Hello from the white abyss of the Massachusetts Boston Mission!
Hahaha, I'm sure plenty of you have heard about the storms that have pummeled New England over this last week. What I'm not sure you understand is the magnitude of it. I really hope the pictures I send will do it justice.
We were red-dotted for a full 24-hours when "Juno" hit on Tuesday. (Red-dotted means that we're not allowed on the roads with a car. And a severe caution for even leaving the house.) Sister Couto and I spent the day at home, cleaning the house, doing our nails, and staring out of the windows. We're talking crazy snow. I don't know if I've ever seen anything like it! It was fun to watch, but we got restless. There was so much we could have done at the office with Internet, but we were just stuck in the house! Anyway, after a full night, day, and another night of a blizzard, we walked out into a completely new world.
. . . I can't explain this right. You'll just have to look at the pictures below.
Let's see. . . Weekdays are slower. We're working on getting the PVC booked in the middle of the week. But Elder and Sister Vail (from the office) took us to an amazing, authentic Brazilian restaurant. Sister Couto died and went to heaven.
Friday we drove down to Providence for a church tour! I really dislike driving a spaceship through the city, down narrow alleyways and one-way streets with cars parked on both sides, with piles of snow heaped up on every corner so you have to make even WIDER turns. . . trying to find a place to unload the Spaceship was nightmare. The church tour was fun, though! Providence gets a lot of foot-traffic. We spent the night with the Providence Sisters. It was good to see Sister Hyoung again!
Guess where I got to go on Saturday???? CENTRAL FALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My home away from home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so amazing! Jamique was getting baptized, so we brought two of our displays for the baptism. I was nearly in tears the entire time. I loved loved LOVED seeing everyone again. The Lourencos, the Frandsens, the Tanners, Alba. . . Even Elder Garrido came back for the baptism. In fact, he baptized Jamique. :) It was such a beautiful reunion. My heart was so full. He's the last one in his family to make this amazing choice. (He's related to CC and Lovely, if you remember them.)
Also, after the baptism, I was able to see Faith!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of my closest friends from Central Falls. She's the greatest. We met up and caught up and took pictures! I am soooo spoiled to be a PVC sister. I get to see everyone again! :)
I couldn't spend a ton of time there, though, because we had another baptism to attend in Worcester! (Pronounced Wuh-ster. Unless you have a Boston accent. Then it's Wuh-stuh. Don't ask me. . . ) And after all of that, we went home again. Only to have another crazy day on Sunday.
Sunday was fun. I got to see Weston 1st ward again, then we headed back to Worcester for another baptism, set up the displays, and left them there to travel to Foxboro for a recording session! That's right! We have such diversity here in New England, and President wants these videos and displays accessible to everyone! So what do we do when church videos aren't in other languages? We translate them ourselves, of course! :) I like President's attitude. Right now Sister Couto and I are inserting Chinese subtitles into all of the videos. The PVC Sisters in the past have done audio-recordings in Spanish to put the translations into the videos we have.Yesterday we went to the Megquires', where they have a professional recording studio inside their house. The Haitian Creole Elders met us there, along with a Haitian member with a beautiful, rich voice! He was able to record the translation to a couple of our videos. It was so much fun! I loved this experience! We'll be finishing Haitian with him soon, and then we're bringing over a Portuguese speaker with a great voice for MORE translations!
We made it back just in time before storm #2 hit. It's still hitting. We're red-dotted again. This time, though, we braved the storm to walk over to the office. This is ridiculous, how much snow we have. We won't be able to see stop-signs soon, if it continues at this rate.
Anyway, that's my life! Great to hear from everyone!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for being so involved with what's happening over here. I love you all!
Oh, and another shout-out. Stephen is going on his mission on Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think this weekend was the biggest adventure I've had on my entire mission. I could write a book about what happened. My journal is filling up so fast here. . .
