Christmas!

So, this week was pretty incredible! Christmas was the best. Why? Well, besides talking to everyone, except Allison (yep, I even got to talk to Andrew! haha, I felt so sneaky) WE HAD A PARTY!!! Let me explain this wonderful phenomenon. Yes, it was a missionary party. Yes, we opened presents. And yes, it was AWESOME!!! But first, let me tell you about Christmas Eve (haha).

That day we had a really good District Meeting and one of the activities was a scripture chase for scriptures about the Savior. It really testified to me about how important it is to read ALL of the scriptures. Not just the Bible, not just the Book of Mormon, but ALL of the scriptures. Otherwise, you feel like a dunce when you do a scripture chase and, more importantly, you miss out on reading some of the most touching passages of hope and faith that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with.

So, yeah, read your scriptures! Anyway, later that day, we baked cookies and went caroling with all of the missionaries in our zone! That was super fun because we were able to visit people in each of the missionaries' areas and bring the joy of the season to their front door, along with a lovely bag of cookies! Sister Carroll and I put a cute, hand-made, construction paper Christmas tree on each of our bags to cover up the picture of Dora the Explorer on the bags. Yeah, we felt pretty crafty with that. Caroling was fantastic, though, because it felt like Christmas. I'm not going to lie, this Christmas has probably been the most amazing Christmas I've ever had because, for once, it wasn't about the presents or the snow (the snow was a bit hard to get over, but I got to see it via skype). But it was about bringing the joy of Christ to the people that we caroled to. It was an amazing experience to see their faces light up and the tears in their eyes as we sang about the Savior and the gift that we all were given. THEN we went home, and had a party :)

The sisters in our zone were given permission to spend the night at our apartment so that we could be more unified and so that we wouldn't be alone on Christmas. It was the best! So we slept, (we actually stuck to the missionary schedule, believe it or not) and then we woke up the next morning and made breakfast burritos for us and the other zone that came over to open presents! Yes, we had about 16 sister missionaries in our apartment on Christmas day! It was great and it was really fun to see all of the sisters and to be able to spend time with each other because we're our "family away from family", so that was pretty nice. Unfortunately, the rabbit skinning has been postponed until New Years day, but it's going to happen! I may or may not include pictures.... still deciding.

This week I was reminded of the many gifts that Heavenly Father gives us. I've been a bit sick the past week or so and, because of that sickness, I lost my voice. You know the phrase "you don't value it until it's gone?" (or something like that) Well, I never valued my voice until I lost it. I never realized what an incredible blessing it is to sing, until I couldn't. It made me think of the gifts that Heavenly Father gives us. He gives us so many gifts! I think of the family and I think of how we've all been blessed with the gift of music (even Jon, he plays a pretty awesome Joy to the World on the piano). I think of some of my companions and the many spiritual and physical gifts that they've been blessed with. God gives us gifts to use for the benefit and enjoyment of others. I was reading about spiritual gifts and it explained that, when we don't use them, they are taken from us. It's the same with any gift that we may have.

When we don't use it, we lose it! When we don't play the piano for a long time, we lose the capability to play. When we don't draw for an extended period of time, our drawings aren't quite the same quality as they used to be. Every gift that we're given requires work to keep it. We have to prove to Heavenly Father that we're grateful for the gift. So, my invitation to you all this New Year, is to recognize the gifts that you've been given. It could be ANYTHING. And make it one of your goals/resolutions to share that gift. I promise you, that your lives will be enriched and you will be blessed with MORE gifts! And really, who doesn't want more presents from Heavenly Father?!

I love you all so much and I'm so grateful to be serving the Lord at this time! The work truly is hastening, I've seen it in all of my areas! And it will continue to hasten as we all invite. The true success is in the invitation (and follow-up, of course). I hope you all have a wonderful New Year and that you have a crazy-awesome dance party on New Years eve! That's what I miss. "Just Dance" with the fam during the holidays. And the puzzles. Enjoy them for me :)

Love,
Steph

pics courtesy of Sister Carroll's working camera 1) the two-zone breakfast 2) the white chocolate covered pretzels with crushed candy cane that we made as a present for our zone 3) a couple Christmas Eve caroling pics (not everyone is in the pic)

Christmas!

So, this week was similar to Amy's. The exceptions being that I didn't get shingles or a ticket for my zone leaders :) However, Sister Carroll and I were really really sick this week. But, we won't talk about that. Let's talk about the miracles!

This week we met with the Ingos. I absolutely love them! They are preparing to go to the temple to get sealed and they are just so amazing and adorable and I just love them so much! They took us to see the temple lights and it was super fun! I also got to see Sister Diwiggans while I was there! (from the MTC) so it was great!

This week was my official year mark (happy anniversary mom and dad!) and I was blessed to be able to go to the temple on the 18th! While I was in the temple, I thought a lot about everyone. I thought a lot about my mission so far. Honestly, the time has flown. Also, I'm feeling a huge sense of urgency. I thought that this time would never end, but now that I'm reaching the home-stretch, I don't want it to end (even though I love you all dearly). There is no greater cause than to be serving the Lord and helping those of his sheep that have strayed to return to him. I feel so much love for the people here and I feel such a strong desire to help them in whatever way that I can. It was just a reminder to me of how God feels about every one of us. I love this feeling and I love doing the Lord's work in Arizona!

I also absolutely love the Christmas season! I love it so much because it really isn't about the trees or the lights or the "presents, boxes or bags" Christmas comes without those things. Christmas came in the form of a child. A Savior. Something so small that became so great. This Christmas, think of the seemly small things that we can give to the Savior every day.Think. And I mean, really, THINK about something that you can give the Savior. It could be gratitude. It could be a smile to a stranger. It could be opening a door for someone. But no matter how small it is, remember: By small and simple means are great things brought to pass.

 I love you all! Have a great week!

Love,
Steph

Twas 2 weeks before Christmas

Hi everyone!

This week was pretty good! We had three miracles happen this weekend that I'm overjoyed about! The first one was with two of our less-actives, Nancy and Marilynn. They are recent converts and have had a hard time coming to church because of health reasons, but we were able to visit them and talk to them about Patriarchal blessings and they are so excited to get theirs! It makes me so happy! And they came to church! They're just stellar.

The second miracle was with another less-active named Patty. I'd met her once before on exchanges and she hadn't seemed very welcoming at all, but when we saw her this weekend and shared a scripture, she said that she used to have the missionaries over every Monday and that she wanted to start that up again! She was happy to have us over again and really nice! I was shocked, but I felt so much love for her in that moment! It was amazing!

The third miracle happened with a former investigator named Melanie. She is Pentecostal and, when we contacted her on the street, she said she would definitely go see the Christmas lights with her granddaughter, but she didn't seem very interested in learning more. Well, a few days later, we had the impression to give her a bag of oranges that a member had given us. So, we bravely took the oranges over and knocked on the door. When Melanie answered it, she didn't look very happy to see us, but her expression immediately changed when we gave her the oranges and asked if she was feeling any better. Seriously, that frown turned upside down and she came and talked to us for almost 30 minutes! We were able to answer her question about the godhead and she kept saying, "I've been looking for a church for my granddaughters" and we were standing there thinking "It's across the street!!!" So we invited her to come to church and she was really excited about Sunday School for the kids (I've never met someone that was excited about all 3 hours of church) and she said that she would come with her granddaughters next week! There are definitely some prayers being answered here!!

Also, I really love the Christmas season. It's one of those times where there is a palpable change in the air as people focus more on giving and as people focus more on Christ. That's why the season is so joyful. Christ brings us joy and his Atonement brings us eternal happiness. May we all remember, not only his miraculous birth, but his mission and his sacrifice for us. I love you all and I'm so excited to talk to you on Christmas! I don't have a set time yet, we're still trying to work out a place, but it'll probably be in the afternoon sometime on Christmas day. I'll let you know.

In other news, any Christmas packages that have not been sent yet need to be mailed to


After Christmas, everything should be sent to the mission office :)

Love,
Steph

Hi EVERYONE!!!

Sorry I didn't write on Monday. The good news is that I'm still alive. Also good news, I have no bad news! In other news, (haha so much news) I was transferred!! Yep. I had to move all of my stuff 2 blocks away into 20th ward. Haha I didn't move too far :) I was really touched on my last Sunday in 25th ward. They announced in sacrament meeting that I was leaving and there were so many people that came up to me and talked to me and thanked me and several people cried. I was stunned. I didn't think that I had that much of an impact in the ward, but I was really really touched. Also, 20th ward is going to be fun! There was a member that randomly texted us and asked if we wanted a Christmas tree. That night, she dropped off a lovely 5 ft tree complete with lights! I was speechless!

This last week was pretty fun! We were in a trio for the week and guess who our companion was?! Sister Carambelas! For those of you who don't know or remember, we were in the same MTC district!!! She's super funny and light-hearted and she's staying in 25th ward, so they'll be in good hands. 

This week we received a DVD copy of "He is the Gift" and the "Nativity" Bible video to use for proselyting purposes. I may or may not be watching both videos every night before I go to bed. There is so much peace in knowing that God is a loving Heavenly Father and that he loves us enough to send us a Savior that enables us to return to live with him again. I get so happy when I watch those videos because, really, it's amazing! 

I was reading in Alma this week (my goal is to finish the Book of Mormon again before the end of the year) and I came across a few verses in chapter 37 that really stood out to me. It's verses 44-46 and it's Alma telling his son that it's easy to  "give heed to the word of Christ". My first reaction to that was "Nuh uh! We are asked to sacrifice so much!" But then, as I was thinking about it, it made sense. It's really easy to keep the commandments and do what God has asked us to. SO, Basically, this life is an open book, multiple choice test. He's given us EVERYTHING that we need to succeed! For an open book, multiple choice test, are we going to be prideful, disregard the book and just answer "C" throughout the whole thing? NO! When we have a test like that, we use ALL of the tools that we are given, regardless of what we think we know (humility), because we want the highest grade possible! This life is our test. The way really is EASY! God has given us EVERYTHING WE NEED! We just need to let go of our pride and do what he asks. Why? Because that's when it really becomes easy. Eternal perspective. Live it, Love it :)

Love you all so much and I'm so excited to see you on Christmas!!! It'll be the best!

Love,

Steph

December already? woah. Time flies when you're sharing the Gospel!

Hi EVERYONE!!!!

I hope that your Thanksgiving was phenomenal! We had a total of 4 dinners/lunches/desserts scheduled, but we narrowed it down to 2. Our first dinner we actually ate with an investigator! She has a son on his mission and has decided to learn more about the church! Anyway, when she had initially invited us over for dinner, she had forewarned us that her parents would be there and that her dad is anti. So, when we got there, we totally expected him to go off on us, but he didn't. Why? Well the first thing that came out of his mouth was, "Oooo pretty ladies! Come sit by me!" So, the only thing that we had to worry about during dinner was him being flirtatious instead of being anti. Yep, the joys of being a sister missionary. Also, I thought that I would be totally fine eating tiny portions of everything and still have room for our 2nd dinner. Ah yes, some hopes and dreams become completely shattered when you realize that they've made ALL of your favorite Thanksgiving things. SO, my plate was very very very full. AND I was able to try fried turkey for the first time! It was pretty delicious.

Earlier this week we had a zone activity on monday to, you know increase unity and such. WELL, we played sports!! We played Ultimate Frisbee, Ultimate football, and gatorball (which actually turned into soccer for the last 15 minutes) for 3 hours! We were exhausted, but it was so much fun!! However, it is difficult to guard Elders, so I guarded Sister Hurst, so we were able to play a little bit rougher. It was awesome!

We had some really amazing lessons this week. We got to meet with Olivia again and we were able to teach her the Plan of Salvation. Honestly, that's my favorite lesson to teach because it brings people so much hope and it testifies to me of the incredible blessing that we've been given. This life is a blessing. And, honestly, it really is only a short time in the eternal scheme of things, but it's so critical to our eternal happiness. I was reading in Alma 5 today and it's Alma reminding the people of how much God and the Savior have done for us. He is constantly asking "do you not remember?" One of my focuses my entire mission has been REMEMBERING (you've probably noticed that about my emails). But, all too often, we forget our Savior. We forget the tender mercies and daily miracles that happen  in our lives. We forget the importance of the Gospel because we're so caught up in the world and in the busyness of our schedule. For that reason, something that I would invite you all to do is to take a minute or two (or 5 or 10) to remember the tender mercies and the small blessings that you have received during every day. It really helps to change our perspective and to align our thoughts with God's. I love you all so much and I'm so grateful that I can be here, in Mesa, serving the Lord and having your full support. It's one of the greatest blessings that I thank God for every single day.

Love,
Steph

pics (again, no camera) So these are from the dinner and zone breakfast at president Palmer's house

Reporting from the freezing (wait freezing?) city of Mesa Arizona

Hi everyone!

It's official. I've acclimatized. Sad day. Just kidding! The temp during the day is fantastic! It's just that small amount of time that we have to be out after the sun goes down that gets a bit... chilly. I never thought that I'd be breaking out the hot cocoa down here, but when it gets in the 40s and the wind is blowing while we're riding our bikes, I feel that it's perfectly acceptable :)

This week was a week of miracles!! A lot of our time this week has been taken up with exchanges, but our area isn't suffering at all, which is a HUGE blessing! We had a pretty big miracle on Monday. We had been out and about, doing what missionaries do, trying to find an address for a referral. Well, we discovered that it was on the opposite side of Rio Salado, which was outside of our area. So we decided to try to contact another referral. He wasn't interested. (Are you wondering where the miracle is? just wait) Then we were able to talk to a less-active recent convert about returning to the temple. Despite the conversation going well, we were wondering why in the world the Spirit needed us to stay in that apartment complex. So, we stood there and said a quick prayer. We got the impression to go to Teela's old apartment. Teela had actually moved and we weren't sure whether or not someone had moved into that apartment, so we decided to go and check it out. We honestly weren't expecting anyone to answer the door, but then it opened! And we met Olivia who had just moved in and had just gotten back from her sister's funeral in California. The miracle was that we were able to give her a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and she wants us to come back!! Yep, major miracle.

Another miracle was that we were able to help Tania (who has been investigating forEVER) set her baptismal date! And she came to church for the second time this week! And THEN.... We had to pass her on to the YSA sisters. We're super excited for her, I'm just sad that we won't get to see her as much anymore. 

The absolute best part about the week has been that Sister Hurst and I have been working super hard the entire 2 transfers that we've been companions and we're finally seeing that work pay off!!

I also had a realization this week. This will be my first Thanksgiving that I won't get to sit around the table and tell everyone what I'm thankful for. SO, I'm going to do it while I'm sitting at this computer.

 I'm so grateful for my family. I'm grateful for our little quirks and that we understand each other so well. I'm grateful for the many many wonderful memories that I have with all of you. From Amy and I singing Disney songs while putting together puzzles, to making pies with everyone the day before Thanksgiving. Honestly, for me, the traditions are meaningless without YOU. I'm grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for the hope and the joy that his Gospel gives me. I'm grateful for the knowledge that, because of temples, I have been sealed to my family for eternity. I'm grateful, so incredibly grateful, for the Atonement and the blessing it is, not only to the sinner, but to the person that has been affected by the sin. The Atonement blesses ALL of us, but only when we let go of our past mistakes, resolve to be better, and forgive ourselves. We can feel the true healing power of the Atonement when we forgive ourselves. The Savior and our Heavenly Father will always forgive us. Their love is never-ending and their patience is infinite. But it probably hurts them to know that we won't forgive ourselves even though they freely forgive us of everything. I'm grateful for this wonderful season where we not only REMEMBER to be grateful, but we REMEMBER our Savior. This season isn't about Black Friday. It isn't about turkeys and it isn't about pie and it isn't about football. It's the season of gratitude. It's the season of REMEMBRANCE. And it's the season that prepares us to appreciate the wonderful gift that we've been given. The gift of our Savior. He is what we need to be grateful for. He is the Gift.

Love,

Steph

pics: my camera is basically gone (bulging/bulbous battery that doesn't really hold a charge for very long), so no pics from me, but a member (Sister Wright) that we ate with last night wanted you all to know that she appreciates us! So, here is the pic that she took with her phone last night. Also, here is the picture from the Mission Tour with Elder Lawrence. I'm 2 people behind sister Lawrence, (she's wearing pink) and right in front of the Elder that decided to make a demon face at the camera. Love you all!

This week

Hi everyone!

So, this week was pretty crazy! We had meetings all week long, which didn't leave a lot of time for proselyting, but despite the odds, we had a super great week! On Wednesday, we had a mission tour with Elder and Sister Lawrence. The meeting started off with Sister Lawrence teaching us a lot of doctrine about the 12 tribes and the scattering and gathering of Israel. My mind was seriously blown! Multiple times! They talked a lot about the scattering of the tribes and where the tribes had been scattered, etc, but they also had us all stand up for whatever tribe we, the missionaries, represented. We were all either Ephraim or Manasseh: the tribes responsible for the gathering of Israel. Yeah, I felt pretty empowered as a missionary. I can't wait to share my notes with you all from that training because it was really really really INCREDIBLE! It was also followed by an amazing lunch. Seriously, they feed us well down here. I've discovered a love for barbequed pulled pork sandwiches and broccoli slaw with craisins. Yep, that was my favorite part of that lunch! Besides the pumpkin pie, but that's a given.

For out district meeting this week, we had a really good training about pondering the path of our feet and burying our weapons of war. As part of the mission tour, we (the mission leadership) had put together a mission culture. As part of that, there were some specific rules put into place so that the culture would go into effect sooner rather than later. So, it requires a bit of sacrifice, but it's worth it! That's why I really enjoyed the training on burying our weapons of war. Some of the weapons I buried were physical things, like quoting movies with my companion. Others were more spiritual, like concentrating more on the positive instead of dwelling on the negative. Consecration is an act of faith. I love what mom said in her email about creating an environment that the Spirit could dwell in. Consecration isn't just thinking, "I'm a devout follower of Christ." It's listening to music that will invite the Spirit instead of driving it away. It's reading books that elevate our thoughts rather than degrading them. It's spending time with our families and showing our love for them.

The family unit is one of the most sacred things that Heavenly Father has blessed us with. I love the story in the Book of Mormon about Captain Moroni when he is confronting Zerahemnah. In Alma 44:5 he tells Zerahemnah that the reason that the Nephites were protected and the reason that they had overcome his armies were that they are fighting for their faith. They were fighting for their freedom. And they were fighting for the "sacred support which we owe to our wives and our children." The family is sacred. Captain Moroni, the man that if all men were like him "the very  powers of hell would have been shaken forever" (Alma 48:17) KNEW HOW SACRED THE FAMILY IS! Satan is attacking the home and he's attacking the family. The only way to combat him is to be consecrated to the Lord and to do everything in our power to remain that way. Sure, we're not perfect and we'll make mistakes, but that doesn't mean that we have to stay down! I see so many people here that have fallen, and rather than accepting the atonement and getting back up, they have allowed Satan to kick them while they're down. They've ALLOWED Satan to win. SATAN WILL NEVER WIN, unless we ALLOW him to. That's what I've been thinking a lot about lately. We are given trials, and Satan capitalizes on those, but when we look to the Savior, our burdens become easy. The trials have an end. And Satan gets absolutely zero satisfaction out of us. And then, wonder of wonders, we become STRONGER!

I love you all so much! Thank you for being a strength to me when I've needed it the most. You've helped me become stronger. Thank you.

Steph

Miracle week

Hello world!

So this last week was pretty... AWESOME! However, THIS week is going to surpass it by being absolutely insane! We had a lot of cancellations last week, which was sad, but at the same time, we were able to meet with everyone anyway which was definitely a miracle. Anyway, we tried something new this week with asking members to come out with us. We had forgotten to send around the sign-up sheet on Sunday (my bad) and so we sent out a mass text to 15 or so of our members to see when they would be able to come out with us during the week. We didn't expect much of a result because no one really signs up to come out with the missionaries, but we were wrong! We had members that volunteered to come out with us almost every day this week! Granted, many of the appointments that we tried to take them to fell through, but we were able to have them participate in at least one meaningful lesson. Also, one of the members gave us butter so that we could make cookies :) That may have been the highlight of my day.

We had a pretty incredible miracle that happened on Friday. I introduced you to Neil last week. Well, we met with him on Friday and had an amazing lesson about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The whole time he was nodding his head and saying, "Yeah, that makes sense." It was phenomenal! Saturday was pretty interesting. They're having us clean up our facebook accounts in preparation for facebook missionary work, so we spent some time going through and deleting old posts. 

Sunday was the best day EVER! First of all, we had a skype lesson! With Ahmad. In Jordan. It was pretty awesome! It's so interesting learning about all of these different religions that believe in Adam and Eve and all of the prophets leading up to Jesus Christ, but they don't view Christ's miraculous birth as the birth of the Savior of the world. They view it as miraculous, yes, but they have failed to connect his birth with the prophecies of the Messiah (even though there are so many that point to that fact). So, we'll be sharing A LOT of scriptures regarding that topic. After our skype lesson with Ahmad, we had church. At church, we sat on the back bench, saving spots for people that we didn't expect to come to church (again) and guess what happened?! They came!!! We had several investigators and less-actives that finally came to church!! It was the busiest and most rewarding Sunday that I have ever had! I was so happy to see them! It was the best day ever!

Anyway, I hope that you all are continuing to have fun every week and that you're drinking plenty of hot chocolate (with ice cream) and eating lots of soup! Ah, warm food, how I miss it ;) Talk to you all next week!

