CDSM Transfer 7

Week 1 

Well I guess I could say it's been a pretty good week. Not quite as successful as I was dreaming of but I really can't complain either. Lot's of walking around in the hot sun. But uh, it's Gunnison so I shouldn't even bring that up. I can't imagine what it's like to walk for hours down in Grand Junction. Just sitting outside for a couple minutes there makes you lose all the sweat that you have.

I tried country tracting for the first time (thankfully sister Sanofsky has had some experience in that department). Lot's of walking, not much talking. I'm such a city kid. Tracting apartments is so much easier.

Road construction between here and Montrose is just getting worse. This week on the way to district meeting we had to stop 3 times. We were half an hour late. On the way back, we got stopped just outside of town for half an hour. I was really about to go crazy.

This transfer we're working on trying to meet as many former investigators as we can. I'm pretty sure all of the town of Gunnison is in our formers binder. Yes, we have to have a completely separate binder to keep all those records in. It's not a small binder either. So, that's what we've been doing most of our open time, trying to find people who were interested in talking to us (at least at one point in time). A little bit of tracting here and there. So far, not a whole lot of luck. But yesterday, a man stopped us on the sidewalk and said that he was curious about our beliefs. He had heard some nasty things about us from a previous church he had attended and wanted to know if they were true and he had also seen commercials on TV about "another testament" so we explained what the Book of Mormons is, did a quick overview of the first lesson and talked a little bit about what we do as missionaries. He was obviously just curious and not super interested in learning too much so we invited him to do a church tour to which he quickly agreed. So that was pretty cool!

 As we were walking into the library today, a woman stopped us and asked "are you the ones doing a survey?" to which we replied yes. "Stop by my house today at 2:30. I'll help you with that." Sooo...we'll see how that turns out. 

Star was in charge of a food drive this week. The table was set up in front of the grocery store and they asked for food donations. She said that she was super surprised at how many people said no. We just laughed and told her that she should come tracting with us sometime. Rejection is definitely hard to swallow but you move on. 

And that's your weekly report of random stories, direct from Gunnison, Colorado. Catch you next time!

Sister Webster

P.S. I'm 9 months in. Please tell time to take a chill pill. Maybe if we all tell it to slow down it'll listen.

Week 2

So here I am again, not on Monday. We had our mission tour yesterday where President and sister Gifford (along with two of their sons) came to visit our zone so we could all meet each other. It was super cool. They are great people and I love them already. You can read their bio on this page (they're 3 entries down). lds.org/church/news/new-2016-mission-presidents-called-to-brazil-argentina-other-missions?lang=eng

This week we did a little exploring. One day we spent a couple hours in Crested Butte and ate lunch there. CB is another town I'd love to come back and explore. Another day we did some country tracting in Powderhorn (had a couple of good lessons and got a return appointment) and then spent an evening in Lake City and ate dinner there at a restaurant named Southern Vittles. There was a KC BBQ Society apron hanging on the wall. That right there made it all worth it.

The other day we were tracting and as we stood on this one porch, I looked down at the potted plants next to us, did a double take and said, "Is that cannabis? Just sitting on the porch...?" Pretty sure it was. Colorado keeps me laughing. Anyway, we continued on and ended up talking to this woman who knows one of the families in the branch here in Gunnison. She was very polite and we had a good conversation with her about various topics. Then she asked about the Book of Mormon. We explained a little bit about its back ground, that it's a record of the ancient american people, how it was translated and so forth. That's when she really became interested. We ended up giving her a Bible too (because she had packed hers away) and explained how the footnotes in both books refer to each other. She was fascinated and excited to start studying them. Experiences like that make it all worth it. We can't wait to go back and see what she thinks.

Well, that's about it for this week. I still haven't taken many pictures so to finish off, here is my "Idaho Spud Adoption Certificate" from the Giffords.

Week 3

I really don't have much at all to say this week. Like, at all. It's been one of those disappointing weeks that just don't have a whole lot of meat to talk about. But this isn't the first time that's happened so I shan't let it get me too far down.

A little ray of sunshine in the week: one of the members told us that the college has public computers WITHOUT a time limit that kicks you off! And no one ever seems to be there either (at least for now...we'll see if that changes when school starts up). So that's where we are today. Savage Hall of Western State Colorado University. Turns out that you can only use the internet on these computers tho. Not even USBs work so...I guess we still have to go to the library to send pictures and such but, honestly, it's still worth it. But, I don't have any pictures this week. I haven't been very good at taking many this transfer. I know you haven't seen a picture of sister Sanofsky yet. I promise, she's not a ghost!

