Dogs and Snakes

This week was a good week!  The sisters meeting was great, really, just because I got to see Hermana Jacobsen!  What a good reunion, I've really missed her.

We had dinner over at a member's house and she's one of those extreme couponers.   So she let us go shopping at her house - - haha.  I got shampoo to last me a while :)

This week I finally got on my bike . . . in 100 degree weather.   Needless to say I was a little sweaty AND I got chased by dogs - - I think they can smell greenie in me.  I hate dogs.  Not really.  Just ones that try to kill me.  But thanks to that nice day on the bike I have a good farmers tan going.

This week we'v been working with the Plumb Family (whose daughter died) to teach their friends.  We taught their friends the Plan of Salvation.  It was really powerful, even though the Plumbs don't speak Spanish, they still bore their testimony of it, and it was one of the best lessons we've had.  Afterwards, we were talking with Brother and Sister Plumb, and Brother Plumb is awesome - -very straightforward, black and white.   He says what he means, but in a way that you really appreciate it.  He said, "Sister White, you speak Spanish so great.  The way you can go back and forth and just talk with them.  You speak Spanish great."   Then he looks at me . . . "You do not.  BUT I can feel the Spirit so strong when you teach.  It's not really you who converts, it's the Spirit."  I need to practice my Spanish.  haha.  But he's awesome and what he said, I really appreciated.

Speaking of the Plumb family . . . their boys killed a snake, skinned it, and stuck it in the church freezer.   They are letting me and Hermana White have it and they told us how to cook it up.    Guess what we're having for dinner tonight?!!

This week Teresa and Andres came out with us to visit investigators :)  It's the best feeling in the world, having someone you taught and baptized helping you with missionary work.  Teresa bore her testimony to new investigators, and Andres was so persistent - - ringing door bells for ten minutes before he would face defeat.  haha.  They are so awesome.  Hopefully we will be teaching the rest of their family soon.

I had my talk in Spanish yesterday and it went a lot better than I thought.  Teresa  told me, "You speak great Spanish!  Just have more confidence."   So, I think people understood me :) 

Transfers are next week, on the 8th, I think.  I'm really nervous and hope that me and Sister White stay together.

Love you!

Mesa Arizona Temple

The Temple was so great!! The Mesa temple is the prettiest temple I've ever been in. When you pick me up, could we possibly go through? :):) There were close to 100 people in our session, only 28 of which were girls. I met my grandma though, Sister Lemon, she's way cool, and trained Sister White after only 6 weeks on her mission... speaking of which..................

 There is a 97.65498% chance that I'll be training next transfer... 2 weeks.  I can't do that!  I can hardly speak/understand Spanish and I don't know how to plan effectively yet.  GAH.  Sister White though is training me now extra... hard.  Just in case I do train, I can do well.  I have to admit my patience has been extra short because I feel so stressed now, poor Sister White haha.

 Well our investigator, Daniel, was baptized Saturday!  I'll tell you the events leading up to the baptism in my lettter... but his baptism went smoothly.  The first thing he said when he came up out of the water was, "WOAH, that was cool!!"  haha.

On Monday/Tuesday? we went to look for a less active member, but her house was boarded up so we went and knocked on her neighbor's door.  We asked him if we could talk to him about the gospel, and he surprisingly said yes and came outside.  We were able to have a 20 minute lesson with him about the Book of Mormon, and set up another appointment with him for this week.  He said he has been out of jail for 4 months and needs to strengthen his relationship with Christ, so alas, we are teaching him.

So things here are good. Getting a little hotter.  We have a sisters training meeting on Wednesday, for whoever gets called as the sister version of a zone-leader.

 Oh and if I do end up training, that means I'll have to drive, which means I am buying a GPS. Sister White has one and that's the only reason we are able to find people's houses :)

 
ANYWAYS... I love you ! :)

 

Golden Investigator at the Wrong House!

Honestly, this week kind of sucked with being homesick.  Enjoy all the little things for me, ok?

Other than that this week was great.  Elder Mellor, in the MTC said,  "I miss sleep more than I miss my own mother."  I agree, but not as much to say more than my own mother :)  I've learned that I have a great talent. I can fall asleep wherever and whenever I want!  It's so hard in the mornings and church... but alas I try.   

Sister White and I were going to our favorite place in Casa Grande, Colonia del Sol, the trailer park, to visit an investigator that we haven't met yet.  When we knocked on the door, another lady opened it, who was another investigator who we had never met.  Surprise!  Wrong house, yet the right house… She invited us in and we had a long talk with her. One of the first things she said to us was, "Yo se que la iglesia es verdadera".  Boom!   We sat down, asked, why are you not baptized?? The spirit was so strong, it was great.  She said a prayer, and decided she needed to be baptized on the 27 of April :)  She's been coming to church and we've been stopping by ever since.   She is seriously so amazing. One of my favorite people to teach because she is so sincere and doesn't tell me I'm too quiet :)

Then this weekend was the baptism for Andres y Teresa. It went so well!  They were so happy and excited. Teresa said to us after her baptism, "This is the family I've always wanted".  Then I guess afterwards, Presidente Garcia told us that they had a party at their house after the baptism and sang karaoke in English with the branch hahaha, they're so funny.  I'd bet money that Andres will be an area 70 one day. 

Zone conference was great, we found out that they are changing things up a bit.  Sisters now have a leadership position.  It's just like a zone leader, but for sisters. So that's exciting news.

We go to the Mesa temple on Wednesday, and I can't wait!  I really need it.

Well, I love you!!!!  Thank you for EVERYTHING!

 

Pictures from Casa Grande

Looks like a missionary's apartment :)

Not sure what she's eating, but it looks 'interesting' :)

The desert sunset.

Conference, Funerals & Splits

The conference talks were awesome.   My favorite talk was Elder Holland - he is so powerful! I was so glad that one of our investigators was able to hear that. We have 5 investigators come to watch conference and one watched it at a member's house, so it was great.

So Tuesday was a district meeting, and afterwards, my ZL's and DL's gave me a greenie blessing :)  It was one of the best blessing's I've gotten - I didn't really realize how much I needed one until I was getting it.  Sister Neal (one of the English sisters who is living with us) told me I should ask President Howes for one too, because she got one from him and it was amazing.  So I'm going to do that next time I have a meeting with him.

This week is zone conference in Chandler, and I'm pretty excited for it. I don't really know what to expect, but it should be good.  AND!  Next week we get to go to the temple!  The Mesa temple, too. It's so pretty, everyone has pictures of it in their homes and I can't wait to go to that one, it should be great and well needed.

 

Thursday we went to a funeral. There was a terrible accident last week, where kids were playing with a gun, and an 11 year old girl was killed. So we went to help in any way we could, and when we went to see her mother, the first and really only thing she said to us was, "You call me because I have a family for you to teach".  Pretty amazing woman.  Because of her we have 3 new investigators (Spanish - woo), who really love what we're teaching.

 

Yesterday Sister White and I bet our district leaders that we would beat them in street contacts - we're supposed to get 140 each week, but our numbers have been down.  We bet them lunch, so we were pretty determined :)  We went on splits last night and I went out with two girls from one of the wards - it was fun cause they are my age and ward missionaries and excited to go.  So we went everywhere, and ran into pretty interesting people... anyway we ended up tripling our goal, but unfortunately tied with the Elders - we're pretty sure they cheated.  But anyways, it was fun.

 

So we went out to eat for dinner with one of the Spanish branch's presidency member and started talking... we found out that they lived in Walla Walla in 2006 for three months in 3rd ward!  How funny!  They remember Bishop Bushman and the Barberich's.  It was really fun to talk to them about it :)

 

Anyway, I can't remember anything else that we did.

 

First Stop: Casa Grande, AZ

I'm here in the desert of Casa Grande.  First day went great!  It's kind of a blur, but we arrived in good ol' Phoenix and our mission president and wife drove us to the mission home.  I have to admit, Tempe is so beautiful!  I don't think I would mind too much living there.  It's actually kind of green, and has pretty palm trees everywhere.  I stayed with a sweet sister named Sister Bennett. 

Then I got my companion, Sister White (or Blanca).  I think it'll be a fun three months with her!  She works hard and knows how to have fun.   We are white-washing in Casa Grande.  We are the first sisters here in over 30 years.  The wards are so excited to have us.  The leaders are awesome, they're so enthusiastic.  In one of the wards the couple in charge of the ward mission is our age, so it makes it way fun.  It's nice having a younger ward.  I taught my first lesson Thursday to A and T, and I extended a baptismal date, and A accepted!  When we got to church yesterday there was a guy in a white tux . . . one of our investigators that we hadn't met yet.  One of the first things he said to us was, "I want to be baptized."  So we got him on a date . . . haha.

My district leader gave me some pretty good advice on staying awake during six hours of church plus meetings.  I need to buy a stress ball :)  I love it here in Casa Grande.  right now the weather is perfect.  It's sunny.  I have a farmer's tan already, and it's in the 80s/90s/  I'm really enjoying it.

When we go street contacting, the trailer parks are my absolute favorite.  Everyone seems way nice.  Except some investigators are having trouble going to a different church.  Apparently this church is also in Idaho.  It's called the Cowboy Church.  It's exactly what it sounds like.  Horses, lassos, you get my drift.  Anyway, for some reason people here really like this church and have a hard time letting it go.  I mean, I like horses too, but not that much.

Anyway, I'm happy and I love it!  

P.S.  I already had a baptism on Saturday!  hahaha.  It was SO great!  I talked during it and everything.  His wife and kids are LDS, and he had had baptismal dates before but never kept them.  I guess it just took a couple of sisters to get him going :)

New address:

351 N. Peart Rd. #1511
Casa Grande, AZ 85122