Galations 5:22

" So I've been out 13 months! I think that really just came out of no where and punched me in the face. That is so weird. I come home in 5 months. I can count that on one one hand. One hand! That freaks me out! There is still so much that I feel like I need to learn and still so much that I feel like I need to change but I guess that is a good sign of being a missionary and really being a member of Christ's church. We are a church of sick people who are contently trying every day to be just a little tiny bit better. I love that! I love that we are a people about becoming and not just being. 

It was a great week! I gained a great testimony of the power of the Holy Ghost. It seems like just when I felt lost, the Spirit would guide me, just when I felt done the Spirit would comfort me, just when I felt frustrated the Spirit would soften my heart. It was amazing! 

Some highlights from the week:

-We taught a 9 year old about the Law of Chasity and the Word of Wisdom. When I explained the Law of Chasity so awkwardly he goes "Hmmm, can you repeat that to see if I really get it?" "Hmmm yeah, sure." And pretty much when we teach kids we just tell them we have private parts, wink wink. 

- Transfers happened and I get to stay with my dear, dear companion another transfer!! I just love her so much. Companions stretch you and teach you a lot. 

- It got really hot in Vegas and of course we are biking to save our miles. It was a treat to get those happy chemicals pumping because sweating makes me grumpy.

- We had an authentic Hawaiian supper with a super less active family and then they came to church on Sunday! It was a magical miracle! 

- We got cat called when we were walking down the street. Not a shock, you put two girls in long skirts and tags that say Jesus Christ, yeah I'd give them a cat call too. 

- We ate donuts and Indian food this week. Is it sad that sometimes meals are a highlight in my life? I have no shame. 

-I am rereading the New Testament and the Book of Mormon before I go home. I'm learning so much. Knowledge is happiness. 

I'm a happy, happy missionary. Life is great when you are centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Love you long time." 

2 Nephi 2:8

It was a great week, nothing too crazy happened but I was just happy everyday. Here are some of my favorite things that happened this week:

-I attract all the crazy people. We met this man on the street and we were having a nice conversation about the gospel and then he tells us "I love this! We have three vortexes coming at each other and they are meshing and doing well together. It's as if we were 3 Narwhals and our horns touched." He then told us that he has mental diseases. He then also went on to tell us "Why do people complain in this day and age. If you don't like your skin you can go to a tanning bed and change your skin color. Michael Jackson "101" people." Sometimes I don't know what's inappropriate for missionaries to laugh at. 

-We had a training for new missionaries and it was just a love fest of everything that you love about your companion. President told everyone how he just loves my laugh and how happy I am. My companion told everyone how I love compliments. 

- I went on exchanges and my Sister Training Leader who is 28 and a beautiful ginger kept asking me how I got to be so confident. She asked me the whole day. She just couldn't get over it. I couldn't really give her an answer but I was flattered. 

- Everyone we talked to wanted the Book of Mormon. Okay, that's not true they all had questions about why we are here and where we are going and in return we promised them that their answers would be found in the Book of Mormon. 

- I am trying to take the approach of complimenting people. So in a street contact I will just compliment a person to no end and then tell them that we need them in our church. We meet this lady who was honestly so nice and I told her sincerely how nice she was and I told her we are looking for nice people like that to help us build up the kingdom of God. Well, let me tell you people love to be built up and love to feel needed so I'm just honest and tell people that they have special gifts that the Lord needs in His kingdom. 

-We taught an amazing lesson to our 16 year old investigator where we went through the Book of Mormon and talked about the great examples of strength and devotion. So we talked about Nephi, Abinidi, The Stripling Warriors, Christ, and Moroni. You want to feel the Spirit? Just crack open that Book of Mormon. 

-mormon.org/motherhood watch that a thousand times. I love it! 

-We tried to walk to church but the members are way too nice and picked us up. 

I just love life, I love being a missionary, I love the gospel, and I love the Savior.

Moroni 7:45

"Hi pals! I am probably the happiest that I have ever been my whole mission. I have learned so much all before and have been very happy but I am just so happy right now. Here is a list of why I am so happy:

-So weird times. I have been out the longest out of all the Sisters in my zone and so the zone always turns to me as the experienced older sister missionary. Last month our mission focused on the Christ like attribute of humility. Wednesday night I get a call at 8:30 pm from my Zone Leaders asking me if I would do a training the very next morning on the mission Christlike attribute for the next month. They said they prayed and I was the only name that came to mind. I was so flattered and beyond humbled because the mission Christlike attribute for May is charity! I was really, really humbled. So I studied, and prayed, and studied. Somewhere along the way I decided to train 20 other missionaries about how charity is an action learned through the life of Christ. So I talked about the attributes explained in Moroni 7:45, and shared an example from Christ's life. I think I am so happy because I get to be the biggest church nerd as a missionary and it's finally acceptable.

