I Am So Grateful For These Last 18 Months - Dec 14, 2015

2 DAYS!!! 2 DAYS!!! 2 DAYS!!! 

I had an amazing week this week!!! So, with the lights going on at the DC temple, we have been getting a lot of referencias. This week we got one for una hermana. We went over on Monday night to go and see her. This man answered the door, and said "come on in sisters." We were like, ok... and we went inside. Well, we get talking to him as we waited for M. He was asking us how much time we had in our missions and when we said 9 months or 18 months he would respond with something like "wow, you are halfway through". It was obvious that he knew some stuff about the church. I asked how he knew so much and he told me that he was a member!!! He is from Honduras, but was baptized in El Salvador when he was 15 years old. After that, he stopped going. The story gets better... M. comes out and we get talking. I decided to ask her if her husband is a member because after the experience we just had, who knows! Guess what her response was "todovia no" TODOVIA NO!!! We were jumping off the walls happy!!! Her and her husband said they had decided to start attending our church! 

We were on temple duty Tuesday during the day. The Lord gave me a huge tender mercy there. I was in the computer room doing chats online when Hermana Tuttle came in and told me there were people looking for me. I was confused, but I went out to try and find them. Guess who it was! It was my companion from the CCM and the two other girls in our district. They were there from their mission in Richmond doing their departing temple trip. What are the chances!!! The last time we saw each other was in Mexico, 18 months ago, and now we are reunited the last week of our missions in Washington DC. It was such a beautiful experience. 

It was a great week of being able to spend a lot of time with members and say goodbye. I feel so blessed to have been able to serve here in Columbia. So so so blessed. 

SUNDAY WAS OUT OF THIS MUNDO AMAZING!!! 

So, J. came to church with her two other friends! (You all will be able to meet them at the branch christmas party here!) A member brought her friend, E., and her two kids to church. E. IS A 6 FOOT TALL VENEZUELAN!!! Why am I going home!!!! I want to teach a tall hispanic gosh dang it!!! It is ok. The amazing experience we had with her was when she introduced herself in Relief Society. E. told the Hermanas that she is going to be coming EVERY DOMINGO!!! Then, during sacrament meeting, I saw this family walk in. I had never seen them before, so afterwards I went to go and say hi. Well, turns out that she was a member and had just moved here from Colombia. She is getting married on Friday and she wanted her husband to get to know her church before the wedding! 

I am so grateful for my mission. I am grateful that the Lord called me to the Maryland Baltimore Mission... He knew that it was where I needed to be. I am grateful for the help and strength that he gave me. I am grateful for what I learned. I am grateful that I was able to grow. I am grateful for every single person that I met and for how they impacted me. I am grateful for you guys! I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU!!!!

I've Been Asked To Drive A 12-Seater Van... Dec 7, 2015

Wow... so... I am in the single digits now. The expression of having a rollercoaster of emotions is very very real! One second I am so excited thinking about getting to be with you guys and the very next second I am having a panic attack about leaving. Yesterday it really hit me how close it all is. I went to bear my testimony for the last time in sacrament meeting and I just broke down crying the whole time. It was hard. But, I am beyond words excited to see you guys!!!!!! 

Let me tell you about my week. 

So, Monday was so so so much fun! We spent it with members in the branch. We ate a ton of food, but it was worth it! We had the most amazing arepas! Then we got to help this wonderful family set up their Christmas Tree. Their kids are all moved out now and we don’t have family out here.. so we combined up and had a great christmassy time together! 

On Tuesday, we were able to see a less active who is never ever home. I can’t tell you how many times we have passed by to see her. Well, one of our appointments fell through and I had the thought that we needed to try by, and she was home!!! It was so so awesome! 

We had some fun times with una familia de la rama this week. We got to go by and visit for their daughter’s 7th birthday. This girl is obsessed with Hello Kitty. We bought her a doll and we sang her birthday songs all night. It was so fun! Then we also got to go to the temple visitor center with them and see the lights. Hermana probably took close to a hundred pictures. We showed them all that their is inside of the visitors center and they ate it up! They even took a picture with the pictures of Thomas S. Monson and the 12 apostles! haha! As we were leaving Hna Tuttle and I were being funny and taking some crazy selfies. Hermana and Hermano were making fun of us and then starting taking some selfies themselves! 

