August 27 email

FAMILIA!! 

  como se van? There are a lot of changes this week!! I have a new companion and I have changed areas!! My companion is Elder Montenegro! We are in the area of Batahola of Nicaragua!! its a lot hotter here than in Masaya! however I am opening a new area!! im super  happy about it!! I have really learned about really talking to everyone like in the stories of the Book of Mormon!! When the missionaries preach to everyone they see!! we have been working really hard and we already have 1 family with a baptismal date!! and another lady with 2 kids with one as well!! and it's only been 5 days in our area!! I think there will be a lot of success here in this area! we have been working with the members a lot to help them with their goals as well as achieve our own! I have been focusing on building my faith this week and doing all I can to really find in myself how important this message we have for everyone! A message that really changes the lives of those we teach!! I have meet some of the most amazing people ever and really learned about charity and loving those we meet. not just loving them but truely opening up to them like they are family! It has helped me a lot here to really focus en this.  I have been able to learn about love and how important it is to have a pure love of Chirst and truely love everyone no matter poor rich color of skin.  I feel so grateful for all the things I have been given for this opportunity I have to teach and learn the path of Christ! all the time I feel stressed or just am struggling I think of Him and how strong he was and always I feel like I'm lifted up to work harder and go farther then I could ever go! An experience I have is with contacting because sometimes it is hard for me to always walk constantly being rejected and seeing these people not even care of Christ.  Sometimes I want to cry when I hear them completely say its not important or they dont care.  however I have learned a lot of Christ! I am constantly  reminded how much I need him and how much he has already helped me not only spiritualy but also physically I can understand what people say and also I can talk which for me is one of the greatest feeling I have experienced! I feel like after I changed areas the people just understand what I say and they dont ask! another thing I realized here on my mision that the person that Iwas crying for help in my prayers was myself. I am so grateful for my savior Jesus Christ and His atonement for the chance he has given me and to know how much he loves me.  That the blessing really will come we just need to first show our love for Him through our obedience like the stripling warriors who were obedient with exactness and were able to overcome all!! I love you guys so much and for everything you have given me

      Elder Trujillo

August 20th Email

WHATS UP FAMILY!!!!

  Well I don't have time to answer all of your questions but this week has been great!! Its' kind of sad though at the same time because there is a chance that my papa(trainer) will be leaving me and I will be let loose rawr! haha However this week has been one of the most spiritual so far in my mission.  First off i will start with a reference we had given to us from one of the members of the ward.  we had went and contacted them however, not sure if they were in our area, we went anyways we had found out they had 10 people in the family and each of them had their own family so there was 10 families living in one house!!! And i thought our family was crazy!! haha we had talked with all of them and got to  know them all however not having much time we decided to just set an appointment and head out.  as we were walking up the street there was a lady that was approaching us and as we got closer the lady shouted at us with joy saying ELDERS!! a little frightened by her scream we introduced ourselves. This awesome lady had before listened to the missionaries however what I'm guessing had happened is both missionaries had changes and she was not contacted by the new ones.  We got to get to know her for only a couple of min. but she was super awesome for some reason she kept calling us by other names... guessing the names of the other missionaries that taught her. Leaving that road we found out that it wasn't our area and it was actually the area of the sister missionaries. So giving them the reference we ended with that and that was about it.  Later that night we were in the lesson with Gema and Perla they are sisters and we usually focus on Perla because she is the one that wants to be baptized.  However this night Perla wasn't there so we were going to just put a appointment but decided to teach her because we felt like we needed to.  so we had entered the house and started not planned at all!!! haha good thing we have the spirit to guide us!! anyways we started to just ask questions and found out that her husband had left her and that she lived by herself for about 3 years now with 3 kids and she works a ton to support her kids.  She is only 22 years old!! So we taught her the gospel of Jesus Christ. We asked her to be baptized because she had heard all the lessons that we have taught Pearla.  She said she wanted to know more about the church and didn't feel like she could be baptized.  However it was getting late and time for us to leave we stood up.  Then two seconds after we stood up we had both sat down haha Elder Veron opened his scriptures turned to Alma 32:21 and read about faith and we taught about that and helped her remember the story of Hermano Bado who taught her how much the spirit helps our understanding and we cant learn everything without this spirit and asked her again and she accepted!!! so we had 2 baptisms this week!!! we were both able to baptize!! however the next day we got a phone call from the sister missionaries and come to find out the lady that came up to us in the street wanted a blessing from us.  we had went to the house and she was waiting at the door so right when we shouted she was there hahahah so we entered and started to get to know this lady.  She has 4 sons that 1 lives with her and the others are in Guatamala and Costa Rica.  The lesson was just full of the spirit at one point when I was testifying I literally felt the spirit within me Iheard the words spoken to me.  I was testifying and after I testified she was in tears saying she knew it was true.  it was one of the most powerful experiences i have ever had.  we had given the blessing and as we were leaving she asked when me and Veron were going to come back and we had to explain that the sister missionaries were going to teach.  a little sad but knowing it was true she was happy.  so this week has been awesome on Saturday the baptisms went super awesome and they were smooth and didn't have any problems.  there were lots of people who attended and we baptized Bismark, and Gema!!! we have seen a lot of success these last few weeks! we hope to baptize this week also!! however another experience i had with the spirit was after church yesterday we decided to go teach Pearla and help to be baptized next as well as the mom! when we were teaching them we decided to go out front because it was hot and i was sitting on the cement steps to the house.  there is a little boy by the name of Kevin and he is the son of Gema he is like 2 or 3 years old.  he was out playing and in the sidewalk and we were at the front of the house.  As we were starting the lesson for some reason I felt the urge to take my backpack off of my lap and put it on the ground next to me.  feeling like it was the spirit and not knowing why I did so anyways after doing so not two seconds later Kevin came running over and tripped and fell face first right where i had put my backpack!! I couldn't believe my eyes when I had seen the exact spot I put my backpack was where he would fall.  I am so grateful for the spirit! there have been times where I hear God speaking to me and times where I'm guided to go to places and always always always there is someone who needs our help or someone that is ready to be taught! in contacting I always am praying for guidance asking the Lord which house to contact and what person to teach! I am so glad for the spirit who teaches me what to teach who gives me light who when I feel down He lifts me up! I have been able to see the fruits of the spirit in the lives of others seeing them grow and find peace and love in this life! I am so grateful for all the opportunities of this mission! I wouldn't choose to be anywhere else! i love you guys!! There are changes on the 22 of this month!! should be awesome! I'm not sure if I will be getting a new companion or not because they let you know onT uesdays but ill update you on that next week!! love you guys!!! listen to the spirit it will guide you and open doors you wouldn't even think were possible!

