Pictures

These are pictures of me with a jug of water which I frequently buy at the gas station and carry around with me everywhere, and Hna. Taylor and I at the temple, along with the baptism pictures. The last one is a fort that me, my companion, and the other two sisters built in our apartment.  We pulled out our mattresses and slept in it. 

Week 10

It was SO great to talk to you on Christmas! I was just grinning all day. Loved it. Thank you for your patience with the technology...some day it'll work. I hope you all had a fabulous day!

We've had an awesome week. It was Christmas, we ended up having a baptism, we had our prayers answered, AND we had a baptism. That was pretty much the greatest part.

Okay, so Thursday was the prayer answer day. Of course, our prayers are answered pretty much everyday, but this one was special for me. I really wanted to find some new people to teach. I read that one way to find people is to look for the unplanned opportunities on the way to your appointments. So, I decided to pray that I would find someone "unplanned" during the day and know that I needed to talk to them. We had a great day and around 8:00pm we were driving back from an appt. I had gotten so caught up in the day, I had forgotten to look for the opportunities! However, we passed this man walking on the side of the street, and I had that impression to go talk to him. My companion was a little hesitant because we thought he was holding a beer bottle, it was in a little sketchy part of town, and at 8:00 at night. I almost pushed it aside, but then I got that feeling again. So, I told her to pull over and we casually walked back so it didn't look like we were stalking him. When we approached him, he kind of kept walking passed us, but we started talking so he stopped. It turns out, he just had a pop bottle and he was super cool! He seemed a little interested and we got a return appointment. I don't know if anything will come of it, but it was super cool to see how the Lord had answered my prayer. I was happy.

 

The baptism. This amazing lady is Julieta. She is an angel and probably the most prepared person I've ever seen in my entire life. Everything we teach her she already has a testimony of it. It's amazing. We thought we were going to have to baptize her next Saturday, but we worked it out enough so we only had to push it one day back. So yesterday we had the baptism! It was sooo good. We had such a good turn out from the ward (25-30) and she was so touched by it. We had her bear her testimony after the ordinance. Through tears she said how much she felt the Holy Ghost. She said when she got in the font the water was cold, but as soon as she came up out of the water she was warm. It was the sweetest thing ever. She was so overwhelmed. UGH. It was soooo good. I can't even describe it. We had everyone there write their testimony on a card for her. We're going to put it in a book with some pictures and give it to her. I also played the song "Redeemer" as a special musical number. It felt so good to play for people again. I was thinking as I played it, that I've only played that song for some of the most influential, or important events in my life. Grandpa's funeral, Jake's farewell, and my first baptism. It just keeps getting better.

 

We also had exchanges from Saturday to Sunday. I went to south Phoenix. It was interesting to see a different area and to see how a different companionship works. I learned a lot. Plus, the dinner appointment we had was casserole! And we had ice cream. It was so American - I loved it. I was also the only one who could play the piano in their ward, so I played during church. It's a handy talent to have. Mom, I have to laugh when people ask me to play - I just remember you wanted me to learn how to play the hymns so bad when I was taking lessons. Well, now I can assure you it is coming in handy. I play all the time. So thanks :)

 

Anyways, it's been a wonderful week to see the Lord's hand in my life, and the lives of others here in Phoenix. I hope you've been able to see His hand in yours! Maybe you can start the year out by giving someone a book of mormon, ya? Just a missionary thought. I hope you have a fabulous week, and...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Week 9

I won't write a lot this week because I get to see you in 2 days! But I just wanted to say hello and I'm excited to see you! I was able to be a part of a special MLC meeting on Friday. Usually it's just for District and Zone leaders, but they invited a few other people, myself and my companion included. They called it "the meeting." haha. Some representatives from SLC came down and did some special training. It was MIND BLOWING. I was so grateful to be a part of it so early in my mission. It totally changed my perspective on how to teach people and being a missionary in general. There was only one other girl my age in the meeting. (mission age, 3 weeks old). We talked about how lucky we felt. I can tell you more details later. That was pretty much the highlight of the week. We also got a man named Oscar to committ to baptism. He is the husband of Julieta, our investigator who is getting baptized on Saturday. We were pretty excited. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve.

Week 8

Sorry this is a couple days late! I hope you're not too worried...or I hope you're a little worried. haha. Either way. We had a huge 3 day mission conference this past weekend that took up our p-day and we didn't have time to email yesterday because of appointments and such so that leaves today. Yay! The conference was great! We had great speakers and food and Santa even came. It was a great time. Yesterday morning we went to the temple as a mission. Our zone went in one of the last sessions so we woke up early and did initiatory before our session. It was only the second time I have done it so I really enjoyed it. Definitley an uplifting weekend. Also, we found out that on January 11th, Mitt Romney and Elder Holland are coming to ASU for a conference. Elder Holland requested some time with the mission here in Arizona. So..the tempe, phoenix, and one other mission are getting together so he can talk to us! I'm super excited. I hope to see Korbin Kavanaugh there AND I get to hear from Elder Holland. We're pretty psyched. I really don't have much to report. We will hopefully have a baptism a week from Saturday. A lady named Julieta. She calls us her angels - like Grandma Homer! She was SO ready for the gospel. I'm really excited for her. I gave a talk in church on Sunday. Or at least tried to ;) It was a little intimidating trying to give it in Spanish, but I think I got the message across. Yesterday, we OYM'd a guy named Salvador. He had sooo many questions. The best part was I knew the gospel could answer everyone of them. Unfortunately, he's not in our area, so we have to turn him over to the elders. I really hope to see him again though. He was legit. Last night we also had a really good lesson with a lady named Domitilia. We taught her the restoration all the way through. At the end, my companion made me speak (she purposefully goes into silent mode so I have to speak...so frustrating) and I just shared a personal story about the priesthood and bore my testimony. I felt the spirit so strong. So strong. I knew it was there. All of a sudden she just starts crying! I was amazed. She seemed really distant about the church before, but we knew she felt it was true last night. We invited her to be baptized and she said she would if she knew it was true. We'll see what happens. Anyways, that's really all that is new right now. I'm excited to talk to ya'll in a week! It's coming fast! I can share more then too. Thank you for your emails! They are always so inspiring. Also, I would love it if you could all send me your testimony in a letter for Christmas. That would be fabulous! I love you all and hope you had a fabulous week!

Week 7

So..here I am in Phoenix or The lone and dreary world as I like to call it right now. I never knew being a missionary could be so hard! I had a lesson in the CCM of how our homes were the garden of eden and we were cast out into the lone and dreary world -- or the CCM. Then, the CCM became the garden of eden and the mission field is the lone and dreary world. That is where I am right now. The Lord wants to prune me a little more and teach me some more things. It's a bit difficult from this end though! Dad, I appreciate that I am allowed to feel overwhelmed. Every day it gets a little better though.

So, the trip. I made a goal to give away one BofM in the Mexico airport. I told my teacher that and when I went to our classroom to get my things I found 3 more sitting on my desk. Apparently he wanted me to give out some more - so I did! I traveld with one other girl (going to Boise, Idaho -- look out for an Hermana Clegg mom and dad) and we acted as companions and gave out 3 Books of Mormon and many Mormon.org cards. It was scary at first, especially because I couldn't understand them, but luckily Hna Clegg is really good at Spanish. I just bore testimony and handed them the book. We figured it was a great way to start the mish. I tried to call you, mom and dad, but the operator said your phones weren't collect calls and it wouldn't go through. It'll be more fun in a couple weeks anyways. The flight was super uneventful (I used that word just for Jayna). I walked out of the terminal to find this 7 foot man and his wife waiting for me. Little did I know he was my mission president. I definitely look up to him in more than one way...lets just say that. One of the elders that is an assistant to Pres. Toone is like 6'7'' too. It was strange going from the Mexico people to Americans. I was the tall white girl in Mexico, and quite the opposite in the airport. I got to talk with them for about an hour as we waited for the missionaries from Provo to arrive. That was pretty cool. I didn't realize that most missionaries don't get that much time with him, so I was grateful for the opportunity. They are amazing, definitley like my parents here in Arizona. I was pretty homesick for Mexico the whole day. I missed my district and my comp, the food, everything really. All the other missionaries knew each other so it was weird. It was really hard knowing I had just had these amazing experiences in Mexico and no one understood the transition I was having. We stayed in a members home that night and had transfers the next morning.

My trainer is Hermana Taylor. She is from Washington. She's been out for about 3 months. She's pretty cool. Hermana Gates set a high bar for my other companions, but she's growing on me every day! She knows a lot of Spanish, so that's good and bad at times. That night we taught a man named Jose. That was a little intimidating! haha. I'm so green it's ridiculous. Our zone leaders tease us about greenie blessings. We had 6 investigators show up at church on Sunday and we had like 11 member presents this week and one investigator on date. We really have been blessed. I'm definitley fine with it!

So I'm serving in Phoenix, if you didn't catch that yet. I'm in a spanish ward. It's great, just different. I really can't understand anyone yet so that's pretty frustrating. I'm ready to be good at spanish now. haha. We have dinner appointments every night with some of the best mexican food I've ever had. They definitely feed us a lot. I'm just praying my body can process it all and I don't gain wait. My companion has already gained 10 lbs and I hear the average is 15. Oh my cupcakes. We'll see what happens. The members here are amazing. We took a lady to an appt and she ended up teaching the whole lesson! They are so focues on missionary work and so willing to help us. A lot of the members are converts themselves so that helps a lot too. They're great.

