Sooo many things

Thursday in a snapshot

This is Karen :)

Pitching to Elias

Hola familia!

I have sooo much to say. This week has just been jam-packed. We did all sorts of random things, like from making

 quinceanera decorations to pitching to one of our less-active members son to mowing that same members lawn

 and walking to the park with her to roasting marshmallows and making s'mores with the Jensens. And that's just

 the beginning. I seriously think this has been our most productive week by far. We did so many things. 

On Wednesday we had Zone Conference in New Prague. We were told to be at the church in Lakeville to carpool

at 745, and our alarm didn't go off! We woke up a little before 7, freaked out, and then eventually made it on 

time. oops. New Prague is about 35 minutes south of here, and only has about 3500 people. I felt right at home. 

Sister Cupkie drove most of us in their van because we don't have the miles. Seriously it was all farmland and the 

main street reminded me a lot of home. We had training all day, which is always a good experience. We talked a 

lot about extending invitations and asking inspired questions. One of my favorite things is being around other 

missionaries. We have so much fun. Our zone is pretty small so we have been able to get to know each other very 

well and we have lots of fun and work hard. 

All week has been gorgeous. We did weekly planning outside and have studied a lot outside this week because 

its been so nice. Teaching and contacting is so much easier in warm weather because there are actually people 

outside. There is a trailer park in Burnsville that we go to a lot where we have lots of kids that we know by name 

and they always come and give us hugs when we're walking through. They're so cute:)

Thursdays are always a struggle. We haven't figured out why, but seriously everyone always cancels on Thursdays. 

It doesn't matter who we try to visit when, we can never get in with anyone. And the funny thing is that the 

Spanish Elders have the same problem. We always commiserate haha. But we went out to eat on Thursday at a 

place called Vivo that we love. It's expensiveish, but the food is all fresh locally grown stuff, so it's always way 

good. The building is gorgeous. I took pictures. I will send them. Speaking of really good food, the Jensens have 

been making bread like crazy. It's their current hobby and they've been experimenting a bit. I have eaten way too 

much bread in the last week. 

We met a lot of really cool people this week. There is a former investigator that we have been trying to contact 

since I've been here, and we finally were able to get into her house and talk to her. She invited us back and we 

talked about the Restoration and what she remembered from other missionaries. She basically summarized the 

Restoration perfectly, and told us that she knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that baptism is something 

that is important. So we invited her to be baptized in August. We are so excited about her. Her name is Yajaira. 

Another really cool lady we met invited us to come sit down on the porch. When she saw us she immediately put

out her cigarette. Before I sat down, she got up and wiped off my chair, and then after a couple minutes she 

realized we were halfway sitting in the sun and so got up and sat on the cement stairs and insisted that I sit in 

her chair. She was so sweet. She is an evangelical christian, so she was fascinated with what we do as missionaries. 

We had to clear up though that we aren't Jehovah's Witnesses. We had to tell her probably 4 times haha and 

I'm pretty sure we'll have to explain again. She really wants to read the Bible with us, so we're going back this 

week to talk about heaven and hell and the passages in the Bible. So that should be interesting. But she was 

super nice.

WE had a really good visit with Leonor (the old lady from Spain) this week. A lot of the times when we teach it's 

hard to judge exactly how much she's getting out of it. This week though we were talking about the Plan of 

Salvation, and what happens after we die. We talked about the celestial kingdom and how we'll have perfect 

bodies and families. She said "que cosa mas grande, con razon es la iglesia verdadera." Which is so much better 

in Spanish, but it basically means "What an amazing thing. Of course it's the true church." And it was so cool 

because she got it. It was a really rewarding experience. 

All week long we have been working towards a goal of 18 total lessons. We have been working like crazy to teach 

everyone we know. We did really really well and have been working really really hard. But last night, at our dinner 

appointment, we still needed three lessons. We had a dinner lesson, and one other set lesson, but needed one 

more. We were planning on leaving as soon as possible from dinner to get our last lesson to reach our goal.

But when we started teaching the family we had dinner with, it was obvious that they needed more testimony 

and a little more time with us. We were talking about temple covenants and their importance. The dad of this 

family is not endowed, but the mom is and they have a son on a mission. They opened up to us and he expressed 

how he doesn't feel ready and we were able to invite him to start preparing himself. I was sad that we had been 

working so hard to reach our number and in one appointment it was gone, but I realized as we were talking to 

this family about preparing to enter the temple and the importance of the covenants they make there, that as 

missionaries, we are here for a way more important purpose than setting goals and reaching numbers. We all 

know that, but sometimes we need reminders. I think it was Heavenly Father's way of saying "good job, thanks 

for working hard, but remember what this is all about." We have been helped so much this week to reach our 

goal and even though we finished one lesson short, it was ok. 

SO many things. This week we want to teach 20 lessons, which is kind of crazy, we'll have to teach everyone we

know. plus some haha. I'm so ready. Transfers are a week from Wednesday, and we're pretty sure I'm leaving, so 

I'm leaving with a bang. I emailed Nicole last week and we talked about housing. We are so down to live together. 

I'm stoked.  

Dad, I want to hear some of your mission stories! Do you have any that especially stand out? 

Happy anniversary! I love you guys. How has the temple blessed you personally and as a couple? I love the temple. 

Love you!

Emily

PS Tomorrow is my 11 month mark. What.