Hola Familia!
It sounds like you've had a pretty good week. I just realized the other day that it's basically the end of May and that soon everyone will be out of school and that Cameron will be a high school graduate! Wowzee! All I have to say is I hope I get an announcement! I kind of feel like a lamester missing all these events. I realized last week that I haven't been home for Mother's Day for the past three years and that when Brady graduated I was in Mexico. But the most important part is that at least you know I love you. Mom! You are almost finished with Nursing School! How awesome is that! Push through this last little part and you win! I can't believe you've made it this far. I know it's been a battle, and I am so proud of your dedication and determination. You've been such a good example to me the past few years.
Mom, thank you so much for your email this week. It was really what I needed to hear. I think the hardest part is that I just miss feeling like I'm being loved. That's probably selfish, but I just don't feel that in this companionship. I don't know why it's so hard for us to connect, but our relationship is just so superficial. I'm trying to share more of myself and express love, but I don't know how to get through. But I keep praying everyday for the charity to do it. Obviously there's still something that I'm not doing right. It's kind of funny what you told me to do, because I kind of came to that conclusion myself this week too. Really the only person that can be in charge of the way I feel is me. And sometimes I'm just not strong enough to be happy on my own, so that's when I need Heavenly Father's help. I don't think I've ever pleaded so much in my life for the power of the Atonement to lift me up. I find myself taking bathroom breaks or something just to take a minute to pray because I feel like I can't go an extra minute on my own anymore. On top of the companion stress comes the stress of this area. I'm constantly trying to find ways to work smarter and more effectively so we can share the gospel with as many people as possible and find those that are ready to accept it. The only thing I want is for the next missionaries to come in to a beautiful, strong area that is organized and is going somewhere. I think of so many hermanas here that could do this job better than me, but for some reason or another President Riggs received the revelation to send me. I have no idea why, but I trust that. There was something I was sent here to do that only I could do. Maybe I'll never know what it is. Maybe it's something that I needed to learn, or maybe it's someone that I needed to talk to. I am doing my best and I'm learning that that's really all that I can do. But when it's truly everything, that's acceptable to the Lord. In my studies this week I've noticed a group of phrases that keep popping up. At least once every single day it talks about either a person or a group of people pouring out their souls to the Lord. When they did that the Lord comforted them in their afflictions and they saw miracles. So I'm trying to do that too. And we are seeing miracles. Little by little this area is growing. When we had our planning session I realized that we had almost 40 names on our whiteboard. Not all of them are investigators, but they will be soon. Then I realized that four and a half weeks ago we had nothing on our whiteboard. We didn't even have a whiteboard! So I know this area is progressing. I just need to keep an eternal perspective. And be patient.
We did have some pretty amazing things happen this week though. Like I said, the Lord is working miracles. First, we had exchanges. And I got to go to Woodbridge. I was so happy because after the mission splits Woodbridge is not going to be in our mission anymore so I'll probably never have the chance to serve there. Unless I get transferred this next time and end up going to the new mission. Not likely, but it could happen. This exchange was like heaven. It was so nice not to be in charge for a day. I finally felt like I could breathe. I still had to drive though because Hermana Whitaker is waiting for a visa so she's not insured. That was an adventure. I'm coming to learn more and more just how bad I am at following directions. We got lost more than a few times. But Hna Whitaker is great! We became instant friends and that's something I really needed. We got a lot of work done and I really felt like we were a power companionship for a day. She's also having a hard time in her companionship and she helped me see the perspective from the other side (she's being trained). Her struggles are completely different than what mine and my companion's are, but we were really able to talk and bounce around ideas about what we can do to strengthen our companionships. It was really good for me. We also got to go and see Hna Matute who is a member that lives in Woodbridge that is one of my favorite people ever. She is a really good friend of the Castaneda family and so she was in Old Town all the time. I told her at Reyna's baptism that I was coming on exchanges to Woodbridge and she was so excited. She fed us dinner that night and told me that she called Lourdes to find out if she knew anything about me coming and then decided she would stay home all night just in case we came by because she didn't want to miss us. It was so good to see her. I love her! I also met the funniest little kid. His name is Jarbin but he tells everyone it's Peter Parker. He's five and doesn't speak a word of English. Anyway, he's obsessed with Spiderman. His mom was telling us that the other day he found a spider and was doing everything he could to get it to bite him because he wanted to become Spiderman. She just about died. So we told him that not just any spider can make you Spiderman and that the special spiders don't live here. That kid is crazy!
On Friday we had a half mission conference and Elder Echo Hawk came and spoke. They were kind of keeping it hushed, but I figured it out because he was coming for our stake conference this weekend too. It was such a good mission conference. Elder Echo Hawk spoke when I was in the MTC and a lot of what he said was very similar, but this time, it was exactly what I needed to hear. It touched me so much. He talked about how he is a convert. That when he was baptized when he was a teenager but he wasn't really converted. Until he had a Young Men's leader that really helped him out. He had a horrible football injury in which they though he was going to loose his eyesight but he promised Heavenly Father that he would read at least ten pages every day if he could only see again. It happened and as he read the Book of Mormon he was changed. And this all started because a member one day asked his father if he could send the missionaries to his house. What touched me the most was that here was this young boy with no hope of a future who turned into a man who had a four year football scholarship at BYU, graduated from law school, and eventually ended up working as the Head of Indian Affairs in the Department of Internal Affairs. Why? Because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because of the Book of Mormon, and because of people that cared about him enough to come to the rescue. And I thought, how many of those people do we pass on the street every single day? Those people who have so much potential to do so many great things and they don't even realize it. It's our job to help them realize that potential. And it's not really us that doesn't anything, we just teach them where to find it--in the Savior.
So yesterday was stake conference and Jhoana came. And so did her sister Esperanza. Jhoana is really progressing and Esperanza is starting to too. They really liked it and are already talking about coming again next week. We're going to put Esperanza on date this week and we're hoping that her and Jhoana can get baptized together. Jhoana has progressed leaps and bounds since we first met her and it's been so amazing to be a part of it and to become her friend. For someone who is only 19, I'm amazed at her desire to do what is right and to find the answers to her questions.
So that's about it this week. Sorry it's kind of been a novel. Oh yeah, and I got a wedding announcement for Mari this week! So Maricita, if you ever read this, congratulations! I'm so excited for you!
Thanks family for being the best in the whole wide world. I love you so much.
xoxo
Hermana Simpson
Yep, thats Elder Echo Hawk
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