August 13th Email

HEY FAMILY!!

Speaking of families I have a baptism for a family this week!! I'm super excited about it however even more excited about it is the investigator!! i cant believe how fast things are going im coming to a close on my training and after this week i will be just like the other missionaries... kind of... haha I'm super excited to start the experience of leaving the house at 10:30 instead of 12! it gives me that much more time to talk with the people and to go out and really work! Im excited to see this investigator be baptized because he really has changed so much! He had a lot of problems in his life before and now he has stopped all of it to find Christ! His family has been strengthened and he is truely a different person! I cant believe how much he has really changed and even more how much i have changed! I feel the spirit testify my words every day! and just like you i have been really been blessed with the gifts of the spirit! I can understand about everything that the people say and i am able to communicate! I cant even express how happy i am for the oppurtunity to be able to be humble to feel the spirit to know that it doesnt matter what our needs are or what the problems in this life are that the Lord really cares and that he helps us! I had a grand expreience with prayer this week. I was really frustrated on what to do about my language because i felt like i really lacked as well as knowledge. So one night i got on my knees next to my bed and started to pray i prayed for all i was thankful for and afterward i spoke the words " i dont know what to do i cant speak the language i need help i dont know the gospel like i should please help me tell me what to do" and i sat and waited for a second to hear his voice and he spoke!!!! I was told to go to preach my gospel. I turned to the chapters he told me and they were the ones on the Book of Mormon, and as well as the one on the language! I know with all my heart he listens before this moment i only prayed because i would see the example of my mom and how she knew. However these last couple days have been some of the greatest! It is because i talk with him i have full conversations with him! He teaches me guides me! Helps me when i am having hard days and teaches me all that i need to do! Im so greatful for prayer and for the oppurtunity to have a wonderful example in my life to teach me to always pray because now i know with all my heart and soul that he listens that he helps and more importantly he loves us!

Im glad to hear you all are doing well and that you are improving as well as i am! Its exciting to hear that skyler and kylie are headed to the temple that they are able to experience those exciting things!! yeah i dont really eat breakfest because i feel sick by the end of the day because i get fed so much!! i get joy when i read your letters and they really help to heal the home sickness!! I love you!!!

Elder Trujillo

August 6th Email

HOLA FAMILIA!!!

