FLAT TIRE

My dear family and friends,

I just want to say thank you all for the love and support that you are constantly sending me! For the letters, notes, emails, packages, and the non tangible as well. I can feel your thoughts and prayers being directed my way and they lift and support me. I know that Heavenly Father listens to prayers, He listens to your prayers, and I want to thank you for mentioning me in some of them. I know that part of the reason I am having such an amazing mission, and one with such success, is due to your love and constant pleading with Our Father. Please continue to pray for the missionaries and our investigators. We really need it out here!

This week has been a good one, as always! There were some ups and downs, but everything turned out okay in the end, as it always does when we put our trust in The Lord. We were "dropped" by a few investigators this week, and one of the baptisms we had planned (Maria) fell through. She is still having some trouble with deciding to marry her "fiancee" or to leave him. We only have about 3 progressing investigators right now, but lots of potentials and we know that right now it's "out with the old and in with the new", which sounds like super harsh, but it's what needs to happen. Sometimes people just aren't ready, aren't willing, aren't progressing, and as missionaries, we can't waste our time with that! Time is valuable, especially out here, and if people aren't keeping commitments, we should be looking for someone who is. I hate dropping people, but it has to be done with faith that there is someone else out there who is more prepared! 

One of the most miraculous things that happened this week was how we found the Ponce de Leon family. We got a referral from the Hermanas in the Rubidoux area with a name, a number, an address, and a note saying that they wanted to meet with us at 6 o clock on Tuesday. The name of the referral was for the Torres family. We called the number given and when the Hermana answered we asked if it was still okay for us to stop by at 6. She said yes, but sounded a little confused. When we got to the house number, it wasn't her house. It was a completely different family, but they let us in and we had a little lesson about the Restoration of the Gospel with them. They weren't too interested so then we went on our way. We got back to our car and tried to call our referral again. She told us we had the address wrong, but that her house wasn't far from where we were. We showed up at this referrals house and as we started talking, she told us they weren't the Torres family. They were the Ponce de Leon family, but that she had a son whose last name was Torres and that's why she allowed us to come over. It turns our they had never met with missionaries before, in fact she didn't know what church we were from when we called, but she wanted to learn more! This family is so so cute and they have so many sincere questions! They asked us all about our church and told us they were really interested in coming and we got a return appointment! I have no idea how that referral was so messed up, but it worked out in the end!! Heavenly Father knew we needed to meet them so He made it happen.

Other good moments from this week:
1. When we went on splits with our recent CONVERTS. Ahhh I love that. Kim and Catalina both went out with us to share the gospel. They are true converts.
2. We got a flat tire in the middle of the freeway and a group of Elders had to come rescue us! The culprit was a pair of nail clippers (don't ask me how)
3. We went to two birthday parties and got two new investigators out of them. If you like to party, go on a mission. 
4. For our zone activity this morning we went bowling and I beat everyone else in the zone! WOOO! Out of like 18 missionaries, I was #1. Not that my score was super impressive though, we just all stink at bowling.

Transfers are coming up next week and I can't wait to see what happens! It's for sure that my companion is leaving the area, so that also makes it pretty for sure that I am staying. Our DL, Elder Romero, is going home, so Elder Sy will be getting a new companion as well! Hermana Santoyo and Bjork are also probably leaving the area so there will be a ton of new changes! One of our ZL's, Elder Anderson, will be transferred out, so lots and lots of newbies in the zone and in our De Anza district as well! I will let you know all about it next week. I have learned so much from the missionaries I'm serving with now, I can't wait to see what the next group of missionaries have to teach me! :) 

Have a great week everyone, know that I am thinking of and praying for you always!

Con Amor, 
Hermana Rutherford


Flat tire- thanks whoever was clipping their nails on Van Buren and didn't want to keep the clippers.


I have no idea why this is so blurry, but these are all the missionaries who went bowling today! 


And we've still got Christmas cheer from over at the mission office!