CHRISTMAS WEEK!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We sure did! Christmas´s are really special on the mission. This one helped me realize to a fuller extent how Christmas is about remembering our Savior and that he suffered for our sins, for our trials and struggles, for our sicknesses and weaknesses and addictions, so that we all have the opportunity to live with our Father in Heaven forever WITH our families! My family has become so precious to me over my time here in Spain. And to not be able to spend Christmas with them was harder than I thought it would be but the tender mercy was that Hna. Steffensen and I were able to spend it with people who were also far from their families. We were able to find comfort and joy in each other and just enjoy celebrating the Savior´s birth together!

 But first, let me talk about the days leading up to Christmas! On Tuesday, we went to the Guffeys house with our investigator, Kat, for Family Home Evening. We made chili for Christmas Eve dinner with her (she´s an amazing cook!) and then shared a message. I love Kat! She´s met with so many missionaries and I feel so lucky to be one of them! She really enjoys having Family Home Evenings and spending time with families, since she doesn´t get that chance too often as she´s alone her in Spain. Sadly, she´s leaving in January but she´s already told us that the first thing she´s going to do when she gets to Norfolk is find the missionaries! She always says she´s never going to be baptized, but we all know with a little more time and love and when the time is perfect, she´ll be ready ;) 

Then the next day was Christmas Eve! We worked in the morning and we actually had a lot of success which was surprising! And then later that day we headed over to a American families house--the Rasmussens! Their dad is deployed (been there!) so us, the Guffeys, the Elders, and Kat just brought the Christmas party over to their house! We ate chili, played games, and even watched a little bit of mr. Kreugers Christmas haha. And then later, Hermana Steffensen and I had the chance to go to a member´s house from the Spanish ward named Belli. Her daughter and her husband were over too with the CUTEST grandchildren and we had so much fun playing and eating with them! Lots of seafood is typical in Spain, so we had lots of shrimp, mussels, and other kinds of meat. Oh man, I have to tell you about jamon sometime! Its basically legs of meat that they just hang in the stores. i cant stand the smell of it or anything and I cant eat it but everyone here in Spain LOVES it!

The next morning the Guffeys put together a Christmas breakfast for the entire ZONE of missionaries and we all made omelettes out of a plastic bag that we boiled in water (who knew right?) and this is where the Christmas miracle came in! Some missionaries were traveling in a group on the train on the way to the breakfast when they ran into these three men who basically asked if they could come too! So here we are, a group of about 40 missionaries making omelettes with these just 3 random spanish men from off the train. We talked to them and it turns out they live in our area! They loved the breakfast and they talked with everyone! They have interest in coming back so we´ll see how that goes! We invited them to church on Sunday but they were all sick unfortunately, but next week for sure :) 

Later that day, we went over to the Miles´s house and had fun eating and playing games and reminiscing about missions (I have some AWESOME pictures of Uncle Scott!) and of course, we talked with our families! AHH! And I only cried a little ;) It was so great and I´m so grateful for the Miles for inviting us over to do that.

And THEN we went over to another member´s house, the Hassle´s and played games with them haha man, it was just so fun. We got an American, Spanish, AND missionary Christmas! I feel so blessed during this time and i´m so grateful i could spend Christmas with all these wonderful people!

Friday and Saturday i got the flu (did you give it to me through Skype or something mom??) and it hit me hard enough where i was in bed for 2 straight days. Poor Hermana Steffensen! She must have died of boredom, she told me she cleaned the piso for 6 hours one day haha. But I´m all good now, thanks to a priesthood blessing from the Elders. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas full of love and family time! And enjoy the New year!! Make those New Years resolutions!! Speaking of which, I finished the Book of Mormon and am starting it over again in spanish. remember the goal back in Spetember? 

I love you all!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL

Hermana Morrow

BLESSINGS

I´m so blessed. So so so so blessed! This week was rough, my comp´s been battling a never-ending cold and we kept getting failed all week (including our Christmas eve appointment but we won´t talk about that), and then one of our new investigators dropped us which hurt A LOT! We had a lot of hope for her, she´s really nice and is looking for something more in her life but decided our message wasn´t for her. Its in these moments I just want to pick up The Book of Mormon and shake it in front of people and tell them This will make you happy! Don´t you realzie thats all we and God want?? Just a little faith!! But some people just aren´t ready....yet ;)  So yeah, we definitely had a few discouraging moments. BUT BUT BUT we pushed through and did the best we could and I am telling you now that we have felt Heavenly Father´s love a hundred fold and I know that the Lord takes care of His missionaries and His children. 

First, let me start with last P-day. After emailing, we took the train to Cadiz which is the main city here about 30 minutes away. We got on the train and then after almost every stop after, a group of missionaries from our zone got on and it was SO fun. We got to see a cathedral and then we alked up to a CASTLE and just explored for a while. I´m so excited for P-days here. In Huelva, we were an hour bus ride away from anyone so we just spent Pdays chillin by ourselves, but here we can spend P-day with 20 other missionaries here easily. Blessingssssssssss!

Later that night, we had a Family Home Evening with an investigator Kat. She´s young and works on base in the Navy. The Miles family from the American branch was so kind to host it at their house and we shared a lesson about prayer and then played one of those Cranium games and ate brownies. It was SO fun! Seriously one of the highlights of my mission already. Especially since Sis. Miles and I figured out that she served with Uncle Scott in Venezuela!!! SO COOL. They invited us over for Christmas Day too and we´re so excited! I love their family already, theyre great people and their kids are the cutest!

On Wednesday, we had a Zone Conference in Sevilla with two other zones so I got to see Hermana Lyons again! She´s an angel. Seriosuly don´t think I can gush about her enough. She´s an AMAZING missionary but one of those who don´t even realize it which makes it even better. She and Hermana Carmen are my best friends on the mish, it was no accident that we met and were companions and it was even a greater blessing for me that I could see Hna. Lyons once more before she went home. And I´ll see a lot more of Hna. Carmen for sure! I´ve been so lucky with my companions, especially Hna. Steffensen! She´s such a hard worker and SO funny and crazy haha I love it. I´m sure you can see that from the pics I send haha. 

At the Conference, we talked about our mission goals. So far, we have 425 baptisms this year and 205 rescued less-actives. Even though our goal for this year was 600 baptisms, we talked about how that doesnt make the 425 less special. Its 425 more people who have come unto Christ and that´s something to celebrate! I´m grateful for goals that drive and inspire us to find and teach and share God´s Plan of happiness with as many people as we can. 

