A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER:

Well folks all I can say is this has been a flip flop week.  on Wednesday the weather officially decided to turn into fall.. literally in a days time.  it has not stopped raining since. and no it's not just a sprinkle it's a continually down pour.  I don't even remember what the sun looks like anymore... my skin may start to sparkle soon. (get it Twilight joke.)  I had to officially pull out clothing from the air tight packed away suit case and air them out.  everyone teases me but hey a winter coat keeps me warm and warm makes me happy!   i'm like a marshmallow and it's not even technically October yet... oh boy. remember how I didn't bring winter stuff with me really... everyone start praying NOW for my visa... haha otherwise I may have to break down and go shopping and or grow fur. one of the two options.  so this transfer we had our "checkups"  with the Choi's.  In and out in five minutes, speedy and effective but once again it was well worth it.  Sister CHoi wants me to help out with the choir and well president choi and I just talked Utes vs byu in football (thanks dad for the updates), I technically thinks missionary approved to talk about now.  hehe  I do miss the autumn colors though.  For being such a forest, it's the emerald city, and not much changes color. I get excited over the small trees filled with oranges and red (my own form of sunshine).  

So I love the branch I'm in!  the members are awesome and are so helpful with missionary work.  They are awesome at Loving people into the gospel.  they are the kind of people when you meet you want to be like them, and in this case it's perfect with the gospel.  So to follow up with Carlos and his family.  we stopped by really quick to check up and make sure they are still praying. well they are faithfully every night!!!  we taught them "I am a child of God in Spanish"  and taught them a little more about the importance of scripture study.  They just seem to eat up everything we tell them and It makes me so happy.  When we come everyone gathers around the table, unlike most families where we only teach parts.  They're just so awesome, and when we asked to wanted to say the closing prayer all of the kids did, so we went around taking turns.  They are so easily lovable, and are such a blessing.  Oh and we found out the boys are actually older than we first guessed, so one is 8 1/2 and the other is 10.  so of course in missionary mind that's exciting news!   

Other than Carlos and family this past week I've really gotten to love other youth in the ward. (Recently converts and less actives are a huge focus here)  There are a lot of single woman with children here and since the children speak both English and Spanish, We instantly become buds.  There is Maria y Nate.  Nate is incredible and reads the children book of mormon every night and when his mom doesn't he gets mad at her... hehe  We made his own personal title of liberty and he became so excited to draw his DS and legos on it... That's what he really wants to protect next to his family!  then there is Tereasa y oralin.  Oralin is almost 8.  We taught him the 10 commandments with hand gestures and I challenged him that I could name them faster than him... well he beat me.  17 seconds is the time to beat folks... my lousy  19 just won't do... I do love the kids... they are really my favorite to teach!  My mission is making me love the term become like a child, submissive and humble.

ok so you didn't really think I named my letter after the weather did you?  well if you did you were wrong... wednesday night I recevied a call from the assistant to the president who was asking for me specifically.

"Is this hermana alley?"

"yesss...."  

"we have some very exciting news for you!!"  

(my heart speeds up as fast as race car... tears are filling up and I'm sweating instantly... it has to be my visa!!)

"you're being emergency transferred... you need to be packed and ready to go by 5 a.m. tomorrow morning."

It's true, I packed my things and said goodbye to my new (3 week) companionship and headed to the other side of the mission.  A girl who came in mid transfer caught something in the mexico mtc and has been sick for the whole time shes been here... no one can figure out whats wrong, so she sadly went home.  I took her place.  So I'm not in bellvue anylonger.  I'm now in the seattle seatac area (seahurst spanish branch).  it is a HUGE area and covers downtown seattle (for spanish) but chances of going anywhere close to it is slim.  we live very close to the airport (about 5 mins) in other words all we hear all day is the planes zooming off and landing.  really I am in the ghetto.  haha funny how I thought I sortof was before. No no this place is closer to the description.  Many the trailer parks and run down appartments, The ward here isn't as great but I'll learn to love it:)  it's tiny, about 40ish people in sacrament meeting yesterday all being converts within the last 5 years.  Once again our huge focus is on keeping the members active (about 100 members in total).  Since my hermana was home with the sick hermana everyday they weren't able to go out for 6 weeks.  That beingn said it's like being white washed here without actually leaving.  That means we have little to no one to teach, translation.... TOCAR!  aka knocking, lots of it.  We spend everyday going door to door, and get a referral here and there for other missionaries in the mission.  I'm really starting to like it...in a forced love kindof way!  My compaion is hermana Larson from arizona and she has the spunkiest personality. if I didn't know here I'd assume she was a cowgirl.  She loves being a missionary and we get along great.  (I met her on exchanges a while back, which luckly broke the ice fast)  She has been out for 6 months and her spanish... well it's not up to par.  We spend most of the time making up words.  she looks at me with the blank stare most of the lessons and I mirror one back. But It's a blessing in disguise as it means I am being forced to talk more. Yahoo for spanish! 

My highlight of the week:

Hermana Larson and I went and taught a girl (and by girl I mean 16 and has a kid and is living with her boyfriend).  She's been given the lessons but hasn't quite decided she believes yet.  So she asks us a question... "I was watching a YouTube video and it explained how Christ is an alien."  with much further discussion turns out that she is questioning that when Christ came to visit the Americas it was actually an Alien from another planet who fooled us all. hahahah I think I died laughing.. and she was dead serious.  We started from square one after that point.  She said she understood after much discussion but truth be told, I think she still is questioning...  we are visiting her one Tuesday and I told her we'd answer anymore of her questions.  I'll be honest I never thought of that and was blown away.. DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEEN ON TV FOLKS!  

That's about my week. crazy as it gets there was a change in the weather. 

Queremos muchos, 

Hermana alley