Nothin' Could Be Finer

November 23, 2019

Hola y'all,

Truly nothin could be finer than to be in Carolina at any time of the day, not just in the mornin ;) This week FLEW by. It was crazy but I loved it.  Lots of good things going on.  I have a lot to say, so bear with me ;)

First off, really funny story.  I mean, I think it's pretty funny :) So, after my departing interview with President, Sister Adler gave Hna Smith permission to go to the store to buy tights because its negative 6 degrees outside (jk - it's more like 40 degrees, but I'm cold).  So we went to Ross to buy tights.  We're standing in line, and a bunch of Honderan men are standing behind us, just getting home from work.  Little do they know that the two blondes in front of them speak Spanish.  Anyway, they're just chatting, and we're understanding everything.  I had a hot chocolate in my hand, and one of the guys in line said to his buddy "dile.  dile que es guapa, la que tiene el cafe." Hey, tell the one with the coffee cup that she's cute.  I thought I was so clever when I turned around, looked him dead in the eye and said, "hola, como estas?" If they could have gone pale, it would have happened.  They were so shook.  The one guy recovered and said how grateful he was to know that there were white people to tried to learn his language.  We actually ended up having a really great conversation about Honduras and about his family, but wow, they were so shook.  It was definitely a highlight of my day.

But the real highlight of the week was when President Eyring and Elder Stevenson came to the mission.  Wow! that was amazing.  On Saturday morning we got recruited to translate the morning session with all the stake auxiliary members from every ward and stake in the area of our mission.  There were a ton of people there, but we just had to lock ourselves away in a little library and speak into a micraphone so the people who didn't understand English could still participate in the training.  It was really fun and a great way to measure your progress over the course of 18 months.  Then later in the afternoon, we got together as a full mission.  It was so intense.  We got there 45 minutes early to set up for the picture, and we had to be 100% silent.  When a German man tells you that, you obey.  So there were 171 of us in the gym, trying to be quiet setting up.  Then we took the picture all together, and then President Eyring wanted to shake each of our hands and look into our eyes (quote from him).  It was amazing.  He only took abut 10 seconds with each of us, but in was truly incredible to take his hand and feel his spirit.  It was great shaking Elder Stevenson's hand as well. He just said thank you over and over and over again. Elder Montoya was there as well, and he said gracias por aprender mi idioma. Wow, I love these people. The main topic of discussion the whole time they were here was Heavenly Father's love and how we can communicate with Him through the Spirit. I'm not sure what topic was talked about which day, because we heard him speak 3 times, and I translated 2 of those times so I kinda got lost, but it was really amazing.  Something that struck me was that the Spirit has known us for a very long time. He knows how to communicate with us, we just have to learn how to communicate with him. I was impressed at the simpleness of the testimonies they bore. During the meeting with the stake presidents, they were able to do question and answer time. Of all the questions asked, they would always simply say ask Heavenly Father.  He'll let you know through His spirit what you should do. Talk about spiritual self reliance. It really struck me that it's up to us to receive our own answers and have the spirit in our lives.

Well y'all. It's been real. Missions change you. I have thought a lot about the love and charity you get to feel as a missionary. It's pretty amazing. I love the Lamanites. Miracles exist y'all. That's all I can say ;) I know that Christ is the Savior. He loves us and wants us to come back to Him and He's made it possible for us to do that. I love being a missionary. The knowledge we have is priceless. So many people don't know about it and it can bless their lives in more ways than they can even imagine.

...and I've loved it

Con mucho amor y hasta luego,
Hermana Belliston

The last photos...

Dinner with my fam here in Carolina del Norte: 

Kelly Turrubiartes, yo, Hna Smith, Anthony, Mario, Michael, John, Freddy.  

The Reginos are our parents, and we're just a bunch of siblings.  It's a blast and a half.  

And the mission wide conference with President Eyring and Elder Stevenson.  

