Remember

On Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 11:07 AM,

Myrna wrote:

I haven't heard back from any of you as to whether or not you are coming to the devotional tonight (Sunday). President Pinegar, our temple president, has arranged for Julie Beck, general church Relief Society President, to speak to the temple workers and their families at a devotional at 7 p.m. at the Manti Stake Center (the red building on Main Street). He is having the devotional at the church rather than at the temple so more family members can attend.

Shawn Trauntvein 6/28/10 

Yes, thanks for the invite.

We had a fireside to launch our Duty to God mission last night. Dane and I are assigned as companions for five weeks, where we have to work on scripture study, prayer, a Duty to God requirement, missionary work, and service together, until we have our close with a Duty to God Encampment in August. Of course, Dane will be at the Jamboree for 15 of those days. We had a similar thing last year, but this year we are looking forward to receiving the new booklets. A neighbor of mine works at the Church Printing Office, and said they are trying to amass a large number of them so that they can send them out all at once (at least that is how I thought I understood his explanation).

I thought it was interesting that even though it was an anniversary of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith yesterday, right on Sunday, that nobody mentioned it. But then Kimberly and I are in primary, so maybe they did in one of the other meetings. Of course, we don’t like to remember deaths as much as other events, especially if it could stir negative emotions, so perhaps it is better to recall events such as the restoration of the Priesthood, rather than the sealing of testimonies in death.

Todd Trauntvein
Sunday, June 27, 2010 8:30 PM

We had Stake Priesthood meeting tonight. Michael was speaking, so we went there instead. Thanks for the invite.

Todd Trauntvein

Pray for Braden

Braden didn't give us all the details...in fact we got nothing in the way of what happened...he just said this in his last email:

"Um, so lots of random things have happened to me, but I don't want you to every worry about how I am doing. No matter what trials we have in this life we can overcome them with our faith and determination. My APs have told me that I might quite possibly have had the most difficult first week of any missionary they have ever met, but I know without a doubt that I am being blessed with trials; they strengthen me, humble me and draw me closer to the Saviour."

He then asked if I would ask his grandparents, aunts and uncles to keep him in their prayers for the next little while. He says he is also a little homesick. 

Would you please pray for him? I know that with all our prayers combined in the past, we have done some wonderful things. 

Thanks.
Melanie

Oh, Melanie!

I know you must be stressed out of your gourd!  We'll keep Braden in our prayers (truthfully, let Braden know he has already been the beneficiary of a tender mercy: I had already been prompted to pray for him continually since the Monday he left (more than the usual quick prayer)... I'm sure as you talk to others in the family, many of them have felt that need, too.  How cool is that?!)

We love you!!!!  May Heavenly Father bring you peace and strength as you give your son to him for the next two years.  I can only imagine the difficulty and, hopefully, will be able to call and cry on your shoulder in 16 years as I experience the same faith-building uncertainty that comes with sending our babies to other of our Heavenly Father's children.  Jared says those first 2-6 months in a new, HOT culture are the most difficult.  But Braden will be great!

Love, love, love, 

Kirsten

Melanie,
I too have often found myself impressed to kneel down and pray for Braden at rather random times. I already knew that he was having some trials through the Holy Ghost. But, at the end of my prayers, the Holy Ghost has also borne witness to me that Braden is one tough cookie--he just doesn't know it yet.

We are fasting and praying for him and you and Howard. I know that the Lord is with him. He will guide him and is watching over your son because Braden is His son too.

Love, Julie

Braden's new area and first email from Nicaragua

There is so much to tell you and I seem to be so limited in words at this point, but I will try and explain to you how my first week as been as well as I can.

So on the plane ride I spoke to a woman and bore my testimony about eternal families, as her father had died that morning so she was flying from Miami to Managua to cremate him and scatter his ashes. Weird, but it was a great experience.

I got into the airport and had to go through customs then have my bag hand checked by the Nicaraguan government and then I could go out and meet my Mission President and his wife. It is hot in Managua. Dad, maybe it's a good thing that you guys aren't coming out here, you would die. It gets to be like 95 by like noon or 2 o'clock and only cools down when it rains (basically). So we got picked up at the airport and then went to McDonalds to get dinner. After that we went to one of the 2 mission homes, the South Home, and got ready for bed. It took me forever to fall asleep; I mean it was 85 degrees after all.

