December 16

 Hello!!!
So I completly forgot to tell you last week but this was a shorter
transfer (5 weeks) so last Saturday was transfer calls!! but no
worries we didn't get one :) which we were super excited for!!! I love
sister haskell and we are just starting to really get our
companionship unity down so it will be great to get to spend more time
together! this coming transfer is a 7 week long one so that is a
little different. It ends at the start of Feb! which is weird to think
about. This is also Sister Ransom's last transfer :( I am still in
denial that she will be going home. It's been great to get to see her
as I have been here in Rapid.

So I think that today I am going to cut all my hair off. into an
A-line. I have been debating doing it for a while. It's just so
annoying sometimes when it is long. but then I have been growing it
out for so long! I just can't decide. but I think that I will cut it!!
Crazy crazy I know!!!

oh also side note yes I got the packages! thank you!! they have been
fun to open every morning. The Mia Maids sent me and sister haskell
the 12 days of Christmas too so that has been fun :) I also got the
card from Dawnielle and the package from grandma and grandpa! so thank
you. The young woman sent this cute little paper tree and we put it up
on one of the tree trunks in our apartment and all of our presents are
under it. It's way cute. We are planning on skyping home in the
morning on Christmas. Also I was thinking that we could try to do a
group skype thing if anyone else would like to particpate. I am in the
same time zone as you again so I was thinking most likely some time
between 10 and 11? we will see for sure. I will call mom or dad on
their phones to tell them to get on skype. I am super excited to talk
to you!! I love you all so much!! Christmas season is a fun time to be
a missionary. We get to wish people a Merry Christmas all the time.
The other day we were tracting and we knocked on this guys door. He
told us he was baptist and wasn't super excited that we were there.
But as we left we both just smiled and wished him a merry christmas
and his face lit up and he said Merry Christmas to you too. It was
just a really cool moment. He didn't invite us back or anything but
that simple merry christmas brigthened his day and maybe now he thinks
of mormon missionaries a little bit better than he did before we
knocked on his door.

So this Christmas we as the missionaries have invited our ward to give
the gift of the gospel. We have encouraged them all to wrap up a copy
of the book of mormon and give it as a gift to someone this holiday
season. so I have the same challenge for all of you at home! get a
copy of the book of mormon. pray to know who needs it. write your
testimony in the front cover, wrap it with care, and give it to
someone that you love!!! This gospel is the best gift that each of us
has in our lives. This is the perfect season to share it with those
that we love. I know that the Lord will bless us as we strive to share
His gospel. People notice that we are different. And even in Utah
there are plenty of people waiting to hear of it!!!! And maybe they
aren't a non-member. Maybe they are a less active member who needs
some love. They may need an invitation to come back. To know that they
are loved and wanted in Christ's church. Here in Rapid we have had the
opportunity to work with many less active members and watching them
come back to the gospel has been amazing. It's such a joy!!!! The
other day one of the woman texted us and told us she hadn't had coffee
for 4 days!!! and we were so excited for her!!!!!! It's the small
things that bring real joy. I just love this gospel and I love being a
missionary!!!!!!!!!

This Church is true. I know it with all of my heart. The Lord wants us
to be humble. And when we are we are truly happy. In the past few
months I have had to come to the harsh reality that I don't always
have to be right. (a shock to all of you I am sure) In our last zone
conference Sister Anderson said something that has really touched my
heart. She told us years ago she heard someone say that it's okay to
be right but it's better to be nice and kind. And I have realized that
yes I am right about a lot of things. and honestly I am wrong about a
lot of things. But in the grand scheme of things it really doesn't
matter most of the time. The Lord is always right. and He doesn't go
around bragging about it or being rude. so why on earth should we? as
I have worked to be humble I have realized that I am happier. and it's
really not that big of a deal to admit that you don't always have to
be right. When I let go of that and submit to God knowing that He will
help me, I have been able to over come a lot of things. The Lord loves
us. And sometimes He humbles us because He knows it's what is best for
us. If I had one thought to really share with you this week it would
simple be what Sister Anderson shared

"it's okay to be right, but it's better to be nice and kind.

