(Hermana S.) Oh what a beautiful mooooooorning! (and by morning I mean week!)

Speaking of musicals, I miss them!  

This week has been great! Judith finally came to church, which was AWESOME. She loved it. We had a Family Home Evening with the Martinez family and Judith's family and it was a success because the Martinez's picked her up for church on Sunday. So great. One thing that's a little tough is that the members sometimes forget to welcome or introduce themselves to our investigators at church. It's a huge ward of like 200 but sometimes we as members are in our happy little Mormon bubble and don't want to leave our comfort zone. Never in my life had I ever thought of the importance of welcoming the missionaries' investigators, but, oh, how important it is! Please make sure that any time you see someone you don't know at church, welcome them! Introduce yourself! Get to know their story! By showing interest in their lives, we can perform a great service for our Heavenly Father by loving His children.

Also, this week we found some very, very awesome investigators. We found Griselda, a teacher who is willing to do whatever it takes to find an answer. She accepted a baptismal date and was going to go to church on Sunday, but she sent us message yesterday in the morning telling us that she could not because she was feeling sick. Yesterday, we fasted for a few different things, one being to find a family. Then in the evening we passed by Griselda's house to see how she was doing, but she could not accept us. They had just given her a shot because she was very ill. We decided to say a prayer with her son, Aldo, who is 21 years old . From Aldo we discovered many things about his life and the life of his family, and learned of many needs that can be filled by the Gospel. We taught the plan of salvation and he accepted everything with great reverence . He accepted a baptismal date and an appointment to visit with him and his mom this week. I know this is a chosen family! 

We also found a great new investigator named Ana Maria, who is also a teacher and is incredibly awesome. #weregoingtobaptizeher

Hermana Avalos is so great... but she is no longer Hermana Avalos, haha. She asked President to use her other name, which is Cevallos (se-va-yos) because it is the last name of her mom. But she is still cute as ever! We get along great and laugh a lot and have the same vision. I love being with her. Sometimes I forget I am training because she teaches me every day.

I loved the letter from President this week, which told us about Molango, that the Elders there just baptized a family this weekend. Molango is the farthest area in the mission and is a tiny little branch in the middle of a tiny little town. There are only 2 Elders there that aren't part of any district and sometimes go months without seeing other missionaries. But they Elders who have been in Molango in these past few months have done a great work. In 2015, there have been 11 baptisms of real converts. It is inspiring to me to hear this. It reminds me that in all of the world, there are the Lord's chosen that he has prepared - we just have to find them. May we press forward with this in mind, knowing that we are all part of this grand work! 

Love you all so much, 

Hna. Snyder

Aranza is leaving for her mission tomorrow! We are going to miss her!

 (Also, happy 4th of July from my outfit! :) 

 Three generations! (My trainer, me, a future trainer)

All the sisters in the zone 

Funny story. This kitty started following us down the road. We didn't want him to get squished, so we scooped him up. Then, after about 5 minutes of walking, we thought, "Annnd what are we going to do with this cat?!" Luckily, an investigator walked past us and with gave her the kitty to return to where we had picked him up. #tendermercies 

hahahahaha

(Elder S.) Rainy season

It was another great week in Japan. Except that it's rainy season and

it rains every single dang day. That's not too fun but I'm super glad

I bought a nice rain suit. We ate at 2 members houses this week which

is very rare. Elder Richards has eaten at a members house 4 times on

his mission and 3 were in the past 3 weeks, haha. The members here in

Takasaki are pretty great. Our goal this transfer was to work with the

ward members as much as possible, so we've been trying to visit and

talk to members every day. The bishop knows our plan to work with the

members and yesterday during testimony meeting he had all six

missionaries here stand up and he said something nice about each one of

us. He told the ward how much we need them and it was so awesome. All

the missionaries also got up and bore our testimonies. I'm super

excited to see what's going to happen.

Other than that the work was pretty tough this week. We've been

talking to everyone we see on the street and sharing our message. We

also knocked on a lot of doors this week but no one seems to want to talk

to us :(  Sometimes it's pretty frustrating but we just have to keep

going!

Something awesome did happen this week, though! Ishida finally received

a spiritual confirmation that the gospel is true. On Tuesday we had a

great lesson and afterwards he said he felt something that he hadn't

felt before and it was just a super happy and warm feeling. We told

him it was the Holy Ghost. The next day we asked him if he knew the

Book of Mormon was true and he said after what he felt the day before

he knew it was true. It was really awesome. I know that it was through

his faith and prayer that he was able to receive a confirmation of the

truthfulness of the Gospel.

I know this is the Lord's work. I know the Gospel is true and I love

sharing it every day here in Japan. Love you guys!

スナイダー長老

(Hermana S.) I'm a trainer!

Helllllllllllllllllllllllllo from Actopan! ACTOPOWER!

Well, it's official. I am a trainer. Whoohoo! My cute little trainee is Hermana Ávalos, from Tepic, Nayarit (on the west coast of Mexico). She is so great. She is so willing and so ready to contact the whole world and really help change Actopan for the better. We have the same vision and I love it. 

I don't have tooooooo much time right now, we got to the internet a little later than usual. But I'll try to give you the low-down of what's most important.

1. We're teaching Judith, who is AWESOME. The bad part is that for the 2nd week in a row, she didn't come to church. But we're going to have a Family Home Evening in half an hour with members that live close by her house and it's gonna be great. :)

2. We found a new investigator last night, Griselda, who is a rock-star. I am not going to lie, I thought the lesson was going to go a lot differently because the first time we met she made sure she knew she was Catholic and not going to change. She is street contact from Hna. Bustos and I and we had worked out a few appointments but they ended up falling through. Bu,t last night we taught her for the first time. She had read the Restoration pamphlet and understood just about everything. She said the opening prayer and asked that God would open her mind and heart to our message (who even does that?!?!). And sooooooo, she ended up accepting a baptismal date! YES! I felt so strongly during the baptismal invitation that she is going to be baptized! It's going to happen!!!

3. After a long day, where ALL of our appointments fell through, we decided to go to the last option of the night, Bishop and his family. We did an activity where we shared a short message and did an activity. For 10 minutes, we asked them to make a list of all of the people that they know. Everyone! After, we asked Bishop to say a prayer. We all kneeled down and he prayed for the Holy Ghost to direct them to know who of all these people is prepared to receive the Gospel. Then, we took fuve more minutes so they could put a star next to all the people that they thought might be ready. This week, we are going to go back to place specific goals and dates to help them invite their friends to receive us, go to church, or participate in an FHE. It went well, but I couldn't help but to feel a but lousy for the day that we had. Yesterday in church, Bishop spoke and he told us how he and his family had been praying for a way to improve in their missionary efforts. He said they felt like they had been sinning, as they weren't doing all that they knew they should. He said that when we arrived, it was an answer to their prayers. Now they know who is ready and what it is that they should do to help in this work.

Oh, family. I am happy! I am happy to be in Actopan, happy to be training, and happy to be a missionary! I love this gospel and am so grateful for the opportunity to testify of the Savior every day. In the Gospel of Jesus Christ, there is no reason to be unhappy! As soon as we remember the glorious Atonement, we can forget what upsets us and be immediately grateful. 

LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Hna Spider

New missionaries with their trainers

(Elder S.) Pickled bamboo and fish jello!

Dear fam,

It was another great week in Takasaki. My companions and I are great! They're so cool. We get along great and we're working super hard. This week we talked to anyone and everyone and it was so much fun. We've been thinking of new ways of finding people. and they're pretty great. In Japan,  just going up to someone and talking to them usually isn't too successful. You have to make them like you and feel like your friend, so we usually either do something nice for them, give them candy, or usually just try to make them laugh. My Japanese is getting way better already. It's been a blessing to have Elder Ito as a companion because it forces me to speak it and he corrects me when I mess up. 

So, President Budge leaves on Wednesday.. Bummer! He's so great. We had the last zone conference with him last week and it was awesome. I'm gonna miss him. Our new mission president is President Nagano. He's Japanese but has been living in America for many years. I'm pretty excited to meet him!

I finally had my first dinner at a member's house! Most of it was pretty good. I had pickled bamboo with fish jello... I can't say I'm a fan. There's a member here who bakes us dozens of cookies every week and they're so good. He tells us they're American recipes and he baked us 90 cookies last week just for the three of us... That's not gonna be too good for my diet.

Our investigator Ishida is doing really well and preparing for baptism. I'm super excited for him. His niece Michiko, though, is not doing so hot. In Japan they have a ceremony called Sado and I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I know they have to drink tea. She just can't imagine the thought of not being able to drink her tea because it's such a huge part of Japanese culture. But we're just having faith and teaching her and praying for her!

