Miracles happen 1/12/2014

Hey friends!

This week has been REALLY cold but REALLY good. 

One of the highlights of this week happened on Saturday and Sunday and involves our new friend Fred and the Dalley family. 

Earlier in the week, we had set up an appointment with Fred for Saturday. We tried really hard to find a member to come with us since he is a single man and we can't visit him on our own. On Thursday, we thought we should call one sister, who was unable to come. So we asked another sister. Who never got back to us. On Friday we were feeling a little more desperate. We literally asked 4 more sisters. No one was free. Saturday morning we were stressing. Sister Dalley texted us about this coming thursday when we are going to the family history center with our friend Mackie. We had just seen Sister Dalley, but it was worth a shot - we asked her to come to our lesson with Fred later that day. She said she could!

We got to the lesson and it was perfect. I havent been the best at having members present at every lesson, but this week I gained a testimony of it. It was one of the best 1st lessons I've ever taught. Fred is super prepared. And Sister Dalley is an awesome member missionary. She could explain things in ways that we never could. SHE invited him to church.  And he came!

So the next day we are welcoming people into the building and up walk the Dalley family and Fred. literally, they looked like THE HAPPIEST people on earth. 

Did Fred love church? YES. Did he say he'd come back? YES. Was Sister Dalley the person God needed us to take with us to teach Fred? YES. Is that why everyone else and literally their mom was busy? YES. Is God totally in charge of His work? YES.

17 months down and I feel like I'm finally starting to get a hang of this. haha. Sometimes...

We got to meet with Tessa again finally too. She came to church too. The lesson was crazy spastic and all over the place because there were like 4387345 other random people and children at her house and she was trying to braid extensions into her girls' hair. Did she teach me? Yes. It was the greatest thing ever. All of the little kids were like, "You know howta braid?" And I said, "Uhm, yeah. Does it look like I know how to braid?" And they laughed and said, "Noooooo, youre a white girl!" Well, I showed them. White girls can braid too. 

Oh heavens. We also met with our friend Pat. We tracted into her a few weeks ago and we've seen her a few times. I love Pat. She is the nicest soul. This week, she dropped us. But I still love her. She sat down and told us that this would be our last meeting, that she thanked us for the things we taught her and helping her, but she cant see herself changing beliefs at this point in her life. Yet she said, "So what are you teaching me today?" and we had planned on reading the Book of Mormon with her, so we did. We read Moroni 7 which was PERFECT for the situation.

...

" 22 For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing.

 23 And God also declared unto prophets, by his own mouth, that Christ should come.

 24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them.

 25 Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.

 26 And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying:Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.

 27 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?

 28 For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him willcleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.

 29 And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angelsceased to minister unto the children of men.

 30 For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.

 31 And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.

 32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that theresidue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.

 33 And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.

 34 And he hath said: Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved.

 35 And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with power and great glory at the last day, that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased?

 36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?

 37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.

 38 For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made.

 39 But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you, for I judge that ye have faith in Christ because of your meekness; for if ye have not faith in him then ye are not fit to be numbered among the people of his church.

 40 And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?

 41 And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.

 42 Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.

 43 And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.

 44 If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.

 45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

 47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."

The spirit was so strong. She just kept looking at the page and we let there be silence for quite awhile. Sister Escobar asked her what her favorite story of Christ was, and she said it was the Sermon on the Mount. Even more perfect! I showed her where Christ teaches the Nephites the exact same things in 3rd Nephi. We read it together and it was so great. Pat still dropped us, but we got her to keep the Book of Mormon and to commit to read the rest of the chapters that cover the sermon on the mount in the America's. And it was awesome. 

I was just emailing my cousin and he asked me how much more time I have on my mission, when I realized that today is january 12th and I got home on Feb 12th. AHHHHHHHHHH. Stress. Sadness. I want to do this forever. 

missions are great.

go on one.

Love you all! Thanks for everything! I feel your prayers! 

1/5/2015

It was my birthday! I cant even believe I'm supposed to be 21 now. Thats crazy. 

My birthday was SO good. We emailed and then we went bowling with all of our missionary friends from Racine and Kenosha. Bowling party for 14 people? Why, yes please! It's become a tradition to go bowling on my birthday. I did it last year, and I did it this year. 

It was so much fun. I bowled the greatest game I've ever done. It was a birthday miracle, I tell ya! 

4 people left by the time we could take this pic...

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Okay, I forgot that myldsmail hate missionaries and I can only send inline pictures like once per email. 

The rest of the day on my birthday was so good. We had dinner with the Costabiles and I even got to blow out 21 candles on a birthday cake! And I did it in one breath! 

This week was so good. We've tracted a lot. It finally snowed and got cold. We were supposed to have a baptism, but that didnt work out. I guess that doesnt go under the "why the week was so good" category. But it was part of the week. Tessa has kinda fallen off the face of the planet. We're pretty sure she is keeping some secrets because she hasnt come to church or made any of our appointments and shes kinda avoiding us. Hopefully we can get in contact with her soon and try to figure out why she wasnt ready for her baptism. 

