Week Twelve

Hello Family :)

Transfer information is coming out today.... Just found out. I am going to be staying in the same ward, with Sister Young :) It will be fun. Sister Straatman is going to be leaving though... She is going to be training a new missionary, and is serving in the ward that our mission president is in. I am going to miss her. We are in the same stake though, which is really nice.

This week has been a week of trials. Satan has not wanted us to teach anyone this week. It has been hard. There have been some good things though :)

Last Monday was P-day, which meant that we were emailing, shopping, eating, the normal stuff.

On Tuesday though, we got to have one of the general authorities come to see us. It was Elder Walker, and I found out from Shanae, that Elder Walker is the one who trained her for the temple open house when she was on her mission. It is so crazy! It was really cool to hear from him. It really made me think about my future family. The spirit was so strong, and I could see the things that he was saying apply to my future family. It was great :)

Well, during the meeting with Elder Walker, we had car inspections. We were told to leave the keys in the door, and everything unlocked and open, so we did that. We left the keys on the inside of the door, and everything unlocked and opened. Well, they ended up locking our car and closing everything after they were don't inspecting, which meant that our keys were locked on the inside. The sad thing, is that that is not the worst part. We were in banning. Which is a farming town, that is 40 mins away from our apartment, and the mission office. Luckily the other sister that we live with were at the meeting with us. They ended up taking us all the way back to the mission office, we picked up a set of spare keys, and then drove all the way back to banning. When we got back to our car, the spare keys didn't work. We ended up having to call AAA to come and unlock our car. -.- it was not very fun. It was an adventure.

On Wednesday, we had a few set appointments, and when we went to our first, we hit a curb and heard a huge bang. When Sister Young hit the curb she popped the tire. We ended up having to change the tire, go to one of the other appointments we had, and cancel all the other appointments. It was an interesting day. I did observe how to change a tire. Which was good. We had to get the tire fixed, because on Thursday it would be exchanges. It turns out that the side wall of the tire is what blew, so another tire for our car. It wasn't too bad though. Pep boys put a wrong size of a tire on, so we didn't have to pay for it :)

On Thursday, we had exchanges. Sister Straatman and I were working in the City Creek ward, which is not my area. We went and saw some people, and just got to know each other. She is able to be herself around me, and we joke around a lot. It is really fun :)

On Friday, we were going to have an entire day of service. We had the harvest festival that night, so in the morning after studies we helped the wards set up the decorations for it. It was so fun to see the gym go from something bland, to something grand. I have decided that I really miss decorating the house every month. I know that I hated it at the time, but now I really want to start it. When I get my own house, I am going to do it. :) I miss it too much. Well, we had another adventure that day. On our way to the church, we were turning into the parking lot and Sister Young hit the curb again. We heard a huge bang, and we blew the tire. We made a huge hole in the side wall of the tire again. I now know how to change a tire though :) I am very proud of this fact :) The tire put a huge dent into our day. After we helped decorate the gym, we went to help an older sister in our ward pack her house. She is moving up north to live with her husband full time. He works near Sacramento, and she lived here in highland. They only sometimes saw each other on the weekends, so we helped with that. Afterwards we went back to the church to pick up a cooler to go to Carls Jr. to pick up some ice. Did you know that Carls Jr, give out free ice? I didn't, it was way cool :) We then went and fixed our tire, and made it back to the church just in time to start the harvest festival. It was so much fun to see the kids in their costumes :) It reminded me a lot about Georgia :) It was great :)

On Saturday, we spent almost all day working on our studies and weekly planning. It was crazy how long it took. We did have a couple hours when we went and saw a member, and then had lunch. So I guess it wasn't a ton of time. That night we had the Adult session of stake conference. It was really neat. The missionaries all sat on the stand for a special musical number. We ended up getting up, and were told to not sing very well. The organist was told to play with a lot of stops, and the conductor was told not to do a good job. Well, part way through us singing very badly, the stake president got up and stopped us. He told the ward mission leaders, and the bishops to some and sing with us. He also told the organist to pull out some of the stops and the conductor to actually try. So we did. The missionaries didn't sing great though, and it didn't sound very good. The stake president stopped us again, and asked the ward missionaries to come up to the stand, and the organist to pull out all the stops, and the conductor to actually do his job. He also asked the congregation to stand and sing with us. It was then that the missionaries and everyone sang their best. It was a powerful musical number and a great object lesson. It really emphasized that the missionaries cannot do the missionary work in the wards alone. Missionaries are sent to help with the work, not do it all ourselves. It was very powerful.

