"Hey look ma I made it"

Mom, I did it!!! (And thank you Panic at the Disco for this week's song lyric title). Guess who has been a missionary for 6 whole months?!? It may not seem like much, but I'm honestly so proud of myself. I also can't believe how freaking fast time has passed. I'm slowly starting to feel more and more normal being here. But also, I feel like life is too good and happy, which means something hard is coming or some kind of change is coming. I mean transfers are next week soooo we shall see what happens. But, it's been a great week! Trinity and Betty Jo's was an adventure as always. Man I love those girls, but they were driving me crazy! They were so worried about us not getting our work done in time, even though 9 times out of 10 we are done early. Wacky sisters. Anyway we had a lil ice cream party with them after to celebrate Betty Jo's birthday. It was pretty cute, not gonna lie, and I'd never turn down a good mint chip ice cream. Oh, also, they had Hermana Babcock vacuum their artificial turf. We were DYING. Haha speaking of ice cream, we brought Arielle (remember she is Brother Senior's 12-year-old granddaughter who he and his wife are raising) a McDonald's ice cream cone for her first day of school. Yeahhhh not our smartest idea in the 100 degree heat. It was a melted mess all over Hermana Babcock's hand by the time we got over there. We could not stop laughing. But hey, Arielle must not be a respecter of ice cream because she ate it up real quick. She's a cutie. We had dinner with Noe and Diana. They are so cute and treat us so well. On the down side, we were so full. They just wouldn't stop feeding us and kept pulling out all sorts of dessert. Noe also gave us both wooden crosses he makes and I love mine so much. Seriously I have collected so much stuff in this area, and he is still painting our portraits. We invited them to church because I was speaking and THEY CAME. They don't really come unless it's a special occasion, so I felt very honored. Seriously I can't even tell you the joy I felt. We walked out of a meeting and there's Diana! And my jaw dropped so low. I couldn't stop smiling once I saw her. Lol! Also, Noe was taking pictures of me while I spoke. They are like proud grandparents. We really hyped up to all our friends that I was speaking, but hey it worked. Sandra and Andrew both came, and even brought Andrew's mom!! I don't think there's ever been a happier missionary in the whole world. Sunday was just a really great day. When I speak in church, I tend to take a lot of liberties with the topic I'm given. I'm just not about the whole "good morning brothers and sisters. Man I tried to not pick up the phone when bishop called, but here I am. Today I was asked to speak on..." it just ain't my style! So hopefully even though I took some twist on my topic, it ended up being what people needed to hear. Lately I've felt prompted by the spirit that Christ needs to be the focus of everything we do in the church. Because honestly too often we get wrapped up in all the fluff, and it ends up that half the things we say or do are just culture. Which isn't necessarily bad, but does it help us focus and reflect on what really matters? And I'm in no way perfect at it, but I'm working on it. So in my talk, I made sure to focus on the Savior, His atonement, and the infinite love he has for each and everyone of us. I wanted to share this quote with you that I shared with my ward: "No matter how far or how deep you may have fallen, Jesus has descended farther and deeper. During His descent, He became acquainted with your grief, and He was bruised by your iniquities. He voluntarily did this so that He could bring you back home where you belong. Nor is it His aim to simply save you by the skin of your teeth. No, His promise is sure: “I am able to make you holy”—without spot." When I read this quote, I definitely loved it. But as I shared it with my district on Friday, reading it to all these missionaries who need the atonement and who are teaching people who need the atonement, I was overwhelmed with a powerful spirit. I strongly felt and knew once again that the Savior truly suffered for me, and each and every one of those missionaries. I knew that he loved me, and I knew that His atonement completely covers me. He knows exactly what you are going through, and he wants to help you. He wants you to know you can be healed, and you can be forgiven. I invite you all to share with me your favorite picture of Christ, and what he means to you. I think it's so humbling to know that even though sin and mistakes cover us, we can wake up each day with a commitment to change, and a goal to have a fresh perspective of the world. I really need that in my life. I love Jesus and know that he is the Christ. I know that he died for me, and I know that he died for you. I'm so happy to be a missionary. I still sometimes look down at my name tag and wonder how the heck I'm even here. Sometimes it feels like a dream. I'm excited for the future, but also brace myself for the challenges. Because I guess God said there must needs be opposition. Don't forget that Jesus loves you, Sister Wallace Pics: 1. Service with the besties

2. Trying on hats at a souvenir shop today- trying to make bro senior proud 3. Lol ice cream partay 4. Cauliflower pizza crust!! You better believe I ate this whole thing... kinda regretting it at the moment but esta bien 5. Kekeli throwing sass this morning! 6. Emenyo sleeping after a long day at the fam reunion (I got to call home while everyone was there for our family reunion and this was where Emenyo was hiding, lol!) 7. Always "heart-attacking"