Out the window Buzz! Your a Genius

Hello Family! 

It has been a great week! Last Thursday we went to transfer point. I was totally bawling/freaking out the whole way there because I got called to be a trainer and I was just thinking it was a total joke! A trainer is someone who TRAINS brand new missionaries. You'll remember that I was a brand new missionary just 3 months ago, so I did not feel adequate AT ALL. But, just like our Bishop said: The Lord knows I can do it, the mission president knows I can do it, so the only problem is me thinking I can't do it. So, I have learned just how much I need to rely on the Lord to do anything. Every morning I wake up stressed out of my mind and so nervous about the day, but if we do what we are supposed to, I have seen how the Lord will help us. It's amazing. Sister Graham is so great though, so that also makes the job a little bit easier. She is from Orem, Utah and does not know the Grahams. I really like driving, especially since the mission office just gave us a brand new car. It's flippin' sweet. It's the only time in my life that I will probably get a car with less than 25 miles on the odometer haha. It's cool though. Also, really scary since it's not my car :) 

We have worked in the Trail Center a lot this week, so that has been great. They are putting up all the Christmas decorations and stuff. It's the best. I love that Laura has her tree up. Also, I would love to get some pictures of the Christmas lights at the house! I bet they look awesome! I can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week!!! What are your plans for Thanksgiving? We are going to a recent converts house, the ones that I LOVE so much. I'm excited. But I am really sad that I don't get to be home playing with all the kids. Holidays are a rough time to be away from home, especially knowing that the annual dipping party is coming up and Fakesgiving!! OMG. Oh well. I'm excited to Skype with all of you in like a month and a half though! That will be a ton of fun! 
Well, we are in finding mode big time. We need to increase our teaching pool so we can get people baptized! It's a lot of fun talking to people all the time, but I wouldn't hate having a lesson every now and then :) One of the goals for the Millard ward is to have everyone pray for the ward to find a family that we can teach, baptize and then one day be sealed in the temple. It's pretty cool and I am excited to see what comes of it. I just remembered that upon being called to be a trainer, Elder Watson offered to give me a blessing. It was so great and in that blessing I was promised a lot of really great things about my mission. So great. I love the Priesthood! Also, I love all of the senior missionaries here, they are fabulous. Especially Elder Watson. He is like our grandpa/Dad here. It's awesome. He's always there for us and taking care of us. The Watsons go home the same time I do. I'm so glad because A. I can go visit them when I get home without driving to Nebraska. B. They are taking a moving truck back to Utah, so I might be able to slide some of my stuff in there :). Which is super handy. 

That's awesome that Steve Scott is coming out here. I would love to take him on tour. Too bad Jenny and Drew can't come out here too :) And Jodi :)
I am so jealous that you are going to see White Christmas!!! Ahhh!!! That will be so much fun! 
Well, we are having our mission tour this week and so tomorrow we are going to go and get trained from Elder Christofer Goulden or something like that. Those who had it yesterday said it was amazing, so I am pretty excited. I have to play the piano for it and then Me, Sister Hawkes, Sister Brown and Sister Wilson are all singing "Lord I Would Follow Thee." I arranged some different parts and music to make it sound more than just a hymn and it sounds pretty sweet. Last zone conference I arranged accompaniment for Where Can I Turn for Peace so I could play for Sister Hawkes. It was pretty fun. I like doing stuff like that it turns out. 
You know how every missionary comes back and says that the number one thing that they learned from their mission is the power of the Atonement? Well, I always heard this and I figured it was because they saw it changing other peoples lives or because they had to go through really difficult times and as they were struggling they were able to go to Christ. And I know that all of these things happen, and I have seen them happen. But one new thing that I have seen is the Atonement helping me to train Sister Graham as well as teach investigators and interact with members. I was so so so so so nervous about being in charge and having to lead a lesson. But the first lesson we went into, I could feel a difference. And I know it's because of the Atonement. It makes up the rest for EVERYTHING that we do. And even though I was/am nervous about being called to train, the Lord has provided a way for me to do that, just as long as I rely on Him. It's cool that the Atonement will help us in every aspect of our life. I love that. 

Mom, have you gotten your quilt back yet? I sent it back on Wednesday, but I did the cheapest rate so it might take a while... I hope it gets there soon. 
Oh my gosh, I forgot!!! There is a gingerbread house festival that is going on downstairs and it starts this Saturday and goes through the first of the year. They set up all the decorations down there and there will be music entertainment the whole time and then there are gingerbread houses everywhere and activities for all of the children! And it smells like gingerbread all. day.  long. It's the best thing I could ever ask for :) Maybe next year, you all should come and pick me up so you can come to it. Maybe then they would let me go home with you before Christmas!!! Genius. Hahaha. That would be really fun. I know all the kids would LOVE IT. 
Sarah sounds like she is doing great still, that's really good. She sent me an awesome letter last week. It's like she knew I was called to be a trainer and that I was freaking out about it. So awesome. That's too bad about Steven! I'm glad that things are working out though. Also, Jared sounds like He is doing well. I can't believe he'll be in the Philippines so soon. I'm glad he gets to be a zone leader. When I was the coordinating sister it was fun to go and work with them and to take the new missionaries around. But, we got to see the stark difference that just a week would make in a missionary rather than like a month. So I bet that's really cool. And they only let the really good missionaries be zone leaders, so I'm glad Jared is doing his best and working hard so he can be a top missionary from the beginning. I am so proud of him. 
As far as Christmas presents go, I would love clothes. But, maybe buy some clothes and then send some gift cards or something. I really like the skirts that I have seen at dress barn. I know Laura is probably cringing... but it turns out they are kind of cute. Or maybe my sense of fashion is just SO warped. All the dresses that Mom made me are kind of too big now and they are super long. They don't have to be as long. But I can still use them for the Winter so they will be long and I can put some sweat pants underneath them. I don't really know what else I would want for Christmas... We don't have a whole lot of time to do anything... but clothes would definitely be fun, and then whatever else you feel is necessary :) Mom, you can send the electric blanket from home if you would like, whatever is fine, just as long as it's electric :) Also, I already said this, but no one said anything back to me, that I would like to still be in on the name drawing for Christmas presents... please? If you could let me know who I have as soon as possible that would be great, because I only have so many more days that I can actually buy it, and then I'll have to ship it. 
It sounds like things are going really well at home, with the exception of the truck not starting. Maybe you should get new cars, it turns out they are really nice. You can buy old mission cars, because they pull them out every 50000 miles, so it's not half bad idea. Plus we have to vacuum them and wash them every week. So, that's pretty sweet. Is Mom ready to part with the van yet now that only Laura lives at home? Who knows. hahah. 
Well, Family! I love you all so much! I miss you and I'm so glad that things are going well for all of you. You are in my prayers every single day and I miss you so much! I'll talk to you in a month and a half and I'll see you in 13 1/2 months! I can't believe I'm almost to my 12 months left mark. Crazy. It's been fast, but slow at the same time. I love being a missionary. OH MY GOSH, I just remembered a really great TC experience. It was a Jewish mom with her Christian husband and two kids. They lived in Idaho and so they knew a lot about Mormons and admired them. They had a lot of questions for me as far as my faith goes. I got to talk to her about how our family came so close together when Mom had cancer and it just built us up. And then she pointed out that most LDS people turn to God in times of trial, whereas the world usually questions God, and she wanted to know why that was. I was able to bear a powerful testimony on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how He didn't just suffer for our sins but for our pains, sorrows and afflictions. So, when we have that knowledge, we can go to Him and find comfort and it makes it a lot easier. She was speechless. It was just such a great opportunity to bear my testimony of the Savior to a Jewish person, who doesn't even believe in Christ. I hope it made a lasting effect on her. It was a great experience for me. 
Well, I love you and miss you!!!
Love,
Sister Proctor

I feel like a teenage mother

Dearest Darlingest Family,

This has been a CRAZY morning. We had been waiting all morning to hear about transfers, and then at 8:01 am President called-NEVER a good sign. hahaha. He called me and let me know that the Lord has called me to be a trainer. I immediately started freaking out. It is going to be a very new, interesting and faith building experience. I am excited that I get to stay in Millard, but I am so nervous to train!!! I have only been out 12 weeks! I know that the Lord will help me though and we both (my new companion and I) have a lot to learn from each other. Anyway, if you could just add some more thoughts for me in your prayers, that would be great :) And also for my new companion, that she won't be TOO disappointed with her trainer :) Her name is Sister Graham and she is from Orem, Utah. She doesn't know that we are going to be companions yet, she will find out tonight at President's house and then I'll pick her up tomorrow morning at transfer point when I say farewell to Sister Myers. Like the title of my subject, I feel like a teenage mother. I am not experienced enough to train someone! Hhaha. It's gonna be hard, but I know it will make us both better missionaries and the Lord has a lot in store for both of us. 

Transfers are CRAZY. One of my roommates is being shipped out west and we won't see her for who knows how long. It's just weird because the last transfer didn't affect us, but this one totally threw us all through a loop. I will still be rooming with Sister Hawkes though, so that's good. She will be training as well. So, fortunately I will have a semi-trainer when we come back at night that I can ask questions to. I am excited because I know this will push me to be a better missionary. 

Anyway, this week has been good. The last p-day I was sick and I just slept the rest of the day after I emailed you. Then on Wednesday I was sick again and had to stay in the Trail Center all day. Then on Thursday, I was so sick of being sick that I didn't even care anymore and I went out in the afternoon and felt good enough, then we had a shift in the trail center, so that was fine. Then, on Friday we had weekly planning and the trail center so by that time I felt much better. On Saturday we had Phil's baptism! (change the name if it's going on the blog). It was so awesome! He is thinking about serving a mission and I can't wait for people to hear his testimony. Then on Sunday we had a great day and ____ was confirmed and ___________ received the Priesthood! It was so great! I love days like that when you see people making covenants and/or receiving the blessings of the gospel. It's so awesome. On Monday we had district meeting- I included the picture of our district and our zone leaders. I have loved this district, they are SO fun. And the good news is a lot of them are still in my next district. Then afterwards we went to the trail center. Then yesterday we served in the trail center. I was the next to give a tour and I was just sitting in the chair and these two guys walk in. And I turned to Sister Atkin and I was like, "these guys look famous. like the osmonds or something." Then we found out that one of them had served in NOM and left in July and so he was talking to Elder Watson for a while. In the mean time, Sister Atkin are making all of these jokes because they look like the Osmonds about how I should on the tour call him Elder Osmond or ask how Donny and Marie are doing, and we are just cracking each other up. Then I go to take them on tour and as we are walking into the gallery, I ask them what their names are and they say their first names and their last names. Osmond. I was like. Wait. What?! and they were like, Umm... Osmond. and so then I start laughing and I bring them back into the lobby and say "Sister Atkin, I'd like to introduce you to the Osmonds." And she couldn't believe and we told them the story of what we were talking about before hand. It was so funny. It turns out that Donny and Marie are their aunt and uncle. Crazy stuff. So I'm practically famous now. It was a really good tour, too. 

