La semana final La Sombra/Hillpointe: El fin de la misión....!

Hello everyone! This is the last weekly email from Sister Sellers, but be not afraid because there will be so many more and faster forms of communication once I return to the land of milk and honey. In all reality I'd still love to keep in touch with everyone so keep me updated! 

Monday: Wow! We has a great last pday full of fun things to do. We started off our work night with a dinner at the Massey families house and they are so sweet! Pretty shy girls, but we ended up having lots of great conversations. Then we set up so many appointments for the week and knocked some doors to try and find new people to teach. 

Tuesday: Today we didn't have a lot of out of the ordinary plans and Sister Milla wasn't feeling great still so we ended up taking it easy and taking breaks when needed. We got some fun stuff for Sister Lusk's birthday on Thursday and are excited to surprise her. We really just enjoyed our time together today while doing studies and then ended the day with some door knocking once we got restless. All in all a great day! 

Wednesday: This morning we had an amazing lesson with our friend Beatrice and were able to teach her the whole Restoration and Sister Milla said the first vision for the first time in a lesson. It was so powerful and I'm so proud of her. Hopefully she can continue to enjoy the blessings of teaching people in her new area. After that lesson we did our usual studies, and then had dinner at the Ready families house. Their kiddos are all on the autism spectrum and we love them! We got an hour replay of Lego Ninjago the series and played some checkers in which I lost miserably. Strategy games are just not my thing... It was also my last time teaching English today which was so sad! It has been one of my favorite parts about my mission and I'm definitely going to miss it. 

Thursday: Today was crazy! We started with lunch with the Smith family at the very nice restaurant in Downtown Summerlin which was a total party, then we headed off to squeeze in some weekly planning before we had a lesson with the Gonzalez/Cruz family. It's a mom and teenage daughter and they made alote to eat and we were just in heaven. We studied come follow me with them and had a great time. We tan from there to dinner with the Martin's and Watasbaughs! So fun and such a good reunion with old friends. Then, we rushed to the ward activity which was decade themed. Pictures are attached. I need to brush up on my decade fun facts, but it was a good time! All in all a day packed with fun things and fun events and we had such a good time with both visits and being a little spoiled today. 

Friday: This morning we wrote cards to a ton of impactful people in the ward and then delivered cookies and cards to everyone. That lead to tons of appointments and a very full day! Hermana Maynez took us out to lunch at Zupas and we got to chat! I love her and we have gained a great friendship. We got surprised dinner at a Greek place with the Ogden family and then finished the night at the Taylor's. All in all a crazy full day of member lessons and goodbyes. 

Saturday: Today we tried to have a lesson with this cool lady we met named Stephanie but she ghosted us! So we did some fire Spanish study instead and I took my fluency test and improved a ton since last time so I'm pretty happy about that! Then we knocked so many doors and had a good time while doing it. We were blessed by the Greve family who fed us Thai food and we had a really good convo with the Husband about the purpose of the temple and why it's so important in our lives. It was a really good conversation and we hope to see him at the temple soon. We ended the night at the Yocham's house for ice cream and goodbye! 

Sunday: Today was the most packed day ever! We started with all our church meetings, which were super good and I was just a tad bit sad when I realized next time I go to church I'll just be a regular Joe. Then we rushed to lunch with the Kalfke family and weighed my suitcases. Then we went to my departing interview with President which went super well. Finally we made it home just in time for President Nelson's devotional and salsa making, then we headed to ward missionary correlation where we had a mini going away party with all my favorite treats and people from the ward. An amazing last day full of so many happy moments and lots of meetings. 

I have loved my mission so much. My Testimony had made leaps and bounds and I have truly learned to hear him through this journey. I've made an impact in my community here in Vegas and these people and this town will always have a special place in my heart.

Semana 71 La Sombra/Hillpointe: "Are you excited to go home?"

Literally the only question I have been asked all week is this. "Are you excited to go home?" "What are your plans once you get home?". Here are some better options to ask missionaries who are nearing the end of their mission. "Who are you teaching right now?" "What is one of the biggest changes you have seen someone make to join the church?" "What is the most important thing you have learned from your mission President and wife?" "How are you making the most of your last week?". The list continues my friends, please try to be original because man it is hard to stay focused when all everyone asks is what your plans are for when you get home! Mini rant over! Now for the news from the week. 

Monday: Today we went out to breakfast with the district which was so fun and then we headed off to our nightly activities. We had dinner with the Hatch family and they have kids who do debate so we got talking and it was a blast! Then we went from there to knocking some doors and setting up lessons for the week. 

