HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

Lord Bulwer Lytton: ‘What man wants is not talent, it is purpose; not power to achieve, but the will to labor.’
I just like that quote. I hope you enjoyed it like I did. Hahah

Happy Father's Day before Father's Day!! Dear dad, YOU'RE THE BEST DAD IN THE WORLD. I could say the best dad I've ever had, pero you're the only dad I've ever had, so that would do you justice... So you're the best in the WORLD. I'd write you another letter, but nothing can match the birthday letter I sent you. That one made ME cry! But anyway, I love you and wish I could give you your glass of orange juice on Father's Day morning, but it's ok. I'll drink some juice on your behalf on Sunday :)

Oh! I forgot to tell you dad, I played Dust in the Wind on the guitar at our branch president's house when we had a goodbye asado last week for Hna Abellan. I felt so accomplished... I can't believe I remembered it! And sheesh, my fingers are WEAK.

Hypochondriac: Appendicitis edition. I woke up or morning and went running with out WML's daughter and her uncle. Anyway, we ran really hard, and I had a sharp pain where my appendix is later that morning. I had a cramp from running, pero this one stayed ALL DAY. I rested a little bit, took an ibuprofen, and it didn't help. So in my mind, MY APPENDIX WAS ABOUT TO EXPLODE. Obviously. It ended up just being a torn muscle. Hahahahaha Being educated and informed is the worst when you're a hypochondriac.

OH HEY, I JUST STARTED ALMA! :) That's just some exciting news for you...

On Friday, we were walking down University Pkwy, and someone in this big green 15 seater cheese wagon opened their door and yelled at us "You will never have the priesthood!" I almost died laughing. My companion and I look at the car drive away and we both said "...Ok! Ta bien!" Hahahaha

Then that night we were with the branch president and one of his counselors, and we told them that story. We get out of the lesson at 9 and were racing home on the bikes. The branch presidency got to their house and they were changing cars or something, and as we ride by their house, the first counselor yells out of his car "NUNCA van a tener el sacerdocio!!" I almost fell off my bike I was laughing to hard...

Oh, and I'm racing a less active in reading the Book of Mormon. She's going to win! :/

Once upon a time our ZL's called us and texted us like crazy. Then when we got out of our lesson at almost 9, we read that they texted us about that time telling us to go to some elders' house ASAP and bring the iPads. We were worried. WHAT DID WE DO?! So we got there, and they just had to update our iPads... Anyway, now we have myldsmail on our iPads! And this email is brought to you by a Utah Provo Mission iPad. Shooooot. It's so cool. No more cords and nonsense when trying to send pictures. No mas *boom* and there is it. Luxury. Please, everybody else in other missions, or who have served without iPads (which is
most people who have served missions), prease don't resent me... I'm just in the best mission in the world...

Anyway, we had some amazing lessons this week, and most of the people I've been working with are FINALLY progressing towards baptism! My new companion is a BOSS. I'm super excited. And people love us a lot, too. One of our investigators called us her angels last night. Yessss!

I feel like I'm forgetting something, pero is don't remember. Well, I LOVE YOU ALL!

Now for some pictures... 😏

Loves and hearts!

Hermana Willis

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KALEB!!!!!!

I can't believe I forgot to wish that 14 year old boy a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I'm the worst sister in the world. Forgive me. I LOVE YOU, SNUGGLE BUMS!

Anyway... so if you didn't know how much I loved my companion Hermana Morla, let this be a warning to you... Half of this email will be dedicated to her, now ANA MORLA, my favorite person in the world who went home this last week. Maaaaaaa :(

So let me tell you a story... My favorite Elder Trusty asked me to help out on getting Ana Morla a goodbye gift, and I couldn't have been happier with his idea. Are you ready for this? A du rag... Cocoa butter (which she hates), and hair grease... All wrapped in a KFC bag. She almost died of laughter when she got it. Shoooot I love her. Hahaha She got me a gift too! Why didn't I think of gift giving?! She got me an accordion binder for papers. She had one and I always told her how genius I thought it was... Then she bought me one! She gave it to me with. Sticky note that said "Tina Fey." *dead* I was a mess when she left. Booooooo.

I did get to go to the final testimony meeting though. So I got to see her share her testimony for the last time as a missionary, y tu sabe que I was crying like a baby. Then a bunch of sisters and I sang a special musical number "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me." Talk about a tear jerker! Even Pres. McCune said he was holding back tears. After telling me how amazing he thought the song was, he said "I'm just glad I wasn't speaking after that... My "allergies" would have kicked in." Hahaha

Pero bueno... I got to have a mini reunion with Ana and my favorite sisters, and I got to meet Ana's friend Cade. He'd been a "fellowshipper" for some online lessons, but now I know him in real life! Hah It was so so so good though to see her before she left. I reemphasized the fact that I NEED her to come out on splits with me. I miss serving with her. I miss living with her and being able to talk to her all the time. Pero I'll have constant communication with her after the mission, so I won't stress.

New companion: American style. She Sister Wright, from Washington state. My very first American!! :) She's a super hard worker and GUESS WHAT!! She's organized (nazi status) so she agrees with me on how to organize things, and clean things, aaaand it's good. It's a good, healthy OCD. It's weird being with an American after 10 months of native speakers, but she's right up there next to native speakers where her spanish is concerned. On. point. And she's really up front, so I'm finally seeing things I really need to improve on. This is going to be a rough transfer, full of progress. Bring it on!

Fun fact: I often feel like Scott Pilgrim when I eat bread and oil (my weakness, more so than sugary foods). Literally every time I eat bread I hear Ramona Flowers telling me "Bread makes you fat."

