It was the best of times, it was the worst of times......

It has been one heck of a week. Probably one of the craziest I have had so far. It was a great week numbers wise--tons of lessons, 8 new investigators, etc. But every single day something went totally wrong. Satan is working on us hard because we are working hard! There have been so many blessings this week though, that all of the hard times just make me laugh. Let me explain :) 

Our investigator....passed his baptismal interview with flying colors! He was supposed to get baptized on the 18th, but forgot that he had that baptismal date. He was a little unsure at the beginning of the week if he still wanted to be baptized or not. His doubts were stemming from the decision to serve a mission. I know that sounds weird--his aunt kept telling him how wonderful of a missionary he would be after his baptism. I think it freaked him out a little bit! But, we told him to forget about serving a mission, and just to pray about baptism. We had a lesson with him Friday, but he wasn't there so his aunt called him for us. She put him on speaker and he said "me voy a bautizar" which means "I'm going to be baptized!" We all started to scream we were so excited! Our district leader said that his interview was the smoothest one he has ever done. Hehas no doubts about anything. It is amazing to see someone so prepared by the Lord for baptism! 

On Monday we met an amazing new family. They just moved here from Cuba--they have been living in the US for about 3 months. They decided to move here for the future of their child, but it has been a difficult move. They had to leave everything behind, and start all over again. We got the referral from a doctor of the family. It was a very powerful lesson. They have very little knowledge of religion--they secretly taught each other what they knew about the Catholic religion, since Cuba outlawed religion. They were amazed to here all of the things we taught them. I started to cry during the lesson because it was so sad to me that they haven't had the freedom I have had. This gospel is everything to me--it is where all of my happiness has come from, and I can't imagine not being able to practice it. I cannot wait to teach this family again! 

One of our investigators is finally progressing. She wasn't reading her scriptures or praying, so we thought we were going to have to stop teaching her. I am not sure what changed, but now she reads the scriptures and prays every day! She says that every day she prays that her dad will let her be baptized. I love teaching her because we have to teach everything so simply. It is amazing to me how mature she is. I definitely was not reading the BOM at age 10. We aren't sure when she will be able to be baptized, but we have decided to continue teaching her. 

Some of the crazy things that happened this week--my companion rolled her ankle while trying to street contact someone. We were biking at that point, so our car was a few blocks away. That was fun getting back to the car. Also, we tried biking to church, but her dress got caught in the gears and ripped. Maybe we should stop biking? But we love it too much not to! Also, she has been asked to be a Sister Trainer Leader. We will probably be together for only this transfer.....I am so sad!!!! She is helping me become a way better misionera. 

 Well, even though it was absolutely insane this week, the Lord showered blessings on us. It made it all worth it. I am loving the work down here and I love being the a small part of the Lord's work! 

Start of Transfer 4

This week has been awesome, but insanely crazy at points. We had transfers on Tuesday, which took all day long. I don't know how many times I had to help unpack a car that day....my arms were killing me by the end of it all. It was bittersweet leaving Sister Allen--I was really sad to see her go, but excited to meet Sister Cordova. Sis Cordova is amazing! She has been out for 13 months and is from Texas. She did not know any Spanish before she came out on her mission, but her Spanish is amazing now! I am having so much fun with her. She really has pushed me this week to become better and to work harder. Especially in street contacting! Haha :)

We have been teaching one investigator all of this week. He is so prepared for the gospel. When we were teaching him about the Plan of Salvation, he said that there was no way it couldn't be true, or all of this life would be a joke. Wow! He was supposed to get baptized on the 18th, but when we brought it up to him two lessons ago, he did not remember that we had committed him to baptism. Neither Sis Cordova or I were there for that lesson, so it was super awkward that he forgot! But, he will be getting baptized on the 25th. I am so excited for his baptism!

Last night I had a super amazing experience with listening to he promptings of the Holy Ghost. We had met a lady on Saturday, that I felt really prompted we should go back and visit her yesterday. When we had met her the first time, her daughter opened the door. When she came to the door to see who it was, she said that her daughter never answers the door, that she is too afraid to do so. That was a really big testimony to me that Heavenly Father wanted us to teach her! But, she couldn't set up a return appointment with us because of work. Sunday night, I could not get her out of my head, and I felt like we should change our plans to go see her. When we got there, she was home, and we were able to talk to her!!!! We have an appointment with her for this Friday--I am so excited!

We are still teaching the 10-year-old from Virgina. Sad news is that her dad still has not given permission for her to be baptized. We aren't quite sure what to do yet. Her baptism is set for the 25th, but without permission, we can't go forward. It makes me really sad because I know she has such a big desire to be baptized! I was definitely not at that place when I was 10. It is crazy to me that she chose to meet with the missionaries on her own. We are praying so hard that her dad will give her permission so that she can have the happiness we have!

This has been such a fun crazy week, and I am excited for the next five with Sister Cordova! Thank you for all of your prayers and support. I know I say it each week, but I am truly grateful for each of you. I am more than surviving here--I am loving it!!

Fourth of July, Baptism, and Transfers!

My mission "mom"

This week has been crazy with the holiday, but I have had such a fun time this past week. It has gone by so fast--I can't believe it! I also hit my four month mark....it definitely does not feel like it has been that long. The end of August will be my 6 month mark which is insane to me. It is going by too fast!!!

We received transfer doctrine on Saturday, and Sister Allen will be leaving for a new ward!! I am so sad that I am losing my mission "mom". But, my new companion is Sister Cordoba, Sis Allen's trainer! How funny is that? So now I will be serving with my mission "grandma". I am so excited to be serving with her, but I am so sad to be losing Sis Allen. But I know Sis Cordoba and I will have crazy success in our area!

A beautiful baptism

We had another baptism on Saturday! It took a couple times for him to go all the way under the water (we baptize by immersion), but after the ordinance was finally completed, he was so happy! He had the biggest smile on his face after the baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost. The Spirit was strong--he has been waiting a long time to be baptized, and his family has waited a long time also! On a sadder note, one of our other investigators did not end up getting baptized. It turns out that she hadn't been reading the Book of Mormon. To have a testimony of the church, our investigators have to start with the BOM. Everything else depends on that. We will continue to visit her, but we can't continue with the lessons until she does her part.

Too small water cups

Fourth of July was crazy here. It is legal to shoot off fireworks wherever you want. Around 8, people started lighting them up. We could not drive anywhere--people were blocking off their streets, and a couple fireworks went straight for our car. The fireworks did not stop until midnight....! It was insane. Fun thing--our Guatemalan family made us hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries. It was delicious, and just like home! Not so fun thing--we got food poisoning last night. It wasn't too severe, but it was not fun. 

Las Vegas Skyline

I am super excited for this next week and for my new transfer with Sister Cordoba!  I am hoping that she will push me and help me become more like the missionary and person the Lord wants me to be!!