December 29, 2014
Hi cute family,
First things first, MERRY CHRISTMAS!! And to those of you that I didn't get to talk to...an EXTRA Merry Christmas! I was so glad to be able to see all of the pictures today--man, I have a good lookin' family. It was so good to hear from all of you, and thank you for all of the sweet packages. Each of you honestly made it the greatest Christmas, and I'm so thankful for you. ♥
So, just a little bit on how this week has gone:
I guess we'll start out with Christmas morning!! So, we woke up at 6:30, as usual, but opened presents for exercise...I opened Ashlyn's last, and guess what it was...
BABY YOUNG!!!
I'm not sure if I've ever burst into tears so quickly. But don't worry, it was the good kind of crying--the mixed emotion of ASHLYN'S HAVING A BABY vs. I'M GOING TO BE THE ONLY UNMARRIED, CHILDLESS ONE IN THE FAMILY. Is that weird, or what?! I already told Ash, but to all you brothers and sister, you are now obligated to have 12 children, so that by the time MY kids are born, they'll have friends their age. :) Honestly, though, I'm so excited for all of you. I don't think I could be more excited for Baby Andrew, Baby Klay, and Baby Shaylie (that's my input, if you have a girl. Or a boy.) :)
Of course, we had our wonderful phone call...but you guys know all about that. :) I've missed your voices so much, and for those that I didn't get to hear, I'll be talking to you first, nine months from now! Christmas dinner was just a blast--we had it with the Nielsen family, who have the world's cutest daughter, Juliana. She LOVES the Sister Missionaries, and wears her nametag to church every Sunday. She sits with us, teaches with us, befriends our investigators--she's the cutest. We had a blast! It was definitely a Christmas I'll always remember. ♥
Friday was a big day as well...because it was HUMP DAY! As all sister missionaries, we took our traditional "9-months along!" pictures. Enjoy. (don't worry mom, I'm just fitting in with the rest of the girls in the family!!:)
On Saturday, we started our zone goal, "power hours." Basically, we go to a members home, let them know we'll be working in their area for the next hour...ask them to pray for us while we're there...then work our hearts out. :) Well, we definitely saw miracles in the hour, and met our newest investigator, Sharon! She's actually an 80 year old Lutheran, who spent a night at temple square for a show. She LOVED it, and has been trying to find out where she could buy a Book of Mormon ever since. I'll tell you all about how our next lesson goes.
Last, but not least...then I'll let you go for the day: last night about 9:30, there was a knock on our apartment door...and guess who it was?! GRANT HERRON! I seriously about died, it was SO weird to actually see someone from back home.!! His fiance is from our ward, and so they both came to deliver us gummy bears and Coke (my favorite♥). I was SO happy to see a face from back home, I can only imagine how excited I'll be to see all of you.
I'm headed out for the day, but I hope you all know how much I love you! HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I'll see you all soon. ♥
Love, Shay Shay
Shaylie
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Letter from Shaylie's Zone Leader
Dear Sister Williams' Family,
You obviously don't know who we are, but we are your daughter's Zone Leaders, currently. Sister Williams is so great! I (Elder Teeples) was her Zone Leader in Camarillo when she first came into the mission, and I've always been impressed with how hard she works. She is also very mature and is a great missionary. Many missionaries, back then, though that she had been out on her mission much longer than she really had because she adjusted so quickly and was so mature. Sister Williams is also so reliable! We can count on her to do anything we ask her to do.
Sister Williams is definitely working as hard as she can in serving the Lord, and this is such a huge blessing to us all here in the mission! Especially to those precious souls she is leading back to Heavenly Father. We thank you for any and all sacrifices that you have made, and that she has made to be here. We can promise that you'll be blessed for her service! Sister Williams and your family will constantly be in our prayers!
Elder Jared Teeples
Elder Moser
You obviously don't know who we are, but we are your daughter's Zone Leaders, currently. Sister Williams is so great! I (Elder Teeples) was her Zone Leader in Camarillo when she first came into the mission, and I've always been impressed with how hard she works. She is also very mature and is a great missionary. Many missionaries, back then, though that she had been out on her mission much longer than she really had because she adjusted so quickly and was so mature. Sister Williams is also so reliable! We can count on her to do anything we ask her to do.
Sister Williams is definitely working as hard as she can in serving the Lord, and this is such a huge blessing to us all here in the mission! Especially to those precious souls she is leading back to Heavenly Father. We thank you for any and all sacrifices that you have made, and that she has made to be here. We can promise that you'll be blessed for her service! Sister Williams and your family will constantly be in our prayers!
Elder Jared Teeples
Elder Moser
Trios, Transfers and the Time-Out Doll
Good morning, cute family!!
I hope you're having a wonderful day so far, and that all is well back home. :) Things are just fantastic here, and it's been a great last week of the transfer.
Of course, it IS transfer week, so let me just start by saying: these past six weeks have been some of the greatest of my mission so far. I have absolutely LOVED being in a trio with Sister Morrison and Sister Angimarau. For some reason, it seems like all I've ever heard about trios are horror stories, but it seriously was PHENOMENAL. I don't know if I've mentioned to you in the past, but all of our beds are like six inches apart...since we all have to stay in the same room. Every once in a while, Sister Morrison would turn around to say something, and she'd be like 3 inches from my face: awkward, but we'd just laugh our heads off until we finally fell asleep! And Sister Angimarau 's singing is the GREATEST. She sings all day, ever day: quite literally. She just has the happiest personality, and it's totally contagious. Both of my cute companions have become my greatest friends, and I'm excited to see them after the mission!! (It also gives me an excuse to visit Christmas Island! :)
That being said...the transfer news is in, and I'm staying in T.O. 2nd ward! I'll be Senior Companion to Sister Brown. We were actually in the MTC together, but I haven't seen her since! I've heard a lot of really good things about her, and I'm excited! I AM a little nervous though, to be the driver again...especially because Thousand Oaks is basically a giant maze! But it will be great, and I'll be excited to tell you all about her next week!!
And of course, I just needed to take a minute to tell you about the "time-out doll." It's become our running prank of the week. So, a member in the ward left us this terrifying, faceless, time-out doll a few weeks ago, to try and scare us. And it DID. It's the creepiest little thing, and we hid it in a closet for the transfer. UNTIL a few nights ago, when it somehow turned up in my bed as I was going to sleep...then was waiting outside the bathroom after Sister Morrison's shower...and was hiding in Sister Angimarau's cupboard. It's like the Elf on the Shelf gone terribly wrong. And it's just as scary every time.
I have to head out in a few minutes, but I just wanted to send a quick hello, and tell you all I love you!! I'll try to have a slightly more spiritual email next week...but until then, the church is true. I promise. :) Love you guys!!
♥Shay Shay
I hope you're having a wonderful day so far, and that all is well back home. :) Things are just fantastic here, and it's been a great last week of the transfer.
Of course, it IS transfer week, so let me just start by saying: these past six weeks have been some of the greatest of my mission so far. I have absolutely LOVED being in a trio with Sister Morrison and Sister Angimarau. For some reason, it seems like all I've ever heard about trios are horror stories, but it seriously was PHENOMENAL. I don't know if I've mentioned to you in the past, but all of our beds are like six inches apart...since we all have to stay in the same room. Every once in a while, Sister Morrison would turn around to say something, and she'd be like 3 inches from my face: awkward, but we'd just laugh our heads off until we finally fell asleep! And Sister Angimarau 's singing is the GREATEST. She sings all day, ever day: quite literally. She just has the happiest personality, and it's totally contagious. Both of my cute companions have become my greatest friends, and I'm excited to see them after the mission!! (It also gives me an excuse to visit Christmas Island! :)
That being said...the transfer news is in, and I'm staying in T.O. 2nd ward! I'll be Senior Companion to Sister Brown. We were actually in the MTC together, but I haven't seen her since! I've heard a lot of really good things about her, and I'm excited! I AM a little nervous though, to be the driver again...especially because Thousand Oaks is basically a giant maze! But it will be great, and I'll be excited to tell you all about her next week!!
And of course, I just needed to take a minute to tell you about the "time-out doll." It's become our running prank of the week. So, a member in the ward left us this terrifying, faceless, time-out doll a few weeks ago, to try and scare us. And it DID. It's the creepiest little thing, and we hid it in a closet for the transfer. UNTIL a few nights ago, when it somehow turned up in my bed as I was going to sleep...then was waiting outside the bathroom after Sister Morrison's shower...and was hiding in Sister Angimarau's cupboard. It's like the Elf on the Shelf gone terribly wrong. And it's just as scary every time.
I have to head out in a few minutes, but I just wanted to send a quick hello, and tell you all I love you!! I'll try to have a slightly more spiritual email next week...but until then, the church is true. I promise. :) Love you guys!!
♥Shay Shay
Nearly Christmas!!
Well hi!!
I hope you're all having a wonderful day--and a happy Monday (cause Monday's are ALWAYS happy, right?!) :) I don't have a whole lot of time this morning, so I just wanted to send you a quick little note to remind you how much I love you all. ♥
It's funny to think it's almost Christmas, when it's still 80 degrees outside! But it's a good thing we know it's not all about snow-covered Christmas trees. :) As missionaries, we've been going around sharing the video, "He Is the Gift." By now, you've probably all seen it, but if you haven't, DO. It really is wonderful, and reminds us what this season's really about--I think we all need a little reminder, some days. :)
I hope you are all staying warm and cozy...and today, Mom reminded me that I get to talk to you in 17 days! Time is really flying, and from there, I know it will just continue to fly by. I'll be seeing you in really no time at all. I love you. ♥
Love, Shay Shay
I hope you're all having a wonderful day--and a happy Monday (cause Monday's are ALWAYS happy, right?!) :) I don't have a whole lot of time this morning, so I just wanted to send you a quick little note to remind you how much I love you all. ♥
It's funny to think it's almost Christmas, when it's still 80 degrees outside! But it's a good thing we know it's not all about snow-covered Christmas trees. :) As missionaries, we've been going around sharing the video, "He Is the Gift." By now, you've probably all seen it, but if you haven't, DO. It really is wonderful, and reminds us what this season's really about--I think we all need a little reminder, some days. :)
I hope you are all staying warm and cozy...and today, Mom reminded me that I get to talk to you in 17 days! Time is really flying, and from there, I know it will just continue to fly by. I'll be seeing you in really no time at all. I love you. ♥
Love, Shay Shay
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Happy Week After Thanksgiving!!
Good morning, everyone!!
Well, as always, it's been an absolutely wonderful week. So, I guess I'll just start from the very beginning (a very good place to start). :)
1. Zone Activity--I don't remember if I mentioned last Monday, but after emails we left for Zone Activity at Sister Taylor's house. The barbecue was a total success, and it was so much fun having everyone there together! It really isn't very often that we get to gather in big groups of missionaries, so when we do, we love it. We all made tie-dyed shirts (I'll have to send you pictures next week!), and played some good old kickball. I thought I'd be SO sad to have to leave my Lompoc Zone last transfer...but Thousand Oaks is pretty good, too. :)
2. The Interfaith Celebration--So the day before Thanksgiving, we had this celebration with all the churches in the community. We had been inviting people to it for weeks, but they were a little concerned about the turnout...this is the first time the committee has let our church actually host the event. We expected about 600 people to come...guess how many came? FIFTEEN HUNDRED. No joke. It was crazy. It was lucky that we held it at the T.O. Temple, because when the first cultural hall filled up...we just opened the second. And then the third. And then the second chapel. And then the fourth cultural hall--it's honestly a little bit ridiculous how giant that building is. But it was such a neat experience! It started with the Islamic call to prayer, then a bagpipe procession. We heard from pastors, rabbis...and it was neat to see everyone come together for it. We're having a Christmas devotional on the 7th, and the turnout is supposed to be even greater. Man, aren't the holidays just magical? :)
3. THANKSGIVING--I won't tell you TOO much about it, since I already told you the whole game-plan last week. But it really was a blast!! The Bakers are so much fun! We had about a 10 minute game of "Who Can Hold a Spoon on Their Nose the Longest." You guessed it--me and my ski-jump of a nose lost pretty quickly. But I WAS a pro at catching chickens, which was our post-dinner game. :) It was weird to be away from home, definitely...but I can't complain too much. It really was a wonderful day!
4. Sacrament Meeting--So guess who sang in Sacrament Meeting--TOTALLY LAST MINUTE!! Yep, that'd be us. They called us Saturday night, letting us know they needed us to sing "Nearer, My God, To Thee" the next day. Luckily, we already have a fun version of that from Solvang...So we just practiced Sunday morning. The tough thing was, when we performed it in Solvang, there were 4 of us...and the song has 3 parts. So I played the piano, and the other 3 sang. This time, there were only 3 of us, so I had to sing, too. YIKES. The sisters sang at the podium, and they gave me a microphone at the piano. It was SO SCARY. But, it turned out well. :)
I wish I had more time to tell you all about everything--this really has been a crazy week! But for now, I have to get headed out. So, I'll just remind you that I love you, and I'll be talking to you soon!!
♥Shay Shay
Well, as always, it's been an absolutely wonderful week. So, I guess I'll just start from the very beginning (a very good place to start). :)
1. Zone Activity--I don't remember if I mentioned last Monday, but after emails we left for Zone Activity at Sister Taylor's house. The barbecue was a total success, and it was so much fun having everyone there together! It really isn't very often that we get to gather in big groups of missionaries, so when we do, we love it. We all made tie-dyed shirts (I'll have to send you pictures next week!), and played some good old kickball. I thought I'd be SO sad to have to leave my Lompoc Zone last transfer...but Thousand Oaks is pretty good, too. :)
2. The Interfaith Celebration--So the day before Thanksgiving, we had this celebration with all the churches in the community. We had been inviting people to it for weeks, but they were a little concerned about the turnout...this is the first time the committee has let our church actually host the event. We expected about 600 people to come...guess how many came? FIFTEEN HUNDRED. No joke. It was crazy. It was lucky that we held it at the T.O. Temple, because when the first cultural hall filled up...we just opened the second. And then the third. And then the second chapel. And then the fourth cultural hall--it's honestly a little bit ridiculous how giant that building is. But it was such a neat experience! It started with the Islamic call to prayer, then a bagpipe procession. We heard from pastors, rabbis...and it was neat to see everyone come together for it. We're having a Christmas devotional on the 7th, and the turnout is supposed to be even greater. Man, aren't the holidays just magical? :)
3. THANKSGIVING--I won't tell you TOO much about it, since I already told you the whole game-plan last week. But it really was a blast!! The Bakers are so much fun! We had about a 10 minute game of "Who Can Hold a Spoon on Their Nose the Longest." You guessed it--me and my ski-jump of a nose lost pretty quickly. But I WAS a pro at catching chickens, which was our post-dinner game. :) It was weird to be away from home, definitely...but I can't complain too much. It really was a wonderful day!
4. Sacrament Meeting--So guess who sang in Sacrament Meeting--TOTALLY LAST MINUTE!! Yep, that'd be us. They called us Saturday night, letting us know they needed us to sing "Nearer, My God, To Thee" the next day. Luckily, we already have a fun version of that from Solvang...So we just practiced Sunday morning. The tough thing was, when we performed it in Solvang, there were 4 of us...and the song has 3 parts. So I played the piano, and the other 3 sang. This time, there were only 3 of us, so I had to sing, too. YIKES. The sisters sang at the podium, and they gave me a microphone at the piano. It was SO SCARY. But, it turned out well. :)
I wish I had more time to tell you all about everything--this really has been a crazy week! But for now, I have to get headed out. So, I'll just remind you that I love you, and I'll be talking to you soon!!
♥Shay Shay
Happy Thanksgiving♥
Happy Monday, everyone. ♥
I don't have a whole lot of time today...it's sort of a crazy week, but I wanted to let you each know how much I love you, and how grateful I am to have you in my life. I hope you each have a wonderful Thanksgiving--you'll all be in my thoughts this week!
Thanksgiving holiday will be a LITTLE different here, but still great. :) The evening before Thanksgiving, we are having an "interfaith Thanksgiving" with the whole community. It's a tradition here in Thousand Oaks, and it's going to be really neat! It's held at our church building, but there will be sermons from MANY different religions--an Islam call to prayer, readings from the Jewish prayer books, etc. We've been looking forward to it for weeks, and it's finally here! And of course...the missionaries get to serve homemade pie after, so that's always a plus!
Thanksgiving will start with...district meeting. I think we'd still have district meeting, even if the world was ending. :) And, I'll be giving ANOTHER talk on gratitude! Luckily, I already have one written from last week's sacrament meeting...so I'm already prepared! We'll go to Thanksgiving lunch with the Bakers, who are a lot of fun, so that'll be great! We'll head off to a service project with the students from Cal-Lutheran...then head to Thanksgiving with the Taylors. Woohoo!! Lastly, we'll be going to spend the evening with Sister Petrie, the sweetest old lady I know. Her family's far away, and her health isn't good enough to fly to see them...so we'll be visiting her for the night. :)
Things are great here. I wish I had time to tell you about everything, but for today, just know that I love you. Herodia and her family are doing great, the Peggster's just as funny as usual...I love my companions, but I love you guys most. :) I'll be seeing you before we know it. ♥
Love, Shay
I don't have a whole lot of time today...it's sort of a crazy week, but I wanted to let you each know how much I love you, and how grateful I am to have you in my life. I hope you each have a wonderful Thanksgiving--you'll all be in my thoughts this week!
Thanksgiving holiday will be a LITTLE different here, but still great. :) The evening before Thanksgiving, we are having an "interfaith Thanksgiving" with the whole community. It's a tradition here in Thousand Oaks, and it's going to be really neat! It's held at our church building, but there will be sermons from MANY different religions--an Islam call to prayer, readings from the Jewish prayer books, etc. We've been looking forward to it for weeks, and it's finally here! And of course...the missionaries get to serve homemade pie after, so that's always a plus!
Thanksgiving will start with...district meeting. I think we'd still have district meeting, even if the world was ending. :) And, I'll be giving ANOTHER talk on gratitude! Luckily, I already have one written from last week's sacrament meeting...so I'm already prepared! We'll go to Thanksgiving lunch with the Bakers, who are a lot of fun, so that'll be great! We'll head off to a service project with the students from Cal-Lutheran...then head to Thanksgiving with the Taylors. Woohoo!! Lastly, we'll be going to spend the evening with Sister Petrie, the sweetest old lady I know. Her family's far away, and her health isn't good enough to fly to see them...so we'll be visiting her for the night. :)
Things are great here. I wish I had time to tell you about everything, but for today, just know that I love you. Herodia and her family are doing great, the Peggster's just as funny as usual...I love my companions, but I love you guys most. :) I'll be seeing you before we know it. ♥
Love, Shay
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Hello cute family!!
Well, good morning, and Happy Monday!!
What a wonderful week it's been!
Can I just say again, how much I love my companions?! They are seriously the greatest. Sister Morrison reminds me SO much of Ashlyn!! I'm laughing my head off pretty much 24/7. And we spend most nights talking about silly things til 11:30. Sister Angimarou is the cutest--she sings all the time. But really, all the time. And sometimes, when it gets quiet during a dinner appointment, she starts to sing. The members get a kick out of it, and we do, too.
Some fun and exciting events of the week:
Well, we'll start with the picture Sister Sorensen sent you--sewing backpacks for kids in Africa!! It was an activity we're going to start doing each week as part of our JustServe program--there are members in our ward that go to Africa every few months to do humanitarian work. Cool, right? Well, funny story about that picture--behind our smiley faces, we all got secretly injured. Sister Angimarau accidentally stabbed herself in the leg with scissors...Sister Morrison got her finger chopped while trying to fix her bobbin...and I put a needle straight through my middle finger. Yep, who knew sewing could be so dangerous?! We didn't want Sister Sorensen to know, because we didn't want her to worry...so we all kept our little secrets til we got back to the car. The African kids might find out, though, cause there's probably a little blood on those backpacks. We had a lot of fun, but obviously, we're not pro-seamstresses.
We are, however, pro at teaching the ukulele!! Well...not really...but it HAS become our newest finding activity! We found out there was a pretty big group of people in the area that wanted to learn to play, (who would've thought?), so we're going to start teaching! I have no idea how to play...but Sister Angimarau does. So she'll teach us, then we'll teach everyone else. We'll see how it goes this week!
In other news, we've started doing a program called "The Legacy" at the senior center next door. Basically, we go and visit the seniors, and they just tell us about their lives. We consider it service, but sometimes they talk about the gospel with us, too. :) We're paired up with particular seniors to visit, so we meet with Chuck each Wednesday. We also read stories to Dorothy, because she's lost her sight with age. It's so much fun, and we LOVE them.
The Peggster's doing great! We're still visiting her twice a week, and she's just as confusing as ever!! She knows the Book of Mormon like the back of her hand. She's been working on this Jeopardy game for months now--there's 30 questions for every 10 chapters in the Book of Mormon. Seriously, if you asked her Pahoran's shoe size, she could tell you. As far as seeing how it will help her in her life...we're still working on it. :)
Herodia's doing just wonderfully! We taught her the Restoration on Wednesday, and on Sunday, she came to church for the first time. Not only that, but she stayed for ALL THREE HOURS, and brought her two adorable sons, Anthony and Giovanni. By the way, Giovanni is the world's cutest 4-year-old. Both of the kids LOVED primary, and are super excited to come back. Herodia loved it, too. Her only concern was in 3rd hour, when she said, "Man, do you guys ever get hungry during church?" Why, yes, yes we do.
I DID speak in church this Sunday, and it went better than expected. I always stress for the week I have to PREPARE the talk, but once I'm actually up there speaking, I'm just fine! Funny how that works. I spoke on having an attitude of gratitude, and how it leads us to selfless service. It gave me a chance to meet a lot of new members, and they've finally figured out that I'm not temporary. Sister Taylor, our Relief Society President, is the GREATEST. She has her house decorated exactly like ours back home, and it totally reminds me of you Mom! You guys would totally be friends.
I wish I had more time to talk, but I'm running a little bit low. We're headed off to district sports in just a few minutes. OH. Fun fact: the church building here is GIANT. It's got two floors, and each of them have a chapel, a gym...EVERYTHING. People just refer to it as the T.O. Temple. And guess what street it's on? Mormon Way. No Joke.
