BACKWARDSDRAWKCAB

Hey y'all.
So if you didn't get the title of the email on first glance I'll
explain: its "backwards" spelled forward and backward. But no I'm not
referring to the Rascal Flatts song from the Hannah Montana
Movie.......I'm referring to how I somehow put my clothes on backwards
literally all week. Not on purpose. No I didn't get dressed in the
dark either. I don't know what happened. On Friday I put on a pair or
workout pants and thought, "FINALLY ITS ON CORRECTLY!" Then I looked
down and......backwards again. I'm going crazy it's fine.

ANYWAY! Well it's been another week in this neck of the Lord's
vineyard. And it's been good. We've seen some miracles and been
blessed a lot. I'll just give a quickish (hopefully....probs not) run
down.

First miracle was on Monday. After Pday we went and had a Noche de
Hogar (FHE) with a member and her daughter who got baptized earlier
this year. It's been over a year since the mom got baptized and guess
what?! SHE WENT TO THE TEMPLE AND GOT ENDOWED THIS LAST WEEKEND!!
AAAAAHHHHH HAPPY DAY!! She told us everything that had gone on at work
leading up to going to Madrid and you could really see how Satan was
trying really hard not to go, but she's just incredible and said,
"Nuh-uh not me Satan!" And went to the temple!! We were so stoked for
her and the blessings she is seeing because of her decision. GOD IS SO
GOOD!! He blessed us soooo much when we do what is right. #MILAGROS (blessings)

Miracle of the week happened on Tuesday. So before I left Granada, I left my
SD card, containing pictures from the first 6 months of my mission,
with Hermana Moore to move over some music and P90X videos that we
didn't get the chance to do. So we've been trying to get it to me over
the last transfer and a half and at one point (this last week) no one
knew where it was. #STRESS So I had been talking to the SHE's and they
told me they gave a bunch of letters and stuff to Crevillente during
intercambios and they'll bring it to District Meeting. But when I
described what the envelope looked like they said they hadn't seen
anything like that with our stuff. So district meeting comes and I ask
the Hnas from Crevillente if they had anything that looked like it and
they said they didn't see anything like it. That morning, I had been
praying during personal study and just prayed for a miracle to happen.
I didn't care about the music or the videos, I just didn't want to
loose those pictures (like 3+GB of pictures). I knew that if I had
faith, and if it was God's will, we would find it. Sounds silly but
just listen. So after district meeting we go to the car and they're
like, "I didn't see anything with your name on it but you can look."
First glance, I see two envelopes from my good homie KALEE TYSON!!
That was awesome. Then I see an envelope covered with some familiar
stationary and a picture of Michigan drawn on it.....IT WAS FROM HNA
MOORE AND CONTAINED THE SD CARD!! Literally almost cried. The SHE's,
ZL's, and Hnas from Crevillente said they didn't even see that at all
in with the stuff. #MILAGROS FOLKS. MILAGROS. Needless to say I was a
happy camper and since then we've been enjoying new music and Super
Buff Tony has been destroying our abs. #MILAGROS

Wednesday we worked some more with the Big List and now we're in the
phase where we start having the members choose out of the list of
names who they want to work with. So this week we sent references to
Cali, USA and Melbourne, Australia and put them in contact with our
members here. This upcoming week we will be hopefully having a Noche
de Hogar with a family and also giving a Book of Mormon to another
family. Stoked! #MILAGROS

Thursday we celebrated Hermana Pickett's 6 month mark!! WOOHOO SHE'S
GETTING UP THERE!! We also discovered something beautiful called
dessert paella and it's stellar so we're gonna become rich and famous
off of it. But as I was lighting the candles for her cumplemes I
burned my thumb on the metal part of the little lighter and seared off
a chunk of my finger print. Fun. But hey, now it'll make it harder to
clone me so menos mal. Also on Thursday we were gathering areas where
people live for the list of names for the Big List with this elderly
couple in the ward. Jajajajajja #STRESS! Asking 80+ year olds to
remember where their friends live and how many
children/spouses/grandchildren they have is a real struggle sometimes.
There were points we didn't know if we were ever going to leave that
house. But we got it done and it was a good laugh. That night, WE CUT
HNA PICKETTS HAIR! I had mentioned that one time I cut Hna Moore's
hair and she said, "Well I need a haircut.....wanna do mine?" I was
like, ".........uuuuhhhhhhhhhh do you want me to do it?" "yep. Just
cut it." Ok my companions must not be right in the head bc for some
reason they keep trusting me to cut their hair. Idk why. But hey if
some certain friends of mine at BYU or in my house had let me try
cutting their hair I might be better at it (*cough cough* Brady Brett
Joe and Darrick). In the end however, I didn't give her a bowl cut on
accident so....#MILAGROS.

Friday was also stellar. We went and contacted a future we got from a
huge building a few weeks ago and asked when we could stop by for like
15 minutes and she said, "Ok well i can spare 15 minutes right now
come on in!" We just stood there like, ".....wait what? You're
inviting us in? No no you don't understand, this is usually where you
say no and that you have zero interest." #PLOTTWIST But we walked in
and sat with her, shared a video about Christ, gave her a Book of
Mormon and set another cita with her for this week! #MILAGROS Also she
told us she had a friend in colegio (like elementary school) who was
Mormon and turns out this lady is STILL in our ward AND we've been
doing the Big List with her and her family and her sister's family!!
#DOUBLEMILAGROS!! So we're super stoked to see what happens with her
and her family.

Saturday we celebrated (well Spain celebrated....not really us)
something called Carnival. Leading up to this day, every Tuesday and
Thursday little kids get dressed up in costumes and walk around and I
think get candy? But Saturday was the Big Day for it so EVERYONE was
dressed up. That night we walked into centro and it was insane.
Speakers playing music, a stage, bouncy houses, you name it. Elx was a
party. It's bigger than Halloween here. It was fun to experience that.
Also to celebrate we got these delish crepes that we've been staring
at for like the past 2 weeks and Hna Pickett finally convinced me to
buy one. INCREDIBLE!! #MILAGROS Literally Spain may not have figured
out a garbage disposal but at least they've got killer crepes
so.....#BLESSED

Dessert paella and cumplemes celebrations

Six month celebration for Hermana Pickett

Centro during Carnival. No it's not mission appropriate music
but.....we don't control the Spaniards so.....

Sunday was great and killer and loved all of it.

So apologies....,that wasn't quickish at all. I'm a long-winded human
being. It's a family trait. #SryNtSry

But as far as the spiritual side of things.....I've been made a goal
to read all the conference talks before next conference and I've made
a calendar and everything for it and it works out perfectly. So this
week I read the first talk of conference by President Uchtdorf called,
"Oh How Great The Plan of Our God!" INCREDIBLE!! So so good I loved
it. But there is a part at the beginning where he says, "It seems to
be human nature: as we become more familiar with something, even
something miraculous and awe-inspiring, we lose our sense of awe and
treat it as commonplace." He further relates this to the gospel and
how sometimes we don't fully appreciate this knowledge that we have.
It hit me that I do the same thing with my mission. I remember being
in the CCM almost 8 months ago and saying, "WOW DID YOU FEEL THAT?!?!
WOW THIS SPIRIT IS SO STRONG!! WOW THAT PARK DAY WAS AMAZING!! WOW
BEING A MISSIONARY IS SO COOL!!" But as I've gone along, I've come to
realize that I've become accustomed so just how cool the missionary
life it. I haven't been in awe of the things we get to do everyday as
missionaries. It's not until I realize that in 10 months I won't get
to do this anymore, that I realize just how incredible this experience
is and how incredibly short it is. I've made a goal for this week and
for the rest of my mission to live in the NOW. I've always had a
problem with this because I'm a planner and too many times I look
ahead instead of enjoying the ride. I always thing, "Oh when I have 1
year.....,when I get home.....when I go back to school.....when I this
and that....." and I start wishing this time away. But I need to live
more in the moment and make every. Single. Day count. Because before I
know it it'll be over and I'll be wondering where the time went.
There's also another part in this talk that talks about when he shares
the Plan of Salvación with his friend. "Some of my friends would say
that this message felt familiar, even though such things were never
taught in their religious upbringing. It was as if they had always
known these things to be true, as if I was simply casting light on
something that was always and deeply rooted in their hearts." THIS
COULD NOT BE MORE TRUE!! I believe that there is a part of us that is
awakened every time we talk about this plan. A part that we don't know
that we remember, but our spirit does. Want to know why? Because YOU
were sitting in that counsel up in Heaven. YOU were sitting there when
our Heavenly Father came to us and said, "Here's the goal, how do we
accomplish it? Here are some requirements. Let's make a plan." YOU
gave your ideas. YOU saw plans go up and get changed and revised until
we came to the conclusion of this perfect plan. YOU were there. And
YOU chose it. Whether you choose it now or not, at one point you did.
At one point you chose Christ. And if you haven't already, at one
point you will choose Him again. Because deep down, you know it's
true. You know this gospel is the true gospel of Jesus Christ and you
know He is your Savior. I know it's true. I know that Christ is my
Savior. I know that Heavenly Father is preparing people everyday to
come to the knowledge of the truth and my job is to find them. The
gospel has been restored and I've been called to Spain to spread the
good news. I'm so grateful for this calling and I know it's blessing
me now and will bless me in times to come. God is so good. And He
loves His children. That includes YOU!!

Thanks for all the support ya beautiful people. Have a great week!!
Kia Kaha

Hermana Twede

Gospel Rap ft. Elder Salazar y Elder Gómez