It was amazing to have all of us there at the same time with them.

Last exchange with Sister Gakawski, our sister assistant.  

So one day we were about to go knock a door and I looked in the rearview mirror and saw 

that the Christmas Tree smell thing we have, alighned perfectly with my face so I had to take a picture. 

Sorry, really random picture of our dashboard, but isn't that the cutest acorn top thing 

you've ever seen? I have an obession with smashing them because they make a great noise.

Spanish Sisters at the conference with Elder Stevenson and President Eyring. 

Sister Smith and I were walking and found a place with 

really good lighting so we had to take a pic.

Our district: Elders Luna and Bouck, Us, and the Mattsons

Dinner with Devin at Tacos el Nevado.

Pina colada with familia martinez.  

They are awesome and I love them to death.  

This is how Sister Smith feels about her life all the time.

Dinner with Fam Turrubiartes (one of the 10): Hna Mireya and her kids, 

Ximena, Jassel and Christofer, Hna Sandra Turrubiartes and her esposo Eduardo.

Dinner at Ishi with Josh, Anothy, and Mia after 

translatingfor the stakes in the area on Saturday.

Our zone! Sisters: Smith, yo, Halverson, Johnson, Nilson, Butterfield, Masten, and Stepper.  

Elders: Stone, Christenson, Berry, Elis, Grosbeck, Keller, Evans, Fausett, Merrill, Cook, Stuart, and Dewey.  

And photos sent from the mission office to Hermana Belliston's parents:

"Sorry to say this... See you next week."

Hermana Belliston was short on time this week and asked if I (her mom) could send on a couple of thoughts. She is striving hard to "sprint" to the end of her mission and is having some wonderful experiences. She was a tiny bit emotional this week as she spoke about leaving her favorite people, those that she has grown to love so much. I didn't detect much, if any, excitement in her voice when she apologized and said, "I'm sorry to say this Mom, but I'll see you next week."

Some of Sister Belliston's recent thoughts:
 "Coming to the close of a mission, I start to realize how fast time has gone and wondering if I've done anything good or if I've actually been able to help my Heavenly Father.

 "This week was really good.  Lots of good things happened.  We were able to see some pretty cool miracles.  We just talked and taught a lot of lessons which was amazing.  I just love being a missionary.  I can say that it has been a refiner's fire, but it's been so good. It's been amazing and so fulfilling. It's a very humbling experience to be a missionary.

 "It was really sad to say goodbye to Cindhy in a way, but, wow, I know how much Heavenly Father loves her and wants her to be happy.  She can be, as long as she makes some changes in her life. 

 "Funny story- one of the sisters in our apartment got head lice. I almost died because it was so funny!! I mean I felt really bad, but she washed her hair in mayo, then had to get some special shampoo and I just thought it was so funny. Sister Smith almost lost her mind because she was convinced that she was going to get it as well. I just laughed the whole time! So funny."

A few photos from North Carolina:

Sometimes we take pictures of how bad our parking jobs are....

So we were talking to the zone leaders and the phone 

wouldn't work unless I held it out the window :) 

Fall is officially here!! 

Yeah, so that thing that was bothering you was the Spirit

Hola Todos,

The reason for the subject line was something that happened this week.  This lady we taught for about 7 months has been on my mind lately, and so finally I said something to Hna Smith. "I just keep thinking about her and it's getting obnoxious so I guess we better go." She agreed and we went on Friday.  The gal opened the door and got this huge grin on her face.  She asked us where we'd been and why we hadn't been so see her for awhile.  We had a great lesson with her.  She explained she usually isn't home on Friday, but today she decided to take a break and just stay home! It was awesome.  Anyway, we got back in the car and I just died laughing because I can be so hardheaded sometimes and just completely ignore the impressions I get.  Sister Smith turns to me and goes "yeah, so that thing that was bothering you was the Spirit." HAHA - it's really humbling when your trainee trains you ;)

