Feliz Navidad

Feliz Navidad, y próspero año y felicidad!! Never before have I know what on earth those words were! Weird how learning another language opens doors like that...

Ok y'all. As a missionary, one must be honest. Imma talk to the flam tomorrow, so I'm not finna send much this week. But, to be honest again, yinz probably aren't finna read this email tampoco. So...

I finished reading the Book of Mormon for the President Nelson challenge today!! IT WAS SOOO GOOOOOOOOOD!!!! I laughed, I cried; it moved me. But much more importantly, I've never been so motivated to be a "pure and delightsome people"... er, person. I just want to make my Eternal Heavenly Father so proud and "our Lord Jesus Christ" full of joy. Wow. Such emotions. Good thing New Years resolutions are coming up. #theProphet'sinspired

So sorry I always fangirl, but I know the Book of Mormon is from God and can help us with our daily worries. I've found comfort, solace, and wisdom as I've read it, and watched my doubts and fears melt away. I can promise it will do the same for you. So read! Also Christmas. During a lesson this week, I had the sudden realisation that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ for Christmas, but it really is all about His death. Or rather, yeah sure the birth was really important, as without it there would be no Savior, but a lot of people have been born. Only one has atoned. Guys, we're celebrating the wrong holiday!! We should be celebrating EASTER!!!

But. We'll take any opportunity we have to celebrate. Have a great Christmas! See y'all tomorrow!

Mury chursmus

Exchanges! Sis Richards had her first Hispanic meal, and she took it like a champ!! Didn't even throw Up!

Also, Brigham Young! They don't even know how cool there are!

Last Minute Twain-ing

We heard pretty last minute that we were going to go caroling as a district, and then the other sisters in our district (las hermanas de Semoran) asked us to drive as the other elder's had the car. So, we last minute "went with them twain." We had plans to visit one complex, thus not killing our miles. But then... we just visited all the less-actives in the farthest away part of their area. RIP miles. But it was also all of those wonderful less-actives that I had spent months working with, so blessings in disguise. Also, there's nothing better than a caroling group of gringos:)

Other than that, the highlights of this week go something like this:

> Hna Robinson hit her 9 month mark 2 days before I hit my 16th month mark so of course we went out to celebrate! #twisteetreatforlife! Mostly, we kinda forgot so it was very last minute, but. Still did it. (Dad, I realised they had an amaretto option, and was reminded of the time you were eating gelato in Italy when you realised it was your birthday. Prove I actually do think of you:)

> We went to see another Less-Active, and after waiting an (singular) hot sec at her door, she not only lets us in, but she lets us move her sofa and chair out to the dumpster! I love service! I got to sit on the sofa as we drove to the dumpster and it was way fun. Yep. Then we had a good spiritual moment. I'd say it was pretty inspired.

> We also had the ward Christmas party. They had set up empty tables along the wall and asked all the sisters in the ward to bring their nativities. That was SUPER cool. Just thoughts for y'all back home, in case you haven't had your fiesta navideño yet. We helped with food and networked. It looks like the networking is going to pay off as 2 of the people we really spent time talking with are meeting with us tonight to have a FHE so Pray for Manuel y Carmen!

That's it. More solid reading in the Book of Mormon. Did you know that Jesus Christ is really awesome? With all the time I spent with Jesus in the 2nd half of 3rd Nephi this week, I felt inspired to return to a previous, forgotten goal of reading one of the gospels, and read John 9 where Jesus heals the man blind from birth. I absolutely LOVED!! this story. I love how the man, after being healed, stands up for Jesus and as he does so, he begins to realise how blind the leaders of the 'church' really are. It's all about who is truly blind with symbolism and applicable, thought-provoking morals up to your armpits. G'head and give it a read, then a ponder, then a prayer. I can promise you'll feel better:)

Anyways, that's all the time we have for today. Remember, God made you special, and He loves you very much!

PS Quick shout-out to Veggietales for making that last line possible as well as to my STL who went home a little early so she could start school. Best of luck braving the cold in Utah Sis. Hunsaker! Florida misses you :)

Ward Christmas party!

