PAUTAS!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow you are probably getting sick of me saying this but last week was nothing short of a miracle. We had really high hopes for last week. We wanted to reach for Pautas de Excellencia (mission's standard of excellence. Goals that the mission has set each week for missionaries to work for but are very hard) The pautas are: 1 baptism, 6 investigators at church, 6 new investigators, 12 member present lessons, and 3 investigators with a baptismal date. I know every mission is very different but for this mission these are the high goals. About every week one companionship will get all five, one will get four, and one or two will get three of them. We knew we wouldn't have a baptism but we really wanted to try to get four. We pushed so hard but the week definitely pushed back. When Saturday even rolled around I was sick, we were far from our goals, and we only had one day left in the week. We had been praying all week and working hard and I felt kind of bad that we were going to fall short but motivated to work even harder the next week. But that night as I started my fast for fast sunday (because last week was stake conference) I just kept having this thought that I should fast that we could reach our goal. I didn't want to at first because I'll admit I was worried that I would fast and then if we didn't reach it I would feel discouraged. For those short moments during my prayer I had honestly been debating on if the power of fasting was strong enough to perform a miracle (because that was certainly what we needed)! I thought back on how many times I have heard that fasting can bring miracles and I shook my fear aside.

Sunday started off rough, several people told us they could not make it to church meaning that out of the 15 people that said they could come we were down to 3 people that would actually be able to make it. I wish I had time to go through each incredible miracle we saw that day but unfortunately I don't I will just say that between meeting a man from Bulgaria on a business trip on the metro, to two people from New Zealand and two people from Ukraine who had just moved her, to having three of the people who said they wouldn't be able to make it show up, to seeing a girl that we have been teaching and who hasn't come to church in the last two years stay for all three hours when we hadn't even talked to her this last week, to teaching powerful lessons before and after church, to having an investigator who we hadn't even had a visit with yet ask us if he could be baptized, to teaching a couple that we haven't taught for the three weeks, the list goes on and on but by the end of the night. We were tired but we had reached our goals and even exceeded some. It was incredible! I have such an incredible testimony of fasting. I wish you could have seen mine and Hma. Shaffer's faces the first twenty minutes of sacrament meeting our jaws were dropped the whole times as investigator after investigator, less-active after less-active walked in.

So now for the random updates:

I have been sick for the last four days. Not fun. But it has helped me recognize how much I have grown to love and appreciate working each day. It's like when you are in elementary school and you almost pray for an illness so that you don't have to go to school whereas in college you don't want to get sick because you recognize and appreciate how important each class period is. I am so grateful that my being sick hasn't gotten to the point of keeping me from working.

I forgot to mention last week that a kid we taught got baptized on the 1st of June. His name is David, he is 8 years old so it is a "baptism for the ward" not a convert baptism but we taught him the lessons and we are super excited for him.

Zone conference is this week! I am so excited! Hopefully my voice comes back because Hma. Shaffer and I are singing again. Yay!

Our current investigators who we are super excited about are: Manuel (the 15th), Princess, Stella (the 29th), and Alejandro (the 29th). Princess doesn't have a baptismal date yet but I think she will get baptized in June she already knows everything is true she is just a little cautious.

Love you all! Thank you so much for your prayers! Loving the 38 degree celsius weather down here in Valencia!

Hermana Tuttle

Picture 1: David's Baptism. I know this one they are both making funny faces but I thought Gabriel's face was priceless. They are both adorable kids! 

Picture 2: Me in front of the Sagrada Familia during intercambios. Ignore the no-make-up-ness my train left pretty early so I waited to get ready in Valencia.