La Semana Loca

Buenas Tardes!!!!

Wow this week has been a crazy one!! We have pretty much been all over the mission within this past week. We were in Tupelo Mississippi this Tuesday for a Zone Training, and then we were in Birmingham area on Thursday night and Huntsville on Friday and Russelville on Saturday, so we weren't in our own area in good ol' Florence very much at all.

First to answer a few questions and mention things I forgot to mention last week. We still live with the same two girls we lived with last transfer, Sister Albright and Sister Leifson. Sister Leifson came to Alabama the same time I did and Sister Albright is leaving for home this Thursday :( We're all quite sad. She is an AMAZING missionary and we have become good friends so I am sad to see her go. But hopefully we can keep in touch. We also have a visa waiter living with us. She is from Micronesia and is supposed to be heading for Australia as soon as her Visa comes. She is great and is learning English which is fun because we get to help her a lot. The weather here has been amazing up till today. It has been way warm, but today a storm decided to hit. We have been riding our bikes still a lot, which is always good fun. Especially when it decided to rain on Tuesday on our way home. At least it wasn't cold. 

Anywho! My companion and I are doing this thing that one of the 70 gave a talk on, I dont know when. But it's about sanctifying yourself. It's all about if you want to see miracles happening you have to become the best person you can be. Even if that means giving up something that is not necessarily bad, but it's not the best thing to be thinking about or doing on the mission. This really is the Lords time and we have to give our all to it. It's not really a sacrifice otherwise. So I made a list of some things that I need to work on and things I could improve on and I have already seen that I am getting better. It's supposed to be like a 40 day fast of somethings like thinking about worldly music for example and you can see the difference after those 40 days. But by then you probably won't want those things anyways. One of mine was to stop being so sarcastic. I keep telling my companion that mom calls it Scarcasm and so when ever I say something sarcastic, punch me or something. Anyways, just thought I'd share.

I got to learn how to make homemade tortillas this week!! :D Octaviana (our spanish fam here in Florence) taught me how... I am not very good at it, even though there is not really anything to it. It's the putting it on the burner that I always mess up on because they like put there hand on the burner as they are laying it down and I am afraid of it. I love the Mexican food. I wish we taught more Spanish people, just because I love the food so much ;)

We are teaching this awesome Christmas lesson to families in the ward so they have been inviting us over more for dinner, It's great, but I am pretty sure I've put on a few pounds. I'm probably gonna have to buy some new skirts here soon ;) With all this southern food and Mexican food, it's bound to happen.

We ran into a lady this week named Joyce as we were tracting and she let us in right away. When I told her why we were there she just started to pour out all of her life story and how she was having a difficult week this week. Her siblings have recently died this year and she mentioned how hard it was especially this Christmas season. When I told her that we knew that Jesus Christ had sent us here to bless her and bring her peace she broke down crying. When we say that we have been sent there by Christ, they can feel it and they know it. This has happened more than once for us. I love it because when we say that, it reminds me that we really are here on the Lords errand. 

We had our ward Christmas party this Wednesday which was great. Lots and lots of delicious southern food. Gotta love it. Our Spanish Family came which was good. I wish they would just get baptized already! they already act like members.

I mentioned we have been traveling alot. Thursday night we went to Birmingham for Sister Epina (the Micronesian) to teach some people who speak Pompeian. Sister Belford and I were just along for the ride since we live with the Russelville sisters and we needed to be there in Birmingham for the Christmas Luncheon at the Mission home for Friday anyways. The Christmas Luncheon was great too by the way. Sister Holzapfel is the sweetest and an amazing cook. Then we stopped by Huntsville on our way back for Sister Epina to teach more people. Saturday we went to Russelville which is the area that the sisters who live with us are in charge of. But that area is like little Mexico. I have no Idea why they don't have us there. There are TONS of Mexicans there and all these Tiendas at every corner. So I got to speak in a lot of spanish. The President wants us to work in that area too so that the spanish members and inactives don't think that they are forgotten.

Which reminds me... We are getting 3 spanish sisters in February and 8 it march... That is more spanish sisters than there are here right now!!! I didn't know this but actually the few of us that are here are the first spanish sisters in Alabama ever!! The very first one just left a couple weeks ago. So since there are so many spanish sisters are coming, guess who get's to train them... yep that would be every spanish sister here. That means that I will for positively be training by March. It's a bit intimidating because I do not feel ready and my spanish is certainly not ready so I guess I better learn fast. But it is so exciting all of the new sisters who are coming!!! we have tons and tons of 19 year old girls coming here soon. And we only know as far as March. I'm pretty sure I will be training for the rest of my mission.

Well that was pretty much my week. I have been sick the past few days so I have been out of it especially with all the drugs in my system ;) But I just got to keep working. I'd rather be out and about doing the work of the Lord than sitting at home :) 

I love you all!!! Les Quiero Muchisimo!!! Miss ya'll and see you soon :D

Con amor, Hermana Decker

P.S. Sister Albright loves that CD you sent mom of the Piano Guys. She insists that she interpretive dance to it every time it comes on and we listened to it a lot this week since we were in the car so much.

P.S.S. Gracias for the photos!!! Brayden you look like such a stud! I like the hair cut. The sisters here said you already look like a missionary. And Serph, You look so Handsome in your Dance pictures. You always look classy.

And here's a spanish joke for yall

What did one spanish Jaguar say to the other?

Jaguar (hag-war) you :D