Suffering = Good Week 16

I gave my first Mandarin tour this week. XD We just speak to the pictures in English and they talk to us in Mandarin. It's super weird but really funny. XD

This week was awesome! Zone Conference was super sweet. I was thrown off a bit by a last-second assignment to give the closing prayer, but I didn't die, so, there you go.

We met with a lot of members this week. Our district decided the week before transfers to go through the list of members and call/visit everyone. The 27 names my companion and I were given are still in progress. We didn't know when to do it, so we kept putting it off and putting it off. We finally tried to contact one yesterday and we called another one. I'm excited to meet the members and strengthen the ward from the inside.

 Also, I think our investigators are progressing! Well, they're still struggling to read, but they look so excited to see us when we visit! :D That's a great step. We went and visited this one lady, L, but she wasn't there, so we were visiting with her family, and when she got back and saw us in her house, she got all excited and said, "When are you going to come visit me again?" Sweet, sweet words to our ears! Her situation is so sad, and she's struggling with smoking, so we're going to talk to her about that tonight. I'm nervous! I've never taught that to a real investigator before. :O I guess as long as we have the Spirit we have nothing to fear though. :)

We're getting better at the whole 'navigating' thing. We don't have the gps anymore, so we're using the Tommy guide. It's pretty exciting sometimes. OH! We went to this baptism the other night and it was so amazing. The man, Ismael, is just the sweetest. Because of his medical problems, (he doesn't have a stomach...) we literally had to duct tape him so he could be baptized. He is so humble and willing to do anything for the Lord. He is such an example to me!

We've also gotten better and asking for references. It's funny, they are actually giving us references! However, they're usually outside of our area. Rats!

One of our members gave us her visiting teachees to visit, so we stopped by one on Monday. (She can't drive so she just called them, but wanted someone to visit them too, so we went!) This poor sister can't leave her bed at all. She has one of those hospital bed things where the head raises up? Anyway, she was incredible. She talked about how Jesus Christ suffered so much for us, and so we shouldn't expect anything less! She was so amazing. She's had medical problems her whole life but she's so happy and she loves her Savior so much. These people are teaching me so much.

This morning in my personal study I was looking for ways to support L tonight, and then after I found some great ones, I realized that they all apply to me too. Like I said, I was struggling with feeling inadequate and useless. Well, we're given these weaknesses so that we rely on the Savior, and as we do, we become like Him, and become stronger. I actually found a sweet sweet verse in Hebrews that talks about how suffering helps us be obedient to the will of the Father which makes us become like Christ/perfect. I knew that before but it was good to re-learn it. Suffering = good, because suffering = becoming perfect. XD Well, at least, if we choose to make the best of our struggles. :)

Life is wonderful! :D Love you all!! <3!

--Hermana Harris

Week 15 First Transfer! Speaking from the Heart

The Johnson's surprise birthday visit!!

Hello hello hello!

 Today is a wonderful day! I cannot believe that it's been an entire transfer! It's crazy! We get to have one of the new sisters stay at our apartment tonight, just like how I stayed with Sister Mendez and Silva my first night. I'm super excited! We're going to make her German pancakes in the morning. :)

This week has been amazing! We're still working with D, and she's still amazing. The biggest struggle we have with her right now is that the Spanish Branch has issues with reverence during the Sacrament. The kids are running around and she specifically told us that she goes to the Catholic church after our church so she can take of the Sacrament in peace and reverence. She's amazing, though. I think she really feels our love for her. :) It's such a blessing working with her. There are so many amazing people out there!

We had a sweet experience at the temple!! There was this awesome couple, and the lady said she just felt this huge desire/yearning to pray in the temple. We explained that she can't go in all the way, and we talked about what happens in temples, and how she can prepare to go in, and she was sobbing because she just wanted to go in and pray. They wrote down their info so we can send missionaries to talk to them. They're so ready!! It was incredible.

 Sister Woolstenhulme made us strawberry shortcake (not actual shortcake, but a buttermilk cake that was incredible) the other day with real whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Sister Bement (also one of the older Sisters) made us orange rolls the other day, and she made them all crescenty! It made me so happy. :) It was super good. She just made the regular crescent rolls and then put orange glaze on top. Yum!  Just so you know, I'm feeling happier this week than last week. It's so much easier to just be happy. :) Hey we had this awesome activity the other day! It was for the Relief Society anniversary. They RS presidency put on this cute play and so many people came (including our investigator!) and we got to know the members better and help serve them. It was awesome. 

