MERRY CHRISTMAS HARRY!

I'm so excited to skype with everyone! I can't wait to see all of your faces. :) This email might be shorter because we have to go to a Christmas Devotional today! 

 It finally snowed here! It was not feeling like the middle of December... it felt more like October here! But on Friday, we woke up to snow so that was kind of magical. The best part of this snow though is that it's gone the next day! haha me and Sister Merrill were happy to see the snow because it's pretty and everything but then it starts raining and it just melts away! We had to ride our bike in it and it was quite slippery... let's just say that we were walking a lot of the way. haha 

 And last night my district went CAROLING! It was so fun. We just went to our investigators houses and stopped random people on the street. It was fun being with other missionaries and just singing in the rain. I'm grateful that I am surrounded by other missionaries that love the Gospel as much as I do. 

 At this Christmas season, I really see the importance of families. They are essential to God's plan. They are a stable unit in this crazy world. I'm so grateful that I come from a good family that has taught me so much about how to be a good person. So thank you for that. 

 Please keep my investigators Jamie, Kameisha, and Misty in your prayers. They need prayers and direction. They will not fall! 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: 

We were riding home in the dark and it was pitch black and we were riding on a busy road with not a lot of light...it gets really scary sometimes and we try to avoid it when possible. But I could feel myself get really panic-y and I started praying to Heavenly Father to help me see and to help me feel calm. I immediately felt His protection and then I noticed that it was not as dark because the sky was cloudless (weird for Washington) and there was a full moon. And then there was this really bright construction light that lit my path. It was just amazing to feel of God's awareness of me. He is really taking care of me. 

 I will talk to you all on Wednesday! 

 Love you all! 

Sister Scott

A Tribute to Sister Merrill

Hey Family and Friends!

How was everybody's week?  Is there a lot of snow in Utah?  There is no snow up here in Washington!  It's like 40 degrees!  haha, it's pretty nice :)

This week we were really involved in the Nativity Festival.  It's a festival that the stake put on and it was AMAZING!  It seriously was so cool.  Members of the stake donated about 500 nativities and it was set up in the Cultural Hall.  There were so many Christmas trees and lights.  Me and Sister Merrill set up all these twinkling lights around the nativity and we put little candles everywhere.  We also set up a lot of poinsettias around the tables.  It looked beautiful!  I was so impressed with all the decor.  They had beautiful scenes of Christ's ministry set up.  They had a life of Christ room and they Spirit was so strong in the room.  It is such a great tool to get non members a little exposed to our church.  There were so many people there.  There was also a stake choir that performed.  They asked me to be in it so I got to be in a choir!  It really made me miss choir!  I hope that Carols and Confections is good and I can't wait to hear about it!

I wanted to write a tribute to Sister Merrill.  I know that putting us together is inspired because she has helped me so much.  She listens to me when I need to talk.  She always knows when I'm feeling anxious or sad.  We've developed a system.  She'll ask me what number I'm at on a scale of one to ten.  She knows that if I'm at an 8 or a 9, I need to calm down a little bit and take a break.  She never pushes me or makes me feel bad about myself.  She is always so loving and caring and so willing to help.  She also makes me laugh a lot.  We laugh everyday together and I'm so grateful for that.  She reminds me to slow down and we love getting Baja Blasts from Taco Bell.  I am very grateful for Sister Merrill and that I can rely on her.  

This next week I have more doctors appointments.  I hope that everything smooths out soon, I have a lot of faith that it will.  I can't wait to talk to all of you in like 9 days!  That will be great! :) We can definitely Skype.  I'm not sure of all the details right now.  But maybe get a skype account ready.  I will be able to email next week so I will have more information then of what will happen exactly.  

MIRACLE OF THE WEEK:

Her name is Misty.  She is Jamie's sister.  At first, she wasn't really interested in hearing our message but the Lord has softened her heart and she wants to be baptized.  She said that for the first time in her life, she feels like her life has meaning and she feels like she has hope.  She wants to rid herself guilt and shame.  It has been amazing to watch and I'm grateful that I could be a part of it!  I love this family.  So. Much.  They mean so much to me!  

I love you all!  I miss you all so much too!  Keep going! :)

Love,

Sister Scott

It's C-C-C-C-Cold Outside

Hello everybody! 

 So basically this week has been SO COLD. It's kind of ridiculous. It's a different kind of cold here because of the humidity and it just cuts through you and makes your bones and your muscles BURN. It hurts. But it's not raining so at least we're not wet...just really cold. :) 

 We had Zone Conference this last week. I love Zone Conference. Mostly I just love President and Sister Bonham. They are my favorite. They talked about listening to the Spirit. And receiving revelation and acting on it has become a lot easier to me on my mission. I'm not perfect at it, no way, but I'm a lot better at recognizing the Holy Ghost and then trying to act on it. Missionary work cannot be done without the Holy Ghost, it's just impossible. 

 It's almost CHRISTMAS! We decorated our apartment, we did the best we could haha. I'll send pictures in the near future. A member donated a tree to our cause and I didn't have a stocking so I just pinned up a red sock on the wall hahaha. Good enough, right? 

 Also, remember how I used to be on the Reservation? Well, because it's sometimes dangerous, Sisters aren't allowed on the Res anymore! Kinda crazy...but it's probably a good idea. 

 A couple of weeks ago some members knew I hated fish and they asked me if they made Salmon if I would at least try it. And all these people were telling me that salmon doesn't taste fishy at all and that it's delicious and they hate all other fish except for salmon, so I was like sure. I'll try it. Maybe there is still hope for me. So last night, I tried it. And lemme tell ya... I still hated it. Yup. It was still too fishy for me and there is no hope for me and fish. We just can't be friends. 

 Funny story. So remember James? We found him walking on the street last week. Well we had a lesson with him at the church on Thursday and so we walk in and the church is in pieces!! Okay, not really. But they were fixing the sound system and so the ceiling was on the floor...there were workers walking around everywhere and we're like whatever. We'll just ignore it...he won't mind. So we start giving a church tour and we start talking about the life of Christ and the Sacrament and then they start playing MUSIC! Like, rock and roll music and so we decided the church tour was shot so we just went and had a lesson in the relief society room haha... it was pretty funny though. But James is SO. PREPARED. We were already talking about baptism, but sadly, we found out that he is not in our ward boundaries :( so we had to hand him off to some Elders, but he'll get baptized :) 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: 

So my new meds make me really, really tired and yesterday I was super tired and I couldn't really concentrate so I got to take a Sunday nap! I've missed those... and I got one :) It was fantastic. 

 I love you family and I can't wait to talk to you! It will be so good to see your faces! I miss you everyday. I'm glad that I could be here though. I'm glad that I could be a missionary at this time. I love you all! 

 Sister Scott

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy birthday Mom! 

 I hope that you have a wonderful day today! I will be thinking about you! :) 

 And Richie and Victoria, thanks for delivering the package! Thanks to Dad, Gma and Sue for the goodies :) Kinda weird that you know where I live now.... 

Congrats to Morgan and Rick! I wish I could have been there but I'm sure it was lovely :) 

So Thanksgiving! It was our P Day so we just stayed home and wrote letters and then we went to dinner at a member's home. It was very small and quiet. It was a lot weirder than I thought it would be, I'm used to the kids running around, it's-not-a-party-until-someone-spills-something type Thanksgiving.  But we did get a left over turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce...which is like the best part of Thanksgiving. 

 So this week was just a normal old week. We found a lot of potentials and we have a lot of appointments this week so hopefully we will get like a billion new investigators. We have had to drop a number of our investigators because of lack of progression but that just opens doors to new investigators! 

 This next week will be quite the busy week. We have zone conference tomorrow, which I am way excited for. This week is also full of doctors and counseling appointments. 

