3 months or 3 days?

Peeps! How are you all doing?

Can I just tell you that you are all the best and that my mailbox is literally flooded with love. I have never had this much mail or love before in my life!! You are all SO awesome!

 So, I have been gone for 3 months already... only 15 months until you all have to deal with me again.. And let me tell you, it is flying!! Maybe because we are so busy!... We just set a baptismal date with a couple,Carmen and Josue and before they get baptized, they also need to be married, so we are planning a wedding as well. They are so humble and awesome! We are constantly finding and teaching people in the most random places that you would not believe! It is awesome. 

  I had a really awesome experience with the Book of Mormon this week. I did my personal study in the morning like always, and later that day we went to go visit an inactive family that we didn't know anything about. To our surprise, they had left the church a long time ago, and now they're Catholic. They said that members of our church don't recognize Mary as being special, or chosen. Right when they said that, I remembered the very verse I had studied that morning in Alma! "....she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God." --Alma 7:10 I was able to share that with them, and it was so awesome. My institute teacher, Brother G always says that your morning studies in the scriptures are specific to things you need to know that day, and can use that very day, and it is so true! If you want direction in every single day of your life, open the scriptures! I learn every day that nothing is coincidence. My friend told me that my mission would be for other people, but mainly for me, and it's so true. I came here to teach, but every day all I do is learn. 

    Heavenly Father has a plan for each one of us, and all we need to do is trust in Him. We can make sense of all of our trials and problems if we just remember why we are here on this floating ball of Earth.. to learn and grow! Life is awesome, because we have a Savior who makes it so that we don't need to worry. The bands of death are broken. All we need to do is come unto Him. I am so grateful for his birth. Merry Christmas, friends and loved ones. Pictured below... well, there were literally 10 cats originally behind me, but 8 of them ran away when we pulled out the iPad to take a picture.. 

Have a blessed Christmas! I love you all. Thank you so very much for all of your support and love! 

Love always, Hermana Sheirbon

lds.org

The Koontz's

Missy & Matt Koontz in TX

If you ever want a real image of what I do here, just basically picture me driving around a jeep, visiting people, teaching them in Spanish, and eating tamales from strangers, spending half the time praying, and repeating this over and over.. Haha, probably not what you expected! Oh my my, this life is crazy! Today is the beginning of my second transfer, and one of my trainers is leaving! These days and weeks just blur together. It has been an amazing journey so far! I already know exactly why I was sent to this mission, and it keeps unfolding before me. 

Something I love, that I am gonna steal from Hermana Winfield is that it doesn't matter how many times you fall, as long as you keep getting back up every time! And that is so true! The atonement of Jesus Christ makes this possible. When we fall, he is the one right there, ready to pick us back up. I was so grateful to see my best friend's awesome parents this week at temple this week. They are the best! Heavenly Father is always mindful of us, individually. He is mindful of you. 

I love you all. Thank you for everything! 

Love always, Hermana Sheirbon

Hermana Renteria and I last night at temple tours! :)

He is the Gift

"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" 1 Peter 1:7 

I just want to testify to all of you about the way that the Lord brings us low so he can lift us higher and higher to levels we have never before been. I just invite you to contemplate this verse in the bible, this week, thinking about the ways you have forgotten to trust the Lord, or the times when you have felt uncertain. This week many miracles happened in my life, things I never expected on a mission. I thought I came here to teach others, but the Lord is just teaching me. Isn't that the way it always ends up? I am filled with joy and rejoicing at the coming of the celebration of the birth of the Savior. He is the light and the gift to the world. I love you all so much. 

This world is not easy, but it is beautiful. Thank you for all that you do for me. Thank you for all of the letters and times you have reached out to me. You all bless my life more than I can say. Have an amazing week, and remember how much love the Lord has for each of you. If you search, you will see his hand. 
Love always, Hermana Sheirbon

Whew! :)

Satan isn't playing around! Sometimes we may feel as though we are trapped, like we cannot get out, like there is no hope, like everything we have ever done is wrong and there's no possible way to resolve our heartache, and I want to tell you that this feeling is from the one who wants all of us to be miserable, and feel bound! That person is Satan, and he is always working. Always. Especially when we are trying to do great things, and serve the Lord. So if you have ever felt this way, no matter what you are going through, remember the beckoning call of the Savior, who says "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28).

