I'm Melting

Querida Familia,

I think it's getting close to the end of my mission because I don't hear a lot from my family. Thanks for the email, Momma--that's how I know you're all still alive and kickin. 

This week we helped the Ro family move to a different area, which will actually be in a different stake pretty soon, so we won't be teaching them anymore. It was really sad when we were driving away--I was crying and thought "oooh dear. What is it going to be like at the end of my mission with everybody that I've met this last year and a half." But we'll worry about that when it comes. I still have a lot to go.

We met an English woman this week who said hi in passing and after we knocked a door and she ended a phone call she started questioning us a lot and asking if we would really tell her that she could receive an answer to her questions through a feeling. Yeah, that's pretty much it. At first she was kind of hostile/unbelieving, but after talking with her and testifying that yeah, the answer will come through a peaceful feeling, not some grand vision or sign, her demeanor changed. She said that there was something special about us, and I knew she could feel it, but she still refused to have missionaries come teach her, although she asked us to stop by her apartment next time we were in the area... Sometimes I feel like people open up to us and pour out all their frustrations with us a lot more as sister missionaries. I've had a lot of people tell me, "I don't know why I'm saying this to you. I just met you and I haven't even told anyone else."

Like I mentioned, our ward is going to divide next week. We're staying in Del Norte and the other ward is actually going to a different stake. We were talking with the APs, zone leaders, and district leader this week about the new areas, and I told one of the APs that the area left to us is really English. We're going to have to be creative to find the Hispanics in our area, and he told us about his ward mission leader who speaks Spanish. We stopped by his house because we were in the area and found his wife at home. She told us that just that morning she prayed for a missionary experience but was nervous about sharing the gospel in English because she doesn't speak it very well (but they go to an English ward). And then we showed up! We're going to have a family home evening with them tonight and talk about how they can participate more in missionary work. He works with a lot of people who speak Spanish and we invited his wife to be on the lookout for us at the store and around the neighborhood for people who speak Spanish. :)

Pictures:

1) Jonathan with his big (and little) wheel bike

2) Sisters' meeting--we're decorating cards. With permission from President and Sister Lewis I invited Sister Schow because she's a sister missionary. So she joined us for lunch and activities! She loved it.

3) All the sisters in the mission (last transfer)

4) Brother Gomm with a horn from Jerusalem... I think. And Elder Villalva from Ecuador and Elder Harrison

5) The zone leaders serve in our ward and in the young single adult ward. One of the YSAs decorates cupcakes, so we got red velvet cupcakes with name tags :)

6) Turns out Sister Toro and I are now Elder Brinkerhoff and Elder Toro...

7) Elder Muffler and me--we were together in the MTC and have served together for almost 5 transfers I think? It's been a long time. This was taken yesterday after church.

8) The dress that Hermana Gatica made for me! And she has dresses in about 10 different colors for herself

9) View of the lake from El Dorado Hills

10) Downtown Sacramento

I liked this quote President included at the end of his email: “Most of us don’t mind doing what we ought to do when it doesn’t interfere with what we want to do, but it takes discipline and maturity to do what we ought to do whether we want to or not.  Duty is too often what one expects from others and not what one does.  What people think and believe and plan are all very important, but what they do is the thing that counts most.” (Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin)

Love you all,

kates