Alma 22:18

Hi Family!

I'm glad that you got the DVDs of the concert. I SOOO wish I could have seen the little girls dancing to the handcart song. I bet it was super cute. Our next concert is on August 12th. We're going to the Land of Lincoln.... sort of. Just Lincoln, NE. But it will be a fun road trip for all of us. 

It was fun talking to Mom this week. Elder Watson is such a punk he made me come in his office and then he was like, what's your Mom's phone number? and just called her right there. We are so excited to see the quilt. Mom, they aren't planning on putting in a box, they are planning on putting in the gallery. This is kind of a big deal. Anywho, it was good to hear from all of you!

It sounds like Jack's B-day was AWESOME! Especially since Darth Vader was able to come on such short notice. Usually he's pretty booked. That's awesome. Remember how Reeve used to call me Marth Vader? I remember that. 

Tuesday: We went out and I met two of our investigators. It was great! There are a lot of great things happening in Fairview and I'm excited to see miracles! 

Wednesday: We did service for this lady in our ward who is SOOO nice. She helps the missionaries out a ton, so we were glad to be able to help her out some. Her name is Sister Weekly and she is incredible.

Thursday: We went and saw Come Home to Kanesville again! It was so good! I love that musical so much-- it probably won't compare to Wicked this Thursday for Laura, but it was still pretty good. This was also the morning I got my trunky papers. They don't normally send them out so early, but since it's right around Christmas they wanted to get them done fast. I'm assuming you aren't coming to pick me up. I don't really want to drive home in the snow anyways :) What day does Sarah get home? I can't believe she is coming home, that is super crazy!!!!

Friday: We had a great morning on chat and talked to a lot of really awesome people, then Sister Arnold and I did some TCL stuff. Elder & Sister Watson took us for a scenic drive in Iowa. He showed us their ski resort. It's pretty sad. It's like a bunny hill. haha. It's awesome. I just love the Watsons. I'm so grateful to be able to serve with them.

Saturday: We had a TC cleaning day. It was a lot of fun to spend time with all of the sisters. Spending time with my best friends and cleaning/dejunking-- my two favorite things. It really was the best day. 

Sunday: We served in the TC all day long. It was a lot of fun. I got to take a lot of great tours. I took 3 atheists on tour, and they left ASKING for a Book of Mormon, I didn't even have to offer it, so that was cool. I'm excited to follow up with them. They were really great. 

Pictures:

1-The morning I got my trunky papers

2-Me with the Westovers. They are going home this week. I hate saying goodbye to all of the Senior couples. They become like grandparents to you and it's so hard to say goodbye. The Westovers have taught me a lot about how I want to treat my future spouse, and how to treat my companion. They are incredible people. I love them so much. 

3-Me and Sister Watson RIGHT NOW

4- This was when the Watsons took Sis. Arnold and I on the scenic Iowa drive. There was lots of corn. 

Well, things are going swimmingly. I wanted to share with you something that I learned when I took that group of atheists on tour. I was reading to them this story from Francis Webster: 

“I ask you to stop this criticism for you are discussing a matter you know nothing about. Cold historic facts mean nothing here for they give no proper interpretation of the questions involved. Mistake to send the handcart company out so late in the season? Yes. But I was in that company and so was my wife… We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation. But did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? Not one of that company ever apostatized or left the Church because everyone of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with him in our extremities… “ “I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I said I can only go that far and there I must give up for I cannot pull the load through it. I have gone on to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there…” “Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then or one moment of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company. –Francis Webster

When I normally read this, I think of how incredible it was that they felt it was a privilege to go through the things they had to go through. I focus on the last part of that sentence. However, this time, I focused on the first part of the sentence--The price we paid to become acquainted with God-- it hit me that there is a price that every single person has to pay in order to know God. The handcart pioneers paid a very high price, and became very acquainted with Him. What things are we willing to sacrifice or give up in order to know God? It wasn't that God hadn't sent the Spirit strongly to these people on tour so they would know that He was there, it was because they weren't willing to do the things necessary to know Him. They weren't willing to pay a price. We have to be willing to pay a price to become acquainted with God. It's like what I read in Personal Study this morning-- in Alma 22:18 when Aaron is teaching King Lamoni's father (who also doesn't believe in God), but after Aaron starts teaching him, he says in verse 18 that he is willing to give up all of his sins to know God. That is the price he is willing to pay. It was incredible to realize that. There are prices that we can all pay, things that we can sacrifice to come to know our Father in Heaven more. Incredible. 