Member dinners   :)

My amaretto ice cream. YUS!

This doesn't even need a title.

400,000 Viruses

Yes. Very yes.

This week, our everything broke. Our car's airbag alert went off, but then we missed our appointment so... Hope it's a false alarm :D

Then, Hna Robinson's tablet was struggling, flickered, then went black. Rest in Peace lil tablet. She had her mom send a new one which arrived thrusday, so for 3 1/2 days, Hna Robison had to use the phone... which had fallen off my stuff I was carrying to the car and the screen broke. 0.o Let's just say, this week was really hard. We also haven't been able to find any new people to teach, but we also somehow have absolutely no time to find!! I DUNNO WHAT'S HAPPENING! This whole week was like 1 long weekly planning. AKA warped reality. And the only thing that was always there was Wendy's. ("It made me want to weep, and then die.")

But on a happier note, I absolutely love all the people in the Book of Mormon. For example, I love when Lachoneus receives the suave-est, most slimy letter from Giddianhi, leader of the secret combinations, and instead of fearing or feeling obligated to write back, he just tells the entire Nephite nation to huddle up. They go into complete lock-down mode and all repent hard-core. All the robbers are like "... Where did everybody go?" "It's cold out here!" and "We ain't had nothing but maggoty bread for 3 stinkin' months!" Wow. Then, they just keep shields up, heads down, and the Lord with them. And bwamo. The Lord brings them through. They don't even eat all their food.

ANYWAYS, I hope y'all are reading and I gotta go, but I love you. Stay in School. And in the Book of Mormon.

BYYYYYYYYEE!

Not to 50!

This week, I woke up and was like:"What the-- It's cold out here!" We checked the weather. It got down to 50. Now I know what all you poor saps living in Utah are saying "That's not even cold enough to have snow!!" But let me ask you this, ya desert dwellers: If you live in an area where 90% of the air is actually water, what happens when you get below the freezing point of water? Think about that one! Cuz frankly I don't know what the answer is either; but I do hope we never get there!

But on a more spiritual note, I finally figured out why I love the book of Alma so much. True it's so full of wars, especially the end, and there's a lot of dying and deprivation and sacrificing, but it's also so full of good people! Such as Captain Lehi who never once fails to keep the land Bountiful safe. He gets such a good rep, all the Lamanites start panicking when they see him. We've also got Nephihah who "filled the judgement seat with perfect uprightness before God." That's literally about all we know of him. I want them to say that about me! (But, no judgement seat...) Then Pahoran who is tested on 2 different occasions with whether or not he'll really uphold the law (stupid Kingmen) and he comes through for us every time. True, the second time, he has to flee to the Valley of Gideon to not get straight-up murthered, but because he gets booted out of his comfort zone, he decides to pick up a sword and fight with more than just verbal arguments. He not teaches us that communication with our beloved brethren is key, but he then teams up with Captain Moroni, who we all know threw fire like nobody's business. (He was like the Elder Holland of their time!). I love how he then fights and wins back the city dedicated to his father (Nephihah) BUT! then continues on with Captain Moroni to win the entire war!! Talk about too much ____________time! (Like in every Marvel movie or the Magnificent 7 where everyone's favorite actors are all fighting for screen time. I forgot what it was called...) Then, it's literally Captain Moroni, Teancum, Lehi, and Pahoran with Captain Helaman and the 2060 stripling warriors coming to aid them from the east 🤤😍😍😍 WowowowowoWow!! How's that Book of Mormon movie coming! Can I buy tickets now??

Ok, sorry. Done fangirling. But there's just so many good people trying to help the hordes of mas o menos Nephites 1) Not die physically from hardened Nephite dissenters and 2) Not die spiritually from becoming a hardened Nephite dissenter. We just get a more personal look at how individuals fought to keep freedom and truth. Wow. So good. ... On that note, how's your reading of the Book of Mormon? Please send good insights to your missionaries with what you've learned so that I can learn it too!!

