#62 - Coming Home

On Friday I returned home from serving as  a missionary. I got a lot worse since my last email and we thought that it would be best for me to come home and recover. I'm extremely weak, really shaky, and it's difficult for me to move around without getting a shortness of breath.

Monday I crashed during district council and we spent the night at the mission home since I had a doctor's appointment the next day in Fresno. 4 other sisters ended up spending the night and it was fun to see everyone, I was completely exhausted though. Tuesday I went to the doctor and got some more blood work done. Around 2 we started heading back to Los Banos but I felt awful and had to lay down the whole car ride. I didn't get any energy back until 8:30 that night. Wednesday we texted the mission president's wife and told her that I was getting progressively worse. President Mackay called and suggested that I come back down to Fresno to be close by if anything were to happen. We were all really worried that I would have to be hospitalized. I came in and immediately had to sit down. I talked to Sister Mackay and we discussed how the doctor didn't really know what was up and it would probably take a while to recover, that it was probably time to go home.

Thursday I woke up and could run for 5 minutes but then felt awful again. I spent most of the day on the couch, but everyone was so sweet. There were a few sisters  in the area who stopped by to say bye, and a few others were sick. So at one point there was a party of 8 sisters at the Mackay's house. We were all just sitting on the couches saying, "What even is today? What even is this transfer?". Even with all the sickness and sadness, we were laughing, and I know that we can find joy in every situation! Even on the ride down to Fresno we were blasting Mormon tabernacle Choir and laughing.

I got to talk to President and have a last interview with him, and then I got to cut a tie. The Kerman hermanas came to spend the night since Hermana Reid was going to stay with them for a few days. The next morning we got up and I went to the airport. After a day of travel I made it home to my family.Everyone was there, even Chelsey had flown in from Utah. 

I'm still not really sure what's wrong, my symptoms haven't really changed in the last couple of days, but I'm going to the doctor again today. I just want to share with you all how much peace I feel right now. I don't know God's plan perfectly, but I know that I completed the mission that He gave me. I know that I still have a life full of service ahead. I know that my Savior lives and loves us. The gospel is true, the Book of Mormon is true. If you pray, Heavenly Father will hear your prayers. and if you read the scriptures, you will receive His answers for you. I am so grateful that God gave me the opportunity to serve, it has changed my life forever. Thank you all for you love and support!

Sincerely,

Marin Fisher

My new email is 2.mfisher@gmail.com

My phone number is 6308009793

#61 - This week was pretty weird!

Sorry that I didn't send pictures last week!

Harbor Freight, Dad!
[Her father enjoys this store]

This brother in the ward who invites
us over to eat ice cream outside

Fourth of July bom-pops

So you all might have heard, I have not been feeling well. I'm just really exhausted (more than a normal missionary) and we're not really sure what's up. Because of that I was in a lot this week. But we still saw miracles!

Meeting Modesto Sisters

On Monday, we visited this man who had shown up as a nearby potential on the area book planner app. We had contacted him once briefly before. He had read the title page, introduction, testimony of 3 and 8 witnesses, and the testimony of joseph smith in the book of mormon!! And he just wants to learn. I have never seen anyone with such a desire to learn truth. That same evening, this lady called asking us to come help, and then another friend called wanting us to come over. She ended up telling us that she had found another church for her mom and her, but she really wants to keep reading the book of mormon and talking to us. She's going to get baptized one day!

Burger King (Thank you mom!)
[I found out Los Banos has BK, KFC, Wendy's, McDonald's
A&W, and Taco Bell, so sent her a couple gift cards]

I know the Book of Mormon is true. If you're not reading it everyday, do it. It will change your life. There are so many big things that we try to change in our lives to be better, but it comes from the 

small daily decisions to read and pray.

Best Ward mission leader ever gets us 7/11 free slurpees

This Tongan family invites us over for dinner, we did not know that it was a birthday party.
Tongan birthday party= cooking a whole pig!

I love you all so much! Thank you so much for the prayers!

--

Hermana Marin Fisher

California Fresno Mission

1814 N Echo

Fresno, CA 93704

#60 - Happy 4th of July!

Sorry I totally ran out of time today! But highlights

Received this pic from my sister, whose friend's parents are serving in Fresno,
and took Marin and her companion to lunch on the 4th.

