Hello Cartegena!!

Hello friends!!

Well.....It's been a week!!! I started the week in my beloved Elche
and I ended it here in Cartagena! Saying goodbye to Elche was much
more difficult than expected and I cried while giving my testimony in
district meeting so......that's cool.

Tuesday and Wednesday were a little crazy with having a completely
different companion and trying to visit people in two areas and
PACKING!!! I hate packing. Jk positivity.....PACKING IS THE BEST!! I
WISH I COULD GET TRANSFERRED EVERY TRANSFER SO THAT I COULD DO IT
MORE!!! No but really so much stress. BUT! I fit everything and didn't
break my suitcases. Somehow I manage to gather more and more things in
every area......I don't know.

ANYWAY!! So now I'm here in Cartagena and it's cute and great and we
live in a little ocean town and drive by the Mediterranean ALL. THE.
TIME. and I just die. These little seaside towns have such a tranquilo
Port St. Lucie, FL (where Brielle's grandfather lived in Florida while 
she was growing up) vibe to them I love it. Pueblo/car life is SUPER
different from city life. People go to bed at like 9 o clock here!!
What the?! So that changes things but I'm already loving it here. I
literally have gone from Colombian Country in Elche to Ecuadorian Town
here in Cartagena. It's so fun though. Church yesterday was sooooo
awesome!! The members here are super great and just a big family but
I'll talk about it a little more in a minute.

Part of my new area

Part of my new area

Typical Spain, old men fishing on a sunny day.

So here in Cartagena, they are super into doing Family Home Evenings
with the missionaries and inviting investigators and less actives and
such. So we set up on of these for EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEK!! AAAAHHHH
SO COOL!! So we had one my second night here and it was soooo awesome.
They planned a fun game for after and so we had a good mix of
Spiritual and laughing our heads off and I just felt such a love for
this new area already. I'm super excited for the opportunity I have
here to learn how to work with the members even more. You can tell
that there's been some hard work here with that so I'm excited to
learn.

Ok I can't think of much else but SUNDAY!! Ok so here, since everyone
lives in pueblos and the church is in Cartagena, the church has rented
a bus that drives through all the pueblos evey Sunday to pick
everybody up and takes them to church, free of charge. Then after
church is comes and takes everyone back. SO COOL! So we got to go on
the bus (I think normally we do) on Sunday and oh my I loved it!!
Everyone just treats everyone like family and it's so great. Like a
family road trip to church every Sunday. I got to play with the cutest
little girls on the way to church and it was so fun. I can already
feel the spirit and love here in Cartagena from the ward. Long story
short I ALREADY LOVE IT!! I can see why Hna Pickett raved about it
when she came to Elx and when I left.

My new comp is alright I guess. JOKES SHE IS THE GREATEST!! Hna
Johnson is from Grantsville, UT with an uncle who lives in Eagle
Mountain who was MY SEMINARY TEACHER AT WESTLAKE!! Brother Barrus is
Hna Johnson's uncle!! SMALL WORLD!! Also, she is my first comp ever
from "la fábrica" of Utah so that's cool. I'm not a weirdo anymore
when I say Utah Mormon things such as "Bishop Storehouse" or "Release
time for seminary" so it's great. But yes we have a good time in our
cute little house in CartaG. Oh yeah....we live in a house. Not a
Piso. A house. Cool beans. Also we run to the beach and it's awesome.
There's this squad of old men who go walking by the beach every
morning and now it's my goal to be a member of the squad. ONE DAY!!
Gotta practice my Mom Walk a little more then maybe they'll accept me
as a part of their crew.

ANYWAY.....So today we went and washed the car and got that stuff
taken care of, then we went to a FLAMINGO RESERVE!! So we legit saw
those skinny pink birds with our own eyeballs. Super cool. They don't
smell all that awesome but it's ok because they look cool.

Ok so right now, I've just begun the glorious book of Alma in the Book
of Mormon. MY FAVORITE BOOK!! Y'all hate on the war chapters but I
LOVE them!! But I'm at the beginning and was reading about how the
Amlicites separated from the Nefites and then get angry and go to war
with them. Of course, the Nefites come out on top because they are
still being faithful and stuff. But then Alma sends some spies to
check them out and see what's going on. Well, the spies come running
back saying, "Hey ummm they have actually ganged up with the Lamanites
now and they're at a full speed for us rn. So we gots to go." So they
pick up and go but the lamanites and amlicites meet them and just
start going ham on them giving everything they got on those poor
Nefites. BUT!! The Lord strengthens them and they end up beating that
enormous army even though they were COMPLETELY outnumbered. That was
just a huge testimony to me that IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW HARD SATAN
WORKS!! It doesn't matter how many people are in that great and
spacious building. It doesn't matter if THE WORLD is against. If you
are staying on the straight and narrow, God is at your side and with
Him, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! So never give up. You've got armies of
angels at you back and the rest of God's Army who are fighting with
you. FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT AND STAY STRONG IN THE FAITH!!

Have a great week!! Love you all

Kia Kaha

Hermana Twede

So Long, Farewell!

SO LONG, FAREWELL, ALVNEJAJAJS SAY ADIEU! ADIEU, ADIEU, TO YOU AND YOU
AND YOU!!!

