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.