TRANSFER 1. - 1/28/2011

I'm getting transferred !! OH MY GOSH this is so unreal. This has become such home to me, I don't even know what to think. So on top of the absolutely mindblowing news of getting transferred..up to Albuquerque..with Hna. Holland from the MTC :O.. I'm sick ! And yesterday we went to say goodbye to people, and it was WAY windy.. up to 60 MPH last night and freezing. So I'm running from house to house trying to get in and say goodbye before mother nature swallows me up haha. But I got to do it! And say goodbye to most of the people and families that have completely changed my life. It was weird, being sick, I had made it yesterday so that I didn't really have any emotion in me. I was kind of just 'there', but then when we were saying our goodbyes, I decided to go to the Spanish Bishop's home, Bishop (Obispo) Zuniga. And Megan, the adorable little girl in their family who we call each other best friend all the time, apparently was crying on the way home from church today, saying that 'her best friend is leaving'. So I'm talking to them, And Obispo gets all emotional while vocally writing in my yearbook. So I'm trying and trying to stay emotionless, but I say goodbye and walk out of there house and just.start.BALLING. Trying to walk to the car. With the blowing dirt in my eyes haha. And right then I realized exactly how attached I have become to the people here. Yesterday Lucy came to church, and during Relief Society I saw out of the corner of my eye that she was crying. I personally thought she was touched by the lesson, but afterwards I asked her about it, and she said it had just hither that I was leaving and just started hugging me and crying! Saying how I was one of the people who she needed at just the right time to introduce her to this gospel. How humbling is that. How amazing is it to know there IS someone who has needed me.. and as much as I needed them haha. They have all taught me so much more about love and about being Christlike than I feel I could have ever taught them. I can't believe I won't be seeing them for awhile. But I know this isn't really 'it'.. ..... for SOME crazy reason.. ....... ...
  But anyway, so Friday was my 6 month mark! I'm going home in less than a year. If THAT'S not mindblowing I don't know WHAT is ! It was Elder Driggs' and my 6-month mark, so I found out what his favorite breakfast was and found a recipe to make it for District Meeting, which was on Friday. If THAT'S not a party, I don't know WHAT is ! haha, but seriously. .. .... anyway ! So that was Friday. I don't really know much else huge that has happened this week, except for transfer calls. That was pretty huge haha. But you know what is so amazing about all of this, is realizing just how well Heavenly Father knows us, and how we have needed to come across these people in our lives that would help define us, and that we would ONLY come across through going on a mission. I honestly don't know ANY other way I would have made it out to El Paso, Texas, ever in my life, and met and grown to love these people as I have been able to.
  How many times are God's hands in our lives everyday? Or is it just so constant that we just don't take the time to see it anymore? I heard someone on Mormon.org say, "When you see something so often, you see it less and less." How often do we see the carpet on our floors, not even realizing that that is NOT something everyone has? How often do we see the scriptures next to us, not even realizing the feeling of not having them.. the

emptiness that comes from not being able to have them? So that is what I am trying to do more. Is to truly see what is in front of my eyes, but that I don't really LOOK at.


  Anyway though, la iglesia es verdadera. No hay un otro camino a felicidad excepto el Evangelio. Necesitamos ver las manos de Dios en nuestras vidas, porque El esta alli.


p.s. Lucy's back! The day after I wrote about h

er dropping us, she calls us! I LOVE HER. And am actually wearing the sweater she gave me right this second :) Prayers for her would be WAY! More than appreciated.

Okay! I love ya'll! Sorry this e-mail's so short.. but pictures say A LOT more words than I ever could. ;)


