Email #72 (Gilbert, AZ)

January 5, 2014

Holy cow, familia, FELIZ ANO NUEVO!!!:)

I can't believe it is 2015. That is so weird to me. 2014 literally se fue corriendo. And I cannot believe it's my last transfer. HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE??? I just got here! It's hard to describe the feelings I'll have in a given day- they're all over the place because one minute I won't be thinking about it and I'll just be normal and having a party being a missionary, then the next minute I'll remember that it's my last transfer, and then I'll start to have an inward freakout and the hyperventilation starts and I get really scared, and then I think of seeing you all and I smile and am really excited, and then I think of saying goodbye to all these people and this place and not being a missionary anymore and I get teary and hold tight onto my tag and then I say to myself, "NO. I still have six weeks, it's all good." This happens every day... multiple times. It doesn't help that every person we talk to asks how long we've been out and I just say "a long time" and they say "cuando regresa a casa?" and I choke out "Me voy en febrero." And then with out fail they say something like "OH WOW, you're pretty much done!" And then yesterday in the Gilbert Spanish Speaking Branch our Sunday School class was about eternal marriage and then in Young Single Adult Ward, the lesson was about dating... that's when I got really scared. Haha but all is well:)

Anyways, yes, I am staying here in Gilbert for my last transfer! I'm happy about that. It will be a good time:) Thank you for fasting for us and for our investigators! I know that our faith combined will make miracles happen in this area this transfer. We've still been struggling to find new solid investigators, but this past week we really focused on our less actives and recent converts, which was pretty cool because we had a lot of success with that! We are also working to build member trust by getting to know them better. It's definitely a blessing that Mission Bay just got changed to 1:00, so we get to go to both the branch and YSA, and we don't have to choose between the two! That's the first time that won't be a major stressor since this past June:) That will definitely help us to see member trust increase because they'll see us more. What about for you all? As members of the Orchard ward, what builds or tears down the trust that you have in the missionaries?

So yep! Our week was good and we visited a lot of less actives and recent converts. We hope to do some major finding this week, both through our members and qualifying for miracles by our own finding efforts:) New Year's Eve was fun, we got to have a little zone activity and then we went home at 8 and got to go to bed early! That was the best.

Sounds like Eliana's birthday/New Years Eve was fun for you all! Hahaha

I can't believe Elle is 1... she is SO cute!!! Thanks for the pics and videos!

Answers to questions:

1. YES!!!! OH MY GOODNESS THEY ARE SO CUTE. Shelby sent me an email telling me all about it. She is the best. I can't believe she is getting married!!!! The first of the 3 Musketeers to go... #loco

2. HOLY CAT, Olivia is a sunbeam? She is so old! Tell her to stop growing up until I get home:) Does she like Sunbeams?

3. Our investigators are good! Tim is hopefully going to get a new job pretty soon so he can come to church every Sunday!!! Go Tim!:) Rafael is still scared of us... haha but we'll see if any progress is made within this next week. I think Rafael's sister goes back to Recife next week but I don't remember.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

Have an amazing first week back at school:)

Moroni 8:3

Hermana Lattin

Arizona Christmas

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Email #71 (Gilbert, AZ)

December 29, 2014

Hi querida familia!!!!

Oh man, it was the best thing in the world to see all your beautiful faces via Skype last week. Thank you all for just being the BEST. It was the spiritual recharge I needed to gear up for the next month and a half to finish strong!!:) I've been reading the conference talks you gave to me for Christmas and I LOVE them. I've read one per personal study that I've had for the past few days and it's amazing the personal revelation I've been receiving from each one of them. I needed all of their messages and they have helped me see the changes and improvements I need to make so I can become who God wants me to be. I know each of you were inspired to choose the talks that you did, because all of them have helped me A TON!

So after we skyped, which definitely was the highlight of the entire week/month, we had a good rest of our Christmas and visited with the Bowler family from the Mission Bay ward, ate some tamales with the Gaytan family (claro) then we got to watch the Lion King (one of the greatest movies EVER) and then we got to go work at the Mesa Temple Lights for the last time!!! It was such a great Christmas. Both of my Christmases on the mission have been ones that I'll never forget!:)

The rest of the week went well. Teaching lately has been a little rough, because we have yet to find some solid new investigators since Vanessa and Valeria were baptized. Ricardo, the new investigator who is super golden, texted us the day of his lesson and told us that his wife was really angry about him reading the Book of Mormon and meeting with us, and so he was going to have to wait until she calmed down about it until he continued to be taught. He said he would keep reading though, so we're just going to pray that his wife's heart softens and that she allows him to learn. That was sad for us, but I know that God has a plan and that everything will work out. As for finding new investigators, I know that there are people out there that are just waiting to listen to and accept the message of the restored Gospel they just "know not where to find it" (D&C 123:12). So, we've got to find them and bring it to them. Pray for us this week that we can find those that are searching for the truth!:)

One cool experience that happened on Saturday night was when we passed by Rafael (the Brazilian YSA [young single adult] investigator) and he was HOME! He is still scared of us because he's gotten a lot of information from anti friends and the internet, but he asked some questions and we were able to dispel some myths which was good. BUT the coolest part was that his sister was visiting from Recife and she doesn't speak a whole lot of English, so there was a slight language barrier... Her mom was there and when Rafael left to go to the grocery store, their mom (who speaks a little English) came and sat down and started talking to us too. I told them that I had a Brazilian companion who taught me a little bit of Portuguese and that I could speak Spanish so I could understand a little bit of it as well and they said they could understand Spanish pretty well. So with that we had an amazing conversation about the Church and they asked a lot of questions, and the entire conversation was a mixture of English, Portuguese and Spanish. And I was so proud of myself because I understood everything they were saying in Portuguese! And I even spoke a tiny bit of Portuguese to them:) My compi would've been so proud! It was awesome. That was definitely an experience that reminded me that gift of tongues is real:) Portuguese is definitely the next language I am going to learn. And that experience also made me remember how much I love Brazilians!:) #vaibrasil

Anyways, life is good and we are just going to work todo lo major que podamos para encontrar nuevos investigadores! I am happy and having a blast with Hermana Haycock. Training is refining, and Hermana Haycock has definitely helped me become a better missionary and person, so I am so grateful for her.

Answers to questions:

1. answers are in email above:)

2. Christmas dinner--Tamales, of course:)

3. Christmas was our last night for the Mesa Temple light tours!

 It was so fun:) Definitely a huge blessing and privilege to be part of that this year. We met so many amazing people!

4. See above about our new investigator, Ricardo

5. Pray for Tim, Rafael and for us to find new investigators in both the YSA ward and the Branch!

6. Vanessa and Valeria both LOVED your baptism gifts! Vanessa cried while reading your notes and she looooved the journal and necklace. Valeria was so cute too because she was so excited about the scripture study journal. They both say "THANK YOU!!!" They are super excited to meet you all.

7. Hermana Haycock did well on Christmas. She had a few moments of bad homesickness, but I've been really proud of her, because she has been doing so good within the past week of really striving to lose herself in the work and be positive and happy. She is awesome!

9. We don't know the plans yet for New Years Eve!

Alrighty, there you go! I love you all so so so so soooooo much! You are the BEST familia a missionary could ever ask for. Have an amazing week! Feliz Ano Nuevo!!!!

Y FELIZ CUMPLEANOS, on Dec 31^st ELIANA!!!!:)

I'm making her a card today, hopefully she'll get it in time!

Les quiero muchisimo!!!

Hermana Lattin

Gilbert, AZ missionaries
Can you find me?! Front row left side

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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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