11 months.

Today marks 11 months!!! & it truly has felt like 11 months. There are so many experiences that I have had that have molded me into the person/misionera that I am today. When I first got to Houston, I remember hearing the testimonies of departing missionaries and they all expressed that the time had just flown by. That night, I prayer to Heavenly Father and asked him to make it so that my mission wouldn't go by fast, and wouldn't go by slow. Ultimately, I just wanted to feel satisfied. 

It was hard to feel like a "missionary" this week. A lot of my time was spent thinking about other issues that effect missionary work, but aren't missionary work. Let's just say that STL has it's pros and cons. Being in a leadership position is tough, but I know that the Lord is using these experiences to refine me somehow. 

I attended MLC (missionary. leadership. council.) this week, and we had the neatest experience. We were sitting in a circle discussing the needs of the mission, concerns, and what not. It kind of felt like we were in a ward council setting. The subject of Preach My Gospel was brought up and how we could help the missionaries get into preach my gospel more. I brought up the fact that, we never really use preach my gospel in zone conferences or district meetings, maybe the presentations that we see were taken from Preach My Gospel, but it hasn't always been a focus. 

We changed that. After that, every concern about missionary work that was brought up, we were listing pages from Preach My Gospel. It was so inspiring, and it something I definitely want to use on exchanges with the sisters. 

Also, a bonus of MLC I got to go on a full day exchange with Hna VanLeeuwen. It helped to talk openly with her about e v e r y t h i n g. Leadership can be a lonely place when you don't have a companion that's going through the same things as you. I went on an exchange with Hna Van at the beginning of my mission, and since that point I knew that I wanted so badly to be her companion. I learned so much from my exchange with her! Also, transfers are in 2 weeks! So start thinking about predictions, am I staying or going? :]

Byron came to church this week! He is preparing for baptism on the 17th of Augustt. We really need to be on him about reading el LDM though, he's a smart kid. We have been teaching him in the homes of members which has helped greatly because of the spirit we are able to feel so much stronger. This week, we've also been working on finding through the members, we're really trying to put an emphasis on Family Home Evenings that members can invite their friends too. We found one woman this week, Maria through working with Familia Marun. She has such a sincere desire to learn, and it's a tribute to finding through members vs. finding through knocking. Cada miembro un misionero!

Te amo, 

Hna Flores