From email of July 13, 2009: Last week I forgot to mention that transfers were coming up. And so...suprise! We're getting doubled out of Groton! It was a big shocker to us. Sister Mortimer is headed to Newport (getting doubled in there) and I'm off to Windsor. I had a feeling that I was going, but I had no idea that it would be both of us. We're spending a lot of today packing and saying goodbye to all the wonderful people here. I'm going to miss it so much! We have Jayde's baptism this Saturday so the Elders will have to be on top of things to get it done!
We got our transfer call last night while we were teaching the Taggarts. They are so awesome! Seth said he didn't want anything less than a temple marriage now so his kids can be sealed to him. We also committed Kelsi to accept nothing less than that...in a few years! We took our departing pictures, some of which are included in the email. Seth's little boys said they wanted us to be their "big sisters" and they attached themselves to us pretty quickly. Its been good for them to be exposed to church because they don't get much of that with their mom in Louisiana.
We had a funny thing happen to us the other day. We were just about to leave for service at Gerts when Sister M. decided she needed to go to the bathroom. I'm sitting on the couch in the other room when I hear "HELP!" Sister M. got locked in the bathroom because the handle was messed up. So after a bit of fussing, we got her out and I thought I got it fixed. But then I get locked in the bathroom and the handle falls completely off! We had to do some more fumbling around until I was out. We were laughing so hard that we were struggling to get out the door. A little comic relief doesn't hurt every once in a while!
From July 6, 2009 email: It sounds like everyone had a wonderful Independence Day. Mine was quite interesting...a wedding, baptism, and a BBQ! Friday afternoon, Pres. Pehrson left us a message on our phone saying that he wanted us to be witnesses for a wedding he was performing in the Groton chapel on the 4th. We called him back and got the full story: a sailor in the navy and his fiancee’ were going to get married in Utah, but the Navy wouldn't let him go. They had the reception and everything all planned out. How stinky is that?! So they decided to do a quiet ceremony here in Groton. However, Bishop Mason was out of town so they got a hold of President Pehrson. It was quite the experience. Ruby, the bride will be in our ward in the next three months. Phil, her Tongan husband, should be coming whenever the Navy will let him go.
Then we headed to a baptism that the New London Spanish Elders were having. Everything was in Spanish so I didn't understand a single thing of it, but the Spirit knows no language. The Spirit was very strong there. I stumbled through the Spanish versions of "I Am a Child of God" and "I Need Thee Every Hour" but I still felt that same burning inside. That is a huge testimony to me of the truthfulness of the gospel. It feels the same no matter where you are.
The Harpels took us in for a BBQ since no one else offered to feed us. They are so good to us! I can't remember if I told you that Sister Harpel made us each blankets that folded into pillows and also bought us a Navy shirt to remember Groton by. Plus they are always feeding us when other people fall through. They have a son out on a mission in Peru/Bolivia who gets home in December. I think they're so good to us because we remind them of him!
We dropped by Kelsi and Seth this week. They are doing AWESOME! They came to church along with his two other boys and stayed the whole time! That's improvement. He said that while they were in Utah, his cousin said something in a talk that hit him. He wants to change his life around. Now he's completely given up smoking, drinking, swearing, etc. He is so much happier! We are so excited! This makes all the hard missionary work worth it! Kelsi is excited for this change in her life. She is such a sweet girl!
We are seeing a slight change in Gloria. She is being humbled, which is exactly what she needs. She fed us last night and we also had a wonderful scripture study lesson. She committed to read the entire Book of Mormon since she has never done that before. We promised her that she would get the answer that she is looking for...as long as she is humble. We got a picture of her and her husband, Russ.
There was a crazy storm that rolled through here on Wednesday. It poured...and poured...and poured...and poured! Streets were flooded, cars were stranded, and many basements were full of water. I've never seen so much water come down in so short of time. We had our interviews with Pres. & Sister Pehrson that day in Waterford and the water was running off of the building like a waterfall! There was more booming thunder and lightning. Crazy, crazy storm!
I'm glad that the Durfees [sister & brother-in-law] are moved back to Idaho! That makes visiting a lot easier when I get back! I'll be either getting home for Christmas or on February 10th...hopefully the former! I have to talk with President about it to see when he'll let me go. I'm enjoying my mission so much, but I realize that it will have to come to a close some day. I've learned SO much out here and I've had amazing experiences. I can't wait to share all of them with you when I get home!
From email of June 29, 2009: Kelsi got baptized this weekend in UT! She gave us a call not long after it happened and she said she felt good. She is such a special girl! She's being such a great example to her father, Seth. He hasn't smoked since getting to Utah...yay! We are excited that he is making those necessary improvements to his life. It is hard to pull yourself free when you get wrapped up into the things of the world. You'd be better off just staying away from them!
We took over an investigator whom the Elders in North Kingston had been teaching in Westerly. They had said that she knew the Book of Mormon was true, Joseph Smith was a prophet, and they had set a baptismal date with her. This week we met her and found out that she was no where near baptism. Elders, Elders! We tried to teach her a watered down Restoration lesson, which got her thinking a bit, but her huge yellow lab was being rambunctious. This lady absolutely LOVES her animals and treats them like her kids. A lot of our appointments this week fell through or were rescheduled. It's frustrating to work so hard, and not have people follow through. I guess that's the missionary life! We are focusing a lot on finding new investigators since our teaching pool is dwindling baptisms or moves. We figure we can't convert all of Connecticut, but those who have been prepared by Heavenly Father.
Our talks went very good on Sunday. Sister Mortimer was the first speaker so she stood up, took about seven minutes and then passed it on to me. Can you believe that I spoke for over 20 minutes! I used to be scared to death to speak in church and always look forward to the day when I was comfortable with it. This Sunday was it! We elaborated on Elder Perry's talk in the last general conference, which was about member missionary work. As a missionary, I've really come to know the importance of members in this work. We can't do it without them. I'm going to be a much better member missionary when I get home. This mission has been the crowning point of my life. It has changed my way of thinking and my desire to serve the Lord. My testimony has been strengthened immensely--it couldn't have happened any other place!
From email of June 22, 2009: Sounds like a very eventful week! I'm a tad bit jealous that you were able to go to the Manti pageant and see the beautiful temple there. We will most definitely have to go when I get back.
Let Holly and Trenton [sister & brother-in-law] know that they will not be alone in speaking in church. Sister Mortimer and I have to speak with the high councilor this Sunday. Ugh! This will be the 3rd time since I've been in Groton. And the subject is...of course...missionary work. Hopefully that goes well. Yesterday we had a recently returned sister missionary speak about her mission in SLC. Sister Park moved to Connecticut to live with her sister for a while and then decided to go on a mission. Her parents live in Ukrane right now so CT is closest to home. After the meeting she found us and referred a friend of hers, Alex. Apparently she had referred him to the missionaries about a year ago, but not much happened. Last week we were looking through our old referral records and ran across his name. We had planned to stop by him sometime this week, but Sister Park beat us to it. What a coincidence...or was it? Later that night we taught him about the Restoration with Sister Park and he accepted to learn more. He is really searching for something more in his life that the gospel can fill. The spirit was VERY strong in the room and I know that most of what we said was put into our mouth. I loved to see Sister Park still actively engaged in missionary work even after she was released. That's what I want to be like.
My baby, Sister Mortimer, left the nest for the night as we went on exchanges with the Fairfield Sisters. It was our first time being apart for so long! But it was good. I stayed here in Groton with Sister Thomas, from SLC. She's only on her 2nd transfer, but I still learned a lot from her. One big thing is talking with everyone. There are times when I let my shyness get the best of me and I chicken out. But with Sister Thomas, we talked with EVERYONE and saw great miracles happen. We were out contacting in the morning and took a little detour from our usual contacting route. We ran across a guy who was setting up for a car wash to benefit the Relay for Life. At first he wasn't too excited to listen to us, but as we shared our testimonies and recounted the First Vision, he softened his heart. He already owned a BOM so he promised us that he would pick it up when he got home. It was crazy to see the change in him just over a span of a few minutes. We just happened to be at the right place, at the right time.
We have also been floating away from the extreme amounts of rain. I heard that there was a flood warning issued somewhere in CT, but I don't know for sure. I'm looking forward to some sun, too! I do like the cooler temperatures, though.
I want everyone to know that I love them very, very much! I'm blessed have the greatest family. I see so many families broken up and wrecked, which makes me appreciate the love and closeness that we have. And it is because of the gospel that our family is so good! I can't imagine it any other way! The picture is of us sisters on exchanges. Mortimer, Baird, Thomas, & Me. I look a little funny because I had to sprint back to get into the picture. Enjoy! :)
From email of June 15, 2009: I'm glad to hear that we aren't the only ones floating away. It has rained SO hard these past few days that we thought about building an ark. But of course the New England weather is so dynamic that we had rain/fog/sun/hot all in one day. I thought Idaho weather was bad.
