Conference Week!

My old companion Hna Garcia sent me a birthday package with all sorts of thoughtful things. My favorite was the head massager thing because she knows that I LOVE when people play with my hair!

Hermana Roundy hit her year mark, so we celebrated and bought pizza and a tres leches!

One of my favorite things in Costa Rica is La Feria ¨The fair¨, where we do our produce shopping EARLY saturday morning. Everything is so cheap and fresh and you can buy exactly what you need.

One of the things I have always seen, but never bought (until this week) is the fresh juice. This guy literally starts with sugar cane and fresh fruit, and JUICES it in front of you. It was so good that I bought a little bottle to keep in my fridge!

We also buy fresh bread in the bakery. YUM YUM YUM. I am not sure I can come home to shopping at walmart again.......

How great was Conference weekend? I can honestly say it was the best conference of my life. We had kind of a brutal weekend with 2 baptisms falling through (ugh, the WORST) and we were in real need of some spiritual
time. I LOVE LOVE LOVED Saturday mornings session specifically. WOW! So many life changing thoughts.  ELDER HOLLAND WHAT ARE YOU SO AMAZING????? 

For any friends that are reading this and have no idea was General Conference is, let me fill you in. 2 times a year, our world wide church holds a general conference for every member and non member of the church to have the opportunity to listen to the words of a living prophet and his apostles . It is.... AWESOME. I always tell people, Moses was a great prophet. The only problem is Moses, is that he didn´t know about all the problems that we have today. The best part of a living prophet is he knows what our world is going through. He received the revelation on what we need NOW. Here was his talk. 

Some of my other favorites:
Henry B. Eyring 

Russel M. Nelsen 

Richard G. Scott 

W. Craig Zwick

Dieter F. Uchdorf 

Gary E. Stevenson

David A. Bednar 

I have never had a list so long of favorites! I invite you to enjoy the messages that these servants of the Lord have for each of them, and pray that you can feel the same things I felt while hearing their powerful words.

We gringas, watched the first Saturday session on an ipad.

My baby girl hit her month mark in the mission field. There is a tradition that trainers buy their new companions ¨trits¨ on their month mark.

Today was my companions Month checkup at president Wilkinsons house. It was fun to see all the missionaries and see my hero, Hermana Wilkinson.

Let's make up for lost time

March 31, 2014

Okay friends and family,

I realize that I have a lot of apologizing to do. I have been awful at writing these letters lately. I realize how much you all enjoy them so I am making a diligent effort this week.

Lets start out with this picture:

In Costa Rica there is a stomach ache called ¨pega¨ which basically is just indigestion. The funny thing is that it really only exists here in Costa Rica. None of my Latina companions have every heard of or had pega until they got here, but its common. If you eat a lot you get pega. If you eat too quickly- pega. If you eat something with a lot of oil (easily done in the country) PEGA! Luckily (and knock on wood) it is something I haven´t experienced yet, but almost every single one of my companions has had. 

When people get pega, they get little balls of greese in their forarms. The only way to get rid of pega is to message these little balls out of your arms (And sometimes behind the knees). The thing is that this is a VERY PAINFUL PROCESS. Usually middle aged to older women are the only people who know how to do it correctly. Every person who has to do this eventually is crying because it hurts so bad. 

My poor companion has had some trouble with her stomach until we realized she had pega. She is feeling MUCH better, but as you can see, its not a very fun experience. 

This week my companion had to go do her fingerprints for government papers, so we spent the night in the ¨sister house¨ of the mission. My old companion Hermana Escobedo lives in this house full time and so it was fun to have a sleep over and we even bought pizza from a recent covert of hers! 

A new sign that I put next to my bed to help me stay focused when I wake up. 

I can´t actually remember what this fruit is called, but in my mind its called ¨frog egg fruit¨. The first time I saw an elder eating this fruit, I laughed because it looked so gross,but I actually like it a lot. One of my favorite things about Costa Rica is the produce. We do most of our grocery shopping in the farmers market (which i love, because unlike the states,its so cheap!) and there is so many fun and different fruits that I have never even HEARD of before. It keeps life interesting 

We totally planned to be matchy this day..... 

