Transfer Nine Week Six

Dear Family,

I am getting transferred!!! Again :P I am going to Fontana to serve in the Baseline ward with Sister Bullen. I have lived with Sister Bullen before and she is a sweetheart!! It is going to be fun :) This will be my 6th area with my 8th companion. :) Heavenly Father is really preparing my with change :)

This week was a slower week. Sister Morgan had a lot of departing missionary things, so I was out of my area a lot. It was good though. Things are going well :)

We had a lot of people to see but it just didn't work out quite right. It was good though, it meant putting a lot of trust in the Lord and in His plans. Things ended up working out well.

We did lots of service. I went to a farm to help weed while Sister Morgan went to the Temple and lunch with President and the other departing missionaries. I really realized that I am not a farm girl. I am totally a city girl. So weeding a farm was a little difficult. It was okay though, I did learn a lot from it. Like perseverance and that crickets can get huge!! They also can be a really pretty green color :) Watermelon plants look like weeds, but are really fuzzy and soft :) Also, when dirt dries you get a really funny tan line. :) Just some little lessons that I learned :)

We also did service for the Women of Faith. It is at the stake center but it is put on by the InterFaith Council. It is a group of people from all the different religions in the Redlands area. It is really cool. So they have put together different projects that anyone can do that help out in the community. It is really neat. This week I used my quilting skills that I learned from Mom and cut a bunch of flannel squares for the NICU at Loma Linda Hospital. It was fun to be able to be of service and use skills that I have learned. It was really fulfilling :)

This week we also made treats for some of the members in our ward. It is really fun to to that!! It helps them know that we love them and that we think and care for them. It always puts a smile on my face. It is also way fun to be able to fun to the doors and back. Sister Morgan said that she loves watching me run back to the car. She said that I always have a smile on my face. :) It is tons of fun though :)

This transfer went by so fast!! It is crazy to think that my time on my mission is coming to an end. I still have till December though!! It is a lot of fun!! I am excited to see what adventures that I will have the rest of my mission :) Everything is going to be wonderful!!

I have met some truly wonderful members here!! I am going to miss all of them, and look forward to when I get to see them again. So many have touched my life, and have helped me through a lot of things. I love them all so much! It is sad to leave, but fun to see what is next.

I love you all so much!! I hope you have a wonderful week!!

Transfer Nine Week Five

Dear Family,

This week was a pretty good one. We have done lots of service and have really been working with the ward.

Monday was the normal day. We did our usual: email, wash car, shop, write letters, nap. It was good. A member brought us dinner from Cafe Rio, such a good place!! I love it so much!! Then we went out and delivered cookies. They were starting to make our car smell sickly sweet. It was good though :) It was fun to do a doorbell ditch, while still doing missionary work. I enjoyed that a lot :)

Tuesday we had our last district meeting for the transfer. It was good. We talked about the new member lessons that we are implementing and really getting things to work out. We also talked a lot about studies and how to make them better. It was awesome!! Then we wrote cards and really focused on trying to help the members feel our love :) It is fun to do  :) We had dinner tonight at an all you can eat seafood buffet. It was actually really good! I got to see how to eat crab. They also had orange chicken and normal food that I would eat. It was really good. Something that I wasn't expecting to have in Redlands.

Wednesday we did more teaching and working things out. It was good. :) Spent time going to out members and just encouraging them. We taught a lesson to Kristen and are helping her get closer and closer to baptism!! Tonight we had dinner at the ward picnic!! That was a lot of fun! We really got to know the ward and really just kinda be with them. It was great!!!

Thursday was MLC, so Sister Morgan was in a meeting for most of the day. It was good. I was on exchanges with another sister. We went and tried to visit some people that we needed to visit, then we went and did service at Redlands Family Services. It is actually a lot of fun. Something that I enjoy a lot :) Then we delivered cards and we went on splits. It was good! I got to know a family that I didn't know and it was awesome!!

Friday we did weekly planning with the Sisters from the Mill Creek ward. Sister Morgan had to go there for exchanges, so she brought me. It was good. Fun to help them out. We then went and helped our Relief Society President in her kindergarten classroom. She needed help setting it all up and getting things ready for when school starts, so we were there to help her :) It was a lot of fun to help her do the things that she needed to get done :)

Saturday we did more service!! We went and helped our recent converts move from one really pretty house to another really pretty house. It was good. It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed it a lot! We also had lunch with some members and really had a good time there. This ward is really easy so to get along with. I enjoy it a lot!! We went and made invitations for the baptism that we have on the 16th of August, it was a lot of work, but they turned out great!!! Then we had dinner with another member family and had a good time there too!! This ward really is easy to get along with :) I enjoy it a lot!!!