I never know what they call themselves actually so sorry. Sitting in
the church with all the JAS (Young Single Adults) (because they are
having an activity today) and they're playing this music and everyone
is just chilling and golly I'm so happy. I love Elche so dang much.
But......all things come to an end.

On Saturday night, I got a bittersweet phone call from my dear
Presidente and was informed that my work here in Elche is done and
it's time for me to leave. Just writing that brings tears to my eyes
because I have fallen in love with this place and these people. They
are my family. But now it's time for me to go meet my new family
in....................CARTAGENA!!! I've been asked to go be companions
with Hermana Johnson who just finished her training!! I LOVE being
comps with missionaries straight out of their training! I did that
with Hna Garcia and it's so fun because all they know is their trainer
and so you get to teach them how to have a new perspective on the work
and their area. But also they teach you sooooo much and they're still
new and have so much fire for the work. So I'm really excited for the
opportunity to learn from sweet Hna Johnson in the old area of Hna
Pickett. Oh right did I mention that? I have a bad habit of going to
my companion's old areas haha.

Well today for Pday Hna Herrera and I sent off our comps Hnas Pickett
and Clark to go to Malaga since they are both going to be TRAINING!!
So that's exciting. So we get to be comps until Wednesday when I will
head a few hours over to CartaG.

Ok so this week was THE BEST WEEK I've had in Elche. Lots of miracles.
Hard but good. Monday we had citas set up and we were leaving Piso and
Hna Pickett was saying the prayer and it was longer than usual (don't
be offended Hna since you now get these letters) and I'm thinking,
"Girl we got to go!" (Really bad don't do that) and then I listened
and she says, "Help us to know that You direct this work and to see
Your hands today."  When she said that I thought, "Well dang it,
everyone is going to fail us today and we're gonna be contacting all
night." But I didn't say anything and we left. So we leave and about
10 minutes later as we are getting on the bus to go to the members
house for a Noche de Hogar, she calls and cancels. And every other
plan and backup plan falls through. Sooooo.......CONTACTING!!! But it
was sooooo good!! We seriously talked to so many people and we were so
led by the spirit in where to go. #LAOBRA

Wednesday was oh my soooo good. We've been visiting this member who is
straight MÁQUINA!!! Aaaahhh I just love her. So she's always been very
open about her questions and doubts and she has told us that she
doesn't have a testimony of the Book of Mormon but she keeps reading
and doing everything she can to get one. So this last Wednesday when
we went to visit her and we give a lesson on temples and it was
EXACTLY what she needed and that was awesome. It's nice to hear
verbally sometimes that what you plan is really what they need to
hear. But after the lesson, she turns to us and says, "Hermanas, I
have something else to tell you. I have a testimony of the Book of
Mormon." AAAAAAHHHHHHHH WAAAAT!!!!! Then she told us the story and I
was just saying a prayer in my heart thanking Heavenly Father for this
literal gift. That was the best thing I could have ever asked for in
my last week here.

The rest of He week was super great. Can't remember what happened
really. Oh OH WE MADE TORILLA DE PATATA AND IT WAS ACTUAL
TORTILLA!!!!! Wasn't like worthy to feed to the King of Spain
but......it was pretty decent not going to lie. So that was exciting.
We had two baptisms this weekend!! Our little chica who we've been
teaching the lessons too got baptized on Sunday and it was super
great. I got to translate for one of their friends who came and that
was WAAAAAY harder than I expected. Your mind literally has to think
in the two languages at the same time and it's #STRESS. But it was
good. After that was like the saying goodbye party sort of. Not really
but it helped that all the members were there so I got to say goodbye
to everyone almost in one place. IM GOING TO MISS THESE PEOPLE SO MUCH
OH MY GOODNESS!!

Oh also on Sunday we (missionaries of Barrio 1) got the BLESSED
opportunity to teach.......PRIMARY!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA *TEARS* we did a
lesson on how we can follow Christ's example and had cut out these
cute little footsteps for them and it kept them occupied.....for the
most part. The primary teachers had warned us before......BUT IT WAS
JUST GREAT I LEARNED MUCH MORE PATIENCE WHAT A GOOD EXPERIENCE!!! It
helps too that they are just the cutest. My goodness they're like my
niños. Then all Sunday I had the opportunity to accompany everyone.
After the baptism there was a mission farewell and I accompanied the
JAS while they sang the EFY medley in Spanish. It was super cool.
Super super great. NO PRESIDENT I CANT LEAVE THESE PEOPLE YOU CANT
MAKE ME!!!

Ok......time to wrap up. So I just want to talk about the mission.
Because it's great. I was talking to one of my friends who is the MTC
right now and she was telling me how she's trying to enjoy the MTC
because she knows the field will be so much harder and she's really
nervous. As I thought about it, I realized that the MTC is like High
school, and the field is like college. The MTC is like high school
because you enjoy it while you're there and it's hard and stuff but
you have a good time and you learn a lot and by the time you're done
you're ready to move on (at least for me). Then you get to college
(the field) and it's definitely harder than high school.....but it's
soooooo much better and you wouldn't choose to be in high school over
college. At first, you might want to go back to high school because it
was easier and you liked it and you didn't have to make Big Kid
decisions, but all the good times in college make up for the bad/hard.
It's exactly that way with the field. It's hard. But I can tell you
that I would never choose to go back to the MTC over the mission
field. The things you experience in the field can not be replicated in
the MTC no matter how hard they try. This whole mission experience has
been incredible, exhausting, and never easy.....but it's been the best
experience of my life and I wouldn't change the decisions I made to
get here for anything. No amount of money in the world could convince
me to give up this place, these people, and this mission.
I love the Lord with all my heart. He is my heart and my song. He is
always there. And definitely ALWAYS hears every child's prayer.

