Thought we heard a fishercat outside our door...

Good morning! :D

I am doing so great. I love this mission more and more everyday.  It's incredible.  Connecticut is wonderful. It is SO pretty here, we drove through a state park on our way to a dinner appointment yesterday and it was incredible.  I am so blessed to be here.

Our week was crazy!! We went on exchanges with the sisters in Westerly, Rhode Island on Tuesday.  It was a lot of fun.  We got up at 5 to teach early morning seminary.  I liked it. :)  I hope we get to do it in our ward sometime soon. We read 1 Nephi chapter 5 with them.  It went really well, there are only two kids in the class. The people over here would be so grateful to have seminary offered in school.  It is a blessing.  

We volunteered at an old folk's home and fed them lunch. :) Then for a work out, they did chair dancing.. It's not as crazy as it sounds.. They do aerobic exercises in their chairs.. We didn't participate. :) haha

I got to see the ocean! AHH! Then on Wednesday we drove to North Brookfield, Massachusetts to help with Zone Meeting training.  It was a long drive, but it was a lot of fun. :) I like training other missionaries because I feel like I learn more than they do.  I get so much out of it.

We met a lady who was baptized into the church 15 years ago and decided to go back to being a Catholic. I have never heard anyone do that before, but she is still friendly towards the church so we are visiting her Thursday. :) She fed us rhubarb.

We met a guy named Buffalo Bill Tail. He is suh-weet!

We had a mini missionary over the weekend, her name is Danielle.  She had some good questions, I hope she goes on a mission.

Friday we drove up to Groton, CT for interviews with the Mission President.  It was so great, he is fantastic. :) We were given some training that totally changed the way I will forever do things.  It was the greatest.

Yesterday was Sister Giblette's birthday. :) She is 21 now.  My companion is the best and the ward is awesome. :) We have two baptisms this weekend.  It will be really good.  Although, we only taught the girls two lessons maybe.  So we didn't do much. :)

Today we were going to hang out with our district, but we have to cut our pday short so we can meet with a family nobody has heard from in a long time.  It will be great if they don't cancel on us. :)

We are slowing turning into fall. The nights are pretty cold and the days don't really warm up all that much. The trees are starting to change colors too. :) The work is going GREAT.

Sister Giblette and I literally thought we heard a fishercat outside our door.  It was not cool and not a fishercat. Thank goodness.
 
I have never tried orange marmalade.. Sounds interesting. I hope it was good. :) I have accidentally ate more nuts on my mission than any other time in my life.. It's at least once a month now.. Kinda funny. :)

Alma 27:17-18 describes my life right now

So, I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am.  I can't stop smiling and I am loving it here in Connecticut. Sister Giblette is the BEST.  We have a lot of fun together. :)   Such a blessing. :)  President Packard said he had such a strong impression to put us together.  He is so very in tune.  I love it too. :)  He is such a great man.  We have interviews with him this Friday.  He wants us to come with a question.

The people here are just as fun as they are in New England.  We had a lady tell us that she is super stressed because her 1.7 million didn't come in the mail.
  

Can you look up all you can find about fishercats? :)  I have not seen one yet, but the elders tried to tell us that they could take down a full size deer. So we were terrified of them. We live on the edge of a forest and are surrounded by trees. :) They are everywhere.

One of the sisters who went home last transfer left bags of her clothes here. We went through them and got to take home some of her things. :)  It is suh-weet.  We have things for us and things we can give to our investigators.  

We got to go to mission leadership council on Wednesday. It was a lot of fun to be around other missionaries and receive the training that we did.  It's so good to see how others are doing things.  You learn so much. :)  I got to see Sister Calder!  It was awesome!  Our zone leaders are so great.  We did the training with them at Zone Meeting and it was fun to get to work with them.  They really get "it."  

I finally finished and sent in my blog entry.  It is something you can look at.  My blog entry isn't up yet though.  I don't think. Go to reallifeanswers.org

Janica's blog entry for reallifeanswers.org:

When I was four years old my dad passed away in a tragic accident. It was completely unexpected. Losing him was really hard on my family. My mom, only 22, was now widowed with two kids and another on the way. I have two younger brothers who have had to grow up without a dad. Our lives were not going the way we had planned. It felt like the hole my dad left when he passed was never going to be filled.

