Dec 16...transfer trains

So a lot of this week was saying goodbyes for sister Meservy.... It is really so hard to leave an area, you really come to love the members and investigators you are working with. But unfortunately that is the life of a missionary, to come and go and slip away and hopefully make a difference somewhere down the line. I think the hardest part of goodbyes on the mission are you aren't sure when or if you will ever get to see these people again, Some people like elder Mcritchie are from edmonton and dont live that far while others are from england and washington and traveling back becomes more difficult but i swear everywhere i serve will always have a place in my heart! 

but alas, when the good byes were over we started a two and a half hour drive to head down to

Regina to spend almost three days. It was fun. It feels really weird being out of your area but it was really good to go on exchanges with sister elkins and sister haner. plus it kept me teaching and my mind off the fact that a new companion was on their way from winnipeg to be arriving and living with me for probably the next twelve weeks. So we spent wednesday night to friday night in regina and that was fun! 

On friday i met my new companion sister davis. She is incredible and is so prepared to do this work, its amazing how ready they are coming out! I am really excited for the transfer we have ahead of us. We were able to teach R***twice and that was good... he is still moving forward towards his baptism and things are going good. We were able to talk about revelation this week and i learned some things for myself which was nice. Now we are just teaching, caroling occasionally to help spread the christmas spirit, loving life, and doing gods will.... its great to be a missionary. Im really excited for christmas and zone conference and hope to tell fun stories about those! Love you all.... 

 

Dec 9...I ain't frozen yet!

So its kind of cold outside.... like just a little.... -40 degrees outside is apparently slightly balmy for winters here and im pretty sure my knees were going to freeze. In fact we got a text message that morning saying stay inside unless you have appointments or can do stop by. So we got to stay inside, NOT! our day was full of appointments and it was really great! We found three new investigators... its really nice to know that the cold doesn't harden peoples hearts. But the rule of thumb is if its -40 you stay inside unless you have appointments and you can only go out if you have a car. So ya... but apparently cold is not an issue for the lords work, we still move forward. Church even happened because it was only in the -30s. In fact there are a bunch of people moving in this cold. Sister Meservy is being transfered to Regina and we get to make a three day trip there this week....  It should be fun... and i get to stay and just cover one ward and I am training again... Im super excited. 

     We had an early christmas with sister D*** because of sister Meservy leaving. We got sweaters... Mine is black and white stripes with a green zipper on the back... super cute! Sister D*** is a fun member missionary... she literally drags her roommates to church... i guess thats one way to do it! We also had the Wildwood christmas party... we helped set up, clean up and serve food... we are called to serve but this week we were literally serving. 

     ZTM was this week and it was really fun! Our zone leaders are incredible, elder Mohlman and elder Judkins are great! We learned about how to better work with members and love our companions my favorite was the training video called phone call.... .dad did you ever have to watch that?.... but pretty much its a video about getting the courage to call a girl out to a date... it was very applicable and very funny.... Then we went to fudd ruckers and of course the elders wanted to do pound burgers... disgusting... but i shared one instead... apparently i'm a wimp, but i could do it, i just choose not to. 

     We went and saw a less active this week and her new husband said he wanted to find two more mormon girls to marry. We were hoping he was joking and he wouldnt realize that he just had two mormon girls walk through his front door.... luckily he didnt and we got out of there fairly quickly... We also went and saw our recent convert L***....she made us the best meal, it was chicken and pineapple... thats it... super healthy and super yummy.... Then we had a vent session with M***  one of our members...it was a fun vent session, and it really helped her a lot. We also met with one of our recent converts, L***... she reminds me of my roommate Emily, whom i miss, and she is super cute... she asks a lot of culture questions and im afraid im going to answer her wrong... you know because america and Canada are SOOO different. We also had a pizza party with the elders at a members house... I love being able to eat dairy again! SO GREAT!!!! While we were teaching R***and R***,our part member family, their son J*** totally punched me in the face. He's two and a lot stronger then he seems. Their dogs and cats were having world war 6 too so the dog unfortunately had to go. But r*** was thinking about getting baptized on janurary 14 so pray for him and that date. We also met three new investigators they were referrals from a family in Red Deer and we are now teaching three of them as investigators, they are going to be so good!

    But remember that FAMILY TIME IS SACRED TIME! and even though we arent together for Christmas I hold all of our good memories as sacred, and im excited to go and make more memories soon. LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!

     

Dec 2...oh christmas tree!

So its been a week where things didnt quite go as planned but ive kind of accepted that thats how every week goes as a missionary. And an old russian guy doesnt like my parking job... he keeps yelling at me because im on the line..... THERE IS SNOW EVERYWHERE how can you even see the blasted line.... christlike love, christlike love.... im learning so much from random people. But you know rocking out to some mulan and lion king fixes everything. Disney fixes a bad day, music fixes a bad day!

    We got to do cooking as a service and it was super fun. We had to distract a crazy two year old and try not to destroy the star cookies and all worked out great! We made a cookie christmas tree.... and it tasted good too. yummy!

    There are so many family connections in the church its absolutely insane. This week we met someone who was the sister of a lady in our ward, we will call her susan. So we met susan's sister and then later that week we met susan's daughter and all and all we met three susan connections in a week.... it was weird... and we didnt even see them coming. 

    A*** is one of the investigators we are working with. She has decided that she is going to come to church for a year before deciding if she is going to join the church. Shes been for a month already only eleven more to go! She got us christmas presents too.... she is super sweet! and even though she cant read she just soaks everything up and loves everyone and just really tries hard to understand what God wants her to do. 

    As a district we did a road trip out to Warmen this week... its like thirty minutes away.... none of us really have the kilometers to get there so a member comes and drives down their suburban and picks us all up and drives us to their house so we can eat then brings us back into saskatoon. It was a lot of fun. and a half an hour in a car gets some good conversations going. 

    Me and my companion have a shift at the family history center and i have been doing it and loving it! I have found so many names and started cleaning things up and even added a whole line that was blank... unfortunately that just caused more clean up but it gives me something to do each week while i help out the family history center.... its been fun... and the boys can probably do the names too so just keep checking for updates. 

    We went to go stop by this formers house and got buzzed in without being talked to... weird thing number uno.... Weird thing number two we knocked on the door and heard a come in the doors unlocked.... ive never been a huge fan of walking into random houses and that hasnt changed on my mission but reluctantly we opened the door. Let me just describe to you the first thing we saw. A completely bare appartment that isnt in the best of shape with a lady sitting on the floor sitting cross legged rocking back and forth winding up a telephone cord. Both me and my companion thought we had entered a haunted house but all weirdness aside we asked if we could share a message and were able to share one on gratitude and invite her to the ward christmas party. We found out she was moving out of our area hence the blank apartment and she was just packing up her phone it was the last thing to go. We werent sure if we would ever see her again but thats where the miracle came in. She showed up to the christmas concert!!!!! and she set up an appointment with the sisters in her area.... God works in mysterious and kind of weird circumstances. 

    Every week we have a service opportunity at the food bank where we sort toys and clothes that are donated to be sold for super cheap for those who need it really bad. This week we found some treasures we decided to bring home with us. One of them was a rough rider foam finger... it is saskatoons football team that just won the grey cup which is apparently really big. Its like the super bowl but college age and canadian rules.... So that was fun to get as a souvenir. Also we found some minions to add to my collection. I wasnt going to take them but one of the ladies who volunteers heard why i love minions so much and INSISTED i took them. But I love minions because they remind me of the happy times at home... now i have four more great reminders of the amazing family i have!  

    We got american thanksgiving. It was so delicious. There is this young family in one of our wards that i have just fallen in love with and when she heard i was american she got so excited. She said she signed up to feed the elders on thanksgiving and found out one of the companionships were both Canadian and got so disappointed so she begged us to come. We already had a dinner appointment and she called them and invited them too... They had to cancel so it all worked out for the best and we had a really yummy thanksgiving! 

    Thanksgiving night we had another cottage party which is pretty much just a party at a members house where investigators can meet members in a more casual setting. We played would you rather and there were some crazy ones. My favorite was would you rather sleep on a bed of peanut butter or with a humidifier full of vomit.... nasty right... but so funny. It was a good night!

   We got to call bingo again... o 66 is my favorite. Apparently you are suppose to say clackity clack when you read it out.... its the best! We also had a meal appointment where a member made us sing for our dinner. That has never happened to me before but im sure its pleasent sometimes.... good thing we can sing... haha. She also is a cat person and makes sure to tell her cats not to cross the street when she lets them out because she doesnt want them to get hit by cars. and apparently all but one listened.... :( poor cat maybe it didnt speak english. 

    We taught one of our investigators the ten commandments this week and we taught them the way sister smith and sister harrison taught Summer... that is the most effective way i have found so far to teach that. It really makes it stick to your brain when you draw pictures that remind you of the commandment. 

    Okay but here is the craziest experience that happened to us all week. We were helping an investigator clean because she was moving and we had us and four elders over there working hard and as we are cleaning we found an elder sign wall... apparently in every apartment you live in you find something to sign and they decided the wall.. it was elders who served in the 1996 time period with phone numbers and address and pictures... IN AN INVESTIGATORS HOUSE!!!! it was the neatest thing ever! 

    L***, our recent convert, made us ornaments.... they are the best... she made me an american flag one... everyone likes to point out the fact that im not canadian but its okay, i love home no matter where it is. 

      Our ward christmas party happened this week and it was fun. They cooked seven turkeys, so many potatoes and had more pie than ANYONE could handle.... it was delicious and then santa came and so did the nativity scene. it was great!

    Well.... now that i have said soooo much (dont expect this every week but im trying to be better) i wanted to end with a quote from Sheri Dew we got in RS!

"No one can have the influence you have been prepared to have on all who come within your sphere of influence. Without question, no one can fulfill your foreordained mission. no one can do what you were sent here to do. no one."

How true that is... We are all here to do something special that only we can do... we are important and powerful and we cannot fail if we have the lord on our side.... Love you all... and remember the reason for the season!!!!

 

Nov 25...Happy 8 month birthday to me!

So this week I hit 8 months and guess what?! im still okay :)

In fact im even better than okay and i have loved what i am learning as a missionary. This week God decided to teach me in the art of patience again. I seem to need a lot of work on that one. good thing i have ten more months to do it :) .... 

It all started on monday when we got in a small rear bumper collision with the person behind us kindly tapping our back end... of the car that is... But there was no damage on either vehicle and everything seems fine but me and cars dont seem to want to get along out here. But its okay miracles are possible!

Oh... I also lost BOTH of my badges in the past week and it was awful... i felt like my identity was taken away but luckily I have FANTASTIC elders (elder mohlman) who make really good fake badges that will make me until the ones i ordered come in. 

The car plug got ripped off... and again the elders had to come to our rescue and fix it. So now our car wont freeze. :)

Our investigator on date for baptism, R***, was doing so good, we thought, but apparently there are some obstacles we need to tackle first. So we are pushing his date back a little. That was kind of hard but we know he will get there... HE IS SO PREPARED! 

We found an investigator that kind of went MIA. She showed up to the choir concert which was AMAZING. Miracles happen. And the concert turned out really good... good things always happen when the spirit is involved. 

Lessons have gone REALLY GOOD!!!! We always seem to find a member, investigator, or less-active to work with and help out.... I love being a missionary!!!!!

Love you all! 

The cold will not win.... I will prevail.... and as you continue to write me my heart warms. I may be far away in an arctic land and the weather may be in the negative double digits but I really appreciate everything everybody does for me... thanks so much. 

 

Nov 18...highlights

Hello Hello!

Ready to here about my week... It was so fun!

I am only going to go over some of highlights because SOOO much happened this week!

We had some of the best recent convert less active lessons this week! They were so much fun! We really got to know people which helped us help them more... the best is when i bonded with someone over a bon jovi concert... who would have guessed that going to that concert would help me in my missionary work.. definately NOT ME! :) We taught these little kids how to pray and it was so cute! They would kneel down and fold their arms real tight and close their eyes peeking only every once in a while... it was so cute... and they even remembered it the next time we went back. It was the best!!!!! 

We also had exchanges this week and i got to spend 24 hours with Sister Hill... It was SOOOO much fun! We had a day of miracles too for sure. Miracle number 1... I got mcdonalds... Miracle number 2 we got three new investigators and one of them is getting baptized in december!.... Miracle number three me and my companion wanted to come back together... it was great! Day of Miracles!!!!!!

Someone gave me a knitted sweater... so now i have a touque, gloves, head bands, shoes and now a sweater... with some pants i would have a whole outfit... ya i would... so good.

We also had something called a cottage party where we invited investigators to a members home to play games and fellowship.. it was really fun.. i hope we do it again! 

We walked dogs... devil dogs... yep thats us.. .they were crazy!!!!! They pulled us the whole time but it was so much fun! The member we went with almost peed her pants she was laughing so hard and sister meservy fell down the hill... it was great! 

The work is true.. it continues on... and it is so great! It was a great week to be a missionary this week. Love you all!

Sister Harrison

Nov 11...getting ready for baptism

 So this week was crazy... being in a new area always brings new adventures and this time is no exception. 

   We had a lot to do this week as we prepared for a baptism for L***! She is so great and we were so excited for the week we had with her! We had 5 lessons with her this week to make sure she was all ready for saturday. Everything went as planned and she was baptized... it was so great! The best part was her testimony afterwards.... You can really tell that God is looking for his elite when you hear her bear her testimony. She loves him so much and is so ready to be on this path to eternal progression that she started this weekend... its so fantastic! 

   We also had a great lesson with a recent convert where me sharing a personal story really opened her up... I got some special training from the assistants the other day where i was reminded that the people i meet out here are my friends. my brothers and sisters. As I've remembered that and started opening myself up they have opened up too. Its so fantastic! its really helping us with teaching and allowing others to open up with us and really come to trust what we say. Ive really made friends by doing it too! 

   One of our relief society presidents is very thorough and we had a good hour and a half meeting with her. It was crazy the information she had for us... mom are you that matrix about all your sisters? i still think your a fabulous relief society president if you arent? how do the missionaries help you and how do you want their help?

   They have a basketball night here (don't worry i'm wearing my brace) and i love it! I think its so much fun and it really gets out our investigators members and less actives.... its a lot of fun... 

   Also.... i got to have dairy this week! those pills from costco really work! I am such a happy camper right now and im a real kid again!!!!!! best week ever! Thats my week... and it only gets better from here... :)

 

 

Nov 4...moving on out!

Transfers always make things super confusing! But this one seemed even extra hectic with everything that was going on..... but let me tell you about my week

MONDAY- it was our last pday together as a district and a zone.... it was fun... we won a blender.. I think I talked about this last week but just incase... then we had dinner at Ed's for the last time, he made us a really nice meal and it was sweet. Sheryll asked for my favorite color and made me a toque and a scarf.....they are a light yellow and super cute! Such a nice family...I gave them the house number so if they randomly call sorry I just wanted to be able to stay in touch with them afterwards... like forever! 

TUESDAY- We had a marriage lesson today... it was interesting, it was so good that they know that we love them because if not that would have been really awkward... they agreed to pray to see if they should get married so my fingers are crossed from here!  

WEDNESDAY- i'm pretty sure the Thompson elders got into town,... spent the day with our elders, we had ward correlation and we had dinner with the Van wyks... who were then nice enough to get permission to take us out of our area and get my boots fixed, which I am really appreciating today as it is snowing outside... :) 

THURSDAY- Today was transfer day, our day that was suppose to start out good ended weird and just got more frustrating from there...too many people, not enough work being done, and it was halloween so we kept seeing fun costumes, i decided to dress up as an angel, wait i'm an angel every day!!!!! no but really its been fun! then we did a Book of Mormon challenge as sisters,.... there are 27 books of Mormon with a sisters testimony written in it all around Winnipeg...Super fun. then we did some service projects and ate sandwiches. We had a sleep over at the ysa sisters apartment that night. It was just a fun day! 

FRIDAY- Friday was sisters conference and it was so inspiring, but before i get to the inspiring stuff here is some of the crazy stuff we did. we had an exercise portion, we ate soup, we also had a testimony meeting followed by a pillow case and bed time story... super cute... 

We also had a portion on finding, talents, stars, and just improving ourselves! super inspirational!

SATURDAY- we drove.... all day... to Saskatoon..but I got to be with sister Elkins until Regina that was fun.. then we went to a ysa activity

SUNDAY- I met lots of people, don't remember any names and had a lot of fun then we had a good ces fireside about Will.... i would suggest everyone watch it... so good! 

MONDAY- is today... it snowed... got to see president.... loving life.... all is well in Saskatoon!

love you all!

 

 

I asked jessalyn about a letter she received from an past YW president who had them write a letter to themselves for 5 years in the future

Jessalyn...L*** called asking for your address so she could send you a letter you wrote yourself 5 years ago she got from L***. Wondering if you've got that letter yet and if it was a self revealing experience.?

..last week you said something about preparing for a sisters conference...but then you got your transfer call. Did you get to participate before you travelled west?

 

 

Yes I got my letter... apparently i wanted to be married, in dental school, and some other stuff.... obviously i was wrong but its not bad. I'm doing some pretty neat things instead. I am serving in Saskatoon on a mission, i am getting close to be done with my schooling for physical therapy, and I'm a pretty happy spiritual person so thats good. It was really really weird to get a letter from myself though, not something i expected on my mission. :)

Yes i still got to participate in sisters conference.... every sister in the mission (there is 27 of us now) were in Winnipeg for 48 hours, it was incredible. I got to do a portion or talk on talents and it was fun, i even made cute little hand outs for everyone. Sister Thomas is actually down the hall from my right now... they had to come to Saskatoon too for some meetings and she said she is working on posting pictures, i want to try to add some too!!!!! it was really fun

Sister Hutchinson went to open up international falls with sister Christensen.... so they are both in the states again, that was weird but im super excited for them! 

Sister Ashley Meservy is from Alberta, from Mountain View! She knows  Tyson...weird in fact a lot of sisters in this mission know Tyson..... hmmm.... She is super into basketball and we get along pretty well... we have really only had one day where it has just been us so that's not much to judge off of but i like her a lot i think its going to be a fun transfer! she owns a waterbuffalo farm and likes to horseback... we are already making plans to meet up in  Waterton... Waterton trips are going to be like mission reunions for me its so great! I love you...

 

 

With Sister Elkins who travelled west with her

Jessalyn's A team district in Winnipeg

with Sister Rush and all her trainees

 

Oct 29...my mission changes forever

So.... I'm leaving winnipeg... Im actually doing it and making the jump! I have been called to serve is saskatoon which apparently is a lot prettier than winnipeg, thats all people have been able to tell me. I cant spell my companions name, or the ward i will be serving with, and im nervous beyond belief to be NINE HOURS away from the city.... it will feel like a whole new mission out there. But it will all be okay... Elder Mohlman (my zone leader) will be going out with me to be in my ward! Elder Judkins (my professors son) will be my other zone leader and Elder Wiltse (from my MTC district) will be my district leader so i know things will all be okay.

Even with the nerves of all these changes we still had an incredible week.... We taught six member present lessons. that's the most i have EVER taught in one week on my mission! We had two new investigators, two baptismal dates and two investigators who attended church and they are all incredible. It was a good week!

Henry, the guy we street contacted, has decided to get baptized we are working on getting him ready for Janurary if not early and we are SUPER excited about it! He is already sharing the gospel and going to invite on of his neighbors to join us! its so good!

We had a relief soceity activity and we had three non-members there which is just inspiring, the people here are really stepping it up and helping where needed!

Silvia the twelve year old we are teaching is getting baptized too in December and that is SOOOO exciting!

I think the hardest part about this week was the good byes i have already had to say. I really really love this ward, they mean a lot to me and i could stay here for a while longer! We had a family have us and elder hatch and elder sorenson (elder hatch is going to thompson) over for a good bye dinner and made us sushi. It was so good. But i think the best part is what they told us at the end. They thanked  us for our service and told us that even if we go home feeling like we have done nothing that we have made a difference to their family and they are grateful we came out. it was so nice. I also got a thank you card from llewellyn and silvia thanking me for being here. Silvia even p.s.ed me that i was her new best friend. I have really loved this ward and i have felt their love for me. I am excited for the lasting friendships i have gained here and im trying to look forward to the friendships i will gain in saskatoon! Here we go change!!!!!

oh ps...

at pday activity today we won a blender! YAY for foosball champions!!!!!!!!

 

Oct 21...the bullet version

Okay.... i think this week is just bullets for me because im kind of confused about what i have done.... sometimes that happens weeks just FLY BY I swear... i cannot believe it has been seven months already. But each day is an adventure each week is crazy and each month i love so much!

-On tuesday we had dinner with Ed and Sheryl, two of our members. It was so great! We had ribs and later played croquet and had a fire with marshmellows and roasted starbursts.... it was a great time!

-We also got in a car accident... it was a little bump from behind, not a huge deal. and it wasnt my fault so thats always good! I swear the paperwork to fill out takes soooooo much time but im just glad everyone is okay and it wasnt too much damage.

-We had ward coordination where we came up with the idea to give away cds with talks on them from conference to both our members, investigators, and less actives. We as sisters are in charge of the cases because apparently we can get away with being cutsie but we are excited for the things that is going to bring.

-We had dinner with a 97 year old lady... She has so much information in her head i dont know how she remembers it all. She is truly a saint and so cute!

-We had exchanges this week. I got to go on another exchange with sister bennette. She is so great! on this exchange we got to celeberate a birthday with a family in our ward and had some incredible cherry cupcakes, we also raked leaves with the elders and i got to fill out more paperwork.

-Friday we had an incredible tracting experience where we knocked around the area of a former we were stopping by and someone not only let us in but let us do a short thought and invited us back to teach her and her husband next week. It was incredible!!!!!!! We are so excited and when we gave her a book of mormon she got the biggest smile on her face and told us she didnt have a bible of her own and that it was a really sweet gift.... man does the book of mormon touch peoples hearts or what?!

-We also got to attend one of londons baptisms because sister fellows had taught the kids being baptized... sister hutchinson and sister bronson had three baptisms this weekend and it was an incredible experience.

-Stake conference was this weekend too and it was all about the hastening of the work. That is being pushed here so much and i think the time i realized the most the gravity of it all is when he had all the full time missionaries stand up.... there was a lot of us in that room and its only increasing the work is hastening and its time we joined it.

-oh and we found a second new investigator this week. She is incredible. She has been taught before and when we knocked on the door she opened it and said oh im so excited to see those badges come in, told us she wanted to come back and everyone was telling her to come back, and invited us back twice this next week to teach her and husband... so excited!

-we also street contacted a drunk guy... we said hi to him and i think two girls saying hi to him made him wonder what was going on... he asked if he could walk with us, i said sure as long as we could share our message with him as we walked. We commited him to church (if he remembers) and we also got him to pray with us on the street. I was going to offer the prayer but he just went and said it... sister fellows thought i was crazy, we both thought he was going to follow us home but in the end we just had a really neat experince.

It was a fantastic week!!!! I'm nervous for transfer calls but i have all week to be nervous for that! Im excited for the changing the lord has prepared for me and i love being a missionary so much!!!!!

 

 

I (jessalyn's mom) also asked her to answer some questions and I think her answers give me a pretty good idea of how life is besides the work. Here are her answers:

 

For my pday we played dodgeball this morning with our zone. It was really fun but the sisters are kinda being lame and not playing and our numbers on the court get smaller and smaller even though our numbers in the field get bigger and bigger. Now I'm emailing you with the slight hope that you are just sitting by your computer with anticipation for our life that seems to be flying right by! it was our 7 month mark yesterday.... CRAZY! then we might get lunch, go shopping both for groceries and a winter coat... that kind of needs to get done it is getting cold fast then i will probably go home and try to be a better friend and missionary and actually write letters to people. then dinner and we are off to a less active lesson and trying to find one of our investigators that went MIA!!!!!!

 

For breakfast most days i eat a peanut butter sandwich with a glass of fake milk. not very healthy i know... i use to eat cherrios with blueberries but i kind of had the same problem as you... they are TOOOO EXPENSIVE!

 

Im trying to show my companion love in little ways like making lunch or dinner, cleaning the kitchen because i know she hates it, asking one thing i dont know about her each day, and trying to be nice.... i seem to be having a difficult time showing love to people right now but its something im working on :) \

 

I gave myself a gold star this morning actually...i had a really effective personal study and it was SOOO nice... im getting ready to present a portion or talk at the sister conference that is coming up at the end of the month.... super nervous and not quite sure what they were thinking asking me but we will see.

 

The last time i literally gave someone a gold star was probably sister christensen but... i really love my district and i try to give at least one of them a gold star every day... i try at least!

 

My favorite members to visit are probably sheryl and ed... they are fantastic and they truly love us all... i feel like they have just adopted me in and its nice to feel safe and cared about for a little bit.... plus we always seem to get to play with fire.... the elders are pyros... ALL OF THEM! I will definately be calling ed and sheryl when i get home!

 

We are raking the leaves of our members which is SUPER FUN to do! I am also going to buy a winter coat today.. im wearning nylons and tights again and we have the heater on..... its getting cold really really fast here!

 

diet coke... wait does that count as candy.... ;) no my favorite candy right now is probably oh henrys... I LOVE OH HENRYS!!!!!!!!!!! im not eating a whole lot of candy because we bake a lot for our district and members.... so we eat the left over stragglers. i still havent gained any weight..i checked this morning!

 

The closest store is safeway... its right across the street we see it every day we get into the car... and then two blocks down (maybe) is the mall which is pretty big so really we have TONS of stores right next to us.. i do live in the city you know!

 

a package with something from home in it... i could use a new black skirt, and my black shoes are kind of rotten... and probably some new nylons so those too! lots of letters, printed out pictures, and hugs sent through this lovely christmas season! that would be nice! also.... skype date would be preferable... we will see... transfer calls come this week so maybe i wont even be in the city anymore.

 

I love you mom... your the best! thank you for believing in me no matter what! love you!

Jessalyn

 

Oct 15...once upon a time

Once upon a time there were these two missionaries and they were serving in canada....

I start my letter this week that way because i truly feel like im in a dream! We have been blessed so much and I cannot even show my gratitude for all the things the lord has provided this week! We have spent most of the days this week raking leaves with our elders for investigators, members, and less actives in our area! It has brought us a lot closer together and helped with the unity we were searching for! Not only that but the members have started to trust us more and invite us into their homes which is so great! We also had an incredible zone conference on thursday where we learned more about having faith in the lord to find. I cannot tell you how inspiring that was and how much i really needed to hear what president and sister thomas had to tell us! But then came weekly planning and as we talked about what we had accomplished this week according to the standards set by the mission we were both getting a little discouraged. We were feeling like we were working so hard but all we had been able to report on so far was one less active lesson in the week. We had met with lots of members and done tons of different finding things but none of that seemed to show and results that ended in numbers. I remember one night i was trying hard not to be discouraged and so me and sister fellows had a talk. We decided it didnt matter what our numbers were we both had prayed and felt good about our week and if god thinks we are good missionaries then thats all we need to worry about. Well apparently thats what was needed because then we were blessed with miracle after miracle. E*** is one of my favorite people in the st james ward. Him and his wife S*** and j** and l*** V*** are like my adopted aunts and uncles out here! they take such good care of me and they really care about me. They even pick on me.... ALL THE TIME.... but E*** is what you call an enternigator.... he has been investigating for close to three years and was determined he wasnt getting baptized when i first got into this area. S*** his wife got baptized a couple years ago and was just patiently waiting for him! Well this week he got baptized! He finally decided to take the plunge and he is now a member of the church. One year from now he and his wife will get to be sealed and it was SOOOO EXCITING!!!!!!! that was our first miracle for the weekend. One of the investigators we had been trying to meet with again, she is twelve, finally got back to us last minute on friday night and told us to come at 9 o clock the next morning. so we did! and We talked about baptism... we were nervous to ask if that was something she still wanted and she said maybe. We left it at that and kept working hard! She came to church with us the next day and after sacrament meeting came up to me and said ive decided yes. I was confused on what she had decided so i asked for more of an explanation and she said I'm going to be baptized!!!!!!!! i was so excited i almost screamed! We are setting a date with her on saturday and then we just keep going strong from there! But our fairytale didn't end there. The guy i told you about that we street contacted last week... his name is H***... well we had been trying to find him all week with no luck when we got a phone call saying he would be joining us at church... We prayed and prayed all week that we would see him at church and as ten rolled closer and closer we were getting nervous we werent going to be seeing him but low and behold there he come walking through the door! He even had the book of mormon we had given him the night we met him. I sat by him in sacrament while sister fellows sat by S*** and so i got to explain some of what we were doing to him and help him through scrpitures and other stuff to understand. He cried during the opening hymn saying that it was written just for him! Not only that but he loved all the talks and when i asked him how he felt at the end he just said i needed that you girls saved me that day you talked to me. We were able to set up a time that we could visit him this next week and he recommited himself to church saying next time i will be better dressed. He is so incredible and im so excited to be able to start teaching him! And it doesnt even stop there. We decided to go and see some formers before our dinner appointment with the Menloves (one of the senior couples in our mission) We went to this apartment complex we have tried a couple of times and buzzed, with no success.... Then we started talking to the neighbors that were hanging out outside. They said they knew our formers and that they had just went in... one of them let us into the building and lead us right to them. Their names are E*** and E***. We started introducing ourselves and offering our services, we werent even half way through when we were asked if they could have an appointment with us. We of course readily agreed and set up a time for this next week and asked if they had time there where we could share a short message. We had a thanksgiving message prepared for people we stop by and were able to share about gratitude! They were so excited for us to come back and we just felt blessed to be missionaries. Even though on friday we were determined that we weren't going to be able to report much we were able to find three new people who wanted to learn the gospel, two of our investigators showed up to church and one of them decided to be baptized! It was a dream come true for everyone and because its thanksgiving we even got some pumpkin with it too!

 

So in the pictures is me and sister fellows my companion! There is also a picture of my adopted st james family.... .... im so excited to have met them all!!!!!

 

 

Oct 7...general conference

This week was a great week! We seem to be struggling with cancelations and no shows still but its not due to lack of effort on our part. We make lots of phone calls and when we don't hear from them we stop by anyway and we love it! well trying to anyways we would love to teach way more! It will get there!

We were able to find two new investigators this week and we were really excited! Its from a part member family we have been trying to get into forever and they want the daughter to be baptized but the mom is sitting in on lessons... We see their potential and know that even if it isn't us who gets them there they will accept the gospel at some point! That's how a lot of the people we have been working with has felt like... that even though it may not be us they will get there... the spirit has testified to them now its just all up to gods timing!

We had the most incredible experience street contacting this week. I was stressed and so i just pulled over and said okay lets go were are going street contacting. Its not the most effective way but its a good way to get stress out and that's what i needed right then. We hadn't even walked five minutes when we passed the first person on the street (for this city being HUGE there isnt a lot of people on the streets) We stopped him and gave him a mormon.org card and instead of moving on like we usually do we decided to ask more questions. We asked him if he had heard of mormons... you would be surprised how many people up here have heard of mormons because of salt lake. Then he started off by telling us he was christian and he really appreciated people who knew christ and i got discouraged because thats the excuse we get when people don't want to listen to us... well sister fellows dislikes that excuse a lot and so she reminded me of what i'm doing by saying that's great your christian in fact we go around and show others how they can increase their faith in christ... do you think your faith in christ can be increased. He said yes. we told him the message we go around and share brings peace and hope to our lives and we wanted to share it with him. He was really excited by the fact that we were willing to stand out in the cold to teach him and was open to what we had to hear. We talked a little bit more about healing and peace and got his name and phone number. He really needs the gospel in his life we are excited to help him come closer to christ. Before he left i asked if i could give him a gift.... that morning i thought it was strange i had a book of mormon in my bag but not strange enough to take it out until this point. Now he was tearing up as i handed him the book of mormon and told him that this is where i have found my peace. He said he would cherish the book and was really excited to meet with us. We both knew at that point we could stop street contacting because god had shown us a miracle!

We also attended all the sessions of conference (except priesthood) in our stake building! Conference was so great... i wrote down some of the quotes that really stuck out to me and wanted to share them with you.

'doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith' Uchtdorf

'i gave him to you because i knew you could and would love him' Erying

'no one can be converted for you and no one can force you to be converted' Oscarson

'dont forget to look up' Ochoa

'your body is a temple of god, remember that when you look in the mirror' Nelson

I know that i am a daughter of a loving heavenly father! I know that Jesus Christ lives and is my savior and friend. I know that i was sent to be a Harrison because they would, could and have loved me and i am so happy i get to be with them forever! I have learned to look up and i hope to never change my view and i have become converted to the gospel more than ever before due to me serving my god! Its so great to be a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints but its even better to be me while doing it! I love you all!!!!!

