Ring Out, Wild Bells! Hymn #215

Oh my gosh this week I got my letter telling me about what I need to do to start getting ready to go home. Oh my gosh. Ugh. I will be coming home on November 10th. I will be going to the temple on October 22nd, with the missionaries that are going home like normal people on the actual transfers. (for those who didn't know, I'm going home mid-transfer). I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited to go to the temple! I haven't been my WHOLE MISSION (except in the MTC). I haven't even seen any of the new videos. But mostly I am so excited to go to the DC temple! It is so pretty. And hearing everyone talk about it all the time is just like pouring hand sanitizer into the wound. Not really. But basically. It just makes me really want to go. But at least I get to go this time! And I will get to go with a bunch of my old companions! Hermanas Chambers, Hiebert, and Horton. So that will be cool! 

Also I have to stay "somewhere in Richmond" (probably at the mission home) the night of my departure. I will then have my exit interview. I have to whittle both my bags down to 50 pounds each, so that will be a lovely challenge. 

But now, back to the missionary work. V set a baptismal date this week! He wants November 1st. It is so exciting! I am glad he put it before I leave. I would have died. He is doing really well, all is good with him. 

So the saddest thing of all time happened this week. Remember when I said A was praying about/preparing to make a decision? Well, he did. He texted us on Tuesday and was like, "I need to talk to you tomorrow. Can we meet at 8?" and Hermana Gonzalez was like, "He is dropping us." But I was like, "No, I don't think so. He was talking to us so normally right before this, and is really cheerful and stuff. Hopefully not."

But then the next day we got there and were choosing what hymn to sing and he was like, "It has to be a really good one, because this is the last time we'll be meeting together like this. I've made my decision, and I can't leave my family." So we sang 'There is Sunshine in my Soul Today,' one of his favorites. Then he explained: "I know that eventually C will come around if I am patient with her. I feel that God will help me. And I will be able to get baptized. This isn't the last you've heard of me, I will be a member of this church one day. God is everywhere, but I know that this is His church." And we talked to him for a long time. Of course I was weeping, and he was weeping, and Hermana Gonzalez was weeping, right on the front porch (where we always teach him) and a bunch of people were walking by and staring at us (our neighbors, both sets of the Mandarin Elders, etc). It was awkward. I am so sad about it, but Heavenly Father knows more than I do about it. Maybe that is the right answer for A. I know that he will get baptized one day, but it is just so sad to see him give up for now. I couldn't trust him to anyone but Heavenly Father, so I am glad He is there to help guide him. But man, that was definitely the hardest drop of my mission so far. I hate goodbyes anyway, but especially extended ones. And especially with people I know I probably won't see again. So that was rough. It was a tough week overall. 

But oh well. 

On Thursday me and Sister Hansen went on exchanges, and that was when my week started to pick up. I went and worked in Rapidan with her, while Sister Theurer (pronounced Tire (who knows why)) came to be with Hermana Gonzalez. While she was there, she was super bold with V and she is the one that got him to think of a date to text to us the next morning, which he did!

In Rapidan I got to play with some dogs, which was great fun, and see the sweet recent convert lady who owns them and it was fun. They live in like Narnia though. We drove like five miles up the "mountain" on all these windy dirt roads in the dark, surrounded by trees and stuff. But it was worth it, because it was literally the only thing that didn't cancel on us all day. But Sister Hansen is hilarious, so we had a good time. She was waiting for a visa to go to Brasil, but it never came, so she just hit her year mark, which is when they officially decide if they will stay here or keep waiting. She is staying. So she speaks Portuguese, so we were talking to each other (me in Spanish, and she in Portuguese) all day. During lunch and language study we even played Battleship in our respective languages. Every time a ship was sunk, we had to read a scripture out loud in our language. It was fun. We ate at a Mexican restaurant which was really good. I left a card for the waitress, who was really nice. Who knows.
But yeah! Things are great here. I love you all! Have a wonderful week and don't let the chupacabras bite!

Love,

Hermana Emily Pratt