January 4, 2016

Happy 2016!!!!!! Can you believe we made it to 2016? WE MADE IT!!!  It was super exciting to realize that I get a full year of missionarywork. A full 365 days!! Or wait is it supposed to be leap year? Does that make it 366? No clue. It's the idea behind it that counts haha. But how cool is that! I feel so blessed to have that opportunity.

Monday we got together as a Zone and played Gatorball!!!! It’s a heavenly sport that is basically soccer and football and rugby all combined.  SO MUCH FUN.  I live for Pdays so I can just run and play something competitive haha

We were able to visit a less active, F***** this week as well.  He is a wonderful guy from Oaxaca Mexico! He has only been working here in Huntsville for a little bit and was actually baptized in Houston TEXAS!! Woohoo!  We are working with him on setting goals this year for attending the Temple! He was baptized only 5 months ago but in just a few short months he can go! Its so difficult getting him to church because he works so much.  But He has a testimony and knows he needs to be bold and ask for Sundays off!  We are praying for him!

This week Sister Mitchell and I were able to go on blits with the STLs!  Sister Castagno and I had a BLAST tracting some trailer parks.  Can I just say how much I love Trailer Parks and Mobile Home Parks?  I really do. I LOVE THEM! Sketchy at times but they are the best.  We actually played American football with a group of kids in a spare lot and it was so fun!!! They were all really surprised when Sister Castagno and I asked to play in skirts.  One lil chubby kids stole my whole heart and soul. I just wanted to put him in my pocket and go tracting with him. haha he was adorable.  Since Sister C and I were like 3 feet taller than all these kids we scored touchdowns like no other. They were all saying "we just got scored on by a girl in a skirt!" We gathered them all together after a bit and shared a scipture about Jesus Christ being baptized.    We bore testimony and and invited them all to be baptized just like he was.  Every one of the kids got so excited and raised there hand saying they wanted to do the same! We gave them all our card and told them to all talk to their parents about coming to church with us.  These kids are going to remember that experience forever and ahh I just love being a missionary.

 Ana!!!!! Remember our elect investigator A.M?  We had a wonderful lesson with her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ with some members.  It went really well.  It just flowed so easily.  While I was explaining Repentance it really just rang true.  The spirit really hit me, how we can literally be clean and free from sin each time we choose to repent.  And how through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all things can be healed and fixed.  How Christ truly knows and has felt ALL pain, sickness, guilt, weakness, ALL infirmities that we feel in our lives.  I know that to be true.  The Member, Flori, was so bold.  She bore her testimony about when she was baptized.  How she and her husband Carlos, had being living together for 15 years and needed to get married.  She told A. that if she wanted to be baptized she would need to get married. A. immediately said she would talk to her boyfriend, who she lives with about it. YES A.!!!  Other great news? She had her baby on Saturday morning! Baby boy that is 5 lbs.  SO CUTE.   

Thursday night we had to be in by 6pm since it was New Years Eve.  We got together as a Zone and just played some volleyball and then we all went to sleep early. Best way to celebrate the New Year!!!

We met an awesome man R.L.! Tall skinny black man.  But when we went to go back when we had our appointment he said it wasn't a good time because he got run over by a car the day before....uhh what??? hahaha So yeah I guess he got run over by a car and hasn't stopped limping since! So sad!  Poor Mr. L.  Then we talked to a lady who seemed very very interested but at the end of our discussion said "I'm really not into religion but do ya'll have some food or money I could borrow??"  well shucks.... haha but hey no effort wasted!

Saturday evening the Branch put on a Convivio! Just a small activity with dancing and food and sports.  We had our less Active Fernando come! Woohoo! It was SO FUN.  The members love to dance to real Latino music and it was the most adorable thing to see all the couples dancing with each other!  These members, I cant brag enough about them! I was just thinking during sacrament meeting how truly blessed I am to be on a mission and to have met these amazing people.  Such strong steadfast people in the gospel.  All are converts and all have the strongest testimonies of this gospel.  Maybe its because this is my fist area and I have been here for so long but They just are amazing.. They LOVE the missionaries and they Love the gospel.

I know that his gospel is true and I am so incredibly grateful for all the blessings it has brought into my life. I'm also especially grateful for the knowledge that we have of our Heavenly Father—of how much He loves us and of the plan which He has so lovingly created for us which through His son, allows us to return to live with Him one day with our families in a fullness of joy. How great is that?! That's ultimately the message that we share. Our Heavenly Father loves us. All else is an appendage to that. What a blessing!!

sorry this is sucha  long email.

love you to the moon and back! sureloveyoumolinesrockmissionariesrule

Hna roll tide Moline