The last full week of my mission

Familia y amigos,

Today I start the last week of my mission. What?! Like Alma said in the Book of Mormon, "I cannot say the smallest part which I feel." My mission has been an experience that has changed me. It has changed me for good. I left on my mission with a strong testimony, and now I finish with an even stronger testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The principles of the Gospel are engraven upon my soul. I have experienced such great joy that causes me to not even be able to “say the smallest part which I feel.” I've gone through good times and hard times, but I'm grateful for all of it, because I got to know my Savior. I know Him! And I can honestly say that He is my best friend. He has been at my side every day and at every single moment. He has never left me, and I know He will never leave. He patiently waits for us when we struggle, and He cheers us on until we have the success that we desire. I'm grateful for His love. I'm grateful for the Atonement that He endured so that we can live with Him again.

This week I had a really neat experience that I want to share with you. To do so, I'll have to back-track a couple of months. One morning back in December I was studying in Preach My Gospel. I read a part that talked about the importance of sharing why you decided to serve a mission. I remember at the end of my study, I prayed to the Lord that he would bless me with an opportunity to share why I decided to serve a mission. That same day, Hermana Gallegos and I stopped at the church in between appointments to use the bathroom. As we were leaving, a young lady was coming in. She looked at me in the eye and asked, ¿Can I ask you why you decided to serve a mission? I couldn't believe it. The Lord answered my prayer that very day!

I began to tell her how I sadly never really planned to go on a mission. I wanted to serve a mission in the future with my spouse, but I wanted to graduate college, get married and start a family. In November 2011, I was going through a tough time and I asked my dad for a father's blessing. He told me to not forget about the option of serving a mission. I remember being frustrated because that was not the answer I wanted at that time. However that blessing planted the seed. I kept the thought of serving a mission at the back of my mind for several months. By the time General Conference came around, I decided to pray about it for good to see if that was what the Lord wanted me to do. It was interesting because during the entire conference, there was never a talk specifically on missionary work. Yet the entire time I felt a burning desire in my heart to serve a mission. I realized how much I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior. And what do you do when you love the Lord? You serve Him by serving your fellow men!

I remember how anxious I was waiting for the perfect moment to announce my decision to my family. And my brother Brian's arms opened wide as if I had just scored the most phenomenal touchdown for the Lord. To this day I have never regretted that decision. I love being a representative of Jesus Christ. I love that I get to dedicate all of my time to help my brothers and sisters learn more about the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation.

As I shared my experience with this young woman, tears started to stream down her face. All she could say was thank you! ¡Gracias! ¡Gracias! She told us that she was thinking about serving a mission and she was at the church to have an interview with the Bishop to get his opinion of whether or not she should go.

On Tuesday I happened to run into this young woman again at the church. She ran up to me, hugged me, and thanked me again for sharing my experience. She then told me that she was at the church to have her final interview with the stake president so that she could finish her mission papers. I'm humbled to know that I was able to be an instrument in the Lord's hands to help another one of his daughters prepare to serve a mission.

Testimony in Spanish
No sé si tendré tiempo en la semana que viene para escribir, así que quiero compartir mi testimonio de que sé que la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Dias es la iglesia verdadera. Yo he llegado a conocer la verdad de muchas cosas durante mi misión mediante el Espíritu Santo, porque Él realmente es la manera que Dios ha preparado para conocer su Evangelio. Sé que el Libro de Mormón es verdadero. Contiene la plenitud del evangelio y el "hombre se acercaría más a Dios al seguir sus preceptos que los de cualquier otro libro." (La introduccion del LdM) El Libro de Mormón habla a mi alma cada vez que lo leo, y yo siempre deleito mucho en leerlo. Tengo testimonio de que José Smith era profeta. Mediante de Él, El Señor restauró el Evangelio y hoy día tenemos la misma autoridad y la plenitud de la iglesia que Jesucristo estableció. Estoy re contenta para decir que soy miembro de la iglesia y sé que aunque no soy perfecta, algún día, mediante la expiación de Jesucristo puedo volver y vivir con mi hermano Jesucristo y mi Padre Celestial. Así que "por lo tanto, gloriémonos, sí, me gloriaré en el Señor; sí, me regocijaré porque es completo mi gozo mío; sí, alabaré a mi Dios para siempre. He aquí, ¿quién puede gloriarse demasiado en el Señor? Sí, ¿y quién podrá decir demasiado de su gran poder, y de su misericordia y de su longanimidad para con los hijos de los hombres? He aquí, les digo que no puedo expresar ni la más mínima parte de lo que siento." (Alma 26:27)

