Buenassss everybody! 

This week was super fun, but also a total rollercoaster!! Lots of good things but also a few tragic things but we'll start off with the highlights! ✨️ 

Holaaa!! This week was pretty solid, and it FLEW by because every day was just a party. Here are the highlights of this week:

☆ Darien's baptism! Darien is this precious 9-year-old boy whose mom got baptized in February. He decided that he wanted to be baptized because it made his mom so happy, and it was genuinely the sweetest baptism I've ever been to. Everyone was in tears, and then when he was confirmed, the blessing said something along the lines of, "...and in a few years when you open your mission call, you're going to look back and remember this day that started it all." SOBBING. 😭 Then my 6-year-old friend Josue held my hand during the closing prayer to try to make me stop crying. Didn't work, it had the complete opposite effect, but the effort was there!!🥲

☆ JACOBO'S GETTING BAPTIZED!!!🌊 There were lots of prayers and fasts being offered in our district this week that he would actually go to church, and HE DID.🙏 So we've got his baptism this week which is so exciting because we've been trying to baptize him since I got here in November.

☆ JOSUEEE!!! Josue is the funniest, most angelic kid ever. 😇 His family has been taught by the elders for a while, but they've recently started coming to EVERYTHING. They come to activities, church, baptisms, devotionals, literally everything. Whenever I play the piano for anything, he'll come up, sit on the bench, and hold down the pedal for me. Pretty much got a future Mozart here in Las Vegas. 💪🎹 His brother told me the other day that Josue wants to marry me, and when I asked Josue if it was true, he GRINNED and nodded. I might be married by the time I come home, so stay tuned! 👰

☆ Had an exchange with my mother, Sister Glauser, and about 1/2 of the time we were together was spent plotting how to convince President to let us be companions her last transfer. Odds aren't looking great but we're going to keep praying and subtly slipping it into every weekly email and interview and any interaction we have with him. 🤪

☆ My favorite member that I've met on my mission got called as the ward mission leader in one of the wards we're over, and genuinely every single missionary's hand shot up so fast to sustain him. He made us all arepas as a celebration and that was a highlight of the week. 🥳

A scripture that really applied to this week was 3 Nephi 9:22: "Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God." Seeing Darien be baptized and be so happy that he cried the whole way home, having Jacobo's baptism this week, and seeing Josue and his siblings sit with their faces pressed against the glass at every baptism have been some of the most tender moments of my mission. In the scriptures we're told (repeatedly) to become "... as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him..." (Mosiah 3:19). It's only through this humility and willingness to become like Christ that we can truly change our lives!

Love you all and hope you have the best week!

🤍 Hna. Pursglove

Happy Easter everybody! This was such a miracle-filled week, and we had so many fun things!

A big miracle this week was Easter Sunday! We have 3 wards, but we unfortunately weren't made aware of the fact that one of our 9:00 wards was going to be combined with our 10:30 ward, and this was the ward that Jacobo and his mom had been planning on coming to. They ended up driving 20 minutes to our other 9:00 ward which was such a miracle because we've been trying to get them at church for WEEKS now, and they finally made it even though it didn't quite go to plan. 🙏 We ended up having the most friends at church I've ever had on my mission and they were all unexpected. It was so cool to see that people were willing to make the effort to come worship on the greatest day in history!

Fun things of this week:

★ Highlight of the week was Zone Conference! This was the Nielsens’ 2nd-to-last zone conference, and they spent an hour just giving little pieces of advice. They were all super specific and it was such a Spirit-filled part of the conference.

★ Sand volleyball on pday! 🏐 Except the sand was pretty much just pebbles and it'd been cooking in the 95-degree weather all day, so I'm fairly positive we all had 2nd-degree burns on our feet by the end of that. It was way fun though and my team won. 💪

★ Easter concert! Jenny Oaks Baker came back to Las Vegas for an Easter concert, and we got to go with Veronica. It was amazing, of course, and was such a good intro to the next day, Easter! 🎻

★ We had such a long day on Thursday and were so ready to go to bed, so I went out to grab water before we got in bed and I saw the most gigantic cockroach I've ever seen running across the floor towards me.🪳 So I yell for Sister Arce because she's way braver than me, and for the next 20 minutes she was hunting for that thing. She finds it, kills it. Next morning I'm saying my morning prayer, and I look over for who knows what reason, another GIANT cockroach is in my closet. It was fortunately already dead but Sister Arce also had to dispose of that one. Best comp ever!! 🥰

I reread one of my favorites talks this week called "Sunday Will Come" by Elder Wirthlin and this is kind of long, but I especially loved this part.

"I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross. I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world’s history, that Friday was the darkest. But the doom of that day did not endure. The despair did not linger, because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind. Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered, and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays. But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come."

I know that Sunday will come! Sometimes it feels like those Fridays never really end, that it seems impossible for Sunday to come, but I know that it will, thanks to Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice for us.

