Best. Week. Ever. So far!

Ok y'all... I'm getting ALL of the forwarded emails from dad, the emails from Sara/Courtney, and all of the pictures, but I'm getting none that simply tell me WHAT IS GOING ON AT HOME. Can I please see my siblings, and nieces/nephews? Can I please be told of the goings on in my home?? I want to hear about it! Luke got his AA AND Eagle Scout?! What an over achiever! And tell him he has to email/call like every single day to get an appointment with the stake president. He's a busy man!

Now. About me. Let me begin with my first P-day. HELLO. I love my district so much, and we got to go on adventures, almost all of us together! So fun. We started out exploring (NOT exploding) the abandoned house. Pictures attached :) That was fun. The basement stank like death, and it was really just nasty. But fun for pictures! :) Then we went to see historic things, which I will send you pictures of and explain with the pictures. We went to an old cemetery and when we were trying to take a group picture, Hna. Hernandez put the phone on the back of the car. So we all pile into the car and drive off. We stop to take a picture of a sign (will be included), and what?! No phone? WHERE IS IT?! We're backtracking steps, and then someone remembers... SHE LEFT IT ON THE CAR. It was in the middle of the road, just outside the cemetery. But on my way back to the cemetery to look for the phone, I ran over it... BUT IT'S STILL GOOD :) Then we went to Saratoga to see the lake. So pretty! And we failed at jumping pictures (any surprise? Nope.)

We went home, got ready for our lesson (!!!!!), we get there... his brother answers the door and says that the kid we were going to teach and his mom had just left. Que the freak? My teensy weensy heart was broken. So we went and visited with member families (most of what we're doing right now), then we plan and sleep. The pictures show how really fun the day was... Words don't do it justice. Neither do pictures, but they do a better job!

We had a lesson with the a family out in the mink farms. They were being taught by the Elders before, but we got there, and the woman didn't want to get married. SO, I had the beautiful idea of having a lesson with them on the family proclamation! It was perfect. I think they both understand why it's important that they're married, and the importance of the family. BUT, they didn't show up to church on Sunday. Saaaaaad day x(

Zone conference was the bomb. 6 hours of drinking from a fire hose (just an expression). The stake presidents and relief society presidents were invited, and we got to talk with them about how to work with them. It was AWESOME. I love them. All of them. There's an Elder here from Tallahassee. Go Noles! After ZC, we went to the post office in Lehi (half an hour away from home?) I bought some stamps (dad, I spent $10.60-something on my debit card, at the post office, just btdubs.) Elder Stevenson decorated my seat in the car. Pictures to follow. It was very Christ oriented... Hahah

Oh, Courtney. Pupusas. Legit ones. DELISH!

We went to Kneaders on Thursday, and the French toast is better than I remember! Then we went to the temple. GAH. Do you know how much I love the temple? Well, I love it to death. And we get to go again Wednesday morning, because it's Hna. Hernandez' birthday! Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BENJAMIN WILLISSSSSS!! You old fart, I love you and hope your birthday is faaaabulous! I don't have your email, or I'd send you a personal message. I hope this will suffice :) Also, Jess! Your birthday happens before my next P-day, so to you too. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I looove you (shhh, we don't have a squishy relationship, so keep that on the DL)!

Oh, ok... Fun story time! DTM (district training meeting) was Friday. I had the white handbook thought... Ever since he laid eyes on my car, Elder Stevenson has been asking to drive it (also Elder Hernandez, but not half as much). So before my serious white handbook thought, I shared a snippet from the white handbook about not driving any car that is assigned to another missionary. Hah! It was so funny. But everybody still asks to drive the car. Then we went to Village Pizza (we get to eat free once a week, so we go there for district lunch every Friday after DTM). Delicious pizza... but we ended up playing many games of "Never have I ever." You really learn a lot about people that way! Hahah So much fun. Then we went back to the chapel for planning.

Ok. So we went to do planning, but before planning we were visiting with the Elders for like 10 minutes... In those 10 minutes, Hna. Hernandez took the back of the Spanish Elders' phone (ours was damaged when I ran it over, and doesn't quite fit on the phone anymore). So we give them ours. Elder Hernandez didn't like that very much. So before they left, they pulled one of the fuzes in our car. We were trying to leave for Facebook, but the car wouldn't start. So I'm having a heart attack, and I go get the Elders. Elder Stevenson is looking under the hood, and Hna. Hernandez has the Spanish Elders on the phone (because we're sure they did something.) (Rewind... before planning, Elder Stevenson was playing in the drivers seat, and he popped the hood. We couldn't get it to shut, so we just left it down, but not shut.) So We're yelling at Elder Hernandez, telling him to tell us what he did. We know Elder Stevenson knows what he did (they were telling secrets earlier), then I ask Elder Jamison (DL) if I can punch Elder Stevenson. He said yes! And all of a sudden, Elder Stevenson knows how to fix it! Hahah So we finally get our car to work, and go to Facebook, which is just wild. The Spanish Elders found the nursery, and brought toys into the Family History Center, where we were doing Facebook. Baby dolls are freaking creepy... They were riding Elders Jamison and Stevenson's bikes around like kids, and it was just a silly time. But we all refocused and did work. Hahahah

MILAGRO! We went to dinner, and we stayed there way too long. We were half an hour to our appointment (to visit with a member). Oh no, what ever will we do! So we go to apologize to the sister, but nobody answered the door. As we were about to put a note on the door, someone walks up. IT'S THE INACTIVE DAUGHTER OF WHO WE WERE GOING TO SEE. We really wanted to see her, but we made an appointment with her mom, thinking she was her. Aco-taco... Anyway. She invites us in, and we talk while she drinks mate (she's from Argentina! Mendoza, I think). She opens up a lot, and later we share a message on the Atonement with her. She's going through a divorce and is having a really hard time, so it was the perfect message for her. We were all crying. Hah But I was just amazed that although we were late, we had a great lesson with her! If we had been on time, she would have come in and seen us talking to her mom, and just completely dismissed any thought of talking with us. BUT, because we were late (no, we're not going to make it a habit), we were able to catch her at the perfect time.

After that, we went visiting families, and we found an amazing family that I just adore. The parents are a younger couple who are just hilarious, and the kids are THE BOMB. I love them. Then, we got home. As we were walking downstairs, I said to Hna. Hernandez "I feel like we haven't seen the Johnson's (land lords) in a long time. I miss them." Then, as we were doing our nightly planning, Pres. Johnson calls us to see if we're home. He said they had a surprise for us. We run up stairs to find them playing a boardgame with their grandson. He gestures to the small things of Hagendaas (yeah I have no idea how to spell that) Pineapple Coconut ice cream. They keep buying it for us (IT'S LITERALLY THE BEST STUFF EVER). And they had homemade caramel popcorn and cave us a big bowl of it. They're really just the sweetest people on the planet! Oh, Courtney! Melt marshmallows into the caramel when you make caramel popcorn! IT'S DIVINE.

Oh! THERE WAS A MUD RUN! Saturday morning, Elders Jamison and Stevenson were volunteering at a mud run called "Muddy Cruddy." I think it was like a family type thing, because I went to look at the obstacles, and they were... less intimidating than the Rugged Maniac. Haha But still, it made me to happy that there was one just down the road from my house! The Elders ran it! Elder Stevenson did it in his pros. clothes. Dumb. Hahaha But we went to the Anderson's house to help dig holes for their fence. I had a blister pop before I even realized I had blisters! Ouch. But it only took us 1 1/2 hours, so that's good :)

OH, MOMMY! The water here is disgusting. It tastes weird, and it makes my hair feel oily... So I spent the last week dissatisfied with my hair. Then! I put baking soda in my shampoo and my hair is SO clean, it makes me so so so happy! I love the miracle that is baking soda :) And with this dry air, I don't have to blow it dry all the time! I went to sleep with wet hair last night and it was so clean and soft in the morning, not oily and nasty like it would be in Florida. I love this place :) (And about the water... I just don't drink it. I'm buying a case of water bottles to last until we get a refrigerator. It's not a big deal, I wasn't complaining!)

Hahahahahaha Sunday... We woke up like normal, did studying, then got a text from the Spanish Elders saying the correlation meeting was canceled. So, we ended up laying on the floor and looking at my MTC pictures, and all of Hna. Hernandez' mission pictures. We fell asleep, and woke up at 12:30. That just barely gave us enough time to burn our mouths and stain our skirts with chimichangas, and walk into Sacrament meeting at 1:03. FAIL. Haha

Church was good, but none of the less actives or investigators came :'( But we'll work with them!

OH! I GOT A LETTER FROM DAVID FREY! I almost tore the sucker right open to read it! I LOVE REAL LIFE MAIL! And I LOVE FOREIGN LETTERS! Hahaha I was so excited to hear from him. I had got a couple emails from him before I left, but since I've been here I had nothing. But a LETTER, all the way from ARMENIA. Yeeeeesssssssssss. So i wrote him back and I'm going to write Sara, too. A real life letter. I'm sure they're even less frequent for them because they're on the other side of the planet.

Well, last week we didn't have time to see the caves, so we're doing that today. We're going to see the caves, and Elder Ramos said he knows where some petroglyphs are! Say whaaaat? I'm so excited!

OH AND HOW ABOUT THAT SARAH MOSS!!! She's going to TEAR PANAMA UP! (In a good way!) Hopefully she can get into advanced Spanish (I'm certain she can, it's totally not hard) and she can get to there ASAP. When does she report?

Courtney, is there any way you still have my iPhone? And is there any way you could somehow get into it and change the password on my Gmail account? Because I seriously can't remember it for the life of me, and I NEED to get into it to see if I can find Sister Moss' mission song she emailed to me many moons ago. I really really want it.

FUN FACT: I saw a humming bird for the first time in my life! That was neat.

Courtney, could you send me my denim shirt? Also, all of the skirts I left (the pencil skirts)? I'm sorry I keep adding things... But seriuosly. Everything I left at home, just go ahead and include it because I'll be asking for it eventually.

OH AND COURTNEY, SERIOUSLY IMPORTANT!!! Tehehe... Could you get me all of the Disney music ever created in English and Spanish before you off to England? Because I would seriously kiss you if you could do that... :) And EFY, if you can... PREASE AND SHANK YOU!

UMMMMMMMM....... I don't think I have anything else to fill y'all in on... I'm sorry I write so much. I'm sure y'all are tired of hearing from me. Is the message you're trying to send by not responding to my emails? It's totally ok, I understand. Don't even worry about it. I'm so focused I hardly even notice.........
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Just kidding, you're totally fine. Seriously. It was sarcasm (which is totally not accepted in Alaska... if you ever go there... keep that in mind). (I think I might have broken Elder Ramos. When he goes home to Alaska, they're all going to shun him. I've been counseling him on how to be sarcastic, and he's making a lot of progress, so... he might not have friends when he returns... Oops!)

But yes, I love you all oodles and oodles!

OH YEAH, DAD! Elder Stevenson is from Maryland! We looked it up, and he said Cheverly is only a hop, skip, and a jump from where he's from! Fun fact!

Now really, I'm done. I'm going to EXPLODE your email with messages containing only two photos (it drives me crazy too...)

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Hermana Willis