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