English Translation
I don't know if I will have time next week to write, so I want to share my testimony now that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church. I have come to know the truth of many things during my mission through the Holy Ghost, because he really is the way that God helps us understand His Gospel. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. It contains the fullness of the Gospel, and 'man would come closer to God by following its precepts than any other book' (the introduction of the Book of Mormon). The Book of Mormon speaks to my soul each time I read it, and I greatly delight in reading it. I am a witness to the fact that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Through him The Lord restored the Gospel and today we have the same authority and the fullness of the church that Jesus Christ established. I am so happy to say that I am a member of the Church, and although I am not perfect, some day, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ I can go back and live with my brother Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father. So 'yes, I will glory in the Lord; yes, I rejoice because my joy is full; yes, I will praise my God forever. Behold, who can boast too much in the Lord? Yes, but who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy and kindness to the children of men? Behold, I tell you that I cannot express the slightest part of what I feel." (Alma 26:27)

I love you all! Hope you're well! Have a good week. :)
-Hermana Vawdrey

The little brother of one of my Mar del Plata converts

He was baptized shortly after I was transferred out of Mar del Plata

This cute boy was baptized last Saturday.
He attended his uncle's baptism a few weeks ago and felt the
Holy Ghost. He wanted to feel this spirit all the time and
chose to follow his uncle's example and be baptized as well. :)

One of our sweet investigators from the Dominican Republic

I love this little family! The cute little boy wants to get baptized.

Last Zone Meeting

Hellooo everyone!

Time is flying. It's already Monday! What?! Mom! I received your Valentine's Day package. Thank you! That was quite the package! Hermana Rodriguez and I were really excited.

We had a really great week, and once again we witnessed many miracles. On Tuesday we had a Zone Meeting, and since it was the last zone meeting of the transfer, all of the missionaries that finish their missions at the end of the transfer were asked to bear their testimonies. That was such an incredible experience. There are six of us in our zone that finish their missions this transfer. The spirit was incredibly strong and it was neat to see how converted we have all become as a result of trying to invite people to come unto Christ. (Hello, run-on sentences! Sorry. That's how they speak here in Argentina.) It truly was a moment I will never forget. It was neat to reflect on the progress that we have made in every aspect of our lives. One Elder talked about how we go home as different people. It's true. I'm still Brittni Vawdrey. But, I'm not the same person I was when I came on my mission. But I'm the new and improved! And as horribly sad as it is that our full-time mission is coming to an end, our missions don't end. As members of the Church we are missionaries every day of our lives. It's just time to change the location. The Lord needs us to be in other places, doing other things so that we can continue to help Him bring all of His children unto Christ.

Another day this week we had quite the adventure because there was another big storm. It didn't rain much, but the wind was out of control! Which isn't that pleasant when you have to walk around in a skirt all day. haha. Because of the wind it ended up cutting out the lights! We got to our apartment one night and had to plan by candle night. :) It was funny because the lights came back on at about 10:25, and we go to bed at 10:30. So we had 5 minutes of light before we had to turn it out again. :)  But it was a good experience to realize just how blessed we are to have light and electricity. For example, instead of taking the elevator we had to hike all of the windy stairs. God has a funny sense of humor sometimes to help us remember just how blessed we are, right?

We found several great new investigators this week. And N came to church! It was such a miracle! I wish I had time to tell you all the details. I just have to say that when we give the Lord our hearts, when we do absolutely everything in our power, He does the rest. :)

I know the gospel has been restored. We have the fullness of the gospel on the earth today, and it will never be taken away again! I love my Savior. I know He lives. I know the Lord hears and answers every prayer. We are children of God and we have so much divine potential that we can't even comprehend it. Only because the Lord loves us, and wants us and trusts in us to accomplish great things. So. Keep doing those great things that you're doing. You're making the Lord proud!

Family, I love you! I hope you have a great week! Les quiero mucho!
-Hermana Vawdrey

As a request from the Mama, here are some fun facts/quirks about Argentina:

• People here in Barrio Pueyrredón love Backstreet Boys. And AC/DC. ha Dad, it makes me think of random times driving in "Gus" when we would listen to AC/DC on the way to the boy's sports games. Good times!