I'm going to start at the beginning of my road trip. Road trip. Hard to believe that I actually had one out here in the mission, but there's no other way to describe it! Friday morning Sister Couto and I packed all our bags, jammed the Spaceship full of TVs and displays and cords and tools and poles and stands (that's a workout, let me tell you), then took off!
We actually had a quick stop and met up with Kevin and Katie LaBarge and the Weston Sisters for breakfast on the way out! That was so much fun!!!!!! It was so good to see them again and catch up on life! Not to mention the restaurant was delicious. . . :D Haha, andthen we were out of there. We took the 2 hour drive to New Haven, Connecticut. Wahoo! Sister Couto has this thing where she falls asleep the second we hit the freeway, no matter how hard she tries to stay awake. So usually on the road I'm on my own, singing to myself and whatnot. :) I don't know if we just didn't think things through, but we got to the chapel in New Haven, right next to Yale University, at 1:20. Their open house/church tour was scheduled for 2-6. We had 4 big displays, 3 small displays, and a Book of Mormon round table to set up artistically in a building we'd never set foot in before. Ha. That was soooooo silly of us. Even with the 10+ missionaries who showed up to help, there was no way. And then, of course, everything seemed to go wrong! Poles wouldn't stand up, Apple TVs weren't connecting, the ceiling was too low here, there weren't any outlets there. . . by the time we got everything up and running, it was nearly 3. After that, though, it was so successful!!!
We had a lot of foot traffic in the area (Yale University. . . of course) so despite the cold, we flung open the front doors and nearly all of the missionaries hit the streets, talking to people and inviting them in for a tour! It was amazing! Some members came, some came with friends, but mostly we got those students from the streets. Even many who didn't come inside for a full tour we had great discussions with. And we had eleven people come in and see it all the way through. Eleven. I know we can become more busy than that with more preparation, but think about it. What would a missionary give to have eleven full lessons with non-members in one day? Inside the chapel, nonetheless? That could easily be the best day in a missionary's two years. :)
We stayed later than we had originally intended because we felt bad for being so late. :P Most of the missionaries had to leave, so we took everything down and piled it all in the Spaceship with only two other sisters. Then we had to hit the road again. We were driving to Cape Cod. That's a 3 hour drive. Sheesh. The best part was that we left at 9, then half an hour into the drive we got a phone call from the frantic sisters, saying that we forgot our laptop, Sister Couto's precious camera, and her bag. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So we drove back half-way to meet them and pick it up. Tender mercy we didn't make it all the way to Cape Cod before realizing our mistake. Still. I was so tired, and we made it to the Cape Cod Sister's apartment at 12:30 AM.
They were so kind. I felt so bad for waking them up, but we were out like a light. Good thing, too, because the next morning we had to wake up at 5:30. :P Up again, off to the next part of our weekend adventure! That's when we took the Spaceship onto a ferry. Hahaha! Crazy, right??? It was less scary than I thought. I drove that monster van onto a BOAT, and we just chilled until it reached Martha's Vineyard, a tiny island about 45 minutes away. :) We didn't have a chapel tour there, but we set up our Family History display right along with our Temple display for the island's big genealogy gathering, hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! It was so neat! I was really impressed with how many people from the island showed up, wanting help with their Family History. They had experts and beginners there, lots of displays and pictures and old journals, and lots of computers being used. Our displays fit in ever so nicely, as an easy way to say, "Hey, this is why Mormons love Family History so much!"
We took the ferry back to Cape Cod and spent the night there again! So nice of them. :) The next day we went to their church, packed up, and took off once more! This time for Middletown, Rhode Island. Yeah, three different states in one weekend. Craaaazy. President Packard was doing a fireside on the Restoration there. "What the world knows because of Joseph Smith." He really managed to nail it. I love President! Anyway, we got there really early and set up the displays for anyone who wanted a tour before or after the fireside! Not many people did the tour, but lots of people just looked around and played with the videos. The Book of Mormon round table (with all 92 languages) was a hit, especially for the youth. :) By the time we packed everything up again and hit the road, it was 10:00, and we had another hour and a half drive home.
