Freezing Cold Monday

I don’t know what your morning temperature is, but it sure feels pretty cold here! I haven’t had to scrape any ice off our windows yet so at least there’s that. I almost had to though! Sorry to hear that you all caught the stomach flu. Definitely doesn’t sound like a fun experience and I’m glad I don’t have it! I heard that you had to speak in church from Dad too and he told me to ask you to send me a copy of your talk. I would love it if you sent me a copy!  I would also love a picture of the Christmas tree since you seemed to forget that this week J Our sweet members left us a little Christmas tree on our porch the other night so at least we have that now! As for gifts, I’m fine having them directly shipped to me. I just won’t open the box and I’ll stick it under the tree. One other request, can you send me the words to all the verses of O Holy Night? I just can’t seem to remember all of them. 

It's the Most Wondertime of the Year

I’m right there with you Mom. It is so hard for me to believe that it is already December! And that 2013 is almost over! Time is so weird. Potential for snow, huh? Definitely none of that for us. I think that is one of the things that is hardest for me to truly believe that it is Christmastime…there is practically no weather change! Yeah it’s colder, but it’s still sunny and really nice most days. Not sure how I really feel about it. I think I might like the whole seasons changing thing better. Then again, year round sunny skies is pretty great too. I was wondering if you got the Christmas tree. I figured that you would have. Did you get a big, pretty one? Everyone hear just has fake trees. I guess those are easier and all, but there’s nothing quite like one that you cut down yourself, fresh from the field J I can’t wait to see pictures!

Thanksgiving (11.25.2013)

I’m sorry that there were so many issues in trying to e-mail me this week! That’s always frustrating when you’ve typed a big long thing and then in the blink of an eye it just disappears! I’m grateful that you recreated it as best as you could. It made me tear up and smile as I sat reading it in the library. To answer your questions…contacts…did Dad get me a membership? If so I can go and get it figured out this week, but I have to know that first. Music…I was able to print out the hard copy so no worries there. My Thanksgiving Plans…a pretty normal day except it will be filled with a lot more food! I think we are going to mostly visit with members that day and try and share the temple presentation we have with them and talk about the things that we are grateful for. The final question…I didn’t remember every word of the song and I tried to look up the words on lds.org but apparently it’s copyrighted so I’ll have to read it when I get home. I know it’s great though! I haven’t gotten the package yet, but I’m excited for it and I am sure that I will love it. I loved your list of the things that you are grateful for and I think I will follow suit and share mine too. 

Crazy Formatting (11.18.2013)

First off, sorry this letter is so weirdly formatted. I started half of it in here and then the other half in Word after I got your e-mail. Anyways, I did get the black shoes and they fit and work just great. I don’t want a brown pair just like them, but something similar would be great. I haven’t gotten contacts yet. That will probably have to be next Monday. The remodeling sounds like it has been a lot of fun! Hahaha I can just picture all of the water gushing out and it makes me smile J Your 3 trips to Lowes just makes me cringe at all the miles haha. Those are so precious here, but I guess you don’t really have to worry about that! Lucky ducks J As for my bed size…either one really works. Fulls are nice, but I’m pretty used to twins now with school and mission life. Whichever is better for you! Speaking of until I’m finished with college…yeah…so that might be a while! I’m thinking about Med school! Crazy?? The more I’ve thought about it (which isn’t a ton because I’m kinda focused on other things) the more it just feels right. We’ll see though! I’ve got plenty of time to figure that out.

Having a Gratitude Attitude (11.11.2013)

That Sharing Time sounds like a lot of fun. I’d love to see a picture of the tree! I’m sure it’s awesome. I think it’s awesome to stop and think of the things that we are grateful for in this life. Starting 50 days before Thanksgiving, the STLs gave us a chart and we write a miracle that we see during the day each night before we go to bed so that we can see and remember how the Lord blesses our lives. About the movie quote, I know I’ve heard it before, but try as I might, I just can’t think of what it is from! The mission has done that to me! Whenever I try to place of movie quotes or song lyrics there is just this big mental block and I can’t do it. It’s the strangest things.  