Love you all. Have a great week
Kia Kaha

Hermana Twede

My favorite JAS (Young Single Adults)

Natalia, Chuks, Astrid, y Andrea

Fina y Jaime MIS ABUELITOS

Cristina, JuanFran, Dani, y Cristina hija

Saying goodbye to the comp

Mí Niñas

TORTILLA DE PATATA

Spring Cleaning

So this week was a fun one and passed oh so quickly. First off we had........*drum roll*.......CLEANING CHECKS!! I mean it happened on Thursday but we started on Monday. It was SUPER GREAT!! I. LOVE. CLEANING CHECKS!!! (We've been working on our positivity lately) But here was the deal, we didn't know when they were coming. We were told they were coming Wednesday morning so Tuesday night we came in from working and went to town on our Piso. Then the next morning we talked to so many missionaries about cleaning checks and finally were told that they could be coming that morning. So we waited for the call and cleaned all morning. (I've never spent so much time cleaning a kitchen).......they never came. Then we got a call that afternoon saying they would be coming the next morning. So Thursday morning we woke up, exercised and then went right to work cleaning again. Finally finished and about 20 minutes later the Croshaws came and checked out the Piso. WE PASSED!! And they gave us delish banana bread! *Fist Pump*

I'll back up for a quick second just to say we found 3 new investigators within 24 hours. We contacted them or knocked on their door, shared a message with them, invited them to read, and then set up a day to come back. So that was a miracle. We've had a decline in the area so we've been trying to work harder with the members and also keep contacting. But one thing I learned....never lose faith! Because God will surprise you through people you least expect.

Also on Tuesday we held a little birthday celebration for Elder Smithson after district meeting. We were in charge of making banana bread so we whipped that out the night before and also brought our messed up brownies. Well....both were a hit so that was a bonus!! S/O to Hna Bailey for that recipe.
Wednesday we dusted off the old basketball skills and played some ball with a bunch of investigators. I'll just paint y'all a picture of how it went: Hna Twede running up and down the court running into everyone on the opposite team.....and occasionally her own team, and attempting some 2 pointers (even though we all know I can't shoot a basket to save my life) and thankfully came out with a bunch of air balls. Can't have people thinking I ACTUALLY play basketball. Much easier to lose when you have zero expectations.

Ok I just need to apologize right now. I feel like the more this email goes on, the more boring it gets. So I will try to spice it up here.

Well flashback to Thursday. Right after the Croshaws left, we (this is not a joke) went to the kitchen with that banana bread and may have accidentally eaten the entire thing in one sitting. Actually.....that was a lie......it wasn't accidentally.......we knew exactly what we were doing. After that we did weekly planning real quick, packed some clothes, then mom-walked to our eating cita. We had delish Colombian food but toward the end of my FIRST plate (there's always the main meal and then the dessert), I looked at Hna Pickett with big eyes and just mouthed, "I CANT FIT MORE!" Then they brought out ice cream and she says, "Hna there's always room for ice cream." While I'm just shaking my head. But I powered through and finished. Then we shared the thought and all I'm thinking is, "All I can do right now is testify bc if I try to do more than that I will toss it." So when we walked out, we were all happy and smiling and as soon as we got in the elevator, "OH MY GOSH I'M GOING TO DIE!" Then we had to walk (more like crawl) to the train station. I had to take a break in the bus station at one point bc I was just on a downward spiral. Luckily, nothing was tossed and we got safely to Alicante for .......INTERCAMBIOS!!!

Hermanas Twede, Simpson, Pickett, and Favero

Thursday and Friday were intercambios and they were AWESOME!! Got to work with my piano homie Hna Favero on Thursday night and then my other childhood piano buddy Hna Simpson Friday morning. It was a blast. I love Alicante. And our SHEs. It was all super great.


Saturday was boring you don't want to hear about that.
I mean....wait...NO! I'm sorry! IM SORRY!! I MEANT THAT SATURDAY WAS THE BEST DAY TO EVER EXIST IN THE UNIVERSE AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! WE LOVE SATURDAYS!!!!!

Today we went around a pueblo with the Crevillente Hermanas and met these Russians and then everywhere we went after that we saw them. Also today is the 2ND DÍA DE LA MONA so literally everything is closed. But guess what......ONLY IN ELCHE!! So that's cool. Means everyone up and headed to the beach so it's a ghost town around here. But it's cool. Still had a chill Pday.

