Family!

WOW! I cant even begin to describe my feelings of our beautiful Gilbert Temple! It is magnificent and more than I can ever imagine! Thank you mom for sending me videos and pictures. I feel so happy. What a blessing. We are going to go every week when I get home, ok?! I bet you were the best tour guide. Annie, I know that you are inviting inviting inviting your friends and teachers. Dont give up inviting! Good job girls getting all As! 

I dont have much time to write today, but I just wanted to say that I love you all. We have had the craziest week, but we survived and I am here alive. haha. Thank you for your prayers! There is opposition in all things! I know that for sure, especially in the work of the Lord. 

And guess what!? Changes are this week and I am still in Progreso for my 5th change. By the end of this change I will have almost 9 months in the same area! Can you believe it? 

I am putting together a surprise for you all and am going to send it in the mail soon. Sorry, I have to go but I just wanted to write you a quick little letter. I love you all!

Your daughter, sister, granddaughter, friend

Hermana Coon

The friends of Jesus

Hi family!

I loved reading all of your emails! I cant believe the big change in our family! Dad is no longer the bishop of the Chaparral Ward! Dad you were an awesome bishop and I am sure everyone is so sad. I am actually un poco triste tambien por eso. I loved you being bishop when I was in high school. Such fun times we had. I love you. Our temple is finished! This is the week! Please please please send me pictures and videos! I want to see so bad. Mom when you do your temple tours, even though we are thousands of miles away, I will be there in spirit with you. I love you!

I love Elder and Hermana Pugmire! They are literally the best! I seriously call Hermana Pugmire like 3 times a week and Elder Pugmire is always fixing stuff at our house. Elder Pugmire is actually the cousin of President Pugmire! The world is even smaller than we think! Oh and Elder Reay is legit awesome! el capo! He is the best district leader I have ever had. What a small world we live in, especially within the church.

I LOVE MY MISSION. Those four words, ah I cry from happiness everytime I think about it. I feel like I am starting to get the hang of things, the language, the culture, etc. I love the people...I love my converts...I love the members. I just love everything about Uruguay. Choosing to serve a mission was the best decision I have ever made. We are finding people everyday that are so prepared for the gospel! Everynight, the district leader calls (Elder Reay) and he told me that he was in a meeting with the zone leaders and they were talking about my area, how well it is progressing. Elder Reay asked me what we are doing to have this many dates, numbers, and progressing investigators. I thought about it for a second and then I said one word, Amor! Love! I am learning that there are so many people in this world who dont feel loved and then for two girls to approach them and tell them that they have a Heavenly Father who loves them is huge. They cant help but want to learn more! Whats even cool is the things that are coming true in my patriarchal blessing. wow!

It has been such a good week.You are probably wondering why Pday is today, Tuesday. Yesterday, we had a surprise conference with all of the mission in Malvin, Montevideo. We didnt know anything, the reason for the conference, but we soon found out that President and Hermana Newsome have to go home and we are getting a new mission president! The whole mission was crying. We love the Newsomes and are sad to see them leave. 

This is a big week for us! As a mission, we have the goal to have 130 baptisms in the month of January. Hermana Fuentes and I have five investigators with a baptism date forthis Saturday and Sunday. It is so interesting and I know that this week will be very challenging because ALWAYS the week of baptisms Satan is working so hard. Today it is raining...pouring rain. One of our investigators, Mary, is deadly sick. There are so many trials, but our faith is strong and we know and believe that we will have these baptisms this week. Exciting! Please pray for us and for everyone of our investigators who have a date this Saturday...Cholo, Mary, Nestor, Silvia, and Lucia. I know that prayer works. I can feel your prayers and it is amazing.

I am so thankful for these blessings. This week, I noticed and have realized how much I have grown in the gospel, in the language, and as a missionary. I was thinking about when I was skyping with you all and I just felt different, like I didnt feel like the same Katie. Its a good change. Now I completely understand why elders come home from their missions and they are just different. These experiences that we have as missionaries play a huge impact on our lives. James, Annie, and Hannah, you will be AWESOME missionaries! 