I love you guys and I love the gospel! I hope you're doing great. I'm doing awesome and loving being here in Japan.

Love,
スナイダー長老

 Jake needed some things sent from home after he got there. This is what the package looked like when it got to him. He was cracking up and said he loved all the stamps I put on it, but I didn't do it, the lady at the post office did. :)

(Hermana S.) I have news!

Hola familia!

News, news, I have news! Tomorrow we have transfers... Hermana Bustos is getting transferred. New companion tomorrow! Should be interesting.

Boy, oh boy... this week has been very good. I am so glad to have been able to finish my companionship with Hermana Bustos with a bang. We found 14 new investigators and taught 41 lessons, two goals that we have not been able to accomplish in this whole cycle together. This week, we contacted (minimum) 10 people every day (a standard of the mission), found at least one new investigator every day, invited to baptism in every first lesson, tried with all our might to only be in lessons for 45 minutes and meals for one hour, worked with the members... we gave 'er all we had! I am grateful to been able to finish up the cycle with this week. All in all, I am very thankful for the opportunity to be with Hermana Bustos. I have learned A LOT. These six weeks have been a refining process for me, and for that I am grateful.

This week, we were able to find a new investigator named Judith, who is AWESOME. The only not-so-awesome part is that she didn't come to church on Sunday. That's kinda sad, but the good news is that there's always next Sunday! One day, Hna. Bustos and I were walking down the street and there was a guy and his wife fixing a bike outside of their house. Initially, we walked past them. But afterwards, my comp. and I looked at each other and decided to turn around and present ourselves. They told us that they were Judith and Jaime, and that we would return another day. So, we did! We taught Judith about families and the nature of God, and it turned out to be a very spiritual experience. She accepted a baptismal date and committed to read the Restoration pamphlet. When we returned three days later, she had read the pamphlet and we taught the Restoration. When we returned to give her a Book of Mormon a few days later, she basically bore her testimony of the book after reading a few parts of the introduction. "I have a lot of faith in this book. I am so ready to learn more. This is already changing my life. I know that the truth is right here," she said, tapping the cover. WOW! I am so pumped for her!

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-01-002-earthly-father-heavenly-father?category=mormon-messages/mormon-messages-2013&lang=spa

Have you seen this video? Wow, so amazing. I watched it for the first time this week and cried. It reminds me so much of my life! Of my dad! Of the sweet countryside where I grew up! Oh how grateful I am for the men in my life: Dad, Grandpa Snyder and Grandpa Phil - all men who have taught me how to WORK! The hardest-working men I have met. And each one so big, strong, and tough, are all men who have also taught me that being sensitive to things of the Spirit, crying, and bearing a sincere and humble testimony are not signs of weakness but of spiritual strength. I love you!!!

I am so grateful for everything. For my family, for my friends, for the mission, for the Gospel, for my life, for the Savior. I love the motto of the mission: "Obedience is the price, faith is the power, love is the motive, the Spirit is the key, and Christ is the reason."

LOVE YOU!!!!!

Hna Snyder

Our sweet little inactive Ester, 68 years old and still kickin' it! 

She went to church yesterday!

 Just a few sheep to brighten your day :)

We love being missionaries!!

(Elder S.) First week back!

Hello family! It's been an awesome first week back in the mission field. President Budge gave me my assignment and told me I was going to Takasaki...which I knew nothing about. Then he told me my follow up trainer was going to be Elder Richards, who I was really good friends

with in the MTC! Whohoo, he's awesome! He is also training Elder Ito, who is awesome. Elder Ito is from Japan and speaks little English but he is so funny and a great missionary. It's a great companionship and we're working really hard to find new people to teach. I'm so excited for the rest of this transfer. I really think we can have great success together.

Right now we are teaching two really solid investigators. Their names are Ishida and his niece Michiko. They are 79 and 60 years old and live together. we teach them every day so I already know them pretty well. they used to fight a lot, but the Gospel is really changing them. it's so awesome to see! Ishida has a baptism date for next month and should definitely get there. Pray for them!

