Pics of Rachel. Love seeing her beautiful face.

12/9/13

It sounds like you guys will have a fun day! I hope everything goes well! I'll be praying for you!

 

It has been a fantastic week here in Ohio. Monday night we went with the Jensons and drove to the Mission Home. (Kirtland is 4 hours away from here, so they didn't want us driving there and back all in one day so they had us drive up the night before.) We got there around 5:45 and the sisters in that area picked us up and we went to some of their appointments. There were 3 of them so then with the 2 of us we were a little intimidating during lessons, but they saw a lot of members, so it wasn't too bad. It was funny though! We went back to the mission home and got to spend some time with Pres. and Sis. Vellinga. That was wonderful. I love them! Then the other 12 elders who were staying at the mission home got there. A few of them had served in St. Marys before so we were able to get some help from them and lists of people to try and visit. It was so helpful.

 

Tuesday was a day I will NEVER forget as long as I live. We had our mission conference in the Kirtland Temple. Around 9 everyone started showing up and we all met outside in front of the Temple. It was so great to see all the sisters and elders I have missed seeing so much! Got some good pics and got to just visit. At about 9:30 they started having us all file into the temple. As we walked in we could see Pres and Sis. Vellinga up front standing waiting for us with the assistants. It was silent in the temple and the spirit continued to get stronger and stronger as we continued to fill the building. There was a member of the 70 that came and some of the Stake Presidents from our mission and the Kirtland Patriarch, who is a Kirtland historian. I got to conduct the music for the day, which made it even more special for me. I was able to conduct a choir of 250 missionaries in the first temple of this dispensation. All of the presidents spoke and Pres. and sis. Vellinga. It was so great. Everyone commented on what a historic event it was. There has never been that many called, set apart, full-time missionaries gathered in that temple in all the history of the church. A lot of them spoke about how that moment had been fore-ordained before the world was, that we had all been reserved to come to the earth at this time, to this mission, to that temple, with Pres and Sis Velling specifically. it was just incredible. We sang "The Spirit of God" which was written for the dedication of the Temple and our mission song - which is SO GREAT - and the spirit was just so strong. It was awesome. then we went to the stake center down the road for lunch and to watch a picture slide show of all the companionships and baptisms that have happened over the past year. It was so neat to see all of us participating in this work together and witnessing miracles. After lunch we went to the historic sites and went on a tour. Right now Kirtland is having a Nativity display where they have hundreds of nativities from all around the world. It was so cool! Then we went back to the stake center for the concluding session of the conference. President was the only speaker. He talked about how the Lord had inspired his comments for that night. He talked about the need to rededicate our apartments and ourselves to the Lord's work. I knew they were things I needed to hear. the past 9 months of my mission have been great and I have loved it. But there are a lot of things I would have changed. So that's the goal of my next 9 months - to rededicate myself to the work and to have no regrets. I am so grateful for his challenge to us all, I know it's something that is going to help this mission see even more incredible miracles than we have already seen. Then we all departed. We got home at 10:30 Tuesday night and went right to bed. We were so tired!!! It was righteous fatigue, the strength of the spirit of the day just wore us out! ha!

 

Wednesday and Thursday were good. not much happened. We found out that our sister training leaders wanted to move our exchange up to Friday, so we were scrambling to get things figured out for that. We saw a less-active sister, Tammy Longsworth. She was so sweet! I loved getting to know her and spending time with her. She reminds me A LOT of Tammy Martin. Which is why I think I instantly loved her, she's just so easy to love. She made me miss her. How are the Martins doing?  Tell them hi for me!!!

 

Friday we went and did some service at the food pantry in town with the Jensons and then met up with the sisters for our exchange. Sis. Frampton, who was in the MTC with me, came to St. Marys with me and then Sis. lemmon went with the other sister to her area - a BIKING area. I felt so bad for her, it was FREEZING! poor thing...

 

Sis. Frampton had done what I am doing right now a few months ago, she was training in a new area she had never been before. So it was a total answer to my prayers that she came. She was a huge help! Seriously, I have been praying hard that I'll figure out what I'm doing here and that we will have some direction. Having that exchange strengthened my testimony that the Lord knows me and is completely aware of me and my needs. It was wonderful. Definitely a spiritual experience I won't forget.

 

Church yesterday was great! I love the branch! I am a little worried though that they think that now because they have the 4 of us that that means there is less for them to do. Actually that means there is MORE for them to do to keep US busy. haha! But that's something that the 4 of us have been talking a lot about and I think that's going to be our goal, is helping the Branch see that that's their job. Hopefully we can accomplish that... We'll see.

 

The Davis family had us over for dinner last night. I love them!!! They have 5 kids. The oldest, Sam, is 13 and the youngest, Violet, is free years old. It was a ton of fun! And then we stayed and got to watch the Christmas Devotional with them. It was so good! I loved being in someone's home, not an apartment or the chapel, wrapped up in a blanket on their comfy couch sitting with them watching their TV. It was so weird to be watching TV!!!! haha! that's going to be a weird adjustment....
Last night was the night that president wanted us to rededicate our apartments. that was cool. I had never done that before. neat experience; spiritual.

 

Today we are deep cleaning the apartment. Transfers are next week (so I won't email until Tuesday) so they have everyone deep clean the week before, whether you're being transferred or not. And I won't so, don't worry.

 

Things here are great though! Definitely getting better.

 

I hope you guys are all doing well! I miss you all so much!

 

Love you!!!!   Rachel

12/2/13

Hey momma!

Things in St. Marys are a little better. Still slow, but we're getting there. We had a great week though!

Monday we got home from our errands and there was a big package waiting for me! Thank you so much! It was so fun to see things from the family and everyone. I loved it! It made Thanksgiving so much better!

 

Monday night we went and saw this less active family that we are starting to work with. I love them! They are the Beoughers (Bookers) and they are sweet. Michelle is the mom. She's adorable. She has this really high pitched (but not annoying) sweet voice and I can't see her hurting a fly. She has 2 boys. Nate is 21 and he just got his associates degree in graphic design. He's struggling to find a job, but he's cool. And then she has another son, Joey, who is 17. He has some disabilities. But he's funny. It was too cute, they don't get company very often it seems because when we were there both of them brought out all of their stuff and had like show and tell time. haha! Nate showed us all of his projects and his degree and some of his football stuff from high school. Joey did the same thing. It was fun. Michelle's husband isn't very friendly toward the church and he plays a lot of head games from what she has said. She doesn't really know the doctrine of the church and so he uses that against her. But hopefully if we can teach her and help her understand the doctrine she'll be able to combat that and also gain her own testimony and be motivated to come back and stay. They're great! I love them.

 

Tuesday I don't remember what happened... We had district meeting. Those are fun. I like our district a lot. Our zone leaders were on exchanges and one of the elders from my MTC district came to our district meeting. So that was fun getting to see Elder Maxwell. He's awesome!

 

Wednesday nothing too exciting happened. We met some less actives that the branch has been looking for for a while. so that was great! We dropped off an invitation to the Beoughers for the branch xmas party and she told us that we were really getting through to Nate. That made me so happy to hear! She had always said that she only wanted to have lessons when her husband wasn't home but she told us wed. night that she didn't care anymore, she was going to do it! That was awesome to hear. She really wants to make a change.

 

Thanksgiving was good. We were invited over by a family, the Kiefers. They're great! They joined the church about 5 years ago and are so solid and awesome. Dinner was a little akward. Her nonmember family was there and they didn't really know what to do with a bunch of missionaries. so they didn't really talk to us. We sat by ourselves at the bar in the kitchen to eat. But then after dinner they started playing games and we played a fun game with Sis. Kiefer and her mom. It was good!

 

Thursday we made plans with the senior couple to go to a funeral on Friday. The situation is a little complicated so I will try to explain it correctly. Sis. Jill Shepherd is a less active. She joined about 4 years ago. Her parents and family joined the church when she was 18, she's in her 50s now, and were SUPER active when they were alive. She never joined, was a little rebellious. But she joined and got active, but then moved back in with her ex-husband who wouldn't let her go to church. So she fell away and got back to her old habits. But last week on Saturday we went by and saw her. She had taken her sleeping pills early (at 3) and so when we were there she was COMPLETELY out of it. She doesn't even remember us being there, she thought she had dreamed that there were sister missionaries in the branch! ha! But her ex husband, Dave, had just gotten home from some intense surgery a few days before. He was down stairs sleeping when we were there, but Jill went down to check on him and he was dead. It was awful! We later found out that when we were there he was already dead. That really creeped me out.... but anyway she told the Jensons (the senior missionaries) that the funeral would be on Friday. So we made plans to go to that. When we got to the church that Dave went to there was no one there, the church was locked. So we called Jill and they had moved it to Tuesday.... So we talked to her about coming over and helping her go through stuff and clean the house and she said yes. She was a little embarrassed about it but needed a lot of help. So Saturday the Jensons picked us up and we went over to start. HER HOUSE IS DISGUSTING. It was pretty bad. She suffers from severe depression and has a lot of other health issues, so she completely let go and didn't do anything around her house. But we got to work and made a pretty good dent in things. She was really good about throwing things away and just getting a ton of crap out of the house. (literally, she has 2 dogs and 2 cats inside the house). But she was really appreciative and it made me so happy to see someone who really needed help saying thank you and meaning it. She was SO excited to have sisters in the branch! She wouldn't stop saying how happy she was. It was cute. I like her a lot. She doesn't remember much about the doctrine either. She had a few overdoses a few years ago and has lost a lot of memory. So we offered to start teaching her the lessons and she said yes. I'm really excited to start working with her! She's great. I love Jill.

 

Yesterday was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jill came back to church and bore her testimony. She has NEVER done that even when she was active. It was huge. I love this gospel. It is a gospel of change!!!!!!!!!!! It helps people overcome their weaknesses and become the people the Lord knows they can be. Change is possible through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I am just so grateful for what this gospel has done for me. I look back at who I was when I first got out here and it's neat to see how much I have already changed. there is a lot left to change though! Don't get me wrong. But it's cool to see a little bit of progress. I just think its so awesome how this is really possible. It's true that when you lose your life for the Savior's sake, you find your life. You become something better than you ever had thought for yourself.  THE GOSPEL IS TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Today we are going up to the mission home with the Jensons and then tomorrow we are having our Christmas Mission Conference INSIDE the Kirtland Temple!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I  AM SO STOKED!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's going to be so legit. I can't wait. The entire mission, every single missionary, is going to be inside the first temple built in these latter days. HOW COOL IS THAT??????

 

I almost forgot to tell you about this scary thing that happened to us! We had only been here a few days and we were driving home from a tiny town in our area. We turned the corner and I saw some guys crawling on the ground and some running around this house. I did a double take and they were holding these HUGE GUNS!!!! IT WAS A FLIPPING SWAT TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They didn't block off the road or stop us or anything! We just kept driving by. It was scary! I thought I had left East St. Louis!!!! reminded me of being home! haha!

 

How was your Thanksgiving? Did you guys get home safe? How are the kids? How is Rex doing at home? How is Sarah feeling? How were Gma's rolls? How is that great woman doing?

Ah! I miss you all so much! I can't wait to talk to you all on Christmas! I don't know where or when we'll be skyping, but I'll let you guys know when we figure it out.

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!