Hermana Escalante: One More Month!

Hey Familia y Amigos!

Well, allergies started to hit me this week, so I gave in last night and took some allergy medicine, but apparently it is not the non-drowsy kind, so I've been a little tired today. Other than that, I'm feeling great. How did your student observation go? I'm glad to hear that so many exciting things are happening both in Orem and in Layton. So, do these full-time missionaries from the stake do proselyting as well, or just teach when someone give them a call? It's pretty interesting to me J sounds cool though!

It's been a fine week. We had many lessons and many contacts, yet it still felt like we could have done better. It's a great feeling to know you're doing well but that there is still more to improve J Well, our "golden"/interesting investigator...we're still not sure what to do with her. We stopped by Sunday morning and she said she had read the night before and slept great (her spirits/harassing neighbors usually keep her up) and was planning on coming to church, but then she never showed. The members that have been fellow shipping her have seemed to be little turned off by her and don't show a lot of excitement when we invite them to lessons anymore, so we might be taking that as a hint that this may not be the best time for her. We don't want to baptize her and then leave her to be a burden on the branch, so we are alright with dropping her if that is what is best, but we'll decided that for sure this week. President Kendrick actually came with us to a lesson with her and he blessed her home and it seemed to go very well, but he still suggested that we proceed with caution. He told us he felt "Leery" of the situation and just to make sure the ward was very involved on the situation, so we will try to have a lesson with her this week with the branch President as well.

Exchanges went well last week and we have a few more exchanges this week. Hermana Williams is doing great and does well with all of the exchanges. Elder Cordery is doing better as a District Leader as well and seems to be feeling a little more comfortable with it, and we're hoping he stays humble. He still calls us all the time, but is adjusting.

We just started teaching a part member family, but the member is a returning less-active who is still struggling with alcohol, so we'll see how it goes. As a zone we have set the goal to have 75% of contacts with Family History (we're still doing the pilot program).... which is a challenge for me, since it never seems to yield much results, but it is helping. Hopefully we will see some results soon, if not, at least we are doing our best.

I am feeling the Spirit so strongly here on the mission, especially this last transfer. I feel like with every contact we have and as we talk with almost every person, and in every meeting we're in, the Spirit bears witness to me that what we are sharing is true. We had an hour-long contact in the street the other day with a man working on his car. At the beginning, he was just talking with us to get a kick out of us, to make fun of religion, and but the end of it, he took a Book of Mormon and promised to read it sincerely. I just love being a missionary so much.

Tell Michael thank you for this paragraph, and he is very funny about promising to write me every month until I get home.... ha. Well, that's just absolutely crazy that she is out biking at 8 months, but Jodi is the coolest. You're right, I am very excited to spend some time with my nieces and nephews when I get home. Speaking of, have M&J been thinking about names? I miss holding kids so bad! This last Sunday we went into Daisy's primary class (4 and 5 yr. old, I think) and talked about what we do as missionaries. It was fun stuff :)

Oh, yes. Hermana Williams is from Kellogg, Iowa and is 19 yrs. old. She loves the scriptures and we think so much a like in our studies. It's great. She is a dancer and very easy going, so we've had a good time thus far. Did I mention last week that she was trained by Hermana Sheffield in Temecula? Fun stuff. This is her 4th transfer, and she's a boss.

Glad to hear that your RS class went well and everything with STEM and observations and whatnot. It actually makes me a little jealous. I want to be in education so bad...I feel almost as passionately about it as I do the gospel...it's a little ridiculous.

Well, I love you tons and tons. Sorry my emails are a little boring, but I'm tired today.

Love you!

Hermana Alyssa Nicole Escalante