Week 19

Hey everyone!  I hope you all had a great week!  This week wasn't all too exciting for us.  On Monday we needed to get a new tire because we had a crack in the wall so that was fun to wait for while writing letters!  Then we tried to see people but didn't have any lessons that night.  Then Tuesday we went to another car shop to get our brakes looked at because they sounded awful.  I don't know cars, but I could tell something was wrong.  So they "adjusted" it for 3 hours then as we left we heard the terrible noise again.  So then Wednesday we had District Meeting that went well, then were able to have two lessons with less-active members in the ward.  Then Thursday we had exchanges and I was able to stay in our area which was fun, but we had to go in to the mission home to find out I had received a speeding ticket, then we talked to Elder Williams about the car, then was told we needed to take it to Toyota.  So then we needed rides from members to dinner then to an art walk in downtown Scottsdale.  So at the Art Walk, we just walked around looking at some of the art and trying to talk to everyone and anyone that would listen to us!  We talked to many different people and one we were able to give a Book of Mormon to.  We were talking to him about the gospel and brought up the Book of Mormon and said "can I have one?" then right after said "I can't believe I just asked for one" haha it was funny.  The spirit talks to everyone!  It's a fact!  ;)  Then we walked home and talked to another man along the way who thinks that the LDS church is a business.  I get such a good laugh out of all of these comments!  Then Friday was AMAZING!!  We were able to meet with Maria because we had seen her Thursday and set up a return appointment.  We brought a member with us who had gone to the first lesson about 4 months ago.  So in the beginning, she said she had decided she wasn't going to be baptized anymore (she has been baptized into 3 different churches).  Then as we listened to her concerns and understood what she wasn't understanding.  So after resolving her concerns, Sister Krutsch was able to invite her to be baptized and she said YES!!!  We were so excited!!  She said "and I'm going to do it the right way this time" because we had explained the priesthood authority. Well, that was all great until she didn't come to church on Sunday so we don't know what will happen....we hope that everything is okay.  Then Saturday we drove an hour and a half up to Payson for a baptism that Sister Krutsch had been a part of teaching.  It was a great baptism and I felt very fortunate to be able to participate in it!  Then Sunday was rough because like I said, Maria didn't come to church and some of our less-actives didin't come either.  But We are still hoping for those miracles to come around the corner!  I hope you all are able to feel daily strength from our Father in Heaven who loves us all so very much!  I hope you all have a great week!

Our Zone

Sister in our Apartment

Week 18

This week wasn't too exciting, but there were some miracles, don't you worry!  Wednesday we had a great Zone Conference!  President Sweeney first talked about not worrying about being a "robot missionary" and that if you really want to be a rebel in this world, be good.  That is sooo true!  Don't worry if you are a "molly mormon" or whatever.  You're going to be more individual being exactly obedient than just going with the flow!  We also talked about not worrying about being in a certain calling in a missionary leadership position.  He said that we all have special callings because we are set apart to be missionaries!  We also took a behavior quiz of sorts that told us what our natural nature was and I am a blue in case you are all wondering.  That means I'm responsible, a listener, etc. I don't remember but it was fun!  Then President and Sister Sweeney talked about how we can use these natural gifts that we have been given to try to contact people on the street which we call TTI which is Teach Testify Invite.  So that was exciting!  I personally gained more motivation to go out proselyting and TTIing and being able to use my strengths to talk to people about the church.  Thursday was a long day of knocking on doors and we also had a Zone Training meeting which was good.  We learned about how to teach simply and it was just really good.  All of it made me just want to get out and teach so many people!  And we're going to get so many poeple-miracles are on the horizon!!  Then Friday we met with Nyla...just please pray for Nyla and Jeff Cramer.  Long story short, they just need some prayers.  So please and thank you!  And we were also able to help a less-active member move some boxes to her truck because she has a bad leg and can't do it all on her own!  We also went out to TTI Friday around 5 and boy....President Sweeney was right about going at 4 because you have to catch them before they get drunk!  But some nice men said hi to us then left once they saw our tags ;)  Saturday we also went out to TTI at an art festival that they were having that day!  We met a couple of members there and also talked to a man who has studied the mormon religion and then talked to his wife and invited them both to the Mesa Easter Pageant!  It was a fun afternoon!  Then Sunday we had a great ward conference on missionary work (my favorite topic ever)  so that was a great Sunday!  And no, no investigators came to church but fun story: A young man walked in after sacrament meeting and walked past us with earphones in and coffee? and dressed really casually.  He ended up talking to some members asking if a congregation met there.  They said no, it had just ended, but there was a Young Single Adult ward that meets at 1 in our building so he could go there!  We are not sure what happened there, but hopefully he went back or comes back next week!  I hope you all catch the wave of missionary work!  It is just so exciting!  I love you all and hope you have a great week and talk to ONE person about the church!  :)

Week 17 - A new companion :)