Hey, I had this idea! Rather than buying stuff and shipping it to me, you could buy it on Amazon and have it shipped here!!! Genius right?! ahahha. Some of the other sisters families do that for them. No pressure or anything, but I could really go for an electric blanket... It is starting to get CHILLY here. It snowed last Wednesday. A TON. It's all melted now, but it's supposed to snow again today I think. Oh gosh, I just realized that now I'm gonna be Senior comp, which means I'll have to drive the mission cars. In the snow. yikes. Again- please pray for me. 

Well, this last week has been really great. Since I was sick for so long and realized how BORING it was to stay inside all day and how unproductive it feels, I have a new found love for missionary work. Not that I had lost it or something, but you just realize how great it is to be able to be out working all day. It's awesome. I am so excited to see how I grow this next transfer. I am nervous, but I know that Heavenly Father knows exactly what we both need. It will be great. I am sad to see Sister Myers go. We had some rough times, but these past few weeks we have just gotten along so well, and everyone in our ward tells us how amazing we work together (this was even when we were having rough times). Our ward mission leader said that he hasn't seen more effective missionaries than the two of us in the 3 years he's been the WML. It's awesome how well we worked together even when we sometimes drove each other crazy. I am going to miss her and I am excited for her to go back to the real world. Missions are really great. I am excited to see what I am like at the end of mine. I already feel like a different person from when I left- but it just gets better and better. I'm excited to see what Jared is like when he comes home. 

I can't believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up so fast! I am excited for Thanksgiving. We are having it with the Kmieicks. They are recent converts (Aug 2011) and they are so FREAKING awesome!!!! They are my favorite, and I was really sad thinking that I might get transferred away from them. But I get to be with them for longer! So that's awesome. 

 

Well, I love you all SO SO SO much! Thank you Michelle for all of the pictures! They are so fun to see how everyone is growing up! I love it! I can't wait to hear from you all very soon. Know that I love you and I pray for you everyday. I am so grateful for our wonderful family!!!

Anyway, I love you all so much! Please keep me and my poor trainee in your prayers!! I miss you! 

Love,

Sister Proctor

I Have a laundry Machine

Hello Family! 

This week was SUCH A GREAT WEEK!!!! As you can see in the pictures, we had a baptism!!!! Since you aren't posting this on my blog, I will tell you his real name, but if you are posting it on my blog then you will just have to change the name :) Anyways, this is __________! We met him at the end of August, but we didn't start teaching him until the end of September. He was set for baptism on November 5th, but this last Tuesday, Sister Myers and I felt like it needed to be moved up. So we had an appointment with him that day at the trail center and in the memorial room, we talked to him about it, and he said a prayer and said he wanted the rest of the day to think about it, but that he knew he probably would get baptized on Saturday. Then, we went and watched the John Tanner story, which is like 20 minutes long, and then he came out and asked us what we were doing on Saturday and if we wanted to go to a baptism! It was so awesome! So many people from the ward came and it was such a wonderful experience! It was stressful making sure everything was set up and that there would be people there, but it was ALL worth it! So so so so so great! He was so happy. He told us at his baptismal interview that he was so amazed that all of the sister missionaries were alike (he has met 4 total in the last month). He said we are all different, but we all have the same happiness and the same seriousness about the gospel. Then he said that he has never seen happier people than he has underneath the roof of our church building. It was really really cool. I am so happy for him. Now, we get to do it all over again this weekend with our other investigator! So awesome! 

That was obviously the highlight of the week. Last night, since it was Halloween, we weren't allowed to be outside after 6 pm. So, all the sisters got together and had a dinner and then made a Christmas craft! Best way to spend Halloween EVER! It was awesome! 

Well, I've had my first sickness in the mission field. I was super sick on Wednesday and I just slept all day long in the basement of the trail center. It was SO boring. I thought days were long when we were out in our area, but they are WAY longer when you are just sleeping all day. It was so annoying. I felt fine after that, except today I am feeling pretty crappy again, but I'm hoping I can just push through it. It's so annoying being sick. All of the sisters are coming down with something this week. 

I can't believe Dad bought Christmas lights!!!!!!!! What the heck?! It's a Christmas Miracle. 

So, this last week I took a former mission president  and his wife on tour. He was the mission president of the Utah Provo Mission. At the end, he said I was an amazing missionary and he wished he could have had me at his mission. Best. compliment. ever. It was so awesome. I really love being a missionary. It's so hard, yet so awesome all at the same time. 

Next week is transfers! I will definitely be getting a new companion, since Sister Myers is headed home. It is so crazy and so exciting all at the same time. We have had a great 3 months together, but I am excited to see what else is to come. It's weird because I hate moving in real life, but in a mission I think it's so fun to not know where I am going to be living or who I'll be living with next week. Crazy stuff. OH, just FBI, my P-day next week is on Wednesday. BUT, we might have to do our emails on Tuesday if we get picked to go out with the new missionaries. So, just send in your letters probably on Sunday night :) 

I am struggling writing this letter because I feel like my head is about to explode, so I'm sorry if it doesn't make any sense :) 

Thank you, Michelle for the package! I got it on Wednesday (the day I was sick) and so it was PERFECT! Plus I was freezing cold and that Gryffindor scarf warmed me right up. That is awesome and I am so excited to wear it!! 

Well, I have gotten some winter gear. I still have to get some for real snow boots. They are just so ugly I have a hard time spending money on them. It's supposed to snow tomorrow. Woof. I like snow, but not when we have to walk around in it ALL day long :) Hopefully I can find some boots today or something. We'll see what happens. 

