Transfer 5 Week 3

Hello all!!!

This week I will do my best to give a full report on who we are teaching and how my companion is and the sort. 

So this week we traveled quite a bit. On Tuesday we went to Powers which is a tiny town about an hour away from us (yes our area is that large) and we visited Rita. Rita is an amazing woman who started coming to church because her father came to town who is a member, found out where the nearest chapel was (an hour away) and brought her. She is getting baptized on the 17th of August and we are so excited for her! She has the clearest green eyes and the most thankful way of praying. She is quitting smoking at the moment and we learn so much from her faith in Christ and her desire to follow God's will. 

We had a new missionary training meeting on Wednesday of which we qualified for because my comp is on her 8th week in the field. She is such a pro though. She really doesn't need a trainer. She came pre-trained and she is the one who teaches me really. But we went and learned lots from our mission President. One of things that was impressed upon us is that we are constantly being watched and whatever we do either increases or decreases trust. I thought about how that translates over into life as well. We have to watch our selves and our actions because as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints we are constantly and consistently being watched. I know and have seen the impact a good example can make. Our president is challenging us to go into every home in our ward and challenge them to make a ward mission plan. To do this we are to challenge them to change simple things in their life that will invite the spirit more often and then to act upon those promptings. That is something I'd like to extend to each of you to do as well. 

On Thursday we started teaching a beautiful new family. The mother is best friends with one of our members who recently started coming back to church. We are teaching her and her 10 and 8 yr old  In the first lesson we had she wanted to know if her kids and herself could be baptized. We were, you know... pretty much thrilled out of our minds!!!!!! We walked away from that knowing it was a blessing and a miracle.

On Friday we went to North Bend for our Zone Meeting. Also in the evening we had our first ever correlation meeting with the bishop and all four of us missionaries. P.S I love the bishops daughter! She is my favorite! She gives me jelly fish high fives all the time! And Jelly fish hugs! I love it! 

On Saturday we began teaching Alisha. She works at the gas station. We took her on a tour of the church building and she loved it. She was also very taken with the picture of the savior in Gethsemane. She is amazing and we are so excited to be teaching her as well!

More about my companion. She is 19 going on 91. She was seriously born in the wrong time. But I am so happy that she was born at the time she was and that she is my companion. She is amazing. She is so focused on serving and so dedicated and diligent  She is happy that I make her laugh. So... let it be known... I can be funny. That is all. But really. She is a brilliant missionary and I am happy to learn from her.

I love you all! Have a great week!!

P.S My comp and I decided to do away with the term DTR. We have to 'define the relationship' with investigators all the time and instead we are calling it WIGO!! 'What is going on?!?!!?' Its better this way. Believe me, in five years everyone will say WIGO.

Transfer 5 Week 2

So My comp and I were talking and it totally feels like I've been in this area forever because I've gotten to know the area and the ward pretty fast it just feels that way! I love Coquille! It is seriously fantastic. More to know about this area. Everyone has at least 12 cats. There are spider webs everywhere. There is a high school right around the corner from where we live so I lost my belly pudge. Yes that was an important statement for everyone to read. Oh and yes we did get the Elders this week. They are great. Elder Ayre and Elder Smith. Ayre has been out 7 weeks and Smith is brand new new new. We are all heading to Eugene this week for a new missionary training, in separate cars. The work in this ward is going great! The members really are incredible! Feeding two sets of missionaries every night at different houses! We already had a funny moment with the Elders. We were teaching a lesson and they were out tracting and they tracted into our lesson. And their phone has the same ring tone as ours does so its confusing when I hear there phone go off.

On the 4th we had a BBQ at a members house and met some incredible people! It was a lot of fun and we saw some fireworks but the trees got in the way for the most part. We are still settling in with the Elders and who they will teach and who we will teach but we are all excited for the growth which will take place in this area! It's going to be amazing!!! 

So more on sis. Aldous. She is from Alpine. That makes 3 comps from Utah. Oh and the Elders are both from UT also which is funny because this ward gets all the UT missionaries. She loves food and is not picky. She is one of those 'always sincerly nice people.' She never, ever, ever focus' on the bad. She always finds nice things to say about everyone and she is so driven. Like. Super driven. She loves the people and the work and she is a wonderful missionary. I seriously don't have to do any training with her because she came out into the world with a name tag on, pretty much. And I don't think she would ever get mad either.

I love you all!

 

 

P.S More about who we are working with next week.... when we get it all settled with having the Elders here and everything. We pretty much got it all worked out.

Transfer 5 Week 1

Hola!!!!

This was a super long week!!!!! Oh my goodness! But it was so good!!! Ok I will tell you more about my area. Actually I am going to give pictures first and then write, that way you get pictures. Ok. I will tell you about my area first. The bishop and the Ward mission leader are amazing! They truly are missionary minded! I love all of the members so much! I think partly what made it such a long week was the fact that I met so many investigators and ward members in the first week and my brain was struggling to keep it all in line. I don't think I've ever met that many people who i needed to remember in one week. Crazy awesome!!! I sent you a picture of downtown Coquille (which is pronounced coke-hill) Dad, did you ever serve here or near here? I am super excited to be serving in a coastal town but the best thing about this coastal town is that it is about 20 minuets inland which cuts down on the wind and makes it slightly warmer. it totally cracks me up though because all the locals have been telling us that the heat the last couple of days is unnatural and the highest its been is 85. Yeah. I thought it was funny. It never really gets hotter than 80 here and I love it! So glad to be here for the summer! So fun fact for you all, the ward that i am serving in is gettting a second set of missionaries. It's a testament to the fact that the work truly is hastening. We are excited to work with them and the ward is so excited to have us all. P.S its elders. (For my last area I do beleive Elders took it over. Our investigator that we had on date to be baptized we moved it back and left really detailed notes about everyone we were working with.) 

So about my companion. She is pretty much fantastic and exactly the right companion that I needed at this point. She is so optimistic and completely focused to serve the Lord. I am her follow up trainer. She's been out only 6 weeks but she was pretty much born to serve and came out pre-trained. I litteraly have nothing to worry about. She's great. She loves to eat. She has noticed my love of Ranch. P.S I dropped my Grants Pass weight! I am now normal again! So I can eat ranch again!!! Hahaha! She always cooks in an apron. She has curly hair. I sent you pictures of us at the coast because we get to go to BANDON for our district meetings each week. Remember our awesome time in Bandon? I got to see where we went as a family! It was great! I still remembered them and next week we are going with the Bandon Sisters on PDay to the cheese factory! So excited. If you have any specific questions about Sis. Aldous my comp, just ask.

 

I love you all!

 

 

Transfer 4 Week 5

Dear All you all who read this!

So this week I am writing a day late because our special early transfers were yesterday. I don't have a lot of time to write this week but I will try my best to fully update you all! So I am now serving in Coquille (coke-hill) which is on the southern coast about 10 minutes inland. I am so excited to be serving here! It looks like a mini version of Grants Pass. And it smells of Canada... which I love! Monday was crazy...Sis. Levy and I went to Eugene so we could depart ways. She and I both got moved out of our area which is rare but I am so glad to be in Coquille with Sis. Aldous. She is absolutely fantastic and I love her already. I got to talk to Sis. Rock and Sis. Savage (from the MTC) and they are both staying in the OEM! Then my comp came in and we were being driven by the bishops wife from our ward. We left to drop off Sis. Aldous' old comp to be with Sis. Taualii (also from MTC) and so I got to see all my lovely MTC people! I made a new friend! The daughter of our bishop came also and she is such an adorable 8 year old whom I love so much! Plus also my new insta friend... aka... my companion. She seriously is great! I am excited to serve with her. I am her follow up trainer but she doesn't need me. She is a go getter and has such a strong desire to serve the Lord with all her heart!  

Neat things about my last week in Junction City:

1- We found two new investigators who are solid! They have a sincer desire to be close to God.

2- One of the new investigators we found is Bob. I learned so much from just listening to that man. He has so much faith in God. He knows that bad things happen but its ok. A direct quote from him is "If both my legs were to be cut off tomorrow I know it would be Gods will. I am not here to have an easy life, God wants to make me wise." He is incredible and I am sad I wont be continuting to teach him!

3 - The Wintch family...the one that we lived behind... I gave them a package to bring to you. So... they should do that.

I love you all!!