"Missing mi mamitas!!! A few pictures from my previous area, Pococi"

Mi Mamita Kim :):)

Hermanas forever

"Instead of yelling in my sleep, I now have good dreams of baptisms."

Feliz Navidad ya casi! les amoooooooooo!!

Let me just start off with a picture of the rain!

That's the street!!!

Look how cute! This is Maxy, the son of an investigator.

So HI.

How are you? I am doing so well. First and foremost, I can decide to talk through skype either 24th or 25th. We can choose. So which do you prefer? I know my companion wants to talk with her family on Christmas Eve, but it is whatever you want. I am just excited to see all of your gorgeous faces and hablar and hablar and hablar and laugh. :))) I am so excited! Just let me know, and I am fine either way.

The view from our little apartment. I love it!

This is an area where we work. It's called La Suiza which means "The Swiss"...like me!

I love my new area! We live in San Rafael and it is really cool because all the houses are really colorful, and there is a gigantic gorgeous church practically right outside our window. We live in this cute little apartment on top of an internet cafe, a video store, and a pizza place, and an ice cream shop. :) I love it. Our branch is really cute and I really like it.  And this week we have truly seen miracles. Also I really like Hermana Medina. She is very tranquila.( that means like calm or chill. haha like my spanglish? yes, i am totally completely missionary right now. :)) We work really well together. It has been interesting, the change. In my other areas, I took the more passive role, and here I am the more assertive one. It is interesting that your companions bring out different roles in your personality. But it has been good. We are working really hard and striving to be exactly obedient to feel the Spirit at all times. :) 

Eating with a wonderful lady named Dylana. She is sooooo spunky.
We ate Mexican food because of Hermana Medina.

This week was a week of miracles. First, I read a talk that Nathan sent to a lot of our friends who are serving missions. He said that this talk was helping his entire mission with their goals to baptize every week. It is called Faith in Jesus Christ. I want to encourage everyone to read it because it really is incredible! I read it and studied it and have strived to apply it.

It is all about faith and truly believing without needing evidence. Believing and applying principles from the scriptures, from leaders without doubting. Not needing evidence, just doing it. The next thing is disciplining yourself completely. Decide what you want to accomplish, and hold your word sacred to God. Make specific plans, and commit to achieve exactly what I truly desire. The next thing is to do your part. Do everything in your power, sacrifice, work, do everything. And finally pray. Pray because this is the work of the Lord and really everything is in His hands. Ask with all the strength you have, and believe that you will receive.These steps are simple, but so powerful. 

This past weekend we were going to have a baptism for an hermana whose name is Griselda and her daughter Fiorella. I'll just add a little pic of me swinging on a swing at Griselda's house.

On a swing at Griselda's house

They are two incredible people who have lived lives that I cannot even imagine. They live in one room. She and her two children share one bed to sleep. She doesn't have work right now, and her husband left her. But they are very faithful and kind. Not to mention hilarious and full of sassy Tican personalities.

But they were about to be baptized and we went to visit her my first day here, and she said that she didn't want to get baptized because she was scared and still had doubts. And she also said that she didn't want to have pressure. We were both praying so hard to know what to say. We spent an hour talking to her and we prayed with her and the Spirit was so strong, and we helped her understand that it is a leap of faith. But even after feeling this peace, something held her back and she couldnt do it. But she agreed to come and have the baptism interview and everything. (huge miracle.)

After, we tried and tried to visit her but she wouldn't answer her phone and wasn't at home and we were just praying. On sunday she came to church! And then we made a plan to have a family night with the president of the branch and his wife, and other members. Last night was so spiritual. It was amazing because Hermana Medina and I didn't hardly teach anything, the members were encouraging her and sharing testimonies, and finally her son who is a member bore his testimony and told her "Don't be scared, mom." And at first she said not yet, not yet. But they didnt stop. They kept encouraging, sharing, lifting her, and she felt the spirit and said completely and surely that she would get baptized this coming Saturday. She even said who she wanted to give the talks and everything. It was truly a miracle. 

Also through visiting members we found a family!! And a lovely young woman named Charlene. :)) 

I am so happy. I love talking to new people every day. Instead of yelling in my sleep, I have happy dreams of baptisms. Haha!  But there really is no time like this. And we meet fantastic people. I want you to meet all the amazing people I have met here. But thank you for your prayers. I am so excited to see you all sooooooooooooon! 

And now some more pictures......

Maria Paula and I. We click so well and we
laugh our man laughs all the time! I love this girl!

This is right before I left Guapiles.
MAKING TORTILLAS with Noria,
a very sweet investigator.

Hey! It's Michael from SOAR!!

"The people in the city are a little more rushed, but I know we are going to baptize here."

Tuesday, December 9th

Muy bien ma y pa! Que buena espanol! Guess what? I’m in a new area. I had changes yesterday. My new companion is Hermana Medina and she is from Mexico. She has 3 months left in her mission. I am still getting to know her, but she is kind and calm and very spiritual. I have a feeling I am really going to like my time with her. She is very obedient and we are very obedient together. 

I have a lot of goals for this new area because it’s like a brand new start. I am in San Jose...the city...in San Rafael. It is super beautiful!! I love it already! I am going to send you a picture of the view outside our window. I am ready to change and become better everyday. 

Changes are really hard. :( It’s hard because I really, really loved Pococi. The ward was amazing and I have a lot of friends that I am never going to forget. When I left yesterday, Hermana Bram and I cried and cried. But everything we went through and all that happened made a relationship that I can't ever forget. My time with Hermana Bram was a time of great growth and understanding and expanding my compassion. And now I am stronger. 

My goal for this new area is really to always be exactly obedient, to be more bold while teaching, have more faith, and really get to know my area. The people in the city are a little more rushed, but I know we are going to baptize.

It sounds like you had a very Christmassy week! Your questions made me laugh :) Did you like the Christmas devotional? I thought it was beautiful but I didn’t really get to pay a lot of attention because I was running around. 

Have you seen the little video clip HE IS THE GIFT? We are sharing it with the whole world right now - with people on the street, with investigators, members, and just everyone! We have had some really spiritual experiences because of it.

My dad asked me some questions:

   
1. How's the language coming along? Do you feel like you can express yourself?

   2. Do you still burst out laughing your man laugh sometimes? Can you make the Costa Ricans laugh and do they appreciate your humor?

  3. What do you eat every day? What is your favorite food?

  4. Is Costa Rica pretty? I hear it is beautiful there. Have you seen the ocean?

Okay now for your questions. :) 

1. I can understand practically everything and speak a ton. I still feel more myself and my personality when I speak English, but I am starting to feel more like myself in Spanish. Sometimes I can't say exactly what I would say in English because I don’t know how to say it. I still make a lot of language mistakes but I can communicate or give a talk. I always pray in Spanish now and I dream and talk in my sleep in Spanish and sometimes I think in Spanish, but not always. 

2. Hahaha! I have laughed really hard at times, but not as much. But yes we laugh. Ticos LOVE to tease.

3. We eat rice and beans every day. But it is not plain white rice. It has tuna and vegetables and its really, really good. Platanos and a type of meat. Really yummy soup with potatoes and platanos and yuka. There are a lot of exotic fruits here too.

4. Costa Rica is beautiful. Here in San Rafael the houses are all colorful and there are palm trees everywhere and beautiful green hills. Pococi wasn’t as pretty, but I loved it because of the people.

I can’t wait to skype with you too! Thank you for everything! I love you! I am sending a package with gifts from Costa!

"A delicious Thanksgiving feast of rice, beans, and platanos."

Hi Fam,

First, Happy Thanksgiving a little late! :) Im glad you had a nice time in good ol Casa de Bret! I lovvvvvvvve the pics and Max is the cutest, sweetest little guy in all the world. He reminds me of Clark when Clark was a little bean.

