and another transfer down

hello folks!

yup i am no longer in the prison aka florence! i have been moved\transferred to the Temple View zone! which as you may be able to tell means that i am by the temple! which is fun!

my new companion is sister king from California and she is a doll. 

hm i do not know what to write about 

we are actually on all bike all the time now, (i jinxed myself with the last email)but it is fun! i went from covering 1 ward to 3 so yeah i am pretty stressed out. but thats alright!! i am really excited to work here. its going to be hard./ but hey hards alright when things are hard that is when you learn to grow and when you see just what you can do with the lords help. 

in gospel principles (one of the three.. yeah its alot of church) we watched a video about justice v mercy and why we need a savior

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/the-mediator?lang=eng (the link to it) 

and something hit me

so its talking about this kid who wanted something really bad, so bad that he got in with a bad creditor then he didnt really ever try to pay off his debt then the money was due and he didnt have it. and was about to go to jail. the video then says 

"There is a way the law of justice can be fully satisfied and mercy can be fully extended, but it requires another. And so it happened this time the debtor's friend came to help. He knew the debtor well. He knew him to be short sighted. He thought him foolish to have gotten himself into such a predicament.

 Nevertheless, he wanted to help because he loved him.

 the friend then says; I will pay the debt if you will free the debtor of this contract, so that he can keep his possessions and not go to prison. You demanded justice. Though he cannot pay you, I will do so. You will have been justly dealt with, and can ask no more. It would not be just. If I pay your debt,(he turns to his friend) will you accept me as your creditor?

the man responded yes, oh yes. and his friend continued

Then you will pay the debt to me, and I will set the terms. It will not be easy, but it will be possible. I will provide a way. You need not go to prison.

of course the friend accepted this mercy. and it made me think about how jesus christ has done this for us, he has redeemed us, all that he asks is that we fulfill his terms. which are to have faith and exercise faith in him. repent of our wrongs and turn our hearts to him. follow his example and be baptized, receive the gift of the holy ghost and continue to follow him to the best of our ability. (the gospel of jesus christ... it is literally everywhere!!) not because he is not powerful enough to take upon himself all of our sins, or that his grace somehow is not enough. but because it is how we become comfortable to be in his presence.

i love you all, sorry no funny comments today. i will be better next week!!

love

hermana, sister, sestra, whatever you choose to call it, cordon

I like to ride my bicycle! I like to ride my bike!

(because i can talk to people! and teach them about christ!!)

heya folks!

so after i learned from the acostas how to throw it down jujitsu style (dont mess with me?)

we have has some very interesting conversations. its sad how many people dont believe in god anymore. its soo sad! i know that god lives i know that he sent his son to die for us. to take away our pain. 

but the best part is that he did what no one else could do and he ROSE from the grave. i love the gospel, and i know that there is still hope!

haha so transfers happened, and i am finally leaving florence.. i know i know so sad! but it actually is really great! it means i can meet new people and that i can continue to testify of jesus christ :) which is super fun. i love the people here, but i know i will love whoever i meet in my next area 

hmmm so there was this guy we met, his name is antonio and he started to anti us then said he wanted to come to church? so hes going to come next week. also, i have been on my mission for over 6 months! and i still have no clue what i am doing!! sister sprouse says that she still is afraid of people and doesnt know what she is doing... but she is just saying that to make me feel better for sure.

whelp guys. i dont really have any crazy stories...

except for the fact that we moved 2 people in one day... yup... they were switching houses... please for the love of humanity and missionaries who help people move. dont switch houses without thoroughly planning it out with your neighbor. it was a mess!

love you all!

sister, hermana, sestra, whatever you wish to use, cordon

1 jujitsu... how does this happen?

2 yup it cuts off your blood flow to your brain, aka carotid artery ITS SO COOL!

3 bunnies bunnies everywhere(could this be the mythical easter bunny?)

4 sleepy easter bunny

5 cacti bloom and it is pretty!

6 my car was lying it was only like 98 degrees but its still a good photo

also this.

Still Kicken!

Hello friends and family!! this week has been a crazy one and it starts with a crazy guy we met who has the name of sam speed. sam speed is a great guy who happens to be black, and believes that jesus was black, all jews are black, (the jews now are just converts) and that white people were once upon a time the spawn of satan, but now we all have a bit of every color in us so the doctrine that Paul taught ( because pauls doctrine changed Jesus's doctrine apparently... i am confused!!) says that everyone can be saved now so it doesnt matter what color you are.... yeah i am confused last time i checked i am not the spawn of satan.

then we met a couple he is jehovahs witness and she is something called bahai?  anywho they let us come over and help them move which was cool #buildinggoodrelationsbetweenjdubsandmormonsisgood?

#hewantedustoonedaybejdubs... (jdubs= jehovah witnesses)

#notgonnahappenbro

#maybeyouwillbeamormon!

also miles are tight so we are biking alot which is actually tons of fun because we get to talk to soo many people!!! #returnappointmentsupthewazoo

then the crowning funny event of the week is in testimony meeting this sunday (people of the congergation bear their witnesses of jesus christ and how they come to know that the church is true... i dont know how to explain it) anywho a kid got up and said "i would like to bear my testimony i pooped a big poop and i am glad i pooped," then his dad came up and was like "this is sacrament meeting, we talk about jesus" so the kid continues " i love jesus and i want to hug you jesus but i can't because your in heaven" thank you small child you made my day

yeah this week was fun but its also been really spiritual as well, we got to testify alot of jesus christ and how our heavenly father is there and that God is real which was really  cool and it was awesome we have been working with this 8 year old whos mom wanted her to take the lessons her name is kira i have talked about her before, but she was baptized this last saturday and she brought a friend! and this friend came to church and sat by us then she looked up at sister sprouse and said " i want to be baptized!" it was really cool we are going to see if her parents are on board as well!

also another little kid bore their testimony on sunday, she told a story about how she had let her dog out to go to the bathroom and then when she was opening the door to let the dog back in it got stuck, she tried a whole 2 times but the door would not open. so she said a prayer asking that the door would get unstuck and it did! its cool, we never think about praying about simple stuff like that but we should! no matter how small or simple it is, our heavenly father wants to hear from us and bless us! all we need is the faith to look for the answers!

i know that this church is true. i know it with every atom of my body and bit of my soul. and i KNOW that God is real, he loves us, he is the father of our spirits and he sent us here to learn, he is not sadistic and he did not set us up to fail, because he provided us with a savior. he gave his son, jesus christ, who was perfect, and jesus christ was willing to take upon himself everything that can keep us from God. If we follow him, we will be washed clean of those things. 

he sent us here to experience pain and sadness and death, only so that we would know their opposites and that we would learn to turn to him. its like in second Nephi chapter 2 verses 22-25

If adam had not trangressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of eden... and [adam and eve] would have had no children; werefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good; for they knew no sin. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy.

also in 2 nephi chapter 2 verse 11 it says:

for it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. if not so... righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. wherefore all things must needs be a compound in one...
 

i know alot of scriptures, but they make my point. bad things happen in the world, not because heavenly father is sadistic or absent. but because we have the ability to choose. and because if we didnt know what was bad in the world, how would we know the good?

this is soo much better explained in that chapter in the Book of Mormon, its 2 nephi chapter 2

and it rocks!

i know that heavenly father loves each of us individually!! he knows us!!

i love you all, now i am off to shop, and learn some more jujitsu... i will take pictures this time!

love 

you know who :)

1 goals

2 kids that i built a train with

3 when the library is closed you email at members.. when you email at members your companion emails first, when your companion emails first you get roped into building a train

4 one festive pooch

I learned it there

a lot of crazy things happened this week, things that made me reflect.... (sop email im sorry... i will make fun of pictures for you at the end to make up for it)

in stake conference we were talking about how to raise a missionary. and it hit me hard.

you raise a missionary by having a strong testimony of the gospel of jesus christ yourself and from teaching your kids about jesus christ. when i think about what it takes to be here. i realized that it all came from growing up.

i learned to cook, i learned to change a tire, i learned how to work even if you do not want to. i learned to pull myself up by my bootstraps and not complain despite whats going on around me. all that i learned from back home, and all have come in pretty darn handy here in the mission field. 

but the stuff that hits me the most is the stuff that i learned at home that isnt a measurable skill. 

like, wanting to brighten someones day so i try to eat random things (mini oranges that in hindsight are just decoration..... war heads have a new competition on the sourness scale). i learned to take peoples mean words with a smile and wish them a good day. i learned to bear others burdens and be sincere as i speak to people.

but the thing i think i learned most comes in the form of a story,

so my parents and my siblings are HUGE role models in my life. and they always taught me to stop and try and help people, that is why i took emergency response, because i hate being helpless when someone needs my help. well, my fear came to life on Saturday. we were driving to stake conference when sister sprouse had a feeling to get into the next lane, and its a good thing that she did because a few seconds later a man on a motorcycle goes FLYING by, like he would have been considered speeding on a freeway, let alone on a small highway. he would have hit us if she had not moved. this highway a few... maybe a hundred yards up the road has a big bend, and the man goes completely off the road and we watch him fly. i  immediately tell my companion to pull over as i already start to take off my seatbelt and as soon as she stops i hop out and run to him.

he had a very large head wound and is in the middle of a broken bush. and i could do nothing. i had nothing with me to help him. so i sat and talked to him, trying to keep him calm and trying to keep him from moving his head or doing anything that might cause him to damage his spine more. luckily, he was really close to a hospital and the first responders and paramedics took care of him.he was (according to the policeman who took our statements) stupid drunk and chose to forgo his helmet. when i first was running up to him. i thought he was dead. and as soon as the police came my companion and i said a prayer, asking heavenly father to watch over him and the medical team.

i realized that i was helpless, in more ways than one. we all really are. no matter how much we try, how much we know, or how grand our skill sets are. without jesus christ we are nothing, we never will be good enough to make it back. but because we have him, if we choose to come unto him and to try to do as he did. try to follow him. we never will be enough, but with him we can be. isn't that cool? i think it is!

also, i learned to follow promptings from the holy ghost, if sister sprouse had not moved. that man would be dead.

so the question is asked, how? how can i know? how can i know if there is a God? how can i know what his plan is? how can i know the answer to any of my questions that really matter (sorry math... you dont usually count in my book) the awnser is to pray. the coolest thing about that experience is just how many people pulled over to help him. and the feeling of peace we had when we prayed. we still knew there was a large chance that man could die, but we received comfort in knowing that he was one of Gods children and that whatever happened, Heavenly Father had a plan for him.

i know that jesus christ lives!!

thank you to everyone who has taught me and helped me so much. you have made a huge impact on who i am, as a woman and as a missionary. 

Alma 26:

12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

docterine and covenants section 4

now behold a marvelous work has come forth among the children of men. therefore O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day. therefore if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work; for behold the feild is ripe and ready to harvest; and lo he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth  up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul; and faith, hope, charity, and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work. remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence. Ask and ye shal recieve Knock and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.

signing off <3

sister (hermana, sestra, mckayla, whatever you want to call it) cordon​ :)

1 cant see too bright

2 elders trying to be cool

3 and failing

4 realizing they are failing

5 normalish

6 after temple french toast

7 soon to be a baby bird in a fan tree

more :)

1 my sisters need this sign

2 spring has sprung in AZ (it was close to 80 degrees)

3 elder romero cant do the 4 pieces of toast needed to break the record (i could not either)

4 this is a Kokopelli they are everywhere