Screamed Like A Little Girl - Week 13

Familia,

First off: Mom, you are crazy. I don't think any of my birthdays have
ever been as extravagant as Emma's have been. It looks like it was a
lot of fun though, I'm totally jealous that I missed it! I'm glad Emma
enjoyed her present (: Happy birthday Jo Jo girl!

This week has had a lot of ups and downs. Missionaries have crazy mood
swings. I'm super happy one minute and sad the next. It's like being a
teenager again. Oh wait I still am a teenager!

Before I get into everything else I'll explain our car. On Thursday at
5pm we were headed to a dinner appointment with a member family and
Laura. Sister Johnson was driving and we got into the left turn lane
and started to slow down as we neared an intersection when the car to
our right decided to merge right into us. I heard Sister Johnson
scream and then I felt it slam into my door while I screamed like a
little girl. We weren't hurt and neither were the people in the other
car. Thankfully the police and everyone came quickly and everything
was resolved in about 25 minutes and we still made it to our
appointment at 5:30 on time. I don't think we were supposed to drive
it anywhere else except home but we were right next to where they
lived. It was a super good lesson and we committed Laura to read the
Book of Mormon and pray. We were sore the next day. My back hurt and
it was uncomfortable to stand for long periods of time and it still
twinges a bit but other than that I'm good. We had to drive it to an
auto shop the next day. The Elder in charge of cars in the mission
office felt bad for making us drive it there after he saw it because
he didn't realize it was that bad and we shouldn't have been driving
it. Oh well. Apparently everyone is wrecking because the are about 5
or 6 other mission cars waiting to be fixed haha. Friday night a girl
in our ward drove us around to teach people and on Saturday we got the
elders car so they got to be on bikes. We can't bike because the
Visitors Center and our area are 30 minutes away from our apartment
while driving. And that's the story how I got in a car accident on my
mission.

I went on an exchange last Tuesday to Wednesday. Sister Leben, who is
from Germany and trained Sister Johnson, came to my area and Sister
Johnson left :( I had a sudden idea to go to a bakery in Poolesville
and talk to the guy who works there and commit him to having the
lessons. We ended up teaching him the whole first lesson (restoration)
right there in the bakery. It was a miracle no one came in during that
time. Hopefully we'll be able to teach him more. It was pretty sweet.

Sunday was sweet and very Spanish. After church, the Velasquez parents
came over to the Knudsons for dinner and a lesson. Brother Velasquez
is a member, although he can't remember anything about the church and
hasn't been since he was baptized 30 years ago. His wife and 8 year
old kid and the wife's toe adult children aren't members. The wife's
20 year old son is a former. Anyway, we had a great time. Brother and
Sister Knudson both speak Spanish from their missions so they
chattered away in Spanish for most of dinner and part of the lesson.
Sister Johnson took Spanish for like 4 or 5 years so she could
understand pretty well. I understood a bit but I've never studied
Spanish. By the end of the appointment I started zoning out whenever
they spoke in Spanish because my head hurt from trying to understand.

After dinner, the Velasquez asked that we come to their house and
teach their kids. We've taught Abby before and she's been reading the
Book of Mormon. Sister Velasquez sat us down with her three kids and
told us to teach them and then left. Sometimes she would come up
behind them and give us a thumbs up and nod and smile. That lesson was
completely led by the spirit because we didn't know anything about
them or their religious backgrounds. But by the end of the lesson they
were a lot more open and understanding and we have return appointments
with each of them. We'll be teaching different members of the
Velasquez family three times this week. So now we have two new
investigators! I love teaching people.

The head of all the Visitors Centers in the world came and spoke to us
Friday morning. He was super nice and happy. Apparently the church is
coming out with another movie. There was "Legacy," "The Testaments,"
and "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration." And the new one coming
out this year is "Meet the Mormons." It sounds dumb but looks super
good. He showed us the first minute and it's so sweet. I'm excited to
see it. Keep your eyes open!

I love you all!!!!!!!! Have a good week! Read Alma 32. The whole
chapter.  Pay attention to verses 26 and 27.

Love, Sister Black

P.S. THANK YOU for the Easter package!! Also the middle picture is
what happens between shifts at the Visitors Center in the Sisters
lounge. The pic of me with the package is the lounge too so don't be
too impressed that the kitchen is clean.