Alejandro and Denise,two youth from our ward who are anxious to get involved in missionary work!

How great was the Womans meeting? I LOVED IT! The only bummer is when the cute General Primary president tells you to look to your side and give your mom a hug,and you feel sad, because your mommy is far far away. My companion literally started crying. Some of my favorite notes:

-Do our children (or we) understand that when we are baptized that we change forever? That we can not go back to what we once were? 

- Don´t be too hard on yourself, relax and rejoice! 

- In the gospel there are no age barriors,so dont put any up!

- We´ll build up his kingdom with earnest endevour 

- ¨Perfect¨ come from a ¨Complete¨

- We can not go through this mortal experience alone!  We receive help though the atonement, the spirit, and others.

- The best way to protect a current or future family is through keeping covenants

-Few of our Heavenly Fathers daughters have had the opportunity to know about and make covenants- what a blessing it is to live in the fullness of times! 

- As daughters of God, we are more alike than we are different. 

Okay, so remember that I had to translate some of that, so hopefully it all made since. This is a picture of all of the women in our ward who came. Afterwords we enjoyed Costco (Pricemart) Muffins! Yay comfort food from home! 

Hermana Xinthia and Hermana Mercado always give us so much love! 

Team Aserri-

Some of our favorite things:

- Shouting (and... in english!) ¨COME BACK!¨as desperately as the girl from Titanic when Jack dies.

-Teaching Hna Beltran funny things in english (including, but not limited too ¨Ain´t nobody got time for that!¨ ¨Whatever¨ ¨I´m going to beat you up¨ (and of coarse,as sister missionaries, said with the most love possible) ¨You can´t talk to me like that¨, ¨You´re grounded¨. ) 

- Eating churros from the churro place on Mondays

- Taking funny pictures

- Laughing and laughing when drunk men get ahold of our number.

 Because our chapel is being remodeled, the bishop rented a mini bus to take us all too and from the conference.

In this ward they LOOOOOVE having the missionaries over, which is great. There is a signup sheet and everything (Are we sure that I am in Costa Rica?). The Aburto Family had us over last night. They live close to us, so we looove visiting them. We always tell them all our funny stalker stories (which we seem to have a lot of these days..... but that´s for another time).









 Melanie and Niyeli came to church with us yesterday. It started out being a stressful experience because we got there late, but then it all was worth it because THEY LOOOOOOVED it!

Also, anyone who has ever seen The District videos (The missionary training videos) I always want to greet Niyeli like the sister in one of the videos ¨Niyeli! Hiiiiiiiii! ¨

March 24

 March 24, 2014

 Our District

Some good scriptures I found this week: 

But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you thatthe tender ^cmercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hathchosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto thepower of ^ddeliverance. (1 Nephi 1:20)

And I rejoice in theday when my ^cmortal shall put on ^dimmortality, and shall standbefore him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will sayunto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared foryou in the ^emansions of my Father. (Enos 1:27) 

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a really good week. Time continues to fly and I can´t believe we are nearing April! Crazy.  

We had an investigator who invited us over for dinner to eat some traditional food. Soup, rice and tortillas. The thing is is that they gave each of us LITTERALLY a dutchoven pot of soup. We couldn´t finish it. 

Hermana Beltran and I continue to get along and we continue to see many miracles. I sometimes am blown away with how great the Lord has been to us. For only having 3 weeks in this area and knowing absolutely NOBODY, I am impressed with how many investigators the Lord has blessed us with. I give a lot of credit to my companion. Her rock solid faith keeps our expectations high.

Speaking of my companion, she got quite sick this last week. She suffers from Chronic Gastritis and is having a really hard time with the diet here of rice and beans. 