Ok so SPIRITUAL GOODNESS!!! This week I've been reading about King Benjamin. Just one thing to say about him: spiritual beast. So he's up there on that tower having the first ever General Conference and his scribes are writing the first Ensign as he speaks and then he starts talking about how we need to put off the natural man. So I'm sitting reading this in Spanish and there's a verb in there that I don't recognize but I assumed it meant to "put off" or something like that because it was right before "el hombre natural" part. So I head to my good friend called the dictionary and looked up the meaning of 'despojarse' and it gives me a list of meanings such as: to renounce, to relinquish, to get rid of, to give up, to shed, etc. But the one that caught my attention was the definition, "to get rid of". I sat there thinking for a minute and realized that that meaning, means a sacrifice on our part. We always talk about how we need to put off the natural man, and it's like, "Yeah ok let's do that. It's a little difficult but....,yeah sure ok." But what we don't realize is that it literally is a sacrifice. You have to sacrifice your very NATURE, to draw yourself closer to God. And I LOVE that. I love that to get rid of our natural man we have to sacrifice WHO WE ARE to become who God wants us to be. There have been COUNTLESS times in my mission where I've been told to get rid of my own habits, thoughts, actions, and NATURE, to put them in line with His. "There is no growth in the comfort zone, and there is no comfort in the growth zone."
I know this is God's work and He is molding me into who I need to be. Is it comfortable? My heavens no. But is it worth it? Cien por cien YES!!!! Keep up going. Keep growing. Let God make you who you were always meant to be.

LOVE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!
Kia kaha

Hermana Twede

Our cutie Cristina who will be getting baptized on Sunday and her parents asked us to give her the lessons. It's been such a blast coming up with fun ways to teach the gospel.

LIVING ON A PRAYER

Before I begin.....

WHOOOOOOAAAAAAA WE'RE HALFWAY THERE, WHOOOOOOOOAAAA! LIVING ON A
PRAYER! TAKE MY HAND, WE'LL MAKE IT- I SWEAR. WHOOOOOAAAA!! LIVING ON
A PRAAAAAAAAYER!!!! *GUITAR BREAK*
(S/O to the baby sis Bethers for sending me those lyrics like 3 weeks ago)

Ok so while Bon Jovi is going crazy on that guitar, I'm gonna sneak in
this group email here real quick.

Ok so first off HAPPY EASTER!! Here in Spain we have Easter WEEK
called Semana Santa. It's a good ol time where there are
processions/parades everyday, all week long and in them they have
these floats called "pasos" that go throughout the Life of Christ. So
it's pretty cool. Also there are bands that play VERY Spanish music so
all of it was like drinking the Spanish culture from a fire hose
hahah. But we forgot that Semana Santa was already in full swing on
Monday until our bus took us way into the elders area and dumped us
off to walk back to Centro. But it was fun. Lots of people. Lots of
bands. Lots of things. Very Easter. Much Spanish. Wow. Then in an
attempt to get out of the crowds and go to our cita, I accidentally
ended up in the middle of the parade with a Spanish band blasting and
a big huge float of the Last Supper coming right at me. So that was
exciting.  SEMANA SANTA FESTIVITIES!!

Tuesday we had INTERVIEWS!! I love interviews. While we waited we had
the opportunity to teach Hna Andersen about the Restoration as a
companionship and it was awesome!! Interviews went really well as
well. I love getting a chance to get more counsel and guidance from
Presidente Andersen. Great man.

Wednesday....HUMP DAY!!! And it was..........just like any other day
on the mission. Except when we were reading the Missionary Handbook (I
think that's what it's called in English), Hna Pickett told me that the
part about the "Older Sister Missionaries" now applies to me since I'm
now considered "old" in the mission. Also she chose the hymn "There Is
A Green Hill Far Away" to sing because, quote: "Now you're over the
hill!!" She's crazy. Also she made me a hump day picture at the end of
her personal study and Hna Clark called me to sing Happy Cumplemes To
me that night. So it was a good day.

Thursday was good and I took a picture with my mission baby. It's the
cutest little Spaniard/Colombian baby boy and he was born at the EXACT
SAME TIME that I got on a plane and left Utah. So we're the "same age"
and had to take a picture of him. Don't freak out, I didn't put him on
my lap. He's sitting on the table and I'm just making sure he doesn't
fall over. But he's so stinking cute. But yep that's all you need to
know about Thursday.

Friday: ZONE CONFERENCE!!! Also Viernes Santo (AKA CRAZY DAY) so the
Hnas from Crevillente got to come sleep over Thursday night. We made
crepes the next morning and then high tailed it to the bus station.
The Zone Conference was INCREDIBLE!! I got to see my fave humans ever:
HNA MOORE!!! Hna Garcia, Matsu, Taggart, Simpson, Favero, and Hooper.
And my homie G elders: Elder Neubert, Jamison, Wilding, Kroff, and
lots more. It was a good time. We got some really good counsel and
this week we're doing a mission wide iPad fast. Everyday, only one
iPad is being used and the other one has to be turned off and put
away. We're trying to be even more consecrated so this will be really
good. Then we ate delish paella and headed home. Also when we got back
we had a cita with some members and we showed up at like 9 and they
had a FULL COURSE MEAL WAITING FOR US!!! It was so nice of them and
very delish and fancy and they practically had to roll us out the door
after hahah. But I just love the members here so much they are great.