La Hermana Batchkoff

2/21/2011

Hey! So this is the last week before transfers this weekend.. and CHECK DISS! My 6-month is this month. I have to say, most people say it's flown, but I honestly feel like I've been here for.EVER haha. Not in a bad way at all. It's just different trying to imagine a life before missionary work 24/7. But anyway! Let's do dis.
So this week has, yet again, been a completely different week. We've been doing a lot of less active work, and yesterday! 3 of the families we've been working with came to church yesterday! I don't really know what it is about the less actives that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, but every time I go to a less active's home, I feel like when they truly open their hearts up to the Spirit, they get back to the feeling they felt when they were baptized. And it's so cool seeing the light back in their eyes. It's so cool seeing their efforts, and every week that they're in church, their eyes lit up JUST that much more. It is WAY cool.
BY THE WAY! FELIZ CUMPLEANOS A CAR EN 1 MES DE HOY! HOLLA
So there is this 15-year-old, Julio, from the Spanish Ward who has a brain tumor. They discovered it on his birthday, and he's been in the hospital ever since. The hospital he's at is out of our area, but I had a doctor's appointment out by that hospital last week, so we went and visited him. 'They' say they're expecting him to be in the hospital for one more year.... ONE MORE YEAR! But we walk in there to surprise him, and he starts crying. And saying he didn't expect us to visit him, but he was so glad we came. And he just goes on bearing his testimony about how much of a miracle it is that he's sick and that this has happened to him, because it's brought his family together, and it's going to be an experience he can use when HE'S a missionary. He says the first thing he's going to do when he gets out of the hospital is bear his testimony about how much Heavenly Father answers prayers. He made a wish on his birthday to be able to make life better for someone, and he is beyond happy and grateful for the fact that he's in the hospital, so that others lives could be blessed from him being there. Talk about the absolute most selfless person I have ever met. Every single thing that can be looked at as a hardship for him, he is looking at as one of the greatest things that could be happening to him right now, and he wouldn't want life any other way. How many of us would look at that situation exactly the same? Being in a hospital bed for a year, not having a promise that you will make it out alive. in my mind, VERY few can take what he has been given with as much enthusiasm as he has. What an example to all of us who are going through hardships. It can always be worse. It can ALWAYS. Be worse. I have a picture with him I'll send here, of this inspiration in a 15-year-old body.
What else? Oh! So on Friday, Elders Evans and Driggs brought this kind of chili.. sauce/goo type stuff, called "The Bomb 2", for all of us to try. It's crazy, the kinds of hot sauces and chiles there are to get out here are RIDICULOUS. Some of them you have to sign a waver before buying, because they're the hottest, or from the hottest peppers in the world. Sooo anyway. They brought toothpicks for all of us to try this stuff, and Elder Evans said to not breathe in right after putting it on our tongue, because then the heat will just go straight back to our throat. Which apparently I didn't wait long enough to breathe in, anddd. It went straight to the back of my throat. Which I have a picture of. Which ya'll will love I'm sure. .. ......... ... :I. haha
Saturday night! Was the Valentine's Day Part A for the English Ward, which was SO FUN haha. Of all things to have at a Valentine's Day party, there was a professional Elvis impersonator there. ..out of all things. And so we wanted a picture with him at the end of the night, anddd. He full-on puts his arms around us. So. They were about to click and I struck the most uncomfortably comfortable pose I could. Just so you know. I didn't want it. hahaha, but there are these kids, the Williams kids, who I was hanging out with all night and we were putting V-Day stickers on our faces. Since we were the most unnoticed people in the entire party haha.
So yesterday! Yesterday was Sunday. And I taught Gospel Principles in the English Ward. Then the Spanish Ward is afterward, and the Ward Mission Leader, Hermano Adame, asks me right after Sacrament if I could teach Gospel Principles because he had something to do really fast. Out of every single one of the missionaries that has been out here about a year or more longer than me. Whoooooo. haha, so I say yes, even though all I knew to teach was. "Chapter 4." Oh! Chapter 4. Brilliant I know chapter 4. front to back. .. ..... :I. Sooo. Ususally it's just the missionaries in that class. But TO OUR SURPRISE. We walked into the classroom yesterday and IT WAS FULL. OH MY GOSH. So I just walk up to the classroom, and Brother Adame gave a prayer asking for the Spirit to be with me, and the class. Was amazing!! It was about agency, and I could understand the paragraphs we were reading, the experiences everyone was telling me about. And what amazed ME the most was the fact that I was completely calm just about the entire time. It was such a blessing, and such an amazing feeling knowing that when Heavenly Father truly needs me, He will use me to help others when I least expect it.
You know what I have realized? Trusting in the Lord is what we need to do. In no way shape or form do I feel I am an example of that. Even as a missionary, despite what others may think. But when has He ever given us reason NOT to trust him? He has gotten us to the exact point we are at right this second. Whatever trial we may be in, however complete we may feel, He has brought us to this point right now. And whatever choices we make reflect who are are trying to follow. Whether or not we choose eternal life with our Father. They are so important!


