First things first- I forgot to bring my camera cord so unfortunately no one get's to see pics yet!
HOWEVER...
I am in Snoqualmie- which looks (no joke) exactly like Park City. It's insane.. they even have the "outlets" that have nearly the exact same stores. I have pics- ya'll will love it.
our area covers Snoqualmie and Fall City- Snoqualmie looks like park city... fall city looks like......
umm..... kinda like a kamas. haha but more trailer parks.
My comp is great. She is from Bountiful, She is super super chill- and really easy going. Which is great, but sometimes can get frustrating. We went to our apartment the day I got transfered and OH MY GOSH... it was a mess. it was so gross. the smell was NASTY! You would have thought we had just stepped into an elders apartment, but nope! Sisters have been living there for the past 8 months! There were bags of clothes stuffed in closets, the fridge was full of moldy food and the freezer was just the same. I opened the cupboards and found multiple boxes of random korean/asian foods. I smelled this nasty smell (on top of the underlying stench) and my nose was lead to a rotten pomegranate inside a Ritz cracker box..
...
......
....I gagged.
The apartment was so gross!!!!! haha and S.feller is so chill and easy going that she just didn't care. So last P-day I spent the whole day clearing out all the clothes that were left from other sisters, all the random junk that sisters had kept, and I tackled the kitchen-bathroom-and dining room.
it-was-gross.
after all that was done, we had - 11garbage bags full of DI stuff. 3 garbage bags full of just grocery bags left over. 5 garbage bags full of food that I had thrown out.
I was horrified. I felt like I had just been on a TV show.
Finally the apartment is clean!
after that, sister feller told me we were going to go see a boy named Austin.
Austin is 8 years old and lives a bit of a hard life, his mum is not in the picture. Dad has MS and cant' really provide. Austin has been diagnosed with autism-adhd-and bipolar. His parents aren't mormon, and the sisters met him while tracting.
So we get in the car, drive through this pretty area (that looks like park city) and we go down the canyon (which looks like Parleys) into Fall City. Parts of Fall City are nice... others, are not.
She told me to turn into this Trailer Park- we pull in to see 4 boys playing catch with a bike tire...
....2 of them had mullets.
..1 had a nascar shirt on.
I wish I were making this up, good thing I have pictures, huh?!
That is where I met Austin, Austin is a small 8 year old with a blonde mullet. He wears raggedy and holy clothes- but his smile distracts you from noticing. He is kind, loves sister missionaries, but has a hard time sitting still. We played bike tire catch for a few minutes, then decided to go over to their trailer to meet Austins dad. Their house is covered with tarps (to keep the rain out) and old car seats double as furniture. Richard, Austins dad, slowly crept out of the front door. He has MS and tends to lay in bed for days at a time. You could see the wrinkles in his face and the scars on his hands and know that he must have a story to tell. He lit up whenever we mentioned Austin- he went on to tell us about a "wrap around" program that the school would be starting Austin on- and that hopefully someone will be able to help him learn. We told Richard that we would love if he could bring Austin to church this Sunday- he agreed, yet didn't seem to promising. We then had a lesson with Austin- we taught him the importance of scripture reading and prayer. when we asked him why it was important to pray to God, he said "Cuz then you know you aint never alone" (Austin has a great accent) He is an awesome young boy, although not many in the neighborhood or at school will ever take the time to see that. He get's in trouble a lot because he gets in fights. He has a big heart, but an even bigger fence around it.
After that, we knocked on another trailer- A lady named Sharon and her husband (Rick) live there. Sharon is a recent convert, and Rick refuses to ever convert. Rick is a very nice, outgoing man who loves to have "bluegrass bbq's" in the trailer park (In which we will attend next week) soooo excited haha!
There are so many things I could tell you about everyone here- but I never have enough time!!! ahh! Here is a short rundown-
A- his name is actually a really long crazy Thai one, so we just call him "A" instead. He owns a Thai restauraunt here in town, on date to be baptized may 12, but he actually lives in Seattle- but works over here and is over here all the time, so it is currently a battle trying to figure out if he will be bpatized here or in seattle.
John- he is crazy, but super awesome. He owns a beautiful home on about 4 acres, he has two mini horses- a crazy goat- and a few dogs. John is awesome, he was so close to being baptized, but then a member told him about Garments, and it freaked him out. He has a big heart and is super sweet. He does hair and owns a few salons.
At church yesterday, I met a "brother and sister dance" they used to be the mission presidents up in Alaska- and they know the Schlechters! crazy small mormon world!
-The bishop of the ward is young, like late 30's and has been the bishop for almost 5 years. He is a BYU and a Lakers fan... sick.
Sunday morning we called Austin to remind him about church and he said (in his hick accent)
- I'm busy! I got a full Schedule
-lotsa things i gots to do. I gots to play video games and make toast for lunch.
sis feller said "austin, it's very important that you come to church to take sacrament, ya know, the bread and the water?" he said..
-just come over sister! I got bread... I got water!!!! (referring to the sacrament)
he's a hoot.
Elder Golden (of the 70) came to visit our mission, he was awesome! I learned a lot!
Sister Feller and I get along, she can be kind of awkward though, haha. She isn't too social- and will sometimes just awkwardly stand in front of people and not talk. but all in all, she's great!
She has only been in this area 1 transfer, so she doesn't really know the people that well. So we are both trying to get to know everyone.
I still feel so old knowing im turning 23 on wednesday! time has flown!
anywhos- love you all!!!
xoxoxo
Monday, May 7, 2012
Transfers!
Hello!!!
So I have been transferred..
It was SO hard to leave Federal Way- but I know the Lord knows what he's doing and has bigger and better plans for me :) I now live in snoqualmie falls! my new companion is Sister Feller- she is from Bountiful and has FLAMING red hair!!! hahaha she looks like the female version of Shaun White! She is so nice! and oh my- SO tall! she is 5'11... she actually looks a lot like how Emma looked when she was younger (curly bright red hair and fair skin with freckles) It has only been like an hour since I met her, but we get along so far! I am Senior companion- YIKES! That means I have to drive... eek!
I am excited for the change- it was SO hard to leave Federal Way.
ok- so back in Federal Way we had TWO miracles last week!!!
So michael Parrett was baptized on April 28!!! (I'll send pics next week) it was crazy though cuz he almost wasn't able to be baptized. The font had a leak in the drain and the water wouldn't stay in there! But it went SO awesome.. The Lord truly worked a miracle- he was baptized in about 2 feet of water. it took 3x but it finally happened!!! It was awesome- the power of the spirit was so strong. It was a super emotional baptism to see because I have grown to love that family so much. Seeing Michael who SWORE that he would NEVER get baptized- seeing him in the font and in white was just the most amazing thing ever.
THEN- thursday night we went over to a lady named Johnna's house. She is so cute, married to a Tongan who is an inactive member. They have 2 cute kids. anywho, she was basically BORN to be Mormon. She doesn't do anything bad except she used to drink coffee. She wouldnt' get baptized becuase she wanted to know the church more before she took that step. However- she has a testimony of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, and The Book of Mormon..... so she is ready for baptism!!!!!! She was just hesitant... Our District Leader (Elder Riddle) was CONFIDENT that we could get Johnna baptized on Saturday- Banks and I were shocked because we had never actually been able to have a lesson with Johnna- we had just met with her several times on the doorstep. So the fact that he wanted her baptized on Saturday seemed crazy! It was Tuesday when he told us that, so we were in a time crunch! We prayed and prayed and tried to meet with her, we weren't able to meet with her until Thursday evening. so Banks and I went over there and just before we knocked on the door, Banks turned to me and said "clems, you HAVE TO be bold- let's get her baptized on Saturday" and I was like "oh crap... I hate being bold. haha" we went in there and told Johnna that she needed to follow christs example, and be baptized. We told her that it would bless her life and her families life, and that it was something she NEEDED to do. I then said "Johnna- will you get baptized on Saturday" She looked at me, with tears in her eyes, and said "YES!" Banks and I both started crying. It truly was a miracle. She was baptized 2 days later :)
man oh man, it was a GREAT way to leave Federal Way. It has been awesome- we had 4 baptisms in 3 months! woot woot!
anywho- saying goodbye to the Parrett family was really hard. They were so cute and actually bought me a black diamond ring- I will send pics next week haha but it's so beautiful! They bought it and said "you better think of us every time you put it on!" It's a cute small black and white band. It goes SO AWESOME with the one that Mum and Dad gave me for christmas!
I can't believe I turn 23 next wednesday! Holy crap I am so old! where did the time go?! I swear it was just yesterday that I was sitting in front of the TV with my top raumen in my leopard leotard up in Juneau, watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and getting beat up by the boys!
I don't know what I want for my b-day haha gift card to Deseret Books are always nice! There is an awesome book called "Jesus the christ" (I"m sure you know what that is..) but you can buy it in "scripture form" It's like written on scripture paper- it's cool!
I love you all so much! my address is still just the same- I don't know my new one that goes directly to our apartment, but it's just easier to have it all sent to the mission home.
11675 NE 20th street
Bellevue WA 98004 (I am pretty sure that is the address....haha I kinda forget it)
Love you!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo
-ames
So I have been transferred..
It was SO hard to leave Federal Way- but I know the Lord knows what he's doing and has bigger and better plans for me :) I now live in snoqualmie falls! my new companion is Sister Feller- she is from Bountiful and has FLAMING red hair!!! hahaha she looks like the female version of Shaun White! She is so nice! and oh my- SO tall! she is 5'11... she actually looks a lot like how Emma looked when she was younger (curly bright red hair and fair skin with freckles) It has only been like an hour since I met her, but we get along so far! I am Senior companion- YIKES! That means I have to drive... eek!
I am excited for the change- it was SO hard to leave Federal Way.
ok- so back in Federal Way we had TWO miracles last week!!!
So michael Parrett was baptized on April 28!!! (I'll send pics next week) it was crazy though cuz he almost wasn't able to be baptized. The font had a leak in the drain and the water wouldn't stay in there! But it went SO awesome.. The Lord truly worked a miracle- he was baptized in about 2 feet of water. it took 3x but it finally happened!!! It was awesome- the power of the spirit was so strong. It was a super emotional baptism to see because I have grown to love that family so much. Seeing Michael who SWORE that he would NEVER get baptized- seeing him in the font and in white was just the most amazing thing ever.
