Put that thing back where it came from or so help me!

     Well, I hate to begin the e-mail with sad news, but Y canceled her baptism for yesterday... it was very sad. At the beginning, J had been the unsure one, but now she is pretty solid. We hope to see them baptized in the first few weeks of March. We also went to the visitors center with A last Wednesday! As we pulled up to the temple grounds, the pouring rain stopped which was incredible! The sisters helped us so much. It was really cool! It made him realize how much he can learn. We did the Plan de Salvacion puzzle to teach his lesson and it helped him understand a lot more! Thanks mom!
     Lately we have seen the blessings of biking! We have seen so many people on bike that we never would have seen if we had been in a car. In The Doctrine & Covenants there is a scripture about the missionaries passing by people who need the gospel and I believe that is what happens when we drive. We have seen several members, potentials, and investigators while biking. I think this really helps build trust with the members, too. For some reason if they see us out tracting or biking then they open up more to us as those who can help their friends. Our goals for the last week of the transfer are about referrals and member present lessons. We hope to make real progress in this area, especially if we both stay (most likely we will since Elder D. is still newer).
     Adriane, you have no idea how many conversations and discussions have been started because my sister just had a baby. So many women trust me immediately when we talk baby talk. It is really fun!
     This week we taught a lesson in a mobile kitchen thing, which was interesting. You know those big white vans that sell everything on the road? They are everywhere here. The lesson was okay, it was just odd sitting inside instead of buying from outside...:)
     Sorry it is a short one today! Ironically our preparation day can be the most hectic day of the week instead of the most restful. To close, I just want to let you know of an experience I had. On Sunday morning I woke up feeling like I was dead. I felt terrible. This combined with the canceled baptism had me bummed a bit. The moral of the story is that I read the conference Ensign during lunch! It picked me up sky high! President Eyring's talk about the Book of Mormon really helped me feel better in both ways. SO if you ever feel down... read the Book of Mormon or the Ensign!!! I love you all!!!! Thank you for the assorted cards and candy... yummm! I will write again next week! Where has February gone? I hit my 6 month mark this Friday.... Santa Vaca! Hope all is swell!

Why can't we have some meat? [LOR]

    Another week has simply flown by and lots of stuff happened! All of the hard times on a mission are worth it, thanks to one small joyful moment now and then!  That was the theme for the week. Many of our appointments canceled and it was a bit disappointing. I was reading President Monson’s talk in the conference Ensign; he said, "We are never standing alone when we are standing with our Father in Heaven." This was really uplifting to me and I suggest going back and reading his talk “Dare to Stand Alone.”
    The other night we saw a mouse at an investigator's house and decided to try and catch it for them..:) It sure was fun! I just remember thinking in my head..."Matelo, Matelo!" We didn't get it, but I got close with a toss of the broom. It was a fun intermission to our lesson. 
    We have also cooked a lot lately. We learned how to make carrot soup from a member and it is super easy and cheap. 5 carrots, butter, water and bullion cubes. We made Swedish pancakes the other night for the first time.  I named my new blender Sven the Blender . . . or Svender!

    When we watched some bicycle safety videos at zone conference, I was surprised by one of them. It was about keeping your bikes locked up. It was narrated by two "thugs". . . one of which was Matt from Divine Comedy! It was hilarious! He said "Be sure to lock them up so thieves like US don't rob you..he he he!" Good times. 
    We visited H, M, V and J on Wednesday, and H said he wants to come to church! We are going to visit tonight and hopefully get a good lesson in about el Plan de Salvacion and familias. A canceled on us, but we did schedule to go to the Visitors Center with him this Wednesday and we hope this gets him excited because he likes stuff like that! We contacted a new family last Wednesday and got a return appointment with them on Thursday. When we got to know them, it seemed like I had already met them before. It was strange! The wife told us that she had been really down on Monday and then we showed up on her doorstep that night. I was amazed! It is not every day that we can see evidence of being led by the Spirit! That night we were tired and almost went home, but decided to try their home at about 8:45. It is a good thing we did. They both want to come back to church and I could not believe how easy it was to talk with them and have a good time together. Yet another miracle that we were able to witness.
    A few more stories...At one door, I was able to connect with the people inside because I recognized Shawn’s voice from “Psych”. It was so out of context, but I heard it and had to ask. We got several new investigators from looking for former investigators and we hope to teach them again.
    We biked Saturday and it was a very good day! We didn't even touch the car until Sunday. We continue to work hard and have a lot of fun doing it!

Miracles happen!

Hey familia!
    Another awesome week here in the CLAM! I failed to mention last week about some of the milagros (miracles) we saw last Sunday. It was a special Sunday! P passed the sacrament for the very first time and he was so excited to do it to. Later in a lesson he told his mom proudly that he got to pass the Santa Cena.  The M's also taught the Gospel Principles class! It was incredible to be in their class and listen to them teach!
     A is still progressing. He is so friendly and enjoyed the two lessons we shared. When we asked about baptism, he said he would like to wait to be sure. He loves that baptism can be his choice and that it is like how Jesus was baptized. We are going to invite him to the visitors center, too!
      The other day we passed a famous people party and saw flashing camera lights. We like to pretend that we hung out with Justin Bieber...he he he!
    By the way, I love Preach my Gospel! If any of you have a copy lying around unused...use it please! It has so many great lessons in it! I love the stories, too, because they are real missionary work in action! I love pg. 157-158 about the taxi driver, and there are many other great stories as well!
    We had a missionary fireside last Sunday and a lot of people came. We wrote our testimonies and then everyone read another Elder’s testimony out loud. Our focus was that it doesn’t matter who is reading the testimony -- the Spirit still talks to those who hear it (that is why the scriptures are so universal...:) Then we passed out cards and got the names of those there, and who they would like to give a Book of Mormon to.  Later in the week we passed out Books of Mormon to the members; they wrote their testimonies in the front and we are going to deliver them with the members!! It was really cool! We also got a cool referral, contact and return appointment at the farewell of one of the young men leaving our ward for the MTC. It was way fast and took us by surprise!
    Lately we have been biking around, too! This morning we biked to soccer (about 3 miles ida y vuelta) and on Saturday we biked almost all day using only 8 miles on our car! We want to save miles and "years on the hips" ;)  We have been eating healthier now too. It takes more time and money, but hey... we are paying ourselves right...:)

     Update on other investigators: We hope to set a date with J tonight, and Y has kept progressing! They both came to church with C yesterday, too! Funny story: C was on the phone when we got to their house last lesson, so Elder D. and I had a mini light saber dual when she left the room, which was really fun. She came back and we immediately stopped. She didn't seem to notice, but then asked us if we had been having a light saber battle. We gave her the "huh?" expression and shook our heads. Then we all started laughing. It was really funny!
    J, the older brother of P and M, came to church and has been listening when we come over. We hope that this contagious spirit will spread to the entire family eventually! Last night, we contacted two former investigators who let us in right away to talk a bit. They are a really awesome family! They said we can come back on Wednesday night. I know that when we are obedient we receive the Spirit. And the Spirit gives us power (Alma 18:35). I love you all and hope you are well!

I Bear Lots of Animosity to Bell Hops . . . [Phineas & Ferb]

