July 28, 2014 - Pioneer Children sang as they walked...

... and walked and walked and walked and walked.

We do that every day too as missionaries.  :)

I love the 24th of July as a missionary.  Especially when you serve 2 wards who conveniently plan their celebrations on different days.  It's a holiday you can actually celebrate as a missionary! :D

So, we had a ward party on the 23rd with the 25th ward, and theirs was legit.  I should have taken pictures.  They had an.... mmmm.... think it was a Model T Ford there (agh!  So pretty!!!!), and they had a dunk tank there.  And my companion had the pleasure of being able to dunk Bishop Lee in the tank with his suit coat.  Pretty awesome, no?  

And then the 37th ward held their party on the 24th.   We watched the John Tanner story (I can't remember what it's called, but it makes me cry.  It's such an amazing story!), and then had ice cream.  And they had a mock handcart.  It was pretty cool.

Um..... oh!  We're almost done teaching the Lawes family.  We just have half of the 5th lesson left to teach them, so we're really excited. :)

And.... yeah.  The second half of the week we didn't really do anything, because Sister Keyser got the stomach flu (yuck!).  But hey!  Everyone was saying that I was bound to get it, but I haven't yet. :)  I'm pretty happy about that, and plan to keep it that way.

And news on Mary.....

she was supposed to get baptized Friday.  And then she started smoking again.  So it's been pushed back a couple of weeks.  Again.

ONE DAY SHE'LL BE BAPTIZED.  I KNOW IT.  I have complete and total faith that one day she'll be baptized.  We just got to get that darn adversary off of her for a couple of weeks.  But you can see why he works so hard on her, because she truly has one of the most valiant spirits I have ever seen.  If she can just keep her two feet on the ground, she would more than likely be a huge threat to Satan's kingdom.  Because her faith is unwavering.

And... oh, yeah.  I got to make homemade soap and lip balm this week for a lady who is going to throw a Doterra party soon and needed help making products with oils in them.  It was pretty fun.

Other than that, there's been a lot of studying going on from being stuck at home.  Since Friday, I've read from Judges 14 and just reached 2 Samuel today.  Crazy, right?  And Deborah from Judges has become one of my role models.  She was a freaking military leader for the Israelites!  (A "judge" was a military leader noted for their faith in the Lord and often delivered Israel out of the hands of their oppressors when they first reached the Promised Land.)  How can she not me an inspiration for woman, that they can still be strong in the Lord, and stand for whats right and fight for it and protect it?  And going in hand with that is Jael, who, in the same chapter, killed the captain of the oppressors.   Took care of sin, right on the spot.  With a hammer and a nail. (For those of you interested in reading, it's Judges 4.) Granted, we don't have to be as violent as these two had to be, but the war with sin is waged every day in our hearts, and we must be bold and daring, like these two women were, if we are to win against it.

Anyways, it's been a busier week.  And I'm seeing the result of hard work-- if you work hard, you'll find the work to fill your day.  And if you don't find the work, if you still make the time productive it will feel like your time has been worth it.

And... yeah.  That's it!  Hope all of you are doing well, and enjoy your week!  Keep your faith strong-- it will provide a good rock for you to stand on.

Love,

Sister Empey

July 21, 2014 - I'm scotch tape I'm so free of anything!

Congrats to those of you who get the reference.  

So.... we're trying to keep busy.  And we do, to an extent.  We do a lot of service for the ward members.  Like this week, we helped Sister Kitley in the 25th ward with her backyard, pulling out weeds and putting in gravel.  It was nice to do some hard work. :)  And I did the work without getting sunburned!!!!!  Even though I forgot to put on sunscreen!!!!  I'm pretty happy about that.  Kind of shows you how often I work outside. :)

We met a potential investigator this week!  She's a friend of Sister Steelman from the 25th ward, who is... the Relief Society President I think.  Anyways, Sister Steelman brought her friend Jane to the Come and See program the Stake holds, which is basically a small tour of the church and about the different programs we have in the Church.  She was really nice, and I told her to give us a call if she ever needed anything, so I'm hoping that she will.

We also met this lady named Deborah from the 19th ward.  She had the discussions about 20 years ago, but the missionaries I guess went through them really fast, and she's fallen inactive. So when she went to take the temple prep classes, she didn't seem to understand some of the basic concepts, so we've been called in to re-teach the discussions and help her out.  It'll be a little hard, because she LOVES to talk, and is probably a little ADD, but I'm excited to help her out.

And we met with a part-member family this week, the Potters.  They're really fun.  They're a blended family, and the oldest son isn't baptized, apparently because his dad doesn't approve or something like that.  But they're an awesome family.  I hope we get to get to know them more!  And better!  I actually got along well with the son, thanks to Dad and his love for WWII.  He loves learning about WWII, and he likes to read.  needless to say, we got along pretty well.  I hope we can get him to take the lessons again!  That would be AWESOME!! :D

And... yeah.

Oh!

We've also been teaching the Lawes family.  They're all members, except for the foster child, Sierra, who they're adopting.  She's 8 years old, and is super sweet.  Well, they got news that they're going to be able to adopt her sooner than planned, and so the adoption could go through by August 14th!  And they've invited us to go to the temple when they all get sealed, which is super awesome. :)  They're such a sweet family.  I'm really excited for them. :)

No news from Juan.  I think I've mentioned him before.  He's Bishop Kempf's neighbor.  We contacted him a couple of weeks ago, and he said he would be interested in taking the discussions, but we haven't heard back since.  But I know that he's going through the process of getting a job as... a correctional officer, I think.  So he's probably really busy.  I just hope that we hear from him soon-ish.  He seemed pretty golden. :)

Anyways, I love you all!  And as the Lord reminds Joshua, several times, "Be strong, and of a good courage"!  

Do good!

Sister Empey

PS-- Pictures from last week!

My Octopus Garden cupcakes.  (I was in a Beatles mode.  I wanted to listen to their music so bad last week!)

And here's Sister Keyser holding the baby bird we found.  Aren't they cute?! :)

And... I saw this at a members home.  I sort of want this for my own home when I get back. :P

Love y'all! <3

July 14, 2014 - You're in a dead zone now.....

Anyone remember those commercials?  Where people would be like "why isn't my phone working?!" and some weird dude would be all "You're in a dead zone now...."  and it was like a cheesy horror flick with flickering lights and all?

Well, being on a mission, that line has a whole new meaning.  There is very little to do here.  By definition, our area would be called a "dead area".

But that means that there is a lot of work to do. :)

But, despite the fact that the work is "dead" here, we had a pretty eventful week.

So, first off, we may have picked up a couple of new investigators, who are Bishop Kempf's neighbors.  We talked to a guy named Juan, who doesn't live there, but he's over there a lot with his girlfriend, Jennifer.  He said that she wasn't really available at the moment, but when we asked if he would like to know more about the church, he agreed to learn more, and said that he would invite Jennifer and her mom to join in too!  That was pretty exciting. :)  He said that he's had a lot of friends go on missions, so he's curious to know more about the church.  Totally cool, right?  And he seems pretty genuine about wanting to learn, so we'll see where that goes.

So... I feel bad, because I forgot my camera at home, but on Wednesday night, we went and made cupcakes with a reactivating member, Sister Hale.  It was super fun!  We met with her last week and saw that she decorated cakes, and asked if we could learn from her, and she agreed!  They were lots of fun to make, and she's letting us keep them to give to people.  So we're using them as thank-you gifts for members and as just a little gift for some of the less-actives and (one day) investigators.  So we're going to do that every Wednesday night.  We're pretty stoked.  Like I said, I wish I had my camera to show you guys the cupcakes I decorated.  It was pretty fun, and they looked cute. :)

Oh, we also lost the car on Wednesday.  Talk about a bitter-sweet moment.  Sister Keyser got a call on Tuesday from the doctors office saying that she was now clear to walk, and since our area is a walking area.... Elder Short called us up and asked for the car back.  So we handed it back to him on Wednesday.  Like I said, bitter-sweet.  I don't mind walking all that much, and it's good to have more interaction with people outside, but it's nice to have the independence of a car.  And the air conditioning.  The air conditioner was nice.  But if we're walking, that means that Sister Keyser's knee is healing up, which is good too.  Means that she won't be sent home. :)

And.... yeah.  OH!  We also found a baby bird last night on the sidewalk as we were walking.  We ended up taking it home to Sister Mays (the person we live with), and called animal control, who gave us the number for a lady that rescues birds.  So, we took it to her.  Like I said, I wish I had my camera with me to show you pictures of it.  It was really cute. :)

And I sang yesterday in 37th's Sacrament Meeting (joy).  Last week, Sister Hull, who is in charge of music, came up to us and asked us if either of us sang.  And I was all like ".... yeah... I do....", and so I was scheduled in to sing.  She apologized, like, a thousand times for it being short notice, but I didn't mind it too much.  I just ended up singing "Lord, I would Follow Thee."  And it went pretty good too.  I just wish it had sounded as good as when I was practicing.  Oh well.  One day.  And I'm apparently am going to sing in 25th ward too in a couple of weeks.  So yeah, I'm being used well here, with giving talks and teaching parts of classes (we taught part of Young Women's last week.), and now singing in Sacrament meeting.  Crazy, right?  Not that I'll complain-- anything to tell someone to come to church.  "Hey!  You should come!  I'm doing _____ at church this week!  I'd like some support from you!"  Smart, right?

Anyways, that's pretty much it.  Other than that, we've gone through the ward directories twice to try to contact less-active members, and we've resorted to tracting this past week.  We're hoping to turn that around soon.  It's not effective.  At all.  We're going to try a different approach this week I think.

Well, I love y'all and hope all is well.  Be safe, and keep the faith!

Love,

Sister Empey

July 7, 2014

Hello,

No weekly email this week.  There isn't anything to report.

Hopefully more next week,

Love, 

Sister Empey

June 30, 2014 - New Area

Wow.  Switching to a new area is WEIRD.

I'll sit there at the beginning of the morning, and think: "Oh!  It's ______day!  I get to see.... oh, wait, never mind."

The rest of my p-day last week wasn't too crazy-- 

Sister Happy-happy and Sister Gray stayed at our place until about 9, since they were staying at the mission home that night, but they were having meetings. 

... the two were fascinated with what I had in my luggage.  Like the fact that I had a lot of tuna.... and the fact that I can (still) fit in my luggage.

Speaking of fitting into odd places....

In Emmett, Jayme, a recent convert, has a dog cage, and, well....

maybe not one of my smartest moments, but certainly one of my funnest. :)

Anyways, the end of my Monday was sort of chill.  Just unpacking, and having fun with Sister Keyser, Happy-happy, and Gray.

OH!  So, first week here in Nampa, and I've already given a talk, and one of the wards has asked me to sing.  And both wards know that I can sing.  Or at least the people who want to know that kind of information do.  And we did sharing time yesterday as well.  I get the feeling that we're well utilized in the wards here...  but my talk went well.  I did it based off of Acts 10:34-44, when Peter is first teaching the Gentiles, and Sister Keyser did hers on Preach my Gospel.  A lot of people really appreciated them. 

And.... I'm trying to think of what else....

Oh!  So, we have one investigator, her name is Sierra Laws.  She's the 8-year old foster child of some members, and she wants to be baptized, but we have to wait for the Laws to finish adopting her, which won't be finished until she turns 9, so we're teaching her the lessons now.  She's a really sweet girl.

Then there's the Millers.  Brother Miller is a recent convert, and is really nice.  And his wife is really sweet too, and she owns a vintage shop online.  And oh my goodness the clothes that she has are AMAZING!!!!  She has clothes back from the 1800's all the way up to the 1980's.  It's so AWSESOME.  I got like, an hour tour of all of her clothes.  I swear that's like, the only place I'll shop when I get home.  Actually, not really, but, you know, it was so awesome to look at. 

Then there's the Vasi Family.  They're Tongan, and are pretty nice.  They always make food for us while we're there.  I get the feeling we can't escape without something in our hands.  The mom and the oldest daughter are completely inactive, and all the rest of the kids aren't members.  Right now, we're mostly just being their friends, and inviting the daughter back to church, and they're a really nice family.

Below are some pictures of families from my area:

Dingeldien Family

The Puccio's,

The Valdez Family

 Jayme

The Earl Family

And... yeah.  That's all I can think of for now.

I'm sorry it's another short week!  I just don't know what else to write!

I love and miss y'all, and hope everything is going awesome. :)

Love,

Sister Empey