April 25th 2011

WOW! Crazy awesome week!!!!! How are YOU??? I was wondering when all these cool mission experiences you hear about would happen to me! It all started with this transfer! YAHOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Sister Cockrell and I had a great time, but this transfer we kicked it into HIGH gear!!!!!!!!! Transfer phone calls are this Saturday! I hope I am staying in my area!!!! I LOVE THE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!! The family ward out here is spectacular! They are my favorite families on earth!!!!!!!!! On Easter Sunday I went around at church and just gave so many people hugs and handshakes! It was an AWESOME EASTER! I love my family out here! LOVE THEM! You couldn't ask for a better ward to serve in! They are SO united!!! SO dedicated! I am creating special friendships with each one of them! They love me to, and so many mothers gave me hugs and kisses on the cheek. It wasn't a quick "happy Easter." When I hugged them and they hugged me, it was a deep "thank you for always being there for me...." it went two ways because of the things the families face, we are always there for them! ug ! I LOVE BEING A MISSSSSIONNNARRYYYY! Don't let me die! Don't let me leave! I want to be here in heaven for life!!!!!!!!! WHAT???? Las Vegas = Heaven???? kill me, I never thought I would say that! wow....Here is a little about this week:

Got to go to an appointment in the real hood, close to the strip....it happens every now and then. We live 6.7 miles from the strip, so basically, every mile you get closer to the strip, its more ghetto. Real ghetto. I LOVE it! Anyways, its always exciting here in Las Vegas! Its VERY hard core though....as missionaries, we aren't just battling small little tasks and walking from hut to hut.... we are literally lifting people up and helping people battle and face Satan's greatest temptations. You know what I mean. EVERYTHING. I will have more to email about this later as I do a re-cap of this area I have been serving in.....We do live in a safer area btw. It looks just like a friendly neighborhood! :) To bad people come straight home from work and pull into their garages and you never see them! That's why we go tracting in the evenings when people are out.

Time is flying SO fast!!! I'm sorry to continue this, but I just DON'T want my mission to end! Everyone keeps saying to soak it up, because once you are released from this great calling, and they ask you to take your name tag off, you feel different. A mantle is taken off of you. I don't want that to happen. As a LDS missionary you have the Savior even closer to you. His words are always coming through your voice; he always prompts you to go places and to talk to certain people. His holy ghost is more readily available to you...so I cry when I think the day will come that I will no longer bear the name of my savior on my chest (my nametag). Of course, you can and always should be a missionary for life. So that is good!!!!!!

I do love my savior SOOOO much! He is so good to me! I wrote my testimony of my Savior on Easter Morning.!!!! He is risen, he is risen!!!!! I love my savior and I will only do his will. I just wish you could come with me to the lessons I get to be at. I just wish you could see our investigators tears fall from their face as the Holy Ghost is testifying to their hearts the truthfulness of the gospel. Other churches have great truths, but the Church of Jesus Christ has the full truth. It has the priesthood and is run by the Savior through his Prophets and Apostles. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Let me go to the Father now, I am just filled with joy, full of great thanksgiving..... See how a mission changes you? I would have never been this Christ centered if I was just editing pictures in Photoshop. I live for my Savior; I yearn to feel his Spirit, I long to reflect his love. I hope you do to.

MY COMPANIONS:

Sister Walker: is 25 and is 1 semester away from getting her bachelors in Biology!!! She went to BYU Idaho and is super loving and smart! Its funny training people older then you! :) Sister Walker is number 6 of 10 children! Get this....she DOESN'T"T USE THE MICROWAVE either!!!!!!! We cook together and put cayenne pepper on anything we can lol! We have competitions! She is shorter then me, very sweet, says it like it is, and kicks butt at bearing her testimony. She is so fun!

