Combining Styles

There is one video on youtube that I love. It's from So You Think You Can Dance several seasons ago. One competitor who was trained in ballet had the challenge of a Hip-hop routine, and it was really hard for him to change styles, because the two are so different. In the end, the number incorporated his ballet training with the Hip Hop for an awesome routine.

So this week I wasn't trying to mix ballet and hip hop. Instead, I was mixing English and Spanish.

My area has a Spanish equivalent called Brazos. Brazos has four missionaries assigned to it: a set of Elders and a set of Hermanas. One of the two Hermanas finished her mission this week, leaving the other without a companion. Instead of pairing her with another Hermana, they put her with Hermana Gutierrez and I. Now we are in a trio and working both areas. It's been an adventure, to say the least.

I very much understand how Sister Voyles, from District 2 feels:

"I couldn't talk with these people. I couldn't understand what these people were saying."

Yeah. But I'm learning a lot about patience and that testimony comes in any language.

Other events of this week include:

-The Butterfly Garden in Houston. That was amazing. It's this giant (HUMID) dome with probably 50 different kinds of butterflies. It also has an exploration exhibit with different kinds of bugs. Extremely disgusting, but cool. We also went to the Galleria, which is this HUGE mall. Seriously, it had an ice rink IN it.

-The Departing Temple Trip for Hermana Gutierrez. I went on exchanges during this and ended up training for the day.

- Helping a less active member try to stop smoking

-Preparing J for her upcoming baptism this weekend (Dec 27).

- Me wondering why there is no snow in Texas when it is SO STINKIN COLD. But loving wearing my boots  :)

Yeah. I'm excited for Christmas this week. The mission has a conference planned for tomorrow including a movie and presents. I'm also excited to spend the time with members.

I hope everyone has a good Christmas, and remembers Christ throughout this time. I am so grateful for my Savior and the sacrifice that he made to Atone for me.

Splits

Something monumental happened this week. I got my left splits. Again. It's really hard to stretch like that. It takes dedicated and frequent work. But the joy I got from managing my splits made me so happy. Now the only struggle is to maintain them. I've managed my spits many times throughout my dance career and always loose them. I've decided: no more.

Oddly, this week has been a lot like working to get splits. Hard work, a little painful, lingering soreness. But there was also a lot of joy in the accomplishment.

This has been another super busy week. That's the hard work. There have been more back to back appointment days, and many visits to members, less actives, investigators and referrals. We're working with some awesome people. We've also had the opportunity to go to the Relief Society Dinner and Ward Christmas party. Those were incredible experiences also. 

I really dislike exchanges. For me, that was the painful part. I went up to Richmond this time, and spent the day with a newly arrived Temple Square Sister. Literally, she arrived the night before the exchange. She didn't know the area and neither did I. We had a fun day driving around and talking to people we didn't know. Really though, it was fun. We met some awesome people and were taught how to crochet. 

Lingering soreness came from sleeping poorly. Which is weird, because I usually crash the moment I'm settled in bed. So I've been a little tired this week. I was also actually sore, from working on my splits and morning exercise. 

But there was so much joy this week. We've met many new individuals who are interesting in learning more, we've had the opportunity to talk with many others and share the He is the Gift initiative. Dillan got the Aaronic Priesthood this week. We've had members reaching out and participating in missionary work.We also had the Christmas Sacrament meeting, full of music and song. It makes me really happy to hear Christmas hymns and carols. And best of all, we had a baptism this week. :D

Meet Rob Gracia, the newest member of Rosenberg Ward :) (Rob is the one by Hermana Gutierrez. I'm next to Brother Montalvo, who baptized him.)

It's been a long road for him - I've been teaching him almost my whole time in Rosenberg. He's overcome a lot of struggles and temptations. But he loves the Gospel and our Savior. He has changed his life and made a sacred covenant. It's wonderful to see the new light that is in him and the Spirit that is with him.

Petite Allegro

Petite Allegro is one of my favorite time of ballet class. That's when we do combinations of small, rapid movements over and over, back to back. They are usually little jumping movements and are utterly exhausting.

So yeah. My week was fast paced, back to back, and exhausting. But it was also wonderful.

Looking back through my planner, 5 of our past 7 days have appointments every hour or half hour. And if an appointment fell through, we ended up doing something else significant that hour. There is so much writing in my planner this week. Ahh! I love it :) 

The two days not completely back to back in appointments were Thursday when we had an amazing zone conference and last Monday, which wasn't scheduled to be super crazy but was anyway.

The easiest way to describe my week is to describe the people who made it so busy. 

R is our biggest priority right now. He's set to get baptized this weekend. We still have to teach him the last two lessons, and have him interviewed by President Ashton. But he's going to make it. This is going to be such a good thing for him. 

T is the girlfriend of a member young man. She's pretty shy, and doesn't talk too much, but she seems pretty interested in the lessons. We're still trying to figure out if she'll come to church on her own when her boyfriend Gilbert goes to Mexico for college. 

J is the sweetest little 9-year old ever! She is so excited to get baptized and loves reading the scriptures. The real ones, not the kid's version. We have to make sure we use scriptures in our lessons because she is always waiting with hers ready. She loves walking us to our car and giving us hugs. The only hold up is her mom who recently went through a divorce and no longer wants to come to our ward. We'll get her there. She knows it's where she needs to be.

Y is a miracle find by the Brazos Elders (Spanish Branch). I wouldn't quite say that she's golden but she's pretty close to that. She questions literally everything because she has this huge thirst for knowledge. She has been reading and marking the Book of Mormon and she absolutely loved church. It was amazing. 