My first night in Aserri, Carlos, Carolina and Hermano Angulo (from Escazu) drove all the way to Aserri to say goodbye and to bring me a tres leches cake! I was basically crying! And.... of coarse.... I didn´t have my camera on me. ugh! But at least here is a picture of us enjoying the cake. 

My trainer went home this week :( She should have gone home one change before me (in June.... I think... ) but she has been having some horrible heath problems and finally decided it would unwise to keep going. Sad day. 

Okay. I blame the fact that i am FREAKING OUT about what I should be studying this fall semester as my excuse for shuch a short letter this week. .... okay... ever week. Im a slacker. 

Love you all. 

this picture is with me and our cocinera ¨Hermana Aura¨. She is like our mom here is Aserri. She takes care of us and her cooking is super good! 

The bishops family :) 

Okay i think the problem is that here the internet connection is slow, and apparently my pictures are too big. The internet lady just came over to chew me out for ¨using up too much internet¨ trying to upload pictures. rolling of eyes. She doesn't have any solutions for me other than something I need to change in my camera, but as for the pictures I have, i might be out of luck because she keeps giving me a stinky look.... oh brother. 

Keep on, keeping on

March 17, 2014

Hello everyone!

I can´t believe how quickly time is flying here in Aserri! But for me, all the better because it means we are keeping busy, just the way I like it. There is nothing I hate more on the mission than looking to fill time.

We are in the middle of a giant mess right now. The apartment that we currently live in is.... in one word..... disgusting. When I got to Aserri, nobody had been living in it for almost a month and it was super gross. Bugs, garbage and dust everywhere. I tried to tidy up a little, but we have no hot water and up until 2 days ago, only ONE plug worked. We have been talking to our dueno (what is the English word for that?) and he said that we could easily move into the recently remodeled, bigger apartment only two doors down and that costs exactly the same amount. He told us it would only take 3 days. 2.5 weeks later, and we are still getting grief just trying to move over. The mission teaches us to be very very patient. Lets hope I can keep going..... haha.

Hna Beltran, my fiesty Colombian daughter and I are doing great. I really like training because she helps me remember that the mission should not be mundane, and just how exciting it really is to be here, even when its hard. I feel sad for her when she has gotten her first could slaps to the face that come with the mission, but she is a very diligent, obedient and great missionary. We laugh and cry together which is a good sign in a companionship. 

We continue to be very very blessed by the Lord. I am constantly amazed on how much the lord is blessing us. He puts people waiting for the gospel right in front of us. 

Yesterday we had Stake Conference. It was fun because I am currently serving in the same stake as the Los Santos branch (my first area) even though they are far far away from each other. I got to see one of the member families which was great. It was also neat, because we had a transmission from Salt Lake with talks by Elder Scott, Elder Oaks and the General President. I had never see that before, but it was transmitted by satellite to all of Central America. Technology is so cool! 

Keep on keeping on kids! Out of time... once again. 

The church is true!

Hermana Patterson 

Two weeks for the Price of One!

Note from Lexi's mom:

I'm a little behind so I'm posting last week's letter and this week's together.

March 3, 2014

Hi everyone!

I feel like I have a lot to say today, and this computer is not wanting to upload pictures (upsetting), so lets just get started. 

• First of all, this week I studied a lot about apostasy  and the Primitive Church. I loved it. We had a brother from the stake come to our ward about two weeks ago who walking into our gospel principles class (the class we usually teach the second hour of church for investigators and recent converts) who blew my mind with knowledge. I learned so much in his class that I realized if people have a clear understanding of The Great Apostacy than the Restoration is very very easy to understand and believe.  I especially love reading James E. Talmages Jesus the Christ Chapter 40. SNAP! It really lays it down so that it would be impossible to ignore the apostasy. 

• This week, we also had a couple of freak rain storms. Which is awesome except for my real umbrella was totally broken so I only had a little baby one that Kaylie and Emmalee sent me (Thanks girls!). So basically I spent 3 days wet. Also, my plastic shoes are dead, so I was using my leather keens but they DYED my toes black, so when I find a computer that wants to upload pictures I will send you THAT. 

