Lowest Low, Highest High

hey, everyone!!! last monday we waited for the cambio [transfer] call…and waited…and waited….AND IT NEVER CAME! so now i'm here, one week in to my THIRD six-week cambio with a difficult companion, wondering if i'll come out alive after these next five weeks. :) it hasn't been easy, i'm not going to lie, and the night the transfer didn't come was….dark. i felt confused, hurt, abandoned, angry, and alone. i've felt stronger every day this week, though, and i've been praying for strength - hardcore, haha. deep down, i know i can do this, but i want to ask for your prayers. because they really do help. :)

angela's girls - the day we did service at their house

the mission is already showing me my limits, and i'm already expanding them. suffering can break us or make us stronger, and i choose to let it make me strong. we don't decide our circumstances, but we decide how to RESPOND to them. so, i'm going to respond like the sister missionary i want to be.

also, ALL THE SISTERS in my zone are staying!!! including my sister leader (hermana jackson) and my lovely hermana neighbors. tender mercies! :)

so, this week, i've had my lowest low and my highest high on the mission. the first few days were very hard. but i got 3 packages this week and like 7 letters in the mail!!! i'm so grateful for family and friends - they changed my week and are going to help carry me through this cambio! and, the lord is blessing me so so much. for example, on thursday, i laughed until i cried with our little 9-year-old who's getting baptized soon!!! it was pure joy. :) so, everything has its recompensatory blessing!! (again, is that an english word? someone please tell me.)

we're baptizing the two boys closest to me!

their families are members. :)

one of our "less-actives" has ducklings!!! i fed them my apple core. :)

in other news, our house flooded this week!!!! :) we left the windows open and the entire floor was soaked…including everything on our DESKS. scriptures, journals, preach my gospel, some of my letters and stuff from my packages. (sometimes you have to laugh OR you'll cry!) this is the second time my scriptures have gotten soaked and survived - they're so tough!

my poor poor desk...

all four of us in the apartment were mopping up the water with old clothes and wringing it out into a bucket (because what else could we do?) - all while listening to "thankful" by josh groban. if you haven't heard it, look it up and listen. :) it made me realize how much i have to be grateful for, even as i was wringing out an old skirt full of dirty, amazon rainwater.

soaking up the water!

in addition to rainstorms, we had stake conference this week! elder calderon of the seventy came and spoke, and he was so good. he knows how to talk to these people! he was basically yelling at us by the time he finished, haha - he's very bold, which is exactly what we need here. our mission president and his wife were also there, and they spoke to us, too!

there's normally no water here!

these people have to pull their boats out when it rains.

overall, this week has been so insanely emotional. but, now that i have ONE DOWN, there's only five more to go! :)

this was the day our house flooded...

...so, warm water!

i was one happy sister! love the rain! :)

so grateful for all of you and your support! whenever i feel down, i think of you, and it gets me through. :) i'll never be able to thank you all enough - for everything! love you so much!!!

hermana wood

for carson. :) this thing spent the night in our house!