One Year.

hey everyone. 

 

Can you believe it is October?  I don't think that has quite sunk in yet, and we're almost done with this month and on to November already!  So weird.  I remember so vividly walking into the MTC one year ago.  haha.  I had no idea what I was headed into.  But that's probably a good thing.  hahahha. Do you remember that day Mom?  It was a memorable one.  We left and bought this little dog collar of a watch (still hanging in there) at Wal-mart - the first of many quality wal-mart purchases to be made during this mission experience.  (we shop at wal-mart. haha) Then we drove down to provo.  (ew. but it had to be done.)  and went to TGIFridays and ate molten lava cake which, for the record, I think we should eat soon after my arrival home because it was awesome, and I felt weird for being in a skirt even though everyone and their dog in the restaraunt knew exactly what was going on.  Now when I go into restaraunts, I still feel weird in a skirt, but nobody knows what's going on.  they just think i really am weird.  and sometimes I want to wear a sign that says "in real life, I wear jeans like a normal person." haha  it's better just to eat in our apartment.  But now I know what the polygamists in st. george feel like when they shop in the same store as people like us who rubberneck them all around the store. 

 

ANYWAYS And then we went up to the temple and took some pictures and my biggest regret is that I didn't take any on my camera!  so i've never seen them.  but they're probably great.  and then we walked down and took more pictures and then we walked back up and got the car and drove down and before we could even get a good cry on they whisked me away!  Rip that bandaid off I guess. haha.  And ever since then I haven't had two minutes to sit down and think.  okay that's not true but that's how I feel.  It was a good day though.  And I hardly slept at all that night.  

 

My sleeping has improved over the last year, so that's a relief.  Now I can't seem to get enough!  But I have yet to fall asleep on my knees (dad's favorite) so I think I'm doing pretty good. 

 

What else have I learned in the past year? 

 

spanish.  .  . sortof. 

spanglish.  for reals. (it really is a skill to learn!  before it used to confuse me but i got it down now)

that Christ came to the Americas (just kidding mom, that's your story! )

that my brother spencer is a saint for cleaning our hair out of the drain.  i hate doing it. 

that elders leave things in the fridge for years at a time.

that dogs aren't pets, they are guards.

tortillas are a utensil!  roll them up to be like the mexicans. 

mujer en volante, peligro instante.  this has proven to be true. 

cucumbers taste good if you squeeze lime over them.

just about anything tastes good if you squeeze a lime over it.  (except cow stomach)

most people come to the door after the third time you knock it.

cockroaches come in three sizes.  tiny, big and huge. 

they hide in the dishwasher, microwave, under the fridge and in the crack between the carpet and the floor. 

most people are spiritual.  but most people aren't religious. 

If you are carrying a bike up a flight of stairs, it helps to grab the bar below the handlebars and below the seat, then heft up onto your hip.

the freeway system in Houston is just two big circles

bolilla means me.  so does guera.  so does americana.  so does misionera. and they call us that.

the mailman comes at three thirty.  his name is Batiste.  he is a very happy black man.  and he knows everything about missionaries. 

it never pays to be stressed over being late. (dad, I owe you an apology for every day of my highschool career)

 it never pays to be stressed over anything

 

I could add a billion more obviously, but I think most of all if I had to choose just one, I would say that I have learned that having faith means trusting God.  That means doing what you know how and trusting that he will do a loaves and fishes miracle to make that be enough.  It means not to stress about where your next investigator will come from because he will provide.  (abraham was right!) It means not to stress about anything related to the future.  just do your best, enjoy the present, and keep going! 

 

this was a good week.  We met a man named Carlos who accepted baptism in our first lesson!  We haven't been able to follow up with him yet but we're excited for him.  What's weird is that when we were driving to our appointment with him, I got to his street and for some reason went past it.  I knew I was passing it but I just couldn't turn down.  We stopped our bikes and Hermana asked me what was wrong and I said I didn't want to go down his street.  She just kinda looked at me and I said "we have to, don't we." and she said, "well...do you want to try going around the block and coming UP the street?"  so I said no and turned the bike chariot around and went down.  it was so weird.  I dont' know why I had that.  But it's interesting how sometimes we hesitate right before something amazing is about to happen.  Why do we do that?  I dunno. What I do know is that fear is pretty much at the root of all failure.  and like hermana keele and I posted on our wall, "the chief cause of failure is sacrificing what we want most for what we want in the moment."  I don't know.  but there you go - a little pep talk for you. just call me Kyle Whittingham.

 

alright that's all i've got.  

 

I love you! have a good one!

 

Becca 

 

p.s. we dropped Fernando (against his own wishes) because he refuses to pray.  but he came to church and everything.  he can't get enough of us.  more on him when he humbles himself enough to admit that he actually needs god's help to come to a religious conclusion.