Stake Conference here we come!

Well hello!

I think I will be staying here in Murrieta until I die actually. I only have 2 more transfers after this one and I'm thinking that I will stay and be the STL over the Murrieta girls and I'm also hoping to die training, but we'll see.

Things are going great, just keeping busy. We are having a General Authority come out this weekend and we will be having an MLC (Mission Leadership Council) with him on Thursday, so I am super stoked about that. He'll actually be speaking at the Multi-Stake conference as well. Sunday will be broadcast, and the Adult/Youth session is individual for each stake, so that is the session that Hermana Painter and I will be speaking at. We are almost done with our talk and are both liking it a lot J

I'm done with all my exchanges for the transfer finally and they went well. All of the sisters I am over are great. They are all so different, but all have great, individual strengths and talents. I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to work with so many different girls.

I've been pretty sick this week, and completely lost my voice, which was absolutely ridiculous. Actually, it sort of brought reverence to our lessons because I had to whisper the whole time and most of the time it sounded like I was about to cry, which brought more emotion, so I guess it wasn't too bad, I guess ha-ha.

I'm feeling much better now though, thanks to a beautiful Priesthood blessing this morning. I'm so grateful for the blessings of the restored gospel. I asked Elder Cordery (the new missionary) to give the blessing. He doesn't know me hardly at all, but the blessing was simple and beautiful and just what I needed.

We haven't been able to see Alex this week, but we did pick up his mom as an investigator (Alex was at his cousin's house) and we plan on stopping by to see them again tonight and hopefully Alex and Martin (brother) will go to Mutual tomorrow evening.

We are working hard to find new investigators, and we found one and actually set a baptismal date with her (I finally met her yesterday for the first time because I am always gone an exchanges) but she feels more comfortable in English, even though she is Hispanic. Oh well, whatever is best for her J I know we will be blessed to find those of our Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters who are being prepared. Jose Luis will be baptized next month, so we are working a lot with him. He and Lupita (member/mother of a Recent Convert) just got engaged last week, so that was fun.

We found a young man from Peru this week and had a lesson with him in Daisy's home actually. He didn't want to meet with us, but for some reason I felt the need to be persistent (which I am not usually pushy in contacts at all). He finally consented, but wouldn't give us his phone number or apartment number, he only said he would meet us on the sidewalk at a certain place/time. Well, we went and he was there! Hermana Painter was kind of weirded out by him, which made sense. In the lesson, he talked about his past and why he doesn't think God cares. He probably has the darkest and most gruesome past I've ever heard of and he told us that he refused to pray, telling us that he hadn't prayed in 8 years and planned to never pray again. By the end of the lesson, he was still refusing to take the Book of Mormon, but right as we were ending we asked if we could say one more prayer. He said yes, and then said "You know what? I'll do it." He Prayed! It was such a cool misericordia (mercy) J He wouldn't set a return apt and we called him last night and he's still not interested, but the fact that we helped him to pray is a miracle enough for me! - Random story, I know, but I liked it. Hermana Painter and I then proceeded to sing the whole way home J

We do a lot of service here in Murrieta, which has been fun. I have pictures of us taking down Christmas lights in the park, but the computers here are ridiculous and I don't have time, sorry. We also scraped paint off of some rusty fences this week - fun stuff. Well, I'm out of time. I love the Scriptures, but I still feel like I have sooooooo much to learn. I sort of wish we had 6 hrs. a day to study, instead of just 3, but I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with the fact that I have my whole life and eternity to keep learning. Sorry if I didn't respond to much.

If you still have questions, just ask me next week, but I gotta go. Love you tons!

Hermana Alyssa Nicole Escalante