Hey hey hey!

This week was full of lots of ups and downs. Rose and Richard kept canceling on us and seem to be going down hill. I'm super bummed but still hopeful. Literally every single one of our appointments fell through this week which is a total bummer. It was just one thing after the other and by Thursday I was feelin kinda low BUT, like it always happens, something good came out of it. We found two new investigators! One of them we found while looking for a less active. We asked if she lived there and he said no so we just started talking to him instead. We gave our brief run down and then ended by asking if he wanted to learn more. to my total surprise he said yes! it took me be surprise and for a few seconds I didn't even know what to do. No one has ever actually said yes to me before haha. So, we taught him the Restoration right then and there and he liked it so we set up another appointment the next day. Unfortunately he wasn't home the next day, which was disappointing, but while we were walking away my comp was brave enough to go talk to his neighbor who was super busy running to her car to get somewhere. I didn't want to bother her but she said we could stop by the next day. I didn't think much of it but when we went back the next day she said that she wanted to learn more and was looking for a church for her family. How cool is that?! We are going back next in a couple of weeks when her schedule dies down so I'm feeling more hopeful. Oh also.....TERA IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!! She finally got the approval from the first presidency and now all that is left is to pick a date with her on Wednesday. We also have to get it done soon because she is due to have her baby in less then a month haha.  She has waited so long and has been such a trooper with the whole process so I'm pretty dang excited for her. But yeah, lots of ups and downs this week but in the end it turned out pretty great. Opposition in all things, right?

I just got an email from my old comp and she told me that her first day there she fell off of her bike and fractured both radio discs(whatever that is) haha......no not haha..it really sucks for her and I'm sad she can't ride her bike but I thought it was kinda funny ....and on her first day too. She is doing good though. I also love my new companios. We have a blast together. She is the crazy outgoing one and I'm the quit, sensitive one, so we compliment each other quite well. We also have the same sense of humor and like to quote the exact same movie quotes so we find ways to jazz thiings up a bit.

I've been learning a lot about hope this week. On hard days that's really what you have to hold onto. Hope is very often misunderstood. Most people use the word hope in the context of something you wish might happen, but really, hope is an abiding trust that everything will work out and having a good attitude and trust while you wait for it to come, because you know that it actually will come. Preach my Gospel explains it a lot better haha. Out here when things don't always go so well you have to have hope that another door will open, and it always does. You have to hold on though until it does come and that isn't always easy. I would encourage you all to study about Hope this week. You'll be amazed of how much you will learn. Everything really does turn our though. God is truly aware of us.

Hey!

Hope all is well. Thanks so much for everyone who sent me pictures this week. It was better than Christmas opening my email today. Speaking of, yesterday was a holiday so all of the libraries were closed so we get to email today for a wee bit. Looks like everyone is having a blast!…..but don’t have too much fun without me haha..jk.

 

This week we had an amazing miracle. On Sunday Rose called us right before church and told us things just weren’t working out and that on Wednesday she went to a bible study at another church and she has decided to go there now so they wouldn’t be coming to church like they had promised. I of course was absolutely devastated but asked if we could go over the next day and talk about it. That whole day I just felt like breaking down and crying. When you work so hard for someone for so long you really come to love them and to have all of your hopes shattered like that was hard for me. I don’t think I’ve felt so low as I did on and off that day. But, just like the Lord always does, He gave me hope. At that moment I just had to trust Him that it would all be okay and eventually I was blessed with peace that everything would work out. Last night we went over and they expressed some valid concerns but we were able to work them out and they still want to continue meeting with us. I know it sounds kinda silly looking back on it all and I know that it happens all of the time but man, at that moment it just crashed me. I literally felt sick to my stomach. I know that the Lord gave me peace about it though and that whatever happens it will be for the best. All I can do is my best and that’s all that I’m expected to do.  I think for a second I felt the just slightest bit of what He must feel when one of His children goes astray. It was a humbling and faith building experience and I know that the Lord was looking out for us.