Sunday was church :) Always a good day :) It was also Sister Morgan's departing devotional, so she did that, and I went with the Mill Creek sisters for the evening. it was all a really good day :)

I love you all so much!! Everything is truly going wonderful!! Have a great week!!!

Transfer Nine Week Four

Dear Family,

This week was a really good one :)

Monday -  It was a normal day :) Had good things happen. Saw some less actives, and delivered cards. It was good :)

Tuesday - We had zone meeting!! Learned some pretty awesome things that we are gonna start doing with the members in out ward, and get them to do missionary work!! It is also something that I can start doing when I am home!! It is amazing to see how things are going!! We found out that our mission is doing really well with baptizing. It is pretty awesome to watch our mission grow :)

Wednesday - We did service!! Went to the family services place and helped them take inventory on all their school supplies. It was really fun. We also got our car back!!! YAY!!!! We had a rental for 5 days and then got our car. It is really nice to have ours back :) We also went on ward visits today, and I was able to meet some people that I didn't know, which was nice :)

Thursday - We had weekly planning and did more service!! It is always really awesome to work for others and help them do what they need. It was really nice :) We taught Kristy! Well, kinda. We went over there and we talked a lot about needing to stop smoking. She totally committed to it and it went really well. It was fun to meet with her :)

Friday - Met with some members and then we went on a field trip! Had to go to Anaheim for a doctors appointment, and it was a lot of fun!! President Van Cott drove us and it was really good to get to know him better. He used to buy the property for Wonder Bread, so he drove around there. It kinda felt like riding in the car with dad or grandpa having them tell us about what they did in areas and showing us them. It was really neat.

Saturday - We went to a ward members home and made cookies!! It was really good service. We had a fun time getting to know them. We made the cookies to take to those that we know are having a hard time and those that just need some encouragement. We are also taking them to people that we don't really know :) It is cool :) We also taught Kristy!! She is progressing awesome!! She is still struggling with overcoming smoking, but is doing great!! We had a member there and they clicked!! Everything that Kristy had been feeling, our member had too!! The member is a convert and it was amazing!! Such a great lesson!!!

Sunday - Fast Sunday!! It was good. We met with a recent convert family today and we also had dinner at a members home, who invited some other recent converts to dinner. It was really good to help them build relationships with those around them. :)

That was our week!! It rained!!! It was fun to have the storms. It did mean having a  spider the size of a quarter in our home though... that wasn't fun... luckily there are some awesome members who come and save the day when we need them too :)

It was awesome!! I hope you all have a great week too!! Love you!!!

Transfer Nine Week Three

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been a good one, with lots of happy experiences :)

Monday - It was P-day, and my Birthday!! :D It was a fun day. I was able to talk to the family and then we went shopping, got Coldstone, it was really yummy, and then did the normal house things. We did laundry and I wrote letters and stuff :) That night was tons of fun! We had dinner with the Pratt Family. They are an amazing family!! They also made my birthday extra special :) When we got there they had decorated the table and chairs with birthday decorations and they also made a cake!!! :) It was so pretty!! It was just the girls, so we had a wonderful evening :) They are an older family and their daughter makes wedding cakes, so it was really really pretty :) I am going to post pictures :) That night we also went to a retirement facility, and had a family home evening with the older people there :) It was really special and sweet. I enjoyed it a lot :)

Tuesday - We had district meeting, and did our normal things. It was a really good day. That night, our dinner had forgotten about us so she didn't have any food. It was okay though, the Pratt's had given me a Subway gift card, so we got subway to eat for dinner :) It was good. We also taught the Price family. We read 3 Nephi 17. It was amazing!! They loved how Christ prayed for the people and how He wept. It is amazing to feel the love in this chapter. He cares for all of us and weeps for all of us. It is really special.

Wednesday - We lost our car!! We were going to go drop Sister Hetrick (two week missionary) off at the mission office and when we went to start the car it wouldn't start... So, after some juggling with ways to get to the mission office we finally showed up, just almost 1 hour late, but we were there! Our car had to get towed to the dealership to get fixed, and so we walked the rest of the day. It was a little crazy. We also were able to go to the temple and preform a little service project. There was a sister missionary serving in the Rancho mission who got to have a really wonderful experience. Her dad was baptized about a year ago and they are from Florida. Well, they had gotten special permission to come all the way to California and be sealed as a family together. It was really neat. We were asked to sit with the non-member Grandmother and just be there if she had any questions. It was really nice to just sit in the temple and feel the love of the Savior and be there for that family. It was very special. After wards we went to Kristy's home and taught her and Jay the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My testimony grows every time I teach that lesson. It was really wonderful :)

Gift from Mom and Dad sent through ward members

Thursday - We had weekly planning and then did exchanges. I went to Beaumont and spent from 2:00 on Thursday to 2:00 on Friday there. It was good. It made me realize that I am exactly where I needed to be. I am where I will feel the most comfortable. It was really nice. It was fun to be there. We didn't teach a lot but it was good to just see how other missionaries do things :)

Friday - After we exchanged back we still didn't have a car. We did find out though that if we didn't have our car fixed that Toyota would pay for a rental car for us. It was very sweet of them :) We did a lot of situation everything and just reviewing what we learned from the exchange.

