Feliz dia de accion de gracias!

Querida familia,

I have about one minute to jot a quick note. I had to follow-up with President about an exchange I went on last week, and that stole all my time. This past week I went down for the count. I've attached a few photos that Scott should consider not looking at unless he wants to tear up. I was sick with a cold the past week and didn't really do anything special to take care of it except eat Vitamin C drops. Eventually the sore throat went away, but I got slammed with an eye infection. I got home from my exchange to Sacramento/Elk Grove on Thursday night and woke up Friday morning to a very gloopy eye. My eye was red as we did weekly planning, and I was rubbing and scratching and doing everything you shouldn't do. I thought I was just tired, so I took a quick nap during lunch and woke up with stuff in both eyes and two red eyes. I had red eyes for three days straight. I went to our ward Thanksgiving dinner with Sister Marroquin's sunglasses, and people thought I was trying to be cool like a celebrity because I was strange and wearing sunglasses inside. I ended up working with the mission nurse, the mission doctor, a former mission doctor in Utah, and eventually a real live eye doctor on Monday until I go the eye drops that did the trick. I'll be infected for two weeks, but now my eyes are white. :)

We have an investigator who has asked us some really good questions about the Plan of Salvation (she's been studying with another religious group...), so I've been having great personal studies in the morning. I've been reading Jesus the Christ. I am really grateful that Heavenly Father created a perfect plan for us. Even though we won't understand everything or have physical evidence, I'm thankful for the principle of faith--the very first principle of the gospel. I know that Christ was chosen as our Savior from the foundation of the world. I am grateful for His love, His example, and His atonement that gives us the hope to be forgiven and to move on and progress. I've expected a lot of myself as a missionary, and maybe I haven't seen as many baptisms as I imagined, but the mission has changed me. I am grateful to be truly converted and to have the desire to become more like my Savior. We just got the conference issue of the Ensign--I was reminded about how much the apostles spoke about becoming a more Christian Christian.

Love you,

kates

The sprint

Hola mi querida familia,

I hope you liked my pictures last week. I know that they were sent/posted on my blog because Sister Fernandez mentioned a few of the pics. Thanks for posting those, Stace!

I got an AMAZING package from Lisa VanGemert this past week. It says greetings from golden state of California and has everything golden in it. At the beginning of my mission she sent me a green package because I was a greenie, and now I got everything you can imagine: golden oreo cookies, Burger King gift card, gold $1 coins, Nesquik, Ohs cereal, ring pops (everything is in a yellow package), lemonhead candies, Juicy Fruit gum, a box of lemon bars mix, Swedish fish. It is INCREDIBLE. The three of us (Sister Schow, Sister Marroquin, and I) have really enjoyed the goodies. Sister Schow has been trying a lot of new things. :) Lisa, thank you SO VERY MUCH for the incredible package. I love absolutely everything in it, and especially your thoughtfulness. Oh my goodness--I don't think she should have put so much time and money into a package for me, but it has made me really happy, especially because it reminds me of the sweet memories I have in California. I didn't even know where Sacramento was before my mission and now it forever holds a precious spot in my heart.

I went on an exchange to South Sacramento/Elk Grove this past week with Hermana Toro. My little Torito. She's going to be training soon--that's just my personal opinion. I counted it up, and I've been to that very house 7 times for exchanges. So even though that's the only area I didn't serve in, I basically did serve there. Oh, and I played the piano at a wedding. That was a first... and probably a last. It was really interesting.

We are going to have a neat activity at the end of this month. All the Spanish wards and branches in the mission are invited to come to an activity in Elk Grove where there is going to be art displayed of Book of Mormon stories. There's also going to be a dance presentation of professional Hispanic dancers and food and I don't know what else it entails. I'm glad it's happening soon so I can go. That's strange... I don't feel like I'm ending. I feel like the mission is going to go on forever, but I know that isn't going to happen.

Our investigator An last night committed to a December 8 baptism. She asked why we chose that date. We told her just because... and I didn't admit because that was my last Saturday. Yikes. But I'm hoping and praying that she will be baptized that day! That would be fantastic.

