Hello my family (and friends)!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Note from Sarah: Of course we were all able to talk with Emily (Jed and I for 10 min) but it was wonderful to hear her voice and hear how happy and excited she was. We can tell that she is doing great and is having some amazing experiences. Just wanted to let you know.
First off, four of our dear sisters have left us. Some I was sad to see leave, the others, not so much. There is a time and a place and some of them you could tell were ready for a change.
Sister Fonbuena was one of the ones who left. She is from Alpine, Utah, and Sister Everett's companion. She was pretty cool. She was one of the trainers that had to count the cards at the end of the night. She was really kind and funny (and had a funny laugh to go with it. It always sounded like someone was squeezing her when she laughed...) She is headed to school here after the first of the year.
Sister Cochran, the other trainer and my companion was another one. She goes back home to Utah and will start school again too. She was the baby of 7 so I bet mom and dad feel accomplished.
Sister Bustillo went home to Honduras. She was the trunkiest of them all and was going to be a bridesmaid for her sister with in a day of getting home. She is hopeing to get into BYU this next semester.
And dear Sister Collier. She was my favorite. Probably because she acted the least trunky. She was always funny and made me laugh. She is headed back to school as well, but I don't know where. I know that she lives in Georgia...
They all left the 26th and 27th so their family could celebrate Christmas a day late or something.
Anyway, because Sister Fonbuena left, Sister Everett was without a companion. So Hermana Juarez was placed as her companions for the 2 weeks until transfers. Poor kid. Juarez got here the same time I did and is already transferred, and to English-speaking VC (she is a full field). So her comps that she left kinda made fun of her because they think that all VC sister are are tour guides. Not true! Bah! So we are teaching her the ropes and showing her that we are missionaries too.
Sister Brox is absolutely my favorite. She said I remind her a lot of her twin sister. But whenever we work together we always have fun. It's a pity she is English-speaking. We will never be companions. She is the type of person to go and do it so I enjoy working with her. Out of all of them, I feel that she is genuine when she asks me how I am doing.
As for the VC, we are still getting a lot of people. A lot of Spanish came in on christmas day and the day after. I have had to speak a lot more Spanish than I would normally. It was frightening but I'm getting better. I now speak a lot more Spanish with Hernandez. Anyway, I have had some cool experiences meeting people. Oh, and I had my first full conversation in Spanish last night, I'll have you know.
1. Larry and Rex. Larry is recently reactivated and Rex got his first lesson the other day. They came in and I was in the Savior of the World area and so we were just talking. In the middle of the conversation, Larry leans over to Rex and was like, “I was in the statue area and she was talking about it. And when you look at her, you would think she is a soft spoken little thing. But she isn't. She was cool, talking to the kids that were there and she gave her testimony boldly but with love. She is really cool.” So that made my day. I always question if I somehow manage to touch a life during my time at the VC. So that answered that question.
2. Mary Steven. She is amazing. She and her 12 year old son and his non member friend came in last night and I got to talking to her. She said that she used to be a member missionary and loved it. She was sad that she didn't take the chance to go on a mission, but instead moved to Arizona and married her husband a year later. She talked about how amazing missionaries are and then we talked about how everyone had a purpose. I know that everyone does, but a lot of people don't have obvious direction or miraculous experiences to let them know that they are here for a reason. Her son has had meningitis twice, once as a baby and then at 10 years old. He wasn't supposed to survive either time but he did. And the doctors don't understand it. So he knows he has a purpose but like everyone else, is looking to find out what it is. He is an amazing kid. When he goes out with his friends and goes to watch a movie, he will always call his mom to see if it is okay to watch. If it isn't, he leaves. And generally his friends (all non members) follow him. She is an amazing mother.
3. Cody – came in at the state of Christmas lights and was baptized on the 18th of December. He grew up on the streets of California and is now headed into the army. He is so happy. I don't think I have ever met anyone with just direction and focus for something they wanted in my life. He has a goal and he is going for it. I kinda wish I could follow the life story of some of the people I meet. I want to see what experiences they had in this life and what they accomplish.
So yeah. That was my week.
I love you all and hope you have a great new years!
Love,
Emily
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