Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving! I heard you will all be having a big feast in my honor as your celebrate my birthday this Thursday! Thank you for remembering me and throwing me a party even though I am not there! You guys are the best!! And you even got the whole country in on it?? WOW! Really, thank you! I love you too! :)

This week was the baptism of "P"! He is awesome! And their family is adorable! His wife and daughters were baptized about 2 months ago, and now they are a happy family! :) Before his baptism, we had a lesson with his family and we wanted to touch on the Priesthood again so he could understand it a little more and prepare to receive it. The Elders joined us for the appointment and that was going to be perfect, because they have the Priesthood and could help him out even more. When we got to their house, their son was very sick. And the family was very worried about him. Before we even started our lesson about the Priesthood, they asked for a blessing for their son. Luckily the Elders were with us! They gave a blessing to their son, and then we proceeded to teach the lesson. It went very well! The next day they shared with us this experience. At 4am, their son woke up, sat up in his bed and was completely better, and said, Dios es el Rey del mundo, or God is the King of the World, and then went back to sleep. He is only 4 years old, and that experience was a very special witness of the power of the Priesthood for their family. P was baptized the next day.

This week we had Multi Zone Conference and it was amazing!! Just saying. :)  We have not quite reached our goal yet, but we still have one more week to reach 200! Here we go...! For our mission, the First Presidency has asked that we double our baptisms. So little by little we will now be working towards a goal of 400 every month! It might take a bit to reach that many, because we haven't reached 200 in over a year, but we are ready to work hard! Costa Rica is being prepared to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I am excited to be here helping them find it!

Thank you for all of your love! Have the best week ever! Stay safe and happy! LOVE YOU! :)

Love,

Hermana Markle. :)

Items of Business:

1. Good luck with your new calling dad! :) You will be great! Just like I am sure you were great at your calling that lasted 4 weeks!

2. Welcome home from your mission Madi!!! Now repent and write me. This was your free week because you had to adjust to home life and stuff. But mom says you are using the iPad like normal again, so find some time to write me!

3. My email day will always be on Tuesday now! They have had issues, so they made some new rules... But yeah! But feel free to email me all the days! :)

4. I think I broke my big toe last week playing soccer... Or jammed it pretty bad. Its getting better now, but walking has been fun! Oops!

5. I have calluses on my knees! How cool is that?? How many people do you know with calluses on their knees from praying?? Maybe it is because we have cement floors, but still! That is an accomplishment! :)

6. This year for my birthday we will be celebrating it in the office! My companion has to go to get her Cedula and become Tica, so I will sit in the office for 7 hours doing paper work and nursing notes and other fun stuff! Wahoo! :)

7. A mouse jumped out of our trash can and ran across the floor while we were planing on the floor. That was funny! My companion screeeemed! Good times.. :)

8. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! :) We had a thanksgiving dinner with a gringo family on Sunday, so that was nice! Have fun with the family! Don't miss me too much!!!

9. I love you all!!!!! :) Thanks for being the best family ever!!!! :)

10. Oh yeah, an Elder had surgery on his hand last night and we were at the hospital until 2am. That was a good adventure!

My District bought donuts for my Birthday!

A Hostess Cupcake for my Birthday! Yay!

I made my Christmas list for this year . . .

November 17, 2014

Hello!!!!

This week I got to play real nurse! Once church got over we were all standing in the halls saying goodbye and what not, and then someone ran past with a screaming child in their arms and a trail of blood following behind them. So naturally, I followed the trail of blood. A little boy, about 4 years old, was wrestling and hit his head and there was a good sized gash. His shirt was drenched in blood, so he thought he was dying, and his mom was about to pass out, so I took over. :) I cleaned him up and was going to super glue the cut shut, but there was too much tension, so I sent them to get stitches. Fun stuff! He is all better. :)
       

This week President and Hermana Wilkinson were in Panama for meetings, so we weren't supposed to bug them. Well I had at least a million calls from sick and injured missionaries, so I saved a giant list of information for Hermana Wilkinson for when she got back. I am sure she loved the 20 texts. I guess people are sick or injured more while the President is away.
       

