Library of Congress

Hello Everyone!  I am at the library of congress writing to you right now.  So how awesome is that! I am a little late writing today because I got to go to the Washington D.C. Temple this morning. Double awesome!  I did family names I dug up myself and one of my recent converts actually was baptized for my family members!  Soooooo yea, that gets an AWESOME as well!!

Padilla (Baptized a few weeks ago) and Hermana DeBry at the temple.  Notice we are not wearing jackets on this beautiful sun shiny day (though it was a little chilly).  It is GREAT to see and feel the sunshine. 

My companion was pretty sick this week, so we were in the apartment most of the time.  That makes for a short letter home.  That's why I sent so many pictures!

Jorge and Padilla at the temple with us today.  I hope everyone has a great week!  I Love you all!!

Hermana Atkinson

AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

This week was awesome! Sorry that I didn't write a whole lot last week,  we were having technical difficulties. 

This week was fantastically amazing! It all started last Tuesday when we had a training day with President Riggs. SOOOO we learned how to use the Book of Mormon and Pamphlets better, then we practiced and practiced .... The only bad thing is we practiced in English, which is fine, but I can't really teach in English because I have never really had to teach in English. That really was awesome. 

Wednesday we had a great district meeting, we talked about Jonah, how we can't be like Jonah during our missions, no running and hiding!  We really need to talk to everyone. Some days it is hard not to be like Jonah. Especially with the group of people that you go to talk to at 8 in the dark!  It is O.K., I am alive and as the saying goes, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".  

So, on to Thursday ... Baptismal INTERVIEW DAY. The kids preparing for baptism on Saturday had their interviews on Thursday evening. We had a dinner appointment that usually takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes and an appointment that usually take 1 hour and a 30 minutes ... all to do in an hour and a half, talk about your time management skills!  Some how we did it (or almost) so we made it to the church only 10 minutes late. OH, Thursday was the year mark for Hermana Brown!!!!  Happy year!! Anyway, back to the interviews, while we were with the kids as they are all being interviewed, I remember that we have to get everything for the font figured out. Our ward mission leader says we can stop by on Saturday and get his keys and a Sister in the ward offers to make food, but she will need some help. My companion volunteered our help with the food while I was talking to the kids and volunteering to help them all get ready because they don't know about ties or what to wear. 

So then Friday.  First we had weekly planning and decided to have it in the library in a study room because we have a had time concentrating. Then President Riggs called and asked if he and his wife could come to our baptism the next day!! No pressure!! SO of course we said, "yes" it would start at 4. Then we went home and made brownies for the baptism.  

So we wake up early on Saturday, get dressed and off we go to help cook enchiladas and tacitos. As soon as we finish we are off to deliver baptismal clothes to the girls. Then rush over to get the keys to fill up the font, (It takes along time to fill a font) and then back and help cook some more food, then back to check on the water in the font and help the kids get in their white jumpers.  HECTIC!  President Riggs and his wife show up about 10 minutes early ...... and no one else came till 4.  Mormon standard time, right?  This is all fine except the person actually performing the baptism got caught in traffic and didn't get there till 4:30, but when he starts to get dressed, his white pants didn't fit.  AHHHHHH.  Stay calm and try to find some white pants ... who knew that a size 34 white pair of dress  pants would be so hard to find! It all turned out fine, the kids were baptized. Whewwwww. 

Sunday they were confirmed members of the Church and received the holy ghost, then my companion and I had a special musical number in sacrament meeting.  It was fun....

Oh yeah, in the middle of all that, My other recent convert Padilla wants to go to the temple this coming Saturday.  I have also been doing genealogy in Spanish.... I can't even do it in English let alone in Spanish!!!!!! I figured it out and I am going to go do baptisms on Saturday at the temple with Hermana Debry and Padilla. I am so excited!

After the baptism we were talking to a lesser active member and his girlfriend, who is our investigator, they want to get married so she can be baptized! We also had another investigator call us this this week to tell us that he wants to be baptized.... But yeah that is all that really happened this week!  See GREAT WEEK!

One other thing, so we went to eat with a member last night that is from Mexico. When we go into his house, we were talking and he introduces us to his daughter-in-law who was speaking German!  When we started talking to his two sons, they kept switching from German to Spanish to English ... and all the while this member is speaking in Spanish. So it happens his daughter-in-law is from Austria and met his son when he was on his mission in Germany!  A little coolness, but needless to say, we were expecting Mexican food and ate kish.....

Have a great week everyone, I Love You

Hermana Atkinson

The Freak Snow Storm !!

