"Hey, we just met you, and this is CRAZY but here's our number....get baptized maybe!!!"

I wanted to share this scripture

Colosians 3:12-15

Hi Familly! How are you all doing? Thank you for all your love and support. I really appreciate all that you do for me and all your love and prayers. I hope you know how much I love you all and miss you. The letter writing top three list was for hand written letters but mom and dad definitely take the #1 spot for emails on mondays. If you just keep emailing me every week that is wonderful. You don't need to change, just keep writing your emails and send me letters when you can. I appreciate it. I look forward to mondays and your emails. They always uplift me and inspire me. I was just teasing! I do like letters though.

About the money situation. I don't know why but it was a tough little bit and i was struggling having enough money on my mission card. The members hadn't been feeding us much and I was just running out of money. I had to get a few different things but i am being a lot more careful this month and trying to add match so that I can save more money. I will let you know if I need anything. Thank you though. 

This week has been so awesome. A lot of beautiful things have happened. First is the baptism of ana mejia. Wow. It was such a spiritual experience. This whole week we have been visiting her and teaching her. She just was so nervous to be baptized but so ready. She was really excited too. You could see her just understanding more and more as we continued to teach her. 

Last night at her baptism. A few things were running a lot a bit late but it ended up perfect. We went and watched from the back of the font to help her out with her towel and everything. She was in the water and Hno Guillen baptized her. When she came up from the water, she was smiling so big and said, wow. We left the font and gave her a huge hug. She just started to sob. We just sat there hugging her. The spirit was so strong. :) It was so special. I love her so much. I will never forget that moment. I know her kids are so proud of her. Her brother and sister in law were able to be there. Hermana Knappen and I sang Families can be together forever and a lot of members came to support her. Her kids and her are all baptized now. Now for her parents! :) It was a wonderful experience.

After the baptism, we went to carlos' house to teach his friend Fabian. Carlos was our member present and taught Fabian how to pray and also gave the sweetest testimonies of the book of mormon, of the happiness he has felt with the gospel and also that Heavenly father is listening to our prayers. He had this huge smile the whole time. I am excited for them. Fabian told us that if he knows it is true that he will get baptized. We invited him to pray about a specific date. Carlos is such a solid member. I know he is going to help so many people in his pueblo!

Justin is engaged??!?!?!?!? WHAT? all of my friends. all of em. its okay. maybe i'll just stay on my mission forever. :D or marry some rich latino. so start looking. make sure they can cook though. jokes jokes. Congrats to him. I sent him a birthday card. Hna crandall told me that he sent me a letter so eventually i'll get that. ohhhh speaking of latinos and marriage. Funny story happened this week. We were talking to everyone and we began talking to this man outside. He is Pentecostal. He is probably in his 50's or 60's! Soooo We are talking to him and he tells me...you are american? I said yes, he said it sounds like you were born speaking spanish and that is was your first language. I was like thanks. We continued talking about Jesus Christ and the gospel and he asks me, are you married? I said...no, WE are single until after our missions. He then says...wow, i wish i could go back 25 years and be with you...I was like EWWWWWWW. I kind of laughed and then completely ignored his comment and said...so do you want los misioneros (the boy missionaries) to come and visit you? He was like I am a busy man...but he did accept a book of mormon and said he would begin to study it as well as call the elders when he saw them next. He lives in the elders area and supposedly sees them all the time. It was funny. :) 

I also found a cockroach in my clothes and almost passed out. We were on exchanges and I was going to get in the shower. I saw it and freaked out and ran out of the bathroom screaming  and then made the poor hermanas that i was on exchanges with go and get it. It was soooo huge. totally dead but still nasty. There were two legs left in my clothes (clean) sooo i washed all of them again..just in case. :D 

Oh one last weird/funny story of this week. Sooo i love watermelon now. The Hispanics always make really yummy juices. So we made a water melon juice. I scraped the watermelon out and it looked like a hat...i totally said I want to put this on my head. hermana knappen being the supportive companion that she is was like...yeah, do it. So i did. It was really quite satisfying. The water was like dripping down your neck all cold. It was super funny. We were laughing really hard. I made her put it on and it was like a little jewish hat. I was wearing it dancing around our house and she was laughing so hard. I think i am going to modge podge it and send it to dad for his birthday, just in case he is balding so he can have a cool hat to cover it. maybe he could use it as something for his new calling as scout master! 

Back to spiritual...

We had an awesome finding miracle this week. We talked to this little girl named nikki last week. She told us to come and visit her mom. We set up an appointment and then went this last tuesday. The mom was there. We started talking to her and then she told us that she was baptized in the church when she was young. She told us how that her mom died two years after she was baptized but that the church was so important to her mom. She said that she doesn't remember anything about it but that she liked going and then they stopped, when she passed away. Her daughter isn't a member and we found her too. I just have a strong testimony that Heavenly Father is watching out for each of us. I know we met her daughter for a reason and that she wanted us to talk to her mom for a reason. We have an appointment with her and her mom on tuesday. Hermana Diana is so sweet. I am super excited to see her again. Totally going to come back and Nicole is going to be baptized.

Well Family, I love you all a lot. I hope you all are doing well. I am loving my mission so much. i am so grateful that I am here. I know that this work is true! I also know that Heavenly Father loves us so much and he wants to bless us as we are obedient and do our best. I hope you are reading the book of mormon. IT will strengthen our testimony of Jesus Christ and of this gospel, It will give us strength to carry on, it will give us counsel and guidance from God and answer our prayers.

Remember who you are and to whom you belong too. 

Off finding the tens of thousands!!!

Hermanita Rife

Do you like how my tan line is???

ps - mila is a DOLL!! those pictures were darling! :D

Ana's Baptism

"It was a wonderful experience"

Now for some "FUN" pictures of this crazy girl we call "Our Missionary"...

sporting the "watermelon hat"  :)

And...yet another one!!!

How she can talk other people into being as goofy as she is HER MOTHER will never know!!!! :)

But they at least know how to have a good time.  

And how to bring a smile to the faces of us here at home.  

Notice...the awesome "Texas" tan line!

Well....I guess there is another fun week down in the life of our cute missionary daughter.  She definitely knows how to add so much to our week and we LOVE getting her emails and letters and  hearing of her experiences.  Hope you all that take time to read her emails enjoy it as much as we do.  We love her and appreciate the blessing she has been in our lives.  Keep working hard Kynsie Kell!  Love ya, Mom