Email #70 (Gilbert AZ)

December 22, 2014

This week was a good one! We had our Mission Christmas party and it was a blast!!! We let off a balloon with a little light on it for each person baptized this past year:)

Can't wait to skype with you in three days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hermana Lattin

 Oh...and this picture is me with a rusty machete.....#fierce

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Email #69 (Gilbert, AZ)

December 15, 2014

Hola hola holllla!

Sounds like this week was a pretty good one at the Lattin home! I'm glad you're getting into the Christmas spirit!

Life in Gilbert is wonderful. This week had to be one of the crowning moments of my mission, so much felicidad packed into one weekend. We had our mission tour with Elder Packer and then Vanessa's baptism later that night, then the Carrillo's sealing on Saturday and Valeria's baptism later that night:) And then on top of all of that I was able to be reunited some of my very best mission companions in the whole world, Chavs, Lana and Mama Bear (Sister Baria) all came back for the sealing and baptism!!! It was the best!

Vanessa's baptism is a moment I will never ever forget. Her journey to enter the waters of baptism is a story I will be telling for the rest of my life. She is amazing. After she was baptized we were in the bathroom while she was doing her makeup and we asked her how she felt. She said "Amazing". And then she stopped and just kept nodding her head, then she looked at us and with tear-filled eyes she said "I feel really good". I am so grateful that she took that step, that she demonstrated her faith and gave her heart to Heavenly Father. She is a shining example to me of how precious the Atonement of Jesus Christ is. I am convinced that the ONLY thing that could pull her out of where she was, physically, mentally and spiritually, was the changing and healing power of the Atonement. And she embraced that power fully in her life and allowed it to give her a second chance, to help her to start over and become completely clean of her past. As I've been on a mission, I've had the opportunity to see the Atonement change lives, the lives of investigators, the lives of my companions, and my own life. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that he really did suffer for all of our sins, pains and afflictions, just like Alma 7:11-13 says. Vanessa entering the waters of baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost reaffirmed that to me and I am so grateful that I was able to witness this miracle.

And Valeria's baptism was so so sweet! She is such an amazing, smart and all around awesome person. The Flores family is a special family. Daniel and Renata were taught by Hna Chavarri and Bukoskie and were baptized in June of this past year. At the time Valeria wasn't sure if she wanted to be baptized, so she decided to wait. The sisters kept on teaching her, but she just didn't feel ready. Then (kind of out of the blue), about 2 and a half weeks ago she decided she was ready! She was really excited to be baptized by her dad and it was such a tender moment to see him baptize her. He was pretty emotional afterwards. They are an amazing family.

Here are the answers to your preguntas, mamita!

1. answered above:)

2. No, Tim couldn't go to the baptisms, because he had work BUT he did have work off on Sunday and stayed at church for all three hours!!!:) And get this, we weren't able to be there until the very end and he still went and stayed for the whole thing. It's amazing to see how the Lord is helping him slowly but surely recognize the Spirit and the truth. We have a lesson with him this Wednesday, we'll let you know how it goes and how he's feeling about his baptism on January 3rd!:)

3. The tours at the Mesa Temple Christmas Lights are so fun!! We basically walk around and talk to as many people as possible. There are quite a few  Hispanics who come so we get to speak A LOT of Spanish:) They are short on Spanish sisters in that mission, so we are happy we get to help!

Okay, well I love you all so so so soooo much! Thank you for all your prayers, I can feel them lifting me up and making miracles happen over here in good ol' Gilbert! Have an amazing week!

LES QUIERO!!!

Hermana Lattin

Vanessa's Baptism!

Lots of support from old companions!

Valeria's Baptism

December 13, 2014

Chumps

Carillo's temple sealing!

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Email #68 (Gilbert, AZ)

December 8, 2014

Hey there fam!!!!

Isn't the Christmas season just the best? I am loving the "He is the Gift" Initiative, it's such an amazing tool, not to mention an awesome video that brings the Spirit and reminds us why we really celebrate Christmas.

Any miracles with sharing "He is the Gift" with your friends?? I want to hear them! And if you haven't had any experiences yet, keep trying!:)

So this week was crazy, in a good way. We taught a ton and are frantically trying to help two very amazing people be prepared for baptism this weekend. Vanessa is getting baptized this Friday the 12th!!! Man she is one of those people I am going to be talking about and sharing her story for the rest of my life. Her example of faith and total surrender to the Lord is an example we all need to look towards. She is SO excited for her baptism and so ready to make those promises with God. Vanessa has changed my life. Every time we meet with her I am in awe of the way the Atonement of Jesus Christ is able to infinitely heal, change and save us. She has made drastic changes in her life in the past 2 weeks and is doing everything she possibly can to allow God to change her life and that in turn is allowing her to become who her Heavenly Father wants her to become. She radiates the light of Christ wherever she goes. I can't even imagine how bright it will be after her baptism!! Her baptism will be one of the BEST days of my mission! I feel so blessed to be a tiny sliver of a part of her journey to baptism (and beyond:)), and I am so grateful to have her shining example of faith and strength in my life. She was able to meet President Nattress this past week (he came to a lesson with us) and he was so amazed and inspired by her faith. (P.S. President Nattress is the BEST!!!)

Also, we were able to teach Valeria and she committed to be baptized this Saturday as well! When we asked her why she wants to be baptized and she replied "Well, I want to be with my family forever." She is so cute and we are so excited for her to be baptized. The Flores family is one of my favorite families I've met out here. It will be a great day when they are sealed in the temple for time and all eternity a year from Valeria's baptism!

We also found a new investigator this week from our YSA ward! His name is Rafael, he's 19 and guess what... he's from Brazil!!:) haha gotta love those Brazilians! Vai Brasil! He was invited by a friend to go to a ward party and he went and met some elders there. They texted us about him and we went and saw him that night. He was very open and willing to learn, and even said yes to a soft commit to baptism! It was awesome. He didn't show up at church yesterday but we have a lesson with him tomorrow.

This past week was a week of milagros and we look forward to another one. Heavenly Father is blessing us so much, and honestly I can't even fathom why! Of course we are working hard and being obedient, but that's what I've been doing for my whole mission! God is so good and I'm so grateful for these miracles. I'm not going to lie though, training is stressful and HARD! Sister Haycock is so awesome but it's just hard teaching a new missionary how to be a missionary and teach her Spanish and be in charge of the area and worry about all your investigators, recent converts, less actives and members that all need to be visited.... I just pray that Heavenly Father can work through my weaknesses and what I lack in organizational skills and leadership skills! I am learning and growing a lot, and I know that Heavenly Father is giving me a chance to see all my weaknesses and faults through this experience so he can make those weaknesses become strong:) Ether 12:27! Mission life is great!

And Mom, my companions name is Hermana HAYCOCK... not Hunsaker:) hahaha

I love you so so so so soooooo much!!! Thank you for your fasting, prayers and support. I seriously have the best fam in the world.

Have a great week!

Hermana Lattina

Vanessa is getting baptized~December 12th

My new companion~Hermana Haycock

I love being a missionary

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Email #67 (Gilbert, AZ)

December 1, 2014

Hey there familia!!!

Wow, looks like you had a blast in good ol' Weiser!! Gotta love the family:) I can't wait to have dumplings again someday! Those are my fav!

So this week was a crazy one!!!! SO MANY MIRACLES! I think its Sister Haycock's greenie fire that's making all this happen! I guess I first better start out by introducing my companion. Her name is Hermana Riley Haycock and she is from Santa Clarita, CA. She is awesome and so excited to be here! It's a crazy weird experience training a brand new missionary, it's really fun but stressful! I feel like there is so much to teach her in the next 2 transfers and not enough time. She'll be fine though. I just hope I'm doing enough! Teaching her Spanish has been pretty rough haha. I forgot how hard it was at first, you just have no idea what's going on and you don't know how to respond to anybody! It's hard to watch your companion have those issues, because they know so little that it's a struggle to try and fill them in on everything and let them try and express themselves in a language they can't speak yet! Now I understand at least a little portion of what Chavs felt while training me haha it's a good experience for me and I'm learning. I really have to try hard to be organized, obviously it's not something that comes naturally for me. But I need to be able to do it because otherwise nothing gets done! I know Heavenly Father is helping me so much, because somehow we are getting everything done.

BUT GUESS WHAT??? Un milagro paso!! Vanessa moved in with the Maynez family and she is on date to be baptized the 13th of December!!!! She is so solid and she is living in a place and environment where nothing is keeping her from finally getting baptized. Pray for her!!! I still can't believe that actually happened! God is so good. When we got a text from Hermana Maynez telling us she had moved in and she wanted us to come teach her that night (this was Saturday) I almost cried I was so happy! She is amazing!

Also, Tim is on date for the 3rd of January! Pray that he can continue to be solid and be searching for answers. Also, he needs the courage to ask for Sundays off this week so he can start coming consistently!

Anyways, this week was definitely a week of miracles and I know that they'll continue to come through our obedience and diligence!!:)

Love you all!

Hermana Lattin

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Email #66 (Gilbert, AZ)

November 17, 2014

Familiaaaa!

Hellllooooo to everyone who is currently in Weiser for Thanksgiving!!! That's a party. Weiser is a great place, even though it smells like onions and cow poop:) Every time we go to the Lecheria and it smells, I think of good ol' Weiser. Just kidding, the Lecheria is wayyyy worse than Weiser. I really do miss Weiser. But I mostly miss all my family because they're the best, especially around the holiday season!

Speaking of Thanksgiving, holy cow! How is it already Thanksgiving week?? So strange. And how are my companions already going home??? What the weird. It's a sad thing to have to say good bye to two of my best friends, they've made this past transfer so great. We've seen so many miracles despite the craziness of our area, and my face and stomach hurt most of the time from laughing so much. I love my Chavs and Lana! With them prepping to leave and packing, we had a pretty crazy week, because everybody and they're dog wanted to feed us... I'm not kidding when I say we had more than one night of double dinners... hahaha but that just goes to show that the members here are great, and it was also such an awesome thing to witness and experience the love they have for my two companions. Each companion that I've said goodbye to, or am going to say goodbye to this past transfer, (Carvalho, Chavarri and Woolstenhulme) mean so much to me, they have become my best friends and have impacted my life in the best way possible. They are the most stellar missionaries I've met and I feel extremely blessed to have had them as my companions.

Anyways, the big news for today is that I am training! Una misionera verde is coming from the CCM en Mexico and I get to be her trainer! Crazy, huh? I am really excited! I just hope I can be as great as my trainer was for me. Something that really scares me is that I won't be able to be the trainer this new missionary needs in order to learn all she needs to learn before I go, because she'll definitely need to train pretty soon after I leave with several new Spanish missionaries coming in next year after February. But I was studying our monthly study topic this morning, which is the gift of the Atonement: The Savior's Love, and I asked myself "How will the Savior's love help me be a good trainer?" And obviously there are a lot of different answers to that question, but one that hit me at the end of personal study was the fact that because of the Atonement, the Savior's love can and will make up for my faults and weaknesses, as long as I hand my heart over to him. Maybe I alone cannot give my greenie everything she needs to be ready. Maybe I alone cannot teach her Spanish perfectly. Maybe I alone cannot train her in an area I hardly know myself, visiting all the people that need help in growing closer to Christ. But because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His love for me, I am NEVER alone. He will be with me as I help this new missionary start her mission off right and because of Him, my trainee will learn and do everything she needs to become who Heavenly Father wants her to be. And because of that, I am strangely peaceful about everything that is going to happen within the next week, (my companions leaving, getting a new missionary and the area being split up differently). I just know that everything and everyone is going to be okay:)

