BEST MOTHER'S DAY!!

Here it is.... from the madre! So, Saturday morning about 8:00 a.m. (the day before Mother's Day) I am running around gathering last minute things for Brooke who is going to Prom, getting ready to leave for her day date to Lagoon, and I get this call from some "Unknown Number." I answer, "Hello?" and most of what I hear is just feedback from my own voice..... except for a very faint, "Mom?" "Hello?" I say again.... more feedback... "Mom!!" comes the reply. Instantly I get goosebumps... "Is this my Ash?" I ask. "Yes!" comes the reply. I start jumping for joy. I ask her how she is doing. There is silence. I ask, "Can you talk?" She says... "not really!" And at that very moment I realize that the only thing being exchanged between the airways of Utah and Uruguay are some very deep emotions of gratitude. Awe... I miss that girl. We were only able to speak for a few moments as she gave me instructions on how and when we would be speaking on the following day. Yeah! Then Brooke stole the phone from me and spoke with her big seesta for another minute, as Ash offered her some imperative "Prom" advice that could only come from a big sister. Thanks Ash!!

Then came Sunday... Mother's Day. We all waited for the moment that afternoon when we could talk to Ash for about an hour. An hour seems like so long, but those of you who have been on missions, or have/had a loved one serving a mission, know that one hour feels like 15 minutes. We gathered around the speaker phone and listened to her explain only those things that somehow get lost in written correspondence. It was so awesome to hear her voice!!! We laughed and we cried. She is still Ashley. She sounded the same, only a little more mature and filled with a lot of gratitude. She is doing awesome, loving her mish and being stretched all along the way. Now that I got my Ashley fix..... I'm sorta going through withdrawals, but this too shall pass! It's all good. It was the best mother's day ever!

Now a word from our missionary.....

This little girl calls us Hermana Tupper and Nike. She’s funny: looks like a Latin version of the tiny Raven from Disney, hilarious just like her too. I’m Hermana Tupper, like a Tupperware, and Hermana Hite is Hermana Nike, cause she big ha, like the shoe ;)

Alright, that is beside the point. HELLO FAMILY AGAIN!!! Oh man... I’m not gonna lie…. It was soooo great to hear everyone’s voices on Mother’s Day, but I almost think it was harder to hear you guys than to not. I’ve just gotten so used to not talking with anyone. It’s weird. It was weird describing to you all what my life has been for 5 months and not have anyone really know about it. I realize that life at home isn’t changing in a way I can’t handle, everyone is still there. I appreciate that more than any of you will ever know. It’s crazy to think the next time we talk I will be pretty close to coming home… on the downhill slope anyway. Crazy! I can’t get over it.

I’ve been thinking about what dad said. I’m trying to find the needle in a haystack. I guess I thought it would be easier to find that needle than this. It’s difficult having to go through the whole city to find one person. It’s hard when our President asks us set a goal every month for how many baptisms we feel we’re going to have and then not having any. We are trying so hard. We have done literally everything for our investigators: made them General Conference CDs, daily contact, prayers, fasting, taught and invited them to feel the spirit... everything. I was reading in Jesus the Christ this morning... I found a little thought in the notes. It said, "There will be missionaries who will bring the message of great joy to others, but ultimately it is up to them to gain the testimony." Obviously, I knew this. It’s just challenging when you feel that no one is doing their part to feel that or to permit it to enter their hearts. We can only do so much, and we have done our part. We can only nudge them in the right direction. If it’s not their time, then it’s not their time. We have to let that be and know the will of the Lord is going to be something greater. I read in an article by Jeffery R. Holland (I love the man) that "faith is HOPING for a better future, trusting that the Lord has something better in store for us than what we have now. Faith builds off the past, but never longs to stay there." He referred to Lot’s wife, who looked back because she thought that what she was leaving behind was better than what the Lord was leading her to. She lacked in trust. I will not do that. I just gotta keep moving forward. That’s all. Like Shaq kept telling me, if someone doesn’t accept the gospel, just move on because there’s someone else who is being better prepared. Thanks for helping me keep in mind also that it might not always be during this year and a half that I see the results of my work. I just gotta keep pluggin :)

So funny story... right after I tell you my mission schedule, the district leader calls us and says.... major changes in the mish haha. Uh... what the junk... we have 2 hours of companion study, and then we have to do language study right after. Then we have lunch right after. So pretty much we stay in the house ALL morning until approximately 1-1:30. So weird. We’re kinda worried. That means we have to go out and talk to people during the siesta (naptime) and NO ONE likes to talk to us then. We just have to trust that some good will come out of it. What’s in the future is better than what is in the past, right? It just also means we have to go out and do contacts in the dark cold instead of the morning like we usually do. He never said it would be easy, right? So anyway, Elder Arnold, our Area President and Seventy, sent us 22 pages of info about all these changes and we´re required to print it out and use it and read it obviously. Both me AND my comp, crazy eh? That’s a lot of pesos haha… anyway, its good. I guess I´ll update you more on how it’s working next week.

I pray for you guys daily… like 30 times a day. I love you all. You and the gospel are my life. I don’t need anything else. Life is swell. I love the gospel. I love you... Happy Mother’s day and Happy Birthday, dad, again. Shaquel... ah! a few weeks till your 20th, and Brooke a few more till your 17th! Woo! Have some fun, but not too much without me. I love all your guts!!!! and faces too. Be good.

Thank you so much for your encouragement, support and undying LOVE!!! I will forever and ever be eternally grateful!!! I LOVE YOU WITH MY HEART AND SOUL. DONT EVER FORGET IT! The church is true :)
Love, Ashley Nicole