I get to stay with my comp!! :D She's just so amazing and forgiving and so selfless. I was watching her give the tour the other day, and she's adorable, and an incredible missionary. She is so tiny, her shoes fit inside of mine! I'm so glad to have her as my companion!

We've got an investigator that we met at the beginning of the transfer who still hasn't come to church. She has a hard time reading, because she isn't very well educated, so it's hard for her. :( We read with her and stuff, but she isn't coming to church so I don't know what to do. I don't want to drop her. She told us that the first time we met with her, she felt such peace and comfort, and she felt like God had sent us to her. It's hard that she can't see that she needs to do her part to understand all of this. Well, we'll just keep loving her.

I've realized something pretty important. When I'm in a lesson, and I'm worrying about how horrible my Spanish is, my Spanish is horrible. When I just try to ignore how terrible my Spanish is and just communicate the words from my heart, the words just come. It's hard, but I need to just focus on that. I can speak when I just let it come!

Well, I think that's about all. Oh, we had service again the other day. It was great to get out and work outside and get my hands dirty and help others see that we want to help! The people we were working with were so grateful for our help. It was so fun! I love doing service. :)  Well, I have to go, but I love you! <3! Take care! 
Hermana Harris

In the Attitude of Singing and Praising God!! Week 14

This week has been an adventure. I definitely feel like I'm on a roller coaster sometimes. To be honest I've been a little grumpy this week. I'm getting a little sick (my throat is being weird and my voice was almost gone on Sunday) and the work is frustrating... 

However I was reading in 1 Nephi 1, and it talked about how in Lehi's vision, there were numberless concourses of angels in attitude of singing and praising their God. So basically I realized that I can be happy, I can be in the attitude of singing and praising God always, even when I literally can't sing cuz my voice is gone. I can still praise Him always. I need to cheer up. So I've been working on that. :)

We had some more lessons with D. She just loves everything she learns. She's an amazing person. I can't believe all the things she's gone through and yet remains so happy and everything. She works so hard, too. Anyway, she came to church again with all her kids and it's just so sweet! Aaaaand she committed to be baptized! ^_^ Unfortunately there are some issues that we didn't know existed that we'll have to work through. >_< Oh well. It's not supposed to be easy, right? 

Oh! There was this lady we met ,L, one day on the street, and she was walking with her daughter, and they were talking about what they could do to help her son (the girl's brother) cuz he's going through a rough time. Well, right then we walked up and talked to them. The daughter said, "Where did you come from? It's like you came from heaven!" Well, we tried talking to Lolita later but she was always "busy." We saw her on Sunday night, and this time she was super receptive and wanted to talk to us! So we talked a bit, and she introduced us to her son, and we set another appointment with them. We want to get him involved in the youth activities, for sure. 

One of our investigators, E, still hasn't come to church, so that's a struggle for us. Hopefully she'll come this Sunday, because she also committed to be baptized, so she needs to come! Her son has a friend there so we know he's gonna love it if he comes. Hopefully she can just come so she can see how awesome it is. :) We've also been working with an 8-yr-old girl named V. Her mom has been a member for 2 years, but her father isn't a member, and nor are her siblings. They really get after her for considering being baptized. They told her that she's going to ruin her life if she gets baptized, and that it's a horrible idea. She's just 8. That's a lot to take! So we've been trying to be supportive. She feels pushed and pulled. :( I feel so bad for her! She doesn't want to make her dad angry but I'm pretty sure she feels the desire to be baptized. That is so hard! 

My comp is awesome. We made soup together last week. It was so fun! :) We just threw random stuff in and cooked it all up and it was pretty delicious. :D 

I've been feeling so frustrated with the language. I feel like I never have time to study it. :/ I need to be more diligent about only speaking in Spanish to my comp. I have been getting better at that. However, I still cannot talk to the people very well. I get nervous and freak out and all my Spanish flies out my ear. >_>

Time is passing so quickly! I have officially been here for a month! Well, it helps that February is shorter, but still.

I've been starting to learn the Spanish script. :D I theoretically know the introduction, but that's all...and I'm kind of slow at it. It's more than I knew last week, though, so, there you go. All I can do is improve, right? Poco a poco. Someday it will all make sense!

