10/20/14

Oh, I am also getting transferred back to Framingham/Marlboro

I am going back to my first area. I am really not too happy about it, but I know that I am needed there. Called to serve right? Oh well, I am sure that everything will be fine. I went to an Aquarium this morning and it was sooo cool! There were Beluga Whales and Seals and I got to pet a Sting Ray, actually a bunch of them. They are super slimey. :P But it was super cool.


10/13/14

I am doing really good! I got to go to the Temple today, and it was AWESOME!!! I also got to watch meet the mormons at Zone Conference and it was AMAZING!! YOU HAVE TO GO SEE IT!!! The last person that they filmed was a missionary mom and it made me think of you! I teared up a little. :)

10/6/14

Sooo this week we went to Charlestown and there is the investigator from manchester there. Well as we were picking shells on the beach I ripped my pants right up the side!!! HAHAHAHA, sooo funny. So I am down to one pair, which is fine cause I can get new ones when I come home. We are going to join a gym!! Sister Hanson loves to work out in the morning, and I need to loose a couple pounds and never find them again...:/

General Conference was AMAZING!!!! I loved the afternoon sessions! They were super great!

 Yeah it was like 41  degrees this morning...It has warmed up since then though... 

Oh, it is going to be a really busy week! We have Zone Conference on thursday all the way up in foxboro MA, but we get to watch meet the mormons!! So I am really looking forward to that. We just got done cleaning our car....Nothing random this week. You know, just going around, teaching people about Jesus. Hahahahaha, but really tho

So I got my hair cut today and it looks great!!! I also really like the color of it. :) you can see it really well in the pictures that I sent to you. What do you think. You obvi cant see the hair cut but you can see the color!

Yeah I still love the MBM! It is the greatest mission on earth! :D

I have thought about it, but I feel like I need to go to Utah for school, it is not really my favorite place in the world, but I feel like that is where I am needed. :/


9/29/14

This week was really awesome! I loved the broadcast and am super excited for general conference. We have a rs presidency meeting this morning which is why I am using a members ipad to email you. It is starting to get really cold here! I loved my cello lessons. I would have another one today but we area going to hang out with an investigators from Manchester. Soooo I won't be able to play today. But I want to be able to play the song bring him home :) we will see how it goes

Yeah it is getting pretty chilly here but I will be fine without my comforter, we can turn on the heat in our apartment. The leaves are changing color and it is soooooo beautiful! I will take pictures for you.


9/22/14

The leaves are starting to change color here!! It is super pretty! This week was pretty great! Today I am learning to play the Cello! We are also going to help the Westerly Elders wash their car. :) Then play some volleyball. We are also going on exchanges today so I will be in Norwich this evening and tomorrow. Norwich is where and asylum went out of business so they just let all the people go!!  CRAZY!!! So there are literally crazy people walking the streets on Norwich... So yeah. I come home soon! Are you excited??

We went Saturday morning and picked corn!! We had like 300 ears of corn in our trunk!! Crazy!

Yeah I really love Westerly. The members here are just AMAZING!!! I love them and their kids. I am just really happy here. And I have a really good companion. :)

 a sister in the ward would like Delora's pulled pork enchilada recipe. :) YOu know the one she make with like lime-cilantro sauce and guac?? Would you be able to send that to me so I can send it to her??THANKS She is going to make it for dinner when she feeds us :) YUMMY

Yeah the work is exploding out here. :)

 I am 5.7 miles away from the beach. You could look up our house on googlearth.  It is a weird blue color.

we are all going to the Groton chapel and Sister Blair will be teaching cello lessons. :) I was with her in the MTC :)


 

9/15/14

We are going to Newport again :)   there is a cliff walk that we can go on. And we can look at the mansions :) They are super pretty
 Yeah it is definitly cooling off!! but the leaves havent started changing color yet. Although I think that they will soon :)

9/8/14

This week was fantastic! Maggie got baptized yesterday and it was amazing!!  But everything is going really well here. I am most likely going to finish my mission here :) Which I am really excited about.

 Can you believe that I have less than 3 months left??? I cant!

So today we decided that we would all go to a soccer field and play soccer and ultimate Frisbee. Well, it was all going great until one of the Elders kick the soccer ball into my face, specifically my eye. I am pretty sure that I am going to have a black eye. It hurts pretty bad... I think I might be able to use it to get some investigators. :) Oh boy. what a day. I think I will go home tonight and ice it, see if I can get the swelling to go down. Oh well. I had fun, minus the part of a ball connecting to my face. :/ Elders...


