August 16, 2010

hey cute fam-

mama thanks so much for thinking of me and a care package!!! of course i would love that!!! the only thing i might ask though is that you wait to send stuff for winter until my next winter. it is still freezing but i wont get your package for like a month so it will be warmer by then... i hope. i would love whatever you would like to include. if food is included, i dont know why but chewy bars are my craving, and whatever else you would like. it doesnt need to be food. i know you are a great package maker mama. and it can be in a box now that i am not at the mtc. but i believe it needs to be under 100 dollars to send.... hahaha and i would hope you wouldnt send that much anyway. I am doing good otherwise, just have to survive the winter for a little bit longer. My comp and i walk arm and arm everywhere to steal eachothers body heat, with our hot water bottles in our jackets. funny funny story about that actually. yesterday we were walking and started talking with this woman, while my companion was talking with her she was rubbing her hot water bottle which was in her coat on her stomach and the woman we were talking to was like, oh how sweet!! you are pregnant!! oh man we were laughing so hard. that is the last thing we need is to have people think there are pregnant missionaries so we decided that probably wasnt the best idea anymore, but so funny right. other news of the weird, we were talking to this man that was in front of his house yesterday who was, get this, painting his dog, yes painting. wow people do the strangest things. yesterday was just a series of funny events.
this week has been filled with some of my lowest and highest points on my mission so far but i can say that the lows were necessary to get to the highs. my companion and i had our first baptism of Alexandra, one of the children with a really big fear of water. we were able to use the baptismal font at the chapel on thursday to help her practice for saturday. long long long story short since i am already running short on time but my companion ended up getting in the font with alexandra and her mom to help her practice, they were in there for three hours helping her to get her head under the water. i was in charge of being the babysitter with her other two sisters/cheerleader for Ale haha. it was so exciting when after three hours she was able to overcome her fear. When saturday came she arrived at the church crying and terrified once again. Needless to say the elder that performed the baptism had to do it six times before she was able to get her head under the water, but it was so exciting. she was amazing and was so excited and we were all so proud of her.
anyway i have to go, wish i could write more. I will leave ya with a little spiritual though though. I have been reading the church magazines like mad during my personal study/breakfast in the morning. I really love this quote "I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in the service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish- and in effect save their lives." Anyway i gotta run!!!! I LOOOOOOVVVVEEEEEE YYYYYYYYOOOOOUUUU to the moon and back a zillion times!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo -Jess