email of 18 October 2010

Hello!!!!!!!

Well, like the subject line says, I was right! Heavenly Father is letting me stay here in S. Lynwood with Sister Fitzgerald for my last transfer! I'm really glad because that means I'll get to die speaking Spanish, and we have some really good work going on here right now! It'll be fun to be 3 transfers with Sis Fitzgerald too; there are for sure times when we both have rather mixed feelings about being together, but it's also a great experience in getting to know and love a person in the way that you do with a companion. We have (and continue to) learned a lot about love, compassion, understanding, charity, patience, and unity. We also have a ton of fun and very "molding and shaping" spiritual experiences together, and I'm grateful that we get to stay companions. It's funny though, the other day I was thinking about that old movie we have -- "It's a Miracle" -- and the part where the main character and his companion are having it out ("You want my peelings?"), and the way they sing at the end, "We're companions, we're companions, and we're going to get along!" I just had to laugh because sometimes that really describes our relationship. Now, I don't want you to think that my companion and I hate each other and never get along, because that's definitely not the case! We're just two different people who have had to stretch and change a lot in order to really work and be our best together, but it has really built and strengthened my testimony a lot, and I know that the Lord is in it! You see, we need each other -- both of us for whatever different reasons -- and I've learned SO MUCH from being with her! Anyways, all that to say that I love my companion, and am looking forward to another transfer together!

I did not end up singing at a mission-wide conference this weekend...it was cancelled because the visiting authority (E. Clayton of the 70) who had called it all together was assigned to go to another meeting of sorts instead. Oh well!

I'm trying to think of something funny/cool that happened this week...

We carved pumpkins for our Zone Activity this morning! Sis. F and I made a sick missionary pumpkin, one set of elders made a "El Libro de Mormon," and another carved the plan of salvation! So Funny! We took ours and the PoS to put on our balcony :) And Mom, guess what? My comp's favorite holiday is Halloween too!

Abraham still isn't back from Tijuana....we're kinda worried, but still praying our little hearts out and trusting that everything will be ok!

Rogelio is continuing to progress, and we're also now teaching a young single mom named Gladis, who is AWESOME!!! She's a former that we went back to visit, and she's totally ready now! The biggest struggle with her right now is that she works nights cleaning a movie theater, so the earliest she usually gets home on Sunday morning is about 10...church starts at 9:30, and it's Sacrament Mtg first. She got there in time for the last two classes yesterday, and really loved it, but we're going to have to figure something out for S.M.!!!!! I'm praying that she can get a new job...

We also met a girl and her little sister -- Jasmine and Jacqueline -- who are so cute, and really excited to learn about the gospel and get baptized!!! we had a great little lesson with them last night, and they committed to baptism on the 7th of November too!!! That's 5 people we're teaching now with dates for the 7th!!!!! PLEASE pray for them!!!

I want you all to know that I really, really do know that this is Jesus Christ's true gospel restored here on the earth! I KNOW that the Book of Mormon is true, and I KNOW that the Atonement is real!!!!

I Love Being A Missionary!!!!!!!

I Love YOU!!!!!!!!

Love,
Hermana Sallie

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!!!!!!