Last One...

(A/N: Hello everyone! Alejandra here for the last time with one last email update from Hermana Ramos-Escobar. Thank you all so much for your patience with my updates and for reading these last few months of her mission. But most importantly, thank you all so much for the love you have shown her through out the mission. I know she has felt it and seen it. :) Thank you all again, and I hope you have a wonderful week!)

Wow...

Yup! That's about all I can say right now...

I cannot believe 18 months have already gone by...

I think back to my first weeks out on the field...

I remember making Kitty Litter cake with some members for a birthday party...

I remember getting attacked by a cat named Monkey...

I remember seeing Sister McArthur up on the stand with the rest of the missionaries training and just knowing that she was going to train me. I look a little bit down the road when I got Sister Campos and got doubled into Fresno. I had no clue what I was doing but somehow it worked out. The Lord took over and He just used us as instruments. Sister Campos taught me how to laugh at everything! I remember getting Sister Simonsen as my companion also. That was a great blessing! I got to learn a little bit more about music and playing the piano! All of my companions have taught me something, everyone that I've met has taught me something that I needed to learn. There are so many precious memories that I have made here in the great California Fresno Mission...So many memories that I know I wouldn't have gotten anywhere else.

This past week has been rough, but it's been amazing!  I'm not going to lie (I think everyone knows anyways), but I didn't want to go home. I wanted to be a missionary forever! It would be the coolest thing! But as the time has gone by, I've come to realize more and more that there is a reason that I need to go home. I was able to have my final interview with President Clark on Friday and he helped me realize that I've done what I was asked to do. The mission doesn't last forever and it's not supposed to. Later that day, I don't remember what I was doing, but I found a scripture Ecclesiastes 3:1...

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:"

To everything there is a season...I had a season to be out here in the field.. and now that season is over. And now I need to apply 1 Nephi 3:7...

"...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."

I know that the Lord has something greater for me and I'm just going to trust in Him and do what I'm asked to do.

I'll be saying my final goodbyes today, and tomorrow morning I will be heading to Fresno with Sister Priestley. Sister Priestley will be getting her new companion on Thursday because she's training!! YAY!! (I was beyond excited for her.) I will be spending the rest Tuesday in Fresno and Wednesday I will be flying home to see my family. My family that has been supporting me in EVERYTHING that I do. I love my family!

I never realized how much I would grow to love so many people. These past days little by little I've had to say bye to people, it breaks my heart every time, but I know that one day I'll see them again! Or hopefully multiple times!

There is no doubt in my mind that I was meant to come on a mission. There are so many things that I have learned, so many things that have helped me grow closer to my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I know this gospel is true. I know that we have it's fullness on the earth today. I know that it was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that we can feel of our Heavenly Father's love when we pray. The gospel is so simple, all we need to do is apply it. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that through Him I personally can return to live with my Heavenly Father and feel complete joy...joy that we can't completely feel here on Earth. I'm grateful for everything the gospel has brought me: peace, joy, love, purpose, the list goes on. I'm thankful for my Savior and for all that He's done for us.

I'll see you all soon!

(Except those that are still out on their mission, you just keep working hard!)

With much love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar!

Our District!!
L to R :
Elder Woodmansee, Noffal, Crosby, Bean,
Me, Sis. Smith, Blocker and Priestley.

Our little Spanish group!! I love them so much!

Making Fish Tacos at Ana's house one last time!!

Best Fish Tacos EVER!!

Jordan Got Baptized!!!

(A/N: Hello everyone!! Alejandra here wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!! :D Here is one of the final updates from Hermana Ramos-Escobar...I am not sure if she will be able to write one last time next week...but if not, then this is it! :D By this time next week, Hermana Ramos-Escobar will be preparing to return home with honor from her mission. Thank you all for the love and support you have given her throughout these past 18 months! I know that she really appreciates it and feels it. :) Enjoy this (maybe) last blog update!)

Well this week...this week was a complete BLUR!! Having your preparation on a Thursday and then going back to Monday really throws you off!! But it's been okay!

Well, I forgot to mention last e-mail that Sister Priestley and I got 2nd place for our car inspection! Yay!! Ha ha, I was really happy!

This weekend was AMAZING!! Jordan got baptized!!!! It was such a special service!! The couple of days before, I was SUPER nervous! I don't think I've ever been soo nervous for a baptism! I really honestly do not know why I was so nervous! But anyways, it turned out AMAZING!! Our District Leader, Elder Bean, came down and performed the baptism. The Young Mens' president and our second counselor gave a talk, and the spirit was just really strong the whole service! Jordan got up and shared his testimony and the spirit just confirmed to me that he was ready for this day.

Throughout most of the service his mom was crying. She got baptized two years ago and she's been waiting for this day, for the day her whole family joins the church. You know that quote that says that a missionary leaves their family for 18-24 months so that other families can be together for the eternities? ...I truly felt that this weekend. I love my calling as a missionary, and I'm sad to see the end come closer and closer...but I know that I've done what I can and I know that I have greater work to do at home. There are no words that can really describe how much I have learned. The mission isn't what I expected it to be, it's been a whole lot more!

