New Letter!

Hola de North Hollywood! Its been a crazy week and we have been working lots! I'm working on getting some pictures up and going. So we had an exciting announcement this week that our mission here is changing into 3 missions . So the San Fernando mission will only be here in the Valley and there is a new mission opening up in Bakersfield , Ca and then other parts are going to Ventura Mission. This is amazing because there are so many missionaries coming out that there has to be more missions created. MILAGROSO! So I have some homework for all of you... go to LDS.org and search for the talk called "Do We Really Know What We Have?" by Scott Anderson. It's beautiful. Being here I noticed that there were many times that I have taken the knowledge of the Gospel that I have for granted by not acting the way I should have at times. People here are willing to take on a huge lifestyle change that is totally different than that of their neighbors family, friends and changes relationships they have with people. It's all for the better and they recieve many blessings in their lives for it. But , I have been thinking in Utah we take it for granted because that is almost the culture. So I challenge you to read this talk and think of ways that you can show better appreciation for what you have. Since I have been here I have struggled to speak in Spanish. Church and our lessons are usually in Spanish but everything else that surrounds me is in English. I'm understanding things better but at times I have lacked confidence to speak because I make mistakes. I know that it is prideful for me to be that way that this week I have tried to open my mouth more and listen to the words that God tells me to say. When I was studying the scriptures this week I read in D and C 1:20-24. This was an answer to many of my prayers. It talks about how God calls the weak and simple to teak His Gospel. And that He gives them the ability to teach in their language to help with understanding. Read it because I just gave a really bad summerization of it. But it was beautiful to me. I have been expecting myself to be perfect before I try. Thats not how Heavenly Father works. He wants us to try so that through the enabling power of the Atonement He can perfect us. I love the scriptures and they have been a huge source of revealation to me every day. If you are not reading them everyday you are denying yourself revealation and strength that they provide, I love California and the more I'm here the harder it is to imagine leaving .I still look forward to Peru but I want to have the experiences here that God has in store for me. Love you so much! Cuidense! Con Amor Hermana Sanders