Holy moly, Christmas is in FOUR DAYS!!!!!! That is just crazy. What happened to all of the other 20 days of December? Quien sabe....

Anyways, so this week we had a lot of great fun and of course, tons of miracles! There is such a special spirit during Christmas time. One of my favorite tender mercies that Heavenly Father gave us this week happened on Saturday. Literally we were having ZERO success. No one was home, no one wanted to talk to us, nada. After getting stuck in downtown traffic, we were so ready to just get out of the car and teach someone the gospel. That was not our fate. But we found this little apartment complex and decided to try knocking doors. A few people answered, none of them had much time or interest. But after a few minutes, one of the doors that we had already knocked on re-opened, and the lady we had talked to stepped outside really quick. She explained that she really didn't have time to talk with us, but that she was so grateful that we were out spreading the message of Christ. She wished us a Merry Christmas and stepped back inside. But it was so special to feel the Spirit as this woman took a leap of faith and reached out to us in love. I think we are often too fearful of offending someone, or thinking that our words and thoughts couldn't possibly matter that we don't say anything at all. She could have easily just stayed inside, and never re-opened the door to wish us a Merry Christmas. We should never hesitate to share words of love and kindness. I love how she followed the example of the Savior in that simple moment. 

We also had the amazing opportunity to go to the Ensign Symphony with our investigator Reyes!! oh my goodness, it was BEAUTIFUL!! It reminded me how much I love music, the violin, and beautiful singing. And it was really awesome because Reyes has been struggling with understanding repentance and how to be prepared so that he can be baptized. But while we were there, listening to the amazing Christmas music all about the birth of Jesus Christ, he recognized the amazing power that Christmas time has in helping us overcome our weaknesses and fixing things that need mending. He is so close to the Spirit! And I am so sorry, but I totally had all of these great pictures from that night, but I accidentally left my camera at home!! :( 

Well everyone, I love you so very much. I hope and pray that you may be able to recognize God's hand in your lives. I know that there is so much going on in the world, Christmas shopping, parties, visits, cookies, star wars... the list is endless. But I know that as we focus on HIM, we will be able to recognize and understand a little bit more of what He did for us. He was born for US, He died for US, and He rose again and still lives today for US-- so that we can repent, and feel of God's love more and more every single day. Have a Very Merry Christmas!! 

-Hermana Brooks 

So we got caught up in a huge service project this morning, and time is short today. BUT! We had a really great week that I want to tell you all about super quick!

First of all, our family from Honduras is AMAZING! Really, they are a complete miracle. They came to voleibol this week and LOVED it, and were able to come to church!! We went over and watched the movie Prophet of the Restoration, and their mom came to watch it with us. About 5 minutes in, she goes, "I've seen this before! I used to meet with the missionaries in Honduras." WHAT?! We were running late for another appointment that was 30 minutes away, so we didn't have tons of time to talk with her after the movie finished, but we are so excited to keep teaching this family! Also, since Gabriela and Mariela are twins, it pretty much feels like we are teaching the girls from Sister-Sister like 100% of the time. They are hilarious. I love them so much!!

We also had a really special zone conference. Elder Johnson from the Seventy came to visit our mission, and boy did he call us to repentance. But then he taught us about how repentance means change. It isn't always scary, or hard, or heart-breaking. It is us reaching our full potential as children of God. Something that really hit me was what a fellow sister missionary said. She commented that we all know that our end goal is to make it home in the kingdom of God, to be worthy and ready to live there. But we don't just want to feel like a guest, or a visitor. We want to feel at home, like a child coming home to stay. It is only through living the gospel of Jesus Christ that we can do that, and that is why we share our message, so that everyone can do that. It was a really wonderful experience, and I learned so much. 

We had so many amazing miracles, and I just don't have enough time to tell you about them all. But I want you all to know that I have seen God's hand in my life this week, and I am eternally grateful for it. I am so grateful for my calling as a missionary, and I am so grateful for my captain Jesus Christ. I love celebrating His birth, and helping others learn about Him. I love you all so much, and I hope you have a great week. I pray that you may all feel the Christmas Spirit. I know that it is not from the gifts, or lights (although they are beautiful). It is about love, service, and family. It is about about a Father who loves His children, and wants them to come back home. 

Hasta luego!!

-Hermana Brooks

Yes, dear friends and family, the wintery rains of Washington have officially come. They have taken away the ice and frost, but now everything is permanently damp. Its awesome :) 

We had a pretty great week in the Crossroads Branch! We have been working a lot on being CONVERTED missionaries, not just missionaries with a testimony. A testimony is what someone KNOWS. I personally have a knowledge that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true, and that Jesus Christ lives. A conversion is how someone is CHANGED by that knowledge. There are many who simply have very large testimonies, they have come to know and understand a lot about the gospel. There are also many of us who need to improve and grow in our ability to apply that knowledge and change because of it. I also know that you can be converted without knowing everything. The AMOUNT of what we know does not matter nearly as much as what we do with it. So if you feel your testimony has a few more holes in it than someone else's, I would invite you to focus on how you change your life according to what you DO know. I have been taught a lot this week about how God will fill those holes, and strengthen the weak spots when we seek to be converted and true to what we already know to be true. 