Love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar

Hermana Contreras, White, Jordan's Mom,
Jordan, me and Sister Priestley!

Elder Bean and Jordan.
It truly was a great way to hit my 18 month mark!

Zone Conference, Exchanges and the Temple

(A/N: Hello everyone! Alejandra here with another update from Hermana Ramos-Escobar! I hope you enjoy it! There will probably only be one or two more updates...isn't that crazy?! :D Have a wonderful weekend! )

This week was great! Oh my goodness I can't believe how much has happened since the last time I wrote home!

Well, we had Zone Conference and it was AMAZING!! Everyone left that meeting super pumped to be more "Exactly Obedient," find people to teach, talk with EVERYONE and just do everything that our president has asked us to do. The Lord truly is in charge of His work!

After Zone Conference we went on exchanges! I went to Coalinga with Sister Blocker! She's been out for about 4 almost 5 months and it was so great being with her! It reminded me of when I was there on my mission! I absolutely loved the exchange we had! I learned so much from her!

We also had an exchange this past Monday with the other Sisters in the Zone! I went and worked with Sister White again and it was so much fun! I absolutely love Sister White!! We talked to so many people that day too! We just walked around neighborhoods and talked to whoever was out and about! There were so many people that were receptive to our message it was great! Earlier that day (on Monday) we had a Zone meeting and I was able to give a training with an Elder on "Exact Obedience" and I learned so much!

Today we had the chance to go to the temple and it was amazing! It's amazing how much peace the temple brings. I'm so thankful that we have so many temples around the world. I know that the temple really is the House of the Lord!

I'm going to be writing again on Monday and hopefully I'll be able to write more! Our temple trip took a lot longer than we had thought and we still have to run and do a couple of things!

Love you all!
Love,
Hermana Ramos-Escobar

Hermana White, Hermana Contreras and Sister Priestley!

"If Ye Love Me Keep My Commandments"

(A/N: Hello everyone, Alejandra here! I hope you had a wonderful week! There's only a couple of more weeks until Hermana Ramos-Escobar comes back home! But in the mean time, here is the update from last week! On another side note, Hermana Ramos-Escobar will not be writing on Monday because she will be going to the temple. Enjoy the update!)

"If ye love me, keep my commandments..."

This is my scripture for the week! I love this scripture because it's so simple yet so powerful! I've come to learn on my mission, with great help from President Clark, that all that we do is because we love our Savior Jesus Christ.

This week has been crazy!! We've been running around with our head chopped off! We had to re-arrange a lot of plans because meetings ended up being on different days. We have Zone Conference tomorrow and I'm so excited to hear what President Clark has prepared for us. I know that we will be able to receive a lot of revelations for our areas, for our investigators, and for ourselves. I absolutely love Zone Conferences and I'm especially excited for this one! About every other Zone Conference we have car inspection and they announce the top 3 cleanest cars. I am determined to get at least one of the top three, so Sister Priestley and I will be cleaning our car today!

 
So, Jordan was going to get baptized this next Saturday, but things changed... As of right now his baptism is set for the 21st. We didn't feel that he was quite ready for this week, but we're going to be working with him a lot this week to get him prepared for the following week! I have loved working with him because he reminds me so much of me when I was learning about the church...I didn't really have a testimony about the things that I was learning, but I knew it was something that I had to do. I knew it was right because I had felt the Spirit. Sometimes we really do just need to take that leap of faith and do things because we feel like we need to. We don't need to know all the details, but we just have to have faith.

I love you all and I hope you all have a great week!
Sorry it's short...my arm is hurting and I'm running out of time!

Love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar

2 Nephi 25:26

(A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful and safe Halloween this last weekend! :D Here is the email update from Hermana Ramos-Escobar! Only four or five more updates before she is home...crazy right?! Enjoy! )

Well this week was great!

It was Halloween! We spent Halloween at our Ward Mission Leader's house: the Todd's home!! It was great!!

So I'm practically out of time but I wanted to send a scripture. It's my ponderize Scripture of the week!

"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."

 2 Nephi 25:26

This week there have been a couple of times where I have just really come to realize that everything we do, is in the name of Christ...Not only as missionaries do we act as representatives of Jesus Christ, but also as Members. We are his disciples and everything we do is in His name...I've come to learn that I don't care when people reject me. I don't get when they close their door in my face. I don't care that they don't answer the door. What I care about is that they are rejecting Christ and they aren't letting Him into their life.

I love my Savior. I am thankful that I have this time to represent him. I strive to be more like Him everyday and although I fall short every single day, I know that He forgives me and still loves me!

I hope you all have a great week!

Love,
Hermana Ramos-Escobar

We were making cookies!

Our cookies!!

We had more pictures but they came out blurry and I can't see them on my camera because it broke!

Transfer Week!

(A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful day! Here is the email update from Hermana Ramos-Escobar! Enjoy and have a lovely week! )

Well this week was really weird...it was transfer week, but it felt about a month long...

