July 9th 2012

Hey Mom and Dad,

I don't really know where to start. This week we had so much going on. We had quite a few lessons that kept us very busy. Ruse is getting much better. We are starting to get to know so many more people in the branch here and around the city.

We have this fruit stand that is close to our apartment and there is a lady who works there and we have become good friends with her. Whenever we walk by we stop and have a little chat with her. She is Muslim but is very supportive of what we do. We invited her to our English classes but she can't make it because she has to be at the fruit stand. So we decided to start writing some English words with the Bulgarian translation on pieces of paper to give to her as we pass by. So now when we give them to her she gets so happy and insists on giving us free fruit. Yum! her fruit is so good. She gives us free peaches, nectarines, and apricots. We buy all of our produce there.

There is this woman here that we teach named Anna. She is around 30 and is so nice. She really wants to be baptized but her husband will not let her. However, we keep teaching her and pray that her husband softens his heart. This upcoming week she wants to teach us how to make some Bulgarian dishes; I am very excited for that. We also had a good meeting with a recent convert in the branch. She is a 15 year old girl named Stefi. She is the only one her age in the branch and 1 of 5 young woman in all of Bulgaria. After she got baptized she lost all of her friends. She is such an example to me. I can't even imagine being 15 years old and having no friends to have fun with and no one around me believe what I believe. So, today for pday we are going to be hanging out with Stefi for a little bit and have fun.

Also, we got to have plenty of time to contact this week. It is very very hot here so we try and go either in the morning or later in the evening. Yesterday we were in the park that we do a lot of contacting in and we had so much luck. People were NICE to us. It was amazing. I talked to people who actually seemed interested. Also, people complemented me on my Bulgarian (even though they were probably just being nice). So to say the least it was a very nice contacting time.

Oh yeah and yesterday I had to teach the gospel principles lesson at church. I was way nervous but it ended up going well. I am so happy to be here right now. Everyday I can see little things that just reaffirm the love I know Heavenly Father has for everyone. Thank you for everything! I love you.

Oh yeah, the baptism got postponed... so hopefully I will be able to make it in the future. Also, we did missionary work on the 4th of July, but Sister Walch and I sang the Star-spangled banner in our apartment.

I hope you have a great week!! I love you so much!

Love, Jodi
Sister Farnsworth