Um, this week we... did something. We took a Gallon of Nacho cheese to Zone Training Meeting and were pleasantly surprised to find that more than half of it was gone by the end. I had my doubts, but now we get to be creative! AND! Literally nothing else tastes bad these days😆 #blessings

We're teaching a lady named Gladys. She is still loving the Book of Mormon, but hasn't been able to meet with us. If you ever find yourself at a loss of what to pray for, you could pray that she can feel empowered to make time to talk to us about what she loves (aka the BoM:)

Ok. I'm done. Gotta get back to the Book of Mormon! The Servant of Helaman is one of my favorite characters!!

Our car had to go into the shop. So we biked! Total of 2 miles!! But it was basically Hna Robinson's first time biking, so still... Fun Times!!

We pulled out our Christmas tree only to discover of the 3 legs for the base, only 1 was remaining. We tried duct taping it to the floor but... se cayó. Con nuestras esperanzas y sueños :'(

Ham and nacho cheese casserole! Not bad! (but not too great either. But not bad...)

After a depressing first half of the week with our tree on the ground, Hna Robinson got fed up and we bought a tree from the place we do our service. This thrift shop was having a sale, AND volunteers get a discount. It was literally 5 dollars. (Blether blether blether; let me consider if I want to buy it)

So, as I've probably said before, there are LITERALLY only 4 areas for Hermanas to serve in here in the good ol' FOM. Every rare transfer, we all get transferred and get to go meet up at the chapel. That means literally all the Spanish sisters in our mission are under the same roof! Documented below is one of these rare moments! We've got 2 trainees coming in and one Hna going out. Names are: Hna Trainee, Hna Wade (previous companion), Hna Trainee, Hna Stowell (a previous companion), Hna Banks (dying), Hna Perry, Yo, Hna Robinson (current companion), then on the front Hna Ogden (literally the first time I had met her =), and then Hna Robbins (the second half of me.)

Happy Fat Sleepy Missionaries

As we left our members house at which we had Thanksgiving, my companion said, "We're just a bunch of happy Fat Sleepy Missionaries!" And it was so funny!!

Valencia is doing rul good. We have, like, 2 people to teach, so... that'll be a good challenge! Hna Robinson is a great missionary and she keeps me laughing so much! She's also the coolest person as she's gone through some really hard things in her 20 years. All the time, I'm like, "I know exactly how you feel! I once... dropped... my ice cream... and I was so sad!!!" *face palm* Yeah, there are blessings in both directions as I'm glad I have a happy (fat sleepy??) family, but I also just all the time am like "I gave you this wonderful book. WHY DIDN'T YOU READ IT!!???!" Anyways, sorry for that little rant.

We saw a lot of good miracles this week (even with my eyes being glazed over with the transfer to a new area; it's been a hot sec since THAT'S happened!) And we look forward to seeing some things develop. I'd share more specific details, but I don't remember ANYONE'S name. I'm still working on our phone number 😅👍

I had a cool experience in Alma 36:8. I imagine that when the Angel told him to stand up 3 times in a row, that probably went a little deeper than physically. I had a thought that maybe something inside of him - the part that knew he was made for more, that he was a valiant son of God - heard that call to not shrink and stood up inside. Like that one talk called "Stand up Inside and Be All In." Take a look at it. Or something.

Yep. That's about it. You can go check out the other Hna Baer's email now. G'head. Go on, now!

Pics
Hna Robinson. She's the best! We took "Thank you" and "Love You" cards ot all the the less active or lonely people we could think of without destroying our mile limit. It was really cool. We found some long-lost sheep!

Birds. All the time, there's just weird birds in weird places, and ya can't ever tell if they're real or not. These ones are real. I hope they're eating all the dumb ants upon which Florida is built.

One More Minute!

Once upon a time, we were trying to cross the street with our bikes, but our needy Semoran Elders called. I was trying to fix their problem while also bike to the church as fast as possible to save the Relief Society activity (cuz they got locked out of the church I:" ) But I forgot that the left turn-ers go before the pedestrians. So I watched the light change, then I started walking, got about half a step before I caught on, then backed up. It was a pretty minor thing. Or so I thought! The second car in line rolled down the window and a very nice man (probably a member??) said, "One more minute! :D" as he drove by. What a sassy gent.

