I Can Make Tamales!

Hello Family!

This has been a great week. Awesome things are happening in our area. Here we go!

FHE on Monday night was awesome. We played a really fun game and had the lesson by Linda! I was so happy watching Linda teach. I felt like a proud parent....until she called on me. Seriously though, I was so proud of her! I really like how our FHE coordinator (Michael) is asking a lot of our recent converts to teach. It really helps them! I also met a really awesome person! His name is John and he speaks almost twenty languages! He works for Google and he is helping them make Google Translate better. He and I spoke French for a while. He isn't a member of the Branch (he is a member of the Church), but he sometimes comes to Institute. He offered to help us out if we need any translation help. We may ask him to come to Michelle's lesson so they can both geek out about languages. I mean, I can only geek with her on French. He can geek out with her on EVERYTHING else. Seriously though, it made my night. I don't have much of a chance to use my French here. 

On Tuesday, we had service at Veggilution and then Institute lunch. Institute lunch is when the support specialist (Sister Fitzpatrick, or Sister Fitz for short) makes lunch and anyone who wants to come can eat. We met a guy there named Nate who is looking into taking an Institute class. He also seems interested in meeting with us! Keep your fingers crossed! :) We then helped Sister Fitz clean up. We also met with Christina (a less active) and had a lesson with her. She has a lot of questions and we took one of her questions and made a lesson out of it. It was a really great lesson. That night, we had dinner with the Merkleys. They live up on the top of a mountain. Every time we drive up there I get car sick! It was a really fun dinner. They are members of another ward, but Brother Merkley is the High Councilman over the Branch so he likes to feed us and the elders to talk about the Branch. It was great. We also taught Hana (a less active). 

Wednesday was not a good day for Sister Chu Shing. First off, she woke up not feeling well, then her companion (*cough cough*)accidentally fed her peanuts (she is allergic to peanuts) so she was really sick, then (at Institute dinner) she bit open a sore in her mouth and was bleeding for a couple of hours! Poor thing! Wednesday morning was also district meeting and then we helped the Laytons prepare for the big dinner. We had some extra time before dinner, so we went on visits. Meaning, we went through the list of people in the Branch and went looking for those who haven't been coming. When we were in the Berryessa area we found an investigator! He lives next door to the people were looking for! We gave him to the Berryessa elders to teach. :D For Institute dinner, we were celebrating Chinese New Year and decorated the room with Chinese lanterns and fans. We also had really yummy Chinese food. Chinese New Year is a big deal here in San Jose! Institute dinner was great, other than Sister Chu Shing getting hurt. Mercifully, none of our people we wanted to teach showed up so we were able to go home and she could go to bed. 

Thursday was a good day. We had lunch with Brother Sydall again (this is going to be a weekly thing). He took us to a nice restaurant (along with a female coworker) and we had a fun time. He was really happy that I finished all my food (he is Samoan and that is a big deal) and he picked on Sister Chu Shing for not finishing hers. We were so full! I have made a note in my planner to not eat breakfast when we eat with him!!!! We then went and visited Manny (a less active) and taught him. He and Christina promised to come to Church on Sunday. Later that night, we met with Nathan and had a good lesson with him. We think we are beginning to understand what it is that he really needs. We also had dinner with the Chandlers. They love feeding the missionaries and we had so much fun. We then had a lesson with Colin. We have been doing Preach My Gospel with him and we are on Chapter Six: Christlike Attributes. It was great. 

Fridays are pretty slow here. That is when we do a lot of planning and service. We did, however, get to go to a Branch Activity. The Rogers (President Rogers and his wife) had a farewell dinner for the Laytons (they leave next week, 4 March) and they invited the whole branch to come (without telling the Laytons that everyone was coming). It was so much fun! There was a waffle bar and we all just ate and talked. They also have a giant chess set and I went against Guy (a member of the branch). He creamed me. It was fun though. We then met up with the Spanish sisters because we were going to do an exchange. So, I was with Hermana Reyes and spent the night at their apartment. 

