From October 6, 2008 email: I'm jealous you got to see the little
Durfs [sister Holly Durfee & family in Colorado]! Holly sent pictures
of them & they are the cutest things ever!
Makenna looks even more red-headed than when I last saw her. I hope you
gave them all some squeezes &
moochies for me.
Conference was the most exciting thing to happen this week. I think back to the times when I was younger & conference dragged on for hours. This time it flew by & I was yearning for more. The talks seemed to be a refresher for all we should be doing but obviously aren't. We have to master the basics before moving on to deeper things. I like how Sister Allred called on EVERYONE to do missionary work, not just the full-time missionaries with the name badge. As we take on the name of Christ at baptism, we also take upon ourselves the responsibility to share what we know with all we come in contact with. I never realized how important members were in missionary work until now. Sometimes they have a greater influence on people than we do. So do as much missionary work as you can right now! We got to watch conference at the stake center in Bloomfield with about 12 other missionaries. A few people came on Saturday, but it was a full house on Sunday. I'm spiritually filled up now & ready to get to the work again.
We're having a tough time finding new people to teach, so we're trying to expand our horizons & think of new ways. I found it interesting that in Preach My Gospel, it tells of other ways besides tracting & contacting. I always thought that missionaries just did those 2 things all day to find people. But it suggests service, firesides, teaching classes & much more. Hopefully we'll think of some good ideas & be able to implement them.
Tonight we have an appointment with Arthur King, an investigator in Winsted. He's a very interesting but fun character. He likes to call himself "King Arthur" which very much fits his personality. We'll be teaching a 3rd lesson which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, & hopefully we'll be committing him to baptism. I've never taught a 3rd lesson so I'm a bit nervous, but I know it will go well. There have been so many times that there have been words come out of my mouth that I know weren't mine! The Spirit definitely directs us in every aspect of the work, especially in teaching.
Friday we had a mission-wide apartment cleaning day. We were excited for this because our apartment was a disaster. It hasn't been taken care of very well so we had lots of work ahead of us. We worked from about 1 pm until bedtime & it still wasn't done! We had some nasty mold growing in the bathroom so I spent a few hours scrubbing that off the walls & ceiling. Ewwww. But now it's clean so I'm happy.
Sister Haueter (Howter) is a hoot. I remember when I was set apart, Pres. Turner told me to have fun on my mission. Missionary work doesn't have to be boring. So she helps me live up to that. We have many laughing moments & we can be a bit crazy at times. But she has an amazing testimony & I've learned so much from her. I love her! :)
The conference talk that really hit me was by Elder Carlos A. Godoy. He talked about gaining his testimony, that it didn't come in some big miraculous way. A testimony comes as a collection of experiences. That made me think about my testimony. It didn't come all at once in a big-bang theory way. Little experiences all through my life have shaped it to what it is now. And it's still growing as I'm out here on a mission. I thought I had a strong testimony before I left, but now I realize that it still has so much room to grow. I welcome those experiences that will try my faith & help my testimony to strengthen.
Thank you for being such a great family. I know that I say it just about every week, but I truly mean it. You have helped my to become the person I cam. I've looked up to all of you & have learned so much from your examples. I love you all!
