the golden years, can't wait for them

i was doing a new patient assessment. it went like this:

myself and the company marketer walk into this old little apt. This 97 year old man, and probably about 97 lbs, was sitting alone on a moldy sofa.

me "Hello Fred (name changed), my name is Shanna, how are you doing?"

fred "I know what you're thinking (yelling in an old crackly voice). And NO I don't have dementia."

Great introduction. And he was just getting started.....

We did a short assessment, and out of the blue he turned his head towards me and locked his gaze.

fred "Why?" "WHY??"he shouted (the marketer asked "why what?") "Why?" he said again. He didn't take his foggy cataract eyes off me for a second. The war was on.

me Staring right back at him, in a firm voice, "Because" he blinked, processing my response. Then his lips raised to show a toothless smile and he started laughing.

fred: "Have you ever heard the Golden years poem?"

me "no"

fred: not waiting for an invitation started in, by memory,

(some words have been changed.. so if it doesn't make sense sorry...)

" The Golden Years, my golden years have come at last, I cannot see, I cannot pee, I cannot chew, Oh My what can I do? My memory shrinks My hearing stinks No sense of smell I look like heck! My mood is bad - can you tell? My body's drooping, Have trouble pooping The Golden Years has come at last ,The Golden Years can kiss my but."

i LOVE my job.

aLL we can DO.

we all are nothing but victims of fate. tossed and frown upon the winds of uncertainness. heaved to the tidal waves of bleak unknown. Riding a wave, without really knowing what we are riding. Where we are going. It could collapse at any second.

Questions pulse through the mind...What will happen. If I do fall, where will I fall to. If I don't fall where will this wave take me to. Can I change where I'm going. Do I want to. How do I get where I want to go. Where do I want to go. They go on...& on.

What then? All we can do is keep breathing. Keep riding. Adapt our instincts to where it takes us. We must LIVE 4 today. Does happiness depend on an event. a stage we reach in life. a number we see in our account. Events may or may never happen. The sun might. or might not. come out. You might buy any ice cream cone just to have it robbed at your first taste, by gravity. So why go on? There is no insurance company that can cover you from tosses of fate.. BUT. U choose how to ride the wave. You may not know where you're going. But WE DO choose HOW we go there.

A famous survivor of the concentration camps Viktor Frankl once said:

"We have come to know man as he really is. After all, man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however, he is also that being who entered those gas chambers upright, with the Lord's prayer or the Shema Yisrael on his lips."

man were created equal in the beginning, just somehow we all have ended up with different things on our plate. the REAl ? is: how will we ride the wave. what words will be on our lips as we walk into the chambers. it's not where we go. it's how we go there. .

waiting on the road to Damascus.

"Often, the answer to our prayer does not come while we’re on our knees but while we’re on our feet serving the Lord and serving those around us. Selfless acts of service and consecration refine our spirits, remove the scales from our spiritual eyes, and open the windows of heaven. By becoming the answer to someone’s prayer, we often find the answer to our own....dear friends, let us not wait too long on our road to Damascus. Instead, let us courageously move forward in faith, hope, and charity, and we will be blessed with the light we are all seeking upon the path of true discipleship."

DIETER F. UCHTDORF

http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/waiting-on-the-road-to-damascus?lang=eng&query=road

Shanna gets home this Wednesday evening and she will be reporting her mission Feb. 13 at 9 am. Our church is on E. River Road (3370 N. 500 W.) in Idaho Falls. Please call if you have questions: 525-9311

Hola familia!!!
I cannot believe it's my last email!! It snuck up on me so fast. I got a letter from Suzy!! and from my cousin Michael! Thanks that was fun! Please forgive there is no time to write back. I will just drop you a call in like 3 days haha.
I am filled with such mixed feelings I'm sure only a missionary could understand. There is happiness to finally see family and friends after so long, but thinking of leaving these people who have become so dear to me, who have taken and will forever hold a piece of who I am really saddens me. These people have changed me. They have taken me in and made me into family. I've served them, I've listened to their life stories, I've taught them the gospel and seen the changes it's made in their lives, I've laughed with them, cried with them (and heaven knows I've eaten with them!). I have rejoiced with them watching the answer to many prayers come to pass as the first temple in this country has been under construction. As I have looked into their eyes, I have felt the love that our Heavenly Father feels for his dear children in El Salvador, and I too have been filled with that same love.