Something someone said yesterday really just smacked me right in the butt. "When you stop reading the Book of Mormon, everything falls apart." If you're not currently reading it, vamoooos. Read it. Your life will be better. Dale.

Saturday we went to a baptism in Saratoga Springs, and guess who was there... HERMANA MALDONADO! I see her everywhere! Sheesh I love her :)

So yesterday in our lessons were amazing. We found a new investigator who's AMAZING. She just absorbs it all, and asks questions and everything. She's even read the Book of Mormon before! And now she's going to read it more, since she knows what it is and what's going on! :) Anyway, we only had 3 lessons yesterday, pero in each lesson, the thought came to me "You're a representative of Jesus Christ... You've got power. USE IT!" So I boldly testified "como representante de Jesucristo, y en el nombre de Él." And now it's a goal of mine to do that every day. I'm only going to have this power and authority once, and I don't want a day to go by without using it and taking advantage of it. It always makes words more powerful when you include Christ and authority and stuff... But yes. I really love that. Using what I've been given while I've got it :)

OH HEY, there's this sister in our branch who I love so much, and she was diagnosed with Leukemia. The doctors said she's only got about a year left. Please pray for her family, and her, and her less active husband. Her name is Maria.

A couple weeks ago we had a Spanish missionaries conference with elder Don Clark (he's either a 70 or works in the missionary dept.) Anyway, he's the most straight forward (and at times just straight offensive) speaker I've ever heard, and I loved every second of it. It was amazing. I got kicked in the shins a couple times by his words, and it felt great. SHOW ME HOW TO IMPROVE! It was amazing. I got SEVEN pages of notes. Something he kept repeating that punched me in the teeth is "You don't have enough faith!" He yelled that to a cultural hall filled with missionaries. TALK ABOUT BOLD! We don't have faith enough to baptize thousands, to double sacrament meeting attendance, to change lives, etc. these things haven't been happening because we didn't have the faith to do it. We really can preform miracles like in the Book of Mormon when Alma preached and baptized hundreds, ONLY if we have faith. He said we're not doing that because we don't have the faith. Now some people can really take offense to that, but because I was raised with 6 men, I took it with a grain of salt (or however the saying goes). So instead of saying "Aww... He doesn't think I have faith. I guess I don't..." I said "How can I have more faith? How can I strengthen my faith to the point of performing miracles and even beyond?" YESSS. I'm a big kid.

Also my brilliant mission president said this little gem:

"Conversion has a short shelf life."

IT SO DOES! You have to keep praying and asking for a new confirmation of the things you know in order to have a strong testimony of those things. Man, that was great.

Anyway, I don't know why I haven't really done this before... Sharing things I've learned? People probably think I'm terribly distracted by reading my emails. HAH! I just keep notes of things that have happened and write a summary of those things on Monday. Now I'm including the more spiritual thingsies in my notes :) BRILLIANT! Hahah

Anyhow, I love you all a whole whole lot. Stay fresh!

Hermana Willis

Me and Ana our NEW WML's daughter. She's my little BFF :)

WML's other daughter, my OTHER little BFF. I love this little thing!

Me and Hna Abellan. You know how I do :)

This is me saying "Hasta luego" to my very best friend in the world! And that's Cade Benson, her friend. Just hopped in the picture to say hello :) Hahaha

This is the gift Ana gave to me. I LOVE HER.

Transporting our bikes with some fellowshippers... They almost fell out TWICE :)

Howdy partner! <--- Somebody said that, and I wanted my granddaddy!!

"Nothing destroys the individuality of a man, a woman, or a child as much as the failure to be self-reliant."
- President Heber J. Grant

Did you know my family is the COOLEST?! I feel like I know everything because of my family. Enserio. And my tomato plant is growing, so that's cool :)

Last p-day we had FOUR hours of not running around. Things are amazing when you have a ride to places... Hahaha I did my mending that's been waiting for two months, and got some sun too :) Hahah It was amazing.

FUN TIME: Elder Lundahl is from Sweden, and he pretends like he's a Viking (who am I kidding, HE IS a Viking!) and he said "All of my children will be born with a beard, no matter their gender." I almost fell on the floor laughing. It makes me miss Luke. Hahaha

On Friday we were walking down the street and there were a group of kids walking from this field trip thing (welcome to Utah, where we walk to field trips) and there were kids for about three blocks waving at us saying "Hi missionaries!!" It was amazing. Hahahaha I felt like a celebrity. xD

SHOUT OUT: I love Corey Lawrence! Somebody tell him he's in my prayers, and I hope he and his family are doing well!!

"Ooooh, hermana!! El rojo! Te queda pero... WOW!" This is what an older sister in the branch told me on Sunday when I was wearing that red dress I bought in SF. I LOVE WHEN PEOPLE ARE NICE TO ME. Hahahaha

"We are all broken, that's how the light gets in."
Earnest Hemingway

I just loved that quote... ENJOY! :)

HAPPY ARGENTINE INDEPENDENCE DAY YESTERDAY!!

Hey dad, do you know Parque de Independencia in Rosario? Lynette Keele told me about it, and I have to go one day... Hahaha

OH YEAH!! Transfer calls today! I'm staying, Hna Abellan is leaving. We're both SHOCKED. We both thought I was leaving. I was really upset about leaving, BUT IT TURNS OUT I'M NOT!

Anyway, I'm excited about the next transfer! I'm going to get really brown, and everybody's going to judge me about how much I sweat, pero TA BIEN porque I am Willis! :)

I love you all! You're all the best of the best! Stay real, homies!!

Hermana Willis

P.s. I say "Ay shidanza" all the time. You can take the girl out of Disney, but you can't take the Disney out of the girl!