Something crazy and new that happened this week is that for the Christmas season, some of the sisters in our mission have been asked to be DC temple visitor center missionaries. We are some of those sisters. It was super fun! We did it once last week and are going twice this week. We got flags for our name tags and we get to chat with people online. I have also been asked to and trained on how to drive a 12 passenger van. Don’t ask me why they asked me. But, tomorrow I have to drive all of the sister to DC on the crazy beltway in a 12 passenger van. Pray for me!!! 

Thursday was S.’s birthday and she wanted to celebrate by going and seeing the lights. It was a lot of fun! I am drained though. We have spent like the entire week at the temple! S. loved it and so did J. We were able to have a really good conversation with them afterwards about what happens after this life. 

L.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! L.! L.! L.!!! She is doing amazing!!! Last week at church, she signed up to feed us dinner! So, this week we stop by and her little son was waiting at the door for us with Santa hats! We put them on and they started taking pictures with us. We took one with my camera, but I accidentally left it at the house. Well, a miracle happened because of that! We went back to her house the next day to get it and her husband was there! He started asking us questions about the church and it was great! Then, their little son, and L. came to an activity last night and the branch members were awesome! They invited her to our Christmas party and S. is going to be in the nativity with the primary! 

Missionary work is just A M A Z I N G : ) 

I love you all so much! I am so so so PUMPED to see you!!!!!!

Feliz Dia De Gracias - Nov 30, 2015

THIS WEEK WAS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanksgiving was so much fun! The C.’s invited all of the missionaries that live close by to their house to celebrate Thanksgiving. We were able to go over and have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We ate sweet potatoes and stuffing, turkey and ham, rolls and everything else you can imagine. It was so fun! We also played games and it was so so great! 

Then, we went and spent the rest of the night with the L.’s. This was not the most traditional Thanksgiving dinner but it was SO good. We ate mole and posole, tamales and tacos de lengua. Then we enjoyed some tres leches and flan :) It was so much fun being with them and all of their extended family. I was SO tired by the end of the day. I have been falling asleep during lessons with my eyes wide open. haha. 

We had a huge miracle this week. There is a less active sister that everybody has been asking us to get in contact with, but that is impossible to contact. We have been trying the whole 3 months I have been here. Well, we decided to stop by this week. She wasn’t home :( The people she lives with said they had no idea when she would be back. Then, we decided we would stop by the hotel she works at. We get to the hotel and they told us that she had left just 5 minutes before we got there. We went to the car and we KNEW that that day we were going to find her. We said a super sincere prayer with a lot a lot of faith. Called her, and... SHE ANSWERED!!!! She had just gotten home and invited us over right then! It was a miracle to say the least! 

Yesterday was def def the highlight of our week though. So, the english sisters are teaching the most amazing girl named J. J. is getting baptized at the beginning of the year and is the sweetest, best, most wonderful 17 year old. Well, J.’s mom doesn’t speak English. So, Hermana Tuttle and I were brought into the whole situation. M. is super cute and she as well, wants to learn more about what J. believes and why she is getting baptized. She wants to understand the rules etc. So, we have started teaching M., J.’s mom, and D., her step dad. Yesterday though, J. came to the branch and she LOVED it! L., our other investigator, came to church as well. She brought her son who had the time of his life in Primary! L. was participating in all of the classes and was so so comfortable with everyone. She loved it :) 

Hermana B., a less active we are working with came and so did Z. They are really good friends. Neither of them have been in a while. They both decided to come on the same day and when they saw each other they were so excited and started freaking out! It was so fun :) 

I found the absolute BEST scripture this week! 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness . Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities , in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions , in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak , then am I strong.

This scripture really helped me out. I have come to realized that I am a big perfectionist. I don’t like messing up, I want to be perfect and make everyone proud and happy all of the time. This scripture really got to me and it felt like Heavenly Father was speaking directly to me. I am grateful for the strength of Christ. I am grateful for my weaknesses which allow me to depend on Him. I am grateful for you all, my fam fam! I am excited to see you in 2 weeks :)