First off, HAPPY NEW
YEAR! I'm officially 5 days into my full year on the mission. Crazy to
think that I'll be gone that long, but it's a good thing, because I have
some lofty goals set for this next year that I plan on making sure
happen. It is going to be the best year I've had so far! And I hope it's
the same for you!
Second, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLIFF! I always loved
that you're birthday was right after the holidays, because it made it
so we could lengthen all the celebrating just a little bit longer. I
really do hope it's a good one!
Anyway, this week was crazy.
It started snowing on Tuesday, so by Wednesday, they told us to leave
the cars alone. On foot we went! Miles and miles of walking in the snow
with soaked boots and freezing ears. People thought we were crazy (I
kinda did too)! But it was so fun. We had no appointments, so we were
outside basically all day. We laughed the whole way and met tons of
funny people. Only the crazy ones wander out in the snow like that.
Let's just say, a lot of hugs were received by old men that day haha. It
truly was a blast. That night was new years eve, so we got to go home
early and we celebrated with a spa night. Pedicures and Jacuzzi tub
(perks of the Portales house). It was perfect after the day we had.
The
next day, the snow was like ice and rain at
once. It would stick to everything and my hair was frozen. But, we met
such cool people. One guy pulled over to offer us a ride. We explained
that we didn't need one, because we had some teaching to do. He was so
amazed at our love for the gospel, that he said he wanted to come to
church!!! Miracles come from hard work, people. MIRACLES.
Friday,
we finally got back in the car! But it was too bad to drive all the way
to Muleshoe, so we didn't get to go see our investigator. Luckily, the
Muleshoe elders were on exchanges with our Spanish Zone Leaders this week, so
they got to stop by and read with him! Apparently, their Spanish was
butchered, but we still appreciated it!
On Saturday, as you can
see by the pictures, we walked a bit more because my companion was too
scared to drive on the ice, and our car was kinda stuck, because we got
like 10 inches of snow! Eventually the elders came to dig us out and so
kindly built a snowman right outside our door to block us from coming
outside. That thing was HEAVY. But just because we're sisters doesn't
mean we don't know how to prank back. We went to their house and built a wall
outside their door so they couldn't get in! I lost my planner during
that event, so I think it was karma for being mean. But we had to prove
the point that you just can't mess with sisters. Apparently, yesterday,
they went to our house and built a wall at the door, but felt so bad
that they came back later and took it off and left chocolates before we
even saw it. Haha, SUCCESS!
Saturday night we went to see an
investigator who just wasn't progressing, and we were worried we would
have to drop her. But everything turned around! Her boyfriend was there,
and he didn't want us there at all, but by the end, they were both
asking all kinds of questions and making awesome commitments! They
texted us after to say that they truly felt the power of God in that
lesson and they already started reading the Book of Mormon! We're SO
excited about them! We didn't know why we kept going back to teach them,
but we felt that we needed to keep going, and now we see why!
Yesterday,
church was canceled, because the roads were too bad, and we have a lot
of members that live far away. Portales doesn't have any draining system
or ways to move the snow off the roads. We're not used to this kind of
weather. So, it's all kind of hectic. But the work is still progressing
regardless of all the craziness! We got to do some service shoveling
snow (that was a first)! And we also helped our investigator help set up
her classroom with the elders. So much fun, I love service like that.
She reminds me a lot of Chrystal. Except her students are younger. But
she loves minions, so that's how we decorated her whole class. haha. That
night we got to teach another amazing investigator who has a baptismal
date. She is amazing! We didn't think she was doing too good at
commitments, but we followed up last night, and she said she's been
reading everyday, she practices how to pray at work, and she prays
everyday to know if this is true. She is so excited for her answer. I
love that lady! She is wonderful and truly has that desire to change her
life. I'm so excited for what's to come with her!
Last night we
went to a referral that the elders gave us. A SPANISH referral
from the elders who speak no Spanish at all. Well, we were basically led to our death, to summarize it. We knocked on the door, and we were
waiting, when all of a sudden I heard this huge bark and it dawned on me
what house we were at. The home of a GIGANTIC German Shepherd who has
ferocious teeth and jumps at us when we ride by. He comes around the
corner and Sister Laparra and I just froze. The lady opened the door and
said the guy didn't live there, as if there was nothing wrong with the
fact that her dog was at about to attack us. Before she slammed the door, I
quickly asked if the dog was nice. She just called his name and
then closed the door. Sister Laparra and I sat there for a good 2
minutes while he barked and finally walked away. God definitely made
that one happen because that dog is usually MEAN. We ran out of the
fence as fast as possible.
Overall, it was a crazy week full
of ridiculous adventures, but I loved all of them. We see miracles every
day and I'm so excited for what's to come! Love you all. Have a
wonderful week!
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