Later, Presidente Deere and Hermana Deere talked to us about Self-reliance which we all thought was an interesting topic, especially around Christmas time. But I really needed to hear what they said as they talked about living within our means,keeping a budget, saving and avoiding debt. I definitely need to work on that! I love the Deere´s, they truly prepare us for the future. I´ll be sad to see them go, we just got news that we´ll be getting a new mission president this summer: President Andersen from Blackfoot, Idaho. Bittersweet! I love the Deeres with all my heart but am excited to welcome the Andersens!

On Thursday we went to Rota, the community right outside of the Navy base. We only get to go there once a week since its so far away. Its a beautiful little town and even though we didn´t have a lot of success there that day, I´m excited to go back!

On Friday we had the Ward Christmas Party and we were able to take three investigators--Umi, Katti (whose 11 years old! She´s already one of "my girls") and her sister, Elena who was literally stuck to my hip the entire night. Theyre all so cute! Elena especially. The primary kids went up to sing some Christmas songs and even though she hasnt even been to church yet, she went up anyway and mouthed the words, so adorable!! I love the faith and goodness of little children!! I don´t know why I´m so blessed and lucky to teach such beautiful girls here in Puerto and when I was in Huelva too. Heavenyl father must be preparing me for something...my whole life has revolved around caring for and teaching younger kids and especially now that I´m away from "my kids" back at home (yes, Ryan and Kate, you still count too ;) I realize how precious they are to me. I´m so blessed!!

So that was pretty much my week, I wish i had more updates about investigators, but it was really hard to meet with people because of the Holidays and the sicknesses going around. Next week for sure! I believe in miracles!!

I´d just like to end this weekly letter with my testimony that I know my Savior lives. He healed when He came to earth, He has healed people even after His death, He has healed me, and He continues to heal. All we have to do is put a little faith in Him. I´m grateful for His love that I feel every day and especially during this time on my mission. I am proud to be a daughter of my Heavenly Father and I´m grateful for His Great Plan of Happiness and the role that jesus Christ plays in it.  I am so gratful for my life and all the blessings I have recieved from God. i praise Him and will continue to praise Him all the day long.

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL! AND FELIZ NAVIDAD!

I wish you all an amazing Chrsitmas as you remember the Savior and get to spend this time with our greatest gifts on this Earth--our family and friends.

I love you!

Hermana Morrow

EL PUERTO

I LOVE EL PUERTO!! AND MY COMPIE! She´s seriosuly the coolest! She speaks English perfectly and I´ve had a lot of fun learning about her. She´s from Norway and has 6 younger siblings (cue in oldest sibling bonding time haha) and the youngest brother is 5 months (SOOO cute!) They all have cool Norweigan names that is nearly impossible for me to pronounce haha. I´m so excited to be with her for this next transfer---she´s seriously A MACHINE: She knows the area and the people really well. I have nothing to worry about! The only thing that made me a little nervous was our Spanish but I learned this week that honestly, the language doesnt matter. We both have about the same Spanish level, so its hard to understand and speak sometimes but so far EVERYONE has been super nice and patient and helpful. And i have such a testimony now that its not us that converts people, its the Spirit. Our grammar and our prnunciation and our accents might be bad, but I´ve seen the Lord´s hand in helping our investigators understand our message. They feel the Spirit and even though the medium through which they are recieving the message is imperfect, the message we have IS perfect. And thats all that matters.

Second big announcement! Root beer!! Our area includes the Navy base in Rota (only a 30 minute bus ride away) so the members and the senior missionary coupe working here (The Guffeys) always give us stuff from base. Like ROOT BEER and peanut butter (6 months is too long!). i´ve seriosuly had one can every day I´ve been here almost. Its bad. We were going to go proselyte there the other day but my comp got sick so we stayed in (I didnt mind, gave me time to work on my talk) but thankfully she´s feeling better now. But we´re definitely going this week!

So speaking of which, yesterday we went to both wards--the spanish ward and the english branch (all made up of military families). I gave a talk (thanks Bishop) in the spanish ward and it turned out okay. Even though I´m pretty sure I blushed pretty bad haha oh well....

And then went to gospel principles class with one of our investigators Isabel who is AMAZING!! She´s about 65 years old and is golden. She´s so ready to be baptized, but her husband doesnt understand and wont give her permission. Please join us in praying that he´ll open up his heart to hear the gospel or at the very least support Isabel! She already has a testimony of the gospel and she´s read the Book of mormon more than anybody i´v ever met! Everytime we stop by or call her she´s like O yeah, I was just reading in the Book of Mormon and then she always shares a scripture with us. I love her! She even came to church even though it was thundering and pouring outside. We were walking to the chapel and then we saw this little lady struggling with an umbrella and it was Isabel! Haha poor thing! She definitely has spirit!

Then we went to the English ward and oh man, it was so special! I didnt realize how much I´ve missed listening to the Sacrament prayers and talks in my own language! I really enjoyed it but in a weird way, it was almost unsettling. I´m really going to enjoy my time here serving the English ward and the military families but I also know i´m here to serve the Spanish people. Its really hard sometimes but I love Spanish and being here in Spain among this language and people is my calling!

After emailing we´re going to take a train to Cadiz, the main city here to go see a cathedral. I´ll make sure to take lots of pics! Fun fact, my comp from the MTC, Hna. Carmen, is also in this zone!! So i´ll be seeing her a lot these next couple months WOOHOO! i love her so much! 

So yeah, this mission thing is so great! Its definitely a lot of work, especially now with learning a new area again (I´m the new one AGAIN, not a big fan of that) BUT its so worth it. I´ve already met so many people that I´ve just clicked with and i know theres a reason i´m here!

I love you all! Have a great week! Dont forget the real meaning of Christmas!!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

TRANSFERS

I´m going to Puerto de Santa Maria which is in the San Fernando Zone in Cadiz (about 2 hours more down south from Sevilla, so I´ll be in the same Tri-Zone as Huelva!) My new companion is Hermana Steffensen (sp?) from Norway!!!! I haven´t met her yet but she sounds really cool. She just finished her training so I´m technically Senior companion (AH!) but I´m trying not to think of it like that because first of all, we basically have the same amount of time in the mission and second I DONT EVEN KNOW SPANISH haha so we´re definitely just going to be two newbies running around, learning together haha! I´m super nervous but also excited, its a bittersweet thing for me. I´ve gotten really comfortable in Huelva and then with spending 6 weeks with a companion who not only speaks English but is a MACHINE and knows spanish and how to teach perfectly, I feel like I´ve gotten a little too relaxed lately. I haven´t been pushing myself or being stretched at all but thats about to change, thats for sure! It´ll be nice to have to completely rely on the Lord again....I prayed so much and so hard during my training and I always felt His presence near. But when everything started going well and I became more comfortable as a missionary, I feel like I let go of my relationship with Him a little. Its just like the pride cycle ahhhhh! But I need Him every day and I´ve realized my mistake and I´m not going to let it happen again!