One last thing, we have been meeting and introducing ourselves to a lot of niños in the streets. Its a good way to get referencias and to meet their parents. As we are walking down the street, we often hear things like, "Las Hermanas!" or "Las Misioneras!" but my favorite this week was, "Las Amigas de Jesus!" The friends of Jesus! ahah I love it! 

Thank you for everything, family. I love you all with my whole heart. Families can be together forever through Heavenly Fathers plan!

Have a great week!

Hermana Coon

You will not believe the BUGS that we find in our apartment! Cockroaches, spiders, HUGE daddy long legs! 

Hermana Fuentes and I yesterday!

Mom, the first picture is for you! Dancing-singing in the rain! Making the most out of the day of pouring rain! 

Cholo! Our investigator who reminds me exactly of Grandpa Coon! Such a funny man!

Hola Familia!

¡Hola Familia!

This week I received a lot of Christmas cards and Scotts wedding invitation!!! I loved opening them this morning! All week, they have been sitting on my desk and I have been dying to open them..but today is Pday and this morning i finally opened my letters! WOW way to go Scott! Shelby is gorgeous! I loved the Christmas cards, our family´s, Rob and Niki, Rick and Jenny, and the Lindbloms! So fun! I just love everyone so much!

Hannah, it looks like you had such a fun birthday! 7 years old! I will be home for your birthday next year and for your baptism!

The weeks are going by really fast, and here I am at the computer again for another pday writing my family that I love so much. This week, on Saturday, we had a baptism for our investigator, Gabriel! (Total type 4...you can see in the pictures. haha) Baptism days are ALWAYS the craziest days! There is opposition in all things and Satan is working really hard, especially on the days of baptisms. He not only works hard on the investigators, but on the missionaries too. We had so many problems on Saturday, but we prayed every minute and Heavenly Father helped us conquer the problems and everything worked out great. He is really turning his life around and wanting to do good and to follow Christ. It is amazing to see! As we were walking with him to his baptism, he was asking us if we would think about living here in Uruguay forever. He doesnt want us to leave, but unfortunately, I love my country. "Sorry Gabriel," I said, "Uruguay is awesome, but I love my country and my family too much!" haha it was funny.

I am learning so much, especially with how to deal with different cultures. It has been quite a culture shock for my companion to have a North American companion and trainer. I am learning how to deal with this crazy latino culture...a culture that loves to shake their hips and dance like theres no tomorrow, a culture that loves to be loud and loves to hug. It is quite different, but my companion tells me by the end of my mission that I will not only talk like a latina, but I will also walk like a latina. I just laugh.

I want to tell you about another one of our investigators named Mary. She is a miracle! We didnt even have to go looking for her, she came to us! She loves the gospel so much and she is the sweetest type 2 grandma with soft skin and the softest sweetest voice. We just sit on her porch and she tells us about what she read in el Libro de Mormon and we teach her. Yesterday, we were teaching her about the Holy Ghost and after her baptism she will receive this gran gift. She read us 2 Nephi 32 and told us how we were her "angels speaking by the power of the Holy Ghost." It was so sweet. She melts my heart with her genuine love and kindness to us and to Christ. She has a baptism date forJanuary 25th. We are having a lot of success with the older group of people haha. Another one of our investigators, Cholo, is 90 YEARS OLD! Yes! 90! Wow! I cant even begin to tell you about the love that he has for Hermana Fuentes and I. He calls us his nietas (Grandaughters) We would walk past his house everyday and he was always sitting outside alone. We decided to talk to him and we recently found out that he has no one, all of his family has passed away and he is so lonely. But, since we have fellowshipped him and friendshipped him, he has been so much happier and he tells us all the time that he will be there at church everyday. He is getting baptized too on the 25th of January. He doesnt know how to read or write, so we are learning how to teach all different types of people. I cant even begin to tell you, he reminds me SO MUCH of Grandpa Coon! They are identical…personality wise! WOW! Its like I have my grandpa here with me! Little taste of home!

