October 10, 2011

Hey everyone!

     This week was pretty great!  On Wednesday it was cold and rainy all day.  So basically I loved it.  We also got a temple trip!  It was raining even more down the hill than it was in the desert.  I didn't bring a jacket, which was dumb.  We got lost on the way there.  I, in my head, knew we were supposed to keep going east at a junction we got to, and my companion went west.  Maybe I should have said something.  Oh well.  We got there eventually.  We missed the session we were supposed to be at, so they let us to initiatories until the next one.  So it was okay because we got to do more work.  The Redlands temple is so pretty inside.  They have an awesome stained glass window behind the entrance desk.  When we got outside it was still raining and everything was just wet.  But we got some really cool pictures out of it.  The fountain outside of it is really cool.  The top only had one drain, representing Jesus Christ, the second had three, representing the first presidency, and the third had 12, for the quorum of the twelve apostles.  I thought it was cool. And then we had Cafe Rio on the way home. :)

     On Thursday Elder Packer, President Packer's son, came for a mission tour.  We had an all day zone conference which was so awesome.  We were warned beforehand that he would call on 'several' of us to give talks sponateously.  As you can imagine I was not calm inside.  Several ended up being three, and I wasn't one of them, although I was sure I would have been.  It was Elder Packer the older who visited your mission, right dad?  When he asked you to give a seven minute talk?  Well in my head it seemed like it was.  So I figured fate brought these two men's children together, and also knowing that history has a tendency to repeat itself, I was sure that I would be called upon.  It was destiny.  Glad to be wrong.  But he gave us some really awesome advice.  After they gave us flu shots, which is funny because I was just saying earlier that day that I wish they would give us flu shots. Then that evening we had another appointment cancel.  That seems to be happening to us a lot.  Oh well.  I don't let it bother me.

     On Saturday night we visited Sister Flores, one of the less-active members we visit, and she said she would be at church the next day, and she was!  It was so amazing to walk into sacrament meeting and see her sitting there.  I'm pretty sure I couldn't stop smiling like the whole time.  She even stayed for all three hours!  She said she shared her testimony in relief society.  I wish I could have been in there to see it, but I wasn't because Sister Rimington and I had to teach the high priests.  That was actually kind of fun.  We gave a lesson on missionary work, of course, and gave them suggestions on what they could do to help us.  I think they really liked it.

     And then tonight we're teaching a homeless man.  That is literally all we know about him.  Hopefully I'll have more to say next week.

     I had a couple experiences this week of following promptings.  On Wednesday night we were not sure of where to go or what to do because all of our plans were not working out.  When we were planning the night before I felt like we needed to go see an investigator named Ilene, who I had only briefly met once before, but my companion said she doesn't want us coming by at night.  So I let it drop.  So when all of our plans fell through I had the thought again to go see her.  So we drove over there and her lights were on, but my companion still wasn't sure.  We sat there for a little bit thinking about it and decided to pray about where to go and what to do.  We decided to stay there and knock on her door, even though it was 8 pm and definitely dark.  She was so excited to see us and we talked to her for over an hour and we'll be seeing her again tomorrow night.  She even said she might prefer if we came later anyway because it's usually a better time for her.  Funny how that worked out.  And then a couple nights ago I felt like we should go see Sister Mroz, a less active member that is really hard to get ahold of, so we did, and she was home!  She said she tried watching conference but the internet was bad so she was only able to watch one talk. I remember when I was listening to conference that there was one talk that she really needed to hear, and it was the one she happened to watch.  I thought that was pretty cool.  She's really busy all the time, so we're trying to help her see that it's really important to make time for church.  I'll let you know how that goes.

     Well that's about it for last week.  It was busy in some ways, and slow in others.  But it still went by really fast.  I can't believe I'm done with my first transfer.  And today marks two months since I left home.  WHAT.  Where does time go.

     Well I love you all and I'll talk to you again next week.

     Love, Sister Stacey

O.K. the fingers.  I accidentally super glued my fingers together and I COULD NOT pull them apart.
It felt better to have them taped together instead of them feeling stuck together, if that makes sense.
I got them apart before the end of the day.  Thank goodness!

The Redlands Temple was so beautiful in the rain!

The fountain I described in my letter.

 I am fully aware that the camera did not focus on the rose very well.

Plus also I know there was a spot of water on the camera. 

These are all pictues of my temple trip.  It was a grand day.

 

October 3, 2011

Hello!

This week was so grand!  We've been trying really hard to find people to teach, investigators, less-active members, and active members.  It's been so fun getting to know different people. 

We visited Sister Mroz, a less-active member of our ward.  We asked her what is keeping her from church and she really opened up to us and told us why she won't go.  We're so excited because now we know how to help her come back because we know what things to teach her.  She enjoys church though, so I think she'll go back one day.

We also visited Sister Burroughs, who I just love.  I guess she's been less active for a while, but she seems like she's finally ready to come back.  She has had pneumonia for a month though, so once she's all better we'll see what happens.  We shared the talk from President Uchtdorf from the Relief Society broadcast.  She loved it.  She really felt the spirit and I think she really knows that she needs to go to church and she wants to go back.  She brought it up this time, not us!  YEY

We had some appointments to teach those families I talked about last time.  At least I think I mentioned both of them.  Maybe I didn't.  In case I didn't, there was Kenya and her family and Janice and her family.  Anyway, those appointments fell through.  It's okay though, because they still want to meet with us.  They told us to call them a little later in the week to reschedule.  I really like these families.  We also met up with a potential investigator named Judy who says she 'wants to go back to God, but wants to do it the right way.'  She just got a new job and already asked for Sundays off, and she hasn't even had any lessons yet!

This week was really awesome, and was made even better with general conference.  I have always liked conference, but being a missionary I loved it.  I could not get enough and I'm sad that I have to wait another six months to hear more.

My testimony has grown so much in the last eight weeks.  Especially my testimony of the Book of Mormon.  I love that book.  I love studying from it.  I love teaching from it.  There is a power that comes from the Book of Mormon.  It is the most unique book, because it comes with a promise.  ALL who read it and ponder it and sincerely pray to know if it is true will receive the witness that it is.  I have done this, and I know that it is true.

I love all of you!  Thanks for your letters!

Love, Sister Stacey

 

PS MOM I heard from you, dad, Michelle, and Matt.  I got your package.  I love that you're keeping me supplied with fruit snack types!  This way I just spend money on healthy food and I've really been able to conserve money.  WOOHOO!  Another skill that I'm glad I have learned now-budgeting!

September 26, 2011

This last week was probably my favorite of the mission so far.  We had sister's exchanges and I was paired with Sister Kaufusi from Tonga.  She was SO FUN to work with.  It's going to be interesting having different companions and learning things a different way and hearing their different perspectives.  She told me a lot of stories about her life and things she did before her mission to prepare, and her plans for after her mission.  She is a very selfless and caring person.  She always thinks of others before herself.  I learned a lot from my two days with her, and I think it will completely change my mission and how I look at the work. 

On Thursday we visited a potential investigator named Janice and we had a really good visit with her!  Before I came they'd been trying to get ahold of her frequently but often had no luck, so they stopped for a little while.  So on Thursday we'd planned on trying to get ahold of one the less active members in the ward who we haven't met yet and she wasn't home.  Janice just lives two doors down so we decided to knock on her door and she was home!  After the visit we asked if we could start teaching her the lessons and she said sure and that she loves us coming over.  We didn't have a lesson during that visit so we can't technically call her a new investigator, so this week when we DO teach her a lesson, we'll have a new investigator!  And then on Saturday we visited a woman named Kenya, another they'd been trying to see, and we've had appointments scheduled with her in the past and she's always had to cancel.  We were able to see her this time and had a really good lesson with her and asked if we could come back and continue teaching her and she also said yes, so we picked up another investigator!  I'm so happy we were able to get ahold of them.  Janice has three kids, and Kenya also has three kids plus her husband, so we might have nine investigators pretty soon here, if their families are also interested in learning.  I'm so thankful that the Lord has given us two families to teach.  The gospel truly blesses families and I want them to experience that!  We invited Kenya to church but she wasn't able to make it, but we think she'll watch General Conference with us. 

Last week was really good, and this week will be grand also.  I love serving a mission.  I love how much my testimony has grown.  I am happy that the day I've been dreading of being called as a sunday school teacher will be less scary because I have a better understanding of how to study and teach. 

I love you all!  Talk to you next week!  Write me letters!

-Sister Stacey

Green Dinner - Sept. 12, 2011

     GREEN DINNER!  It was interesting to eat.  And obviously the girl in the picture with me is my companion.  I really like her.  She's from Perry, UT, a place no one has ever heard of.  She always gets a blank stare after she tells that to people.  She is a hard worker and inspires me to work hard.  She has been out for 8 almost 9 months.  I'm the second missionary she's trained.  She was going to school to be a photographer and will finish that when she gets back. 

     Nothing much to report from our area this week.  Work is still slow.  We've had quite a few appointments cancel.  EVERYONE apparently has been getting sick.  Bobby was sick.  Ilene's daughter was sick so she couldn't meet with us.  We keep having appointments with all these potenitial investigators, but the appointments always fall through.  I think it's safe to say I like teaching less actives the best, since those are the only teaching experiences I have had so far.  I get so confused visiting some of them.  They have a testimony.  They know the church is true.  They get emotional talking about how the gospel has blessed them.  But they won't go to church.  I just don't get it.  We've been trying to figure out the real reason they don't go so that we can help them come back. 

     Last week was HOT!  It is NOT fun to go tracting when it is that hot.  We usually use that time to try and contact potential investigators and less actives.  We were able to get ahold of lots of the less active members last week and have small visits with them.  We've been working with one family a lot, where the mom is the only member and she's less active.  She went to church before she moved, but once she moved to this area she stopped going, possibly because she didn't have as good of friends in this ward as she did in the last one.  So we're trying to find some people to fellowship the family.  Her daughter Cassidy has in the past expressed interest in getting baptized, but doesn't at the last minute.  I think she wants to, but she's scared of the change and she doesn't want to feel pushed into it.  So we'll be patient. 

     Hopefully I'll have more to update next week.  At least you got some pictures!  We'll keep working hard and I'll tell you more about some of the awesome people I've met in the ward.  They love to take care of us.  Our dinner calendar is usually filled up a month before, apparently.  

Love you all! 

-Sister Stacey

News From Sister Stacey - Sept. 19, 2011

Hey everyone!

 

     Don't have much time today.  We're about to go down the hill to Rancho Cucamonga for sisters exchanges.  I am a little nervous because I have to get used to another companion and a different area already!  The work in the area I'm going to be in for the next couple days, Mesalinda, is REALLY different from what I've been experiencing in Spring Valley Lake.  I talked to the companion that I'll have and she says that they are completely booked with appointments tonight and tomorrow.  NO TRACTING!  YAY!!  We have had literally one appointment during the entire three weeks we've been here.  I'm not complaining, because we're still busy doing other things, but I'm excited for the opportunities to teach investigators.  It will be interesting to see how exchanges go.

     We had an interesting experience last night.  We were invited to sing at an interfaith music festival.  There are some...interesting religions out there.  It was held at a Nithyananda Vedic Temple.  I think it's one of those yoga religions.  Everyone was very nice.  It was interesting to listen to some of the religions out there express their beliefs through music.  There was a jewish guy, not a rabbi, but something else, some unitarians, and lots of other groups I had never heard of.  There was one guy who told us that if he didn't sing every morning the sun wouldn't rise.  I don't remember what he was.  It was fun though.  The whole experience made me so thankful for the things I know to be true.  We sang 'Where Can I Turn For Peace' and 'A Child's Prayer'.  The people who worship at this Vedic temple insisted on giving us lots of curry after.  It was very spicy.

     Since we would just have to come back down to Rancho Cucamonga today, they made all of us high desert sisters stay down here with some of the other sisters.  There was a dog.  A little dog, I could tell by the bark.  I wanted to kill it.  It decided that it would rather bark than sleep at about 10:30, conveniently.  It would bark for about 10 minutes.  Then stop.  Then start back up again 2-5 mintues later.  I was getting so annoyed.  I think it finally stopped around 1ish because that's when I fell asleep.  I am so happy that no one around my house in Spring Valley Lake lets their dog bark all night long.  I think a lot of people would wake up and find their dogs missing if they did. 

     Well that's all I've got time for because we've got to run to the mission home.  Love you all!

 

-Sister Stacey

 

Sister Stacey Updates

The sisters from my district.  I love these sisters.
I'm sad that two of them are not in my mission, but we'll be friends after.

This is my MTC  District.  I miss them.  They were so fun.
Most of them went to the California, Arcadia Mission.

All the new missionaries at President Godwin's home.
We were tired, obviously.
I came out after having my interview with the president and took this photo.

Apple Valley
This is the view that greets us most mornings from our backyard.
The desert sunrises are so much prettier in person.  They're so colorful.

First Day in the Field

Twelve new Elders and four new Sisters
being picked up at the airport by
President and Sister Godwin
Tuesday,  August 30

President and Sister Godwin with beautiful Sister Stacey.

First view of the mission home in Rancho Cucamonga.
All photos courtesy of Sister Godwin.
Thank you!!