Tuesday we had some training and some orientation stuff to do, I had a 5 second interview with my mission president (and I mean literally 5 seconds). Then we went out tracting with one of the Managua Zones--there are 4 Zones in Managua. After that we went back to the mission home and ate dinner and slept.

Wednesday was transfers. I am in the Nicaragua Managua North Mission! My trainer is Elder Velásquez, from Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. I'm serving in the highest baptizing area in the church right now, it’s called Puerto Cabezas. Last month they baptized over 100 people and like 12 families! Crazy! It's a lot colder than Managua, by like 5 degrees and it rains a lot more. Oh, and it's a 24-hour bus ride from Managua to Puerto, that was tough. The people here are fantastic. Such hard workers, they make me feel like I was such a lazy member before the mission. They go out every Sunday and make sure that the recent converts are all coming to church and that a lot of the less active families are coming.

I love my mission president. He is so frank and blunt and says everything as it is. It's fantastic.

Um, so lots of random things have happened to me, but I don't want you to every worry about how I am doing. No matter what trials we have in this life we can overcome them with our faith and determination. My APs have told me that I might quite possibly have had the most difficult first week of any missionary they have ever met, but I know without a doubt that I am being blessed with trials; they strengthen me, humble me and draw me closer to the Savior.

One of the coolest things that has happened to me happened just last night. We were driving back to Managua (seriously a 16 hour journey by car) so that we can see the president and say goodbye to him at his departure devotional and there was a strike going on. A hunger strike against the government. They were turning ambulances away! But we got through. We prayed together, we sang hymns in Spanish together and some people went out and talked to the people while others guarded the truck, for in Nicaragua you always need to watch your stuff, everywhere you go whatever you're doing. But I was praying fervently with Heavenly Father when I remembered a line from my Patriarchal Blessing that states basically any righteous desire of your heart shall be granted, so long as it is needful (paraphrase). So I basically said to my Father in Heaven, "I really want to go to Managua and need to see the President one more time. This is not just something I want, but my whole Zone hasn't been to Managua and won't be able to see those in the South Mission if they don't see them now. Please help us to get across." And eventually, after a while the people softened and let us pass, but I was praying and I did not doubt in the power the Lord has given us as missionaries.

Remember this lesson, prayer is the only way we can be close to our Father in Heaven. It is the only way we can keep our relationship strong with him.

Family, I love you so much and I miss you terribly. If you can all pray not just as a family, but personally as well that I might be buoyed up during these trying 2 years I will be eternally grateful. 

Mom, I will try and get more info to you guys about how to get letters to me and stuff. I just need the new address. So if you could like send a little Facebook note to Heather Thomas and ask her to tell other not to send stuff to the old address and tell them that they can still send stuff through pouch to the NORTH mission, that'd be great. Oh and also send a little email to:
anai.villalobos@myldsmail.net
ignacio.montiel@myldsmail.net and
fernando.rios@myldsmail.net  that's be fantastic. just let them know that they need to send mail via pouch to my new mission.

I love you all so much, and I think about you all the time. It brings me such great happiness to know that we are such a beautiful family. Please, do not worry about me, pray for me and the people of Nicaragua.


-- 
Love,
Elder Bolton

P/S

Really, do not worry about me, simply pray that I can be effective and not get too homesick
Also, they have officially extended my mission 3 weeks, so technically I get to serve out my whole mission in Nicaragua. 
-- 
Love,
Elder Bolton

Compliments!

Conversation prior to a trip to the pool. Four-year old Granddaughter: "Grammy, what is that you are wearing?" Grammy: "It is my bathing suit." Christene: "Maybe you better not let anybody see you in it."

Conversation while playing dolls. Grammy: "I always get to play with the grandma doll. Is that because I have white hair or because I am a grandma?" Rachel: "You are silly Grammy. You don't have white hair. You have gray hair. Don't you look in the mirror?"

Kimberly: Too funny, kids are great, Sorina still gets me with some zingers, too, the rest are old enough to sometimes think before they speak, the key word being "sometimes"

 

Sorina asked me during the week if I was teaching Sunday, I told her yes.  She said, "good, then you won't just sit there while dad teaches and tell me and everyone to be quiet."  I told her she needs to be reverent in class (we team teach the 6-7 year olds, about 8-11 kids each week).  She asked me how I expected her to do that when those chairs are soooo uncomfortable.