• Floppy hair! Oh my. I've never seen so many loose, floppy ponytails in my life! And it's always right on top of their head! ha I get a kick out of it.

• Umm Fashion, (because I naturally notice that) saggy crotch pants are every where. "Pantalones feos" is what I call them. They're so ugly I got a pair because they'll be fun to use for some costume parties in the future.

• Argentines LOVE stickers! They put them on everything. Phones, computers, cars, wallets, etc.

• Pan. Argentines cannot live one day without eating their pan (bread)/ They eat bread every day. And it's funny because when it's served they almost never put it on their plate, it always goes on the table.

• They are so direct! If you look fat, have a bad hair day, etc. they tell you! It's like Grandpa Jon. hahah No filter. ;)

But I love these people. I want you to know that.

Brian Edwards! HELLO!! I got your letter! How great to hear from you. :) I meant to write to you quite a while ago, but I figured you had moved already from the previous apartment address. I hope you're enjoying your internship-trip thing in New York!

Hermana Rodriguez and me

Thanks for sending new socks, Mom. This is what I was wearing!

So pretty before it rains. The sky is huge here without mountains.

His way is perfect!

¡Hola Familia mía y amigos!

It sounds like you all had a fun week. I'm glad to hear that all is well back at home. Here in Argentina I'm doing good too. :) This past week our mission president challenged us to have a "semana celestial," or a celestial week to strive to be the best we can be, the most obedient, diligent, faithful possible. It was a really neat experience. Yet again, we saw so many miracles. For sure Satan was trying his best to discourage us with the heat and the "never-ending siesta," but as we endured to the end each and everyday we were able to see the Lord's hand in our lives. Sometimes the miracles didn't come until the very end of the day, but Hermana Rodriguez and I had some really neat experiences. Have I ever told you that I love being a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Well...I do.

The beautiful little girl we baptized last week

One of the cute members we've been focusing on lately had a neat experience. She was living with her mom and her son, but her mom is really against the church and would try to do anything possible to create distractions when she tried to study the scriptures or pray. Finally she decided that she wanted to move and find her own place to live so that she could have a place where the Holy Ghost could dwell. We taught her earlier in the week about prayer and how you should always pray to counsel with the Lord before you do anything. (Alma 37:37) A few days later she sent us a text message saying that she prayed to the Lord for His help, and through a big miracle was able to find a new place to move to! It makes me smile so big to see her growing so much spiritually. I can see in her countenance now just how much more she confides in the Lord. It's a beautiful thing.

This cute little abuelito (grandpa) got baptized this weekend en el Barrio Villa Serra de los Élderes Adkin y Whiteman. He's 76 years old, and a 77 year old member baptized him. :) Poor grandpa can hardly walk, and he can't bend his knees very well so it made it hard for him to get baptized. I think they had to try 7 times to get it right! At first he didn't go completely under the water because he didn't bend his knees. Then he finally did, but the cute old member baptizing him mixed up the words of the prayer. I was sitting next to an investigator at the time. She was super worried about this poor old man that had to keep trying to get baptized. But the spirit helped me teach a profound lesson as I was explaining to her that baptism is a very sacred thing. It's a covenant that we make with our Father in Heaven. It is the door to enter into His presence. And His house is a house of order! You can't just go through the motions, get part of it right, and expect to go in. It has to all be perfect. He is perfect, and His way is perfect!

Elder Atkin, Member, Convert, Elder Whiteman

I was also humbled this week by the example of one of the members here in Barrio Pueyrredón. Presidente Detlefsen's mother-in-law has been really really sick and was hospitalized. A medication she was prescribed to take had some really bad side effects, and after time her stomach was all perforated and infection had spread through out her entire body. She's in her seventies. The poor thing! She was in a medically-induced coma for about a week so that the medics could control the infection and help her body heal. This past week she was making lots of progress so they took out the breathing tube and everything and now she's on bed rest. Her calling in the ward is to make the calendar for the missionaries so that they can eat with the members. They said the second day that she was out of her coma she was already worrying about the missionaries and how she hadn't been magnifying her calling for a week. That woman is a die hard example of someone who wants to serve the Lord. She is always focused serving others. Now don't worry, we've been fine. We just filled up the calendar ourselves while she was in the hospital, but it was so sweet to hear how quickly she remembered her responsablity to serve the missionaries. :)

All right, I'm out of time. But I hope you know that I love you all and hope this letter finds you well :)

-Hermana Vawdrey

Juli J! I got your dearelder! It made my day. Thank you! I can't wait to be your friend in the real world. Don't worry, I'm working hard, but I'll be home soon. Hope you're enjoying institute! Love you Hern.