Anyways, we had a bit of a crazy week as we tried to meet with all the new people we found to teach last week. Yaira got sick (you invite to baptism and they get super sick. It happened to Victor as well!! #oppositioninALLthings ]:" ) so we haven't been able to talk or teach her. One more minute. But she had a dream and is now completely convinced God wants her to be baptized in a river. According to the 7th article of faith, I know that "We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth." But how do you respond to someone who comes to you and says they have had a dream of being baptized in a river, and thus are focused on getting baptized in a river? We're going to go back* and make sure she wants THE TRUE church, and not just church. But any advice on how to answer visions would be nice.

Also, I had a cool study about Aaron! When he was teaching the Old King (father of Lamoni) and converts him. But if the old King had not met Ammon with King Lamoni, and if Ammon hadn't gone to save his brethren, and thus if the brethren hadn't been stuck in jail; ALL of this!! wouldn't have happened. If Aaron & co. hadn't have spent time in jail, the Old King wouldn't've been converted and wouldn't've converted his people and thus no Anti-Nephi-Lehi's, and thus no mass conversion nor 2000 stripling warriors!! Think of all the good that DID happen, but that wouldn't've happened if he hadn't been imprisoned. It's almost like God sends us through dark tunnels so we come closer to the light and are converted a little more, and then he sends us miracles. You have to wait one more minute in the dark, and then, if you're patient, you can have a view to a miracle. (not a kill;) Wow. Stick with it!! You can do it!!

Oh, also, transfer doctrine: Hna Robbins is staying and I'm GOING!!! TO VALENCIA!!... That means I'll still be coming to the same P-days and the same district meeting. I'll see Hna Robbins 2 times every week. At least. Whaddamove. But a Hermana named Hna Perry is coming to take my place. My new companion will be Hna Robinson. 0.o #tonguetied

Also, bragging rights: the church is starting a new program called EnglishConnect. We heard more about it at Zone Conference, and we held our first session at our chapel on Wednesday. While there, it was announced that this was not only the first session for our Stake, it was the first session in all of Florida. AND! Not only was it the first session in all of Florida, it was the first session in the eastern half of the United States. :])) No pressure. But wait, there is no pressure. I got transferred. :}

Alright. I'm done. Have a great week all! Enjoy the snow!!

My bed after early morning seminary. It's official: I could live at the church.

The Ortega family. They're awesome!

Oh. That's it. No more pictures. Sorry! Have a great weak! Remember: Paaaaaatience.

¿Que hora es?🍮

To celebrate our finally having a Día de Hispanidad and the goal Hna Robbins and I have had for 2 weeks now to only speak Spanish, the remainder of this letter will be in Spanish. Gracias.
[Mom ran this through Google Translate. . . hope it's close.😊]

Hemos tenido una meta para hablar solamente español entre 8:30am -- 9:00pm. Y voy a morir. Estamos trabajando como districto para ser más unido. Y tenemos dos elderes que fueron crecido hablando espanol. Entonces el barro es bien alto. DEP. (Descansen en Paz)
We have had a goal to speak only Spanish between 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. And I'm going to die. We are working as a district to be more united. And we have two elders who grew up speaking Spanish. Then the mud is very high. R.I.P. (Rest in peace) [Or maybe la barra – the bar is very high.]

También esta semana, Hna Robbins y yo fijamos una meta para encontrar a 14 personas nuevas. Y me destruyó!! Cortamos todo el tiempo libre, y dsspues de una semana bien fuerete, habíamos encontrado a 10 personas nuevas!! Wow! Había muchas milagros en esto, como cuando Yaira, con quien hemos tenido contacto por como un mes, nos llamo "afuera del azul" y empazamos a hablar. Ella es bien linda, y es unos de las personas que no saben donde esta el evanjelio de Cristo, como la promesa de las escrituras. Estamos animadas para trabajar más con ella.
Also this week, Sister Robbins and I set a goal to find 14 new people. And it destroyed me!! We cut all the free time, and after a good week, we had found 10 new people! Wow! There were many miracles in this, such as when Yaira, with whom we have had contact for about a month, called us "out of the blue" and we started to talk. She is very nice and is one of the people who do not know where the gospel of Christ is, as the promise of the scriptures. We are encouraged to work more with her.

