week 35: pray for moisture

Monday, June 27th, 2016

Hey.

My mind is blank about what happened this week but I'm sure good things happened. The monsoon season is starting a bit so it has been raining! And I am in ️. It's so funny because everyone prays for "moisture" here. Never in my life have I prayed for rain. So big news for the week is that we are switching houses with the elders on Wednesday  but their house is really nice so it will be okay. I will live. It's just a pain to move ya know?! Reason why we are moving is because a senior couple crashed their car in Show Low and need a car...SO the other sisters we live with will be on bike ha. But they will need our car for occasion which means we will be on bike for a bit. Yay. Ha. So yeah. Today we are driving to Show Low to give away their car and I have to drive them back. But oh well we get to go shopping! Lol who would have thought I would ever be excited to go to Ross and Walmart...#smalltownprobs

Anyways...

Monday we contacted some referrals. Woo. And then one of our appointments fell through. Sad. But we did see Jerry! He is a less-active and we had a great lesson about going to the temple, he didn't make any promises that he would go to church, but he came to church!!!! MIRACLE. We then had a lesson with the Nelson family (LA) & that went well. They are a really sweet family. We invited them to the primary activity on Wednesday and they came!!!

Tuesday we had a lesson for Bob (potential), he is the guy we are digging a trench for. We brought the Sheltons with us and taught him the first lesson. Yeah he was not receptive at all which was sad but you never know what seed you are planting. We then saw dave&haley, love them. They had Annalyse and Evelyn over so it was a party. We then taught Jarrett (LA 16 yr old). We taught him the plan of salvation and the spirit was so strong. I love teaching this lesson, even with all the big words. It has so much hope, especially since his dad has passed. We invited him to prepare for the priesthood and his response was so cute. He said he didn't think a guy like him could have it cause he makes a lot of mistakes. We are like the Atonement is real!! But he is just a really good kid. We then saw the Palmers, they are a part member family. Marty Armijo came with us and we had a little lesson outside their house. The wife didn't come out though. They seem really prepared and have said they have been looking for a church. Brian said that the LDS church was the only church that has helped them out when they were in need. The girl, Hope, wants to go to girls camp so we are hoping it all works out! We have been praying to find and teach families and we think this might be an answer to our prayer!

Wednesday we had district meeting & then went to Satires for lunch. We had a lesson with Donna and Wiley came! Wiley is a less-active so it was good to teach him. He is a really smart kid who wants to do the right thing. We then did family history with Tyric. The family history consultants were great and helped a lot. They gave him lots of homework to do haha. We then went to the primary activity for 3rd Ward and met more youth so that was good. We had a lesson with Gaylon and put him on date for August 6th! I love him lots. He was cute and was like let me put that on my calendar so I remember. I really like teaching him, he just seems so prepared and he gets everything. We then had a lesson with Daryl. He hasn't been going to church and taking the temple prep classes...but he wants to go in August! So that's his goal. And guess what?! He came to church on Sunday!! Miracle. I love that family. He gave us a "referral" to go see the lady across the street. But really he just wants to date her and for us to go check her out lol. She wasn't interested...

Thursday we saw Cyndie in the morning and we talked about her getting back to the temple. She really wants that for herself so we are going to help her to get there. We then had sisters conference in Show Low. It was good to see everyone! There aren't many sisters in the mountains so it is fun cause you can get close to everyone. We then had a lesson with Haylie. Her step mom came and wanted to be in the lesson a bit to find out more about what is expected of Haylie. Peggy (her step mom) sits down and looks me in the eye and is practically yelling "what is expected of you after baptism?". It was a little intimidating not gonna lie. I was just like let's start with a prayer. We shared a scripture about baptism and then she wanted to know like all the commandments. We told them both to look at the for strength of youth. Anyways it was good and I actually love Peggy lots. I was just praying so hard in that lesson. Haylie is awesome and wants to come to girls camp! :) she was at church on Sunday and is very solid. Jerry Nelson told us to go visit his neighbor so we did and it was uncomfortable because he wasn't wearing a shirt and we don't know if he was wearing pants. But he come to the window in the door and is like "I am about to get to the shower," always he says he isn't interested. Joys of being a missionary.