So the bitter part is I have to say goodbye to the beautiful Hermana Lyons! I love her so muchhhhhhh. Seriosuly, we´ve only known each other for 6 weeks and she feels like my sister. We´re completely open with each other and I´ve been able to just be ME around her, a relationship that usually takes years for me to build with someone. So yeah she´s great and I´m going to miss her a lot. I just love how the mission is organzied and how close two people can get while serving the Lord. It´s the best relationship,

And the other bitter part is leaving Huelva! I was "born" here and I can´t even imagine leaving!! 4 months is a LONG time, the ward here is my family and I´ve grown to love my investigators and other people I´ve met so much, so much more than I even thought was possible! I bore my testimony on Sunday and I could see Erika, Lorena, and Ana were crying in the back and it just broke my heart! I NEVER thought that I could have such a relationship with people that I can´t even communicate fully with. It just shows me how much of a difference the Lord and the gospel makes in peoples lives. I don´t feel like I did anything special here, I just tried to share my testimony and bring Christ into other people´s lives and there were definitely times when I feel like I failed.But it was really special to feel so loved from the people I worked hard with every day, gosh I just love missionary work! And I love how people just LOVE missionaries! This whole entry sounds so vain and braggy but I just want to say that I know how special this work is and I am so grateful for the time I´ve served here and the blessings and miracles I´ve seen and recieved. Alright, gush over.

The rest of the week was pretty busy just by itself! We didn´t even have time for P-day, we just split up email time throughout the week. We also had intercambios this week, so a Sister Training Leader came to Huleva with me and I got to take her around to lessons and of course everything FAILED but we made the best of it and the Lord rained blessings on us with our contacting! We got about 16 future investigators in just one day!! BLESSINGS.And then on Saturday, the senior couple from Sevilla came down and we got to do splits with them (they´re SO cute!!) We didn´t have success with them either but they took us to a Wok later that day so i guess that makes up for it ;)

And finally, I´d like to give a little update on my girls, the last update ever! WAAAAAA!

Erika is doing just fine. She´s definitely got a rebellious side but she loves her missionaries, every one of them, thats for sure. We still have to show up at her house and wake her up if we want to see her at church on time haha but she´s working at it! 

Her sister Lorena is amazing. She´s been unfailingly active this entire year, even when she was the only member of her family. I can´t tell you how many times she´s showed up at church alone, having taken the bus all by herself and she´s only 14! Such a stud. She reminds me of Kate so that has been so special for me!

Merly is....oh man, can´t even gush about her enough!! She´s a sponge! She recited the whole Plan of Salvation, three kingdoms and all, to her mom the other day and we all just sat there dumbfounded until her mom jumped up out of her chair and attacked with kisses because she was so proud. Hermana Lyons now teaches her english and piano so we get to see her even more AND she still accompanies us to appointments! What a missionary! She´s going to be the key to reactivating her mom and brother and the baptism of her dad. i have no doubt. We still don´t have a date, but her dad is slowly warming up to the idea as he sees how integrated she is in the church.

Estela and Judith are golden! Sometimes its hard to see them at church because their family often doesnt have enough money for the bus, but members with cars are a big help! They´re both so smart and so dedicated. Did I ever tell you that Estela fasted for 24 hours after we taught her about Fast Sunday?? I could never have done that as an 11 year old! Just wow. This is definitely a special generation!

I love my girls, I love my ward family, and I love the experiences I´ve had here in Huleva. But i cant wait for this next chapter of my mission to begin!! Please pray for me, I need your prayers!!

I hope you all have a wonderful week! 17 more days until Christmas!!!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

love, 

Hermana Morrow

THANKSGIVING AND THE FLU

Surprise! We have companion exchanges later today so we were able to switch our email time! Before becoming a missionary I thought everything about the missionary life was always so organized and perfect haha but its not! You really have to be flexible and just go with it! So for future reference, if I don´t email on Monday, know I will as soon as I can--our P-day probably just got switched!

But anyway, here are some of my highlights and (let-downs :( of this week!

First off, we had to stop visiting one of my girls, Ramona! With my old companion, I had been teaching her English a couple times a week and then we would teach (well, more like attempt) to talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. They were always so nice and welcomed us into our home but oh man, all they wanted to do was Bible bash! And we just couldn´t do it anymore, the Spirit was never there and they were never willing to pray to God to find out if anything we taught was true. But they truly are GOOD people, just so good. And I admire them for how strong they are in their faith and I know we´ll see them in heaven some day. They believe in such good and important and essential things, its just little details, like how they believed church was on Saturday, not Sunday, that hindered them from progressing. but I love them so much and it was harder than I thought it would be to say goodbye, but we definitely parted as friends!

Alright, now I need to write about something happy. So it was really cute this week, we happened to walk past a plaza one day in our area and remember Indara (the girl we took Merly to)? Well we happened to pass her in the street and she ran up to us to say hi and then like 20 (no, I´m really not exaggerating) kids from the park, from the street, from their houses, (I have NO idea where they all came from!) followed her and began talking to us and asking questions. They were all adorable and Indara was bragging in a not so humble way haha that we were teaching her and we had given her a Book of Mormon. So here we are, surrounded by 20 adorable, grubby children and we asked them, "yes, we gave her a Book of Mormon, do you all want one too" and they all simultaneously yeleed "SIII!!" It was SO funny and so cute. We didnt have 20 books hidden in our bags, but we did give them all pass along cards and they gave us candy and it was just great. Totally made our day...I don´t know why in this area I´ve seemed to have met so many good and innocent children...I love them all so much! They truly are innocent and so faithful, I think about the story of Jesus telling the apostles to let the children come unto Him so He could bless them. it´s always been one of my most favorite stories about Christ and now i think I´m being to understand why and how much He loves them! Thats something i didnt think i´d learn on my mission!

