Hermana Doyle & Hermana Tapia: The Sequel

¡Hola!

I had such a great week with my compa Hermana Doyle! It is so good to have her back, I have missed her so much... she's incredible! We also had a successful week and I have so much I want to share!

First things first, I have to tell you about my experience eating raw pig hooves. Oh. My. Gosh. Last week Hermana Gonzalez and I met this inactive couple that were super sweet and invited us over for lunch on Wednesday. So Hermana Doyle and I get to there and the house just smelled AMAZING. The wife is from Peru so we knew we were in for some GOOD food. The husband who is from Bolivia says he has appetizers for us. He comes out with a huge pickle jar containing Bolivian Curtido (Not sure if that's spelled right). Which is carrots, onions, green beans, jalapeños, cauliflower and raw pig hooves SOAKED in vinegar for WEEKS! It reminded me of a Mexican salsa so I was optimistic about trying it. He serves it, I try it and turns out it's not that bad! I was like OKAY, I can do this! Long story short, that food didn't last 10 minutes in my stomach... hahaha! I won't go into detail but my newly diagnosed stomach problems mixed with all that acid was NOT a good combination. I am okay now though! I now know why the Lord didn't send me to Bolivia... jaja!

Miracle moment at McDonald's! It was Saturday night and we were about to send out church reminders/a spiritual thought to investigators but were looking for a place to do it that would have people that we could teach. I see a McDonalds in up ahead and without hesitation turn into it. We go inside, see that it's empty but decide to stay there and order some hot chocolate. Before we even start to order the young man at the cash register sees our tags and his face just lights up. Turns out he was baptized in Guatemala 2 years ago and stopped going when he came to this Country because he doesn't speak much English and didn't know where to find it. WHAT?! We give him our information and we were all so excited. As he is serving our hot chocolate Hermana Doyle turn to each other and say "We needed to come here for him." Such a cool moment.

Updates:

• DJ- We met with him and he bought us Donuts at Dunkin Donuts and things are going much better for him, he's getting back up onto his feet.
• Minnie- Hermana Doyle and I are teaching her English and she is SO excited! 
• Winter- Sad about moving to California but excited to teach her family there about the gospel. I love my little missionary!
• Nefi- He is having some family problems that effects his baptismal date so we are postponing it until things get better. He feels that is best but he is still on fire and SO wonderful. He still has the strongest testimony of the Book of Mormon I know.
• Banana- We are also teaching a little girl who is the daughter of a member. Banana was actually adopted by this member because her parents abandoned her when she was younger. The members just took her in and love her as their own. Baptism is something they wanted her to decide to do on her own so it has taken time but she has decided to be baptized! We are so excited for her and love her dearly. 
• Mario, Peach and their kids- They came to church this Sunday! It was so great! We also had a fun lesson with them one night. They are progressing so much and I love them! Here is a screenshot from a video we took with them singing Happy Birthday to Elder Inouye. We were all laughing cause they couldn't pronounce Inouye. Jajaja! They're the best!

ALSO! Happiest of birthdays (yesterday) to my absolute best friend in the whole world, Elder Inouye in Chile! I'm just a little bit (really) jealous of all those Chileans that get to spend time with the kindest, most thoughtful, (most attractive) and funniest person I know. :') I hope you have a completo and mote con guesillo!

Hermana Doyle and I were asked to teach a Primary class this Sunday so we taught them about the life of Jesus Christ and the importance of the "CTR" (Choose the Right) theme for primary this month. The humility, simplicity and purity of their answers really touched me. I asked the class at one point why they think it is important to choose the right. A little boy raised his hand and says,"Because when we are bad Jesus feels sad and our family's feel sad." This answer that seems so simple is actually a really hard concept to grasp for some of my investigators. And it's so true. We often think our decisions only impact ourselves but in reality it effects those who love us. I am so grateful for the knowledge of the restored gospel in my life and that it teaches basic and plain truths like the importance of choosing the right and simply knowing that we are children of an all-knowing, merciful and loving God. How many of our problems would be solved by applying those basic concepts and remembering them? Many. Hermana Doyle's grandma sent her CTR rings that we got to hand out at the end of class. They loved the rings! We took a class picture with the rings and encouraged them to remember to always just do what Christ would have them do. The class taught me that we tend to complicate life so much! Moral of the story: be a good person and remember who you are. The gospel is so simple and true. 

Okay people, Hermana Doyle and I are off to get haircuts (Results featured in next weeks email...it's a surprise.) I love la obra misional, I am grateful for the life of our beloved prophet who passed away Thomas S. Monson and know he truly was called of God, just like it is written in the Bible. I am grateful for the plain and simple truths of the gospel that are often complicated and twisted by the world. I love being able to share those truths with others and to get to forget myself and serve God's children just like Jesus Christ did. Also! I will be going to the temple next week (I'M SO EXCITED) so I will be writing on Thursday and not Monday of next week!

Los quiero!

Con amor,

Hermanita Tapia