Corn Dogs and Earth Day

First off, HAPPY EARTH DAY I hope you all got out and breathed some goob air and felt the wind and hugged a tree and sat on some grass! For Earth Day here, we got to do a huge service project and do a bunch of yard work for a member here in Burley. Made my LIFE foreal - we were weedwacking and pulling weeds and mowing the lawn and chopping down trees and it made my hands feel busy and my soul a little more happy haha. Good stuff - we also saw a Pelican fly across Snake River! A real live Pelican! It was like an effing National Geographic documentary but with my own ojos! 

We also got some 99c corndogs this week that were meeeeeean! Surprisingly! Me and Hermana Allen had a dinner cancel on us so we were like welp. Corndogs it is! Best decision of the week. While we were there Hall&Oates were playing on the radio and I was like BLESSSSSSSSSS 

This week has been tough visiting people. Almost all of our appointments fell through and we visited tonnnns of houses, but no one was home. So we haven't been able to teach a lot, which can be discouraging - hopefully this was just a bad week. I'm trying to know everyone's work schedules too and after being in the area for only one transfer, it's really hard to remember everything. 

Our car is in the SHOP this week, so we are on bikes! And guess what! It's actually a huuuuuge blessing I kid you not! Being outside in the wind and rain has brought us to like 4 new houses just in the past day, and we have been able to just stereotype some Hispanic houses and knock on the door and set up a bunch of appointments! Bomb stuff. Feeling real close to da aina this week haha.

We also had a dinner with Juan and Araceli last night which was hilarious - somehow the conversation got turned into how to make alcoholic drinks (me and Hermana Allen learned a lot!) and then turned into not smoking weed and I taught them the word "pakalolo" and Araceli is just walking around now saying pakalolo all the time and I just was roooooollling laughing. 

Hope everyone's week was good! Love you all with all of my corazon! Remember to stay happy and BREATHE

Lots of love,

Hermana Elkington

Hanatea leads the Area!

Mi Amigos! Como estaaa!? 

This week was crazy! I had to lead the AREA in Burley! I have a new trainer, from Arizona, Hermana Allen. We are suuuuper different and I am doing my best to know who to visit out of the 40+ people we visit weekly. It's been a ride - but a really great one so far. I get to drive the car too! Haha not safe!

This week I had the best Sunday. Juan Trinidad got to come to Church and Araceli was there too! Me and Hermana Allen had to teach the Principios del Evangelio class and it actually went really cool. We had most of our recent converts there, and even got like 3 of our Menos Activos to come to class! We also had a few investigators. And we just had a good, solid, chill conversation about the gospel. It was bomb times and I loved it. I also gave a talk which was fun haha in my broken Epsanol. 

We got to see so many people this week and because I am leading the area, I have gotten to know the people here that much more. And I love all of them so much! I learn from the people we teach every time we see them and talk to them. My testimony of the importance of this work is strengthened every day. 

It was hard to leave Hermana Peterson, but the mission is full of challenges - right now I'm just feeling like I'm jamming and it's the best feeling ever. I feel like I could face anything and I love it. I'm stoked about the mission life, and it gets easier every day - there will always be hard times, but I think if you can have a positive attitude through it and just have some freaking fun then todo esta bien! 

Love you all and hope everyone has a great week! One member made us these meeeeeean homemade tortillas filled with chicken and cheese and mole this week! SO ONO I DIED

Food, Family, and Friends,

Hermana Elkington 

Space Mountain!

Aloha all of you Mango trees!!

Last week I had a crappy week. It sucked. And for some reason, this week, I had the best week of my entire mission so far (haven't been out that long, but I guess what! I just finished my first transfer in the field! cheeeeeeheee!) 

So, the mission is basically like Space Mountain. Because it's a rollercoaster of emotions and you don't know what's going on half the time, but it's not just a rollercoaster - it's a rollercoaster in the DARK. So you don't know WHAT WAY IT'S GONNA GO NEXT. Luckily for me, this week the ride was pretty dang fun and happy. 

On Saturdays here in Burley, we usually have ZERO appointments. All of the brown people are out partying with their families and shopping and taking a break from work. But this Saturday we got to visit so many people! Straight up miracle! 

One of our appointments was with our best less-active friend Araceli. She gave us some mean Mexican soup and talked to us while it snowed outside (lol Idaho). Then we just had a suuuuper good conversation with her about how she finds peace in her life and she's like "honestly sometimes not at Church. I feel it outside when I'm hugging trees and feeling nature in my soul and when I'm not around people." And I'm like daaaang Araceli! She also said "man, I need to mail one of these Prince of Peace cards to Donald Trump because he needs more peace in his life!" I was rooooollling laughing. 

We also got to visit another one of our less-active friends Marta and her son Miguel. She had some really tough questions for us and it just ended up being a super good conversation about doctrine! Which was really refreshing for her to trust us with her questions and her doubts and just talk it out with her (super hard for me to do in Spanish, because I can only say things really simply, but hey! humbled every day!). It was a cool visit.

Lastly, we got one new investigator and loooots of potentials. I knocked on lots of doors this week and led the door encounters which is actually not that scary! One lady invited us in and gave us hot chocolate and tamales. It also thunder stormed one day and me and Hermana Peterson were like BLESSSSS RAIINNNN!!!

I have some big news as well about transfers - I'm staying in Burley! But guess who is leaving! Hermana Peterson!!!!! I have never been more scared about something in my whole life! This means I will be follow-up trained by an Hermana who will be coming from Twin and won't know the area or any of our investigators, members, or less actives. BRAHHHHHH

I guess this is what the Lord wants of me. Suuuuuper terrifying but that's aiight. I'm filled right up to the brim with happy and laughs and it's all good. Hope everyone has a ballin' week! 

Lots of Love,

Hermana Elkington

P.S. Also the Elders in our district left donuts on our doorstep one night and I was like blesssssssssssssss

Principe de Paz

I'll be honest, this week was pretty rough. I can't really describe to you guys what's hard about missionary work, but it is HARD. A lot of things combined, for sure. But through these hard things we can have peace.

The Easter Initiative for the Church is this dope video called el Principe de Paz, and we got the opportunity to share this with a bunnnnch of people throughout the week. It gave us a reason to knock on new doors, and we have 3 new investigators. We also visited people who were just having straight up crap weeks and showed them the video and were able to just sit in silence for a few minutes and remember peace and take a freaking break from all the bad stuff that happens. 

One tender mercy this week - Tina, the lady who grad from Kahuku, gave me her jacket this week (I needed a jacket) and then we helped her clean her house and she pumped some Hawaiian jams for me and hooooooooly my heart was full. 

I've had some rough days here for sure. In all honesty, being in Idaho is really hard (I'm sure Sis. Houghton knows this hahahaa) because so many people have already heard of the church and have made up their minds about the church, even with Hispanics. It can be crazy discouraging and sometimes we wonder what good we're actually doing - another hard thing for me is General Conference. This is the opposite of most Mormons (lol lo siento no lo siento) but I have a hard time handling conference and sitting there for 8 hours and listening to people tell me MORE things that I should be doing, but some of the talks were a blessing, especially in the last session. 

I'd like to invite all you papayas to go look at MORMON.ORG and watch the Easter video and look at the Easter initiative - there are some great things to do and learn and to just chill out when you're having rough times. If you're currently having a rough time, take some time to meditate, listen to some good jams, watch the sunset, or go on a walk.

The work goes on in Burley Idaho! The wind is still blowing (effffff lol)! I love you all and appreciate all of your support and emails and straight up love! Hope everyone has a BALLIN' WEEK

Lots of Love,

Hermana Elkington