We partied really hard on New Years. We had dinner with the Furner family and had missionary correlation meeting and set some goals for the new year and were home by 9:30 and went to bed at 10:30. Living life on the edge. haha. But it was actually really fun. The Furners are a great family. I dont understand how they are still living on the earth right now...they are practically perfect. They should be taken straight up to heaven. haha. They really are just so good and do so much for us missionaries and our investigators and the ward and their family. They are truly an example to me. 

Its finally cold here. There's a wind chill advisory right now. We arent allowed to have any skin exposed for more than 15 minutes. So....our plans of building a snowman probably wont happen today. Its cold. I kinda love it. It feels like a Wisconsin winter FINALLY. I came into the worst winter in 20 years and this year has been super mild, so I've been pretty disappointed. But now its here and I'm kinda eating my words. haha. 

I am excited for this year. Its going to be so good. I made some goals to work on my personal prayers and to make them more earnest and sincere and meaningful. I feel like doing so will help me in all other aspects of my life, whether I'm a missionary or not. 

Love you all!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! ....oh! And Happy Birthday to me! 12/29/2014

Hi friends!

I'm tooting my own horn today and saying. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!" 

21! 

j

I kinda wish I was 22 so you could all sing T-Swift in your heads, but that will have to wait another couple hundred of days. 

Life has been so good. 

I apologize for my lame excuse of an email last week, but I really did get sick.  I caught the 24 hour flu and it had me real good. When I said that I was going to go hurl, it kinda really happened. Like all day. TMI? oh well.

The good news is that I was only sick for 24 hours. And that we live with members who can pretend to be your parents and get you medicine when you want to die. And that the elders can give blessings of healing. And that it was P-day and we really didn't have anything planned anyway. All tender mercies of the Lord.

So many things this week.

Christmas Eve was fun. 

We did service at Bethseda (a thrift store, for you non-Wisconsinites) and organized the shelves. Which was sooooo fun because I love organizing shelves. Especially shelves with Christmas things on Christmas Eve. 

We visited our friend Reagan and her kids and shared a message and got to know her and had a jolly good time. Those kids are hilarious. One is literally a miniature Will Smith. They are so witty. I was rolling on the floor the whole time. 

We did a lot of walking and tried to talk to everyone. The only problem was that no one was out. haha. So we went downtown and tried street contacting down there and we had a little bit more success. We also ran into really cool things along the way, so that was sweet. 

We had dinner with the Bishop and his family and other people from the ward. It was so cute. 

We had a really good Christmas dinner and talked about Bishop and his wife's missions in the Philippines and it reminded me of my dad. Then we played a game kinda like Catch Phrase, but it was Mormon-edition. And I TOTALLY ROCKED it. haha.We played missionaries vs members and it was super fun. I'm pretty sure we won, but bishop wouldnt tell us because missionaries arent allowed to keep score. haha. 

Then we went to the Linsley's. They are a senior couple in Kenosha. They had all the missionaries over in the area and we had chips and salsa and snacks and played some games. We almost got Elder Reynolds to beatbox and Elder Clark to rap, but to no avail. Then we had a precious little Christmas devotional and we read the Nativity story from Luke and all shared insights and it was super spiritual and one of my favorite moments. Probably one of my favorite Christmas memories in my 21 years of living. Just precious and spiritual. 

Christmas was fun too.

We had breakfast with the members we live with and chatted with them for a bit. Then we studied and got ready and then we weekly planned all day. haha. Then we called home from the Riley's house. That was great. Can't believe it was my last call home. 

And I got to play with a dog while my comp talked to her family, so I was happy. 

Then we had dinner with the Grover family. That was a blast and a half. They are a super fun family. 

The rest of the week we mostly just walked around Racine trying to find people to teach. Its hard when no one answers the door, but its also fun because you never know who will answer and what they will be like. And its not very cold, so thats good! 

We taught all the youth yesterday for Sunday school, and that was super fun. I love the youth in Wisconsin. They are super strong. They live their beliefs so fiercely every day.I also loved it because it showed me how much I've grown and learned and changed. We taught about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and missionary work and it was really cool to see how much more I knew and applied that I had even a year ago, let alone 8 years ago. 

I cant believe I have spent the WHOLE year of 2014 as a missionary. I mean, I totally can believe it cause it just happened... but... you get what I'm trying to say. 

Time flies. 

And I have learned SO much about the gospel and about myself and about life and about Christ and about my purpose on earth and so many good things. 

I know that living the gospel of Jesus Christ is the best and only way to truly be happy. I know it because I've lived it and because I have seen it in so many of my friends here in Wisconsin. 

I know that the Book of Mormon is the truest book on the earth. I know it is of ancient origin and that it teaches us SO much about Christ and how to live in a crazy, fallen, war-torn world. 

I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God in 1820. I know that by the power of God, he translated the Book of Mormon.

I know that God still loves us and still has a very active role in our lives. He answers prayers. He still calls prophets and apostles to help us. 

I'm in Racine 12/22/2014

Hey, friends! This email is going to be super sucky because I feel sicker than the hills and any level of motivation and concentration I had previously is completely shot.

Leaving Lake Mills was hard. As I was driving out of town I had to keep telling myself not to bawl my face off. I came real close a couple of times, but I kept it together. I didnt get to see everyone that I wanted to before we left, but thats okay, cause I'll see them again. 

But. Good news! I also Love Racine! 

This place is soooo different than Lake Mills. There's like....diversity. haha. Yeah, it's kinda ghetto, but way less scary than everyone makes it sound. So far we've been able to teach a whole variety of people. 

And we live with members!!! Thats weird. But awesome too cause its like....a home. 

We get to attend the Spanish branch, which is a dream come true. They had their Christmas party on Friday and it was claaaaaaasic and awesome. Lots of good food. Spanish music. Happy people. A pinata. Perfect. We combined with the Milwaukee Spanish branch too, so I got to see some missionary friends. We sang a christmas song with the branch president's family and the Racine and Kenosha Spanish Elders. Highlight of my day. Reminded me of home. Heres a link to watch it:

 https://www.dropbox.com/s/819jzabqht28azw/DSCN0022.AVI?dl=0

We were teaching a recent convert named Kayla and after 30 seconds of being there, her 5 year old nephew grabbed my hand and said, "You're going to be my laaaaady." *insert melted heart here* 

We taught primary on Sunday in the Racine Ward and it was the greatest thing ever. We taught the 7 and 8 year old kids and they were just hilarious. The lesson was on Christmas and the true meaning of it and those kids were spot on. So cute. I asked them why they thought it was important to  celebrate Jesus' birth and one little girl raised her hand and says, "Uhm. Because He's our Savior...?" and so I asked them what they thought the word savior meant, and another little boy raised his hand and says, "Uhm. Someone who....saves...people...?" Gah! So precious. We talked about the Wise Men and how they knew that baby Jesus was going to be someone really important because they probably read scriptures about him coming and they went, "WHHHAAAAAT?! There is a scripture that tells the future?!?!?!?" They were excited about that one. (:

There is NO snow on the ground. And apparently we arent going to have a white christmas. :((( Pray that it snows here, friends. We all want a white Christmas. 

I wish I had energy to write more. But I think I'm gonna go hurl now. Just kidding. Kinda. 

Sad, sad, day. 12/15/2014

My time in Lake Mills is at it's end.

*insert ugly crying sad face here*

Like.
So sad.

But I'm also super stoked to go to Racine. 

I GET TO WORK IN A SPANISH BRANCH!

And see Lake Michigan! 

And make a bunch more friends and teach them the gospel!

This week has been a real-life struggle. I don't even know what has gone on though. haha. We have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to contact everyone that we need to before we close the area.

 We went on exchanges.
I saw my favorite Blanca.
I laughed my face off at dinner with the Luccion family.
We helped Jenn move. Twice.
 Drank hot chocolate with twenty-million mini marshmallows.
We've prayed on a lot of doorsteps.
I set up a Christmas tree for the Kilngaman's.
I've left lots of notes on doors.
I ate a world famous-Wisconsin's-own paper-bag-caramel-apple-pie.
Watched the "He Is The Gift" video at LEAST 15 times more.
 I got to hold an orange kitten.
We went Christmas Caroling with the Law's family and made new friends.
I prayed in Spanish.
I laughed my face off again at the Earl's house.
 I've successfully avoided wearing winter boots or winter coat again.
I ate dessert for dinner with the Jacobs family.
We went to district meeting.
 I traveled back in time and made an appearance in Bethlehem.
I got to hold a seahorse Cheeto.
We stalked a few people that have been avoiding us.
I've been praying for snow.

We taught a new investigator about the Restoration.

We used fire as an object lesson.
We made cards with the Donnelly's to learn about our baptismal covenant.

I had way too much fun with the youth while cleaning up after the ward Christmas party.

I've checked an empty mailbox at least once everyday.
I cut a bunch of strings off of dance costumes made by Rio Lockerman.

  We've jammed out to Christmas music er'day.

I learned that I hate driving in the Wisconsin countryside in total fog.

I spoke to a bird via whistling.

I've drank way too much Dr. Pepper. 

We've seen lots of people that don't usually let us in.

We got Jaysin and Dwight to come to the ward Christmas party.
 

Thats my week in a nutshell. 

I basically just partied while teaching all sorts of people about the gospel and the meaning of Christmas and re-fell in love with this area and everyone and everything in it.

But.

Racine is going to be great too.

(:

One week left in LM :/ 12/8/2014

Hi, friends!

This week has been a crazy one.

As you already know, we found out that Sister Hatch was going home on Monday. We spent the day packing and cleaning and frantically trying to get everything together. It was a miracle that we got everything done and Sister Hatch's bags packed and under 50 pounds when we did. We went and had pizza with Jaysin and Kareena at our usual choice of pizza-eating.

Then we drove to Oconomowoc and had a sleep over with the Kettle sisters. Oh my heavens, was that a crazy time. We got there and talked for a bit and drank some really gross sparkling apple and peach cider that we all decided was what beer would taste like. But we drank it anyway because 1) it wasnt actually beer, and 2) just because we could. haha. We chatted for a bit and then we went to bed. They pulled their mattresses into the living room and Sister Hatch and I got the couches. The Kettle sisters fell asleep right away. Sister Hatch and I COULD NOT fall asleep for the life of us. There was too much in our brains and we were running off of too much adrenaline. But we laid there nonetheless. Then at some point in the hours of laying there, Sister Hatch and I decided to go into the other room and talk for a bit. I knew that she was stressing about flying home and figured getting her mind off of it for a bit would be a good thing. So we chatted and laughed and tried not to cry and just sat there. It was 3 in the morning when we decided to try to sleep again, when we heard the sisters talking in the other room. We thought they were wondering where we went and so we decided to scare them. Turns out they both just woke up because they were hungry and didnt even care that we were gone. They went back to bed pretty quickly after that.

So with practically NO sleep, we woke up at 6 and headed for the mission home. Sister Hatch and I got in the car with Sister Cutler and we headed to the airport. I bawleeeeeeeeeeeeeedddddddddd my face off saying goodbye to that girl. She became my really good friend. That was hard to watch her leave. Like, a little bit heart breaking.

Life with Sister Griffin has been good. She is totally different than Sister Griffin.

We've seen lots of people this week. We got a list of sisters to visit from Sister Laws, the RS president and we have been spending all our time with them. We have seen some pretty cool miracles. People that I have never met and have never been able to contact have been SO nice and have let us in. We have found some new families that moved into the ward kinda under the radar who need some strengthening, so that was sweet.

Jaysin is doing so good. He came Christmas Caroling with us for the christmas gram thing and at first he hated his life, but by the end he was having a blast. He was playing with the Jacobs dog and laughing and smiling. And then he bore his testimony about it on Sunday. He's FINALLY making friends. Bro Luccion asked him to teach Gospel Principles next week and he is being super precious about it. He told me that his sons came over on Saturday night and tried to get him to go party and drink with them and he said, "No way, I have church in the morning. I gotta go to bed." That in itself is a HUGE change. I was kinda worrying about him and how he would take the transition of us leaving, but I'm starting to think that he will be okay.

The ward members are being extra precious. They are soooooo sad that we are leaving. They have been so helpful. I am soooooo sooo soooooo terribly sad to leave.

This week... 12/1/2014

So, hello again! 

I have sad news. Sister Hatch is going home tomorrow. :( And we just found out THIS MORNING. So we have a super busy day of packing ahead. 

My new companion Sister Griffin is currently in a trio in Milwaukee YSA right now, but will be here tomorrow. She goes home in legit 2 weeks, so her and I are going to close Lake Mills. What?? We will both be here for two weeks transitioning our investigators over to the elders and helping Jaysin reach his baptismal date and getting the ward to wrap their arms around him and help him stay active. And then in two weeks I am moving to Racine and will finish my mission there. #saywhat?

I am stokeddddd to go to Racine! It's ghetto there. hahaha. I like teaching people in sketchy places. Its way more exciting and people are usually super humble. And like...3/4 of all my companions have served there so I feel like I already know the area. AND! President told me specifically that he wants me to use my Spanish there! #dreamscometrue

We really didnt do much this week...again. We tried to go on splits buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut everyone and their mom was out of town for Thanksgiving. So. That didnt work out. 

I did go out one day while Sister Hatch slept at a members house. I went to the Fullmers house and did some service. They are finally getting to adopt a baby!!!!! (: (: (: Best news ever. So I went and helped them paint and move furniture and stuff. It was nice to get out of the house and nice to help them. They are freaking out. I cant imagine finding out you are bringing home a newborn baby....in a week. 

We had Thanksgiving with Sister Peralta and Sister Stevenson. It was crazy but a ton of fun. At one point Christmas music was put on and we had a dance party...? I promise it was approved music. haha.

Jaysin is doing really well. This week was hard for him because he doesnt really have any family or any good friends. So he got really lonely. And went Jaysin gets lonely, he makes poor choices. But he came to church and was loving every second of it. And then we had a surprise birthday party for him at a member's home and like...the whole ward came. Jaysin was in tears. He's so precious because he has never really felt love before, so seeing all the people from church there for HIM was really special. It made his life. I dont think we even understand how much it meant to him. I'll send links to the videos in my picture email.

Its starting to look a lot like winter here. And idk how to drive in snow..! haha. Its been cold, but this time I know that its about to get like 50 degrees colder. SO I refuse to wear my winter boots or winter jacket until December. And....I guess today is December.... awkward. Maybe we'll see how much longer I can hold out. Its a fun game. I've also spent the last 3 weeks inside...so we'll see. haha. 

So yeahhhh. 2 more weeks in Lake Mills. That's fun. 

Also: watch this video and share it with every living thing that you know. I promise you wont regret it. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzjFEMmM0Xs 

Annnnnnnd. I'll talk to ya soon!

Surprise! And Happy Thanksgiving! 11/24/2014

Sister Hatch actually stayed here and didn't get transferred! So I don't have a new companion. 

Sister Hatch is still really sick and is under doctors (and President's) orders to sleepas much as possible. So we have not done much this week either. 

I've had loads of time to study. Thats been fun, I've learned a lot. I've got to research some things that I've had questions about that I haven't had time to study before. 

And since there is only so much studying a  person can do in a day, and stay sane, I've done lots of other things. I cleaned the apartment like 7 times, put up and decorated a Christmas tree, cut out paper snowflakes, wrote in my journal and glued in a bunch of pictures, added lots of good quotes to my quote journal, had a lot of good lessons on the phone, made lots of cookies, and soup, and smoothies, paced around the apartment, laid on the floor, watched snow fall out the window, sleep, ect. Its been REALLY exciting. haha :P

It's been hard, but I also understand. It's very easy as a companion to be bitter when your companion is sick and you are stuck inside. You kinda go stir-crazy. But I've also been the sick companion before, so I know what its like when people judge you and think less of you and your missionary work. Its hindered a couple of relationships and it just sucks. So I have learned a lot about patience and humility and charity. And diligence. We have plans for Sister Hatch to stay with a member sister while I go out with another sister for appointments next week, so that will be good. 

We have lessons on the phone with Jaysin and Kim and other friends, and they are doing well. Jaysin came to a member baptism and even brought his oldest son, Dalten. We gave him a Book of Mormon, but he ended up leaving it in the church foyer. Sad. He came to church too and even stayed for priesthood, something we've been trying to get him to do for weeeeeeks. And miracles happened! He agreed to play on a team at the Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving morning and got invited to spend Thanksgiving with a member family! Booyah! Members in Lake Mills know how to fellowship.

I finally finished my applications for school today. I decided to apply to BYU Hawaii too. That was my original plan after my mission, and I figured I might as well apply. So, theres that. 

We're spending Thanksgiving with two single sisters who would both otherwise be alone. So that should be fun.

Yeah. These emails have been super lame lately. Sorry! I'll try to do more exciting things this week. And I'll have more time now since I dont have to worry about my BYU applications anymore. yay. So, until next time! <3

Sick week :/ 11/17/2014

This week has been crazy.

Its been a really boring week because we spent it inside. Sister Hatch is super sick. Her mono came back and she's probably going to have to go home. :(

I've been sick too, but not nearly as bad. We think that we both caught the flu and hers just got a million times worse cause of the mono. So. thats been fun. We've both had fevers all week, so we've been on house arrest. Its been reaaaaaaaaalllll boring. 

I had to give my "dying testimony" at zone conference since it was my last one. Thats gross. It literally was the last thing I expected to do at that zone conference. There is no way it was my last one. I also got my "trunky papers" which is just a packet of papers that tells you, "You're going home soon! ....but dont think about it!" And that means I'll be getting my flight plan information soon too. Gross gross gross. 

I'm getting a new companion, Sister Silva. She came out with me, so we will probably finish our missions here in Lake Mills and close the area. 

I've been working on my BYU application essays today, so I'm like...brain dead.

We've seen lots of miracles even though we were on house arrest all week. We dropped Jaysin last week because he just wasnt willing to keep any commitments, and this week he called us and wanted to set a new baptism date. So that was SWEET. Hopefully it works out this time since it was HIS idea. We also got a couple of awesome referrals! One of them is a family that actually WANTS to be taught! #score! I'm excited to not be on house arrest anymore so we get to finally contact them!

Time is flying. 

Oh hey familia, since I go home so soon after Christmas and my birthday, I am requesting only cards or super small packages for presents, so I dont have to take so much stuff home. I have plenty of winter gear and clothes and supplies and things to finish out my mission here.  Sorry if its rude to request the type of presents I want, but I feel like this will work much better for everyone - both money and time wise. So your challenge is to find the funniest, flashiest, unique, most awesome card you can. (:

Love you all, miss you all! Go do something awesome today! <3

11/3/14

This week was fun. I honestly can't remember half of it cause it all blends together.

We have some super promising people and families and things. We've been trying to stay busy. We've been utter failures on some things, but we're going to do better.

We had a super fun lesson with a family where the dad is not a member of the church and the mom hasnt been active in a long time and she has two kids. We had dinner and a lesson with them and we talked about what Jesus meant when he says, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." And it was WAY fun because we did it by carving pumpkins! We took the guts out and said that before we can be a good example and let our light shine, we have to take out all the bad stuff inside of us (lying, hitting, yelling, fighting, ect). Then we carved a heart for an eye and talked about how we should love everyone and serve people, and the kids gave examples of how we do that. Then we carved an in the shape of a star to represent being good examples, and they gave more examples of how to do that. Then we carved a big smile to remind us that we should be happy and we talked about some of our favorite family memories that make us smile or laugh. We talked about how when we do all those things, our light can shine through, just like our jack-o-lanterns! Hopefully that helped them internalize that principle. It was way fun!

We've been knocking on a lot of doors. Like...lots. And no one this week was interested or would give us the time of day. One guy was pretty nasty and was telling us we were wrong and going to hell. That was fun. haha. Its always an adventure.

We woke up to snow on Halloween morning! It melted by the middle of the day, but it was still freezing all day and super windy. Bit jealous that (most of you) get to be in the desert warmth all winter. I'm still refusing to break out the winter stuff. It still has a long way to go before I'll break out the tights and winter boots and snow jacket.

We went on exchanges this week. Sister Silcox is so fun. We visited our friends Beverly and Blanca and Jenn. Then we tracted and people were rude. Apparently the rudest people she's come across her whole mission...and she goes home next month. So that was fun. We had a good day and had a lot of laughs and talked about our lives and it was good. One of my favorite exchanges.

Jaysin is doing pretty good. We dropped his baptism date though. He doesnt desire baptism yet because he doesnt quite understand that he can actually change. So we had a "do or die" lesson with him and told him that we've taught him everything he needs to know now its his turn to act. It was really good though. He has changed SO much already. It is understandable to see why he thinks that he's "good enough for now" because anyone else  in any other situation would say the same. But we can see that it is just the adversary "lulling him away into carnal security" or whatever that scripture says. But he is still doing well. Keep praying for him. He needs all the help he can get.

Kim's date got moved to Nov 22nd. She's doing pretty well too. We will start seeing her 3 times a week starting to day. She didnt come to church though and we dont know why :/

Church yesterday was SO spiritual. Fast Sunday in Lake Mills is always a good Sunday. It was just really good and I just love how everyone here loves each other. Sister Buth's mom died on Saturday night and everyone just reached out and there were lots of hugs and kisses and tears. But it wasnt SAD. It was just spiritual. Everyone was just on fire with keeping their baptismal covenants yesterday. I loved watching people help other people with their kids, or helping old people walk up the stairs, or crying with one another. The stake president was there and he even commented on how tight this ward is. Its just so good. I hope we can all do our part to make our wards wherever we are more like that.

We've been reading the Book of Mormon together as a mission and its been really good. I realized that I was starting to get lazy and just go through the motions of things and so this week I made an added effort to be present and consciously apply things to my life. As a result, my morning studies have been way good. So its been a good week.

It's All About the Energy 10/27/2014

Hey friends! This email will probably be lame because I am working on my essays for my BYU application. Sorry!

I literally dont know what we did on Monday. haha Oops. 

Oh wait! Yes I do! We emailed for a bajillion years and then we went to Johnson Creek and I got a sick shirt for 2 dollars! #score.

Then we contacted some peeps in town and then taught our friend Jenn about the Book of Mormon and got a return appointment. Oh! And then we got some sweet spanish referrals from the Janesville Spanish elders because they know I can teach spanish lessons. #dreamscometrue

Tuesday was District Meeting. It was weird because with transfers and ZTM and everything, we havent had a district meeting in like 3 weeks, and it was the first with our new district leader. And it was on the law of chastity. It occurred to me that basically nowhere else in the world would you ever find a room full of 12 kids in their 20's talking about such a topic with such maturity. We are  not the average group of 20 year olds. 

After DTM, we met Jaysin kinda last minute at the library! And we taught him the laaw of chastity. Which was perfect because we had just had a training on teaching it and we had already been studying it. Although I will avoid teaching that lesson at a library again at all costs. 

Then we saw Jessie and Tessa and their puppy tried to eat my clothes.
Then we had dinner and a lesson with the Greer's just like every other Tuesday night. Except it was AWESOME. Bro Greer is ZOOMING through the Book of Mormon and you can tell! He had asked us to come prepared to talk about Mosiah 15:1-5. We were stressing hardcore because he questions everything and we just *knew* it was going to be rough. Be we got there and within 5 minutes, he was like, "Oh, so its not saying Christ is like HEAVENLY Father. Okay, I get it." And literally we all just sat there with our jaws dropped. I loveeeed it though, because it shows that by reading the Book of Mormon, he's getting more of the Spirit, which makes learning easier as it can testify of truths. It was sweeeeeeet.

Wednesday I got the last half of my root canal done. That dentist office is legit. The hygienist and the doctor are both getting baptized one day. They were sweeeeeeet and asked us a TON of questions. We  joke that God let my tooth die so that we could meet them.

We also taught the Donnelly's about the tree of life and had a fun object lesson about holding to the rod. 

Then we rushed over to Dwight's and taught him how to experiment on the word. We watched President Uchtdorf's talk, "Receiving a Testimony of Light and Truth" and talked about the 4 steps he gives. It was pretty good. We invited him to baptism and he got weird. But we'll keep working.

Then we saw Sister Klingaman and sang her a medley of some hymns and then talked about the words.

Thursday was boring. Nothing to talk about. haha Sister Hatch was sick again, so we stayed home. Again.

Friday was sweet. We had a pretty full day and got to see some people. Then we had the trunk or treat. And I LOVE trunk or treats. (Oh, ps. Thanks for all the halloween packages family! I love that ya'll know that I love Halloween! They rocked!) And the Donnelly's came! They are on fire. Sister Donnelly came to the RS activity the next day AND church on Sunday too! That family is making leaps and bounds! 

