Mechanicsville Zone (just before transfers) June 2014

Hola! So this week has been good. We went to the zoo last Monday for P-day! This won't be a very long email. I sent lots of pictures and had some other people to respond to. 

We've been teaching some good lessons this week. We got S to participate in acting out the story of Ammon cutting off people's arms (of course) for an FHE with their family. That was a fun one. And K went to girl's camp this week!! Can you believe that?!And their mom is preparing for a baptismal date on August 30th. She needs to get married first (still) and she doesn't want to marry that guy, but she needs his support financially. So it's a tough situation. But she is praying about it and trying to find a new job where she can get Sundays off. It is sad because when I first came to Midlothian, she had just quit a different job so that she could get Sundays off and found this job, and they promised her Sundays off, but ever since like a month after she got the job, she has had to work almost every Sunday. But she is an incredible woman with so much faith, and she is one of the sweetest people I've ever met in my life and she just ADORES the missionaries. She was SO happy when I came back! I was worried she would have forgotten me, or if not forgotten, then she wouldn't be happy to see me or something, but she had the biggest grin on her face and gave me a huge hug and gave us food and juice and stuff. And K and S were way excited to see me too. They both gave me big hugs too. Even her 5 and 3 year old kids remember and love me still. It was like one of the coolest experiences of my mission. I just love that family so much and I imagine that reunion to be pretty much exactly like the Celestial Kingdom will be. Except hopefully not so hot. But yeah. I don't know if I told you that last week, but enjoy it. 

I am jealous of the vacation to Strawberry! And especially fishing! There are actually a couple of fishing poles in our house. If we find a spot to go fishing, I would love to! I just need to convince my companion. She's not really a fisherman type. Did anyone catch any crawdads for me? Mail me one.

Also we taught M again. O who is a really great member, came with us and they got along really well! M has 4 sons, and O has 4 daughters, so that was fun for them. O gave like the best testimony. I think it was exactly what M needed. She is a really sweet lady. 

So a funny experience was that we made a cake on Saturday for J for A's birthday on Sunday (and we had asked her beforehand how many people were coming, and she said it wasn't even going to be a party, it was just going to be a dinner, but apparently that was a lie.) and so we brought over two cakes in little like 9" by 9" pans, and we walk in and she is cooking SO much chicken. Like it could feed a whole army. It was at least 50 lbs of chicken. And she looked at the cake and was just like, "Oh...." and it was really awkward. We were like, "Do you want us to make some more cake? We could get it ready before tomorrow." And she was just like, "It's kind of late now..." And we were just like, "Ok... Sorry." and we talked to them for a while longer then left. Then as we were driving home, at like 8:55 she calls us and she's like, "This cake is delicious!" Hermana Hiebert was like, "You're eating it?!" and she was like, "Yeah! It's great! Can you make another one please?" So we hurried and were like running around Food Lion like crazy chickens and Hermana Hiebert is like working so hard to get this cake done before 10:30 and she cooked another one in the morning (J said she only needed one more, but what she really wanted was a hispanic-size "one more" so we made two 9" by 13" cakes.) and we brought it over to the party and it was a good time. Oh, the awkwardness. 

Also, Hermana Brown (one of my trainers) came back for a visit! She brought her family and came to church and they also came to the party afterwards. It was fun to see her again! I should have taken a picture with her, but I forgot. Her Dad took one though. She is engaged! Remember how she is a widow? Well she met her fiancee at an LDS widow's convention! How cute is that! I am really happy for her. He lives in Arkansas, so she'll be moving there after they get married in the end of August. 

Well, anyways. Adios! Love you all! Have a wonderful week of goodness!

Love,

Hermana Emily Pratt