Another Year Has Passed

Mele Kelikimaka! Feliz Navidad! Merry Christmas!

What a great Christmas! I am so grateful for my family! We had the whole family together for dinner tonight, which, might I add, was hands down the best meal I have had in years! The ham, sweet potatoes, homemade rolls, eclair pie, and sparkling punch, and the other 20 items on the table were absolutely divine. With everyone together, I tried to discuss important agenda

items such as future family reunions, but as always, the conversation was diverted to lighter and less important topics, such as moving to Germany, "our diet starts tomorrow," and past love life scandal links between C&C. I also loved seeing the National Christmas Tree and the DC Temple Festival of Lights!

I cannot even believe 2011 is right around the corner but here go some

2010 Highlights...

Last 4 months of my mission in Houston, TX

Back in Houston for a Mexico v. Angola friendly with the Patino family

Dukelow Family Reunion in San Diego- Fourth of July Weekend

PwC FICG Internship. What a fun group of interns!

Several NYC/DC rendezvous with my favorite Carrie Lipscomb!

Signing a full-time IBD job offer with Wells Fargo

Teaching some amazing Hermanas & Elderes at the MTC

Apt prayer/boggle with fabulous roommates Fall 2010 @ the Elms

Short but sweet stop in Yorba Linda, CA before MD for Christmas :)

Being with the ones I love for Christmas 2010

Pozole Verde

Today, Callan Graham and I made my most delicious Pozole Verde ever! Ok so it was my first ever- but it was super rico! It is hominy (mutantly giant corn kernels) and chicken stewed in chicken broth and an amazing chile: jalapenos, poblanos, tomatillos, oregano, garlic, and onion. It's eaten with tostadas and crema, and garnished with lettuce, cilantro, radishes, and avocado. We made it for the ward mission council's Culture Night activity. I couldn't stay for the activity but I hear the Pozole was the popular dish. We ate this dish probably every other Sunday after church with la familia Araujo for the last 4 months of my mission.

Winter time in Houston was filled with delicious pozoles, caldos, abuelitas (chocolate) and atole to get us through the "cold."

What a Blessing!

So, for those of you who know that I interned with PwC both before and after my mission, this may be a shock, but I declined my full-time offer. For some reason I did not feel good the more I contemplated the decision of returning to DC after graduation in April, especially to the accounting world. I loved my group this summer but decided to take the risk and go full force for investment banking.

With the help of soo many people, I was able to grow my network, prepare for technical interviews, and finally, I am happy to say, land an offer. I will be joining Wells Fargo Securities, Investment Banking and Capital Markets. In February I will fly out to Charlotte and participate in a placement day where I will be assigned a group and from there, a location- either Charlotte, San Francisco, or New York City. I will begin in June 2011 and am so excited. After speaking to so many banks, I feel like it is the perfect culture fit for me!
I am so grateful!

My Path to Wells:
Scott Havertz who told me about Pathways to NY this summer
Winston Wilkinson who provided me with contacts keeping me busy in NYC
Jessie Butterfield my random roommate for a week while hunting down Winston's contacts,
Thomas Jones Jessie's boyfriend, now in Private Equity, previously @WF,
Troy Ford @WF passed my resume on...
Craig Cox @WF ---> First round phone Interview in the SFO airport- 9th Interview of the day

Enjoy my childhood memory below:

Layover Fun

Yesterday at LAX I had the funnest entertainment. I was sitting at the gate across from an obviously LDS family of 4. The mother left and the father was left with his 2 year old son (Noah) very contently playing a game on a laptop and a 6 month old that began to cry immediately after the mother left. His feet barely reached over the seat of the chair and his big eyes were fixed on the screen. After about 15 minutes, Noah decided he needed help but his father was tied up trying to calm the crying baby. He asked blonde middle-age women two chairs down to help him. He gets up and carrying a big laptop makes his way to her lap. She was quite amused and decided to go along with it. The woman and Noah became friends instantly. About 10 minutes later, Noah decides he is done playing on the laptop and starts digging around in her Disneyland souvenir bags. He finds her phone and before she could get it out of his hands, he informs her that he is going to program her phone and proceeds to update her facebook status. The whole ordeal went on for about a half-hour before the mother returns with chicken nuggets that Noah decides to enjoy from the comfort of this woman's lap. I absolutely loved his fearless maneuver of cuddling up right next to her without her even inviting.