Love,

Sister Lee

PS sorry no pics today. So my embarrassing moment happened when I was practicing the piano before a meeting and all of the sudden I hear a voice directly behind me say "heeeellloooooooo". I yelped and jumped away from the piano in a very undignified way. Turns out that there is a little mail slot from the outside of the building that opens in that corner where I was playing the piano. The Elders had gotten locked out, so they decided to talk into the mail slot, to get us to open the door, but it scared me to death. Yep, I was just a bit embarrassed.

73 degrees?!!! WOOHOO!!! NOW it feels like fall :)

hola mi familia y mi amigos!

Yep, I know. My Spanish is terrible. But, regardless of that, we talked to a Spanish guy for about 5 minutes when we went street contacting at a park! It was pretty cool. I've decided that I love the Spanish people. They're much kinder than the English are.

Anyway, this week was pretty great! On Thursday we were able to have an amazing lesson with Mary and Donny. They were part of the group that we took to the Phoenix Temple Open House and so we got to follow up with them on what they felt and if they wanted to be sealed in the temple. Of course, they said yes! And that got them one step closer to setting a baptismal date! I'm so excited for them to have the blessings from the Gospel in their lives and I'm ecstatic for them to go through the temple! It really is one of the happiest and most peaceful places that we could ever go. I'm so excited for them!

The only real downer about the week is that we weren't able to skype-teach Ahmad. That was a little sad because we're trying to get everything arranged so that he can be taught in Jordan and in his native language, but in the meantime, we don't want him to feel like he's been forgotten.

On Friday, Halloween, we got to go to the temple!! It was amazing! I was able to do baptisms and confirmations before going upstairs to do a session and it was the coolest thing ever! There really isn't a way to describe it. Inside the temple I felt the same peace and holiness that I normally feel, but at the same time, because all of the missionaries were there, it was a really powerful experience.

The highlight of the week was on Saturday. First, let me introduce you to Neil. He was raised Catholic but now believes in reincarnation and nirvana and, at the same time, is atheist. We had a lesson with him on Saturday. We weren't quite sure how to teach him, but armed with the Spirit and Alma 42, we forged ahead! I honestly don't remember all that we said, but I know that the Spirit was directing us. We were able to find out why he was atheist and we were also able to help him understand that we have a loving Heavenly Father. By the end of our lesson with him, he acknowledged the existence of a higher being and he wants us to come back and teach him more!!! Specifically about Joseph Smith because he hasn't heard much about him and the only things that he knows are based off of a South Park episode (yikes). But he wants to learn more!! Oh yes, the Spirit is amazing. As is my companion. Sister Hurst is a boss :)

So, sorry that I don't have any pics today, but I'll tell you a funny story.There I was, sitting in a meeting with the zone leadership and they started to write decimal points on the board for tracking our progress in regard to lessons taught, etc. Well, I was a bit confused and asked "why the decimal points?" Sister Hurst sighed and started to say "Well, we add the numbers for each week and then..." (me interrupting) "you average them, right?" For some reason everyone started yelling "YAY! She gets it!!" pretty dramatic, huh? Well it turns out that the Sister before me didn't understand the whole averaging thing, and she asked them to explain it to her every meeting, so they would dedicate 10 or more minutes each meeting to try to explain it to her. So they were sincerely excited when I understood it so quickly. Thank you college statistics! And I don't care if you didn't find that funny. I thought it was hilarious. Especially when they had me repeat what I'd said so that everyone could hear it. The expression on those Elders' faces changing from complete dread to excitement was comical :)

Anyway, I love you all and I hope you're having a fantastic time getting ready for Thanksgiving!

Love,

Steph

Transfer week. Basically the week that delays Pday 2 days

Hi everyone!

This week was nuts! First things first, I am now a Sister Training Leader.... Pray for me.

Next, WE GOT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE TWICE!!!!

Ok, the first time was to do the work for some of Sister Hurst's family names and the second time was when we were able to take 5 investigators to the Phoenix Temple Open House. Honestly, when we did the family names, it was a phenomenal experience! It was so cool to do the baptism and confirmation and then go straight up the stairs to do the rest of the work! I felt my excitement and happiness grow with every step we took up those stairs, knowing that this person wouldn't have to wait any longer to have those saving ordinances done. It was amazing! The open house trip was amazing as well! Sis Hurst and I were really nervous at first because our group actually got split. One of the couples that had come with us, Mary and Donny, were split up and you could tell that he wasn't enjoying the tour without her. But a major miracle happened! As we were leaving the Celestial Room, Donny saw Mary further back in the line, just about to enter the Celestial Room and he immediately hopped the line and went back to be with her and they were able to see the Celestial and sealing rooms together. They cried and held hands the entire time, it was so tender :)

Ok now everyone, be prepared to be shocked: I played the piano, as a musical number, in District Meeting. Yep. I was so nervous that my hands shook the whole time that I played and I cut a few sections out of the piece, but I played. I expect you all to have cake and ice cream in celebration of me facing that fear. I'm definitely going to have pie this week in celebration.

Let's see. Other good news of the week... We helped Sis. Lisonbee with some of the questions that she had about familysearch! We also helped her understand how to use the camera on her tablet. We got some funny pictures :)

Also, we got a surprise email this week from our mission president. We get to go to the temple on Friday!!! Apparently they need patrons on Halloween, so they invited all of the missionaries to come to the temple from 4:30pm to 7:30pm. Yep, 3 hours in the happiest place on earth. I feel so blessed! Also, this transfer is our "temple transfer" so we'll be going to the temple as a mission this transfer as well! Yep. Pretty awesome!

Well, I love you all so much and I'm so excited for the holidays! Take some pictures of the snow and the fall leaves and send them to me! Right now, it feels like spring down here, but it's getting progressively cooler. I'll just keep praying for snow on Christmas and hopefully it'll happen :)

Love,

Steph

pic: us with Lisa at the temple 

There's a bright golden haze round the city! The palms are as high as an elephant's eye! And the skyscrapers' climbin clear up to the sky!

This week was pretty awesome. The highlight of the week was Saturday. "why?" you may ask. Well, here is the reason...

I have a new companion. His name is Thor. He doesn't like dogs and bad men and will protect me from all such things. Also, he smells like pepper. His code name is: Mace.

Ha, had you thinking that I had gotten a new companion didn't I? Nope, Sister Hurst and I are still out here in good ole Mesa 25th ward, on our bikes, braving the city elements as well as any Chihuahua that crosses our path. This week was actually a pretty great week! 

On Tuesday, we got to go to the Phoenix Temple Open House with one of our investigators, Marcel, and it was AMAZING! It reminds me about how much I LOVE the temple! Also, Sister Hurst got special permission to go do ordinances for her family this week, so I'm super excited to tag along.

We had something really sad happen on Monday. One of our less-actives, Bryan, passed away suddenly. We were at the apartment complex when the police were there and it was really really hard for us all. The next day, we dropped by one of his good friends, Lisa, who was baptized a little over a year ago. She was struggling a bit, so we shared the Plan of Salvation with her and answered her questions about the Spirit World. I was able to share with her the hope that the Plan of Salvation gives us. And it testified even more to me about how perfect this plan is and that it is real. I KNOW, without a doubt, that there is more to come after this life. I also know that we have that potential to be with our families forever. That's why we have temples. That's why we need to constantly strive to remain worthy to enter the temple, because that means that we're worthy to enter into our Heavenly Father's presence after this life. This life really is the time to prepare to meet God. And I'm so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a modern day prophet that can give us that guidance that we need to return to live with our families and Heavenly Father again.

In other news, I gave a training this week in District Meeting that was pretty awesome. I don't remember most of what I talked about. I just know that I had prepared for a completely different topic and the Lord used me as his mouthpiece to say what really needed to be said. I was terrified to listen to the prompting, but as soon as I did, I was given the power that I needed to complete the training. So much so, that when I sat down afterwards, I wasn't shaking at all. And I'm usually shaking after I've been standing up in front of people, so that was definitely a miracle.

Anyway, I pray for you all every day, but I would like to make my prayers a bit more specific (remember my setting apart blessing? I was ADMONISHED to pray for you all). SO, just let me know if you would like me to pray for anything specific. And you know I will, because I love you all

T----------------H------------I-----------S----------------M------------U---------------C--------------H!!!!

Love,

Steph

Also, no pics because I forgot to charge my camera, so I didn't get a pic of me riding my bike in a rainstorm, but now you know it happened and that I enjoyed EVERY SECOND OF IT! :) And I may or may not have leaped over some puddles while  Singing in the rain haha

Sis Lee Missionary Letter (You know you want to read this) haha

Dear everyone,

So this week has been pretty cool. And I mean that literally. IT HAS FINALLY COOLED OFF!!!! WOOHOOO!!! It hasn't reached the point yet where I can wear my scarves, but it's getting there!!

This week was a bit nuts. First of all, all of the Elders in our zone having been puking the whole week and the Sisters have been avoiding them to prevent infection. This was especially funny when we had our big Zone Conference this last week and the whole zone HAD to meet. So, the half circle of chairs was divided. On the left side of the room, you had the infected elders. On the right side of the room, you had the healthy elders. And right smack in the middle were all of the Sisters, armed with scented hand-sanitizers. It was hilarious because every time someone coughed or sneezed, a new Bath and Body Works scent would waft across the room. I've never really appreciated hand sanitizer as much as I have on my mission. You NEVER want to get sick. Ever. Period. So, that being said, guess who was sick this week? Yeah. It was no bueno. But despite that, we did a lot of work!

This week we met with John several times. John is an awesome guy! He's led a really tough life, but he's making huge strides to change. It's really hard to get out of the drug world, especially with the background that he has, but he's doing it! And we're so happy because he's decided to stop smoking as well! AND (yes, this guy is full of miracles) he came to our scripture study class this week! AND he came to church! I wanted shake his hand and then sing and dance around the room because I was so happy! Fortunately, I refrained from singing and dancing, but I shook his hand and gave him a super sincere smile. He also stayed for the full 3 hours. This man is a gem. He also offered the services of some of his "friends" if we ever had any issues with someone in the area. We politely declined, but it was a nice gesture on his part. So, mother, I'm going to be ok. There are TONS of people here that look out for the missionaries besides the 2060 stripling warriors, grandpa Lee, and Captain Moroni :)

Also, this week we had interviews and I may or may not have been practicing the piano in the chapel while I waited. It was so great to have the chance to play the piano! I wish that I could play better and I wish I'd listened to dad when he said that I should practice the hymns, but I'm sure I'll be able to teach myself or get lessons after the mission.

So no pics this week (sorry) so I'll give you an embarrassing story from this morning instead. Another Sister is spending the day with us and her zone leaders were going to drop off her bike. Well, it never registered in my brain that they would do it this morning. So, I'm walking from the front room of the house back to where we stay and I have to pass by the front door. As I'm walking past the door in my pjs I look through the glass (yep, glass door) and I see the elders on the door-step right about to knock. Well, I wasn't expecting that, so my first reaction was to squeal and run back into the room I came from. Well, the sisters got a kick out of it and they took care of the bike and everything while I hid. Apparently the elders got a kick out of it as well... fun times fun times.

Well, I love you all and I pray for you every day! Have an amazing week!

Love,
Steph

And the temperature comes a tumblin' down!

HELLO EVERYONE!

This week has been... pretty good actually. The weather is getting really really nice. Also, you definitely know that you're doing the right thing if Satan is trying to discourage you. Prime reason being that we had some pretty amazing miracles this week.

Miracle #1: CONFERENCE!!!

I absolutely LOVED General Conference! It just makes me think of this same time last year when I was conked out on the couch after my Wisdom Teeth surgery. I think I got much more out of Conference this time around. Also, dad: I realize that I didn't give you my omelet order, but I hope there was an honorary omelet made for me this conference!

Anyway, the talks were absolutely phenomenal! I wrote down a bunch of questions right before the Saturday morning session and I had every single one of them answered! Crazy, right?! Nope, not crazy because those speakers were led by the Spirit as to what they should talk about. Proof that the Spirit of God is at work among the children of men and that the Lord is concerned with all of us INDIVIDUALLY. And because these speakers were inspired, they answered ALL of my questions :)

Miracle #2:

This week we were able to have AMAZING lessons with some of our investigators! One of them, is awesome because he knows that there is something missing in his life and he wants to know what it is. Enter the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, which he says makes perfect sense! The only hitch is that his mother has refused her permission for him to be baptized until she passes away. So, right now we're praying, not only for his progress, but that his mother's heart will be softened.

Miracle #3: Meet the Mormons

We got to watch Meet the Mormons this week!!!! It was so cool! It's really kind of like a documentary, showing the lives of different members of the church and how they live their beliefs in their everyday life despite their different cultures and backgrounds. It was amazing! I would definitely watch it again! Also, the success of opening weekend determines how long the movie is in theaters (yes, actual movie theaters). So, if you can, go see it on opening weekend. You won't regret it. I laughed so hard at some points and at others, it was hard to hold the tears back. It's an amazing movie that you can go to and invite everyone to watch. It doesn't preach, it doesn't bible bash, it shows how we live our beliefs. And I LOVED it! I really liked ALL of the stories. They were really really awesome.

Miracle #3: The parable of the multiplying tic tacs

Actually, that's a really funny story. Sister Hurst had asked if I had any mints and I said "Yes!". I then reached into my bag and pulled out my little container of tic tacs. Unfortunately, there were only 2 tic tacs left. Despite that fact, I gave my companion one of the tic tacs and I ate the other. I was disheartened because I knew that I would need a tic tac later in the day and I knew that I didn't have any left. Nevertheless, notwithstanding the sorrow of my soul, I later reached into my bag to discard the once full tic tac container. However, when I lifted the container out of my bag, there were 2 additional tic tacs inside! Yep. Pretty cool huh? haha

Anyway, I love you all and I love hearing from you all. I hope that, no matter where we are, we always remember our Savior and his sacrifice for us and that we continuously strive to utilize the atonement in our lives. I know that I feel the strength of the Atonement especially when I'm reading my scriptures, praying sincerely, and taking the sacrament. Those are three of the greatest blessings that we have been given. Because I've read the scriptures, prayed, and partaken of the sacrament, I KNOW that my Redeemer lives. And that knowledge is the most comfort that we can receive in ANY circumstance. I know that the priesthood power has been restored to the earth and that worthy Melchizedek priesthood holders have the authority from God to give us blessings. I know this because I recently received a blessing that addressed concerns that the Elder giving the blessing knew nothing about. I KNOW that Christ's church has been restored to the earth and that we are ESSENTIAL to the hastening of the work.

