April 28,2014

HEELLLLOOOOOOOO!

What a whirlwind of a week this has been! 

Sometimes I have days (as I think most people do) where I just feel down and negative. This week after transfers I was feeling a little glum and self-concerned. I took a minute to myself to pray and decide what I should do. I decided to rely on the Lord and be awesome instead of sad! And it made the day the best day ever! I have felt very incapable and insecure in this area. However, this day I taught with power and authority and I felt confident! I know it was because I relied on my Saviour and because I decided how I wanted my day to be. We were able to see an investigator we hadn't seen all of last transfer!

The Elders gave us a fabulous new investigator this week! Jessica Romkee is her name and she is prepared (although she doesn't quite know it yet!) We are so excited to teach her. She wants to find truth and to raise her family in the right way, which is what the gospel is all about!

We also met with the best elderly less-active man and his non-member wife, thanks to a tip from our WML. All the Millers needed was a little friendly push! They came to church this Sunday! They are such cowboys.
We had some good conversation about farming and animals. Growing up on a farm helps me connect with most people here! (even if I didn't enjoy it while growing up). The wife, Patti, painted an awesome mural on her shed so we had a photoshoot with it (of course). And she won Stockwoman of the year in 2010! Apparently that is a big deal here. 

Our investigator, Erin, came to church with her daughter! Earlier in the week we taught her. She is not married, which is the main thing holding her back from baptism. Her first husband passed away so they are surviving right now on the social security money her family gets. So we have made a game plan! Her 7 year old daughter turns 8 on July 18, so they will both be baptized on July 19! That gives them enough time to find jobs and to get married! She is so prepared. The ward truly welcomed her in. Everyone was so friendly and she was invited over for dinner to a family's home for next Sunday! The members make all the difference! 

We had transfers this week on Tuesday. Only 3 changes were made in our entire zone and none of the sisters changed! Woot! Sister Tew sang at Zone Conference and I was able to play for her. I love that about my companion because then I always get to play the piano!

Our investigator, Brad, who we handed over to the Elders is actually getting baptized this Saturday! Heck ya! We are so excited for him!!!!!!

So there you have it! I am having a bit of a struggle to remember what happened this week, even though I write in my journal every night and I bring it to emailing! I am so excited for this transfer. I have the best area in the entire mission, the best investigators, and the best companion! Here's to week 2!

Love,

Sista T

April 21, 2014

Happy Late Easter! And Happy Belated Birthday Mom!

What a week this has been! CRAZINESS. 

First of all, last Monday we went on a zone hike...it was fun...haha.  The Elders left all of us sisters together for a bit where I had to coach everyone up over some really steep rock cliffs, all the while being scared out of my mind but not showing it to strengthen them. I was holding quite a few hands and calming fears and tears. When we finally caught up to the Elders, all the Elders said, "oh the trail just loops around!" even though we were at the perfect spot to turn around, but we followed anyways. This was our first mistake (actually our first mistake was probably letting the Elders be in charge of anything..). Somehow we ended up on the side on the mountain with nothing but steep shale beneath us. HAHA. So we had to slide down. But it wasn't over then. We had to make our way back to the trail. About 1.5 hours later we were finally back. I only fell twice and got some nice scratches and cut in my hands, arms, and legs. The Lord was definitely watching out for us! Looking back now, it's a hilarious memory. At the time, not so much. The happy thing is that we all made it out alive!

Monday night we had a delightful evening with a member family in our ward, the Berries, who are working on going to the temple. We were quite excited Sunday night because they called us and told us they invited their friend who wanted to learn more about the gospel! Talk about rockstar member missionaries. I was slightly surprised when I met their friend, Ally. She is a transgender woman. She has recently felt the need to find a church (aka the light of Christ has been working within her) and she decided to try out our faith because of the Berries' wonderful examples. We taught her most of the first lesson, gave her a book of mormon (which she was excited to read), and invited her to church! She views life with a very scientific perspective so it was fun to address her very real concerns and questions. Though I wasn't quite sure what to think, I felt our Heavenly Father's love for her as we taught and I knew she needed the gospel just as much as anyone else does. Afterwards  we called our Mission President as we had no idea if Ally could be baptized. We stumped him! He told us he would call "the Brethren" (how cool is that?). Later he called us back and told us she can be baptized! Woot! We were so excited to find that out! It's definitely going to be interesting teaching her. I'm really going to have to count on the spirit for this one! Also she came to church on Sunday! And she loved it! 

