week 12

Hola!

This week was absolute craziness, so much awesomeness to share with y'all!

1. We had exchanges on tuesday, which is where you trade companions for a day. I went to the Cross Timbers area with Hermana Dewey, who happens to be my "sister" because Hermana Blanco trained her as well. Man, I thought my area was on the sketchy side, but Cross Timbers was was more ghetto, it was awesome!!! The investigators there were so legit! I taught in some pretty nasty shacks, and a dog chased our car allllll the way to the freeway, intense, but I loved it! Oh man, remember how I got pooped on a few weeks ago? I am so glad that happened! I got to use it as a teaching tool haha. So, we were teaching this man who has a baptism date for the end of Febrero but he didn't go to church on sunday, so we asked what happened and he said before he left he spilled something all over his nice white shirt and figured it was a sign that he shouldn't go to church. So, I jumped right in and said, guess what happened to ME haha I told him how on our way to the car on the way to church a bird pooped on my head, and how I could have let that ruin my day and stayed home or just been mad, but instead I washed my hair and went on with the day and ended up having a GREAT day, it was seriously a great day, I felt so good. Then I told him that I was really grateful for that experience because when we receive trials we are given the opportunity to rise above them and prove that we are bigger and better than the bad experiences we have. So I asked him what was going to stop him from going to church this sunday and he said "nothing!" and then said he was going to drive there earlier in the week to make sure he knew how to get there on time on sunday, haha. Thank goodness for that stupid bird! I loved being on exchanges with Hermana Dewey, she was so much fun! There was something about her and the way we taught together that gave me so much more confidence in myself as a missionary and in spanish. Don't ask me how but I taught a recent covert how to do family history online, and then I taught someone else the story of how the Salt Lake Temple was built with elevator shafts before elevators were even invented, and I did it in spanish! Whhaaaattt? Haha so many words just came out that I didn't even know...like espacios...haha it was awesome!

2. Last week we knocked on this man's door named Jaime who said he had met with missionaries a few years ago but it would be alright if we came and taught him. So, later in the week we went to teach Jaime and wow, we shared the story with the first vision and then he taught us like the rest of the Restoration, like about Joseph receiving the priesthood from Peter, James and John, and about translating the plates into the Book of Mormon, he knew more than me I think, it was crazy! So we asked him if he knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet and if the Book of Mormon was true and he said yes! So we asked him if he would be baptized on 14 Febrero and he said he was too scared to get baptized because he didn't think he could be perfect and never break any commandment after his baptism. So we taught him about repentance through the Atonement of Christ and asked him again if he would be baptized and he said YES. WOO HOOOOOO I was so happy I almost cried! He was so excited to, he went right to the calendar and started counting how many days until his baptism. This last month was so hard because we were teaching so many lessons every single day, but none of them were interested, no one we taught went to church, then lo and behold, Heavenly Father gives us this golden investigator, and I cannot even describe how happy I felt after meeting Jaime and seeing his excitement to be baptized. This is why I came on a mission. There is no greater joy then to see the light in someone's eye as they realize that God still loves His children and has restored His church once more. I am so excited for Jaime! We have lessons scheduled with him everyday at 8 to prepare him for his baptism, and it is going to be so much fun!

3. Last night we went to this young women (girls in the church ages 12-18) activity called "Nuevos Comienzos" (new beginnings) which is apparently something they do every new year and it was nice to go and support the young women as they work on their personal progress, which is this book of things they should do to progress in certain values (Faith, Virtue, good works, divine nature, integrity, etc.). So they do these things, like study certain scriptures, write things in a journal, and its a lot of work, but once they finish they get some kind of recognition, I don't know much about it since I was too old when I was baptized to do all that stuff, but it seems really fun! Anyways, after the program, some of the women in the ward came up to me and said that they had the atuff for me to do the personal progress too! They were so excited to give me the booklet and the journal and to help me earn my young woman personal progress, it was so sweet. I am pretty excited about it, I knew I would do it one day, I figured I would have to wait until I had a daughter in the Young Women program, but I guess I will be doing it during a portion of my personal studies in the morning. I started it this morning and am going to start by working on virtue. I almost finished the first task and learned a lot about what virtue is from the scriptures. I am really excited! I am really glad I will have the opportunity to do this before I have daughters so that I can set the example for them and encourage them to do it.

Transfers are next week, we get the call on Saturday if we are getting transferred. Pray that I get to stay here! I love my ward and all the people we are teaching, and I love my companion! I will let y'all know next week if I am getting transferred to a new area and companion. I love you all so much!

Hermana Taets