Thank you for sending my pictures! I love to see your faces…and mom thanks for sending me a video of you!

This week, we are going to focus on the members in the branch. The members are SO IMPORTANT in missionary work and the small branch is struggling in this right now. Please give the elders in our Ward REFERENCES! It doesnt matter who is the reference, we just need them. And if you can, accompany the elders to a lesson that they have. We are always grateful when members volunteer to help us. Members are key! I am learning and I wish I would have been a better missionary when I was at home!

I love you all with my whole heart. I miss you so much. I am glad that we will be best friends forever! Always remember to choose the right and to have good friends. I am thankful.

Con mucho amor y until next week,

Hermana Coon

 .mom, do you remember Hermana Hansen??? We found her blog before I left! This is HERMANA HANSEN! I love her so much...we are such great friends! Have you been reading her blog? We are also with Hermana Harris in this picture!

 my companion and roommates after zone conference

 Cleaning the baptism font

cutting Carlos hair! Monica was thrilled, but I had no idea what i was doing! haha

Feliz Ano Nuevo! 2014

Feliz Año Nuevo! 2014!

I cant believe it is 2014 already?! Didnt I just graduate high school?

Happy Birthday Hannah! I hope you have a fun day on your birthday. I love you so much and next year for your birthday and baptism, I will be home!

THE GILBERT TEMPLE!!! The moment I have been waiting for! Please send me videos and muchas photos! What an exciting week for you all!

I have so many emotions...thank you for all the videos! I loved watching them of you all in the desert on New Years Day and seeing all of your faces. Everyone is growing up so fast! James, your FOOT! That is so gross! I hope you are okay! Mom, thank you for the clothes. I am going to cry from happiness thank you so much! I loved seeing our home, nice and BIG, and clean! And I loved seeing dad in the kitchen too. How fun the girls were able to go to the Polar Express! I want to hear more about it!

Its been a week of miracles....everyday! All of our investigators are progressing so well and we had 6 investigators in the church yesterday! and 6 dates for baptism within the next 3 weeks! 

WOW! That is a record. 

Gabriel...20 years old

Silvia....35years old

Lucia....9 years old

Cholo....90 years old (his personality reminds me so much of Grandpa Coon!)

Nestor....35 years old

Mary....70 years old

The Gospel Principles class that we teach was packed with our investigators. I just cannot believe the miracles that we are seeing and that the Lord is blessing us with. One of our investigators, Gabriel, has a date to be baptized this Saturday! Just these past 3 weeks that we have been teaching him have been a testimony building experience to me. I have seen the power of the Atonement and it is incredible! I think about you a lot, dad, when we teach him and practice with him the baptism interview questions, people bearing their souls to you. Him, like everyone, needs to repent, but the power of the Atonement is real! I know it and I have seen it with Gabriel. He is so excited to be baptized and to have ALL of his sins watched away. The change in him is breathtaking...before he didnt think that he was a child of god and that Heavenly Father never listened to his prayers. He was literally in the depths of despair... but the more we teach him, the more he feels the spirit, and the more we share our experiences, we can see him change! He is smiling now, he is happy, he wants to follow Christ and not satan. After weekly planning of thursday, we received a text from him...I will send you a picture of the text, you probably wont be able to understand it, but he shared his testimony with us and how he knows now that he is a son of god. Hermana Fuentes and I read it, and we cried and jumped up and down, and screamed a little bit from excitement. He is reading the Book of Mormon everday and praying. I was reading Alma 29 9-10 today. You all must read it...inspiring! 

Goodness, it is so fun to be a missionary and to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord. The people that we come in contact with and teach everyone notice something different about us. I think of the things it says in my patriarchal blessing and am in awe at everything that is coming true. Our investigators love us and call us their angels. We love them too and we pray for them siempre. 

I love you! Te amo! I miss you all a lot, but its only a short time life. I dedicate this whole year to the Lord...2014!

Your daughter, sister, granddaughter, friend, and missionary,

Hermana Coon