Pase lo que pase

Hey Guys!

Loved your emails! Sorry that this one is a day late – we had a zone conference with Elder Viñas, the area president yesterday, so P-day is today. It was a really good conference. He talked about a lot of things that were really good.

So, I decided to respond this week to some questions first. By the way, it makes me so excited that you’ve been looking up Borequa recipes and music and talking to Lluvia about P.R. garlic. I guess I just get anxious to brag about my little island. Haha.

Ok – the shorts thing – I guess they wear shorts (We asked if men wear short pants in Puerto Rico. In Latin American countries they never wear them.) I’ve never really noticed before but what I do notice is their feet. Mostly the girls feet though because their toenails are super long – it's in style to have acrylic toenails here. It was a big shock when I first got here. Sorry way random.

As for Rice and habichuelas – my favorite! Ok, sofrito is basically just garlic, peppers, some other spices and oil all blended together. I don’t know the recipe because the members usually give us some to use. But for the habichuelas I like to use a can red beans, a spoonful of sofrito if you have some, a little oil, adobo and about a ½ or 1/4 cup of tomato sauce, and if you want you can put potato chunks it it or pumpkin chunks. I love it with pumpkin!!! You put the sofrito in first and let it fry until you can smell it then just put the beans and potatoes in, adobo (that I sent you) and let it boil, after a few minutes you put the tomato sauce in. Anyway, that’s how I do it! Then I eat it with white rice and platanos fritos. I forgot to tell you last week that the days of me turning down a good platano frito are so over!

I don’t really know any of the artists that are popular here (we asked about musicians) but there is this group called adventura that we hear all the time. But, I haven’t seen any Halloween spirit around here probably for Christmas blow up things will be coming around soon! (In Puerto Rico they start really early with Christmas decorations - usually stuff like giant blowup stuff like Winnie the Pooh with a Santa hat.)

It was great to hear how everyone is doing - sorry about the ear infection dad and sicky poo Rubes. I hope you guys are feeling better. Speaking of the Alicia Situation, we had a really neat primary program on Sunday and I couldn’t help but think of little Alicia. It was a really neat experience. The Spirit was so strong as they sang the song about Christ being baptized. I hope that the phone call went well today and I’m praying that we will have the opportunity to have her in our family.

This little girl is talking to me right now and she is such a doll in her little school uni. “como tu te llamas?”she asks me. It was funny that you mentioned the chickens and Jake and Peanut because I totally told my companion that story the other day!

Well, this week has been a little rough. We’ve had a lot of challenges with our investigators but I think that maybe the Lord is just trying to help me to learn to be patient – to keep working hard and to have faith to find someone ready to listen to the Gospel. One day this week was pretty hard because this lady we’ve been teaching told us that she isn’t interested in listening anymore. She told us in English so I think that’s why it was a harder rejection and she was really nice about it too which made it even harder but as hard as it was as I was back at the apartment that night I felt an enormous love for this work and gratitude to be a missionary. I know that it was Heavenly Father that blessed me with that feeling even after a rough day. When we work hard and give everything to Him I know that He help us feel joy – pase lo que pase.

Well, I love you guys so much! I’m so grateful that you are my family and that we are sealed together forever. When I testify to people of the eternal nature of the family I always tell them of the blessings their families can have through the restored Gospel and tell them that I know this because I have seen it in my family. Thank you for everything that you do for me! I love you so much!

Sister Neff

Grande Eres Tu

Hi guys! Thanks for your email! And thanks for the aweseome package! I got it at transfers on Wednesday - everything is so cute! Especially the clothes!!! I was bragging that my dad was the one that picked them out! So cute! I love the shirt too - I tots wore it yesterday.

And, being on my mission has not cured me of my candycorn addiction! The bag is almost gone and I think that my companion has only had like 2! But, our apartment is cute and super Halloweeny! Thanks for always thinking of me and being so awesome!

Wow - it sounds like it was an awesome week! I was thinking a little bit about Jamie on Friday - Would you send me a picture of her? [Jami is one of Maclaine's best friends who just returned from her mission to Brazil.] But, we were starting our tiempo consagrado (the two hours a day that we knock- or yell I guess - doors) and I was like, wow - Jamie must be home. But then actually felt bad for her - don't get me wrong - it will be so awesome to see everyone because I miss you all so much. But, at that moment I just thought about what I was doing and how sad I would be to not be able to go back to stopping the car in a neighborhood, getting a Book of Mormon out of the trunk along with a few pass along cards and head out on the street to talk and testify to everyone about the Gospel. But, I guess there are times and seasons to everything - and when that time comes I know that I will enjoy it, but I'm grateful that I'm loving the one that I'm in right now. I just hope that when I get back I can continue being missionary - sometimes its hard to see the changes in myself but I hope they've happened.

