The countdown is forbidden

Hello hello :)

I can't believe it's Monday again so soon, yet so far. I don't think I'll ever get a hold of how time runs out here haha! Last week was a lot better. We taught eight lessons (yes!) and have some really high hopes for those we're working with right now. I don't think I can say enough how much I love this work. Me and Hna Platt were talking the other day about how when we go home we are going to be the best members when it comes to missionary work that the world has ever seen...the missionaries who serve in our wards better be watching out haha :) stuff is gonna get done.

As we are aware, Thursday was Thanksgiving! It also was my half-way mark. (Let's just address the subject now and say it is in reference to said second half of mission. Not 'bout to count down, no way. Just gonna live and work day by day.) Let's just say I had a lot to be grateful for. I think it is interesting to me how much God has been subtly preparing me for post-mission real life over these last nine months. Now the preparation is not so subtle and I can look back and forward and see where He is preparing me and changing me. It's exciting but also a bit nerve wracking, I don't think I've ever thought so much about the future in my life. I'm excited for it though. I think the one Christlike attribute from PMG I'm starting to get a hold of is hope. Now I am pretty hopeful for things to come, just gotta keep working on that faith one...and the trusting...and the patience...okay we got a long list, I know :) He's helping me with it one step at a time, just as He does all of us.

I hope we took advantage of the opportunity we all had to express what we are thankful for not only to our families but to our Father in Heaven. We truly have been so blessed. Probably the most important thing for me to always remember is that God loves us so much that He gives us all these blessings, and we truly depend on Him for all we have. When we remember our place...who we are as His children, we will want to submit to His will, express our gratitude to Him, and serve Him. He loves us, never forget that :)

One of the things I am most thankful for here is the opportunity I have to serve with such awesome missionaries! Thursday we got together with out zone and went to a turf field close to the chapel and played ultimate frisbee and soccer for two hours! It was so fun! Holy cow that was the best time, it was awesome. We played two games of ultimate frisbee and then one soccer game last. Now, my friends, if you know me at all you know that I have the hand-eye coordination of a...I dunno, but something that has really bad hand-eye coordination :) by the second game of frisbee I was doing pretty good, but that first game though...woo! Quite an abomination to behold haha. It was super fun and probably the best exercise/cardio any of us have gotten in the last two years haha!

After the zone activity we ran to our lesson! This lesson was so great! We taught about prayer and she's been praying every day, came to church, and is progressing like crazy! We are so excited for her!! The baptism for her brother was yesterday and that was just amazing. He said he felt so happy after, it was so great to see.

Also Wednesday we did this super fun Thanksgiving activity as a district. We made this little board and sat outside the church inviting people to write down things they were thankful for. It was super cool! We had this lady from Egypt come over and she said she was Christian and asked us to spell Jesus for her to write on her feather. We spelled it out for her and then she also wrote it in Arabic! It was so cool! That was an awesome activity. Super successful too.

On the way back to the house sometime last week we were waiting for the train and this little boy was standing there with his mom. His Spanish was better than mine and he was just adorable. We talked with him for a bit and then when the train came he exclaimed, "oh! Es lleno!!" Then when someone moved so he could sit he looked up at me and said, "quieres sentar? Siéntate." I was like no, it's for you! He was the cutest thing :) I love Hispanic kids. Speaking of Hispanic kids, another fun time, Thanksgiving. That was so fun, playing with their kids and talking with them was so great. She told us she made us traditional Thanksgiving food so that we would feel at home :)

Saturday night we also had some awesome tender mercies. We had most things not go according to plan and ended up with only an hour before we needed to be home. Not enough time to go see someone else, not small enough time to go straight home, no people to try and contact via messaging or calling, so we jumped on the trains to ride them looking for someone to share the gospel with. We ended up finding two. Bendiciones. It was awesome :)

This new Christmas campaign though!! Goodness gracious I love this video and everything about it. Random tangent, lds.org. I love this thing with a passion. I could spend hours reading what's on there, watching Mormon messages, looking at the Bible videos (if you have not you neeeeed to - they are amazing!!!!), reading quotes and talks,...goodness gracious I love church. Anyway. Sorry, ran off on this tangent though, but seriously, this Christmas video is awesome.

Well this has kinda been all over the place, but it was a pretty good week :) I love you so much! Hope the holidays were fun and not too stressful for y'all. Love you lots!! Have a great week!

Muchísimo amor,
Hermana Karra Gourley