Hey Everyone!
So, this week turned out to be a pretty good week. Lots of special things happened that I am excited to tell you about.

Last Tuesday, we had the opportunity to have a special Christmas Zone Conference and do a temple session at the Mesa Temple. The Conference was really good. Sister Beck talked about the Nativity Story and how each of the characters pertain to missionary work. After Sister Beck, President spoke on the importance of the Book of Mormon in missionary work and especially now during the Christmas season. After the talks we had a very nice lunch prepared by some members of the Glendale stake and watched a slide show of pictures from the past year.

After the Conference, we ran over to Mesa and did a session in the temple and walked amongst all the Christmas lights they had set up. I'm sending some pictures that I hope all of you will enjoy. The Temple was incredible. I love the powerful spirit that resides within it's walls. You can just feeling it succoring and lifting you up. A type of healing effect to sort of explain it. All in all, Tuesday was a very special day.

Wednesday and Thursday were hard working days. Tracting, teaching, contacting referrals...the works. Wednesday, we had an appointment with this New Inv. named Guerrardo. He's 23 years old, has been in some trouble in the past, and is looking for a way to change around his life. During the course of our lesson, we extended a soft baptismal commitment, to which he accepted. Also, his mom became interested in listening to us too. That evening we checked on some RC's and did some other stop by's and called it a night. Thursday was another hard working day. We actually moved our Weekly Planning to Friday because we were so busy. But, Thursday we visited with our RC's Margarita and Melissa and tracted some more. That was our day! Tracting, Tracting, Teaching! ;)

Friday was weekly planning day PLUS we had a pretty full night of appointments. I have to be honest here, it is really nice to have appointments to go to again. For a while we had a lot of empty teaching slots. But, slowly, they are starting to fill up again.

Saturday was another day of work. We set another soft baptismal commitment with a lady named Lucia, had another appointment with Guerrardo's Mom (Alicia), Knocked some doors, and met with Natanael. That night, we went over to a family in the English ward (The Aldarete's) and made tamales with them. It was a blast! I'll post some pictures so you can see the excitement!

Yesterday, everything went crazy. We had Stake Conference in the morning where they split our Spanish ward. The new ward still covers a lot of area but a lot of it is richer developments with Mexican's sprinkled in there. So, it will be a little bit harder to tract but it will be nicer to deal with a smaller ward. Then yesterday we tracted, had a couple of lessons, went to dinner, and stopped by Yolanda's and a RC family from the English ward. Last night, things went nuts. For those who know the missionary schedule, every six weeks something called Transfers is held. This is where some missionary companionships are switched up and missionaries move from one area to another. Well, I received the notification that I am being transferred to another area. I'm not sure where but I have my bets. There is actually another crucial piece of the puzzle that was added this morning but I won't divulge that until next week's post. So, it turns out I will not be having "Christmas in the Shack" this year. I am actually pretty sad but I guess if that is what the Lord sees fit for me to do then so be it.

All in all, things are going really well. Working hard and some days fighting frustration and other whatnot. I tell you what...this stuff is tough. No joke. It is SOOOO worth it but it is a daily power struggle between Satan and your will. He is VERY aware of this work, of the things that we are doing, of the people we are teaching, and the power of this message. It's an experience unlike any other and am eternally grateful for the opportunity that I have to be a part of it. But, that is about all for this week. I hope that you all enjoy the pictures this week. I hope you know that you all are loved, missed, and are in my prayers every day. Thank you for the prayers that have been offered in my behalf. Be assured, they are felt. But, I love you all and have a great week!




"Such a lovely day...": We had a pretty awesome sunrise the other day that I would like to share with you. It was REALLY cold but nice none the less. :)



“Holiness to the Lord”: A nice shot of the temple from our temple trip on Tuesday.




“Rain, Rain, Rain”: Last Monday it rained all day. Needless to say, I was EXTREMELY happy as were the others in our district. We played in it for quite a while.




“Who needs Martha Stewart?”: Our Tamale-Making Adventure with the Aldarete’s. I believe they make about 60 dozen a year. In two hours we made 16. Still got a long way to go…