March 28th, 2016

So this week was... interesting. Bahah.

So I told you all last week I washed the phone which was a pain. Luckily we got new phones on Thursday, but it was a pain in the butt not to have a phone for 4 days!! So here's how our Monday went. We had dinner clear out like 40 minutes away and then we had a lesson with a member clear back another 40 minutes away from dinner, so we went to dinner and we needed to leave but we left like 20 minutes after we needed to so we were going to be late already and we didn't have a phone to call them and let them know, ugh. So we were trying to hurry and all the sudden Sister Gifford's GPS started freaking out and telling us to go all these weird places and there was road construction so we couldn't get off at the exit we needed to so we drove around in circles for like 20 minutes trying to find out where we were. Then our gas light turned on so shoot, we were late, out of gas with no phone and completely lost. So we found some sketchy little gas station that had a pay phone luckily and we used that to call the member and tell them we were sorry for being 40 minutes late and they said just to reschedule thankfully. Then finally we were able to find our way back. Oh my goodness it was crazy. Bahah. 

So then Tuesday morning we went and played basketball again and 10 minutes before it was over poor Sis Gifford rolled her ankle :( she was in so much pain so we weren't able to do a whole lot that day, luckily we had lots of appointments and she could do that so that worked out good and then thankfully she was feeling better the next day so she could walk. 

Also a member that works for some cheese place gave us tons and tons of cheese so we have so much and we can't eat it all so we made the elders grilled cheese and they loved it so much and now they ask for it all the time bahah. I do make some pretty good grilled cheese(; 

So then on Thursday we had Zone Conference which was so good, and we also had a blizzard and got a foot of snow so that was cool.. not. But luckily we were inside the church all day so we didn't have to worry about it. The Marquette sisters stayed an extra night with us so they didn't have to drive back in the blizzard bc it's a way long drive. So we went on short exchanges and me and Sister Brewer went to a lesson we had with a couple we met tracting last week and oh my heck it was amazing. The wife read 6 chapters in the BOM and the husband loved everything we told him about Joseph Smith- he loved the 1st Vision and they both are so excited to learn more. Also we told the husband to look of Joseph Smith on lds.org bc he wanted to learn more about that but we don't want him to find anti stuff so we gave him lds.org and he is excited to look that up. They are so cool. I am so so excited about them!! But they are out of town until april 12 so we have an appt with them the next day which is just too far away!! 

Also we were tracting one night and we met a girl who said she was an atheist and she was like halfway in her door listening to us with the TV in the background as we started telling the 1st vision she came more outside of the door to listen and then she came totally outside and when we prayed with her she shut the door behind her and she agreed to meet with us this next week again to learn more! 

Miracles are happening in this area and it's so amazing. I am loving it here so much. I wish i could just stay in Green Bay for forever, I don't want to have to go to another area, although I know I will learn to love it just as much.. I just love it here so much and I am so excited for all of the amazing things happening here. 

The B family is still doing amazing and getting so excited for their baptism in 2 weeks!! I cannot wait for them, seriously it makes me SO happy to think about them getting baptized and then soon going to the temple and being sealed together for eternity(: This gospel is amazing. 

Oh also this is the best part of the week. So we went and saw that crazy taxidermy lady that has roadkill all over her house and who said she had 6 live ones running around. So we went and saw her and taught her more about the plan of salvation and we saw 2 live raccoons!!!!!!!! WE even got to pet them. Oh my heck it was crazy and I will send pics bc she let us take pics. hahaha, she is insane. She is also moving out to the middle of nowhere and she wants us to come back and keep learning more. I don't think she will get baptized bc she doesn't want to change religions but she always says she hopes she sees us after we die and she hopes we are right and can tell her we told her so. Bahah, she is hilarious. So we will keep trying with her. 

So yeah that was my crazy week. It was a good one, but another crazy one! That's missionary work for you.. It's the best though and seriously I wouldn't change it for anything(: 

oh also we had Easter dinner with the Cutler family in our ward (not the mission president Cutler, a different one) and they are so nice and cute and it was a delicious dinner so don't worry I got a yummy easter dinner(: 

OH and the very best of all!!! We had dinner with a family on.. Friday night or something I think and they had strawberry shortcake which made me so happy bc I was missing you guys and thinking how you were having angel food cake for dad's birthday so what a tender mercy to have it the next day(: Heavenly Father is always looking out for us, even with silly things that don't really matter. He knows what will make us happy and He always sends us little tender mercies (:

March 21st, 2016

This was a great week! The weather was pretty decent a few days, and people talk to us a whole lot more when it's nice out, so that was good! This morning we went and played basketball and I had my hoodie on when we got back home and I had the phone in my pocket... We started laundry and I threw my hoodie in there to wash. Like 10 minutes later Sis Gifford asks me where the phone was, and I was like I have no idea. She was like wasn't it in your hoodie pocket?? And we both looked at each other and were like SHOOT! We ran downstairs so fast and opened the washing machine.. and there was the phone... soaking wet and ruined.... so yeah. Luckily we are all getting new phones at zone conference this week so we only have to go until thursday! Hopefully no one needs to get a hold of us! I cannot believe I did that! Oh well..... bahahah.

