Lastest Letters from Sarah 2/15 and 2/22

2/15/10 Crazy week, I tell you what! I have a companion for a week and we are stuck to each other like peanut butter to the roof of your mouth. We’re having so much fun and I’m feeling so productive, even if we haven’t been doing as many missionary things and have been putting things together so I’m ready to be the senior companion to whoever will be my companion next.

We find out on Wednesday and apparently the change will effect every sister companionship in the mission except Sister Halladay & her trainee. It’ll be interesting to see all of the sisters together, not to mention 2 temple square sisters that I know, Sis Faddis (From Houston Texas) and sister Nakajima (from Japan) Originally we thought that it would just be me and Sister Cicon, who would be getting the temple Square sisters and it going at that, but then we found out that it was more than that and now everyone is speculating who is going where with what companion. It’s being called a ‘sisters transfer.’ I’m not sure what to think of it. I’ve loved being with sister Cicon (sigh-son) and this week we’ve been together has felt longer, but in a good way. They’ve been filled with many good opportunities to serve.

2/22/10 So I ran out of time to finish this letter last week so I’m finishing it this week. Sorry I didn’t send what I had, but…yeah. Transfers

I’m now with sister Batkhand (Baht-ahnd) from Mongolia. She’s pretty much awesome :)

She’s been on her mission for a bit longer then I have and will be going home after next transfer, I believe. She gets lots of the same questions, but she’s patient. The thing she gets asked about the most is how to pronounce her name. The KH makes an almost silent sound, but it’s a throaty…well I don’t know how to explain. I guess a cross between a growl and a gargle.

At first it was a little awkward, because I had come from a companion (sis Cicon) where I felt I could be exactly myself, to someone who was also quiet that I don’t know very well. We talked a bit and after just a day or two we broke each others shells. There’s still some quiet time, but we converse readily about different things.

She’s organized and likes to clean. I’m working on being organized and tend to clean when I’m upset, (usually just because of Elders etc ;)) So it’s kind of a funny combination. I’m sure Elisabeth will be happy that I’ve learned to clean/organize so much from my mission. ;)

Sister Batkhand is getting her first ever real message from sister Tilley, a member in the Lake Forest Park Ward. I just had mine. Sis. Tilley offered several weeks ago, when Sis. Halladay was here and we got one 2 weeks ago. It’s a much different experience getting a message as exposed to giving. It’s kind of funny being on the receiving end of things. Kind of nice.

On a completely different not…or similar, depending on how you look at it, GUESS WHAT???? I passed my year mark last Thursday! Crazy!!!! Over a year ago I was giving David, Melissa and Becky a hug goodbye and spending my last text message. I can’t believe it’s been a year. Sometimes it feels a LOT longer and sometimes it feels like just yesterday. It’s pretty neat.

I think when ya first get into the mission you feel like you’ll never get used it and then you’ve there fro a few transfers and all of the sudden you can’t see yourself doing anything else and I wonder why I never though of doing certain things. It all is fitting together.

Things are going very well. It feels very weird that this is my last transfer in Washington. I go back to Temple Square the day Tasha Goes into the MTC. Crazy, eh? I’m so excited she’s going on a mission. I think she’ll do great and will find all the people she’s meant to find and baptize those she’s meant to baptize :)

Wow, yesterday (Sunday) was CRAZY! My goodness. We get to church about 20 minutes before it starts because we didn’t have a meeting at 8, so we just went early so we could have a new/updated ward list printed out and it became so crazy from there.

First our investigator Charles was there. That was good, except Bro & Sister Parks went to do their duty with the library and left him with us…but we had to get things done. We told him that we had to do some things and would be right back. As we were printing things out 4 of the 7 children in a part member family come, we had just visited them the day before, did out best to teach them a lesson and invited them to church. Their mom was still sick so the dad stayed home and most of the older children stayed home too, so we had a 6, 8, 9 and 11 year hold on our hands

I had a bit of a panicky time until we asked Sis. Wilcox (Bishop’s wife) to help us.

During this time one of the older sisters pointed out that Winston Sanderson was there. We had also visited Winston and his mother Edith the day before and invited him to church. He probably hasn’t been to church consistently since he was a teenager and he’s old enough to be my grandpa. I notice the no one was sitting next to him and sister Batkhand was sitting with Sister Wilcox and the kids, Charles was sitting with the Parks, so he wasn’t alone. So I decided to sit with Winston

We had talked the day before about testimonies and how him believing in Jesus Christ was a testimony and he didn’t have to get up on fast Sunday and bear it to have one. As we sat there listening to the speakers talking about the prophet I leaned over and informed him that jus being at church was a testimony

He looked at me and said ‘really?” as if the thought the thought had never occurred to him, then sat back and smiled.

I hope he comes back next week. I can see him being very active in the church.
All in all yesterday was good, as was the entire week. :)