I have attempted to look to the future and be happy knowing that I have fulfilled my mission here in this little country....but there is an unmistakable pain that sinks deeply.

But as the sun sets, that is normal I suppose. The closing of one chapter so remarkable in life comes with resistance and unfortunately pain. But I know the sun rises again, casting out the darkening shadows of a sad lonely night. There are new chapters yet to be written.

May each of us go forth heeding Alma's counsel to his son "look to God, and live" (Alma 37:47). There are beautiful horizons ahead, and many more mountains just waiting for us to move them! One step at a time we climb until we have moved them beneath us. Always Remembering. Always holding with us, those dear people who have changed us and made us become what we were foreordained to be. Holding with us the scars of painful times that bought us to our knees in counsel with the most high. May we not be afraid for whatever lies ahead, for the Lord God is with us.

Thank You. You all have been my support. I am reminded of the story of Moses, when there is a battle between Joshua and Amalek as Moses holds up his arms Joshua and the Israelites win, but when he puts them down Amalek begins to beat them. So Moses holds up his arms, but Aaron and Hur uphold Moses’ hands so that Joshua prevails against Amalek.

Exodus 17 "And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands awere heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur bstayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun."
I like the part that says Moses hands became heavy. He could not bear them anymore, I love what his brother does- Aaron and Hur then hold up Moses arms for him. My dear friends and family, you have done this for me. I have felt many times when I could no longer hold up my arms. The stress and weight of everything caused my arms to become heavy. You all have held up my arms. Through your prayers. through your letters, how to thank you all? I cannot. Just know that my heart is filled with an immeasurable amount of gratitude for what you all have done.
May God bless you as He has for me. I love you and thank you for your goodness. I know that God lives. Jesus is the Christ and the Messiah of the world. The gospel has been restored in its fullness through a young prophet Joseph Smith. The truths of eternal life and salvation are within the pages of the sacred Book of Mormon and Bible.
Our God reigneth!! HOOARAW FOR ISRAEL....
Hermana Shanna Tavenner

see you all at the tree!!

or airport.........

Hey FAMILIA Y AMIGOS

How are you all doing? Thanks for the letters!! Jessica Woods (we are SO fast writing!! joy.), a letter to the Weights that I sent that got returned to me (that counts as a letter right?) and my mother dear. Ok so with troubles finding postal services as well as how long it takes to get there I'm sorry but I don't have time to write letters before I go. I fly back to the states Feb.2. That is too soon....

This week has been crazy with nursing. Everyone decided to get sick, and we received calls like crazy. One missionary got stung by a scorpion (a really dangerous huge insect here) we were pretty nervous because people have died from that and we didn't know what to do for him. He asked for a health blessing. After receiving the blessing the part where he received the sting was completely uninflamed and showed no trace of a sting. I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood! I know that the Lord is mindful of us and that miracles have not ceased! I have seen them time and time again here. As we place our trust in him and move forward they are there. They do not always come how we want, or how we ask but God, just as a loving parent, sometimes says no for our good. His thoughts are not our thoughts neither are his ways our ways, but as we willingly accept his will then can he touch our lives and make of us so much more.

The Church...so true.
Joseph Smith....prophet called of God
Jesus Christ...the Savior and Redeemer of us all
I am SO grateful for the blessings of the restored gospel in my life. I pray that all of you too have been blessed with the tender mercies of God and can see his hand extended in your lives.

LOVE ya!!! HOORAW for Israel!

Sister Tavenner

Hey Fam..

This week you all gave me the haul.
Got a letter from NickI (you are blowing me away, you are better at
writing than my own fam) from Josephsons (awesome package, you know I
put those earrings in that same day, and have worn them EVERY day
since. And the chocolate……joy) ok and pictures and cute snowman
letters sent by my mother, wait for it…….card from Grandma….I open it
and a movie of christmas dogs started playing with barking. OK I
cannot even describe the happiness that filled my soul. I open it like
5 times a day, just to feel happy. Gracias :)

Ok this week was nothing short of amazing. We have been teaching a
sweet little old woman named Gloria for so long. She feeds us on
average 4 times a week (usually good food, but we did have a soup
made of cow stomach and nerves and intestines that I really had to
choke down). We truly are her adopted granddaughters. She comes to
church every week, but never had the desire to be baptized. It was
really hard for us, because we care about her a lot, and to think of
the blessings that God has for those who keep the commandments, not to
mention that the baptism is the door to eternal life. It was hard
for us that she could not receive those blessings. Well we passed by
Wednesday with the zone leaders to give her a blessing; she's been
sick lately. We talked a little about the healing power of Christ and
the importance of having faith in him. Then out of no where she said
"Hermana Tavenner,I want to be baptized. I want to before you go home"
I was blown away, I said " this Saturday?" and she said "Ok".

