Sunday, August 21, 2016

Letter #69

August 16th

Seriously this week just flew by!  And it scares me. There is a new family that moved into one of the wards and the husband was asking how long we had been out, and sister Johnson said 1 year and he was like oh man youre almost going home and then he looks at me and said what about you?
I debated if i should say  2 months. :) haha but sadly i told him 16....😰
honestly it doesn't seem real! I know for fact that it is not going to seem real till im off the plane and i see all of you. So weird.
we had a lesson with Ignacio, man i just don't know with him. One lesson he is progressing and the next he isn't. But i know that we need to keep working with him. :)
Thursday was exchanges and yet again learned more patience! haha and we did serve with Lucille! she is the one who thinks my name is sister Marquez! she is the sweetest lady. but very old! haha
we were doing yard work and i knew from the beginning to not ask her for water. So i went inside to get the keys to the car to get water and she says oh! i have water....oh no...
she hands me a water bottel (the elders went over before us one time and said she reuses water botters but doesnt clean them, thes bad)
well she hands me a water from the fridge and i am dying of heat! and it was a brand new one and i thought yes! then she hands one to the other sister... and it was half  used with lip stick all over it! hahaha i felt sooo bad! its was gross! :)
Friday and saturday we got to see the boys and i love them. (just incase you didnt know) they are doing good. but man it is crazy to see little changes in them when they come back. It is such a testimony at how important it is to teach youth and primary kids the gospel! and how needs it is to be consistant in their lives!
this week is looking good! i love you all!!!
remember the love our Savior and our Father in Heaven has for us is constant and Eternal!
😘 Sister Marquez 

Letter #68

August 9th

This week not too much happened, it was a pretty slow week. We had Karen drop us ): The boys are still gone, and Donna is still struggling with the loss of her husband. 

In our Zone training we had on Friday they asked us what the hardest thing we ever had done was. 
Instantly my mind was flooded with things. Losing weight, anxiety, the mission. But Friday was also the day of Brother Kingston's funeral. Donna has been taught by missionaries for a long time now! And she has almost been baptized a couple of times. I am honestly not 100% what is holding her back. But she has been a lot more open to it!

Well we have had some lessons with her and talked about how we are here to support her and help her along the way to baptism. Well after we would have dinner or a lesson Brother Kingston would just look at us with the biggest smile and say, you know, sometimes I just don't think it'll happen in this life. 

After He passed Donna really wanted to know how to seal her son Matthew to him. And so on Friday we went to the viewing and funeral service. We walked in the room and it was such a feeling of mixed emotions of peace and sorrow. Donna's back was to me and she was talking with someone and as she turned around and looked at me and at that moment, that was the hardest thing I have ever done. I will never be able to express the unspoken words as she looked at me and fell on me! As I hugged her all I could do was hug her tighter! 

She showed so much strength as she came to church the following Sunday  AND SHE BORE HER TESTIMONY!!! We walked up to her after and I Ttld her "Donna you're a rock!" and you know what she said, "No I am not a rock, I am weak, but my Savior is my rock and that is why I can stand."

Do we have that kind of attitude in the mist of trials and dispair? 


I can not stress enough the importance of the gospel, of the peace that comes and even more important of temple marriages! The Lord KNOWS what will make us happy and bring us peace and the temple is 100% a key to peace!

I would invite you all to go to the temple more, and really count your blessings that pour from Heaven!

I love you all! Please keep Donna and Matthew in your prayers!

Hermana Markus

Picture Update

Pictures and a video from August 2nd

the drinks from brother Garcia

we decided to make egg rolls 

yup :) 

kimchi!!!  

I love this video, but something I love more is that Christ right then didn't heal that man. He could have. But he asked him to walk and to go and wash in the waters. And how hard that must have been to walk who knows how long, and not being able to see. But then he was healed! 

That is the same with us, we have trials or hard ships and Christ helps, but doesn't always instantly take it away, and he may ask us to walk blindly for a moment, but the promise is always there, if we act, then we can be healed! :)


Letter #67

August 2nd

Man this week is, probably the craziest yet! 

So last week all the boys came down and it was amazing! I love when all 4 of them are here! But they were going to have to go back with their mom on Sunday and the other boys told Adrian that he was going to have to come back too! Well he wrote a letter to the judge saying he did NOT want to go back and man, Bro. Varela let me read it and oh my goodness! My heart breaks for that boy!
Well Brother Varela said he felt really confident that all would work out! So Tuesday was the day of the hearing if Adrian was going back with the mom or Brother Varela...

Words can not express how broken my heart was when brother Varela called saying the judge said Adrian had to go back to live with his mom... UGH!! Brother Varela has been really struggling because Adrian had been living with him for 2 months and then to have him ripped away...ugh!

Please keep him in your prayers.

