July 29, 2013

Hello!!

 

First of all, that is sooo scary to hear about Bro. Welling, and Kim. oh my gosh! thats so sad! tell them, they are in my prayers!

send me amanda asay's email since I don't have hers.

don't send that package yet!! I still need some items that I haven't mentioned yet. I need a new scripture case. the one that I got was really cheap, and the handles are coming off. haha :) if there is any sort of book that shows you the moves of exersizes that you can do at home you could send me, that would be fantastic. at the MTC they said it was discontinued for some reason. my vitex, I have to admit, I am not taking it at all. I forget, and am so busy so I really don't have time to reflect of what I should have done that morning. :) sorry.

so my MTC teacher Bro. Morriss is really interested in knowing what I am doing for my mission. He wants to see the blog, and I told him it is private. But I will work on getting you to open up the blog for him. how do I do that? 

yes, the picture with the president and his wife was the first day I arrived.

its getting better with Sister Kim little by little :)

I am helping teach little by little. I have progressed, and what I learned about teaching is all you have to do is listen to the people of what their expectations are, and the spirit will help you to know what to say the moment you need to say it. I am trying my hardest to listen.

that is so awesome mom about Kohl's. Heavenly Father knows that, that is where you are not supposed to be. Stick with pampered chef, I know you will love it.

Garrett, congrats on the date for tonight! Hope it goes well.

 

this week was kind of a slow week since we only about about 2 sets of investigators. we are teaching the plan of Salvation to a family, and the father seems really interested along with his daughter. the wife wasn't in the room because she wasn't feeling good, but we are teaching her wednesday. it is an awesome experience.

we have in our ward about 50-100 people in the ward. UBBER small, we just have a bunch of inactives. we are tying to get them to come back to church, and its really frusterating because out of the two days, only one or two answer the door and only one rejects us. Yup. super hard, but we are motivated.

A really sad and an experience I will never forget happened to us this week. We found out monday that a part member family (mom is active, but dad is non-member) had just lost their 10 year old daughter due to unsure reasons. they were thinking it was an enlarged heart or something, but they are still not sure. we were asked by a lot of the members if we had visited them yet, and we had a big impression that we need to go see them on tuesday, the day after their daughter had passed. we visited them, and talked with them for a little bit. so we decided to share a message about families. after, sister Kim decieded to do a special prayer to bless the family. we were all crying at the end, the spirit was so powerful in that room. the husband was really supportive and wanted us to come back.I know without a doubt that families can be together for all eternity. The mother can be with her child again, and it is a huge blessing to have a family here on the earth. Heavenly Father is keeping that little girl safe. She has gone straight to the Celestial Kingdom. I know this without a doubt. We all go through trials more then others. we may not know why in the beginning, or in the end. But Heavenly father has a plan for every one of us.

 

I love you all, and we will see each other soon. Not too soon :)

 

Sister Rook

July 22, 2013

Hello!!

Thank you all for your letters!! Mom, I haven't really been spending on my card. the only thing I have spent is when I had to pay that 60 dollars for the luggage fees when I came. I totally thought the church gave me a refund. I will have to ask them again.

Gavin, keep it up with everything! I hope your shoes are fitting better! thats not good. but I'm sure you will get used to them.

Garrett, did you actually go running this morning?? haha! just kidding! I know you went running ;) thanks for the support by the way :)

I really don't know what you should send me in my package just yet. Sister Kim is a ubber healthy eater.

we have a super small ward, of about a little over 100. we just have a BUNCH of inactives. we do have 3 investigators. One is good with her church but she thinks we are angels sent to her to send her peace. I don't know.

the other is a family. the wife is an alcoholic. but the husband wants to do all that he can to help her, and doesn't want anything bad to happen to his kids. so sad!

the last, is just pretty much an investigator who wants to know more about the church. she kind of has a bad taste in her mouth from the church because she lived in Utah. not surprised