We made it!!!!!!!!!! As I said, CRAAAAZY weekend. So adventure-full! I really love being a PVC missionary. <3 I can't wait for more adventures! This weekend we get to travel back to Central Falls! I can see Jamique get baptized!!!!
Also, Heavenly Father is really looking out for us. We beat a storm that hit Massachusetts, then made it back before the real blizzard that's hitting us tonight. We're supposed to prepare for no power and to be red-dotted (no driving) for a couple of days. 3 feet of snow, here we go!!!!!!
Love all of you soo much! Good luck to all of my friends who are starting big new chapters in their lives (Stephen, Kori, Cassidy, Tallie. . . and others!)
Thanks for everything. I couldn't do this without you!!!!
I have so much I could tell you. I'm BURSTING with thoughts and feelings and experiences and stories I already have from this first week on my new assignment. I'll try to summarize and just tell you the highlights, hopefully in a way that you can really understand my new responsibilities.
Transfers came fast. I couldn't believe it. Suddenly I was at the Weston Chapel again, with 3 jam-packed bags and a new adventure ahead of me! Transfer meeting was great, as usual. The sad part was saying goodbye to Sister Slater and Sister Platt. That's right, my trainer and my previous companion went home. I'm so excited for them, but it'll be different for them. Besides, it's a reality check. I really don't want time to move so quickly.
I better tell you about my new companion! Sister Couto is amazing! She's beautiful and fun and from Brazil, as I mentioned earlier. She has a truly kind heart, and she's super strong. Not physically or even necessarily in opinions, but in character, if that makes sense. We're easy friends. I'm excited to work with her.
You know that monster van I told you about? Well, everyone calls it the spaceship. :) I was so relieved that I didn't have to drive it home in the dark my first night. Elder Vail, who works in the office, took it for us. But the very next day I watched a video, took a test, and had a mini-driving lesson with Elder Vail. Ha. That vehicle is a beast. I'm already getting used to it, but. . . I'll just have to attach a picture so you'll understand what I'm talking about.
I spent my first day figuring out driving stuff, then we went back to the chapel to take down all of the Portable Displays that had been set up for transfer meeting. I am SO excited! These displays are beautiful, and I learned pretty quickly how to set them up and take them down. It takes awhile, and it's really heavy lugging back and forth from the van into chapels, but there is just something so exciting about it! I'm going to be super strong soon. And technology-savvy. :D
I accidentally left my GPS in Belmont, so we were going off of memory to get home after, driving the spaceship at night. . . Not smart. We got SOOOOO lost. My first night. Elder Vail saved our lives. We were on the phone with him for an hour as he guided us back home. Hehehe! This should be fun. (Don't worry, mom. He also bought us a brand-new, voice-activated GPS. I'm all set now.)
I had my first event on Friday! We were booked to bring our beautiful big "God's Plan" display and our "Temple" display to. . . an adoption party??? Haha, this woman was celebrating because she had finally managed to adopt these four beautiful kids. They were so cute! She invited everyone who had been involved in the long process or that just loved her family. Which meant that the chapel was simply bursting with non-members. Ideal place for us!!!!! If anyone had a question, ("What is this building we're in?" "Four kids??? Why does she want four? Why is family that important to her?" "She mentioned something about . . . sealing her family together. . .") we could say, "Well, we have this video right here that will answer your questions perfectly. . ." and BOOM--the Spirit would be felt as they took a look at our inspired displays and videos. It was so neat!!!
The next day we went to a baptism in Billerica. That, too, was fun! I think I'm spoiled. I get to see the best events around the entire mission. We love going to baptisms, because usually a lot of non-members are there. These videos are aimed toward them, so they understand who we are, what we believe, and why we really truly believe it. The Spirit is always so strong when these videos play. Just so you can kind of get a feel for what I'm talking about, here's one of the videos The PVC Sisters before me have created. This was scripted and voiced by President Packard himself. :)
Okay, last big event! We went to Lynn, MASS to train a ward on who we are, what we do, and how they can most successfully use the Portable Visitor's Center! It was a Spanish Branch, so we brought our Spanish displays, showed them videos, and talked. They loved it! They're so excited to bring us back for a church tour, and they're so excited to share the gospel with all of their friends!
The Portable Visitor's Center is inspired. I know it is! I love it so much. I'll send you some more pictures so you can understand more clearly. Please ask any questions you might have about this! It's so hard to capture exactly what I'm doing, and I'd love for you to love this as much as I do. :)
This week we're working on projects, booking our schedule, and traveling ALL OVER this weekend! Really. . . we're taking a ferry to Martha's Vineyard--a tiny little island in our mission. With our spaceship. And we're going to Connecticut and Rhode Island. . . :D I'm so excited! Prayers of safety would be appreciated!
I'm praying for all of you! Thanks for everything!
So much has happened!!! I can't believe how much can happen in just one week! It has been one of the most incredible, mind-boggling weeks in my entire mission!
I'll have to just tell you the two biggest pieces of information. First of all, President Packard called for an impromptu Zone Conference, so we all drove to the Weston Chapel on Friday. This Zone Conference was called because we had all set another goal after the miracle of November. The goal was to make what had previously been the impossible the norm by getting a baseline of at least 70 baptisms every month until President Packard goes home in July. He sensed that we didn't have the same fire for this goal than we did for the goal of November. He knows more than anyone that we all have to be united in faith and effort and will, 100%, if we're going to accomplish this amazing feat. It seemed to be that the biggest concern in the mission was the worry about the emphasis on numbers. To me it's so clear. It's not about numbers!!!! These are real people we are bringing to Christ. It doesn't matter about the number, really, but the number inspires us to do the best we can to further the Lord's sacred work. President came up with a brilliant solution to the division in opinion, though. It's an obvious one, too. We're already setting monthly goals for new investigators, investigators with baptismal dates, and baptisms. We're going to take these goals and make them even more prayerful and inspired. Every monthly goal that we set already is required to have a name attached to it--it's not a number until President gets the grand total of names at the end of the day. And that grand total, every month, is now officially going to be our respective goal. We're still going to have a baseline of 70, but now these are our names. Our people.
The mission is filled with the fervor we had in November! December and the beginning of January were slower, but somehow being back where we had been after the Lord had given us a taste of His vision is motivating us again now, if that makes sense. We don't want to ever go back to how we were. He's shown us what's possible--we're giving Him everything! I can't wait to be a part of it!
After the Conference, Sister Standerfer and I snagged Sister Packard to talk to her. Sister Standerfer had a question, and was already very emotional. Then Sister Packard put her arm around me, looked at Sister Standerfer, and said, "You are probably going to be losing your companion this transfer. Are you going to be alright?"
We locked eyes. Sister Standerfer put her hands to her heart and her eyes filled with tears. That did it. We both started crying and hugging. Poor Sister Packard was so concerned! But we were so grateful for the warning. I love my companion, but I know the Lord knows best. So yes, my streak of a new companion every transfer lives on.
Are you ready for the big news? We got the transfer texts.
I'm on a special assignment, doing what I've been drawn toward since the beginning of my mission. The Portable Visitor's Center!
Oh my goodness! I'm so excited!!!! This is crazy news! That means I'll be working exclusively with this project, 24/7. This incredible idea that President Packard dreamed up. Do you remember what the Portable Visitor's Center is? I've talked about it in a lot of my previous emails, especially in Central Falls. It's what the church tours were all about. This is something specific to our mission that President Packard dreamed up and is hitting amazing heights. Assuming you understand what it is, here's the skinny. . .
