How was the Birthday?

My Birthday was grand! It truly was a great day and the mailbox has been flooded! Letters=Love. Hna. Soderquist is not a big birthday person(she would rather people ignore her birthday) but she made me an amazing crown and let me celebrate my style! It was a good way to start out the next quarter of a century! Thanks to everyone for all the Love! We had district meeting, so the Elders filled my bag full of confetti...obviously while I was not looking! It was a fun day!

The Best of all was that Joselyn got BAPTIZED!!! She was so excited, and when she was all dressed in white, she told us she felt like an angel. She was nervous but in the end it was perfect. She went under the water like she had been baptized a million times before. She had told us that she did not want to give her testimony but in the end she got up and testified about the Hope she now feels for her life! She is amazing!!! Her mother, Julia, was telling us how Joselyn has a stubborn personality, that she never does things unless she truly wants to. This is true...she said that she does not like to read but she reads everyday in the Book of Mormon! I do not think I will ever get tired of seeing people baptized! It is beautiful!

  I think something I have learned as a missionary is the importance of following the Spirit. I am still not perfect at following it, but I think I am able to better recognize when the spirit is speaking to me. On saturday night, after the baptism, we did not have a lot to do. We had tried passing by a couple of people but no one was home. There was a member in that area that we hadn´t seen for awhile, so we decided to pass by. It turned out to be the perfect moment. She has been sick and on top of that she has been passing through some hard family things. We were able to call someone to come and give her a blessing, and then we made a cake for her son´s birthday. I am so grateful for the spirit, that it always guides us to people that need love. I am so grateful for the priesthood and for righteous priesthood holders, who when we call them say 'I will be right over'. CHARITY! It is so beautiful. And it is in those moments that I truly feel like I am an instrument in the Lord's hands! 

 This week is going to be great! With tons of miracles! I am so excited! I love being a missionary. There is no greater joy than sharing the gospel! It just fills you right up...with joy, light and happiness!

I am praying that this week will be the best of my mission! Pray that we will be able to find lots of prepared families!

I love you a million beautiful perfect baptisms!

Love, Melissa the Beautiful

RaRaRa...the letters come pouring in

In other news, I officially can not spell in English.

In even more other news, I officially turn a quarter of a century tomorrow. I am AWESOME!

True to my character, I have let everyone know that it will be my birthday and that we need to celebrate. Thanks for all the cards...

This week has been great! The weather has taken a turn for the sunshine, which I attribute to Heavenly Father´s love for me in this my birthday month! This weekend should be amazing with the baptism of Joselyn, as well as the baptism of Carlos...the man from Mexico I told you about!

I have decided that I truly love teaching the gospel. It is fun to share the things that bring me such happiness! Because everything that I truly love comes from the Gospel!!

Last week we were calling some old investigators...ones that neither Hna. Soderquist or I had ever met. We got in contact with an old man named Guiseppe, who is in the hospital. We asked if we could come to visit him and he said yes! It was a wonderful experience. He is very ill and can barely speak but he asked us to sing 'I am a Child Of God'. We sang it first in Spanish, then in English. His face just smoothed over and he had a smile on his face, with his eyes closed. I guess I forget sometimes that we are all children of God, no matter what our age is. There was such a peace in the room- Heavenly Father truly does love each of us!

A nice compliment to me...some of the members have said that it doesn´t seem like I am going home because I am still working hard! YES YES YES! There are still more miracles out there waiting for me! And I still need to find my family! Dad, Mom and Child!!!

I love you a million sings of 'I am a Child of God'

Love, Melissa the Beautiful

Family and Friends- Here are a couple of the latest emails from Melissa.

Melissa’s Birthday is this month. I asked her what she wanted, and she said letters, as you can read in this first email.

So, if you have a minute and a $1.05 stamp, send her a letter, note or card.  She really loves mail (remember she did an internship at the Postal Museum!) 

Thanks so much!

Karen

January 22, 2012

   I am still here in Barcelona! HAPPINESS!!! I am happy to stay here and enjoy my last transfer. Plus that means that I do not have to search for a new suitcase until I come home!!! YEAH!! I love this ward and I am excited for this new transfer.

   I do have a new companion. My kid, Hna. Smith, is off to Pamplona...the land of my mission birth. I am sad to see her go because she is amazing but I know that she will have a great time in Pamplona. It is a bit hard because I know I won´t see her until she comes home from her mission! AHHH! My new companion is Hna. Soderquist! She is an experienced missionary...she has a little less than a year in the mission. She has a lot of energy, so I am excited to work together. She comes from a big family as well...bigger than ours -10!

  I think the best part of my week was seeing Steven pass the sacrament. We had called him Sunday morning to make sure he woke up, but when we got into Sacrament meeting, I could not find him. I was a bit sad because he had said he was coming. Then when the deacons stood up to pass the sacrament, there he was! He is adorable and I cried a bit. He takes his responsibility as a priesthood holder very seriously. My heart is filled with gratitude to see his love for the gospel and his desire to serve the Lord.

   As for my birthday...what I really want is a letter or card from everyone! Friends, family, etc! I want a million letters in the mail. That would be the best!

  I can not believe it is already the end of January! The time is passing much too rapidly! I want to make the most of this transfer and really go out with a BANG! And just be the best Hna. Roberts that I`possibly can!

  

I love you a million adorable deacons passing the sacrament

Love, Melissa the Beautiful

February 6, 2012

   I am doing great, even if it is freezing! Everyone says 'But you are from a cold state, you must be accustomed to it'. NOT SO!! The cold is my worst enemy! Besides Satan of course!

  This week was a great week...best of all...Joselyn has decided to get BAPTIZED! On Febrero 25...which if my horrible memory serves me right, the day I got baptized many years ago! She is honestly adorable. Her one 'fear' about being baptized was that she thought she would have to invite lots of people. We assured her that she could invite whoever she wanted. Also she wanted the 'guapo' Elder to baptize her but unfortunately he just got transferred! She truly is amazing. She is reading in the Book of Mormon  and is now in Mosiah! We are praying that her mom will decide to be bpatized on the same date. Julia, the mom, just wants a little more time to prepare! Julia has been telling all her friends that she is attending the Mormon Church and that she is there to stay!

We had a broadcast Stake Conference on Sunday. It turned out great, even if it started a little crazy. Our stake wrote down the wrong time...we all thought it started at 11 but it truly started at 10. Then we had to wait until 1 to watch the re-broadcast. Some investigators ended up leaving-4 hours is kind of a long time- but a lot of them stayed, got to know the members and enjoyed the conference! Everything works out in the end!

We have been seeing so many miracles and I have felt truly guided by the spirit this week. I love that feeling! I feel so strongly that Heavenly Father truly does love each of his children! We are so lucky to know that!

I love you a million baptism dates on the day that I got baptized!

Love, Melissa the Beautiful