 I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I can't wait to hear about it and guess what! There is only like 23 days until I get to talk to you! :) 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: 

We were just riding our bikes and there was a guy that was walking so we stopped to talk to him. He told us that his buddy is a member and that he has been to church a bunch of times and we asked him if he would like to meet with us and he said yes! So we have an appointment with him on Thursday! He was very excited to meet with us and so hopefully we will get a new investigator! 

 I love you and I miss you and I pray for you! 

 Love, 

Sister Scott

It's Thanksgiving Yo!

HEY FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND EVERYBODY

This might be a slightly shorter email.. I only have an hour on the computer because today's not actually P day! They moved our p day to Thursday (because it's Thanksgiving in case you didn't know) but they gave us an hour to email today! 

Some highlights this last week: 

 I got sick AGAIN. Seriously... it's getting to be a bit ridiculous. I lost my voice so you can just picture me talking in a squeaky voice. haha... I'm mostly better now.

 We got a new district leader! His name is Elder Pectol and he's from Heber. So I'm about 90% sure that we're related because we have Pectol's in our family. And he's from Heber..sooo... 

 And of course, we saw ELDER BEDNAR! what the crap. It was definitely the best conference or fireside or whatever you wanna call it I've ever had. It was so amazing. He is SO COOL. He was just so relaxed and he's hilarious. He's probs my new favorite now. 

 He got up and said so you're all probably expecting me to give a lecture and for you to write down everything I say... and he said that was not how it was going to work. He said that it has become culture in the church to just write down everything the speaker said and that we should just write down impressions from the Holy Ghost. Because we won't loose them and we will use them later. In preparation for this meeting, we all had to read three talks given by Elder Bednar. So we studied our little guts out and he started asking us... "Okay, what did you learn from the talks?" Then someone would stand up and say what they would learn and how it effects them. He would elaborate a little bit and then move on to the next one. We did this for probably an hour and a half. Then the last hour and a half we got to have a question and answer with him! Basically. The COOLEST THING OF MY LIFE. He just answered questions about doctrine and about missionary work and about life. It was such an intimate setting and making eye contact with Elder Bednar is just about the best thing ever. He taught a lot about teaching. He also taught about agency, marriage, and he taught about miracles. He is a man of God, I sure have a testimony of that. 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: 

Well I was sick this week and the lovely Sister Lewis from the ward brought me Airborne and a huge thing of Diet Coke. What a gem. :) I'm grateful for people who take care of me out here. 

 I love you all so very much and you mean the world to me! Unfortunately, I'm still having panic attacks but one day it will be fixed! 

 Sister Scott

Marysville 4 Life

Hello everybody! 

 So I'm sure that all of you know about the Typhoon in the Philippines (you probably found out way before I did) and I just wanted to express the sorrow that I feel for these people. I'm grateful that all the missionaries are safe and people have been telling me stories about these things that the missionaries are going through, and they are an example to me of endurance and sacrifice. I can't imagine going through something like that while you are on a mission. It would be so terrifying and we pray here for them everyday. I know that the Lord is weeping with these people and that He protected all the missionaries. I know that the Lord protects me everyday and I'm so grateful for that. 

 But even with all the devastation in the world, the work moves forward. This week, we taught a bunch of lessons and they were really powerful. I've really tried to make studying Preach My Gospel a priority this week and it has really paid off. I've been able to recognize and follow the Spirit easily so that people can hear what they need to hear. Heavenly Father really blesses those that are obedient to Him! Okay so I wanted to tell you some facts about Washington that I didn't know until I got here... 

1. It gets dark at about 4:15. I'm not even joking. It's like pitch black. At 4. 

 2. Everyone says bage instead of bag. Canada, eh? 

3. The grass is green in the winter and brown in the summer. Backwards? 

4. Nobody turns on lights in their home. Everyone just sits in the dark. We have lessons in the dark! 

5. Old people say Worshington. It's true. 

6. The rain here is like a mist. Like one of those misting machines.

 7. It always smells like a camp fire. 

 8. There is ALWAYS traffic. Doesn't matter the time of day, it's always there. 

9. There is a coffee stand on every corner. Surprise, surprise. 

 And I've realized that I haven't really told you about where I live! I live right next to WinCo. So basically, it's great! haha...our apartment is huge! We have two full bathrooms, so I get my own bathroom. I love that. And we also get free Baja Blasts at Taco Bell, just cause we're missionaries! 

 I've noticed that I am changing into a better person. Because of my mission, I will be a better wife and mother. I'll be a better friend, daughter, and sister. I'll just be better. A big change that I've noticed in myself is that I'm really clean.... it's kinda weird because I used to be so messy! haha... if our apartment is messy, I get like really anxious and I can't do anything so I have to clean haha... what has my life come to!? haha oh well it's a good life skill to have I guess. 

 So it's transfers week this week! Me and Sister Merrill will stay here in the Fire Trail ward. I'm very happy about this! I don't feel like I could train right now because I don't exactly feel emotionally stable and Sister Merrill is helping me everyday to help me be more okay. So yeah, still here in Marysville. Probably be here for my whole life or something. :) 

 So on Saturday we have ELDER BEDNAR IS COMING! What the.... I'm really excited but also he might give us like a spiritual smack down or something so I might be a little nervous haha. But, it will be good. He is speaking to just our mission and it's just completely random that he's coming, but it's awesome! I'm not sure we will be able to shake his hands, I think we are all really hoping he will! But President asked me to direct the music, so I will be able to sit on the stand with him, which is way cool. I'll let you know next week how it is! 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: 

So when I came into this ward, the ward didn't really seem to like the Sister Missionaries. I mean, they respected us, but they didn't really treat us like real people. And I came from a ward where they LOVED us and so coming into this ward was a little bit different. But, throughout this transfer, I've seen the ward members really warm up to us and as we talk to more people and are friendly with everyone and work hard, I see them really changing their view of us Sisters and we've developed some great friendships. (shout out to Sister Lewis) 

 I love you and I pray for you. I'm taking things one day at a time. Sometimes I even take one hour at a time, but that's all I can do right now. The church is true! 

 Love, 

Sister Scott

The Hunger Games

Helllooo everybody! 

 I hope that Dad's birthday was fun and that Dad had a good day, I sang Happy Birthday to him...my companion is was a little weirded out what I busted out in song haha... 

 This week has been a week of music, for which I am so so so grateful. I sang in Sacrament on Sunday and it was wonderful to be able to share my testimony through music. This lady named Sister Crawford in my ward accompanied me. She is so wonderful, I really love her. As we were practicing, she stopped and said "Wow, you really share your feelings through the way you sing." When I sing, I feel the deepest emotions, music just does that to me, it brings all these feelings and they are expressed through singing. It's a healing power for me. Also, we went to a dinner appointment at a women's house. She said that she has a tradition of the missionaries singing before dinner because it really brings the Spirit. Sister Merrill starts like having a heart attack and I thought she was joking so I'm like "Sure! I'll sing!" And then she got out the hymn book and I quickly realized she WASN'T joking and that we really did have to sing. Sister Merrill hates singing and so I just sang a solo. It was acapella and wasn't anything special, but I LOVED it! 

 On Wednesday and Thursday of last week me and Sister Merrill were sick. We even got our flu shots and everything! On Wednesday, I woke up feeling terrible and I couldn't really move haha... and then on Thursday that is how Sister Merrill was feeling. We are mostly recovered now, so don't worry! But for two days straight the only time we went outside was to get the mail... haha... we went a little bit crazy. 

 Yesterday for P Day, we went to the church and played blow darts with our District. We are on teams and we hide behind tables and chairs and shoot the other team. I don't even know why, but it was SO MUCH FUN. Basically, I just pretended I was really good at it so people got scared of me haha. The last round we played, we weren't on teams, it was just everybody goes at each other (kind of like Hunger Games) and guess who was the victor? That's right. I was. haha. Me and Sister Merrill decided to be on an alliance and so we destroyed everybody and then it was just us left and everybody was like "Okay! Now kill each other!" and as Sister Merrill was saying how she couldn't shoot her companion, I just killed her without even a blink hahaha... it was hilarious. We have to do some companionship inventory now hahaha just kidding, we still love each other :) 

 I would like to share a scripture that I read this week. It's Alma 36:21. Alma the Younger is talking about his repentance process. It says "..there could be nothing so exquisite and bitter as were my pains...that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy." There is opposition in all things. We have to feel pain to feel joy. And so if you feel a small amount of pain, then you'll only be able to feel a small amount of joy. But as you feel more pain, you can feel more joy. What a beautiful, beautiful thought. Even though I've felt more pain and more trial than ever, that opens the door for me to feel more happiness and joy than ever. 

 Anxiety, depression, lonliness, etc. it's all there. And I'm not sure when it will go away or if it will go away. But every thing that is unfair will be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I can't believe how lucky we are to have this knowledge. Keep your prayers coming, I love them. I pray for you all everyday. 

MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: 

So a new investigator just fell into our hands. His name is Fred. He is 50 and he is severely Autistic. He is so sweet though. His mom is a member and she decided that she wanted to get him baptized so we get to teach him now! He is on date for next Sunday, but we are not totally sure of when it will happen. 

 Love you all! 

 Sister Scott

The Rains Came Down and the Blessings Came Up

Helllo everybody! 

 Before this week, it hadn't even rained while I was on bike...which was weird.... 

 but this week... I finally experienced the rain on bike! It was actually a lot of fun. We were wringing out our skirts because we were so soaked and it was quite cold...but that's okay :) We had a lot of blessings this week. We had two investigators at church yesterday! Aidan and Jamie came! Jamie is really progressing so we're really excited about that. 

 My emotions are up and down and then back up and then back down.... it's hard because a lot of the time I don't feel like I have control but I am learning to give it all to the Lord. I'm learning to give Him all my hopes and dreams and also my pains and weaknesses. As I do this, it becomes easier to do His work. 

This week was Halloween! I dressed up as Minnie Mouse... (as best as I could okay?) Pictures to follow. We went to the ward Halloween party and then we had to go home early because we couldn't proselyte. It was good...we had a TON of candy... it was kind of ridiculous. 

 So on Saturday my old investigator Genevieve got BAPTIZED! My first baptism! :) It was such a great feeling, and the Spirit was very strong. I was so happy that I could be there and she asked me to give the talk on the Holy Ghost. I shared my favorite scripture John 14:27 with her. I was so happy that she was my first baptism and her whole family will be baptized soon :) Also SISTER LUNDELL WAS THERE!! or should I say Cortney...haha it was so good to see her. I miss her a lot and it was hard to say goodbye but I'm so glad that I got to see her. 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: 

On Saturday it was raining really hard and we had an appointment with Aidan. He had been cancelling every appointment that we had earlier that week and it's about a half an hour bike ride to his house and so we would ride out there just for him and then we would have to immediately come back but we decided to have faith and go to the appointment and he wouldn't cancel. So we showed up, soaking wet, and we had a really good lesson! It was great and totally worth it :) 

 i love you all so much! Thank you for all you do for me!

How to Teach the Law of Chastity to a 9 Year Old Boy

Hey Everyone! 

 I hope that Gma and Emilee had a good birthday this week! I sent you both a letter so hopefully you got it! 

Well...this week was a little bit more tough. The panic attacks and everything came back full force... it's discouraging because I was doing so well... I wasn't feeling anxiety or depression and all the sudden everything just comes back full force. On Monday, I received a very, very strong impression that it would be okay if I came home. This impression brought on a panic attack and it left me feeling so scared and so confused. I prayed and prayed and prayed and I realized I needed a Blessing. Some Elders came over and gave me one and in the blessing, again, I felt it would be okay if I came home. It was also coupled with it would be okay if you stayed here too. Each time I prayed about this impression, I received the same two answers... it would be okay to stay.. it would be okay to go. And I had a good session with my counselor. She helped me realize...yes it would be okay if I came home. I could do a lot of good at home, I could learn a lot from coming home because it would be really hard and I would be very humbled. But then we talked about staying. I could do a lot of good here... I would be able to help people and other missionaries and learn a lot and be humbled. I'm not sure why Heavenly Father gave me this impression...especially when everything was so good and I felt so good. But... in the Blessing he said that He gave this to me for a reason...there is something to learn here. And I want to be here. I want to serve in Washington, I really do. So that's what I'm doing today. I don't know what will happen tomorrow or next week or next transfer, but today I am here to serve the Lord. 

 This week we taught a lot of lessons to investigators. One is Aidan, he is a nine year old boy and we had to teach....the Law of Chastity. It was really really awkward. Sister Merrill began explaining and you could just see him squirm in his chair and she just couldn't get the words out and luckily his mom jumped in and explained it... phewf... it was bad...but it was pretty funny too :) 

 We also got two new investigators this week! Amanda is a woman in her 30's...she has three kids and she is single. She is super sweet and we gave her a Book of Mormon. Another is Robert. He is in his 40's, he is so so so nice and he is married with two kids and is curious about our faith. He's basically a closet Mormon. 

This week I went on exchanges with Sister Cromar! Sister Cromar is theeee best. I love her. We met each other at trainers training. And we just connected from the beginning. The picture I am attaching to this is me and her at the library today! I literally just barely took this picture :) Anyway, our exchange felt like two old friends just hanging out together.... it was a lot of fun and we saw a lot of miracles too! She and I have similar stories and so we really could confide in each other and talk about our lives and our experiences on missions and before our missions.  I love Sister Cromar! 

 Her area is my old area in good ol' Quil Ceda Creek! So I got to go back to my old area! The members knew I was coming and I came back with a whole pack of diet coke and lots of treats and chocolate (they know me too well) (and they love me too much) But Sister Cromar hasn't been able to get a hold of Audrey. Remember her? We put her on date and she kinda just fell through the cracks. It was really disappointing and so I really wanted to go see her. We go to her door and have an amazing lesson with her! I was able to promise really specific blessings to her for her situation if she were to get baptized. She agreed and she felt the Spirit a lot. She is back on track, thank you Heavenly Father! 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: 

We have an investigator that has been investigating for about 3 months now. She has never been on date and has never come to church. So we decided she needed to get baptized. We went over and taught her a lesson... this was my first lesson with her. The Spirit was SO STRONG. And we invited her to be baptized and she accepted!! On November 23rd! This is huge because she has never even been close to baptism! It was the miracle of the Holy Ghost testifying to her of this truth. 

 I hope that everyone has a wonderful Halloween! I can't go trick or treating. (figures) but we'll probably eat lots of candy and stuff :)

 Love you all! And don't worry about me... I'll be fine :) 

 Sister Scott

Fishy Fish Fish

Hey family!! 

 So basically, I am doing really well :) I've learned a lot of coping skills that I just didn't have before and so I am able to handle stress and anxiety and depression. My companion is awesome! I really love her a lot! I can open up to her and really trust her. We have also had a lot success this week! We were able to teach a lot of lessons and contact a lot of people. 