I am blessed to say that I have grown up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I was always told by those around me that I would see my dad again and that he was safe. As I got older, the loss of my dad really troubled me. I desperately wanted to know for myself that I’d see him again, because words were not enough. The beautiful thing about this church is that we are encouraged to ask questions. We are encouraged to take all of our doubts to God, and to let Him give us our answers. I had not yet done this. I was lacking the opinion of the One who matters most: God's. I also needed to come to know for myself that our Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us. A major part of the plan He has created for us is the promise of eternal families.

  My answer to my two big questions finally came; the hole my dad left was, in many ways, filled. We have Heavenly Father’s authority and power to bring families together for eternity in our temples and my family had this opportunity in the Salt Lake City temple on February 23, 2013 through someone holding the proper power and authority directly from God. When in the temple, my family and I promised to God that we would follow Him and keep His commandments. In return, He promised us that we would be together for eternity. This is a promise we can all have. That day, sitting with my family in the temple, my answer came. My dad is safe. He is happy and I know without a doubt that I will see him again. I know now that our Heavenly Father has a plan for my family and that he has a plan for you and yours.

Now, this doesn’t mean that I don’t miss him and wish he were here. I really do. I don’t think that pain will ever go away. What I have now come to know brings me peace of mind and so much hope. If you have lost a loved one, don’t lose hope. You can find peace and happiness in this life through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I can promise you that God knows you and that He still speaks to His children upon the earth today. I challenge you to ask God and come to know if these things are true for yourself. It took me 16 years too come to my answer, so never give up, He will answer you.

We took 50 pass-a-long cards to our ward mission leader on Saturday for his 50th birthday.  It was a lot of fun, he appreciated it. :) 

We saw the nastiest rat the other night.  It was HUGE and I thought it was a opossum. 

Church was  awesome, we had a new investigator there.  Her story is crazy, but she has been so prepared to hear the gospel.  I think the coolest thing I realized this week is that we should boast in our God.  Read Alma 26, it's one of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon.  I also love Alma 27:17-18, it describes my life right now. :)

 

Oh and by the way. Papa and Gma sent me dried fruit. :D Aren't they the bomb? I need to send you a picture of it. :)

I am so stinking happy it's not even funny :)

Happy Labor Day! :)

This transfer has been so awesome thus far.  I am in love with my new ward.  They have been so good to us already!  It's awesome.  The elders here are fantastic.  We got here and they already had a list of people for us to teach and to visit.  Working with them will be a lot of fun.  My new bishop is awesome, he has a bunch of kids with red hair.  I love red hair. :)

Connecticut is beautiful.  I can't believe how green it is.  Except there is an animal here that is called a fishercat.  I am terrified of them.  You should look them up and tell me all there is to know. :)

My new companion's name is Sister Giblette.  I LOVE her.  She is 20, from Colorado, has 5 siblings, served in Nantucket before here and has been out 3 months.  I am going to learn so much from her. :)  Sister Hurst stayed in CF and she is training.

Our new apartment is really nice.  The ward gave us so much furniture.  We have three desks and three dressers.  We are the first sisters in the area, they haven't had any for 20 years. :)  I love shotgunning!  It is so much fun!  I hope I get to open areas for sisters my entire mission.  We got to the area on Thursday.  On Saturday night our RS threw us a supply shower.  They got us SO MUCH stuff.  We have supplies, food, and more supplies.  We are being so well taken care of.  Sunday was fantastic.  This ward is going to be a lot of fun.

Big news.  I killed two spiders, with my own shoe! Whoa. :)

I am so stinking happy it's not even funny, I am smiling all the time. :)  Life is so good.

My capacity to love has grown SO much

I got this AWESOME package in the mail. THANK YOU SO MUCH. :D You know me so very well. I could not stop smiling all day. :)

I can't believe I have been gone six months either! It has gone by really fast. If you think about it, I now have less than a year before I come home. Can you believe that? I miss you so much too!

I am leaving for Norwich, Connecticut tomorrow afternoon. This will be my third state already! I am bummed to leave this area, it's my baby. I feel way more involved here than I did in Weston. My capacity to love has grown SO much. I can't believe I already have to leave these people. I am going to miss my recent converts so much. They all started school today. :) They are such good girls, I can't wait for you to meet them.

My new companion came out here with Sister Hurst, her name is Sister Giblette. :) She seems pretty cool, she has been serving on Nantucket. I am so excited!