We usually change companions on Wednesday, but Sister White and I stayed together until Thursday because my new companion (Sister Priestley) was in Fresno working with all the new missionaries.

So here was our week.. 

Monday was normal...We went over to the Stake Center and hung out with all the other missionaries it was nice to see some of them for the last time. 

Tuesday we had district meeting and I gave a training on working with the members. That was good...I didn't really know what I was saying most of the time...I just prayed that it made sense! Later that night, we went to the Missionary Farewell and said bye to some good friends! Sister Clark, Elder Robins and Elder Feltner all went home...Sister Clark and I worked around each other when we first came out into the mission and close to the end of our missions. Elder Robins and I served together for 2 transfers here in Lemoore, and Elder Feltner and I spent 8 transfers in the same zone in Fresno and Hanford...That adds up to about 1 year of my mission!

Wednesday was the day of transfers, so we had to go over to "babysit" a Sister while she waited for her ride, and then Sister White and I continued to visit people so that she could say bye.

Thursday we went to a funeral...There is an elderly member from Hanford that has been living here in Lemoore. We go to visit her at least once a week and sing to her and share a little message to make sure she's getting that spiritual nourishment that she needs. Well about a week ago,  her husband passed away and she specifically told us that he wanted us at the funeral.

So Thursday we went to the funeral...every single time I go to a funeral, I am reminded of how thankful I am for the Plan of Salvation. To know that life doesn't just end here on this earth, that there is more after this! I feel so blessed to know that she will see her husband again soon and that she will be able to feel complete joy with him. As we were leaving, we went to say bye to her, and once she saw us she jut started crying and thanked us for being there. Her kids around her asked, "Are you the singing girls?? My mom talks about you ALL the time!! Thank you for going to visit her!!" I know that I'm out here making a difference in at least a few people's heart, but it's nice to actually hear it every once in a while. It brings me so much happiness knowing that this elderly lady knows that we love her, but more importantly that her Savior loves her and is watching over her. 

Friday, we spent 3 hours cleaning an apartment, they took out the Elders in that area...so we helped cleaned it. That was fun...there was a lot of stuff!!

So last week I said that my ponderize scripture was going to be Ether 12:27...well I changed it Monday night...I realized that the scripture I needed for the week was the first scripture I ever memorized: Alma 32:21. It talks about faith. There were what felt like a lot of changes going on and I just needed to have faith that all was going to work out. It really helped me throughout the week and I'm thankful that my best friend Kelly helped me memorize that!

 
I know this gospel is true. I know that my Savior loves me and loves each of you. I hope that throughout your week you will be able to feel a little portion of His love for you!

I love you all!

Love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar

Ether 12:27

(A/N: Hello everyone! Alejandra here hoping you all had a wonderful week! Sorry for the late update, I will be more on top of it in the future. :) Anyways, here is the update from Hermana Ramos-Escobar in the Fresno mission from last week. Enjoy!)

So this week was crazy!

I'm sorry my e-mail last week was super short! I ran out of time...You would think I would have this whole e-mailing thing down by now...ya...not really! Oh well!

Well this week was crazy...We got transfer calls on Saturday.

 
Sister White and I thought we were staying together for my last transfer...but we aren't. I will be staying in Lemoore and I will be companions with Sister Priestly. Sister White will be replacing Sister Priestly, they're literally swapping places! It will be good though because Sister White and I will still be in the same Zone and we will be going on exchanges, so that will be good! I'm sad to have her go, but I'm excited to see what's going to happen this next transfer. I've known Sister Priestly for a while now. We've been in the same district for the past 2 transfers, so it will be fun!

This week there has been a lot of ups a lot of downs...but I guess you can say that's pretty normal.  We have Jordan whom we are teaching and he is preparing to get baptized on the 7th of November. He's excited for his baptism! It's been really fun to teach him! I haven't been able to teach a teenager in so long! I love teaching them!

I wasn't quite sure what scripture I wanted to share for this week, but throughout the time I have been e-mailing I think I want to do Ether 12:27, which is a very popular scripture but a scripture that has soo much to it.

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

Throughout my mission I have been able to see how this scripture applies to real life...there's so much to take from it but I think for right now I want to focus on the word "humble."

We are given challenges and we are given trials so that we can learn from them. But we do not learn from them, if we are being stubborn and don't want to learn from them. Throughout life, everyone has struggles and everyone has trials, but we get to decide if we want to learn from them or not. I know that pride is an ugly thing...I've seen it...it's bad.. and I don't like it. It's hard to stay away from it because there are so many different types of pride. But I know that as long as we are constantly trying to do the best we can, and be the best we can, we will receive help. But we need to be humble in order to receive it. I'm excited to ponderize this scripture because I know that I will continue to grow from it and continue to love it.

I'm thankful for the challenges that I have had because they have helped me become a better missionary and a better person, but overall a better disciple of Christ. Every day I strive to improve so that I can become more like my Savior. I love this Gospel. Everything I'm doing out here I'm doing it because I love Him. I truly love my Savior...and I know that He loves me.

I hope you all can feel of His love for each and everyone of you!
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar