Hola! [La lengua de los ángeles]
It’s been another wonderful week here on Temple Square. For whatever reason, Word decided that it wanted to be set in “Spanish-mode” akin to Buzz Lightyear & so now all of my words are spelled incorrectly. Oh technology, what a love-hate relationship we have!
As GS, S. Nelson & I got to sit in on the Sunday morning STAFF MEETING! I know – be excited! This meeting includes all the people who run the mission :) We were glad to attend and get some things cleared up about our role. We feel much more “in control” now. Beehive House is officially now first-come-first-serve. Yessssssss! After our meeting we called Roger to teach him more about the church. After 10 min or so he said, “Hang on, I want you to talk to my girlfriend.” So she gets on, we talk to her as well – get them both on the phone, pray – commit them to pray about the things we discussed right after we hang up, they agree & *BAM* two New Investigators :)
8:52 Monday morning. We’re walking to the Square when who should be a-walkin’ our way? ELDER L. TOM PERRY!!! I KNOW!!! “What?! Sisters, no comp study this morning?” He shook our hands, wished us a wonderful day and we parted ways! I love this mission :) Oh my goodness, okay so this lady calls into GS, she’s from Korea but lives in Canada now. She was calling in for a “niahonamagajeen” which I couldn’t –for the life of me – figure out. FINALLY it clicks: Liahona Magazine! It was hilarious though, she was asking me if I was a member & if I was why couldn’t I understand her??? Great story.
Cinnamon Melts from McDonald’s magically appeared on our desks in GS Tuesday morning. Soooo good! Miracle of the day: We took 3 Seniors in HS (not Seniors in life) around the Square in the afternoon. The whole time they were mostly closed & unresponsive, so we took them across the street to the Conf Center! As we walked into the auditorium, ‘tall-guy’ [turns out his name is Conner] goes “Whooooaaaa!!!!” Welcome to the CC Auditorium – where all of your 9 year old Tonka dreams come true :) We discussed conference, prophets & the restoration. We then invited them to meet with missionaries. Tori said she “wouldn’t mind” them coming but the two guys were either verbally against it…or silent. We re-invited at the Map in the NVC & they ALL REFERRED FOR MISSIONARIES! Amazing, right? God allows us to be a part of these miracles, EVEN when we’re ridiculously rusty from being in GS! We ended our day with WP which included a CI that we just laughed our way through. We’re getting along so great.
We had an absolutely fantastic District Meeting! We real played contacting members at Conference. IT WAS SO GOOD! I AM SO EXCITED! Conference is a wonderful time of the year :) We are eagerly awaiting the jam-packed weekend of Conference – it’s just so fun! We contacted some wonderful members at the Good Samaritan display and ended up taking them through it. That was the first time I’d ever done that! No one is EVER down at that display! We went through it just as it was meant to be seen, what a neat experience to finally have a tour that goes as planned.
On Thursday we alternated so well during our contacts, it was amazing. We’ve tried coming up with different ways of making sure that we both speak evenly. None have worked! So we finally decided to keep things brief & that after I talk – it’s S. Nelson’s turn – then it’s my turn etc. So no matter whom they ask the question to or who asked them the question –the other one speaks. It works brilliantly! That doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone accepts our message or likes us. Weird, I know. We took this family around that I later compared to “trying to entertain a country run by a dictator”. The father was the speaker and what he said – went. We did our best to involve the four other members of the family but it’s hard to get through to people when they won’t even maintain eye contact. “Always look eye!”
BIG NEWS: (For missionaries) Friday morning we had CONNECT training. It’s okay if you have no idea what I’m talking about –none of you would. Oh MAN it’s so exciting! Connect is a new program designed just for missionaries. It’s basically an online area book, which allows us to log what we’ve taught them, when, their reactions/thoughts & also the commitments we give them. It’s still in primitive-mode right now, we’re the ones trying it out first :) Ideally, once it’s full-steam-ahead it will allow us to more easily communicate with the missionaries we send our investigators to. Since we log exactly what we teach them, once the locals get their information they can log into Connect & see that their New Investigator has already had the first two lessons & is keeping certain commitments! AMAZING, huh?
