Oklahoma!, Jack Spratt & Strobe Lights in Jerusalem :)

Hola mi familia y todas las personas quien leen estas palabras, que tal?

You guessed it! I got to use my Español this week – again! We ran into a family down at Scripture/Revelation in the NVC basement and it turned out they didn’t know too much English. So I whipped out my less-than-stellar Spanish skills and was able to find out that they are members, visiting Temple Square for the first time! They’re from Chile & moving here in August. Why they would move from beautiful Chile to America…I’ll never know. But SLC seemed to suit them just fine!

On Tuesday – Pday – we ventured to Uptown Cheapskate aka Sister Despain’s new favorite store of all time. Despite the fact that we had to brave into the world of reverse parking (who designed that anyways?) it was a really good trip! I found some super cute stuff and will most definitely be going back. On our way over to the Indian Market a horribly drunk guy stumbled into the street from behind a car! No worries – I, being the defensive & very much aware driver that my father made me into, stopped in time and let him trip across the road, unscathed. Whew! I bought Dosa at the Indian Market – it’s Indian pancakes. I’m going to have to stick with American Pancakes…but it was an interesting experience to make them!

On Wednesday the sky was so blue & the sun was shining so beautifully you never would have guessed that it was a January morning in Utah. I loved it! We got in touch with Dylan again. He still doesn’t know what he believes. Sometimes I wish I could just snap him out of his little existential experience & help him wake up and realize that this is what he’s looking for!!! Oh well. Until then, he’s keeping commitments and hopes to go to church soon.

On Thursday we had our first experience with 8:00 AM Chat!!! YAY! Actually, it was really great! So many legit people come on that early – most from other countries. It was one of the best, most sincere Chat experiences we’ve had in a while. Word on the street is that Pop was over at the COB! He ran into Sisters Alejandro & Rosenburg and they told me that he was here & said hey! HEY POP!!!!!!!!! On the Square, we met Angie who is from Mexico. She moved here to go to LDSBC for English classes. She likes it but missed her family. She gave us two of her friends to call! It’s times like these that I wish I was in a Spanish-speaking mission. But at the same time – at least we get all the other countries here too! I got a little excited when I check mail and ended up grabbing another Sister’s DearElder letter! I opened it, didn’t recognize the Sender’s name, flipped it over and realized that I’m not Sister A. DeMontigny!

On Friday we had the happy news of finding out that the Elders in Alabama got in touch with Don!!! He’s actually in the hospital right now but they called & set up an appointment! We’re so glad to hear that they did eventually get in touch with him. He doesn’t have the internet so we can’t email him The Book of Mormon or a video or anything! We’re very glad now. Dylan is same-old-same-old, except for the fact that he’s getting sick. We met Family History Center Elder Nelson down in the NVC, sitting outside of Theatre 5. He then proceeded to sit there for the following 5 hours….? At the end of the night, we were coming down the Christus ramp to a somewhat deserted NVC. So I decided to brush up on my secret agent stealthy skills. I pulled out my gun & hid behind a pillar. I twirled around to the next one. I sneaked over to flatten myself against the South Wall…and ended up slamming my hip into the railing! Looks like I need some improvement on my Ninja skills. My bruise, however – is quite lovely.

On Saturday I had District Leader Companion Training! First ever for the mission! GENIUS! It was a great chance for all of us DLC’s to gather together and discuss way to cope with our role in life  The AP’s told us that we are the most proactive Sisters in the mission – because we have to be! Our companions are busy a lot of the time and we have to find things to do. So we discussed questions, concerns, and comments & even told a few jokes. Just kidding. But it really was a good, uplifting meeting and it made me feel less….invisible. While at desk in the SVC I talked with a man who lives here in downtown. He’s originally from Preston, ID. I’m really glad he came to the Square at that time. He told me all about how you have to be super special to get called to serve on Temple Square. There’s no such thing as an easy mission – but Temple Square takes something more. He was a wonderful reminder that this IS a mission and that we ARE missionaries and what I already know and feel like I have to convince everyone of – IS TRUE. Sister Terry is back from Outbound! She and her last companion taught one of my Square referrals in Laramie, Wyoming!!! Her companion is set on having him baptized, so Sis Terry said I have nothing to worry about  I love hearing about our referrals. It’s the best. We called a referral from Chat today, Mason. After our discussion – we still weren’t sure whether Mason was a boy or girl. Ya…wish us luck!

On Sunday Sister Hernandez from Mexico, was one of the speakers. Something that stuck with me was “Never let a day pass without touching the lives of others by bearing your testimony.” That is what we do here on the Square, every day! Even if they don’t refer – we can still share with them that we know these things are true. Again with the weather, it was so nice! I literally started singing “Oh what a beautiful morning...” from Oklahoma! It was just that nice  We had a Nepali call with a man living here in SLC. I made a list of words that she said, I thought might actually BE words…..3/30 – not bad, huh?!? We oh so cleverly figured out that Mason is in fact, a boy. A 13 year old boy to be exact – yes we will be calling his father for confirmation that we can be teaching him. I tell ya, some hilariously awkward things happen while you’re on a mission. I was finally able to get in touch with Jennifer in West Virginia! She and her boyfriend have job interviews this week and we are hoping for the best! While Sister Khadgi had District Leader interviews, I was on Desk with Sister Paravato & Sister Penafiel(Bolivia). I got to speak Spanish with Sister Penafiel for about 5 minutes and she said I was really good! She’s really nice  Speaking Spanish always puts me in a good mood – and I really needed it. Amazing how those things work out. It was sort of unpopulated in the NVC…so Sister Bryers(Australia) and I ended up having a strobe light party in Jerusalem! Hahahaha Visitors’ Centers are so fun! In talking with Sister Felici & Sister Penafiel – I got a strong second opinion that I need to get my hair cut. I know. I’ve know for a month. I just don’t feel like going through the hassle of going to get it done OR just doing it myself like I have for the last few years. So I went home, took a shower (latest discovery for more time in the am), sucked it up & just cut 2 inches off my hair! Ta da! It took me about 15 minutes and looks so much healthier! I love it!

