So my mother called me to repentance and said that I should be counting the weeks I was at the MTC. xD So I'm reporting on week seven...
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| I saw this yesterday. xD |
We get our packages at the Stake Center which is where we also do P-day sports and Elder Aitchison (who's from England. He lives between London and Oxford #IamanAnglophile) got a package from his family and it was full of British candy! It was extremely cool and he let all of us try the different kinds he had. One kind was called "Humbug" which is a mint with a caramel center.
We then went to see Alice at 6 but she missed our appointment. We were able to meet her father Johnny and he is deaf! He was very excited when he realized that I could speak sign language! It was super cool! I've missed being able to talk to people in sign language so it was wonderful for me. However he is a native and not a crisp signer so luckily I was able to get the gist of things, even if I didn't understand every single little thing. :)
FHE (Family Home Evening) was super cool!!!!!! A man named Bishop Larry Burns came and gave a presentation about the importance of putting on ALL the armor of God! He is a retired SWAT team leader. He got special permission to bring all of his SWAT gear (including weapons) to the church! SO AWESOME!!! He told the coolest stories that had my heart racing from anxiety and adrenaline and my hands were shaking. It was AWESOME! XD I will never look at the armor of God the same way again and it is wonderful!
What was even more wonderful is that Patrick (a recent convert who has been struggling) came! It made Sister Foulke and I so very happy because there were a lot of things that helped him!
Ephraim came up to us after it was down and said that Marcus had texted him saying that he was outside. So Sister Foulke and I rushed outside with Ephraim to see Marcus shuffling his feet. We asked him why he hadn't come in and he said that he didn't feel like he could. We talked with him and helped him to understand that he is always welcome to come to church! He seemed to relax a bit after that. :)
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Tuesday we had an appointment with Amanda. I LOVE Amanda!!! XD She is one of my people! We were talking about the Plan of Salvation and temples and we got the prompting to ask her what her beliefs were (we had asked her the first time we had a lesson with her but her answer had been very vague). Amanda looked at us nervously and then took a deep breath and said that she trusted us because any other time she has told someone what she believes in they freak out. Sister Foulke and I are understandably on edge wondering what on earth Amanda is going to throw at us... And then Amanda said that she believes in magic. My eyes widen and I grin! I was on cloud 9... Not going to lie. I knew how to relate this to the gospel. B) So I asked her if she had seen the movie "Thor" (she's a huge nerd so I was 99% sure that she had) she said she had and I told her that my favorite part is when he talks about how magic and science are one and the same, magic is just simply science we don't understand yet. Her eyes widened and she grinned and said that was her favorite quote too! Sister Foulke and I then told her that we do believe in things we don't understand yet. God is the master scientist and His science is so far beyond our understanding at this time that it is "magic" to us. We do believe in forces that we can't see with these mortal eyes. We just use different terms than "magic". She was ecstatic that we essentially believed the same thing, we just had a more correct understanding. And that blew her away. She is SO awesome! I'm so excited to watch her progression! XD
Later that day we went to the Barlow's house to do service. They were peeling a wheelbarrow full of oranges to made dried orange slices for those in need of food. So for the next hour we were peeling oranges. Which (I am such an odd child) I really enjoyed! xD
We then had an appointment with a woman named Jolene, which was interesting. We talked and it was clear she was kind of set in what she wanted to do right now and when we talked to her about it (more tactfully I assure you) she said the same of herself and asked if the missionaries would drop in once a month to see if she was at a point in her life where she was willing to change. And we said sure. :) It was refreshingly honest.
Sister Foulke and I have been SO happy to have a repository of music that consists of more than three CDs!!! xD Plus we have NASHVILLE TRIBUTE BAND NOW!!!! SO pumped! We have the new CD by them called "Redeemer" check it out. It is glorious!!!
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Wednesday was fun because while we were finding some potential investigators we knocked on an apartment of a man named Mikey... He was a strange child :) we were talking to him and he just kept teasing us (in a flirty way) and Sister Foulke and I were like "sir, stop being a punk" :P We didn't say that, it was just what we were thinking. And then he made me double over in laughter, he asked Sister Foulke what she was on because she looked "stoned". I couldn't help it. The look on Sister Foulke's face killed me! That plus the fact that out of all of us the person who looked the most stoned was Mikey. XD Oh heavens above... It was great!
Later we had a convert lesson with Rachel about the Plan of Salvation, Ephraim was teaching her since he's the Ward Mission Leader and we were mostly there for support. It was good. :) Rachel is so sweet.