4th of July- Los banos does no city fireworks so a bunch of people just do illegal ones and we sat on our back porch and watched them. And we went to a BBQ with some members and it was so much fun!

Friday- Met some missionaries from Modesto! We carpooled with a few sisters from Turlock. In their mission they had to wear cardigans to every meeting, I'm very grateful that we don't have to haha. They are so cool! And we'll get to know them more tomorrow at zone conference.

I've been a bit sick this week so hopefully I'll have more to say next week.

Love you all!!

--

Hermana Marin Fisher

California Fresno Mission

1814 N Echo

Fresno, CA 93704

[Also good news: one of Marin's mission delays was because they discovered she had low platelet count, but today she found out it's much higher!]

#59 - Putting miles on the car

Time in the car

 In ward council on Sunday we just told everyone that we weren't in Los Banos this week! We went to Kerman, Chowchilla twice, Merced twice, and Selma! I realized that long drives make me sleepy. We had exchanges, and then we needed to pick up our license plate, and Rosalia got baptized!! We drove to Fresno yesterday and President Mackay let us use his car to drive the rest of the way to Selma. That was a fun experience!

Rosalia's baptism! Hermana Salguero, Hermana deLeon, and Elder Lopez

Rosalia was so cute! She was first taught by the elders before Hermana Oldroyd and I got there. We taught her, and then stopped teaching her for a bit, and then started teaching her again right before I left. It was so incredible to see just how God prepared her, how it was finally her time to make that promise. She has such a strong testimony. She has had some health problems, but every trial just shows her how much God loves her and how she needs to endure. I love her so much! And I got to see the Selma crew again and direct the music.

Buying artichockes

Exchanges! I got to be with Sister Cate who was in my BYU ward! She's an english missionary, but she took spanish in high school and they got put into a ward that has spanish members in it, so she's been learning it and she's doing great! It was super fun to reconnect. Also, her old area has a couple in it who served in our ward mission leader's mission with him. And he had been meaning to reach out to them recently. I love how God just directs everything, no coincidences, just divine design!

Exchanges!

This week I learned a lot about ministering to others. Often we think of missionary work as leaving the apartment at 11 each day, teaching and talking to people, and returning at 9 pm. But God is in the business of saving people, not just teaching them or doing administrative things. We had the opportunity to really reach out to some people this week and help them feel God's love. If a whole day is spent and we only feel like we touched one person, that's ok. It's like the story of the star fish. A man going along the shore throws a few starfish that are starting to dry up back into the ocean. Another man asks, "Why do you do that? You can't save all of them!". Throwing one in, the first man replies, "I know, but it means the world to that one". This week try to find someone everyday who you can really touch. Sunday School was about prayer and how we can be answers to others' prayers. If you're willing to listen and act, God is going to tell you who needs you today.

We went to the Michoacana store and they took the picture of Jesus on the Plan of Salvation pamphlets and changed it up a bit, it's kind of weird.

 --

Hermana Marin Fisher

California Fresno Mission

1814 N Echo

Fresno, CA 93704

#58 - LOS BOM-OS

This week we focused a TON on the Book of Mormon. We were invited to read "Small and Simple things" from April 1990 General Conference, and we realized that honestly, we can do fun activities and try to do lots of stuff to keep people converted, but real conversion comes from reading the scriptures and praying everyday. I am convinced that if you read the Book of Mormon everyday and pray, you will not fall away.  There is so much power in this book. If you are going through ANYTHING in your life right now, pick it up (or go to mormon.org and request a free one) and open it up to any page. It was written for you, today. We're going to work on the Book of Mormon with everyone here, hence the name change from Los Banos to Los BOM-os (Book Of Mormon). We were talking to our ward mission leader about a plan the other day and his whole family was getting super excited about reading it and doing family history. I'm so excited to see this area just explode!

Other than that we had another car miracle: We were driving to Panda for dinner with a member, and we saw a mini van roll about 10 yards ahead of us. They ran a red and in trying to swerve they lost control. Luckily, it didn't hit any other vehicles, and there was an ambulance right behind us, there before anyone could even call 9-1-1. God is looking out for all of us children! Thank you again for all of your prayers!

