Columbus Day

Hi Everyone!

Sorry about yesterday. I forgot to mention last week that P-day would be moved to Tuesday this week, but I was hoping you'd figure it out with it being Columbus Day and all and with the Libraries being closed. Cute pictures though! My family is just so darn beautiful! I can't get over it J

Well, I only have a few minutes. Sorry. I now have a few converts who write me weekly, as well as some friends and fellow/returned missionaries, so it's getting harder and harder to keep up with the emails. That's probably why all my emails are so short. Sorry!

Also, Grandma - do you think we could switch back to snail mail? That might make it a little easier on me. I DO love getting your weekly letters! And the colors in your yard are beautiful. That is one thing I miss about Utah. California is just green or brown without much in between. Hope to keep hearing from you! Love you Grandma and Grandpa!

So Mother (and anyone else reading this), back to you! Oh, don't worry about the Cookie Butter thing. I just found out there is a Trader Joe's in my area so you can tell Papi not to worry about it, though I just emailed him too, so you should be fine.

Yes, Brittany is the wife/girlfriend of a less-active who we've been working with a lot. She's my age actually, and I'm kind of surprised at how often we teach people my age with young families. I guess I just forget I'm getting to that age where I could have a family! Weird! J

Don is great. Nice guy with a couple of teenage daughters, who lives with his mother and his cat. They're great. I'll have to tell you more when I have more time. Sorry!

Sister Johnson and I spoke in church this last week, so that was a fun surprise and a good experience. We got a lot of compliments afterwards and hopefully gained a little more trust in the ward. We also got a few less-actives there, included a sister who hadn't been in about a year and she and her son (who we're teaching) stayed for all the classes, so it was a great Sunday!

Sister Johnson spoke on the Holy Ghost, and I spoke on the Blessings of Living the Gospel. I would send you a copy of my talk...but it just ended up being scribbles written out around another talk by Pres. Uchtdorf, so I don't think you could understand it very well. But it was good, trust me. ;)

Sister Johnson is doing great! We get along surprisingly well and she keeps me calm, which is so nice. She is a great missionary too. My goal is to have her be a 3rd Transfer Trainer! That would make her Mama so proud!  I think I'm finally getting the hang of this training thing, now that's it's the 3rd time around...and I'm getting used to being in Temecula again. It's actually been to my advantage in a lot of ways. English work is different...but I'm actually really grateful to be able to do both. Especially because in Spanish wards, everyone is a convert, even the Bishop often times, so it's very different than working in a ward that is all white and 5th+ generation Mormon, you know? They're much more on top of running the ward, but not nearly as missionary-minded, and they're all so comfortable in their little bubbles. So yeah, I think it's great that I have the opportunity to work in both and learn from both. Thankfully though, I talked with President and he says I'll be going back to Spanish, probably as soon as Sister Johnson is done training. I so miss my tortillas and beans! J

We will be going on exchanges this week and originally I was to stay here in the area and she was going to leave, but due to driving certifications she'll be staying here and I'll be going to Murrieta with Hermana Whicker. I'm actually really excited for her because it will really help her grow to lead out here in the area and i know she'll do great. We have some good appointments lined up for the evening (that I'll be a little sad to miss) but I'm confident she'll do awesome. We had zone review this week and that was really great.  

Hmm, we have been finding a few new investigators, slowly but surely and have been working on the ward being more involved. We have a sister coming out with us tonight, so hopefully that will go well. We really haven't had many members involved so far, but we're determined to change that. J I know that our own testimonies strengthen as we reach out, step out of our comfort zone, and strengthen others

I don't know how the time goes by so fast! Sister Johnson told me that someone told her before her mission that "The days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days", which is exactly true! Except I don't know if the days always feel like weeks. I have so many projects I'm trying to get done and work on and the end of the day always seems to arrive quicker than I can get a handle on anything. One of my current projects includes sewing up some ties for the one of the assistants, which makes me laugh because I'm not much of a sewer, ha-ha but it works!

 We've been trying to offer more service and have been able to see a few miracles here and there. The work is definitely going, it's just a little slower than I'm used to. I appreciate the prayers though! I love you so much and will hopefully get some pictures sent next week. We'll see though. Love you!!

Con cariño, amor, y un testimonio seguro,

Hermana Alyssa Nicole Escalante

P.S. Favorite scripture this week: 3 Nefi 27:19-21. Simple, but beautiful J