Love,
Steph

pic: 1) Ahh Mosquitos. The one creature that I'm still trying to discover a purpose for. Total "bite" count? 73
2) This is my greenie that I'm part-time training while our companions go on exchanges. Her name is Sister Richards and she is the bomb!

Time flies when you're on bike!

So this week has been pretty fantastic! Unfortunately, like Amy, we had tons of cancellations, but that made room for tons of miracles!!

Here's on of the biggest. We were trying to find someone who was listed in our Progress Records, but we had no other record of them whatsoever. SO, we decided to go find them. Which took us to an apartment complex that I had never been in before. While we were there we had several people WALK UP TO US and tell us that they wanted to hear our message. One guy was actually walking toward us with his laundry and asked us for our card and then told us where he lived so that we could stop by later. Later that day we were going into a different apartment complex and a guy, who was walking his dogs across the street, yelled "sisters!" and crossed the street to come and talk to us. It turns out that he works with a bunch of Mormons and he said that he knew a lot about the church, but invited us to come and talk to him and his fiancee! Yeah, it was crazy. Sister Hurst and I just looked at each other and said "This is so weird! This isn't normal!" The Lord is definitely hastening HIS work and all of the seeds that have been planted over the years are bearing fruit so fast! It was incredible.

Another incredible thing... IT RAINED! IT POURED! But I couldn't find an old man that snored..... (I hope at least one of you laughs at that reference). Anyway we had to stay inside for a good portion of the day on Saturday because of the flash flooding that was going on. But that evening, after Women's conference, I got to bike in the rain! It was so great because the rain was cool, the breeze was cool and I felt FANTASTIC!! All other Arizona natives were freezing and wearing coats, but I sallied forth in my favorite scarf without a jacket! It was the bomb :) I really love being here on bike. I feel so free and happy, it's the best thing ever!

Also, for service this coming week, we will be milking goats and butchering rabbits.... Who would have guessed that those things would happen in Mesa Arizona? But they do. I actually had home-made goat-milk ice cream and it was pretty phenomenal! Also, I discovered that crickets are scorpion food. I am now afraid of crickets. They bring scorpions. We actually found a nest of scorpions when we were doing yard work for someone this last week. They hadn't cut the grass all summer and it looked like a jungle. It was pretty cool to see the change once we finished.

Anyway, I hope that you all have an amazing week and that you keep praying and reading your scriptures. It can make a huge amount of difference in your life! It makes me sad to see people that have never read or don't read the scriptures. We gain so much guidance from them! So keep reading. Even if it's just a verse a day. It will help! I promise! Also, keep praying. That just goes without saying :)

I pray for you all! Have a great week!

Love,
Steph

no pics this week... sorry 

Week 1 in the 25th ward of the Maricopa stake in Mesa Arizona

This week has been pretty interesting. Well... maybe that's not the right word to use.

How about "FANTABULOUS"?!!!!!

"Why?" you may ask. Well, let me tell you.

I SHOOK THE HAND OF AN APOSTLE OF THE LORD!!!

So, it was pretty awe-inspiring looking into Elder Nelson's eyes as he said "hi Sister Lee" and all I said back was a bit of a breathless "hi". He was so full of the Spirit! It was incredible!

Elder Nelson came to speak to us on Saturday and MAN! It was amazing! There were 2 other speakers before him, Elder Foster and Elder Hanson (both of the 70). They gave some really incredible talks. Elder Hanson spoke on loving your companion and how the best way to do that is through service. He applied that to our future lives, either with our eternal companion or if it's with someone that we really don't like or doesn't like us. We can grow to have Christ-like love for them through serving them. It was really cool. Elder Foster talked about D&C 31 and about our calling as missionaries (it can be applied to the full-time AND member missionaries). I felt super empowered after that.

THEN Elder Nelson got up and spoke. The power of the Spirit was so strong in the room and it testified to me that I was in the presence of an ordained apostle of the Lord. He had the power of God with him. He talked a bit about marriage and then he opened it up for a Q&A. It was amazing to listen to him and have all of the questions answered that have been running around my mind for the past few weeks. It was also incredible to see him give a question to either Elder Hanson or Elder Foster to answer. It showed how humble he is.

One of the things that they talked a lot about was Family History. They said that, as missionaries, our best friends in the ward should be the Bishop, ward mission leader, and the Family History consultant. They talked about stepping up the work that we do for the dead. They want us to ask people on the street if they know the names of their great great grandparents and then use the Spirit of Elijah to help those people find their ancestors. They PROMISED us that, if we do this, the Spirit of Elijah will open their hearts to the message of the Restoration and how families can live together forever. I had never thought about that before, but just think of all of the people that are doing family history work that AREN'T members of the church. They are being prepared by the Spirit of Elijah to hear the message of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Isn't that sweet?! I'll get to use my family history skills to spread the Gospel! Who'd a thunk?

Other than that, we've seen a lot of miracles this week. We've been able to teach and talk to people that have been either impossible to catch or they just weren't interested at the moment. I was able to teach a part-member family about the importance of listening to General Conference with a question in mind. The husband (who left the room the last time we came) actually sat down, turned of the TV (they were watching Leverage) and participated in the lesson. It's truly incredible how fast the work is progressing! I've only been in this area for a week, but I'm already seeing amazing amounts of progress! I know that our prayers for the people here are being answered! We met with a man named Michael last week who declined our invitation to baptism because he still lives with his mother who is a devout catholic and he didn't know what her reaction would be if he decided to join the church. Well, the other day he was with a member of the ward and he turned to his mother, with his Book of Mormon in his hand, and asked her if he could go to church. And guess what she said? She said that it was ok!!

Really, the Lord is hastening his work and so many hearts are being softened right now. The world is crazy, life is hard, and people are looking for hope. The Gospel of Jesus Christ gives them that hope. It doesn't matter if they're covered with tattoos and holding a beer in their hand. It doesn't matter if they smell of drugs or alcohol. Those are the people that are looking for that hope, and they are the ones that we've been sent to minister to. I've never seen so much poverty and so much misery in my life, but I've never seen such a large harvest that is just waiting to be reaped. And I'm so excited that I get to have a part in that!

Love,
Steph

Dad: this is for you. One of our members manages the Arizona Comicon and guess what they had? yep. Full on jedi knight outfits.
Amy: (pic not included) she is also cross-stitching the exploding tardis

Transfer Week!

Big news of the week?

I'M IN THE VALLEY!!!!!!!!!

Yes, the land of heat, palm trees and people galore has finally laid hold on Sister Stephanie Lee. Haha

I'm now serving in Mesa Arizona and (prepare yourself Sister Hunter) I'm on bike! My hair will never look the same again. Goodbye curls! Hello bleached blonde ponytails and buns! My last week up in New Mexico was pretty cool. We had some really good lessons with some of our investigators and I got to say goodbye to so many amazing people! I am really going to miss all of them so much! On Saturday we went to the Pie Town Pie Festival and set up a booth. It was a crazy process trying to set up the booth,but the person in charge of the booths put us in a really prime spot, so we got to see practically everyone walk by. In the process of contacting over 80 people, we found a less-active in the area! Crazy stuff.