We've also been working with John, a less active, and Dillan and Issac who are our recent converts. 

I'm loving being a missionary. In Zone conference we talked a lot about being consecrated missionaries. That's hard sometimes, to give up our wills and to strive only to do God's. But it makes such a difference when we do that. It's in the little things that this happens. For me, it's choosing not to try to control the situation when it doesn't go the way I want. :) But step by step, I'll get there. I can be consecrated unto my God. My challenge to everyone is to find one thing to work on this week to be more consecrated. 

Love you all!

Packing

I love packing my bags for competitions. Or performances. I always try to do it in advance so I make sure I don't forget anything. There is always so much to think about. Costumes have to be properly packed so they won't wrinkle or tear, and all the accessories have to be with it. All the necessary make-up has to be accounted for, as well as everything needed for hair styling. Of course, all the shoes you'll need have to be packed, and food usually helps. It is hard to make sure everything gets done in so many areas, but taking the time to do it well helps in the long run.

I've been doing a lot of packing this week.

We moved apartments this week. The mission closed the last one (something about not wanting to renew the lease) so we had to pack up our entire apartment. Friday morning, Elder Nelson our housing coordinator brought a big trailer and a set of Elders and we moved to the new apartment. It's a lot nicer, I like it. 

More packing occurred (frantically) Tuesday morning as Sister Thompson packed her bags. Her flight left that afternoon. By the time we dropped her off at the mission office, I had cried more than her. Therefore, pictures are not included. It's been almost a week and I still miss her tons, but life goes on and there is work to be done. 

Packing has taken up a lot of time this week, but this week has still been awesome. So many people to teach, so little time. 

We've really been working with the He is the Gift video initiative. If you haven't seen it, go watch it now. www.christmas.mormon.org It's really spiritually powerful.

The work is moving forward. Miracles abound. We're teaching some wonderful people. The Lord is hastening His work in so many incredible ways. 

Oddly, this week, I just don't have as much to talk about. Hermana Gutierrez and I have been working to find our teaching grove and pool. We had one awesome investigator, but yesterday he decided that he wants to go to the Spanish branch instead, so we had to pass him off to the Hermanas. He'll do well in the Spanish branch.

I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store. Especially during Christmas. Remember that He is the reason for the Season.

Dance Bags

I have never had a bag in my entire life that is more jam packed and crazy than my dance bag. It always had all the shoes I needed for dance (usually at least three pairs) plus snacks, extra bobby pins, tights, band-aids and moleskin, hair ties and street clothes. It was always disorganized and messy.

This week kinda felt like that.

This week was transfers. I am back in Rosenberg, and I'm in a trio right now. Sister Thompson and I are still together until tomorrow (Sis Thompson flies home to Massachusetts tomorrow) and Hermana Gutierrez has joined us. Hermana Gutierrez will be staying with me after Sister Thompson leaves. 

So transfer day we had Hermana Guiterrez's stuff and my stuff from the emergency transfer. We also got an air mattress for the week we needed three beds. It didn't all fit in the car. It's so crazy. It doesn't really fit in the apartment either. But it's so much fun. It feels like a sleepover.

Anyway, I'm super excited to be with Hermana Gutierrez now. She was my first ever exchange companion, and now we're together until the end of the transfer. (Yeah, I'm killing her and Sister Thompson. Two in a row in the same transfer.) As you probably inferred, Hermana Gutierrez was called Spanish but is now English. She is exactly what the area needs and I'm so happy she's here.

The rest of this week has been insane. I have never been so busy and I have never enjoyed it more. Some of the things we've had this week include: young women's in excellence, creating a master ward list, making Cinnamon rolls and other bread confections, eating two dinners one night, a last minute trip to Leadership meeting, crazy amounts of teaching and an even crazier amount of miracles. 

Wait, there was one other thing that happened...

Baptism :)

Meet Dillan, the newest member of the Rosenberg ward. It's been a long ride getting him here, but I know that his life has changed and that he is a new person now. Baptism is such a miracle. It's like me trying to clean my dance bag. It's easiest just to dump it out and start over. That's what the Savior offers. A new start. 

Substitution

Some of the most fun experiences I've had as a dancer were substituting for another dancer in a different dance or cast. The challenge of learning an additional number or a spot different from your own is exciting and hard, especially when you are on a time limit. You grow exponentially as a dancer from this experience.

I've been having the same experience this past week, but I've been growing as a missionary. Honestly, it's been a bit of a hard week, but I have truly been learning so much about who I am and what the Lord wants from me.

I'll start with the biggest news of the week. I was emergency transferred a few days ago. I'm now in Memorial until transfers on Wednesday. Then I'll be back in Rosenberg for the foreseeable future. Probably at least another transfer since I'm talking over the area. But right now, I'm in Memorial, with Sister Campbell, one of my MTC companions. I found out Thursday night and I left Friday morning. It's a really long story as to how I got here, and it really has nothing to do with me. But basically, I'm here substituting for a Sister who just couldn't handle it anymore. 

The rest of my week has been pretty normal. Ha, not.

In District Meeting on Tuesday, Elder Jones (our beloved AP) challenged Sister Thompson and I personally to baptize our investigator R this weekend because he has been coming to church for two months and President said that every zone could baptize this weekend. We honestly tried our best. But we found out R has more commandment issues than we thought, and then we thought that D, who was supposed to be baptized last weekend, was more ready than R, but he had work conflicts. So the ward is basically mad at us now and we didn't try for a baptism. In the end, it was actually a good thing.

