Hey Everyone,

Thanks for all your emails this week. It was good to hear from all of you. Sounds like things are going well at home. This week has been pretty crazy. Hermana Venegas and another sister have special assignment to do exchanges with all of the sisters in the island. Hermana Venegas is going to be with each of the sisters (well half, and Hna. Gonzalez is doing the other half) each for one day. Which means she goes with one of the sisters and then I go with their companion. Its actually a pretty complicated how it all works. Basically lets just say as Hermana Venegas travels around the island, working with sisters in their areas other sisters have been coming to Bayamon to work with me. It is a good way for all of the sisters to get to learn from other sisters and for Hermana Gonzalez and Hermana Venegas to help all the sisters with certain goals that President wants. For example better contacting, using the Book of Mormon more effectively etc. So this tuesday I go to be with three different sisters from tues, wed, thursday and saturday. This week I will be with another sister for three days while Hermana venegas is on the west side of the island. and the week after I will be with another sister. Its super stressful and involves lots of time traveling to and from different places but it has been really fun to get to know more of the sisters in the mission and learn from them. It has been a good opportunity for me to learn how to be in a leadership role, seeing as they don't know the investigators or the area I have been in charge a lot, deciding what to teach things like that. It's been stressful but I am learning a lot.

This week has been really good. We taught the word of wisdom to Emma and she gave up her coffee! We were super nervous for this lesson. We talked to her about the places that she was most tempted to drink coffee so that we could help her make a plan to give it up. We asked what time a day, if there was something else she liked that she could drink or eat instead and then I asked her if she had it in the house. To our surprise she walked into the kitchen and reluctantly handed it to us saying "even the gourmet?". So, believe it or not we left her house with coffee in hand, we even took pictures because we were so excited. And then we didn't have time or anywhere to throw it out and the next day our car stunk like really strong coffee. Haha. It was a really good day. We were so excited. But yesterday after church we went to visit her and because of some other things she is starting to not really feel comfortable for the 13th of Feb for a baptism date. We are praying really hard that we can help her feel ready and that she will be able to get baptized before Hna. Venegas leaves. Pray for her, we would really appreciate it.

We have some other really great investigators the struggle is just getting them to come to church. People are really nervous to come to church. They are fine to read the Book of Mormon, they pray but to make that choice to come to church is always the hardest.

Well things here are good. Oh as an answer to your question mom the picture I sent is typical Puerto Rican food. Beans, rice, turkey and what they call a pastel. I think I wrote about it before it is basically a tamale but the masa is made out of mushed up green bananas and it looks good but it is the hardest things for me to eat. there is something about it that I can't even stomach. I'm not too picky but I'm not going to lie this ones hard for me to eat. We don't eat it too much because it takes a lot of work and they are pretty expensive to make so they are usually eaten during holidays and such, which is why we have had a few around Christmas but we haven't had some in a while.

Well it was so good to hear from you all. Sounds like you are having a lot of fun in London, Rach, thanks for the pics. I want to read what you have been writing on your blog but I can't look at your blog cause all I can do is email. Will you send me an email with all your past blog entries and maybe when you post on your blog copy and past the same thing in an email to me, I want to hear how it's going. Erin, sounds like things are going good and you are getting back to normal with school and work. Hope you have time to do some fun things like skiing, I'm sure you are. Ab, thanks for your email, no worries, you can write anytime you want to talk sorry I can't really write back very often. Hang in there, before you know it you will be done with senior year and you'll love going to college. It's fun to hear from you guys mom and Dad hope things are going well, i'm glad you are getting to the genealogy stuff for your calling Dad that's super cool. Well I have to go, love you all.