On Sunday, we had stake conference, and did all of our studies. I am out of training!!! It is so neat :) It was a good Sunday, and we got to go to our ward mission leaders home for dinner. It was great. It was also the missionary departing devotional. I got to play piano for it. I was so nervous!! I don't think I have every been that nervous to play. To me it seemed like I messed up so much. I thought it sounded horrible. To the rest of the people there, they said it was amazing. Sister Young keeps telling me that I need to have confidence in myself. It was nice though. I have missed playing the piano. It was great to start doing that again.

Overall, this week has been good. Full of adventures, because the difference between a trial and an adventure is your attitude.

I love you all so much. I know that the Lord is watching over us, and that he know exactly what we need.

Like with transfers. Heavenly Father is keeping me in my home ward with the same companion that I love so much. I know that this is the Lords work. I know that His hand has been in my life, keeping us safe, and protected.

The teaching for Linda (the baptized boy’s grandma’s cousin) is going great. We love working with her, and she is going to be baptized on November 16!! It is really exciting. She is so ready to be baptized, and to take that step to be with Heavenly Father.

You have heard of my crazy week with so many adventures. It was hard, but really good as well.

I love you all so very much! I hope that things are going well.

Week Eleven

Dearest Family,

Can you believe that it is almost the end of my second transfer? I cant. Next week we find out if we will be transferred or not. Who knows.

This week went well. We had a baptism on Saturday!! It was for Jaeson, the 11 year old that we have been teaching. It was so exciting to see him be baptized, and to experience that. We were a little stressed getting it all ready, but when it was time to get doing, it all went well.

He was so excited to be baptized that day. He had one of the biggest grins on his face. When we were talking afterwards, he said that he felt excited. It was so cute to watch him just glow. Definitely a rewarding feeling. He seemed to really enjoy the attention, and the feelings that he got when he was baptized. Troy seemed to love baptizing him. When we asked him if he would, Troy said that he felt really privileged to be able to do it. It was exciting for Jaeson, and for Troy. We had about 30 people all together at the baptism. It was a little sad, especially because Sister Young had call about 40 member families to come to the baptism. We have learned that we need to have baptisms on Sunday’s, because more people will be able to show up, and to support our investigators.  It went well though J I did not give a talk. I was the chorister, so I was conducting for Sister Holmes, who was playing the piano. It was so cute. At the end of the baptism in the closing song, I was conducting the music, and Jaeson came up to the front, and wrapped his arms around me while we were singing. We shared a program, and the music. It was so cute! Sister Young got a picture, but I forgot to get it from her… All well. I am sure I will get it soon J Jaeson’s grandmas, and Linda loved the baptism. It was more than they could have hoped for. It was so toughing to see them so happy and so supportive of Jaeson. Brother Lomenick and Sister Young gave talks. They were so good, and so touching. It was neat to see the Spirit working through them, and then to see the Spirit on Jaeson’s face. It was just powerful to listen to them. Sister Young focused on Jaeson. She spoke right to him, the rest of us were just kinda listening. It was powerful. It was stressful, because we had to do everything, and our ward mission leader was out of town. We made almost all the desserts, and then had to clean the building, fill the font, set up drinks, find the clothes, and just make sure everything was prepared. It was also stressful, because the other Stake was having their stake conference at 5 in our building, and we had the baptism at 3. Kinda crazy, but it worked out J We do not have Linda committed to a baptismal date yet. We are going to hopefully commit her tomorrow forNovember 16^th. It means that I may not be the one to teach her all the lessons, because of transfers, but I am sure that President will let me come and see the baptism at least. It should be good. 