Alright alright, fine, I´ll talk about our THANKSGIVING! Woohoo! We didnt have anything planned because we´re lame but the Elders really came through this time and they organized a Thanksgiving lunch for our District! We brought mashed potatoes, bread, zucchini soup, fundge, and this AMAZING stuffing that Hermana Lyons made completely from scratch! Like seriosuly, she just whipped it out...just threw random bread things and spices in a pot without measuring and it turned out SO good! Aw man, she´s awesome. And then the elders brought cheesecake, a chicken, drinks, and other stuff that i cant seem to remember. And we all went to the chapel and had our own Thanksgiving lunch! It was short and sweet and we went right back to work but it was perfect!

And now guess what else happened this week, drumroll please.......I got the FLU!

Haha it was so awful and funny though because i had literally just recovered from my horrible cold the night before and I went to bed so happy that it was finally over after a full week of tissues and coughing  and the next morning I woke up with aches, chills, and a fever. Great. I´m already so much better though, and i was able to make it to a baptism our ward had (investigator of the Elders, the mom of Judith and aunt of Estela) which was beautiful and church on Sunday too. And i have honestly never felt so loved! My companion took care of me and all of our plans that entire weekend, the Elders gave me the most beautiful blessing, the mission nurse told me what to take and what to do, everyone was just so sweet. But the sweetest of all was when one of the members in the bishopric showed up at our door with medicine for me, chocolates, honey pastries, and two packets of soup! He then told us that the ward loves us and to tell our families that they take care of us and not to get sick! It was such a tender mercy, hermana Lyons and i teared up in front of him--it was just perfect timing and exactly what we needed! I love this ward!

There´s so much more i want to say but I´ll just have to wait until next week!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving week!! And I hope we can live in Thanksgiving always in our hearts! I love you all!! Happy December!!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!

P-DAY SWITCH

Kelsey's P-day was switched to Thursday this week due to President interviews.  So check back then for her latest email.

CONFERENCE IN SEVILLA

"What I like about the mission is even when times get rough, you always know there´s a miracle on the horizon and the harder you work, the faster you´ll reach it OR the more meaningful it will be for you when it does come."------Wise words from my beautiful companion!!

This week has been pretty tough, especially regarding the numbers of lessons we´ve taught. We haven´t had as much success as the past and our animo (energy, excitement?) has gone down a lot. But what I love about companionships is that your struggles and your trials and your problems seem to be cut in half, because you can share the disappointment. But then, your successes and miracles seem to be doubled as you both enjoy them!! What a blessing that is! And I can see that applied to any other type of companionship....husband and wife, families, friends, you name it. Companions are so important, I´m so lucky to have Hermana Lyons--she´s healed me and helped me in more ways than I´ve thought possible and I hope I´ve done the same for her! 

But anyway, the big, exciting, SUPER GUAY ("cool")  thing that happened this week was a visit from Elder Kearon, a member of the Seventy! He and his family live in Germany but he´s from Britain so he has the coolest accent ever (just being able to listen to that  accent for three hours was the best thing ever!) He came to our half of the mission on Thursday so we traveled up to Sevilla on Wednesday night and then took a 3 hour train ride to Malaga the next day. I had the worst cold i have ever had all that week (which is also partly why this week has been difficult blah) and then the entire day of the conference I was SO sick! I had a fever and everything and it just so happened to fall on the one day i couldnt stay home and sleep in our piso haha. But Heavenly Father took care of me and not only was I able to make it through that day and the journey home, I was even better enough by the next day that we didnt lose any proselyting time.

 But anyway, I´d like to take some time and share a little bit of what I learned from the Conference. Elder Kearon and his wife and then our mission president and his wife also spoke and it was incredible. When they all walked in, I just felt a wave of the Spirit come over me. I believe in the priesthood authority of our leaders! I will follow them through to the end, because I know they are called of God! Here are some highlights:

Elder Kearon talked a lot about how we as members, "thrive on resistance". No matter how hard things get, we always get through them and come out stronger, but only if we have the Lord  in our minds and in our hearts. Even if we have to do it alone, we do hard things!

He also advised us to pour out our hearts in the morning to the Lord and then ATTACK the morning--physically with our excercises and spiritually with our studies. /And let me tell ya--we sure did! I´m SO sore still haha)

Sister Kearon talked about the story in Matthew 19 and about asking yourself, what lack I yet? There is no commandment that is only for your physical or temporal well being. its all connected....its all for your spiritual growth too. She also said something I really loved...."He loves uyou just as you are, but He loves you enough to not let you stay that way--He invites us to let things go, free ourselves, and ask: What lack I yet?" PURE GOLD!

Presidente Deere and Hermana Deere talked about not beating ourselves up and telling ourselves things that we wouldnt´ tell any one else. Let go of your spiritual guilt-handcarts! Just repent and decide to do better now!

I feel like I didnt even give half enough credit that these spiritual giants deserved but i just wanted to give you all a little taste of the magnificent Spirit and knowledge that I gained at this conference!

In other news, on Thursday (the day of the conference) we were riding the bus home with the Elders from our District and we all thought it was Thanksgiving (they dont celebrate it here in Spain so we got the week mixed up) so we all went around and shared what we´re grateful for! heres a few: 

Tissues (that one was obviously mine), the fact that its getter colder so people are more likely to answer the door fully clothed, Enya, our families (duh!), having an oven -


my old piso didnt have one), Hermana Lyons and her love of making sweets and letting me mooch off of them, and of course the Book of Mormon, our Savior, and our Heavenly Father. I just want to share my testimony that I know that Jesus Christ and The Lord live! I am so grateful for the gospel in mylife. I feel so lucky to have grown up in a family that was centered on the gospel and the teachings of Christ. But I know that even if I hadn´t, i would have accepted the message of the Restoration if missionaries had knocked on my door and i had felt the Holy Spirit testify to me of its truthfulness. i know it. I´m grateful for my parents, they are really, truly "goodly parents" like Nephi´s. I love my brothers and sisters so much and I will always treasure the time we had together. And I love my Savior and because of Him, I wanted to serve a mission. And I love being here serving and teaching the people of Spain. I love it with all of my heart! 

I hope you all have a great thanksgiving!! I´d love to hear what you´re all grateful for! 

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!! 

(PS todays my five month mark...where has the time gone!!)

MISSIONARY'S APPRENTICE

MERLY!!

We had the BEST week with her!! We´ve been teaching her consitently these past couple weeks and during one visit, she just turned to her mom and said, "hey, I want to be a missionary! can I go out with the hermanas??" And we just looked at each other like, okay well hey, why not! So we got permission from our District Leader and her parents and we she was able to accompany us!