Her baptism was so awesome. Her son, Oscar, is a convert of mine. He
shared his testimony about how the gospel has changed his life, and
how finally the person most special to him in the world would finally
as well have those blessings in her life.

Sorry long story short, it was a day I will never forget. El Salvador
is the best. Saturday I was washing my clothes outside in our cement
sink slab thinking, I love this place! I have learned so much from
these people. We can learn so much from others as we live like them.


HOORAH 4 Israel
Hna TAV

January 10, 2011
Hola Familia,

How was the week in the snow and ice? Did I hear grandpa fell off his bike on the ice? He´s a trooper!! How many 80 year old men do you know hitting the icy roads at 6 in the morning.... YES that´s MY GRANDPA.

Thanks for the letters! I received one from Aunt Lorna. You guys are such the BEST. I am going to try and get a letter to you before I go, but I might get home before the letter...

So this week was great. About two weeks ago the Elders in the office came to our area to help us look for people to teach. They found a really great reference. We passed by him and set up an apt. So this week we headed for the apt when my comp asked which of the million of tiny apts it was.... I fumbled through my bag for a long time. Me. flake. Lost the directions. We knocked doors for about 20 minutes but no one knew who the person was. I said a silent prayer that somehow we could find where this man lived. I had the thought to call the Elders. My comp said it was crazy they had been here over 2 weeks ago and would not be able to help us. But I called them. The Elder described to me exactly what the house looked like and where to find it. We found it! Then we started teaching him. His name is Rafael, he has one son and his wife live there. We didn´t have much time but just taught about the apostasy. How after the death of the Savior the truth and power of God was taken from the earth. We planned on teaching about the Restoration the next lesson. As we started wrapping up the lesson he became agitated. "What happens next? God wouldn't just leave us without the truth right?" He caught me a little off guard, but excitedly we shared our testimonies that no God would not leave us like that, that two hundred years ago the heavens opened once more. It was a neat experience. I like to see that despite my weaknesses the work of the Lord continues.

These people are so humble. They could have nothing to feed their family but when we come to their home to share with them a message they sacrifice to give us a dirty cup of rice milk. (Yes this is maybe why I´ve turned into such the little fatty here ok, it´s my love for the people....) Love the work. Love the rice. Love the dirt streets. Love the bugs that seem to love me. Love my mother.

HOORAW FOR ISRAELLLLLL.
Hna Tavenner

FYI: Shanna will be home February 2 and will report her mission on February 13 at 9 am. We had a great time talking to her on Christmas Day and she hadn't told us until then when she would be coming home!!!


Hola familia, como estado todos?? I am missing you all a lot today! I don't have a whole lot of time to write. But thanks for the letters Grandma and Grandpa Skidmore. And also NICKI!! You guys +icecream=bestdayever.....

So we had a crazy New Year. The people here just lite off fireworks (that are more like bags of gun powder they just start on fire) from 9pm until 1am. So we didn't sleep a whole lot. It was a little harder as well to teach people, no one had time to receive us. But we visited the members and then on New Years Day we went over to the assistants house and helped them move houses. Talk about privileges. OK washing machine. Microwave. Three Bathrooms. My house......Cement slab to wash clothes. Little plug in heater thing to heat up food. Bug infested bathroom.

We are teaching this man Joaquin; he is a professional basketball trainer. He says that he has never been interested in receiving gospel studies, but says he really feels something different with us. We are also teaching three families right now. There is something so special about teaching families. I really like it better. The gospel is here for the family. How great is the plan of salvation! The Lord has something so much greater than this place prepared for us. This was my last fast and testimony meeting of my mission. (I think.....) It was really a weird feeling. I got up in front of the congregation and just stood there a second in silence. I touched my name tag and felt a terrible sadness. To leave something I've grown to love so much is really hard. I feel like I am watching one of those sand time keepers. As it gets near the end, the sand starts to fall faster and faster. I want so desperately to stop it but don't know how. How can I leave the family I have here? It's different because I doubt this family I will see again in this life. The Lord has a purpose in all things. Sometimes we have to go where he leads us, even when it's not where we want to go.


