Transfer Four Week Six

Dear family,

This week has been one of many different experiences. With not a lot of people for us to teach, we still going around and making visits. I have fallen I love with so many of the people here! This ward has a lot of older single women, so we go and visit them a lot. One of the people that we have seen a lot this week is Thekla. She is a 79 year old women who is from Holland. She is amazing! Whenever we go over there she shows us all the cute things that she is working on. She does cross stitching and it very good at it. We hear a lot of her stories over and over again, but that happens when people get old. She is so cute! This past week she fell and really hurt her ankle and broke a toe. We so thankful that nothing else got broken. Because of this, we have visited her a lot this week. She is healing, and loves having us over. She tells us all about her family and her kids. She is cutest thing in the whole world! We have also tried and stopped by a lot of our older single sisters. There are quite a few here. Sadly, most of them have been sick. One of the sisters that we normally go and see, she is sick with pneumonia :( it is really sad. We did have a wonderful lunch this past week. The older sisters here do a no golden sisters lunch. It is for the sisters 60 and up. We were invited to go with them, and we we had a wonderful time getting to know the sisters. We had chicken, rice pilaf, green beans, salad, and then for dessert we had pumpkin cake with ice ream. It was a really good lunch :)

We have also been in lots of houses, that are very sick, thank you mommy for the oils! There is some kind of sickness going around Yucaipa, that is putting people into bed for a few days. It is really scary. Luckily, none of us have gotten sick. We are washing hand, and making sure we are taking care of our bodies. It is all going to be great! We are just working on staying healthy and long as we can. The oils are really helping me get and stay better. I have also let one of the members in our ward. One of the sons is really sick with an awful cough. Thieves has really helped him. Thank you so much mom!

We also had president interviews. That is when we get to meet with President Van Cott and talk about us. We talked a lot about how I am doing. A few weeks ago I sent him an email telling him that I was really struggling with being in the area, and with the people. We talked about that. He said that my countenance was at peace. That was cool. I don't really feel at peace, but I am glad that my countenance is at peace.   It was really neat to be there with him.

Other than that not much has happened this week. I have found out about transfers. I am being transferred to Rialto. I will be in a trio, and will be the senior companion. It is going to be really hard being away from the people in Yucaipa, but it will be great to be in Rialto. My work here is done, and now I have to go on to a new task.

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week! I can feel your prayers, please don't stop praying for me, and for all the missionaries around the world. There is a lot of work being done, and a lot of people who need the strength from you.

Love you all! You are all in my prayers!

Week Five of Transfer Four

Dear Family,

It is crazy to think that this next week is transfers. I have no idea what is going to happen. It is all going to turn out great though! I am not worrying about it at all. The Lord is going to put me where I need to be, and that will be that.

This week was slow once again. We have gone and seen all the less actives in the ward. There are about 250 people in the ward that don't come to church. It took us about a week, but we did it. We are now trying to find out what we should do. We are going to start visiting members more and more. It is the youth that are going to be our main focus, and then we are going to work up. Our ward mission leader has a lot of ideas that he wants to start implementing. It is going to be great! I can feel the work progressing.

I was able to go on exchanges this week! I was with Sister Young. I miss her so much! It was so much fun to be able to work with each other, and to learn from each other. I really needed to be able to talk with her. It was a great day! We ended up doing our studies in the park, and while we were there, we had two people who spoke Spanish talk with us (gave them to the Spanish elders) and then when we were studying, a man sat down on a table behind us a little way. Well, when we left, I felt like I should go put a pass along card on his stuff while he was away from his table. Well, I put it on his bible. A little while later, we got a text from him! He is a youth pastor at his local church, and said that he would love to get together, feed us dinner with his wife, and just talk about what we believe! How awesome is that!! I thought is was way cool! Not much else really happened that day. We just walked around our area a lot, and tried to see people. That night, Sister Young and I went to mutual, so that I could get to know the young women a little better, and build that relationship with them. Well, everyone freaked out when Sister Ferry wasn't there. It was so funny! It made me smile so much! I just love the love that this ward has for Sister Ferry. It is great! I hope that I will be able to gain the love that the ward has for sister ferry for myself one day. It will happen. It is going to take time, but it will happen :)

The members her are so sweet! I feel welcome in so many homes! We are able to go and work with them, and gain their trust. That is what we need to do to have the work progress in this area. It is all going to be through the members! How amazing is that! I think it is great. I can feel the work progressing here. It is coming. The wave is coming, and I know it!

