Hurricane Sandy

This week has been incredible! Its been really busy...

Saturday was amazing! The conference with Elder Cook was awesome. There was such a strong Spirit present. Im so grateful for that opportunity. He told us many things. One thing he said just straight up is "The work is hastening. The Lord needs missionaries." Loved to hear that. Its true. He told us our mission is going to get a lot more crowded with people. haha. He also said that missionary applications has jumped from 700 a week to 4000+. He said the Apostles have been working overtime trying to get everyones calls ready. He said the first 18 and 19 year old missionaries wont be until about 4 months. He also said that people are ready to hear our message. "the Lord doesnt send missionaries just to walk around, you can do that at home, He sends missionaries because people are ready." And the great opportunity i had to shake his hand! So sweet! President Matsumori is the greastest. Everytime he hears word of an Apostle or 70 on the east coast he calls them up and asks them to give some time to the missionaries! haha. Best mission on earth!

   As you might have known we just recently had a hurricane pass by. at first i didnt think it was going to be that bad. But then on friday we got a paper from our apartment complex and also a call from President telling us that we should probably prepare ourselves. haha. So we had to go the the store and by non perishable food and water. It was super funny cuz people in Maryland freak out in times of crisis. We went to 3 stores and couldnt find bottled water, it was all gone... Luckily we found some. The Monday the hurricane hit. We werent allowed to leave the apartment unless we had a set appointment. We only had one at the very end f the night... So we were cooked up in the house all day. It was so long! But then we were finally able to leave. It actually wasnt that bad. Driving in it was pretty fun cuz there was no one on the streets and every store was closed! I felt like i was coming home from a trip at like 3 in the morning. It was sweet. Orlando was freaking out the whole time and telling us we were crazy for driving but we had to! The work must progress! It only lasted one day and passed. Today is the first time i have seen the sun in like a week...

   So i have been so lucky on my mission... too lucky. Ive only had to eat one thing my whole first year that i didnt like, until yesterday... We went to lunch with a family from Ecuador, And of course they fed us cow stomach and intestine....................... I had only had it once before in my first area my second transfer. But as soon as we walked into the apartment i knew exactly what they were cooking. I will never forget thhat smell. haha. I was so scared cuz the first time i ate it, it wasnt done that well and was super chewy, like gum. I just kept chewing and chewing and it would not go away! But this time it was actually pretty good. Still hard for me to swallow the first few bites, but i got it down. It was done super nice and just fell apart in my mouth. So i just threw a whole bunch of rice in my mouth with every piece of stomach/intestine. Challenge complete.

Much Love everyone! thank you all so much for the love. Im so grateful!