We also had a Relief Society activity this week. We made candle holders. An hour and lots of glitter later, don't they look awesome? It was also great because lots of Less Actives always come to the activities.

Oddly, this week seems like it has been so crazy, but not that much actually happened other than working with people. I now have a double dose of people going on as well, since I have the Memorial investigators, too. Oh, speaking of dose, that's why my week has felt so crazy. I've been sick this week. The weather went from normal Texas hot to crazy Texas cold, and I caught a cold in the process. Yeah.

I'll just tell you about people really quick.

D should be getting baptized this weekend. He's so ready and he's so excited. Pray that nothing crazy happens to get in the way.

R will need a little more time. He's having a hard time committing to obey the commandments because he is scared of breaking them. So he won't promise to keep them. Pray that he will be willing to commit to keep the commandments.

Yeah, that's really all I've got.

I guess I've just been learning that the Lord's plan often does not agree with what you had in mind. It takes a lot of faith to do what he wants you to do, but there is always a lesson you need to learn, or someone you need to help. I'm still trying to make sure I learn everything I am supposed to learn, and help everyone I'm meant to.

Wow. That was all over the place. Oh well.

Calamity

In ballets, nothing is happy dandy the whole time. In order for any plot to be interesting, there has to be a conflict to resolve. Sometimes it is a minor conflict, where something stupid happens and there is a funny resolution. And sometimes, there is a calamity and everything falls apart for a time. These are the best ballets, in my opinion. There are more pieces to put together and more ways the characters can develop.

Things fell apart a little at the start of this week. But I have grown so much from putting the pieces back together and learning about myself and how to be a good missionary.

There was no baptism this weekend. We got a phone call Tuesday morning from D, our investigator. The short story is that he is not ready yet. We're hoping he can make it to either this weekend or the next, but we don't know yet. He is so determined though, it's amazing. He wants to start over so bad that he is basically overhauling his life to do it. Please pray for him. 

This week improved at we put pieces back together. We found two new investigators this week: D&Q who are awesome. We visited many less actives and members. And we got so many member referrals. Those are my favorite, because these individuals already have a foundation in the gospel: their friend the member. I'm so excited that the members trust me enough to share their friends and family with me.

The best example is a cul-de-sac out in the country. Two members live in there: the Banners and the Copes. They each referred us to a family in the circle. They also invited us to a neighborhood barbecue next week so we can interact with them. Whaat?? Awesome.

We also got to be part of the Pinewood Derby this weekend for the scouts. It's sad, but this was actually my first one, despite having a younger brother. I really regret not going to any of his, because it was so much fun. I got to be a judge, and help determine which cars crossed the finish first. It was such a fun evening :)

We also got to be part of ward choir this week. I love hearing the ward's talents and feel the unity of trying to figure out difficult songs. It was fun.

But the best part, the very best part of the week can be summed up in one word. TEMPLE!!! 

Yes, I got to go again. But this time, we went as a mission. Yeah. This was such an awesome experience, more so than usual. We got to a) see the newest new movie, b) have our mission president and his wife as well as the Temple President and Matron be part of the session and c) go to the training room after and be taught by the Presidents (temple and mission). I came out of there completely edified. One of the things that I learned that I want to share is that we often hold ourselves back from becoming who we really are. We were somebody incredible before we came to earth. We have forgotten who we are for a time. But we allow self doubts and fear and sometimes sin to keep us from our potential. But Christ overcame all that, and he helps us, if we let him. He will pick up the broken pieces and put them back together in ways we could never imagine. 

Nutcracker rehearsals

When preparing for the Nutcracker, everything starts before the Holidays even begin. Auditions are typically in September. Rehearsals start shortly after that. But by the time performing starts in December, it is quite possible to be entirely sick of it.

The defining event of my week was the Holidays really starting before the holidays arrived. This event has come to be known as Hallowgivemas. We took the Hallow out of Halloween, the give out of Thanksgiving and mas out of Christmas. We did this because we listened to Christmas music while eating Thanksgiving dinner on Halloween night. No, I'm not joking. That really did happen. It was so much fun.

I really don't have that much else to report on. It's only been 4 days since my last p-day. We've just been teaching people and working the the members.

 Oh, here's something:

Saturday morning we went to a nature park with the Beehives in the ward. They did team building activities. There were only three of ten there though, so it didn't work as well as we wanted. But it was so much fun. I learned how to make tortillas at breakfast after at a member's home. Conclusion. If I want to be good at making tortillas, I need shorter counter tops, or at least a stool to stand on.

We also had zone meeting this week. It was incredible as always. After the meeting, one Elder challenged our zone to eat Scorpion Peppers. It was a dumb thing to do. One sister was crying for nearly 10 minutes. Our zone is crazy.

I'll just talk about our investigators really quick.

D is doing awesome. His baptism is on Saturday. There have been so many challenges thrown at him, but he just wants to get baptized and start his life over. He is so excited for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Please pray for him.

And R just accepted a baptism date for Nov 29. He is going to have to work hard to get there, but he can do it. He just needs to give up smoking and drinking. Its hard for him, because he's going blind. His vision is tunneling and it really concerns him. But he is so excited to learn.

That's all I have for this week. I love you all! Remember that you are agents and have the power to choose.

Instructors

Instructors in dance are extremely crucial. They are the ones who communicate what is proper movement and educate in safe execution. They are the creative force behind performances and they help you fulfill your potential. Instructors are held in the highest respect. 

Sometimes in life, we have incredible teachers and instructors. Sometimes we wish they could be better. Sometimes we are the teachers. Whatever the situation may be, we have the opportunity to learn.