Saturday was an interesting day. I spent all of it in the Spanish program and a decent part of it on a bike. :D First, after studies, we went to Zone Service. We then went to lunch before going to serve a woman named Lorena. She was feeding us that night and needed help making the tomales. So, I learned how to put tomales together! We did that for a while and then went and got our bikes so that we could go visit some other people. We saw Leonardo and Aristeo and taught them about the Plan of Salvation (I listened. The only english speaker we had planned that day cancelled!). We also tried to go see a recent convert named Bety, but she wasn't home, so we saw Hermano Sanchez and his wife. We then went and saw Hermana Blancarte and taught her the Plan of Salvation too. Before the lesson with Hermana Blancarte, Hermana Reyes needed to use the restroom, and left me alone with Hermana Blancarte and her husband. Thankfully, they both knew that I speak very little spanish! I tried to start a conversation and they were really nice about it. But, man, that was stressful!!!! I felt so useless. I speak very little Spanish T^T We then went to dinner with Lorena, which was fun. But...man, Spanish dinners. You have to eat everything on your plate and take multiple servings so that you don't offend them. So many tomales... It was really good though! After that, we exchanged back. It was a lot of fun, even if I don't speak Spanish and I was sore the next day from the bike! :D 

Later that night, I found out that while I was gone, Sister Chu Shing and Hermana Dominguez set a baptismal date! Another set of sisters gave us one of their investigators because he is YSA age and they set a baptismal date with him! His name is Daniel and he will be baptized on March 21st! I am so excited to meet him this week and teach him! :D

Sunday was great. The Laytons spoke in Sacrament meeting to say goodbye to the Branch. It was so nice. President Hoggan (stake president) was there too. Brother Smalls (Alisa's grandpa) was there too because he is in the Stake Young Mens presidency. He is so awesome! After Church, we met with Linda and talked about temples. The Branch had a temple trip the previous day and she went (proud parent moment again)! We also met with Hana again. I worry about her. We then had dinner with Christina. It was so fun. We then saw Colin and continued teaching him about Christlike Attributes. It has been fun teaching him about that. It makes me take a look and see what I want to work on. 

New Pamphlet and Book of Mormon in French!!

I'd send a funny story, but I think all of Saturday was funny. I mean, poor little me sitting there trying to figure out what everyone is saying! Thank goodness for French, or I would have missed a lot more than I did! XD

Today has been a good day so far. We did our laundry and grocery shopping. Now we just have some letters to write and then the Zone Activity. We are going to go play pukana on campus and see if we can attract any potential investigators! Pukana is a game from Sister Chu Shing's home. Basically, it is like the game signs mixed with the haka. The point is to try to intimidate the person going after you. So fun!!!! I hope it works :D

Love you so much!

-Sara

The Search For Investigators

We had a great week this week, full of adventures and excitement. Okay, maybe I raised your expectations too high. Anyways! We had a great week :D (Gotta keep this short too, I have a lot of pics to send!)

On Monday, we met with Linda and taught her. She is doing so well! For FHE, we made valentines and I made valentines for my roommates. It was so much fun. Sister Chu Shing made me a valentine too! 

On Tuesday, I went out with Hermana Reyes while her companion (the other STL) and Sister Chu Shing had a meeting with the Zone Leaders. We went to visit someone, but they weren't home, so we went and got ice cream. It was fun. Sister Chu Shing and I also taught some other members of the branch. Later that night, Sister Chu Shing and I saw Hana and her friend Alexandra. We read "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox with them. It was really good. Thank you for sending me that talk (we read from the copy you sent me). Hana is also teaching Sister Chu Shing how to play the ukulele. It is really fun to watch and listen to Sister Chu Shing practicing. When we were walking home that night (just around the corner, it was okay) Sister Chu Shing was practicing and a guy stopped us and asked if he could play. We talked with him for a bit before going our separate ways. We are both considering taking the ukulele with us contacting!!!!

On Wednesday, I finished reading The Book of Mormon in French!!!! All I can say is wow. The Church is true, no matter what language it is in! I am trying to decide for when I read it through again this time if I want to do it in English or French. Sister Chu Shing and I also went trash tacting downtown. You meet interesting people downtown! I can't repeat what was said...not appropriate. Anyways! Institute dinner was really fun too. We had pizza! I also went on an exchange and ventured into the Spanish program! Hermana Reyes and I went and visited a family that she and her companion teach with the elders. They were having a birthday party so they fed us cake and then we had a lesson with them. I mainly sat and watched. I caught a little of what was going on, but not much. After that, we went back to Hermana Reyes's apartment to get ready for bed. It was really fun. 

On Thursday, we exchanged back and had lunch with one of Sister Chu Shing's friends (the same guy from last week). His name is Brother Sydall. We had lunch with him and then went to have our interviews with President Mella. I love President Mella! My interview with him was just what I needed. We talked a lot about some of the things that I have been struggling with since Sister Bliss left. It was so nice. We also picked up a new investigator named Serena. We met her contacting on campus. Unfortunately, she texted us this morning saying that she didn't have time right now to meet with us. :( We were really excited to have her as an investigator though! I also got your valentines box that day. Thank you so much!

