I love Kingman, Arizona!

September  23, 2013

Oi Minha Querida Familia e Meus Amigos! 

Como vao voces!!!  So first of all, I tried out the AlphaSmart but I keep forgetting it at home!!!! ):< Hopefully next week! geeez. well, it's super nice cause I type sooo much faster than I can write! and my hand cramps way less haha! I know, I know: Kid's these days.. but it's true! technology is niiiiiiice hehe. 

2nd of all, I've attached some pics of fun things here in the dangerous wilderness of Kingman, AZ. a SCORPION!!! in our living room!! while we were studying! omg! It's HUUUGE haha and I've never seen a live one before! Soooo weird!  They are like bugs, but worse.  Because they pinch, sting, AND bite! WHAT!!  Who's idea was this.... But the other pic is of my AWESOME flats tan.... oh man, if you could see my watch tan and farmers tan and skirt tan... I’m so ashamed. hahaha! I should go swimming right when I get home. beacccch trip!! :D

I also have a CTR tan on my ring finger.  Kinda cool haha! ANd I haven't even gotten to Brazil yet! oh man!

So update with the bites.... We have been getting a TON more all of a sudden this week! I think you're right, it comes in cycles!   And this time, it was BAD!  Sister Roberts got the worst of it.   I don’t think its a coincidence cause she's sleeping on Sis Jensen0-Coon's old bed and she got the worst of it too!   But yeah idk. she got it REALLY bad. so a doc from our ward prescribed her steroids cause she was super hyperallergic like getting hives too so yeah. plus she scratches allll the time!!  The maintenance came in again this morning to check and didn’t see anything still, we set off a bug bomb in our apartment yesterday, nothing dead. Sleeping in sleeping bags in the other room and now a pro inspector will come in tomorrow to check. but other than that we have NO idea what this is!  I just want this taken care of cause it's definitely interferring with the work.... We had to make several trips to Walgreens or other stores for meds or stuff, we end up talking about the bites to everyone instead of anything else and the whole hour of a lesson is actually them giving us advice and stuff to try that we've heard and tried from the last person we just saw. It's kind of frustrating... ): but it's a huuuge test of patience I guess. 

Anywayyyyy enough of my complaining. believe it or not, my comp and I are getting a long a little better.  We've had some good talks so we are working through our rough patches. I am really REALLY working on letting the little things slide.  Just the little things she does that bug me.   I'm finally starting to be able to let go of my pride and pick my battles.   I think the key is laughing.  I need to just laugh and brush things off and just realize it's not worth it to get upset with things.  I notice that when I lighten the mood or even just pretend I'm not upset and smile or joke or something, it's resolved just like that.  I never noticed how bad MY attitude was and how much it was showing!  I need to keep in mind how much I'm at fault with many of the conflicts. It's a two way thing … well, most of the time.  ghaha. but yes. I definitely can change and do my part.   Like Travis said with him and Phillipp. by me giving up some things and being open and selfless, it allows the other person to change and do the same. sighhhh so much easier said than done, but it’s definitely something I need to learn and something Heavenly Father knows I'll need for the rest of my mission and my life.  It's amazing the opportunity it is to be on a mission and to see these things and learn them.  I am so truly grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime chance to be here.  I am honestly so grateful to be a missionary.  It's literally the hardest thing in my life I’ve ever done or ever thought I'd have to do, but it's the most rewarding and amazing things I think I'll ever do.   And I've still just barely started!  How crazy!!!! 