     I wish I could tell you that I was a perfect missionary and that I always smiled and felt ready to talk to everyone on the street and shine forth, with the Book of Mormon in my hands, leading the way, but that is not the truth. I struggle, and often feel inadequate, and these past few weeks I have questioned every single decision that has led me to be in this middle of nowhere town in the middle of Texas, knocking on the doors of strangers....But the miracle is that they let me in, and they let us talk to them, and though they are not speaking my language, I can understand some things, and I can testify of Christ, and invite them to find rest in Him. And that's good enough for me. I am so grateful for the struggles I get to deal with, and that I get to grow and change. I don't know everything, but I know that The Holy Ghost will always testify of goodness, and comfort us in times of need, and all we have to do is trust in God. 

     I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving. I am grateful for the love of each one of you. You all are an inspiration to me, and have helped me become better. Every single one of you!    
 "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." -Alma 26:27

Have an amazing week. Change the world! 

Love, 
Hermana Sheirbon

Small blessings!

November 17, 2915

Everyone! The Holy Ghost is awesome! :) Just a simple story: This week my trainer took out a map and told me to choose a street that we should walk down and contact people, so I did, and just as we got to the street, I pointed to the house we should go to and just as we started walking up to the doorstep, a man biked up to the porch and we got to talk to him about the gospel! We were able to come back a few days later and begin teaching him. The Spirit is real! Just a simple miracle I wanted to share. :) 

Hey Y'all!

November 9, 2015

I am here! I live with the cows and the rolling fields in the middle of nowhere, and it definitely feels like Texas! Things are different in the South. That's for sure! And I love it!!! Sure, I may not understand anything people say to me in Spanish, but the Lord will help me with that and it will come with time.

My trainers are just so nice! Hermana Woodard is from OREGON! Eugene! Isn't that crazy? And my other trainer, Hermana Renteria is from Mexico! They both speak Spanish so well, and hopfeully I will get the hang of things since I have such awesome speakers. We live in Hempstead, Texas, and our area is called "Waller". It is like the only area here where missionaries teach in Spanish AND English. So, I don't feel totally lost all the time. We have two wards we're over, Spanish and English.
 Let's see, this week, I made homemade tortillas with a recent convert, Lois, who loves Elvis more than ANYTHING. She is very sick and we came over to help her clean her house because her friend is coming to stay, and she's stuck in a chair so she can't do much on her own. We came into her house and she was just jamming out to Elvis! I love it! We found a new investigator, Tina! We got a referral from her stepmom and just showed up at her door one night and talked to her for a long while. She wants us to come back and teach her. I am sooo excited! 

I have already been to the temple 3 times, only because in my mission we give tours around the temple grounds and one of my trainers did it yesterday evening. The Houston temple is so gorgeous. I cannot state that enough. Especially lit up in the evening. I felt The Spirit so much, just walking around.

We also taught English classes this week! So cool! You know I love doing that, except this time, it's Spanish to English instead of Russian to English. I am excited for this week and everything ahead. So much of the Lord's work to do!

I just want to say how much I love you all and everyone here..My Savior is helping me every step of the way. Thank you SO much for all your prayers! This week I learned that the best way to be a missionary is to be a friend to everyone, just as the Savior was. I am so grateful for his example.

Love you always, Hermana Sheirbon

WRITE ME: 38860 Wyatt Chapel Rd

                   Hempstead, TX 77445

If you want to know what's going on in my mission, you can always visit this blog: http://texashoustonmission.blogspot.com/ 

Hey Vancouver North Stake Friends....
Sister Madi Selee and I are gonna be companions tomorrow! Woohoo!! We are going on exchanges cause my trainers are sister training leaders. Isn't that cool? Expect pictures of your Vancouver sisters together! :) 

TEXAS TOMORROW

November 3, 2015

What more can I say? This week has been crazy! So many ups and downs, but so much fun! I leave for Texas tomorrow. I have my Mormon.org cards ready, my Book of Mormon in Spanish, my pamphlets, and my broken Spanish to try and talk to everyone!! Even in the airport! We'll see what happens! They will probably just wonder who this random white girl is that's trying so hard to talk to them about how God loves them! Watch out, Texas and Mexico airport!!!

