Photos from April 16, 2012

Before dyeing Sister Cottrell's hair

Typical lunch with the Zone

Before Easter Pageant in the breakroom

All the missionaries checking their email on P-day

Zone Activity - Family Fued

The Boys

The Girls Won!

Mini Golfing with the Zone

Saying goodbye to Senior Missionaries after Pageant

Hair Dye looks beautiful! Cute Companions

With the sheep from the pageant

The stage at the Pageant

Ward Easter activity

Teaching a primary Easter lesson

Ward Easter party

Eating some special Easter delicacy :)

Temple Day

Saying Goodbye to Sis. Tejada who went home! Her first companion in AZ!

April 16, 2012

Well familiaaaa how are you all doing? Well, what do I have to report this week. I feel like a lot happened, yet very little happened. Well, first off, Sister Cottrell got the stomach flu and so we were inside for like a whole day and a half. She lost like 8 pounds in two days. So while she slept all day Thursday, I took the opportunity to do a little spring cleaning if you will. I went through all the former's in the area book and picked out ones we wanted to visit, I organized our pass along cards, I put 3-hole punch reinforcement labels on the papers in the area book, organized our copies of the BOM, all that good stuff. Haha I kept myself occupied. But she's feeling better now. But that kind of put a weird pause in the week.

The other weird/unsure-how-I-feel-about-it bit of news I have to report is that last Friday was my 9 month mark! Which would normally mean that I'm halfway, but actually VC sister missions are even shorter, so I hit my halfway mark like a week or two ago. Weirddd. It's kind of weird because it's hard to tell just how much you accomplish, just how much you're getting done. I feel like I still have barely made a dent, but then it's nice to write to you all each week and see that really we do see miracles each day. The mission is so up and down that it sometimes seems like you have short-term memory loss, and you forget really quickly just all the miracles that you see each day. So it's nice to write and see that the Lord really is guiding us each day. 

So, this week started off totally awesome! I told you already about how we found those two new investigators last Monday night, which was so awesome. Then actually the night that Sister Cottrell was sick we had another miracle. I think I mentioned about Jovita's family all coming to church last Sunday. So then we lined up for us to have an FHE with them on Wednesday night. So, that was when Sister Cottrell started feeling really sick, so we left our shift at the VC, and went over there, seeing if we could get them to join us at the VC (that way sister cottrell could rest in the break room while i show them around). So, they agreed, and we got them all over to the VC! Sister Cottrell was still feeling sick, and so Sister Falcon helped me take them around. Her husband, Oswaldo, has a lot of doubts and is still really closed off to it all...he was asking lots of questions. BUT one of their daughters, Nadia, totally felt the Spirit! Her two daughters are 15 and 17, and the 17-year old Nadia afterwards started crying. She was just like "everything here that you talk about is so beautiful, and it's what I want" and then her mom was so sweet and was like "I'm not telling you that you need to get baptized, but I'm inviting you to learn for yourself." It was SO good! Anyways, so the week started off way good like that. Then I felt like yesterday (sunday) had some disappointments. BUT I'll continue to tell you the awesomeness. On Friday, we left to go and drop off some stuff for Ramiro to read. We felt like we should send him the baptismal interview questions. We stopped by, and he was outside. And we told him about the baptismal interview questions, and he was like "Yeah, I think a lot about baptism. I want to do it and I think about it every day." And we were like "Alright, well do you want to do it before you leave for Mexico?" and he said yes! And so we told him that we normally have them on saturday evenings, and he was like "Well next saturday evening i'm not working..." woohoo! I FREAKED OUT! I was so so happy. So we agreed to do it this Saturday! Oh I was so happy. But...then...on Sunday, Hno Laguna told us that we can't have his baptism on Saturday, because there's like a bunch of stake activities and stuff going on. Ohhhh well. So, we're going over there today, because it's the only time he can meet, to talk with Ramiro about when he wants to do the baptism. It's possible he can do it this Friday, but it might end up getting pushed to the following saturday. So, that is on hold. We'll see. Also, Rosalinda and Mikaela (the 12 year olds) came to church yesterday and loved it! It's kinda funny though, because they act like super teacher's-pet ish around us, and so we can't tell how much real intent they have. They do all their reading, etc., but they LOVE us, and so we're trying to figure out  how to handle that. Haha I've never had this problem before! Rafa is still doing good, but he had to go to Phoenix yesterday, so couldn't go to church :( And when we met with him again, he said that all his friends made fun of him about wanting to get baptized so soon, so now he's nervous. Man! Anyways, so, the week started offf MIRACULOUS, and now the opposition sets in. Such it is. But the opposition just reminds me that that must mean that we're onto something good, right?

