jilli

Familia! How are you all?? Thank you Mom and Dad for your letters this week! I loved them. Everything you say to me is always just what I need to hear. I'm glad you all are happy!! Can you believe that I am going to have been out for 5 months in two weeks???!!?!?!? WHAT?!? Bizarre. That makes it feel like it's going fast.

So. Transfers are coming up next Monday. We will see. I would LOVE to stay here for another transfer, but I don't know if I will get to. I can see it going both ways. So just keep the mission president in your prayers are he decides where the Lord wants me.

This last week just sped by! We taught a lesson to C's mom on Wednesday because she thought that we were a cult that practiced polygamy (join the club, so does everybody else) and we taught her about the restoration and she is going to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. I love the tool that the Book of Mormon is. Because, seriously, I just have to be lovingly bold and know the right questions to ask them to get them to think, and then we tell them to read the book of mormon. And then we follow up. And that is ALL we can do. I cannot make anyone believe this. I never would be able to. But God can, and all He wants me to do is be there physically so He can teach them spiritually. It makes this all much less stressful. I'm doing better at not trying to be perfect. It is hard business. But I am trying every day to be better. I have kind of given up thinking this is going to get easy and super enjoyable at this point. I just need to do it. That is what I've been asked to do. And I am happy. I just am stressy and I don't like being rejected all the time. But I'm learning a lot a lot a lot.

Thursday we went to the temple. Oh. My. GOSH. I just want to LIVE there and never leave it. We always have to go too soon. That's something that is hard to get used to as a missionary, that you don't have time to just be. You just are constantly going going going. And I guess that is when we are supposed to learn to rely on the Savior because after a while you just don't have it anymore. It's just like Why should I keep going? Nothing is happening. And you still have to go on. Those are things that I really am grateful to be learning, even though it is not fun to learn them. But that's life - you keep going even when you can't. Because you don't have another choice really. And the Lord has promised that if we come unto him we will find rest for our souls. We are studying the New Testament as a mission right now, and it is AWESOME! The 4 gospels, a chapter or two every day, will take us all the way to CHRISTMAS! And then I will get to talk to you on the phone!! AH! I can't believe it is snowing there already. I think that's another reason why I feel like time just has not passed here in Texas, because the weather is pretty much exactly the same, except now it's a little cooler. Still hot though. And so it's like time just hasn't passed. Knowing that it is snowing at home, though, makes me realize that time is passing!

Thursday was also my brother's birthday!!!!!! WAS IT GREAT? I hope so. I hope you did all kinds of crazy things. I told everyone at lunch after the temple that it was your birthday. And that it was my half birthday -cause it was. I am officially 21.5 years old. It is great.

Speaking of the name, my lovely solid recent convert... is kind of in jail. Yeah. Awesome. We found out last tuesday. He apparently got a DWI and is in jail for 15 days. Very nice. So the ward has been out to see him, but we are hoping he just realizes that this does not change who he is and what he knows and where he can go. Unfortunately this will have a TON of consequences for him and school and work and everything. I am very sad about it. But there is nothing I can do, so we will go on.

Yesterday after church we went finding. And it was awful. We got told that we were going to hell. And that is just always a joy, but Sister Cochran started to cry after we left. And it didn't make me sad, it just made me apathetic. Like What in the world am I doing here? I'm still feeling a little bit that way. I'm just tired of going places where people don't like me. It's hard to want to do things that will make me feel bad. So, I'm thinking that from this we are supposed to be learning that we need to work with members more. Because I used to LOVE tracting. Like, LOVE it. And now I am struggling with it. Because it's like "What good even comes of it? People are just rude and I'm tired of putting myself into positions where people are rude." Oh, listen to me complain. I am sorry. That is just how I'm feeling this morning. It was a good night after that. We went to dinner at the Gold's house. And then we went tracting some more and met the nicest guy named Billy. He is cool. We're going back on Wednesday.

This will be a good week. And even if it's not, I will live :] But the idea that I might have to leave the Zone that I love and all the people that I know is alittle scary so I'm going to try and make it good. OOOH, by the way we have a new Assistant! And a new MTC-Training-Elder. Elder Sadleir, one of our Zone leaders, is the new AP. And Elder Tauteoli, our other Zone Leader... is the new MTC Training Elder. So we are just floating around without zone leaders a little bit. Kind of. Not really. But they're being trained this week... so kind of. I am excited for them! We have just had the BEST Elders in the Zone. They are top notch. We try to be good missionaries because we are so inspired by the missionaries around us.

Me and Sister Cochran laugh a lot. So that is good. I love her and I am so grateful for her. I really hope I'm with her for another transfer. There are so many things up in the air about the transfer though, because there is a totally empty sister's area, and an empty zone leaders area and not a lot of missionaries are coming in, and a lot are going home. And I feel like I'm an old hat now and that is SUPER weird because there are people that are newer than me. We'll see. Oh, family I am just constantly learning and that means that I am like never comfortable. Sooooo that is fun. I'm trying to be happy while I'm uncomfortable though. That's something that is a little foreign to me, because being happy and being comfortable in the real world usually go together.

How is everything there? I'm sorry to hear that the Utes are struggling, bless their hearts. How is the ward? Any new things that I should know about?? New kids or big events? Tell Spencer and Kenzie congratulations from me when you see them next! That is so cool!!! Everyone I know is going to be married when I get home haha. Me and Sister cochran talk about how we're just going to have to chum around with eachother because everyone else is getting married. How is school and work and everything else? How is the fire pit? I would love you all to just use that in honor of me all the time. ALSO I would really like a picture of my family!!!! HELLO??? What do you all even look like anymore??? :] So just send me one. I'll send some pictures from the temple and the past weeks for you. LOVE YOU!!

Haha in the one of me and sister cochran at the temple that is peterson in the background hahahhaha he is so funny i love him!!