As you probably know, they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, but in the morning, Fari called me. (My next door neighbor) and she said in perfect English with no accent or anything, "Good morning. Happy thanksgiving. And then she invited us over for lunch and we celebrated thanksgiving by eating fried chicken. And then we sang happy birthday" for no reason. Yep. Thats our lives. :)

At night we also were invited to eat dinner with some of our investigators and we ate a thanksgiving feast of rice and beans and platanos. :) It was delicious of course. Super fun. These people are so nice. They are very Catholic but always are welcoming to us and always listen. They always tells us, "when you go home and then come back to Costa Rica, you always have a bed to sleep in when you come." :) 

Second, I GOT MY PACKAGE!!! Yesterday we went to San Jose because Hermana B had an appointment at the doctor for her feet. (But everything in just fine.) On the bus ride home, we were all so anxious to open it that we all just ripped it open. But I didn't open the wrapped things yet, I controlled myself. But thank you soooooooo much. I cried a little because I felt so much love and I am so grateful that I have a camera now! Thank you so much for everything! Also I love the ctr rings and GUM. Haha for the house only, I promise. :) Wow I wish I could put into words how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family.

I GOT MY PACKAGE!! WOOO!

We had a really cool spiritual experience this week! A sister in church brought her friend Fernando from Madagascar to church. He is interested to learn more about the gospel. He is learning spanish because he is going to be studying here for four years. He doesnt speak very much spanish yet, so I was able to translate for him in english. It was such a spiritual experience. He has a ton of questions and I felt truly like the spirit was using me as a tool to help answer his questions about the gospel. We are going to start teaching him. He is really amazing and very receptive.

K and J and B have been coming to church regularly and guess what? She went to the doctor and they told her that she still has 4 more weeks until the baby is born! Can you believe that!

4 MORE WEEKS TO GO! Say whaaat?

Well, I love you all so much. The Lord is always near and hears and answers our prayers. He is always blessing us and even though there are trials every day, remember that they are things that are helping you become who He wants you to become and there is no way to fail. Keep on keeping on! This gospel is true and changes lives. There are so many things I wish I had time to share, but I will talk to you next week!

Us and our Zone Leaders. Last day with
Elder Tai (far right). He is the best
leader I've ever had.

Yendry and Erika = Yerika

Saludos de COSTA! 

Im here sweating my little face off. :) Its so hot!  But I like it. My friends have been sending me pictures of the snowy utah mountains and I forgot that its snowy and cold! :) Its completely opposite here. Its green and there are palm trees everywhere and mosquitos still eating me alive at night. But dont worry Mom, I wear repellent. Another random thing that made me smile this week was we were waiting for the bus and there was this groovy salsa music playing. (There is always bachata or salsa playing in the street in el centro) Then I looked across the street and some people gathering together to dance. They were so good! And I was so tempted to just go DANCE!  But it made my whole day to hear and watch street salsa.

BTW, My new email day is Tuesday - But my P-Days are still on Mondays.

Anywho, this week was real nice. We had an AWESOME multi zone conference with president wilkinson and wow....the spirit was so strong and I learned so much. I just felt like jumping out of my seat and putting everything into practice. He taught us how to teach better and emphasized really strongly that teaching is not talking. Its truly listening and discerning and asking inspired questions. And another thing is to simplify. Even teaching simply that God is a loving father in heaven and thats all is more than enough if they feel the spirit testify of truth. I love our president and this mission. Every day I wake up grateful to be here.

I have a confession. I am crazy in my sleep. My poor mom, Hermana B, wakes up every night to my wild things I do. She told me the other night that I said (In spanish always) Im going to sing you a song. Its called: Te quiero. And then I started singing super loud TE QUIEROOOO TE QUIEROOO! And then after I said. Did you like my song? I wrote it for you. Te quiero mucho. And then I woke up to her saying: Hermana. Now is not the time to be singing. And I said, okay. And then we both went back to sleep. But its every night!! Hahaha. 

