The Manhattan Temple was wonderful!

Hi family,

Wow an hour is a short amount of time! I am so excited to actually talk to you on Mother’s Day!!! You are all so wonderful :)

So this week....una semana de milagros, de verdad!! (week of miracles)

1) The temple was WONDERFUL. It truly is in the center of everything and across the street from Julliard. It was neat, the street and sidewalk just outside the doors is normal NYC craziness, but you walk in and it was the quietest place I have been I think in my entire life. The whole temple is beautifully decorated with huge paintings of Christ and natural landscapes. The session was powerful. It was neat to see and catch a small glimpse of the personal growth I have experienced over the past 7months (since I attended last) in how much deeper and richer I understood the ceremony. I also received some powerful personal revelation in regards to who I am and how the Lord sees me. It was actually kind of funny. I came to the temple with the question of "who am I?" and the answer I got from my loving Heavenly Father was, "If I told you who you are and exactly how I see you, that would spoil the fun and whole purpose of why I sent you to this earth, and what kind of father would I be if I did that?" And of course, that was what I needed, a kind reminder that my personal struggling and weaknesses are even part of the fun of this life. He did help me catch a glimpse of who I am, and he continues to help me each day as I draw nearer to him. He really is knocking that perfectionist out of me :)

2) Another miracle, Juan Carlos, our investigator who we thought went back to Colombia didn't end up leaving after all! He never told us why we couldn't contact him for a whole week, but he randomly showed up to English class! We a grateful to have him back and he is progressing stronger than ever. He wants to be baptized on the 2nd of June. He probably will be ready sooner, but that is the date he chose, so we will support him in that.

3) Kind of a funny experience. We wanted to meet with Juan Carlos this past Saturday, but couldn't find a member because it was so last min (and since he is a single man, we have to find a woman to come with us. We prayed that God would provide a member for us and went to the church to meet Juan Carlos. The Chinese speaking elders were there, and there was a young Chinese woman there with them. She miraculously spoke English and joined us for the lesson. There was a little bit of translating, and as we read the book of Mormon there was a Spanish, English and Chinese copies being read. The spirit was very strong and I was reminded again that The Book of Mormon and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is for 3 white American girls, a Chinese accountant, and a Columbian engineer who works at McDonalds. This message is for the world-every nation tongue and people.

Love you all and take care. TALK TO YOU SOON!!