Think of something exciting..

President & Sister Wilson with departing missionaries

Emily with President & Sister Wilson

Emily and former companions at the Temple together

Hola! So it is super dee duper weird that this is my second to last p-day in the mission. About my flight, that is a little worrisome since I'll be all by myself! They haven't told me about my flight plans or anything yet. It will be nice not to have to wait a long time between flights, but it will also be difficult, I'm sure, to have all my stuff and be like running through an airport I don't know all alone. Ugh. I haven't been alone in a year and a half. This will be awkward. 

I have been cooking a lot this week because we didn't have many member dinners and also I just wanted to. Plus I have to use all my food. And I realized that I am a really good cook. Not to brag or anything. But just saying. And I can make some pretty great Hispanic foods now. So I'll have to do that at home sometimes. It will be nice to have more ingredients. 

I went to the temple last week! Oh my goodness. Words cannot describe how amazing it was. It is a BEAUTIFUL temple, as you can imagine. And HUGE! It doesn't look that big in the pictures, but it is like 7 or 8 stories high! Not counting the spires and the Angel Moroni and stuff (side story from the member that drove me home: She used to live in a house with little decorative spikes that were only like 6 inches each, and her nonmember neighbor knocked on the door one day and asked her mom if the spikes were to attract Angel Moroni 's.) I will be sending pictures! It is SO AMAZING! And I finally saw one of the new videos and it was SOOOOOOO good! I loved it and I felt like I learned/understood so much more! I also received a lot of revelation. I feel like when I get back I just want to go like live in the temple. Hopefully everyone is ok with that. But anyone that wants to go, tell me and we'll plan a day. Anyone that hasn't been in a while, GO! There is no excuse worth what you miss by not going! Not being able to go for so long has really made me appreciate it so much. And then going with so many people that are so in-tune with the Spirit and having had so much time to prepare myself of course is a big help. And then we drove around DC a bit and drove past the Washington monument and stopped for a minute at the Lincoln memorial. They were way cool, too. Of course, they pale in comparison with the Washington temple, but still cool! And it was cool getting to go with 3 of my old companions. And a bunch of Sisters that I had served with also. I didn't know hardly any of the Elders. Just one was in my district right before going home. Elder Saunders, the one with red hair. 

The night before, on Tuesday night, we played ping-pong and Foosball and Apples to Apples (Bible Edition) as a group. It was way fun. Ping-pong can get pretty intense. We were playing the way me and Shawn and Ryan usually play, with no rules. We did 3 on 3, Elders vs Sisters. Two were up front, then we also had an outfielder who got a surprising amount of action. The table was just in President's garage. 

My new companions are Hermana Romero and Hermana Quinones (Key-niOH-nes). They have both only been out 3 months. They are great! Hermana Quinones is pretty quiet but super funny, and Hermana Romero is a bit of a diva and it is hilarious. We'll have a good time.
And yes, V is still set to be baptized this Saturday evening. I am so excited for him! We've got some stuff to work on with him (we went through the baptismal questions with him on Monday and it was hilarious - he doesn't like the idea of tithing ("I have to leave my check at the church?!") or leaving tea or coffee and he still has some doubts about Joseph Smith, but those things are things that he is working on.) He knows it isn't a game and he knows he has to follow the rules even if he doesn't necessarily like them if he chooses this church. He knows he can't just get baptized and then later decide he is bored with it and leave. So he knows what he needs to do and he is still willing to do it. The ward has been supporting him lots and I think it has helped a lot. It is a great ward. It helps that V is so friendly and will come to anything we invite him to. It seems like everyone knows him or has talked to him at some point, so they were all super excited (if a bit surprised) that he's getting baptized this Saturday. But I am so excited for him! This will change his life. And I know it will help his son too. I think that's still a big reason he likes this church. 

The primary program was this week here. It was hilarious and wonderful, as usual. 

Do you know what I will be speaking on yet for my homecoming talk? 

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Emily Pratt

Ps I feel hesitant to send this because it means I only have one weekly email left after this. Ugh. Ugh, ugh, ugh. Weird.