"It's not short & it's not long...but it's worth it!"

Gooten Morgen!

I know it’s not morning, at least here it’s not – but that’s the greeting I learned this week from Sister Kleine from Germany! You pronounce the last ‘e’ – because she’s German :)

On Tuesday a man from Yugoslavia called in to request a Finding Faith in Christ DVD! He lives in Canada now, so it's not quite as cool as someone actually calling from Yugoslavia but STILL! Two sister missionaries came by, talked with him and left him with a pass along card. And that's how that wonderful event came to pass. The sisters will be coming back :) Yessss! The other man I talked to on RC was from Texas and had met two Elders in the library, with little time to spare. They talked for a few minutes and told him that if he was interested - to call this number & request a Book of Mormon. So he did! And now his local missionaries have his information and will be visiting shortly :) I love facilitating the salvation of others...from my chair!

On Wednesday I attempted to call a Square potential, Anna. I told her who I was, at which point she proceeded to remind me that I had called several times and she knew I wanted her money but that she has rent to pay & taxes etc. "Oh no, I don't want your money!" "Oh...okay." "[Joe] & [Jane] asked me to call to see if you would--" *click* yup...poor ancient money-sensitive Anna hung up on me! I just want to clarify that in the first message I left her, I let her know who I was, on whose behalf I was calling & that I wanted to share a message about Jesus Christ. Please note that money was never mentioned. We got a referral from Chat! Yedenadam from Uganda is interested in learning more about the church - we have an appointment with him tomorrow morning at 8:00!

On Thursday I did my hair in 10 minutes! “Wow...really...cool Sis Despain Jr.” No but seriously! I curled it ALL in 10 min! That's pretty impressive! I have a lot of hair! Anyways, I was proud. From personal study, I discovered that we need to review our plans for the day before we head out in the morning! I went on exchange with Sister Semedo from Angola for a few hours. She is a wonderful 1st transfer and is already very confident, calm and optimistic. I wanted to stick her in my pocket & take her home with me. Maybe one day we'll be companions!

On Friday I met a couple from Hillsborough, NC!!! They were very nice, Southern & Methodist. We found their closest chapel on mormon.org via the Family Search demo computers in the SVC. I know - we're so tech-savvy here on Temple Square :) I was greeting guests at the desk, this ancient man walks in - I welcome him & he replies, "My, you have a beautiful smile!" Apparently he has been here many times before so wasn't in need of any assistance -- but his compliment made me feel great :) My pager found it amusing to randomly reset itself for a few days on end...so I got it fixed! I can tell time!

On Saturday we had VAN MAINTENANCE!!!! We did not meet an apostle but we do have very clean cars :) The sun was so beautifully shining today - you just had to love it. As we approached the SVC a family came out, the father jokingly shielded his face with his hand, "Oh no! Missionaries!" We introduced ourselves and got to know them for a few minutes. We took them to God's Plan, which was a wonderful blessing. We have seen it so many times, it's not funny - so when the guests actually enjoy it, it's a wonderful reminder of how important this message really is. I called Cassie Martin’s referral and she referred for missionaries! I'm stoked. I love new investigators! We couldn't get in touch with Sally - our latest golden investigator. Our guess is that she had to stay late for work. We are excited to hear how church goes; her father said he would go with her!!! District Meeting again, was a little rocky. But I’m doing my best to be supportive and helpful.

On Sunday, Sister Ghao from Taiwan spoke about being focused on our missions. Forgetting ourselves & being totally immersed in the work. I really appreciated her talk; it's good motivation to hear a 12th transfer talk about staying focused. "It's not short and it's not long - but it's worth it." There has been a recent emphasis on being professional. I think we should have an example of a "professional" email sent out. My thought is that if we don't have an example, a template - how are the missionaries supposed to know that they're doing it right? Just as we have Christ as our example for life; we're not all men, or sons of carpenters, or teach in the temples etc. but he gave us a basic pattern to follow. That's what I'd like to do with this. We’ll see. Vincent from Alabama called in and wanted to thank the Church for doing what we did on Proposition 8. So thanks! Vincent really appreciates what you did. We had a very successful session of weekly planning that did NOT stress me out! We also managed to do half of Companionship Inventory! It’s amazing what a little CI can do for a companionship. We took a Nepali tour!!! I introduced myself & everything – and then stood by my companion and double testified with a smile :) The family of five is getting baptized on Saturday! After the tour we had Sisters Tarasevitch(NJ) & Brenan(Australia) take us on a role play tour. I came up with a new idea, have them meet us somewhere. So we were in the SVC & told them to come out to the Seagull Monument in two minutes. It was awesome! It made it MUCH more realistic! Sister Brenan has only been here for 1.5 weeks and is getting the hang of it! She’s great at the historical facts and shares what she can. She is very hard on herself though, so hopefully she’ll be able to find that “thing” that helps her feel comfortable, more like herself and ‘at home’ here on Temple Square.

The work is going great here on Temple Square! It’s exciting to be a part of this new phase in missionary work. I love being a modern pioneer! I love running in the morning. I love welcoming people to the Square. I wake up every day – excited to be a MISSIONARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love you all,

Sister Despain Jr.