Our Zone had a service activity the other day. That was pretty awesome. I hadn't ever gone to an activity with the zone (besides zone meeting) so it was exciting to get to know the others in the zone. The only problem was I didn't bring a jacket and it was freezing... so that's how I got sick, I think.

We visited some members this week. That was so awesome! The first family was so sweet. It was good to teach about baptism/ the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a low-pressure situation. The kids were running around the whole time, so that was good practice too. Ha ha ha! The second family was so sweet too. :) We asked them for referrals too, and the dad told us about his brother in law, who is the husband of someone we've already visited a few times. (She's a less active.) So we're going to try to get him to come with us to a visit with all of them. I hope that will help soften their hearts.

Well, I can officially email anyone. So... feel free to email me I guess? XD I can't promise to respond but it would be fun to hear from you! :)

I love you allllll!!!!

--Hermana Harris

Pray always! Week 13

Hello hello hello! :D

This week has been much better. We've seen so many miracles! We were focusing on having member-present lessons, and in so doing we had a super awesome miracle. We took a sister with us to visit E, and when we were there, the member saw her great grand daughter outside the window! She knew she had relatives in the building but didn't know where they were, so we were able to go visit them afterwards.

Her grandson is dating a very nice lady named D, and she has 3 children and is divorced. They're so open to the message and so ready to hear it all! We had a brief lesson with them about the importance of prayer and they agreed to pray individually and as families, and then yesterday we had a FHE with them at the member's house. We weren't in charge of the lesson, which was frustrating because the lesson was long and confusing even for me, but they're still happy to meet with us, so we'll be doing so soon! They're just all so awesome!

We also finally finally finally met this lady M. We've talked to her on the phone 5 times, but we couldn't ever find her house (we definitely got lost last time (by which I mean we drove for like 20 minutes on the highway following the route on the gps... definitely outside of our area... and then when we got there the road we were looking for was like 500 feet long and had no houses on it and we were looking for an apartment...) but I finally found it on googlemaps, so we got her! We brought a member with us to that as well. It was legit! She's so ready and excited to hear everything! We taught the restoration and bore testimony and it was just so sweet. :) Her oldest son is really really cool too. He is only 11, but he's got some really good questions. They're so ready. :)

One thing I struggle with in general is just opening my mouth and talking to everyone, so this week we worked on that as well. So on Saturday we had a lot of referrals we were trying to contact, which meant lots of street contacting. Soooo I prayed for the courage to talk to people, and we did! It was so sweet. Now, admittedly a lot of people as soon as we said hi said, "Not interested" and walked off. However, it didn't bother me. I just felt excited to talk to people! It was so awesome. :)

My companion is so sweet. We're getting more used to the area so this whole driving thing is less scary. Navigating to new areas is still frustrating, but it's okay. :) I just keep praying and it'll all be good.

Whenever there are good things happening, Satan works extra hard to make me miserable. He's really been getting after me this week, but I'm trying to fight him. I feel like I'm finally understanding the whole 'pray always' thing. For sure. Pray always, that ye may come off conqueror, right?

Well, I feel much more comfortable with giving tours and everything now. I've been giving solo tours and not even messing up too horribly. There were some mess ups and awkward moments, but in general it's pretty good. I had a sweeet experience the other day! There was a man from Turkey that came into the Battalion!!! I learned a little Turkish back at the U of A. It's been a while, and I've forgotten most of it, but I was able to say a few things and I think it really helped him feel comfortable there. He said his sister is here too for a week, so he might bring her by to have a tour as well. It was so cool! Heavenly Father loves blessing us. It's so wonderful. :)

I think that's basically it. I want to start using family history as a way to help people find out about the church, so since I'm at the family history center, I asked them about getting some passalong cards. They said they'll get us some for next week! Woohoo! :D

Well, I hope all is well with you! Take care!
--Hermana Harris

Faith in a Calling from a Prophet. Week 12

Well well well!
The work is progressing! :) We're talking to a lot of people. There have been at least three times when we were talking to someone and they told us that they felt like we were sent from heaven to help them. It was pretty cool. However, these people are struggling to meet with us. They're so busy, and so are we. It breaks my heart.

We met a man who was totally interested and wanted to hear more, so we asked him for his address, and he said he doesn't have one, because he just lives with a few different families... he just moves from one to the other and never knows where he'll be next. :( That's happened at least twice. Oh man.