 

But anywho, this week was busy as always. My new companion is quite the character to say the least. She loves to be crazy haha. She keeps me from over stressing bless her heart. It’s weird because I find myself picking up so many habits of my trainer. Sister Coleman is really chill so I sometimes feel like I over compensate and have to be super busy to keep her going so that we can get things done, just like my trainer was with me haha. But I also need to learn to take more time to explain the ins and outs of everything so that she can help me more, so that will be my goal of this next week-let her be involved more. It’s just a balancing act sometimes. I have already learned so much from her though. I'm so blessed that I have someone who is so experienced to be my companion after training. My appreciation for my trainer has definitely grown this last month and I will be forever grateful for what she taught me even if it was hard to learn and understand in the moment. I still have a lot to learn from both her successes and mistakes and what a wonderful thing that is. 

We feel busy all of the time and yet it still feels like we aren't getting much done. At this point we need to work at working smarter, not harder ...well and harder but you get the point. The work is going good but flat lining a bit. We just need it to start going up more haha. I love it though. I've been so blessed that I've been able to keep busy with everything. Just having people to teach is an amazing blessing in and of itself. I've been learning so much too. The church is so true! Heavenly Father has given me strength beyond my own and I know that He is watching over me. 

Week 12

Bonjour famille!

Soooo....today I said goodbye to my trainer. Yep, she is outa here. I get to stay in Chino but she is going to the desert in a biking area! She wanted to lose weight so her prayers were answered haha, only it's stinken hot up there right now. My new comps name is Sister Colemen. She is a crack up to say the least. She only has two more transfers left so she will most likely “die” with me. It was actually really hard saying goodbye to Sister Schaffhauser but I know that this will be good for me. I have to really step up my game because at this point I’m the only one who knows who is who and what’s going on. No pressure haha. I’m very nervous but excited for what the future brings. I know that the Lord gave me this companion for a reason and that we both have a lot to learn from each other. She is a free spirit so we’ll see how it all goes haha. Elder Tate, my ward mate got transferred too, and Elder Lee gets to train. That means that all of us here, including the ward mission leader, are kinda new so we’ll have to figure things out together. It was weird because yesterday I got a little taste of how it is going to feel to go home while we were going to go say goodbye to all of the members yesterday. Yep,I’m not quite ready to go home yet. Time is going by way too fast and I still have too much to learn and do. It really is a once in a life time experience. You get to dedicate your whole self to serving the Lord and His people and along with it comes all of the amazing blessings.

This week was kinda rough as far as lessons and numbers go, but man, were we busy. We didn’t have time for anything really. On Thursday our whole zone went up to Mnt. Baldy and cleaned up a mudslide. It destroyed a couple of homes and buried every ones yards and houses, so we got to shovel everyone out. I think that my weight lifting is paying off haha, but I was super sore for the next three days. I even have some pretty rad blisters to prove it. It was super fun though. I loved going up in the mountains for a while. It made me homesick for Idaho and camping haha. It kinda through everything off because that was the day that we usually have most of our investigator lessons but it’s all good. We also had mission conference this last Saturday! Elder Nelson came and I got to shake his hand. There was an amazing spirit there and we were all excited to hear from an apostle. He talked about obedience and how we show our faith when we do our best every day to follow the guidelines that we’ve been given it opens the doors for greater blessings and success. It was cool because during the Q/A part of it he always answered it with a scripture. Yeah, he is pretty great to say the least. He’s like 90 years old and he just skipped up the stairs haha. I loved it. 

Oh, cool story. On Saturday we were super bummed when our investigators called us and said that they couldn’t go to the baptism, which meant that we couldn’t go either. So, we called everyone else we could think of and they either didn’t answer or couldn’t go. I was really sad because I knew how great that would have been for someone, but I had a feeling that it was for a reason. Well, about a half hour later when we would have been at the baptism a less active called us in tears and asked us to come over. We quickly jumped in our car and headed over and found her at the door waiting for us. She had had surgery a month ago and hasn't been able to do anything and has had to rely on her husband for everything so he hasn't gotten any sleep or nothin so she felt really bad and completely overwhelmed. So we had a nice little chat and calmed her down and then cleaned her whole house. To me it was evidence that God loves all of His children and He is very aware of us and our needs. I was just so happy that she knew that she could call us for anything like that! He also sends others to help answer our prayers. People tell us over and over again that even when they were the farthest away from God, He was still there right beside them helping them through their hardest times. He never gives up on us and there is nothing that we have done or will do that the Atonement doesn't cover. He loves us soooo much! Isn't that a wonderful thing to know?

