10 people that have changed my life-Mis Hermanas

There are many countless people that have touched my life and helped me on my path but I got thinking about 10 of those people specifically this weekend on a bus ride back to Tehuacán. They are my mission companions. I love them. The longer I wrote, the more and more sweet experiences that I had with these Hermanas came to mind. It would be impossible to share how incredible each of these Hermanas are, or all the miracles and heartache and doubt and happiness and joy that we experienced together. They are my sisters and my friends.

Hermana Loveless,
I love you Hermana and I am so grateful we were able to spend those 9 weeks together at the MTC-I learned a lot about myself and I know you helped me become a better person. I am grateful for the many opportunities we had to learn and grow together. I am grateful for your example of faith and your ability to have questions and then search for the answers. You are gorgeous and talented and I think you are amazing. I love you!

District 22....or 23? I don't remember

5 am farewells before the airport

Hermana Christensen (now Gylling),
I prayed to have you as my trainer. I didn't know it would be you, but I prayed that my trainer would be an obedient missionary and work hard 100% of the time. That is you. I know that it is because of you I had the mission I did. I love you and respect you so much. You not only taught me how to be a missionary, what the Lord expected of me, but you made me a better person.I knew within the first few hours of being with you that you were supposed to be my trainer. I even pulled President Smart aside that first night in the mission home to thank him for being inspired to put us together. I will never forget our first day together on those streets of Cathedral City, nor will I will forget our last few minutes together before you went home. Alma 26 said it all! That's what it is all about! I will forever cherish those lessons in front of Oscar's house with the never ending supply of elotes, yuca, and arroz con leche. I love you so much Hermana! Thank you for everything.

I still love that this was our first picture together.

"Do you want a muffin? I'll buy you a muffin."

scripture power!

Nuestra abuelita!!

Love those kids.

Remember how Hno Marroquin baptized Juan?! so good. :)

"God is good." Amen, Sister. Amen.

Hermana Chevalier,
I am so grateful for you Hermana. I learned so much from you and I feel like we had some of the biggest miracles of my whole mission in that 5 week transfer that we were together. I was so jealous that you got to stay in Cathedral City and I had to go. Chocolate chip cookies and soy will forever remind me of you. haha I feel like I taught more in unity with you than with any other companion. I am grateful for your ability to follow the Spirit and for the work you did! I love you!

miracles

How I love this family.

miracles and miracles

Hermana Wollor,
I love you and the longer we were on the mission together the more respect I grew for you-for the experienes you have had in your life, the knowledge you have of the scriptures and your love for the Lord. You truly are an amazing person. I was so happy to meet someone in the MTC going to my mission, but I would have never guessed that we would actually have been companions! I am so grateful that we got white-washed into Banning together so early into our missions. I can't believe the Lord trusted us with such an incredible area and then a brand new missionary two weeks into the transfer! haha Good thing Hermana Ruiz came pre-trained to be an incredible missionary (and I guess it helped that she already spoke Spanish haha).I am so glad I got to serve with you in the same zone at the end of our missions and be able to see the amazing work you were doing in Indio! Love you Hermana!

I will never forget our first 5 minutes together. Moving into the Elder's nasty apartment, you getting locked into the bathroom because there was no door handle, then trying to get all of our OYM's in the Food4Less Parking lot in the dark.  hahaha I knew it was going to be a good transfer.

Chocolate will also always make me think of you. Do I still owe you a Snickers for anything? :) Actually I'll probably owe you one just because I wrote all these sappy nice things about you, right? :)

I am inspired by your ability to pray so sincerely to Heavenly Father and for the relationship that you have with Him. I hope that one day I can pray like you.

Hermana Ruiz,
From the first day in our little trio I knew you were going to be an amazing missionary! I was so jealous of your ability to connect with the people because you spoke their language and understood their culture. I wish we could have served around each other longer before the missions split, but I am so grateful for everything I learned in those 4 short weeks we were companions. Thank you! I know that you have done amazing things in the Riverside Mission and I can't wait to hear about them when you get home! :)

Can we just talk about how amazing Valerie is for a second. She got baptized last April at 9 years old. She read the whole Book of Mormon by herself last summer. Talk about dedication and pure amazing-ness! I love Valerie!

