Happy New Year!

Minnesota Institute of Art

Sister Dumas and I

Happy New Year!!

Hey family! 

I have so much to write about this week, we have been working hard and doing lots of stuff. We found 8 new investigators and taught a lot of lessons this week. We visited a family with five kids, we met them knocking doors, and went back this week. We stopped by and Leticia (the mom) answered and told us they were about to watch a movie and to come back. The dad from inside said come in! It's her birthday! Let's say a prayer! So we went in and talked a bit. Turns out they have spent a lot of time with missionaries and already were investigating for a long time. They moved and didn't tell anyone. They're really cool! More on them in a second.

On Tuesday President grounded all the cars because of snow. Where we were there was hardly any snow. But we ended up walking to Walmart and buying snow shovels. It was really fun haha we never get the chance to really be outside. Wednesday we had exchanges and I hung out with Sister Dumas, she's cool. Her personality was not what I expected at all. She's very artsy, and does photography. It was chill, nothing too exciting. New Years same thing, we ate at a members house but nothing too exciting. Missionary New Years are lame. It's been really neat to set new goals knowing that this whole year will be dedicated to missionary work. We had a lesson with the Assistants and learned a lot about how our teaching could be better. We set goals together on how we could be better. It was hard to focus for a bit because all the sudden I go home this year! Crazy! There's a term that missionaries use that describes when you are thinking a lot about home. They say you're feeling "trunky." And so I was a little trunky after New Years but we're good.

New Years Day was our actual Pday so we went to the museum! The Minneapolis Institute of Art. It is really big and really fun it was a nice break from missionary life and to feel like a normal person for a second.

Saturday we had a crazy day. We met with an investigator for the first time in almost three months, but that was just the beginning. That night, we had three lessons in a row. Intense lessons. Lesson one: The family that has been seeing scary things in their house. So the mom is telling us about some of the new things they've been seeing. Eventually she starts telling us about this guy who knocked on her door and told her that Joseph Smith saw a demon who told him to form a church. He told her the Book of Mormon is what is bringing evil things in her house. She kept asking if that was true, and even after testifying and teaching she kept asking, but we were eventually able to leave with the he spirit. 

Ok. Second lesson. The family I was talking about earlier. We stop by and the dad opens the door, he says let me get my wife. She comes out and is in tears and lets us in. He had just let her know that he wants a divorce. It was so sad like I said, they have five kids. The oldest is 19 and the youngest is 3, it made us so sad.

3rd lesson. It's a part member family where all the kids are members, but the mom isn't because she has to work Sundays. But on Christmas Eve she was making pozole and somehow the pot tipped over and burned her feet. Like bad. Like half the skin is gone. When we went over she had her feet really and aged and she was on the couch. Her kids are not overly helpful, and it was sad too. We learned how easy and quickly we've fallen in love with these people. Sunday I was watching the priesthood pass the sacrament and I just loved seeing the jeans and missed matched jackets and pants and the street shoes. I just love them.

I'm excited Mom that you're going out with the missionaries. That will

be good! I love you all! Happy New Year!

Love, Emily