What even happened this week?

K, so a ton happened, but I can't think of anything. And neither can
my companion. So we are obviously in trouble. Ha.

But today we had a zone activity! We all hiked Roxy Ann this morning,
had a testimony meeting on a cliff, and then ate waffles (gluten-free
for me :)) and emailed together at the church! And I got to wear pants
allll day! :) It has been fun and we have a totally rockin zone. These
missionaries are top notch and I could not be luckier than to be in
this beautiful mission :)

We had a zone training meeting this week, and the theme was "Finish
the Race", hence the crazy pictures :) But it was really inspiring and
I just was so called to repentance and wanting to change everything
and just always be better! So hopefully I can do that, little by
little. Because there is absolutely no point in going on a mission if
you aren't going to be changed by it, and the last thing in the world
that I want is to be the same person I was when I came out on a
mission! And I know that it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Holy
Spirit which truly changes us. So hopefully I can be changed more and
more as I strive to serve The Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and
strength :)

We started off our week by getting my teeth cleaned by my ward mission
leader, who is a dentist here! I couldn't stop laughing, thinking of
Brother Allen cleaning my teeth, but it wasn't all that weird. And the
hygienist was just so darling and personable! I just really love her.
She just moved here from Ohio and she was so fun. And she definitely
needs to be baptized, because she is basically already Mormon :) Plus
my teeth were all pretty afterward, too! So that was fun! And out of
the ordinary!

And I just can't focus with all these elders playing basketball and
music and crazy fun. So I'm sorry that this email is going to kinda
stink today. Haha

The main stress this week is that we are having a hard time juggling
everything! We haven't been able to meet with people as often as we
used to, so some people are thinking that we hate them...and that just
breaks my heart! It's been really hard trying to keep everyone happy
and uplifted all the time. Being a missionary is a huge
responsibility! Which can be crazy stressful! But I also love it.

And I love how little kids at church look at us...and how the Allen
kids, specifically, just adore us to no end. It is so neat to know
that I am someone these kids look up to and that hopefully I am
setting a good example for them to follow in all that I do. This is so
true for people who aren't even missionaries! People watch us. People
notice everything we do...so be good! Of course you don't have to be
perfect, but as the saying goes, you never know who's watching. And I
know I look up to so many of you, so thank you for being such
incredible examples to me and to others! Keep letting your light
shine! :)

We met a less-active lady yesterday who lives on a farm! So we petted
her donkeys and goats while we talked with her, and we helped her
bring in the horses while we chatted, and it was just a fun little
experience! And I'm sure we smelled lovely afterward. Haha

And S and E, a lady we met last week or so, had birthdays this
week! So we heart attacked them, secretly. It was super fun :)
And I love Sister M. She is such a goof and I love to be friends
with her. And her testimony of the Book of Mormon is remarkable! I
love how she loves it. And how marked up her Book of Mormon is. She's
a great example to me and I'm glad I get to be with her, especially
for the end of her mission! (Although we aren't talking about that
part.)

We also had a really great lesson with one of our recent converts,
J, this week about people in the scriptures (like Martin Harris
and Enos) who messed up, but they were able to resolve it and come
back through prayer and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And her
less-active family member came in, and he started crying and saying how
he needed to call Bishop and how they needed to start coming to
church again. And then he basically begged us to come back in a couple
of days. It was so sweet and a huge miracle of progress for him! I
love those moments :)

This seems like a long, long week. For some reason Sister M
switched that around when she got here, so all the weeks are long
now...haha. So I'm sure much more happened than this, but that's about
the jist of it, I think! Sister M and I also still need to go
grocery shopping and we're going to have a violin/piano jam sesh. So
I'd better wrap it up :) Thanks for all you do! Keep being awesome!
Arizona people, please survive the rains and the floods and craziness!
I can't believe I'm missing that! I hope you love it :) Have the best
week! Love you guys! :)

Love,
Sister Partridge

Reunited with her trainer, Sis W

Sis C and Sis M