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

Alma 31:35

(A/N: Hello everyone! Alejandra here, hoping you all had a wonderful weekend! Just a short little message today from Hermana Ramos-Escobar, but also a good reminder for all of us to continue to apply what we learned from General Conference and ponderize the scriptures. :) Have a wonderful week!)

Alma 31:35

Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee.

That is my Ponderize Scripture!

I know that this work we are doing as missionaries is precious and I am here to help my brothers and sister find true happiness!

I hope you all had a great week!

Love you!

Love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar

Conference Was Amazing!!

(A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Here is the week's email from Hermana Ramos-Escobar. Enjoy!)

Needless to say, General Conference was AMAZING!! I absolutely love conference!! I was counting down the weeks since June!! I was soo ready to hear from our Prophet and the apostles!!

I think I'm going to just share things that I loved!

I loved how President Uchtdorf asked if we were making our discipleship too complex? A lot of the times, I have to remind myself to teach simply...that all we really need to understand is the basics! The gospel truly is so simple! 

I loved Larry R. Lawrence's talk!! I love how he tells us to constantly ask "What lack I yet?" He left us with a commitment to humbly ask: "What is keeping me from progressing?" In other words, "What lack I yet?" This is something that I have learned on the mission. You are never going to be done progressing and learning. Before my mission, I was fine with being who I was. I didn't strive to become better, and now I see how essential that is. It is so crucial that we try to become more like Christ each and everyday!

I loved how Elder Cook said: "Life is not easy not was it meant to be."

Robert D. Hales...he gave an AMAZING talk!! His talk was just good overall! One of my favorite parts was that he asked if we will let ourselves be led. Heavenly Father can't help us out unless we let him do so. I've also learned that on my mission!

President Monson also gave a great talk! It was sad to see him slowly go down...I love him so much!

One talk that I absolutely loved was from Devin G. Durrant. He gave us the counsel to "Ponderize"...I'm sure everyone is talking about it on social media. But absolutely love that! Ponderize...I've decided that in each of my e-mails I'm going to try my best to remember to include the scripture that I will be ponderizing that week!

For this week, I chose a scripture from the Bible, from the New Testament: John 8:28.

 "Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things."

I came across this scripture a couple of weeks ago and the one part that stuck out to me was "that I do nothing of myself." Christ really did nothing for himself...everything that he did was for others. This morning, I was talking to a missionary that is getting ready to head home and he said that he noticed throughout his mission that his happiest times where when he was thinking about others and not of himself. I testify that that is true. I too have found that throughout my mission.

I love Christ so much. I love knowing that He loves me soo much that He was willing to be lifted up for us. I know that He is my Savior and that He truly loves me with all His heart and I wish and hope that everyone comes to know that for themselves.

I love you all!

Love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar

9 Minutes

(A/N: Hello everyone! Alejandra here! :D I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Here is the update from Hermana Ramos-Escobar from last week! Again, I would like to remind everyone that Hermana Ramos-Escobar is not the one updating the blog. So if you would like to write to her, her address is on the right had side under "Write Me!")

I have 9 minutes...let's see how much I can write!

So this week has been a BUSY week!!

 
We started off having a Zone Conference with a General Authority, Elder Arnold. It was such a blessing to have him here in the CFM (California Fresno Mission). We had to wake up super early (4:45 AM) which literally kills you as a missionary because you can't recover that sleep...but honestly, the Lord blessed us because Sister White and I didn't even feel tired afterwards. Elder Arnold taught us great things! It testified to me once again that President Clark is so in-tuned with the Spirit. Our mission has great things happening and I know that we will continue to see them! 

I can't really remember what else happened throughout the week...it all seems like a big blur...I can't differentiate the weeks anymore! Sister White and I tried tacos de cabeza yesterday!! They were soo good! Hermana Berta cooked them for us (she's the one that made us Menudo). I think she may be the only one that I trust to eat crazy food like that!

One thing that I have learned this past week is that the Lord truly is in charge of his work...Last night we were walking around Riverdale because one of our appointments canceled and we started talking to this man. Most of the time people will accept a picture of Christ and move on...but he sat there and asked us what made us different from other Christian churches, so we told him about the Book of Mormon. We gave him a Restoration Pamphlet and a Book of Mormon, talked to him more and set up a return appointment and then left. While we were leaving, we looked back and he had already started reading the pamphlet...Please tell me that the Lord is not in charge of this work. I tell you He is...He knew this man was prepared to learn more, so he put him in our path, our appointment canceled for a reason. I know that this truly is the Lord's work and we are just here to be his instruments! I love this  gospel more than anything! And I'm so excited to have conference this weekend! I can't wait to see what it is that we need to do!

I love you all! Please watch conference!

Love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar

Great Week!

(A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry for sending this out so late, but here is the weekly update from Hermana Ramos-Escobar on her mission in Fresno, California! Enjoy!)

Hello everyone!!

So this week was great!

Sister White and I had such a rewarding weekend! We got to see Cindy enter the waters of baptism which is all we could really ask for! It was such a beautiful service, the spirit was so strong! She was really happy! Her cousin drove over from Arizona and performed the ordinance. Her cousin was so thankful that she found the church again and that she was able to be baptized. Heavenly Father really is so in-tune with each of our lives. Cindy had grown up in the church, fallen away for soo long, then one day, she was just driving down Lemoore and she found the church building, called us up and started taking the lessons! She truly got baptized because she loves her Savior and wants to follow Him! It's such an honor to have her in my life and to have met such a wonderful child of our Heavenly Father!

I'm so thankful that I came out on a mission. There really is no other thing I rather be doing!

This week was a week full of miracles...honestly. Sister White and I have been writing 3 things down every night:

1. Who did us good today?

2. Where did we see the Lord's hand?

3. Something funny that happened.

As we've been doing this we have really been able to see the Lord's hand in our life. I know that as we stop to look around we can see His hand in everything! I know He truly is watching over us. I would never give up my mission experience for anything in the world. My mission means everything to me. I have often looked back at all those people that were there, along the way, helping me out, and I know I couldn't have done it without them! I love you all and am so thankful for all that you do for me.

Love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar

This is Sister Conwell! The YSA in the ward had an activity and
they were learning to make sushi! We were invited, so we went
over and she taught me how to make sushi!!

Here's my sushi roll!! Yay!! Well...California Roll!

With Cindy at her baptism!!

Cindy's cousin Robert, Cindy and Sister White and I

Pictures: Sequoia's, Menudo and the Mini Missionary

(A/N: Hello everyone! Alejandra here updating for Hermana Ramos-Escobar who is out on her mission! No group email again this week, but she did happen to send us some photos from the last two weeks. :) Enjoy! )

First time trying menudo!

I tried a fish eye! It was kinda gross...but I ate it!!

I finally got to see Hannah, Izzy, and Olivia from Los Banos again!
I loved working at the vineyard again!! I miss them!

On our way to the Sequoia's!!

At the Sequoia's at the top of a rock that I don't remember...

Best game EVER!!

Our District!!
Left to Right
Elder Agazzani, Elder Arebalo, Sis Priestly, Sis Neira,
Me, Sis White, Elder Robins, and Elder Crosby.
Elder and Sister Faning are the ones sitting down.

Hna. Cabanillas: our mini missionary!

This (Slow) Week!

(A/N: Hello everyone! Alejandra here with an update from Hermana Ramos-Escobar from the Fresno CA mission! Just wanted to remind everyone that it is NOT Hermana Ramos-Escobar that updates these blogs. It is I who does it. She just sends me the email and I make it look pretty via blog. ;) Enjoy! )

So this week was a little slow for us...Don't really know why or what happened. But it's okay!

We had a baptismal date with our investigator Sylvia, but we weren't able to see her at all this week. We tried multiple times during the week but she just wasn't home and she wouldn't answer our phone calls. We were finally able to talk with her on the phone yesterday and she mentioned that she didn't want to go to church anymore. We weren't really sure what was going on, so we asked to come over later in the evening and she agreed, but when we got there she wasn't home...We're not quite sure what's going on, but we're praying that we'll be able to find her and sit down and talk.

On a brighter note, we were able to meet with our investigator Cindy this week! At the beginning of the transfer, she called us asking to meet with us because she grew up Mormon and wanted to start coming back to church! We met with her and everything and it all went great! She came to church that next Sunday and they tried looking for her records but couldn't find them! They tried looking for her records for weeks but no one could find them. Therefore we have the great privilege to teach her again and help her receive the blessings of baptism! She has a baptismal date for the 19th of September!! Yay!!