Sergio: Recibí su carta también! ¡Gracias! Espero que disfrutara sus vacaciones y que todo esté bien. Mi buena amiga la Hermana Squire está ahora en Barrio Puerto. Cuídela para mi, bueno? Mande saludos a su hija y la famlia Greco!

ESTEFANIA HENRIK!! Felicidades por su llamamiento misional! Estas nocitias me pusieron re contenta :) Será una misionera de diez!!

Purifying. Uplifting. Exhilarating.

M got baptized on Friday!! It was a wonderful day. She looked absolutely beautiful, so happy, and SO full of the spirit. She was really nervous at first to have to be in front of so many people and all of her friends, but the spirit really helped to calm and comfort her.

M is 12 years old and is SO beautiful! She has some of the longest hair I have ever seen! And it's HEALTHY! Go M! I would attach a photo, but unfortunately this computer's USB port doesn't work. She is friends with a bunch of the youth in the ward. She was invited to an activity awhile ago (the fashion show), and has been interested in the church ever since! Since she's only twelve it's been a little bit of a challenge to help her remember the appointments we'd set up with her to teach the lessons, but we finally got it done and it was a pleasure to teach her. It has been fun to watch her progress and learn of the love her Heavenly Father has for her. Her testimony is small, but it's strong. I'm realizing that's all you need. It's like in Alma 32 when he relates faith to a seed. Even if your testimony is of one simple thing, that's enough! Because over time it will grow!

Over the short time I have known M, she has also grown. For awhile her dad wasn't okay with her getting baptized. We taught her about the blessings of prayer and fasting, and we decided to have a fast together with her. As a result of that, many miracles happened and she was able to find a way to explain to her mom and her dad why it was important to her to get baptized and it really touched them so they gave her permission! Yes! We can tell her mom and her dad are both kinda interested...sometimes...haha so we're hoping that by helping M strengthen her faith, that one day her parents will be impacted my her example and get baptized too.

I am so amazed at the faith of M. She's twelve! She's doing this all alone! She's the only member in her family. She has plenty of support in the ward and in the youth, but in her family she's alone--but completely devoted! It's so awesome to see.

We had interviews with Presidente Detlefsen this week. They went well! I was amazed at the fact that I wasn't terrified beforehand! I know now that I can carry a conversation with a native speaker! How weird. How cool! It was neat because I walked in, he shook my hand, and he asked: "Do you have any sin you need to confess?" Bold, right? But I could say no and I knew that I really didn't have any sin! It was such an incredible feeling! It took me back to when I was preparing to go on a mission and preparing to go to the temple and my stake president asked me, "Do you feel like you are worthy to go to the temple?" Saying yes to that question was absolutely...what's the word? Exhilarating? I don't know. I don't know if there is a word! It just feels so good! I just thought that we need to be living our life now in a way that we can really say, "Yeah, I don't have any sin to confess." There's nothing better.

The gospel is so wonderful. It's purifying. Uplifting. Exhilarating. And I get to talk about it all day long. I love it.

I hope you are all doing well!
-Brittni

PS. Shawn Cowan, Derek Paulson, Maralyn Durrant, Hilary Larsen, Vanessa Storey, Metta Smith, Sarah Wirtz, Carrie Helland, Jan Rigby, Shauna Healey, Ali Tingey, Geoff Bodily, Devin Jackson, Alex Watkins, Sherilyn Shelley, Erin Jex, LaDawn Dalton, Krista Keddington, Allyson Gordon, and Grandpa Carlston: Thank you for your birthday wishes!! :)

How to build the "boat"

¡Hola! ¿Qué tal?

