^this is real life. Mama and Baby are back again! For whatever magical reason, President Kendrick made Sister Saxton and I companions again. It's really rare for you to be companions with a previous companion, let alone your trainer. We truly must be a match made in heaven!

We are loving life here in SM. The ward we serve in hasn't had missionaries in a long time, so they get so excited when they realize that we are serving in their ward. We've already received 3 referrals and promises for more in the future.

The adventures are rolling in and we are having a great time getting to know the people and the area here. And thank heavens that the elders who lived in our apartment before us know how to use cleaning supplies. :)

Love,

Sister B

Bonus:

Things that Elders leave in Apartments

My answer: Yes.

Yes.

4. "It's so short!"

Yes.

And, my personal favorite:

5. "OH MY GOSH YOU CUT YOUR HAIR!"

...Yes.

So, if you didn't know, I got a haircut last p-day. It's pretty dramatic, I'll admit, but I wasn't expecting all of the attention that came from cutting my hair short. And all of the strange comments and questions.

Other than getting a haircut, this week I've had a lot of adventures. We were able to put on our service clothes and shampoo some carpets, which is a surprisingly satisfying job. We had some great lessons with a few new favorite people, and were able to attend our stake's performance of "Savoir of the World," done by the stake youth. They did such a great job!

On Saturday we had the incredible privilege to meet as a mission with Elder Ballard of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. He came accompanied by Elder Maynes of the First Quorum of the 70 and Elder Sabin, who is an area authority. What a blessing that was to shake hands with an apostle of the Lord and to be able to hear his words specifically regarding our mission.

Saturday night was transfer calls. Bad news: I'm finally getting kicked out of Vista. It's been 6 wonderful months here, and I've come to love both of the wards I serve in like my own family. I wouldn't trade my time here for anything in the world.

But I must admit, I am so excited to open up a new chapter of my mission. I'm a person who likes to go on lots of adventures, and after driving around the same town for a few months, you start to feel like you'll never have an adventure again. But this new transfer will be the big adventure that I've been looking for.

Hey. I hope that you all had the chance to check out that video on easter.mormon.org about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and were able to share your faith in Him with others. If you haven't yet, DO IT! No amount of Easter candies or dyed eggs can compare to the sweetness of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 

Love,

Sister B

I'm not even sure where this week began and where it ended. Time is really starting to run together here in the mission field.

I was back at the Palomar Institute on Wednesday night, which meant another awfully big, fun adventure with the Palomar YSA ward members. Then on Friday I was in another family ward in Vista, which was awesome. I got kissed by my boyfriend (a llama named Salt) and talked to my friend Danny about his mother's Pinocchio collection.

The highlight of the week, by far, was General Conference. I can't wait until the talks are available to read online so I can go back and revisit some of my favorite talks. I really enjoyed President Uchtdorf's talk and Elder Bednar's talk on Sunday morning. Something that really struck me from Pres. Uchtdorf's talk was his focus on being grateful in difficult circumstances. That's something that I really need to work on, I think. "How much of life will we spend waiting for the rainbow before we are grateful for the rain?"

What about you? If you missed any sessions of conference, they are all available to watch online. In a few days, they will be available to read and print out. General Conference is a wonderful opportunity to receive personal revelation from God through his mouthpieces, the leaders of this church. Find time to watch what you missed or rewatch some of your favorite talks. It will help to bring back that same spirit you felt the first time!

I hope we can all follow through with the invitation that Elder Ballard extended to reach out to those around us and share the Gospel more than just once a year. That's my invitation to you, as well: pray to be able to find one person this week or this month or this season that has been prepared by God to hear your testimony. It takes a lot of courage, but I know that as you step out in faith Heavenly Father will give you opportunities to share the Gospel and innumerable blessings for being a disciple of Christ.

Love,

Sister B

On Friday we attended the funeral of a wonderful, courageous woman, Sister Amelia Ong. She lost her battle to pancreatic cancer the week before last, and we were privileged to listen to her family and friends testify of the Plan of Salvation and the greatness of her life. Sister Ong will always be an example to me and I cherished the opportunity to serve in her ward and to be around her.

We also were able to attend the General Women's Meeting broadcast on Saturday night, which was fantastic! It was really inspiring to be in the stake center with all of the stake's women, from 10 year old girls to 85 year old women. We have such strength in our womanhood. After the broadcast some of the men in the stake had made us dinner, which we ate outside because this is southern California and it's almost never cold. I felt very very pampered. :)

We're finishing up our exchanges this week (which means more adventures) and then we'll be into the end of the transfer. Can you believe that it's April? Can you believe that we're already coming up on another session of General Conference?

How blessed we are to have a living prophet upon the earth to guide and direct us. How grateful we should be to have the technology available to listen to prophets and apostles speak wherever we are, whenever we want. 

Something that I'm going to do to prepare for this session of conference is to pray about a question or two that I am going to take during the Lord during that time. This is an opportunity to hear the voice of the Lord as clearly as the voice of man, and when we take our specific problems and concerns to Him, He will answer them and enlighten our understandings.

I am so thankful for General Conference! I am thankful for women like Amelia Ong, whose testimony of Christ remains even after her passing. I am thankful to have this time to be a missionary and to serve those around me with my whole heart and soul. I am thankful for what I have learned here and what I will learn in the next nine months, and the shaping that I will undergo.

Hopefully, when I get home you will barely be able to recognize me.

Love,

Sister B