Email #20 (Gilbert, AZ)

January 6, 2014

AHHHHHHH!!!!! I have a new baby sister!!!!!!

I cannot get over how cute Eliana is!!! She is SO chubby and I love it!! I don't think it's settled into my brain yet that I have a new baby sister. My eyes keep filling up with tears of joy every time I think about it:) She is so adorable and I feel so blessed to have her as my sister. And even though I won't meet her in person until she's a year old, I know she will know who I am because we knew each other before this life!:) 

Mom I started crying when you told me in your email that you keep telling her about me and showing her pictures of me! It is hard to be away from you and Elle right now, but I know that our family is being blessed by my service.

Mom you are so strong! I can't believe you didn't get an epidural!! Both Nate and Sammi mentioned that specifically in their emails! After watching you, I am sure Sammi is really excited to have kids now:) haha. I think that it is so sweet that dad was so encouraging. AH. I love all of you so much.

Anyways, this week was great! I got the text from President on Tuesday night that you had the baby:) We were doing a three hour read-a-thon for New Years Eve (partayyyy) so we were sitting in the barn just reading away when President Nattress's text came. I was so SOOOOO HAPPY!!! But there wasn't anything I could really do about it, so I said a prayer of gratitude to Heavenly Father and kept reading Preach My Gospel. But I could not stop smiling!!! In all honesty though, it didn't actually feel real until today, seeing pictures of her. She is so beautiful and 9 lbs 2 oz! Wow.

I am SO grateful you prayed and fasted for Patricia! She is doing good, but still hasn't made any progress (that we know of) with the marriage. But we are going to talk to her tonight about it, and I know that your fast will bless Sister Chavarri and I to know how to help her, and it will help Patricia have the faith and the desire to do anything possible to be baptized. We will let you know how that goes!

OH! Guess who I met this past week! Angel, Aunt Liz's mom!! We went over there on Tuesday and visited her. She was so excited when I told her my name! Haha it was great. We visited with her for a bit and then she invited us over for dinner. So we had dinner with her and her husband, Lloyd, last night with the Elders that are in her ward! It was so great. They are so sweet and made such an amazing meal! Definitely the fanciest meal since I've been out here:) But I told the elders that their job is to try and prepare her to go to the temple. Sister Chavarri and I will continue to check in with her though. The elders said that they haven't seen her in their ward, so they will be inviting her to church as well. Can I have aunt liz's email? I'd love to email her and just find out more about Angel and Lloyd and their story, because I realized I hardly know anything about her! But hopefully we can help her get to the temple! She absolutely ADORES both Aunt Liz and Uncle John, and just raved about how amazing her grandchildren are, especially Shelby, Jake and Chandler and how they're serving missions:) She also told me several times that I don't look 20. I told her I get that a lot. But it was so great to meet her and I will do everything I possibly can to help her to go to the temple!

Other than that, I don't have a whole lot else to talk about from this past week. Sister Chavarri and I got sick on Wednesday and Thursday, just with a little stomach bug that Sister Marz gave us, or at least we think so. I threw up once, but the next day I was fine so everything is good! I haven't been that kind of sick in a long time so it was weird.

We also helped Mayra and Edgar (another family within the Garcia family who are soon-to-be-members) move into their new house! It was fun! They think it's really funny to call me "huera" (that's how you spell it, I looked it up:)) all the time and laugh at me when I can't speak Spanish:) Hahaha they are hilarious though and it was a fun time! We had just started teaching them, but they moved into the elder's area so we can't teach them anymore:( we're sad, but what is important is that someone teaches them and they get baptized and eventually are sealed in the temple. Mayra is the one who has the little baby, Edgar and two other sons, Brandon and Aaron. We love them!

Mom here are the answers to your questions:

1. I received the package. I absolutely LOVED it!! I cannot wait to hand out those books of mormon with the testimonies you each wrote in them!!! And Teresa love love loved the card, Mom! Your spanish (or dad"s) was wonderful:)

2. Yes we really did study Preach My Gospel on New Years Eve!! I'll be honest, it was a little boring, especially since our entire cul-de-sac was having a HUGE party with fireworks and stuff. But at the same time you get so used to studying as a missionary, it was just normal. I also learned A LOT from chapter one of PMG. It was actually really great:)

3. We actually opened up our presents at a senior missionary couple's home, who are in Sister Marz and Hair's zone, the Esplins! It was fun!! We got to go in our pjs and they had breakfast and everything so it was pretty great.

4. We had dinner with Patricia on Christmas Day! She is so cute! P.S. Abuelita's hot chocolate=best thing I've ever had. We only had time to watch The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, but it was SO FUN!! It brought me back to my childhood when I remembered that Peter was one of my first movie star crushes... still is:) hahah but it is funny watching that movie as a missionary because I was really into all the religious symbolism. It was awesome.

Okay well I love love LOVE you all so much and am so happy that Eliana is finally here blessing our home with her sweet spirit. Isn't it crazy to think that she was in heaven just less than a week ago? So amazing.

Espero que tengan una semana ESPECTACULAR!! I will be praying for you all extra hard:)

Con mucho mucho amor, 

Hermana Lattin