Hermana Inman Letter May 21, 2013

My Baptism's cool, my baptism's dunkin.

Dominick got baptized!!!!! :) It was a beautiful baptismal service. The events leading up to his baptism were chaotic and things have been stressful, so we can tell Satan did not want this baptism to happen. Dominick has zero support from his family at home, but his dad promised him that he'd take him to his baptism. 25 minutes before the baptism starts, Dominick calls us and tells us that his dad had just taken off with the truck and that he didn't have a ride to his baptism. Dominick lives on the opposite side of Vista from the chapel... So we called our ward mission leader to pick him up, and finally they showed up at 7:15 (the baptism was supposed to start at 7). We started the service at about 7:30, and some of the people who were assigned to give talks didn't show up, so Hermana Eskeets and I, as well as a couple of other sisters put together something on the spot, and it all turned out just fine. The spirit was so strong that night. The next day he received the Holy Ghost and the Priesthood :). His confirmation blessing was so awesome; he was told that he will enter into the temple of the Lord with a righteous young woman and be sealed to her for time and all eternity. Dominick is blessing his family for generations to come and I am so excited for him and for how much this will change his life.

 

Then, we set a firm baptismal date with Alfredo for June 1st!! Alfredo is getting baptized in 2 weeks!! SO STOKED!!! I don't know what it is about the youth these days, but they are the ones who are open to the gospel. They are the ones who are anchors and examples for their friends and families.

 

THEN, Blanca finally came to church on Sunday!!!!!! It was a MIRACLE! Then, what's even more miraculous than that, is that the family who was sitting in front of her at church was one of her family's life long best friends! :) It was so awesome and Blanca was so excited to see that she knew someone at church.

 

Well... it's transfers today, and they're finally kicking me out of Vista. I guess 5 months is long enough to stay in one area... but I'm sad to leave. I love this area and I truly love the people here. We were finally starting to see the fruit of our labors! But, the Lord needs us somewhere else I guess. They're actually whitewashing our area, which means that both Hermana Eskeets and I are moving, and that two new sisters will move in here. It's a rare occassion that this happens, but it's been happening more often as they prepare to split the mission next transfer. I don't know where I'm going yet. I just hope I get permission to come back for Alfredo's and Blanca's baptisms.

 

I'm glad to hear that the family is doing well! I'm happy to hear that Jesse has been interested in the Book of Mormon lately and that he has a desire to learn. I'm also glad to hear that the seminary graduation went well (you always do a great job Mom). That SD USB thumb drive sounds great! You asked if I was wanting any food or clothing.. if you could send me some of my basketball shorts that'd be nice- it's warming up and I'm still wearing my sweats when we run in the mornings. And did I keep my black dress? I can't remember if I gave it away or not, but if it's still in my closet, can you send that to me too? As for food... snacks would be cool. Like granola bars or something. And chocolate haha. But you don't have to rush those things to me, just when you get the chance.

 

The weather here has been pretty warm, and it's so nice! There's always a nice breeze here in Vista because we're pretty close to the beach. How's the weather over there in AZ? Are you baking yet? When does school get out? Are the dogs back in their kiddie pool?

 

I hope you have a great week! I'll let you know next week where they've sent me! This is the last transfer for President and Sister Cook, and the last transfer we have as the original "CA Carlsbad Mission" because they split the mission in July to create the Irvine mission (which I may or may not be moved to...). Exciting times!

 

I love you all and miss you tons!

 

Love,

Hermana Inman

Hermana Inman Letter May 14, 2013

Hello Family!

 

It was so good to see you the other day :) you all look great- healthy and happy! Me hace feliz, eso.

I hope you had a happy mother's day mom! The other day I was watching some cool mothers day videos on lds.org, and they made me get all teary-eyed because I miss you so much! You are the best mother in the world and I love you dearly. Thanks for everything. I'm sure the seminary graduation will go well this Sunday, I know you've worked really hard and put a lot of time and energy and planning into this.