But on the other hand I can't believe how long I’ve been here!  It's almost October!! AND IT’S FREEZING  OMG!  It's like 70-80's here!  And I'm FREEEZING! haha mannn if I don’t go to Brazil soon, I’m gonna freeze to death! haha. Well, there are some amazing members who are willing to give me warm clothes so that's good :) they take care of us here haha. how sweet. but yeah, I am definitely feeling like I'll be here in Kingman for at LEAST another transfer or two. So, I'm gonna get on that! :)   I am honestly soooo happy to be here in Kingman.  I love it.  I loooove it here and the people and everything!   People think I'm crazy and I think I’m crazy haha .  I never wanted to be in a desert small town, but I honestly am sooo excited to be here.  I kinda don't wanna leave!!  I've decided that if I am ever transferred, it better be to Brazil, I wanna stay here in Kingman until I leave. I don't wanna go to Vegas. Idk. I just looove it here. I can't wait to come back and visit after! haha. bring you all :)

Okay I talk too much dang. Quick update on Helen. She finally came with us to a baptism to watch and I think she felt something!   I'm soooo excited!   She almost came to church but illness again.... it's sooo hard!   She's 93!   She'll never be pain free!  She just needs to come to church and FEEL the answer! and she WILL!  I know she will.  We just have to be patient. 

The Pherigos are the couple who kind of adopted us here! She sent dad the pics of me and Sis Jensen-Coon.   I looove them but they are having a hard time accepting the Book of Mormon.  It's a complicated work but we are working on them.   Almost got dropped but we saved it ahah. Mostly testimony and mormon messages. omg. I just want to recommend to everyone reading this to watch mormon messages on mormonchannel.org.   They are literally the best thing in the world!   I never feel the spirit soo strongly than when I’m watching some of those with investigators  or anyone.   Watch them, find a favorite and share one with a friend.  They are so good.  Dad, you were right.   There is so much on mormon.org that is so amazing and so powerful. 

Well, I talk too much ahha.   don't remember what I was needing to answer this week. uhm, well, I hope it's nothing too urgent. ):  I have a horrible memory as to what I want to respond to this week.  It's been a crazy week.  But I loove the letters and the input and the support from home.  I have a huge stack of letters and each one has things highlited and underlined and cut out and I have so many quotes and pick me ups and good ideas from every one.  You have no idea how much of a help it's all been for me.  I have been so extremely blessed to have this gospel in my life and these amazing friends and family.  I don't know what I would do without it all, honestly. that sounds so cliche, but I look at my life and realize just how insanely blessed I am to have this and this knowledge of my purpose here and how I can be with my family forever.  I know this is the true Church, Heavenly Father's full gospel once again on the Earth and that through this gospel, we can know how to return to Him and live with our loved ones for Eternity in complete happiness. I love my Savior and the hope He brings to my life and all those who accept Him. I love you all sooo much!!!

Ate a proxima Semana!!

-Sister Yoshimoto

 

Trials and Bear Sausage and Snake

Oiiiiiii Minha Querida Familia!!!

I feel like a poser when I write that now because I'm still in Arizona haha! But it's okay!!  I received an email saying "they continue to work on the established procedures for obtaining a VISA" and 3 other sisters from my MTC Zone are in Brazil now!!!  SOOOO it's okay!  I'll get there when I'm needed.   wooh. haha.

Soooooooo first of all, I received letters from the Garrett’s, Skinner’s, and Bertagnolli's and wanted to thank them for their continued love and support! Those letters about life back home and what's going on and how everyone's doing are so great! I love getting glimpses of the real world haha. That is soooo exciting about the soon-to-be missionaries!  I can't wait for them!  It's going to be an amaaazing, yet suuuper difficult, experience.  How exciting!!!  I am still learning just how hard this work is, yet so gratifying!  It's the weirdest thing.  A real roller coaster of emotions sometimes.  Sometimes the only thing that keeps me going is knowing that it's all inspired.  I'm here at this time with these people for very specific reasons and so all I can do is find those things Heavenly Father wants me to learn while I'm here.  I love what the Bertagnolli's said about how this is the one time in my life I can say for a surety that I am exactly where Heavenly Father wants me to be, when He wants me here, doing exactly what He wants me to be doing.  What a comfort.   D&C 121:7 or 8 I don’t remember.  But this has been a shining scripture for me during the hard times. I should have it memorized by now but dang. it's something in the gist of Be of good comfort for thine afflictions shall be but a small moment. or something... look it up haha. homework :)    … But yeah, this scripture helps me so much just helping me remember the eternal perspective. this is all just a tiny dot in my life and yet if i endure well, it will be for my huge benefit and there's nothing  I will sacrifice here that won't be made up for.      And boy, are there some lessons I'm learning now!

