Oh no!!!

I pushed save instead of send, sorry! This was supposed to go out dec 5 :)

Hello Everyone!!

I am alive and well! Well, better!!

This week was INSANE but so good!

After I wrote you, I called the hospital & they didn't have any openings until JANUARY! Then I told them how much pain I have been in & they scheduled me for the next morning for an 11am procedure (have to be there at 10am for prep) Went on with the day, Sister Miller called and asked what happened with the call & I told her then she said, "Sister Givens you can NOT miss District Meeting!" So, the next morning I had to call and cancel...anyway, long story short I am scheduled for the 20th, so only a couple more weeks. Blech.

After District Meeting I got the call that I was being transferred to Kearns with Sister Nethercott (she is from Montana) and I ADORE her!!!

Elder Meade and I are in the same district again, so that is fun!

AND we found FOUR new investigators our fisrt day out here (wednesday), who all asked US if they could be BAPTIZED! Not just taught, but baptized! It blew my mind! Then on Friday we went to a ward party to meet more members & there a lady came up to us and asked if she could meet with us because SHE AND her son want to be baptized! Then yesterday we found 3 more investigators! We are BUSY! But it is a WONDERFUL place to be!! It's known as the ghetto of our mission, but I don't even care. The people here are so inviting and loving and it is such a blessing!

We live with the Sapoi family, the mom is Samoan & the dad is Tongan...it makes me miss Sister Pousima haha and they have 3 boys & she is due with the 4th in just a couple weeks! It's noisy and busy but i LOVE it! It makes me feel like home :)

Sienna's baptism was great! Sister Woodruff came to Kearns and picked me up, since I had only been in the area for 3 days at that point and didn't know anyone. But we had a great visit on our way out to Sandy! I just love her! She said she is more than willing to take me out to the hospital on the 20th as well if I need her to. Anyway, Sienna was more than ready to be baptized! (She is the 14 year old who was a sister referral that Sister Pousima and I started teaching a few months back) Her friends are all LDS and were jsut such GREAT influences on her that she wanted to be baptized & have this gift in her life as well. See what an influence a friend can have!!

The Spirit was so strong & was such a great kick-off for the day! Sister Nethercott stayed back in our area & taught James & Lam Lesson 1, and put them both on date to be baptized this coming Saturday! So since we only met him on Wednesday we have a lot of work to do, but they have been going to church for a month and are MORE than ready to be baptized NOW they say :)

After Sienna's baptism Sister Pousima and I just stayed in Sandy (Since the Mission Conference was right down the street that afternoon) so we went to Sister Roper's (our old land lady) OH YEAH! Sister Pousima finally got transferred out of Sandy! She had been there 11 months! So now she is in Draper, so it was good to go back and visit with her!

Then before we knew it, it was time to go down to the Mission Office, it was a great experience Elder Christofferson started with, "Wow. It must have taken some extra effort to get each and every one of you here at this time...some extra homework up in heaven to get you all to be here, together." He went on & told us how we are here for very specific reasons with our Mission President, our companion, the members, our investigators. All which I have heard before, but it was a really neat experience & touched me differently this time.

I was sitting with Elder Crowther (my dad) and Elder Aleman (my uncle) who were in our first district & thinking about how all of us really did become family, how much effort it took to get each and every one of us out here at this time to strengthen and edify one another. Especially since I remember Elder Aleman from when I was what...8? 9? years old? When he didn't even know about the church & somehow I remembered him all these years...well this is why! Look at us now! Both serving missions?! what the heck?

Then it took me to those we are teaching, especially James & Lam. How they are ready NOW and what it took to get them to this point, what it took to get Sister Nethercott and I here at this time to teach them.

There are these moments everywhere in life & just makes me realize how much our Heavenly Father truly does know us!! Edler Christofferson said, "Your Heavenly Father loves you PERFECTLY, he would love you no different if you were his only child."

He knows where we need to be. Who we need to be with. (Which is ESPECIALLY true with our family all being adopted) Look how much effort it took to get the Givens all together! Heavenly Father is smart.

I wish there was more time to write and tell you all the tender mercies and MIRACLES Sister Nethercott and I have already experienced this week. This is going to be a good transfer, I can feel it. I knew right off the bat we are companions for a reason and I already love her guts. She is great!

We have felt the Spirit has been so strong, it amazes me & makes me so incredibly grateful to have it in my life as a constant.

I love you all

Sister Givens