Anyway family. Everyday is a blessing. Everyday is an empty vessel that we can make into whatever we want to. Choose the Right. Be strong. Hold on to the rod.

Aiight!

Les quiero. MUCHO :P

La Hermana Batchkoff

It's your Valentine. haha 1/14/2011

Feliz dia de amor! Soy tu misionera.. sin un Valentine. jaja. Sooo let's get started ?

 Welll. This week, and every week, ALWAYS has something that I never really expect that happens. Every week is completely different from the last, and it shows ME that you can never ever be too settled, because something new will always be happening. Something to test us, or to try our growth and the faith that we feel we so strongly have. Every day has an opportunity for us to really, truly seek out opportunities that could be in front of our faces all along.
  Sooo that being said. This week has been different! What I'm gonna talk about.. there's this Brother from the English Ward, Brother Gonzales.. or Brother G.. as we all call him. He has made some mistakes, so he couldn't serve a mission, but he has 6 kids and a wife who are the epitamy of a family that centers everything truly on the nothing but the Gospel. They have Family Home Evenings where his oldest son, Ammon, will start balling from feeling the Spirit so much. And he's 8! They are so incredible. And they live for the Lord, and together. :) So! I was having a hard time, and I was with my companion and the 2 other Sisters, Sisters Knight and O'Brien, from our District. So we decided to ask Brother G for a blessing. So we get there. And we start with a prayer, and he gives Hna. O'Brien a blessing first. SUPER powerful. Then he goes to give me a blessing, and

goes to put his hands on my head and just starts crying. And he's all, "Wait, I need a second to gather myself".... .. .. what! That had never EVER happened to me before. So he goes again and puts his hands on my head, and gives me this beautiful blessing. I could repeat the words of it that I remembered, but it wouldn't make nearlyy as much of an impact as the actual experience. I wish I could tell you I had felt the Spirit that strong before. I wish I could tell you in words the kind of feeling that was in that room. But the words I could try to use would never give it exactly what it deserves. So after the blessings, I asked if we could have a prayer, after Brother G's balling with all of us Sisters haha, so he asks me if I would offer it. So. We get down on our knees. And I start praying. And in between all of our tears, we all felt Heavenly Father was RIGHT THERE with us. He was so close, which brought us all. to complete tears. Never before as a amissionary had I EVER felt so close to Heavenly Father and my Savior before that moment. There really are no words.
  Also!

Guess what else happened :) There's this less active, Stephanie. One day Hna. Good and I were looking through the Ward List to visit some less actives. And she told me to say something if a name popped out. So! The Moya's popped out. And we decided to go visit them. And now she's been coming to church, and her DAD came with her yesterday for the first time in forEVER! And she's going for her patriarchal blessing now, so prayers for her would definitely. Be appreciated.
  With the sad news. Lucy. Our absolutely amazing investigator who still has the hearts we heart attacked her house with on her door, dropped us. We're pretty sure. She won't answer our calls, or call us back, or text us, or ANYthing. But you know what? Maybe she just needed to get a good view of the church from us so she could welcome the gospel back later, when the rest of her family is ready. If we're keeping perspective :) She's amazing, she really. REALLY is.
  So after this water tragedy that happened out here, everyone was talking about it yesterday in Relief Society, and the importance of food storage and how these little things, which this only lasted for a handful of days, are what show us how UNprepared we are for when one of these BIG tragedies is going to strike. Family. WE CAN NEVER BE TOO READY! Because think about what we're getting ready for. How can you be too ready for that!! I used to laugh, I'm not gonna lie, at how much water Mom always had me go out and buy, but if this had happened back home, that would be our water for cooking, bathing, drinking, for EVERYthing. We may never realize how prepared we need to be until something happens! One Sister said that a General Authority said that if you don't have your food storage or aren't working on it, it's too late. IT'S TOO LATE ??! So get ready ya'll! For the big earthquake we've been overdue for, or for whatEVER else will happen. Because I believe it will. Another sister said that she heard an Authority say that the importance of food storage is as important as boarding the arc Noah built. THIS WILL SAVE US. We don't know anything, we really don't. But we can be ready for the unknown. ;)
  Entonces, lo siento que mi e-mail no es mas interesante. Pero el Espiritu es lo mismo! Esta mision es la unica cosa mas dificil que yo he hecho. Pero en realidad, he visto que Dios verdaderamente lo mismo cada dia, y le ama cada persona en el mundo. El bien, el mal. Todo. Y todos ustedes, por su puesto. Les comparto estas cosas, con MI amor y oraciones, en el nombre de JesuCristo, amen.