LOVE YOU SO mUCHO FAMILYYYY> HOORAW FOR ISRAEL.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR...... Wow will we really be in 2011?! When I first came to El Salvador it was 2009 and I thought the time would never come when it was 2011. And here it is, just around the river bend.

OK so did I get some SWEET letters? Si (that means yes). Megan in Italy (how in the world do I write you there, haven't the slightest) and JESSICAAAA WOOD ( fastest letter writer EVA) please I will write when I get to a post office, but in the rain forest it's kinda hard to find those......

Just to clear up some questions. Here in the mission, in my mission specifically the rules are really strict. I get on the computer once a week. mondays. 1 hour. I can only write family, but my mom (so faithful) posts my letters so the whole WORLD can read them (which I found out they do.....this week the new missionaries came and one of them told me he had been reading my letters since he found out he was coming here.....should that weird me out??)) so no I do NOT facebook. Google.Chat. I hardly email. I do not listen to any music or watch movies or anything that is not related to the church. But really it is great. YOu would think that living under strict rules like that would make someone feel held back or constrained. But I feel the opposite. It's like the string on a kite. It seems to be holding the kite down, but actually if we cut the string on a kite, the kite will fall. These rules, commandments are what allow us to become closer to God and the more we live the higher we can become.

So this week was a little rough tracking. Or finding people to teach. Everyone seemed to be Catholic this week (they are only Catholic during Christmas and Easter). I had a funny experience. Christmas Day we were knocking doors. It was my turn. I knocked. Waited. Finally this chubby girl came to the door. She was like 12. OK by this time my Spanish has gotten a lot better, not perfect at all but I feel I have at least mastered introductions, seeing we do it like 30 times every day. So chubby girl comes to door right. She sees me and her eyes get big. (This isn't too uncommon, to have a white giant knock on your door would cause your eyes to grown too) I just smiled and asked her what her name was. She shook her head and said I don't understand English. I looked at my comp from Peru, I was sure I had asked her in Spanish. Hna. Flores then asked her the exact same question- same words and the girl said her name, all relived that she could talk to a Latina. Hna Ramirez just started laughing and sat on the ground attempting to control herself.

Christmas was great. We tried to sleep through the crazy fireworks that went off all night. I read the account in Luke 2 and had a special little moment Christmas Eve to remember the real meaning of this special day. This year I have grown to know the Savior better than ever before. As we try to walk in his shoes. As we try to be his hands for others we truly come to know him.

LOVE the work of God. Love family. Love friends. LOVE the GOSPEL. HOORAW 4 ISRAEL>>>>>

Hna TAvenner

HEY. Everybody everywhere in the whole wide world, how are ya'll?? I am missing all your cute faces. I hope some of you will send me a family Christmas greeting card.
This week I got a letter from SuzPants (you so need to come to El Sal) Thanks!


So how to even describe my week. I don't know how. The journey started like 5 or 6 weeks ago when we knocked on this sweet little family's door. This last Saturday they were baptized. How can I describe this to you? I cannot. My mom always says I really lack details, but I feel that to attempt to describe it is impossible, so I choose instead to tell you I ate lizard legs for Thanksgiving.

We got to the church building Saturday. It was a huge baptismal service, it was titled "white Christmas" and it was a baptismal service for the whole stake. Our mission president came to see. Hna Ramirez and I were there early to start filling the font and clean up the place. After we finished setting up chairs, we sat down and just watched the crystal clear water as it quickly filled the font (I've learned it's better to wait there while it's filling up....) Wow. There is NO sweeter sound than that of rushing water of a baptism font. Knowing that these people would finally partake of the water of eternal life. They had taken a step of faith, decided to change their life so that they finally could fulfill what the Lord wanted of them, finally know what the living water tastes like. I am reminded of the woman at the well, and the Savior's teaching on what truly was the source of living water. (John 4)


Then on Sunday we went by the family's apt after church . They had dinner prepared for us and we all started to eat with exception of the father. We asked him why he was not eating and he quietly almost ashamed told us he was fasting. JOY. When did my convert become stronger than I? BEST

I LOVE this work. "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." Remember what is the water of life. The water that if we drink we shall not thirst again.

HOORAW FOR ISRAEL
Hna TAVENNER

HELLO

How's it going the best looking family/ friends EVER.

