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