Transfer Week….

BIBI!!!!!

Gosh, I have sooooo much to talk to you about too. Its been the longest week of my life!
But first, CONGRATS ON STERLING SCHOLAR!!!! Thats amazing! You are going to really go places! I’m so proud of you!

I hope you are studying for the ACT, but I’m sure you’ll do great, and you have so much going for you.
I absolutely can’t wait until I get the dvd! I’m dying here! Everyone’s written to me saying that you totally killed it and you are just so amazing and I am just so proud of you!

Also, I’m glad you liked Catching Fire. I know You would… By the way, can you keep a list somewhere of all these movies so I don’t miss anything when I get home, please? That would be awesome.

I can’t believe you are trashing the car! That’s pretty funny, but you better take care of Melinda, I mean it! The poor thing would never have to endure such abuse if I was there… you teenagers…

Anyway, about my week… where to begin…
This week was transfer week, and so for our last P-day with Sister Bud, we went to Boston with a nice lady from our ward who knew the city well and we went site seeing. It was tons of fun! We saw a bunch of historical sites along the Freedom Trail, which included: the Old North Church where Paul Revere hung the two lanterns, Paul Revere’s house and Statue, two incredibly old cemetaries with the graves of John Hankock, Ben Franklin’s parents, Paul Revere, and bunch of other founding fathers, the Bunker Hill Monument, the Holocoust Monument, and the State House that is right infront of the site of the Boston Massacre. It was really cool! Also along the trail we passed through a part of town that is covered in little Italian resturaunts and bakeries and it makes you feel like your in Europe. Its kind of like going to Dinseyland. One moment your on a street with modern architecture, then a street with colonial style mansions with ancient greek pillars, then little italian allyways, and back to modern again. Its so cool how much it changes. We ate cheesecake and Italian Canoles at this cute little bakery.

When we went to the Bunker Hill Monument, which is basically a super tall concrete tower with a spiral staricase inside going all the way to the top. Its 294 steps to the top and I was totally dying by the time we got up there. I’m so out of shape, I finally made it wheasing and coughing and laughing, but it was totally worth it. On the way back down, I couldn’t stop shaking… I thought I was going to fall on my face and die! But luckily I made it down in one piece, so thats good.

Anyway, it was a long, fun, but exhausting day. We took tons of pictures that I’m going to send you guys soon, as soon as I recieve them from my companions, cause my camera died, and I hardly have any pictures on it.

Now, for the more serious part of the week… Well, as I mentioned last week, Sister Bud just got transferred and it was so hard for me.

When I found out she was getting transferred I was immediately devastated, and I cried every night until the transfer on Thursday.

I don’t even know how to expain it well, but I was stressed out and crying because I was terrified of her leaving without knowing how much I love her. I have never in my life found myself in a situation where I truly loved someone, as intensely as I do Sister Bud, and not been able to fully express myself. I didn’t know how to show her or tell her without her thinking it was weird or awkward or brushing it off as a cliche “I love you! Lets right in each other’s year books!” type of love. Because it wasn’t that at all. I have learned to love her on a spiritual level that I don’t even understand.

And what hurt the most is that I have a very real need for her to understand me, to know that she has changed my life and will forever be in my heart my trainer, my 1st compainon, and that she really means so much to me…

Does this make any sense to you, Bibi?

I think Heavenly Father has softned my heart and allowed me to love different people on my mission. Its really so peculiar because all the reasons I love you is because you are my sister and my best friend in the world and I can trust you comlpletely and I enjoy being around you and you make me happy!
Sister Bud isn’t really all of those things, I just met her. But somehow, I still love her. I don’t even know why, but I do… Its so strange…

Anyway, at Transfer Meeting, I blubbered through the entire thing! When it was over and we all stood up to talk and exchange companions, I was in sobs as I went around hugging people. I hugged Sister Belchior and Sister Gomez and Sister Lima, and they all told me it was going to be okay and not to cry…

But then I made my way over to President Packard, and by now there was not an ounce of make-up still in the right place on my face due to the tears. When I approached him, barely able to speak through my sobs, he took my hand in both of his and looked at me with so much fatherly love, like he just wanted to hug me, but couldn’t. And then he said “You know, even Christ wept every time he had to leave His people, for all the love he had for them.”
OF COURSE that just made me cry even more. I will forever love him just for saying that. It was so perfect… I’m not gonna lie, I have THE BEST MISSION PRESIDENT IN THE WORLD!

Anyway, after that was over, we had to take Sister Bud’s suite cases and stuff out of our car, and put it in her new companion’s car. Finally it was really time to say goodbye. I hugged Sister Bud as long and hard as I possibly could, which for her was probably too long, but for me not nearly long enough… and then she was gone.
Honestly, I don’t know why I loved her so much. It’s not reasonable, and doesn’t make sense, but that fact that I did was miracle. Even though loving Sister Budvarson and not being able to express myself to her was one of the most painful things I’ve ever gone through, I know Heavenly Father meant for it to be this way, and I definately consider this experience to be one of those huge, fundamental lessons that I will learn on my mission.

Anyway… back to some fun stuff…
You know how we’ve always wanted to go to a Baptist church and hear a black choir and sing along and stuff? Well yesterday I got to do that! Sort of…

After church, all us missionaries in the ward helped take a bunch of food out to this little church for a mixed-religious Thanksgiving service, which about 9 different churches were participating in, including ours, and we were in charge of bringing the food.

The service was AWSOME! There was a black quartet singing awsome gospel music, and a jewish guy chanting with a drum, and a whole bunch of cool and weird stuff. It was pretty legit, and I totally thought of you and how much you would love it!

So that’s my huge life story… By the way, I’m still at the same address, so don’t worry about that, and I can’t wait to get the Aida dvd! Love you soooooo much! Wish I could talk to you about all this in person…
I’m so proud of you and you are amazing!

Love and kisses,

Dora!