Ogden May Be TOO Sketchy

Hello my fellow friends! How are you? 

Gosh I feel so blessed to be in the area that I am in right now! Sometimes I don't though.Tomorrow and Wednesday it's going to be 101 degrees and we're walking all of it. Not to mention, we were walking last week, there was a man on a motorcycle with a woman on the back holding a string to a guy on a bicycle behind them... just going down the street like a typical Tuesday. Missionary work is never boring because something random and crazy happens every day. This grandpa came up to me and said that he was trying to tell a story about how he rode his bike across the country to one of his Spanish speaking neighbors (who he assumed was my dad somehow) but then he stopped mid-sentence and asked me if I spoke English. I love Utah! But all stories aside, my favorite part is that every time we walk to church, we see the Ogden temple and it reminds me of my missionary purpose. We are inviting others to make steps of faith so that they can take their feet and go inside the temple to make promises with the lord that are binding for forever. Literally so awesome! 

We had to stop teaching the sweet Marta Bedoya this week because she said she doesn't want to change the way she is living right now in the catholic church. Y'all I cried a bit after that lesson. I love her so much but you have to respect someone else's decision to accept or regret what you're teaching them. We got a photo with her and it's attached to this email :) 

I think I see Spanish improving! I am starting to pick up the more complicated conjugations so things sound a bit easier. I definitely have some things to work on, like asking if they said "blank" in Spanish. So far, I have asked a member about her mission and it was actually her sister's mission lol. A new investigator was talking about her mom was dying, but I thought she was already dead so I went off on a spiritual thought about death, and I didn't find out 2 other investigators were moving until after the lesson. I thought their son had to leave the country lol. My Spanish will get better! I know it!

So on Saturday, we came home from a mission zoom and you guys, the whole house smells like weed. My companion helped me identify it at the beginning of the mission and we can't have candles in the house so we're spraying the house down every 30 minutes. We have vents connecting to the apartment above and they are new neighbors so my companion and I have an inkling of who it might be. Turns out, someone from the other apartment lit a very musky old men's candle and it came through all of the apartments. Gross!

The logo is finished!! AAAAAAAAAA I am so happy! So the inspiration behind it is that Jesus Christ is the sheppard and we are here to help him heard his flock. We are finding the sheep! I have a blue and red option because red represents the robes christ will come in at the last days and blue looks pretty. That's all! They are going to be put on a lot of things and I am so stoked!

I have a feeling that half of my email list is missionaries so I have a message for you guys! Your future will depend on what you do right now. God needs you to put two feet on your mission instead if one foot at home. I know that looks different for each of you guys and I hope the spirit will help you reveal what you need to do. I promise you that you will find greater peace when you put the future in God's hands and let him draw your path instead of the path you think you will find the most joy in doing. He will guide you along the path to eternal life if you let him decide your future. I am striving to do that now and I can testify that it is true. It isn't easy, of course, but if the people that we teach can do the small things to change their lives and their future, I know that we can too.

Love you guys so much! And I know God Loves you too <3

Hermana Vestel 

1. This cat loved me so much and it was 30 minutes of heaven getting to pet her

2. The amazing Marta Bedoya

3. Some sidewalk inspirational quote I found in Ogden

4. There is this statue that I call the "weeping angel statue" (if any of you guys have watched doctor who) and I decided to pose the same way

5. My name tag by the Ogden temple! 

6. The mission logo