Companions on tip toes!

Mom!

I am so glad that you were able to go to the parade of homes!  So glad that you keep in touch with all of your old friends.  It is something that I hope I will be able to do.  

This week was a little crazy.  Tuesday we had a surprise zone conference.  I always learn so much from my leaders and this week we learned about the importance of obedience.  I know that it is so important to be obedient.  It has helped us a lot out here in the mission.  

Wednesday we were searching for more people to teach and this week we had the goal to contact 140 people in the streets.  I am proud to say that we completed our goal and we saw the fruits of our labors.  Sunday was an amazing day!  The talks, the weather, the spirit, the people.  Everything was amazing.  We had a surprise investigator show up to church.  Her name is Jazmine and she is amazing!  They were explaining what it is to give the missionaries food for the week and she was ready to volunteer too!  I think that she is going to progress very quickly in the church.

I  am sad to say that I don´t know what happened with J.  We passed by for our other appointments but we could never find him.  I think that we should pass by again just to check up on him and see what we can do to help him.

It is so weird here because they don't celebrate Fathers Day as much as they do Mothers Day.  It is a little sad. 

We also had interviews with President this week.  I love interviews!  It is always a time to ask how I can improve and President is like my dad out here.  Don't worry Dad nobody can replace you!  But President told me that I will be changing areas the next round of transfers.  I started to cry a little because I have grown to love it here, but I don´t think that I can do anything else here.  I am so grateful for the chance that I had to start in such an amazing place.

I hope that your week is full of adventure!

Love you SOOOOO Much!

Hermana Drew

Zone Conference

Sharing the Gospel with Enrique, Leo and Allison

In front of the Church in Valle de Bravo

My companions always have to stand on their tip toes!

Floods and Hot dogs!

Mother Dearest!

Can you believe it?! I have been on the mission for 5 months!  It is crazy that McKenna will be home in a month!  That means that I will be back in one year!  Wow time is cruising!  

So sad to hear that Tay tay is sick.  It is the worst to be bed ridden. HA HA oh man she would clean the whole house?! ha ha!  She must be really sick!  (Note from Mom, Taylor has been really sick and told me she would do anything to not be sick including deep cleaning the whole house.)

I am so glad you got my package! Isn't Hermana Brinkerhoff the best!  I'm glad you were able to go to her homecoming. (Another note from Mom, Caitlin's last companion just got home from her mission and lives in St. George.  I was able to go down and hear her mission report.  It was fabulous being able to talk to someone face to face who had just seen my Cait.  I couldn't help but give her a big hug!  She brought back a package from Cait.) The little candies were just some of my favorites!  I thought it was funny with the pinguiinos! HAHAHA penguin party!!  Did you save something for McKenna?  The thing for Robert is a Luchador magnet.  I thought that it was pretty cool.  You can look at it if you would like!  Did Dad like his salsa or was it gross?  I have never tried it before......

This week was pretty good.  We didn´t have a lot of people in the church so I was a little sad about that.  I can honestly say that I know how Heavenly Father feels when we don´t complete a commandment.  I don´t think that I will ever miss a day of church ever again.

It was my turn to speak in church again and I spoke on missionary work.  Oh man sometimes we think that missionary work is hard but really the definition is sharing the gospel in word and example.  So simple but sometimes we don´t realize how we can make a difference.  

It rained a lot this week.  We basically leave the house and it is hot and sunny but right after we eat it gets cloudy.  We were walking home this week and slowly the rain started to pick up.  We were drenched in 5 seconds ha ha.  When we got to our house we had a little pond in front.  I was walking along and when I took the next step I fell.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!  Oh man I was so glad that we were going in for the night!  It was so funny!

We are teaching this little boy of a less active member.  He is so smart and so spiritually strong.  We had a lesson on the Plan of Salvation and he had so many questions.  We had to go back to the basics and teach so that he could understand. It was such a good lesson.

So there is a little town here called San Gaspar.  And guess what?! They have Fireflies!  It reminded me so much of St. Louis!  I loved so much to see the little lights flickering!  So amazing that we have creatures like that in the world.

Here is a little about my comp.  Her name is Katia Olivas. She is 20 years old and from Tijuana Baja California.  She has 11 months in the mission and she is the nicest person ever!  She has a heart of pure gold!  I am so lucky to have had such amazing companions!

This week is going to be full of miracles!  Full of hope!  and full of blessings!  I can feel it!

Love you so much and keep on being an example of the believers!

Hermana Drew

Floods and Mountains!

Hot dogs in Mexico

Hermana Olivas caught in a storm

Hermana Drew drenched!

Hermana Olivas and Hermana Drew

Hot dogs on a mission

Mexican hot dogs!

Hermana Olivas

A table decoration at a restaurant 

The Plan of Salvation is the best!

Mother!

I admit that I wasn`t surprised to hear that Toby died.  I actually had a dream that he died so I kind of took it as a sign.  It is so great that he is in heaven though.  Much happier and healthier.  

You know that picture that I sent of the blind man that we sang for on his birthday?  Well he died too.  It was a little shocking but it is also a really happy story because he was super sick and couldn`t do a lot.  He was an amazing member though and I can`t wait to see him again. 