I Think the World is Glorious

I loved your e-mail this week. It was nice and long and full of details. Just the way I like it :) I can't believe that Sister Bernard passed away. I'll keep Brother Bernard and the rest of their family in my prayers. She was just the sweetest, but I'm sure was in a lot of pain from the cancer and feels a lot better now. That's cool/weird to think that the Allens are back in the ward. Tell Cortney hi for me! 

When You're All Alone in the Country

Tell Ben to send me a picture of the ring! I want to see it :) And if they take pictures of the purposal, I want to see that too! I'm glad that the primary program went well! We're practicing for ours too! I play the piano in primary every week and the kids get pretty into some of them...you can definitely tell which ones are their favorties...Soy de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias is always fun to hear haha. I did get the haircut...not the best one ever, but it works. I got one shirt and a long sleeve shirt and one cardigan. They were all out of the other cardigan I wanted so I didn't get that one. There's just limited places to look! Which reminds me, I need to get my contacts figured out since I have no other pairs other than the ones currently in my eyes.

 

This week has been good. It's crazy to think that Thursday is Halloween and then end of October! Friday night our WARD (not branch silly) had a party and it was fun! The kids all looked so adorable and they made me think of all my nieces and nephews. I better get some pictures of them all dressed up. Please! The adults were playing musical chairs and the last two people standing had to race to the chair when the music stopped. Yeah...ended up being not a good idea. One of them bumped into the other and knocked him to the ground and he broke his tibula and ripped the tendon (?) off the bone. OUCH! So the party was fun other than that.

First Beer Offering

It sounds like you had an awesome trip! I've never been to the Midwest...well I guess sort of when we went to Tennesse that one time and drove up to the other states...but that doesn't really count. Know what that means?? It means when I get home, we'll have to take another trip to visit Donna! 8 missionaries is a lot! We have 7 in our ward right now and everytime the members see us all together they comment on how many of us there are haha. EVERY time :) Speaking of breweries...I got offered my first beer this week! Didn't think that would happen on my mission, but the guy we talked to was just very friendly...and also I think he'd been drinking...so he offered us one. We were like...uhh...thanks for being willing, but we are missionaries and we don't drink. It was actually pretty funny! You could tell his friend was just mentally shaking his head at him haha. 

OCTOBERFEST

Things are going well here! Can you believe that tomorrow I'll have been out 5 months! Time sure does fly.The weather is soooo nice! I love it :) I finally can understand why people live here. It makes the summer worth it. I'll probably be whistling a different tune when next summer roles around though! I thought the same things as I watched conference! That it was even cooler because I knew you all were doing the exact same thing I was :) As for shoes, yes my feet are still the same giant feet they've always been, size 10 for me! Occasionally a 9 1/2, but so occaisionally that it's hardly worth worrying about. I did get a cardigan, but I wanted to get one more. I also want some more neutral colored shirts, and some more neutral colored patterened shirts, etc. etc. but that can wait till Christmas or something! I had no idea Kaitlyn was going on a mission! That's awesome! Tell her congrats for me.

 

The End of My Fourth Transfer ...

It's hard to believe, but today is the first day of my fifth transfer! Next week will mark my 5 months! The time just flies by! And it's finally starting to cool off so thank goodness for that :)

 

Another Week Gone

I can't believe it. We are already to the last week of the transfer. Which means next Sunday night will bring the stress of waiting to see whether or not President will call and give us news that we have to pack our bags. Should be interesting to see! We have 2 new Spanish sisters coming in and there are only 6 of us here now so there is a chance that I'll have to train again.

 

The Flavor of Fall

It was good to hear from you! It's weird to me too that I'm not going back to school this fall! It's the first time since I started Kindergarten. But I'm glad I'm here :) School's great, but this is better for now! Last Monday I made snickerdoodles. It's been a while since I made them, but they still tasted great ;) They were gone by the next day since all 4 of us eat a lot and we shared with the Zone. Monday night we also had an FHE with The Family about temples and their importance and being sealed as an eternal family. They all said that was something they want and we talked about how baptism is that first step toward it. I think all we are waiting for now is time. It will happen!

One More Time

I'm glad to hear about Stake Conference and that it went so well. I just read an L. Tom Perry talk yesterday so it looks like I was in tune to what was going on there without even knowing it! It made me smile and I had to tell Sister Chavarri that you watched the District. We watch it every day in training :) Which ones did you watch? 

