Pompas....I MEAN PAPAS!

Oh my goodness, this week was amazing! I have the best story to tell!

So a few weeks ago we were knocking, and we talked to this man and set up a return appointment for Sunday. We couldn't go back because the time of the baptism changed. So on Tuesday, we decided to go back and find the man again. As we were walking up to the door, a boy came out and asked us kind of rudely what we wanted and why we were there. We kindly explained to him our purpose and who we were. He asked us what we could tell him that would help him and we started to bear our testimonies. He then told us that he wanted us to come in and hear more of what we had. 

As we were talking to him he started to open up to us and he was just saying things that were amazing! We were scrambling for something to share with him because we wanted the lesson to be perfect. He was telling us how he knew that Heavenly Father was there and loved him. He said that he wanted to pray to Heavenly Father. We told him that when he prays he will be talking to Heavenly Father and he will hear and answer his prayers. We then had him pray and it was the most heartfelt prayer I have ever heard. It was about 5 minutes long. We were all crying, the spirit was so strong. After the prayer we asked him what he felt, and he said that he felt loved! We were so excited! He said that he was thankful that we could keep the promises that we said would happen. He then told us when he saw us walking up the path that he wanted to turn us away, but something told him not to. I was seriously in shock when he was saying all this stuff! At the end of the lesson he said that he knows this is the path that God wants him to take. My jaw literally dropped! We have another appointment with him today so we will see what happens!

We are working with some great investigators! We have a family named the Sanchez family and they have 3 boys. The missionaries here have been teaching them for 4 months so it has been a long process but we aren't going to give up on them. The mom and middle son want to get baptized so bad. The dad knows that it is true but I think he doubts himself a lot. They have been coming to church for the last 2 months! We have some other people that we are working with, but so many aren't married. This is such a big problem, but it is ok, I just have to be patient and know that Heavenly Father will put people in my life that are ready to hear the gospel. 

For Valentines Day, we did service at Salvation Army with Elder Lee and Elder Cooper. It was amazing! We feed a ton of people and Hermana Munyer and I also made cupcakes for all the missionaries and our investigators. Valentines Day means nothing in the mission field but it was still fun! 

So, I had another slip up with my Spanish this week! We were at dinner with a family in our ward and the lady asked what kind of veggies I like. I replied, "Pompas" right when I said it, Elder Belnap looked at me with wide eyes and started shaking his head and my companion started laughing. The lady didn't know what to do! I soon realized what said. I meant to say papas which is potatoes not pompas which means buttcheecks. Oops! Well it created a good laugh! 

Missionary work is amazing every single day. Our Zone Leaders asked every companionship to sacrifice something. Hermana Munyer and I leave the house everyday at 11 instead of 12 and we eat lunch at 10 so that we can leave. Because of this, we have seen so many miracles. I love this work so much, and now that it is starting to warm up!! YAY! I love Texas and I love being a missionary! I can't believe tomorrow I hit 5 months...where has the time gone!

I hope everyone has a great week! And thank you so much for the letters and packages for Valentines Day.

Con amor, 

Hermana Cattich

COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT

The Putz Family!

This week has been crazy but it has been so fun. Can I just say that I love this mission and I love being a missionary! So, I finally had my first baptism. The amazing Putz family from Lewisville was baptized yesterday. The father, mother and oldest son! It was amazing. I got to stand on the side of the font and help Hermana Putz out of the water! I gave her a big hug and I couldn't help but cry. It was the most amazing thing in my life. When they bore their testimonies at the end of the baptism, I couldn't help but cry. This family has just taken the biggest step to becoming a forever family. Hopefully in a year I will be able to go through the temple with them because I will still be on my mission!

Watching this family grow and change in the gospel was amazing! They were a referral from another city and they actually didn't want us to ever come over, but after we taught the for the first time, they wanted to be baptized. Heavenly Father really prepared them and they were so receptive to the gospel. The gospel changes lives and it brings hope to so many people, I love being apart of this work. Going back to my old area was fun as well. I saw a lot of friendly faces and some old missionaries. Hermana Munyer and I were invited to go to dinner with the Beard family in the branch, the Putz family and Hermana Vigil and her new companion. It was a great day!