We have the best ward in the entire world. They always feed us and mess around with us and our bishop is crazy and amazing. We call him obipo (instead of obispo) and we are planning on taking a selfie with himtomorrow. We are so lucky. Also Hermana B and I have been assigned to be in charge of the retention for the zone. So we call everyone in the zone to see how the recent converts are doing and if they are coming to church. And we also work muy fuerte with the recent converts and less active members.

This week we had a miracle. We are good friends with a less active member, C. We have been talking to him and he went to church again for the first time in 4 years and we are planning on helping him get married because he has a girlfriend. And also we were messing around with him and took out his earring and Hermana Bram is wearing it right this second. Haha! But its a miracle! 

K hasn't had her baby yet, but we are hoping today! Did I already tell you that they are naming their baby Yerika? It is a mix of my name and hna B's name. Yendry and Erika. Yerika. At first we were just messing with them that they should name the baby Yerika, but they are serious! And its so sweet! Im so happy. She told us she is going to call us as soon as she has her. :)

The pictures of max are priceless. And I like what you did to my room!  Its weird to see my room have a boyish twist but it rocks. It's perfect for Maxwell while they are in Tonga. I wish I could hold him! When Kelly and Mark skype, what does he do? 

Also your poor eyes Mom! Please try not to strain them and rest them because Im worried. Ill be praying! And for grandmama and Grammy as well. And youre not going to continue driving right? You're such a strong person. I love you soooo much.

Yes I am still playing my uke a lot! I play for almost every baptism and wedding. :) Its really fun and Im happy to do it. YES I GOT ALL THE LETTERS! I was going to tell you. I loved it so much. Thank you to everyone.

Been wearing my glasses lately
 because I have a little eye infection..
But don't worry, Mom! I have eye drops.

Well, I love you all so much and thank you for everything always. I pray for you everyday and I love hearing about everything. And all the pictures too! 

"She can't do anything because she's Gringa!"

Four months on THE Mission!

Hola todos :)) How is everyone doing? Are you excited for the holiday season? People have already started putting up Christmas decorations here and a huge tree in the park and everything! I cant believe its almost here. The time really does fly! Where does the time go? (I sound a little like a granny but its true. :)

Today I am really really happy. This week was a great week and the Lord is always blessing us and helping us endure. We are continuing to work with J and K and B. They are going to get married this weekend and right after, K and B are going to be baptized. :) They are such cool people. They are really humble and live in this teeny house, but they are so nice to us and receptive. We always like to mess around with them. She is the one that is 9 months pregnant. Its kind of crazy, but possible. We have been trying to convince them to name her ¨Yerika¨ because its the name of Hermana B and I. They actually like it! Haha I really hope they name her that. Thats on my bucket list as of now. Today after we write, we are going to make cupcakes to sell for their wedding. 

M is doing so well! I always admire her so much because she is an example to her family, and strong through everything. Ever since her baptism, she has come to church every single sunday. We see her everyday and always have so much fun. Everybody asks why our nails are always cool and painted, and we just say....M. She is our best friend and I am going to miss her like crazy when we leave this area. Maybe I just wont leave. That would be the best. 

Hermana B and I are continuing to have adventures. We have this joke that I cant do anything because Im gringa. (Cookin? Dont even ask.) Yesterday we were with Faride and Cellso (Our neighbors) and they asked me to make tortillas with cheese. Really simple right? And Faride was trying to explain it to me how to make them and I told her that I know how to do it but they had their doubts. So I was a little jokingly mad, and I had to wash the thingy to cook with but I couldnt disconnect it, so I pulled really hard and knocked down a huge thing of rice alllllll over the floor! They laughed and laughed and then said SHE CANT DO ANYTHING BECAUSE SHES GRINGA! It was so funny. Oh wow. 

This week was stake conference and we had 8 invesigators come to church! It was the best!! Also we sang in choir. I love singing in church here because people SING their hearts out. This morning for P day we played soccer with the elders and it was so funny. Then we did a bunch of cartwheels and drank coke. haha. :) 

I know the Lord answers our prayers and in mysterious ways. We just need to look for the blessings and see the positive in everything because its everywhere. The people here are amazing. I wish you could meet them all. 