Otro milagro es que finalmente tuvimos nuestro Día de Hispanidad! Y fue FANTÁSTICO!! Cada pais hizo su propia mesa y presentación también. Me encanta que cada pais puede ser tan diferente, pero todavia tener cosas y tradiciones en común. Los elderes estaban tan orgulloso de nuestro mesa -- ellos y tambien Hno Sellers de nuestro barrio. El es el unico otro de los Estados Unidos en nuestro barrrio. El llevo una camisa de su mision en Chile. (Santiago; ya pregunté:[ ) Pero Yaira habló con nosotras durante la fiesta y dijo "Me quiero bautizar! Como lo hago?" Morimos!! Ya empezó a invitar amigas (ella ya tiene amigas en la iglesia??) a su bautismo! Todavía no tenemos una cita, pero eso va a cambiar MUY rapido! ;)
Another miracle is that we finally had our Columbus Day! And it was FANTASTIC!! Each country made its own table and presentation as well. I love that each country can be so different, but still have things and traditions in common. The elders were so proud of our table - they and also Brother Sellers of our neighborhood. He is the only other of the United States in our neighborhood. He wore a shirt of his mission in Chile. (Santiago, I already asked. :[ ) But Yaira talked with us during the party and said "I want to be baptized! How do I do it?" We died!! Already she began to invite friends (she already has friends in the church??) to her baptism! We still do not have an appointment, but that will change VERY fast! ;)

Ademas, tuvimos nuestro Programa de Primaria, y ellos pidieron que yo toco. 0_o Aprendí como 11 canciones en 2 semanas en el horario de un misionera. :P Estoy frito. Pero todo fue bien bonita, y de verdad, me encantó tocar. (Y a gracias de esto, fuimos invitado al "after-party" en la primaria despues! Fue bien loco :D)
In addition, we had our Primary Program, and they asked me to play. 0_o I learned about 11 songs in 2 weeks inside the missionary schedule. :P I'm fried. But everything was very nice, and I really loved playing. (And thanks to this, we were invited to the after-party in Primary afterwards! It was really crazy. :D)

No puedo compartir algo de mis estudios porque algunos dias, el tiempo de estudios fue llamado "tiempo libre," entonces, más que leer sobre la lepra, leí y me gustó el discurso "Un Verano con la Tía Abuela Rosa" de Presidente Uchtdorf. Por favor, Disfrútalo y aprender por si mismo. Bueno Suerte!! Tenga un buen semana!  
I cannot share some of my studies because some days, the study time was called "free time," so, rather than reading about leprosy, I read and liked the speech "A Summer with Aunt Abuela Rosa" by President Uchtdorf. Please, enjoy it and learn for yourself. Good luck!! Have a good week!

Nuestro pizza por la fiesta. Vive América.

After-party. Literally off the hook [Primary program]

Fiesta pics. Peru was the best! Mostly because it was all my favorite members. The daughter of the Serrano family came up afterwards the primary program and hugged me. 😍 FAVORITES!!!

I'd like to Apologize in Advance for What's About to Happen

So, the Zone Leaders suggested P-Day at a park (not at a church?????) and so we went and played. And played. And played. Much like the Pioneer children. But, fun. Just as hot and sandy. ANYWAYS,
Long story short, this is gunna be short.

> Exchanges: there were so many miracles in Tusckawilla ! Like when we got a call from a random number and she said she had a card in her door 3 weeks ago, and she wants to meet with us/them. Wut? Then some guy in a car flagged us down and asked us where the nearest church was. Cuz he's less active. hh-WUUT??? Anyways, I get back and Hna Robbins is like "We now have service on Tuesday! But, no bread... I mean car." So. Still am not sure if those are worth it.

> We got super soaked as we tried to attach our bikes onto our car. That was fun. Frankly, I still love the rain. Even if my skirt falls down!

