Feliz dia de Gracias!

Hola Hola hola mis amores!

Feliz dia de gracias! This last week and a half have been great we were able to find this cool guy named Guillermo as well as truly see one investigator understand our message and how it is different and special! But since it is thanksgiving I think I would like to really focus this email on things I have learned and am grateful for! 

First I am grateful for all of the NEW THINGS I have been able to experience o my mission! Near the beginning of my mission I started a journal called brand new things, This journal was filled with many things like never have I ever seen that, been called that....., done that, had that happen to me And so on! and it made for some amazing hilarious memories! Anyways so here are a few

Brand new Things!:

-having 64 mosquito bites on my legs!

-been kissed by 3 strange men (on the cheek)

-been told I need to get a Puerto Rican boyfriend! 

-given a bag of fish

-had 2 men compose a song about me and my companion and then blessed us by putting our hands on their faces:0 

-walked 2 and a half hours on the side of a freeway:0 haha one of my favorite adventures:)

-going to the bathroom in a kinda scary fisherman shack:)

And many more, but for every one of these I am so very grateful because they all  brought smiles to my face!

And of course the big brand new thing: surviving 2 category 5 hurricanes:0 

On my mission I truly have had some of the most amazing memories, but I believe the things I will cherish the most are the people I met and things I have learned. I could write a list much longer with miracles seen, and things learned. But I will try to some things up in just a few:)

First on monday it was two months since hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico

I am grateful that i was able to be a missionary in Puerto Rico when the hurricane came I just cannot express how many times we saw the hand of the Lord:) the hurricanes have brought me incredibly close to Christ and for that I am very grateful but don't get me wrong I still won't be naming any of my kids Mari a or Irma;) haha

I am grateful for the many incredible people I have met who have completely changed my perspective on many things, I have felt God's love so so much for the people I have served. I am grateful for the opportunity to look in people's eyes and feel God's perfect lobe for them, it is something I will testify of for the rest of my life. The people I have met have taught me what it means to cherish the gospel:) I do love this gospel.

I am also grateful for the opportunity of the mission to learn and grow my faith. I have truly had to come to rely on my savior, and I have felt his peace and come to learn that I am here as his instrument, and that he will NEVER leave us especially though our trials, but everything in our life is to help us. I love the video called the will of God. In it it talks about a fern bush and a gardener who cuts down the Bush. It tells of how it looked as if it was saying how could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful progress? The gardener then says I am the garedner here and I know what I want you to be. I don't just want you to be a fern bush but to grow into a something much more beautiful. I know that with every challenge in our lives, it is only to help us grow and I know the same goes to everything that has happened and I can trust in that and him

I am very very very very grateful for you all, for Puerto Rico, and for my loving heavenly father who has never, and will never leave.

Since it is almost pday I would ask that we all continue to pray for Rosa and aarnoldo!  I will share one more story about them real quick because I just love them so much! They have very little but one day we went over and had an FHE with them and an investigator that lived down the street named jessica:) the light of Christ shines through them as they bore their testimonies and you know as soon as you see them the love they have for our heavenly father,and the book of Mormon and others. They then made us tons of hot dogs wrapped in cheese and then fried, honestly one of the kindest acts and I believe one of my favorite meals because I knew what it meant, as they were very humble:)

I love you all so much!! And I hope you all have an amazing thanksgiving!<3

Con mucho Amor, Hermana Zimmerman:)

1) 9 MESES last week!

2) a hike we took to a waterfall last week!

3-4) ¡area we call spanishland and y me and my cute comp!

Halfwayyyy ahhhhh!

Hola todos!

This was a great week and we were able to meet some wonderful people and learned a lot! And so here are a few stories:)

First one big miracle was finding a sweet family this week! The husband and daughter were contacted a week ago, and when we came back the 2 little girls were so excited to see us! They went and called their mom and said "mom these girls are here to talk about god!" Haha it was so cute and very accurate:D this sweet mom came to door and was very receptive to us, she recently lost some famiky members and as we talked she was brought to tears as we shared the plan of salvation, the spirit was very strong and I am grateful that peace is always possible to be found.

We also had a sweet lesson with our investigator Guadalupe, she has been taught a lot by missionaries in the past few years, and we had a lesson about the holy ghost, as we taught she paused for a second and asked us if we have ever felt the spirit, I sat there and was so happy to be able to testify that I have, and a few stories, but really in missionary work one of the most beautiful parts is how close you can come to the spirit. I love missionary work<3

Some other exciting things that happened this week was that we had our ward thanksgiving dinner Latin style, and we had transfers! Me and hermana Hirschi are staying together I  our area for her last transfer, and this is just a 5 week transfer:0 We are so happy to stay together and seen many more miracles!

This week I also hit 9 meses:0 ahhhhh I am officially halfway and am incredibly grateful for every person I have met and how my testimony has grown. I really have seen the Lord's hand in this work, and most of all have felt his love for me and every person I meet, there is no greater joy than sitting in a home and feeling the love of the savior for the people you teach.  