"This place rocks. I love seeing how people change."

I am so happy to hear from you!  I GOT YOUR PACKAGE, Kel!!! And I loved it!!! It was just what I needed to bring me sunshine. Thanks for being the best sister ever and not forgetting about me. :)) Also guess what? I ate the gum in like a week.........thats my life. My companion literally thinks Im addicted. And maybe I am....haha. NICE story bin with the numbers on the watch......hahaha!  P days go by so fast. Today we had a really fun P day with the whole zone. We played soccer and ate arroz con pollo and it was the best. I am planning on sending a really cool package for christmas so look for it!!! 

Love the pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It looks like your halloween was the best ever. I laughed out loud at your pictures, Mom!!! And the lobster bisque guy was perfect! 

I know what you mean when you say the week is a blur. I feel like that every week. HOW CRAZY!! Pococi is great. I love my zone and I love my ward. We have a ton of help and support from the members which is awesome. Right now we have some amazing investigators.

We are teaching a lovely sweet woman, named Kyla. She is 20 years old and has two kids. We have visited with her two times and both times were super excellent. She is very receptive and wants her children to grow up in the gospel. The only thing is that she is living with someone right now and they need to get married before she can be baptized. We haven't been able to meet her boyfriend yet, but we are praying really hard to be able to teach him too so they can get married and have the same goals.

We also have a family that is going to get married on the 15th! He is a member and she and her daughter are not. But she is also 9 months pregnant but wants to get baptized and married before her baby is born on the 22nd. Kind of crazy but possible! Also we have an 18 year old named Paula. Her boyfriend is on a mission and she has the goal to get married in the temple with him when he returns. So she is getting baptized!! Whoooooo! This place rocks. 

I am learning a ton here. A mission has brought out every single flaw and weakness that I have and up to this point, I have been so focused on the things that go wrong or how hard it is or how Im feeling and MY comfort and have had moments of hard anxiety. Its kind of intense sometimes. In those moments I have seen that I have been so self centered, when really this mission is completely for God and to focus completely outward like the Savior would. A mission is about truly letting yourself go and thinking completely about others, Its a little hard to explain but I am truly learning how to not be such a perfectionist and see the positive in absolutely everything, see the best in my companion, see the best in everything. The time fliiiiiiiiies. And this is just a time to completely be dedicated to the Lord. 

I love you and I love this gospel. Keep doing so much good and know that this gospel truly changes lives and its a gospel of peace and happiness. I love seeing how people change. 

"I forgot what I learned how to cook."

I'm going to print out your letters from today because they made me so happy and I felt so much love! :) Thank you for always lifting me up and keeping me so well informed too. It just filled up my heart. I miss you so much. You have no idea. But like you said, I know that for right now this is where I need to be. The time passes so fast dont you think? I have already been here for 3 months and the time keeps flying. Im so glad you got to spend some quality time with mom talking and laughing. I have had an incredible example of love from my parents, and for that I am so grateful. I hope one my day my husband will love me as much as you love mom, dad! :) Im also happy that you have been able to turn to prayer. Honestly, I have never prayed so much! My companion makes fun of me and tells me Heavenly Father is sick of hearing me talk because my night prayers are forever long. But I know it works. And I know that he makes us into the people He knows we can become.

The weather here is one thing: HOT. Pococi is really hot an humid. And then it rains like craaaazy! But I love the storms. How are those beautiful utah mountains? A lot of people ask me what it is like in Utah and I tell them that we have huge gorgeous mountains and the weather always changes. And there is lots of snow in the winter. 

 I had a little problem with my eye this week. I woke up and it was sealed shut, and then I couldnt open it for almost the whole day. It hurt so much in the sun and it was tiny and red. But we got some eyedrops and now my eye is perfectly fine. God really, really takes care of us. He takes care of His missionaries. 

