Monday, July 28, 2014

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!

Monday, July 21, 2014

We told her that all things are possible with God

I am doing well. :) My week was great, very busy. :) Jeff and Ricky didn't show up to our appointment.. We rescheduled twice and they bailed both times. That's okay though. :) They both have a copy of the Book of Mormon. I think they are going to read it one day. They are too curious not to. 
 
Janice wasn't able to come to church this past week. She wasn't feeling well. :( We had an awesome lesson with her though! A less-active came with us to help teach about the Holy Ghost. She taught a good chunk of the lesson. It was epic! :D 
 
Everyone here is well. :) I love the people. I love volunteering with Habitat! It's so much fun! The store manager is hilarious. Transfers are next week. It is crazy to think about! I am glad I chose the later transfer. I am definitely not ready to come home yet. Here is my week. :) On some days I have to tell you everything we did. haha
Monday: We ate dinner at the Ure's. Like I said earlier, Jeff and Ricky couldn't make it. It's alright though. :) We had a fun time with their family. Their daughter, Sadie, who is 3 I think, sat by me during dinner. Every time I'd put food in my mouth she would feel my cheeks and laugh. It was so cute. :)
Tuesday: We volunteered at the Soup Kitchen. The guy I was working with kept giving people extra food. We didn't have enough for everyone by the end. :( I do have to give him credit though, he was just trying to be helpful. We also went to the MaClean's. They are so excited to meet you guys. :)
Wednesday: Crazy day! We ate breakfast at Kelly Brock's house. She makes really good, healthy food. She used Almond Milk in her pancakes, which I should have guessed, and I didn't know until I ate them. I feel like I have an allergic reaction every week! It's crazy! So I took benadryl and almost feel asleep less-active hunting with a member. Sister Hyoung let me sit in the back. :) A lot of people were home this time around, so that was nice. Then we went to see Janice. :) We taught Danny, our new investigator, with Lorrie. Lorrie is recently coming back to church and Danny is her fiance. :) We ate dinner at Sister Favey's house. She takes such good care of us! I love her.
Thursday: We weekly planned with the elders at the park. It was fun and really nice outside. :) It hasn't been too humid lately.

Friday: SUCH A GOOD DAY! We went to the temple with a family in the ward. :) They were receiving their endowments. So exciting! Their family was baptized 5 years ago or so. :) I love the temple. It was the first time, in a long time, where I got a lot out of a session. I think it's because the session wasn't until 2 o'clock and I didn't have to wake up at 4 to be there on time. :) hahaha I came with so many questions and I felt like I tried really hard to pay attention. It was a beautiful experience. :D We rode with some awesome members. It was fun to spend time with them. :)
Saturday: We woke up early to move wood with a family in the ward. It was a lot of fun. :) So nice to be outside. Then we came home and showered super quick so we could head to Habitat. Then we went to visit with Lorrie. It was a powerful discussion. A few days earlier she had mentioned she was struggling and didn't know if she could come to church anymore. We went in there to feel things out and see what we could do. Her anxiety has been pretty bad. While we were sitting on the couch in silence, I was overcome with this feeling of love for her. We told her that all things are possible with God and that He is the ONLY way to peace. Sister Hyoung shared some powerful experiences. Overall, it was just so amazing. She texted us later that day and said that she felt so much better. We can't put a cap on what God can do. :D We went and ate lunch at the Wagaman's. Hilarious family. We had a "reception" for the family I mentioned from yesterday, the Candelario's. They were sealed as a family earlier in the day! :D AWH! We didn't get to go, but they were so happy afterwards. I remember doing that. :)
Sunday: We went to go visit Sister Bonkosky. She is in a Rehab center for health problems. I always feel the Spirit so strongly when I am with her. She definitely has that gift.

I am doing well today. :) We are going to a BBQ because some of the missionaries we serve with around here are going home next week. Suckers! haha  Wouldn't it be weird if I was coming home next week? yuck. haha  :D

Monday, July 14, 2014

Gods love for us is overwhelming.

It was a really good week. :) It will never cease to amaze me how much God loves. We went to Walden Pond today in Lexington MA for our pday. We woke up at 5, left around 5:30, and arrived around 6:30. :) The elders drove us. It was so beautiful. I got in the car afterwards and my heart became full of so much gratitude. Gods love for us is overwhelming. It fills my chest and makes me smile. So this week was great. :)

Monday: We ate dinner at the Nelson's. They own goats! You better believe there will be pictures. :) They are really sweet, good people. They let us feed their goats. :) Doesn't get much better than that.
Tuesday: I got to see a family from Belmont! The Sheffield's. :) It turns out that their parents are in the ward here. So that was cool. :) We also went to the soup kitchen. We have a couple new potential investigators, Ricky and Jeff. Ricky is Pentecostal and Jeff is Baptist. We are hopefully meeting with them tonight. Pray that they don't just Bible bash with us. :) haha

Wednesday: It was a busy day! We visited Sister O'Brien for her birthday. She is a firecracker. We met with Martha Cruzan, she rides motorcycles. :) Read scriptures with Lori, she is becoming one of my good friends. Ate dinner at the Coles, they have eight kids. Met with our recent convert Louann. :) Good day!
Thursday: Nothing too exciting. We weekly planned pretty much all day long. Which was good, it will make for a good week. :)
Friday: Taught Janice the ten commandments. :) She is finally out of the hospital and finally come to church on Sunday. Yay! I can't wait for you to meet her. :)
Saturday: We started volunteering at Habitat for Humanity. It's awesome. We work the cash register, which means we get to talk with everyone. :) I love it.
Sunday: JANICE CAME TO CHURCH! We were so excited! :D Best thing ever. She enjoyed it a lot and the members were so welcoming.  Such a relief. We also started teaching Lori's fiance, Danny! :D WOO!
I can't believe Zach is 17! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HIM. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HIM. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR ZAAACCHHYYY-PPPPOOOO. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HIM. :D That's blows my stinking mind. I remember being the queen of 17 and now I am close to being 21.. AWH. :( I still picture Zach as a 14 year old. Did he get my package? I hope he likes the book. :) I didn't buy it, I found it in the lost and found and grabbed it before they threw all the stuff away. It looks really good. :) He is always gone for his birthday, huh? Scout camp would be the best birthday party ever. He will be gone and serving the Lord full time before we know it. That will be weird. I will be the best writer ever. :) haha
Goats!




Walden Pond :)


The monument to Henry David Thoreau. 

He built a little cabin here and then lived in it for the reason that is on the sign :)  haha

Monday, July 7, 2014

The Lord is hastening His work and He loves me! I can feel it! :D

My week was swell. :) CRAZY! I have some good stuff for you this time. :) The Lord is hastening His work and He loves me! I can feel it! :D The 4th was wonderful. Lots of fun. It rained all day, down pour. It is WARM. Definitely not as bad as last year, so I am counting my blessings. :)
Monday: We ate dinner at the Candelario's. They are a hilarious family.. They are planning on going to the temple this month to be sealed as a family. :D
Tuesday: We had a webex in the mission. We found out that we now have to teach L5 in PMG before someone can be baptized.. It is also our responsibility to make sure all the new member lessons are taught.. :)
Wednesday: We met with our investigator Kaitlyn. She had a baptismal date for July 4th, and then she dropped it. So we met with her to see what's up and continue the lessons. We watched the Mormon message about courage and then talked about Moses and the brass serpent. She said that she knew why she was having this lesson and that she needs to be baptized in two days because that is the date that God gave her. So we pulled together a baptismal service, got permission for it to be in a pool, and finished teaching all the stuff she had to know before she is baptized. :D It we wicked!
Thursday: Kaitlyn got her interview and PASSED! We also met with our investigator, Kevin. I love Kevin. He is HILARIOUS. He reminds me of Zach in a lot of ways.. We taught him about Christ's life and it went really well. He is working on "feeling" the Spirit, not just connecting with the gospel intellectually. How do you feel it?
Friday: We had zone meeting, which was good. Kaitlyn was baptized! In a pool! Outside! During a tropical storm! It was one of the most spiritual experiences on my mission. She is amazing. :) Then we went to a members home and hung out with our entire ward. We played frisbee in the rain. :D It was so much fun..
Saturday: We spent sometime at the MaClean's. I can't wait for you guys to meet them! :D I love them so much. Then we went and watched fireworks at a church in Nashua. There were so many people. We gave the glowsticks you sent me to some of the kids there. :) They loved them.
Sunday: Oh man. Sunday. So we went to our church and then drove to the singles ward to watch Kaitlyn get confirmed. It was wonderful. :) Except for the fact that they used oatNUT bread for the sacrament. I thought it was an interesting choice. hahah I had to take benadryl, which made me super sleepy. We had a full day ahead of us too, we wouldn't be able to go home to sleep it off. We went to see Janice and ate dinner at Lori and Anna's. :) It was such a good day despite the tiredness.
Monday: Today is Matt's birthday! It's almost Zach's birthday! Everyone is growing up so fast! :) I get to go and see goats tonight! :D WOOOOO!

Janice! :D We went and visited her on the 4th - she was stuck in the hospital


That's Kaitlyn :)  Her boyfriend is on the right of me.  He baptized her :)  The elders in the singles ward are next to Sister Hyoung.  She was baptized in that pool!


A lady walked up to us today in Savers and handed us 20 bucks and said "Go get some lunch."  AWH!  So we did!  Chick-fil-a anyone?  :D