So this past week was great! We saw quite a few miracles within our own area, especially with Darren, the newer Chinese investigator. He just gets it. I don't know how else to say it, because he really does. Despite his background in a non-religious community and a slight language barrier, he has one of the most sincere desires I've ever seen to grow closer to God. We taught him about Jesus Christ and the Atonement this past week, and the Spirit was able to touch his heart and testify to him that he has a Savior that will help him become clean and become better. He is very sensitive to his feelings and recognizes the Spirit even though he doesn't quite understand the concept of the Godhead yet (we'll get on that this week:)). One of the most spiritual moments of my mission was when he said the sweetest prayer after our lesson and asked Heavenly Father several times to help him be closer to God and to be better. He is awesome: ) And then we were able to witness a miracle at the Montero's baptism. The elders in the Branch have been teaching this family for the last 2ish months and all of them wanted to be baptized, except for the dad. He was apprehensive and wasn't sure if he wanted to make the commitment. So the mom and their two kids prepared for baptism, and he still remained unsure, until the night of the baptism, 5 minutes before he decided he wanted to be baptized with his family. Another missionary was there to interview him, he passed and they all were baptized together!! It was so amazing.

 Okay well I love you all sooooooo much! Have an amazing Thanksgiving week in Weiser! Tell everyone I say "HOLA!!":)

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Lattin

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Email #65 (Gilbert, AZ)

November 17, 2014

Hola familia!

Hey there! How's it going?? Sounds like it's been super cold!! This morning we played ultimate frisbee and it was 50 degrees and all of us were on the verge of tears we were so cold!! I think I've acclimated to Arizona weather.... February is going to be rough for me haha:) This email is going to be a short one, because we're headed down to Queen Creek to do some goodbyes for Chavs and Lana, since they're leaving me next Tuesday. Sad day:( so we have to email fast so we can get shopping done and have enough time to see all the people they want to say bye to.

But this week was good! We taught quite a bit and saw some good progress with a few investigators. Darren is so awesome and he is very interested in learning more! We met two of his roommates too this week who want to hear the lessons and go to church as well! That was un milagro because we've been struggling to find new investigators this past transfer. We're confronting the same slight setbacks with him as we did with Tony in the beginning because of the slight language barrier. But it is such a good experience to teach someone with little or no religious background and have a language barrier, because the goal is to teach simply in a way they will understand, and more importantly in a way the Spirit can touch their hearts. Darren is so humble and willing to learn, and he has a sincere desire to know if God is real.

Vanessa has been more consistent than ever! She couldn't come to church yesterday because it was the Phoenix Temple Dedication (SO COOL!!!), but she has been making a great effort to read and pray everyday, and met with us a lot this week. Ever since that priesthood blessing she received from Hno. Maynez, she has been doing so good. She is a witness to me that priesthood power is real, that it has been restored to the earth to bless God's children and bring us back to Him. We are so blessed to have worthy priesthood holders that can do miracles by the power to act in God's name. Priesthood holders, do not take for granted your responsibility to serve and bless others around you! Do everything you can to remain worthy so you can have the opportunity to act as God's instruments to bless his children.

I can't think of any other significant things that happened this week with our investigators...besides Edna. She came to the choir concert we had last night and we got to talk to her afterwards and she opened up to us. She is really struggling again. She feels a lot of sadness and pain from her dad's death. We listened to her and just testified to her of the Plan of Salvation. She is awesome and if she just starts doing the simple things again, she will find peace and happiness:)

I'll give you more updates next week.

Oh! Please pray for the Flores family. They are recent converts, and we are teaching their 10 year old daughter, Valeria. Satan is working really hard to pull them down right now. They are awesome but are having a lot of different, crazy trials. Just pray that they will have the strength to continue doing the things they need to do in order to be sealed in the temple next year.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO SO SO much! Have an amazing week!

LES QUIERO!!

Hermana Lattin

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Email #64 (Gilbert, AZ)

November 10, 2014

Hey there, querida familia!

Man, time is just flying by so fast out here. I can't even believe that my other two comps go home in two weeks. WHY??? This is cruel and unusual punishment. I keep on having to say goodbye to my best friends and it's really tough. But, life goes on and so does the Work!

This week was pretty good! We spent a lot of it trying to finish up teaching Tony all of the lessons so he could be ready for his baptism on Saturday. He is AWESOME and his baptism was so tender. I don't know if I've ever met such a pure hearted 13 year old, a teenager who is so genuinely dedicated to getting closer to God and serving and helping his family. He is such a sweet kid. And the people who spoke at his baptism all mentioned him serving a mission, and that makes me so excited because he is going to be an amazing missionary someday! It was a great night.

Also, both Darren and Jamie came to church yesterday with Tony Li! We also had a lesson with them last night, but Jamie couldn't make it. Darren is AWESOME! Even with his limited English, you can feel how sincere his desire is to know if God is real, and that he trusts us to help him know. We were able to teach them more about Jesus Christ last night and we found the "Because of Him" video in Chinese! Milagro!:) The Spirit was very strong as we told them more about our purpose on earth and that Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to return back to our Heavenly Father. We hope the lesson helped them feel the Spirit, even if they didn't understand everything we taught.

I am so blessed to be on a mission. I think about it, and never in a million years would I have met all the people I've met on my mission had I not gone. I wouldn't have met my companions, the members, or our investigators. And what makes it so special is that these are people who have changed my life, and impacted me in a way that has brought me closer to the Savior. God knows me perfectly, and he has placed people in my life that he knew I would need so I could become the person He wants me to be. That is one of the most amazing things about being out here, and something that I didn't necessarily anticipate before coming out on a mission. Before, I was set on changing peoples' lives and helping others to come unto Christ, and didn't give much thought to how much these people would change me. Little did I know that I was the one who needed them so I could learn, change and grow closer to my Father and my Savior. It's the people I have met that have helped me to understand how much God loves me, and how much He loves all of us.

