Zone Conference of the Ages

Hey Y'all! 

   This past week has been really great and full of Christmas fun! On Thursday we had our Christmas Zone Conference which was AMAZING. The first half was spent talking about the power of the Book of Mormon and how we can use it better in our work. The Spirit was so strong as people bore their testimonies of how it has changed their lives. Then after lunch we got to play games and watch Christmas movies! President said that we needed to relax a little bit so we all just hung out for a while and Sister Mikesell and I spent most of the time playing cards with another group of missionaries. We also played Heads up 7 up as a Zone:) It was a well needed break from the grind of missionary work and everyone had a ton of fun! We finished out Zone Conference by bringing the reverence back in and talking about Christ and the Sacrament. That really is the reason we celebrate Christmas and being on my mission during this season has helped me really ponder everything that Christ has done for us. 

    That night we had our ward Christmas Party. It was really nicely done and a lot of people showed up. We even had a young girl who had been taught by missionaries in the past come up to us and ask if we could teach her again! We got our pictures taken with Santa and got a lot of leftover to take home:)

    Earlier in the week we went to visit a family and they are really big into hunting (Like everyone else here) and they had a freezer full of deer steaks. They asked us if we wanted any because they had too much but we declined because we didn't know how to cook it. They insisted we take some and even showed us exactly how to fry it up so we went home and made some really good deer soft tacos!

    We are really excited for this next week because a senior couple is coming to Elkins! They are going to be such a great help and I know the work they do will help bring even more people to Christ. Their names are the Bay's and they're from Florida.

    I hope y'all are having a great Christmas season and remember the real reason we celebrate!

    I love you all!

   Sister de la Cruz

 Deer

Us with Sister's Nichols and Chowen

 Sister Van Tassell's Funeral

The Mallows :)

I had a baby!!

Hi Y'all!

This week has brought a lot of change! It was Sister Van Tassell's last week of the mission and on Monday President Lindhardt called and ask if I would be a trainer for a new missionary coming in on Friday. It was a hectic week as I helped Sister Van Tassell pack for home and as I got ready to welcome the new Sister. 

On Thursday we had District Meeting in Philippi and held a funeral for Sister Van Tassell (pics to come soon). It was our last District Meeting as a district as half of us were leaving and the other half are now trainers. On the way back to Elkins we decided to try a little restaurant that the Philippi Elders suggested and put it in the GPS and headed on our way. About halfway there the GPS told us to turn down this narrow dirt road. We thought it would just be a short little road so we listened and turned down it. It turns out that it was over a mile long with lots of little hills and pure mud that our tires sunk into. Needless to say when we finally hit solid ground again our truck was covered in mud and we had to wash it before our next appointment. But we did find the restaurant and it was delicious:)

Friday was transfers in Charleston and I got to see the Haupt family from Teay's Valley which was a great surprise! They were saying goodbye to Sister Condie who also flew home on Saturday. It was so sad saying goodbye to my two companions but I know they're gonna do great things back home! And then I got my new baby!!!! Her name is Sister Mikesell, ("Like Mike sells seashells on the sea shore") and she's from Caldwell, ID (Yes, I got ANOTHER Idaho companion). Sister Mikesell is amazing!! I was a little nervous about training because I still don't know everything myself but she makes it so much easier! She loves to learn and improve and picks everything up so fast! She's definitely a better trainee than I was. She's already teaching so powerfully and just knows how to draw the spirit in with ease. I'm so excited for what she's going to accomplish in this area and in her mission and am so glad I get to be her mom! 

Sis Mikesell and I after we made our apartment a little more festive:)

I have been learning a TON as a trainer. Not only because I have to teach everything so I really have to know it myself first but also because Sis Mikesell has brought so many great new ideas with her. I know I was asked to be a trainer so I could grow just as much as her, if not more. I love how Heavenly Father puts us in positions that we need to be in so that we can continuously improve. 

I love all of you and pray that you have a great week and Christmas Season! 

Fresh Bear and President Lindhardt

Hi Y'all!

This week went by faster than last week which I didn't think was possible. I think part of the reason is because Sis Van Tassell goes home on Saturday and that makes time seem like it's flying. We had a great Thanksgiving with the Mallow and the Currence families. Luckily we were smart enough to limit ourselves to two meal appointments so we didn't explode with food. Even just the two was almost too much for my stomach to handle. But it was sooo good. It was all basically the same as what I'd usually have for Thanksgiving at home which was nice. 

Fresh Bear (not a huge fan, interesting aftertaste) 

Bro Currence  who killed the bear on the right and Emery who cooked it on the left :)

On Monday President Lindhardt called us and asked if we could have our interviews with him that day instead of when they were originally planned for on Tuesday in Buckhannon. We said sure and decided that since our washing machine was broken we would head to Buckhannon early to use the washing machine in the Buckhannon Sister's apartment and make them dinner. So we drove out there (about 45 minutes away), did our laundry and were about to get to the Buckhannon chapel when we get a call from President telling us that he's waiting for us at the Elkins building. We both had a mini heart attack and were trying to figure out what to say for a good while and then finally (like a minute later) he asked if we wanted to just meet at the Buckhannon building and if our clothes were done. He had been in Buckhannon the whole time and just wanted to make us freak out. And that's basically the type of person President Lindhardt is. I don't think I've ever heard him say anything without making a joke first.

Mapping out how everyone in our Ward is related 

Eating at El Gran Sabor, a super popular Venezuelan restaurant in downtown Elkins, probably some of the best food I've ever had.

I had a very spiritual experience in the regards to the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon happen this week. Sister Van Tassell and I were practicing introducing it to people and I had the feeling to turn to 3 Nephi 11 (when Christ visits the Americas) and read where Christ introduces himself to them. I started to read and immediately I felt this overwhelming power come upon me. I tried to read the verse but tears were coming to my eyes and I could barely see. It caught me so off guard and I think that's how the Spirit works a lot of the time. You get answers and reassurances when you least expect them. I'm so thankful for that experience because it is just another thing to add to my testimony of the Savior and the Book of Mormon. There is no other way to explain what happened than the Spirit testifying to me that it's all true. 

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and have a great week!

Sister de la Cruz