Busy in Albuquerque

Dear Family and Friends,

Another week has flown by here in Rio Rancho. And this one really did fly by. Seriously, we're already at Monday? I have a feeling that now that I'm accustomed to missionary life, the next 15 months will be this way. In a way that's a good thing because I miss you all like you wouldn't believe, but in other ways I hate the idea of leaving. I have met so many wonderful people here, members and recent converts, and investigators alike. I truly feel at home here. There are several people who have "adopted" me as their daughter. I feel so welcome. I know that I have made many life-long friends.

Anyway, on with my week:

Tues: We were supposed to have our preparation day, but didn't get much of one because we have so many regular Tuesday appointments that we couldn't change, so we just worked in grocery shopping and whatnot in between the appointments. We still had a strong Spirit with us from the Temple on Monday, which was really nice for our lessons. We started teaching Lily Luna, the daughter of some recent converts (they joined the Church in Idaho in August and moved here a few weeks later. They'd been here for about a week when I met them, 4 weeks ago tomorrow.) We've been wanting to teach her, but she said she wasn't ready. Well, she asked Sister Luna when we could start teaching her so she could be baptized. When we heard this last Monday night, we could have cried. Needless to say, Lily and her son are progressing very nicely toward baptism. It is so exciting to see the way everyone is progressing. Another investigator who has a baptism date for October has introduced us to her family and I think we're going to start teaching them in the near future.

Wed: We did lots of finding in Bernalillo, for probably the last time for a while. We've got so many new investigators this week that we can hardly keep up with them all. We like it, but are having a hard time finding time to see everyone as often as we would like to. It is such a blessing though--especially since this area is new this transfer. There are so many people who have been prepared to hear the Gospel. We woke up that morning to a VERY cold apartment. Our heat wasn't working and the windows were stuck open. It was no fun. I also saw the biggest spider of my life, but it ran away before I could get it (I'm the spider killer of the trio. For example: Last night we were driving home from our last appointment and Sister Trunnell saw a spider crawling across the windshield, yes inside the car. I was in the BACK seat and both of my companions were trying to get me to get it. I obviously couldn't reach it, but had a great time watching them freak out. Also, we were studying, oh, Friday morning, and saw a black, fuzzy spider crawling across the wall. I calmly asked my companions to keep an eye on it while I went to get some toilet paper so I could flush it down the toilet. They both freaked out and wouldn't move.) Anyway... My lovely companions also tricked me into eating pickled pig fat. Talk about nasty. I'd eat fish salsa over that.

Thursday: The heater still didn't work and we still couldn't get the windows shut. And when I say it was cold, I mean it. It was below 60 in our apartment when we woke up. We called Brother Fonseca, the man who does our maintenance, and he came over to fix it. He got there to find us all wrapped in blankets wearing a million pairs of socks. He was able to shut the windows, but not the heater. Oh well. We did our weekly planning still wrapped up in blankets and discovered that we have a VERY busy week ahead of ourselves. Exciting, but somewhat stressful, especially with such a big area.

Friday: We had district meeting, and the Stake President, President Roundsville, came to talk to us about the mission plan for the stake. It was very beneficial. We also talked to him about our area, and he told us that they're shooting to start the branch in January! How exciting! They've chosen families they're going to call to work in the branch. Oh we can't wait! I'm kind of hoping I'll still be here, and with only 3 areas for Spanish sisters... and 2 companionships right now with no new sisters coming until the transfer after next... chances are pretty good that I'll still be here. Not to mention, Sister Trunnell has been here for a year and Sister Michell for 6 months. Now watch, because I said that I'll be gone and up to Colorado next Transfer in 2 weeks. But I'll go where I'm called and will make new friends and love the people just the same. Anyway, we taught several lessons. When we got back to the house, we checked the mail, and I had several more letters. Mom, your letter that you sent on Monday actually got to me! That was quick! I got 2 this week... which might mean that I don't get anything this week. :( When we walked into our apartment, it was an absolute heat wave. When we left in the morning, it was about 61 degrees... but I checked the temperature and it was about 89 or 90. Yep. Brother Fonseca got the heat working. We've regulated it now and have the apartment at a nice comfortable temperature.