Hna Carvalho--I guess she is just Cindy now, came to Gilbert to visit with her parents this past weekend! It was fun because they showed up at Tony's baptism and I got to see my compi again!!! It was so strange seeing her not as a missionary, because it was the same old Hna Carvalho, but at the same time she was different. But it was so good to see her. When you say goodbye to someone you've been with 24/7 all day every day for 5 months and then all of the sudden you don't see them at all and you can't communicate with them in any way, it almost makes it feel like that person isn't real anymore. You know they are there, but it's like they're just part of this dream world that exists outside of the mission haha. So it was awesome to give her a big hug again and talk to her. And her parents came all the way from Brazil to pick her up and are amazing! Her mom was one of the sweetest people I've ever met, so nice and cute, and even though we couldn't communicate super well, I could still feel her love and appreciation for me. Her dad is super funny and has this big goofy grin on his face all the time. His English was really good! You can tell they are both just SO proud of Cindy and they love her so much. I feel really blessed that I got to meet them, even though our time was short, I love them a lot, and I am glad I was able to tell them in person how much they're daughter impacted my life and changed me and that I was so grateful I was able to be her companion. It is awesome that they were able to come and meet all of the people that love their daughter so much and see how many lives she impacted and changed. It was hard to say goodbye again, but I know I'll see her again! I did promise her parents that I would learn Portuguese and come to Brazil somedayJ

I don't have a whole lot of updates on other investigators this week. We will be meeting with all of them soon though so I'll let you know next week:)

Que tengan una semana MARAVILLOSA!! Keep on being the best, fam:) Seriously, thank you for your prayers and love.

LES QUIERO MUCHO!!!

Hermana Lattin

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Email #63 (Gilbert, AZ)

November 3, 2014

Holllla familia!

How's it going?  It also looks like you had a fun Halloween! Niiiice costumes:)

So this week was pretty good! We saw a lot of miracles, and somehow we were able to stay sane with all of the people and places to go:) I don't have a huge amount of time left on the computer, but I'll tell you a few of the week's highlights!

We found Vanessa again! This was truly a miracle, and the experience in and of itself testified to me that when we are being obedient and doing what we're supposed to, God will guide us to where we need to be. We knocked on her door and she was feeling super sick and Francisco was going to take her to the hospital. We asked her if she wanted a blessing and she said yes so we called Hermano Maynez and he came over with his son to give her a blessing. While we were waiting for them to come, she told us how she had relapsed a few weeks ago with her drugs, and that is part of what caused all her health problems recently. Her doctor wants her to do a 30 day rehab program but she is really scared. We shared Matthew 11:28-30 with her and reminded her that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ our burdens can be lifted and we can find peace and joy through Him, but we have to reach out to Him. He is always there waiting to take us into his embrace, but it takes our personal efforts to hug him back, and allow the Atonement to heal and change us. We promised her these blessings would come as long as she made the efforts to be clean of drugs and accept the Gospel in her life. We supported her in doing the 30 day program and encouraged her to bring her Book of Mormon. She told us that she knows that this Church is true and it's where God wants her, she just has to be clean first. Then Hno Maynez got there and gave her one of the most powerful blessings I've ever heard. It was SO cool. Never in my life have I actually witnessed a healing right then and there. But before she looked so sick, her skin was sunken in and was a yellowish tint, and she was wrapped up in a blanket on the couch, and she was hardly saying anything. But by the end of the blessing, she looked like her normal self and got up and walked us to the door. Man, the Spirit was so strong and Hno Maynez is the best. Definitely un milagro.

Also, we had dinner with Tony Li last night and we met two of his friends (who are also from China), Darren and Jamie. We watched that Mormon Message "The Hope of God's light" and talked with them about God. They both also don't have a solid background, but were interested in finding out if He is real. Especially Darren. There was a light in his eyes as we testified that God is our Heavenly Father, that we are His children and He loves us. He felt something and was really excited to learn more:) we have a lesson with them set up next Saturday so we'll let you know how that goes!

Here are the answers to your questions mamita!

1. Yes! We do have a baptism this week! 

Have I told you about the Hispanic Tony?? His mom is the sister of one of the ladies in the Gilbert branch, and she just got baptized a few weeks ago (that was the baptism Pres. Nattress Spoke at), and he is getting baptized this coming Saturday, the 8th!:D So stoked. He is awesome. He is 13 and he is one of the most mature kids I've ever met. He is having his interview tonight so if that goes well he will definitely be baptized this Saturday!!! WHOOO!!! :)

2. Investigator update:

Tim is good. We taught him a few times and he is progressing at his own little pace. We had some super Spirit-filled lessons with him so hopefully he recognizes that and can take that step to be baptized. Pray for him extra hard this week that he can receive and recognize his answer and have the desire to be baptized! We haven't seen Edna for a bit, but hopefully we will be able to see her this week! I'll let you know how she's progressing next Monday. Georgina is her usual cute, little old self:) Pray that she will have the desire to come to church and that her daughter's heart will be softened so she can be baptized:)

3. We actually went to the temple as a mission on Halloween! It was the BEST Halloween ever!!!:)

Okay, well my time is running short, but I love you all sooooooo so much!!! Thank you again for your prayers and support. I am beyond blessed to have the most amazing family in the world.

Moroni 8:3:)

Hermana Lattin

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Email #62 (Gilbert, AZ)

October 27, 2014

Holaaaaa familia!

Sounds like you had a fun weekend with the church Halloween party. All the kids looked so cute! AH! I love you all so much you have no idea.

We had a good week this week, even though it was a bit crazy. Hna Carvalho spent most of the mornings and afternoons studying in the office and doing her BYU application. I was out with Hna Chavarri and Hna Lana, but I did help her out with her application sometimes. She took the ACT on Saturday.

