Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2012
11:47:23 -0700
Subject: Welcome to Woods Cross
So, I have been in the field for a week
now. As you will be able to figure out from this email, my pday is on Tuesday,
so if you want to write me emails, you will want to do that by Monday night.
You can also still use DearElder, you just have to pay. I am serving in Woods
Cross. It is right next to Bountiful, so I get to go to the temple every week!
My companion's name is Sister Davis. She is from Fayetteville,Georgia. She went
to BYU before her mission. It is actually kind of funny, because we sort of
knew each other. When I moved out of my apartment in Regency, she moved in. So,
when I would go to visit Lila and Rachel, I would see her. We never really talked,
but we recognized each other. Crazy, no? It was just a funny little set of
circumstances.
Now for my week. I realize it might be weird to go day by day, but that is the easiest way for me to give you all of my goings-on.
On Monday of last week, Sis. Johnson, Despain, and I dropped Sis.Murrieta off super early so she could get on the bus to go to the airport to fly to Tacoma, WA. The morning was super weird since ourdistrict of 11 was down to 6. Then, in the middle of the day, they all came back. It turns out they had the wrong travel information and they were actually leaving on Tuesday. So, the rest of the day was pretty exciting with everyone being back. I was grateful for that, and it meant I could share the chocolate Isaac sent me with everyone. :)
On Tuesday, I rode on a bus with 15 other missionaries going to Ogden. We dropped four elders off at the airport and then the 16 of us continued on to South Ogden, where the mission office is. When we got there, we met a whole bunch of people, including the senior missionaries working in the office and the assistants to the president. My mission president, President Olson, is very nice. :) He is actually going home in July, but I am glad I get to serve with him until that time. After we had some orientation about mission rules and what not, we went tracting. It was not at all what I was expecting on my first day. They just took us to an area in South Ogden and had us go around trying to talk to people. It is honestly kind of scary to strike up random conversations with complete strangers and then try to turn this random conversation spiritual. It is definitely something I am still working on. I met with President Olson. That night, all the new missionaries went to President and Sister Olson's home. We had dinner there. We also had more training and a testimony meeting. All 16 of us stayed the night. There is a room in the downstairs of the home with 5 bunk beds. The sisters stayed upstairs in a room with 2 beds and 2 air mattresses. It was weird to know that Tuesday night would be the last night with Sis. Johnson and Sis. Despain, since I had been with them from day one. But it was good for us. :)
As a side note, thank you so much for letting me take piano lessons. I wish I were better than I am, but I have played the piano so much since I have been on my mission. I played it every Sunday in sacrament meeting and again in the meetings with the new missionaries. It really is nice that I can play, even if I am not that great.
On Wednesday we had breakfast and more training. Then we had the transfer meeting. It was so fun! The missionaries in this mission are just so fun and bubbly and happy. It really made me feel welcome and excited to be serving. The meeting is where we found out who was being trained by whom and in which area. Then we had to wait around for a little while for a ride down to Wood Cross. (Our car was in the shop.) That afternoon we went to the store so I could get some groceries. A nice man gave me coupons for cereal, so that was pretty cool. :) That night we taught a few lessons, and it is really quite scary. I am not that comfortable teaching yet, and I know it is something I need to work on. Every day, I try to get a little more comfortable talking to people and sharing what I know to be true.
On Thursday we still didn't have our car. So, we spent a good portion of the day doing selective tracting. That is basically where we work off of lists provided by the wards of unbaptized or less actives. My area covers two stakes and 14 wards, so there are a lot of members. Because of that, it would not make much sense to go knock on every single door. Also, instead of working with the bishop and the ward, we work with the high counselor over missionary work and the ward mission leaders. It is a little bit different, but it does work.
On Friday we got our car back and did weekly planning. Weekly planning takes several hours but helps us know what we are going to do for the upcoming week. (Go figure, right? A title that makes perfect sense.) We also met one of our investigators, Kristi, at the church building. She is set to be baptized on this Saturday, and she was having her baptismal interview with the district leader. She is ready for baptism, but she still needs her dad to sign the baptismal form.
On Saturday we did a lot of service in the morning, helping different members clean and what not. Then we did our best to go try to visit names we have of potential investigators, former investigators, and less actives. I feel like EVERYONE in Utah has dogs. Or cats. Or both. It is honestly kind of crazy how many pets are out there.