I was smiling the entire time, as was the rest of the surrounding crowd. I think it is so interesting that our fear or hesitation to befriend others inhibits this natural tendency of a 2-year old to see no bounds. I appreciated the woman's willingness to entertain him while his father struggled to tame the infant. If we were all like Noah, awkward moments would cease to exist. I think this is exemplary of Christ's invitation to become as a child and His admonition to "let not [our] heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid." This was a great lesson to me. Sometimes my pride stands in the way of love. I fear the judgement of others and forgo serving them. I am continuing to be taught how I may better emulate my Savior.

On another note, the sope de carnitas at El Vaquero (100 W & 300 N Provo) is absolutely delicious. QUE VAYAN TODOS!

T5W2 Zone Leader Council

Dear Family,

How is everyone? I hope things are going well. Don't forget to write!

We were invited to attend Zone Leader Council this week. Two sets of sisters were present. This Spirit was so strong as we learned about the importance of teaching the first principle of the first lesson- God is our Loving Heavenly Father. Many times this principle is breezed over but President emphasis the vitality of establishing the understanding with the investigator that they are a child of a loving Heavenly Father that wants the best for them and will listen and respond to sincere petitions made through heart-felt prayer. I know this is true. The power of this doctrine is forgotten. After the meeting I realized through subsequent appointments that people really do not grasp the concept. People are so confused and do not understand the personal relationship we can have with God. I loved this message. This Spirit was strong. We all left very spiritually edified and with commitments to teach this principle more fully.

We had Zone Meeting on Friday where the Zone Leaders addressed this principle. They also talked about casualness with obedience. Elder Olive (from Kahuku, HI- going home this transfer- Clarissa!) used excerpts from a good talk by Elder Holland (Teach the Atonement) to emphasize that obedience is the first law of everything. If we choose to disobey we neglect the opportunity to call down divine blessing prepared for us in heaven. We ate at this pizza buffet afterward- Double Daves.

We had some good lessons this week. Unfortunately we had to drop Guillermo--our skateboarder investigator from Guatemala. He loves the Book of Mormon and know the church is true but works at Cheesecake Factory every Sunday and has not come to church. He said it is possible to request off but he needs the money as he only works the weekends. We had to leave him with the determination to come to church. Sometimes people lack the faith to make dramatic changes to be able to be obedient.

We went to a baptism last night in Gulf Bank--Hermana Thomas' last area. A family of 8 got baptized. It was the longest baptism I've ever gone to but her love for that family was so strong and their love for her. The mother caught her on our way out and thanked her for pretty much saving her life by bringing the gospel into it. Those are the moments that make a mission the best two years.

Ramon was confirmed yesterday in Sacrament and as he sat on the stand, I saw the joy in his countenance. It made me smile so big.

I love this work. Although we have some very hard and long days, I know that nothing will stop this work from going for and that just as Nephi in the book of Helaman, I will be rewarded for preaching with unwearyingness.

I love you all,

Camille

T5W1 New Transfer and Ramon's Baptism

Dear Family,

How is everyone? I hope everyone is well. I'm jealous Mom is best friends forever with Denise Austin. Ha ha. Keep me posted with all the summer weddings that are going on! Hah.

We had transfers on Wednesday. My new companion is Hermana Jenny Thomas from Centerville. She went to Viewmont but doesn't know if she knows any of the Ences. We get along great. We have several things in common. She ran a marathon right before the mission so we are excited to do a lot of running this transfer. We did the first couple days.

I got sick and lost my voice completely this week. Sister Hansen (President's wife) told us to stay in and rest Friday and Saturday because it just kept getting worse. I might have just been working myself too hard or something. My voice is still recovering and sounds pretty raspy but my companion says it sounds pretty cool. Because we were confined to the apartment together without being able to go to our appointments we've been able to get to know each other pretty well.

We taught Ramon Thursday, getting him ready for his baptism. He is 58 and just very sweet. We left, had walked around the corner to our car, and as I was backing the car, I saw him hustling around the corner to catch up with us. He was bringing me some cough syrup that he highly recommended. It is called Broncolin and is kind of like medicinal honey. It was precious. Hermana Gurney and I made a stop by the distribution center at the temple before transfers to buy him a baptism gift and got a triple.

Yesterday was Ramon's baptism. It was almost exactly 6 weeks from when we found him while knocking at the very beginning of last transfer. The baptism went great and the Spirit was strong. He had to be baptized a few times. Hermana Thomas and I made cookies and brownies for the refreshments and for the musical number she sang This Is The Christ in Spanish and I played the piano. I'm not very good at the piano but it's more than anyone else in the ward- it makes me miss Hermana Gurney, Draney, and Dewey, who all played the piano. I bore my testimony at the end of the privilege it has been to me to see someone so prepared and ready to receive the gospel. He was truly an answer to my prayers coming into this ward.

