November 24, 2014

The Lord can and will strengthen you! Being on a mission is the hardest thing that I have ever had to do, but it is so rewarding and there have been so many times that I have been able to see the Lord strengthening me and helping me through it.

The mission tour was really awesome and all the leaders in the mission got to meet with another member of the 70 this weekend. They talked a lot about the new "He is the Gift" initiative. It sounds like a pumped up version of what they did for Easter with the "Because of Him" video. They are taking it to an all new level with a lot more promotions and stuff. We haven't heard a ton about it but we will this week! And it should be really great. I am excited for it!

This week we had a really amazing week. We had 2 of our investigations come to church, Janet and Ashley. They are mother and daughter and they both are progressing so much! They are both so amazing! They have both had a pretty tough life and they are so accepting of the gospel and its teachings. We were a little nervous because they both had said that the Church Services were a make it or break it experience but they loved church! They both studied with a lot of other churches and have tried out a lot of different religions but they said that this is the one that they like the best and feels the best that they have tried. And they are praying about the Book of Mormon and reading it! So amazing!

We had made a goal to meet everyone on the ward roster by the time I leave and meet all the less-actives in the ward. So we are in a ward but it feels like a branch. There are about 200 families in the ward but there are usually 30-50 people in sacrament meeting. So needless to say there are a lot of less-actives in this ward. But that has been going really well. We have been able to meet a lot of new people and find out who actually lives there still.

This week should be interesting with Thanksgiving. Have a great day!!

Love you! Happy Thanksgiving!

November 17, 2014

This week was really amazing. We had a mission tour and Elder Brent Nielsen and his wife came to speak to us. We went to Lincoln for the conference and it was amazing. For the first hour, the sisters had a special meeting with Sister Nielsen and I even got to sit by her. It's crazy how general authorities are like celebrities. We just had a really nice informal meeting in the Relief Society room. She talked to us being kind to ourselves,doing all that we can and letting the Lord take care of the rest. They were serving in the Philippines when the tsunami hit about a year ago and she told us some really amazing stories of some sisters there. We then had the conference with all the missionaries and it was so great! Elder Nielsen talked about the redeeming power of the Atonement and the enabling power of the Atonement and how we can teach our investigators and less-actives about the atonement and help them to use it. Sister Nielsen spoke again about being yourself and how we can help others with the unique talents we all have. It was about a 6 hour long conference but the last 1 1/2 hours were just open questions to Elder Nielsen. It was really amazing and really just what I needed! So so good! I was able to see Sister Harris, who I served with in Red Oak, and Sister Wagher, who I trained in Plattsmouth, there too. It was a great chance to see them! And then after the conference, we all hung out for like an hour taking pictures and the Nielsen's just hung out with us. It was seriously such a cool day!

This week winter hit! We had an Arctic cool and it has been freezing. We have had a couple snow storms and the high this week was high 20's with the wind. I did not miss Nebraska winters! Mostly just the cold cold wind! And boy did it make me grateful for the car full time!

Other than that, we were able to have some great lessons with investigators. We have some really amazing investigators! Two are set for baptism in December, Janet and her daughter Ashley. Our other investigators are really progressing. CJ and Mike are just so open and love the Gospel. They don't have a date yet. They would have to get married first. But they did come to church with their friend that we had met and gave a Book of Mormon to the night before!

Love you all and can't wait to see you!!!

November 10, 2014

Hey,

This week has been a little bit of a roller-coaster, but a good roller-coaster. I am pretty sure Sister Allen has gotten really tired of my phrase: "It's just so different. Everything is just so different here." And it literally is. Like you said, I have kind of been living under a rock! But it's a good change. I am so used to doing missionary work in such small towns. It's so crazy and so weird trying to get used to everything but knowing that it will only be for one transfer. I have really been trying to get to know the area and to get to know the members and such. But knowing that I won't be here for very long at all. It's just really weird but I do love it.

I got to know a lot of the members this last week. They had stake conference last week and they broadcasted it to all the surrounding buildings, which should tell you how big the stake is. So I didn't really get to know a lot of people last week. Also it was really nice. We just got a new ward mission leader. But we had a couple meetings with him and the stake president came up and had a meeting with all of us and it really got everyone really pumped up to do missionary work here!

I have really enjoyed the stores and the food opportunities this week. So nice!

It is also really nice to have like 95% of the ward live in the same city and not have to plan days to try to see every one that lives in the same town.

Big news: we did get a car of our own. It's a sweet van! Haha it was sad though because they took out the Spanish sisters that were in Grand Island and that's who we were in a car share with. So now we have it all to ourselves.

Also the Guerreros are now gone to Arizona for 3 months. But I was really glad to get to have them for the short time that I did. They are so sweet and funny. We are still staying at the house though, which is super nice. We live in an add-on, so there is a door that separates our house from theirs. But we are free to go and use the kitchen (it's a lot bigger than ours) and stuff. It's really nice.

We spent a lot of time this week helping at a member's house. She is going through a really rough time so we have been helping her. But her kids and I really hit it off. They are the cutest things in the world. She has an 11 year old and a 3 and 2 year old and they are my favorites!

Thanks, love you guys!

November 3, 2014

Hey!

As for Halloween, I was actually transferred that day and we mostly just traveled planned and unpacked. Usually the ward will have a Halloween party, but I missed it. Shenandoah's ward party was the day after I got transferred and I think this ward's party already happened.

So, I am now in Grand Island Nebraska. It is about the middle of Nebraska. It is a 100% change from anything that I have ever done as a missionary. It is one of the 4 largest cities in Nebraska and there is so much here and I literally feel like I have been living under a rock for like my whole mission, thus far being out in the country and in small towns. We pretty much cover just the city. I guess the ward boundaries do go pretty far out but we don't really go out because there are very few members that live that far out. There are a ton of missionaries here! In Grand Island, there are 2 wards and a Spanish branch and there are sisters and Elders for each ward/branch. And the Kearny Stake is, I think, the largest stake in the continental US. It covers pretty much everything west of Omaha, so it's crazy big. I am with Sister Allen. She is from St. George, my first Utah companion!

This week was super crazy with transfers and all most of the week had to do with transfers. When I was still in Shenandoah, we went to departing testimonies where they have all the missionaries that are leaving bear their testimonies and invite certain people to go hear them. And we went with Michelle and the Dahls. There were a few sisters going home that had served in Red Oak and I knew all of the other sisters that were leaving. It was amazing and so spiritual. It really helped her testimony I think.

Then we found out about transfers and I frantically packed and said goodbyes to everyone in Shenandoah on Thursday.

Friday was the actual transfer and it took a while to get here. Grand Island is about 2 1/2 hours away from Omaha, so I got to go on the van to take me out here. And I pretty much just unpacked and we planned on Saturday and Sunday. I have just been meeting a lot of people haha. We are in a car share, so we share a car with the Spanish sisters in Grand Island and have the car for 3 to 4 days a week and walk the other days. It is just totally different. I feel like I am like learning to be a missionary again haha. We live with members, the Guerrereos. He is Mexican and she is American. They are in their 80's and so funny. We live in an addition to their house and they are the sweetest people ever. But they are leaving next week for Arizona for the winter. 

So my new address is:

1038 1/2 South Vine

Grand Island, NE 68801

Love you guys!