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M I N N E S O T A

On December 7th, 2011, I got home from my mission. Exactly six months later, I went back. :) It was SOOO good to be there! It was such a busy weekend that I felt the same exhaustion from all of our visits that I did as a missionary. It was a familiar feeling and that made my spirits happy!

This was my weekend in a nutshell:

Read on if you want more details. :)

I did my best to take as many pictures as I could without being obnoxious...I still wish I had more but the ones I have will have to do. On Thursday Ruben picked me up from the airport and we went to the Mall of America for lunch at this stirfry place. I got to choose my own vegetables, meat, and sauce and then I watched them make it right in front of me! It was so fun. :)

My first visit was with Hna Giselle Veliz. It was great to catch up with her and to hear how her son is now taking interest in the Gospel and even wants to be baptized! 

I was super excited to see Angelica Campos and her family. :) She was a golden investigator and I had the privilege and blessing of teaching her. It's amazing how much a missionary can learn from the example of his/her investigators. 

I stayed with the Olesen family and they were very kind and gracious to me. When I first showed up at their apartment I was greeted by this lovely sign. It was so sweet and thoughtful. :)

On Friday morning we drove down to Faribault to visit some families. First we went to Sister Young's house and visited with her, her daughter DeAnn and husband Andy, Sister Voelker, and Kendra Odd. They gave us the juicy scoops on pretty much everyone in the ward. :P

During that visit Sister Voelker informed me that Eric Hehr got a new job nearby and I really wanted to see him! I decided to stop by and say hello; fortunately he was there but it was just a quick visit because he was on the clock. I was so happy to run into him. 

Then we went to visit the Gonzalez family. We were supposed to watch their four kids for them; every time my companion and I would ask them what we could do for their family they would say, "babysit the kids." I promised them that the next time I was in MN I would do that! They totally said we could but when we got there they didn't end up letting us do that...so we just sat on the patio and chatted while the kids played with the water and jumped on the trampoline. 

About an hour before we had to leave Faribault I got a text from Hna Yciano--she was at home!!! That was a miracle/sunshine/tender mercy because I wasn't expecting to see her during this trip. She is one of those people that I went on my mission for. :) I feel a strong bond and a close connection with her and it was so great to visit with her for a little bit. I wish we had more time so I promised to go back and visit her the next time I'm in MN.

Nancy and Cesar Pineda were married back in November and recently moved to a new apartment. They invited us over to see their new place. I didn't get a picture with them before Cesar left for work but I enjoyed listening to their stories and watching them interact. 

Then we went back to Angelica's house for dinner.

Saturday was another busy day. First I got to see the Alas family. They were never baptized but they were the first investigator family that I ever taught. She made us pupusas for breakfast and right after we ate we had to run off to the next visit. I still have hope that someday they will join the church.

Benito Frausto. Of course he shared some watermelon with us, just like old times. That was one of his traditions. :) He is a man of such great faith! I admire his diligence in the Gospel and dedication to the Lord.

From there we went to Oakdale for the Minneapolis Ward Temple Trip. I was able to see so many ward members and familiar faces--I was in heaven! It's nice that I've only been gone for six months because people still remember me and recognize who I am. I really appreciated the warm greetings and happy welcomes that I was given. 

I had a little bit of time to visit Elisa Becerra after the temple. She is awesome. She was baptized a little over a year ago and she has so much faith! It was fun to hear about her excitement for her new calling, and share some encouragement to stay strong.

The last activity of the evening was a carne asada with the Mejias and the Amayas. That made for an evening full of yummy food, great company, and lots of laughs... :)

 We went to two sacrament meetings on Sunday and I was asked to share my testimony at both. :) I didn't take very many pictures because I didn't want to be irreverent but I talked to as many people as I could! Being with the members again felt so good. 

I felt right at home. I felt like I belonged. I felt appreciated. And I felt loved. :) 

One pleasant surprise from Sunday was seeing Hna Harding! We were companions for five weeks in Faribault and she comes home in two weeks!

I loved Hna Rodriguez's dress...she matched with her mom! :P I thought it was cute. 

After church we visited Carmen Portocarrero in the hospital. It was a sweet visit and I promised to write to her when I got back. I didn't take a picture with her because I wasn't sure how she'd feel about being in her hospital gown so here's a picture of us from the mission.

We had dinner with Ana and Fernando. They had just come home from an appointment with the Patriarch and had barely received their Patriarchal Blessings so they were glowing! It was great to hear about their experiences.

