oh yeah...this was an intense week! Happy 23rd birthday to me! First of all, mom, your package got here the day before my birthday!!! PERFECT! :) Thank you so much! I am addicted to twizzler strawberry licorice...not sure why. I hated it before my mission and now I crave it! And I love the peanuts, which I hated before the mission too....but I crave things like that now. So thank you! The cards were awesome and of course I have looked at the pictures a thousand times by now! Sister Flores thoroughly enjoyed the photos of when I was young. She was dying and then said..."You look just like Kaitlin!" yeah....good times. Secondly, Sean, I totally thought about you like crazy this last week. The elders were going off about how they were all protective of their little sisters and told stories and I was dying laughing and then crying. I can't remember if I already emailed that. BUT...anyway. I have been thinking about you a lot lately! How are things? You better be at mom's house when I call.
As for my subject for this email, let me explain. This week was INSANE!!! BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!!!!!! We were busy and we reached all of our goals, and we're seeing the work pick up again since we've been working hard with OYMs. We could be working harder though and definitely exercising our faith more. Funny that a few of you wrote about that and (mom...your articles you sent were amazing!!!! You're always so in tune!) I have been focusing my study lately on Faith and working to build my faith. I just finished the Book of Mormon again and I'm addicted to that beautiful book. Anyway, we both felt we needed to OYM a new area and Boom...here we have new investigators tucked into this little cranny that we didn't even know existed! It's beautiful really. So we were in an appointment and I hear what sounds like thunder, but I look up and the sky is blue...so I think..I must be hearing things. So...about 2 minutes later I hear it again and Dayleen says, "We need to get inside." and so she runs for the house and I'm thinking...why are you running??? Then...30 seconds later it's like a wall of water is just falling from the sky! It was the best storm ever! So we're walking to another appointment in the rain, and we get to a place where it's pretty slippery from the mud and I turn to Sister Flores and say, "Watch out, it's slippery here...AH!!!!!" And the next thing I know I'm on the ground, with mud all over me. Yeah...it was pretty funny. AND...we still went and taught the next appointment. :) I washed up at their spicket outside of their house. Then...walking home Sister Flores and I saw 4 random fireworks and she made me her Chicken Adobo...holy...it was a beautiful birthday!
Oh, we also had an earthquake here that we felt. It was pretty funny. Sister Flores thought I was just shaking her bed to freak her out. haha! It was just 2 big tremors...but it was really cool! That's about it for this week. I love you tons and I hope to hear from you all soon again! I love getting your emails and letters. I live for it. The church is true my lovely family! It is remarkable! Don't given into to Satan and his ridiculous temptations! Life is too fragile to give into him. We have more power than he does...we have bodies. He never will. Love you all! Stay strong! Do one thing to bring you a little closer to your Heavenly Father and Savior this week. Until next week, (and president told me I'm definitely transferring..) GOD SPEED ! :)
All my love and prayers,
Sister Stadler
P.S. Tara, thanks for the package! holy I love you! Ariel...loved your email! Sister Ball (not my mtc comp, another awesome one...totally wants to room with us after. totally pwede!) Jared and Lauren and Brother and Sister Oldham, congrats on the marriage! :) Hope it all went smoothly! Amanda and Joshua, happy late anniversary!