Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Happy Turkey Day this week!!

First off...Mom thanks for the lotion! I LOVE packages! How was Twilight??? I am wearing my "Bite me Edward" shirt to celebrate. Hahaha...So I bet you are all excited for Thanksgiving. I am sad I will miss the whole family being together but I think I can handle just getting pictures. :) Oh! And I am SURE Amanda already has the ads scoped out to see what the deals are for Black Friday. I will need pictures of that too. Lol!

This last week went really well!! Except teaching in Spanish is no bueno...it is hard to convey how you are feeling and teach the gospel in a meaningful way when you dont even know the words. I have found it to be a struggle for me because I want to say things perfect and I cant right now.

On Sunday we had 2 amazing speakers! In Relief Society we had Sister Oaks come and speak. She is Elder Oaks wife. Her talk was so good but the part that got me was at the end she had her friend, who has down syndrome, bare her testimony and sing us a song. I started bawling! Then she sang "As I Have Loved You" with the sign language. I was a mess! haha. It really hit home for me and was such a special moment for me to remember how much support I have, on earth and in heaven.

Sheri Dew spoke Sunday night!! It was so awesome!! I was writting notes so fast I thought my hand was going to fall off. She talked about how the patterns I learn here on my mission will help me forever and how my family is being blessed because of my service. She was so great!

My favorite experience this last week was teaching 4 Elders form another district. We have taught them many times a week for 5 weeks. They are awesome guys. Well me and my companions decided to teach to them and try our best to teach by the spirit. We didn't go in with much of a plan. So we started and the guys were goofing off but by the end it was amazing! I felt that I needed to share some of the trials I have had in my life(Tylers death and parents divorce), then I talked about prayer and the Savoir. I started to cry and then the elders started to cry. We asked them how do they feel of Gods love in their life and they said "right now". It was the most spiritual lesson I have ever gave! Later I found out that 2 of the elders parents were divorced and one of them had their sister pass away less than a year ago. I love missionary work! It is so incredible how the spirit can lead you share things you never thought to. After wards the Elder said it was the best lession he had ever heard and he wished he could give us a hug. It wasn't me teaching it was the spirit. My companions and I after that went to the bathroom and cried cause it was so awesome!

I got to host new missionaries on Wednesday. The first girl I had was from Samoa and didnt speak English very well. I loved her! Her family dropped her off in a huge van and they all sang. It was amazing! Oh and while I was waiting for another girl...I saw this black new missionary get out of this really old beat up car. Then 2 of his friends got out. I talked to him later and he is the only member in his family and they wouldnt go with him to the MTC cause they dont support him. So his 2 friends dropped him off and gave him huge hugs and took pictures. I almost started crying! A mission is hard enough, I cannot imagine doing it without the support of family.

Thanks so much for everything! I love you all so much! *HUG* (thats me hugging you :)

Love, Hermana Richards

Hola!

Hey everyone!

Thank you so much ofr all the letters and the packages. Maygen, I love the seat coushins(sp?). My companions also really love them! Thanks for everything, you are amazing!! Also...I loved the Halloween pictures and chips and salsa. My companions and district know all about my family. Haha...I am saving the chips and salsa for next week because we are goign to have a fiesta before my roomates leave for Argentina. I am so excited!!

So one of my favorite parts of this week has been playing Spanish charades(sp?). It was really funny. My district was like "WOW! Hermana Richards is really getting into this!". I had to laugh. Its because of all those nights of us playing games and how competetive our family is. HAHA!

My Espanol is coming along ok. This next week I am teaching about 7 times in Spanish so I hope it really help me progress. Oh! Next Wednesday me and my district gert to host all the new missionaries coming in the MTC. Meaning we are the ones right there when they get out of the car and we take them around and get them settled. I am really excited because I feel really "old" as a missionary here because I have been here now like 4.5 weeks. So crazy!

Funny story....so I wrote like 1000 letters last week(yes really 1000 :) and mailed them off on Sat. Well...yesterday my companion was picking something up from under my bed and found like 3 letters that accidentely fell! I was so mad! So Denise, Sam and Linds, I am sorry! I am writing you today! Don't think I am a slacker.

