Tucanos and DST

First off, Mom thank you so much for my boots and coats! I love them! :) And Gram, I know you did some work on my cute gray coat. I love the new buttons.

The "Bosque" by the Rio Grande.  Trees are turning yellow and it's incredible.

 

This week was another great week. Kind of a sad thing happened though. Our ward mission leader, Hermano Silva, had a heart attack. He is not doing well...and he is very young. We are super worried. The ward is being super supportive though and there are a lot of prayers going out to him. Life is so fragile. It’s just a good reminder of that.

Do you remember how earlier in the summer we had major issues with the apartment...like sewage stuff coming out of the shower and air conditioning not working? Well, little did we know, the manager has been trying to get a hold of us to give us a gift card for all the trouble. Our phone number hasn't been correct in their system, so the other day when we were in the office, she gave it to us....50 bucks!  Sister Gubeli and I looked at each other and said, “Tucanos!”  Next week is Edna's birthday and we are going to go to lunch with her! How fun, huh?

We actually had dinner with that Edna last night. We requested breakfast for dinner! :) That's what we always do at home, so it was really good. She came out with us and it seemed like NO ONE was home again. I feel like Sunday night would be a good night to find people at home, but apparently not.

The Bishop's baby- they call him Gordo because he is so fat and adorable!

 

On Tuesday we had exchanges and I went to a single’s branch. I had so much fun with Sister Morris. She is my twin. We have the same ideas about everything. I love that girl. We taught the sweetest girl with cerebral palsy, made me think of cousin Britt. She is super smart and sweet! Then for dinner we were treated with Chilis! I love that place! It was super windy and cold though, but fun to work in a single's branch for the day.

This week we decided to do language study with members...boy was that a good idea! I wish we did that every day. It is so helpful to be able to ask for help with pronunciation as well as some things that I feel like you can't learn in books. Hermana Sanchez and her sister in law Hermana Banderas helped us out. They will definitely be a family I want you to meet when we come back. We see them probably every day!

Well daylight savings was a nice little surprise! Since we got that extra hour, I decided to go to bed RIGHT after planning.  I ended up getting 10 hours of sleep and could still call myself a consecrated missionary. :) That was SOOO needed.

We had a lesson with Marta this week! It went really well.  We didn't see her again after that, so I will update you next week on what happens with her. Now, Soledad...she is just the golden investigator. We have hardly had to do anything. On Sunday she came to church in the cutest hat and started talking to EVERYONE. After testimony meeting, I was trying to help Maria and Refugio and couldn't see Soledad and started freaking out thinking that she had left or something.  Oh no, she was talking to the Bishop, who she adores! She was adding comments in the classes and everything. I am so grateful for that sweet woman. Earlier in the week when I was gone on exchanges, my comp took Carmen (the sweet lady who can't walk well because of a car accident) to visit Soledad. They are now best friends! On Tuesday we went by with her and she didn't have her teeth in, it was the cutest thing ever. She does NOT act like she is 73!

This Sunday was such an improvement for getting investigators to church. We have been having such a hard time getting more than one or two and this week we had four. AND it was the perfect testimony meeting for them to visit.

Maria and Navalyn- this baby has to have the most hair I have every seen on a newborn.

 

On Halloween night, one of the SWEETEST women in the ward fed us. She has never fed the missionaries. She always gives them money because she is deaf and has a tiny house, but I guess she kind of likes us! :) She was adorable. It broke my heart thinking about how lonely she must be there though. She has worked in the temple for 10 years and is a convert. I love testimonies from people like her.

My testimony is growing stronger and stronger every day. I am learning how to rely on the Lord like never before. The experiences I am gaining here are incredibly life-changing and I will never be the same. Love you all!