Mexican Spanish is the Best Spanish

Aloha aunties&uncles,

Here's some sweet things that happened this week:

- I got to go on exchanges in AMITY and live in HEAVEN and ride a bike all day and cruise with some chill people and it was so rad. It smells like the country up there and made my heart jar pretty happy.

- Fredy and Alexis came to Church (our investigators from Columbia) and we had a great gospel principles class. They learned about la Obra Misional and Fredy was all like "well I'm a missionary cuz I brought Alexis to church" and we were like yeeeeee! It was great to see them there. Fredy said the prayer at the end and thanked Heavenly Father for the missionaries and he said my name (which is a miracle because 0 hispanics can remember "Elkington" lol so special)

- We have a new investigator named Trava - she's been going to the Spanish Branch since she was little with her Foster Family and couldn't get baptized because she wasn't 18. She moved away for a while but recently moved back to Boise and she's really excited to be baptized. We taught her the Plan of Salvation this week and she said "I love this plan because it gives me hope - hope that I can turn my life around." 

- Our car broke down while it was pouring rain lol #blesssssssss

I was sitting in Sacrament Meeting and our Branch President gave a talk (from the DR) and Hno. Julio gave a talk (from Guatemala) and we ate dinner that night with the Lopez's and I concluded that Mexican Spanish is the best Spanish. I also was pretty stoked to realize that I could understand almost everything that was being said at Church - it's been cool to come to the Branch in Burley and not get a word out of it and a little whiles later be here in Boise and get it pretty solid. 

Me and Hermana Sundstrom have had a great week. A mission is like camping in Mango Grove - you have all the funs and all the happiness, but sometimes a mango falls on your head and ruins your day, but then you eat it and it's all good again. Up and down and up and down again. We find out transfer news this Tuesday and get transferred on Thursday, so we'll see what happens! We're expecting some changes because we've been together for 3 transfers now which feels like 17 years. 

Hope everyone has a baller week :)))))) LOVE YOU ALL 

Lots of Love,

Hermana Elkington 

P.S. BDAY SHOUTOUT TO NIVA #22BEBBEHHHHZZZZ

new babies + dr pepper

Hey all you mangoes,

This was straight up one of my favorite weeks on the mission. It was full of hard stuff & good stuff, but I'm not sure I've ever been this happy in my whoooooooole life (rollercoaster goes on). 

On Tuesday, September 12th, Galilea Quezada was born! We called Hermano Quezada because we needed something and he was like "welp, Shannon's in the hospital" so the next day they invited us to come visit in the hospital and we got to hold this tiny, golden baby who was just 12 hours old. She's pretty amazing. It was cool to be a part of this experience - the Quezada's have changed the way that I do missionary work and are some of the best people I've ever met, and I told Hermana Sundstrom, "Holding that baby was the only chill moment I've had in Boise. not even joshin'." Today we went to make SWEET BREAD FRENCH TOAST with Hermana Quezada cuz her life is insane right now, and it was good to hang with her. 

We went to teach our investigator, Fredy, from Columbia and he was like "aye you guys hungry cuz I want a hamburger" so he took us to Carl's Jr. (he called it 'Carlos Jr.' lolololol) and we taught him the Restoration there. It was a pretty chill lesson. After we were done, we kinda just asked him how he felt and what he was thinking and he took a sip of his Dr Pepper and said, "This is something I've been waiting to hear about my whole life." We were like cheeeeeeeepono fulfilling our proposito at Carlos Jr!

We've been teaching Mirta again, the lady from Cuba, and she's nuts as always but we've been able to teach her without her getting completely distracted about the types of food she buys for her dogs at Winco. We visited her and taught the Plan of Salvation and she had so many questions for us - good, sincere questions. It was a sweet lesson. 

Boise was a furnace and now it's a freezer. Winter is coming. Not too happpppeh about that but life's still bomb. No worries beeef currrrrieeeeees

I've loved how happy missionary work makes me. I've been feeling frustrated in a way that I can't even describe these past couple weeks - frustrated with the people we've been working with and the members and the branch and the area and ALL OF IT, but Hermano Quezada said to me one day, "We deal with the frustration of the mission not because we love wearing the tag, or love dressing up every day, or love showing off to other missionaries. We do it because we love to teach the gospel to others." This work brings a happiness like no other - and it's a happiness that's underlying, it's there even with all the frustration and sadness that you experience. 

Hope every one has a baller week. Stay cherreh my mangoes! Email me if you need anything! Email me if you want some love! 

Lots and lots and loads of love,

Hermana Elkington 

PICS

1) Wrote down this hispanic lady's phone # at the gas station lol

2) Fredyyyyy

3) french toast ballahz

4) hiking

Idaho White-aho

Here's how I saw the hand of God in my week:

- I got to go on exchanges with Sister Fangai'uiha (from Honolulu!) My favorite quote of the week is from her - "I think I got sent to Idaho because I hate white people and I needed to learn to love them." 

- We started a tradition called Sunday Sleepovers

- I got a package with a crapton of beef jerky and coconut almonds (pretty sure from Aunty Kia cuz she knows me SO WELL)

- We found a new investigator from talking to a lady at a bus stop

As we were driving home from a really rough day when everything cancelled on us, INCLUDING the members that were supposed to come out and do some visits, I blasted the Amy Grant Christmas Album (blesssssss Hermana Quezada) and was reminded of my Mom (and realized that if I had to describe my parents in 3 artists, it'd be Amy Grant, JT, and Mariah Carey hahahahahahaha). 