Well, this coming week is going to be good, and busy. We have exchanges on Thursday (My 3rd month) Tomorrow we see Elder William Walker, who is one of the Seventies, and he goes to the temple dedications around the world. He works right next to President Monson. He is coming to our mission to say hello. We also have the relief society dinner tomorrow night, Friday is the harvest festival, so trunk or treating and then this weekend is also Stake Conference. And then next week we find out if we are getting transferred. It is going to be busy.

I love you all so very much! For this week, I want you to look up Isaiah 41:10. Look at the footnotes, and cross reference it. It is amazing how powerful a couple of scriptures are. Also, I want you to make a goal. Take a paperback Book of Mormon, and read through it. Highlight in different colors each of the following:

·         Each Reference to Jesus Christ (any of His names of pronouns referring to Him)

·         His words (spoken by Him, or by prophets when they say “Thus saith the Lord”)

·         His attributes.

·         The doctrines and principles contained in the Book of Mormon.

At the bottom of each page, tally up the number of items referenced.

I am going to be starting this too. I want to hear how it is going, and the expierences you are having. At the end of the mission, we will all compare Book of Mormons. It will be fun. 

I love you all so very much! I know that the Lord is putting people in our paths that will help us progress, and have us to help them. I know that this is the true gospel. I know that we have been given the Spirit, and that the Lord hears our prayers. We need not fear. The Lord is always there for us and will always be there. We can always be forgiven for the mistakes that we make. His love will never end.

We are teaching Linda, and she is Jaeson's grandma's cousin. Good luck figuring out the relationship, and once you do, please let me know. She sat in all the lessons that we had with Jaeson, and then has started taking them herself. She talked to Bishop Holmes about being baptized, and keeps telling everyone that she will be. It is great :) She is so excited, and can't wait to become a member like Jaeson and his grandma are. I love it.

The weeks have been going by so fast. This week I will hit my 3 month mark. It is crazy to think that it has already been three months since I became a missionary. Craziness.

We are also still teaching Robin. She isn't progressing and doesn't seem to be very interested, and is not reading the Book of Mormon. But that is okay. We are still going to see her at least once a week, and will teach her about the gospel.

Things are going well. My mental health is improving, which is very nice. The sad part, is that I feel myself getting a cold. But, I have thieves that I have been using, so hopefully I wont get sick!! :)

We have exchanges a lot now. Which means that Sister Young leaves to go to another area, and teaches the other missionaries how to be better ones :) It also means that i get to be with Sister Straatman, which is very nice. She came out the same time I did, and is a wonderful sister  missionary. She is so cute! We have decided that we are going to be best friends :)

I love being a missionary!! It is amazing to be able to feel the spirit, and to be able to teach others about Christ. I love the work!

Funny stories –

So, on the day of the baptism, we picked up one of those really big pitchers that look cute, and took it to the baptism. We also had to take it back to the Olson’s. Well, on the way back it was full, and we had put it in the back seat, to just set it there while we took care of other things in the building. Well, we forgot it was there. We got it all the way to the Olson’s without it tipping over, but we drove past the Olson’s and had to make a U-turn. We had totally forgotten that it was back there, until I heard it spill. The entire container of lemonade, all over the backseat of the car. It soaked our seats, and also Sister Young’s scriptures… It was not the best. We can now laugh over it though Which is good :P

Another Funny story –

We had decided to write letters to a couple of the families that have done a lot for us, and we took them to the Millers and the Frosts. Well, when we went to the Millers, Sister Miller had just gotten home, so we drove around the block, and waited for her to go inside before we went to the door. Well, Sister Miller had gone inside, and I was supposed to go put the letter in the door. So I went to do that. Brother Miller must have seen me through the window, because just as I was about to go to the door, he opened it. I just froze, and was like, “Shoot, you weren’t supposed to open the door.” He looked at me, and then shut the door. I slipped the card into the door, and then started walking away. He opened the door, and was like “run, before they see you. Run, RUN!!” It was the funniest thing ever!! We laughed about it all the way home. It made our night. 

Well, I don't know what else to say.... I love you all so very much! I love hearing from you, and getting your letters. They mean so much to me!

Love you all so very much!!

This is it! Week Ten

My Dearest Lovely Family!

This week has been a good, busy week. We have been able to do lots of service :) Which means that we got to help the members decorate for Halloween!! It was so much fun! We enjoyed it a lot.

We went on exchanges again this week, so I got to be with Sister Straatman again :) She is amazing! I love her to death! We have decided that we are going to stay friends. We won't be going to the same school, but she thinks she is going to get married, and then stay in Logan Utah, which means that I can go and see her on the weekends! She is the cutest little thing ever! She is the same age as me, and has been out the same amount as I have. She is amazing :) I love her :)

Well, we did exchanges, and we taught lessons, and you will never guess what is going to happen......................(pause for dramatic effect)....................... WE ARE HAVING A BAPTISM!!!! It is this coming Saturday at 3 pm. We are baptizing Jaeson. He is the 11 year old boy that we have been teaching. He is so cute! He read the entire book of Moroni the first week we taught him, because he read about the promise in the Introduction of the Book of Mormon. He said that it told him to read it, so he did. It was so cute!! He is counting down the days until his baptism. It is really neat, because he asked Bishop Holmes to baptize him. Bishop Holmes got a little chocked up. It was really sweet of Jaeson to think of Bishop. I thought it was sweet :)

We have also been teaching Linda. She lives in the same house as Jaeson, and is his grandma's cousin. She is also really sweet, and we are excited to be teaching her!

I love this work. It is amazing the miracles that we have received because of our obedience to the Lord, and to the guidelines that the church has placed for missionaries. The rules aren't there for us to feel trapped, or held down, but they are there to protect us, and to keep us safe.

We were told a story last night about a little boy who was flying a kite with his dad. There was a lot of wind, and the kite was flying high, and staying strong. The dad thought that he would teach his son a lesson. The dad asked the boy, "Son what do you think we need the string to fly the kite". The boy said that the string was there to ground the kite, so that it doesn't fly away. At that time, the dad took some scissors and cut the string. The kite fell down. Without that string the kite can't fly. It is the same with the commandments, and the guidelines that the Lord has given us. They aren't put here for us to feel like we can't do anything, and that they are holding us back, but they are there to help us meet our full potential. They are there to guide us back to our Father in Heaven. I didn't really realize how much the commandments have blessed my life, until I came out here. There are so many people that live in broken homes, and have really hard lives because they haven't been following the commandments. I am so thankful for being raised into the gospel. It has blessed me so much.

"I challenge everyone to think of their lives without the gospel. What would it have been like??

Now think of the blessing that you have because of the gospel. What are some of those??

We are all so blessed because we have to gospel. I know that I am. I invite all of you to share at least one of those blessings with someone not of our faith. Let them know of the miracles that they can have, and the blessing that they can receive because of the gospel. I will check on your progress next week."

We have shared that with the members that we have dinner with. It is amazing to see the impact that it has on their lives. We as members don't think of the blessing that we have because of the church very often. I know that there are so any blessing out there, and I want you to realize them as well :)

I also want to challenge each and everyone of you to read from the Book of Mormon as a family everyday. We are told that as we do this, our family lives become simpler. We are told, and I have seen this happen, that as we read together as a family, that there will be less contention. There will be peace in the home. I know that this can happen. I know that you will receive the peace from the Book of Mormon as you read it. It doesn't even have to be a lot. Read a couple of verses or a chapter every night. I know that it will help.

I want you all to know that I know that this church is true. I know that we can turn to our Father in Heaven everyday, whenever we need Him. I know how powerful prayer is, and I know that He hears and answers our prayers.

