Hello dear loved ones! I hope you all had a wonderful week! I feel like I start these emails the same every single time... so sorry about that. I will try to get more creative :) 

Well, This week was tons of fun for us in Duvall! We were able to do sooo much service around the community and just with individual people as well. Every week, we go to do service at a local transitional housing for women coming from abusive situations called Acres of Diamonds. Usually it is just use missionaries, and we sort, clean, and pretty much do whatever needs to be done. But this week, about 10 minutes after we started, another girl joined us, who just happens to be one of the struggling youth we are trying to work with in the ward!! She came in and we were able to have tons of fun as we sorted donations together, and really start to build a relationship with her. It was definitely a tender mercy from the Lord :) 

We also had an appointment with a former investigator who has been meeting with the missionaries for YEARS and is best friends with a lot of the members. The only catch is that she never wants to act on the message to find out if it is true. Frustrating. But anyways, so we got to go and see her this week, and as soon as she opened the door, she was like "I thought it would be a good idea for us to make duck tacos together to get to know each other!!" ummm what?! haha so we ended up making the weirdest tacos of my ENTIRE life. The Spanish Branch may disown me if they ever find out :) haha but yes, they were DUCK tacos with CHERRY salsa and cucumbers in them. It was soooo weird. Not awful. I have definitely had worse. However, I would probably never call them tacos again.... cause it just seems wrong. 

We were also able to find FOUR NEW INVESTIGATORS this week!!! It was so cool! Duvall is one of the hardest areas to find new investigators because of how small it is. Pretty much EVERYONE has met the missionaries before, EVERYONE has their own church and they are "content," and EVERYONE has a friend who is a member, so why would they talk to us when they can just give their friend a call? It is just awesome. BUT the Lord has us here for a reason, and this week we were definitely blessed! Dont get me wrong, I LOVE it here a lot :) but there are some days where it is definitely a refiners fire :)

Sunday ended on kind of a sad note, when we went to go and visit one of our investigators, John. When he opened the door, all he said was that Michelle (his girlfriend) just barely found out that her father had passed away. he quickly ushered us in and asked us to help comfort her because he really had no clue what to do. So we spent our Sunday evening trying to comfort a woman who, minutes earlier, had received news that her father had unexpectedly passed away. It was so heartbreaking to sit by her side and just focus on helping her breathe. it ended up being a long night, and we were able to help her get to the point where she could eat something. But as we left her with a prayer, I was so grateful for the knowledge that I have of the Plan of Salvation. I know that there is more after this life. I know that because the priesthood was restored through Joseph Smith, I am sealed to my family and I need not worry about what lies ahead because we can always be together. That is so comforting to me,and I am truly so grateful to have that assurance in my life. That is why I am a missionary. That is why this message is important to everyone.

I love you all so much and I am so grateful for all of the love and support I get. I may be horrible at replying to emails and letters, but really I appreciate it so very much. I pray that as we all go forward this week, that we may be able to spend time with those who we love. Don't ever be afraid to tell someone that you love them, never hesitate to give someone a hug. This life is so precious, but it is not the end either. God intends for us to ETERNALLY happy with those who we love as we strive our best to be worthy of those promises.

Les Quiero mucho!!!!!

-la hermana brooks

Hello dear friends and family!! Sorry I don't have tons of time to write today, but since I didn't get anything out last week, I think an update is in order! 

So Duvall is super beautiful. Farms, trees, sunsets that look like water-colored paintings! Really it is like living in a fairy tale, the land is so beautiful. This past week, however, was a little rocky in our picturesque town. I have never had so many doors slammed in our faces! Haha I mean, it is fine. An adventure for sure! But pretty much every one here is pretty religious, so when we come knocking they are not too happy. But we do also meet a lot of really awesome nice people! We have this one investigator named Dan who lives out in the sticks. He is such a sweet heart! He basically treats us like his grandchildren, and wears the shortest shorts I have ever seen old men wear. But we love him anyways :) this week we had a really great lesson with him and an older member couple. It turns out that all of them have been in biker gangs before! We have the coolest members out here :) but yah, hopefully Dan will be able to come to church this coming week! 