Missionaries both teach and learn and everything else in between. It's great :)

FHE Halloween 

This week we had another youth FHE. That was so much fun. We want to do activities that will keep them engaged and still encourage spiritual learning. This time we recreated Lehi's Dream of the Tree of Life in an apartment complex. Yeah. That was super fun. The kids were blindfolded, and it was dark outside. One youth was the Holy Ghost. He had to lead the others to the rod of iron (blue yarn) and help them move along it despite the dangers (mildly sloping hill, wrong pieces of yarn, and temptations of others) and storms (spray bottles and cardboard fans). It was so much fun. The youth came away realizing how hard life can be sometimes and how easy it is to get lost.

There was a Ward Halloween Party this last weekend. They had a trick-or-treat for the kids and a chili cook off.  We had the opportunity to decorate a door for the trick-or-treat (classroom door in the church building). We, being missionaries, made ours gospel themed. We put pictures of different prophets on the door. For the kids to get a piece of candy, they had to name a prophet. I didn't think it was that hard. I forgot that that the ward primary is 30% Senior, 70% Junior. And the majority of the junior primary kids are under 5. They knew Joesph Smith and Jesus Christ. It was so fun.

Houston Temple

We also got a new Ward Mission Leader this week. We found out on Sunday. He's a recent move-in from California. He is awesome. We met with him last night, to dicuss the work: how the ward is, what works, what doesn't, what we as missionaries want/need from the ward, where we want them to be. Stuff like that. I am seriously so grateful for Brother Riddle. He is going to be an awesome ward mission leader.

Something else happened happened this week. It was super awesome.. what happened...? Oh yeah. I went to the temple this morning. I seriously love the temple. Seriously. Love. Ahh. Yeah. Just go to the temple as much as you can. Take the time to be a missionary for the dead and do their work. Feel their spirits and their gratitude. Let the Lord teach you.

Finale

The end of a big performance is always bittersweet. You are sad it is over, but it is your opportunity to revel in what has been accomplished and to reflect on what you have learned. 

I've been learning that a baptism is like that. Except there is no bitterness in a baptism. But you can reflect on the journey of the individual and how they have come closer to Christ.

So we had a baptism on Wednesday! Yay! That was such a crazy day. No joke. That was actually our P-day and we spent most of it on last minute details for the baptism. Like cupcakes and filling the font.

But it was all worth it. Say hello to the newest member of the Rosenberg Ward. This is Nate. He's nine and he is so excited to be a member of the church. It has been an incredible journey getting him here and we are now so excited for him. It's going to be awesome.

Our week was a little boring after that. Not really, there just is very little to talk about 

I can talk about this cool experience though. We were having dinner and a lesson with the Sayer family. They moved here from Utah about a year ago and have really put in the effort to get to know their neighbors. We were sharing the Work of Salvation video with them for our spiritual thought, and immediately after, they started putting it into practice. They introduced us to the mother of a son's friend who came to drop off the son, and all the friends of their daughter Hannah. We met probably ten new people that night. It was super cool.

It was so nice for me to come to church. I haven't had actual church for the last two weeks because of General and Stake Conference. It meant so much to be able to come and take the Sacrament again. I've been learning a lot about the Sacrament lately, and especially how to make it an experience where we can be sanctified as we repent. It is such a direct and powerful symbol of the atonement of Christ. I love taking the Sacrament if only because of what it represents and how it can affect my life.

So I'll just quickly give updates on those we are teaching.

D is doing awesome. He's almost all of the way through the lessons and working towards baptism. Nov. 1. Please pray for him. We taught him the repentance process and most of the big commandments (chastity, word of wisdom), and he is trying to change his life. But I know he can do it, cause he's awesome. 

John (is a member) and he is doing so well with becoming active. He was so comfortable at church this past week. I was so happy to see him happy. He is now scheming with us on how to get his 14 year old niece up to get her to church.

It is so fun being a missionary. I really, truly love it. It is hard work true, but anything in life is. But that hard work always pays off. In sports, you score or reach a goal. In performing, you take a bow. In the gospel, you obtain eternal life. We just have to work towards that finale. 

Master Class

Note from mom: When she didn't write on Monday, we wondered if she had been transferred. We were relieved to hear from her on Wednesday....glad she and her companion were still together!

In dance, some of the greatest opportunities are to take classes from the masters. Thanks to dance competitions, I have had the opportunity to attend three, all with So You Think You Can Dance finalists. I have never learned more about dance in such a short period of time than I did with them. It was astounding. 

This week involved a lot of master class experiences.

To start off, we had transfers again. I'm staying put in Rosenberg, and so is Sister Thompson. She's going to die here, it's official, and I'm so glad that I get to stay with her until the end. It's going to be hard to send her home, but we've grown so close that it's worth it.

I also got to help out with an FHE efy this Thursday. We're trying to help an almost-investigator make friends that will invite her to come to church. This week we learned about temples and made them out of Sugar Cubes. How awesome are they?? The youth had so much fun. :)

Now onto the Master Classes. This weekend was Stake Conference. Oh my goodness, I learned so much. And I don't even have my notebook to tell you all the best stuff, but the themes for the conference were missionary work, family history and conversion. I am so grateful for all of the speakers and the Spirit that was there.

Can anything get better than Stake Conference? For a missionary it can. We had Elder Schwitzer of the 70 touring our mission.  We had the opportunity to have zone conference and receive training from President and Sister Ashton, and Elder and Sister Schwitzer. That was a truly incredible experience. On thing that I loved was that Elder Schwitzer directed us to only write down what the Spirit impressed upon our hearts. That was a good thing to tell me, because I have a tendency to write large plates. 