Missions are the best, and one of the best parts about it is the people you meet. The people you serve with become your greatest friends, and you learn so much from them. There is something about being with someone all day every day that can make life really hard or really great:) in this case, it made life really great! I feel so blessed to have been companions with Hna Carvalho the past 3 transfers, and I've become a better person because of her Christ-like example to me of spiritual strength, determination, humility, virtue, obedience, faith and love. She is an amazing missionary, and an all-around amazing person. She taught me so much about the Atonement, that Jesus Christ is real and that through Him, everything and anything can be overcome, we just need to trust Him.

The thing about a mission, and about companions, is that you are learning and progressing spiritually in ways you never have before, and that spiritual learning and progression happens right alongside your companion. I am so grateful for Hna Carvalho and the impact she has had in my life. I don't think she'll ever know or understand how much she's changed me for the better. She's the best. She leaves tomorrow morning and I bet her parents are beyond excited to see her! That will be such a happy reunion! She'll be traveling around the US with her parents for a bit, and she's coming back here on the 8th of November, so I'll get to see her one last time before she goes back to Brazil! And then hopefully she'll come back to party with me at BYU!!!:)

Sorry I spent the whole time on that... haha but that's what's on my mind right now so it just came out while I was typing.

In all the busy happenings of the week, we made it to the Phoenix Temple Open House twice this weekend! It is soooooo beautiful! And Tim, Edna and Tony all loved it:) We're hoping their hearts were softened. I'll send pics home of it!

OKay, well I love you all so so so so so so so so much!!!! Have a great week and keep on being the best. LOVE YOU.

Con mucho MUCHO amor, Hermana Lattin

Hna Chavarri, Hna Woolstenhume, Hna Carvalho, Hna Lattin

Phoenix Temple Open House with investigators!

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Email #61 (Gilbert, AZ)

October 20, 2014

HOLA querida familia!!

How's it going?

So, this email might not be super long because we have a super crazy P-day planned, because Sister Carvalho has a lot to get done before she leaves...

But I'll fill you in a little bit on the crazy week we've had.

So, transfers happened and we are in a quad-panionship:) So I just happen to be companions with all 3 of my best mission friends... Hermanas Carvalho, Chavarri and Woolstenhulme (Lana)!!!! Hahahaha oh man we have a blast together. I am so grateful that I have been blessed to meet some of the most amazing people here on my mission, and that they have become my close friends. The sad thing is that I'll have to say goodbye to all three of them within the next transfer... because Sis. Carvalho leaves next Tuesday, and this is Hna. Chavarri and Lana's last transfer.

Anyways, so we've got the quad and we're covering all three of our areas: the Gilbert Spanish branch, Mission Bay (YSA) AND Pueblo... let's just say that it's been insanity for the past few days. But the kind of insanity where you are running por todos lados and teaching a lot, so it's such a GOOD insanity. It's just a struggle being organized with all of the investigators and people to meet and see, but the Lord is helping us. It's going to be even crazier when my compi leaves, because we won't be able to split off at nights to see different people, but we'll figure it out. I've got to learn how to be extremely organized because next transfer, because I won't have all these solid companions to help me..... I think by next transfer hopefully I'll just be covering Mission Bay and the Branch so that should be more manageable.

One thing I do want to share from this past weekend was one of the coolest experiences. We had a baptism in the branch, her name is Elizabeth and she is the sweetest, most prepared woman I have ever met! I only taught her twice before her baptism but even in just those two lessons, she blew me away with her faith and testimony. She is amazing! But at her baptism, President Nattress was there and shared his testimony in Spanish. Let me remind you: President does not speak Spanish, except for a few Gospel basics. He started to share his testimony in Spanish and the Spirit hit us all like a wall. The words were flowing out of his mouth and his grammar was perfect, but most important, the Spirit was testifying to every single person in that room through President's words that "mi Redentor vive." It was an amazing manifestation of the gift of tongues that I will never ever forget. I am so grateful for my mission president. I have learned so much from him and his testimony. Every time he bears his testimony, whether it be in English or Spanish, you can feel the Spirit testifying to you of the truth that our Savior lives, that He is the living Son of the Living God. He is the BEST.

There are no notable updates on our investigators at this point, we're just doing our best to help them progress to baptism. I'm so sorry I don't have enough time to give you a low down on some of the new ones. Our two new investigators are Raquel and Araceli. I will update you next week!
Just be sure to pray for Tim that he will have the desire get work off on Sundays so he can come to church and Edna-that the Spirit will touch her heart again so she can have the desire to be baptized.

LES QUIERO!!!!

Have an amazing, fantastic week!

Moroni 8:3

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Lattin

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Email #60 (Gilbert, AZ)

October 13, 2014

HOLA!!!!!

Como estan todos?? Espero que todo este bien en la casa de la familia Lattin:)

So, I bet you're wondering what's happening with transfers, and I have all the news. Sister Carvalho and I will be together for her last two weeks here (her parents arrive here from Brazil on the 28th to pick her up)!!!!! Hooray!!!! Once her parents come, I will be in a trio with Sister Chavarri and Sister Woolstenhulme up in the Gilbert Spanish branch!!! So we will be covering both the branch and the YSA ward. I am pretty stoked.

The sad news is we're moving out of Pueblo:( Which, although the work is difficult there, I have met some of the most AMAZING members there who support us so much and take care of us so well, so that ward will be a hard one to leave. But it will be good for that area because they are going to put a zebra trio of elders in that area, and the Spanish elder will most likely be Elder Vazquez, who is a native mexicano and he will be AWESOME for that area. Just what Pueblo needs. He is a super solid missionary and he will definitely make miracles happen in that area, no doubt. We met with President Nattress last week and he asked us what we thought he should do with that area, since we're losing so many Spanish missionaries in the next few transfers (especially sisters), It was definitely pure inspiration that we gave him the idea to move Elder Vasquez over there.

So, yep. That's the transfer low down!