Sept 30...my hands

So this week was a week of trials and errors thats for sure!
We tried really hard to find even though we were so low on kilometers we had to do alot of walking (bad planning i guess) but everything works out for a reason. We were able to place two books of mormon and that was a good positive side to this week. One of them was with a guy who tried to convert us and the other was with a guy who wanted to date us..... urch! We got to walk around a lot and we talked to many people but it just didnt seem like it was time for them to accept the gospel. We called our week an act of faith... although it is easy to get discouraged and down when things dont go the way as planned or when everyone seems to not want to talk to you its how you react to that that shows what kind of missionary you are. How easy would it be to give up, to go home and take a nap or eat your pains away.... but how much would that be letting satan win... IT WOULD 110% be letting satan win. He doesnt want this work to continue, he doesnt want people to come to know Jesus Christ for themselves because then he doesnt have to work that much harder to pull them away for himself. Satans goal in life is to make the children of men miserable like unto himself so when we let him do that he wins. Thats when the relief soceity broadcast and the canada winnipeg mission fireside came in handy. I learned that by keeping my baptismal and temple covenants i will be blessed, and by helping others come to make and keep theirs I am fullfilling mine. I was also reminded that through christ i can be healed of anything! His hands did many works and miracles while he was here and now he asks that we use ours to help while he is away. What do you use your hands for? Do you help uplift and encourage others? Do you wipe away tears for a friend? Do you hold those who are dear to you close and never let go? Do you build up the church through service and love? This week i had to remember what my hands were being used for as i serve here in the canada winnipeg mission! My hands are shaking the hands of strangers who may just need a friend. My hand is showing fellowship to a ward I have come to love and hold so dear. My hands are being used to hold the word of god as i proclaim it to all those who want to listen. My hands are trying to mirror the saviors as I tell others that his are extended in mercy for all those who need it. My hands and heart are here to do the work of the lord and I am so proud to be a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. I will continue to use my hands in this work until the lord needs me to do something else.... and I am so grateful for all the support and love i have been shown! You are all incredible thank you for all you do!

PS.

I got to see the Jacks this week... I was with them for my first tranfer and got to do lots of splits with them... they got permission from president so i could join them for dinner and that was SOOOO GREAT! I attached a picture of us! They are from new mexico and served a six month mission and so they are going home! its crazy six months have come and gone!!!!! It goes by so fast and weeks are starting to feel like days... how does time work for you all? does it seem like we have been out hardly at all or forever?

I really did get asked out on a date... to the pub in fact... second time on my mission... apparently i just need to wear a skirt to get dates (good tip for when i'm home ;) ) We also had a crazy dinner where the less active wasn't home and so her family (husband we aren't sure if he is baptized or not and some non member cousins) was who we got to eat dinner with... it was weird.... but they were respectful enough to remember we were religious people who liked to pray... ummm YA WE ARE!

got to help with a stake service project and see a lot of the people in my old wards... that was SOOO much fun!

Sister fellows is fantastic... she is sarcastic and funny which is making me loosen up a little... i've kind of become a tight wad.... (well i call it really spiritual and trust me its crazy the spirituality change i have gone through) I feel like a different person and being with a lot of people who have just come out i feel even more like i've changed to a point of unrecognizable... is that true? do you still know me?

It rained this week and its starting to cool off.... not sure how i feel about that but i'm excited my boots might get some use again! But my poor pepper plants had to move inside... they are still growing for the moment being but they will die from frost soon enough and I am not letting three months of hard work go to waste! oh how do you know a pepper is fully ready or grown!?

I got a blister on the bottom of my foot from walking for 7 miles one day.... have to say i wasn't even sure that was possible but sure enough it is!

I got to see sister hutchinson TWICE this week... its like a gift from above.

The st james ward really loves and takes care of me... they make me feel welcomed and needed and i love serving here!

People from gateway and london ward still remember who I am and miss me... that's always nice to hear!

all in all i'm doing good... i have more hope now then i've had for a long time and i am finally set in why i'm here and what my purpose is.... yes i've changed, but i've changed for the better and there is always a little of jessalyn EVERYWHERE!!!! love you all... !!!!!

Sept 23...street contacts, drinks and dunkings.

So this week was transfers and it makes things a little crazy but some many mighty miracles happened this week!

A couple of weeks ago we street contacted into this lady and commited her to come to church with us! We never saw her at church which made us a little sad but last monday we got a media referral, and the name seemed really familiar. We went to drop the bible off to the media referral and low and behold it was the lady we had street contacted into! She recognized us and invited us in and we were able to teach her more about the characteristics of God! She is from china and knows nothing of God and when we told her we believe we are children of a loving heavenly father she got excited and her face lit up and she said the sweetest prayer where she begged a God she barely knew to please help her become his daughter. It was a great experience thats for sure! We get to go back and teach her and we are SUPER excited. Unfortunately we also found out she did try to find the church but wasnt able to locate it so she went to a local church instead and feels like she shouldn't leave them right away.... thats okay we will change that soon enough!

We also got asked out for a beer... again... me and Sister Fellows were walking in our area when we started talking to a guy who was out by his truck. We talked for a good ten minutes about the gospel and why we are out here inviting him to learn more... when we told him we would call him to see how his book of mormon reading is going he asked us if we ever went to the pub.... i mean SERIOUSLY! Part of me was tempted to say yes only if you let us pray with you and teach you... but then reality set back in and we had to respectfully decline.... hopefully he still chooses to look into the book of mormon and we will still be following up on how that is going by calling him sometime this week.

E***...(he is one of the elders investigators that like everybody works with) has decided to get baptized... After two long painful years of investigation (painful for the elders due to his enormous amount of questions and objections, and long because it is overdue) he has decided to be baptized oct 12 at 7:00!!!! we are so excited and proud of him and are rejoicing with his wife who joined a couple years ago!

Now about my new companion! Her name is Juli Fellows and she is from utah! She is incredible and I like her a lot! We are very similar in a lot of things so we know this is going to be a fun transfer. She also is very sarcastic and stubborn so thats always a hoot too! I have a feeling she is going to work me hard and we are going to get things done this transfer. We have a transfer goal of 2 baptismal dates so if you can remember to keep that in your prayers i know that will help us!

Things are going fantastic here! I love the weather, the people and (i know i cant even believe im saying this but) the city... I really am learning a lot on my mission and i know this is where i need to be right now... I wish everyone the best week ever!

Sept 16...more miracles.

Looking back on my week and trying to remember what I did was hard! It has been such a quick transfer that all my weeks are blending together!

I do know that this week was a week of trials when it came to our appointments. We have never had so many cancellations and no shows on our entire mission and this week was full of them! It allowed us to really look into our back up plans and hope we followed the spirit and not just the natural man and 9:30 seems like midnight. We worked hard and never gave up and as much as we didn't see a random baptism or we didn't have 20 new investigators we both felt like we worked our hardest and the lord is pleased with what we did. Sometimes it is hard to not base success off of numbers or what others are doing but I have come to know this transfer that God doesn't work that way. I may be obedient and even though I am not perfect I am working my hardest to get better each and every day and yes I am being blessed for it. I may not have felt like all those cancellations and no shows are blessings but I know God has something big in store for me and my work here or I wouldn't be here. I cannot see the miracles as missionaries we expect all the time, because then they wouldn't be miracles... so I have found little miracles throughout each day and I want to tell you about them.

I as a St. James missionary do not go hungry... My ward has been my miracle as I have a meal appointment every single day with members and get to be in their homes and feel the spirit as well as practice my skills.... that is a miracle!

I got to sleep in a bed that is warm as it starts to cool off outside. We have a homeless guy who walks on our street a lot and every time I see him I consider my accommodations a miracle!

I have leaders who honor their priesthood and take care of us... that is a MIRACLE!

I get to go door to door in Winnipeg, a city I never expected to be in, and share what i know to be true! That is a miracle

I am finally seeing how I can best help the less actives I am working with and the direction I need to go there and that is a miracle!

I can still wake up every morning at six thirty and be studying by eight.... that is a MIRACLE!

So although i didn't see someone get baptized this week and we weren't able to find any new investigators I know the lord is blessing me and my efforts through the little things... the lord is in charge of my mission and if he didn't want me here I would be home! That is a MIRACLE! I will keep him in charge of my mission from here on out because i know he knows better than me!

I hope everyone has a fantastic week... You are all in my thoughts and prayers!

 

PS

So....

Here is what is going on with transfers....

I will be staying in the St James area and finish the training of sister Fellows who is currently being trained by my great friend and old companion sister Hutchinson! Sister

Christensen is going to my old ward Gateway to be in a tripanionship....

We are both excited and surprised by these calls... we were so sure I was leaving that I started packing my bags but it looks like the lord has something else in store for me! I'm excited!

 

Sept 10...let me tell you a joke....

I  am always not sure how to start my letters to you.... I dont want them to seem like a list and im not interested in being super tactful so what i am going to do is tell a joke....

why could none of the mormons eat dinner....?????

anybody anybody

Because moroni hid all the plates! hahahahhahaha

This week has been fun! I have learned more about the atonement this week and especially gained a testimony of the importance of taking the sacrament! I've decided there is no such thing as a perfect week for a missionary because there is opposition in all things and while this week had some incredible miracles is also had some rough patches.... but you know what? thats okay! how in the world could we enjoy the miracles if we didnt have to trudge through the mud a little. plus i've never been the kind of girl to be afraid of a little mud. :)

We were able to find three new investigators this week which was a miracle in itself. When you do hard work the lord finds a way to bless you and even though none of the new investigators seemed to be from anything we did, they seemed to just fall into our laps, we know thats the lord blessing us for our hard work and our obedience.

We also got to participate in a baptism this week. L*** got baptised! She is 15 and she is the girl who comes to church on her own all the time. We finally got some elders in her area teaching her and her baptism was saturday! She is so beautiful! and we are all so proud of her for making this decision. Her baptism was incredible and everyone was so loving. She asked me to give a talk on the holy ghost which was such an honor. She also always asks me to sit by her at church.... I have learned that one of the people i have come out here to meet is L*** and i hope she continues to stay strong!

We also had dinner with one of the members of our bishopric yesterday and we taught their family about repentence. They have three little kids under the age of eight and they are adorable. As we left they all were surrounding the door waving, saying we love you we love you! We later got a text message saying how much our visit was appreciated. I dont think i ever realized how important being in a members home was for a missionary. Its stability and the spirit is present and there are many times where that isnt what we deal with all day. When we get yelled at or doors slammed in our face the members loving us and caring enough about us to want us to come over really makes it worth while to have one more door slammed in our face!

I love being a missionary i really really do! I have a great companion and i work in a fantastic ward! I have a district leader who deals so well with us and I work with elders who really help encourage us to be our best. This may be the hardest experience i will go through but i can tell you right now it is one of the most rewarding! I couldnt imagine what i would be doing if i wasnt here and i dont want to because here is where i belong and here is where i am able to serve my lord and savior! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!! thanks for everything... and helping me become who i am today... im excited to one day show all of you who God has helped me become out here!

Love Sister Harrison!

Sept. 3....miracles

So this week we had a lot happen and I was planning on telling you
every boring detail about everything when i realized that the most
important day of the week actually happened yesterday!
Yesterday was our day of miracles. President texted me in the morning
asking me to call him after studies and i was nervous.... it kind of
feels like being called into the principals office whenever president
calls even though i know that he loves me! So i prayed and prayed and
prayed to know why i would need to call president... and after i said
amen my district leader called me (i just want to point out that all
my district leaders have answered my prayers through a phone call). We
have a beautiful fifteen year old girl who wants to get baptized we
just aren't sure what ward to baptize her in because she has a support
system in our ward but she lives in another ward and so president just
wanted my opinion on that matter since i know her really well and was
the one to make sure she was taught by missionaries. So either this
week or next week we will be having a baptism in our ward!!!! I am so
excited! and i get to help her with the prep work and preparing for
the baptism and she even asked me to give a talk at her baptism... i
love this girl so much!
MIRACLE
Then we had pday which was different then most pdays because we had
time do things because EVERYTHING was closed for labor day... so we went
with the ysa sisters went to sushi and then went to the church and
played basketball.... it was great! and then back to missionary work
We had a lesson with one of our investigators that tanked... it didnt
go like we thought it would at all. But we were able through that
lesson find a direction to take to best help her! MIRACLE
Then we went to a less actives house who kind of shewed us away last
time we were there and we were both determined to have a miracle and
reach our goal of one less active lesson for the night... she was
outside almost like waiting for us and asked us if we wanted a drink...i
quickly agreed so we could get in and talk to her and she allowed us
to share a message and even stop by again!
MIRACLE
Then we needed to find a new investigator... there was this one guy we
tracted into that we commited to read the book of mormon so we decided
to stop by and see how that was going! He was home! not only that he
had questions for us and invited us to come back next week to
hopefully answer some of them...
MIRACLE!!!!!!!!
God works miracles in all of our lives... he is there for us and
watches over us but more than that he cares for us unconditionally...
look for the miracles God has put in your day because I can promise
there are some there! I love you all!!!!!

Aug 26....fun in finding or finding fun?

This week was full of finding fun in the work. My district leader
challenged me to have fun this week, he is funny! So as we walked from
Buccanan all the way to Sturgeon in  Winnipeg (look it up on google
map its pretty far) we did lots of different things to have fun. We
asked people what they like about summer since it finally seemed to get
here this week with the humdity at 88% at one point and the sun
always out and blazing! We ran into these two boys twice and started
talking about bible camp and asked them to sing one of the songs for
us... they politely declined, what a shame! I'm sure it would have sounded
good. We pretended to be lost all day so we could ask for directions
and then invited people to learn more about Christ (it is more
successful than you would think). We also ate on our adventure at a
place that was kind of like cafe rio.. its called burrito speldido...
it was pretty good!
Then we moved to walking by the church because we felt we needed to be
there before a relief society activity on canning (still dont know how
to can one bit but im a really really good sampler) and after no
success of finding anyone to do a tour with we went in to ask one of
the members if we could just pracitce our skills... well it just so
happened that one of the members brought a non member with them and
we did a church tour with them right on the spot... talk about member
presence as we had six members ready to share their testimony on the
sacrament as we ended in the chapel. it was super powerful!
We roasted marshmallows with an investigator for family home evening
after having her show us a candle analogy... and yes we did roast them
on the candle... but you should try the analogy... okay so put a
little bit of water on the plate so it evenly covers the plate but
doesnt drown it, then put a candle in the middle of the plate and
light it, now for the best part put a cup (perferably NOT PLASTIC... i
would use glass) on top of the candle and see what happens.... it is
an analogy about the atonment... the plate is us, the water is our
sins, the candle is our savior, and the cup is repentence.... let me
know what you think. I'm not going to give away what happens but i can
bear my testimony that i know the atonement is really and that we can
rely on our savior for anything.
Okay so now we are at the day of a baptism for an 11 girl from a part
member family in our ward... SUCH AN INCREDIBLE SERVICE! but we
decided to street contact and part contact around the church to
conserve miles on our car. So this one lady tried avoiding us... a lot of people
try, not many succeed anymore, and this time it was the elements that
stepped in.... her bike hit the curb wrong and it sent her flying! The
poor lady was probably in her sixties and we helped her up and just
'happened' to be by the church... we offered to go and clean her up so
we can send her on her way and she agreed to that... although she
declined our mormon.org card saying she already had a religion she was
really appreciative of our friendliness and it was a great positive
contact for the church in that ladys life.
Okay last highlight of the week. There is this fifteen year old girl
who comes every sunday on her own to church... She lives a good 20
minute drive away from the church and an even longer bus ride. As she
started coming more frequently i knew she needed to be taught...
unfortunately due to areas we were unable to teach her so the Waverly ward
elders took on that responsiblity for us but without fail every sunday
she asks me to sit by her, tells me what the elders taught her, and
her best news this week was she is getting baptized and wants to get
baptized in the St James ward! Her date is set for september 7 and we
are all thrilled and working hard on making sure she is comfortable
and taken care of... she was seeking truth looking for temples on road
trips, asking questions, reading the book of mormon, and attending
church and she knows for herself its true... its so incredible! I LOVE
HER!!!!!!!
love you all have a great week and keep me updated on all the fun
things you are up to... it makes my week!

Aug 19... talents

So this week it felt really hard to be an effective missionary because
we had found no one new to teach and none of our investigators
attended sacrament. We had spent hours tracting and street contacting
trying to find individuals who are prepared and desirous to hear about
the restored gospel. When I was talking to Elder Hatch (my new
district leader, who is amazing) He asked me what I liked to do. That
question really threw me back and when I asked "you mean now or when
I was at home." He told me to tell him what I 'Jessalyn Harrison' liked
to do when I was home. I couldn't remember.... I couldn't remember what
brought me the most joy when I was at home and that kind of bugged me.
I knew that being with my family and friends doing the things they
liked to do really made me happy. I could remember going rollerblading
with Kade right before I left because he wanted to take me for my
birthday or being on a tube with Jace as his smile (goofy as it is)
was enjoying every minute on the water. I remember cooking and eating
as a family and the happiness I felt being together and the love that
was there. I remember going shopping with Kaylynn watching her try on
so many clothes because new stuff made her feel good and sun bathing
with Summer as we enjoyed the lovely vitamins that came from the
beautiful round thing in the sky. I remember playing basketball with
dad and watching the proud papa smile come out when one of his kids
succeeded in something they did.... That stuff makes me happy. When I
tried to apply all of that stuff to missionary work I got a little
stuck. I couldn't go tubing with investigators as much fun as that
sounds. Trying on clothes is a pday thing and i don't really even have
time for that on my own let alone to find some poor soul in the
changing room and ask them if they want to receive the restored
gospel. I am cooking and eating but that can only go so far before my
waste band gets bigger and no one wants that to happen. All in all I
was stumped so I decided to take it to the lord. All week I have been
studying about gifts and talents and these are the references I have
liked the most... I encourage you to read them but I will explain a
little more why after them so don't give up reading just yet :)
Matthew 14:15-20 (the lord feeds 5000)
D&C 46:11-33 (Gifts of the spirit)
D&C 60:1-3, 13
Matthew 25:15-30 (parable of the talents)
3 Nephi 14:9-11
3 Nephi 13:19-21, 32-33 (seek ye first the kingdom of god)
Matthew 5:14-16 (let your light so shine)
It all started with the story of how the lord feeds 5000. I heard an
interpretation of this story that I hadn't heard before. The lord was
able to do miracles but when he told his disciples to not turn away
the crowd so everyone could eat the disciples had to show their
limitations. They had to tell the savior that couldn't feed the crowd
with what they had. It was only when they turned everything to the
lord that EVERYONE was able to be filled. We may not have to feed 5000
people physically but spiritually there is a world to feed and we have
limitations. There is only so much we can do on our own but through
god and through our loving savior we can do anything. We are capable
of miracles that could and will feed millions of people! So I
continued on my search to find what gifts I was able to give back to
the lord. In d&c I found a few gifts that stood out and that I know I
have experienced in my life. But I began to fear that idleness of not
knowing how to show my talents or use the gifts god has given me. I
didn't want to be as the servant with only one talent who got it taken
away because he hid it. That's when 3 Nephi really helped. I learned
that if I set my sights on the kingdom of God first, if I rely
completely on my savior I will not fail! I may not be the light of the
savior (matthew 5:15-16) but I am a mirror. I am a precious mirror the
lord has prepared to be able to show light. It is only when I get
closer to my savior and understand what he has given me that I will be
able to allow the light of Christ to reflect off of me and warm the
hearts of others. So make sure you point out peoples gifts and
talents. Complement others and improve your own skills because we are
all mirrors that have been sent to reflect the lords light. We are all
sent to be lighthouses to help others come home to their heavenly
kingdom and we will feel the light ourselves as we help others get
there!
Love you all.... Have a fantastic week! and remember you are special,
you are important, and you are truly dear and near to my heart. Thank
you for making me happy!

Aug 12...another week of change

As a missionary we are always on our toes... This week was transfers again and I swear they are coming by faster than they are starting, time just SOARS when you are on a mission.

    This week i have officially deemed myself the preteen missionary. We got a new investigator this week as a referall and low and behold she is 13. That means more than 75% of who I am teaching are under 16 years old. I guess working with teenagers is something i have a skill in but i think I need to find out what it is so i can be more helpful to these wonderful girls! I love each of them so much and the one we met this week speaks french, they all have different stories and different backgrounds and the gospel will help them differently just like everyone else but it never changes and it never will! they will always be loved by a father in heaven!

   We still taught some of sister rush's investigators this week and with all of these young investigators we have had to get creative with our teaching. We played a matching game that talked about the blessings the gospel brings to the family. it had like for example love, with a picture of hearts, or wholesome recreational activities with fun things to do... and so on and so forth. They really enjoyed it and they were able to state the blessings back which is better than normal :) games are the way to go when teaching those with short attention spans (no wonder i have been learning so much haha)

   We had dinner at a members this week and she couldnt decide what to make so she made two dinners. We had chicken and mashed potatoes as well as spaghetti.... it was delicious!

   Then transfer days came and me and sister christensen dropped off sister rush who became the first walking sisters in the mission.... i dont want that job no sir!!!! me and my lovely car zerek will just go on our way happy and healthy!

    We did ride the bus this week though... that was interesting and SUPER FUN! We met some nice people who had mercy on two 20 year old girls who had NO IDEA what they were doing! We made it with little trouble due to our helpers to down town where we had lunch with a member and her coworker who is looking into the gospel. We met them on the 18 floor and they were determined that i should look out of the window because i dont like heights and low and behold i took a picture of it...but i left my cord at home so i will send it another time. We then went to a poutine factory where they added so much to their poutine im not sure it was poutine anymore. Mine had chili, sour cream, quacomole, jalepeneos, fries, cheese, and gravy... it was the weirdest mix ever... probably wont ever do that kind of poutine again but it was a fun experience. On the bus we met this girl named nasra... We then saw her again at mcdonalds and we followed her in and she asked us to eat with her and her parents... We talked for a little bit and gave her our number, we hope she calls one day, she is from india or something but her family was really nice and we dont think its a coincidence we met her twice.

   We got a car full of supplies for the office... Zerek was all the way to the ground, way too full but we are all so grateful for the generosity of the members.... we might just use trucks not cars from now on.

    We had lunch with the ysa sisters and we got bored the night before so made a nice fancy set up for it! It was a lot of fun we have decided to start doing it regularly to help with friendship between sisters.

   We taught relief society and had to do the impossible task of combining lesson 13 and 14... that was hard but it seemed to work out okay because the spirit was there.

   We met a guy who was a theologist and tatoo artist and old religious book collector and protector... It was an intersting conversation and he said he would read the book of mormon and pray if we gave him a month... i guess we will see how serious he was in a month.

   At church there is this girl who comes ever week. She is fourteen and she comes on her own from a different ward to go to church. She wants to take the missionary lessons and even looked for a temple when she went to texas... She is incredible and we hopefully will have the proper missionaries over there this week! She is so great and she said she was even coming next week to church.... SO GOOD!

  

Aug 6...being creative

So I know that this week is on a tuesday instead of a monday... yesterday was a civic holiday so all the libraries were closed which is slightly unfortunate but it just means i have more to add to the letter this week and it might be a little smaller next week :)

   We had FHE with a part member family this week and that was a lot of fun! We played Book of Mormon bingo and it was such a neat way to get use to the names and all the different things included in the book of mormon. Since a majority of our investigators are kids right now we are getting better at keeping things fun and simple and book of mormon bingo is a great way to do that.

   We had a miracle story this week with a lady named F***. She is a former investigator (meaning she was taught by missionaries and for her it was like 8 years ago) we have been calling her once a week and asking if there is anything we can do for her and usually end up saying a prayer with her on the phone. We then were able to stop by and give her brownies and she let us set up a time where we could come back and teach her. We have taught her twice since then and have another appointment later this week! Its been great to see the lords hands in this work!

   We have been working with one of sister rush's investigators and I LOVE HER! Her and her family are so great! This week we learned how to follow the prophet and played prophet says... kind of like simon says but with a prophet.... and it stuck with them which was great! We also went to teach just the mom so me and sister christensen got to play in the spray pad with the kids for distraction... it was a lot of fun! She also attended a baptism with us and seems to be progressing from the daily contact we have been making.

   We have been working with a couple of less active members that live on the northern part of our area! One of them had a stroke over a year ago and still seems to be recovering from that, the other we have been painting her ramp (sister C****) i have actually talked about her a lot. Well they both came to church this week it was great! sister C*** actually gave the other lady a ride, the ward mission leader called me sneaky and gave me thumbs up for getting two sisters there with one ride :) .... It was great to see them at church, it really made my day!

   We found a unique way of finding this week. We drew the plan of salvation in chalk at the park and actually walked a guy through it teaching him each part and then giving him a book of mormon and a pamphlet. It was such a different way of looking at things but it was really fun! I got a video of it that i will send home the next time i send my card home. We did this when we had exchanges with sister kunzler and we also celebrated sister christensen's birthday this week... lots of colorings and treats you would think i was in primary again.

       I had exchanges with just sister rush and we were able to find my momentum again so im ready to go to work and not ever give up! While on exchanges we taught one of my spanish investigators and luckily sister rush was with me because we found out her mom was sick and she was leaving for el salvador for a month. She said she was going to take the book of mormon with her on the trip so hopefully she is ready to be testified to by the spirit because it is such a powerful book! Sister rush also mowed a lawn in a skirt for service as a finding activity... we were able to talk about baptism with the lady whose lawn it was but it was still funny to see grass up and down her legs. We also met a chiropractor name dr. bob. I was able to relate the gospel to his work because i knew what he did. It was the neatest thing and i know that the spirit was truly talking because i cant even remember my phone number for my mission phone sometimes.

   I have a new tracting area... its called charleswood in winnipeg and im really excited for this. I havent been able to actually work there yet but i know that the lord will bless my efforts where ever im at as long as i am obedient and do good things with my time.

   We helped with a member baptism on Monday and the dad doing the ordinance forgot to pull out the plug.... one of the people helping said i should be able to do it so i offered to help and realized there was NO WAY i could do that without getting soaken... that didnt stop sister rush. She jumped in, pulled it out, then realized all her extra dry clothes from pday activity was in the car..... she can be crazy sometimes but at least she has fun doing it.

    Learning to have fun is the key! Fun can be found everywhere if you just look hard enough. there was a quote that says laughter is the shortest distance between two people and i want you to know that as you send things that are funny and make you laugh, I feel closer than I know I am! thank you for everyone's encouragement and love! you are all incredible!

July 29...exchanges

This week was full of adventures! Sister Rush joined our
companionship in the last couple of week so we get to do exchanges as
she goes around and trains the other sisters. I feel like every day
this week has been different due to exchanges which means there is a
lot to tell you about :) im going to try to seperate it by exchanges
and events thats how crazy our week has been.
   The first exchange we did was with sister bennette who is serving
in gateway/london ward! she is so cute! She is a hard worker and always
has a positive attitude. We went tracting because we are just trying
so hard to increase our teaching pool and we tracted into a phillipino
man who let  us teach him. We read the introduction to the book of
mormon and said we could go back (spoiler alert he no showed the
appointment) but it was super good to be let in and be able to testify
to the truths we go around and knock about to share. We also got to
have dinner with President and Sister Thomas! That was an experience
in itself... there were a lot of elders and sisters there (s. wu, s.
kunzler, s. bennette, s. christensen, me, e. crake, e. olguin, e.
moojalsky, and e. barfuss) It was nice to be in a home where the
spirit was so strong and to be able to spend the night listening to
Presidents stories of meeting president Hinckley and talking on the
phone with elder Holland and his first date with sister Thomas! Our
mission president is truly incredible. Then we got to do the daunting
task of TEACHING president and his wife since my companionship was the
only ones who came prepared with a message.... talk about intimidating
but everyone left with a smile on their face so we must be okay
teachers!
   Then I went on exchanges with the ysa sisters so it was me, sister
kunzler, and sister wu! they are incredible sisters im so glad i got
to spend 24 hours getting to know them better since me and sister wu
are only a transfer apart and sister kunzler is going home this
transfer.... the thing about transfers is you always end up wanting
them to last longer but it just makes you appreciate the experiences
you have. We got to have an appointment with this chinese girl. It
was their first appointment with her and i got to sit in. She was
street contacted because Elder Nelson went and played the violin on
the street to advertise for the musical fireside (thats a whole nother
story in itself) but the point is she came to church because of it and
now is being taught. On the first lesson she commited to being
baptized and her date is set for aug 25!!!!! She went to church again
this week and even bore her testimony is RS. She is super prepared its
incredible to see the lords work. We also went street contacting for 5
hours because the YSA sisters cant tract because they cover the whole
city and everybody elses area. But it was so much fun! We met some
people who talked about wanting to come to the fireside, met a former
who hasnt been taught since he moved, and probably passed out way more
than 50 mormon.org cards! I really enjoyed myself. While we were
tracting we saw this chalk board, it was a before i die chalk
board.... i wanted to write my wishes on it so bad but there was no
chalk :( but I will put it on my blog instead
Before I Die I Want.... to get married to someone for time and all
eternity, that or learn how to fly!
Kind of a classic wish but oh well what can you say the spirit
testifies to the truth haha!
We also were on this bridge that was a combined walking/train bridge...
different parts for the different
moving objects but still pretty neat and on our way back over it a
train went right by and it shook the WHOLE BRIDGE! It was so great!!!!
I probably looked like a 5 year old on christmas but having that train
pass going so fast and me being able to slow down and watch it really
brought me peace. They also took me to McDonalds and we got a happy
meal in the goal of getting a minion toy with no avail! it is just a
shame... i want a minion!
    Then it was zone conference day and WOW talk about spirit. I
encourage everyone to watch "mountains to climb" such a good mormon
message that brought tears to my eyes! Missionaries need zone
conference to remind them that they are enough! that they are called
by a prophet of god! and that it is our job to go to work and make it
all worth it! If i could sum up zone conference in one saying it would
be "If not YOU then WHO? If not NOW then WHEN?".... It is me and it is
now and i get better and better at it. I got to spend a
lot of time with Elder Barfuss too (make sure his dad hears that he
has an incredible son and i also attached a picture for both families
so mom if you could work on that that would be great!) He gave me a
blessing to help out with some stress (it just comes with the job i
guess... thank goodness for the priesthood), he polished my shoes and
oh was he so proud of them, he claims me as his cousin and we got a
picture together to prove it... Elder Barfuss is one of the new AP's
and he is just so sweet... its kind of a shame he is going home super
soon i was enjoying getting to know him, but when i make my trips to
waterton he said he would come see me and say hi! YAY FOR FAMILY
CONNECTIONS!
    Then it was a day with sister rush as a normal companionship which
was rare in itself this week. We had a good heart to heart and now we
are working better together and we are excited for the miracles God
has just sitting there for us as we be obedient. We also got in a car
accident... everybody is okay it was just a little fender bender (i
wasnt driving!) it wasnt until the next day when we finally had a night
to relax that we realized how sore we were. We heard that for the
winnipeg harvest (that service project that we spent so much time on)
we raised 101,000 pounds of food as a manitoba stake (having stores
match us of course) but still that is incredible! Its like skylines
canned food drive on steroids!
    Now let me tell you about sister hutchinsons day.... It started
out great we got lost on our way home SHOCKER! i really need to figure
out how to work on my directional skills. Then we stayed up super late
talking because it seemed like it had been forever since i had seen
her, but it was all worth it! I love her so much... we are going to be
friends for a long time! She came with us to a member who decided to
give us some adorable night gowns...
they were like long sleeve, to your ankle night gowns but we had a
smile on our face as we accepted the gift someone gave us. It was a
sweet gesture, who doesnt need a good night gown :) . Then we went to
a stake picnic... i got called an elder because i was able to throw a
football and play catch in a skirt ( im learning how to do a lot in a
skirt) ... but still im a sister, just a sister who can throw down! We
also helped one of sister rush's investigators organize for a garage
sell and me and sister hutchinson got to teach together again... just
like old times! but the investigators little kids, who are adorable by
the way, pounded a WHOLE CARTON OF STRAWBERRIES! Ive never seen them
be eaten so fast... green things and everything! We stopped by a less
active to see how her week was going and make sure she was coming to
church! She had an amazing experience with prayer and we were truly
blessed to be able to hear such a strong testimony.
    The musical fireside is something we have been putting a lot of
time and practise into! It turned out really good... so many people
showed up and the spirit was super strong! I wish i could have just
recorded it for you but my favorite numbers were go ye now in peace
and the hearts of the children... speaking of music mom the trek
nashville tribute cd is super good... jace would love it!
     Church was good! We are loving our ward and they are finally
getting to know us pretty good! For the talks there was a hawaiian
cowboy from idaho and he used to protect president monson! he did his
entire talk as song lyrics and it was so incredible, he didnt sing it
which is good but i was impressed with his rhyming skills. We also
went to services for the salvation army in the hospital to help out...
that was such an interesting experience and it shows that little
truths are every we just need to help those who are looking for the
full truth, the restored gospel of jesus christ. It was a good week! I
love my mission and I love all of you! be good have fun and remember
God is always there!