Monday, December 6th, 2010 LETTER

Dear Family and Friends,


Can you believe that it is December?! I know I can't, especially with this weather we have here. This week we have had an average of 50s to 70s degree weather. It feels like Fall. If you know me well you know how I love Autumn. So winters in Texas are easy. Everyone is saying how cold it is. Everyone has there coats, gloves, and scarfs on. I on the other hand am wearing the same thing I did in the summer. The only difference is on occasion I will put on my hoodie at night and my rain jacket. My rain jacket is really just like a rain poncho. Everyone thinks I am crazy. Then I tell them where I am from and they just nod and say "Oh that is why." So this has been the first week in this new transfer with my new companion. This transfer will include Christmas and New Years. First, about "killing" off my old companion. We woke up tuesday morning as usual and Hermana Hastings all of a sudden got really nervous to go home. She kept saying she didn't know what she was going to do with herself when she got home. It is like she was so happy to go home all transfer and at the very end she realized what that meant. But I took her to the office with all the craziness of transfers. Lots of people at the office changing companions and with luggage(sp.?). I got my new companion and we head out. Pretty much the first night we dropped off her stuff and went to work. Now that I am the only one who knows the area I realize how much I do know. I am also the designated driver which means that I drive everyday again like I did my first 2 transfers.

So about my new companion. Her name is Jenny Bullock. She is the youngest of 4 children. She has 2 sisters and 1 brother. She is very happy all the time. I have never met someone who is happy all the time. It is exhausting just to watch. She is the same "age" in the mission as my trainer was. So this is her 9th transfer which means she has been on her mission now for over a year. She only has three more transfers after this one with me. She will be going home in May. Hermana Bullock loves being a missionary. She has still kept that "greenie fire" as they call it. She is not afraid to commit everyone she meets to baptism. We will do a lot of good here in this area with her here. She struggles with her spanish though. So actually I am using my spanish a lot more than before. Everyone tells me I have really good spanish for someone who has been out as long as I have. By the way I have now been on my mission for 6 months!! It is harder to see improvement in yourself when you talk with natives. But I don't give up and keep going.

We have some exciting news. We received a referral from the ward the tuesday that we changed companions. Her name is Anna. She is a friend of many many people in the ward. She grew up coming to activities, but never church. So when her friend came home from her mission, (Her friend is a recently returned missionary in our ward named Claudia), she invited her to church. Anna had just broken up with a long time boyfriend and was completely prepared to make this change in her life. We have been teaching her a lot this whole week. She plans on being baptized on the 18th of December. The ward has been great with helping fellowship her. Also our new ward mission leader is very enthusiastic about the work. We expect some good changes to happen in the ward to help the work go more effectively forward.

I keep working hard. I miss and love all of you. I hope all of you are safe and happy this Christmas season.

Love,

Hermana Alaina Mills