Besides the fact that we were fed cow tongue for lunch this past week...it was a good one! (And the cow tongue really was not that bad...just the fact that I could see the taste buds? Not okay. :s)

Cow tongue

Instead of district meeting this past week, we had interviews with Presidente Detlefsen. The meeting before the interviews went really long so the interviews ended up being quick. Yet it was great to see our Mission President! He taught us a lot, but focused mostly on 1 Nephi chapter 17 where the Lord commands Nephi to build a boat. The catch was that Nephi was told to build it "after a manner which He (the Lord) would show unto him," not after the manner of man. For this, Nephi had to go to the Lord in prayer many times to be able to find out where to go to find the tools and how to do each step. Presidente related it to us as missionaries that we are trying to build the Lord's boat too! His church! We have to rely on Him to tell us where to go to find the "tools" (investigators) and then we have to rely on Him to learn how to use them or teach them so that we can build this boat. It was such a great analogy, I loved it! All of us are building our own kind of "boat," and if we rely on Him for the help, we'll be able to successfully build it after the manner of God.

We did divisions this week too between the hermanas here in Pigüé. I went on divisions with Hermana Arancibia, and we had a really successful day! It was fun again to see different work ethics, different contacting approaches, and to see her great eagerness to share the gospel with everyone! She's a great missionary. Since I'm used to being the junior companion, she had me be the senior companion for the day and choose where we would go. At one point I decided to go by a house that caught my eye a few days previous. When we walked up there was a man out standing by his fence. We introduced ourselves and chatted for a minute. We then asked him (Ernesto) why he was outside, like if he was waiting for someone or something? He replied and said, "No, I just felt like I needed to go outside for something!" It was such a powerful moment, it was so cool! I know it was the Holy Ghost that was preparing him to listen to our message. We were able to teach him the first lesson, and he committed to baptism! Whoo!

We're still struggling to get investigators to go to church, but we are finding a lot more new investigators lately! Things are improving paso a paso. :) Hope you all are doing well!

-Hermana Vawdrey

Obedience brings blessings, but exact blessings bring MIRACLES!

Hola otra vez!

This week has been a big week for many reasons. I passed my one month mark here at the MTC, and I now have only one month left! For that I am really excited, but also a little bit worried. The first month went by so fast, and it's scary to think how much more I need to learn in a month. However, I know this is the Lord's way! If he says we will be ready after 9 weeks of being at the MTC, then we will!

My companionship has made leaps and bounds this week. Our amount of CPI's (companionship inventories) has lowered--which I am extremely grateful for. We've learned the importance of being completely honest with what is going through our heads so that we can have more unity. I feel very blessed and humbled to be in a trio because of the opportunity it gives me to turn to the Lord for comfort and advice when we have our differences. This week Hermana Griffin was called as the Senior Companion, so it's been interesting to see a new way of leadership. Our teaching is also improving each day, and our investigators are still doing great. We have really bonded with our district this week also, which has been so great. They feel like my second family! 

Sister Britter's MTC District

Probably one of the hardest rules for me to keep here at the MTC is no dancing. Ah! It's such a big part of me, it's hard to just turn that "off!" After sitting in class for 8 hours straight, I get the wiggles and all these clogging rhythms get stuck in my head and I just need to get them out! I'll be completely honest with you, if ever I was alone in the bathroom I would clog :) However! We have been counselled many times lately that "obedience brings blessing, but exact blessings bring MIRACLES!" I felt like that was really directed at me, and so I set some new goals to allow exact obedience to bring miracles into my life. I mean, who doesn't want to see miracles in their life? I decided to commit to the Lord that I wouldn't clog again while I am here at the MTC. So far so good! It's been stinkin' hard, but I have felt the support of my Savior each and every time I am tempted to dance. I know it seems so simple, but I truly have seen miracles each day since I have given that up. I now have to run at least a mile or two every gym time to get my energy out, but I know the Lord ALWAYS provides a way for you to accomplish what He has commanded you to. (1 Nephi 3:7) One of my favorite scriptures this week is found in Romans 5: 3-6. The Lord has some interesting ways to teach us lessons, but I know He knows exactly what He is doing, and He will never let us down.