But this week was seriously awesome.  Such a good week.  The highlight of my week was visiting Cindhy.  We're still working to get her back on date, but she's still as solid as ever.  She told us that someone wrote to her and told her she had sold her son to our church.  She looked annoyed as she said that it didn't bother her, but that it was frustrating because she knows how she feels, and wishes everyone else could feel it as well.  One of Cindhy's favorite things about the church is that if she has a question, we tell her to ask Heavenly Father about it.  Anyway, we kept talking with her, and we got into a discussion about the Spirit.  Out of the blue, she looks at us and says "se que tienen el espiritu, porque si no, no estuvieran aqui." I know you have the Spirit, because if you didn't, you wouldn't be here.  Wow.  That struck me hard.  It gave me a lot of happiness because I know she's learned to discern the Spirit for herself and how he speaks to her.  And it was a good reminder that I do have the Spirit! Not only would I not be at Cindhy's if I didn't have the Spirit, I wouldn't be on a mission without it.  These people teach me more than I'll ever teach them.

We also went on exchanges in Piedmont again and, wow, it was a blast and a half.  We had such a good time! The first day I went with Sister Dibble.  OH MY.  I love her and have missed her!She's an amazing missionary who has changed my life.  The next day I went with Hna Bucknum who is also an incredible missionary.  I was able to see Hna Giron from the branch and she is amazing as well.  She bore her testimony and told us her conversion story.  If I can be half the woman she is, I'll be content.

We also went to Greensboro on exchanges with Hna Dibble and her new 

companion, Hna Bucknum. On the night of Halloween, we set up Christmas! 

This week we had a great companionship study.  I was telling Hna Smith about how during my prayer that morning, Heavenly Father helped me see some things that I needed to change.  Hna Smith asked me how I knew it was Him and not just me.  I thought about it, and then realized something.  It was such an epiphany.  I said, "Well, I know it's Heavenly Father because He's a lot nicer to me than I am.  If it had been me telling me what I need to improve on, it would have been a lot more harsh." Hmmm.  That is so absolutely true.  Often, we are a lot harder on ourselves than Heavenly Father wants us to be.  He wants us to be happy.  We make ourselves miserable by seeing all the endless things we have to change and do better, and Heavenly Father can help us see the things we do right and quietly correct the mistakes we make.  I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows exactly how to help us improve and grow.  

....and loving it
Hermana Belliston

It was a good week for taking pictures;) 

We went ice skating with the Hna Cruz and her wonderful family. 

I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. It was a blast and a half!

 

 I took Hna Smith to the most magical Mexican restaurant, El Taco Veloz.

 It was amazing! She even liked the food ;)

Intentionally Trying

Hola y'all,

Cool story.  We've been having a hard time finding new people to teach. It's been a really long time since we've found someone new, and Hna Smith kept feeling like we ought to go see a lady named Francisca , but our week was already packed, so she prayed about a specific time we should go see her.  The next morning, she got up and said, "we need to see Francisca at 4pm." Okay, so that's what we did.  One of the coolest moments.  We drive up, and Jose (Francisca's husband) and his friend were sitting outside just chatting.  We parked the car, and not 10 seconds later, Francisca pulls up in her car with her son.  Prayer is real.  We had a lesson with them, though it was nothing phenomenal.  Heavenly Father answers prayers in very specific ways sometimes :)

Right after we saw Francisca, we were knocking some doors round about, and an old guy called us over.  We talked with him for a couple minutes, then he looks at me and goes, "Excuse me ma'am, are you pregnant?" I was pretty taken aback, but I said, "no, I'm not." "Oh okay.  It's good to have meat on your bones!" It was a pretty sneaky way of telling me I was fat.... haha but I just about died laughing.  Good ol' Dennis.

