Rain and Cold, but a great week!

Hola hola!                                                                               April 13, 2015.

Last Monday it rained and for the first time in Cobija it was cold. Like really FRIO. We didn't have any sweaters or coats or anything, and because of that my companion and I both got sick with the flu/cold. I think because it’s my last transfer I’m just getting every sickness possible. This week we've both been sick and it hasn't been fun, but the positive side is that we had the baptism of D. M.  It’s been so special to see how much the family has progressed and now all the family is coming to church. Before just the kids were coming and not the parents, but they are all coming and they were so grateful to have their last son be baptized. D. was so happy, and his dad was able to baptize him so that was so special. My companion and I were both so happy.  Pretty much that’s all I have to say of this week.  

This coming week a seventy will be coming to Santa Cruz for a conference/training, so our whole zone will be flying to Santa Cruz on Thursday and we’ll have the conference on Friday and then we’ll come back on Saturday, so that should be really fun.  Anyway, I’ll let you know how that all goes.  My companion and I both received blessings from the zone leaders, who are so great and helped us get everything ready for the baptism, and we’re both feeling better.  I’m so grateful for the priesthood and for my companion.  The thing I love about my companion is that no matter what, we can always find something to laugh about. I love her so much.  

I love this gospel and I love Cobija and everyone I've met in my mission and I love my Savior with all my heart.

Con amor, 

Hermana Tijerino

General Conference weekend was great!

Hola hola                                                                                             April 6, 2015.

Just to be honest I completely forgot yesterday was Easter, but anyway Happy Easter! This week was a little rough because I've been sick, but it ended up being a good weekend because it was General Conference!

This week we've been visiting with our two investigadores that are progressing the most; D. y B.  D. is 9, and his family is less active, but they are coming to church again. We've been teaching D. and getting him ready for his baptism which will be this Saturday, so we’re excited for him and mas que todo my companion and I just love his family.  D. and his brother and sisters and his parents are all so great. They came to General Conference yesterday so that made us happy. Since he’s a niño, after every time we teach, we play games with them and it’s so fun. We've also been visiting Hermana B, who I love so much. This week she asked me when I was going home and I told her in May and said softly no se vaya, which just broke my heart because I don’t want to leave either, because I want to see her get baptized, but we just have to convince her husband to get married… so we’ll see how that goes.  And we've been visiting other new investigadores we have and conversos y menos activos, but we haven’t been able to teach a lot of people because I've been sick.  

I loved all the messages in Conference.  I love everything they said about Christ and his atonement, and also about the family and having an eternal perspective.  I am so grateful for my Savior and for the sacrifice he made for us so we can return to live with our Heavenly Father, and so we can be eternal families.  I also really liked the talk by David Bednar about how we can overcome fear and trust in the Lord by turning to Christ, establishing our foundation on Him and continuing forward with faith.  Well it was something like that, I was listening to it in Spanish.  Anyway it was all really good and I hope you all were able to listen and learn more about our Savior and also about the plan of salvation and how it is amazing everything God has prepared for us.  

The days are going by fast and I’m so grateful for all my blessings and for my mission and for everything I've learned and for my testimony.  If you haven’t watched it yet, watch the Mormon message video “Because He Lives”.

Con amor, 

Hermana Tijerino

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NOTE: In order to protect their privacy the names of my companions, members and investigators will be omitted and their name tags obfuscated.

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© Jennifer Tijerino and Mission Adventures in Bolivia - 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material and posted photographs without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jennifer Tijerino and Mission Adventures in Bolivia with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Staying in Cobija!

Hola!                                                                                                          March 30, 2015.

                      

So this week went by really fast.  I was super nervous the few days before los cambios, because I really didn't want to have to leave this area.  On Wednesday, just in case, I went ahead and took pictures with everyone and I wrote a few notes for the people I love. I also finally achieved my dream of riding on a moto! (Don’t worry it’s allowed and it was with the president of Relief Society and she is the best). Then we got the calls that night for los cambios and.... I’m staying! I’ll be finishing my mission here en el hermoso pueblo de Cobija! I’m so happy. Also it has finally hit me that this is my last transfer, so I’m a little sad because I don’t want to leave here.  I love the people so much and I also love my companion.  She is so great.  We are always talking and laughing and singing and it’s the best.  I’m really happy to stay here my last transfer.  But pretty much all of the elders in our zone got changed, so it’s really different, but hopefully it will still be cool.  Yesterday we didn't have church because it was Election Day here in Bolivia, so we were stuck inside the house and it was so boring.  It made me realize how lucky we are each day to leave the house and preach the gospel of Christ to these amazing people.  And I am so excited for General Conference this coming weekend.  That’s all I have time for. Love you all.

Con amor, Hermana Tijerino


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NOTE: In order to protect their privacy the names of my companions, members and investigators will be omitted and their name tags obfuscated.

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© Jennifer Tijerino and Mission Adventures in Bolivia - 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material and posted photographs without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jennifer Tijerino and Mission Adventures in Bolivia with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Goooool! from Jenny!

