Tabata

Favorite meal!

WELL FOLKS IT'S A BEAUTIFUL RAINY DAY IN HOUSTON AND I AM 20!!!!! I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD BE 20 AND I DON'T THINK I SHOULD BE! I'M SUCH A CHILD AND I LOVE BUBBLE GUM!

Late September. Ohhh how I love September. When you're buried deep in a pile of leaves and your fingers are slightly burnt from roasting mallows all month long. Your hair smells of camp fires and sweat because of all the hiking.... ahhhh I love Utah Septembers but I had an incredible Houston September! Can I get a pic of Mt. Olympus??

The week started out unlike any other.... I discovered a new love.... eggos topped with peaches, bluebell and syrup! (I would prefer mothers waffles and caramel sauce but that's just not an option) It's just enough to get your mouth watering and your bum bum out of bed to exercise! President Hall and his wife have a 5k planned for Christmas Day so I asked sister hall for some exercises to get in shape.... WORST IDEA EVER! She's a like fitness crazy woman but ya know I try it... It's called Tabata and I've been cursing it's name all week. When anything goes bad... "DANG NABIT TABATA!" I literally feel like someone just came and replaced all my muscles with wagstaff cranes. I can't move. I couldn't walk for days and worst part was I didn't even do half the workout. I've got some improvement to do.

Well it was a wonderful week. I can't really remember what happened.. OHH YES OUR ENGLISH CLASS! soooo fantastic there are 40 students and they are amazing. just straight off the boarder of Mexico and Honduras. We break up into groups and there is this one lady who just ran to me the second day and was like (in spanish), "Can i be in your group?? " Made me feel really good! I hear her talking to her friend. She's like, "Come with this girl she's really positive and fun and you can basically say whatever you want and she'll say you're doing wonderful!" so i cracked down on her.. no one walks away from me without saying things perfect! haha i just understand them because learning spanish has been really hard for me! But it's been fun learning a language. My brain thinks a lot differently now! We have to plan fun games for the class... and all the games that i have been thinking of have come from 10th grade heath class.... can i get a WOOT WOOT FOR MAKIN IN THROUGH THAT CLASS! i had to watch a live birth and everything but sure has supplied me with some great ideas for games! 

OH,  ALSO JUST THOUGHT I'D LET YOU KNOW HOW GOOD GOD IS... church yesterday... our goal was 6 investigators to church... church starts- NO ONE CAME.... sacrament ends.... 6... I repeat exactly 6 investigators walk in!!! ALL WE NEED IS A LITTLE CHIT CHAT ABOUT BEING ON TIME... I CAN FIX THAT... I'VE HAD THAT MANY OF TIMES WITH YOU KNOW WHO... 

Well fam sorry not much time! thank you so so so so so stinking much for all the b-day wishes! i could not have wished for a better family!  

I really shouldn't be 20 and here are just a few examples from this week of why....

1. i do a somersault to get on my bed every night. and a handstand after every prayer... 20 year olds don't do that

2. I thought the topical guide was the tropical guide till yesterday when I had to awkwardly act like i just said it wrong

3. My idols are but are not limited too... mary kate and ashley, dennis quiad, lindsey lohan, air bud, fergie, guy from my best friends wedding, and ezra taft benson  

4. My companion was just cleaning up her shoes by the door last night and slipped a pair on instead of picking them up. She said i looked at her like i was about to cry and just said, "where are you going??" in a 5 yr old voice.

5. one of my favorite hobbies is to chat with the missionaries on mormon.org and act like I'm a weird person. SOOO ENTERTAINING. please don't tell them. I had nick and kyle stumped!! 

6. i swear all i ate this week was chobani yogurt and bubble gum

7. If i see another taco i might cry!

8. My favorite jam is EFY  1978 WHAT A JAM TAKE ME BACK TO THE 1980'S BABY!!!

those are just a few reasons. I could go on and on but i think you guys understand! 

love you to Tibet and back! 

tony manners

20 SAY WHATTTTTT

thank you so much mother and father for the birthday pedis! we loved sitting next to all the rich retired old woman in houston texas!!!

LUNCH WITH WILVER, VANESSA, AND JAIME

hipster wall... if i can't be on it at least take a pic in front of it

Jaime gave me the cutest scripture cases for my b-day! and his wrapping job was unreal

Hello Lake Worms

This is Sarah favorite human!

Whats up fam! 

Well what a week it has been!  There is this lady exactly like Jackie in the ward. Her name is Sarah and my first sunday I sat next to her and lets just say it went down hill from there.... Every sunday she comes and sits next to me and always brings me a mystery dum dum. And you know me I'm always down for a dum dum, bubble tape, baby bottle pop. you name it. but her mystery flavors are so sketchy you have no idea what to expect..... They taste exactly like veggie stir fry and they make me want to throw up! She also comments for about 20 minutes every time in relief society and it eventually gets really ugly and everyones yelling over each other. But don't worry they posted a sign that said,"your comments MUST be under 3 minutes" so that took care of that.  She is the best human in the world! Literally love her! She always yells really loud, "Ohhhhh mi muneca!" She told me this story that back in Honduras when she was a little girl she had this doll that looked just like me. She had the same color of hair, the same face, and she wore the exact same shoes as me (blue ones that look like ballet slippers). One day she lost the doll and was devastated but she kept looking for me. She's like I never found her but now I feel like i have my little doll back! Probably one of those voodoo dolls or something....

We found this really awesome new investigator. His name is Neptali and he just rode his bike past us one day as we were walking and so we gave him a Restoration pamphlet with our number on it. A couple hours later we saw him in the park just reading the pamphlet like a little boy. ohh it was darling! Who just reads pamphlet in the park these days?... NO ONE!  He came to church yesterday and I was sitting by him. He smelt like something that I had smelt before... it wasn't terrible and it wasn't amazing either and at the end of the meeting I FIGURED IT OUT! He smelt exactly like the horse room at the ranch! So of course i asked him if he'd ever been to Wyoming and he's never heard of it so who knows! mystery to me! 

GUYS ALL MY DREAMS ARE COMING TRUE ON MY MISSION! First they let me work in a factory in the mtc, next- fix a car with a shoelace, then I do a triathlon in my sleep. After that I eat the wrong end of a cow, and now I get to teach school! All those long hours in the basement of playing school as a child are here and alive in Houston Texas everyone! Call me the new and improved Miss. Wagstaff. We are teaching english class to the parents at this middle school every wednesday and Friday! (My dream was only to teach kindergarten but God's plans are always bigger we know that). They are the most adorable people!!! and better yet they are all in our area so we have so many new families we can teach! We already love them so much and they love us! One lady already had us over and it's just going to be amazing! I'm a teacher! I really have gotten so bad at english which I'm a little worried about. We had an orientation where we had to introduce ourselves to them in spanish and I was like, "Guys listen here- before the mission the only words i knew were Trix es para los ninos no para los conejos. You guys can do this! Languages are so hard but we are going to do this together!" They were all laughing at me but I'm pumped planning gospel lessons and English class lessons every night like i'm actually a teacher! I might even just buy myself an apple today just so it's official. 

Ohhhhh my heck also get this! So there is this lady, Hermana Moreno. I don't know why but something about her reminds me of mom. Maybe it's because her blonde hair or the silly things that happen to her. And she's sooooo kind! Literally her house is a Chuckie Cheese for grown-ups... smelly, everyone there hanging out, and no one really knows why they paid to go there in the first place. She has at least 6 families living with her in this tinniest tiny apartment. Everytime I open the door it's someone new that's just moved in. So yesterday I was like, "I haven't seen Hermana Moreno in years." I go over to her apt and it turns out she's been in New Orleans for like a month. There was a family there that just broke my heart! Her name was Lisby and her husband Fabian. They both don't have a job or a house. They had a baby four I repeat FOUR days ago! and it was thee cutest baby I had ever seen! The worst part of it is.... since no one can pay for it they have no light or electricity... so all their food was just rotting because the fridge doesn't work. They had their milk in the shade but UHHH can you image?! That baby! uhhh breaks my little heart! I hope she doesn't get sick! 

Well family the city is the place to be! I'll let you know the street to move to next week.... it's quite the treat! love you tons and tons and tons!!!

tony manner flanner banner

my tan lines look like i wrapped scotch tape around my ankles

fall fall falll falll falll fall is coming.... I hope for good!

Favorite Guatemalans. I'm seriously going there when I get home. I hear it's the most incredible place.

