I was in Primary!

Hi! How is everyone? I hope you are all doing okay. :) This week has been an interesting one. 

Monday was Memorial Day. Along with our regular P-day errands, Sister Wolfe and I went to a nearby cemetery and walked around. There were graves there of people who had been born in the 1800s and died in the 1900s! Super old! It was a pretty big cemetery, and we only walked around part of it. Then, we did our normal P-day errands. It was fun. 

On Tuesday, we saw Juana. We taught her about service. We then met with Tina, a recent convert. We shared President Uchtdorf's talk "Forget Me Not". She really liked it. :) We then had dinner with the Hickens. Sister Hicken wasn't home so we had to eat outside with Brother Hicken and Trevor. It was fun. I got such a kick out of watching them scramble around and heat up leftovers from the other night. Silly boys. :D After that, we met with Tiana. Because the church building will be closed the day of the baptism, we are moving it to Sunday the 7th. I am excited for that because now we can go to San Jose for Michelle's baptism!!!! :D We taught Tiana more of the commandments. We will be finishing her lessons this week! After that, we cleaned out our car because we had a big missionary meeting in San Jose the next day. 

On Wednesday, we went to San Jose for the big meeting. Those meetings are different after you have been transferred. So many people you don't see on a regular basis anymore! I was hugging so many sisters that I haven't seen and shaking hands with the elders. :) I actually knew people! I was so excited to see Sister Lytle, too! She is in Livermore now, so I never see her. She's doing great. :) We all assumed this was the meeting where we would be trained on how to use the iPads and finally get them. Instead, it was a four hour meeting on how to use technology as a missionary. We were all a little bummed! (We did find out though that they are going to start giving them out zone by zone and each zone will have a training meeting on how to use them. We get our iPads this Wednesday!) After the meeting, we had a meal and President Mella took a big mission picture. After that, Sister Wolfe and I left. We then went to the McArthur's for dinner. We then went home because Sister Wolfe wasn't feeling well. 

On Thursday, we were going to see Laura, but she wasn't available. That afternoon, we went to Marianne's with Courtney. We then went to visit  Renee. We also shared "Forget Me Not" with her. After that, we decided to get dinner, because our dinner cancelled on us. Don't make us pick dinner. We both are awful at making decisions. We did, however finally pick a place to eat (we didn't want to eat at home) and it was good. You have to be careful in Santa Cruz, especially downtown. A lot of the restaurants serve what I like to call "hippie food"! 

On Friday, we went to the soup kitchen. Bre asked me in a recent letter what we do at the soup kitchen, so let me break it down for you. We arrive at the soup kitchen at 10h00 and we help them get food ready until 11h00. Then at 11h00 they serve us. One of the Catholic saints said that when you serve  food, you should be full so that you are happy when you are serving. So, they feed us while the homeless people are in the courtyard. While they wait, there is a building in the courtyard where they can take a shower. After we eat, we help get everything the rest of the way ready and then we go out into the courtyard to have a prayer with them before they eat at 12h00. From 12h00 to 1h00 we serve the food. Then we help clean up and we are gone a little after 1h00. It is fun. After the soup kitchen, we tried to see some people, but they weren't home. We then went to see Rhonda and her sons, Phillip and Joseph (not investigators). We taught them about scripture study. We then had dinner, by ourselves again. This time, to a really yummy restaurant. After dinner, we went and saw Krystal. We had a really powerful lesson with her about repentance. It was one of those lessons when the Spirit says "Good job, Sisters, but now I am here. Let me teach." It was incredible.

On Saturday, we did service for the McArthur's. Sister McArthur has a huge flower garden and we did some weeding for her. After that, we had lunch before heading to San Lorenzo Valley. First, we saw Sister Dallenbach. She is doing about the same. She and her crazy dog. Her house was like an oven though! We didn't stay as long as we usually do, because Sister Wolfe hates heat. We then tried to visit some people before going to dinner at the Mock's house. They have a couple of little dogs, so eating with them is interesting. It was fun, though. 