THEN- thursday night we went over to a lady named Johnna's house. She is so cute, married to a Tongan who is an inactive member. They have 2 cute kids. anywho, she was basically BORN to be Mormon. She doesn't do anything bad except she used to drink coffee. She wouldnt' get baptized becuase she wanted to know the church more before she took that step. However- she has a testimony of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, and The Book of Mormon..... so she is ready for baptism!!!!!! She was just hesitant... Our District Leader (Elder Riddle) was CONFIDENT that we could get Johnna baptized on Saturday- Banks and I were shocked because we had never actually been able to have a lesson with Johnna- we had just met with her several times on the doorstep. So the fact that he wanted her baptized on Saturday seemed crazy! It was Tuesday when he told us that, so we were in a time crunch! We prayed and prayed and tried to meet with her, we weren't able to meet with her until Thursday evening. so Banks and I went over there and just before we knocked on the door, Banks turned to me and said "clems, you HAVE TO be bold- let's get her baptized on Saturday" and I was like "oh crap... I hate being bold. haha" we went in there and told Johnna that she needed to follow christs example, and be baptized. We told her that it would bless her life and her families life, and that it was something she NEEDED to do. I then said "Johnna- will you get baptized on Saturday" She looked at me, with tears in her eyes, and said "YES!" Banks and I both started crying. It truly was a miracle. She was baptized 2 days later :)
man oh man, it was a GREAT way to leave Federal Way. It has been awesome- we had 4 baptisms in 3 months! woot woot!
anywho- saying goodbye to the Parrett family was really hard. They were so cute and actually bought me a black diamond ring- I will send pics next week haha but it's so beautiful! They bought it and said "you better think of us every time you put it on!" It's a cute small black and white band. It goes SO AWESOME with the one that Mum and Dad gave me for christmas!
I can't believe I turn 23 next wednesday! Holy crap I am so old! where did the time go?! I swear it was just yesterday that I was sitting in front of the TV with my top raumen in my leopard leotard up in Juneau, watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and getting beat up by the boys!
I don't know what I want for my b-day haha gift card to Deseret Books are always nice! There is an awesome book called "Jesus the christ" (I"m sure you know what that is..) but you can buy it in "scripture form" It's like written on scripture paper- it's cool!
I love you all so much! my address is still just the same- I don't know my new one that goes directly to our apartment, but it's just easier to have it all sent to the mission home.
11675 NE 20th street
Bellevue WA 98004 (I am pretty sure that is the address....haha I kinda forget it)
Love you!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo
-ames
Sometimes I fall down hills.
Heyo!
I never know how to start these things, so here goes...
Monday- We went and sat with Tiffany (she was baptized on feb 23) while her soon to be ex-husband came and gathered all of his stuff out of their apartment. He brought 2 cops with him (he's weird) anywho- Banks and Tiff and I became friends with the cop and kept making him laugh because we were sharing stories about being missionaries back and forth. (the cop was LDS) Tiffs ex wasn't too happy that we were friends with the cop and so he decided to start saying mean things to Tiff... well that wasn't the best idea considering it was in front of our new friend, the cop.
So her ex got taken away in cuffs.... awesome.
Later that night we went and stopped by the Kenyans (I think I told you about them) ... they are 3 dudes from Kenya. They are investigating the church.. but they won't come to church, it's kinda frustrating! but they made some BOMB kenyan food!!!! It was SO good! it was like a steak and pepers and spices stuff over jasmine rice... oh my heavens.... it-was-yum.
oh and that whole day I dropped the phone like 10x Banks thinks it's funny.
Tuesday- we had zone conferrence with another zone.. and GUESS who is on a mission up here?! Isaac Greenwood!!! it was so crazy cuz I saw him and he's all "um... I think you babysat me once"....... SO awkward.
i'm old.
a kid i babysat is in my mission... hahahaha
anywho- we have a pic together, I'll send it out in a sec.
At zone conference, President Larkin was asking everyone what our favorite ways to contact someone were. Banks raised her hand and said that my favorite way was to chase them down the street.
which is true.
Everyone laughed and President made me stand up- he put his arm on my shoulder and said "that, elders and sisters, is what we should all do- If we really truly are excited about the Gospel, we should be chasing people down the street" Everyone got silent. I felt super super awkward. But President went on to say that we should be shouting to people about the gospel. The gospel is so important, and blesses so many peoples lives- why would we not want everyone to hear it?
We learned a lot at zone conference, we got lectured about how to keep our cars clean... Banks and I had to stand up and tell everyone to NOT leave their bags in their car... hahaha. so humiliating.
Later that night we went and visited the Parretts (michael is getting baptized on the 28th of this month) he is excited!
Wednesday- Banks and I met a cool samoan lady who talked to us for about 2 hours. (about the gospel of course) Then we went and visited a less active family. The moms name is Tina and the daughter is Kristine. kristine just got married to a man in the army- she was so happy and so cute! They hope to get sealed in a year. Tina is so sweet and so loving to everyone, she just has a hard time coming to church because she works long hours and the only day she has off is Sunday.
Then we went and visited Tabby (she was baptized on feb 18) we went to mainly see her brother Brandon. He has a few learning disabilities- but their family calls him "stupid and dumb" it breaks my heart- brandon isn't dumb, but he gets hurt and frustrated when his family calls him names. He is actually really smart, he just has speech impediments and has a harder time learning. I am still doing the "word a day" with him- where I will bring a word on a flash card and he will have to memorize it and the definition. he so far has learned "peculiar, abstemious, legible, proatic, and tangible".
Thursday- we fasted for Elder Baxter (he is in the 70) he was going to come to our mission, but I guess his cancer came back and so he isn't able to. so we held a mission fast from thursday at 1 to friday at 1.
Then we went and taught the Cahans foreign exchange student, Steve. He taught me chinese and said that i had great tones.. haha he said that I was born to be asian.. but that my eyes were too big. we laughed.
Friday- we went and saw Eldeen (she is a 75yr old woman in the ward) she is crazy... seriously crazy. We went over there when she was getting ready, her aid was helping her and Eldeen kept yelling at her aid. haha Eldeen is kinda mean. anywho- then Eldeen came out in her garments cuz she wanted Banks and I to see how bony she was...
..unfortunately that is an image that will never get out of my head. Where is the brain bleach when you need it?
Then we went and ate at L&L.. remember that BBQ place cory loves? ya... banks loves it to... gross.
Then for dinner, tiffany had us over for pizza and brownies- she went to a Gluten Free Place in Kent Washington- and picked up pizza and brownines! she is so sweet!
Saturday- we went to see Brandon again. he and I played basketball while he memorized the 10 commandments. He memorized all of them!!!! It's crazy- but when you get him away from his family, he is so smart!
Then we went to the Parretts.. shannon (the mom) was rolling her own cigaretts again.. she spit tobacco in my hand... hahaha yeah..
Then we went to a ward party- Ward parties are great, except as a missionary, you have to go around and say hi to everyone or else someone will get offended.
I got cake shoved in my face. it was great.
it was by a lady in the ward. haha
Later that Night, Banks and I immitated all the people we knew. She thinks its funny that I will mock people and so she makes me do it all the time.
Sunday- was wonderful- we had dinner with the Kay family, they made smoked chicken! YUM!!!! everyone should own a smoker.
So that was my week....way exciting huh? haha Banks was sick with allergies and so we didn't go out a lot.
Hopefully this week will be more exciting!
oh and I got transfers mixed up... haha so transfers are NEXT WEEK- not this week.
and I turn 23 in like 2 weeks.... eek. i'm old.
love you!!!!!
xoxoxoxo
I never know how to start these things, so here goes...
Monday- We went and sat with Tiffany (she was baptized on feb 23) while her soon to be ex-husband came and gathered all of his stuff out of their apartment. He brought 2 cops with him (he's weird) anywho- Banks and Tiff and I became friends with the cop and kept making him laugh because we were sharing stories about being missionaries back and forth. (the cop was LDS) Tiffs ex wasn't too happy that we were friends with the cop and so he decided to start saying mean things to Tiff... well that wasn't the best idea considering it was in front of our new friend, the cop.
So her ex got taken away in cuffs.... awesome.
Later that night we went and stopped by the Kenyans (I think I told you about them) ... they are 3 dudes from Kenya. They are investigating the church.. but they won't come to church, it's kinda frustrating! but they made some BOMB kenyan food!!!! It was SO good! it was like a steak and pepers and spices stuff over jasmine rice... oh my heavens.... it-was-yum.
oh and that whole day I dropped the phone like 10x Banks thinks it's funny.
Tuesday- we had zone conferrence with another zone.. and GUESS who is on a mission up here?! Isaac Greenwood!!! it was so crazy cuz I saw him and he's all "um... I think you babysat me once"....... SO awkward.
i'm old.
a kid i babysat is in my mission... hahahaha
anywho- we have a pic together, I'll send it out in a sec.
At zone conference, President Larkin was asking everyone what our favorite ways to contact someone were. Banks raised her hand and said that my favorite way was to chase them down the street.
which is true.
Everyone laughed and President made me stand up- he put his arm on my shoulder and said "that, elders and sisters, is what we should all do- If we really truly are excited about the Gospel, we should be chasing people down the street" Everyone got silent. I felt super super awkward. But President went on to say that we should be shouting to people about the gospel. The gospel is so important, and blesses so many peoples lives- why would we not want everyone to hear it?
We learned a lot at zone conference, we got lectured about how to keep our cars clean... Banks and I had to stand up and tell everyone to NOT leave their bags in their car... hahaha. so humiliating.
Later that night we went and visited the Parretts (michael is getting baptized on the 28th of this month) he is excited!
Wednesday- Banks and I met a cool samoan lady who talked to us for about 2 hours. (about the gospel of course) Then we went and visited a less active family. The moms name is Tina and the daughter is Kristine. kristine just got married to a man in the army- she was so happy and so cute! They hope to get sealed in a year. Tina is so sweet and so loving to everyone, she just has a hard time coming to church because she works long hours and the only day she has off is Sunday.
Then we went and visited Tabby (she was baptized on feb 18) we went to mainly see her brother Brandon. He has a few learning disabilities- but their family calls him "stupid and dumb" it breaks my heart- brandon isn't dumb, but he gets hurt and frustrated when his family calls him names. He is actually really smart, he just has speech impediments and has a harder time learning. I am still doing the "word a day" with him- where I will bring a word on a flash card and he will have to memorize it and the definition. he so far has learned "peculiar, abstemious, legible, proatic, and tangible".
Thursday- we fasted for Elder Baxter (he is in the 70) he was going to come to our mission, but I guess his cancer came back and so he isn't able to. so we held a mission fast from thursday at 1 to friday at 1.
Then we went and taught the Cahans foreign exchange student, Steve. He taught me chinese and said that i had great tones.. haha he said that I was born to be asian.. but that my eyes were too big. we laughed.
Friday- we went and saw Eldeen (she is a 75yr old woman in the ward) she is crazy... seriously crazy. We went over there when she was getting ready, her aid was helping her and Eldeen kept yelling at her aid. haha Eldeen is kinda mean. anywho- then Eldeen came out in her garments cuz she wanted Banks and I to see how bony she was...
..unfortunately that is an image that will never get out of my head. Where is the brain bleach when you need it?
Then we went and ate at L&L.. remember that BBQ place cory loves? ya... banks loves it to... gross.
Then for dinner, tiffany had us over for pizza and brownies- she went to a Gluten Free Place in Kent Washington- and picked up pizza and brownines! she is so sweet!
Saturday- we went to see Brandon again. he and I played basketball while he memorized the 10 commandments. He memorized all of them!!!! It's crazy- but when you get him away from his family, he is so smart!
Then we went to the Parretts.. shannon (the mom) was rolling her own cigaretts again.. she spit tobacco in my hand... hahaha yeah..
Then we went to a ward party- Ward parties are great, except as a missionary, you have to go around and say hi to everyone or else someone will get offended.
I got cake shoved in my face. it was great.
it was by a lady in the ward. haha
Later that Night, Banks and I immitated all the people we knew. She thinks its funny that I will mock people and so she makes me do it all the time.
Sunday- was wonderful- we had dinner with the Kay family, they made smoked chicken! YUM!!!! everyone should own a smoker.
So that was my week....way exciting huh? haha Banks was sick with allergies and so we didn't go out a lot.
Hopefully this week will be more exciting!
oh and I got transfers mixed up... haha so transfers are NEXT WEEK- not this week.
and I turn 23 in like 2 weeks.... eek. i'm old.
love you!!!!!
xoxoxoxo
April!
Well hello-
This week was lovely! So Michael is getting baptized on April 28. Two former elders are flying up to baptize him- it will be so neat! Watching that family grow and become closer together has been so awesome. It's amazzing to me how much the gospel can truly build a family up, and bring them closer together!
on Friday, Banks and I had a feeling to stop by this one ladies house. We met her tracting a few weeks ago, but every time we had been back to visit- she wasn't home. Finally we stopped by, she was home with her daughter (sophia 13) and her son Miguel (15mos) They are so cute! the moms name is Sophia as well. but so we taught them the restoration on the doorstep- the spirit was SO strong, and we put them on date for May 12! SO excited! truly truly a miracle.
On wednesday I went to the doc- guess who is almost all better?!?!! woot woot! I am finishing off my last antibiotic, and I should be good!! ahhhh such a relief :)
hmm what else happened...
oh! we have been teaching these guys named Fred, John, and Peter... they are from Kenya! They are super cool, but they are having a hard time commiting to church. Peter was on date for baptism, but then we learned that he is livin with his girlfriend... so either they have to get married or he has to move out! but we are going over tonight because they are making dinner for us! yum!
Do you remember Tiffany? she is that adorable lady who was baptized on Feb 23- she is going through a divorce right now.. her husband isn't very nice. anywho- we have been helping her pack cuz she is moving back to vegas. Her husband is in the military and has been overseas for the last 8mos or so. He's mean- but he is coming over today to get all of his stuff, so we are going over there to make sure she is safe.
Tiff is SO awesome- her faith is so strong, and her love for the gospel is amazing! she LOVES to serve in the church- it's amazing.
hmmm what else?
Transfers are on May 1- I have a HUGE feeling that I am getting transferred because Banks is a "trainer" and there are more English sisters coming in that transfer- So I have a feeling I will be transferred out of Federal Way! bummer- but I'll go where I'm supposed to go.
Overall- the mission (and week) was incredible. People in the ward are so nice and so giving- many of them buy us groceries, or cook meals for us that we can freeze- they buy us treats all the time! it's great... except I don't want to gain weight hahaha
anywhos
love you!!
xoxo
-ames
This week was lovely! So Michael is getting baptized on April 28. Two former elders are flying up to baptize him- it will be so neat! Watching that family grow and become closer together has been so awesome. It's amazzing to me how much the gospel can truly build a family up, and bring them closer together!
on Friday, Banks and I had a feeling to stop by this one ladies house. We met her tracting a few weeks ago, but every time we had been back to visit- she wasn't home. Finally we stopped by, she was home with her daughter (sophia 13) and her son Miguel (15mos) They are so cute! the moms name is Sophia as well. but so we taught them the restoration on the doorstep- the spirit was SO strong, and we put them on date for May 12! SO excited! truly truly a miracle.
On wednesday I went to the doc- guess who is almost all better?!?!! woot woot! I am finishing off my last antibiotic, and I should be good!! ahhhh such a relief :)
hmm what else happened...
oh! we have been teaching these guys named Fred, John, and Peter... they are from Kenya! They are super cool, but they are having a hard time commiting to church. Peter was on date for baptism, but then we learned that he is livin with his girlfriend... so either they have to get married or he has to move out! but we are going over tonight because they are making dinner for us! yum!
Do you remember Tiffany? she is that adorable lady who was baptized on Feb 23- she is going through a divorce right now.. her husband isn't very nice. anywho- we have been helping her pack cuz she is moving back to vegas. Her husband is in the military and has been overseas for the last 8mos or so. He's mean- but he is coming over today to get all of his stuff, so we are going over there to make sure she is safe.
Tiff is SO awesome- her faith is so strong, and her love for the gospel is amazing! she LOVES to serve in the church- it's amazing.
hmmm what else?
Transfers are on May 1- I have a HUGE feeling that I am getting transferred because Banks is a "trainer" and there are more English sisters coming in that transfer- So I have a feeling I will be transferred out of Federal Way! bummer- but I'll go where I'm supposed to go.
Overall- the mission (and week) was incredible. People in the ward are so nice and so giving- many of them buy us groceries, or cook meals for us that we can freeze- they buy us treats all the time! it's great... except I don't want to gain weight hahaha
anywhos
love you!!
xoxo
-ames
Ultrasound on the mish.
You betcha I got an ultrasound on my mish.
... not that kind.
haha..
So These last 8 weeks, I have been quite ill to say the least. They discovered a very large amount of bacteria in my body, and found out that my kidneys are bleeding.
so fun, right?
Turns out.. that mice poop is the cause of it..
...stop laughing.
On Tuesday, we were sitting in district meeting- and I felt this CRAZY sharp pain in my chest. I turned to banks and said "this isn't right, this doesn't feel right".. so we went into the bathroom and I started sweating and things got blurry- I laid down... ha
We called the members that we live with (cuz he's a doctor) and he said that he would be home in about an hour if we could last that long.. so in came our district leader-and zone leaders. they immediately said "let's give her a blessing" sooo cool!! After the blessing, we went back home and waited for Bro Jarstad to arrive. He came upstairs and checked my vitals.. my heart rate was super low and I had a temp of 102. He knew that it was cuz of my kidneys and that the bacteria must still be in them, and that it may have started spreading around.
So he called in a few prescriptions and gave me another blessing. That night- I slept like a baby thanks to all the modern day medicines (haha)
I woke up- went to the hosp and had blood drawn and all that. Then they gave me an IV full of some antibiotic- well that IV made me suuuuuper loopy and quite tired.
Banks and I spent the next 3 days at home- watching movies that were put out by the church (I now have the movies: Legacy, The Testaments, and all of the D&C videos memorized) nooo joke.
On friday- I went to a specialist and she did an ultrasound of my kidneys. They are inflamed and pushing on my other organs (that's why I had a pain in my chest) They are also still bleeding. She put me on ANOTHER antibiotic and said that I should start feeling better soon.
It's been like 3 days, and I am starting to improve. There is still a lot of pain- but through blessings and prayers, I have been able to bear it throughout the day.
She also said that my body has been so full of bacteria for the past 8 weeks, that it has affected my digestive system- so she feels that my case of celiacs may go away if they can kill the bacteria. but she said I have to keep being Gluten Free until that happens- dang it! haha
Then- friday night we went over to the Parrets house and we had a great lesson with them and even asked michael to commit to baptism- he wouldn't, but he said he would think about it.
Saturday- we went over there at night and the mother had "a few too many drinks" and it was a wreck. A complete wreck. it was so devestating seeing this in the family. It was heartbreaking to see the kids witness their mom like that. I started to cry and Michael asked why- I told him that I loved his family so much, and that I just wanted the best for them.. and clearly the mom didn't understand that.
Sunday- we woke up, gathered all our crazy investigators and headed to church. The parett family came, and the mother seemed fine. she apologized and said it would never happen again. Sister Lopez (1st counselor in Relief Society) made us easter baskets! so fun!!! they were full of cool games and treats. THEN we went over to the Cahans (the RS pres) and she had us over for their Easter Dinner- I have pics- she also bought us a shirt and waterbottle from BYU-I ... It hurts me to say, but I did wear the shirt. eeeeeek!!!! UofU is still the best. no worries.
THEN we went and ate another late dinner at the Flores home. it was delicious. THEN we went over to the parrett home and they surprised us with Easter Baskets PACKED full of candy! it was great!!!
we then had a lesson and I literally told Michael that it is his duty to become a worthy priesthood holder, and that is only capable through baptism. I told him that he needed to be baptized, he needed to give up his softball playing on sunday, and get baptized. It was kinda scary how blunt I was- But I love that family a lot, and so it's not rude to be bold, cuz i love them. haha
later that evening we got a text...
...michael is going to be baptized.
:)
Best. Easter. Gift. EVER.
I love you all- I appreciate all the prayers that have gone out in my behalf, I feel them- they give me the support and courage that I need every day.
love you!
-ames
... not that kind.
haha..
So These last 8 weeks, I have been quite ill to say the least. They discovered a very large amount of bacteria in my body, and found out that my kidneys are bleeding.
so fun, right?
Turns out.. that mice poop is the cause of it..
...stop laughing.
On Tuesday, we were sitting in district meeting- and I felt this CRAZY sharp pain in my chest. I turned to banks and said "this isn't right, this doesn't feel right".. so we went into the bathroom and I started sweating and things got blurry- I laid down... ha
We called the members that we live with (cuz he's a doctor) and he said that he would be home in about an hour if we could last that long.. so in came our district leader-and zone leaders. they immediately said "let's give her a blessing" sooo cool!! After the blessing, we went back home and waited for Bro Jarstad to arrive. He came upstairs and checked my vitals.. my heart rate was super low and I had a temp of 102. He knew that it was cuz of my kidneys and that the bacteria must still be in them, and that it may have started spreading around.
So he called in a few prescriptions and gave me another blessing. That night- I slept like a baby thanks to all the modern day medicines (haha)
I woke up- went to the hosp and had blood drawn and all that. Then they gave me an IV full of some antibiotic- well that IV made me suuuuuper loopy and quite tired.
Banks and I spent the next 3 days at home- watching movies that were put out by the church (I now have the movies: Legacy, The Testaments, and all of the D&C videos memorized) nooo joke.
On friday- I went to a specialist and she did an ultrasound of my kidneys. They are inflamed and pushing on my other organs (that's why I had a pain in my chest) They are also still bleeding. She put me on ANOTHER antibiotic and said that I should start feeling better soon.
It's been like 3 days, and I am starting to improve. There is still a lot of pain- but through blessings and prayers, I have been able to bear it throughout the day.
She also said that my body has been so full of bacteria for the past 8 weeks, that it has affected my digestive system- so she feels that my case of celiacs may go away if they can kill the bacteria. but she said I have to keep being Gluten Free until that happens- dang it! haha
Then- friday night we went over to the Parrets house and we had a great lesson with them and even asked michael to commit to baptism- he wouldn't, but he said he would think about it.
Saturday- we went over there at night and the mother had "a few too many drinks" and it was a wreck. A complete wreck. it was so devestating seeing this in the family. It was heartbreaking to see the kids witness their mom like that. I started to cry and Michael asked why- I told him that I loved his family so much, and that I just wanted the best for them.. and clearly the mom didn't understand that.
Sunday- we woke up, gathered all our crazy investigators and headed to church. The parett family came, and the mother seemed fine. she apologized and said it would never happen again. Sister Lopez (1st counselor in Relief Society) made us easter baskets! so fun!!! they were full of cool games and treats. THEN we went over to the Cahans (the RS pres) and she had us over for their Easter Dinner- I have pics- she also bought us a shirt and waterbottle from BYU-I ... It hurts me to say, but I did wear the shirt. eeeeeek!!!! UofU is still the best. no worries.
THEN we went and ate another late dinner at the Flores home. it was delicious. THEN we went over to the parrett home and they surprised us with Easter Baskets PACKED full of candy! it was great!!!
we then had a lesson and I literally told Michael that it is his duty to become a worthy priesthood holder, and that is only capable through baptism. I told him that he needed to be baptized, he needed to give up his softball playing on sunday, and get baptized. It was kinda scary how blunt I was- But I love that family a lot, and so it's not rude to be bold, cuz i love them. haha
later that evening we got a text...
...michael is going to be baptized.
:)
Best. Easter. Gift. EVER.
I love you all- I appreciate all the prayers that have gone out in my behalf, I feel them- they give me the support and courage that I need every day.
love you!
-ames
Pictures
The lady in the white skirt is Sister Cahan- the asian is Steve (their foreign exchange student) and the girl in the yellow shirt is Karey, Sister Cahans daughter.
The elders are Elder Welch (the short one)... I don't care for him much (i'll tell that story later) and the tall one is Elder Jensen- we went to high school and middle school together! so cool!
The lady with short hair that banks and i are holding baskets next to- is sister lopez!
The elders are Elder Welch (the short one)... I don't care for him much (i'll tell that story later) and the tall one is Elder Jensen- we went to high school and middle school together! so cool!
Kissin snails and watching Conference
Heyo!
Here is a summary of my week:
Monday- it was P-day (therfore awesomeness occured) like naps, food shopping (which sucks now cuz i have to be Gluten Free) and emailing (yahoo!)
Tuesday- I went to the doctor and found out my kidneys are still bleeding, just not as bad now (haha) the bacteria is starting to clear up. apparently whatever was in that mice poop was really strong because the hospitals strongest antibiotics are taking a long time to kill it! I was able to go to the hospital and get 2 IV's and have them try and kill it quicker. Then later that night we got a call from the spanish sisters saying that their car was towed and they needed a ride. Well we went to the tow place (in the ghetto) and the hermanas (spanish sisters) were too chicken to ask if they could not have to pay the fine- so I (using the gospel, of course) charmed my way out of the 300$ fine..... ok I may or may not have flirted a little with a 400lb bald man.
sometimes ya just have to, ok?
Wednesday- Sister Banks went to a training meeting, so I went on exchanges with a girl named Sister Morgan. she is really sweet, super quiet, but really sweet. She is from texas so she said "yall" like 2196851321 times.
Thursday- I woke up early in the morning and was COVERED in a cold sweat. it was gross, I had a temp of 103 and I started seeing spots... haha it was great. so we stayed in and watched church movies all day- then at about 6pm we decided to go downstairs to make juice- and we found a ton of MICE POOP in our cupboard! ahhhhh!!! so we then went looking around the house and found like 15 mouse traps. we decided to be big girls and set the traps ourselves and put peanut butter on them- HOLY SMOKES it is hard to set a mouse trap!!!!! my fingernails are blue because they got smashed so many times! Later that night (at like 1020) we heard a creepy noise, we went down and a mouse had been caught! I will send the video next week- it was so funny!
Firday- woke up to another dead mouse in the trap! success!!!! but SO gross. then banks had training again, so i went on exchanges up to the University of Washington (they call it Udub) it was AWESOME! it is known for "red square" which is like this red square.. obviously. but it's huge and it's where all the college kids walk on to get to their classes. so we tracted in there- it was crazy!!!!! I wasn't too useful cuz I blended in and I got asked out 5x haha The other sisters that are there are asian- and from china- so they don't blend in as well. Elder Keung (who is from New Zealand) took me under his wing and made me stay by him haha. Later, A tour group asked if they could take a picture with Elder Keung and I! it was SO funny!
Saturday- CONFERENCE!!!!!! wooohooooo!!!! It was awesome cuz we finally got to watch TV! granted it was at the stke center, in the chapel... but hey, it's still TV.
I totally left my notes at home- so I'll summarize all of conference together in this paragraph. I LOVED Uchtdorfs talk!! STOP IT!!! it was awesome! I also really enjoyed Eyrings talk (it reminded me of my friend Jenna, I bawled throughout it!) I loved the guy that talked about his grandson Paxton. I also loved Elder Hollands- ahhh ok I loved them all! I'll give more details when I have my notes on me next time!
Sunday- Conference again- I'll write notes on that next time. but after conference Banks and I decided to go see a few people, we were walking in an apartment complex- and I saw a snail! so naturally.. i picked it up- but then it was too slimey to hold, so i put it on a stick. well I was joking around with banks- and i stuck my tongue out as she was about to take a picture- well aparently my tongue is longer than i thought, cuz i LICKED it!!! ahhhhh so so so gross!
what is it with me and animals?!
anywho- as far as our investigators.... John, Lisa, Teta & D all dumped us! I was so sad. But I know that all in all, the seed was planted- and they will hopefully see the light soon!
Remember the Parrett family? the step dad (michael) isn't a member... well- we got him to go to the priesthood session- and he LOVED it!!! he is still skepticall of joining the church cuz he doesn't want to become inactive (like his wife and step kids have) so he wants to make sure he is fully committed. BUT he has to quit softball league first cuz they have games on sunday!
anywho- he is making wonderful progress, and their family still loves us.
I hope everyone else had a wonderful week!
love you all!!!
xoxoxo
-ames
Here is a summary of my week:
Monday- it was P-day (therfore awesomeness occured) like naps, food shopping (which sucks now cuz i have to be Gluten Free) and emailing (yahoo!)
Tuesday- I went to the doctor and found out my kidneys are still bleeding, just not as bad now (haha) the bacteria is starting to clear up. apparently whatever was in that mice poop was really strong because the hospitals strongest antibiotics are taking a long time to kill it! I was able to go to the hospital and get 2 IV's and have them try and kill it quicker. Then later that night we got a call from the spanish sisters saying that their car was towed and they needed a ride. Well we went to the tow place (in the ghetto) and the hermanas (spanish sisters) were too chicken to ask if they could not have to pay the fine- so I (using the gospel, of course) charmed my way out of the 300$ fine..... ok I may or may not have flirted a little with a 400lb bald man.
sometimes ya just have to, ok?
Wednesday- Sister Banks went to a training meeting, so I went on exchanges with a girl named Sister Morgan. she is really sweet, super quiet, but really sweet. She is from texas so she said "yall" like 2196851321 times.
Thursday- I woke up early in the morning and was COVERED in a cold sweat. it was gross, I had a temp of 103 and I started seeing spots... haha it was great. so we stayed in and watched church movies all day- then at about 6pm we decided to go downstairs to make juice- and we found a ton of MICE POOP in our cupboard! ahhhhh!!! so we then went looking around the house and found like 15 mouse traps. we decided to be big girls and set the traps ourselves and put peanut butter on them- HOLY SMOKES it is hard to set a mouse trap!!!!! my fingernails are blue because they got smashed so many times! Later that night (at like 1020) we heard a creepy noise, we went down and a mouse had been caught! I will send the video next week- it was so funny!
Firday- woke up to another dead mouse in the trap! success!!!! but SO gross. then banks had training again, so i went on exchanges up to the University of Washington (they call it Udub) it was AWESOME! it is known for "red square" which is like this red square.. obviously. but it's huge and it's where all the college kids walk on to get to their classes. so we tracted in there- it was crazy!!!!! I wasn't too useful cuz I blended in and I got asked out 5x haha The other sisters that are there are asian- and from china- so they don't blend in as well. Elder Keung (who is from New Zealand) took me under his wing and made me stay by him haha. Later, A tour group asked if they could take a picture with Elder Keung and I! it was SO funny!
Saturday- CONFERENCE!!!!!! wooohooooo!!!! It was awesome cuz we finally got to watch TV! granted it was at the stke center, in the chapel... but hey, it's still TV.
I totally left my notes at home- so I'll summarize all of conference together in this paragraph. I LOVED Uchtdorfs talk!! STOP IT!!! it was awesome! I also really enjoyed Eyrings talk (it reminded me of my friend Jenna, I bawled throughout it!) I loved the guy that talked about his grandson Paxton. I also loved Elder Hollands- ahhh ok I loved them all! I'll give more details when I have my notes on me next time!
Sunday- Conference again- I'll write notes on that next time. but after conference Banks and I decided to go see a few people, we were walking in an apartment complex- and I saw a snail! so naturally.. i picked it up- but then it was too slimey to hold, so i put it on a stick. well I was joking around with banks- and i stuck my tongue out as she was about to take a picture- well aparently my tongue is longer than i thought, cuz i LICKED it!!! ahhhhh so so so gross!
what is it with me and animals?!
anywho- as far as our investigators.... John, Lisa, Teta & D all dumped us! I was so sad. But I know that all in all, the seed was planted- and they will hopefully see the light soon!
Remember the Parrett family? the step dad (michael) isn't a member... well- we got him to go to the priesthood session- and he LOVED it!!! he is still skepticall of joining the church cuz he doesn't want to become inactive (like his wife and step kids have) so he wants to make sure he is fully committed. BUT he has to quit softball league first cuz they have games on sunday!
anywho- he is making wonderful progress, and their family still loves us.
I hope everyone else had a wonderful week!
love you all!!!
xoxoxo
-ames
Friday, April 6, 2012
Weekly!
Well hello!!!
This week has been just lovely, transfers were last week and luckily I nor my companion were moved! woot woot! So I am still in Federal Way- and I still live in a mansion- and my comp is still Banks, although she has promised to not feed me mice poop this transfer :)
Remember that lady we chased down the street? the one who had just lost her husband? well we met with her last week, and it was soooo sad! Her neighbor (who is an ex mormon) saw her talking to us and so he went and told her all this anti mormon stuff. so when she met with us, she had all this anti in her head and didn't want to even hear what we ahd to say! ahhh it was so frustrating. we hope that she will come around soon, we have been praying a lot for her, so we will see.
The Parrett family (the one i sent pics of, with the lady that makes her own cigs) they are doing great. since banks and I have been coming over they have started to clean their house, declutter, and paint, and make an effort in trying to have the spirit in their home! It's so neat! They have completely changed and grown since we started coming. They come to church and the girls go to the YW activities. We are still working on getting the dad baptized- he just doesn't want to give up his softball on sundays- haha. men.
we went tracting on friday and neither Banks nor I wanted to- we were both tired and starving, but we knew we had to. We said a prayer before we started and we prayed that we would find a miracle- on our 3rd door we did!!!! His name is AJ and he's 26- he had met with the missionaries a few years ago but said that he just was not ready to get baptized then. He told us though that he knew the book of mormon was true! so cool!! we then put him on date for baptism for april 21! so cool!!
then we knocked on his neighbors door and she started swearing and screaming at us... oh missionary work is great.
The weather was so amazing on saturday- it was super sunny and we even rolled the windows down. it was grand!
I got Megs package!!! Thanks SO much!!!! it was so awesome! and I screamed when I saw the pocky!!! haha that journal is so cute and the I love Jesus scrapbook thing is hilarious. my district is way jealous of it.
ps- if Sheridan, Cheyenne, Laurin, Kristin, Krista, Markell, Mckelle, Lachelle, or any other of my NY/CT peeps read this- WRITE ME!!! punks! you are all in major trouble when I get home!
hopefully I will get new scrips this week! all these doc appts are getting so annoying and so hopeully I will have time to get them from the store!
ps- can someone send me a pic of kade? I talk about him all the time, I would LOVE a pic!
anywho- I love you all!
until next week
xoxox-ames
This week has been just lovely, transfers were last week and luckily I nor my companion were moved! woot woot! So I am still in Federal Way- and I still live in a mansion- and my comp is still Banks, although she has promised to not feed me mice poop this transfer :)
Remember that lady we chased down the street? the one who had just lost her husband? well we met with her last week, and it was soooo sad! Her neighbor (who is an ex mormon) saw her talking to us and so he went and told her all this anti mormon stuff. so when she met with us, she had all this anti in her head and didn't want to even hear what we ahd to say! ahhh it was so frustrating. we hope that she will come around soon, we have been praying a lot for her, so we will see.
The Parrett family (the one i sent pics of, with the lady that makes her own cigs) they are doing great. since banks and I have been coming over they have started to clean their house, declutter, and paint, and make an effort in trying to have the spirit in their home! It's so neat! They have completely changed and grown since we started coming. They come to church and the girls go to the YW activities. We are still working on getting the dad baptized- he just doesn't want to give up his softball on sundays- haha. men.
we went tracting on friday and neither Banks nor I wanted to- we were both tired and starving, but we knew we had to. We said a prayer before we started and we prayed that we would find a miracle- on our 3rd door we did!!!! His name is AJ and he's 26- he had met with the missionaries a few years ago but said that he just was not ready to get baptized then. He told us though that he knew the book of mormon was true! so cool!! we then put him on date for baptism for april 21! so cool!!
then we knocked on his neighbors door and she started swearing and screaming at us... oh missionary work is great.
The weather was so amazing on saturday- it was super sunny and we even rolled the windows down. it was grand!
I got Megs package!!! Thanks SO much!!!! it was so awesome! and I screamed when I saw the pocky!!! haha that journal is so cute and the I love Jesus scrapbook thing is hilarious. my district is way jealous of it.
ps- if Sheridan, Cheyenne, Laurin, Kristin, Krista, Markell, Mckelle, Lachelle, or any other of my NY/CT peeps read this- WRITE ME!!! punks! you are all in major trouble when I get home!
hopefully I will get new scrips this week! all these doc appts are getting so annoying and so hopeully I will have time to get them from the store!
ps- can someone send me a pic of kade? I talk about him all the time, I would LOVE a pic!
anywho- I love you all!
until next week
xoxox-ames
St. Patty's Day!
ahhhhh!
I can't believe I have another nephew!!!!!! Kaden is a STUD!!!!!! i can't wait to meet him!
another week has come and gone- Things around here have slowed down quite a bit, but the work is still great!
There is this family that we met, oh goodness I love them so much, They live in a small little house with 4 dogs- 1 cat- 2 birds- 2 moms(rose and shannon)- 1 dad(michael)- 1 son(daniel)- 2 daughters(jenna and ashlee)- and 1 old man (tommy).
Their name is the Parret/green/ayho/tommy family.
The mum is Shannon
shannon has 2 daughters (ashlee and jenna) and she is married to Michael (the dad)
Rose is Michaels ex-wife.
Daniel is Roses son.
Tommy is Roses ex husbands (not michael) dad.
did ya catch that?
no worries- it took me a whole week to remember.
THey are so funny! Shannon, Jenna, and Ashlee are all members- but they have not gone to church in a long time.
we began going over there last week and they constantly want us to keep coming over, they feed us dessert or dinner every time we go over. They have such big hearts! They take in so many people-and animals (as you can tell)
anywho- we went over to their house on Saturday and Jenna (age 17) was all dressed up, we asked her why and she said "oh I'm going to a mormon dance!' we were shocked haha but she decided to go to a singles ward dance! this is a girl who hadn't wanted anything to do with the church, and here she was deciding to go to a church dance- it's amazing to see what difference sister banks and I have made, it's so worth it! Then we started talking to Mike and Shannon and we said "so you're coming to church tomorrow, right?" they laughed and said "ya ok" ... banks and I sat there and we were like "wait, what??! serious?!"
sure enough.. Shannon and michael came to church on Sunday- it was awesome! Shannon hadn't been to church in Years and michael had only been once or twice before that.
It was amazing to see them back at church!
Anywho- here are a lot of pics
Some are of when our car got broken into- the one with the lady and her cigarettes, that's shannon! she makes her own cigarettes cuz it's cheaper... hahahaha.
Then there are some of Banks and I tracting, at the temple
The group one of us at the temple (with elders) that is our district! We just had transfers today, and so I will get a new district tomorrow (same companion and area though, i didn't get transferred! yay!!!)
and the others... I kinda forgot.. but ya!
I love you all!!!
xoxoxo
ames
I can't believe I have another nephew!!!!!! Kaden is a STUD!!!!!! i can't wait to meet him!
another week has come and gone- Things around here have slowed down quite a bit, but the work is still great!
There is this family that we met, oh goodness I love them so much, They live in a small little house with 4 dogs- 1 cat- 2 birds- 2 moms(rose and shannon)- 1 dad(michael)- 1 son(daniel)- 2 daughters(jenna and ashlee)- and 1 old man (tommy).
Their name is the Parret/green/ayho/tommy family.
The mum is Shannon
shannon has 2 daughters (ashlee and jenna) and she is married to Michael (the dad)
Rose is Michaels ex-wife.
Daniel is Roses son.
Tommy is Roses ex husbands (not michael) dad.
did ya catch that?
no worries- it took me a whole week to remember.
THey are so funny! Shannon, Jenna, and Ashlee are all members- but they have not gone to church in a long time.
we began going over there last week and they constantly want us to keep coming over, they feed us dessert or dinner every time we go over. They have such big hearts! They take in so many people-and animals (as you can tell)
anywho- we went over to their house on Saturday and Jenna (age 17) was all dressed up, we asked her why and she said "oh I'm going to a mormon dance!' we were shocked haha but she decided to go to a singles ward dance! this is a girl who hadn't wanted anything to do with the church, and here she was deciding to go to a church dance- it's amazing to see what difference sister banks and I have made, it's so worth it! Then we started talking to Mike and Shannon and we said "so you're coming to church tomorrow, right?" they laughed and said "ya ok" ... banks and I sat there and we were like "wait, what??! serious?!"
sure enough.. Shannon and michael came to church on Sunday- it was awesome! Shannon hadn't been to church in Years and michael had only been once or twice before that.
It was amazing to see them back at church!
Anywho- here are a lot of pics
Some are of when our car got broken into- the one with the lady and her cigarettes, that's shannon! she makes her own cigarettes cuz it's cheaper... hahahaha.
Then there are some of Banks and I tracting, at the temple
The group one of us at the temple (with elders) that is our district! We just had transfers today, and so I will get a new district tomorrow (same companion and area though, i didn't get transferred! yay!!!)
and the others... I kinda forgot.. but ya!
I love you all!!!
xoxoxo
ames
Aftermath
Well hello!
So being a missionary without scriptures is kinda hard. haha
our zone leaders were supposed to get me a temporary triple (book of mormon, d&C and Pogp)
but no...
they didn't put the order in.
it's grrrrreat.
haha our windows did get fixed though- yay!
This week was slow, we had many investigators tell us that they are no longer interested. One lady keeps sending us anti-mormon texts.
We go tracting alot because we don't have many appointments (because no one let's us in haha) ...and we get many doors slammed in our faces.
The other night we were tracting for 4 hours straight, not one single home let us in- we were getting so tired and both felt sick cuz it had been raining/snowing all day. We were walking back to our car when we saw this lady walking her dog, banks and I looked at eachother- we kinda hesitated a little bit cuz we were both sooo tired and soo cold- but we decided to go over.
We walked over there, not knowing what we would say.. Banks turns to me and says "you talk, no battle"
...I sat there- we were like 10 feet away from her, she turned and started to cross to the other side of the street. I looked at Banks, grabbed her arm and we followed.
We were trying to keep up with this lady, but she started walking faster and faster!! finally, it was to the point where we were no longer speedwalking- we were jogging after this woman! I yelled "hey stop! we want to talk about God!!!" she turned around and said "what?" and we caught up to her, it was super awkward cuz here we are- we had just CHASED this woman down the street! she looked at me and said "well, you wanted to talk about God didn't you? what do you have to say?"
I then told her that God loves her and that the message that us as missionaries share could enrich her life- and that no matter what trials she may be going through, God is aware of them and he only wants her to be happy and to be comforted during her hard time.
She then started to cry, not just like a few tears.. she started bawling!
....it was so awkward.
but THEN- she explained that her husband had just passed away from a heart attack, and that she was feeling so alone and she felt like she needed guidance in her life.
booya!
We are meeting with her tomorrow, so I will let you know how it goes.
It's amazing- it's amazing how you can have such a hard long day and get sooo many doors slammed in your face, yet one person can make your day 100x better.
That lady made every single door slam worth it, every single horrible comment we had heard that day- none of that mattered anymore.
we knew without a doubt in our minds, that we needed to be there. We knew with assurance that we needed to meet that woman.
Just knowing that you made a difference to one single person- is all worth it.
Every hard day is worth one persons soul and smile. Every single day, a miracle happens. A miracle that makes the hard times worth it.
The gospel is true, I'll say it time and time again.
God is our Heavenly Father, and he loves us. Jesus Christ is our brother and our Savior. Joseph Smith was a prophet, he restored the keys back on the earth. Families can be together for eternity through the sealings of the temple. Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet here on the earth today.
The gospel is so simple- so simple. Yet so vital.
anywho!
Federal Way is lovely! I love you all
ps- SEND ME LETTERS! ya punks! (this goes out to all my NY friends, UT friends, KY friend, and any other people!)
pps- I love you all
ppps- Dear Rodgersons, it is so awesome that you know the Jarstads and the Cahans! They are incredible, I love them and they take VERY good care of me!
ppps- I'm done now.
pppps- I hope Kaden comes soon! please email asap and take lots of pics!
xoxoxoxo
-ames
So being a missionary without scriptures is kinda hard. haha
our zone leaders were supposed to get me a temporary triple (book of mormon, d&C and Pogp)
but no...
they didn't put the order in.
it's grrrrreat.
haha our windows did get fixed though- yay!
This week was slow, we had many investigators tell us that they are no longer interested. One lady keeps sending us anti-mormon texts.
We go tracting alot because we don't have many appointments (because no one let's us in haha) ...and we get many doors slammed in our faces.
The other night we were tracting for 4 hours straight, not one single home let us in- we were getting so tired and both felt sick cuz it had been raining/snowing all day. We were walking back to our car when we saw this lady walking her dog, banks and I looked at eachother- we kinda hesitated a little bit cuz we were both sooo tired and soo cold- but we decided to go over.
