The good, The bad and Rex

This week  . . . was kind rough, but also so so good. Well it started off with me getting the flu (I know mom I know. No need to freak out I am fine now. Me and the mission nurse are like bffs so we figured I just really need to do things to strengthen my immune system because that is the main reason why I keep getting sick). So ya laying in bed all day reading New Eras was not how I planned on spending the first part of the week but hey Sister Culala got some good practice leading out and teaching with members. Then on Wednesday a miracle happened. I finally ran into to people I know. We went to Claim Jumpers with a member and Dan and Jen and their kids were there! They just happened to be in town going to Dinseyland and stuff and just happened to be staying at a hotel in Buena Park so they just happened to go out to eat at Claim Jumper at the same time we did and we just happened to not sit in our normal spot somewhere else in the restaurant but right next to them! It was crazy. One of those coincidences that is such a coincidence that it proves coincidences don't exist. It was so good to see family and get to talk to them. Then the next day we had dinner at the McCay's house. They knew that I had been sick so they made pizza for dinner because they knew it is my favorite food. It was the best. Then the kids came over again (even a few more than last week when we taught them). We taught them about service and how they can help others. Then we taught them how to sing Love One Another and taught them the sign language. They really liked that part. Then on Saturday we had a lesson with our investigator Rex that is seriously one of the highlights of my mission. We had 2 members there who used to be Catholic but converted. We taugh him the gospel of Jesus Christ. I always find it kind of ironic that here we are two 22 year old girls teaching simply the basics of Christ's doctrine to a man in his 50s who as studied religion and theology for years and can read the scriptures in Hebrew and Greek. And yet as we teach the Holy Ghost is there as we simply testify of truth. Really though as we talked about faith an repentance and his ideas and experiences, it was just so good. Then we asked him if he has any questions which he always does. He asked again about the apostasy, also about what happens to all those people that lived in spiritual darkness, what does the sacrament mean in comparison to the holy communion. (the funny thing is, is that he usually already knows the answers to these questions he just wants to hear how we explain it "I like seeing you all get so passionate about things" he told us). Our member shared his conversion story and how much the gospel has blessed his life and his families life which was so powerful. Then when we asked Rex how his book of mormon reading was going he shared this experience with us. He said "When it comes to the Book of Mormon, I know its true. And of course Joseph Smith was a prophet." So I'm thinking "yes! he prayed and got an answer." But then he kept going. He said "I've had some spiritual experinces lately and there is one that I want to share. When I was in Las Vegas waiting at the airport, I was looking out at the mountains and I realized how happy I was. There was just this joy that I have felt from studying the Mormon church that I haven't felt about religion since I was a teenager taking these same lessons from he missionaries. Then I was reading in Alma and found a verse that describes exactly how I feel. (Alma 19:6) "Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the glory of God, which was the marvelous light of his goodness-yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness had been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul." He went on to say "So I know I ask a lot of questions and research things but you don't have to worry, I'm converted. And I have decided to send in my resignation for my priesthood ordination so I can join the church." I had been smiling through this whole thing because it just made me so happy to see how much joy and light the truth has given him. But when he said he wanted to join I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped to the floor. This one was all Heavenly Father. It shouldn't be that easy to convert a catholic priest! But really it just all comes down to the spirit and that the message we share is so true. I know it is. If I know anything it is that Christ's church is again on the earth and we are truly blessed each and every day of our lives to be a part of it. Rex asked us to pray for him because he will face a lot of opposition these next few weeks as he resigns from his Catholic seminary, something he has been working towards for the past 7 years. So he can definitely use as many prayers has he can get. There was just such a sweet spirit in that lesson. The sister we had with us said that she felt priveledged to be a part of the lesson and that she felt like she was going to go home and cry after becuase she had been so touched. Sheesh I practically felt the same way. So he can't resign until October and then there might be a few things he has to work through until the end of November. But still he wants to get baptized people! God is so good. Then on Sunday night we went and visited a member that night. We have been visiting members around 8:00 because that is hard time of night to proselyte most of the time. We practice teach lessons on them which is really good for Sister Culala to practice teaching and work on her English. Anyways, we taught Sister Ikihahifo who is from Tonga. She has such a beautiful testimony that as we asked questions about the Restoration you could just tell how much she believes and lives it. When we were talking about Christ she said "I am always humbled and absolutely amazed by Christ's sacrifice. We can't even comprehend what he did for us and I am just so so grateful. My favorite way to think of Christ is to think of the picture where his arms are outstretched. He truly beckons all unto him and wants to wrap us in the arms of his love." It was another good lesson (even though it was a member). Then we didn't have time to eat cake she had made so she was like "I'll just give you some to go." I was just expecting a few slices on a plate, but no. She gives us half the cake, a whole carton of ice cream, 2 bottles of apple juice. Then she throws in some oranges, apples, a rotisserie chicken, salad, and potato salad. Then on our way out the door she tells her son to take a case of water out to our car. I love Polynesians. So getting sick was totally worth all of the tender mercies we had this week. God really does watch over us and bless us. Lately I have been working on praying more to Him throughout the day. In a recent training they committed us to change the way we pray. I think in the past a lot I would think of things throughout the day and say "Oh I need to remember to pray about that tonight." But know I just send up a short prayer right there. Talking to Heavenly Father more makes me feel more connected to him throughout the day and like He is close by when ever I need Him. Have a good week!