8/11/14

I am using a members iPad! Coolest thing ever, I feel so techy. Did you get my essays? We had the craziest week. Got attacked by dogs like 3 times in one day, went and visited a naked man (you would think that when he saw people at his door he would put on pants, but no, he put on a jacket), locked ourselves out of our apartment so we had to use to fire escape ladder to get back in. So many adventures! 

My new companion is great!! We get along really really well. No, mom, I am not counting down the days till I come home. How many weeks do I have left?

I got you all souvenirs from Mystic :) I think that I will just bring them home with me. I got you a dress pattern mom for 27 cents!!! I hope that you can make me a dress when I get home. or even teach me how to make it. :)
Yeah we are working with 4 investigators, and 2 potentials. It is going really really well. 2 of our investigators are a mom and son, the dad is less active but the whole family came to church yesterday and loved it!! One of them is out of town and the 4th is doing good. We are doing the Addiction Recovery Program with her. and it is going pretty well. :)  


8/4/14

This has been a pretty awesome week! We got two new investigators, were attacked by dogs, locked ourselves out of our apartment and climbed in through the window...on the second floor, got asked if we were Amish, and a bunch of other fun things.


7/21/14

I only have 3 transfers left. Oh and transfers are next week on wednesday. But monday will still be pday.

7/14/14

We are going to the church to play games and there is a family history center there, so I will be able to email on/off all day today. GUESS what!! I traced my line all the way back to Adam!!!  Not sure how acurate, but still, how cool is that! :)

Essay for BYU:
The most difficult thing that I have ever experienced is serving a mission. As I have been on my mission I have had to learn many things. One of the main things is that my life belongs to the Lord, all day, every day and forever. It has taken me a while to realize this, but through a lot of humbling experiences I have learned that I do not know where to go or what to do unless I let the Lord guide me. He knows me better than I know myself and therefore He knows what I need to do. Before, and even during the beginning of my mission, I thought that I had my life all planned out. However, I came to realize that I had no idea what I should go to school for or how badly I wanted a family that is strong in the Gospel. But as I have come closer to the Lord I realize that I do not know the first thing about my future. It has taken a lot of work in my prayers to be able to understand what the Lord is trying to tell me. Although, as I pray with real intent, knowing that the Lord truly cares about my future I have been able to feel His guiding hand in my life. I know that I can do nothing without Him, but I can do everything and even more with Him. 

7/7/14

Thank you soooooooooo much for the food and shoes!!!!! I am sooo thankful for them. There was a crazy tropical storm/hurricane on thursday and friday and it was nice to have shoes that didnt have holes in them, cause my feet would have been more soaked than they were, hahahaha.  :)  I am feeling FANTASTIC!!!! Can you believe that I have less than 5 months??!!!! Where did the time go??

I am on exchanges so I am currently in Norwich 

So super cool!! Last P-day we went to Newport and there are a ton of mansions!! One of which is the Gatsby house!!! It was super cool!!!! It is the house that they filmed the movie after!!! They are super cool! I wish that you could see it!! 

I love it here!!! :) It is soooo beautiful!! And everyone is super nice here. The work is going. We are doing the Addiction Recovery Program with our investigator.  It is really rewarding when you can watch them make progress, but it is REALLY hard to watch them relapse. :/ So it has its pros and cons, like everything else in the world.




6/30/14

yeah it was in the 60's last night. I miss the heat.... :/ Never thought that I would say that, but I do.

 I am getting along with sister Johnson great! She is super cool, and we have fun and work hard. :) She goes home after this transfer. :/
 I dont have a ton of time today because we are driving to Newport to go and do a cliff walk and see all the cool mansions :)
 
This week a sister missionary got hit by a car!!! I am really good friends with this sister so I was freaking out. But the story is that her and her comp were in a hurry to catch the bus and tried to jay walk to catch it. The first car stopped, and the second car didnt see her and hit her at 40mph!! She went flying all the way across the median, but she is ok. No internal bleeding, or major broken bones. A couple of small facial fractures and a couple of really deep cuts and a lot of road rash. Angels are really watching over us. :) 

Our one investigator is super cool. We just started ARP with her this past week and she actually called us today because she needed someone to talk to because she was struggling. Super cool!!! SHe prayed last night for strength and she said that it really helped. I am SOOOOO proud of her. YES!!!! I WILL MAKE TIME FOR THAT!!!! PLEASE SEND IT!!!!!!!! I have been craving sweets, :(

 THAT SOUNDS SOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!! it is really funny. The members basically feed me salad. BUT!!! I did find out that I can eat red meat and pork!!! One of the members made a spaghetti with hamburger and sausage in it. I had to bring my own noodles, but that is ok. It was pretty good.  A member took us to 99 and I got a hamburger and it had a gluten free bun and it was pretty good. :)
 Yeah I had to get some rice chex for my sacrament bread. Ifelt special. BAHAHAHAHAHA!! 

6/23/14

I LOVE it here. We have a car but we do a lot of bike riding, and it is soooo pretty. We rode our bikes this morning over 8 miles to the beach!! And we saw T-swizzles house!! The people here are super nice. we have about 45 people, on a good day, in our branch. There was only 38 there yesterday and a lot of people are leaving for vacation... :( It is sooo great here!! I will be taking a lot of pics. We are going to play sports on the beach today :D
 T-swizzle is taylor swift. lol. the members have given us bikes. There were 4 when I got here and we just gave 2 to the elders. We cover Mystic CT!!! How cool is that!!
Our apartment is oddly set up... We dont get very much hot water in our shower, but that is ok. I take 5 minute showers now :) I love Sister Johnson!! She is really funny. This is her last transfer, so sad. I do not miss being an STL at all. It is so nice to just be a normal missionary. :) I feel good, tired from the bike ride, but good. I am still gluten free. Which is interesting/ starting to get hard. Since we dont have a lot of members it is hard getting fed here, and they dont sign up very much, which is kinda good kinda bad. But I know what I am eating. And they were really accommodating yesterday when I told them I couldn't have gluten. They were really sweet about it.
 I am so sad that I will be missing Tori's wedding!!!!!
yeah that sounds good, brownies. i have been eating peanut butter on a spoon and sticking chocolate chips in it, and licking it like an ice cream cone. :) yeah I eat a lot of fruits and veggies, bread is tricky cause i dont have time to bake or money to buy it. but that it ok, i have about 5 months left, so i can survive with out it until then. It is really helping my stomach a lot. I feel a lot healthier too. :) 

6/16/14

I am feeling so much better! I have been gluten free for the past couple days or so and I am doing sooooo much better. I have more energy and I am happier and I am not in so much pain. I can tell when there is gluten in food cause I  can feel it eating my small intestine. :/

I am also getting transferred!!!!! Woohoooo!!!! It will be really good to get a fresh start with this in a new ward. I am going to Westerly RI. :) I will be right on the coast! :) I am sooooo excited!!!

So my companion had to give a training on setting goals, and she gave us all this really super awesome quote. Not really sure who it is by, but I thought that I would share it with you.
"I am part of the Fellowship of The Unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I wont look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees,colorless dreams, tainted visions, worldly talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preeminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I dont have to be right, first recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am uplifted buy prayer and labor with power. My face is set, my gait is fast and my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I wont give up, shut up, or let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up for the cause of Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He returns for His own He will have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear."
Coolest Quote Ever!!! 

6/10/14

Yesterday we had a zone conference, so they made today our p-day. The dr appointment didnt go like I wanted it to. I wanted him to tell me what was wrong and tell me what to do to fix it. But, of course, he didnt! He that he doesnt know what is wrong, and that we are now "fishing" for answers. Which doesnt help at all. SO he had them take blood today to test for lime disease, which I know I dont have or I would be dead by now. I am constantly looking for ticks and havent found a single one, which I told him. He is also testing the blood for food allergies. A lot of the members think that I could be gluten intolerant since a lot of foods hurt to eat. So he is doing those tests too. He wants to do an upper endoscopy, so I really have no hope right now of being fixed. And it is honestly really hard being on a mission because I have no energy for anything. I dont mean to dump all of this on you, but I am just really struggling right now. I am tired of being in pain, and I am tired of not sleeping. 

6/2/14

The work is going really well here. I was with a member of the Avon ward last night and we were working on my family search and I found out some really cool stuff!!! Thomas Palmer, my third great grandfather is my pioneer, and he hometaugh president taylor!! Sooooo cool!!! Sooo, yeah. Talk about the spirit of Elijah

5/27/14

Sorry I couldn't email yesterday, but we went to the Temple! :) And since it was a holiday I wouldn't have been able to anyway... But the Temple was great as always! And then we went to Boston! My first real time in the city. We walked all over the place! I have a ton of pictures to send you. But I got to see some really cool things. I think that it would have been way cooler if I wasn't exhausted. I had to get up at 430 am to go to the Temple. But it was all worth it :)
Elder Holland was amazing!!! I got to shake his hand, but I couldn't get a picture with him. :( But he was speaking and then suddenly felt like giving a sermon. It was great! It was crazy, at one point he had us make a list of all the qualities of the Jews during the time that Jesus came, and reasons why they couldn't understand His teachings. We came up with things like: corrupt, fearful, ignorant, apostate, foolish, prideful, sinful, etc. And then he pointed to this list and said, "Welcome to Boston!" He talked about how the people that we are teaching have these qualities. He referenced Nicodemus and how he wanted to know what it meant to be "born again" Nicodemus says, "How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?" And this obviously isn't the kind of "born again" that the Savior is talking about. Jesus is talking about baptism, and Nicodemus isn't getting it, however they are both talking about birth. Elder Holland talked about the Samaritan woman. And he gave some great insight on it. The Samaritan woman, basically asked Jesus, Considering that you are a Jew, why on earth are you asking me for water? and Jesus replies, Well if you knew who I was, then you would ask me to give you water, and it would have been living water. And she responds back saying, you dont have anyway to get water, how are you supposed to get this living water?? And Jesus replies again saying, Yes well if you drink from this well, you are going to get thirsty again. But if you drink the water that I can give you, then you will never thirst. Now this woman of Samaria had to travel multiple times a day to get water from this well. So never having to do this would be very desirable. So Jesus tells her to go and get her husband, and she says that she doesnt have one. And Jesus calls her out on it. And says, "For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly." SO THEN, the Apostles come back from buying food in town, and they are surprised and very curious as to why the Savior is conversing with a Samaritan. But of course no one said anything cause they didnt want to offend or upset the Savior. AND THEN! His own disciples ask his to eat something and Jesus tells them, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of." And they are a little upset, and are like did someone else feed you already? SO, TO SUM IT ALL UP, in all three of these scenarios, the Savior is talking about birth and Nicodemus is talking about birth. The Savior is talking about water and the Samaritan woman is talking about water. The Savior is talking about meat and his Apostles are talking about meat. We must be speaking of the same thing that the Savior is. We must understand what he is trying to tell us and be on his level.

Man, I dont even know what more to say. Maybe I will write more about it on monday. I have so many thoughts and I am not sure where to begin. So I promise I will write more later. :) 

5/5/14

I am great!! This was a really sad week cause Sister Boldt is getting transferred. :( She is going to Oxford Mass. which is in my old zone. We are sooooooooooooo sad. Transfers are on Wednesday now. I havent gotten them yet, maybe they will come today... Sister Boldt and I were looking at tuition for a bunch of different schools in Ut and BYU is sooo cheap!  I am so game for going there!
Wow I bet the girls are excited to get out of school. I just put a letter in the mail this morning for syd. :) The weather is starting to be beautiful here. :) We are having a cinco de Mayo party!!! I get to call on Sunday :)

4/28/14

Guess what! We are getting a new car!! Woohoo Super excited to the max!! We are going to be cleaning our car today so we can turn it in on Wednesday.

hahahahahahahahah That is soooo funny!!! Dont worry mom, one of the Elders informed me of what color I should color my hair, so I am back to my natural color. And I really love it. :) But thanks for being honest :)

 Oh, hahahaha, that pic is for Syd. That mansion is 50 cent's house. :D It is huge!! There are sooo many rooms and there are guest houses upon that :)

4/21/14

Transfers are on May 7th. I dont know if I will be transfered or not. We have both been asking Pres for another transfer together. But we will see. I know!!! I only have like 7 months lefts!!!! Bahhhh that is soooo crazy!!! Where is all my time going??!!!! Yeah I still love it here :) :D being an STL is great :) I am getting the hang of it :) So it is becoming less stressful.

 I did have a good Easter! We went to church and then went to dinner with a really cool family. They offered to let us skype at their house for mothers day :) I cant believe that it is soooo close already!!

9/2/14

I am wonderful! Alicia got baptized this Sunday and then received the Hly Ghost the same day :) It was the best. We went over there yesterday and played monopoly for like 20 min with one of her kids. :) We are working on having one of them take the lessons. :) BEST NEWS EVER, We are getting Elders here in westerly, so we will be a quad-companionship!! BEST THING EVER!!!! I am super happy with my new comp, I love her to pieces. :) 

So you know how I have a hard time drinking water sometimes? Well yesterday in the car, we were driving back from a hike called devils hopyard, and I had run out of water so I was using Sister Hansons, and her bottle is massive. So I was stopped at a red light and I told her to tell me when the light was green so I didnt have to drink and watch the light at the same time. Well, she told me it was green, but I kept drinking. And then one of the Elders in the backseat started laughing, and so I started laughing, with a bunch of water in my mouth. So I handed Sister hanson her water back, and I am not really sure what happened, but all the water came out my nose, and I started choking on it. So I pulled over and spit the rest of it out. And then I couldnt breath for like 2 minutes, and my throat hurts today, but everyone else in the car thought that it was hilarious...me, not so much. 

4/14/2014

I hear there is like a civil war going on!!! What is happening in Nevada?? I am doing pretty good. We are probably going to go on a hike today. There is a cool tower thing and a waterfall that we can hike to, so that will be fun.
Did I tell you that I will be able to be home for Christmas??!!!

4/7/2014

I did get to watch General Conference. :) It was great, Elder Holland starting it off strong. hahaha. Being an STL is a lot of work. Half of our week consists of meetings and trainings. It is really quite draining, but I am learning a lot.

3/31/2014

Guess what! It is snowing right now!!! I know crazy sauce!!! Well nothing has really happened this week. But it will be an interesting week, we have a lot of meetings up in Boston that we have to go to. We are like super busy now that we are STL;s.

3/24/2014

I am super excited to tell you all the news that I have!! So Wednesday is transfers, but no worries I am not going anywhere and luckily neither is Sister Boldt. BUT on Saturday we got a call from President Packard and he asked us to be Sister Training Leaders!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!! SO we have to go to transfers because right before  the actual transfer meeting there is a training meeting for new leaders. And for some reason they are holding it on Wednesday instead of Thursday. And in North Brookfield MA, instead of Belmont. We also have an Elder in our District that has finished his mission and is going home and for his last P-day, which is still on Wednesday (weird, I know) he wants to go to Boston. SO we are going to ride with them and go to BOSTON!!!! and then go to transfer meeting and probably not get home till late.... But that is what is going on currently. It has been super crazy, and eventful, but in a good way :) Super excited to go to Boston. We are going to get George Town Cupcakes. :) :) Yummy. I also think that he wants to do the freedom trail, so we might also be doing that. :) We will see. :) But I knew that you were probably really worried so I made sure that I had time this week to email because I for sure wont have time on Wednesday.
 I am feeling soooo much better. It was the same thing that I had in my first area, they just didnt keep me in the hospital for as long, which was kinda surprising. I was sick for like 5 days. But I am all better now!! :) I love it here. :D A STL is the equivalent of a Zone Leader, just for sisters. Ask the missionaries, they will be able to explain it better. But I am basically over the sister in my zone. Which thankfully is only one set. :) Yes, we still get to be companions, thankfully. It is also funny because neither one of us knows what we are doing. ha ha ha ha. So we seriously need this training. We are also pretty lucky because we have another set of STL's in our Zone, but they are over the spanish sisters. So they can help us out. :/ Dont really know what I am doing.. But I will figure it out. It is super funny because one of the sisters that we are over is my trainer, Sister Klecker. :) HAhaha. I am a little nervous about this though.  I dont think I have to worry about it, but it kinda makes me nervous. I want to be a good STL, but I still want to be myself. So we will see... :/ The investigators are doing good. :) We have been trying to meet with them and crazy things keep happening... :/ But one of them came to church yesterday! woohoo!!! I am really happy. This is definitely the happiest I have been on my mission. :) A big part of it is Sister Boldt. We get along soo well. :) I just love her to pieces. 

3/10/2014

An Elder from my last area shared this story with me.

A demon walks into Satan's shop and finds this bright, shiny tool. He looks at it, and then turns to Satan and asks "How much is this?" . Satan replies, "$75". The demon then asks, "Well, what is it?". Satan answers, "That is Lies. That wont get everyone, but once its got them once it is easy to get them again." So the demon buys the tool, leaves, and goes and uses it. The next demon walks in and finds a bigger, brighter, shinier tool, and he really wants it. He turns to Satan and asks, "How much is this?", Satan replies, "$1000". The demon then looks at Satan and asks, "What is it?". Satan answers, "That is Addiction. That will get a lot of people. And once that one has gotten them, it is hard for them to break away." So the demon buys it and leaves, and he goes and uses his tool. The next demon walks in, and finds this beaten, rusty, small, worn out, old tool. He looks at it, and looks at Satan and asks, "How much is this?", Satan replies, "That is $5000". The demon looks back at the tool that he is holding, and asks, "This? What is this?". Satan responds, "That is my most valuable, most used tool. That is Discouragement. I have used that since the dawn of time and it is a favorite of mine. No matter the situation that will get anyone to stop believing that they are a child of God, and that He loves them." So the demon buys it, leaves and goes and uses his new tool.

