Lindsey: Letter 18

My sweet mother, rest assured that I do indeed feel your love and your sweet prayers. Thank you for your thoughts of love and concern. Sometimes I wonder if its the faithful prayers of my family that keep me going. I cant thank you enough.

Well here I am in my new area! This whole transfer is one big tender mercy. There are too many specific and certain blessing to explain it in full but just know that your prayers are being answered and I've never been happier. I've probably seen about two white people in the week that I've been here and I don't know that they were speaking English.. I am indeed in the ghetto. Our apartment is surround by stray cats and when I say surrounded I don't exaggerate. Every morning we get up to go run we are welcomed by about 30 cats in the hallway feeding on the food that our sweet Christlike neighbor provides for them freely...... Ha. Its interesting. Good thing I'm not allergic or this transfer would be an interesting one. There are stray chickens, dogs, and cats EVERYWHERE. it is not uncommon to see them run over and laying on the side of the road. That is sad and I wish people would be more careful! I explained this on the recorder that I sent to Lance but my first day here, my companion and I went to go do service en la casa de la Hna Nornia. Wow. I think that's when I came to realize what a blessing it was to be here among such humble, submissive, people. La Hna Noria has ten children. They live in a home that should not be occupied. I'm afraid its going to come down on us every time I walk in. Its a one bedroom shack. No floor, The kitchen, parents bedroom, "laundry room" and family room are combined into one. They live on corn tortillas which she showed us how to make. There were a couple cockroaches that made their way into the dough when our backs were turned, that was interesting, I hope no one got sick.... It was a fun time and I'm excited to make then on my own! minus the roaches... hopefully. We ended up doing laundry for her. It was an incredible experience. They just barely sold their Van so now they are making two trips everywhere they go. Every subject we would bring up she would always close it with her sweet, sincere testimony of the love that her father in heaven has for her and her family. It was certainly a humbling experience and I couldn't be more thrilled for this opportunity to serve his children here in Littleyork. It is a bit easier to share the gospel here when people are so in need of hope and comfort.

My companions name is Tabitha Maxwell. She is from St. George and yes, graduated from Pine View High School. Smallest world that we live in! We didnt know each other that well but I'm certain the lord put us together for very specific reasons. Niether of us know spanish very well and so our lessons arent always very clear. We pray that the spirit can make up for what we lack, and he does. What a mess we would be making of the church if it were up to us to carry out this work on our own. Oh dear, I dont know that it would still be standing! I've said some really silly things, and am certain there have been a few phrases of false doctrine come out of my mouth. Yikes. !Pero, estoy aprendiendo! Poco a poco. It will come:) Hermana Maxwell was in the marching band and played the trumpet. She is very obedient and I love her dearly for it. We were sitting, having comp study one day and I was watching the way she held her pencil when she wrote. I suddenly had this flash back of my first grade teach Mrs. Kromroye always yelling at the little girl for the way she held her pencil. She would always threaten her, telling her that she would hook her hand up to a machine that would make her write like a normal person if she didn't fix it on her own. She would always tell her that she was going to get cancer if she continued using all five of her fingers to hold the pencil when writing. I remember as a kid being so hurt by her mean words to this poor little girl! I said Hermana, who did you have as a first grade teacher? She said in a grumbly voice, Mrs KrUmroye! Haha I laughed so hard! Sure enough, we had the same first grade teacher. She switched elementary schools after that. Oh sweet girl. I love her dearly and hope that she can be patient with me as I try and figure out how to communicate the things that are so necessary in this work.

Well I love you all and am so excited to hear all about Carlee's wedding, I will try and get some words scribbled down for this boy that I know nothing about. What a lucky guy he is. Tim, do you understand how lucky you are?! Wow. How the lord loves each of his children. I love you all and hope that everything is going well. Continue praying for me that I will be able to understand what people are saying out here! Its beautiful but still gibberish to me. Love you Love you Bye!