Week 19

HELLO FAMILY!!!!  This week was just AWESOME because we had soooo many small miracles occur!!!  I'm not even sure where to begin but I'll share a few!! 

One day we went to visit a returning member and her car was gone AGAIN, but we decided to knock anyways and low and behold her nonmember niece who was in town answered the door!  She is 21 and Puerto Rican and invited us right in!  We talked with her for about an hour about anything and everything and then we invited her to church and SHE CAME!!! She brought her aunt with her too so it was AWESOME!  Unfortunately she leaves Saturday to go back to Brooklyn but we are HOPING to be able to teach a lesson this week to her and send her to the Brooklyn missionaries!!  That would be IDEAL!!! She is awwwwesome and enjoyed sacrament!! 

Another miracle was we were planning on visiting a potential investigator but we accidently went to the wrong address.  A lady answered who had just lost her husband a month ago from that day!!!  Needless to say, she needed us!!! We taught part of the Plan of Salvation and she started crying!  It was really sad but cool at the same time.  She told us to please come back in two weeks, so we will see how that goes! She said Utah is her favorite place to travel! 

Another miracle was we randomly saw Beth’s step mom riding her bike around a neighborhood we were in!!!  We stopped and talked with her and are planning to do service for her in two weeks! Any communication with that fam is AWESOME!!  What are the odds of randomly seeing her!?!

Another one was finding a returning member who has wanted to come back to church but has had no ride!!  Her records were just found in our ward so we immediately went over, talked with her, set up a ride and she came to sacrament!! Let’s just say, Sacrament was BOOMING!! 

We also gained a new investigator this week! She has been taught all the lessons by the Senior Couple who is leaving this week :( :(  They passed her off to us and we will continue meeting with her, reading the BOM with her and preparing her for baptism!

We also are teaching an older lady who was taking the lessons very well at first but now is getting more hesitant!! She thinks she’s too old to change and be baptized AGAIN, but I think the more she reads the BOM the more she will desire to be baptized!! 

As you can see we are really starting to get more people to teach!!! Thank you for everyone’s prayers in our behalf!!! CLEARLY, they are helping a lot!!!

We had a service project this week and it was LEGIT! It was in the pouring rain in basically a jungle of a backyard! Little did Sister Sam and I know it was a Priesthood Service Project haha! We showed up to help and we ending up being a big help and it was a bonding experience with our Priesthood leaders!!!  There were snakes, turtles, and other creatures everywhere and lots of "Carolina Creeper" or poison ivy!! I was nervous I was going to get it but luckily no sign of it yet!!!  We wheel barrowed all the weeds, trees, bushes, and such and we both have huge blisters from that!  It was surprisingly really fun though! Clearly, I’m turning into quite the yard worker ;)  I wore my jeans though and EMBARRASSING MOMENT, they are tight!!!

We also did some service in the Public Library this week which was fun for a change!!  The librarians were just loving us!  I had to paint a HUGE sign like what we had to do for Cheer Homecoming! I felt like a cheerleader again!!  I needed Mom there to make it look better though! 

Japanese with the Morse’s was OFF THE CHARTS!  It’s a place called Fins and it was wayyyy good.  Shrimp Tempura of course (:  We also had a fun RS pot luck this week.  I also tried Oysters and Seaweed Jambalaya for my first time!  Both were surprisingly not too bad!! I would eat them again!!

Funny story!  At Bishop’s house for dinner one night they had a few pieces left of Key Lime Pie and Chocolate Pie. I realllllly wanted Chocolate Pie but I knew the little girls wanted it so I said KEY LIME??? HAHA.....if that’s not a sign of a little change in me, I don’t know what is!!!  The sacrifices of a missionary...

I made the Lone Peak Missionary Newsletter this month!! I was in a pic with Sister Sam and also my friend Alex Sisk from Springville was in it too with his LP companion!! It was fun to see!! 

Scary story, there was a crime scene at our apartment complex this week!! We were talking to the guy they arrested earlier that day!!!! So funny but now he is in jail so life is safe again in Waterstone! 

Guess what happened in our ward!?  A returning member was sitting in a seat and a member told them it was THEIR SEAT...(sound familiar) So now, the members are trying to sit in new places each week to mix things up!  I was like whoa, this happened in my ward at home!

Speaking of home, I put on an undershirt I have not worn since I've been out and it smelled like HOME! Finally I know the good smell of the Holmoe Household!!! AMAZING!  Also I had to break out the toilet paper from my 72 hour kit since I ran out and it was the softest toilet paper I have used in 4 months!!

Bro Chatman was made YM president this week! He will be awesome! I love his daugther Jatavia! She is legit!   At church yesterday, cute Amanda bought me a stuffed Panda bear to always remember her!?! How nice was that!?!?! Made my day!!!! Love that girl! <3

I did get a Flu Shot this past week! Let’s just say, it was no BYU trainer giving it to me!!! :( It hurt but I survived and am glad it’s done!! Hopefully you can get one soon mom!!

Oh the YW also had a spa night for mutual this week and after our scripture study class we went over there! They gave us hand and back massages and I was in heaven (:

The beach last week was A BLAST!!! It was the perfect weather and we saw dolphins!! MANY pictures to come!!  I made a wish at the end of the dock and threw a penny in!  I want to one day go back to that pier with someone I love!!! HOW CHEESY BUT HOW CUTE!?!? (: haha!

At a family home evening on Monday we played a game called "Don’t Eat Pete".  Shannon, you have got to play it when Miles gets a little older!! CUTEST THING! I'll explain it in my letter home this week!

Dad, I LOVVVVVED THE BYU PACKAGE!!!! BEST THING EVER!!!! Of course the posters are hanging up in my closet!! Sister Sam and I were loving them!  Looks like a good team this year!!  Pretty cool I'll only miss ONE basketball season!!  Love the Marriott Center for big games!!! I also LOVED the article on Jessica!! Her NM relatives live on the Beach but somehow if I meet them I'll give that to them for sure! I told the Chatman’s in our ward about it and they said they were going to look it up or they'll call me for it!  Sweet connections! I also loved that mission quote about the best 18 months for your life.....couldn't have said it better!!

SOUNDS like the cougs played AWWWWESOME!!!!! What amazing stats!!!!!! So happy they only need 1 more win!! Atta boys!!!!  I wish I could have witnessed that game!  Sounds like they are just rolling now!!  I think about BYU football allllllll day on Saturday (:  It doesn't help when every house we go in is watching some football game!! Love it though!

To answer some of your questions from the letter, it was the Callaway elders and sisters and the PCB elders at the Booth!! So yes, Sister Stanfield and her comp were there! Being in Lynn Haven for Christmas would be LEGIT! I feel like they are going to keep me one more transfer and then ship me off though.........I have already thought about how that would stink to leave two weeks before Christmas but oh well!!  Christmas presents!!? I get those on a mission!?!? I will start thinking of things I may want or need and let you know (: Thanks mom (:  I also will be sending home a CD of pics probably next week!! I haven't seen fireflies yet!?!?! I want to though!! 

Here is a quote from PMG I love, "I hope to see us dissolve the artificial boundary line we so often place between missionary work and temple and genealogical work, because it is the same great redemptive work." (Spencer W. Kimball) SO TRUE.....going to the temple, doing family history and serving a mission is allllll part of the sammmmme great work!  No differences!! We are ALL in this together! (: Love it!

Thanks for all the emails and pics! RISE AND SHOUT BABY!! Love y’all soooooooo sooo much and miss you more than you could ever imagine!! <3/ Sister Lauren Ashley!!!

Lauren having fun at the beach on her P-Day