March 23, 2015

Hola,

This week was super good.  Starting off with Monday, we played futbol after not having played for a while. It was super fun and I made a goal! Also today we played futbol in the morning and I made two goals, so I am improving.  Man I am going to miss this zone, because all the elders are so great and because we are so far away from everyone else, we are super united and I love it.  During the week we’ve been visiting a lot of people and having lots of lessons.  It was the birthday of Hermana B. on Tuesday. We went with la Presidenta de la Sociedad de Socorro, and another hermana who is friends with hermana B., and we brought a cake and surprised her. She was super happy.  We also had a super good lesson with her yesterday with el Presidente de la rama y su esposa. Her husband was there for the first time! We talked about the family and the importance of marriage. We encouraged them to get married, because that is the only thing that is impeding Hermana B. from getting baptized.  It went really well and they said they are going to talk and pray about it.  Please pray for them so they can make the decision to get married! We’ve also been visiting la familia M., and we have the baptism for el hijo menor D.  We’ve been trying to help the family come back to church, and they all came to church yesterday, so that made us really happy.  We also are visiting a hermana who is less active and recently opened up a salon in our area, so today we are going to go and she’s going to give us facials.  We’ve also been visiting an hermana converso, Hermana D., who is super poderosa, and it’s gracias a ella that we found Hermana B.  The work is going really well and I LOVE these people.

With the cambios coming up, I am scared that I will leave, but I really hope not.  I only have one transfer left and I hope I can finish my mission here in Cobija, but I will go where the Lord wants me to be.  Yesterday we had our Conferencia de Distrito, for all the members in Cobija. It was super good and I learned a lot.  It was all focused on the family and on the husband and wife and how much the husband needs to love and respect his wife and how much he needs to express his love to his wife.  They talked about how we need to establish our homes on the foundation and rock of Christ, (Helaman 5:12), and also how we need to prepare ourselves as families for eternal life.  Finally they talked about how Satan works with us and how sometimes he doesn’t tell us not to do the right thing, but sometimes he says we can do the right thing, tomorrow.  But we know that tomorrow never comes.  We need to decide to be righteous today.  Anyway, it was super powerful.  Also I got to see all the members from the Rama Cobija that I got to know when I was in the Rama, and I love them all so much.  There are so many people here in Cobija that I’ve come to love and I know it’s going to be hard to leave.  But I am so grateful for the time the Lord has given me to serve his children here.  My companion and I are doing really well and I love her so much and I hope I can finish my mission with her.  I only have one more transfer left and the time is going by so fast. It scares me that I don’t have much time left, but I’m going to keep working as hard as I can to help others come unto Christ.  

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.  Also I received a Valentine’s Day card from the Young Women I think. 

Thank you so much! Love you all,

Con amor, Hermana Tijerino

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NOTE: In order to protect their privacy the names of my companions, members and investigators will be omitted and their name tags obfuscated.

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© Jennifer Tijerino and Mission Adventures in Bolivia - 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material and posted photographs without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jennifer Tijerino and Mission Adventures in Bolivia with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

This crazy tropical weather

March 16, 2015.

Hola,

This week was a pretty good normal week.  But I felt like it went by super fast!  And I’ve come to the conclusion that the weather here in Cobija is LOCO, or maybe just bipolar.  It goes from being super super hot to pouring rain in a matter of seconds.  It will be super hot all morning and then it will rain in the afternoon and then it will go back to super hot, and it’s just crazy!  But other than that, things are good here in Cobija.  I love it and I hope I can finish my mission here.  I only have about less than two months left!  It’s so hard to believe that the time has gone by so rapido.

On Monday we had a noche de hogar with Hermana S. and her family, who are recent converts, and they are really great.  We drank jugo de coco, the juice that comes straight from the coconut, and it was really gross.  But then she made a drink from the fruit of the coco and it was really good.  On Tuesday we visited Hermana B., and she is doing really well and progressing a lot. We’re just praying that her esposo can listen to us too.  Then we had a noche de hogar with la familia V., and it was super good.  On Wednesday we visited a converso named Deydi, and she is the best.  That night we went to visit la familia M. We have a baptism planned for their son who is about to turn 9 and hasn’t been baptized yet, because his parents are less active.  We had a really good lesson with them, but then it started to rain really hard.  Where they live it’s all dirt roads and hills so they gave us their ponchos and their flashlight because it’s also really dark in this area.  We walked home sliding all over the place in the mud and trying to light our dim pathway with this flashlight, and it was really funny.  On Thursday we had a really good district meeting, and we visited the family that had to evacuate their home and that we helped move into the church building. They are still there because their house isn’t safe to live in.  They have 3 kids, and I love them so much.  That afternoon we visited an Hermana from la rama Cobija who just had a baby. She has such a powerful testimony and is such an amazing example to me of someone who is truly converted to the gospel.  The weekend was pretty good as well.  