We did find out some cool news. On march 15 we will be having another mission wide conference! How crazy is that! We are having another one. At this one we will have a general authority, and a 12 apostle!! It is going to be so cool! We will also be joining with the Rancho Cucamonga mission. Heavenly Father must have some big plans for this mission if he is sending an apostle! Totally crazy!

Other than that, not much has been happening this week. Things are slowly progressing, and all will be great soon!

I love being a missionary! The work that we are doing is for people's salvation! There are those out there who need to hear the gospel, and missionaries and members are the ones to them! Missionaries and members are to work with each other, not separately. This work is great!

I love you all so very much! Keep turning to the Lord in your times of need. Our Heavenly Father wants to hear from you! Pray to Him often. He does care, and is going to send those who need you, and who you need.

Have a wonderful week! You are in my prayers!

Week Four of Transfer Four

Dear Family,

This week has been much better than the last 3 weeks. I have finally understood what I am supposed to be doing here. I am here to help my companion. She is going home in less than 2 months, and has started to freak out a little. I am learning a lot from her. Things that I normally wouldn't learn. It has been an experience, and much trials and suffering on my part. I have learned a lot though, we are supposed to learn from our trials. We gain much experience from them. It takes time, but it is always worth it.

This week has been, well. Very, very slow. The work is going much much slower than I would have thought could happen. It is okay though. The work will progress. It may progress when I am here, or it may not. Who knows? Well, the Lord does. I don't think that anyone else does though. It will all work out in time. Not our time, but the Lords.

This week has been full of many different things. This past Monday was the mission wide conference, and that was amazing! I loved hearing the words of God from the mouths of my leaders. It is amazing to be in one of those meetings! To feel the Spirit from all the missionaries, and the wonderful words. I wish that we could have meetings like that every month! It is great!

Well, that was Monday, and because of it, my P-day was split into two. We had P-day on Monday from 2-6, and then on Tuesday from 10-1. We went to Walmart. I have come to love Walmart. So very much! Everything is so much cheaper there than the grocery stores in Yucaipa. We have to go to Banning to go shopping, which means getting permission, but it works! :)

Lessons this week was really hard. Not a lot of people have welcomed us into their homes, and we have a hard time making appointments. It is fine though. We are learning, are finding the small things that will help us all. It is like starting over. I keep reminding myself that this is what is was like when Sister Young and I opened Highland. It is like a whole new area. Just a little baby. We are treating it like that too.

We have spent a few hours just making lists to organize the area. It is really different here too. There are sisters and elders in this ward. Neither of is are having the success that we should be having in the area. We (the elders and sisters) have decided that we are going to change the focus of everything. The ward has been focusing on the adult members, which is wonderful, but we aren't seeing the success. So, we have decided to change it. The Bishop here has mentioned that the success will be with the youth. So that is where we are going. The elders and sisters have planned a youth activity that they can bring their non member friends too. It is going to be great! We are doing an Olympics type of thing. We have lots of different games and activities that we are going to do, and we are going to make it a competition for them. It is going to be awesome! It is also all planned by the missionaries. So, lots of things that teenagers will like, because we are still teenagers. We cant wait! We are going to have it on January 18!! It is going to be fantastic.

This ward is also amazing. There are so many people that have shown their love for us. My shoulder has been hurting a lot this past week. It is from an old injury, but been really killing me. I ended up talking to our home share to see if they could do anything to help me, and they ended up calling one of the other ward members. Turns out we have a doctor in our ward. He came over to look at my shoulder, and it turn out that I tore my rotary cuff. For those who don't know, that means lots of pain when you move your arm in the direction of pouring out a can of soda directly in front of you. He ended up telling me to take it easy (very hard to so as a missionary) and then to take Ibuprofen for a couple of days with each meal. I did that, and then also put peppermint oil on my shoulder each night. The pain is now mostly gone! Still hurts, but now I can start strengthening the muscles in my shoulder. He told be how to do that, so I should be good! It is amazing the love that a ward can have for you!

