Week #21

This week... was awesome. Hooray!!! I love it here. It's so different from Issaquah and it is exactly the change I needed. My new companion and I get along great! Which is awesome. She has only been here for 1 transfer longer than me and sisters haven't been in this area forever so we're figuring things out together. It's funny because we have certain areas that our bishop told us to avoid at night. Ha! We have some sketchy parts here. I think it's funny.

 

Our apartment overlooks the water which is so cool! I have no idea where anything is and I'm all turned around so truthfully I don't know what I'm looking at but it's way sweet anyway. The view makes up for the apartment. We live in a freaking shoe box! It's a one-bedroom apartment and probably the smallest thing ever. We don't even have a full size fridge! There is no dishwasher and no garbage disposal either. Apparently I was living the high-life in Issaquah.

 

But it really is great here. We pick up food from members almost every night of the week so that has been not so great. Everybody seems to think the sisters are running out of treats! We are NOT! But the ward is great. The bishop likes to have the missionaries involved with everything they do so we go to most activities and the sisters are active members of young women. They have 5 young women!!! So crazy. They had a trunk-or-treat that we got to go to, which was really cute. Then, at church on Sunday.... Oh my gosh. The people here!!! They are so liberal!!! The lesson in Relief Society turned into a debate on gay marriage. The ladies that were speaking seemed to think that once we got some 'new blood' into the leadership that gay marriage would be allowed. Yikes.

 

As far as the work goes, we have a ward of almost 500 people and maybe 150 are active so there is lots of work to do! We are just trying to figure things out. We did have a lesson with a less-active who has started coming back to church which is awesome! But during the lesson, i don't know what it was but I totally fell asleep! Hahaha it was hilarious. Thankfully she is going blind and deaf so she had no idea...

 

Anyway, i think that's it! Halloween should be interesting. Our Zone Leaders said we were going out to proselyte?! But we couldn't figure out if they were kidding or not.. Regardless of that, Sister Boyd and I will probably be spending the night at a member's. Our area is too sketchy to be out!! Okay. I think that's all now.

 

I love my Savior and I know he is there! I am soooo incredibly blessed and I know it all comes from Him. The church is true!

 

Sister Brian

Week #20

BIG NEWS!!!! I got transferred!!! I totally knew it was coming though. You just get this gut feeling. But I was so ready for it. I love the people in Issaquah but I really needed to get out of my first area. And other big news.... I'm in downtown Seattle! I can't wait!! My companion is Sister Boyd and from the first 20 minutes I've been with her she seems really cool. She is from Texas. I am really interested to see all the people in this area! And Pike Place and everything cool is here so we can explore on pdays :)

 

So. That was the most exciting thing this week. But we did have Elder Paul Johnson from the seventy come and speak to us. That was cool. He is a really nice guy and talked to us about remembering that we are in our specific areas and places for a reason. It was cool.

 

This week was a really good week for me personally. I finished counseling! I'm still slightly embarrassed that I had to go see her but she helped a lot so I got over that really fast. When I first went to see her, I had to fill out a bunch of papers rating my feelings and stuff like that. The results came back that I was depressed. So we kept meeting over the whole transfer and when I went to my last appointment she said I had come leaps and bounds from where I was before. That made me happy. Not that I love my mission (yet) I still can't say that... Everyday is still really hard but it's gotten much better. I've totally realized the power of prayer this past week. My Heavenly Father knows me!!! And he listens! I say about a hundred prayers a day. No joke. Any time I feel myself start to think of home I just say a little prayer to help me focus and pretty much instantly I feel so much better. Prayer WORKS! I still struggle but I know my Heavenly Father loves me and doesn't want me to hate my mission so he has given me so much peace. That has been the most amazing blessing. I still feel like I have a million years left to serve but I know I can do it!

 

So this week was good :) Thank you so much for the love and support. I love you all!!!!

Lunch with Holland (and Whitney)

Week #19

I love you guys!! It sounds like fall break was pretty fun. And pretty cool you married some people too, Dad. A temple wedding is still where I'm aiming for so that's good. I hope California is fun for the both of you! Sorry this isn't exciting I just want to say that I love you both so much!

Good Times....

Eating Asian food with the Asian companion (Sister Lee)

Apparently they see this all the time!

Ice cream from some members!

Last day with Sister Monks----their first and last meal together was Taco Bell!

Week #18

Another joyous week in Issaquah! This time no sarcasm!! We found 3 new investigators!!!! It was a dang miracle I tell you!!!! 

One lady is named Joyce and we found her tracting. (who'd have thought?) She just moved her but we taught her the restoration and she said she'd pray to know if it was all true! We asked to come back this week but she said she just moved and it's a transition time for her and her family so she doesn't want to rush into any decisions so we're going back next week. We're crossing our fingers that everything works out.

The next is a lady named Debbie. We met her going to visit a member and she was having a hard time so we prayed with her and talked about the Book of Mormon a little bit. We asked if we could come back and teach her more and she said yes!

The last lady was so awesome.. We were visiting a less-active member (her husband) and he was busy so she invited us in and basically just opened right up and told us her whole story. She was an alcoholic but is sober now because she found a higher power. She said she felt something was missing and she filled it with faith. She told us we could come back and teach her about our gospel so we're hoping it fills what is missing in her life even more! Her name is Carise.

So conference was AMAZING!! It was so interesting watching it as a missionary. We had to watch it in the Stake Center with all the other missionaries so there was no way I was falling asleep. All the sessions went by so fast that I was bummed there wasn't more! I couldn't pick my favorite because they were all so amazing! President Packer's talk particularly stuck out to me though. 

OH!! It was Salmon Days in Issaquah this week. We live right by a river so there is a Salmon Hatchery right here and every year for 2 days they just celebrate the salmon I guess. They close off streets and there are booths and tents and games and rides everywhere. It's like the fair a little bit. It was fun but there were some crazies there. Good food though? Hahaha. 

What else... OH!! Umm it's a miracle I'm not dead yet. Seriously. Sister Lee just one day took the liberty of driving and holy cow it was the sketchiest thing ever. I've been getting a lot of headaches lately and I decided it was whiplash. If there was an award for best driver.... It would not go to her. 

I think that about wraps up my week. Thank you so much for everything! Love you all!!!