The new companion is still pretty tough.   A lot of it is getting a little better cause we had a bigggg talk.  Ugh I hate talking... communication is hard.  But it's good cause it does help a lot haha.  So we're working a little harder so that's good.  And we're working together better.  I just need to suck it up and stop being so prideful haha.  I have the hardest time "picking my battles" as Mom and Dad would say.  Just all these little insignificant things will bug me beyond reason because she is that type of girl who I would never be able to deal with for more than a few minutes.   So I have to kind of breathe a bit and think about if it's really worth it.   Patience is a biiiiiig thing I’m learning; patience and really just "picking my battles".    Soooooo this will be another great lesson to learn! :) What a blessing haha.

The harder part of a mission is the fact that now that I'm also forced to see all of MY flaws and weaknesses and all the bad qualities in me: my pride, my judgemental-ness, my impatience, my slowness in forgiving, etc.  I  could go on, but basically the charity I've fasted and prayed for since last year in college has slowly come in bits but I never knew how far off I was until I came on a mission.  But now that I can see all my flaws and weaknesses, I have to change them. It's a hard, painful process but really, I feel like this is what a mission does for people. This is why so many RM's come back a whole new person.  They are forced to see these things and decide whether or not to change them.  I definitely want to. But that's my nature and as Elder Jepsen said, the only way to change my nature is by changing my will to His will.  I need His help to change my nature. and that's the hardest part for me at this time. 

So last Tuesday, we got to go and see Elder Neil L Andersen and President Callister!   They were amazing.   Man, it was for two missions.  Every missionary in the Nevada Las Vegas and Nevada Las Vegas West missions!   It was amazing -- Just feeling that spirit and the combined spirit of every single missionary there.  I love missionary gatherings because you can feel that spirit exponentially stronger!!  That scripture about having 2 or more gathered together in His name, there His is also.  It is definitely so true and it's always the best experience.  That's why Church is so important for everyone!!   For members and nonmembers alike to go and to get to FEEL that difference is so important.  Oh, and I got to shake hands with an apostle!!  How coool! haha.

Oh, yeah haha basically he talked about having that real personal relationship with the Savior, like Keilyn said before I left.  Also how missionaries need to stay in their areas longer! so we can bond and get to know the people -- the members, non members, so we can have that bond and allow that bond to bring in more referrals as well as better, stronger investigators in their beginning stages of investigating the church.  It makes sense cause even in my area alone, the tons of changes so far.  I came in, then Sis Jensen-Coon left and Sis Roberts came in.  They barely know ME and now there's like 2 new sisters.  Then I'll leave when I get my Visa and it'll be 2 new sisters again!  Within 3 transfers or whatever. so yeah, it's been a little hard with the members especially and the new investigators.  But we'll see how it works.

I got the package! OMG! I feel sooo bad!! I didn't want real toms! :( no waste money on that! I feel bad. theyre pretty expensive!  Buy Emily's new ones from online somehwere cheaper haha. sorry.  I just don't want to waste money on missionary stuff that will get used to the ground in some months. but thank you so much anywayyy!! and omg!! so much good stuff!   Haupia!!!  So excited hahahahh and HiChews mmm!!  I feel bad cause Sis Jensen-Coon requested that one but she's not here anymore! moa foa me!!! heheh. and the district of course haha. Maybe.  Well and the journal! is soooooo nice! wow! What a beautiful journal.  I can't get over it. so cute! and thoughtful!!! Please thank her so muchhhh for me!!!

Ps. there's been some trouble with my MSF money here cause I'm a Visa waiter so I don't get my own card and it's just put onto my companions card but since Sister Jensen-Coon got moved, she still gets my money and not my new comp so now I have no MSF with me and it's been complicated and for some reason it’s still not moving over!  I called last week when we first realized it was messed up and thought it would be taken care of this week, but we just checked again and it's not sooo I might have to use my own money again. so yeah, I might have to use my debit  card again.  Sorry. I'm calling the office today again, but it most likely won’t transfer over until next week!

 :P

Heyyyyy Dad! I met Sister Smith!!  I met her at the conference thing with Elder Neil L. Andersen and we talked and she was laughing cause of our strange connection!   [My father was Sister Smith’s father’s first companion and trainer in Japan many years ago].  She's awesome! We talked a lot after the conference but we don't have a ton of time to talk but she's really cool.  She said you added her on FB and told her to add me when we were both in Provo!   How random!  We're now in the same mission and shared a companion. haha. She keeps saying "say hi to KEN!" haha! so funny. 

PS. I got to eat BEAR here!! Idk if I told you already but I’m so excited hahahah! It was a bear someone hunted and butchered into sausage. It was suuuuuper good! omg!  So weird!  There are a lot of hunters here so I asked them, the Burgess family, to feed us snake. hehehe.  He said he would.   He said “If I catch and cook a snake, will you eat it?”  … and I said YES. idk if  I told you all but my secret goal on my mission was to eat snake.  I thought it would be in Brazil, but hey, I'll take some rattlesnake in AZ! woooh!!! hahaha. I'm so excited.

Anywayyy.   Quick update on Helen. I just wanted to tell you all how amazing she is. 93. still living alone and cooking and doing her thing.  She is almost completely blind and deaf, but her mind is 100% there.  I love her so much.  She just WANTS to die, but we've been teaching her and telling her there's a reason she's still here with her entire mind.  She is amazing and I never feel the spirit so strongly than when I'm teaching her.  She thinks so deeply about things and has been able to receive another answer. "wait."  This was most likely because she had previously made the decision to be baptized Lutheran this Tuesday because she wants to be baptized but is scared of immersion.  We explained the priesthood again and why it isn’t the same with the Lutheran church.  We talked about how the adversary works because she gets super sick when she decides to go to church and so she hasn’t made it there yet.  She is considering this very much and we had the elders give her another blessing.  I've never prayed so hard for someone in my life.  Her and the Pherigos.  I just KNOW how important this gospel is and how amazing it can be for them and I just want nothing else for them, but the very best.   I always cherish my Pday time and what not, but she said she might come with us to a tour of the church building today and the first thought was its Pday!   But then I realized that the spirit in the church can be the key to helping her recognize that answer to her prayers and accept the gospel.  Then I realized that I would give up every Pday for the rest of my mission for her and the Pherigos and all our other investigators to recognize the truth of this gospel.  To accept it into their lives and finally receive that peace and allllll the blessings that come with it.  Helen is my emotional rollercoaster investigator … the most strenuous exhaustion after each visit but I know it will all be worth it.  She admitted herself she just needs to stop fighting God's way cause she's so stubborn but she knows it's true.  It's the recognizing the answer, what she already knows that's the hard part.... and she keeps dismissing the feelings she gets after a couple of days.  Satan is powerful, but prayers and the spirit, Heavenly Father, is so much more powerful.  Like you said, Dad, the answers usually come in the final quarter, after the trial of our faith.

I am so grateful for all the letters of encouragement and support You sent me.  I have never had a harder week of my life and those letters of advice and stories from your missions have helped me soooooo much … beyond words. Just remembering that I'm not the only one having to go through hard things and that it can always get harder, haha, has helped me so much.  Thinking positive, leading by example, putting my pride on the altar of sacrifice.  I want to thank you all sooo much!  You have no idea how much you all help me.  My Heavenly Father KNOWS how much I needed such a strong family and ward and friends supporting me through this time … and I am so grateful, because I know I could never do it without you all.

Love you all SOOOOO much!!!

Amo Voces muiiiiitoooo!!!

Ate a proxima semana!!!
<33333333

-Sister Yoshimoto!

BTW, We don't know what's biting us cause maintenance came in and checked and said it's not bed bugs! But we moved to the spare room in our apt and slept there with sleeping bags from members and then cleaned our sheets. And got no other bites.  So we went back and slept in the clean sheets and i got alll bit up on my arm. and now a few on my legs but now it's like less and less. Idk though..... sooo yeah we'll give it another week see if i still get bites, if not its all good. sis Roberts doesnt have any sooo idk! weird cause she's sleeping on sis Jensen-Coon's old bed where SHE got all bit up begining of last transfer. THEYRE TRAVELING BED BUGS AHH!! update next week haha. Love YOU!!!<333

Time For Me to Grow ... Cast Our Nets

Sep 9, 2013

Oi minha querida familia e amigos!

Let me just tell you... Heavenly Father is certainly pushing me forward.  I realize now that I don't think I've ever actually had to do super hard things. There have been tough situations and I guess challenges in my life, but I guess it's just never been those things that stretch me so thin and push me right to the edge, but now, He's urging me "it's about time you learn something, Sister Yoshimoto!"  Man... I thought the first week out here was tough.  This week has been so much tougher.  I think this might have been what it was like for Sister Jensen-Coon when I first became her companion, cause She had to take the lead of the area AND as the trainer of a new missionary.  I don't know, It's just been super stressful and overwhelming at times because I had just gotten in sync with Sister Jensen-Coon and was starting to get to know the members and the investigators and now all of a sudden everything is changed and I'm thrown into a new situation.

New companion, new responsibilities. It's been so hard because I feel like I need to plan and lead everything, yet I'm not supposed to. My companion is still the senior companion but she doesn't know the area or the people or anything so it's like this weird situation. Especially since I still don't really know a lot of the people yet either.

The hardest part for me though, is that I don't think my new companion likes this area very much and that is so hard because it's suuuuch an amazing area, but she doesn't have that love for it or that desire to love it and so it's so hard to get her to get going. This has been the hardest challenge because when I first got to this area, homesickness and the ssloooow long days all that were so hard to overcome, but the only thing that fixed it was working hard. getting things done. always being on the go and always keeping my mind on the work, on the people, on the spirit.  The weeks FLEW by and it was fun, fulfilling work. But now, it's so hard again.  The people we need to see stop progressing, and it seriously is so hard to keep going, but I love the people and this area so much. Sorry it sounds so depressing haha! but it has been a touuuugh week!

The hardest part is learning how to rely on the Lord and not on my own abilities, because they only go so far ... and not that far, either haha. so ...  It's definitely something I'm working on this transfer. as well as patience and love for my companion.  Patience........ is...... a... virtue...... that Heavenly Father reeealllyyyy wants me to have.

SOOO anyway, that's my vent rant for the week. Sorry its so depressing sounding. I'm really doing alright though! Fasting and praying a looooot!!!

However, This week has been slow in lessons cause a ton of people are out of town and the investigators we've been seeing are all hitting walls. Helen got a blessing and said she didnt feel anything.  She was expecting to feel healed. or less pain. but we try to explain sometimes she just needs to pray for comfort or strength to got hrough these afflictions.  It's hard cause she can't read the Book of Mormon and she can't listen to it either cause she can hardly hear and she said the pain makes it too hard to concentrate on what she hears. So we're gonna try to play it super loud and read with her. She hasn't made it to church yet. She breaks my heart because that day she was crying and saying she wants to get baptized as soon as possible because she was thinking about it all day and we were prompted to show up and she took it as her answer... she now dismisses it as hysteria that day and says she doesn't know what she was saying.

There have been other blocks with the other investigators too. and I think just all of this being thrown at me at once has been overwhelming but I made it through one week! VISA says its still being worked on. I know I'm being prepared for something big haha. But in the mean time, I LOVE this area and these people and want to be able to help EVERYone here.

