FOUR MORE DAYS!!!

Hola Familia!

 

Sorry you didn't get an email yesterday.  We had in field orientation all day long so our Pday got moved to today.  You know what that means? I'm going to DC in four days!! I got my flight itinerary earlier this week.  It looks like this:

Depart: SLC 6:00 AM

Arrive: DALLAS 9:35

Depart DALLAS 10:55

Arrive: WADC 2:35

We have to leave the CCM at 3:00 in the morning.  Yucky.  I will call you after my flight lands in Dallas.  So that will be at like 7:30 or 8:00 your time?  I hope someone will be home.  Mom, I'll try to call your phone first, so have it on you.  I'm very excited to get to DC.  I'm bursting with excitement to share the gospel.  Yesterday during In Field Orientation I learned so much.  Like how to contact people (we got mormon.org passalong cards to share on the plane, which is awesome!), and how to utilize members.  Members are so important in missionary work.  You have no idea. But the missionaries are here to help the members share the gospel.  It's so important.  I've learned so much during my time here at the CCM.  I was joking with one of my teachers that I should have stayed in the intermediate Spanish class because I still have so much to learn. He just said, "No, Hermana, you need to get to the field.  I'm starting to feel more confident about approaching the people about the gospel as I've come to understand more of my purpose as a missionary.  And that is to help people fully access the atonement of Jesus Chrsit through baptism, which is the gate to salvation.  We are not just sharing a nice idea, we are working in the same work as Christ, which is bringing salvation to as many souls as possible.  And that is why the gospel is so important.  It's not about the people at church or the fun things that different groups do, it's because it's the way to get to the Celestial Kingdom.  Now if only I could say it that well in Spanish. 

 

 I'm glad to hear that Brady is doing well.  I got a little note from him.  He's going to be a great missionary.  How did the game last night go?  I hope it went well. Tell everyone to write me letters my last few days. If you do it on dear elder it means i get it the exact same day and it's free.  And I've gotten more letters from Grandma than I have from you guys.  You're slacking!  Just kidding, but I would like to hear from you (Kelley I know you're reading this).  It would be best to send the package to DC if you haven't sent it yet, or else I don't think I will get it.  Also, if you can't find my patriarchal blessing, I know you can have another one sent to me if you log in on my lds.orgaccount.  And did you have a chance to find anything out about my brown boots?

 

Our district has grown even closer this week.  I think we realized that this will be our last week together.  They've really become my family here at the CCM and I love each and every one of them.  We've started going around the room at night before our district prayer and giving compliments to each other.  This has become one of the best parts of the day because it's so uplifting and we laugh a lot.  A couple of nights ago our district leader decided to compliment me.  He said, "Hermana Simpson, you are the Americanized one in the group.  But you really love Spanish and I like that."  The Americanized one?  We all laughed, but it's true.  I'm the only one that's had to actually study Spanish because I didn't grow up speaking it.  That has been really challenging for me, but I think that I'm improving.  It's hard for me to be able to say exactly what I mean in English, but to have to state it more simply in Spanish because I don't know the words.  Especially when we're teaching.  But I can tell that I've improved and with the Lord's help, hopefully I'll be basically fluent by the time I get back.  We've also been playing volleyball as a district and that has been really fun as well.  And a little crazy.

 

Michelle got here on Wednesday.  And she lives on my floor, right down the hall!  I've actually run into her a lot, and it's so good to have her here.  I love Michelle!

 

Being a missionary is seriously the best thing ever.  Right now I never want to not be a missionary.  Does that make sense?  I just feel just a joy within me when I think about sharing the gospel and how it's changed my life, and I want other people to feel that same joy and purpose in their lives.  I hope all of you at home seriously consider serving a mission.  Pray about it.  Ask Heavenly Father if it's right and he will answer you.  He loves you and he wants you to share that love with others.  This gospel is so much bigger and so much more important than we reailze. 

 

Keep being awesome and being good examples.  I love you so much and I miss you. You're the best family in the world. 

 

xoxo

Hermana Simpson