Ok so this keyboard today is neither American nor Swiss, so it is a little weirdie. Like even when it says it is the apostrophe key, it definitely is not. So I apologize for the lack of apostrophes in this email.
I sent you all the pictures that were supposed to send last week... sorry about that! I dont even know what happened! But here are some more for this week. I found a solution to make the tree stay up on the wall! I just used some cork boards to pin it up. It is super cute! I put it on the wall opposite of where I sit to study, so I can look at it a lot. I love it! Ok also, we got a TON of snow last week. On Tuesday, it was CRAZY. Sister Metro and I were going to take some cute Christmas pictures with Christmas color-ed tights on before our Ward Mission Leader meeting at the Church, so we didnt wear our boots because we wanted the tights to show, right? So we didnt even end up taking the pictures, and then while we were at the meeting it started snowing so so much. And apparently, the people in Geneva dont take care of the roads with snow very well, and they dont really know how to drive either. So there was a ton of traffic and all the busses were crazy, so we decided to walk home. In the snow. Without boots. Boo! But I sent you a picture of what my makeup looked like by the time we got home haha. I should probably invest in some waterproof mascara. Also, since then, in a 3 day period of time, I fell FOUR times haha. My boots have no traction on them. I got a nice goose egg on my knee. I am thinking that I might just buy some new boots, because these ones will not last me two winters. I got a coupon for a shoe store here, so we will see what I can find.
Other pictures. OH so we were supposed to go to Lyon in France on Wednesday for my French legality but that fell through because the train tickets got messed up and we would have missed our appointment. So we were left with 7 hours of contacting to do...in the snow of course. And we had no luck. Seriously, I dont know if it is the snow or what, but this week has been rough. We had a lot of people drop their appointments with us, we taught very few lessons, and nobody wanted to listen to us. Grrrrrrr. BUT while we were out contacting we saw a pretty tree in the middle of the neighborhood, so we took a picture by it. And there you go.
So there is a picture in there of me with the Miranda-Paz family. They are some of my favorite people. They are from Bolivia and they were baptized about a month before I got here. But they are SUPER strong members now. Javier, the dad, baptized Paola. And Roger (I think he is 14) passes the Sacrament every week and is totally pumped to serve a mission. And Marilin comes teaching with us sometimes. Basically, they are hilarious and wonderful. They are leaving for Bolivia for a month though, so we wanted to get pictures with them in case we were gone or something. I dont understand them all the time because they speak Spanish of course, but Javier always says "bery good" or "thank you bery much." Haha its really funny.
There are also a couple of pictures of my district in there. They are pretty terrible pictures, but we had to do self timer at our district meeting the other day. Also, alot of the missionaries in Geneva went caroling on Saturday for a couple of hours. There are a couple pictures of that. It was freezing, but it was fun to have people stop and listen and ask about it and sometimes join us singing. And then the last picture is of me and Delphine. She is the granddaughter of Soeur Lehmann. She was at her house yesterday when we were there and she and I had some races. Cute little girl.
Alrighty now you are au courant (up to date!) on my exciting activities! Well I mentioned that the work has been slow this week. Like really slow. It is super hard and really easy to get discouraged. I think what is hardest for me during these times is to really know that I am doing all that I can, or doing what the Lord wants me to do, you know? I have been trying to improve my prayers lately. There is a section in chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel that talks aboout praying with faith, and it is really good. Our prayers with our Heavenly Father are so so crucial and they can be incredibly powerful. I enjoyed reading in both of your emails, Mom and Dad, about your answers to prayers. I think that is a big part of praying, is to be able to recognize when He does answer our prayers and express our gratitude for it. Also, we just have to have faith that while we are praying and doing our best to follow the Spirit, whatever happens is what is supposed to happen and it is ok. Its ok! That is the hard part for me though. We just had a phone call from a lady this morning who we met with for the first time yesterday. She told us that she doesnt want anything to do with our Church and doesnt want to meet with us again. And we still havent heard from Martha. And Gladys is still going to get baptized but probably not before Christmas anymore because she has not ever attended the Saleve ward yet. So we are probably not going to meet our White Christmas goal that we had. It is SO hard but I am trying to realize that it is ok, you know? Heavenly Father knows exactly what is happening and He is completely aware of what we are doing and what these people are doing. Sister Metro said that President Murdock told her something that is so true: You can work really hard in school and get all As, but on a mission, you can work really hard but not get everything that you planned on. It is so true, but that is what I am here for! To do all that I can for the Lord because He has a grander plan than I do in my little mind. Bah. It is hard. But good, of course!
Mom you asked if I am staying warm enough. So far, I am pretty good. I just layer with sweaters and tights and I am pretty good. The only thing that is kind of bad is my feet. These boots let water in a little bit and they are kind of slick on the bottom. So I think I am just going to forego looking SUPER cute with these boots and just look kind of cute with some heavier duty boots. Bah. Dont laugh at me if you start seeing some not-so-cute boots on my feet in future pictures. We will see.
Oh also, I have a question. So I bought some...stuff...to send home for Christmas presents. We went to the post and it was going to cost 58 francs to send it home, even on economy, and it probably wouldnt even get home before Christmas. So here is what I am going to do. It probably still wont get to you before Christmas, but it will be way cheaper I hope. Elder Zarate is going home on the 19th. He said he has some extra room in his suitcases so he is going to take this stuff home and send it to you from there (New York) because it will probably be cheaper from the US, right? I need to get him some dollars so he can send it though. Dad do you know if there is like a flat rate box that he can send it in? And how much do you think that would be? It is 2.9 kilos. Will you let me know in your email next week so I can get him some money? Also, even if it doesnt get to you before Christmas, you are going to like it, promise!
So there is this holiday here called Escalade. I dont really know the whole story, but apparently when France was trying to take Geneva back in 1602 or something, they threw some soup on them to stop them or something...that is about all I got out of the story that one of the members told me haha. You can look it up online or something for the real thing haha. But anyways they had an Escalade race on Saturday and I so badly wanted to run in it. I didnt see the actual race, but I saw people walking around town every once in awhile with running clothes on and bibs on their fronts. Oh I loved it. Maybe one day I will come back and run in the Escalade race. I dont even know what distance it was haha.
Well, I love you. I am so grateful for your support and prayers and everything. You are the greatest family. It seriously is such a blessing to have you all supporting me. I love love love hearing from you (and everyone else who isnt family who is reading this too!) and being a part of what is happening at home. I LOVE YOU!
Love,
ALLIE
P.S. Send pictures of the tree! It sounds really pretty, and big!
Also, after this, there are only TWO more emails before I get to talk to you on the phone! I am not sure where I will be because transfers are right before that, but I know that I will call sometime before 2:00 pm your time. Probably earlier. Is there a time that would be best for you? I am excited!
Also, Sister Metro has a bunch of fun pictures on her camera, so I think we are going to go buy flash drives today so that we can trade pictures. And then I will send some to you. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
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