 So our mission is doing a little competition type thing... we are trying to contact as many people as possible and so every day we report how many contacts we get in that day. And so being on bike, it's really easy to contact people because you just talk to every person you pass. And so on Saturday we were like... we are gonna get 30! Usually we get like 22 on a really good day. And so it was like 3 pm and we only had 3...and so we thought there was no way we could get even 30. So we start tracting and street contacting and then all the sudden we have 20...so we're like sweet we can do 30... then all the sudden we have 30. And Sis Merrill was like let's go for 40...and then she brought up 50 and we thought there would be no way. And then all the sudden we have 40. AND THEN WE GOT 51. It was so awesome. We were exhausted, but we felt very accomplished. Today we found out the highest in the mission is 55... so we'll totally pass that up one day :) It was really cool because we had a lot faith and we got a lot of really cool potentials and mostly everyone was nice to us! We got the occasional grunter or the ignorer, but it was really great. :) 

 So.... I've been really lucky on mission because no one has ever fed me fish. And I've been dreading the day I would eat the wretched animal. I've always been able to avoid it... the people would always make another entree or I would be on exchanges when they were served fish...or they would cancel. So last week we go to this persons home. It is a really sweet old couple and they say "I hope you guys like fish!" The whole world around me seems to disappear as I stare at my fate on the counter. In my head I'm thinking..."Maybe it won't be so fishy..maybe it will taste good..." Then I smell it... I start gagging already and I knew I was going down. We sit down at the table and luckily they had side dishes... I dish some up and I eat most of the side dishes...avoiding the fish. I decided to leave some of the salad and vegetables so that I could get some of the taste out of my mouth in between bites. So then I cut some of the fish and stab it with my fork...then I realized that I didn't have any water...so I got some water and put off the inevitable a little bit longer. I put in my mouth and I barely let it touch my tongue and just hurried and chewed and swallowed. I did this with about half of the fish until I could take no more. Me and fish...we don't get a long... I wonder how long I can avoid it again... hopefully for forever.... 

 We also met a Wicken this week...that was interesting... he was really weird. 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: So this investigator, Beau. He approached Sis Merrill and her last companion last transfer and said that he has been trying to find missionaries so they can teach him and he can be baptized! What the... that is a miracle. So his girlfriend is a member...but she is pretty anti when it comes to the church so it's been a conflict between them. It was getting really hard to meet with him because of his girlfriend so we decided to let him come to us. If he really wants it...he will make an effort. So last week he texted us and told us that he really misses the lessons and that he needs this in his life and he wants to be baptized as soon as possible. The next day we met with him and put him on date for baptism! Everything that he says is so cool. He has so much faith and basically we don't even have to teach him because he just knows everything already... but we still will teach him. It's been so cool to teach someone so prepared. He reminds me of Genevieve in the way that he accepts everything and does everything so willingly. 

 Thank you for your prayers. I miss you all a lot... and that's a struggle but I am trying to give all my pains and all my joys to the Lord. I know that He will take care of everything, as long as I work hard and be obedient. I know that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And this isn't just a church..it's a way of life, a way of living. And sometimes I cannot believe that I was blessed enough to be raised in a Christ centered home where I could partake of His Gospel. But I was given those blessings so I could share it with others. And that's why I am here. 

 Love you all! 

 Sister Scott

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN!

Helloooo everybody! 

 Happy birthday Jen!!!! I hope that you had a wonderful, wonderful day! I thought about you all day and I sang to you all by myself :) 

 I hope that you all know that I pray for each of you every day and I really hope that you are doing so great and I hope that you will let me know what I can do for you. 

 So.. transfers happened!!! I bet you are all dying to know where I am.... 

 Well, I'm in the Firetrail ward. 

 My companion is named Sister Merrill. I seriously love her! She is so funny and she is very encouraging. I was able to open up to her and tell her my experiences. She has been out for 6 weeks and so I am finishing her training. She is so supportive and it will be good :) 

 Okay so basically Firetrail is STILL IN MARYSVILLE. hahaha so I'm still in Marysville! The boundaries for this ward is literally touching the boundaries for my last ward... hahahaha of course I would get transferred one ward over! I was thinking of all the places I could be... the islands... or way up north...but nope! Marysville all the way hahaha. This ward even covers the other half of the Res! But the Sisters cover the city! So I am in the city and one minor detail I forgot... 

 I'M ON A BIKE! Oh my goodness. it's sooooooo fun. I absolutely looooove it. It's a relief to be outside and to be riding around the town and to breathing fresh air. People are really impressed because they see us girls in skirts riding on a bike when it's cold and then they listen to what we have to say. Street contacting is sooo awesome. We just talk to everyone on the street and it doesn't even matter that I'm wearing a stupid helmet... it's just so much fun. I would totally serve on a bike for the rest of my mission. It makes me feel like the typical missionary, and I just love it :) 

 This week was full of meetings and things so there was not a lot of proselyting time. We had interviews with President Bonham on Thursday..and what a man. I just love him so much. He brings me so much comfort and he always says the right thing. 

 So far, I've met one investigator in this area. His name is Aiden. He is 9. His mom is a less active and he is on date for November 2nd! So that's all the investigator info I got for ya right now. :) 

 So overall this week has been good :) I still have bad moments and bad days, and I'm don't feel perfectly fine again, but that's okay. I am overcoming things slowly but surely. I am trying to really understand myself and what I need to do to fix things and be better. Thank you for your support and love :) 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: I haven't fallen off my bike...haha 

 Love you all! 

 Sister Scott

Week 2 as a Spanish Missionary!

Heyyyy everyone! 

 So, it was so good to talk Mom and Ian on Thursday. I am so sorry that I couldn't talk to everyone, I really wish that I could have, but Christmas is only 3 months away! I am so glad that you can understand the things that I am going through. I miss you all a lot and I am looking forward to talking to you again! 

 I think that most of you will know what happened this week, but I'll just give a quick recap to those who don't. Last Tuesday, my companion, Sister Yeager, decided that she didn't want to be in this companionship anymore and told President that she needed a transfer. So later that day we went on exchanges with Sister Andersen and Sister Hansen and then Wednesday we were both transferred. So my companions are Sister Andersen and Sister Hansen and we live in Lake Stevens now. Sister Yeager lives up north in Ferndale. So yeah, this week has been rough and very emotional but I have hope that things will be better next transfer. President Bonham has involved me with transfers and what I think I would be able to handle. I'm not sure where I will be going, but I will find out tomorrow! 

 I've been able to teach my investigators a little bit this week if I had a set appointment or something, but mostly we've been in the Spanish Branch! So this is my second week being a Spanish missionary! I even learned how to pray in Spanish! 

 Investigator update: Audrey is on date for baptism! October 19th! And Genevieve's baptism got pushed back to next week. 

 Let me tell you how much General Conference was for me. A little bit ago, my counselor diagnosed me, using a test, with depression. I never thought that depression would ever be something I would have to deal with, but it happened. And then Elder Holland's talk. Tears were flowing from my eyes within the first sentence. Heavenly Father knows me and He knows my struggles. He knows what I need to hear and I can't wait to study that talk more and more. I also had another really cool experience. I was looking for an answer to a very specific question. (This question is a very personal thing and I would prefer not to share it at the moment, but maybe later :) ) It was a yes or no answer and so before conference, I was thinking of how Heavenly Father was going to answer this question because it was very specific and so I thought "Hmmm...you know if the choir sang Abide With Me 'Tis Eventide that would answer my question." So after President Monson spoke for the last time, and it was over, I had kind of forgotten about this question and then the choir sang Abide With Me; 'Tis Eventide. Once again, tears just flowing from my eyes because I knew that God cared. I knew that He wanted to answer every one of my questions. It was such a cool experience. 

 What was YOUR favorite part of conference?? In your next letter, you should tell me your favorite talk and why it was your favorite! I can't wait to hear everyone's answers! 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: 

This week, Heavenly Father has blessed me with the ability to stay in the presence. Even with all the happened this week, I am able to put it behind me and move forward. I couldn't do that without the Grace of God. I know that Heavenly Father has so much in store for me. 

 I love you all! Thank you for your prayers! 

 Sister Scott

Canned Green Beans-This Week-Space Mountain

HEYOOO!

 So this week....has been a ROLLER COASTER! Unfortunately it's not as fun as Space Mountain...but on the the up side, this week has definitely been better than canned green beans... haha... so yeah...I'm just thinking I'm really funny and clever right now. :) 

 I've been up and down and side ways and upside down with my emotions this week. Last week when I emailed you, I was feeling real good! But then the next day was really tough and so it's just been like that all week. But, that's how missions are, right? Everyday we battle to get out of bed and prepare for the day and everyday we have to make the decision to keep going and to work. Everyday we are rejected and stressed out. Everyday we make mistakes. But how else are we going to learn to that the Lord's way is the right way? We need to experience this pain and grief for the benefit of ourselves! We must find out for ourselves that this gospel brings true happiness and joy. 

 Some good things of the week: 

• The Relief Society Broadcast! Man, I sure love our Prophet. Every talk was so goood and I learned so much! 
•  I was able to go on some more exchanges to take a break and I'll be able to go on exchanges this week too. It's a relief to me and I'm very grateful for that relief. 
•  WE HAVE A BAPTISM THIS WEEK!!!! Genevieve and her daughters, Aliyah and Ariana will be baptized on Sunday, October 6th at 7pm! I'm so excited, I could pee my pants. (but I won't) 
• General Conference is this week toooO!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm excited for that, if you can't tell :) This General Conference, I'm really looking for answers and for motivation to work. I am really trying to prepare myself for conference by writing down inspired questions. I have faith that they will be answered! 
• Transfers are next week! President has let me know that I will not be staying with my companion and that I will be transferring somewhere else. Not sure where and I won't know until next Tuesday! I'll write a letter as soon as I find out! 
•  I've spent a long time pondering and praying about what Heavenly Father wants me to do this last week so I'm not straining myself and then I'd worn out and can't go for the rest of my mission. So me and the Sister Training Leaders have set up a plan that I can take things slowly and recover. So that's what this week is, recovery week! (not from drugs, I swear) It will include a lot of hot chocolate and essential oils and music and rest. I feel positive that Heavenly Father is proud of me, even if I'm not working 24/7. Right now, this is what I need to be doing, and I will be ready to work in another place next week. 

 So even with all of this stuff that is wearing me down, I am able to have some fun :) The Elders in my ward, Elder Caruso and Elder Finley, they are the best :) I love them a lot! I have a lot of fun with them! I'll tell you a funny story. So Elder Caruso, he was sick this week and so he took some cold medicine that made him drowsy and then after it kicked in, instead of going to bed like a normal person, he calls us and is totally loopy and so the Sister Training Leaders were with us at the time and so he is just talking to us and it's really funny because he's so out of it. So we decide to mess with his mind a little bit and Sister Hansen starts talking to him in Spanish. And he was soooo confused and he's like "I feel like this isn't even in English..." And we're like "Elder, you really need to go to bed, we are talking in English!" hahaha it was really funny and it gave me a good laugh :)

 Throughout all of this, all the stress and anxiety that I've had, I have had the gift of knowing that God is there. He will never abandon me and I know that. I know that some people start to question the existence of God in times of trial, and luckily, I don't have that. I know He loves me and hears and answers my prayers. I am so grateful for this! 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: 

Before my mission if I wouldn't warm up my voice for more than a week or something, it would start to crack a lot and I couldn't have as much control and I would be at risk of losing high notes. So that is something that I worried about because there is no time to warm up my voice daily, I can do a little here and there, but not what I need. So I was worried that I would lose notes and stuff, but God has blessed me with a miracle! My voice is in better shape than ever, even with the little time I have to warm up! Last minute, I sang I Need Thee Every Hour in church and I was worried because I hadn't warmed up and there was no time, but I was able to sing it without any problem! It's quite splendid. :) 

 I love you alllllll sosoososoososososososo much! Thank you for the letters, packages, thoughts, prayers, and everything that you have sent my way! I couldn't ask for a better support system and I'm so grateful for you! 

 Love, 

Sister Scott

My Week as a Spanish Missionary

Hellloooooo everyone! I hope that everyone has had a great week, I hope that it was full of fun and laughter. :) 

 So my week was a little crazy. 

 Last Monday, I was fine. I had a relaxing day and I got some Caramel Apple Spice from Starbucks so it was okay. But then Tuesday came. Tuesday, we taught a lesson in the morning and then at lunch time, I couldn't handle it anymore. I just couldn't do it. So I called President and told him what I was feeling and then I went and talked with him at the Mission Office for a little bit. And that night I went on exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders. And they are Spanish Missionaries! So I was with Hermana Andersen in her area. Oh my goodness, I sure love her. She is so nice and fun to be around. I was relieved to not have so much responsibility just for a little bit. And Wednesday came and it was the hardest day I've ever had in my life. I went to counseling and she suggested an emergency transfer. Me and my companion would go to a two different companionships and three pack it. I was so discouraged and so sad and I just wanted relief so President was starting the process of an emergency transfer. And so Thursday Sister Andersen and her companion had to go to a leadership training so I had to go back with Sister Yeager for like half the day. So that morning was just terrible and then I decided that I was just going to take it easy and not take things so seriously that day. And I ended up having a good day. So I prayed a lot about the transfer, and I felt like I had some other options. There are other things that I could do that would make me happy throughout the day. I called President and talked it over with him and he agreed to let me finish out these last two weeks in my area. So, I'm still in Marysville! President is going to make a change at transfers so I'm not sure if I'll be staying in Marysville or going somewhere else. I am doing a LOT better now. I hope that there is no panic attacks this week. Thank you for your prayers, I can feel them strengthening me everyday. 

 So I stayed with Sister Andersen for the whole week and so I got to be a Spanish Missionary! It was....weird. Actually it was really fun, the Hispanic people are so welcoming and nice! Not at all like Americans, haha. Just kidding, some Americans are nice... And yesterday I had to lead the music in Sacrament meeting, but the hymns were in Spanish so I was literally up there singing "I don't know these words or how to say them or anything...la la la" and it was a branch so it's tiny so they probably all heard me... hahaha oh well. 

 So yeah, crazy week last week, but a good one ahead! Yesterday there was SEVEN INVESTIGATORS AT CHURCH. I wasn't there to see it, but I just was beaming when I heard that. 

 I've also learned a lot about prayer. Prayer is sooooo cool. I mean, we get to talk to our Heavenly Father! And He is there to listen to us! But not only to listen to us, but to talk to us! He's got some stuff to say too! This week I've really been trying to listen and ponder and meditate while I'm praying. It's been amazing because sometimes I feel like I'm just saying the same thing over and over again... but as I listen and think, I feel impressed to pray about certain things. So basically Heavenly Father is telling me what to tell Him.... what a wonderful, amazing, beautiful thing. And how cool is Heavenly Father for telling us what to pray for!! He's great. 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: 

The way that I am feeling right now is a miracle. I was at the lowest point of my whole life one day and through the Atonement of Jesus Christ (and a little bit of essential oils) I am able to move forward. The way I feel now compared to the way I did then, it's a world of a difference. 

 I love you all SO MUCH! Thank you for all that you do for me. You are so wonderful and I pray for you everyday. 

 LOOOOOOVE, 

Sister Scott. 

 xoxoxoxoxoxo

The Squirrel

Hello everybody! How is everyone doing?? I've missed you a lot this week, and I'm glad to talk to you again :) 

 This week has definitely been tough! The panic attacks haven't stopped and I'm not really sure what is happening with my emotions or anything. I went to a counselor today and she gave me some things to try to relieve my stress better and to calm down a bit. I have faith that things will get better over time. This transfer is just flying by, I can't believe it's already week 4 of this transfer. It was just yesterday that I got my new companion! Thank you for the many things that you all do for me! 

I have been very blessed though. I don't know if I've ever told you about the Walker's. Brother Walker is the Ward Mission Leader. He is 27 and his wife is 21. I. Love. Them. I love being around them and I love talking to them. They are a blessing and tender mercy from Heavenly Father. I like to go hang out with Sister Walker on P Day's and plus she's a fabulous cook. They are so helpful with this work and they are also so funny and I just love them so much. And I also my Mission President, President Bonham and Sister Bonham. They are so supportive and willing to do whatever it takes to help me. They are very personable and they take time to help each missionary. I really have the greatest mission president. Another thing I've been blessed with is fabulous mission leaders. The Sister Training Leaders have been such a help to me. They are people that I can talk to freely and they give me advice and comfort. As you can see, I have these fabulous people taking care of me. :) 

 So right now, we have 6 investigators! We have Genevieve and her daughters Alea and Ariana. Then we have Chanel and Alexis Rambow. Then we have Audrey! Everyone but Audrey is on date to be baptized but she will be on date real soon :) I love my investigators and I learn so much from them and I'm so happy to be serving them. I don't know what is going to happen. 

 I don't know what challenges lay ahead. I don't know how I should handle them or what will come of them. But I have faith and courage that Heavenly Father is there to guide me. One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon is in 1 Nephi 4:6-7. It says "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the hings which I should do. Nevertheless I went forth..." Nephi didn't know what would happen or how it would happen. All that he knew is that the Spirit was leading him and that was enough. I know that Heavenly Father has a lot of things planned for me. I know that as long as let the Spirit guide me, I will be okay and I should and will go forth. 

 Okay so I'm sure you're all wondering why I titled this email "The Squirrel." So one morning we had to go out to the car to grab something and so I walked out the door just minding my own business. As soon as I stepped out of the door something hit my foot! And it startled me quite a bit and I was like "WHAT HAPPENED???" And then my companion said it was a squirrel! A squirrel ran into my foot and then ran over my foot.... hahahaha it was actually really funny. I hope your laughing cause I sure am. 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: One night we decided to get some ice cream... so we went to McDonald's and got a hot fudge sundae and lemme tell ya... those things are miracles. They are sooo delicious. It just made me so happy. 

 I love you all so much! I miss you and I hope that you are all doing well! :) 

 Love, 

 Sister Scott

I Need Your Prayers and Letters

Hellloooooo family! 

 Woweee wow. This week has been a whirlwind. I'm very anxious about telling you all of what has happened. 

 So, I've been a wee bit stressed out. I guess I get really hard on myself and stuff.... I expect myself to be this perfect trainer, and I have to have more patience with myself in knowing that I will be better little by little and not be perfect all at once.... that's really hard for me to accept because Sister Yeager definitely deserves a fantastic trainer that knows a whole bunch. And right now the work is pretty slow and this area is my responsibility, it's just a lot to handle. I was letting all this stress and more stress just build up inside of me, and it was really getting me down. I had a very hard time being happy and positive. Even with members that I loooove being with, I could manage to be happy. So on Friday morning, we were having companionship study. And we disagreed on something. It was really small, Sister Yeager thought we should teach one thing to a less active and I thought we should teach another. And really, it shouldn't have been a big deal. They were both awesome things to teach but I could not handle it. I was very annoyed and so I excused myself to go upstairs and calm down a little bit....but unfortunately the exact opposite happened... I couldn't control my emotions or thoughts and I had a panic attack. I've never had one before and so it was very frightening and I wasn't sure what was going on. I called President Bonham and asked me if I wanted to come talk to him. So we went down to his office to talk to him. He talked to me for a while and he suggested that I go to a counselor. So this week, I will be going to a counselor to try and figure out what is going on and what I need to do to help. I hope that it helps and that I can figure all this out. President Bonham gave me a blessing and in it he said "Daughter, be comforted." When he said that, I knew that it was God saying that. I just knew it. I knew that God was there. That was quite amazing. Right now, I just need your prayers! And your letters! I really miss you all a lot. 

 But enough of this hard stuff! 

 Lemme tell you the good things that happened this week: 

1. I got to see Sister Lundell on Friday! What a comfort and a blessing to see her. 

2. We had stake conference this weekend and it was broadcast from Salt Lake! Elder Hales and Elder Perry spoke and gave wonderful talks! It was very great and it made me super excited for Conference! 

3. On Friday, the Elders brought me some ice cream and called me throughout the day to tell me jokes and make me laugh, they're great :) 

4. A button popped off my skirt and I sewed it back on all by my self..it was very fulfilling. 

 5. I read a suuuuuuuuuuper great article in the September 2013 Ensign called "His Grace is Sufficient." It's by Brad Wilcox and oh my goodness, I want everyone in the whole world to read it! So go read it! 

6. I got a lot of packages this week, so THANK YOU! You don't know how much that means to me. 

 7. I'm learning so much about the Bible and the Book of Mormon and how they coincide and the necessity of the Book of Mormon. It's just real grand. 

8. A less active in our ward, named Sister Rambow wants to come back to church and she has two daughters, Chanel and Alexis! They haven't been baptized and will be baptized on October 12th! (Happy birthday Jen!) 

9. It's scarf season!!!!!! 

10. Remember Audrey? She moved to Olympia a couple weeks ago. Well she texted us last week and she is moving back!!! Hurraayyyy! And she wants to come to church so badly and she is just my favorite. 

11. God is always with me. He has his arms wrapped around me. 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: 

This miracle is the miracle of the Eternities. I am learning more and more each day about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I feel the effects of it and I am trying to let it work into my life. The Atonement is the greatest miracle of all and we need to show God how grateful we are for it by keeping the commandments and honoring our covenants. 

 Thank you family for your love and support! I couldn't do anything without you! 

 Love you and miss you! 

 Heidi

Hola Familia!

September 3, 2013 

 Guess what! I'm a spanish missionary now! 

 hahaha jk's y'all jk's. (My district leader is from North Carolina and he says "jk's y'all jk's" alllll the time and now we all say it) 

 So this week! I have a new companion! Her name is Sister Yeager! We have the same first name, which is cool :) She is from Kansas and she's a cowgirl. She is very obedient and very ready to work hard, it's great :) 

 It's so different being a trainer! My companion is looking to me for what to do say and what to do and I feel like I was just in that position, probably because I was! It's a bit stressful, but I'm learning soooo much about missionary work and I hopefully am a better trainer everyday. 

 The week of transfers is always a little crazy with getting everything all settled so there usually isn't a ton of proselyting time. Last week on Thursday, it started POURING! It was super fun and we were just out visiting a bunch of people and just going from house to house, we were soaked! It was funny when we showed up to dinner and we're like wringing out our hair and clothes.... haha, I love it though! 

 So Genevieve is struggling right now. She is going through a divorce and it's a nasty one so she needs your prayers! We are doing our best to help her as much as we can. She is so great and I will not let her slip away! 

 We got 4 new investigators this week! A single dad and his three sons! They are black and it's great :) We have an appointment with them today and so hopefully we can dunk those guys. (baptize them haha) 

 I love studying this gospel! It's such a testimony builder to read the scriptures and learn more about the Doctrine of Christ. One hour of personal study a day is just not enough! I love this gospel and I'm grateful for alllllllll the many blessings that I have. 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: 

So there is this lady, her name is Barbara, we have been trying so hard to have an appointment with her but she just keeps falling through and everytime she's like "Oh I'm so sorry, I want to meet you guys so badly! Please come back!" I mean, how can we say no to that? So the other night, I was driving to someone's house and then all the sudden I took a wrong turn and I was in front of Barbara's house! I was like "Whoa, this is weird because I could have sworn I was going the right way." And then I decided it must have been a sign so we got out and went to visit her. She actually had time to meet with us! She invited us in and we taught her the first lesson! It was so great! We were very grateful that Heavenly Father had guided us there! :) 

 Love you all! 

 Sister Scott

No Email Today! :(

Heidi did not email today.   I would be worried but have been prepared that this may happen on a holiday.  Maybe tomorrow?   I hope so.

MOM

TRANSFERRRSSSS

Hey family! 

 So I know you're all probably DYING to know.. is she training or is she not? Well maybe you're not dying to know, but I'll just pretend you are :) 

 .......... 

 I'm training!! 

 I'm really excited/nervous/sad. 

 I'm excited to learn and grow from training. I always learn the most when I lead and teach others. I'm excited to be an example to her. I'm nervous because I've only been out for 6 weeks....I haven't even finished my training yet! (training lasts for 12 weeks) I'm nervous that she won't respect me as a trainer and that she won't trust me. But! I will do the best I can and I guess if she doesn't respect me, it's her problem. I'm sad because Sister Lundell is leaving :( I will be staying in Marysville and it just won't be the same without her! We've become bff's if you can't tell :) Our time has been cut short. 

 We found out on Thursday that I'll be training and lemme tell ya, I didn't sleep that night. I couldn't eat, I couldn't concentrate on the work, I was TERRIFIED. And sometimes I just like to keep things all inside of me and then on Saturday I kinda just broke down and I spilled my guts to Sister Lundell and Elder Caruso and Elder Finley came and gave me a blessing and told me that God will never leave me. Even though, I feel completely unqualified, but the Lord has put me here in the this mission at this time for a reason! I know that! At the trainers training meeting on Friday, President took me aside and said to me 2 things. 1. Keep training myself as well as my trainee and 2. I do trust you with this assignment, but don't let it get to your head. My first thought was "Oh that's great, he trusts me!" My second thought was "What is he going to do to me???" hahaha. I'll be fine :) I feel a lot better now, I'm still super nervous, but I'll be okay :) I can't wait to meet her and get to know her and have as much fun and work as hard as I did with Sister Lundell. 

 So my MIRACLE OF THE WEEK this week is kinda crazy awesome. A couple Sundays ago there was a cottage meeting. A cottage meeting is where new converts tell their stories and we bring investigators and stuff. It's at the mission home and you have to have someone bring you. So we had a less active to bring us and we were so excited because it was my first one! And last minute, our less active cancels on us and so we call someone else and they will take us! But then right before we had to leave, she calls us and says she just randomly threw up and got real sick. So we call every single person we know! And everybody is busy! And so we're like "Alright... God must want us to stay here." We had NO idea what he wanted us to do so we prayed and then we went to a house that we were parked in front of. We talked to a guy, but it wasn't anything too big. Then we decide to go to another less actives home. So we do! Her name is Lesley Lopez. She is home and we get to know her and we ask her if there was anyone she knew that would accept this gospel. She tells us to go see her daughter Genevieve. So a couple days later we go see Genevieve. Oh. My. Goodness. She is SO prepared to receive this gospel! She is 35 and just got out rehab. She is just thirsting for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So I invited her and her two daughters to be baptized and they accepted! They will be baptized in September and it's just so wonderful! :) She is just eating everything up and she has so much faith and such a sincerity to receive this Gospel. Her daughters names are Alea, who is 10 and Ariana, who is 14. The Lord is truly directing our every path. 

 I cannot believe my first transfer is over! We go pick up our new missionaries tomorrow! It feels like yesterday I was there in that position! I was so nervous and really tired, but it was a special day! I'm excited to be such a big influence in this new sister's life! 

 Last week for P Day, we went to a trampoline gym. It was so fun it felt like it should be apostate. (any time something is against the rules, we call it apostate, it's great) But you could jump on the tramps to the foam pit or do par kour on the side tramps or play dodge ball. We went with our district. It was just so much fun! This week Sister Mereness (a lady in our ward, she's the best) took us to Olive Garden and then to the outlet malls! We are having way too much fun over here, seriously. 

 Me and Sister Lundell sang in Sacrament Meeting yesterday! We sang Joseph Smith's First Prayer to the tune of Come Thou Fount. It was a lot of fun! The arrangement didn't have parts so I got to write the harmonies! It was awesome and I'm happy to be using my talents out here :) 

 Okay, so basically I'm in desperate need of music! (Richie, you were right....) So maybe you could all send me some? Just find some cool uplifting songs and send them my way! I would love that! 

 I love you all so much! Sometimes when one of you pops in my head randomly, I like to think that you are somewhere thinking about me too! I miss you and I pray for you everyday! 

 Love, 

Heidi 

 P.S. The people next to me at the library reek of Marijuana...welcome to Marysville.

Picture Post

Cute Ella Mereness that got baptized! 

Sister Mereness...she's my favorite.

cutest dog ever.  Her name is Bella and she  fits on my scriptures. it's great. This is at the Cubbedge's home

The Dating Game Continues

August 19, 2013 

Helllloooo everyone! 

 How are you all? Great? I sure hope so. :) Alright so crazy thing, this is the last week of this transfer! We find out on Thursday if we will be training or not and basically I'm real nervous... I'm not sure what will happen and I reaaaallllly don't want to leave Sister Lundell :( it just wouldn't be the same! 

 So bad news this week... Saturday Glen calls us... he's moving. On Tuesday..... Sad for us, but he'll be in good hands with the new missionaries. He is moving to Blaine...or however you spell it. And it's like the farthest north you can go in our mission. Then on Sunday Audrey tell us that she is moving on Monday... She is moving to Olympia... And we'll also get her in good hands...but it's pretty sad that we don't get to teach them. They were both golden investigators. We'll just have to go to their baptisms! 

 Alright, so I'll tell you what I did with my life this past week. 

Monday we went thrift store shopping! It was great and I found some real cute stuff for like 3 bucks. Grandpa would be proud. 

 Tuesday was my first Zone Conference! It was awesome and me and Sister Lundell sang I Know That My Redeemer Lives! It went well :) I learned a lot of great things and stuff :) Me and Sister Lundell got the award for cleanest car...oooohhhhhh yeah. That thing was sparkling. The rest of the day we visited people. We went to dinner at the Guzman's, boy they are funny people. They are members and they have like a billion grand kids and none of them are members. Shanae, one of our investigators, is their grand daughter. 

Wednesday we had to go to Everett for an appointment for Sister Lundell and a less active is at the hospital doing chemo there in Everett so we stopped by but she was sleeping so we got her a bear and a note and it was great :) 

 Thursday we did service at Sister Bailey's house. We had to pick apples and there were spiders EVERYWHERE on the tree. It was bad...bad bad bad. We looked ridiculous but was pretty funny. Then she had us shuck some corn and then cut off the kernels... We did like 40 of them... we were just covered in corn and grossness. I felt like one big giant kernel of corn. Then we had a lesson with Shanae! It went SOOO well. She asked so many great questions and she was able to feel the Spirit and she wants to keep meeting with us. She will be baptized one day! 

Friday we went on exchanges! I was with Sister Amataga, she's from Samoa. She's great! When we were there I just realized how sad it would be to be in this area with Sister Lundell! I don't want to, don't make me... :( 

 Saturday we went to a little girl's baptism, her name is Ella. She is so cute and her mom, Sister Mereness, is my favorite. She's from Austria and she has an accent and I love their family. So we sang at her baptism! We sang I Know Heavenly Father Loves Me! Just like I sang at my baptism! It was very special. 

 Sunday we went to church of course! And then we were kinda bummed out all day because of Audrey and Glen and Pam had cancelled her lesson and then didn't come to church....again... but then we had this lesson with Sister Cubbedge and she is preparing to go to the temple! So we are teaching her a temple prep class! We had a great lesson with her :) 

 So we have this neighbor, Dave, and he's great. He's very friendly and he's a great neighbor. And we were talking to him one day and he's like "Hey so I have this projector and we should totally set it up and watch a movie out back." and we're like..."uhhhhh.... we'll have to watch a church movie!" then he says "Alright! Sounds good to me!" And then we're like crap... he just wants to watch a movie with us... awkward... luckily the Elders were right there and we could run away with them. hahaha I don't really understand why someone would think we could go on a date with them. Crazy people. 

 And I got Jen's package! Thanks for the bows and my SHIRT! I was really sad that I lost that...but now I am happy :) Letters will be on your way! 

 So I do a lot of studying (go figure) and I am learning sooooooooooooooooo much. Heavenly Father is just giving me all the info about anything. It's great. And the Gospel makes so much sense. Everything fits together and it's just good. Every question that you have can be answered and every concern that you've heard from people can be cleared up if you just READ the scriptures. So many people take things out of context and don't study the whole thing. Here's my bold comment for the day... anyone who doesn't believe that this gospel is true has not studied it correctly. Study with the Holy Ghost and with prayer and with a desire to know the mysteries of God. It's quite amazing. And this week I realized something. I've realized that my whole life has led me to this. Everything that I've experienced, everything I've learned. It's prepared me to preach this gospel. I've always been supposed to serve a mission. When I didn't get a clear answer of whether or not I should go, I was always supposed to. God just knew that I would choose to go and so He just let me decide. He trusted me enough to make this decision. I'm so grateful for this gospel and direction that it gives me. It's everything that I am. 

 MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: When we try and call Shanae, she usually doesn't answer and then we can't get a hold of her for a while. But this week we call her, she didn't answer and then like a half an hour later, SHE CALLS US! We were just so happy and Heavenly Father has led us to her! 

 Okay, I love you so much and I think about you and I pray for you everyday! I'm glad that Jen is safe in Syracuse and that the trip went well! 

 Love, 

Heidi

The Beach

                                        The Beach

My first rain in Washington!

It was Elder Caruso's birthday so naturally we got him a sombrero

 Us and little Sydney Sumsion!  She is Bishops daughter and was just baptized! 

Cats and Scary Places

Hello everyone! 

 So, it's been a tough week in the field! But definitely a good kind of tough :) Once again, all of our appointments fell through so that's always nice. haha. It's frustrating sometimes but then again, we are working really hard and doing the best we can so a lot of times we just have to leave things up to God. We have 15 potential investigators. And they are all very much potential... not just oh yeah they could perhaps. Everyone seemed very excited to talk with us but some how they keep falling through. BUT NOT THIS WEEK. Me and Sister Lundell made a goal this week to have 11 new investigators. That's right. 11. And it's a lot and it's going to take soooo much work. But we are going to do it! We will get this! But we definitely need your help! Please pray for us to specifically get 11 new investigators. And spread the word! Let this become a world wide prayer! 11 NEW INVESTIGATORS! IT WILL HAPPEN. I have faith in God's plan. 

 So yeah, we haven't been teaching much at all, but we've met a lot of....interesting people. We went tracting by the ocean. So basically they are all pretty rich and they feel that they don't need the Gospel. One lady thought it was appropriate to yell at us TWICE. Thanks.... It's fine, it's easy to laugh it off because it's their loss. We definitely did what we could do and maybe we have planted some seeds and one day they will be prepared to hear this message. I sure hope so! 

 Funny story, we went to a less actives house and she's like "I'm not interested in this church anymore but HOW DO YOU GUYS ALWAYS FIND ME?" Hahaha I guess that she had just moved there and every time she moves she has some missionaries come over to meet her and stuff. Our church is secretly the FBI. hahaha 

 Oh so the other day a lady in our ward gave us some donuts and it took us a while but it was HOSTESS brand! Is it back? When did this happen? Hooray for Hostess! I'm outta the loop here. 

 This week we had received a refferal. His name is Kevin. So we went to Kevin's house and his roommate Brett answered the door and Kevin wasn't home of course. Brett is Agnostic so he wasn't interested but we gave him our card with our number so that Kevin could call us. That night we get a text that says "Hi" and the rest of the conversation as follows 

Us: "Hey, who is this??" 

Unknown: "You came by earlier looking for my roommate." 

Us: "Oh is this Brett?" 

Unknown: "Yep." 

Us: "Oh hey Brett! Are you interested in hearing our message?" 

Brett: "Yeah actually I was talking to Kevin last night" 

Us: "Oh that's awesome! Why don't you talk to Kevin and let us know when we can come teach both you!" 

Brett: "Okay, I will!" 

End convo. 

Then the next two days we don't hear from him. We text him and we don't have any reply.... Then a couple days later we get a text from Brett. 

 Brett: "Hi." 

 We were talking to a less active so we didn't reply but a couple of minutes later we get another text. 

 Brett: "Hey do you guys wanna catch a movie tomorrow?" 

hahahahahaha he asked us on a date. What gave him the idea that we wanted to go out with him? It's a little creepy...we didn't reply and told the Elders to go visit him and see just how interested in the Gospel he really is. 

 So a couple of nights later we were at another less actives home and her son came in and talked to us a little and then asked "So...can you guys go on dates?" We say "No" obviously and then he just like walks away and it was awkward hahaha... we got two date offers in a week! Great times. 

 So I wanna tell you a little bit about what I've learned from my study time! Me and Sister Lundell are reading the New Testament in chronological order and we are studying Jesus the Christ. It's awesome and we learn A LOT! I was thinking about temples and how we go there to become closer to God and to become more like Him. And then I was thinking about our bodies. How they are temples. I think that statement is a lot more profound than we make it out to be. Our bodies are GIFTS from God! God has a body and He gave us our bodies so we could become closer to God and become more like Him. Just like the temple. These bodies are so precious and Satan is so so so so so jealous that he doesn't have one so of course he would use our bodies against us to make us sin against God! This all kind of just hit me and you all probably realized it a while ago but I thought it was neat :) 

 Ian! How was Retreat?? I haven't heard from you in while! You better write me and tell me all about it!! Seriously, I want to know everything. 

And I hope that you all have a fun time on that super cool road trip. Every time someone mentions New York, I'm like "Oh my sister is going there!" haha they probs don't care but I do. 

 Me and Sister Lundell are still doing great as companions :) We love each other especially now since we're like cousins and stuff. :) We literally tell everyone that we meet. It's great. We started a quote wall in our apartment of funny stuff that we have said or done. 

 Okay so I forgot to do MIRACLE OF THE WEEK last week... how embarrassing. So I will do two!! MIRACLES OF THE WEEK! 

1. Okay so basically before my mission whenever a cat was in a ten mile radius of me, I would start to feel it in my throat and chest. We walked into a lady's house. She literally has ten cats. And there is cat hair EVERYWHERE. I'm gettin' a little nervous that I'm gonna like die or something. But I walk out completely fine. Nothing. I drenched myself in hand sanitizer after. And I know that I've already shared that my allergy isn't acting up but that was just one cat! This time it was TEN CATS. 

 2. Okay, I'm going to be honest here. We are in a dangerous place. We can't be outside after dark and we just have to be careful, and I'm not trying to scare you at all, just saying the truth. I feel like whenever I have been in a town like this where it isn't so safe, I get sooo paranoid and scared but I'm not here. I feel very brave. And not the bad kind of brave. After we found out that me and Sis Lundell are related, I received some revelation that our ancestors are with us. They are why we can be so brave because they aren't letting anything bad happen to us. So don't worry Mom, Grandpa Fredrick and Grandma Mary and definitely walking around with us. :) They were very happy when we finally realized that we are related :) 

 Okay I love you all sooo much! Keep the letters coming! (i'm looking at you Ian) 

 Go with love! 

 Sister Scott