My experience with that principle this week started because of a zone training that we had, where we were counseled to invite EVERYONE we see and talk to to be baptized. Now, as missionaries, we already strive to talk with everyone. We are not called to be judges of who we think is ready for the gospel. We are called to FIND those who God has already prepared. Which could be anyone. So we talk to everyone :) But throughout my mission, I have been on and off about inviting everyone to baptism as soon as I meet them. We were challenged to do so, and were promised that the Lord will put those prepared people in our path. I have a testimony that the Lord will always provide a way, and He will help us be successful missionaries when we have faith in  Him. As we went out and made that extra effort to invite everyone to be baptized, we were able to find several new investigators AND a family from Honduras who wants to learn and prepare to be baptized!! It was so crazy!!! 

Also, I received a special assignment from our mission president this week..... Another sister (Sister Clayson) and I will be teaching a high school class of Jewish students about the history and doctrine of our church on Tuesday!!! What?! Yah, so our mission president got an email last week from the Jewish Synagogue asking for us to prepare a presentation for this class, since they are studying different denominations and religions. So we will have 45 minutes to present the message of the Restoration and answer questions they have. It is going to be so great! We really have no idea what to expect, but as we were talking our mission president it was really cool to talk about how unique our message is. In the title page of the Book of Mormon, it says that one of its main purposes is "to the convincing of Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ." It was written for them!! So anyways, please pray for us that our presentation will go well, since we have like no time to plan and prepare together. I am so excited!! :) 

Also, I just really really love Christmas time. It is the best!! I love you all so much and I hope that you are able to feel the Christmas Spirit. For all of you in school, good luck in finals and such! And let us not forget that we come together with friends and family at this time to celebrate God's greatest gift, His Beloved Son. Let us strengthen our conversions and rejoice. Les Quiero!!! 

-La Hermana Brooks

Hello dear friends and family. The skies are officially grey here in the Evergreen state! AND its Halloween this week! CRAZY!!! I hope everyone has fun trick-or-treating, dressing up, and having fun with those you love :)

I don't have tons of time today, but I just wanted to check in with everyone and say how grateful I am to have the family and friends that I have. I am so grateful for everyone who has supported me, given me counsel, made me laugh, and made me feel of God's love. In one way or another, that should include everyone. Being on a mission has really opened my eyes to how much God has blessed me throughout every phase of my life, and how much power we have to help those around us recognize that. 

We had a great week in the Crossroads Branch, and we had the awesome opportunity of going to the annual Hispanic Conference! It was a blast! :) so fun being together to celebrate this beautiful Hispanic culture! We had investigators and tons of less actives that were able to come, and it was just awesome! We also had many miracles in finding new investigators and finding some people who had gone missing from the branch's radar for a little bit. Heavenly Father never loses track of His sheep, and when we have the desire to help THEM find HIM again, He will bless us with so many miracles along the path. 

I love you all so much, and I hope you have a great week! I PROMISE to send pictures next week. Literally, my camera just died in the parking lot of the library. Hasta Luego!!

-la hermana Brooks 

This is John!

Hola mejores amigos y familia! Espero que todo este bien :) 

I love you all so much! And I wish I was better at being able to tell you all of the amazing experiences and adventures that I have every week. This week was soo full of them! But alas, I do not have the time nor the ability to fit it all in. So I will just share a few of my favorites :)

First of all, I LOVE Hermana Hargis. She makes me delicious food, makes me laugh, and really just knows how to be a great missionary. I really don't feel like I am training her AT ALL. I mean, yes, she is a little older and has a lot more life experience that pretty much all of us missionaries here. But she really is just super awesome, and she brings miracles with her. Literally we have been able to find more less actives in the past 2 weeks than pretty much every other time I have been here! And she just really loves all of these people so much. It is always really stressful bringing someone new into your personal experiences and world because you just don't know if they will love everyone like you do. But I have no worries with Hermana Hargis :) I love it!!

Also, I finally got to play soccer with the branch again!!! (last Saturday is rained a lot, so the activity was cancelled). And guess what?! After 3 months of not playing, I actually wasn't too bad!! Seriously, one of my biggest regrets from my pre-mission life was not learning how to play soccer. Who knew that it was a necessary skill to be a missionary :) AND! What is super awesome is that the branch loves to invite their friends to these activities, so we are always getting introduced to new people to teach! The challenge is actually getting them to become new investigators, but either way, it is awesome how much our members want their friends to be involved. 