Dearest Waggers, 

CAN I GET A HALLELUJAH??? 68 degrees folks. 68 degrees. Yesterday we got in the car and the temperature was 68. I repeat 68... and it just kept dropping like kev dropping threes. The weather took a turn for the BEST and holy cow it's dreamy! I hope it stays like this. I wish I could capture it in a bottle and ship it to Utah because I've never felt something sooooooooo beautiful in my life. It's heaven! Then again September is always the best month of the year! 

So Gummy Bear was last spotted in Washateria on Sherwood at 10:15 A.M. She's back till Thursday. I guess she keeps going back to mexico because her moms got cancer in her neck.  Anyway, we were teaching her a lesson last Wednesday and there was a knock on the door. This young mom named Rosie yells from outside and if I translate what she said into English she said, "You busy chubby?" Marta answers the door and Rosie slips her a 20. "I won't be long." I'm like on no. What kind of business is Gummy Bear running here. This can't be good. Drugs, small trinkets, spiked salsa. What is she selling? THEN while in the middle of reading a simple, very simple scripture about prayer, this little tot runs around the corner with handfuls of toothpicks she's about to stab in her eyes. SHE'S JUST THE NEIGHBORHOOD BABYSITTER. GUYS WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT... whoooo she had me worried there. I was kind of concerned for everyone though because I don't know if I'd leave my child with her. I kept having to jump off the couch before the baby shattered her crockpot or china. Marta's like "Yeah, she's quite the terror this one! I babysit the whole neighborhood." So I'm thinking I might need to move to Sherwood after the mish and babysit. I could make some big bucks if they are having Marta tend.  

Our miracle girl Judy is amazing, unreal, breath taking, ah no words to describe this girl. You know when it's the bottom of the ninth, bases are loaded and your best player stands up to the plate and just knocks it out of the park. That's probably how I'd describe Judy. She understands everything and I love that she's not a male because I can just LOVE HER WITH ALL MY HEART!!!! And she's our age so it's just darn tooting fun! But she gave us a good scare.... because what would missionary life be without some good scaring. She's like, "Hermana's, I'm moving." and I just wanted to bawl. I'm like NOT ANOTHER MOVER! But God is SOOOO good and out of all the apartments in Houston Texas her mom moved her to ours! We are neighbors and she's coming to work out with us in the mornings. (if you guys have any good workout send them my way. I'm thinking zumba in the gym?)  When we taught her the word of wisdom 3 weeks ago she was feeling so bad. She's like I had no idea coffee was bad Hermanas. I had no idea. But yesterday she was like, "My mom drinks coffee every morning, my boss drinks coffee every morning and I'm not even tempted by it!" We watched the Joseph Smith movie with her yesterday and the spirit was incredible. She's like "Wow, that young boy changed our lives Hermanas. I wish I would have had a family like his who was studying the scriptures and praying together." (because her fam is not interested right now) but we told her the good news is you can have that for your future family! And get married in the temple. And she's like that's exactly what i want and she keeps asking us about missions.! AHH can't wait till you get to meet her! There is this guy in the ward that really likes her and invites her to everything! THE GOSPEL IS SOOOO COOOLLL!!!! i love it so much! 

Our ward had a Fiesta De Patrias on Saturday. They had food and dancing from everyones countries. Most our ward is from Honduras, Guatamala, Columbia, and El salvador. I wish i could send you videos becasue it was hilarious. 

Well folks that will wrap it up for me! Be safe in Lake Powell don't let the weird fish eat your feet. love you more than that blue cruiser boat can hold people! 

Natsy

the collage in my bedroom... also biking is such a fun adventure in the city... I'm collecting license plates. Already found 3!

 Fall weather calls for Hawaiian flowers

Marco, Judy, and the star of the show -the one the only Hermana Silva!

Our little Honduran and kiko

Hit Set Spike

 I HAD NO IDEA I WOULD LOVE THE CITY SO MUCH

HELLO FAMILY, 

HERMANA PALMER AND I ARE STAYING IN THE BEST PLACE ON EARTH. where most drive illegally, where the homeless find shelter, where the shopping carts are never at the grocery stores because there are too many homeless using them, where you should never walk without pepper spray, and where your love will grow DEEPER and DEEPER in every way!!! These transfers literally fly though! Faster than a bag of peanuts will go on our counter.

