Halloween in Stockton

And Thanksgiving...

Hola familia,

It's official. I'll be having Halloween and Thanksgiving in Stockton. Yes!!! I'm so happy! We got transfer calls last night (they're usually Monday night but they had to reschedule), and I'm staying in Stockton for my third transfer. Sister Carlos is going to Folsom English speaking for her last transfer before she goes home to Indiana. My new companion is going to be Hermana Christensen (I sent a pic home of all the sisters in my mission--Hermana Carlos is on my left and Hermana Christensen is on my right with the short red hair). All the elders in my district/zone said that she's great--laughs a lot and has a lot of energy. It'll be interesting to have two white girls stormin Stockton in Spanish. Hermana has been out like 9 months I guess? Haven't figured it out yet. I'm 5 months next week--wow.

Stace, an hermana in our ward is from Chile. We went to her house for dinner last week, so I got to try the typical Chilean dish. We started off with half an avocado stuffed with tuna and something else--can't remember. Just that day I told Hermana Carlos that I was allergic to avocado. Well, with divine help I ate the avocado (and it was delicious), and Hermana Carlos told me my mouth was turning red around my lips. They started burning a little, but it burned so good. We thought that was it, but no. We had a HUGE dish of chicken, potatoes, and veggies. We were so stuffed. And THEN she brought out dry peaches in peach juice (I know, doesn't sound right), with like oats. The dinner was amazing but I was so full.

A miracle happened last week!! L, one of our investigators, wants to be baptized but her husband/bf doesn't have an ID...any form of ID. Nada. I made a few calls and we can go up to Sacramento and get a marriage license if they have two credible witnesses with ID's! Yay! So we'll be going with them to get their marriage license most likely in November when her children are on Thanksgiving break and they have more time. And then she'll be able to get baptized--after a year of lessons!

Mom, you mentioned that you just had the Primary Program yesterday. Ours is next week. We REALLY need that self-playing piano. All right, I can play the piano, right? I make a few mistakes here and there. I'm playing 8 songs in the Primary Program and with virtually no time to practice the songs I feel like I do pretty well. I mess up all the time but I'm all we've got. A 5-YEAR-OLD told me, "I heard you can't play the piano very well." His mom's a recent convert and his grandma is one of our investigators so I resisted the urge to say anything. Boo! Haha Where can we buy that piano that plays on its own? I will use my own funds to purchase one of those dream machines.

We added a few new investigators last week--M and M--so I'm excited to start teaching them with Hermana Christensen. Our mission is pushing for 101 baptisms in December, so we're trying to focus on that and get the support of the ward. It's going to be a "White Christmas" in Sacramento, California. (Because you wear white when you are baptized...) :)

Something that I've been thinking about a lot lately is mercy and justice--chapter 42 of Alma. Just like one of our investigators, M, said, we need to start our scripture study with a prayer because only then will we start to learn things we'd never thought about or learned before. It's like the scriptures are actually speaking to you when you start off with a prayer to seek answers. Anyway, something I really liked is that it talks about how some may think it's unjust for a sinner to be punished. That sounds so bad. :) But anyway, we know there is a law with a punishment fixed. Heavenly Father has to be a just God, but he's also merciful--but mercy can't rob justice. There needed to be an infinite sacrifice. Jesus Christ died for us so that we can obtain that mercy if we have faith--and we partake of the mercy through repentance. If we have repented, God will be merciful at the last day during judgment. I thought that was so neat; how we have a perfect plan and that we can partake of that plan by following the first principles and ordinances of the gospel--it's so simple yet so profound.

Well, thanks for letting me share. I love you all. 

kates