Week 1
Yes folks, I am just days shy of a year. *gulps* ANYWAY...
I have so much
to talk about I don't even know where to start ahhhhh!!! OK, OK, composure. So,
transfers happened. I have a new companion and her name is sister Allred. She's
an old pro of 15 months so she only has one transfer after this. Not sure what
that's going to do to me staying in Gunnsion but oh well. The mystery
continues. The cool thing is, she is the first companion that I've had that has
been out for over 6 months. Maybe after this transfer I won't feel like a
greenie anymore...
So the day
of transfers went smoothly more or less. We were told to meet in Grand Junction
at 11:30. That meant we had to get up at 5:30 to make sure we
were on time but I had my doubts that the meeting would happen at 11:30.
And I was right. The transfer train didn't arrive until about 1:15. We
got up at 5:30 for nothing. But I'm not bitter. We didn't get back
to Gunnsion until about 6 because of all the errands we had to run. Some
sisters in Montrose we're getting a new car but neither of them were getting
transferred so we switched cars with them on the way to GJ and gave them their
new one on the way back. The kicker was when I went looking for their new car
in the parking lot, the only vehicle that the key worked with was...a pick-up
truck? I was so confused. I double checked and they said it was probably a mix
up but to take it anyway. So, dad, you should be proud of me. I drove a truck.
When I get home, I can drive your new truck!
When we
got back to Gunnsion, we had time to eat dinner, go to the Relief Society (the
womens organization) activity and then catch the end of institute (the young
adults religion class). And that's when the miracles started flowing. At the
activity, one of the sisters in the branch came up to us and said, "so, I
met a guy..." and went on to tell us that she knows this guy named Mark
who is super interested in learning about the church. Since then, she keeps
talking about the conversations that she's been having with Mark and we've
determined that she's basically taught him the first 3 lessons already and he
watched all the sessions of General Conference this weekend, like, whaaaat?
Don't know why he needs us. Just kidding we're so excited! We finally get to
meet him tonight!
Wednesday,
I got to introduce sister Allred to all but one of our investigators. We NEVER
see them all in one week let alone all in one day.
Friday,
after weekly planning, we decided to take a trip to Lake City for the evening.
Boy, has that place shut down fast. There are a whole lot less tourists there
now. Also, it was raining and gloomy and I forgot my rain jacket. In fact, I
forgot any jacket at all. What a rookie mistake. Seriously, I'll grow out of
the greenie one day.
Pause in
the story to make a complaint. So you know the box (TIWI is his name) in the
car windshield that watches how I drive? Well, he's great and all and has
probably kept me from getting a ticket or two but what happens when he isn't
programmed right? Well, you get pulled over because you expect him to tell you
to slow down and you're not used to paying attention anymore. So yeah, TIWI is
not programmed right in Lake City so the Sheriff pulled me over going 9 over.
He was super nice and said he was just going to give me a warning and I think
the warning will work because I now have trust issues with TIWI.
Back to
the adventures in Lake City, after eating dinner at the Restless Spirits Saloon
(we would have gone elsewhere had there been somewhere else open or not had a
waiting list) we knocked on the door of this large, log house. It was super
nice looking so of course we had to. The man who opened the door invited us
right in and around the corner was his wife who was already in PJs. Sorry lady!
Well we talked to them for a few minutes and they were super nice but not
entirely interested in much of what we had to say. As we talked, he was cooking
dinner and insisted that we try the moose that he had just shot with his bow
and arrow a few days before. We didn't protest. Actually just an hour before,
sister Allred had mentioned that eating moose was on her bucket list. Well, we
got to check it off that night and holy cow, fresh moose is sooooo good! Forget
steak, I want moose for the rest of my life!
Saturday,
we were knocking doors and again, was welcomed in by this adorable older
couple. They told us that they used to live in Louisiana and, even tho they
weren't interesting in our religion, they loved inviting the elders in and, at
one point, had them over to dinner frequently. And then they proceeded to
invite us to dinner! So we'll be having some authentic Cajun food in the near
future!
And I
won't go into detail on this but, General Conference was extra good this time.
What an amazing weekend of spiritual energy booster! If you didn't get the
chance, go watch/listen to/read it! https://www.lds.org/general-conference?cid=HP_SU_2-10-2016_dPFD_fGC_xLIDyL1-C_&lang=eng
OK I
really need to stop because this email is getting to be TMI and about 3 of you
will probably read the whole thing...but one more thing, sister Allred loves to
run! And good grief I am so out of shape. Maybe I'll be back in shape by the
time I go home. Ha. Ha. It's a nice thought anyway.
OK, OK one
more thing: shout out to my brother for becoming a national elite in high
school cross country by running a 15:56.08 5k last week! Also, happy
birthday mom! I love my family.
Week 2
Cramped on
time so lets see if I can make this quick. Shouldn't be as long as last weeks
tho. A lot of it will just be pictures.
We met
Mark! He has so much potential and it's so exciting! He soaked the lesson right
in and said he's excited to keep learning. He is very aware of our goal to get
him baptized and says he is really considering it. He's been involved in so
many churches in the past that he thinks it'll probably take a little time to
sort through everything. Miracles can happen tho! We just need to stay worthy
of the Spirits companionship so that the lessons can be lead by him, not us.
We had
exchanges this week so I got to spend a day in a Spanish area again. Love it!
We got to help a member pick apples off of their tree and later that night we
went and helped to make salsa for the activity that the San Juan branch was
going to have. Fresh, homemade salsa is the bomb. While we were at the church,
I met this guy named Luis and we got talking. I quickly found out that he had
lived in my home stake for 4 years not too long ago. We've definitely been in
the same place at the same time and know a lot of the same people but never met
before. Small world experiences are always so cool.
While I
was down in Montrose, it full on snowed up in Gunnison. I missed the first
snow. Darn. My companion and Hermana Gutierrez showed up in Montrose all
bundled up. *sigh* I have to survive another winter and it's already here.
We spent
all day Saturday in Crested Butte. That was super fun even tho not
many people are interested in talking to us. That was the day that the San Juan
branch was having their big fiesta. We wanted to go but we couldn't justify the
time and miles let alone find one of our investigators to come with us. So, we
just went to a Mexican restaurant and had a little fiesta by ourselves.
And now, I
want to take a poll. How to you pronounce "Missouri"? Because that
subject creates heated discussions (one happened this week in fact) and I just
find it hilarious.
Week 3
The reason
we didn't have much time to email last week was because President and sister
Hall (from the mission presidency) came and took us to Crested Butte to spend
the day! They are basically the grandparents of the mission whose entire job is
to just spoil all us kids on the Western Slope. They're so great. The fall
leaves have already fallen so it wasn't quite as pretty as it would have been a
couple weeks ago but we still had a marvelous hike and dinner with them at
Pitas in Paradise.
We had
interviews with President Gifford this week. He's such a kind, caring man. I
didn't really have much to say (I rarely do) but if I ever need to talk to him
about anything, I know he will listen with love. He told me why I was still in
Gunnison too. He really wanted to transfer me last time but it never felt
right. He felt so strongly that I needed to be WITH sister Allred IN Gunnison.
Very specific. After he told me that, I felt so much better. I'm starting to
see why that combination was so important. I'm seeing many miracles and seeing
Gunnison with new eyes now that I have sister Allred as a companion. She's a
firecracker that keeps me on my toes and makes sure we have fun while we're at
it. Exhibit A: we went and picked up Marks cigarette butts that were around his
truck and left a note. When we saw him later he thanked us and said he had a
good laugh. That was all sister Allred. I just drove the car.
Sooo, our
investigators. Starting with Carrie, we had a powerful lesson with her. She
wanted a lot of notes to remember what we taught. She says she has learned so
much more with us than previous missionaries who taught her a few years ago.
She even kept some of the commitments we left with her. Life is good. We had
lessons/discussions with a few new people this week who really tested our
beliefs. I felt so inadequate trying to teach and defend my beliefs. But it was
good for me because it made me recommit to more in depth study.
Mark
continues to be super awesome and sincere and I just can't even believe it's
real life. I forgot what it's like to have an investigator that is enthusiastic
and does everything we commit them to. It's so AWESOME that's what. Besides a
normal lesson this week, we also took him on a church tour. He asked a lot of
questions, especially about the paintings. I've never appreciated the paintings
in the church as much as I did then. They lead to a lot of good discussion. We
had our branch president there who helped answer questions and just generally
gave great input. After the tour, we got to watch broadcast of the cultural
celebration for the Fort Collins temple! It was so cool and slightly weird to
be watching one 4 1/2 years after I participated in the Kansas City one (has it
really been that long?!). I think people got tired of me talking about it all
the time this past week but I couldn't help it, it was just such a big event
from my teenage hood! The one we watched on Saturday was great and
all but, I still think the KC one was better. Haha I'm probably just biased.
Aaaaanyway, here's the news article about the Fort Collins temple celebration.
Yesterday
was the temple dedication. For some reason they broadcasted it all across
Colorado even tho we aren't in that temple district. I'm not complaining tho.
We got a ride to Montrose and got to be in the stake center there for the
dedication. The talks were so good. It was just all amazing. I feel very
privileged to be here in this mission at this time.
One last
person I want to rave about: Jenna. She is a recently returned missionary who just
moved to Gunnison for school. She is straight up hilarious. Being her companion
would have been an adventure of a lifetime. She's the most on-fire RM I have
ever met. Every time we see her we hear things like, "I have invited
literally everyone that I have met this week to meet with the
missionaries" and "Can I pleeeeeeease go tracting with you?!?"
So yeah, if I am half as awesome as her as an RM I will be proud of
myself.
Have a
good one!
P.S. All
my KC folks, be on the lookout for President Gifford this week. He will be in
KC for a mission president seminar! #notjealousatall
Week 4
After a
couple of weeks of lots to talk about, I've had a quiet week. Like, I really
don't have much to report at all. We watched 18 Lives and the Book of Mormon (a
big production that the youth from 5 stakes put on a few years ago) with Mark
so that was fun.
We had
stake conference which was broadcasted to Gunnison so that we didn't have to
drive to Montrose. That was really nice except when it cut out for 15 minutes.
But it was seriously the best stake conference I've ever been to. Elder Nielson was the visiting general
authority and ohhh man he's a powerhouse. He said the his office is right next
to Elder Hollands so that could explain a lot. He talked about a bunch of
different things but what stood out to me the most was his emphasis on The Family: A Proclamation to the World. He
talked about the roles of father and mother and how important both roles are
and how they are meant to work together.
The funny
moment of the week happened last night. We pulled up to our 8pm member
lesson and a car came in right behind us. To men from the branch got out of the
car and I was like, "um, are those the home teachers?" Sure enough,
they were running behind schedule. So we had a lesson with this family and
their home teachers.
In other
news, my family (minus Kallen because he was busy or whatever) got to meet
president and sister Gifford this week! Kansas City is where all the cool
people gather. They also come to the Colorado Denver South Mission.
We walked out the door this morning to find our friendly neighborhood deer having a yummy breakfast of our neighbors pumpkins.
Candle lit dinner with sister Allred.
Weekly planning mess.
The Nelsons!
And yeah,
I've got nothing else. Next week will be more interesting.
Week 5
Happy
Halloween, everyone!
It's been
a much better, more interesting week here in Gunnison. It started off with a
district hike on Monday! It was super fun and tiring. And we took lots of
pictures...but not really any on mine and sister Allred has misplaced her
camera soooo I don't have many pictures today to show it.
The
highlight of the week was when we got a text from Mark saying that he had
decided to quit smoking! We can't stop doing happy dances. He also came to the
branch activity and church this week. We seriously love this guy to pieces. I
don't know why we don't have a picture with him yet.
So, turns
out, sister Allred speaks a little Spanish. We set up an appointment with a
less-active member who doesn't speak much English. We had a Spanish speaking person
going to come with us but she wasn't able to make it last minute so we went in
there not knowing what was going to happen. Thankfully the woman's son was
there and helped translate when needed but sister Allred rocked it with her
Spanish skills. I just sat there and read scriptures when she asked me to
because that's about all I can do in Spanish.
