FUNERAL SERVICES

It's great to hear that you are doing well! This week has been crazy here though! We have been running around all day every day and I am so tired today!

This Thursday we had a funeral that we had to run so it has been crazy! So last week our recent convert Silverio died and all of his family is Catholic but we were talking about setting up the funeral and everything so we offered that they could do it at the church. All of the main family was like oh yeah that is perfect and then the daughter in law who doesn't live there but was running it was talking to the lady at the funeral home who was also catholic and then they were talking a about the tradition. So in the end they ended up doing the viewing at the funeral home and then mass at the Catholic Church and then the meeting in our church. We were worried because we thought they were just going to do it all catholic and then Elder Perez and I just look at each other and we were like speak now or forever hold your peace. So in the end it was all good because we had an amazing service and after all of the family and friends were talking about how much they loved the service at our church. Also, part of their family just came in from Mexico and they hadn't seen them for 14 years and it was the 6 year olds birthday so we brought her over a little bag of goodies and a card and they loved it. It's sad that the recent convert had to die but the work is rolling in their house so we are excited. 

Also a funny story, we got our eyebrows threaded today ;) sorry I have no time, I love you though! 

THE LORD HAS A PLAN FOR US

That's amazing that you went to the temple re dedication. It is such a blessing to have so many temples within access of our house! That's so crazy that Daniel and Mark are already leaving! It's so crazy to think how fast time is going!

But this week has been full of blessings but it's been crazy! So we have a recent convert named Silverio Mendoza who we have been working with quite a bit lately who just died this last Friday.  We were so sad to hear it but we know that the Lord has everything planned for him. We were talking about how he was baptized and then the Lord was like I need my son back right now because he is too important. We gave him the sacrament in his house last week too so he went out perfectly clean. It was sad but we know the Lord has his ways and now it's opening up lots of missionary opportunity with the family. We love that family so much!

Sorry that it has taken me forever to email you today it's just that one of the missionaries in our zone cut his hand really bad today so we had to go and pick him up and take him to the hospital so we have been running around all day helping with that. But everything is great here! Just enjoying and taking things day by day! Love you mom!

OUR AREA IS LITERALLY ON FIRE!

Yes we got our packages and thank you so much for sending them!

Being a zone leader is great though, I love being able to serve with all of the other missionaries! Don't make it a big deal though to other people, all of us are missionaries working together so I don't want people to just be thinking zone leader all of the time because that's not what it's all about! But I love being able to be with all of these great missionaries, our zone is truly amazing and progressing so much! Our area is literally on fire! We are having so much success here it's amazing! We still haven't baptized but I have never felt better as a missionary! We are teaching so many less actives and recent converts right now and our ward is becoming so strong! I feel like the area was set up perfectly for me to come into!  A few members just recently were reactivated and there are more that are so close to coming back! There are a few families who are working towards the temple in our area like the Romero family and we are excited for that! We are teaching so much in this area so I am excited! We are still working on finding new people but they will come soon!

The weather though here is freezing though already! The other day it was 46 degrees when we were driving home, I heard the winter here is supposed to be a freezing one too!

But funny story of the week was that this week we are helping the Rojas move some furniture and my companion bent down to lift it up and his pants shredded down the middle! I was crying I was laughing so hard and I was already bending down so I just fell down laughing!

Also this week the Puentes family came down and took us out to dinner so that was so much fun! Anyways it was a great week!   Below is the Rojas boy that lives downstairs.   And it's so funny because he is scared of cake!  It's the funniest thing!

TONS OF SMALL MIRACLES EVERY DAY

This week has been great! We have been teaching so much recently.  We have like no investigators but the less actives are doing amazing! We just reactivated someone on Sunday and she is la Hermana Martinez! She now is planning to go back and working in the temple and she is on fire right now! She started coming back right before I got here and then we finally just reactivated her! Also we have a huge family that is coming back too, there are like 10 of them and only one was active! We have started working so hard with them and now about 7 of them were at church the last two weeks! It is honestly amazing! I love this ward and this work! This letter is just really simple but it's just because we have small miracles every day and a ton of them so it is hard to write them and put them in here! 

Also that's great that you are working with the missionaries! I love you all so much!

CERTIFIED VAN DRIVER AND ZONE LEADER

 Elder Perez  and I with the Familia Rojas., the family we live with.
 (They are missing their three older sons, and the mother is pregnant with a girl.)

We went to the temple on Saturday but we worked the other part of the day so today we are doing our laundry and emailing and stuff but we can't play today. Yeah and first of all, happy birthday to Dad last week too! And again happy birthday to you, Mom! What did you guys do to celebrate? 

But this week has been great but super busy! We have been running around all week having to help a bunch of other missionaries! So on Wednesday I got certified to drive the transfer van, so like a big 16 seater, and now in our area we have a car too! It is so different driving here in Chicago than it is in Utah! All of the streets here are so packed with cars and potholes and the drivers all are fearless! Also, now I can parallel park like a boss!  Also this week we had to go and bless one of the hermanas’ apartments because their house was feeling dark and they hadn't been able to sleep for a while so anyways we went and we brought Hermano Rojas and we left at like 9:30 and we got home at like 11:15. We were so grateful that the Hermano came with us because we were talking to the mission president about it and he said that the only way we could be in the house at the same time as the hermanas was if we had a member so it was great that the hermanas could listen to the prayer. 

We had a great experience at the temple this week though, it was just super simple but the spirit was strong. We rode up with the familia Rojas and came back with them because they had a primary activity there so they gave us a ride. So the familia Rojas is the family that we live with and they are amazing! They are the nicest family alive! They help us with everything! They love it too because they have a bunch of boys so the parents love them being around us! I love their family so much! 

We don't have like any investigators right now so that has been hard but we have been working so well with all of the less actives, we are so close to a lot of reactivations with people who haven't come in years so that's amazing! Everything is going great here though! I am just loving being a missionary and everything here! The people are truly amazing here! 

[This week we received a letter from Elder Eichers' mission president that informed us that Garrett has been called to serve as a Zone Leader in the Chicago North Spanish Zone.  Good thing we got that letter as Garrett might not have ever told us.]