So weather wise, this week started out really nice, we had sun light, it was beginning to get warmer.  We had MANY appointments set in an effort to get to know more members and involve them in Missionary work. On Wednesday night each appointment we went to it seemed everyone was telling us, "it's going to snow"! Missionaries get travel restrictions when there is snow and ice on the roads, meaning we cannot drive our car and have to walk everywhere we need to go.  We decided Wed night that if there was snow on the ground the next morning we would work out at home and not go to the gym, but if the road was clear we would walk to the gym. Thursday morning we wake up and there is no snow! I was so happy and I am skipping because we had a dinner appointment that I was really excited about not to mention so many members to go see. We walked to work out at the gym and I was still overjoyed!  Life couldn't be better!  We hurry home to get ready for the day, then after study I look out the window only to see 3 inches of snow!  OH NO, I wasn't happy anymore.  We had set appointments with members before and after our dinner appointment, in an area 15 miles away.  Much too far to walk!  Too much snow to drive.  It must have been obvious how sad I was because Hermana Brown made me pupusas (A pupusa is a mexican dish made of a thick, handmade corn tortilla filled with cheese, cooked pork and refried beans) for dinner.  I have a very thoughtful, sweet companion!

Other news, Hermana Brown told one of our investigators, Jazmin (The mother of the family that is getting baptized on the 21st, Samantha, Vennessa and Luis) how much money we are given each week to live on (I will not include that information because I think we get plenty to eat and MORE) now every time we go over there she has a huge meal ready for us to eat!  Luckily she likes salad!!

This is a picture of my perfect tortilla made by hand!  I have found that the flour ones have a dough a little harder to make but they flatten out much easier!

OH, and it is going to be in the 60s all week!!!!!

Thanks for all the emails!  Have a great week. I love you all!

Hermana Atkinson

Ice Storms and Dog bites!

Sooooooo, story time! This week was great.  We attended a mission wide iPad training and found out that every person in the mission is getting a brand new iPad!  WOW!  Apparently, the church is starting a training program for youth to teach them to be missionaries and share the gospel online. Another program being started by the church will start the last 6 weeks of a mission, will be dedicated to future life planning using the iPad. HOW COOL IS THAT?

We had an appointment on Thursday at 11 A.M.,  woo hoo... That morning, we get a text at 8 saying, "no driving", due to inclement weather.  What should we do about our appointment?  The only real option is to walk to the appointment, right?  So we decide to walk it,  we left at 9:30 and didn't get there till a little after noon, It is hard to walk 4.5 miles in ice.  Good lesson!  We stop and eat lunch and then about half way home we got a text saying we could drive again!  A good long walk on a brisk winter day builds character!!  LOL  

Other then that Alfredo Padilla, who was baptized last week, was confirmed a member of the church and received the gift of the Holy Ghost yesterday after church.  Great DAY!!   We have the sweetest little family of 4 on date for baptism on the 21.  I am soooooo excited for them. 

Other then that, I am on my iPad and getting tired of typing. Oh, we had an ice storm this week. It made things fun, slick and slippery!  Luckily, today is nice, hot and sunny.  And a dog bit me last night!  Luckily, It didn't hurt ... I haven't every really had a dog snap at me, for any reason before.  He was probably just having a bad day. Oh, I am picking up Girl Scout cookies today after this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am beyond excited for those Do Si Does!!! But anyway have a great week!!

Love Hermana Atkinson
Missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Washington D.C. South Mission

Something is different

Soooooo .... this week was awesome! In our area we have some investigators that have tons of potential, but just are too scared to really make any progress. It is intimidating to make BIG changes in our lives.  Occasionally, we feel somewhat disheartened watching these people not live up to their potential. Of course, last Sunday we had a baptism and I was overjoyed!  Since then, things have really started to get better.  

Pidilla, the man who was baptized last week has a kind of light shining in his eyes.  The story of the mission field is companions coming and going, this week we had transfers.  Padilla was really sad because Hermana Argueta was going home and Hermana DeBry was transferring to a new area. I was kinda concerned that Padilla had become converted to us and not to the gospel. I guess I worry too much because the day after transfers Padilla said he couldn't wait for Sunday to be be confirmed and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was sooo exciting to watch Padilla become a member of the Church!!  

I can see how the gospel helps change people.  We went to teach a lesson to a family whose Mom was against letting her kids be baptized. She was friendly enough but felt that they were too young to make this kind of decision.  We decided to take a member along with us for the lesson, the member was speaking with this Mom in Spanish and I was talking to one of the daughters in English.  We had a good discussion, I realized that we needed to get going as we had been there long enough.  We asked if we could leave with a prayer and the Mom tells me that she is so happy that we were in her home, I replied with,"We love you guys, enjoy coming to your home and thank you for allowing us in".   To this the Mother replied, "No, I am glad that you can come to my home to teach my kids how to get ready for baptism"!  So EXCITING!  I LOVE being a missionary.  Now we are working on teaching the last few lessons, we still have some obstacles to overcome but I am so excited for this family.

I have a new companion! Hermana Brown from beautiful down town Rexburg! Hermana Brown's father is a math professor at BYUI.  I am no longer in a trio!!!!! It is bitter sweet because my new companion and I have a lot in common, we get along great. We both love Celtic music, love to sing and we really do get along amazing well. Unfortunately one of the things we have in common is not talking a lot during lessons.  So I have had to take it up a notch and start talking a lot more! I really am not 100% sure if what I am saying is always right, but I say it with a smile on my face!  I have had a lot more corrections but amazingly enough I am getting used to it and appreciate the corrections, before my mission I probably would have gotten irritated. So that is great.