I absolutely love being a missionary. It’s ridiculous really because you’d think that after doing this day in & day out I’d get tired of it – but it’s just so wonderful I don’t see how anyone couldn’t wake up deliriously happy EVERY day! There is no happiness like that of knowing that you are doing exactly what God wants you to be doing. I know this church is Christ’s true church. It has blessed my life so much & it is my greatest pleasure to tell everyone I meet, all about it.
Love you all,
Sister Ainsley Marie
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Salaam (Punjabi/HIndi)
This last week is a little fuzzy…my brain shut down a few times & after the morning we had today – not sure what sort of a report this will be! All things considered, this week was great!
On Sunday I started off the day by burning my forearm on the iron. First time! I was proud :) We called Argha in India & he voluntarily said he would call the Bishop & ask about getting a ride to church! Because we’re in GS for 6 hrs every day we have found that we are SUPER rusty on our Square tactics. It’s embarrassing! By our last tour we’ve usually warmed up enough…but then we have motors. This system is hard to beat – we’re working on improving our adaption skills.
On Monday we ran into Megan, Dianne & Sister Leavitt! Small world :) We had the craziest phone call of our lives Monday night. We called Marlene in Florida to clarify her address & tell her more about church(obviously). She said she didn’t know the zip code and at that point there was some muffling & all of a sudden Marlene is very energetic & helps us find the address. We teach her for 10 minutes – all the while she’s being the perfect stereotype of a Southern Baptist enthusiast, which always makes phone calls interesting. We asked, “Marlene, will you pray about the things we’ve taught you?” Again with the muffling & all of a sudden the voice on the other end is very slow & deep. My thought? ‘Oh GREAT! We’ve got a MPD case as one of our investigators!’ False. Turns out, the slow voice is Marlene, the enthusiastic voice was her sister, Sylvia who got on the phone to help us with the address!!!! It was hilarious! But then we talked for another 5 minutes, prayed & had TWO new investigators :)
On Tuesday I was waiting for my President’s Interview when I hear Sister Hardy (covering us in GS) “Yo no hablo español. Un momento! ---- I don’t speak Spanish! Ahhh!” An unusual wave of confidence came over me & I heard myself say, “I do!” hahahahaha So I took the call. Finished, I turned around to find 8 people staring at me! One of them being our senior AP, Sister Inoue. She took my hand & said, “You’re passing off.” Despite my reluctance & what I thought to be valid concerns, she basically told me I was going to be passing off for Summer! BUT Spanish calls always make my day so I was in a wonderful mood for my interview! I told President how everything is going just perfectly & how we love GS & how I’m working on my Spanish & how I love the mission! During CI today Sis Nelson told me, “Just….be BOLD!” other than that – you’re PERFECT!” I told her she was the companion I always wanted, I felt like a 5 year old asking Santa for a pony & actually getting it!
On the Square, Wednesday I contacted a lady from Chile! [So this was all in Spanish]I told her all about the temple, the pioneers and the restoration. She had some questions about the Book of Mormon, which the Lord allowed me to clear up for her. I was so caught up in telling her everything, correctly – that I forgot to invite her! AGH! Next time :)
Thursday night we called Kemarley in Texas, he told us that the Elders had come by! Yay for IRCs! It’s been a while since we’ve had things work so smoothly with investigators, so we were both VERY excited. He said he’d like to go to church next Sunday! We actually had all 1s for teaching numbers today. Our new investigator is Donald from Sacramento. He is a little slow but very sweet. He is saving up money to buy an outfit for church so he doesn’t feel out of place – precious :)
6:50 AM Friday morning: Mission Meeting. Due to our awesomeness of being in GS we are privy to classified information. However, this has very little to do with the mission meeting. We just knew that the new version of the Joseph Smith movie came out that morning – so we assumed that’s what the meeting was about. We were right :) It was good, I love the beginning & the emphasis on doctrine throughout. However, I thought the ending was a little weak. Hopefully y’all will be able to see it for yourselves! We had surprise service at Heritage Park. We did inventory at the shop. Sis Nelson & I revolutionized how they weigh their chocolates for inventory days. We were very proud. And very grateful for the free hot chocolate they gave us! MONTY SORENSON: Your mother says hi! Thank her for sharing her candy with us :)
Dear missionaries of the world: When an 88 year old woman puts a NO SOLICITING sign on her house, has a door mat that says GO AWAY & (though you may not know) has an alarm in her house for when people walk too close…please don’t leave a pass-along card on her mailbox. Thanks :)
No that didn’t have anything to do with a phone call I had on Friday.