Wow! So time really flys by here. I really love it though! Everyone is SO nice and caring. I am always feeling the Spirit. The longer I am here the more I realize the importance of me being here and the work I am doing. There are moments when you can be really tired or your head can hurt from speaking Spanish but everyday I wake up with a new energy that keeps me going. I am SO blessed. One of my greateest blessings is the Elders in my district. I wish you could meet them. Last night we were all laughing so hard we were crying. They really keep my spirits high.

At the temple today I thought of all of you. I began to cry because I am so grateful for all of you. And I am so happy to call you my family! Sometimes I wish I could talk to you and tell you about he great day I had or something cool that happened but I know you can feel of my love becasue I feel yours everyday. As I am tyoing this I am crying because and so thankful for all of you. I wish I could convey to you the importance of this gospel to me. I will be forever changed becasue of these only 4 short weeks so far and I know the Lord will continue to refine me into a disciple of Christ. I love you all so much! I know this church is true. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and restored the church on this earth in its fulness. Jesus Christ is our Savoir and Redeemer. If you apply the Atonement in your life you will feel of a greater happiness and joy than you could ever imagine. I love this work! I miss everyones face and smile :) I love you :)

Love, Sarah

yo hablo espanol??

Family!!

How is everyone?? Thank you so much for the letters and packages. Pretty much whenever I get mail I share it with my companions so they know a lot about you guys. I can't help but telling them all about my family and friends :) They really liked the candy, pictures, letters you have sent for them and they are so grateful for you guys. They keep tellign me how awesome my family is. Of course I couldn't argue with them.
So last Saturday was Halloween...as a missionary you dont really get to celebrate. I wore a green sweater and switched name tags with my companion as my "costume". Oh and we basically pigged out on candy, carmel popcorn, etc. Oh and Maygen! We totally did the scripture thing. It was awesome! My roomates all appriciated it.
This week my favorite thing has to have been when Elder and Sister Rasband from the Presidency of the Seventy came and spoke. It was one of the most amazing talks I have ever heard. Maygen-I guess they were mission Presidents over your mission like 10 years ago and they both centered their talks on NYC and missionary work. It reminded me so much of you. I will try and write more about it in a letter to you! Man, I wish you and Denise could have heard it. But it was all about hte Savior and how to just open your mouth and teach!
So...my companions taught for the first time in Spanish yeaterday!! Agh! It was really scary at first but ended up going better than I tought it would. I definitely have a lot to learn though. It is amazing how fast you can learn here at the MTC. The biggest thing I am having trouble with is conjegations. I know all the conjegations I just forget them while I am talking so I sound kinda ridiculous talking. OH! So we started playing this game with my district, it is called el nativo. Basically we all draw a paper each morning and if your paper says "el nativo" then you have to speak Spanish all day, no matter what! But everyone else wants to trick people into thinking they are the nativo so they tlak in Spanish too. At the end of the night we vote and crown a winner. Of course I draw the nativo the first day. Lets jsut say I was a little quiter than usual. HAHA!!
So not much else is new. Study, class, eat, gym, bed. Thats about it. So I decided to come up with some random facts about the MTC, or at least my version:
Fact:
-my handwritting has gotten worse since being on a mission. If you are lucky enough to get a letter from me have fun translating my handwritting.
-The elders get hot easy so our classroom feels like an ice chest
-It is difficult ot make a bed when it is a bunk bed. I hit my head on the bar EVERYDAY!
-a watch becomes your best friend
-panty hoes become your worse enemy(i dont have to wear them but again the classroom is like an ice chest)
-you learn to get ready faster than the speed of light.
-you love wednesdays becasue all the new missionaries come in nad it makes you feel like an experienced missionary. Really you dont knwo much more than them
-the most drama you hear here is about who is coming for devotional...you will here rumors about a apostle or even last week the prophet. Those are fun times.
-It is weird when you dont have your nametag on. like during gym...you feel incomplete.
-Things at the bookstore are 40% off!!
-Fluent Spanish speakers see your nametag and automatically think you are fluent. LOL "No hablo Espanol...."
-The only time when you leave your companions sight is during gym and when in your dorms.
-You have to have this special credit card thing to eat, get into your floor, residence, etc.
-the food is not good. I do like cereal and salad.
-my room is on the 4th floor so you g et used to goign up stairs-there is free ice cream bars after dinner
-Somewhere there is a room full of all pillows..i havent found it yet. I am still looking :)
That is all the facts I can think of right now.
I am doing really good. I am busy busy studying and trying to learn Spanish. I am so grateful for all of you!
I love you.
-Hermana Richards