Man, I can't believe my companion goes home in two weeks... my heart really hurts every time I think about it!

This week was pretty good! I feel like there isn't a whole lot to report on... OH. We are so grateful that you fasted for Tim and Edna yesterday. They need it. Both of them most likely won't be getting baptized this Friday, unless Heavenly Father works some miracles in the next few days. The only way it could happen is if Edna changed her mind this past weekend about changing her date. She went back home this weekend to be with her family for her dad's birthday. She expressed to us her worry that the same feelings of sadness and anger would come back, so we hope she was able to be strong and hold on to the love and strength God has been giving her these past few days. She also told us that she didn't feel like she would be ready on the 17th, so she wanted to change it. But we are going to try and help her be ready for baptism before Sister Carvalho leaves. That's what we're praying for. So please pray for Edna this week.

And Tim… He just recently got a new job and will be working on Sundays:( So his progress will probably slow down quite a bit until he gets Sundays off again. He is doing well, but if he can't come to church his spiritual focus will definitely take a hit. And if that's taking a hit, then it will be harder for him to recognize his answer, which he is still struggling with a lot. So pray for him too.

Tony Li is doing well. He just told us in our last lesson that he still isn't sure he believes in God, and he isn't ready to get baptized, but "maybe in 10 years". Haha he is still coming to church though and went to the Meet the Mormons movie and LOVED it!!! He especially loved the Humanitarian from Nepal, because his home village is on the other side of the Himalayas, so the scenery was familiar to him. It was a cool connection.

Speaking of the movie, IT IS AMAZING!!!! You are all going to love it!!! Prepare yourselves for one of the best movie experiences you've ever had. Seriously, it is so good. I bawled like a baby in the last story. The whole thing really just perfectly captures the lives and faith of these LDS people, who live very different lives in places all around the world. It is an inspiring movie. And I love that the whole theme it sets forth is that we are fervent believers and dedicated followers of JESUS CHRIST. I'm so excited for you to see it!!! That's crazy that it was sold out when you went to see it! That makes me so happy. Definitely invite your friends and go request it on meetthemormons.com so it will come to even more locations in CO!:)

Okie dokes, well I love you all so much!!! Hope you have an amazing week.

Moroni 8:3 (as always:))

Hermana Lattin

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Email #59 (Gilbert, AZ)

October 6, 2014

Hola hola!!

Hey there, mi familia querida! Sounds like life is pretty good in the Lattin home! Whenever I walk into a home with a lot of kids, noise and craziness, it makes me feel so happy because I feel right at home:) I have a hard time when things get too quiet, I'm not used to it!

Anyways, can we just talk about the fact that General Conference was AMAZING??? Seriously, I was mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausted because it blew my mind. I always love the themes that come out of it, because it helps me know what specifically we, as Christ's Church, and individually as God's children, need to understand work on, and improve. And wasn't it SO cool to have the speakers deliver their talks in their native language?? We watched the 2nd session of Saturday in Spanish with Edna and it was awesome to hear Eduardo Gavarret deliver the talk in Espanol! And Sister Carvalho was really excited about the one in Portuguese:) I took some great notes that I forgot at home, so I don't have all of my favorite things from conference accessible currently... but I remember a few things:) I absolutely loved our Prophet's words on walking AS Christ did, and following His perfect example as His Disciples., President Uchtdorf's on Saturday Morning, he was so powerful in his assertion that we need to know for ourselves, and that when we seek for, receive and embrace divine revelation from God through the Holy Ghost, our vision of truth and eternal reality is clarified and broadened. And then President Eyring was so sweet as well expressing his love for our prophet. And Elder Nelson, Elder Scott, Holland, and Bednar... all of them were SO GOOD. I wish I had the words and time (and my notes) to I could express how much I loved it. But it sufficeth me to say that it left me with an even greater conviction that my Heavenly Father loves me, and that He loves each of us more than we can comprehend and because He does, His Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior, marked the path back to our heavenly home and through his mercy and love, he made it possible for us to do so, and that it is our responsibility exercise our agency to CHOOSE to do the things necessary in order to return back to our Heavenly Father, that we must seek truth through personal revelation, accept the Lord's will, and act in obedience to His laws and commandments, as established by His chosen servants, all along the ways serving and loving our families and friends, that we may return all together to live in the presence of our Father and our Savior as eternal families. And that's what it's all about. Conference left me feeling a strong conviction and confirming witness of all of those truths. I LOVE GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!:)

General Conference brought some great progression with our investigators, Edna especially! She is awesome. She LOVES the Book of Mormon and I think Conference helped her to understand the significance of having a living prophet and 12 apostles, and she really felt the Spirit. She feels good about the 17th of October (which happens to be my companion's b-day:)) and is preparing for that day. She is truly our milagro.

And another cool thing happened thanks to conference too! Hna Carvalho told me Saturday night that she felt really strongly that we needed to invite Sony and Phanuel (the guys from the Congo) to General Conference. So we followed the prompting and called them and they said they would come, and bring a friend! So they watched the first session on Sunday. Now remember, they had a lot of doubts and questions and caused quite a bit of contention over two topics: the Prophet and the Godhead. And what were the two main themes of that session? PROPHETS AND THE GODHEAD. How amazing is that? Pretty amazing. I don't know if it changed their beliefs, because especially Phanuel didn't seem completely convinced, but they definitely felt the Spirit, and even if they didn't recognize it, I know the Spirit testified to them the truth of our message. We are going to see them this week, so we'll let you know how it goes! Tim, unfortunately didn't come:( He bailed last minute, but hopefully he'll come to FHE tonight so we can talk to him then and tell him what he missed out on.

I cannot believe it's the last week of the transfer... and I cannot believe my companion goes home in just 3 weeks (she's staying 2 extra weeks while her parents come to visit). I am so sad that she is leaving me, but we wont focus on that right now!