This week was also crazy because it was our Branch Conference and I was in charge of the music. I had this musical number all planned out for the Relief Society but we got some snow so no one was able to come to the practices. Finally on Saturday night, the Branch President called us and told us that him and his wife could do the duet. Well on Sunday morning she woke up sick. The musical number didn't work out and I was scrambling to find another song. It was great!

There was also a huge lesson that I learned this week in preparing this musical number! So we had one practice at the church on Wednesday night but Hermana Munyer and I had a lesson at the church as well an hour before the practice. I thought that we would for sure be done with the lesson by the time we had music practice. The man that was coming for the lesson was so late. Finally he showed up at 6:35 and we were supposed to be somewhere else at 7. When he got to the church he just talked with everyone in the halls and we tried to get him to sit down so we could talk to him. I really started to be impatient. Finally at 6:52 we sat down with him. We started to tell him that today we were going to talk about the atonement. He started to cry and he told us that that is exactly what he needed to hear about. I was stopped in my tracks. While my companion was talking all I could do was think that this man really needed some people to talk to because he is broken and I am trying to race through this lesson. I felt so bad and guilty. That is not my purpose as a missionary. The lesson went long, but that was okay. This man is great and hopefully we can continue to work with him. I learned that I really need to love and make time for everyone, even if is an inconvenience to me because everyone is a child of God.

We also had a Zone Training this week and it was probably the best one that I have been to. My Zone Leaders and District Leaders are great! They always talk about things that I need help with and train on things that I need to work on. This work is so amazing and so is this gospel. Even when it is freezing cold outside all I want to do is knock doors... (never thought I would ever say that!) The missionaries in this mission are great and so are the people. Even if right now is a little slow, I continue to see miracles everyday. We are in the process of finding people but it has been great. The ward here gives us so many referrals here so that is nice!

I hope everyone has an amazing week!! Love you all and thanks for your support!! Happy Valentines Day!! Valentines Day means nothing in the mission, but I am sure that day will be great for someone!

Hermana Cattich

COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT

The Tale of the 4 Sick Misisonaries

First, I want you all to know that Heavenly Father loves you all so very much. We are all children of God and he has given us this life on earth to learn and grow. I know that sometimes it is difficult but Heavenly Father never lets us suffer alone. He is always with us. I feel Heavenly Fathers love everyday and I see miracles. It is amazing to have a calling where I can be an instrument in the Lord's hands and promise people blessings!  This week was great! Plano is so ready to hear and accept the gospel. We find people everyday to teach. So many people are looking for a place to belong and a church to belong to, it is amazing! Heavenly Father places people in our path everyday just to talk to and it is never just a coincidence that we meet them. We don't have very many progressing investigators right now but that is okay. We are trying to find more people to teaching so we are in the finding process.

This past week we (Elder Manning, Elder Belnap, Hermana Munyer and I) ate with a member. The food was great, of course there was beans so I knew that I was going to have a stomach ache later on that night. (That is usually my side effect of eating beans.) Well that night, I was totally fine. I was so happy, I thought that I had finally over come my bean eating problem. Well the next day Hermana Munyer and I were fighting for the bathroom. We then got a text message from the Elders asking if we were having any "side effects" from the meal last night? They continued to tell us that they were both having problems and fighting for the bathroom as well. All 4 of us got food poisoning! We were all stuck inside for a day. We had to teach English class though that night, so we all went to the church and tried to make it through a lesson. Food poisioning is always fun!

Other than that my week was great! Hermana Munyer and I were knocking in some appartments and a lady answered the door. She asked us if we were the "missionaries de los santos dias?" We both replied yes! She willingly let us in and was telling us how she had met with the missionaries back in Kansas but that her husband does not like our church. She has even been to church a few times and still reads the Book of Mormon. It was crazy! We have a lesson with her later on this week. We are also working with a family right now. They are what we like to call "eternal investigators" but we are really starting to work with them and have deep lessons. We are always bringing members to try and fellowship them. They are a wonderful family and they have such a strong testimony, they just need to take the leap of faith. That is a hard part for so many people, to leave their family traditions behind and start something new, but I know that they know that this church is true!