Saturday: We had some appointments and went to meet a former investigator. When we got there, his wife, Magda was in the garage painting. We asked for Roy, and she told us that he was dead. As we spoke to her, we found out that he'd been here from Venezuela working. She was trying to get her papers in order to join him, but it took a long time. By the time that she got here last November, he was dead. She's really been struggling. We talked to her about the Plan of Salvation. She said she'd found el Libro de Mormon and some pamphlets in the house. We're excited to be able to teach her more. We attended the Relief Society broadcast that night. We had 3 investigators and a recent convert there, which was exciting, though I didn't understand a word. Okay, that's not true. I understood most of the words. I just couldn't put them together into meaningful sentences. That was quite down heartening, knowing that I get to sit through 8 more hours of that this weekend because they have the Spanish broadcast set up in the Relief Society room. PLEASE send me the November Ensign ASAP. I know it won't be out until November, but I want to be able to read and understand the talks. One nice thing was the choir. The songs weren't dubbed into Spanish. That would have been weird. And I saw a familiar face! Alician Arnold, if you're reading this you have no idea how happy it made me to see you singing. Honestly. To see a face from home was so wonderful. Not that I don't know many wonderful people here, but I needed that.

Sunday: We had church, and had 37 people in the service, plus some people in other wards because it is easier for them to go to their home ward than the service. That was exciting! We had 2 less actives who haven't been to church in years because of language barriers there, and one of our investigators came for the first time. Oh it was a great day! We were once again very busy, and contacted some referrals from the Elders (we tend to get a lot of those as they're out finding and run into Spanish speakers). And can I just say that my companions are so amazing? Yes, they are.

Shoot. I had something else I wanted to say. But I don't remember what it was, so I guess it wasn't that important. I love you all and appreciate your prayers and receiving letters from you. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love, Hermana Good

I knew I'd remember as soon as I sent that other e-mail what I wanted to say. Can you believe that I'll hit my 3 month mark on my mission this week? Yep. That's right. My farewell was June 28, 3 months ago today. Thursday marks 3 months since I left. Crazy how time flies, isn't it? It sure doesn't seem that long! Signing off for another week.

Love you all

Alive & Well!

Hello everyone! I know that I'm a day late getting this out, but we were able to go to the temple yesterday and changed our p-day. I really am alive and well :) So here's the run-down of the past week.

Monday: P-day. We were out doing our errands and there was an absolute down pour. We went into the post office to buy stamps and it wasn't raining. 5 minutes later when we went back out to the car it was pouring! And I was the unfortunate person who had to back Sister Trunnell out of her parking space. We had FHE with a family in one of the wards. Their niece who isn't a member is living with them, here from Mexico. It was a neat spirit, and it was so nice to actually be with a family doing FHE on Monday night.

Tuesday: We had several cancellations. In fact, most of our appointments fell through. That was quite discouraging. During our companion study, we had an ah-ha moment about something we've been thinking about and implemented that into our teaching this week, and had more success. Quite a bit, actually. It has definitely helped the Spirit of our lessons. And don't worry about me being fed, mom. We had dinner with a family in one of the wards, then went to an appointment with the Luna's, a family who are recent converts, and she fed us a huge meal. We pretty much rolled out to our car and felt like we were going to explode.

Wednesday: We had district meeting with President and Sister Anderson and the APs. It was so good to be able to talk to President in my interview and feel the Spirit they brought to the meeting. But even better than that, when we walked into the church, there was a Spanish woman inside with her little boy. She just moved here from Wyoming and had been talking to missionaries there and wants us to teach her! After having several investigators drop us, this was an answer to prayer. And she is so prepared. She is a very special woman, and we feel very privileged to be able to know and teach her.

Thursday: My rain coat and umbrella got put to good use. It was absolutely pouring for a good part of the day. It was kind of unbelievable. We also discovered that we have a window in our apartment that leaks. We've called the people we live with and are getting it taken care of. We had several good lessons. And we got fed again by the Luna's while we were there with one of our investigators. We felt they would be good fellowshippers for her since they live in the same area, and the Luna's have a daughter about Norma's age. And whenever Hermana Luna knows we're coming, she prepares a nice big meal, and always sends us home with Tamales to eat. At least we're not starving, right?

