Fell out of my chair

Tuesday, February 21, 2012.

Hello All!

The 2 or the three senior couples are going home today. =( We just had a farewell party and it was amazing to hear their testimonies and how much their missions have meant to them. The Brenchley's and the Woodbury's are some of my favorite people in the world. They're testimonies are so strong, and each one of them has made a huge impact on my life. I'll miss them all.  I'm not quite sure how the Battalion will be able to run without them, but I know we'll have to give Elder Seegmiller and the new couples a lot of support. It’s a blessing that they're coming in the middle of a slow season. We can ease them into it. =)

So! The absolute best news of the week that kind of made me fall out of my chair (and by kind of I mean I really did) was that Anna called me from China. And she's doing great! She's going to church every Sunday and.... she wants to go to BYU in the fall for her graduate program. We'll be at the same school if she gets in! Huzzah!! I was so happy to hear her voice and to know that she's doing well. The only glitch that she has is that her ecclesiastical endorsement didn't get submitted properly and the Bishop can't technically resend it because he's not her bishop right now, and there are no bishops in China. So hopefully the bishop will call BYU and see if they can make an exception. I hope so! I would be more than willing to vouch for her, ha-ha. She's doing so well!

The other great news is that James has made a goal for baptism (James is the one who had absolutely no religious background at all) and he came to church, this cute little Taiwanese guy sitting in the pew. It was a happy day! Sunny came to church too! Sunny is so funny and so happy. We were able to alleviate one of her concerns in that she thought that we only studied the Book of Mormon. We explained the two dot object lesson and she now seems a lot more willing to read the Book of Mormon. She's the cutest thing ever. She watched the testaments and her one question afterward was "Well how long did Jesus Christ stay in the America’s for.” It was so cute.

The other news of the week is that I got to do two days of Spanish speaking. Woooosh. My brain was SO tired at the end of the day from trying to understand this foreign language. One time a lady we were teaching looked at me, then at my companion and asked "Does she understand anything" and I said back in Spanish “no” (which is funny in and of itself) and then she turned to Sister Ortez and said "She needs to practice more" Hahaha. I understood that part too! It was hard, it was fun. I got to understand and speak some Spanish, massacre the language and learn just how important the gift of tongues is to those who have been called to speak a foreign language. I am going to learn Spanish after my mission. That is a number one sure thing. I'm going to be as close to fluent as I can get! Watch out world! Here I come!

But! We also got to have some really special experiences with someone named Alfredo. He is trying to find God again and he wants peace and good friends. I was able to testify to him and to have this instant love for him that I know came from God. He's a really, really special guy. He has a five year old son who's the cutest thing on the planet. Also we were able to finally teach Yorbi again. Woohoo! I just want him to come to church and change his life around. He's great, and has so much potential for a great life. =)  It was fun to team teach Yorbi with Sister's Lewis and McCullough.

Our recent convert, Fransisco, and his wife invited us to a free all you can eat dinner at a new restaurant in La Jolla called Corner Bakery. It was SO good! She works there so she got the VIP passes. Then the next day some people gave us another pass and it is the best thing ever! We're probably going to be going there a lot, but it was definitely a lot more fun when it was free, ha-ha.

So that's a quick snap shot of my week. It was really great. This week will be kind of crazy because we're having our mission tour with Elder Zwick. So we're having a huge zone conference tomorrow. There won't be very much time this week to proselyte but I know and can see that miracles will happen. =)

I love you all so much! You are the greatest!

Love you!

~ Sister Tardiff