Go and get a ruler...do you have it ready? Now just hold on to it... we´ll get to that part later!
About the homecoming solution... HALELUJA! I love the idea about having a before the block brunch--I am all on board! We can visit, get to our meetings and have no regrets. And as for that... I hope you´re not stressing about food or anything. I say that it just be oh so simple. Like instead of a million options... three things. Could be a veggie tray, little sandwiches, and chocolate chip cookies. Done. Just my suggestion. I´m sure you´ve got great ideas about how to get it all done without being too stressful. I´m a fan of that. Nata – wonderful idea. I´m so grateful for your support and concern in helping me resolve such an inner dilemma. It is so great to have other people find the answers! Yehaw!
Random stuff that you can help me with:
Daddy – do you have plans of putting me back on car insurance? I will be needing that right away, or a ride to job interviews. Whatever you think is perfect with me.
Mommy – I´ve heard that on State Street there is an Argentine store that sells Alfajores and stuff. Could you make a trip and take meticulous notes about the brands and prices and flavors of all the goods. I want to know if I need to bring home cases of Alfajores or if it´ll be just as easy to buy them when I get home. So yeah, it would be great if you could tell me what is available there. If you want to send pictures of what they sell that works too. Thanks... it´ll help me pack.
Mom – how did that Cyprus cheer go that I always made you do? I want to do it for Hermana Pruner because she is a cheerleader, but I can´t remember it for my life.
We did super trunky service last week hot gluing ribbons to wedding cake pedestals... I decided that I would have done it sooner than the day before the wedding, but whatever, it was fun!
Great news! Osvaldo Miguez was baptized on Saturday and his
joy was incredible! It was a wonderful service and we had a great time. I´ll send pictures soon. He had such a change of heart. He thanked us immensely and another family has been completed. Looks like that is what I do rather than find, teach, and baptize families. I just help complete them.
There was this super sad old man that had had too much to drink and he kept falling off of his bike the other day and crashing to the ground. We tried to help him, but he just kept getting on it and then falling again. He was almost run over by a car too. It made me so sad.
For Zone Conference we had a picnic... it was super fun and President Benton and Sister Benton let Hermana Pruner and me design the Sister’s Conference soccer jerseys for our last meeting-- in honor of us. They are going to be so cool!
I was super sick on Friday and was given a 3rd priesthood blessing in the last month – and before the third train stop on the ride home I already felt 80% cured. I was so impressed with the power of the priesthood that I started to pray and give thanks. But suddenly it all came back, all the pain and sinus pressure and I wanted to cry. I tried to tell myself that my body was being healed by the power of God, but I was suffering terribly. We got off the train and I took an Airborne, 2 Ibuprofen and 2 Allegra D and we went out in the rain because I was not about to miss an appointment with a complete family that I was so sure we were going to baptize (sadly it didn't work out) but that´s beside the point... we went out, taught them and prayed with them. It was incredible and I felt better and better. We practically swam through the street puddle
and my companion fell in the mud, but it was the best afternoon of the mission. We did 3 contacts, taught one lesson and returned soaking wet but full of the Spirit and hope and faith. The next day I was 90% healed and I know the Priesthood is real.
I am sad that Sister Pruner and I aren´t on the same red-eye. We had planned to keep each other happy instead of crying on our flight home, but I am going to be a solo sister with Elders on a 10 1/2 hour red-eye.
We went to an abandoned theater and found 4 families living there. We taught 2 of them and haven´t been able to find them again, but it was fun. It is like one of those things you can only do as a missionary... walk into an abandoned theatre and find various families living there and teach them the gospel. I liked that day.
Ok, do you all still have your rulers? Good, get it in your hand and take a good look at just how big 3 inches is. Did you all look? That is the diameter of the spider that I found in the corner of our ceiling last night as I sat
brushing my teeth and talking to the other sisters. I looked up and started screaming and pointing like a terrified girl. We grabbed my camera and recorded the entire process of trapping it (the brave soul was Hermana Pruner) and taking it outside where she released it to... LIVE. I was afraid to let it go and have it just come back, but nobody had the courage because it was literally SO BIG. When I first saw it I didn´t scream because I thought it was just too big to be true. I though it had to be a prank... it couldn´t possibly be real, but when I realized it was I began to scream. Hermana Gurr hid and it was up to Hermana Pruner and Hermana Godfrey to catch it and get it out of our pench. I was panicked and couldn´t calm down to sleep after that. My heart didn´t slow down for about 20 minutes. I thought I had overcome my fear of spiders, but that one was literally as big as the palm of my hand... and it wasn´t just a skinny legged daddy long leg with a tiny squish-it- body... it was like HUGE. The legs were almost as thick as a sucker stick – and his body was so big you could see teeth and pinchers. I will send a picture of that too if I can soon. I was literally losing it. We watched the video of it this morning and laughed and laughed at our screams and comments, but I´m telling you it was terrifying--but awesome. I love the mission!
So basically we had nobody in church yesterday and we lost _______ because she is getting pressure to not listen. We are working as hard as my strength permits us, but once in a while I just fall asleep... not in lessons, but in Sacrament Meeting yesterday... it was sad... one just lacks physical stamina at this point. The sad thing is that I prayed to finish the mission huge and baptize at least 6 or 7 people during my last transfer and it looks like the miracle of miracles that we could even remotely possibly reach would be 4: Osvaldo (one already down) and then Pabla, Marcos, and Liliana. So much for my dream of going out strong, but I guess the Lord has another lesson He wants me to learn through it all. It´s ok, I accept it, but I sure did want to baptize a family...but I will remain faithful and work as hard as I can because it does no good to lose faith over something that you simply just don´t understand yet.
I love the mission with all of my heart and cannot wait to share every joy, trial, success, failure, and moment with you. I have the pictures and the journal accounts to keep us talking for the next 7 years. So get ready to have me talk your ears off!I know that Christ lives and that this is His church. I know that this is His work and that He is in charge. He has a plan and it is perfect. I trust in it, even when I can´t see all the parts of it or my role in it. I pray that we all may lean on Him through every change in our lives.
The faithful will remain! Be still and know that He is God.
¡Wubba, muchísima!
The happiest sister missionary in all the world!
