Happy New Year!!

Hola Familia!

I can't believe that it is the new year! I remember thinking when I left for my mission that I had to wait until is was 2015 before thinking about going home and school and all that stuff........and 2015 is in 2 days! I am still amazed at how fast the time went. When you are so busy each day, the days, weeks, months, and now YEAR go by so fast!

Thanks for making my Christmas so special! I loved seeing you all. It is hard for me to grasp the idea that I still have a family at home, even when I see you on skype. I don't think it will click until I am giving you all hugs haha. Christmas was interesting and different though. We slept for like 2 hours on christmas, I was so tired and P-days are really busy and it is hard to sleep. So I enjoyed that time to rest and watch videos about Jesus Christ. I guess the best part was the Zone activity that we had at night. We played soccer and volleyball and it was fun to be with my friends. I really love being with the other missionaries! We are all homesick and alone on Christmas so it was really fun to be together. The hard thing about those days is that it is hard to get back into the swing of things the next day. It is like going back to school after winter break but HARDER! The change is so big in your schedule and you are just so tired! But it was hard to feel like a missionary on Christmas because I wasn't doing what missionaries usually do. I remember walking through some apartments on Saturday, thinking about Christmas and then I said to my companion, "Now I feel like a missionary again!" I was so relieved to be back to work! It was a cool feeling, which made me think about when I have to go home and I can't be a Full-time missionary again.....that is going to be horrible! I need to make the most of the next 6 months!

I am so jealous that you all went to the lights at temple square. I guess I will have to go next year. You should have told me that you were going to be down here....I have a lot of stuff that you could have taken home with you. I have a lot of clothes that the girls can wear. I guess when Jess and Jordan are going to go back up there, they can take some stuff with them :)

This week was a good one, we have been blessed with a lot more people to teach. With the Velez family being baptized, you always get worried about having no one to teach. I have been praying for help to find more people and we have been blessed with people who have been prepared by the lord. A lot of them have big trials going on in their lives and they are very humble and searching for God. We had a cool experience this weekend.

We are teaching Diana, who is prepared to hear the gospel. We found her in the area book and I had gone by her home with other companions but I had never met her. We went by one night and she opened the door and looked sad and surprised and we asked if we could share a message with her. She let us in and we began talking to her and she opened up to us and told us of some of the trials going on in her life. Then she started to cry and then explained that she had been praying to God and was asking for help and then we knocked on her door! I was just amazed. I didn't realized that the Lord was guiding us in our planning the night before. We were just going through the steps and wrote her apartment down when we were planning. The Lord will guide us to those who are prepared! I love these moments! It is just another testimony builder for me that God knows his children and sends us to help them.

I have everything I need for winter. A member bought me a long coat from Burlington, it isn't very water proof but it will keep me warm :) I also bought another pair of boots with the money from my landlady. They are TOTES too but they have more grip on the bottom. I can wear both now. The ones you sent me are AWESOME! I just chipped off a lot of the rubber on the heel of the right boot, from biking and have to catch myself from falling. My shoe slid across the pavement and now a lot of the rubber is gone and it looks like it is going to break through....and then water will get in :( So I bought other boots and these should last me for a while, I can even take them to Provo for school!

Thank you so much for being an awesome family! I love you all and I sent your present today in the mail. The wrapped one is for the family and I have Sammie's present in there too! I also have a small thing for mom and dad. It isn't a sticker........just so you know :)

Have a great new years! Think of me while you are celebrating at midnight :) I will be sleeping haha......to bad we can't celebrate this holiday! It's ok!

I love you all and miss you! Good luck going back to school hahaha

SLY!

Hermana Warren

We made the Red Lobster biscuits you sent and a member gave us shrimp
! RED LOBSTER!!!