This is Fam Vargas from Guatemala.  She cleans Steph Curry's dad's house, so that's awesome ;)

Yesterday night we got home and were making some dinner.  Sister Halverson and Sister Johnson were home, just chilling in their room.  All of a sudden Sister Johnson shrieks (I have never heard someone yell louder) and both Hna Smith and I run in to see what on earth is going on. Giving them a little credit, it was the largest cockroach I've ever seen.  It was on their wall and they were trying to get it outside by trapping it with a cup. I just died laughing as I watched them try to catch it.  Good news - eventually they did and now it's outside.

Anyway, the highlight of the week was the primary program.  WOW, I love kids!  Cindhy's son Carlos David and his friend Nilmar both participated, and it was the best thing ever.  They sang with huge smiles on their faces and gave great parts about baptism.  I think the highlight for me was when little Mia got up very first and said "Soy una hija de Dios," and got down.  She's 3 and said something that a lot of 80 year olds don't know.  I loved it.  I couldn't really understand anything the kids said, but it was so great and I loved it.

This is Nilmar and Carlos David, my homies.  They both looked so sharp in their white 

shirts and bowties, and they both were pretty proud that they looked like members ;) 

I have been rereading a lot of the conference talks from this past conference.  I particularly liked Elder Uchtdorf's talk.  At one point he said "Discipleship is not about doing things perfectly; it's about doing things intentionally.  God knows you are not perfect, that you will fail sometimes.  God loves you no less when you struggle than when you triumph." I love that.  I am certainly not perfect and I take a lot of comfort knowing that as long as I'm trying, Heavenly Father accepts that.  I know that Heavenly Father always loves us and wants us to be happy.  He makes everything work out, even if we don't see it that way.  

Life is good.

....and loving it
Hermana Belliston

Donde este, echele ganas

Hola Y'all,

This week was crazy.  Lots of things happened! We dropped Hna Dibble off at the office on Thursday! After nine months of serving with one of the best missionaries I know, it was time for her to go to blessed Piedmont.  We took lots of pictures with our favorite people and just generally had a good time.  The whole ward is very concerned to know if we're doing alright because it's been such a long time! But it's all good. 

This is the Spanish Equipo de Hermanas.  Hna Bucknum, Hna Smith, me, 

Hna Dibble, and Hna Workman.  Hna Workman just went home, so now it's down to four.

Terrific Trio

This week, we went out to breakfast with Hna Cruz, Hna Vizcarra, Cindhy, Carlos David, Jefferson and Kaylin.  They were soooo funny.  I just about died laughing the whole time.  Funny story, though - Cindhy ordered coffee, and we hadn't taught her about the word of wisdom yet. Well, Hna Vizcarra told her about it, and Cindhy told us she'd never drink it again.  Well, that was way too easy.  We explained the Word of Wisdom more in depth the next day, and she bore a very powerful testimony to us about the truthfulness of the Gospel.  She explained that she was talking to her mom and daughter who both live in Honduras about the Gospel and about how it's changed her life and the life of her son.  She sees the fruits of the Gospel.  She said she particularly loves how we never tell her she HAS to believe something that we teach - we always teach her to pray to Heavenly Father to see if it is true.  She said her mom questioned the Book of Mormon, and Cindhy just said "you can't say it's not true.  Read it, and pray to Heavenly Father to know that it's the word of God." It was a very sweet experience to hear her testify of the truthfulness of the Gospel.

Camila and Neftali were confirmed this week which was amazing! They were both so happy to finally be full members of the Church and they know that it's true.  Their simple testimonies are the best you can get. 

Well, this is the best thing to be doing.  I know this work is the work of Heavenly Father.  He is the Master Planner.  He is so detail oriented and never forgets a thing! Sometimes things get hard, and sometimes we can't see the reason that things happen, but He is 100% in control.  He knows exactly what's going on, and truly desires to help us if we'll just ask Him.  That's all He asks.  We visited Hna Cielo this week, and her counsel for Hna Dibble was "donde este, echele ganas" which basically means, "wherever you are, do your best."

