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!

Dare to Stand Alone!

(A/N: Hello everyone! Alejandra here wishing you a happy Monday! Here is Hermana Ramos-Escobar's email for the week. Also, please let's all pray for her investigator Michaela that she will have to confidence to be baptized this week. Enjoy!)

This week was great!! We had such a great week! We found 4 new investigators and we had more lessons with our investigators than we've ever had before!! It was truly great!! Michaela is still on to get baptized this Friday or Saturday! We're still not 100% sure on the date, but Sister Corbridge and I have been praying for Friday! So hopefully we'll know for sure tonight!

On Friday we were sitting doing companionship study and then we got a text from our Bishop and he asked me to give a talk in sacrament meeting on the talk that President Monson gave in 2011: "Dare to Stand Alone." Of course I accepted...I didn't really realize how short of time I had...but oh well! It was fine! I did it! He had asked me to do it in Spanish for our little Spanish group. But then, before sacrament started, he mentioned that no one that spoke Spanish was there and that I could chose whether I wanted to give it in Spanish or in English. So I was going to give it in English but when he announced that I was giving a talk he said I was going to do it in Spanish...So I did it in Spanish! Ha ha! It was great. I'm so thankful that the Spirit was there to talk through me because I was a little confused on what was going on!

The talk, "Dare to Stand Alone" is such a great talk! I love it!! Today while I was doing my personal study, I found a scripture that really complements that talk. It's in 3 Nephi 12:11-12

"And blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake; For ye shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before  you."

President Monson said in his talk that there was a time when most people had the same morals that we have but it's not like that anymore. There are many times we get made fun of for what we believe but it really doesn't matter what others say. I know what's right and I need to stand up for it. So many prophets were persecuted for standing up for what was right. We are blessed that we don't get persecuted. I know that if we stand up for what is right in the world that is changing around us we will have great joy and be exceedingly glad. I don't know what my reward will be  in Heaven...but I know that Heavenly Father keeps his promises.

If you want to read the talk, here it is!
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/dare-to-stand-alone?lang=eng&query=Dare+to+stand+a+lone

I know this gospel is true and I will do all I can to stand up for it. I know I will have to and I know I will!

I love you all!! Have a great week!!

Love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar

After District Meeting. Going to go eat Pupusas!!
L to R:
Hna Neira, Corbridge, Me and Hna Clark!

Look!! Tenemos un Portal??? Since when? 

Hna Clark.
The cashier asked if I was from El Salvador and I said yes.
He said, "I don't believe you...you ate your pupusas with a fork."
I said, "No I didn't!! That wasn't me!!" Ha ha!
Real Salvadorians don't eat their pupusas with a fork! 

Some of the Elders and the other sisters! 

We Found Cats!‏

(A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Here is the weekly email from Hermana Ramos-Escobar out on the mission field! I again, I would like to take the time to remind everyone that Hermana Ramos-Escobar is NOT the one updating these blogs, but her sister (me) Alejandra doing the weekly update. Enjoy!)

So this week was very eventful!! I don't know if I'll have time to write everything!

Monday when we got back home from our buying groceries, Sister Corbridge went out to our backyard and she found a little family of cats!! It was a mom and 4 kittens!! So we had pets for a little bit...(they stayed outside) It was funny because the day before, I was telling her how much I hate cats...I'm sorry...I don't know what it is...but I just really don't like cats. Later on in the week, they came to get them. It was kind of sad watching them go...They had to trap the mom into a cage and it was really sad seeing her freak out in that cage. I don't know where they took them...I think it was to a shelter but I hope they're okay!

Tuesday was a really good day! We had Zone Meeting!! Yay! I was asked to give a training on "Exact Obedience" and "Challenging Unrighteousness." It was really a great experience to give that training. I really truly love being exactly obedient! It brings so many blessings! I love it because it allows the spirit to be with us, which is really all we need! So zone meeting was great! It was filled with revelation and inspiration! That night we also went to visit one of our investigators.

