That quote was on a tiny slip of paper stuck into a mini hymnbook some elder left in the hobbit house who knows how long ago. It has become Sister Gutz' and my mantra.
As Sister Gutz said one day, "The hobbit hole is a fortress. Of mystery and wonder." It really is.
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FAMILY! I love you guys!
Can we all just freak out for a second about how awesome our parents are? Our 31-years-married parents! You two are the greatest. I am SO glad you got married and I got to benefit from that. LOVE YOU. Happy Anniversary.
I also meant to say thank you for the gifts you sent! Benny, I wear that super cute, super warm scarf pretty much every day. It matches all of my clothes,and it's so soft and warm! Thank you! I'm excited to start writing in the missionary journal, Mom, and I will put the Micron pens to good use! :)
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We made a breakthrough this week. Ever since I got to Evora Sister Gutz and I have noticed that when I swallow -- like, drinking water especially -- it's SUPER LOUD. We have laughed about it a lot. One time at a Family Night at Nely's it was totally silent and then I gulped SO LOUD and then Sister Gutz and I totally lost it and all the members were like, "What's up with these crazies?!"
Anyway. One day this week I was drinking some water before we left the house and to be funny I tried to make it especially loud. I grinned at Sister Gutz, and she was like, "what?", and I was like, "didn't you hear that?", and she was like, "try it again", and, long story short, it turns out that if I TRY to gulp loud it's actually quieter. Ha!
Sorry I just spent two paragraphs telling you about the volume of my gulping.
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Manuel got confirmed yesterday! Woot! I really like the way our Branch President talks to him and interacts with him. Mom, I know your fast for him blessed him! Some cool moments with him this week. He expressed to us how now that he's baptized he's feeling conflicted about one of his raps. It talks and smoking and a kind of delinquent lifestyle that he feels like he can no longer represent. I was super proud of him for coming to that conclusion.
We told him that having the priesthood will help him be a good dad. He was like, "Yeah. A good dad. I really want to be that."
He's a good kid.
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Pantufo followed us through a RAINSTORM and into a GROCERY STORE this week. He loves us so much! We went into the store and then had to go straight out the exit because he had come in behind us. Everyone was watching and we were like, "it's not our dog!!". So we then re-entered, and stood in the automatic sliding doorway, trying to get the automatic door to somehow slide closed, leaving him on the other side. Ha! Eventually an employee came and helped us. It was a big scene. But kinda fun.
The next day we got some neighborhood kids to play with him and distract him while we booked it out of there. Ha! I was thinking that some people probably feel about missionaries like we feel about Pantufo. He's cute and he really loves us, but it'd be nice if he'd leave us alone sometimes.
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We were both kinda sick this week. On Thurs. morning I woke up and immediately started crying. Ha! Poor Sister Gutz didn't know what to do. I was just so so tired and sick, but still capable of getting up, so I felt like I had to. She wisely made me go back to sleep. I slept through most of our studies, which helped. Being a missionary is so crazy sometimes! In the future I am going to LOVE being able to sleep when I am sick. It's such a luxury.
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I did Grandpa Gene's three questions.
1. What am I proud of from 2013?
This one's easy. Serving a mission! Hardest, coolest thing ever.
2. What will I change about myself in 2014?
I am going to continue increasing my ability to worry less. I think this is something that I have really started to learn as a missionary. Let life be wonderful! Trust in God. As Sister Warburton always said, "He's got it sorted." He does.
3. What will I do in 2014 no matter what?
I will improve my Portuguese accent and grammar! I also REALLY want to be "gundersonned" in 2014. Wayne/Nate, HINT HINT. And I want to take Nelma to the temple.
It's going to be an awesome year.
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Well, I love you. I'm pretty sure my actual zipcode is 7000-518. I don't know where that original one even came from. But things are getting here, so no worries!
I miss you a lot. Thanks for your beautiful emails each week!
love LOVE love love love LOVE love LOVEY LOVEY love love loooooove.
Annie
ps. big congrats to Bri and Lindsay!! Everyone's getting MARRIED!! Wooo!!!
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