Thanks for the letters...... JESSICA WOOD (wow i about passed out with JOY.really jess...too long) . Heidi (Ok did I see you yesterday?! at the Christmas Devo Broadcast and I'm like almost positive I saw you in the congregation...and with a guy? Did your hair get long? I'm 96.3% positive that was YOU.))) And Grandpa and ma Skittles!! BEST>>>


So this week was amazing. We went and sang at a children's hospital. I don't know what it is about kids but there is something so pure about them. We went with the stake choir and we sang our little hearts out to those sweet children. My heart broke looking around at the poor conditions that they are treated in. My comp and I are both nurses from the states and looking at the charting system and the sanitary conditions there put us both sick to the stomach. But their cute little smiling faces as we sang and passed out presents was something that cannot be forgotten and it makes me realize the purpose of life. They find joy so easily despite their circumstances.

The Lord's protection has been over us. This country is not the safest, I will have to share some stories when I get back, but I have been so grateful that we truly are protected here and I know through the prayers of you all we are never left alone here. We really have help from above.

I too am praying that this season finds you all very well. That you all will take time to remember the birth of the Savior and what significance his birth can have in your life. He was born and died for us. May we give him the gift of living for him.

LOVE YOU MORE THAN SUGAR PLUMS AND HOT CHOCOLATE.
HOORAH 4 Jesus.
& Israel.

xoxoxox
HNA TAVENNER

Hey

Thanksgiving. Feast of the Indians. I think I ate more than any of you did! Ha

But thanks SO much for the letters this week. Guess who wrote...drum roll yes Ashley Keller. joy. Anna Whitlock. Nicki Tyler (such the faithful).. BEST.

So this week......

My new comp and I are loving this mission stuff a tad too much. She maybe jumped on my bed screaming at 3 am this morning. She said she felt something moving in her bed. After looking she did have a rat in there just chilling out. The poor guy was probably cold and just wanted to share her covers. Also we again have gone to preaching on the bus. This is something I love but my comps almost always think I'm crazy and don't want to do it. But this Ramirez....yes.

We decided to have an awesome Thanksgiving, too, so we went over to this sweet place and got an iguana to go. We took it to the house and opened it up and almost lost our lunch (even though we hadn't even eaten our lunch yet). They basically cut off the head and the front two legs, and stuck the little guy in the frying pan. Then they topped him with veggies and a tortilla and threw the lizard on our plate. Talk about an elegant FEAST. But YES we ate him. and I may be paid for it the rest of the day, turns out the stomach isn't use to lizard meat....

We had an almost baptism. Our dear grandmother here, Gloria had her interview and passed! We organized everything; but then we passed by her house Saturday morning, and she said she had changed her mind. She said she needed some more time. But we had some awesome lessons with a family I found about 4 weeks ago knocking doors. They went to church and are the sweetest most wonderful family. They are young, the husband is like 28 and the wife the same. We are doing everything possible to help them to get in the water. Enter the fold. Our goal is DEC 11.

I am so blessed. To see people change their perspective. To see things that are beyond our mortal vision. To remember their purpose in life and to prepare to have eternal families is the greatest joy, one cannot describe.

happy happy. joy JOY.
HOORAW for Israel.

SISTER TAVENNER

Hey FaMMMMM

Hows it going???? Everyone here tells me I am the old one in the mission, and it's really weird for me to think about. I still feel like I have a long of time. Actually I've heard word that they will dedicate the temple here in El Salvador in March or April and I already asked permission to extend my mission to help with the temple open house. Pray for me that I can do that! It would be such an awesome experience!!

This week was transfers. My daughter had transfers. Where we live is closest to the mission office and mission house, so the new girl from Utah stayed with us for two nights. It was fun to see how scared and bamboozled the poor dear was. EL Salvador is like a different world and I think I forget until I see the new ones get here completely unable to speak to anyone and so confused how to wash their clothes in a cement slab outside. Also hermana Farnsworth, my old comp got to sleep with us her last night here. So we had a ton of mattresses pulled out all over the floor, SLUMBER PARTY. We even had pupusas. Yes. life here is the best......

So my new comp is Hna. Ramirez, but she is from the states!! Only the second gringa companion I've had, and I think it will be my last American comp. I'm training her to be the new nurse! Things this week were a little crazy. Had a few calls in the middle of the night and sent an elder to have an emergency operation of his appendix.

