Member Dinner in a TREEHOUSE?

 Hey everyone! This week flew by! Time in the mission is so crazy.

This week Hermana Silva and I got asked to go to seminary one morning to teach part of the class to the Freshman and Sophomores. It was so much fun and I literally feel like I was just in high school going to early-morning seminary like them! It's crazy how fast time passes.

Our amazing friends Luis and Araceli are still on date for baptism! Luis is seriously one of my favorite people to teach because the Spirit just feels so so powerful in every one of his lessons. He is so aware and able to grasp each concept we teach! Araceli is amazing too, but she's 16 and we've been having struggles getting her to church lately because of some family issues so pray for her! Also she said she might be moving to another part of California in March which makes us sad and we might have to pass her off to other missionaries there :(

Hermana Robinson and I found a friend named Genaro last week during exchanges at a Lavendaría. He is SO cool! He started coming to the in-person English classes we teach at the church and we've taught him a few lessons now. He has a ton of faith and really understands the scriptures! He came to church this Sunday and it made me so so happy to see him participating in Sunday School! Apparently he was going to English classes taught by the missionaries in Connecticut before he moved here to California and he still remembers them, even though he said he never had time to go to church while he was there because of work. He's proof that lots of missionaries go into the conversion of a person. Those missionaries in Connecticut probably have no idea that Genaro's progressing the way he is now here in California!

We've had some awesome member dinners this week. One where their dog would literally not stop licking my legs from under the table hahah I had to keep shoving it away with my feet the entire dinner. But the craziest was with some members who literally live in a TREEHOUSE. (Side-note: the members from the English ward feed us here in this area so most our member dinners actually aren't with Hispanic families.) So yeah basically they have a really pretty home but it's built around a tree growing through the CENTER. There's this cool bridge to get to the front door and then inside there's branches coming through the walls and it's a living tree that sheds its leaves and everything. CRAZY. So pretty but so much work to maintain haha. They have a bunch of other treehouses that are gorgeous and they rent them out as Air bnbs. They own a super pretty one in Tenessee and they said they'll give us missionaries discounts so I mean I'm not complaining...

We had interviews with President Rodriguez on Saturday! I so grateful for President and Sister Rodriguez. I feel like each time we get to hear from them I get to have a spiritual reset, and I leave feeling like I'm on fire. It's crazy everything that mission presidents are called to do as they take care of a bunch of teenagers trying to serve the Lord. I have so much gratitude for them.

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:

We had a lesson last week with one of our new members, Alberto. He is a great member and does his best to stay spiritually nourished by reading the scriptures daily and praying. (Actually fun fact.. he's only been baptized for a few months and he's already read the Book of Mormon 5 times!!) At the beginning of the lesson, he was talking about some struggles and specifically about prayer.

I shared my testimony about prayer and how important it is. I talked about the ways that it's helped me and how even though it seems simple, it's such a powerful habit to have.

I started moving on with the lesson when my companion looked at me kind of funny and asked if we were gonna start with a prayer. And I realized I'd forgotten to get us started with an opening prayer even though I'd JUST been teaching about prayer haha:)

This was a learning experience for me because it reminded me how it can get easy for us to forget the things that are most important. As a missionary, I teach the same things to lots of different people. But I know it's so important that I remember that there's a brand new face behind each lesson. There's a whole life-story. Even though I may have heard the messages I share over and over, these people haven't.

I think we can all apply this, especially when we hear the same things at church and our daily actions start becoming muscle-memory. My invitation is for you all to remember your WHY! Write down a short sentence and put it somewhere you'll see it. Why are you developing your testimony of Jesus Christ?

I love you all so much! And the Savior does more than anyone else!

-Hermana DeMordaunt

picture with the hermanas at interviews:)

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Valentine's comp study with the hermanas in our zone!

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we love the paso robles members!!

treehouse pictures!!