Hiking Flat Iron
Sis. Cotrell, Sis. Hansen and Brittany at a meeting
With Claudia on her baptism day
Picking apples on exchanges
Getting a haircut by Michelle in their ward
At a Father's Day activity for the ward
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
June 18, 2012
Helloooooo familia!
First off, feliz dia de los padres! to all you padres out there. I hope it was so good! I hope Rod enjoyed his first Father's day as a dad (if they even celebrate it down in australia, that is...), and that eric enjoyed his, and that papa enjoyed his, and that dad enjoyed his! you are all such good ol' dads, and I am grateful for your ejemplos. also, dad, you should look at the vc director's blog...they did a little tribute to our dads on there. I think its beckstrandbeat.blogspot.com, something like that.
And so how's that for a subject line? hahahha. I will explain where it comes from. Probably the resounding highlight of this week is that Sister Cottrell has turned up with this crazy mysterious rash that keeps spreading. We keep joking that she's turning into a mermaid, and for now she's just in the stage of growing scales hahaha. But yes...poor sister cottrell, she has had so many random health problems since she got out here. I have been SO blessed when it comes to my health on my mission...I really have hardly had any problems. but poor sister cottrell...she's gotten the stomach flu several times, hurt her ankle, and lots of other things. And now, this past Sunday, she started getting this weird rash. We went to the doctor and he thought it was just an allergic reaction, so he prescribed her this stronger version of Benadryl. So she starts taking it, and it just starts making her superrr sleepy, but it doesn't do any good for her skin. So, each day goes by, and her rash has spread to cover her legs up to her mid-thighs, her arms, and this morning she woke up and it was starting to get on her face! So, I feel so bad. Because she has no idea what it is, we have to wait til tomorrow to go to the dermatologist, and it itches like CRAZY. In our lessons, she'll just be like hunched over scratching the whole time. So sad...pobrecita. So, why I start with this random detail I don't know, but it has been the fun detail of the week. She's had to take some time to sleep, to get a blessing, to buy out the entire local Walgreen's, etc, etc, so that kind of made things a little bit slow in terms of the work. But it's all good! No se preocupen. So, I'm excited to let you know when we finally get the diagnosis, if it's a heat rash, or a virus, or an allergy, or if she really is just turning into a mermaid.
But I will tell you something cool about her having all these sicknesses. We were talking about it one day, and she was just kind of asking "why is this happening to me still?", and then we sat back and realized all of the blessings that have come from her being sick. One thing, is that since she's gone to the dr's/pharmacist's/etc so much, i've had the chance to talk to a lot of random people while we're in the waiting rooms! and help them to get familiarized with the gospel. Another huge blessing that came from it, is that back in like march, when she first got sick, we were at walgreens, and the lady next to us at the counter I recognized to be a recent convert, Lupita. I had only met Lupita once, but had talked to her on the phone, because she had moved out of the area and worked on Sundays. But I recognized her there at walgreens, started talking to her, found out she was going to start asking for sunday's off and was back in our area. She came to church that following sunday, and has been coming pretty regularly since! Not just that, but she's been fellowshipping 3 of our investigators! If we hadn't gone to Walgreen's that one day, she could very easily have still been lost by the wayside. But, she is just the opposite! cool, no?
Innnnn otherrrr news....hmm. Well, our area is doing pretty good. Our ward is still awesome, with awesome leaders and members that help us out a lot. I don't know if i mentioned that i made it my goal this past transfer to get better at delegating things, esp to members. I'm trying to really help them to take the initiative in serving & helping out our investigators, and so far it's going pretty good. But, as for investigators, we are still trying to find those prepared ones!
I will tell you about Judy...she's still awesome, but didn't come to church yesterday because she was in Phoenix celebrating father's day. But this last Tuesday we had a really good 1st lesson with her. In the middle of it, h er brother called. He is in a prison in Washington, and has been in there for like 15 years...since he was 14. Crazy, no? He still has 3 more years. But so she gets to talk to him like once every 3 months, and so when he called she told him she's meeting with missionaries, and he was really happy. Anyways, sooo yes, the lesson! Well, Judy gave the prayer at the very end, and it was SO good! first and foremost, it was a prayer that was completely out of gratitude...she didn't ask for one thing. And she said in it "i really like what I'm feeling right now, so thank you for this feeling that you're giving me, and i hope i can feel more of it.", and after the prayer she had tears in her eyes. She's so good! I love it when investigators recognize the Spirit completely out of just them having a prepared and open heart, not out of anything that we do.
What else...we started teaching this one former, whos name is Pedro, who also seems really good. His wife and daughters aren't interested though, which is normally the opposite. He's really good...he was meeting with missionaries before, and had gone to church and a baptismal service with them. One funny thing though...us sister missionaries have to tener cuidado with male investigators hahaha. A funny story, I asked him when we first started teaching him, "Que es lo que llama su atencion sobre nuestra iglesia?" (What is it that gets your attention about our church?) and he goes "que todos son tan guapas!" ('that you're all so pretty!) hahahhaha. and sister cottrell didn't know what "guapa" meant, so she was just like "huh???" and i had to be like "alright, asiiide from guapas, what else interests you?" So, we have to have cuidado, but aside from those comments, he seems like he has a lot of potential. (Maybe that sounds really naiive/idealistic, but i'm being serious! hahahaha)
The VC continues to go well. We have a new art exhibit, by Liz Lemon swindle, called "witnesses of christ', that's really good. I love teaching w/ art! We taught one tour in there a few weeks back that was to a group of young women. The leaders said that they had had a lot of problems w/ gossiping, etc, as of late, so we got the talk from President uchtdorf, "the merciful shall obtain mercy', and picked out different sentences from it, and had all of the YW pick out a picture that portrayed that phrase. So it was cool, they all got to pick out events from the Savior's life, and how he taught those principles, and then they all shared their insights w/ e/o. Chat is also going well. So, Caitie (the lady from Washington) couldn't chat this past week, but we've been emailing. I think she actually has teh crazy pregnancy sickness thing that katie had...what's the name of it? anyways, so she was sick, but we set up another appt. She had an okay experience at church...but she did say that some of the members weren't super friendly to her, which is sad. But we've had some other really good chats. We had a chat w/ this guy in Las vegas that said he's just looking for a church that helps him to hold up his values, and he's always been really impressed by the way that LDS people live. Then we had another awesome chat w/ this lady whose mom's best friend is LDS, and she's always been super impressed by her family. She accepted missionaries, and seemed super awesome. We definitely are privileged to be able to work with people that start off our conversation saying basically "I'm interested in learning what the LDS church believes, and how I could convert." hahaha! For reals though, we are very lucky. When they say stuff like that, it's almost like "Where do we start?!" So, that's pretty sweet.