Saturday and Sunday was Stake Conference and it was awesome. Hna
Simpson spoke in the adult session and did such a good job!! Sunday
morning, we made the rest of the crepes for breakfast and then had eggs
Benedict for lunch to celebrate the holiday.
Today for Pday we went to La Marina with some people from the ward to
celebrate "Día de La Mona". No one really knows what it's for but it's
a good excuse not to work and everyone just heads to the campo or the
beach and they eat this postre that is a cake with a hard boiled egg
baked into it. You take the egg out and to crack it, you hit it on the
head of the person sitting next to you. Random tradition but fun.

Ok, I can hear Bon Jovi wrapping his guitar solo for the chorus again
so I'll finish this up. During the Zone Conf, Hna Andersen spoke about
the Restoration. She told a story about when her and President went to
the Sacred Grove and they were the only two there that day and they
could feel the spirit sooo strong there. Then she bore the most
powerful and beautiful testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. Tears were brought to my eyes as the Spirit testified to
me that what she was saying is true. I too KNOW that Joseph Smith was
a prophet and that through him, Jesus Christ restored His Gospel to
the Earth. I know that that day, in the year 1820, in that grove of
trees, he saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. I am grateful
for that simple humble prayer that was offered up by that young man so
long ago, because had that event not taken place, I wouldn't be where
I am now. I know this gospel is true. And I know it is the ONLY way
back to our Heavenly Father. I love this work and gospel with all of
my heart.

Thank you for all the support and constant love. Love you all and have
a great week!!
Kia Kaha

Hermana Twede

#FRIDSFURSTEN

HAPPY SEMANA SANTA!!! The festivities have officially begun with
Domingo de Rama yesterday and everyone had their big palm tree
branches and olive branches. It was really cool to see everyone
walking home from mass (I say everyone because the 2 times a year
EVERYONE goes to church is Semana Santa and Navidad) with their stuff.
Here, idk how it is in other parts of Spain, they sell these big palm
branches that are dried out and stuff and sometimes have designs made
out of them, and they use it for Palm Sunday. Idk what they use them
for because I don't go to Catholic Mass but it just looks cool. One of
our brand new catholic investigators came to church yesterday and
brought us an olive branch and palm leaf so we could be included in
the festivities. That was cool.

ANYWAY!! This week!!! Was crazy awesome. So many miracles. Let's just
start off with the fact that the NORTH CAROLINA TARHEELS WON MARCH
MADNESS!!! Elder Smithson, our district leader, is also a Tarheels fan
so he walked into English class on Tuesday with his UNC tie on and
announced the results of March Madness. We were both stoked. I wore my
UNC t-shirt to bed that night to celebrate. But that was on Friday
when we found out so I will back up here real quick.

Also Hna Pickett and I made some brownies and it came out like cake so
we made more brownies and they turned out better. The good/bad thing
is that now we are up to our ears in brownies and have a goal not to
eat sugar during the week.....so we just have to stare at them until
Saturday or Sunday.

On Tuesday, Elder Smithson, Elder Wood, Hna Pickett, and I all got
interviewed. WHAT?! So there's a girl in our ward who's a journalist
and she's doing her project for the university. They have to do a
journalist type of thing or whatever and so her and her group (all non
members) decided to do it on Mormon missionaries. They wanted to
interview and film a pair of elders and Hermanas so they chose us!! So
on Tuesday morning, we went to the church and they interviewed us
about what we do and why we chose to serve and us studying and stuff
like that. Felt like we were doing the District 3 Spanish version. Hna
Pickett and I were so nervous for the questions because we didn't know
them beforehand and we'd have to come up with an answer on the
spot.....IN SPANISH! But it worked out and went really well. The thing
is with this video, if it goes well, it will be broadcasted to their
university TV, then possibly to Elche TV, and they are going to try
sending it to journalists around Spain so that it gets up over there.
Also it's getting out in Facebook so......really hoping we'll see some
fruits with this. It's already started with her nonmember friends.
They asked a lot of questions while they were filming us and said they
really liked us. So we'll see how it goes but it should be good.

Friday was the next most exciting day. So we didn't have any citas
planned that morning so we decided to go to the church and try to
watch some of the last session of conference. So we get there and the
other elders were there and had some references for us. Then they left
and Hna Pickett had to go to the bathroom before we started so I went
to play the piano while I waited for her. While I'm playing, someone
rings the timbre of the church. So I go over to open the gate thinking
it's the elders and they forgot something. Well I open it and to my
surprise there are 4 elderly people standing there looking a little
confused. Hna Pickett came out of the bathroom and I just said, " Hey
there's some people here and I don't think they're members, let's go
talk to them." So we go out and greet them in Spanish and one man
says, "Do you speak English?" "YES OF COURSE!!" Turns out it was two
couples from SWEDEN!! They had a picture of a church they were looking
for and thought ours might be it. They described it and we told them
it wasn't ours but we could show them around if they wanted? They did.
So we did an unplanned church tour for Swedish people!! It was really
cool. That's my first real church tour I've ever done and it was so
cool to hear them marvel at it. We ended with the baptismal font and
ahowed them the new Easter video in SWEDISH!! It was so cool!! We gave
them some cards and then they wanted pics with us and then they left.
It was so cool to see how God put us exactly where we needed to be at
the perfect time to share with these people our beliefs. So that
experience explains why the title is #FRIDSFURSTEN because that's
Prince of Peace in Swedish.