I love you all with all of my heart!
Love always your favorite sister missionary,
Sister Boudreaux

So this email might be a little short this week. Things have been a
bit crazy! and we had a sweet older lady in our ward sign up to feed
us today and she wanted to feed us lunch. So we have a little bit less
e-mail time so we can make it there on time and still get everything
else done we need to today!

This past week has been CRAZY!!! oh goodness. but good too! As I was
writing to my mission president this morning I was thinking about how
this past week I really felt like I was serving others the way that
Christ would. We have the opportunity to go and visit a woman in the
hospital here last sunday and  then she called us again on Tuesday
night because she needed some help. We were able to do some laundry
for her and arrange for the elders to get her a blessing. Wed. night
we watched as the Elders gave her a wonderful blessing. The spirit was
super strong! Friday we were near the hospital so we decided to stop
in and see her and found out that she was getting to go home! it was
great to get to serve here while she was here and we are glad that she
is home again :) I was also able to shovel the walk of one of our
elderly investigators. Saturday afternoon we ran into an elderly man
in our ward who's wife is very sick with cancer and we were able to
sit with him for a while and just talk. We could tell that it helped
him a lot to get his mind off of things for a bit. He has done TONS of
family history work and had some really special stories to share with
us. These were all super simple things but they really made a
difference to me and my week. I have sticky note above my desk with a
quote from Preach My Gospel on it that says "we need to be Christ like
missionaries, not just do missionary things." As I have thought about
that quote it makes me realize that there are some days when I just go
through the motions because it's what missionaries do. I wake up and
work out and study and all of that because that is what missionaries
do! and then there are other days when I feel like I am serving and
loving others because it's what the Savior would do if He was here. I
hope that as I continue on my mission that I will be able to be a
Christ like missionary, not just go through the motions doing
missionary things.

There are tons other random little things that happened this week but
I don't even have the energy to write all of them. But it's okay
because we survived the week! and this week should hopefully be a
really good one!!! Last Friday night at our ward Christmas party the
bishop dressed up as the Grinch. The part was a how the grinch stole
Christmas theme. It was super cute!! and the bishop was super funny.
They also had a musical talent show which was fun to watch.

As far as weather goes it has been FREEZING!!! as in like wear two
pairs of tights cold!! The other day I told Sister Haskell that it was
frozen nose hairs cold here!! :) but we have been lucky that we have a
car and on the days that it has been cold we have had many different
places to go and people to see. So we didn't have to spend too much
time out in the cold! I still hate it with all of my heart but the
Lord has blessed and watched over us. So I guess I can't complain! and
We have gotten super creative about how to stay warm!! I think I have
inhaled more hot chocolate in the past week than in the last 10 years
of my life! Hopefully it will warm up soon :)

oh goodness I don't know what else to write home about. Life is good!
the work moves on!!! I love it here! This ward is amazing and I love
the people. Stacie and Tyler my converts from Grand Forks might be
coming to Rapid for Christmas so I might get to see them! I am super
excited about that.
oh and I got to see Sister Ransom quite a bit last week because we had
zone conference. which is when our whole zone comes together and
President and Sister Anderson do some training along with a bunch of
other mission leadership. It was really really good! I learned a ton!
I also got to have an interview with President Anderson. He is
amazing! best mission president ever!!!! He thanked me for my hard
work. He surprised me by telling me that any sister in the mission
would be happy to serve with me! who knew? not me hahaha :) He is an
amazing man and I love him and his wife so so much! serving in rapid
is a blessing because we get to see them more often. It's just a
wonderful place to be!!

OH! also random side note so last week we went and played basketball
and it was awesome! so when we first asked the Elders if we could play
with them one of the elders made a comment about how the could use
some cheerleaders. which I was like um... excuse me?? but then after
we played last week that same Elder told me that he took back his
comment that I could in fact play basketball. and I said thank you
elder cook I accept your apology :) so my basketball skills are still
some what intact! and the elders realized that I do in fact understand
the game :) so that was nice.

well I had better get going! I love you all tons and tons!!!! thank
you for the love and the prayers!

Love always,
Sister Boudreaux