We had a little test run on Thursday and just took her out for a visit or two, but we gave her some pass along cards and she was contacting people in the street like it was no big deal! I cant believe this girl! I STILL am afraid of approaching people, and she would just walking up to them, point to us, and say "hola, these girls are mormons and they talk about the Book of Mormon and Jesus Christ" haha! Everyone LOVED it!! She was just so cute, she´s definitely our secret weapon from now on hah!

And then on Saturday we took her out for the whole day, and I mean the entire day! We picked her up at 10 in the morning and then we brought her back at 8:30, almost 11 hours with us! The poor thing, so many people failed us so we walked all over the city all day, I was so afraid we were going to wear her out! But at the end, she was running down the streets and climbing the walls haha while Hermana Lyons and I were dragging our feet! (At one point she did take a quick nap on the bus though, it was so cute! See pic attached) And it was truly a day of miracles with her! A lot of our appointments werent home and at one point, we even had a door litterally slammed in our faces (took 3 months in the field before that happened to me so I´m not complaining) but then the most AMAZING thing happened! After the woman slammed the door in our face, we went to sit on a park bench to pray and at that very moment, the granddaughter of that woman came out of the house and came over to talk to us. Her name is Indara (9 years old) and is the daughter of the Sandra, the miracle family I told you about a couple weeks ago, who greeted me and Hermana RObayo like old friends and listened so intently to us when we explained the Book of Mormon. Well anyway, we asked her how her reading was going and she pulled out her book and showed us where she was and she´s IN ETHER! We visited her about a month ago and she´s almost done with the Book of Mormon! And to make it even better, Merly then took over at that part of the lesson and used the pictures in the front of the book to explain where it came from and what it is. And she was litterally teaching Indara! She would talk about Lehi and his family and then would ask her questions like "Whats his name" , "Why did they go to Jerusalem", and then told her at then end that she was going to bring an abbreviated Book of Mormon book with pictures for her to help her understand. It was a beautiful moment, to see two young girls who havent been baptized talk and teach and help each other to understand the gospel. It just proves to me personally how true the Book of Mormon is--that two young girls, of only 11 and 9 years of age, can feel how special this book is and like Merly, to have the desure to share it with everyone they know. 

 I feel so lucky here in Huelva. As you may have noticed, we´ve been teaching a lot of young girls between 8-14 years of age--Erika, Lorena, Judith, Estela, Merly, Julia, Ramona, and now Indara. And I know she wont be the last. We´ve often wondered about this, why did the Lord lead us to find these girls? Why are they more open to the Spirit and the gosple than their parents? And especially in Merly´s case, why are they so STRONG in their beliefs when they´ve only had the gospel in their lives for only a couple years, or months, or even weeks. I don´t know why, but I´m so so so grateful for this blessing to be able to laugh with and teach these beautiful girls. They´ll always be my girls and I hope to one day see pictures of them on their missions or when they´re married in the temple!! They are such examples to me and make me want to be better!!

Anyway, Estela is doing amazing, we had a noche de hogar (family home evening) with them one night and it was CRAZY! Their family is so insane, I love it so much. EVeryone just yells all the time and they love to dance and sing, I just love it! We made gratitude turkeys in honor of thanksgiving and they loved it. 

My companion is the best! We´ve really supported each other this week during the tough times. We´re both battling being sick with the changing weather but we find that if we pray for each other with faith, once we´re in the street, the Lord blesses us just enough to make it throug the day. And when we´re down, we cheer each other up by singing songs from the Barbie movies (The Princess and the Pauper is our favorite) haha. I´ve never been happier!

ANywya, I hope you all have a great week! I love you and pray for you!!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

Hermana Morrow

JUST DO IT

Thats been my motto for this week! My companion is amazing at contacting and she´s really helped me and encouraged me to be better! It´s really hard sometimes, especially on the bus when you have an audience haha. But I´ve learned that I just have to do it! I´m not ashamed of the gospel, and I´m a representative of Jesus Christ so what do I have to fear? We contacted about 70 people this week and I´ve never been happier! Even if some people completely ignore us and pretend like they don´t understand me (my accent isn´t THAT bad haha) it´s so worth it. We´ve already seen miracles and we have a bunch of new investigators we´ll be teaching this week!! I think I´ve gained a lot of confidence since I´ve been on the mission. I´m definitely more bold. (Haha sometimes Hna. Lyons and I have to stop and think before we do some things to make sure we´re not breaking too many social norms...haha). But my confidence is not in me, its in my Savior. I´ve given Him all my strengths and all my weaknesses and He´s molding me into the missionary and person i need to become. And if that means I need to go out of my comfort zone and talk to people on the bus or in the streets, I¨LL DO IT!

So yeah this week was great! My companion is LA MEJOR and we have so much fun together! We work hard (reallyyyyy hard--I´ve never been so exhausted in my life!) but we play hard for sure. And I know she loves me and that honestly can make all the difference! Plus, she´s an amazing baker and I´ve reaped the benefits of her brownie, cookie making skills :)

So two crazy days happened on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday we had these AWESOME plans. Oh man, I was so proud of them....we were going to meet with a bunch of new investigators and a bunch of people we met through contacting and we were going to set two baptismal dates. But of course, you can imagine what happened.....everything fell through!! And I mean EVERYTHING! Haha it was almost comical! Actually it was comical, it didn´t affect us at all and we were laughing and just went along with our backup plans as if nothing was wrong. And because everything fell through, we didn´t have time to go back to our piso for mediodia (2 hours in the afternoon we go back and eat and do the area book because everyone in Spain is sleeping) so we ended up prsoleyting from 11AM to 10PM. And that last 2 hours, we got drenched and were knockling on doors and no one let us in because we looked like two drowned puppies haha. So why i am telling you all this?? I promise I´m not complaining...I´m telling you all this because even through all of this I was SO HAPPY! We were both just so completely happy! We didnt once get discouraged and we did the best we could. Since then I´ve been thinking about the reasons behind this and I don´t know if its because of everyone´s prayers for us and for all the missionaries or if its because we have the Spirit with us and Heavenly Father is blessing us with peace and joy, as long as we´re doing our best and being obedient...whatever it is, I know its of God and I´m so grateful for this tender mercy!!

