December 23, 2013

This week's email! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Hey! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I am doing pretty good! Sister Bynum is doing much better and is adjusting better this week! 

Well this week has been pretty interesting with everyone getting ready for the holidays. People seem to be nicer during this season but they are so busy that they really don't have much time to talk to us.

We had a big Christmas zone conference on Thursday and it was really amazing and so much fun! The subject was the Atonement and President Weston had a really cool talk and a video that was really amazing. The trainings were all excellent and then we had a huge party, where every district did a song or a skit. Even the AP's got in on it and each sang a song. And then we did a big white elephant exchange and had to relate what we got to the Gospel. A sister serving in this mission and her family had knitted slippers for all the sisters and we each got a book of conversion stories from people in the mission (from missionaries and members living in the mission). It was so fun and really powerful!

We also had a lesson with Jenny that was really good! We just asked her basically why she is still doing this and what she is looking for. It was really just for us to know where she is at and for her to know what she wants out of us coming. She said that she doesn't really know what she is looking for, just more of a relationship with God, and just more than what she has now. I still have hope!

Thanks for everything! Love you guys and can't wait to see you!

UPDATE:

We Skyped with Sydnie on Christmas and it was wonderful to see how well she is doing! She is loving her mission so much and looks really happy and healthy.

December 16, 2013

Here's the latest from Sydnie! Enjoy!

Hey!

We do get to Skype [on Christmas Day]! I am excited! It's a little weird too though, but mostly exciting! We are going to go to a members house (the Orme's) and will be Skyping from there. Not sure on times or anything yet. I have been told that we will be able to call mom and dad Christmas Eve with more exact times. The family's house we are Skyping at has a son who is also on a mission and we are still trying to figure out exact times that we will all be able to Skype.  

It is so crazy that I have been out 6 months! The only crazy thing they do here is when you are 9 months out you take 'pregnant pictures'. It's really weird because you will have 9 months both ways, so I probably won't do that...

It's still a challenge to get to know Sister Bynum. She is very quiet, which is odd to me. Sometimes it seems like you have to pry stuff out of her, but only in lessons and Church. When it's just the two of us she can't stop talking. It's odd. We are working on it. I am trying to give her more opportunities and we talked a lot about if you don't know what to say, just bear your testimony or back up what your companion has said. I just have never had to deal with the problem of having a companion that is too quiet.

It was freezing last week but thankfully it is getting warmer here this week. Last week, we had to tract more than usual. President has challenged us to contact 10 new people every day and we haven't really been getting referrals, so that means that we get to tract. But we had a cool chance last week. In Plattsmouth they have a Christmas on Main celebration where they have carriage rides, hayrides, real reindeer, and all the shops are open and have food. And everyone dresses up in Victorian clothes. It was way fun. We didn't get to spend much time there because we were on exchanges, but it was pretty cool.

We had our ward Christmas party last weekend and this week we had the Relief Society Christmas party and 2 of the less actives we are working with came! We also had lessons with Jenny and Brian (the less-active's husband) and Jenny is still progressing at a snail's pace but still going. And he is ever interested in Joseph Smith. His family is pretty anti-Mormon, so he has some skewed ideas about Joseph Smith but is every interested in learning more about him.

Love you! Merry Christmas!

December 2, 2013: More Pictures

More gingerbread houses!

More gingerbread houses!

Sydnie and Sister Wagher

December 2, 2013

Hey!

Well I am still in Plattsmouth! I was so surprised! I am training again! Sister Wagher is follow up training. So she is helping train someone who has been out 6 weeks already. I am with Sister Bynum. She is from Oregon, still learning a lot about her though.

This week was really crazy with the holidays and transfers and everything. We have pretty much done everything this week! I got the chance to be in a tri-companionship for a day. There was a sister that is in the area next to us who was going to be companion-less until they went and did the rounds, picking up and dropping off missionaries to the outlying areas, so I was surprisingly put in charge of 2 missionaries, one being brand new. That was quite a day we literally were just waiting for the call to go and drop off our 'extra' missionary. Super crazy and stressful to have to take care of 3 people, not just you and your companion. But it was definitely gave me empathy for those that are in them [tri-companionships]. They seem fun, but it would definitely be difficult.

We did get to go to the trail center with an investigator. Sister Harris actually gave the tour and then we went and looked at the Gingerbread displays. They are so immaculate and super cool! And the investigator seemed to think the trail center was pretty cool too.

On Thanksgiving we found out about transfers, so I cleaned while Sister Wagher packed and then I helped her pack. Mostly she just needed help closing suitcases. Then we had our 2 Thanksgiving dinners. The one with the Stichts (the ward mission leader and his family) was really fun. There ended up being us, them, a friend who's husband was deployed, and all of their kids, about 8 kids. So needless to say it was very fun, noisy, and really just like any normal Thanksgiving dinner. They are really fantastic! We got to hang out with Sister Reveillac for a while that night and we actually watched Church Christmas videos to help her choose which one to play for the Relief Society's Christmas program. And then we helped her do a puzzle. It was nice just to have a couple hours to still be productive but to relax. So we had a crazy morning and relaxing evening. We helped a member of the ward move and were just really busy all week!

Thanks, love you guys!

PICTURES:

1. Sydnie, Sister Wagher, and Sister Bynum

2-4. Some of the cool Gingerbread displays.

5. The one Sydnie and Sister Wagher made

November 25, 2013

Hey! 

Sister Wagher is doing good! It's especially fun since we got snow last week! Boy was I wrong with the whole mid-December comment last week! It actually started off with freezing rain and then turned into snow later that day, very interesting and much different than Utah. The wind makes it a lot different too, especially since it rained first. So the roads were icy but then the snow came and the wind blew it everywhere and covered a lot of the ice and it is super patchy! The weather also makes it a lot more difficult as a missionary! You just have to totally change the way you work! We are making many more appointments (and praying they will actually be there for the appointments and still willing to listen) and we can't walk around and try to find people as easily as we did before. Just a lot of adjusting.
Jenny is still coming along still, investigating the Church, and reading the Book of Mormon. Transfers are this week! I honestly do think that I will be moved. I have been here a long time and I feel like I will be, but honestly you never know! It's weird because this week when thinking I might be leaving, it really just made me realize how much I love the people in this area so so much! It will be hard to leave whether it's this transfer or another.
We have been asked to do a lot more with the youth lately. The MTC night a couple weeks ago and then last week we were asked to come to Young Women's for the dinner they were having and to help talk about Personal Progress. I think it helps them realize how important these things are because they see a missionary that is barely 19 and just graduated high school. It makes things much more real. We also were asked to teach seminary this week. I am so glad that I had release time! Having it at 5:30 am is so early! And we had travel time so we really had to wake up at 4:30 am! But we were able to ride with a young woman in the ward, Sister Reveillac's granddaughter, but she is living with her dad who is less active and her step-mom who is not a member. Her step-mom drove so we were able to answer a lot of her questions about the Church, and she was able to see us in a different light than the 'scary missionaries that just want to dunk people'. Haha. 

Have a great Thanksgiving! Drive safe and have fun! Love you!