Yesterday was Stake Conference for our area. President and Sis Toone actually came to our meeting and talked. For some reason I had a feeling Prs. Toone would call on me to bear my testimony...sure enough. He asked me and one other elder to come up on the stand and bear our testimony of the Savior. I was so grateful for that experience. I've never been so calm talking in front of 600 people. It was really cool and I'm so glad our investigators were there to hear it. They have translation for spanish speakers, so even though I can't tell them in their language yet, they know now that I do have a testimony of Christ and I am a representative of him. It was cool.

Anyways, my time is running out. But, I want you to know that I do have a testimony of the Savior. This has been the hardest time of my life, but I know that He has been with me every step of they way, holding my hand and pushing me along. I have never felt closer to my savior than I do now, and I am so grateful for that - especially during the Christmas season. I love you all and hope you can feel the love from the savior the way I do. Have a great week!

I Met Elder Homer!

I GOT THE PICTURE FROM ELDER HOMER. WE ARE LIKE SIBLINGS. LOVE THIS KID.

Week 6

Well, every thing has to have an end, ya? The time has come my friends.

First, let me tell you about Thanksgiving. It was a glorious day and probably one of my favorite thanksgivings. I missed you all terribly, but I was so happy to spend it with my little district family here. The elders played their own "turkey bowl" in the morning. Someone brought a football and they got their fútbol americano fix. We decided to be the cheerleaders and took pictures to support them. It was all fun and games until a teacher came out and told us we weren't allowed to play it anymore. Whoops. It was fun while it lasted. We joked that it was only because it was American. We had class after that. I was expecting it to be a normal day, but our teacher was like "You are all good teachers, we will write grateful notes and listen to Christmas music." I was totally fine with that. He brought us some paper and we started writing. We each took a piece of paper, put our names on the top, and passed it around so everyone could write something on it. My elders were sweet - it was fun to see what they wrote. We had lunch after that. I was honestly expecting the normal pollo y tortillas de maiz that we have every day, but boy was I surprised. We walked into the comedor and they had white table cloths everywhere. They had made the traditional thanksgiving meal. Ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls with butter, pumpkin and apple pie WITH haagen dazs ice cream and gravy. OH MY CUPCAKES. After a month of eating unidentifiable Mexican food, it was heaven in my mouth. Definitely not as good as a home cooked meal, but I was SO grateful for it and the expression of love from the staff to honor our holiday was really sweet. It was great.

For the rest of the day, we studied a bit and taught one of our investigators. They had  special Thanksgiving devotional for us that night. Our evening teacher (vargas) told us he would bring us churros..the authentic kind..before the devotional. We waited for him, but he never came so we just went to the auditorium. Right before it started, he came and found us, brought us out side, and gave us the greatest thing I've ever tasted. It was a churro with marmalade in the middle. Some had chocolate, raspberry, or strawberry. Dang. It was so good. He was like "Happy Holiday" in his little accent. It was so cute. It was a really good day.

Yesterday was a bit rough. We had fast and testimony meeting and our district leader, Elder Fearnley, was the first one to bear his testimony all in Spanish. As soon as he was done his companion, Nelson, jumped up and bore his. Just like that, the rest of the elders in our district bore their testimonies one after the other and then Hma. Gates and I finished. I was sobbing. It was so cool to hear all of them bear their testimonies in Spanish. I just made me realize how much we have learned here. It was a powerful meeting. We took pictures with our Bishop and the Presidency afterwards and he gave us these organic, native made bookmarks. It's gorgeous and a fabulous way to remember Mexico. Last night, the Elders gave everyone blessings. Such a great experience, again. I was inspired to ask Elder Nelson, and it turns out he really wanted to give a blessing. I love how the Lord works. We watched Legacy last night, after the blessings, and then took pictures and said our goodbyes. Gates and I actually woke up this morning at 3:30 to see them off on the bus to the airport. That's where the real goodbyes are. It was so bitter-sweet, but I'm so excited for our Elders to have a fabulous mission. They will all be wonderful. We leave tomorrow at 2:30am. Yay for no sleep! It's great, I'm way excited to meet my mission president and see the area where I will be for the next 17 months. I love you all and can't wait to talk to you on Chistmas..yes I'm already looking forward to that. I know this church is true, and I know that there are people in Tempe who I promised before this life that I would come find them and teach them the gospel. I have been so privileged to grow up with the fullness of the gospel, and I am so glad that I get the opportunity to give back a little and bring it to my friends who have been waiting so long for it. I'm ready, and I know they are too. I love you all and I encourage you to find someone who needs to hear about the blessing of the gospel this week. Have a fabulous day! ADIOS MÉXICO.