This morning (Monday) we taught Sally again. She is 18 and we got her from a Brazilian we met on the Square, Maxwell. They are Facebook friends and luckily, turns out that she’s golden! She prayed at the end of our meeting – it’s still one of my all time favorite things, to hear someone pray for the first time. Best EVER!
This week I took the Christ-like Attributes test and found out that I’ve either gotten worse since the MTC…or just more realistic. Either way, I have five of the seven attributes to improve on ;) Gotta start somewhere, right? Charity is first…wish me LOTS of luck. I’ll need it.

Quote for the week: “Ugh! Africa is so hard to understand!” – Sis Felici(TX) I love that we have this problem, of having issues hearing Africa ;) We’re teaching people in AFRICA!!!! I looked at our map today – we have IRCs[Investigator Referral Confirmed] in every continent – except for Antarctica but who lives there anyways. Isn’t that awesome! We literally ARE teaching the world. It’s so rewarding to know that each day I wake up, we get to find more souls to save in every time zone! There are people everywhere and we get to find them ALL!!!

LOVING EVERY DAY! [Literally]
Sister Ainsley Marie

"It's 5 o'clock somewhere!"

Chikaymee!(Albanian)

How is everyone? From the news I get, it sounds like all is well and that the world still manages to turn without me being in North Carolina. I guess that’s okay. The weather has warmed a lot over the last few days and it reminds me a lot of North Carolina – I miss it! This week was fantastic!

Wed:We called Don and got to talk for a while. He's having trouble with his vision, more specifically - he's seeing double! And he still thinks he can drive. *Safe* is the word that comes to mind. So we put him in touch with the Branch President and told Don to let him know his situation and to ask for rides to be worked out for his doctor's visits and also for the number to the Elders. I love being a Temple Square missionary but sometimes I really, really wish we could be there with these people in person! That way we could be in charge and not have to send off our precious investigators. It made me really happy to hear that the Elders back in Raleigh are doing a good job of teaching! I love awesome Elders!!! They make my day. We helped Sister Katterfeld & Sister Gulzar with contacting in the SVC. So we role played at some of the displays and had a wonderful time doing it! We got to role play as really awkward guests and as good guests and also as people we actually knew. So half the time, we were pretending to be from Texas. After we finished our role plays the first group we contacted were from Texas!!! What are the chances :) We're missionaries so we jumped right into teaching mode! [Dunh-du-duuuuun!] So Sister Katterfeld & I got to be on semi-illegal exchanges for about 30 minutes as we talked to different people. These two guests were very nice and had wonderful questions. We were able to cover more information about the temple & bridge it to the restoration. They were originally from Poland but living in Chicago. They weren't interested in learning from missionaries but we let them know about mormon.org! Then we contacted a returned missionary, who let us know that we shouldn't be afraid to talk to anyone. He said that we bring a special spirit to the Square and that with that - we can emphasize the things we teach. We really appreciated that. Sometimes we wonder if we're just that swanky...or not. After contacting together, Sister Katterfeld said[in her Perth accent], " I love contacting with you!!! Oh my goodness! I mean - I was talking and talking and then thought 'Wait a minute...' then paused and you picked up right where I left off! It's so nice to know that when I stop - you start! It's awesome!!!!" And that's how it's done :) I absolutely loved it. I really like working with so many different sisters. It's a great way to see how people think and also to see what you can improve on.

Thurs: Surprise! Meeting with the Zone Leaders right as soon as we got on the Square. Not for me -- for Sis Khadgi. I don't mind having meetings & actually love being on exchanges -- I just like knowing ahead of time. That's why we plan.
So Sister Teerlink and I went on exchanges for a few hours. When we first met up, we were at desk and she was talking to Bob who is a regular here. When he was 20 he got in a car accident and now he just rides around on one of those scooters. Four military guys came to visit the SVC and they kept calling me ma'am...and I felt weird. On Chat we talked with a troll who actually ended up wanting to learn more about The Book of Mormon. I emailed him the Joseph Smith video from mormon.org!
I've been trying to get in touch with Jennifer for two weeks and haven't been able to! So I called Ingrid, the lady who referred her and she told me that they talked last Saturday and Jennifer said she was doing well and planning on going to church again!!! So we have a progressing investigator! We've just got to catch her at the right time to see if she's meeting with the missionaries. Sister Khadgi called a referral we got from this 18 yr old Brazilian kid "Maxwell" that we met by the construction of the Temple area in the SVC. This girl, Sally, is his Facebook friend and it turns out that she wants to learn from the missionaries! So she's our New Investigator :) I read Aaron Lee's update about his 20 New Investigators in TWO DAYS!?!??! And I really wanted to just catch a plane down to South America. I wonder if we could make Temple Square that amazing? Reading that definitely made me want to work harder! I'm pretty sure we can't get 20 NI's in two days...but if we work harder then we sure can get higher numbers! After all, the secret to missionary work IS work :)

FRIDAY: We had zone companionship study with President! It was the best thing ever! It was so positive and uplifting. He told us that we are pioneers in a great new work & that we are accomplishing a lot. When he explained that 5-9 PM are the most productive time for missionaries...and then showed us with his hands, how because of our use of technology it EXPANDS! I was smiling at Sister Brett, he saw & asked why we were smiling --- I responded, "It's 5 o'clock somewhere!!!" He liked that :) But it really is so true. We are here in the smallest mission (geographically) and yet we are reaching out to the world! He followed up our discussion with "It's primetime all the time!" It was a wonderful meeting.

