Dec. 30

So this past week was really good!!!! I loved it! I didn't really get
homesick at all. My Christmas as  a missionary will be one that I will
never ever forget! Christmas Eve I told you about our experience with
the car in the ditch... but we got it out! and that is the important
part. And we did it without the help of any of the Elders! in fact
they don't even know.... it's a secret! :) we also were able to go
Christmas caroling to a woman in our ward who's son passed away this
past year who was really struggling. She told us we brightened her
whole day! That morning as we studied Sister Haskell and I felt like
there was someone who needed us to see them on Christmas Eve. So we
prayed and Sister Wahlin's name came to mind! So we went. It was a
great experience to know that you are a instrument in the hands of the
Lord to bless His children.

Christmas day was amazing!!!! so after we skyped home we went and had
Christmas lunch with a family in the ward. It was good and we ate some
good food! Then we went to the mission home and got to spend time with
President and Sister Anderson and all the local missionaries. it was
so much fun! We talked and laughed and then they have a ping pong
table in the basement and so we went and played around the world which
is a big group game of ping pong. we were laughing super hard. good
memories :) There are some pretty great missionaries that I get to
serve around here! tons and tons of fun. Then we went to visit a few
less actives and an investigator and share some Christmas messages
with them. (So side note our cars only get a certain amount of miles
each month and we were running low) so we Christmas night we had a
different less active we wanted to see but she wouldn't be home until
around 8. we didn't have the miles to go home for dinner and then come
back up for her lesson so we went searching for somewhere we could
eat. The only place open was IHOP so we stopped to get some food. We
ended up sitting there for almost an hour before our food came so they
gave it to us for free! Crazy Crazy. but we were able to leave a
mormon.org card for our server and the manager actually came out and
talked with us for a bit too. So they were good contacts! Basically
Christmas was crazy busy but tons of fun!!!!

Then in our weekly planning session we talked about how recently we
have been making tons of great plans but we haven't been following
through on all of them. So I was like you you know what we need to
pull a Nike and just do it! :) so that is what we decided to do. We
prayed for courage to open our mouths and then we went to work!! oh my
goodness these past few days have been so good! We were able to
contact a ton of different people, we found some new less actives to
teach, we are working much better with the Elders, and then yesterday
as we were out tracting we found two new investigators! We had the
best week we have had so far this past week and it was amazing.
Yesterday was also Elder Kearsely's birthday one of the senior couple
missionaries who work in the office. and so they had us missionaries
over for lunch at their apartment. I love them! they are amazing.
There have been so many good memories made recently. I just love being
a missionary!!!!!!!!

So today as I got to the library I had an e-mail from Jadyn the cute
girl I was teaching in Grand Forks right before I left. and it made me
cry!! she is just amazing and I am so excited for her! She is set to
get baptized on March 8th!!!! I just love her. I decided that all I
need to do is get transferred to Fargo in march because then I could
get a ride up to Grand Forks! The Poppe's moved down to Fargo just
recently and they would totally take me up there and then I could be
at her baptism :) a girl can hope right..... and pray! :)

so pretty much I love you all and this week has been great. I miss you
but I am so glad that I have this wonderful opportunity to serve the
Lord. He loves us all so very much. He knows our needs and He wants to
bless us. As we strive to follow Him, He blesses us. I love this
message of the restoration. It's true! Every time I study it or teach
it I come to know that more and more. Sister Haskell has a hard time
learning things sometimes so recently I have been helping her to
understand the great apostasy better and as I have focused on
different ways to teach it and help her understand the history behind
it and what happened my testimony of it has increased. This morning
she started to understand how in the dark ages there really wasn't
religious freedom and that church was just the priest telling the
people what to do and that was it. They didn't get to read from the
bible they just heard what the priests told them and had to believe
it. When that clicked in her brain she looked at me and said, "that
just makes me so sad inside" I told her me too, but that is why we are
missionaries. That is why we share this gospel with all of the earth.
So that people can find the truth. That they can know they are
children of God and that He  has a way for them to return home to Him
again. I love the message of the restoration!!! and I know with all of
my hear that it is true.

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love always your favorite sister missionary,
Sister Boudreaux