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 ♥
Shaylie
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
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
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