Week 13

Hola Familia!

Yep it's official I can hardly remember what week I am on...  Another great week in the mission field.  Being a missionary is a lot of work and I don't remember when I have ever fallen asleep faster at night!  I think it usually takes me two minutes to fall asleep after climbing into bed.  It doesn't hurt that the beds we have are super comfy either.

Hmmm so some highlights from the week.  Since Monday was a holiday the libraries were closed, so that's why my email is a little later this week.  We had a stake activity in the morning on missionary life for the youth.  It was weird being the missionary when for so many years I was the youth!  They gave us a big round of applause for giving up part of our P-day to come and teach them.  I definitely miss teaching big groups of kids and was in my element teaching about teaching.  And it was in English, so I could say everything I wanted to say.  The zone leaders are funny.  They tell me that they think I came pre-trained.  All I did was help our district have a little structure in our lesson planning...sigh the teacher in me couldn't handle a half-hearted lesson plan, so I helped create an outline for us to use.  So then they kept saying Sister Klaus is going to be the first female district leader.  Haha I'm good just being a missionary. :)  So the training went well, but it also made me miss Kara because if she were living in El Paso she would have been at the activity with me.

An update on the cockroach situation...  I am in an all out warfare with a cockroach in our bathroom.  I first noticed him about 3am when I flipped on the light.  I silently freaked out, so as not to wake Hermana Cruz and trapped him under the hairspray bottle so I could figure out what to do in the morning.  When I remembered him in the morning I was ready to squash him, but when I picked up the can, he skittered so fast across the counter that I didn't get him!  Arrgh!  Now he taunts me and comes out and runs back into his little hole under the sink before I can kill him.  He knows I am on the hunt, but he also takes particular pleasure in scaring me when I turn on the light.  Grrr I am angry at that little creature right now!  I know we had that lesson about bugs being God's decorations, but they can decorate the outside world, not my apartment.  In the apartment they are fair game to kill on sight!

In other animal news.  We were almost eaten by a chihuahua.  Haha actually we opened this gate and walked in and this little chihuahua came around the corner and I think it nearly had a heart attack when we looked it's direction.  We also went and visited an investigator who has probably 75 snakes, rats, mice, and other assorted vermin.  Hermana Cruz and I held a gross pink baby mouse and a pretty cute little rat.  I was especially happy because we had a great Spanish conversation on snakes that night in the car and I really am starting to be able to say lots of different things.

On Monday we were invited to have family home evening with a family in our ward.  After a lesson on listening to the holy ghost, we had a short activity in which we played a game with the family.  I was a little nervous because I wasn't really sure I would be able to participate, but it turned out I could.  We played the game were you act out a movie title and your team has to guess the title of the movie.  The movie I drew was el bueno, el mal, y el feo (the good, the bad, and the ugly)  So I started by trying to make a halo followed by some devil horns.  For ugly I was a little stumped and kind of did a weird twisted face/ zombie pose.  Basically I looked ridiculous and could hardly finish because of laughter.  Sadly my team did not guess my movie, but afterwards they understood my actions... However, they did tell me that the next time I am in church giving a talk or something they are all going to be sitting making my "ugly" pose at me.  Yep I can just picture it in my mind and the bishop looking down at this family and thinking what on earth is wrong with them!  Haha it was really fun FHE.

I find that dinner each night is also a game.  You are not really sure what you are going to eat and you just hope it is good.  I really like most everything I am fed.  One of the investigators told me that I am a real mexicana because I like spicy food.  We are having dinner with them tomorrow and she is planning on making spicy food, so hopefully I can live up to my reputation of liking spicy foods!  Ha and to think I used to make you leave me out plain taco meat because I thought it was too spicy.  Que divertido!  I probably will have to buy big cans of chili when I get home because everything will be bland without my spice!

With all the fun things that happen during the week, I never forget the real reason I am out here.  I know that this is the Lord's work because there has been little instance after little instance where the spirit has directed Hermana Cruz and me in our day to day activities.  Just last night we had two of our plans fall through, so we were both pondering on who we should visit and we both thought of the same person's name.  We ended up having a great visit and her boyfriend who is not a member was there, so we were able to introduce him to the church and the book of mormon.  It's little things like this that let me know that we really are being inspired by the spirit of the Lord.  I can't describe enough what a great blessing serving a mission is.  Sometimes it seems like nothing is working and then all of the sudden we have a great lesson or find a new investigator.  There is nothing like feeling the spirit testify of the truthfulness of this message to those that we meet and each everyday.  I hope everyone has a great week.

Con Amor,
Hermana Klaus

I am so excited to hear where Katy Vance is going on her mission!  You will never regret the decision to serve a mission!