Today we are having a zone activity! Yay! Fun! Ha ha! Sister White and I were in charge of it! We put together a little scavenger hunt using things that President has counseled us to do in our work! So we'll see how it goes later today! And after we will be playing volleyball! We're going to pray no one gets hurt...we have some really, really good, tall, volleyball players in our zone. So we'll see how this goes!!

This week we will be going to the vineyard too! Going to go roll the grapes we laid out! Yay!

Love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar

We used Ana's phone to take a picture!! Yay picture!

In the California Fresno Mission, we have our own culture...and we love it!
We raced each other to see who could write down all the bullet points
of our culture first. We're not going to say who won... :P

Vineyard and the Temple

(A/N: Hello everyone! So Hermana Ramos-Escobar went to the temple on Monday and only had a short amount of time to write Wednesday. But something is better than nothing, right? So enjoy her email update! )

Hey I have three minutes!!

This week was great!

We got to go to the vineyard last Wednesday, so that was a lot of fun! We were really dirty and really tired! It took a lot of work!

At the Vineyard!!!

Yay grapes!!
...We always come out not wanting ANY grapes anymore!!

We came out dirty and ready for bed!!

We went to the temple today and it was amazing! Sister White and I had such a great experience! I love going to the temple!

On the way to the temple!! Yay!!

At the temple with the zone!

We have a baptismal date for the 12th of September with Sylvia! She's so ready to be baptized, but we ran into some problems...so please pray for her! She has such a strong desire to be baptized!

I love this work so much! I'm so excited to keep working these next couple of months!

Sorry it's so short! Gotta run! Love you all! Take care!

Love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar

At one of our member's house!

Left to Right
Elder Lopez, Elder Wither, Elder Feltner, Elder Lomonte, Sonia, Me, and Sister White.
Elder Lomonte baptized Sonia about a year ago and then she moved into our area.
We're all in the same zone so he got to go back and see his recent convert!

I served with Elder Wither, Feltner and Lomonte all in Fresno...
Now we're all in Hanford together!

So Elder Crosby (one of the Elders that serves in our same ward),
decides to tell me it's Elder Robins birthday! They didn't tell us before!
We were rather upset that we couldn't do anything for his birthday!!
I love this picture! Ha ha, it's so funny!!

We had a great experience together! :)

Asher Got Baptized!!

(A/N: Hello everyone! Here is the weekly update from Hermana Ramos-Escobar. Enjoy!)



ASHER GOT BAPTIZED THIS WEEK!!! YAY!!!

This past weekend we witness such a beautiful baptism!! Asher was baptized by his dad! His dad is from North Carolina and flew over to California to baptize his son! It was such a special baptism. The spirit was so strong and there were so many tears shed! It was truly such a special experience. Now all we have to wait for is his sealing with his wife Sara! I'm so excited and happy for them!

Witnessing that baptism was another reminder as to why I came out on my mission. I wanted others to find the happiness I found when I become a member of the church. And I was able to see the happiness in Asher's face! 

Here are a bunch of pictures! Sorry I gotta run! Love you all!

Love,
Hermana Ramos-Escobar

This is a little girl of a family that was just baptized!
She wanted to look like her dad, so she got her mustache drawn on!

Sis. White, Me, Eve, Sara, Asher, Asher's Dad, Sis. Corbridge, Sis. Hopkin

Asher, Sara, and Eve!

Eve and I!! She's the cutest thing ever!!

This Week...It Was Long...

(A/N: Alejandra here wishing you all a happy Monday! Here is the email update from Hermana Ramos-Escobar on the mission. Enjoy!)

This week...well, where to start for this week.. .

This week was long...but it wasn't a bad week...Last Monday was a really crazy day...wait...let's back up...

So I got my new companion. Her name is Sister White! She is 5'11! She's tall! I love her! She's from North Carolina and has been on the mission for about 6 months now. So last Monday, we went to the doctors because she thought she had fractured her wrist. Everything is fine. We think it's just the tendons or ligaments, so she has a brace for right now...

Well, last Monday she found out that her Grandmother passed away...So it has kind of been a hard week for us...At first I wondered why Heavenly Father would send her here right before all of this happen...in her last area she was still with her trainer and she had made a lot of friendships...and right as she moves, she finds out this news. I was confused as to why...but as the week has gone by, I have found that, obviously, Heavenly Father knows more. He knew that she needed to be in a new area with a different companion so that she could grow into what He needed her to be. She is doing a lot better now. We have been working hard and trying to get in the groove of things here in Lemoore. I still feel really new in this area and obviously she does too. 