We were given instruction on extending baptismal invitations, testifying of Christ, our ability to be tough and go to work, and burying our weapons of rebellion. I want to briefly talk about the last one. This phrase comes from Alma 23:7. https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/23?lang=eng . Did you read it? I've been thinking a lot about weapons of rebellion. Not literal weapons, but the things that we do that keep us away from God. Maybe our attitudes. Maybe we justify a certain sin. I've been able to identify several weapons of rebellion that I have yet to bury in the earth. I would like to challenge each of you to identify one weapon of rebellion and strive to release it. I've already seen such a difference in my life from doing that.

Quick update on investigators:

D is progressing so well. He wants to move his baptismal date closer, even though he's only had three lessons. There is no way we can make that happen though unless we meet every day. And that can't happen because he isn't comfortable with members coming. Pray that he has a change of heart. We still have to teach all the commandments too. He's breaking a lot of them. But he has such great desires to be baptized, I know he can do it.

Nate is getting baptized tonight!!! I'm so excited, this is going to bless his life so much. I'll send pictures next time.

I love you all! Thank you so much for your support! I hope you are all planning to go see Meet the Mormons!

Presentation

In dance, presentation is key. Lines, shape and aesthetics are so important and are often the reason we have to practice something again. So much is determined by how we present it: mood, skill, story and authenticity. A slight head twist or bent wrist can have huge repercussions, and every measure is taken to ensure that the presentation is perfect. 

That's what I've really been learning about this week. The way things are presented can change so much. So little can affect so much, and we have consider carefully how words and actions affect presentation, for the better or worse.

This all started on Tuesday with Zone Meeting.  It's not really zone meeting that I want to talk about though. It was our super unusual activity after that I loved so much. We got to watch Meet the Mormons!!!What??? Yep. 

I give unto all a commandment, right now. Whatever you do, You had better go watch that movie on October 10th. I don't care what it takes, go see it. It is such and incredible movie! Oh my goodness. You will laugh and cry and love it so much. The Spirit is so strong and it is awesome. Invite non-members to see it too. It presents Mormons in a different way than a lot of the world perceives us. They understand that we are normal and that we love Christ. I love how it presents us.

So the rest of my week was unusual too. Our Stake has a booth at the Fort Bend County Fair. This booth was focused on Family History work. Members of the Stake took turns manning it, and they gave the missionaries of my District the opportunity to participate. I have never, in my life, had more fun doing family history work. We had a big tv/computer hookup so that we could help people use familysearch.org in real time to look for their ancestors. It was so incredible to watch the joy that came into people's faces as the Spirit of Elijah began to work in them and their hearts turned to their fathers. Few people took Restoration pamphlets or church material, but so many had their lives positively influenced by this experience. I'm so grateful I got to be part of this. 

I'll give an update on investigators before talking about Conference.

N has been progressing well. We've had to push his date back, but things are back on track. His mom, Cindi is starting to see things looking better. Work is improving, but she is still struggling and facing difficult times.

D has been having a really hard time with his family not supporting him. He still desperately wants the Gift of the Holy Ghost, but doesn't want to "disappoint" his family by becoming Mormon. Last time we met, he asked if he could just be a "wanna-be Mormon." Umm. No. But he has been reading the Book of Mormon and he watched Conference. We'll be seeing him tonight.

Those are the only two with baptism dates, but we found two new investigators this week, the Ryals family who are part member and Taylor who is the girlfriend of a member. The Diaz family continues to listen to the lessons and John has been going up and down in progression. But all is well in Rosenberg.

Conference was amazing. Everything was presented exactly as I needed to hear it. I just sat there an soaked it all in. I'm so grateful for a living prophet and the apostles. I'm grateful for all they spoke on and their dedication to being righteous servants of the Lord. Most of all, I'm grateful for the revelation that is received by listening and searching. I have never loved conference more than I did this weekend. 

Anyway, presentation is important. Present yourself as a disciple of the Lord. Follow him, face him, hold on with both hands. Be aware of how choices affect this presentation and strive to be your best self.

I love you all!

Backstage

Backstage is crazy. It is the biggest mess I have ever experienced. Everyone is running around trying to get ready on time, helping each other with makeup and costumes and trying to be calm. There is lots of practicing and planning for fast costume changes. But it's also super fun. It is a chance to bond in a new way and to spend time together. It's a way to become closer like you've never experienced before.

My week was like that. Essentially, SERIOUSLY CRAZY. No joke. I say every week is crazy. I have never had a crazier, busier week. 

So there was a big meeting on Thursday for mission leaders, and since Sister Thompson is a leader, she had to go to that. She was also doing a training with anther STL, so they had to meet to plan it. Thankfully, that Hermana is in the Spanish equivalent of our area, so we just met at the church building. We were there for two days for a couple hours each time. But one day at the end of the meeting, the Hermanas went to the bathroom while we left. They called us minutes later saying they had smelled drugs in the building and had freaked out. We called priesthood and went to investigate the building. The building coordinator taught us how to search the building. He knew how because there had been a squatter living in the building years ago and he helped the cops find him. I learned so much that day.

Then we had training for the booth that our stake bought for the County Fair. Those are a big deal in Texas by the way. The booth is all about family history and we had to learn how to use familysearch.com and interest people in family history. I'm super excited now. I've been doing a lot of my own family history.