Swedish Family

Saturday was the other cool day. So we were on the bus coming back
from correlación and I was writing this letter. We were going to take
the bus to a stop where we could catch another bus to the house of a
menos activos and see if we could get in a lesson with him. But on the way, the
spirit kept prompting me to get off the bus at the stop by our Piso. I
didn't want to because we had that planned and I didn't know what we
would do when we got off the bus. But the Spirit told me, "Hermana get
off the bus." So we got off the bus and I'm asking what we're going to
do and had a prompting to go see if one of our investigators would be
home. I had a feeling she wouldn't be, but when Hermana Pickett asked
what we were going to do, I said, "We're going to go see Dayanna."
Turns out, when she asked me that question, the words popped into HER
head, "We're going to go see Dayanna." Right before I said it. #THE
SPIRIT Anyway, so we go ring her timbre and she answers but right then
the buses pulled up and I couldn't hear a thing she said. I thought
she said she was gonna come down but then she said, "Chao." Hermana
Pickett asked what she said and I had no clue so we waited there for a
second. I looked behind Hna Pickett and there was a man standing there
and a voice said, "We need to talk to that man." But I waited for a
second to see if our investigator was going to come, when the man says
to us, "Excuse me, sorry I don't want to bother you. But there's a
church over there and I always see people of all races going in and
out of it, including you two, and I just have been curious at to what
it is and why everyone goes there." He had seen us going in and out of
the JAS center every week and kids going to seminary!! He told us he's
been searching for so long for the truth and has read the Bible and
everything but it doesn't seem like the whole truth. He at one point
said, "Here are two young girls, guapas, intelligent, away from their
families, and I want to know why?" So we told him what we do and who
we are. Then he at one point asked if we knew if was true and we had
the opportunity to testify sooooo fuerte to him. He asked what he
needed to do to get a testimony, to know like we know. We told him the
Book of Mormon. We read Moroni's promise with him and he said it was
beautiful. He asked me if I absolutely believe it and I told him I
would die for my testimony and faith. So we gave him the Book of
Mormon and got all of his information and he just thanked us over and
over again and said he was absolutely going to read it. It was one of
the coolest things I've ever experienced. After that we walked away
and we were both just in awe. Hermana Pickett said, "You know, the
Spirit COMPLETELY changes missionary work." And it really does.

So this week I will hit the middle of my mission meaning I'm on the
"downhill" of my mission and that's scary. If I could be a missionary
for the rest of my life I would. The work you do as a missionary is
unlike anything in the world and it kills me that it's so short. But
all the more reason to work as hard as i possibly can these last
months. I'm grateful for my Heavenly Father and everything He has
taught me thus far and I'm excited to learn even more.
I love my Savior and I know that He lived, died, and was resurrected
so that we could live again. I pray that everyone strives to know Him
or know Him better. His hands are always stretched out to us, but we
have to be the ones to grab on.
Love you all so much!!
HAPPY EASTER 🐣

Kia kaha
Hermana Twede

Lions, Tigers and Giraffes

I just wrote like a paragraph and a half of this email and decided it
was boring so I'm starting over.

Ok so this week was super cool. Full of miracles, lost wallets,
Romanians, sick elders, safaris, and April fools.

Ok well hope you have a great week!! Chao!!

Wait what? You actually wanted an explanation?? Oh Hahahah my bad. Ok
here it goes.

So Monday was great, had some good FHE's and it was great. Tuesday we
had district meeting, and , like promised, the elders brought us ice
cream and watermelon juice. I almost cried. I have had mint chocolate
chip ice cream for ages. Wasn't incredible but it was incredible for
me. But the mal part of this story is that we had an eating cita right
after district meeting so we attempted to go home to put stuff in the
fridge and freezer and then go to the eating cita. Well, as we are
walking down the lane through the palm tree forest, we get stopped by
a (pretty certain) drunk German man. He asked if we know English and
after we said yes continued to tell us a story of how a gypsy had just
robbed him of his wallet and knocked him on the ground and now him and
his wife and two kids had no way to get back to Torrevieja. He asked
if we could talk to the police because he had already tried and we
could not do that so we didn't know how to help him. I looked down at
our bag with watermelon juice and handed it to him. Told him we
couldn't help but at least we could give him something to drink and
for his kids. He thanked us and we walked away. We don't know if his
story was completely true but everyone needs watermelon juice
especially with the day (whatever kind of day) he was having.
So after this, we didn't have time to go home, so Hna Pickett decided
to try eat all her ice cream before we get to the eating cita. I just
stuck it in the bag and planned on putting it in their freezer when we
got there. Well.....she succeeded with the ice cream. But also
succeeded in giving herself a tummy ache and being too full for
regular food. We were on our way and I'm laughing and shaking my head
and she says, "maybe they'll make soup." Which made me laugh harder bc
what Spaniard makes soup when it's warm outside?? Well......first
miracle of the day, they made us soup. Then for dessert was
pineapple.....hahahahah Hna Pickett doesn't like pineapple. So
although God blessed her, He had to keep her humble.
After we left the eating cita, we went to hop on the bus and I get on,
scan my card, and go find a seat. I turn around and Hna Pickett hasn't
even gotten on yet, that was weird. I go back and ask her what's up
and she said, "I can't find my wallet." Both our hearts drop. I tried
to see if I had money to pay for her, I didn't. Then we checked the
bus. Nothing. So we hop off and call the members who we just ate lunch
with to see if it was there. It wasn't. So we decide to retrace our
steps to their Piso to see if it fell out. We start going and then
pulled off and said a prayer. During the prayer, I had a thought come
to my head, "Stop the busses." So we tracked back to the bus stop and
started stopping all the D busses because that's the one we were on.
There are six buses in that bus line and we needed to check each one
and they're each about 10 minutes apart. Each one told us the same
thing: no the hadn't seen it, yes we could check really quick, they
are six buses in the line, and we can call the office number. We
called the office but kept stopping the buses. We got to the last bus
before the one we started with would come back around and he opens the
doors and says, "Katelynn??" We both are like, "YES THATS HER/ME YES!"
And he holds up her wallet. MILAGRO!!! Someone had turned it in and
he's been hanging onto it since then. I love good people in the world.

