I just love it!

Nothing super huge earth shattering or crazy happened this week, but it was just a great week! I am loving my mission lately SO MUCH!! 

I love Sister Genster. I am SO HAPPY that neither of us got transferred and we get to stay together. Hopefully we get two more transfers together, but we doubt that. At the end of this transfer she will have been in this area for 6 months. This past week on transfer day we had Sister DeWilde with us (She served in Lorain ward with me and is from the Netherlands) and so the three of us have our Europe trip all planned out already! It is going to be so amazing!! I can't wait! (Okay yes I can, cause I love this adventure that I am on right now)

I love this area! It has been so fun getting to know so many different people here. I really really missed the Lorain Ward when I first got here, but now I love the North Olmsted ward so much as well. The members here are so great! Oh also Mitch Whiting's sister, Jocelyn, is in my ward here. haha so that's fun to have a little bit of Gilbert here! And it has been so much fun serving in President Vellinga's ward and area. Although yesterday when Sister Genster and I found out last minute that we were teaching gospel principles we were pretty intimidated that President was there...but all was well! 

I LOVE the scriptures!! This is my 3rd time reading through the Book of Mormon while on my mission and my testimony has increased so much since Day one. It is amazing. It kills me that I didn't study it more before my mission. But I am grateful to have this time to truly dive deep into it now. I recently started reading the Old Testament as well. Wow. LOTS in there that I never knew. Sister Genster always gets a crack out of when I am reading the Old Testament during personal study and will just start laughing. Sister Genster: "The Bible?" Me: "Yep!" haha There is definitely some interesting things in there! And then I only have one book left in the New Testament. One of my new year's resolutions was to read all of the standard works. I've already finished the Pearl of Great Price and Doctrine and Covenants. Typical me left the daunting task of the Old Testament until the end. It has truly been incredible to see how deep study of the scriptures and application have helped me to learn and grow so much. I keep pleading with Heavenly Father to help me to continue this habit throughout the rest of my life. I know everyone says that they will keep doing it after their mission, but less returned missionaries actually do. 

Sorry this week wasn't too exciting. But I'm sure you will be happy to know that things are going well and that I am as happy as ever! If not more. President Vellinga always calls me his happy missionary! 

I love you all and pray for you daily. Keep fightin the good fight! On or off the mission field. 

Our last apartment picture in front of the crazy jumanji plant in our hallways. We are convinced that it is going to take over our apartment soon. Sister Gardner (top right) went home last week :( 

I need one of these to bring home with me!!!! 

We see baby deer all over the place here!! We have a family of deer living by our apartment and so every morning we see the two babies running out in the woods. They're so cute!!!

Our drive through the metro parks in the rain! It was GORGEOUS!!

We have had some CRAZY storms this past week! I love it!!!

i got these in a package from Bryant (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! You're getting a letter soon Braynt:) ) And Sister Genster had never seen them before! She loved 'em!! I love getting to show her random american things :) 

LOVED spending the day with my beautiful europeans!!!