JUSTIN IS GOING TO AFRICA! After I read his letter I told all the sisters that I saw for the rest of the day, “Hey! Look! My friend is going to Mozambique on his mission!!! Isn’t that awesome!?! I’m so excited!” I’m not only excited for the amazing work that he will get to do but also for the Mozambique referrals that will be pouring in to the Square so that we can send them through to him!
YIEAAAA MISSIONARY WORK!
Saturday….I don’t really want to talk about this morning. Let’s just say, pretty much everything went wrong! I accidentally knocked the white board down, as I was leaving a potential a message – the monitor shut off, sisters assigned to a tour decided to take OTHER people around….it was quite the morning!
Today we’re off to the Clark Planetarium, the Belgian Waffle stand & Wal-mart!
As always, this week has been a week of growth. We have had many small adventures & more than our fair share of awkward moments. Being on a mission is hard but there’s no place I’d rather be. Last P-day we were down at Gateway for longer than usual & after that, we were all afraid to go back to real life. It is so important that we stick close to the gospel. It is vital for our lives & the lives of our children, that we remain faithful to what we know is true. Every day is a good day for a reality check. Make sure you’re doing what you are supposed to be doing. With all the free time people seem to have – are you accomplishing good things, or are you wasting your life away? Life can be utterly fulfilling as we constantly work to improve ourselves. Always choose the right. You’ll never regret it.
Love you all,
Sister Ainsley Marie
On Sunday I started off the day by burning my forearm on the iron. First time! I was proud :) We called Argha in India & he voluntarily said he would call the Bishop & ask about getting a ride to church! Because we’re in GS for 6 hrs every day we have found that we are SUPER rusty on our Square tactics. It’s embarrassing! By our last tour we’ve usually warmed up enough…but then we have motors. This system is hard to beat – we’re working on improving our adaption skills.
On Monday we ran into Megan, Dianne & Sister Leavitt! Small world :) We had the craziest phone call of our lives Monday night. We called Marlene in Florida to clarify her address & tell her more about church(obviously). She said she didn’t know the zip code and at that point there was some muffling & all of a sudden Marlene is very energetic & helps us find the address. We teach her for 10 minutes – all the while she’s being the perfect stereotype of a Southern Baptist enthusiast, which always makes phone calls interesting. We asked, “Marlene, will you pray about the things we’ve taught you?” Again with the muffling & all of a sudden the voice on the other end is very slow & deep. My thought? ‘Oh GREAT! We’ve got a MPD case as one of our investigators!’ False. Turns out, the slow voice is Marlene, the enthusiastic voice was her sister, Sylvia who got on the phone to help us with the address!!!! It was hilarious! But then we talked for another 5 minutes, prayed & had TWO new investigators :)
On Tuesday I was waiting for my President’s Interview when I hear Sister Hardy (covering us in GS) “Yo no hablo español. Un momento! ---- I don’t speak Spanish! Ahhh!” An unusual wave of confidence came over me & I heard myself say, “I do!” hahahahaha So I took the call. Finished, I turned around to find 8 people staring at me! One of them being our senior AP, Sister Inoue. She took my hand & said, “You’re passing off.” Despite my reluctance & what I thought to be valid concerns, she basically told me I was going to be passing off for Summer! BUT Spanish calls always make my day so I was in a wonderful mood for my interview! I told President how everything is going just perfectly & how we love GS & how I’m working on my Spanish & how I love the mission! During CI today Sis Nelson told me, “Just….be BOLD!” other than that – you’re PERFECT!” I told her she was the companion I always wanted, I felt like a 5 year old asking Santa for a pony & actually getting it!