The temple is the greatest place of earth. a piece of heaven in the world. Do EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to go there. Our eyes are opened a little more and then we can see a part of the plan of the Lord for us. I love this work. Love the temple. Love you ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL.



HOORaw for isrAEL....
HnaTAVENNER

Hey FAMMMMMM

What is happening? How's the candy? How was the tricking and the treating and the pumpkin pie eating....or is that only for Thanksgiving???....I have been away from the states TOO long.

This week thanks for the letters!! I received, oh wait I don't think I got any.When they are handing out all the packages and cards everyone just sits their all tense, hoping, praying that one beautiful card will have their name on it. When they get to the last one and say the name of the missionary next to you and you sit there staring at your sweaty empty hands it's the kind of feeling you get after buying an ice cream cone and then after the first lick watching the creamy vanilla fall to the floor. Haha just kidding. I exaggerate maybe just a tab sometimes. The elders make fun of me because I get more mail than everyone in my zone. And this week I did get a dearelder from mom with updates from the cousins. Booyah.

So about the mission work, that is why I"m writing. Can I just say.....I love this country. In this area we don't have a cook, so we make all our our food. You'd think, ok they will be eating better because they can choose what they cook right? Wrong. You don't know me. I"m lazy. I made beans for lunch four times this week and we ate pupusas for dinner three times.

We went to visit David and Silvia this week, like every other day. Oh we were so close to planning a wedding and an awesome baptismal service! We felt the spirit. We planned the wedding. We sang the hymns. We brought the members. We brought the zone leaders. We read the scriptures.We ate the chocolate. We did EVERYTHING. joy... wedding.... baptisms.... love.... But as my 7th grade history teacher use to always say.. all good things must come to an end. The husband, David, finally devastatingly told us Friday night that he could not accept to be married right now. The commitment was too big and was not ready. We were crushed. We attempted to help him change his mind and see the big picture, but he is a stubborn man. Why do I always get the investigators that are so stubborn? So my comp and I went home. sad. Went to church and brought no investigators. more sad. And we ate some more chocolate.

I know that God has a plan for these dear people. I don't always understand it. Ok I never understand it. And never can see things the way he sees them, but I"m trusting in him and trying to follow. I'm going forth. Book of Mormon in hand, chocolate bar in the other. bringing salvation to the souls of man!!!

LOVE you all SOOOO much I wish I could just give you all a big hug and juicy kiss!!! ((WOW I've changed here huh???????))

HOORAW FOR ISRAEL
Hna Tav

Hello Dear friends and FAMILY.

Thanks for mail. Megan (in ITALY! how to write you, I don't even know?!) and mom ( always such the valiant with writing) I would like to hear from Lara Bishop (how to write her, do not know).

Ok so I am sorry I've been bad with details lately huh?

Monday....pday we played soccer (well the elders) bought our food for the week, cleaned the house, and had an awesome apt that fell through....

Tuesday.....I went to the mission office, filled the report, first in Spanish for our president and then did the report in English for the area doctor. Worked a little on insurances, starting to get medicine ready for the new missionaries coming in next transfer

Wednesday.....We knocked the doors. Visited our most positive people. Gloria (this dear lady we call our grandmother. We have been teaching her for awhile, she's already been to church 3 times but only for 1 hour because after that her legs hurt her really bad. She doesn't have any grandchildren and I really think she has adopted us. She ALWAYS has food ready for us and lotions and soap. For example we ate soup with her this past week. Only it was different than mom's soup. It was cow intestines, and nerves, I really prayed for help to eat it but I didn't make it through much. My little grandma just stood their watching me eat it, so proud of me with every sip. I just smiled as real as I could muster and sipped and sipped. I will be blessed for that I hope. But she is the SWEETEST and one day I think we're see her in WHITE.

Thursday....Mutilzone we got a tad lost trying to find the city Apopya to the mutlizone, but it was really great. Our president and his wife are amazing.

Friday.....Visited David and Silvia. This is a sweet family who we are also working with. The husband, David had a motorcycle accident and fractures his upper vertebrae, so he has a neck brace and a walked, but it is a miracle that he is alive. His wife (well they are not married) Silvia has been to church like 5 times. she loves it and wants to be baptized, but they are not married. So we are planning a wedding, only he has to agree. But people here do not like to get married, so we'll see how everything goes.