> At Zone Conference, they told us to expect miracles in finding. So Thursday night, Hna Robbins is hyped up to find one person that night (we had about 1.5 hours and 3 hours of study and dinner still left to do, so of course we went out finding. #Konsicrated) and after searching for lost members (They moved. I have no idea what the language the new inhabitants speak.) We were walking back to the car, final moments, and a young joven pulls in (basically into us:) and Hna strikes up a conversation about bad parking and her companion. The joven says she's looking for a church and we smile. wow. Miracles. It's almost like God loves us!

Well, with that I'll share all that 1 picture I've got. I don't know how we made it through Halloween, Zone Conference, and Exchanges without taking pictures. Sorry.

Also, I hope you all are following the Prophets challenge! Reading the Book of Mormon on a search is super inspired!! DO IT!

Fin.

Service at Sundown! We cleaned a fence:)

My one exchange picture. There was a Squirrel, hanging from a tree by its feet, eating a nut. Heh heh. Funny.

I don't know if you can tell, but its raining. Hard.

Something tells me that You're All Wet!!

...Just Setting a Goal. For a Friend.

Ah Hermana Robbins. Put her with Weekly Planning and you've got something close to Pink Elephants.

Anyways, to finish my story from last week:
There he was, driving along. It was too dark to see, and so Merlin (aka Hno Gallardo -- the same who Hna Robbins is having a indexing contest with) blows through the stop sign. The policeman waiting right there, a local (of course) flashed his lights. Merlin knew he was toast. Pulling off to the side, all the members know something bad is about to happen. The window rolls down as the cop rolls up. He asks why a car full of Hispanics is blowing through stop signs after curfew. Merlin's asked for his license: it's not there. He's asked to exit the vehicle, and after a few more questions, they read him his rights (in Spanish, luckily) and take him away. He spent the night in an orange suit, surrounded by the roughest of characters. Yet, even though he's pushed up into a corner and quite out of place, he's not out of comfort; he knows that no matter what happens, the members of our ward will stop at nothing to get him out of there. Help is on the outside, and it's pressing relentlessly inward.
After 6 hours, they call him up front. They give him his clothes and a date in court, then open the doors. The clock strikes 12 times as he walks out the double doors. His co-pilot is waiting for him with lunch, ready to take him to service (hurricane clean-up). He hasn't slept a wink since Thursday night. He moves mountains of trash, trees dissecting houses, and boats on top of mountains (At least three of them said that, but I have yet to see a mountain in Florida...). Even while camping, that hermano slept good that night. He spends Sunday with the group (and not with us at church :[ ), then drives back late that night. He loves taking the missionaries out to eat, so we jump on the opportunity to hear the story when our actual dinner cancels. He looks exhausted, but inwardly strong. It's amazing what the true Gospel of Jesus Christ can do for you. What has it done for ... YOU??!?

But yeah, Merlin is fine. He even invited himself to a member's house for dinner yesterday, then invited us as we didn't have any. It was a little awkward because we had literally had dinner with her on Saturday evening, but she was super excited to have more company. That was really fun. They both worked together to make a lunch before we got there. (We got stuck in traffic; was there a parade or something in the downtown Orlando area yesterday?)

But other than that, this week was pretty normal. We had a Trunk n Treat for the kids on Wednesday, and since no one came to English Class, we got to help out. There were some really well done family costumes, like the Silva's being a bunch of Legos or the Mejia's coming as Darth Vader and the replacement of Luke Skywalker (who knows what her name is. All I remember is Po:). But the Rengel family took the cheese: They dressed up as the Incredibles, and as they walked in the door of the church, started playing the theme song on a portable speaker. They even LOOK the parts!! Attached photo's beneath.

We finally got back in with Victor. He's super excited to be baptized, but is working on legal papers. Please to be praying that all can be settled quickly so that he can get married quickly so that he can get baptized quickly so that he can have the Gift of the Holy Ghost quickly!!!

That's all the time we have this week. Why don't y'all wander over yonder to see the other Hna Baer's week. Coming to a Blog near YOU!!