We also had a lot of investigators drop us this week. Well, I don't think you could really call them investigators. Really they were just people who had decided to be nice to us when we knocked on their door, told us that we could come back, but really were not interested at all when we showed up. Funny how some people just don't think that we are very serious :) We also tracked into a haunted house!!! Just kidding, it probably isn't haunted. But it sure looks like it! The cool thing about Redmond is that there are wild black berry bushes literally everywhere. And so this awesomely scary looking house is quite completely covered in these bushes, which makes it even more awesome! no one answered when we knocked on it, but there was definitely something moving inside. We haven't exactly decided if we are going to go back and try it again yet.... :) 

And I got to see a man's turtle farm this week!!!! Oh my goodness, so we were walking down this road after visiting someone, and there is this man working in his front lawn. We, of course, asked if he needed any help, seeing as he was the only one working on distributing this huge pile of bark in his driveway. He thinks for a second, shrugs his shoulders, and goes "sure, follow me." So we follow this man to his backyard where he shows us his TURTLE FARM! He explained that he takes care of over 150 turtles, and has over 200 animals total. And so he let us help him move the turtles, clean out their bins, and basically he just showed us around. It was awesome!! I was so upset when I realized that I didn't have my camera with me :( but we made sure to give him our number in case he ever needed more help. So pray that he calls us soon so that I can get some pictures for ya'll! :) 

Basically I am learning a lot while being out here. It is soooo different than any where else I have served in my mission, and it has been quite the adjustment. But I have been able to learn a lot about how patience and diligence are true signs of love. If we are not patient and diligent, we will never be able to prove to anyone that we love them, especially our Heavenly Father. I pray that as we all go through this new week we can be more diligent patient with those around us. The golden rule does not become any less important or significant the older it gets. That is something that I have truly found to be crucial to a Christ-like life. And the awesome thing is that as we read in the scriptures and pray we truly can develop those attributes and they will become a part of our nature. The gospel is so great :) 

I love you all so much! Let us all have an amazing week together :) 

con amor,

la hermana brooks

So last week was literally AMAZING!! But right now I cannot even focus on all of the amazing things that happened, but I have just been transferred to Duvall!!! For those of you (all of you?) who have absolutely no idea where that is, basically it is in the middle of nowhere. It is a tiny little town about 20-30 minutes away from most things, and it is an area where I will pretty much only be speaking ENGLISH!! What?!?! I have no idea how to teach the gospel in English......just kidding. But I really do LOVE teaching the gospel in Spanish, and basically I just really miss my Crossroads family right now... BUT I am also super duper excited to be here, and I know that I am going to learn and grow A LOT. Like an insane amount. It is kind of scary. But I am ready for it, it is what I have been praying for. And I know that everything before now in my mission has been preparing me for this. I just have to figure out how....

My new companion is the wonderful Sister Lawson, from a small town in California :) She is actually a convert to the church for almost 2 years now! She is soooo wonderful, and really is just a fireball missionary. I know that I am going to learn a lot from her :) We have only been together for a total of 3 hours so far, but we have been able to talk to each other about some of our goals, and basically we are just ready to hit the pavement running. It is going to be awesome!!

Basically to sum up my last transfer in Crossroads and Overlake, I would say that I have never had so much fun in 6 weeks. We met so many amazing people, and saw so many miracles. From crazy old men who called us his "angels," the miracle Chavez family, and soccer fiestas, every day was an adventure. I learned so much from my dear companions, Hermanas Christiansen and Stoddard, and I am so grateful for these women in my life. They have strengthened me so much. Now it is my job to keep up the progress I have made, and then strive for even better. 

If there is one thing I have learned this week, it is that faith is not a passive, nor stagnant thing. It is real, it is living, and it needs to be an active part of our entire lives. Religion is not a 'club' nor a social phenomenon. It is something that shapes us into who we are, and gives us sunshine on the darkest of days. I am so grateful for my faith in Jesus Christ. It is something that strengthens me every day. 

Yo se que Jesucristo es mi Salvador. Yo se que El vive y que por medio de El, podemos llegar a ser mejores cada dia. Yo se que el poder del la Expiacion de Cristo es real. no puedo negarlo. Yo se que por medio de Jose Smith, Dios restauro su iglesia verdadera. Le amo a mi Dios. Soy su misionera, y voy a testificar de su amor a todos en mi camino. 

I love you all so much. I hope you have a wonderful week. Pray for me and my new area :) Les Quiero!!!!

-la herm

So this past week was really long and hard. We also had a lot of great fun! :) We kick started the week with our favorite Guatemalan, Hermano Garcia in the Cheesecake factory!! Literally I still cannot believe how much food we ate. But it was awesome :) 

Throughout the week, we did a lot of work with other missionaries who are struggling. It is always a very special, spiritual experience when you are given the blessing of having someone in need reach out to you. I have been very humbled, and my heart is filled with a lot of gratitude. What I have probably learned the most this week in doing so is that, in a very real and personal way, there is no hole too deep, no mountain too high, no root too stubborn that Christ cannot overcome. He already suffered for EVERYTHING, every single pain, mistake, misunderstanding, temptation. The purpose of that was not so that we would never experience pain, sufferings, temptations, etc. But instead it was so that when we come to Him for help, He can tell us that He knows how we feel, and He knows how to help. EVERYTHING is a blessing. 

