Hi my favorite family!!

Well, I am super homesick today. I don't know what has gotten into me, but every time I read an email from someone in the family, I almost start crying.

This morning I was going through the pictures that mom has sent me, and I was just so so grateful for our family. I miss you all so much. It is hitting me how much I miss you. Alia sent me an email last week saying that she had a dream I died. I almost started crying. Can you guys imagine if I DIED? oh that would be so sad for you! Haha. just kidding. But really, I would prefer to be with you all for eternity. Ok? I don't want to be without ANY of you (including ace and liam and lil' baby giant embryo in alia's tummy). 

Let me just give an overview of some of the highlights of this week and then maybe I will go into detail:

(Not in order of importance)
- We caught a cat :) His name is Cooper and he is ours.... kind of. 
- Cassidy Cooley got baptized and it was glorious :) I love that girl, so much. 
- Dougie Kaapana (hawaiian and i love him and his family) committed to baptism on June 30th!!!! and He came to church with his family :) :) 
- A little girl bore her testimony to me in the middle of the street. It was so cute . 
- A little boy of a less active family began his prayer with "oh god, the eternal father"
This week we have been consistent and diligent in working and trying PMF, formers, potentials, working with the ward, etc. WE didn't see much success come from it, and I must admit my faith was wavering a little bit. The Lord humbled me, AGAIN, and helped us to see a wonderful miracle with Dougie. He said that he wanted to be baptized and he came to church with his family on Sunday. My heart was brim with joy!! He said that he wanted his girlfriend's dad to baptize him. He is inactive so the dad said that he will have to start coming back to church and get in shape. The Lord is providing miracles. It hit me so hard this week that the Lord can do this work without us, but without the Lord we CANNOT do this work. 

I feel like I am never humbled sufficiently. I will spend the rest of my days learning to be humble and have charity, but I'm grateful for it because it means that I get to access the atonement everyday. 

This week Sister Kim and I are going to fast on Tuesday and then we will tract as much as we need to until we find those who are prepared by the Lord. Please pray for Maple Valley and that we will have the unity and faith to produce the miracles that we know the Lord has in store. 

Cassidy's baptism was blissful. It was so smooth and the ward supported her so much. Her family hates Mormons, but she has been coming to church faithfully for the past year and finally turned 18. She is amazing. Her heart is so pure. It is humbling to meet her because at first glance, she's pretty ordinary.  But when you talk to her- she shocks you with her beautiful kind heart! You can't judge a book by the cover :) I gave the talk on baptism and then we had everyone write her notes and we took a ton of pictures. We are going to put it in a book and give it to her as a present! 

I love mom and dad. Just saying. 

Cooper is a cat. and we caught him. actually he followed us tracting and tried to go into people's houses so when we went back to the car he jumped in and just sat on our laps! WE named him by the way. We went back the next day and he was just sitting on someone's porch so we pulled over and called him and he ran and jumped in the car! I love him, so i set him free. In one of the pictures, i was pretending to kiss him then he leaned up to my mouth and kissed me! It surprised me and it was gross.
So Sister Kim and I met this kid on the street... and he was...let's just say "a little different".  I don't think she has met someone like that before because as soon as he started talking she started laughing! Then she didn't know what to say and so she said " oh sorry, something spicey in my nose" Oh boy. I lost it. I couldn't contain myself. I laughed so hard. That was NOT one of our finer moments!

One of the less-active men in our ward served a mission in New Zeland and taught me Maori :) 

Kia Kaha Kito Rungo Pai ( Be strong in the gospel)
And now for a shout out to the Philippinos...

hdfkasdofiudfgheuyeue ( it's how you say I love you in Cebuano... sumner said to just bang on the keyboard), 

Sister Mara.