Week 1
Trio.
Tripanionship. The three of us. Yep. Whatever you want to call it...it's been
weird so far. One extra person in a companionship makes everything either three
times easier or three times harder. Staying entertained is easier. Staying
focused is harder. Cleaning goes faster. Planning goes slower. So on and so
forth. Somehow, we have managed to all make it through the bathroom in a fairly
timely manner in the morning for the most part. One of the other things that
has tripled is our hunger. We don't know what hit us but as soon as we got
together, we suddenly became insatiably hungry. And we've been like that ever
since. Last night at dinner we kept apologizing for how much we were eating. I
seriously don't think I've eaten this much food since I was 15 and still had
the metabolism of a teenage boy.
I will not
make the mistake of failing to introduce my companions like I did last time so
here you go: Sister Wilson is is tall, brunette and has been out for 7 months.
Sister Strickland is just shorter than me, is blonde and has been out for 8
months. Did you hear that? Both my companions have been out for over 6 months!
I've only had one other companion that's been out for over 6. It's kind of
weird but nice too. Another fun fact: both of my companions have Disney
princess names for their first names (you can play the guessing game and try to
figure out what they are but I won't tell you). I feel left out but whatevs.
One day they'll make a Disney princess with my name. But look, I already have a
picture of us! Ha the sun was kind of bright.
So anyway,
back to the beginning of the week with sister Anderson. We spent the last
glorious hours together laughing our heads off as usual. And observing the
miracle that self cleaning ovens are (seriously the closest thing the magic
I've ever seen). She managed to be done packing around 11pm the night
before transfers (which is better than I've ever done). We got up the next
morning at 5:30 to get to transfers. I picked up sister Wilson and
spent the day with her while we waited for sister Strickland to get here
because she was over in Montrose. When the transfer train got in town, we went
back to the mission office to pick her up. In total, we drove almost 50 miles
that day because of the back and forth. To give you an idea of how extreme that
is, we're only supposed to used about 13 a day. Sooo we've been walking a lot.
To add the the exhaustion, we got to go to the temple the next day which meant
getting up at 4:30 this time. It was wonderful but by the evening, we
were actual zombies. We went to youth activities that night so I could
introduce the new sisters to people and everyone looked at us and told us that
we just needed to go home and go to sleep because we looked like we're were
about to pass out. Because, well, we were.
Miracles
happened yesterday after a week of walking around and not much happening. Jaden
came to church and we set up our first appointment with him for this week.
Then, Addy showed up to church. She is a woman who referred herself months back
and the sisters were trying to get in contact with her and only talked to her
on the phone once. We've been trying to get a hold of her since I got here with
no luck. And then she just showed up to church yesterday! She's been dating a
member and going to church with him and then he just moved into our ward this
week so they're coming to our ward now. And she loves it! She says it's what
she's been looking for. So basically were psyched about her. The update on
Madison and her family is that they're out of town this week and we weren't
able to meet with them. Sad day. We can't wait until Saturday to see them
again.
And now
for your trunkiness update: this week I was informed on how much
social media has changed since I left. That was a scary moment of truth. I
really haven't been in the world for the past year and a half. And I'm not sure
I want to go back anymore...
Week 2
This week
we found out that we are actually officially in a walking area. Everyone else
in HR have at least double the mile allotment as us. Sooo this week was filled
with more walking than ever before on my mission. Respect to missionaries who
do it all the time. I've been blessed with the wonderful invention of a car
this whole time. I have been running for 8 years now and have hiked for days at
a time and I have never got a blister on my feet before. And after one full day
of walking in dress shoes, I got one. It was gross.
On Monday
night we got a text from a member to come over and meet the lady who helps to
clean their house. We showed up and talked to her for awhile. Her interested
level wasn't super great but she said she'd be willing to meet again so...who
knows.
We had two
lessons with Jaden this week and he is pumped for baptism. He was
born a Buddhist and even went to Monk school so he gives us a lot of Buddhist
wisdom and then soaks in all the knowledge that Christianity has to give. He
has to work every day so meeting with him is hard but we make it happen. He
even leaves work for an hour to go to church. His dedication is inspiring.
