Hola Familia!
I love you so much! I don't have a lot of time to email today, so sorry that this is going to be short. Thank you for ordering shampoo for me! You're the best. Did you send it USPS? I don't know if that's an option, but that's the only way the mission office can forward it so we don't have to wait until transfers to get it. If not, that's okay too. This week has been HARD. Taking over the area has stressed me out in a way that I've never felt stressed out before. I feel like I usually handle things pretty well when I'm stressed and can compartmentalize, but this time it's been almost overwhelming. My companion is trying, but she just doesn't know a lot about the area yet and so she can't really contribute much when it comes to planning and she doesn't know our investigators. Sometimes it feels like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. And I feel like everyday I just recognize one more weakness I have. And I really miss Hna. Stewart. Her first name is Allie by the way. I'm trying to stay positive. I know there's a light somewhere at the end of this tunnel.
And we did have a miracle this week. I don't know if I've told you about Jean Paul before. His family (mom, dad, and sister) got baptized this summer but he didn't. The elders tried teaching him for a while but they were mostly just buddies and didn't have too much progress. In November we asked his mom if there was anyone she could think of that we could teach and we asked her to pray about it. She thought and thought and couldn't come up with anyone. Then one day she thought of Jean Paul. And she thought, maybe the Hermanas can do it. So we've been teaching him. When we first started seeing him he would always avoid us and have an excuse for why he couldn't stay or he would just get home and hurry and jump in the shower. Well somewhere along the way he started listening to us. And we eventually gave him a baptismal date for February 17. He accepted it and said that he would pray and read the Book of Mormon and try to get an answer by that date. So Thursday we went by and we had assigned him the Enos to read. He read it! Then we asked if he felt like he was praying like that and getting answers like that. And he said yes! Then we asked him if he had gotten an answer about that date. And he said yes! He felt really good about it. He still hadn't even told his parents that he was thinking about it, which was really bad because half of the ward knew because of ward correlation, so we were all keeping this big secret from his parents. Anyway, he told his parents that night and we were over there the next day and his mom told us that she was supposed to have her gall bladder removed on the 13th and she was going to try and postpone the operation. But the Jean Paul asked if we could push back his baptism. I just said (kind of joking) "well we can do it this Sunday." And he said okay! So we put together a baptism in two and a half days! It was amazing. He got an answer and he knew it was right. Hna. Stewart and I had fasted for him the week before, and it was the next week in church that he knew what he needed to do. We're hoping that he'll decide to go on a mission, but he's really set on the Navy. When Elder Rivera did his baptism interview though he said that he was thinking of a mission if the Navy didn't work out. And then he told him not to tell us. It's all so exciting. I've never been so happy. I really thought my heart was going to explode with happiness last night. The Relief Society room was jam packed with people. There weren't even enough chairs so some people were just standing. It was so good to see all the people there to support him and his family. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know it. And I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father allowed us to be a part of this miracle.
For Grandpa, um... I'll never forget the time you were playing got your nose with Nathan when he was about three. He decided that he wanted to play too, so he grabbed your nose, and wasn't he surprised when he pulled it right off! I'll never forget the look on his face when that happened.
Also, could you send my white shirt with the flowy sleeves if there's room. I love you so much and I hope you're all doing well.
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