But mainly, there have been many goodbyes this week. Yesterday I said goodbye to my whole district and I definitely shed some tears... They became my best friends. Now I am in a trio with two sisters who are my besties and roomies here, and who are going to my same mission! We are officially the missionaries who have been here longest in the whole CCM! It feels pretty strange to be the oldest. I can't believe Kobe is already in Argentina!! Argentina steals all of my friends! I feel like even I love the Argentine people.. solely because they are my homies' homies. I am so excited for her though.

I talked to Hermana Archuleta!! We both know this guy named Jaxon, who I taught with in Ukraine! Pretty funny. Also, she was started to say that David was her role model, and I replied that he was mine too, but then she finished with "...in video games. He always beats me! All the mario games, he always wins!".... Awkward. hahaha, that is my life! 

I just wanted to share this talk by Elder Holland, because I know people are always wondering what us Mormons really believe about who God is, who Jesus Christ is, and if we are Christians, and this talk explains it so well!! 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/the-only-true-god-and-jesus-christ-whom-he-hath-sent?lang=eng

Just click play on the video! :) I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. It is difflicult to explain this in English, almost, haha, but it is so true. Yo se que JesuCristo es el redentor del mundo! Y Dios es nuestro amoroso Padre Celestial. Sin este conocimiento, yo no puedo ser feliz! I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and is the best evidence of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth again.

I am so grateful for all of my many awesome friends that I have, and family. I love you all so much. This week, I've experienced several trials, but the Lord is always there to help. He has helped me through every trial, and he will help you if you trust him! I love you so very much!  

PS-This is a pic of one of my besties and I, and the other is my district! :)

A few extras.

10/29/15

I SURVIVED :)

October 29, 2015

Hello everyone,

People have been very concerned about the hurricane, but just know that we barely felt it at all! We got some wind and rain, but that's it! I loved the rain so much. It felt like home. 

Second, yes, David Archuleta's sister is a missionary here with me, and of course I am gonna be friends with her...destiny? I think, yes.

Third, I LOVE this gospel more than anything else. It is the greatest privilege of my life to be able to be a missionary and teach people about Jesus Christ. I am here because there is literally no place I would rather be, and no work I would rather be doing. I love you all more than you know, and know that you all have a Savior who died for you, and loves you dearly. I am so grateful for this truth. 

Have the most glorious week ever! You are all treasures to  your Father in Heaven! 

I leave for TEXAS on Wednesday, but basically everyone in my district is leaving to their missions before me so I have to switch to another district on Tuesday and it's their P-day, so I'll be able to write again on Tuesday! If you want to send me any letters, please send them through the website Missionary Package MX. Thanks so much for all your love every week! You are all the best!!!

Love you ALWAYS! 

Hermana Sheirbon

PS-yep, Hermana Edmonds and I were photobombed in the one pic, and the other pic is of my best friends here.. my companion, and my two roomies who are going to my mission!! :)

Perks of being me & Basically one more week in the MTC

October 22, 2015

1. I love food, and somehow made friends on instagram with the chef here before I got here...using google translate, and because of that, he loves me!! His name is Estaban. One day, he brought out to the whole cafeteria a giant plate of brownies just to my district. A few days later he told my companion and I to come back into the kitchen secretly, and gave us a box of these chocolate things that we had to hide in our pockets and share with our district again, and he said it was a secret.. So, always make friends with chefs. Always.

2. Our first investigator, Rosa, who is really a teacher here, Hermana Silva, stopped my companion and I and gave us earrings that she bought for us... so yeah, she is my favorite. She is always so kind and giving us hugs. I love her mucho!

3.In sacrament, what they do here is they have everyone prepare a talk on the same topic, and they call people up at random to speak... and guess who was the first speaker! You guessed it.. and I got to talk for five minutes in Spanish about...*drumroll please*... The Great Apostasy.... hahahaha, kind of a random topic. The cool thing was, as we were taking the sacrament, I got the distinct impression that I would be speaking, and that what I needed to say after I gave the talk I had already prepared..So awesome. I love the Spirit.

4.This week my companion and I taught two real ladies, both members, about how to receive revelation through the Book of Mormon. I understood everything they were saying! They said my Spanish was coming along really well, and the second lady shared with us that she was going through some really hard stuff in her life. We shared some scriptures with her, and talked about how the Book of Mormon had helped us, and she ended up crying..The Spirit was just so tangible! And you know (as I told Emilee earlier) that was not because of my two-year-old Spanish grammar..It was all The Spirit! I have never felt so happy in all my life. That moment made me want to be a missionary for eternity!