On Wednesday we ate dinner at the Beynon household with our sweet new investigator, Erin. She is amazing and is so prepared. She recently lost her dad and she knew, though she could not explain it, that she would see him again. And now she knows that she truly will! Brother Beynon is our ward mission leader. His son and daughter-in-law also live their with their 3 little boys, who are all under the age of 3. I love that Erin was able to experience the craziness and joy of a gospel centered home, as she has 3 little girls of her own! Member testimonies are so much more effective than ours because they are actually living in the world and are still happy and successful (whereas I am living the dream life right now being totally focused on the gospel). Later in the week we also went by and helped Erin move into her house with sweet Sister Rice who came along to help. Afterwards we talked about baptism and she has committed to May 17th! Milagros everywhere! The only thing stopping her is she is not married. We were nervous to bring this up. However, she brought it up herself and told us that she wants to be married! Heck yeah! Tender mercy of the Lord. Looks like we're planning another wedding! 

Wednesday night we headed up to my favorite area again, Collbran! The Elders will no longer be coming up there with us as they are super busy (being APs or whatever) so we can visit whoever we want! Everywhere up there reminds me so much of Dad. While visiting Claude Huish, his neighbor friend was there and accidentally backed in to our car...in the exact same spot it had already been hit! So now it just looks a lot worse!  haha. We're just glad we weren't in it. We are not looking forward to when it will be fixed. BIKES FOR THE WIN! 

We ate dinner that night in Collbran with the sweetest family, The Shephardsons. They were so sweet and let us bring along a less-active 18 year old, Karlee, and her non-member friend, Alex! We had a lot of laughs in their house and were able to give Book of Mormons to both of them! I just love that family! 

As this week on Tuesday is transfers we had calls to look forward to. All week the Elders were the WORST and kept dropping hints about what was happening to us. The things were ridiculous they were saying but I was so gullible I was convinced both Sister Tew and I were getting transferred out haha. Luckily we didn't get any calls and WE ARE BOTH STAYING!!!!!!!!!!! Woot! 

While we are driving around, the person in the passenger seat jumps out and talks to people anytime we see someone. This week I got to jump out to talk to Pete, an 82 year old from Holland. It was so cool to hear his stories about WWII. He talked for a really long time and I think I said about 3 words. IT was hard to direct it to a spiritual topic. He thinks he is going to heaven but he doesn't know if he'll see his daughter again who passed away because there will be so many people in heaven. The spirit spoke to me that forever families are real and we are supposed to be connected forever, even if everyone doesn't have that same belief. Though he didn't really want anything to do with the church, I feel like I at least made a new friend! 

Saturday night we had a choir practice for the big Easter program. They recruited the missionaries to build up the choir. The choir director, Sister Pfeifer, is my IDOL. She has truly allowed God to use her gifts and talents to better others' lives. And she has the 3 cutest sons in the world. The middle one, Lincoln, had to come up and announce rather loudly to the choir during a song, that he had diarrhea and he had it bad! hahaha. Music has such power and I felt the Spirit comfort and strengthen me as we sang and listened. One of the numbers was the missionaries! We couldn't find a pianist who could play the song in time, so I played while the other 3 sang I Stand All Amazed. Too good! 

Sunday morning came and while we were practicing the accompanist, who was playing all the songs except for our missionary song, fell down while moving to the piano. At first, she said that only thing that was hurt was her pride but as the sacrament meeting time loomed ever closer, we knew it wasn't going well. By the time the sacrament had been blessed and passed, she was white as a ghost and looked as if she was about to faint. They quickly escorted her out and Sis Pfeifer came and asked me to play the piano.... YIKES. I had no time to practice or prepare but I knew that I had to do it. So I started praying and praying hard! I got through the entire program without any mistakes. Biggest miracle of the year! I know that it was through the Atonement that I was able to do it so that all those who were there could focus on the spirit and not on mistakes at the piano. The Lord got me through it. We had so many non-members and less-actives come to our ward. It was incredible! Because we were sitting in the choir seats we were able to see all who came when they came! It was so fun! I know they were blessed for coming because the spirit was so strong. Jesus Christ truly does live and love us! 