Friday: We had our weekly planning session. It was very productive. We planned out most of our lessons for this week. We had some wonderful lessons, one of which was with Karla, the woman who fell into our laps. She is very ready and willing to learn. We also had a lesson with another investigator and he asked me if I'm from Cuba. Apparently, I look Cuban. I've been asked if I'm from lots of different places in my life, but I've never heard Cuba. I've even had a couple people ask if I understand English. Yep. Of course, people ask Sister Trunnell and I how much Spanish Sister Michel understands and she speaks it perfectly.

Saturday: We had a couple lessons, and had a couple lessons fall through, but that actually turned out for the better because we were able to take one of our investigators who is preparing to be baptized to the baptism that some of the Elders had. The talks that were given were for her. It was so neat, not to mention the Spirit there was amazing. This was the first convert baptism I've seen on the mission. That was pretty neat. One of the less active members taught us how to make Gorditas and Oshata (rice milk... I don't know if I spelled it right.) VERY yummy! I've got a treat for people when I get home. And once again, we had 2 dinners and rolled home and felt like we were going to explode.

Sunday: Church was good. The service was small, and there were only 6 of us in Relief Society, but it was good. One of our recent converts, Jose, who was baptized the week before I got here, spoke in church for the first time and did an amazing job! It was close to 10 minutes long and he didn't have anything written down. He was nervous as anything, but certainly has a talent. And he told us after that he actually enjoyed talking. And we had a couple investigators at church as well which never hurts anything. That night we met with the Bishops at the request of the Stake President to introduce ourselves. They had Bishopric Training and President Roundsville was going to announce that the goal is to have a Spanish branch and he wanted the bishops to know who we are and what our purpose is. It was a very good meeting.

Monday: I know you were all anxiously looking forward to my e-mail and were very disappointed when you checked my blog (e-mail for mom) and didn't find it. Well I have a good excuse. In fact, this is the best excuse I've ever had. Every 6 months the temple is opened on Monday for the missionaries and yesterday was Temple Monday. Oh how I've missed going to the temple weekly. There is such power from going to the temple. President Anderson asked us to change our p-day so we could carry the spirit from the temple to our areas, and it was powerful. We definitely saw blessings from it. We only had a half day to work by the time we got to the temple and went through the chapel session and endowment session, but had more success and more lessons than we usually do. It was a wonderful day--in fact, I can honestly say that it was the best day of my mission so far. We had FHE with another family again last night. The grandma and aunt are living with them and aren't members. We're starting to teach them as well.

I am looking forward to the rest of this week. We have a full week ahead of us and can't wait to see what adventure is waiting for us next... that is if we live through today. We might explode by the end of the night. We have a lunch appointment with a less active member, and lunch is their big meal. Then we have dinner with a member family. And we have another appointment with the Luna family. Their daughter wants us to start teaching her so she can be baptized. This is something we've been waiting for. We've tried to teach her, but she said that she wanted to do it on her own time... which came faster than we expected. But regardless, within 5 hours we have 3 big meals today. So if I explode, I love you all. But you should be grateful that I'm down here because it will make a big mess ;) I'll let you know how it turns out--if I survive to the end of the week.

Love you all lots!

Hermana Good

Hermana Good's address

Kira sent me a note that said all mail is to go through the mission home because of how often transfers are, so please send all mail to the address listed here on her blog.

Isn't she GREAT!

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

Rio Rancho, NM--Transfer 1, Week 1

Well everyone, I know you're all anxious to hear from me. I am alive and well here in New Mexico. I arrived last Monday morning and was met by President and Sister Anderson and the 3 AP's (one of them left last Wednesday). We had a day full of orientation and I stayed at the Mission Home Monday night. Early Tuesday morning we were up and to the mission office so we could meet our companions. But more on that later. I'm sure you're all wondering what I've been doing for the past 2 weeks since you heard from me.