Saturday....Knocked doors

Sunday...Church at 2:00 in the afternoon! and Dinner with David and Silvia, beans and eggs...BEST.

I"M SOOOOO GREAT. YOU are all the best. THanks for your support and prayers and LETTERS. LOVE YOU ALL> HOORAWWWW FOR ISRAELLLLL...

Hna TAvenner

Hey Everyone. Ok so I'm sorry my letters have been bad lately, but next week I´ll send a good one! We had a feast of pupusas last night. One member brought them to us to break our fast, it´s like the steak and potatoes here, but I have really been craving some Barbara surprise, mom could you send me some????

My comp was sick this week so she stayed with a member and I did the mission stuff. We have two possibilities for baptisms; they are youth living with others who are members, but they are really great! Carlos and Rafael. Pray that all goes well and two more can join the fold!!!

There is a new greeny in our zone, and I just feel for him. He doesn´t understand ANYTHING. He sleeps with his shoes on, (I think he saw Other side of Heaven) and he doesn´t shower because he doesn´t understand how to shower using nothing but a bucket, poor guy.

THIS WORK=BESTEST. Hooraw for mom´s casserole and ISRAEL.
XOXOXOXO

Hna TAV
meet ya at the tree

HELLO everyone. How's it going??? Ok I don't have much time to write, and I'm not in a writer mood, so I"ll make this short. You all will be happier with a shorter letter anyway right?

Thanks for the letters this week, I got one from Jen (anne of green gables, wow you are the best and I am jealous) hope all is well and you are changing apts soon, and from Megan (faster mail responding ever are you in Italy yet?).

This week we had transfers. I didn't get transferred, my companion either. We went to the conference and LOVED them, a little too much. We had an investigator there who we had taught the first discussion, he is a kid 12 years, but he lives with his grandpa who is a member. It was cool because in the conference one of the talks related the first vision and this kid gave the whole first vision account in Joseph Smiths words my companion and I were a little stunned to hear him whispering the words to himself, but also overjoyed.

I also got good news this week. About 4 months ago I spoke to a man in the bus. Invited him to church. Well we always do that, but they never come. Well I saw him the next Sunday at church and was so stoked. But after asking information about his house we found he was in another area so we passed on the reference. Well this week I found out he was baptized!! JOY.

Ok love you all. Love the prophet. Love the special dinner we had after the conference of meat, and beans. LIFE =GOOD.

HOORAW FOR ISRAEL!!!

and happy birthday to my cutest little sister :)

Hna TAVENNER

Hey! How in the world is everyone doing? Has it maybe been the longest? But the time has gone by too fast.

So my week. Can I just draw you a picture to help you all get a feel for my week?? Do you remember being a kid ready for a day at the beach. Pail and shovel in hand. Working effortlessly on the world's greatest sandcastle. The kind that has a little river circling it. Seashells bordering it. Laboring the whole day. Then standing back feeling the tightness of your sunburnt skin and with dirty sand covered hands attempt to fish out the crawly critters that somehow found place in your swim trunks. Yes. Then looking for your mother to show her your master piece, out of the corner of your eye see it. The wave comes slowly rolling in. And as if in slow motion gently surfs across your masterpiece, then retreats leaving you stunned, staring at the what once was a piece a art, but now nothing more than a piece of mush and seashells.

I don´t know if you´ve had that experience. I have. And this week somehow felt a lot like that. Long story short we prepared a man named Oscar for his baptism. He had his interview. He had all the lessons. He loves the church. He´s way excited for this covenant. Then BAM the wave hit. We went to his house Saturday to confirm everything for his baptism when he confessed to us that he had not really stopped smoking. It was really hard. My comp and I had worked endlessly with him. Prayed, fasted, and delighted to see changes and get everything prepared for his special day. We just sat there feeling like our sandcastle got crashed by a wave. Then on top of that our other investigator told us she decided she did not like the church and did not want us to visit her any more. That was kind of our week.

But I am all hopes that Oscar can change and we set a new date for him to be baptized. But the Lord is good and this week we also were able to see miracles. Maybe some day I´ll have the chance to tell you all about them.

I LOVE the work. Even when it´s hard. When it´s hard is when I have the chance to grow closer to the Lord. Hoorah for Israel. LOVE YOU ALL more than crawly things in the swimsuit....

Hna TAv

HELLO....

