CDSM Transfer 10

Week 1

My packing skills hard at work. I swear, it just gets harder every time I get transferred.

The traditional stop at The Pinnacles. It was super cool looking that day.

So, I'm in Denver now. It's really weird after being in a small town for 6 months. I forgot how big and busy this place is (and I'm only in the suburbs). And what a ward is like and all that jazz. Not better or worse. Just very different. Sister Holcomb (my new companion) knows her way around pretty well but she's only been here for 6 weeks so we've wasted a few miles trying to find places. The nice part is that I've already driven down the main roads from when I was here before so we haven't gotten too lost yet... I still end up driving in circles a couple times a day tho.

Transfers went well. It's a looong day. We got to the Trufts building around 5:30pm but apparently everyone got the message to be there after they were in dinner because no one was there to pick us up. They did come eventually tho and it was worth the wait because Herman Iraia was with my new companion all day and the other sister that was with me all day (sister Ytac) was Hermana Iraias new companion and it was just wonderful happy reunion/meeting. We went and got smoothies for dinner together. Then we parted ways and sister Holcomb took me to meet our ward mission leader. He's pretty great and it was a good visit but I was so exhausted. And then I started getting dizzy. It's official. I have reverse altitude sickness. Going up in elevation has never been a problem. It's coming back down that makes me sick. We went home and I lay moaning on my bed while trying to help sister Holcomb plan for the next day. I mean, I wasn't any help but I tried. Thankfully I was better in the morning.

Our one and only real investigator right now is Isac, a 12 year old boy. His mom has been a member her whole life but hasn't been active for awhile but wants to come back and get him baptized. His brother, Arthur, who is 14, might have been baptized but we're still trying to find out for sure. Either way, we had a great first lesson with the 3 of them and they're all excited!

We also got a call from our bishop asking us to take a Book of Mormon to this lady named Donnis. Supposedly she has met with missionaries before but the missionaries couldn't answer her questions so it didn't end up going anywhere. But, the bishop said that she's ready to meet again so we'll see what we can do. We're nervous but hopeful!

As for other investigators, we have a lot of potential people but no one really set. Right now we're just trying to figure out HOW to find people. Everyone is gone during the day and it gets dark at 5 so there isn't a whole lot of good finding time.

Our main ongoing service project here is for an upscale resale clothing store that benefits single parent families. It's certainly not 6 Points but its still fun. I had been there a couple times before when I was in Highlands Ranch on exchanges awhile back but it got changed around a lot since I was last there. They recently consolidated their bridal store into this store so most of the store is wedding dresses and formals now. Not gonna lie, it's kind of a weird place to be as a missionary. But also fun to see all the crazy options. I saw a black veil. That was weird. Anyway...

Well, I don't have many pictures today. Surprise!

Have a good one. 

Week 2

Why don't we start with the weather, shall we? Well, it was summer here for about a week. Wednesday it got up to 88 degrees. Then we walked out of district meeting on Thursday to HUGE flakes of snow that was already sticking to the grass which turned to ice on the road when it got dark. It was pretty chilly for a few days and then yesterday it was back to being too warm to even wear a jacket. I love Denver weather. It gets cold but never stays cold for more than a few days. At least in my experience so far.

I forgot to announce this last week but, I have a Jeep again! I didn't think the mission had another one and if they did, they wouldn't have it in Denver. It was my lucky day/transfer! Then again, I forgot that it doesn't have a USB port so music is a struggle. First world problems.

The week started out slow but it picked right up! It started with seeing my follow-up trainer sister Cho after I emailed last week. It made me sooo happy! We kind failed to get a picture. And now she's here at the library and we tried taking a picture but the lighting is awful so we'll try again later. Anyway, this zone has "sports" on Mondays. Basically they go to the church building across from the library and play basketball for a few hours and then volleyball for the rest of the time. We went and sat on the sidelines for BB. Both me and sister Holcomb are too short and don't know how to play anyway. When they pulled out the volleyball net, I was game. Thank you stake young womens volleyball! I'm a little rusty but I still have it. I guess this is a regular thing so by the time I get home, I should be a pro. Not like I really care. I just want to get back into running shape. OK enough about sports.

We found another place to do service called HOPE. It's a thrift store AND food pantry. Both are smaller than the ones in Gunnison but it was still fun. We spent over an hour trying to polish this set of silver goblets. They looked better but they still weren't close to done so we just gave up. 

I went on exchanges with sister Davies this week. It was super fun. She's a giant compared to me so I felt super short all day (she plays basketball, need I say more?). But she's great. She's super chill and actually knows what Kid History is so we could quote it together. It was refreshing.

Well, now that you've heard about the random things in my life, I guess I could talk about your typical missionary work and such. We have some new investigators who are really great. We met with Donnis who turned out to be way more open than we were expecting. We had a good discussion about where she is at, what she had learned from missionaries before and answered some questions. Her daughter joined the church a year ago and she's be curious as to what it was that really interested her daughter enough to join. We're excited to teach her. Anyone who reaches out and asks if they can meet with us is a blessing.

