Lots and lots of changes. Like transfers happening this week... and so I may not be emailing next Saturday, but we shall see....
So... I'm hearing a lot of moving things, but not anything definite.... what's going on? Becky mentioned she's moving closer to her store, Amy mentioned something about packing, is the Orem House being sold?And I just got an email from Amy saying it is. Where will I be going after my mission? So I can tell my mission president, etc. I’m guessing Georgia, but nothing’s definite, eh?
That’s the one thing that is constant in this mission: change. Like yesterday, we all were informed that there was a meeting that we all had to go to at 8:30 last night. None of us had been informed of it beforehand, except those in it, and all of us were wondering what it was going to be about, but President Holmes made a rule about no speculating, so not tooo many rumors were flying around.It turned out just to be a movie night, where we watched a movie about a young man who went through a huge trial (being really good at athletic stuff, then becoming a quadriplegic) yet he always had a good attitude. It was a good thing to watch. Then we saw a clip of Elder Worthlin’s last talk, Come What May and Love it, and both movies were really about attitude and how to have a positive/good attitude, no matter what happened. It was something that many of the sisters needed, including me to some extent. I think we all have times when we have a bad attitude and just need a little uplifting so we can see things better.
President Holmes likes throwing curve balls at us so we don’t get complacent and we are able to rely more on the spirit. Like this last transfer he called one of the sisters who’s more or less in the middle of her mission to be an Assistant to the President, which had never happened before.
So the last two days, sister Cox and I have been working on a manual for the new Zone leaders for next transfer about family search district, since both of them will be brand new… or at least new as zone leaders. I’m a little anxious to hear what will be happening and so on, and part of me can’t wait until Monday to hear what’s going on, but at the same time, I don’t want to say goodbye to the friends I have that are going home. Sister Kreiczer is going back to Hungary, and sister Ward is going back to Australia. I’m planning, sometime after my mission, to do a world trip to see all the sisters that I met and became good friends with on my mission. So far on my list I have Hungary, Australia and Switzerland, we’ll see how much it grows… I’m planning on learning at least a little of all the languages that are here on temple square… about 50ish all together.
Oh… my book of mormon broke earlier today. It was sad. The binding was already starting to give way, but now it’s really sad. I gave it to one of the senior elders to fix, so hopefully it will be all happy by tomorrow… if not I have an extra one I can use. Poor thing.
OH! I need pictures! I have ones from David and Melissa’s wedding, but I haven’t had any pictures from any one from that time, other than one from Amy. So pretty please with sugar on top?
Umm.,.. and if I haven’t answered any of your questions, please email them again, chances are I thought I answered them and didn’t realize I hadn’t.
Love ya all! I’m prayin’ for ya’ll!
Love the sister of the Durtschi of the Sarah Sort.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
July 11 2009, Second to last P'Day
OOOooookkkaaaayyyy!
This week, I have realized that it’s almost the end of the transfer… again. Had things been normal, we would have found out who’s going out bound yesterday… but since they’re not, and we’re finding out during transfer conference… well a lot of people are speculating and figuring t hat not a lot of people are leaving especially since only 2 or 3 are coming back from outbound (my trainer included) and fewer are coming from the MTC than are going home… I’m kinda sad because my zone leaders are going home, so sister Cox and I have been spending as much time with them as we can, which has been kinda crazy but fun at the same time.
Just some things that I forgot to mention last time, Thank you Grandma Maren for the card and check, I did get them! I’m not sure where I put the check just now, but… I’ll find it when I clean today. Sorry I didn’t mention it with the other email…
And mom and dad asked if we ever went on exchanges with the ward members here, and we don’t. There isn’t a single ward that we belong to that we could exchange with. We’re in our own ward, all us missionaries, etc… it’s kinda cool.
Umm…Oh, I was actually able to be with my companion for the majority of the week, rather than on exchanges, it was pretty cool. But yesterday one of the sisters in our district got sick, so she had to go on exchanges, and while we were on exchanges, she planned the district meeting, and usually she’ll tell me everything, but this one she wants to be a surprise for everyone. Even the Zone leaders… It will be exciting I’m sure : )
While we were on exchanges, I was in family search, and one of the senior sisters said, “I’m the Floor Monitor(or manager)” and her husband said, “Would a slight bow be sufficient?”And one of my zone leaders said, “no, you need to kneel on the floor!”So he got down on one knee in front of his wife and said, “oh omnipotent floor manager!” It was one of the times in Family Search that make me want to stay there next transfer…
And yes, I still enjoy being the District Leader’s companion, it’s a lot of fun, and I get to learn different sister’s teaching styles a bit better than I would otherwise. It’s really cool and helping me be more flexable.
Oh mom, I ran into Dwayne Webber, he’s a director of institutes and Seminary in northern Atlanta Georgia area, and so you’ll probably run into him in August for the big thing that’s going on.
And dad… I told the ‘Sick bird’ joke that you told me one day on the way to school to my companion and she laughed and thought it was horrible. She usually writes a corny joke to the mission president in her weekly letter, and she’s planning on putting that one in the letter this week. And if every one else wants to know what the sick bird joke is… ask dad, has something to do with sick eagles… or ill eagles. :P
And I got my 'I love you' asl pin that shows that I can do ASL, but I haven't drilled a hole in my tag yet to put it there... so... I have to wait until monday to wear it
Thank you all so much for writing me when you do, I'm sorry I don't have time to reply to individual letters/emails all the time, but I do love reading them, and I try to answer specific questions as much as possible, and if I forget one week I try to write it down so I remember the week after :)
LOVE YA'll!!!
Be happy n all that!
This week, I have realized that it’s almost the end of the transfer… again. Had things been normal, we would have found out who’s going out bound yesterday… but since they’re not, and we’re finding out during transfer conference… well a lot of people are speculating and figuring t hat not a lot of people are leaving especially since only 2 or 3 are coming back from outbound (my trainer included) and fewer are coming from the MTC than are going home… I’m kinda sad because my zone leaders are going home, so sister Cox and I have been spending as much time with them as we can, which has been kinda crazy but fun at the same time.
Just some things that I forgot to mention last time, Thank you Grandma Maren for the card and check, I did get them! I’m not sure where I put the check just now, but… I’ll find it when I clean today. Sorry I didn’t mention it with the other email…
And mom and dad asked if we ever went on exchanges with the ward members here, and we don’t. There isn’t a single ward that we belong to that we could exchange with. We’re in our own ward, all us missionaries, etc… it’s kinda cool.