What's up everyone? I hope everyone is doing well. I am . Here in Spanish whenever we ask people how they are, they say, aqui mira, or here I am look. Yeah a little weird. But here I am look.

So let me just start out by quoting my zone leader, he said "Wow Hermana Tavenner, with you things are never boring are they". I don't even know how to tell my story.....

This week we had interviews with Pres. and during the interviews people were at the church cleaning and getting everything prepared for stake conference that weekend. We also had two baptisms of kids from a family we reactivated. So Saturday we passed by the church at 10 to start filling the font. Our mission leader said it takes about 2 hours or 2 1/2 hours to fill, which is normal, in my other area it was like 3 hours. So we started to fill ita nd then left to two appointments that we had planned. I kept having the thought to go back to the church. But these were really important appointments, and my companion said I was just worrying. So we went to the appointments. We had planned to grab lunch and then go to the church to stop the water, but again I had the thought to go back to the church. So we decided to order pizza at the church and eat that for lunch. When we arrived at the church building, OH MY LANTA. We maybe flooded the church.....

I think my mission leader was confused; maybe he thought I was asking how long it took to fill the church building. And with the stake conference priesthood session an hour and a half away, (not to mention my mission president would be speaking at it) we looked around at the flooded building feeling every joy in our heart drop to the floor.

We waded through the water until we got to the font and turned off the water. Luckily in El Salvador they only use tile and not carpet. I don't know how, but with help from members and prayers and us mopping like crazy somehow we had the baptisms and the stake priesthood session one hour later.

I have decided to listen from now on to the prompting I receive. I learned the lesson the hard way. But how grateful I am for this great power we have, the ability to receive inspiration from the Lord at whatever moment. If we keep our lines clean and clear from the clutter of the world, we can receive spiritual promptings. But we must do our part too, and ACT after we receive them......

Burnt hands, giving birth to jelly fish, preaching in buses, salvation of souls, flooding of church buildings right before stake conference, it's all part of the wonderful and glorious work of the Lord.

HOORAW FOR ISRAEL!!!

Hna Tav

Como están mis queridos hermanos y amigos? Santa vaca ya es bastante tiempo que no hablamos y no he visto sus carras tan bonitas (algunos de Ustedes..) pero de verdad un ano ya ha pasado. Espero que ya saben estoy pensando y orando por Ustedes casi siempre....



What’s up cutest family and dearest friends in the WORLD? Hows life in the states?? Thanks for the updates::::Soooo this week got a setter from Heidi (wow are you really home?), suz pants (you NEED to come to El Salvador!!), and invitation for Nicki’s wedding NDB ( cutest couple EVER).



So yeah you can tell it was a good week for me. I am doing really great. This week we had a baptism.. her name is Tatiana she is a young girl, 20 years old, her sister is already a member and so she was a reference. It was a hard process for her. She had to change a lot of things in her life. I"m sorry I'm not really into describing things. For me it is hard to write a lot about the people we are working with and the changes we are seeing because how does someone attempt to describe it? How do you write to other people that you found someone who wants to change their life. Who finally embraced the truth, who prayed and received an answer and that has entered into the gate that will one day lead them to eternal life, to the greatest joy they could ever hope for, to live with God in his mansions and inherit all that he has? How can I even describe that? I can't. So usually I just hope you know when I say someone was baptized you know that it was a hard painful process arriving at that point. But soooooooo worth it.

Next week we have another baptism, of two children. It was quite awesome really. Like our second day here we were wondering around, a tad lost, when some man who I didn't even know told us that members of our church lived in an apt near where we were. So we knocked on the door and found this huge family that was way inactive for many years. It was really neat though because the mother the night before decided she wanted to change her life and get back on the path, and the next day there we were. So their children will be baptized this Saturday and we are full of JOY.

You have a great heritage. You are sons and daughters of the prophets. Royal blood literally runs through your veins and the right to inherit all of the blessings of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. But what will you choose? Only YOU can reach out and take hold of those blessings. YOU were given your agency and the ability to choose eternal life to choose to be who you were created to be, but will you? Or will you be satisfied with what the world has to offer? Will you make this your home? Will you try to fit in here. To become apart of the world, the American dream, to be someone big someone important in this world, but someone who will never have your throne in the kingdom of our Father? It is up to US to choose. But we were made for something so much greater.

HOORAW FOR ISRAEL. Love you all more than pumpkin pie, and believe me I'm suffering haven't had it for like a year.....

Hermana Tavenner