I cant remember if I told you or not, but I had a really powerful experience with prayer this general conference. Sister Young and I have been praying for the past 10 weeks for help and guidance with my depression. We have felt that we haven't quite received an answer, but we have been promised that we would receive one, so we kept praying. Well at General conference, about a minute before the Saturday afternoon session, I had a huge wave of depression hit me. We ended up going out into the foyer, and I looked at my companion and my roommates, and said that it was just my depression, and that I hated it. We said a prayer together, so that I would be able to focus on conference, and not feel too overwhelmed. It was in that session that Elder Holland talked about Major Depressive Disorder. It was then that all of our prayers were answered. I know our Father in Heaven hears us. I know that He will answer our prayers. It may not happen in the way we thought, or in the time that we thought. Trust me, it would have been very nice to have that answer come to us our first week out here, but it didn't.

He hears each and everyone of us. It is amazing how powerful the Lord can work.

I love missionary work, and I am so thankful to be put here :) This is His work, not mine.

I love you all so very much!! Know that I am praying for you all, and that I hope all is going well with you!

I love you all!

Week Nine... Crazy how long it has been...

Hello my dearest loving family :)

This week has been full of miracles. I am going to copy and paste my email to my president. it tells of a really cool story!

Sister Young and Sister Mucke we out on exchanges this week, which meant that Sister Straatman and I were together. Sister Straatman is an amazing sister. I love her dearly, and I know that the Lord is looking out for her. Well, when we were together, we stopped by a potential investigator. Sister Young and I found her the day before, and decided that we needed to go and see her again, so we did. When Sister Straatman and I went to her home, we were invited in, and were able to meet her family. We found out that she was raised Catholic, and was a born again Christian for 16 years. The reason she was willing to have us into her home, was because of her husband. He has studied many different religions, and is helping his wife be more open to what others have to say. I know that there is a scripture that talks about how if we have the spirit of the Lord, then we will not be confounded before men, and that scripture explained our night. She was really curious about why we have the Bible and the Book of Mormon. It was incredible to go and have the Spirit speak to her. At the beginning of the night, we invited them to read the Book of Mormon, and he said yes, but she said no. right before we left though, she asked us for a Book of Mormon, and said that she was going to pray to know if it was true.

 I know that the Lord gave us this miracle because of our faith, and our prayers. It is something that I needed to see happen, and I know that the Lord put Sister Straatman and I there at that time for a reason.

It is incredible how the Lord works for us.

The sister that we taught is my first investigator that I found!! We went to her house, because I felt inspired to go there!! It was amazing to know that I was there, because the Lord wanted me to be there. I love this work!! I know with no doubt, that this family is going to get baptized :) The Lord has prepared them, and all I have to do is be there, and then He will speak to them.

How amazing was conference?!?! Elder Hollands talk meant so much to me. It was really neat, not a minute before the Saturday afternoon session started, I told my companion how much I hated depression. And then the Lord sent Elder Holland to speak to me. To tell me that all was going to be okay. I love the inspiration that the prophet and the apostles receive. I received so much comfort with Elder Holland said that broken minds can be healed. my depression is just something that I am going to have here, in the mortal world. It is not going to be with me when i go to heaven. It will leave. I know that this is a challenge that God gave to me, so that I would be able to learn and grow, and because He knew that I could handle it.

My depression has gotten better. it is still there, but I am able to work through it. my companion is a huge help. she can tell when things are starting to get worse, and she sits me down, and tells me to talk to her. I know that the talk that Elder Holland was an answer to our prayers. For the past 9 weeks we have both been praying to have Sister young know how to help me, and then He answered us. I keep hearing the scripture that says that He will answer our prayers, in his own way, and his own time.

I am praying for you all daily. I love you so much, and i want you to know, that I know that the Lord is there for us. I know that we can receive answers to our prayers, no matter what the trial may be. He hears us, and He answers us. I know that we can turn to Him always. He will be there, even when we think He isn't.

Chaylee emailing at the Library

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I love you all so very much!! Never forget that.

Let me know if there is anything that i can do for you!

Love you bunches!