On the Square, Wednesday I contacted a lady from Chile! [So this was all in Spanish]I told her all about the temple, the pioneers and the restoration. She had some questions about the Book of Mormon, which the Lord allowed me to clear up for her. I was so caught up in telling her everything, correctly – that I forgot to invite her! AGH! Next time :)
Thursday night we called Kemarley in Texas, he told us that the Elders had come by! Yay for IRCs! It’s been a while since we’ve had things work so smoothly with investigators, so we were both VERY excited. He said he’d like to go to church next Sunday! We actually had all 1s for teaching numbers today. Our new investigator is Donald from Sacramento. He is a little slow but very sweet. He is saving up money to buy an outfit for church so he doesn’t feel out of place – precious :)
6:50 AM Friday morning: Mission Meeting. Due to our awesomeness of being in GS we are privy to classified information. However, this has very little to do with the mission meeting. We just knew that the new version of the Joseph Smith movie came out that morning – so we assumed that’s what the meeting was about. We were right :) It was good, I love the beginning & the emphasis on doctrine throughout. However, I thought the ending was a little weak. Hopefully y’all will be able to see it for yourselves! We had surprise service at Heritage Park. We did inventory at the shop. Sis Nelson & I revolutionized how they weigh their chocolates for inventory days. We were very proud. And very grateful for the free hot chocolate they gave us! MONTY SORENSON: Your mother says hi! Thank her for sharing her candy with us :)
Dear missionaries of the world: When an 88 year old woman puts a NO SOLICITING sign on her house, has a door mat that says GO AWAY & (though you may not know) has an alarm in her house for when people walk too close…please don’t leave a pass-along card on her mailbox. Thanks :)
No that didn’t have anything to do with a phone call I had on Friday.
JUSTIN IS GOING TO AFRICA! After I read his letter I told all the sisters that I saw for the rest of the day, “Hey! Look! My friend is going to Mozambique on his mission!!! Isn’t that awesome!?! I’m so excited!” I’m not only excited for the amazing work that he will get to do but also for the Mozambique referrals that will be pouring in to the Square so that we can send them through to him!
YIEAAAA MISSIONARY WORK!
Saturday….I don’t really want to talk about this morning. Let’s just say, pretty much everything went wrong! I accidentally knocked the white board down, as I was leaving a potential a message – the monitor shut off, sisters assigned to a tour decided to take OTHER people around….it was quite the morning!
Today we’re off to the Clark Planetarium, the Belgian Waffle stand & Wal-mart!
As always, this week has been a week of growth. We have had many small adventures & more than our fair share of awkward moments. Being on a mission is hard but there’s no place I’d rather be. Last P-day we were down at Gateway for longer than usual & after that, we were all afraid to go back to real life. It is so important that we stick close to the gospel. It is vital for our lives & the lives of our children, that we remain faithful to what we know is true. Every day is a good day for a reality check. Make sure you’re doing what you are supposed to be doing. With all the free time people seem to have – are you accomplishing good things, or are you wasting your life away? Life can be utterly fulfilling as we constantly work to improve ourselves. Always choose the right. You’ll never regret it.
Love you all,
Sister Ainsley Marie
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Guest Services: A.K.A. The Miracle Booth
Hey everyone! I’m out of cool multi-cultural salutations…so we’re straight up English this week :)
For whatever reason, Guest Services seems to boggle the minds of many. Not sure which part is confusing, the guest part…or the services part? Basically we run the show :) We schedule the tours, transfer phone calls, remind people that they can’t talk directly to the 1st Presidency and have already learned that we have to emphasize TEMPLE square when we answer the phones. Odd, I know - but our society is quickly developing the ability to stop listening and we seem to get all the pros!