This week we had Exchanges.  I left Valle for the First time in my whole mission....It was so weird to be in a different place.  Sometimes I just feel like it is me and my comp out here in Valle HAHA.  Us in our own little paradise.  OH man do I have a story....so during this exchange I was in Metepec with the STL and she had a new investigator that we were going to see.  So we walked in the door and she greets Hna Carreon and then she looks at me.  She can`t help but saying, ``You're so pretty. What color are your eyes? How tall are you?" (everyone asks that) during the whole lesson.  I was really uncomfortable...So she has a son...and she kept trying to set me up with him.  I kind of got a little annoyed because we would be teaching and the whole time she would be making these comments.  Geeze Louise!  HAHA

Things are great with my companion!  We set a lot of goals this week to work harder and find new people.  We are going to work double than what we have been and still have fun while doing it. We do a lot of contacting games like contacting a person with a hat or things like that.  

The most spiritual thing that happened this week was during Sunday School in church.  We were talking about the spirit and every time someone asks me to say how I feel the spirit I am just filled with the spirit.  I know that he is a big part of this work.

Let Cecilia know that I miss her tons and hope that everything is going well!

I hope this week is full of fun things for you!  Make everyday a new one.

Love you Tons!

Hermana Drew

Chinese food in Mexico

Mother Dearest!

Oh man this week has been a hoot!  Hermana Olivas is like a mixture of Hermana Cabrera and Hermana Brinkerhoff!  And no she is not going home this transfer.  We will get to know each other a little more than I have my other two companions. We have a lot of fun!  In the streets we are usually singing and we have had some funny contacts.  Everyday is an adventure out here and I love it!

The Branch is amazing and they are getting so involved with the missionary work.  We are really trying to get the less active families reactivated so that the church can be more established here.

Mission tour means that we have a member of the Seventy come to our mission and he speaks and trains us a little.  It was basically a big multi-zone conference, which means we have different zones come together to learn how we can be better missionaries.  Well in this conference, Elder Nash asked us to share more of the Plan of Salvation, so we worked really hard to do that this week.  We had one really great lesson.  It was with a less active, part member family.  We started out and they were practically sleeping ha ha, but when we got to the part about the Atonement they were all ears.  Hermana Olivas asked them, ¨how do you feel knowing that Jesus Christ suffered and died for you?¨ and they really hadn´t thought about it until that moment but they said that they felt bad because they had not been doing anything to show their appreciation for the Atonement.  They finally got it!   The spirit was so strong and I am so grateful for Hna Olivas!

It is so true what you said about the priesthood.  It is an amazing gift.  I am always so grateful for the priesthood and how it can help our lives.  I can definitely feel a difference when a worthy priesthood holder is administering an ordinance.

(Note from Mom.  This is where Caitlin's email ended this week.  I'm not sure if she ran out of time or if she just forgot to end it.  Sorry)

Hermana Olivas and I at the lake.

Again, at the lake.

Hermana Olivas eating Chinese food.

Having a little lunch, looks like Panda Express!

Another new companion! Hermana Olivas

Well Hermana Brinkerhoff is on her way home.  I have to admit that it has been a little hard to focus on the mission with two of my companions going home.  I hope that eventually I will become missionaries like them.  Hermana Brinkerhoff helped me learn so much and was an excellent missionary.  She loved everyone and everyone loved her!  I hope that I will be able to help my areas like she did.

I am still in Valle De Bravo with my new comp Hermana Olivas from Tijuana!  I have heard all good things about her so I am really excited to work with her!  She comes from an all girl family too! And her sister is going to be finishing the mission this next transfer too!  We have so much in common.

This week we had the Mission Tour with Elder Nash.  It was amazing!  It was a multizone activity and lasted all day.  We woke up really early so that we could get there on time and we listened to some talks from some missionaries, President Whitehead and Hermana Whitehead, and finally Elder Nash and his wife. Also Hermana Brinkerhoff and I did a special musical number.  ¨When I am Baptized¨ It went pretty well for only practicing once because we didn´t have power in the Casa de Oracion.  

Elder Nash taught us about how to use the Plan of Salvation in every lesson.  I think sometimes we really forget we are sons and daughters of God and what that really means.  I have learned a lot about my relationship with God this week, through prayer, experiences, and lessons.  I think on my mission I have been able to get to know how Heavenly Father feels when we disobey.  It is so sad.

We went to Santo Thomas again this week and the coolest thing happened.  We started contacting two men and during the contact more people started to join us.  We ended up contacting 6 people!  I kind of felt a little weird because there we were, two white girls, trying to teach people.  They started to swarm and I just felt like they were saying ¨who are you?¨ The best way to put it....I felt like Dorthy from The Wizard of OZ when she was welcomed to Munchkinland. HAHAHA!  So great!

C was confirmed yesterday and we also had a FHE with her family.  They have changed so much. especially because they didn´t exactly approve of her baptism.  Her dad accepted a book of Mormon  and he said, ¨I´m not going to change, well I am never going to say never because I might.¨ AHHHHHH!  it was amazing!  I hope that he accepts it!

Sounds like things are going great at home!  I am glad you and aunt b had the time to be together.  

I love you tons mamalou!  Sorry if I am bad at writing home.  I am trying to improve my skills.....

LOVES!

Hermana Drew

Pictures of my old companion and my new companion

Hermana Brinkerhoff and me

Hermana Olivas and me