Transfer Thirteen Week One

Dear Family,

This is kinda crazy. This will be the last email that I send to you. It is a little weird.

This week was a really good week. We aren't really teaching anyone, but we are still enjoying our work.

We picked up Sister Jones on Tuesday and have truly had a great time with her. We have been doing something called a living Christmas Card. It is really great. We go and sing to people on their door, and then we go in their home and read from Luke 2. It is really wonderful.

We also had our Christmas Party this week. We got a cute Christmas Picture with Santa and had the fun time of introducing Sister Jones to all the members. It was really good.

Things have been going well. We have been able to just have a great time. It has been very enjoyable. We are just doing the work and really focusing.

As the time has come closer to end I have really been able to recognize all the joy I have had.

I know that this is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I know that this is where I am supposed to be, but now, I know that I need to move on to the next chapter. I know this is where God needs me.

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

Transfer Twelve Week Five

Dear Family,

This week was the last week of the transfer! We had a 5 week transfer because of the Holidays. It is crazy how fast time is flying!

With only 10 days till Christmas, we have been helping a lot of people with Christmas. It has been really fun.

This week we were working with the Police Department. Every year for the past 17 years the police department has collected toys from the city and then gets names of families and the ages of the kids from all the different schools. We then got to help with the fun part. :) In a garage they have all the toys. It is there that we were able to "shop" for the kids. It was so much fun! I enjoyed looking at all the toys and knowing that the ones that I was picking out would make a child have a happy Christmas. It also helped with remembering the Spirit of Christmas.

Things are going well. We are working and hoping that things go smoother and faster with the Holidays. We already have tons of plans for the next couple of weeks, so it is going to be great!

I love you all so much!! Remember that He is the Gift. Christ is the only true gift that we can have.

Love you! Have a great week!

Pictures from Sister Knuth

One of the sweet members in Chaylee's area texted us several pictures of Chaylee and her companion from the last few months.  We are so grateful for all of the wonderful members who have taken such good care of our missionary!

Making Christmas Sugar Cookies with the Knuth Family

Bowling with the Swalley's

Transfer Day

Bowling

Chaylee and Sister Edgley

Transfer Twelve Week Four

Dear Family,

This week was a pretty good week. We have done lots of service for members. :) It has been fun. We have put up Christmas trees, and light, and have brought the holidays into the season. It has really been a lot of fun helping the members. Helps me feel like I am there helping my own family. I have learned that I am not very good at putting lights on a tree... That one I will end up needing help with :)

We had exchanges this week, so I went to another ward for a day. It was so much fun! We were able to talk to a lot of people, and then invite all the people we talked to to the other ward's Christmas party. It was really fun. Helped me realize that I need to have more excitement about missionary work. It will all work out. We were also able to teach a family that spoke English as their second language and Spanish as their first. So they knew both and could understand us. We talked about Christmas, and what it means. To help the kids understand, I split the word Christmas apart. I put it into Christ mas. Which in Spanish means 'more Christ'. That is what Christmas is all about. Putting more Christ into our lives and remembering Him. It is really amazing!

We went to a Christmas open house this week, and had some amazing Mexican food, and were able to chat with a lot of our less active members and then a lot of non members that we are trying to work with. It is all going really well :) We are building up that relationship with those around us and really working with them so they will understand and build their faith that they already have in Christ. It is amazing!!

Christmas is a special year full of service and strengthening others. It is amazing to be able to go to church and to feel the love there. So many people are about loving others, which is amazing!

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

I love you!

Transfer Twelve Week Three

Dear Family,

This week was pretty good. Had a wonderful time this thanksgiving, and I have realized how blessed I am.  

It is truly one of the best times of the year! Being able to spend Thanksgiving with wonderful families is truly wonderful! We were able to have it with some of our favorite families. The Troncales, and the Flinders. It was amazing!! We had dinner with lots of non members both times and enjoyed ourselves.

We are working with some less actives. We haven't found any investigators yet, but it is still truly amazing to see the work of the Lord everyday. We saw this less active and she was wonderful! There are a lot of single older ladies in our ward, who are just home alone all day. We are going to be working with them to come back to church and to feel that Spirit of Christ again. It is wonderful!

We have helped lots of members set of for Thanksgiving and also for Christmas! It is wonderful!! I love helping the members. It reminds me of helping you all at Christmas time. It is great!!

Things are going well. We are improving everyday on our work and how things are going. We are doing well. We are both focused and are both working hard to the end.

There are times when life gets a little distracting but it is still wonderful to be a missionary!! To be able to feel the Spirit of the Lord with us, is one of my favorite things!!

This coming week will be amazing!! We have been told that the Church is doing a Christmas initiative. It is called He is the Gift. It is a wonderful video about Christ and Christmas. If you can, go to the website! It is a wonderful missionary tool, and is amazing!!

I love you all so much!!

Here is the website:

christmas.mormon.org

Love you!!

Transfer Twelve Week Two

Dear Family,

This week was a good one. We have had a lot of referrals given to us, so we have spent the time to contact those. We have also been working really hard on doing birthday cards. It is actually really fun to do and deliver those :) I enjoy it :)

We have also done a lot of service for the ward members. We have been helping a lot of them get their homes ready for the holidays. Cleaning, setting up decorations, just getting things really for people to stay in town, and also for those who are leaving town :) It is fun :)

This ward is really amazing!! There are a few families that want us over for dinner on Thanksgiving! It is going to be great!! We have also decided that we are going to be doing as much service as we can. We are  going to be making thank you cards for everyone and really just enjoying things :)

This week I got some fun mail!! I got a thanksgiving package from the family, and in it, was the bridesmaid dress!! It is so cute!! I also have some really cute pictures of Sister Edgley and me :)

Chaylee and Sister Edgley

Chaylee in her bridesmaids dress for her sisters wedding (which will occur the day after she gets back)

I love you all so much!! Thank you for everything that you do!! Have a wonderful week!!

Happy Thanksgiving!! Remember that the greatest thing that we have, is family!

I love you all!!

Transfer Twelve Week One

Dear Family,

This week was a pretty good one. We have a Zone Conference and were able to learn about conversion. I learned that there are a lot of missionaries that I am serving with who were once less active. Because of home teachers, and visiting teachers, friends that cared, they came back. They are now totally active and able to have that Spirit with them. It is amazing to see the conversions process. To be able to look through the Scriptures and to see the many different stories about it and then to also know that they are all alike. They all follow the same pattern. They have trial, and at one point they "Cry" unto the Lord. They pray, pour out their entire hearts to God. Then they are converted. It can happen at one point, but for me, it has happened over time. Each time I cry unto the Lord I know that I am being converted more and more. Conversion is not just a one time thing. It happens continuously. Continuous conversion. It happens. It is the way to find peace. Reach out to those that are struggling, those that have troubles, and help them cry unto the Lord. Help them see that they are not alone. That no matter what happens, what anyone tells them. God loves them. They are never alone. There will come peace. It is here. Just cry unto the Lord.

It was a slower week. We didn't teach a lot of lessons, but we are building up the relationships with the less actives in the ward. We are becoming their friends and doing all that we can to serve them.

I have learned a lot about Charity, the pure Love of God. It is amazing to be able to feel that love and to help others see it. There are those that doubt themselves, but they need to realize that they are doing well. That even though they are struggling, they are succeeding. You can't know joy, without sadness. You cant have peace, without experiencing the trouble. It will all come. It is all there. Darkness would not exist, unless we had the light. There is opposition in all things, that way we can be grateful for the good. Stronger from our trials, because even though they are hard, they make us stronger.

I know this to be true. I know that God is there for us. I know that even though there are trials, there is always joy in the end. We will always have someone to turn to. I know that this is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that as I apply is all to me own life, that I will have peace. The gospel is simple: faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. It is there. We just have to follow the path. I know, that this is the way.

I love you all so much!! I hope you have a wonderful week!! You are in my prayers, and my heart. Never forget that you are not alone. You will never be alone.

Love you!