It has been super cold here as of late, in fact on Saturday it was snowing. There was a stake activity planned for all the youth called "The mini MTC".  The youth gathered at the Stake Center to learn about being missionaries. After the lessons they were going to go out and be with the missionaries for the rest of the day to learn more about missions. It would have been a GREAT exercise for all of us, but because of the snow it was determined not safe to take the kids. OH, BTW, I am the driver now! No more getting out of the car and giving directions while my companion backs up!  WOO HOO.!  Back to the youth activity .... any way instead of driving to real lessons, we practiced at the church.  It was really harder than I thought  because I got paired up with a girl from an English ward and I have forgot a lot of words in English?  It worked out OK because the girl had to explain them to me, which is good ... well it isn't really that I forgot the words, it is just that I know them better in Spanish now. SOOOO, the language is coming, the snow has come, the spirit is amazing and I Love You all!

LOS QUIERO MUCHO!  y tambien deseo que todos de ustedes tienen una semana con Milagros y felizidad.

Love You,
Hermana Atkinson

Missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Washington D.C. South Mission

Baptism !!

Hey!  What a GREAT week. WE HAD A BAPTISM!  Unfortunately the bad news is that I forgot to take pictures on my iPad but the good news is I have some being mailed to my parentals! What a great experience.  It was super cool to watch Padilla go through the change that the gospel brings.  When we first met Padilla, he was super shy and wouldn't even really talk to us.  I watched him grow to the point that after his baptism he stood in front of everyone and bore his testimony.  It was soooo precious.  Padilla requested that only his family attend the baptism so it was his family, the bishop and us.  Padilla's nieces and nephews sang, "When I Am Baptized" and I sang,"El Bautismo". We also made a cake,that and all the preparations pretty much took up our whole week. 

Funny story! One of our responsibility's was to fill the baptismal font with water. Unfortunately, the faucet to the font is always in the men's room.  We went in the bathroom and started the water, went into the font room to check everything and were planning on going out the Relief Society Room door .... but there was a meeting going on in the Relief Society Room and people were sitting in front of the door! WHAT to do?  We decided to just leave the way we had come in, through the Men's bath room.  Just as we got back into the Bathroom, in came an Elder.  It was awkward!

But yeah, transfers are this week so we have been helping Hermana Argueta pack up because she is going home.  :(

You all have a great week!  

Love 
Hermana Atkinson
Missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

The week of LOVE!!

Hello all!

Happy Valentines Day!!!!!  This has been a GREAT week that was really so much FUN!  We went bowling last Monday with a member and his cousin, don't worry, I took some pictures that I will send along. Anyway, that was really a blast, but when we were done bowling, we went to the MALL! You know it is the little things that I seem to miss the most, it has been so long since I went to a mall.  On top of the trip to the mall, I got to eat SUSHI!! AWESOME!!  Funny story ...... A member, whose name is Jorge, went bowling with us and went to eat Sushi with us.  Jorge kept asking me what was that pile of green stuff with my sushi?  I looked up the Spanish translation for Wasabi and it is literally "spicy radish".  I told Jorge it was spicy radish and that I didn't particularly care for it so, he  being a proud Mexican said that it probably wasn't that spicy so he picked it up and popped it into his mouth!  After like 5 seconds he was just like Mater from Cars 2!  HAHAHA.

I think that the most cool part of this week has to do with Jorge's cousin,who is investigating the church and is our date for sunday!  Usually, we as missionaries teach our investigators about the gospel, but this time he taught us ....  about the Restoration, then the Plan of Salvation,  the Gospel of Christ,  the Word of Wisdom, the Law of Chasity, and finally the 10 Commandments!! Talk about AWESOME!  I can't wait untill Sunday when he is baptized!!!!!!!

Sooooooooo, also this week I ate Sirviche, which normally isn't to bad. Sirviche is fish blended with salsa, I like it with hot sauce. The Sirviche I ate this week was not wonderful, it seems that it was mixed with way too much cilantro. I am beginning to think I may have a slight allergy to cilantro or something else mixed in the salsa because I had sooo many canker sores the next day.  

We had a Valentines party at the church and an investigator came. He asked one of my companion to dance, of course she said NO! ......  like 5 times! He kept talking to only her... needless to say the Elders are going to start teaching him!

Yesterday we made a goal to talk to everyone we saw that day.  We got yelled at, preached at, and then there was this group of about 6 guys washing their car listening to LOUD Hispanic music. They looked at us funny, me being me, just went right up and started talking. Normally after a short conversation, I get out a Mormon.org card, write our number on it and then tell them to call us with any questions.  Just then one of them called us princesses.  I strongly dislike being called a princess,  so I wrote the Elders phone number and then left.  I hope they come to church and live happily ever after, but never call me Princess again. I mean that in the most Christ like way because they really scared me!  So, yeah that's about all life has to offer today.... other then this piece of advice. If you are feeling down, read the conference talk, "None Were With Him",  by Elder Holland!  I loved it.

Love you all

Hermana Atkinson
Missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Washington D.C. South Mission