Sister Clevenger: is almost 22, went to BYU Idaho (even had a class with Emily!) and wants to work with children cancer patients. :) She is soo fun! She is taller then me, dirt bikes, is a tom boy, but has a divine solid testimony of her savior. I thought I wouldn't be so much reminded of Eric out here, but she reminds me of him! Miss you brother!!! I try beating her up...ha-ha ! Pushing her around and wrestling. But she always beats me. Well we haven't wrestled yet. but I know she would take me down. For now I just scare her. ! Not. Anyways we are ALWAYS picking on each other. It’s hilarious!!!!!!!!! We always joke around that Sister Walker is the mom of the trio lol! She has to break up our fights! (JK they aren't fights)...it’s a fun relationship!!!!

I LOVE my companeros!!!!

We had 14 lessons this week but I KNOW we will have 20 next week!!!!!!!!! (3 people had to reschedule for next week anyways)...so next week will be busy! We are SO tired though!!! Today we went shopping and I bought fresh bananas, coconut milk, and tp, and distilled water. $3 left!!!! YAY!!!!!!!! We always get so much food though, so we are WELL taken care of. DO NOT send me money! I do not need it! Plus missions teach you how to budget! This is sooo good for me! I am turning into an elder though! ha-ha!!!!! cheap cheap! My elder buddies and I get along so well! I do love to joke around...you know how it is! :) :) gotta have fun! Keep it real! Keep it fresh! You have to be serious, and fun on a mission! :)

I received revelation that the second coming is coming tomorrow. Just kidding. I just want to make sure you are paying attention!


I do need stamps and journals though! If anyone has any extra! :)

AWKWARD hilarious moments: We knocked on the door we thought was our dinner appointment, but 2 new fresh faces and a white dog appeared at the door and so we just acted like we where tracting! ha-ha MY fault! My comps are like "soooo I guess that wasn't our dinner app?? lol!" also we where shopping at the dollar store last Monday and I contacted someone in Spanish!!!! It rocked! But she said "no hablo engles" aka "I don't speak English"... I was speaking Spanish crazy lady! Ha-ha I hope so at least. oh well, heavenly father has blessed me with many friends who speak Espanola out here...so I am practicing! Eric and I will talk in Spanish to each other in front of you mu hahahaaa!! I am keeping all of these stories down in a journal...so you will have to borrow them when I get home and read them for a good laugh! :) Another AWKWARD moment, we where teaching a lesson with the elders and the investigator asked if you had to be a virgin to serve a mission...ha-ha! Good thing a church member was with us to answer! :) You have to be worthy...etc. ... so that was hilarious. And the same night we went to make copies of paperwork at a church building and we totally wedding crashed on a reception! We went to hide in the bathroom, and of course, because missions are filled with all those precious, funny, awkward moments, the bride was in there! HA-HA! Missions...gotta serve one!!!! Hilarious, extremely hard, extremely joyful...extremely everything!!!

Debbie is doing excellent! Everyone is actually! The new investigator from our singles ward we had we set with a date!!!!!!!! May 14th! We had to pass him off to the elders in the red rock zone, because that's where he lives! Oh well, it was fun teaching him while it lasted!

There are about 7 church buildings all within 5x5 miles of each other around where I live and 2-3 wards meet at each of them. There's just nothing better then serving a mission! Although they are extremely demanding and put your faith to the test (test you of how much faith you are willing to put in the lord to direct you), they are amazing! We are reactivating an Indian family....(not Muslim- Indian like, regular Indians.....), and its awesome they rock! They said at our last lesson with them that they hadn't felt that good since the missionaries where with them over a year ago! There where many precious tears shed....its amazing how missionaries change your life! They just have a positive influence on you...I've felt that from all the kick awesome missionaries who have served in Wisconsin!!! Its just such an honor to serve a mission. To be the hands of the lord. If we are exactly obedient, the lord uses us to the fullest. Everyone remembers and says "when the missionaries knocked on our door...." or "when the missionaries did this...." It’s so awesome being one of those missionaries and making all these eternal friendships!!!!!!!!!! I hope you read the email I last sent...that one was good.

For Easter we had dinner with a wonderful family and they even had an Easter egg hunt for us! aww!! So fun...

YOU ALL ROCKKKKKKKKKK

Be good! Be great! LOVEEEEEEEE UUUUUUUUU"