This week was quite exciting! Surprise I'm training!! Haven't even hit 4 months! :/  So Tuesday we did our studies then we stopped by to see Meiwan to help her pack because she moved on Friday :(  All is well though because she will be baptized soon enough!  then we went to a less-active's house to maybe help her with organizing her kitchen, but instead just visited with her and in the meantime got a call from President Sweeney letting us know that Sister Fairbanks would be going to Mesa to be a co-STL with Sister Cole and that Sister Krutsch (crooch) would be coming here from Payson and I would be training her.  And this all went down Wednesday at 1, so we really didn't have too much of a warning, so we went around to different people that Sister Fairbanks wanted to say goodbye to, which was sad.  Then we came back early to let her pack.  Then Wednesday we were able to go to a session at the Mesa temple.  It was such a great experience!  There were a lot of missionaries that went, including some from the Mesa mission, but it was fun especially because it was my last time with Sister Fairbanks!  Then we stopped by Meiwan's because she wanted to give us notebooks for our missions to write down our addresses for people ;)  Then we went to the mission home to switch companions around.  Once we got home, we unpacked then went out to dinner and to contact people and ended up at the Peterson's because I just love them so much and they always answer the door ;)  Then Thursday we had District Meeting that was really good and we learned more about being more in tune to the Spirit to let us know what exactly to say to our investigators.  Then Friday we saw Heather again which was so exciting!  We talked to her some more about how interested she is in learning more, and she keeps her Book of Mormon out and will read the assignment I gave her a few days ago.  She is having a hard time convincing her husband to listen to us because he wants to find a Christian church to go to......yup.  But she is very open and was interested in going to a relief society activity that we have coming up!  Then we also visited another less-active who has many hurt feelings from a bad divorce that ties into the church, but we had a great visit and were able to start a good relationship with her!  Then Saturday Sister Krutsch wasn't feeling too great so we stayed inside all day while she slept for most of the day!  So I crocheted while listening to the Book of Mormon!  Then Sunday we had meetings and church, which no one came to :( but that's okay because that just means that miracles are on the horizon!  then we saw some less-actives last night, one of them being a 17-year-old young woman that a few months ago was mad at her dad for dragging to church events, but has recently been asking her dad when certain activities were. So we had a great conversation with her!  So this week has been a little crazy!  But I LOVE being a missionary!  I just love being able to share my testimony all day everyday with so many different people!  I hope you are all jumping on board in this wonderful work!  I love you all and hope that you all have a great week!   Oh and those who are curious, my companion is 24 years old, has gone to a couple of years of college, and is from Springville!  I love her to death already and we have known each other for 5 days!  :)

 Rachel and Sister Fairbanks at the Mesa Temple

 Rachel and Sis. Fairbanks with  Meiwan

new companion Sis. Krutsch (crooch)

Week 16

This week has been a little slow, but it has still been a good week!  On Monday we were able to have a lesson with a recent convert that went very well!  Then on Tuesday we brought a member out with us to try to have a lesson with someone, but no one would open their doors, even though we could see them through their windows.  Then we had a lesson with a less-active lady who said at the end that she feels she is almost ready to talk to the bishop which is a huge step from where she was!  She has been hurt by people in the church and has held it against the church, but her heart is slowly softening!  Then we took out a young woman in our ward who wants to serve a mission, and we tried to contact more people without success, so we ended up at the Peterson's who are very reliable!  We had a great lesson with them!  Then Wednesday we had District meeting and we were asked to do a training on how the Book of Mormon supports the Bible!  We had a fun time preparing for that and had a good training in the end!  We had a lot of participation and were able to learn more about how to help our investigators!  Then we saw Meiwan and had a short lesson with her, and she told us again that she doesn't want to meet with any other missionaries, but wants to meet with us at a member's home in our area.  We hope that we will be able to persuade her to open up to the new missionaries in her new home!  Then we had dinner with a new couple in our ward and had a great time getting to know them better, then saw another member and were caught up on different things that we needed to know about recent converts and other members, then we saw a less-active man whose daughter actually went to young woman's that night!  We were excited because she really wanted to go which hasn't been the case for a long time!  Then Thursday I was in bed for 3 hours with a migraine, then got up to go to a lesson with a less-active and her new visiting teacher!  Before we went to the lesson, we picked fresh sweet peas from her garden and put them in a vase to give to the lady we were going to see!  Then we saw Don later that night then came home so I could rest.  Then Friday we saw Nyla and had a good conversation with her!  Then we had dinner and saw another less-active member who was very tired, so we made it short and sweet, then went home.  Then Sunday we were able to go to the Gilbert Temple dedication broadcast at our building!  It was very good and sweet President Monson was so funny as usual!  And before going inside after putting on the mortar, he had 4 children come up to put mortar on the cornerstone!  It was very cute!  Then we came home and I slept again until dinner then a fireside that we had with Stephanie Meyers!  We sang in a missionary choir so we had to be a little early, and I was able to see Sister Heap!  So that was exciting!  And the fireside was very good and Stephanie's testimony was wonderful and it was just a great experience!  So this week has been good!  I love being a missionary during this time!  I hope you are all being wonderful examples in everything you do!

Comfy clothes on P-day !