On the brighter side, Asher is getting baptized this Saturday!! I'm so excited!! He has been taking the lessons for a good couple of months and the day has finally come! He's so ready to make this covenant with our Heavenly Father!! I'll send pictures next week!

This past week we were also able to talk with Cindy more! Cindy is a Hawaiian sister that called us a couple of weeks ago. She grew up in the church and was baptized but fell away for a while. But now, she has decided that she wants to come back. She has come to church the past two weeks and they have been trying to find her records but they cannot find them! So we have been teaching her in the meantime because she may have to get baptized again. I really love the Polynesian culture!! They're so much fun! I have been learning a little bit of Hawaiian! So far I know how to say: "Hello! Good Morning!!"

I just want to bare my testimony that our Heavenly Father really is aware of our needs. This week, I have been able to see that in my life and in Sister White's life. I am so thankful to have such a loving Heavenly Father that is always watching over us. I'm thankful to know that families can be eternal. I know my family is not there yet...but I know that one day we will get there. I know that Heavenly Father just wants us to be happy...that's all He wants. Today in the morning, I was telling Sister White how the gospel has helped me understand who I am. Before receiving the gospel, I didn't know who I was. I didn't know that I was a child of God, a child of my Heavenly Father, but now I do and I am thankful for that.

I love my Heavenly Father. I love my Savior. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar

We Had an AMAZING Week!!

(A/N: Hello everyone! I hope everyone had a great pioneer day this past weekend and a wonderful Monday! Enjoy the email update from Hermana Ramos-Escobar!)

This week was crazy!! There's so much that happened!! But we took a lot of pictures, so I might just use that!!

Well let's see!

Michaela got baptized!! Yay!! This week might have been one of the most stressful weeks on my mission! But everything paid off at the end. It's crazy how the Lord really is in charge of everything and makes everything work out!

We also got transfer calls on Saturday! We didn't really have predictions of what would happen. We both wanted to stay! But Sister Corbridge will be going to Merced and I will be companions with Sister White, who is coming from Merced. They're just switching spots! Ha ha! Sister White and Sister Corbridge were companions in the MTC, so that will be fun! I'm excited!!

Last Sunday, one of our members brought someone they had met at the grocery store to church. When they pulled into the church, Jay (the grocery store person) said, "Oh! The LDS church!! This is the church I was going to when I was in Oregon!" We got to meet with him this past Saturday and he's golden!! Turns out that his parents are members! They were baptized in the past couple of years. He had taken the missionary lessons in Oregon with his mom, but he ended up going to Mexico and wasn't able to be baptized with his Mom. He said that he was going through rough times and he kneeled down to pray and said that he would be baptized if things got better! Things got better, Heavenly Father worked  miracles and he has found the church again! We have a baptismal date with him for August 15th!

Asher Oxendine, another investigator, also has a date for the 15th of August!! He's so great! His wife is a member and they are just great!

The work really is hastening here in Lemoore! I love my Heavenly Father so much! He has given me such great opportunities here in Lemoore! It truly has been a blessing to serve a mission!

Love,
Hermana Ramos-Escobar

I really am not this brown...or orange??

My camera was on a "sunset" setting... I forgot! Oops!!

This is Ana and I. She looks kind of nervous...ha ha!

Sister Corbridge and I! Again with the sunset setting! My bad!

Sister Horan got me a Captain America shirt!!!
AND coloring book!! It was great!! 

Asher made us Korean noodles!! They were good!

Asher and Sara and their baby Evelyn (Eve).
Asher is our investigator and Sara is a member!

To the right of me (looking at the picture) is Jane Burns.
She is in an assisting living home here in Lemoore.
She is a member from Hanford that we have been visiting.
She's the best! Always get's us ice cream sandwiches!

Sister Corbridge was in a pie eating contest!!

She didn't really get close to winning! Ha ha!

Our pioneer day activity!

Sister Corbridge, me, and Ana!
After Church!

Sister Corbridge, Michaela and I!

Michaela and I!

I'm so happy for her! I have never seen her so happy than after the baptismal service!
Being baptized brings a whole other level of happiness!