Monday, June 8, 2015

So long Sonoma you have my heart‏

Well, we got transfer doctrine this weekend... And I'm leaving Sonoma! This place truly has my heart, so it's really hard for me to leave. But, I know God has other plans for me! Tomorrow I'm headed off to Dixon! It's actually quite comical but also extremely sad because I kept telling everyone "I'll do whatever God wants me to- I'll be with any companion in any area. I'm just praying I don't get sent to woodland!" (Because woodland is as hot as a frying pan and I would be spending the summer there) good news is my prayers were answered! Bad news is, Dixon is essentially woodland... Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat haha so now I'm just praying I'll be able to handle the heat! And also learning to make my prayers more specific Winking face. Haha truly though, I know it will be incredible and that it's where the Lord needs me. Also, I have one of the best companions ever Smiling face with smiling eyes I get to be with Hermana Navarro! She was my STL last transfer who I wrote about. She is so amazing, so I'm definitely stoked to be able to serve with her. 

It was also really incredible that transfer week fell on a fast Sunday. One of the things I fasted for was a spiritual confirmation that I needed to be in Dixon. In this mission, we have "hour of prayer" before we break our fast where we essentially pray for an hour. After praying, I had a scripture reference come to my mind. I had no idea what it said, but I decided to look it up. As soon as a read it, I knew that I needed to be there and that regardless of how hot it is or how hard it gets, there is a reason God is sending me there and I know he will give me the strength to endure it.

So, considering that I'm leaving, I want to dedicate this email to the things/people I love about Sonoma! There's a lot, so here we go.
1. My companion! Hermana nimmer is basically the best trainer I could have ever asked for. I lucked out with that one. These past two transfers we have worked so hard together and had so much fun at the same time. We have also found some pretty elect investigators, which brings me to the next thing in my list!
2. OUR INVESTIGATORS. I can't tell you how hard it is to leave those incredible people. We have four amazing families with baptismal dates right now that it kills me to leave. But, I'm super grateful Hermana nimmer is staying here and I know they're in good hands! I truly have come to love these people so much and I want nothing but the best for them. And I have complete faith that I'll be back here after the mish to see some of them sealed in the temple Smiling face (black and white)
3. The people. Just all the people. Basically everyone here is either rich & white & owns the vineyards, or they're poor & Hispanic & work in the vineyards. There's not much of an in-between. Haha but regardless of what end of the spectrum they are on, I sure do love them!
4. Vineyards. Vineyards everywhere. Sure, they're not the best thing when we're trying to teach the word of wisdom... But they are so gorgeous! 
5. The garden we volunteered at! I don't know if I've ever had so much fun doing service! If any of you ever visit Sonoma for whatever reason, be sure to check it out :)
6. My district, Noma Nation! I've got the best neighbors in town, no doubt about that Information desk person (haha we live next door to the elders)
7. The plaza. Oh man, we had so much fun there! Definitely where you can find your most shallow contacts... But I met some pretty cool tourists from all over the world there! Also it's filled with cute little restaurants and shops that I like to pretend I have the money to come back to after the mission Face with tears of joy
8. Living in the Napa valley with the beautiful scenic drive we took every p-day. But, everyone here says that if you're born in the Napa valley, meaning you start your mission here, you're "Napa trapped" and you'll come back later on in your mission. Fingers crossed!! Haha

Alright, onto pictures. These first two are the number one reason why leaving Sonoma is so hard- the morales family. I can't tell you how much I love these people! I've come to love them as if they were my own family. They are truly incredible and I am so excited for everything that God has in store for them. They have a baptismal date for July 11 and are working so hard to get there. So the first picture is super low quality, sorry. But that's David, Jackie, and Marina. Their dad is named Javier and works a lot so sadly he wasn't there. And the second picture is me with marina! 

Next is aida, Jeremias, and Ashley. I've talked about them before but aida is a member and Jeremias is really close to baptism. He has a strong desire to be baptized, and honestly could be baptized today if he wanted, he just hasn't felt ready yet. But, his day will come!

I apologize for this last one cause it's not the best picture, but it has a good story behind it. Haha so I've gotten some birthday packages that I told myself I wouldn't open until my birthday. Well, when I got the news that I was leaving for Dixon, I'll be honest I had a mini-meltdown. So I decided, that's it. I'm opening my birthday presents. Haha so the first one I opened (from the lovely Callie Klotz) totally cheered me up and it even had perishable food items that wouldn't have been good if I waited until next week! God is always watching over me :) haha needless to say, I decided after that one I could wait until my birthday to open the rest. Haha well that's all I've got for this week, love you all! 

Hermana Suzanna Lewis 

P.S. I don't know my new address yet, so any letters this week just send to the mission home and NOT sonoma cause I won't get it! Thanks a bunch Heavy black heart













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