Jan. 26

What a WONDERFUL week this has been!

First of all, we had an awesome zone conference on Tuesday in Rifle (which I lovingly call REEFLAY) which is 3 hours away. I love being in the mountains! So that meant on Monday we got to sleep at the Craig sisters house! Tuesday morning we awoke at the crack of dawn and headed out to Rifle. The entire way there the roads were pure black ice. NICE. Actually, not nice but we made it there safely. I love Zone Conferences. President and Sister Murdock and the APs are inspired. We are refocusing on extending the baptismal invite in the first lesson the first time we teach people. Already Sister McRae and I have seen so many miracles. We are teaching a family, Rafael (the dad), Olga (the mom), and Leonardo (the 14 year old son). Yes, the dad and son have ninja turtle names. And yes the dad has THE BEST mullet I have ever seen in my life. Anyways, after Zone Conference Sister McRae and I were pumped to put things into practice. And I don't even know the baptismal invite in Spanish (don't worry I'm working on learning it now). Somehow in the lesson, the time came to extend it and off I went. Even though, I said it so wrong Leonardo still said yes! The parents were a bit more apprehensive saying they needed to learn more before they commit to a date but hey, it's the best feeling to know that we are doing everything in our power to help people come unto Christ! NO REGRETS.

Pamela is still amazing and she's getting baptized tomorrow! She came to church yesterday and we just found out her family gets to see her baptism! They live in Peru and are all members and we are going to skype with them during it! WOOT! Pamela was raised in the church but never wanted to get baptized. Then she came to Steamboat and decided it was time! She is so wonderful and faith-filled and happy. She and her roommate Marilyn are so fun. Pamela's baptism is going to be such a good missionary tool too! We have a lot of awesome investigators we are inviting. And the ward is getting so involved!  

The miracle of Sunday
We actually made AND DELIVERED cinnamon buns to Pamela before church! GO US! Don't worry, we still ate some though!

The second miracle of Sunday

Remember Sonya, Danielle, and Ashtay from Jamaica? Well if not, I taught them the last go around in Steamboat. They are the best! And we taught them again yesterday! And they are still just as great! We taught L1 and extended the baptismal invite and they said yes! Sonya, the mom, was in another room yelling at the top of her lungs about how she was giving her life over to Jesus, so that was weird, but at least she's focused on good things too! They really are the sweetest kids and I am so excited that we get to teach them more.

The third miracle of Sunday
Fred and Don Ela are back in town. They went to California and Utah for a week and a half. So that meant we had waffles! Also Fred got some new pants and kept the tag on them so everyone would know they were new. He's so weird! At waffles, we had a random Chem PhD student from CSU who was in town on a school trip, Mario from Brazil (who speaks Portuguese), the Muhmes, the recent converts, and Sister Charlesworth. What a hoot. Mario came to church with Francisco, who is an excellent missionary. And he really liked it! 

I got to go to Meeker this week for an exchange with Sister Christensen. HER MOM WAS RAISED IN MED HAT AND HER GRANDMA LIVES IN LETHBRIDGE. Her family goes to Canada all the time to visit and she knew all the best things (The New Dynasty, The Movie Mill...haha). She is so wonderful. Plus, I worked with her older sister at the universe back in 2011. Man, I feel old. Haha. Sister Christensen goes home next transfer and she has got the whole missionary thing figured out. She is so good at helping people feel comfortable. We did awesome dance workout videos together, ate Canadian chocolate, and met a wolfdog at our dinner appointment named Zeus. SO FRIGHTENING. I love going on exchanges to have the opportunity to understand just how much God loves each one of His children. It's when you get to know someone that you really understand why God loves them.

So apparently my mission is ending. And I sometimes feel like I am actually dying. But it's okay because I know God has a plan. This week I have been trying to focus on the basics: God is real, He has a plan, He sent His Son to provide us with a way to return to Him, etc. I have had so many amazing experiences on my mission. It's so easy to forget how real the plan of salvation is. So this week I am going to focus on REMEMBERING. Helaman 5:12 Recordad, Recordad. Whenever I feel stressed or sad or alone or any type of negative thing, the most important thing to remember is that Jesus Christ is real. He loves me. If ever you doubt,  read the Book of Mormon or the First Vision or watch the video Because of Him. I LOVE MY MISSION!

Love,

HNA T