We got a referral!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We met Joseph by the planters, taught & testified briefly of the restoration of the priesthood power and invited him to learn more about how it could bless his life. He agreed and filled out a card! He's from Kentucky and we're super excited to send through his information and call him next week!

Saturday: Friday night, it was pretty much the greatest thing ever. Sister Khadgi asked me to practice a role play with her in preparation for District Meeting! I got to HELP! I felt so included :) And get this, it gets better -- I shared an idea I had had earlier in the week for a board activity that we could all do AND SHE USED IT!!! It was a great activity and I felt very complimented that she actually used it. District Meeting this week was much improved from last week. I was so pleased. Everyone was able to participate, everything was clear and no one was confused! Just how it should be! Ta da! We committed FIVE people to go to church...from CHAT! Can you believe that?!?! These people were interested in what we talked about, but not enough to meet with missionaries -- so we found the nearest chapel and committed them to go! Missions. Are. Awesome.

Sunday: Church was fantastic. Sister Katterfeld(Australia) spoke -- which means that she goes home in March. NO!!!!!! We agreed that we should be best friends. It's going great so far! She talked about the promised blessings that we can grant people as we teach them and how they apply to our lives. It's so interesting to see how insightful us missionaries can be! It was uncommonly warm today! Like -- 35ish! I loved it! It was wet and humid and the sun was out and the birds were singing in the trees -- and I felt like I was back in North Carolina :) Great story: One of the people we committed to go to church was Dave from England. He's 19 and has been out of jail for SIX days! Yay! So he came on and chatted with us, wants to change his life and was super excited about going to church! I emailed all the people we committed - to follow up - and found out that he actually went AND loved it! Everyone was very welcoming and he wants to go back next week! I'm so happy :) We wanted to call and teach him on Monday but he said we'd have to check with his probation officer. So we emailed him for a few messages and found out more about Dave's history. The general agreement was that we should keep it strictly over email for a few weeks to establish a good pattern and then move on from there. Mom: Aren't you glad I can safely teach ex-cons from the comfort of a computer that is 7 hours behind theirs? Me too :) We called Dylan, Don and Sarah and had wonderfully productive conversations with them. Everyone is progressing well and the only complications we're running in to are the local missionaries. So once we can re-train them that they need to set up return appointments and they need to pray when they visit people and that they just need to stop being so busy that it's been 2 months and they still haven't gotten in touch with the person!?!?! President has advised us to pray for the missionaries in the other missions - so that our work can progress more quickly! I like it.

Monday: TRANSFER CONFERENCE!!!!
Things were different this time. Usually we have to wait through an hour of mission meeting in order to find out our assignments --- it's different now! We get our assignments at the START and then have mission meeting. The only thing that changed? NORTH 2 IS MY NEW ZONE! So basically nothing :) I don't even have to move! So I'm pretty stoked. Sister Khadgi and I have already started making amazingly obedient goals. It's so fun. I love being obedient. We agreed that we should have a weekly companionship bonding activity! We're also going to have a Quote of the Day! So we can be motivated THAT much more! I told Sister Khadgi that she'd better not even THINK about being trunky - cuz I won't even know what to do with myself - she reserved the last two days of the transfer to be trunky. I figured that would be alright ;) I'm so stoked for this transfer! Later in the morning, we took four people on a really great tour! We met them at construction and took them to the display, then out to the priesthood statues, next to the Tabernacle and then finished up at the Christus. We haven't taken a tour that way the whole transfer - it was awesome!!! We taught them about the temple, eternal families, how God is our Heavenly Father and how He still calls prophets in our day. We taught the restoration at the statues and how it's blessed our lives. We played the narration at the Christus, taught about The Book of Mormon - testified and then invited for them to learn more! (It was three brothers and one of their daughters) They said they would have think about it but as they walked towards the ramp, the daughter told her father, "I want that book!" to which he replied, "Well it's something to talk about..." Even though they didn't refer, I'm still glad that she said that! THAT is the enthusiasm we're looking for! Afterwards, Sister Khadgi said that while we were testifying of The Book of Mormon, she felt like it was just the two of us there. I felt the same way. In order to take that tour, we had pushed our lunch time up - so we then headed out North Gate towards home. Who should we see coming down the walk, but Brother & Sister LEE!!! I was so surprised to see them! They totally made my day! We walked around the Square with them for a little while, they've already seen everything and performed in every place you could...so it's like finding a present for the kid who already has everything! But what they don't have is the Temple Display!!! So we took them there! We had a wonderful conversation, which was a nice reminder that there is so much more to the temple than the basics we share with the guests. It's so important! We got a new investigator! Sally is Facebook friends with Maxwell from Brazil, who we met on the Square! We called her up and she would love to learn more! We called her back today, had a wonderful first lesson and we're calling her again in a few days! We're so excited! We have a progressing investigator! We're not too excited about this one actually, he's more contentious than anything -- but he's keeping his commitments and meeting with the missionaries on Wednesday. So...we'll see if we can just talk with him one or two more times -- and pass him off. From what we can tell, he's not all that sincere.
We caught up with Don, who is doing great. Can't wait for the Elders to get in touch with him! Eventually!!!! Dylan is doing much better! Staying busy, loving his classes and said, "I'm not saying 'no'." when I asked if he believes any of what we've been discussing. So for him - that's progress! And he's reading from The Book of Mormon. So it's helping. We went to Nauvoo Cafe for a sandwich for Sis Khadgi - but as we came out, to go home - it started down pouring! I thought I was back east! (The weather has been very weird lately!) We came back to motors completely soaked.
Chat has been better than usual! So it's gotten much more....relaxed. It's nice. We had a 14 year-old girl who wants to meet with missionaries! She was so sweet, and the chapel is right by her High School! I'm excited for her.