On Sunday, I have the awesome opportunity to go back to Lewisville and see the Putz family be baptized. I am so excited for them and I cannot wait to see them. They are my miracle family and I know that they are making the best decision ever. I am so proud of them!

I have such a strong testimony that this gospel changes lives. It makes people want to be better and it promises us so many blessings if we are obedient. I know that my family is forever and that the plan that Heavenly Father has for us is a plan of true and everlasting happiness. I am so grateful to have this gospel in my life. Thank you for all the support that I have! I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Hermana Cattich

COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT

It may not be on the mountain top or over the stormy sea...

HOLA FAMILY!! My goodness this has been a crazy week. Everything is new but it is all very exciting!! New companion, new area, new ward, new missionaries, new challenges and new experiences. It has been one crazy ride so far, but I just have to hold on tight! Saying goodbye to everyone is Lewisville was really hard. We had a FHE with the Reyes family and they gave me a bag from Ecuador. I started to cry and so did Hermana Reyes. I know that I will see them one day again. I made some amazing relationships with the investigators and members in the Lewisville area so it was really hard to leave, but I knew that there was an adventure waiting for me in Plano.

New companion: My new companion is Hermana Munyer. She has been out just under a year so we are both learning and growing together as far as our Spanish. I think it has been good for me to struggle with my Spanish instead of just relying on my trainer to speak for me. We had a little rough start getting used to each other and our schedules but we are doing great. Hermana Vigil just told me that I needed to make it until Sunday and then everything would be fine!

New Area: I am now in Plano. it is a cute little Texas town with a church on every corner. There are a ton of Hispanics here so there is some work to be done. It is an older town with a cute little main street. I actually live in an apartment complex where you have to be 55 or older to live in and missionaries have been living there for years. The apartment was disgusting when I first moved in but we spent 3-4 hours my first day here cleaning everywhere. My new address is:

Hermana Cattich

1604 Avenue L #13

Plano, Texas

75074

New Ward: I actually serve in a branch and there are only 40 members so sacrament meeting was a little interesting yesterday. It is a change from my last area for sure. I have a calling already and I am the piano player in Sacrament and Relief Society. That was a little scary and intimidating yesterday but it will be good for me to keep up my piano. it is nice though because there are only 2 sets of missionaries instead of 5 like my last ward. Elder Manning and Elder Belnap. Elder Manning has the same time in the mission as I do, he came out with me and Elder Belnap is on his home stretch. He has been out for 20 months. The Branch President is so funny. He had us over for dinner yesterday and they speak English, he was very welcoming so that was really nice. I met some of the members throughout the week when they would come out with us for lessons and stuff, and the ones that I met are super nice.

New Challenges and Experiences: Well my area also allows us to ride bikes!! WOOHOO!! I rode bikes for the first time on my mission this week!! Riding a bike in a skirt is a lot harder than it looks and after the first day my legs were killing me but it is good exercise.  Also, did you know that the Dallas mission has a Chinese mission?? And it is in my new zone. So we have Elders that speak Chinese and there is a Chinese branch. On Saturday night, there was a Chinese New Year Celebration at the church with amazing homemade Chinese food and music as well as dancing. It was so cool!! Plano is like a little melting pot, it is so fun.

We don't have very many progressing investigators but we are working a lot with the less active members to try and make this branch back to a ward. We have one investigator named Marta and we set a baptismal date last night with her. We are constantly finding and teaching people so that is good to practice my Spanish. My investigators from Lewisville, the Putz and Reyes family have all set baptismal dates. I talked to Hermana Vigil on Friday and she gave me the update!! The Reyes family finally got over their fear of marriage and they are setting a wedding date. I will go back to Lewisville on the 9th of February for the Putz baptism!! I am so excited for them, sad that I can't be there for them right now but I can't wait to see them in a few weeks!!

I hope everyone has a great week and I love you all so much. Missionary work is so rewarding and I love every minute. This past week, while we were riding our bikes, I was singing to myself, "It may not be on the mountain top, or over the stormy sea...." It is so true. The good old flat and huge state of Texas is exactly where I need to be!