We have several other very prospective investigators that are progressing towards baptism. Yesterday one of our investigators, Elvin, attended church for the first time and absolutely loved it. Hermana Thomas is excited to be working in this area where the work is going well. We have to recuperate from our last couple days of being sick but I think soon enough we will be back on track with the many appointments.

I know this is the Lord's work. I know this church is true with all my heart. As I study the scriptures in the morning the amount of knowledge I take away is incredible. Just today even I was study to try and help a certain investigator and the exact thing he needed was made known to me. This transfer I am focusing on the Christlike attribute of knowledge. If anyone has any deep doctrine questions, write or email me, and I would love to study them for you. Remember though, Joseph Fielding McConkie said that we must ask the right questions. A single ward member's question/problem was brought to the Bishop, then to the Stake President, then to the Area Authority, then to the First Presidency who eventually responded- "I have no idea what the answer is, but that is THEIR problem." The Lord gives us questions to allow us to learn as individuals.

Anyways, keep cool!

Love,

Camille

T4W6 Alex's Baptism

Dear Family,

Wow, it's been such a dramatic week here! We found out about transfers on Saturday night. The district has a tradition of going to Red Robin then doing a ceremony to announce the changes afterward. The dinner was fun. Here's the news: I'm staying in the Woodlands this next transfer and Hermana Gurney, my companion, is going to go whitewash an elder's area with the greenie that came in last transfer (Hermana Green, ha ha, how ironic). My companion will be Hermana Thomas, from Centerville, UT, who was Hermana Gurney's MTC companion. Apparently she really struggled with Spanish coming out to the field so hopefully I will be able to help her there.

This week was a bit crazy. We are doing service once a week at an Arboretum. We also did exchanges with Hermanas Draney and Bastian in Louetta. Hermana Draney came up to the Woodlands with me for the night. We had a lot of fun back together, mother and daughter. She goes home tomorrow. I can't believe it. That makes me feel so old in the mission. We had so much to talk about. She spent almost half her mission in the Woodlands and she thinks I will be here for at least 6 months too. We taught some good lessons. She is going back to BYU and trying to get married. Ha ha, that's going to be me in a year. I loved my trainer. I still learned so much from her that one day. She is a great missionary. It was nice to see her one last time before she "dies."

Saturday the North Zone Leaders called us and told us Hermana Quintana in Cityview was sick with strep throat and asked us to come down and do some splits so Hermana Frieszell could get some lessons taught still. Their appointments were at night, which meant we wouldn't have been able to make it back for the Red Robin transfer dinner. After a couple minutes of feeling resistant to helping them, a very strong spiritual impression told me to stop being selfish and accept the will of the Lord. I learned a great lesson in that 5 minute period about taking advantage of the the opportunities we get to serve others. The Relief Society lesson was on service and I had an opportunity to share that experience with the Sisters in the ward. Being able to tell that story in Spanish made me realize the power of the gift of tongues and several of the sisters thanked me for that comment.

If you remember from last week when we did exchanges with CityView, it was Hermana Hollenbaugh and Hermana Frieszell in the area. Apparently Hermana Hollenbaugh went home. I don't exactly know why- just that she was sick. I think it was anxiety. It is weird thinking about how we both embarked on this journey together in the MTC and how she is no longer here.

Yesterday after church I was able to go to Bear Creek for the Alcantara's baptism. It was a surprise and everyone was so happy to see me. It was great to see so many familiar faces and to see these to little boys of a family I reactivated making this sacred covenant. They have changed and progressed so much. Hermana Dewey was sick with strep throat and was not going to come to the baptism but it was really important to everyone so they got her a mask and brought her. She looked very sick, but it was good to see her.

We rushed back to the Woodlands after the Alcantara Baptism and had Alex's baptism. Alex S. is the 15 year-old boy that had been waiting for his dad to get custody of him. I was able to get my hands on a flute and Hermana Gurney plays the piano, so we did a musical number, I Heard Him Come. The Spirit was so powerful. I congratulated him afterward and he said he had been waiting his whole life for that moment. He was so happy and the fact that there were few people there and few refreshments did not bother him. He is going to serve a mission someday. His testimony is so strong.

I am excited for this coming transfer. We are continuing to do well in finding many people and teaching a lot of lessons. Ramon will be baptized in the coming week.

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer.

Love you all,

Camille