 

I went in to kiss her good night last night, and she said, "hey, can't you tell I'm trying to go to sleep?"

SV: Greetings from Utah‏

Dear Trauntwein and Myrna

I have been mining to write you for quiet a while, but I really do not get much don on the computer. I sitting in front of one the whole day at work, and then I really do not want to sit in front of it when I get home, but I do that a lot anyway. I do want to keep in touch with our friend, but it sure takes some time too. I had meant to write write you to let you know that Rita, my sister died 3 weeks ago, quite suddenly. I called her and she told me she was not feeling too good, so she had just been drinking a coke, because she had a stomach ache so I asked her, if she had a pain in her left arm, and she said yes a little, so I told her to call a doctor, because then it was not her stomach, but her hart that hurt. She did that and they brought her to the hospital during the night, she had a little blood clod in the hart. They treated her for that but her blood pressure felt and they could not get it up again, she got some more blood clods and to make a long story short. We prayed that what was best for her would happen, and two week later she died, and the doctor told us, what was really wrong was that she had lung cancer. I had suspected that, but did not say anything, but as I sat at the temple after setting her name on the prayer list, I felt that the best thing that could happen to her, was that se died. And it was, she didn’t have to go trough chemotherapy. We miss her, but it was what was best for her. And she is in good hands now. It is getting a little close thou. She was only two years older than I, so I have been thinking a lot about life and death since then.

My cousins that came to the funeral said that they liked how we did it much better, than as it was done in the Lutheranien church. All our cousins were there and Arne, Jan and Ernst all got down from Sweden with their families. I had not seen Arne for three years. His family just came home from Turkey the night before, he had two ours of sleep and then they drove down to Denmark which is 1200km. But it was a good day.

We do not really have sommer yet, we have had about 2 summer days, but it is kind of cold  and windy and it is almost ST. Hans, the longest day of the year. I do hope it will be better.

Janne has been here today, well not really here. The Relief Society in Silkeborg was here, so they could go to the temple,

They came yesterday. Janne brought her daughter, because she is still nursing nursing her. So Line was watching the baby yesterday during one session, so Janne and I could go to a session together, and I went in and watched her so Janne could also take a session today. I was sitting out in the temple garden and Ester slept the whole time, so that was nice. They took the train back to Sønderborg this afternoon.

I hope you are all fine, and healthy and happy

Love Else

Lee Morrison "Stretch"

PRICE - Our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend, Lee Robert "Stretch" Morrison, age 59, passed away peacefully June 17, 2010 in Price after a long battle with cancer.

He was born Oct. 6, 1950 in Holyoke, Mass., to Clyde Leroy and Yvonne Lillian Payette Morrison. Married Diane Pitts, Oct. 11, 2002 in Wellington.

After graduating from Carbon High School in 1968 Lee joined Helper Search and Rescue and was a volunteer firefighter for Helper City.

Lee worked for Price Auto Parts for years, leaving them for a position with Utah Railway. Afterwards, Lee worked for numerous coal mines in the area including Braztah, Skyline and Dugout Mines. He enjoyed tinkering with cars and was devoted NASCAR fan.

Survived by his loving wife, Diane Pitts Morrison, Price; mother, Yvonne Payette Morrison, Kenilworth; son, Gregory Morrison, Goshen, Utah; daughter, Jennifer Morrison, Ogden; step-sons, Michael Robertson, Price; Thomas Robertson, Helper; three sisters and two brothers, Holly Chovit, North Carolina; Elizabeth (Andrew) Kessans, Ky; John (Peggy) Morrison, New York; Michael (Diane) Morrison, N.Y.; Joan (Jimmy) Young, Kenilworth; seven grandchildren and a community of friends.

Preceded in death by his father, Clyde Leroy Morrison; and sister, Sheila Morrison. Funeral Mass, Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 10 a.m., Notre Dame de Lourdes Catholic Church.

Vigil service, Tuesday evening 7 p.m. Mitchell Funeral Home. Family will be at Mitchell's Tuesday and Wednesday one hour prior to service. Committal, Cliffview Cemetery, Price. Arrangements entrusted to Mitchell Funeral Home of Price where friends are welcome daily and may share memories of Lee online at www.mitchellfuneralhome.net.

© 2013 MicrosoftTermsPrivacyDevelopers

Just so you know

Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 10:52 AM

I went to Hayes' shop and picked out a large planter for Jay and family. It was $65, including tax. I did not want to be reimbursed. If you do not think that is enough from all of us, then let me know post-haste. I added all the names of each of you in the following manner: Thanks for the memories!  Leonard and Myrna Trauntvein and family: Shawn and Kimberly T., Melanie and Howard Bolton, Todd and Amy G. T., Eric and Amy J. T., AnnMarie and Brandon Howard; Julie and Jim Jones, Kirsten and Jared Waite, David and Arbree T. (The card was the usual flower card.)

 If you think I need to spend more, since it is from so many, let me know right away. However, they are trying to get together a scholarship fund in Jay's name. I thought we could add to that, if it comes to fruition. If not, then maybe one of you money-bright folk could figure out how to do that and we could announce it in the paper.

Shawn said: That sounds fine to me.

Ants

Amy, will Hailey leave Raid Ant Bait stations alone? They work the best and will get rid of the ant problem in just one day. However, they are not safe for children. If she is going to pick them up, do NOT use them. 

I've always had good luck by spraying around my foundation and walkways with Lemon Joy dish soap and water. For some reason Joy works better than any other lemon dish soap. Add enough Joy so that you have some suds that remain after spraying. Use about a cap full to a quart of water. You can also spray the plants with this solution. First test by spraying an inconspicuous part of the plant to see if your mixture harms it at all. If there are no signs of yellowing or other leaf damage after a day, it is safe to use. Once you have determined that it won't harm your plant, spray the entire plant, paying special attention to the undersides of leaves.

Try diatomaceous earth. I was having problems with pillbugs on my strawberries, and the guy at the nursery recommended it, instead of poisons. It is harmless to pets and kids. I've had good luck with it on my berries and other plants. It kills ants. Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, as a mild abrasive, as a mechanical insecticide, as an absorbent for liquids, as cat litter, as an activator in blood clotting studies and as a component of dynamite. Get the kind sold in garden centers not the kind used for swimming pools as that type has bleach in it. 

Ants do not like a wet habitat, so every day for a few days pour a bucket of water on an anthill; after dousing them two or three times, the whole colony should move. Boiling water will work very well if you can pour it right on the ant hill. It kills them right away. I have used this several times. In addition, people have reported success ridding an area of ants by putting used coffee grounds around anthills and or plants. Coffee grounds are good for the plants. I don't have any coffee, am embarrassed to buy any and have not asked my coffee drinking friends for any so I have not tried this. It is an old Price trick.

The best companion plant to repel ants are the allium plants--onions, chives, garlic, leeks, and shallots. Ants do not like them. Plant mint alongside your house. Ants don't like mint! As a bonus, mint leaves are wonderful in summer lemonade!

Sprinkle aspartame around the plants. A friend of mine said to put aspartame all around the garden and in between the rows. He also said to mix a little in a spray bottle with some water and spray the plants. He said that it really works. The aspartame is poison to the ants but they like it because it's sweet. Like strawberry juice, they carry it to the queen to eat, then she dies and no more ants. The man who told me about this said he had a huge ant mound in his backyard and he poured a diet coke down into the hill and he hasn't had a problem with ants since. 

Make a mixture consisting of 2 teaspoons molasses, one teaspoon dry yeast, and one teaspoon of sugar. Put the mixture in small containers such as bottle caps and place it around the strawberries. The yeast will kill the ants. Sprinkle semolina, polenta or cornmeal around the strawberries. The ants will carry it back to the queen who will not be able to digest it and die. The rest of the nest will dissipate soon after.
You can always buy benificial nematobes. You can buy them at garden supply centers, and sometimes places like Home Depot, or order them online. They are microcsopic "bugs" that go down into the ant coloney and eat the eggs. So you may still see adult ants for awhile, but they will eventually die and the eggs are gone. You mix the nematobes with water, and spray them on. Plus they don't harm anything, except dirt dwelling bugs, like fleas, ants, etc.

Indoors, the 20 mule team Borax is a great way to get rid of them without poisoning the family. Also, ants hate cinnamon. If you want to get rid of ants just sprinkle cinnamon around and you get rid of ants and you get a nice scent too. Black pepper is also useful both indoors and out. A dusting of fine ground pepper may help or make a spray of water and Tabasco sauce and spray the center of your plants. Sprinkle cayenne pepper on and around the strawberry plants. A line of cayenne pepper around the plants will keep the ants away. Curry powder will work as well.