I know that the gospel is true. I am so grateful for each one of you. Know that I love you. Know that I pray for you everyday. Our Heavenly Father hears and answers ours prayers. I love you. 

Love,

Sister Proctor

Happy Pioneer Day!!!

Hey Family!

Well this last week was transfers, and I got transferred out of Bellevue 2nd. It was sad to leave, but I am now in Fairview and I am really excited. My new companion is Sister Watson from Las Vegas. She's great. We have fun together. Fairview is so beautiful, and I've been on exchanges there so I already knew some of the investigators which was nice. 

I saw the Rhoades. They are so great. I hope they enjoyed their trip. 

It was good to hear from all of you!

This week:

Tuesday: we had P-day and then we went to the Winter Quarters Pageant called "Come Home to Kanesville" it was soooooo good. I love musicals. 

Wednesday: We found out transfers. I worked in the Trail Center, then we went and said goodbye to everyone. It was really sad to leave. I love Bellevue 2nd so much. 

Thursday: Transfers, then planning with Sister Arnold-she is the new TC leader and at the beginning of the transfer we have a lot to do. But we work really well together and FAST! so it's nice!

Friday: We had more TC leader planning and then went to a members house for dinner and we brought an investigator. It was so good. Fairview reminds me a lot of Millard, which is great, because I LOVE Millard. Anyway, super good day.

Saturday: We had another concert. It was really good! These concerts have become a pretty big deal around here. It's cool. 

Sunday: Great day in a new ward! I got to meet a lot of the members. Fairview is pretty tiny, but the people are incredible. I'm so excited to be here. Had lunch with some great members. They were actually an answer to prayer. We only had an apple to bring for lunch, so at church I just prayed that someone would invite us over for lunch, and whamo- they did. Pretty cool. Also that night we had a Hymn Fest with the Remnant Church and the Community of Christ. It was really cool. Sis. Graham and I performed Angels. It was awesome. 

Monday: we had service with one of our investigators and then a great night at the Trail Center. I took this family on tour and we were in the cabin talking about what we were all grateful and this little 5 year old said he was grateful for Jesus Christ. It was the sweetest thing, and the Spirit was so strong. Incredible. 

Today we have a Pioneer day BBQ with all the sisters and senior couples. It will be a lot of fun. I'm excited! I actually have to go set up for it now, which is why my letter is so short/scattered! 

Pictures

1-The gorgeous cornfields in BV2

2-The Witters- we've been living with them for 6 months. How I love them.

3-Saying goodbye to sis. Rhoades

4-Sis Belka, Lamb, me, Rhoades

5-Hello Sis. Watson

6-Sis Belka and I on our 1 year mark! CRAZY!!!!!

Ok, Since it's pioneer day I have to send you a few of my favorite pioneer stories:

Dear Parents, Brothers and Sisters, The last letter I received from you was dated January 25^th. The general tenor the letter is to have us return, but I have not the most distant idea, neither has Nathan, of ever turning back. Our course is and must be onward. Think of the words of our Savior  “No man having put his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the Kingdom of Heaven.” I did not embrace this work hastily, I came into it understandingly. I weighed the subject, I counted the cost. I know the consequence of every step I took. I have not been disappointed in the least. I compared this gospel with that which the Savior and the apostles preached and I saw what it cost them. I was convinced that the same doctrine must be preached at the same expense. It never did cost anything to support error, men can propagate error and be popular. But the truth always cost the best blood on earth, not excepting the Son of God and if I set my standard so high as to aspire to be a joint heir with Jesus Christ, of course I must not shrink from drinking the bitter cup. –Eliza A. Cheney, written at Winter Quarters

We must be sure that the legacy of faith received from the pioneers who came before us is never lost. Let their heroic lives touch our hearts, and especially the hearts of our youth, so the fire of true testimony and unwavering love for the Lord and His Church will blaze brightly within each one of us as it did for our faithful pioneers. Their accomplishments were possible because they knew, as I know, that our Heavenly Father and His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, restored the gospel of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith and that this Church will continue to roll forth until it fills the whole earth. –M. Russell Ballard

K, I don't even have time to change the font, but know that I love you. I am so grateful for the Pioneers. I am grateful to tell their stories. Their testimonies strengthen my testimony on a daily basis. What an incredible opportunity it is to be here. Know that we would all do the same thing that they did if we were asked. Our testimonies merge with theirs as we hear their stories. I Love you all. 

Love,

Sister Proctor

Hola Family!

Hey Fam! 

