Here we go again, another email...weird. Does it seem like time is literally speeding up lately, crazy, but enough about that, onto more important things:
Joan Pau, he is great!!!! Everything is going really well, he is coming to all of the activities, he has had a meeting with the bishop about getting the Aaronic priesthood, he came to the baptism on Saturday just because he wanted to (it wasn't even for our ward), he goes out on visits with us and the elders and he's just basically amazing. The other day we went to his house and he invited one of his friends and we + a member who is just about to leave to his mission in Tampa Florida did kind of a family home evening, I taught them how to make pancakes, hermana ward made the syrup and then we had a spiritual thought, after that we headed out to the weekly activity the missionaries host at the church and Joan Pau's friend couldn't come but he invited his little sister Ana. He's a missionary already.
Anyone who knows me well knows I'm not one for "this is my last ____" I handle change just fine after I don't have a choice and the damage is done but the anticipation is the hardest for me so I try not to think about it...as my mom, who basically did all of my packing and preparation for the mission, can testify better than anyone. But there are a few "lasts" that I will allow myself to mention only because they are things that have truly changed my life and are things that I will forever cherish. Yesterday was my last leadership council meeting "concilio". It's been almost a year since I got called last August to be a sister training leader and I can't believe. I remember my first concilio, one hermana was going home and President asked her to share what the Lord had taught her. I remember wondering what I would say if at the end of my mission I was in that place. Since that day it has become a tradition so yesterday I, and several of my heroes in the mission who are going home this month, got to share Lo que El Señor me ha enseñado. Maybe in the future, in person, I'll go into more detail but to keep this from getting horrifically long I'll just share the key points of what I said yesterday: 1) To never underestimate today. You never know when one experience you have or one person you talk to today will change the rest of your mission/life, 2) To trust in the Lord because He trusts in us, he sends us to the people who does and to the places we are for a reason. Esther 4:14 3) Prayer, that God really does answer our prayers. That miracles happen everyday if we just have the faith and diligence to do our part. Everything works when we're working. and 4) the power of a testimony. Before my mission I was never able to say "I know," I believed of course but I wanted to be able to say like Brother Reed Beus and so many other heroes of mine: I know. That was one of my main reasons for coming out here. There are still things I'm learning and things that I don't quite understand but they'll come in time but I am grateful for the fact that thank you to my mission there are 4 things specifically that I can say I know. (I'll leave that to another week). I did pretty well at not crying until at the very end when President shared his testimony he said "I got a bunch of emails recently saying that a lot of you had hit your year mark (the huge group of 42 missionaries that came in last year)" he then stopped and looked down at the ground and then back up and with tears in his eyes he said "there are a missionaries who are well beyond a year"....and then the tears started coming. It took me the first two verses before I could finally sing the final hymn.
This mission thing is beautiful.
Hermana Tuttle
1) All of the new sister training leaders, I wish I had a picture of the group when I got called last year all of which are long gone. So many new faces, this mission has a very bright future. I am kneeling next to my first companion in the MTC. Hermana Bracken and the really tall blonde in the back is Hermana Benson who I will be coming home with. I love them both DEARLY!
2) Saying goodbye to "Elder Thorpe"
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