WEEK 46 - The One with NO Blog

Guess we know she is busy when we don't get any Blog email from our dear sweet Hermana Elise.

We sure Love and appreciate all that she is doing and sacrificing for others.  She loves her mission and loves the people of Bolivia.  Already passed the 10 month mark...counting down to less than 8 months till we see and hug our daughter again.

Till next week!
Daddy.

WEEK 45 - The One with the Savior

All is well here in Tarija! We see that we have so much more room to improve so that the Lord can work miracles here in this area. We had a great fast dedicated to repentance to show the Lord we are ready for miracles. Its amazing to not only talk about new eyes but to everyday really have new eyes. To see people differently, to see the world differently and to see the work differently. With an eternal perspective everything really is so different and we all look incredible in white. I am more aware of where I lack and how I can improve and I'm grateful for the Lord who strengthens me. I'm so grateful I get to be a missionary for the rest of my life.
   We had a lot of conferences this week. Almost everyday for me. Hermana Willard, the Presidents wife said something that really was amazing. She said "thank you for not drawing attention to yourself, thank you for doing the little humble things". She said that Christ already did the greatest thing and there is nothing grand or huge we can do for him, only the little small things. My Aunt Gayle sent me an email last week and told me about this bird, how it makes itself an incredibly easy target to distract the predators away from her babies. She said that's like Christ... he made himself and easy target to save us through the Atonement. Now can you imagine if those babies tried as well to get the attention and tried to be the center of attention? Their mother wouldn't have been able to save them and her sacrifice would have been in vain.

  I am so grateful for the Savior and everything He does and did and will do for me. All I have to do is the little small humble things and try to not take away his glory and attention. He is the light and life of the world, He is the first and the Last, Alpha and Omega and nothing offends me more than when we don't recognize His hand in all Things.

Hermana Ellison

"Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny." -C.S. Lewis, Thanks Lynsey :)

WEEK 44 - The One with Transfers

  Hello! this week was cambios, I'm still here in my same area with my same companion. The only difference is I've been called to be Sister Training Leader.

  For those of you who don't know what that means it just means you've been called to serve the other sisters in your zone! Cool huh. But about two months ago The President changed a little bit about the role of the Sister training leaders here because we have some zones with a lot of hermanas. So the sister training leaders are now in pairs like Zone leaders and we have the responsibility of district and zone leader for the sisters in our zone, Not all the responsibilities but for instance; they say that all the 6 sisters that are in our zone are like our other district and we have to be responsible for their numbers and investigators as well. Freak! I didn't know that till my zone leader this last Thursday said, sister and what are the numbers for your sisters for last month... uh???..... were my words. haha. But that's okay. So now we have to do their inspections and call them every week and go on inter-cambios to help them and lucky for us our sisters are the best and we have two new sisters. I'm so excited to learn from them and serve them. 

We had an inter-cambio with a sister from my group this week and it was amazing to serve her! She is really struggling and she cried the whole morning saying she wanted to go home and that the Lord doesn't love her and it was amazing to feel the spirit working through me as we read in the bible about the love of Christ and as we set goals together to better our relationship with Christ and endure to the end.

 Today for my P day my companion and I and the Zone leaders are going To Santa Cruz for a reunion and I'm so excited to eat cuneapes!

MIRACLE: one of the the young men I was teaching in my old area who thought that he was never going to go to heaven and didn't want to get baptized was baptized this last week!!!!!!!! I'm so filled with joy. I love this work!!

Love Hermana Ellison 

Pic 1: Pizza!

Pic 2: Hermana Jojola se fue :(

Pic 3: Lunch!

WEEK 43 - The One where we are Never Alone

This week news from Bolivia: I made chocolate chip cookies to the ward! they all loved them, its was so cute even if they weren't Teddy's famous cookies, they don't know that ;)   But it was so fun to cook, it was freezing cold outside and the same kitchen smelt like cookies and I was reading my scriptures and it felt life Christmas and I loved it.

 I am so glad to hear that my Grandpa is doing so much better, he has been sick. I love him so much and I'm so excited to give him a hug when I come home. I love you all so much. You are all always in my prayers. What miracles we see everyday. We have so much to be grateful for. I invite all of you to look for the hand of the lord in your life, and as you prepare for the end of the day, write down a tender mercy that you felt that day.
    Always remember that the Lord is merciful.  He loves us. In Matthew  the Lord says and all that the father hath given me have ye are saved, and none of them are lost. He loves us so much and will always give us another chance. We are his sheep, he came into the world not to condemn the world but to save it. He wants us to make it and he will help us get there. He wants us to return to him and not just a few but all of us. Sometimes he helps us and changes us and its uncomfortable, sometimes his suggestions aren't always what we want, but he knows best and its because he died for us. He knows us better than we know our selves, We will never leave us. Think about the favorite poem of our favorite Aunt Chelan, The man who is walking on the beach and he sees the two sets of footsteps and he notices that in his hardest times there is only one set of footsteps and he asks god why in my hardest times did you leave me alone... Don't we all sometimes feel that way, We ask the lord, Do you really hear me? are you really there? Are you counting my tears? And then the lord responds to the man and says the times you when you only see one set of footprints is when i was carrying you. He is aways there whether we think we deserve it or not, he never leaves our sides. He died for everyone even if we don't accept it. And one day we will arrive at heaven and see his face and realize how much he really loved us.

  So always keep going, Always look to the lord, For him everything is spiritual. We are his children, may we endure to the end and love it.