There is one particular home that I felt this every time, and left with a greater understanding of God's love, and a love for the gospel. This was in the humble home of Rosa and aarnoldo. 

Last week I talked about how I would write a name every week of someone from Puerto Rico who we can all pray for, because I know that maybe saying many names it would be hard, but I hope that I will be able to adquatedly express how special and incredible they all truly are! I have shed many tears for them but I just know that with every small prayer, they will be watched over. This week 

Rosa y aarnoldo, they are the kindest, sweetest, most humble people i met in my second area in Cabo Rojo 2. They live close to the ocean, and aren't able to go to church because Rosa is paralyzed from the waist down and then on her right arm, we visited them often and every time they were just happy to hear us sing a hymn and always testified how much they know God is there for them! I just really can't express how special they are! They have the biggest hearts and I pray they are being watched over and protected everyday, please keep them in your prayers:)

I love you all so much and appreciate your support so much<3

Con mucho Amor, Hermana Zimmerman:)

Hola mis querios!

Hola, hola!

I hope yall had a great week:D and not too cold! I did not know California got cold but I don't think my wardrobe is quite ready for it! Haha todo bien:D

This week I learned that I should never be a primary teacher! Haha jk:) this week we went to a baptism for one of the elders in another ward because my companion played the piano! I sat by the kids whose dad was being baptized, they were so cute, funny and I ended up kinda watching them as their parents were busy, so we had some fun and I made origami frogs ( a zimmerman tradition) thinking that is a brilliant idea to entertain them, and turns out I really just made us all irreverent as they made me laugh! Haha but atlesst I made some friends and even have a sleepover scheduled for August 2018:D but really the baptism was soo wonderful!

One of the biggest tender mercies happened on a mini intercambio i went on this week, we did a blitz in our area and we all worked to find! We knocked on one door and met 2 Puerto Ricans!! I was superrrr feliz and we left with a few Jehovah witness pamphlets and it really just made me so so so happy! I adore my Puerto Ricans<3

Yesterday while I was praying I had an idea come to me, every week I ask you all to pray for Puerto Rico and sometimes specific people and i cant thank you enougn for those prayers. I was thinking of many people in specific and realized if I just put down many names, it may be hard to remember, but what if I just write down one name and a little of their story and how they touched my mission and heart and in the week maybe we can all pray for them specifically by name and need:) I love the scripture in 

2 Nefi 26:15 "...yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten." Also mosiah 27:14, 3 Nefi 18:20)  Specifically how the prayers will be heard, and they will not be forgotten.  We/I may not be able to do much, but I know the power of prayer. 

So every week I will write down one name from contacts, investigators, members, and wards and please keep them in your sweet prayers:)

Claudia: she actually found me and hermana rich monday before the storm, she lived 2 houses down from us and asked us if we are from that church that is across the street, she said she would love to come! She expressed how she wants to find a place and bore her sincere desire to come and learn, she was so excited when we told her we could walk to church with her! She was only a co tact but I felt her kind heart, please keep her in your prayers and pray she will be able to find peace in the gospel and comfort in the church:)   as i lool back at this experience i remember the excitement we felt and now recognize how amazing it is that she knows where the church is and that she is very welcomed<3

I love you all so so much, and am so grateful for the love and support you have all shown me, you are all the world's greatest! Truly<3

Con mucho mucho Amor, Hermana Zimmerman:)

1) me and hermana arriagada on splits

2)sunsets are the best:)

20 anos....Yikes!

Hola todos!

Yesterday we had interviews so our p-day is now today!

This week went well! We are trying to find more investigators especially Spanish speakers! Haha the language barrier is so real between many in my area, and update on learning our church name in Mandarin, it's close! Haha I'm still practicing, for now I just kinda smile and give them a card!

Anyways but we did see a miracle this week! First it was my birthday on Saturday, and I turned 20! Ahh people always tell me i look between 10-16 so im just not sure how people are gonna handle this... haha i love it, i love poeple and i feel at home in puerto rico whem they tell me that too! But it was a great day, on the morning the other sisters who are the Spanish ysa  sisters came over for exercise and we went to a park! Then they sprayed me with a lot of silly string! Haha they also were so sweet and decorated our apartment while we were gone! I had lots of donuts, pizza and blew out candles from a watermelon, it was wonderful! Haha but to what matters most, the miracle we saw this week that was on my bday, so ofcourse a birthday miracle! As I said before we have been trying to find this week, and last week we got a reference from the Chinese sisters, so we went and visited her on Saturday and was in an area neither of us had ever been, she has the cutest kids and while we were taking she already started reading the pamphlet we gave her, she said that we could come back and even went through her schedule to make sure she would be there when we came, she is super sweer and awesome and just made my day!

Overall things are going good here! I am continually surprised with how much i can eat, and how many spider webs i can run into! Haha we call them spider hugs:)  but things are good, the people are great and God is amazing!  

Something I was reminded of this week was the love our heavenly father and Jesus Christ has for us, we love him because he loved us first, so love your neighbor, your family, and the stranger on the street:) 

I love you all! And please keep Puerto rico in your prayers<3

Con mucho Amor, Hermana Zimmerman:)