Life in NoHo May 2, 2011

Hey good lookins'

Thank you thank you again for the package! the pictures bring me immeasurable joy! Also, the letters from Mom and Lauren. I'm super sorry to hear that the tests came up negative. Things will work out though. I know it.

So, we didn't get any investigators to the river cleaning project, but it was supremely fun anyway. We pulled out a dozen or so shopping carts, a couple mattresses, we pulled an old-fashioned fishing net out of a tree....it seemed quite successful and it was fun to do something very productive and helpful but just a little different than our usual activities for a change.

We've been experiencing some little miracles this week in the form of finding new people to teach. We usually try to schedule in at least 2 or 3 hours of door knocking a week to find new investigators, but we just haven't had time this week. HOWEVER. We found a ton of new people, just from looking for referrals and deciding to talk to everybody we come into contact with.
Sometimes I really love people.

We started teaching this guy named Marvin from Honduras that we met while looking for another person. Marvin lives in this teeny tiny room that is smaller than many of the closets in Highlands Ranch and we taught him about the Restoration the other day. He had really great questions and I could just see all the wheels in his brain spinning faster and faster as he understood the principles we were teaching him with the Spirit. He's a really cool guy and I'm really excited to see him again. We also started unofficially teaching Milagro's daughter Beatriz. She really hasn't shown any interest in what we teach, but as we've gotten to know her and just talk about life, we've gotten to share how our understanding of who we are, why we're here, and where we're going, and most importantly WHY has shaped our lives and given us comfort and guidance. I just wish everyone could understand their divine heritage and potential. I feel like if everybody just had the tiniest understanding of that concept, the world would be a much better place. At camp this last summer, we said the same thing, that if everyone in the world spent just a week working at a special needs camp, the world would be a better place, and I really think that it's because of that very principle. When we can see the divine in ourselves and in others, we value relationships, lives, experiences, we judge less, have more gratitude and patience, and find more joy and purpose in life.

That's why I LOVE teaching the Plan of Salvation! anytime we teach it, our investigators' attitudes change and they just seem to understand life better. It's so much easier to put away fear and frustration when you have an eternal perspective and knowledge of the why of things.

Anyway, it's been a while, but here's a good  Elder Castro quote of the week : "Dont' touch me! I am tickle!"

Oh dear Ecuadorians.

Anyway, we're going to the zoo so I've got to run, but I get to talk to you soon! don't forget your cell phones on Sunday!

love you more than all the corn tortillas we eat at members' homes.

Hermana B