From August 10, 2009, email: When one door closes, another one opens! I'm sure your release from the branch will bring even greater opportunities! But I am sad that things won't be the same when I get back. Hopefully the new ones can carry on the wonderful tradition of the branch.
After Preparation Day last week, we helped a member family in the ward to paint their kitchen cabinets. Good thing I've had a lot of painting experience in my life!
We're working harder to get to know the members because some of them aren't too supportive of the missionaries. The best way to soften them up is to teach them! We are SO thankful for the members who do come out to appointments with us and feed us. Coming to Windsor from Groton is like going from feast to famine. But I look at this in a good way...I've gained too much weight out here! I'm sure you're all laughing at the pictures I've sent home because I'm not quite the same as before. I sure laughed at Adam & Joel when they plumped up.
Tuesday we went on exchanges with the Rocky Hill sisters. Sister Timothy (from Bear Lake area) came here with Sister Monson and I went to Rocky Hill with Sister Murray (from Rexburg). We had a wonderful time! It's always good to get a change of scenery for a bit. Sister Murray is a wonderful missionary and I very much enjoyed our time together.
Wednesday was Zone Conference and it was probably the best one yet! The general theme of it was "Recognizing the Spirit" from chapter 4 in Preach My Gospel. This is something I've felt like I've struggled with and, of course, the best way to learn is to give a talk! President Pehrson asked me to give a 3-5 minute talk on personal revelation and it went very well! I'm so glad that I have grown so much! I can give a talk and not be too nervous about it! The other missionaries who gave talks did a wonderful job and the Spirit was definitely present. The sad part was I had to say goodbye to Sister Haueter & Sister Glenn. Their time here in the mission was up and it came so quickly!
Saturday night we had a really good lesson with a young kid named Dominique. He had talked to missionaries previously and had received a Book of Mormon. He has lots of good questions about God and Jesus Christ. It sounds like he never had any religion in his life. It blew his mind that Christ came here to atone for our sins and weaknesses. I don't know how anyone could make it through life without a knowledge of the Atonement. Life just seems bleak and pointless without it. He had never prayed before, but had read in our pamphlet how to pray so he tried it out. I see great things in this kid. He is being prepared to one day receive the gospel.
We are seeing many great and small miracles happen in this area. Sister Monson and I decided that we were lacking a bit in faith and were a bit negative about things. So we have made a change in our attitude and amazing things are happening! We're excited to get things rolling here in Windsor Locks!
From August 3, 2009, email: That is SAD news about the branch [Marsh Creek Young Singles that parents have been serving in]! I can't believe it is time for a change already. I'm sure you feel just as I feel when I have to leave an area and start fresh. It's hard to leave, but there are more opportunities to bless the lives of others out there. I hope the new leaders will be as good as the original Marsh Creek Branch presidency.
This week has been a bit slow for appointments because people keep cancelling and ignoring us! We have a lot of investigators down in Windsor, but now that we've moved up to Windsor Locks, we need to focus our efforts here. Not many of our investigators are progressing nor willing to keep commitments so we'll be doing a lot of dropping! We need a fresh start on the area. So we're working hard at finding new investigators!
We taught a couple, the Arnolds, who had visited Temple Square a few weeks back and wanted to learn more about our religion. We had a really good first lesson with them on the Restoration and they wanted to learn more! They were so willing to read & pray about the Book of Mormon that it kinda threw me off. They had previously gone to a Congregational church, but were turned off by the new leadership there. They said that they didn't realize that they were missing something until they had visited Temple Square. He has also had lots of contact with missionaries because he owns a bike shop down in Newington. But we won't be able to meet with them for the next couple of weeks so keep them in your prayers!
Patricia is about our only progressing investigator. She lives in the same apartment complex the Sisters used to live in so that is how the first contact was made. Her family is super opposed to her investigating or getting baptized, but she is willing to follow the example of Jesus Christ. We had a great lesson with her in which she said she would be baptized before her next birthday, which is in November. She even came to church for the first time this Sunday & enjoyed it! Sometimes I wonder about the testimony meetings out here, but it was actually a good one this time around. Most of the youth filed up to give their testimonies about EFY. I'm glad these kids have something like that to attend to strengthen their testimonies of the gospel. We also had a wonderful Relief Society lesson on temples, which included pioneers, past and present. Sister Ouellette gave a PowerPoint presentation on a group of members from Africa who traveled over 300 miles through storms and mud to go to the temple. I know the Spirit touched every heart in the room. The was hardly a dry eye in the room.
We had a short lesson with the Mejias kids on Thursday night and then had a little basketball game against them. It was a blast! It was boys (Jon-13yrs and Myles-12yrs) against Sister Monson, Nya (8yrs), and me. We kept score for a while, but we were having too much fun to care. Imagine it: two sister missionaries out there in their skirts and tracting shoes playing basketball. The boys gave us a compliment by saying we were better than most of the Elders that came over to play. Haha...I wouldn't be surprised if we were... :)
All is well here in Windsor. We are working hard to bring the blessings of the gospel to all. But this time I have as a missionary is coming to an end. I'll be coming home February 10th! I'll get my flight plans sometime soon. I can't believe how fast it has gone by. I'm gonna miss this when I'm done!
We had another musical fireside last night in Woodbridge, but this time I actually participated. It was AMAZING! There were over 300 people in attendance and the musical numbers were so touching. I think all who were there could feel the presence of the Spirit. One Elder sang, "I Stand All Amazed" and couldn't make it through it without choking up. That set the rest of us off. Luckily I didn't let any tears fall, but they were definitely welling up in my eyes! Many in the audience were touched to the point of tears. It was so powerful! I wish you all could have been there to enjoy it. We received a standing ovation (which was kinda strange in the chapel), and I do know that hearts were touched especially mine.
Earlier on Sunday we had the confirmations of two recently baptized members, Myles and Nya. They are part of the Mejias family: the wife was recently activated, the older boy baptized a few months ago, and the husband a non-member. They are such an awesome family. The older son, Jon, remembers having the Elders around a few years back and wants to be just like them. He initiated contact with the missionaries and didn't take long to get baptized. They are such great kids, and I'm so glad to have them a part of our ward. We're hoping to help them make the step towards an eternal family.
We're working on building up our teaching pool here in Windsor Locks as the Sisters before me just baptized most of their progressing investigators. It's tough work, but I love it. There's always a sense of accomplishment after a long day. People are really kind and listen, but most don't see the need for organized religion. We know that there are people out there who will accept it. We've had some good lessons with Orlando, a former investigator that we picked up again last week. He has been through all of the lessons, but doesn't accept that Joseph Smith was the only one called of God at that time. We tried to explain that there were inspired men, but there is just one person on the Earth who is called of God to lead the true church. But he is reading the BOM and praying about it so I know that he will get the answer he is looking for.
The ward is good here, but they aren't as thrilled about member missionary work as was the Groton ward. So we're going to work on that. We're planning to get into their homes and teach them the message of the Restoration to help them remember their testimonies and fuel the desire to share it. We just have a very small portion of the ward in our boundaries and the assistants cover the rest. This transfer we have three assistants because Elder Brand is going home next week. He is the one who put together the muscial fireside and he definitely will be missed by the mission! The assistants love to pull pranks on us Sisters so we're plotting some way to get back at them.....any ideas? :)
I realized that we do have ancestors in the Windsor/Suffield area. Bro. Buck, member in the Hartford ward (who lives in Wethersfield), still lives on a farm that has been in the family for generations. I wonder if we're related. I'll have to catch him in the hallway at church and compare pedigree charts.
Yes, all of my companions except for my trainer have been from Utah. And I will definitely be keeping in touch with them. I've made SO many great friends here on the mission and I plan on continuing those friendships later on. The sisters out here are so great!
I want you all to know that I KNOW that the gospel is the way to happiness in life. I KNOW that the message I carry as a missionary is our hope in life. I KNOW that the true church has been established once again on the earth. I KNOW that we have a living prophet here to guide us. And I KNOW that our trials are given to us for our good. We are being purified just as silver, as Pres. Buck demonstrated a while back in a lesson. I love this gospel...I love being a missionary!
From email of July 20, 2009: Can you believe it's been a year since I entered the MTC? I sure can't! Time has flown by so quickly. It is just hitting me that my time out here is VERY short and I have to make the best of it!
So now I'm in Windsor Locks, CT. It is a totally different area than what I'm used to. It's a poorer area, but the people are definitely humbled! We are so stinkin' busy each day...I've never been busier! We have a pretty large teaching pool, but none who are in the running for baptism yet. The previous Sisters just had 7 people baptized so we've got lots of recent convert lessons to teach. We are going to start working with the ward more closely as they aren't too missionary minded. Hopefully things will start to turn around.
My companion is Sister Monson from Centerville, UT. Joel used to home teach her back in the days of Old Farm [in Logan, UT]. Crazy! We get along really great. We're both a bit shy so we're pushing each other to do better each day. I'll have to write more about our experiences later as I don't have much time left on the computer!
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!