Also more sad new... There is a part member family that I think I have told you about. Her name is Donna Kingston and she is pretty much a member, she comes to church every week, has a calling. She is awesome. Her husband is a member and they have a 9 year old son who is also baptized. We have worked with her a lot and so have past missionaries, for years. 

But it was hard because after we had dinner with them or a lesson as we were leaving Brother Kingston would tell us, "you know, i just don't think its going to happen in this life."
And I never understood why he would say that but, on Friday he passed away!  Oh my goodness....
It was soo hard! One of the first things she was calling and asking members about was how she could get Matthew (their son) sealed to the dad... and it's just crazy that Brother Kingston kept saying "not in this life.." ahhh all I know is that Heavenly Father Works in crazy ways!

Keep them in your prayers!

But cool tender mercy story!

So it was the end of the month and we had no more miles to drive! So we had to walk. We walked to our apartment all the way to the stake center, which is 5 miles!! woo!

So we were walking and it was going good, but then once we had about 2 1/2 ish miles left I was dying! It was blazing hot, and there are a lot of hills! This really nice guy pulled over in a truck and asked if we needed a ride...I wanted so badly to say yes! But we kept walking. Well we pass a circle K and I thought ahhh .89 cent drinks! Yes! But then we didn't have our wallets...ahhh! So we stopped and took a short brake and kept walking. Right before we were about to cross the street the spirit says "Sister Markus, you have a $20 in your bag, remember!"

Ahhh yes! I remember Grandma Markus sent me $20 and I haven't used it! So we hurry and start walking over to circle K where we see Brother Garcia (Lexie's dad!!) and he said, I was driving up the road and I saw you walking and then I saw Sister Markus leaning up against the wall and I thought, "OH NO.... SISTER MARKUS DOWN!!!"  So he went to Smiths and got us water, Gatorade and ICE CREAM! oh man how awesome! It was soooo nice! He felt bad he couldn't give us a ride, but then just has we were leaving other members pulled into the parking lot and asked if we wanted a ride! MAN!

Unless you know what it is like to have no miles and to be walking 4 miles when its 100 degrees out side, you will never know how big of a tender mercy that is! Heavenly Father is soo aware of his missionaries! haha

So its been a crazy week but good!  I have seen Heavenly Father in this work so much and how much he truly carries us through our trials!

I love you all!!

Hermana Marquez  (everyone here thinks my name is Sister Marquez)

Picture Update

ok so this story is cool, its long so im ganna just be short

So remember how Elder Ah Loy gave me that blessing and said that there was someone I was going to help with my anxiety? Well, months and months later I found her! LEXI! It's one of the members in our ward, their daughters name is Lexi and she left on a mission and struggled really bad and I have been able to really help them.The mom told me she knew I was here for them and Lexi! ahhh so cool, but Lexi just came home from her mission): so we made her this!


This is all of us in one picture perfectly! Ray constantly loving on my, Emilio just sweet and then there is Brother Varela running off to answer his phone or do something, Victor is "too cool" to be in the picture and Adrian just being tired and me trying to love them and talk to them :) hahaha

me and my little brother adrian :)







Letter #66

July 26th


This whole week I just was freaking out about leaving. I have been here now for 6 months and only two transfers left, there was a good chance for me to leave. But something that is so cool about this area is I know that I am here for not only the boys but other people too, and members!

On Wednesday:

We got a new investigator named Tom from Taylor Ranch which is super exciting because we haven't had a ton of luck with Taylor Ranch! So we were super excited and he seems really interested! :)
Then...
MY BOYS!!!! Oh man it was like seeing family! Like ahhhhh!!!! I love those boys sooo much! And I was more than excited to see them! Its great when I first got there we were just talking and laughing and ahhhh I just sooo missed that! But something super sad is there has been SUCH a change in those 3 boys...It breaks my heart. And it opened my eyes to see how much Adrian has changed. He understands and gets the gospel more than I think he realizes! Just the way he acts and just the spirit he has with him.  Those other boys, being with their mom for 2 months... its sad..... they swear more (which they never used to) and just the way they act! It's a huge testimony builder that KIDS NEED TO GROW UP IN THE GOSPEL!!!!!!!!


The next day we saw Ignacio our new investigator, Karen, and the whole time I was just freaking out because I feel like a huge part of why I am here, is the boys and Adrian! I just feel like I'm not done helping them yet. Well, Saturday came and Adrian's mom was making him come back with all the boys on Sunday... and he was so upset, they have a hearing tomorrow, but for right now he is there with his mom and it just breaks my heart... its so bad! But I thought well, this might be the last time I see them... so we took a ton of pictures. And I just felt peace that everything was going to be ok. 