Our miracle for this week was a strange one! The elders gave us a reference last week for a lady who lived alone. They give us all of the single women they find and we give them all of the single men we find. We called her, but she said she was busy and didn't have time for us. We stopped by her house one time, but she said we would have to come back another day. We invited her to church, but she didn't have time for that either. Normally after 3 attempts, we add them to a list of people to contact in the future. But I felt like she was important to contact now. We kept trying, but it seemed like she didn't want anything. THEN all of the sudden during Relief Society, she walked into the church, and called us to come meet her in the lobby. So we did. She was angry. And we had no idea why. So we brought her into a room to have a mini lesson and find out what she needed. She wanted to talk to our bishop, but he never returned her phone call. She had talked to several bishops, and no one had helped her yet. She did not want our help because we were too young and didn't know anything about life. She had a lot of questions, but would not tell us what was wrong or what was upsetting her or what she wanted from the bishops. We did our best to answer her questions and teach her small principles, and with time she calmed down and started to listen. She started to trust us and finally opened up. We found out her daughter is a member of the church. And lives in Concepcion. And I know her! So we are all going to have lunch together soon! The fact that I knew her daughter seemed to be the key and she is excited to meet with us and learn from us! This probably isn't the only reason I served in Concepcion and then Escazu, but I know I was in Concepcion for a reason and I know I am now in Escazu for a reason. And now we will have the opportunity to help this family. :)

     

It was another great week! We are not super close to our goal of 200 baptisms yet, but we still have time! We should have one this week with "P"! He is doing great! And maybe "E" next week! We just need permission from her Catholic father first. Shouldn't be too hard. ;) She is adorable and loves learning and reading from the Book of Mormon.
    

Have a super excellent week!!! It is almost Thanksgiving break! Wahoo! I love you all! :) Chao!
   

Love,

Hermana Markle. :)

Items of Business:

1. MADI COMES HOME from her mission!!! YAHOO!!! :)

2. Send me lots of pictures!!!

3. How did the game night go with Katie's boyfriend..?

4. We are having email time on Tuesday next week. I am not sure why, they just wanted us to warn you so you don't freak out when I don't email on Monday.

5. I am glad you got the letters! And 21 days is a lot!!! I will have to send things earlier...

6. Oh yeah, Mom and Dad, if you ever change Emails, Phone numbers, Addresses, Ward, or Stake, Please let me know so I can tell Hermana Wilkinson.

7. I miss you all! And I pray for you everyday! Thank you for all of your love and support! Stay safe and happy!  :)

I'm the Gringa in the middle!

Futbal (soccer) on P-Day with our District!

November 10, 2014

Hola! Sup!?

Life in Escazu is still great! I am starting to learn the area more and see all of the random cool stuff here! Bad news, our house is infested with ants. They crawl all over my clothes, my desk, my books, my shoes, our food (in plastic bags), and me! I just ignore them now, they don't bite or anything. And sometimes I play games with them, or spray them with Lysol, or feed them. Its kinda fun I guess. :) Cool news, the buses here remind me of Harry Potter! They go super fast, squeeze through places they should not fit, and stop suddenly for people crossing the road. I have actually almost been hit by a bus like 3 times. It is safer to be in the bus than walking on the side of the road. Also kinda fun I guess. :)

Our goal this month as a Mission is to have 200 baptisms. We have about 230 missionaries, so that is about one per person this month. So far we have one solid baptism planned and two ify baptisms planned. We have been working hard to prepare our investigators, and find new ones that are ready, but everyone seems to have a problem that makes them need to wait until December. Several need to get married, and everyone here drinks Coffee, but we are working hard to help them progress, learn more, and enjoy the blessings of obedience! I love watching their progression!