Okay, well have an awesome week! Remember to review notes you took on each talk and try to make some goals as a family and personally to work on so the words and promises of our church leaders can come to pass!:)

I LOVE YOU ALL SO SO SO SO MUCH. Don't ever forget it.

Moroni 8:3

Hermana Lattin

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Email #58 (Gilbert, AZ)

September 29, 2014

FAMILIA!!!!

Holaaaa. Well, this week was the birthday week and it was great. My companion made sure to remind me every day (starting last Sunday) that it was my birthday WEEK. So she said happy birthday to me pretty much every day this past week haha. But it really was a great week, filled with a lot of miracles, a lot of love, and a lot of cake (a lottttt of cake...). But THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PACKAGE!!!! I absolutely loved it. I especially loved all of your letters. Thank you so much for that. I seriously have the best family in the world. Just sayin'. My birthday day was so great and both our members and investigators alike just made me feel so loved and special. The Morales Fam took us to Joe's bbq in Gilbert where I got a free birthday meal!! It was soooo good, and we're definitely going there when we come back as a family. And then we had a lesson with Tim and he baked me a cake AND got me a gift. Tim is the sweetest. OH! And he's on date for October 17^th, so that is a birthday milagro for sure. And then later that week, my compi made a brigadero cake for me (brigadero is Brazilian deliciousness) and Hermana Villalba took us out for lunch, our favorite less active Rafael made us dinner and a Tres Leches cake (best I've ever had in my life) AND the Maynez family gave us another delicious tres leches cake yesterday. It was just great. Birthdays bring many opportunities to share the gospel!

The one thing I wanted to tell you about that was incredible this week was our lesson with Edna. She is one of the most amazing people I've ever met, and it is incredible to see how God is working miracles in her life as she is giving her heart to Him. In our lesson on Saturday, she essentially bore her testimony to us about the Book of Mormon and told us that she feels it bringing her closer to God than she ever has been before. You can tell in her eyes that she knows what we are teaching her is good and true. She is scared of the commitment of baptism, because she knows how important it is, but she said she has been thinking about it a lot. We invited her to pray about the 17th of October (it's just a great day:) haha) to be baptized. She told us she'd think about it because it's so soon. But that lesson was one of the most amazing lessons I've ever been in. The Spirit was so strong and was testifying to all of us the truth of the message of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Between us, Edna and our awesome member, Carly, we could feel of our Heavenly Father's love for each of us so strongly. It was one of those moments where it was yet again confirmed to me that this work is true and I am so blessed to be part of it. Edna is such a special and amazing daughter of God, and seeing her enter the waters of baptism will be one of the best days of my life.

This gospel is true. I know it. And thanks to my mission, the experiences and trials Heavenly Father is giving me, my companion, and the amazing people we are teaching, I know it now more than I ever have in my life. I know that the gospel was given to us by a loving Heavenly Father so we could make it back to Him one day. I know that He sent His Only Begotten Son to suffer and die for us in order make that possible for us. His Son is my Savior, my Redeemer and I know that He lives. And because He lives, we will all live again, and if we do all we can in this life to follow his example, we can return to live with him and our Father again, as eternal families in His kingdom. I know that God has restored His gospel on the earth through His prophet, Joseph Smith, and that the authority and power to act in God's name was restored in order to provide us the ordinances needed to enter back into Heavenly Father's presence. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that by reading it I have come to know my Savior and my Father better than I ever have before. I know that we have a living day prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and that by learning and living His counsel, and the counsel of the Twelve Apostles, we can know exactly what we need to do in order to make it home someday.

I am beyond blessed to be a servant of the Lord. Being a missionary is the best. This gospel is the best. My family is the best. I am just too blessed to stress (as Jake would say).

So, yep. That's pretty much it.

 OH! NATE!!! FELIZ CUMPLEANOS ESTA SEMANA!!! TE QUIERO, HERMANITO!!!!

Hahaha alright well I love you all tons!!

Moroni 8:3

Hermana Lattina

Birthday Time!

Hermana Carvalho's famous Brigadero Cake!

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Email #57 (Gilbert, AZ)

September 22, 2014

Querida familia,

HOLA! Sounds like Olivia's cumple was a blast! I'm so glad she got to ride a horse! Dreams do come true! Did she get my card?:) I know my artistic talent isn't prime, but it was made with a lot of love. My little baby is 3! I can't even believe it!

And WHAT??? You had 33 non-members at church yesterday??? That is amazing. I'm excited to hear how the primary programs goes as well! Let me know who comes and how it goes:)

Well, this week was an interesting one. I got this weird flu thing on Tuesday and it lasted until Thursday. It was one of those times where I really, really missed my mom. But my super great companion took good care of me, so I survived:) That's one of the worst things in the world though, getting sick on your mission, because you feel so useless! All you want to do is go out and work, but at the same time you feel like you're dying, so all you can really do is lie in bed and sleep.

That consumed a huge chunk of our week, but the good news is that we still were able to see many miracles!

We had a miracle Monday night because all three of our investigators were at FHE! They seemed to have an awesome time and the members are doing an awesome job of fellowshipping them. They are all coming along at their own special pace, but the progress that we've seen with all of them is amazing. Especially Edna. I really think Edna is getting close to baptism. She is very sensitive to the spirit, and despite the fact that she's a little stubborn, she knows that God wants her on this path and that baptism is something that He wants for her. We taught her the word of wisdom on Thursday and we had an awesome member with us! Her name is Carly and she just got back from her mission in the Philippines. Anyways, she was really helpful and I think her testimony helped Edna understand the importance of the Word of Wisdom and the blessings that come from it. But Edna was hysterical throughout the whole lesson because she is not happy about the fact that she has to give up coffee and wine, but she knows it's what she needs to do. She also has been reading every day this week and has even almost been late to work a few times because she gets so caught up in the Book of Mormon! It is a cool thing to see how the Spirit works with her, and how often times when she has doubts and questions, she is able to answer or resolve them herself because the Spirit brings the truth to her remembrance:) She is awesome.

