Okay y’all, this is an email to cover the last two weeks! Because I’m terrible at writing emails hahaha

Well, there was a time in my life I could say I’ve never broken anything in my body… that time has passed! Yur gurl did ballet for THIRTEEN years and never had any serious injuries to my feet… and now that I’m not doing ballet, I finally break my foot! Well, one of my toes. We were building a fort in our apartment (which was awesome by the way) and I was running to go jump on a mattress in the fort and jammed my toe right into the side of a chair… oooooof. And then it was bending the wrong way for a little bit, so we love that. I was limping around pretty bad and I had some pretty crazy bruises the first few days but it is actually doing a ton better now! But yeah, I’m kinda a cripple now…

We have done a ton of outdoor service opportunities! These have been some of my favorite parts of missionary work, especially lately because the weather has been so so nice! So lots of yard work these last couple of weeks! But boy do we love it! We weeded a giant blackberry field and we kinda forgot gloves and the weeds were massive, pokey, and really tough to pull out so my hands were jacked up the next few days after that hahaha.

So this last week was super super good! It was pretty cold and rainy for the first part of the week so going to the track near our apartment in the morning this week was kinda miserable… especially because I couldn’t go running to warm up because of my broken foot… but it was still fun and we go with some other Elders and seeing them and getting outside is a great way to start the day.

We have had some fun p-days these last couple of weeks! We went fishing, went to Cabelas and carved pumpkins! I have pictures from that day! The next p-day we went to a place called House of Blades which is basically a place where you can buy knives, swords, ninja stars, axes, etc… Super cool actually and I have some pictures from that too.

IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK!!!! I am now 20 YEARS OLD!!! I’m ANCIENT! Also something that is crazy is that today is my 10 month mark out on the mission. Man, time flies… But boy have I been spoiled this week! It started with Elder Delgado giving me my own mango plant! He started growing a seed, bought a pot, had his mom send him potting soil and put it all together and gave it to me and it made my day!! It is just a pot of dirt right now, but I sing to it every day so it will grow in no time! It makes me so happy!

My companions are kinda the best though because they put in some serious time and effort into surprising me for my birthday. It started on Halloween evening, we had a Halloween get together/devotional as a zone and it was actually a lot of fun! We had a great devotional and played some fun games and had some yummy snacks! But then on the way home, they made me drive to some Elders’ apartments and they made me close my eyes as they shoved a bunch of boxes in the car… I had NO IDEA what was going on. We got home and they told me that they thought the best way to celebrate my birthday would be by celebrating CHRISTMAS!! So the boxes were full of Christmas decorations from some members who had sneakily given it to the elders who in turn gave it to us!! So we decorated the apartment and listened to Christmas music and it is AMAZING!!

The next morning was my birthday and we had a little mini Christmas morning celebration with presents under the tree! Then we got ready for the day and went to church and so many people wished me a happy birthday and gave me sweets, which was difficult because it was fast Sunday haha.

We had a chill afternoon and then went to a part-member family we have been teaching and it was the most pleasant evening ever! We had fajitas for dinner and Texas Chocolate sheet cake for dessert. we met the Dad which was actually really big because he is not usually interested in talking to missionaries so it was a really an incredible experience. We taught a lesson about service and had a fantastic night. It was perfect.

This has been a long email, so I will wrap it up, but I’ll share a quick spiritual thought. Romans 8:18 has been on my mind a lot. I know I talk about trials a lot, but I love the perspective this scripture gives on our struggles. It says:

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

The trials we face now are nothing compared to the beauty and majesty of the blessings we will receive if we endure them well. Sister Linda S. Reeves once said:

“It is my personal feeling that the reward is so great, so eternal and everlasting, so joyful and beyond our understanding that in that day of reward, we may feel to say to our merciful, loving Father, “Was that all that was required?” I believe that if we could daily remember and recognize the depth of that love our Heavenly Father and our Savior have for us, we would be willing to do anything to be back in Their presence again, surrounded by Their love eternally. What will it matter, dear sisters, what we suffered here if, in the end, those trials are the very things which qualify us for eternal life and exaltation in the kingdom of God with our Father and Savior?”

And I will leave that for you to ponder. Sorry for the length of this one… I write a lot hahaha. Have a fantastic week yall!

Scripture of the week! Romans 8:18!

Get Busy, Get Lost!
-Sister Oldham