• I also really liked this scripture in Psalms 118: 24

   24 This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will arejoice andbe glad in it.

I basically just really liked the simpleness of the message. The Lord has made each day to be productive and to progress, so let´s make the most of everyday! YOLO! (Okay, sorry about that, is yolo even still a thing?..... maybe not..... this could be embarrassing..... maybe I should delete that part....) 

• I have been craving a good Jane Austen movie this week. Ugh, I´m such a girl! 

• Do you remember Rosa? Rosa, my ¨mom¨ in Los Santos (my first area)? My lovely investigator who was the DEFINITION of the type of person described in 2 Nephi 29? Apparently she FINALLY got baptized yesterday! Seriously, WHAT  a miracle! This woman has known the missionaries for going on a year and a half. There was a time in my mission life that we were visiting her every single day. I cried and cried when I just couldn´t help her understand. Her heart was so hard for so long that I thought it might not ever happen. But now it has! Everyone has their timing, and everyone who asks it shall be given unto them. I am thrilled. Also, bummed that I couldn´t be there, but I am just glad that it happened. 

• Okay, so apparently my mom posted this on Facebook, but for those who don´t know, I got accepted into BYU Provo for this upcoming Fall Semester. First of all, how weird is it that I will attending the next semester? SO WEIRD. Second of all, I am way more excited than I ever thought I would be. I guess I have known from a while that this is what the Lord wants, but I doubted I would get accepted. Now that I have I feel like its the right thing to do. I am excited, but also.... confused? WHAT AM I GOING TO STUDY? Ahhh! I clearly not ready for the real world. 

• And now, last but definitely not least, the big news. I am no longer in Escazu! Last night I received a call from my Zone leaders that I would be having changes and that I will be training a newbie (STRAIGHT from the MTC). I was told I will also be opening the area, which means that we will be starting from 0. Luckily the Sister Specialists will be sharing Asseri with us, so its got to be a good area. I am so excited! nervous! thrilled! terrified! overwhelmed! grateful! sad! happy! a sister missionary roller-coaster of emotion! (What else is new?) I will be in a trio with the sister specialists until Wednesday to HOPEFULLY learn a little of the area before by poor baby gets here! I AM GOING TO BE A MOM!  (Okay, to clarify, when someone is training, the newbie is their ¨son¨or ¨daughter¨ and the trainer is their ¨mom¨ or ¨dad¨). Its going to be a LOT of responsibility, but I am excited to learn and progress. I am excited to see what new things are in store, and I am grateful that the lord trusts me so much.  

How are you all doing? I LOVE hearing from you all! 

I hope you all have a wonderful, miracle filled week! 

Love, Hermana Patterson 

March 10, 2014

Hello family, friends and loved ones!

What a crazy long week its been! I feel like it has been a simultaneously very long and very short week. If you remember, last Monday I had changes. I have left Escazu and came to Aserri to train and to open the area. There were 2 sister missionaries here before, but now there will be 4. We are basically starting from zero. At first I was really worried about opening an area and training at the same time, but I cant believe the blessings we are receiving. 

Lets start first with my companion. Her name is Hna Beltran, she is 19 and from Columbia. I am not really sure why, but sometimes she reminds me a lot of Brianne. We get along great. She is a very hard worker, is excited to be exactly obedient, and is FULL of faith. I was worried that training would because I thought a lot of the burden would be on my shoulders, but she really holds her own. She isn't scared to contact in the street, share her testimony or invite people to repent and be baptized. We haven't had to waste anytime trying to coax her into doing anything. I am really grateful for her. 

