December 29, 2008

HEY!!!!
I am glad you all had a great Christmas! I miss everyone. It was really good to talk to you all on the phone... it's so weird that life really is going on without me! haha But it's awesome. We had a great Christmas; we went over to the Nielson's and had dinner with them all. Sister Nielson made a lot of food and there were only 9 of us, so she gave us two big platters of food to take home, ahhhh! This whole "staying skinny" thing is hard.

On “Errand of Angels” when she is fed a lot of food... that's EXACTLY how it is!!! Lol. But then the Elders came over and we played in the snow and made a drunk snowman (the snowballs we made were too heavy to pick up so we made it laying down). It was snowing all day, so that was nice.

My new companion is really fun. We went over to the Nielsons this morning for breakfast and we played Nerts! It was so fun! I haven't played that game in forever... Mom, Lucy is really good and I told her that you were good too, so she wants to play you! haha I got second place :-( Abby knows how competitive I am with that game! haha. This afternoon we went and played volleyball with the elders and some people from their ward/ the high school volleyball team. Needless to say, we sucked!!!

Mom, I LOVED that bag!! It was so cute- the only thing is, I am scared that I am going to trash it on my mission... I don’t know if I should just use it, or send it home and use it when I get home. lol What do you think??

So when are Pam and Alan going on their mission?? That is so exciting :-) I had to give a talk yesterday, so I just gave the same talk I gave 2 weeks ago, but I wasn't as prepared because I forgot to read over it, so it didn't go as well the second time. :-( Sis. Pond had to speak too, and we were the only 2 speaking. I told her my talk was only 10 min long, and she was, like - well try to make it longer, bare your testimony. haha So i gave my talk and it was only 7 min.! Oops she had to speak for 25 min, haha. I felt really bad but I didn't know what else to say. I guess that's the perk of going first haha!!

Alex said that "we are spoiled with a great family", and I was thinking that this week. My comp's siblings aren't very supportive of her and it's hard for her. I was just wondering how I got so blessed. My family loves me; everyone in our family is active in the church, even our extended family! It’s crazy how blessed we really are. The mission puts a whole different perspective on families.

I don't know if it's because I am not around my family or what, but it's so hard not to hold babies or let them sit on your lap. One of our investigators just had a baby about a week ago, and I wanted to hold him so badly! haha It's a bummer that some people have to ruin it for everyone and sad that the world is coming to suing missionaries for things like that (I am guessing that is why we aren't allowed to hold children).

Anyways, I hope all is well!
I miss you all tons and I can't wait to see you.

xoxo
Lizzie

Dec. 22, 2008

Hey!
It's good to hear from everyone. :-) The work is going well... kind of slow with no baptisms, but soon we will! We have a few really golden investigators so hopefully we don't screw it up! haha i got 2 packages from Mom and 1 from Abby and Alex (you guys are the best!!! I send you a letter (but i guess it didn't get to you before you left Provo).

Mom you would be so proud! I only opened one gift and I haven't peeked at any of the other ones! Luckily, I am in Farmington/Bloomfield right now so it's not a temptation. Dad, i haven't gotten the pictures yet but I haven't been in Cortez since Sat., so it very well could be there :-)

I'll get a new comp. tomorrow. Sister Sorensen flies home today. It's sad that she's going, but my new companion's name is Sister Pond. I hear she is really fun and we will laugh nonstop so i am excited! This week hasn't been very productive because Sister Sorensen was packing and getting ready to go, but we had a really cool experience. At zone conference on Thursday each missionary was given a $50 gift card to Wall-mart. It was given by an anonymous donor to be used for something we need and then the rest used to help someone out this season. Sister Sorensen and I didn't need anything so we took one gift card and bought Dale church clothes. We then gave him the other gift card to get shoes and things he needs etc. It was fun to take that over to him. He had felt uncomfortable going to church before because everyone was dressed nicely and he wasn't. OH! also, when the Elders went over last week, he said he wanted a haircut like the elders. So, Sis. Sorensen cut his hair short! He got a total make over and looks awesome. The sad part is, he didn't go to church yesterday! Ugh... sometimes it is so frustrating! But he will go next week.

They are closing Bloomfield, NM to missionaries for a transfer and then bringing the Sisters back in Feb. Everyone keeps saying that I will be transferred here next transfer! haha So we will see. I went to church here yesterday and met everyone- it's a great ward. There is a little mission excitement for you to partake in :-) We will see how inspired the missionaries here are! haha

So Christmas should be exciting... I can't wait to talk to you guys! I am trying to think of the best time, and I think maybe 12:00 pm (11:00 am Cali time) should be a good time, I hope. It's hard to say because i don't know what my comp set up and our exact plans, but I will make sure I am home at noon :-)

Now that you have my phone number you can call and leave messages! haha Just kidding, that would not work. lol

Well I hope you have a wonderful week getting ready for Christmas and remembering the real reason for the season!

Love you all

xoxo

Season's Greetings

Dec. 15, 2008

HELLO!
It sounds like everything is good :-)
I had to speak yesterday at church too! It went really well! I started off by telling a story about how I saw the UPS man and wished that I were him because people are always so grateful for the gifts he brings. But then I was reading the last conference issue of the Ensign, and Silvia H. Allred said "the gift of Jesus Christ and His restored gospel is the greatest gift you have to give." So it gave me a better attitude. If people knew the gift that I was sharing they would receive me with a greater smile than the UPS man! Then I talked about gifts from God, and how Satan deceivingly wraps his gifts beautifully but God wraps his gifts in a small and simple way. We need to seek the gifts of God (D&C 46:8-9). Anyway, it was obviously a lot longer and I would just send it to you, but I didn't type it up (I am living in the life with no computer except for 1 hour on Mondays ah!) It went well:-) I hear the economy is getting really bad throughout the whole country. I am glad that we know God and that he will take care of us if we continue to follow him especially in the hard times of life.

This last week we had an investigator, Dale that called our old apt. and he was drunk and talked to the elders, and the Elders talked to him for a while. The Elders called us and told us not to go over there because he was drunk. So our ward mission leader told Dale that the elders told us not to go over there (hoping it would make him wake-up and realize what he is doing to his life). Dale felt so bad he called us and was, like you girls know I would never hurt you... blah, blah, blah. He also wanted to apologize to the elders in person, so we took the Elders over there and they talked to Dale about putting on the armor of God (Ephesians 6: 11 or somewhere around there). They said that we need to keep the Spirit in our lives, because where the Spirit is, the Devil can't be there too. So, they gave him a blessing, and after the blessing Dale said he felt something leave or something come in! It was a pretty cool experience. Before we left, we blessed his home and we think that this has stuck, and that he is going to change his life around for good!

Well, Saturday Sister Sorensen is leaving for Albuquerque, so I will be in Farmington until Tuesday, which should be fun! It's nice to do something different, or be in a different area every once in a while. Our days are all pretty much the same! I should still be able to e-mail next Monday.

President said I was probably staying in Cortez for the next transfer, but it's never sure, and I won't find out until Saturday. I will tell you next week. BUT if I am still here, then the afternoon of Christmas would be the best for our phone call. We are going over to a family's house Christmas morning, and we have dinner at 4:00 pm. so if you want to call, then give me a specific time and I will make sure we are home, or I can buy a 5 min phone card. I can then call you when I am home and then you can call me back. Either way works for me but my phone number is 970.565.0737 . I am SOOOOO excited to talk to you all too :-) maybe not "pee-in-my-pants" excited, but I think I can be excited without embarrassing myself :-) The mission office called the other day and said that they got a package from you guys... so I will get it on Thursday at Zone conference!
I really miss you guys and it's hard sometimes to see other families all together, but I know that I will be blessed and you are all blessed double for supporting me and being the BEST family ever! I love you more than you could ever know.

Always remember Jesus Christ in this wonderful time of year, I know it's hard not to get wrapped up in the busy-ness of the season, but Christ is the whole purpose. We have a Christmas lesson that we teach to members, and we have a bunch of pictures. The first is Jesus Christ, then it's Jesus Christ getting baptized, then him raising someone from the dead, then Him giving the priesthood to his apostles, then His ministry on earth, then Him in the garden of Gethsemane, then his resurrection, then him preaching to the people in the Americas, then Jesus and God appearing to Joseph Smith, then Peter James and John giving the priesthood to Joseph Smith and we describe all the pictures and what Christ has done for us and the last picture is a picture of Mary kissing baby Jesus and we say "all of this came from one humble birth in a manger". It's a really cool lesson and powerful. It helps people realize the importance of Christmas and keeping Christ in our mind throughout the season.

Love, Lizzie

Dec. 8, 2008 : from Sister Lizzie

So we had a very eventful week! On Tuesday we had interviews with the Mission President. He told us that we would probably be moving in with a member because they offered their home to us. Sis. Sorensen said that would probably be a good idea because we live in an apt complex with all single men, but we didn't feel threatened or anything. Well, later that night president called and said that the member's home isn't going to work out. We were kind of bummed but didn't have our hearts set on anything, so it was no big deal. The next morning we received a call from the President and he said that he woke up at 3:00 am worried about us and feels like we need to move. So, so we said okay (thinking that we would be moving at transfers because they are coming up in two weeks or at least in a week). He said the zone leaders would call us and coordinate things. So they called us up about 30 min later and said that the "president sounded urgent, so can you move tomorrow?!" We were like,...uh ok. So we packed on Wednesday night and moved Thursday morning!

So..., keep in mind we are switching apartments with ELDERS! (and sisters have never lived there) so we had A LOT! of cleaning to do. The couch had been duct taped together, there was a layer of dirt and dust covering all the walls. The kitchen was nasty and the whole apartment needs help! Needless to say, it took us all day Thursday and most of the day Friday to get it livable! It's looking good now.

Some members cut us a Christmas tree last week and we put it up. It looks so cute! it's kind of barren (a Charlie Brown tree) but it looks good! I love it
:-)!

Oh man, another funny story! So, we have a window in our shower, but it's that glass that you apparently can't see through. Well, we came home one day and realized that you could see the shampoo bottles through the window and practically read them! So we thought maybe, just maybe, you could see through it better than we thought, so we tested it out and it was pretty bad! We had to go and get a shower curtain to put up to cover the window. Then we were talking to the Elders and telling them about our embarrassing discovery, and they were so surprised! Ha-ha - one of them said "we just figured if you can't see out, you can't see in...", and then he said "some mornings I even opened the window while I was in the shower!" Oh man, it was so funny! Obviously it's not as big of a deal for boys as it is for girls, but still that's awkward to see some guy showering from the street (and the street we live on is pretty busy)!

Cortez had a parade of lights and anyone can put a float in the parade, so the 3rd ward made a nativity float with the primary children singing and we walked alongside the float and passed out pass-along cards with candy canes attached. It was really fun, and cold but not too bad. We don't even have snow yet! I love it here :-) It's been in the 40s and 50s so far and today it's raining! I am used to Rexburg and Michigan, so this weather is a piece of cake ha-ha!

Last week at church the speaker challenged us to write a list of 100 things we are grateful for. So I did that this week and I thought it would be a lot harder than it was. It was really easy and after I was done, I could think of at least 10 more things! I would challenge you all to do the same. It made me realize how much I really have. You especially feel grateful for what you had when you are in the middle of moving into a crappy apartment (remember the old Elders' apt.). lol.

Yesterday we went over to a member's house and they had stockings hanging on the mantle and they were like the ones mom made for us with the sequins. I forgot about those! they were so cute!

We watched the 1st presidency broadcast last night, it was really good. I loved how Elder Uchtdorf compared Christmas lights to Christ being the light of the world. It was really good! if you didn't see it, you should go read it!

I am glad you got my Christmas card! They were fun to make and to take pictures for :-) Well I hope all is well and everyone is enjoying life to the fullest. I love you and miss you tons (I get to talk to you in 17 days! Wahoo) do you have any fun plans for Christmas?

xoxo Lizzie

Dec 1

Hello!!

Sounds like your thanksgiving went well... I would love to see pics! My thanksgiving was really good too :-) We made pumpkin rolls in the morning (they were sooo good) and helped out at the soup kitchen in the afternoon. Then we had dinner with a family from the ward and their daughter's in-laws were there, which aren't members. So it was a good missionary opportunity, although they weren't too interested. Then we stopped by a couple other members’ houses. It was a pretty nice day. I tried not to think about home so it wouldn't be too hard, so it wasn't too bad. Not as bad as I thought it would be! I can't believe it's already December!

We had zone conference and it went really well. We talked about sharing the Book of Mormon with more people, so when we went out tracting, we talked about the BoM and how it answers questions of the soul (we got a little piece of paper that we glued into the front of the BoM) it went really well!! They also started a thing where we are supposed to "lend" out our BoMs so that people take it more seriously and read it quicker and know of the book's importance to us. So we lent out 4 BoMs and got 3 new investigators! So that was exciting.

Our neighbor came up on Tuesday night at like 9:40 (I was ready for bed ah!) and he was like hey sorry I am drunk right now, but I want to change my life around and start going back to church. I want to learn more about your church! So we taught him the restoration it went really well! And he knocked on our door! How’s that for missionary work :-) Haha

This week went by really fast. We helped a member paint in one of her rooms. I told her about how I got the chalkboard paint all over the floor in my room and she still let me paint! Haha I am getting really good at painting :-) So on Friday they went to this place where you pay like $7 and can go up on the hill and cut down any Christmas tree you want, and they invited us. But, we decided we probably shouldn't, so they got us one! I am so excited to put it up and decorate it :-) We don't have it yet, but they said it looks like a Charlie brown Christmas tree haha!

That’s exciting that there is a baptism in the ward! I hope it goes well :-)

If you have any requests for Christmas presents you might want to put them in soon, maybe some turquoise or something from the southwest... :-)

Thanks for the addresses! Hope all is well! Love you all and you are always in my prayers.

Xoxo

Lizzie

Nov 24

Well hello there!

So tomorrow is zone conference, I am exciting because it is so motivating and inspirational. On Thursday we went to Rico which is a small small small town up in the mountains and it's about 50 miles away so the missionaries don't get up there very often but we thought we would give them the opportunity to hear to gospel too, so it was fun. It was a gorgeous town, very small, mostly summer homes. Someone said that about 200 people live there all year- round, but about 500 in the summer. They also said that we came at the ugliest time of year, so I can only imagine what it is like in the summer.

Well after I e-mailed you on Tuesday we had an appointment and I started feeling sick while we were there so we left, and as we were walking out I threw up all over the lady's sidewalk :-( It was so gross but kind of a funny story! She was so sweet about it though. We have been working to get her to the temple and she just loves us and she's such a sweetheart! So it definitely could have been worse.

We met a new family that were former investigators a couple of years ago and we started to teach them again. They are an awesome family and I think they will get baptized, so that's exciting! They were in a cult and so they have a hard time trusting religion and stuff like that, but hopefully they will pray and read the book of Mormon. It was kinda cool because he was talking about how there are different levels of intellect, such as plants, then animals, then us and he believes that there could be something higher, such as aliens or something (I dunno). Then we were reading Jesus the Christ (Sis. Sorensen and I read Jesus the Christ during lunch... what an experience haha) and it was talking about different levels and that God is obviously on the level higher than us. So, I thought that was amazing that he was talking about it and then the next day we found something about it! I would have never guessed, especially on a topic like that!? Crazy different dimensions!

Well last week was pretty uneventful... we were sick on and off all week so that was a bummer, but hopefully we will be good for the rest of the transfer :-) I thought of more Christmas present ideas (haha) I would love some "return address" labels, church cds (talks and music) anyways I am trying to think of stuff, I know it's hard :-)

I am getting so excited for Christmas... a lot of people want our help decorating and putting up lights so that should be really fun! There is this family that is going to cut down trees on Friday and they invited us! I really want to go, but I dunno if we will be able to... bummer!! That would be sooo much fun.

For thanksgiving we aren't allowed to proselyte so we will be visiting less-actives and investigators and members... and we have had a few people invite us over for dinner so we are going to get really really fat! I am glad you invited the elders over... but I am really sad that they took the sisters out of the ward :-( Elders just aren't as cool!

Today is pina colada pday, so we are going out to the church and making pina coladas (virgin obviously) with the elders so that should be fun... last Monday was "puke" pday, because at least one person in every companionship in our district threw up last Monday :-( Wednesday was "wacky tights" Wednesday and I wore my blue tights (everyone loves those btw, there is a family in the ward that calls me the hard core smurf, because I am from Detroit but not hard core and my tights look like a smurf) Anyways... we try to have themes to make district meetings and stuff more exciting haha.

Hope all is well! I miss you guys and send some pics from thanksgiving... I don't have any pics of the fam to hang on my wall (now I have a couple of abs but other than that... you guys don't exist) Love you and will be thinking about you all through the holidays. Dad, that would be really hard to be sent out on your mission 2 weeks before Christmas!!! There are new missionaries arriving on Dec. 22 or 23 crazy huh?
That would suck!!!!

Love you all so so so much! Xoxo

Lizzie

Nov 18

Hey guys!

This week was probably the best week of my mission so far! We are having a lot of fun. Sister Bateman is gone, which is sad, but Sister Sorensen is a lot happier. We have some really awesome goals that we have set to help us work hard and have fun while doing it. When we are tracting we wave at people. We started counting how many people wave back, and setting goals for every day haha. We also started doing a "scripture of the day" and Sister Sorensen thumbs through the book and I close my eyes and point at a scripture. It has been going really well so far... some of our scriptures have been: Omni 1:26, Alma 1:25, 3 Nephi 15:1, Omni 1:3 and today's is Alma 30:51!  So look them up they are all really good and we believe that God is guiding our fingers haha!!!

So we went to Farmington last week to drop sister Bateman off, and it was really fun. We stayed with the sisters down there and they were living with a member. The member was a single lady (her husband died 13 years ago) and she had the feeling one day that she should have the sisters live with her. So she fixed up her basement and they now live with her. She loves it! She said that her house isn't so quiet. The sisters love it too because they feel more like they are living with a family rather than being so isolated from everything. The lady was a really awesome person and she was really fun, and reminds me of Aunt Sherry. She made us grilled cheese and then we made fudge and went to target (I really miss target, Wal-Mart just doesn't cut it haha) I hope I get to serve in that area. :-)

We were driving down the road the other day and we saw a bear! I have never seen a bear in real life, so that was pretty exciting :-) And Sunday we were going to church and there were people moving their cows down the highway! They probably went about 3 miles down the highway with their cows! Haha only in Cortez, Colorado! (Well maybe in Wyoming too haha)

Thanksgiving sounds like it's going to be fun :-) We don't have any super exciting plans, we are going over to a member's house for dinner and probably help at the soup kitchen, so it should be fun. We aren't allowed to proselyte, so we will have to bug people :-) We already started listening to Christmas music. Haha we couldn't wait until after thanksgiving because we are so excited. There is a less active member that wants us to help her decorate for Christmas, and we are really excited for that :-) I love the holiday season!! Dad, I am glad you are getting some use out of that tie haha! I got it at Wal-Mart (we don't have any other stores in Cortez haha) but I thought it was funny! That paragraph you wrote was like a professional writer! You should enter it into a contest or publish it or something :-)

