#bringmebackmybike

 ¡¡ HOLA A TODOS !!

¿Cómo están todos mis amigos? I had an AWESOME week. Elder Ollie and I are having such a blast and working so hard. Weslaco is so wacky and weird. Like there is no way this place is real. I cannot even believe some of the things that we have seen this week out here... 

But anyways here are the major updates with me!

GOOD:

- I am so sick of this car. Tiwi be giving me "check your speed" when I am barely moving. Having a car also just makes me feel like a lazy missionary because I sit around in the AC when we travel instead of zooming on my bike. Not to mention, when you have a car you have to worry about your miles, and THAT is a pain. However, one plus is that the passenger can make calls and teach mini lessons over the phone while we travel. This change has totally helped us this week and brought us a lot of success. There are some benefits to having a car but I am still whole heartedly on team BIKE! We did get to use the bikes a little this week and it made me SO happy. 

- This awesome couple in our ward named the Hulet's took Elder Ollie and I with the Tech Squad sisters to a fun restaurant called Nana's Taqueria. It is literally straight out of Coco (yes the Disney movie, everyone should start singing "Remember Me" right now) like they have Mariachi playing and a little store and their food was incredible. We ordered Jalapeño Poppers that were a little on the spicy side for my liking. Sister Hulet took a single bite of one and literally lost her marbles. She immediately ran to the kitchen to ask for milk, they didn't have any so she settled on half and half packets which she started taking like shots. It was pure comedy. The Hulet's are so awesome

- Being on Tech Squad is different! We are always working until about 10:00 and are always thrown into all kinds of extra meetings. We oversee all 8 of the mission Facebook pages and make sure that each Page Editor, Content Creator and Moderator is trained and doing their job. We approve and edit all media for the mission as well as running and managing the mission online advertisements. We also act as a bridge between the President and the other missionaries who have tech responsibilities. It is a blast because we communicate with EVERYONE in the mission and I love that! 

BETTER:

- We found a really cool guy named Jacob this week! He has been so enthusiastic to learn. We found him in some old area book records and decided to knock on his door. When he opened it up he said "I have been waiting for you guys to come back!" Jacob is probably about 25 years old, really into boxing, and LOVES everything that we share with him. To make matters even better, the Tech Squad sisters started telling us about one of their investigators named Jaime and we came to find out that Jacob and Jaime are friends who go to the same boxing gym! They started talking about church and how they were gonna pull up together. Social conversion happening for them both simultaneously, how awesome is that? I wish I could end this story with a happy ending saying that Jacob came to church yesterday but unfortunately, he wasn't able to make it. Hopefully next week :)

- BEST NEWS!!! My good friend, Sister Burke who took over my old area in McAllen, reached out to me this week and told me that the Marsh family is progressing! I am not sure if you all remember but the Marsh family is the most awesome family that we found through service and started teaching them. They have 6 children and showed IMMENSE interest in church but after a few weeks we lost contact with them. When I left my area, we had not spoken to them for an entire week. BUT, Sister Burke and her companion were able to get in touch, rekindle that fire and Crystal Marsh (the mom of the Marsh Family) is set on Baptismal Date, hopefully to be followed by some of her kids soon! I also got to hear that Crystal expressed to Sister Burke how much she enjoyed having me over, that her kids liked when I would visit and that she loved the light I shared with her family. It is always so good to hear that you made even the slightest difference in someone's life. WAHOO for the Marsh family!!!

- We got to go on Exchanges this week, and I got to spend an entire day with Elder Hartvigsen. HE IS DOPE. Elder Hartvigsen is from Bountiful (so my family probably thinks he is cooler than I am, lol) and has been on his mission for about a year. We worked hard and met some cool people, but I mean the highlight of the day was hitting up Grandma's Snow Wiz. There is this little Snow Cone stand that ALWAYS has at least 15 cars in line so we knew we had to try it. It did not disappoint, that is all I am gonna say. I always love exchanges and learning from other missionaries.

- As Tech Squad we got to go to MLC (Mission Leadership Conference) this week. This means I got to go back to McAllen, be in my old church building and see a bunch of my missionary role models like Elder Bird, Elder Snarr and Elder Lauaki!! It was such a happy day.

BEST:

- Here is a scripture from the Book of Mormon that I have thought about a lot this week!

"And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."

The Lord will shape the back to bear the burden placed upon it. Maybe he won't remove the trial but he will help you press forward. Faith in God can help us submit to His will with patience and peace.

Whatever your current struggle is... take it to Heavenly Father. Tell Him how you are feeling and ask for strength to get through one more day or to take one more step forward. I can testify to you all that He is there to help you 

"Work Hard, Keep the Commandments, Have a Positive Attitude and Show Gratitude."

- Elder Spoonie