Skylar's Baptism!

This week was pretty crazy!! We had a baptism for Skylar! She is 13 and she had a lot of family come for her baptism! Her grandparents came from their mission in Missouri! They were told before they left that if they would leave and take care of other people's children that someone would take care of their children! Well their prayers were certainly answered! It was very humbling to be part of an answer to their prayers! 

We were going to be crowd control this last Saturday at the annual UFO parade in McMinnville. We got permission from our zone leaders and then when we called them the night before asking when and where to meet, they told us that they did not need our help anymore. We were obviously pretty upset about that because we had been looking forward to it all week! I don't think those Elders knew how much it upset us...   

Saturday morning, we saw 6 hot air balloons in the sky and they said villa balloons in Newberg, Oregon. They were starting to land after our exercises so we decided to follow one of them. We got to the landing area (it looked like it was going to land in trees) and we stopped and just sat in our car looking at it and a lady approached us and could tell that we were obviously impressed and she asked us if we wanted to help take it down. We said yes and we got to help deflate it (they are huge) and then we got to help them stuff it in the bag!! It was a blast! They told us that if we volunteer 7 times we would get a certificate for a free ride!! Which of course, as missionaries we can't, but we want to give our certificates to Jada and her grandma!!! This week, they bought us both hula-hoops that we use to exercise with! We are hoping that we will stay together for this next transfer so we can volunteer enough times to get the certificates! The air balloons go up every Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday! So it will only take us 3 weeks to get the certificates! I think it was fun to help take it down! We are just awaiting an email telling us when and where! 

We might have misplaced or lost our dinner calendar and the month is almost half over.  So we thought that a family was going to feed us this last Friday and we called them and they said it was next Thursday, they gave us some of their leftovers for dinner since they realized that we didn't have a dinner for that night and they gave us potatoes and spaghetti sauce and noodles and mac and cheese and some more groceries including toilet paper! it was perfect! What a huge blessing we have received this week! 

We went to McMinnville on Thursday to try on baptism clothes with Skylar and we got ice cream at a place called Alf's! it was homemade ice cream (i think Dairy Queen and of course Iceberg's are way better though) but the cool thing about this place is they have a pet monkey like the pet monkey, Jack, in Pirates of the Caribbean! But the poor monkey didn't look like he liked being in his room. I actually felt really bad for him! We also got to look at the world's largest wooden plane. 

This week was awesome! Transfer calls are this next Saturday!! Can't wait to see what's gonna happen. We're also getting 50 new missionaries between now and September! I love you all!!! 

 

4 months in!!

This week was great! Being able to skype my family was awesome!!!! Sister Williams got to skype with her family and her brother in England! 

We "heart attacked" members in our ward for Mother's day! Two of the houses, we got caught at! The first house we got caught at was actually the house of some potential-investigators. Their son goes to scouts and their daughter is a daisy girl scout! A dog barked as we were approaching the door, so we backed up, and waited about 15 seconds and then approached the door, the dog didn't bark. Instead the door opened and we were caught red-handed! She said what are you doing? We said nothing, she said as she looked at the hearts in our hands, do you want me to close the door? We said yes. So she laughed and closed the door. W heard her daughter say who was that? She responded no one was there. She is great! The next one we got caught at, they never use their front door and their screen door was locked. It was the mom's birthday as well as mother's day. We decided to put the hearts on the window instead. So we got to the window and we started to put the hearts on and we looked inside the house and we saw the husband looking straight at us and we froze and then we started to put the hearts on quickly and of course his wife was standing next to him and she turned and looked and saw us putting the hearts on there! As we were running to the car, she came out and said with her awesome accent: I love you girls with all my heart! We also put some hearts on President and Sister Samuelian's door. When we saw them today at the mission office, they said someone had "graffiti'd" their house. Haha! 

What a wonderful week! We had a lesson with our recent convert Brianna, one of her friend's sat in on our discussion of the Word of Wisdom. We were playing a game of is this good or bad to do... One of them was excess piercings, like tongue or eyebrow or belly button and Brianna's friend, when we said it was bad said that no one told her mom that it was bad. Kids are so precious! Sister Williams was with Sister Mower on exchanges and she learned this quote about faith: "Faith isn't something you demonstrate to get what you want. It's what you demonstrate no matter what you get."

 

Another Great Adventure!!

May the Fourth be with you!!

We had 2 baptisms this weekend for a boy and girl who are both ten. We were able to teach both of them. It was an amazing weekend!! We got to go to our ward and the next ward for the two different confirmations. That led to a really long Sunday. I haven't had a Sunday that long since I was a mini-missionary. Speaking of which, we have another mini-missionary: Sister Templin from Salem. She is awesome!! 

During the Newberg first ward Sacrament meeting, one of the young men who is preparing to go on his mission to Alaska told a story about one of his friends who asked him about his mission and said what if you are wrong and there is no God?? This is how he responded: 

"If I'm wrong, then I will have spent my life serving the God I loved. I will die surrounded by my friends and family. And it will all have been for nothing, because there is nothing. But if I'm right, then I will have spent my life serving the God I loved. I will die surrounded by my friends and family and I will spend eternity with the God I love, and my friends and family and my older brother: Jesus Christ." My companions and I thought that was the greatest answer ever! 

We have exchanges tonight. Sister Williams goes back to her first area: Forest Grove with Sister Mower. Sister Templin and I will stay and be joined with Sister Agader who served in Newberg a few months ago. We are enjoying the work. I just wanted to share my testimony about the 8th article of faith: 

"We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." 

The Bible has been translated so many different times and there are so many different versions available. I am grateful to have a prophet on the earth who receives revelation from God for each of us and that we have the Book of Mormon, which is pure and untainted by the world of men. I know that the Book of Mormon is the most correct book on earth and it will bring you closer to God and Jesus Christ than any other book!  If you don't believe me, then pray and ask God and he will tell you! 

I went on a cruise!!

Jada's Baptism! Sister WIlliams, Jada, and I!

I went on a cruise!! Embark in the service of God, beehive conference!

Sister Williams, Jada, Sister Martin, and Sister Dibble

Selfie!!!! :)

Scooby Doo Mystery Machine!!

Sister Williams and I have had a busy week!! Jada was baptized this Saturday! I was asked to speak about the Holy Ghost. It is a lot easier to speak at a baptism because I focus on the person who is getting baptized, and I know Jada. She is a wonderful girl who went to her grandma in January and told her she wants to be baptized, so we started teaching her and she has now been able to be baptized!! 

We were then able to go to the Beehive Conference which was called Embark in the Service of God. So we boarded a "cruise ship" and Sister Williams and I were the special guest speakers, which was crazy intense. I got to tell them about my knee and a mini mission and how they can be good missionaries to their friends by being an example and also sharing the gospel with them. Sister Williams was able to talk about leaving a scholarship for volleyball and softball behind in Kansas. She told them she was going to serve a mission and they said that she would not hold her scholarship and she chose to come on a mission anyway. 

We are teaching a boy named Norris who is getting baptized this next Saturday. His mom is a member and his dad is not. Norris asked both of his parents to speak at his baptism!!! We think that is exactly what his dad needs to start taking the lessons and learning more about what the rest of his family believes. 

This week has been full of miracles, very intense, but great. I am excited to see the hand of the Lord in the rest of this transfer. My companion and I need to open our mouths and find more people to teach!! 

April 23rd! New companion!

We were able to go to the temple this morning for our Preparation Day! Sister Cluff drove us and we had a blast! Sister Williams is my new companion from Clinton Utah and she has been on her mission for 16 months, so these are her last 2 transfers. She has a twin brother who is serving in the Manchester England mission. She has 6 siblings including her twin brother. 

We are getting haircuts from Sister Dibble today, which is exciting! 

This transfer is so exciting because we have 4 baptisms coming up. Jada is 11 and she is getting baptized this Saturday! Then Brianna is 10 and she is getting baptized on Friday May 1st. A boy named Norris is getting baptized the next day: May 2nd, he's 10 and then Skyler is getting baptized on May 16th, and she is 13. What a great time to be in Newberg, we have so many miracles!!! 

Yesterday we were driving by a diner and Sister Williams told me to pull over because she saw President and Sister Samuelian, so I did. They had taken out 2 sisters from Forest Grove to lunch and they invited us to eat with them too! It was awesome! 

The highlight of this transfer so far has been the Temple! What a blessing to be able to go to the temple! There are over 140 temples all around the world. It is the only place where the rest of the world does not matter! 

April 13th

Wow, it has been two transfers already!! My trainer is leaving me. I get another companion tomorrow and I will find out where Sister Kinneard is leaving next. The other day, we were looking at the interactive pamphlets that the church has and we said that these are the modern day flip charts. 

We have 3 baptisms coming up in the next 6 weeks, very exciting!! I'm not sure I'm ready for Sister Kinneard to leave yet, but we will do whatever the Lord asks of us. If he thinks I am ready, then I am ready. We have seen a lot of miracles lately, and we even saw a rainbow this week!!! 

The guy in the purple shirt is Sandor and he is from Europe and he is in the Newberg 2nd ward! He is one of the best people I have ever met!!

The guy in the blue sweater is our investigator named Quentin! He turned 91 last week! He is amazing and we're sad because he is moving tomorrow!

This is Sister Kinneard and I and Sister Natalie Masse, her parents are "technology" missionaries here in the mission and she just got back from serving a mission in the Philippines!

Selfie!!!