Fresh, FRESH Turkey for (early) Thanksgiving!

We were trying to cross the highway. My companion wanted me to stand in the middle of the road for a picture. This is as far as I would go... personally, I think she was just hoping I'd get hit by a truck! (Ha-ha!)

  

This past week was pretty slow and kind of sad, but it was still a good week none the less. For starters, our investigator Patty is progressing so well! She is ready for her baptism in December! She is getting baptized right before exchanges so I’m really hoping she continues to progress so we can both be there for her baptism! She came with us to church on Sunday, it was stake conference. We had the Area Seventy speak and the Mission and Temple President speak so it was really good. They talked a lot of how members need to start helping missionaries; more it was great! Another cool thing they did was have the recent converts come and bare their testimonies and it was great for our investigators that were there. We had our other investigator there too. I don’t think I’ve told you about him yet but we’ve been teaching him for a while. He is from Cuba and is a boxer. His girlfriend is a member but is a less active member who hasn’t gone to church for a long, long time, but she wants it back in her life. She’s a stripper (but currently looking for a new job) and she wants to change her life back to how it once was. They are getting married at the end of this month I believe, so that will be fun to see! They are really fun to teach and just fun people! They always offer us coke (the drink not the drug, don’t worry mom) and we aren’t allowed to drink it and they think it’s so funny, I don’t know why, ha-ha.

On the sad note of the week; I wrote you about an investigator last week Abril -- Claudia’s daughter, that has the little girl. While in the week we showed her the video of the restoration with Joseph Smith. She loved it and talked about how excited she was for church on Sunday. While when Sunday came she wasn’t at church, we tried calling her mom, Claudia, and she just said they had things to do and to not show up to their house unless they called us first. Later that night we went to go teach her friend with the baby and she was there. She told us that her mom won’t let her take the lessons anymore and she can’t go to church with us. I was super sad for her because she wants this so bad and to be baptized, but we can’t teach her without her mom’s permission because she’s not 18. So yeah, that was really hard for her and I felt so bad because she needs this gospel in her life. I know that one day she will be able to have it again in her life and she will be baptized in the church. She’s a great girl and she knows what she wants in her life and she'll go back for it and find it. 

So to end with a good thing today we are going to a member’s house and killing a turkey!!!!! Aaannddd Eating it! I am so excited! They have turkeys in their backyard that they raise for food and they invited us for an early dinner with them and I told them about Thanksgiving that’s on Thursday in the states. They were signed up to feed us on Wednesday so they said we can have turkey again then with other Thanksgiving food -- so I am so excited ha-ha-ha! I get to have a Thanksgiving! It should be interesting to eat a really, really fresh turkey, ha-ha, but I’m sure it’s better this way! Ha-ha! Sorry this letter’s kind of short! I don’t have too many exciting things about this week, but let’s hope for next week! I love you all and hope all is well with all of you! I would love to hear from you all next week! And how your families are doing and also cute pictures of my nieces and nephews! Ha-ha, and I have a strong instinct that one of you is pregnant. I don’t know which one of you but its there and its happening and you’re not telling me.... well good luck if you are whichever sister it is! 

One thing I learned during stake conference that you can apply that is important is 4 main things the Area Seventy told us is: Always read your scriptures and feast on the word, Read personally and with your family. Be the example to your children; make them excited to read the scriptures! Next pray always. Pray about what you read and the questions you have, pray to come closer to Christ. Always, Always have Family Home Evening. It always helps us come closer as a family and helps us to invite the spirit into our homes, and the last he talked about was attending the temple as much as possible. The temple is a place where we can go and feel so close to the lord, because it is his house. We can feel the peace and love that he provides for us every time we go! I love you all and have a great week! And a Happy Thanksgiving! Eat tell you die! 

Love Hermana Velasquez