Umm…Oh, I was actually able to be with my companion for the majority of the week, rather than on exchanges, it was pretty cool. But yesterday one of the sisters in our district got sick, so she had to go on exchanges, and while we were on exchanges, she planned the district meeting, and usually she’ll tell me everything, but this one she wants to be a surprise for everyone. Even the Zone leaders… It will be exciting I’m sure : )
While we were on exchanges, I was in family search, and one of the senior sisters said, “I’m the Floor Monitor(or manager)” and her husband said, “Would a slight bow be sufficient?”And one of my zone leaders said, “no, you need to kneel on the floor!”So he got down on one knee in front of his wife and said, “oh omnipotent floor manager!” It was one of the times in Family Search that make me want to stay there next transfer…
And yes, I still enjoy being the District Leader’s companion, it’s a lot of fun, and I get to learn different sister’s teaching styles a bit better than I would otherwise. It’s really cool and helping me be more flexable.
Oh mom, I ran into Dwayne Webber, he’s a director of institutes and Seminary in northern Atlanta Georgia area, and so you’ll probably run into him in August for the big thing that’s going on.
And dad… I told the ‘Sick bird’ joke that you told me one day on the way to school to my companion and she laughed and thought it was horrible. She usually writes a corny joke to the mission president in her weekly letter, and she’s planning on putting that one in the letter this week. And if every one else wants to know what the sick bird joke is… ask dad, has something to do with sick eagles… or ill eagles. :P
And I got my 'I love you' asl pin that shows that I can do ASL, but I haven't drilled a hole in my tag yet to put it there... so... I have to wait until monday to wear it
Thank you all so much for writing me when you do, I'm sorry I don't have time to reply to individual letters/emails all the time, but I do love reading them, and I try to answer specific questions as much as possible, and if I forget one week I try to write it down so I remember the week after :)
LOVE YA'll!!!
Be happy n all that!
Monday, July 6, 2009
July 6, The Forth and so on
So this week has been craaaazy. Currently I'm on my lunch break, so hopefully I can write everything that I want to write, because time is short.
As is usual for me this transfer, this week was full of exchanges, one of which was with sister Leota, and while we were giving a tour in the beehive house, two people appeared at the end of our tour that we weren't expecting. Normally the people who want a tour are told to wait for 10 minutes after a tour has started so they're not too huge and us poor sisters have a chance to actually teach something, so we were both confused as to why they were there. i was in front at that time and sister Leota was in the back, we went upstairs to the Long Hall (which can be seen from two different doors) and sister Leota was the one in front and talking. I noticed the two going to the other side of the long hall and went to ask if they were on our tour. They said no. So I informed them, very kindly, that they needed to either be on our tour, or on a tour with another set of sister missionaries, because they are not allowed in the house alone.
Not only is it a big house and confusing at times, but it also has a ton of old things that are rather priceless that we don't want to have disappear.I found out later that she was a returned missionary who had gone to temple square, and wanted to show her boy around (I'm not sure if he was her boyfriend, fiancé or what.) and she should have known better, especially in the summer when there are so many people who come.In any case, that was kind of cool because I could tell I was getting comfortable enough with the rules, etc, that I was able to get a back bone and tell them that it wasn’t okay.
I went to my first ASL language meeting… it was interesting. One of t he sisters, who’s the youngest (in mission terms) here that knows ASL, seems to not like working with sisters whom she thinks don’t know ASL as well as she does… so I’m not really looking forward to working with her, but I’ll survive, especially with a lot of prayer and patience. I’m very thankful, however, that another sister passed off ASL. She’s really nice and hopefully all will work out
On Saturday (my p-day) we weren’t able to email, so we went home and did some random things while we waited for other sisters to get ready, and so on. Sister Cox, the zone leaders and another district leader and her companion and I all went to a farm “wheeler farm” I think is what it’s called, and wandered around for a bit taking pictures, etc (which I don’t personally have because I accidentally erased them from my sd card… long story ) Then we went to walmart, where sister Cox bought a huge bubble wand in the form of a sword, and some water balloons, while sisters Ward and Kreiczer bought red and blue paint… and I bought an outfit for 6 dollars.We went home and I changed into the outfit and put our groceries away while sister Cox filled up the water balloons, then we went to the grassy area between the apartments, and met with a portion of our zone and had a mini-water fight accompanied by a paint fight. It was SO much fun. Our arms were covered with paint, and basically everywhere else. After that we rinsed off (kept the paint on our shirts etc, because that was the point of it.) and went to a park where we played some more games and had a picknick.
Today, just before I got on to do emails, I had my first Temple Square ASL tour. It was looong… about an hour and a half. It was mostly members, which made it interesting because they were mostly there for their one friend who was investigating. So they’d fall behind and I’d have to go back and get their attention, then continue the tour. They wanted to see everything they could, when I thought I was done with the tour, I took them to two more buildings, which was fine, but I was running out of things to say and didn’t want to overload the poor guy, especially since ASL was his second language, and he knew mainly BSL (British Sign Language, which is COMPLETELY different.) so a few of his friends had to interpret for me and vice versa so we could understand one another better.
Overall it’s been good :) But now I need to eat something before we go to the beehive house for several hours.
Love ya all!!
Be good n all that! I'll try to write more next week :)
As is usual for me this transfer, this week was full of exchanges, one of which was with sister Leota, and while we were giving a tour in the beehive house, two people appeared at the end of our tour that we weren't expecting. Normally the people who want a tour are told to wait for 10 minutes after a tour has started so they're not too huge and us poor sisters have a chance to actually teach something, so we were both confused as to why they were there. i was in front at that time and sister Leota was in the back, we went upstairs to the Long Hall (which can be seen from two different doors) and sister Leota was the one in front and talking. I noticed the two going to the other side of the long hall and went to ask if they were on our tour. They said no. So I informed them, very kindly, that they needed to either be on our tour, or on a tour with another set of sister missionaries, because they are not allowed in the house alone.
Not only is it a big house and confusing at times, but it also has a ton of old things that are rather priceless that we don't want to have disappear.I found out later that she was a returned missionary who had gone to temple square, and wanted to show her boy around (I'm not sure if he was her boyfriend, fiancé or what.) and she should have known better, especially in the summer when there are so many people who come.In any case, that was kind of cool because I could tell I was getting comfortable enough with the rules, etc, that I was able to get a back bone and tell them that it wasn’t okay.
