Hola y'all,
Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes! Friday was such a blast. We woke up and just did the regular things, then we got a knock at our door around 7:45. I opened it and there were balloons, candy, 2 cakes and an iHop complete breakfast for 6. The only problem was that there were only 2 of us to enjoy the 6 person breakfast.... But we made it through and gave the rest to the elders at LLC. Shoutout to Josh Dickson, the best member known to missionaries. We had dinner with Hna Figuerroa that night, and she also got me a cake, which was super cute of her. Then, after English classes that night, Josh had set up the kitchen in the church with banners and balloons and 2 more cakes... that makes a total of 5 for the day. Well....4 after my face got smashed into one of them ;) good times. Devin and Josh surprised me with that, and today we're going to play Top Golf to finish it off. Mission Birthday's are the best birthdays :)
Birthdays on the mission ROCK!
That's Josh. He's my fav.
I got my face smashed in a cake. Such a fun experience.
On Saturday, also to celebrate, we went to a Brazilian Steakhouse called Chimas. My word heather. It was intense. Truly have never had anything so divine in my life. I've never been to a Brazilian Steakhouse, so for all those who suffer from the same deprivation, let me describe. It has a giant salad bar, but not just regular old lettuce and ranch. Oh no. It has seasoned beets, sauces from all over the world, eggplant salad (I passed on that one), wheels of cheese, fresh mozzerella, thin sliced meats, mini French bread loaves, and lots of other crazy stuff. They bring out appetizers like Yuca rolls (divine) and fried bananas (it's like banana bread but without the bread part), and mashed potatoes that I'm sure are lined with something addictive. BUT also these Brazilian guys walk around with HUGE sticks of meat and knives, and if you want something, you just kind of wave them over and they come and slice you off fresh steak or chicken or lamb or salmon. The salmon had a passion fruit sauce. My word it was awesome. Would recommend to a friend. Ooohhhh, they also had cinnamon covered grilled pineapple.... now that was actually to die for. If I knew how to make it, I would. That was the most magical place I've ever been to.
And the rest of the week went really well! We met Denise this week, and we are now teaching her. She is super sweet and wants to come to church and be a part of everything. These people are so prepared.
We had an amazing lesson with Darwin this week. He doesn't know too much about anything, which makes it really easy to teach him. Hna Dibble and I have the same teaching style, so it's really easy to team teach and feel the spirit super strongly in our lessons. She is a master teacher and I learn so much from her. Anyway, we taught Darwin about the first half of the Plan of Salvation. When we got to the end, we asked if he knew what the Atonement was and he didn't. It was incredible to explain it to him and testify that there is One who knows everything we have happen to us and all the things we feel. Hna Dibble testified of the power of repentance every day, that it's a thing that brings us closer to our Savior and helps us become new creatures. We read Alma 7:11-12 and put Darwin's name in so he could understand the importance of Jesus Christ in his life. Darwin kept smiling and saying how everything we said just made him want to know more and find out more about it. He's awesome.
The thing is folks, that I get to experience these things every day. Being a missionary is the best. We sent home 4 sisters in my zone (2 because of health things and 2 because they finished out their missions) and my heart aches every time I think that this isn't forever.
I wish all of you could meet Sister Tebbs. She went home on my birthday (rude)
and she is literally my hero. I had the chance to live with her for 2 transfers
and she was my Sister Training Leader for 3. She is the best of the best.
That's Sister Fessler and Sister Preator.
They also went home and are doing great.
I LOVE working with all the sisters.
Heavenly Father is truly involved in the details of our lives and He loves making miracles happen. He loves to see us happy, but knows that we need to grow. I love being a missionary with all my heart. I love y'all. Have a great week :)
....and loving it
Hermana Belliston
PS. sorry this email is a millennium long!
So, Mia hijacked the phone yesterday. She's the cutest, but accidently
took more than 300 photos in the space of about 2 minutes. Bless her.
WE GOT WIFI!!!! every missionary in the mission now has it. BLESSED.
Ya know, sometimes Hna Dibble does things...
and I just don't ask questions.
Ooohhh my word. It was about 2PM outside, and these apartment complexes
were seriously the sketchiest things ever. My word I just about died. It was such a good time.
That's President and Sister Adler, bless them. They're SO funny.