On Saturday we had our English class that we taught in la capilla, and noche de hermanamiento which was pretty fun.  Yesterday we went to go pick up Hermana B. to go to church and as we were walking it starting pouring rain out of nowhere. We had to wait a little until it calmed down, and then we kept walking until we made it to church.  Not a lot of people came because of the rain.  It really just goes to show that the people who have a testimony and who are faithful and strong will come to church no matter the circumstances.  I love this gospel so much and I love these people de Cobija.  And I also love my companion so much. We talk so much and have so much fun and we are learning a lot from one another and I honestly love being with her.  Anyway, that’s all I have for now. 

Con mucho amor, 

Hermana Tijerino

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NOTE: In order to protect their privacy the names of my companions, members and investigators will be omitted and their name tags obfuscated.

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© Jennifer Tijerino and Mission Adventures in Bolivia - 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material and posted photographs without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jennifer Tijerino and Mission Adventures in Bolivia with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Leave me alone mosquitoes.

March 09, 2015

Hola!

Today there’s finally Internet access! This week was really good and has returned to normal pretty much.  My companion and I have been doing well, just being eaten alive by mosquitoes! But other than that it’s been good and we’ve been having a lot of lessons and have a lot of people we’re teaching.  We’re still teaching our investigadora Hermana B. who is amazing and has now come to church 5 or 6 times. Her testimony is growing and she is really great, but.... she needs to get married and we still haven’t been able to teach her esposo. So that’s the challenge right now, to be able to convince and help them get married. She has 3 little girls who are THE CUTEST.  I love her and her family so much.  We also have a less active family, la familia M.  La hija Paola is active, and her little brother who is 8 about to turn 9 is starting to come to church with her, also her other brother who is less active. We had a really good lesson with their family last night and we have planned the baptism for the little boy for the 11th of April.  

This week we also helped the Young Women with their activity. We made cake, and it was really fun because I felt like I was back in Young Women again. These girls are so great.  That’s pretty much all that’s been going on this week.  But there was a sad occurrence. Because of the floods and everything, it affected pretty much all of the area of the other sisters, Hermana B. and Hermana C. They talked to President, and he decided that it would be best if they left and were put in another area because they really can’t work in their area.  The water has gone down and everything but a lot of the people still haven’t returned to their homes, because there is supposedly another flood that will come again this month.  So on Wednesday they packed their stuff and on Thursday they left for Santa Cruz, and I don’t think they’ll be coming back.  So that was really sad to say goodbye to them because they’re so great and I know they both love Cobija, just as much as I do.  Cobija is such a special place and the people are amazing and I love them.  

Also, yesterday we had a really good class en la capilla about our Savior Jesus Christ and it made me think a lot about how He really is our savior and he paid for our debt and he made such a big sacrifice for us because he loves us. I’m so grateful for Him and for everything he did for us and for the privilege I have to be His servant and help people come unto Him.  

I love my Savior and I love this gospel and I love Cobija.

Con amor, 

Hermana Tijerino 

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NOTE: In order to protect their privacy the names of my companions, members and investigators will be omitted and their name tags obfuscated.

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© Jennifer Tijerino and Mission Adventures in Bolivia - 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material and posted photographs without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jennifer Tijerino and Mission Adventures in Bolivia with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Floods in Cobija

                                                                                                                        March 2, 2015

Hola hola!

Ok I have to make this email quick.

The week before from Sunday until Wednesday we were home because it was Carnaval and it was pretty chill. We just studied and talked and got to know each other, my companion and I, because I’m training and my companion is super great.  The rest of the week was a little hard but it was good.  On Saturday the floods came.  Cobija is on the border of Brazil and it’s divided by a river. It’s been raining a lot here and in Brazil and so it flooded. There are a lot of parts of Cobija that are flooded.  It’s mostly the area of the elders and of the other hermanas, and we spent all that weekend helping people evacuate their homes.  I’ve never seen anything like this.  The water is literally up to the roofs of some houses.  There are a lot of families affected and they’re all staying in the school buildings here or also in a big park that is in front of where we live.  A lot of members were affected and it’s amazing to see the church come together to help those in need. There wasn’t internet in all of Cobija last Monday so that’s why we weren’t able to write. 

This week has been really good though.  My companion and I are working really hard and finding a lot of people to teach and we have a few investigadores progressing and I have really been able to feel the joy of working hard and being obedient and sharing the gospel and testifying to people of the truth.  My companion is a sweetheart and we talk a lot and have a lot of fun and we both love these people.  Please pray for Hermana Beatriz who is mas progresando. Also please pray for Cobija and for all the affected families.  I’m doing really well, I love this work so much, and I love Cobija.  It breaks my heart to see the flooding here that’s the worst it’s ever been before, but I know that in a way it’s helping the people come together and help one another, and it’s helping us to be able to be more Christ like and serve those around us.  That’s all I have time to write. Now I’m going to try to send pictures also because I finally have my camera fixed!

Love you all!

Con amor,

Hermana Tijerino

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NOTE: In order to protect their privacy the names of my companions, members and investigators will be omitted and their name tags obfuscated.

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© Jennifer Tijerino and Mission Adventures in Bolivia - 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material and posted photographs without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jennifer Tijerino and Mission Adventures in Bolivia with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.