Our area/ ward is called Aserri. It has a lot of hills, which is a pattern in my mission. We are actually just on the other side of the mountain from Escazu (Think the distance of Lehi from Sandy). Our ward is in the same stake as my branch in Los Santos. We have a really great group of members who are willing and able to show us around, give us references and take care of the missionaries. I can say to start off that this is the ward that has been the most supportive for the missionaries I have seen in my mission. We were blessed enough to have 3 investigators come to church yesterday (which is pretty great when you have only worked in your area about 3 days) and we each got to do a talk and then the four sister missionaries did a musical number which was really beautiful and brought the spirit. Between these few things I feel like we are gaining the confidence of the members fast. How great!  

Its been a very spiritual week. Opening an area you just learn to rely on the spirit, because you don't really have many other options. We have been blessed incredibly with little miracles everyday. The Lord is good with us. 

I'm sorry that this letter is so short and I am sorry that I don't have any pictures this week. I am not really sure what I am doing wrong, but these computers don't want to let me upload anything. Two weeks in a row, bummer! 

Hope all is going well at home! I love you all so much and pray for you daily! 

Hermana Patterson 

One Year Mark!

Today, I would like to start my email with the same introduction as the crazy lady at the bus stop the other day:

¨Señores, Señoras, jovenes, ancianos!¨ (¨Men, women, youth and old people!¨)

How are ya doin´? Pura vida? Pura vida.

What a good week we had.  

The most important thing that happened was Carolina and Carlos´s baptism. What a special day it was for all of us!

When some members from my companions last area (Ojo de Agua)  heard that Hermana Delgado had come to Ezcazu, they asked us to visit Carolina and Carlos, their family.  The first time we went to go find them we were REAL lost. We were walking up and down the street, asking everyone we met and we could not find them.  We actually even rang their doorbell, but they weren´t home at the time so we thought that it wasn´t the house. We were sad that we had gone all the way up the mountain and not found them.

Carlos and Carolina live really close to the edge of the mountain where there is a  BEAUTIFUL view of the San Jose Valley. When we realized that we weren´t going to find them we were about to turn back and go home, but being the spaz that I am, I got really excited about the view and ran down the street to see it. My poor companion and the member that was with us were surely both rolling their eyes at me.  While we were looking at the view, we saw two women walking up the dirt road. I decided to ask them if they knew Carolina. They looked surprised, and then one responded ¨Um… I am Carolina.¨ I was so glad that my spontantiusm (is that a real word… doubt it)  found them!

As we began to teach Carolina we realized that she is one of those people who have the spiritual gift of faith. She drank everything we said in and really understood the doctrine without much explanation. She wasn´t afraid to read, to ponder, or to ask god if it’s true, so of course her testimony came easily.  

We also felt it was important to teach her husband Carlos at the same time.  Basically from the second lesson we had Carolina was determined to be baptized, but Carlos wanted to be absolutely sure about what he was doing.  But, he too, was willing to keep his commitments and pray with real intent. When he had a special dream, he knew it was his answer and quickly committed to baptism.

They are both so excited about their new and strong testimonies. They are anxious to raise their children in the gospel and be sealed as a family in a year. Like with Claudia, I am grateful for the opportunity my Heavenly Father gave me to be part of their conversion experience. Knowing Carlos and Carolina has made me a better missionary and a better person. They are examples to me of faith and of willing to do whatever the Lord asks without excuses.  (They forgot to push the button to drain the font after the baptism, so I almost feel in trying to push it with this rod.)

Seriously, sometimes I think that Lord is changing my life more in the mission than changing the life of others. I am so grateful for this time I have to focus 100 percent on the blessings of the gospel and serving others. I am grateful for  the incredible blessing of have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and more importantly, having a testimony of it. I know it is the only way to true happiness.

The church is true the book is blue! Read it, and you´ll know just like Carlos, Carolina and I.

Love,

Hermana Patterson

PS-enjoy pictures of me enjoying Costa Rica!  

 eating wild raspberries on the mountain side.

After hiking for HOURS, we finally got to the cave.

 Hermana Stark! I love this girl!

 Standing in a freezing cold waterfall in a cave. Welcome to Costa Rica.