We had a sweet lesson this week with one of our investigators named Araceli and her 2 kids, Barbie and Kevin. We gave them a Kid's Book of Mormon and as they read it during the week, they said "We just love this book, and we always want to read it!" They are set to be baptized in October, and we'll keep teaching them and see how that works out. Keep them in your prayers this week!

Every week I have such a struggle with this area. We are working so hard, and the results seem to come so slow or not at all. It's been incredibly frustrating to work here, and it's been so hard to remember the happiness you feel from the GOOD things that happen on a mission. I was reading in my journal from Burley this week and read this (lol quoting myself)

"It's the feeling you get when you love someone and you help someone, and make a friend. Then they love you for YOU, just like the Savior loves you."

My favorite thing about being a missionary is meeting people and essentially, making friends. Friends that have shown me Christlike love and have shown me the difference that the gospel can make in your life. In all the frustration with rules, cancelled lessons, unwilling members, tough companions, you find a happiness here that you can't find anywhere else. 

Love you guys x10000000000 - stay scrubba, stay happy. Someone jump in the ocean for me and listen to Miike Snow. Email me if you want to meet up at the Meridian Temple open house lololololol ;)))))

Lots of Love,

Hermana Elkington 

go grande or go home

The Familia Cortes were the highlight of my week. They're like chocolate haupia pie and everything else good in the world.

Their baptism on Saturday was a beautiful service and I felt the support and love of the Branch like I never have before. We love them so much. Hermana Quezada was sitting next to me and kept saying ,"Look how happy they look! Look how happy they ARE!" And I'm reminded time and time again that this gospel is about being happy, smiles, peace, healing, and love. It's been interesting to be able to find this family,  teach them, and still be in the area to help them be baptized #supahhhblesssssssssssss

I'm so far from a perfect missionary (erryday I think about how much I miss cruising at the beach lol) but I read something this week that Uncle Aaron wrote me while I was in prison (the MTC) he said, "There will be hard times, but that's okay. God is preparing you to help bring souls to Him, and I am absolutely positive that you are going to be very successful in that endeavor." There have been a lot of ways I've grown since I've been doing this, and I think "being successful" has been something I've learned how to realize. This mission is so focused on numbers - I hate that. A mission is about PEOPLE. We are here to help and here to love, and that's how we find success. 

Hope you cuzzzzins had a stellar week lol. Loves and more loves

Hermana Elkington

PICS: The Cortes' baptism & hiking Table Rock w/ the district (Heavenly Father let me get out of the city finally cheeeeeeeepono) 

CHANGE IS WHY WE'RE HERE

Alohalohaloha 

Here's some things that made my WEEK:

- We dropped off Charlene's baptismal record at the mission office and I got to see Elder Wright out of the blue!

- We ate at LOS BETOS (because no one wanted to feed the Spanish Sistahhhhzzz this week lol)

- Hermana Sundstrom's mom gave us a Chipotle gift card and we got burritos (and all of a sudden I missed Arenui with my whole heart hahaha)

- We got to teach a new investigator (a referral) named Claudia who is pretty much ready to be baptized

This week I was driving home from a lesson at like 9:25 and the moon was out and it was dark. It's usually been light lately when I've driven home, but as the Summer has started to wind down a little, it's started to change again. As I drove down the freeway I realized how much I love change. I hate change haha - but I love it. We're not here to do the same things again and again, we're here to improve, we're here to get better, be happier, and change. It's something for missionaries and it's something for human beings - change is why we're here. 

I've been feeling sick of this area for a while now. I'm tired of people not answering their doors and their phones, so we went down our list of people that we have to teach and are starting FRESH LIKE STRAWBERRIES - it is so scary to do this. To look in the back of your planner and to have less than half of the people you had previously to visit. But as soon as we did it, we found so many more potential investigators. We are trying things differently and trying things new, and trying to see some change here in the Boise Spanish area.

The Familia Cortes will be baptized this Saturday and we couldn't be happier for them. They have shown us what it's like to make sacrifices and what it's like to be disciples of Jesus Christ. We taught them the Law of Chastity, the Word of Wisdom, and the law of Tithing this week and Cecy said, "Well, there's sacrifices that you have to make to be happy." It was interesting to see how she accepted these commandments and how she's seen how happy the Gospel has made her and her family, and she's 100% in. I admire that so much! I want to be a 100% "in" missionary. 

At times I think that our area is too big - we can't cover 7 stakes! We can't help people get to church when they live so far away from the Branch Building! We can't get the members excited about missionary work and helping us because they haven't been in so long. But that's not why I'm here - I'm here for change, and I'm here to be 100% in - to love people with 100% of my heart. 

Also, we taught Fredy and Alexis (our two investigators from Colombia) and I love going to his house because it's out in Meridian and I get to get OUT OF THE CITY - while we taught them, they kept inviting us to go to this sketch Colombian dance with them and finally at the end of the lesson (it was actually a good lesson, they're hilarious) Fredy was like "you never said if you could come dancing." And we were like lol Fredy nope, can't come dancing with you hahahaha. I put in some dope pics w/ his llama. 

Hope everyone has a baller week. Don't let llamas spit at you. 

Lots of Love,

Hermana Elkington