Friday was w e e k l y p l a n n i n g. Ha best day of the week right?! We had a lesson with a potential named Lisa but she forgot, we had Sister Ciminski with us so she let us in for a bit and we just got to know her. She says she is looking for spiritual guidance. She seems pretty solid! We had a lesson with the Bigalows and taught them the restoration. Their son Trinity wants to get baptized but he doesn't know much since they are returning less active. He is very cute. They were all at church on Sunday!

Saturday we went to Bob's and tried to finish the trench...oh my gosh it was a fail cause there are these huge tree roots in the way. Basically we have to come back but we are planning on bringing lots of men! We helped clean this old lady's house in our Ward. All I can say is spider webs and flies. Service projects are the best...we then had a Ward bbq for 1st Ward. It was way fun and so gorgeous. We went to the middle of no where and it was so green. Lots of people came so it was a good turn out. We saw the Armijos and had his lesson on why church was so important and they were like yes we will come to church. And no they didn't. I'm not surprised though cause they always do that. But it's just sad to see. They are missing so many blessings! They got a really cute puppy though.

Sunday was good cause church. Dave jr had his interview with bishop and he got sustained to get the priesthood!! Yeah Dave! We went to contact lots of people so that's good. We went to a concert thing, I don't even know what it was. These three girls from Utah came down and did a fireside and sang church songs. Two of our investigators came so that's good! We then went to see this house, I couldn't remember anything about them but Sister Peterson and I went to try to see them. We were by their house so we decided to go see them. They opened the door and were so nice and let us in. I figured they were less-actives or PMF. Anyways we share a message and I asked if they pray. They said they went to some other church haha awk. No idea they weren't members but they said we can come back, who knows I guess anything could happen. We went to Rachelle's (former) and brought her cookies cause she had her baby! It's a girl. We then had a meeting with Bishop Phelps which was good!

Anyways life is good and is always crazy as a missionary. There are no time for breaks. But the busiest people are the happiest! I truly am so grateful for this gospel and for the happiness and peace it brings into my life. The gospel of Jesus Christ does bless people. I finished the Book of Mormon today. I can't tell you how much that book has changed my life. I will be forever grateful for it.

I read the talk this week called "like a broken vessel" by elder holland. A Mormon message just came out about it and it is really good. My favorite quote from the talk is " we are infinitely more than our limitations or our afflictions" sooo true. We are given stuggles and weaknesses for our gain. It's so hard to see it but it's so true. It's hard to see our full potential but God does know what we can become so just trust him :)

I love being a missionary& I love you all 

Xoxo

Sista fisha

From MLC on my birthday

Sisters conference

Rain in Eagar

John Wayne

Donna!

week 34: instruments in the hands of God

Monday, June 20th, 2016

HELLO. what a crazy week it has been. It's been great though. Never a dull moment on the mission. Here is a recap:

Monday Sister Allen, Sister Peterson and I all drove down to the valley together because we are all training. There was a bit of bad traffic but it was all good cause we made it to the valley in time. We met all the greenies and took them out contacting for the first time! Sister Israelson and I took out our trainees to old town Scottsdale. But we traded companions to go out individually. I was with Sister Meacham. She is cute and is doing a trial mission for 6 weeks. 3 of the sisters that came out are actually like that. We didn't have enough sisters to come out I guess but we are grateful that they are here! Contacting was crazy actually. We went for about an hour and a half. Met some jehovah witnesses that tried to bible bash with us, so that was fun...and then a homeless man started yelling at us saying awful things because we didn't give him money. So it was all eventful. Love missionary work. We then went and had cafe rio that Sister Sweeney always makes on the first day here. Yum. I love staying in the mission home. Makes me sad it was my last time there with the Sweeneys. So weird. All the new sisters are so cute and we all bonded well.

Tuesday we had trainers meeting, it's weird to think it's my second time training. I don't feel old enough for this! We got out companions and I am with Sister Chausow!! She is the cutest ever. She is 19, went to byu and is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is fun and outgoing and is perfect for me. So I am so excited to have her with me! We clicked immediately. So yeah it took forever to leave the valley...left at 3 I think and then everything was going well. Then BOOM traffic. I think there was an accident. Anyways we were following the elders and turned around to this little gas station. It was closed. The elders had 1/8th left in their tank. And other gas was too far. And we had to pee. And the traffic was like so bad. We called the assistants and said they went through "the woods with the Sweeneys" but we lost reception before we got the directions from them. So sweet. Then we were just standing there in front of the littlest gas station I had ever seen & then a man came out of the store and said "hello brothers and sisters!" MIRACLE. He let us in to go to the bathroom and to get gas & he told us how to get to Show Low the back way. #blessings. We took this backroad that we could only go 25 on so it took forever but it was all so fun. We stayed the night at the sisters in Show Low because we got there too late to go to Eagar.


Wednesday we went to the temple with all the mountain missionaries. It was so fun seeing everyone! I love the temple and how we can feel close to our ancestors in there. Temple work is a beautiful thing ️. Oh and so there has been bad fires near Show Low this who week. So we have been in pre-evacuation in case the missionaries serving there need to come here. But it never got that bad thankfully. We drove home and go straight to a lesson. Yes my poor companion hadn't even been home yet before we get to a lesson. We taught this man named Gaylon that brother Hamlin (Ward mission leader) set up. We taught him the restoration and he spirit was so strong! Sister Chausow and I teach so well together already! Like seriously she is a born missionary. She gets so excited about the work and is ready to get to work. We committed him to be baptized! He is a prepared soul.

Thursday we saw Cyndie (LA) in the morning. And guess what! Cyndie came to church on Sunday! I haven't seen her there since I have been here. I spotted her at church and swarmed to her so that I could welcome her and sit by her. Miracle. We then had a lesson with Haylie (INV) and taught her CPR. She is doing well and is probably going to come to girls camp for two days! We really need to get more fellowshippers for her! And then the day we get back from girls camp will be her baptism :) so hopefully a lot of the girls in the stake will be able to go. We then were on the same street as someone Sister Ballew and I contacted a couple weeks ago and so I decided to go knock on his door again to see if he has any service projects for us. His name is Bob and is in a wheelchair. He told us we could come back and build a trench because his backyard is all wet and muddy. We told him we would if we could share a message with him haha, he said yes but said that he can't promise anything will come out of it. We then saw Jarrett who is a less-active that is just here visiting his grandparents for the summer. He is 16 and is staying with the Seeleys. He was baptized when he was 12 but hasn't been back since so he doesn't know much about the church. But he bore his testimony a couple Sundays ago and it was really sweet. We asked him if we could teach him and he said yes. We taught him the restoration and said we can come by every week. He does seem pretty interested. He asked a lot of questions about his dad who has passed on and doing the temple work for him.

Friday was weekly planning. Always takes so long with a new companion, especially when you're training. It was good though to get organized and such. We saw the Tisdells, they are good but didn't make it to church :( we met some less-actives named the Williams that I haven't met before so that was good. We then went to Daryls and talked about weak things becoming strong. The Spirit is always so strong there. I love them.

Saturday (day of service!) we went to the middle of nowhere to help Davina (nonmember) and her sister Lisa (member). They wanted us to set up their canopy/tent thingy. Lol. All of the Eagar missionaries came so it was a lot of fun. We looked at it and honestly I didn't think we were going to put it together cause it was so confusing BUT we did it! And then Davina made us pulled pork sandwiches. We then went to help Bob dig a trench! We brought Jarrett with us and we are so glad he came because he pretty much did half of it. We were all so tired and had the "tired jollys" as my mother would say. It was good though. We set up a return appointment with Bob. We then helped the Larues (members) pull weeds in their garden. My shoes were SO muddy by the end of the day but I got some sun! Tan lines for days. We then had a lesson with Brylee and it was good. We have to teach very simply and ask her lots of questions about principles to see if she understands. She didn't want to pray so she repeated after what I said. She is very cute and has been reading from her Book of Mormon. We got to meet with her cause she was at her dad's this weekend. She probably won't get baptized until school starts. I gave her a Book of Mormon coloring book that she loved. We then were going to the Armijos for a lesson but were a bit early and we had a referral for a less-active on the same road but her car wasn't home before but this time it was! So we decide to knock and she is super nice and lets us in. Her name is Brandy and has 3 boys. I felt prompted to read Ether 12:27 and she started crying as I was talking. We were only there 10 minutes but it was so powerful. The Holy Ghost knows exactly what she needs. We bonded very well with her and are going back tonight. She said she would go to church but she wants us there. We had a lesson with the Armijos about missionary work. We did this little activity with them and basically Heather gave us 5 referrals! We have only contacted one thus far but it was so good. We met their neighbor Brian last night and talked to him forever. He has a wife and 5 kids. And guess what, he is a member! But hasn't been in forever. That happens a lot here. But we have an appointment with them this week! So many miracles are happening! Heather said she doesn't have to work the next 4 weekends and said they were going to go to church...but that didn't happen.

Sunday we had Ward council in 3rd Ward and it was way good because Bishop Gleave went over the whole Ward list with everyone. Anyone we didn't know and think moved he assigned an auxiliary to contact them. Church was good. We ended up teaching Sunday school cause the teacher wasn't there. Donna (INV) came to all three hours! Wiley (LA) was there as well and Donna invited him to her lesson this week. She isn't baptized yet but is already doing missionary work. She is awesome. We saw Brylee again after church. On the table there were three pieces of paper for us to color on. She drew us and we drew her. It was presh and now it's hanging on our fridge. I love teaching 9 yr olds. We then saw Dave Erickson Jr. His dad and nonmember brother (Dakota) were there. Dakota just moved here. We are teaching Dave the lessons again. We taught the restoration and focused on the priesthood. We helped him understand more why it's so important. He also wants his patriarchal blessing so we set up an appointment for him with bishop. We think it would be very good if he got the priesthood before he moves this summer. No one wanted to say the closing prayer (typical) & my companion jokingly asked Dakota if he would say it and he was like sure and so we taught him how to pray! I asked him if he wants to take the lessons but he didn't say yes so I just told him he can when he feels he wants to. We met with Bishop Gleave (3rd Ward) and got his vision for missionary work. We really want to help the Ward get more excited about missionary work. I really want to get close to the Ward and build more trust.

Mosiah 27: 36-37 "And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer. And how blessed are they! For they did publish peace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that the Lord reigneth."

I love this scripture so much. This is what I want the Savior to say about me. That I was an instrument in the hands of God. You need an instrument to play music. God needs us. He needs us to be His hands. Not just missionaries but everyone. I love being a missionary. It makes me so happy to bear my testimony and to see people change, and also to see me changing. I know that the Atonement is real and that precept upon precept we can change and become more like the Savior. We change and repent as we invite others to come unto Christ, as we pray, as we read the scriptures. Doesn't matter what we have done in the past. The thing is, Satan dwells in the past and Christ focuses on the future. So press forward with faith :)

SHALOM 

Xoxo

Sista fisha

Traveling to the valley

Contacting with Sister Meacham at old town

Sister Chausow!

Traveling from the valley

Temple trip

Fireee

Weekly planning all day in my robe

Service all day

Holding a turkey

week 33: the windy city

Monday, June 13th, 2016

WHAT'S UP EVERYONE!! I hope everyone's week was great. It's been a crazy week for us. Very busy. And it's transfers!! Sister Ballew got transferred down to Pheonix to white wash! I know my other half is gone and idk what to do. I don't get much time to email today because we are going down to the valley, I will email individuals on Thursday! Here an update from my week...

Monday night we had Stake FHE. It was way fun. We made brick oven pizza and it was yummy. I love President Hamlin and the stake. I really do feel like Eagar was totally meant for me.

Tuesday we had ZTM! It was good, it's always fun seeing everyone. Sister Ballew was sick that day so we didn't really see anyone. We had dinner at the Gilliams and that was fun.

Wednesday we went to Jessica's temple endowment! She is so cute and I am so happy for her! I got to do baptisms before for an ancestor I found! So that was pretty cool. We finally did weekly planning..yes on Wednesday 5 days later...oops.

Thursday we went to see Cyndie and read the Book of Mormon with her. She cries every time we come by, she is a sweet soul. We had a lesson with Donna. It went really well, she is so fun to teach. We then saw Sheila and Sister Kepler went with us. We then got transfer news!!! I am training again!! Her name is Sister Chausow. I am excited to meet her today!!

Friday we did weekly planning, again lol. We saw Haylie (investigator) and brought Afton (member) and it was a really good lesson! Afton invited her to girls camp and hopefully she will come if she can! Haylie is dating a member named mark who is going to Africa on his mission in August. She is really progressing. And she came to church on Sunday:) we then saw the Tisdells, love them. We showed up to Paula's and she made APIs Navaho tacos, there were so good! She is a caterer. We then went to President Hamblins because sister Ballew wanted to say bye. We had a good visit with them.

Saturday we went to see Dave and Haley and talked about eternal marriage and how Dave can be sealed to his wife who passed on. It was really sweet. We then went to the McGaugheys sealing!! It was the most special/sweetest thing I have ever seen! It was my first time watching a sealing let alone seeing a family be sealed! I then said by to Bae :( I have been with Sister Peterson this weekend and it's been so good! She served here a little bit ago for 7.5 months so she knows the area very well. She has been able to show me people I didn't know and potentials. We saw the Young family and it was good. Holley's son, Quincy, is home. He is 10 years old and wants to be baptized! He doesn't even know who Jesus is so it will be good teaching him. The Youngs have been through a lot that's for sure.

Sunday a lot of people came to church so that was good! After church we went to go see his last named Jackie. We were in an apartment complex and her little girl said come here! Come here! She was the cutest little girl ever. So we went up and contacted her and then right when she opened the door my skirt blew up all the way up to my face! Yes talk about a good impression, they weren't interested to say the least...yeah Eagar is one of the windiest city's ever. No joke. We had dinner at the Hamblins in Nurtioso. It was so fun cause all of their grandkids were there. We then had a lesson with Sally, she came to all three hours of church on Sunday! We then had a lesson with the Armijos, we brought Sister Gleave. It was a really good lesson taking about family. The Armijos are struggling a bit and haven't been to church in a while.

"The gift of the Holy Ghost - in addition to the light of Christ we were born with gives us a great advantage. It is one of the greatest gifts we can receive in mortality because it brings more opportunities for obtaining light & truth. Without the Holy Ghost, we are like a person walking slowly home in the dark with only a flashlight as a guide. When we accept the gospel of Jesus Christ and are baptized, we are offered a floodlight and a guide who knows the way. Now we can walk fast and see our way during our homeward journey." - Elder Lawrence

After I read this quote I just think why wouldn't anyone want to get baptized?! But really I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost in my life. We couldn't do missionary work without Him. He isn't just a little flashlight but a FLOODLIGHT. He opens up so much for us and makes our eyes and minds see more!

I'm grateful for the gospel and for the change it has made in my life. I hope you all have a fab week & don't forget to be awesome!

Xoxo

Sista fisha

Brick oven pizza for stake FHE

Sister Thumbstedter at ZTM

THE GILLIAMS

Comp cuddles

Jessica's endowment!!

Tori and Donna!

Last meal together at avery's

The McGaughey's sealing!!!

Saying bye to Bae :(

Adam & horse

Nayyyy

ELK IN NUTRI