Sister Emily Hawkins' Mission: December 6, 2010 Email

Hey Mom,

Well this last week was fun because we got to go to Houston, Texas and spend the night at the mission home again! And boy that was lots of fun! It was funny on the way down to Houston. Sister Brosnahan was driving and she got pulled over. But when the lights came on we were not in a good spot to stop and it looked like the cop told us to keep going. Well that is not what he wanted us to do!!! So he came on the speaker and told us to turn off the car and to have Sister Brosnahan drop the keys on the ground outside and to have her hands out the window. And she had taken off her seatbelt to stick her head out the window to see if we needed to move forward and so she was trying to hurry and put her seat belt back on and the police man yelled and told her to keep her hands out the window. I put my hands in the air so he could see them through the car. He came up to the car and said, "What in (Blank) name are you doing?" "You just go and keep going?" We told the officer that we didn’t know where it was safe to stop and it looked like he wanted us to move up more. He was like, “No!” He wanted both of our ID's and I told him we are not from around here. And he was like, “Ya, I can see that!” So he went back to his car and we just didn’t know why he pulled us over. He soon came back and told us he was gonna give her a warning and that she just got out of a $750.00 ticket! Why he pulled her over was because she didn’t slow down enough when we past him on the freeway. He was done pulling over somebody and we couldn't go in the other lane because there were cars there. So he was just being a grumpy cop with no Christmas spirit. LOL. But it was so intense. I was truly scared! But it was funny too. Sister Brosnahan is my second companion to get pulled over because Sister Smith got pulled over too and she got a warning! I just thought it was funny. So who knows when my next companion I get might get pulled over too! It was funny when we showed up at the mission home. We told the story and everybody just laughed.

It was so pretty at the mission home with their beautiful Christmas tree. I took a picture with me by it and then one with Sister Brosnahan and with another Sister, Sister Mapa! I'll try to send ya some pictures today.

The Sisters training was really good this last week. I learned so much. I learned about Emma and how much of a strong woman that she is and how many hard things she went through with Joseph Smith! I truly look up to Emma and Joseph. I just have a very strong testimony about those two and how they endured so many things and how they had such strong faith in the Lord. I love watching clips about them and movies that we get to watch. Like there is a Doctrine and Covenants movie and clips Sister Smith got from her parents and it has cool movies on there about Joseph and Emma that we can watch with the members or our investigators! I just have such a strong testimony of them. I know this might sound corny, but I look up to Joseph and Emma Smith and the love they had for each other and how their marriage was so strong! I hope and pray that my marriage can be strong like Joseph and Emma's was. But that day will come after the mission! But it's so true of how they are such great examples of enduring to the end and going through so many trials of losing children and having people tar and feather Joseph and how everyone was so mean to them. They are just such cool and amazing people to learn about and to help your testimony grow so much!

I learned in Proverbs 31 of women and how special we are and how we are such great examples to the Elders and how the Elders look up to us. But I look more up to the Elders for leaving their family and their home life when they are 19, heck we leave when we are older. They are still just teenagers. I got a letter from Tom Bird and he talked about the Elders and of how they are preparing themselves for the future and how they are practicing there priesthood for their future families. And it's true. I've received two blessings from Elders on my mission and I'm helping them prepare themselves for their families. I just look up to them so much because they have lots of responsibility. They have the priesthood and they work and are preparing to be the head of the house hold. It's just amazing how they do so much! They are pretty cool Elders in my mission. They are so willing to help us Sisters if we are in need. Like Sister Brosnahan told me a story of how she was really sick one night and the Elders came at three in the morning to give her a blessing. How cool is that for the Elders to get up when they are so tired from a long day of work serving the Lord to go give Sister Brosnahan a blessing? I just think that is so neat!

Well in the mornings lately I have been reading from the General Conference Ensign and boy the talks are so good! I just love reading from them and I am learning lots and remember hearing the talks at church where I watch it at. I just love the stories and the advice they give us to help better prepare ourselves for this life and to have us become more like Jesus Christ. I also have been doing a lot of reading from the Book of Mormon. I'm really trying to finish it before the end of the year because President Moldenhauer told us last week that we are starting fresh on January 1st. So you and dad need to do that too like I am going to be unless I finish it then. But man by reading the Book of Mormon everyday I am totally seeing the story line and how everything is fitting together. It's so cool! I wonder what President is going to be having us look for in the scriptures next year!

Oh, before I forget, this last week after our Zone meeting, which was really cool and I will tell ya'll about in a bit, we went with our District Leader Elder Serdar and his companion Elder Brown to this guy’s house who just loves Sister Missionaries. His name is Dog … well he likes to be called Dog because he is half Indian. Anyways, we went to go see him and he is pretty cool. He lives in Lake Charles and he loves the missionaries and he gives the missionaries names so like for Sister Brosnahan, she got the name Moriah and he named me, are you ready for this … “Lady Bird." Cool uh, I love it!! So it's kind of an Indian name for me! Plus I like it because it goes with my last name. He named me that because he loves my smile. He said I have a pretty smile and when we left that day he told me he likes my hair too. It was fun visiting with him. He is an old man that doesn’t get out much and he is less active in the church. But it's cool because he has names for all the missionaries he meets and he still knows all the missionaries he has met by the names he gives them. He likes Sister Missionaries I think because they converted him to the Church and he has pictures of past Sister Missionaries and so Sister Brosnahan and I need to get one to him of us to put on his wall of missionary pictures. He has a couple pictures of Elders too! It was a fun visit and to finally meet Dog because all the Missionaries would talk about him so I finally go to meet him!

But hmm what else? Oh yeah the Zone Meeting! The meeting was good. We got to watch a clip from my favorite movie ever!!! "The Best Two Years" and we saw the part that is so spiritual in that movie where Elder Rogers is telling the guy about Joseph Smith. Our Zone Leaders told us to think about why we are out here and what is “Our Purpose as a Missionary?” And during that clip I just kept remembering all the hard times I went through to get out here and all the counseling I did and the money I saved and how badly I wanted to go, and that I just didn’t know why but I knew that I just wanted to go. So of course I was just crying and Sister Brosnahan doesn't know my story of how I got out here and how hard I had to work for this. She just knows that I just worked to get out on my mission. I told Sister Smith and so I know one day I'll tell Sister Brosnahan. I just don't know why I am so scared to tell my story of how hard I worked to get out here. I just don't want the missionaries to treat me like I can't do this and try to make things easier for me. Even though that would be sweet but I know that a mission has to be hard work. The Lord's suffering in Gethsemane was not easy at all and then to die for us on the cross was not easy either. And He did this for us so I know that this mission isn’t going to be easy. And plus really, looking at the past … when is anything easy for me? Like nothing at all!!!! But Zone Meeting made me remember working so hard for this mission. Mom I think I will always have that doubt and feeling to quit but deep down in my heart I hope I don't because I want what other people have from their missions. I also see other missionaries out here in my mission and how happy they are serving the Lord and I hope I can get to where they are at soon!

But hmm, what else can I tell ya'll about? Well it's cold here for real! No lie. It is cold in Louisiana. I freeze! Why? It's because of lovely skirts that don't really cover legs very well like pants do. LOL. But it's gonna be cold the next few days but it will warm up soon. It's weird how the weather is here. Mom and Dad I can't wait for ya'll to experience the weather here in Louisiana and in Texas. You are just gonna love Idaho even more!! LOL!!!!!

But um, I think that is all I have to write this week. I hope things are going good for ya'll. Mom, do me a favor and let me know ya'll schedule for Christmas day because I get to call ya!!! We have studies from 6:30-10:00 in the morning and then we have rest of the day for p-day. We are going to Skinners for Christmas and that's gonna be fun playing with the boys and the toys and spending time with their family! The last time we were over there we got to decorate their Christmas tree with them. How cool uh? And it's real too! LOL! We had Christmas music with no words playing in the background and we had fun! Sister Brosnahan and I got to hang the lights on the tree and the popcorn string! And all of us hung up the Christmas ornaments. We had so much fun! We had some Jumbli and it was really good! I liked it I'm gathering yummy recipes to bring home to make. It's gonna be so yummy! But I had a fun time at the Skinners and it made me think of home but I have a cool memory this Christmas to always remember! The Skinner family is amazing. Same with the other families in the Branch! We have a really cool small branch and all it is just so amazing!

Also will you take a picture of the house far enough away horizontal to put on my planner for this transfer. We decorate our planners and I want one to put on my planner to see the snow and the Christmas lights!!! Thanks mom, you’re the best! Good luck with your Santa Night. Please send me pictures of the line and of Santa and of the people over hot cocoa and the backdrop. I would like to see all of that. Thanks I love ya'll.

Love Sister Hawkins (Lady Bird)