This is IT!

I can't even begin to BELIEVE that this is my last email as a missionary. This last week has been so FULL of miracles--as always, but extra special! We have been working REALLY hard! Teaching when we find and finding when we teach, this week we found 4 new investigators, which is really good for our area! We had our last zone meeting this week and I bore my testimony with the other departing missionaries for the rest of our zone members, I'm the only sister in the Zone going home, and I even got a little misty while sharing my testimony! I have loved serving the Lord here in Oakland/SF.

I was also very blessed to go to the TEMPLE! with President and Sister Meredith, I will miss them SO MUCH! they truly were my spiritual parents here while I was away from my real parents (don't worry Mom and Dad, I was well taken care of). I love them a lot.

The last exchange. It was SO full of miracles! I went to the Samoan sister's area (their area is HUGE--it covers the entire peninsula) and It is always so humbling to be with them. Their members are amazing missionaries! They helped us out so much this week, we went on splits and were able to teach so many lessons and the spirit was so strong! I had Turkey Tail for the last time in probably a long time--oooooh Samoan barbeque! Also, Sister Fitu gave me a beautiful hand-made skirt from Samoa as a going-away present. I love her! and I feel so blessed.

Mike passed the Sacrament! Now THAT was the cherry on the cake! I could not have asked for anything greater than to see Mike use the Priesthood that he was so recently given! It was so amazing. Also during Sacrament Meeting yesterday I sang in our last trio with Socorro and Hermana McLaws! We sang "Jehova Mi pastor es" in a capella 3 part harmony! I will definitely miss that.

Well, there's 2 minutes left on my computer and there's lots of packing to do on this last P-day, so I hope you all know that I love you, and I could not have done this missionary work without your love, prayers, support, and encouragement! The Lord will bless you so much!!!

See you soon!

Hermana Mitchell

2nd-to-last email from the field! Happy Birthday Kristin!!

Hi family and friends! This week has been so wonderful. New Years Eve was FUN! we had a big missionary party and watched a couple of fun movies (Despicable me 2, Monster's Inc Univeristy...) Sister McLaws and I voted for Lion King and Prince of Egypt, but those were out voted. The best part of it all was being with a bunch of missionaries playing games and eating good food, I'm sure it was the safest party going on in the whole Bay Area! We were safe and sound asleep in our beds by 10pm. Not even a single firework woke us up :)

We saw so many miracles this week! Exchanges are still going strong and we are trying to teach more lessons! The hardest part of missionary work lately is getting members to come with us! I know it's the Holidays and everything, but I wonder if they understand that if we don't have another member with us, we can't even get in the door to teach! Our members aren't really excited about missionary work... YET! We're trying to love them and serve them the very best we can and help them catch the joy and excitement and BLESSINGS of bringing our brothers and sisters to the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Mike (our recent convert) came to a lesson with us a bore his testimony so powerfully to a new investigator this week :) I wanted to cry! I love how those who recently come into the gospel have such a fire to share it with others, I wish all members were like that--I wish I were like that before my mission!!!  but like President Uchtdorf says, it doesn't matter if the best time to start something was 20 years ago, the second best time to start it is now! I can't believe that my mission has flown by like it has, but as my missionary cousin Marie Clyde just sent me in an email, "this is a transfer from the harvesting field to the planting and nurturing field." I want that to carry that theme in the way I serve for the rest of my life!

Aaaaand, today's my birthday! Sister McLaws surprised me this morning with chocolate cake for breakfast! Then after we studied for a couple hours we had a birthday breakfast with our district--pancakes and birthday cake! ..... .... I know, totally the WORST things to eat in the morning. Today after we email we're going to San Francisco to see the Palace of Fine Arts! I'm super excited!

Also! We have a new key indicator (a goal that we set and count in order to indicate the work that we're achieving) for 2014, it's called OYM (open your mouth)! This is a new year for the Oakland/SF mission and we're going to reach out to as many people as the Lord puts in our paths--and not just say hi and give them a card, but really have a gospel centered conversation with them and invite them to meet with missionaries. the standard of excellence is 20 OYMS per companionship daily, which is 140 per week. This first week we had an average of about half that, so there's definitely a lot of room for improvement! we're going to start planning hours of oym time daily, contacting in parks and bus stops, we've sent out more referrals this week than we have in the past, so I know this is inspired to help the Lord hasten his missionary work! We're going to work SO HARD this week and se sooo many amazing miracles!

hasta la proxima!

Hermana Mitchell

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

WHAT an AMAZING Christmas!!!!! I will NEVER forget my Christmas's in the Mission field! this year was drastically different from last year's Christmas where we were in the Visitor's Center on our feet all day ushering and giving tours to 1000+ visitors daily--whereas this Christmas was tranquil and peaceful, on Christmas Eve we spent part of the day doing service at the Samaritan House, which makes meals and food bags for lo-income families and then had dinner with some members and investigators! Rocio (one of our very precious investigators and friends, also the mother of 2 girls who were just baptized in May) had all of us missionaries over she fed us and made ponche (a delicious Christmas drink--with lots of different kinds of fruits all boiled together)!  and we had a WONDERFUL morning of opening PRESENTS! then after some really good studies, we went to a member's house to SKYPE with family and then enjoyed some Christmas tamales!! It was soooo good to talk to Mom and Dad, Aaron, Becca, Elaine, Ana, and see my new neice Jaylee!!! after that fun we took a little Christmas NAP! after that we watched "Joy to the World" and sister McLaws and I broke out the water-colors and did some Christmas ART! It was just right, and we jumped right back into the swing of things on the 26th!

Mike is still doing really well, holding out strong. the ward is fellowshipping him well and we're going to teach him tonight about Missionary work! He would be a great missionary. But we're really struggling in finding new investigators! I know there are people around us who are looking for peace and happiness and truth! Pray for us to find them and for them to find us!

New Years Eve will be fun! We'll get together as a Zone (I'm in the San Francisco Zone) and we'll watch a couple of movies together and so that will be exciting :) we're still doing exchanges too! I had lots of fun in China Town this week with my old companion, sister Lau! I got to help teach the intermediate English class and help the students form sentences :) I think learning Spanish may have thrown my grammar out the window.... but it was GREAT! I'm looking forward to the rest of the exchanges, only 4 left this transfer

I hope your new year's resolutions are both physical and spiritual, I know that the reason we're all here in earth is to progress and change--thank goodness Heavenly Father gave us so many opportunities to make new goals and try to improve--and He even gave us the perfect example to follow. Happy New Year, I love you ALL!

Hermana Mitchell

P.S. JANUARY 6TH IS KRISTIN'S BIRTHDAY!!! Be sure to send her an email (kristin.mitchell@myldsmail.net) or send her a letter (address to the right ---> ). And she's coming home in less than 2 weeks!!!!