Mi Familia!

This week has been a crazy world-wind of a week, I will try to keep my thoughts focus as I type to you. Thanksgiving week was tough for us missionary work wise, a lot of families going out of town as well as people having families over, we did the best we could. The schools up here had a whole week off of school which is just nuts to me!!!! Thanksgiving was a really good day for us, lots on invites, but we made sure to keep everything down to just 3 meals hahaha. We had breakfast with a family in our ward who is super awesome, the husband use to be a engineer. He is retired and is the one that we rode in a train with on Halloween. We went and played on his zip line, trampoline, and air stopper chair(apparently if you Google that his is the first one that comes up). It was a ton of fun. We then had lunch with the people we live with you had their whole family over! It was really their Thanksgiving meal, it was good to sit and visit with them, one of their sons is less active so I talked with him a little bit. We then had dinner with a family in my old area, the Cluffs. They are super awesome, we didn't have dinner till 6 so that was nice to have time for food to digest and what not. I was well taken care of for thanksgiving, don't worry mom I watched my portions and ate healthy, only had 2 small slices of pie. I kind of laughed when I got that package in the mail from you. We visited some other members in our area as well as the people that I use to live with. Luckily they had smoked their turkey so Brother Dalling gave me some, so I got my filling of smoked turkey that I missed out on. You had just emailed me about eating good this holiday season and then I got all this junk food. I ended up sharing it with my companions and I left it out for the Andrus'(the people we live with) granddaughters who were there. Can I just tell you how appreciative I am of the people we live with. I heard of missionaries who had to stay at other places because their family was coming into town for the holidays. The Andrus' let us stay there even with a lot of their family staying there, they made the kids squish together in the rooms. The are seriously an awesome family, I am being well taken care of with them. I always go down and chat with them after we plan at night and they always have lunch for us in between our church sessions. They are just amazing, I fell apart of their family. People have already started inviting us over for Christmas and Christmas eve which I am relieved about because I am worried about not having places to go for those days, but the Lord is taking good care of me. The rest of the week nothing too exciting happened. I ended up dropping off Sister Dickey Saturday morning for her to head home. Aaron or Nathan, did you ever have a companion that went home? She finished off her mission and it was so hard for me to say goodbye to her. She was such an awesome trainer and I loved being companions with her, she is just so similar to me. I got emotional and cried when I dropped her off, I like this was the first time that I have felt homesick as well! Saturday was a tough day for me. I am good now, don't worry. I think everything just hit me with the Holiday season, losing a good friend in the mission, and then transfer calls were on Saturday as well. So you want to know what is happening with me with transfers.....drum roll please....... I am staying!!! and double training :( Meaning that this transfer I will be training two new missionaries!!! I am the only missionary that is doing that! There are so companions that will be in a trio as well training but two of the trainers have been out for a while now. Sister Roberson got transferred to two other sisters, they will be good for her. I am sure that they will still be loving and understanding with her. Can I just tell you how scared I am to be training two missionaries at once. To be honest I cried when I heard that, my emotions were running high from dropping Sister Dickey off, do judge me! I feel like the Lord is pushing me to trust and rely on him more and more. I know that training is more for my growth then the two new missionaries. I know that this is going to push me to grow so much more so quickly as a missionary. I just hope and pray that I get good companions, I trust the Lord and my mission President with the decision that is best for me. There are so many other Sister missionaries that are training this transfer that I think are way more capable then me to double train, but Sister Winder assured me today that she felt like I was the best one for the job! Its a lot to handle and I am getting a little stressed out, but that is normal. Things will die down in a few days and everything will be good. One a good note I am keeping my two wards!!!! Which I am super stoked about, I have been trying to hang out to two wards for as long as I can. Going down to one ward won't be bad I just didn't want to give up my wards. We were suppose to get another set of missionaries in our stake, but the housing fell through so nothing changed. Mom and Dad are they looking for housing for missionaries in Simi? If so I would say to house them, it is such a blessing to the missionaries! I'm not pushing it, just a suggestion hahaha Also yesterday I found out that we will be picking up a new investigator. A less active family that has been coming back to church the last few months, their son just turned 9 so he has to be taught by the missionaries. Kind of funny, but hey I will take it! I am still trying to figure out how to contain all this potential work in my area and get it rolling. We are working with a lot of less actives and part member families, our investigators aren't progressing which is tough but I am not giving up hope on them. I might have to drop a couple, but if they aren't going to keep their commitments than there is nothing I can do to help them. They got to have that desire, I can't force it. Weird side note, today I got some mail from the mission office. There is no return address, but it says that it was mailed from Salt Lake. All that was inside was some papers inside, pretty much looks like anti stuff. I kind of laughed at it. There is an e-mail address and website written down. I almost wanted to email them and say thanks but no thanks. I am not going to, I am just gonna toss the papers out and not even read them. That is best, Satan is working hard! I can't tell if I recognize the persons hand writing or not, but if it is not someone I know that is funny to me that people are looking up missionaries and sending them things to their mission office hahaha Don't you ever look at any anti-Mormon stuff!!! YOU ALL BETTER PROMISE ME THAT!!! No matter how strong you think your testimony is!!! Satan knows how to desensitize us and knows how to get to us. I am working with a lady who got into some anti literature, and she is struggling trying to figure out what is true. She is a mess trying to figure out her testimony and about life. Hold on to your testimonies and keep strengthening them! They need to be nourished daily!!!! Read your scriptures and pray always! I love you all so much! And whoever is sending me anti stuff, it's not working. I know that this gospel is true and this is Christ true church. I just finished the Book of Mormon once again, and let me tell you that that it is the greatest books that we have access to! Joseph Smith is a true prophet and restored Christ church once again! I know that this is all true and God knows that I know that it is true so I can not deny it! Reach out to those less actives, if they don't come to realize that all of this is true, they will be judged harshly by God by knowing that it is true and then denying it.

"The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done"- Joseph Smith Jr.

This work is going to progress whether we are helping or not. Satan is building up his armies and we need to be spiritually prepared. I love you all so much!!!! I can't wait to talk to all of you in 23 days!!!! Thank you for all your letters and packages they are much appreciated. Pray for Megan and I and our areas! No that even though that their are hard times out here in the mission, I never for a second regret serving a mission. I have learned and grown so much and have come to know a little more who I am and my relationship with my Father in Heaven!!! Thank you all, especially mom and dad for the sacrifices you are making to have two daughters on a mission. I will be forever indebted to you! I love you all and pray for each of you individual every night!

Love

Sister Metcalf

P.S. Is it flying by as quickly for you as it is for me?!