5. I got so many awesome letters and packages this week. I always feel so much love from you guys! Thanks for being the absolute best.

I know that everywhere, people are going through rough times. Life is difficult, and it isn't supposed to be easy, but remember that you have a Savior who loves you more than anything. What are we all doing here on this Earth? Well, we are here to learn and to grow. But this life on earth is so temporary. Never forget that. Your afflictions will be but for a small moment. Never forget to reach out to your Father in Heaven who loves you more than anything. I love you all so much and love hearing from you every week! If you want to send me a letter, you can send me one from the website Missionary Package MX. 

Have an amazing week, everyone. I am praying for you all constantly, and love you so much! 

Love, Hermana Sheirbon

Halfway through the CCM!

October 15, 2015

My dear friends, 

This week was great! My teachers say that my Spanish is improving a lot, both my companion and I, and I am so grateful! Some days I feel like I can't say anything, and others I feel like I can kind of get by with the bare minimum words that I need to use in order to convey what I want to say, and on those days, I feel pretty good, but no worries here..I am trying my best and I know that the Lord is helping me!

     Yesterday we committed our investigator, Victor, to stop smoking. At first he didn't want to agree, but, a scripture came to my mind: "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father; I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." --1 Nephi 3:7 He read that, and agreed. My teacher said my strength in teaching is asking inspired questions, which I thought was pretty cool, and we definitely taught our best lessons this week. 

     Whoever said Mexico is hot and humid doesn't know that it's actually just like home. Honestly, if I could wear a hoodie every day, I would, but it might look a little strange with my skirts...It is the best weather here! 

     I love it so much here, and sometimes I feel really inadequate for this work, but the Lord helps me every single day, and every moment.

     I am SO grateful for the letters and packages you sent me. They make my week! I love you ALL so very much.

     If you´re wondering what my companion is like, just imagine the cartoon version of Lizzie Mcguire that makes the sassy comments after weird scenes, mixed with the "Chipotle is my life" vine, cause that is exactly how she talks, which is why I'm always laughing here! It's the best! 

     I love you all mucho, and hope you have a great week. I know the Savior is the best friend all of us have, and he is always right there next to you, waiting to help you. 

     "The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than He? Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever."--D&C 122:8-9

If you want to send me a physical letter, send it through the website Missionary Package MX. :) I love getting letters! 

Have the best week!! 

Love siempre, Hermana Amanda Sheirbon

Hola, Hola Coca Cola

October 08, 2015
 what? This week I got to watch my companion get a shot in her bottom. Highlight of my week of course, right? She wasn't feeling good for a few days and finally we went to the enfermeria and the only doctors there at the time spoke basically only Spanish, so that made things a bit hilarious, but we figured out she had a kidney infection! No bueno. Then, the next day, I woke up and was really sick. My stomach felt terrible and I ended up receiving a blessing from my sweet district. Most of them had never given a blessing, and it was really special. I felt a lot better by the end of the day. Both my companion and I are all better now!!

     I figured out there is a CAT that lives here in the CCM! Elders apparently feed her every day and they named her Socks, and I always want to go see her but my companion doesn't love cats the way I do...sad day. hahaha I just want to hold the kitty and take her to class with me because she is so tiny and cute...On the subject of animals, my district literally almost witnessed a dog commit suicide. You can ask me about that another time.. Crazy story with tears, and surprisingly, a happy ending. 

     Last night we taught real people, but they were members, so even though one of our lessons wasn't awesome, we didn't do much damage I don't think. It was so difficult to understand people who truly don't know English, and to communicate fully our feelings, but it's amazing still what the Spirit helps us say, and especially, understand. One of the sisters we taught shared a story with us about how her sister had cancer and had received a blessing, and had since been cured for five years. I attempted to say it was a "miracle" of Jesus Christ, but my teacher who was listening from a camera said it sounded like I had said "miserable" in Spanish. He could not stop laughing at me!! Anyways, the lady's story was so cool, and touched my heart. 

     This past weekend we had the opportunity to watch General Conference and listen to the prophet, apostles, and other church leaders. I just loved all the counsel I received, especially Dieter F. Uchtdorf´s quote from the general women's meeting "Faith in the Savior taught me that no matter what happened in the past, my story could have a happy ending." I know this is true with all my heart!

     My favorite teacher here, Hermano Martinez, who was in front of the selfie I sent last week with my district can only speak a little English, but he always quotes to us "I am so optimistic that I chase Moby Dick in a row boat and bring the tartar sauce with me", and it's become our district quote, and is so hilarious. So there is additional inspiration for you! My favorite part besides feeling The Spirit so strongly here is that I am surrounded by the funniest people and am always laughing. Laughing is the best medicine. Trust in the Savior, laugh, and be the best person you can be. I love you all mucho!!! 

 I found out that I won't receive letters if you send them to me here, but if you go to a website Missionary Package MX, you can send me letters there that I can get physical copies of sent to me and I would love that if you wanna send me a letter, and I can write back to you if you give me your physical address. 

  Love always, Hermana Sheridan

Hola mi familia y amigos!!!!!

Hello my lovely family and friends!  October 01, 2015

Mexico is loco!!! There are constant fireworks outside... Fourth of July 24/7, mixed with cannons! So hilarious and exciting. It was weird at first, but I am used to it now. You should know that here in the Mexico MTC, even though I am a missionary (and I LOVE IT more than ANYTHING) I am still same-old me. I eat all the crazy Mexican food they make us instead of the American-looking stuff and my district laughs at me... so you can say not much has changed in that area. Still LOVE my Mexican food. What can I say other than that I LOVE my companion, Hermana Edmonds, who just barely graduated high school and is from West Valley, Utah, LOVE my district...they are my best friends here, and I love being a missionary more than anything. I don't want to leave because leaving will mean that I'll have to say goodbye to mi companion and district, and I never want to. I just want to stay here and learn Spanish and improve forever until I can teach real people the best way possible. 

     I found out this week that I'm in the intermediate Spanish class...though I'm not sure why because the elders en my district all know some Spanish before they came here and my companion and I never studied any Spanish... It is crazy how the Spirit has taught us so much in just one week. Last night was our fourth time teaching our investigator to the church, Rosa,  solely in Español...which we have had to do from the very first lesson. We talked about the plan of salvation because she said her uncle had just died, and she loved it and said it gave her hope. Two nights ago, she committed to baptism, and no, I do not even read from a script! It is amazing how though my grammar is probably that of a two year old in Spanish, our message is able to come across, we're able to understand, and teach. I love Rosa so much, even though she's an actor, she is good at pretending she is truly an investigator and clueless about the gospel. Although, I did ask her accidentally in one lesson if her heart felt muy caliente when she read El Libro de Mormon (the Book of Mormon) the night before, and she said "No!!!!" with a surprised look....and I realized I had basically asked her if her heart felt hot when I was trying to ask her if she felt a warm feeling in her heart (the Holy Ghost). I'm still laughing about that one. Also, my companion keeps answering people on accident that she's "very sexy" in Spanish, when they ask her how she is doing. 

     Hermana Edmonds and I had an awesome experience this week when there was a sister in the bathroom crying with her companion, and the other sisters in her district, saying how much she missed home, and how hard it was to be away. We were able to hug her, and talk to her for a while. By the end, she was laughing, and the next day, the other sisters in her district bought us cookies...(you know how happy I was about that), because they said what we had done made a huge difference for that sister, and we didn't know how much of a difference we had made for her. We felt so happy that we were able to help someone..There is a tight schedule here, but it doesn't feel very tight because we are doing the Lord's work and always have the help of the Spirit. There are so many little moments like that, which I love! 

     

     My district is basically full of funny big brothers to me, even though they're basically all 18...They're always laughing with me, and keeping things fun. I laugh and smile like crazy with my district. We really are like one big family, already. On the second day we were here, people were noting how we were oddly close for basically being strangers to each other. I definitely hit the jackpot! So many blessings!

     Also, here in the Mexico MTC, we live in houses! Yes, we have our own house, own laundry room, it is perfecto! I feel so at peace and it is like a giant neighborhood where everyone constantly speaks Spanish, and everyone is so kind. 

     This morning my district went to the Mexico City temple...SO COOL!! I seriously loved it. 

     I love you all so much and want to tell you that yo se que JesuCristo es el Salvador del mundo! I am so grateful for all of your prayers. I can feel them always. Life is awesome here and I hope it is back home too!

     

     

Love SIEMPRE, Hermana Sheirbon