Okay, and here is for my favorite part of the entire week. Yesterday, we had our monthly Member-Missionary Fireside, and a very wonderful person got to share his testimony with the congregation! That is right everyone, John Keihnle from the Duvall ward. Oh my goodness, when he walked in I about jumped out of my seat and ran to him! AND HE GREW A BEARD!! but oh my goodness, his testimony was so powerful. I wish I could have recorded it!! It was so amazing, because he bore his testimony about the Book of Mormon. He told everyone about how when he first met us, he told us that he didn't need the church because God already talked to him all of the time. When we asked him what God told him, he told us that we would think he was crazy (its true, we really did). He told us that God had told him to get a bow and arrow and leave to the wilderness.... Now for any of you not familiar with the Book of Mormon, there are some great stories of men who receive similar counsel from God (see I Nephi 16) and so obviously he had to read it! He was having a hard time finding time to read, and so when we found the app that he could listen to it, that is when everything changed. My favorite part about hearing him tell the story of our teaching, was when he said in his very soft voice, "I pushed play that night and I dont think I hit the stop button until I hit the book of Alma" (Alma is halfway through the Book). The whole room just kind of sat in awe at him. All of the missionaries let out an awe-filled "ooohhhh" Literally John listened to the whole Book of Mormon in like 3 days. And then 3 weeks later he was baptized. And he was so filled with light and love last night that I am still on cloud 9. There is something so special about sharing the gospel with someone. It binds people together, and makes us more than just friends, but family. There are many dear people in my life who I consider family, my best friends, teachers, and role models, and so many incredible people from my most amazing mission. I love being a missionary so much. God loves us so much, and it is only up to us to go and find the amazing miracles, peole like John Keihnle who are our neighbors, friends, co-workers, and strangers that need what we have. They need the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I love you all so much, and I hope you have an amazing week. I pray that you will not be afraid to reach out, love one another, and share what makes you happy. 

Les Quiero Mucho!!

-la Hermana brooks

Sooo... last week was transfers, which is why I wasn't able to send out any emails. AND YOU WILL NEVER GUESS WHAT HAPPENED! I have no idea how exciting this for any of you at home, but needless to say, it was a little crazy for me up here in Washington :)

For the second time, I have been sent BACK to the Crossroads Spanish Branch!!!! Yes, that is right. I have served in Bellevue three times now, and I only come to love it more and more every time I come back :) also, I was released as Sister-Training Leader, but then called to be a trainer of a new missionary for the third time as well! It was a lot of change. But I am sooo grateful for all of the time I had as a STL, because it has given me so much experience that I could not have gained any other way. I know that God has been preparing me for this new assignment for a while, and as soon as I found out what was happening, I knew that it was inspired of my loving Heavenly Father. 

Let me tell you all about my new companion!! Her name is Hermana Hargis, and she is from Kansas City, Kansas. She is not your typical sister missionary. She actually was called to the Washington Seattle Mission back in 2009, when she was injured in the MTC and was sent home where she ended up having 4 major shoulder surgeries! She is now 29 years old, and was called to come back to the SAME mission as her original call!! She finally made it :) haha she is sooo incredible! She was a paramedic for something like 8 years, and she has so many amazing stories. Never a dull moment with her :) I am so terrible, because I don't have any pictures yet of us together, but I PROMISE to have some by next week :) 

A quick update on the branch: everything is different. The Chavez family are still amazing though!! They are in the heart of everything that goes on in the branch now and they are just INCREDIBLE!! A lot of people have moved out and some new faces have come in, and Hermana Hargis and I have a goal to visit/find every single person in our branch list this transfer :) wish us luck!! 

and OH MY GOODNESS the branch is competing in a volleyball tournament in the stake. and they come to the church to practice every week WITH  a coach and basically our friday night voleibol activities have definitely upped their game. haha it is so awesome! More updates to come :) 

Overall, I have been learning a lot about the Atonement lately and how it works in our every day lives. I know that the Lord qualifies who He calls, and that includes me. Often, I have been very discouraged because of the mistakes I have made, the lack of qualifications I have, and the increasing pile of things in my "must-do" list, but I have been reminded over and over again that the Lord really does take us exactly the way we are. I loved that message that rang true to me in General Conference 2 weeks ago. As President Uchtdorf put it, we do not have to be more of anything. We just need to tell the Lord that we are ready and willing and He will come to where we are and walk with us the rest of the way. I love knowing that that is true, and even when I doubt that it is, I am constantly surrounded by those friends and family who remind me :) 

I love being a missionary. I love that the Lord knows exactly what we need, when we need it. He really does loves us sooo much and takes every opportunity to show us that. I hope you all have an amazing week, and I hope that you all have the opportunity to ponderize something from the scriptures :) This week, my scripture is Doctrine and Covenant 123:17. Go find yours! :) 

con mucho amor,

la hermana brooks