Sister Tantillo: Letter #11: Snow in Boston!

FIRST SNOWFALL TODAY!!!!! we were doing our morning studies and looked out the window and it was snowing! hahahah sister hileman went NUTS. but it was glorious and the best way ever to start the day!

yesterday for p-day we went to the u.s.s constitution. aka a PIRATE SHIP! and let me tell you. that made my day! it was really cool though. we went with the chelsea elders. the trio that works in the same ward as us (somppi, sousa, freeman) and we did the tour and learned all of the history behind it. and then i asked one of the crewmen if i could ring the giant bell cause elder somppi dared me to and he actually let me! hah! last monday we went to the beach and drank root beer while we fished with sticks and sewing thread. that lasted about 20 minutes though cause it was freeeezing.

monday night we had noche de hogar! aka family home evening with the ward!!! it was our first one and it went super well. miraculously. the relief society president was out of town and she forgot to have one of her counselors plan it so that morning she called us and asked us to do everything! but we managed to pull it off and everyone that came loved it. we played this funny game where someone draws a head and then you fold the paper down and the next person draws the body and then again and the next person draws the legs. and so you end up with this super awkward funny looking person. and then after that we played soccer in the gym with the youth and i loved that of course cause i got to play!

we had a lesson this week with our eternagator Ada. we spent the first half learning spanish and then we went into the gospel lesson. she knows that this is true but she doesnt want to act on it. we invited her to be baptized and she said she wants to wait until after she finished reading the book of mormon. so we're at kind of a stand still with that.

Hermana Luis is our abuela in the ward. she is so adorable and always sneaks us candy in the hallway during church! we had a lunch with her this week and she kept staring at me and then finally she was like you look just like my daughter!! like our facial expressions and everything apparently.

okay so cindy.. she's breaking my heart let me tell you! so we were driving around chelsea earlier this week and we found her wandering the streets. so we pulled over and went to dunkin dohnuts with her so we could talk. (my first experience at dunkin dohnuts! true new englander now thank you very much!) anyways so she goes on to tell us about her new boyfriend that she found on the internet who is 36 (she is 20) and has eight kids all with different moms that dont live in the states. and that she thinks that he's "the one" even though she went on to tell us that she had cheated on him that very same day. and i was like uhhhh yep true love right there. ahhhh my heart cindy no what are you doing! so we talked with her a bit about making good decisions and chastity and having self worth. but we're going to have a more in depth lesson with her again soon. and then this past sunday SHE CAME TO CHURCH!!! i could have cried i was so happy!!!! ahh i just ran up and hugged the crap out of that girl. she hasnt been to church in forever. definitely not since ive been here. that night we went over to her house to tell her were were happy to see her there. and her mom started crying and thanking us for taking such an interest in her and trying so hard bring her back. this is guadalupe btw to the woman who is getting to jose this saturday! super stoked for that :)

also this week we handed our seven dwarfs over to the portuguese elders. we went over with them and tony was the only one there. he was so happy that we came back ahaha he started singing a song to us about zion and then went on to start crying about us being a blessing in his life at this time. so hopefully the elders continue to progress with him and can meet the other men that we had met that day. tony has a lot of heart. except the elders told us after their lesson that tony told them that he's a prophet. so that kind took a different turn than they expected.

also on sunday hermana and hermano mendoza got their patriarchal blessings! we went over before to talk with her and answer any questions she had and just let her know that we were excited for her. and i gave her a journal so that she could write about her experience. she loved that haha. im SO excited for them. their marriage has been kinda on edge and this is a huge step that they went TOGETHER to get their blessings.

anyways im doing wonderful! i love and miss you all! our mission has a book called "the power of everyday missionaries" approved and i read it this week and its amazing. you should all buy it and read it! it will really change your perspective on everything. it did for me! "fear of talking about our beliefs is a construct of Satan."

i love you all! the gospel is true and it will bring you more peace and happiness than anything else! have a good week and be safe :)

hermana tantillo