I went to my first ASL language meeting… it was interesting. One of t he sisters, who’s the youngest (in mission terms) here that knows ASL, seems to not like working with sisters whom she thinks don’t know ASL as well as she does… so I’m not really looking forward to working with her, but I’ll survive, especially with a lot of prayer and patience. I’m very thankful, however, that another sister passed off ASL. She’s really nice and hopefully all will work out
On Saturday (my p-day) we weren’t able to email, so we went home and did some random things while we waited for other sisters to get ready, and so on. Sister Cox, the zone leaders and another district leader and her companion and I all went to a farm “wheeler farm” I think is what it’s called, and wandered around for a bit taking pictures, etc (which I don’t personally have because I accidentally erased them from my sd card… long story ) Then we went to walmart, where sister Cox bought a huge bubble wand in the form of a sword, and some water balloons, while sisters Ward and Kreiczer bought red and blue paint… and I bought an outfit for 6 dollars.We went home and I changed into the outfit and put our groceries away while sister Cox filled up the water balloons, then we went to the grassy area between the apartments, and met with a portion of our zone and had a mini-water fight accompanied by a paint fight. It was SO much fun. Our arms were covered with paint, and basically everywhere else. After that we rinsed off (kept the paint on our shirts etc, because that was the point of it.) and went to a park where we played some more games and had a picknick.
Today, just before I got on to do emails, I had my first Temple Square ASL tour. It was looong… about an hour and a half. It was mostly members, which made it interesting because they were mostly there for their one friend who was investigating. So they’d fall behind and I’d have to go back and get their attention, then continue the tour. They wanted to see everything they could, when I thought I was done with the tour, I took them to two more buildings, which was fine, but I was running out of things to say and didn’t want to overload the poor guy, especially since ASL was his second language, and he knew mainly BSL (British Sign Language, which is COMPLETELY different.) so a few of his friends had to interpret for me and vice versa so we could understand one another better.
Overall it’s been good :) But now I need to eat something before we go to the beehive house for several hours.
Love ya all!!
Be good n all that! I'll try to write more next week :)
Saturday, June 27, 2009
June 27th 2009 Quail, 'herding cats', and horses
Oh goodness, where to start… hmm…
This week has been interesting, but I think that’s normal, eh? It doesn’t seem like I just talked to you all on Sunday. It’s kind of weird.
On Tuesday, I went on exchanges, it was pretty fun, but exchanges can get quite hectic, especially when we have to figure out how to do everything that we need to do when we need to do it, so on Wednesday we were on exchanges in the morning and in the evening and actually together in the afternoon.Thursday we had Zone Conference at ‘This is the Place’ Heritage park, and it was a lot of fun. The training part was really good and about how to get more of the stories from the pioneers (and I’m getting distracted by the sisters talking about what to do for the rest of p-day so if I sound a bit less coherent than usual, that’s why. :P) Then after words we had an hour and twenty minutes to wander around and do what we wanted. It was quite fun, I was somewhat reminded of Renaissance fair, except it was cleaner, and more free (meaning that people weren’t walking around with revealing clothing and every little thing didn’t cost an arm and a leg)It was a lot of fun, and they had animals there, like horses, peacocks, lambs (one of which had just been born that morning.) tiny goats, etc. They had several houses that were made up to look like the cabins that
I’m now officially passed off in ASL. I almost forgot to meet up with sister Shawcross (who’s the coordinator of that language), but she paged me and reminded me.
Several times this week, I had tours where I felt like I was herding cats… meaning that people would wander off in a different direction while we were talking and trying to lead them to the next stop. It was rather entertaining at times, and somewhat more annoying at others. I had to let people know, several times, that because they were only half hour, or 20 minute tours that we couldn’t see everything, but they could come back. That made it a little easier.Hurrah for summer… >.>
Oh, and my companion just reminded me of some other exciting things about summer time. Namely birds. More specifically baby quail. We were walking along, heading from the south to the north when all the sudden my companion made a squak, ‘hey watch out!’ or something like that. I stopped in my tracks and about 4 inches from my foot was a tiny puffball of a baby quail. It was about an inch and a half big, and like a round little ball of fluff. They’re really cute. The poor little thing also stopped in its’ tracks and hunkered down, which made it look even more like a little ball. The momma or the papa bird called for all the little birds, and all 15 or 20 of them ran. We waited until they went so it wasn’t likely that I’d scare another one.
And one of the sisters just said this:“that’s the other part of being a temple square missionary, we judge wedding dresses.”Because we see so many wedding dresses here. Sometimes that’s a subject of conversation when things are slow, “What do you want your wedding dress to look like?” “Would you take wedding pictures before or after the actual wedding?” “Have the wedding reception the night before, or after?” etc. It’s kind of funny.
Something else that was somewhat funny is that when I was on exchanges with sister Shugart, she asked me what I had learned from Sister Cox so far, I answered by making an animal noise. Sister Cox tends to make animal noises at random times, especially when she’s stressed or annoyed at something. After I gave that answer I gave her a real one, and that was to always be working/moving, etc.
It’s kind of funny, I’ve lost track of the last time I got a physical letter from someone… I take that back, I think it was when dad and sister Senator sent me cards for my birthday. I think it’s funny the different reactions sisters give depending on if they get letters or not. Some sisters get a lot of mail, some don’t. Some who do get mail, don’t want it because it distracts them, while others complain that they never get anything. I think that mainly the new sisters get most of the mail, especially so they are less likely to get homesick, then it kind of pitters off after a few transfers.
Speaking of transfers, earlier today I almost called a Quarter or a Semester a Transfer, because we were talking about school. Twas kind of interesting.
It was really great talking to everyone on Sunday! I was excited to hear from everyone and get a small update by voice rather than email. I’m glad that everyone’s alive and kicking!
And my zone leaders are goofs. I love them to bits, and to some extent because they remind me of sisters. They tease each other and have wrestling fights, and sometimes even food fights (they have photo evidence… oatmeal in hair is rather messy.) They work so well together, and I’m not sure if it’s because of their playing around, or in spite of it…
Any ways, loves ya alls!
Be happy n all that!
This week has been interesting, but I think that’s normal, eh? It doesn’t seem like I just talked to you all on Sunday. It’s kind of weird.
