I don't know if you remember this. I hardly do and I was there. This ^ is the MTC over a year ago.

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^This is San Marcos a few days ago.

Basically, what I'm saying is that my new companion is actually one of my very first companions: Sister Cavaretta. Can you believe it?? I've had ANOTHER companion repeat! Sister C is awesome and I am so excited to be her companion.

I feel like I'm being trained to be a General Authority's wife, because this will be my third Sister Training Leader companion on my mission. That means exchanges, exchanges, exchanges. I don't mind, though, because the sisters we are exchanging with are awesome and so is Sister C. :)

We've had a great week this week. We set a baptismal date with Lisa for her birthday, September 28th. We also visited a lot of members and boy, Sister C fits right in. She's already secured a place in the TOV ward family. The members of the ward love her, I love her, and our investigators love her. What more could you hope for in a companion?

I'm really excited for the upcoming transfer and all of the great things we are going to accomplish. I love this work so much! I love that Heavenly Father knew how being a missionary would change my life. I love being able to learn more about the teachings of the Savior and strengthen my testimony of Him, because that is the core of what I share with others.

If you are a looking for an all-inclusive way to be a better missionary, study the scriptures. Learn about the Gospel every morning. Say prayers that mean something. As you strengthen your relationship with God, He will strengthen your weaknesses and help you achieve your worthy goals.

I love you all! Thanks for everything that you do to help me out here in the field.

Love,

Sister B

Sorry, mine was probably better.

We had zone training meeting this week, followed by the always long-awaited quarterly temple trip! I love the San Diego temple. I love being able to stand on temple grounds and feel the peace that is special to temples. The more that I attend the temple the more that I learn how to have a good experience. I love having time to commune with God and learn more about His plan for His children.

Our ride back home drove us up the scenic route, taking us up the coast on the 101. Sometimes as a missionary you forget that you are literally right next to the ocean. I don't know why, but seeing the ocean from time to time gives me hope! It was weird to see everyone walking around in bathing suits in town, but funny at the same time.

And as if that wasn't fantastic enough, Angie was baptized on Saturday! I just adore baptisms, but especially for people that I know well and love so much. Angie is so sweet, so humble, and has such a strong desire to come closer to God. I don't think she stopped crying the entire baptism. :) I loved being able to stand at the side of the font and watch her turn to us, sopping wet, absolutely sobbing from gratitude and happiness. It was one of those moments when you remember why it is all worth it.

Unfortunately, we got some hard news on Saturday night. Sister Saxton is getting transferred! :( I'll be staying here in San Marcos for another transfer with a new companion. Transfer meeting is tomorrow, and we are both nervous but excited to see who our new companions will be!

I love you all! As always, thank you for everything.

Love,

Sister B

 

We also started teaching a pair of sisters, Taylor and Kacey. They're 9 and 8, respectively, and some of the best kids I've ever met. They love going to church with their grandma and praying to God. They are so darn sweet! They always want to meet with us right away after we've met with them. Teaching children requires a pretty different teaching style, but I actually like it a lot. We stick to the basics and get to use fun, "sister missionary" visuals to help illustrate what we're teaching.

That was my week, in a nutshell! I got to see the Mayers, friends from my Vista days, which was a blast. I love being able to spend time with them and catch up. Sister Mayer teaches dance to some of the girls in the ward, and so we saw each other at a 4th of July family barbecue. It was awesome!

I hope you all had a great week! I love being able to look back on my week and recognize the hand of God in it. I know that it's because I'm putting forth my best effort to dedicate time to serving Him by serving His children. That's what true Christianity is all about! (Watch this Mormon Message about it!)

This time last year:

Aren't we cute? Still getting used to putting a nametag on every morning and being called "Sister Broadbent." :)

This week has been so great. I've learned so much about the Atonement and about my purpose as a missionary. I wish I could explain to you everything that I've felt and learned this week, but I think it's still sinking in. Maybe one day I'll be able to describe how this week has changed my outlook on life and on missionary work.

I learned a lot from my Sister Training Leader and friend, Sister Cavaretta. She's the cute one with the dark hair on the other end of our picture. Yep, we were companions in the MTC. It's so weird and yet so inspiring to see Sister Cavaretta after such a long time and to see how much she has grown. She helped me figure out a lot of things I've been thinking about my entire mission, and talking to her about Jesus Christ is what literally changed my life this week. As you can tell, I love Sister Cavaretta so much. :)

We're still working with Angie towards baptism. She is amazing! She never wavers from her desire to be closer to God and her family. We can't wait for her to be able to go to the temple and be sealed to her family forever.

I'm looking forward to 4th of July barbecues this week and adventures with Sister Saxton. Our friend Josh is getting baptized in the YSA ward on Saturday, and we are so excited for that! He was learning about the Church with Al, our recent convert, until we passed him off to the YSA elders. He's so stoked to get baptized! His energy is contagious.

Love,

Sister B