WORTH OF SOULS

Oh man--this week! Not gonna lie, it was super hard. My comp told me many times it was the hardest of her entire mission which gave me comfort that it most likely won´t get any worse than this! Haha nah I´m kidding, it wasn´t that bad. Hra. Robayo was very sick for most of it and as a trainer, I know she has SO much more stress than I do at this point so I understand completely why she would say that. But she´s a trooper! Seriously, she has been such an example to me this week. She worked through the pain when she had too but she also knew when it was time to call it quits and return to our apartment. And we had some of our most special bonding moments at those times, which I´m extremely grateful for. Unity is important! I love her like a sister and I hope she will continue to train me after this transfer ends in 2 weeks!!! AH! So crazy, time has flown by! I feel like I just got here. I´ve learned so much but I know that I am SO far from being where I need to be. Again, thank you for your prayers!

This week I had my first intercambios! I took a bus (by myself might I add, what a rebel ;) to Sevilla where I met up with Hra. Moreno to take another bus and a train to a cute little town called Dos Hermanas. At first I thought it was a little silly to take a 6 plus hour round trip to only be in one place for 24 hours BUT i¨m so grateful for that little time I had! Hra. Moreno is from Spain and finishes her mission at the end of this transfer. She is the cutest thing and reminds me exactly of the main female character in the movie "Dan in Real Life" haha. She´s the coolest. We did a lot of knocking on doors which I haven´t really done before and it was a little scary! Haha but I really did love the practice and everyone was so sweet. The people in general in the South of Spain are sooooo nice. I think I´ve mentioned before, but the culture here is so different. Everyone is so loving and its even considered rude to not give kisses (or in our case, handshakes) to people you meet, even if you´ve never met them before. I love it.

This week has continued to be a week of miracles! We´ve had some struggles with Erika and her family, but we also had our blessings--the older gentlemen (that I bawled like a baby in front of haha) came to church this Sunday for the first time in months! We were so happy, i can´t even explain it! We went to their house later that night and made tortilla de patatas with them to celebrate! I understand a little better now the parable of Jesus and finding the one lost sheep. Every soul has worth in the eyes of our Heavenly Father and its so important that we find these lost sheep and bring them back, no matter how hard we have to work or how long it takes! I really like here how much we reach out to less active members. Hra. Robayo and her previous companion had been visiting with these men for months, every Sunday, with no progress until now. She never gave up on them. I also really appreciate how willing the members in the ward are to work with us. Most of them are return missionaries or youth preparing to go on missions and they´re such a strength! One girl, Erika´s sister, is only 13 and she has gone to so many lessons with us! I wish I had gone out with the Sisters more in Jersey. It´s not as scary as I thought it would be. Its actually really easy--you just share the feelings of your heart and what you know to be true and the Spirit does the rest. It´s so interesting to see how missionary work has changed for knocking on doors to recieving references from members and then working alongside these members to help bring the gospel into their friend´s lives. Don´t be afraid to share the gospel with those you love! It´s the best gift you could possibly ever give them and I know Heavenly Father will help you every step of the way if you ask Him. Mom, you´ve been such an example to me of this and I think about you often and your experience with giving away a Book of Mormon to someone for each day  of  December that one year. You´re amazing.

Anyway, i love you all so much and hope you have a great week! I miss you!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

PS Shout out to Kenna for SENDING IN HER MISSION PAPERS (without telling me might I add!) i can´t wait to find out where she´s going! She´s a MAQUINA!