Laboring in the Field

Up late is totally fine this week! Because of the holiday the library is closed and it was quite the ordeal trying to find a place to e-mail, but we found one! This morning we woke up at 4:00 and went and did a sunrise hike as a district. So...definitely not cloudy here! It was a lot of fun, but I'm tired and sore now! It wasn't too difficult of a hike, but we did it pretty quickly and I haven't hiked in a while so yeah! But it was good :) I definitely want to hike more when I get back. You up for that?

Late ... blame it on Jennifer

I'm glad that you decided to spend your early morning time writing me :) I certainly think that's a better choice then a walk or working in the yard...at least on Monday mornings! My week has definitely been busy (it always is) and filled with lots of happy moments...along with a few less happy ones.

Staying in Place

I'm jealous of your Rainer Vista walk this morning. Definitely haven't seen any snow-capped mountains in a long time. What are you and Dad going to do to celebrate your Anniversary? 38 years is a long time! You should do something special :) Good luck on getting the root out from under the driveway! That sounds like quite the job. I can't believe that Barett is already 2!!! Happy Birthday to Barett :) It seems like just yesterday that he and Ryder were born! They are both so adorable. Where were Kathryn and Jadyn? The Ostlund's moved back?! When did that happen? I remember them watching me...but I can't quite remember what she looks like. That's awesome that you are getting a set of missionaries just for our ward! That's what we are working towards here too once we have more missionaries. Is Elder Waring from Austrailia or England? You and Dad both told me different things. Either way he probably has an awesome accent :) I love Ben's challenge for you and Dad to go to the temple every month. I second that challenge! Think of the wonderful missionary work you will be doing just by going :) 

Repentance and Forgiveness

Sound like you did have a busy Sunday! You are so right that the time really does fly by when you have lots of things to keep you busy. That is definitely true here!!! This is already the last week of the transfer which is so crazy to me! It was double the time of my first one, but it just flew by! I'm glad you could share the baptism of 8 story with the primary kids and I hope they are able to share the Gospel in their own sweet way with some of their friends.

Another Week Down

I can't believe how quickly time is flying by! It's already August which is hard for me to really comprehend. Things are going great here...no baptism for 8 people this week, but still good :)

Last Tuesday was Sister Walker's birthday so we had a little celebration for her. We made rice krispie treats and had these pizza breadstick things and we got her a card and I bought her a bag of cherries. Might seem like a lame/weird gift, but it was thoughtful :) The past couple of weeks that we've gone to the grocery store, she has debated back and forth whether or not to get them, so I figured I would get them for her. She liked them :) Plus, I'm hoping our efforts to make sure she has a good birthday will mean that my future companions and roommates will make my birthday good here! I only have one in the field and when it comes I'll be just one month shy of my year mark. Insane!

Hard to Believe Where I Am in Only A Year

I'm going to have to type quickly today!!!

It sounds like you are having a very enjoyable summer! You are right, it is hard to believe how much has changed since just one year ago when I was getting home from Italy and getting ready to leave for school. I'm so different now! And I never imagined that I would be on a mission so soon. I was just thinking in church yesterday how different my life would be right now if I hadn't decided to come on a mission. To think of all the experiences I wouldn't have in just 3 months and all the people I wouldn't have met...I'm just so glad that I am here!!!

Happy Birthday to Rebecca

It has been pretty hot and actually humid here! We had a crazy storm this week!!! It happened on Saturday. It was fine all morning and afternoon and then that night around 7, the rain hit, and it hit hard. It came down harder than I've seen in a long time. The wind was blowing like crazy and the rain was hitting us and coming from every direction. But the Lord is perfect in his timing and we didn't have to be out it for every long :) We were stopping by the house of a potential investigator when the wind started going crazy. We knocked twice with nothing, but I decided to try one last time. Right as I knocked the storm quieted enough that they were able to here the knock and came to the door! By the time he came to the door the wind was blowing again and the rain blew right into us as we were standing in their TINY little doorway. I just know I was making the ugliest face of surprise at the wind and rain hitting me when he opened the door, but he let us in! His wife was there to so we talked with them as we waited through the worst part of the wind and rain. We scheduled a return appointment and they are now our two newest investigators :) Never before have I loved rain so much. Speaking of, I have come to find that I actually miss the rain! Crazy!!! Anyways, that night as we tried going to more houses, the lightning got progressively worse to the point that you couldn't even count to one before the sky would light up again. We didn't have much time left in the day, but we felt like we should head home because we didn't feel very safe. I took a road that normally would have been fine, but because of the storm it wasn't fine. We live in the middle of farms and nothingness so there are many, many dirt roads that lead off of this main one. Each one of those dirt roads had flooded into the one we were driving and I was worried our little corolla wouldn't make it and that it would get stuck in these rivers of rain, but we made it home safely! It was pretty crazy though.