 

Congratulations Torie on getting straight A's! You are so awesome! You are so smart. I'm glad Jesse had fun on his campout.. I know Jesse would camp for the rest of his life if he could. His sweet room will make him think he's camping all the time! That's crazy that Jake is already training!! He is one stellar missionary, no doubt. His little trainee is lucky to have him. It was nice to talk to him the other day :). I'm glad everthing else is going well at home and that you are enjoying the house and making it a "refuge from the world." I told Jake that the only reason you are doing all this cool stuff after we leave is because without Jake and I at home life is boring, so you have to make up for it somehow ;) haha.

 

Mom, you asked how you could share the gospel with the neighbors across the street, and that as you've been praying for them, you keep running into them more and more haha. That is no coincedence! The Lord needs you to be a missionary to them- it's not as intimidating that way like it would be if the full-time missionaries came over. You may have already tried these ideas, but if you haven't, they're worth a shot: invite them to a ward activity/party with you. Go to the park or the pool together for a play date with Jesse and their kids. Invite them over for dinner or a bbq or something. Bring up Jake and I and what we're doing on our missions. You just need to be their friend. Being their friend and an example to them will open up more opportunities for missionary work than just inviting them to church or to listen to the missionaries. Just spend more time with them and get to know them, and then keep praying to have a missionary opportunity with them, and that their hearts and minds can be open to the gospel. The majority of converts I have talked to have told me that they joined the church because they had a friend who introduced them to the gospel.

 

Speaking of the Gospel, Dominick is getting baptized this Saturday the 18th!!!! WWOOOOOOO!! Can I just say that I am STOKED? I am so excited for him! He is a champion! He's been inviting all of his family and friends and is such a great example to them. He's so faithful and a such a strong desire to do what's right. I'll send home pictures. I wish I could email them, but for some reason I can't do that with my camera until I install this special software. But, if you send me the other SD card soon, I'll send home this one here with more recent pictures.

 

This past week has been kind of hard for me- it's been really humbling and that's never enjoyable haha. Nobody likes humble pie. It tastes gross. I've been told a million times this past week and a half that I have really bad Spanish. People make comments about how they knew someone who's spanish "was worse than yours!" and how the other missionaries were better to listen to because they could understand them better, and how I still sound like a gringa... BAH. It's really frustrating. I'm trying! I'm supposed to be fluent by now and sound super cool but that's not how it's working out for me! Nevertheless.... I'm still working on it and hope that someday I will be able to speak better. Everyone felt like they needed to point out my flaws this week too, so that was nice haha. Oh well, I know it's for my benefit and that I need to get rid of my pride. It makes better missionaries, right? AND I STILL LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY.

 

I'm catching up on my letter writing, be patient with me! I will write you back!

 

Thanks for all of your support and love. I'm so glad I got to see you guys the other day. I love you and miss you all! Have a great week and remember to share the gospel!

 

Love,

Hermana Inman

Hermana Inman Letter May 7, 2013

BAPTISM NEXT WEEK!

So let me tell you about our investigator Dominick. We started teaching Dominick about 2 weeks ago; he's a former investigator who has been taught all the lessons, but wouldn't get baptized because he had an issue with one of the commandments(about one year ago). Two weeks ago hermana Eskeets and I decided to go over to his house and meet him and try to talk to him about the church again. It went well and we had 2 more appointments set up with him for that week. We had intended to just reteach him everything and hope that maybe he would feel the spirit stronger or get a deeper testimony or something... but when we got there to teach the lesson, the spirit prompted us to go a different route, and just re-teach this one commandment that he was struggling with. We did. We taught him with analogies and focused on the blessings that come when we obey this commandment. At the end of the lesson he said that it made a lot more sense, but that it's going to be so hard to obey. But, if it's worth it, then I will do it. We promised him that it is worth it and that the Lord would bless him with the strength to keep this commandment if he asked for help. We invited him to pray that night and ask Heavenly Father for a desire to keep this commandment. We didn't get to see him for about a week or so after that, and then the other night we got a text from Dominick that said "hey, can you get me a ride to church on Sunday? And is it to late for me to be baptized?" We told him that of course he can still be baptized! So he then asked, "when is the soonest you can baptize me?" (this isn't real life- this doesn't just happen). So basically, he came to church, we had a lesson with him yesterday, and he told us that he had prayed about keeping the law of chastitiy (you guessed it), and knew that it was something that God wanted him to obey. So, he broke up with his girlfriend, and he's 100% willing to do everything he needs to in order to be baptized. He's already invited all of his friends and family, he's been going through his itunes and deleting all of the innapropriate songs (without us even telling him to), he's stopped swearing- he's turned into a saint haha. Anyway, that was a really long story that sounds way the heck more boring than it is- because it's actually super exciting. But, long story short- DOMINICK IS GETTING BAPTIZED ON MAY 18!!!!!!!! WWWOOOOOOO!!!! :) :) :)

