"Peanut butter jelly time"

Well it was another great week! I did, however, eat way too much stuff I shouldn't have… but we will get to that later! This week was just full of spiritual highs and tender mercies. This week I will tell you about the Rayas. We eat with them about 3 times a month and since you are probably sick of me telling you about the Williams (who i still adore and loved going to their house this week), I will talk about them. The Rayas are probably the most interesting, unique older couple I have ever met. And oh boy do they love Jesus. Walking into their house you are hit with spiritual power. Sister Raya likes to randomly break into songs that she has written about Jesus, and she isn't afraid to look you right in the eyes when she sings. Then she usually cries at least once about how Jesus is her "very best friend." It's so cute. This week, my comps lovingly told the Rayas that I like to sing, so Sister Raya made me sing "I Stand All Amazed" with her. We are talking straight eye contact and smiling the whole time. If I think too much about it, it's SO awkward, so I just go with it! On Thursday we had exchanges with the STLS (sister training leaders). Me and Sister Lathrop got to go hang out with Sister Miller in her area, Los Lunas. It is always fun to get a change of scenery! We had some good convos and spent some quality time outside. I think the spirit likes to be outside, because man we felt some power! We also went and did service for Hope Works, which is an organization in ABQ that does all sorts of good for the homeless and the recovering. This time we helped clean up the yard for a guy who the organization was housing. It was covered with broken glass and random trash. Then we went to dinner, which is where the trouble started, and where this week's title comes into play. We went and ate with this adorable family in the STLS ward. The couple has all these cute kids with various challenges and disabilities who they've adopted. They were little angels. I enjoyed that part of dinner so much! They fed us this stir fry with rice and then these thai noodles. I ate them without really thinking. The noodles were a little spicy, but really good! Well, after I was almost half way through with my second helping of the noodles, I hear the husband say "wow, these are kind of spicy" then the wife goes "yeah, it's from the peanut sauce." Well that immediately got my attention because I'm allergic to peanuts. Like need-an-epipen-but-dont-have-one-right-now allergic. So I was starting to panic a li'l. But I didn't want them to feel bad, especially because we texted them that morning about my gluten and corn allergies, but I didn't add peanuts to the list, even though originally, I had, but deleted it (listen to the spirit, kids). So I just slyly whispered to Sister Miller that we needed to get out of there soon. I'm honestly impressed I didn't break down crying right there at the dinner table! When we got out I had a baby panic attack. But we called Sister Weathersby (the mission president's wife) and she said to get some benadryl and since I hadn't swollen up yet I would probably be ok. I also video messaged my mom and told her to not freak out but I ate some peanuts -- she basically told me what Sister Weathersby did so I felt a little reassured). Someone from their ward brought me some benadryl and I spent the rest of the night laying on the floor just waiting for myself to puke. It took about 2 hours for that to happen and it was not fun. It happened again about an hour after that and then one more time in the middle of the night. And since I'm on my lovely bunk bed, I was smart and brought a bowl. Let me tell you, puking in the middle of the night when you are half asleep is very disorienting, but Sister Clayton took good care of me. The next day she said I looked so funny after it happened. Anyway, I survived the night!!

Sorry if you didn't want to hear all the lovely details of my puke haha. But I really laugh at the experience now. This week I learned DON'T EAT PEANUTS. I was starving the next day. We did some service that consisted of gathering up and burning sticks once again, so right before, we went to Wendy's and I lived it up with a chocolate frosty, a grilled chicken lettuce wrap, and fries. Definitely some corn syrup in that lol. But worth it. That was a good meal. Easter weekend was amazing!!! Especially since it fell on the weekend of our church's General Conference when we get to watch inspired messages from our church leaders on Saturday and Sunday. I swear General Conference is even better than Christmas for missionaries. My favorite session was probably Saturday morning. I loved how centered it was on treating people with kindness and including everyone. ALL are welcome to follow Jesus Christ and experience the joy this gospel brings, and I'm so sorry if you have ever been made to feel otherwise. But I know Jesus needs you, your talents, and your light. It's so important that we all strive towards unity, not division. Between sessions both days, we had comp study and lunch outside. It felt so good to get some sunshine! I was wearing long socks and I got a pretty sweet tan line. Haha tan lines are very different for missionaries. Sister Lathrop was just lathering on sunscreen the whole time since her Alaskan skin can't take the heat. Even I got a little burned. Sunday night we were fed by the Alton family from our ward, which was a blessing. I think I probably would have been sad and missing my family if we didn't have Easter dinner plans. They made a ham! I love ham. The whole meal was pretty much what my family would usually eat for Easter dinner. For dessert Sister Alton gave me a chocolate bunny since I couldn't have cake haha. It was sweet that she thought of me. THIS MORNING WE GOT TO CLEAN THE TEMPLE!!! It felt so good to be inside the house of the Lord. I got to vacuum the celestial room and the women's changing room, which included the bride's room. The temple was so beautiful. I was surprised at how specific they ask you to vacuum. The Lord cares about the little things, I guess! We felt so blessed to help out. Afterwards we got Chick Fil A breakfast. So basically a heavenly morning all around.

We also went on a little hike today to a spot where every Good Friday, people traditionally walk for miles, with crosses on their backs, and then hike the mountain to put the crosses at the top. There are so many good Christians who love Jesus in this area. Super awesome and inspiring! Thank you for all the emails and letters and packages. I really appreciate the support, and continue to need it!! I love you all and am always so happy to hear from you! Don't forget that Jesus loves you, Sister Wallace

1. Temple!!!!

2. Today's hike to the crosses 3. Lol accurate 9pm selfie 4. General Conference selfie, we were dying of heat lol 5. Talking to the fam after my peanut incident. (I wasn't looking too hot and Ben might kill me for including this, Ha!) 6. Sunrise with cutie Sister Clayton