Best Week EVER!!!!!!!!!!

But I'll get to that later :)

 

I do like being a trainer! It's hard and sometimes I have next to no idea of what I am doing, but each day is an adventure. It really feels like I am a missionary. My companion is great and so hard working and has such a positive attitude. I couldn't have been more blessed.  And your right, it's not so much telling her what to do as it is just setting the tone and moving her in the right direction.

 

It's nice to know that you thought of me while watching Raise Your Voice. I did really like Hilary Duff when I was younger so that makes sense and I sang that song for one of my vocal competitions so there you go :) It's crazy to look people up and see where they are now because it shows how the time passes. It's even crazier to look at our own lives and where we were ten years, five years, even one year earlier. Oh how the time flies. You are right! It's hard to believe that it is already the middle of July. I'm about halfway through the hottest part of the year. I hope August is good to me :) Hearing about your hot day and then how it is supposed to be in the lower 80s makes me chuckle. I went outside one morning and it was the mid-90s and I thought it was a little chilly. Crazy!

Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?

This week flew by! It's probably been the fastest one I've had here so far. I've only been here for three weeks though so that's probably not saying much haha. Your fourth of July sounds like it was really fun! This is the first fourth in years that I haven't watched the fireworks at the golf course. Even when I was in Italy, we factimed and I watched them on my phone! Here we had to be home by 8:00 and we weren't allowed to participate in any fireworks. We did see a few in the distance from our window. Our celebration consisted of wearing red, white, and blue and then at night I found some bubbles in the drawer, so I put on a little bubble-blowing show. Pretty exciting, huh?? Haha not really, and unfortunately it will probably be the same next year, but the year after that when I am home, I will do something really fun :) Your hike sounds like it was beautiful. But you are right, the view and scenery you had was drastically different than the cacti and dust that I experience everyday. I would love to see some of your pictures :) Something green and bodies of water would be a great sight!

Happy July!!

I can't believe that it is already July!! As of today, I am officially in the Arizona Gilbert Mission. It's very exciting! I love it here. It is hotter than anything I am used to, but I love it! The low 90s sound quite nice though:) I think our hottest day here so far actually hit 120. Insane. The birthday party for Ryder sounds like a ton of fun! I wish I could have been there to run through the sprinklers with the kids, but there will be time for that when I get back. The library is closed today because the AC is broken (haha that would never be a problem in Washington!) so we are at a members house and they have four little girls. It's actually very comforting to have them all running around as I write this :) Did you remember to bring my letter to them up there with you? I wish I could see Baby Emree's big smile! Do you have any pictures of her now? I would love to see her. 

A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight

She's in her area and her Pday is Monday ...

It's so good to hear from you. I was so excited for today! Things are great here in Arizona and I love it. I'm glad I got to talk with you on the phone even if it was just for a little bit. Although it's too bad I missed you at the airport by only a few hours. I'm glad you had fun on your trip to Utah. And he might be before my time, but I know who MC Hammer is! Interesting choice for your conference entertainment. I'm glad you got to see Chris before you left. You're right, I am very lucky to have so many wonderful sisters :) I love Ben too though!!! I remember Mt Ellinor too. That was a fun day :) A difficult hike that we were not completely expecting, but it was great! We will have to do that again when I get back.

She's Left the Building

Hey everyone,

There's no new letter but she got to make phone calls from the airport on her way into the mission field. She sounded excited and nervous but not bad enough to pass up an opportunity to show off her mad Spanish speaking skills. She won't find out her Pday and address for letters until she's there ... so stay tuned and I'll update you when she sends her information. She send me more photos with blurbs under them ... so I'm entering that as her 'letter'.

