Updates from Hermana Goudie: CONFERENCE!!

I never was one to love watching conference before my mission. But can I just say that conference is so stinking awesome!!!!!!!! I loved it :) It is such a wonderful opportunity that we have to listen to our prophet and his apostles to know how we can follow Christ more and better ourselves in the gospel so that we can be happier :) I cant wait until the talks are printed so I can read them and keep learning from them! On Sunday we had investigators come so I went into Spanish and I didn't fully understand everything that was being said. But from what I did catch it was lovely.

Last week started off interesting. Sis. Richardson told the Elders that it was her 25th birthday which is both lies so they dropped off a cake to our apartment and as we were singing happy birthday my comp. shoved the cake into her face. It was hilarious! Sis. Richardson is leaving us in 4 days :( And we just found out that Sis. Christianson is leaving too :( So we are getting 2 different ASL sisters to come and live with us next week.

It was BIKE WEEK!!!!!!!! love it... not! But on our way home through the park this last week there was a car completely flipped over on the side of the road. The family had just flipped it and were walking away from the car and they all seemed fine. I have no idea how it happened but it was crazy. They knocked over a wrong way sign in the process and my comp. may have taken it and it may or may not be in our apartment now... On April Fools at like 9:23 we were on our way home with ASL in their car (I love living with them especially on bike week because they give us lots of rides) and we realized we hadnt played an April Fools joke. So... we stopped by the Pinn. Mnt. and North Elders apartment on the way home and told them they need to come out right now because we needed their help. Sis. Christianson has been feeling really sick lately. So the Elders came running out all worried and jumped in the car where sis. christianson was coughing and saying she couldnt breath and that she was dying... they all seemed pretty nervous and after about 20 seconds the sisters started laughing and then the Elders realized it was a joke and then we hopped in the car and made it back home on time. Oh missionary april fools jokes... a little bit ridiculous ;)

So Elder Ramirez bought a Ukelele on his mission from Amazon (but doesnt know how to play) so he is letting me borrow it :) I love it SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! It reminds me of camping this last year and learning to play Makaylas around the camp fire. I was able to figure out some chords and can play a few hymns and other songs and I have been playing it a lot lately. I brought it to the church and after the first session of conference on Saturday while the other missionaries played soccer I played the Uke. After the first session on Sunday we had a jam out session with this member playing the piano who also has an amazing voice, me on uke, and us sisters singing as well. It was so fun!

I finally met Hermano Palonco this week! They took us out to dinner at Cicis pizza and then we went to their house and had a good discussion about why church is important. He told us why he didnt go to church anymore and we committed him to come this next week. He is so funny and I love that family so much :)

This week while we were riding our bikes through the skreets of Little Rock we stopped at this house that I had seen Hispanics at a few days before. They werent there the first time we knocked but we had already locked our bikes up so we decided to walk down the street to where more Hispanics live and as we were on our way back to our bikes there was a little puppy on a leash running towards us but no owner. It kept getting in the street and I didnt want it to get run over so I picked the leash up and then we thought we would try this same house again that we knocked on and ask if it was their dog. As we were about to walk up to their door the Hispanic lady, Sarah, came out! We were able to meet her and ask to share a message with her and her family. She let us in and we did a really bomb how to begin teaching with them! They seemed really cool and said that they would come to church and be baptized when they said they know this was true. I know that the Spirit was there in that lesson guiding us to know how to say what we needed to to apply it to them and their lives.

We had a lesson with Darius this last week with the ASL sisters. He is so hilarious. His prayers are the best prayers I have ever heard. He prayed about being baptized on the 12th and said that he would be talking to him later tonight so that he can learn how to finish this race. I want to pray like him one day.

CONFERENCE!!!!!!!!!! So awesome! One of the biggest things I got out of it was that we need to defend the faith. This is a battle and we need to stand firm to what we believe and it is going to be hard. But that is why we are here at this time. Because we are the strongest and God knows that we can do it. We need to have faith in Him and trust Him and keep building our testimonies upon this rock, or gospel of Jesus Christ, because if we dont, we will fall.

I learned how to make papusas this week! Elder Castaneda and Ramirez taught us how before conference on Saturday. I cant wait to make them with yall when I get home in uno ano mas! Also Luis and Jessica (his daughter) came to conference! I love them! Luis is getting a piano in his house! I am so excited :) we had lunch with everyone who was at the church inbetween sessions and it was fun to see all the members and missionaries together from the spanish and english. Maria (juniors mom) and her nephew came to conference. I sat next to them and when Thomas S. Monson got up to talk it was so cool to say, "El es nuestro profeta" and feel the spirit testify to me and them. She then said, "En actual?" And I said "Si!" She was writing notes in her Book of Mormon because we told her to come with a question and that it would be answered. I really do feel like she got an answer and I cant wait to talk to her more about it!

We had dinner last night with Ben and Tom (the people that live right by our apartment and paid for us to go to the zoo). They are the nicest people ever. We taught them how the Bible testifies of the Book of Mormon and gave them one and told them to read and pray about it. They take care of the Nuns and Sis. Richardson really wants to meet them before going back to Nauvoo so we might go meet them this week.

One last thing this week. THERE WAS A TORNADO WARNING THIS LAST WEEK!!!!!!!!!! It terrified me! At about 12 at night the alarm went off in our apartment and I jumped out of bed to check it and it said it was a warning for thunderstorms. I hadnt realized but there was lots of lightning and thunder so I tried to lay back down and about 2 min. later it went off again and said tornado watch and then we got a little scared so we put stuff in the bathroom in case it was going to come and then about 1 min. later it went off again and said tornado warning. I was freaking out but the other sisters were all calm. they checked the alarm and I guess the area it was set for was way up north so it wasnt even for our area. After they changed it to the right area it stopped going off and after a little while I was able to fall back asleep. but it was scary!!!

LOVE YOU ALL! the gospel is true! Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet today to lead and guide us!

Con amor,

Hermana Goudie