And in closing, another fun story from Lincoln. He called us over right before church and then asked us if we had seen frozen. When we said we hadn't, he looked at us in all serious and said,. "I have seen it THIRTEEN times." And then he started singing the "let it go" song. I swear I'm going to know all the songs before I even get home. Also Lincoln is 4. 

I hope you all had the best Easter! 

Love, 

Sister T

The Hike

A nice district picture of the best district in the entire world! 

April 14, 2014

What a week this has been! Get ready for the most pictures you have probably ever received! 

First of all, can I tell you just how much I love being a missionary?! Of course it's hard but that's why it is so great, because I am learning so much! And I get to just help people all the time and forget about myself! It's the best! 

The biggest tender mercy of my week was I got a new mattress!! The mattress I had been sleeping on was pretty much 20 springs with some fabric covering them. The Elders had an extra mattress so we switched and I had the best night sleep of my life last night! I am so grateful for it!

We slept in Collbran on Wednesday night at the African safari house! Candi Hardin is the sweetest! She was too kind to us. We slept in the coolest bunkbeds and I wasn't too creeped out by all the animals. We were then able to spend all day up there visiting less-actives and getting to know people. We found the sweetest girl, Karlee, who wants to come to church! Heck yeah! 

Friday was the big day! Brad and Michelle got married! The biggest stress of my life is over! I have decided I am never getting married. It's too much work. Sister Tew and I basically did everything for the wedding. We set up, helped Michelle get ready, helped with food, found a photographer (our Ward Mission Leader), and sang and played the piano. Luckily, we have great ward members who helped us a lot! The wedding was perfect. It was simple and exactly what they wanted! It was also very small. I think about 45 people were there in total. They had family there, some ward members came, and then about 12 missionaries were there as well! The bouquet throw was hilarious. The crowd consisted of one weird man, the maid of honor, and about 6 sisters missionaries. The weirdo man ended up catching it! WEIRD. The best part of having all the missionaries there was clean-up was pretty quick! 

I went on exchanges this week with Sister Winkelman from California. She is a rockstar! We found 2 new investigators and had the time of our lives. She is one of the funniest people I have ever met. She is the only active member in her family and I don't really know that I can express how much I look up to her. They had a baptism that day of the sweetest little family: a mom and 2 daughters. I love the spirit I feel at baptisms pretty much more than anything else. We also met a man this day who said this was his 7th time being on Earth so he pretty much had a handle on what he was doing.

We had Stake Conference this weekend! President and Sister Murdock were there for both the Saturday evening and the Sunday morning. All of the missionaries in our zone sang the EFY medley at the Sat evening and everybody was crying! Woot! I really learned how important it is that the members are so involved in missionary work. They are amazing! 

Sunday was such a great day! After Stake Conf we practiced with the Elders for our Easter number and it actually sounded good! We ate dinner at the bishop's house. I didn't really know their family before so it was so fun to get to know them! They are awesome and the Bishop's wife is one of the sassiest people I have ever met! After Bishop's we had a lesson with the 6th ward elders who handed off an investigator to us who moved into our ward! Erin is amazing and I am so excited to teach her! She is one of the most prepared people I have ever met. She said she has been praying about it and just feels that it is right. (which is good because it is!)

This week was a little rough in that we found out Brad has been drinking so he will not be able to be baptized next week. He was afraid to be honest with us because he didn't want to let us down. We talked it over with him and decided to have the Elders teach him instead so he can feel more comfortable! I am so excited for him! 

I had an Elder tell me that I remind him of Tina Fey. I didn't quite know what to think of that. It made me happy but also a little concerned because Tina Fey isn't exactly who I should be exemplifying right now. So in conclusion, I guess I will be trying a little harder to be more like Christ (rather than Tina Fey) and working hard so I can enjoy the last week of this transfer! (I can't believe transfers are here already either!)

