The Spee-i-der!

   

 I am either doing something wrong, or white washing is going really well. The ward has been so great and supportive. Within 10 minutes of getting into the area we had the ward leaders calling us and welcoming us and asking if we needed anything. The members know most of our investigators and have been taking us to meet them for the first time. It was kind of a slow start but we are getting the hang of how things work around here. I love the area already and I can tell that it has great potential. I am so excited to find those prepared people and baptize all of them! 

  Ok, you people have not seen a daddy long leg until you have seen the ones in our apartment. No, not around the complex but IN our apartment. I wish I was exaggerating when I say this but they are literally as big or bigger than my hands. I will try and take a picture to show you. It is gnarly and I hate it. We have found SO many spiders. I have literally been praying to Heavenly Father that he will keep them out of my bed at least and so far I haven't seen any in my room...yet. I am so glad He cares about our little requests. They are just reminders to me about how much he really does love us.

      So I am now in Thousand Oaks, and so far I love it! We are the first sisters in the area at least in the last 20 years, if ever. So we are getting so much attention from the ward and they are so excited to have us! Sorry Elders! The wards love you but for some reason they love the sisters more. We are just hoping and praying that we can live up to their expectations. 

    And yes, we are in the same apartment that the Elders were in. All of the people who hear that ask what the conditions of the apartment are. Well, aside from the spiders it wasn't too bad. The apartment itself is kind of nasty but I don't think that was all the Elder's fault haha.

    Oh! My new companion's name is Sister Woodland. Yeah, so funny! We get so many comments on it every day. It is funny to see how people react when we introduce ourselves. Also cool story, Sister Woodland was Sister Hiapo's MTC companion. She was sent home a couple days into the MTC because she sprained her ankle. She had to wait 6 weeks to come back out but she is here now! Here is what I am thinking. I think that her and Sister Hiapo both needed my to be their trainer and Goleta needed Sister Hiapo, so He sent Sister Woodland home until I was available to train her here in T.O. I am going to say that is what happened.  I can't lie, I was a little bit nervous to be training her in the beginning. She and Sister Hiapo had some issues, so I heard many stories and I knew that I would be training Sister Woodland from the middle of last transfer. At the training meeting though the Training Sisters committed us to love our companions and to do our best at showing them our love. 

The Lord has blessed me so much. He has helped me to forget any stories that I heard about Sister Woodland and love her for who she is and not what I had imagined her to be. We get along so well and I see no issues with her. I know this is because I have been trying to keep the commitment the Sisters gave us and the Lord has helped me every minute. I account every night to Heavenly Father how I have shown her my love and what I have done to help her feel like a good missionary.  

    Anyway, the area is great! There are a lot of wealthy people here, but so far people have been really nice! And mom! Guess what! Joanne Kelley's (Kelly?) brother is our ward mission leader! Sweet! And the Favero's friend was in our ward yesterday. 

   Oh, speaking of church. I gave a talk yesterday. Yeah, I wasn't in the area more than 20 minutes before the 2nd counselor called us and asked me to speak. Cool. But the story gets better. Remember how last time I spoke I spoke with a return missionary at his homecoming? Well, This time I spoke with Mr. Popular at his farewell. He is the top jock at the school and valedictorian. So, yeah. I was nervous at first but the great thing about being a missionary is that you are used to teaching people. So I hardly needed my notes and I don't think I said the word "um" the whole time. My goal since being out here is to stop saying that. I really don't like that word. 

     Anyway, I need to get going now. Hope you all have a great week! Love and miss you! Don't forget about me!

They Call Me Terrified!

Well, I don't know if you were counting the weeks but I was (not because I was miserable but because you are forced to with these planners)! It is transfers already. Any guesses to what is happening to me? Any....? Ok, I will just tell you....after I talk about this week.

    I got an awesome email from Makaylah (the recent convert) today. Her mom got baptized!!!  I am so excited for them! Now they just need to get her step dad baptized and then they can all live happily ever after! I l love happy endings. Except like President Uchtdorf said, "there are no endings, just happy beginnings." Ok definitely not an exact quote but you get the idea. That is even more true in this case! 

     Other than that I don't know what all to tell you. This week was incredibly hot. We broke records for how hot it was. Ok before you start thinking it was 120, it was only 97 degrees this week, but that is the hottest it has been since the mid 1970s. And since I have been in Utah and Idaho the past 5 years I have turned into a total pansy with the heat. I can't handle it at all. Oh well!