Love you all,

kates

Fotos

Dear family,

Finally I figured out why my camera was acting up, so now I have pictures from a long time ago. These are all just random.

We had an investigator, Julio, at church yesterday! We went to visit him in the morning before church--good thing because he hadn't started getting ready yet. We told him we'd see him there. When we didn't see him in the chapel at 11, we called him and he said no one was outside to take him. We didn't know he didn't have a car to get there... So we said that it looked like it was going to happen because it was already after 11 and that's when church starts. But then Sister Marroquin and I thought about a member that we could call that lives by him. We called her up and they said that they would pass by and get him. That was a tender mercy. But then we called Julio and he said it wasn't going to go. I told him that they were already on the way, they were they, everything. I couldn't really understand what he was saying. Something about a box they are sending to Honduras. (They've been collecting clothes and things all year to send to their family in Honduras--the box will cost at least $300 to send. It's monstrous.) Anyway, I wasn't going to have any of that and told him to go talk to the ride because they were outside his complex. Next thing we knew, they were sitting next to us at church and Julio was sitting behind us, not a happy camper. :) But I pretended like he was really excited to be there after sacrament meeting and he ended up having a great time at church. He was smiling by the end of it and shaking all the members' hands. We finally broke a very long dry spell, and it feels so good.

This is my last transfer to go on exchanges with sisters in the mission. President said that at this point we can have 192 missionaries in the mission, but come February that number is changing to 250, and more than half of the new missionaries are going to be sisters. So he is putting a lot more responsibility on the exchange sisters--the sisters in the mission will go to us instead of their district leaders and zone leaders for sensitive/emotional issues and things like that so that we don't have 75 sisters all calling President and his wife when things go south. I am also going on full exchanges with 5 sisters and combined exchanges with one companionship, so I will be away from my area 6 times this transfer. It's going to be crazy and I'm going to be tired, but that's how I want to go out. One of my exchanges will be in Stockton, where I started my mission. I haven't served there for about a year, so that'll be good to go back for the day.

I'm going to attach pics really quickly and provide a little explanation.

1. Most of the ward before it split. Hopefully I'll get the real pic soon from bishop.

2. My friend Yeni who the zone leaders baptized in August. She's 19.

3. Bike sister for a day in Folsom with Sister Agavale and Sister Teerime. I came out with both of them.

4. Did I mention I was sore for a week after that? And I think I get to ride a bike twice this transfer.

5. Familia Bustos with a blanket that hermana knitted. She's always knitting. The kids were all baptized this summer.

6. Sacramento sunset

7. Spiderman with our friend Jordy, who's Batman. He's not a boy--he only ever acts like a superhero...

8. Recent convert Gloria laughing with Sister Toro. We have good lessons, obviously.

9. Sacramento temple.

10. Me with my island sisters

11. The elders who gave me a Spiderman doll in Stockton. "head, shoulders, knees and webs" it sings.

12. My "soccer shoes." I played soccer in the outfit I wore to the temple, and my soccer shoes got holes in them. Sister Schow loves my soccer shoes.

13. Sister Toro, Schow, me

14. We were matching at church.

15. Carinia and Freddie's baptism. The APs, Elder Verde and Elder Walker, baptized them.

16. Sister Marroquin and I at our investigator Katia's house. She loves reptiles, especially snakes. I like the bearded dragon, Pumpkin.

17. The group at Coloma--the missionaries who are leaving soon

18. Panning for gold

19. Sister Schow said she had the best birthday in years. :) success!

20. Jimmer

21. This is for Sister Fernandez. Proof I met your family in Sacramento. She baptized the Sanchez family, and I met them on an exchange. Hermano is on a singing show competition, something like "Tengo talento, mucho talento." I have talent--a lot of talent.

22. Kiddos in the ward at a ward activity--multicultural night

23. We dressed up as Nefitas y Lamanitas at the multicultural night--I actually just put it on after the activity

24. Our district at the bishop's house