Michaela is 19 years old and has been going to YSA activities for about 6 months now. She's gone to church multiple times and really loves being at church. Multiple times while teaching her, she has mentioned how she already considers herself a Mormon! So Tuesday night we decided to make it official! We had a lesson at a member's home and we invited her to be baptized! She said yes!! She will be getting baptized either the 24th or 25th of July! The lesson we had with her was so powerful! It was truly amazing! The members who let us into their home did such an amazing job! They did everything we could ever ask for!!

This week was truly great! I was really able to feel the love that Christ has for each one of us. I know that Michaela will find so much happiness in her life as she continues to follow Jesus Christ. We all can find that happiness! That's what I'm out here to do. I just want others to find the happiness that I once found and that I continue to find. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ truly is the only thing that can bring us complete happiness. I love my Savior with all my heart and I'm so thankful that I have this time to serve Him and represent Him. I strive to become better each and every day so that I can represent Him the way he deserves. I won't ever be the perfect representative, but I will try!  I love this gospel with all my heart!

I love you all!

Love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar

The cats!

Sister Corbridge really liked them...I didn't...

Fourth of July Weekend!‏

(A/N: Hello everyone! Alejandra here with another update from Hermana Ramos-Escobar! Hope everyone has fun reading and I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!)

This week was fun! Let's see...

The week started off great! We had District Meeting on Tuesday. We had a training on "Our Purpose" by Sister Clark (our Sister Training leader). It was a great training! And then, I gave a training on "Teaching People Not Lessons!", which was a lot of fun!

Wednesday was a pretty normal day...We went to eat sushi with one of the members. Her name is Ana! Ana is great! She's 22 and a convert of about...2 years...I think...? She is always there to help us! She comes running with us in the mornings! She takes us to the middle of nowhere when we have people to go teach out there! She truly is great! So Tuesday was her birthday but we were really busy that night, so on  Wednesday we went with her to get sushi!! Oh my goodness it was soo good! I hadn't had sushi in over a year! So that was a lot of fun!

Thursday we had Zone Conference!! Yay!! I love Zone Conference! You just come out ready to go work like crazy!! It truly is amazing how inspired President Clark is! He is so in-tune with the spirit and knows exactly what we need to do to baptize in this mission. For 2015 we had the goal of baptizing 1,342 people. President Clark added up all the stake baptism goals and that's what our goal was! But now that Modesto and Turlock are no longer in our mission, our goal is to baptize 1000 people! We baptize thousands in this mission! It's great! The work truly is great! I love being a missionary!

...Last night I had a nightmare...no offense to my family...But...in my dream...I had my aunt picking me up from the airport and I was walking up the stairs to the front door. I open the front door and there was my family! With "Welcome Home banners" all over and cheering because they were so happy! Of course my dogs were going crazy barking. When I got a hug my mom, I started crying...I need to be honest (sorry Mami) well...I wasn't really crying because I missed her and was happy to see her...I was crying because I wanted to be a missionary and didn't want to be home. Then I went and hugged my dad and I was still crying because all I wanted was to be a missionary. Now I'm sure that once I get home I'll love them and realize that I truly had missed them bunches...and I do...But as for right now.. I'm happy where I am! Ha ha! I'll see them later!!

Anyways...So Saturday was the fourth of July. It was pretty fun! We went with the Elders up in Reedley to the house of one of their member's daughter...if that makes sense...we got to watch the fireworks from Tachi Palace.. it's the casino here in Lemoore! I guess a lot of people go there. The fireworks were really pretty!

I just love being a missionary quite honestly. I love the gospel soo much. I love how Heavenly Father is so loving that He lets us choose what we want to do with our lives. Sometimes it's really hard to see that people have so much hatred and anger in their life and then I think about Heavenly Father and He's just so merciful and loving! He truly is amazing! I'm thankful I have this chance to serve him!

The gospel is so true!

Love,

Hermana Ramos-Escobar