Then we got to Saturday. I've never had a crazier day. Well, I have, but not on my mission. First we had Super Saturday. That was so much fun. One Less Active brought three non-members, and also had crafts for us to work on. We had a good chat with them while we mod-podged and decorated. Then we stayed after to clean the church because the members in charge that week were also moving that day. 

We next went to help them move. I love when the ward comes together for moving people. There is so much unity and efficiency. And that evening was Women's Conference. I hope everyone (at least the females) has seen that. It was an incredible, spiritual experience. I loved the theme of temples, and of covenant making. And I loved the commandments analogy with the marbles. I'll be using that to teach obedience and commandments in the future.

So I'll just quickly give an update on investigators. D is our most promising investigator. He wants to be baptized so bad, so he can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. He wants that in his life. He's encountered opposition from the only family he was close to though. He wants their support, but he want's to be baptized regardless. The member we had with us was so perfect. She too had opposition from her family and bad family relationships. She and D understand each other, and that's really what he needed. 

The Diaz family (L,N&A) still haven't progressed. But they just had a death in the family, so that's understandable. We've been able to go over and help them feel loved. Right now, that's really what they need.

And we were finally able to get in contact with N and his mom, Cindi. Cindi has been going through huge financial stresses lately. Her job, her car, her rent, everything has just been crashing down on her. It's been super hard. But Heavenly Father knows everything. The lesson we taught was the one we prepared, no joke, two weeks ago. It was on tithing. 

This week was incredible, and crazy. But I love it. Like I said, it's like being backstage. You run around frantic because you feel like you don't have enough time, but you have so much fun doing it, and you bond so much. I've loved this week. 

Fundamentals

In ballet, or any dance form really, the fundamental moves and exercises are building blocks. For a long time, you'll wonder why you have to do them, because you feel they are worthless, but then you'll come to find out that they really prepared you to do some thing awesome and hard. For example, long balances that seem so pointless really help when learning how to turn, so we can turn longer. Cool, huh?

So this week I totally learned that some of the harder and pointless-seeming things I'd been doing for the past few weeks have been preparing Sister Thompson and I for the awesome stuff. 

So we met this guy named D. He was actually a member referral. We've taught him twice now with that member. D is totally awesome. But he has never been to any church, has no idea what scriptures, prophets, prayer or priesthood is, knows nothing about any of the Godhead, but has concluded recently that God does exist. But in those two times we've taught him, he's felt the Spirit to the extent that when we invited him to be baptized, he accepted. We're going to commit him to an actual date tonight, because we had not been planning to invite him to be baptized in that lesson. It was an incredible experience. 

We were planning a youth FHE for H, who is 14, but she ended up being a no show after the FHE had started. But it turns out that the FHE was really for Luke. He's 17 and considering serving a mission. I mean, it also helped the other five youth there, but I really think the experience was for him. We had an awesome interactive lesson on prophets and he answered a lot of the questions. It was so awesome!

And then it was super awesome because yesterday we had a Fireside on Prophets. President Ashton was actually the speaker and he had a super incredible conversation with Luke. He called us after to let us know what they had talked about so we could follow up. Luke would be such an incredible missionary. He just loves the gospel so much. 

And we had a perfect opportunity this week to show a less active and investigator how much we love them. H has just started high school and she is on Color Guard. That's the flag people at football games. Apparently Utah and Texas are even more different than I realized. They wear army uniforms and some of them twirl rifles. It's so weird. So I went to my first Texas football game to support her. It was so crazy. Just...wow.

But I didn't even realize that this whole time, there have been little moments that prepared us for the bigger ones. Talking to Luke about serving, or planning the FHE, teaching tons of little kids to create object lessons for D.. Basically, I'm watching Alma 37:6-7 happen before my very eyes. And just like learning and practicing the basics and dance, the Lord has been preparing without me even realizing it.

Contemporary

Ballet and Contemporary dancing are basically opposites. Ballet is based on set movement with names and rules. It is about lines and form. Contemporary is modern, it doesn't have rules or even conventions. It is whatever you want it to be. The two forms don't see eye to eye, but dancers who challenge themselves, and are able to do both, are stronger.

note from mom:  At least I got this posted a day after her email. I mentioned to her that her readers are hungry for news of her mission, so she has provided!

Ballet in this analogy would be a normal week. We teach, we find people, all that fun stuff.

This week was definitely contemporary.

It was full of new experiences and crazy situations. It was hard, but I got to be creative and challenge myself. And have fun too, that's always a bonus.

Here are some crazy things that happened this week:

1) It was Christmas in September

To start off, I completely forgot about 9/11. No joke, all day I was wondering why the flags were all at half mast. Isn't that so sad? The days don't stay separate anymore, even with a daily planner. It is has been super unusually cold this week. I don't know if it was the rain or what. It has been humid mid-70's all week. Normally that's beautiful weather. I'm so used to burning heat now that I've been wearing sweaters. Double sad

Then Sister Thompson and I were decorating for fall (we have a package of autumn leaves) and somehow that made us feel Christmasy. So we've been listening to Christmas music. Yes, we are very strange people.

2) Tons of out of normal things happened. I'll just list and describe why they were unusual:

- We were given a free meal. That in and of itself isn't so strange. People here love to feed the Sisters. But we went to the Jay Cafe when our dinner appointment cancelled on Tuesday, and they ended up giving us our meal free. Helps when the owners are members I guess.

- A inactive member we've been working with came to church. Sister Thompson has been working with him since April.

- After almost a month of no contact, R showed up at church. He's blind and he walked. That was definitely a miracle!