We taught
Madison and her family this week. It wasn't anything amazing, especially
because we're still trying to figure out how to teach with three people. But
the next day while we were in Relief Society, Stephanie bore testimony on how
she knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet and how that knowledge has impacted
her as she has been encouraging and teaching her children about the gospel. I'm
pretty sure the whole room was floored. We sure were. We didn't realize that
she had such a strong testimony already.
Last night
we had a lesson with a member family that has 9 kids, all under the age of 18.
What do you do to keep them entertained and engaged? We read about the Armor of
God in Ephesians and then told them all to go
find "armor" in their house. The we sent older siblings to find the
"fiery darts" to test the kids armor. All chaos broke loose. It was
quite entertaining. One of the boys shield was quickly made out of a piece of
dry wall that he hammered holes into for a handle. The parents assured us that
it was a fun activity but...hopefully the kids don't get any more ideas.
Anyway, there is your next idea for a Family Home Evening lesson.
In other
(not so) fun news, we had to take sister Strickland to urgent care because she
was going deaf in one ear and it was really starting to freak her out after a few
days when it just got worse and worse. Turns out, it was just ear wax buildup.
It was a funny adventure tho. All the doctors there were probably wondering
what in the world was going on when three giggly girls walked in and were
excited about an ear cleaning. Hey, it doesn't take much to entertain a
missionary.
General
Women's Conference was on Saturday and it was
amaaaazing. I can't wait to be able to read those talks. They were exactly what
I needed that day. And this weekend is General Conference and I can't wait for
that either! Be sure to watch it! lds.org/church/events/april-2017-general-conference
Week 3
Trio fun
fact of the week: when in a trio, it becomes 3x easier to say the same
thing as your companion at the same time. It occurs at least once a day now,
especially between sister Stickland and me. One day it was a fairly long
sentence that we said together as if we planned it. Super weird. Now for
the weather. It has supposed to snow something like 8 inches several times this
past week. Still hasn't happened. *shrugs* Not complaining.
We had
dinner with Addy and it was wonderful time. Especially when she said she'd love
to take the lessons. Whoot whoot! Then we met with Madisons family and she and
her mom committed to baptism! And then of course Jaden is excited as ever to
get baptized and is willing to meet with us as often as needed. Life is good. I
don't know if life has ever been better. I'm setting myself up for
disappointment, aren't I? Naw. These people just need blessings and they're
willing to do what it takes to get them. I'm honored to have been put in their
path for this short time to help them in whatever way I can.
This week
we had zone conference which was good as always. There were things said and
trained on that helped me personally with things I was worried and bothered
about. They Lord truly answers prayers how and when we need them. And then for
another two days we had general conference. It has to have been the best one
yet. So many talks spoke to me, gave me more comfort and peace and encouraged
me to be just that much more diligent as a missionary. President Monsons talk was short and extra sweet
this time. If you only have 3 minutes, listen to it. If you have more time, check
out more! A few of my favorites were: Elder Hollands, President Uchtdorfs, and Elder Ballards. And now they have this new feature
on lds.org that has talk summaries. Yes, please! So basically,
conference is really good for the soul and everyone should watch, listen to or
read it. You also learn fun facts like, as of December 31, 2016 there were
70,946 missionaries. One of those was me!
The Easter
video came out this week! It is good as always. The tag line is: Learn
principles of peace from the Prince of Peace. And then there are individual
ideas and videos about those principles. Check it out at: mormon.org
My
homecoming talk and open house has officially been scheduled so get it on your
calendar! I'd love to see everyone who can make it to one or both of them. They
will both be on Sunday, April 30th. My talk will be at the 11am Sacrament
service held at: 8144 Holmes Rd, Kansas City, MO 64131. The open house will be
at my house (if you need the address, ask me or someone in my family) from 4-7pm that
evening.
Squad pic with Jordan the Jeep.
Week 4
It's
officially been 18 months (it was also sister Wilson's 7 month). We celebrated
with funky waffles. Yep.
Honestly I
don't have a whole lot to talk about today. Everyone is doing super good, keeping
their commitments and progressing. Our companionship is wonderful. Life is
still good!
We went on
exchanges and sister Smart and I walked allllll daaaay. It was great and I
didn't even get a blister this time! But I got sunburnt. I always forget to put
sunscreen on. Whoopsies.
In other
news, we've been borrowing a couple bean bag chairs from someone and sister
Strickland took it upon herself to take one apart to clean it. The project was
accomplished but not before our apartment looked like it had snowed inside. See
pictures below.
