Birthday

Hey Fam,
Thank you for the birthday package! it did get to me on Saturday. It made me so happy! Hermana Prince arranged it so that I was blindfolded and taken to a member in Rancho Vista branch's house for lunch. It was way fun! That was the day before, then we went to lunch at an Indian Restaurant with a member named Sister Makanui. She's a way cool older lady from Hawaii. We found 2 new investigators (miracle of miracles) and then ate corn dogs and cake for dinner. We finished the day with fire breathing. We ran out of matches though, so it didn't last too long. A few weeks ago we got a media referral that said that this man was interested in joining our church....of course we were stoked, but it turned out to be a prank. We decided to knock the rest of the street to see if anyone else in that area has been prepared. We tried one night, failed miserably, so we tried again on my birthday. It seemed liked things were going to go about the same way, but at the door that Sister Jensen and I had independently resolved would be the last, we met this sweet young single mother named Belsie who let us in right away, was very open about her beliefs and interest, and expressed a desire to come with us to church. She didn't end up coming yesterday, but we're praying hard for her. Tender mercies from God!
There's a mission newsletter that comes out every month, usually listing birthdays. Bummer: mine was left off, so aside from my sweet companions, nobody really knew. Somehow our Zone Leaders found out they had missed it and they started yelling about what terrible zone leaders they were and sang a very loud "Happy Birthday" to me right before a baptism. They're awfully nice :)
We really have an AWESOME zone. I really think I'll be moved back to Spanish after Christmas, but our zone is super hard working, very creative, very dedicated, and way fun to boot. We had a "snowball fight" last monday.....we filled socks and knee highs with flour and played capture the flag, dodgeball, etc. Awesome.
We have zone conference AND a temple trip this week and I'm so stoked!
I might have mentioned this last week, but one of our investigators just came out as gay, so we've been doing a lot of reading and research to know how best to teach the gospel so that he can fully understand the importance of it and know how to live it. We love him so much and we've been praying that he'll stay close to the Spirit. Anyway, during all that research this week, I kept getting caught up in the New Testament. Man, I love it! There is so much wonderful stuff in there. Dad, I love when you send me little spiritual thoughts about your scriptures study. I sure love your brain.
I think I also mentioned Linda....we met her at Wal-mart and then she magically showed up to our ward Christmas party. We went and visited her on Saturday and she kept saying "You girls are a Godsend, and I'm not just trying to flatter you. I was just so tired...so drained...in every way. But I'm feeling the fruits of the Spirit right now....love, peace, joy, hope....you girls have the Holy Spirit with you." Yes Linda. We do. She's so perceptive and she has such a deep love for the Savior. She's been attending a black baptist church but she really doesn't enjoy it because there are too many cliques and church politics. She says "If we were really the body of Christ, we wouldn't be back biting and gossiping like that." She feels that God led her there for a purpose, though and she feels that she should stay there to help the other members of the congregation. She's so great! But technically not our investigator. She lives in another ward's boundaries so we're trying to figure out how to make a smooth transition. I know that if she comes to church, she'll feel that ward family love. Poor thing is just so lonely....
But she is such a blessing for us.
Anyhoo, I think that's about all the news around here....
I love you more than all the Baptist churches in Lancaster
Hermana B