But then yesterday, we had a pretty good day numberwise, but we visited one family at the end of the night and they are going through such a rough time....spiritually, economically, emotionally, and physically. And there was literally nothing we could do in that moment. There was a lot of contention, the Spirit wasn´t there at all, and at one point we just had to leave. And it HURT. I have never felt such pain for someone before like that. We both just walked home-I dont even know how to describe it-- hurting, just hurting! Thats the dangerous part of missionary work, you have so much love for people and then as you teach them, the Spirit helps you to love them even more and more and more. And then if their faith is wavering, or if you watch them go through trials in their lives, its devastating! And even though its painful, I´m grateful for thischarity I have for God´s children,its defintiely something I havey prayed for and something thats been given me, little by little. And I know through Savior´s love and with the Spirit´s help, we can help heal this family.

I don´t want to leave on a sad note, so I´ll share a quick funny story. On Saturday after another one of our plans fell through, we were wlaking in the street when we met one of our investigators by chance and he didn´t even stop to talk to us--just said follow me, I want you to meet someone. We followed him a little cautiously but then he led us into this room with FIFTEEN people, and said "Hey grandma, I have some people here who want to talk to you about GOd" and then he jsut left us in the middle of this crowd of strangers,laughing his head off hahaha And we just stood there surrounded by his family panicking alittle but then my AMAZING companion just rounded them all up in a semicircle and sat us in chairs in the middle and we had a lesson! I´ll never get the image of my companion sitting there in front of a group of 15 adults, as if we were having storytime or something haha! But everyone was really nice and we now have a bunch of new investigators and we were able to give away 2 copies of the Book of Mormon, so thank you, Ezequiel (the investigator)!! 

So yup, I love being a missionary! I´m working hard and I love being a representative of my Savior, and its not something that will end when my mission does. My mission will never end!

I hope you all have a great week! Thank you for your prayers!! I love you all!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!

NOT IN TRAINING!

BEST WEEK EVER!

Okay I feel bad that thats my title post for this week, I promise it has nothing to do with saying goodbye to Hermana Robayo haha! It was bittersweet to say goodbye to her, but I was and still am really excited for this next part of my mission. IM OFFICIALLY NOT IN TRAINING!!! woohooo! I feel like a real missionary now and the language is getter better and better every day so i can actually communicate with people, woop woop! I can now answer the phone and call people and set appointments without being afraid (even though i sometimes have to repeat myself 10 times because my accent is so thick haha) and I´m just overall building up my confidence! For example in lessons, at first, I would get really nervous and had to form out what I wanted to say in spanish in my mind during lessons, but now all I need to do is study in the morning for my lessons and then just listen to the Spirit! It´s such a liberating and powerful experience, every time. To just be able to listen to the Holy Spirit to figure out the needs of the people you´re teaching and then applying a gospel principle that will help them and bring them closer to Christ. 

SOOOO I said goodbye to my mom on Wednesday and a couple hours later, picked up my new beautful companion, Hermana Lyons!! I love her so much already! She´s from Utah and is one of the nicest people I have ever met. Her spanish is amazing and she is a POWERFUL teacher. She loves to bake and has already made cookies so that helps too haha ;) No but seriously, these past 4 days with her have honestly been one of the best 4 days of my mission. She´s already helped me to be a better missionary and to get out of my comfort zone. For example, we have a goal to contact on every bus we go on and let me tell ya, bus contacting is SO HARD. I love knocking on doors, or even just street contacting but bus contacting  is soooooo awkward. First of all, you have to approach someone almost randomly sometimes and try to talk to them while everyone on the bus is watching and listening to you and then if they reject you, all you can do is awkwardly stand there until one of you get off haha. But we´ve done it every time and we´ve already seen miracles! We met a man who gave his number to the missionaries a year ago and they never called him back (they probably just wrote the number down wrong or something ;) and has been waiting for more "young people to  talk about God" with him. For a YEAR. What a blessing!

Other crazy things that happened this week was that we moved pisos! Poor Hermana Lyons, I didnt even let her unpack when she got here and her second morning here we had to pack up everything in the apartment and moved a couple streets away. But it was a miracle because not only were we able to pack and clean our apartment, but we moved everything down five flights of stairs and into our new apartment in three hours! So then we were able to proselyte and keep our appointments for the rest of the day. And our new piso is AMAZING: I feel like a princess in a castle. The piso belongs to members from the church so they left a lot of furniture for us and I seriosuly feel like I´m living in Oma´s house. Its like culture shcok all over again! I feel like I could walk outside and be in St. George or something. I can´t tell you how grateful I am! 

This next transfer will be so great, I´m so excited! I wasn´t stressed at all with setting appointments or showing my companion around and I know thats because of your prayers, so thank you so much for that!

Teaching wise,.....Estela is still doing great! She has such a love for the gospel that I´ve never seen in anyone as young as her. Everything we teach her she just drinks up and if we she wasn´t doing it before, for example we taught modesty the other day, she´s just like, "okay that makes sense and I feel its true so i´ll do it!". Maquina!!!

We took Merly to church again the other day and she loves it. She´s been going for a month alone now and her mom says she ran up to her after church yesterday and said "I know this church is true, I want to be baptized, I want to be baptized!!" And she will, I have no doubt. Man, I have so much love for this girl!! And i´m so grateful for the faith of children. I have learned more from them than i have learned from adults on my mission. They have so much faith and theyre willing to pray and find out the truth for themselves! 

Sometimes I think as adults we can be just a little stubborn. And sometimes, especially with the trials we´ve gone through, the burdens we´ve felt, and the things we´ve seen, its hard to believe that there´s a God, that He would let these things happen. But I have a testimony that we do have a Heavenly Father and He does love us. he loves us so much, He sent His only son to suffer and die for us. And through His son, Jesus Christ, we can be healed, we can find comfort and strength. I have seen this very Atonement raise people from despair, lift them up in the brightness of the gospel as they discover and embrace the love of their Savior. I love 2 Nephi 1;15. We are never alone and there is always hope! I can and do testify of this! 

So thats pretty much it for this week, we´ve been really busy and working really hard. I havent felt more tired in my life but I love it! Its a good kind of tired, makes me feel like I´m doing something right. I love you all, thank you for your prayers!!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

WEEK OF FINDING

Alright so I know I know I say EVERY week that the mission is crazy and full of miracles but this week even more so, I promise hahaha! Now that thats established, heres my crazy week full of miracles!

First off all, as a mission, we had a "Week of Finding." We made a goal to find 888 new investigators as a mission, 9 in each companionship, which means that not only do we find someone, we need to teach them a lesson AND schedule a return appointment. Our normal weekly goal is to find 4 new investigators each week and I don´t think we,ve ever been able to reach it. So NINE was a little intimidating to say the least! But my companion and I have faith and we know that the Lord continually prepares people for us and we just need to be guided by the Spirit to find them! We fasted and prayed really hard as a mission and the first day my companion and I were able to find one new investigator, even though it was P-Day. But then, my companion´s knees began hurting her really really badly and first of all, lemme tell ya--this girl has the WORST luck of anyone I´ve ever seen!! She has pushed through so many trials and setbacks in her mission but she wasnt going to let this one stop her either! We worked hard all week, as much as we were physically able, and were able to find 6 new investigators! We didn´t reach our goal and that was a little disappointing for us BUT that doesn´t take away from our 6 :) I have such high hopes for them! We found 3 one night, in the very last hour of our proselyting time and I felt the Spirit so strongly there. I know we were led to that house, (we knocked on their door by accident thinking it was someone else´s apartment) and the woman opened the door and yelled, YELLED "Hola beautifuls!! Now where are you from?? Come in, come in!" Another jaw-dropping moment haha. We walked in and met her daughter and her friend even though the woman was super nice, the friend and her daughter were a little wary. (the daughter even said something along the lines of "why in the world did you let them in"haha) but we were able to explain and give them each a Book of Mormon and it was amazing to see how completely their countenaces changed as the Spirit filled the room completely. At the end, the daughter said she was going to bring her Book of Mormon to school to read and the friend said he was going to show his friend. MIRACLES. I´m so excited to teach them, I can´t explain it, but I felt something special about them that I have never felt for anoyne before on my mission. Just pure love, thats the best I can describe it. SO anyway (I went off on a little tangent there huh) our mission found 897 new investigators as a whole. We have truly been blessed and I´m so excited and just full of joy and hope for these children of God!!

And then on Saturday JUDITH AND ESTELA WERE BAPTIZED!!! AHHHH! It was such a beautiful baptismal service. Estela was bapized with her cast (we wrapped it in plastic wrap haha) and they were both just BEAMING throughout the entire night. it was perfect. These two girls are such examples for their families, they are seriosuly changing their LIVES. Their grandma hasn´t been to church for 33 years but once her grandaughters started preparing for baptism, she began coming to church and returning to her Savior. One night we taught Estela the Word of Wisdom and we left her with a pamphlet and when we returned, Luisa said that she had read the pamphlet and decided to follow it and give up her coffee! She dd this all on her own and I know the Spirit is working through her.

I have seen so many miracles on my mission but that doesn´t mean there arent disappointments. Antonia has literally dropped off the face of the Earth!! We call her every day but she doesnt answer and she´s never home. But we´re not giving up on her! All in Heavenly Father´s time, right?

Merli is doing well, we took her to church again last week and she loves it and fits right in. Shes also going to be an example to her family! My dream is to reinactivate her mother and brother and baptize her father woo! I have faith! 

On another note, transfers are this week ane I have to say goodbye to my beautiful madre! Hermana Robayo is leaving for Alicante to be with Hermana Carmen (my comp in the MTC) and Hermana Carmen´´s comp, Hermana Lyons, is coming here to be with me! Super crazy that we´re changing companions haha. Its a bittersweet moment for me, Hermana Robayo and I have had such an amazing time together as we have witnessed miracles and suffered (just kidding ;) together. She has taught me a lot. And even though I know it will be hard without her, I´m excited to be out of training and work with Hermana Lyons! 

I LOVE YOU ALL and hope you have a great week!
HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

MERLI

I physically CANNOT say anything more until I talk about the Miracle of Merli!!!(Does that not sound like a movie title or what!) This beautiful 10 year old has been taught by missionaries since 2011 but for whatever reason, has not been baptized. Her mom and brother are members but are less active and her dad is a strong member of another faith. But he has given us permission to teach his daughter and told Merli she has to make her own choice of which church she wants to belong to (love this Dad!) Now first of all, what a responsibility to put on a 10 year olds shoulders! She has been to both churches multiple times, but she hasn´t been to the LDS church for years until these past couple weeks when we´ve been able to take her (with permission ;) She has been lukewarm towards both churches for years. She loves them both and finds good in each of them. So All we have been doing is teaching her the principles of the gospel and continue to encourage her to pray and find out for herself, like Joseph Smith, which church is true.

So last night, we went to her house and honestly, we didn´t know why we were there. We had already taught her that morning but felt like we should visit again. We planned on watching a video but for some reason it wouldn´t work, and we pretty much had nothing else prepared so we went COMPLETELY by the Spirit. And I have now learned and have a testimony that this is the one and only way to teach. We began talking with her and her mom about the choice Merli has to make in her life. We were talking about how this is a lifelong decision, a decision that she should be absolutely sure about, a decision that she will follow for the rest of her life.  She was quiet for a moment and then all of a sudden she grabbed a Book of Mormon, squeezed it tightly to her chest, and said "I want to be baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ, I want to be baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ and i want to be baptized after my birthday!" Her birthday is THIS Friday! I´m pretty sure me and my companions jaws fell to the floor! We weren´t even planning on extending a baptismal invitation, and to have her say it and really really mean it was incredible!!! 

Super long story short, we felt the Spirit so strong and she talked with her dad after we left and he said she had his permission! But, he wants her to continue to learn and pray for at least another month to make sure its something she truly truly wants and something that she promises to stick with and put her whole heart into. (We found out later from her mom that she started bawling when he said she couldnt be baptized this weekend--so cute). And my companion and i are behind him 100%. And it started me thinking how being Mormon has never been something passive for me. I belong to this church 100% and I have pledged not only these next 14 months to my Savior, but the rest of my life! I am so grateful for all that Jesus Christ has done for me personally and I know that this is HIS church. And I will never forget Him and I am Mormon 100% through and through!

Sorry that was so long! But it was so special to me and I just had to share it! Among other newsssssss........

Estela and her cousin will be baptized for sure this Saturday!!!! I never knew my heart could be so FULL, just overflowing with joy! They have both been examples to me---they have such faith and they KNOW that this church is true. And they´re only 11 years old. How innocent and pure and just beautiful children are. 

Antonia has had some problems with her work and will probably not be able to be baptized this Saturday but its okay. We just want to make sure she has had time to pray and learn and internalize all that we need to teach her. And its all on the Lord´s time.