The day after I found out what was wrong with my shoulder, we went to a members house for dinner. They made cottage cheese pancakes. I just wanna say, they are to die for! I loved them so much! You can't even taste the cottage cheese. It was amazing!! We ate dinner, and then shared a video for our thought. The elders ended up coming over to the members home. We were all just kinda chatting. I went to the kitchen to get some water, and the wife was in the kitchen. She saw me wince in pain, and told me that I should get a blessing. I had totally forgotten that I could do that. I remembered that I could do that when I was in Highland, but totally spaced that I could do that here too. I ended up asking them for a blessing and it was amazing. The blessing wasn't just about the pain in my shoulder. It was amazing about everything else too. Everything that had been on my mind, things that I was working through, were mentioned in that blessing. I was told that we all go through trials and afflictions so that we can learn. I was given my trials to grow. I needed to look at them as a blessing. It was amazing. I was also told that my work would only be done when Heavenly Father wanted me to be done. It was such a shocker. Amazing to know that the blessing we receive are truly from God. I needed that blessing, and I am so glad that there are members in the ward that are looking out for me.

I have come to really love it here is Yucaipa. It is not Highland, and there are somethings that are happening there that I am sad to be missing, but I know that I am supposed to be here. I know that this is where the Lord wants me to be. Things may be going slow, but it is all in the Lords timing.

I love you all so much! I feel your prayers. They have meant so much to me, and I know that we are all being blessed. A mission was not in my plans, nor did I ever really want to go, but I know that this is where I am supposed to be. I know that I am serving a mission, not because my family wanted me to, or because everyone else wanted me to, I am serving because God wanted me to, and He knew that it would bless me.

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week! You are all in my prayers!!

Week Three of Transfer Four

Dear Family,

This week has definitely been better thank last week. Was it the best, no. A lot of times they aren't, but it was better than last week.

Because it was Christmas, things were really slow. Not a lot of people wanted us into their homes. It makes sense. I wish it didn't though. There are some people who welcome us into their homes all excited, and others who do not. I have decided that I am going to be kind to the missionaries, and always welcome them into my home, and let them feel apart of a family :)

Christmas was fun. Our celebrations started Christmas Eve. We had two dinners that night. At our first Christmas Eve dinner, we gathered with the Bradfords. Brother Bradford is a recent convert to the church, and his wife has been very active. They are an older couple and very nice :) It was very different dinner conversations, and kinda odd, but it was way good. We then went to the Breezze's. She is the relief society president and invited us over for pizza and dessert. It was way fun. Her family was all there, and her daughters that are married all have little kids. Well, two of the boys were wanting to play the iPad, and were fighting over it, so it got taken away. Well, one of the boys was not happy with that, like at all. I guess when he gets upset, he throws himself around the room. Well, he did that this time. He threw himself in the room, right onto a metal bucket. This pore little boy ended up splitting his lip twice! It was so sad! He ended up getting 6 stitches on his face. It was so sad! Then we went to the Padgett''s (our home-share) and did their Christmas eve traditions. Every year they gather together and sing silent night, and then put the baby Jesus in the manger. It was way cute :) Well, while we were over there Brother Padgett played Santa. He ended up giving us pj's and then little things that we could do. It was so sweet! The Padgett's are amazing!

The next day we went and had breakfast with the Meadors. They are really sweet. We also opened our presents up at our house, then went next door to open our other presents with the Padgett's. It was a lot of fun. We did that before breakfast. After breakfast we went back to the Padgett's and skyped our families before dinner. That was so much fun! It was so good to see my family again! I didn't realize how special it would be to be able to skype with them. It was the highlight of Christmas. We then had dinner with the Padgett's and just spent time with their family. It was really special to be apart of their family when I was away from mine. I loved it!

The rest of the week was slow we didn't get in with a lot of people as we would have hoped, but that happens. We did get to go ans see Sister Cisneros. She is a single lady in our ward and has a son who is my age. She is also a convert, and knows mom and dad! She got baptized into the church in Highland. It is so neat to be around her. Well, this week she told me to never ever get a dog. It was so funny! I guess she thinks that me and dogs just don't get along. It was way fun to hear her say that! Made us all smile. We also did service for her. I got to climb on her roof, and take down Christmas lights. Her son and her are both very scared of heights. It was really fun! I didn't get hurt, or anything, so don't worry. I don't think I will do it again though. It wasn't the best thing for my to do, but now I can say that I have done it :)

