April 7, 2010

well hello! i have a few things i would like you to send to others. please tell maryjo that davis doane is doing really well. i see him all the time and as far as i can tell, he is doing good! please tell emily and shaun that i will write them back when i can.. and say thank you for the encouragement, letter, and the mentos;) it means a lot to me that they want to keep in touch. please let cindy jordan know that i will also write them and send a picture or two when i can. shockingly p-day is really busy too! that might actually be it for now... haha. i am going to jump around a little bit cause i just wrote stuff down on a paper to tell you.

dad told me about the bishopric change, thats crazy! im sorry to hear brian got switched out of priests, but i know he will do great. pass on my love and concern for him. i am sad to hear that bishop lesser is gone.... he did a wonderful job. i hope your week is going better now. im sorry to hear that it was so busy last week. especially cause i wasnt sitting at home doing your laundry and dishes for you;) haha. keep the kids working.

tara: congratulations on your great tournament in vegas! im glad to hear that your team is doing well! and mostly i am so proud of you for not playing on sunday. it is an extremely hard temptation to not play, but i promise you, you will be blessed in some way for it. You are a wonderful daughter of God, never change that or lower your standards to meet the world.

Joseph: hey, im sorry to hear about usu not having any scholarship money.... that really stinks. but i know that if you pray to your Heavenly Father for guidance, you will receive the answer best for you. you have your head on straight and know what you are doing. keep it up and listen to mom and dad, they have such good insight i never realized until i got out here on my own! it is actually really important haha. im really sad that i couldnt hear your testimony a few sundays ago... dad said it was really good! im glad you payed attention to elder scott's talk, cause it was too confusing for me! haha, but keep up the good work, and always have the spirit with you. um, i probably wont need cleats or shinguards. mostly i will be playing in the street with them, and i have my street shoes;) well half of my district is going to cuernavaca, and the other half is going to puebla, just north and east of me. everything is going good with them, and we are really starting to get along.

conference was amazing!!!! the spirit is so much stronger here, and i learned so much and took really good notes! i was still really annoyed to see a ton of elders sleeping during the sessions. i only dosed off once, it was during elder perrys talk, but i still got some pretty good notes.

tell alyssa and manuel that i miss and love them. im sorry to hear about the sickness and moodswings from pregnancy and the esl test, but i know you can overcome them with the spirit!

i know that all of this preaching i am doing is kinda cheesy, but its true! i have already seen it happening here, and especially to me! i about cried when i saw that you sent me the moose bank. it brought back some tender memories;) thanks for the package and candy. youre right, i already have so much!!! since my district is fitting in real well, the districts leaving give us their candy they dont take.

um the food here is good and bad. they are wonderful meals and alot of healthy stuff (that i try to eat some times) but you have to be really careful. there are a lot of carbs and it gives everyone gas.... shockingly i havent gained any weight yet. its probably cause im still losing mussle weight.. i cant do a one armed pull up anymore..... our schedule is really packed, but it is really nice, it keeps you focused on what you need to be doing, and you are always working and preparing lessons or talks. i have written 3 talks on my own and in spanish!! well not on my own. with the spirit too;)

i had a really humbling experince yesterday, and it really brought things into perspective for me. during our lesson with our progressing investigator, elder smith was doing really good, and following the spirit in the conversation, but for some reason, i was struck dumb! (i prayed the night before for a really humbling experience to help me love the savior and my district more) and i think that was it. i kinda cried as i talked to hno. stocking ( my teacher) and he helped me set a plan on how to better feel the spirit and apply it to lessons. it helped a lot, and made me realize that THIS IS NOT MY MISSION. IT IS THE LORDS'. always remember that, and it helps you be more humble and receptive to the spirit, and also more obedient. when you are obedient with exactness, i have already noticed the blessings of it! a great attitude, the spirit, better example and many more! it has been such a great experience for me to be humbled... but everything is going really well! i love it here so much, and everyone is doing good.

mom: if a little asain guy comes in to see you at work, dont be worried, its hno. stocking. he might come by and tell you hi and that im doing good.

love you all so much! and keep up the good work! keep staying in tune with the spirit and always keep a mission in vision!