I love y'all and hope you have a great week :)

...and loving it
Hermana Belliston

Words of Eternal Life

Hola y'all,

Oh my what a week.  Something super powerful.  It was crazy and flew by so fast.  But here we are, at another Monday!

First off, we got transfer news yesterday! Hna Dibble, after 10 transfers in this area, is heading up to Piedmont for her last transfer, leaving Sister Smith and I down here in Charlotte :) It'll be a blast and I'm ready to love it.

On Saturday after the women's session, we were watching it with Daisy Cruz and a bunch of hermanas from the ward.  After, we let them know that one of us would be leaving and they gave us five minute hugs and just let us know how much they loved us and how much we mean to them.  It was really sweet and made me remember how much I love these people and how much they mean to me.  They are the greatest ever.

We were able to see Camila and Neftali get baptized on Friday! Camila's baptism was early in the afternoon so she could get to a dance performance, and she was SO excited to get baptized.  She has been waiting for such a long time and it was a dream come true for her.  I've never seen such pure desire in anyone in my life. Something special with that is that Mario got to baptize her.  I also was able to witness the baptism, and it was phenomenal to watch her come up out of the water, SO very happy.  Neftali also got baptized on Friday, just later that night. She was also very excited and it was fun to watch her give a tour of the church to her friends that she brought.  It truly is a really beautiful thing to watch people make covenants with Heavenly Father.  Heavenly Father is aware of each of us and exactly what we need to be able to come back to Him.

Also, General Conference was incredible.  I have such a strong testimony that President Nelson is a Prophet of God.  He truly speaks exactly what Heavenly Father needs him to say.  Their role is crucial in our spiritual progression and I know that to have a living prophet is such a blessing and necessity.  I loved the focus of conference of being focused on making ourselves holier. I know that it is so important that we do that. We can do that as we continue to listen to them and sustain them.

So I'm not allowed to email photos of baptisms, so if you want to see any, ask Mom :)

This is us watching conference at Denisse's house :) It was a blast and a half!!

Well, I can't believe it's gone by so fast, but I'm starting my last six weeks in the mission.  If y'all have any advice for me, PLEASE send it this way.  I could really use it.

....and loving it
Hermana Belliston

"He is on my side and I don't have to worry."

September 30, 2019

Hola Y'all,

This week went really well.  Lots and lots of meetings! Mostly just meetings....

We were able to have quite a few lessons with our people, and just as an update, Karla, Cindhy, Carlos David, Camila, and Natalia will all get baptized this month :) They are excited and I can assure you I am!  We've been working with all of them for a pretty long time.

This week, we had a phenomenal zone conference.  President talked about making our prayers more meaningful.  One thing he mentioned was that we kneel next to our bed, and envision our Heavenly Father sitting there next to us, listening to what we have to say.  He encouraged us to talk to Him personally and let Him know how much we love Him.  At the end, he asked us to ask our Heavenly Father what we can do for Him, and then get off our knees, ready to obey whatever He asks us to do. I've been doing that lately and I've been loving it.  I know that He answers prayers.  He's on our side and we don't have to worry.

We had a Mission Leadership Council, and Elder Martino came and spoke to us.  

He was incredible and gave us so many great ideas on how to become better missionaries. 

We got to go to Fahrenheit this week which was a blast.  

That's where all the good views from Charlotte come from :)

Fam Cielo! They are the best old couple to exist.  They are so great! 

They gave us a Spanish lesson when we ate with them and it was the best thing ever.

We also had Spanish conference and Hno Sabogal and his wife 

from Greensboro cooked a Peruvian dish for us which was amazing.  

Niurka and esposo. They are so sweet and we love them to death.

Our English class! Only two came on Thursday but we took a picture anyway

Sorry for the short email! There's not too much that happened this week, but that's the best stuff :) Love ya lots!

On the road to Damascus... Had to have this picture.

...and loving it
Hermana Belliston