Mission Accomplished... Last P Day Email!! :)

This isn't going to be very long.. I have been taking pictures for all of my 'lasts' as a missionary,  THREE DAYS. Oh man. It doesn't feel real yet. Weird, eh? I got up to bear my testimony on Sunday and just bawled.. Good thing the people in Nashua are so loving, or they would have thought I was crazy! We have been working really hard.. No time to slow down. :) I am SO excited to see you guys. My final interview is on Thursday right before you come.. I have been crying, but the real tears will come Wednesday night. I am not looking forward to that.. So far today I bought a ridiculous goat t-shirt and we are going to lunch as a district here soon. :)

Nifty hot dog stand in Nashua

My last day planning

My zone

My district

Last day at Habitat

My "last supper" at the Blanchettes.  She got me the COOLEST necklace :)

Me hugging the Nashua building my last week at church

Heavenly Father is blessing us with so much work. :D

The MBM is awesome. :) Lots of people out and about today.. It's really nice outside. We tried to go apple picking, but it doesn't start until next week.. So maybe we'll try then. :) Our week was wonderful! I feel like Heavenly Father is constantly teaching and comforting me about this whole going home in 10 DAYS thing. I feel like He is constantly reminding me to trust in Him and everything will be alright. I think the reason I am so bummed to leave my mission is because this is the happiest we, as a family, as ever been. I have never been so happy. :) I know that it won't go away.. I don't know. Does that make sense? Anyways. He has brought me a lot of peace and comfort this past week.. I feel like He has me in a warm blanket. :) He has also reminded me that I need to be grateful for this time. So, so grateful. This has been the greatest 18 months of my life. :) I am so wicked excited to see you guys.. SO EXCITED!

Monday: We ended pday early to go and spend some time with a family in our ward. They have had it really rough the past few years and the mom just got really sick. We went to help cook dinner and be a sound board for their daughter. :) It was fun. I love them. We also got two new investigators! Jenny and Jaddy. We though she was saying daddy when she first told us her name.. :) They are AWESOME. Becky (who we found last Sunday is Jenny's daughter). Becky's kids also started to sit in on the lessons. They are the cutest. The boys want to to learn about God so badly, but their dad won't let them come to church.. So we will teach them as long as he lets us. :)

Tuesday: I spent the day in Billerica with Sister Nielson. It was a lot of fun! We saw Sister Sheldon. I love Sister Sheldon. She is preparing to go to the temple on Sept 27th.. I am barely missing it.. :( Such a bummer, but I am so proud of her. She has come so far..

Wednesday: 18 MONTHS! We got frozen yogurt to celebrate. :) We also moved mattresses up and down some stairs. It was fun. :) We ate dinner at the Noel's and for their commitment they issued a challenge to someone else in the ward.. They get points for inviting people to certain things. The ultimate goal is to have someone for us to teach in their home. :) We'll see who wins.

Thursday: It was nice enough that we got to plan in the park. :) We spent most of the day doing that now that we have so many people to teach.. Heavenly Father is blessing us with so much work. :D

Friday: MY LAST DISTRICT MEETING. So weird. It was a really busy day. We taught Becky and Jenny again. :) Becky's little boy Saida gave us a big hug before we left. It was adorable.

Saturday: Sister Williams planned the day.. It went well. :) We went to Habitat. We saw Becky's husband there! Wicked awkward.. haha We also taught Danny. :) He wants to be baptized, but has to get married first.. A lot has to happen before they can get married. It is hard to get other people to act on my faith.. haha Does that make sense?

Sunday: Today was crazy! I felt like we were running around like maniacs.. Which is a good problem for missionaries. :) We had church, which was good. That's where the Lord reminded me to be grateful.. I'll tell you that story.. NEXT WEEK! AHH! Anyways. Then we went to lunch at Sister Orton's. She is one of my favorites. :) We then drove to Lowell, MA to teach Kaitlyn. It was good to see her again. She is a rock star.. We ran around the rest of the night stopping at places, grabbing things, dropping it off at other places, and setting monthly goals. MY LAST MONTHLY GOALS!

 

 

Isn't that awesome!  I had to take a picture!!

Happy 18 months!!

Sister Staley, Sister Nielsen, Sister Williams, and I :)

TWO WEEKS!?

Of course I don't mind you not sending me an 18 month package. I can wait for the better surprise in two weeks. :D TWO WEEKS!? So stinking weird. I can't wait to see you guys.