So funny story, that I totally forgot to tell you. a couple of weeks ago, I was on exchanges with sister Hunt (Who is an amazing person by the way), and we were going through the area book to see where we needed to go. so we stopped by this house, and this lady came to the door yelled at us and said "go away! there are serial killers out there! go away before we call the cops!" yes, thats sad, that they won't associate with anybody, but the funny thing is, they had a sign on the door that said no perverts or psychopaths. yup. because any pervert or psychopath is going to read that and say: "darn it, can't go to this house. they know we're coming." haha!!! anyway, funny story
This week has gotten a little better with Sister Kim. we are trying to build a friendship, but can't because we have ABSOLUTELY nothing in common. she did take me to a Korean restaurant which was REALLY cool. so we really don't talk in the car. But I have realized why I have been placed with her. She is very outgoing, and is trying really hard to get me to talk in lessons. It drives her crazy that I am quiet all the time. She is trying to get me to open my mouth and speak. This week, I had a really hard time with her, so I talked to President Toombs (so no need to email him mom), and he said I was just like you when I was a missionary. He said you will open your mouth sooner or later, but you have to be patient. I have realized that I am not patient with myself. Yes, she is very impatient with me also, but I have to remember why the Lord put me with her. I do have a really hard time recognizing that spirit when we practice in the morning because she is very intimidating. Yes she is a hard trainer who has no patience, and critisizes me everyday, I have to remember why the Lord put me with her. I remember this scripture everyday: "Trust in the lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge hime, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6. I cannot rely on myself. I have to trust in him wherever I need to go. and if that means being with a bad comp, then so be it. the Lord has put me there for a reason.

I love you all!!!

Sister Rook



                      

Looks yummy!

  Lookin good Paige!

July 15, 2013

Hello everyone!

I just want to say GAVIN! YOUR PICS ARE AMAZING!! I am so excited for you that you got most of your stuff taken care of! its good that you had time to get the stuff early. I had no time. haha :) by the way, when you get done with the lantern things on the water picture, I WANT TO SEE IT! maybe I will sing tangled while I look at it. haha

Dad, no worries about work.

hey. what happened to Garrett? send me his email so I can add it to my contacts :)

the town that I am living in is called Westminster. pretty cool place. the ward is tiny, but they are very welcoming to the sisters. most of the wards have 2 sets of missionaries. the president said that we will soon mitriculate (sp) into 3 sets of missionaries per ward. but he said it won't happen for a while.

I do live with members but I haven't met them yet, because they are in europe for the month. we have the house all to ourselves :)

My comps name is Sister Kim. yes, she is straight from Korea, but she has been living in the states off and on, so her english is almost perfect

Well, its been a hard week. my companion is really hard. I know my blessing said that I will have good comps, but I think the lord wants me to deal with this companion early. haha she hates me. she doesn't talk to me unless she needs to, haha :) I am not having fun at all. but we did do exchanges with other sisters, and they really knew how to have fun. and we will do that every week, but my goal is to love her and care for her until her head explodes. :) I really think that Satan is trying to send me home. but I will stick it out till it kills me. I won't be with her forever, will I? I have to remember why I came out here. but my favorite part of the week was the exchange. The sisters are so loving, and Sister Hunt was my comp for 24 hours. I learned a lot from her. I forgot to take pictures there because we were having so much fun. but I will send you pics from the area.

we are both new to the area so we have no investigators to teach.

thats my week in a nutshell!

Love you all!!!

This is where Paige lives.  They live with members and have the whole house to themselves!

Sister Kim is a tad shorter than Paige.  

July 9, 2013

Hey Family!!

 

its been a busy week. the morning I left, I woke up at 3:30 in the morning for us to catch the bus at 4:30. while I was waiting for my turn to call you at the airport, this lady came up to me and told me I could use her Iphone to call. People are amazing!!!

when we got to denver, the mission president and his wife were waiting for us at the airport. they are amazing people. we then arrived at the mission office, and had orientation and then they announced one by one who our trainers were going to be. my trainer is amazing!! she is a tiny little Korean lady, who is about an inch or two shorter then me. she has an amazing attitude. when we left, sister green and I cried when we said goodbye because we got a long so well together, we were like sisters. thankfully she is in my zone, so I will see her again in two weeks. :)

when we got back, we went trackting for about 20 minutes just to get to know the neighborhood. you probably know by now, but the missionaries really don't trackt anymore because it is just pretty much a waste of time. they just plainley rely on the referells from members. so get to know your neighbors!

also fun fact: By next year, all the missionaries will have iPads. yup. the church will be providing them because it will be a lot easier to access email, lds.org scriptures, etc.

well, that is my week, I love you all, and I will see you later!!

sister rook

P.S. can you send me Mindy moore's email address? I really want to talk to her.
P.S.S also, when you send a package, send it through priority mail, so it will be delivered right to me instead of sitting in the office for 2 or 3 weeks at a time.