One of the most memorable experiences was when a woman walked up to our table, looked down at the stack of Book of Mormons and Restoration pamphlets, looked up and said "I want you to prove to me, without using the Bible, that God is real." I looked at her and I said "All things denote that there is a God. The sky, the trees, everything." She then looked at me and said, "That's in the bible." She then went on to tell us, as she was walking away, that she is a scientist and facts and that God doesn't exist, that it's not a fact and that we're wasting our time and should go home and live out the rest of our lives.

There has never been a moment in my life where I have felt so strongly that this church is true. That we have the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I saw hate and anger in that woman. I saw misery and hopelessness. The Gospel of Jesus Christ bring hope and light. It brings us happiness in knowing that God EXISTS!!! He sent his son Jesus Christ to be our SAVIOR. And he loves us SO MUCH that he has given ALL OF US the opportunity to accept that gift. I was not discouraged by her words; I was rejuvenated. I am a DISCIPLE of Jesus Christ and NOTHING can shake my faith in him or in this Gospel.

At the end of the festival, we saw a girl walk up to our booth that had passed by it multiple times during the day. We were in line for some pie and we saw her reading one of the pamphlets. We rushed over to her and asked her if she would be interested in hearing our message. She said YES! and then told us that she's been looking for something that will bring her hope in her life. SO we got a new investigator! Also, random fact, the guy in the booth next to us gave us free rings. Pretty sweet.

On Sunday I came down to the valley! Pretty crazy, I don't even half-way believe that I'm down here righ tnow, but I know that I need to be here in this ward, and I'm so excited for the work here! I have no problem going up to people and asking if they would be interested in hearing a message of the restoration. Before I left, I received a blessing that I would be courageous. Man, I'm definitely feeling the courage!

I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that this church is Christ's restored church on the earth today and that we have the tools that are necessary to return to live with our Heavenly Father again. Christ is coming. We need to prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually for his coming. What better thing to be doing than missionary work? I love you all so much and I'm so excited to see you all again (not only after the mission) but after this life. Sorry, your stuck with me forever! And aren't you so glad? hahaha

Love,
Sister Lee

PS Elder Nelson is coming this week. I"m so stoked!!


1) We may or may not have run over a cute baby cottontail bunny... and taken a picture of the carcase
2) this is Cynthia, an investigator from my last area
3) This is Sister Myers. She helped us so much with all of our missionary work!

Zone conference

link to mission website and post here.

2 weeks to half-way!!

Hi everyone!

So, Andrew, I first want to say that I am NOT jealous of you at the moment, because it's probably a very good thing that I'm not around a bunch of German chocolate that's on sale. That could be disastrous to my health and my bank account.

Anyway, big news of the week: We got to go to the TEMPLE!!!!!! I'm always so happy when I'm there! There is so much peace from being in the temple. SO YOU ALL NEED TO GO THERE AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN!!! Because I wish I could go a lot more than I'm able to at the moment. I had a really cool experience in the temple this week. I'd just walked into the Celestial Room and I saw a Sister that I hadn't seen in 8 months!

Sister Carambelas and I were in the MTC together and when we got to the mission, she was assigned to the Valley and I was assigned to the Mountains. So when I saw her in the temple, I wanted to jump up and down and sing and dance around the room: which I refrained from doing. Aren't you all proud? haha But that spurred a thought in my head. As I was walking towards her to give her a hug I thought, "This is what the Celestial Kingdom is going to be like." When you think about it that way, it's completely true! When we walk into the Celestial Kingdom, we're going to see people that we haven't seen in a very long time! We may even see people that we didn't expect to see; and that will make our joy that much greater! Greater because they made it! Greater because you knew all of the junk that they had to put up with in their life, and they overcame it! Then

I had another thought. "The only thing that would diminish my joy for them would be the regret that I didn't share the Gospel with them." Imagine that person, the person that you didn't expect to choose to be in the Celestial Kingdom, coming up to you and asking "Why? Why didn't you tell me about this?" Thinking about that makes me cry because there are so many people that I could have shared the Gospel with, but didn't because I didn't think that they would accept the message. So, that being said, it doesn't matter how you share the Gospel as long as you make the effort! You could post links to conference talks or inspirational quotes from apostles on Facebook, you could use a Mormon.org card, you can give someone the Family a Proclamation to the World, you could even just talk about your weekend and include the fact that you really enjoyed one of the talks in church and mention what the topic was.

There are so many things!!! So, I INVITE you to all pray for a missionary experience this week and report your labors to Heavenly Father. One of our baptismal covenants is to stand as a witness at all times and in all things and in all places. Are we keeping our baptismal covenants?
 Wow. Now that I've channeled Elder Holland, on to the kooky stuff that happened this week.

We went on exchanges and I got to go back to my old area! It was really weird to be back, at first, but I felt a huge confidence boost just being there. Also, we were planning for the next week and all of the sudden, Sister Christensen jumped out of her chair yelling "OH NO!!" and ran toward the kitchen. When we looked over towards the kitchen, there was smoke everywhere! So she and I ran to the kitchen, me to wave the smoke away from the smoke-alarm and she to turn the microwave off. Sister Harrast ran around in circles screaming about fire and finally ran out of the house with a cup of water. I've included a picture of what she looked like, standing outside the house while we battled smoke. Just so you know, there wasn't a major fire.

Sister Christensen had decided to melt some chocolate in the microwave and it got a bit... singed. But we were able to clear the smoke away really quickly and we had the house cleared of the "smoky" odor within 30 minutes or so. Also, Sister Christensen started laughing so hard at Sister Harrast that she started choking on her granola bar and Sister H's reaction was very similar to the "fire" reaction. Except this time she brought me the cup and squeaked "take it take it!" and ran back outside to Sister C. It was absolutely hilarious! I love my companions! Anyway, I hope you're all having a great week! And just so you're aware, I put all of your names in the temple when we went! Just shows you how much I love you all!

Love,
Steph

1) the most brilliant rainbow I've ever seen
2,3 and 4) Temple pics
5) Sister H waiting while we cleared the house of smoke

Allergies... I guess the season is changing!

This week has been... interesting.

First off, it was the county fair this week. So that meant that there wasn't any school and nobody was home because they were all at the fair. Which meant that the missionaries (me y mis companeras) were also at the fair, contacting people. We met a bunch of musicians that actually live in the area that we cover so we got names and phone numbers and set up a time to visit them. The funniest part about that experience (you didn't think it was funny?) was that none of us had our planners on us and none of us had a pen. We DID, however, have a foam tray and plastic utensils. So we etched their names and phone numbers into the plate until one of them took pity on us and handed us a sharpie. Yes, it was just a bit hilarious. A nice occurence happened when we were over by the art and a lady started taking pictures of my face. She said I was beautiful and that my face looked like it was from the Victorian era. Yeah, I was flattered but incredibly weirded out nonetheless. We were able to strike up a conversation with her and she mentioned that she had heard that we sang. Who knew that singing at a funeral a month ago would produce such nice contacts! Anyway, we had a very successful afternoon at the fair and met quite a few new people.

