Querida Familia,
This week was so amazing. It might have been my very favorite week of my mission so far!
On Tuesday we had Zone Conference which is like Spiritual Thanksgiving. Oh, my soul was nourished and fed and it was WONDERFUL! The best, most uplifting, and inspiring messages. My heart was just so full and happy to be a missionary! President Mullen put together this slide show about the Book of Mormon that has changed my life. My mission has really strengthened my testimony about the Book of Mormon. It is proof that God loves us! He went through the hard evidence of why the Book of Mormon is true (which is cool but we would rather the spirit testify of truth rather than hard facts) and it was pretty awesome. The book is filled with allegory and references to the bible. It just could not be hand written-especially in the time that it was made. Then he went through a slide show of pictures depicting Book of Mormon scenes and he talked about how it relates to modern times. It talks about families struggling, and growing, missionaries not sure if they are doing the right things, serving others. And then he showed a slide of Alma the Younger and the Sons of Mosiah and he said, the Book of Mormon speaks about less active members who make amazing comebacks in the church through the faith and diligent prayers of those around them. It really hit me so hard. I just wanted to sing it from the hills, "The Book of Mormon is the word of God!" I had a hard time consistently reading the Book of Mormon before my mission, but I will never ever let a day pass again where I don't read and study from it. Hand in hand with the bible, it is filled with advice and love from God. It helps us become closer to Jesus Christ. It is so amazing!
Then right after Zone Conference we had another exchange (we will do them every week since Sister Hick's is the traveling sister). This time I went up to Leavenworth which also might be heaven on Earth. I loved it SO much. It is a tourist town up in the mountains and the whole place is a Bavarian Village so everything is in the Olde English Theme. It was like little Duloc from Shrek. I felt like I was on missionary vacation. It was such a different scenery from Moses Lake and since I was visiting a new place, I had no responsibility but just to help with the work and talk to as many people as possible. And I was in the cutest, most quaint and beautiful place ever. Oh, I hope I can have a transfer up there someday. Look it up and see pictures, it is so great!
I came back to Moses Lake just in time for Halloween, which was a little crazy. It feels so funny to be a missionary sometimes, because normal life things seem so odd. Doesn't everyone on the planet just want to share the happiness of the gospel with everyone?? But being with all the families here gets me so excited for my future family. The gospel is everything to me. I just want to a raise a family in righteousness and love, centered on Jesus Christ!
Then this weekend was a WHIRLWIND because we had a wedding AND a baptism on Saturday! Ana and Walter got their license on Tuesday and we thought they would get married and wait a week to be baptized but then on Thursday they decided they just wanted to do it all. Which was exciting but actually really crazy. I loved it but I will never do anything like this again. The baptism was so great. Oh, I just love these people so much. We called everyone we knew to make sure they came and it was so great to see all the love and support from the branch. Most of the members are converts themselves, and their testimonies are so strong. I just admire their willingness to serve and love everyone. We were working on patience this week as a companionship and even though we just about lost our minds a few times, there was still an overwhelming peace that Heavenly Father loves us. He is always watching over us and helping us out. Just when we were on our last straw, he'd pour down a simple blessing. It is so sweet to be a missionary and to be a witness to His grand, amazing love for us.
I love you all so much! Thank you for your prayers and support! Being a missionary is the best thing I've ever done.
Loveeeee,
Hermana Em
p.s. here is the link to the video we watched at our zone conference. so great!
oh, here are pictures from the baptism:
the first is Virginia and Arturo. Arturo is still working towards baptism. Despite the glum looks on their faces, they really are happy to be there!
the next two are ana and walter and their girls. this was right after their wedding and right before the baptism. perhaps our biggest mistake was scheduling them so close together!
the last one is from a day of tracting and we stumbled upon texas street so you know i had to have a picture taken
the last one is from a day of tracting and we stumbled upon texas street so you know i had to have a picture taken
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