Every member a missionary

Well hi :) As always, I can't start an email without saying how much I love you all. I love you :)

    This week has been awesome! We had Zone Conference on thursday and we had the opportunity to watch the broadcast and I was so glad! When I heard about it in your email I was sad that I might not have the chance to watch it, but of course it's way important for missionaries to see that haha so we got to see it! Holy Cow. How lucky are we to have living prophets and apostles?! And such amazing men, they love us so much! It has always been apart of God's plan for us to have EVERY member of the church be involved in missionary work. It is not, never has been, and never will be the lone responsibility of the full-time missionaries to preach the gospel. It's part of our baptismal covenant to preach the gospel, that means even our precious 8 year olds! (Get ready clayton, you and grayson can serve a couples mission in a few months ;) ) While watching the broadcast it was confirmed to me that while this has been a commandment since the beginning of the church, it is more important now than ever for missionaries and members to become united in this work. Our goal here in the Bacolod mission for weekly baptisms is not "our" goal of us missionaries, it's the goal of our wards and branches. Our investigators are the ward's investigators. Our success is the ward's success. I did not do as good as a could or should have done as a member missionary, what's been on my mind most recently is when Dad asked me to fellowship the investigator in our ward and I selfishly insisted that he just attend the singles ward. While it is important for members to be placed where they'll most likely grow and flourish, it was so bad of me to not fulfill my calling in any way possible. How much I missed out in in my time in young womens by not fully reaching out to those around me! As I watched the video clip of the family I was so happy to imagine you all having those same opportunites every single day and so proud to know that you're all so awesome in all you do. I totally encourage you to continue and to always think of how you can improve! Such an awesome broadcast, I know it'll work miracles for the church in finding those who are currently without the gospel and for strengthening our members.

     The conference totally energized and re-charged me for the work, if you can't tell haha :) Every night since then I haven't wanted to go home, I want to just keep working, to visit one more family, to hand out one more pamphlet. It's been such a blessing for me! It's so hard to figure out how to "lose yourself in the work" but as I've prayed and desired that Heavenly Father opens up a way for me to feel committed and excited about every day :) 

     Mom, thank you so much for your mission portion of your letter! I know EXACTLY what you mean! We're just twins haha :) I am SO HUNGRY for the gospel, literally every spare second I'm reading the scriptures, PMG, or the Liahona, and when I'm not reading I'm always thinking about what I learned, how I can apply it to my life, haha just like Nephi :"my soul hungers and I constantly ponder on the things I've learned". One of the things I've been trying to do with what I've learned is to apply them in a, idon't know how to explain it haha, a "normal" way? Like, not in a robot-missionary way, but as myself just wanting to share how the gospel has blessed my life and how it can bless the lives of others. All you future missionaries, don't fall into the trap of becoming a robot-missionary! Be yourself, show your personality, joke around and have fun! Follow the example of our awesome prophet and apostles and be yourself... but the version of yourself that is constantly looking to share the gospel haha :) I promise you'll be less stressed, and so much happier.

     Dad, that's such a cool story about planting the seed with that woman! So many of our investigators are the result of past missionaries work. I can't wait to hear more stories from "Elder Batman" ;)

Okay, I haven't gotten Cam's letter!!!! Please someone send it to me so I can read it next week!! I'm dying to know what's going on with those two!!

Mom, thanks SO MUCH for putting together a package for me!!!! Geez, I love you so much!!! I'm so excited to get it and I;ll just imagine everything wrapped and ready like you wanted :) LOVE YOU!!

Dad, I love the pictures you send me, and the random ones are totally great! Keep it up :)

Mom, (sorry about this weird back-and-forth thing hahaha) Don't worry, it doesn't make me feel left out when you tell me what you guys are doing! I love to hear about everything :) I hope I'm not making you all too jealous that you don't get to be where I am ;)

I wish I could send you guys pictures!! I'm sorry that you don't get to have visual aids to be able to see everything I'm doing haha. Oh man, I'm scared to think of those pictures of president Lopez's FB hahahaha I'm sure I'm just lookin gorgeous as always ;D hahaha no. I've had to lose all sense of vanity here hahaha. I'll have time to look pretty again when I get home and have air conditioning haha :) And anyways, all anyone cares about is my white skin hahahahaha so it doesn't matter whether my hair is curled or straigtened or if I am wearing tons of makeup hahaha.

Funny thing of this week: everyone here just burps all the time hahaha, it makes me wish quincy and I could have exchanges for a day so she could enjoy this hahaha. Okay and it's not like "after meal burping" it's just in the middle of conversations, 6 times, random burping hahahaha. It's so so so funny.

Sorry that my letter is so boring this week! And I hope it wasn't preachy! I'll do better to take notes of funny and interesting things that happen this week. I love you all and I hope you have the most fun combined birthday week ever!!!!! Go on all the scariest rides at lagoon for me ;) You're the best family in the world and I love you so much and I miss you and I love you and I always pray for you and I always smile randomly throughout the day because of something funny that we've done before or some good memory I have and I just have the best family ever ever ever ever and I love you all so much!!!!!! HAGS. hahaha jk. Okay, love you!!! Talk to you next week :)