All Hail!!

This week was a slow one! It rained an awful lot! It felt exactly like being back in Ireland!! Not a fan! Hahaha we got so soaked!

But on the plus side... on Tuesday we got free food! There is a BBQ truck that sells really good food, and when we stopped by to get something to eat, they gave it to us for free because they were members!! Schweet!! It was so good!  Loved it!

We had 2 exchanges this week! I got to go to Manassa for the day! It was pretty awesome!  We hauled and packed a load of wood! It was fun!  Hard labour! Woohoo!

Then... this dark cloud appears

... and we hear this weird sound like banging on the tin roofs... We look up... and the man that we were doing service with says "Let's go! Get in your car" so we head towards the car... and boom... massive hail stones falling from the sky... now they weren't golf ball sized or anything... but pretty big!!  Sister Talili got hit in the head and so I wanted to feel it... I stood there for like a minute and nothing hit me!

Getting pelted by hail!!

So we go to their house where his wife had made some really good lunch for us! Then it starts hailing again!! HARDER!!  So we run out to get our cameras. I still want to get hit. "Hit me" I yelled at the sky... nothing. NOTHING!!  "HIT ME!!!!" Boom... smack on the top of my head.  Flip...  it was hard.  I had a bump on my head for like 3 days after that hail stone.   It was like a rock!!   So that's my weather story.

Yesterday we went and taught one of our less active members... she hasn't been to church since I've been here... and then guess what... we get to church and I see this car... and I'm like... no?  The Wolf?  Is that really the Wolf?   (she calls herself the Wolf. She's so funny! We love her!) And so after church we went to our lesson that we had planned with her... I brought my guitar and we sang the lesson... it was pretty fun!!

This week just seemed to last forever! And not!! It was weird! We're already at the last week of this transfer! So crazy!

Our one investigator with a baptism date is moving to Minnesota. He is really ill and is going to be staying with his sister. Luckily he gave us her number and so we can send the missionaries there to him. He still wants to get baptised.

Timothy, the Squirrel, doesn't run away anymore when I go out to feed him... He just climbs in the tree and watches... Although the other day I opened the window so I could watch him, and he shouted at me!! Cheeky !! He was also climbing on our roof, and then.. plonk... he just fell off!! It was pretty funny! Haha

Anyhoo... the week has been rather slow and slightly uneventful..besides being sarcastic to a Drunk eejit!. I ain't Scurrrd of him!

Not scurred!!

.. So I shall go now! 

Mosiah 2:9... And these are the words which he spake and caused to be written, saying: My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together, you that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day; for I have not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.

Don't trifle with their words.

Profit from the Prophets.

Haha!!  I crack myself up!

Love you all!! Have a good week! : )

'Home' For A Day

With Sis Tucker at Denver Colorado Temple

SO!  This week was just amazingly wonderful!!! I loved it!!
It flew by but I loved it!
I got to go to the temple for my half way mark on Thursday!!  Waaah!!  I missed the temple so much! It was pretty funny because no one could pronounce the family names I had!! Good ol' strong Afrikaans names! Made me giggle on the inside!  It was such an amazing day!!

The trip started on Wednesday! We headed up to Saguache and met the Salida sisters half way and switched companions... So I got to go with Sister Tucker, my MTC companion!

Back together to celebrate their halfway mark

We chatted a lot that night! And then Sister Olsen called... she trained Sister Tucker and she was my trainer's companion too! :)  So we were planning on just showing up at her house on our way to the mission office to meet with everyone else... She called and asked us if we wanted to have breakfast with them on the Friday on our way back home... so we said yes!  SWEET! We get to meet with her twice!!  So after some long chatting we got in to bed, on time mind you! And then didn't sleep... Neither Sister Tucker nor I could sleep that night!!  We were so tired by the time the alarm went off... yet slightly relieved because now we didn't have to lie awake in bed! Haha... so we got ready and headed off to Pueblo to surprise Sis Olsen!! It was pretty good! We got to talk a lot on the way there...

Off to surprise Sis. Olsen

Then we chatted for about 30 minutes with Sister Olsen and her companion Sister Jenkins!  It was cool!

Then off to the Mission Office. We switched drivers so I drove the rest of the way and then we get there.. and guess who is there at the mission office with a card!!!! SISTER AUKUSO!!!! Agh! I love her so much!! It was awesome to see her there!!

Happy to see Sis. Aukuso again!

Then we headed to Denver and had lunch there!  It was cool... and then straight to the Temple!! I love the temple!! It was like I got to go home for the day!! It was so amazing!

'Home' for a day

After the temple we headed back to the Mission Home and had dinner together and then had a fireside and testimony meeting.  It was good... although... I still hate talking in front of people... so yeah! Haha!! After that we all drove back to the Mission Office, picked up our car and headed back to the Mission Home for the night!  It was like our first day in the Mission! haha   Funny how it worked out that the time we have Jubilee, both Sister Tucker and I are in the Valley, and so end up staying there together again.
We said good night to President and Sister Rehm and headed to bed... after doing some studies... I just really wanted to do studies!

Then 6 am we were on the road again headed back to Pueblo for breakfast with Sis Olsen and Jenkins... breakfast was great!

Sis. Aukuso, Sis. Botts, Sis. Tucker and Sis. Olsen

So great! And then we had to head off to be back in time to drop Sister Tucker to her District meeting (which is usually ours too,) and then head off to Alamosa to teach their District meeting... Kinda cool that their District leader asked us to teach... it's fun going to different District meetings sometimes! We taught about being Happy Missionaries! And how we can do that!

I think she knows exactly how to be a Happy Missionary

So yeah... that's pretty much all I wanna talk about because the temple trumps anything else this week! hahaha

Pumpkin Temple 

Just know that I Love you all!! And the church is true!!


So... you know who much I love words... and puns and so on.. well... I was reading about Daniel the other day.... and so


Pray Or Be Prey.... I'm so clever hahaha #bottsdoctrine

Anyway! I love you!

Pray always!

Halfway!! No Way!!

So this week was pretty great!!  We had a sweet P-day playing sports! My love for soccer is ever growing!

Tuesday we went down to the area of some of our sisters and split up and went tracting with them to help them find some new people! I really enjoyed it!... Yeah... I really enjoyed knocking on the doors of strangers... how crazy is that!? Haha

Then we went and had lunch with Sister Olsen and her new companion, Sister Jenkins. It was pretty great to see her again! Can't believe that after just 6 weeks together I could miss a friend so much!

Great friends - Sis Olsen

Lunch was great! Then we headed up to the Springs to spend the night there before our meeting in the morning.  We had dinner with a member from Sister Decker's old ward.
Wednesday we had our meeting, discussed the things that the mission needed. It was a good meeting I think.  After that.... we got to go have dinner with two of my favourite people from the area that I trained in!! And the one sister's NEW BABY!!!!   Aaaagh!! It was the best thing ever. I just sobbed like a little baby at the Miracle that he was... even after we eventually left to start the drive back home... I just sobbed with happiness for them! It was so great!

Thursday was planning day! So we got to plan next week and also prepare the lesson for Zone Training with the zone leaders... Us sisters got the job of teaching about obedience... great... because they don't hear that from me enough already! Hahaha    but yeah... so Friday we had Zone Training..  it was good. I think the lesson went really well.  I learned a lot if no one else did!
We came to the conclusion that disobedience was easy... So I said to them "are missionaries weak?" Everyone was a little silent... didn't know what to say... so in a slightly more stern voice (you know me) I said "Are we weak? We leave our families, we talk to strangers about Jesus Christ. we get yelled at and sometimes people are really mean. We do this every day... ARE MISSIONARIES WEAK?"  Someone then answered with "no" while others shook their heads... and then I just said, "then why do we pick the easy way?"

So as a close we decided that as a zone we would be strong and obedient and not weak!...

It was good. I enjoyed doing it. I had no intention of asking that question... but it was good. I needed to hear that.

Then we had lunch at this Mexican place with a bunch of us. It was a nice lunch.