On Tuesday, I went on exchanges, it was pretty fun, but exchanges can get quite hectic, especially when we have to figure out how to do everything that we need to do when we need to do it, so on Wednesday we were on exchanges in the morning and in the evening and actually together in the afternoon.Thursday we had Zone Conference at ‘This is the Place’ Heritage park, and it was a lot of fun. The training part was really good and about how to get more of the stories from the pioneers (and I’m getting distracted by the sisters talking about what to do for the rest of p-day so if I sound a bit less coherent than usual, that’s why. :P) Then after words we had an hour and twenty minutes to wander around and do what we wanted. It was quite fun, I was somewhat reminded of Renaissance fair, except it was cleaner, and more free (meaning that people weren’t walking around with revealing clothing and every little thing didn’t cost an arm and a leg)It was a lot of fun, and they had animals there, like horses, peacocks, lambs (one of which had just been born that morning.) tiny goats, etc. They had several houses that were made up to look like the cabins that
I’m now officially passed off in ASL. I almost forgot to meet up with sister Shawcross (who’s the coordinator of that language), but she paged me and reminded me.
Several times this week, I had tours where I felt like I was herding cats… meaning that people would wander off in a different direction while we were talking and trying to lead them to the next stop. It was rather entertaining at times, and somewhat more annoying at others. I had to let people know, several times, that because they were only half hour, or 20 minute tours that we couldn’t see everything, but they could come back. That made it a little easier.Hurrah for summer… >.>
Oh, and my companion just reminded me of some other exciting things about summer time. Namely birds. More specifically baby quail. We were walking along, heading from the south to the north when all the sudden my companion made a squak, ‘hey watch out!’ or something like that. I stopped in my tracks and about 4 inches from my foot was a tiny puffball of a baby quail. It was about an inch and a half big, and like a round little ball of fluff. They’re really cute. The poor little thing also stopped in its’ tracks and hunkered down, which made it look even more like a little ball. The momma or the papa bird called for all the little birds, and all 15 or 20 of them ran. We waited until they went so it wasn’t likely that I’d scare another one.
And one of the sisters just said this:“that’s the other part of being a temple square missionary, we judge wedding dresses.”Because we see so many wedding dresses here. Sometimes that’s a subject of conversation when things are slow, “What do you want your wedding dress to look like?” “Would you take wedding pictures before or after the actual wedding?” “Have the wedding reception the night before, or after?” etc. It’s kind of funny.
Something else that was somewhat funny is that when I was on exchanges with sister Shugart, she asked me what I had learned from Sister Cox so far, I answered by making an animal noise. Sister Cox tends to make animal noises at random times, especially when she’s stressed or annoyed at something. After I gave that answer I gave her a real one, and that was to always be working/moving, etc.
It’s kind of funny, I’ve lost track of the last time I got a physical letter from someone… I take that back, I think it was when dad and sister Senator sent me cards for my birthday. I think it’s funny the different reactions sisters give depending on if they get letters or not. Some sisters get a lot of mail, some don’t. Some who do get mail, don’t want it because it distracts them, while others complain that they never get anything. I think that mainly the new sisters get most of the mail, especially so they are less likely to get homesick, then it kind of pitters off after a few transfers.
Speaking of transfers, earlier today I almost called a Quarter or a Semester a Transfer, because we were talking about school. Twas kind of interesting.
It was really great talking to everyone on Sunday! I was excited to hear from everyone and get a small update by voice rather than email. I’m glad that everyone’s alive and kicking!
And my zone leaders are goofs. I love them to bits, and to some extent because they remind me of sisters. They tease each other and have wrestling fights, and sometimes even food fights (they have photo evidence… oatmeal in hair is rather messy.) They work so well together, and I’m not sure if it’s because of their playing around, or in spite of it…
Any ways, loves ya alls!
Be happy n all that!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
June 20 2009 P-day take two
Whoooohooo!!! Okay, this transfer has been crazyyy so far. The weather here has just been adding to it. I’m not complaining one bit, I love the rain and cooler weather, but I know it’s not really normal…
But first off, Stephen, I’m SO sorry that I forgot to send you something for your birthday! I remembered the day before… which wasn’t p-day, so I couldn’t send you anything! So Here’s a Belated Birthday Hug via the Internet!
Elisabeth, it’s so good to hear from you! I’m glad that you’re able to be in Texas now and somewhat settled, and that the kids are able to adjust to the different things that are going on and all that! I’d still like some pictures, particularly ones that are snail mailed to me, so I don’t have to be attached to a computer in order to see them :D
That goes for the rest of the family! I’d love to get more pictures :D
Mom mentioned that it’s my 4 month anniversary, on Stephen’s B-day, and it’s kind of funny, because today when I was exercising with some of the other sisters, we were trying to figure out how long I’d been out in months, because I’m starting to think of time in terms of Transfers, which is kind of funny. My companion, sister Cox mentioned this morning as well that mission life is starting to feel normal (She’s just a transfer ahead of me.) So it’s been fun adjusting to things and just getting into it.
And as for the figuring out when I’m calling, Chances are I’ll be calling around 5:30 my time, but it may be 6 or 6:30 depending on the other sisters who are on the same phone line, I haven’t had a chance to talk with any of them but my companion and roommates, and there are 3 other rooms full of 4 sisters that are attached to the same phone line… but yeah, sisters who are calling to another country can just call from the Referral Center.
Amy, I think my companion, sister Cox knows how you feel. I think I mentioned last time that she’s a district leader, and currently, there are only solo district leaders, so I can’t help her much, so she’s a bit stressed, but she’s not able to talk to me about it since she’s the district leader, and I’m not. She’s doing a really good job though, and making sure that all the sisters are doing well.
We just had a Zone meeting this morning, and as always it was fun. Our zone leaders, sisters Ward, and Krietzer are very creative. I kind of feel sorry for the sisters who will be zone leaders next transfer, since both are at the end of their missions. Today we went to some grass that’s between where most of the sisters live, and had breakfast in a picnic like fashion, then had some ‘games’ My group first had a fast companionship study, and we were given points depending on how good it was going, then we were asked some random questions about our companions (since it was ran by the district and zone leaders, I was in a tri-companionship, and didn’t know the other two sisters very well, so we asked each other questions just before we got to this part)Then we had a three legged race (in our case, 4) The three of us were saying together, “One two one two …” etc until we got up the hill, then we had to feed each other pudding, and paint one of the sister’s toe nails, before giving one of the sisters a piggy back ride back down the hill. It was quite an experience. Then we had to choose an item and bridge from it to the gospel and the restoration. We got some Ibuprophen, and so talked about how Christ takes away our pains and afflictions, etc. It was a lot of fun.