Well, other things that happened this week... Wow, we had the most amazing lesson with Malayne. We got to her house for a return appointment but she hadn't read the reading assignment that we gave her in the Book of Mormon. So we read it with her. It was the introduction to the Book of Mormon. Oh "chacho" (Puerto Rican slang, its short for muchacho - some people say it even shorter "acho". Its like saying Wow! or oh man! - in a good way) the Spirit was so so so strong as we read the intro to the Book of Mormon with her. Oh my gosh. There was no denying that the Book of Mormon is true and is the word of God. I know that it is. She said the closing prayer and asked for wisdom and understanding. She is totally willing to know the truthfulness of our message.

Also, a little island of enchantment moment that is spiritual at the same time! We took these two members with us to a cita - Moncho and Edith. Moncho is about 80 and was reactivated a few months ago. He is totally gung ho and willing to help us always - he taught us how to make sofrito which I put in my habichuelas(beans) this week. talk about divine. Being in a smaller branch has given us the opportunity to cook for ourselves more ... I'm getting better!- Anyway, this couple is awesome. So we were driving back in our car down the windy, curvy roads and I asked them what their favorite hymns were. They told me then, Moncho starts singing his favorite, "Grande eres tu," or "How great thou art". He sang the whole thing. It was the sweetest thing. He sang it in kind of a Latino rhythm that's hard to explain. But it was really cool. I was totally just enjoying the moment.

Well, I love you guys so so much.

Sister Neff

Casi casi me convencen!

Hey Guys!
Thanks for the emails. They were really great. Wow – I was thinking a little bit about Jamie last night as I looked at the calendar. That is just crazy that she is going to be home. It will be so neat to see her. Her mission is like this huge mystery to me – and maybe to others too – no sé – but I think that she likes to be mysterious like that :) But tell her hi from me. I haven’t written her in a while but I’m going to try to get a letter sent off today to her house! Crazy!

Well, this week has been great. Its so crazy sometimes I feel like the weeks follow this pattern. Kind of slow during the beginning – a trial of my faith and then the weekends we see this big bang and the fruits of our labors (this saying reminds me of Shanghi Noon haha). But wow since Sunday I have just been filled with a new excitement for missionary work. I think it had a lot to do with my fast. I fasted to have more faith and Heavenly Father blessed me abundantly. It was a great jump start that I needed. I had a lot of faith that Nissette would show up to church and then when I didn’t see her in the first two meetings I was tempted to be sad and just give up but then I said to myself, “no, its ok. I’ll just have faith that she will come next week.” It wasn’t five minutes later that Nissette walked in just in time for sacrament meeting to start. That was really really neat!

We had this really awesome lesson on Sunday too. It was to this brother and sister (18 and 30) who live together. We contacted them a couple of weeks ago and they set the cita for Sunday. I actually was surprised that they were there. But, at the beginning of the lesson I was pretty scared just because the sister, Jury, (30) is really educated and told us that she had listened to the missionaries once before but she didn’t agree with them and that she didn’t really believe in organized religion. That’s exactly what you want to hear right before you go into the first lesson! Not! Anyway, I just prayed that everything would go well and that we would say the right things. Well, the lesson went really well. She had a lot of doubts and a lot of questions but it was great to be able to answer them the best that we could. Then my companion shared the best part, the jewel if you will, of the lesson – Joseph Smith and the resoration. I was praying for her the whole time. Jury’s and Arnold’s faces were just glued to her. Then I shared my testimony and asked them what they thought. I hope I always remember her answer, “casi casi me convencen” (almost almost you have me convinced) with a smile on her face.

I know that it wasn’t us. I know that it was the Spirit and the casi casi part is just the part that she has to do on her own as she reads and prays to know if it’s true. Wow. I felt so grateful that Heavenly Father answered our prayers and that the Spirit softened her heart! After that lesson I had the hugest desire to keep preaching the Gospel. Heavenly Father answers our prayers – it is amazing.


Sister Neff

P.S. Picture this temptation – walking into a house to teach the first lesson (actually it was cool how we found this lady. We had met her a few weeks ago and the only reason that I remembered her name is because its Malayne. She said we could come by but we didn’t really understand where she lived. Anyway, yesterday we had never gone down this little street before or even saw it and we passed it and felt like we should go down it. A few minutes later we were at her house! Cool.) But , imagine this walking into a living room to teach a lesson seeing that the tv is on and out of the corner of your eye seeing that the movie playing is Twilight! Nice. Normally we ask if we can turn the tv off, but there wasn’t any sound so I didn’t ask her. That was the wrong choice. Learned my lesson , always going to ask to turn the tv off. But, it was pretty funny …

Short and Sweet.

This week, we received a very short email from Maclaine telling us that she is doing great. Later on, we received this round-about photo from a sister-in-law. It seems that the young man on the far left used to date her daughter (Maclaine's cousin. )

Thanks goodness it's a small world and everyone has a camera!