July 14, 2012

Hey Family,

Hope everything is going well for you this week and Mom is doing better and Maren is doing okay. When I found out I was so sad.David was an amazing person, always happy with a smile... I couldn’t believe it when I heard it. I am so sorry. I will be keeping his family and the family of the girl in my prayers.

So this week lots has happened. The old missionaries left the CCM and for a whole day there were only a few missionaries here. We had a total of five Hermanas. The day after everyone left all the missionaries went on a city tour.... I didn’t go because it was the only day so far that I got sick. I woke up at like 3:30 in the morning and had to go to the bathroom every 20 min. I felt horrible so I decided that if I went I wouldn’t see anything, I would just be in the bathroom all the time and there was a good chance there wasn’t going to be a bathroom everywhere we went. I was sad but I got a 4 hour nap instead which was nice.

So because everyone left they chose new leaders for the next group of missionaries and me and 2 other girls are the coordination sisters. It’s fun, we get to hold evening prayers and make sure everyone is doing okay. The Latinos here are such an example to me, many of them are the only members in there families. And some of their families don’t even know they are on a mission. Their faith is so strong its amazing.

So I am officially going to get fat on my mission, just saying. I told you it was rude to not finish your food here, right? So they give you a lot of food, I can eat so much now its crazy hah! I am just hoping I’ll get a parasite right before I come home hah. I am totally kidding.

So this week has been really good for me, I have learned so much and my testimony has grown a lot. I wrote a letter today for all my brothers that I will be sending on Sunday so be looking for it. I don’t know how long it will take to get there but it explains a lot of my feelings about this week. I’ll just say that it is so great to be a missionary!!! All I have to worry about is learning the gospel and becoming a better person and a better teacher so that the lord can use me more effectively to share his gospel with others.

I had a moment this week.... you know those moments where everything makes send and you know the gospel is true and... oh it was cool! the gospel is so simple, we complicate it so much, too often. Literally it is just living the first principles and ordinances of the gospel which is faith in Christ and repentance and baptism (or taking the sacrament each week) and receiving  the Holy Ghost and then enduring to the end or I like the word “repeat” better, repeat steps 1 to 4. Everything else in the gospel rests on these points, if we have faith it will lead us to action and lead us to repent and renew our baptismal covenants weekly.... one of these days study what we truly promise at baptism its so cool because everything builds on everything else and its so cool how everything connects…I am so grateful that the Lord knew that we needed the ability to renew out covenant each week and gave us the ability to start over each week and try a little harder to be better. What a merciful plan to help us increase in our faith and abilities to live the gospel while being able to have the blessings along the way. Sorry that was my spiel today, I don’t even know if it made sense, hopefully it did.

we have been studying the Book of Mormon this week and my gratitude for that book had grown stronger in my life. We take it for granted so often when you stop and think about how many prophets and faithful saints died to help bring this book to us, so that we could hold it and read the words of God. It seems a sin to not use (read) the gift that we are given...everything we need is in the scripture, just by reading them we receive strength to withstand temptation. Maybe this week to try and read the Book of Mormon a little more each day and see if you can tell a difference. I want to testify that this book was written for us!!! For our day, why not use it more?

I have to go,I love you all and hope everything is going great.

Simeon thanks for your letter.

Love you all!

Hermana Hale