Be a Black Marshmellow or Freeze....

Hi family!!!

  I hope the warm California weather is treating you well!!  it’s been a little chilly over here...not tooooo bad.   ITS SOOOO COLD!!! Utah's got NOTHING on Ukraine.   The humidity and wind can stop anytime...Contacting is so funny.  I wear my Nike sweats under my pants with a sweater and a hoodie and a HUGE jacket and a beanie with scarf and hand warmers....I pretty much look like a big black marshmallow walking around everywhere, its fiiiine. Anywhere my breath hits...freezes so there's a white ring of frozenness around my mouth, nose and hoodie...it’s crazy.  But we're surviving.  Our apt is pretty cold too but its ok, I sleep in sweats and a hoodie, socks, and 2 blankets haha I think we're going to get a heater or something b/c there's a way bad draft in our place right where I sleep, which happens to be on a couch....I love it.  so that’s the weather...

Inside of the door to my apartment building (ICE!!!!)

Yesterday at church I TRANSLATED for my 1st time for my president's wife...it’s near impossible b/c nothing translates that well in to understandable English but then on top of that...she barely speaks English at all so I had to simplify it...it was tough but a good experience. We had a great miracle happen too!  At church out District president walks up to me and tells me he needs my help, turns out his cousin was at church and it was her first time and we wanted ME to go talk to her...crazy! We have a lesson set up with her and The District President on Thursday...AWESOME!! My District president is awesome and way spiritual, and I can't wait to be on a lesson with him.  As for my companion, we're all (my entire district) coming together to help him out.  We're having elders call in the morning and asking him for help, recipes, pretty much anything, but they do a good job of making it not sound like a call just to get him up...it’s great b/c he gets up and he can’t go back to sleep and then sees me studying and dressed up to hit the streets whenever he's ready...and its worked!!! slowly but surely this man will see the importance of being obedient but he has to figure it out on his own or else it won’t mean anything.  It's just like the mission, people tell you all the time to have fun or remember to smile, but it’s not until you actually experience it for yourself, that you see the importance of their advice.  It’s a work in progress and it really helps me to not focus on myself...I’ve realized that I focus on myself way too much even if I don’t think I am.  It’s the natural man in me that puts ME 1st before others.  My personal study is close to my favorite part of the day!  I’ve learned sooo much.  A really cool subject to study is "light".  What is the significance of light and why is it important?  What comes from light? Does it have more than one meaning?  Something that I thought was way interesting is that we as people are NOT light.  Our Savior is the "light and life of the world", we are just reflectors of light.  That’s just another reason why it’s important to be worthy so we can shine brighter and brighter.  God has truly changed my heart with my companion, and I truly want to help him out, but not b/c I’m "so good" or "all that", but so that I can return the favor. We are all in the same boat here on earth. Mosiah 4..."Are we all not beggars...".  it’s so selfish of us to deny someone something that we have when we ALL are beggars in front of God, who am I to deny something from someone else?  This has been a great lesson that I try to apply.  The elder who was in my apt before I came left a TON of stuff, some being a grip of hand warmers which they don’t have here to my knowledge.  So I made it a goal to give a pair of hand warmers out every day. This morning was so cool this homeless man walked by and I asked him if his hands were cold...he said yes so I showed him the hand warmers that I was using and then I gave him a pair of his own...no message about God or the church, just a simple act showing what I believe in.  He was grateful and threw them quickly into his gloves.  Service is HUGE.  I can’t believe it’s taken me soooo long to learn and "really" apply these concepts, it’s just another reason why I’m so grateful for this experience. I think that it’s awesome that you are working with the Tretbars Mom and Dad, I look at my role models in my life and every single one them were people that "took the time", whatever that means, took the time to help, support, etc.  So continue taking the time b/c it will make all the difference in the world to those boys.  I love you all and am especially grateful for your example to me. I’m proud of my family.  Have a great week!

PS I got the package thank you!! It looks like they played hockey with it!!!
Also the Remington’s sent me a package and i just got it too so THANK YOU MOLLY and FAMILY!!