Tica in Costa Rica: "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......