WEEK 15: Baptisms And Transfers And Pickleball--Oh My!

Good morning, good morning, good morning! (Yes, I know it's afternoon, I didn't want to write another intro).

It's been a great week here in East Las Vegas. How has your week been?? I would love to hear about it. Send me an email! Or a good, old-fashioned letter. Snail mail is superior and I have already loved having pen pals on my mission. 

First of all, transfers are tomorrow!! Can you believe it?? This transfer FLEW by! I will be staying here, and my new companion will be Sister Salazar. Sister VanLangeveld is going to North Las Vegas! We're very excited. The Bonanza (Spanish) missionaries are being put back into our Zone, so we won't be the only sisters in the Zone anymore! That's always a plus, hehe. So today will be a flurry of packing and cleaning and getting Sister Van and Hermana Housley ready to move out tomorrow. All good things!

Last Pday we created an "epic pickleball tournament bracket" and played pickleball as a district for almost 3 hours! Not surprisingly, I immediately lost and then went on to also lose within the loser bracket. I think the highest amount of points I scored in a match was 4. But I count it a victory that I was even able to hit the ball over the net. We only had one set of paddles, so everyone had to sit and watch each 1v1 match, which created a good opportunity to talk with everyone. Topics of discussion included: random stories from our family history, using the Family Tree app to find out if any of us are related, guessing middle names, and the occasional smack talk between elders as the pickleball bracket advanced. 

On Tuesday we went to a service activity that the Hermanas planned. Miraculously, we were able to talk our district into going with us! We sang songs in a retirement home:) It was so much fun, and actually went very well, despite everyone showing up and just going for it without any practice. The elders didn't want to do it at first, but were good sports about it and ended up loving it. The women we sang to told us that we should go on America's Got Talent. If anyone can get us an audition slot, lmk;)

Wednesday was fun, simply because someone ran away from us. Like, actually sprinted for his life. We weren't even approaching him, just walking down the street toward our car. But he was in his garage, and when he looked up and saw us, he bolted over everything in his garage, ran into his house, and slammed the button to close the garage door. The look on his face as he glanced over his shoulder was one of pure terror. People avoid the missionaries all the time by walking the other way, pulling their phone out, or ignoring us, but I've never had someone run from me. I guess there's a first time for everything. I just didn't realize I was intimidating enough to make a grown man sprint in the opposite direction. Hopefully he's doing okay. 

We had a special meeting with Elder Pieper, the area president of the North America Southwest missions! He came into town and we gathered as a whole mission on Friday to hear him. It was so amazing! He spent a lot of time talking about prayer, and how to deepen our understanding of it. He offered suggestions taken from the scriptures about how to gain more spiritual power from praying. It was a very unique training and a special opportunity to hear from him!

And now, as per the hint in this email's title, you know that we had a baptism this week!! WOOT WOOT!! Mariana was baptized and confirmed on Saturday. Due to the pandemic and other circumstances, she was not baptized at age 8. The ward sent the missionaries over as soon as she turned 9 this summer, and we've been visiting the family consistently since I got here. At first, Mariana was completely silent; honestly more like a statue than a child. She was crazy shy. We couldn't get anything out of her. No head shakes 'yes' or 'no', no thumbs up or thumbs down-- literally nothing. It was only about 2 weeks ago when she started whispering responses to us. Let me tell you, when she brought her stuffed unicorn over to me and whispered its name, I almost cried! She's warmed up quickly since then, and it's been incredible to watch her open up to us and let her personality shine through. She decided to be baptized with her 8 year old brother, Favian! The two of them were a little nervous to enter the water, but Favian was so encouraging and a great example to Mariana. Mariana pushed through her fears and was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! The two of them set a great example for their youngest brother, Esteban, who is now looking forward to when he is old enough to be baptized! We are so proud of all of them!

And just like that, it's a brand new week. We're spending time as a district today. Our district is shrinking, as Elder Jackson is getting moved out of the trio and the Washington Ave elders are being put into the new Bonanza district. So our Sunrise district will just be 3 companionships this next transfer! But it's going to be an amazing transfer! 

I love you all! Send me a letter/email if you get bored, hehe. Have an amazing week!

- Sister Malmstrom

2110 Los Feliz St #1004, Las Vegas, NV 89156

P.S. Quick note: My missionary phone glitches A LOT and sometimes sends different pictures than the ones I selected in my email. It's happened a few times already and I just want to apologize for the inconsistency:)

Pictures!!

- (Last week) District picture after General Conference!

- (Last week) Me with Tommy, the most hyperactive dog you will ever meet. Please ignore the farmer tan that is already clearly visible.

- Picture after our service project where we sang in a retirement home!

- Accidentally cosplayed Strawberry Shortcake this week. Sister Shortcake, if you will.

- Mariana cut out little hearts and gave them to us before her baptism. THE SWEETEST EVER<3

- MARIANA AND FAVIAN'S BAPTISM!!! They are such cuties!!

- Face masks and transfer journals for Pday today. Didn't realize everyone would look so terrifying....