And because I have nothing else to talk about, here are some of my new favorite scriptures. It's funny how every time you read, there's something you never noticed before or means something different to you at that time.

1 Nephi 17: 13

And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.

2 Nephi 27: 23

For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles ; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith.

Week 4

It's been a much better week. We finally were able to sit down and talk to Carrie. She expressed how much she loves meeting with us and that life has just been really crazy the last few weeks. We will definitely need to reestablish our purpose with her and explain that she needs to make it a priority to meet with us and not just cancel when we get there (which has been a real problem). But, her potential seems to be showing through again. She committed herself to study about prophets this week and possibly come to church. She didn't make it, unfortunately, because she felt sick when she woke up but that's improvement from the last time we invited her to church and she just said no because it's boring.

We met with Clarissa and the lesson went wonderfully. We taught the Restoration and she said most of it made a lot of sense. She had a couple concerns with prophets and priesthood but I think we were able to address that pretty well by explaining that personal revelation is open to everyone and that genders have different but equal roles in Gods plan. We invited her to baptism and she said she would consider it. We invited her to pray about the message we shared, especially those things that she had concerns about. She we totally open to that and grateful that we were just guiding, not forcing her (she's studied with other religions and didn't like how she wasn't really in control of how she learned, etc).

We were by a bus stop yesterday and saw a couple standing there. We approached them and they seemed a bit hesitant but as we talked to them, they started softening and opening up. They didn't let us teach them or leave a pamphlet or anything but just seeing their countenance change was worth it. A few minutes later as we were walking down the street, the woman drove past and called out, "Have a nice day, girls!" Adding little drops in the ocean is sometimes all we're ever asked to do and it's still rewarding.

Other fun events: we had dinner at the Hill's house. They told us that, "we'd better make it into your email this week!" So, shout out to the Hill's for a wonderful dinner! It really was good. That was the tenderest steak I've ever had the privilege of eating. Sister Hill knows how to make food good.

Yesterday was Harry Potters birthday apparently... I've never really picked up the book/watched the movies so, yay. But, we had an 8pm member lesson scheduled with some real HP fans so we decided to try to make the lesson HP themed (sister Sanofsky did most of the work because she actually knows the story). We found scripture verses that, when put together, told a bullet point version of HP. It turned out hilarious. At least that's what the members thought. I was just sitting there like, I have no idea what's going on. But, sister Sanofsky found THE scripture of the who thing: Romans 9:21 "Hath not the potter powerover the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" So, yeah...you're welcome Harry Potter fans.

Oh and another random happening. A man walked up to us after church (there are a lot of out of town visitors at church most weeks) and asked who our last mission president was, we told him it was President Murdock and he told us that he know's him very well and worked with him years ago. Small world experience of the week. Also, sister Broederlow just emailed me and told me she met someone from my stake last week who knows my family.

Tip for those with missionaries out: Read the white handbook occasionally (here's a link for it: lds.org/manual/missionary-handbook?lang=eng). We have to read a few pages a day to keep the rules fresh in our minds. If you read it, you can keep us accountable and you'll know boundaries that have been set for family and friends as well. Not that I've personally had a problem with it but I know people who have. Better safe than sorry!

​We ate dinner in Lake City the other night at a place called Cannibal Grill (the town was allegedly founded by a cannibal...) and they had a Chiefs flag. Home away from home.

​Our car is a real killer. This dragonfly was HUGE. Not to mention the rest of the smaller bugs all over the front. Cross country driving makes a car nasty. We can't keep our car clean more than a couple hours.

Week 5

Ugly truth of being a missionary: sometimes Satan just really get's into your head and makes you come so close to giving up. You feel that you aren't good enough, strong enough or worthy enough to be a missionary. It's absolutely horrible. It's been a full on inner battle for the last few weeks. I prayed daily, got a blessing and prayed some more. I'd find temporary relief and then get hit again. But, these trials come to make us stronger and to reevaluate if you are truly relying fully on the Lord. I continued to do that and ask Him for strength, knowing I had no other option (giving up really isn't one I'd want to pick). One day, I was looking through my "greenie binder" (a binder of information and articles that is given to each missionary their first day here), and read a couple articles that gave me new ideas of how to find hope, strength and focus. I could feel the peace come over me. Then I read the Riccardi Letter (a favorite among missionaries). It is a letter full of stories about this mans mission and his first companion who was one of those "power house" missionaries that any good missionary would aspire to become like. It gave me renewed encouragement and determination. I know this may not be the last time I have rough days/weeks like this but, looking back, I'm glad I have them. It gives me perspective. I can really enjoy the good weeksbecause I know what bad ones feel like. I love the article by Jeferry R. Holland titled: Missionary Work and the Atonement (https://www.lds.org/ensign/2001/03/missionary-work-and-the-atonement.p1?lang=eng).

