Hello Friends and Family!
Ok, so I got transfer information for you first! I am leaving
Fairfield :( my six months here has come to an end! Sister Stromberg
will be staying and is training a brand new missionary! Haha she has
been dreading training her whole mission and now it's finally
happening! I told her it's not that bad haha also, she and her new
companion will just be over the Cordelia 1st Ward now! They are
putting elders in the YSA Ward! The YSA Ward isn't too happy about it,
but we think it will be good to have just one set of missionaries in
each Ward. As for me, I will being going back to my roots! That's
right, I'm going back to SANTA ROSA, my greenie zone! I'm going to be
in the Rincon Valley Ward this time, but get this, I will be staying
in the same apartment that I started my mission in! The good old
mission mansion in Santa Rosa! So my address will be the same from the
beginning of my mission! 4663 Sonoma Hwy Santa Rosa, CA 95409! I'm
going to have so many flash backs...started out my mission here, and I
will most likely end my mission here. Today marks what we call
"reverse 12 week" for me. 12 week is the training program you are in
for the first 12 weeks of your mission, and now I'm in the last 12
weeks of my mission so I'm in "reverse 12 week". So I will probably
end my mission in Santa Rosa. Crazy. But I'm super pumped to go back
to Santa Rosa and to be in the Rincon Valley Ward! It's the Ward that
Michelle Ray's sister is in! So I already know the bishop and his
family super well! And my new companion will be Sister Porter! She's
been out for about 6 months. I've met her a couple times and she seems
super nice! I'm excited! But leaving this area is going to be
rough...once again, this area has become my home away from home, so I
feel like I'm starting my mission all over again! So many good
memories here and so many people I will miss! I've been taking a ton
of pictures with people here so get ready for a lot of pictures this
week!
Fairfield/Vacaville Zone
With the Mix’s, Cordelia 1st members that I adore!
With Zayna a recent convert in YSA ward
The Hatch’s and the Thomas’s-my all time two favorite families!
This week was kinda slow at times, but it was still a fun week! On
Monday, Shelia and Jason Kellenbeck took us to Marin and we hiked
Mount Tamalpais! We got a GORGEOUS view of the Bay Area when we
reached the top! Such a fun experience! Tuesday, I got dropped off in
Vallejo and I attended their zone meeting! I also got to teach a
segment which turned out super cool! I did a really cool activity for
it which turned out to be super spiritual...So I was teaching on the
basics of missionary work, which we call the 8 fundamentals of
missionary work. I really wanted to focus the whole segment on our
purpose as missionaries also and how the fundamentals help us do that.
So I got up and introduced my topic and then I told everyone we were
going in a time machine. During my segment we all traveled to three
different rooms in the church, each representing a different stage in
our missions and how the fundamentals of missionary work are still
important at the different stages and how we can apply them. I had set
up and decorated each of the rooms before hand to really help with the
time machine experience haha. So the first room we traveled to was the
"MTC". I had everyone play along and I asked them to act like they did
on the first day at the MTC. And let me tell you, that was hilarious
haha. I had them all play a "get to know you" activity first because I
have fond memories of that my first day at the MTC(shout out to my MTC
friends, you know who you are ;) ). One elder pretended he didnt know
any English, because he really didn't know any English his first day.
Another missionary was acting really nervous and shy...it was great
haha! I then pretended to be their MTC teacher and introduced the
fundamentals, what they are, and how they would be using them on their
missions. Then we time traveled to the next room which represented
their year mark on the mission. We discussed how we still use the
fundamentals. I had them do a lot of reflecting on past investigators
and lessons and how they've used the fundamentals. The Vallejo zone
members really opened up and shared stories and fond memories. It was
cool. Then we time traveled to the last room which represented the
stake presidents office back home. This is where I tied everything
back together with our purpose as missionaries and taking what we've
learned back home. That our purpose doesn't change, we still invite
others to come unto Christ whether we wear a name tag or not. And how
the basics of missionary work can make a basis for our lives. I had
everyone reflect on their missions and then I had everyone take off
their name tags, give them to me, and walk back to the meeting room.
Yes, I know that is so mean, but it really hit home for the
missionaries in that zone. Once we all got back to the room, I gave
everyone their tags back and bore my testimony. It was such a cool
experience teaching that day. I really went by the spirit on it while
I was preparing and the spirit worked wonders.
We taught Lora, Shirley, and the Pachecos this week! All of them are
doing well! It's hard saying goodbye to them though...I've made super
tight connections with all of them because I've been here since the
beginning for them. Shirley is moving to Idaho at the end of this
month though! She will be moving to the EAGLE IDAHO STAKE(for those of
you who don't know, my home stake)! She told us that she wants to wait
till she moves to Idaho to get baptized now, so I have dibs on calling
the missionaries in Eagle and telling them about this golden
investigator that is coming and is ready for baptism!! That will be
HUGE for them!! So excited for her to move to Eagle! The Pachecos are
also doing well. I was able to have a Facebook lesson with Susie this
week because I saw a post from her that was super depressing. So I
messaged her and ended up having a lesson with her. I love being a
Facebook missionary. Lora is doing amazing as always! She volunteers
once a week at the Bishops Storehouse in Concord now! Super cool! So
sad to be leaving her!
On Saturday, we had a service project in Rio Vista(a small town about
45 minutes East of Fairfield)! We actually got to help some members
build a house. That was a first for me haha I've never built a house
before. It was super fun actually!
I spent the majority of yesterday saying goodbye to everyone. That's
one downside of staying in an area for a long time...I've gotten
attached to a lot of people here! It's like leaving Petaluma all over
again! But I'm excited for this change. Fairfield has been a hard area
for me. I struggled a lot in this area. Not saying that hard is bad,
it's just hard. I have loved this area. I have learned so much here.
But the Lord needs me back in Santa Rosa now! I'll go wherever He
wants me to go! :) I love you all and I hope you have an amazing week!
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