Monday was a lot more chill. Ruben and I ate breakfast with Hna Rodriguez and she told us about the miracle of her son returning to church. She got emotional just talking about it and I can only imagine how much joy she must have felt to see her son come back. 

That was our very last visit. It was such a quick trip that there just wasn't enough time to see everyone. That aside, I'm so happy with the things we did do and content with the people we were able to see. I loved being back in Minnesota and it felt so so good to be with the people of my mission again. It was definitely a successful trip...on multiple levels. ;) 

 THANK YOU for making this happen! :D

The little things...

Ruben asked me what makes me happy. 

I told him it's "the little things" he does that make me the happiest.

Checking me in online
Arriving at the airport half an hour early so I wouldn't be waiting for him
Carrying all my bags for me even when I offered to help
Asking me how work is going
Holding my hand in the amusement park so I wouldn't "get lost"
Driving me all over the place

Being transparent
Going with me to visit families even though he has no idea what we're talking about
Being okay with bringing omiyages because of mom's request
Eating tuna fish tacos just to be polite
Making sure the apartment/bathroom/bedroom was clean for me
Seeing the birthday sign Meags made him hanging up on the wall
A picture frame on his dresser
A sweet little card left under my pillow
Answering my phone call at midnight
Offering to help
Enduring the questions, the teasing, and the razzing all weekend
Inside jokes

Sincere compliments
Expressions of love and admiration

Being willing to babysit four kids
Offering to switch seats so I wouldn't be in the sun
Helping the kids fill up the swimming pool and move it to the shade
Feeling bad when they got yelled at :P
Listening to my concerns
Making changes
Trying new things (i.e. Pupusas with Lorena)
Talking about boy stuff and Mexico stuff with Benito
Giving him a ride to the bus stop
Being early to the temple
Sharing revelation
Arranging a carne asada so I could see the Amayas
Helping with dinner
Washing the dishes with me
Being confident and taking initiative
Sharing the lakes
Messages on colorful post-it notes
Expressing confidence in me
Going to two wards

Genuine smiles
Being willing and able to translate for the Stake President
Waiting for me to go to Sunday School while I said hi to members
Looking for me after church and finding me in the parking lot
Letting me talk to Hna Henderson for as long as I wanted to after the baptism

Visit to the hospital

A Priesthood blessing

Having a plan and bringing it up with me

Eating four fillets of Tilapia even though it made him sick
Walks around the lakes

Sharing the scrapbook
Being consistent, reliable, and trustworthy
Sharing frozen yogurt
Buying me dinner before the plane
Asking me to text three different times: on board, at SLC, at Provo

Loving me just the way I am!

Lunch with the President

I love being with people who help me feel comfortable, who help me feel like I belong. These kind of people make you feel really important and you can just feel of their love. You want to be with them as much as you can because being with them makes you happy. They have a way about expressing their appreciation for you and they know exactly how to give a sincere compliment. You also want to be your best self around them so that they are proud of you and you never want to disappoint them or let them down. 

President and Sister Howell are those kind of people. I have such great love and respect for them. They have a beautiful relationship and beautiful testimonies and are beautiful people. This afternoon a few of us MMM missionaries went to their home for lunch. They were very generous and welcoming and they hosted us like kings and queens! Being with them today reminded me of those qualities that I want to develop myself. :)

Reunited Again

Hermana Crockett was my first trainee. It was seriously such a blessing to be her companion. I think I learned more from her than she ever learned from me. One of my favorite things about her is that she was a spirit FIREBALL! I have never met and worked with anyone who is closer to the spirit and more in-tune with its promptings and more willing to obey him than Melissa Crockett. She is amazing! She taught me the power of relying completely on the Spirit; she taught me about the blessings that come from following through with the impressions we feel; she showed me how influential the Spirit can be in our daily lives and especially in our personal decisions. In addition to Hna Crockett's amazingly close relationship with the Spirit, she has such a great capacity to love and care for people. I was a recipient of that love and care, at times when I desperately needed it, and will forever be grateful for friendship. She is one of those people that has changed my life for the better.

Hermana Beecher was my second to last companion. She is one of the sweetest, most genuinely kind people I know. I remember the very first day we were together: I had been transferred into her area and, after picking me up, we went to a park to eat lunch--a lunch that she had prepared and packed for the both of us, just because she thought I might be hungry. That's how sweet and thoughtful she is! From the very beginning, I knew that Hna Beecher had a huge heart. We only served together for six weeks but I learned some valuable lessons with her. She taught me what it means to be compassionate and to love others unconditionally. She allowed me to be her friend and accepted me for who I was, quirks and all! She was a great example to me of what it means to endure to the end, no matter what your trials and struggles may be. She helped me learn how to open up and express my feelings in ways that encouraged companionship unity. Her humility, kindness, and ability to love are traits that I have come to admire and hope to one day develop.

