Hard Goodbyes

So my teeny tiny heart is a little bit broken today and so I have but a small desire to write this blog. Sorry.
This has been the hardest area to leave... I hardly cried leaving home to come on my mission, but I sobbed like a little baby leaving this area! I could have happily stayed here for the next 7 months! But there ya go, missionary life and all that jazz!

And all that jazz....

This week has been eventful!
Tuesday we had zone conference in Pueblo. It was a really good conference, I enjoyed it!

Zone Conference in Pueblo

Wednesday... well that day just flew by so fast that I can't even remember what we did... how bad is that?  We did, however, have a really great lesson with some investigators!! Sad days that I have to be leaving... but you know.

Then Thursday we had to go to the Springs for a "Train the Trainer" meeting... which really... just made me feel more like I have no clue what I'm doing... it was mostly about how we will affect the rest of their mission... great... that's not good hahaha
After we got back to Monte, we stopped real quick to see our Ward Mission Leader and his wife. They were leaving the next morning  really early, so I was going to say goodbye to them. The first of the goodbyes.  Yuck! I hate goodbyes!  I used to be the type of person who wouldn't even bother with goodbyes... now though... now I say goodbye... and it sucks!

Friday we had district meeting and then we went and helped one of our members clean her new house that she's moving into. Then she fed us a really great bbq pork dinner! So good!! Then we had an appointment with one of my fave couples in the ward!! We read Jacob 5!! Best!!!  I love that chapter and I love those people!!

Saturday was one of those weird days that flew by too fast too! We went out and then it snowed a bit and we got parked... sad days!! But then we got unparked and went to our dinner with one of the best families in the universe! It was great!

Sunday... My last Sunday... so so sad.   I was asked to bear my testimony in Sacrament meeting... I knew it was gonna be bad because even while I was just sitting thinking about what I would say, I was getting all teary!  Sucked! Then I got my ugly cry face on in front of everyone. Great!

Later we had dinner with the Bishop's family! They are so great! I love them!

We went and made another visit, and then back to the Bishop's house. We forgot to put petrol in the car on Saturday night so we didn't have enough gas to get us to Alamosa for the Christmas Cantata, so they took us! :) It was awesome! Really enjoyed it!

After that we headed back to the same family we had dinner with on Saturday. They fed us again and we said goodbye! Freaking one of the hardest goodbyes ever... saaaaaad!!! Then it was home and bed!

Now I'm on my last day here.... I remember the Monday before I came here... I never thought I was going to love it as much as I do!!
I'm sure I'll be giving you the same schpeel when I have to leave Mesa Ridge cuz I'll love it just the same... but waah waaaah waaaaah hahaha

But there ya go... that has been my week... also... chopped off my hair... cuz ya know... that's how I handle stress hahaha!

Cry Cry Chop Chop...

Chop, chop!!!

Well... I'm trying to think of some spiritual tid bit for this email... but I've been such a whiny baby this week I may have missed all the good bits.  Shame on me!

So there... stop being a whiny baby and be grateful!!!

Haha sorry... I suck today!

Love you all! Have a good week!!

Festival of Miracles

So this week was... well it was crazy!  Remember how I said I thought I was leaving, but I really didn't want to... well... I'm leaving haha... I say "haha" but really it's more like "wawa"  But, I'll be training a new missionary so that's kind of exciting!  We will flush an area so we will be on equal footing as far as knowing the area and people! I always said that if I was to train I would want to flush. So... I guess I got that wish!

Also... remember how I said I wanted to extend my mission... well... that one did come true!! Haha happy days!! Because of the MTC time being now 3 weeks... I get an extra week on my mission.... you can not understand how happy this makes me!  Do you know how many new people you could find in a week?!   LOADS!!!

Happy!!!

Oh happy days!!!!

So besides finding out that I'm leaving and maybe crying for the whole night again... it's been a wonderful week!

Tuesday we headed up to the Springs to spend the night for our meeting in the morning... my last one! haha

On the road again

 So we got to stop by and visit with some of my favourite people in the world!!  We ended up staying a little too long at our last visit but it was so great and long overdue!! Rebecca, I freaking love you! (I know you read these now! hahaha )

So it kinda just made my week awesome!!  I wish I could still be your missionary! haha ...I just wanted to publicly let people know how great you are!! :)

For Rebecca

We had our Festival of Nativities last night and it was so great! I think if they do it next year it will be even better!  There were a bunch of non members there! Either family members or friends of members... and one person that we found while out tracting!

