Meetin's

From May 27,2019

Hola y'all,

So we had about 100 meetings this week, but it was good.  Not a ton happened to say the least.

Us and the fam Cielo.  They are so funny and I love them.  We are eating Elote.  

Mexican Corn.  Mayo, Parmesean cheese, and tajin.  Don't knock it till you try it, y'all

But... once upon a time it was Saturday, and the sisters in Monroe called us and wanted to do a pass off lesson with us.  They had been teaching someone who spoke "pretty good English" for a while, and they wanted to go put him (Pedro) on date.  "Okay," said we.  We went, and not too surprisingly, he spoke NO English.  But that's beside the point.  He was cool.  SO great.  I don't know if you remember Santos, but he's a lot like him.  All of Pedro's family are members, and one of his sons is preparing to go on a mission this summer.  Sister Dibble and I chatted with him and his wife for awhile, and we asked him what his goal was.  "To be with my family and be included in the church." "Okay, so lets pick a date."  "Okay."  "How about June 8th?"  "Sounds great!" I love that.  So, moral of the story, Hispanics are awesome and prepared - they just need someone who can speak their language :) So, Pedro is awesome and we're really excited to be meeting with him and teaching him.  I wish y'all could meet him and his wife.  They're the best ever.

Sister Dibble and I after putting Darwin on date :)

We also had our ward Mother's Day activity. It was a blast and a half! And a bunch of the people we're teaching showed up! That was awesome.  They all had a great time.  The Elders Quorum was in charge of the food, so of course we ran out, but it was good while it lasted ;) Then they played some really fun games.  I've never laughed harder than seeing a bunch of really feisty Hispanic mothers play musical chairs.  It was intense to say the least! Haha I love these people.  A woman we are teaching named Cindy came with her son, David.  David and Cindy just got here from Honduras about 2 months ago, so he doesn't have any friends.  All the primary kids were running around playing tag, and he was just watching them.  I went up to one of our kids, and asked if he could play with David.  Without hesitation he walked right up and David immediately started playing with the kids.  It was such a heartwarming experience.  I LOVE these people.

This was at our ward party! From right to left: Yugo (sometimes called Cesar - I don't actually know) Noemi Caudillo, Ebony Kishi, Josh Dickson, Yo, Sister Dibble, and Anthony.  Some of my best friends right there, y'all.

We had zone conference this week, and as usual, it was a home run (as Dad would say).  President Adler has noticed some jealousy going on in the mission in regards to leadership positions. He has no time for that.  So he calmly and VERY clearly told everyone that leadership positions don't matter.  He asked us two simple questions and I loved them.  They were: "Did you help people become better? Did you serve the people you love?" Those are the kind of questions Heavenly Father is going to ask us someday, and if we can answer those honestly and well, it really doesn't matter in what capacities we have served.  Right now, my calling is to find, teach, and baptize.  Everyone else has different callings, but it all boils down to if we helped people become better and if we love and serve them.

Tanya and Sister French on exchanges

I sure love y'all.  Life out here is SUPER hot (93 degrees and 85% humidity) and SUPER awesome.  I really wouldn't change it for a thing.  Bless this place.  It's the greatest thing known to man.

Some more of my best friends at an escape room today :) 

We escaped, but barely and with 100000 hints.

Have a great week y'all

...and loving it
Hermana Belliston

Photos

From May 20, 2019

This was mothers day with Hna Keyling and her super cute kids

Tacos durados de la hermana Vizcarra, after a HUGE bowl of camaron soup

Some random pictures...

1 YEAR?????

From May 20, 2019

Hey y'all,

So this week I hit one year as a missionary!!! My word, heather, time is flying by.  I hate this.  But on the bright side I love being a missionary and am loving the 90 degree weather.  Here's a good way to know how I feel: run your dishwasher for about 10 minutes then stick your face in it.  It's 100 percent accurate of how it feels to walk outside.

Sister Jackman and I on exchanges.  She is one boss of a missionary.

Happy Day!

Josefina - one of our recent converts.  She's SO funny!