What else...Sister Cottrell and I are doing well. She's great. We had a little "heart to heart", if you will, this past week, where we just talked about our companionship and how we're going to make it work, and how we can help eachother. I feel like I'm definitely like the needy one in the companionship, but then i look at it and realize how we both have different needs, and we just got to help each other out where one falls short. it's definitely new for me/an adjustment...I feel like I wasn't super needy before my mission, but again...marriage prep 101! So yeah, since then, we've been doing really good (despite the whole mermaid syndrome thing), and she's awesome. We have the same sense of humor and the same goals, and she's just great.
que mas...maybe I'll finally send you all some photos for once! Ok, I love you all so much. Thank you for all of your support and your examples for me. Have a great week, you're in my prayers!love love love, Sister Fors
First off, feliz dia de los padres! to all you padres out there. I hope it was so good! I hope Rod enjoyed his first Father's day as a dad (if they even celebrate it down in australia, that is...), and that eric enjoyed his, and that papa enjoyed his, and that dad enjoyed his! you are all such good ol' dads, and I am grateful for your ejemplos. also, dad, you should look at the vc director's blog...they did a little tribute to our dads on there. I think its beckstrandbeat.blogspot.com, something like that.
And so how's that for a subject line? hahahha. I will explain where it comes from. Probably the resounding highlight of this week is that Sister Cottrell has turned up with this crazy mysterious rash that keeps spreading. We keep joking that she's turning into a mermaid, and for now she's just in the stage of growing scales hahaha. But yes...poor sister cottrell, she has had so many random health problems since she got out here. I have been SO blessed when it comes to my health on my mission...I really have hardly had any problems. but poor sister cottrell...she's gotten the stomach flu several times, hurt her ankle, and lots of other things. And now, this past Sunday, she started getting this weird rash. We went to the doctor and he thought it was just an allergic reaction, so he prescribed her this stronger version of Benadryl. So she starts taking it, and it just starts making her superrr sleepy, but it doesn't do any good for her skin. So, each day goes by, and her rash has spread to cover her legs up to her mid-thighs, her arms, and this morning she woke up and it was starting to get on her face! So, I feel so bad. Because she has no idea what it is, we have to wait til tomorrow to go to the dermatologist, and it itches like CRAZY. In our lessons, she'll just be like hunched over scratching the whole time. So sad...pobrecita. So, why I start with this random detail I don't know, but it has been the fun detail of the week. She's had to take some time to sleep, to get a blessing, to buy out the entire local Walgreen's, etc, etc, so that kind of made things a little bit slow in terms of the work. But it's all good! No se preocupen. So, I'm excited to let you know when we finally get the diagnosis, if it's a heat rash, or a virus, or an allergy, or if she really is just turning into a mermaid.
But I will tell you something cool about her having all these sicknesses. We were talking about it one day, and she was just kind of asking "why is this happening to me still?", and then we sat back and realized all of the blessings that have come from her being sick. One thing, is that since she's gone to the dr's/pharmacist's/etc so much, i've had the chance to talk to a lot of random people while we're in the waiting rooms! and help them to get familiarized with the gospel. Another huge blessing that came from it, is that back in like march, when she first got sick, we were at walgreens, and the lady next to us at the counter I recognized to be a recent convert, Lupita. I had only met Lupita once, but had talked to her on the phone, because she had moved out of the area and worked on Sundays. But I recognized her there at walgreens, started talking to her, found out she was going to start asking for sunday's off and was back in our area. She came to church that following sunday, and has been coming pretty regularly since! Not just that, but she's been fellowshipping 3 of our investigators! If we hadn't gone to Walgreen's that one day, she could very easily have still been lost by the wayside. But, she is just the opposite! cool, no?
Innnnn otherrrr news....hmm. Well, our area is doing pretty good. Our ward is still awesome, with awesome leaders and members that help us out a lot. I don't know if i mentioned that i made it my goal this past transfer to get better at delegating things, esp to members. I'm trying to really help them to take the initiative in serving & helping out our investigators, and so far it's going pretty good. But, as for investigators, we are still trying to find those prepared ones!
I will tell you about Judy...she's still awesome, but didn't come to church yesterday because she was in Phoenix celebrating father's day. But this last Tuesday we had a really good 1st lesson with her. In the middle of it, h er brother called. He is in a prison in Washington, and has been in there for like 15 years...since he was 14. Crazy, no? He still has 3 more years. But so she gets to talk to him like once every 3 months, and so when he called she told him she's meeting with missionaries, and he was really happy. Anyways, sooo yes, the lesson! Well, Judy gave the prayer at the very end, and it was SO good! first and foremost, it was a prayer that was completely out of gratitude...she didn't ask for one thing. And she said in it "i really like what I'm feeling right now, so thank you for this feeling that you're giving me, and i hope i can feel more of it.", and after the prayer she had tears in her eyes. She's so good! I love it when investigators recognize the Spirit completely out of just them having a prepared and open heart, not out of anything that we do.
What else...we started teaching this one former, whos name is Pedro, who also seems really good. His wife and daughters aren't interested though, which is normally the opposite. He's really good...he was meeting with missionaries before, and had gone to church and a baptismal service with them. One funny thing though...us sister missionaries have to tener cuidado with male investigators hahaha. A funny story, I asked him when we first started teaching him, "Que es lo que llama su atencion sobre nuestra iglesia?" (What is it that gets your attention about our church?) and he goes "que todos son tan guapas!" ('that you're all so pretty!) hahahhaha. and sister cottrell didn't know what "guapa" meant, so she was just like "huh???" and i had to be like "alright, asiiide from guapas, what else interests you?" So, we have to have cuidado, but aside from those comments, he seems like he has a lot of potential. (Maybe that sounds really naiive/idealistic, but i'm being serious! hahahaha)
The VC continues to go well. We have a new art exhibit, by Liz Lemon swindle, called "witnesses of christ', that's really good. I love teaching w/ art! We taught one tour in there a few weeks back that was to a group of young women. The leaders said that they had had a lot of problems w/ gossiping, etc, as of late, so we got the talk from President uchtdorf, "the merciful shall obtain mercy', and picked out different sentences from it, and had all of the YW pick out a picture that portrayed that phrase. So it was cool, they all got to pick out events from the Savior's life, and how he taught those principles, and then they all shared their insights w/ e/o. Chat is also going well. So, Caitie (the lady from Washington) couldn't chat this past week, but we've been emailing. I think she actually has teh crazy pregnancy sickness thing that katie had...what's the name of it? anyways, so she was sick, but we set up another appt. She had an okay experience at church...but she did say that some of the members weren't super friendly to her, which is sad. But we've had some other really good chats. We had a chat w/ this guy in Las vegas that said he's just looking for a church that helps him to hold up his values, and he's always been really impressed by the way that LDS people live. Then we had another awesome chat w/ this lady whose mom's best friend is LDS, and she's always been super impressed by her family. She accepted missionaries, and seemed super awesome. We definitely are privileged to be able to work with people that start off our conversation saying basically "I'm interested in learning what the LDS church believes, and how I could convert." hahaha! For reals though, we are very lucky. When they say stuff like that, it's almost like "Where do we start?!" So, that's pretty sweet.
What else...Sister Cottrell and I are doing well. She's great. We had a little "heart to heart", if you will, this past week, where we just talked about our companionship and how we're going to make it work, and how we can help eachother. I feel like I'm definitely like the needy one in the companionship, but then i look at it and realize how we both have different needs, and we just got to help each other out where one falls short. it's definitely new for me/an adjustment...I feel like I wasn't super needy before my mission, but again...marriage prep 101! So yeah, since then, we've been doing really good (despite the whole mermaid syndrome thing), and she's awesome. We have the same sense of humor and the same goals, and she's just great.
que mas...maybe I'll finally send you all some photos for once! Ok, I love you all so much. Thank you for all of your support and your examples for me. Have a great week, you're in my prayers!love love love, Sister Fors
June 12, 2012
Well buenos dias familia!
Thanks for all of your emails and pictures! I love looking at them/reading them so much. Another week has gone by, and I feel like I find the time going faster and faster, which is kind of weird. But it was a good week. We're still transitioning back to being in the Visitor's Center, we didn't have a single night in our area this past week, but it's all good. That's when you realize that it really is the Lord that's in charge of all of this, not us. We had some cool miracles that I shall just have to tell you abouts!
Well, first off...this morning I had a "first" experience. So, we had our temple trip, and President Ellsworth decided that for this transfer's temple trip, we were going to go through TWO sessions, back to back. Have any of you ever done that? Well, let's just say, it is not for the spiritually faint of heart hahaha. So we got up a little before 5, and did the 7 am and 9 am session. It was really cool...I'm still trying to figure out what I got out of it....I guess for sure I gained a lot of respect for anyone that does 2 sessions on the regular haha. It was really tiring, and we were all kind of struggling. But President Ellsworth wanted us to do that to understand how we get power from the temple, and how we can apply that to power in our areas. I learned some good things, and they also spoke to us afterwards which I really enjoyed.
Queee mas...well, I want to tell you about an AWESOME chat miracle we had! So, this past Saturday, we start chatting with this lady named Caitie from Tacoma, Washington. Start talking with her, and she tells us that her pregnancy doula is LDS and told her to go onto mormon.org (Becky Facer, anyone?) So, we start talking, and she's super knowledgeable, goes off saying that she studies the haplogroupings of the lost tribes of israel, who knows what. So, we start talking and she says she wants to go to church the next day, so we get her the time and the place. And we continue talking, and she's awesome. Definitely a North-westerner, if you know what I mean...used the word "groovy" like 80 times. She goes on to tell us about how she thinks it totally makes sense that only men would have the priesthood, how she believes that we lived with God before we came here, how she thinks the only way you can know the truth is from what the Spirit tells you, etc. etc. We were just like stunned at how awesome she was. She also went on to tell us some HILARIOUS spiritual experiences...this lady should be a columnist,for reals. She tells us about this time that she saved the life of a 300 lb, homeless drug addict named Peaches, and how God gave her the strength to do the Heimlich maneuver on her. Hahhaha...you never know what you're gonna get on mormon.orgchat! Anyways, so she was hilarious, with very random spiritual experiences, but very sincere. Soooo...we end the chat. The next morning, I wake up and I get the feeling that I should call the ward she'll be attending to tell them to look out for her. So I call, but the ward # doesn't work, so I call the stake office. This guy answers, who happens to be in that ward, and his wife happens to be the RS president. He says he'll tell her to be on the lookout. So the next day, I call the RS President, and she said that Caitie just happened to sit next to her, unknowingly! She came to church! Not only that, she actually drove like 20 minutes away to get there, while she's 4 months pregnant w/ horrible morning sickness! She had given us the address of her doula's ward, which is why it was so far, and she didn't even go to the same meeting time as her doula! So she stayed for the whole 3 hours, participated in Gospel Principles class, etc., and got lined up with the missionaries in her area! Sweeet! And this is all because of technology...how cool is that. So, we're gonna be chatting with her again tomorrow, and I'm so excited. She's so awesome! So keep Caitie in your prayers.
What else...we got a new investigator this week, Judy...who we set a baptismal date with, and came to church on Sunday! Woohoo! We know her mom, because she lives in this trailer park we're always in, and her mom told us one day that she wanted us to call her daughter, Judy, to meet w/ her. So we did, but couldn't get a hold of her. Anyways, so then a few days later we meet her, and she starts telling us how she's looking for a church for her kids, how she wants to be a better mom forthem, etc etc. Awesome! We also finally got to teach our old neighbor, Santos, for the first time. He's a solid guy w/ a great family, and he's already started reading the Book of Mormon, and seems to really understand it. He was talking about how he could feel the Spirit when the member was testifying, so good.
Our ward is doing great. Our WML just called Hno Galindo as his assistant...who we come to find out is an ex-stake president, ex-mission president, everything! He was totally keeping it a secret from us haha. But it'll be way good to have them as a team.
What else...I went on exchanges this past week with Sister Solorzano and Sister Slater. I'm secretly hoping I get transferred to their area after...they serve in an awesome spanish branch, and also cover a singles ward! That would be so much fun. So, that was good. Also, we had a charla fogonera this past week, and I sang "divina luz" in an acapella quartet...I'm moving up in life! Hahaha, someday I'll live up to the Fors musical talent.
Sorry this is a pretty short email...where the time goes, quien sabe. But I love you ALL, I can't even tell you how grateful I amfor you. This church is true! I read a verse in 2 Nephi 22:3 that I really liked...we gotta learn how to draw water out of the well with joy! It's hard work, but we can still have joy while doing it. I love you all! Love, Sister Fors
Thanks for all of your emails and pictures! I love looking at them/reading them so much. Another week has gone by, and I feel like I find the time going faster and faster, which is kind of weird. But it was a good week. We're still transitioning back to being in the Visitor's Center, we didn't have a single night in our area this past week, but it's all good. That's when you realize that it really is the Lord that's in charge of all of this, not us. We had some cool miracles that I shall just have to tell you abouts!
Well, first off...this morning I had a "first" experience. So, we had our temple trip, and President Ellsworth decided that for this transfer's temple trip, we were going to go through TWO sessions, back to back. Have any of you ever done that? Well, let's just say, it is not for the spiritually faint of heart hahaha. So we got up a little before 5, and did the 7 am and 9 am session. It was really cool...I'm still trying to figure out what I got out of it....I guess for sure I gained a lot of respect for anyone that does 2 sessions on the regular haha. It was really tiring, and we were all kind of struggling. But President Ellsworth wanted us to do that to understand how we get power from the temple, and how we can apply that to power in our areas. I learned some good things, and they also spoke to us afterwards which I really enjoyed.
Queee mas...well, I want to tell you about an AWESOME chat miracle we had! So, this past Saturday, we start chatting with this lady named Caitie from Tacoma, Washington. Start talking with her, and she tells us that her pregnancy doula is LDS and told her to go onto mormon.org (Becky Facer, anyone?) So, we start talking, and she's super knowledgeable, goes off saying that she studies the haplogroupings of the lost tribes of israel, who knows what. So, we start talking and she says she wants to go to church the next day, so we get her the time and the place. And we continue talking, and she's awesome. Definitely a North-westerner, if you know what I mean...used the word "groovy" like 80 times. She goes on to tell us about how she thinks it totally makes sense that only men would have the priesthood, how she believes that we lived with God before we came here, how she thinks the only way you can know the truth is from what the Spirit tells you, etc. etc. We were just like stunned at how awesome she was. She also went on to tell us some HILARIOUS spiritual experiences...this lady should be a columnist,for reals. She tells us about this time that she saved the life of a 300 lb, homeless drug addict named Peaches, and how God gave her the strength to do the Heimlich maneuver on her. Hahhaha...you never know what you're gonna get on mormon.orgchat! Anyways, so she was hilarious, with very random spiritual experiences, but very sincere. Soooo...we end the chat. The next morning, I wake up and I get the feeling that I should call the ward she'll be attending to tell them to look out for her. So I call, but the ward # doesn't work, so I call the stake office. This guy answers, who happens to be in that ward, and his wife happens to be the RS president. He says he'll tell her to be on the lookout. So the next day, I call the RS President, and she said that Caitie just happened to sit next to her, unknowingly! She came to church! Not only that, she actually drove like 20 minutes away to get there, while she's 4 months pregnant w/ horrible morning sickness! She had given us the address of her doula's ward, which is why it was so far, and she didn't even go to the same meeting time as her doula! So she stayed for the whole 3 hours, participated in Gospel Principles class, etc., and got lined up with the missionaries in her area! Sweeet! And this is all because of technology...how cool is that. So, we're gonna be chatting with her again tomorrow, and I'm so excited. She's so awesome! So keep Caitie in your prayers.
What else...we got a new investigator this week, Judy...who we set a baptismal date with, and came to church on Sunday! Woohoo! We know her mom, because she lives in this trailer park we're always in, and her mom told us one day that she wanted us to call her daughter, Judy, to meet w/ her. So we did, but couldn't get a hold of her. Anyways, so then a few days later we meet her, and she starts telling us how she's looking for a church for her kids, how she wants to be a better mom forthem, etc etc. Awesome! We also finally got to teach our old neighbor, Santos, for the first time. He's a solid guy w/ a great family, and he's already started reading the Book of Mormon, and seems to really understand it. He was talking about how he could feel the Spirit when the member was testifying, so good.
Our ward is doing great. Our WML just called Hno Galindo as his assistant...who we come to find out is an ex-stake president, ex-mission president, everything! He was totally keeping it a secret from us haha. But it'll be way good to have them as a team.
What else...I went on exchanges this past week with Sister Solorzano and Sister Slater. I'm secretly hoping I get transferred to their area after...they serve in an awesome spanish branch, and also cover a singles ward! That would be so much fun. So, that was good. Also, we had a charla fogonera this past week, and I sang "divina luz" in an acapella quartet...I'm moving up in life! Hahaha, someday I'll live up to the Fors musical talent.
Sorry this is a pretty short email...where the time goes, quien sabe. But I love you ALL, I can't even tell you how grateful I amfor you. This church is true! I read a verse in 2 Nephi 22:3 that I really liked...we gotta learn how to draw water out of the well with joy! It's hard work, but we can still have joy while doing it. I love you all! Love, Sister Fors
June 5, 2012
Helloooo Family!
Well it looks like you're all doing just wonderfully. Loved the pics of Jake's 6 months, and of Carli's baby blessing. I also loved seeing Gretta look so professional in her swim meet! I didn't even know 6 year olds could know how to do that stuff. Way to go, Grettaa! So, sounds like you're all doing good good good.
What all do I have to report this week? I am not sure. So maybe I'll send a lot of pictures to make up for it. So, we're back in the VC, which has actually been really nice. It's so cool to have 2 sides to my mission call, and it's cool how I've come to love them equally, yet differently. It's nice to have the VC to break up the day, to speak in English, to see some other missionaries, etc. Since we've been back, we've also been doing a lot more chatting!
So, chatting is way cool. We get to talk to people all over the world. You accept a chat, and you never know what you're going to get. This past week we chatted with this one guy in Finland. He used to believe in God, and then he lost his job right after he got married, and has been unemployed for 2 years. So we talked to him about how he can come to know that there's a God. Then we chatted with this guy in England who is meeting with missionaries, and had some questions about repentance, baptism, etc. We do get a few like "pranking" chats, when people will just be joking around with you. Or we'll get some argumentative chats, but those are both to be expected. But it's really cool to see how many people get on there, with really sincere questions. I also like that it allows us to be more conversational, and almost more personal with them. It's a lot of resolving doubts and stuff like that. So, it's way cool. I'm still getting the hang of it, but I'm excited to see what comes out of it.
Soo, that's been nice, being back in the VC. And our new little cozy room is nice, and it's kinda fun to be living with some other people, along with their two dogs haha. And their like 80 chickens in their backyard. Like I mentioned before, I think it's been interesting having me and Sister Cottrell be together for a third transfer. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen the line from my setting apart blessing come to pass...that I will have great companions that will provide insights into my personality, and prepare me for marriage. Sister Cottrell is SO awesome, but after so much time together, I think we're trying to learn how to not just turn this into a constant psychoanalysis, because we know eachothers weaknesses, strengths, etc., like the back of our hands. I continue to learn so much about myself, which isn't always fun, but I guess it's necessary. I'm trying to learn how to let things go more, how to trust more, how to not read into things so much, and how to be okay with just being chill. Anyways, my future husband is going to have it so easy, because all my comps right now are taking the hit for him. Hahaha just kidding. But, big lessons learned: prayer, study, and having fun. I am so grateful for prayer and scriptures, and that we have the opportunity to have the Spirit right off the bat in the morning. And, as for having fun, so, I think I mentioned that I've been trying to do something to break up the monotony each day. So, it can be something super simple, but I try to do one each night...like cut out a weird picture of me and stick it on her pillow, or I made a fortune teller with inside jokes in it, anything like that. I sound like I'm on Dr Phil or something. But, these are the life lessons that I am grateful forhahaha.
Ok...otherrr than that, other news to report: New. Ward. Mission. Leader. This is huge. Haha, so Hermano Laguna switched places w/ Hermano Melchor. Hno Laguna is now the YM pres, and Hno Melchor is our new WML. He was the WML of a branch a year ago, and he really loves this calling. It'll definitely be different, but I'm excited to see what happens. Hno Laguna taught me how, as a leader, it's so important to act like you're on a team, and act like you're there to serve, and to never lose your passion for the work. He never had his own "agenda" or anything, he would always just ask us what he could do for us, and we trusted him, so we'd give him responsibilities. I'm going to miss working with him a lot. He would start crying any time he started talking about his calling as WML, he loved it sooo much. But, we met w/ Hno Melchor yesterday, and it'll be way good. He's a younger guy, a total go-getter, gets stuff done. He has a lot of ideas, and he's really organized, so I'm excited to see how we start working more effectively. I made it my goal this transfer to be better about coordinating w/ members and delegating to them, so I think he'll help with that.
What else...so, last night was really fun. We had two really great FHEs. We had an FHE w/ the Sierra family...Nadia, Claudia, Jovita, and Oswaldo. We read a story from the Ensign, and then we played a little game w/ questions quizzing them how well they knew their family members. Totally brought me back to when we'd try to have FHEs...Claudia was at a friend's house and had to come home, Nadia was on her laptop the whole time filling out applications, etc. Hahhaa. But the game was really fun, and it was fun to see them answer questions like "Favorite Dance Move" or "Biggest Pet Peeve" for eachother. Then, right after, we went to the Castillo family and had an FHE w/ them. I think I've mentioned this family...they're one of my favorites. We're doing member lessons w/ them right now to get them to find more opportunities to be member missionaries. So, they live in a teeny tiny trailor, and have 4 boys and 1 girl. It's like WWF every single moment with the boys. I'll look over in sacrament, and one will be in a headlock with the other, kicking underneath the pew hahaha. So, we had a really fun FHE where we had them write/draw on postits their nonmember friends, places where they could meet more people, things they could give them, invitations they could extend, all of that. And we stuck all their drawings/postits on the wall. It was way fun.