I didnt go all out for the trunk or treat this year. I just dont have the time or energy anymore. haha. But we were super stoked because a bunch of members brought their friends and we got to talk to them all! And I just love Halloween and kids and making new friends. So it was great.

Saturday was like...the worst day of my life. We knocked on doors all day. Single less-active sisters. Potential investigators. Random doors. Literally ALL day. I thought it was going to be sweet and we'd get to talk to so many people and it would rock. And....it went quite opposite. We had a total of one lesson that day. hahaha. It was rouuuuuuuuuuuuugh. But we made it through.

Sunday was awkward because we planned to go to Waterloo and contact a bunch of people and visit some of our less active friends and we got there and everyone was trick-or-treating....so we werent allowed to proselyte. Wisconsin is weird and every town trick or treats on different days NOT on Halloween and during daylight hours. And no one told us that Waterloo's was on this Sunday. SO we went to Deerfield and visited our other less active friends instead.

OH! I forgot about a miracle that happened on Friday! We got a new investigator that came to us! She literally knocked on our door. Then we met with her that day and set a baptismal date and she came to the RS activity the next day AND church on Sunday. It was sweet.

Longest week ever 10/20/2014

Hey friends. 

This week seemed to drag on forever. Yet at the same time I have no idea how its the end of October right now. Idk how that works.

So. This week.

Monday we had Pday. We did the normal stuff and wrote letters and chilled and bought stuff. Then we went to Watertown and had a lesson with the Greer family! We talked about some Conference talks and how we have to live principles of the gospel before we gain a testimony of it. Brother Greer still has doubts and questions, but he is reading a TON in the Book of Mormon and praying more and he even notices the difference it makes. I loooooove that family. I think that both Sister Hatch and I are definitely here for a reason because we both connect really well with them.

Tuesday was awesome because we went to Watertown again and saw our friends. We met with Edgar and Veronica and it was fun because Sister Hatch doesnt speak any spanish, so I had to translate EVERYTHING. Which was hard. haha But it was actually awesome because Edgar's heart has been softened a little bit! When we introduced the Book of Mormon last time, he got super defensive and angry. He pulled out his Bible and said that there could be no other word of God. But this time he actually let us explain what it was and that we also read and love the Bible. We read 2 Nephi 25:26, which says, "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." And he really felt the Spirit and realized that we werent crazy people with a crazy book. So then his cousin jose came in and we gave him a Book of Mormon and he had a lot of really good questions about it. 

Then we had dinner with Sister Hepner. She is a prime human. I just love her. Every time I'm with her my stomach hurts from laughing so much. After dinner Jaysin came over and we taught him about the Word of Wisdom. He knows the Book of Mormon is true and so we have been working on making the mental link between if the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith was a Prophet, and if he was a prophet, then the revelations he received are from God and true. That seemed to go pretty well. We committed him to live the Word of Wisdom and so far he's gone a week with no alcohol and 2 days without smoking.

Oh yeah! And that morning I got half of my root canal done! Then because we were already in Watertown and we had appointments there that evening, but I was drugged and numbed up and couldnt exactly knock on doors, we went to the Greers house and I slept off the meds for a bit so we could go back to work. That was awesome because their cat slept with me the whole time and it was like a little tender mercy because I miss having animals to cuddle. haha

Wednesday we were sick and stayed in the apartment :(

Thursday started out rough. 

Remember how we met Jamie last week and she was GOLDEN? Well, we went to our appointment and on her doorstep was the Book of Mormon we gave her wrapped in a grocery bag (it was raining) and a note that said, "No thank you".
SAAAAAAAAAAAAAD.

So then we went and did service at Vinneys.
Then we went to Jefferson and saw Blanca and it was awesome because she is SO cute and she was feeling much better so we had a great time. 

Then we hurried back to Lake Mills to teach the Donnelly family! 

They had just lost the dog they were dog sitting, so we walked around their backyard (which is basically the cemetery and the woods) and looked for the dog. We gave up and they went inside and then I saw it and the missionaries totally saved the day!!!

Friday was awesome because we had Zone Training Meeting in Milwaukee and got to watch Meet the Mormons. It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. I am requesting to watch it 7 more times when I get home. 

We had a super awkward training and practiced a new way to explain the Book of Mormon by drawing a picture. 

Then we worked in Watertown again.

Saturday was fun. We did lots of stuff....in Watertown again. hahaha.

Sunday was awesome because it was the Primary Program and it was soooooooooooooooooo precious. Alberto's daughters Yadira and Valeria were in it and had parts and everything! It was sooo cool to see that even though his daughters arent old enought to be baptized, that we brought a family into the ward. It was sweet! Oh! And Emma Donnelly came and was in the program even though she didnt know ANY of the songs and just hardcore faked it the whole time. Sister Donnelly also came and got to talk to the Bishop because shes working on going to the temple to do baptisms with the Relief Society next month.

