Week 26: penatonix #1 fan

transfers are here and i am staying in COMO!! but sadly sister jones is not. she got called as a sister training leader and will be leaving me :(( RIP because we had so many good Christmas plans. but im pumped to see who my next comp is tomorrow and to spend christmas with her !!! good news : christmas music is now legal and i am currently penatonix #1 fan. let it go from frozen is my JAM. bad news : christmas is here and so is the sugar and im pretty sure ive gained 10 pounds, trying to find the balance of "i want to eat a cookie for breakfast" and "i want to eat a 3 cookies for breakfast" send help please. medium news : one day this week we had to go to the bathroom way to bad. so we stop at what we think is a gas station to fill up our car and too go to the bathroom. we go inside and every single kind of alcohol you can think of is in there. we were at a wine cellar =) quality bathroom but we did not fit in that cellar at all. light the world is currently my favorite thing in the whole entire world. i watch all 4 videos every morning to make sure i am hype enough for the day and to spread the gospel. good news it works. also december 1, worldwide day of service was the BEST DAY EVER. we served from sun up to sun down and ive never been happier. from packaging cheerios at the food bank to bakin cookies for our neighbors who helped us when we were locked out. OOps. honestly though service is the way to happiness. LIFE HACK: watch all light the world videos in the morning and your day will be so happy !!! you will focus more on Christ and be able to see opportunities to serve more easily. I LOVE CHRISTMAS. i had one of the most spiritual experiences of my entire life this weekend. Here is the story: there are two people that i have grown really close to here in columbia. one is sister eglof and the other is a mom named marica. they are both the kindest most loving people. but they both struggle with anxiety and depression. marcia is going through a really bad divorce where her husband cheated on her and is gay. she is so sad because he is breaking his covenants and choosing the wrong path and she has to raise her two children on her own. sister eglof is older and has been my favorite member since the first day i got here. sis elgof went into the hospital on tuesday night and texted us that she would love to see us. we werent able to make it during visiting hours sadly. on saturday we had a caroling activity for the worldwide day of service for our ward. marcia was there and when i saw her she had tears in her eyes and she was turning to leave. i caught her and i gave her a hug. she said she came because she knew she would see us and that would help her and that serving others would help her as well; but if she didnt feel better after the activity she was going to the hospital to get the help she needs. so the activity went good but she still wasnt okay. we went to dinner with her and just had fun, something she doesnt get to do very often because she is a mom and works. then the elders gave her a blessing and we talked to her some more and she decided to go to the hospital. the same one sister eglof was in. its so cool because sis elgof was marcias seminary teacher back when she was in school and helped her through so much and when marcia went into the hospital she had no idea that sis eglof would be in there because we didnt tell her. but heavenly father knew and aligned their paths. we were able to visit them this sunday and it was the best night of my mission. i have never felt the spirit stronger. marcia told us that we saved her life saturday night, that she was not planning on moving forward but we talked to her and we were her light. she was planning on taking her life sadly. she then shared her patriarchal blessing with us, which i feel so honored to hear. in her blessing it talks about a community of people are waiting for her to share the gospel with them. she then continued to tell us that we saved that community because if she was gone she wouldnt be able to help them. it was so amazing. then sister eglof told her thoughts (we were all in the same room). she told us that whenever we came over her day was instantly better. we have a light about us. i then got to bear my testimony to them about how much their Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love them. it was such a special and sacred experience because i was overcome with so much love for them. the love of their heavenly parents was shining right through me. i was the vessel. this is such a sacred calling that i hold and i value the importance of it. i have been frustrated on why i havent baptized anyone or why no one wanted to listen to me, but i know why i was here. it was to help sister eglof and marcia. i dont know if all that rambling made sense. anyways it was the coolest most amazingest experience ever. i love them both so much and i am humbled by this experience. the love i felt for them was surreal. it wasnt my own love or my own words i was saying. i learned that each and every one of us is valued. our heavenly father loves us more than we understand. he has a plan bigger than we can imagine. no matter what we are going through, he cares and he is listening. more importantly he gave his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. He atoned for our sins, weaknesses, sadnesses, joys, everything. He knows us and his arms are ALWAYS extended towards us. i know that not only because i have felt his love in my own life. but i felt his love overwhelm me this weekend for someone who didnt want to keep moving forward. this is such a special calling i have and i love that i have the privilege of being in missouri to do it. You are important. You matter. and You are loved, by me but especially by our Heavenly Father and Savior. all my love+some more, sister anna folkman :))

Pics: 1. Best place for a bathroom stop =) 2. Sis whit, sis wall, and sis folk at the temp :))  3. Sis Beal and sis folk at the temp 4. Chubby squirrel is so sleepy (i can relate) 5. The johns fam 6. Food bank=life #elfstatus