It's been a long week but tomorrow we have a mission meeting with Elder Neil L. Andersen from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and hopefully I'll receive some spiritual boost and revelation for my area. I'm excited!!!! I'll let you know next week what happens!!

Well, my love to everyone!! Sorry it's a short email. I can't get any thoughts straight, my mind is constantly racing nowadays. haha. I didn't even get to write a list of what I wanted to write to you about!  Well, tomorrow will be a big day and I'll have tons to write anbout next week!

Quick spiritual thought:  There was an amazing talk given yesterday about Peter and how Jesus asked him to cast aside his net and follow Him.  He talked about how we can cast aside our nets and follow him. how it will be hard--that net was Peter's whole livelihood, the norm and the familiar to him--but it was worth it.  Sometimes, for us, that net is our pride, or our desire to be like everyone else, or our fear of standing alone. If we cast that net aside and folllow Christ, eventually it will all work for our benefit and our reward will be more than the sacrifice.

Find your net and cast it aside.

Love you SO MUCH!!!!

Amo Voces muito!!!!

-Sister Yoshimoto <3

Uma Grande Semana de Milgres!!!!

September 2, 2013

Oi Minha Querida Familia e Amigos!!!

SoooooooOOOOOoooooo much has happened this week! I don't even know where to start!!! Well first off, the first transfer just ended and guess what........ .I never would have guessed. But I Sister Jensen-Coon is getting transferred to Henderson!!! She leaves tomorrow morning!!!  So weird.... we had ONE transfer together!! and now i'm staying here with another sister and finishing my training with her and so it's weird cause i'll be training her on the area and she'll be training me on missionary work... so strange.  I don't know what to do. IM SO NERVOUS because I barely know the area, myself and now it's basically--or feels like--it's all on me. I KNOW this is definitely inspired because I have definitely been feeling myself hiding behind Sister Jensen-Coon's knowledge of the area and experience with these people. Right before we found out about the transfers, I had a feeling/thought of "Man, I need to be more open and get to know these people more!" ... and now I know why ): It's gonna be suuuuper hard, but I know this is exactly the kind of challenges that Heavenly Father gives and will give me throughout my mission to help me grow and be the person he wants me to be. I just have to trust in that and keep it in mind as I struggle through this next transfer haha.

It's also really sad cause Sister Jensen-Coon and I have just BARELY finally been able to get in sync.   It's still been a challenge, but we were finally able to really get to be friends and open up and talk and stuff, and dang, now it's like WOOP, okay! Good job now here's someone NEW! ): I'm suuuuuper nervous. Companions are the hardest thing for me just cause i have such a hard time in opening up, especially with people who are not really compatible with me haha. I know this is definitely one of the things Heavenly Father wants me to change. It'll be one of the hardest.

So Sister Jensen-Coon is going to Henderson!!! and she'll be in Green Valley in a YSA ward. Which ward is Uncle Jimmy in??  I know not YSA, but just curious haha.

Sooooo miracle of the week!!! of the MISSION!!!! AHH!

Helen!!!!!! I loooooove Helen!! OMG. so I mentioned we met her again last week on exchanges--(I realize was another preparation for me taking over this area)--and it was amazing! So we saw her again several times this week, and when we saw her, we talked about baptism and what it meant, how it would help her, etc. We had her pray about it and said we'd come back in a few days to see her again. She agreed and we left.  The next day, we drove past her house to a dinner appt and saw the garage door open and immediately, we both said "Helen!". we turned in and no one was there, so we ran in and knocked on the garage door and she came out and was genuinely shocked! We explained that we had a feeling to come and stop by and she was crying and said she'd been praying allllll day and really torn up and thinking about what we talked about. She had been praying and asking and didn't get an answer. She said she felt in her soul an dher heart that she wanted to be baptized, but she didn't want to be Mormon. haha. We explained that by being baptized she would be automatically a member and didn't have to like fill out papers or applications or anything to be Mormon.  We talked about what happens after baptism, like going to church, continuing the sacrament, prayer, reading, etc. and said she's not Obligated to do this, but when she is baptized and understands all this, she will naturally WANT to do this because of the importance to her. She was very relieved cause she didn't want to be forced to do anything--she's very big on being self reliant and independent. She said she'd been having this debate and turmoil all day in her head--coming up with reasons not to go to church, etc, by herself and then we showed up and she just cried saying "How wonderful, how marvelous, the power of God, the power of Prayer!" She recognized that Heavenly Father had answered her sincere prayers of whether or not to be baptized, through us! She was so relieved and amazed that her answer came so fast! By the time we left, she was so excited and happy and kept saying okay! I'll go to church tomorrow!  Can I be baptized as soon as possible!  It was amazing.... We left, walking on clouds! I truly felt sooooo full! it was amazing! I suddenly realized what Travis talks about every week about being the answer to someone's prayer and sometimes Heavenly Father's tender mercies allow me to see how I've answered their prayers. It was the most amazing tender mercy and I just can't imagine feeling any happier!!

