Sandy grabs my shoulder: "Yall, this little lady's gonna be all murried up in six months."

There was "Punch" at the banquet.  Not sure what
Was in it, but it tasted like watered down salsa.

Okay I know I always say the weeks fly by, but this week FLEW BY.

Sometime during the week we helped out at the Home Place twice. They had a big fancy annual banquet and they asked us to serve the dinner plates. I SERVED MAYOR MARY DINNER. I don't know if y'all know about Mayor Mary, but she is pretty cool. Madison is Madison because of her, the buildings are beautiful and the streets sparkle. So that was a highlight. And we made some new friends in the community, always a good idea. The next day we helped out with the Birthday Bash because all the staff was dead tired. I love the Birthday Bashes.

And then next thing I knew it was Saturday! And I went on exchanges with Sister Maughan❤❤. If yall don't remember, I was Sister Maughan's first companion back in Bossier City, LA over a year ago. Now she is my Sister Training Leader and we got to spend a day together. I was thrilled. This is the dream! We went out to Canton for the afternoon and worked in the rain. Everything about the day just brought my mission back full circle.. It was amazing to see how much she had grown over this last year, and to see the changes that had taken place in myself. Even though we are both different in many ways, we got along just the same. We were laughing and shivering the entire day :) I love Sister Maughan and can't ever thank her enough for all she has done for my mission.

Sister Maughan, Baby Girl, My Firstborn in the
Wilderness of Bossier, #maughanisbae

This week Elder Arnold, a General Authority 70, is coming to our mission and our stake :) We will be traveling to Monroe, LA for a Zone Conference with him during the week and then he will speak to us at our Jackson Stake Conference this weekend. I'm pretty excited that I will be here for all of this! This week I have been very grateful for the organization of the Church. I am grateful for all the General Authorities and other leaders that have helped and inspired me throughout my life. They dutifully fulfill their purpose to point us to Christ!

I am just so grateful for all I have. And I pray every day for opportunities to share it with others. We haven't found many who want to listen to us lately, but we aren't giving up. Thanks for your prayers!

Love you all so much :) Have a blessed week!

Sister Bartsch

Did you see the size of this reindeer?  I know I'm small but...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUBY!