Hey so I absolutely love hearing from you guys! Thanks for being such faithful writers. It´s great! This week I caught a cute little toad one night. I held him for a little while and, of course took pictures. It made me remember that when I was a wee little one, I caught toads with my big sis. My comp didn´t think it was all that fun and special, but I sure did. But now I´m afraid of accidentally stepping on little toads all night long in the dark, muddy, swamp streets. I would hate to smash one. Mom – every night our district leader calls to make sure we got in and more importantly... ask for our numbers of the day. Gotta love it! Random stories: our apartment here in Las Heras is RIGHT in front of the train station. I love ear plugs and sleep just great, but get this... every time one of the bigger trains starts up and “takes off” it literally sounds like a 747 is leaving the airport. Our entire apartment shakes – no lie – and the sound is uncanny. We often pretend to lift off our chairs and giggle to ourselves that we are flying away. Yes – Lara was baptized in Marcos Paz on Saturday. Her mom came with her friend, one of our new investigators Daiana Gomez---who has a baptismal date... we committed her to be baptized (in the street) not 3 hours before the baptismal service. SCORE! It was my first date I set in the street. Hehe. We all piled into the back of a meat truck of the branch president and headed to the church. The Elders had the font all filled and ready with hot water. We took pictures, and had the best baptismal service I´ve had in the mission. I was 100% calm. Everything went down perfectly, we sang, there were witnesses, people supporting her... it was picture perfect. I had a goal to actually enjoy one of my baptismal services without running around like a chicken with its head cut off and now I can say that I reached that goal!
(Photos from the Benton's Mission blog)
In the back of the truck on the way back we basically just said to Liliana – the mom – are you going to get baptized on the 10th of October with Daiana and she said “yes” – the members in the truck with us started clapping and it was a very happy moment. SCORE! First date I set in the back of a meat truck! That very day we had we also put a baptismal date (that fell the very next day when she didn´t come to church) with a wonderful young single mom of 24 years with 5 kids (4 alive, 1 lost during pregnancy). She is so great and feels the Spirit and loves the visits, lessons, and the power she feels as she reads the BOM, but didn´t come to church, even when we sent a member to bring her and her kids in their car! So we´ll have to put it to another date and she´ll be baptized next transfer, because we are already past crunch Sunday for baptisms of this transfer.
Get this... I´m so into the work that I dreamt that I street contacted Brad Pitt in LA and that he let me use his bathroom and then I started to ask him if he had ever heard of the church. I was about to teach him the first lesson, but I woke up. How about that?
Last week we spent literally all day getting to and from the temple after our last session, and we´re doing it again this Saturday for Rolando´s sealing! I don´t even mind that it´ll eat away a bunch of proselyting hours, because this is a once in a lifetime chance and I´m not going to miss it or even feel bad.
My comp and I compete to see whose name the cute little kids of the members can say first. Every time we eat with them or visit we speak over each other saying “Hermana Jensen!” “Hermana Godfrey” “Hermana Jensen” “Hermana Godfrey” - I usually win because my last name is easier for them to say. Wahoo. Thanks dad! It´s fun, we´re like a mom and a dad trying to make the kid say “mama” or “dada” first. We get a kick out of it. I´m going to film the next competition and you´ll see the fun in it.
The other day I was standing up in a crowded bus going the 38 kilometers to Navarro and all the sudden I was falling. I guess I had drifted off because when I opened my eyes, my knees were buckling to stop as they had already started to collapse and fall to the ground. I caught myself in plenty of time to not fall to the ground and sat down in the next available seat, but felt quite aware of the fact that I had just about fallen to the floor on a bus--and it was only 12:30 in the day. We had only just begun.
I had my almost last interview with President Benton and was afraid he was going to call me on having such lame numbers – specifically with contacts, but he has the Spirit and could tell that I wasn´t just slacking off. He understood when I said I´m doing things with the Spirit instead of doing a thousand fake contacts with people that have already been contacted because the town is so small. He said I was doing just fine and not to worry, so I´m going on that. He trusts me. That is good, but I have to be careful to not slack off because he released me from stressing out about contacts. I know, I know.... now you are all going to tell me that I will never slack off and that I am fine but I can't lie. I am getting really tired. So, if you could, pray for me to have more energy it would be great. I have 9 weeks left and I will finish a bit of a failure if I can´t keep my contact stats up. I will regret it I know, but I only see and feel the 'right now.' The regret is in the future and I can´t quite grasp it. Help me to have more energy. I´m just exhausted. Moroni 9:6 It scares me... I know the consequences. :)
I gave a 20 minute talk in church yesterday about “diligence” and it was great. The Spirit really helped me with the scriptures and examples and testimonies that I found and shared.
Speaking of interviews.... I taught President my 'charity' lesson and finished my little book of goals and will be awarded the “Brilliance of the Master” next transfer. He said it was very well done. He is so good to me. He has me setting a billion goals about what I am going to do with my future and what kind of husband I want. As I have been doing that homework, I have come to see that I am looking for a pretty perfect man. How do you lower your expectations without lowering your standards?
I love you all so much. Don´t let my struggle depress you. It´s mine and my battle that the Lord will help me win, but all your prayers are welcome. I gotta run. Be safe, I will see you soon... !
Chau,
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