We also met with this middle aged couple who apparently always lets missionaries in. They've never really gotten far because they're pretty set in their beliefs but they still like to talk about the gospel. We took a couple from our congregation who is about their age to the lesson with us and they all really clicked. It was a good conversation about our beliefs and finding that we had a lot in common. Not sure if it will go anywhere but we'll meet a few more times because they are so great!

 Thank you to the KC1st Young Women for my surprise package full of puns! I'll admit, I laughed at quite a few of them. I was very impressed at how stuffed that little box was.

We stopped by the mission office on Friday to find out that the secretary, Sister Van Wagoner, was celebrating her birthday that day! So we enjoyed pie together with another set of sisters who stopped by at the same time. Oh and finally, here is a picture of Sister Holcomb. She's the one on the far right in the picture.

Week 3

I know, you want to hear about my Thanksgiving. Well, let me tell you. We had two dinners (I paced myself pretty well and wasn't completely dying at the end of the day) with great company at both. The highlight of the day (actually, the entire week) was the gravy that sister Rice made. I have never had such wonderful gravy in my life. I was, no joke, about to drink the stuff. But the problem is, she cooks like my mom which means that she just dumped a bunch of stuff together and adjusted it until it tasted good. Why is that a problem? There is no recipe and therefore it will never be made the same again. It's so sad. Another sad thing is that I didn't take any pictures. It's just going to be one of those transfers, folks. Very few pictures.

It was a rough week, being a big holiday and all. We had a couple appointments scheduled at the beginning of the week and all but 1 cancelled. No one would set anything for the rest of the week because they were either crazy busy or out of town. So, the work was slow to say the least. We still saw miracles tho! Isac and his family finally made it to church and, at least from what we could tell, they loved it! It's always good when people that we're teaching love church. It makes our job so much easier. Also, we were trying some people in this one condo complex yesterday and none of the people we wanted to talk to was opening their doors. It wasn't in our plans but we decided to knock on the door of this part-member family. The dad is a less active member as well as at least one of the kids but the rest of the family aren't baptized. Before I got here, the sisters had talked to the wife who said that her husband wants to come back to church and wanted his family to meet with us and she was all for that. Unfortunately, they hadn't gotten back to us about that. Anyway, we knocked on the door and a teenage boy answered the door and before we could get more than a greeting out, he asked, "hey, um, what time does church start?" We gave him all the information and said that we hoped to see him there. Gotta love pro-active teenagers!

OK, so the church building that our ward meets in is the strangest layout that I have ever seen. It's hard to explain but the most awkward part about it is that you have to walk thru the kitchen to get to one end of the building to the other. Well, church starts at 11:30 which is a weird time to begin with but is extra weird to deal with as a missionary due to regular meal times. We have to be at church before the time that we usually eat lunch but by the time we're done, dinner is in 2 hours. So, I've decided to quickly eat around 11 at the church. It wouldn't be the first time I've done something like that. The difference tho, is that usually the kitchen is off in some hidden corner. But here, EVERYONE walks through the kitchen. Even if they don't, they still come to see what smells so good (its just microwave noodles usually but apparently it smells really good). Anyway, random, first world problem adventures of sister Webster for ya.

It's that time of year again. Christmas. Yay. Ha I'm kind of a bahhumbug but I'm here to let you know that the Christmas video that the church puts out each year is here! And they've expanded it to more than just a video this time. It's all about service and being a light in the world to honor Christ. Check it out! mormon.org

This is a bad picture of it but this is the front yard of a members house. It's even more crazy in person. You can see it from blocks away.

Guess who I got to see this week? HERMANA IRAIA! 

Week 4

If I had to describe my week in one word (OK I guess technically it's two), it would be: roller coaster. So many crazy highs and some deep lows.

It started out with a great lesson with Donnis which turned into a return appointment the next day to keep talking. We had left her with some reading assignments about pre-earth life because she said that she really didn't see how the scriptures told us that we existed with God before this life. Well, we returned the next day with the member who usually comes with us as well as sister Gifford (the mission presidents wife). She had gone above and beyond in her studying and had started seeing what we were talking about and said that she believes that there is a pre-earth life now! It was a super long, intense discussion. She agreed to baptism if she came to find out that it was all true. She also served us a yummy lunch so it was an all around amazing few hours. Then, the bad news (for us) came. She was suddenly moving...in 2 days. It was an answer to her prayers but it was super disappointing to see her go, especially after some of the most powerful lessons that I've been in was with her. We're finding that this is a common problem in this area and have started to call it the Cornerstone curse. We've had so many people move out of our area. You find someone who has potential aaaaand they move.

And then there's Isac. This week, he committed to a baptism date and he was SUPER pumped about it. We were talking to him and his mom about it and he was all, "I want to get baptized as soon as possible!" Then, he came to a baptism this weekend to see what its like and again, he was super excited. Seriously, I haven't seen a kid so excited about the gospel since I taught those two kids in Highlands Ranch. Of course, we got another bad news text yesterday: we can't meet with him anymore. We don't know the details of what happened and we're super hopeful that we'll be able to work around the roadblock that is keeping us from teaching him. It's just going to take lots of prayers and a miracle.