Then we went to Deerfield and Waterloo and taught some more people the gospel.

Week #1 as Senior Comp! 10/13/2014

Hey, hello, hola!

This week has been both awesome and sucky.

Awesome because I flipping LOVE my new comp, Sister Hatch! She's my second companion from Canada, so I'm practically Canadian now, eh. We are literally the best of friends and apparently I have forgotten what laughing feels like. We laugh ALL the time. We both think the other is HI-larious. We are twins at just about everything and we stay up way too late talking about life. #oops.

Seriously. The past 5 days have been so fun.

Sucky because I learned that the pain I've had in my jaw is not just TMJ and me just being the most tense person to ever exist, but that my tooth has been slowly dying for the past year and now it needs a root canal and I've been in ridiculous amounts of pain amd my face got all swollen and gross. Yayyyyy.

The beginning of this week was fairly unproductive. We mostly just visited all our friends and the members so that Sister Alder could say goodbye. It kinda sucks to get transferred right after conference, because you don't have the normal Sunday church opportunity to see all your peeps.

So we did that.

Then Wednesday we left bright and early and met all our friends at the South Stake Center and I said peace out to Sister Alder and waited all day for Sister Hatch to arrive from Green Bay. That was fun and delightfully awkward.

The second we were driving out of the parking lot, I knew Sister Hatch and I were going to be great friends.

 We drove home and then saw the Donnely's! We talked about enduring to the end as part of our multiple week lesson on The Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was awesome because we got to teach Aiden and Emma, and then talk to Sister Donnely and have a heart to heart. She got an invitation to go do baptisms at the Chicago temple with the sisters in our ward next month and it really got her thinking about what she needs to do to be able to go to the temple again. She wants to go! And she talked about how us teaching her kids has really helped her too because they are teaching her a lot about her own testimony. She got emotional and the Spirit was there. It was precious. We are super stoked for them!

Thursday we weekly planned for forever and a half. Its really hard to tell someone everything about everyone in the area and NOT take forever. haha. We also saw Blanca in Jefferson. She is just precious. We talked about charity and love and I just love her. We also stopped by the Woodland's house on the way home and got to talk to Karen. Karen is married to a less active brother, (actually, he's the brother of Sister Donnely!) and she has a little sprouting seed of potential. We got to talk to her and introduce Sister Hatch and we both have super high hopes for that family!

Friday we tracted and had some hilarious missionary moments. We knocked on one door and this old man takes FOREVER and a day to come to the door. Like....ridiculously awkward time where we werent sure if he was ignoring us even though he could plainly see us and we should awkwardly walk away....or...what. but finally he opens the door and he has no shirt on and is in a wheelchair and keeps making sounds like he's about to vomit. We do the typical, "Hello sir! We're missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.." sha-bang and he tells us he doesnt feel well today. We ask him when a better time would be to come back and he says, (while still occasionally making legit about-to-vomit-sounds) "Well, I never know when these hiccups are gonna come, so I really cant say." So we left and didnt say a word about it 'till like 3 days later and laughed soooo hard because we just got told that we cant come teach him because he had the hiccups. hahaha. So. We're going back(:

On the same street we met this lady named Jamie who is SWEEET! We gave her a Book of Mormon and she said she would read it and we taught her a bit about it got a return appointment. When we asked if we could leave her with a prayer, he face LIT up and she asked, "YES!! But..! Can I get my son first?!?!?" We were like, "uhhhhh, YES!" So obviously we are gonna baptize that family.

We also talked to Myrtle. hahahaha. Sister Hatch asked, "How have you seen God help you in your life?" And Myrtle says, "I havent." So Sister Hatch rephrases the question, "How have you seen having a faith help you in your life?" And Myrtle says, "I havent seen it. ....Is that a movie?" hahahahaha. And we tried not to laugh as we explained the question. Then we taught her about the Book of Mormon. haha

Funny street, I tell ya.

We get to watch Meet the Mormons on Friday at ZTM!
Watch the trailer and then go find it in a theater near you!

I'm still getting the hang of being in charge of an area. I'm so used to being told what to do every second of my life here in Lake Mills that being totally responsible for everything is like...crazy. But I'm getting the hang of it. And Sister Hatch totally gets it and gets me. We've both had really hard missions with health stuff and all so we work pretty well. The only problem is that we are both basically chronically sick. hahaha. But we know that the Lord needs us here and we refuse to go home or let it affect the work. The awesome thing about Sister Hatch and I is that we have both learned a TON about the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Missionary work is hard for the both of us, but we rely on extra strength that comes freely if we give it our all.
So. We're gonna show the world that sick sisters can kick butt. Then we'll write a book.

I'm super stoked for all the things that are going to happen here in Lake Mills!

Oh, ps! As a mission, we are reading the Book of Mormon together before Christmas. We are reading it to understand Christ's Atonement and what we need to do to access it. We are underlining the nature of Christ and his Atonement in red. And we are underlining the things that we must do to access the power of the Atonement in green. Do it with us! I'll fwd ya'll the reading schedule!