Proof that all those summers working at the apartments paid off.

Prepare to meet your maker. You ICE maker. (It got a little excited, and our freezer had icicles :)

Our neighbors are so cute! We forgive them for smoking right above us!

Cachapas at Maracaibo Mia. (Don't worry, 3 of the 4 words were in Spanish)

The Mejias. Or the Vaders???

The Rengels. Play the theme song as you look at this picture and you'll get a good idea of how cool it was live!

We often joke that the English missionaries have no idea what it's like to be a Spanish missionary in Florida, and it's True! There are a lot of problems we deal with that they don't even think about. But there are also a lot of perks, such as everyone believes in God and they're all super friendly and want to feed you. But it's moments like this that really make up for all those hours and headaches studying another language!! heh heh heh!

Now that I'm thinking about, the Solano's had really cool costumes too. They're from Peru, and they hand-made everything there. Without a sewing machine. I <3 them so much!!

Whatcha Gunna Do When They Come for You?

What a week. I... don't even know. I'm shooting for Quantity over quality. So let's go to arrow points time!

> A dog ate my shoe (but unfortunately not my homework), and then the next day, a cat ate my hair. :(    #ponytailisnotacattoy

> I had been talking to a member more often (now that I know her name😅) and every time I saw her, I couldn't think of anything to say to get the conversation flowing, so I always complimented her skirt. Yesterday at church, she gave me the skirt.😖 Such guilt. such love. I dunno.

> As we went to the Walmart to buy a shirt that I could wear with my new skirt, we walked up to a worker and asked where the short sleeves were. She looked at us funny, then said she only has long sleeves. Short sleeves would be found only in the clearance section. It was a chilly 75 degrees this morning. Winter is upon us!

> We found the coolest, cutest mujer de edad mayor on Tuesday!! The second time we went over, she told us that she always feels so much peace! I just absolutely love her! ...And, typical of the mission whiplash, we got "the text" yesterday. We're thinking daughter 'Anti'-ed her. :'( But, the Book of Mormon is now in her house, and I doubt the feeling is out of mind. Apparently now is not the time, but later. But, there was a lot of time spent there this week so I know the seed is in good.

> Ok, the most exciting part, that basically has nothing to do with me. :) So, with the hurricane that hit up north, the stake president asked that all able-bodied members head up to pleasant coast (I don't actually remember if that's the name... heh heh) And so literally ALL of my favorite members went. RIP. Anyways, our Dia de Hispanidad got canceled, and so we had a very lonely Saturday. :( BUT!! We get a text from Hna Silva (whose husband went up but she stayed home with the kids) and she says something like "Please pray fervently for Brother Gallardo. A situation happened, and the police took him in." 0_o we prayed SOOOO HARRDDD!! Turns out, he had accidentally hit a stop light (because it was dark, and he couldn't see. Slightly ironic...") And for some reason, when the cops came, they took him in. He said they took his shoes AND his socks, then left him in the Jail overnight with nothing to sleep on/with. We're getting the FULL story from him tonight, but. It was a scary weekend/6 hours. Wow, it felt like a lot longer...
Anyways, that last story was a lot more exciting to live through, but I just thought you ought to know [ ;) ] what kind of people we work with here. JK!! They're fabulous, if a little crazy.

Ok. Picture time.
Wait, first Shoutout time!
>> Thanks Grandma for the letter you sent! I totally forgot to send you a thank you letter, but I really appreciated it and love you tons!!!

>> Thanks Hna Robbins Mom! This letter was all thanks to you. It would've been a lot shorter had my complaining not made it all the way back to you. Your daughter's the best!! LITERALLY!

Ok, that's all. Pics. Sadly, Quantity over quality didn't quite make it this far.
Thanks Again!!

Due to the cancelation of our Dia de Hispanidad, we took ourselves out to eat. Welcome to our Dia de Hispanidad party. Hna Robbins was currently on the phone and Batman vs Superman was definitely playing on the TV behind me. and Merlin was currently in Jail. It was a rough night.