Indoors, some have great success using Orange Glow wood polish and cleaner. Clear all cupboards and spray them with Orange Glow. Leave the cupboards open overnight because the scent is very strong.

Myrna

Thanks for all the ideas.  I do have some of the ant bait stations and yes, Hailey would leave them alone.  I'll try those.    I think I'll also go buy some of the diatomaceous earth for the pill bugs.  Thanks again!

Amy G

Those Gardens!

Newspaper

A simple, inexpensive, and organic way of controlling weeds is to use newspaper. Cover the area you wish to rid of weeds with several layers of newspaper, then spread mulch or compost over the newspaper. You can plant whatever you would like over this. Just poke a hole in the newspaper for the seed/plant and plant away!

A good reference would be Organic Gardening magazine, published by Rodale Press. They also have a website: OrganicGardening.com. They have a lot of good inexpensive organic tips and can point you towards other references, such as square-foot gardening and other labor-saving and organic methods of gardening. Organic is better for you and for the environment.
Tracy H.

Depends on Your Goal

Weed control can be difficult and simple. If you don't want to plant anything in the area get rock salt and laden the area with salt, the only problem is that you will probably never be able to plant anything there for a very long time.

If you want to plant, a time consuming method is to water the area prior to the growing season cover the are with black plastic and let solar energy do the work. The weeds will sprout but will die do to lack of sunlight. The problem here is that as you disturb the soil for planting you disturb weed seeds, so you may need to kill the weeds, till the soil, kill the weeds, etc.

Another method is to cover the area with a weed barrier and import composted soil (but this is not cheap).

I hand weed, till, plant, use Round-Up and hand weed. If you have well composted soil weeds are easy to pull.
DG in Albuquerque, NM

Killer Salt

If there is an area where you don't want *anything* growing back, salt water is a great way to kill off weeds and keep them from coming back. I use 1 part salt to 2 parts water.
Anne P.

Cheaper Cost for Round-Up

Concerning how to get rid of weeds & grass other than using Round-up, what do you want to use the area for? If you want to replant in the area, you'd be hard pressed to find a product that works both as well as Roundup, but also that has *no* carry-over for future items planted. No, I don't sell it, but my father (farmer) has used it since it came on the market, I used to use it to hand spray large thorn weed patches in the pastures, it doesn't adversely effect animals/etc. I believe the patent recently expired, so perhaps there are now Round-up equivalent product available. If you go with Roundup, definitely buy the concentrate; the pre-mixed means you pay a lot for water. Prior to Roundup, we had to spray a lot of nasty stuff to clear a field between rotating crops, which wouldn't neutralize when it interacted with the soil (like Roundup does.) Pricey, yes, but very environmentally friendly to compared to alternatives.
Roger

Vinegar and Dish Soap

Weed control is very difficult to get under control but there are a few ways to do it.One is to make a very strong vinegar and liquid dish soap mixture and apply liberally but locally to the weeds,also gasoline sparingly but locally is a excellent solution.
Iain

Buy Bulk

I do not know where you live but I needed to kill a large area of weeds and found Round-up very expensive so I did some research. 1 quart of the 41% super concentrate costs about $80. If you buy it at a farmers supply house for agricultural purposes it costs $150 for 2.5 gallons. I still thought this was expensive so I contacted a farm supply co-op in Canada and found out that the patent has been off in Canada for a few years and the price is even less. In Canada it cost me $100 CDN ($65 US) for 10 litres which is even more than 2.5 gallons. I got together with my neighbor and bought one and split it the first time and it lasted me quite a while. This last time I bought an entire jug for myself. I have tried many other products through the years just because of the cost of Round-up and always ended up disappointed. Round-up has worked the best.
Robert L.

