Una felicidad verdadera y duradera (A true and lasting happiness)

Things are so great and I´m sure they´re only going to get better as we learn to work more effectively and more earnestly. I think for the first time in my mission I´m really enjoying what we do. I´m happy all the time and motivated to be better. We still have a lot to improve on, but I am determined to make the most out of the rest of my mission. I love my companion and my area. This transfer is what I´ve needed to get out of the rut I was stuck in and really be the missionary I dreamed of being. I feel that I am giving myself over to this work more and more every day, which is not as hard as I thought it would be and it´s a lot more rewarding. As I lose myself more and more in this great work I am finding in myself the person I want to be - I guess you could say I´m realizing the potential I have as a daughter of God and learning to live up to it.

I don´t remember if I told you about it, but my favorite thing that I´ve learned and am still learning from Hermana Johnson is that we´re here making habits. Because of that, I´m learning and developing skills I´ve wanted to have for so long, but not known how to do it. For example, I´m learning how to "Make Friends and Influence People." Hahaha. As we contact people, we are trying to get to know and love them. We discover their needs by the Spirit and then testify and offer them the thing that will change their lives. I´m learning to talk to people. I´m getting to know complete strangers and learning to love them the way God does. That´s something I want to be able to do after my mission.

I´m also learning to manage my time and make priorities. I´m learning how to express myself and teach simply. I´m learning how to choose to be happy and excited even when things are hard. I´m eating things I never would before (and enjoying them, too. You would be so proud of me). I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to have put my life to the side for a year and a half to learn all of these things and serve my God and His children. My mission has become a learning catalyst and I know I´ll be so blessed in my future to have served here.

It really was a miracle that we were able to find 9 new investigators the week before last. We were really kind of taken aback. Neither of us has been able to do that in a long time and when the people let us inside the house we kind of turned into deer in the headlights. We´ve gotten out of the habit of teaching and were kind of lost. We´ll be spending the next while trying to fix what we did wrong and help them understand our purpose and feel the Spirit. We´re improving, though, and the five new investigators we found this last week understand a lot more. This week´s new investigators will be even better and higher in quality. I´m so excited. I´m out of time. I wish I could tell you about each one.

I love you all! Thank you for everything.

Love, Erin