June 12, 2012

Well buenos dias familia!

Thanks for all of your emails and pictures! I love looking at them/reading them so much. Another week has gone by, and I feel like I find the time going faster and faster, which is kind of weird. But it was a good week. We're still transitioning back to being in the Visitor's Center, we didn't have a single night in our area this past week, but it's all good. That's when you realize that it really is the Lord that's in charge of all of this, not us. We had some cool miracles that I shall just have to tell you abouts!

Well, first off...this morning I had a "first" experience. So, we had our temple trip, and President Ellsworth decided that for this transfer's temple trip, we were going to go through TWO sessions, back to back. Have any of you ever done that? Well, let's just say, it is not for the spiritually faint of heart hahaha. So we got up a little before 5, and did the 7 am and 9 am session. It was really cool...I'm still trying to figure out what I got out of it....I guess for sure I gained a lot of respect for anyone that does 2 sessions on the regular haha. It was really tiring, and we were all kind of struggling. But President Ellsworth wanted us to do that to understand how we get power from the temple, and how we can apply that to power in our areas. I learned some good things, and they also spoke to us afterwards which I really enjoyed. 

Queee mas...well, I want to tell you about an AWESOME chat miracle we had! So, this past Saturday, we start chatting with this lady named Caitie from Tacoma, Washington. Start talking with her, and she tells us that her pregnancy doula is LDS and told her to go onto mormon.org (Becky Facer, anyone?) So, we start talking, and she's super knowledgeable, goes off saying that she studies the haplogroupings of the lost tribes of israel, who knows what. So, we start talking and she says she wants to go to church the next day, so we get her the time and the place. And we continue talking, and she's awesome. Definitely a North-westerner, if you know what I mean...used the word "groovy" like 80 times. She goes on to tell us about how she thinks it totally makes sense that only men would have the priesthood, how she believes that we lived with God before we came here, how she thinks the only way you can know the truth is from what the Spirit tells you, etc. etc. We were just like stunned at how awesome she was. She also went on to tell us some HILARIOUS spiritual experiences...this lady should be a columnist,for reals. She tells us about this time that she saved the life of a 300 lb, homeless drug addict named Peaches, and how God gave her the strength to do the Heimlich maneuver on her. Hahhaha...you never know what you're gonna get on mormon.orgchat! Anyways, so she was hilarious, with very random spiritual experiences, but very sincere. Soooo...we end the chat. The next morning, I wake up and I get the feeling that I should call the ward she'll be attending to tell them to look out for her. So I call, but the ward # doesn't work, so I call the stake office. This guy answers, who happens to be in that ward, and his wife happens to be the RS president. He says he'll tell her to be on the lookout. So the next day, I call the RS President, and she said that Caitie just happened to sit next to her, unknowingly! She came to church! Not only that, she actually drove like 20 minutes away to get there, while she's 4 months pregnant w/ horrible morning sickness! She had given us the address of her doula's ward, which is why it was so far, and she didn't even go to the same meeting time as her doula! So she stayed for the whole 3 hours, participated in Gospel Principles class, etc., and got lined up with the missionaries in her area! Sweeet! And this is all because of technology...how cool is that. So, we're gonna be chatting with her again tomorrow, and I'm so excited. She's so awesome! So keep Caitie in your prayers. 

What else...we got a new investigator this week, Judy...who we set a baptismal date with, and came to church on Sunday! Woohoo! We know her mom, because she lives in this trailer park we're always in, and her mom told us one day that she wanted us to call her daughter, Judy, to meet w/ her. So we did, but couldn't get a hold of her. Anyways, so then a few days later we meet her, and she starts telling us how she's looking for a church for her kids, how she wants to be a better mom forthem, etc etc. Awesome! We also finally got to teach our old neighbor, Santos, for the first time. He's a solid guy w/ a great family, and he's already started reading the Book of Mormon, and seems to really understand it. He was talking about how he could feel the Spirit when the member was testifying, so good. 

Our ward is doing great. Our WML just called Hno Galindo as his assistant...who we come to find out is an ex-stake president, ex-mission president, everything! He was totally keeping it a secret from us haha. But it'll be way good to have them as a team. 

What else...I went on exchanges this past week with Sister Solorzano and Sister Slater. I'm secretly hoping I get transferred to their area after...they serve in an awesome spanish branch, and also cover a singles ward! That would be so much fun. So, that was good. Also, we had a charla fogonera this past week, and I sang "divina luz" in an acapella quartet...I'm moving up in life! Hahaha, someday I'll live up to the Fors musical talent. 

Sorry this is a pretty short email...where the time goes, quien sabe. But I love you ALL, I can't even tell you how grateful I amfor you. This church is true! I read a verse in 2 Nephi 22:3 that I really liked...we gotta learn how to draw water out of the well with joy! It's hard work, but we can still have joy while doing it. I love you all! Love, Sister Fors