Wed: Last preparation day in the MTC. We went to the temple and did laundry and started packing! We had a TRC that night, but I don't remember what we taught or how it went. It's been almost 2 weeks after all.

Thurs: We had our last session in the RC. I don't remember any of my calls. It finally hit me that I was actually leaving the MTC for the mission field that day. That was a weird feeling. I got a package from Mill Run with pictures that the primary colored. That made my night.

Fri: We had our last teaching appointment. It went really well. Hermana Waldrop y yo finally figured out how to work well together. It was a good final TE. Our LGM was on Baptizing people--which is exactly what our goal is here in Rio Rancho. We did some more packing as well.

Sat: We had to say goodbye to our maestros. They were wonderful and taught us many wonderful things. I was totally unfocused all day long with the anticipation of leaving Monday morning. We did laundry so we didn't have to bring a week's worth of dirty laundry with us. We did lots of packing, and I pretty much finished with everything.

Sun: Elaine S. Dalton was our speaker in Relief Society. I remember it being a wonderful talk, but I have no clue what it was about. Ask me in 16 months when I'm home and have my notes with me. After RS we went and greeted her. She is a wonderful woman. We had sacrament meeting, and the 2 districts that were leaving sang "I'll Go Where You Want me to Go," and the sisters sang the "Olive Tree" that we sang for the departure devotional the week before, as per request of President Peters. We went on a temple walk and took pictures of our zone. We took many pictures. We went back and ate dinner then went to devotional. After the devotional, we had our Elders give us all blessings before we left for the field. That was a neat experience. We said goodbye to the elders (because they were all leaving later than me, except for Elder Evans) and went back to our room to finish packing. That was nuts! There were 3 other SHS class of 2006 sisters there at the same time I was, so they all tracked me down so we could get a picture together. Kesha, if you'd get on my facebook and find the mission addresses for Jennie Olsen and Shanna Tavenner I'd appreciate it--you may have to go to their blogs--the links are on the pages. We finally turned our light out around 11:30. I know we're horrible, but we... well, my roommates were still packing.

Mon: We were up bright and early, and after having very little sleep (about 2 hours), I left the MTC at 5:00 am. It was a good flight... after being delayed for 1/2 hour because they were still loading luggage and then there was a leak of some sort they had to check out. We arrived safely in Albuquerque. It was so fun to look out the window and see the... brown-ness of everything down below. But hey, I wasn't sick so I could actually look out the window! We met the Anderson's and the AP's. We got our luggage and loaded it into the trailer of the transfer van, then headed to the temple to take pictures of the newly arrived missionaries. Then we went off to pick up lunch (Dion's Pizza: Pepperoni, and Pepperoni with Green Chiles YUM!) We went to a church and ate, then had orientation for the rest of the day. 2 sisters came down from Rio Rancho to take Sister Lamb and I on a finding activity. They were awesome! They are Spanish Sisters, and there were some men working on the church putting a new roof on, so we went and contacted them. That was a little difficult, but I survived. By this time I was feeling sick to my stomach as a result of the medicine I took to combat that on the flight, so I was basically miserable for the rest of the day. But I didn't get sick all over Elder Evans, for which he was grateful. We had a nice potato bar for dinner. Yes, REAL potatoes! I thought I'd died and gone to heaven! Too bad I wasn't feeling super great. We had a testimony meeting that night with all of the new missionaries. Then Sister Lamb and I headed off to the Anderson's for the night. President Anderson interviewed us (he saves the sisters for last because we sleep at their home, the others all sleep elsewhere). We got to bed around midnight.

