I'M NOT IN PRISON :)

COCO TURNED 3 THIS WEEK!

For a minute there we didn't think January was ever going to end. Happy February!

This week’s happenings:

We got a call from the elders Monday night asking when we were going to give up the car...we completely spaced that it was our bike week. Surprise! But it worked out great because it was in the 60's all week and we biked around without jackets or anything. IT’S BEEN BEAUTIFUL

 

We got a text from the Elders this week that said "how do you make eyebrows grow back" haha turns out they went to get haircuts and instead of "trimming" his eyebrows they ended up shaving them almost completely off...hahahahh. They are now just the patchiest little things. hahaha

Ward Chili Cookoff Saturday night. Chili and cornbread is still my favorite so that worked out great. Even better though we had 5 investigators show up! 

 

LUNCH AT KATIE'S WITH SAM AND JOE!

All 3 of our dates right now were at church this week. Woohoo! The ward has been champs at welcoming them in and giving rides and such. 

One of them was our investigator that I've been mentioning recently.  Her biggest hold up was her husband wouldn't give her permission to be baptized. So we've been praying real hard that he would have a change of heart. At the beginning of the week when we went over to teach we asked her about it and she said that he gave her permission! YAY!  We've been teaching her for around 2 weeks now and she is already in 2 Nephi and studies from the gospel principals book. She is so humble and ready to learn. She and her kiddos stayed for all 3 hours again this week. They love it. We have her baptism scheduled for next Sunday. 

We were preparing for a lesson on obedience this week and I read through Thomas S. Monson's talk he gave in the last conference during the priesthood session on keeping the commandments. He said:

"God’s commandments are not given to frustrate us or to become obstacles to our happiness. Just the opposite is true. He who created us and who loves us perfectly knows just how we need to live our lives in order to obtain the greatest happiness possible. He has provided us with guidelines which, if we follow them, will see us safely through this often treacherous mortal journey. He understands that when we keep the commandments, our lives will be happier, more fulfilling, and less complicated. Our challenges and problems will be easier to bear, and we will receive His promised blessings."

When we teach commandments often people think it’s just insane that we don't drink coffee or won't work on Sundays. These things feel restricting and maybe even a bit ridiculous. We hear replies like "my one cup of coffee in the morning isn't going to send me to hell." Yea they are probably right, but it definitely is robbing them of happiness that can't be reached by disobedience. 

I started to create a list of blessings I've seen in my life because of simple obedience to the commandments. Here are a few:

-I'm not addicted to anything

-I'm not in prison :) 

-I'm healthy (minus the accessible amount of cornbread I ate on Saturday)

-I have full access to my agency, always.

-I have the spirit with me to help me make decisions and warn me of danger

-I know how I can be free of guilt from mistakes and how to start fresh each week 

-I know how to get answers from God to any question I have

etc etc etc

The commandments certainly aren't limiting me in anyway. "Just the opposite is true."

I hope all is well in Utah! I'm not too jealous of all the cold and snow I must admit :) 

Love y'all

Te quiero ️

 HERMANA BARRERA KILLIN IT WITH THE BRAIDS!