January 24, 2012

Hi family!

Howssss everyone doing? Things here are going well! Thanks for the emails and pictures and letters and everything. He has the best facial expressions, I love them haha. I'm sorry you ended up in the emergency room! That's crazy. But it sounds like everyone is doing pretty good. Happy Birthday, Rod! I hope you ate lots of Indian food on my behalf.

 

Sooooo...what to report. Well, after almost 6 months in Mesa Grande, I am getting TRANSFERRED! Not really that surprising, but still enough to shake things up. So, I am getting transferred to Liahona 1st Ward, where I will be serving with Sister Vause. Sister Holladay is staying in Mesa Grande, where Sister Falcon will be joining her. Sister Falcon is a renaissance woman. She's from Mexico City, she's one of the trainers in the VC right now, she's a chemical engineer, and she's just incredible. So...that'll be really good. I'm grateful that Sister Holladay is getting a stellar companion after me that will teach her a lot, haha someone who has more experience than I do. Anywho, so they'll be there, and Sister Vause is great as well. She's actually in her last transfer. She's from Utah, has strawberry-blonde hair, she cuts hair (woohoo!), and she's just really chill and sweet to everyone. I'm really excited, I think I'm going to learn a lot from her and I think we'll get along well. And guess what...we're gonna be on BIKES! wooooooooo! I'm so excited, it'll be so fun (aside from all the helmet hair and flat tires). So yes, transfers are tomorrow so today has been spent prepping for that. It'll be good. I'm sad to leave Mesa Grande, and I think it'll really hit me when I wake up on Thursday morning and realize I don't know anyone in my new area. But I'm ready for a change...I think it'll keep me from getting burned out, and it'll provide me with some new challenges. I'm excited to learn from a companion that has a lot of experience. It'll be really good!

 

So I didn't even really get a chance to say goodbye to most of my investigators and branch members, because we were in the VC during most of church on Sunday. But...I will tell you something awesome. So, I think I mentioned in the last letter that they were thinking of putting elders into Mesa Grande. Well, clearly that's not happening. But the branch president came up to us on Sunday, and asked us about that, and we told him that the sisters were staying, and then he asked us for the mission president's phone number, and said he had to call him about something. So I gave him the number, and I assumed that he was going to call President Ellsworth and tell him that they really did want elders, because if you'll remember, this branch looveed the elders. So, I was like, "aw man, elders will always be the favorites", but then, that night, we had dinner with the second counselor's family. And there he told us that the branch president actually wanted to call President Ellsworth to in fact tell him that they specifically wanted the sisters to stay! Change of hearttttt!!! That made me so happy. Not because there's some weird elder-sister rivalry, but just because that shows that we really did end up winning the branch's trust. They did not like the hermanas at all at first, and so it's so cool to see how it's switched around, and they ended up wanting us to stay. So...that made me so happy. I only had one baptism in Mesa Grande, but I feel at peace with the things I did there, because we really did win the branch's trust, and got them much more involved in missionary work. I know that in February there will be a lot of baptisms that I will be coming back to see. So, I am so grateful. It makes me so happy to see how the area has turned around, and it took a lot of work, but eventually the Lord really started to pour out blessings.

 

Ok...also, I have to share a top-notch experience I had this past week, with a fine gentleman named Kendrick. Sister Holladay and I were walking down 9th street, which is our favorite little neighborhood where like all of our eternal investigators are. So we were walking, and these 2 black guys on bikes pass us. One of them stops, and he's got long braided hair in a half ponytail, patchy facial hair, and a leather jacket on. He stops and asks us what church we're from. We tell him, and then he tells me, "Well, I just had to stop, because the spirit of the Lord told me that I had to ask you...are you married or single?" I bust out laughing and tell him I'm single, but a missionary. And he goes, "Well, you see I'm a baptist, but for you, I am willing to CONVERT!" Haha so I turn this into a missionary opportunity, and hand him a card to the Visitors Center, and he goes, "No, honey, I already know Jesus, I want to know YOU! What about we go to the Landmark Restaurant on Main Street and talk about this over some dinner?" So I tell him that I cant, and he proceeds to woo me with his words, telling me that when he saw my smile, he could feel the Holy Spirit testify to him. He keeps on trying to win me over, realizing I'm not budging, and he goes, "Have you ever seen the baby of a black man like me and a beautiful caucasian woman such as yourself? Them half-breeds are beautiful!" He keeps going on and on, and Sister Holladay is just busting out laughing while I'm standing there, petrified. He ends the conversation by telling me, "Just as the angel told the Virgin Mary that she would have a child, I felt the Spirit tell me that you would be my future wife." and then he kisses my hand for a few seconds too long and rides away on his bike. I wish I had a picture of my face...it was a much better experience in person, but hopefully you can envision just how hilariously awkward it really was.

 

Anywho, so yes. That is life on the mish. What else...well this week we had our most member-present lessons yet! We ended on a good note here in Mesa Grande. I don't know if I mentioned Sheila and Rene, but they are awesome. It's the cousin of a family in our branch, and his girlfriend, and they both want to get baptized. We set a date with them for February 4th, and they looked at eachother, and Sheila goes "Si se puede!" She's so awesome. We gave her Moroni 10:3-5 to read, and she ended up reading that, PLUS the whole introduction and testimonies of the witnesses and joseph smith, underlining and highlighting the whole thing. Tonight we're going to teach them in the Visitor's Center, and we're gonna have to teach them about the law of chastity and see what they say if they're going to separate before then. We also are teaching Gladys, who is Sister Holladay's top box from the Christmas lights. She went to the ASU ward on Sunday, and had a great time...she was taking notes the whole time, and loved it all. We also are teaching this lady named Marisol who is great, and she asked us if she could underline/take notes in her Book of Mormon. I have learned this week...this is how you know if an investigator is golden, if they are taking notes and/or underlining their scriptures. We had THREE people do that this week...so grateful haha.

 

Also, I think I mentioned a few weeks back how we met the friend of the Soto family at dinner at their house one night. He lives out of the area, but last night he joined us for dinner at their house again. We found out that on Friday, he got in a car accident with a motorcyclist, and the motorcyclist died instantly. So he was telling us about how much guilt he's been feeling and just all the "What if?"s that are running through his head. So it was really cool, us and the members were able to just testify of the Plan of Salvation and the Resurrection. We just talked about how it was part of God's plan, and how death isn't something to be feared, and how the Savior can help alleviate him of his pain. He also told us that a pair of sister missionaries were actually there at the accident site, and said a prayer with him! He mentioned something like "I don't know why they were there, but it was really comforting." So, basically it was just really cool to talk with him and show him that there was a way out of all the guilt he was feeling. Missionaries are on their way to his house ASAP!

 

Ok, I think that's enough email for now. I'm such a rambler, I hope my emails actually make sense. I'll try to send some pics along with this. So, life is good, I'm sure next week will be a completely different email, but I'm excited. Thanks for all of your support! I love you all! Sister Fors

 

Photos are me at a breakfast at the Stake President's house, Sister Holladay and I with the Soto girls, and us at a zone activity with a legit giraffe head in the background (a ridiculous house, and it made me feel bad for Sister Mackenzie from Kenya next to me hahaha).