And Stay Out

After weeds are dead, do not rototill! Every time you rototill, weed seeds are brought to the surface to germinate. Some weed seeds can lay dormant FOR YEARS until the right conditions exist. Rototilling is highly overrated. Not only does it provide a medim for weed germination, but it destroys the soil structure. Soil SHOULD be naturally layered.
from a Master Gardener in NY

Tarp Solution

A very effective and cheap method to completely eliminate grass and weeds is to cover the area with a plastic tarp for several weeks. Weeds and grass need sunlight to survive, and will die if deprived of the sun.
TS

As Cheap as Water

I use a kettle of boiling water to kill the weeds that grow in the cracks of our sidewalk. I just pour it on the weeds (especially at the root) every day till they die. works pretty good and is safe for kids and pets after treatment.
Melissa W.

Dane's 1st 4.0

• Period
• Teacher Name        Course Name
• Earned Grade
• Last Attendance Mark

• 1
• Salinas, Sam            Spanish 2
• A 93.62
• 25-May-2010

• 2
• Carter, Debra           English 9
• A 93.86
• 25-May-2010

• 3
• Jensen, Mary            Algebra 1
• A 94.62
• 25-May-2010

• 4
• Dodge, Allen            Geography 
• A 97.96
• 25-May-2010

• 5
• Davis Alexis           Earth Systems
• A 101.39
• 19-May-2010

• 6
• Seminary, Brown   Released Time 
• No Score
• 19-May-2010
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
•    7          Williamson, Jerry  Pe Sk & Tech 9      A 100.00

Braden's first email and letter

Okay, brace for impact! I'm going to unload everything you want to know in the 17 mins I have left thanks to the BYU/MTC IT department. (They were very rude today...silly people).

 

I am in a district with 4 other Elders and 3 Sisters (Hermanas). We're the only district in the Zone with Hermanas right now, but we get two whole districts of them this Wednesday. I live with one other Elder, my companion Elder Flores from California. We have an entire room to ourselves, so I get to have two pillows all to myself.

 

Schedule (the basic low-down):

6:30-Get Up and prepare for the day.

7:00-Be to class for personal study

7:30-Breakfast

8:15ish-Class or Gym Time (gym is about an hour)

12:30-Lunch

1:15-Class (or Study Time)

5:30-Dinner

6:15 Class (or Study Time)

9:00 Plan

9:30 Bedroom

10:15 Quiet Time

10:30 in BED

 

We have devotionals and firesides and stuff intermittently spread all over our very chaotic schedule. But the worst of it is over! I have now been here for almost a week exactly and I am supposed to leave the 16th of June! Side note: I had to go give some blood today because Nicaragua requires a blood check to see iv we have HIV or AIDS. The nurse said that they were just doing it as a precautionary measure, as they had already told Nicaragua that I was clean and they had checked my blood. ;)

 

Mom, that experience that you had at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple reminds me of my life at BYU. Every day I would walk out of my building when I was heading out to class or work I would see the temple as I was leaving my building. It is so amazing how many blessings we can experience for literally (or figuratively) facing our "tents" to the temple. And that temple is absolutely gorgeous! All I remember is seeing the chandelier when we were at the dedication last august (which feels like yesterday, by the way). And you have the worst luck when you travel. After reading your letter I feel the need to emphasize that life is interesting when you travel...

 

Your letters and thoughts/prayers help me out so much here; I can definitely feel your influence in my life as you are all trying to help me.

I love you all so much and cannot wait to send you letters and photos (as I really do not have much time to email every day).

 

Look up D&C 49 (about the Second Coming) and when you read verse 24 think of me!

keep praying for me! Love,
Elder Bolton

(The rest of this is from a brief one page letter we received from him in the mail, the same day as his email.)

Dear Familia,

I just wanted to let you all know that I'm doing well! Today was chaotic and so busy.

I love you all so very much! Everything here is what I expected and more!

My companion is very kind and very patient with me. There are all native Latinos in my class and the Spanish that they speak is VERY different from the Spanish that I speak. I love them all so much and I love my Branch President and teachers so much. 

Love you lots. Stay strong. 

Stories:
1.  I saw who my companion was, and I knew him! I met him randomly at school and we connected real well. At first I was nervous because I didn't know him extremely well, but I love him. He is a fantastic Elder and now, District Leader (even though I am Senior Companion). 

2.  I got into class on Wednesday and was super nervous. Dad, I was not ready for the advanced program then, but I am now. I think in Spanish and I practice it all the time. I get to have fun with it a lot because I with all natives!

3.  I told my Branch President that I felt inadequate in that classroom, but he told me that he knew that I was fulfilling prophecy. Check out D&C 49:24 for more information!