Week 31:

hello my wonderful, beautiful, amazing, familiy

My companion and I have been improving our enthusiasm and animo. No matter what we find, how many people reject us, or how hard it is to have set lessons with our investigators, God knows what He is doing, and wants us to trust in Him and trust that he is pushing the work of salvation and needs worthy and dedicated servants to help Him do his work.

Katia is awesome! This wednesday when we went to the temple, she asked us to buy her a triple combination, a bible, and a hymnbook. Then this sunday, she came with us to church and brought her triple and bible with her :) She stayed for two hours because she needed to return to make lunch for her son. She asked questions and participated in the class of principios del Evangelio and is awesome. We are excited to help her prepare for her baptism the 10th of January.

Saturday we had a ward activity in which many people came, including about 2 of our investigators. Many non members also came, whom are husbands of members in the ward. we enjoyed the beautiful weather, ate lunch, chatted, and played basketball and soccer. I was in skirt and barefooted playing basketball too...haha. wasn't the smartest idea because playing barefoot on a hot pad of cement does things to ya....like give you blisters the size of quarters (actually bigger than quarters....haha) but vale la pena....maybe...haha. I popped the blisters and squeezed out the liquid...just for your information. i'm sure yall didnt want to know all that...haha.

This last wednesday we got to go to the temple and go through a session. I love going through it all in spanish....i will miss that when I come home. Anyway, after going through the temple, our whole zone, and a ton of others went to the chapel in Heredia for a Christmas Mission Party....with President Wilkenson and his family, the secretaries, and half of the missionaries in Costa Rica. we ate lunch and President Wilkenson spoke to us of sacrifice, and giving God the only real gift that we can give Him: our will, and our desire to serve Him with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. And then almost crying he told us that after years of hard work, with him praying and fasting that the Lord would send him qualified missionaries to help him to push the work of salvation here in Costa Rica....his dream of splitting Costa Rica into two missions has become a reality....COSTA RICA WILL NO LONGER HAVE ONLY ONE MISSION. In June or July Costa Rica will be split into two missions: Costa Rica west and Costa Rica east....AS OF NEXT YEAR IT WILL BE DETERMINED WHICH MISSION WE WILL BE IN. It's an exciting time to be a missionary here in Costa Rica. Imagine the implications of what it means to have another mission opened up in this country...250 more missionaries will be here in CR. Pretty much every missionary will need to train when they all come. Yikes. Haha. I love being a missionary here in Costa Rica!

I know that the Lord is preparing the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ. We need to be awake. We need to be sharing the gospel with everyone. Now is the time to prepare our family to be strong and rock solid when the storms and tribulations come. Helaman 12:5 I love you all and know that yall are growing so much each and everyday, spiritually and physically. Remember that we must always be anxiously engaged in this amazing cause, the work of salvation. It will never be easy. But it will be worth it.

Hope: to wait anxiously for eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Trust in the Lord that He will fulfill the promises He has made. Tranquility, optimism, and enthusiasm. If we obey now, the blessings will be fulfilled in the future. 2 Nephi 31:20. Alma 58:10-11. 1 Corinthians 15:58. D&C 59:23 PEACE: the calm and tranquility interior that is born of the Spirit that God gives to his faithful saints. John 16:33 Trust that God has overcome the world. John 17:27. Alma 38:8
REMEMBER THAT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE RESTORED GOSPEL GIVES US PEACE AND HOPE AND WE SHOULD SHARE THE GOOD NEWS WITH OUR FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, AND FAMILY SO THAT THEY TOO CAN FIND PEACE IN THIS LIFE AND HOPE FOR THE LIFE TO COME.

Take lots of pictures! Andrew, if you read this, please put me on your email list. I want to read your weekly letters :) and Jonathon also, if you read this. Flake power. Represent. haha.