Kemah, Texas!

Hi everyone! I can't believe this is my first preparation day in the mission field. It's totally unreal that this day is actually here! I remember being at home terrified for what lied ahead, and now I am living in it. I am a missionary and I love it more than anything. The first day we got in Houston, it was SO HUMID. I almost died! Ha, ha. I kept thinking, "I don't know how in the world I will be able to do this for 18 months?" My hands felt so sticky and the breeze ... well, there was no breeze! We got picked up from the airport and headed over to the mission office where we went "running." Basically, we go out with missionaries who have been here longer and we talk to anyone we see! It was so fun! I talked to a Hispanic man and he was interested! Then we headed over to the mission home, where our Mission President Brian Ashton and his family live. We had a testimony meeting and dinner. Everyone kept talking about my Spanish and how I already speak the language. A lot of the girls that got here the same day I did were in the Mexico Missionary Training Center for six weeks and still don't know a lot of Spanish ... I kind of felt bad that I speak as much as I do. Ha, ha. It is such a blessing, though! We spent the night at a member's home and the next day we met our trainers.

My companion/trainer is Hermana Huntsman. She is pretty much my best friend already! She is from Utah and she plays lacrosse for the University of Detroit! Division 1! She is amazing. Her testimony and faith in all the investigators is so strong. She has taught me so much and I have really been learning how to rely on the Spirit. I know how He speaks to me now and I can tell when I am being prompted. We visited a lot of people on our first day and the one man I will never forget is Miguel Chavez. He is somewhere around 80 years old and we taught him about how God loves us. I started crying in the lesson because I could literally FEEL the love Heavenly Father has for him. It was amazing. Hermana Huntsman told me before that they've invited him before but he never really seems ready, but during the lesson, she whispered to me, "Invite him." I was like, "WHAT? No way. This is the real thing!" I was so nervous, but I recited the familiar baptismal invitation we learn from Preach My Gospel and ... HE SAID YES! It was crazy. My first day and I got a baptismal date. Who gets to say that? Ha, ha. I love him so much. His faith is amazing and yesterday he passed his baptismal interview! Oct. 25 is his date! It'll be great. 

We're teaching so many people, it's hard to list them all, but I am feeling way more confident in my Spanish and in the lessons. Hermana Hunstman speaks it really well for only being here four months, so together, we're a great team. She is really good at talking to people and asking them questions. I am learning a lot from her.

Kemah is awesome. It's a small town, but our area is pretty big. We have a Ford Fusion 2013! (Threw that in there because dad and I always love the feeling of a nice new rental car!) I feel like a queen when I drive. Ha, ha. It's such a blessing to have a car! Our phone even hooks up to the Bluetooth which is so nice! Lately, it's been pretty cold here, which is a blessing because the first couple of days were brutal. I love Texas. There are days when I wake up and think, "Am I really in Texas right now?" It's fun. The members here don't feed us ... they get offended when we pass around the sign-up sheet ... ha, ha. So yesterday, one of the less active members FED US! It was an incredible miracle. And it was carne asada, tortillas, frejoles (beans), guacamole and pollo (chicken). ALL OF MY FAVORITE THINGS. I was so happy. It's funny because I know I am serving state side, but I really feel like I am in a foreign country. You'll see in the pictures. Everyone speaks Spanish and hardly any English. The houses just remind me of Peru and Ecuador. It's crazy how foreign I feel here, but I really do love it.

Mom and Dad, I always use your conversion stories to testify to our investigators. I always cry, too, thinking about how strong you two are and how far you have come in this life. I feel everyday the love Heavenly Father has for both of you and it brings me to tears in humility to have you both as my parents and that I get the privilege of being sealed to you both for eternity. I wouldn't have it any other way. That is the biggest blessing I have and will ever receive. I love you both so much. The other day, an investigator told us, "You both are rich, that's why you're on a mission and that's why you're always happy." I felt prompted to share your stories and I did. He was immediately quiet and I felt the Spirit so strong. Your life stories are and will always be an example to me and I hope you know that they are an example to other people, also. 

Zone conference was amazing. I felt so close to my Heavenly Father and Hermana Huntsman and I received a lot of revelation about our investigators and their needs. Elder Gregory A. Schwitzer of the second Quorum of the Seventy came and spoke to us. We did a lot of role play scenarios and baptismal inviation scenarios. It helped a lot. He told us how our message needs to always be centered on the Savior. Mission President told us that the way we can come to love the Gospel is by understanding the Atonement. If it wasn't for the Savior, we would not have been born. He lends us breath from day to day.

DAD, we play soccer every Friday! When Hermana Huntsman told me that I was like NO WAY. Blessings! We bring all our investigators and we play at a park. I played on Friday and everyone was telling me that I could totally play at BYU. I am starting to have more confidence in myself! It's so fun to play here. I wish more than anything that you could come play with us, too! I always tell them that you're super good. And I also let everyone know that it's all about REAL MADRID! Ha, ha. I love TEXAS!

The Church is true! I love being a missionary and sharing the Gospel! I miss you all! 

My apartment address is:

2525 St. Christopher Ave. Apt #927 

League City, TX 77573

Please send me letters and packages to that address!

Les amo mucho! 

All the little kids we teach! Who love soccer, might I add.

Hermana Huntsman y yo tomando un refresco. Hace mucho calor en Texas! 

We put a Book of Mormon in EVERY hotel room!

5. Britley! Hna. Martiza's daughter.

Making tortillas! 

Recent convert, Ottoniel!

OUR CAR!

Hermana Sanchez