Saturday.. ooooh Saturday!

I'mma skip most of the day and get to the good bits... Saturday evening we have dinner with this member.  Her boyfriend is in corrections but he has a pass to be out for 6 hours, so we we're all having dinner together with her niece, daughter, dad and grandma also.... so while our member was inside getting something... BOOM! Out of his pocket her BF pops out a ring... shows us and asks for help on how to do it!! He was so nervous it was cute!  So as the evening went on, whenever she would go inside we would chat a little about it.  He didn't want to take her to the side because he wanted us to be there, he said he knew that we were a big part of her life now. (Deffo earning brownie points with me now! haha) And so we decided we would call everyone together for a message on "eternal families", so as we did that he got down on one knee and told her that he wanted to be with her for ETERNITY... she said yes! :)

 It was so beautiful... for a moment I had a working heart! Haha

And then we went inside and for real shared a message. The message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. The Spirit was definitely there. And that's how we got this week's newest investigator! :)

Also... we have a pet Squirrel. Timothy II, since the first Timothy was the one Sis Grow Smooshed... lol. I feed him nuts every day. One day I will hug him and not get rabies.  One day. Maybe.

Timothy II

Life is good!

This week I go to the Denver Temple for my Halfway mark!!!   Crazy!!  Nine months from Tuesday I will be getting on a plane to go home... I love you all... but I really don't want to leave!! Nooooo....  sad days!

Denver Temple

Anyway... this church is true. The gospel is hard to live some times... but... Are children of God weak?....


I love you all!!!


<3 Sister Botts.

Lots of Faith and a Little Luck

Well... this week's one is going to be short and sweet... sorry about that!!

But this week was good! We found 2 new people to teach and taught them in their trailer.... (another one! :)) and we had a really great lesson with them. The mother had grown up coming to church as a child with members many, many years ago. It was cool because the 2 people that we happened to bring to our lesson, she remembered. One was the father of one of the girls at church that she became friends with, and the other was the father of someone who cheered in school with her youngest son ( he was the base, so he held them up during stunts etc.) Pretty cool how that worked out!!

So we had a great lesson with them and then set up another appointment!

Sis Botts and Sis Decker

Our investigator who has a baptismal date is not doing too well.. When we went to see him yesterday he was waiting on transport to the hospital.  He is rather ill and old.   My heart is a little bit broken that he might not still be here by Oct 24th. He is a sweet man! Always says goodbye to me in Irish when we leave his house.  Maybe he will have the Luck of the Irish and make it out!

I REACHED 9 MONTHS THIS WEEK!!!
 So crazy! So the tradition when we reach 9 months is to take preggo pics... everyone always takes such glamorous ones... not me... hahaha!!!

Unglamorous 9 month mark

I have to tell you about FAITH CHILI'S

So the elders call the 'Chili's' here "faith Chili's" because they say they have faith that someone will pay for their meal when they go... and then someone does... there are always members there.. either eating or working.

So Tuesday... a member couldn't feed us because our schedules clashed... so they gave us money.. We decided to go to Chili's later that evening.  I said "mm wouldn't it be great if someone bought our food, and then we could use this money for another night when we don't have a dinner"  Well.. as soon as we sit down... a sister from our ward, who works there, says to us that she would cover our meal... flip!!!  FAITH Chili's...   it's a thing!!!... Although, I would never go in there without money just in case... I don't have that much misplaced faith! Hahaha

Deep Fried Pickles from 'Faith Chili's'

But yes!  It was cool!

Well... wasn't conference just amazing!?  Elder Oaks stole my Scripture... he said it so much better than I did in my last email!!
I really loved conference and the example our amazing prophet set of carrying on. He seemed so tired and worn out, and yet he carried on to the end of his talk... he is such a wonderful example to me.

Pres. Thomas S. Monson

Well... like I said... this would be short.

I love you all

I know the church is true. Serving a mission is the best thing I've ever done...  Half way through makes me kinda sad...  I don't want it to end!

Jubilee Letter for half-way mark trip to Denver Temple

Make good Choices!!

Love you!