Power Week

FAMILY and FRIENDS!!!!

Well.. sounds like school is officially out. The best part of the year is starting! So excited to hear about all the adventures you guys have in the next few months. Luke... Congratulations on your graduation!!! I literally feel like that was just me. But you have lots of good ahead of you. Especially this next month preparing for your mission and spending lots of time with the family.

This last week was one of the best ones that I think I’ve had yet on my mission. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I can really say that I am happy. That being a missionary is one of the hardest (like you saw two weeks ago), but one of the best things that I’ve ever done. Just being able to look at my plaque each day and see our family name and the name of Christ keeps me going strong. Because right now I’m not me. I’m a helper. A servant. A receiver of so much love and help from the Lord.

Hermana Cardenas and Hermana Diaz

One of the highlights of my week was my companions. They are sooo so great! Like I said last
week, I’m in a trio with Hermana Cardenas (from Miami) and Hermana Diaz (from Argentina) and we all get along so well! I’ve already learned so much from them about how to teach, how to love, and how to rely on the spirit. Also, we all speak English so its been a good week of lots of jokes, spanglish and laughing. Each night we are EXHAUSTED because we walk like 5 miles (or something.. maybe not) each day and just go go go. I’ve never had so many contacts in my life.. partially because its easier to talk to more people with three, but also partly because we are just giving it our all. Last night we got home to our apartment and were all super hungry so we all made brownies in a mug (shout out to mom and my birthday package). So last night at 10:26 we were shoving hot hot brownie and ice cream in our mouths laughing and getting burned because we had three minutes to do it. One of the best things I’ve tasted in a long time.

Brownies in a mug.  Best night-time snack ever!

Yesterday we had a really cool experience and answer to a week long prayer that we’ve been saying. We’ve been wanting to find new investigators.. like I’ve said, its a little more challenging in this sector. We’ve been praying, and fasted, to be able to find a family that could progress. Sometimes its so frustrating because we have so many good options, but people just aren’t home a lot. Well, yesterday we decided to try calling a reference that we had received and when we did, the family answered and said that we could come over right then. (That sure doesn’t happen much, but we were grateful!) When we got to their house we realized that it was a family that we have been wanting to teach (and actually have an appointment with them tonight). The mom is a less active and the dad and two girls aren’t members. It was funny how it all worked out, but we figured there was a reason. Well... we had one of my favorite lessons that I’ve ever had in my mission. We could feel the spirit so strongly and it was so cool to see the desire that the mom had to return to the church. Tears streamed down her face as she told us that her biggest goal is to be able to be sealed in the temple and be with her family forever. The parents still need to be married, but at the end of the lesson, the two daughters accepted a baptismal date for the 2nd of July. It was a super cool experience.

Our 2 recent converts.

Shout out to mom and the cookie mix that she sent in my birthday package!
We made cookies with our recent converts!

My birthday!!!  Thank you family!!

Another highlight of my week... My birthday on Tuesday. Thank you everyone who sent emails and thank you thank you mom and the rest of the family who sent the package and notes. AHH I loved it! And my companions love you for all the American candy :) I forgot how good that is. I cried as I read all of your letters! You guys are so sweet. It was also a super great day workwise... lots of people gave us references, we had lots of lessons and also two families gave us lunch. Oh man, it has never been harder to stuff down a plate of rice. I was praying hard with each bite. But it went down somehow. Miracle.

This week I started the Book of Mormon again and I’m reading it looking for examples of faith. If I haven’t said it before, Nephi is my hero. I want to be like him in every way. His willingness to obey, positive attitude, courage, hope. Everything that he does is because of his faith. Because he has faith that the Lord will never give us too much to handle.

Thank you for all you do. Your support, love, everything. I love you guys!!!

Hermana Yorgason