My week was great.. :)

Monday: We spent most of our pday with our investigator Danny and his fiance, Lorrie. She is a member. :) We went out to Denny's and then we played basketball. Definitely not my sport. It was a fun day though. We ate dinner at the Blanchette's. One of the coolest member families ever. I love their kids. :)

Tuesday: We met with three investigators on Tuesday! It was such a good day! :) The first one was Barbara. She is from Germany and pretty hardcore Catholic. She is reading the Book of Mormon. :) So that's a start. Then we met with Danny and finished the Plan of Salvation. I love those two. We also met with Kevin. :) We had a good lesson on the Spirit and committed him to read from the Book of Mormon. It will click for him one day.

Wednesday: Okay so crazy story. Our fire alarm went off again at 2:30 in the morning. This time there was a real fire. The storage room on the first floor caught fire. We weren't allowed back into our apartment until 6. Which we would have to be up by 6:30 anyways. AND we had to go to Belmont for return and report. We also had no water. So I had to shower at the church. :) it was a crazy nutso adventure of a day! Good news is that we got to go to the temple. :) I did forget my recommend though, which is a bummer. Cool part was I got to have an interview with President to get another one. :) I also got to see the newest temple movie because Heavenly Father knew that is the only way I'd stay awake. He loves me. :D I also saw Sister Giblette. I can't wait to hang out with her after the mish.

Thursday: The Spanish sisters investigators had us over for dinner. :) Coolest people ever. They don't speak a ton of English, but they are really trying to learn and definitely better than they think they are. They are getting baptized on Sept 7th. :) They told us that they like taking good care of the missionaries because they hope that one day people will take good care of their grand-kids when they serve missions. :)

Friday: We helped set up for the fanciest church wedding I have ever seen in my life. They almost had the entire ceiling covered in fabric. Whoa.

Saturday: Today was the first day Sister Williams had to plan all by herself. :) She kept saying that she thought it was a lot easier than it was. Now she understands what I do everyday! :) hahaha She will get the hang of things soon enough. It was a pretty successful day. :)

Sunday: We got a new investigator! :D Her name is Becky and she is so awesome. We are going back there today. :)

I sure hope that the Lord is pleased with what I have done these 18 months. I have tried my hardest to do my best. I had the same feeling on Friday when I got a blessing for my headache.. The Elder who gave me the blessing said some cool stuff. I also felt a lot of peace in the temple on Wednesday. I know the Lord is on my side with coming home. :) My comfort and peace is coming little by little.. 

 

Sister Williams was laughing at my pain

Our Elders :)  Elder Fauver and Elder Batts

GIANT flower at the temple

We had some time to kill before our session at the temple

 

I would like time to slow down a little bit...

My week was grand! :) We stayed really busy. Nashua is doing well. It was a rough week for the ward because one of our members passed away unexpectedly, Brother Henckle. It was incredible to see the ward come together to love and take care of Sister Henckle. She has received so much support. We had a celebration of life part for him on Friday. She is a strong lady and was in church on Sunday. She hasn't missed a beat. I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation. It has brought peace to many hearts this week. The weather is perfect! It has been cooling down a bit, so it is so nice. Today we are going out to lunch with one of our members and her fiance, Lorrie and Danny. Who is an investigator. It will be fun :) I love them both so much. My companion is awesome. She is catching on fast and adjusted to the missionary life quick. Life is good. :) I can't believe it's the start of the third week of the transfer. I would like time to slow down a little bit..

Monday: We had a lesson with a recent convert, Crystina, who has been struggling balancing science and religion. It was wicked cool to talk about. She has so many people telling her that she isn't Christian and that science can't coincide with religion. We helped build up her defences. It was fun :) She is a really smart person

Tuesday: My GPS died on us today. Which is alright, it helped me realize that I know Nashua better than I thought I did. We taught Danny about the Plan of Salvation. He asks so many good questions. I can't wait to tell you the full story of that household. It is a miracle in the works. We also met a new less-active, Sister Chamberlin.. She can't come to church because she is basically deaf, but she would come if she could.

Wednesday: The Silvestros, member family in our ward, had their roof redone. Their house was built in the 1700's. When they put the new roof on, all of this debris fell over everything in their attic. So we got to go and help clean-up. :) It was fun. They have the most adorable 4 year old boy. He danced around the attic on a broom. We also saw our investigator Kevin! Finally. It's been weeks.. It was such a good meeting. He recommited to take the lessons.. :)

Thursday: President came to Nashua for interviews! I love that man. We talked a lot about a lot of things, but I felt a lot of peace leaving the interview. It was nice. I have been praying to feel at peace with the work I have done here in New England and I feel like it is coming. Slowly, but it is coming.

Friday: We met with a new potential, Laura. She has grown up floating all over different churches.. She has had some very powerful experiences with the Spirit and I admire her a lot for them. The only setback is that she believes that once you've accepted Christ, you can do whatever you want. I have heard that so much the past little bit. "Faith without works is dead."