The other day we had a lesson with one of these sisters (one who said we came to her at just the right time and she felt like we were sent from God) the other day about baptism, but her aunt was there and she was very Catholic and the aunt's daughter was too, and she was very vocal about her feelings on the subject... >_> We still taught the lesson and tried to bring the Spirit. We're going to meet her again tonight. Hopefully things will go better!

The other day we were trying to meet a sister, but she wasn't home, but this random man was there instead, so we talked to him and invited him to the Battalion. He came with a friend and he LOVED it! We saw him again (we were trying yet again to talk to Irma) and talked to him some more about the gospel and the Battalion and he was just so excited. He agreed to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. I'm still struggling to speak Spanish and understand the people more, but I feel more comfortable with it, at least. :)

My companion is amazing. She's so patient with me. She's really good at just loving people. It's pretty awesome, because before I got out here, I had been praying that I could learn to have that kind of love. Heavenly Father really answers our prayers. Sometimes we still have a hard time communicating, but we're improving. We're also speaking more Spanish around the apartment and on the street, so that's good.

We've set a goal to learn 5 new words each day. We should probably have a better outline of what to learn each week, but we only just made the goal yesterday. I learned cejas, vanidoso, calentador, fosas nasales, y delegad. They're pretty random, I know. The point, though, is that it's a lot of fun learning together. I've been helping her with her pronunciation, and she's been helping me with grammar and such in Spanish. It's perfect! :D I wish all my comps could be native Spanish speakers.

I'm getting better at giving tours at the Battalion. I gave my first solo tour on Sunday, and I only had like...5 really awkward moments. Hahaha! It's fine, though. I think they knew I was just doing my best. Actually, a lady came through yesterday and she told us that she is a theatre teacher, and she thought we were fantastic! So I guess I'm not completely horrible anymore. :) I'm learning. It's a process.

Oh. One of the lines from the script says something like, "Once the men received these straps (they're talking about the ammunition case, bayonet, and the belt, all of which have or are a white strap) their enlistment suddenly became real to them. They were just farmers and craftsmen, with no experience as soldiers. But they were marching with faith in a promise from a prophet of God." Anyway, I realized that that is me! When I received my name tag, my calling suddenly became real to me. I'm just a student/young adult, with no real experience being a missionary. But, I'm driving off in San Diego with faith in a calling from a prophet of God. :)

I am feeling a lot more comfortable with everything. I think I get the area a lot better, and I feel much more comfortable driving. My hip is still hurting me, but it's feeling better in general. We got to buy fruits and vegetables today, so I won't die of scurvy. :) I'm excited to do some cooking once we get back to the apartment today! I feel so much more comfortable with the whole mission idea. I'm still scared and nervous and not sure how to talk to people, but I feel more confident that if I do everything I'm supposed to, the Lord will help me do His work.

We got to attend a baptism the other day. It was so awesome. I just felt such love and peace! I just want to be able to help people have that in their lives more.

We got to work at the temple! Well, outside the temple. We've got a "visitors center" there. It's a canopy with the words "Temporary Visitors Center" across the top. It was so awesome. We met so many prepared people and got to talk about eternal families and Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. The San Diego temple is so sweet. :D

We had MTEs the other day. Basically it's a meeting where they teach us how to teach and then we do a lot of role playing. We practiced teaching briefly and powerfully. We can now give the Restoration message in a little over a minute (in English... hahaha). :) It's progress. My companion and I are working on the whole switching often while teaching thing. We have been struggling a little (lies. A lot) with that, so I can really see the progress. :)

Okay one last story. So there's this awesome family that we visited. We went to visit the daughter (18) because we want to have her come out with us for lessons, but her parents were there too, so we talked with all of them. Her parents (her father in specific, but I think it's both) are less active. They're so awesome, though! When we left they gave us some of those Mexican bread things... hmm. I can't remember the word, and my companion just calls it bread. >_> Anyway, they've got the cool design thing on top, with lightly sugared stuff. They're super delicous. I think the name has a ch and a c in it. But... I can't remember. The point here is that it was super delicious!!!