You'll be proud to hear that I am eating things I would have never of tried before.. I love peppers and tomato on my sandwiches. :) It's pretty crazy.

The leaves are already starting to change color here, I get to spend the fall in Connecticut. :) Yay! We were in Pawtucket last week and we saw crabs walking around in the parking lot.. It was so funny! I wanted to catch it, but decided I'd follow the no pet rule.

We went to another hoarders home, all the people from that TV show have to be from New England. It's bad.

I got to give a really cool lesson yesterday. There is a family in our ward who lost their dad about 6 years ago. The oldest boy (Ian's age) is having such a hard time with it right now, so I was able to talk to him about how I coped with dad's death. I definitely knew where he was coming from and I really hope it helped him. It was hard. I cried. :( He said the most heart breaking thing ever. I asked him what I could do to help and he said, "Just help me start grieving." Boo. :( So sad.

Two Sisters from our ward who left on the same day to serve missions.  One going to Alabama and one to Georgia

 

Our Church house in RI

We went and played at a gymnastics gym this morning.

 

My ward mission leader and his family.  I love them!

All is well here in Rhode Island :)

My headache got really bad yesterday.  I asked for a Priesthood blessing from my ward mission leader and the elders.  I feel a lot better now. :) The blessing was really cool.  My ward mission leader said, "I bless you to have the desire of your heart. Choose wisely."  What does that mean!?  Crazy. 

 

On Saturday they broadcasted the Temple groundbreaking. It was really cool, President Monson was there. :) I love that guy.  President Packard got to turn the ground with him!  So awesome. :)  

 

We also got to go to a Greek festival with one of our members.  She bought us Greek food. :)  it was alright.  It amazes me how American my taste buds are.

 

All is well here in Rhode Island. :) Next week is transfers and I find out Saturday night if I am staying.  I want to stay SO bad.  I need to stay here, I love it. :)

Here are some cool scriptures. :)

John 14:18, 15:9-13, 15:16-21.. 1 Peter 5:7.. :)

 

We had a farewell at church yesterday.  Two sister missionaries. :)  They are sisters and they are both leaving on the same day.  

I don't have much more to tell. :)  The week was short. Pday will be on Wednesday next week. :)

I like oatmeal, so that's big news :)

My week has been good! I like oatmeal, so that's big news. :) haha

My healthy breakfast with oatmeal

Remember how I used to love car washes? Not anymore, the ones out here are awful and terrifying.

We went to zone conference on Wednesday. It was so good! I love zone conference. I always learn so much and it's good to see the Packard's. I also love being around other missionaries.

A lot of people here live in apartment complexes or three apartment homes. One of the ladies in our ward lives on the top floor of her apartment home. She is so funny. A woman at her work stole her car in February, she just barely reported it to the police. The woman who stole her car is on parole for breaking into homes. The member in our ward is terrified that she is going to break into her house and she will have no way out so she tied a rope off the side of her three story apartment complex. It is nowhere close to touching the ground, we had to convince her not to practice scaling the building. :) I love it here! I hope I never leave, the people here are hilarious and I love them so much. :)

So, I really did not want to pay money to see a doctor for something silly like a headache.. Then we were reading out of the white handbook the day after I decided this and it's says to not delay medical treatment, even to save money. Dang it! I have to be exactly obedient. The blessing came when I called the Dr and he said he would see me for free. :) He is an ear, nose, and throat specialist.  Good news is, I don't have an ear infection.  Bad news is, he is not sure what is causing my massive headache.  So I have been icing and heating my neck and shoulders.  Slowly, but surely, it will go away I think. :)

It poured all day Friday, it was awesome.

We have two new investigators. :) They are fantastic. Our investigator was baptized on Sunday, she is so awesome. We just came from a lesson with her, I am so proud of her. She does not have a great home life, but Christ is so important to her. I look up to her a lot.

We were going to go watch the Patriot's practice, but the elders bailed on us. It was a super bummer. How cool would that have been!? So instead, we went for a walk on a bike trail near by.  It was beautiful. I have pictures. :) I didn't get any ticks!

(sorry I couldn't get pic to rotate :( boo!)

We got to travel to Plymouth on Tuesday to train some sisters. It was a lot of fun!

Sister Bailey and Sister Kendall

We cleaned a hoarders house. :) This was a real life, nasty hoarder home.  We started in the kids room and the layer of bugs, food, and trash was so thick that we couldn't see the ground.  The family has 12 kids, of course destruction is unavoidable, but oh man. We spent four hours cleaning, it looked so good after!

I got to go see Kelly and the kids. :) they gave me some veggies from their garden along with some other great things.

Some of the sisters are having a really hard time being out here on their missions. I have not hit that hump yet, I love it so much. I miss you guys, but I can't imagine being anywhere else right now. I can't believe it's already almost been six months. I can definitely do what I have done two more times. It is going to fly by! It is crazy to think that last year was my first year in college. Who knew I'd be in Rhode Island a year later! :) What the what?  I think I am eating well.  I am trying too, I definitely won't go hungry. :) I did get a new shirt and skirt. I will be sending a picture of it. :) One of the zippers on my skirts broke.. Dang.

New clothes!

The Lord is hastening His work in this area...

I am doing well. :) I think I have an ear infection, but I don't have time to do anything about it. haha! Other than that I am doing so good. :) I had such a good week.

Monday, we went to a FHE at a member's home. It was a lot of fun, they feed us such good food and it's all so healthy! They are vegan, so it's a lot of salad. :)

I am reading Jesus the Christ while I work out in the mornings. It is such a good book.

We went to mission leadership council on Tuesday. It was fun to be back in Weston. It is the opposite of my area now.  President Packard trained us on how to be better zone leaders and sister training leaders.  It was so helpful because I really have no idea what I'm doing.  I feel better about it now though. :)

We went to a less-actives house on Wednesday and her husband is not a member.  Sister Hurst asked him what church he belonged to, he looked at me, opened his eyes really big and said, "Satan's!" I am almost positive that's what he said.  It was so scary when he said that.  He looks like the magic man on Aladdin, the one who sings at the very beginning.  I was being sarcastic. :)  They have a dog and a cat that looks like it survived a zombie apocalypse.  He smokes, a lot.  She has a really loud cackle. :) They are just awesome.  Oh and as we left I noticed there was dog poop on the floor. haha  I want you guys to visit them when you come and get me. :) haha!   Mom, you would love their house!

I made gma's homemade chicken noodle soup for the first time.  I had no idea what I was doing, I just went off of what I had watched gma do.  I made it for my old zone leaders because they were sick.  They said it turned out pretty well. :) I am becoming quite the cook.  I make lunch for the district every Friday.  I am the food plenipotentiary. :)  Plenipotentiary is someone who is the king of or the leader of something. :)  We have a word of the day that our district sends out and that was one of them.

Anyways, back to Wednesday.  Two of our appointments cancelled, the best part was that they called to let us know!  We were so excited that they called us instead of just not showing up we weren't even bummed about them cancelling.

We have an investigator from Haiti who is so solid.  He wants to be baptized and he is so excited about the Priesthood.  It's awesome. :)  He went to church on Sunday and loved it!  It's so good when that happens. :)

We went to Franklin to train the sisters there. It was crazy! We spent most of the day at an OCD hoarders house.  Afterwards we went to "help" set up a wedding.  Everyone ended up leaving us though and we had to set it up alone!  We had no idea what we were doing.  It was insane, probably the most stressful day on the mission thus far.

I love going on exchanges because I don't have to drive. :) haha

Church yesterday was INSANE. Sacrament was so good, all of our recent converts got up and bore their testimonies. :) It made us so happy to see. Then for second hour I went to Sunday school, which was pretty normal. Our investigator, Heaven, who is being baptized this Sunday passed her interview with the Bishop. Which is good, he can be intimidating.  And then the third hour came along.  I was helping supervise primary because so many of the teachers were out of town. We had a little girl throw up and we found out that our other investigator just found out her cousin was murdered in Pawtucket. Isn't that awful! She is so torn up about it, we are going over there tonight to make sure she eats and to help her grieve. When it rains it pours. Satan is working so hard on the people here in Central Falls. The Lord is hastening His work in this area.

My sunburn is basically gone. :) I can still see it though, I kinda look like a giraffe. haha The weather has been pretty decent. It is actually pretty cool today. Thank goodness! We have been getting a lot of rain lately which is nice because it gets rid of the humidity.  We had some members of our ward who just came back from vacation in Utah. They said that the heat there is miserable. I am so sorry for you guys. :( Hopefully it cools down soon. 

(Monday August 5th post - mom is so far behind!!  No new post this week until Thursday)