Then later, sister Cox and I had a huge tour. Normally Gate tours (tours that we take from either the West or North Gate) are just a few people, but we had 17-22 people on our tour. It fluctuated because people would join us, then they’d leave, but it was the best tour that we’d taken together so far, and I’m really excited for the rest of the transfer.
I told Amy that I’d tell her a little bit about my birthday. It was a lot of fun, and I’ll be sending pictures soon enough.In the morning the first thing out of my companion’s mouth was, “Happy Birthday” and she did a lot of things for me. We all went to the Oquirrh mountain Temple Open house, and walked through. It was my first time through a temple like that before and it was fun.
After we got back, I got a page in the middle of making lunch, and was the only one available to take an ASL tour at the Beehive house. It was my first one, and they were all very sweet. It was to couples, and they loved the tour and would have referred had they not already done so on temple square.
The day before I talked with the Doctor that volunteers for us, and figured out what I needed to cut out of my diet so I can get rid of some weight, so I didn’t have many sweets on my birthday.
As I went through the day, a lot of people wished me happy birthday, and I was sung to at least 5 times, and people left things in my mail box, and I was wearing the green shirt that mom and Amy sent to me.I got several cards, etc, from sisters who were on the square, etc. Then that night, when we got home, sister Cox said, “Oh, we’re going to sister Shugart’s apartment at 9, just so you know.” I didn’t think anything of it, because I thought it had something to do with district stuff. I only got slightly suspicious, when she said some sisters who were visiting me could come with us.
The door opened to the apartment that I had moved out of, and sister Shugart had moved into, and was surprised by no less than about 25-50 sisters, who all hollered, “Happy Birthday!” and started singing to me.
My companion had gone behind my back and planned it with the sisters at Mission Services (which is where we call to when we don’t have anything to do and see where we’re needed) and so on. It was a lot of fun!
Any way, must go! Love you all LOTS and LOTS!
Talk to you tomorrow!
HUG!Byes!
But first off, Stephen, I’m SO sorry that I forgot to send you something for your birthday! I remembered the day before… which wasn’t p-day, so I couldn’t send you anything! So Here’s a Belated Birthday Hug via the Internet!
Elisabeth, it’s so good to hear from you! I’m glad that you’re able to be in Texas now and somewhat settled, and that the kids are able to adjust to the different things that are going on and all that! I’d still like some pictures, particularly ones that are snail mailed to me, so I don’t have to be attached to a computer in order to see them :D
That goes for the rest of the family! I’d love to get more pictures :D
Mom mentioned that it’s my 4 month anniversary, on Stephen’s B-day, and it’s kind of funny, because today when I was exercising with some of the other sisters, we were trying to figure out how long I’d been out in months, because I’m starting to think of time in terms of Transfers, which is kind of funny. My companion, sister Cox mentioned this morning as well that mission life is starting to feel normal (She’s just a transfer ahead of me.) So it’s been fun adjusting to things and just getting into it.
And as for the figuring out when I’m calling, Chances are I’ll be calling around 5:30 my time, but it may be 6 or 6:30 depending on the other sisters who are on the same phone line, I haven’t had a chance to talk with any of them but my companion and roommates, and there are 3 other rooms full of 4 sisters that are attached to the same phone line… but yeah, sisters who are calling to another country can just call from the Referral Center.
Amy, I think my companion, sister Cox knows how you feel. I think I mentioned last time that she’s a district leader, and currently, there are only solo district leaders, so I can’t help her much, so she’s a bit stressed, but she’s not able to talk to me about it since she’s the district leader, and I’m not. She’s doing a really good job though, and making sure that all the sisters are doing well.
We just had a Zone meeting this morning, and as always it was fun. Our zone leaders, sisters Ward, and Krietzer are very creative. I kind of feel sorry for the sisters who will be zone leaders next transfer, since both are at the end of their missions. Today we went to some grass that’s between where most of the sisters live, and had breakfast in a picnic like fashion, then had some ‘games’ My group first had a fast companionship study, and we were given points depending on how good it was going, then we were asked some random questions about our companions (since it was ran by the district and zone leaders, I was in a tri-companionship, and didn’t know the other two sisters very well, so we asked each other questions just before we got to this part)Then we had a three legged race (in our case, 4) The three of us were saying together, “One two one two …” etc until we got up the hill, then we had to feed each other pudding, and paint one of the sister’s toe nails, before giving one of the sisters a piggy back ride back down the hill. It was quite an experience. Then we had to choose an item and bridge from it to the gospel and the restoration. We got some Ibuprophen, and so talked about how Christ takes away our pains and afflictions, etc. It was a lot of fun.
Then later, sister Cox and I had a huge tour. Normally Gate tours (tours that we take from either the West or North Gate) are just a few people, but we had 17-22 people on our tour. It fluctuated because people would join us, then they’d leave, but it was the best tour that we’d taken together so far, and I’m really excited for the rest of the transfer.
I told Amy that I’d tell her a little bit about my birthday. It was a lot of fun, and I’ll be sending pictures soon enough.In the morning the first thing out of my companion’s mouth was, “Happy Birthday” and she did a lot of things for me. We all went to the Oquirrh mountain Temple Open house, and walked through. It was my first time through a temple like that before and it was fun.
After we got back, I got a page in the middle of making lunch, and was the only one available to take an ASL tour at the Beehive house. It was my first one, and they were all very sweet. It was to couples, and they loved the tour and would have referred had they not already done so on temple square.
The day before I talked with the Doctor that volunteers for us, and figured out what I needed to cut out of my diet so I can get rid of some weight, so I didn’t have many sweets on my birthday.
As I went through the day, a lot of people wished me happy birthday, and I was sung to at least 5 times, and people left things in my mail box, and I was wearing the green shirt that mom and Amy sent to me.I got several cards, etc, from sisters who were on the square, etc. Then that night, when we got home, sister Cox said, “Oh, we’re going to sister Shugart’s apartment at 9, just so you know.” I didn’t think anything of it, because I thought it had something to do with district stuff. I only got slightly suspicious, when she said some sisters who were visiting me could come with us.