Anyways, I'm gonna try to send some pics real quick. But I love you all so much!! Thank you for everything. This email was kind of random, I'm not entirely sure what happened this past week, but I love being a missionary. I love that I can feel the Spirit so frequently. I love that I get to interact with all sorts of people and hear their life stories. Although it's painful sometimes, I love the life lessons that I'm getting from it and how it changes me. I know I will be forever grateful for my mission. Love you all, stay safe and healthy and happy! Love Sister Fors
Well it looks like you're all doing just wonderfully. Loved the pics of Jake's 6 months, and of Carli's baby blessing. I also loved seeing Gretta look so professional in her swim meet! I didn't even know 6 year olds could know how to do that stuff. Way to go, Grettaa! So, sounds like you're all doing good good good.
What all do I have to report this week? I am not sure. So maybe I'll send a lot of pictures to make up for it. So, we're back in the VC, which has actually been really nice. It's so cool to have 2 sides to my mission call, and it's cool how I've come to love them equally, yet differently. It's nice to have the VC to break up the day, to speak in English, to see some other missionaries, etc. Since we've been back, we've also been doing a lot more chatting!
So, chatting is way cool. We get to talk to people all over the world. You accept a chat, and you never know what you're going to get. This past week we chatted with this one guy in Finland. He used to believe in God, and then he lost his job right after he got married, and has been unemployed for 2 years. So we talked to him about how he can come to know that there's a God. Then we chatted with this guy in England who is meeting with missionaries, and had some questions about repentance, baptism, etc. We do get a few like "pranking" chats, when people will just be joking around with you. Or we'll get some argumentative chats, but those are both to be expected. But it's really cool to see how many people get on there, with really sincere questions. I also like that it allows us to be more conversational, and almost more personal with them. It's a lot of resolving doubts and stuff like that. So, it's way cool. I'm still getting the hang of it, but I'm excited to see what comes out of it.
Soo, that's been nice, being back in the VC. And our new little cozy room is nice, and it's kinda fun to be living with some other people, along with their two dogs haha. And their like 80 chickens in their backyard. Like I mentioned before, I think it's been interesting having me and Sister Cottrell be together for a third transfer. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen the line from my setting apart blessing come to pass...that I will have great companions that will provide insights into my personality, and prepare me for marriage. Sister Cottrell is SO awesome, but after so much time together, I think we're trying to learn how to not just turn this into a constant psychoanalysis, because we know eachothers weaknesses, strengths, etc., like the back of our hands. I continue to learn so much about myself, which isn't always fun, but I guess it's necessary. I'm trying to learn how to let things go more, how to trust more, how to not read into things so much, and how to be okay with just being chill. Anyways, my future husband is going to have it so easy, because all my comps right now are taking the hit for him. Hahaha just kidding. But, big lessons learned: prayer, study, and having fun. I am so grateful for prayer and scriptures, and that we have the opportunity to have the Spirit right off the bat in the morning. And, as for having fun, so, I think I mentioned that I've been trying to do something to break up the monotony each day. So, it can be something super simple, but I try to do one each night...like cut out a weird picture of me and stick it on her pillow, or I made a fortune teller with inside jokes in it, anything like that. I sound like I'm on Dr Phil or something. But, these are the life lessons that I am grateful forhahaha.
Ok...otherrr than that, other news to report: New. Ward. Mission. Leader. This is huge. Haha, so Hermano Laguna switched places w/ Hermano Melchor. Hno Laguna is now the YM pres, and Hno Melchor is our new WML. He was the WML of a branch a year ago, and he really loves this calling. It'll definitely be different, but I'm excited to see what happens. Hno Laguna taught me how, as a leader, it's so important to act like you're on a team, and act like you're there to serve, and to never lose your passion for the work. He never had his own "agenda" or anything, he would always just ask us what he could do for us, and we trusted him, so we'd give him responsibilities. I'm going to miss working with him a lot. He would start crying any time he started talking about his calling as WML, he loved it sooo much. But, we met w/ Hno Melchor yesterday, and it'll be way good. He's a younger guy, a total go-getter, gets stuff done. He has a lot of ideas, and he's really organized, so I'm excited to see how we start working more effectively. I made it my goal this transfer to be better about coordinating w/ members and delegating to them, so I think he'll help with that.
What else...so, last night was really fun. We had two really great FHEs. We had an FHE w/ the Sierra family...Nadia, Claudia, Jovita, and Oswaldo. We read a story from the Ensign, and then we played a little game w/ questions quizzing them how well they knew their family members. Totally brought me back to when we'd try to have FHEs...Claudia was at a friend's house and had to come home, Nadia was on her laptop the whole time filling out applications, etc. Hahhaa. But the game was really fun, and it was fun to see them answer questions like "Favorite Dance Move" or "Biggest Pet Peeve" for eachother. Then, right after, we went to the Castillo family and had an FHE w/ them. I think I've mentioned this family...they're one of my favorites. We're doing member lessons w/ them right now to get them to find more opportunities to be member missionaries. So, they live in a teeny tiny trailor, and have 4 boys and 1 girl. It's like WWF every single moment with the boys. I'll look over in sacrament, and one will be in a headlock with the other, kicking underneath the pew hahaha. So, we had a really fun FHE where we had them write/draw on postits their nonmember friends, places where they could meet more people, things they could give them, invitations they could extend, all of that. And we stuck all their drawings/postits on the wall. It was way fun.
Anyways, I'm gonna try to send some pics real quick. But I love you all so much!! Thank you for everything. This email was kind of random, I'm not entirely sure what happened this past week, but I love being a missionary. I love that I can feel the Spirit so frequently. I love that I get to interact with all sorts of people and hear their life stories. Although it's painful sometimes, I love the life lessons that I'm getting from it and how it changes me. I know I will be forever grateful for my mission. Love you all, stay safe and healthy and happy! Love Sister Fors
May 29, 2012
helloooooo familia!
Well, sounds like you're all doing good. Thanks for the emails! So...this week was a good one. i can't even remember all that happened. But two big pieces of news: BAPTISM and TRANSFERS.