Also, we are teaching this little boy named Luis in the Spanish area. His mom, who is less active, works a ton so they aren't able to come to church very often. He is 8 and wants to get baptized, so Hna Perez (his mom) wants us to teach him and prepare him for baptism. He and his siblings are the CUTEST kids ever!!! Luis reminds me so much of Nate when he was a little bit younger. He cracks me up! They are the best though, definitely one of my favorite families I've met on my mission. OH and we had a miracle yesterday in our finding efforts in Pueblo! We took our good friend Mariem (a prospective missionary-she is AWESOME), with us to visit some people after the Book of Mormon class, and she suggested that we go visit Alex and Veronica and their two kids, some friends of Mariem's family who have come to a lot of activities, but never come to church and are extremely busy with work all of the time. We've been trying to contact them for a while now, but weren't able to get in, until last night! They were home and we were able to go in and get to know them a little better and (despite the mom repeatedly mentioning that they are Catholic), we were able to share our testimonies of how the Gospel strengthens families and the importance of reading the scriptures. We are going to try and go by to read the Bible with them this week:)

It's crazy that it's my birthday already tomorrow... how did this happen??? Just yesterday I was in Mexico, right? This year has really flown by. It's been the craziest but best year of my life so far:) I am so grateful for my mission and for all the things I am learning and in all of the ways I am growing. We went on exchanges this week and Hna Baria (she goes home this next transfer) was sharing with me some pearls of great price that she has gained whilst on her mission and she said, "Don't miss a moment". This is such precious time that the Lord has given me, and before I know it, it's going to be gone. That realization has stuck with me for the past few days and has made me feel pretty nostalgic, especially having a companion who is leaving me so soon. I can't miss a moment that God has given me out here to serve Him and bring His children back to Him!

Alright, enough with the cheesiness! I hope you have a FANTASTIC week!!! Thank you for all your prayers and love. You all are the best! Moroni 8:3

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Lattin

Spanish Speaking sisters in the Gilbert Mission!

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Email #56 (Gilbert, AZ)

September 15, 2014

FAMILIA!!! Hola!!!

It's so great to hear from all of you. I was thinking about my last homecoming week and I told Hna Carvalho about how crazy it was! Olivia was born, the homecoming bonfire, the homecoming football game, staying up late into the night TPing the junior girls, my birthday and then the dance on Saturday... Loco! It was a party though. Speaking of parties, that party that y'all had instead of going to the dance sounds like it was a blast!!

I also cannot believe how cold it is there! It still is about the 100s usually during the day, but it isn't too bad anymore, it's starting to cool down. All the rain we got last Monday definitely helped cool it down here! I am a little jealous that fall is there in CO, because it's so beautiful during the fall, but I am really grateful that I'll miss a lot of the cold:) Winters here are perfect so I can't complain!

Anyways, this week was awesome! It was a week of teaching for sure and we saw so much progress with all of our investigators. Edna, Tim and Tony all came to church!!! I felt a little silly because when we were sitting there and they were all there with us in sacrament meeting, I was so overwhelmed with love for them, and I got a little teary. Nobody noticed though (I don't think) so that's good:)

I am so blessed. So, so blessed. It really hit me hard yesterday that I am so blessed to be serving my Heavenly Father and serving all these amazing people. Whether it be my companions, investigators, members, other missionaries, leaders or just random people on the street, I know that God has placed me here with these people so that I could learn and grow from interacting with and serving them. He knew I needed to learn how to be more like his Son, Jesus Christ, so he placed in my path some of the most amazing and Christ-like people I know. I am so grateful for the people I've met on my mission and for all they have taught me, and for the opportunity I have everyday to feel a little bit of the love Heavenly Father feels for those I serve.

Also, cool thing about yesterday that happened!!! At the clase del Libro de Mormon, we were learning about Christ in the Americas and Hermano Laparra just happens to be really good friends with Robert Allen, the person who is Christ in the Reflections of Christ photo series... so he came and talked to us!!! It was so amazing to hear him speak about his experience, and his testimony touched every single heart listening. It was a powerful experience. It was strange to see Jesus standing up there at the pulpit in a suit and tie... but then I had to remind myself it wasn't actually Jesus:) haha but he was amazing. We got a picture with him but I forgot my camera so I will send it next time!

Answers to questions Mamita:

1. All of our investigators are doing well, like I said they all came to church and are progressing very well. Edna is especially just soaking it all in right now. She has some worries and concerns about the Word of Wisdom (coffee and wine), but we are going to teach her about that this week and also try and find a baptismal date for her. I'll let you know how that goes! Tim is progressing, a little bit slower, but he'll get there eventually. He's come to church 3 weeks in a row so that's a milagro!:) I'll give you better updates next monday, because some great things should happen this week! We found a new investigator named Marialena and she is this sweet old lady that is good friends with the Morales family in our Pueblo ward! More on her next week. Also.... Vanessa has disappeared again:( I'm trying not to lose faith in her though. I'll let you know if we find her.

2. Yes, we do get fed by the Spanish ward and they are the BEST! The miembros in the Pueblo ward are so kind. So many amazing families that love us and do everything they can to help us out.

3. As I wrote about, the Book of Mormon classes are going super bien! People are loving it and it is an awesome thing to watch their desire to share The Book of Mormon grow as they are strengthening their testimonies of it.

Also, FELIZ CUMPLEANOS, OLIVIA!!!! I just realized that the only birthday of hers that I've been physically present for was her actual BIRTH day... sad:( that's okay though. She knows her big sis loves her! Give her a big hug and a kiss for me!!!

TE QUIERO, MI BEBE!

OKay, have a semana fabulosa, familia! Make good choices, remember who you are and remember who He is:)

LES QUIERO MUCHISIMO!!!

Hermana Lattin

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