Greetings from Idaho Falls

Dearest Ma, family, and friends,

HELLO! And greetings from Idaho Falls! This place is BEAUTIFUL and the Temple is just gorgeous. The pictures on the Internet just don't do it justice. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to call home, Ma. I know I told you that I would but they changed their minds last minute and just decided to send out that email with a picture instead!

We spent the first night in Pocatello and I pretty much stayed in a palace and I had my own room and everything! It was INCREDIBLE. Sister Brinkerhoff handpicked 3 sisters to stay with Hoybjergs in their "celestial palace" out of all the missionaries and I was lucky enough to be picked. They live at the top of a mountain in Pocatello and I had a balcony in my room that looked over the ENTIRE city and it was just beautiful. They treated us so well and fed us too well...ahaha. I'm totally going to gain weight while I'm here. The members feed us at pretty much every single appointment and I just get so full. Mom, the Hoybjergs own John Deere dealerships!

Okay, so my companion is AMAZING! And guess where she is from?! DUH! MESA! Us Arizonans tend to stick together! She is originally from Guam and she lived there until she was 15 years old and then she moved here. And she went to Mountain View! Small world, right?! I know! It's so crazy! Anyway, she is just fabulous and she knows how to wax and everything so I am one lucky girl...she waxes my eyebrows for me. What a champ.

So we have been so extremely busy EVERY SINGLE DAY! I come home so exhausted and guess what...I even started to snore. My poor companion puts up with it, even though she is a light sleeper. Let's hope the snoring stops once I get home. But the families here are are so genuine and nice and I am just so blessed!

Sister Lemons and I set our first baptismal date for a guy named Sany. He is a gem and just so awesome! In our first lesson he said, "I want to learn more about the church, and if it takes me joining the church to live a better life, I want to do it". So we asked him to be baptized at the end of our lesson and he was so just so excited and happy and set his date for next month! We are STOKED! I could hardly contain my excitement but once we left and got in the car I let it all out and just started freaking out with my companion. She's such a sweetheart for putting up with me and all my weirdness.

ALRIGHT. I am so sick of everyone asking me if I speak Spanish and then I have to tell them no and they just look at me like WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU. So I am currently learning Spanish and I have been reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish, and it's actually coming along! One of the bishops in one of the wards that we are over asked me to talk to the mission president and see if he will switch me to the Spanish part of our mission, wouldn't that be awesome!

Anyway, just know that I am happy and that I am loving the mission! I have so much love for the people around me, and it just grows every single day. I love you, Ma. I wrote you a handwritten letter that you should be getting in a few days. I keep you all in my prayers every day, and I miss you all the time but I am happy here! Stay strong, be happy, and love everyone.

I love you. Xoxox.

Love,

Sister Rodriguez