The door opened to the apartment that I had moved out of, and sister Shugart had moved into, and was surprised by no less than about 25-50 sisters, who all hollered, “Happy Birthday!” and started singing to me.
My companion had gone behind my back and planned it with the sisters at Mission Services (which is where we call to when we don’t have anything to do and see where we’re needed) and so on. It was a lot of fun!
Any way, must go! Love you all LOTS and LOTS!
Talk to you tomorrow!
HUG!Byes!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
June 16th Transfer #3
Crazy how time is flying!
As you can tell, my p-day is still on Saturday! Which means I'm in the same zone, Extended. But guess what? I'm still in the same District! Family Search. And guess who my companion is? The District Leader! So I'm kind of the unofficial official District Leader Helper person.
I'm with Sister Cox, Who is also from Southern California (oh the irony. Heavenly father has a sense of humor. But she also has lived most of her life in New Mexico, so she's claiming that place this transfer)She's a pitite blondeish young woman. It's been fun to get to know her. I've seen her around, but I never knew her very well. That's something I've loved so far, I've been able to be friends with some sisters even though they're not my companions, and then when I have companions, I don't really have any set expectations of them, because i know sometimes when we get to be with our really good friends, things don't always turn out the way we plan, so I'm glad I get to find out about my new companions the way I do. :) At least I'm able to know what she looks like before I knew she was my companion, unlike it was with sister Salazar.So Sister Salazar is Training! She didn't want to but I had the feeling that she would. Her Trainee is from... Samoa? someplace like that. It's been so much fun seeing the new sisters and remembering that I had that look of 'Where am I? What am I doing here?' on my face when I first arrived. It has been fun.
I don't know if I mentioned in any of my letters that there was a sister Carlisle and Martin that looked a lot alike especially since they were both new. Sister Martin went home early, and this transfer another sister Martin came. It was kind of funny, and neat at the same time.
Shoot, I was going to bring my old planner... oh well.
So On Thursday I went on Exchanges with a sister from Hawaii, because her companion and my companion are both district leaders and they had to go to training. As they were at training, we were at Family Search. Since Sister Levai is newish, she had never been to Family Search, so I was showing her around, and as we worked together we started seeing so many miracles.Now something you have to know about sister Levai, when she smiles, it’s not just her face that smiles, everything about her smiles. She’s very expressive. One of the things I mentioned to her is that when she smiles at someone, she makes them feel like they’re a child of God. She is also very enthusiastic, so the combination of me knowing a bit more about Family Search, and her enthusiasm for everything made it so we were able to help people in ways that I’d not helped them before. We had at least 3 people refer their friends to receive a DVD, etc, and possibly the missionaries. One couple in particular comes to mind. Sister Levai was engaging them in conversation and I was just off to the side, somewhat listening. They included me in the conversation, and as we talked, the woman spoke about her mother who wasn’t against the church, but her mother didn’t really agree with her daughter joining it. She (the mother) already has basically every movie, and book, we offer, but as we were talking a new movie came to mind, Finding Happiness, it’s one that is brand new and pretty neat, really short. So IMentioned that to her(the daughter), and she responded something like, “You know what, that’s probably just what they need, my father has been out of work for a while and they need that.”It’s wonderful how the spirit works.
So You might have noticed I haven’t talked much about my experiences with sister Cox. That’s because even though we’re companions, we haven’t done much together since she is the district leader. It’s kind of funny, but we get along well. She also likes Harry Potter, so on the first night, when she found out that I liked the books, etc, she enthusiastically suggested, “We should have a Harry Potter moment every day!” in addition to our “Faith Thoughts” that we decided to have daily. Hehe. So it’s been fun.
One of my zone leaders is the same as last transfer, but the other is new… kind of. She was a district leader last transfer, in this zone, just not my district leader. So today we had our Zone Meeting, and last transfer, they had a demonstration where sister Ward shoved cake in the faces of some of the sisters to demonstrate a point, that we need to present things in a way that people want to have them. Today, they did a demonstration of how we need to have Balance in everything we do by putting WAY too much salt into some brownies they gave to us. One of the sisters noticed that you could actually see the salt crystals it was so salty. So they’re good at giving memorable demonstrations.
We also had District meeting, and that was excellent. Sister Cox is going to be an excellent District Leader.
I LOVE you all!
Be happy and so on and so forth!
As you can tell, my p-day is still on Saturday! Which means I'm in the same zone, Extended. But guess what? I'm still in the same District! Family Search. And guess who my companion is? The District Leader! So I'm kind of the unofficial official District Leader Helper person.
I'm with Sister Cox, Who is also from Southern California (oh the irony. Heavenly father has a sense of humor. But she also has lived most of her life in New Mexico, so she's claiming that place this transfer)She's a pitite blondeish young woman. It's been fun to get to know her. I've seen her around, but I never knew her very well. That's something I've loved so far, I've been able to be friends with some sisters even though they're not my companions, and then when I have companions, I don't really have any set expectations of them, because i know sometimes when we get to be with our really good friends, things don't always turn out the way we plan, so I'm glad I get to find out about my new companions the way I do. :) At least I'm able to know what she looks like before I knew she was my companion, unlike it was with sister Salazar.So Sister Salazar is Training! She didn't want to but I had the feeling that she would. Her Trainee is from... Samoa? someplace like that. It's been so much fun seeing the new sisters and remembering that I had that look of 'Where am I? What am I doing here?' on my face when I first arrived. It has been fun.
I don't know if I mentioned in any of my letters that there was a sister Carlisle and Martin that looked a lot alike especially since they were both new. Sister Martin went home early, and this transfer another sister Martin came. It was kind of funny, and neat at the same time.
Shoot, I was going to bring my old planner... oh well.