On Sunday we went to two different sacrament meetings. We also taught deacons' quorum in one of the wards. It was good for me to practice teaching without the pressure of it being an investigator. In one of the stakes, we were fasting specifically for missionary work. We had a meeting that night with the ward missionaries, ward mission leaders, and the stake president. He said a special prayer with all of us to help those who had taken all of the lessons but still weren't baptized that their hearts would be softened and their concerns eased. It was a truly beautiful prayer and I hope that I will be able to see the fruits of our fast and our efforts. We also taught one of our investigators named Vianca. She is really awesome, but she doesn't sense the urgency in baptism. I want so much to be able to help her see how baptism will bless her life.
On Monday, one of our investigators called us. His name is Joe and he used to be FLDS. The sister missionaries have been teaching him forever, and it got to the point that he was told to just call us when he was ready for baptism. So, when he called on Monday, that is what we were hoping it was. We went over to his house, and he wants to be baptized!!! He says he is ready and that he knows it is what he wants to do. It is such a miracle. I know it is in part due to the fast that he was finally able to overcome whatever obstacle was keeping him from getting baptized. We are so incredibly excited for him. :) We also had the opportunity to talk to some members yesterday that gave us some good referrals. Without referrals, we would not be able to do much work in this area.
Subject: Welcome to Woods Cross
My companion's name is Sister Davis. She is from Fayetteville,Georgia. She went
to BYU before her mission. It is actually kind of funny, because we sort of
knew each other. When I moved out of my apartment in Regency, she moved in. So,
when I would go to visit Lila and Rachel, I would see her. We never really talked,
but we recognized each other. Crazy, no? It was just a funny little set of
circumstances.Now for my week. I realize it might be weird to go day by day, but that is the easiest way for me to give you all of my goings-on.
On Monday of last week, Sis. Johnson, Despain, and I dropped Sis.Murrieta off super early so she could get on the bus to go to the airport to fly to Tacoma, WA. The morning was super weird since ourdistrict of 11 was down to 6. Then, in the middle of the day, they all came back. It turns out they had the wrong travel information and they were actually leaving on Tuesday. So, the rest of the day was pretty exciting with everyone being back. I was grateful for that, and it meant I could share the chocolate Isaac sent me with everyone. :)
On Tuesday, I rode on a bus with 15 other missionaries going to Ogden. We dropped four elders off at the airport and then the 16 of us continued on to South Ogden, where the mission office is. When we got there, we met a whole bunch of people, including the senior missionaries working in the office and the assistants to the president. My mission president, President Olson, is very nice. :) He is actually going home in July, but I am glad I get to serve with him until that time. After we had some orientation about mission rules and what not, we went tracting. It was not at all what I was expecting on my first day. They just took us to an area in South Ogden and had us go around trying to talk to people. It is honestly kind of scary to strike up random conversations with complete strangers and then try to turn this random conversation spiritual. It is definitely something I am still working on. I met with President Olson. That night, all the new missionaries went to President and Sister Olson's home. We had dinner there. We also had more training and a testimony meeting. All 16 of us stayed the night. There is a room in the downstairs of the home with 5 bunk beds. The sisters stayed upstairs in a room with 2 beds and 2 air mattresses. It was weird to know that Tuesday night would be the last night with Sis. Johnson and Sis. Despain, since I had been with them from day one. But it was good for us. :)
As a side note, thank you so much for letting me take piano lessons. I wish I were better than I am, but I have played the piano so much since I have been on my mission. I played it every Sunday in sacrament meeting and again in the meetings with the new missionaries. It really is nice that I can play, even if I am not that great.
On Wednesday we had breakfast and more training. Then we had the transfer meeting. It was so fun! The missionaries in this mission are just so fun and bubbly and happy. It really made me feel welcome and excited to be serving. The meeting is where we found out who was being trained by whom and in which area. Then we had to wait around for a little while for a ride down to Wood Cross. (Our car was in the shop.) That afternoon we went to the store so I could get some groceries. A nice man gave me coupons for cereal, so that was pretty cool. :) That night we taught a few lessons, and it is really quite scary. I am not that comfortable teaching yet, and I know it is something I need to work on. Every day, I try to get a little more comfortable talking to people and sharing what I know to be true.
On Thursday we still didn't have our car. So, we spent a good portion of the day doing selective tracting. That is basically where we work off of lists provided by the wards of unbaptized or less actives. My area covers two stakes and 14 wards, so there are a lot of members. Because of that, it would not make much sense to go knock on every single door. Also, instead of working with the bishop and the ward, we work with the high counselor over missionary work and the ward mission leaders. It is a little bit different, but it does work.
On Friday we got our car back and did weekly planning. Weekly planning takes several hours but helps us know what we are going to do for the upcoming week. (Go figure, right? A title that makes perfect sense.) We also met one of our investigators, Kristi, at the church building. She is set to be baptized on this Saturday, and she was having her baptismal interview with the district leader. She is ready for baptism, but she still needs her dad to sign the baptismal form.
On Saturday we did a lot of service in the morning, helping different members clean and what not. Then we did our best to go try to visit names we have of potential investigators, former investigators, and less actives. I feel like EVERYONE in Utah has dogs. Or cats. Or both. It is honestly kind of crazy how many pets are out there.
On Sunday we went to two different sacrament meetings. We also taught deacons' quorum in one of the wards. It was good for me to practice teaching without the pressure of it being an investigator. In one of the stakes, we were fasting specifically for missionary work. We had a meeting that night with the ward missionaries, ward mission leaders, and the stake president. He said a special prayer with all of us to help those who had taken all of the lessons but still weren't baptized that their hearts would be softened and their concerns eased. It was a truly beautiful prayer and I hope that I will be able to see the fruits of our fast and our efforts. We also taught one of our investigators named Vianca. She is really awesome, but she doesn't sense the urgency in baptism. I want so much to be able to help her see how baptism will bless her life.
On Monday, one of our investigators called us. His name is Joe and he used to be FLDS. The sister missionaries have been teaching him forever, and it got to the point that he was told to just call us when he was ready for baptism. So, when he called on Monday, that is what we were hoping it was. We went over to his house, and he wants to be baptized!!! He says he is ready and that he knows it is what he wants to do. It is such a miracle. I know it is in part due to the fast that he was finally able to overcome whatever obstacle was keeping him from getting baptized. We are so incredibly excited for him. :) We also had the opportunity to talk to some members yesterday that gave us some good referrals. Without referrals, we would not be able to do much work in this area.
On Monday, we found out that there are going to be some
changes in the mission. Today, in our letter from the mission president, we got
a little more information. In July, they are taking 3 different Utah missions
and turning it into five missions. So, there will be two more missions in Utah!
It is crazy and exciting that that is happening. Part of the Ogden mission will
become part of the Utah Salt Lake mission. Some of the missionaries will be
reassigned. I don't know yet where I will end up, but I know where ever it is,
it will be the will of the Lord. I hope I am able to remain in the Ogden
Mission, but I will serve where ever I am assigned.
Well, that is my week in a very big nutshell. :) I absolutely love this work and feel so incredbily blessed to be a missionary. I know that as I learn to open my mouth and have faith in the Lord, I will be able to teach with the Spirit and help others draw closer to Christ.
While I was at the MTC, we had the chance to watch a talk Elder Bednar gave on Christmas at the MTC. It was an amazing talk on the Character of Christ, and I learned a ton. One of the things Elder Bednar suggested I think would be a really good idea. He said that we should get a new copy of the Book of Mormon. Then we should read through it with a specific question or topic in mind. Then, as we are reading, we should mark the answer to that question or topic. Once we have finished, we should write a half page summary of how the Book of Mormon has answered that question/addressed that topic. In that way, by the end of our lives, we will have tens or hundreds of mini-talks and a greater love and appreciation for the Book of Mormon. I think it is such an awesome idea and invite each of you to try to do that. I am currently doing that, and I know that there are things that I am learning that I wouldn't be otherwise.
Sis. Sarah Snow
Well, that is my week in a very big nutshell. :) I absolutely love this work and feel so incredbily blessed to be a missionary. I know that as I learn to open my mouth and have faith in the Lord, I will be able to teach with the Spirit and help others draw closer to Christ.
While I was at the MTC, we had the chance to watch a talk Elder Bednar gave on Christmas at the MTC. It was an amazing talk on the Character of Christ, and I learned a ton. One of the things Elder Bednar suggested I think would be a really good idea. He said that we should get a new copy of the Book of Mormon. Then we should read through it with a specific question or topic in mind. Then, as we are reading, we should mark the answer to that question or topic. Once we have finished, we should write a half page summary of how the Book of Mormon has answered that question/addressed that topic. In that way, by the end of our lives, we will have tens or hundreds of mini-talks and a greater love and appreciation for the Book of Mormon. I think it is such an awesome idea and invite each of you to try to do that. I am currently doing that, and I know that there are things that I am learning that I wouldn't be otherwise.
Sis. Sarah Snow
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