This is an excerpt that especially gives me hope:

"I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary.

Now, please don't misunderstand. I'm not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacrilegious. But I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price.

For that reason I don't believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul.

If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass, then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn't an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn't an easier way.

The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

Anyway, we're back to not seeing much progress in our area as of now. Our efforts in finding new investigators, it's...going. Most people aren't interested tho and/or won't set up return appointments and just say to stop by whenever to see if they're there. Not super helpful. But, members are pretty good at giving referrals here. There is a young man who just returned from his mission who says he has several people for us to try that he'll tell us more about when we join his family for dinner tomorrow. We also had a great ward coordination meeting. We got a bunch of good finding ideas. The school year is about to start up so there will be new opportunities at the college! Speaking of which, looks like the athletes are pouring in. The town is crawling with college kids in all things Western clothing.

Wednesday we spent the morning into the afternoon at the food pantry building a garden box so they can grow fresh veggies next year. Our "head engineer" was a 13 year old boy who had some basic building experience. The week before, he and his dad had measured out what materials they needed and went to the lumber yard to price it out. Unfortunately this week the dad could't make it so it was us and 3 young boys with the help of their mom who ran errands for us when the materials were the wrong size or simply didn't have enough. It was great fun digging in the dirt and using a power drill!

Alright, time to wrap up. Have a good one!

Week 6

Hello all! Good 'ol sister Webster here, in much higher spirits than last week!

First off, transfer news: both sister Sanofsky and I are staying in Gunnison!

It's been a week of tracting. Nothing like tracting to lift ones spirit. Weird missionary logic, I know. I forgot how fun it can be. We had some super cool experiences talking to so many people. At the top of the list, we have David. He was super open to learning which is a relief. He's the only one who set a semi-return appointment (that's better than everyone else who won't even give us and general time to try them again). So, we'll see if we see him again and how that goes. Other than that, even tho we didn't get other return appointments, we still found the reason that we were on every street. We met a lady who was trying to round up her pet ducks. She tried to get her dog to help but we walked up right then and the dog was more interested in us. She finally rounded them all up and came to talk to us. She was super friendly but we didn't get anywhere with her. But she pointed out that at least we could talk about the duck lady now. So, shout out to the duck lady! We also met a woman yesterday who said she had gone to a church open house several years ago and would want to go again and bring her daughter! So, we're thinking about setting one of those up soon. Anyway, other than tracting, there isn't a whole lot to really report. Hopefully our efforts will result in investigators and more interesting stories to tell.

Funny story (sort of): some members took us out to dinner a couple nights ago and the waitress was telling us that the soup of the day was tomato basil bisque. All 4 of us started snickering. If you watch the comedy show Studio C, you understand why. The waitress looked confused and slightly worried and asked if she had said something wrong. One of the members assured her that we were just laughing because there's a comedy sketch (actually a few now) about bisque.

Another random thing I thought I'd mention just because: sister Sanofsky wants to learn how to play the piano so I taught her a little bit yesterday. I don't even play that well but I suppose I know enough of the basics to start. I've tried teaching other people and it's always been super hard because I've been raised in a musical family so there are certain things I just know. But most people don't know music basics so I don't even know where to start. But, sister Sanofsky has music basics so she picked up on what I taught her right away. Within 15 minutes she went from not knowing what the keys on the piano are to plunking out Come Follow Me...with both hands! I was highly impressed. I think she has a lot of potential.

I went on exchanges this week with sister Dickenson. She's pretty cool. We saw the biggest rainbow of my life! We decided to find the ends of it and knock on the doors of the houses it hit. We were super excited until we figured out that both ends were in fields. It was a nice idea anyway.

Oh an one last thing. President and sister Gifford have encouraged doing fun things on preparation day AND approved district activities. And so begins a new era. Our district went bowling today. The problem is, we're only allotted so many miles that we can put on our car a week which means that we couldn't make it all the way to Montrose and back and have enough miles for the rest of the week. But, members volunteered to bring us so we got to go bowling today! I stink at bowling but it was still fun. But because of all the time we have to spend in the car today, I may not be able to respond to all of your emails this week. Just a heads up, I'm not ignoring you.

Till next week!

 

 A couple of the sisters decided to make some Pokemon knockoff cards for our district.