Jared sounds like he is doing great. I am excited for him. He's officially been in the MTC longer than I have. Woohooo! It's so exciting when you get your travel plans. Probably even more exciting when you are there longer than 4 weeks :) I loved the MTC, but I definitely do not miss eating that cafeteria food all the time. 

I am making such great friends with the sisters here. I am so excited to get back (in 14 months!!!) and play with them/live with them. They are so great! Did I tell you that my mission is shorter than regular missions for some reason? It looks like my fly home date with be January 4, 2013. Which is pretty crappy that I'll miss 2 Christmas' but there's not much I can do about that haha. I figure it will be a fun way to say goodbye to those here. 

So, Nebraska decorates for Holidays like CRAZY here! Everyone has Halloween decorations up and I can't even wait to see what it's like at Christmas! Also, as you saw in the picture, we made those reindeer sweatshirts! It was awesome! We did it with our whole district. It was a surprise. I know the Elders loved it. hahaha. It was so much fun!! 

Well, I don't know what else to say and I feel like I should go lay down or something. I'm so glad to hear that everyone is doing well. I pray for you each every single day and I love getting letters from you all! Please remember to do the simple things like praying, studying scriptures, and going to church. It's crazy how just slacking a little bit can interrupt your life so much. I see it out here all the time with the less actives that we visit. Know that I love you all so much and I love this gospel. I love being a representative for Jesus Christ and helping people come closer to Him. I can't wait for Jared to have his first baptism. It's such a great experience seeing people understand, and the light in their eyes changes. It's so powerful. This gospel is amazing. I love you all and miss you!!

Love, 
Sister Proctor 

Are you saying I killed Lord Morley

Hi Family!

So the pictures are super lame again! But, the one with me with a red tongue I thought was pretty funny because it looks like I coughed up blood. And we all know the story of that! It was actually this stuff called MIO? It's like a water enhancer. You pour just a tiny bit into a bunch of water and it flavors it. Well, we were in the lunch room and bored, so I asked Sister Jenkins what she thought it would taste like just straight. Obviously, I was willing to try it.... It was pretty bad. My salivary glands were on FIRE. And it totally dyed my tongue red. Crazy stuff. 

I can't believe that Jake and Laralee are having another girl! That is so crazy. Poor William. P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILLIAM ON THE 22ND!!!!!!!!

Laura, before I forget... Could you burn me CDs of my whole Sunday playlist? I thought I wouldn't care about music, but it turns out I DO. Also, if you could send me the Josh Groban Christmas CD and appropriate songs from Josh Groban like such as You are Loved and You Raise Me Up and any others that aren't "romantic." And good churchy songs from my Womens Chorus CDs. I asked you for those a while ago and I thought they'd be in the last package, but alas, they were not. However, I would love to have you start doing this and I know it will take a lot of time, so no rush.    

Last Wednesday I was having a REALLY hard day. I think that because there are so many little things that just bother me or I am impatient with, rather than deal with them or confront them, I just tune them out. It's like I shut off all of my emotions for like 2 solid weeks and I was just a robot doing the things I was supposed to. Well, it was the worst on Wednesday and I couldn't even pretend to act chipper. It was just so exhausting and my body felt achy. We went to District Meeting, had lunch, and then went to do the Call Center and then we were gonna go out to our area and there was no way that I was going to be able to go out and work and talk to people. I felt like I had a brain cloud (hahah). Anyway, so what I did was I went and prayed. This prayer was different from any prayer I have ever given. It's like I was screaming in my head to Heavenly Father to help me to at least FEEL something!! I just prayed over and over and over that He would help me. And after about 10 minutes of praying like that, I got up and I felt completely fine. Then on our way out to the area, we had another area's car and they had Josh Groban You Are Loved and it just pumped me up even more. So that's why I want that SOOOO badly. It's such a great message and it was nice because it reminded me of home. And when Sarah and I were singing it at the top of our lungs in the car and right at the part where it's like YOU. ARE..... LOOOOOVVVEEEDDDD. And right when we got to "loved" then we got rearended. It was kind of funny. But, bad because she got rear ended but I'm excited to see that video in Heaven. Hahahah. Anyway, it was amazing what prayer can do and I have been feeling much better and I have realized that I should probably have emotions :) I thought about the sons of Mosiah and how they had DESIRE and they can't have that desire if they don't have emotions. So, that was a good reminder to have emotions and to deal with them, rather than just turn them off to not get bothered, because then you don't feel the good ones either. 

We went on exchanges again and I was with a new missionary. This time we were just with our ward mission leader and he did pretty much everything, so it wasn't as stressful :) Our WML is AWESOME! He makes me excited to get back home and to work with the missionaries and to be just like he is. He is so dedicated and is willing to do ANYTHING for us/our investigators/members of the ward. So cool. 

So we had our first mormon.org chat. We were only on it for an hour. And it was a creepy person. But a lot of the other sisters have had a lot of cool experiences, so that is awesome. We all have a 6 hour shift a week where we have to come in and chat. "Don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes, all day." 

Sarah's letters are so great. I want to be like her. She is such an AWESOME missionary! I wish she could train me!!! That would be sweet! Seriously, I am amazed at the woman and the missionary that she has become. 

I loved Jared's letter. I love the translation for conversion. It really is just taking them back to what they already know. Isn't that awesome?! I think that is how the Spirit really works. It isn't telling us new things, it's like we FEEL that we are remembering something that we once knew. It's so cool. 

Well, it is absolutely freezing here. It's 41 degrees right now and it feels like -20. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it's COLD.  We are going to go look for boots today because my legs/feet can't handle it anymore. Hopefully we find something. 

So apparently Sister Dalton (YW Pres) and I think Sister Cook (Primary Pres) came in to the trail center last week. Unfortunately I was not there. That would have been SO cool to meet them! 

Can you PLEASE email me recipes for those soups that I asked for a few weeks ago? And Reeve's address? Oh yeah, and on Halloween night, we aren't allowed to go out (everyone thinks we're DRESSED UP as missionaries) so we are having a Sisters Party and we are making a craft for Christmas gifts to send home. Could you all send me like a 4 by 6 or 3 by 5 picture of each family/person? We are supposed to have 10 pictures total, So I figure one of the whole fam together-I guess just the yellowstone one. 2. Mom and Dad. 3. Christensen Family 4. Proctor Family 5. Jones Family 6. Taniel and Isaac 7. Laura. 8. Me. 9. Jared. and.... maybe one more with all the grand kids together or something, I don't know. But I need those printed off and mailed to me before Halloween. That could be WONDERFUL. Thank you! 

Well, there is not much else to say. Things are going really really well in the Millard area. We reached 90% of the standard. Our minds were blown. However, we will tank it this week since we only have 2 days in our area really. But that's OK. It's just nice to see that we are making goals and reaching them. I love being a missionary. Sometimes I can't believe that I really live in Nebraska and I go out everyday to talk to people about Jesus Christ. But it's SO AWESOME! I'm excited for Jared to go out and share it with people. Also, KUDOS to Michelle for handing out a Book of Mormon! That's awesome! The Book of Mormon and the Spirit are the most powerful tools in conversion. It makes our jobs a little bit easier, that it's like Hey, read this awesome book and then pray to Heavenly Father about it and tell us how it goes! haha. Obviously it's not THAT easy, but it is nice that it's not like we are selling cutco knives door to door. We are teaching people the Gospel, and the entire Godhead is on our side!!! Way way sweet. 

Well, let this week's email be a reminder of the power of prayer. GO to your Heavenly Father and plead with Him. He is there and He hears and answers our prayers. I can promise you that. I love Him and I love my Savior. I love you all and there is not a day that goes by that I don't pray for you or think about how wonderful you all are. Have a wonderful week and I will write you on Monday! 

Love, 

Marf

Bears, Beets, battlestar Gallectcia

Hi Family! 

Guess what's back in full effect?! That's right, my color coded closet. I sent you a picture so you could appreciate. I don't have as many clothes back as I did at home, but I love it. Also, it's not AS extreme since I don't have coordinating hangers. I just don't have the time/means to find them all. hahah. That other picture was taken like 5 seconds ago. Sorry my pictures are super lame :)

So this week has been great! We saw one of the "I"m a Mormon" billboards on our way back from District Lunch. It was freaking awesome! Also, we heard from all the ward members that there were 2 commercials back to back right before the Husker game started. Freaking sweet. The Cornhuskers are a big deal here. We usually try to plan not to even proselyte at that time because no one is outside and no one opens their doors. It's so funny. 

Jared, I can write so much because in the field you get an hour for emails. AAAAND I didn't have a GF to write to on my down time on P-days hahah. Also, I played Mavis Beacon as a kid, for fun! 

I still really wish that I could get Sarah's weekly emails forwarded to me. Also, I think I should have Reeve's address. Maybe I'll send him a letter or two. 

So, we got some new training in the Trail Center yesterday!!! We are going to start doing the Chats on mormon.org. We will have "online investigators." We can set up appointments with them and everything! It is SO awesome! Then, we have this online area book which is the most amazing thing ever. I wish that we could have it for more than just our chat investigators. You just print off a progress record!!!!! It's flipping awesome! Anyway, I'm really excited about that. We will be talking to people from all over the world. Taniel had a question about Call Center. It's in the basement of the Trail Center. We get incoming calls from people calling from mormon.org, or pass along cards or something like that. They are usually requesting a free DVD or something, but then we sweet talk them into having the missionaries come and deliver it. Also, with the referrals we receive at the TC, we then call those people and tell them their friend referred them and see if they want the missionaries to come and teach them. It's really fun. I love it. I can't wait to start doing the chat this week. 

So, on Thursday, my companion went with another missionary to the temple since someone they taught was going through the temple. So, I went on exchanges with the other sisters companion. Who has only been here like a week. So I had to not only be the Senior comp for a day, but I had to be a trainer! All while I am still getting trained! It was one of the most stressful things of my life. And it was a car fast so we had to walk EVERYWHERE and our area is huge. And it was pouring rain while we were walking like 2 miles. It made me appreciate Sister Myers a lot more. I don't ever want to be Senior Companion, let alone a trainer. It was so stressful and I was EXHAUSTED. However, I have to do the same thing all over again this Thursday when Sis Myers goes to the temple again. Yikes. Hopefully it goes better. 

Yesterday we had 4 investigators and one less active at church! It was so awesome!!! We've only had one investigator at church since I've been here, so to have 4 was pretty crazy. Did I tell you that someone we are teaching is SET for baptism. Well, actually 2, but we turned one over to the Singles Ward Elders. But the one that we have been teaching is about 60 years old and he is the nicest man ever. He is so sweet. He called and left a message the other day and said he saw one of the mormon.org commercials and that it reminded him of how happy he was since he has been meeting with us and that he was "soon to be a mormon." It was really cute. That will be exciting. 

I loooove the Senior couples here. I am so spoiled. I have like 6 sets of Grandparents. We went to Elder and Sister Watson's house last Friday night so they could give us some counsel and pray with us (I'll tell you the story when I get home. It was a crazy night). But they really take care of us and love us. It is so comforting to have them there and to have them be so willing to help us out. Sister Watson gave Sister Myers and I 10 Oreos each and she told us to eat them all at once and we would feel really good. Hhaha. She is so funny. 

It sounds like Michelle and Brian are having a good time in Florida! Tell people to visit mormon.org and maybe they will chat with me!!! That would be so cool!

It is SOOOO pretty here. All of the trees are yellow and orange and red. And it's just GORGEOUS!!! I love it here. Today we are going to go to the mall and to target and then to Jason's Deli. I need some winter clothes here soon, so I'm hoping to find something today. The weather has been perfect everyday, I love it (minus the HUGE rainstorm when we had to walk all day :) ). We go with our roommates. It's really nice having roommates to break up being with the same person 24/7. 

It sounds like things are going well with Jared and Tagalog. I like getting his letters. I love that he speaks Tagalog in his sleep. There was an Elder in our zone in the MTC who had a serious sleep walking problem. But he would always dream that he was teaching this black lady who didn't want to get baptized because she didnt' want to ruin her weave. Hahaha. But he would always get out of bed, shuffle around in the drawers to find pamphlets for her and then explain that she would only be in the water for a few seconds. It was so funny. His stories always made me laugh. 

I am more and more grateful everyday that I get to be at the Trail Center. Seriously, I feel so spoiled to be here. It is just so great. OOOH I just remembered something. So we always have a prayer meeting each morning we're in the TC. And the last one I was in, Elder Watson was there and he wanted all of us to go to the cemetery that day and to just reflect. So I did and I started thinking. Everyone always says that the Mormon Trail Center is the best historic site/visitors center. And it's because of the spirit that is felt here. Well, we know that when people bear their testimonies, we feel the spirit. And then I thought about how STRONG the pioneers testimonies had to have been if they can still be felt 160 years later, from EVERYONE who comes here. As a missionary, I want to have a powerful testimony that will help others feel the spirit. But I know that the pioneers did not receive that testimony without going through hardship. It is the sacrifices and the struggles that they had to endure that gave them that amazing testimony that can still be felt. Well, I can't expect to get a testimony like that if I am not willing to do things that are hard. It was cool to think about and it reminded me of the things I could be doing better to BE a better missionary. 

Mom, my comp and I listened to the talk you gave at Reeve's farewell. I remembered how amazing it was! I love the difference of I will GO, I will DO, I will BE. It's so great. Also, Jared your talk was really good. It's funny though because it must have just been recorded from the microphone because you couldn't hear people laughing at all of the jokes- it was the same in Mom's, Reeve's and James' so it just sounded like everyone was telling jokes and no one was laughing at them. Pretty funny. My comp and I were dying at the part where Jared said we were all getting the censored version of his talk. Too funny. Tell Brother Graham thank you for that, it was really neat to have. 

Well, I love you all and I am so grateful to have you as a family. You are wonderful examples to me and you support me and love me. Thank you very much! I love my Savior and I know that He loves all of us. How blessed we all are to have the knowledge of the restored gospel. Amazing. Have a wonderful week and I will write you all next Tuesday! I love you!!!

Love,

Marf

Dementor, Dementor

Hello Family!

First off, I sent you some pictures from the zoo last week. It was AWESOME. The ghost of the bayou was pretty lame though... it looked like it was fake or dead just sitting in the water. But still, it was a life long dream fulfilled. We had a ton of fun. I found some more Kencraft Candy Sticks. That's always great!

Oh my gosh, General Conference was AMAZING!!!! I loved it! I watched the Saturday sessions at members homes and one of them was a Recent Convert, and when Pres. Monson got up and just started laughing and making jokes he was like, "that is not what I expected at all!" I loved it. Then on Sunday morning I was in the Trail Center so I could only watch it when I wasn't on tour. Then I watched the afternoon one at a members home and then later that night we came back and watched the morning one in the TC. I wish the whole world could have heard Tad R. Callisters talk about the Book of Mormon. It was SO good. I loved it. Mom, I am so proud of you for deleting Angry Birds. I felt a little bit guilty when he said that :) ALSO, I can't believe that the Tabernacle is going to be a new temple! That made me SOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited! I loved that Tabernacle. So many good experiences there with Stake Conference and Choir Concerts. And now there will be many more made with it being a temple. That makes me so happy. Maybe I'll get married in it. IF I get married. Hahaha joke.

So, everyday one set of the sisters serving in the trail center go to the Catholic convent down the road to do service. Apparently, they were a HUGE help in us getting the Winter Quarters temple, so we go and help them out. So we went yesterday and we walked their dog "Gidget." It's pretty fun. Then we went and helped this nun get stuff out of her closet. She was really nice. She showed us a picture of her family. Her Parents, her bros and sisters and her nieces and nephews. It is so sad that they don't have a family of their own. There is no way in HECK I would be a missionary like this my whole life. I am glad that our church understands the importance of having your own families. It's sad that they don't get that experience. Also, I never thought in my life that I would be asked "Are you guys like nuns!?" so many times in my life. Gotta love it.

Oh my gosh. I got the package today!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Especially for the GPS!!!!!!! Holy cripes! I am so happy that we won't get lost all the time now! You are the best! Well, you were even without the package, but now I'm just real excited. I can't believe Dad was willing to give up Princess Pei Pei. I hope he named his iPhone that. Also, I hear that he is having eye pains and headaches from the iPhone. hahah. Just get an iPad and all will be good :)

On Sunday, this lady came in with her two kids and they were dressed in church clothes. She said they had tried to go to church but that it was closed (because of General Conference). So she took her kids to walk around the temple and then they found this place. She apparently was raised LDS, decided to be an atheist, went to Afghanistan and decided not to be an atheist, and has been going to a non-denominational church for like 6 months. However, the 11 year old boy was told that his Dad was not going to Heaven and so they didn't like that church. So, she remembered what she had learned growing up LDS and tried telling her kids, but she was just confusing them, so she decided she needed to bring in the missionaries. She was so excited that we had a tour and so I took them on the tour. When we got to the memorial room I told them about the Plan of Salvation. The little boy had so many questions, but he was understanding everything perfectly. He told me that he had learned more in 20 minutes at the Trail Center than the 6 months he had spent at the other church. It was awesome. At the end, they agreed to having the missionaries come and teach them in their home. The mom started to tear up and said that she has been needing to feel peace in her life, and that she felt it here, and that she needed to get back on track and having the missionaries over if she wanted to continue to have that peace. It was so awesome. I love serving in the Trail Center. This is such a special place. I feel so spoiled for getting called here.  I love the pioneers. I will go on a trek every year!!! Ok, that might be pushing it... hahah

I am so glad to hear that Jared is doing well. Tell him that ALL missions are hard, not just foreign ones please :) hahaha. I totally knew he'd be District Leader. When he says to dear elder him everyday, he's not kidding. Those things are the best things EVER.  I am excited to listen to his farewell!

I want to see pictures of the playhouse! That is so fun! It's crazy that things are changing at home with everyone moving out. Just lock Laura in her room so she doesn't get married and everything will be fine. I am excited to find out what Laralee is having!!! I hope it's a boy too :) Mom, I'm glad that you are thinking about making me a quilt :) I like the idea of having everyone sign a triangle, but I think I might get stressed out having to deal with it. I don't know. Maybe it could work.

I loved getting Sarah's weekly email! Please keep those coming my way. They really boost me every time I read them. She is such a great missionary. Also, Laura, will you tell Elder Epstein to forward me his weekly emails? It was good to hear from him.

Do you remember when Jared spelled "I am Lord Voldemort" with my hair in the shower. I do. I was laughing about that pretty hard the other night. He's a funny kid.

Well, things are wonderful here. The leaves are changing and falling quickly. It's so beautiful. I really love the missionaries here. It is so nice becuase every saturday morning we have a training and we get to all be together with all the sister missionaries, as well as the seniors and the Mission President and Mom. It's so wonderful.

Today starts the mormon.org media campaign in Omaha! I am so excited. There are going to be billboards along the freeway and commercials running on the major TV stations. I am excited to see the growth that comes because of it. We are revamping our whole call center because there is going to be added growth. This is actually happening in  9 other major cities, all of which could call in to our call center. I love being able to work in the call center. We are also going to start doing chat, which will be so fun.

Happy Birthday Brian on Saturday!!! (If saturday is the 8th, I'm not exactly sure....)

So what did Jared do for his last few days at home?

Being a missionary is really great. I have realized that there is no way I could have gotten married without serving a mission. My husband would have gone crazy. haha. I have already learned so much that will make me a better wife and mother. Elder Watson, our director here, talks a lot about how our missions aren't just to make us better people or to make other people better people, but ultimately for us being a better wife and a better mother. It's so cool that the Lord uses everything He can to prepare you to be the person that He needs you to be. I love Heavenly Fathers plan for me. I have fought it long and hard, and I'm sure that in the future I will also fight it, but He knows me perfectly and He knows what will be best for ME. I am so grateful to have a Father in Heaven who wants nothing but my everlasting happiness.

So, our Ward Mission Leader called us this morning to congratulate Sister Myers and I on having the most member involvement with investigators in our Stake. Apparently the Bishop called him, and the Stake President called him, and the Mission President called him. I was surprised, because I thought we haven't been doing that much, but it's nice to know that we are doing our best and that the Lord is making up the rest!

Well, I love you all very much and I am so grateful every single day for our family. You all make me so happy and I love you so much. Have a wonderful week and I look forward to hearing from you soon!!! I love you!!

Lots of Love,

Marf

P.S. Mom, I have your quilt and a CD of all the pictures of the quilt show. I will hopefully send that off next week...

Hello, everyone

Hi Family!!!

Well this week has been wonderful! On Monday we had P-day and then we went to this wonderful Spanish family and we read 1 Nephi chapter 2 with them. Their 11 year old daughter is a member, but the parents can't get married yet due to immigration stuff. But they are such a great family and they love having us come over and read the Book of Mormon with them so they can understand it better.

We have been finding a lot of new investigators. The only problem is trying to retain them. We get in a lot of first lessons, but then when it comes to the second lesson, it seems they either find another church, say they dont want us to come, or just down right ignore us. That's always fun. One of the most important things is to teach people and not lessons, and so we are working very hard to meet peoples needs rather than just teach a lesson. Hopefully that will help us retain them more.

That wonderful family that we met who have the 8 year old who I helped pray for the first time called us and said they found another church. We told them that we still wanted to meet with them though and they were excited about that. Now, if we could just get them to join the true church, that would be great :)

I hope I don't sound like I'm super bummed out or anything. Yes, it is sad that people decide not to have us come over anymore, but things are still going great. In fact, this one guy that we aren't even teaching yet, but have been talking to for like the past month has a car that he can't sell and wants to get rid of. So he called us and asked us if there was anyone in our ward who needed a car and we figured there was, so we called the bishop and he said that he had been praying for this exact thing to happen and he knew exactly who it should go to. We got to tell the people who are going to be getting the car. They were SO excited. It was really fun.