Sorry for not a ton of pictures: This is the Dinosaur that Hermana Reid and Hermana Oldroyd got for having the cleanest car at zone conference. We gave him a marker and post its to write down miracles and quotes

Also, we learned how to make tortillas this week:
amazar- to knead

se infla - It's inflating (the tortilla

Un tortillador- tortilla press

This member took a video of me explaining how to make them, we'll see if I can get a copy.

Love you!!

--

Hermana Marin Fisher

California Fresno Mission

1814 N Echo

Fresno, CA 93704

#57 - WELCOME TO LOS BANOS

Saying goodbye to Selma!

I LOVE THIS TOWN!! I've just felt so loved already. The first day I was here we got a text from the Bishop's wife asking when we would be coming by so that they could meet me, and the people here are incredible. It's so different though! I asked Hermana Reid how much Spanish/ English it was and she said, 95% English and 5% Tongan with some Spanish thrown in. Haha I love it so much. I sang a hymn in english on sunday, and I gave a talk in english, and I ate food from ...well Tonga! But we've also been teaching a bunch of people in spanish here, they're hoping to start a spanish branch. 

Hermana Reid!

Also, we live in a house? And on the way back from transfer hub our car had reached the mileage limit so we got a brand new one. I feel super duper spoiled.

We live in a house!!!

It's super fun too, because my cousin Sister Jeppeson served in Los Banos a little over a year ago! And it's been fun putting in records and seeing all that has happened. 

Miracles: we went to see a potential, and we got out of the car and met this man named Jesse, and we had such a good discussion with him and he wants to teach his nephew. We just really felt that we were guided by the Spirit this week.

I met Sister Laguna, and she said, is this the famous Sister Fisher?? Her son in law trained my dad when he started his mission!!

The world is small, and I love it. I know that our Savior, Jesus Christ lives. And I am grateful for our Heavenly Father who works everyday to mold us into who He wants us to be. Love you all!

 -- 

Hermana Marin Fisher

California Fresno Mission

1814 N Echo

Fresno, CA 93704

#56 - I'm actually leaving SELMA!!!

 [Hermana Fisher's grammar and spelling is getting worse! LOL!]

Saying goodbye to the YW

I'm going to Los Baños!!! It's the northern part of our mission (at least until Modesto joins with us in July). I'm super excited. It's really bittersweet, because Selma has literally become my home. This week all the seniors graduated, and I realized that I'd been here pretty much the entire school year. I' ve come to love so many people here, but I know that God needs me to love and serve people in another part of Fresno. Last Tuesday, President Mackay came with us to teach someone, and afterwords he let us know about transfers early- but then we had to wait to tell everyone until last night when we got them officially! We had a really great lesson with him and this man about family history, and yesterday he started putting together the names of his parents to go do baptisms for them!

Car selfie!

this week was CRAZY! We went to Farmersville on Tuesday, and then we went to Hanford on Wednesday to fix our car. there was this weird ticking noise, but we got to drive the pepboys lady around to show her and while we were on a test drive, we had a great conversation about the bible, mini missionary moment! haha when we were younger we used to talk about missionary experience like they only happened every once in a while, but I've realized being a missionary, that every time that we talk to someone it is an opportunity to share the gospel and help them feel God's love.

All things denote there is a God

MIRACLES! So last summer BEFORE I got to Selma, the elders were teaching this lady named Rosalia. Hermana Oldroyd and I taught her daughters for a few months, but then we stopped teaching them. We came back every once in a while, but it wasn't really there time yet. She knows a recent convert and she came to church with her two weeks back so we came by and invited her to be baptized June 30th, really boldly. She said she'd think about it and then the same recent convert went over with the elders and she just said, "I'm getting baptized June 30th, I haven't even told my family or the hermanas yet". AHHH!!!! And she came to church yesterday!!!! MILAGROS!!! I know that people are ready in their own time and I'm so excited.

Other transfer news: Hermana Harris is going to Farmersville, where she'll actually serve in her aunt's ward, and Hermana deLeon is staying in Selma with Hermana Salguero. I'll be with Hermana Reid!

I hope you all have a fantastic week!

-- 

Hermana Marin Fisher

California Fresno Mission

1814 N Echo

Fresno, CA 93704