Hola familia!

This week has been a good week. We get our travel plans either today or tomorrow!!! I'm so excited! We have a week left of hard core studying and teaching and then the following couple of days we just pack during study/gym times. We have one district leaving this coming Tuesday and we are all sad because we really do love them so much, they are like our older siblings to our massive family. One of them is Elder Guthrie. He is going to Provo, Ut Mission speaking spanish! His boundaries are all the way to the point of the mountain and south of there. I told him to try and find Alpine and teach Carlos :)   I told him to try and find you guys so you could have him over for dinner sometime!

On Sunday we had the district president come in and sit in on our district lesson we had. (He is over all of the spanish Branch president's and their zone's) I really really loved what he had to say about the Atonement. I learned so much and I really wanted to know everything he knew about the Atonement. So I have made that my study for the past week. I have been studying really hard about the Atonement because I want that knowledge about it that is so deep and comes through study. He talked about love and how the love God has is perfect. Someone said in the class that it makes them think that they do not really know what love really is.  President said "when we feel the love of God and the goodness of God, we understand what love really is. God loved us first and because of that we are able to understand what love is and able to love God back."  This week I have been putting a lot of time into reading Jesus the Christ and Alma 34. PLEASE read and study Alma 34. It's seriously amazing!! I have learned so much from it and I feel like there is still more to learn.

This week we taught Jacob. Hermana Agle and I were really nervous because he has not been responding very well to us and it seems like there is not anything there in the lessons. After our lesson last week, he told us that he feels like he needs something deep, and we really had been feeling we should teach him about the Atonement. So we went into the lesson and started asking questions about his life and related it to the Atonement and he responded so well with it. He was asking a lot of questions and really wanted to know more, we did not have a lot of time and asked if we could come back and teach him another time more about the Atonement. So that's where we are at now, He told us he wants us to teach him because he wants to receive help and believes that the Atonement can help him. I'm so excited! The Atonement is so powerful and I believe it will help him in his life, although we do not really know what he has done, we just know he has guilt he wishes he could get rid of. It was such an amazing feeling and after our lesson with him, our teacher came into the classroom and said “really, really good job hermanas”. We finally broke through to Jacob and I'm so excited! I finally feel like there is somewhere to go with him now!!

Thanks Breanna, Manda and Dad for writing me this last week! it was really good to hear from all of you!  I do see a lot of the people from LP and from our ward here. I have seen Alex Pranger, Chandler Dahl and Kyle Neagle. Chandler left so I do not seen him anymore. I love hearing from you Dad. It's always nice to hear the words of encouragement you have for me because I know you have been in the same situations and having the same feelings and frustrations I have. I love you!

Mom thanks for the package last week! I loved it!  It was really needed. The ear plugs are working beautifully thanks!! :)  Laura Dahl sent me some work out clothes and healthy food which was so nice of her!  They have been working out really great and I love them. 

I love you all so much! It's crazy to think that next week will be my goodbye from the States!! I'll let you know next week when I get to call home!! :)  I think we might be leaving early in the morning. A different zone going to Chile, Santiago East is leaving at 3AM. So i'm kinda hoping it's not that early. Have a great week and remember to serve someone!! Love you all.

Con Amor,

Hermana Tycksen