That same afternoon we also contacted a group of guys when we were driving past their house. Turns out that they were all from "Oregon" (Mexico, actually, and they made sure to tell us that they were there legally) and that they were down in the area for work. They only spoke Spanish, so that made Sister Christensen's happiness level shoot through the roof.  They invited us in, but they were all drinking beer, so we set up a return appointment for the next day. The next day we brought the Bishop with us (who also spoke Spanish) and we had a great lesson with them and invited them to church. They said that they would read El Libro de Mormon and that they would come to church! I was surprised at how much I understood as the Bishop and Sister Christensen were teaching. I still got lost on a few points, but I understood the basic gist. It made me want to learn Spanish really really badly.

Our truck has been amazing! We've been able to go so many places that we wouldn't have been able to take our car! It's been a blessing. We had another river crossing earlier this week and we took some pictures of the awesomeness :)

Well, I hope you all have a fantastic week! And keep writing to me! Yes, I'm being blunt, I'm not hinting at anything. WRITE TO ME!!! I love hearing from you all!

Love,
Steph
1) us and the AWESOME camero 2) our truck in a river 

The second to last week of August.

So. Here we are again. Another week....


AND SO MANY MIRACLES!!!! MY GOODNESS!! Where should I start?!

I know! I'll just start at the beginning of the week ;)

Never mind, we'll skip to the good stuff.

On Thursday we had an amazing experience. We have been trying to contact a referral, JJ, for weeks! And (dum dada dum) we finally got a hold of him on Thursday! (technically we'd talked to him on the phone previously, but who's looking at technicalities?) Anyway, we were able to sit down and talk to him for a while and give him a Book of Mormon and he invited us to come by again! Speaking of, he knows someone from Stockton/Tooele by the name of (and I may have forgotten it) Shawn Anderson? Let me know if we know him. I can't remember the names of his kids, so I'll try and find that out later. But, seriously, after WEEKS and WEEKS of trying to talk to him in person we FINALLY found him at his house! And he was super nice! It was incredible. That just goes to show how important persistence is. You persist until you meet them or until they tell you to stop. Yep.

We also played a scrabble-esque game with Linda this week and she's really opening up to us. She even took us out to dinner! Service is a major door-opener with people up here and it's been so cool to see them change their opinion of us as we serve them.

This weekend, we spent 2 1/2 days in Pie Town. We have a little trailer up there that we stay in, that's right next to the church. It's also right next to the community center, so when they had some sort of karaoke dance party there on Saturday night, it kept us awake for a bit. Oh the power of music. It can bring the Spirit of God or the spirit of the devil. It's pretty crazy how influential music is.

On Sunday we had some incredible blessings. So, to be honest, our plans for each day don't really pan out how we plan them. BUT on Sunday EVERYTHING fell into place. We had a great lesson on the Plan of Salvation with a family and gained 3 new investigators from that experience! We also had a great lesson with our dinner appointment and followed up on her goals for missionary work! It's so cool to see the drive these members are getting to share the Gospel. Once they find out how, they have just jumped right on it! Oh and we were able to contact another really sweet lady who is a retired 1st grade teacher and she was one of the nicest, most welcoming people I've ever met! I was seriously blown away!

Well, it's been a great week and I'm so happy that I get to be here, serving in this area and that I get to meet these very unique people. God has made us all so unique and he loves us all so individually. It's still kind of incomprehensible to me how much love God really has for all of us. It makes me want to be nicer and more sincere to everyone because I know how much he loves me and I KNOW that he has that much love for them. It's nice to think of people that way.

I hope you all have a Fan-diddly-tastic week and that you update your Mormon.org profiles! haha

Love,
Steph

Pics: we were given a 5 pound cabbage (how do you cook/ eat a cabbage?), this is Sister Gray (she makes AMAZING chicken tenders and fried antelope and calls us her chachas(that IS a Camero in the background)) and THIS is another New Mexican Sunset :)

new transfer! also a new week (in case no one noticed)

This week was transfer week! And that meant, because Sister Pass was transferred, we went down to the valley! It was really really really really really really hot. I mean, it wasn't the amazing 120 degrees that they'd been having, but MAN!! I was so glad that I was wearing a white shirt! It didn't help my face, though. That stayed beet-red almost the entire time :)

Anyway, we had something really cool happen this week.

We got FOUR (yes the number 4) new investigators!!!!! I was seriously blown away! All of the work that we've been doing with the members is really paying off! Up here, in the wilds of New Mexico, we can't really go tracting (houses are 10-20 minutes apart in some places up here) or street-contacting (the same 5 people sit in front of the general store every day) so the member finding is NECESSARY. I think I may have bolded that word in another letter. Goes to show just how important it is :) Anyway it's been fantastic! We were also able to meet with Cynthia this week. She's the investigator that took the lessons in the 70s. That lesson was incredible! She read every single section in the Book of Mormon that we asked her to! Not only that, but we'd asked her to read Moroni chapter 10 and she looked at the book of Moroni and said, "hmmm well, may as well read all of the chapters if there are only 10" and she read the whole book of Moroni on her own! In fact, before we left, she asked us if we could give her some more passages to read and said that she really liked reading the Book of Mormon because it's so easy for her to understand.

Yep, I was pretty dumbfounded. She said that she needed to pray about being baptized again, but she is one of the "seekers of truth" that they talk about in the scriptures. She'll get baptized, it's just a matter of "when".
A miracle that I realized today: My companions asked me to explain the war chapters in Alma for them (the mechanics, why the war started, who was so-and-so, etc) and I kind of stunned myself with how much I was able to explain to them. I never thought that I would understand the scriptures all that well. Even at the beginning of my mission, I struggled with it and I remember praying desperately for understanding so that I could teach my investigators effectively. It's funny that I didn't realize that my prayer had been answered until today when my companions pointed it out to me. And, looking back, I also realized that my prayer had been answered months and months ago. I have been blessed to completely understand the things I read and if I don't understand it, I've been blessed to know which resources that I can look at to gain that understanding. I just want to testify to you all that I KNOW that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. I know that he blesses us when we are obedient to his commandments and the laws that he's given us. I also know that, as mortals, we forget. We forget the blessings that we've been given. We forget to look for those blessings. Sometimes, like in my case, we even forget what we've asked for and therefore don't recognize the blessings. This is my 2nd time reading the Book of Mormon on my mission and I've made a special effort to highlight the word "remember" whenever I come across it. Because when we remember, we don't fall into the pride cycle. It's been pretty cool to see how many times we are told to "remember" in the scriptures.

Also something that my companions and I were talking about in our Companion study yesterday. We were talking about the difference between "hoping" and "wishing". In a letter or a talk or something, someone explained hope as being an expectation based on faith. And we decided that "wishing" wasn't an active thought. When you hope for something, you work for it and have the faith that God will make up the difference. Wishing is simply wanting it to happen without work. So we decided that "wishing" is discontent in the moment and that "hope" is the expectation that something better will come. Yep, I've learned a lot this week.

I love you all so much and I'll definitely be thinking of you all going back to school and work and all the fun Fall stuff that we'd do as a family. I thought about it yesterday and I only have one school year left until I see you all again. It kind of freaked me out because time doesn't seem to be going THAT fast. And who knows? Maybe I'll extend ;)

Have a great week!

Love,
Steph

pics for the week: the scorpion that we found in our house and us with a black powder gun (unloaded and we did NOT shoot it! We're obedient missionaries :)