Week 4

Sorry everyone! I posted this a week late. :P

ịHola todos! It's been a week, but... I wrote everyday in my journal! I'm so happy:) So here are some highlights of everyday...

Wednesday: We are now teaching progressive investigators in TRC and our investigator is Victor and he's really nice and loves his family. He's heard from the missionaries before, but all of their lessons were scattered. So we started at the beginning with the first lesson and he loved it :) Classes were the same as always, and we taught Jorge today. We were going to teach him the part of the Plan of Salvation that we didn't get to in our last lesson and we ended up talking about the priesthood and that or church is the only one with the true authority. He's just frustrated because he doesn't think that he needs to be baptized in our church if he already is in another. It was good, but not a perfect lesson because we were so unprepared...

Thursday: We had to make investigator profiles so that we would have a character to play if we ever had to act as an investigator. Mine is Amalia Vasquez :) Hermano Toledo got sick today so we had a sub during our last block of class. It wasn't the same, but it was still fun :) And we made a candy poster for Hermana Johnson. It's her birthday tomorrow :)

Friday: Hermana Johnson loved her birthday poster :) We took it to the classroom before breakfast so she would see it when we went to class. We taught Victor again about the Plan of Salvation. I swear I am going to be a pro at volleyball after the MTC. I love playing and we do everyday. And I'm getting better at it :) We have started on past tense in Spanish... So much harder than German! There's like 50 kabillion ways to conjugate everything! And rules!

Saturday: We had some really good classes today. We learned how to relate the things in an investigator's life to the lesson to help them relate to the things they are learning, but also how to effectively invite someone to baptism. It was great :) And I had a really good experience that helped me get to know my companion a little bit better :)

 Sunday: Fast Sunday! And best day of the week! We got to listen to Music and the Spoken Word and Relief Society was really good :) I loved hearing everyone's testimonies and having the chance to share my own. There was an amazing spirit there :) District meeting was good too. I had to help lead a discussion on the Book of Mormon with my companion and some of the insights from my district were amazing :) And the devotional! So good! Richard Elliot spoke to us. He is the lead organist for Mo-Tab. He spoke of experiences in his conversion and his mission. But he also played the organ for us... ¡Hijole! Can that brother play! I can't see how people can play the organ. They need like 15 other senses... :)... Oh ya! And I sang with David Archuleta!! Literally :) He came home from his mission in Chile two weeks ago and he came to speak and sing for us. And in the closing song we joined in with him in the last verse of Hark All Ye Nations. It was cool :) Our film for today was Legacy. I forgot how cheesy that movie is, but it's still so good :) And I met some Tongan missionaries too! They were super nice :)

Monday: Classes classes classes..... They're really starting to crack down on us so that we will be prepared when we get to Mexico. More volleyball and just having fun as a district :)

Today we went to the temple and hopefully THIS week we will hear from Elder Holland. We didn't last.... Anyways love you all and please write!

Love Always,

Hermana Walker

Week 3

Hola todos! So it's gotten to the point where I am having trouble finding time to write in my journal with how busy we are here... Horrible... So I'm  just going to give highlights. I can tell you though that my teachers here are fantastic and the lesson that mi y mi companera give everyday are getting so much better:)

Well we had some more of our zone leave for the field yesterday and this morning... My district is now the zone... We didn't get any new missionaries this week and we won't get any tomorrow, so we have to combine with an all elders zone on Sunday if we want the sacrament. Hopefully we will get some more missionaries soon:)

Our district now has a Best Two Years story. Hermana Kunzler was teaching an "investigator" with her companera and she switched up some words. So instead of saying God is our loving Father, she said God is our lunch father... Hijole! Muy chistoso! And we have learned a new game. It's called El Jugar de los Limones or The Game of the Lemons... If you know how to play Big Boody, it's just like that:)

We also started something called TRC, which is basically where you either go share a 20 minute spiritual thought, in Spanish, to a member, or you teach a 20 minute lesson to an "investigator" or a real investigator. It was super fun. The first time we went mi y mi companera taught with a member and she was so great. We also talked to a member from Concepcion, Chile. She was super sweet:) Yesterday we started teaching with an actual investigator. She's really interested in the temples and forever families, so hopefully we answer her questions:)

Our Tuesday devotional last week was really good. Elder Bradley Foster spoke to us about not wasting time on our missions and the importance of prayer. He was very animated and compared our missions to a race. He explained that we can't get caught up lacing our shoes in the middle of our missions. We need to use every minute serving the Lord. And I would suggest to ya'll to read D&C 98:1-3. Muy Bueno:)