Because there were literally no other pictures, I thought I'd send you my rendition of the last paragraph of the Living Christ. It's a good one. Makes me smile:)

Ok, CIAO CIAO ALL!!

Nuthin Good

15 October 2018 [So sorry, I didn't realize I hadn't posted this letter! --Mom]

This week went something like this:
Us: "Hello! We're so excited to be here and better your life!"
Them: "Oh... I'm not home right now."
Us: "... We're literally here at your house..."
Them: "Oh... I'm leaving. Right now. To buy food."
Us: *looking at the pot of food* "Oh... We see... Is there another time we can come back? Like, Tuesday?"
Them: "um, sure... I'll let you know."
Us: "Uh-Kay."☺

So... Until next Tuesday everyone!!
Highlights:
> Because all of our dinners went through the same process, I got to make Lemon caper Chicken! But, no capers. Who's got money to blow on that! Heh. Heheh...

> On our way to Stake conference, I broke. We went to McDonald's. Sorry mom. BUT!! I got this in my happy meal!! While it was a moral lose, it was a short term win!! He's called Grimlock. I think I'm going to change the name to Mecho-fuego-dino! Jury's still out on that one...

> We got so many new elders and they all want to play Gatorball. That's why this is such a bad email.

> While playing with Mecho-fuego-dino, I looked up and saw a Post office called "Going Postal." I geeked out.

> Hna Robbins and I are so one, we got the same fortune!

> Almost half our ward showed up for stake conference!!! I cried!!! #hispanics4thewin!!

That's all. Thanks y'all! Are YOU keeping up with the President Nelson challenge? Get reading!!
Hna Baer

If It Ain’t Broke . . .

...It ain't in Semoran. [We've lost our sliding door, our dryer, our washer, both beds, the bathroom sink, a burner, and 4 of the 6 fan lights. Our apartment is slowly becoming new!!]

First things first: Transfer News!: We're both staying!.. To be fair, I don't really wanna go anywhere else, and I don't really want to have to figure out a new companion... Maybe the Lord is just helping me overcome the natural man by keeping things the same until I want to have something change. I dunno. Mysteries of God.

But according to Amos 3:7, God is revealing the mysteries of the universe to his prophets so good thing I got the chance to listen to Conference this week!! But, (and this is the part where Noelle closes her ears) it was all in Spanish. So... I think I understood about 1 in 7 lines. 😀👍 We ended up having quite a few members come to the church to watch it, so we felt obligated to stay and listen with them. And frankly, it was really cool to try my very best and understand what they were saying. During every talk, I'd be getting fragments and bits, but whenever something that I really needed to hear was said, the Gift of Tongues kicked in. Those would be the sentences that I would understand completely. I think in the end, I wouldn't give up watching it all - all 5 sessions - in Spanish with members and friends. I felt the Holy Ghost, heard answers to my questions, and got a gold nugget out of every talk. But I still know that when I go back through them, there's so much more waiting for me. Like German Shepard jokes!! Jaja!

But other than that, it was a pretty long and dark week. It was one of the signs that I knew General Conference would be so good! AND IT WAS!! Even then Woman's session!! Frankly, especially the woman's session! I loved the challenge to study the Temple, for those who can't go too often, and to read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year. I missed what I'm supposed or be looking for as I read, but I'm already on chapter 5! I'm so pumped to follow the prophet!! Are you??

Alright. Honestly, other than teaching early morning seminary (which was just like teaching a lesson but to young, "lively"(they're still more lively at 6am than some of the people we teach) jóvenes that generally really want to listen to and learn what you're saying. It was awesome!) And having to wake up at 4:30, nothing too exciting happened.

So let's go to pictures. :)

Conference Festivities!! Needless to say, I felt super sick afterwards :D

Sunday Morning Crepes!

We got dropped off at the church at 10:30 after the woman's session. Merlin, a member, was still there. He and Hna Robbins have been having an indexing competition. He started right at the end of the second and was still there at 10:30. #dedication

District! The only Spanish district in the FOM. There it is.

About 1.5 hours after early morning seminary. I took a nap. Hna Robbins did about 50 indexing records. (It was a blow to Merlin.)