Catarroja to Stay!!

Hello, my wonderful family!!!! How are you all doing???? Are you all staying warm??? How are all the birthdays and craziness going? I hope you are all very happy and healthy :) It sounds like so much is going on with Sammie getting ordained; that is so so awesome!!!!!!! And Joe and Marianne's house and dog! That is the best thing ever!!!!! Wow, so much is happening haha. And Happy birthday Liza today!!!! I hope you have the best day ever--you deserve it!!!!

Soooooooooo.................. I´M STAYING IN CATARROJA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Biggest miracle of my life. Seriously. So in interviews 2 weeks ago, when President called me to be Sister Training Leader, he told me because of this calling, he would most likely move me to Valencia (Catarroja is a little suburb town of Valencia, which is a huge city), so that I could help the hermanas better there and be more a part of things. So the past 2 weeks Hermana O´Neill and I were SO SAD!!!!!! I was praying so hard for a more obedient heart to be able to leave, but I was just heartbroken to leave her, and to leave all the people we are teaching and the members who I just adore. It was seriously agonizing--I couldn't sleep I was so sad about it haha. I know I´m crazy, I just get too attached to people! But then on Friday President called me to tell me I´m staying! e is seriously the best. Usually we get transfer calls Saturday night, so we were waiting until then. But he called and said he didn't want me to worry, so he called me early. YAY! It was the happiest thing of my life. I couldn't have been happier haha. He said that it will be different, but I will be doing all the STL stuff from Catarroja. But he said he knows I need to stay there and he felt it so strongly. WHEW! I was so happy I still haven´t stopped saying gratitude prayers about it :)

So this next transfer is going to be WILD! We are doing intercambios (exchanges in English?) every week, so we will go to Valencia every week, and Hermana O´Neill will hang out with the hermanas there while I travel around and visit people haha. I have to go to Barc too, so she will just hang out in Valencia! So it´s going to be crazy, but we are both so, so excited, and we are going to see so many miracles! It will be the biggest adventure, and I can´t wait :)

So we have so much going on! We are finding lots of new people and staying super busy! We are fasting and praying SO HARD for baptisms! Seriously, I have never worked this hard, tried to be so obedient, and tried to have so much faith than now. We are literally giving EVERYTHING so the Lord blesses us with these baptisms we want, and I want to reach my personal baptism goal more than I have ever wanted anything.

So Cristobal and Susana. This week we fasted for them that they would get baptized this month and that something would change for them. And that same day Cristobal lost his job (oops!). But it was kind of good, actually haha, cause now we can see them more :) Every time we've gone over there lately, Susana just doesn't have time for us, and Cristobal gets so sad that she won´t listen to us. After praying and fasting, we feel that Cristobal getting baptized might be the only thing that makes Susana take it seriously. So we are going to go over tonight and talk to Cristobal and explain how he will need to set the example and when he gets baptized (on the 31st) he will receive so many blessings, including for his family and his work. It´s starting to cause problems between them, because Cristobal wants so badly to get baptized, but Susana is just too busy to listen to us. It´s heart-wrenching because Cristobal is there, so ready, and the only thing holding him back is that he wants Susana to be ready too. She is so wonderful, but she just never ever settles down, she´s always running around and never has her mind focused on what we say, so she never really listens. She also doesn´t really read and pray just because she doesn´t have time. So we are just fasting and praying, trying to see them everyday, seriously doing everything we can for them.

Carmen has been sick this week, so we haven´t seen her as much, but we had a really good lesson with her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it clicked for her why baptism is important. She said she would pray about getting baptized. She is progressing and we love her so much :)

Hermana O´Neill is incredible! I am learning so much from her, it´s just crazy. I think it´s amazing how much she understands how obedience brings blessings and brings the Spirit. When we accidentally do something a little disobedient like leave a minute late or things like that, she understands that it will affect the Spirit we have the whole day, and she immediately repents. It´s amazing! I wish I had understood that at the beginning of my mission. She has the Spirit so strongly! We taught a new investigator this week and Hermana O´Neill shared the sweetest, most powerful testimony I had ever heard her say, and it was directly through the Spirit. It´s just amazing. She seriously is already one of the best missionaries I´ve ever met. I am so grateful for her and to learn from her! We have so much fun, and I just adore her.

Things are so good! Just crazy and wonderful and praying like we´ve never prayed before. I think the Lord is testing my patience, and I think that´s cause I´ve been praying so hard to have more faith :) So of course he has to stretch it to make it grow haha. But I know these people will get baptized and the Lord will bless our efforts, we just have to trust in Him and do everything we can. Something I´ve been learning so much recently is that the Lord hears our prayers in the moment we say them. Sometimes we feel like He doesn´t hear them unless we say them a bunch of times. But it´s like a child asking their parents for somethihg--the parents are aware of the need even if they don´t give it to them right then. I have been praying out loud every night and picturing myself at the feet of Heavenly Father as I pray. As I do, I literally feel like I am talking to Him face to face. It is such a special experience every time. Now I look forward to it every night--I can hardly wait to pray and just talk with the Lord. There is a difference between praying and talking to the Lord. We should tell Him everything that´s happening, exactly how we feel, ask for specific things and that´s when He can best answer us and work with us. It´s amazing!!! Prayer is literally, literally talking to God, who is our Heavenly Father. Recently I feel like I´ve had to make decisions and had to have so much direction from the Lord, so I´ve gotten to my knees so many times, because I know the Lord knows better than I do--so why not ask him for help when I don´t know? I am just so grateful for the opportunity we have every night, every day, whenever we want to talk to God--the Creator of the earth. It´s so sacred and so wonderful. I just love it.

Wow I ramble so much! I´m so sorry! But know that I love you all so, so, so much and pray for you every day! I am so grateful to have the most amazing family in the world! Seriously, I couldn´t do it without you! I can´t tell you how grateful I am for you! I love you so madly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love, Hermana Boyer :)

P.S. I went one day being healthy again, and then the next day got a super bad cold cause we were walking around in the humid cold that night haha! So I am just super congested and coughing, but I think the bronchitis is gone :) Just blowing my nose and sneezing all over the place, but everyone goes through that every winter, so it´s not a big deal :) haha so crazy.