You can say that going on a mission is the greatest way to strengthen your personal spirituality. I have noticed that the scriptures talk a lot about enduring to the end, and if you endure you will receive the kingdom of God. I didn't realize how often it was said in the scriptures, before I came out. I think that as you read your scriptures and pray, your thoughts and actions will align with God's and you will accomplish His plan for you, and you can be an instrument in His hands. Right now that is what I am focusing on, is being an instrument. I want to submit fully to God so that he can guide me and speak through me, because obviously I don't know who is ready and what I need to say to catch their attention, but as I submit to God's will fully, he will use me to accomplish the things he needs me to. Broken heart and a contrite spirit are the sacrifice that we need to offer up. (Those are just a bunch of random thoughts. They may or may not be helpful)

Well I love you and hope that "lake woebegone" is doing well haha Thanks again for the package I am all warm and toasty now :-)

xoxo
Lizzie

Nov 10

Well we got transfer news on Saturday... are you ready...??? Sister Sorensen and I are staying in Cortez! So do you know what that means? You can overnight me a package of warm clothes :-) Haha, it's started snowing and I don't have a coat or anything, so it's kinda cold... so if you could send my coats and scarves ASAP I would greatly appreciate it! Oh, and my ear muffs!
Sis. Bateman is leaving tonight. We are taking her down to Farmington, NM and staying the night while her and another sister take the truck down to Albuquerque. So it will be fun to be in Farmington tonight. We get to go to the mall and target yay! (I still LOVE to shop :-) so some things are never going to change)

The young men have one-upped you guys! I got a package from them the other day. I will write them a thank-you note.

This week we were really spoiled... we had a lunch and dinner appointment everyday! Haha we ate so much :-( but we were talking to the elders and they didn't even have a dinner appointment every night. It goes to show that everyone loves the sisters so much more! Mom, I am glad you are helping the sisters... we really appreciate the "member present" lessons :-) We have to sneak the commandments in the different lessons so we don't just teach them all the commandments at once, that is over-whelming, and people already think being Mormon is hard. Haha, so I guess the sisters are doing what they are supposed to haha! I know they really appreciate what you are doing for them. Are they teaching anyone exciting?

We had stake conference this weekend and it was a broadcast from Salt Lake. Elder Hales and Pres. Eyring spoke and Sis. Dibbs (pres. Monson's daughter) it was really good. They talked about how important the small things are and that we need to fellowship those who have gone astray and do all we can to bring them back. The Saturday night session was in Durango, so the Nielson's took us to dinner down there and to the meeting. We went to a nice restaurant. It was weird because I haven't eaten at a nice restaurant in a long time. It feels like I am becoming a hick!!! ahhhhhh, but the stake president talked about popcorn vs. crock pot cooking and how the crock pot takes longer but is filling and nourishing, while popcorn is quick but doesn't satisfy you. He said things that we can put in our crock pot are... going to the temple, reading scriptures, praying, missionary work... etc, just making a sacrifice from leisure activities to help build up the kingdom of God. So, I really liked the crock pot analogy. And he challenged us to all add something to our crock pot.

There is a family in our ward. The largos, that went up to salt lake this weekend and asked if there is anything we wanted, and their son said Jamba Juice, and we were like yum! So they are bringing us back Jamba juice! Haha they took a cooler up to bring it back with them haha. I thought that was really cool of them! He is Navajo and he has a foster family that lives up in Salt Lake! I thought that was cool, I told him about Barbara and how she was your foster sister. Haha I dunno I thought it was cool... what is her last name? I couldn't remember...

There is a lady that owns a salon and on Friday she threw a going away party for Sis. Bateman, and got a cake but accidentally wrote Good Luck Sis. Sorensen! Haha we thought it was funny because everyone mixes up their names. Even President and the AP’s! Haha we make a joke out of it now :-)

We found some extra ties in our apt. so on Thursday we had "Tie Thursday" and wore ties to district meeting and actually all day! It looked really cute! My tie was really cool. I will send some pics.

Well this week wasn't super exciting. I am starting to get the swing of things, although the last 6 weeks seems like an eternity haha everyone says the first transfer is the longest. so time is going to start flying and before you know it... the new and improved Lizzie Marchant will be home... better than ever! I love you guys and miss every one of you! You are all awesome. Hope all is well and if there is anything I can do from Colorado let me know :-) You are always in my prayers!

Xoxo Lizzie ( I have gotten a lot of feedback about signing my letters "Sister Marchant" so by popular demand I will stop)

Nov 3

Hey!! Well we didn't get any trick or treating in, but we went to the ward Halloween party for dinner, which was fun. We dressed up as 60 year olds that were reminiscing on the good ol' days when we were companions. We got t-shirts made that had a picture of all 3 of us and we got some wigs from an investigator. I will send pics home on my card, I have no way of putting pics on the computer which is a pain, but oh well. I am glad you got my package! It’s awesome :-) I put some of my summer stuff in there but there is also a present in there too... enjoy!! So that ghost was pretty intense :-) You guys went all out this year! What did you end up going to the party as?

Well on Tuesday we were studying and Sister Sorensen jumped out of her chair and went to the bathroom and we hear a Boom Boom! And I was like are you okay? And she didn't answer, so we ran out and she was lying in the hallway! We were like, are you okay?!? And the first thing she said was "was that loud?" haha! She fainted, it was kinda scary but you know me... I didn't really think anything of it, but Sis. Sorensen and Bateman were kinda worried about it, so we explored what was wrong and we discovered she had really low blood pressure and went to the doctor and stuff and come to find out she has had a sinus infection for about 2 months! Haha she didn't even know it, but apparently that's what made her faint... so we haven't done any work this week. We got a babysitter for Sis Sorensen a couple of times to go to appointments but we haven't tracted or anything. It wasn't the worst week, but it was kinda long. She is feeling better so that's good :-)

So a couple weeks ago we were tracting and we tracted into this kid that was probably about my age, early twenties and we gave him a pamphlet and stuff but he didn't seem interested. So we were at home one night and we get a call from this guy and he was like, hi you guys came over the other day and gave me a pamphlet with your number on it and I want to go to church on Sunday. So I was like okay... what's your name? And he said "Joe” and he goes is this the cute one? And I was like uhhh I dunno??? And he goes is this the blonde one? And I said uhh yea and this is when it started to sound kinda fishy and I was like what street do you live on? And he was like uhhh I dunno? And I was like "you don't know what street you live on?" And he was like uhhh we just moved here and I can't remember haha and I finally realize that I think he is drunk! Haha and I was like ok, and he goes okay c-ya on Sunday. And I was like, do you want to know what time church is at?? And he goes oh yea haha! So I told him. So I couldn't tell if he really was drunk or it was a prank call, so I called the elders and said hey is Joe there? And they had no idea what I was talking about, so I dunno who it was but I think it was the kid that we tracted into a couple weeks ago! Haha so I am getting drunk phone calls on the mission! Awesome huh???

Anyways, there is this couple we are kinda of teaching and they were Baptist for 33 years and one day they were kind of questioning one little thing, and they were asked to never come back to church! So they are devastated because they were very involved and know a lot! So they are looking for a new church, which is awesome for us! Except it's hard for them to grasp some of the concepts. So we made an appointment to talk about the plan of salvation with them and they canceled because they didn't think they could believe in the 3 kingdoms and the godhead. And I was thinking for me that's the most comforting part!!! Haha but we still went over and talked to them yesterday and the wife, Barb, said that she hopes that the 3 kingdoms are true because she likes that concept and they are both very spiritual and so they said that if the spirit tells them that it's true then they will for sure keep investigating, but they are really awesome and I think with some time they will come around. I just hope that we can help them because they are very knowledgeable about the Bible and I am still learning...

We have another investigator who is awesome and she has taken the discussions before but she just got out of jail and we can't tell how long she has been out for, and she is on probation, and she can't be baptized while she is on probation so I don't know if she will be able to be baptized for a while which is hard because she wants to be baptized. So that is kinda frustrating.

Today we had pancake p-day with 2 of the elders. Our district leader and his companion were being lame and didn't want to participate... but whatever! It was fun :-) We made banana pancakes and they were pretty good. Oh speaking of food... I am on a 40-day sugar fast! so no sugar for 40 days (kinda like my own lent at the wrong time of year) but it's not too hard because my companion is teaching me how to eat sugar-free foods (she is hypoglycemic (sp??)) Transfers are coming up next week so don't send anything to my direct address. Don't give out that address because I don't want people sending me mail there and it not getting there until after I have left or whatever... it's just a lot easier to send it through the office unless you want to send a package or something. Speaking of... I can't believe you are already talking about my xmas package! That is not for 2 months :-(

I think the holidays are going to be hard, I think the hardest thing is feeling like I am missing out but still tell me everything that's going on because I think it would be worse if you didn't tell me (maybe just tell me how terrible it was and how everyone sat around and cried because I wasn't there) but I will get to call you on xmas :-)

So every week I pray for a different Christ-like attribute and this week is patience, so during weekly planning I was telling my companions that and they were both like "nooooo!! don't ever pray for patience!" haha but I have to, so they are warned, but I hope God chooses to not try our relationship as companions because it's sis Bateman’s last week and that would be sad if we were not getting along. But we haven't had any problems so far so I think we will be good for at least another week.

We have these things called "conversion schedules" and they go through things we are focusing on that transfer and goals and stuff like that so we are making one for sis Bateman that has goals for her to get married. So it has like go on X amount of dates and Y amount of kisses will get you married it's really funny I will have to make a copy and send it home! But anyways I hope everyone enjoys their presents :-) Miss you all sooooooo much and love you all soooooo much more!! Keep the letters and e-mails coming Xoxo

Sister Marchant

Oct 26

Well we have to switch our weekly planning session to Friday night so we are in early on Halloween so that’s kinda a bummer. You know me; I wanted to go trick or treating! But we get to eat dinner at the ward Halloween party which is exciting that we at least have something to dress up for. I’m not exactly sure what we are going to be yet, but I think its grandma sisters. We got some wigs from an investigator so we will have some awesome pics :-)

Those pics from the MTC are cool huh? Aw man, I loved the MTC. I still miss it even though I have been out here longer than there (which is weird.) I can't believe I have almost been out in the field for a month, Ah! But you don't have to put them together on a DVD we were going to do something cooler but we didn't ever get to it, so don't worry about it thanks though :-)

That's fun that you are having Matt over. Tell him I say "hello”. So Marina and Brian are engaged! That’s awesome tell them congrats :-) Man, the holidays are going to be hard! But I will make it through.

Well this week was a slow week, (seems like a month) but we did a lot of tracting and it's getting kinda cold (speaking of, mom if you could send me a couple sweaters that would be awesome) and one day people were just on a roll! Everyone wanted to argue and this one lady told us that we were a cult and we didn't believe in Jesus Christ and all this stuff, it was crazy! Haha she wouldn't let us go, she kept saying, "why don't you stand up for your religion" so we had to literally just walk away while she was still talking! Haha it was funny but it made me think about why I am here and why people think we are a cult and things like that. I wish I could go thank her for strengthening my testimony because she did. Its funny how she was trying to get us to go away from the church, but it brought me closer Jesus and knowing that it is the true church that I am out here for the right reasons. People are funny, gotta love them :-)

We made this board game called "celestial life" and you start in pre-mortal life and then get baptized and go to the temple and go on a mission and get married and the ending is the celestial kingdom. You have to answer questions and role the die to move forward. It’s so awesome! And it's a great review tool; we have questions from preach my gospel lessons 1-4. Everyone loves the game. This one less active member wants to play it every Monday, and we have a game called "celestial pursuit" and we use those questions now. Haha it's really fun.

One day we were playing it with this part member family and we were talking about Thomas S. Monson and said how he has a photographic memory and promises that if we memorize a scripture a day we will get one too. Well the dad was in the other room and he goes... "Wait! Your prophet has a pornographic memory" oh man we were all laughing so hard!! It was so funny.

Since we were tracting a lot this week we decided to memorize scriptures while walking so we are memorizing scripture mastery (good thing I didn't memorize them when I was in seminary or I would have nothing to do while tracting... right mom????) well we are going to work really really hard this week because next week is our last week and Sis. Bateman wants to visit members because she is going home and she has to pack, so this week is going to be awesome but I dunno about next week :-\ But anyways! I love you all and remember that God loves you and to ensure happiness put him first in your life. You can't go wrong if you do that :-) Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Sister Marchant

New Pictures

Just got a disk full of Lizzie's pictures. Check them out by clicking the slideshow on the right.

Oct 20

That picture is terrible! it was such a long day, I had been up since 3:45 am (LOL) and I forgot we were taking pictures at the end of the night so I put my hair up! Oops, don't' show too many people that picture. I will send my sd card home soon. I am going to send it in a padded envelope because I have heard many stories about them being stolen out of envelopes so be careful when you send them back :-)

Yesterday we went over to the Nielsen's (Lucy's parents) house again for dinner. Bro. Nielson said that I need to be careful about what I write in my e-mails to my parents because it got back to him really fast! ha-ha

My address for the next 3 weeks or so is:
118 N Sligo apt. D
Cortez, Co 81321
(Just be careful because transfers are in a few weeks and I might not be here anymore :-)

It sounds like relief society is going well :-) Stake young mens! Wahoo :-) With the way things are going in the next couple years Mom will be stake RS pres.