Saturday - We got a rental car!! YAY!! It is a very beautiful 2014 Toyota Corolla. It is amazing!! I have decided that I will never ever drive as nice of a car as I have on my mission. I am preparing myself for when I get back home :P We are also helping Kristy stop smoking, so we went and dropped off candy and cinnamon gum to help her with that. It  was really good. We were able to talk with her and see how she is doing. We had written sticky notes with scriptures on them and we posted them all over her home. Well, she decided that she was going to read them (that was the point of them) and that she was going to write on the back of them what she learned from them. It is amazing!! She is an amazing investigator!!

Sunday - We had church and did the normal things. It was good :) We also had an amazing lesson with one of our recent converts!! It was wonderful!!

This week was a good one. I am so grateful for what Heavenly Father has given me and for the opportunity I have to be a missionary, and to learn so much. It is amazing!!

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

Transfer Nine Week Two

Dear Family,

This week was a pretty good one. We had lots of different experiences that were lots of fun :)

Monday - P-day!! Woot woot!! We did the normal, then had a really fun dinner with members :) It was good to talk about missionary work, and about what they can do to just be better friends to those around them. It was really good :) I did get a lot of letters written, and Sister Morgan and Sister Hetrick both got a 3 hour nap. it was good :)

Tuesday - It was a crazy day! We had district meeting, and we talked a lot about the missionary purpose. It was a really good district meeting. I learned that I need to recommit myself to all of this. It will be good though. I am excited for what is to come!! It will be good :) We also had dinner with a recent convert :) She made us amazing homemade pizza!! It was way good! We had pepperoni, and we had a chicken pesto pizza. They were amazing!! :) It was great!!

Wednesday - We did service for a non-member. We are helping her go through all of her old papers and sorting them. It was good :) We also picked up a new investigator!!! It was amazing!! We went over to teach Kristy and Jay, and when we got there Kristy had another friend, Nicole, there :) Nicole also wants to learn more about the gospel, so we are going to teach her!! It was so exciting!!! :) We also had a birthday dinner!! Sister Hetrick celebrated her 18th birthday with us, and we let the family that we were eating with know :) It was fun to have that with her :)

Thursday - We did weekly planning, and 4 hours of service!! :) After weekly planning we went to Redland's family services. It is a place where they get clothes and food, and then distribute them to those who need them and who don't have enough. Think DI and Bishop store house combined :) It was really good to help out. We organized clothes, hangers, and just cleaned up the place for when they opened :) It was really good. We are going there on a weekly basis to help them out :)

Friday - We spent time preparing for the baptism on Saturday!! It was a birthday of one of our members, so we went and took him a cupcake. He is an older man who has dementia. He is really sweet though :) It was good to be with him. He enjoyed the cupcake, then shared one of his birthday treats with us :) He had gotten an edible arrangement and wanted to share with us. It was really sweet :) We also taught a recent convert and a returning less active. It was fun :) We were able to help them all with the gospel and strengthen them spiritually :) It was nice :)

Saturday -  It was our pioneer day celebration!!! We went to the park and had breakfast with the Stake, then just spent time there. We were able to see our recent converts and I was able to see those that I hadn't seen in a long time!! It was so good!!! I got to see Kellie and Tyler again. It was amazing!! I missed them so much, so it was way good to see them :) We then went and got ready for our baptism!!! It was fun to do that. It was stressful, so I was glad when it was over, but it was also really, really nice. :) Something that was spiritual and we had a good time :) We also had waffles for dinner :) Breakfast for dinner really is the best thing ever!! It was wonderful :)

Sunday - It was church!! We also wrote cards and delivered them. Then we had a really interesting dinner... I have never eaten anything like it before.... Now, let's think. What is a land animal that has a had shell. It curls into a ball when it is scared... have you guessed it yet?? If not, let me tell you... Armadillo!! Yup, I had armadillo for dinner :) It was actually pretty good. Sweeter that pulled pork, which we also had. And it was saltier. It was really good :) I actually really enjoyed it :) We also had a recent convert lesson. All of our lessons in church were about pioneers. So, we decided to help our convert with that. She didn't quite understand what a pioneer was, so we watched the Restoration movie with her. It was amazing!!! I love the new one that we have. It was amazing!! She really understood why we have pioneers and learned more about Joseph Smith. It was really good :)

The pictures are of our armadillo :) 

This week was good :) Stressful with the baptism, but really rewarding :)

I love you all so much!! I hope you have a wonderful week!!

Transfer Nine Week One

Dear Family,

This week was actually a really good one :)

Monday - It was P-day!! We found out we were getting transferred, so that day was spent doing lots and lots of other things than the normal ones. We emailed, washed the car, shopped and packed. It was fun. I was able to get all of my stuff mostly done, which was nice. It was hard to pack, but I have done it a lot so it wasn't too bad :) We then started to say goodbye to the ward members. It meant lots of driving and a lot of coordinating for us. It was good though. We were able to have dinner with the Cotton's, so that was fun :) It was just a great day! We really got to see the ones that we have come to love. It was good :)

Tuesday - We had Zone Meeting and went over what President wants us to know. It was good. Got to know what to do at transfers and just went over missionary stuff. It was good :) We also said goodbye to more people. It was a pretty crazy day for us, but a really good one :) We have been blessed to be able to see the people that we do love. It was nice :)

Wednesday - We woke up early, finished packing, getting ready for the day and then dropping off the last minute things before we left. It was a little crazy, but a good day :) We then went to the office for transfers. Took us about 1 hour to get there, then we had to find the people we needed and head to our new areas. It was a little crazy though. The car that I was supposed to take to get Sister Morgan was supposed to go somewhere else. It was crazy!!! Long story short, I ended up not getting to my area or my companion until about 11. Then, we didn't have a car and Sister Morgan has a broken toe... It was a little crazy. Also, we are in a trio!! They do something really neat here. They do mini-missions. So, we have a two week missionary. :) It is fun :) She is just about to turn 18 and is a sweetheart. It is enjoyable :) Kinda different. It is amazing what just 2 years does between people. I feel so grown up. It is funny :) We had dinner with the Hall's that night, who are awesome. They are one of the families that I knew before. It is weird to be back in an area that I have already served in. Just kinda different. :) That night we were at the church, so I got to see some of the people that I served with in the Singles Ward. It was fun. I am just seeing people that I used to see all the time now :) It is fun :)

Thursday - TODAY WAS AMAZING!!!! I honestly had a happy day, which was great!! :D We had weekly planning, which actually went well. We then went and did service. The mission is now doing a service thing, where we have to do 10 hours of service a day. It is fun :) So, we did that. We went and marked scripture mastery in Book of Mormons. We were just doing it and then were told where they are going. One of the prisons here in the area have requested Mormon Bibles. It is fun :) I knew that missionary work happened in prisons, but it was fun to see how much the work of the Lord is progressing. It was exciting to hear. Well, then we had a killer lesson!! It was amazing!! We are teaching two investigators. Kristy and Jay. They live together, but aren't together. More like roommates. It is a different situation. But it works :) Well, we had members there and it was truly amazing!!! It was so good to teach!! The Spirit was so strong and it was just amazing!!! I came out of there basically on a Spiritual High :) It was awesome!! I haven't been able to feel that good in a long time, it was great!!! We then had a very rushed dinner with the Papworth's, who are fun :) There are some amazing people here :) Very kind :) We then had splits with the members. I was able to go and get to know a couple of the members. It was awesome!!! There really are some great people here!!! That night, President called. I wasn't expecting a call, but he just wanted to see how I was doing. It was really sweet :)  He was calling to just check up on me and make sure that all was going well. :) It was cool :)

Friday - We were able to go and write cards for members!! That is another thing that we do now. We go and write cards to the members to invite them to things and to just say thank you :) It is pretty awesome :) Then we did service for this Indian lady. She was so sweet!! She needed help organizing things and so we were there to help her :) It was fun :) Then we went and taught Callie. She is an investigator who is getting baptized the 19th of July!! It is pretty awesome!!! We have to finish teaching her the lessons and then we are just going to keep going and see how it all goes :) It is pretty cool :)

Saturday - We went and made cards at a park and got more organized. It was a good thing to do. Then we went and made baptismal invites. It was good, and exciting to go :) I enjoyed it a lot :) We also taught Kristy and Jay again. It was a good lesson, not quite as bomb as the first one, but still a good lesson :) It was another good day :)

Sunday -  It was church!! We had a good Sunday :) We had church, and Kristy and Jay both came. We also went and had dinner with a great family :) Everything is just going really really well :) it was good :)

This week was good :) I am excited to be here :)

Sister Morgan is my companion, and she has 5 weeks left of her mission. She is a sweetheart, and just wonderful :) She has been in the Prospect Park Ward for 1 year. Which is a really really long time, but it is fun for her :) It is just exciting :) I am happy to be here and to work with her again :) Something that I have enjoyed :)

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