More wedding! We are on a sugar fast but a sister in our ward forced us to eat cookies and we couldn't be happier about it! 

African animal house! 

My old mattress and me being a super weirdo!

April 7, 2014

Well I think this was officially the longest and fastest week of my entire mission! It had the perfect ending last night! Brad had his interview to be baptized. It's official! He's getting baptized April 19th! Woot! Plus I love General Conference! 

Last Monday all the sisters in our zone got together and sidewalk chalked it up! We each drew our companion. Grand Junction is the best place in the world (jk) because I even got some nice tan lines on my legs and arms! Woot! I love all the sisters in our zone so much and I am so glad I know all of them because they are all so different but AWESOME. They really all have helped me become such a better missionary because of their examples (cheesy sister missionary moment of the day)

Monday night we headed to Glenwood Springs to spend the night, as early Tuesday morning we were privileged to drive all the way to Frisco, back in my old zone! We had what is called Mission Leader Council, where all the Sister Leader Trainers and Zone Leaders get together and talk about the mission. Sister Moser was there! It was so fun to see all the people I have served and catch up with them. The only downside was I got a nice migraine halfway through. I've never had one of those before! It felt like someone hit me over the head with a baseball bat. The rest of the meeting I focused mainly on not throwing up (TMI).

We've been struggling to find people to teach. We've decided as a companionship that we are not going to go inside until we find someone new every day. One of my favorite things about being a missionary is being guided by the spirit. This week we met 3 new potential investigators who are so great because we were guided to them. One of them in particular, Jessica, told us she had been thinking about all the questions we asked her with the survey approach earlier in the day. Both she and us could feel that we were meant to meet her that night. We were also lead to Jesse and Rekha. We originally met Jesse walking down a street. He told us he wasn't interested but that his wife might be. We got his address and went over there a couple days later. They just moved into their new home so we volunteered to help them landscape! On Friday we got to work picking rock and spreading mulch over their backyard. We came back later that night to drop off some flowers for them and they showed us their house. We started talking and sharing. Rekha was adopted from India after getting lost from her family at the age of 4. She has so many questions and I know that we can answer them! They have been trying to have a baby for 7 years and both Sister Tew and I felt through the spirit that they would be able to have one if they start living the Word of Wisdom and putting God first. It's so exciting! Jesse also told us that he expected us to come "help" but just talking about our beliefs but was very impressed when we actually worked hard! The blessings of service! Because of these experiences, I know the Lord will help us find as we put in the work. 

On Wednesday we had an amazing district meeting where we practiced our OYMing (aka open your mouth). I love our district leader so much! He's about 5'4 and is hilarious! I wish you all could meet him. He plans the funnest activities. Plus I think we just have the best district in the mission. After district meeting we headed up to Collbran, our favorite place in the world! We saw Claude Huish again, the 82 year old farmer. He fed us angel food cake, ice cream, and strawberries. I think he is my favorite! He is so grumpy but has the best old man laugh. We ended up staying in Collbran longer than we had planned and didn't have anything to eat for dinner so we headed to the tiniest grocery store in the world. Sister Tew has to eat bread a lot because of a stomach condition so we grabbed a loaf. Sadly we discovered we had to buy 8.00$ worth of groceries in order to use a card. A loaf of bread, pringles, and a box of capri suns later we were on our way. 

I love General Conference SO MUCH. I feel the spirit so strongly and I hear everything that I need to hear. I especially loved Sister Jean A. Stevens, President Monson, Elder Bednar, and President Uchtdorf's. Sister Steven's talk really helped me. If I trust in the Lord, I can overcome any of life's challenges and I really believe that! He always has a plan to see us safely home. That's about the most comforting thing in the world! I really love how many little poems President Monson incorporates into his talks. In Elder Bednar's I really felt how necessary it is that we understand and apply all that we can about the Atonement. I know the Atonement is what motivates me and supports me every day to do all that I do. My favorite man of the day was Elder Aidukaitis, mainly because he looks like a muppet and Elder Walker's shout-out to good old Raymond. Oh, I also loved Elder Perry's horse talk! That was great! Because of GC I have resolved to do a little better and ever follow Christ's example. In the words of Pres. Monson, "it's all about the work of the Lord, the cause of the Master." 

Funny stuff of the week

- the one day we decide to go running outside, it snowed on us!

- Sister Tew saw her very first prairie dog and was overjoyed...

- I had a dream this week right before GC that sister missions were extended to 2 years. In my dream I decided to stay the full-time. It was so real. When I woke up I was thinking about it so much that I decided that if that happened I would do it. Right before GC started Tew and I were chuckling, saying, "in 10 minutes we'll find out how long our missions will be." Sadly my dreams did not predict the future. 

Hope you all have a great week! 

Sidewalk chalkin it! 

Zone Conference! 

March 31, 2014

So as I think I have mentioned before we are planning a wedding and a baptism! Brad is progressing so well and we are so excited! He comes to church every week an hour early even. It always get a little stressful when we teach the "big" commandments. When we taught the law of chastity he bought a ring 2 days later for his fiance and we hoped it would be the same. Sadly I wasn't there for tithing (as I was on exchanges) but when we went back the next day he said he prayed about it and he knew it was true because the spirit told him in his heart!!! Brad is amazing and, though he is not a man of many words, he has an incredible connection with God. I am so privileged to get to work with him! The wedding is in 2 weeks and the baptism in 3! 

Best/worst part of a visit at Brad's: HSM was playing on his 92 inch screen TV. As we were leaving, who do you think I see on the screen? None other then Darbus! In all her glory!

The roads in Grand Junction are incredibly weird. The north/south roads are all how far away we are from the utah border (aka 32 road = 32 miles from UT). The east/west roads are the alphabet (a road, b road). My favorite road we have come acorss is 32 and 3/8ths road haha. 

We found the best surprise in our house this week! COCKROACHES. If I had any idea cockroaches lived in Colorado I would never have come on my mission. Thankfully we have only found 2 so far....

The other worst part of my week was when I was forced to hold a ferret! GROSS. But I did it! We went to a less-actives house up in Collbran and she loves animals. She also had 5 rats but I refused to hold those. She told us she "is absolutely smitten with rats!" Yesterday she had to call us and let us know that Curly Sue (her favorite rat) passed away yesterday. So if we could all have a moment of silence for that rat it would be much appreciated. Also as we left her house a herd of chickens chased us out, which was equally as frightening as the rats. 

This week I was privileged to go on an exchange with Sister Caisey from BERMUDA! Turns out Bermuda is only 700 miles from NY and is in the NY NY South mission or something! Who knew? She has an awesome accent to boot! She is a recent convert of only 3 years and is so amazing. I always learn so much from the sisters I go with and this time was no exception. Sister Caisey is incredibly converted to her purpose as a missionary and wants everyone to have the same blessings that she does because of the gospel. She knows what it is like not to have it and is so determined that everyone has the peace and happiness that she does because of the gospel. It's contagious! In our travels we met the funniest little black boy named Paul who is 4 and thinks he is the cat's pajamas. As we were talking to his mom, he turned to us and said, "Could you please be quiet for a minute? I'm trying to talk to my mom" in the sassiest voice I have ever heard. He also then told us that he "loves da missionaries!" Every time his mom would get mad at him he kept holding his back and saying "Oh! Mom! my back really hurts! Ow, my back!" It was hilarious! We got to eat dinner with one of the sweetest, most spiritual people I have ever met, Sister Baldwin. Her husband passed away 3 weeks ago just after he finally started investigating the church after a life together. It's so sad but she is so strong and knows he has accepted the gospel on the other side. She is so happy and is ever serving the people around her. The spirit I felt in her home was almost tangible. Her faith and her example have changed me forever. I want to be like her when I grow up. 

We met a really awesome potential investigator this week, Jesse! Yesterday we went over to his house at just the right time (guided by the spirit!) to find both he and his wife outside on their porch. We are helping them landscape their yard later this week! Woot!