We went and taught the Bates after that and that was good. Then we went to have a meeting with the YSA Ward missionaries. We hadn't had time for dinner and we had a meeting right afterwards so Ephraim bought us pizza which was awesome! I haven't had pizza since before my mission, so over a month.
Later that night we went to Institute with one of our investigators and the teacher said something that really struck me, "Don't just believe in Christ, but also BELIEVE CHRIST!" I mulled over that for a bit and realized that the only changing power is when we not only believe that Christ is capable of changing us, but believing that Christ WILL change us if we allow Him to do so. So many times we feel like, even though Christ has the ability, we don't feel like we are worthy of His changing Grace. We need to remember to trust that Christ WILL do as He promises and our lives can and WILL be changed for the best!
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Thursday was loooong but a good long. :) We had interviews today which meant that half of our zone got together to be individually interviewed by our mission president, President Snow. That was super cool because, as these interviews were going on, the rest of us participated and gave training to those who weren't in interviews and that was super cool. :)
We had a lesson with Luis later that day. Sister Foulke and I love Luis, he's really earnest in his desire to come closer to the Savior and take the steps necessary to join Christ's true church. So awesome!
We also taught the Bates family and at the end of the lesson we asked if Nyla would give the prayer and Aquarius (who is eleven) his pestered to her to say no so he could say the prayer! XD Isn't that precious?!?!?!?! Heavens above, I love that family!
We then taught Victor Ranga who is the boyfriend of Ashlyn the member... That was interesting, as always. He is always so focused on the negative or the concerns he has about the church and he won't focus on the Book of Mormon. It's really discouraging to Sister Foulke and I and especially Ashlyn.
Something that is super cool about Sister Foulke and I is that when I came to the mission field she was nine months along in her mission and I am her "child" (mission vernacular for trainee). 9 months... Her child... We have a field day with that! XD And because I was "born" (started my mission) in the summer she introduces me to other missionaries as her "sweet summer child"! XD I adore Sister Foulke!
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Friday was super cool! Okay, this is going to sound odd to the return missionaries among you, but I LOVE weekly planning! I love it! I really enjoy praying over each investigator and pondering and receiving inspiration as to what the vision, goal, and plans should be for each individual. I just love it. :D
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| Sister Foulke, Sister Longo at Tiana's Baptism (Tiana's in white) |
Later that day we went to my first baptism in the mission! Tiana got baptized on Friday!!!! WHOOOO! So much excitement! And, since Sister Foulke and I had taught her, we were able to go. Also, they asked if I could be the pianist for the program so that also happened. I don't enjoy playing in front of people, I get really anxious. But they had no other person that was coming that could play the piano so I said that I would. It wasn't too bad. My hands were shaking the entire time that I wasn't playing the piano. xD
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| You can see me sitting at the piano on the left. :) |
We had a lesson with Luis and Sister Foulke and I were so excited because Luis' baptismal date was the 26th and we were hoping to talk to him about getting a baptismal interview the next day. But after we got through the last few commandments and talked to him about it, he said that his mother refused to give him permission to be baptized. And because he's a minor (17) he can't get baptized unless he has her consent. All of us at the lesson were devastated because Luis has been looking forward to his baptism ever since we set the date! Sister Foulke and Luis' friends in the church are praying that his mother's heart will be softened so that he can get baptized!
That night we had a lesson with Alyssa, who is the friend of Danielle's who came to church on Sunday. So we and Danielle went to her apartment to discuss the Restoration. Alyssa is a
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| Sister Foulke, Alyssa and Me |
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Saturday did not go as planned, it was crazy! (In a good way though xD) Sadly, Amanda had to cancel her appointment because her daughter Phoebe had a doctor's appointment that she had forgotten about. That made Sister Foulke and I a little sad because meeting with Amanda always makes our day (she is the best). But we went in search of new investigators in the apartment complex who we hadn't been able to get in touch with. We were able to meet with a woman named Debbie who is grandma-age and is really struggling with her health. :( It was wonderful though to see her spirits lift as we talked to her about the gospel. :) The gospel is such a blessing!
We then went to the church because two of the Bates children (Elijah and Aquarius) were having their baptismal interview!!! I'M SO PUMPED!!! So the district leader came and interviewed the two of them to make sure that Sister Foulke and I had taught them all they needed to know before getting baptized and we passed! Cynthia (their mom who is a recent convert), the boys, Sister Foulke, and I were all super ecstatic! :D Their baptism is going to be the 27th! :D
We then had a lesson with Victor Lopez and that went pretty well. :) We then went to contact a referral and Ephraim came with us since it was a referral for the YSA Ward. We set him with a baptismal date!!! :D It was awesome! He is having some struggles with the Word of Wisdom but with God's help I know he can conquer it and anything else that Satan throws his way! :)
We then went street contacting and trying to find potential investigators, the entire time Sister Foulke and I were doubled over in laughter. Ephraim is one funny guy. xD
After that we parted ways and Sister Foulke and I went to this apartment complex to find some new investigators and as we were walking we bumped into this man in his sixties. He was standing at the bottom of the staircase and he looked as though he was searching for something. We asked if we could help him and he said, "It's a fly. It's the first fly I've seen here. There are too many chemicals here." Sister Foulke and I were kinda speechless because we have seen MANY a fly. Before we had to struggle to find something to say for too long a woman came out of the apartment where he was going into and invited us in. She was about sixty as well and she was super nice and the way she was talking to us made it seem like she was a member but then some things she said indicated the opposite so we were a little confused. Then she asked us if we would like lemonade and (as missionaries you never refuse water/lemonade) we said we would love some...... We do not know what she gave us. But we do know it was not lemonade. It. Was. Nasty. Oh my goodness I thought that I was going to throw up it tasted so nasty! Sister Foulke later told me that after her first sip she waited a few minutes to drink anymore to make sure that it wasn't lethal (she wasn't joking, folks). We could tell that we weren't going to be allowed to leave by this kind, grandma lady until we drank all of our "lemonade". Heavenly Father blesses His missionaries. Why do I say that? Because I was able to gulp down the huge glass of "lemonade" that I was given. Even then she kept talking and she literally talked to us for an hour. Not talked with us, talked TO us for an hour. Her name is Celeste Celestial and she is a geneticist who worships the tetrahedron and how there are 9 spirit helpers, us, and the trinity (tetrahedron) and... It was just strange. Cool. But strange. I'm going to have to read her book when I get home because it was just so fascinating (I do not believe her, but now I'm curious because it is rather strange xD).
We then got Cafe Rio!!!!! After which we went to the Saturday session of Stake Conference which was really cool, one of the Seventy came and spoke.
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Stake conference was super good, Elder Arnold of the Seventy spoke again today and so did my mission president and his wife!!! :D It was so much fun! What was awesome is that Marcus came!!!! Without any prompting he then stayed and sat in a lesson that we had with a recent convert, Christian, who received the Melchizedek priesthood after Stake Conference.
We then had a meeting with Victor Ranga... It was really hard He doesn't want to believe and so he is not believing. Sister Foulke and I left the meeting with him feeling really yucky. Something is not right. Neither of us feel good about continuing to meet with him. But what can we do with the Bishop and his wife and Ashlyn pressuring us to keep meeting with him? Oh dear me...
Sister Foulke and I volunteered to sing a duet for a fireside called "Why I Believe" here recent converts are asked to share their conversion story. It was REALLY cool! Sister Foulke and I sang "Be Still, My Soul". I LOVE Sister Foulke's Alto Voice!!!!!! It's so beautiful (she has a hard time believing so) and the two of us blend really well together! I love singing with my Sister! :D Especially when we're rocking out in the car and she's making up some crazy good harmony!
At the fireside I saw Sister Bradley who is Marcelle's (my roommate this last semester) best friend! It was awesome! I then met a girl who is going to my home mission in six weeks... I forgot to ask for her name though. *sheepish grin*
MISC:
Wearing skirts all day everyday has not been that much of an adjustment oddly. Other than I hate sitting ladylike and I kinda have to in a skirt. #rardlife
Shoutout to the best coworkers in the world!!!! I just got a card today in the mail and all of my coworkers wrote a note in it! You guys are the best!!! XD ❤️❤️❤️
Shoutout to my bro, Ethan! Lol, you know me so well. Of course flag football was my favorite unit in P.E. Though it was more contact than flag than it should have been.... XD
My allergies are sososo bad here, and I've gotten two sinus migraines so far. But I've found things to help me deal. And we use cars so that helps a LOT! :)
Lol, apparently people here in Las Vegas suffer from Vitamin D deficiency. Sister Foulke was confused by that, but I laughed. Of course they do! It's so ridiculously hot that people stay inside as much as they can and therefore don't get the sunlight they need. Isn't that hysterical? xD
Everyone needs to read this talk!!!!!!!!!!!! "Notwithstanding My Weakness" is the bomb! I wish I could send you my notes and stuff for it!
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1976/10/notwithstanding-my-weakness?lang=eng
Sister Longo
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| Brother Gardner sent this of our last day together as a district in the MTC. (to the left of Moriah are her teachers Sister Gregerson and Brother Gardner) |
So missionaries here in the mission send one another these kind of mission memes and I LOVE THEM XD
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| This may not be humorous if you haven't been a missionary. :) |
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