-Sister Washburn

what your life could be like if you knew who you are and obeyed the commandments

This week flew by. It's always weird when at the end of the week you look back at things that happened earlier in the week and it seems like that was forever ago. On Monday we had our last zone activity before transfers. We all went to the insitute building in our zone where they have pool, pin pong, air hockey and other games. Then our zone leaders made us all waffles. And then before we left we all sat in a big circle and told one of our favorite stories of something that happened to us that transfer. I told about finding and teaching Rex. Some people told funny stories about their companions. There were some pretty good ones and I don't think I have laughed so hard in a long time. Then later that day we were out tracting and we ran into one of our less actives who is getting re-activated. His name is brother Collings and he is a para palegic so he rides around in a wheel chair. We have been teaching him the lessons and it is crazy to see how much he is changed and how his faith is growing. He told us that he talked to the bishop about getting the priesthood. We were so excited! It is going to be great to help him prepare for that.

Then on Tuesday we went out with one of the relief society counselors and visited some less active women in the ward. Later that day we taught Anthony the 10 commandments. There are hand signs that go with each one to help you remember them and so he liked that a lot. One of his brothers was in the kitchen while we were teaching and he joined in too at one point so that was awesome! (the brothers usually aren't too interested)

Then on Wednesday we got to teach some more kids who live in this trailer park that a lady in our ward lives in. The kids don't come from very good homes and they love missionaries. Two girls ended up showing up to the lesson and we taught them about Jesus and how to pray. We told them that they could pray anytime when they need help, to feel comforted, to say what they are grateful for, or just to talk to heavenly father. One of the girls said "I think that it will help if I pray when the evil spirits try to come into our house." That was so sad to hear. I know that a lot of people in that trailer park are involved in drugs and stuff so who knows what kind of environment they are growing up in. Everytime I see kids getting raised in broken homes or being surrounded by bad influences at such a young age it is just so sad! I just wish I could gather all of these children and take them to primary and help them to see how much God loves them and what their lives could be like, how they can make good choices and see their true potential. Anyways somestimes when Sister George and I would go tract in this trailer park and we would see the kids we would sing "A Child's Prayer" to them. They LOVE that song so the girls were begging us to teach it to them. We taught them the words and then we were all singing together. The spirit was so strong in that moment singing with those 2 little girls. I hope that these moments are things they remember especially later in their life. Their parents aren't interested in learning from us so their is only so much we can do to teach them and stuff but simply knowin ghow to pray an dunderstanding that God really loves them is a good start.

Then on thurday we had our district meeting just like every week. The training was on humility. It was about how humility is recognizing your dependence on the Lord. It deosn't mean putting yourself down or minimizing your talents but just realizing that you can accomplish great things with the Lord's help. After we went to lunch with 2 other sisters in our zone. One of them is a sister that came out with me. It was fun to catch up with her because I haven't served around anyone I was with in the MTC since I was in training. We went to the Pizza Studio which is this really awesome restaurant that is kinda like subway cause you pick what kind of crust that you want and then they have tons of sauce and other toppings that you can put on and then they cook it for you. Basically it would be so great if they could build one of these in Provo.

Then Thursday night to Friday I went on exchanges. I got to go to another area which was so nice to just have a short break from my area for a change. We taught Aly and AJ's uncle again. He comes to church every week and I think that there are a lot of things he likes about our church. He was just raised in a Lutheran church for so long he has a hard times switching from what he has been taught all of his life to what we believe. He is genuinely intereted though and always have some aspect of the church he has been studying that he asks questions about. This week it was about authority and why his baptism as a child was "invalid." We explained about preisthood authority and used the bible to explain how even Jesus walked miles and miles to be baptized by John becuase He knew that he had the preisthood authority. Then the next day we biked over to a former investigator they had named Jeff. Jeff has definately had a rough life, has been in and out of jail and dealt and did drugs for a long time but he is really trying to change his life. He read the whole Book of Mormon while he was in jail and he told us this story about the book of Enos. He said that he had been running away from his parole officer and he knew that he just needed to turn himself in so that he could do his month of jail time and then move on. But he just couldn't turn himself in. He was at a park hiding and he started just praying to god to help him to do what he needed to do. Suddenly he felt peacful and was able to turn himself in. Later on when he was reading in the Book of Enos he saw that it was the exact same situation he was in. He had also cried mightily to God and had been given the strength he needed to change. Later that day we taught another investigator they had named Chin Yu. She is a foreign exchange student from Taiwan who wanted to learn more about the church after some one invited her to church on Sunday, Our lesson with her was so interesting. She doesn't speak english super well so a lady from the ward that speak Chinese came with us. We basically started from the most basic of the basic because she doesn't know anything about Christianity. We asked her what she thought God was and she said "the sky?" So we taught her about how God is our Father and we can pray to him. Then we taught about Jesus. It was crazy to me because I had never taught anyone before who literally had no idea who Jesus Christ was and had never heard his name before. Most people in the U.S. have a least heard of him. We explained how he was the Son of God and he was perfect. That he did lots of good things here on earth and that he died for our mistakes. When we tried to explain the Atonement she was just so surprised. "Why would this powerful perfect man die for the mistakes for everyone on earth?" It was hard for her to grasp that someone would do that for her and everyone else. So the sister will next time teach more about Christ's life and how his teachings apply to us personally. It was a really interesting lesson and made me think more about how blessed I am to recieve the hope and strength that comes from knowing who Chrst is and how He can help me in my life.

The weekend was so hot it was ridiculous. September is the hottest month here and it was high in the 100s the past few days. The heat has really been getting to me just cause it tires you out so easily. On Saturday we did a blitz where we all went and worked in one of the areas of some of the Elders in our district. The area Sister Culala and I were going to was right next to the church so we just started walking there. About an hour in tracting, we were sweating a ton and I had forgotten my water bottle so we decided to back to our car and just drive around. I can't wait until it cools off!! I am definately so so so ready for fall and colder weather.

Overall it was a pretty good week. We had a training a few weeks ago about the power of prayer and having "our hearts drawn out continually in prayer unto him." This week I have been trying to be more sincere in my prayers and to really say the things that the spirit wants me to as I pray. I also try to talk to Heavenly Father throughout the day. Sometimes I will just say a short prayer in my head or ask him for help in moments when I just feel really tired or need His strength. It definately helps a lot and helps me to feel more connected to Him. Thanks for all of your prayers and support. I feel like the hardest thing at this point on my mission is I now how to do things and what I should do but I am kinding running out of energy to do everything. But I keep trying to work as hard as I can every day and I know the Lord will bless us as we put forth a greater effort.

Have a good week!

-Sister Washburn

We went over to this lady in our ward's house to practice teach the plan of salvation with her. Well, you know you have visited the stake relief society president when you come home with a basket of goodies. Sister Culala was like "It's like Thanksgiving early!" haha I told her "If you think this is cool just wait until actual Thanksgiving." 

Still in Buena Park

So, no surprise I am staying with Sister Culala for another transfer here in Buena Park and finishing her training. I can't believe I am starting my second to last transfer!! The amount of time it takes to train a missionary is the amount of time I have left on my mission. 

So this week was pretty good. We found, we taught, we had no one at church (but we are working on it! you can only influence people's agency so much) And our favorite 93 year old got baptized!!! Sister Eves had a really nice baptism. Two of her non-member grand-daughters came. The talks on baptism and the holy ghost were really good and not too long. The one on baptism was about burying the old man of sin in the water and rising out of the water being a new man alive in Christ. And Sister Redding who is a great speaker talked about the holy ghost how she felt it when we was holding her son for the first time and how she felt that she would one day have a daughter and then ended up adopting 3. It was just cool to hear her personal stories about following the spirit. Elder Henry baptized her and did a great job (she only had to be baptized once) A lot of her friends from the ward and even some from back when she used to be a member were there. Overall it was just good and the spirit was definitely there. On Sunday she bore her testimony about how for the past 30 years she has been searching for the right church and now she is finally back were she belongs. And Robert blessed the sacrament for the first time!! He did such a good job. He also got a calling to be the gospel principles class president. And he just finished reading 1 Nephi in the Book of Mormon (he takes his time so he can understand). We're just so proud of our recent converts!

This week we went out to lunch with Juana. She the non-member neighbor of a member in our ward and she loves having the missionaries over but says she isn't ready to take the lessons. We always end up talking about the gospel though so hopefully she will open up to it. It has been so hot and humid this week. It 's been horrible. September is the hottest month here so 90 degree weather mixed with humidity is not my friend but we're missionaries and we work no matter what so I  put up with it. But I can't wait until cooler weather. I want to wear cardigans and scarves so bad. (also that would switch up what I can wear because I am really tired of my clothes) 

So ya, other than that just a typical missionary week. Sorry if my letters are sometimes boring. I think that I am just so used to missionary work at this point that it doesn't seem like anything too exciting happens even though there is probably some thing you all would be interested in hearing about. I'm just so used to it now that it just seems normal. Also by the time Monday rolls around i have forgotten some things.

But we did have a good lesson with Anthony we talked about the Book of Mormon and explained what the story of Lehi's family is about. After the lesson Sister Hernandez pulls out her quad and starts reading the articles of faith with him, and we didn't even suggest it. So that was cool. There just seems to be something that comes up every week on Sunday to prevent them from coming  but for some reason I feel like we just need to keep working with them and teaching them and it will happen eventually. Also that day had been hard for me, I was just kinda frustrated because members kept dropping from coming out to lessons with us. But as soon as we got into the lesson and we were teaching I felt way better. I felt like I was right where I needed to be, helping this family and bringing the spirit into their home. Missionary work is not easy but those moments where you can feel that you are truely helping people and changing their lives in any small way, make it all worth it.

We're ready for another great transfer! Love you all!!

-Sister Washburn

                                                                          At the park

Eve's baptism

and it rained today and it rains like once every 6 months here so it was a big deal (also we are in a drought so it was really needed) 

Service and Teaching

This week was super busy. I was sick earlier this week but am way better now. But that meant we had to squish all of our lessons into Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We got to teach Rex this week and his lesson was priceless. So he shows up to our lesson and pulls out a brand new quad. He said "Well I went to Deseret book the other day to look at some books about Joseph Smith and I bought a few and bought myself some scriptures. I'm up to Alma in the book of Mormon." So that was an awesome plot twist we were definitely not expecting. He was so excited to tell us what he had learned about Joseph Smith. Then we taught him about the plan of salvation and were able to answer some more of his questions. At the end of his lesson he was asking what opportunities there are to serve in the church. He said that he has been praying and thinking about our church a lot. It would be a hard decision for him to make because he has been in catholic school for the past 7 years and is nearing his new priesthood ordination and he would be leaving his profession, family, and friends to come to a new religion. But he's seriously thinking about it which is crazy! For now though he is living in another city to finish up his training so we won't be able to see him for a while. We had a good lesson with Anthony and his mom. She said she really wants to go to church just things keep coming up. We asked her and Anthony to pray that they would be able to come. We also asked if there was anything we could to to help make sure they are there. She said she needed a black slip to wear with her skirt so we found a member who gave us one. We did a lot to try to get them there but sadly on Sunday they weren't there again. So we are going to keep trying and hopefully they will start coming soon. Also we have been getting things ready for Sister Eve's baptism. She is so excited its great. Other than that we have just been working hard and trying to schedule appointments and have members come out with us and all of that other stuff we gotta do. Sorry to keep it so short but next week is the last week of the transfer so hopefully we have some good things happen to end the 6 weeks. I know that God's grace really can give us the strength we need when our efforts seem to fall a little short. He is always there to listen to our concerns and to help us along the way. Love you all!

-Sister Washburn 

                                                                      our zone picture

from a few weeks ago) doing some service for some members in our ward who were re-siding their house

then I had to throw another pair of shoes away because they were just too worn out 

Miracles!

This week we had more miracles! We were able to start teaching a family! There is a phillipino family (the Dorotheos) in our ward that plays basketball at the church on staurday morning with some of their friends. Last week we showed up and met some of them and one of the families invited us over. So on Monday night we went and had dinner with them and taught the first lesson. They had lots of questions especially since they have known the Dorotheos for so long. The teenage son said that he has a friend a school that joined the church and so he knows about the book of mormon and doctrine and covenants and everything. The lesson was really good and the parents have a crazy work schedule but we will hopefully see them again soon. Then on Tuesday we stopped by the house of this teenage girl we had met and talked to. We ended up teaching her too and picking her up as an investigator. Her family practices this interesting hispanic "spiritual" religion, but she seems really interested. We are going to try to get her out to mutual soon. We taught Anothony again and his family said they would all come to church and they didn't again. So that is a bummer but I think that if we can get the ward more involved they might be more comfortable coming to church. Also we had our mission president's wife Sister Tew come out with us and study with us on Friday. That was a lot of fun to have her with us and to practice teach with her in our studies. Then we found out that Sister Eves got her clearance to be re-baptized! She has been waiting for 5 months so she was so happy. So we get to start planning another baptism. Also the Elders passed off one of their investigators to us named Gloria. She is dating someone in our ward and wants to be baptized but she can't until November. She has grown up super catholic her whole life and her parents are against the church but she believes it is true. Anyways she teaches catechism and has some other obligations with her catholic church that prevent her from being baptized until November. But it was really cool to teach her because she really loves the teaching of the church and even shares the gospel with people at work and stuff. So now that we have so many people to teach things have been really busy. We were doing our weekly planning on Thursday and I looked up at our white board where we write down who we are teaching and stuff and I was like "Sister Culala, we have 10 investigators right now!" Given we will have to pass off a few soon but man, Heavenly Father has been blessing us so much! We have been working hard and I am just really glad that Sister Culala has been able to have so many opportunities to teach and work with investigators and everything. I know that this work is so important. That this is the only way that people can recieve salvation and be able to return to our father in heaven. On the days where we are super busy and I have a million things to remember and plan for I am just grateful that the Lord is always helping us. There is no way that we would be able to do everything we have to without him. I am grateful that the Lord just asks us to do our best and that he will make up for the rest. He is helping us and hears our prayers.

Have a good week!

-Sister Washburn

Receiving Revelation as we Study the Scriptures

This week was so busy but it was really good. On Monday we visited an older couple in the ward who it turns out lived in El Paso a while back. Then we did some contacting and met this guy named Robert who said we could stop back by. Then on Tuesday we had a new missionaries meeting which was good. Its always good to get trained on some of the basics because they are so important. Then that night we went out and worked and I had a feeling that we should go stop by Robert's house. We did and he was there and we ended up teaching him part of the first lesson and picking him up as an investigator. Then on Thursday we got to teach our investigator David. He is really interested in learning and has been reading the Book of Mormon but I think he sees our visits as more of a nice bible study. We have taught him about preisthood authority a bunch of times and I still think that he doesn't quite get it. If he doesn't come to church soon we will probably have to drop him. Also that day we had a super awesome lesson. So last week we got a media referral for a man that requested a copy of the Book of Mormon. We stopped by and dropped it off and talked to him for a while. As it turns out he is a catholic preist who wants to learn more about our church. So we set up and appointment with him (his name is Rex) but i wasn't sure what exactly to expect (like if it was just going to turn into a bash). We met him at the church and we had a really great member with us. He told us that he was raised Buddhist (he's Japanese) but his mom would have him read scriptures from the bible to teach him how to read. So he got interested in Christianity. Then when he was a teenager, one of his good friends that was mormon would invite him to church so he soon started taking the lessons. He really wanted to get baptized but his father was against it so he didn't. Anyways he ended up becoming pentecostal but didn't feel that was right so then he joined the catholic church. He has been studying as a pastor there for seven years and has also studied theology and philosphy for many years. And he said that the other day he saw a program about mormonism on tv and felt prompted to learn more about the church again. So needless to say it was a interesting lesson becuase I have never taught anyone befoe who has so much religious knowledge. But the lesson was so good!! He has a lot of respect for mormons and was genuinly interested in learning what we believe. He has studied our religion before in a class so he knows a lot about our church but he wanted to learn from the source. So we taught him the first lesson and he got along great with our member. Her husband is a convert and used to be catholic so we are going to bring him to our next lesson. Also it was cool because when we taught about apostasy, he asked why would God take the prophets and athourity away when the people were wicked and needed it most. I had read in Ether a couple days before and there are a few chapters where about four times the Lord sends prophets trying to get the people to repent but they just keep rejecting them. I was able to explain that God tries to help us and bring people back to him but he can only try so many times and have the prophets rejected before they are just too wicked and unwilling to change. It was cool because a blessing I got a while ago said that I would be able to recieve revelation for those I taught as I studied the scriptures. Anyways you can just tell that Rex has been looking for the truth his whole life and I know he felt the spirit in our lesson. At the end we committed him to pray and ask God if our church is true. He said that he would and that he feels like God has guided him to learn from us for a reason. He asked for us to pray for him that he could recognize his answer. So that was pretty cool. He believes that the catholic church also has true preisthood authority and being a priest in his church is his job so it would be a big change for him to join our church but if he is really sincere I'm hoping that he will realize that this is God's true church on the earth. Then on Friday we had exchanges. Sister Oler is a brand new STL and so it was fun to go on exchanges with her. We did some service for some members, taught our investigator Sister Eves who is doing well (just waiting for her clearance to get re-baptized), a member took us out to eat at Denny's, and we visited this less active lady who takes care of her mom who has alzheimers. It is really a lot of work and hard for her because her mom tries to run away and yells at her a lot. So I'm really glad that we got to visit her and uplift her. Then on Saturday we had a ward car wash. It was free and while people were getting their car washed we gave them tours of our church building. It was a lot of fun!! We were able to get 2 new investigators out of it. One of them is a Phillipino guy who used to live close to a mormon church in the Phillipines. Another was a lady who lives next door to the church and wanted to see what it was like inside. She loved that our church focuses on families because she wants her grand-daughter that she takes care of to have a good religious upbringing. So it was a really great activity. Afterwards we went and taught Anthony the plan of salvation. We have little cut outs that go with each part of the plan of salvation and he loved getting to put them in order and then showing us how to put it together. He cousins were there too so a couple of them joined in on the lesson. Sadly they didn't come to church like they said they would so idk what we will do about that. He can't get baptized unless they start coming. We are going to try to have a family home evening with their whole family this week.  On Sunday I got a cold (the sister I went on exchanges with gave it to me I guess) so we went in early that night so I could get some sleep. Still not feeling 100% but I will be fine. This upcoming week is going to be just as busy but I am glad that we have people to teach and things to do every day. The Lord is really blessing us in our area as we work hard and put our faith in him. I really tried to be a lot more positive this week even though I was still feeling kind of overwhelmed. Heavenly Father really helped us to be able to accomplish everything that we needed to and to lead us to find more people who are willing to hear our message. I know that God is always guiding us and is mindful of us always. Love,

Sister Washburn

With Sister Culala

God Really Knows YOU

This week we got to teach Anthony again which was really fun. We made him a chart that he can put a sticker on for each day that he remembers to pray at night. We finished teaching him the restoration lesson and he understood it really well. I'm hoping that his family will come to church this week because they need to be more active before he will be able to get baptized. We also did a lot of finding. We haven't gotten any new investigators for a while so hopefully we will soon. We talked to a lot of people and Sister Culala contacted a few people in Tagalog. Gotta love having a foreign companion! One day this week we were walking to our car and we saw these 2 guys sitting on the curb. We went over to talk to them and as it turns out they were youth pastors. They run this program that helps teenagers with drug addictions to turn their lives around through learning about Jesus Christ. It just really hit me that the message we share is so important. What these guys were doing is good but the fullness of the gospel really can help people turn their life around and give them hope. A happiness and peace that comes from having the faith that God will help you through whatever happens. Sister Culala is doing really good. She is starting to get a lot more comfortable with teaching and talking to people. It definitely takes time to get used to missionary work and being in another country on top of it so she is doing a good job.

So God really knows me. It's crazy sometimes. He knows me because last transfer during a really hard day we were driving to our dinner appointment. I turned to Sister George and said "Honestly all I want to do right now is eat pizza." We walked into the house for dinner and they were making pizza. Coincidence? I think not. He knows me because he's given me experiences and companions and areas to help me grow. Sometimes it is only in looking back that I realize why things had to be the way they were. And I'm grateful He guided me through it and helped me become better because of it, even if I wouldn't have chosen it myself. He knows me because we will have a training that was just what I needed to hear or was about something that had been on my mind. He knows me because he's given me friends and leaders that I can talk to. This week has been hard. The weather was really hot, I still don't know my area or the ward that well, I have a brand new companion who I have to teach everything to and be a good example. And I'm tired and I have so much to do. For one of the first times on my mission I was thinking, "Man my departure date can't come any sooner." I just felt like I want to finish strong these last 4 months but I just don't have very much left to give. I was reading in John one morning and I found this scripture "Say not ye, There are four more months and then cometh the harvest; behold, Lift up your eyes and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." So basically Heavenly Father was saying "Don't say "I just need to get through these last 4 months and then I'll be home." Look around you, there is work to do and souls to save!" I just felt like Heavenly Father was speaking right to me through this random scripture. I didn't come this far to just give a half-hearted effort at the end of my mission. This all happened earlier this week and since then things have gotten a lot better. I have seen a lot of His tender mercies and got a priesthood blessing that really helped. I just know with all of my heart that God knows each of us so personally. He sees our potential and He is eager to help and bless us. He helps us in large and small ways every day and every week. As we recognize His hand in our life we will be able to always feel that He is near. All he asks of us is to try. Even if our effort is small but it is all we can give some days, God is proud that at least we tried. In the blessing I got part of it said "God wants you to give your best effort, but He doesn't expect it." At first I was like "what?" He doesn't expect me to really try hard? But really its that he doesn't hold me to some high expectation. He doesn't look at what I did at the end of the week and say "well, Sister Washburn just didn't quite do it again this week." He just sees that I tried my best. I know that this is His work and that He will help me and my companion to accomplish the things that we need to in our area. I know that this situation is just what I need to be able to become more of who He sees me as. I know that God's love is constant and perfect and that as we trust in Him, he will guide us always. 

love you all!

-Sister Washburn 

With Sister Culala at a recent dinner appointment