So, your questions about Christmas. I would say some fun colored paper because we really like to make missionary agendas and its fun. Some fun earrings that are studs or not too long would be nice. I didnt bring a lot of options. My watch broke, so maybe a nice little cheap watch with numbers on it. Some more hair product for my frizz. Some american food. Peanut butter again, mac and cheese, maybe a few easy recipes because I forgot what I knew how to cook. Haha. Just anything. I dont mind. Thank you! Also, I hope that we have a chance to go to san jose because I want to get you all something very tico for christmas. So cross your fingers!!! :) 

We had changes yesterday but Im not getting changed. I am staying here in Pococi with Hermana Bram. Im really happy about that because it feels like the right place for us to be, and there is still a lot of work to do, and I still have a lot to learn. Plus I love the members here. We had a ward activity that we planned on saturday and it was a success! We played a bunch of games and had a lot of investigators there too. For each game, afterward we applied it to the gospel and it was really fun.

Other than that, we are ready for a full week of work and love. Im starting to feel better and a little more confident, and talking more. I have a lot of good friends here that I love.

Thank you for what you said about confidence. And I love what you said that God wont let us fail. He really wont. I have seen it over and over again, even when we are imperfect people. Don't give up or get discouraged.  I love you FOREVER. 

Sorry I dont have pictures but I am going to buy a camera or try to have mine fixed today! 

"My camera fell into a cup of horchata."

Yes, it's true, and I'm super sad about it.  We were making a funny video in our apartment when all of a sudden my camera fell into a cup full of horchata and now it doesn't work. I'm not really sure what to do. Maybe I can buy another one here but I am poor! Right now I just have Faride, my neighbor take pictures. The camera of Hermana Bram got stolen.....

Thank you for all the pics! I loved them! You all should be models. Okay? Also everytime I show someone pictures of my family they say that my parents look so young. Also Im so glad that parker went through the temple! What date does he leave again?

This week was really nice. We had a zone conference and interviews with President Wilkinson. I got to play my uke and sing for it. It was really fun! Im so happy I have a ukey. The interview went really well! I truly love President Wilkinson. His presence is super strong and I feel like he sees into our souls which is a little intimidating but good.

We also had lots of adventures. We are still getting to know Pococi and so one day we were walking and got lost for two hours!!!!! But hey it was fun. Today we had a really fun P day with our district. We got permission to wear normal clothes and we played soccer and ate tons of pizza! I love my district. They are a bunch of crazies.

Last but not least, Mariana got baptized yesterday!! It was super special and we had a ton of support from the members and her family even came too. My favorite part was when she bore her testimony afterward. Wow I just feel so happy! They are feelings that are hard to explain. Oh and Hermana Bram and I sang with the uke too. 

We have changes this coming week so I will keep you updated. I have no idea what is going to happen, but I know it will be okay. There is always so much to say, but if you have any specific questions I will tell you everything. 

2 funny things.

1. No one can say my name and everyone makes up names for me. I just laugh and laugh. But a lot of people call me Hermana Hitler which is terrible! 

2. I talk in my sleep every single night and yesterday I was apparently yelling super loud the name of our neighbor, Faride. FARIDE!! Poor Hermana Bram can never sleep. 

"Everyone is freaking out and saying that I have Dengue Fever."

Well, I have a fever today.  Everyone is freaking out and saying that it is Dengue Fever but i honestly dont think it is. I rested this morning and if it gets worse or continues, i will get help and medicine. I got a blessing from the elders today and i know everything will be okay so dont worry. I wear repellent every night too. But I know that you are always praying hard. Please dont worry.

 Its a cultural thing but If someone is a little bit sick, they take the whole day off and go the hospital pretty much. But I am fine. Im glad youve had a productive day! I forgot my camera so I will have to send photos next week. Im so sorry!