On Sunday we learned about different cycles. In Relief Society we learned about the cycle of sacrifice. We love the things we sacrifice for and we sacrifice for the things we love. In Sacrament, we learned about the cycle of success. In order to find success, first you need faith. Then comes humility, patience, and then much work. And as you have faith and humble yourself, the Lord is preparing the hearts of those you will serve. And the devotional we had was awesome! The talk was given by Brother Allen, who's in charge of a lot of things dealing with missionaries. But he talked about being an honest and true missionary and he was very firm about what he said, like Elder Holland firm. But he spoke about how we need to be exactly obedient and if we don't want to basically we can just go home. He used the song True to the Faith a lot and it made me think about other's who have served. Some people have even given their lives for the Gospel. We need to be examples of that cause. It was so great! Tonight we are supposed to have a general authority come speak and it might just be Elder Holland. He comes like every two months and he's supposed to be due now. Can't Wait to see:)

Another really great thing that happened was that when I went to the temple I looked up to see my grandma there. Oh my goodness! I was so excited... More in shock though... I wasn't expecting to see anyone... But it was great:)

Anyway I would love to hear from people, so please write to me. Mail is a treasure out here. You can even try dearelder.com too. It's like a letter, but I will get it faster:) Love ya'll!! Behave yourselves;)

Love Always,

Hermana Walker

Week 2

Hola everyone! So I've now survived 2 weeks and I think I'll be able to survive 18 months. This week was very interesting and so much fun!

Wednesday- Today was service day, so we had to wake up super early to meet up with the rest of our service group. When we got there, we had to do a service orientation with one other district while everyone else started on the service. They just told us that we were cleaning classrooms and whatnot and then went on to tell us some rules that we need to abide by in our own classrooms. But it came to the point where they realized that they had enough people doing the service. And since the other district was only going to be here for one service project, they got to do it and we got to go home early... Kind of sad... But it gave time to get to know our district a little bit better. We also had our 3 class periods. I had a really good personal and companion study with mi companera. Then we had 3 hours with our regular teacher. And remember the investigator we had to teach last week? He's now my teacher... But he's great! :) His name is Hermano Toledo. He's super strict and only allows us to speak in Spanish. But it's such a great help :)

Thursday- We did a lot of studying today. They have this language study program on the computers called TALL and me and mi companera spent most of our study time on that. It's really beneficial and I learn things that my teachers have not yet taught me. Hermano Toledo's class was really fun too. It was actually warm outside, so he took us out there and gave us vocabulary word for the random things he saw out there. And Hermano Lounsberry gave a really good lesson too. For all of those future missionaries out there. Read Alma 37. Good read :)

Friday- I've survived 10 days! I had a very effective study and now we are learning how to teach the first lesson. We're going to have times where nuestras maestros will be investigators and we have to teach them, so this is important to remember. We got to play volley ball with the elders in our zone that will be leaving this week. They've become like brothers to us, so it's sad to see them go :( We also had a sick Hermana in my district and I got the chance to help take care of her. It was fun and I got to get to know her a little bit better :)

Saturday- Today was like any other day. We had our classes and played a lot more volleyball. That's become our favorite sport to play during gym:)

Sunday- Today we were able to listen to Music and the Spoken Word. It got a little emotional because most of the music they sang was music I had the chance to perform in Chamber choir senior year :) Relief Society was great! And Sacrament was awesome. I got to lead the music :) We also had a very good district meeting about enduring to the end. Then he had a devotional about loving the people you are serving in your mission. It was an incredible talk and I got lots of notes :) I also had the chance to watch the Joseph Smith movie! Unfortunately we didn't get to see the ending.... :(

Monday- It was so bare here... Around 100 missionaries from west campus left last night. But we had our classes and me and Hermana Young taught Hermano Toledo for our "investigator/teacher" lessons. I think it went really well. And I didn't have ANY notes! The gift of tongues is real! :) There was no one around to play volleyball, so my district played foursquare and I went on the machines for a little while. I felt so good after :)

Today so far I have been able to go do a session at the temple and we kind of toured main campus. The temple was such a spiritual experience and I can't wait for next week to go back. It's going to be so great! And also I would love to hear from people. Mail is something every missionary looks forward to :)

Sister Annekke Walker

APR14   MEX-OAX   Unit 827

2023 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84602

Anyways... I'll write again next week! Hasta luego!