I hope you all had a good week and really took this week to focus on Christ and the miracle of His Resurrection! Love you all!

🤍 Hna. Pursglove

Happy Holy Week everyone! This past week wasn't too thrilling, so this is going to be a short one.

Some highlights of the week:

☆ We re-found our friend Maria! Sister Peraza and I taught her in December and January, but then she got super busy and so we couldn't go over for a while. We decided to stop by the other night just to see how she was doing, and she was actually home! She said we could come back this week so we're praying that goes well! 🙏

☆ We also re-found Karla and Santos! They were ELECT when we started teaching them (also in December), but then they had some trials, and they lost interest. We stopped by yesterday and had an impromptu lesson where we taught the Plan of Salvation, and the Spirit was so strong. Karla was crying the whole time, and when we asked if they wanted us to come back, she said yes!!🤩

☆ Our app took us to the completely wrong address, but we decided to knock anyway because why not? We knocked and a lady named Marta answered. We shared our purpose and a scripture, and she told us that it was crazy that we were there because she's been wanting to grow closer to God and find a church. She told us that it wasn't a coincidence and that she'll come to church this Sunday, so here's hoping!

☆ Got to go back to my first ward for a Why I Believe in Christ devotional and it was SO FUN. The members there are so amazing, and it was so fun to see everyone again.

☆ Babysat Sister Kamp and had an absolute party time. 🥳 Being back with her in this area kinda made the past 2 weeks feel fake but it was so fun.

That was it for this week! Everyone should follow the Holy Week study plan on the Gospel Library App this week! We were invited to include that in our personal study, and it's definitely made Easter a more special celebration for me already. Love you all and hope you have the best week!!

💛 Hna. Pursglove

Holaaa everybody!

This week was so good! The area is BOOMING, Sister Arce is awesome and we're getting so much done, the people are interested, conference was amazing, what more could you ask for?

This week was a miracle week in itself because we were able to find so many cool people!

1. We met a 92-year-old Cuban lady named Digna on Friday who is so awesome. We talked about baptism with her and authority, and she agreed 100% and said she wanted to talk to her daughter about it. Then we went back on Monday, and she was like "Oh, you just missed your brothers!" We learned that the elders had just happened to stop to talk to her while she was waiting for us outside, and they had ALSO talked about baptism and authority. Stay tuned for that one. 🤞

2. Adolfo was a referral from the English sisters, and he's so interested! He said he wants to learn more about the church and when he asked him some questions, he literally already has such a strong testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and is so elect.

Conference was obviously a major highlight of the week! We ended up watching every session in Spanish which was so cool, but my brain was also fried by Sunday afternoon. One message I really loved from conference was from Elder Giménez. As missionaries, we're often asked why we're here. What is our "why"? What made us decide to leave our lives behind and do this for 18-24 months? I have a few reasons for why I'm here, but the actual reason is so simple and is summed up perfectly in this quote from his talk, "I love the Savior, and my love for Him is my 'why'.” Even though the mission has been hard sometimes, I've never felt as much real joy in my life, and I know that's because every day is focused on helping others find the joy that comes though the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That's it for this week! Hopefully you all watched conference, and if not, you should go watch it or read the talks once they're all published! Also, please pray for Juana and her son who are going through some rough times right now, as well as Jacobo and his family! Have a good week everybody!

🤍 Hna. Pursglove

Happy my 9 months everybody! Crazy how the time is flying, honestly.

Today we're going to start with the craziest transfer news of my mission!!! Y'all are not ready for this honestly. I'm... TRIO TRAINING! In... PAHRUMP! And I've been reassigned to... PORTUGUESE-SPEAKING?!

Just kidding, happy April Fool’s Day 🤪 My actual transfer news! I'm with Sister Arce (from Chile🇨🇱) and we're over 3 wards. I'm in my same area and wards, but they had some boundary changes so now we've got 3 even though 2 of them meet at the same time. If any of you figure out how that's going to work, let me know because I'm still a little confused. Excited to be staying though!

Highlight of the week was our temple trip with Veronica! 🥳 We went to her house on Thursday and ended up talking about temples. Long story short, turns out Obispo Juarez is the GOAT and had already done her interview and given her her recommend the day after her baptism. We set up a temple trip for Saturday so we could go before the transfer ended. It ended up being on FRIDAY because it just worked a little better, so it all happened in less than 24 hours, and we got to go to the temple before the transfer ended! She loved it so much and was crying and said it was so beautiful and she's going to have her whole family be baptized so they can go, too. Woot woot!

I listened to a talk this week called "Light Cleaveth unto Light" by Elder Dyches and a quote I loved from it was, "Jesus Christ is the everlasting light that 'shineth in darkness.' There is no darkness that can ever suppress, extinguish, overpower, or defeat that light. Our Heavenly Father freely offers that light to you. You are never alone. He hears and answers every prayer. He has 'called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.'" Christ is the light in our lives when we let Him be and He's always there to light the way and guide us!