Baptism: soooo...claudia got baptized! I'll try to attach some photos. But it was really good! So, just fyi, baptism days are actually really stressful. So, we were stressing out the whole day, because there are so many little details to take care of, but in the end it all went really smoothly. also, one of our members got us in-n-out for dinner, so i was happy with that haha. I love that I get called to like one of only 3 other states that have In-n-out, what are the odds. Anyways, so...baptism! So, she had her interview a few days before, and it went really well. She came out of it crying, (which, we had never seen her cry!), and the elder who interviewed her said she had a really sincere testimony. she bought a skirt and everything for her baptism, and I actually gave her one of my skirts as well, because she needed more church clothes. so she came on Saturday, and showed up with her family and her really good friend, Heather. Heather isn't a member, but has been there for almost all of the lessons, and she reads the BOM and prays with Claudia..haha they're awesome. they prayed and read their scriptures before studyingfor their finals, and talked about how it helped. way good! anyways, so I played the piano and gave a talk on baptism. then hno laguna baptized her, and he had to dip her twice, por su puesto. Claudia's so funny, she talked before her baptism about how she felt like an astronaut in the big white suit. Then after her baptism, she was talking about how it felt after she got baptized, and she was like "well yah, then I REALLY felt like an astronaut, because the suit was all heavy and stuff, but I felt super light!" she's so cute. she was like "yeah it's true, you really DO feel clean!" she's awesome, I have loved teaching her and just see our relationship with her develop. Then, after her baptism, her mom bore her testimony and it was SO good. Jovita has such a solid testimony, she talked about how grateful she is that there are missionaries out there to help find those that need the truth in their lives, and how much she hopes that her whole family will come to feel its truth for themselves some day. It was a really sweet, heartfelt testimony. We had all the guests write little notes to her when she was getting changed, and afterwards just had simple refreshments. she gets along really well with one of the Young women, but it's still hard to try to get the members to take initiative in really welcoming her in. But, the next day, she got confirmed, and stayed for the whole 3 hours, and it was really good. I hope and pray her mom will start getting more sundays off, so they can really become a part of the ward. So there we go! Yay baptism!
So, that next day, Sunday, was actually a very up and down day. So, we had correlation that morning w/ the ward. And for the first time ever, like all the main leaders showed up. So we had a great correlation, and when we finished our reports, they all started praising us and the elders and Hno Laguna, saying how great of a job we've done! (because transfers are this week) The YW president talked about how she's seen a big difference in the YW since they've worked more with us, and everyone said that we all made a great team. It was great, I was just like "My work here is done!" felt so good. And THEN...we stand up to leave, and they're like "oh, one more thing...", and the primary president starts talking about Cesar (9 yr old convert), and this whole issue that's been going on with getting him rides to church. so, everyone starts chiming in, about how it's too big of a liability, and how this situation needs to be avoided in the future, and etc. etc. so they basically tell us that we're not supposed to worry about him now, that he's their responsibility, but as of now, there's no solution. So, it was a super great moment, and then a super disappointing moment right after. Of course, I completely understand their point of view on it, but it's heartbreaking when you have to see it happen. I just felt SO bad afterwards...because cesar's mom will text us on sunday mornings, saying "is anyone giving cesar a ride today?" and we have to tell her no, and he can't go to church because his parents aren't there to support him. It's so sad...so, I was really bummed out after that. It's hard when you just see a convert slipping away into inactivity, and there's nothing you can do about it...even if he is only 9 years old. I'm grateful, because i feel like my mission is definitely preparing me for lifetime service in the church, and helping me get used to the up's and downs.
Also, mother, I got your incredible package this past week! I was not expecting that haha! but thank you SO much, you went above and beyond, and I loved everything you sent. Thank you SO much, that was the best! Also, on that day, I got a letter from Chanz telling me she's putting in her papers! and i also got a really great letter from Zoe Kumagai, so it was a great day. It's funny how emotional I sometimes get over mail...absence makes the heart grow fonder, for reals.
Ok...so, transfers. Lo and behold, we are staying the exact same. Except we're back in the VC, and we actually moved apartments. So, we got transfer news Sunday night, and they told us Sister Cottrell and I were staying together, and we were both like "What??" So, we're going to be together for a 3rd transfer. We were both a little unsure about how to feel about it. We get along really well, and we're actually supperr similar, so we're mostly just nervous that we're going to ruin the good thing we got going for us. The next morning, we were like "Alright. Let's do this." I think it's definitely preparing me for marriage, because in marriage, there aren't transfers every six weeks, eh? We're both a little nervous that the monotony will get to us too much, and I think we'll just have to learn to mix things up and learn to communicate and everything. It'll be good, I guess we'll just see what the lesson is that we have to learn from all of it. But i am excited to stay in Liahona 1st for another transfer! I love the members in this ward, and I love that I feel like myself around them. We also got moved to another member's home. So, we're living with these new members, The Pratts. (And yes...we are related to them. They want to know how I'm related to Parley haha..dad, that's your job.) So, it's this nice couple, and the husband's 96 yr old mom, whos from Argentina. She's already told us 900 stories of Argentina, and she's as Argentinean as they come. So, it'll be interesting to be in a member's home, w/o our own space. I'll see what it's like mom and dad! let me know your tips about what to do and what not to do.
Oh...side note, remember my MTC comp, Sister lamb? I think I mentioned that she broke her arm back in january...well, she got sent home today! Because her arm wasn't healing well and she needs another surgery. So she had to go back to Panama, and hopefully she'll come back :( So sad!
What else...I can't even remember what all happened this week. I'm excited to be back in the VC, and we're getting a new art exhibit there in a few days which will be awesome. this new transfer will be good...I feel like i know exactly what to expect, yet I have no idea what to expect. anyways, I love you all, you're the best family ever, the gospel is true! Love, sister fors
Well, sounds like you're all doing good. Thanks for the emails! So...this week was a good one. i can't even remember all that happened. But two big pieces of news: BAPTISM and TRANSFERS.