 My week was AMAZING!!!! We have three new investigators!!! Woohoo!! one of them has a baptism date, it is for August though. That is the date that he feels comfortable setting, but he will definitely get baptized before then. :) The other one is a media referral! Which are like never fruitful. But she had been on google for like 3 weeks looking for us before she found mormon.org. She has a lot of questions, and agrees with a lot of the doctrine. She gladly accepted the Book of Mormon, and is really excited to come to church! :) The other one is a 17 year old teenage girl, who we are not sure but might have been taking the lessons because she thought that the Elders were cute... So we are meeting with her this week and will be establishing our purpose, and hopefully she still has a desire to learn. :)
Yes, I still love Connecticut. it has been warming up here! It has gotten all the way up into the 30's!! It has been super nice! it is a really gray day today, but that doesn't really mean anything. the humidity is coming back when it is warmer. there was one day that it was in the 50's and it was super humid. But I really like it, and I really like the people here too! They are super nice. There are some seriously loaded people out here!!! we go to some members' homes for dinner and it is like Woah!!! They live in like mini mansions. It is really cool.
 I have gotten really sick of wearing the same clothes (which happens to all missionaries), and there are times that I just want to burn them all, and go get new ones. Hahahaha, I dont, obviously, but sometimes there is just a need for a new dress or skirt or something! Joys of the mish. :)
I am having a great time :) i am really learning a lot. :) 

1/27/2014

Sorry I haven't had a whole lot of time to write. Weather + holidays do not a good combo make for emailing. :/ But things have been going so great here! We got a new investigator around Jan 10 or so. I think I told you guys about her. Her name is***, and she is only in my area for a little bit. She is from Cromwell CT. and she is staying at the VA Hospital currently so she can go through rehab. She was an alcoholic and did chewing tobacco. But we started teaching her about 2 weeks ago, and this Wednesday she proposed her own baptismal date! We had only taught her the first lesson and the Word of Wisdom and brought her to church that Sunday. But at the end of our lesson (W.o.W.) on Wednesday we were planning on extending a date, but we both forgot. And as the closing prayer was said we both remembered, but it was no longer the right time because everyone was mingling, and the Spirit wasn't there. And I was silently praying that we would somehow be able to extend baptism to her. So we are standing there talking with***, and she asks us how someone becomes a Mormon. And I told her that you get baptized. And she asks if there is a process of some sort behind it. Like if she has to pass some classes or wait a certain period of time. And we told her no. And she was kind of shocked, and then asked when she could get baptized. If it was alright if she did it on Sunday. And my companion and I looked at each other and looked back at *** and said yes! So then it was crazy because we had to teach her the rest of the lessons in 3 days!!! But we talked with our Mission President and decided that it would be best for her to get baptized in her home ward in CT. She was already planning on moving back the 1st of Feb., so we thought that it would be good for her and her future ward. So she is going to be interviewed on Friday, along with all the other missionaries. :) President Packard is coming to our area to do missionary interviews so her will interview her then. :) It has just been so crazy lately.
AND THEN... We just got another investigator who lives in the same apt complex as two of our members. And we went and taught the Plan of Salvation instead of the Restoration. She is going through a really hard time right now. Her husband committed suicide in their apt, and she is struggling to cope. She is also really lonely. She loves having us come over just so she can see people. The members came with us to our appointment, and they are excited to befriend her on their own. We extended baptism and she accepted. We haven't set a date yet, but we will. We think that the ward family will be something that will help her loneliness.

1/21/2014 Fun Pday

We are supposed to get a really bad storm today, so I dont know how long we will be able to stay here before we have to run and hide for protection against the awful winter elements... but seriously.
Yesterday was the best P-day ever! Only comparable to the Red Sox game. There is a family in the ward that has 3 little boys, and the middle one just turned 5. So he had his birthday in the gym at the church. So Sister Scott and I go over there to say hi, because we were the second ones he thought of to invite. So when we get there, there is a huge nerf gun fight going on. So, of course, as missionaries, we grab a gun a join in. It was so much fun! Bishop and his son and his friend were there, which made it more interesting for us, because we got to shoot 2 teenage boys and the Bishop. Now when does that happen? It was soooo much fun! They had a whole bunch of cardboard boxes that we got to use. I am super sore now because of the great work out. :)

I love you mom :) 

1/13/2014

I am doing really great! We went and cleaned the Temple this morning! It was soooo cool! Mom, we were down by the Oxen! 

