November 18, 2013 - A HODEE HO!

Where do I even start? And what do I even say!?? This place is incredible. The woman we are living with.. a dream. The ward is OUT OF CONTROL GOOD. It's as if the ward is being run by the First Presidency themselves. The lake is the center of town, and we live right next to it, so we just go on a little run by the lake every morning. No big deal. GASP, are you joking me?? Everyone is SO nice here. We're about an hour from the coast. My district includes..the best people. All of my favorite missionaries, including a senior couple, The Warrens, who are just off the wall. I am in an English district and an English zone now. We have a dog! Haha. Well, we have the basement all to ourselves, and Tammy's husband Mike lives in Newport,OR to take care of his mother. But he comes every weekend, and brings the dog, Obie. Obie is his best pal, it's just him and the dog up there. But he saw how much we loved him, so he left him for us for the week! I am back with Hermana Villalobos which means I have ceased wearing any of my own clothes. I don't want to go! I have a queen size bed. Come on. This place is ridiculous. If its not with family, I can't think of a better place to spend the holidays! Oh man, I'm going to die when I have to leave. I would be so, more than content staying here for the duration of my mission. That will not happen. Starting a group is the best!!!!! We are starting the group out of 3rd ward, but we cover the whole stake. It rains..pours, every day here. And I love it. Everyone is going to get baptized. Elder Cuas from the Dominican Republic serving English speaking found a few potentials for us to teach, but mostly we're on our own! Just building a teaching pool. It's awesome. This is the most fun I have had on my mission for sure. Building a group is just so exciting!! There is so much work to do, but at the same time, it feels like nothing because the ward is SO supportive, and I am doing this with one of my best friends! It doesn't get better than this, don't even try to talk me down from the tree. President Taylor knows I am in heaven. AHH. We have a brand new car...it's so nice. I'm like, so spoiled!! Oh my goodness, think of the missionaries in the Phillipines! Anyways, I'm happy. I know that this is just a Christmas miracle, and the most gigantic tender mercy from the Lord, so I am just going to soak it all in. Waah I want to cry, I'm so happy!!

 

Even though the members don't speak Spanish, it really makes no difference. We are still bringing them to every lesson so that they can testify, and the Spirit can be felt. Love and the Spirit are felt much stronger than Spanish is heard. Each of these members wants to do everything they can to help this get going and to find people that we can teach. As far as the mission goes, this is kind of like my Paradise.

 

I love you a lot!

 

Hermana Patton

November 12, 2013 - So sad. Saying bye to Sis.Harbertson.

November 12, 2013 - AHhhh!!!

We got transfer letters, and Transfers are tomorrow morning!! Because we have two new hermanas coming, we all knew President would have to open up a new area. There has been lots of talk about where he would decide, and let me tell you, it is Longview. Who knows what that means?? But I don't care I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!! I get to open up Longview!!!!!!!!!! With HERMANA VILLALOBOS. MY MTC COMPANION/BEST FRIEND. AAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! We have been waiting for this day, never thinking that it would actually come. We would joke, "President will never put us together. We would be too happy, and too successful." Well we ARE together, and we are SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!! I love CAPS LOCK!!!! But even caps lock doesn't do these feeling justice. They told us to use exclamation points in General Conference, well I'm using exclamation points!!!!!!!

Do you know what this means?? We don't have a branch, so we will be starting a "group". They will go to an English ward until we are big enough to be a branch. Who knows if there are many/any Hispanic members in that ward to help and come to lessons, and we won't have an area book!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA. That is a missionary's whole life! This is the biggest adventure I have thus far ventured! I have already talked with some members about friends they have there that are fluent in Spanish and could help us out. It's gonna be wild!!!!!!! Hermana Scow will be going to Portland and training a new missionary. Woot woot!!! This is gonna be awesome.

Not like I haven't loved and appreciated everything I have learned here, but this is definitely an "await the blessings" experience. Truly, to be with Hermana Villalobos is the greatest tender mercy in my mission thus far. I just, ah, no words.

Mission News: We will be doing online proselyting (missionary work through facebook, etc.) before Christmas, and getting I-Pads in January. Our mission was chosen out of 30 missions to be the trial-run with the I-Pads. January should hold a lot of exciting news.

We had the last of Sister Conferences. It was great. Sister Taylor made a comment that I loved. She said she was talking to a local about the rain and gloom, and the lady said, "In the Northwest, we don't talk about the gloomy days. We ask, did you catch the sunshine today?" As goes with life :)

President Taylor talked about the strait and narrow way. And asked us why it is that strait is not the presumed straight, with the ght. He explained, and then I looked it up in the dictionary. Strait: a narrow waterway connecting two large bodies of water. And President Taylor added, "usually very rocky, very turbulent, and difficult to navigate." The two large bodies of water I imagine are this life and eternal life. And the way to eternal life is the strait.

I love each of you dearly. This is His work.

Hermana Patton

November 4, 2013 - I should just send you my journal.

Everything is funnier now that I saw the blog Alice is keeping. Haha. Now that I can see how everything I am saying is being recorded! I will probably put more thought into my words now. I wish I had my journal con migo,

 

Dear all of the best people I know,

 

This week was prettyyy great. Halloween was the funniest day ever. The Mendoza family had the four hermanas over for dinner, and our mission President said, as far as Halloween night goes, "Just be smart about it." Haha, that is his answer for everything. So, because we couldn't tract obviously, or teach lessons that night since people were out, we spent all hallows eve with this family! Also, they live like over an hour away, up into the mountains. It's not even in our misson! So they picked us up, drove up there, he had been talking about a "service project for us", well, he took us into the room to show us what we would be doing....MAKING MASKS!!! Yay! And then the dinner. Oh my goodness. It was outrageous. We ate by candlelight, and were handed a menu with crazy food items: dead man's bones, guts, stuff like that. Anyways, you were only allotted so many utensils, so you had to figure out how to eat everything. For example, Hermana McKinley ate her spaghetti and meatballs with a pie cutter. It was pretty great. Luckily, we still got to do missionary work because their daughter brought her boyfriend who is investigating the church right now. 

Thank you for all of the love! I didn't bring my camera. but I took a pic with me and the 5 letters I got the other night. I love you!

Hermana Patton