Transfer day...[Sept 2, 2014]

Sorry for the delayedness, but seeing as Labor Day is an event that takes place on a Monday and we email in a library, it was unavoidable.

An exciting and unexpected thing happened. Remember last week when I met my black cousin? (If you don't then shame on you, repent, and read last week's blog.) Well, I figured that most likely was the last time I would see him, but surprise surprise, the Elders tracted into them again last week (not a big coincidence, because they were coming with us to visit a new investigator we tracted into that same day). They met with Mrs. Seymore, and she said she actually read the pamphlet and was interested in what it had to say. They made an appointment for an hour later, and we all went and talked with her. She gave me her phone number (it was legit), and suddenly I realized why I was called to Kansas--that would be the awesome end of the story, but seeing as today isn't Monday and events have occurred since--I tried setting up another appointment with her, but she said they actually decided to stay with "their baptist ways" (her words). :'(


My favorite game that missionaries play is volleyball...just kidding, I hate volleyball more than I hate the fact that my right foot has a permanent blister on it...it actually is the "I have crazier investigators than you do" game. My arsenal is as follows: (The Elders actually get credit for finding her, but she is a women so I can claim her as my own.) She lives in a kind of rest home or in between home and her name is Kadidra, I feel comfortable saying that because I still question if she actually exists. She knows a lot of "Mormon Doctrine" that no one really knows about, I don't know exactly what, but the Elders claim that. One time we were going to meet her, but when we walked in she was randomly gone, and when we left the Elders totally saw her...like out of nowhere. We then decided she was one of the wives of the Three Nephites. After such assumptions were made, one day, the Elders were at that apartment complex (a member lives there), and there were police in the foyer and someone was missing...all their stuff was still in their apartment and she was nowhere to be found. Then one of the Elders asked, "Wait, it's not Kadidra...is it?" It was.


Update on Anna: We came to visit her Monday night and she was smoking on her porch...I'm growing to love catching people off guard when they're smoking, because it's not something you can hide fairly easily. We definitely pushed her too hard with the date, and she told us she was just under so much stress and pressure as it was. Of course after that, we have seen her about every day and still haven't made much progress. It's going to take a lot of prayer to know what we need to do to help her.


My companion has left me for the Amazon. She was waiting for her visa for the past year and finally got it. I'm with another sister for the day as her companion also left her, and then we will get new ones tomorrow. It was funny, because she was reading her transfer journal (which is just like a yearbook, because a mission isn't enough like high school as it is), and she was sharing this story about how this drunk guy was hitting on her on a Greyhound bus once. She said, "See you'll have stories like that one day". Which, if you know me, was a personal blow. I just was like,"Hey did I ever tell you about that one time I road a train from Vienna to Paris overnight by myself in a compartment with a group of gambling Indian men?" Okay, I didn't really say that, but I was thinking it while she was telling me her story. I learned a lot from her and really looked up to her as a missionary. It was just so hard, because we both have such "Type A personalities" and my "control freakedness" bumped into her "I'm your trainer" need. I've learned that a verse of "Let it Go", was just about enough time for my patience to overcome the situation.

My district.

 How to properly get a cooler of
ice water onto the roof.

Our mission president decided to take
the ice challenge,
apparently this is a thing now...

We have dinner with the bishop every Monday and this Monday, he shared the story behind how he got the picture behind us. He carried (a smaller version) of it around every day on his mission to remind him to let go of every worldly thing and consecrate everything to the work. He still has it on his wall, to remind himself to keep that thought in mind that at a moment's notice, he can drop everything. It's amazing, because we teach people every day about this, and a lot of people know what we teach them is true. I feel like everyone probably does, but they all have their own things they aren't willing to let go of, their addictions, or friends, or past churches, or need to be right about everything. It's when we do drop everything that we realize we get it all back in ten fold. It's just so hard to have the faith to do it. Most of the time, we have to be humbled...and trust me, that is not a preferable way to go about it.

Love you all!