I’m glad that you decided to repent and send me such a long, detailed
e-mail haha. They are always great to get J
Although, I still haven’t gotten any pictures of the Christmas tree! When did
the Bertels decided on moving to Portland? And, what?? Dulce de Leche Pecan Pie
Cheesecake?? That does sound delicious! I know what I want my first dessert to
be when I get back J
My week has been good. Lots of ups and downs and struggles, but lots of
learning
I’m glad to hear that you had that lesson in Primary yesterday. We had a
very similar one that the Second Counselor put together. She asked them what
they would need to put in their backpack to prepare to go and meet God. One boy
stood up and raised his hand and when she called on him he yelled, “You have to
put some goodness in that backpack!!!” It was probably the best thing I’ve
heard in my life! Sister Bukoskie and I were silently laughing in the corner
behind the piano for a good five minutes J
Oh the good times that we have in Primary!
Random fun thing. I taught Sister Bukoskie the license plate game and we
play it on the daily. Don’t worry though, we stopped actually hitting each
other towards the beginning J
But anyway, we’ve seen TONS of Washington License plates (probably all the
snowbirds!), but after 11 weeks, we
FINALLY saw a Nebraska license plate! I think I was freaking out more that Sister
Bukoskie hahaha. It was pretty great.
Thank you again for encouraging developing musical talents! I can’t thank
you enough for all of the piano lessons and voice lessons that you allowed me
to take and supported me to take. They’ve paid off immensely in my mission, but
especially so this week. Wednesday night I played at Young Women in Excellence,
Saturday Morning I sang at a baptism, Saturday Afternoon I played at another
baptism, I play in Sacrament and Primary every week, and last night I was in a
8-person choir for a song we sang at a Fireside. Talk about a musical week.
Also, something happened that in all my musical lifetime has never happened. I
was sitting in the back row at the fireside last night, just singing Silent
Night for the closing song and after the prayer, the old man sitting in front
of me turns around and shakes my hand for a good, solid minute. He asked me to
sing at his funeral! Haha definitely don’t get asked that a lot. He told me
that he couldn’t even sing because he was just listening to me. He was so sweet
J
So we got a call from the Assistants on Saturday night and we found out
that we are NEVER moving back to the Cloud house L
It’s all nice and new and pretty and they are gonna go ahead and give it to
Elders! Which means, until they find other housing, we will be staying in the
far away house. So the time has come for an address change. If you already sent
things to the Cloud house, that’s fine, I can still get them, but from now on
just send them to this address: 510 Williamsfield Rd Gilbert Arizona 85295.
Transfer calls came last night and Sister Bukoskie and I found out that
we are staying together in the ward! We are very happy about that! We are so
excited for what this next transfer has in store. Two of our Elders are leaving
though, which is sad, but the mission is so small that I am sure we will all
see each other frequently. I also just received the call from President asking
me to be a Sister Training Leader! I’m still shaking a little bit haha but I
said yes J
Should be a fun new adventure! Keep me in your prayers.
This week I have just seen over and over again and I just can’t deny that
the Lord loves each and every one of us. In my personal study this morning I
read I Nephi 11:17. I don’t know the meaning of all things, but I KNOW that God
loves us. Then I also read President Monson’s talk from the Relief Society
Broadcast and I want to share a part of it. He said, “Your Heavenly Father
loves you—each of you. That love never changes. It is not influenced by your
appearance, by your possessions, or by the amount of money you have in your
bank account. It is not changed by your talents and abilities. It is simply
there. It is there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful.
God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is
simply always there.” I know that is true. I feel His love for me, for my
companion, for you, for the family, for each random person we talk to on the
street (they aren’t random to Him), for EVERYONE! He loves us.
I hope all of you have a wonderful week! I’ll see you soon! J
Con amor,
Hermana
Baria