These are pictures of our very last class all together. It was on Saturday.

This is my afternoon teacher Hna. Gibbons.

Time is Flying By

The weeks are most definitely flying by!!! I can't believe I have so little time left at the MTC. You heard correctly! This Tuesday...so I guess last night...was the first every Tuesday Night Missionary Devotional in the Marriott Center. It was so great! Our speaker was Mervyn B. Arnold of the Seventy and his wife. They were so cute! They both gave wonderful talks and the Spirit was so strong there. It was nice to be in the Marriott Center again...almost like I was back at school! One of the coolest parts was walking back and seeing the long line of missionaries stretching out in front of you and behind you. There are so many of us!! That's too bad that you didn't see me! I definitely got on camera!

 

Annika looks so cute! I love the picture with all three of them swaddled :) melted my heart. I did get your letter with my blessing and the pictures. Thank you so much! It was so great to read through it again. Oh! please tell Adelyn that I think she has beautiful blue eyes :) I can't believe that Ryder is already two! Tell him happy birthday for me please. That is one of the hardest things...not being there to see all six of them as they are growing up. But I love hearing stories and seeing pictures! I can't belive Jadyn is a fourth grader now!!! I can still remember the day she was born. Hahaha I went to the hospital in my munchkin costume. Hey!!! I was in 4th grade when she was born. That's crazy! Tell her to write me a story and illustrate it and send it to me. I would love that :)

It has been quite the week. Last Wednesday night I got to welcome the new district with the Zone Leaders as part of my calling. We went over some things with them and then I took the sisters to their room. They live right next door to us. There are four of them. They are great! It was fun to work with the ZLs and be able to do that. I'm sad that I don't get to do it again today too, but that's okay! That same night I talked a lot with Hna. Weloth about things I want to change and work on and improve upon. She and I have a lot to learn from each other and help each other with. I'm sad that she's not coming to Arizona too, but I know that she will do fabulously in Pittsburgh and that the people there will absolutely love her.

In our class last week, Hna. Zullo had us write down one challenge we were facing. Then we went outside and studied Lesson 1 specifically to find answers for that question. And it worked wonderfully! I recieved comfort and encouragement and a place to begin to study more things that can help me. The Lord really does have perfect timing. I don't know why we ever doubt that and think that we know better. I was stressed out the night before and then the very next day, through inspired teachers, I was able to find answers to my questions. And then today at the temple I ran into my friend Eliza Stratton from BYU. I knew that she came into the MTC today and I was hoping I would be able to see her. I ran into her right as I was leaving the changing room. She looked really nervous so I was glad I could see her and tell her everything was going to be just fine. The Lord really does loves us and has things worked out for our benefit. We just have to trust Him and His timing.

We've talked a lot lately about the importance of listening and asking questions, in our lessons, but it applies in all areas of life. We have to listen to people we associate with and understand them by asking questions and finding out what they really need. Asking questions is also better because it allows them to think through and process things instead of just being told. We have to listen to the Spirit for guidance in all things. That is something I am really striving to do. It can be really hard! But I know that He is there if I learn to listen the correct way.

Hna. Marquez wasn't feeling well and received a blessing, but all is well now. We are all pretty sick of being sick, but it seems like most of us are completly over it now. An elder in our district did break two of his teeth though. His dad is an oral surgeon and they are from Park City so he's home all of today for emergency surgery and then he comes back tomorrow. The rest of the Elders said that he and his mom both started to cry when they picked him up. He gave one of the talks on Sunday. It was really funny because he went up to the pulpit with nothing in his hand and then pulled a folded up piece of paper out of his pocket and started to unfold it and it crinkled pretty loudly. Even the Branch Presidency was laughing. He is a really funny Elder!