But this week was a week of miracles! Remember M? She is getting baptized this sunday. I can not believe how prepared she is. She seems to know everything already. What I love about our relationship with her is that we are not just her teachers, we are her friends. We go out for ice cream, and paint our nails, and talk about girl things. She draws super well and she gave me one of her drawings and I have it on my wall. But last night we had a super lesson with her and she told us that everything changed since she met us that one night. its so weird, i can see her as a missionary. She even told us that she wants to! Whew!

I bore my testimony in sacrament meeting and said absolutely everything I wanted to in spanish. The gift of tongues is real! I understand a ton and every day is better. I love you! Im sorry, I have to go, but please give my love to everyone!

Im sure my fever will get better. My body aches and my head too but its better than this morning. 

"Who doesn't like Mac and Cheese? Ticos."

Monday, October 6, 2014

Hahaha! I love your emails and the little details! They make me smile like you wouldn’t believe! I’m really glad you had a great conference weekend. It was amazing! I had the opportunity to watch half of it in English, and half in Spanish. I actually understood most of the Spanish which was so cool! I really liked how some of the speakers could speak in their own language! 

My favorite talk was one from the seventy I believe.  I don’t remember his name. It had the 8 steps for living a better, happier life. Remember that one? He spoke really fast, but every word he said was powerful! I have a bunch of notes and they are all in spanglish. :) I of course loved President Monson’s talk about the Savior and walking the steps he did by emulating his attributes. I thought it was interesting the theme of prophets and their importance. I also loved the talk about Joseph Smith and that we should all strengthen our testimony and be firm in the testimony that he was a prophet. Super powerful. Their words brought me so much peace. When you hear it, its just TRUE. It went by too fast! Oh and Elder Eyring’s talk when he talked about how when he came home late, his mom heard him and asked him to come in. That talk reminded me so much of you, Mom! I cried when I heard it. I thank Heavenly Father every night for the family that I have. I remember all the times I sat on your bed and told you stories about what happened. :)

How am I feeling? Well, its hard to explain, but sometimes I feel stressed about teaching, learning the language, and my biggest problem I have felt while being here is feeling down on myself. There is an idea in my mind of who I want to be, and I am just not there yet. I am still new and have much to learn. But little by little everything will be okay. I am happy to be here, and I am really growing a lot because a mission is not easy. One thing that Hermana Bram has taught me is to enjoy the journey. Sometimes its easy to let worry and stress take over instead of just laughing and doing what you can. And I realized that we really just need to have faith in the Savior, be the best we can, and enjoy and relax a little. And in my mind, instead of doubting myself, I started repeating positive affirmations and it works!  I really love her. She has taught me to have fun on the mission. We have had such good times together. This morning we did interpretive dancing to efy songs, we have good times with our investigators, and mess around with eachother. 

I love my new ward! It’s kind of weird because we were in such a small ward before and now its actually normal sized! The people are so nice!  Our neighbors are the ward mission leader and his wife and little baby daughter. They are the coolest people ever. 

Last night I cooked mac and cheese for them and they didn’t like it!! They were teasing me so much about it that I need to learn how to cook. It was soooo funny! My goal is to learn how to cook some good Tican food because it seriously is the best.

 Last night I played songs on the uke for them and they loved it! They also asked if I would dance for them so I did a little ballet and contemporary combo. It was so good to dance again! We laughed and laughed. It was such a fun night. I love the people here!!

 Also soon I am going to be teaching an English class. That was a surprise to me! We had just met a family and asked them if they wanted to learn English. Then without talking to me first Hna Bram said “MY companion is teaching a class and you’re invited!” And I just smiled and said yeah! So we will see what happens. HAHA!

On a sports note, soccer is huge here!! There are two super amazing teams here that are rivals- Saprisista y Ligista. I am for Saprisista. My companion is Tica and that is her team. She has taught me well.

PocoCi is the best. I love it already. Its so much different than Florencia, and a little more dangerous, but dont worry, we are safe. This zone is one of the best in the mission. I can really feel a feeling of unity and obedience and it feels good. Our zone leaders are the best. We are doing a 40 day fast as a zone for our investigators and our goals. One companionship fasts at a time until 40 days. Also, every morning at 7 am every missionary in the zone says a prayer of faith for every investigator by name. I feel like this is the place we need to be right now.