I’m absolutely loving Temple Square. The work here is amazing. We are struggling diligently to be semi-respectable pioneers on the technology side of things. The mission has changed so much since I’ve been here. Lots of new regulations that constantly change – but it keeps you on your toes! We’ve really been able to see that when we are obedient, willing to sacrifice and have faith – we see miracles!
Missions are the best. Be happy – life is great!

Love,
Sister Ainsley Marie

Namaste! Mironame Sister Despain hoh!

Namaste! This week was crazy fantastic! It’s amazing what you can accomplish in the work of the Lord. Through good experiences and the not-so-great experiences, my testimony has been strengthened every day. I love being a missionary and giving people that opportunity to learn more about true happiness, even if they’re sometimes possibly a little ignorant about what is truly important in life. One word: Priorities.

WED: We had finding first thing in the morning. Nothing too exciting or obnoxious. I was talking to a troll and we agreed that a troll conference was indeed requisite for some time in the future -- a revamping of strategery is in order. No worries.
Since our P-day got postponed, we did our emailing at 3:00 -- which was a little out of the normal so it kind of threw our day off. But it was great to hear about how stellar New Years was!!! I vote for a repeat in 2013. We had historical training with Sister Porter & Sister Doggett. It was amazing & just what I needed. We toured the Square all together and discussed the different things we share at each site and then reviewed our historical information to see what we could further incorporate. It was a wonderful way to rekindle the fire I have for sharing the history of Temple Square and tying it in with doctrine. I love it! Again with the postponed P-day. We went grocery shopping!

My personal study has really improved this transfer. You should just see my Preach My Gospel -- it's so pretty & colorful & full of notes and inspirations. It's fantastic! Maybe I'll take a picture... More than ever, I have come to learn (again) that the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we can handle, what will stretch us & what will help us become the people He needs us to be. It's amazing what you can become when you are humble enough to allow yourself to improve.

THURS: For comp study we reviewed more information on the Tabernacle. I didn't know that Truman O. Angell was the architect for both the Temple AND the Tabernacle. I know. I need to review my information more often. I think I knew it once upon a time. I love how the Tabernacle construction was organized. Brigham Young had the idea & approved the plans. Henry Grow designed & built the roof. Truman O. Angell build the base and after that was finished, --------- was in charge of completing the inside! Ta da! And even with so many people being involved in the construction, with so many different minds & ways of doing things (and lack of tools) they were able to build a structure that would last more than 100 years!!! You know what's interesting, the roof was originally made of white pine shingles. Now, white pine is a very soft wood & they must have had some sort of finish or sealant on it in order to protect it from the elements. I'm very curious about this. Years later it was re-roofed with aluminum panels, but now I've got to figure this out about the white pine roof. Hmm....

While Sister Khadgi paged our district, I listened to the organist practice. We never get the chance to just sit and listen to the performances. So it was a really nice 5 minutes to be able to just focus on the music. I'm so glad that music plays such a huge role in our church -- in ALL of our meetings. There is something special that comes with being able to have that opportunity to worship through song. Especially for those who get to play the instruments. All you're doing is pushing some keys in a certain order --- but the end product is so beautiful and helps those who hear it - to focus on the Savior.

From 12-3 we were on desk in the SVC. We met a family from Korea & I was so excited to say "Anihasio!"....or however you spell "Hello!" in Korean ;) They loved it! I met TWO people from North Carolina! That doesn't happen too often. All I hear from people is "Oh - I hear it's beautiful there!" "Yes! It's gorgeous!" I miss the color of the trees and I miss not having to take a lotion bath everyday. But I love the mountains & the chilly air in the morning as we walk down to the Square. So it's okay, I guess. There is a time & a season for all things.

We have these swanky new mormon.org cards --- they're awesome! "We're so modern." We can write our number on the back & either our name or 'Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' -- so the guests can call in for more information and it will come right to us!!! Some don't wish to accept eternal salvation right now, but who would refuse such an amazing card? And with the helpful communicatory information...don't even worry about it. Kudos to the genius Temple Square sisters who know how to work the system :)

I got a beautiful NC fall leaves postcard from MOM!!!!!! Yay for mothers and being the best! One of the things I miss most is just being able to sit on the kitchen floor and talk with Mom. She's my best pal, my friend -- my homeslice! And I miss you :)

Elder E. wrote me - I love having missionary friends! He's working hard to encourage his semi-apostate companion. The other elders that live with them don't help much -- word on the street is that they don't get up until 9am and don't get out the door until after their 3 o'clock lunch?!?!?!? I'm sorry....did you come on a mission to slack off and waste the Lord's time or to work work work??? It's sad that those things happen but it makes me appreciate those missionaries that are obedient. I belong to the most obedient mission in the world. I'm pretty sure. It's not because we're just that amazing (although...I wouldn't argue) but it's because all 200 of us have to be on the Square by 10:00 --- if you're not --- everyone knows. We see our District/Zone Leaders eleventy billion times a day so they know if they're sisters are on time and working. Since most of us live together, you know who's playing what music, who is exercising, who goes to bed on time -- everything! And I love it. I'd rather have it this way than have it so much easier to be disobedient. There are so many blessings that we receive as missionaries when we are obedient. As we're about the Lord's work, we need as many blessings as we can get! So obedience is key. There's a sign up on the Fleet board that says, "Obedience [oh - bee - deeuhns] noun : it's not just what time you wake up." Genius.

President has said several times that he would take attitude over skill any day. He's got a great point - attitude IS everything! As long as you have the mindset that you can do it, that you'll be successful, that you'll be able to accomplish everything you set out to do --- you'll have enough motivation to study hard enough, to practice and to do what it takes to develop that skill that will add to such an optimistic attitude. I think he's right.

Our Chat program crashed and the phones did too. So we were stuck with no technology for about an hour. It was crazy! But no worries - we've got people. They fixed it. I talked with a lady who said that if God intended her to be a part of "my religion" she would be able to do it on her own. This in response to my asking her if I could at least find the closest chapel for her. After she responded, I thought,"Well, you can do it on your own -- and I can just help you find the chapel. No big deal. Maybe God is putting me in your path so that you can find more information and work towards eternal salvation -- did you ever think of that?!" I hate it when people are actually sincere and they decide that they don't want to learn more. It's a little disheartening. Why do we have to be so stubborn? I told this lady, "Why not just check it out -- see if this is what you're looking for." In sort of a 'you have nothing to lose' attitude -- but she's firm in her opinion that she can figure it out herself. Sometimes we need help. Just saying, it might be in our best interest to be humble enough to accept it. I was on calls for a few hours and had an additional five people reject a chance at working towards eternal salvation. If they only knew what they were missing.

FRI: The Square is a little....unpopulated. But it's okay -- it's still a wonderful place to be. We ran into President doing companion study with two sisters(they were taking him on a tour) and he asked how we were doing. "Excellent!" "Oh yea?" "Every day is a beautiful day on Temple Square!" "Oh - I agree. It really is." I think it should be our mission catch phrase ;)

We covered Chat for other sisters for a few hours. We accepted at least four people from the start - that never said anything...? So we just disconnected. We had a lady who teaches 8th grade and wanted to have missionaries visit her class! That will be an awesome day to go to school. I'm excited for those little 12 & 13 year olds.
Speaking of 12 year olds --- we met a girl this morning sitting by the Temple Display who said she'd like to go on a mission eventually. We asked if she was preparing for it now & she clued us in on the fact that she's only 12 years old?!?!?! I had placed her at 18....so that was a really weird moment with that awkward silence & you're thinking, " *brain momentarily shuts down -- restarts* naaaaawwwwwhhhh....psh - you're not 12 - I KNOW 12 and you're not TWELVE..." but obviously you'd never say that. Obviously.

Sat: So I thought I'd be nice & make some food for district meeting. Muffins sounded great. I baked my wonderful apple cinnamon muffins. I proceeded to finish studying as the muffin smell filled the apartment. Five years later, I remembered that they were still in the oven. They didn't burn....but they were too "tan" to present for other people to eat. My roommates said they were delicious though :) Yay for reject food. At that point, I didn't know what to do -- I had nothing else to make!?! And it wouldn't have been a problem, but I had already told Sister Katterfeld that I was making muffins...so I had to bring SOMETHING and at this point I had nothing. So I went to my handy dandy cookbook! And tried to find some sort of muffin-thing. I ended up making poppy seed muffins...without poppyseed... :) I sat by the oven to ensure their proper cooking and was successful in my effort to come out with public-appropriate baked goods! I also made an orange flavored cream to put inside. Now, I hadn't tested any of this - because of its overload on sugar...so I brought it to DM without any idea as to its "goodness level". But I brought them! After a slightly awkward & yet very productive District Meeting about finding people - I whipped out the goods and covered my eyes. Figuratively. Turns out it was delicious! It was an exciting morning.

We got a call for a Nepali tour scheduled at 6:00!!!! Exciting! It was then that I realized...I hadn't learned ANY Nepali!??!?! What kind of a companion am I!??! Lame -- that's right! So I quickly learned how to say "Hi, my name is Sister Despain" --- "Namaste, mironame Sister Despain hoh." Cool, huh? So we waited anxiously by the desk for 20 minutes, decided that we'd better have Guest Services see if they were actually coming(Elders...pssh -- jk they're great -- just a tad late). They DID come! I introduced myself...it was amazingly nerve wracking - but fun! They looked confused after I spoke because they expected me to speak in English -- Sister Khadgi then said "She's learning Nepali!" (in Nepali) which I thought was hilarious. It was a really great go-see! They're meeting with the Elders and want to get baptized, but they want to wait for the rest of their family to get here and to have the discussions so they can all be baptized. We took them through the New Testament gallery & up to the Christus. Sister Khadgi told them about the statue & narration (it doesn't play in Nepali) and then we headed over to the Tabernacle. I did a wonderful job of standing next to my companion & double testifying via the spirit...my Nepali is still a little rough. We finished at the temple display! It was perfect for them, they loved it. We had a member with us, from their ward, and she said that he was the ideal member to have with them. After the man said they wanted to wait for their family, the member said, "Why wait!?! My family isn't here! I did it alone! Your mother and brother are already members! Just do it!" hahahahaha Kudos to member-present lessons. We finished out the wonderful day with a few fantastic hours of Chat. Yesssss! Nothing exciting enough to make note of.

Sun: Church this morning was fantastic. Sister Cheng spoke for her departing talk & she was hilarious. She said (very quickly) she remembered thinking about her departing talk, with her fingers fluttering on her cheeks, "Wha wou I tak abou - fai, baptism, skriturs, humirity - cuz I doing so weuw at it eben doe you maybe cawnt tew." Hahahahaha she was adorable. While entertaining - she had a really great point. She focused on embracing our mission - because time is short. To enjoy every moment, to teach everyone, to work every day to be the best missionary we can be. Because before we know it, it'll be over. Go home with no regrets.
Amen.

RC PUMP UP!!!! whoooo!!!!! Okay, to be totally honest - I was not psyched for RC (Referral Center) Pump Up - when our whole zone just does RC for 2 straight hours and tracks our invites. After being rejected so many times - it's not fun anymore. But that's okay - because we're not here because it's fun. It is...but we're here for Christ. Okay - moving on. It ended up being really great! We started with 30 minutes of "Miracles in the RC" which got us excited to talk with people and find more miracles! We as a zone invited 27 people (no one was picking up!?!??!) and TEN of those referred for missionaries! We were pretty stoked. It's a fun way to do RC because you know that everyone is in the same boat. Two hours is a good block of time too - not too long. I got TWO of those referrals! One is this 70 year old lady who lives alone and the other is this 50 year old Baptist preacher! I'm kind of scared to call him...I may or may not have just said that we would call him and talk with him more about how the gospel of Christ can bless our lives. Which is true! But I didn't specifically mention that we would be teaching him more about our basic beliefs. No worries. We had had appointments up until the Pump Up - so we didn't have lunch until 3:00! Once we were back on the Square we followed a family into the Assembly Hall - very inconspicuous and what not. They were adorable! Mother, Father & three girls. Heaven(6), Felicity(4) and Oracle(2). Diggin' the names -- they were the cutest things ever. Oracle sang "I Am A Child of God" for us in the Tabernacle - to prove the acoustics :) They are getting sealed on Tuesday! It was their first time to Temple Square and they said they could already feel the different spirit on the Square compared to the rest of downtown. They ended up referring two of their relatives and we are very excited to call them on their behalf.

Clean checks are tomorrow! Ahhhh!!! We cleaned for a while before bed, it's lovely but we still have some cleaning to do first thing in the morning.

Mon: We planned for two guests at the temple display. And we got them! We walked in, saw a man & a woman looking at the kiosk and decided they would just have to do! Not really - we decided it was perfect & we tried to come up with something better than "Hi, how are you? Where are you from?" But as we awkwardly walked around the area for three minutes trying to figure something out, we gave up, walked over and said, "Hi! How are you?" --- We do what we can. They were from England by the way. They only had twenty minutes!?!?!? So we took them to the Assembly Hall, explained Joseph Smith, the restoration, church and the idea of a prophet. We took them to the Tabernacle & further explained prophets, conference and The Book of Mormon - we invited them - they declined and we all wished each other a wonderful day.
That's kinda how it goes sometimes :) You have an awesome "role-play-perfect" go-see that you basically practiced before and then they think they don't want eternal joy. That's okay, maybe in the next life. What evs. Go Temple Square.
After that Sister Khadgi had to page numbers to the Zone Leaders, so we got to stay in the Tabernacle for a few more minutes. The organist (from Music & the Spoken Word...Clay Christiansen??? who is it....idk) was practicing! He played "O Shannendoah" which is one of my all time favorite songs. It was so beautiful!
We went home for lunch, talked, ate & did some final touches to our cleaning efforts. Cross your fingers for the "Celestial Apartment Award"!!!

The highlights of our THREE appointments today :)
Don: "We've got to stop meeting like this."
Dylan: "I just wish I had the answers!" [WE have them!!!!!]
Tiago: "I read and...I prayed! Yessss!!!!!! You weren't expecting that!"
Don is retired, living in Alabama where they got five inches of snow?!?!?! So we're calling until the Elders can get in touch with him & his wife. Dylan is twenty, going to FSU and is going through this existential "Do I exist, do I have free will, is God really there?" kind of a thing...and we're doing our best to help. Tiago is nineteen, living in Portugal. He takes care of his injured grandmother, lives with his alcoholic father, tries his best to help out his sweet, hardworking mother and ALSO has to watch his 1.5 year old godson! Whew! He is very sweet and has fantastic questions about the things we talk about and ask him to read! He is so funny and we love calling him. Dinner at the Garden to celebrate Sister Ang's Birthday!!! She is from Cambodia and has cleared for a transfer-long extension!
Yay for finishing another day with some Chat ;)

TUES: We got a Celestial Apartment Award!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are just that clean ;)

This morning we called Undra (the Baptist preacher) and I was so nervous. I had to have Sister Khadgi pray because I didn't think I'd be able to pray sensibly. He was super nice when I called on Sunday, but I felt like he may have misunderstood my purpose in calling again. So I dialed...and he picked up....and he was still super nice! Imagine that! We prayed at the beginning, got to know him a little better, taught him about The Book of Mormon - he accepted to have missionaries visit him & bring him his own copy - and then HE ended us with a prayer.
It was awesome!

Sister Cummings thought she smelled a gas leak in the computers this morning, so we called security & they came to check it out. As they left, one of them said in his super-secret-hidden-microphone, "This is #### we've got a slight smell of methane gas in the North computer rooms." But nothing after that - no direction - we got squat! So I'm thinking, "Is this slight smell...going to become a slightly more evident smell that could potentially kill us?...or are we good?" Apparently, we'll be fine.

We're going to take a tour of the Conference Center -- be the tourists for once. Then we'll hangout, do laundry and write letters until we're headed to Wal-mart at 5:00! We have a Zone Activity scheduled for tonight. Fun & games and something about it being a mustache party??? Who knows...I'll be sure to bring my camera.

Loving life, the mission & everything that comes with it – extra pickles, please.

Love you all!
Sister A. Despain

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! What a wonderful time for crazy weather, a new sense of beginning & for making goals that we all know will only last until February :) As always, it’s been another wonderful week, here on Temple Square!