So yeah, this week has been pretty AMAZING! Except that its SUMMER again (100 degrees today!) I want Fall!!! It was rainy and cold for one week and then something, I don´t know what (global warming?) happened and now I´m back to taking multiple cold showers a day haha. But I don´t even care! I´m so happy!! God is good! Life is good! The mission is THE BEST! I love you all and I always mean to share scriptures or something I´ve learned but I never have time because I write novels each week about my investigators haha. But know that I have a testimony of this work and of the gospel and especially of my Savior. Have an amazing week!!!! 

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!

A BETTER WEEK

I can honestly say that this week was one of the best weeks of my mission! It started out pretty rough....one day ALL of our appointments fell through so we walked around the city for HOURS trying to find investigators, less active members, or references who had time, but every single house was busy. We tried to visit with at least 12 families and by the end of that night we were so tired, stumbling over our own feet when we ran into some members in the street who told us that Estela had broken her arm!! Poor thing, she was more worried about the fact that we might have to postpone her baptism than by the fact her arm is in a cast!! And then, we got a call from Antonia who said she was called into work outside of the city and wouldn´t be able to return for TWO WEEKS! Two weeks! What is happening to our investigators!?! So now both their baptism dates are set for the 25th of this month (cross your fingers)!) But I have faith that everything will work out and Heavenly Father loves them both and has His plans for them!

But here comes the good part! So this Saturday, our ward had a baptism! The Elders have been teaching Juan Carlos for months now and his story is truly a miracle story! This man has been attacked by the adversary from every angle possible but he has kept strong and has said over and over that He will always put God first! He´s been ready for weeks and we have fasted and prayed as a District for him and I know that because of our faith, his faith, and by Heavenly Father´s will, it happened! It was probably the most spiritual baptismal service I´ve ever been to. I was tearing up only a little during the baptsim and then I looked overat Sarah (aunt of Estela--the Elders are teaching her family) and she was sobbing because she felt the Spirit SO STRONG and knew that this was right for her and her family so then of course I started bawling and there was lots of hugging and crying and girly emotions and it was beautiful. Estela and Sarah´s daughter, Judith (cousin of Estela) were also there at the baptism and they kept talking about how excited they were for their own baptisms! AHHHH I love it!

And then on Sunday, we had even more miracles. We have also been praying and fasting so hard for our Investigators, less active members, and recent converts to feel the desire and have the ability to come to church and on Sunday so many came! We were overjoyed!! We were even able to pick up Merli (remember her?) and Erika and take them with us and that was so special to me to see them both in their dresses, just GLOWING. I´ll try to send pics later. Estela was even there too!! We´re still working on her mom, but Estela is rock solid. Oh man, it´s miracles like these that just strengthen my faith and give me energy each and every day!!

I know that the power of prayer and fasting is real. So real....and I know that Heavenly Father listens to our prayers and answers them, in His own time and His own way. I know that He cries with us when we cry and is happy when we are obedient and follow his commandments and the example of our Savior. I love my Savior and my Father and I pray every day to be able to know them better and truly understand all that they have done for me. 

I hope you all are having a great week! And I hope you are all reading the Book of Mormon! December 31! I love you ALL so much!! Thank you for the prayers and love!!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

GENERAL CONFERENCE

GENERAL CONFERENCE!!! Oh my goodness it was so PERFECT! Perfect timing, perfect messages, I loved it all!!

I was only able to watch one session in English but that one session answered ALL of my questions (If you watched Conference but didn´t have specific questions in mind, or you havent watched it yet I encourage you please please please to pray to recieve answers to some of your questions or concerns and then to watch it again with these things in mind. I have done this for years and it amazes me how EVERY time I am comforted and recieve specific direction and guidance.) 

My companion and i were  able to watch the two "morning" sessions (it started at 6PM here) in the church building with our members and investigators in Spanish and even though I didn´t understand all of it (okay fine, I didn´t understand most of it) I felt the Spirit so strongly and that´s all I needed! On Sunday when we went to the church, we took Lorena and Erika with us and it was one of the best experiences of my mission to see them get all dressed up and so excited to hear the Prophet. I love them both so much, AH! 

For the other two "afternoon" sessions, we got permission to go to a members (at 10PM, how scandalous ;) to watch it live. Me and another Elder were able to watch the Saturday Afternoon session in English and we laughed SO HARD when Elder Holland said "bien hecho" ("well done", for all you gringos ;) after the native Spanish speaker spoke! Hahaha it was so cute, I don´t know if my humor level has dropped that much but i hope you all were able to enjoy that as much as I did. (His talk was AMAZING by the way (no surprise there). I love that guy.) I love how all those speakers were able to give their talks in their native tongue. It´s showing the world that our church is not just an "American" church---the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the SAME church Jesus Christ established when he was on the Earth, is for ALL of God´s children, no matter what language they speak! I can´t wait for the day when every country in the world allows missionaries and the gospel into their borders! 

So especially with that spiritually MIND-BLOWING weekend, I think I can say my companion and i had a great week! It´s still hard and something new goes wrong EVERY week (this week it was allergies haha) but it´s really cool for me to see how we usually have more success the harder it is! Last week was awful but at the end when we were reporting to our District leader we looked at our numbers and we realized how much we had done because we decided to "forget ourselves and go to work!" The Lord blesses and strengthens us each day when we leave the apartment and we always feel better, emotionally AND physically, when we´re teaching or visiting others. And i know that this is only because of our faith and the prayers of our families and friends, thank you all!

So now on to my favorite part: This week´s miracles!

Antonia and Estela are doing great! I have no worries about them. They are so prepared for baptism, I often feel like I don´t even need to be there haha! The Spirit does it all, every time. We taught Estela The Plan of Salvation and she loved it so much, she wants to teach it to her mother, a less active member. And Antonia shares her testimony with her son every time we visit her. She loves the church so much and is changing her job so she that she doesn´t have to work on Sundays!

We´re teaching another young girl (4 of our investigators are 11-12 year old girls--I love it!) named Merli. She is the most intelligent chiquita I have ever met! I teach her English before each lesson and she just learns it all so fast! I taught her the alphabet the other day and she could say every letter and had it all memorized in less than 10 minutes, I swear! It´s the same when we teach her gospel principles too. She loves the Savior and especially Bible stories. i have never seen someone so anxious to learn! Pray for her!

Well anyway, the mission is amazing! it´s finally cooling down here, last week was SO HOT so I´m really excited for fall! It was really cool to hear about the movie thats coming out soon, "Meet the Mormons". I don´t know if I´ll be able to watch it any time soon so you all have to watch it for me! I love you all so much! Have a great week!! Thank you for your prayers!!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!