My home base is WESTON 1st WARD, where I started my mission!!!!!!!!!!!! Really, though, I won't be seeing much of it. I'll be traveling around the entire mission, bringing the PVC to baptisms, open houses, firesides, you name it! I'll also be creating videos and displays and interactive activities.
I got a phone call from President Packard last night. He talked to me for about 20 minutes, telling me about his vision and his expectations. I've never felt so daunted in my life. I'm so excited, but I've never had to humble myself like this before. I have NO experience. We have about $100,000 at our disposal, with a vision and free rein. No other mission has this, and Elder Oaks and others are watching it closely. I have full, unflinching confidence that the Lord is more than capable of using me. But I feel completely blind, and I have no idea even where to begin! I'm just praying that I can somehow manage to turn enough of myself over to the Lord where He CAN use me the way He needs to, so my extremely limited knowledge and capabilities don't hinder His great work. I have never had this much tangible responsibility in my life.
My new companion is from Brazil again and speaks limited English. Also, she's beautiful. :) I'm so excited to work with her!
I should get going. Thank you for everything! I wish I could explain the PVC more fully to you, but I will take on that challenge next week, complete with pictures!
I love you!
Love, Sister Merkley MBM Missionary
P.S. I'm the designated driver for the Portable Visitor's Center. I'll be driving the biggest van President says he's ever seen in his life. 15 passengers. Across the whole mission. Pray for me!!!!
Haaaaaaaappy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How was it for each of you? Us? Well, we went to bed at 10:30, the way missionaries do. It was fantastic. :) We also taped up our New Year's Resolutions! I don't really like thinking of them as resolutions, though, because people break resolutions. These are more like promises to God; what we're going to do better, what more we're going to give. President phrases the question we should ask God this way: "What lack I yet?" When we know the answer, we know what more we can do and give to Heavenly Father. The New Year is a perfect time to try this out.
First of all, we have this scripture goal. It's a crazy goal. We've actually been working on it for awhile, but with the New Year, we gave it a deadline and everything. We are memorizing what is happening in every chapter in the Book of Mormon. If that makes sense. So if someone said, "Alma 15", we'd know exactly what was happening in that chapter. We want to do that for every chapter. So far, it's been more successful than we thought! We tackled Alma first, because that's the biggest book. Now we're on Mosiah. It's pretty exciting! Now that I'm matching up all these story-lines I know and love to their respective chapters, I feel like I understand and can navigate the Book of Mormon better! I can't wait to finish this goal on February 21st! I give you full permission to keep us accountable and check up on how we're doing. :)
Let's see. It was kind of a slow week. Lots of people were gone for the holidays. We had our second real snowfall that stuck for one day! And not very many appointments. Trouble is, we're not allowed to knock on doors here. It's considered invasive. And people don't just wander the streets in the middle of January in such a financially stable area. We've also been asked not to stop-by member's homes unless we have called in advance and set up an appointment. Which is difficult. We side-stepped that a bit this week and returned all of the dishes and tubberware and decorations and lights we've accumulated over the Christmas holiday.
Jess and Suzanne (a recent convert and her recently reactivated roommate we spend a lot of time with) had us for dinner twice this week. They're great.
New Years Day we had weekly planning (my favorite), and it ended up being a great day! We sat down and discussed our personal, companionship, and area goals and visions. We're really excited to get going and try to help this area reach the potential it truly has! Now we have a game plan. Get ready. :)
Poor Sister Halloran lost her brother on her way home from visiting him in Switzerland this week. :( We brought her a flower and shared a message about peace. She is a strong, sweet woman.
I think Sunday was the most chaotic and wonderful day of them all! Fast Sundays are the greatest. We fasted for the new mission goals, and every single missionary in the mission bore their testimony in their ward this Sunday. We also taught the 16-17 year-olds again. It's so much fun! We role-played with them! They will make amazing missionaries soon. Sister Standerfer showed them how it's done by teaching me (the investigator) the Word of Wisdom, then the boys taught me Tithing and the girls taught me the Law of Chastity. Pretty good!
That's about all! Sorry it wasn't as exciting of a letter, but hey! This is the work of Salvation. It's the best decision I've ever made, and I'm so blessed to be a part of it!
I love you all. Have a great New Year. And really--I invite you to get on your knees and ask Heavenly Father that question: What lack I yet? Set goals and make promises accordingly. It will bring you blessings!
I certainly had a wonderful, jam-packed week! I can't wait to tell you all about it!
I went on exchanges to the Longfellow Park Wards on Tuesday. The singles' wards. That's an entirely different world, let me tell you! I was with Sister Moss. We had a neat day. Back-to-back appointments are the best, because at the end of the day, when you report to the Lord about what you did with His time, you feel good. :) We taught Bobby, Robert, Leo, Suat, Neliza and Bailey! Leo is this awesome, Russian man who walked into the singles' ward. He reminds me of a dark-haired Steve Martin. We mostly answered his great questions and tried to keep the topic gospel-centered as we passed him off to the Elders. :) I've taught Neliza before. She's been investigating for a long time. Sister Moss and I were bold with her. I love testifying!
Christmas Eve was really unique and a lot of fun! :) Sister Celeste Andrade invited us over for lunch. That was a little scary, because. . . well, she's an older woman that has good intentions, we're sure, but she doesn't take her medication, and she's very unstable. She yells at people a lot. Especially when they try to do nice things for her. But it was Christmas Eve and she had invited us over, so we braved the pouring rain (on Christmas Eve--can you believe it??) and went over there with smiles on our faces! It took her about 20 minutes to answer the door, and another 45 minutes or so to make our food, but she only yelled at us three times! :) And we learned a lot. She showed us some neat things, and she had me play her guitar. Once upon a time she was a very bright individual. I can't wait to meet her like that someday. Point being, I think we brightened up her Christmas a bit, and that's all that matters!
We had dinner with Bishop Cahoon and his family, and acted out the Nativity scene with them. That was fun! When we got home we were super tired, and we crashed an hour early to prep for Christmas!
Christmas was wonderful! We had clear skies and sweet gifts from home and a full day of celebrating the Savior to look forward to! The senior couples in our Zone made us a Christmas brunch, and we had a white elephant gift exchange. :) Then, of course, we were able to Skype! Yaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!!!! I love my family! Lots and lots! Being a missionary certainly makes you appreciate your friends and family more.
Saturday was the greatest. Farah got baptized. Sister Standerfer and I were busy filling the font for a few hours beforehand. That was an adventure. The hot water stopped working, so we were slowly filling the font with freezing water and stressing out. . . We ended up filling six big pots with water and boiling it, then dumping the contents into the font to speed up the process and take the edge off the chill! It was crazy! There's always opposition before a baptism.
Heavenly Father always pulls through, and Farah was baptized! Not only was it flawless, but she was so moved by the Spirit. I remember giving her a hug right after she changed into white, and she cried quietly, thanking me for being her sister and expressing her joy at this beautiful, wonderful day. I just want to promise everyone that there is nothing more joyful than being an instrument in the hands of the Lord to bring His children closer to Him.
We had a touching tender mercy last night. The Pettits are really amazing. We're so blessed to know them and have them in our ward.
I'm grateful for all of you and for the wonderful year 2014 has been. Thanks for helping to shape me into who I am today! I love you!
I hope that this week has been positively wonderful and FESTIVE! I hope you've each had some spiritual moments as you've taken time to remember what Christmas is all about. :) I'm truly humbled to know that my Savior--our Savior--was born in a stable, in a manger, and came into the world to do whatever it took to save each of us.
We had a wonderful week here in Belmont, Mass! Our teaching pool is building, our faith is strengthening, and our experiences are indescribable! There's so much to cover, so I think I'll be more brief and try to hit all the topics!
The famous Clayton Christensen, author of The Power of Everyday Missionaries and 1st councilor in my mission presidency, had us over on Monday night with Ajit! Ajit is the Indian potential we rake leaves for. He's awesome! And he's so in awe of President Christensen. All three of us were really humbled to be in his home for a lesson. It was a neat experience! The Christensens are a brilliant, wonderful family. I'm so blessed to have them in my ward!
Farah! Oh my goodness! So much has happened with her! She's our investigator from Iran. It's a crazy story. She grew up Muslim, had a vision of Christ, and became Christian. She fled her country, leaving behind her children to come here to America and escape the consequences of her actions. She doesn't know English very well, so she speaks Farsi. She feels as though she has been brought by God to our church, and she has faith to move mountains! This woman is amazing. She set her own baptismal date for the 27th. But there's a couple of problems. First of all, we have no idea how much of the lessons she truly understands. We have a translator who has a tendency to filter. Also, we have to make sure she's cleared to be baptized by our mission presidency, due to her unusual circumstances. AND there's a crazy, overly dramatic problem about it between the two wards (1st and 2nd) because they both want her baptized into their ward. Of course there's a clear boundary line, but she's moving and fellowshippers (friends) are more concentrated in one ward and there's this silly rivalry. . . Huh. This is the work of salvation. We all have the same goal. Let's just work together, shall we?
So anyway, that's been fun. And intense. And hectic. :) :) :)
We did service at Beech Street (the old folks' place) during their Christmas lunch. Holy moly! Lots and lots of people! And we wore Santa hats and frantically served all of these sweet old people for a couple hours. Thankfully we had help from the local high school. They made me feel old. . .
Suzanne and Jess made me this marvelous belated birthday dinner! Breakfast for dinner, my favorite! Jess makes the best Eggs Benedict!
FRIDAY was the BEST day of them all!!!!! We had our Christmas Conference! Sister Standerfer and I had been in charge of decorating, because everyone came up to our chapel. It was GORGEOUS! Gold tablecloths, red pointsettas, tea lights. . . I'll have to just show you the pictures. We were proud of us. :) Half of our mission was assigned to Friday. We started off the day by going to the temple right above our chapel. Absolutely beautiful. And amazing! After that and a break for lunch, we headed in for the Conference itself!
I wish I could explain how amazing it was! The Packards spoke and inspired us again! President Christensen got up and talked for nearly an hour, and he touched our hearts, too! Then amazingly talented missionaries performed song after song for us. The program was phenomenal. Sister Hyoung, world-renowned pianist, played for us. We had a soprano sax and an organist and some violins and flutes and a few killer voices. The spirit was so strong.
After, we had the BEST dinner, and every zone played the video of their Christmas skit. It's a tradition. ;) It was SO funny! Ours was epic; I'll have to send it home at some point. :D They put together a video with our pictures in it, and we all got key chains and packages from home. . .! It was so amazing. Best Christmas ever. And somehow the unity and the closeness with Christ made all the difference.
For me, the best part was getting to reconnect with a bunch of people I have come to love! The Tanners were there (the senior couple from Central Falls) and we got to catch up. Sister Chadwick and Sister Slater were there, along with Elder Garrido and Elder Fish. . . ! These missionaries have inspired me and helped shape my entire mission experience. It was so good to see them again.
Quick jump to Sunday--probably the most hectic day I've had in Belmont. You try handling two overlapping wards, two ward councils, 8 stob-bys, two investigators to see, and two dinners. That is all.
This is getting long, so I'll just end by telling you that this was a wonderful week, and I'm looking forward to a wonderful Christmas! I love you all. Don't forget why all of this matters. The gospel has blessed my life in countless ways--I wouldn't be anywhere near what I am today without it.