Despite a week that ended so poorly, from our perspective, I'm strangely peaceful about it all. I haven't dealt with disappointment in the past very well but this time, I'm OK with it. Maybe I'm starting to trust Gods plan more. What an idea, right?

We also had some great fun during the week. We were able to volunteer at a local garden that has a Christmas light display. Perfect for #LightTheWorld! Our toes got frozen but it was worth it. 

We also went on exchanges. This time I got to spend the day with sister Walker. This is only her first transfer but she's a firecracker. She kept me laughing all day with her spunky personality. I swear, she has no fear and doesn't care a drop about what people think. She knows how to strike up a conversation with anyone and keep them engaged. We taught a powerful lesson to this less-active man. He had so many questions and I just wanted to answer them all. I've never had so many answers and ideas flow through my mind in a lesson before. I managed to keep it under control and just give him a few chapters in the scriptures to read. It was so weird because I can never remember scripture references but that day they just came to me. Teaching by the Spirit is awesome because he does the remembering for you! I also just love teaching people who have sincere questions. 

So yep, that was my week. Hope yours wasn't as emotionally bizarre and trying. 

Week 5

OH boy. So much to talk about. And good news. I got lots of pictures this week!

Monday was fun because I got to see the Earls. So last Monday we broke down and went to Walmart (sorry dad!) because none of the other stores closer to us have everything we want. Don't even get my started about the bazillion stops we made this morning because of that problem. But since we were in Highlands Ranch anyway, guess who I got to see? The Earls! I love them and miss them dearly. I finally got a picture with brother Earl in it.

Then we stopped by the Lathens (a family in sister Holcombs last area which happens to be right down the street) to pick up a little Christmas tree for us to borrow (no picture yet but I got a tree, Mia!). While we were there, brother Lathen got a call from his neighbor asking for some help to move a man that they knew. Missionaries are basically professional movers so it was perfect timing. The man was moving into our ward so it was even better. As we talked about the details, sister Holcomb realized that she recognized the name of the man and that he was someone being taught by elders in our district. We called the elders and sure enough, it was Tom, the same man. So, we helped with the move the next day and the elders will be passing Tom off to us soon. I feel bad taking one of their investigators because I know how disappointing it is to have investigator move seeing as that is all that has been happening to us lately. Anyway, that whole situation was quite an interesting turn of events.

Wednesday we woke up to some snow. It was supposed to be a huge storm or something but it really didn't turn out to be all that bad. We went to the temple and it was great as it usually is. I bumped into some old friends/companions which added to the greatness.

We knocked again on that one family's door with the teenage boy who asked about church. This time the mom answered and let us in for a few minutes. We talked to her and she asked about when church is. We asked if they would want to meet with us and she said not right now, they'll start with going to church first. We're still hoping something will come out of all of this!

We went to the Relief Society (women's group) dinner and I was asked to sing for it. I thought it would be a whole program so I picked a song that usually isn't thought of a Christmas song: When He Comes Again. Someone suggested that when I asked what I should sing (because it was up to me) and I thought it was a good idea. Turns out, I was the only one on the program so oh well. Christmas is about Jesus so it works.

We had a mission tour with Elder C. Scott Grow of the Seventy. It was a long but wonderful day. I learned a lot and my list of things that I need to improve on grew about 10 feet. I just have to accept that I won't be reaching perfection in this life. When we showed up, everyone gathered in the gym. I had brought breakfast with me and was eating. Sister Ytac and sister Iraia pointed out to me that every time they see me, I'm eating...and sadly, they wouldn't be wrong. I really do eat all the time. It's a problem.

 I got to see all but 2 of my past companions!

Yesterday we had a lesson with a man named Robert. Our ward mission leader and his wife came with us. At first, Robert really didn't seem interested but when we introduced the Book of Mormon he started paying attention. Of course we gave him a copy and he said it was a really nice gift and he said he'd read and pray about it.

Another tidbit about my daily life: I cannot escape football. It's everywhere I turn and the Chiefs show up a lot. This week I've been extra homesick for my hometown. I love Denver and could totally see myself living here but my home is KC. Go Chiefs! Being in Broncos territory, I really should go take cover after saying that...

And transfer news! If it felt like a short transfer it's because it was only 5 weeks. This coming one will be 7 weeks. Anyway, as of now, we're both staying. Originally, sister Holcomb was leaving for Meeker and I was getting my very first companion, sister Harshaw, back and I was super excited. But then some dominos fell and transfer news got switched up and now we're all just staying where we've been. We'll see. Sister Holcomb really felt like she was going to leave and still thinks she might end up being emergency transferred. Whooooo knows.

I think that's enough for this week. 

Look mom! The Ralph Moody school!

I drew a map of my mission and it turned out surprisingly well.

CDSM Transfer 9

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.

www.lds.org/church/news/fort-collins-colorado-temple-called-a-fortress-of-faith-in-cultural-celebration?lang=eng

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.