Anyways, I must be off. I love you all! Thanks for all of your love and support and prayers. I'm praying for you as well! Sorry this was short today, love you all. Love, Sister Fors

April 10, 2012

Helloooooo Family!

How are you all doing? LOVED seeing all the pictures of all these random new babies that I have yet to meet. Jake looks super cute, and I can tell that Al is putting my camera to good use :) And Carli looks so good! Is she staying healthy? What's the update with her?

So last pday was super crazy, as pdays always are. They're hardly ever relaxing haha, hopefully today we'll get more rest. But we had a zone activity, and we played family feud (elders vs sisters), and I told the other missionaries about how family feud runs in my blood. Needless to say, the sisters won. Surprise, surprise :) The elders are supposed to wash our cars/bikes, but it hasn't happened yet, and I doubt it will haha. It was really fun, I really like the zone that I'm in right now. Then we all went to Bahama Bucks, which is this shaved ice place that's the cool place to be at. Then some of us went mini golfing! So it was fun, and of course weird to be in jeans haha. But anyways, so, after all of that, we got back at like 3:30 and still had to clean, do laundry, all of that. We were super tired and wanted to just rest, but we technically needed to finish studies. (They have us do emails sometimes early in the morning at the family history center, and then they tell us to do studies later on in the day) Anyways, so I was like "alright, we gotta study" even though I could tell Sister Cottrell really didn't want to. Anywho, so we did it. And then, we went to the Visitor's Center, and we both had like total miracles! On phones, the very first lady I talked to accepted missionaries, and had talked with them before in Mexico and wanted that for her family. Then I had another awesome convo with a lady, who accepted missionaries, and I committed her to start praying. So, it was great. And then Sister Cottrell had a great night as well. Afterwards we were talking about it, and we just talked about how sacrifice really does bring forth blessings. When you do something you don't want to do, but you know you should do it, the Lord doesn't hold back the blessings. It's just after the trial of our faith, eh? So, there we go, lesson #35325309 learned on the mission.

Anyways, so...Pageant. Is over! Which is sad, and weird to think that the next time we'll have that many people in the VC is in November. But it was really good! Of course, exhausting. And when you're exhausted, the rollercoaster of a mission just gets even more up's and down's. But that's all part of the plan. Anyways, so, Easter Pageant was really good. For several nights, I was still kind of in this weird like "How do I be a walmart greeter?" phase, but then the very last night I think all of us as a Visitor's Center got it down. We reached our goals, which were the highest of any of the nights. And it felt like Christmas lights again, where we were exercising our faith! The last night was so  good. In my 2nd hour, I was in theatres with sister taylor. And every time a new group came in, we'd start the movie, and we would decide on how many referrals/potential referrals we wanted from that group, and we'd pray about it, and they would ALWAYS come. We always got our goal or better. We ended up with way more referrals/potential referrals than I had gotten any other night. When you exercise your faith, even if it's in the little details, the Lord doesn't hold back! At all. So cool. Then in my last hour, I was in the main room, and I just had several great convos. That's the room that has the Jerusalem display, so i get in a lot of good convos about it haha. So I got in a great convo with this girl who goes to ASU and is Muslim, and I'm going to start emailing her. The new way that we're getting referrals is great, because if they don't want missionaries, then I can just be like "Well could I just get your email, and I'd love to email with you back and forth about it?" That simple. Anyways, so I got her email. And then in the last like 10 minutes, this guy walks in, who I immediately recognize from my first Spanish class I took at BYU, my first semester. And he automatically recognized me as well, it was so weird. And so we're like "woah!" and he was there with his nonmember friend that he's in dental school with. So the friend is from Bulgaria, and doesn't know like anything about the church, but had a great experience, and we just had a solid conversation. So the friend didn't want to rush into things, but I got him all lined up to check outmormon.org, and all of that. It was just great. One of the things that I loved about Easter Pageant, is that I got to see a LOT of member missionary work in action. And it was a good inspiration! I'll tell you one. I was at the Christus, and had just ended the presentation, and I saw these two ladies sitting there, talking. They're both super cute, definitely upper class, kind of the people that you normally glaze over as being closed off to the church, ya know? Anyways, NOT the case! So, I hear one of them go "That was all SO powerful." And I was just like "I need to talk to them." And so after they get up, they go over to the desk and I ask them how they're doing, and then I tell the nonmember about mormon.org. And she's just liek "That is SO cool!" and then the member chimes in about her profile, and how she can search her key words, etc. etc. And then I chime in, and go "Yeah, if you'd like, you can chat with missionaries on there and get answers to your questions. And I'd love to email you and see what you think about it!" and she goes "I would LOVE that!" SO cool. Love it, love mormon.org, love members preparing their friends and going out on a limb. So those were some of the cool moments of Easter Pageant. It's so cool to see how it prepares people and softens their hearts, and they're all just feeling the Spirit and they realize that it's something they want in their lives!

What else...Sidenote! Guess who I mettttt at the Visitor's Center. Dad, you will be happy. I met JOE HOPKINS! Haha. As in, Mary Hopkins' dad, as in the infamous "best babysitter ever" Hopkins family that I always hear about but never knew who they were. So, he freaked out when we made the connection, and he's doing really well. The update on him: they sold their mobile home park to mary and her husband, and now are snowbirds, split between California and Idaho I think. They're doing super well, met his wife, all of that. He wanted all the updates on all of you, and he was like "i know your dad had really bad allergies, which of your brothers did as well?" hahaha he remembered the most random details. Anyways, they say hello :) Oh and he also asked if you still keep in touch with the other guy you carpooled with. Alrighty, the end.

Ok, back to what else is going on. So...after all the crazy exhaustion of Christmas lights, last night we had MIRACLES in our area! We are going to see so many prepared people get baptized, I just know it. I love seeing how the Spirit guides us! The Spirit can speak to us when we're planning, when we're in the car, when we're at the door, anything. For instance, with this one guy, Rafa, (more details below), we set a baptismal date with him last night, at a spur-of-the-moment lesson. We had met him super briefly before, because he lives with a referral, Jesus Pozos. When we met him a few weeks back, he was like "Ah you dont' want to deal with me, I'm a sinner!" and we laughed about it. Anywho, so we were planning for yesterday and I was just like "i feel like we need to visit Jesus Pozos." so we put him down. Then yesterday evening, we were in the car, and we decided to pray about where to go. Sister Cottrell thought we should  visit Jesus Pozos, and I thought either Jesus or this other guy. We looked up the other guy's address and couldn't find it on the map, and so we decided to visit Jesus. We're driving, and I can't remember where he lives. WE're making a u-turn and it just pops into my mind "405 spur" and I was like "he lives on 405 spur!". We go there, and we knock on the door several times. We can hear that people are home, but they're not answering. We knock three times, and I just got the impression that I just needed to stay there, stay put, not knock again, but stand there. And finally, after like 30 seconds, Rafa answers the door! He welcomes us right in, pulls out his Book of Mormon, says he wants to change, and we commit him to get baptized on May 5th right then and there. So cool. The Spirit will guide us!

The other new investigator we met last night was this hilarious 7th  grade girl named Rosalinda. Right before we stopped to visit a potential, we said a prayer, and I prayed specifically for new investigators, which I normally don't do. Then the potential had moved, but Rosalinda and her friends were standing right there. They go "Are you from church?" and want to talk to us. One of the friends was actually going to a different church service right then, and Rosalinda goes "i actually don't want to go anymore with you, I want to stay and talk with these missionaries" hahaha! Drama over church. So we go inside and teach Rosalinda and her little BFF. They were awesome and were asking some really good questions, then some hilarious questions like "Is it true that a peace sign is really just a broken down cross?" hahhaha. But they prayed right then and there, and said they'd be baptized. So cool!

Anyways, so there you go...the Spirit works. I don't have much time, I'll send pics next week. I love you all! The mission is crazy, but I love it, and I love all the things I'm learning. Love, Sister Fors

April 2, 2012

Helloooooo family!

First off, CONGRATULATIONS on Carli! Woohoo! So glad you're all doing well. I can't wait to see pictures! 
Well, Easter Pageant is in full swing, General Conference was awesome, and the rollercoaster of a mission continues! Sister Cottrell and I were thinking about it last night, how on a mission, you just have like 20 life experiences packed into each day. Some of the things that happen, in "normal life", we'd be talking about for weeks, but here on the mission, things are constantly just go-go-go, and you learn to just roll with the punches. Haha, like last night, I was on phones in the VC, and Sister Cottrell and I are both talking to some people that aren't "fully there" (we get a looott of those on phones, esp. later at night), and then I start talking to the guy she was talking with (because he was literally throwing up while on the phone with her hahaha), and so I start talking with him and he proceeds to tell me that he has a loaded gun next to him, and he's thinking about killing himself! What the smoke! Haha, so Sister Cottrell runs to get someone who can help me out, and I have to keep him on the phone, and try to convince him to call a suicide hotline. Oh my goodness. That's not the first time that's happened to a sister, one sister actually had that happen to her and she heard a gunshot on the other line! Crazy! Anyways, I don't know why I chose to start my letter with that story. Moral of the story...crazy things happen on the mission. And I'm only in Mesa, Arizona, as tame as it can get. 

So how was this week. Again, a rollercoaster, but I feel like I'm learning to embrace it. I've come to see that with all the up's and down's, you're totally fine as long as you have the Spirit as your constant companion. So, this week, we had Visitor's center basically every night, some days during the day, then we have 3 1/2 to 4 hours of study a day, plus we had a Zone Development Meeting, plus General Conference, so we ended up with about 5ish hours working in our area total this week. So we had a grand total of ONE lesson! Woohoo! But it's all good. It's funny, I've spent the large majority of my mission doing that much study each day, so I'm kind of used to it. And I know that once Easter Pageant is over, the Lord will provide. 

Soooo what to report. Well, Easter Pageant is great! It's different from Christmas lights. People generally just come into the VC really briefly, and don't linger for too long...but this coming week, a lot more people will be at the pageant, so hopefully that will change. And then at 8 pm, the center closes and we all either get stuff done inside, or we go outside to watch the pageant. The pageant is really good, it has great music and some cool dances. I love that there really is just such a spirit whenever something is testifying of the Savior. There are a lot of snowbirds that come out to see it, and it's crazy because you can tell that they feel the Spirit, but they almost just don't recognize it. They leave the pageant, and they're in awe, but they don't realize the magnitude of what they're feeling. We had one lady tell us "You have a product, and you know how to sell it!" hahaha. We were just like, "Thank you?" I love the pageant though. It's just like the perfect spring evening, everyone is there, and we all just get to bask in the Spirit for an hour. It's just great. We're trying to not be as "pushy" this time around, so sometimes it feels like we just end up being like Walmart greeters or something, so that's a fine balance to find. Anyways, so it's good stuff! And this week will be really crazy, the attendance wasn't as high this first week, but I'm excited to see all that happens this coming week.

What else, what else. So, General Conference! So good, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. It was interesting to see how I learned just what I needed to learn. The Lord teaches us line upon line, so I learned the exact lessons that I need, to hold me through til the next time. But it was SO cool to see just how specifically the Lord can answer our prayers. I had several really specific questions that I wanted answers to, and it's funny how quickly the Lord can provide answers. For me,  I felt like I learned a lot about creating a foundation of faith, in both the hard times and the easy times. I also learned a lot about learning to "let go", and to move forward and to forgive yourself and to forgive others. That has been a big lesson for me to learn on the mission, I feel like. I also learned a lot about teaching with love, and teaching by example. I also felt like I learned a lot about sacrifice, and how sacrifice is a law that all of us need to come to understand to be happy in the Gospel. So...those were some of Sister Fors's learning moments...what were yours, family?! Also, I must say, I think it was Elder Rasband's talk? On Sunday morning, that just made me think a LOT about little Carli that was just born. Because of just how recent her birth was, that talk was one of the ones that touched me the most, and I hope that it was the same for all of you :) Anyways, so RIGHT after that talk, I look down and we have a missed call from a former investigator, Veronica. She speaks English, but her husband speaks Spanish. She calls us and goes "I'm here at the church, where is everyone?!" and we were like "nooo! conference!". And it was crazy, the day before, I was texting all of our investigators to invite them to conference, and I got the feeling that I should invite her. So I wrote up the text, but then I didn't hit send, and saved it as a draft, and forgot about it. Never postpone a prompting, eh? Because there she was, wanting to come to church! So in the middle of the morning session, we frantically hunted down someone that could give her a ride over there. There is this solid guy that is our stake exec secretary, who hunted down a ride for her. So she and her daughter came, and enjoyed the last 45 minutes of conference, and I think they really liked it. So good! Also, that same stake exec secretary, on Saturday, he told us that during the session, he kept getting prompted like a hundred times that he needed to invite his neighbor to meet with missionaries. So after the session, he pulled us over, and we made a game plan for how to teach his neighbors. They're in the elders' area, but he wanted us to kind of start them off at the Visitor's Center. So, last night, both the families came to the VC and we took them through God's Plan and the Christus! So good. The member is just like a solid member missionary. Two keys to being a good member missionary: LOVE and CONFIDENCE. The member can be super bold, because he does it with love, and because he has complete confidence that this gospel will bless the lives of his friends. So, there you go family...have love and confidence, and you can share the gospel with anyone. Anyways, so there you have it. Our investigators are still going well, I know that some of them are really prepared, and so we're trying to get them there! 

Okay, I love you all. I'll send pics next week when I've taken a few more of Easter Pageant. Thank you so much for your great examples and all you do for me. I was thinking about that during conference, that I feel like all the blessings in my life are just one proof that the emphasis we put on families is really for a reason. I am who I am because of my family! Okay, love you all, have a great week, HAPPY EASTER! Love, Hermana Fors

March 27, 2012

Hello family!

It sounds like everywhere you guys are is warmer than Mesa. It's warm here, but 80 degrees in Michigan...what is this? You Michiganers lucked out big time. Also, Eric looks so SKIIINNYYYY! Holy smokes. That's crazy. Way to go! Sounds like everyone is doing well. I love imagining Al and Rod hanging out with a bunch of Aussies. And I love hearing about the missionary work in Tujunga. Sounds like all is well!

So this past week was a good one. I feel very grateful for the area that I'm in, and for the companion that I have. I can't stress to you enough how much I love the ward I'm in. Hermano Laguna (our WML) is so solid. We talk to him at least once a day. Sometimes I think he calls just to say hi, haha. Every time we leave, he'll always chase after us with one more thing to say ("Esperen! Hermanas esperen!"). He has so much zeal for the work, and it's something that the whole ward has noticed. I feel very grateful. And really I just want BAPTISMS because the ward deserves it so much! I just feel like we need to labor more in their behalf, because they're already sacrificing so much. I've been praying for just more faith to have more baptisms, and I know it can happen.

So this past week we did a lot of community service! So our # of lessons, etc., was really low, but I was grateful that we got so many opportunities to serve. We called up the Bishop's wife and asked her if we could come over and do some service for them. She said we were going to work in their plants. We got there on Friday and she told us "My husband mowed the lawn, so it chopped off all the weeds. So, instead of pulling weeds, you're going to dye my hair!" So we got on our plastic gloves and died Hermana Orduno's hair. I wish I had a picture. Sometimes we struggle to know what service we can do, because we don't have big muscles or know how to operate tools, but finally, we found something we can contribute! I had never died hair before, but Sister Cottrell showed me how it was done. After, we had some good tacos for lunch, then we washed their dog (Who happens to be a quarter wolf...no lie. Scariest thing of my life.) So, we did that service. Then on Saturday morning, we helped them clean the chapel. And then we were doing weekly planning that day, and Hno Laguna called us up (there he goes again...) telling us that his neighbors were moving and needed help. So we pulled on the jeans again and helped them move. So it was a fun week! We also did a lot of visits with members, which I was grateful for. It's an interesting dilemma for missionaries, because they tell us to serve and to get to know the members and all of that, and when we do that, we get less teaching done. So then you kind of have this guilt complex like "Maybe we shouldn't be doing this!" but really what it is is a long-term investment. The relationships we're building with the members will pay off in the end in the lives of our investigators, or so we hope.

What else...well below you can read what I wrote to the President. Ramiro continues to be the investigator that I am just hoping and praying for! He's just the nicest guy, with a heart of gold. But that's the problem...he's too happy! He doesn't see a need to get baptized, because he's already happy! What do we do?! No lie, he even said that in his prayer at the end of the lesson...he said "Gracias por las hermanas. Ya estoy feliz, pero...quiero ser mas feliz?" Hahaha. We had some good lessons when we found out a lot of his doubts. He's hesitant because he doesn't know what his brothers will think of him getting baptized. And he said he knows he's going to be baptized, it's just a matter of when. We're trying to get him to shoot for April 7th. But he's leaving for Mexico in May to travel around with his band (he plays the trombone), and he said that they perform for a lot of people that are in the narcotrafficking business, so he's nervous about being in that environment. He's never done drugs, never had a problem with chastity, he's the most pure 25 year old guy I've ever met. So we'll see. But he's progressed a lot, so I'm pretty confident he'll get baptized this month...I hope!

What else...the VC continues to go well. Oh yeah! Okay, so I think I've mentioned this to you before. How some days I'll wake up, and we'll be heading to the VC, and I just am not feeling it, and I just feel discouraged, who knows what. And those are always the days that huge VC miracles occur! Well, such was the case. I was on the phones, and I had this referral for this girl named Angela. It was a referral from October, that the number was bad, and so I threw it out. Then the member came back in, and gave me the right number...a milagrito in and of itself. Anyways, so I call her up, and I'm like "Hey, I'm calling on behalf of Steve." and she goes "Oh my gosh HI!". Steve is teh member that referred her, and they had only briefly met in the gym, and got in a convo, and he invited her to meet with missionaries (see, mom, your random convos can pay off!) Anyways, so I start talking with her, and she tells me how she just moved, and she's been getting over an addiction to opiates I think. Anyways, and she just tells me about how her conversation with Steve was just like an inspired convo, adn she's been looking for a way to turn to God, she just doesn't know where. And she would tell me, she was liek "I just feel like, HUNGRY, you know? Like, I need something more!" I was like, freaking out in the phone room at this point. And then she goes "And even right now, talking to you, I feel like I'm on the way to finding what I need. Like, I don't even know why, but I feel like I want to cry right now!" Anyways, so I just lined up missionaries to come over, and I told her that I would follow up with her on the phone and over email, and she was liek "Yes, yes, yes!" and then I committed her to baptism! And she goes, "Yes! That is exactly what I want!" I could've set a date for her right then and there, I just didn't know when the elders in her area would be free :) Haha, I probably shouldve. Anyways, so, people are PREPARED! You just gotta find them. So I emailed her that day, and then she emailed me back with some questions. So I'm so excited! It'll be hard with easter pageant, we'll be so busy we won't be able to follow up as much, but hopefully it'll turn out okay.

There was another cool experience I had in the VC yesterday. I started the Joseph Smith movie for a family, and I asked them why they came in, and they said, "Well, we've been inactive for 5 years, and last night, we were talking about it, and we decided we're going to consider coming back to church. So this was the first step for us to try it out." No pressure, right? But after Joseph Smith, the mom was just crying and crying, then I took them through God's Plan. After, we were all talking, and they decided they were all going to watch General Conference this weekend together. And the mom was going to write down her doubts, etc., beforehand. Pretty cool, no? 

Okay so here's the lowdown about Easter Pageant. The dress rehearsals are tonight, so we're going to start our special shift rotation thing tonight, and it'll go on for 2 weeks. There won't be performances Sunday or Monday, but every other day, yes. It's the same as Christmas lights, where we spend an hour at each different part of the VC, and it'll be one spanish comp with one english comp. There are 2 or 3 nights when we're not on shift, so we'll actually be outside with other non-VC sisters those nights, inviting people in and getting referrals. During the actual pageant, which is an hour long, the center shuts down and we can go outside and watch it. This Easter Pageant, we're trying to not make it about numbers. They don't want us pressuring, none of that, which I think is very good. So with the study schedule that Sis Cottrell has (2 hrs of comp study a day, lang study, etc) plus the pageant, plus getting to sleep an hour later, we'll have only about 3 hours in the area a day, and no nights. So, our area will be in hibernation for a bit. But we're hoping to do a lot of little treats, notes, etc for our investigators, and get members to do the same. So we'll see. It'll be crazy, but I'm not too worried about it, because it's basically Christmas lights, but only 1/3 as long, and sans bed bugs. So it'll be good. I'm excited to see all the miracles that come from it, and to see how it makes me come closer to the Savior. I'm also really excited for General Conference! I'm such a missionary.

What else...I was thinknig this morning, that maybe I should give you a rundown of my daily schedule. So, we wake up at 6:30, but a lot of days, we wake up a little before 6, and go play sports with our zone. We'll play soccer, volleyball, or basketball. It's really fun, and I'm glad that it's getting me back into soccer. Then we'll do personal study, we're supposed to study for 1/2 an hour in the BOM, and then we're doing a study plan that gets us to read all of PMG in like 14 weeks or something. Then we have 2 hours of comp study because Sis Cottrell is new. So we share what we learned, all of that, and then we'll watch some of the PMG DVD's, and do some practice. Then we'll do language study, which is normally me helping Sister Cottrell practice things for the VC, or asking questions, or with grammar, stuff like that. Then we'll eat lunch. I eat a lot of Lean Cuisines on the mish haha. Then we'll either be in the area, or go to the VC. In the VC, we'll get a lot of study, a lot of phonecalling, and a lot of snowbirds. And a lot of cool miracles! Then we'll eat with a member. Sometimes it's just us 2, or sometimes they'll feed us along with the elders. Then we got lessons. Which is a lot of coordinating with members, a lot of running from one place to the next, and a lot of trying to control chatty Latinos. It feels like we're constantly late to lessons, and we don't really know how to control it. It seems like it's normally about 40 minutes of small chat (esp if a member is with us), and then like 10 minutes of gospel discussion. I'm still teaching the majority of the lesson, but Sister Cottrell is getting more and more comfortable. Then, we get home between 9-9:30, and we plan, and we'll update the area book, and then we'll write in our journals or tidy up or whatever. Then we get to bed! Sister Cottrell gets pretty tired so sometimes we're in bed before 10:30, sometimes right at 10:30. Then we do it all over again! So that is my day, a little day in the life of Hermana Fors.
Anyways, there you go, a long letter for you. Hope you all have a great week! Thanks for your examples! Love, Sister Fors

March 19, 2012

Hey Familia Fors,
Thank you for your emails! It sounds like you're all doing well. Allison's still going to the beach, Dad's still going to fashion shows, and Darron's still hanging out with his high school friends...so it sounds like not much has changed :) Just kidding. But it sounds like you're all doing really well! The pictures of Jake are super cute. 
Soooo this week has been a good one! More and more I feel myself getting into the hang of this whole mission thing, you think I would've adjusted by now. But this week has been great, with lots of happy moments. I just love the pure joy that comes from doing this work. Sooo what do I have to report? Where to begin?
Well Sister Cottrell is doing really well. She is really easy to get along with, so we do just fine. I haven't been nearly as stressed out as I was the first time I was training, which is such a blessing. It makes me think about how the Lord commands us to work hard, and he commands us to be obedient, but I think he also commands us to find joy in the work...so if you're doing the first two, but not the last one, then you gotta adjust something. So, I've been trying to adjust, and it's allowed me to focus more on the work I think. So things are good! 
So our area is doing good. We had a great week, we had 8 lessons with members and we got FIVE new investigators...which was awesome. Again, the Spirit helps so much. So I think I already told you about how we met those former investigators, Dora and Salvador. Then we went back one night with some members. The members hit it off really well with them, and they were joking around and all that. And actually Dora and Salvador had to leave for like 20 minutes, and so they told us to just wait there with their sons for a bit. So we got to know their sons, who are 19 and 21 and just got here from Guatemala, and they were awesome! Really mature guys, and so we're excited to start teaching the whole family. We also found another new investigator whose name is Ana. We had met her and her husband a few weeks ago, and I felt like we should go back and visit her. So we did, and we knocked on her door and she welcomed us right in. We just started teaching her and she just kept saying about how she's looking for something new, she wants to stop feeling anger in her heart, all of that. So good. So she has a less-active lady that lives right across from her, so we're going to try to get the two of them to start coming to church together. 
So, I will tell you of a weird day that I had this past week. Alright, so, if you'll recall, we're teaching this 17 year old girl named Diana. We've been teaching her for about a month now, probably like once a week. She's super sweet, suuperr shy, you can kind of tell she's had a rough life. Every time we talk to her she just looks like she's hungry for the gospel! But we couldn't really get through to her, know what she wanted. So she's 17, but she looks like she's like 13, no exaggeration, probably like 95 pounds. Anyways, so we went to teach her this past week. Right before we knocked on the door, I said a quick prayer that we would be able to know her needs, understand why she was talking to us. We were chatting with her mom, and we were like "Is Diana coming?" and she goes "Yeah, shes coming out of her room right now." So she comes out, and she's holding this little baby girl that I've never seen before. And so I go "Ella es su hermanita?" and she goes "No...mi bebe." Whaaaaaaat?! Somehow we had managed to teach her for like a month, and she had somehow managed to hide the fact that she has an 8 month old daughter from us! So crazy. It was the weirdest moment, and none of us knew how to react. So I was just like "ooooh no sabia que tiene una bebe, que linda!" hahaha. It was really interesting. It was funny, because the Lord answered my prayer...he showed me what her need is, she's trying to be a teenage mom! And she had been keeping it on the down low from us for the whole time, and she finally decided to let it be in the open. (Or at least that's how I interpret it) So, really shocking, but...I guess now we know which path to take. That day we had planned to talk about faith, repentance, and starting a new life, and I think it was teh perfect message for her. Unfortunately, I invited her mom to listen in, and her mom kind of dominated the conversation with her ideas and stuff, but it'll turn out okay. So that's that...crazy no?
Another weird/really really sad piece of news I got on that same night was about my recent convert Ana from Mesa Grande. I don't know if I mentioned this, but right as I was leaving Mesa Grande Ana's friend Lucy called us up and told us that Ana had gone to Venezuela. We were all like "whaat?" and really confused because we had just talked to her about how she hadn't been there for like 10 years, and she didn't know when she'd go back. But Lucy told us she'd tell us when she comes back, so it was all good. Then I came to Liahona 1st, and didn't think about it much. This past week, teh sisters that are in Mesa Grande now were talking to the RS pres, who tells them "Hermanas, Ana isn't in VEnezuela. She's here in Arizona." and they go "Okay, where?" and she goes "En la carcel" Ana is in JAIL! This is Ana, my golden of all golden investigators who is 60 years old and has been in the United States for like 30 years. The LAST person I would expect in jail. So, basically they still don't really know all the details, but they're pretty sure she's in the process of getting deported. AHH! She always told us she had papers and everything. We're not sure what happened. But I was So shocked, I still can't wrap my head around it and it breaks my heart so much. Right after she got baptized, she was on cloud nine, the happiest she's ever been, and she and her boyfriend had just gotten engaged. And like a month and a half later, this happens. Craziness. So weird to think how sometimes we will have hardships and trials just totally blindside us. So, we're hopefully going to be able to send her some letters. But keep her in your prayers! I just hope and pray that she'll be able to stay strong through all of this. 
Anyways, what else. Yesterday (Sunday) Ramiro was able to come to church! As we were leaving his house a few days earlier, he goes "Look, you told me that you'd pray that I'd get Sundays off, and my boss just gave me this Sunday off!" So he's recognizing that prayers work! And we're not sure, but we think he might have all Sundays off, which would be so golden. Then last night we had the mission president's charla fogonera at our ward! So Hno Laguna (Ward mission leader) spoke, plus 2 recent converts. Ramiro came to that too. It was SO good. Hermano Laguna is an incredible man. He is the perfect example of someone who has magnified their calling and really poured their heart into it. He said in his testimony about how these past few months as WML have been the happiest of his life because of all the blessings that have come from it. He also said in his testimony that yesterday he dropped off Cesar after church (the 9 year old), and Cesar said "My teacher told me that Christ is going to come again, is that true?" and Hno Laguna goes "yes" and he says "Cool, because I would really like to see him." Which just made me SO happy because Cesar has been really struggling. His mom is still discouraging him and he hadn't come to church for like 2 weeks. So that made me so happy. Anyways, I will end it on that note. I am so grateful to be on a mission. I'm so grateful for the joy that comes from the Gospel and from the Spirit. This type of joy really is a gift that God just bestows upon us when we're trying to do what's right. There's happiness that comes from happenings, and joy which comes from God. Anyways, so I am grateful! Also, Easter Pageant is quickly approaching, which will be full of miracles. So, I love you all so much, thanks for your great examples, and have a great week! Love, Sister Fors

At the farewell for Sis. Vause at the Visitor Center

Sister Vause

Carne Asada Night

Carne Asada Night

Sis. Cottrell

Carne Asada Night