 

Alfredo, one of our other investigators came to church again on Sunday and he's doing awesome. He still hasn't set a baptismal date with us, but we will soon. Blanca is still being stubborn but still defends us when other people try to talk to her about "the mormons" and she told the JW to go away the other day because she's with the mormons haha.

 

Torie CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SCHOLARSHIP!!! YOU ARE SO AWESOME! You worked so hard for that! I am so proud of you! :) wow! Jesse's room sounds fun! You'll have to send pics.

 

I'm doing great! I was sick this last week with asthma and sinuses, but I've been taking medicine and I'm pretty much all better now. I'm not sure if it's due to the fires or not, but from what I can tell, I haven't seen or smelt any smoke from the fires.

 

Thanks for sharing cool mission stories! It's always encouraging and fun to hear about other people's experiences. Sorry to those who have written or emailed me who have not ret received a letter back... I've been super busy but will write to you asap!

 

I love you all and hope you have a great week! Pray for Dominick that he may be ready for his baptism next week!

 

Love,

Hermana Inman

Hermana Inman Letter April 30, 2013

Hola Mis Amores!

Hey Fam Bam!

 

I'm glad to hear that Dom had a nice experience going through the temple for the first time. I'm especially excited to hear that his mom and 2 friends are going to be taking the missionary discussions!!! That's a HUGE miracle! WOW! That is so awesome! I'll be praying for them. Let me know how it goes. When does Dom leave again? I forgot.. it's hard to keep track of everyone. I am glad that this weekend went well. Congratulations on your audition Torie! When do you find out the results? I'm sure you did amazing! You have such talent and you've practiced so hard. Thanks for sharing your missionary experiences with me dad, I love reading them every week, and I feel like in some way I can relate to each of your experiences. Your testimony and faith gives me strength.

 

Thanks mom for sending me my piano book the other week! I've only been able to practice a few times, but I've been making progress, so hopefully I can help out our ward sometime soon. That's neat that you've been practicing lately too! What songs have you been playing/practicing?

 

Andres didn't get baptized on Saturday like he planned to.. his family threatened to kick him out, and since he has no place to go, he didn't get baptized. It's interesting- his parents just kicked out his brother for being an alcoholic, and now, they want to kick out Andres for being baptized. However, he did come to Betty and Lorenzo's baptism on Saturday and enjoyed it. There were a ton of people at their wedding and baptism! The entire chapel was filled, and some people had to stand in the back at the baptism service! Almost all the missionaries in Vista were there with their investigators too, so that was really neat! Mexican weddings are super fun, by the way. They had a live mariachi band going from table to table as we ate dinner, and they have the right music, dances, games, food, etc. (not that we could dance with them, but it was fun to watch!). The night before the wedding we were all at the church setting up, and I helped a few sisters in the ward skin over 200 frozen chickens! Good times.

 

This past weekend was the Mormon Helping Hands with Catholic Charities community project. We worked with North County food bank to collect food for the food bank... I sat outside Albertsons with a big barrell and a sign asking for food haha. I don't know how people do that day after day. There's pictures of me up on the "Vista 4th Ward" Facebook Page. Check it out!

 

We picked up 4 new investigators this past week, so that was cool. They've all taken the discussions before, but are ready to try it out again and see if they are ready to be baptized. I'll let you know more about them later. My computer time is short again today. So much to do in so little time! Ah! Other than that, there weren't very many awesome experiences to share this past week. That's usually how it goes- an awesome week, then a bland week. Hermana Eskeets and I still get along great and have good times together. It's hard to believe that there's only 2 more weeks left of this transfer.

 

I'm not sure yet about Mother's Day, if I'll be calling or skyping. I'll be sure to let you know asap though. I'm glad to hear that the family is doing so well! I love you and miss you all very much. Thanks for your prayers and support. I hope and pray that you will have a great week this week!

 

Love,

Hermana Inman

Hermana Eskeets

Hermanas Eskeet and Inman at Helping Hands event in Vista, CA, April 2013

Lorenzo and Betty, Hermana Inman's investigators, baptized April 2013 in Vista, CA

Hermana Inman at Helping Hands event in Vista, CA, April 2013

 

Hermanas Inman and Eskeet

Hermana Inman Letter April 23, 2013

Bring on the Miracles!

HEY!

 

Alfredo came to church and stayed for 2 hours!! He is so great! He reads a chapter in the Book of Mormon and prays every single day. He's excited about our visits and lets us come over several times a week! :) who is this kid?! He's so awesome! He dropped his baptismal date because he doesn't want to commit until he has a sure answer, but we know as soon as he receives an answer he will be baptized. Speaking of baptisms, remember Juan Pablo? Our investigator from Fallbrook, when Hna Farr and I worked in Fallbrook? The "eternigator" of like 7 years? He just got baptized this last Saturday and I got to go :) It was beautiful. AND, remember Andres? The Golden son of God hermana Farr and I found and taught back in Jan/Feb and then had to pass off to the singles ward? Well he went MIA for a couple months and nobody could find him anywhere. Then, the other week, he just shows up to church on Sunday and says he's ready to be baptized! So, this Saturday he will be baptized and I get to attend his baptism as well :). Look at all of these miracles happening!! I could die of happiness! Then, Betty and Lorenzo (investigators of the elders in our ward) have been waiting to get a marriage license for 7 years so they could be baptized, and they finally got it so they're getting married this friday (it's going to be HUGE!) and then they are getting baptized on Saturday. It is going to be beautiful. In all these seven years they have come to church every single sunday and fulfill their "assignments" in the ward. What an example. The Villarreals (the family we just started teaching) are doing well, we've only been able to see them twice in the last two weeks however. Blanca, one of our other investigators, is stubborn.. she has an answer, she knows it and we know it, but she doesn't want to give up her coffee addiction and her occasional drinks, and we think there is an underlying doubt. The problem is that she won't pray to know if Joseph Smith is a prophet (because she knows that once she knows for sure, she'll have to change and follow her answer haha). We're working with her though and will be seeing her again tonight. She'll come around. I don't have much to report about our other investigators right now.

 

Thanks for sharing your missionary experiences with me dad! I love to hear them :) please keep 'em coming! I'm glad to hear that Jesse is going home teaching and is being such an awesome missionary. I just got his letter, I will write to him as soon as possible. Today is cleaning checks, so I don't have very much time to write letters today. I will write next week for sure though. I got the coolest package ever from the Rio Vista YSA ward!! They are so awesome! They filled it with snacks and treats and missionary essentials. Totally made my week. Hey, tell Jesse that for breakfast this morning I had pancakes and sausage- on a stick! I feel like Jake (Lacey's missionary brother), talking about food all the time. I'm excited for Dom (Lacey's adopted brother) to go to the temple this weekend! Tell me how it goes! I'll be praying for him to feel the spirit. How did Torie's audition go? I'm glad mom and Jesse are enjoying homeschool together. That's fun that the Grants are moving into our ward! They are great people.