   It's so humid in Japan. I sweat like all day every day... Maybe that's a good thing if I want to lose         weight here, haha. The culture is so different, too. It takes some getting used to. My Japanese isn't        too bad. I actually think I can understand more in lessons that what I did the last time I was here,        which isn't a ton but I can usually get the gist of what's being said. I don't say much but I'll always      share some thoughts and my testimony. I'm learning a lot quickly with Elder Ito, too. Having a           Japanese companion forces me to use much more Japanese and he likes to fix me when I make a          mistake, haha.

This week I've really come to appreciate the power of prayer. There have already been times when I was in need of comfort and I knew Heavenly Father was right there to help me. Ii had one particular experience where I just needed a pick me up. I got down on my knees and said a prayer and when I got up I felt great and ready to get to work. I know the Spirit guides us when we're worthy of his companionship.

I love being a missionary! I love the gospel and how it transforms lives. I know this is where the Lord wants me to be. Wherever you are at right now, just strive to be better. We always have room for improvement. the Lord will bless you for your efforts. I love you all!

Love, Elder Snyder

スナイダ長老

 Real katsudon, just as delish as I remember! 

 We found a legit burger place. It was amazing!

 Awesome companionship!

(Hermana S.) Pancho's Baptism

Hellllllllllllllloooooo!

How is my beloved family? I'm thinking pretty great because YOU HAVE TWO MISSIONARIES IN THE FIELD ONCE MORE!!! Wow, I can't tell you how happy I am. I am so full of joy! Elder Snyder is going to get those baptisms going like crazy in Japan. He's going to be so great. New and improved. Wow! 

On Saturday we baptized Francisco! Whoooooooooo! It was a beautiful baptism. We arrived and Hna. Maricela and her husband were there cleaning the church. They are spectacular. They are ex-Jehovah's Witnesses but now they're just about the best Mormons you have ever seen! Hna. Maricela (mamá Mari) goes with us every week to appointments and is willing to help us with anything, anytime. It is so amazing to have a member like her. And when we got to the church, we went to the kitchen and discovered that she had cooked a meal for after the baptism. A MEAL for everyone! Seriously, she makes me realize that we shouldn't have to be asked to do beautiful things for people... we should just do it! Needless to say, the baptism was beautiful! Hna. Bustos and I sang and some people cried and Francisco gave a sweet little testimony and it was just so great. I am so happy to be a missionary. Even though it is dang hard sometimes, when I see the light of the Gospel in the eyes of Francisco or any of these other sweet people, it's worth it times 500.

Last night something awesome happened! We had a Ward Family Home Evening and so we decided to go knock doors and invite people 15 minutes beforehand (which works out great for us because out of the 3 companionships in the ward, the chapel is in our area:). I went with a family of new converts and we went a-knocking. The hermana had the idea to go invite an old lady that they always say "hi" to in the street but don't really know, so we went to find her house. She wasn't home, but beside her house there were two little girls riding their bikes and their dad there watching them. We decided to invite them, so they called down mom for the final decision (mom always has the final say:) and she said yes! But they didn't want to go with us to the church in the moment, so they said they would see us there. As a missionary, I immediately took that as a not-so-good sign, but we decided to have hope and headed back to the church. While Hna. Bustos and I were teaching the message, they came! It was so beautiful! We taught of the importance of the family and watched the video "The Things that Matter Most." They participated and we played games and it was great! A new family! 

I was able to give a talk yesterday in church and I was grateful for that opportunity. This might be an interesting thing to say, but right now, I am working on getting the ward to love us. Haha. This case study that I am going to attach really has made a mark on me. I am testing out some of the ideas and let me just say that I think it works pretty dang well. Right now, we have like 6 prospects for baptism that are all references or have connections in the church. GIVE THE MISSIONARIES REFERENCES!!!

Basically family, I just want to tell you how much I love you. You are my favorite people ever. This is going to sound dumb, but I don't remember which day is Father's Day in the US, so I want to tell you Dad how much you mean to me! I love you with all of my heart! You have always been an example to me of good, hard work, integrity, knowledge, patience, friendliness, and love. You are half of the reason I am who I am (Mom is the other half:) and for that I am so grateful. How I got so blessed to have you as a dad I don't know. But in allllll of the countries I have visited and alllllll of the great priesthood men that I have met, you are the best. I love you so much!!!

Have the best week ever, my beloved family! I love yinz!

Hna. Snyder

Pancho's Baptism

 Our little setup with Hermana Maricela