Hello everyone!

Let me tell you what, it's been quite a challenge getting to this point of writing my email... yesterday was Memorial Day so all the libraries were closed, so we were told we could come today. First we tried to go to the library super close to it, it's closed on Tuesday. Then we tried to go to another one about 10 minutes away, it doesn't open until 12. Then we went to this other library that GPS told us to go to, it was not there anymore. So, I'm FINALLY here :)

So.... where to start? Well, I've learned a new phrase from Kentucky that is quite weird: Burnt-slap up. It means hot. Like if you're outside and you get hot you say, "man, I'm burnt-slap up!" Weird, I know, but I guess that's the way it is. There's this Sister from Kentucky here and she said that and I was like, "what the crap does that mean?!" It's so funny to meet all these different people and hear the different phrases they use in their hometowns :)

Something they don't warn us about before coming and teaching Hispanics is that they talk FOREVER! Sometimes we have an hour lesson and only teach for like 15 minutes because they talk, and talk, and talk! We can't just stop by when we have an extra 10 minutes because we know we'll be there for at LEAST 45 minutes. It's ridiculous! I guess it's good in a way because than we really get to know them and understand what they're needs are. But sometimes I'm like, "seriously? How are you even able to talk this much?"

Remember Tony? Well, he came to church AGAIN! We were SO happy! It's pretty rare to have investigators come to church twice in a row, but ESPECIALLY when you've only taught them one lesson! We've tried to get in to see him again but twice we've gone and he hasn't been there because he's forgotten. So, we need to start calling him the night before to remind him. That happens soooo frequently, people are either forgetting their appointments and they're purposely gone when our appointment is - sometimes I can't figure out which one :) With Tony though I think he just genuinely forgets!

After church I asked him what he learned in class and he said "I learned there's more to the 10 commandments than I thought there was! Like with adultery  you don't have to actually be commited it, just looking at a girl and wanting to is a sin. When I heard that I was like, 'oh shoot!!'" Hahaha I laughed so hard :) But he seemed a lot more comfortable this week and he seemed a lot happier too! I'm so excited to teach him (if we can ever get in to see him!)

This last week I met the daughter of one of the investigators who's 15, her name is Genesis, and she's been taught a couple times before, been given a Book of Mormon, but she has been gone like the last 5 weeks the missionaries have gone over. So, she was finally there today and she is so stinkin' cute! And she asks really good questions so we know she's really listening and thinking about the stuff we're teaching her, like we were reading in 1 Nephi somewhere and she asked "so, what happens to people like in North Korea who don't have the opportunity to hear about this stuff on the earth?". She just seems super ready to accept the gospel so I'm excited to teach her too!

At the end of our lesson with her and her mom we invited them to pray about what we had talked about that day and she said, "last time I prayed I just felt so peaceful and so calm. I don't know why!" And both Hermana Lopez and I just started smiling because we were so excited that she had felt the Spirit! So we told her that is was the Spirit and she just smiled. But, she's way stinkin' cute and I can just tell she's a really good person.

So the Elders had a baptism on Saturday of this cute old lady who's 70-something years old! She was really excited and said she felt really peaceful and calm, and then she didn't show up on Sunday to get the gift of the Holy Ghost! I felt so bad for the Elders, they were super bummed because they were worried on Friday she was going to bail on them. They tried calling her but she didn't answer, so I hope she didn't freak out and that she'll come to church next week!

There's 6 missionaries in our ward here and we all had kind of a crappy week! Tons of our appointments cancelled, a lot of our investigators didn't come to church, etc. etc. But, this week will be better! By the way, if any of you are asked to go out with the missionaries and you tell them you'll go, please go! It's uber frustrating when we can't go teach a single man because we had set up with a priesthood holder to come and then they bail on us. It's funny the things you think about once you're a missionary that you never had thought too big of a deal of before :)

Everything is going quite good here -- especially the food! It's SO delicious! The Elders told me I had to try this soup and it's got cow stomach, corn and something else in it, so I did and they were all shocked I actually did it! It really didn't taste bad, but the texture of it was quite nasty! It gives me the chills a little bit to think of it :)

Hahaha last night we had dinner with La Familia Pizarro and their little 3 year old granddaughter was there and her brother who's like 10 came in and was like, "who drank all the orange soda?" And his grandma (the one that was feeding us) says, "it wasn't me or grandpa because we only drink diet." So the boy just jokingly looks and the dog and says, "she probably drank it!" And the little first says, "don't look at her! She didn't drink it! She's a girl -- she drinks diet!!" Hahaha we all laughed so hard! She's only 3 and she's already got that whole idea about girls needs to drink diet soda!

I'm slowly, very very slowly, starting to understand a little bit more Spanish than when I first got here. I don't get too frustrated unless I study Indirect and Direct object pronouns because I never understand that and I get frustrated when people talk to me and just expect me to understand them and get irritated when I don't because they know I've only been here for three weeks! But I love when people are surprised to find out that I've only been here for three weeks because they say I speak Spanish pretty well -- that always makes me happy :)

This ward has really been trying to help get the members involved in doing missionary work, like giving the missionaries references, talking to their non-member friends and family about the gospel but people are just so scared to do it (which I don't blame them, I was too before my mission) so tonight Hermana Lopez and I are doing a little lesson about how it's our responsibility to share the gospel with others and then we're going to have them role-play talking to their friends about the church and giving them a Book of Mormon. Hopefully it will help!

It's CRAZY how many people there are that are less-active. I didn't realize how many there were, not just here but all over the world, until coming on my mission. There are SO many people who get baptized and then a month or two later become inactive. It's pretty crazy.

Well, I must get back to the world of missionary work now. I will write next week (hopefully we don't have library problems... haha )

Love you guys :)