Sound of Water Running in the Church

 ALOHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(i saw Sister Crane this week so i just just had to start this email with a good ol' Aloha :))

How y'all doing?

I am S.U.P.E.R!!!!!!!

We had a baptism this last week! Hip Hip Hooray! It was wonderful.

I cried. They cried. We all cried.

The title of this email comes from a cheesy missionary song it goes like this...

"The most wonderful sound of ever heard...

Is the sound of water running in the Church...

As the one's I've come to love got dressed in white...

My eyes caught the first glimpse of Heaven's light"

How true it is! I have truly come to love each person that has been baptized in my areas. I know that this love comes from a loving Heavenly Father who loves each of us more than we can mortally understand. It is wonderful to watch converts come to know God and to see their faith grow.

monday: was a really good day and CRAZY!!!!! Every P-day seems to go by really fast and it always seems to be super busy! We have a member who LOVES to sew and she taught us how to make skirts with pockets! They are super cute and I love it! We also set up lessons with Ashley  to meet with her two times a day this week!!! It was such a blessing to see her so often! We really got to know her and Tim! She is AWESOME. She is about pregnant and is having a girl!  We also had a lesson with our investigator Chervine and Karissa. They have TEN pet rats! They apparently collect them as pets at the pet store. I do not do rats. I can do cockroaches any day but not rats. We also had a lesson with the wonderful Charmayne. She is really nice and I love getting the opportunity to teach her.

tuesday: We got to take a Temple trip :) It was very POWERFUL and SPIRITUAL. I love going to the Temple and feeling the peace and comfort. It is the one place where I do not have to worry about anything. :) Just my relationship with Heavenly Father. We then had two lessons with Ashley and they where spiritual and awesome. :) She knows that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that this church is true. Her and Tim (her husband) are already thinking about being sealed in the Temple together. I really hope I will be able to come back in a year to support them. :) We then had the opportunity to teach Chervine and Karissa again today. I did not get the chance to see the pet rats this time WHAT A BUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! not. There is one thing that I have noticed about being a missionary in Las Vegas, and that is that everyone here has either cats or dogs.  We then had a meeting with all the ward missionaries and we where able to discuss what we are going to do for our investigators. They are all so supportive!

wednesday: We had a pretty busy day! We taught Ashley twice today again. She has progressed so much from when we first met her. :) We then received a text referral for a lady who wanted to hear the discussions. Her name is Teresa and she is from Italy. :) She is super cute and really likes our church. She said that it is beautiful. She also said that her dad has told her that if she leaves her religion to make sure that she joins the Mormon church. And she also said she is too old to get baptized again. ( she is 81) And we told her that you can never be too old to get baptized so hopefully all works out. :) She also always calls us her Angels.  She is soo ADORABLE!  Then we also had a lesson with Charmayne again and we were able to answer some of her questions. It was great! :)

thursday: We had the opportunity to see Dustin and Maddie!!!! It has been soo long since the last time we saw them. :) I CANNOT EVEN TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I WAS TO SEE THEM! I SCREAMED!!!! They are doing awesome and Dustin said that he wants to be baptized and get married to Maddie!!!!!Whoop Whoop!! I am super excited about it. Dustin has progressed so much and he said that he needs God in his life. We really hope that he gets baptized SOON because he is ready now and we have already taught him all the lessons! WE just have to be patient. The reason why we did not get to see them for so long is because Maddie was sick, they are trying to get a car, and because Dustin has been trying to get a job. Other than that, he is ready to make a commitment with God and get baptized. We also got to teach Ashley again, twice :) She was super excited for her baptism on Saturday! 

friday: Oh boy! This was a crazy day! We saw Ashley in the morning and then she got the 24 hour bug!!! We were so nervous that the baptism would be canceled and everyone would be devastated!!!! but alas!!! all was well! We didn't get to teach our last lesson...it was just a cool object lesson..but that was okay! We went to the doctor for a few hours...and the diagnosis is that SISTER PANTOJA DOES NOT HAVE VALLEY FEVER!!!!!!!! Hallelujah!!!! Just some stinky allergies, We had dinner with Sister Jones! I always feel so much love at her house! She is so wonderful and nice! She helps us a ton with the work!

saturday: is a special day. ASHLEY WAS BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tim gave a talk and so did David! Then was the actual ordinance! It was great to see them together entering into the waters of baptism. They asked me to conduct the music. The last song we sang was "The Spirit of God"...I couldn't help but tear up. It reminded me of my own baptism when we sang that wonderful song.  In addition to the baptism, we were able to see Matt. He has already read to Alma 16!!!! He is doing so well. WE also saw Jacob. He found out that he will be serving in the intel part of the military. He wasn't excited but we are. He got past the Isaiah chapters in The Book of Mormon. 

sunday: was a great Sabbath day!!!!Ashley was confirmed a member of The Church! She was glowing with her radiant smile and her family surrounding her. We did not plan on any investigators coming to church yesterday because they all had other commitments. We were a little disappointed but we didn't let it get us down. There were a couple of really great talks. One was a return missionary and the other was a member of the High Council. His talk was about the atonement and it was super powerful. Then we headed on the gospel principles class with Matt, Jacob, Maddie and some other less actives we have been working with. We sat down and then who comes walking in? TERESA!!!! It was a Christmas Miracle!!!!! It was super, super, super exciting!!!! We ran up to her and gave her a big hug...She said, "Oh yes! I found my angels :)" It was such a great surprise. Later that evening we went to the Why I Believe fireside. We sang in the Choir together and I was reunited with some of my misson besties! It was great.

NOW FOR THE QUESTIONS OF YOUR SOUL:

Anything special you are doing for st. Patrick's day?

I ate a green salad, I wore a green sweater, and I am doing missionary work. Super special.

What has been the nicest thing you have done for somebody?

Saved peoples souls!!! It is a pretty nice thing to do. Nobody wants to be damned! :)

What foods have you grown to like and what foods that you liked do you not care for anymore?

I actually like beans now. I remember when mom used to make taco soup and i would always pick them out. Now i enjoy them. I tried palm tree yesterday. Not a personal favorite. i also do not care for milk or ice cream now...i think it is a lactose problem. not sure. 

What's your favorite part of your day as a missionary?

I love my study times! I get three hours everyday to study the gospel. It is the best ever :)

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!

Love,

Sister Tucker

p.s. Every member should read preach my gospel.