All is well, but I sure do miss you guys! It's weird to think that Thanksgiving is next week...especially when it's 65 degrees, and just as green as it was in the middle of the summer. What are you guys doing for the holidays? We'll be having dinner with the Bakers. They're a great family, and a lot of fun. Of course, not as fun as YOU guys, but it'll do for now. :)
This week, we'll be having Zone Conference, so I'll tell you any exciting news next week!! I love you all, and happy ALMOST Thanksgiving. :)
Love,
Sister Shaylie ♥
What a wonderful week it's been!
Can I just say again, how much I love my companions?! They are seriously the greatest. Sister Morrison reminds me SO much of Ashlyn!! I'm laughing my head off pretty much 24/7. And we spend most nights talking about silly things til 11:30. Sister Angimarou is the cutest--she sings all the time. But really, all the time. And sometimes, when it gets quiet during a dinner appointment, she starts to sing. The members get a kick out of it, and we do, too.
Some fun and exciting events of the week:
Well, we'll start with the picture Sister Sorensen sent you--sewing backpacks for kids in Africa!! It was an activity we're going to start doing each week as part of our JustServe program--there are members in our ward that go to Africa every few months to do humanitarian work. Cool, right? Well, funny story about that picture--behind our smiley faces, we all got secretly injured. Sister Angimarau accidentally stabbed herself in the leg with scissors...Sister Morrison got her finger chopped while trying to fix her bobbin...and I put a needle straight through my middle finger. Yep, who knew sewing could be so dangerous?! We didn't want Sister Sorensen to know, because we didn't want her to worry...so we all kept our little secrets til we got back to the car. The African kids might find out, though, cause there's probably a little blood on those backpacks. We had a lot of fun, but obviously, we're not pro-seamstresses.
We are, however, pro at teaching the ukulele!! Well...not really...but it HAS become our newest finding activity! We found out there was a pretty big group of people in the area that wanted to learn to play, (who would've thought?), so we're going to start teaching! I have no idea how to play...but Sister Angimarau does. So she'll teach us, then we'll teach everyone else. We'll see how it goes this week!
In other news, we've started doing a program called "The Legacy" at the senior center next door. Basically, we go and visit the seniors, and they just tell us about their lives. We consider it service, but sometimes they talk about the gospel with us, too. :) We're paired up with particular seniors to visit, so we meet with Chuck each Wednesday. We also read stories to Dorothy, because she's lost her sight with age. It's so much fun, and we LOVE them.
The Peggster's doing great! We're still visiting her twice a week, and she's just as confusing as ever!! She knows the Book of Mormon like the back of her hand. She's been working on this Jeopardy game for months now--there's 30 questions for every 10 chapters in the Book of Mormon. Seriously, if you asked her Pahoran's shoe size, she could tell you. As far as seeing how it will help her in her life...we're still working on it. :)
Herodia's doing just wonderfully! We taught her the Restoration on Wednesday, and on Sunday, she came to church for the first time. Not only that, but she stayed for ALL THREE HOURS, and brought her two adorable sons, Anthony and Giovanni. By the way, Giovanni is the world's cutest 4-year-old. Both of the kids LOVED primary, and are super excited to come back. Herodia loved it, too. Her only concern was in 3rd hour, when she said, "Man, do you guys ever get hungry during church?" Why, yes, yes we do.
I DID speak in church this Sunday, and it went better than expected. I always stress for the week I have to PREPARE the talk, but once I'm actually up there speaking, I'm just fine! Funny how that works. I spoke on having an attitude of gratitude, and how it leads us to selfless service. It gave me a chance to meet a lot of new members, and they've finally figured out that I'm not temporary. Sister Taylor, our Relief Society President, is the GREATEST. She has her house decorated exactly like ours back home, and it totally reminds me of you Mom! You guys would totally be friends.
I wish I had more time to talk, but I'm running a little bit low. We're headed off to district sports in just a few minutes. OH. Fun fact: the church building here is GIANT. It's got two floors, and each of them have a chapel, a gym...EVERYTHING. People just refer to it as the T.O. Temple. And guess what street it's on? Mormon Way. No Joke.
All is well, but I sure do miss you guys! It's weird to think that Thanksgiving is next week...especially when it's 65 degrees, and just as green as it was in the middle of the summer. What are you guys doing for the holidays? We'll be having dinner with the Bakers. They're a great family, and a lot of fun. Of course, not as fun as YOU guys, but it'll do for now. :)
This week, we'll be having Zone Conference, so I'll tell you any exciting news next week!! I love you all, and happy ALMOST Thanksgiving. :)
Love,
Sister Shaylie ♥
Happy Monday!!
Well, I'm officially here in Thousand Oaks, and all is well! :) I hadn't looked at my map very thoroughly, I guess...but as it turns out, this area is bordering Camarillo! So I'm seriously right next to Pete and Doenice again. We drove past their house on the way to Thousand Oaks, and we waved and yelled that we loved them. They weren't home, but it's the thought that counts, right? :)
So being in a tri-pan is a blast!! My companions are Sister Morrison and Sister Angimarou (I totally spelled it wrong last week)-- and they are WONDERFUL! This is Sister Morrison's last transfer, so she's heading home in December. She's so much fun, though. She TOTALLY reminds me of Ashlyn, and Sister Angimarau is great, too. She's from the Cristmas Islands (Kiribati), and she's just the world's happiest girl. She sings ALL the time, and we play ukelele for members. English is her second language, so every night we do language study now. :) As far as we know, the tri-pan will be permanent. But it will depend--if any sisters have to go home, or if there are any other unexpected things that happen, there's a good chance they will split us back into a companionship. So HOPEFULLY that doesn't happen. Cause I love it here!!
The work here is MUCH different than in Solvang. Like I mentioned last week, this is a really wealthy area. FOR EXAMPLE: Will Smith's kids go to the school here...Brittany Spears uses our gym...Bro. Porter produced the Hunger Games!! Bro. Neff (yep, like the founder of Neff clothing) is our ward mission leader...oh, and we knocked on Amanda Bynes door the other day! So yeah...it's about like that here. :) We ARE, however, teaching a few fun people! Our most consistent investigator is Peggy (the Peggster. :) She's not a member, but she LOVES the Book of Mormon, and knows it like the back of her hand. Right now, we're helping her make a Book of Mormon Jeopardy game. And she's working on a painting of us! She's a funny lady. We also found a family named the Griggs...and they are just the greatest! Their oldest daughter, Natalie, is 10 years old, and is very sick with Lupus. But's she's the happiest, friendliest, smiliest girl I've ever seen, and it's amazing how positive she is, even though she's so sick. We're going to start taking her to activity days each week. Lastly, we're going to start teaching David and Brennan today! They have taken the discussions in the past, and WANT to be baptized, but they would need to get married first. At the moment, that's just not their first priority, but, hopefully, we can help them see how important it is. It's going to be an exciting week!!
Another fun fact? I get to speak in sacrament meeting this week, which will probably be good. The ward seems to think I'm temporary, because they're all very confused about this tri-pan. I can't blame 'em, we're a little confused, too. :)
I guess to sum it up, I love it here. I love the people, I love my companions, I love the members...I love that it's green (Solvang was pretty brown. :) It's a little strange that it's not getting cold yet, but I'm getting used to the fact that it's not going to get cold at all. Anyway, I love you all, and I'll see you very soon!
♥Shay Shay
So being in a tri-pan is a blast!! My companions are Sister Morrison and Sister Angimarou (I totally spelled it wrong last week)-- and they are WONDERFUL! This is Sister Morrison's last transfer, so she's heading home in December. She's so much fun, though. She TOTALLY reminds me of Ashlyn, and Sister Angimarau is great, too. She's from the Cristmas Islands (Kiribati), and she's just the world's happiest girl. She sings ALL the time, and we play ukelele for members. English is her second language, so every night we do language study now. :) As far as we know, the tri-pan will be permanent. But it will depend--if any sisters have to go home, or if there are any other unexpected things that happen, there's a good chance they will split us back into a companionship. So HOPEFULLY that doesn't happen. Cause I love it here!!
The work here is MUCH different than in Solvang. Like I mentioned last week, this is a really wealthy area. FOR EXAMPLE: Will Smith's kids go to the school here...Brittany Spears uses our gym...Bro. Porter produced the Hunger Games!! Bro. Neff (yep, like the founder of Neff clothing) is our ward mission leader...oh, and we knocked on Amanda Bynes door the other day! So yeah...it's about like that here. :) We ARE, however, teaching a few fun people! Our most consistent investigator is Peggy (the Peggster. :) She's not a member, but she LOVES the Book of Mormon, and knows it like the back of her hand. Right now, we're helping her make a Book of Mormon Jeopardy game. And she's working on a painting of us! She's a funny lady. We also found a family named the Griggs...and they are just the greatest! Their oldest daughter, Natalie, is 10 years old, and is very sick with Lupus. But's she's the happiest, friendliest, smiliest girl I've ever seen, and it's amazing how positive she is, even though she's so sick. We're going to start taking her to activity days each week. Lastly, we're going to start teaching David and Brennan today! They have taken the discussions in the past, and WANT to be baptized, but they would need to get married first. At the moment, that's just not their first priority, but, hopefully, we can help them see how important it is. It's going to be an exciting week!!
Another fun fact? I get to speak in sacrament meeting this week, which will probably be good. The ward seems to think I'm temporary, because they're all very confused about this tri-pan. I can't blame 'em, we're a little confused, too. :)
I guess to sum it up, I love it here. I love the people, I love my companions, I love the members...I love that it's green (Solvang was pretty brown. :) It's a little strange that it's not getting cold yet, but I'm getting used to the fact that it's not going to get cold at all. Anyway, I love you all, and I'll see you very soon!
♥Shay Shay
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Transferred to T.O.!!
Hello, hello, cute family!!
Well, since I already ruined the surprise in the subject of this email...we'll just talk about it right now. That's right, I'm headed to Thousand Oaks, (all the cool kids just say T.O.). :) It's pretty close to Camarillo, so I'm headed back down south!! I don't know a whole lot about it, but my zone leaders told me that it's the wealthiest ward in Thousand Oaks...which is one of the wealthiest areas of the mission. So, I have a feeling the work will be quite a bit different-- but of course, still wonderful!! And on top of that...I'm going to be in a "tri-pan!" Yep, I will have TWO companions--Sister Morrison and Sister Anginarou. Again, quite the change. But there are a lot of benefits to having three--more friends, more laughs, AND probably the most useful--we can go into a home, even if a woman isn't there. That's something that's pretty tough, when all our investigators seem to be male...so that won't be a problem there. :) Yes, I'm SO sad to leave Solvang...but I know that it's right. Plus, as Sister Cox always says, "There's no growth in the comfort zone, and no comfort in the growth zone." I'm pretty at home here in Solvang, no wonder it's time to go. :)
Still, I had an amazing last week here. Of course, it was Halloween!! We helped the ward put together a Spook Alley for the trunk-or-treat, and helped take all the kids through the maze. They absolutely LOVED it! And I don't know if I've mentioned before...Hermana Hurley used to be a circus clown before the mission. Hilarious, I know. :) So we also had a missionary station at the trunk or treat, where we would tie balloon animals. Everyone LOVED IT, and we met a TON of non-members that came!! It was great. :) So THAT was on Wednesday.