This week hasn't been the best. A lot of our appointments have fallen through and things just aren't working out how we'd like. These are the times that missionary work is hard. We go out and talk to people all day long, but get rejected. Most everyone is "all set" and they don't give us the time of day. Some of our investigators aren't progressing along as they should which is frustrating. If I would have known that missionary work was this hard, I probably wouldn't have come. But I know it is for my good. I'm a better person because of it. Plus the joys of seeing someone accept the gospel and enter the waters of baptism overshadow these tough times. It makes it all worth while! I'm also appreciating the little blessings that I'm given each day from Heavenly Father.
Kelsi is leaving this week for Utah to get baptized. Yay! I'm excited for her. She's being a great example to her father and is key to getting hime reactivated. He knows it is true, but just can't make the effort to change. We see that a lot. People believe, but laziness and habit get the best of them. Gloria is doing good, but is as stubborn as ever. We pray for her daily so that she will open up her heart to the gospel. Keep her in your prayers!
Hopefully I'll have lots more to report next week! We're still trudging a long in the rain and the sunshine. We know that the Lord promises us and our families great blessings for our service. That's what keeps us going. These hard times usually mean something good is around the corner!
From June 8, 2009 email: The baptism on Saturday was great! There were over 80 people in attendance there. Most of the ward showed up, along with a few family members on the Steel sid
Other than the baptism, it seemed like everything was falling through this week. We had to reschedule a lot of our appointments and things just didn't work out. It's so frustrating! Here you are working your tail off to get a baptism and everything else falls apart. I know it's the adversary working against us. I don't see it coming to an end anytime soon since we have two more baptisms coming up. But we'll power through it. Just keep us in your prayers!
Gloria took us onto the submarine base this week to do a little grocery shopping. They have a little thing called the Commissary in which is pretty much a giant grocery store. Everything is tax free and a bit cheaper than a regular store. Hmm...Joel, do you have something like that where you're at? She bought us a few things there, which has really helped us out this week. Then we went back to her house for a lesson. We read through 3 Nephi 27 and discussed it. It seems that Gloria needs to open her heart and her mind to the gospel. She tells us every reason why the Book of Mormon/church can't be true, but doesn't plant that seed of faith to see if it really is true. So we'll be working on that this week.
That's the most exciting bit of our week. Things are coming along here in Groton and we're expecting it to pick up even more. I'm so grateful for all of you that sacrifice so I can be out here. It's truly a blessing to you, me, and all of those who accept the gospel here.
From June 1, 2009 email:
Yes, you did hear something about transfers. But Sister Mortimer and I have escaped being transferred again. This is the longest I've ever been with a companion and we are still getting along great! None of the Sisters moved this time around so there will be some big changes next transfer. Earlier today we had a BBQ with the district at Harkness State Park, which is right by the ocean. We had some good food and some good fun! Sister M & I bought $1 kites at Wal-Mart and the Elders had a heck of a time with them. There was a gentle breeze to keep the kites up. It was such a beautiful day!
We had a great lesson with Gloria this week. This was the first time that we were able to sit down and have an actual lesson with her. We read through Alma 32 which talks about planting the seed of faith. She has made such great changes in the past few weeks. We have become such great friends with her, which has broken down a few barriers that had been put up with the Elders. We're expecting great things to happen with her!
Brother Steel (left) is still on for this Saturday. There is going to be a huge crowd there with most of the ward attending. It has been such an amazing blessing to have taught this wonderful family. They have invited us over to lobster dinner sometime this week when their friends from Utah come. Last night we were talking with Bro. Steel before his interview and he said that they were thinking about getting sealed in the Timpanogas temple and wanted us there. That would be super convenient for us!
I love being in Groton! The members here are great and the investigators are solid. This past week I've been thinking a lot about how much I've changed since I came out. My scriptural knowledge has increased ten fold. My confidence has blossomed. I can't ever imagine not serving a mission. It makes you such a better person. I can't believe this will be coming to an end shortly. It has been the greatest experience of my life. Thanks for all that you do! Every letter & email keeps me going. Keep reading the scriptures, praying, and going to the temple! Remember what's most important in life!
