Transfer Eight Week Five

Dear Family,

This week was a pretty good one. We were trying new things, and are working on applying lessons that we have learned.

Monday - We had P-day. We went to a less actives home, and did our laundry there, and just relaxed at her home :) It was nice not to have to stress so much. We had dinner with her too, so that was good :) That night we met with the Bagley's who just got home from a trip to Nauvoo. It was amazing to hear what they learned. :)

Tuesday - We had District meeting, and that went well. We talked a lot about how to plan. I have been struggling with that, and so it was good to ask questions on it :) I learned a lot and finally know how to really plan :) We also had interviews with President Van Cott, and we talked a lot. He is going to be helping me with a few things. We talked about trying harder to not spend so much time with members. We have set the goal to only spend 15-30 mins at members homes. It will be challenging, but it will be good :) We had dinner with a great sister named Sister Bailey and she is awesome!! Love her!!!

Wednesday - We taught a lesson in the morning. It was with the Acosta family who it less active, but we decided to work with them. We found out that their 13 year old daughter isn't a member, so guess who picked up a new investigator :) That's right, we did!! It was great!! We also taught our other investigator that day, and is was amazing! It was nice to get some work in :)

Thursday - we had weekly planning, and then worked on getting area maps. We are trying to split our area into smaller area's so that we could walk a  little bit more and not waste miles. It was good. we had dinner with a great family. They made burgers, potato salad, and watermelon with smoothies. Then for dessert we had ice cream sundae's :) It was good :) We also had a lesson with a less active in our ward. She also gave us a bunch of stuff :) They had coupons and tons of housekeeping stuff and gave us a bunch. It was good :)

Friday - We saw a less active Sister and are going to be trying to visit with her weekly. We also decided to write cards to all of the auxiliaries in our wards. Just thank you's for all that they have done it was good :) We then had a lesson with Sister Bailey and watched the Joseph Smith - Prophet of the Restoration movie with her. We had to leave a little early, but it was still good :)

Saturday - We were on exchanges. That was rough but good. I had the other Sister take the lead in a lot of things. So that was fun :) It was a long day though. We also found out today that our wards are splitting. They are breaking the Bermuda Dunes ward and the Santa Rosa ward in half, both of them, and creating an entirely new ward. It is crazy!! So right at this moment, I am covering 3 wards. The Bermuda Dunes Ward, the Santa Rosa Ward, and the Shadow Hills Ward. It was/is crazy!!!

Sunday - We had Stake conference again. It was good. they talked a lot about adversity and how to overcome it. It was good. They shared an essay written by a boy. It was really good, and titled "The Room". You should all get online and read it. It is amazing!!! We have decided though that we are going to have to do a lot of repair work. The wards are both really sad because of the split. This week we are going to be working on getting them excited for the change and what this means. We are hoping that it gets better. It is exciting for us :)

Next week is transfers! I hope everyone has a great week!!! I love you all so much! You are in my prayers!!

Oh this is cool :)

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 (=+=)       <== It is a bunny!!!

Transfer Eight Week Four

Dear Family,

This week was pretty good. I don't really remember all that truly happened, so bear with me :)

Monday - We had our normal P-day routine, and tried to get everything done. We also had an appointment with Michelle, who is a recent convert, and talked to her about scripture study, and how important it is to study your scriptures daily. It was really neat :)

Tuesday - Had district meeting, and learned all the things that we need to do as missionaries. Sometimes I like it, and sometimes I don't. It is all good though :) We also went and walked around a park with less actives that we are meeting with. It was a lot of fun :)

Wednesday - Made lots of phone calls, and were really trying hard to get things done. We were able to meet with Carlos again, and strengthen him more. It was good :) We also had a meeting with the Correnti's. It was just a good day.

Thursday - We had weekly planning, and worked on getting that done quickly. It was good. Once that was done, we went and helped with the wedding of our Bishop's oldest daughter. We helped with setting up lights, and then went to help cook treats at a non-members home. We also had a Relief Society activity that night on temples, and made temple bracelets. They are just beaded bracelets that have a clip on them so that when you go through an endowment session you can clip the name you have to your wrist and not have to worry about losing it. I am excited to use it :) We then worked more on the wedding prep.

Friday - We were on exchanges today. We also saw lots and lots of people!! It is amazing the miracles that happen on exchanges. We were able to teach 6 lessons today, which hasn't happened in months. It was great! We also got a new investigator!! It was amazing! Her name is Sister Bales and she wants the peace that the gospel can bring. :) It is exciting!!

