August 13, 2012 - Transferred!

Well it's been a crazy, but good week.  

 

First off, I'm now in Memorial West.  It's an English ward.  I'm really excited for a new experience.  The Bilingual area was cool, but this will be full English.  We'll see how much Spanish I keep :)  

 

My new companion is Sis. Peck.  She's from Bountiful, and has three brothers and sisters.  She goes home when I do, so it's been a fun week.  Our transfers were a little crazy because Sis. Peck's companion didn't get put on the transfer list, so they weren't at transfer meeting.  I had to be companions with the other sister's new companion until we could drive up to the apartment and pack all her stuff.  It was kinda crazy!  

 

My new area was part of a van area, so we get to drive around a mini van.  There had been two sets of elders serving in the same ward, and they were both bike areas, so on P-days they had to pick up all the missionaries to do shopping and stuff.  But they consolidated the areas, so now there is just one companionship, so we only have to give them the van when they need it.  It's kinda weird being a missionary and driving a mini-van, but it's kinda fun at the same time!

 

We've got a few people to teach here, and a couple of really good recent converts that we are still working with.  We are always looking for more people, and we are really focusing on working with less actives.  

 

Sounds like everything is crazy with school coming up and what not.  

 

The weather is definitely getting cooler.  It's weird to think that summer's almost over.

It is still ridiculously humid though...and I'm still not used to it.  (I am missing the nice ocean breeze though!)

 

Well, I don't think there is much else going on, we just keep on working!

Love you lots!

Amber

August 6, 2012

Well, today our transfer calls came....

and I'm being transfered!

 

I'm excited to go see a new area, and I will most likely be heading up to the city! I'm going to miss the island though.

 

But I'm a little sad to leave some of our investigators, as usual.  This week, we've been working with one of our Spanish investigators.  He asks a ton of questions, usually good ones, and is reading in the Book of Mormon.  Also, he really likes coming to church.  He said before he met with us, he would hope that someone would call him with some work for him to do, but now, he hopes that no one calls him so he can come to church!  Plus, he's getting to be friends with the members that we bring over.

 

We have also really been focusing on the less actives of the area, using the new finding method!  It's pretty fun!  Plus missionaries are a lot less scary when they are asking and showing that they care about someone's neighbor.  So people are generally a little bit nicer. 

 

We also started teaching this cute 18 yr old.  Her dad sent the missionaries over.  After we had taught her, and answered some of her questions, we invited her to say the prayer.  And it was so awesome.  One of the most sincere prayers I've ever heard from an invesigator.  We are really excited for her.  

 

We've been working more and more every day, just working on getting back to full strength, although I'm not reallly allowed to ride a bike right now, so we've been in the car a lot.  Which is good for my tummy, just not the best way to do missionary work in Galveston.

 

It's been really hot, but I think it's mostly the humidity that is killing me.  And I guess it isn't as bad as it was last year, so I'm just counting my blessings.  

 

Well, I think that's about it for now!

Love you all lots!

Amber

July 30, 2012

I can't believe that July is basically gone.  It's crazy how time flies!

 

Well, since last week we had our first interviews with Pres. Ashton, and he told us to find new people by going to the recent converts, less actives, part member families, and young single adults.  So we've been doing a little bit of looking to find all these people in our 2 wards.  But it's totally working.  We are finding people that would normally tell us no in the street, or even if we knocked their door, but because we're asking about their neighbors it gives us something else to talk about.  

 

We've started teaching a less active sister who just moved here a few weeks ago, but had been bringing her boyfried to a different chapel.  They got confused on which building they needed to attend.  But we were able to stop by and see them this week.  She really wants to come to church, and he is very open to reading the Book of Mormon and finding out if it's true.  Things are just starting to pick up, and we've got some really good investigators right now, but we are still doing a lot of looking.  Only now our looking is a lot more successful.  So that's good.

 

I feel like there is more to talk about, but I can't reallly think of anything.  Looking for people in this new way is really about all we've done this week. Although we also got to eat with English members this week.  Which is always fun.  Mexican food sure is tasty, but I think we get a little more variety with the English members.  Plus some members like to make the missionaries their guinea pigs when it comes to new dishes.  

 

Well....I love you all!

I guess if I think of something else I'll let you know, but that's it for now.

Love, Amber

Julyl 23, 2012

Well, things are going good here in Galveston.

 

We've got a couple of really good investigators right now.  Although we found out today that our "Sunday miracle" is moving to Boston.  So we'll try to get the missionaries up there to teach her.   But we had some more Sunday miracles yesterday.  We finally got to teach an investigator from the English area that had been out of town for the past few weeks or so.  We had a really good lesson with him yesterday.  He remembered a lot of what the sisters had taught him over two months ago.  Then, we went to teach an investigator that the elders had been teaching, until he moved into our area.  We've been trying to sit down and teach him, and we had taught one lesson to his friend,  but his roommate decided to sit in on the lesson as well.  So our teaching pool about doubled yesterday!

 

It has been pretty hot and humid down here.  The only upside is that there is almost always a breeze in Galveston.  And we've had a hard time finding people this week.  There aren't a lot of people outside, and there aren't a lot of people home when we knock doors.  I think there are a lot of homes in our area that are beach homes or vacation rentals, so a lot of those people aren't interested.  And the two places where people congregate here are the two places we can't go: the beach, and the cruise terminal.  But we will keep on looking for people. 

 

Our zone conference with Pres. Ashton last week was really good!  He basically picked up where Pres. Saylin left off, and then taught us the next step to being better missionaries, and how to better study the scriptures.  It was really cool!  Then we got to say hello, and introduce ourselves to him and Sis. Ashton.  Tomorrow we will have our first interviews with him.  There haven't really been too many changes yet.  But I'm sure that some are on their way!

 

We haven't done much more than bike around, talk to people, and try to find some lessons.  We're going through a bunch of former investigators,  trying to go to places that we don't usually go in our area, but we mostly just hang out on bikes in the sun.

 

Well....I can't think of any thing else to say...It's been a kinda slow week.

Love you lots!

Amber

July 16, 2012

Hello everyone!!!!!

Thanks for the birthday wishes.  It ended up being a pretty good birthday.  We still have birthday cake sitting on our counter.  We made the cake you sent, and my district leader made me a cake as well...so we have been eating a lot of cake!

 

I got everyone's packages.  All the shirts fit good.  And they will all work.  The new purse works as well.  

 

Our zone meeting last week was very good.  It was a little bit different than the other ones.  It was still focused on how to be good missionaries, but we didn't do any practicing, and the meeting schedule was just a little different.  All of the Saylin's kids spoke to us, and the Pres and Sis Saylin spoke as well.  We then ate lunch with them, took a picture, and got to say one last goodbye.  It was an amazing meeting.  Pres Ashton flies in today.  We are really excited for them to come!

 

The wedding pictures look way cute!  It looks like everyone had a great time.  

 

This week the work has been kinda slow.  We had to drop a few investigators, and we couldn't get in touch with a lot of them.  Plus we weren't feeling like we were finding anybody who was super interested in the gospel.  But on Sunday, some of the Spanish members had brought their niece with them, and asked us to sit with her during class and Sacrament Meeting.  We also had a dinner appointment with some English members yesterday.  The sister is actually the daughter of the Spanish members, so the parents and the niece were at dinner.  We taught her an amazing first lesson, with the help of the family.  She had been meeting with missionaries in Mexico for like three years, and really likes the church.  We set a baptismal date with her, and she even asked us if we could do it sooner.  

 

She has definitely been the miracle of the week.  We get excited everytime we think about how we get to teach her.  We haven't had too many other lessons this week. We tried a few new people, but it doesn't look like much potential there,  and we have one Spanish investigator who is making some progress, but isn't progressing incredible quickly or anything.  This week we were finally able to figure out his doubt.  So it's been nice being able to teach to resolve that doubt rather than just teach, hoping that we aren't making him anymore confused.  We've just been doing a lot of talking to people, and trying to stay out of the rain.  The rain has been absolutely nuts this last week.  It would just pour in the morning, all through our studies, and even lunch.  But then, right as we were getting ready to head out to work, the rain would let up.  So it's been cooler this week, and not as ridiculously hot as it was before, but it's been really, really, wet.  There are still puddles in the street from all the water.  

 

We've got another zone conference this week, to meet the Ashtons, and we will have interviews with him soon.  We are starting the fourth week of the transfer.  It's weird to think that this transfer is halfway over.  An when it's over, I will be halfway done with my time in Texas.  It is a little crazy to think about.

 

Well...I can't think of anything else to say.  Other than our miracle on Sunday, work wise it's been kind of a dull week.

 

Love you lots!

Hope you get to Texas safely!

Amber!

July 9, 2012

Happy Wedding Week Everybody!

I can't decide whose week is going to be busier, yours or mine!  

 

Today we have zone activity, so that should be fun, as well as special zone conferences.   Plus next Monday is when Pres. Ashton will get here, so we've got a few more meetings planned out for this month.  

 

This week has been pretty good.  We had zone meeting this week, which is always fun.  July 4th was an intersting work day.  We had been given permission to do our last hour of studies at 8:00 rather than in the morning, if we would find it too hard to go out and work with all the festivites.  But because it was a holiday, there were plenty of people to talk too.  And we were able to schedule some appointments that night, but they were both Spanish appointments, because Hispanics don't really celebrate the Fourth of July.  But the next day, there was absolutely nobdoy in the street, and all of our appointments fell through, we even had a member to come with us.  

 

Last night was the special investigator devotional.  Once a month the zone has a devotional where recently baptized members can share their testimonies and experiences with investigators of the church.  We had two investigators (one Spanish and one English) who came.  It was really good and they really liked it.  Plus, we got asked to find someone to do the special musical number, but our member was unable to help us at the last minute, so we sang.  It was a little nerve racking.  I much prefer sitting behind the piano where I don't have to look at people, but I think we did ok.  (I couldn't just sit behind the piano and make my companion sing all by herself!)

 

I think even crazier than Brenna getting married is that I will be turning 23 this week.  Still not sure if I'm ok with that.  It's too old.  Plus it's weird to think that if I hadn't gotten sick that I would be flying home tomorrow.  (not that I'm bitter about having a few more months in the mission, just that it's weird that my MTC companions are coming home.)  

 

We're still getting things figured out as we work on combining the areas.  It seemed like all the English investigators just fell off the face of the earth.  I think with it being a holiday and all there were a lot of people who were out of town, or super busy, or had family, or whatnot.  So I can't tell you about any of them.  

 

We've got one real solid Spanish investigator though.  He really likes coming to church, and came to the devotional last night.  Plus, he has a million questions for us everytime we go over there.  We're still working on answering them all.

Well....I can't really think of anything else.  

 

Hope everything goes well this week!

Love, Amber