Sister Sarah Bottorff: Week 37 - Another great week!

It's been another great week in UB! I love the city! I love my ward! Life is good!

Last Monday we had our song practice and I attempted conducting. It was a disaster! I literally didn't know what I was doing and I ended up jumping and stuff to get the choir to follow me. It turns out I'm not a conductor. And it's not as easy as it looks.

Tuesday we did service at a member's house! It was so fun! We washed about 100 jars for her to get ready to can all the things from her garden. We washed as many as we could as fast as we could before we had to go to the American Embassy! My companion got her visa! Officially!! Then we taught 2 less active members that night and both lessons went really well. They fed us good food and I ate it all despite not being hungry. I think I need to learn to eat faster so I don't have time to realize I'm getting full. But I can't eat that fast...

Wednesday we had an English [teaching] meeting. It was so fun to be back with the English crew again! We solidified our schedules and expectations before we start this coming week. I'll be doing a lab now instead of teaching. So one day a week (sometimes 2) I'll be manning a lab with Sister Guild. It'll be an adventure. Then we had district meeting. It was so fun! We practiced talking to people on the street and it was hilarious! Good times! :) That night, we met with a less active member who is struggling with her health but is an amazing woman. And then we met with an investigator and taught her two cute twins about service. We challenged them to help their mom! :) It was so cute!

On Thursday we did a big weekly plan. We have hundreds of names and a HUGE area to cover, so we sat down and organized everyone by address. And color coded them by relationship and their needs. And it took forever but it will be a great help to us as we plan people to meet with and when we can meet them. So far we've been going all over planet earth in one single day in order to keep our appointments. This will be so much better because we will be able to set more appointments based on area.

Friday we taught a less active family. They are so amazing, and they are so nice! They kept complimenting Sister Guild and me. And when you're having a rough language day and someone still says you're good, it feels pretty great! I'm so grateful for the people here. They are truly wonderful. Also, Friday was my mom's birthday, so I got ice cream! Happy birthday, Mom!!

On Saturday, we taught a less active woman and her new member daughter. They are adorable!!! Then we met another less active member and taught her about prayer. It was a really good lesson. Prayer is so powerful, and it can be used anytime and anywhere. Then, the Elders in our ward had a baptism, so we got to go and support! It was so awesome!!

Yesterday we went to church! And the Elders were fulfilling another assignment, so that left Sister Guild and me to translate. Dun dun dunnnnn......Anyway, during Sunday School class, we were talking about obedience, and someone asked me to translate from English to Mongolian for him! And I did it!!! He spoke REALLY SIMPLY, but I still did it! I felt so blessed to be able to help! And I think it was a way of God showing His love for me. He hasn't forgotten me. He helps me every day. And yesterday while I was translating, I realized how much I rely on Him. And how grateful I am for His love. The rest of church I literally understood nothing else. My brain was fried. But then we had an awesome FHE (Family Home Evening) with an investigator! And we bore our testimonies and played [a game called] Don’t Eat Pete with M&Ms. So Fun!

This week will be a big one! My companion goes to America TOMORROW MORNING!! So Sister Guild and I will have an interesting week. Pray for us. Haha And we start English labs and have a mission-wide English conference on Wednesday! I love it! It's gonna be a good week! I hope you all have a great week, too! Love you!!

Sister Bottorff