Yo soy. Yo puedo.
La Hermana Batchkoff


.... haha le tome el ultimo parte del Elder Floyd.. memba him!!? :)

I guess i should start giving these titles - 2/7/2010

I guesss. We could call this one. Frozen toes. And a baptism. hahaha


  So this week has been commmPLETELY. CRAZY. It started with a 'storm', where we had snow and it got down to 6 degrees during the day. 6 degrees! Apparently it's a record for the history of El Paso. So we got a text from our Zone Leaders onnn Wednesday night I believe? Saying that we should turn on the faucets to leak so the pipes don't burst, apparently. Soooo. This having never happened to ME before, we decided to go with it. And we were fine, but people allll around El Paso's pipes burst, their homes flooded, and the water was either frozen or all gone from flooding everywhere. It was like a tragedy happened here. So now! There's water, but we can't take showers until Wednesday or Thursday, so they can try and get this water back on track. And would you GUESS WHATT! I still have all the cleaning wipes Mom sent me, so we can use those until then! You. Inspired woman Mom. ;)
  That being said! There was going to be a baptism for the Elders on Friday. Every single building in our stake AND the stake next to us was flooded, except for the building in Fabens we thought. So the Elders go down there after we had District 'Council" on Friday to go check it out. Only! To find that the Fabens building is flooded 2 feet high with water. So! Even though our building wasn't flooded, they had turned all of the water off for every building so they wouldn't flood anymore. So we had OUR font, but there wasn't any water to come out of it to fill it up. So! Tha

t being said, some of the missionaries wanted to just reschedule it, but a couple of us were like N. WAY. We are not in ANY! Way gonna let this stop a baptism from happening. From a soul being saved for someone who had been waiting, and waiting to be baptized. So! The Elders and Sisters were all on their way to the chapel, and Hermana Newbold and I got every single trashcan from every classroom-the big ones too, and once everyone got here, we all set out to find members' homes to fill up the trashcans with water to fill up the font. So! It's 34 degrees outside by this time in the middle of the day, and Hermana Newbold and I get to go to the Maser's to fill up. So we bring the hose out, and Hermana Newbold was holding the hose in the trashcan, but the hose we were using had holes in 3 parts. So I got to group them all together, and just GRIP them with all that I had so that the water could get into the trashcans. So the water's spraying out from the sides, and by the time we're about halfway through the first big trashcan, my socks and shoes and all of the front of me is completely SOAKED. IT.WAS.FREEZING. But! We got them filled up! And then we got into the truck and I had to drive like. 20 miles an hour to be able to keep the water in them on the way to the chapel. My heart stopped every time we saw a little splash out, I am NOT. Even kidding haha. So once everyone got to the chapel, we started getting the trashcans out of the truck beds to drag them to the kitchen to start boiling the water. And at this point, I decided to take my shoes and sock

