Aug. 16, 2010

Wow, I'm sad to hear about Gary passing away! He was a very good man. Will you let his wife know that I was grateful for what he did to help Cody and me? Or if you could get their address, I'd like to send her a card.


This last week was a really good week. We went on an exchange with the Sisters in Bowling Green, KY and so I got to be with Sister Nielsen in Portland. It was good to see how other missionaries do things. We were able to find 6 new investigators last week which is pretty huge for us! It made me realize that I was trying to think too hard about what we were supposed to do when appointments cancelled, expecting a huge answer, but all we needed to do was go tracting in the area where our appointments c\were cancelling. Imagine that! :P We are in the last week of the transfer already, can you believe it? I am pretty sure I'll be staying here another transfer or two, but I think Sis Rigley might be going. Also, I hit my 6 month mark tomorrow!! I'll get to burn some nylons! Haha

We are finally having emily's baptism this weekend, it keeps getting pushed back but we are finally ready for it. She is a very sweet girl, and I think she will have a great influence on her family. Deborah told us she was planning on getting married in October.. which means her baptism dropped for now unless they work it out where Barry can move out. But she said she was going to pray about it and let us know what she wants to do tomorrow. But she wants this wedding to be special since her last one didn't turn out so well. Which is understandable! Barry has been looking for a job, so that is probably the biggest reason it would be hard to move out. I have reached the point where I start dreaming about missionary work! Last night I dreamt about how we could help the less active members be reactivated again, and the night before that I dreamed that I kept falling asleep during our lessons.. haha. I am glad that hasn't happened in a real lesson!

It is interesting that alot of the people we have found have all been within our apartment complex. It is a little strange since they know we live there, but the people we've met have been super nice. One night we had an awkward 15 minutes and as we were going up the stairs to our apartment, there was a 17 year old girl sitting on the stairs with her boyfriend and we started talking to them and gave them both a book of mormon and they were totally interested! It was pretty cool! You never know what could happen in 15 minutes!

Well, August is apparently the hottest month of the year out here, and I feel it! Especially if it rains in the middle of the day. You'd think it would cool things off, but no. It just makes it hot and even more humid! We actually haven't gotten as much rain as they usually do here too. I think it is simply because I love storms, and so they don't come!

I am really grateful I am on a mission right now. I have learned alot and have realized how important the basics of the gospel are. The gospel really is simple! I have also had to come out of my little comfort zone too, and seem to find myself in awkward situations but it is all part of the experience! I have also learned that the heart of it all is love. If you love the people, love the work, love yourself, and love the gospel, life is much happier. I've realized that without that love, everything else falls apart. We can be truly happy just by loving! There is my thought for the day.

Oh, and here is a scripture I read earlier this week that really stuck out to me. "...but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14

As we forget the mistakes and trials we have gone through, forgetting that part of ourselves that hold us back, we can move forward onto the "prize"! I really liked it.

Anyway,
I love you all so much!
I need to e-mail Pres Hutchings before i run out of time.

Pictures:

I can't remember what order I uploaded them, but when we went to an appointment the guy wasn't home but this tiny little kitten popped out of nowhere, so we played with him for a little while. There are a lot of stray cats in this area!

We went bowling with the elders last monday and I actually got a strike! It was exciting! The last time I bowled was when I was with Cody like 3 years ago and I just got frustrated because I couldn't get it. Haha, so it was a lot of fun. Also one night while we were out driving we ran into this old graveyard at the end of the road so we stopped and looked around. The picture makes it look like it was in the middle of the night but it wasn't! It was kind of a creepy graveyard, it was surrounded by trees and kind of away from everything on its own. But it was cool to look at the moss covered tombstones.

LOVE ALWAYS
Sister Turner