Hermana Stevenson,
Where to even begin Hermana?! All I know is that I am so grateful that we could be companions for 13 glorious weeks! (you're my longest lasting companion-I'm sorry you had to put up with me for that long. :) ) How would we have known you were going to have 9 months to love and serve the people of Banning Beaumont?! They needed you! I love your desire to be obedient and do everything you could to make sacrifices to become an even more dedicated and powerful missionary. I love you Hermana and I loved watching you continue to learn, grow and have even more miracles on your mission! I love you and am so proud of everything you have done on your mission! I can't wait to see you in September! :)

Hermana Jensen (now Davis),
How did Heavenely Father know that both Hermana Stevenson and I needed you?! He's so good! That 7 weeks transfer we had in that trio-words can't describe, but thank you for helping me take a chill pill and not be a stress basket all of the time. We still worked hard and were still obedient, and you taught me how to do both at the same time. I laugh everytime I think about you-I just love you so much!

Elotes!

Remember our first week as companions?...emergency exchanges and all that jazz. Thank goodness for Sister Dowd and her awesomeness. haha

hahahaha...

4th of July weekly planning session. I can't believe that was a year ago!!!!

so. funny.

You, Ross, and P-day. haha

Javier-remember walking into his first lesson and he was talking about how he wanted to dedicate the Sabbath to the Lord and pay tithing and etcetc and our jaws dropped to the ground? Yeah, he's the best!

Hermana Southwick,
Leaving Banning and Beaumont was a bitter moment because I love those people so much, but of course I would never take it back because leaving meant I got to go to Palm Springs with you! I would never trade walking on those streets with 120 degree weather with anyone else. We worked so hard and had so many miracles. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard everyday (aka 24/7) with anyone else. I don't know what it was, but you have a gift of happiness and laughter and I love you for it. I'm grinning so big just thinking about you. I will never forget all those dear families we taught in Palm Springs. They are incredible-and just think, you were my only companion I had to share those experiences with there. :) You are an incredible woman of great faith, diligence and love. I love you! p.s. Will you please spend a day with me when you get home and just make me laugh?! :)

Desert Rain!

I am so happy we got to live with these incredible Sisters for 2 tranfers!!! (haha and all of our funny neighbors...)

Jose!

...and the gnome. :)

Hermana McCartt,
You are my sister and I love you as so. My heart swells with a deep gratitude that the Lord allowed and trusted us with the special area and people of Borrego Springs. I think you and I will be the only ones to really know how truly inspired it was of President Van Cott to have put us there together  for those 2 transfers. We experienced miracles and the softening of hearts through the gift of music. You are an incredible woman Hermana. Never doubt youself or the abilities the Lord has given you because they are many. You are going to do incredible things on the mission and will continue to do so after. Remember right where you are is perfect. Even if it's finding dead mice and jam from 1994. :) I love you so much and can't wait to see you face again!

Oh, how I miss them!

Grandma!!!!

Jacob 5 :)

Kendall's with Donna and Ester! Can we please just got back and live this again?!

La Familia Arias!

If I ever have an airplane hanger for my garage you can come see my plane too. :)

I feel like every first picture with every companion is similar....something weird is always going on.

We are seriously so spoiled.

Remember how we got to live with the most incredible lady ever?! We love you Donna! :)

Hermana Tapia,
The first thing I think when I think of us being companions is, "ask and ye shall receive." I had never asked to go to a specific area or have a specific companion my whole mission, but President asked me in an interview if I wanted to stay in Borrego Springs for my last transfer and I don't think I've ever said "yes" so quickly in my whole life. I also told him I would love to stay with Hermana McCartt for my last transfer, but if that wasn't supposed to happen I told him I would want to finish with Hermana Tapia. I still can't believe that we got to be companions for one glorious transfer! Thank you for helping me to continue to learn and grow up until the day I went home. I am grateful that we got to share 6 weeks in Borrego and were able to continue witnessing all the miracles that are happening there. I love you!

tamalestamalestamales

Friendly Charley callin' us angels. :)

I have been filled with gratitude and joy as I have thought about these dear Hermanas and the great impact they have had in my lives. I continue to thank Heavenly Father for the companions I had and the areas that we served in together! I look forward to Monday's every week so that I can get their e-mails and continue to feel of their Spirit and dedication and hard work to hasten the work of salvation! 

mis hijas. :)

“The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing, persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny many defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited very clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.” -The Prophet Joseph Smith