On Friday, we had ZTM (Zone Training Meeting). It was all about finding people to teach, because we are all trying to find people. That, and President Mella has set a high goal for us to find six new investigators a week! We can totally do it! :D

On Saturday, during weekly planning, we decided to call a bunch of former investigators and called a guy named Harry. He asked if we could meet right then and we said yes! We met him at the library at SJSU and talked with him. He is from Nigeria. He has a strong belief in God and really knows his Bible. He doesn't like t he idea of The Book of Mormon though. We will see what happens. :) Right now, he is an investigator. 

Sunday was great! Both of our speakers (I think they are from the Stake or the High Council...) spoke about the sacrament. I feel like I understand the sacrament so much more since coming on my mission. In Gospel Principles, Elder Layton taught us. He is such an awesome teacher! I wish I could go to his Institute classes, but we usually teach people then. In Relief Society, we talked about finding happiness in troubled times. I needed that! It was all great. After that, we finished weekly planning and then went to visit members of the branch who aren't coming. We had a cool experience! We were looking for a girl and the address she had listed was her grandpa's house. It turns out, the grandfather is Samoan! So, he and Sister Chu Shing got along really well.  It was so much fun to talk to him, his wife, and one of his daughters. He and Sister Chu Shing might be related too! They invited us to come over some time for Samoan food too. They are members of the church and love missionaries. 

Today has been great. We did laundry, got groceries, had lunch, and later today we are going to go play lazer tag with the zone. Then, we have dinner with a member of the branch and possibly her non-member roommate and FHE.

I forgot to tell you last week, after Transfer Meeting the Polynesian Elders did the Haka in the parking lot. It is really INTENSE when they do it! I loved it. It was so cool!

Have a great one!

Oh, and here is a picture in Santa Cruz with the sisters I lived with before Sister Bliss left.

Lots of Changes

Talofa! <-- hello in Samoan

How are you guys? I hope things are going well. Life goes on in San Jose. This has been a crazy week. We went to Santa Cruz on Monday, Transfer meeting in Tuesday, and then trying to work with all of life's curve balls. The Lord is preparing us for something, I just don't know what! Let me get this all out quickly. We have a busy day planned!

On Monday, we went to Santa Cruz. We got most of our P-day things done early and then we caught the bus to Santa Cruz. It was really fun to sit in the back of the bus with the whole zone. We then made it to Santa Cruz! We went onto the pier and looked at the sea lions. We then went to Woody's and got lunch. They have amazing clam chowder!!! We then went shopping on the pier before going to play on the beach. Sister Bliss took a nap in the sun and I ran around with other missionaries in the zone. It was so much fun. We then caught the bus back to San Jose. It was super fun!! I have a lot of pictures!! For FHE, we played a really fun game where we shared random facts about ourselves and everyone said goodbye to Sister Bliss. 

On Tuesday, we had transfer meeting. This is where all the missionaries who are getting transferred and their companions go to the mission office and we find out where we are going and/or who our new companions are. I am staying in Washington Square and my new companion is Sister Chu Shing! She is from Wellington, New Zealand. She is Samoan and Chinese (hence the greeting in Samoan. I have asked her to teach me some phrases). She has two brothers, one of whom is on his mission in Arizona. This is her first time in the United States. She has been out for about fifteen months. Also, she has not seen Lord of the Rings. Everyone asks her that when they find out where she is from! ;) We also saw Michelle that day. She is doing well and we came up with an idea to help her with her scripture reading, but I am getting ahead of myself. :) We also met with Christina. We then had dinner with Guy and Ali and the elders. It was fun. 

