February 3 - Rather Odd

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello from St. Helena! Cool story just to start: RAIN! The First Presidency
asked Northern California stakes to fast yesterday for rain, and lo and
behold: it POURED all day yesterday! It was amazing to me to see the power
of prayer and fasting made manifest right then and there.

I've had an odd week, to say the least.

For one, we help the Spanish sisters teach an English class once a week in
St. Helena. It is sooo fun! And I'm learning Spanish from living with them,
too (I also eat at least 2 quesadillas every day here with this spicy sauce
called Valentina that Sis. Chavez - who lives in the same apartment as Sis.
Harston and I - loves). Here's the embarrassing part of the story: so I was
called to preach the Gospel in English, and I realized that is definitely
for good reason. I was helping Elena, one of the students trying to learn
English, and kept saying after she said a phrase right in English, "very
good, very good!" I thought at least I was saying very good, but Iw as
saying "Mucho gusto, mucho gusto!" For all you Spanish speakers out there,
that actually means "Nice to meet you, nice to meet you!" Haha so this poor
sweet Mexican woman kept smiling at me all funny and I couldn't understand
why until I asked Sis. Chavez what mucho gusto means...I should have been
saying "Muy bien, Muy bien..." Oh well. Haha so that was pretty bad.

Then we received a text Friday night from this young man, Liam, who we are
teaching. We asked him during the lesson if we could text him scriptures
about Christ, since he is struggling to find faith in Him.
He agreed, and then when we left and he shook my hand he did a two-hand
clasp and shook it for a loooong time....yup. So we get his text and Liam
says, "Dear Sister Decker, you are really cute. I like you. Feel free to
text me all you want." NOOOOOOOOO!!! So now Sis.
Harston and I don't really know what to do...he is progressing, but it's
just weird now that he has a crush on me. It sounds silly, but it bugs me! I
am a servant of Jesus Christ, and I do not do ANYTHING that is not in
conduct with my calling to serve in the vineyard. It's just confusing when
this happens because now we aren't sure what to do to make sure he is
progressing because of his faith in Jesus Christ growing, not to please a
missionary.

To make this week even weirder, the next day, Saturday, I get on Facebook
and this guy had messaged me and said, "I would love to get baptized and
then get married to you so we can help each other grow our families." WHAT?!
So I can now say that yes, I have been proposed to on my mission. What an
odd week.

Here a lot of Latinos feed us, and we had the opportunity to go to a recent
convert family's house, the Garcia's, for a fiesta! I had the best tamales I
have ever tasted. And I also ate some not so yummy things that made me
grateful I'm serving in the United States haha.
First: atole. It's a drink made out of cornmeal that has different flavors
to it. A lot of people like it, but to me es no bueno haha. It basically
tasted like drinking a hot version of the impression goop orthodontists and
dentists put into trays and then push into your teeth - you know, the stuff
that makes everyone gag? Yup, that was basically it haha, but more grainy.
And I also tried grasshoppers!
They were ground up into smaller pieces and I didn't know what they were, so
I sprinkled some on my tamale. They basically just tasted super salty and
crunchy. Not too bad, even after they told me what it was I'd eaten! Then
there was the pasole....OH! Sooo good! It's this delicious soup with corn
and onions and a few other items in a tomato broth, but they simmer the meat
allll day and it just sits in this broth...yum.

I do love all the sweet Latino people here.

I've truly grown to appreciate the Mexican and Latin-American culture so
much in St. Helena. The people are all so kind and willing to give.
And they work HARD to provide for their families and give their children the
best of the best. I want to incorporate some of those values in my life. And
of course, for the most part, the food is fantastic!

The members don't feed us much here, so we really do eat quesadillas often
at home. There is also this cheap Mexican food place called Azteca Market
that's basically our 2nd home. It's also the only cheap place in all of
Calistoga and St. Helena to eat at haha. That and a Chinese food placed
called Soo Yuan. I'm surrounded by Mexican food!
No complaints, except I've gained 4 pounds....I just need to run harder in
the mornings haha.

We went on exchanges this week, and my STL (Sister Training Leader - the
sister equivalent of a zone leader), Sis. Kaiser, really helped to
remotivate me to work hard and talk with EVERYONE. She is such a good
example of being bold and giving every single person we see a chance to
accept the Gospel. She also talked with me about how to continue staying
positive, even though the work here is a bit slower and the people's hearts
aren't as soft.

I invite those of you who question if this church is true to take Elder
Ballard's challenge at the end of his book, "Our Search for
Happiness": "I often suggest to those who want to know if the church is true
that they spend a few hours working with our missionaries. It doesn't take
long to learn that no one can do all of the things a missionary does
everyday without knowing beyond any question that what they are doing is
right and true."

I promise that this Church is the true Church that teaches the Gospel taught
to Adam when he was first on Earth. I testify that Jesus Christ IS the Son
of God, and that He loves us so much. I know when we follow His example,
that's when we truly receive blessings, for "faith without works is dead"
(James 2:17). Choose the right, make good decisions, and remember I love
you!

Love you all! I am happy and things are looking up in St. Helena, despite my
weird week haha. I know this Church is true. Find out for yourself :) "The
saying goes that seeing is believing...but just the opposite is true:
believing IS seeing" (Bishop Pierce, Redwoods Ward).

Love,

Sister Kolee Decker

P.S. A big thank you to all who write me letters (especially Dad, Mom,
Justin, and Bryce who write me every week). I love and just pore over those
letters each week!