One miracle from this week, is "E". Our appointment fell through, so my companion pulled out a list of people we could try to look for. They were either less active members, or had moved without telling anyone. We really needed to be finding new investigators, so I wasn't sure how this was going to help us, but she felt like it was right, so we started to search. After several either not being home, or not living here anymore, we ended up close to the house of a less active member who we already knew, so we decided to visit her. When we walked in the house, I felt like I should say hi to the kids playing in the other room. I could tell one of them needed us. E was there and immediately ran to me and gave me a hug and said `'One day I want to be a part of your church!' I asked her how old she was and she said 8! So I told her she could be baptized whenever she wanted to! And she got so happy, she ran to her mom and begged her to let her be baptized. Her mom said she would need the lessons first and to receive an answer for herself, and we agreed! So now we have lessons every week with cute little E and she is working towards being baptized this month as well! She is very smart and understands everything we teach and loves to read our pamphlets and from the Book of Mormon, it is adorable!

Our lessons with "N" are still going well! I am getting better at teaching in English now. :) I just need to learn how to say all of this stuff in Spanish! 

This week while reading from the Book of Mormon, I was thinking about the promise in the Introduction. If you read this book, ponder its message, and ask God if it is true, you WILL receive and answer. And once you do, you will also know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the one and only true church on the earthy today. Your entire testimony can be started from the Book of Mormon. And any doubt you have can be answered through the Book of Mormon. It is so important to receive an answer from God about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon for yourself. And with that answer, you can answer a million different questions. :) 

I love you all!! Have a fantastic week!!! :) I am doing well and working hard!

Love,

Hermana Markle. :)

Items of Business....

1. Madi gets home from her mission in 9 days??? Is she ready? Or does she want to stay??

2. Happy Birthday Madi!

3. Did my letters ever make it to you???? The one for Madi and the one for the Family????

4. Can you have Sophie email me so I have her address? I have gotten random notes from her via you guys, but have no way to reply.

5. I went to the Chiropractor today with my companion because she has a hip problem and I have a shoulder problem. He told me a lot of crazy stuff about my life and about my personality. So that was fun. Apparently because I have an older brother and an older sister, and I am number 3, I am independent and self reliant. And because I am girl number 2, I don't take no for an answer and I do what I want. And because I am a middle child, I have problems with my Kidneys. And other fun stuff too. Most of it was actually pretty correct. But I didn't know it was because of my placement in the family! Cool! :) Anyways... Apparently my shoulder was out of place. Its been hurting since the MTC. He popped it back into place and it feels better for now! Hopefully that fixed it! And the fortune telling was just a bonus! :)

6. Have a great week! You are the best family in the whole world! :)

7. It is starting to look a lot like Christmas!!!!!!! I GOT THE PACKAGE!!!!!! :) :) YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!! :) :) :) THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) I love you!!!! It was the best!!! I loved it all! Except for the wrapped presents of course... Because I haven't opened them! 

8. The acid reducer was perfect timing! I have had bad reflux this week and it is helping! The trees were adorable! The cards are super cute and in Spanish!!! Good work!!!!

9. Thank you!!!! :) I love you!! Don't feel pressure to send more packages, I am just so happy this one didn't get lost in the mail!

 

 

Birthday and Christmas package all in one! Arrived safe and sound!

Worlds smallest Christmas trees! We already decorated them - but the ornaments just might tip them over!

November 3, 2014

Hola!!!

Ahh man, I slept through two more bad earthquakes... When the volcano erupted it sent two bad earthquakes our way, but I didn't feel a thing... My companion told me all about it in the morning, and just about every single person we saw for the next two days as well. But when there are earthquakes at 1:37am and 3:42am, they aren't that exciting for me...  BUT I didn't miss the lightning that struck our house!!! We were just minding our own business, having weekly planning, when all of the sudden the cables above our heads started to spark and we could see the lightning in our house! And at the same time there was a HUGE crash of thunder that shook the house. But once again, we were safe and just had something cool to write about in our journals. :) I guess this paragraph has a lot of earthquakes, thunder, lightning, and volcano's, I should probably start a new paragraph before I scare my mom...

Escazù is beautiful! I love it here! I really miss Concepciòn and all of my investigators there, but I am starting to feel more at home here! We are still in the mountains, so it is cold and rainy, but we get more sun during the day here, and it is a little less cold at nights. Our city is HUGE though. From our house to one area is a 30 minute bus ride, and to an area in the other direction a 30 minute walk. And I haven't even been to all of the areas yet because this city is too big. But that means we have more to do! We have 7 missionaries for our ward, so we have plenty of help! Two Hermanas and 5 Elders, one trio.

Our apartment is on top of someones house, so that is pretty fun! There is way more space when you only have two missionaries in one apartment! But yes, I am still living out of my suitcases... It is a personal goal of mine to never unpack. Way easier. Today we spent 3 hours scrubbing the apartment because I decided it was dirty and needed a little help. My companion is a good sport. :)

At first they wanted my Hermana Villanueva and I to focus on reactivation. So we had a lot of lessons with less active families this week. But now I think the Bishop wants one of the sets of Elders to focus on reactivation, because we need more active Priesthood holders, and the Elders can work with the men better, so we are back to normal missionary work. But I like my new ward! We have about 130 active members right now. And probably 30% are from North America! There is a lot of English in this city!

Speaking of English, I gave my first lesson in English this week... Weirdest thing I have ever done... It started our super rough. I am so used to Spanish for gospel things, it is hard to pray in English or give lessons in English! Don't worry, I am still really good at having normal conversations in English, just nothing gospel related. But this investigator is from India! Her name is Neelem and she doesn't know any Spanish yet, so my companion sat and listened while I taught. :) She had soo many questions, and I thought it went pretty bad, but at the end, I taught her how to pray. She said the closing prayer and afterwards she had a huge smile on her face and said she felt like she was really talking to God and she could feel a connection with Him! It made me so happy! But I need to work on my English now. And my Spanish. Both languages are a big jumble now.

Scripture for the day... 2 Nephi 4: 34-35. Pray and you shall receive. Put your trust in God, not in man. Look to God in all, pray, and he will give unto you. Our Heavenly Father really is there. And you really can pray to Him and ask for help. He loves you and wants to help you. Don't go through life alone, put your trust in God. :)

I am starting to feel more at home in this new area and I am excited to learn more! Until next week, I love you all and I hope you have the best weeks ever!!! :) Stay happy, healthy, and safe! Chao!!

Love,

Hermana Markle. :)

Items of business...

1. The nursing stuff is still good! Hermana Villanueva is super patient and doesn't mind taking over the lesson while I take a call or reading scriptures while I type.

2. Good job on your lesson mom! You are a great teacher and I always love your lessons!

3. I go to the Mission office on Friday, so I will check for the package then!! I am going to have an insurance claim paper work party with Hermana Peterson! And Hermana Villanueva is going to watch! Hahaha - or help if she can. :)

4. I love you all!!!!! And I miss you too!!!! Have a great week!!! :)

One last goodbye, with Hermana Gardner and Gallegos

New apartment - and still living out of my suitcases!

Suitcases make the best dresser drawers!

Escazu!

My new bedroom in Escazu

Escazu

My new companion - Hermana Villanueva

My desk in my new apartment

Email from Hermana Peterson, Senior Missionary in Costa Rica

Hi Shauna,

Yesterday, we welcomed about 10-11 new missionaries. Only 1 was North American. Every time we get new misionaros in, the nurse or nurses talk to the newbies about how to stay healthy & a few other health related instructions. The young Mission nurse usually talks to the Latinos & I talk to the Gringos, but this time there was only 1 Gringo, so we combined everyone. I just wanted you to know that Hna. Markle did a great job talking to them totally in Español. She got a little help a time or 2 from her companion, but I think she did a great job for only being here a month!!

Also, this foto tickled me & the reason why is that your sweet daughter is being 100% obedient. She's definitely an arm's length away from Elder VanderMeyden : )

I can tell already that I'm going to thoroughly enjoy working with her. From 1 Mom to the next, I wanted you to know!!

Love, Senior Hna.Petersen
P.E.F./Self-Reliance Misionara
Retired R.N. & Assistant Mission Nurse Specialist (M.N.S.) to Hna. Markle ; )