Dear Family and Friends,

Hello! I hope you are having a wonderful, wonderful week!

This new transfer has started off amazingly! It was hard to see Sister O. leave, but I am so grateful for this opportunity to work with Sister H. here in Napa. She is a wonderful companion, and I am learning so much from her already. She is a great example to me of expressing lots of love; working, teaching, and living in unity; being very open; and living every day joyfully. I love her so much. And I'm excited to be working with her and helping and loving her.

This week (before the weekend) was a bit slow with transfers and Sister O going home, but it was at the same time a miraculous and marvelous week. Cesario was baptized and confirmed! We were led by the Spirit to the places we needed to be at the times we needed to be there! We found new people to start teaching!

It is wonderful to see how the Chapel Hill Branch is becoming more unified. There were a LOT of members that attended the temple trip Saturday, and there is excitement among the members to share the gospel more and progress toward making and keeping temple covenants.

I am so grateful for the wonderful blessing it is to be serving here in the Santa Rosa Mission!!!!

This week, our zone leaders invited us to accept a challenge from Sister Alba to pray for trials. I'm doing it. So far, so good. I hope to see a lot of growth in myself and in those we're serving as I try to be grateful and learn from all of the challenges that Heavenly Father sees fit to bless me with. I trust Him to make of me the best missionary (and person) that I can be. That means I'm reminding myself often to not worry so much about trying to be what I think is the ideal but rather to depend in every moment on the promptings of the Spirit to direct me and teach me and the power of the Atonement to give me power to do His will, not mine. It's a peaceful way to live.

I know that Heavenly Father knows all of us perfectly. He knows our divine potential, and we can ask him to help us get there! He'll help us (even when it means sending us trials to help us learn and grow). He loves us!! More than we can understand.

I love you all. Thank you for your prayers, your love, and your support.

Love,
Hermana Alicia Brighton