On Sunday we called Argha, in India. From Chat we decided that Argha was a girl, so when a man answered and confirmed that he indeed was Argha – we gave each other a weird look & carried on with our phone call. He is very curious about Jesus Christ & wants to learn all he can! Saturday night we planned all sorts of ways to improve GS, which we were very excited about. Sunday was our official test-run day for sitting on our fitness balls. AWESOME! We’ll send pictures…
The highlight for Monday was an Inbound call I got from Drew, in North Carolina! I know! I miss the accent so much, it just melts my heart. Hmm, sorry that sounds stupid – but it’s so true! He already referred with another Sister but had more questions. He is so sincere; I can’t wait for his local missionaries to contact him. We called our New Investigator, Steve and taught him prayer. He’s in a pickle right now & there’s only so much we can do for him. We gave him the information for his Bishop and told him that he would be of great help. It’s amazing what we can accomplish in GS! No, not the speed with which we schedule tours but the people we are able to invite! While we’re in there, we’re logged in to receive calls – I talked with countless people but I got to invite THIRTEEN people to meet with missionaries! [Even if you’re not impressed…just BE impressed – it’s amazing.] We’ve got stars to stick up on our whiteboard with the referrals we get while in GS and I have FOUR so far! I’m righteously proud :)
On Tuesday we had Weekly Planning, so we made lunch at home. We made pancakes, eggs & bacon. Oh yeah – be jealous. But the really great part of Tuesday happened when Sister Nelson got a Spanish Inbound. Usually in the RC we’ll find a Spanish Sister to hand it off to, but it’s just us – so I took it! Luis is a non-member, calling in on behalf of his friend Mayra. I took down her information, invited him and then paged my roommate Sister Oyarzabal (Mexico) so she could “take” Mayra. They came home during our WP & told us they called Mayra and she’s a New Investigator!!! That’s how we do :)
On Wednesday we found the most challenging thing to be taking couples around. No, not cuz they’re “together “ but because usually one of them wants to refer & the other stops them. It’s obnoxious. Elder Warczak called in to GS to schedule a Nepali tour! They’re getting baptized on the 26th and he wanted to have them come to the Square. He is the kind of Elder you can be proud of. Our District Meetings consist of 6 Sisters…that’s it. Six. Which is nice actually – allows for more discussion. Sister Hardy is in my class & makes for a wonderful DL. I learned that I’m really hard on myself – but I don’t care, I still need to get better. You can always improve. Sounds a little OCD now that I think about it…
On Thursday an old lady called in about our TV ad for a $10 cell phone??? Ya. Drew from NC called Inbound & I amazingly enough got him again! What are the chances? It made my day. Last time he asked about the order of baptism & receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, so I studied up on it even though I knew I’d probably never talk to him again. Oh, but wait – I DID! So I got to explain it to him & it cleared everything up! I love when sincere people call in, I feel so helpful & productive. The weather was absolutely beautiful! We only have 2-3 hrs on the Square now…which yes, is lame but we cherish it so much more! We literally RUN up the stairs when it’s our Square time :) I LOVE IT. Kemarley in Texas referred, so we called him back. We kept it to 15 minutes, as we are supposed to and he let us know that he could “talk about God all day, so next time…I’d prefer it if we didn’t end so early?” – not sure what to do there, we do have rules to follow. He’s a Seventh Day Adventist, curious to learn more about God & Christ and he’s very sweet. He says “Ma’am” :)
We called Argha back on Friday! He. Is. Amazing. He told us how special the Book of Mormon is, how he felt peace as he read the Introduction, how he feels that God is listening to him when he prays….Argha is Hindu – in case I didn’t mention that. See how amazing these people are?!? We get the chance to meet with several of the elect. It hasn’t always been like this either. I’ve noticed that we get a limited number of trolls while we’re in GS & that our percentage of those who refer for missionaries is off the charts! It’s the best! On the Square we met Pat, who totally would have referred…if she wasn’t homeless. I don’t know what it is but we keep getting golden homeless people?!? Sister Nelson seems to attract people with serious life issues. I’ve never met this many before, apparently she gets them all the time. It’s hilarious. We agreed that part of it must be that she’ll tell them what they don’t want to hear. She asks them, “So what are you going to do about it?” instead of coddling them. It’s the best.
Today we’re headed to Happy Sumo for a sushi Birthday outing – for Sisters Carlton, Bryers & Burns. [Illinois, Australia & Tahiti, respectively.] We also have plans of making a fort to write our letters in later this afternoon :) Sister Nelson and I are doing great. We are both up & running (literally, I don’t mean just alive) by 6:00 AM. We’re on time. We work 24-7…also literally, Thursday night I had a dream we were in District Meeting. And we’re so happy sometimes it’s ridiculous! We are exactly what the other needed this transfer. She said she needed a “healing transfer” from training :) Glad I could help! I love working with her, we talk openly & frequently – as I learned is oh-so-important & basically think on the same wavelength, which makes life unbelievably easier! The work is hard but we are optimistic, persistent & have already been blessed by many miracles. I know that as we are obedient, the Lord blesses us! This transfer I really wanted to be obedient & healthy. So I got Sister Nelson, who is always punctual & was a weight-loss counselor pre-mission! She said something the other night that basically shows why I love her, “I decided to work out so much – so I could eat whatever I want!” She pushes me to do my best, in EVERY aspect of our work. For example, this morning – I ran for an hour!
Every day is a wonderful day, on Temple Square :) This church is so true.
Love you,
Sister Ainsley Marie
For whatever reason, Guest Services seems to boggle the minds of many. Not sure which part is confusing, the guest part…or the services part? Basically we run the show :) We schedule the tours, transfer phone calls, remind people that they can’t talk directly to the 1st Presidency and have already learned that we have to emphasize TEMPLE square when we answer the phones. Odd, I know - but our society is quickly developing the ability to stop listening and we seem to get all the pros!
On Sunday we called Argha, in India. From Chat we decided that Argha was a girl, so when a man answered and confirmed that he indeed was Argha – we gave each other a weird look & carried on with our phone call. He is very curious about Jesus Christ & wants to learn all he can! Saturday night we planned all sorts of ways to improve GS, which we were very excited about. Sunday was our official test-run day for sitting on our fitness balls. AWESOME! We’ll send pictures…
The highlight for Monday was an Inbound call I got from Drew, in North Carolina! I know! I miss the accent so much, it just melts my heart. Hmm, sorry that sounds stupid – but it’s so true! He already referred with another Sister but had more questions. He is so sincere; I can’t wait for his local missionaries to contact him. We called our New Investigator, Steve and taught him prayer. He’s in a pickle right now & there’s only so much we can do for him. We gave him the information for his Bishop and told him that he would be of great help. It’s amazing what we can accomplish in GS! No, not the speed with which we schedule tours but the people we are able to invite! While we’re in there, we’re logged in to receive calls – I talked with countless people but I got to invite THIRTEEN people to meet with missionaries! [Even if you’re not impressed…just BE impressed – it’s amazing.] We’ve got stars to stick up on our whiteboard with the referrals we get while in GS and I have FOUR so far! I’m righteously proud :)
On Tuesday we had Weekly Planning, so we made lunch at home. We made pancakes, eggs & bacon. Oh yeah – be jealous. But the really great part of Tuesday happened when Sister Nelson got a Spanish Inbound. Usually in the RC we’ll find a Spanish Sister to hand it off to, but it’s just us – so I took it! Luis is a non-member, calling in on behalf of his friend Mayra. I took down her information, invited him and then paged my roommate Sister Oyarzabal (Mexico) so she could “take” Mayra. They came home during our WP & told us they called Mayra and she’s a New Investigator!!! That’s how we do :)
On Wednesday we found the most challenging thing to be taking couples around. No, not cuz they’re “together “ but because usually one of them wants to refer & the other stops them. It’s obnoxious. Elder Warczak called in to GS to schedule a Nepali tour! They’re getting baptized on the 26th and he wanted to have them come to the Square. He is the kind of Elder you can be proud of. Our District Meetings consist of 6 Sisters…that’s it. Six. Which is nice actually – allows for more discussion. Sister Hardy is in my class & makes for a wonderful DL. I learned that I’m really hard on myself – but I don’t care, I still need to get better. You can always improve. Sounds a little OCD now that I think about it…
On Thursday an old lady called in about our TV ad for a $10 cell phone??? Ya. Drew from NC called Inbound & I amazingly enough got him again! What are the chances? It made my day. Last time he asked about the order of baptism & receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, so I studied up on it even though I knew I’d probably never talk to him again. Oh, but wait – I DID! So I got to explain it to him & it cleared everything up! I love when sincere people call in, I feel so helpful & productive. The weather was absolutely beautiful! We only have 2-3 hrs on the Square now…which yes, is lame but we cherish it so much more! We literally RUN up the stairs when it’s our Square time :) I LOVE IT. Kemarley in Texas referred, so we called him back. We kept it to 15 minutes, as we are supposed to and he let us know that he could “talk about God all day, so next time…I’d prefer it if we didn’t end so early?” – not sure what to do there, we do have rules to follow. He’s a Seventh Day Adventist, curious to learn more about God & Christ and he’s very sweet. He says “Ma’am” :)
We called Argha back on Friday! He. Is. Amazing. He told us how special the Book of Mormon is, how he felt peace as he read the Introduction, how he feels that God is listening to him when he prays….Argha is Hindu – in case I didn’t mention that. See how amazing these people are?!? We get the chance to meet with several of the elect. It hasn’t always been like this either. I’ve noticed that we get a limited number of trolls while we’re in GS & that our percentage of those who refer for missionaries is off the charts! It’s the best! On the Square we met Pat, who totally would have referred…if she wasn’t homeless. I don’t know what it is but we keep getting golden homeless people?!? Sister Nelson seems to attract people with serious life issues. I’ve never met this many before, apparently she gets them all the time. It’s hilarious. We agreed that part of it must be that she’ll tell them what they don’t want to hear. She asks them, “So what are you going to do about it?” instead of coddling them. It’s the best.
Today we’re headed to Happy Sumo for a sushi Birthday outing – for Sisters Carlton, Bryers & Burns. [Illinois, Australia & Tahiti, respectively.] We also have plans of making a fort to write our letters in later this afternoon :) Sister Nelson and I are doing great. We are both up & running (literally, I don’t mean just alive) by 6:00 AM. We’re on time. We work 24-7…also literally, Thursday night I had a dream we were in District Meeting. And we’re so happy sometimes it’s ridiculous! We are exactly what the other needed this transfer. She said she needed a “healing transfer” from training :) Glad I could help! I love working with her, we talk openly & frequently – as I learned is oh-so-important & basically think on the same wavelength, which makes life unbelievably easier! The work is hard but we are optimistic, persistent & have already been blessed by many miracles. I know that as we are obedient, the Lord blesses us! This transfer I really wanted to be obedient & healthy. So I got Sister Nelson, who is always punctual & was a weight-loss counselor pre-mission! She said something the other night that basically shows why I love her, “I decided to work out so much – so I could eat whatever I want!” She pushes me to do my best, in EVERY aspect of our work. For example, this morning – I ran for an hour!
Every day is a wonderful day, on Temple Square :) This church is so true.
Love you,
Sister Ainsley Marie
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Eternal Success Story
Konichiwa! Ni hao! Chickaymee! Namaste! Hola! Gootenmorgen!
I know, it’s amazing – you get to hear from me TWICE this week! Be excited.
Amazingly enough, there is a lot to report on from the last four days!
Tuesday morning I took Sister Carlton to the dentist. In contrast to Sister Lavini’s visit – this appointment lasted all of 10 minutes! When we came back, I went on exchanges with Sister Shaw (MTC Companion) and Sister Decouer (France). How things usually work with returning Outbound sisters, is this: Their companions pick up their suitcase/box from storage & bring it back to their apartment. However, Sister Shaw decided to be ridiculously nice & bring them all to their respective apartments! The three of us then proceeded to move eleventy billion suitcases & boxes into various residences…for the next four hours. The weather was absolutely beautiful, so it wasn’t that bad! I felt extremely nice J That evening I regrouped with Sister Khadgi, who had been at Departing Activities all day and we finished the night with a wonderful call to Irfan in India!