 . . but I love being companions with Elder D! We have so much fun together! [Above: they recently cut each others hair.] We work really hard and have had a lot of success lately. Some nights after planning, we just laugh together. I think we would have gotten along really well in high school! 
    We did make pancakes at the C's! Hermana C loved them because they fill you up and are not too sweet, but D (her daughter) I think expected something more extravagant. I had fun making them and eating them, too. I also want to ask members if they will teach us how to make the food they make us. It may take longer, but it sure would be fun! Our new zone leaders are really great too! They really inspire me to work harder and be a better missionary. Can you believe I have almost been out for 6 months??
     We plan on setting a date with J this week, and Y says she believes her faith is growing, too! She has read the assignments we gave her and we will finish up the rest of what we can teach her this week! A's lesson went well and we are going back again on Wednesday. When we gave him a Book of Mormon, he started reading before we asked him to!  When younger he had been training to become a priest, but stopped because he wanted to get married. Family is important to him and he has several nietos (grand children).We hope he continues to progress! 
   I had an experience the other day with the definition of a successful missionary.  Most missionaries start out believing that you need to baptize to be successful but, of course, it is actually based on our commitment to find, teach and baptize. I had training on it in DDM last week and I learned a lot. Thursday night we returned to our apartment after a really long, hard day of work and we hadn't seen too much success. We knocked a lot and taught quite a bit, but we got rejected "out of our minds". When I got out of the car, though, I felt so good and at peace. It was the oddest, most nonsensical thing after what had occurred that day. I have found that as we work hard and be obedient, we are successful in the Lord's eyes and that is all that matters!

First Week With My New Companion!

Cartoon courtesy of Elder D's parents

     Hey everyone!! It has been a fantabulous week here, minus the on and off rain showers. I received my new companion, Elder D. from Nampa, Idaho. First thing we took care of was our goals for the transfer and our companionship goals. The second order of business was how well he knew Star Wars. He passed very well! One night we ate dinner quoting the movies and having a grand time. Turns out he is a Star Wars lover and a LOTR lover as well! Needless to say we have had some fun so far. Our first night together, we got chased by a very big dog out of a harmless-looking yard. We both laughed to ourselves as the adrenaline wore off. I have never moved so fast on my mission! We were also offered a job at Panda Express after District Developmental Meeting. Earlier in the day at DDM, someone asked the definition of integrity and (thanks to Mr. Downs' repeated questions) I answered exactly how he would tell me:."Doing what you know is right even when no one else is watching!" in only the way he can.:)
      On Friday evening we had an appointment to teach Y, the daughter of J. She committed to be baptized on the 19th of February! We are so excited! We had challenged her to pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true, and we both felt like we could promise her she would get her answer that night. When we followed up the next morning, she had received it! She said she felt that it was true and that she needed to continue reading. I have never been so led by the Spirit in a lesson before. It was incredible how it happened.
      It didn’t end there, though. After a no-show appointment we drove past a man walking his dog and I thought I recognized him, but I drove by. Elder D. very soon after said he felt like we needed to go back and knock the door two doors down from where our appointment fell through. We said a prayer in the car after we parked and then got out of the car. As we walked towards the house, the man with his dog was passing the house. I immediately knew I had to talk with him and with the most confidence I've ever had in a street contact, we began talking. Conversation in Spanish came very easily and somehow it kept going on until we had covered several point of the gospel including temples, church and missionary work. His name is A and he was very interested. His dog even sat down and seemed to be listening. It was incredible! He lived one street over so we set up an appointment for Wednesday and said goodbye. It was the most heart-warming experience I’ve had thus far while looking for people to teach! I have no doubt that we were led by the Spirit. He seemed almost to be waiting for us to talk with him. It was basically a bomb day and we were so grateful for it!
        At the R home after dinner, I had planned on sharing a scripture in 1 Nephi about prayer, but Hermana shared one in Enos that was almost exactly the same -- I’m sure it wasn't a coincidence. We must have been on the same brain wave. M, the mother of K (who was baptized in December), had started reading the Book of Mormon even though we hadn't taught her yet. Now of course we’ve started. She remembered an incredible amount about the beginning few pages. We also met a man named H on Sunday who seemed semi-interested until Elder D. pulled out a money example about prophets. He ended up giving us Arizona sodas and setting up an appointment for Tuesday. Our original goal had been to find four new investigators this weekend and the Lord blessed us with exactly four, it was so crazy!  I can testify that when we are strictly obedient we will see miracles in our missions and in our lives! I love you all! I pray you are doing well! Thank you for your prayers!