Yes, sometimes you have to sweep carpet.
So...a
boring week, huh? Oh I guess here is something else. There was a Dumb Ways to
Die ad on the back of a bus. That made my life.
Yep that's
all I got. I'm sorry for my lack of stories. But maybe that's a good thing.
Have a great one!
Week 5
This week
we went on exchange 2 of 3 (the last one is tonight). Sister Strickland
and I stayed in our area with sister Brown. This is her first transfer and it
was fun to be with someone so young and full of life. I felt bad for any trunky
influences that I might've shared with her. I'm trying really, really hard to
stay focused but no one warned me about how hard it would actually be. I just...I'm
sorry!
Anyway, we
met with Jaden that morning and she wanted a picture with him (because he's
going to become famous) so now I finally have a picture of him. He really is a
very happy person. I don't know why he decides not to smile in pictures. I'll
tell him to smile next time
So in
other Jaden news, he's getting baptized on Saturday! He is beyond excited
about it. He also stayed all 3 hours of church yesterday, which he doesn't
usually do because of work. But he said, "It's Easter! Of course I'm not
working today."
In other
great news, we finally met with Addy. The spirit was strong as we testified of
the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and she made it clear that she is
very committed to live the gospel. She and her boyfriend, Barry (who is a
member but hasn't been active), told us how much church and the gospel has
blessed their lives and relationship since they decided to start going to
church at the beginning of the year. Yesterday, she bore her testimony in
Relief Society and talked again about all the blessings she's seen because of
the gospel. Then she said, "I'm not even a baptized member yet but I
already consider myself a Mormon. I can't wait to be baptized!" Seriously,
missionary work has not been this easy my entire mission. What happened? My
companions are worried that when I leave, it'll get harder again and they won't
remember how to actually be missionaries anymore. I feel bad for them if that's
the case.
We weren't
able to meet with Madison and her family this week but they did come to church
and gave us adorable pompom bunnies.
This week
our ward mission leaders daughter got married so we did some service and helped
to set up the reception. It was super pretty but...a lot of work. Mostly
ironing. Also, bows are so frustrating to tie, let me tell you.
We
also had a "funeral" for me and elder Brown (who is going home next
week as well) this week at district meeting. Yeah, it's a weird tradition of
our "forefathers" and it's usually done the last district meeting of
the transfer but we decided to do it this week just to be safe because they
always seem to get cancelled.
The great
thing about these funerals is it's actually pretty funny. We couldn't keep a
straight face for long.
Aaaaand
yep, that was my fantabulous week. One more Monday and...it's all
over. Goodness it's so weird.
Week 6
It's been
a super, duper last week. Soooo many blessings. My heart is full of joy! Buuut
I also can't focus (surprise) so this'll be short. Maybe I'll expand on stories
later.
To start
it all off, we went on a hike with a member after we emailed on Monday. We
went to Roxborough National Park so I got to go through my old area!
In other news, the toilet had problems again...and flooded this time. Hah. Yep glad I'm done with that for now.
In other news, the toilet had problems again...and flooded this time. Hah. Yep glad I'm done with that for now.
Another
random story: we were at a members house for a lesson and they invited us to
the back patio. As we were sitting there trying to get all the kids to sit
down, grapes started falling from the sky. No joke. We spent at least 5 minutes
trying to figure out what was happening. We finally realized that their
backyard neighbors upstairs window was open. We don't actually know if that's
where they were coming form but that's the best we got.
Oh and
remember the Armor of God activity I talked about a few weeks ago? We did it
again with another family this week and it was hilarious.
Stephanie's
mom was in town this week which was initially a worry but Stephanie said we
should have a lesson anyway. We were able to bear our testimony of Jesus Christ
and all the He does for us plain and simply. Later that day she texted us and
thanked us for the lesson and said that her mom loved it!
To top off
the week, Jaden was baptized! It was early in the morning and glorious. He has
changed so much just since I met him and from the stories I've heard, he's done
a complete 180. It was such a blessing to teach him and be here to see him be
baptized.
Sqaud
pictures with the best in the mission.
Aaaaaand
yep, my attention span is gone. Catch ya on the flip side!
Good bye and going home pictures to follow:
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Good bye and going home pictures to follow: