Hellooooo familia!
Thank you for all of your emails/support/words of wisdom, etc with the whole Chinchas/Homesickness extravaganzaa...things are doing slightly better. Your emails and letters are the best to read, I appreciate all that you had to say! Especially the fact that mother CALLED the mission office and talked to Elder Alldredge...mortifying, I tell you. Hahaha just kidding. That's totally fine, it actually made my companion happy that you cared enough to do that. Elder Alldredge told us that actually, this coming transfer, they're probably going to transfer both Sister Holladay and I out, and have some elders whitewash (so the elders can suffer the wrath of the chinchas if they still survived). It was weird to get that news like a week and a half in advance! It's not for sure, but it's pretty likely. It's interesting, because Sister Holladay and I have really seen the area improve a lot, just as we're about to most likely leave it. However, it's comforting because they tell us to leave an area stronger than we found it, and I feel like we've been blessed enough to do that.
Whattttelse...well, Wednesday was a memorable day. Started off with going to the temple, which always helps 100%. Then we get back home and get a voicemail from the RS President, and we give her a call back. She proceeds to tell us that David (of the infamous David y Guadalupe investigator couple that was supposed to get married and baptized for like years now), had just been put in jail! This is the guy that had stopped drinking for like 2 weeks. Anyways, he got put in jail because he accidentally put the wrong address on an application, and then they looked into it and found that he had unpaid tickets from like 2 years ago, and then looked into that and found out he didn't have papers. So we ran over to see Guadalupe, and it was actually a really big learning experience for me. We had district meeting in like 10 minutes, and sister holladay was like "no. I want to go visit them." and I had this big moral dilemma about which we should go do...so we went and visited them, and it ended up being meant to be that we did. Lupe had been trying to transfer money onto her cell phone for like 20 minutes, and wasn't able to do it because she didn't understand english well enough. So we were able to help her transfer the money onto her phone, so she could actually talk to David, and then we were also able to help her call the jail to know where he was at and how she could visit him, etc. She hadn't been able to talk to him for 2 days and had no idea where he was. Anyways, so we made it to district meeting late, and they totally understood and were glad we had done that instead. It was a good lesson to me about just like really serving and loving your investigators, and realizing that that fulfills a huge chunk of our purpose.
So, continuing on with that saga...David was deported like 2 days later. So he's in Mexico right now, and it's so weird because now we hear all of this conversation about how he's going to make it back to the US...he's hoping to walk back starting today for four days in order to make it back. And then branch members talk about how they know people that are really "secure" that could help him out. It's so weird to hear them all talk about it, and Sister Holladay and I just try to keep quiet. Haha so that has been really funny...but really sad. David's little boy has been really sad, and Lupe hasn't been able to sleep. The good thing is that the branch has helped her out a lot, and have really become a community for her. So that was the drama of the week, if you will.
HOpefully my letter to the President describes more about what all's goign on in our area. We've seen some really good things happen. Last night we had a good lesson with Kim, in which it was cool to see the Spirit work. We got to her house and she was asleep, and her husband woke her up. She was asleep because she had a bad headache, but then she agreed to chat for a bit. We started talking about the Spirit, and just how she still really feels like she needs a spiritual witness. Anyways, and so we were talking about how it's something simple, and then the thought popped in my head to mention that maybe her head didn't hurt as much now. So anyways, I was like "it's something simple, and I know you can feel it right now. For instance, maybe it's something simple like your head doesn't hurt as much as it did before." and she was liek "yeah! you're right! my head doesn't hurt, and i'm not as tired." and I was just like "Yeah, that's the Spirit...it just clears up our minds and allows us to think clearly." so that was really cool to help her recognize that. Then, after the lesson, the thought popped into my mind to ask her for referrals...we always talk about asking investigators for referrals and never do it. So I asked her, and she straight up said that her sister had been asking questions, and we should go visit her. So that was awesome! I just love the Spirit, it is everything!
So, another one of the big changes is that the Whites have officially left the premises, and the Beckstrands have arrived. On Friday we had a big departure meeting for them, and they shared their testimonies and all of that. It was sad, but I was surprised at how at peace I was with it. That is the sign of a really great leader, if they don't leave having made everyone around them dependent on them, rather if they leave having made everyone around them learn to rely on the Lord instead. It's really sad to see them go, but I know that it'll be okay. The Whites taught me so so much, and I think the biggest lesson they taught me and the other sisters is that of love. If you treat someone like a child of god, they will soon grow into that role. They will rise to meet your expectations, and they knew how to love people into those expectations, rather than to force them into it. They will always be some of the greatest role models for me, and I hope and pray that they'll continue to be that way after my mission.
As for the Beckstrands, they will be really good. They just got called off of serving a mission with single adults in Amsterdam, and got called here instead. He seems really funny and like he likes to tell lots and lots of stories. Dad, actually some of his mannerisms remind me of you, hahaha. His wife seems really sweet too. It'll be different, but evertyhing happens for a reason, eh?
Oh...had one crazy thing happen on telephones this past week. We're making lots of phonecalls after Christmas lights. One referral that I picked up was for Maggie Kraft...I don't have the phone number yet, but I'm almost certain it has to be Taylor Kraft's little sister (Taylor was my best friend from middle school, recuerdan?). It was from a girl about her age, and how many maggie krafts can there be in the area? Anyways, so...meant to be, out of the hundreds of cards, that I picked out that one. I'll keep you posted :)
Anyways, I must be off. I love the mission. It's so hard, but I'm learning so much, and I feel my love for the Spirit, the people, and the Gospel growing. The Church is truuueeeee! have a great week, I love you all! Love, Sister Fors
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