Of course, this week was absolutely FANTASTIC!!
For one, I TURNED 20!! Woohoo! Mom, you're all out of teenagers now! It was definitely a little strange to be so far away, but everyone made it a home away from home. :) I was lucky, because Wednesdays are my nights with a dinner and lesson at Pete and Doenice's house. They made us breakfast for dinner, and they got me the cutest "California Love" shirt! It was so nice of them! Thank YOU much for your sweet birthday packages. You set us all up to have a party in the apartment after! And oh, we partied! We had so much fun with our Twinkie cakes, and we lit the candles after lights out (actually, we turned the lights our early so we could still be in bed by 10:30. :) It was a wonderful day, and even though I missed you, the sisters made it a lot of fun! Also, your homemade muffins made me the happiest girl in the world--no exaggeration there. I was SO happy. Thank you so much!
As far as missionary work goes, this was the big week: Pete got baptized on Saturday! I had mentioned to you that Pete had been interviewed by President Castro, and he had said he wanted to come to the baptism. But, as we know, he's a pretty busy guy, and we didn't know if he'd actually be able to. But, sure enough, the entire Castro family was there! We couldn't believe it! There were so many people there to love and support Pete, and he was just GLOWING! After the baptism, he stood up and bore his testimony, and made the whole room cry. It was such a simple, but powerful testimony, and we were able to see how much the gospel really has changed his life. Then, the 4-sister missionaries (me, Sister Cox, Sister Reneer, and Sister Proctor) sang Joseph Smith's First Prayer, to the tune of Come Thou Fount. By the end, Pete and Doenice were crying, so we all started to cry. We hadn't really though it through that we'd be a little emotional right after hearing Pete speak. But, Pete was excited that we sang, so that's all the matters, right? We'll be singing it again in Sacrament Meeting this Sunday, and I'll be playing the piano. Sister Cox gave an amazing talk on the Holy Ghost, and I think we all cried some more. Honestly, the spirit that was at that baptism was so strong, I can't even begin to describe it. We love Pete, Doenice, and Brooke SO much, and have seen how much Heavenly Father loves them, as well. They're already planning their trip to Utah next June to be sealed as a family. :)
I wish I had more time to tell you about this week, but there are all kinds of things to do today. Just know that I love you, I think of each of you every day, and I'll see you soon!
♥Shay