We walked over there, not knowing what we would say.. Banks turns to me and says "you talk, no battle"
...I sat there- we were like 10 feet away from her, she turned and started to cross to the other side of the street. I looked at Banks, grabbed her arm and we followed.
We were trying to keep up with this lady, but she started walking faster and faster!! finally, it was to the point where we were no longer speedwalking- we were jogging after this woman! I yelled "hey stop! we want to talk about God!!!" she turned around and said "what?" and we caught up to her, it was super awkward cuz here we are- we had just CHASED this woman down the street! she looked at me and said "well, you wanted to talk about God didn't you? what do you have to say?"
I then told her that God loves her and that the message that us as missionaries share could enrich her life- and that no matter what trials she may be going through, God is aware of them and he only wants her to be happy and to be comforted during her hard time.
She then started to cry, not just like a few tears.. she started bawling!
....it was so awkward.
but THEN- she explained that her husband had just passed away from a heart attack, and that she was feeling so alone and she felt like she needed guidance in her life.
booya!
We are meeting with her tomorrow, so I will let you know how it goes.
It's amazing- it's amazing how you can have such a hard long day and get sooo many doors slammed in your face, yet one person can make your day 100x better.
That lady made every single door slam worth it, every single horrible comment we had heard that day- none of that mattered anymore.
we knew without a doubt in our minds, that we needed to be there. We knew with assurance that we needed to meet that woman.
Just knowing that you made a difference to one single person- is all worth it.
Every hard day is worth one persons soul and smile. Every single day, a miracle happens. A miracle that makes the hard times worth it.
The gospel is true, I'll say it time and time again.
God is our Heavenly Father, and he loves us. Jesus Christ is our brother and our Savior. Joseph Smith was a prophet, he restored the keys back on the earth. Families can be together for eternity through the sealings of the temple. Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet here on the earth today.
The gospel is so simple- so simple. Yet so vital.
anywho!
Federal Way is lovely! I love you all
ps- SEND ME LETTERS! ya punks! (this goes out to all my NY friends, UT friends, KY friend, and any other people!)
pps- I love you all
ppps- Dear Rodgersons, it is so awesome that you know the Jarstads and the Cahans! They are incredible, I love them and they take VERY good care of me!
ppps- I'm done now.
pppps- I hope Kaden comes soon! please email asap and take lots of pics!
xoxoxoxo
-ames
Week!
Monday 2/27/2012
woke up- studied- went to library and wrote emails- went grocery shopping- went and ate dinner with the Grisham Family... on our way back from the Grishams, we decided to stop at Cold Stone and get Ice Cream..
BIG mistake
6:30pm - we skip into cold stone with a huge smile on our face and SO excited to get ice cream.
6.33pm- I debated on whether or not to get sprinkles.
6.33.58 pm- I decided yes on the sprinkles
6.37pm we skipped out of cold stone over to our car..
6.38pm- banks saw that TWO of our windows had been smashed- BOTH of our bags were stolen!!!
ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
They stole my pretty leather bag- my BRAND NEW scriptures- all my lipgloss- all my cash- my ministering certificate- and basically my life hahahaha
banks and i were DEVESTATED!
banks had her camera in her bag and it was sad.
so here we are...
scriptureless..
bagless..
ministering certificateless...
and hopeless..
and so we called our district leader...
who laughed at us.
then we called our vehicle coordinator who is in charge of all the cars in the mission (he is a senior missionary)
...and he got mad at us.
then we called the cops
..who actually helped us
then we called our Ward Mission Leader
...who saved us!
Our ward mission leader took us back to his house and helped us suck up all the glass, and put plastic on both the windows (the front passenger window, and back drivers side window were both shattered)
Banks and I got back in the car only to find that my seatbelt wouldn't work cuz it had glass stuck in it..
so I had to sit in the back seat.
we looked pathetic. hahaha we both started crying cuz we missed our scriptures, and then we were just sad.
We pulled up into our house and both (by habit) went to grab our bags.. only to be disappointed to remember that we no longer had them. hahahha we sat on the driveway and cried.
So far, in the first month of my mission, I have...
-Gotten sick every week.
-Drank Mouse poop
-Had my scriptures and bag stolen
I'm off to such a great start!
haha in good news-
we found 4 new investigators~
John, Lisa, Teta, D.
John is a former drug addict, and is so so so happy to have found the gospel. We are putting him on date for baptism tonight! yay!!!
Lisa has 3 kids, divorced, and is having a hard time paying bills- but she LOVES coming to church and loves how she feels at church.
Teta &D are married and have 4 kids- they are from Africa and are SO knoweledgable in the bible, it's great!
I'll go into more detail next week, I love you all!
xoxoxox
ames
woke up- studied- went to library and wrote emails- went grocery shopping- went and ate dinner with the Grisham Family... on our way back from the Grishams, we decided to stop at Cold Stone and get Ice Cream..
BIG mistake
6:30pm - we skip into cold stone with a huge smile on our face and SO excited to get ice cream.
6.33pm- I debated on whether or not to get sprinkles.
6.33.58 pm- I decided yes on the sprinkles
6.37pm we skipped out of cold stone over to our car..
6.38pm- banks saw that TWO of our windows had been smashed- BOTH of our bags were stolen!!!
ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
They stole my pretty leather bag- my BRAND NEW scriptures- all my lipgloss- all my cash- my ministering certificate- and basically my life hahahaha
banks and i were DEVESTATED!
banks had her camera in her bag and it was sad.
so here we are...
scriptureless..
bagless..
ministering certificateless...
and hopeless..
and so we called our district leader...
who laughed at us.
then we called our vehicle coordinator who is in charge of all the cars in the mission (he is a senior missionary)
...and he got mad at us.
then we called the cops
..who actually helped us
then we called our Ward Mission Leader
...who saved us!
Our ward mission leader took us back to his house and helped us suck up all the glass, and put plastic on both the windows (the front passenger window, and back drivers side window were both shattered)
Banks and I got back in the car only to find that my seatbelt wouldn't work cuz it had glass stuck in it..
so I had to sit in the back seat.
we looked pathetic. hahaha we both started crying cuz we missed our scriptures, and then we were just sad.
We pulled up into our house and both (by habit) went to grab our bags.. only to be disappointed to remember that we no longer had them. hahahha we sat on the driveway and cried.
So far, in the first month of my mission, I have...
-Gotten sick every week.
-Drank Mouse poop
-Had my scriptures and bag stolen
I'm off to such a great start!
haha in good news-
we found 4 new investigators~
John, Lisa, Teta, D.
John is a former drug addict, and is so so so happy to have found the gospel. We are putting him on date for baptism tonight! yay!!!
Lisa has 3 kids, divorced, and is having a hard time paying bills- but she LOVES coming to church and loves how she feels at church.
Teta &D are married and have 4 kids- they are from Africa and are SO knoweledgable in the bible, it's great!
I'll go into more detail next week, I love you all!
xoxoxox
ames
Monday, March 12, 2012
Mice!
Warning- if you have a weak stomach, don't read this.
I'm serious.
Ok so on Friday morning, I had the flu so I was laying in bed. at about 9.00 am my companion brought me apple juice in a thermos. It was such a nice gesture!
Well I was drinking this juice and it tasted SO funny- but I didn't want to say anything because she had just been so nice and made it for me- I felt a few chunks go down but I just assumed that she hadn't mixed the juice all the way..
Finally, at like 10.00 am I couldn't take it anymore- The juice tasted SO weird and these chunks tasted weird too! I opened up the thermos lid....
there were a bunch of little black pellets.
yep.
yep.
yep, your daughter ate/drank mouse poop.
My companion and I were DYING of laughter- it was so gross but so funny! (I will send the video soon) We called our Zone Leaders because we didn't know what we were supposed to do!
who the freak eats mouse poop?!
They laughed......and laughed....
they had no clue what to do either so they just told us to call our Mission Presidents wife- we did and she laughed... and laughed.... and then told us she would Google it to see what we needed to do.
She called us back and listed off all these diseases I may contract.. awesome. She also told us about how she contacted poison control and they said that I may just get food poisoning within the next few hours.
sure enough- about 4 hours later, I was reunited with last nights dinner.
I haven't gone to a doctor yet, I feel fine- but if I start to feel gross again then I'll have to go get tested. oh man it will be so awkward if I have to tell a doctor that I ate mouse poop.
Anywho- that's exciting.
But more importantly- we had tiffany's baptism on Thursday!
(oh and I forgot to tell you last week, that last saturday was Tabby's baptism!!!!)
Bam I have only been out for 3 weeks and already the Lord has prepared 2 people for my comp and I to baptize!
Both Baptisms were AMAZING!!!! I will send pics on a cd later.
I swear I never have time for anything! even on our P-days, we are running around like chickens trying to get everything done! but holy smokes i LOVE getting letters and emails from everyone telling me about how THEY are doing! It's so awesome to hear! cute Tina wrote a letter and had her kids draw pictures on it! it was the cutest thing ever to get in the mail! I have received loads of letters and I really am so grateful for each and every one! I apologize if I haven't written back yet, the Lord has blessed us with so many investigators that I never have time too!
So two weeks ago, we tracted into a guy named Dwayne. Dwayne is a math & science genius. He has some very interesting views on God and Jesus, and even more interesting views on the Holy Ghost. He believes in Galactic Forces and Cosmic Forces.... aka he makes my brain hurt.
We started teaching him and even committed him to read the book of Mormon. It's so funny cuz I honestly don't even know what he is talking about 1/2 the time, but the spirit always whispers things I need to say or it reminds me of something I learned in science back in high school- oh man, that Holy Ghost is one awesome man.
Anywho- on our 2nd visit with Dwayne, I committed him to baptism. He said yes and we planned it all out.
on our 3rd visit with Dwayne, he asked "so how many times can I be baptized in the mormon church?"
Me- ..."dwayne? why do you ask this?"
Dwayne- "well I've been baptized 3 times now..."
Me- "in our church?"
Dwayne- "yeah, but by two men, not women"
What the heck right?! turns out (after TONS of research) Dwayne has changed his name multiple times- it just so also happens to turn out that Dwayne is Schizophrenic (I have no clue how to spell that).
So "Dwayne" is also "michael" "benjamin" and "Derek"
oh yes... this is real.
He came to church with us yesterday and had a freak out in the middle of sunday school- we tried to calm him down but he ended up leaving church and just walking home.
oh man- missionary life is crazy.
Oh by the way- I spoke in Sacrament yesterday! My topic was "how the gospel changes people" I shared in Mosiah 27 about Alma the Younger and about how he was evil and after much prayer from his father, he was then visited by an angel and told to knock it off- he was then struck dumb. (I would finish the story, but it would be way cooler if you did)
so everyone should ready Mosiah 27 on their own! then go read Alma 36 (it's Alma the younger telling his experience to his sons later on in life)
I then went on to talk about how the gospel changes people- it was cool cuz I was able to use friends/family experiences that I have seen in my life. I then bore testimony. man I do not like speaking in sacrament, however- it is so rewarding to be able to get up and share what you have learned as well as to publicly give thanks and bear testimony to everyone.
In case you don't know it, in case you are questioning it... The church is true.
