The Sacrament. Riobamba 9.14.15

HI!!! 

OK i dont have much time today.  But i wanted to say first off.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!! I hope you had just the best day ever.  When i show people pictures of you here they cant believe you are my mom-they think you are my sister and always say how beautiful you are. "tan joven" is what they always say.... i sure love you!

So just a couple experiences from this week.  We had divisions in Guaranda with the Hermanas which was fun.  

 divisions with hermana sento! 

Ok so this Sunday we got to church on time, but there was a less-active that we had to wait for outside (there is a reason why) and we ended up getting in the meeting late. They had already shut the doors for the sacrament and in my other wards here in Ecuador they don't usually pass the sacrament outside.  So i was feeling very stressed.  This whole week i had been looking forward to the sacrament and i knew that i really needed it in that moment!  We waited in one of the classrooms and they did end up giving it to us.  As i sat in that room, i was pondering (and a little disappointed) because i knew that the spirit would not be as strong as in the actual sacrament room.  However, when the deacon entered the spirit FILLED the room.  It was a small miracle, but exactly what i needed to feel.  I just want you all to know how grateful i am for the sacrament.  It is an ordinance so sacred and special and dear to me.  

A lot of the miracles that we were seeing last week have been experiencing a lot of opposition.  I was feeling really upset on Saturday.... when a member that was visiting with us told us that her cousins are having difficulties in their marriage and need help.  In that moment i knew and felt that the opposition that often happens in the mission, is something that we cannot control, but that if The Lord is pleased with us... He will continue to bless us with miracles.  I am excited to help this new family!  

I have been learning this week that EVERY thing in missionary work is important.   I have been striving to be better in every aspect of missionary work (including the area book) and i feel happy and at peace knowing that i am doing all I can, and i have faith that The Lord will do the rest.  I have felt His peace and love and i am so grateful for Him.  

I LOVE YOU ALL!! Have a happy wonderful week.  

Hermana Neff 

FRUIT

 two angels of a less active in ambato that i found in riobamba! 

 another one of the 5 volcanos that you can see in riobamba

The Lord is merciful. Riobamba 9.7.15

HOLA!

Ok SO.  This week.

On Monday and Tuesday we were in Quito for the leaders conference.  A LOT of missionaries were finishing and gave their "final testimony."  It was sweet, but i am so not ready for that yet. Oh also i was sick and throwing up... i think we ate something bad in a restuarant.... but i am better now!

The other days in this week have been crazy.  We have been having troubles getting ahold of our miracle from last week Andres.  I am pretty bummed about it, but i know that The Lord has a plan for him and that everything will work out!

So we are seeing so many miracles.  I dont think i have seen so many miracles for my whole mission!  That being said... on Saturday i was feeling very frustrated.  I was honestly asking myself why on earth am i here, working so hard for OTHER people´s salvation... and they dont even care!?!?!?!  Ok (ya maybe thats harsh, but i am being honest.)

That night i felt that The Lord was not pleased with my attitude that day.  I felt that He understood me and my feelings.... but only because (and i honestly felt this)  HE has probably said the SAME THING about me, and my actions at times in my life!  It was really actually almost funny when i realized that I had absolutely NO PLACE to be frustrated with everyone else, when i am not yet perfect... and will not be in this life!  It was an eye opener for me.

That being said, I know that The Lord loves me.  He is so merciful with me.  I cant help but get teary in this internet cafe, in the middle of freezing cold Riobamba Ecuador, as i write these words, because of how i feel.  On Sunday He gave us a miracle.  We found a woman and her daughter, who have gone to church three times and recently experienced a tragic death in their family.... and they NEED the gospel.  And they WANT it.  We invited them to baptism for the 26th of september and they accepted.  While we walked home i just felt so grateful, because.... in spite of the fact that i am so WEAK, and human, and sometimes i let the natural man get the best of me... The Lord still trusts me!  And He still loves me.  He is so merciful with His children!  I just want to be more like Him.

Transfers were today.  I am staying with Hermana Costa in Riobamba!  She finishes her mission this transfer.

I LOVE YOU ALL!!

Something funny i told dad this week.. every time i tell someone that my name is Hermana Neff they always say "nice to meet you hermana INES"  It drives me crazy!

Have a very happy week!

Hermana Neff

P.S. This week there was another miracle!! We found this family whos dad is a less active from forever ago and his family is really having a hard time (the rest arent memebrs).  His daughter told us that she had been praying to find a religion to join because she feels that there can only me one true pathway that leads us back to God.... and that we showed up!  Just another testimony to me that this church is TRUE!!

Ama La Vida - Riobamba 8.31.15

HEY!!! 

This week was AMAZING!!! Like literally so many miracles i am just so grateful to be a missionary!

But before i start in Riobamba we celebrated the 50 year anniversary of the gospel in Ecuador!!

It is such a special time to be a missionary here in Ecuador right now.  We went to an event and all the missionaries sang.  There was a cute little slide show and a lot of typical dances of the country.  I was really just feeling some ECUADORIAN PRIDE!! 

Ok so i will start with Fernando.  He is a less actives husband.... he isnt a member.  We started teaching him at the start of this transfer. He is very catholic, and is afraid to pray and ask if the church is true.  We had a couple very spiritual lessons with him, but then a lot of things happened in their family and we couldnt go back until this week. We went to see his wife and she told us that Fernando had told her that she needed to call us because he feels something different when we are there teaching.  When we went we explained to him that what he feels when we are there really isnt because of us, it is the spirit. We had such an amazing lesson about Joseph Smith and the next day HE CAME TO CHURCH!!! We were so excited. 

Ok another miracle.  So we were contacting.  And we contacted this 18 year old boy named Andres.  He told us that we could come back the next day and that he was very interested in hearing our message.  Later that night we went to visit a recent convert.  We made a comment about the joven we had contacted and she told us that it was her nephew.  And that he was atheist!  She was SHOCKED that he would accept us.  So then  Hermana Costa and I were super stressed.... worried that he was just going to try to prove us wrong with science or something.  So we went the next day and he explained to us that he was atheist, but that as of late he felt a spiritual hunger and for that he let us in!  So we explained and invited him to pray.  And we invited him to baptism but he didnt accept,  but he did accpe to go to church.  At the end of the lesson he said his first prayer in 4 years and the spirit was SO STRONG!!!!  Hermana Costa and I left that appointment bouncing off the walls.  The next day, sure enough there he was in church.  We visited him later that day and we asked him if he had prayed after we left on Saturday and he said he had and felt that God was listening!  And he loved church.  So in that moment we invited him to baptism for the 19th of September and he accepted!  Such a miracle!  It really was a testimony to me that anyone that searches truth with true intent will find it.  

So i thought that i would give you guys maybe a rundown of what life is like here in Riobamba.  Well just something short.  First off, i dont know if i have told you guys this, but here in Ecuador the amount of rice we eat is..... we eat too much.  But i have become addicted.  I LOVE RICE!! If i eat lunch one day and there isnt rice, i find myself questioning if the person who prepared lunch is really from Ecuador.  

Also here in riobamba it is FREEZING!!! I freeze all the time.  

Ok so i will try to think of coooler things next week.  LOVE YOU ALL!!

Be happy because life is so good. 

hermana Nefi

Could Ecuador be any more beautiful?

My favorite food:

my comp likes taking pictures, haha:

I am obsessed with fried fish:

Divisions with Hermana Noreña!