 

This week I have been reading about the army of Helaman and the battles and trials they had to endure. These young men had such great faith. I was reading in chapter 58; it's an epistle of Helaman, and he's frustrated with the government because they won't send them more troops to help them, and the other army is much larger. But, regardless, his army stays faithful and knows that the Lord will deliver them. In verse 37: But, behold, it mattereth not—we trust God will ^adeliver us, notwithstanding the weakness of our armies, yea, and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies. (and then v. 39-40): And those sons of the people of Ammon, of whom I have so highly spoken, are with me in the city of Manti; and the Lord has supported them, yea, and kept them from falling by the sword, insomuch that even ^aone soul has not been slain. But behold, they have received many wounds; nevertheless they ^astand fast in that ^bliberty wherewith God has made them free; and they are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day; yea, they do observe to keep his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments continually; and their faith is strong in the prophecies concerning that which is to come."

 

What faith and righteousness! I know that as we are strict to remember our God each day, that we too will be delivered from our every day battles, regardless of how many wounds they may afflict upon us. I also like Moroni 7:33- we can do anything if we have faith in the Lord.

 

I love you and miss you all. I'm glad to hear that you are doing well. Oh, can you please send the SD card sometime so I can send you some more pictures? Thanks :). Have a fun and safe week! Thank you for all of your love and support and prayers. I can feel it all the way over here.

 

Love,

Hermana Inman

Hermana Inman Letter April 16, 2013

Miracle Week!!

It's been a week of miracles! We picked up some new investigators this week :) a family of 6 and also a 15 year old boy named Alfredo. They are all golden! We were also blessed with a lot of referrals and lessons this week. Families are a gold mine because they have each other to strengthen and encourage each other to read and pray and go to church. The mom and two of her children came to church on Sunday.

 

We had a neat experience yesterday. As we were driving down the street, we saw someone eating a doughnut, and we wanted one really bad. We continued on with our work, and as we were walking back to our car a few hours later, we stopped in the gas station to see if they had any doughnuts. They did, but they were all crusty and old and gross, so we didn't buy any. We were bummed but we got over it. We later went to visit a less active lady who we don't get to see very often, and she offered us doughnuts! She said she had bought them this morning and she couldn't find anyone at her house to eat them! It was such a silly, small thing, but it showed us just how "fatherly" our Heavenly Father really is. He knew this morning that we would be wanting a doughnut later today, and so he had somebody buy doughnuts so we could have some :). He's a dad who just wants his daughters to be happy, and so he blesses us with even the small little things that bring us happiness. Then again later that night, we were walking to another house, but something told us that we should just go back to the car. We listened and went back to the car. As soon as we closed the car doors and were inside it, it started to rain outside! (there were so signs of rain coming). Heavenly Father blessed us to be dry and not wandering dark rainy streets at night, because He is our Father who truly wants the best for us. Not that walking in the rain on a dark road at night would have been a bad thing, but He decided to bless us with extra protection anyways.

 

Another cool experience: This morning we got a phone call from an unrecognized number. We answered and this man said "hello, is this sisters Farr and Inman? This is Efren. Do you remember me? You met me outside the gas station the other month and invited me to come back to church? I just found your card with your number on it and felt like I needed to call you and let you know ever since that day, my life has been changing. I went back to church and I've been reading the Book of Mormon every day. I'm turning my life around and I'm in a home right now that's helping me to overcome my addictions. I was just wondering, could you send me some more study materials and my baptismal certificate? I really want to change and help people in the church. I think that's my mission for my life right now." CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!! No effort is ever wasted!! I told him that I remembered him and that I was so so happy for him. SUCH a NEAT experience! You rarely see the results of many of your efforts as a missionary, but oh boy, when you see them, it's a huge miracle and makes you feel like a million dollars (and more). So that was fun :).

 

Hermana Eskeets is my new companion and she is totally awesome. I love her already. She's super funny and outgoing and spiritual and focused. She's navajo! I also have a new roommate who is from a small tropical island that I can't pronounce or spell, and she's super awesome. She ran away from home so that she could serve a mission instead of follow through with an arranged marriage. How neat is that?