It is truly reconfirmed to me every day! Just give up fighting it, give up sinning! haha the church is true! just face it!
I hope you all have a lovely week and I will email soon!
Sister Clement
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Testify Boldly
Well- this week was...
oh man.
I don't even know where to start!
So Tiffany (our investigator) had a huge Breakdown on Friday night. Huuuuge breakdown.
We had just gotten home early from tracting because I started throwing up (no big). We were laying on my bed watching the D&C movies (I'm so cool) and we got a text from Tiff that said "Hey sisters, I can't do this anymore. I don't have anything against you, I just am not strong enough to be mormon and I just can't keep doing this."
My comp and I were devestated! She turned to me and we both just got on our knees and begged Heavenly Father to tell us what we needed to do. We finished the prayer, looked at each other and said "Let's go."
It was awesome cuz we both were dead silent the whole car ride and just thought about how we could help Tiffany. We pulled up to her apartment. My comp turned to me and said "What if she doesn't let us in?" and I'm all "Well.. grab your coat, we will sit on her porch". We knocked on Tiffs door- she asked who it was, we said, "The sisters" and she said, "I can't do this right now" and I said- "K we'll we will be on your porch, so let us know when you're ready."
10 minutes passed and she still didn't open the door..
15...
20..
Finally she opened the door and said, "Are you kidding me?!?! Are you guys crazy?!"
We both said yes.
We then had a big heart to heart with her and told her that she needed to get a priesthood blessing, we set it up for the next day.
The next day we met at the church and our District Leader, Elder Livingston and Elder Cluff and Elder Stinger and Elder Rowden all came to give her a blessing. Elder Cluff then gave the most AMAZING blessing ever! It truly truly was Heavenly Father speaking through him. it was incredible.
When it was done, I looked at her and said, "Let's do the baptism interview, right now."
Banks (my comp) looked at me and said, "Clement, what the crap?"
and Tiffany said, "ok! "
oh boy I was relieved.
Elder Livingston then interviewed her for baptism, she walked out of the Interview with a HUGE smile on her face and said "I'M GETTING BAPTIZED ON THURSDAY!!!!!!"
Banks and I screamed and we all just started crying! It was the best thing ever!
It's so stinkin fun and rewarding to see these people go from such a sad dark place, to being filled with light and true happiness. I love every bit of it! It was so remarkable.
She was really close to not being able to get baptized though cuz she works on sunday and it conflicts with her coming to church.. but we told her and the spirit made me promise her that if she talked with her boss, than the Lord would provide a way to soften her bosses heart so that she could come to church on Sundays.
Last night she called us over for "sparkling cider and cookies" to celebrate the fact that she talked to her boss and her boss is now giving her sundays off!!!!! ahhhh miracle! AND she also got a $2 dollar raise!
THE CHURCH IS TRUE! It is truly confirmed to me every hour of every day!
I love you all so much!
Sister Clement
Thursday, February 16, 2012
February 13, 2012
Well Hello!
This week has been just lovely, we have been teaching Tabby (9 year old girl) and she is set for baptism! woot woot! She will be baptized this Saturday. My companion (Banks) and I are going to go to Goodwill today and buy her a Baptism Dress! She came to church with us yesterday, she smiled the whole time! Her grandmother also came- she is inactive but has the desire to come back to church. They have a son who is in a wheelchair- he has Hepatitus C, he's had 2 hearts, a kidney, and a lung all put into him. He's pretty much a miracle. The family is super neat though. We are so excited for Tabby's Baptism on Saturday!
We are also teaching this lady named Dorene- she is a way bad alcoholic and is also addicted to cigarettes. I love her so much it's unreal. Her house is so trashed, so messy, and smells like a casino- but her smile is contagious. It's hard going into her home sometimes, but we say a prayer that we will be able to handle it- and we always do :)
He looked at us, asked us who we were and why we wore a nametag- we explained that we were missionaries. He said that he watched a documentary on Mormon Missionaries one time, he said that he admired us for the devotion we have to our church... I said "thanks, but before you leave- do you want a Book of Mormon?" he took one, and left.
It's so funny how ever since I have been out here, you learn to immediately love EVERYONE. EVERYONE!!! I will see a person in the street and I'll be like "oh my goodness, I love them, they need the gospel" and we will then pull over and share a message with them.
I have never been more confident in sharing the Gospel. It's so funny how the spirit will just be like "amy, go talk to them" and I'll be like "what the heck spirit?! what should I say?!" and the spirit will be like "amy, just go" .. and next thing you know, my mouth is filled with words.
It's so hard to describe! I wish I could explain it better!
I just love that the spirit is so strong when you are on your mission. It's so awesome to just follow the smallest voice of the spirit- it has lead us to SO many incredible people. Our days are full of people saying "I'm so glad you came today" it is AWESOME!!!!!
The ward I am in is fantastic! Everyone is so nice and so helpful! they help out with missionary work so much, it is AWESOME!
We are also teaching this lady named Tiffany- she is 26, and going through a divorce. Her husband was mean, very very mean to her. He is currently over seas with the millitary. She has been taking the discussions for about a month- yet she wouldn't get baptized. She knows it's true, she was having a hard time with Joseph Smith and the fact that her parent's wouldn't be at the baptism.
We kneeled down, and Tiffany began to pray...
I have never in my life been more sure of Joseph Smith. I know that he restored the one and only true church here on the earth today. I know without a doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him in the Sacred Grove.
My testimony grew so much that night- It's funny how in the end your investigators are the one teaching you.
Anywho- I love you all!!!!! Please take comfort in knowing that I am in the Lords hands- he may be putting me in some scary/interesting circumstances- but I will ALWAYS be taken care of! I love you all!
This week has been just lovely, we have been teaching Tabby (9 year old girl) and she is set for baptism! woot woot! She will be baptized this Saturday. My companion (Banks) and I are going to go to Goodwill today and buy her a Baptism Dress! She came to church with us yesterday, she smiled the whole time! Her grandmother also came- she is inactive but has the desire to come back to church. They have a son who is in a wheelchair- he has Hepatitus C, he's had 2 hearts, a kidney, and a lung all put into him. He's pretty much a miracle. The family is super neat though. We are so excited for Tabby's Baptism on Saturday!
We are also teaching this lady named Dorene- she is a way bad alcoholic and is also addicted to cigarettes. I love her so much it's unreal. Her house is so trashed, so messy, and smells like a casino- but her smile is contagious. It's hard going into her home sometimes, but we say a prayer that we will be able to handle it- and we always do :)
She believes in the church, she knows it is true- she just is having a hard time with the Word of Wisdom. We got her information to do a Detox program at the hospital, she is supposed to call this week! We went over to visit her last night and she had a friend over. Her friends name is Courtney, she is 29 and So So depressed. It was so hard seeing somebody so sad. If anyone needs the gospel, it's courtney.
She lost her brother in a car accident a few years ago, and has blamed God ever since. She is craving happiness so bad, she kept asking us funny questions about stereotypes on mormons. It was so awesome to see her say that we were "the prettiest, most normal people she has ever met".
She is a big drug addict- her ex boyfriend actually showed up at the house when we were there. He stood outside waiting for her, we said a prayer that he would leave- I turned to my companion and said "let's go talk to him".... she looked at me and said "are you kidding me?" and I was like "Banks... we need to go talk to him". So we walked outside, approached him, asked him (very politely) if he would leave.
He looked at us, asked us who we were and why we wore a nametag- we explained that we were missionaries. He said that he watched a documentary on Mormon Missionaries one time, he said that he admired us for the devotion we have to our church... I said "thanks, but before you leave- do you want a Book of Mormon?" he took one, and left.
It's so funny how ever since I have been out here, you learn to immediately love EVERYONE. EVERYONE!!! I will see a person in the street and I'll be like "oh my goodness, I love them, they need the gospel" and we will then pull over and share a message with them.
I have never been more confident in sharing the Gospel. It's so funny how the spirit will just be like "amy, go talk to them" and I'll be like "what the heck spirit?! what should I say?!" and the spirit will be like "amy, just go" .. and next thing you know, my mouth is filled with words.
It's so hard to describe! I wish I could explain it better!
I just love that the spirit is so strong when you are on your mission. It's so awesome to just follow the smallest voice of the spirit- it has lead us to SO many incredible people. Our days are full of people saying "I'm so glad you came today" it is AWESOME!!!!!
The ward I am in is fantastic! Everyone is so nice and so helpful! they help out with missionary work so much, it is AWESOME!
We are also teaching this lady named Tiffany- she is 26, and going through a divorce. Her husband was mean, very very mean to her. He is currently over seas with the millitary. She has been taking the discussions for about a month- yet she wouldn't get baptized. She knows it's true, she was having a hard time with Joseph Smith and the fact that her parent's wouldn't be at the baptism.
The first night I met her, I told her about my trip to Palmyra- I shared with her how I felt and my thoughts on Joseph Smith. She said "I just wish I could know for myself that he is real" I turned to her and said "let's do it... let's say a prayer right now." I told her that I was confident that she would get an answer during our prayer. my poor companion.. my poor poor companion hahaha she turned to me and said "Sister Clement, are you SURE you want to do this?" and I said "I honestly am not, but the spirit says we have to" she couldn't argue with that.
We kneeled down, and Tiffany began to pray...
I have never in my life been more sure of Joseph Smith. I know that he restored the one and only true church here on the earth today. I know without a doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him in the Sacred Grove.
My testimony grew so much that night- It's funny how in the end your investigators are the one teaching you.
Anywho- I love you all!!!!! Please take comfort in knowing that I am in the Lords hands- he may be putting me in some scary/interesting circumstances- but I will ALWAYS be taken care of! I love you all!
Sister Clement
February 8, 2012
Heyo!!
So I am in Seattle- and LOVE it! Holy smokes it's so much like Alaska it kills me!
This is how yesterday went...
3.30 AM- Woke up in the MTC
4.30 AM- Loaded the bus and took off to the airport (PS- I was the only sister in my group- I flew with 6 Elders. I sat next to Elder Gilbert and a guy from Oklahoma. I asked him why he was going to Seattle and he said "Because I feel like it- Look lady, I'm not interested in your church, I just want to sleep".
hahahahha AWESOME first experience!!!!!
4.35 AM- Hated my life cuz of how tired I was
5.30 AM- Arrived at airport
6.00 AM- Was interviewed by channel 2 news and called Mum and Dad!
(PS did anyone see that?!?!?!?!)
6.30 AM- Attempted to go through security (guess who had to be extra searched and taken to a different room?... THIS KID)
7.30 AM- Went to flight gate only to find that our plane had been delayed.
9.45 AM- FINALLY left the SLC airport
12.00 PM- Arrived in Seattle, greeted by the most awesome mission president and his wife!
They had the AP's and the Korean elders there as well. They took LOTS of pictures (you'll see those soon). We then loaded up the van and truck with our luggage. I rode to the Mission home with President and his wife. Found out they used to live in Manhattan- so cool! The mission home is on Mercer Island.
We arrived at the mission home, immediately wrote letters home.
We had such a yummy meal! Home made Philly Steak Sandwiches, fruit, veggies, and rice krispie butterscotch peanut butter bars- YUM!