Early Wednesday morning Sister Khadgi & I went down to the Square for her release. Surprisingly enough, people in SLC are up and about at 6:30! It was a sad but productive experience to be a part of. It was great for me to be a part of it though because it really made me feel the need to work that much harder while I still have time to wear my tag. I got to drive Sister Khadgi to the airport :) I met up with my new companion Sister Nelson(Yes, California – it has been confirmed) and we raced over to the Humanitarian Center. Now, for those of you who are just joining us in this exciting tale of missionary work….I haven’t served at the Humanitarian Center. I’ve never even been there. And yet, that morning would be expected to take possible guests on a tour! Whoooo for unexpected challenges! Sister Khadgi gave me a cheet sheet the night before and described everything – which helped a lot. Sister Nelson was showing me around the first half of the tour area, when some guests arrive. Tour time and I haven’t even SEEN the upstairs! Hahahahaha I have to admit, it was all very entertaining. Best acting job of my life. Luckily, a lot of it is pretty self-explanatory. So we successfully took them on a tour through the center! I even thought to throw in some stories I had seen on the new, personal experiences etc. it was literally – amazing. As we sat down for the finishing video – Sister Nelson whispered, “You’re AMAZING!” Challenge: Beasted! Very humbly…beasted…no, I know I was helped out a lot by the Spirit & by my wonderful past companion who gave me the low down the night before. I loved being at the HC for a day & would love to serve there again! Laurel wrote me!!!! I was so excited to hear from her, more details on wedding plans & the rest of life that we don’t keep up with while we’re missionaries. I’d also like to give a shout-out to my new pen pal, Brandon. Dear Brandon, I’ll write you later today!
On Thursday we woke up to a day with 7 hrs on the Square! We typically have three or four a day, so we were VERY excited for so much time! We met a man who is currently homeless but is very interested in the church. We found the closest chapel for him and he said he’d have to go volunteer at Welfare Square so he could get himself a suit to wear on Sunday! I know – amazing! We took him over to the Family Search Center. Within 5 minutes he was very enthusiastic about discovering his ancestors! It was a pleasure to meet him and we made him promise to come back & report. We ventured to the TacoStand for lunch – BEST IDEA EVER! It was straight up scrumdidllyumptious!
Are you ready for it? Friday, I met PAUL CARDALL! If you don’t know who that is…stop now & look him up. I saw his new CD in Deseret a few weeks ago & wanted to get it. We went in there on Thursday & saw that he was actually coming to Deseret the next day! So we planned that in for our lunch time activity. It was like seeing a movie come to life! He was there! IN Deseret Book! Playing the piano! I bought his CD & stood sheepishly by a 30-something year old guy who also had a CD and waited for him to finish. He talked with the guy in front of me, then – the moment of truth *BING!* I got to shake his hand & talk to him & get to know him for a few minutes. He’s very chill, just like his music. We had Guest Services(which will from now on be abbreviated as GS) from 3-9 and we played it in the background – perfect! We got Sister Hansen to cover us for 30 minutes so we could run across the street to the “Evening with Artists” at the Church History Museum. It was really cool! They had a sculptor, a book illustrator, painter and gourd painter! See pictures for further details. Yes, they’re lame. BUT the refreshments were really good J We dashed back over to GS where we enjoyed the rest of our busy night working to run the show. Love it.
We’re making adjustments here & there to things in GS. Lots of random information on several papers up & around the cubicle, so I’m retyping things to make them more succinct! It’s beautiful. I’ll take a picture so you all can see how fantastic it is! We’re planning on buying a fitness ball to sit on while we work, not that we’ll be in there for hours on end…or anything like that. No worries, we’ve got an autographed copy of the latest Paul Cardall CD to get us through it :)
Quote of the Week: “You have the talents required to make your life an eternal success story.” --President Uchtdorf. I know this church is true. We’re not wrong. I know Christ is the Savior of the world & it’s through Him we can live with God again, after this life. This life is not the end. We can find true happiness in this life as we are obedient & strive to live Christ-centered lives. I know it.
Sorry, no more time to write! We’re off to the rest of our Pday insanity!
Love you all,
Sister Ainsley Marie
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