Tues: I woke up to find a spider bite on my ankle. I thought it was a mosquito bite with the way it reacted at first, but as time has gone on, it is definitely not a mosquito. Don't worry mom, it's getting much better. And it was only a little bigger than a quarter. We were up bright and early 5:00 am so we could get ready and be to the mission office by 7 for breakfast and a little more orientation and to meet our trainers. I actually already knew my trainers--because they were the sisters that took us out on Monday. And I had been told as much by them and by President Anderson. Sister Trunnell is from Northern Idaho, just outside of Couer d'Alene. She has been out for almost a year, and this is her first area. Well, sort of. We're actually opening a new area for just Spanish. Up until this past week they were covering English and Spanish. They brought in more English Elders and now we're just Spanish. Sister Michel (Me-shell) is from Chihuahua, Mexico. She learned English in the MTC and has been out for about 6 months. It is such a blessing to have a native speaker for a companion! There was a package waiting for me in the mission office--the only mail I've received since I arrived, but that's okay. I'm so busy that by the time I get home at night I just want to collapse into bed. I loved the picture frame! And especially the photos of Martha and her parents! A couple of Elders followed us with my bed and set it up while we unpacked my stuff. Then we ate lunch and had a short companion study to fill me in on everything and off we went. I met the Luna family, recent converts. They fed us. Boy was it yummy! We also had a FHE with a less-active, part-member family in Bernalillo.

Wed: My first full day of missionary service. We contacted a referral one of the Elders gave us on Monday and taught her the first lesson. We're going back today to finish that lesson and teach more. We contacted several people as we were out and about. I really liked it when we tracted into English speakers... I could understand everything they said :) We met with several of our investigators and also had a meeting with one of the ward mission leaders and 2 of the new Elders (well, one of them is new, the other is just new to the area.)

Thurs: I got a mosquito bite. Those darn things have found me! But this wasn't a regular mosquito... oh no. It was the biggest mosquito I've ever seen in my life! At least 4 times bigger than any mosquito I saw in Idaho! But I put stuff on it right away and it didn't swell up, so we're all good. District Meeting was canceled, so we started organizing our maps and area book all morning. We headed out to work, and had an appointment with the Luna's. She fed us again, but this time it wasn't quite so enjoyable. It was saltine crackers with... I don't know what it was. The best way I can explain it is fish, yes fish, salsa and cactus salsa. Yep, you read right. Fish salsa and cactus salsa. The cactus wasn't so bad, and neither was the fish until I heard Sister Trunnell ask how Sister Luna made it and picked out the work "pescado" (fish for you non-Spanish speakers.) I mean, it wasn't the best, but I could eat it. After I heard what was in it, I had a gag reflex going with every bite I took. One of the members in the stake also fed us--a normal American dinner of chicken and rice.

Fri: It was "creation day", or in other words, the weekly planning session. Boy was that intense. We have so many investigators and people we're working with that we were sitting there for 3 hours and still didn't finish. We've been working on that as we drive places. We had a lesson with investigators. We showed them the Restoration DVD (with English subtitles so Hermana Good would know what was going on). We had a couple member missionary lessons--trying to find people who speak Spanish for our Spanish service. We don't have a full branch here yet. In fact, Sunday was the first day that all 3 hours were in Spanish. Before, the Spanish speakers had to use translation at church.

Sat: We contacted into a drunk man. That was... interesting. We also made many visits down in Bernalillo.

Sun: We had church. It was very exciting to have all 3 meetings in Spanish. There were about 28 people there. It was so neat to see the recent converts get up and bear their testimonies, and to see Felipe pass the sacrament for the second time. These people are so humble! I have such a great love for each and every one of them!

Well, I'm running out of time (I have 45 minutes to e-mail here, and 15 to e-mail President). All in all, I absolutely love it here! It is beautiful! Lots of sagebrush, but you'd be jealous of the sunrises and sunsets. We live in the apartment above the garage of some members in Corralles. They live on a farm. The best way I can describe where I live is Bugs Bunny on a farm. Yep, bunnies and road runners and we can hear coyotes. And they have horses and water buffalo and camels. Yep, camels. It's pretty awesome. But I have to take Claritin so I can breathe... but it's working so we're all good.

I love you all so much and appreciate your prayers! Good luck with school everyone! Is BYUI starting this week? Probably. I hope you all have a most wonderful week and look forward to next week's edition of "Sister Good's Mission"! Oh yeah, it will come on Monday, but the library was closed yesterday for Labor Day so we're e-mailing today. So you've had to wait for 13 days for this e-mail, but only have to wait 6 for the next one! How about that!

Love you all!

Hermana Good