August 20, 2012

Hello Familia!

Well, lots to talk about, I think. Thanks for your emails! I loved being in the loop with all these plans you're already making, especially for that one for the eastern Mediterranean cruise. Keep me posted on that one :)

So, this week was a really good one, I can't complain. I feel like Sister Noble and I ended on a good note, and I feel like our area ended on a good note as well. So that leads me to transfer news...hahaha you guys will love this. So, we got the call on Saturday night. I thought we'd just find out whether or not we'd be transferred, w/o knowing our area or companions. But they surprised us with all the news! So, Sister Noble is staying in the area, and Sister Holladay is coming to take my place! And as for me...guess who my new companion is. Hermana Watkins....AKA Jeff Johnson's first cousin!! Hahaha I was going crazy. And I'm getting transferred to her area, which is Liahona 3rd, which is still in my zone, right next door to my area, the area that surrounds the temple. I was totally not expecting to get called there. It's a full-field area, which means I'll have another transfer outside of the VC, which I thought I'd be bummed about but I think it'll be okay. Also, I really didn't expect to go with her because she's still being trained...so I'm going to finish the 2nd half of her training. And I'm going to be living in the same house that I was in for 4 weeks on-and-off when we had bed bugs last winter. And...the grand finale...I'll be on BIKES! Ohhhh dear goodness. This should be entertaining. So, all in all, I think it'll be really good. I know there will be challenges, I feel like Heavenly Father always likes to throw curve balls, or throw the same pitch at you again, but I think it'll be good. I'm really excited to be with Sister Watkins, I think I'm going to learn a lot from her, and I don't think I'll really feel like I'm training her. So it'll be good stuff! I'm also really excited to serve right around the temple (even though I'm already always there for the VC). But really though, it makes me think about how unique my calling is, that I get to proselyte next to the temple, and I just think about how significant that is, compared to people that serve hundreds of miles away from a temple. So, I am very grateful.

So, yesterday was Sunday and that was a great day. I couldn't think of a better Sunday to end on in Liahona 1st. I'm really going to miss this ward, but I know I'll still see them lots, because I'll be coming back for baptisms and all that because I'm so close. And, Liahona 3rd is an awesome ward...there are 3 sets of missionaries there right now, and in the past they've had 4 sets. It can always be a little entertaining serving with other missionaries in your same ward, but I'm so grateful to be called there. Anyways, so...I wrote about it in my letter to the president, but Dulce and Pascual are awessommmeee. Okay, so, Dulce is our investigator that a member referred to us. We briefly met/taught her husband last week, and invited them to go to the VC for an FHE on Monday night. Wait, I think I wrote about that last week. Anyways, so, we visit her on Saturday and we start telling her about church, because they said they'd go the next day. She then told us that after the FHE on Monday night Pascual told her he wanted to get married to her in the church/temple! Which was soooo awesome because we didn't think he was interested at all at first. He came home during us talking to her, and we talked to him about church and he said "claro que si" they'd go. So, they all show up on Sunday, sit right in the front with their relatives behind them, and they just seemed to love it. Dulce loved the talks and everything. I think by the 3rd hour they were a little worn out (Dulce was falling asleep in RS haha), but it was soo cool to see how they loved it. What I also loved is seeing how much more they seemed to love each other while being there! They were like all huggy and super cute the whole time they were there, and it just shows how the Gospel is what it's all about, even in relationships hahaha. But it was great.

Oswaldo is also doing super well. We really want all of them to have baptismal dates this week! I want to see if I can set some before I leave. But Oswaldo went to the VC with us last week, and then also went to the charla last night. It's been really cool to see the change in him as well. I'm going to miss that family...I love seeing how much more happy and cheerful he is when we come over. It makes me so happy! So, he is getting there, little by little.

So, the charla last night, was also what made it a great Sunday. Ahhaha ohhh I have to tell you about this. So, our convert Marta was asked to be one of the ones that gave her testimony! So, we worked with her the day before. We were a little nervous, because she was going to do it in our ward and backed out at the last minute. But on Saturday she totallyyy surprised us with the story/testimony she shared with us when we practiced. So, on Sunday, we're at the charla and she seems pretty nervous. But she gets up there, and she starts talking and she's doing a really good job. She cracks a joke about how she went to the singles ward dances, because she's a really big dancer and all that, and it was going really well. So, at the end of like 5 minutes, it was perfect...she shared her story, bore her testimony, awesome. And then, she starts getting a littttllee off topic. She had talked to us the day before about how we shouldn't force people that aren't interested, or keep trying to teach them if they seem "whatever". It's because we've been teaching some of her neighbors, some of which have been interested, others no. And she thought we were visiting one of the not-interested ones, when we were really visiting someone different. So, she gave us a little talking to. So, then in her testimony, she starts going off on the same rant! And starts telling everyone about how we were visiting someone not interested (which we think was misunderstood), who she sees outside with their "cervezota", and how we need to just stop teaching them all together. Ahahhaha, and she goes off and I can't really understand everything she's saying, and she used some idioms that I didn't know whether or not they were bad words (they weren't though), and everyone is just like laughing and I'm like "what is going onnnn?!" Oh my goodness. Hahaha I was so red. But I loved it, it was so classic Marta, and I will not forget it. She did a really good job, and we were all proud of her afterwards hahaha.

Whattt else....I can't remember what all happened this week. Transfers, a decent amount of people going home. Hope you all have so much fun wherever you are, hope Darron is enjoying being back in schoool. I'm assuming Gretta already started too, yeah? Anyways, I love you all! Love, Sister Fors