Rio Rancho, NM Transfer 1, Week 2

Dear Family and Friends,

Another week has flown by here in Rio Rancho. Or has it? We were totaling our numbers for the week last night and had several "Was that just this week? It seems like that was forever ago" moments. Our days are long and we work hard. I get into bed every night and fall right asleep, and when the alarm goes off it is hard to get up because it feels like we have just gone to bed, even though it's 7-7 1/2 hours later. I get more sleep now than I ever got at school, yet it feels like less.

Mon: Preparation day! How nice it was to be able to take a little bit of a break and do things that I needed to get done--and write letters! The library was closed because of President's day... nope, Labor Day. One of the Sister's recent converts took us out to lunch at Dion's Pizza (yummy!) and took us to Coralles to do a little sight seeing. I love the culture here! It is so rich! I love how they have tried to keep the look of the old clay homes. Most of the newer subdivisions have homes built in this old style as well. We had a few appointments Monday night. One of them fell through, but we contacted her neighbor and got a new investigator who is progressing nicely! She was at church yesterday as well!

Oh yeah. While I'm thinking about it, I want to give you all the challenge that we are giving members when we eat dinner with them (when they don't speak Spanish, because we have something different we give to those who do).
-Once a week have a Gospel-quality conversation with someone. Whether it's telling someone that you went to church when they ask what you did over the weekend or share an experience that could lead into a conversation about the Gospel. It doesn't matter where you are or who it's with. Just do it! But it can't be with someone who's already a member. That's cheating!
-Twice a month share your testimony with someone. Whether it's in the line at the grocery store with a complete stranger or in a telephone or online conversation with a friend. Share your testimony. Say something that will peak their interest to want to learn more. As we are counseled in Preach My Gospel, whenever you have an opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, refer quickly and simply to the Restoration. This is what sets us apart from other religions.
-Once a month, invite someone to do something in your home. It can be for a barbeque or a family game night or a family home evening. Invite someone into your home so they can feel the Spirit that is there and they will be able to see the close relationship your family has and want to know how they can have that too.
-Your ultimate goal is to prepare someone and invite them to hear the missionary lessons. I know this can be scary--believe me, I know. It's what I do all day, every day. But we are promised in D&C (I'm not sure of the reference and don't have my English scriptures with me so you can all go get out your scriptures and find it for yourselves!--I think it's in section 42) If we open our mouths to share the Gospel, they will be filled. Another reference in D&C (again, not sure where) We will be given in the very moment what to say. I know these are true statements. The Lord really truly will help us as we go out and help further His work.

Tues: We were able to e-mail :) I'm sure you all loved hearing from me after 2 weeks of nothing. We had many lessons and were running from appointment to appointment, and we had a lot of success. It was just a plain old good day in Rio Rancho.

Wed: I drove for the first time in over 2 months. Sister Trunnell is tired of driving, I think. Sister Michel can't because she doesn't have a driver's license from the US. I was a little nervous, it being a fairly new car--within the past 2 years. We have a Ford Fusion (affectionately named Con Fusion because we drive a Fusion and are easily confused of what direction is what when we're looking at the map). It's not my car, but it handles nicely and isn't a bad car to drive. We did a lot of finding activities, and found several people who were interested but speak English (Oh Elders!) and had several doors slammed in our faces. But I think that builds character :)

Thurs: We had District Meeting. I quite like the 4 Elders in our district. They are funny. We've got 2 from Washington, one from Pocatello, and our District leader is from Florida. We had appointments all over the place so spent a lot of time in the car driving from one end of Rio Rancho to the other. It only takes about 20 or 30 minutes--but I was shocked when I read dad's letter of how big Rio Rancho is! Is it 123,000 and the 3rd largest, fastest growing city in NM? Holy Cow! And I didn't think it was much bigger than IF! The traffic really isn't that bad, but then again, we're not on the main roads during the morning rush hour and are usually in the residential areas during the evening rush hour time. I got a few letters--the first since the package from Mom my first day here--from my Family, Sister Meyer, and Katey Bryce. Holy cow is Bear getting big! He doesn't look like a puppy any more! And yes Katey, I loved your drawing and have forgotten what green looks like on the ground, and flowers too. The only place there's green around here is the occasional lawn (most people have rocks) and along the river path, which isn't too far from where I stay. We can see the trees from our apartment and have to cross the Rio Grande to get to Bernalillo, about 15 minutes away.

Fri: We had weekly planning. We had an appointment fall through, so that gave us an extra hour and a half of planning. That was nice, but still didn't quite have time to finish! Yes, we were planning for almost 4 hours. But we have so many people we're teaching between investigators, recent converts, and less actives. We're the only Spanish missionaries for the Stake--which covers all of Rio Rancho, Placitis, and Bernalillo. That's a lot of people, in case you were wondering. We did some finding, but didn't find anyone who was interested. We also had a few lessons. Please pray for our finding efforts, that we'll find people to teach who are ready to hear the Gospel, and for our investigators that they will continue to feel the Spirit. The past several people who have been challenged to be baptized and accepted that commitment (both before I got here and after) have been impossible for us to contact. They aren't ever home and don't answer or return our phone calls.

Sat: We worked hard. We went finding in an area that the Elders assigned to the Cabezon Ward (meaning "big head" in Spanish lol) told us was mostly Spanish. We covered 2 streets with about 15 houses each and didn't find a single person who speaks Spanish. We got a couple good referrals for the Elders though. We had one lesson with a man who had so many wonderful questions about what we taught. We're excited to see how that turns out with the Elders. We also had a lesson with one of our new investigators that was totally amazing!

Sun: We had some days this week where we came home disappointed, but we saw our weekly numbers last night and realized that we really did accomplish a lot--much more than last week. We had 3 investigators come to church, which helped lift our Spirits as well. And in our service we had a baby blessing. The mom went on a Spanish speaking mission (she's from NM) but a good portion of her family doesn't speak Spanish. The dad is from Mexico, and his dad was here. It was such a special experience!

Yes, it was a good week. Oh yeah! We were in 2 different homes this week, and they had the same pictures hanging on the wall that mom has in the living room--the ones from Home Interiors with the little girl and the piano. It really made me smile to see those, if not a little homesick. It was nice to see something familiar.

Well, my time is almost up, so I should probably close. I love you all, and think about my family daily, and my friends on occasion. Take the challenge I gave you--I know you'll receive blessings! Have a wonderful week!

Love, Hermana Kira Good