And our new mission president, President Schofield from Heber City, UT is AWESOME!! We got to meet him on Thursday, and basically I already love him and his wife. They are such great examples of charity and love. We are ready to see some more miracles in the Washington, Seattle Mission :) 

Also, David, our awesome Chinese investigator who didn't have faith in God dropped us this week :( It was a really bitter sweet moment, because after praying on and off for about a month, he FINALLY found faith that God exists. It was really cool to hear him tell us that logic and faith do not have to be separate, contradicting things, but instead that they are one and the same. I cannot count the amount of times we tried explaining that to him over the past 3 months. But what was heart breaking, and the reason for him dropping us, is that he feels he cannot have faith in the Christian God. He wants so badly to justify so many things, he just wants to be right, and the fact that Gods laws and commandments tell him otherwise isn't something he is willing to accept. Basically I cried. A lot. It was a really hard, long day. But I know that He will continue to grow in his relationship with God, and someday he will might even accept missionaries again. I have faith :) 

For the Fourth of July, we had to do our weekly planning :( so we didn't get to see any fireworks, which was muy triste. BUT we celebrated regardless by getting all american cheeseburgers, fries, and milkshakes :) our healthy diets had to take the back seat for the night, but it was super fun and TOTALLY worth it :) Go America!!

Oh!! and one more thing :) Yesterday at church, Cristhian Chavez passed the sacrament for the first time and he bore his testimony in church!! Oh my goodness, it was just so special to see the whole family grow stronger and stronger in their testimonies, and it has only been a week since their baptism! Last night, we were able to go have dinner with them, and the Spirit was just so strong in their home. I love this family so much!!! 

Really, I love you all so very much. I am grateful for all of the trials that we have in life because they give us opportunities to grow. I know without a doubt that Jesus is the Christ. He did the things that He said He did. He loves me. He loves all of us. I know that as we come unto Him, He will help us to see miracles every single day. He Lives, and these promises He has given unto us are real. 

I hope you all have an incredible week.

"Look unto Me in every thought. Doubt not, Fear not" Doctrine and Covenant 6:36

-la hermana brooks 

Hello once again dear family and friends, I hope all is well and that you are all having a wonderful summer! This is probably one of the funnest summers I have ever had, and DEFINITELY the busiest. I love it so much :) 

La Familia Chavez was baptized on Saturday!!! AAAHHHHH it was really just the most amazing thing! I cannot believe that a month ago we didn't even know who they were. I Love this family so much!!! We were able to see them every day leading up to their baptism, and every time we could literally see their faith growing! Cristhian and Evelyn were sooo excited and really have taught me a lot about the importance of supporting our companions, whether they are just for the mission, or eternal companions. Really, an ideal marriage and family does not exist until you find a center in Jesus Christ. I know that may sound crazy to some of you, but I promise you that it is true. It is ONLY on a sure foundation of faith in Jesus Christ that we can really overcome everything to become an eternal family. Anyways, so the baptism was just BEAUTIFUL. Everything just seemed to go perfectly, and I know that it is only because of the faith of this beautiful family. Practically the whole branch came to their baptism, and everyone was crying and hugging, and it was just a really special moment to be a part of :) And they are so excited to enter into the temple and be sealed together as a family in one year!!! AHH I just love them so much :) 

Besides the miracle of the baptism, some other great things happened this week. We were able to go on exchanges with Hermanas Dilworth and Flores! Really, I love these two so much :) it is just so crazy to be a sister training leader and to be able to get to know and help them so much. It has been a calling that has strengthened my testimony of the Atonement, both the enabling and cleansing power that it has, every single day. I was terribly misinformed before my mission, thinking that all missionaries were perfect and had no struggles or worries. The opportunities we have to do exchanges and help one another are what make our growth and progress that we have made possible. And I am grateful for the perfect example of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that guides and leads us daily to help us reach our full potential.

Also!!! We get a new mission president this week!! (Technically today, but we don't meet him until Friday). It has been the most amazing 10 months with the Choi's and I can honestly say that I have never had leaders before who have brought me so close to my Savior. Their constant love and support has been tangible every moment of their time with us. But now they have been called to a new place, to serve in the Asian Region, and will be living in Japan. I will miss my Mission Mother and Father a lot, and I will never forget all of the things they have taught me. At the same time, I recognize the divine timing of this change. I am very excited for the new mission president, President Schofield, and I know that he will be exactly what this mission needs to become even more amazing (if that was even possible). 

Well, I gotta run, we still have lots of things to do today. But I love you all so much and thank you for all of your support. Ustedes son los mejores!!!

-la hermana brooks