AUGUST 24 - THE PUNKS ATE MY PIZZA

Mom and dad you are super good at writing emails.  Thanks!

Some people don’t get written but it’s me every week.  AWWEESSOOOMMME

I love my family sooo much!  Thanks mom and dad all you have done to help me out and raise me right!  I miss you all so much and I am really grateful to be associated with all of you.  Thankyouthankyougracias.  I’m going to be planning plenty of family reunions for the rest of your lives just so you know!  

I LOVE YOU!

I finished one of my memory cards, so I will make a disk to send home hopefully today!

This week the light in California in the mornings has been white light.  Normally it is yellow light and so I keep thinking I am in Utah.  It was really weird but that is what I pinpointed it to be haha.  The lighting isn’t golden anymore!  But it is still hothothot.  

We are singing Oh Creaciones del Senor, and Exxxxo joined the CHOIR!  He is practicing with the Hymns on CD.  He has started not sleeping again because he is really worried about his mom.  She is going through a really hard time right now and doesn’t leave the house and has a lot of nerves about life.  But he said we can start coming by to get to know her!  We are going to bring all the Relief Society to love her.  He is getting his kidney stones out on Friday, and arranged to get his patriarchal blessing on Saturday.... well see if that happens as planned haha.  

Exxxxo and Mxx hanging out. This is Lxxxi's son. He is the cutest!

Hermana Cuesta and Hermana Hurley came back and we got to see them again! I got to meet Hermana Cuestas parents!  It is interesting to see where people come from.

This is our "Raising the Bar" picture

We had so many appointments on Sunday that we didn’t have time for lunch, so we packed leftover pizza and peaches in a bag and stuck it in the church fridge........... when we came back the bag was opened (we had tied it shut) Our pizza was eaten off our plate, and the peaches were left!!! 

 I WAS SO MAADDDD. 

Some punk ate the missionaries pizza!!  Hermana Carpenter and I both say pizza is our favorite food and she was fuming hahaha.  And we were hungry all day. 

Punks.

Hermana Carpenter is trying to master my curly hair and so I have had some great hair all week.

So from what I hear the Modesto mission is having major turmoil.  The Fresno and Sacramento missionaries are having some family fueds.  Oh Brother is what I say.  Just do what you are supposed to and forget about the different missions being better or whatever, just learn from the strengths, because we both have strengths.  There are different rules and we all have the same purpose so we should be able to work things out!  We are having an emergency Mission Leadership Council.  Poor President Palmer. :(  All our sisters were doing great, until I realized we only have 1 missionary from Fresno to cover haha. 

I got to go to Stockton for a day, and Hermana Townes remembered me.  That made my day!  

We are having amazing breakthroughs in the work.  I feel like every moment is getting used to its fullest which is way better than wandering around for hours.  We received a couple referrals from the english Elders and I told them good job, keep them coming and we now have 20 referrals to contact haha. 

They are now learning how to say they are missionaries that don’t speak spanish but there are missionaries that speak spanish, and please write your address here.... so that is amazing!

Lxxxi is still on fire.  Hermana Cruz (a member) took her to the temple for the day and she loved it!  She loved the Visitors Center sooo much.  Mxx behaved well until they saw the fountains, and then she had to drag him away from jumping in them haha.  She was glowing. She made us breakfast this week, and loved church.  

We are working on not just speaking to speak the message.  We are working on understanding and applying and sharing personal experiences in contacting.  Because usually you can catch yourself going into automode.  I had amazing experiences feeling the spirit while contacting people on the street which is something that isn’t exactly normal for me.  So I hope to keep that going!

The rough draft of my next planner

I did an exchange in Stockton this week and I decided to take pictures next to the pond because I never did when I was here!!!

We made the trip up to French Camp!  We worked among the chickens and goats!  I wore my hiking shoes :) I can officially leave Manteca because I have now been in all 4 cities that we cover!  We saw this goat trying to eat the top of the tree branches.  It had already stripped the whole tree so we decided to help it out a bit.  I now know why giraffes have long necks!

I am at 3 Nefi in my spanish Book of Mormon, and so I am reading all from Jesus Christ, and I am also halfway through Mark so it is fun to see the correlation and order and read the same things twice from the different sources.  

Well I know that I love all that is happening here in Manteca.

I am Emily Noelle Sheffer. 

I love being a missionary. 

I love California. 

I love spanish. 

I love my mom and dad.  

LOVE HERMANA SHEFFER