Baptism: soooo...claudia got baptized! I'll try to attach some photos. But it was really good! So, just fyi, baptism days are actually really stressful. So, we were stressing out the whole day, because there are so many little details to take care of, but in the end it all went really smoothly. also, one of our members got us in-n-out for dinner, so i was happy with that haha. I love that I get called to like one of only 3 other states that have In-n-out, what are the odds. Anyways, so...baptism! So, she had her interview a few days before, and it went really well. She came out of it crying, (which, we had never seen her cry!), and the elder who interviewed her said she had a really sincere testimony. she bought a skirt and everything for her baptism, and I actually gave her one of my skirts as well, because she needed more church clothes. so she came on Saturday, and showed up with her family and her really good friend, Heather. Heather isn't a member, but has been there for almost all of the lessons, and she reads the BOM and prays with Claudia..haha they're awesome. they prayed and read their scriptures before studyingfor their finals, and talked about how it helped. way good! anyways, so I played the piano and gave a talk on baptism. then hno laguna baptized her, and he had to dip her twice, por su puesto. Claudia's so funny, she talked before her baptism about how she felt like an astronaut in the big white suit. Then after her baptism, she was talking about how it felt after she got baptized, and she was like "well yah, then I REALLY felt like an astronaut, because the suit was all heavy and stuff, but I felt super light!" she's so cute. she was like "yeah it's true, you really DO feel clean!" she's awesome, I have loved teaching her and just see our relationship with her develop. Then, after her baptism, her mom bore her testimony and it was SO good. Jovita has such a solid testimony, she talked about how grateful she is that there are missionaries out there to help find those that need the truth in their lives, and how much she hopes that her whole family will come to feel its truth for themselves some day. It was a really sweet, heartfelt testimony. We had all the guests write little notes to her when she was getting changed, and afterwards just had simple refreshments. she gets along really well with one of the Young women, but it's still hard to try to get the members to take initiative in really welcoming her in. But, the next day, she got confirmed, and stayed for the whole 3 hours, and it was really good. I hope and pray her mom will start getting more sundays off, so they can really become a part of the ward. So there we go! Yay baptism!
So, that next day, Sunday, was actually a very up and down day. So, we had correlation that morning w/ the ward. And for the first time ever, like all the main leaders showed up. So we had a great correlation, and when we finished our reports, they all started praising us and the elders and Hno Laguna, saying how great of a job we've done! (because transfers are this week) The YW president talked about how she's seen a big difference in the YW since they've worked more with us, and everyone said that we all made a great team. It was great, I was just like "My work here is done!" felt so good. And THEN...we stand up to leave, and they're like "oh, one more thing...", and the primary president starts talking about Cesar (9 yr old convert), and this whole issue that's been going on with getting him rides to church. so, everyone starts chiming in, about how it's too big of a liability, and how this situation needs to be avoided in the future, and etc. etc. so they basically tell us that we're not supposed to worry about him now, that he's their responsibility, but as of now, there's no solution. So, it was a super great moment, and then a super disappointing moment right after. Of course, I completely understand their point of view on it, but it's heartbreaking when you have to see it happen. I just felt SO bad afterwards...because cesar's mom will text us on sunday mornings, saying "is anyone giving cesar a ride today?" and we have to tell her no, and he can't go to church because his parents aren't there to support him. It's so sad...so, I was really bummed out after that. It's hard when you just see a convert slipping away into inactivity, and there's nothing you can do about it...even if he is only 9 years old. I'm grateful, because i feel like my mission is definitely preparing me for lifetime service in the church, and helping me get used to the up's and downs.
Also, mother, I got your incredible package this past week! I was not expecting that haha! but thank you SO much, you went above and beyond, and I loved everything you sent. Thank you SO much, that was the best! Also, on that day, I got a letter from Chanz telling me she's putting in her papers! and i also got a really great letter from Zoe Kumagai, so it was a great day. It's funny how emotional I sometimes get over mail...absence makes the heart grow fonder, for reals.
Ok...so, transfers. Lo and behold, we are staying the exact same. Except we're back in the VC, and we actually moved apartments. So, we got transfer news Sunday night, and they told us Sister Cottrell and I were staying together, and we were both like "What??" So, we're going to be together for a 3rd transfer. We were both a little unsure about how to feel about it. We get along really well, and we're actually supperr similar, so we're mostly just nervous that we're going to ruin the good thing we got going for us. The next morning, we were like "Alright. Let's do this." I think it's definitely preparing me for marriage, because in marriage, there aren't transfers every six weeks, eh? We're both a little nervous that the monotony will get to us too much, and I think we'll just have to learn to mix things up and learn to communicate and everything. It'll be good, I guess we'll just see what the lesson is that we have to learn from all of it. But i am excited to stay in Liahona 1st for another transfer! I love the members in this ward, and I love that I feel like myself around them. We also got moved to another member's home. So, we're living with these new members, The Pratts. (And yes...we are related to them. They want to know how I'm related to Parley haha..dad, that's your job.) So, it's this nice couple, and the husband's 96 yr old mom, whos from Argentina. She's already told us 900 stories of Argentina, and she's as Argentinean as they come. So, it'll be interesting to be in a member's home, w/o our own space. I'll see what it's like mom and dad! let me know your tips about what to do and what not to do.
Oh...side note, remember my MTC comp, Sister lamb? I think I mentioned that she broke her arm back in january...well, she got sent home today! Because her arm wasn't healing well and she needs another surgery. So she had to go back to Panama, and hopefully she'll come back :( So sad!
What else...I can't even remember what all happened this week. I'm excited to be back in the VC, and we're getting a new art exhibit there in a few days which will be awesome. this new transfer will be good...I feel like i know exactly what to expect, yet I have no idea what to expect. anyways, I love you all, you're the best family ever, the gospel is true! Love, sister fors
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