Saturday: We volunteered at Habitat. I love the people that work there. We also got to be apart of the youth conference. We didn't do much, but it was fun to be around some of the youth. :) I saw a bunch of my mini missionaries and some of the youth from Belmont.

Sunday: Such a good Sunday! We had a less-active come to church for the first time in years and our investigator, Marie, came to church for the first time. WOO! We also had lots of other people show up. It was a homecoming for a return missionary. :) We also taught Relief Society. It went pretty well. The lesson was on the temple. :D I love the temple.

Reflections...

   
Goooood morning! :)

I have spent the past few week reflecting.  I feel like I have come to that point in my missionary life. :) haha One of my goals this transfer is to remember. I do not want to go home and go back to 'real life.' Elder Holland told us that this is real life. What I am doing and the person I am becoming is real life. I want to remember the feelings. Remember the blessings. Remember the trials. Remember the spiritual experiences. Remember my Savior. Remember the love that Heavenly Father has shown to me. Remember the people. Remember how to keep satan out of my heart. Remember the the exquisite joy. Remember the sorrow. Remember my companions. Remember the Spirit. Remember the meaning of discipleship. Remember that the gospel is simple My list will go on and on. :) More to come, maybe? I feel like the Lord has impressed this upon me so much the past little bit. He knows how badly I don't want to forget and is helping me in all ways. I am so grateful..

This week has been great :) I feel like it has flown by. Sister Williams has already done a full week in the field! Crazy! Sometimes I forget that she is being trained, she is just that good. We are very much alike, in good ways. We have fun together and we are also able to teach by the Spirit. It's really cool. 

 

I don't feel like breaking down the days (shorttimer syndrome??). So here are just some experiences this week. :) We spent a couple days with our investigator Janice. One of the days we helped her clean up her apartment.. By the end of it we had about 15 puzzles in our trunk. :) They happen to still be in our trunk.. haha We did give some to the elders though. We taught her about forgiveness. She has a lot of burdens that she is carrying. It's hard to watch other people suffer. The best part though is knowing she can and will find relief because of her Savior. I love testifying of His Atonement and of His ultimate healing power. We also spent sometime with the elders looking for former investigators.. While out and about a lady started to Bible bash with us. Like most Bible bashers, she was contradicting herself the whole time. One of our elders, Elder Fauver, is super bold and opinionated. So he pulled out some scriptures and tried to make sense of what she was saying. No use. It reminded me though of the simpleness of the gospel. It all comes down to a basic foundation in Christ and with Him, we cannot fail. :) Helaman 5:12. We talked about spiritual gifts with one of our less-actives. She is such an incredible lady, I can't wait for you to meet her! Her name is Martha Cruzan. She has taught me to be humble. :) We had zone meeting on Friday. One of the things I will miss the most about being a missionary is being around other missionaries all the time. They are hilarious and there is just something special about it. :) I love it. The training was mostly on personal contacting, which I am not very good at. It's still necessary though. :) Saturday was a rough day. I was out sick for most of it. I had a massive migraine with some serious sinus pressure. I thought I was going to explode! It was a little bit better by Sunday and today I am feeling alright. :) Today we are going to go on a hike in the same place I went with Brian and Kelly.. Should be fun! :)

 

Two of my favorite sisters came for a sleepover (Sister Hurst, Me, Sister Bell, and Sister Williams)  :D  I made them all take a picture with me, after we were in our pj's :)

I LOVE THIS SHIRT!

Those animal crackers go perfectly with our animal wall :D hahaha

I got a journal that matches my socks!

I am trying to just transfer "owl" my thoughts into the journal without writing them out... hahaha

 

Pray for us to find new people to teach! :D

I am doing so well! It was really hard to say goodbye to Sister Hyoung. She will do great things in Providence though. I am sure she will love to recieve a letter back! You rock! :) You probably can't believe most of what she says.. ;) The week was good.. It flew by! I can't believe today is already Monday again. My new companion is Sister Williams. :) She is awesome! She is from Arizona and is number two out of ten kids. I hope I am giving her wisdom. She is already really great, she is making my job easier. :) Our investigators are doing well! We are definitely looking for new people to teach. Talking to everyone. Pray for us to find new people to teach! :D

Monday: We spent the morning blueberry picking.. That was a lot of fun.. So tasty too! We ate dinner at the VanUitert's. Such a sweet family.. She decorates cakes. :)

Tuesday: We spent the day running around like maniacs so that Sister Hyoung could say goodbye to people.. She is really going to miss it here and the people are really going to miss her. The people here put their hearts into taking care of us.. It's amazing. I am so grateful to be serving in this ward!

Wednesday: We had transfers in Weston! It was weird to see so many of the sisters I came out with go home.. I have received confirmation after confirmation of why I still need to be here for another transfer. I am so grateful for that. :) Sister Williams is awesome. We are going to have a lot of fun together! She is super tall and a really good bball player. Maybe she can whip me into shape?