Elder Russell M. Nelson

So two weeks ago I was asked to say the closing prayer at the devotional on September 20th. Of course I said yes, but I was freakin' out because, what do you pray for with the entire MTC listening to you?! Well Tuesday came and then I started worrying that I wouldn't be able to say the prayer in English! I have pretty much stopped praying in English, so when I practiced earlier in the morning it was like this war in my head between English and Spanish words. haha I guess that's a good sign because I'm forgetting my English, but I still spent most of the day praying that I would be able to say the prayer without any accidental Spanish words. After dinner was incredible because the spirit here at the MTC was SOOO strong. You could literally feel the presence of a servant of God. It was the neatest feeling! Come to find out, the choir was going to sing "Consider the Lilies" (President Monson's favorite song,) so then I my companions had me getting nervous that I would be praying for the prophet! Well it turned out that Elder Russell M. Nelson came to speak to us! (I was super excited since I know his Grandkids: Lindsay & Russell). It was incredible. He talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon, and how it is THE tool we need to convert God's children to the church. He showed us the October issue of the Ensign and the incredible words said there. The entire magazine is dedicated to the importance of the Book of Mormon. I highly recommend that you read it, because it is so good! When the time came, I went up to say the prayer, and I DID IT! I did it in complete English! I was so happy. I was shaking really bad because of nervousness, but I did it! It was absolutely incredible to have the privilege of saying the last words after an apostle. I selfishly made eye contact with him when I turned around to walk back to my seat, hoping that I could shake his hand or something...haha but he didn't. At least I made eye contact though, right!

Well time is short when you're serving the Lord. I hope all is well! 

Love you! 

-Hermana Vawdrey

Ps. Ellie, CONGRATS on being married! I'm so happy for you.

Pss. Brother Nadauld-thanks for teaching me how to do a good handshake (back in like 2005-ish when you were our home teacher) because people compliment me on it all the time!

Psss. Chantelle Lyman, I see your brother here all the time :) Hope you're doing well!

Pssss. BYU 50th ward, thank you for the letters you sent me last week! It's so great to hear from you.

First letter!

Hola!

The MTC is so great, I absolutely LOVE it! Right now I have my first P-day...well kinda of a mini-P-day because it's only about two hours long. I am very excited to have a chance to email you though because I can type a lot faster than I can hand write letters. Here I am on only my fourth day, but I have been learning so much. Yesterday was kind of a hard day because my companion, Hermana McWhorter got switched to another district. Since her Spanish is already very good, she skipped a whole level and moved up to advanced. She now is scheduled to leave in two weeks! Her visa will most likely not be done so she will probably get assigned state side. It is very crazy how quickly we bonded in just the two days that we were together. I am expecially grateful that I got along with my first companion so well because not all of my companionships will be like that.

I am now in a trio with the other hermanas in my district. Their names are Hermana Baker (the one I met before the MTC) who is also going to Bahia Blanca, &  Hermana Griffin who is going to Denver Colorado Spanish speaking. Hermana Baker has a very contagious laugh and is quite enjoyable to be around. Hermana Griffin is from Canada so she always says funny things like "beg" instead of bag, or "washroom" instead of "bathroom." We get a pretty big kick out of it.  Our companionship has been great so far. I was worried at first to be in a trio, but it has been good!

Yesterday we taught our first investigator, Jorge, and it had to all be in Spanish! AH! But it actually went really well. I am really proud of us! It was definitely our first time and we have a long ways to go, but we felt the spirit! We said a prayer before and I really think that made all the difference. There were many times when we would ask a question and then we would only understand some of what he said so we wouldn't really know how to respond! Or we'd be speaking en Espanol and we would "hit a wall" because we wouldn't know how to say a certain word. We kinda had to play charades with him to get our point across, but I think he knew what we were trying to say. At one point I was supposed to teach him how to pray and then say a prayer as an example...only I forgot to teach him how to pray other than the fact that I told him to close his eyes! haha My companions & I laughed about that for quite awhile afterward. It's crazy to think that in a few weeks I will be able to truly carry a conversation. I now know how to pray in Spanish and testify in Spanish, and it has only been four days! I can already feel the gift of tongues working in my life. I have made so much progress, it is unreal!

We have a great teacher and a great district. I will be the junior companion for the first half of my stay at the MTC, and then probably senior companion for the next half. There are now three hermanas in our district, and six elders. I think the elders are a little intimidated by us since we are older so we are trying to get to know them better. Life as a missionary is awesome, but it is non-stop. It's funny how much joy we get from the simple things like laying on the ground for a minute at the end of the day, or on P-days when we have longer than five minutes to take a shower.  :)  From all of the studying and workshops I've realized that I am here to learn how to speak Spanish  for my future investigators, not for myself. :)

I'm sorry this is short, but my time is up. Thank you for your letters! Te amo!

-Hermana Vawdrey