It was good to hear from all of you! It was fun to get pictures as well! Can you believe that 1 year ago today was my farewell!? If you want to send me "hooray-you-reached-your-year-

mark" packages, that's cool, especially if it included a straightener :)

This week:

Tuesday: We ran errands for Elder Watson in the morning and then worked in the TC. It was a great day.

Wednesday: I took the most incredible girl on tour. She was baptized in January. She decided to go to BYU, even though she wasn't a member and the started going to church and her 2nd week she had a calling. She is incredible. She has such a great testimony and she is just beaming with the light of the gospel. It's awesome. She referred her friend to me, so we'll get to stay in touch, I am excited.

Thursday: We had great interviews with our new mission president. He pretty much told me to go to Utah State and be a music teacher :) haha. But, he kept telling me I don't have much time left in the mission-- so I didn't really like that :) It was an incredibly spiritual experience though. I loved it. I am so grateful for inspired leaders.

Friday: Last TC training session with Sis. Belka. There will be a new TC leader this week and she will be released. We were so blessed to be able to serve together. I love her so much.

Saturday: My companion was sick, so I stayed in all day while she slept. It was boring a lot of the time, but nice that I got some time to study

Sunday: We had another concert. I recorded it and put it on a DVD i'll hopefully get that out to you today. It was so good. All of the pics attached are from that night.

Mom, that quilt looks AWESOME! I showed the picture to Elder Watson and he LOVES it. He's super excited about it!

Also, Chrissy Sudweeks Whetten came into the TC yesterday, so I got to see them, that was fun.

HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY LANDON!!!!!! I can't believe you are 5 years old! Sounds like your birthday was a lot of fun!

Well, I am sorry this is another short letter, but I had a meeting this morning, so we don't have a lot of time left and I still have to email President Weston.

Know that I love you all and I pray for you daily. Keep up the good work!

Love,
Sister Proctor

7-9-12

Hi family,

We just got back from the zoo, so I'm exhausted so this won't be the greatest letter. But I will send you lots of pictures! Jared might actually beat me this week.

Here is something I have been dying to tell you though: We had a concert last night, and it was awesome. DVDs should be coming soon so I'll send theym your way. Anyway, we had one 2 weeks ago and our investigators came and we were following up with them about what they thought, and the guy is a Musician-has 3 degrees yadayada  anyway, he was telling me about what he thought of the solo I sang. and he said that when I go into a lower range I sound just like Karen Carpenter hahaha. I told him that was probably the best compliment he could ever give me hahaha

Also, Lars, I broke my straightener, what are the chances of you hooking me up with a sweet CHI like you did for sis. Belka?

I'm glad to hear you are not on fire. I died laughing when I heard about your cheetos and shaving cream game, I love it.

Anywho, the zoo was a lot of fun.

 Me with Sis. Arnold- she did something to her ankle and has to wear that boot so we got her a wheelchair for the zoo. I pushed her around the whole time. It was funny

  Sis. Rhoades and I in the SWEET aquarium. Laralee said in her letter that she wanted to talk Jake into coming to Nebraska next summer and I think we should all go. There are so many fun things to do here.

Sis. Arnold and I

  In the shark tank thing

 cool jellyfish

 me and the sting ray

 The albino alligator again!!!!

 There were straight up Amish people! It was awesome!!!

 me and the giraffe

 Elder Watson bought all of us a candy stick handcrafted in Alpine, Utah!!! Way cool!

Anyway, I wish I could write you more, but I am SUPER tired and I still have to write President. I love you all and I am so thankful for all of your letters and your love.

I love you,
Love,
Sister Proctor

Alma 60:36

HELLO!!!!

 

What a great day this has been! Happy Birthday baby Allison!!! That's awesome! I'm so excited to meet her! Also, Happy Birthday to Taniel tomorrow! And Happy 4th of July!!! What a great week to celebrate!

 

So, the bad news is, I forgot my journal... and I don't remember a ton about this last week... so I will try to fill you in as much as possible....