 

Thanks so much for my package mom :) the socks are exactly what I needed and you were inspired to send me my shoes! You are the best. Thank you also mom and dad for doing my taxes. I hope it wasn't too big of a pain and that you had all of my information that you needed. I'm glad that the surgery went well, I've been praying that dad will fully recover soon! I'm so glad that Torie had such a blast at prom!! That sounded amazing!! The pictures are beautiful, and Torie you look absolutely stunning! I'm also excited for Dom to go through the temple soon, tell him hello and congratulations for me. When does he leave again? I'm happy to hear that you were able to figure out what to do with Jesse's schooling, I'm glad things are better now and that he's learning. What are brittany, morgan, sydney, and taylynns addresses?

 

I love you all and miss you! Thank you for all of your support. Have a great week!

 

Love,

Hermana Inman

Hermana Inman Letter April 9, 2013

Hey Howdy

False alarm, I am NOT training this transfer! That was just a huge rumor that basically the whole zone spread around. However, I am "greenie-breaking" a sister, which means I'm her first companion after her trainer, so that's exciting! I am staying in Vista again, which was also a surprise. We used to be able to predict what was going to happen at transfers, but now with the influx of missionaries and a soon-to-be-split mission, nothing is predictable and lots of crazy changes are happening. I am a little nervous to lead the area, but I'm excited at the same time. I hit my 6 months this week! I can't believe it! I'm already 1/3 of the way done!

 

Blanca came to general conference!!!!! WOO HOO!!! She absolutely loved it and told us that she is going to change her life! It was wonderful. We have a lesson with her tonight, and are hoping she will accept the baptismal invitation now. She's been hesitant since day 1, but she truly has a desire to know the truth and we know that when she gets her answer, that this is true, that she will surely be baptized. Conference was so wonderful, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. That's awesome that Jesse loves Elder Bednar, I do too. He and Elder Holland are my favorite speakers. Did you notice how conference seemed to have a theme of strengthening home and family? It seemed like almost every single speaker spoke a little bit about that, about how to safegaurd our homes and strengthen relationships. The family is so important in everything that we do. We need each other to support, love, and encourage. It's harder for Satan to ruin families that have strong relationships and testimonies. I'm so grateful for my family and the relationships that we have; we make a great team :). How exciting that Gabe got his mission call! Congratulations to him! Dad, can you send me some mission stories and experiences? I've been realizing that I hardly know anything about your mission at all and I feel guilty for not asking you about it very much before. I would love it if you would tell me all about it. Investigators, finding, experiences, companions, difficult times, and favorite memories- all of it. I've just about finished my first mission journal :) I plan to fill up several more!

 

The garden looks great dad! Bien hecho. I'm excited to talk to you all on mothers day and see your faces! Sure, I'll speak in Spanish mom haha :) you'll just have to remind me. Have fun at prom Torie! I can't wait to see the pictures! I'm sure you will look absolutely stunning. I'm glad Jesse is coming out of his shell and is making jokes :). I'm also glad that Jake is doing so well on his mission. We email sometimes, but I still miss him like crazy.

 

Hermana Farr goes home tomorrow and Sister Bergau (one of my roommates) is transferring, and I'm sad! I'm going to miss them both! We had a sleepover in our apartment last night by pulling out all of our mattresses into the living room one last time before we all go our seperate ways. Good times.

The weather here is nice! Perfect, actually. It's in the 70's during the day and gets to the 50's at night. Not too shabby. Thank goodness, too, because we've been spending hours each day just knocking on doors and talking to people in the streets so we can find more people to teach. Some people are so rude, but you just have to laugh about it and keep going. I think that's how it is with most things in life. Just laugh your way through it. :)

 

I love you all and miss you so much! Thank you for all that you do for me and for everyone else. I can feel your prayers. Have a fun and safe week! Share your favorite conference talk with someone this week.

 

Love,

Hermana Inman