I got my travel plans!!! So exciting!!!! I leave the MTC Tuesday morning at 4:30 a.m. which is not so exciting. Our flight leaves at 8:36. I was thinking I would call you and Dad (and I suppose anyone else who wants to be at the house that early) around 7:30, which would be 6:30 your time. It wouldn't be for very long, but it would be nice to be able to. Does that sound good? My flight is Delta #2463... I figure Dad will probably want to track it ;)

Saturday night we played Capture the Tie as a Zone and then we and the sisters from one of the other districts sat in the stairwell and chatted for a while. It was very nice. I think that we all needed it. Plus, Hna. Weloth was able to find some other sisters who are going to Pittsburgh too! She has been pretty bummed about being the only one so that was good for her. Then we went downstairs to our room and that's when we discovered that somewhere along the way, Hna. Marquez had lost the key. So we said a prayer and began to retrace our steps. At this point it was pretty dark, but we tried anyways. I'm sure we looked pretty silly crawling around on our hands and knees in a little line to make sure we didn't miss an area. Then in a last attempt we took off our shoes and walked around in the grass to see if it would be easier that way. Despite all our best efforts, we didn't find it. So we went to the front desk and had to ask for a replacement key. Quite the adventure! We didn't have very much time to get ready that night.

Relief Society was really good this week. Our speaker was Anne Clegg from the Relief Society General Board. One of the other sisters on the board has a daughter in the MTC so she had her come to the stage and gave her a gift bag from her mom. The sister started crying and it was such a tender moment that I got a little teary-eyed too! The MTC is turning me into a softy! It made me think of you and that I miss you too. I love you mom! That night we had a really good devotional too. He told a wonderful story about two missionaries who had the goal to teach 20 lessons a week and on Sunday afternoon were only at 19. They remembered that there was a YSA activity at the church so they went there to see if they could find anyone to teach a lesson to. Pause and rewind a week. A young women had a dream about being in a grove of trees and seeing a yound boy some ways in the distance and seeing him kneeling and praying, with two figures in the air above him. She woke up and had such peace when thinking about that dream. Her friend invited her to the YSA activity and she accepted without thinking much of it. Ok now play and go back to Sunday night. The missionaries got to the church and asked if anybody wanted to be taught a lesson. Someone told them that there was a non-member there. The missionaries asked if they could teach her and she said yes. They felt impressed to show her the picutre of the first vision. When she saw it, she stopped them and told them that she knew it. She was baptized two weeks later. What an amazing story. I can't wait to be a part of miracles like that!!!

Anyways, that's all for this week. We've talked a few times about Priesthood lines of authority and I would like it if you sent me dad's line. Also, which mission in columbia is Jacob Moss in? An Elder in my district is going to Columbia and I was wondering if it was the same one. I won't be able to e-mail you until my first P-day in the field. I'm not sure when that is, but I think it will be the first Monday I am there. Until then, I love you very much!!

Con mi amor,

Hermana Baria

Hello Details!

I'm hoping this week's letter to you will be better. I have a list of all the things that I have to include so hopefully that way I won't forget anything! And I also have a feel for how much time I have and how much time it really takes to send e-mails to everyone! Did you get all the pictures I sent last week? Did you like them? Please keep all of them so I have them when I get back! This will be in order as much as I can manage, but there will be some jumping around :)

First Contact From MTC

Hola Madre!!!

I'm so glad that you got the picture. When we found Hermana Marquez's friend in the hallway and she said she could send it to you too, I was so happy! I wanted you to know that I was doing well :) I actually have two companions now though because one of our Hnas. got transferred to the intermediate class. (She was from Tahiti!!) Hna. Marquez is from Minnesota. She is almost 21. She is also going to Tempe! So that is really cool. She is the oldest of 5. She left a sort of boyfriend behind haha they were dating, but she is not sure what it will lead to. Hna. Weloth is from Ogden. She is almost 22 so that makes me the baby of the trio but they both say I seem older so we get along well. She did not leave a boyfriend behind. I love that you are going to make a mission binder. That makes me happy and makes me feel loved :) Don't worry, I know that you love me!!! I will try and send letters that are longer than his but you will have to let me know if they are on the same level as Becca's!  

FYI

I'm hoping this week's letter to you will be better. I have a list of all the things that I have to include so hopefully that way I won't forget anything! And I also have a feel for how much time I have and how much time it really takes to send e-mails to everyone! Did you get all the pictures I sent last week? Did you like them? Please keep all of them so I have them when I get back! This will be in order as much as I can manage, but there will be some jumping around :)