It's a Small World After all....‏

Oh my word, GUESS WHO I MET!!!!! Harvey Johnson - cousin to Grandpa Cardon!! We came home for studies last night and there was a random stranger visiting with Sister Alford (the member we live with).  We said normal hellos and such and then after a few minutes he asked if I knew any Cardon's in El Paso.  When I told him my dad grew up there we made the connection of our relations!  And it was just insane! Seriously, it was a very exciting moment.  I'm finding relations everywhere!

Things that have happened this week...

Well, transfers news happened!  We found out that Sister Nielsen is leaving me :(  And I'll be staying in Flora Vista and will be training again!  So, my address will be staying the same! Address for anything - P.O. Box 719 Flora Vista, NM 87415

I'm excited to train again, it should be good!  But it's still sad to see Sister Nielsen go.  I was expecting to be the one to leave while she stayed and trained... but the Lord knows what He's doing.  I'm happy for the opportunity :)  Poor trainee though, she's gonna have to get used to having a lot of exchanges for her first transfer.  Should be good!

This week I got to do a lot of hair stuff!  We ombre'd Sister Nielsen's hair (super subtle, but super cute) and then I cut Sister Alford's, Sister Gerber-Chavez, and Sister Navarro's hair.  It was a busy Monday to say the least.

We also got to go out with our Mission President's wife for a night and it was amazing!!! She is just incredible and I love her so much!  She took us out to dinner at a Mexican place, joined us for 3 lessons, then observed our nightly planning.  The lessons went really smoothly and the Spirit was there in abundance.  It was wonderful!

We've been sharing the Christmas video with as many people as possible, and I hope you're doing the same!!! It's such a simple video, and it's really heart-warming.  It truly brings in the Spirit of Christmas.  So check out A Savior Is Born on Christmas.mormon.org or look it up on youtube.  Or hopefully you've seen it on facebook and have shared it yourself by now.  If you haven't, do it!  Whether you're LDS or not! :) Cause it's all the same belief in Christ :)

The most accurate picture of our district ever... And a nice one :) of district #2

We had our last district meeting for the transfer!  Some pictures describe our district perfectly... And I got a picture with Elder Schellenberg!  I don't know if I mentioned this before or not, but Elder Schellenberg is my Zone Leader, so I get to see him all the time!  It's crazy how many people I'm related to out here...

And then I got the pictures of my new niece!!! AH!!!! I was so excited when Sister Alford showed me the pictures!!! And it happened on my 6 month mark day!!! So it should be pretty easy to remember how old she is :)

I also had my first Missionary Leadership Conference on my 6 month mark day.  Holy Hannah.  The meeting was INCREDIBLE!!!! I learned SO MUCH! And learned so many things that will improve missionary work in the mission!  Something that was *really* focused on was planning.  Previously, planning was good, but now it's a lot more efficient.  I love meetings!!!!!! Really, I love learning new things!  And being a Sister Training Leader definitely gives me lots of opportunities to learn!  Also, they catered Costa Vida for lunch... no biggie... ;)

We had the opportunity to go to 2 Christmas parties this year!  Haha, it was great.  At Flora Vista's it was a Cowboy Christmas theme.  And we got to serve the meat :) But then we were given a hard time because we had been told to portion control everything so we were giving fairly small portions to everyone.  Then at the end of the night we had a ton of meat left over... The Young Men's president wouldn't stop teasing us about it.  Even in ward council it was brought up.  It made us laugh.  Then Aztec 1st's party was a lot more Christ centered which was good.  Sister Nielsen and I sang a duet together!  It went pretty well!  We sang Silent Night while a ward member signed the song next to us.  It was awesome!

We met with Fred on Saturday.  This old cowboy is the sweetest man of my life!!!! He loves the missionaries so much and is the kindest person ever!  He gave us both an incredible Christmas present... I just couldn't even believe it.  This man is the greatest.

Then the last part of the week has been filled with goodbyes for Sister Nielsen.  I've loved every moment I've had with this Sister and I'm so excited to continue to watch her grow!!! Now on to the next trainee :)  I'll be finding out who it is tomorrow, so I'll let you know next Monday!

I love you all SO much and hope you are doing well!!! I also love this gospel with all my heart.  Christmas is fantastic because everyone has a focus on the Savior, but I'm thankful that I get to think about Him all year round and think about everything that He has done for me.  Which is a lot.

I love you!!!

Love,

Becca :)