12-6-10

Exhausted Rachel
Rachel's new hair cut


Hey Family!

What a week! I don't even know where to begin, that's been a theme of my e-mails. All I have to say is I LOVE DECEMBER and CHRISTMAS!!! Today we had our very first snow fall! I was sitting at my desk studying this morning and it started! It was just really tiny floating flakes but it was great.

This week has been interesting. I have really felt the strength from Heavenly Father and our Savior carrying me along through everything. Before I go on I just have to say, I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!! Last night Hermana Winfield and I were having a very spirit lead conversation about the Atonement and some other things and I could feel the spirit speaking through me. It was incredible. I knew the words that were coming out of my mouth were not from me but from Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for the experiences that I have had with the Atonement and with the Savior in my life. All of the moments of my life where I've wanted to give up, be done, or thought I couldn't do it anymore have been worth it. The Atonement doesn't just heal us or make us how we would be if we didn't have the pain, trial, sin, or struggle in front of us but it makes us BETTER. What a blessing it is that we have a SAVIOR! He LIVES!!! What a gift to the world, a Christ Child, the Redeemer of the World! How grateful I am for this time of year that all have a greater opportunity to remember His birth and the gift His is to us.

I need to make sure that all those that have sent a letter or a package this week know how grateful I am for it. Those letters have been exactly what I've needed and when I've needed them. They have filled me when I needed it and I'll be honest, some of those letters have meant so much to me I keep them in my backpack and carry them with me where ever I go. Words can not express how grateful I am for them. Thank you.

Funny moment of the week: I know Hermana Winfield is going to write about this as well so check her blog to get a different view of it. So...as missionaries and Sister missionaries at that we have the opportunity to sing to people a lot. Well...those who know me know that my singing voice isn't...its not Josh Groban or anything although I've started to think it is :) We were at a families house last night and decided to sing Christmas songs with them. One of the ladies said you just sing, looking at the two of us, I said, "No, you need to sing as well ( This was all in Spanish by the way )" She said she didn't sing very well and it would be a lot better if we just sang. Then I said, "before my mission I didn't sing very well and its still the same on my mission but now that I'm a missionary sometimes I can feel the spirit while I'm singing." She laughed at me and we all sang. Well...we sang Joy to the world in Spanish. So...I've been getting ahead of myself and I LOVE to mix things up a little big with the songs. In our apt I always belt it and sing all different parts. Well...on this song there are two parts you can sing for the chorus...I was getting really into the song. On the third verse I started singing the other words while the rest of the family sang the normal parts. It actually sounded really good (At least that's what Hna Winfield said, not out of pity) Right when I started to sing the other words EVERYONE in the room looked at me with big eyes. They kept singing and then we finished. I had told Hna Winfield that i was going to do that sometime. At the end of the song I leaned over and said, See, I told you :) Then we started laughing just between the two of us because it was funny. Then everyone else asked what we were laughing about. We told them and they all BUSTED up laughing! They were so confused at what I was doing...it ended up that all of us go into a laughing spell and just laughed for 15 min about the whole thing. I hope you understood and it was kind of funny to you at least.

This week we also had Zone Conference. I have developed such a great love for President Nelson. I've really been able to get to know him a lot better this transfer. He is such a loving man and I've learned so much about love and leadership from him. Zone Conference was good. This week we fasted as a mission for help to have guidance as a mission to develop mission goals and bring a greater unity together. The past year we experienced many mighty miracles and changes. I've seen them in myself as well as the mission and the work. I am excited to see what this coming year brings. I LOVE THIS MISSION!!!

So this transfer ends on Dec 19th. Transfers happen on the 21st. Sad that it is right before Christmas. I am praying about transfers and what needs to happen. I pray that whatever happens will be the will of the Lord. I know it will be.

Small blurb about my Spanish...please keep the prayers going that I will be able to speak when I need to. Lol. My Spanish is still there but...its not coming as fast as I need it to and would like it to.

Anyway, that was just a small part of my week. Overall I've really felt an added strength from Heavenly Father this week. That is what I need. I can not do any of this on my own. There is A LOT going on right now and...I am so grateful for the gift of prayer along with the gift of the Atonement and our Savior. I can not describe the joy that comes into my heart knowing that someone loves me enough to go through EVERYTHING with me. He loves all of you that much as well.

I can not describe how much all of your love and support means to me. Thank you so much. I love all of you more than I could express. I love this work and our Savior.

With Much Love,

Hermana Banaszewski