Love Always,

Hermana Walker

Week 1

Hola everyone... Sorry. If you know Spanish and see I don't have accents or those little curvy things on top of n's, it's because I haven't figured out how to put them in emails yet. And I don't even know if I'm doing any of my Spanish right anyway. This week has been stressful, long in a short way if you know what I mean, and just fun:)

On Wednesday after I got dropped off, I grabbed my books and my name tag, put my stuff in my room, and went straight to classes... All in Spanish... I was dying. I had no idea what my meastro was saying, but luckily he was very animated, so I understood from hand gestures. But I spent about 6-7 hours in class. I met mi companera. Su llama Hermana Young y she is from Gilbert, Arizona. She's super sweet, very tiny, but great:) I'm also in a district of 6 hermanas. Unheard of! And still I have not found a soul going to Oaxaca...

On Thursday we woke up, had breakfast, and went to class. And I got sick... No bueno... It was like a stomach sick and later I got a cold... But we had 4 hours without a teacher and had no idea what we were supposed to do because no one tells us anything, so we spent that time doing personal study and getting to know each other. During gym, we met up with some hermanas who are only here for two weeks and some of the elders and played 4 square. I haven't played that since elementary school. It was so fun:) During our next class period, we talked about our purpose as a missionary... And found out we were going to be teaching an investigator. All in Spanish. Freak out! After dinner, we had a meeting with our branch president and interviews. He is such a funny guy!

Friday was a good day. I still had the cold, but my stomach ache went away. We didn't have a teacher during our first class period, so me and Hermana Young did an hour of study time and spent the rest of the time preparing for the lesson with our investigator Edwin. Found out we had to teach him twice, so we prepared a lesson about the restoration and then the Book of Mormon. They went really well although we had to look at our notes the whole time. But I think that's okay since it was only our second day learning Spanish. For gym our district played volleyball against a district of all elders and oh my goodness it was so much fun! We were laughing and joking around around. It was great:) That night we met our zone and sister training leaders. They were really nice and gave us a lot of pointers on how to have a good time at the MTC.

Saturday we had the same schedule. We went to class after breakfast, but luckily our maestro was there in the morning, so we were able to find out exactly what we were supposed to be doing... At the MTC you kind of just go by what you think you should be doing instead of being told on an exact schedule like at EFY... Weird... We found out we were to teach Edwin again, so we took our first class period to learn what Hermano Lounsberry had prepared, our second to have personal study and prepare our lessons with Edwin, and our third to teach. We did pretty well with our lessons today. We decided to teach him about the Plan of Salvation and it went great, but he kind of freaked out about the part about Spirit Paradise and Spirit Prison and we had no idea how to explain that part. So we took that as our topic for our second lesson. We told him that Spirit Prison isn't a scary place, but that it's were you go if you couldn't or didn't receive the gospel in this life and that those in Spirit Paradise go teach them. Then we went on and talked about the Kingdoms of Glory. He loved it. More volleyball for exercise.

Sunday was different. After breakfast we had about an hour of personal study time and then the hermanas left to see Music and the Spoken Word and Relief Society. Then we had Sacrament. I guess they have everyone write a 5 minute talk all in Spanish on the topic of the week, but they pick at random on the spot so you never know when you'll be picked on. Same as the prayers. This week it was about relying on the Spirit. After that we had more study time, went to a devotional and learned about getting to know the members of the church. Then we watched a talk by Elder Bednar about Christlike characteristics and how they need to become our instinct.

Monday we had class and prepared to talk to Edwin. He wanted to know the differences about out church and the Catholic church, so we put together something about the Book of Mormon and living prophets. And it went really well. And we asked him to start reading the Book of Mormon and he accepted:) Before our second lesson we learned from a fellow elder about just going there and letting the Spirit guide. So we did that. At first we had no idea what any of us were talking about and we didn't bring notes to help us. But we ended up keeping a good conversation with him. And it ended with us giving him the promise in Moroni and we bore our testimonies. The Spirit was so strong in there and he promised to keep reading and to pray of it's truth. It was really great:)

Today we went to the temple and later we are going to Salt Lake to meet with the Mexican consulate for our visas. And after that were going to be running around like none other to do everything we need to. But I love you all! Hasta luego!!

Love Always,

Hermana Walker

I'm Alive!!