So, miracle of the week: DARWIN IS ON DATE. Who's Darwin? Yeah, he's from Guatemala and is amazing.  We taught him about the Plan of Salvation and he told us right off the bat that he wants to go to the Celestial Kingdom.  Of course we told him the only way to get there is by baptism.  We kind of ended on that note, but yesterday he texted us and asked if we could have a lesson (please tell me where that ever happens).  We said of course and we met at the church for a lesson with one of our members.  We started reading 2 Nefi 31:13 and he had questions about the Baptism of Fire.  We explained it and it all seemed to click in his brain.  The really awesome thing about him is that he gets it.  You don't have to explain it a lot. He just understands.  So then he began explaining how he wants to follow the Savior, so we invited him to be baptized on June 8th.  He accepted, but then it was so cute! He began to say that he wasn't sure about the schedule because he might have to work or he might have a meeting etc., etc., etc.  So we thought he was going to push it off to a different Saturday, but then he says,  "I'll make sure to have from 12-4 off for sure, so I can get baptized." Oh.  Well, okay, if that's what you're thinking.  It was awesome.  Then he prayed and asked for strength and guidance.  He works every Sunday and needs Heavenly Father's help to come to church, so he asked Heavenly Father to help prepare a way for him to go to church.  it was really sweet and such a good experience.  #miracles.

Anyway, so that was the biggest miracle this week.  I was so grateful.

In my studies this week, I read a talk and wanted to share a quote from it with y'all.  It's from James E Faust from October 1999.  He is talking about how Jesus Christ magnifies our efforts, no matter how small or pathetic they may be. “In our lives, unpolished though we may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and time again, ‘Don’t quit. Keep playing.’ And as we do, He augments and supplements until a work of amazing beauty is created. He is right there with all of us, telling us over and over, ‘Keep playing.’”

He will help us out, just as long as we are actually playing ;)

I sure love y'all.  being a missionary is the best and I really hope y'all get to experience it or have already experienced it.  It's the best thing you could ever do.

Sure love y'all,

...and loving it
Hermana Belliston

Si la pregunta es si creo, si creo

From May 13, 2019

Hola y'all,

First of all, the subject line.  "If the question is if I believe, yes, I believe" (it sounds 10000000% better in Spanish).  We knocked on this lady's door (Mirna) and at first she wasn't very pleased to see us and asked how long we needed to stay.  We promised her just 5 minutes.  She was kind of huffy and leaned against the door, and said "Digame." Tell me.  Oh boy.  So we started telling her about the apostasy and Joseph Smith.  Hna Dibble began reciting the first vision, and Mirna's whole countenance changed.  Her whole face softened and you could tell she was envisioning the account for herself.  We paused after reciting it, and she asked if she could share an experience with us.  She began bearing a very powerful testimony of how she knows that those experiences happen because she had a similar one.  At the end, before we could say anything, she said "si la pregunta es si creo, si, creo." Wow.  It was such a powerful testimony to me that The Restoration is the way to show people the power of the Holy Ghost and remind them of the things they already know.  And now we're teaching her. It was amazing.

Second of all, Feliz Dia de las Madres to all the wonderful mothers out there! Y'all are the greatest and I love you a ton.  Elder Holland said "To all of our mothers everywhere, past, present, or future, I say, 'Thank you. Thank you for giving birth, for shaping souls, for forming character, and for demonstrating the pure love of Christ.' To Mother Eve, to Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel, to Mary of Nazareth, and to a Mother in Heaven, I say, 'Thank you for your crucial role in fulfilling the purposes of eternity.' To all mothers in every circumstance, including those who struggle — and all will — I say, 'Be peaceful. Believe in God and yourself. You are doing better than you think you are. In fact, you are saviors on Mount Zion, and like the Master you follow, your love ‘never faileth.’" He always puts it better than I can.  I look at all the mothers here and all the wonderful people I've known in my life that have been like mothers to me and I just say thank you for everything.  It is such a special experience to be able to learn from you and your experience.  I'm really grateful for 6 older sisters and sisters in law for showing me how to mother the very important children Heavenly Father entrusts to them.  Y'all are the greatest.

Exchanges with Sister Walburger - she is serving in Kannapolis right 

now and is from Arizona.  She just got out on her mission and is super cute!

Hna Taniguchi - our exchange was SO soggy.  It was intense.  It poured sheets and sheets of rain.  

Basically you could drown just standing up.  I love North Carolina. 

Not a ton happened this week.  Just lots of missionary work. Gleyson (our Brasilian Rapper friend) and Francisco came to church!!!!! Woot.  I think it's probably the first time on my mission I've had 2 people at church.... It was awesome.  We had a lesson with Francisco and Hno Rivera.  Hno Rivera was late because he got out of work late and didn't have time to go home and change or wash his hands.  He came in his bright yellow construction shirt and big old work boots, and his hands were still caked with cement.  He and Francisco bonded because they both are super hard workers and understand each other. It was wonderful to see.  I love them. 

Dominican dumplings - no it isn't worms and yes,

 I'll make it for youwhen I get home.  Its SO delicious.

Well, I hope y'all have  a great week.  Life is so good :) Allergies are super real.  Our garden is still growing  :) Life is awesome. 

....and loving it
Hermana Belliston

What a Week!

Hola Y'all,

My word heather, this week was insanity.  Thank heaven for P-days ;)

This week.  Wow.  So, to start off the week, we had dinner with the Nataren's (T, he served in Macon, Georgia, like 15 years ago, but still cool anyway).  He is from Honduras and does Spanish rap with a Brazilian guy named Gleyson.  Hno Nataren's wife is from Brazil as well, so they do Portuguese and Spanish rap all together.  Anyway, Gleyson is this awesome guy - tattoos and piercings and the whole nine yards and genuinely one of the nicest people I've met.  We had a mini lesson where we spoke in Spanish and the rest of them spoke Portuguese.  It was intense.  But also SUPER awesome.  Gleyson wanted a book of Mormon so we brought them one in Portuguese and he's been reading it.  He's so great and we hope to begin teaching him more this week.

Tuesday was MLC.  It was so great.  I always learn all the things I should be doing better.  We learned how to teach and correct like the Savior did.  Sister Adler showed us the difference between when the Savior corrected the Woman caught in adultery and the cleansing of the temple.  It was very interesting and easy to see what we need to be doing better.
After MLC, President Adler stood up and just said "All Spanish missionaries.  My office.  Now." Ok so when a German says that it kind of makes you melt a little.  But we went in.  It was just Sister Dibble and I, Elder Rencher and Sister Jackman.  Elder Rencher is a zone leader in Gastonia, and he's Spanish speaking, but his companion isn't.  He takes care of all the Spanish elders, and UPDATE: we take care of all the Spanish sisters.  We didn't know that.  So now we go on exchanges with the hermanas in Piedmont!!! Woot! We went this weekend and it was awesome.  So, that's fun! Spanish Zone is a real thing now, we just didn't know about it until President told us.

So yeah, after that, we went on exchanges with YSA sisters on Wednesday night to Thursday night, then drove to Greensboro Thursday night and stayed until Saturday morning.  It was SO great.  I got to go with my trainer, Sister Powell, and see some of the members and knock some of the classic trailer parks up in Burlington.  It was awesome.  I loved it a ton :) I got to see Juan and Tanya again which was so good.  They've been struggling recently and they needed a little extra help so I was happy to be there.

Hna Powell and I, back with Juan and Tanya!!

With the Piedmont sisters and Spanish elders, we went and did a booth at an 11 acre flea market.  It was actually Mexico.  People were yelling and waving their goods and holding chickens and live crabs and all the things.  Literally, it was Mexico.  It was the best thing ever and I loved it.  We just walked around, talking to people about the Book of Mormon and giving them pictures.  It was so great. 

When we finally got back to Charlotte, we played futbol with President Adler and the assistants.  It was such a good week, just absolutely crazy!

