November 25, 2013 (oops, this is why you should never put your mother in charge of this blog!)

HAPPY (AMERICAN) THANKSGIVING!

ALSO ONE MONTH UNTIL CHRISTMAS! Woot!

It snowed! Last Tuesday! And now it's already gone muahahahaha. I woke up a little earlier than the alarm that day and I felt depressed. But as soon as Sister Fletcher woke up, I told her to look outside and she basically started dancing around! I'm happy it brought her so much joy! 

I'm still falling asleep ALL DA TIME. We had one of our investigators tell me yesterday that I look reeeeeeaaaaallllllyyyyy tired. That's always a good sign. I look through my journal to remember my week when I write these emails and more than one night my writings have trailed off in a scribble.

Last Monday we had family home evening with the cutest little family in the ward, the Trujillos. We pretended to be missionaries with them and had them teach a lesson. One of the little girls taught about the Sacrament and said it was like Jesus was sitting right next to her during it. It was the best! We also stopped by the car wash a member works at and he washed our car for us! YAYAYAYAYA.

We also got to drive to the Mission Office and pick up our entire Zone's commissary. We had called the Zone Leaders to see if they could pick up something extra for us (Cambodian and Vietnamese BoMs) and somehow we ended up going and picking it up for everyone haha.
About those Book of Mormons, we gave them to Vin and Parin (?). Vin was excited about it but it turns out Parin doesn't know how to read any language :(  She is so nice and randomly showed us her bunnies. She doesn't speak much English either so we are going to try to teach her and let the Spirit be the real teacher! (which is what we should always try to do anyways).
This week we were able to contact 3 potentials and now have 4 solid investigators who are all committed to reading the Book of Mormon! One of them is Kim, who I told you about last week. We saw her again yesterday. I feel such a special connection with her for some reason that I can't explain. And she feels it too! She said I somehow always manage to say exactly what I need to hear. This is such motivation for me to really prepare and be as obedient as possible because I really want her to gain a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true! I am so invested in our investigators here. Not that I wasn't in Steamboat, but a lot of them were Spanish-speaking men and, as you are all well aware, I didn't have much to connect with them about. In this area, I feel so much love for our investigators and, more than anything else, I want them to find happiness through Christ and His Atonement.
This week I have been thinking a lot about the Atonement. Each day it seems the more I understand the Gospel, the more guilt I felt for past sins I felt I had already repented of. I wondered if we weren't able to see people because of my lack of righteousness or faith. I have spent some time praying for forgiveness. I have really realized that the Atonement is all about change. I felt like I wasn't good enough to be telling people about the Gospel, because I didn't feel like I was really able to feel the relief I tell people about in lessons. Eventually, through scripture study and prayer, I realized I truly desire to become more like Christ and He knows exactly how I am feeling. I am not anywhere near perfect but I am trying my best. And that is what truly matters. I try to be thankful every day but at this time of year, I've been able to really reflect on how much I have been given, especially the gift of forgiveness. I am so thankful for opportunity I have to be here and to share what I love the most with everyone I see!
Sister Fletcher is the best! She has such drive and determination to find people and to be obedient! It's the best!  Also she is an incredible teacher and knows so much about the scriptures. I love getting to learn more from her knowledge!
Of course, every day this week was not a cake walk. But looking back, the Lord blessed us so much on our hard days. We had a day where about everything that could fall through, fell through. But we were able to talk to a recent convert who is older and her testimony was such a boost! She wishes she lived her life a lot differently and I'm so glad to have her perspective. She also told us we are not allowed to marry anyone other than a good Mormon boy. Haha thanks for the reminder Sister Wright, and I'll store that in my brain for another 14 months.
We had a great Zone meeting this week. I learned how I can help the area and how I can be a more obedient missionary. It was also a hoot to discover we are the only two sisters in the whole zone! Goodness, what a change from my last zone! It was a hard adjustment for me to not have any sisters to be friends with and just be surrounded by a room full of Elders. Let's just say I'm glad I have 4 sisters and not 4 brothers (but I'm still glad you're my brother Blake haha)
This next week, one of my goals for the area is to help the ward get involved. I'm realizing now that I could've done a better job of it at the beginning so we're going to focus on it now! The one member present lesson we had last week was incredible! It was with Candida and Faith. Having Sister Hill there made all the difference. Her testimony invited the Spirit in a way that we would not have had without her. I know that when we involve members this week, it will help the ward realize that this is truly their work! It was a huge change to come to a new ward and get to know all new people but they really are the best! 

Hope you all have a great week and I'll try not to get trampled on Black Friday!

Love,
Sister Turner