Hello!!

Oh my goodness, it sounds like you had an awful sickness! I hope it goes away soon. Two of our friends were sick this week with a similar sort of deal, they told us not to come so we wouldn't get sick!! Sleep always helps :) I haven't been sick for quite a while now, what a blessing! I'm hoping to make it at least 2 more months ;)

I saw the picture, haha that is quite amusing. I wish I could have been there! Matthew is way too tall.....did the beast ever get named? Good for you to buy a hog, I have to admit I saw way too many of them being driven to the meat plant in Austin, I have nearly lost my taste for any pork. Give it time, I'm sure that it will come back. That is really interesting that all the girls in our activity days group has gone on missions, but I would have to say that she is wrong. I can think of at least one who didn't serve a mission. (not in this life at least) Is Nadene on a mission? So crazy. I got a letter this week from Lexi, she told me that she gets to see Taylor Regen at zone conferences, that would be so cool! Speaking of that, there is a girl who is serving in my zone that I went to high school with. She is a year younger than me so we were never good friends, but we knew each other. I think it was really helpful for her at the beginning to see a familiar face....even if it was a slightly strange face ;) I will keep you posted as to the move, hopefully the beginning of September, but we will see.  Don't worry if you don't get the package right away, you need to get better! Have fun shopping with Jackie...now is when it starts to get hard to find clothes. That is probably the best part about wearing the same clothes all the time....I don't have to shop for more! That is probably one reason we change areas, so people don't know that we were the same skirts for 18 months ;)

I can't believe that school is starting soon, what day does it start? It is so weird to me that this will be the 2nd year that I haven't gone to school. It is going to feel weird to go back! Also, I have had a lot of interesting conversations with people lately about careers and what I am going to do when I get home. haha, we'll see what happens!

Starvation...the one time I remember going there, it was weird. But I hope you have fun! If you see the cousins, tell them hello from me! There are lots of scorpions? Gross. Guess what? I haven't seen a single living snake while I have been here, I think Minnesota might be the place for me! And, now we have the worlds largest concentration of dragonflies, so there are very few mosquitos! Miracles do happen, I'm telling you.

Thanks much for the advice on how to work with people who struggle. I quite appreciate it. Keeping your hands busy is a very good idea. I asked our Sister Training Leaders if they would ask president if we could have an extra hour of companion study each day, and he said we could, so we have lots of time to practice. We do mostly just role-plays, but I think if I had something to do with my hands, it would lessen the pressure, and allow me to relax a little bit. I think it is just a matter of time mostly. As my friend Sister Amis would always sing, "Patience is a virtue, the waitin never hurts you! So keep on cookin, you gotta keep cookin sloooowww!" There is an accompanying dance that I do sometimes as well ;)

Now for the miracle of the week!!!!!

So. This week was really quite a hard one numbers wise. We weren't able to teach many lessons, or find many people, and I was being really hard on myself, and just getting a little bit down! All of the people we had planning on coming to church fell through last minute, so we didn't have anyone there. Sunday night I was just ready to be done with the week to be quite honest. Then (drumroll) we remembered that one of the members had asked us to stop-by a less-active family in the ward. It was pouring rain, so we drove there, and ran from the car up to the door. Sister Falana answered the door! She said come in, come in!! We came in and sat down, and proceeded to talk to her, and her three teenage daughters (who are not members) for just over an hour! It was fantastic. And, one of the best parts. They are from Nigeria!!! I have really been missing my African friends lately, I feel like I can talk to them so much easier, and they don't get offended. Sister Falana had a very thick accent, but because I worked so much with people from Liberia and Nigeria in Austin, I was able to understand her! The two daughters who are old enough really want to come to mutual and seminary once school starts. How cool is that?! Moral of the story: There is a reason I am here, Miracle happen, and they usually happen in the last little bit of time you have left. We have to do as much as we can, then the Lord blesses us, and allows us to see miracles!

Other thought: This past sunday I gave a talk on spiritual gifts in sacrament meeting. It was an interesting topic, one which I didn't know much about. I was reading a lot, and came across one idea which I really liked. It was the idea that we are given spiritual gifts to help us combat all the crazy stuff in this world. We have the opportunity to obtain them in order to perfect ourselves. I also had always thought that there were only 10 or so spiritual gifts, but I learned that there are many more! One of the neatest ones that I read about was the gift of knowing that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that he Atoned for our sins. I never thought of that as a gift, but it really is! I am so grateful for the opportunity we have to gain gifts, and use the ones we have been given!!

Well,

I hope and pray that you all have a lovely week. I love and miss you all!!

Love,

Sister Christina Trickler

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved"

-President Thomas S. Monson