And then when we visited them a second time, they got us pizza!! I haven't had pizza in forever. It was SO GOOD. I've been eating like... protein shakes, pb&js and granola bars for a week (or a little bit of chicken on spaghetti or rice when there's a moment to spare) so it was like heaven. Oh man. Well, basically these people are so giving. They just want to give and give and give. I love being here. I want to be more like them. :)

I felt way more at ease in the ward on Sunday. I still don't know very many people, but that doesn't mean I can give them all hugs! They're all so loving and welcoming. It's wonderful. :) Oh, btw, I've spoken to three people who speak German, and I told them all that my heart was full. :) I hope you appreciate that, dad. I'm afraid my German pronuciation (and English spelling) is horrible at the moment, though. Spanish is taking over! XD Well, I need to go now. I love you all!

--Hermana Harris

Julia's First Day in San Diego Week 10-ish

A transcription of a handwritten letter we got this week. It takes 6 days for mail to go between SD and Layton. Pony Express still?

It was so wonderful to talk to you this morning! The flight went well and now we are here in sunny San Diego! It reminds me so much of Tucson with all the palm trees and the temperature. It's wonderful!

They've fed us well! A real taco salad and actual fresh strawberries cantaloupe and raspberries! Even fresh pineapple! I feel human again.

Tonight the new sisters will be sleeping at the MoBat! I don't know how that is going to work, but there you go. Tomorrow I'll get my new trainer and really start this missionary thing.I'm going to miss my companion! She has been so wonderful, I could not have done it without her!

Today I feel like a princess. The mission home is awesome. Right now I am in this sweet corner bedroom with two cute beds and a window looking out into the green flowery, sunny garden! Me Gusta!

I want to live in San Diego! I love it here! I just feel good! Plus this house smells good.I'm not sure what it is, but it smells great! They are even going to let us take a nap! I am so excited! 3:30 am is a bit early.

Oh did I tell you about this sweet email experience? Well the person emailed us back saying thank you from the bottom of their soul and that they read and reread our email reply and they felt the Spirit and they felt like our message was straight from God! That's all I could ever ask for! That's my whole goal as a missionary- to speak His words to His children the way He would if He were here! I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity.

I just had my first interview with Pres. Clayton's wife. She is such a sweetheart! Very kind and loving. Don't worry Mom, she gives lots of hugs!

Now I just had my first interview with Pres. Clayton! He is a wonderful man. I am so excited to be working with him! I am excited for this. I hope I can make the most of every day and work hard enough!

There are 10 stakes in our mission and almost all of them have MoBat sisters. This will be crazy. BTW on our way into the airport, we ran into sisters leaving the mission. They were so excited for us. When I asked for advice, they just said, "Follow the Spirit."

The Assistants to the President in our meeting today said that right now San Diego has 150 missionaries. By the end of the summer, we'll be at 230!

In the interview, President Clayton said that there will be times when I will be so frustrated. I will be doing all the right things and being obedient and working hard, but that things just won't work out. Our golden investigator will call up and say, "Never come back." But if we step it up a notch instead of giving up, we will have miracles. Heavenly Father knows when things should work out. I want to come home as a different person in a good way. I want to work and watch and pray and labor with the fervent zeal of youth. BTW when I say "yes" and "no" when we sing that song, people give me weird looks. Oh well.

Again I love talking to you, even though you made me cry in the middle of the airport about five times.  Citrus trees. Palm trees. Green hills. Cool breezes. The aroma of sugar cookies baking. A bunch of pillows and the sweet peace of the Spirit. Best first day ever. :)


Hermana Harris

California Here I am! Week 11

Hola!!

It's crazy. You know when they say that the mission is the hardest thing you'll ever do? Well, I believed them, but I didn't understand them. It seriously is rough out here. I mean, even when people are nice and totally open to the message it's hard. XD There's just SO MUCH TO DO, and no time! It's insane. 

Here are the highlights and low lights of my first week here:

First off, my companion is Hermana Salinas. Ella es de Oaxacca, Mexico, y es bien bien chida. XD I think I sent you a picture of her from the battalion. It's been quite the adventure there, but that's another story. Focusing in on my comp. She's super excited about being here in San Diego and has a great positive attitude. She makes me food and encourages me and tells me to wear her earrings (which are super pretty) and she's taking good care of me.

I hurt my hip a bit the other day (Sister Affleck told me that I just pinched a nerve there, so I should massage and stretch it, so I've been doing that and it hurts less now, but I have some bruising there) and she's patient with me and worries about me. It's hard to communicate sometimes because her first language is Spanish and mine obviously is not. Also, she doesn't know how to drive, so that is my official job. D: That was the last thing I wanted to do here, but it's okay so far. By which I mean we haven't died ... yet. But we get lost a lot. It's hard to drive in a new place with super-fast driver and a co-pilot that isn't a natural-English speaker. Buuuut it's okay. We have a Garmin, but neither of us are very good at using it, so we miss our turns and stuff a lot. But... we're getting better at knowing where the places are in the first place so we don't need to rely on the Garmin as much!