Another day, we were out working and I told Hna Pickett we were gonna
go visit a Menos Activo as a backup but she was going to lead us
there. So she starts going (trying to learn the area) and we turn down
the wrong street but I didn't say anything because I knew we'd get
there eventually. As we're walking down this street we pass a building
and I see it's door wide open but keep walking but then the Spirit was
like, "TURN AROUND." So I just go, "Hold on Hna were tocing (knocking)
this building. So we go in and go to the top and start knocking. First
door: no answer. Second: Atheist with no interest. Next floor. First
door: no answer. Second: a lady opens the door and we present
ourselves and she goes, "hold on." Walks away then comes back with a
cigarette and says, "I have a cigarette here in my hand." We just
kinda looked at her and said, "uuuhhh Qué bien?" Then we present
ourselves and she tells us to come in and tell her about it. That was
weird and awesome. So we go in. This lady is from Romania and has
lived here for 10 years but doesn't hardly speak Spanish so she
understood us mostly but she tried rattling off in Romanian and lost
us. But she said she's orthodox and not going to change. So we asked
her if we could do anything to help her and then she thought we wanted
money for it and when we explained that no we don't want money we just
want to help her, she says, "You want to help me? Just to help me?
Why?" And she started crying. I don't think anyone had asked her that
before. It was a cool moment and she loved us a lot. On Sunday we went
back in between sessions and showed her the new Easter video (WHICH
EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH BTW) in Romanian. So grateful for technology.
She watched it and cried. It was so special to see someone watch
something about their Savior in their own language and understand how
you don't have to speak the same language for someone to feel the
spirit. Milagro and super cool to see how God works through us when we
are willing to act.

Sunday the elders called and said Elder Wood was sick so they wouldn't
make it to conference. We had like no food but just enough to make
ourselves a bit of paella and the elders chicken noodle soup. So we
made it and took it to them. Figuring out which Piso was theirs was a
task especially since they were sleeping and wouldn't answer their
phone. But eventually we got in and gave them the soup and we were
late for conference but as soon as we got off that bus we ran like mad
to the church. We do way too much running. But we got there just in
time for the sustainings and it was great. #BLESSED

Today for Pday we went to a zoo!! It was awesome. We wrestled some
crocodiles Steve Irwin style, fed a giraffe, talked to some chimps,
and watched a sea lion show!! Pretty eventful and pics are coming.

CONFERENCE WAS INCREDIBLE!! Also SARATOGA SPRINGS IS GETTING A
TEMPLE!!! Oh my I freaked. I was sitting behind all the other
missionaries And when they announced it I was like, "WHAT OH MY GOSH
HECK YES!!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!" Getting that Spanish finger snap thing up
in there it was a great time. Also got lots of answers to prayers and
questions. I love conference.

Hey. You. God knows you. He knows your questions. He knows your fears.
He knows everything. And that's the beauty of all of this. He's got it
under control. Thanks to Him, we don't have to worry about what's
gonna happen because we know we have a Father in Heaven who does and
is taking care of it. All we have to do is follow Him and He'll lead
us where to go. I'm trying my best to react quickly the first time to
a prompting so that I can do my Father's Will here in Spain and in
life in general. I know that He leads, guides, and walks beside me.
And for that, I don't have to worry. I love this gospel and my
Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. I love this work and so
grateful for the decision I made a long time ago to serve them.

Thanks for all the support! Love y'all and have a great week!!
Kia Kaha

Hermana Twede

Almost April Already?!

Here we are.....another Monday......and here I am........writing this email.
Well.....I'm trying to remember what happened this week and just
can't. So I'm gonna pull a Michael Scott on y'all and just say,
"Sometimes I have no idea where a [group email] is going, I just hope
it finds itself along the way."