     Like yours my week has been everything but expected!! There have been so many surprises I don't even know where to start!! This week I found out that we had interviews with the mission president. It was actually really good to talk with him and see how he can help me!! At first, I was a little scared because I have never had an interview however, it was great and we talked about things that I could improve and how I can learn to become a better missionary! He explained how I could strengthen my faith in the work and he challenged me to develop in Christ like attributes every day!!! I have really been analyzing my weaknesses know that I have many and slowly but surely working on those to make them strong! I was able to speak with the wife of the president and that was great too! I learned that I am supposed to be speaking with Elder Veron in the house in English!! ha ha ha that's fun for me because he sees how hard it really is to talk with someone and they have no idea what you are saying! It's a good thing we both have really developed patience! However, later that day we were talking with one of our investigators and she had been really reluctant on being baptized because she didn't feel like she could and that she wasn't worthy! However, she was READY and it was only that she needed to commit! In the lesson we taught about how important it is to follow Jesus Christ and we for her to commit!!! In this lesson I felt the spirit stronger than than any other lesson I have taught I felt every word come out of my mouth being testified before me. She had told us after her baptism that in that moment she felt like angels were talking to her! I dont' consider myself an angel however to them I realized we are just that. She had been struggling with things in her family and her mom and dad left the family to move to the United States and she and her brothers have been living in Nicaragua. However the family is really separated and they don't talk with her so it was good that we got her to commie because she needs the love of God and Christ right now!! Saturday was the baptism and her and I were both nervous for this big day!! IT was my first baptism!! When she entered the water and came back out I not only saw but felt a difference in her!! Then on Sunday she was able to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and I was able to participate in that! The power in those blessings are real and they are truely lighted up and just like a whole different person!  She was happy and full of love!! IT Was a great experience to see how much we are blessed to have this in out lives and how much it can bless out lives!! This week also we had a district as well as a zone meeting! They were both great and during these meeting we talk about our challenges and the challenges of the investigators. In the zone meeting we learned about planning and differnt subjects in Preach my Gospel!! It was great andI was able to learn a lot and have been really trying to apply those things in my life!! However, during the zone meeting I expeirenced something very different......I FELT AN EARTHQUAKE!!! It was the weirdest thing ever! I felt litk I was in a movie everything was shaking and ahhh it was cool however it was scary too......Later that night there were 3 other aftershocks! I guess the ground is really active right now! However I haven't really felt anything since that! Yesterday in the night there was a small one and it took out all the lights of Masaya!!! It was so cool the night sky lit up like a light! It was really and marvelous sight!! However that was my week it's been going well. The baptism was awesome and I felt the spirit so strong! We are planning on another one this week of a lady with 3 kids! If things so well we will have one more the following for a family!!! It brings me such joy to see the change in these people and how much the gospel is a light to the world and how much it can bring joy and happiness and peace in tine of hard!!

I love you all so much I send my love and prayers!
Elder Trujillo

July 30 Email

You have been gone 4 months!!

OOOOH Mom i honestly sometimes miss not being able to talk with you, and have those fun conversations! haha :) Things have been going great. We ended up having to push back the baptism this week to next week, because he didnt go to church grrrr. However the work goes on! We have been working hard this week to meet our goal of baptizing 3 families we have 3 getting ready for baptism its only now trying to get them there! Its been kind of sad that we have had so many problems that have happened but i keep telling myself that I want them with all my heart to see that christ lives and god is listening and that they really are converted to the gospel! We have 3 families with a baptism date however the complicated part is one needs a devorcio y tambien un matrimonio so that complicates things her sister also has a baptism date for this week!! Wahooo she has three kids and is such a strong women her husband left her after the third to costa rico so she has raised these three kids on her own! We have a family with a dad that is left to be baptism for a family completo so that should be great! He wants his brothers and mom to be baptized so we will for sure be working with him on that! He has 3 or 4 brothers and each have a wife and kids!! The mom is slowly but surely accepting the gospel and continuing. We have another family we taught yesterday that we put a date for and they are really positive! Another family with 2 younger parents that are 18 and 19 and a little kid! We really want them to be baptized because it will help guide their life's because they are so young and they need all the help they can get! We have a lot of work ahead of us as well as trying to get new ones and progress the others! Ahh so many things to do and not enough time! haha I also had capasitacion this week not sure the word in english haha but its that we got trained by a past missionary that was trained by the people who put together preach my gospel! she is one of the most spiritual people i have ever met! I learned a lot from her and also how important preach my gospel is! however its work work work work work! haha I love it here so much mom i cant even describe the feeling i have every day its truely a milagro no se en ingles but i see the spirit and the lord in my life every day! I see these peoples lifes change right in front of my eyes and not in years or months but in days!! The lord really can change us and make us better! We have a saying we say when we teach and its no importa la problema o desafio pero el senor ayudara cambiarnos! When i say that i truly know that its true! I cant describe the love i have for this people! When i first got here i was scared and not going to lie i thought i was going to die and i wanted to come home. haha But as time has gone by i have come to know how much the lord loves us I can only hope to get more and more lost in this work! I think of you guys every night in my prayers and i miss you a lot and when i see you change i know that the lord is blessing you as well! It empowers me and helps me to focus on the work to know that my family has angels watching over them and that through my faith I know that i need not worry! At times i will have a dream or a thought that makes me miss you however i then think of how much more you will be blessed as i work hard and sacrifice what i can to the lord! i love you so much mom and all that you did for me to get me here! You truly have a faith that is unbreakable and i know that your faith has helped me to come to this point in my life! WE now need the rest of the family to come too i see the changes and i pray for all that you will feel the spirit and will find the love and compassion of the lord! I hope that you all are growing just as much as i am! seek for the help of the lord because he will make you more then you ever thought or imagined! We can do hard things! I have come to know this is true but they only seem hard when we try to make the trek ourselves! Search for the lord to help in every instance and what he wants you to learn! I love you all i pray for every one of you individually! For you well being and for you to be able to do all that you desire! Love you so much!!!!

           Elder Trujillo