So On Thursday I went on Exchanges with a sister from Hawaii, because her companion and my companion are both district leaders and they had to go to training. As they were at training, we were at Family Search. Since Sister Levai is newish, she had never been to Family Search, so I was showing her around, and as we worked together we started seeing so many miracles.Now something you have to know about sister Levai, when she smiles, it’s not just her face that smiles, everything about her smiles. She’s very expressive. One of the things I mentioned to her is that when she smiles at someone, she makes them feel like they’re a child of God. She is also very enthusiastic, so the combination of me knowing a bit more about Family Search, and her enthusiasm for everything made it so we were able to help people in ways that I’d not helped them before. We had at least 3 people refer their friends to receive a DVD, etc, and possibly the missionaries. One couple in particular comes to mind. Sister Levai was engaging them in conversation and I was just off to the side, somewhat listening. They included me in the conversation, and as we talked, the woman spoke about her mother who wasn’t against the church, but her mother didn’t really agree with her daughter joining it. She (the mother) already has basically every movie, and book, we offer, but as we were talking a new movie came to mind, Finding Happiness, it’s one that is brand new and pretty neat, really short. So IMentioned that to her(the daughter), and she responded something like, “You know what, that’s probably just what they need, my father has been out of work for a while and they need that.”It’s wonderful how the spirit works.
So You might have noticed I haven’t talked much about my experiences with sister Cox. That’s because even though we’re companions, we haven’t done much together since she is the district leader. It’s kind of funny, but we get along well. She also likes Harry Potter, so on the first night, when she found out that I liked the books, etc, she enthusiastically suggested, “We should have a Harry Potter moment every day!” in addition to our “Faith Thoughts” that we decided to have daily. Hehe. So it’s been fun.
One of my zone leaders is the same as last transfer, but the other is new… kind of. She was a district leader last transfer, in this zone, just not my district leader. So today we had our Zone Meeting, and last transfer, they had a demonstration where sister Ward shoved cake in the faces of some of the sisters to demonstrate a point, that we need to present things in a way that people want to have them. Today, they did a demonstration of how we need to have Balance in everything we do by putting WAY too much salt into some brownies they gave to us. One of the sisters noticed that you could actually see the salt crystals it was so salty. So they’re good at giving memorable demonstrations.
We also had District meeting, and that was excellent. Sister Cox is going to be an excellent District Leader.
I LOVE you all!
Be happy and so on and so forth!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
June 6th Last P-Day of the 2nd
Dearest family!
Okay, this week has been a bit crazy (especially since it's the last pday of my second transfer), but that’s okay :DTransfers are this Wednesday, so next time I’ll be writing you, I’ll be with a different companion (more likely than not) and a different p-day(more likely than not) and hopefully a different apartment… >.> I’ve been in the same one for two transfers, and apparently that’s really weird.
So we cleaned a lot, because we have to have the apartments all spick and span for transfers so the sisters moving in can not be driven mad by our messes :P But it was fairly easy since our roommates are so diligent in cleaning in any case.
Today’s already been an amazing p-day. At 8 when we’d normally have personal study, we had a talent share, where a lot of sisters got up and played the piano/sang/guitar etc in the tabernacle. It was really neat, because we were all able to be in the tabernacle, just on our own, not having to worry about guests or anything, just us and it was really nice to have that time. I could feel the spirit so strongly when some sisters sang certain songs. One sister in particular wrote a song before her mission which she sang for us and played on the guitar. It was amazing to see the talent that the lord gives each and every one of us
After that, my zone went to the main apartment where most of us live and gathered together for our Zone meeting. We then walked swiftly to a Karl Block art gallery, where we’d had our zone conference, and if you’ve ever heard the story of the Seminary teacher who asked one of his students to do 10 pushups for each of h is classmates to have doughnuts… yeah, that was our zone meeting. One of our Zone leaders was the one doing pushups (and for those of you who think that we have Elders for zone leaders, we don’t. Zone, and district leaders and APs are all girls) The other zone leader was the one who went to each sister and asked if they wanted a doughnut. Only one sister said she didn’t, and she was at the beginning. I think the others said they wanted one because of her, because they knew the sister doing the pushups would have to do them any way even if they didn’t accept. It was amazing to see how much love we all had for her, even before this thing. She, and we, were all crying by the end of it. Then we had a testimony meeting type thing. So my eyes are kind of dry right now.
So from last week:
Deaf Ward experience:
I can’t believe it’s June already. I’m going to be 22 soon O.oSo… I’ve been to two different deaf wards, and it’s pretty neat. One (the first week) was good, but I felt a bit rusty, and it was hard to focus on what everyone was saying all at once. The second one (last week) I had a bit of a cold, so it was hard to pay attention at times, but we had a voice interpreter for all the meetings, so I could close my eyes when I needed to, so I had a good time at both, but enjoyed the second one a bit better for some odd reason. :DWe’re inviting all different languages to come to temple square and use the resources that we have, so hopefully we’ll have a lot of ASL tours coming up. :D
The guy who possibly knew the teacher at the Deaf ward:So after the first deaf ward, where we went to class for about 15 minutes, the teacher of the class was from Ireland, and I met a guy the next day who’d gone on his mission to Ireland, a sign language mission, so that was really cool :D I couldn’t remember the teacher’s name so I couldn’t let the man know and see if he’d known him.
Thanking amy for the Talk she sent:A LOT of sisters love that talk. One sister in particular was reading it and she was trying not to cry because she felt that it was talking to her directly (the talk was “Making Right Choices”)
Sister Stephen's friend:So sister Stephen gave me a friend to call a while ago, and I didn’t call her for a long time, then just last week, I called her, and invited her to have the missionaries and she accepted. She’s going to have the lessons at Sis. Stephen’s home. It was kind of cool, because had I called her friend before, she probably wouldn’t have accepted, but because of all the things that had happened right before I called, she wanted to learn more.
Elder of the 70 and Family SearchSo I ran into my first (well first that I realized) incognito member of the 70. He was looking at a family chart with his wife and a couple other people. The other people wandered away and I told him and his wife a bit about the chart, etc, and then I shook his hand and introduced myself, he introduced himself as elder something of the 70, and that was not something that I was expecting, so I’m sure I had a look of shock on my face. His wife took pity on me and change t he subject. Afterwords, the other sisters asked if I had asked him for referrals. I was thinking that asking one of them was not allowed, but apparently it’s encouraged if they engage you in a conversation. My companion told me that she got a few referrals from Richard G Scott after I told her about my experience.
Sacrificing dinnersSis. Salazar and I were just on our way home for dinner (at about 8) one night when we walked past a couple taking a picture. We offered to take it for them so they could both be in one, and they agreed. That sparked a conversation, and we talked for quite some time, so long that it was time for us to go home for the night, just before 9. They didn’t ask for more information, but we invited them.The next night, just after we’d waited for a Spanish tour and didn’t get one, we were about to do something else before we went to dinner. We saw them on our way into the Assembly hall, and invited them in so we could talk about it. We did, and my conversation with the wife somehow got to family, and so on, and different things, and a thought popped into my mind, “Together Forever” which is one of the videos we offer. She accepted it, and the missionaries coming over. We then realized that we had 10-20 minutes to eat dinner before our next assignment, but our sacrifices yielded blessings.
Summer time/motorcoachI had my first motorcoach, which is a bunch of people coming to have a tour as part of a larger tour that they have going through the state of UT. It can be basically any one from anywhere, and the two I’ve had so far both had people who spoke Chinese as the main group. The first was a group of people with the tour who spoke English, so we gave them a tour in English. The second, sis. Salazar and I were just contacting (or in my case, herding so they didn’t get left behind because they were taking too many pictures) while one of the other sisters gave them the actual tour in Manderine.
So, life is good, and so is food :D YAY food!
LOVE YA ALL!!!!
~Sister of the Durtschi of the Sarah sort
Okay, this week has been a bit crazy (especially since it's the last pday of my second transfer), but that’s okay :DTransfers are this Wednesday, so next time I’ll be writing you, I’ll be with a different companion (more likely than not) and a different p-day(more likely than not) and hopefully a different apartment… >.> I’ve been in the same one for two transfers, and apparently that’s really weird.
So we cleaned a lot, because we have to have the apartments all spick and span for transfers so the sisters moving in can not be driven mad by our messes :P But it was fairly easy since our roommates are so diligent in cleaning in any case.
Today’s already been an amazing p-day. At 8 when we’d normally have personal study, we had a talent share, where a lot of sisters got up and played the piano/sang/guitar etc in the tabernacle. It was really neat, because we were all able to be in the tabernacle, just on our own, not having to worry about guests or anything, just us and it was really nice to have that time. I could feel the spirit so strongly when some sisters sang certain songs. One sister in particular wrote a song before her mission which she sang for us and played on the guitar. It was amazing to see the talent that the lord gives each and every one of us
After that, my zone went to the main apartment where most of us live and gathered together for our Zone meeting. We then walked swiftly to a Karl Block art gallery, where we’d had our zone conference, and if you’ve ever heard the story of the Seminary teacher who asked one of his students to do 10 pushups for each of h is classmates to have doughnuts… yeah, that was our zone meeting. One of our Zone leaders was the one doing pushups (and for those of you who think that we have Elders for zone leaders, we don’t. Zone, and district leaders and APs are all girls) The other zone leader was the one who went to each sister and asked if they wanted a doughnut. Only one sister said she didn’t, and she was at the beginning. I think the others said they wanted one because of her, because they knew the sister doing the pushups would have to do them any way even if they didn’t accept. It was amazing to see how much love we all had for her, even before this thing. She, and we, were all crying by the end of it. Then we had a testimony meeting type thing. So my eyes are kind of dry right now.
So from last week:
Deaf Ward experience:
I can’t believe it’s June already. I’m going to be 22 soon O.oSo… I’ve been to two different deaf wards, and it’s pretty neat. One (the first week) was good, but I felt a bit rusty, and it was hard to focus on what everyone was saying all at once. The second one (last week) I had a bit of a cold, so it was hard to pay attention at times, but we had a voice interpreter for all the meetings, so I could close my eyes when I needed to, so I had a good time at both, but enjoyed the second one a bit better for some odd reason. :DWe’re inviting all different languages to come to temple square and use the resources that we have, so hopefully we’ll have a lot of ASL tours coming up. :D
The guy who possibly knew the teacher at the Deaf ward:So after the first deaf ward, where we went to class for about 15 minutes, the teacher of the class was from Ireland, and I met a guy the next day who’d gone on his mission to Ireland, a sign language mission, so that was really cool :D I couldn’t remember the teacher’s name so I couldn’t let the man know and see if he’d known him.
Thanking amy for the Talk she sent:A LOT of sisters love that talk. One sister in particular was reading it and she was trying not to cry because she felt that it was talking to her directly (the talk was “Making Right Choices”)
Sister Stephen's friend:So sister Stephen gave me a friend to call a while ago, and I didn’t call her for a long time, then just last week, I called her, and invited her to have the missionaries and she accepted. She’s going to have the lessons at Sis. Stephen’s home. It was kind of cool, because had I called her friend before, she probably wouldn’t have accepted, but because of all the things that had happened right before I called, she wanted to learn more.
Elder of the 70 and Family SearchSo I ran into my first (well first that I realized) incognito member of the 70. He was looking at a family chart with his wife and a couple other people. The other people wandered away and I told him and his wife a bit about the chart, etc, and then I shook his hand and introduced myself, he introduced himself as elder something of the 70, and that was not something that I was expecting, so I’m sure I had a look of shock on my face. His wife took pity on me and change t he subject. Afterwords, the other sisters asked if I had asked him for referrals. I was thinking that asking one of them was not allowed, but apparently it’s encouraged if they engage you in a conversation. My companion told me that she got a few referrals from Richard G Scott after I told her about my experience.
Sacrificing dinnersSis. Salazar and I were just on our way home for dinner (at about 8) one night when we walked past a couple taking a picture. We offered to take it for them so they could both be in one, and they agreed. That sparked a conversation, and we talked for quite some time, so long that it was time for us to go home for the night, just before 9. They didn’t ask for more information, but we invited them.The next night, just after we’d waited for a Spanish tour and didn’t get one, we were about to do something else before we went to dinner. We saw them on our way into the Assembly hall, and invited them in so we could talk about it. We did, and my conversation with the wife somehow got to family, and so on, and different things, and a thought popped into my mind, “Together Forever” which is one of the videos we offer. She accepted it, and the missionaries coming over. We then realized that we had 10-20 minutes to eat dinner before our next assignment, but our sacrifices yielded blessings.
Summer time/motorcoachI had my first motorcoach, which is a bunch of people coming to have a tour as part of a larger tour that they have going through the state of UT. It can be basically any one from anywhere, and the two I’ve had so far both had people who spoke Chinese as the main group. The first was a group of people with the tour who spoke English, so we gave them a tour in English. The second, sis. Salazar and I were just contacting (or in my case, herding so they didn’t get left behind because they were taking too many pictures) while one of the other sisters gave them the actual tour in Manderine.
So, life is good, and so is food :D YAY food!
LOVE YA ALL!!!!
~Sister of the Durtschi of the Sarah sort
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)