I GET TO STAY ANOTHER TRANSFER! ahhh how crazy is that!? 5 transfers, 7 months! woot! I love it! It is home here and it would have been too hard to leave the boys like that! 


I am super excited and I know good things will come of this transfer!

love you all!!

sister markus




Letter #65

July 19th 

This week really strengthened my testimony of fasting! 

Wednesday we saw Aurora, and she struggles with the Book of Mormon, and missionaries have been teaching her for a while. But they are a family who I just know would benefit from the gospel. That is something I love as a missionary, is that even if these people don't get baptized, I ALWAYS learn something, even if they don't want to accept something my testimony builds. Something I have REALLY learned while I have been in this area is the importance of raising a family in this gospel! And there is no other way! The world is too hard and there is too much sorrow that comes with not having it! And so that is something I love! I LOVE THIS GOSPEL...yes I've become that missionary, oh well! :)

Thursday we went on exchanges and I learned patience......

Friday poor Sister Johnson was soooo sick.. and I mean dying. And I have found I am cursed and that Sister Johnson is full of love and puts up with me, because poor her, she would tell me whats wrong and how she doesn't feel good, and I would just laugh. She is so funny and that's all we did Friday, was laugh! :D She's doing better :)

Saturday we saw Adrian and I swear I love that family more and more every day! One time we were talking to Adrian and he was telling me about people at the skate park and i just turned  into his older sister and I just am like " you better make the right choices, don't be dumb, don't smoke that, don't say that, don't watch that, hahaha and he said "why do you care so much?" and I said, well I am sorry, I just love you too much and then he laughed and said "love me a little less" hahaha We just laughed! But he's soo good! He knows whats right and he's doing good, he's a 14 year old boy :)

Sunday we had a ward council fast for the boys that things would work out and that Bro Varela would get the boys and things would be good, and in my fasting I also said, (I haven't seen them for two months) and I said Heavenly Father, even if they don't get to get baptized now, I just want to see them. I love them and at this point I just need to see all my boys! Well, we found out that Bro Varela had a court hearing on Monday! AHHH we were freaking out, and we called in around 2:00 and you know what he said... "Sisters, I'm on my way right now to Reserve to get the boys! Can we see you tomorrow?!"  AHHHHHHHHHHH I cried, and cried and cried some more! They are my family and I just miss them soo much.. I think I might miss them a little bit more then home right now! haha sorry, but WE GET TO SEE THEM TONIGHT! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH what a tender mercy! Because you know I would love for nothing more than to see them all get baptized, but I think Heavenly Father has a different time table than that. And I KNOW that everything works out PERFECTLY when God is in charge!

I love you all! Transfer news is this Saturday and then they changed it so next week will be a Monday P-day! :) love you love you love you!

Sister Markus

Letter #64

July 12th 

2 Nephi 33:3"But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto mypeople. For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them;and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry."

The boys didn't come up this week. Ugh, I have finally found what the hardest thing and part of missionary work is. It is that you come to these different places and you find people that you know you knew in the pre existence and you love them unconditionally. A love that is so deep, and then you serve them, pray for them, teach them and you want nothing but happiness for them. But then you see them in a deepening trial that just breaks your heart! 

As I have been on my mission I have truly come to know and understand how amazing and special this gospel is as Lehi said:
 " And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to bedesirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit."
It seriously kills me when people don't want any part of this gospel. Why would you deprive yourself of such joy? 

Ben and Nelline have been still struggling, he got in a fight with Nelline's brothers and was flown to UNM. He's doing better, Brother Varela doesn't have the boys and the mom is trying to guilt trip Adrian about being with his dad, not sure if we are going to get permission from the mom about the baptism, and when we were talking to just  Adrian the other day, he's not sure if its true and its not really on his top of the list of most important things. AHH that about KILLED me when he told me that! But I have to remember he is a teen age boy and he is 14 and when I was 14 I wasn't 100% converted... ahhh I just want him to enjoy the blessings of the gospel!!

Then it makes me think I don't want kids.... haha..... because it would be so scary to know if they are going to be converted! Ahhh man I just love this gospel and EVERYONE needs to taste of that great white fruit!

I LOVE my mission and I have learned a lot! I want to so badly carry these peoples burdens and not let them suffer, but then I am reminded that, that is why we have a wonderful Savior. Who I am sure EVERYDAY is begging each of us to just please use his Atonement and to let him carry us! I can only imagine what our Heavenly Father feels with children who don't have the gospel or who have gone a stray and are lost!

But I am eternally grateful that they are constantly there, I'm forever grateful for this mission and how hard it has been! Wow, who knew I'd say that, but I am! I AM GRATEFUL MY MISSION HAS BEEN SO HARD! Because if it wasn't, I wouldn't be who I am, or where I am today!

I love you all more than you will ever know! Thank you for the prayers and support!

Sister Markus