Called to Serve: week 39: somos las hermanas VAQUERAS!!!

Hola a todos!!!

For all my gringos, a "vaquera" is a COWGIRL!! The Vernal rodeo (5th hugest in the US!) was this weekend and we popped in for one night to talk to some country folk. We didn't have the best luck with the Hispanic community, but it was fun to see even a little bull riding, team roping, and mutton busting! It def made me want to come back here next summer to watch the whole thing!! On Saturday, we were telling a member we had gone to the rodeo and so he of course asked if we had stayed to swing dance after to which we laughed and said "we wish!!" His wife was a country girl back in the day and had a bunch of cowboy boots she doesn't wear and said we both needed new pairs for our next rodeo if we ever wanted to find ourselves cowboys haha. She sent us both home with a pair of cowboy boots on the spot (and mine are brand new!!)! Man, the people here are TOO KIND!!!

Monday was a special all day zone p day bc of the 4th, so we went to Roosevelt and spent all afternoon with with zone playing sports! Ultimate frisbee, kickball, dodgeball, spikeball, kanjam...it was a blast and I love our zone! We also had MDC with them this week, so now the Uintah basin zone is tighttttt! Alsooo the elders have been hitting us w pranks, but we ATTACKED them good! I could leave a fat list of how we got them back, but that'll be for another day... but lmk if you need prank ideas bc I got mucho ;)

On Wednesday, we got to do baptisms in the vernal temple with our friend Steicy!! It was amazing!! The vernal temple is teeny, but so beautiful! Steicy told us she had been struggling recently with some mental health stuff, but being able to go to the temple helped her to feel the spirit and feel the Savior's love for her. I was so glad to be able to go with her and see her spirit lift in the house of the Lord. That is the best place to be during hard times in life and we were so happy to be able to be there with her!!

Our Friday weekly planning session was speedy as we had to drop basically half our teaching pool. We can't seem to get in contact with our friends because of crazy work schedules, summer vacations, their own religious beliefs holding them back, multiple people moving, or their lack of commitment keeping. Super bummer summer, but we are praying that our freed up schedule leads to miracles finding like it did at the beginning of the transfer. We also had a big focus as a zone at MDC on how we can be more obedient, level 3, consecrated missionaries the day before and took that into our comp inventory. We made a list of ways we can be more all in and focus on giving our all to the Lord's work. We've got one week left of the transfer and praying for miracles to find the elect out here!

MILAGRO: We have been on the struggle bus trying to get our friends to come to church with us this whole summer. We set a goal this week to focus on WHY they weren't coming and saw mega miracles. We had 4 friends at church!!! Yahir was excited to come see the friends he met at sports night in church the next day, Eduardo made us go to an hour of his evangelist Christian church but then happily came with us, Jose came with his friends Hector and Trino who are the bestttt lowkey fellowshippers, and we had a guy come with his GF who wants to be baptized. Crazy!!! All I can say is...MIRACLES!!!!

AND speaking of miracles, Moroni 7:37! With faith, we will see miracles. But there are 2 parts to that. First, we need to have faith that miracles will happen. Trusting in God that he will bless us by placing his hand in the midst of our lives is key. And second, we need to have faith to see miracles as miracles. So many people mistake miracles for coincidences or luck, but in reality we are just always completely surrounded by miracles! God truly is among us!!!

Bueno, Hermana dougall :)