     I am trying to think of other things I can say but this week was pretty uneventful. So here is the verdict. Sister Skeeter will be being transfered to Thousand Oaks. It is further south. So I heading to a new area! Weird! Oh and the best news. I am training again. Yes, for those RMs who know mission language I will be white washing. That is scary. And stressful. And exciting. For those who don't know what the means, it means that both my companion and I will be new to the area and have to figure it out on our own. So this will be an interesting transfer to say the least. I am excited though to have another new missionary. And I am going to ask the same request. Will you all send a letter of encouragement and welcoming to the new missionary? Please and Thank you!

     Ok, Pray for me! I am really going to need it! Well, my time is up! Hope you all have a great week! Sorry this email is so short. I am all jumbled in my inerds so I can't forcus. 

Sister Skeeter

Happy Mother's Day! (I know I'm late!)

I don't really know what to tell you about this week. One of our investigators moved back into the Mesa Vista ward area so we taught her one last time this week. We committed her to continue taking the lessons from the Elders which she said she was fine with. She was just here in our area for a little bit to get herself back into health. Our lesson went really well. We read from the Book of Mormon and talked about questions she had. We also finally got her to pray. She usually asks us to pray but lately Sister Hiapo and I have been working on getting the investigators to say the prayers themselves so they can become more comfortable with it. They have all hesitated at first but each one has said the prayer in the end.
We had a lesson with our investigator Christina this week. We taught the Plan of Salvation and she said it made a lot of sense to her. She likes the idea that there is more than just heaven and hell. We have been having the elders quorum president pray to know who would be good fellowship for her and her husband so we believe we have the right people for that and we are planning on having them there at the next lesson.
We also had an incredible experience while we were doing service for a member on Wednesday. We help her with her business and one of her friends walked into the store. She saw us working and asked who we were. We explained that we were from Sister Mansur's church and that we were there helping her. She asked what church we were from and after telling her we were from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints she told us that she hadn't heard of that one. We then explained that we were mormon. She immediately got this horrible look on her face and started asking us "why?" she then said "And Phebe supports this? Oh, no!" I was so confused by her reaction. After asking her why she thought this way she asked us how we dealt with the polygamy and other things that go against everything we stand for. We quickly explained that we did not practice anything that she had just said and then she said "You do, because that guy got put in jail for all of that!" We quickly explained that he had no relation to the church. Then she mentioned that her son had been attending a mormon church and she was not happy about it. She also explained that his wife left him on Easter with their 6 month old son. At that point the story started to sound familiar. 
Her son's name is Jason. We have been teaching him on and off since I arrived in Goleta. He came to church a few weeks ago and a member talked to him for a long time about addiction recovery. After this lady found out that we knew her son she completely softened. I know this was an answer to my prayers. While we had been talking to her I prayed to Heavenly Father to help us say the right things and to soften her heart. I guess us knowing Jason was the answer. She then went into detail about how he was doing. She was a little scatter brained while she spoke but half way through she told us how grateful she was for the mormon church and how much support they had given her son. She said that they have really helped him a lot to give him the strength he needs to overcome his addictions. 
After a few more minutes of speaking she looked at us and said "I don't even know why I am here. I normally don't walk anywhere because I have terrible MS." She then got this look on her face like something had clicked. She explained to us that she knew Heavenly Father had brought us together and that it was no accident that she had met us. Music to our ears! We were able to teach her a little bit and invite her to church in the end. Right before we left she apologized for all of the horrible things that she had said and was so sorry that she might have hurt us. Then she realized that we might have gotten that more than once, and she felt even worse. We let her know that it was all ok and that we forgave her for anything she might have said. The spirit was so strong and it confirmed to us that we were meant to meet this woman and talk to her. We were able to get her number but she told us that we could not come over to her house because her family would swear at us and drive us away. So we decided we would call her and meet up with her somewhere. We have called her and are waiting for a response. If we don't get one tonight we will call again tomorrow.
Vicky is doing ok. Right now we are trying to decided if we should stop teaching her for awhile. She does all that we ask but there is still something missing. We are teaching her this week how to recognize answers from the spirit and if she doesn't improve or put the effort in we are going to need to drop her for a little bit.
Calling home yesterday was so great. My mom started to cry the second she answered the phone. My whole family was there and anxious to hear how the mission is going. It was hard to say goodbye but that is ok. I have eternity to see them and talk to them.

     So there is this lady here who LOVES us missionaries. She found out a few weeks ago that Sister Hiapo didn't buy a blanket so we went to the store last week and bought her a blanket AND some sheets so that this lady could make her a quilt. Then we went over last night to give her a Mother's day card and she told us that she wanted to take us to costco and get us some treats for our cupboards. Sweet! Don't know if we will have time to take her up on that though. Then I she found out that my shoes were tattered and gave me a $60 pair of shoes for me to try and see if I like them. She is so funny! When she saw my shoe she snatched it so fast out of my hands and shoved her hand in it to feel the holes. Sister Hiapo and I were cracking up just thinking about how gross the shoes were and how much they must have smelled and here she is putting her face right up to them and putting her hands all over the inside. I wish you could all meet her. She is the funniest lady! When you see her you tend to think she is angry until you start talking to her and then you realize that she is actually happy and so ready to serve!...wait did I talk about her in the last blog? Oh well! 

Ok, I found a quote the other day that I really liked it said " Courage is not the absence of fear or despair, but the strength to conquer them." So good!

       Also I need to put in a small plug for my mom. I hope you had a great Mother's Day! I am sorry I couldn't make you any cute slide shows this time. Just so you know, I know that you are the best mother in the world and that everything I do today is because of you (well, all of the good things) and the way you raised me. Thank you for all that you have done. Yesterday when we were talking about mother's at church I thought of the stripling warriors and the scripture Alma 56:47-48. Also today in my study I read the scripture in the bible Proverbs 15:20. I thought it was interesting and pretty true actually. If we really loved our mothers we would do anything to make them proud of us and obey them. Just like with our Heavenly Father. 

       In one of the talks also there was a quote that says "Do your eyes light up when your children come into the room." I thought of grandma with that one and how excited she gets every time she sees us. We know she loves us just by the way she lights up when we walk in her door. And with you mom, I thought about all of the times that you would make us treats for when we got home from school. You didn't have to do that but that was your way of showing us you loved us and wanted us to be happy. I hope that one day I can be as great of a mother as you are! Thank you for your incredible example of what a loving mother should be. Love you!

Sister Skeeter

Baptisms!!!

    MAKAYLAH AND THE LANDY GIRLS GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot begin to explain how happy I am that they were finally able to enter into the waters of baptism. I cried when I found out that Kaitlin, Melissa, and Angelina were baptized. We worked so hard with them and their dads to get them to this point. I don't even care that I wasn't there for their baptisms. I am so happy for them! Wow, I wish you all could feel this joy right now. I think it is a small taste of what the Celestial Kingdom is going to be like.

       This week we invited a perspective elder to take the missionary lessons each week. He said that right now each week would be too much but that we could come every other week. He is a part member family so we are excited to start teaching them regularly and helping them to strengthen their relationship with the Savior. 

Last night we also were able to teach Brita and Freddy. It went so well. Freddy was in a motorcycle accident last month and because of that his leg is very hurt. He hasn't been able to work because of it and it has been causing him a lot of pain. So last night Brita's brother, who is in our ward, was able to come and give him a blessing. The spirit was so strong. There were four children that came with Brita's brother but as the blessing was being given they all sat quietly and allowed the spirit to touch Freddy's heart. We were able to teach about the power of the priesthood and help Freddy to understand how much Heavenly Father loves him. We are even more excited that they have been keeping commitments as well! While Sister Nicholas and Sister Reyes were here they had a really hard time keeping commitments and putting forth the effort to change. Now both are coming to appointments and going strong. We pray for them continually that they will be able to be strengthened while they are taking the lessons. Satan has beaten at Brita since she was a little girl and because of that, I think things are going to get difficult for them as they grow closer to the Savior and our Heavenly Father. We have another appointment for next week that we are looking forward to! 

     So I haven't gotten my mail for a week. It's jammed on something and we had to wait until today to get it fixed. Hope there wasn't anything perishable in there!

    Well, my time is almost up. Nothing too exciting has happened over this week. Sister Hiapo and I have just been out doing our work!

Oh, I found out something knew about myself. I clench my teeth when I am stressed. I woke up one morning with my teeth feeling like I had braces on again. I am in the processes of fixing that now.

     Anyway, hope you all have a great week! Love you all! Don't forget me!

Sister Skeeter

"May The Lord Shoot His Power Into You"

   I feel like this week has been a successful one. Nothing stands out to me when I think of why it was successful. I guess it feels like we put in a good effort this week.

      We met a referral named Dona who is living in an assisted living home. She is only in her 50s but she can't take care of herself very well so her children put her in this home. We have met with her twice now and she is open to learning more.  Her daughter was just baptized into the Mesa Vista ward a few months ago and now wants us to teach her mom. We are excited for the idea that this could be an eternal family soon! We will be visiting her this week on Wednesday and we will be teaching the Plan of Salvation.

      We have also started to teach a part-member family. They are a very young couple (so young that while we are teaching them I am the oldest in the room) with a baby. The father Matt has been less-active for about a year now and his wife is Catholic. They are very quiet but she said that she is willing to learn more about the Book of Mormon and wants to know what what it teaches. We are praying and working with the Elders Quorum President to find out who would be best to fellowship them and help them progress. We don't have another meeting until next week but we pray for this family every day and are working hard to reactivate them and strengthen their family through the Gospel.

     Vicky has been doing ok. She has expressed to a member that she doesn't feel comfortable in Relief Society so that is why she doesn't want to stay for the whole three hours. We will have to pray to know how to make her more comfortable there. This is hard for me because Relief Society is my favorite class of the three hours, so I don't understand how someone couldn't like it. On the other hand Sister Hiapo isn't a huge fan of Relief Society so maybe she will be able to connect with her better on that aspect. Other than that, she has been reading and praying to know if this is the true church. We will be seeing her tonight hopefully to teach her more.

      On Wednesday we went and taught a less-active man named Jason. I have talked about him before. We taught the Restoration and watched the Restoration DVD with him. The bishop came and invited him to try coming to church again. He said he would pray about it and consider it. We invited him to take the missionary lessons again with his family on a regular basis. He told us that he would be ok with it, but needed to check with his wife to see if she was ok with that. She is a Seventh Day Adventist and is pretty firm in her beliefs. That has worried me in the past just because I don't want her to feel like we are trying to separate their family by making Jason come back to church. However, after Elder Nelson came and talked about the perspective elders, I had the distinct impression that we needed to start teaching his family regularly. We will have to stop by this week and ask him if he has talked to his wife about it.

      Brett is doing really well! We invited him to be baptized on June 7th. The spirit was there but Brett wants to make sure that when he commits he can live by the standards. We then did some How To Begin Teaching with him and talked about his reservations. We committed him to pray to know if this was the true church and if the Book of Mormon was true. He really wants to know the truth and I know he will get his answer soon.

      Last night we had a lesson with a Less-active named Brita. We love her and her family. She is living with her boyfriend Freddy and her son Leo. Freddy wants to be baptized and Brita wants to be active again. She called us frantically last week telling us that her son, who is 7, came home and told her that he doesn't believe there is a god and that churches are only there to take our money. She told us that this upset her a lot and that she wanted us to come teach her son. Unfortunately her son wasn't home last night when we went, but we were able to teach Freddy. He said he loved the mormons and wants to know if the Book of Mormon was true. We have an appointment for next Sunday again and we are hoping that Leo will be there this time as well. Brita expressed some concerns that she has but committed to come to Sacrament meeting on Sunday. We will see if she is able to follow through with this commitment. 

     So the title.....we were out tracting and we stopped and talked to this evangelist who has talked to LDS missionaries before. He didn't let us talk much because he was in a hurry but he asked if he could pray for us. That is one of the things he prayed for haha! 

     Yesterday church was exhausting. We had Sacrament Meeting and Jason came! Jason is the one we tried to teach a little while ago but it didn't work out. So he came yesterday! Then he told us about some trouble he has been having and that he wants to overcome an addiction. We introduced him to an AWESOME member who has totally been there. He was on the front cover of the news paper he was a druggy and did almost everything that druggies do. He was looking at 10 years in prison and at that point something changed in him. He was able to turn his life around and now he is sealed to his wife with 4 kids and a baby on the way. Love stories like that! Anyway so he started talking to Jason and it lasted the entire two hours that was left. He was straight forward and told Jason exactly what he needed to do. While we were talking he said something that I thought was funny. He said "you are pole-vaulting over mouse turds. You are making a huge deal out of something little." So yeah after we all talked I was drained. Its hard talking to people when they want to change but at the same time don't want to do anything different than they are now. It's like yelling at a wall. Pointless.

     Anyway, things are going well out here! The stress of training is lessening. I miss you all!

Love 

Sister Skeeter