GLOW BUGS ARE REAL!!

Hola Familia!

I love you so much! I'm so glad you survived the trek! Good job for not having to go in the middle of the desert! And I'm so glad you all got to go to the temple together. That's great. I'm kind of jealous that I didn't get to be there. That would have been really neat. I love the temple more and more each time I go. It really helps to put things in perspective and I feel less overwhelmed and I get reminded that oh yeah, I actually can do this. That's really neat that Cam got to have a one on one discussion with the temple president. Oh the benefits of small temples.

And Mom, you are going to do fine on your boards. Don't stress out too much because that will just make it harder. If you've put in all the work you should have (which I know you have) and you trust the Lord, He's going to help you pass with flying colors. I believe in you. Just remember that you know what you're doing.

We've been having some pretty awesome thunderstorms here too! Last night we were heading home from our last appointment and there was what looked like this huge explosion in the sky. We had no idea what it was. Then we heard the thunder. And it was the loudest thunder I have ever heard. Like Dobby status. It sounded like he was popping in. It has been so rainy this week. And also so hot. My poor companion has a hard time with the heat. Like a really hard time. The other night we came home and I thought she was going to die. I was a little bit worried.

I've learned quite a few things this week that I think you'll be interested to hear. First, chipmunks and squirrels are not the same thing. How did I not know that? I always thought that chipmunks were just squirrels with different tails. Wrong. They are very different. In my defense, I didn't grow up with a lot of trees.

Second, glow bugs are real! They have this little thing that comes out of their bumsky when they want to light up. They're super ugly up close, but they're kind of nice from far away and they're everywhere. It makes tracting at night super fun.

Third, getting the mail has become a two-edged sword. I hit an all time low this week of not getting a single letter. I think my companion got one every single day. It was pretty miserable. You know you're not green anymore when you stop getting mail. I would chastize you if I didn't know that I had packages at the mission home. They can't forward UPS so I'll have to wait for transfers to get it. And I just laughed at Brady's letter about his companion. I can definitely relate to getting annoyed at the greeness. Oh new missionaries.

And Fourth, men are the worst. Especially hispanic men. It seems like every time we find these wonderful investigators there always has to be a man in the picture making things difficult. Especially when it comes to the law of chastity. Esperanza wants to get baptized so bad. So so bad. But she knows that she can't until she's married, and she wants to do things right. She knows that marriage is more than a piece of paper and she wants to be with Jose forever and she knows that the gospel is how. It's just working on Jose. He doesn't see it like that. He really doesn't understand what marriage is. And we thought we were making progress, and I think we still are, but just not as quickly. I've known that it was going to take time and a lot of prayers to get them married and I know that Esperanza is going to be able to get baptized, it's just a matter of when. My companion, on the other hand thought that it would be a pice of cake, so we came out of our lesson yesterday and she said, "Oh, I think it's going to be harder than we though." I've been trying to tell her that all along. Things like that happen all the time, and it gets a little frustrating at times because for me, it's obvious I can see that and it just makes sense. I knew from the start that it wasn't going to be sunshine and butterflies. It's harder for her to read people. So I'm still working on patience. I'm trying so hard. You would be so proud of me. I only say and do nice things.

The other man problem is Moises. He's Adela's (Esperanza and Jhoana's sister) husband. We watched Together Forever with Adela and at the beginning it shows a couple getting married. When that part came up she said, "I want that so bad." So she wants to get married too. But Moises is being a lamester. And I'm just like really? You have two kids together and are living together. Come on, buddy. Because Adela would totally get baptized if they were married. So it's a lot of patience and faith. I love that family so much. Now if only the men would listen to us.

The mission split this week. It was super sad. I had to say goodbye to Hna Wallis. Who I really do love. I learned so much from her. But it's going to be good.

That's about all I have to say this week. I love you tons. The work is good. I'm learning a lot and choosing to be happy and it's great. I love you so much! Mom, you're going to do so good tomorrow. You'll be in my prayers. Love you Love you Love you!

xoxo

Hermana Simpson