Thursday: We spent most of the day re-doing our whole vision for the Nashua ward with the elders. Have I ever mentioned how much I love our elders? They are the best of the best! Anyways.. Our goal is to find a family to teach this month who will be ready to accept baptism this transfer. If it is the Lord's will, we will see miracles happen. We also saw Kaitlyn.. I love that girl. She is getting started on her family history so we can get her to the temple. Woo!

Friday: We had district meeting! Every area has a new companion this transfer.. It's pretty awesome. A lot of us are going home soon, which is weird. We also had Chick-Fil-A for lunch.. Sister Williams picked it, we are going to get along great! :D

Saturday: Today was different.. We met the Portable Visitor Center sisters (Hurst and Bell) at the temple in Belmont.. They are redoing their videos for the temple display and wanted me to come and talk about our experience being sealed as a family.. I cried. :) hahah It was a lot of fun! Hopefully I wasn't too awkward.. They also took some shots of me walking around and looking up at the temple. We'll see how it turns out. I felt weird haha

Sunday: We had 9 less-actives come to church! (That's a lot) It was awesome! :D It put a smile on my face.. Later that day we came home to do studies and near the end, we both fell asleep during our closing prayers! hahaha so funny.. It was only for 10 minutes or so.. Then we were up and going. :)

So I am definitely dying in Nashua

Greetings from Nashua! :D

So I am definitely dying in Nashua.  Sister Hyoung is leaving me and heading to Providence, RI. I keep telling her that she will LOVE it there. It's awesome. :) I am going to miss Sister Hyoung so much. We have a ton of fun together.  My new companion is coming straight from the MTC! :D I get to train my last transfer! WOO! There is no better way to head out. I am so stoked. I will meet her on Wednesday.  I am kinda nervous. She better not be crazy. :) ahaha I have gotten pretty lucky on companions thus far. Our week was really good. :)

Monday: We ate dinner at the Comber's. They have such a crazy life! Always so much going on. She has 29 birds, 2 dogs, fish, a lizard, and a hamster. I love her so much. :) She is battling her second round of cancer. Which is really sad. She finds our more details about treatments and such in a few weeks. She is so strong though, nothing will stop her.

Tuesday: I can't wait for you to meet Lorrie and her family. They are hilarious! Kael is the coolest 9 year old I have ever met. Lorrie has a hard outer shell, but we are cracking it. We almost got her to tell us that she loves us! :D

Wednesday: My last zone conference. :( I hope the missionaries in Utah let me come to their zone conferences. Anyways. It was so good. :) The whole mission presidency came! We focused on the three venues of conversion. 1. our teaching appointment 2. personal study 3. church attendance. So good! We finished off the night at Denny's. We serve with the funniest elders ever!

Thursday: We taught new investigators, Omar and Tatiana. Their son, Fabian, was baptized in January. :) He is so awesome. They are trying to learn how to speak English, so we taught them how to pray in English. No better person to practice on than God, right? :) The Spirit was very strong and they are some of the most humble people I have ever met. We also have our first correlation with our new ward mission leader. He is hilarious! I am so excited to work with him. :) He is very much a get it done kind of guy, which is nice.

Friday: In the morning, President calls to extend leadership callings and what not before transfer texts later that day. Every time the phone rings that morning, you have a heart attack. We were getting ready when he called us. We were freaking out! He called Sister Hyoung to be a sister training leader and me to be a trainer. We are both wicked excited. Nervous too. :) So many people are going home this week! It's crazy! I am grateful I picked the later transfer. I feel like I still have a work to do. We also ate dinner with a recently returned missionary and his family. His mom set it up for him so he wouldn't have to bad of withdrawals.. It was fun. :)

Saturday: I spent the day in Billerica on exchanges with Sister Staley. I met a lady got to photograph Michael Jordan the one year he played baseball. The pictures are pretty cool. :) She is a super funny lady. We went over there around 11 and she told us she hadn't slept yet. I got to visit an Air force Base. Reminded me of my days out in Dugway.

Sunday: We had such a good sacrament meeting. I have been coming every week with a question in mind and it is crazy how quickly God answers me. If I am paying attention. :) I know that our Heavenly Father answers prayers, and I am oh so grateful for it. It was also my 17 month birthday. I was not so excited about this one. haha It's just weird, hasn't really sunk in yet. I also asked Sister Hyoung what message she would leave with the people of Nashua before she gets transferred. She said to me,"That Christ's grace is sufficient." How wonderful is that? His grace is sufficient. Moroni 10:32 and Ether 12:26-27

Today we went blueberry picking. :D They also had farm animals.. Which includes GOATS! WOO!