Hermana Cattich

COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT

 

Heavenly Father's Timing!

Hello family and friends, 

Another week in the mission and this week was transfer calls! I am leaving the wonderful area of Lewisville and I am going to Plano! I don't know my new companion at all, I have only seen her once at a training back in December, so it should be exciting! We will have to learn how to teach and work together as we probably have different ways of doing things. I am excited for the adventure that is awaiting me in Plano! Last night and today I have been saying goodbye to members and our investigators. It is sad to say goodbye but I know that I will see them again when I visit my mission. I also know that my replacement, Hermana Bass, is perfect for this area! I will have my new address next week! 

For my last Sunday, we were able to have the Putz family with us! They stayed for all 3 hours and they love church. They have made so many friends in the ward and so I think they feel very welcome! We have set the new baptismal date with them so hopefully on February 9 I will come back for their baptism. I am so excited for them! They were so prepared to hear and accept the gospel. It is awesome to see how Heavenly Father prepares people and then places them in your life at the exact right time. The Reyes family proves to be more difficult every week. It is really hard, we are sadly thinking about dropping them for a little while. We have taught them everything and the kids and Hermana Reyes want to get baptized but they will not get married. We will just have to keep praying for them and I know that Heavenly Father has timing for everything! 

I am sorry I don't have much to say but I have gained a testimony of faith this week. When Heavenly Father closes one door he will open another! The Putz family has been the answer to our prayers. The ward has also been wonderful! This work is really moving forward and I am excited to work with some new people in Plano! 

Have a wonderful week and I love you all!!

Hermana Cattich

COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT

Grab somebody and tell them you love them!

Wow, this week went faster then the last. Transfer calls are already here this upcoming week. I cant believe it! This week my companion and I have experienced some up's and down's but I am reminded that, "Success is going from failure to failure without loosing any enthusiasm." Man, have I had to learn this lesson this week. One fun thing I got to do this week was service. A bunch of companionships in my zone go to an "Old Folks Home" and just talk to the residents and play games with them. Well this past time we were there for "Happy Hour" so we got to sing to all of them some really old songs, that not many of us knew like "Jericho Road" but they thoroughly enjoyed it. There was one lady in the crowd that started singing a song from her church and we sang it over and over again. It was so funny. The words "Grab somebody and tell them that you love them" were in the song and now that is all the missionaries can sing because it is stuck in our heads. But it was such a fun service activity, everyone was smiling and laughing.

 

Ok, now I will get down to the good stuff this week! Our investigators:

 

Reyes Family: We taught then the Word of Wisdom and they willingly accepted. They gave us their alcohol and coffee and we threw it out! It was great. The only real problem is they won't get married. This is the only thing that is stopping them. Hermana Reyes wants to so bad, but Hermano Reyes is afraid of another marriage failing. We are going to try and have the bishop talk to them and help them settle their differences so that we can move forward. We had to move her baptismal date back to Feb. 9th, so hopefully we can commit them to this date, if not they could be "eternal investigators", and we don't want that. They came to church yesterday and Hermana Reyes loves Relief Society. She wants to participate in all the activities and it is just so cool to see her smile.

 

Putz Family: We talked to them about the Word of Wisdom as well and they gave us all their Iced Tea. It was amazing. The Lord really prepares people to accept the gospel. The Putz family is so humble. They practically have nothing. They used to live in a nice house and had a booming business but the house caught on fire and clients never paid them so now they are really struggling for money. They live in a hotel and they don't even have enough money for toilet paper or hand soap. It is really sad, but they are always so happy when we come over. The mom calls us her "ninas" or daughters and she always gives us big hugs. They had to work yesterday (Sunday) because they need the money so they weren't able to come to church. We had to push back their baptismal date as well to Feb. 9th, so we hope that that date will go through. As we were walking out of a lesson with them one night, I just couldn't help but feel love for the Putz family. They are the reason that I am in Lewisville and it is families like them that I am meant to meet and teach.

 

Although this week has been hard, it has also been very humbling. I have had to put trust in Heavenly Father that he will help everything work out. He really does answer prayers and I can feel his love everyday. Everyday I wake up I am just so excited to get out, do service and teach people the gospel. It is a wonderful change in my life from worrying about myself and now I am worrying about other people, I guess that is how you get lost in the work. Its amazing to see how the gospel changes lives and gives people another reason to smile.

