...upon walking in we realized it was a party party!

Hello Friends and Family!!! and HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!!

It was a good week this week! Last Monday after emailing we went to a park and just napped. IT. WAS. BEAUTIFUL.  Sometimes that's all you need in life is sunshine and sleep :) Its wonderful that I can actually do that here cause in FL sleeping in a park was the equivalent to dying a slow death in Hell's Fire.... okay maybe not that extreme, but pretty close! I love having little to no humidity or bugs!  

 

Anyway, Tuesday was a CRAZY day! Sister Riddle has been battling a cold for a little over a week now, and on Tuesday we had a big project to help a woman move out of her house (it was only us and two other sets of missionaries helping her).  There was no way Sister Riddle was going to be able to do this in the condition she was in, so we called for emergency exchanges with the other sister missionaries.  They so graciously dropped everything and were able to come help us! We went to service and boy oh boy.. it was hot.  We had to climb four flights of stairs (there was no elevator) in a no air conditioned apartment for hours. We carried mattresses and cabinets and boxes full of glass jars and anything else you could think of.  Meanwhile, the Sister's 6 year old boy liked to throw things at us or crawl by our feet as we were carrying things down the stairs... He got mad at me when I accidentally dropped a box and broke his snowman snow globe... But we made up and I gave him a penny :) Even though it was hard work it was so fun and so rewarding!

 

That night we went to dinner with our Ward Mission Leader and his wife to my favorite sushi place in town- Red Ginger.  While there, it starting hailing BIG TIME.  It lasted for about 40 minutes without letting up.  Finally, Sister Riddle and I decided to brave it and tried to run to our car.  Well we started running and upon entering the parking lot we knew it was a little more serious than we thought. The entire parking lot was flooded.  Being from FL I thought "okay no biggie just keep our shoes on and get to the car and we'll be good. its just water"... WRONGO. We tried to keep trudging through but it kept getting deeper and deeper, until it went up passed our knees! When we finally got to the car we realized we couldn't open the door because the water would flood it as soon as it was opened.  So we ran back to the side walk and got a ride from the members home! The next morning our exercise was running to go get the car from the parking lot! All was well and dry #tendermercies.  

Thursday we went to the Denver Rescue Mission, which is where we get to prepare food and feed the homeless lunch.  This is one of my favorite service projects! We meet so many cool people and have awesome experiences! For instance, I was wearing my Lightning baseball cap while cleaning up the tables when one of the men approached me.  He asked where in FL I'm from and he proceeded to tell me how he was baptized in the Winter Park ward!! I asked if he knew Suzanne and Frank Hill or Cyndy and Shane Stevenson and he says that that sounded familiar! He also mentioned how he knew the Nelsons and some other people I knew! Crazy small world! 

 

Well Monday rolled around and I was SO excited!! July 4th is one of my favorite holidays and we had some good plans! We started out the morning by going to a ward breakfast in the park! So beautiful and yummy and lots of people there to socialize!

Right after we went to our Zone Leaders house for Zone P-day.  Now, our Zone Leaders live in a literal mansion with some members.  We get there and felt like we were in paradise as they had barbecued for us with games galore for us to play! Shortly after eating we went to a park close by (parks are a popular thing here if you cant tell) and we played beach volleyball, speedball, kickball, and lots of other stuff! Again, our zone is full of Elders so we were definitely pushed to keep up! It was a blast though! I'd also like to state that during this Zone 8 pm. No later.  So this year unfortunately i saw no fireworks, BUT I got to shower and lay in bed and watch a movie with my comp, both burnt to crisps from being outside all day.  This was the perfect ending to my July 4th :)

Pday I did NOT where jeans and I did NOT rip my pants again.  So I feel like it was successful :) Anyway, after that we came home and went shopping at the mall for a bit and then went walking around our street to talk to people.  This was really fun as there were lots of people out and about! However, all missionaries had to be home BY

As far as teaching people goes, its going well! We had plans to meet with two guys we talked to on the street one night, but the whole time thinking about the appointment I never got a good feeling about it.  The man also texted us here and there over a few days asking us how we were and when we could "hang out".  Finally before our appointment we asked for his address and he gave it to us but then proceeded to ask for ours so he could come over sometime..... That's when we knew he wasn't interested in hearing the missionary discussions.. just the missionaries.  SO we went ahead and gave them to the elders to meet with! Yeaaa they haven't seen him since.. A day in the life of a missionary! On Saturday we met with our investigator who's from Thailand! We had a sister from the YSA ward who spoke Chinese come with us to help translate here and there.  The lesson went really well and it was so interesting to teach someone who knew NOTHING about prayer, or God, or Jesus Christ yet was still so open to the idea! He said he came into contact with the church from going to Temple Square in Salt Lake with his wife.  When we asked what he thought about it he said 'it was a miracle they were able to build something like that with limited tools!'. Amen brother, amen. Another fun moment was when we thought we had an appointment with a potential investigator and got in to teach the lesson when she started throwing out Mormon lingo.. turns out she is a less active member who's nieces and nephews are all on missions.. Lol.  Then, last but not least, we went to check up on a family we hadn't seen in awhile- the wife is a member and the husband is not- only to find out they were having a party.  Well they are such a sweet family and invited us in to get some food and talk for a bit.  Well upon walking in we realized it was a party party, if you know what i mean #theygotthatbubbly.  We quickly tried to grab the food they offered and leave, but there were so many people there we got to talking to and it ended up being a really cool missionary opportunity! The wife then walked us out to our car and we were able to have a mini-lesson and prayer with her which was so nice!  

Anyway, this email is a lot longer than I anticipated, so if you don't get an email this week- so sorry!!! I love you all!!

Always remember to say our prayers, study the scriptures, and turn to our Savior for ANYTHING! he is our greatest friend, perfect example, and loving elder Brother! He can help you overcome any obstacle, even the seemingly impossible ones! All we have to do is have Faith, ask, and it will be granted unto us.  I love my Savior and Redeemer so much.

I also want to give a shout out to all those who have served or are serving for our country.  I love you all and hold you to the highest respect I have! Thank you for helping our freedom last and thrive! 

I love you all so much and hope all is well!!! Be safe, have fun, and God Bless!!

 

Until next week,

Sister Loyd