Saturday - We did service today!! We helped a recent convert family clean windows and prepare their house just in case they were going to move. It was fun to help them. We also had dinner with the Correnti's at IHOP, which was fun :) It was a good day.

Sunday - It was the Sabbath!! We were able to go to church. It was good. Sister Kelly gave a talk in the Santa Rosa ward, so I was in Bermuda Dunes today. It was great though, Sister Ricketson came to church!! She hasn't been in months and it was so good to have her there!! She said that she is going to be coming more often!! It is awesome!! We met with her that night, she wants to go back to the temple and is going to get there. She said that she wants the happiness again. She also said that she was reading her scriptures daily, even with out us asking her to. It is great!!

That was my week. Nothing extremely exciting, but doing what the Lord has asked, and getting things done as he would have them done :) It was fun.

I hope you all have a great week!! I love you!!!

Transfer Eight Week Three

Dearest Family,

This week was a pretty okay, maybe not, but still ended good week :) 

We had a few ups and downs though. One of the downs that we had is that one of our investigators dropped us. Yup, she dropped us. It is okay though. The Lord is going to take care of her. She told us that she didn't have the time to put into the gospel and that because of that she didn't want to waste our time. It was really sad. She so needs the gospel too. Just one of those hard days that we had. 

It was a pretty good week though. We did lots and lots of service!! It was a lot of fun to be able to help people in another way then just teaching them the gospel. 

We were helping our bishops wife this week. Her oldest daughter is getting married and they are doing everything for it. The bishops wife is a seamstress and she made all of the bridesmaid dresses, and the wedding dress. It is crazy how amazing she is! So we helped with what we could :) It meant helping her clean her home, because all of her family is going to be staying with them, and they needed some help with that. So, we shampooed carpets and furniture. It is a new talent that I have. It was also really nasty to realize all the gunk that was in the floor and the furniture. It is one of those things that I have realized that when I get home I really want to clean the carpets and all the furniture just to what it will look like afterwards :) We also helped her make table decorations and fabric flowers. Bishop talked to us on Sunday and said how grateful he was that we had helped. He said it took a lot of stress off of his wife. I told him no worries. I remember what it was like for all of us when Shanae got married and we didn't even do a ton. It has been fun to get to know them better.

This week I was just trying to figure out what the Lord really has planned for us. It was a little trying and as a companionship we had some ups and downs. It was funny though, they never last long and we get over them quick. Sister Kelly mentioned that it wouldn't be a good relationship if there weren't some ups and downs. It is so true though. In marriage you have those, the difference is that then you can get away from the person if you need to for a little bit. On a mission you are with the other person all the time. You aren't the same and you have differences. Some things are not going to click, it is what happens. It was a very good learning week. 

We also had a baptism!! Carlos Flores, who is 11, got baptized yesterday!!! It was so exciting to see. He has prepared himself, and is really ready for all of this. It was fun. The really great part was that we didn't have to do anything. We had planned for the ward to do all of it but then we as missionaries taught the Message of the Restoration of Jesus Christ during the time as Carlos changed. It was really good to be able to teach that. There were members and non-members there, so it was really good to be able to teach. I enjoyed that a lot :) We also brought the Spirit even stronger than it was before. I like teaching better than watching videos or anything else. It was fun. 

Okay, so I know that I haven't done this before, but today I had an amazing personal study. I have never felt the Spirit Stronger or received so much revelation. I was reading in the May 2014 general conference address. I read the talk in the Saturday morning session. It was President Henry B. Eyring titled A Priceless Heritage of Hope. Just so you all know, you should read it all personally. It is way good!!!  It talks a lot about the covenants that we receive, and then the blessings that those are providing for those who will come after us, and those that came before us. It is really powerful and way good :) There is a part that I really liked it says, " suggest that you take both the short and the long view as you try to give the inheritance of hope to your family. In the short run, there will be troubles and Satan will roar. And there are things to wait for patiently, in faith, knowing that the Lord acts in His own time and in His own way." It took me a while to think of this. I have come to find out, that I am a fixer. Everyone I meet, whenever they are having troubles, I want to fix them, well, that isn't the best thing to do. So, I am working on it. I have realized though, from that talk and some pondering that it is all going to be okay. I don't have to fix everything. As long as I have faith God is going to take care of all of it. No matter what happens I just need to believe that my Heavenly Father is going to provide me with strength and comfort. I am going to be okay and all of those around me will be okay. Everyone that I love, everyone that I care about, they are going to be okay. I need to faith in that. I need to remember, and to recognize that I am not the healer. I am not the savior for everyone. Heavenly Father is the one that takes care of everything. He sent down His only son. He is the one that provided us with Jesus Christ, our Savior. I need to remember that, and I feel that there are those out there that also need to remember that. We can't fix everything. We can't make it better. We just have to encourage those around us. You are your own person. You have to make mistakes in order to learn, in order to grow. You have to do things, I can't help with everything. I am not supposed to help with everything. I can be here for you though. I can give you the work of encouragement that you need. I can provide you with the scripture that could help you, but I cannot take away your challenges. I can't save you. Jesus Christ and God can though. You can save yourself, but you can't do it alone. You need to have Christ, you need to believe in them . Have the faith. They are given to us to turn to. We have families and we have friends, not to save us from our trials, but to give us comfort. We have loved ones, because God knew that we would need some cheerleaders in our lives. He knew that we were going to have hard times, and need someone there to remind us of our greatest potential. Have faith, and don't stress. God is there. 

All right. That was a really big rant, but it is what I have learned and it is what I am going to be applying to my life. It is all going to work out. 

I love you all so much! I am here for you, to encourage you on your path. You can do this!!! Have a wonderful week everyone :) 

I love you!! You are in my prayers!!!

Transfer Eight Week Two

Dear Family,

This week went pretty well. To be a little honest, I don't exactly remember what happened all week so we will see how this goes :)

Monday - It was P-day! We emailed (My email wasn't working, but that is okay) went shopping, it was amazing to be able to buy real food :) We had money on our cards again :) Then we went home and wrote letter, I think I accomplished 3 letters that day :) It was an amazing feat :) We also cleaned the apartment and did laundry :) All the things that makes life easier for the rest of the week :) We then had dinner with our Bishop in the Bermuda Dunes ward. It was fun. I like getting to know the bishops in their home setting, people are different when they are at home :) We then did service for a non -member! Her husband is less active and she was moving, so we helped move :) It took the rest of the night, but was way good to do. It was nice to finally help someone physically :)

Tuesday -  We had District meeting and it went well. It is different with every district leader, so things went differently but it was still really good. We were able to get things done and figure things out. We then went to go and see people. There are still a lot of people in the two wards that we don't know yet. We are working on it through. We then had dinner with a family in the Bermuda dunes ward and while we were there all of the boys of the family left, so it was just the mom and us. :) It was funny. :) We then taught our regular appointment with the twins from Australia and then helped our bishops wife in the Santa Rosa ward with wedding stuff. Her daughter is getting married on the 20th. It was fun to get back into that kind of a thing. I remember helping Shanae. It was different now though. I don't know. Just something that we did.

Wednesday - We went around and tried to see people again. A lot of our time is finding out who is where, and if we know then or not. It is something that we do :) We were able to see sister Ricketson, who is a less active member in our ward. She is great! I truly have a great time with her :) We also taught Carlos. We taught him the 10 commandments today and are working on getting him ready for baptism :) It is fun :)

Thursday - It was weekly planning. Got it done faster than before. We had a treat and it was Popsicles :) Something little and fun to have :) We will see what I get this week for a treat :) We taught Carlos again today. We are really trying to finish up all his lessons. It was really funny yesterday when we went to see him, we were told that one of his cats was going to have kittens and that we would have to wait 2 week until then came, well.... Surprise! They came today, and we got to hold them!! They were so cute!! They barely fit in the palm of my hand, they were so little!! It was adorable!!! :)

Friday - We helped Sister Ricketson today! She needed help setting up for her daughters birthday party, so we helped out :) It was fun :) Her husband is a non member and we helped him a lot when we are there. It was really good :) We also saw Carlos for the last time before his interview. It went really well!! He is so ready to be baptized!!!  :) We also saw two recent convert families :) The Bojanavitch family, and the Bagley's :) It was so fun!!  :) A pretty good day :) We also had dinner with the Thomas family. They are in the Bermuda Dunes ward, and are so sweet!! The took a picture of us to send to you guys :) It was really sweet of them :)

Saturday - We did service fore Sister Bagley. She was making frozen meals for a non member family who is going through a really hard time and so we went and helped :) We also had Carlos's interview. It went really well and he is all ready to be baptized on the 15th!! We are so excited!! We also met this amazing less active sister today!! We got her records form our ward mission leader in the Santa Rosa Ward but she lives in the Bermuda Dunes ward. She is amazing!! Her family has so many miracle stories, it is just wonderful!! She is headed up to Utah for the summer but said that when she gets back she wants to see us again!! It was great!!!

Sunday - It was a stressful day. I had to give a talk in the Santa Rosa ward, so I was stressing about that all week. It was crazy!! We then had to have dinner at 3:15 because we had a baptism that we had to teach the restoration at at 5. It was a crazy busy day. We weren't out of the church building until 3. So we were rushing all over the place. It was really cool though. The spirit was so strong, and it was just amazing!!

Overall the week was good, and I remembered more than I thought I would :) It was amazing!!

I hope everyone has a great week!! I love y'all so much!! You are in my prayers!!
Love you!!

Transfer Eight Week One

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week was a good one. Got to do some work, and also got some bad news, but we will go into that :)

Monday - It was P-day!! But it was a little funky. Because it was a holiday (I loved those in school, but now I don't like them) the library was closed. That meant that we didn't get to email. We did do all of our other things though. Cleaned the house, washed the car, went shopping, and then relaxed and wrote letters. I was still was recovering from being sick so I tried to take it easy. It was good. We had FHE that night with some recent converts and celebrated a birthday with them!! It was a lot of fun to be able to sit with them and get to know them. It was really fun. We also got to know the elders in the Bermuda Dunes ward a little more. They are really funny. I never would have thought. You learn new things everyday

Tuesday - We had the second part of our P-day. We got to email our friends and family!! It was really exciting to be able to email everyone. That really is one of my favorite times. To be able to hear how everything is going, and what everyone is doing. It is really nice :) We also went and taught a few lessons today as well. I am having a hard time remembering Tuesday. It is amazing how much happens in one week. Oh, we did find out some sad news. Our investigator Daniela, who is getting baptized on July 5th. Got kicked out of her home. She is now in Mecca and that is not in our area. It is really sad. We have to figure out how we are going to make sure she progresses now. It will be different. One of the many things that we get to figure out now :)

Wednesday - Today we went and saw some great people!! Our evenings have been way busy and we have been trying to get everything taken care of. We saw a less active sister. She is great!! Her name is Sister Ball, and she is in her 80's. She is amazing!! Has a kick in her step and tells us about everything. She is great!! We were also about to have dinner with Sister Risketson. She is a sweet lady and has been a great strength to us. :) We have enjoyed getting to know her and seeing how she is doing. We also got to teach activity days today!!! They needed a teacher and we had to teach about FHE. It was great!! We ended up playing a game called "Hi Bob, Yes Bob? Tell Bob." It was tons of fun!! The girls were great!! Had a good time :)

Thursday - Weekly Planning!! Still not my favorite thing in the world, but it is getting better. We are able to really plan out our week. It is helping the work, I just gotta figure out a way to make it exciting. I think I am going to by me a treat that I can only eat during weekly planning. I think that may help. It will be good :) We also got to teach Carlos!! He is progressing to baptism at an amazing rate!! It is go good to see him grow in the gospel!! He is understanding a lot when we teach it, but is having a hard time retaining it. We will see what actually ends up happening. It will be good :) We got to also meet with one of the YSA's in our ward. She is wanting to go to a singles ward and may end up going all the way to Redlands to do that. We will see what happens. It will all work out though. The Lord helps those He has.

Friday - We got to each one of our investigators!! We were considering dropping one of them, because we have had a hard time teaching her, and keeping her focused. It is all going to be well though. The lesson we had with her was amazing!! The Spirit was really strong, and we were able to determine that we were going to keep teaching her!! It was great!! We were also able to meet with Sister Rees. She is an active sister in our ward that has been amazing! We love seeing her and have been concerned with her. She is doing really well, just a few scares with her health. It is all going to be okay though. The Lord watches over those that He has here :) It is all going to work out :)

Saturday - We got to meet with Carlos again. We taught the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom. We found out how innocent our 11 year old investigator really is. When we were teaching about Chastity I had said that is was refraining from sexual relations outside of marriage. He got a confused look and said 'awkward'. I then asked if he knew what it meant, he said that he didn't and that he didn't want to know until he was 20, then 25, then 30. It was really cute :) It was nice to have. Still a weird lesson, but one we have to teach. We also got to meet with Crystal. We haven't been in contact with her for a while because things haven't worked out quite right. We are trying to get things to work out and to see what is going on. She is going through a bunch of different programs to get clean and to work out everything else that is going on. She is sweet. We committed her to read the Book of Mormon and really stressed how important it is. Hopefully all will go well :)

Sunday - It was church!! And then we had a really busy day. We were able to see two less actives!! The Risketsons, and the Sterlings!! Both wonderful families that have been taking good care of us. I was finally able to meet Brother Sterling and it was fun to watch them interact with their kids :) Made me miss home a little, but still amazing to see :)

All in all, this week was a good one!! We are teaching a couple of investigators. and praying that things are going to keep progressing  :) It has been fun :)

You are all in my prayers!! have a great week!!

I love you all so much!!!