 

Transfers are this week and either Hermana Vigil or I are leaving. I will let you all know next Monday though. If you need to send me anything this week please send it to the mission office address. It is on my blog website or you can ask my mom. I hope you all have a wonderful week and remember who you are.

 

Love,

 

Hermana Cattich

 

COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT

Deme un abrazo!

Well family and friends HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope that all of your celebrations were wonderful and I hope that everyone is enjoying being back at school today! New Year's was like any other day in the mission field. We had to be in bed by 10:30and wake up and 6:30, but it was still fun. We had 2 of the other Hermanas staying in our apartment and we ordered pizza and got noise makers with hats! We then called everyone in our zone and wished them a Happy New Year. We woke up the next morning and continued to work, so not very exciting but that is okay! We continue to see miracles everyday. Yesterday we were able to have 9 investigators in church, 2 families. I think that they enjoyed it and could feel the sprit. We have really had to talk to our investigators about having faith this past week and the importance of being able to put our trust in Heavenly Father as well. I have had to learn this lesson too, I know that if it is meant to be, Heavenly Father will make it happen. Our job as missionaries is to testify to our investigators so that they can feel the Holy Ghost and he can testify to them. We really could not do this work alone.

 

Our investigators!

 

Reyes Family: They came to church yesterday, but the dad told us that he doesn't want to get married to Hermana Reyes. We are just so confused on what to do with them. She wants to get married and he doesn't, I think there is something that he is not telling us because he always goes silent when we bring it up. We brought the ward mission leader and a ward missionary with us to a lesson with them and they were able to talk to the Reyes family about the importance of marriage. (Sometimes it is a little hard to have 2 young girls talk to a family about marriage!) Both of the Reyes parents were able to receive priesthood blessings for comfort. I think it was a great lesson, but we just have to figure out how to get over this little hump. We were excited to see them at church yesterday as well even after both of the parents were sick. We will continue to work with them this week and we hope to come up with a solution for Hermano Reyes's doubts.

 

Putz Family: They came to church! It was amazing! They stayed for all 3 hours and Elder Sears told me that Hermano Putz was participating in Priesthood meeting. It was amazing because the dad is so into church. He sat next to me in Sacrament meeting and was singing all the hymns as well. I am so excited for them! They have 3 kids and they all went to their classes and I think they met some good friends. Coming to church for the first time is always a little overwhelming, especially when it is fast and testimony meeting, so I hope that now they are comfortable about church. We have a lesson with them tomorrow and we found out that they are married! This was the best news ever because now we don't have to worry about married licenses or divorce papers! After the lesson I told my companion, "Deme un abrazo" (Give me a hug!) We were so happy to hear that they are married! The Putz family is planning on getting baptized on January 26th, so we are really hoping that they can continue to keep their commitments and continue coming to church!

 

We continue to meet and teach new people every week. We are also teaching a couple from Honduras that have seen the new temple down there because it was built close to their house, so that was cool. We have taught them the first 2 lessons and tonight we are meeting with them again. The dad is the one that is holding his reserves because he is a 7th Day Adventist, but the mom doesn't like that church so she is willing to learn more.

 

This week was great! My district is wonderful and now we have new Zone Leaders! Just last week they switched every zone to be a bilingual zone so we got switched into a different zone. It will be interesting but I am excited for the training that we have this week. I feel like we are a lot closer to this zone. We all play sports together on p-days at the church. This week is going to be freezing, but we have some "hot hand pads" so hopefully that will help! Everything is going well and transfers are in 2 weeks, either Hermana Vigil is leaving or I am, so we will have to see!

 

I hope you guys have a wonderful week! Shout out to Sam MacKinlay, my cousin, who has finally arrived in Uruguay for his 2 year mission!! Thanks for all of your love and support and I love hearing from everyone! I am sorry that sometimes my Spanish is incorrect in my emails but, I am working on it! Love you all!

 

Con Amor,

Hermana Cattich

 

COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT