I saw Canadaaaaa

Not a bad week for only having basically 4 work days available to us. Last Tuesday we had the chance to go up to Zion's Camp in Belfair (which, in case you are wondering, is forever away from nowhere, but not as far as Port Angeles....which we also went to). We did a bunch of ropes course, team building stuff. I was pretty hesitant because it involved 30 sisters in the middle of the Washington forest together for a couple hours, but it ended up being a really great experience. I came home with plenty of bruises and sore muscles, but with a greater understanding of my purpose and the things that I need to do in order to help others. I think that's one of the biggest lessons we can learn, is that before you can help other people you need to be able to help yourself.

 

I got to go back and see all of my people in Silverdale!! It was so great. I felt like I really needed that this week. I'm facing leaving Steilacoom in a week or so and it's sad and hard to leave, but going back and having all of these people that I love remember me and miss me and want to talk to me helped me feel a lot better about leaving here. The missionaries always have to leave but the ones you love remember you. I've been to a few of the firesides now, but the one in Silverdale was the best for me becuase I LOVED the people that I was singing too. Not that they could hear me individually, but it made me sing better and with more feeling because I wanted them to know that I love them and I love my Savior. It was so great. Sunday night was interesting. Port Angeles is way the heck out in the middle of nowhere, but it is so beautiful!! I loved seeing it. And, I got to see Canada! Gooood times haha.

 

Our wonder-investigators Nikki nad Meaghan are so awesome. Nikki went up to Deseret Book the other day and knew that Sister Grenfell and I both really wanted copies of the D+C church history dvd's and they were on sale and she bought us each a copy of it. She's only been an investigator for like 2 weeks!! So legit. They're getting ready for baptism, probably next weekend. Nikki's husband gave the ok, and he's cool with Meaghan getting baptized too. That was such a huge miracle, one that we had been praying very, very hard for.

 

There's a quote in PMG that talks about how the study of doctrine improves behavior better than the study of behavior improves behavior. Try it. I know it works. It has helped me so much the last few weeks to study pure doctrine and the life of my Savior. I feel like I know Him so much better and I have such a stronger desire to be like Him. That doesn't necessarily mean that I am, but I want to be, so little by little it will happen as long as I keep putting forth the effort.

 

We're working really hard at finding new people to teach. Things have been slow and we're hoping and praying that things pick up. I really want to leave the area with a solid teaching pool so there isn't a gap in the work when I leave and the new sister gets the shaft and has to do tons of work for something that I should have taken care of. Gotta leave it better than when I came.

 

Hope you are all having a great week. Love you!!

 

Sister Chronister

We're going Church Turr Crazy!

If I had a nickel for every time I heard the words "church tour" this week, I really think that I would have $1,000,000. [Insert Austin Powers reference here.] We are focusing on church tours as a mission. We worked our butts off trying to find church tours. We went through all of our potentials, formers, ups, downs, whoever and tried to get them to come check out the church. And today, I'm tired haha. It was productive though, it helped us filter a lot of the people we are trying to teach. There's a lot of people in Steilacoom! Haha.

Last week was slow, this one is going to be crazy. Tomorrow we are going to Zion's Camp for some mission training and fun, Saturday I'll be up in Silverdale (the blessed, blessed land of Silverdale) and Sunday we are going to Port Angeles. both for the musical fireside thingy's the mission is doing. Lots of driving, I hope we can get some work done in there, especially since PA is about 2.5 hours away.....

I am crazy and I have been reading Jesus the Christ like it's nobody's business over the last few weeks. It's amazing!! I love that book. This morning I read about the parable where the seed grows secretly. It has a better title, I just can't remember it. One of the cool parts is that it is only mentioned in one of the gospels, not all 4 or even 3 of them. Anyways, it talks about a sower planting a seed and he goes and does some other stuff and comes back and the seed has fully grown into a stalk with an ear and with corn in the ear. So basically it's full-grown if you didn't catch that part. The sower simply needed to plant the seed. He could help its growth by weeding, watering, making sure the ground was ready for the seed, but as far as the actual growth of the seed, only the Lord knows exactly what needs to happen for it. Same with the gospel. We all plant seeds ( I know, I know, I'm sick of hearing that phrase too) but only God knows what it takes for that seed to actually grow. We can do our best to take care of the environment around it, but sometimes we have to go other places and take care of other things. It isn't always our main focus all the time. But, when we come back and the seed is fully grown, we get to rejoice in the harvest. Whatever the result is, it's all in God's control. I thought that was pretty great.

I hope you all have a lovely week. Washington is on a no-rain streak. I think today marks 48 or 49 days of no precipitation. Sounds familiar.......AZ? I love it, the grass and the trees do not. Love you, write me a letter!!

Sister Sara Chronister

We shall see Him as He is

So last Tuesday I was cleaning out the car and forgot mid-way through moving from the back seat to the trunk that there is a GIANT metal pole right by our parking spot, and as I turned I was abruptly stopped by the clang of my head and foot hitting the pole. Ahhh well, worse things have happened and I escaped with naught but a bruise. Luckily no one was watching, but my companion did hear it from the bathroom in our apartment, so it was pretty loud.

 

THEN on Saturday we got to go over to Anderson Island to help with their annual parade/fair. There were 10 missionaries that came and we ran all of the games at the fair. Don't get your hopes up on it though, this parade was about half the size of the Show Low 4th of July parade. If you haven't heard of Show Low, don't worry about it, but this one was even smaller. I had the privilege of running the [rubber] duck pond. A kid gives me a ticket, picks up a duck, looks at the number on the bottom, and tries to get another duck with the same number on the bottom. What happens if they don't get it? Try again until they do!  Everyone is a winner. So great. However, right at the end we were playing a little game of hot potato and someone goes, "Ah watch out for the bee" and before I can even blink I feel its dumb little stinger jab into the palm of my hand. The little bugger escaped before I could spread his little bee guts all over the ground. Bee stings suck.

 

The work has slowed down a little here, but we are keeping the faith that there is someone out there for us to teach. We just have to go and find them. Our family from the Congo came to the ward bbq on Friday and loved it, but didn't make it to church on Sunday. Good thing missionaries are stubborn, persistent, and somewhat stalker-ish. We'll get them there.

 

I suppose I should explain the title of this one. Moroni 7:48: "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."

 

This scripture was pressing on my mind all week, and I would almost dare say that it is my favortie verse in the Book of Mormon. My favorite part is where it says "that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." I had to spend a fair amount of time during personal study to really figure out what this means. After reading about charity and how we become more Christlike, I finally got it. When we see Christ as He truly is, our Brother, Redeemer, Shepard, Savior, and Friend, then we understand Him and we love Him. When we understand that and have a personal relationship with him then we desire to become more like Him. To be patient, full of love, long-suffering, gentle, meek, humble, faithful, hopeful, wise, and charitable. The Savior Himself said it best: "If ye love me, keep my commandments." What He really means is, if you truly love me, you will only have desires to keep my commandments. That is what we are all striving for. Love the Savior, love God, love your neighbors. These are the first and great commandments. Everything else just falls into place.

 

I hope you all have a great week. Remember, you friendly neighborhood missionaries love mail haha. Love you!!

 

Sister Chronister

Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling

What a week. Plenty of activities and things to keep us busy. This past week we had our park day where we don't use the car, which is totally fine cause we walk around a ton anyways, BUT without thinking, we planned a baptism for that day. I know what you're thinking, big deal, missionaries do it all the time, but humor me and just tell me I did a good job cause it was really unusual not having our normal means of transportation and preparation. Plus with our ward mission leader being out of town, the majority of planning and coordinating fell on our shoulders. Lesson learned: plan better in advance.

So, with the baptism of Da'Marr (yeppp....) that pretty much wraps up everyone that we were teaching and now we have NO ONE. Lesson learned: plan better in advance. When you are always diligent about finding and teaching, then you never have to worry about lulls in the work. It's always going, it's always consistent.

The last 3 days we have been eating our guts out. People are feeding us like crazy. I'm not surprised that sisters here in the past have gained upwards of 15-20 pounds. Last night we had 2 dinners, both fed us dessert, and then another family we went and visited made us dessert also. So good, but so much. I came home and just had to lay on the couch. By 10:30 when I was going to bed my stomach still had ot recovered. I never want to eat again! Oh but wait, we have a dinner and a dessert tonight....oh well, you can't have everything you want. I really shouldn't complain, it means that people care about us and want to take care of us. I really, really appreciate it. I hope to be like that one day when I'm not a missionary (curse the day that happens.....)

A member of the ward passed away very suddenly a week ago and his funeral was on Friday night. I didn't know him super well, but I had been to his house a few times for dinner with him and his wife and I remember always feeling really peaceful and relaxed around them. They were just those kinds of people. Anyways, he passed away very suddenly and we got to attend his funeral. His two children sang an amazing a capella version of "Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling." I loved it because of the ending line: "Calling, oh sinner, come home." The Savior is always calling us home. We had to leave the presence of our God to come here, but when we follow Him and become more like Him, we are taking the steps toward home. Home is a place that is happy and joyfull, where sweet reunions take place, there's laughter and joy, and no heartache is felt. Our homes here are not always like that, but when we look back at our homes that we grew up in, those are the things that we remember. We remember the good, not the bad. Home.

Lately I have been struggling with some things. Mostly just to stay motivated and diligent. I got caught in this little current that ended up dragging me pretty far from where I need to be. I refer to this as "jellyfishing." Don't jellyfish!!  As soon as you stop doing what you're supposed to, you move backwards. If you are not progressing, you are digressing. The biggest thing that I noticed was that my personal studies have been less-than-stellar. I could tell that my testimony, and the power I felt behind, was lacking. The center of everything that we teach and are is Jesus Christ. He is the Rock and the Foundation. To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to follow Him. To follow Him is to keep His commandments and be like Him. That is my quest right now: to know Jesus Christ. Not jus to know things about His life, but to know Him as my Savior, my Brother, and my Friend. When we become more like Christ and strive to become like Him, then EVERYTHING else will fall into place.

The gospel is true. God knows us and loves us. He will do anything for us that will get us to where we need to be. A lady in church gave a talk yesterday about justice and mercy. Justice is fair and mercy is not, but thank God that it isn't because through mercy we are granted blessings and gifts beyond measure. Thank Go for that matchless gift. Love you all.

Sister Sara Chronister

There is SUNSHINE in my soul today!

Cause apparently summer is already over, so I have to carry it in my soul instead of in the sky. One day it was hot and sunny and sweaty and the next it was cold and cloudy. Awesome.

 

We are continuing our baptism craziness. Robert, aka the happiest guy ever, got baptized on Saturday. It was funny to hear him giggling from the locker room as I was bearing my testimony about the joy of the gospel. Demar is getting baptized this Thursday. He and some friends sang "I Believe in Christ" in sacrament meeting. It was AMAZING!!! The last verse blows me away every time.

 

"And while I strive through grief and pain,

His voice is heard: 'Ye shall obtain.'

I believe in Christ, so come what may."

 

We watched a video in our district meeting last week called "The Bridge." It was a very moving experience. It's about a man who operates a bridge for the railroad. One day, the rails don't quite line up so he has to go and hold a bar so the rails line up and the train can safely pass over to the other side, except that when he looks up, his little son is running toward him cause his wife needs him. He has to make the choice between his son and the lives of everyone on the train. Go look it up if you haven't seen it. It's the best analogy for the Atonement that I have ever seen. It's from the perspective of our Heavenly Father and shows just how hard that sacrifice was. The Atonement is something most of us will probably never understand fully. But, this was an amazing way to understand just a part of it, and how much love was involved in helping us on the train cross the bridge to live with our Father forever.

 

I am grateful for my Savior. He is the bridge, the light, the truth, and the way. And He loves me. What's greater than that? It's only through Him that we can make it through this life. Trust in Him always.

 

I hope you have a great week. Love you all!!

 

Sister Chronister

Thank you, Jesus

Those were Jane's first words when she came out of the water. Then she asked if she could be dunked again.

What a weekend! Jane's baptism was Saturday afternoon. I've never seen someone more excited to be baptized. I went to go help her get ready and she was already sitting by the steps of the font, with her knees pulled up to her chest, just staring at the water and it finished filling the font and humming to herself. She looked so peaceful.

Then that evening the rest of the Tangaro family (Landon, Leticia, and Liam) were baptized, making them all members. It was awesome!! Both were very spirit-filled events, and I felt so so lucky to be a part of both of them.

THEN after the baptism we got our transfer call (this one flew by, I couldn't believe it was already time) and I was totally expecting to leave, but we are both staying! So that's cool.

Sunday, Jane and the Tangaro's were all confirmed. In the ward that Jane was baptized into the bishop invited her to come up and bear her testimony. She kept saying over and over again, my name is Jane and I'm a Mormon! She's so proud of it. Every time she calls she says it. She said she has no doubts that this is the true church. It has to be. I've never seen someone who so firmly believes in the truth of this gospel. It's so amazing.

That night we road-tripped down to Centralia, about an hour away, for the first missionary musical fireside. It was AMAZING. It was pretty powerful and so many people came to watch it. We all felt like we were floating on little Spirit clouds. I even got teary-eyed during one of the songs! Who knew that could happen.

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks. I feel like I've won the lottery cuase I get to spend so much time in Steilacoom. It's already been 4 1/2 months, and this will make it at least 6. Wahooo!! This really is such a great place to be and there is so much work. I am so blessed. We all are. Go Jesus. Love you!!

Sister Sara Chronister

My chains are gone, I've been set free!!

Have you heard that song? It's a good one. Especially when it's sung by Josh Groban or a missionary choir. Last Monday we got a call at 10:20 pm from Sister Weaver asking my companion to be the director for the upcoming musical firesides put on by the missionaries. There is going to beone in every stake for the next few months. It's a chance for the members to see the missionaries en masse and for us to have a fireside all by us and all about Christ. So, that meant that we got to drive to every zone conference this week so that we could practice for the first one, which is this Sunday, the 12th. I got to go back to the blessed land of Silverdale on Tuesday, down to Olympia on Wednesday, and over to Tacoma on Thursday. Man, I was wiped, and all I had to do was go and look pretty and sing with everybody else. But, I might get the chance to accompany one of the songs, so that will be pretty exciting. Really, there is nothing that compares to a missionary choir, especially when they sing about Amazing Grace, Called to Serve, Battle Hymn of the Republic, and Because I Have Been Given Much. Should be awwwwwesome. I think Sis. Weaver is going to post some videos of us practicing on the mission blog, so look for it.

Ready for the big news, the one you've all been waiting for....?

JANE IS GETTING BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!!!!

She came to church on Sunday and loved it. The ward has gethered her under their little hen wings. They love her and she loves them. When we asked her if she wanted to get baptized on Saturday she said, "I want this with all my heart. Let's go for it!" Best. Commitment. Ever. It's going to be a beautiful, beautiful day.

I had a cool experience at 2 of the zone conferences that we went to. President Weaver shared part of Jane's story over the pulpit. On Thursday, at my zone conference, he asked me to come up and share how she came to church for the first time. He didn't know this, but it was something that I really needed, to share what happened with her. This is one of those stories that you read about in the Ensign or as a missionary fable. Only this time it's real. It's real and it's happening and I get to be a part of it. How blessed am I to be able to be a front-row witness to this great miracle and many, many others.

The other day Jane told us how she went somewhere for a job interview and while she was waiting the secretary asked her is she was Christian. She said, "My name is Jane, and I'm a half-Mormon. Becuase I'm not baptized yet." Bless her heart, Jane my little half-Mormon. She's almost there.

The Book of Mormon reading is going great! I love reading it again. If you haven't in a while, you should pick it up again. Start at the beginning, Nephi's a cool guy. Anyways, gotta run. Love you!!

Sister Chronister