Today we had a mission wide conference. Elder Richards from one the the Quorum of the Seventy came and spoke to us. He had a week off from "work" and came down to visit his kids, and decided that he would have President Van Cott gather all the missionaries together for a mission wide conference. It was really neat. I learned a lot from it. One of the things that he spoke about, was to teach simply. It is amazing how the Lord works. He teaches everything so simply, and Satan makes things complicated. We were told to make time to teach simply now. It is something that I have been working on. Sharing the gospel in short simple sentences. It is really neat how powerful those sentences can be. He challenged all of us to do that, and I am going to. Like I said, way neat. Sister Richards also talked a little. She mentioned something that I have been worrying about. My thought always tend to go to my future children. They are watching me now, and I want to be able to prepare myself to take care of them the way that they deserve. Well, I have been worrying that my thought have been little sins. Today, Sister Richards told us to think about our seed. She said that Nephi thought of his seed when he was young, and that there were other prophets who thought of their children. She told us to think of them always. To look at our live now, and the way we are acting. Are our action making our children proud? Are we preparing a way for them to receive the gospel? Are we worthy to have the wonderful children that we are going to receive? Are our actions the way we want our children to act? It was really powerful. I don't feel guilty to be thinking of them any more. I want to live my life in a way that my children will be proud, and a way that I wont feel guilty for sharing with them. It was amazing.

Well, that is all I have to say this week. Things are moving slow, but will improve. :)

Have a wonderful week!!

Week Two of Transfer Four

Dear Family,

This week has been really hard.  It is a combination of the holidays, my depression, and the fact that I am just really struggling in the area that I am in. It is all going to progress though. I hope. I keep telling myself that sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better. I kinda remember going through something similar to what I am going through at the beginning of my mission. Change is hard. I am taking much comfort in reading past ensigns, and reading the scriptures. They help a lot. There is something about reading the words of others who have gone through hard times, and who have struggled with those around them, that can bring comfort. There is a scripture in Jeremiah that I found today. It is Jeremiah 33:3. It talks about prayer, and how the Lord will answer our prayers. I like it a lot :)

Okay. So. This week has been full of us doing service, and giving our ward some TLC. Tender Love and Care. There are a few people in the ward who are amazing :) One of them is Sister Cisneros. She is a convert to the church, and reminds me a lot of mommy :) She is very sweet. She loves ice cream, and we get along great. :)

I am also in love with our home-shares! They are the Padgetts. I probably talked about them last week, but they are even better now :) They have a little girl named Lauren. She is 9 and reminds me so much of Abby! She is full of energy, and has an old soul is what her mom called it :P She is 10 years younger than her brothers. She is like having a little sister, and we are her big sisters to her. She loves us, and does whatever she can to help. Before I came, the sisters would go over to her house and play games with her, but since I came, we haven't been doing that. She kept asking us why, and finally last night I told her why. I told her what our purpose as a missionary was, and that we need to fulfill that purpose to help those that are around us. I told her that if she wanted us to play games, then we would need to teach one of her friends. She said okay. It was way cute :) Sister Padgett is great :) Last night we were at the church for a baptism  (I will talk more about that) and it showed on my face that I was having a hard time. I was doing pretty good at hiding it until that moment, and she was like, are you okay? I told her that I was fine, and then she gave me that mommy look. The one that means 'don't you dare lie to me, I know something is up'. I then told her that I had depression and was having a hard time. She got really concerned, and mentioned the holidays, and I said that it was partly that, and that I was struggling with other things. She then took me in a hug, and told me that she loved me. This sister, who has only known me for not even two weeks cared for me, and told me something I needed to hear. I have felt like I was just an outcast in this ward, and that not a lot of people could even begin to care for me. I needed to hear that. What was even cuter, is that Lauren was standing there and after her mom was done with her hug, Lauren wrapped her arms around me. She squeezed me tight, just like Abby does. It was really great :) They then both sat next to me at the baptism for the first part. It was really sweet of them. We are going to be spending Christmas with them. I can't wait :) They also can't wait to meet my family :) It is going to be very nice :)

Okay. Last night we had a baptism! Well, Sister Ferry and Sister Dowd had a baptism. I had only met the man who was being baptized like 3 times. He is Brother Padgetts Uncle. His name is John. He is really sweet. He had been waiting to be baptized for over 40 years. It is crazy. He has had a hard life, but is now doing great! His wife is a non member, but she was there totally supporting her husband. It was really touching.

Things are progressing. Life is getting harder, but will eventually get better. Sorry this is so short! I can tell you more about everything on Wednesday!

I love you all so much! Have a great week!!

Week One of Transfer Four

Dear...Well... Everyone I guess...

Hahaha. I know that this email is going to be posted to my blog, so I thought I would address it to everyone :) I hope that those who read my blog, and my emails are taking comfort from them. It is hard to be a missionary and be away from your loved ones, but I have also been on the other end. I know that it is hard to be at home, when you have loved ones on a mission. Things do get better. One of the most rewarding moments is to see them in the airport when they get home. :) No matter what you Christmas seasons bring, whether you have loved ones away, or you are away from them. Know that they do love you. The Lord is blessing those who turn to Him. Please, turn to Him. I know that He brings comfort. I have felt it in my own life, especially this week.

This is transfer 4. How crazy is that?? I am amazed at how the Lord has blessed me.

Well, this week was interesting. The first part of the week was spent saying goodbye to people, and the last part was saying hello to people. It was weird. and very different. The ward I am in now is fun :) They are a young ward. Which means, lots and lots of little kids! The ward is so noisy!! It is good though :) I have missed seeing a bunch of little kids, so it is nice to see them all again. The kids all love missionaries too. One little girl yesterday came up to me, tugged on my skirt to get my attention, and then started asking me questions. It was so cute!! I love kids :) They are all going to be the best missionaries too. So fun :)

My companion is great. Her name is Sister Ferry. She has been out for 15 1/2 months. She has this transfer and one after until she leaves. She goes home in March. We think that she will be ending her mission in Yucapia. Se has already been here for 7 1/2 months. It is so crazy!! She is great though :) She is from Sandy, Utah. She has 7 older brothers, and is the youngest. She is also a twin. Which is way neat :) We are both directionally challenged, which means that I am getting really good are making U-turns. Oh, I am the driver. Which is amazing!! I have missed driving a car :) It is nice to be behind the wheel.

We kinda sorta live with members. It is called a home-share, but it is nothing what I thought it would be.  They have a huge property, and on the property are 3 houses. We live in one of those houses. It is way neat/weird. The house we are living in has had missionaries in it for the past 8 years. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, one kitchen, and a living room house. 2 of the bedrooms are full of paper work, so we don't really go in them. The neat thing, is that I have my own bathroom :) It is so nice to be able to go in my bathroom in the morning, and just get ready without having to worry about getting out as fast as I can so my companion can have the bathroom. I am able to get ready in 40 mins because of that :) I like it :)

Umm... Not sure what else to say. Christmas is next week!! That is going to be great! I will get to skype with my family :) it is going to be fun to see you all again.

Things are going good. Emotionally I am having a hard time, but I knew that was going to happen. It isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Which is way nice :)

Oh, really neat thing. I was able to go back to Highland last night!! Last night, Sister Diamond got baptized! I was able to receive permission to go to that. It was so neat!! She is the sister that we have been working with to get her ready to be baptized. She is amazing!! The Skoy's picked me up, and Graham was also there!! He is the amazing investigator that we were teaching. He is Brother Skoy's best friend. He is amazing! He said that he loved the baptism, which was great!! The Spirit was so strong! It was also amazing to see everyone again! I really miss Highland. But, after being there last night, I really felt at peace. I know that the work I did there is done now. I know that I am supposed to be here in Yucapia. There is so much work that I have to do here.

Oh, cute story. When we were at the baptism we had to wait for Sister Diamonds family to show up. I was sitting in the front row, right in front of the Bishopric. Brother Young, one of the members of the bishopric, looked at me and smiled. I had been smiling, because it was so nice to be back. He looked at me and said "I miss seeing your's and Sister Young's smiles. They always made me so happy. I am glad to see you smiling today. Never stop smiling." He really liked my smile. It made him happy to see me happy. I didn't realize how powerful a smile can be. I knew that it is part of missionary work, and I teach that, but I never knew just how powerful it could be. It made me really feel good :)

Well, I hope everyone's week goes well!! I love you all so much! You are all in my prayers!!!

Stay safe, turn to the Lord, and don't look back on the past.

I love you!!