Sister Macey Gates // Week Eighteen

     This week has been pretty normal, but we did reach the Standard of Excellence!!!! Its when you have 7 member present lessons, 4 people at church, and 20 lessons. This week we had 7 member present lessons( they are really hard to get in the spanish ward) 5 people at church( holy miracles) and 26 lessons. It was a miracle of all miracles this week.  We fasted and prayed and i know our prayers are heard.  So Vicente didnt get baptized, he is not ready. We talked about repentance and it made him feel guilty haha and he said he needed to read and pray more. So apparently he had a girlfriend, hes 68 gross, and she was there one time when we went and taught him. We taught him the law of chastity a couple days before. So he told her, Carmen, that he wasnt going to pay her cause he is living the law of chastiy, and then she left really mad. He was sitting outside with us and she locked him out of his house.... He has the door that has the bars, oh my gosh it was the funniest saddest thing ever!! But we were so proud of him for telling her that and she hasnt come back since! Nothing really much has happened. We cant seem to get our investigators to commit to baptism but we are working hard! Helping them to gain a testimony for themselves.  So I am getting a new companion!! So we get the call saturday night and our district leader tells us we are staying the same. I was like oh you have got to be kidding me. I was like freaking out inside, like how can i stand this anymore, but obviously i havent learned my lesson yet, i knew it would be hard but i could do it. Then the next morning we get texts from the sister training leaders and other sisters saying that hma nelson is going to Lake Elsinore and hma Santoyo is coming here with me. We called our zone leaders who called the APs and they said yes!!! It was the best news ever!!!!!!!!!!! Im kinda freaking out not gonna like but im excited to learn more spanish and learn something new from a different companion. I love my family so much. I am so grateful for the knowledge that i have that families are forever. I know we can all do better to be better people and learn from our experiences. I love you all and don't ever forget it!

Love Mace:)

Mi companera:)!!!! Hermnaa Santoyo!

Goodbye Hermana Nelson!!

Goodbyes!! And we love Hermana Ruiz!! She is just like you mom!!

Sister Macey Gates // Week Seventeen

This week was SO good!:) We were able to go to the Redlands Temple! I didnt wanna leave haha it was so great. We piled a bunch of sisters in a plig rig and went. The lady that took us took us to Cafe Rio after and paid for us. It was the bestest day! I miss Cafe Rio haha So.........Guess what. I GOT MY STEAK!!!! oh my wordy it was so good. We went to chilis. yeah i pretty much just loved it so much.  I thought youd be proud of me dad;) So this week has been so good like I said. On Valentines day we had 1 set appt cause no one wanted to meet with us so we went fishing. We met 4 other former investigators and picked them right back up:) Miracles. We are so excited to help them and bring them back to what they already know to be true.  Vicente is getting baptized next week!!!! Yay we are so excited and he is excited to:) Everytime he always asks if he has to get baptized in cold water haha but we always say nahh we'll make it warm for ya;) So funny story. The Nalvartes signed up for dinner and they couldnt have us over cause they were going somewhere so they told us to come pick up up. It was right off the stove...We looked like two young weirdies with hot pans in both hands running down the street to our car cause the pots were so hot haha it was a sight. But it was so good. We are teaching Edgar, a former we found and we are going to try and help him have the faith to stop smoking.  He wants to stop and be baptized he just doesnt have the faith. But we will help him:) He is a good person.  And Alicia...She is so elect. If we are 1 min late she freaks out and calls to see if we are coming haha we taught the plan of salvation last night to her and i didnt quite understand what she was saying, so I just felt prompted to have her read on paragraph from the pamplet and she freaked out haha she was like this is the answer Ive been looking for for the longest time. Her daughter wants to be baptized so bad cause she wants to be like us.  Alicia isnt married but has a boyfriend so we have to work with that and she isnt legally divorced from her husband soooo thats a problem but thats okay! Her family is totally against this but she said she doesnt care and wants it.  I just love her:) I went with Hma Pfeil on sunday while our companions went to a meeting and we both just got done training we she just did im almost done but we really had to work together and i had to take the lead. It gave me alot of confidence in myself and also in the lord cause you really have to trust him when your put in that situation.  So we went to a baptism and guess who had to play the piano... yah.. me... They told me 2 min before cause no one else could play and the songs i have never played them before but it went okay haha i was just sweating a little maydie gates;) haha and we did the first vision again, it was really cool. And Jesus actually came! So the second person we baptized was this little old lady so they had to lower the water after the first one and she did it sitting down. They had to do it 4 times and really really slow but luckily 2 elders were in the font helping. It really touched Jesus cause he really understood that you  have to be all the way under water and how important it is. He said he's been thinking about baptism so that was SO cool.  Then after we went and had Carne Asada with Hma Pfeil & Edwards and Elders Moyer and Dayley. Were not supposed to eat with the Elders but it was outside and it was the funnest thing. They taught us all these games in spanish like down by the banks and lots of other ones. I just love that family and carne asada:) Then Yesterday for Pday we went and played raquetball. SO FUN!!! we totally all sucked but we had so much fun. The people in the gym probably thought we were freaks but we have fun:) It was a good week and a good one with my comp. I definitely see the gift of tongues and the lords help in finding those to teach. I love my savior.  And i love my family and friends:)! I hope you all have a great week!!

Love your favorite missionary:)

The temple with Hermana Nelson and Sister Ni'ihou:)

My steak;) ohhhh yahhh

One of the members gave us roses the day before Valentines Day:)

Michael. The sweetest kid, he is handicapped but I love him!

Valentines Day.

The Ramirez! 

