing and one of the most spiritual baptisms that I have been to my whole mission. We had A TON of support from the branch because they had waited so long for him to get baptized. The spirit was amazing. While I was directing the hymns I was thinking about how the gates of Heaven are open to Hector now. I know that the Lord was so happy with the decision that Hector made. I know that if he continues along this path then he will be able to live with Heavenly Father and the Savior and his wife after this life. It was at the baptism that I remembered that serving a mission is the best thing that I have ever done.