- There was a Emergency Preparedness fair. I actually learned a ton. They had booths about alternative cooking, hurricane preparedness (Not applicable in UT), and canning. The fire department also came. The kids got to play in the fire truck. If anyone wants info on canning/alternative cooking methods, write to me, I'm sure I can get you the information.

-District Meeting. That wasn't so abnormal, but I gave a study for the first time. I ended up bribing my district with candy. Not really. It was an object lesson, but they still got candy.

-We stayed up almost an hour one night singing sound of music. It was so much fun.

 3) Members randomly and awesomely started being missionaries.

No joke, it is so awesome. If you want to make the missionaries in your area happy, give them referrals! Or go out teaching! 

The young women activity this week was to go find the inactive girls, and they invited us to come along. They made it a point to visit all of them and invite them to come back. They are reaching out and it was so awesome. 

Two different families have started being fellowshippers. They invite our investigators over to their houses for dinner or lessons and be their friends. It helps people progress so much.

One 16 year old boy decided he wants his Jewish Grandmother (who already comes to church and bears her testimony of the truth of the Gospel but won't get baptized because she can't accept Jesus Christ is the Messiah) to have the missionary discussions. She is absolutely ready to get baptized but in the past she was totally against lessons. 

He was sneaky and told her he wanted to practice for his mission on her. It worked. And it was one the best lessons I've had yet. No joke. She is so ready. She knows it's all true, and she knows Jesus is the Christ. She just doesn't want to accept it. Grr. Pray for her please. I know she's ready.

See? Contemporary week. I love it, it was quite an adventure. But missions always are. But in all the craziness, we still have to remember why we are here, to find the pointe. Go look it up. Preach My Gospel pg 1. That's our purpose. It's why I'm here.

Releves

note from mom: sorry this is late, busy week!

Relevés are essential in ballet. They are simply the movement of rising up onto the ball of the foot, or if en pointe, the toes. Most of ballet is done in this elevated position, and therefore, muscles have to be capable of maintaining this position for long periods of time, or getting there repeatedly. So you practice. You practice many in a short period of time, and many drawn out in longer movements. Sometimes they are part of larger movements. But however necessary relevés are, they are boring to practice. Sometimes they are painful or exhausting. But much can be learned from them as you endure and learn to enjoy.

Basically, this week was like Relevés. Boring and difficult. Well, no, not really. Nothing is boring in the life of a missionary. There has been lots going on and tons of crazy little stories. But nothing big and monumental.

Actually, zone meeting was pretty big. I love zone meeting. I love my zone. The Vietnamese Elders were on a sugar rush or something, because they could not focus very well. They were so funny to listen to. And we had a ton of missionaries fresh out of the MTC. I remember so well how they must have been feeling. They handled it well though. Zone meeting is like the fun relevés that are part of turn sequences or arabesques.

We've been having a hard time finding this week. Those are some of the hard relevés. I'm still not very comfortable OYM-ing. It takes a lot of effort for me to ask inspired questions. 

I've also been eaten alive this past week. Mosquitoes love me, and I don't love them. Those are one legged relevés. Those hurt. My legs itch. Each bite swells up to at least quarter size. Welcome to Texas. I'm gaining a lot of self control.

There have been so many miracles this week though. Don't get me wrong. Even if a week has been boring or hard, it is never bad. There is never any reason to hate relevés, because there are always results. The Lord is blessing this work. We are saving souls. The field is white, already to harvest. I'm not kidding, it really is. 

Act II

Acts are super important in Ballets. Every Ballet has at least two acts. They keep the plot progressing, but the change of acts allows for change in time periods, scenery and if necessary, cast. Acts are so important because they also help keep the audience interested. It makes the time fluid and logical.

A mission is also comprised of acts. They happen every six weeks and are called transfers. The things about acts in a ballet is that they are the opportunity for change, but changes may not always happen. Transfers don't always change either. This time, there was no change, EXCEPT that I am now companions with a Senior Sister Training Leader. Sister Thompson spends a lot of time on the phone now. But that's ok.

I don't know what it was about the new transfer, but so much happened. Quickly, I'll summarize all that has happened.

Spiritual lessons: the Diaz family has been progressing so much! All because of a family who invites them over for lessons where they can actually feel the Spirit. The dynamics of that family are changing so much! Friday night into Saturday, Sister Thompson and I received a commitment from our ZL to pray about a former investigator getting baptized the next day. 2 hour prayer. Well, no not really. But the several prayers and discussions took 2 hours total. The answer we got: NO. But that's ok. It built our faith and helped us bond.

Trust in the Lord: Our toilet overflowed. Seriously overflowed. Like, the entire floor was covered. I didn't know that instructions on how to fix a toilet could come through prayer, but it did. I guess if Nephi can be told how to build a boat, instructions to flush and plunge are pretty simple. 

So yeah. This is the start of Act II of my mission. I don't know where the plot will go yet, but I'm excited to see.

Dance Studio

Time spent in a dance studio is among the most precious for a dancer. It isn't a performance where every move must be exact and crucial. It is a place of learning and practice. The space is built for the purpose of learning. The barre allows for practice of new or unfamiliar technique with added balance. You lightly rest your hand on it as you work. The mirror allows you to see yourself, to reflect on the form and skill you possess. You see things as they really are and have the opportunity to correct them as necessary.

The crowning feature of this week was our temple trip. Yes, temple trip. We went to the Houston Temple this past Saturday. If there is any place on this earth that is a place of eternal learning, a place to reflect and consider, it is the Temple. There is no better place to receive instructions and to practice eternal principles. 