The Battalion is way sweet. The sisters are all so welcoming and loving. During lunch breaks (about 2 people can eat at a time max) they all ask me how I'm doing and ask about myself and my family, etc. I kinda just want to eat but oh well. XD We had a super awesome experience the other day at the Battalion. I went out back to gold panning and joined a group talking there with Sister Madsen. (BTW, I saw Rebecca Madsen at the temple. I can't remember if I said that the other day or not.)

Anyway, we talked a lot and I was so afraid to say anything, but after they talked for like half an hour I finally started adding stuff in, and we had a nifty discussion about church and how we don't want them to join our church because we believe it's true, but rather we want them to find out for themselves and to gain their own testimony. Last week when I was in Temple Square, these people asked us to get Books of Mormons and write our testimonies in them so they could give them out, so we did, but the people disappeared, so I kept mine. Anyway, I had it in my bag so I was able to give it to the visitors, and I shared a bit about how it has helped me feel God's love for me, and it was so awesome. I absolutely loved it. Miracles happen at the Battalion!!

Speaking of the Battalion, yesterday I actually went thru a tour with my companion and I did about 40% of the talking! That was a lot. It was my first time helping out in the outfitting room. I was so scared, and didn't do a perfect job, but I said some things, and that was good. I'm still working on the script. There's a lot to memorize! My goal is to be able to do half of it by Wednesday and to take tours by myself by Saturday. We'll see how that goes. The sisters are so nice and willing to help practice with me. It's great. SO many people come to the MoBat! It's insane. We had over 700 people the other day. THAT IS A LOT.

I've been assigned to work in the Logan Heights branch. This branch used to only have 1 pair of sisters, but we're the 2nd pair of them, and there are already 3 companionships of elders there. It's crazy. So we sort of get to whitewash the area. Thankfully Sister O'Neill (Hermana Amendola's trainer) gave us some of her investigators and such. Before we got all of that, though, we went and visited this lady, Maria. She's a less active. She's from Spain, and pretty old, but very sweet. Hehehe... she said she doesn't like gringos. And then she said, except you, and gave me a hug & kissed my forehead. Then later she said, in Spanish of course, "I like gringos... far from me." And then gave me another hug and kissed my forehead. She calls me her gringita. XD

She's a sweet lady. She just had eye surgery and is going through a hard time. She doesn't feel very much love from the branch and that's why she doesn't want to go. She said missionaries are the angels of the church. Anyway, we sat by her in Relief Society on Sunday. I only understand 40-75% of what she says in Spanish, and when she speaks English, I get about 60-80% of it. XD Oh well. My compa can understand it all so that's been super nice. It's kinda awkward though. Cuz... well she's from Mexico, and so all the people we talk to just love her and they give her a huge hug and get all excited, and then if they even notice me they give me a grimace and shake my hand. I've never experienced this before. I guess I just need to be more outgoing.

We had our first official lesson yesterday. We taught the Restoration to this lady. We need to practice the whole taking-turns-talking thing. That comes during comp study I guess. My companion is so good at talking to the people and showing them her love. It's been such a wake up call to see these people and the lives they live and how much faith they have. We called a lady yesterday to set up an appointment, and she said she can't meet with us this Wednesday because her husband just went to jail today and she has to get all the papers to get him out. It's all so crazy.

We went to visit one of Hna O'Neill's old investigators, who lives in an apartment above a car dealership. I mean, this is real life. It's crazy. I feel so overwhelmed with the language and the work and everything. But I know that I will have help. This are already feeling a bit more manageable. I can probably survive with part of my sanity intact. If not, oh well. XD You'll love me anyways, right? :D

Exercising was going pretty well until my hip went all wonky. Because I had been using the ellipticals, my endurance went up a little, so running wasn't too bad. I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm at a way lower altitude because it was pretty easy. It was more of 'my muscles are tired' than 'I can't breathe!!!' so that's good news. :) I'm excited to start running again once my hip muscles stop freaking out.

I'm grateful to be a part of this work. Scared, yes. Nervous, yes. Worried, yes. Excited? Yes! :)