On Wednesday, we had our cleaning day. I spent 7 hours cleaning, and it still wasn't done. We had an entire carful of stuff to take to goodwill and probably that much in supplies to take to the mission office. It felt like Christmas to me to get rid of all that junk though. It was awesome.

We also got to go to the temple on Friday. It was so great. Sister Myers and I did initiatories and then we got to go sit in the Celestial room for like an hour while we waited for everyone else to come out of the session. Then our whole zone got to sit and talk in the Celestial room. It was so awesome. The WQ temple is REALLY pretty.

Well, this week in the TC was really good too. Yesterday was especially good. This family came in. A grandpa, the mom, the dad and their daughter. The mom and the daughter were members. The tour took like 2 hours because the grandpa talked SO MUCH. I don't really know what he was talking about most of the time. He reminded me SO much of Mr. Bean though! hahahaha He kept saying "At any rate" and "That's at a nano-molecular level and I don't want to even get into that" and "Not paranormal but paranatural." It was really funny and weird to me at the same time. Anyways, the Dad is apparently a "dry Mormon." He does everything in the church, even has callings, but just isn't baptized. He said nothing really interested him in the church, and even though he hasn't had a drink in years, he wondered if he wanted one later after he had been baptized. So at the end, we were at the Salt Lake Temple Facade and I asked his wife and daughter what it would mean to them if their family could go there and be sealed. They weren't super vocal about it and so then I told them what it meant to be sealed to my family. I was totally bawling and telling him that it meant the world to me to know that my parents promised to love and honor each other for eternity, that if anything happened we would be sealed and that it made our relationships more important. I told him that even if he didn't find certain aspects of the gospel interesting, that his number one interest should be his wife and daughter. And how he is keeping them from that eternal family. And that they are way more important than having the option to drink in the coming years. I then asked him if he would let me send the missionaries to his house, and he agreed. It was a really cool experience. I was super bold, but the mom and daughter thanked me so much at the end. So, that was awesome.

So, apparently, the sisters have a little saying when they are deciding what to wear in the mornings and it's "what would Sister Proctor wear" hahah. It's so funny. A lot of them come in and raid my closet. I probably would too if I had to come out with the old dress code. Woof.

So, it was winter here for like 3 days. It was freezing cold (only 50 degrees, but it felt FREEZING). And we didn't see the sun at all. I am not super excited for a Nebraska winter. Hopefully I'll be able to get through it haha. But, we decided we are going to need a lot of soup for lunches and dinners. So I would LOVE you to send me some soup recipes. Like Potato Soup, White Bean Chili, that Olive Garden Soup, some easy Chicken Enchilada soup, and whatever other ones you can think of. Writing all those down just made me really hungry.

Anyway, that's awesome that Reeve is in Chicago! I wonder how long he will be there!? That's so cool. Also, I can't believe that Jared's farewell is this Sunday! That is so exciting! I know that his talk is in outline form, but even just those would be really cool. Also, I want a TON of pictures of his farewell and the MTC. ALSOOOO, I can't believe the bike is finished!!! That is so sweet!!! What is going to happen to it while he is gone? I never got a picture of the playhouse being done... that could be cool.

So the pics I sent were of me like 10 minutes ago, the GORGEOUS sunrise this morning (the pic doesn't do it justice), my belly button :) hahah I wouldn't hate it if that didn't get forwarded on to anyone else :), and me and my roommates on Sister Hawkes' birthday. We got up at like 5 and decorated our whole apartment. It was a lot of fun.

So, I cancelled the surgery. So that's nice. Hopefully I won't have to worry about it until I get home. I was looking forward to getting to sleep in during recovery time though... hahah oh well.

We are going to go to the zoo next p-day with our district. I am so stinking excited. Apparently it's way better than the Hogle Zoo (who knew?!) hahaha. Also, I figured out why I got sent to Nebraska... do you remember the Ghost of the Bayou that was at the Hogle Zoo and I wanted to see it SOOO bad, but I missed it? Well, it is at this ZOO!!!! I was so excited when I found that out! Hahaha, obviously I know that's not why I was called here, but it's an added bonus :)

Dad, how did you get the exact address of where I live?

Also, just so you know, I print out all of the emails since I'm at the Trail Center. So if you feel bad because you didn't write me a hand written letter, and then you decide not to email me because it will take up partof my hour, worry no longer. haha. I love me some hand written letters, but if you can't, then you can email me and I will print it out.

I can't believe Jared is going into the MTC next week! That is so exciting. Just know that the first night and first morning is not how it is always going to be. It gets way better. And on Wednesdays and Sundays they have an icecream bar. But on Sunday, they have all these yummy toppings. Get there early if you can. Join the choir, because then you are guaranteed seats. My next P-day is on Wednesday because of transfers, just FBI.

Thank you Casey and Michelle for sending me the recipe! I knew I could count on you :)

Well, my hour is pretty much up. I love you all so much and I wish I could be there to drop off Jared at the MTC. However, I'm glad that now I'll get a letter from him every week :) Please make sure that his weekly email or any hand written letters are also forwarded to me. I am so excited. The MTC is the best place. I wish they had an EFY thing, but just let you go to the MTC. You learn so much there. Anyway, I love you all and I am so grateful for everything you all do and all of the love and support I feel from you every single day. Please continue to send me that love and support by sending me that package ;) I think Sis. Hawkes might get sick of me using her blow dryer every morning. haha.

I love you all very much and I miss you! Have a great week and I can't wait to hear from you!

Love,

Marf