TUES: We found the Indian market & had a bit of an adventure with that. I didn't have any idea what anything was unless it had an English label. So I just switched to looking at the ingredients! However, I still have no idea what "sago" is...?

WED: Sister Teerlink and I were on exchange for the first part of the morning. We got to be on Chat for a few wonderful hours. It’s an interesting change to Chat with someone else, keeps you on your toes. A nice little story from Chat this day: Agent “Zayne” connected me with “Ingrid” who I apparently knew?!? Sure nuff! At the beginning of December Ingrid called in and referred her friend Jennifer for some assistance from the local ward. I tried several times to get in touch with her, but eventually decided that post holidays would be best. I called her an hour after I got off Chat with Ingrid & amazingly enough got in touch with her! Yay! She is a very sweet lady and finds herself in a bit of a pickle. I gave her the information for Bishop Huffman & set her up with the address of the building. She is very excited to go to church on Sunday! Huzzah for church.

THURS: We had a tour today with a family who were very interested in the things we told them. They were from Tennessee & obviously - were Baptists. They loved the temple display; the husband asked wonderful questions about The Plan of Salvation & Sister Khadgi was able to talk with him more as I discussed the baptistry with the rest of the family. In the end, we took them to the Conference Center (which they loved) in the auditorium & the Book of Mormon gallery. It was a great defining point for all of them. As we made our way into the gallery the wife informed us that she had actually studied parts of the Book of Mormon! Woa - what are the chances?!? Turns out by "studied" she probably meant....skimmed through it and caught about 2 sentences of the text. Ya. As I told her about the prophets of the book, Ammon, Mormon, Alma etc. she asked, "So in The Book of Mormon - are there stories about the prophets & their travels and teachings?" "Yes, exactly. Just as the Bible was written by Matthew, Mark, Luke etc. and they kept a record of their experiences with Christ & His teachings -- the same goes for the prophets who recorded The Book of Mormon. They knew of Christ's teachings as well and that is what they wrote about."
[Insert lightbulb flash here] "Ohhhhh....wow. Okay! I didn't know that's what it was! Hmm!" I then encouraged her to return to her previous "study" and really read it for herself. As I was talking with the wife, the husband was further questioning Sister Khadgi. When we regrouped, the husband was very excited & reminding his wife of their discussion in Sunday School this past week. Of how Christ appeared to others & taught -- and The Book of Mormon is one of those records! And isn't it so amazing that in class they weren't sure which other books had that record - but here it was?!? The wife then reminded her husband of how the Bible says not to add to it. Thank you Captain Obvious for bringing up the fact that is stated twice in the Bible & if people really thought about it for two seconds, would realize that what it might actually means is that we should not alter the message of the writings? I tried to help them understand that The Book of Mormon does not change the message of the Bible in any way - it just supports it and helps us understand it better! We invited them to meet with missionaries back in Tennessee but it would seem that the husband's exuberance was to no avail -- she answered for the family. They don’t' know when they would have time to meet with missionaries so they would have to pass. [Oh, okay no that’s fine – we were just offering you eternal salvation. But if you’re too busy…we’ll catch you at a more convenient time.]
Afterwards, we had lunch. As we sat there, eating, I just felt sad. I was just bummed out that certain people marry certain people who keep them from eternal salvation. The tour we had later in the day was also interesting. A family came to visit SLC and one of their requested stops was Temple Square! As we took them around, the father had great questions. He really wanted his children to understand more about our beliefs, why the early Saints had to move from place to place etc. We were able to have a wonderfully productive tour with them. They didn’t refer – but I’m still glad we were able to teach!

Zone Leader Hernandez’s catch phrase: "Don't worry sisters -- we have a back-up plan."

FRIDAY: We scheduled to Chat with Natasha at 1:00 PM our time. So I got on Chat & we waited for 30 min -- Sis Khadgi was tired of waiting so we agreed that she could make calls until Natasha actually showed up. So at 1:50 PM --- she comes on!!!! YAY!!! I felt like the little blond girl in the "Patience" video by President Uchtdorf, when she gets that 2nd marshamallow :) So we chatted for an hour and worked through some of her struggles. Her parents won't drive her to church - so she walks an HOUR to get there! I know, she's amazing. Lots of encouraging with this chic. Sounds like her surroundings aren't good, so it's hard to have the spirit with her all the time. I felt like a counselor. The bad thing about her coming on was that I totally spaced on calling Jennifer! Ingrid called in a few weeks ago to refer her old babysitter (from 10 yrs ago) for missionaries & for help from the ward. So I finally got in touch with her earlier in the week & promised to call back. But I didn't! "Dang my life Alberto!" There's always tomorrow... I went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders again & it was awesome right from the start! *BAM* We got a German tour right out of the gate! Okay, no I didn't understand anything that wasn't in English...so 98% of the tour...but it was so cool to see Sister Gunter in action - whipping out her German & being amazing :) It was a 3-person tour, one of them was the ward mission leader & the other two were his non-member co-workers. They had all just driven for 30 hours straight....and so needless to say, the situation was not opportune for a successful invite :) The next tour we got was one of those bomb.com tours that you just smile at each other about. Father & Mother, daughter & son and then they had her old college roommate & her fiancé with them as well. We took them to the temple display to....see the temple - obviously. They had great questions and the father especially was interested in hearing more about The Plan of Salvation! So we told them a bit more and then talked as we walked over to the Tabernacle. We talked about the pioneers, about The Book of Mormon, about Christ and how He is the center of our faith. We told them about how the pioneers labored for years to escape persecution & then to build a safe community here in the valley. We talked about Prophets & Brigham Young in the Tabernacle and how we have a prophet today! We then went over to the NVC to the Christus statue. There is something about the design of the room & the statue that makes people really feel the spirit that is here on Temple Square. It’s the best place on site to emphasize the point that our religion centers around Christ. We then took them downstairs to the basement where we talked about modern-day prophets & apostles. When we invited & whipped out our little card, the wife said, “Oh wait --- oh! Okay – I already filled one of those out at the movie!” ?????? Awesome! Okay – super! After that we took them to the Conference Center to see the auditorium and talk more about how learning from the missionaries would bless their lives and help them gain knowledge of Christ’s gospel. They were very sweet people and so open that you can hardly stand to let them go.

SAT: We began our day with a very enlightening exchange companion study. I was with Zone Leader Hernandez & Sister Teerlink. Sometimes I think I come up with some pretty good ideas in personal study – but it’s amazing to see what you can do with THREE intelligent and very spiritual sisters when you get them to study together J
I called Jennifer again and she is officially our new investigator! We were so excited! She got in touch with the Bishop who immediately asked her to meet with him(kudos to proactive Bishops) and they got things figured out. She is going through a rough time financially & spiritually. He told her about Relief Society & she can’t wait to check it out! Call me crazy or un-human or whatever but I made a New Year’s Resolution to cut down on goodies! Basically, be as sugar-free as possible. So I haven’t had a cookie or cake or candy or anything pure sugar in FIVE days!!! I’m planning on buying lots of mints J Thanks to my sharing with a few about my goal – the following hilarious incident occurred:
"Do you want a lifesaver?"
"Mmm....are they sugar free?"
"Uhh....ya!"
"Okay!
*takes one*
"They're not sugar-free..."
"WHAT?!? Sister Hernandez -- I've got a new year's resolution & you are trying to make me break it! And it's only the 3rd day of the year!?!?!"
For the record, I did take it out of my mouth & throw it away. It was cherry anyways --- so not worth it.

SUN: Testimony meeting is always interesting & uplifting. Sister T. Pena taught me “Never give up on the Lord.” Which seems kind of obvious but I think I forget it sometimes. We had SEVEN people to plan for! WAHOOOO!!!! We took Sister Quiller(Raleigh)’s sister & family through God’s Plan! Small world. They were fantastic. Best experience with it yet. They brought a special spirit to the presentation, as they were able to apply it so well to their own lives. On Sunday, I talked with a 39 year old man, TJ on Chat. The missionaries showed up at his door tonight & talked with him, they left him a Book of Mormon committed him to read the Introduction before they visited again Tuesday. He lives in England, by the way. So they left him the address for mormon.org and let him know of the Chat application and how we could answer questions he had, until they visited again. So here he was! Chatting with me! He'd already read the introduction and when I asked, his question was: "What does it mean, 'a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book'? Great question, huh? So we talked about it for a while, what it means & how by living the principles we learn from it - like following Christ's example & being baptized etc. - we can have eternal life. I committed him to read Testimonies of Three & Eight Witnesses and 3 Nephi 11 and to pray about them. He agreed that he would. Those missionaries are so lucky we exist :) His laptop crashed, so I was chatting away & he wasn't saying squat. So when we went home for weekly planning, I got a page from Sis Sanders. I called her & she said that there was a "TJ" online, asking for me. So I just let her know that I had been trying to find the closest church to him, which turns out - he knows where it is. So I had her tell him that I really enjoyed talking with him, and I would email him on Wednesday! So cool, huh? How many people get to have these experiences?

MON: We called Mark 2 who lives in Michigan. The first time I called, he couldn't hear me. So I called back over the phone, not the headset & all was well. So we prayed and taught him about the apostasy and the restoration. He believes that having a prophet in our day is possible. So we told him all about how we do have a prophet to lead & guide us today! We promised to send him the link to a priesthood session conference talk from President Monson - so he can watch it for himself. We committed him to pray about it. He didn't make it to church yesterday, but he said that he had set his alarm & it didn't go off. Thanks Satan. But we still had a really good conversation with him! We called Tiago in Portugal! We got through the initial pleasantries and I mentioned that , "We're so excited to talk to you!" His response: "You are???" Hahahaha he doesn’t like to read but promised that he would do his best to read as much as he could from the Introduction to The Book of Mormon.
"I hope I can be as strong & powerful & happy as you when I am a 3rd transfer." - Sis Albania

On Chat:
“Church is at 10:00 am”
“Oh, I can't get up that early”
*insert amazed & awkward crickets here*

TUES: Talent Share at 8:00 AM! Yup! In the morning! Sister Khadgi did a beautiful, elaborate & energetic dance from Nepal. She is amazing & I am so lucky to be her companion. After she finished, she came & sat down and had trouble breathing. So we ran up to get some water, which she choked on which threw her into a panic attack which then proceeded to make her hyperventilate! Whew! We got the APs and President who called Security & the paramedics. We went to the hospital! She hates hospitals. The ran her vitals, did some chest X-rays & ran an EKG. All of which cleared. So she’s fine! Just super weak. So we missed shopping and emailing(sorry!) so we postponed it until today. The rest of the day she slept. I had EIGHT hours of alone time. I cleaned the dishes, the kitchen & bathroom, did my laundry and wrote 10 letters! VERY productive alone time ;) One plus to the whole experience: I got to ride in the front of the ambulance ;) It’s been an eventful & exciting week. I LOVE being a missionary. We were coming out of the apartments to go to church with our roommates & I said, “C’mon missionaries! Let’s go!” And it was a really good reminder that we’re missionaries. We are awesome. It’s so cool to serve other people ALL day long! Nothing like it!

Love you all!

Sister Ainsley