Okay....miracle time. We are both brand new to the area and still are gathering people to teach, so one night we didn’t have anyone to teach and we didn’t have the opportunity to study in the morning because of a meeting, so we went home a little early to study. Randomly, we got a call from a 17 year old girl who had a little paper of the phone numbers of the missionaries and wanted us to visit her. Hermana Bram starting to say that we could visit her tomorrow, but then we had a strong feeling to visit her that night. So we went to go find her. She lives close to the church, and when we were walking, she was already outside waiting for us. The moment I saw her, I felt the Spirit. She is the sweetest girl. She said that she has always been interested in the church, but her family is Catholic and its tradition, however, she isn’t Catholic. We gave her a little summary of what we believe, and then went to the chapel to talk for a bit. She has had a lonely life because she was always home alone while growing up. Her family situation is very complicated and sad. We were able to share with her about the Savior and that we are never alone, and the truth of the gospel. When we talked, her eyes got really big and she was listening. I had chills the entire time. Hermana Bram and I both had the feeling like we knew her before. She is so receptive and sweet. At the end, we prayed with her on our knees and it was so special. She told us, “thank you for coming to visit me tonight instead of tomorrow.”  It was a miracle. She also went to two sessions of conference! And we are visiting her again tonight. So I will keep you updated. 

Overall, this church is true. This is where we have the fullness of truth and safety and peace in the world. I love you. :))))))))))))))))))))))

"I held an iguana tail. AY. AY. AY. Oh the things!"

With the beautiful bride!

Carolina's Baptism!

Hola Familia!!!                                   September 30, 2014

This week was so wonderful and crazy too!

Carolina and Juan Carlos got married!! And Carolina was also baptized! It was such a wonderful day. We went and picked up carolina and went with her to get her all dressed up with her hair and makeup and everything. She was so beautiful! Then we drove for an hour to the chapel where they were married! On the way there Angie asked me if I would play the uke while she walked down the aisle. So I did! I got to play Senor, te necesito. (I need thee every hour). It was super special. Its really exciting because in one year they can enter the temple and be sealed. Right afterward Carolina was baptized! She asked me to give the talk on baptism so that was really special. I felt the spirit super strong when she was baptized! She is such an amazing person and so willing to follow the savior. She was confirmed in the chapel. Afterward, I asked her how she felt after and she said that she feels clean and calm and happier than she has ever felt. It is during those moments that I just feel so grateful to be a part of this great work.

Some random things that you will be shocked about. During our district meeting, the district leader´s neighbor was just about to kill an iguana to eat. So they took a video on my camera!!! I did not watch! But I did hold the tail. And afterward it was moving around like crazy because of all the nerves kind of like a snake. Welcome to costa rica. They ate it but we had to leave. I also held a snake. Also Brother Jimenzez killed the family chicken to eat and made me hold the heart and guts in my hand!! AY AY AY. Oh the things.

Dinner.

um..hi.

AY! AY! AY!

Last of all, we are now in a new area. On sunday we were supposed to recieve calls if we were changing areas, but we didnt hear anything, so we just went to bed. In the morning at 8 we recieved the news that we are changing areas and so we packed up our whole house in 2 hours and left just like that! It was really sad and weird because we didnt really get to say goodbye. It was just like a blur. But my experience in florencia really was one of learning and crazy adventures and small miracles. We are now in poco ci for four more weeks until I finish my training. The time flies! I love the gospel and know that it is true. The Lord truly knows what we can become and helps us every step of the way. Often times we dont see the changes until one day we look back and realize how much help we truly had. I love you and keep me updated!!!

Our neighbors.
Going to miss those daily talks
and ice cream with Macho.

Con mis hermanas. 

  A tearful goodbye. Amo a mi mamita mucho.

Tanto amor.