We all
wore costumes to district meeting this week which was fun. I was Waldo and
sister Allred was a hockey player. She found a jersey at the thrift store that
said "Brooks" on it and wore that because we have an elder whose
first name is Brooks and is a pro hockey player. But do I have pictures? No.
Lesson learned. Take pictures on my camera.
The branch
activity was super fun. We decorated our trunk for the trunk-or-treat and had a
carnival booth where, if the person hit the target with a ball, me and sister
Allred smeared whipping cream in each others faces. It was quite entertaining.
There was also a human whack-a-mole booth called "whack-a-deacon"
because the young men were putting that one on. Again, not so many pictures on
my camera so, hopefully we'll find sister Allreds camera this week! She has all
the best ones!
OK so that
was a much more boring email than I expected it to be but oh well. Transfer
calls are this Saturday. Drum roll please! Will I be transferred or stay
here for a 5th transfer? I'm taking bets...er...guesses.
Week 6
First off:
transfer news.... I'm leaving... I don't know if I want to use an exclamation
point or not. Sooo many mixed feelings. My roots are so deep here in Gunnsion
and I love my companion and things are FINALLY happening here. But this place
needs new eyes and I'll be honest, I'm getting a little stir crazy. I can't
stay in one place or do something for very long before I go crazy. Deep dark
secret of sister Webster right there. Or not. Anyway, I'm headed BACK over the
mountain to the Denver area in Littleton. Shortly after I left Denver in May,
the Littleton and Highlands Ranch zones were consolidated so I'll sort of be in
the same zone as I was before! I will literally be just a few miles from the
temple which is great...except for the fact that my family will be there in a
few weeks. I knew this was going to happen. The Lord is testing me. *SIIIIIGH*
5 more months. I can do this.
Speaking
of family, were you are the regional conference broadcast yesterday? I was!
Kansas City was mentioned a lot. And Colorado. We were connected.
My
companion and fellow Montrose missionary friends convinced me that it was a
good idea to drive to Montrose for a p-day park activity on Halloween. We
didn't do much. We played sports in the park, an elder busted open his eyelid
on a basketball pole so we had to make a trip to Walmart to get liquid band aid
so that he wouldn't have to get stitches, pumpkins were carved, etc. Yeah not
much happened but I suppose it was fun. Right after that, we went on exchanges
and I brought Hermana Gutierrez back to Gunnison with me.
Exchanges
were awesome and miracles happened. I took advantage of having a native Spanish
speaker with me and visited Spanish people all day. We were about to try one
former investigator when we realized that we didn't have their apartment number.
But we were already there so I said we should try someone else I knew who spoke
Spanish there. His name is Jorge and he is Elena's dad (the less active girl
that we were teaching a few months ago). He usually would be at work at that
time but I thought, might as well. We knocked on the door, he answered and let
us in. His wife, who I had never met, was there as well. Hermana Gutierrez took
over and I watched the magic unfold. She taught them the first lesson and
invited them to baptism, they agreed and said that they just had to talk about
it with each other and pray about it. After the lesson, Hermana Gutierrez told
me that they had said that they had been talking about religion shortly before
we showed up and how they felt that there was more but they didn't know what.
They just had to go off what they had learned growing up. Is that a coincidence
or what? He had also said that he wished that he could have sat in the lessons
with Elena but he knew that it was her time with us so he never asked. Awkward.
Proof that you should just ask everyone. Thankfully I was given a second chance
and took it this time! The downfall with this is, there still won't be a
Spanish sister in Gunnison. Hermana Gutierrez told president of our predicament
but he still didn't feel like now is the time to make Gunnison Spanglish again.
Good look, sisters! At least they'll have sister Allred who can communicate a
little.
Mark is
doing well. We keep meeting, he came to church. Life is good. I'm gonna miss
him like crazy.
I have good
news: we found sister Allreds camera! Literally 5 minutes after we left the
library. Oh well.
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