I think I talked about our missions goal to share the first vision with 2 new people everyday and wow that's been SO cool! At first it was really hard but we are getting really good at it and we have found a lot of really awesome new investigators that way! People are really feeling the spirit and responding and inviting us back so they can learn more! It's been amazing. And my testimony of Joseph Smith has grown so much. Testifying of him every chance I get has built my testimony of him so much! I know he was a prophet of God and I know he restored the gospel back to the earth and I am so thankful I get to share that with people! It's so wonderful. This gospel is incredible. On Sunday the Green Bay 2 sisters had 2 baptisms and the B family came so we got to go! It was so wonderful! The spirit was so strong and it was such an awesome experience and we had a lesson with them right after and they are so excited to get baptized! I cannot wait for them(: they are so amazing. I know I say that every week, but seriously I love them so much. They are growing so much. 

Also we had a combined ward talent show on saturday night which was fun. The missionaries all in the Green Bay area did a talent.... ahah. we rewrote the words to that tangled song I've Got a Dream, it was pretty hilarious but we all did terrible. It didn't go well at all, but hey, like one of the Elders said- we're missionaries and we didn't take time to practice so that's fine. hahah. 

We are just starting to see lots of cool things happen here in Green Bay! The gospel is really growing and it's so cool. Especially with sharing the first vision, so many people have been touched and we are finding new people to teach! It's wonderful. I am just so thankful for this gospel and I love this work so much.(:

I love you all and I hope you all have a great week!!!(:

March 14, 2016

Well this week was definitely the craziest of my life! Bahah, so many crazy things happened but also an amazing miracle (:

So first off last Monday we went bowling with the Elders in the Green Bay area and that was such a blast! I am really terrible at bowling but it was still a lot of fun(:
On wednesday we witnessed a legit drug deal so that was.. something... We pulled up to this ladies house we had an appt with and right before we said a prayer this super nice dark black car pulled into the driveway and this guy sprinted out of the house we were going to and got into the back seat of the car and they sped away. We were like uhh.... so we went and knocked on the door and then this car comes back around the block and the guy hops out of the back seat and runs up to us and says yeah, let me get Tonya for you. We were like ok.. cool... we were in a super scary part of town so we wanted to get out of there quickly... the lady was sick (probably from drugs...) so we rescheduled and left and were like ok let's not come back here, except too bad we have  a ton of investigators all around that scary part.. Who knew Wisconsin was so scary!
Then Thursday we had our miracle!! Actually Thursday was the worst day ever. Bahah. It was weekly planning which is the worst so me and Sis Gifford were just so ready for the day to be over. We went out tracting and people were SO rude to us, that happens sometimes but like every house on this whole street was just so mean and this one guy threatened to call the cops on us so that was cool.. so pretty much we were so discouraged and just done with the day. We decided to try one former investigator that we had written down and when we got there Sis Gifford felt like we should bring the survey which was weird bc we knew everything about these people from their teaching record and the survey is to help us find out about other peoples beliefs and what not so we can begin teaching them easier. Anyways, so we brought the survey and the former investigators didn't live there anymore and this cute lady opened the door and invited us right in!! We were so excited. We did the survey with her and she had so many questions that the gospel will answer. So we answered a lot of her questions and told her we had lots more we would love to share with her and she was so excited to set up another appt with us. She has 2 cute little boys and a boyfriend- but he doesn't live with her which is a miracle. Anyways she just really opened up to us about a lot of things and she's looking for a church and she used to be a Jehovah's Witness but she thinks they are crazy also so good. And wow it was the best first lesson and she is so cool. We are just so excited to go see her again. OH and when we shared a verse from the BOM she ASKED for a copy! No one ever asks if they can have one. Wow it was so cool. We are going to see her today to drop of the Family proclamation because she really wanted to read that too! Her name is D, she is so cute and so prepared. We cannot wait to keep seeing her. So that was our wonderful miracle that turned our day completely around(: 

Then Friday we were tracting and another lady let us in and we were so excited! We walked into her house and she had taxidermy racoons, squirrels, deer and everything.. I asked her if she liked hunting and she said oh no, this is all roadkill! We were like uhhh..... ew... So we were sitting around her table getting to know her and actually having a really great gospel conversation with her and then she goes oh, just so you know, don't be alarmed but I do have 6 live ones running around the house too. We were like LIVE WHAT?! and she goes racoons! I find sick ones and rehabilitate them back to health and then let them go back into the wild! There's one hiding in the couch right there, one in that cupboard and 4 more in the basement! I was terrified!! Oh my gross. So yeah that was insane. This lady was so nice but so psycho... We had a really great conversation and taught her a lot and it was great, and she said we can come back anytime so we definitely will, just hopefully the racoons don't attack us!!!

So then Friday was another crazy experience! There's this family that was baptized like 2 years ago in this ward and they moved to Texas in the summer with their 2 grandsons bc their mom was super into drugs and was in and out of jail and just had a lot of problems.. So they came up this weekend to clean out her house and take stuff with them to texas bc they are selling her house since she's in jail. So first off, we get there to help them pack stuff up and there's like 4 cop cars outside and we are like great. So we drive around the block once and then come park and go inside and luckily we had just missed the chaos! The dad had walked in on his son in law and some other guys shooting up and he was about to kill them, so the cops came and took those guys off to jail. So one of the rooms was off limit for us to pack up bc there were needles everywhere and drugs.... So yeah. They had us do the dishes which hadn't been done in months and pretty much the only things on the dishes were drugs... not food. We washed a tons of ash trays and weed was on everything.... oh my goodness. Then they found boxes and boxes of stolen e-cigarettes in the basement that their daughter had been selling to buy other drugs.... they found so many boxes of needles and all sorts of drugs and oh wow it was crazy... so that was an interesting night also...

But anyways! It really was a good week! hahah. We have a goal as a mission to share the 1st vision with 2 new people everyday and it's been hard but it's been so cool! The spirit is always there when you share the first vision and peoples hearts are really softened. It's been really cool and I am excited to see more miracles come from this! 

Also we gave a Korean BOM to that crazy Korean lady... She kissed it when we gave it to her- she was so excited. But for real she is insane so we probably will go back like once a month is all... bc she probably won't progress much other that reading the BOM..

Also the B family is SO AMAZING. I love them so much. The parents are about to start taking a temple prep class and the kids are learning so much and gaining wonderful testimonies. I love that family so much, it's ridiculous. I just can't wait for them to make it to the temple(: They are so amazing. The gospel can really change people and turn their lives around. They are all so much happier and they even get along with each other more, just their whole countenances have changed. It's amazing. 

This gospel is incredible! it can bless lives so much. I have seen so much this week how much we all need the gospel! Look at the people I have met that aren't living the gospel! Their lives are going so downhill and they are just in really bad places.. but with the gospel you can change and grow and learn and have so many blessings. I am so thankful for this gospel!! I love you all tons and hope you have a great week(:

                                                              Korean Book of Mormon

                                                                            Not happy at Taco Bell

March 7, 2016

Well it was another really great week(:

It snowed like twice this week and one day (I think Saturday..?) it snowed like 3 or 4 inches so we had to shovel lots so that's cool, but then by that night it pretty much all melted and I think spring may finally be coming!! It's so warm today though! It's in the 50's so we didn't wear tights today, which is just absolutely wonderful. I am so so sick of wearing tights and leggings and so many layers, I can't wait for it to stay warm!

Also guess what. So our zone is doing March Madness, for working out. So you get points for whatever you do during our workout hour and then the Zone Leaders made a bracket for everyone so we are against different companionships each week. And even though we aren't against everyone right now, guess who had the very highest score this week. That's right-me and Sister Gifford!! We are gonna beat everyone. We are working out so hard and it's wonderful. Also we went and played basketball with the Elders this morning bc they begged us to come, and I am so bad. I have no idea what's even going on half the time so that's cool. But Sis Gifford is so good! I think I made like one  basket the whole time-hahaha. Oh well! Our zone is lots of fun. 

Also peeps are in season so it's obviously the best time of the entire year!! They also have flavors now so we got some and there is a bubblegum flavor that is so delicious and I wish I wasn't a poor missionary so I could buy a million. bahahah. 

We reset the B's baptism date to April 9, so that's good! We had 2 lessons with them this week and they were so great. We asked them if they had noticed any blessings in their lives since reading the BOM everyday and S said she has noticed lots! She said she has been able to focus a lot more in school and  she's been getting better grades and doing lots better in school! She said it's also helped her to not procrastinate! She is progressing so much, it's amazing. They are the coolest family. I love them tons and I just cannot wait for them to be baptized and then for them to work towards the temple(: It's so wonderful to see the change in their lives as they do these things to come closer to Christ. It just shows how important the gospel is in our lives, and how much it can really change us. It's amazing. I am so thankful I have the gospel in my life!!
We have a goal as a mission to share the first vision with 2 new people everyday for all of March. And let me tell you that is hard!! But as we have gone out and made the effort to share it with everyone it's been really cool. The spirit is really so strong when you share the first vision and it's cool to see people recognize that and then agree to learn more. A lot of people just don't want to talk to us- but oh well(; Also weird thing- but a few times while tracting these past few weeks we have been tracting just hours after Jehovah's Witnesses have knocked the same doors- which is kind of annoying bc people always say oh no you just came by! And we are like umm no that was not the same! But usually the same people listen to us as listened to them, so hopefully we are making an impact! It's crazy how many other churches are out there.. Being from Utah it's like being LDS is the only religion and that's like all there is- you know there's a chapel on like every block! Well out here there's just as many churches but it's all different churches instead of LDS! And people are so very stuck in their ways, but we are planting seeds and also giving people the opportunity to choose, so that's good. 

I am just so thankful I have this opportunity to come and serve the Lord. What an amazing work this is- and I love being apart of it! It's hard work- but it's beyond worth it. I hope you all have a great week, I love you all!!!