Holaaaa :)
So sorry I didn't get an email out again last week, but you didn't miss much. The past 2 weeks have been kind of slow and disappointing for us, but hopefully this week we get some good work done!
Sad news, we have not been able to get in contact with our one solid guy we were teaching from the Spanish Ward, Serafín. We taught him 2 weeks ago and he had been doing so awesome. We invited him to be baptized and, though at first he was worried it was too soon, things were looking really good! That next sunday he texted us and told us he would not be at church and that he wanted to cancel our lesson for that week. We have not heard from him since :( Our other solid family that we are teaching from the English ward, the Vega's, cancelled on us last week as well, and then did not come to church on Sunday, and we haven't been able to get ahold of them either :( Lots of cancellations and disappointments BUT we love them and pray for them and keep trying!
On the bright side, we got 3 referrals this week for our Spanish ward!! We visited them and set up appointments to go back and start teaching, so we are really looking forward to meeting with those families this week! Other random updates: The weather has been ALL over the place here recently. Sunny and super nice one minute, and then raining and snowing the next. Spanish is slooooooooooowly slowly slowly coming along, I wish I could get the hang of it faster than I am! We are fed every night here so that is awesome! Haven't had to eat anything too weird yet ;) hahaha.
Sorry I don't have much to report on! l want to end with this super cool story that we heard at Zone Conference this past week. A stake president that was there shared it with us and it really made an impression on me:
A few years back the Special Winter Olympics were held here in Idaho. There was a story in the news about this one particular girl who was participating in the Cross-Country Skiing competition. She had obviously been training for months and months for it. When it came down to the race, as soon as it began, her ski fell off. As the other competitors raced ahead, she struggled to get her ski back on. Once she was ready to go, she got up, got racing, and made it just a little ways before it fell off again, and this would happen 3 or 4 more times throughout the race. She crossed the finish line dead last, so far behind that her other competitors had already begun other races and competitions. Her family and special buddies and trainers were devastated, they were so so sad for her. But as she met them at the finish line, she had the biggest smile on her face and all she said was, "Did you see me get up?!"
I think our experience when we stand before God at the final judgment day will be very similar. With every trial, bad day, bad decision, hard feeling, and challenge that we faced in mind, Jesus Christ, our Savior and mediator between us and our Heavenly Father, will say on our behalf, "But Father, did you see her get up?" In this scenario, it is not a race- there is no first or last place, there are only those who tried, and those who gave up. Have the FAITH to keep trying, to pick yourself back up. Life is hard, our Heavenly Father knows that- this is his plan after all! Our efforts to do good, to keep going, do not go unnoticed.
I love you all!!
Hermana Rawlins <3
Pictures:
1. We have like 5 huge bags of chopsticks in our house for some reason, so here is Hermana Martin trying to teach us to chopsticks while eating popcorn :)
2. The group of Spanish missionaries that are trainers and the new spanish greenies at 3 week training!
3. We went BOWLING last pday!!! This was attempt 1/1044729 to get a group district picture. That's only about half of us
4. All the trainers & greenies at 3 week training
5. Another attempt at a district picture at the bowling alley (missing 3 elders)
6. Playing basketball at the church ft. me, hermana martin, and 1 1/2 elders
7. Picture of our group at Zone Conference
8. All of the Nampa zone missionaries at Zone Conference!!