Well, this week... what happened..? It has been pretty uneventful. We got two new investigators which is exciting. We got both of them tracting which is a miracle because no one we are teaching right now is from tracting. The current investigators are all member referrals (speaking of which, you should be praying for people to have the missionaries teach!). Yesterday, in church we all 3 spoke and sang in one ward and in the other ward we sang. We were pretty much the program! I told them it was a good thing we showed up or they would be out of luck! LOL

We went over to this less active member's house and his wife has Huntington's disease and he has some leg problem so he just sits at home and watches his wife! It's soooo sad :-( I hope that we can at least bring a little joy into their life because he is just so distraught; asking why it had to happen to her and you know the normal "why" questions. We had zone conference and it was amazing! We talked about goal setting and it was very inspiring. I got to see Sis. Jensen and some of the elders from my MTC district which was exciting. I miss the MTC but I like helping real people :-) There is a member family that wants to take us to Shiprock. I really want to go before Christmas so I can get you guys some Indian stuff but I don't know if we will get a chance so we will see :-)

My new favorite food is pudding! I eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner :-) (but I get sugar-free) It's so good! We have come up with many concoctions that use pudding! Everything I eat is sugar free because my companion is hypoglycemic and she has to eat whole wheat products and no sugar. We are kind of doing it with her, awesome hu? I am almost not a sugar-aholic, yay!

I think for Halloween you should be Sonny and Cher! or be missionaries!! Ha-ha you can both put your old name tags on. We got these wigs from one of our investigators and so we are going to the ward party as "old" missionaries, or something lame because we can only stay for the dinner :-( I was thinking it would be fun to be Elders LOL, but who knows, If you have any creative ideas for me I would love to hear them :-)

Well, my life is pretty boring to people in the real world (chuckle)! I don't know what else to tell you (it's kind of sad when I start sharing my pudding concoctions ha-ha) but I love you all so much and hope all is going well. Always remember to be looking for someone for the missionaries to teach:-) . Member referrals are the best!

xoxo

Lizzie

Oct 13

We have two baptisms on Saturday and they both went really well. They are both so amazing and strong. Steve asked if he could bring his cat, meatball, to the baptism and we didn't know what to say, so we said sure... Haha and we couldn't tell if he was being serious or just kidding, so when we get there he has a white fuzzy cat in his arms! And we were like oh man! But then we got closer and realized it was a stuffed cat, so Steve made this cat be in all the pictures and its name is meatball 2 and sister Sorensen has to take care of it, so we decided that we are going to mail it to each other every 4 months like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but this would be "Tripanionship of the Traveling Meatball"! So anyways Steve is a social worker and he was interviewing for a new job and they asked him how he deals with his stress and anger, and he said he used to use a punching bag and lift weights, but now he relies on his faith in Jesus Christ! Isn’t that awesome :-)

Then there is Karen and she is amazing too (I will send pics home) she is so spiritual and she cries at everything, but she walks into the church on Saturday and she is just beaming and she was like you have no idea how excited I am! And she started to cry and was like “the man underneath was doing everything in his power to not get me here today but I just can't wait!” She's so cute and after she was dunked she comes up and goes "is it a-go!?" Haha she moved out of our boundaries so she is with the elders, which is a bummer because her daughter and husband aren't members and I bet with some time they will start to investigate! I wish I could teach them because they are an awesome family.

So remember how Lucy (I don't know her last name) from the ward was telling me about New Mexico and stuff? Well her dad is the ward mission leader! Haha crazy huh? It’s a small world. We ate dinner at her parents’ house last night and her mom is hilarious!! I love her, she just talks and talks and is just the cutest thing you will ever meet! She is from Korea so she made us Korean food and it was so good!

It was so funny one night me and my comps were just telling jokes and laughing and the district leader calls and I tell him I have a joke for him (I didn't realize I was on speaker phone and the zone leaders were up for district meeting.) So I tell this joke: there are a turtle and a giraffe eating lunch together and the turtle says to the giraffe 'hey pass the salt' and the giraffe says 'what do you think I am, a typewriter' HAHA! So obviously it doesn't make sense right? Well everyone was like uhhhh... so they next day after district meeting all the elders circled around me and are like so I heard a joke last night, and one elder was like ‘yea we don't get it, I was trying to figure it out all night. We are just dumb elders we don't get it.’ Oh man!! My comp and I just laughed!! It was so funny that they were actually thinking about it :-) So now we tell them a joke every night.

So last Monday we went out an hour early so we could come in early and we made brownies and played sequence. It was really fun and in our apt we have one of those film strip things so we watched this film strip about introducing the church to our friends and it was sooo funny and cheesy! The first step is to show your friends "I am a Mormon who cares" and then next step is "other Mormons care about you too" haha!!! So that inspired us to make our own movie called "A day in the life of a tri-panionship" we haven't started it yet, but that's on today's agenda. Dad, if I send a few videos home on my SD card, would you be able to put them together in a movie and burn them to a DVD??

My goal is to finish the standard works while on my mission and I’m in exodus so that's exciting! I love the Old Testament it's really funny. There is this one chapter where the daughters want to carry on their dad’s, Noah's, seed so they get him drunk and sleep with him!!! Haha who knew stories like that were in the bible! We finished moving Janie which took a long time but it's true when they talk about loving those you serve. I have really developed a love for her.

How's Alex doing? I haven't heard from him in a while.

So square dancing eh? That sounds interesting. Haha

Dad, is Cortez that town you were telling us about that you were driving down and there was a big deer that just walked down the street? I remember you telling us about a conference in Colorado, that's funny that it was Cortez haha! (Note: it was a bear in Durango. brm)

I haven't heard of that English program Abby wants to do but it sounds like a good experience. Two of my roommates from the summer went to Ecuador and took care of orphans, and I heard of something where they go to china and teach English but I haven't heard of one where they travel around. I think Sis. Sorensen’s sister is in china right now teaching English. I can ask her about it, but I don't think she knows very much.

I don't think that bishop is still the bishop of that ward at Tuscany. I think they are only the bishop for 3 years or something like that... but I’m pretty sure he is gone now. Tell her to try to get Bishop Archibald if he is still the bishop.

I think I am going to wait to send my sd card back until we get the video then I will, but I will drop some pics from the baptisms in the mail today. :-) It's getting colder so if you could send some sweaters in the mail that would be great! Love you all and hope life is going great!!! I miss you tons

Xoxo

Oct 6

Well the field is a lot different than I thought it would be. I love it but different! My companions are really nice and I love them to death. One is from Idaho Falls, and she is going home next transfer, and the other is from Syracuse, Utah and she is going home in December.

We have 2 baptisms on Saturday which is exciting... I had absolutely nothing to do with them, but it's still fun to see. One of the guys is this big Indian and he is a social worker and he talked about what a struggle it is to see children treated so poorly and try and keep his anger under control but since he has been focusing on Jesus it's helped a lot. The other one is a lady from California and she just felt the spirit prompt her to move here, so she did. And then the missionaries started teaching her and she is getting baptized! She is awesome and we are trying to work on her husband and daughter. The members here are awesome! They are all so nice and fun (mostly younger couples with kids) and we have a dinner appointment almost every night... which is not good for my diet! I can see how people gain weight. I am working on eating smaller portions but it's hard to have a really good home cooked meal every night and not take advantage of it! I mean I have been in college eating ramen noodles for 3 years! Ha-ha.

It’s getting a bit chilly here just the last few days so that's kind of a bummer but oh well what can ya do!? I will think about what I want/ need for Christmas... but all I really wanted was a Wii so I dunno what to ask for now... haha in the morning all we do is play Nintendo on that imaginary tv we have... it's a blast :-) Conference was AMAZING! I loved it! Especially Pres Monson's talk about enjoying the journey! We got to listen to all four sessions which was nice.

So mom it sounds like you are busy which is awesome! How are the sisters? Are there new ones? Haha sounds like Janie and the lady from Atlanta should be friends! YOU FINALLY BOUGHT A COUCH!!! Yay! Send me a pic when you have it all done :-) sounds like everyone is doing well, I hope Abby is making friends. That’s a bummer but it sounds like she is focusing more on school which is good. Oh it's getting cold so I think I will need some coats and sweaters when you get a chance. That’s a bummer that dad will be out of town next week :-( you should come to Cortez!!! Haha it's beautiful here. Oh I don't know if the office told you but you are supposed to send my packages via US Postal Service because then they can forward them to me.

Did you send the sister's over to the danglers?? I think they would at least listen and they seem in tune with the spirit.

I am trying to think if anything else exciting happened this week... we haven't tracted a lot, we usually have lessons or visit members but when we did go, everyone is Baptist!. It’s so sad everyone seems to be struggling for money, there is this one investigator who about a year ago had rubbing alcohol on him (don't ask, this story doesn't make sense) and he fell asleep with a cigarette and he lit himself on fire!!! So now he is still all itchy from that and he doesn't have enough money to go to the doctor or even drive there and no money for food, but he has about 8 dogs that he has to feed! So he spends all his money on these dogs that he is trying to sell but he will call and complain for an hour about how he doesn't feel well and he has no food to eat!! So we invited him to a dinner appointment with us and he wouldn't go! Haha man, people are so funny... Well I need to write President so I will let you go! Have a great week.
Love you Xoxo

AWESOME!

So I am in new Mexico, well actually I'm in Cortez, Colorado! All is well! :-) It's awesome down here. I was put into a "triplet" so I have two trainers: Sister Sorenson and Sister Bateman. That's pretty exciting and we are teaching a lesson tonight! Ahhh! We flew in on Monday but that morning I had to wake up at 3:45 am Ahhhh!

When we got here, Pres. and Sister Anderson and the APs picked us up. We went to the mission home and had pizza with green chilies. It was really good... spicy, but I love spicy. Then we went out tracting for ten to fifteen min. and we gave out a book of Mormon!! Wahooo I love tracting! It's really fun. Then we had dinner with some of the office staff and then had an amazing testimony meeting.

I am going to miss my district they were all so amazing! Well, my P-day is Monday so I won't get to write any letters until next Monday. So, that's a bummer but oh well! I am excited to get in the work. On Oct. 11 we (not really me but sis. Bateman and Sorenson) have 2 baptisms, which is awesome. Their area is doing really well. The Elders before them left with only 2 investigators but the Sisters have done well here.

So you can start sending my mail to the mission office :-)

Some of the areas are on Navajo reservations which is really cool. Sis. Jensen went to Ship Rock, NM but they live in a ghetto trailer (remember how I said I want to tract in a trailer park....? well maybe I will get to LIVE in one!)

I just checked out my blog :-) It's awesome, you are the best (Alex). You can officially take the MTC address off yay!! I got Jamie's address so you don't have to send it to me anymore.

My testimony is just flourishing it's awesome. I was sad to leave the MTC but super excited to get out into the field. It's been a very draining couple of days but I am doing well. Everyone always talked about "knowing" their mission call was the right place, and I knew that I was called by the prophet but never felt at peace or "knew" this is where I was supposed to be until the last few days. At the MTC I started to feel more like I knew where I was going and getting excited, and then when the plane landed in Albuquerque I knew it was right. It was awesome I felt the spirit so strong and I love it. My mission Pres and Sis. Anderson are amazing! I love them so much already. We took pictures with them last night and they should be sending you a picture saying that we got here safely. We also went to the temple and took a pic in front of it. We get to go to the temple every 6 months. So I will get to go about 3 times. They just went a couple of weeks ago so I barely missed it :-( oh well!

They said our mission is growing a lot, in the next 2 transfers we have 19 new missionaries coming in and then about 1/3 of our mission will be new missionaries. I think that means that our mission is doing well :-) which is awesome!!

I can't believe I am starting this awesome journey... my companions are really nice and seem awesome. It's kind of weird because they have been together for 4 1/2 months and I am brand new but they have been so nice to me!

Mom, how's relief society? Dad how is work? Tell Abby thanks for the letters I will write her back asap. I wish I could write but it's not p-day :-( I am trying really really hard to be obedient and work hard. I will not have any regrets or come home saying "I wish I would have worked harder". If we don't obey, the Lord can't bless us, so I guess that means obey!!

Love and miss you! Hope all is well and everyone is living life to the fullest
:-) xoxo

New Pictures

You can see all of Lizzie's pictures if you click on the slide show on the right.

Week 2 MTC

9-24-08

So it's already been a week!! Ah that's so crazy I can't believe it. It went by so fast. I still LOVE the MTC although I am excited to get out into the field and "harvest." Sister Jensen is still the sweetest girl ever! I love her to death. I sent some pics the other day. I hope you get them soon.

So what happened this week... nothing too exciting. My MTC teachers are awesome Brother Kirk and Brother Bradshaw. The other day in class bro Bradshaw did this really cool object lesson, where we had 5 min to live, our plane was crashing and we could write a letter and put it in that black box, (I dunno what it's called) but anyways we wrote letters and he collected them and then took them all and ripped them up. We were all like uhhh... we just poured our souls out to those! Why did you rip them up!? And then he told us that is how the Book of Mormon prophets feel when we don't listen to their words and we just shove our Book of Mormon on to the floor and don't heed to their counsel. I really liked it but it was REALLY sad writing you all and telling you how much I love you and all that kind of stuff (by the way the most important part of my letter said that you better ALL stay faithful in the church because it means the world to me and I will be watching you, haha.)

So what else is new?? When do you get called to RS pres mom? That’s an awesome calling! You are more than qualified and can treat it as a job, so you can magnify that calling to the extreme!!! Wahoo super relief society president!

So, I haven't gotten a letter from Jamie and it kind of worries me, but I don't have her address to write her! I forgot to get everyone's addresses so I can't write anyone until they write me. Oh speaking of... can you ask Abby to get Amanda’s address? Maybe have her ask on facebook or something I dunno... oh did those sisters ever call and get Amanda’s phone number? I figure Amanda needs the gospel in her life more than anyone right now! Also I was thinking that maybe we should send the sisters over to the dangler's house. They are very spiritual and maybe would listen to the missionaries if they heard I sent them over...? I dunno?? But it's just a thought. Obviously I am in missionary mode so I am thinking of all these people who might listen to the gospel! Haha.

Last night at devotional Jay E Jensen (of the presidency of the 70) and his wife spoke. It was really good, he had all this proof of the BoM and how JS could never have written it which was cool but I am not much of a historical proof kinda person so it was hard to listen. I don't need proof I already know its true :-) So we work at the Referral center every couple of days and I talked to this guy the other day that was telling me that he didn't have faith and that his life was so messed up. His mom is on drugs and his friends have tried committing suicide. I was telling him how JC knows what he is going through and how he can pray and receive comfort and inspiration but he kept telling me he doesn’t have faith. Then he told me that church is boring and reading the book of Mormon is boring... and how it's hard to wake up at 9:00 in the morning to go to church and work, so I told him that I wake up at 6:30 every morning to teach and study the stuff that he thinks is boring! And he was like why would you do that? and I bore my testimony and stuff but I had to go so I said I would call him back and had him read the story of Alma the Younger but I tried to call him back twice and he was never home!!! So I dunno but he was already meeting with the missionaries so hopefully they will help him, if not... he is just too stubborn.

I can't get on the internet so I won't be able to look at my blog until I get out into the field... speaking of I only have 5 days left in the MTC!!! Ahhhhh I am so not ready to go out into the field but I will need to work hard for the next 5 days to do the best I can!!! oh mom don't forget to send me that face lotion (well you might want to wait now until I get to New Mexico, but don’t' forget!!) and that's fine if you send me jeans when I get out there :-) well time I almost up!

Love you all so so so much!!!!!

Xoxo Sister Marchant (I love being a sister its sooooo awesome!!!!!)

1st Letter

9-17-08

So I guess we can e-mail at the MTC! Awesome huh? Well anyways, this week is going by so well. I love it here. P-day is Wednesday (obviously). So let's think... I have been in class all day every day for a week but it's awesome! I have learned so much and my testimony is getting stronger and stronger every day :-) I can't imagine how awesome it will be when I get back in 18 months! My companion is Sister Jensen and she is so awesome. (I will send some pics in a letter) She's so knowledgeable and can answer any weird question from investigators. I have A LOT to learn! She also is an amazing singer. It makes me want to take voice lessons when I get back. Anyways we have been studying the first lesson which is the restoration. My testimony in that is probably the lowest of everything in the gospel, so studying it for a week straight all day every day has been awesome! My roommates are hilarious. One is from Hawaii sister Kai and she is so funny! We have these glow in the dark stars on our ceiling and so we were talking one night and I said "I bet these stars make you feel at home because you don't have real houses" and we went off about how she weaves blankets from leaves and stuff like that! It was hilarious, and then we said roommate prayer and she prayed and thanked God for "all of the comforts we have at the MTC”!!!Oh man! We all busted up laughing in the middle of the prayer. She didn't even realize that she said that right after we were talking about the "3rd world country" of Hawaii.

So what else is new with you people in the real world? I love MTC land! It’s so awesome; everyone is on a spiritual high so everyone is so nice to you and walking around with their name tags on. (Btw I love my name tag, it makes me an official missionary) last night we have devotional and Elder Richard G. Hinckley spoke (last week they had Elder Uchdorf! :-( sad that I missed it) and he was saying "you are not cool any more, walking down the street in a white shirt and tie is Not cool!) I thought that was hilarious because it's so incredibly true... I'm a dork and I'm proud of it!

My district is awesome; they are all 19 year old boys but its still fun. Its cool cause one of them was in my New Testament class at BYU-I but he looked familiar, and I didn't really know who he was until we figured it out. Elder Mackey is here and I see him every once in a while, he isn't very talkative but he says "hi" back. I told him to tell his parents that I say hi ha-ha!
I'm not really sure what else to tell you, I have 12 min left on the computer and I want to use it all so I'm just typing about nothing! Ha-ha what else do you want to know? Oh the main gym time activity is 4 square... I don't' think I have played 4 square since 3rd grade, so that's pretty cool! Ha-ha I can't believe I only have a week and a half left until I leave here! Ahhhh... oh yesterday we went to the referral center and I called a lady and she wanted a book of Mormon! It was awesome. One of the elders in my district called a lady that the missionaries called her a liar so she is never going back to church... I'm not sure what they actually said but that's how she interpreted it... sad because she reads from the BoM every day and knows that it's true and has a movie that she has almost worn the copy out on. It's sad on both parts because she doesn't know that she is missing out on so many covenants and blessings from being stubborn.

Well I love you and miss you so much (we are working on "teenage language" and I say "like", "guys", "totally", "dude" all the time... it's really hard! Ha-ha everyone is a sister or elder. I always say "hey guys!" ha-ha oh well) hope all is well. Oh! You can tell everyone that while I am at the MTC they can write me letters on www.dearelder.com and I get it that same day, so they don't have to send it in the mail... it's a lot easier. Oh and mom could you please send me jeans???? I think I will need some for service activities! I'm trying to think of which ones, maybe the silver brand ones or... I forgot what jeans I have... ha-ha!!! My time is running out... love you! Tell everyone I say hi! Oh did you set up that blog??? Alex and Lauren sent me the cutest package yesterday. It was awesome with brownies and everything! Ha-ha.

Love ya xoxo