December 22, 2014: ...I ran straight into a pole.

Hola everyone! Can you believe it’s Christmas?? Can you believe I will have been out here 6 months?? Holyyyyyyyyyy. It sounds like everyone is doing really good and enjoying their lives. I'm glad that you are all well. Great job Maddie! Woohoo, only one more semester and you're done with your RN!! (Then on to your BSN, muahahaha) ;) As for Skype, I really look forward to talking to you guys on New Year's Day....around 5 should be just fine!

This week was an adventure! ...and a comedy. First things first, I literally ran into a stop-sign pole. Yeah, like in the movies...I ran straight into a pole. I was looking at my agenda to see where we were heading next and the next thing I knew, my face was smashed into a piece of metal. Hermana Zepeda almost peed her skirt laughing at me. We ate with a hermano this week who went to BYU and was roommates with Johnny Lingo, SO COOL! His name is Hermano Casavantes and we eat with him every Thursday. I feel sort of famous now. He was also the first missionary in Mexico; he is a really cool guy! Oh before I forget, our choir can be found on  YouTube, I will find out the name and let you guys now. I'm the one in the purple :) My shirt really stands out is what I have been told ha-ha.

We talked to everyone and their dog in the street this week. Literally everyone!!!!! It's interesting and very creative the way people dance around having us visit them at their houses...but we found a great golden investigator!! Her name is Claudia and she accepted a baptismal date for the 1st of February! She told us that she knows the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. She also wanted to bring her entire family to church...but she didn't come this week because she got sick, darn it Satan! We have an appointment with her tonight and are going to talk about The Plan of Salvation; I'm stoked because it is my favorite lesson to teach!!! We are also working with menos activos who live in our area. They were a little difficult to find since we didn't have a map or a list of members...but we talked to the old Relief Society president and got names and addresses to visit and this Sunday we finally got a ward member list. And then there was the guidance of the Spirit.....somehow we always ended up where we needed to be. I have no idea how. Okay, well I do know how...but in the moment I had no idea what we were doing. We found a women and her 3 kids who were baptized a year ago and hadn't come to church since last February. She said she was thinking about her life and how she wanted to change it and we showed up 15 minutes later. I didn't know who she was when I picked her out of our small little list, but I am so glad I listened to the Spirit and chose to head to her house. Heavenly Father does guide His work!

This week I found a quote from President Benson in my scriptures that I loved so much: "Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He can deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, and pour out peace.”

I know that to be true! This week I have really had to hand everything over to the Lord and just work as hard as I could. Our numbers may not be very pretty, but I don't feel bad because we worked our tails off. Our successes were quality and I know that by small and simple means are great things brought to pass. It is a big burden to try to open a new area and train a new missionary, some moments I do not feel up to the task. But I always know somewhere in the back of my mind that I can do it because Heavenly Father is helping me every step of the way.