February 16, 2015

Happy Valentines Day!  I hope you all had a great Dia de Amor without me hahaha :)  Thats so fun that everyone got to come down this weekend!  It sounds like it was quite a party :)  I mean you couldve invited me but i mean i guess its okay...... :)

My week was again SUPER busy!  We have our 4 baptisms that are comming up this week and we still havent finished teaching the lessons and the interviews are on Wednesday!!!  So we will be working super hard today and tomorrow to get them all prepared.  Its crunch time!  But i am so excited for this Saturday!  We are having the baptisms on the beach and i think our whole district will be having our baptisms together so that will be super cool!  I will for sure take lots of pictures.  They want me to do a special musical number on the violin but the problem is, no one has a violin here!  I can buy one for about 200 soles which is about 90 dollars but im not sure if i want to do that...  We are going to keep trying to find one haha :) 

So one of our investigators getting baptized this week is really so amazing.  His name is Layder (pronounced later)  and he is 21 years old.  He is actually a friend of our mission leader, i guess they use to work together or something.  Anyways, he is for sure a golden investigator.  Hes really intelligent and super funny.  He always uses the funniest words and is so intense when he talks and it makes me laugh everytime haha.  Yesterday when we got done teaching him he just kept thanking us for changing his life and intruducing him to the thing hes been looking for his whole life.  It is really amazing to see what this gospel can do for people when they really try and apply it to their lives.  He is really excited for his baptism but is a little afraid.  Hes afraid that is his parents will reject him and that he will lose all of his friends.  We are trying really hard to get him through it and i know he will.  He knows that its true and i know that he will go throgh with it :)  He also told us yesterday that he wants to serve a mission so he can change other peoples lives like we changed his.  Its moments like that that make all the hard times worth it :)

So transfers are in exactly 1 week!  Gosh I have never been so excited or so nervous in my life.  I am excited for a new companion but nervous that it could be worse than the situation im in.  I am also nervous because its MY area and MY investigator and MY ward.  My new companion wont know any of these people or any of the places in the area and to be honest I dont even know all of them or the places either!  And with my still struggling spanish its hard for me to effectively communicate with people...  I just really hope shes not shy and likes to talk because if not we are in for a lot of awkward silences...  Wish me luck....  But it will be good.  Also Hna. Valle has been in her mission for almost 10 months.  I am the first person she has trained and this is her first time being the senior companion.  It has been rough but I really have learned a lot from her.  Not so much in the obedience department because she likes to go to bed late as well as wake up late but she teaches and likes to teach a lot.  

Oh and another thing... My debit cards decided not to work anymore. Both of them.  Today i tried to get some money out of an ATM but it wouldnt let me.  Im not exactly sure whats wrong but if you could go to the bank and ask that would be awesome mother :)

Well that is is for my week.  I love and miss you so much and love to hear how youre all doing.  Gosh mondays are just my favorite days in the whole world.  And its crazy to think that ive been gone for 4 whole months!  I know its not that long but hey 4 months is 4 months right? :)  I hope that everyone is doing great and is staying safe.  I cant wait to hear from yall again next week.  Love you!

Love,
Hermana Lauren Jane Mitchell