Sister Tew and I decided we are moving up to Collbran and leaving behind Palisade and Clifton. We want to live up in the mountains! Now we just need to tell our mission president this :)

I got a letter this week from my last comp, Sister Smith! Sister Karen really did get baptized 2 weeks ago! I was so happy to hear about it! Of course, I was a little sad that I wasn't there but I know the Lord has me where I need to be. I really cannot believe she actually did it! 

We saw Sister Cross this week again..... She is a less-active and her husband keeps inviting us over because he is coming back to church and really wants her there too. We got to listen to yell fest 2014 as she unloaded about every negative thing in her life on us. It was awesome. We basically just sat there for an hour. Right before we left we sang her a hymn and she started crying, so at least that helped I guess haha. We left feeling very overwhelmed but thinking it was hilarious at the same time. It got even more funny though because her husband told us yesterday at church that he should have called and told us not to come because she was DRUNK the entire time! 

We are really working on seeing all the investigators we have in our teaching pool. Sister Tew has only been here for a transfer before I came so some of the people she's only seen once or not at all. This week we got to see Jasmine! She's adorable and married to a less-active. I am really excited to keep teaching her even more. 

I know I say this every week but I really cannot believe how fast this transfer is flying. We just finished week 3 out of 6. It's crazy! This week it really hit me that time is going to pass whether I am fully invested in missionary work or not. I'm really trying to make the most of every day because I know that the work I am doing now is the most important work I can help with! Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are real and they love us more than we can imagine! I am so blessed to know what I know and to love what I love. It's the best! So there you have it, another week done! 

a giant piece of bread hahahaha. 

Sister Caisey and Sister Lomu

ferret!

look close!

March 24, 2014

Week 2 in Clifton is complete! What a great week it has been. 

Monday

Last Monday we had a nice zone activity where we all played volleyball. I've gotten to be quite the baller on my mission...as in I am really good at making a fool of myself....

Tuesday

First coordination meeting: success! The ward mission leader and ward missionaries are all over 65. Brother Harrison is my favorite. He can barely walk and looks like such a cowboy. The meeting lasted forever because of the age of the participants involved. We fasted this day in order to start our fast from sugar. We always get a little crazy by about 4 when we are fasting. It sure makes life fun. We also got our oil changed in our car so we had some time to go through our area book. We are kind of starting at square one. It sure makes life busy and interesting! We did service at Habitat for Humanity and we worked with a super sassy Mennonite named Elnora who kind of scared us. That night we headed up to Collbran. It's part of our area so we are going to head up there once a week to see people. The drive up is amazing! There is a part where they recently had a big rock slide and it totally reminded me of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I was glad we didn't have any screaming, kidnapped woman or guns to start another one! While there we met Joanne Tolman, an 82 year old who looks 60. We also met Tiffani, who is battling cancer and recently lost her husband. I know we were sent up there to meet her. the Spirit was so strong in her home and I could just feel how much Heavenly Father loves her. We also saw some elk on our way home! Once again came home on fumes and a prayer. We're really bad at remembering to fill up our car up with gas.

Wednesday

We had a FABULOUS district meeting. Our district leader is one of the most hilarious people I have ever met. We had to walk on wood planks with our feet tied on to build unity as we answered questions about the gospel. I got stuck with 4 other elders who were horrible at it. It was stressful and hilarious and I almost died. 

Thursday

A big meeting for the zone leaders and sister training leaders in the area. We learned about mission goals. It was slightly overwhelming but I am excited about becoming more! We had dinner with a family with 4 little girls. The one is almost 8 and we asked why she wanted to be baptized. She is quite sassy and her answer shows it. "Because I HATE Satan!" hahaha

Friday

Great long weekly planning! We made delicious pizza.

Saturday

Had an amazing exchange with Sister Jimenez. She is so AMAZING. I am so privileged to know her. She sacrificed so much to come on her mission. This sounds cliche, but she changed my mission that day. Her example and her devotion to the work is so inspirational!

Sunday

We had 2 less active fams come to church! I had to bear my testimony and I was quite nervous. We saw our investigator Brad who was very nervous to live the word of wisdom. He has dropped everything cold turkey and is doing awesome! Miracles!

I love being a missionary! Have a great week!