1/6/2014 Happy New Year!

Yeah we are allowed to go out today, which is good because it is P-DAY!! woohoo! :) hahaha. Yeah the weather has been totally crazy out here. Jan 2 it got to -6! I took a picture when it reached 0. Today we just have freezing rain though, nothing too bad. hahaha. Yeah the roads are pretty icy. I almost fell walking to the car this morning, most likely due to my uncoordinated-self, but whatever. New Years was good! We had to be in by 7pm because of all the crazy people, so we watched 17 Miracles, which I would love a copy for my birthday by the way :), and we played phase 10, and we just hung out in our apartment. Nothing too exciting.
I don't think I will ever be ready for the cold weather, but instead of looking at it with disdain and my grumpy face, I have decided to treat it like an adventure. My old Sister Training Leader would always say "Adventure Mormons" if we missed a wrong turn, or were not quite sure where we were going, or something crazy, or adventurous, happened. So I will think of it like that, and change my perspective. We have been pretty safe on the roads. I have learned how to drive in snow and am still practicing with the ice. I am driving today, so I will be getting more practice. :) It's kind of like a roller coaster ride. All of a sudden there will be a turn or slide that you were not expecting and it surprises you. Although, you should be very proud, I have now stopped screaming every time this happens :) hahaha College has not started up quite yet. But it will soon, hopefully. I have heard like the middle to late January. So, yeah.

I love you! 
Um what about Rook card? and Uno? No, I have not. However, I am not sure if we could watch that one. The only reason I know that we can watch 17 Miracles is because they show it at the MTC, otherwise it all has to be church produced. :/
hahaha, yeah the Yeti is pretty funny. Especially when we are on the phone with someone and they hear him and they think that it is one of us. We are constantly explaining our GPS. It is quite funny. :D Yes I still love my comp. :) We get along pretty well. This are has been pretty slow though, so its been a little rough. But in my personal study today I was reading Alma 7, and in verse 23-24 it says : "And now I would that ye should be ahumble, and be bsubmissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive. 24: "And see that ye have afaith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works."

It was kind of a slap in the face. I realized that I was starting to give up on this area because nothing was happening, yet I had to spend another 6 weeks here, so I was getting really discouraged. And when I read this I just sat back and thought that it is because I have not been trusting in the Lord like I should have been and that is a big part of why nothing is happening. Just yesterday I read Joshua chapter 1 which says four different times " be strong and of a good courage". And I realized that I have not been doing that. So this morning I went through the qualities or attributes,whatever you want to call them, and I thought about how I have been doing with each one, and how I need to improve. I realized that one of the major things is that I am not being patient with myself or the Lord. Unlike my last area, I get along with my comp much better, and I have not had to call on the Lord multiple times a day and ask for patience and strength. And looking back I can see the differences. Right before I left everything was falling into place, and now here, we are stuck. Nothing is happening. And I can now understand why. The Lord doesn't trust those who do not trust Him enough to call upon Him. Even if they don't feel the need to. It has been a very humbling morning for me. I will be putting this scripture up on my wall so that I can look at it everyday, and make sure that I am constantly seeking the Lord in all that I do. I cannot do this without Him. And unfortunately, I have had to learn this the hard way.  

12/16/2013 almost Christmas!

We will be skypeing about 3 o'clock my time. Sooo like 1pm your time?? And YES we get to skype!!! :)
...Yes it is dumping snow. There is definitely snow outside. Funny story. Saturday was the ward Christmas party and it was snowing really bad. It ended about 7:30pm. Now our church is at the foot of a hill. So after the party was over we stay to help clean up. When we go to leave the Bishop offers us a ride home because it was so slick... Well me being me, and thinking well I don't need a ride home, I can get up the hill, it cant be that hard, not paying any attention at all to the other brother and sister who CANT get up the hill and are getting a ride. So I try to get up the hill. I didn't even make it from one end of the parking lot to the other... the ice was so bad the car was sliding. THE WHOLE car was moving to the side. So I pull back into a spot and cry to the Bishop "I want a ride home! Please!" So we left our car there. And Bishop was almost pulling doughnuts in the parking lot!!! On purpose!!! Super scary. Earlier, before we knew about being car-less, and family in the ward offered us a ride to church the next day. :) Super funny :)
I read this this morning and I thought that it would be good for you and the family:
PMG pg 120
Christlike attribute of Patience:
Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious. It is the ability to do God's will and accept His timing. when you are patient, you hold up under pressure and are able to face adversity calmly and hopefully. Patience is related to hope and faith - you must wait for the Lord's promised blessings to be fulfilled. You need patience in your everyday experiences and relationships, especially with your companion. You must be patient with all people, yourself included, as you work to overcome faults and weaknesses. "Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature. There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for one and all. our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such  challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required." President Thomas S. Monson
I love that because I was not a very patience kid growing up. And as I look at the world I see that not a lot of people are. I think that we can all develop a little more patience and trust in the Lord. :)


