2/18/14

Sounds like you guys have been busy this week! I'm glad Sarah is starting to be able to get through it. Hopefully she can continue to do better! 

 

I'm excited to hear from Rex! I haven't gotten a letter yet. Looking forward to that!

 

This has been a crazy busy week for us! But such a good one! Sis. Bakker and I are doing so well! I am so grateful for her! I have always enjoyed being a missionary and doing what we do, but this transfer I truly am LOVING what we are doing together. I love it!!! We met with our investigator, Jim, on Monday last week and he set a baptismal date for March 28th! He is doing so well!!! He believes everything and is so solid so far. It kind of worries me that we don't have any concerns with him yet, I'm not used to that! We also taught him on Friday the Plan of Salvation. He really liked that! It's cool when they get it and they know that it's true, it just makes sense. He came to church too!!! He loved it! We had Branch Conference and so they talked a lot about the Temple and covenants, so we have a lot of explaining and a lot of answering questions to do. He seemed like he handled it all pretty well though. He loved our little Branch building, he said it was beautiful!

 

Tuesday we had Zone Conference which was fantastic! I love getting to see the Vellingas and all the other missionaries on this side of the mission. Being so far out away from EVERYONE else out here in St. Marys is hard, so it's nice when we get to be with everyone else. Sis. Vellinga asked me what I thought about Sis. Lemmon going to Massillon. I told her I was SO excited for her! I know that that will be such a great area for her! She agreed, she said, "we needed to get her somewhere where she could be a missionary." haha! St. Marys is a tough area, but serving here has taught me so many things about myself and about my Father in Heaven's knowledge of me. I'm grateful to still be here.

 

Wednesday we went around looking for service opportunities in the community. We got a few people to call us back, so hopefully we'll get a lot busier here soon! We also received a Headquarter Referral (meaning someone referred their friend on Mormon.org to the missionaries for a visit). So we stopped by and tried to find Brittney but she was at work. Thursday we stopped by again and finally met Brittney! She is so cute! 23 years old and is bubbly and fun! She's hardcore, lots of black makeup and loves metal, but she was interested in our message. She lost a son 2 years ago and when we told her we share a message about being together with our families after this life she wanted us to come back when she had more time. So we scheduled for Friday!

 

Jill has been having a rough week so we called her on Thursday and she told us that she had almost admitted herself to the pych ward again. She was really having a rough time! So we had a lesson with her over the phone and tried to calm her down and prayed with her. We set up a time for her to come to the church with us to clean with the Jensons. That seemed to help her a lot, just getting out of her apartment and getting her mind off of the death of her ex-husband.

 

Friday we saw Brittney. She had forgotten that it was Valentines day and had called to reschedule, but we didn't have our phone. So when we got there she had rose petals everywhere and wine out and yah, it was akward. But we went in and showed her this video:  http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=1094400252001 She seemed to like it and we set up another appointment for us to come back at a better time. :)

 

We also stopped by Jill's Friday night. I had never seen her like that. She was so irritable and manic. I didn't really know what to do. The spirit definitely wasn't there, so we said a prayer together which kind of helped. Her son, Josh, was there too. He's 21 and less-active as well. But he seems like a good kid. He went to get Jill and him some dinner and came back and handed us a bag. We asked him what it was and he said, "it's chick food". He went and got both of us salads! hahaha! We had a good laugh about that one. I've never been called a "chick" yet on my mission. Don't worry, Sis. Bakker and I set him straight. But we talked to Jill and tried to see what we could do. She had run out of her meds and so I think that had the most to do with everything that she was struggling with. So we asked her if she wanted a blessing and we made some arrangements so that on Saturday she could get one.

 

Saturday was good. We met Elder and Sis. Jenson at the church with Jill and Bro. Roode, a member of the branch. We talked with her for a little bit and then they gave her a blessing. We stopped by her place that night and she seemed to be doing SO MUCH better. The power of the priesthood is incredible! I was so happy to see that she had some peace and was calm.

 

Sunday was Branch Conference. Our little chapel was full! It was awesome! We had all the stake leaders there, so it filled up pretty fast. There were some really great talks given! We have a great Stake President, he's wonderful. We went to the Felver's for lunch! We love them! They made us pizza and wings! SO GOOD!!! He's such a fantastic cook! Then we went to our dinner appointment. (I had to stuff food in my mouth and force myself to swallow it, I was so full!!!) We had met this women, she is the accountant for the food pantry we do service at, Annette. She is so sweet and was impressed with us and so she invited us over for dinner with her family! It was great! Homemade lasagna and chocolate mouse for dessert. SO GOOD! She was really sweet and invited us to come to mass with them this Saturday and we invited them to come to church with us too! So we are going to a Mass on Saturday... should be interesting. I'm excited! Then we went back to the Felvers. They made icecream for us and we needed to share a message with them still. When we left Dane set some goals for himself - start coming to church more regularly and start doing family scripture study again. He is so amazing. He has such a powerful testimony of the church. He just needs a little nudge. I told them I knew that they would be back to the temple in a year. They will! I know it. They are so ready! They just have to do a little more work and they're there! It's not out of reach for them. I'm so grateful for the blessings the temple brings into our lives. I hope they do what they know they need to to get back.

 

Yesterday was a great preparation day. We just kind of hung out and went and saw some sights in our area. Lots of fun!

 

This morning we got a text from our zone leaders, they wanted us to stay in because of the weather. Apparently it was supposed to get bad out, but it was just fine where we are. So then about 2 hours later they said we could go back out to work. Whatever... so today we are teaching Brittney and the Beougher family and then the branch president just called and invited us to dinner. So I think we're going to have a good day today.

 

I can't believe how things have just exploded here in St. Marys. Things are getting so busy and we are getting investigators popping out of the woodwork and we have a progressing investigator with a date!!! I feel like all of Sis. Lemmon and I's hard work is finally starting to pay off! I feel like every morning I get up and can't wait to see what miracles we'll witness that day. I love getting to see the hand of the Lord everyday as we diligently work and put our faith and trust in Him. It's something that I'm still working on, I have a hard time trusting Him completely, but I know it's going to be the best in the long run.

 

The cookies were so great!!!! thank you so much! The Jensons loved them too! They took a picture of the package and kept your sweet letters in their journal. They showed it to me last night. They felt so special, it definitely made their day. thanks so much mom and dad for doing that.

 

I hope you guys are all doing well this week! I love and miss each of you SO SO SO SO much!

 

Rex - I hope you are loving your first area and that you have an awesome trainer! I can't wait to hear all about it!

 

Rachel

Recent Pictures

2/10/14

I am so happy to hear about you guys!!! It sounds like the family is all doing well and that you're all happy. Hopefully Sarah can get healthy now! Steph sent me pics of Mike in the hospital - poor thing! Even when he's sick he still looks adorable. Rex didn't mention anything about his companion in my email, he seems to be doing awesome! I'll have to send you our conversation - HE IS SUCH A STUD!!!! You'll be so proud!

So this is what I said to him:

 

REX! I love you so much! I hope you're having a good week! I love that you made that Commitment to keep a journal! That is awesome!!! Study journals are the best too! I'm glad you have one of those too! I found a scripture that I wanted to share with you! IT'S ABOUT US!!!! Alma 17: 12-13 STOP AND READ IT NOW BEFORE YOU READ THE REST OF THIS!!!  That is what we are doing Rex! We are only separated from each other and the other people we love because we know that the work we are doing, this season of harvest, is GREAT. And it is only a season. This month I will have been on my mission for a year and it feels like I blinked. There are a lot of things that I still need to change about myself and there's a lot that I need to work on. Start your mission off right - become a consecrated missionary. There is a talk by Elder Callister called Becoming a Consecrated Missionary. It was a devotional talk at the Provo MTC so I don't know if you'll have access to that. But if you can get it GET IT! I will try to send you a copy of it. I also sent some talks home to mom to send to you. One of them is called "The Fourth Missionary" Which I wish I would have had when I first started my mission - it is incredible and helps you have a vision of the missionary that you want to become. So when you get them READ THEM DILLIGENTLY OVER AND OVER AGAIN.  Rex I love you so much and I am so proud of all that you have accomplished. You are incredible and I know that our Heavenly Father is so proud of you. I asked Mom to send me her patriarchal blessing to read and in it it talks about how she will have elect spirits for children. Rex I know that you are an elect Son of God and that He has called you to His work.

 

Keep up the great work Rex! Don't forget that if life was hard for our perfect Elder Brother, it's not going to be easy for us either. But He will be there to help us every step of the way.

LOVE YOU!!!!

 

And this was his reply:

 

Rachy B!!!!! You are the literal best!!! I miss you so much and you just have the best spirit!! You're totally right this is only for a season. And we will be together at the Burg again faster than I'll know it. It is so crazy to think that I've already been out for two fast Sundays. And that I gave my testimony in Portuguese this past week. And carzier still to think that you've been out for a YEAR!!!!! Oh my goodness Rachel time has seriously flown by!!! I want you to read Alma 26!!! Verses 11, 12, 14, 16, and finally 36!!! This is our work!! And this will be our joy!!! To help others to come unto Christ!! I know this is the true church and that we are supposed to be here. I forget the title to the talk but its by Elder Holland. He talks about how the mission wasn't supposed to be easy because the salvation of man was not a cheap experience. And that when our missions are difficult that we are standing shoulder to shoulder with Cristo. This is going to be amazing and I can't wait to see you again. But not before our work is done in our mission and we are released as missionaries. I don't want to wait for that time but I do at the same time!!!!! Love you Big Sis!!! You are the best!! Pray for Sarah this week. She really needs it.

 

So he sounds like he's doing good! I'm excited for him to get out into the field! I need his address for his mission. I don't know if everyone's preparation day is Monday across the world, you'll have to check, some missions do it on a different day.

 

I am so excited for Keith and the Chapman's! That is so awesome! they are the best family! I hope Emma makes it out to BYU-I with me. I have some companions that have heard all about her and they want her to be our roommate. So she needs to get on that application! Yes, there is stuff you can do to help me get set up with that. I need to get my FAFSA filled out and I can't do that so if you could that would be fantastic. and then you might have to sign me up for classes come June or something. Find out when registration is for Fall 2014 on BYUI.edu and let me know if it's June or July because if it's July I might be able to wait till I get home... We'll see....

 

This has been a really good week! So our new investigator, Jim, IS GOLDEN!!!! He is so incredible! He's about to set a baptismal date - we're super excited about it.

 

Sis. Lemmon left. GUESS WHERE SHE WENT!!!! MASSILLON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Y.E.S.!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited for her! She gets to go to my home away from home!!! I couldn't believe it! I am so happy. She is going to love it and will be so well taken care of out there.

 

So my new companion is Sis. Bakker (pronounced bawker). At first I was a little nervous. We have met before and I didn't always get good vibes, she's kind of in your face. But I am really excited now. She is a super hard worker and knows what her purpose is. She's what the branch needs. She's great and I think this transfer is going to be great! It's already been a lot of fun and we get along pretty well. We both have pretty strong personalities, as long as we both just go with the flow I think we'll be alright. ha!

 

The weather has been terrible so the Felver's didn't come to church yesterday, but they will. It's going to happen - no doubts in my mind. They delayed church 2 hours, so we had it at noon, and they only had Sacrament meeting. So we didn't really get to do much. But it was a really good day.

We have some pretty awesome potential investigators that we have appointments with this week that I'm pretty excited about. One is this lady, Annette. she's the accountant for the food pantry we do service at every week. She seems awesome and really likes how at 21 we have our "heads on straight" is what she said. She has a 22 and 25 year old daughter and she wants to have us over for dinner to meet them both and share with them why we're like this. haha! She seems great! So we'll see what happens.

 

Tomorrow is Zone Conference and I'm pretty excited about it. I love getting to see other missionaries and Pres. and Sis. Vellinga! It's going to be great! And then we have an appointment tonight with Jim. and we have some other great appointments set up for this week. It's going to be a wonderful week!!!!

 

I love being a missionary. I love having a companion who isn't brand new and knows what's going on. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE TRAINING! But it's nice to get a break. It's already been wonderful. Sis. Bakker is such a blessing.

 

Hopefully this week is good for you guys and everyone stays healthy or gets healthy and everyone's happy!

 

I love and miss you all!!!!!

2/3/14

Goodness, it sounds like it was a rough week for you guys. I'm so sorry to hear about Sarah. I hope things start getting figured out soon. Poor thing. I did hear about the game from the members... lame...

 

I love getting emails from Rex. He sounds like he's doing so great. I sent him this scripture reference that I know was put in the Book of Mormon for us - Alma 17:12-13 - you gotta read it!

 

I LOVED THE PACKAGE!!! I needed a blanket! So I'm glad you sent that too! everything was delightful! Thank you! You know what I like! haha! I'm so glad you heard from the Jensons! That's hilarious! I didn't even know they had our address! ha! They are some of the most incredible people. I love them! You should definitely send them something! They would LOVE that!

 

I can not believe that this month marks my year mark! It is crazy. It has flown by. I feel like the end of my mission is coming up so fast and it makes me sad! It's going to be weird not being a missionary, not wearing this badge is going to kill me! I love what I'm doing here and the things that I'm learning! I'm not ready for it to end! So I'm going to work super hard these next 5 months and get in everything that I can before the end!

 

Well our week has been a good one! We got a new investigator yesterday who accepted the invitation to be baptized! We were pretty stoked! It was great. it was the first time sis. Lemmon invited someone to be baptized, so she had a great time! We also got to go over and see the Flevers! Our favorite people! It was a ton of fun! They have 12 goats and tons of chickens and stuff so we got to go out and have fun with all of that last night. And Dane let me hold some of his guns. That was fun too! hahaha! Don't worry - I'm sending pictures!

 

So transfers - Sis. Lemmon is being sent away and I'm staying here. It's bittersweet. I wanted to leave and move to a new area, but I'm excited I get to continue working with our new investigator and stay with the Felvers and all the other awesome people here. So it should be great. I'm nervous about a new companion. I don't know how to do anything other than have a greenie, so this is going to be an adjustment. We'll see...

 

There hasn't really  been anything else that has been going on. It's been kind of slow with the ARCTIC FREEZING COLD WEATHER! supposedly we're supposed to get like 20 inches by the end of the week... We'll see if that actually happens.

 

Well you guys are all in my prayers! I miss and love all of you!

 

I'm sorry this one is short mom - I just don't have a lot to report this week. But I still love you!!!!!

Also I was wondering if for my birthday I could get a new watch? the one I have now busted - I'll send you a picture. I just want a nice one that is a fun color - like mint green. But classy. Talk to Emma, she'll know what I'm talking about. But that was something that I needed that I thought would be easy for a birthday present.