We went tracting on Saturday to hand out some invitations to our "Festival of Nativities" and while we were tracting we met a sister who was a less active member. I had never met nor heard of her. As she opened the door, she let us in straight away! As we were talking about the Festival, and that it would be followed by a Christmas Devotional from the First Presidency, I thought it would be a good time to talk about prophets and what the First Presidency was. As I started explaining, she picked up a manual of teachings of George Albert Smith (the 8th President of the Church) and said "I'm already a Mormon, or at least I was" and so we got to talking with her. We must have spent about 40 minutes in her home talking with her. She told us how grateful she was that we had come, and told us how great her baptism was. I think our visit definitely reminded her of the joy she had felt in the gospel. She told us that if she was feeling up to it, she would come for our Festival. There was no sign of her there... until about 30 minutes in when she walked through the door with a friend!! It was amazing!

That same day that we were tracting we had asked the Zone Leaders for the address of a member that they had said had moved from their area to ours. She is less active and her husband is not a member. Well they hadn't gotten back to us but we just kept tracting and inviting... it was about to be dark, so we tried to get done as much as possible before going home. We walked past this lady getting out of her car. At first we just said 'Hi', and moved on (rookie mistake!), and then Sister Zitting said "Hey!" and walked back to her and extended the invitation, to which she replied "What ward am I in now?" It was her! We found the family that the Zone Leaders had told us about, and they live only a few houses away from ours!

I'm really starting to love tracting... although I really do need to force myself to get out and do it... but once I'm doing it, I love it! I guess it's good timing since I'm going to train.... which is still terrifying me... A lot!

But it has been a good week!! I just feel like my tiny heart is breaking a bit at the thought of leaving here! I could stay here for the next 7 and a half months and be perfectly happy... but then I remember how fast 7 and a half months goes... and that is crazy!

Sad to be leaving Monte Vista

People say that the time goes so fast when you're training... that's not very reassuring!! I don't actually want it to... because otherwise... I'll have like 3 months left when I'm done... nope... nope... gross!  But at least I have that extra week!!

Well.... I think that sums up my week pretty well...

Next time I email I will know where the heck I'm going!!   

Hope you all have a good week.

I was (am) freaking out about all this training jazz... since I don't even know what the heck I'm doing yet... and then someone pretty smart pointed me to the story in the new Ensign,

Ensign December 2015

specifically this part:

“Before you worry,” she said, “trust God first. When I do that and I have faith, everything else is simple. When we trust God, we can move forward in our lives with faith and confidence in the future. When we do that, we can  live as witnesses of God.”

I think that's a pretty good thought for everyone...

Love you all!!! :)

Don't suck. 

Full of Thanksgiving

So... this might have to be a quick one!!  The library is full and so we might get chucked off one of the computers! But this week has been great!

Thanksgiving was a thing that happened.... Freak! I ate so much! It was so good!

And we got to watch a movie... that felt so weird! We watched the new Cinderella movie.  It was pretty awesome... but still weird to be watching movies hahah.

I can't believe how fast the week flew! Yuck! It's already week 5 of the transfer. :(

I feel like I'm going to leave just before Christmas... I really wanna be wrong!

The window decorations at their cottage

So... this is what happened on Friday!

We usually have lunch together as a district on Friday after District meeting... so having nothing left in the house, #endofthemonth, we went to this grocery store to get a pack of noodles. #poor. While we are there, this couple that we visit every week sees us... they manage the store... and the husband is like... what the heck? Go get a cart and get what you need... and we're like no it's ok... and he's like... DO it or you're grounded.... so we did.  And then they paid for it.  Flip. They are so great and nice and wonderful, and I love them so much... and  I DON'T WANNA LEAVEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! NOOOO!

We went on 2 exchanges this week, it was good!  I got to go on exchanges with Sister Tucker again so that was fun!

With Sis. Tucker

With Sis. Talili at the Veteran's Center on exchanges

 

We also got a new investigator this week!! So solid!!  It's exciting!

Have I mentioned how much I don't wanna leave the area?

Anyway! This week has been good!! This Sunday will be our Festival of Nativities! I'm excited to see how it turns out!!  We will be handing out invitations all week!

 

Also... I've decided to extend my mission by like 30 years... I'll have to get it approved by the First Presidency but I'm sure there won't be a problem right?

So.. bye forever! Hahaha!  Jokes.  I wish!

My favourite quote from the week came from the ‘Cinderella’ movie... and it's not spiritual at all, but I almost died!!     

 " I can't drive!! I'm a Goose" Hahahaha

Well....  Unfortunately, that's it from me today... I'm off to go sledding... and if I'm lucky, I'll freeze my butt off... that'd be nice...

Off to go sledding!!

Ok well... have a great week!! Love you all! Be good and all that jazz!!!!

Love you!

Mission B!!!

Well this week has just flown by... what the heck!?

Last week Elder Nash of the Seventy came to our mission. Flip! It was so amazing!! It was such a good few days!  We woke up at 4:30 on Thursday morning to get ready and travel up to Pueblo where the meeting would be held. It was so icy cold. Minus 7 degrees Celcius that morning.  The insides of our windows were frozen in the car. It was pretty cool.

Icy mornings

We met with some other missionaries and followed one another up.    It was so pretty driving through the snowy mountains. No snow on the roads, it hadn't snowed since Monday... but the mountains were so pretty as the sun rose... and then there were deer crossing the road too. So cool!! It was such a nice drive up!

Early morning drive to the Springs

Finally we get to the Chapel in Pueblo. We got there an hour early so that some of the missionaries in our travelling crew could practice their musical number...  and you know how I like to be early!! So that was nice! Haha!

Chapel in Pueblo

The meeting started at 9.00. I said the opening prayer... I almost died. So scary like! At least I got to do the opening one and get it done with haha.

 There aren't enough hours in the day to tell you everything that I learned from that meeting. It was so great! I learned so so so much!

One of the things Elder Nash talked about was when he talked with one of the sisters who was involved with filming "the District" videos, and the difference implementing "Preach my Gospel" made to her mission. She said that before was Mission A and after was Mission B.

Preach My Gospel - A Guide to Missionary Service

===li'l back story===

At the beginning, before the opening prayer, we all got to get up and shake Elder Nash's hand.  He stared my soul down and then asked me where I was from. Then he told me he wanted to hear me speak more because I speak more beautiful English than he ever could... knowing that they were randomly picking 3 people to speak on something that we were meant to prepare in case... I quickly assured him that I would be praying... so I wouldn't need to talk any more... haha

He laughed and then asked me "Are you working hard" while still staring in to my soul...  well I can't very well lie to him! So I responded "Not as hard as I should be. I will change". He just said "good, we need that" and then I carried on my merry way and talked to our Area Seventy and then Mission President and his wife, before sitting down...

===end of back story===

So after everything... after all the amazing talks and teaching we received from Sister and President Rehm and then Sister and Elder Nash... the meeting is over... Elder Nash walks down and shakes my hand and looks into my soul again and says "Mission B right?"

Flip!! Well of course!! I was already excited for Mission B... but then I was like.... well I better get on to it!

Mission Conference with Elder Nash

Next day we had a special leadership council with Elder Nash and so we spent the night in the Springs... we were sooo pooped and tired... but as soon as that alarm went off all I could think was "Mission B!!!" and I was up like a bolt of lightning, ready to go for the day! And I haven't snoozed the alarm even once since then. It's been mission B for 4 mornings now and it's going great!  Even 5 minutes extra sleep in the morning is disobedient... the only way is obedience.   I am certain that we are going to get at least 2 new investigators this week... and we are going to work our butts off.  Mission B is so exciting!!

After the meeting we headed back home. We followed the Zone Leaders home. We stopped for dinner though in a place called Canon City. There's this burger place where they feed missionaries for free, Big Burger World.  Dang! those burgers were so freaking huge!! It's crazy! I wasn't feeling like eating too much so I ate some Jalepeno cream cheese Poppers and then some fried pickles

Fried Pickles

... mmmm it was good... The two Elders got burgers bigger than their heads... so gross!

  Then we headed home through Salida, where maybe I used my Monte Vista lock picking skills and broke into the sisters' apartment to get chocolate cake..

Yum!!!

They said we could have some. It was good.  Mmmmm cake!   Then we headed home... and to bed! Agh! Bed was so nice and comfy!!!

The next morning, Saturday, it was back up to Salida for district meeting... We usually have district meeting 15 minutes away, but the poor Salida sisters have to drive 75 minutes each way every week... so we had it up there this week! It was cool. Salida is pretty!

Salida

So this past week has been pretty busy...  it's been a good but weird week! Lots of things we had to do but not a lot of time in our area. This week will be good because we get to spend all of it in our area... granted we have 2 exchanges this week... but we will have someone in the area for the next 8 days in a row!!! :)

Well... that's my say for the week!

This week I will have been out for 11 months.... yuck!

Hope you have a great week!!

Love you all!

The church is true!!!!!!!!!

:)