This past week, both of these girls came home and I was able to go to each of their homecomings. It was so great to see them again and to hear them speak of their missions. Missionary homecomings always bring back fond memories of my own mission and inspire me to be better. 

Ally Wally

Thanks to Ally's graduation from high school, we all had an excuse to fly home and be together again. It's the first time in seven years! Our family dynamic has changed quite a bit since the last time we were all together; Cam and Josue now have two children, Erwin got married, and we're all quite a bit older. It's fun to be a part of a growing family. :) Throughout the week I...

helped Gma Wright make 28 plumeria leis,

went to Ally's graduation ceremony,

made a slideshow for her grad party and also performed a Tahitian dance with my sisters,

spent time with family members,

watched Evan at football practice,

went to Ally's seminary graduation,

and hung out with high school friends.

This past trip was very relaxing and enjoyable!

Oswaldo's Baptism

"The work of naturally and normally sharing the gospel with
 those we care about and love will be the work and joy of our lives."
-David F. Evans

For the past three weeks I've been participating in the missionary discussions for Oswaldo Hernandez. Teaching with the missionaries felt so good! I remember sitting in that very first lesson with great anticipation and excitement--it was my first visit with the missionaries since being home! The Spirit was sweet, peaceful and familiar. I loved every bit of it: the Elders were both native Spanish speakers, I was the "member", Oswaldo was so open and receptive, I was invited to share my 

testimony, and it just felt like heaven! 

Today he was baptized...

...and it was such a blessing to be a part of his experience. 

Me, Oswaldo, Elder Lopez, Elder Ramires

“Our missionary experiences have to be current. It is not enough to sit back and ponder former experiences. To be fulfilled, you have to continue to naturally and normally share the gospel.”
 -Thomas S. Monson

Blasts from the past

Today we celebrated Meagan's 25th birthday at the park. She was kind enough to let me invite the Ta'alas because I haven't seen them since being home from the mission. Ever since I found out they moved to West Valley from Minnesota I've been trying to visit them but it's never worked out. Today, it finally did! It was great to catch up with them and spend some time together.

Then I went to Sarah Logo's wedding reception. Her new name is Sarah Le. I met her four years ago when we were both SOAR counselors. Sarah and I were roommates and I remember talking about Daniel one night...I asked her if she was dating anyone and she said she was writing to this guy on his mission. Eventually he came home, she left for her mission, they kept in touch, dated when she got back, and now they are happily married.

Right after Sarah's reception I picked up Marisa Jane and we went to Shanna's baby shower. Her sisters threw it for her and it was a very lovely little party. Shanna was my roommate four years ago when I lived in Cinnamon Tree. The summer after being roommates together she got married to Tim and now they're expecting their first baby girl.

I am grateful for the good people in my life. Sometimes I forget how blessed I am to be surrounded by such great friends. Today was a nice reminder of a few of the friendships I've built over the past few years and the memories that come with them.

Go for the Gold!

While on my mission I contacted Dr. Hawkins to see if I could work for him as a grad student. 

In other words, I was asking him to be my advisor. He said yes! 

I told him I wanted to get a Masters...he told me to get a PhD. :S

I didn't want to be in school for another four to five years!! I expressed my hesitation and here's what he told me: "If you're in a race, are you gonna go for the Bronze??? Or the Gold???" 

That's all he had to say and I was sold! That was my answer...if I was going to work under him he wanted my very best and that would be the PhD program. 

I wasn't personally convinced that this is what I wanted to do (PhD as opposed to Masters) until today. I went to Yue's graduation ceremony and it inspired me. 

Dr. Hawkins and Yue

Yue has been my mentor for the past three and a half months. She taught me everything I know about my current research project and now I'm basically taking over where she left off. She's been a great teacher/helper/friend and I wanted to support her at her graduation ceremony.

I'm really glad I went! Something inside me changed...

I remember when I was in high school and a similar thing happened to me. We were at the scholarship assembly and I must've been a freshman. As I watched a student accept the Kekaha School Scholarship I told myself, "That's gonna be me one day!" It was like my own self prophecy. I could feel it in my gut and I was determined to work for it. Four years later, I was the one who walked up to the stage to receive that scholarship. My "prophecy" came to pass. 

Today I had that same feeling. 

As I watched Yue accept her diploma I thought to myself, 

"That's gonna be me one day."

Best Job

This pulled at my heartstrings. :)