Well, today is kinda crazy so I didn't have much time but I just wanted to let you all know that I am alive and well. I'm glad that you all had fun at Bear lake! Send me lots of pics okay. I will reply to everyone's emails asap I promise. Thanks again for all those that have written me. I appreciate it more than you could ever know.

Love ya lots,

Sister Prows

Cleaning after the mudslide

Week 11

Kia ora tatou! (that's Maori for hello.....I think)

This week has been kinda crazy. I still can't believe how crazy fast it's gone by. We didn't even buy groceries because we still haven't eaten any of our food from last week. We're out and about and people keep giving us stuff so we basically don't even have to buy food some times. Although, I make a mean green smoothie in the morning to start things off. 

Life is crazy as always. My brain hurts from too much thinking. By the end of the day you're so tired that you can't even remember what you did haha. Sometimes my brain likes to just turn off and take a break for awhile.....like right now.....no seriously, I can't remember what I was about to say. 

We had Zone Conference! It was only the mostist awesomist meeting since forever. Yes, we will be getting I pads. I heard it straight from the horses mouth.....I think it slipped out actuall-oops. We talked about the story of the Rich man in the Bible and how we need to sell all that we have and follow the Saviour. We need to ask our selves "what lack I yet?" and figure out what we need to do to change for the better. There are so many little insignificant things and sins that we hold onto that are keeping us from recieving so much more. As we give everything up for Him, He will refine us into what He trully wants us to be. It's a life-long process but each little step gets us closer and closer to our end goal. I also got to see my favorite sista missionary("Auzi cheeks" aka sister Wihongi) and my trainer got to see her trainer and then the person who trainered her trainer and so on. It was a 5 generational party! Mission Conference is coming up this week too. Elder Nelson is coming to announce the whole Ipad thing. It's crazy how much things will change but it's a good and needed change. It will force a lot of missionaries to be a lot more obedient because our schedules will be available to the public and they can track what we've done. Pretty crazy eh? I'm excited though. The Lord is trully hastening his work.

We had a baptism this last Saturday!!!! It was our ward-mate Elders' baptism, not ours, but a baptism none the less. One of our investigators came and she started crying! She felt the Spirit so strong. She is still waiting for approval but man when she gets that ok she is getting dunked! The best part is that we have 5 more this week! Four of which are from our ward. Our zone leaders brought an investigator to the baptism as well. She was going really strong but then went down hill. They were about to drop her but then after she came to the baptism she got it together and decided that this is what she really wanted! How great is that? It's kinda cool because this will be our ZL's last baptism before he leaves for home the next day. I think that we will have at least two of our inveestigators baptized next month. I'm kinda sad because I think that my trainer will probably get transfered this week so she may not get to be here for it all. She is pretty dang great and I'll be sad to see her go. She gave me a good foundation for the rest of my mission and I will be forever grateful for that.

I've been realizing more and more just how much of an influence we have on others. They never really tell us anything or how a lesson went so it's hard to know, but every once in awhile they'll make a comment about just how much they learn or grow from our visits and it makes it all worth it. It's the same with everyone, not just missionararies. You never know how much a compliment or smile just might make someones day. Commenting in church may spark a thought that completely changes someones perspective or inspires them. Ya never know! So go out there and make someones day.

This week was kinda hard mentally. I know I've probably said this before, but man, when you are a missionary all of your faults and weaknesses get put on a table for every one to see. It's humbling and really hard sometimes. When you live with someone 24/7 you find out just how many little things you need to change and sacrafice. The Lord refines you and challenges you more than you would sometimes like or care to admit, but through all of it, He makes you into who you need to be. He's making us all all into what He knows we can become. It's hard in the moment but looking back you're always so grateful for it. 

Well, I gotta go and save the world...jk...my time just ran out that's all. Know that I love you all. Sounds like every one is doing great and lovin life. Send me lots of pictures from all of your adventures! Thanks for all of the prayers and thoughts. It makes all of the difference knowing that my family is behind me every step of the way. 

Love ya lots,

Sister Prows

My First Companion

My Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma and Cousins

How we cool down when we get home