Hey guys! I survived my first day. My companion is Hermana Young. She's 21 and from Gilbert, Arizona. I'm in a district of 6 girls, no elders, which is really rare. My first day was so crazy, I still don't think I've processed it all. But I had fun. There was a lot of walking back and forth from our residential area to our classrooms. I guess there are so many Spanish speaking missionaries that they had to convert part of BYU housing into a Spanish speaking campus. I went straight to Spanish after receiving my books and dropping off my stuff and of course I was overwhelmed. But thankfully our maestro is very animated when he speaks. And the food is delish. I thought it was going to be buffet style like everyone was saying, but they've got specific entrees for each meal and little things around the sides. I've also noticed that it is more lenient over on this campus than on the main campus and that's what a lot of other people have said, which I'm grateful for. I think the sleeping schedule is going to be really good for me. I had gym time and played four square for 40 minutes. Hermana Young and I wanted to use the machines, but they were all full. I had a lot of class time and hopefully my study will improve.... I'm teaching an investigator tomorrow, so pray for me.... Well, te amo! I miss you and be happy... I hope my room isn't a morgue...

Love Always, Hermana Walker

Prayer and Preparation

When you are in the right mindset and you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, Heavenly Father has a funny way to reward you: He makes you cry;) 

Tonight I had the most heartwarming experience. I'm going to admit that I've been a slight procrastinator in terms of preparing for my mission spiritually. I have all of my clothes and most of my stuff to pack. My talk is almost done. And I've done what I can in learning Spanish, which isn't much. But I haven't taken the time to seriously read my scriptures or Preach My Gospel. I've even noticed that my prayers have become overly repetitive. I only have a week before I report! I should have studied this stuff months ago! I have a little, but not to the extent that will help me prepare spiritually.

Tonight I had nothing going on for me. So I thought I should go somewhere quiet and start preparing. Even though I had NO IDEA what I was saying, I read four chapters of my Spanish Book of Mormon. It was amazing though because even though I didn't know what the words meant, I knew what they were saying. It might be because I've read the story of Nephi and Laban a thousand times, but it was different.

I also took the time to start the District episodes... I know. I should have done that a long time ago. I just haven't thought about it until now. I thought they were going to be documentaries of missionaries giving advice, which it is, but it's so much more. It's amazing how much power and spirit can come from a video of people talking about baptism and the Book of Mormon. As these videos continued to go through the everyday lives of missionary companions and those they are teaching, I just had this overwhelming feeling that gave me excitement and that jolt to push me further in my study. This was wonderful for me to come to realize. But as I knelt down to pray, everything spilled. I thanked Heavenly Father everything I could think of, and it didn't even feel like I was in control of my own words. But they were words that needed to be said, things to be thanked about and things needed to be asked. And i cried in happiness. I haven't had an experience like this in a long time, let alone during a prayer. But it was a wake up call.

Missionaries, our anyone for that matter, who might be reading this: Do not procrastinate on your study. Let go of your worries of the world and focus on the blessings of the spirit. Read the Book of Mormon and if you've read it, read it again. Allow others the chance to read it by inviting them to. Serve others. Love one another and be like Christ. He and Heavenly Father are waiting for us to fully accept this gospel and what better way to do that is to be surrounded by things that bring their spirit. Prepare yourselves and be happy. That is the biggest piece of advice I can give you. It will be wonderful in the long run.

Building Our Arks: Moses 8:20-24

In this time, we are in need of preparation. The floods are coming and once it starts raining, it will be too late.

In the story of Noah, the prophet called the people to repent, and as in modern times, those who were not willing were offended and refused. They believed that if life was good, then they were fine. Even in their wickedness, they were sons and daughters of God (v. 21). Because the world was so corrupt, the Lord promised to save Noah and his family if they built and ark and saved two of every animal, one of each gender. After enduring 40 days and 40 nights in the ark, Noah's family was saved while the world was cleansed.

There will come a time when the world will be cleansed again, during the Second Coming, when Jesus Christ comes again, and we need to build our arks. For years we have been given the counsel to build up food storage and update 72hour kits. This will prepare us when we don't have the items we need to survive. Recently there have been a lot of talks on receiving revelation and how to do that. Becoming close to Heavenly Father through constant prayer and reading the scriptures will help us receive inspiration to receive revelation. We can also prepare ourselves by going to seminary and institute. As times become worse, these classes become more in depth. The young people who go to these classes are learning from the history of the Bible and the Book of Mormon and in other subjects and they're being prepared for when times get tough. They are building their arks for a time when they need it. They are becoming stronger in standing as a witness of God in a world that needs it most. We all need to build up our arks this way for when the time out Savior comes, in that way we wil be strong and be with him again.