Other good things happened this week. L,N &A - a single mother and her daughters - have finally started progressing! They have been doing so super well this week and they even came to church. I'm so excited for them. 

N is also doing so amazingly well. He is progressing towards his baptismal date. He may even be ready before then. 

Yeah, this week has been very busy, and so much has happened. I love being a missionary. I especially love helping people make goals that help them get to the Temple. Go to the temple. Go as much as you can. The temple is such a sacred place. There is a line that I love from a Scripture Scouts song. "Where Heaven and Earth are blended together, the promises made can last forever, in the Place of Promises."

The temple is not a dance studio. They are not equivalent. But both are a place of learning. And both are places that I feel happy and at home. 

Blisters

Note from Mom: Her word choices aren't always mission appropriate, but the church is still true!  I would have hoped for pics of her blisters but instead these are the mosquito bites on her calves!

Blisters suck. No seriously, they do. They always come up right at the worst time and are in the worst places. They are the result of hard work, trying your best to do your best and achieve your goals. But blisters are a natural thing. They set you back and make you try harder.

Sometimes the worst blisters make you stop and reevaluate. Are you wearing your shoes properly? Are you wearing enough padding? Did you do something stupid. They are the warning signs that we may be in danger.

But sometimes they happen for no good reason and you don't understand. Ugh. Those are the ones that suck. But you just have to put a band-aid on and work through them. Apply ice and medication when you get home. But push through. Blisters can't stop you.

This week had one amazing goal at the end of it. "I" was getting baptized! YAY. Oops. but there was somebody who didn't like that ... DUHN DUHN DUHN SATAN. Yeah. It's been an interesting week, to say the least. There have been trials, but there have been miracles.

Here's one trial. Mosquito bites. Yes, those are mosquito bites. We were OYMing in our apartment complex one night because our appointment fell through and we had an awkward 20 minutes before we could go in. I counted. 23 bites. In 20 minutes. I have definitely learned my lesson about always wearing OFF. 

But this week's miracles are leaps and bounds in comparison. Seriously, they can't even compare. Here are just a few as examples: We finally made the trip out to Needville that we've been planning, and not only was our investigator home, but wants to be baptized. Miracle! Our HQ referral set a return appointment and wants us to speak at the youth program she volunteers at. Miracle! Our investigator in a part member, inactive family came to church. Miracle! I got the chiropractic adjustment I needed, free of charge and members drove us. Miracle! We get to go to the temple this week. Miracle! The ward is learning how to be member missionaries. Miracle!

This is the best miracle of all. Say Hello to one of the newest members of the church. This is " I". He was baptized on Saturday. He is awesome and I'm so happy for him. It's been a long struggle getting him here, and it probably won't start being easy, but he's ready. 

Miracles are everywhere if we know where to look for them. But we can't be focusing on the blisters we have, otherwise we won't find the value in our dancing. Rather, we have to push through the pain, irritation and heat and go to work, put all our energy in and dance. That's where we'll find joy.

Black Swan

Black Swan in the character in Swan Lake that is the darker, fake form of Odette, the princess cursed to be a swan. In some ballets she is known as Odile, but her purpose is to deceive the Prince. As part of her dance, she does 32 fouettes. That is basically the apex of dancing. That is the mark of an incredible dancer. Fouettes en pointe are extremely hard. It is a constant transition on and off my pointe shoes, coupled by turns facilitated by the movement of the other leg. Youtube them, they are amazing. But basically, they take a lot of hard work to be able to do, as well as plenty of falling down. 

President Ashton wrote in his weekly letter that "when we exercise great faith, that we often have the greatest trials." He was right. Just as when we work to do the hardest dance moves, that is when we fall down the most, when we rely on the Lord to accomplish miracles, Satan will do his utmost to drag us back down. My companionship has a goal of 9 baptisms in 9 weeks. My zone aims for 36 in the same time frame. One week of that time has passed. The devil does not want us to achieve this goal, but we know we can.

This week was interesting to start with. I am part of the mission choir, and this past week was Zone Conferences. Basically a few zones gather at the mission office and we receive training from President Ashton and others.  The start of each day is the choir singing. So that took time out of our schedules. We also had our Zone Conference on Thursday and we basically lost the whole day. That was worth it though.

Lots has happened this week. Many miracles, and many trials. Two investigators have basically stopped progressing. One is out of town, and that's fine, but another doesn't seem to have real intent and doesn't keep their commitments. But we have been busy with so many amazing things. First off, let me tell you about I. I may have mentioned him last week, but he is a literal gift from God. He is going to be baptized this Saturday. In order to get him ready for that, we met with him four times last week and taught lessons of probably 4-5 different principles each time.. I'm amazed that he has been able to grasp it all. 

I've been meeting more and more of the members of the ward. They are doing amazing things to be missionaries. One family has an exchange student from Germany staying with them. Another consistently wants book of Mormons to give out. Members are so vital to missionary work. They strengthen us so much. 

Currently our mission is able to do two of the 32 fouettes. Two were baptized last week. We just keep working, turning and trying. This is something we can do. 

Faith is so powerful. I've spent a lot of this week reading about Joseph Smith and Christ, their lives and their works. I'm so grateful for all that each of them did. They lived and died that I might have the gospel and that I can one day live again. They are my examples, they are wearing the proverbial tutu, completing the 32 turns I can only dream of. How I wish I could, but all I can do is strive to do my very best. It might only be a single turn. But that one turn is mine to complete, and as I have faith, I know I can.  Because next week, I will be able to do two. And as I work to reach my goals, one day I will find that I can do all 32 fouettes consistently.