On Wednesday, we welcomed the new missionaries and took them out contacting. I took Sister Jones out and she did a great job! It was fun to see all the new missionaries too because Elder McGann, from when I was in the MTC, was there! Also, the new Elder that Elder Methvin is training was there (Elder Forsgren). That night, we had Institute dinner too. It was really fun. Sister Chu Shing served in the other YSA ward and would come to Institute dinner, so she already knew a lot of the people there. I also met a girl there who is a French teacher! We haven't spoken in French yet, but it was so cool! I hope to see her again :D

On Thursday, we met with quite a few people. We went to lunch with one of Sister Chu Shing's friends. He is from New Zealand too (I felt very short being with him and Sister Chu Shing!). We then came back and taught Michelle. We taught her about prophets and gave her a talk by President Monson to read. I also gave her something to help her with her reading: I gave her my French copy of The Book of Mormon. The one I brought with me. Someone suggested that I get her a copy in French. I won't say too much, but I prayed about it (because I didn't want to just give it away!) and gave it to her. I hope that she treasures it. It was so hard to give that away! :< We also had dinner with Ismael and then had a lesson with Nathan. He is an interesting individual. We also helped Carmina prepare for her FHE lesson (which is tonight). She'll be great! :D

On Friday, we had district meeting. Normally, we have them on Wednesdays, but we did Friday this week. Half of the district is new (to the zone) so we did a lot of get to know you things. I think we are going to have a great zone. :) We also went and did service at Roosevelt. It was so much fun. We also met with Linda. She and Sister Chu Shing are both very friendly so it was great. 

On Saturday, I went to morning sports. You read that right. Sister Chu Shing likes sports and so we went. We played volleyball. Later, we did our weekly planning and we focused on finding more people to teach. It took most of the day. It was really good though. Hopefully, now that we are on the same page, things will be easier and I won't feel like everything is on me. 

On Sunday, we had Branch Council and Church. We left Church early because Sister Chu Shing wasn't feeling well and we went home to rest and she also unpacked.

Oh, here is your funny story for the week! So, when we welcome the new missionaries, we wait at the Institute building for them to come and the APs keep us updated on where they are (because the APs and President Mella are the ones who bring them to the Institute). Every time we do this, Elder Fisher (one of the APs) can't remember the address to the Institute, so I cornered both of them before transfer meeting to confirm and give them the address. 

Me: Do you know the address to the Institute?

Elder Fisher: Yeah, *street name*, right?

Me: Yes. *gives address*

Elder Fisher: Right by *cross street*

Me: Yes. 

The next morning, they called us as we were waiting at the Institute...

Me: This is Sister Palmer

Elder Fisher: Hello Sister Palmer, how are you?

Me: Good. How are you Elder Fisher?

Elder Fisher: Good. ...can you give us the address to the Institute?

Me: *tries not to laugh* ...Yeah, I can do that. *gives address*

Elder Fisher: One of these days, we'll get this. 

Me: ...yeah...do you need anything else Elder?

Elder Fisher: Nope. We'll be there soon.

Me: Okay, see you.

Elder Fisher: Take care. 

Seriously elders?! XD Just write down the address instead of calling us every transfer! XD

That is about all for here. I hope you are having a great week. Have a happy Valentine's Day <3

Love you lots, 

Sara

Not A Normal Week

Hello, 

Well, this is going to be quick considering P-day is almost over and that I had a really uneventful week. Here goes...

Monday to Friday I was sick. I went out a little bit and worked, but it was really hard. We went to the Urgent Care and both the strep test and the flu test came back negative. They gave me antibiotics for a bacterial infection and I am feeling a lot better. The weekend, though, went well. 

On Saturday, we went to Veggilution for service and spread mulch. Reminds me of working in a certain someone's garden. ;) We then went out to lunch as an apartment. After that, we went home and did a massive weekly planning session. We had to get everything that Sister Bliss knows onto paper so I am super prepared for my new companion. We also talked a lot about my getting a new companion (what my concerns are, how to get to know her, etc.). We then went out to get dinner and we got in another car accident. Our car (we named her Lucinda) is cursed!!!! We were stopped in traffic when this guy tried to turn into our lane and scraped the end of our bumper. He then sped off! Seriously?! Anyways, we were totally fine. Just irritated because we got our car back from the shop this week! We then met up with some elders in our zone so Sister Bliss could practice her song for the outgoing. We then went home. I was exhausted by the end of it! 

On Sunday, we went to Branch Council and then to Church. This Sunday, the Branch cancelled classes for the last two hours of church and everyone paired up and went to round up all of the less-active YSAs who don't attend the Branch. They were given specific assignments on who to find and those without vehicles were to pair up with those who had one. Sister Bliss and I didn't go because we had Michelle with us and we weren't about to just leave her. So, for those who didn't want to go, we taught a gospel principles class. There were about six of us total and we all read Alma 32 and discussed it. It was a success. After that, Sister Bliss had SMCM (a meeting that she has to go to because she is in leadership. It is an MCM but on the Stake level, I think). This meant that I was with Sister Lytle! :D Before Break the Fast, we taught Linda (she is doing great! She just started school and she is trying to balance school and work) and then had Break the Fast. After that, Sister Lytle and I helped Sister Layton do the dishes and then our companions came back. After that, we came back home and did some things before going to the outgoing fireside. Did I explain what an outgoing is last time? If not, it is a fireside where all the missionaries who are leaving speak (they share their testimonies). You can only go if you bring someone with you (an investigator, a recent convert, etc...). Or, as in my case, if your companion is leaving. It was really great. Afterwards, Sister Bliss got to talk with a lot of people and get pictures. I also got to say goodbye to some of the missionaries that I know who are leaving. After that, we came home. 

Sunday night was also transfer calls. About half of our zone is being transferred. We are losing Sister Bliss, Sister Hill, Hermana Robinson, Elder Ball, Elder Davis, Elder Arnell, and Elder Puente. I am so sad to see them go!!!! Tomorrow, though, is transfer meeting, so I will get to see where they go and who they are with. That is also when I get my new companion. :)

Let me give you a quick run down on our investigators. We have picked up some people: 

Jose - Jose dropped us. I wasn't there and I don't completely understand his reasoning, but he has some things that he needs to work out. I hope that some day he is baptized. 

Kyle - Kyle is taking a break. He has a lot going on right now and he needs to really decide if these things are true. 

Michelle - Michelle is progressing well! I am excited to continue to teach her with my new companion. 

Elio - Elio is doing well too. He was taught The Restoration this week.

Akki - Akki is Elio's friend who was also taught last week. He is Hindu. 

Nathan - Nathan is another investigator that we are teaching. He is taking a Book of Mormon class at the Institute (for the free parking) but doesn't really get what he is learning about. So he is meeting with us.

Let me end with a really funny story:

So, when I was sick, I asked Elder Ball and Elder Methvin to give me a blessing. Elder Methvin then asked me for my middle name...

Elder Methvin: Your middle name is Jean, right?

Me: ?

Elder Ball: What the-?

Elder Methvin: What, I thought her middle name was Jean. Sara Jean...

Me: No, it's Kelsey. Sara Kelsey

Elder Methvin: Oh, okay

Elder Ball: where did you get Jean?

Elder Methvin: I don't know...

*after the blessing*

Elder Methvin: maybe I was thinking Sara Jane...

Me: My grandma used to call me Sara Jane. Thanks, Elder. That makes me smile. 

Grandma Allshire, are you messing with "my" elders? ;) 

Anyways, I gotta run. Love you lots! Have a wonderful week <3 <3 xoxoxoxo...

Did Sister Palmer really go to Santa Cruz? Who will be her new companion? Stay tuned for her next email! Same missionary time, Same missionary address! :D 

Love, 

Sara

Investigators and Indian Food

Hello family! 

I hope things are going well for you. I am doing well in San Jose. We had a really good week this week. For FHE, we played a bunch of improv games. It was fun.

On Tuesday, we had service at Veggilution. That was an adventure! While there, I caught a lizard! There was a lizard chilling inside one of the pallets we were moving and I offered to catch it. Elder Crawford got a picture of me holding it. I really need to remember to take my camera to Veggie. It is a farm run by interesting people so there are plenty of things to take pictures of! There was also a black widow in one of the pallets but we didn't touch it! :) We then had lunch and came to the Institute so Sister Bliss could figure out her stuff for BYU. Registration opens right before she goes home and she couldn't work on it on Monday because it was a holiday. So, she worked on that and I provided moral support. We then had a lesson with Linda. We then met with the Laytons to talk about some branch things and then had dinner with John and Vivekk. John made us calzones. It was really yummy! We then had a movie night! We taught Sam The Restoration (using the new way we learned how to do it at Zone Conference) and then we watched Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration. Apparently, there are two versions of that movie! Because the one we watched was not the one I saw years ago!

On Wednesday, we had district meeting and then went to lunch. We then came back and helped the Laytons prepare for Institute Dinner. We then worked on our new way of finding people. We are going to contact with a survey. We are going to have people take a fast Religious Interest Survey and leave us their information if they are interested. It should be great once we figure out how to approach people with it. We then did some training before meeting with two new investigators! When I was on exchanges last week, Hermana Sinclair found two guys named Elio and Arnab. We called them up and set up an appointment to meet with them before dinner. They came and they are so solid! They are really looking for the truth and we are so excited to teach them! We then had institute dinner (tacos!) and taught Ali. We were going to teach Kyle and another new investigator (Kelsey) but they never came. 

On Thursday, I went on an exchange with Sister Hill and Sister Jessen. It was my first time in a trio. It was a little weird. Before the exchange though, we went and did service for Brother Merkley. We went and painted a fence. Brother Merkley lives on a mountain, so when we were painting the fence, we were having to paint and go uphill. I got paint all over myself! I got it in my hair, on my pants, and on my coat! Brother Merkley fed us lunch and then we went home to clean up. After that, I was on exchanges. We tried to visit some less-actives in the wards, but no one was home. We then went home to make some more plans and then we were off to dinner. Dinner was great. A sister in one of the wards and her son took us to Sweet Tomatoes. I really like that place. So yummy! We then went and visited the Donavans, another family in one of the wards. They have the coolest house! Anyways, we talked with them for a while and taught about baptism. Brother Donovan is not a member, but his wife is. It was a good lesson. I hope that someday Brother Donovan will get baptized. 

On Friday, I went with Sister Hill and Sister Jessen to clean a dance studio for service. It was fun, but man was it cold in there! After that, we went to lunch with Sister Bliss and Sister Card and exchanged back. Sister Bliss and I then went to practice the song she is singing for the outgoing fireside next week and then we started our weekly planning. After weekly planning, we waited for Sachin so we could have MCM. We then met with Linda and her boyfriend, Anthony! It was a really good lesson. He seems interested (whether that is because he wants the gospel or to continue to date Linda remains to be seen). All four of us taught him (Elder Ball, Elder Methvin, Sister Bliss, and me). We also decided to have the elders teach Anthony from now on. So, they have a new investigator! :D We then went to the Rogers for dinner. Vivekk made indian food and a decent chunk of the branch showed up! It was super yummy and so much fun. They also watched a Bollywood movie, but Sister Bliss and I left before that. 

Saturday was Sister Bliss' 18 month mark. So, after service, we went out to lunch with Sister Hill and Sister Lytle to celebrate. It was really fun. Sister Bliss says that it doesn't feel like 18 months! She's also really stressed about going home. This week will be crazy! After that, we did visits. No one answered the door, but that is okay. Maybe some other missionaries will have a chance. :) We then did training and had dinner at home. We also finished our weekly planning. We have good plans for this week! 

On Sunday, we had Branch Council and then Church. Michelle came and we were super excited to have her with us. She is a language nut like me (she is a french major and speaks multiple languages) so I gave her a sheet of paper with instructions on how to pray in French. She was so excited! After church, we had a lesson with Hana, a less-active member of the branch. She was really struggling and we gave her a quick lesson about how God loves all of us. I think it helped. We then had a meeting with Sachin and the Elders to plan our missionary activity this week! On Friday, we are having personal pizzas and game tournaments (air hockey, pool, ping pong, fooseball...). It is an activity for people to hang out with the missionaries and with investigators and recent converts. It will be so much fun! We then had a lunch/dinner before going to see Ceidy. She is doing fairly well. We then went and saw Colin. We taught him about the Spirit (we are reading Preach My Gospel with him) and it was a really great lesson. We then came home and did training before the end of the night. 

Today, we did our laundry and went to the store for groceries. We also bought me a coat because my other one was covered in paint. It has been a pretty successful day so far. We have dinner with Carolyn, a member of the branch, and then we are going to FHE. It should be a good night. 

Have a great week!

Love, Sara

My First Zone Conference

Hello, 

Hope things are going well for you. This week has been a very interesting week. Let me just tell you...

On Monday night, we went to the Branch FHE. We split into two teams and built temples out of legos. I was on one team building the Las Vegas temple and Sister Bliss was on the other building the Hawaii temple. It was so fun! The elders came late, so we made them judge. Elder Ball voted for Las Vegas and Elder  Methvin voted for Hawaii, so it was a tie. It was so much fun.

On Tuesday, I was on an exchange. Sister Bliss and Sister Hill did an exchange with two sisters in our zone, so I was with Sister Lytle again. We did a lot of service, and we also saw some people. It was a good night. 

On Wednesday, we had Zone Conference. Sister Lytle and I drove their together and then I was back with Sister Bliss as soon as it started. It was incredible. President Mella has made a lot of changes. We used to have Standards of Excellence. These were numbers that we needed to reach for the week, or you really felt like a failure. Some of them even focused on things specific to the mission like contacting and baptismal invitations (things not in Preach My Gospel). President Mella got rid of the Standards of Excellence and declared that we are a Preach My Gospel and White Handbook mission! You know what this also means? We're not getting up at 6:25 anymore! We're getting up at 6:30! :D So, we still have Standards, but it really isn't so much about numbers anymore. We also really don't need to worry about contacting as much! President wants us to do other things to find. So, we can still use contacting, and we really should, but it isn't as big anymore. We are also using a new method of teaching. We are to use the pamphlets and teach more simply! It is tricky to learn, but I am excited! :D

San Jose Zones

 Zone Conference was from 9:00-5:00 (they fed us lunch), so we went straight to the Institute after that to set up for dinner. At Institute, we taught Sam (a recent convert), Alan (a member of the branch), and Kyle. We then went home. What a day!

On Thursday, we went to the mission office and called our referrals. We then taught Michelle. Something happened and now she is really interested in learning again. She is not at the point where she wants to be baptized (she just wants to learn) but her heart is changing. Who knows, maybe she will want to be baptized in the future? We then had lunch and service. A lot of our service this week has been trash-tacting. Going out with trash-tactors an d cleaning up around town. People love it when we do that! We then went and saw Manny and Christina. We taught them about the Spirit. We then had to go to Milpitas to meet up with some other missionaries before dinner with the Chandlers. It was really fun. We then went and taught Anna (a member of the branch).

Friday was a weird day. We had our study and went trash-tacting with the elders before going to lunch with Alan (he fed us and the elders). We went to a Chinese place that was really weird and then went and got donuts at Psycho donuts. The place looks really creepy, but the donuts are awesome.

Afterwards, Sister Bliss and I felt so sick! We then had to go clean our car and take it to the mission office. Sister Nedreberg (the vehicle coordinator) wanted our car to go into the shop and get the bumper fixed (from our little rear-ended incident in November) so we had to go with her to take it in and pick up a loaner car (another companionship's car; they weren't using it). We then taught Christina at the Institute building before leaving for Milpitas to have dinner with the Rogers (the Branch President and his wife). It was us, the Laytons, and the elders at dinner with them. After dinner, we went back to San Jose to teach Sam. It was just a weird day. 

On Saturday, we did a lot of service. We went trash-tacting and then helped Ali set up for her boyfriend's sister-in-law's baby shower. We then taught Carmina. That was a great lesson. I was teaching her about the sacrament and I realized that I needed to ask her a question. A weird question came to me and it came out. It turned out to be just what we needed to ask! We found out why she hasn't been coming to all of Church! Looking back, that was totally the Spirit.

Something I have come to learn, is that having your mouth filled doesn't mean that you will understand what comes out of it. I feel like I "spiritually puke" on people and they totally get it and it was what they needed. Even though I had no idea what I said! The Spirit also pokes people and says "Yeah, what she said made noooooo sense, but she meant this." I really appreciate it when he does that! Another thing that I find hard is that I do A LOT of learning "on the job". Oh well. I am learning to just go with things. 

We then had dinner at a yummy mexican place that Sister Bliss and I had never been to before. They don't charge missionaries, so President Mella has set a rule that missionaries can't go there all the time or in huge groups. So, we went there because we didn't have a dinner and we wanted to try it (My Spanish is sooooooooo bad XD). We then came home and I helped Sister Bliss plan before we did weekly planning. 

Sundays are very busy for us. We get up, get ready, and have a little bit of study before going to Branch Council. After Branch Council, we have Church and then we meet with people after Church. We are at Church for a looooooong time. This Sunday was very good. Linda got confirmed! :D After Church, we met with Colin and then with Linda and Sam. Linda was so funny. She was feeling so happy and excited and she had no idea why! We explained to her that that was the Spirit and she felt better. We then went to dinner at the Parker's. It was really fun, and I ate a lot of good food. We were then able to meet with Chris (a less active). He came to Church today and we talked about why he came to Church and what is going on in his life.

I think that is all for here. SJSU starts up this week so all of our people will be back! :D

Love you lots! 

Linda got Baptized!

Good morning! Well, by the time you get this, it will probably be afternoon...

Let's get started shall we. It has been a busy, crazy week. 

On Tuesday, we did a lot of service. We were still waiting for people to come back, so we scheduled a lot of service. For service, we go to places that need volunteers and volunteer. In our case, we also do service for the Laytons too. After service, we had lunch and went contacting. We then took care of some things for the branch and then we had dinner. For dinner, we fed the missionaries! Our dinner cancelled, and the elders were supposed to eat with us, so Sister Bliss and I made dinner for us and the elders. When we were grabbing ingredients from our apartment to take to the Institute to cook, Sister Bliss looked at me and said "Sister, we're feeding the missionaries! We're going to get blessings!" It was fun. We then went and saw Ceidy and then did some training before planning and going to bed. 

On Wednesday, we didn't have District meeting because of the special visitors to the mission. We used that time to train and contact before grabbing a bite to eat with Christina, a member of the branch. We then had lunch and did service for the Laytons. We then had a lesson with Samantha. After that, it was time for Institute dinner! We had dinner and then a former teacher at the Institute (Dr Hegstrom) gave a great presentation on the Church in the Middle East (we were able to stay and see it because Linda was with us). We then had a miracle. Kyle came! He came in late to the presentation. We were so excited to see him again. After the presentation, we invited him to have a lesson and we had a lesson with him. We plan to see him next week. 

On Thursday, I went on an Exchange. Sister Bliss and Sister Hill had a leadership meeting, so Sister Lytle and I got to run around in their area. It was fun. We did service at Roosevelt (have I told you about Roosevelt? It is a community center where we help them put on a lunch for the elderly. We help serve and then wash the dishes. After lunch, while we do dishes, the people who had lunch start dancing. It is so fun to watch these older people do these old dances that they grew up learning when we are going in and out of the kitchen!). We then left to meet with an investigator named Rufus. We then met with another investigator named Arianna. We then went contacting at a strip mall. I ended up inviting a guy in Spanish to come to Church with us. Why do I always have to use my Spanish when I go to their area? :) Anyways, after that, we exchanged back and Sister Bliss and I met with Linda. We prepared for her baptism by writing down what she wanted done and having her try on jumpsuits. It went well. We then had dinner with Ali. We went to Johnny Rockets. Did I tell you about Johnny Rockets? It is a fun diner that looks like it is from the 50s. They have really yummy food and I love their shakes! After dinner, we then met with Colin, a member of the branch (he is preparing to go on a mission). 

On Friday, I had a doctor's appointment and we spent a lot of time taking care of things related to that. We also had lunch with the Sister Hill and Sister Lytle. We went to Olive Garden for soup, salad, and breadsticks. I had Zuppa Toscana! :D We then had weekly planning before going to see Linda. Linda had her baptismal interview and she was feeding us dinner. She passed her interview and fed us and the elders. It was fun. 

On Saturday, we had service and then had to get ready to go see Elder Quentin L Cook! We had to get there early because Sister Bliss was singing a musical number with some other sisters. Elder Cook, Elder Nielson, and Bishop Causse came to speak to us at the meeting. When they arrived, our area seventy stood and told us that Elder Cook, Elder Nielson, and Bishop Causse wanted to meet us and that we all needed to line up and shake their hands! So, I shook hands with them! :D :D :D The meeting was really great. They had a Q&A and then they all gave short testimonies/messages. Elder Cook also left a beautiful apostolic blessing with us that put my heart at ease. We then went contacting at the mall and taught a couple of lessons. We then went to set up for the baptism. President Rogers also wanted to make a last minute change to the program (he wanted to change who was baptizing Linda) so we needed to fix that too. 

On Sunday, we had a great meeting with Bishop Causse. I also saw my friend Bryce from my mission prep class! I was shocked! We talked for a minute and then he went to sit down. We were then going to have Linda's baptism, when someone in the Branch told Bishop Causse about Linda and he wanted to meet her! So, we went with her and stood back while she talked to him. I was so scared she was going to throw me under the bus and tell him that I speak French! D: Thankfully, she didn't. We then had the baptism. It all went well, except for the five seconds of sheer terror when I thought that President Mella and Bishop Causse were going to the baptism! (They didn't come). The baptism itself went really well. :D We then went home and had lunch before meeting with Christina. She is really struggling. Sister Bliss then had a meeting and Sister Lytle and I went contacting. You meet some interesting people when you contact! We then watched the Young Adult Fireside. It was so weird to see BYU Idaho and President Baron conducting and someone I knew in the collegiate singers! It was soooooo weird! After that we had dinner with the Jepsons, did some more contacting, and went home. 

Today, we have been able to get a lot of our P-day errands done already (yay!) and we should have time to relax. For the Zone Activity (we have one every P-day) we are going to play games together. It should be really fun. Also: Jose is supposed to be coming back from his trip this week! We have to move his baptismal date, but he's coming back and he still wants to be baptized! :D 

Love you lots,