Hna Powell and I saw this church sign when driving to an appointment and thought it was funny....

 until we turned around and it was in Spanish and was 10000% better 

(just because everything is better in Spanish)

I've been learning so many things.  I love my mission and can't believe I'm almost at a year.  It actually makes me sick.  But it's the best thing ever.  I love talking with the people and helping them come closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  I've begun to really take hold of the fact that I have the unique opportunity to be called as a representative of Jesus Christ.  Hna Dibble and I have been bold in inviting people to come unto Jesus by coming to church and being baptized.  Being a missionary is the best thing that's ever happened to me :)

Love y'all a lot.

....and loving it
Hermana Belliston

Feliz Cumpleanos!

Hola y'all,

Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes! Friday was such a blast.  We woke up and just did the regular things, then we got a knock at our door around 7:45.  I opened it and there were balloons, candy, 2 cakes and an iHop complete breakfast for 6.  The only problem was that there were only 2 of us to enjoy the 6 person breakfast.... But we made it through and gave the rest to the elders at LLC.  Shoutout to Josh Dickson, the best member known to missionaries.  We had dinner with Hna Figuerroa that night, and she also got me a cake, which was super cute of her.  Then, after English classes that night, Josh had set up the kitchen in the church with banners and balloons and 2 more cakes... that makes a total of 5 for the day.  Well....4 after my face got smashed into one of them ;) good times.  Devin and Josh surprised me with that, and today we're going to play Top Golf to finish it off.  Mission Birthday's are the best birthdays :) 

Birthdays on the mission ROCK!

That's Josh.  He's my fav.

I got my face smashed in a cake.  Such a fun experience.  

On Saturday, also to celebrate, we went to a Brazilian Steakhouse called Chimas.  My word heather.  It was intense.  Truly have never had anything so divine in my life.  I've never been to a Brazilian Steakhouse, so for all those who suffer from the same deprivation, let me describe.  It has a giant salad bar, but not just regular old lettuce and ranch.  Oh no.  It has seasoned beets, sauces from all over the world, eggplant salad (I passed on that one), wheels of cheese, fresh mozzerella, thin sliced meats, mini French bread loaves, and lots of other crazy stuff.  They bring out appetizers like Yuca rolls (divine) and fried bananas (it's like banana bread but without the bread part), and mashed potatoes that I'm sure are lined with something addictive.  BUT also these Brazilian guys walk around with HUGE sticks of meat and knives, and if you want something, you just kind of wave them over and they come and slice you off fresh steak or chicken or lamb or salmon.  The salmon had a passion fruit sauce.  My word it was awesome.  Would recommend to a friend.  Ooohhhh, they also had cinnamon covered grilled pineapple.... now that was actually to die for.  If I knew how to make it, I would.  That was the most magical place I've ever been to. 

 

And the rest of the week went really well! We met Denise this week, and we are now teaching her.  She is super sweet and wants to come to church and be a part of everything.  These people are so prepared.

We had an amazing lesson with Darwin this week.  He doesn't know too much about anything, which makes it really easy to teach him.  Hna Dibble and I have the same teaching style, so it's really easy to team teach and feel the spirit super strongly in our lessons.  She is a master teacher and I learn so much from her.  Anyway, we taught Darwin about the first half of the Plan of Salvation.  When we got to the end, we asked if he knew what the Atonement was and he didn't.  It was incredible to explain it to him and testify that there is One who knows everything we have happen to us and all the things we feel.  Hna Dibble testified of the power of repentance every day, that it's a thing that brings us closer to our Savior and helps us become new creatures.  We read Alma 7:11-12 and put Darwin's name in so he could understand the importance of Jesus Christ in his life. Darwin kept smiling and saying how everything we said just made him want to know more and find out more about it.  He's awesome.

The thing is folks, that I get to experience these things every day. Being a missionary is the best.  We sent home 4 sisters in my zone (2 because of health things and 2 because they finished out their missions) and my heart aches every time I think that this isn't forever.  

I wish all of you could meet Sister Tebbs.  She went home on my birthday (rude) 

and she is literally my hero.  I had the chance to live with her for 2 transfers 

and she was my Sister Training Leader for 3.  She is the best of the best. 