On Sunday, we went to one of our branches for sacrament meeting. This branch is up in the mountains and is about halfway between Santa Cruz and San Jose. As you would guess, it is pretty small. After sacrament meeting, we went back to Santa Cruz for lunch and then went to primary in another ward. We were in primary because they had asked us to do singing time. You read that right! Sister Wolfe played the piano and I lead Singing Time. Thankfully, there were not many kids there this week, and I know how to lead music! We survived. Actually, it went okay. :) Sister Wolfe and I had fun watching Sharing Time. You never know what those kids are going to say! After primary, we went to Sunday school and then a combined meeting (5th sunday) in our YSA Branch. We then came home and planned before we were going to go to dinner. Our dinner, however, couldn't have us over and she sent her husband to meet us near our apartment with plates of food. It was so nice. :) We then weekly planned and called it a night. 

We have noticed something interesting. A lot of people don't seem to realize that Jesus Christ is IN The Book of Mormon. As in, He makes an appearance. Everyone knows about when He appeared to Joseph Smith (even non-members) but people don't seem to get that He appeared in the Book of Mormon. Even some members! So, for the last little while Sister Wolfe and I have been sharing 3 Nephi 11 in our dinner messages. I encourage you to go back and read it! Every time Sister Wolfe and I teach it, I learn something new. :) 

Today has been a good day. We have some errands to run, but it should be a pretty relaxed day. :) It should be a great week too! :D

Love you lots! Thanks for all you do!

Love, 

Sara

Sisters on Parade

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well. :) Things are going well here in Santa Cruz. We had an interesting week this week! It was a rough week for teaching though, with everyone going out of town for Memorial Day weekend... Anyways, let me tell you about our week. :D

On Tuesday, we had dinner with the Kings. She made tacos. I was in heaven. :D I love eating with the Kings. They are so much fun. We then taught Tiana. We started teaching her the commandments. We hope to finish them up next time. We also went and saw Laura. Apparently, the doctor told her that she is cancer free! :) After Sister Wolfe and I got home and planned, we also made cookies. Cake-mix chocolate chip. Yuuuuuuuuuuuuum. 

On Wednesday, we went to a picnic at one of our branches and helped serve the food and do whatever else they needed us to do. We were there for most of the day. It was really fun. After the service, we went to Courtney's for dinner. We had curry. :D That night, we went to see Krystal, a less-active. We talked to her and shared from President Uchtdorf's talk "Forget Me Not". It has been a long time since I read that. :)

On Thursday, we had a fun adventure. Sister Wolfe wanted to try boba, so we went to a place that had it. The guy at the counter was really interested in Sister Wolfe. He kept staring at her and talking to her. To the point where I almost didn't get to order! It was pretty funny, and weird. >< We also met with a new investigator! Well, I'm not really sure what we should call her. The members in Santa Cruz ward told us to visit a girl named Morgan. Her mom is less-active and her dad is not a member. They said that she needed to be taught so she could be baptized. It sounded like another Tiana, so we decided to go for it. We talked to Morgan, only to find out that she is seven! So, we taught her the Restoration, and she already knew a lot of it. So, we are not really sure what to do about her (if it is really our responsibility to teach her or not). We will be talking to our leaders about her. We also had dinner with them and then worked on some preparations for our big finding activity (I will get to that!). Later that night, the sisters in my last area called me (Sister Chu Shing and Sister Tuitupou). They called me to tell me that Michelle is getting baptized!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it! Unfortunately, her baptism is the same day as Tiana, so I will probably miss it. :< 

On Friday, we went to the soup kitchen for service. It was fun. One of the homeless guys told me that I have pretty blue eyes. :) That made my morning! After the soup kitchen, we did some more service for a member who is moving and asked us to help her pack. We then did some visits before going out to one of our branches for dinner (the same branch we were in on Wednesday). This branch is in the mountains and the woman we had dinner with was definitely a country girl. She told us about how when she was a girl (she is 87 right now) she would ride to school on horseback! We had a fun dinner with her. 

On Saturday, we did a super fun finding activity. We marched in the Memorial Day parade in Felton (San Lorenzo Valley). We got together with members in the Santa Cruz ward and marched in the parade, wearing Mormon Helping Hands shirts. The best part of the whole parade though was when the car in front of us broke down. So, we all had to push the car! Mormon Helping Hands in action!!!!! :D People will probably remember that! After that, we went to lunch and then to visit some older members. Always an adventure when we go to SLV. :) We also had dinner with our ward mission leader in SLV and that was fun. We then came home (we were there for dinner and had a missionary coorelation meeting, so we didn't get back to Santa Cruz until it was time to be home). 

On Sunday, we had another long day of Church. About eight hours this time. We had sacrament meeting in our first ward, then ward council in our second ward, then sacrament meeting in our second ward, then lunch, then branch council, then the whole block for the branch. We then came home and were going to plan, but took a nap. We then went to dinner and then came back home. It was a busy, good day. 

Today will be interesting, given that not everywhere will be open. We are going to go to a cemetery, and then  we are off to run some errands. It should be a pretty relaxed day. :D Have a great day. I love you!!!

Sara

Exchanges, Service, French, and More!

Hello! 

How is everyone? I hope that you are all doing well. This has been a week to remember! :D

On Monday night, the Sister Training Leaders called and asked if we could move our exchange to Tuesday. Meaning that we would be exchanging that night. That wouldn't have been an issue if we hadn't had a lot planned for Tuesday, and that the STLs are all the way in Monterey! We said yes, though, and offered to meet them part way (we met in Salinas). I was with Hermana Sinclair, who I know really well from my time in San Jose. :)

On Tuesday, we had studies and then we went to a service activity called Project Homeless Connect. We went to this arena where they had a bunch of booths set up for the homeless people (ie. food, clothing, medical, legal, emotional, housing, etc.), and advocates (volunteers like us) walking them around and helping them. Hermana Sinclair and I were there for a few hours and helped some people. Some of them were really grateful, and some of them not so much. Oh well. Apparently, they have been doing this service for years. They are going to do another one in about six months in Watsonville, too. After the service, we went to some appointments and then to dinner. Our dinner was with the Hickens (who we are good friends with). Sister Hicken is Thai, so she made us Thai food. Yummmmm! After that, we met with our investigator, Tiana. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and drew it all out. It was fun. After that, we went back home so Hermana Sinclair could pack up and exchanged back. It was a good day. 

On Wednesday, we went to Cabrillo to CSU campus. The semester is ending, so this week will probably be our last time there. After that, we were going to meet with our investigator Sheena, but she forgot. We then had lunch and went to a birthday party for one of our less-actives named Phillip. He was so happy that we came! After that, we did some visits and visited a recent convert named Laura. She has been really sick (she has cancer) and she was glad to see us. 

On Thursday, we were back at Cabrillo and I got to talk to Chelsea!!!! She walked up to the table and I seized my chance to ask her if she spoke French. It is her first language! We spoke in French for a while at the table and I was bold enough to ask her about the Church and if she wanted to learn more. She told me that she is Catholic, but she is reading The Book of Mormon and she is interested in what she has read. She said she is kind of "between the two". She will be at Church this Sunday!! :) After that, we met with some more people before having dinner. After dinner, we met with Tiana again. We taught her about The Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was great! Also, I finished reading the book Jesus the Christ! I loved it! You should try to read it again! :D 

On Friday, we were doing service at the soup kitchen. There were a lot of people there. It was fun to work and really feel like we were being helpful. :) We also went and saw a member named Renee. She reminds me a lot of me. She is an introvert, a twin, and she is multilingual. We taught her about prayer. We also went around looking for places to go contacting. Santa Cruz is so beautiful! We also have a good idea of a way to find people, that we will be trying this week (stay tuned). We then had dinner at the Judd's. I gave her a hug for you Mom! :D I love eating with them. We then went and saw a less-active named Krystal. We saw a miracle on the way out of Krystal's appointment. We got out of her appointment late, and we had to walk down the street a little ways to our car. As we were walking, a guy was walking down the street the other way, making a lot of noise (probably drunk or on drugs). Sister Wolfe grabbed her can of mace and I was ready to beat him with my bag. We walked past him and he didn't even see us. He didn't even see us! What a miracle! We ran the rest of the way to the car! 

On Saturday, we were in San Lorenzo Vally visiting people. We visited that older lady (she is still completely crazy and the dog is still trying to eat his foot off. Still no meat cleaver). We also saw Dottie. She is an older woman who has almost no hearing. So, there is no pressure if you say something wrong. :) Also, to keep ourselves entertained while in the car, I have been telling Sister Wolfe the plots to classic books (she loves it). We are almost done with all of Jane Austen's books. After dinner in San Lorenzo Valley, we spent time with our YSA. It was fun. 

On Sunday, we had nine hours of Church. D: At 7h30 we had Branch Council in one of our wards and left part way through Sacrament meeting to go to Ward Council in another ward. We went to part of their Sacrament meeting and left early for lunch (a member in one of the wards brings us lunch. We love her!!). After a quick lunch we taught Sunday School in our second ward and we also went to Primary (they asked Sister Wolfe to play the piano). We then went to Gospel Doctrine class in our third ward and Relief Society. We then had dinner and came home to weekly plan. It was a crazy long day! It was better this time though, probably because I had food this time (last time we did this was on Fast Sunday). 

All in all, we have had an eventful week. We have a lot planned for this week, too. Today, we have errands to run and we will probably go to the Zone Activity. 

Love you!!

-Sara

Oh, they say when you're baptized in June...

Hello! 

First off all, it was AWESOME to Skype you on Mother's Day! :) But, I am getting ahead of myself. We had a great week this week, and I want to do it justice. 

On Monday, we had dinner with Lilian (a member of one of our wards). We went to a Taqueria (they are all over California). It was yummy. For FHE, the Branch did Zumba. Sister Wolfe and I stood in the back and tried to do it, but we didn't do very well (hahahaha). We left early. 

On Tuesday, we had District Meeting on the beach again. The elders were half an hour late, so Sister Wolfe and I walked around on the beach. While we were walking, there was a seal on the beach. We watched him for a while and named him Sebastian. It turns out, he had a fish-hook in him, and at the end of District Meeting we watched the beach patrol capture him and put him in the back of a truck. For District Meeting, I got to teach a little segment on teaching by the Spirit. The Spirit is so important to missionary work! 

On Wednesday, we went and got bagels on our way to an appointment. We both love bagels and we found this bagel shop that has really yummy bagels. It is an odd little place, but it is good. We then went to see one of our investigators, but she wasn't home (we think that she forgot). We then came back home and cleaned for a couple of hours because we had interviews with President Mella. Interviews were awesome. I got to talk to President about whatever I wanted to. I love him so much!!!! I'd hug him if I could. (Actually, I told him that and he offered me a virtual hug. XD) After that, we rewarded ourselves with food for getting our apartment clean. :D 

Thursday was a gloomy day. It rained practically the entire day. I felt like I was back in western Washington (seriously, with the trees and rain, it felt like it). We did, however, still go to Cabrillo. We didn't get to talk to as many people, just because people didn't want to stop in the rain and talk to us. No Chelsea either. :< That afternoon, we decided to go visit an older woman named Glenna. That night, we taught a new investigator. A member from one of our wards called us and asked us to teach his 9 year old granddaughter and said that she wanted to get baptized! So, we went and taught her. Her name is Tiana.  It was really cool, because there were a lot of people there who sat and listened/watched as we taught her. I would never have been able to teach in front of that many people (and remain calm) before my mission! We are excited to see what happens. Maybe some of those other people (including her Mom) will be interested in hearing more? :) Her baptismal date is 6 June!!!!

On Friday, we had service in Watsonville (so, we didn't get to go to the soup kitchen *sigh*). We went to an old fire station and helped set up for a graduation. Afterwards, we came back to Santa Cruz. We taught one of our investigators, Carol Beth. She has been investigating for years. We are trying to figure out how to help her. That night, we had dinner in one of our branches out in the middle of nowhere. We had to drive up a mountain to get to the place where we were eating. We go there every other Friday, so I will be taking Dramamine every other Friday! After that, we had frozen yogurt with some of our YSAs. It was fun. 

On Saturday, we had another service. We went and helped out at the Human Race. We stood at the finish line and cheered people on as they finished the race. One of the women we visit was in it, too. That was great. After that, we went to San Lorenzo Valley to see some of the people in our ward there. There are crazy people who live out there! They have a Bigfoot Museum there that Sister Wolfe and I really want to go to. One of the people we see is an older woman who lives alone with her small dog. She has no memory and the dog is trying to eat its own foot. She is threatening to cut the dog's foot off, and even went after it with a meat cleaver when Sister Qaqa was still here. So far, I have not seen the meat cleaver... I promise to keep an eye on my feet! ;)  After some time in SLV, we went back to Santa Cruz for a YSA activity. They had a bonfire on the beach. The missionaries and part of the Branch presidency were the only ones to show up! We had hot dogs and s'mores (yum). :) 

On Sunday, we went to Church from 10h00 to 4h00. So, not at much as last time. :) After Church, we went to the McArthurs for dinner. We helped prepare dinner and then skyped with you guys. That was so awesome! ^_^ After that, we had dinner and then read scriptures with Sister McArthur. We then went home and weekly planned. It was a good night. 

Today has been good. Sister Wolfe and I are going to do laundry after this and maybe go to the Zone Activity. We will see. That's about all for here, though. I hope you are having a great day and that you have an awesome week. 

Love you lots!!!!!!

-Sara

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Hello! 

Wow, this was a crazy busy week! Let me explain...

On Monday, for FHE, we had games and root-beer floats. We played Scattergories, and I thought of you all. Sister Wolfe had never played, but she did a great job! It was fun. 

On Tuesday, we had District Meeting. At the beach. We went and sat on the beach and had District Meeting. We have a really tiny district, and Sister Wolfe and I are the only two sisters. It is kind of annoying, but also fun because we get to laugh at the ridiculous things the elders do. For example, we wanted to take a district picture, and the elders decided to take it on this cliff. So we did, and then Sister Wolfe and I stayed away from the edge, looking at the ocean. The elders went to the edge and got soaked! They complained that they were freezing, and we laughed. It is moments like that when I remember that the elders ARE 18 year old boys!!!!! That night, I had a fun experience at dinner. We ate with a family in Scotts Valley named the Doltons (Dole-tons). We were talking about school and when I mentioned that I wanted to study French, I found out that one of the boys in the family was learning French in school! I got to talk to him! It was awesome! :) 

On Wednesday, I hit my six month mark. It doesn't feel like I have been on my mission for six months. Not at all. We worked really hard that day, too! It was awesome. In the afternoon, we went and saw Juanita. She is an older, hispanic woman who lives in a nursing home. We take Trevor (a member of the YSA Branch we serve in) with us to interpret (he learned Spanish on his mission in Bolivia). We taught her about faith. We then went and saw another woman named June and set up an appointment with her. We then saw a less-active named Jen and taught her about the priesthood. That went well. We then had dinner (and dessert) with Lilian. She tries to feed us every week. She is so nice! We then went and visited a woman named Sister Crain. She has a lot of health challenges, which is why we have never seen her at Church. We then went on splits. I went with a sister in one of the wards to visit Brenda, who is less-active. She is really nice, but she had a lot going on in her life right now. Sister Wolfe went with a sister to visit a recent convert named Laura. It was good. 

It was hot on Thursday. It got up to almost 90. Is it getting really hot in Richland and Rexburg yet? On Thursday morning, we cleaned and then went to Cabrillo (the college where we have the table). The elders couldn't make it, so it was just us. We couldn't set up in our usual place because a bunch of students had really graphic signs up about abortion and were arguing with those passing by. We decided that we didn't want to be affiliated with that in any way, and set up somewhere else on campus. We did have people come and ask questions, but we also had Bible bashers. *sigh* I didn't get to talk to Chelsea either. Oh well. Next time. After Cabrillo, we went to Marianne's with Courtney. After that, we went to Courtney's house to make dinner. It was good. 

Friday was hard, but it was a good day too. I survived my birthday and being homesick. I opened presents first thing in the morning. Thank you so much! After studies, we went to the soup kitchen. This time, Sister Wolfe and I were in charge of greeting everyone as they came in. I also said the prayer before everyone came in to eat. It was a little intimidating! It is really fun volunteering there, though. :) After the soup kitchen, we went to go pick up a cake pan so I could make my birthday cake. We had an interesting conversation with Sister Martin, the woman we borrowed it from: 

Sister Martin: So, are you making a cake for someone?

Sister Wolfe: It is Sister Palmer's birthday

Sister Martin: Happy Birthday! Do you have a dinner? Who is it?

Sister Wolfe: The Judds

Sister Martin: Well, I will have to let them know that it is your birthday! :) 

Me: *laughs* Okay, thank you

Sister Palmer with Birthday Balloon and Cake

When we went to dinner, I found out that Sister Martin is true to her word. I walked into the Judds house to see a Happy Birthday banner and a balloon tied to the door! We talked to Brother Judd (one of the ward mission leaders) for a while and then Sister Judd came out with a present for me! We talked for a little bit and then had dinner. After dinner, we had cake, and Sister Judd put candles in it. They then sang Happy Birthday to me while Brother Judd played it on his accordion! It was awesome! After that, we went to the Church to meet with Ali (from my last area). She drove down to Santa Cruz to give me a present. She also played me a voice message Sister Bliss had sent, singing me Happy Birthday. :) All in all, it was a good day.

Saturday was great too. After Personal Study, we went with one of our wards to the temple! We went to the temple and had lunch at the Stake Center right next to the temple. We then went to the Visitor's Center and watched "Meet the Mormons". Do not watch it until after I get back. They talk to a woman who is a Misisonary Mom, and Sister Wolfe and I almost started crying. After the movie, a lot of people left, but Sister Wolfe and I stuck around, waiting for the husband of the woman who was giving us a ride home because he was inside the temple with the elders doing initiatories (we were a little jealous!). We waited in the Visitor's Center and I got to see people from my last area, along with listening to the message of the Christus in Spanish. (I want to hear it in French again, but I will probably wait until I go back to the Idaho Falls one). On the ride home, we watched a church movie. It was fun. We then had dinner with Trevor before going to frozen yogurt with the YSA. It was great. 

Sunday was crazy. We went to three of our five wards! Thankfully, they were all in the same building! At 7h30, we were at our first ward council. We then went to the first part of that ward's sacrament meeting at 9h00, before leaving for a missionary correlation meeting at 9h30 and our second ward council at 10h00. We then went to sacrament meeting in that second ward at11h00 and then to our YSA Branch's branch council at 12h00. We then went to the whole branch from 1h00 to 4h00. After that, we had Break the Fast from 4h00 to 5h00. By 5h00 I was so tired! I am beginning to understand how you feel on Sundays, Dad. >< After that, we had an appointment, but then we came home and planned. It was a much needed break.

Today has been a good day so far. We studied and did laundry. Now, we are emailing and will be off to run errands. Not sure yet if we will go to the Zone Activity, it depends on what they want to do. Tonight, we have dinner with Lillian and then FHE with our YSA. It will be great. 

Love, 

Sara

Not in San Jose Anymore

Hello!

I made it through transfers! But, before I get there, let me go back and tell you about my last night in my first area... 

As I mentioned in my last email, I was asked to teach FHE. I taught about going through trials and talked about the enabling power of the Atonement. I have never taught like that before. We talked about the Atonement helping us get through trials, and then I just poured out my heart and talked about a time in my life when I had been enabled by the Atonement. I was practically crying by the end of it. Everyone said that it was a really good lesson. I hope they got something out of it. It really helped me. We then played a game and then I had to say goodbye to everyone. That broke my heart. Some of those people are so special to me, and I didn't want to leave! 

I was then up for an outrageous amount of time packing. Let's just say that it was Tuesday morning when I finally went to bed.

On Tuesday morning, after loading all of my things into the car and saying goodbye, we drove to transfer meeting. I'll tell you, transfer meeting is so scary when you are the one being transferred! Thankfully, President Mella has a great sense of humor and he makes us all laugh, so we aren't as scared. I was scared the whole time as Zone after Zone went by! Finally, my name was called. I am serving in Santa Cruz with Sister Wolfe! I was so excited! After Transfer Meeting, we went to lunch and then back to Santa Cruz to get to work. I also got to go to an awesome ice cream shop called Marianne's. We went there with a less-active named Courtney. 

Let me take a quick break to tell you about my new companion and my new area. 

My new area is bigger than I am used to. We cover almost every ward in the Santa Cruz stake! We are over three wards and two branches. A lot different than the one little branch I was over in San Jose! Santa Cruz is also more relaxed than downtown San Jose. There are still a lot of the things I saw in San Jose (ie. homeless people) but it is different. A lot of the people here are elderly. It is a really beautiful area too. There are so many trees here, and it reminds me a lot of western Washington, but with less rain. :) 

Sister Wolfe and Sister Palmer

Sister Wolfe is awesome. To start, I met her when she first came in. Sister Chu Shing took her contacting on her first day in San Jose. She has been out for a total of three months, and just said goodbye to her trainer, Sister Qaqa. She is doing awesome! I remember being in her shoes three months ago! She is from Syracuse, UT and has an older brother who is married. She is 19 but has already done three years of college (she did college during high school). She is an English major. She loves old books and old movies and have spent a lot of time talking about that. She is the first missionary in her family, too. I love her a lot! :D 

On Wednesday, we met with an investigator named Sheena and taught her about the Word of Wisdom, the Law of Chastity, and Tithing. She agreed to all of it and we asked her how she is feeling about baptism. She has some family problems right now, and she needs to straighten those out before she gets baptized, but she wants to. She is awesome. Sister Wolfe then had a doctor's appointment and we were in San Jose for a while. We then went back to Santa Cruz to teach a less-active named Jen. She is great too. Later that evening, we had dinner with Lilian, a member. She is neat. After that, we tried to go contacting, but it wasn't very successful. :| Although, on our way back we saw a car stop in the middle of the road, and multiple people jumped out of that car and other cars to help push it. There are still good people in this world!!!!

On Thursday, we went to Cabrillo college to find people. Every week, the missionaries set up a table with proselyting materials, a sign with a question, and food. People usually come up for the food and we talk to them about the Church. One of the journalists for the campus newspaper even interviewed us. One of the girls who came up to the table is a girl who the missionaries have been trying to talk to. Her name is Chelsea. I found out that she is from Africa, and that her native language is French! Sister Wolfe and I think that if I can start a conversation with her in French, maybe she would be more interested in hearing from the missionaries!!!!! I am so excited!!!!!!! After Cabrillo, we had lunch and visited people before dinner with a family. We then had splits. I had been in the area three days, and I was going on splits. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! The splits went well, I took the member(s) with me to see a couple of members in Capitola. We made it back to Santa Cruz just fine. :) We are doing it again this week too. 

On Friday, we did service at a Catholic soup kitchen. They feed the homeless people every week and we help out. It was fun. After that, we went to Starbucks for a treat. It was really funny walking into Starbucks as a missionary! After that, we did visits in Scotts Valley before going over to Courtney's for dinner. We get to help make dinner, so I learned how to make Italian Wedding Soup. It reminds me of Zuppa Toscana. It is so yummy! After dinner, we went and had frozen yogurt with the YSA in the one YSA branch that we cover. It was fun. 

On Saturday, we did some visits in San Lorenzo Valley. That is an interesting place! No one signed up to feed us, so we went out to dinner together. It was really fun. We then went to the adult session of stake conference. It was really good. They talked a lot about unity and practically called the whole stake to repentance! It was intense! 

On Sunday, we had Stake Conference. President and Sister Mella even came and spoke too! Afterwards, we got to talk to the Mellas. I love them so much! After Stake Conference, we did some visits and worked on our weekly planning. We then had dinner with the Youngs. That was interesting. We told them that we wanted to share a spiritual thought with them, only to realize that we hadn't planned one. So, I told Sister Wolfe to share her favorite scripture and we would improvise. The spirit was there and Sister Young said that we shared exactly what she needed! The Spirit knows so much more than we do! That totally wasn't us! :D Afterwards, we continued with visits and finished weekly planning. We then stayed up until 10h30 talking about Harry Potter (hahaha). 

Today has been good so far. In my studies, I read Alma 5 and dissected it. I also read more in Jesus the Christ. I am almost to the last week of the Savior's life. (Side note: Sister Wolfe loves Jesus the Christ too, and we have been talking about it because we are almost both at the same part!) As for the rest of the day, we have errands, laundry, the Zone Activity (maybe), dinner, and FHE with our YSA Branch. It should be a great day! 

Have an awesome week! Love you lots!

-Sara

Off to New Pastures...

Hi there!

I hope you are doing well. We had a really hectic week this week. Let me tell you what happened!

On Monday, at FHE, we got a phone call from the APs asking us if we would be willing to take on a "mini missionary" over the weekend. Of course, we said yes. For FHE, we played spoons. I had never played before, and it was really fun. :) Also, that night, one of our YSA (Michael) opened his mission call! He got called to Mozambique (southern Africa) and he will be speaking Portugese! He is soooooo excited. :) We then went home and I told our roommates that we were getting a mini missionary, only to have them say that they were getting one too!

Sister Leavitt, Sister Tuitupou, and Sister Palmer

On Tuesday, we were on exchanges. Sister Chu Shing and Sister Gilvarry were with a companionship in the Zone, so Sister Leavitt (Sister Gilvarry's companion) got to hang out with Sister Tuitupou and me! :D We had a fun day, and taught one of our investigators (Ivan). We were finally able to teach him the Restoration. He participated, so that was a good sign. :) 

On Wednesday, we had a combined District Meeting. Meaning, both the districts in our Zone got together and had District Meeting. We did this because it was Elder Montgomery's last District Meeting (he is the District Leader in the other district) and he wanted to meet with everybody. It was really fun. We went over what we learned in Zone Conference and talked about the baptismal dates we have coming up. After District Meeting, we had a Zone lunch. It was fun. We then helped the Nelsons prepare for Institute dinner. Institute was great, as usual. :) 

On Thursday, we did service and then went to Elder Nelson's class at Institute (one of our investigators is in that class). Unfortunately, we had to catch a lunch appointment, so we couldn't stick around. After lunch, we had Bible Study on campus. They talked about lying, and how God doesn't like liars. It was interesting. We then had dinner with Guy and Ali. After our dinner appointment, our whole evening cancelled, so we went and visited less-actives and found other things to work on. I hate it when that happens, but at least we can find things to do. 

On Friday, we were on exchanges again. This time, I was with Sister Gilvarry in her area (Spanish program!) while her companion, Sister Leavitt, was with Sister Chu Shing and Sister Tuitupou. I had a lot of fun. We visited a lot of people, and I mainly listened (although I can understand a bit of what is going on). Sister Gilvarry and I also took some time to talk about how things are going in my area and I was able to tell her about a lot of things going on (stress with work, fear of transfers...). What really made me laugh was when one of the women we saw, Lorena, who knows me from previous exchanges, asked Sister Gilvarry if I could pray in French! She thinks it is so cool. :) While I was gone, our mini missionary came, so I met her when the exchange was over. Her name was Sister Nau (pronounced Now) from one of the Tongan wards in the Stake. 

On Saturday, Sister Chu Shing had to go take the ACT. So, Sister Tuitupou went with her and I stayed with Sister Nau. We studied and then went to do service. We then had lunch and Sister Chu Shing finished with her ACT. Sadly, a lot of our work that day was weekly planning. Sister Nau did get to go with us to a teaching appointment though. After that, we had dinner with Cindy before going to an activity at the Institute. On the way from dinner (on campus) to the Institute, we saw people lining up to go to a rave party. I couldn't believe what some of those people were wearing! There was a huge line of people in questionable clothing and smoking (I'm not sure what). We just kept our eyes on the Institute and walked quickly! For the activity, we had a bonfire in the parking garage and a talent show. It was so much fun! That night, after planning, the Zone Leaders called. They told me that I am getting transferred! I have no idea where I am going, or who I will be with. I am to pack up everything and be at the mission office for Transfer Meeting on Tuesday morning. I wasn't too surprised. I have almost been here six months (four transfers). I am sad to leave though. :(

On Sunday,we had Church and I had to tell people that I am leaving. There really is no easy way to put it! No matter how I said it, I felt like I was making people sad. >< One of the recent converts in the Branch told my trainer, Sister Bliss, who is home in Utah that I was getting transferred, and Sister Bliss called her to talk to me! She told me that it was going to all be okay. I feel so loved. ^^ After Church, we had a lunch appointment and then took Sister Nau back to her church building. I hope she had fun on her mini-mission. We loved having her! We then went to the outgoing fireside to say goodbye to the missionaries who are going home and because Sister Chu Shing was singing at it. It was good. Afterwards, I got to talk to President Mella....

 President Mella: How are you?

Me: I have knots in my stomach. It'll be that way till Tuesday. 

President Mella: *shakes hands with me* Don't worry. It will be great! 

And then later...

Sister Chu Shing: President Mella, are Sister Tuitupou and I getting a new companion, or will it just be us two?

President Mella: *smiles* I'm not going to tell you! You can fish, but I'm not going to bite!

Me: *laughs*

All in all, with exchanges, a mini-missionary, the end of the transfer, and transfer calls, it has been a CRAZY week. Next time I email you, I will be in a new area with a new companion. Today, we are going to the Zone Activity (we are having a bbq to say goodbye to everyone leaving) and then to dinner and FHE. I was asked to teach FHE, since it will be my last one. I have a good lesson planned. :) I will probably then be up late packing. D:

Love, 

Sara