s off, because they were soaked, and I figured they were just gonna freeze me even more. So I'm running back and forth with these trashcans, barefoot when it's 32-34 degrees outside. And it comes to the point where my toes are at the hurting point from being just about frozen. And I run out to get another trashcan and I.start.crying. when I'm trying to get it down, because my toes are hurting so much. But Heavenly Father needed every single one of us! So by that point, while I'm trying to get over crying and keep going, Elders Jordan and Evans run out to get more and they're all, "oh my gosh what's wrong??" and I tell them how frozen my feet are but that I just needed to keep going so I wouldn't think about it. But they said they weren't gonna do any more work until I went inside and made my feet warm. Ew. Why do they have to be so nice like that haha. So I went in for a little, then the others went out for some more water, while there was water boiling and it was me, Hna. Newbold, Elder Driggs, and Elder Perez.. And so Elder Driggs happened to wear 2 pairs of socks that day because of the cold, and gave me his jacket, gloves, and socks to wear hahaha. Until I finally warmed up, then me and him just bucked up and went into the font with the water that there was, and we started picking out the pieces of grass and stuff from the hose water.. at least we tried haha. Because it wasn't really making THAT big of a difference. So anyway! We were just praying, and praying, and PRAYING for the water to heat up, for enough water to fill the font, for a baptism to actually HAPPEN because of our entire day's worth of running back and forth, literally every step we were taking being on faith. Because all of the cards that were being thrown out could have so possibly made this seem IMpossible. So it comes time for the baptism. And Cecilia comes, and we were able to get the water up to the 2nd step of the font. Which was POSSIBLE. She just got on her knees, and she's all, "Oh my gosh it's so cold!!!!!" but when she gets out of the font, she cried and said, "it's not cold anymore...!" How amazing. She was baptized, to Jesus Christ's church. Because of faith. That whole baptism rode on miracles. It was absolutely incredible. And what was even MORE incredible! Yesterday was Stake Conference. And the Stake President, President Anderson, apparently heard about this story and spoke of it to the entire stake that was there yesterday. Talking about how the missionaries didn't give up. And you know what it made me realize? Missionary work honestly rides/works on miracles. If miracles ceased, missionary work would.
  So on Saturday night, we had dinner with the Bush family in the English Ward. They just moved down here, and there are 7 kids in this family. And this family is SO COOL! So we have dinner with them, like I said. And we walk up to the door of the house right. The other 3 Hermanas in my District and me. And there's a piece of paper that says "The Silver Roses" that's posted on the front door. So we knock, not understanding anything, and 2 of the kids, Jonas and Troy, open the door with a fullon suit with bowties and say calmly, "Welcome to the Silver Roses.. let us show you to your table." And they take us to the candlelit kitchen table hahah! IT WAS SO AMAZING. They took our orders, and it was SO CUTE, when I would ask if it was okay that I have something, little Troy would say, "That's fine," and tap my shoulder as he walked past me alll completely calm, and then he would go into the kitchen right next to us and be like, "Salad! We needs salads for them!" completely freaking out. But the 'chefs' were in super cute aprons and everything. And by the end of dinner, I peeked into the kitchen and saw plates and cups and stuff EVERY.where. hahah it was so completely adorable.
 Sooo. One more thing. Yesterday was Stake Conference, and Elder Gong of the 70 came! The missionaries were there early to usher and greet people, and I was at the door greeting people, when he came in. And I never knew what he looked like, but he shook our hands and I said hi to him too, and the Elder next to me said, "That was Elder Gong".... WHATT! It was weird, because I kiiind of had a feeling it was him, but he didn't stare into my soul like M. Russell Ballard did when I met HIM haha, so it made me wonder. But amazing right!


  To cut this off right now before I run out of room to write.. if that's possible, miracles happen every single hour, every single minute of every single day. So if we are walking completely by faith, searching for our Savior's hand to hold, He will hold it, and He will show just how much we can do with Him! As long as we hold on. He can only hold on to us so much, because we need to do what WE have to in order to hang onto Him.


  Entonces, este es mi testimonio para ustedes hoy. Cuando guardamos los mandamientos y la fe, milagros van a pasar. Cuando guardamos los mandamientos, todo va a estar bien! TODO. LEs prometo esto. Diso esta mas cerca a nostros que pesemos, en mi opinion. Perseveren! No tenemos mucho tiempo para crecer, pero tenemos oportunidades. Es lo que hagamos con estas oportunidades que puedan ayudarnos a crecer y mejora, y ver las manos de Dios en cada cosa, en cada dia.


Les quiero MUCHO! HAce lo Justo... Choose the Right ;)




La Iglesia es Verdadera, La Hermana B