 

Tuesday: We were at the Trail Center all day long. It was good... sorry, that's about all I can remember :)

 

Wednesday: This day was just great. We woke up and exercised. Ate breakfast. Then, Sis. Rhoades went to go and get in the shower. But came out before she actually got in because she had found... three....bites.... from.... A BED BUG!!!!!! Nebraska is having a HUGE problem with bedbugs. Especially missionary apartments because we go in such dirty apartments to teach people. Some of the Sisters have had them, and we kept hearing that they didn't have them, so we slept over at their apartment. But it seems that we brought some home with us. So we went up to the mission office and got a steamer and bed bug spray. This was our first full day that we had had in our area for a long time, but we had to cancel all of our appointments so that we could get rid of them. We pulled our beds out in the backyard and we steamed them. Judging by the pictures of Jack and Eve in their winter coats, Nebraska is  A LOT hotter than Utah. We were out in 110 degree weather with 100% humidity... steaming beds... for 5 hours. I thought I was going to die. We had to take breaks a lot so we didn't get heat stroke. And we went to Sonic in between to get some slushies. It was AWFUL. After we were done with the beds we steamed our carpets. We had to move all of our clothes into black bags and let them roast all day long in the back of car. We were SOOOOOOOOOOOO exhausted and just gross from being out in the heat all day long. It was crazy. But, hopefully we are bed bug free. Our members put a bug bomb in there one of the nights we were up at the TC so, now hopefully everything is fine. I don't ever want to do that again.

 

Thursday: We had a GREAT District Meeting. It was there and in my 30 minute prayer that night (30 minute prayers for 30 days- it will change your life) that I realized I needed to commit to all of you that when I get home I will set aside one night a month to babysit while you all go to the temple. So, look forward to that :) Also, I plan on just babysitting always. I miss my nieces and nephews.

 

Friday: Sis. Belka and I spent the whole day together planning training and other stuff for the Trail Center. It was a fun day.

 

Saturday: Our new mission President, Elder Weston came to our TC Training. It was so good to meet him. It's incredible, just when he came in and I heard him talk, I had an overwhelming feeling of immediate love for him. It's because he is a servant of the Lord set apart for this time, just like President Kunz was set apart for the time that he was here. It was so great. After Sis Belka and I finished the training, we went up and shook his hand. He told us it was great and that said that he could really feel my Spirit. That is my new favorite compliment. Elder Snow said the same thing. I LOVE that. I love the gospel and I love how the Spirit speaks to each of us. And how it carries our testimonies to others hearts.

 

Sunday: Our ward got a new Bishop! It was crazy. It was sad to have Bishop Witters released, but luckily since we live with them, we still see them everyday. The new Bishop is Bishop Walker and he is only 32!!! His wife is only 28!!! It's insane!!! But they are a powerhouse family and I am so excited for them!!! I really have looked up to them a lot as I have been serving in this ward. Missions are so cool, we get this opportunity to see SO many families. How they work, how they raise their kids, how they live the gospel. It's such an incredible opportunity that I will always be grateful for.

 

Monday: We were on chat in the morning and then TC in the evening. It was really great! PS Mom, I haven't seen any Heritage tours come through.

 

Today: We just got back from our short Meet the President Zone Conference. The Westons are incredible. I am so grateful to be able to serve with them. They have such a love for the gospel, each other and for us. I am excited for the future trainings that they will give.

 

The pictures are:

1- Me with Michael Phelps. They are holding the swimming qualifying things for the Olympics here. Micheal Phelps has been here all week. If only I could find him and teach him the gospel/marry him... what?

2- Sisters Belka, Arnold, Sakurazawa, Pryde and I. Sis. Arnold twisted her ankle so we were taping it up for her.

 

3- Just steaming some beds!

 

4- This was after we had steamed our beds, cleaned everything, put our box spring and mattress in sealed plastic, then put dryer sheets everywhere (apparently bed bugs hate dryer sheets). I was pooped. Notice the cat tapestry. Also, we apparently didn't get all of the air out after we sealed it, so that's why it's so bubbly looking... the bed... not the cat tapestry... 

 

We don't have any big plans for the 4th of July. We don't even have members feeding us!? When we passed our meal calendar around they only signed up for Elders this week... super weird/funny. But the 4th of July won't be too exciting. It's against the white handbook to do anything with fire.... Oh wait, we are doing something way cool! Our ward is having a breakfast. A bunch of missionaries are singing the National Anthem and then since we live in a Military ward we are having a big military tribute thing with all of their songs and they'll stand up and what not. That will be super cool.

 

Well Family, this letter is at least 20 times longer than Jared's letter. Maybe Heavenly Father wanted me to wait to go on a mission until I was 22 so that you could at least get some sort of letter while Jared was out :) I don't know what he does on P-days. But goodness knows he's not one to chat :)

 

Anyway, I love you all SOOOOOOOOO much. I hope you all realize how incredibly blessed our family is. I am so thankful for each one of you. You have shaped me into the person that I am today. I love you all.

 

Love,

Sister Proctor