March 3

It is a new transfer!  Can you believe it?!  I feel like it was just last week that I got my greenie... but now it is over!

Luckily, we are both staying here in Santa Rosa!

Yippeee!

This is the first time that I will be in an area for 3 transfers!  And I am so excited!  I LOVE Santa Rosa!

So this week was just amazing. 

Monday: It started out with a trip to the beach!  Bodega Bay (not too far from where The Goonies was filmed)

I sure do love the beach!  It was way beautiful and so fun.  We played volleyball.  Well.  I tried.  With little success. Oh well. Some things never change.

Tuesday:  We had a mission wide conference call and our amazing mission president talked to us about how we cannot be letting the stress get to us. As a whole, I think all the missionaries have lost a little bit of the fire.  But we were reignited.  He talked about how it's always darkest before the dawn.  It has been that way throughout history.  Christ's suffering preceded His resurrection, Joseph Smith was enveloped by darkness before The First Vision, and at this time, we are getting tempted and tempted because something amazing is about to happen!  So we are all excited to just keep going and shake off all the worries we have been gathering.

Wednesday: It rained and rained and rained. We went tracting in it and ended up completely soaked.  Kinda fun.  I am really starting to learn to rock the wet hair look. And then we went to dinner at this Peruvian Restaurant(:  soooo good.  We had this quinoa stew.  I LOVE Peruvian food.  Seriously, if you are ever in Santa Rosa, go to Sazon.  It is amazing.

After dinner we went to our investigator Griselda's house.  She is amazing.  She has so many questions and she is SO prepared.  Then we made her whole family pancakes afterwards. In Mexico, they put Sweetened Condensed milk on pancakes instead of syrup.  And it tastes SO MUCH BETTER!  Mexicans really have the whole taste buds thing figured out. So that was fun!  And we were able to escape the rain(:

Thursday: We learned how to make Tacos Dorados!  Which is basically like a potato filled taquito (or flauta- for those of you who know what I am talking about) Anyway, they are so good!  And I am a pro!  Day by day I am turning into more and more of a Mexican.  I love it!

Friday:  MLC!  So all the STLs and ZLs got training and we watched a movie!  What?!  12 O Clock High.  It was in black and white and man, was it good!  I loved it!  Such a treat for all of us haha and it is always good to receive more instruction.  I feel like I need all the help I can get!

Saturday:  Service/ weekly planning/ baptisms/ everything!  Saturdays are so busy! 

Sunday: Church.  So amazing.

And here we are back to Monday(:

But we had this amazing miracle this past week.  Last Sunday, while I was in a meeting (yes, I am always in meetings), my companion was on mini exchanges with some sisters from a different ward.  While she was with them, the sisters got a call from a member, Robyn, asking if they could go and visit a friend of hers who she had recently reconnected with over Facebook.  They explained that it was too far for them to go to, but the lady actually lived in my area!  So my companion said we could!

So we went to the lesson with this amazing member and met Laurie and her sister Terri.  Laurie was baptized some 20 years ago, but Terri isn't a member.  Terri and Laurie have been through so much.  And just recently, their mother passed away.  And it has been extremely hard on all of them.  Robyn had just felt randomly impressed to message Laurie and after some conversation, realized that she definitely needed the gospel back in her life.  She was there right in that time of need.

And we taught an amazing lesson with them.  We were able to share our experiences and the Spirit was so strong.

But, this is the coolest part, Terri's daughter was in the house, but didn't want to listen or be apart of our conversation.  Right now, she is going through a lot.  A LOT.  She is in an extremely ugly custody battle, and in order for her to fight it, she needed the support of 5 different senators. (I don't know details, this is just what she told us).

She had 3 and while we were there, she got a call from another senator, saying they would support her.

The most amazing part, the senator was from Utah(:

Crazy, right??  The entire family took that as a sign.  Sure, it could have been a coincidence, but I don't believe in those anymore.  Everything happens for a reason.  I am grateful for Robyn- for being ready to reach out to someone in need. 

What are the odds??

Anyway, the church is true.  I know it with all of my heart.

I love you all!  Have an amazing week!

Love,

Hermana Bryant