So last Monday after emailing found us a bit sweaty. We were trying to
get home on time from Pday but the world was against us. We missed the
bus and the next one would take 10 minutes to get there (ok 8 but I'm
trying to exaggerate the story) so we started walking. Then we were
about 7 minutes walk from Piso but 5 away from end of Pday so we
started running (this is the real reason why we run in the morning).
We waited at a cross walk close to home and then as soon as that
little man turned green we were at a dead sprint for Piso......in the
middle of this dead sprint (you'd think we were running from the
cops.....not an exaggeration) when I get....A PHONE CALL!!! I'M
LITERALLY SPRINTING MY GUTS OUT AND SOMEONE DECIDES IT'S COOL TO CALL
US!! Ends up being our member who we were supposed to have a FHE with
that night. So I'm still sprinting bc at all costs we have to get back
on time, and this is the conversation:

Member: "Hermana Twede?"
Me: "SÍ!"
Member: "We can't do the FHE tonight, can we do it tomorrow?"
Me: "NO SE PREOCUPE!! *HUFF HUFF* SAME TIME?!"
Member: "Sí same time!......Hermana are you ok?"
Me: "ESTOY....*HUFF PUFF*.......CORRIENDO!!" (IM RUNNING)
Member: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!! Ok have a great day see you
tomorrow!! BESOS!!"
Me: "CHAO BESITOS!!!"

None of that convo was an exaggeration btw. Literally what happened.
But hey. We got back on time and were out the door working even though
we still were breathing harder than usual and a bit damp. But it was a
good day and we met with some menos activos who we've been trying to
meet with since I was with Hna Garcia so that was cool.

Tuesday we had a super district meeting. Elder Gray and Rojas were
going home.....like home home. Like that plane was hours away. So we
decided to have a big testimony meeting. It was cool and trunky and we
all walked those elders to the bus station so they could go to Málaga.
All us with a little more time we're feeling sick to our stomachs bc
we know it's coming faster than we think. But it's all good and we'll
see our buddies on the other side:)

Wednesday was good. Super busy at first. Then everyone except 1 person
failed us. So it was a normal Wednesday. We did go have that FHE with
our member.....that was fun bc we ended up tag teaming it with her
home teachers and then ended up playing referee. The mission is always
an adventure! But it was good. And then we had another FHE with
another less active family. We made brownies and brought them and
everyone loved them so that was cool.
Oh and on Wednesday we had an incredible lesson with our investigator.
We didn't know what she needed that day so we planned on the Book of
Mormon. Then she started telling us concerns and it was incredible.
I've never experienced a lesson more led by the Spirit than that one.
I opened my mouth to speak and in my head I thought, "these are
literally not my words." So cool!!

Thursday was Thursday. We figured out one of our crazy futures is in
love with Hna Pickett so we passed him over to the elders real quick.
Spaniards love the rubias:)

Friday was ZONE MEETING!! Got to see my fave Hna Simpson and we
watched the new Easter Iniciative and it's sooooo awesome!! We are
stoked to get it this week. Then after we went and ate delicious and
definitely not healthy Colombian food. Ummm also can we talk about how
APRIL IS THIS WEEK?!?! I still think it's February!! What even is time
I don't know.

Alicante Zone

Saturday was good. I can't remember what happened so sorry about that.
Sunday was killer. Our non investigator investigator who comes to
church every week came. We've been trying to get him to read and pray
but he doesn't have ganas so we just wait patiently. But we had a
great lesson that our ward mission leader taught and he said the
perfect things that this kid needs to hear. So hopefully he'll decide
to read and find a testimony of his Heavenly Father. Then Hna
Pickett's stomach took a turn durin lunch (even though I made killer
stuffed arepas) and she was down for the count for a few hours so that
was sad. But then we went out and got a new investigator like 2 hours
after we started the new week. So that was cool. Also, bc Hna Pickett
is sick, our district leader offered to buy us mint chocolate chip ice
cream and watermelon juice. Probs the weirdest pair of food but we
didn't complain.

Today we went to Santa Pola, a little beach town, with our
investigator and it was wonderful. Good way to spend a Monday morning.
Relaxing at a cafe listening to the ocean.

Santa Pola

Ok this email is so long sorry homies on the mission. So I'll wrap up.
I was watching this video called #GraciasAÉl that we were showing to a
future investigator and I just felt the spirit soooo strong and a love
súper fuerte for my Savior. Then when we asked her what Jesus Christ
meant for her, she answered and then turned the question around on me.
That was new. But I just want you all to know that everyday I'm in the
mission, my Savior has more and more significance for me. He's not
just his person who doesn't really feel real, He's my older brother.
He suffered for all of us.....but He suffered for ME! For HERMANA
TWEDE! Every single hard day I've had out here, every time I feel like
I've had enough, every time Satan tries so hard to get me to give up,
HE KNOWS!! He suffered for that!! For my INDIVIDUAL trials!! Not just
as a whole. It wasn't like, "ok here's all the trials in the world,
you're just going to feel all of it as a whole big weight." No. He
felt it individually. And that is why He can relate to me, as an
individual daughter of God who's not perfect and has trials and just
needs someone who understands. He died on the cross and rose again so
that Hermana Twede could do the same. So that I could live with my
Mom, Dad, Brother, and two sisters for eternity. And for that I am
grateful. And I will do all I can to show my gratitude. I love my
Savior so so much and I'm blessed to be a part of His work here in
Elche, Spain.
Love you all. Have a great week!!
Kia Kaha.

Hermana Twede