1.30 PM- I met my trainer/companion!!!! Her name is Sister Banks, she is from Cody Wyoming! Holy cow she is awesome! She is so sweet, so patient, and so awesome! I love her loads! You'll see pics soon. I was also then assigned my area! I am currently in the Federal Way ward in the Federal Way zone! It's on the mainland- it's BEAUTIFUL!!
3.00 PM- We went grocery shopping. It is so weird being a missionary in public! People stare at us and look at us like we are dorks when we say hi. Haha.
4.00 PM- We went to our residence in Federal Way, we live with members (the Jarsteds) in a MANSION- i'm not kidding. They live on the sound. So we look out the backyard and it's directly on the sound! ahhh it's beautiful! Bro. Jarsted is an eye surgeon. They are so nice and so sweet.
6.00 PM- We went and had dinner with a member family (The Grishams) we also shared a short spiritual thought. They are awesome and have a 19mos old son! ahhhh I miss Squishy!!!
7.00 PM- We attempted 3 investigators homes, they didn't answer (yet we heard them rustling inside- those punks)
8.00 PM- We visited a recent convert, her name is Sopa and she is from Cambodia! She works as a card dealer and a casino, the ward is trying to find her a new job. She was awesome.
9.00 PM- Went home, studied, planned- went to bed!
TODAY
6.15 AM- Woke up
6.30- Got ready
7-10- Studied
11- Visited with a lady named Krissy, she is an investigator- she has great faith and knows the bible well. we challanged her to read the BOM. let's hope she does!
12.00- Went to Zone meeting, met our whole zone- found out that I went to High School with one of the elders.
1.00- came to the library! and here i am!
The field is awesome, teaching real people has been great. I have just come to accept the fact that I will be a nerd for the next 18 months! Haha, people stare at us in public- so i always have to be on my best bahavior!
I make jokes that have gospel references... haha
At the airport, we were lost and I said "blasted, I wish I brought my Liahona"
yes... yes, i said that out loud.
I'm such a nerd.
I love this place! it's so pretty- the work is hard, yet awesome.
I better get going, but I'm safe in the Lords hands, and have been so blessed already!
Sister Clement
So I am in Seattle- and LOVE it! Holy smokes it's so much like Alaska it kills me!
This is how yesterday went...
3.30 AM- Woke up in the MTC
4.30 AM- Loaded the bus and took off to the airport (PS- I was the only sister in my group- I flew with 6 Elders. I sat next to Elder Gilbert and a guy from Oklahoma. I asked him why he was going to Seattle and he said "Because I feel like it- Look lady, I'm not interested in your church, I just want to sleep".
hahahahha AWESOME first experience!!!!!
4.35 AM- Hated my life cuz of how tired I was
5.30 AM- Arrived at airport
6.00 AM- Was interviewed by channel 2 news and called Mum and Dad!
(PS did anyone see that?!?!?!?!)
6.30 AM- Attempted to go through security (guess who had to be extra searched and taken to a different room?... THIS KID)
7.30 AM- Went to flight gate only to find that our plane had been delayed.
9.45 AM- FINALLY left the SLC airport
12.00 PM- Arrived in Seattle, greeted by the most awesome mission president and his wife!
They had the AP's and the Korean elders there as well. They took LOTS of pictures (you'll see those soon). We then loaded up the van and truck with our luggage. I rode to the Mission home with President and his wife. Found out they used to live in Manhattan- so cool! The mission home is on Mercer Island.
We arrived at the mission home, immediately wrote letters home.
We had such a yummy meal! Home made Philly Steak Sandwiches, fruit, veggies, and rice krispie butterscotch peanut butter bars- YUM!
1.30 PM- I met my trainer/companion!!!! Her name is Sister Banks, she is from Cody Wyoming! Holy cow she is awesome! She is so sweet, so patient, and so awesome! I love her loads! You'll see pics soon. I was also then assigned my area! I am currently in the Federal Way ward in the Federal Way zone! It's on the mainland- it's BEAUTIFUL!!
3.00 PM- We went grocery shopping. It is so weird being a missionary in public! People stare at us and look at us like we are dorks when we say hi. Haha.
4.00 PM- We went to our residence in Federal Way, we live with members (the Jarsteds) in a MANSION- i'm not kidding. They live on the sound. So we look out the backyard and it's directly on the sound! ahhh it's beautiful! Bro. Jarsted is an eye surgeon. They are so nice and so sweet.
6.00 PM- We went and had dinner with a member family (The Grishams) we also shared a short spiritual thought. They are awesome and have a 19mos old son! ahhhh I miss Squishy!!!
7.00 PM- We attempted 3 investigators homes, they didn't answer (yet we heard them rustling inside- those punks)
8.00 PM- We visited a recent convert, her name is Sopa and she is from Cambodia! She works as a card dealer and a casino, the ward is trying to find her a new job. She was awesome.
9.00 PM- Went home, studied, planned- went to bed!
TODAY
6.15 AM- Woke up
6.30- Got ready
7-10- Studied
11- Visited with a lady named Krissy, she is an investigator- she has great faith and knows the bible well. we challanged her to read the BOM. let's hope she does!
12.00- Went to Zone meeting, met our whole zone- found out that I went to High School with one of the elders.
1.00- came to the library! and here i am!
The field is awesome, teaching real people has been great. I have just come to accept the fact that I will be a nerd for the next 18 months! Haha, people stare at us in public- so i always have to be on my best bahavior!
I make jokes that have gospel references... haha
At the airport, we were lost and I said "blasted, I wish I brought my Liahona"
yes... yes, i said that out loud.
I'm such a nerd.
I love this place! it's so pretty- the work is hard, yet awesome.
I better get going, but I'm safe in the Lords hands, and have been so blessed already!
Sister Clement
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Week Three!
Hey kids!
So today is my last day at the MTC.
I head out tomorrow morning at 5am... eeeek.
I'm not too sad about leaving this place, haha I love my companions... but holy cow I can't wait to go around real people again!
Everyone here is way too nice... which can get annoying. haha
jk
My comp almost went home.
That was sad.
But then she decided to stay.
That was awesome.
I've had a lot of interesting happenings due to my calling as Coordinating Sister... Girls are SO dramatic!
holy cow!
It's crazy how many people will just come into the MTC being so selfish and not wanting to get along with any other sister... especially their companion.
I've had to referee many fights, haha, I've had to break up many crying sessions.
What the heck! This is supposed to be the happiest place on earth!
jk- it's just like prison, but with the spirit.
I've actually learned a lot here at the MTC- I've learned that I hate BYU more than ever, and I have learned that I am a lot more picky of an eater than I thought I was.
Oh and I learned how to teach people about the gospel and stuff like that.
I guess that's a good thing!
Haha
jk
The MTC has been lovely, I've learned a lot more about the gospel in a way that I couldn't have ever learned anywhere else. I am grateful for all the teachers and all the cooks.
On Tuesday, it was the 50th year celebration of the MTC- Elder Nelson and Elder Holland came and spoke! it was so cool! AND Elder Nelson re-dedicated all of the buildings that have been restored or remodeled.
It was awesome!
My new address will be:
10675 NE 20th Street
Bellevue, WA 98004
United States
Sister Clement
So today is my last day at the MTC.
I head out tomorrow morning at 5am... eeeek.
I'm not too sad about leaving this place, haha I love my companions... but holy cow I can't wait to go around real people again!
Everyone here is way too nice... which can get annoying. haha
jk
My comp almost went home.
That was sad.
But then she decided to stay.
That was awesome.
I've had a lot of interesting happenings due to my calling as Coordinating Sister... Girls are SO dramatic!
holy cow!
It's crazy how many people will just come into the MTC being so selfish and not wanting to get along with any other sister... especially their companion.
I've had to referee many fights, haha, I've had to break up many crying sessions.
What the heck! This is supposed to be the happiest place on earth!
jk- it's just like prison, but with the spirit.
I've actually learned a lot here at the MTC- I've learned that I hate BYU more than ever, and I have learned that I am a lot more picky of an eater than I thought I was.
Oh and I learned how to teach people about the gospel and stuff like that.
I guess that's a good thing!
Haha
jk
The MTC has been lovely, I've learned a lot more about the gospel in a way that I couldn't have ever learned anywhere else. I am grateful for all the teachers and all the cooks.
On Tuesday, it was the 50th year celebration of the MTC- Elder Nelson and Elder Holland came and spoke! it was so cool! AND Elder Nelson re-dedicated all of the buildings that have been restored or remodeled.
It was awesome!
My new address will be:
10675 NE 20th Street
Bellevue, WA 98004
United States
Sister Clement
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Week Two!
Heyo!!!
This week has been interesting!
On Tuesday I dislocated my knee, which caused the tendons to stretch cuz I kept trying to walk on it.... I'm an idiot sometimes. Just sometimes, mainly on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Anywho- They did an X-ray and other stuff and told me that the cartilage in between my knee caps is non-existent.
whatevs.
I've been having to keep a brace on it so it stays in place until everything heals.
I'm fine- don't stress!
I get to use the elevators everywhere I go- which is pretty bomb.
My companion had her dad mail cornbread- so technically i guess she didn't make it, but its her Gma's recipe- it was sooo----o yummy.
My comp has been so trunky lately. We are constantly in the hall missing class cuz she has a breakdown every day. She keeps talking about giving up and going home- I hope she doesn't, but I don't know what will happen.
I leave to Seattle next Tuesday! eeeek!
I'm almost out of Diet Coke- eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
I have a nasty cold- sick.
*sneeze*
My day starts like this:
6.00- wake up
7.00- class
8.00- bfast
8.30- class
1.00- lunch
2.00- class
6.00- dinner
630- class
930- go back to residence, read, pray
1030- go to sleep
isn't my life awesome? aren't you so jealous?
The MTC is like prison.. with the spirit 24/7
Haha!
Monday is our Pday- we do laundry, go to the temp, nap, shop, eat... nap... shop... repeat.
All the other days are full of class.
Tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the MTC.. they are having a HUGE celebration- word around town is someone pretty big is coming... maybe the Osmond's or something. haha, jk.
I bet an apostle. Maybe the Prophet, no one knows so it's just a big guessing game!
I leave on the 7th, so if you're sending anything- just make sure that it would get here before the 7th. Or write me at my Seattle address
Seattle address:
10675 NE 20th Street
Bellevue, WA 98004
United States
Sister Clement
Week One!!
Heyo!
So, I'm still here... They accepted me even though i didn't write my acceptance letter!
My comp is Great! Her name is Sister King. She is a short little black Southern Bell from Georgia. She is so cool! She reminds me of an old black lady. It's awesome. She is going to the Boise, ID Mission. I'm the only sister going to Seattle.
Only 2 elders in my district are going to Seattle, the rest are going to Boise.
Tonight i was called to the "Coordinating Sister". My branch president called it the "District leader of the Sisters", and he also said i had to keep the D.L. and Elders in line. Let's hope i can do that!
The MTC is cool.. The food is gross.. They pack it with fiber, so people get gas... It's Gross!!
Anywoo- I hope all is well :) I am safe, and sound, and comforted
Sister Clement (Weird!)
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