Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Week 32 - with Picture

Buenos Dias Familia!

Ok yep, I can't believe it's June!  I feel like I just said I can't believe it's May and now it's Junio!  All of the kids down here in El Paso are going loco with it being the last week of school.  How is Kara holding up these last few days of school?  Yep it's officially super hot down here en El Paso.  We have been very spoiled these past two weeks because we have been in the truck...the nice, air-conditioned beautiful truck.  Somewhere in those two weeks El Paso decided to go all desert on us and jump into the 100's, so now we are out of bike shape and scared for triple digits, but what is the bright spot?  That would be we can eat ice cream again.  Yay!  For our first day on bikes we had a sort of storm yesterday.  We were riding our bikes and you could see this wall of dirt blowing north so we had to brace ourselves when the wind hit us.  It wasn't horrible, but it hurts when dust gets in your eyes.  We loved when it sprinkled.  I think they would call it rain, but coming from Washington, 5 minutes of slight water dropping just doesn't count as rain.  However, it was nice to smell "rain" again.

This week was really busy and full.  We also went on exchanges this week.  It felt a little odd being back in Rio Grande for the day.  I saw some of my old investigators and there were some pretty surprised faces as they saw me at their doorstop.  I really like exchanges because you can learn so much from watching how different missionaries work.  I learned some good things and it inspired me to work harder to be a better missionary.

It wouldn't be a complete week in the mission field if I didn't have some kind of adventure.  This week is the phone book adventure.  Several times during this transfer we have needed, or it would have been nice to have, a phone book.  Then this week we saw them being delivered to different houses.  It was driving me bonkers seeing so many phone books on doorsteps or hanging on fences knowing that hardly anyone uses phone books anymore - except poor missionaries who don't have smart phones or access to google!  So then we turned it into a game for scoping out which houses looked empty or the phone book had been out for a few days so obviously the person didn't care about it.  We started planning on how we could sneak around the killer watch dogs so we could take a peek at the yellow pages!  We actually did need the yellow pages and we saw one on a fence of a senior center that was chained shut - maybe for the day or longer....anyway we borrowed the yellow pages and then put it back but I am sure to passing cars two girls wearing skirts happily looking in a phone book was quite a sight to see.  Then oh little blessings that make you so happy... we came home one night and what was sitting on our doorstep? I am sure packaged with loving care into a little blue bag just for us was our very own phone book!  We did a little jig when we back into the apartment because we were so excited to have our own phone book!  It felt like Christmas had come early.   Yep it's the little things in life. :)

So I am really happy right now because yesterday we helped make the Sunday dinner and I learned how to make tacos!  I didn't really like Taco Bell that much before, but I don't think I can ever justify eating there again.  It comes nothing close to the deliciousness of the food that I get down here.  I really enjoyed frying the tacos and one of the sisters said I was a natural Taco fryer!  Yay!  The only thing was it made the kitchen super hot!  So maybe frying tacos will have to be a winter activity, but they are so good I think I will have to persevere through the heat.

We are teaching some really wonderful people right now.  We set a baptismal date with two girls this week for the end of June.  They are both super cute and they both want to be baptized.  The younger one who is only 11 talks about how she wants to know this is Christ's true church for herself and so she reads and prays about it.  It makes me so happy to see the wisdom of an 11 year old because some of the other people we talk to don't understand that the Lord has given them the way to know whether or not our message is true.  If they know the Lord can answer prayers and they are willing to read and to ask, then we know the Lord will bless them with that confirmation through the Holy Ghost.  The other experience that just filled me with joy was when our investigator Lupe  started testifying to her cousin about the restoration.  She is working on changing her work schedule so she can come to church and as soon as she can start coming to church she wants to be baptized.  It filled me with tingles to hear her testify about prophets and the restoration knowing that just 2 months ago she was being taught those same things for the very first time.  The gospel really does change lives.

In closing we also had a zone conference this past week.  It is the Miller's last Zone Conference so it was very bitter sweet.  It will be so hard to see them go, but I know that they are leaving this mission inspired.  They talked about the glad game of Polly Anna.  Now Sister Mitchell enjoys playing the glad game as well. For those who don't know, the glad game is that no matter the situation you can always find something to be glad about.  For example, we are riding our bikes in 100+ degree weather.  Glad Game: Well at least we don't have to worry about frost bite!  The world is a much better place when we focus on the good and find things to be glad and grateful for.  The other piece of advice that I loved from the Miller's was "Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape!"  What an excellent reminder that we can always choose to act or be acted upon.  I hope everyone chooses to be a little flexible and to look for the good things in life!  Have an excellent week!

Con Mucho Amor,
Hermana Klaus


The Taco Master!

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