"Do one thing everyday that scares you... sing... Floss... stretch... Dance. Don't congratulate yourself to much or berate yourself to much either.  Life is a race. Sometimes your ahead , sometimes your behind and in the end its only with yourself. "

You are all in my prayers. Believe in miracles, believe in love and believe in good things to come.

Hermana Ellison 

WEEK 42 - The One with My light and My Rocks

My companion and I continue to see miracles and are trying to improve each day. We made a goal to try to talk more openly so we can find ways that we can improve together. I'm all about the progression, we have to keep changing, keep progressing like you always say. I feel the Lord has so much potential for me and I have to be humble so I can change into what he knows I can be. We made a goal to not only read the missionary manual but to study it and really apply it to our hearts. This Sunday all of the recent converts that are in our area came to Church and re-committed their convents! As they always do :) and what an example they are too me. It was such a blessing to see them all sitting there.

   We had a miracle and a less active person who we have been working with. Who started out our journey with us, not wanting anything to do with the missionaries! We went to her house and she said I don't want anything to do with the church and I don't want to talk to you! She pretty much yelled at us, but great!! I don't really know Spanish still! so I said! great! We just want to talk. We are going to come help you cook! She said fine.. miracles at 5.  So we said great well just help you peel onions, so we did and we ended up talking about the Plan of Salvation and this Sunday she came back to church with her two kids! What a blessing.

And then another less active that we started working with has been a great inspiration to us and is reading the Book of Mormon with us and helped us teach a lesson! She shared her testimony and it was beautiful.

    The dogs are getting kinda crazy, they bit my companion twice! As for me I carry my rocks in my hand to defend myself and at night... I have to use our little phone in one hand for light and my rocks in the other hand cause they all come out at night. But the Lord is my light and my rock... so perfect :)

Hermana Ellison 

Baptism

Service peeling onions 

Week 40 - The One with the Lamanites

   This week Gladis got baptized! She is so amazing. She hasn't been able to be baptized for a Long time because she wasn't married but she got married, changed her life and now is an amazing example to her family and is helping her husband come back to church.

   Its so amazing to be here in Bolivia. Sorry everyone but i think i have the best mission. There is nothing better then starting my day of reading the Book of Mormon and then going out and fulfilling it! Every morning I read about the Lamanites and then I go out and teach them!

Everyday I read the prayers of the Prophets that one day their brethren will one day come back to the knowledge of the gospel and then I help answer a prayer of a Prophet!  I don't know what I did to be so incredibly lucky to be called to Bolivia to preach to the Lamanites but I'm so blessed. Alma 9.

   Its fun to have blonde hair here... kind of interesting. The other day a drunk came up to us and said that my hair scared him. haha. He said he had never seen anything like it in his life and sometimes he comes out of his room when we are teaching his sister and mom to look at it... and then he asked if he could have some. hahahaha. So I gave him a strand so he would leave us alone. 

Well that's all I have for you  guys today. Please oh please have Family Home Evening EVERY Monday.

Hermana Ellison

WEEK 39 - The One with my Goals

 The One With My Goals

  Lets start of with some good news today. The family that we eat lunch with has a daughter that is pregnant and she wanted to name her sons with an English name! So I've been helping her come up with them.

So what I did is I just told her everyone's names that I knew. So if your close to me and I wanted her to name her child after you I gave her your name. And.... drum roll please..... She will be naming one of her twin sons... AUSTIN! That's right congratulations Austin a little Bolivian child will soon enter this world and bear your name.

    In other news all the lights in the little town I'm in went out the other night during a lesson! That was fun! Afterwards we were walking to our other lesson and we were walking through the little main street and all the little stores had candles in the windows and all the little places to eat had candles on the tables and it was so cute!! I felt like I was in a dream or a old western movie!

I should was mission my horse and cowgirl boots.

    Today I received an email from my dear brother and he asked me a great question, "What are your goals?" And i realized i think i ask all of you what are your goals and I've never shared with you mine! So here are my goals for this transfer and as always for the rest of my life.

  1. Be pure in heart and teach with "Great Power"

Virtue is one of the most special attributes of Christ and as we strive to keep our thoughts and actions clean we get that much closer to the Lord. In Matthew 7 he promises that those that are pure and chaste will see the face of the Lord.

   2. Apply my heart to understanding.

The wife of Gordon B. Hinkley said, "First I obey, then I understand"

I want to strive everyday to be a little more obedient and while doing the things the Lord asks study the things the lord asks! so I can understand his will and apply my heart more to my actions.

  3. Work with those that are less active in the church.

We have a responsibility to carry the burdens of others and its important to search after those lost sheep and bring them back into his fold.

  These are just a few of my goals this transfer along with so many others! sometimes we may feel that the Lords standards are too high but as we pray with diligence and study his holy scriptures we learn that we are more capable than we think. The standard of the Lord does not change but he will give us as many times as it takes to reach it.

Thanks to the Atonement of Christ we can all be perfected one day and the wounds of sins, failure and injustices can be healed.

  "Wherefore, Continue in Patience until ye are prefect." D&C 67:13 And this perfection can only come from the infinite sacrifice of His perfect son.

Hermana Ellison

Birthday traditions; Egg and cake on the person's head...Fun!

Gifts from an investigator...  Oranges and a giant cana branch which you cut up and eat

Lights out during lesson

marketplace for flowers

market

The earth loves our footsteps and fears our hands.

market for fruit!