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!