Tuesday: Sister Milla had her interview with President Reese today and while she did that I shined my shoes! Sister Reese had this cool brush that cleans suede and it was awesome! I didn't get an interview because my departing interview is next week! We spent so long knocking doors and walking at the park and unfortunately not a lot of success, but, we did grind and put a lot of effort in. 

Wednesday: Every single one of our lessons canceled today so we ended up hitting the streets yet again before our shift at Hand Up! Thank goodness for English class! We had a good time and I have enjoyed teaching the basic class so much. Then we finished by going to mutual and trying the yummiest coconut Popsicles I have ever had in my life. I am officially hooked. 

Thursday: The day of tacos! This morning we ended up doing the usual missionary thing until we finally did what we've been looking forward to all week! We taught all the girls how to make Guatemalan tacos and salsa and it was so fun! The activity turned out well and we ate to our hearts content. I have never taught so many crazy girls how to cook but it ended up turning out really well! I didn't get anxious or anything so I call that a major win. 

Friday: We started off our day with My Plan where I learned how to budget and make my Resume. The mission seriously makes you look like the most experienced 20 year old ever and I'm so excited to get some real jobs when I get home! After that we went to liquid for lunch and then ran to T&MT for Sister Milla! Last training meeting is in the books. Then we went to a members house for dinner where we had grape gazpacho...... probably one of the worst things I have ever put in my mouth  because I hate cucumbers. Then we went to our friend Robin's house for a Book Of Mormon reading which was a blast. 

Saturday: Sister Milla was feeling a little under the weather so we took the morning a little slower but then she got a second wind so we knocked so many doors and surprisingly a lot of people opened up and said they would come to the party! Sadly no one came, but the party was still awesome and we were able to gain super mega member trust with Sister Millas dancing skills. We had a great time and danced the night away. 

Sunday: Today was a holiday so we didn't do much outside of church and calling our families. Plus, Sister Milla was sick so we took it pretty slow. We ended up texting a ton of ladies in the ward and got so many cute responses of how much we've meant to our wards and we feel super blessed to be here! I love having so many bonus moms, and grandparents here in Vegas. They definitely spoil us. 

Please pray we will see success and miracles this week. We are going to give it our ultimate best and hope to see some fruits of our labors before I exit Vegas next week! Love you all. Keep up the good work.

 

Semana 70 La Sombra/Hillpointe: Departing Testimony & Zone Conference

 Ahhh! Weeks! They fly by! Let's get chatting because instead of writing my email last night I spent the whole night reading off all the emojis and trying to see if I knew them in Spanish 😅🤣 Procrastinating much?.... 

Monday: Tonight we had a dinner with Sister Gaspar de Alba and her family and it was so much fun! We ended the night with the usual contacting and had a good time. Nothing too eventful or crazy 🤪 

Tuesday: District council! The usual, our district leader is kind of the best. He has seriously grown up with this new calling and is really just doing a great job. I've loved getting to listen to his trainings and I can't wait to see how the next one goes. After DC I practiced my song and was getting excited for how good it was going to be. Then we went to help make cookies and Rice Krispies for the ward party and they were all shaped and looked like watermelons which was so awesome. We ended the night with dinner and knocking and had a great time! 

Wednesday: Today we kept getting off schedule but luckily our night went great! We had dinner with Sister Olguin and she made us the yummiest salsa then we had Hand Up which you all know is my favorite thing on the planet, and then ended with mutual and language study. Solid night to make up for our random morning of car washes and music practice. 

Thursday: Zone Conference!! So glad this was my final zone conference but also so sad at the same time. Huge tender mercy that Elder Smith was there checking cars and it was a happy face that I knew would help me make it through all the goodbyes today. We all wore our dresses from the swap meet and I sang and bore my departing testimony. It was a special experience to bear such a powerful testimony of the Savior to so many people I love. The trainings were awesome and it was so nice to be trained instead of being the trainer. Hard to believe this big chunk of my life is close to over we ended the night with not one, but two ward parties and everyone was eating up our dresses. We had a few investigators come to the parties so that was awesome! All in all the best day of the week! 

Friday & Saturday: Honestly these two days were pretty much the same, we have been working really hard to find people and just haven't seen much success, if you guys could pray for us to see miracles these last two weeks that would be incredible! We did our studies and knocked so many doors! We always have somewhere wonderful to eat dinner and are totally spoiled by our members who we love. But, nothing super exciting! 

Sunday: Today we didn't have anyone at church but it was my last fast Sunday and I was able to bear my testimony in both ward switch was super fun. Santiago and Elaina were visiting and I was able to see them at church! Huge blessing! We had such a good time catching up for a few short minutes and then it was off to the next place! We had dinner with the Ballards and they made us the best white chocolate macadamia nut cookies which were to die for. 

Such a good week! I love you all! Keep on keeping on! Ether 12:41