What a week it has been! I have learned so much this week.. let me start back last monday night... We got invited to FHE with a member that lives about 40 minutes away from our house so we go with our investigator Judy (MIRACLE GIRL) and we have a great time! We drove with a member because we don't have very many miles. After FHE these different members take us home and we are already going to be late because they wanna stop at walgreens and all this jazz. I text president and tell him that we will be a little late. We get to our car and i start freaking out. THE KEYS ARE NO WHERE TO BE FOUND! I just start dumping everything on the ground. My sin detector goes flying, my lip glosses, my pamphlets, you name it and it's on the ground! I left the keys back at the family night which was 40 minutes away! so many images were running through my mind. sleeping with the homeless, sleeping on the gross dog park next to our house, reading my book of mormon all night in the nearest gas station. BUT LUCKILY Houston 1 has the cutest members in the world! They drove us all the way back and back again. We got home at 11! that is the second time I've been out just taking joy rides... like who knows President Monson probably has a tracker jacker in me by now! But i called President again and he is the sweetest he's like, "Hermana Wagstaff you are fine! These things happen just get home safely!" 

So basically already feeling like the worst missionary ever! next morning i wake up late which then caused the whole day to be off! uhhhhh man guys it was terrible! The day started out and NOOOOOO ONE would answer the door and i was just thinking man this stinks so bad what's wrong with this day. I then realized it was ME. I was what was wrong with that day! I quickly repented and suddenly the day started getting better. It wasn't amazingly better but people opened their doors and said "come back tomorrow" or at least smiled! And that night WE SAW A MIRACLE! This guy named Henry who Hermana Palmer and i met on our very first day together just randomly called us and said, "Hermanas I want to learn more about your church come visit me tonight. I was taught back in Nicaragua nine years ago but i've had many situations and i feel ready now." MIRACLE! and our MIRACLE GIRL JUDY! oh my heavens she is the cutest girl in the world! 21 from Honduras and we are best friends! she's getting baptized the 20th if her boss will let her have work off! pray for her! I love her so much! God is amazing. He is so forgiving on our willingness to repent. If there is one thing I've come to understand better on my mission it's repentance. IT'S THE COOLEST THING EVER! I didn't understand how much Justice and Mercy AND agency is a part of it. (sorry I am being so preachy right now but guys I'm literally mindblown) Because everyone here says, "Oh I'm already saved. Christ suffered for me so I'm saved." And i knew that wasn't true but I didn't really understand why i was like thats true Christ already suffered. But "God will never make us become something we do not choose by our actions to become" so God will not make us be saved. That's why repentance is a condition. I had my agency to repent on that terrible, very bad, no good day. And God will always be wiling to be a merciful god if we will allow him! Ok i'm done! 

Wednesday Sister Hall, yes presidents wife, texted us and asked if we wanted to go to lunch!! like what?? so I invited her to go do service and the church with us. SOOO FUN! she was reminding me so much of mom. going around and making everyones bag of food look cute.Turning the bananas a certain way. and then she took us to LA MADELINE so smanzie pantsy! And she was showing me her daughters cheer routines and it just was so fun! She is a darling mission presidents wife! 

Then yesterday sorta felt like i was at the ranch or back in Jean Bechtolds summer camp. The ward had this volleyball Tournament that was SOOO intense. People had been practicing for months I'm pretty sure. Jean would have taken me out so fast. Every time i hit it over the other side they'd yell "Easy." I'm like "hey, now thats not very nice that's the best i got!" Then inbetween games my team would take me over to the side wall and make me practice... It slowly turned into a game of everyone try and hit the ball at Hermana Wagstaff. And i had a dream the night before that I was like the guy in Unbroken that had to stand still while everyone punched him. Yeah in my dream my ward was doing that and then i was up and it ACTUALLY HAPPENS! Judy was laughing her head off. I was like "Judy I'm so bad help me!" and she's the sweetest she's like, "Hermana wagstaff your not bad your just... fun!" while everyone else is like "TERRIBLE, COME ON, HIT IT OVER THE NET!" JEAN BECHTOLD WAS NICER. He gave me a free soda cause i tried! 

ohhhh man what a week! welll guys! hit set spike! whooot whooo hooooo

love you so much! More than Jean Bechtold liked to cream Mr. Brough 

love Nats!

JUDY I LOVE HER SO MUCH!

service... all their little goodie bags

my volleyball coaches

sidelines warming up

                                              FHE with the Familia Favela, kiko, and our investigator Marco