That's Sister Fessler and Sister Preator.  

They also went home and are doing great.  

I LOVE working with all the sisters.

Heavenly Father is truly involved in the details of our lives and He loves making miracles happen.  He loves to see us happy, but knows that we need to grow.  I love being a missionary with all my heart.  I love y'all.  Have a great week :)

....and loving it

Hermana Belliston

PS. sorry this email is a millennium long!

So, Mia hijacked the phone yesterday.  She's the cutest, but accidently 

took more than 300 photos in the space of about 2 minutes.  Bless her.

WE GOT WIFI!!!! every missionary in the mission now has it.  BLESSED.

Ya know, sometimes Hna Dibble does things... 

and I just don't ask questions. 

Ooohhh my word.  It was about 2PM outside, and these apartment complexes 

were seriously the sketchiest things ever.  My word I just about died. It was such a good time.

That's President and Sister Adler, bless them.  They're SO funny.

 

 

Well, Hey There

Hola hola y'all!

How is it happening over there? Not a ton happened this week, but it was nevertheless a good one.  We had two exchanges which was awesome and I loved it.  I went with Sister Hoffman to YSA for a day, then stayed here with Sister French for a day.  They are both super great sisters and it was fun to get to know them both.

Sister Hoffman and me - Sister Hoffman is actually a Salt Lake City missionary, 

just serving in our mission for 2 transfers.  They do something called Outbound

which is where the sisters get to serve outside Salt Lake and get a real mission experience. 

We got transfer news yesterday, and nothing is happening to Sister Dibble and I.  This is my fifth transfer here in Charlotte, and Sister Dibble is moving into her seventh :) Bless her soul.  We've decided we'll just be companions until the end of my mission.  There are quite a few changes in our zone, so we're excited to get to know different sisters and have a little bit of a different feel in our zone.

Story Time: so Sister French and I were knocking my favorite apartment complex (Dunlavin Way) and we knocked on this door.  A younger guy opened, and we told him who we were.  He got sooo excited.  "I know you! I took lessons from the Elders in Honduras and my family and I went to church! How do I get back in contact??" It was awesome.  And now we're teaching him.  In that same complex, we saw a dad playing with his son outside.  We went to talk with him, and after awhile I handed him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and told him it would help his family.  He looked so happy and took it gratefully, and began to tell me that all his family has been falling apart and he just wants to find peace.  Well, sir, there ya go.  We hope to begin teaching him soon.  THEN we had a lesson with Darwin.  He is awesome.  Our ward mission leader was there which was awesome, and he helped share a lot of great experiences which really brought the spirit.  Overall it was an awesome day.... until the whole entire zone called us.  So here's the story.  we had so many lessons and talked with so many people that we really didn't have time to mess with the phone all day long.  So we didn't.  But then when we got home finally after all our lessons, the Mattsons (the older couple serving in our ward) told us they'd called everyone in the zone, telling them we'd been kidnapped and were dead..... so that was a disaster.  But also a good laugh.  After that, Sister French and I decided to do facemasks, which was awesome.

Sister French and I....after a very long day ;)

Anyway, the rest of the week went well.  Not too many exciting things to report.  The work is really excelling in our area.  It takes awhile to gain Hispanics' trust, but once you have it, it never leaves, which is a huge blessing.

So this is a sign for a church.  I have no idea what it means.  

Something about Christianity maybe?.... we're still not sure.

I was reading all the different accounts of the Easter story on Sunday, and decided to read a little past in John, about the Apostles on the way to Emmaus.  I always think, wow, that's lame.  They spent SO much time together, and they learned from Him, but they didn't recognize Him.... I just kept thinking how weird it was.  Then I thought, well Sister Belliston, Christ has walked with you your whole life.... do you recognize Him all the time? So now, that's my challenge to you! I hope y'all can recognize Christ in your life.  He walks with us everyday, helping us out much more than we realize.  I love y'all so much.  I'm grateful for this Easter season, that we can reflect especially on what Christ did for us.  I love Him and know He lives.

I hope y'all have a wonderful week!
....and loving it
Hermana Belliston