-I am so happy because I love my companion. One night she went to bed early and I was wide awake so I decided to decorate the area above her desks because there was not a picture hanging up and that's boring. So I wrote out all the attributes that I admire about her, stuck them up, and put up a picture of Christ. Little did I know she was super sad the next morning and that made her day. I love that if we are willing to do something a little selfless the Lord makes it the perfect thing to help. 

- I am beyond happy because we are receiving so many answers to our prayers. Coming into a new area we don't know anyone at all so all we can do is pray about what to do and Heavenly Father is giving us exactly what to say, or do to help His children. I am loving coming to this new area, because it's teaching me to rely solely on the Lord. Also He's being a pal and giving me a lot of answers for my personal life. 

- We are talking to so many nice people. Most people we talk to don't keep their return appointments but they are so nice to us when we talk to them. We had four people talk to us about the gospel in the store today! That never happens but people kept coming up to us and saying "So are you the Mormons?" A man even asked me for a Book of Mormon. It's so sad because everyone in this are is so chill about their eternal potential but they are nice to us. 

-My Canadian investigator got baptized! At his baptism his 9 year old son said the opening prayer and in tears he kept saying "Thank you so much that my Dad can get baptized." The Spirit was so strong! 

- I think I am so happy because I am being so humbled. At interviews during the training from our Mission President's wife we were talking about prayers and she had me explain to the group how I pray and how I receive revelation. So I explained how I am so weird and how I pray with a pen so I can write down all revelation and that I pray out loud so I know what I am saying are my thoughts and the thoughts that come into my mind are the Lord. I explained how I pray over my planner so I don't forget anything and how sometimes I just bare my testimony when I pray because I know that will insistently bring in the Spirit and will help me pray better. I felt like a big weirdo but then after she said "Thank you so much! The reason I wanted you to share is because a sister told me how she went on exchanges with you and from learning about prayer and revelation from you she'll be changed forever." Wow, humbling. 

I just love being a missionary!" 

Alma 7:11-12

"Hola! I had a vacation of a week. My companion got the flu really bad so she was literally in bed for three days and I just bummed around the apartment. I'm sure everyone already thinks my children are going to die,but let me share a story that confirms that. So my comp. woke up in the night super sick and was puking, puking, puking, and I just slept right through it. She told me in the morning that at one point she was sure she was going to die and was yelling my name. She even went as far as to yell my first name. I didn't hear a word. But let me follow up with telling you what I was dreaming about. I had a dream that I was home from my mission and I was on my first date since coming home with this boy named Mark who was in school to be a lawyer. Why I wanted to share this is because I remember that someone had set us up on the date and so everyone start looking for this Mark to set me up with! (It was actually a nightmare! In the end someone was trying to kill Mark, my little brother, and me. Mark wouldn't sacrifice himself for my little brother so I was really upset.) 

Miracles for the week: 

- My companion, and I are getting along really, really well. I don't know what to say so we don't sound like a married couple but I'm just really lucky to have her as a companion. This is us when we go to bed: her "good night weirdo, love you." me "love you and your face Buttercup!" 

-I was able to write a ton in my journal and I was able to recognize miracles that I didn't even see before and I was able to learn so much from experiences that I've already had. 

- A member bought me  Cafe Rio because she felt bad for me that I was stuck in the apartment with a sickie for days. 

- We are teaching a 16 year old boy and he just trusts us so much and was telling us all about how his  friends are teasing him about joining the church but that he knows this is true so he doesn't mind. 

- We are teaching a Canadian man who's in he's 60's and we just talk about Canada and the gospel through out all of the lessons! All my favorite things in one place. He wants to join the church so he can get sealed to his wife! They have been married 4 years and they are beyond in love. 

-We had stake conference. I love anything where large groups of LDS'ers come together and the temple Matron quoted my companion as the opener for her talk. We serve in the temple president's ward. 

I think I am happier now than I have been my whole mission. I am just so happy. I love the mission and I love learning. Life is great."