She's been in and out of the hospital so she hasn't been able to go to church yet, but she is so sincere and so determined its amazing. she keeps asking us why she gets her prayers answered now when no one else does and we keep reminding her that when she prays to her Father in Heaven, because she prays so fervently and sincerely, her prayers were and are answered. It's so amazing to see how such a sincere prayer can truly make the difference. We're working on getting her baptism set up for the end of this month.  Oh wow, what a blessing.

On another note--about Howard and Diane, the Priest and his wife who wanted to "cast the demons out of us, Mormons" haha. They dropped us. We had suuuuch an awesome first lesson with them and he decided to start reading the BoM, but then when we saw them again, it was on exhcanges and with a member. I think having those two new people threw them off a bit, and the member was very knowledgable on the  Bible, which we thought would hlep, but I guess it really was a bad idea. it turned more into a bible bash ): I kept having to jump in and calm it down. It was bad..... but we ended well and He said he would give us a call when he finished the book of mormon and was done with school cause he's too busy and stuff. So we bore testimony and assigned a chapter to read and said we'd love to come by and check on them every so often to just say hi and he agreed. So at least we left on good terms. but mannnnnn he just kept slamming on things that made no sense haha. I honestly felt so sad afterward just htinking about how quick he was to dismiss the evidence of the Book of Mormon in the bible and I just hope and PRAY one day he'll allow the missioanries to really teach him and he'll see just how amazing and COMPLETE this gospel really is.

OH! I forgot! Dad, Diane Pherigo and Jim Pherigo are investigators of ours and is literally like our Kingman family here! They are AMAZING!!! They took us to Golden Corral and took a pic of us and tried to send it to you on Facebook haha. Idk if you got it but check for her. She's so cool and they are so amazing. they were 7th Day adventists and have realized how similar our beliefs are. We showed them the Restoration video and (Joseph Smith is a huge block for her) they loved it. They want to see the Full movie and want to know more about it. succcch an amazing step for them! I'm sooo excited about them! :)))

So anyway, How did Emily's talk go??? That's so cool that Kelsey came! How is senior year going?? :) Tell emily to check her email haha. Thanks for the emails and addresses!!!

How is the Ward mission plan going?? Sounds like some CRAZYY stuff! I'm a little disappointed cause our bishop is suuuuper nice and amazing but he is so worried about the members that he doesn't want to burden them at all. and it's understandable but if we are to progress as a ward and as missionaries, we need to be pushed!  It's hard. But I know he definitely is meant to be the bishop so we will just work with him until we can find a happy medium :) haha. we'll see.

Anyway, How is everyone else doing?!?! I miss Rusty!! so many dogs here): none as cool as Rusty! :) Well yeah. I can't remember what else I wanted to say. Well I'll hope to write later. letters. Love you alll!!!

Ps. I found some people who went to Brazil! woooh! hope to have dinner with them or something to practice Portuguese!! i'm LOSING IT AHHH!!! :(

Amo Voces!!!!
-Sister Yoshimoto