12/02/2013

We have a new investigator!! We are so excited! We have met with him twice. The second time the STL's were with us and it made it that much better.  But we found him while we were looking for a less active woman. We gave him a Book of Mormon and he is reading it. He even asked for recommended chapters! How awesome is that! He is like the definition of a golden investigator. We invited him to come to church and he said that he wanted to. Something held him up though so he couldn't come. But he asked if there were any other meeting this week and we told him about institute on Tuesday and he wants to come! He is very spiritual, and connects with nature. We have a member that we want to take with us that could use strengthening as well. We also plan to take a members less active son to institute so they can meet. He really wants to come out with us, and we are hoping that this is a good way to re-activate him. Do you have any suggestions or advice? We also have two potentials. One is a girl that was there the first time we taught Carl. She wanted to come to the next lesson, but she was going to be in New York. But she was really interested, and they were both asking questions of the soul. The other potential is the aforementioned active woman's "friend". We believe that they like each other. He brings her food and they go for walks. We took her out with us to go visit some of her friends, and she wanted us to meet him. He goes there every Sunday at 4:30. So we sat down and talked with him. And we have an appointment to meet with him again on Sunday. we are not counting him as an investigator yet because we are not too sure how interested he is, or if he just wants to talk. But we have been using the ward mission plan to inspire the members to do more missionary work!

11/25/13

I am doing good. Yes I got a new companion, the funny thing is that we came out together! :) She is super sweet, and really nice. She is also like 5'10" so when I send pictures home I will look really short but I promise that I am the same height. I live in the middle of nowhere... we live in Sunderland and have to drive 20 min to get to church, 45 min to get to the bishops, and I dont know about others. But it is sooooo cold here. Saturday night there was like a blizzard! it was snowing, and super icy, and the wind is horrible!!! When I go outside I can only feel my face for about 5 min before it goes numb... For some reason I am driving again, dont know how that happened... But I was driving and the car started to go sideways!!!!! SIDEWAYS! It wouldnt let me brake, and I didnt know what was going on. But Sister Scott is from UT so she was able to help me through it. There is snow outside!!! Blah.
My address is:
253 Amherst rd. apt D6
Sunderland, Ma
i think that the zip is like 01006... not sure about the last number though.
I like "hue" and "angel" But if she sees any other colors that are good, we can go with those. I need a nude color ("hue") and I like a soft pink color("angel").

We are going to a members house for Thanksgiving. it doesnt feel the same though. :( But this ward is really great. They are super ready for missionary work, and I am excited to work with them. 

Zone Conference

11/20/13 Zone Conference

I just thought that I would share something from Zone Conference, cause it was pretty fantastic! Elder Nielsen of the 70 was there (exclamation point). He is so tall. I got to shake his hand and say hi after our lunch. And he held my hand for a second, and said that it was really good to see me, and asked me how I was. During this he was starring into my soul. Starring into my soul. It was like he could see everything that I have ever done and will do. Just to shake his hand was a spiritual experience. I took some pictures, but we have to go now. 

11/20/2013 Transfer Week

11/20/13 Transfer Week!

Mom! I am getting transferred!! To Amherst! I am going to freeze! It is a little town in north Ma. I will be in a YSA ward considered the whole population is college students... funsies! 

I got your package!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! I am wearing my boots right now, and I have already looked through a lot of my quote journal. I loved the funny things too. Where do you get those things? 

11/11/2013

It is supposed to snow tomorrow! Eeekk!!! The week was good. We got a new investigator! Yay! :) We are going on splitz tomorrow so I will be in Belmont on the hunt for Mitt Romney!! hahaha lol. Transfer text is this Saturday! So I will find out where I am going, if I am going anywhere. I have a feeling that I am staying though. So next week I will be emailing on Wednesday!! Just a heads up! The work is going really well here. The ward is finally catching the missionary spirit!