On Halloween, we're asked to come in early--so we had our party in the daytime! Mom sent us a pizza, so we invited the hermanas over, and had our own celebration. It was wonderful. Arturo, one of our recent coverts, provided the drinks...and it was some aweful, BRIGHT PINK, "strawberry" flavored...stuff. By the time it finished cooking, it was more like gravy than a drink. Needless to say, we skipped out on that. We actually spent most of the day helping Carl, another of our recent converts, pack up and move to Paso Robles. I didn't know moving could be so much fun!! As un-Halloweenish as the day sounds...it was just perfect. :) And to top it all off...
WE GOT A RAINSTORM IN SOLVANG!!!
It was truly a miracle. We went out and danced, until we were soaked and muddy from puddle-jumping. I think the whole city did, actually.
What did all of YOU guys do for Halloween?!
Just a little bit of other news...Lisa's cute sons are doing great--they all came to church this Sunday!! We were so happy to see them there, and the ward's doing an awesome job of welcoming them back in. Albert came to church, too!! I bore my testimony in Sacrament Meeting...and of course, I cried. No surprise there!! But it was nice to be able to say goodbye to people in the ward. We don't normally get a chance to do that (we usually don't get transfer news til Monday morning, but this time they told us on Saturday!). Solvang is definitely somewhere I'll be coming back to visit. ♥ Tonight, we're running around to a few places to do our last performances of the "Restoration cup song," and we're going to sing our version of "Nearer to Me" for Lenore. (Hopefully, you were able to see that in the video we sent!) It'll be a great last day.
I have to head out for today, but I hope you know, you're in my thoughts and prayers. I love you each with all my heart, and I'll be seeing you very soon. ♥
All my love,
Sister Shay Shay
♥you guys!!
Well, since I already ruined the surprise in the subject of this email...we'll just talk about it right now. That's right, I'm headed to Thousand Oaks, (all the cool kids just say T.O.). :) It's pretty close to Camarillo, so I'm headed back down south!! I don't know a whole lot about it, but my zone leaders told me that it's the wealthiest ward in Thousand Oaks...which is one of the wealthiest areas of the mission. So, I have a feeling the work will be quite a bit different-- but of course, still wonderful!! And on top of that...I'm going to be in a "tri-pan!" Yep, I will have TWO companions--Sister Morrison and Sister Anginarou. Again, quite the change. But there are a lot of benefits to having three--more friends, more laughs, AND probably the most useful--we can go into a home, even if a woman isn't there. That's something that's pretty tough, when all our investigators seem to be male...so that won't be a problem there. :) Yes, I'm SO sad to leave Solvang...but I know that it's right. Plus, as Sister Cox always says, "There's no growth in the comfort zone, and no comfort in the growth zone." I'm pretty at home here in Solvang, no wonder it's time to go. :)
Still, I had an amazing last week here. Of course, it was Halloween!! We helped the ward put together a Spook Alley for the trunk-or-treat, and helped take all the kids through the maze. They absolutely LOVED it! And I don't know if I've mentioned before...Hermana Hurley used to be a circus clown before the mission. Hilarious, I know. :) So we also had a missionary station at the trunk or treat, where we would tie balloon animals. Everyone LOVED IT, and we met a TON of non-members that came!! It was great. :) So THAT was on Wednesday.
On Halloween, we're asked to come in early--so we had our party in the daytime! Mom sent us a pizza, so we invited the hermanas over, and had our own celebration. It was wonderful. Arturo, one of our recent coverts, provided the drinks...and it was some aweful, BRIGHT PINK, "strawberry" flavored...stuff. By the time it finished cooking, it was more like gravy than a drink. Needless to say, we skipped out on that. We actually spent most of the day helping Carl, another of our recent converts, pack up and move to Paso Robles. I didn't know moving could be so much fun!! As un-Halloweenish as the day sounds...it was just perfect. :) And to top it all off...
WE GOT A RAINSTORM IN SOLVANG!!!
It was truly a miracle. We went out and danced, until we were soaked and muddy from puddle-jumping. I think the whole city did, actually.
What did all of YOU guys do for Halloween?!
Just a little bit of other news...Lisa's cute sons are doing great--they all came to church this Sunday!! We were so happy to see them there, and the ward's doing an awesome job of welcoming them back in. Albert came to church, too!! I bore my testimony in Sacrament Meeting...and of course, I cried. No surprise there!! But it was nice to be able to say goodbye to people in the ward. We don't normally get a chance to do that (we usually don't get transfer news til Monday morning, but this time they told us on Saturday!). Solvang is definitely somewhere I'll be coming back to visit. ♥ Tonight, we're running around to a few places to do our last performances of the "Restoration cup song," and we're going to sing our version of "Nearer to Me" for Lenore. (Hopefully, you were able to see that in the video we sent!) It'll be a great last day.
I have to head out for today, but I hope you know, you're in my thoughts and prayers. I love you each with all my heart, and I'll be seeing you very soon. ♥
All my love,
Sister Shay Shay
♥you guys!!
Sunday, November 2, 2014
We've been BOO'D!!?
Let me just start by pointing out...this week, we got BOO'd all the way from Bluffdale, Utah. If THAT's not the coolest thing in the world, then I don't know what is!!
Today, we're actually heading down to Santa Barbara to spend the day with our Zone...so I don't have a whole lot of time. But I DID want to share some exciting news, all the way from Camarillo...
JONATHAN GOT BAPTIZED!!! You got it!! Just another evidence that miracles DO happen. :) I got word today that on Saturday, Jonathan was baptized, and on Sunday, confirmed a member of the church. I couldn't be happier for him, and I'm just SO excited!!!
And as if THAT wasn't exciting enough...PETE'S RECEIVING THE MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD!! (Did I spell that right? I'm really not sure.) But WOW!! Doenice says he's at the sacrament table on Sundays now. :) I wish I could be there to see it, but hearing about it is really just as good. I am so happy for those cute Chavez's. I sure love them. ♥
As far as news here? We've had an interesting week! Since we've gotten here, we've found quite a problem with a language barrier...not only Spanish, but a LOT of Danish...of course, since this is a Danish town. But this past week, we've decided to start teaching English classes!! It will be gospel based...but will also teach them the basics--and we already have 6 people that want to come! We can't wait. We're ALSO going to start singing in the streets of downtown! WOOHOO! It's a "finding" activity that our ward mission leader suggested to us...and we thought we'd give it a try. So, starting this Saturday, you can see the Solvang sisters on the corner of Copenhagen singing hymns. :)
This week will be quite an exciting one, with LOTS of service!! For one, we're helping Carl, a recent convert in our ward, get ready to move. I'm pretty sad he's leaving...but he'll be headed to Paso Robles with his son. We love him, and will miss him, but it'll be really good for their family. We're going to be assembling packages for the soldiers this week, as well!! This is honestly one of my favorite service projects, so I'm pretty excited!
And of course...HALLOWEEN IS HERE! We're all helping at the ward trunk-or-treat, which will be a blast, and on November 1st, we're having the HARVEST BALL! Apparently, it's the event of the year, and everyone in the community is going. It's really cool, because it's a church activity, but everyone comes. We'll have a live band, and yummy dinner. :)
Lastly, transfers are next Tuesday. I seriously cannot believe how this time has flown by. It DOES NOT feel like it's been six weeks, and it especially doesn't seem like I've been in Solvang for four and a half months...time sure does fly here. Again, predictions say I'm leaving for San Luis Obispo...but who knows! We'll be finding out a few days early this time, so by Saturday, I'll know where I'm going!
Until then, the mission home address is probably your best bet--and I'll try to get some letters out today! I love you all, and will be seeing you soon. :)
♥Shay Shay
Today, we're actually heading down to Santa Barbara to spend the day with our Zone...so I don't have a whole lot of time. But I DID want to share some exciting news, all the way from Camarillo...
JONATHAN GOT BAPTIZED!!! You got it!! Just another evidence that miracles DO happen. :) I got word today that on Saturday, Jonathan was baptized, and on Sunday, confirmed a member of the church. I couldn't be happier for him, and I'm just SO excited!!!
And as if THAT wasn't exciting enough...PETE'S RECEIVING THE MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD!! (Did I spell that right? I'm really not sure.) But WOW!! Doenice says he's at the sacrament table on Sundays now. :) I wish I could be there to see it, but hearing about it is really just as good. I am so happy for those cute Chavez's. I sure love them. ♥
As far as news here? We've had an interesting week! Since we've gotten here, we've found quite a problem with a language barrier...not only Spanish, but a LOT of Danish...of course, since this is a Danish town. But this past week, we've decided to start teaching English classes!! It will be gospel based...but will also teach them the basics--and we already have 6 people that want to come! We can't wait. We're ALSO going to start singing in the streets of downtown! WOOHOO! It's a "finding" activity that our ward mission leader suggested to us...and we thought we'd give it a try. So, starting this Saturday, you can see the Solvang sisters on the corner of Copenhagen singing hymns. :)
This week will be quite an exciting one, with LOTS of service!! For one, we're helping Carl, a recent convert in our ward, get ready to move. I'm pretty sad he's leaving...but he'll be headed to Paso Robles with his son. We love him, and will miss him, but it'll be really good for their family. We're going to be assembling packages for the soldiers this week, as well!! This is honestly one of my favorite service projects, so I'm pretty excited!
And of course...HALLOWEEN IS HERE! We're all helping at the ward trunk-or-treat, which will be a blast, and on November 1st, we're having the HARVEST BALL! Apparently, it's the event of the year, and everyone in the community is going. It's really cool, because it's a church activity, but everyone comes. We'll have a live band, and yummy dinner. :)
Lastly, transfers are next Tuesday. I seriously cannot believe how this time has flown by. It DOES NOT feel like it's been six weeks, and it especially doesn't seem like I've been in Solvang for four and a half months...time sure does fly here. Again, predictions say I'm leaving for San Luis Obispo...but who knows! We'll be finding out a few days early this time, so by Saturday, I'll know where I'm going!
Until then, the mission home address is probably your best bet--and I'll try to get some letters out today! I love you all, and will be seeing you soon. :)
♥Shay Shay
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Halloween Happiness!
Hello, cute family!!
I have to apologize upfront, this might be a bit of a slacker update...I don't have a whole lot of time today. But I did want to tell you all hi, and send my love. ♥
Things here are really going great!! Solvang is an ADORABLE place to be in the holiday season!! We just started the "Scarecrow Festival," where every shop in the city and Buellton puts out a themed scarecrow. And you know around Christmas-time, how there's that CRAZY house that coordinates their lights to the radio? We have one of those here, for Halloween. It's amazing!
To answer your question, Halloween is just a pretty normal day for missionaries. Of course, we don't dress up...but, Sister Cox and I are going to switch name-tags for the day and be each other. :) It'll do! Normally we come in a little bit early on holidays, so we'll probably just have a fun night in, full of weekly planning!! Woohoo! It'll be great. :) We DO have a corn maze that I think we're going to do with the district, and a few other fun things. It'll be wonderful!
Miracle of the week: We have a less-active member in our ward names Lisa, and we've been trying to get in contact with her, really, since I got here...4 months ago. She's out of town pretty often, and is a single mom, so she's got a lot going on. Just a week or two ago, though, we were able to meet her, and get to know her--she is just the cutest. This week, when we contracted her, she said she's been praying about, and wants us to teach her sons the discussions! We'll be starting this week, teaching her cute 9 and 11 year-old. I'll tell you how it goes!! :)
As for other exciting events of the week...Sister Cox and I did service in a member's garden, and she got bitten by something GNARLY. We don't know what, but her leg swelled up with a lump the size of a tennis bell, and we had to spend a day inside. She slept the whole day...and I did LOTS of studying! :) She's feeling much better now, and we're back to work.
I'm about out of time for today, but I hope you know how much I love you! Each of you just mean the world to me, and I pray for you every day. Can you believe I'll be seeing you a year from now? Me either! I love you all, and I'll see you very soon. :)
Love,
Shay Shay
P.S. - My hair is getting curlier every day. It's crazy.
I have to apologize upfront, this might be a bit of a slacker update...I don't have a whole lot of time today. But I did want to tell you all hi, and send my love. ♥
Things here are really going great!! Solvang is an ADORABLE place to be in the holiday season!! We just started the "Scarecrow Festival," where every shop in the city and Buellton puts out a themed scarecrow. And you know around Christmas-time, how there's that CRAZY house that coordinates their lights to the radio? We have one of those here, for Halloween. It's amazing!
To answer your question, Halloween is just a pretty normal day for missionaries. Of course, we don't dress up...but, Sister Cox and I are going to switch name-tags for the day and be each other. :) It'll do! Normally we come in a little bit early on holidays, so we'll probably just have a fun night in, full of weekly planning!! Woohoo! It'll be great. :) We DO have a corn maze that I think we're going to do with the district, and a few other fun things. It'll be wonderful!
Miracle of the week: We have a less-active member in our ward names Lisa, and we've been trying to get in contact with her, really, since I got here...4 months ago. She's out of town pretty often, and is a single mom, so she's got a lot going on. Just a week or two ago, though, we were able to meet her, and get to know her--she is just the cutest. This week, when we contracted her, she said she's been praying about, and wants us to teach her sons the discussions! We'll be starting this week, teaching her cute 9 and 11 year-old. I'll tell you how it goes!! :)
As for other exciting events of the week...Sister Cox and I did service in a member's garden, and she got bitten by something GNARLY. We don't know what, but her leg swelled up with a lump the size of a tennis bell, and we had to spend a day inside. She slept the whole day...and I did LOTS of studying! :) She's feeling much better now, and we're back to work.
I'm about out of time for today, but I hope you know how much I love you! Each of you just mean the world to me, and I pray for you every day. Can you believe I'll be seeing you a year from now? Me either! I love you all, and I'll see you very soon. :)
Love,
Shay Shay
P.S. - My hair is getting curlier every day. It's crazy.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Week of Miracles
Hello, hello!
As always, this week was just wonderful! :)
We had the chance to go on Exchanges with the Sisters from San Luis Obispo, Sister Hegstrom and Sister Cox! You probably know by now, but they happened to be two of my favorite missionaries. :) They came on Tuesday night, and I think Sister Cox and I were up til about 12:30 laughing our heads off at all the funny things that ever happened when we were together. Man, I love her. For exchanges, I was paired with Sister Hegstrom, and we went to work in Buellton! We had set a goal for ourselves to invite every single person we talked to, to be baptized. It was a pretty funny day...but we saw so many miracles! Some people thought we were crazy...and others said YES! We had so much fun, and met SO many new people! We also had a service activity with the Lutheran Church, where we spent a few hours sewing and tying quilts to send around the world. All in all, I'd say it was a successful day.
We had the chance to go on Exchanges with the Sisters from San Luis Obispo, Sister Hegstrom and Sister Cox! You probably know by now, but they happened to be two of my favorite missionaries. :) They came on Tuesday night, and I think Sister Cox and I were up til about 12:30 laughing our heads off at all the funny things that ever happened when we were together. Man, I love her. For exchanges, I was paired with Sister Hegstrom, and we went to work in Buellton! We had set a goal for ourselves to invite every single person we talked to, to be baptized. It was a pretty funny day...but we saw so many miracles! Some people thought we were crazy...and others said YES! We had so much fun, and met SO many new people! We also had a service activity with the Lutheran Church, where we spent a few hours sewing and tying quilts to send around the world. All in all, I'd say it was a successful day.
On Thursday, we had Zone Meeting with my favorite Lompoc missionaries...I've seriously missed them for the past 3 weeks. We were given permission to play sports with the Lompoc district again, so we'll be going to see them all today. :)
Saturday night, we got a call telling us that the musical number scheduled for Sunday had cancelled, so they asked if we could perform a week early. We ran to the Bishop's house, and he let us use his piano to finish writing the accompaniment...and then on Sunday, we performed Nearer, My God to Thee in Sacrament Meeting. It actually turned out really well! I played, while the other 3 sisters sang. Bishop wants us to come to his house and record it, so if we do, I'll send you a copy. :)
I love and miss you all so much, but, time is flying, and I know I'll get to see you so soon. I'm praying for each of you every day, and I hope you know you're in my thoughts. ♥ Have a great week!
Sister Shay Shay
P.S. - This week was Sister Cox's year mark. For celebration, since we sisters are too smart to burn any of our clothing...we let Sister Cox practice cutting my hair. :)
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Happy Conference Weekend!!
Hello, hello cute family!
What a wonderful conference week! And, even better that we all got to watch it together, from different parts of the country (although it was weird to start watching at 9:00 instead of 10:00.)
As missionaries, we watch conference at the church building, and since the rest of the ward was watching at home, we, and the hermanas, got the chapel to ourselves! It was actually a lot of fun! And in between sessions, we put together a musical number that we'll be singing in sacrament meeting one of these upcoming weeks. I'll send you the words and the accompaniment I wrote for it. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but it's actually really pretty. :) As far as conference goes...WHOA. It was SO good! I loved all the talks, but I especially loved Elder Jorg Klebingat's talk. I thought it was so neat how bold he was--as missionaries, they teach us that as long as our investigators know that we speak out of love, we can never be too bold. I saw that in his talk, and really appreciated it! I loved Elder Holland's talk as well, and am trying to think of ways that I can be better at serving those around me.
Other exciting events of this week: we had President's interviews! Our district is in Santa Barbara, so we headed up there for the day. Can I just say, PRESIDENT FELIX IS THE GREATEST. And Sister Felix, too. We are definitely blessed to have them with us! While there, we also got to see Meet the Mormons--it was AMAZING!! I love love loved it! They had a segment about the candy bomber that was SO good, some about the NAVY football coach (there was a football scene, and all the missionaries were like...on the edge of their seats. It's the most football we've seen in a while.) And of course, the missionary mom. All the sisters cried. :) And we enjoyed a few minute of David Archuleta. :)
As far as our investigators go, THEY ARE DOING GREAT! Euell watched conference with some of the members in the ward,and described it as "earth-shattering and magnificent." Whoa. He's reading the Book of Mormon too, and just read 3 Nephi 11. He called us to tell us how excited he was about it. And...Lenore has decided she wants to be baptized! She's a little indecisive at times, and we're still working on helping her pick a specific date...but she'll get there. :) Absolutely!! On a side note, we helped her fix, sand down, and paint her cupboards this week. We went through and painted flowers on some of them, too. They actually turned out really cute!
As for this week, it's going to be great. :) We have our Zone Meeting on Thursday, which means we get to see all of our favorite Lompoc missionaries! And on Wednesday...WE HAVE EXCHANGES!! I'm not sure if I'm going to be with Sister Hegstrom or Sister Cox, but either way it'll be lovely. I'll tell you about it.
I know there were a billion other things I wanted to tell you...but, my mind is blank. So that's all for now. OH! This week, Bro. Klitgaard (the ward's SUPER-DANE) is going to be sending a dvd of the Danish Days festivities. He wanted to send it to all our families, so keep an eye out for us! :)
Love you all, and I'll see you very soon. ♥
♥Shay Shay
What a wonderful conference week! And, even better that we all got to watch it together, from different parts of the country (although it was weird to start watching at 9:00 instead of 10:00.)
As missionaries, we watch conference at the church building, and since the rest of the ward was watching at home, we, and the hermanas, got the chapel to ourselves! It was actually a lot of fun! And in between sessions, we put together a musical number that we'll be singing in sacrament meeting one of these upcoming weeks. I'll send you the words and the accompaniment I wrote for it. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but it's actually really pretty. :) As far as conference goes...WHOA. It was SO good! I loved all the talks, but I especially loved Elder Jorg Klebingat's talk. I thought it was so neat how bold he was--as missionaries, they teach us that as long as our investigators know that we speak out of love, we can never be too bold. I saw that in his talk, and really appreciated it! I loved Elder Holland's talk as well, and am trying to think of ways that I can be better at serving those around me.
Other exciting events of this week: we had President's interviews! Our district is in Santa Barbara, so we headed up there for the day. Can I just say, PRESIDENT FELIX IS THE GREATEST. And Sister Felix, too. We are definitely blessed to have them with us! While there, we also got to see Meet the Mormons--it was AMAZING!! I love love loved it! They had a segment about the candy bomber that was SO good, some about the NAVY football coach (there was a football scene, and all the missionaries were like...on the edge of their seats. It's the most football we've seen in a while.) And of course, the missionary mom. All the sisters cried. :) And we enjoyed a few minute of David Archuleta. :)
As far as our investigators go, THEY ARE DOING GREAT! Euell watched conference with some of the members in the ward,and described it as "earth-shattering and magnificent." Whoa. He's reading the Book of Mormon too, and just read 3 Nephi 11. He called us to tell us how excited he was about it. And...Lenore has decided she wants to be baptized! She's a little indecisive at times, and we're still working on helping her pick a specific date...but she'll get there. :) Absolutely!! On a side note, we helped her fix, sand down, and paint her cupboards this week. We went through and painted flowers on some of them, too. They actually turned out really cute!
As for this week, it's going to be great. :) We have our Zone Meeting on Thursday, which means we get to see all of our favorite Lompoc missionaries! And on Wednesday...WE HAVE EXCHANGES!! I'm not sure if I'm going to be with Sister Hegstrom or Sister Cox, but either way it'll be lovely. I'll tell you about it.
I know there were a billion other things I wanted to tell you...but, my mind is blank. So that's all for now. OH! This week, Bro. Klitgaard (the ward's SUPER-DANE) is going to be sending a dvd of the Danish Days festivities. He wanted to send it to all our families, so keep an eye out for us! :)
Love you all, and I'll see you very soon. ♥
♥Shay Shay
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Tarantula Season
Hello, hello family!
I'm a bit short on time today, but I just wanted to tell you a few fun and exciting things from this week:
1. A VISIT FROM ELDER MALM. This was actually from last week, but I hadn't told you about it yet. Elder Malm, from the Quorum of the Seventy came and visited our mission, and it was SO amazing! He reminded us that we should NEVER expect someone to say no--they all said yes to this plan once, and there's a part of everyone that wants to say yes again. There were lots of other wonderful things we talked about, but it'd take all day to write. You can just trust that it was FANTASTIC!
2. TRANSFER MEETING! I got to see 4 of my favorite people at transfer meeting this week:
a) The wonderful Doenice Chavez,
b) Sister Kayla Cox,
c) Hermana Proctor (man, I love her) and,
d) JONATHAN!! In case you don't remember, John is one of my favorite investigators from Camarillo, whom I just adore. AND he came to transfers with news...HE'S GETTING BAPTIZED!! Apparently, he just walked right up to the sisters after we left, and said, "I've decided to be baptized...on THIS day (Sorry, I forget which day it is...:). And since then, he's been working toward it! It'll be interesting to see though--the Camarillo Sisters were just replaced with Elders...and John doesn't take too kindly to them. But, LUCKILY, he's converted to the gospel, not the missionaries. He'll be okay. :)
3. I HAVE A NEW COMPANION!! Sister Platt is in Ventura 2nd ward now, and I'm serving with Sister Cox (not the same one that trained me :). She is from Mapleton, UT, and has been serving for about a year now. She is SO great. She has such a powerful testimony, and brings the spirit so strongly when she teaches. We've definitely seen miracles this week.
4. TARANTULA SEASON. So...Sister Cox and I were driving down the road by the church, when we saw something sitting in the middle of the street: I might add, something big enough for us to not only see from down the street, but to stop, and say...what in the world is that?! We seriously though it was a small animal, so we tried driving around it...NOPE. IT WAS A SPIDER. Apparently, this is their time of year, and they are all over the place. They are horrifying...but it's okay, because we have faith that God will protect His missionaries. Still, SO gross.
5. THE WORK IS PROGRESSING. Things are going great here with our investigators. We had an AWESOME lesson with Euell this week, and we were finally able to find out why he wouldn't commit to baptism. We're working right now on helping him overcome it, but he is SO close, and has so much potential. I have no doubt in my mind that he will get there, even if it takes a little while. :) We FINALLY helped Lenore fix her cupboards this week (who knew I could be handy?!), and she was so darn happy. Now that they're fixed, we've painted them...and next week, we're going back to paint flowers on them. :) Beside our handywork, she's also reading the Book of Mormon. It makes absolute and complete sense to her--it's so neat! She's another, that I have not doubt, will get there. I love that lady, and she's on my list of people to come back and visit. :)
6. EXCITING THINGS ARE HAPPENING THIS WEEK! At the transfer, we actually go put into the Santa Barbara district, which means no more of our fun drives out to Lompoc. :( But this week, we're getting together with our district to see "Meet the Mormons." Yep, they're showing it to all of the missionaries, so we can talk about it with our investigators. It'll be a lot of fun!!
Well, cute family...I have to go for today. But, I hope you all know how much I love you. Can you believe I've been here SIX MONTHS?! Time's flying, and I'll be seeing all your cute faces very soon. Love you forever. :)
♥Sister Shay Shay
I'm a bit short on time today, but I just wanted to tell you a few fun and exciting things from this week:
1. A VISIT FROM ELDER MALM. This was actually from last week, but I hadn't told you about it yet. Elder Malm, from the Quorum of the Seventy came and visited our mission, and it was SO amazing! He reminded us that we should NEVER expect someone to say no--they all said yes to this plan once, and there's a part of everyone that wants to say yes again. There were lots of other wonderful things we talked about, but it'd take all day to write. You can just trust that it was FANTASTIC!
2. TRANSFER MEETING! I got to see 4 of my favorite people at transfer meeting this week:
a) The wonderful Doenice Chavez,
b) Sister Kayla Cox,
c) Hermana Proctor (man, I love her) and,
d) JONATHAN!! In case you don't remember, John is one of my favorite investigators from Camarillo, whom I just adore. AND he came to transfers with news...HE'S GETTING BAPTIZED!! Apparently, he just walked right up to the sisters after we left, and said, "I've decided to be baptized...on THIS day (Sorry, I forget which day it is...:). And since then, he's been working toward it! It'll be interesting to see though--the Camarillo Sisters were just replaced with Elders...and John doesn't take too kindly to them. But, LUCKILY, he's converted to the gospel, not the missionaries. He'll be okay. :)
3. I HAVE A NEW COMPANION!! Sister Platt is in Ventura 2nd ward now, and I'm serving with Sister Cox (not the same one that trained me :). She is from Mapleton, UT, and has been serving for about a year now. She is SO great. She has such a powerful testimony, and brings the spirit so strongly when she teaches. We've definitely seen miracles this week.
4. TARANTULA SEASON. So...Sister Cox and I were driving down the road by the church, when we saw something sitting in the middle of the street: I might add, something big enough for us to not only see from down the street, but to stop, and say...what in the world is that?! We seriously though it was a small animal, so we tried driving around it...NOPE. IT WAS A SPIDER. Apparently, this is their time of year, and they are all over the place. They are horrifying...but it's okay, because we have faith that God will protect His missionaries. Still, SO gross.
5. THE WORK IS PROGRESSING. Things are going great here with our investigators. We had an AWESOME lesson with Euell this week, and we were finally able to find out why he wouldn't commit to baptism. We're working right now on helping him overcome it, but he is SO close, and has so much potential. I have no doubt in my mind that he will get there, even if it takes a little while. :) We FINALLY helped Lenore fix her cupboards this week (who knew I could be handy?!), and she was so darn happy. Now that they're fixed, we've painted them...and next week, we're going back to paint flowers on them. :) Beside our handywork, she's also reading the Book of Mormon. It makes absolute and complete sense to her--it's so neat! She's another, that I have not doubt, will get there. I love that lady, and she's on my list of people to come back and visit. :)
6. EXCITING THINGS ARE HAPPENING THIS WEEK! At the transfer, we actually go put into the Santa Barbara district, which means no more of our fun drives out to Lompoc. :( But this week, we're getting together with our district to see "Meet the Mormons." Yep, they're showing it to all of the missionaries, so we can talk about it with our investigators. It'll be a lot of fun!!
Well, cute family...I have to go for today. But, I hope you all know how much I love you. Can you believe I've been here SIX MONTHS?! Time's flying, and I'll be seeing all your cute faces very soon. Love you forever. :)
♥Sister Shay Shay
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Letter to Dad Oldroyd :)
Hello Dad!
So, it sounds like scout camp was a BLAST! I think it's so fun that you got to go, and really cool that you got to stay on a house boat. As Chayden would say, "You fancy, huh!" What a weirdo. But I'm sure that the boys loved having you there - careful, or the word's going to get out that you're really a big softie. :)
I'm glad you got to meet Pete and Doenice!! Aren't they just so cool?! They really are my pride and joy (well, as far as my mission goes), as far as life goes, you guys are my pride and joy. :) I show EVERYONE my family pictures! I'm glad the weekend was great, Doenice seriously just RAVED about you guys! And Pete's so cool, right?! We as missionaries always joke that it's the coolest to see someone with their tattooed sleeves, and a white baptismal suit. It kind of gives a visual of how much the gospel changes lives. Aren't we blessed to have it?!
I'm glad the Utah season has started off right, although Mom said we have a really hard schedule this year. How do you think we'll do? Is Travis Wilson a senior this year? Hopefully not, I want to see him play again! Do we still have our awesome punter? It seems that all the church members here follow the Utah teams, but I try not to ask TOO many questions. Our Bishop's family, in particular, are GIANT "U" fans, and always try to get the football fan out of me. Members are TROUBLEMAKERS and try to temp the missionaries. "Sisters, the game's on. You can 'linger in the hall' and check the score!" NO, BISHOP HAWS!!
Just a few updates - it's the last week of the transfer. Crazy, right?! I said in my email today: I'm pretty sure I'm staying. However, today I found out that District predictions say I'm leaving for Santa Barbara! :) WOOHOO! Basically, the week before transfers, we all make guesses of where the district's going. We have an Elder who's practically a transfer prophet. Last transfer, he guessed EVERYONE who'd be leaving and where they were going! Either way, don't write to my Solvang address until I can update you on Monday, and tell you where I'm headed. :)
Just another fun update for the week: Euell missed our appointment. Why, you may ask? Our conversation went like this when we called: "So Euell, what're you up up to right now?" "Oh, just at the airport in Camarillo, looking at airplane parts." "Oh...why are you doing that?" "Girls...I've decided I'm going to build a plane." "Okay...do you know how to FLY a plane?" Well, of course not!! I just came up with this idea yesterday!!" Hmm...so now 'plane building' has been added to his current list of "to-do's," along with taking the bar exam, starting medical school, and teaching anger management classes. Euell dreams big, and we love him for it. :)
Well I've got to go, but I love you both (I'm assuming you'll read this to mom). I love you both!
♥Shay Shay
P.S. - We played "missionary werewolf" in district meeting today! It reminded me of home...except that after we got mauled, we went onto preach the gospel to the dead. :)
So, it sounds like scout camp was a BLAST! I think it's so fun that you got to go, and really cool that you got to stay on a house boat. As Chayden would say, "You fancy, huh!" What a weirdo. But I'm sure that the boys loved having you there - careful, or the word's going to get out that you're really a big softie. :)
I'm glad you got to meet Pete and Doenice!! Aren't they just so cool?! They really are my pride and joy (well, as far as my mission goes), as far as life goes, you guys are my pride and joy. :) I show EVERYONE my family pictures! I'm glad the weekend was great, Doenice seriously just RAVED about you guys! And Pete's so cool, right?! We as missionaries always joke that it's the coolest to see someone with their tattooed sleeves, and a white baptismal suit. It kind of gives a visual of how much the gospel changes lives. Aren't we blessed to have it?!
I'm glad the Utah season has started off right, although Mom said we have a really hard schedule this year. How do you think we'll do? Is Travis Wilson a senior this year? Hopefully not, I want to see him play again! Do we still have our awesome punter? It seems that all the church members here follow the Utah teams, but I try not to ask TOO many questions. Our Bishop's family, in particular, are GIANT "U" fans, and always try to get the football fan out of me. Members are TROUBLEMAKERS and try to temp the missionaries. "Sisters, the game's on. You can 'linger in the hall' and check the score!" NO, BISHOP HAWS!!
Just a few updates - it's the last week of the transfer. Crazy, right?! I said in my email today: I'm pretty sure I'm staying. However, today I found out that District predictions say I'm leaving for Santa Barbara! :) WOOHOO! Basically, the week before transfers, we all make guesses of where the district's going. We have an Elder who's practically a transfer prophet. Last transfer, he guessed EVERYONE who'd be leaving and where they were going! Either way, don't write to my Solvang address until I can update you on Monday, and tell you where I'm headed. :)
Just another fun update for the week: Euell missed our appointment. Why, you may ask? Our conversation went like this when we called: "So Euell, what're you up up to right now?" "Oh, just at the airport in Camarillo, looking at airplane parts." "Oh...why are you doing that?" "Girls...I've decided I'm going to build a plane." "Okay...do you know how to FLY a plane?" Well, of course not!! I just came up with this idea yesterday!!" Hmm...so now 'plane building' has been added to his current list of "to-do's," along with taking the bar exam, starting medical school, and teaching anger management classes. Euell dreams big, and we love him for it. :)
Well I've got to go, but I love you both (I'm assuming you'll read this to mom). I love you both!
♥Shay Shay
P.S. - We played "missionary werewolf" in district meeting today! It reminded me of home...except that after we got mauled, we went onto preach the gospel to the dead. :)
Monday, September 15, 2014
Ostrichland, USA
Do you remember the opening scene in Jurassic Park 2, where the little British girl almost got eaten because she thought the little dinosaurs were cute? This week, I experienced that, in the form of Ostrichland, USA. Scariest place on earth.
MAYBE that's a slight exaggeration, but seriously, it was freaky. We went with the district, instead of doing sports this week! It was fun, but they are SO CREEPY. The ostriches are semi-cute, and at least pretty funny. They're mean, though, so we have to feed them with a dogbowl glued to a dustpan...yep. The emus, though, are not cute, they're just horrifying. From far away, they look all cute and tiny...til 30 of them come running toward you, and you realize they are just feathered dinosaurs. THEY ARE SO SCARY!! But, it was a fun day with the district, and we got to explore a little more of Solvang. :)
As far as missionary work goes (that's the important part, right?!), we've officially started the "JustServe" program, and it has brought so many miracles!! I'll tell you about it in much more detail next week, but today, we just have a couple minutes left. Through service, we were able to pick up an old investigator that had dropped the missionaries about a year ago...but this week, the ward will be coming to give her a Priesthood blessing! We also were able to contact a less-active member, that disappeared right after her baptism, about a year ago. Now, we serve with her every Tuesday, and have lunch together!
In other news...this week was Stake Conference. It was SO good! And it's pretty funny, that even though I've only been in this Stake for 3 months, I knew so many people! That's one of the benefits of being a missionary...we know EVERY SINGLE ward member. This week, we'll also be serving at DANISH DAYS!! It starts this Friday. We'll be having an aebleskiver breakfast Saturday morning, then helping all throughout the festival. It'll give me a good chance to practice my Danish dancing. ;)
Lastly, then I have to go...We have ANOTHER Zone Conference on Friday!! We'll be having Elder Malm of the Quorum of the Seventy come to the mission to speak to us. We can't wait! And then...transfer news comes next Monday! Sister Platt and I have both been here for 2 transfers now--it's more than likely one of us is leaving. We don't KNOW who, but I think Sister Platt's heading out. I think Solvang may be my home for a little while. :)
Anyway, I'm out for the day, but I love you all so much, and I'll talk to you very soon!
Love, Shay Shay
MAYBE that's a slight exaggeration, but seriously, it was freaky. We went with the district, instead of doing sports this week! It was fun, but they are SO CREEPY. The ostriches are semi-cute, and at least pretty funny. They're mean, though, so we have to feed them with a dogbowl glued to a dustpan...yep. The emus, though, are not cute, they're just horrifying. From far away, they look all cute and tiny...til 30 of them come running toward you, and you realize they are just feathered dinosaurs. THEY ARE SO SCARY!! But, it was a fun day with the district, and we got to explore a little more of Solvang. :)
As far as missionary work goes (that's the important part, right?!), we've officially started the "JustServe" program, and it has brought so many miracles!! I'll tell you about it in much more detail next week, but today, we just have a couple minutes left. Through service, we were able to pick up an old investigator that had dropped the missionaries about a year ago...but this week, the ward will be coming to give her a Priesthood blessing! We also were able to contact a less-active member, that disappeared right after her baptism, about a year ago. Now, we serve with her every Tuesday, and have lunch together!
In other news...this week was Stake Conference. It was SO good! And it's pretty funny, that even though I've only been in this Stake for 3 months, I knew so many people! That's one of the benefits of being a missionary...we know EVERY SINGLE ward member. This week, we'll also be serving at DANISH DAYS!! It starts this Friday. We'll be having an aebleskiver breakfast Saturday morning, then helping all throughout the festival. It'll give me a good chance to practice my Danish dancing. ;)
Lastly, then I have to go...We have ANOTHER Zone Conference on Friday!! We'll be having Elder Malm of the Quorum of the Seventy come to the mission to speak to us. We can't wait! And then...transfer news comes next Monday! Sister Platt and I have both been here for 2 transfers now--it's more than likely one of us is leaving. We don't KNOW who, but I think Sister Platt's heading out. I think Solvang may be my home for a little while. :)
Anyway, I'm out for the day, but I love you all so much, and I'll talk to you very soon!
Love, Shay Shay
Monday, September 1, 2014
5-Month Zone Conference!!
Good morning, cute family!!
WHAT A WEEK! There are so many fun and exciting things happening in our mission; I wish you could be here to see it! Instead, I'll try to summarize it as well as I can in the time I have. :)
First of all, Zone Conference was this week! All the missionaries from the Santa Barbara and Ventura Zones met with President Felix (all the way down in Ventura...it's a pretty good drive!). Let me start by just saying, President Felix is SO cool! It's crazy how different he is from President Castro, but they're both so great in different ways. Anyway, we had a theme centered in Zion, this conference. We talked about how we can build Zion where we are, if we have Zion in our hearts. He always reminds us that we CAN be Zion. And he speaks in a way that the spirit is SO strong, you can feel everything he's telling us, and it gets us so excited to do this work. One day, you'll have to meet him, and you'll understand what I'm talking about. It was really neat though, throughout the whole conference we had trainings about how to bring Zion to every aspect of our work. It was such a good day!
Another announcement made for us at the conference, was JustServe.org. It's a new website started by the church, where we'll be finding service opportunities in the community. Normally, we're asked to do 4 hours of service a week, in investigators or member's homes. Now, we'll be doing TEN hours a week, and serving with all kinds of organizations. We'll be volunteering in Soup Kitchens, Senior Centers, with the Red Cross, etc. We're actually going to start doing service at the Santa Ynez Catholic Mission down the street, too. :) They've tried this in 3 other missions, and it's had a HUGE impact on the way the community looks at the missionaries, and it'll make it so we hardly ever tract. (FUN FACT: We're going to be volunteering for DANISH DAYS!! What's cooler than that?!) It'll be so nice to be able to get to know people in the community, and to break down some of the barriers that we all seem to put up. It's going to be great!!
Also...Zone Conference was on my 5-MONTH mark!! Holy cow, it seems crazy that I've been out that long already--time is just FLYING by! It was fun though, because I was there with Sister Currie, Sister Olsen, and Elder Payne, some of my favorite missionaries from my MTC district. We all got to celebrate together. :)
In other news, Lenore is still doing awesome. She seriously is the funniest lady. This week, she said "You know, you two are just like Marie Osmond...SO VIVACIOUS!" What...? Man, she's so cool. She's TOTALLY someone I'm coming back to see! We found out a few weeks ago, though, that she was having a hard time reading the Book of Mormon, because the print was so small. This week, we were finally able to get her a large print book, and she was so excited. SOOOO excited! She just sat down right there, started reading, and talking about how neat it was that Christ came to the Americas. She loves that chapter.
Euell's still doing really well. At our last lesson, while reading, he flipped RIGHT open to the diagram in Abraham...and just STARED at it. Sister Platt and I were PETRIFIED, and just stared at each other with a look that said, a "Are you ready to explain Kolob, cause I'm sure not! Luckily, he finally just looked up and said, "YEP. There's a lotta knowledge in this good book." Phew. I'll admit, some things, I am just not prepared to teach quite yet. :)
I've also found the funniest family in the ward--the Goodwins. They're the ULTIMATE member family, and their daughter is such a good missionary. She's ACTUALLY the one who found Euell! But this week we were having dinner at their house...and somehow it ended up with them setting up rat traps on the dinner table, and having us set them off with screwdrivers. I don't know how things like that happen...but we turned it into a Book of Mormon object lesson.
I love you all, and miss you. But you're always in my prayers, and I'll see you very soon. ♥
Love,
ShaylieRae♥
P.S.- SISTER PLATT AND I ARE GOING TO THE TEMPLE TOMORROW!!
WHAT A WEEK! There are so many fun and exciting things happening in our mission; I wish you could be here to see it! Instead, I'll try to summarize it as well as I can in the time I have. :)
First of all, Zone Conference was this week! All the missionaries from the Santa Barbara and Ventura Zones met with President Felix (all the way down in Ventura...it's a pretty good drive!). Let me start by just saying, President Felix is SO cool! It's crazy how different he is from President Castro, but they're both so great in different ways. Anyway, we had a theme centered in Zion, this conference. We talked about how we can build Zion where we are, if we have Zion in our hearts. He always reminds us that we CAN be Zion. And he speaks in a way that the spirit is SO strong, you can feel everything he's telling us, and it gets us so excited to do this work. One day, you'll have to meet him, and you'll understand what I'm talking about. It was really neat though, throughout the whole conference we had trainings about how to bring Zion to every aspect of our work. It was such a good day!
Another announcement made for us at the conference, was JustServe.org. It's a new website started by the church, where we'll be finding service opportunities in the community. Normally, we're asked to do 4 hours of service a week, in investigators or member's homes. Now, we'll be doing TEN hours a week, and serving with all kinds of organizations. We'll be volunteering in Soup Kitchens, Senior Centers, with the Red Cross, etc. We're actually going to start doing service at the Santa Ynez Catholic Mission down the street, too. :) They've tried this in 3 other missions, and it's had a HUGE impact on the way the community looks at the missionaries, and it'll make it so we hardly ever tract. (FUN FACT: We're going to be volunteering for DANISH DAYS!! What's cooler than that?!) It'll be so nice to be able to get to know people in the community, and to break down some of the barriers that we all seem to put up. It's going to be great!!
Also...Zone Conference was on my 5-MONTH mark!! Holy cow, it seems crazy that I've been out that long already--time is just FLYING by! It was fun though, because I was there with Sister Currie, Sister Olsen, and Elder Payne, some of my favorite missionaries from my MTC district. We all got to celebrate together. :)
In other news, Lenore is still doing awesome. She seriously is the funniest lady. This week, she said "You know, you two are just like Marie Osmond...SO VIVACIOUS!" What...? Man, she's so cool. She's TOTALLY someone I'm coming back to see! We found out a few weeks ago, though, that she was having a hard time reading the Book of Mormon, because the print was so small. This week, we were finally able to get her a large print book, and she was so excited. SOOOO excited! She just sat down right there, started reading, and talking about how neat it was that Christ came to the Americas. She loves that chapter.
Euell's still doing really well. At our last lesson, while reading, he flipped RIGHT open to the diagram in Abraham...and just STARED at it. Sister Platt and I were PETRIFIED, and just stared at each other with a look that said, a "Are you ready to explain Kolob, cause I'm sure not! Luckily, he finally just looked up and said, "YEP. There's a lotta knowledge in this good book." Phew. I'll admit, some things, I am just not prepared to teach quite yet. :)
I've also found the funniest family in the ward--the Goodwins. They're the ULTIMATE member family, and their daughter is such a good missionary. She's ACTUALLY the one who found Euell! But this week we were having dinner at their house...and somehow it ended up with them setting up rat traps on the dinner table, and having us set them off with screwdrivers. I don't know how things like that happen...but we turned it into a Book of Mormon object lesson.
I love you all, and miss you. But you're always in my prayers, and I'll see you very soon. ♥
Love,
ShaylieRae♥
P.S.- SISTER PLATT AND I ARE GOING TO THE TEMPLE TOMORROW!!
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Exchange week!!
Hi cute family! :)
I'm running a little low on time this week, but I wanted to send you a quick update, and let you know that all is well here in Solvang.
This week, I had exchanged with THE one, THE only, SISTER COX! Man, I seriously love her. Of course, I love ALL my companions, but Sister Cox seems to have a special place in my heart. I was so excited for our exchange, and it was just as good as I had hoped it'd be. It was crazy to see how much both of us have changed and grown since we were companions! And it's crazy to think that's been almost 4 months ago. Whoa, time flies. We had such a good day though, saw so many miracles...and spent a good portion of our time laughing our heads off. We tend to do that. :)
As for YOU, I don't think I can explain how happy those pictures made me, of you with Pete and Doenice! All of my favorite people (well, not all...but a lot) together, at the temple. What could be better?! And aren't they just awesome?! I'm so happy you got to meet them, and Doenice told me today just how much they love you. I believe it, but I love you more. ♥
Tomorrow, I get to go to my first Zone Conference!! We'll be getting a lot of exciting new info, and doing all sorts of training. It's with the whole Santa Barbara and Ventura Zones, so we'll be heading down to Ventura in the morning. It's a LONG drive...but it's along the coast, so we get to see the ocean along the way. Not bad. :) I'll tell you about it next week, but for this week, know that I love you, and I'll be seeing you all very soon.
Love,
Sister Shay Shay
I'm running a little low on time this week, but I wanted to send you a quick update, and let you know that all is well here in Solvang.
This week, I had exchanged with THE one, THE only, SISTER COX! Man, I seriously love her. Of course, I love ALL my companions, but Sister Cox seems to have a special place in my heart. I was so excited for our exchange, and it was just as good as I had hoped it'd be. It was crazy to see how much both of us have changed and grown since we were companions! And it's crazy to think that's been almost 4 months ago. Whoa, time flies. We had such a good day though, saw so many miracles...and spent a good portion of our time laughing our heads off. We tend to do that. :)
As for YOU, I don't think I can explain how happy those pictures made me, of you with Pete and Doenice! All of my favorite people (well, not all...but a lot) together, at the temple. What could be better?! And aren't they just awesome?! I'm so happy you got to meet them, and Doenice told me today just how much they love you. I believe it, but I love you more. ♥
Tomorrow, I get to go to my first Zone Conference!! We'll be getting a lot of exciting new info, and doing all sorts of training. It's with the whole Santa Barbara and Ventura Zones, so we'll be heading down to Ventura in the morning. It's a LONG drive...but it's along the coast, so we get to see the ocean along the way. Not bad. :) I'll tell you about it next week, but for this week, know that I love you, and I'll be seeing you all very soon.
Love,
Sister Shay Shay
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Hello, from the HAPPIEST AUNT IN THE WORLD!!
Hello, hello family!
I honestly don't even know where to start...except to say that I am the happiest and luckiest aunt in the world. I get to come home to Baby Noyce AND Baby Oldroyd! I'm so excited to meet them, and see their cute faces. Seriously, congratulations! I'm so darn happy for you. :)
As for things here in Solvang, they're going well!! This week, I think it's safe to say we're finally over the missionary disease (thank goodness!) and the dead body is out of our systems. :) It's about time!! Sadly, the sickness made me lazy on my looks, and I've officially adopted my crazy poodle hair. It looks more and more like Hermione Granger, every single day (no, not from the 7th movie. I'm talking Sorcerer's Stone). But, it's okay. That's really not what matters.
Our new district is AWESOME. We have 3 new Elders (Elder Cavazos, Elder Hurst, and Elder Harper), and a new Hermana in our ward (Hermana Bennion)! She's the cutest. I'll admit, I miss our other awesome district, but this one's going to be pretty great, too! We had our first district meeting on Thursday. It was so good. I sent Mom a whole letter explaining it, but to summarize: it started at about 10:00 am, and ended at 5:00 pm...whoops. That was definitely not in our plans. But it was a good district-bonding experience, and we all became good friend pretty quickly! And, we got a district picture out of it. I'll send it as soon as I get it.
The work is going great! We had a Member-Present lesson with Albert this week! The member happens to be quite the cowboy, and it turned out to be a lesson on church attendance...and rodeos. It's a little hard to imagine...and a little hard to explain. :) It went well, though, and Albert came to church for the first time this week!! It was so nice, and he was able to make friends in the ward. We're so excited for him! His baptismal date is still set for September 20th. We're also working with Euell, and he's doing really well.
On Friday, we also met a less-active woman named Kathy. Sometimes, less-active members are less than thrilled to see us, but she could NOT have been happier. Her husband isn't a member, but she has such a strong testimony and love for the gospel. It seriously was a miracle that we met her, and we're going to help set her with a goal of getting back to the temple. :)
Well, I'm about out of time today,so I'll let you all go... but I hope you have such a good week. You're always in my prayers, and I'll be seeing you very soon. ♥
♥Shay Shay
P.S. - Exchanges with Sister Cox are this week!! :D
I honestly don't even know where to start...except to say that I am the happiest and luckiest aunt in the world. I get to come home to Baby Noyce AND Baby Oldroyd! I'm so excited to meet them, and see their cute faces. Seriously, congratulations! I'm so darn happy for you. :)
As for things here in Solvang, they're going well!! This week, I think it's safe to say we're finally over the missionary disease (thank goodness!) and the dead body is out of our systems. :) It's about time!! Sadly, the sickness made me lazy on my looks, and I've officially adopted my crazy poodle hair. It looks more and more like Hermione Granger, every single day (no, not from the 7th movie. I'm talking Sorcerer's Stone). But, it's okay. That's really not what matters.
Our new district is AWESOME. We have 3 new Elders (Elder Cavazos, Elder Hurst, and Elder Harper), and a new Hermana in our ward (Hermana Bennion)! She's the cutest. I'll admit, I miss our other awesome district, but this one's going to be pretty great, too! We had our first district meeting on Thursday. It was so good. I sent Mom a whole letter explaining it, but to summarize: it started at about 10:00 am, and ended at 5:00 pm...whoops. That was definitely not in our plans. But it was a good district-bonding experience, and we all became good friend pretty quickly! And, we got a district picture out of it. I'll send it as soon as I get it.
The work is going great! We had a Member-Present lesson with Albert this week! The member happens to be quite the cowboy, and it turned out to be a lesson on church attendance...and rodeos. It's a little hard to imagine...and a little hard to explain. :) It went well, though, and Albert came to church for the first time this week!! It was so nice, and he was able to make friends in the ward. We're so excited for him! His baptismal date is still set for September 20th. We're also working with Euell, and he's doing really well.
On Friday, we also met a less-active woman named Kathy. Sometimes, less-active members are less than thrilled to see us, but she could NOT have been happier. Her husband isn't a member, but she has such a strong testimony and love for the gospel. It seriously was a miracle that we met her, and we're going to help set her with a goal of getting back to the temple. :)
Well, I'm about out of time today,so I'll let you all go... but I hope you have such a good week. You're always in my prayers, and I'll be seeing you very soon. ♥
♥Shay Shay
P.S. - Exchanges with Sister Cox are this week!! :D
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Staying in Solvang!
Hi everyone!
So, first of all, I'm staying in Solvang!! Woohoo!! Both Sister Platt and I will be here for another transfer, as well as Hermana Hernandez. (Luckily, cause she's awesome!) Not that I have too much experience at transfers...since I've only had 3. But, from the experience I DO have, it's kinda funny: you can already feel whether you'll be leaving. And we can usually tell when we need to stay a little longer. The weekend before transfers, we always try to do some deep cleaning, and throw unnecessary things out (I LOVE throwing things out...I think I get that from you, Mom!) This weekend, though, even though we cleaned, we mostly decorated. We made it cute and homey, cause we could just feel we'd be here a while longer. Luckily, we were right. :)
There's actually a lot going on in Solvang right now. Like I mentioned, Albert's getting baptized! I'm honestly not sure if I've talked about Albert before. We met him our first week here, and even though he really liked to meet with us, he wasn't really progressing. He got very distracted in lessons, and he wasn't really absorbing much of what we were teaching. We weren't sure what to do, so we decided to have a lesson where we just read the Book of Mormon with him. He LOVED it, and from then on, he started to progress! He came to lessons focused and ready to learn...and now...he's getting BAPTIZED!! Man, the Book of Mormon is so powerful. It made all the difference for Albert. :)
Euell's doing great, too! This week, we did service with him, AND his wife! Normally, she avoids us when we're there...so it was really cool to be able to talk to her and get to know her. She even hugged us when we left! That's progress, if you ask me. :) Hopefully, we'll get to set him with a new baptismal date this week. I'll let you know!
We finally got over the missionary disease this week; it's about time! We're now very healthy, and drinking body-free water. :)
I wish I had more fun and exciting things to tell you, but this has honestly been a pretty normal missionary week. Things really are great here, and I'm happy to be staying.
The church is true. I promise. :) LOVE YOU!
♥Shay Shay
So, first of all, I'm staying in Solvang!! Woohoo!! Both Sister Platt and I will be here for another transfer, as well as Hermana Hernandez. (Luckily, cause she's awesome!) Not that I have too much experience at transfers...since I've only had 3. But, from the experience I DO have, it's kinda funny: you can already feel whether you'll be leaving. And we can usually tell when we need to stay a little longer. The weekend before transfers, we always try to do some deep cleaning, and throw unnecessary things out (I LOVE throwing things out...I think I get that from you, Mom!) This weekend, though, even though we cleaned, we mostly decorated. We made it cute and homey, cause we could just feel we'd be here a while longer. Luckily, we were right. :)
There's actually a lot going on in Solvang right now. Like I mentioned, Albert's getting baptized! I'm honestly not sure if I've talked about Albert before. We met him our first week here, and even though he really liked to meet with us, he wasn't really progressing. He got very distracted in lessons, and he wasn't really absorbing much of what we were teaching. We weren't sure what to do, so we decided to have a lesson where we just read the Book of Mormon with him. He LOVED it, and from then on, he started to progress! He came to lessons focused and ready to learn...and now...he's getting BAPTIZED!! Man, the Book of Mormon is so powerful. It made all the difference for Albert. :)
Euell's doing great, too! This week, we did service with him, AND his wife! Normally, she avoids us when we're there...so it was really cool to be able to talk to her and get to know her. She even hugged us when we left! That's progress, if you ask me. :) Hopefully, we'll get to set him with a new baptismal date this week. I'll let you know!
We finally got over the missionary disease this week; it's about time! We're now very healthy, and drinking body-free water. :)
I wish I had more fun and exciting things to tell you, but this has honestly been a pretty normal missionary week. Things really are great here, and I'm happy to be staying.
The church is true. I promise. :) LOVE YOU!
♥Shay Shay
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