Wow what a week and what a learning experience! I'm just loving everything. I'm truly loving the work that I am doing for the Lord. Yes, I do have some hard days but I do have good days! Sister Singleton is the most AWESOME companion ever! I'm having so much fun with her. The other night we were having so much fun taking silly pictures and making a video of being on a show and she was interviewing me of how I make yummy hot cocoa! We are just having so much fun! Even though time still goes by slow, but I'm having so much fun and I'm learning so much from the Book of Mormon. We read about 4 pages every day and it's amazing the things that I am learning about the gospel and of how I can apply it to my life! It's hard to read in 2nd Nephi about Isaiah, I must admit, but I do have some understanding of it though!
Well this last Friday we had a meeting; it was a specialized training that President Moldenhauer came to and he is encouraging our mission to do church building tours! So we learned how to do church tours and some Elders demonstrated it for us. So now President and his assistances are going around the mission and showing us missionaries how to do church tours. The mission is already having success with the tours and are committing people to baptism. So it’s neat how everyone is excited to go and do church tours. Sister Singleton and I haven’t had one yet but hopefully we will with a family this week that has some questions and misunderstanding of our religion. It will be exciting to see if they would like to come and do a church tour. But Sister Singleton and I need to practice giving one so we are going to try to get up to the church and practice sometime this week.
After our big training meeting we did exchanges with Fall Creek where they have a threesome who include Sister Smith (my mommy! aka missionary terms), Sister Lundgren and Sister Hatch. Sister Lundgren has been out for surgery and so Sister Hatch came to La Porte with Sister Singleton and I went with Sister Smith! Then to our surprise, Sister Lundgren came back early from the Mission home where she had been recovering from her surgery and she was ready to be a missionary again so I was in a three some! Yea that was different and weird. That night we went around meeting less actives and members and its weird because you have a lot of testifying with three missionaries which is good and in some ways I feel like, wow over powering, but we all did good. Sister Lundgren stills feels weak so we had to take some breaks, even on Saturday. Friday night she worked too hard and was sore which turned out to be a blessing because I wasn’t feeling too well that day either. We went out for an hour and I was having lots of stomach pain!!! We came home for Sister Lundgren and when we got to the apartment I went straight to bed also and curled in a ball because my stomach was hurting. I fell asleep for an hour and a half and woke up, ate some food and was still in some pain. We ended up staying in for the rest of the day for Sister Lundgren because she was weak and tired and it was good for me because I got some more rest and some study time in the Book of Mormon. We did exchanges around 4:00 p.m. and then took pictures of all the Fall Creek missionaries along with me and Sister Singleton and then headed back to our own area. Even when we got back I still wasn’t feeling too well. We went and got the Elders in our District because we are with them like 24/7 and I was just not well so Elder Walker gave me some Pepto-Bismol and it helped me a lot and made the pain go away that even Tylenol couldn’t do. I was grateful for the medicine Elder Walker gave me.
We then went to a Ward Social! That was fun. We played games and ate pizza and I met some more people in our ward which is good! We have a very BIG ward with lots of inactives and so I'm still trying to remember everybody! But it was a fun time and I felt better that evening. I'm just grateful for the exchanges that enabled me to rest and to get feeling better. The Lord works in ways to help us out. If I had been in my own area when I was not feeling well I would have been miserable and been out working but the Lord knew it would be good for me and for us to do exchanges when we did and I was able to get the needed rest!
So things have been good. The area is still confusing and I'm still trying to figure out the place. It's like a big city and we have areas color coded and I still get confused on what color area that we are in. I'm just so very blessed and very thankful that you and dad bought me that GPS for Christmas. It's been a real lifesaver to me!! It has helped me and my companions to not get lost and to find peoples houses. It has been a help even in this area because before I came Sister Singleton was only in the area for 6 weeks so she is still new to the area too so we are learning lots together! Love that girl!
We are teaching a lady, Mary, and it's been good. It's a blessing to have the gospel in my life and to know where I am going after this life. Mary had a son that was killed and she is mad at God for it. I have only taught two lessons with her and its amazing how the spirit is there when we teach! Mary just loves Sister Singleton which worries me a bit if transfers come and Sister Singleton has to go and I don't have that strong connection with Mary yet. But I am hoping by the time that happens that I will. Mary came to church two weeks ago which was good and her mom came too. Her mom works in Nauvoo and she referred the missionaries to Mary because her son got killed. The mom isn’t a member so it's been interesting to go in the home and to teach! I hope Mary will accept the Gospel and be baptized and have the Spirit with her and the reassurance that she will see her son again!
The work is going well! We had a good time tracking. Ya… I know… I actually said “a good time tracking!” The reason I say that is because it was raining and after nearly one and a half hours of tracking we had 16 contacts and only one said we could come back and at the end of tracking it started to down pour and boy did we get wet! My skirt was just soaking wet. Luckily I had worn my boots but my coat was wet, the end of my sweater was wet and my hair was wet! We were just so wet! We took funny video of us and pictures but don't have time today to send ya some because of limited time on the computer. But it was cool to be all wet. Luckily we didn’t get sick from being so wet. Then it was nice after tracking because we went to a member’s home and she fed us nice warm Chicken Noodle soup, a grilled cheese sandwich and some fruit! Boy it was so yummy!
But anyways, I hope things are going well in Shelley Idaho and that all the family is doing well! Oh guess what mom? Kohlae is engaged!! I got a letter this last week telling me she is getting married on April 9th! I'm so excited for her. I haven't gotten lots of letters like I used to. The only ones I get now are yours and Rachel’s, Sister Bolanders, Tom Bird and some friends when they can! It's sad, my mail has gone down but I know life can sure be super busy and that is life!
Oh, by the way, we are going to NASA on the 7th of February. I passed off “How to Begin Teaching" so I get to go yeah!! I am so excited. Well I got to run because time is short and plus I still need to e-mail President Moldenhauer! I'm glad Melanie and her family are doing well and that everyone else is well! I love the pictures you sent me of Rylee and of Zaebyn. They are both so cute. I love Rylee in the pink pillow and the one of Zaebyn sitting up is just so cute. I love you all and miss you lots! I hope to hear from you soon!
Love Sister Hawkins!
I don't have any new pictures to post from Emily this week so I thought I would post a couple of the pictures she was referring to at the end of her letter. They are ones I recently sent Emily of her nieces and nephew. Emily is known to them as "Aunty Lou!"
Nieces Ella, Rylee and Kadie
Rylee Ann - born January 10, 2011
Nephew Zaebyn - 8 months old
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