Sister Macey Gates // Week Sixteen

So...Im getting fat. Thats what ive been up to.  I just eat and preach and eat and preach! Its the dangdest thing.  I sleep at nights too.  This week was a hard week! Mostly all of our appts fell through, and alot of our gators just arent progresssing.  Its really hard. But we aren't giving up! We had FHE with the family Aceves a part member family and it was SO fun! I shared my heart suckers you gave me mom and they loved them! We played this game after where you get a named taped on to your forehead and you have to guess who it its. We did BOM prophets.  It was a really cool experience cause the kids opened up to us and really showed they trusted us.  Vicente... haha he is getting baptized on the 23! He is a little slow at getting things but he is getting it! He came to church on sunday so that was big.  Miracle: We were sitting in the car finding an address and i saw a lady and her daughter walking and i felt prompted to talk to them. I told them we were praying with people and their families and she accepted it! I got to leave the harvest blessing and Alicia the lady immediately set a return appt with us. We went back on friday and she told us basically her life. She said she needs the gospel. her familiy does. How perfect?? So a family, recent converts (ramirez fam) were really sick and their house was discusting. So the other day we went and cleaned alot of it for her.  It was so fun, i love cleaning haha and i had my little Itza help me. She is one of the daughters and were buds:) She told me THIS IS SO FUN!!! teachin them young folks haha Saturday we had Alejandra one of our recent converts/friends come out with us and all of our appts fell through.  So we went and ate at this sandwich place called Togos and then BJs for these cookie icecream things call Pizookies.....Glory hallelujah they were SO good!!!! I got oreo cookies and cream. My fav:) Im pretty sure i gained 10 lbs that day. Its fine really.  So this week with my comp was really interesting haha we had a talk cause i asked her for help on something and it all came down to im selfish and i suck at spanish haha thats okay! 2 more weeks:) She is definitely straight up but its all good! I know i can turn to my savior:) and i have felt his love! I hope next week is better! I know it will! I hope you all have a good week and know i love you:)

Hermana Gates:)

FHE with the Aceves fam:)

Eating Pizookies!!!!! SO GOOD!!!

A cool picey by Alejandras car haha

The sunset was cool this night:)

Sister Macey Gates // Week Fifteen

This week has been the most interesting week of my life haha So monday night i was eating a flauta de carne kinda like a tequito and my botton retainer broke....YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDIN ME... Of course that would happen to me. I dont know why orthodontists love me so much. I dont get it.  So the next day i went and got it fixed and i got to talk to mother anne for a min:) Made my whole life!!!!! It was so good to hear your voice for a min mom:) And dont worry... the next day i ate a yogurt and it broke AGAIN! OH MY WORDY GOSHY WHAT IN THE WORLD!!! entonces i went and got it fixed again. So that was fun haha. We went and visited a fam, a part member fam and the mom asked her youngest son to say the prayer.. he is like 9 yrs old and it was his first time ever saying a prayer. She asked us to help him. It was the coolest thing and right after Lupita the mom asked if we could come do FHE with them.  So My comp got this package from her bro and it was a shower rock... hahhaha like what in the world??? You stick it in the shower and when you shave you can put your foot on it.  Its so weird haha we have picys of it, were pretty much models if thats what you were wondering;) One morning we woke up to go running and it was SO foggy outside like you couldnt see in front of us.  It made it even more worse cause i didnt have my contacts in haha but it was super cool.  I got the package mom sent me:) I  love the new clothes!!!!!!!!!!!! Awe i wore them already and i got alot of compliments on them mom good job! So we went on exchanges on Sat.  BEST THING OF MY LIFE!!!! Hma Luccion came with me and she is amazing.  Right when we got in the car she said she was so thankful i was driving cause hma nelson is the worst driver ever. She was like you are my hero for being able to stay with her this long haha i loved driving! and i knew where everyplace was so that was awesome.  We talked till 2 in the morning and a couple hours with the Goudys.  They said they didnt like hma nelson, its sad.  Hma Luccion was like how are you? like how is everything going with Nelson and and i was like its good. Shes like tell me everything now.  Man it felt so good to have someone who understood without me even having to say anything haha.  She told me that hma nelsons other companions went home cause they couldnt handle her. She said Hma ruiz was worried for me cause she trained her.  Its so sad. Like this week she straight up told me she had anger management problems... I didnt know what to say.  Its really sad, but im glad that i have survived haha:) She really is amazing when she wants to be.  I have been blessed with so much comfort her and i have learned alot of patience and love from her. I know i was put with her for a reason. Its been really really hard, but thats okay:) While hma nelson went to a baptism i got a member to be my companion and her name is Xochitl! It was the funnest thing! We had dinner at the Goudys and they loved her.  Then we went and shared a message to one of our investigators, just a door step one.  I shared the Poem

"Go to the edge"  "no"

"Go to the edge" "no i will fall!"

"Go to the edge" " I went to the edge and flew"

When we put our trust in the lord he will catch us. I shared the story of Jesus walking on water with her and how peter had to have so much trust in jesus that he would be able to walk on the water with him.  Peter got a little scared and started sinking, but IMMEDIATELY Jesus caught him. Gosh i love that so much. All we have to do is have faith in our savior and he will catch us.  I know this church is true with all my heart. Im so grateful to know that my family is forever. On exchanges, i put 3 people on date... that has never happened.  Just randon people we met.  We showed one of them Juan a picture of the temple and we said your family can live together forever and be sealed in this beautiful place... he said " I really can?:)" Oh it was amazing.  Im so grateful to be a missionary. Its so amazing. I love an miss you all so much!! Have the best week ever!!!!!

Oh yeah.... So you  know how everyone is like dont get bit by dogs on your mission;).......I got bit by a dog........ Jesus' dog.....He just came up and bit me. Its whatever hahaha this week has been awesome:)

Hermana Gates:)

The shower rock... Its special.

The foggy day... enjoy:)

My new clothes:) I loved them... mom like the pose?