Sorella Ashlyn Henderson: The week where it got FREEZING COLD

Ciao tutti! Well this week it has been SO COLD here in Lodi. Temperatures have dropped to about 4 degrees (Celsius, don't freak out) and the big coats and gloves and scarves are on. Luckily our heater is finally working so we finally have hot air! Hahaha we were wearing gloves in the apartment for a bit but now we good fam.

Well this last Sunday I hit my 13-month mark! So that's crazy because I feel like I just hit my year mark last week. We also had scambio that day in Cimiano, and my companion was Sorella Merl! She is Austrian and she was my first scambio as an STL last April, so it was so fun to serve with her again. We did a lot of finding which was good because we tried some new ways of finding, like family history finding, which worked surprisingly well! We tried to do it in a graveyard but we got kinda creeped out and there weren't many people there so we bounced.

We also got a dope family this week! So my first week with Sorella Button here in Lodi, we talked to this Nigerian man named Osas who said he was interested in learning more about our church. And we saw him on Saturday! We didn't get to teach him much because he took us to an African market in Lodi and we got to meet all his friends and look at African stuff, which I'm obsessed with. We are going back today because on Tuesday I am making fufu for President!!! (don't worry pictures and videos will be attached next week) Fufu is that African food that everyone hates (reference my very first email for pictures of banku, its close cousin). And anyway Osas invited us over to chop pepe soup with him and his family and teach them the first lesson!!!!! So hopefully that will happen on Saturday.

We also got to go bowling again with all the youth, which was a blast. And we got to see some cool families in our ward and yeah we're just enjoying life right now! Lodi is such a great place, and we have some dope stuff planned for Decmeber! Hopefully it can help move the work along a little bit!

I've been studying a lot about patience in my personal study and trying to develop more patience in general. Alma 26:27 is a verse that really helped me this week:

"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."

If we are just patient with the Lord and have faith in Him and His promises, we will always come out successful in the end if we are doing His will! He loves us and wants us to succeed, just in the way that He knows is best for us, not in the way that we always want. I love this Gospel and I love being a missionary! Vi voglio un sacco di bene! Have a great week!

Sorella Henderson

P.S. My p day next week will be on Thursday!