Week 3: Aloha!

Elle and Sister Mahoni's welcome when they arrived at a members house. 

Lake Stevens< Washington

This week has been so interesting. It was so nice to be able to hear form everyone! Thank you for the letters, the packages, and all of the love and support. So this week I went on exchanges for the first of many. It was a lot of fun and good to see different styles of teaching. I went to Everett and it is so city compared to where I am at. Everyone was so nice and loving. We went contacting and when we started to walk down the street there were a few people who saw us and knew who we were, and B-lined it across the street so they wouldn't talk to us! HAHA I was laughing so hard!

Elle at the Community Garden

Because I was in Everett the service that I got to do was gardening. So the lady that started this big community garden is a pretty big hippie. She came to Washington a couple of years ago and started the community garden. The reason she did is because God told her to. She did a Forest Gump thing of walking all over to see where God would lead her. She ended up in Washington and so God told her to start a big community garden and so that is what she did. She bought a plot of land and started it for the food banks. The whole community helps out with it and is it so beautiful! She is so nice and loving.

Elle on Exchanges with Sister Stanley

Sister Mahoni got really sick for a couple of days and was in bed. So I just kept myself busy while she was in bed. I studied and did what I could while she was down. I know that if I am obedient the Lord will bless me. On the second day I went on splits with the Lundeen Park sisters and it was really nice to be able to get out of the house. We went tracking and it was the hottest day since I have been here. Oh course! But it was good because we were able to talk to a lot of people and go and teach a lesson. After that we went to my area for the evening and that is where we met and taught Jamie. She is so amazing and has such a big love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. She was confused about a few things, but she told us it felt right and so it would all work out. She has such amazing faith! But we will be going back this week to teach her the next lesson and answer a few of her questions. I am so excited because she wants to learn and she wants her kids to be a part of it. Then there is Amy, she has a daughter that lives with her and her son lives with the dad. We are doing a FHE tonight with them, her daughter is so excited and so is Amy. She called us last night to plan for today! 

I am in a car and it has been awesome! We don't live in our area (Ward).  We have to travel 10 min before we are in our area. But our members are so loving and want to do missionary work, which has been such an amazing blessing for us. Because being whitewashed into an area you don't know where you are going and you don't know anyone. But it has been good because there is so much I have had to learn because of this. My mission president and his wife have been so amazing and are always do what they can to make this mission all that it can be. But I am excited to see what the lord has in store for me this week and am ready to continue to work! I love you all!!

Elle when she arrived at the Seattle airport