That's all for this week so have a good conference weekend and make sure to listen for what the Lord has prepared for you! Also, side note, we can't use Messenger anymore so email me!!! Love y'all!!

💙 Hna. Pursglove

Hola everyone! This was a chill week with really only one super exciting thing.

Veronica got baptized!!!🥳 It went super well, and she was literally so excited. We had a lesson with her every day, and she would just tell us how excited she was, and how she knew that her life was about to get so much better. Her testimony was so cute, and she just kept thanking us, her "bella angelotas" (beautiful giant angels 😇), for teaching her about the gospel. Honestly, it’s an ego boost every time we go over because she just compliments us the whole time.

She had one request for her baptism which was that we would sing for her, and she had chosen a very interesting song that she wanted us to perform. We convinced her to let us sing Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing instead, and all I know is that there's a reason I wasn't born a singer because that was literally terrifying. Playing piano is WAYYY less stressful than that was. It wasn't half bad though, and we honestly kinda had a good time once it was over.

Other fun things:

☆ We found a "lake"! Didn't know we really had those here but that was pretty exciting for us.

☆ Got to babysit Sister Glauser for a day and absolutely party it up. 🥳

☆ We got In-n-Out and someone there paid for us, and then as we were leaving, another guy gave all of us gift cards that he'd just bought for us. 😭

☆ The missionaries were assigned to do a noche de hogar or family home evening (we didn't know about this) so we had to do that on Friday night and let's just say the only entertaining part was when the little kids starting shooting the basketball as part of the lesson. Good times though.

☆ Another music devotional! I got to play the piano for two missionaries who were singing, and then another sister was on violin. Tragically, the phone with lyrics crashed for the singers, so they just sang the same verse like five times and were trying not to laugh the whole time. It was a memorable performance!

That's all for this week! Transfers are coming up this week, plus a lot of ward boundary changes, so we'll see what happens. Love you all and hope you have the best week!

💙 Hna. Pursglove

Happy late St. Patrick’s Day everyone!!!🍀 Literally best holiday ever, and yesterday's was one of the more memorable ones.

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to have an "Alma Experience." This meant that we had personal study from 9-4 and were supposed to study Mosiah 13-18, as well as “Go to Gethsemane.” Going to Gethsemane is a document that President created at the beginning of my mission and it's a process of things to watch, read, write, and think about to help you more fully understand the Atonement and how it applies personally to each of us. If you're interested in seeing what it is, let me know and I can send you the document!!

Here were some of the things that happened this week:

☆ On exchanges, we went into a house where the lady was cooking chilis on the stove. We all could not stop coughing and had tears the whole time, but she said she would be interested so we get to go back!

☆ We knocked on a door this week, but no one answered. As we were leaving, someone yelled to us from the backyard. We got to the fact we were missionaries, and he asked us what we had to do to be missionaries. We told him we had to be members, and then he asked how he could become a member. We told him he had to be baptized, and then asked him if he wanted to be baptized (not expecting anything). He said yes!!! Didn't honestly know how to react but we got his info and are headed back this week. 😎

☆ Jacobo's baptism is being postponed because of some stuff at home, so pray hard for him and his mom!

☆ Veronica's getting baptized on Saturday! She was having a little bit of a crisis last night, so we called her, and it ended with her in tears, telling us how grateful she was and excited. Pray hard for her too!

☆ Relief Society had a fun little activity on Saturday and it was so cute to see everyone dressed up. I unfortunately did not bring my pioneer clothes on my mission, but they still let us participate.

☆ It was my birthday! Got to do the Alma Experience and then Zulay had us for dinner and made Uruguayan chicken and sausage which was SO GOOD. 😋

That's it for this week! My favorite thing I studied this week was Mosiah 14, especially verse 5. It says, "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." It reminds me of the hymn, A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief, particularly verses 6 and 7. They say:

6.In pris’n I saw him next, condemned
To meet a traitor’s doom at morn.
The tide of lying tongues I stemmed,
And honored him ’mid shame and scorn.
My friendship’s utmost zeal to try,
He asked if I for him would die.
The flesh was weak; my blood ran chill,
But my free spirit cried, “I will!”

7.Then in a moment to my view
The stranger started from disguise.
The tokens in his hands I knew;
The Savior stood before mine eyes.
He spake, and my poor name he named,
"Of me thou hast not been ashamed.
These deeds shall thy memorial be;
Fear not, thou didst them unto me.”

Would my free spirit cry "I will?" That was something I thought a lot about during the “Go to Gethsemane” process, and how Christ DID volunteer. He DID say He would, and we are so blessed because of it.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and messages this week, it made my day, honestly. Love you all and hope this week is amazing! (Please pray for Jacobo and Veronica!!!)

💚 Hna. Pursglove