July 6, 2013 MTC Letter Part 1 and Part 2

Hi Everyone!!!

First off I wanted so say Happy birthday Garrett!!!! 22! yay!

Gavin, I am glad everything is working out for you and work. don't worry about paying for a bike. if you do what you are supposed to be doing, then everything will work out in the end. its like what we say in the MTC: obedience brings blessings. Exact obedience brings miracles. (excuse my spelling) also gavin. I have homework for you. please read your scriptures, try and finish it before you report. it will help a lot. also watch the district and study preach my gospel. also you can have the elders in the singles ward teach you a few things before you enter the MTC. like how important role playing is. I don't like it that much, but it has really helped me into knowing what to say to somebody when they are having troubles. practice it with the elders :)

Mom. that is hilarious about the dog. I'm sure she almost had a heart attack. I really hope kim is Okay. she is in my prayers. I will also try and call from the airport. I really don't know if its before we take off, or after we land. but just in case, keep your phone on all the same. our plane takes off at 8:30. also I want to tell you something about us missionaries: we have the spirit with us constantly, so we are always listening to the promptings of the spirit. that girl on the bike was probably not paying attention and ignoring what the spirit was telling her. about 1 in a million missionaries die from a car accident. so don't worry about me at all. :)

so this week has been the most amazing week on the face of this earth. it went by in a blink. I really don't know where to start.

so last Saturday, we were having a lesson and it was just scripture reading. this particular type of teaching is where the teacher decides to have us read scriptures, and we talk about it to see what we got out of them. so I was sitting there listening when all of a sudden, I had a revelation on what to teach to our progressive investigator. it was the first revelation I have ever had, and it was amazing. from then on, we were very successfull with him. :)

Hold on while I do part 2 of this letter :)

Sorry. the computer is limited to 30 minutes and we are given permission to do 60.

anyway, since we are in the Wyview area (west campus), we have class in the church building where we share it with the students of BYU. so we were in Zone teaching which is my favorite class ever, and Bro. Marht decided to have us sing Army of Helamen around the YSA students who were having FHE. the spirit was so strong, and everyone had chills. it was a really cool experiance.

so the other day, we had to teach our other investigator, and before we started, everyone delegated me to start the lesson, and before then, I said a prayer. So I started it, and everyone else felt the spirit to start talking to her about how god loves her. at the end, she said to me that I need to talk more. people are waiting to hear from me, and that I have a gift. wow. that is exactly what my setting apart blessing said. I also heard it twice more that day, and once more the next day. gee. I think the lord is trying to tell me something, but I'm not sure. haha

Another cool experience is where you help somebody else recieve a revelation. in class I teamed up with Brother Morriss, who is an awesome teacher wanted to team up with me. I was prompted to have him read a scripture, and he had recieved the revelation about how to become a better teacher. I don't know how, but its really cool. I ended up doing the same thing with another teacher who needed help on how to talk to his brother who is innactive. the best part is, you really don't do anyting. :)

For the 4th, we had our usual classes, but for the usual zone teaching that we do, we watched 17 miracles. after,  we were given permission to watch the fireworks on the front lawn, which is still inside the perimeter of the apartments. we also heard the booming music of Kelly Clarkson's concert from a distance. it was a pretty cool night.

yesterday, we did in-feild orientation at the main building and it got me pumped! I am also very very glad that I am not staying at the main building because it is way crowded too big. I am used to having classes in the little apartment rooms :)

yesterday, we also had a ginormous lightning storm. it was so amazing!!!

well, I got to go. we are exploring the main building today, so we got to catch the bus to get up there. the cafeteria is huge!!! holy cow!

love you all!!!

Sister Rook :)

This young lady that is with Paige is Michaela Hilton.  Paige met her online before she reported to the MTC