Jan 26, 2015

Guess what?  Finished another puzzle. :)  It was an easy peasy 550 piece this time. :)

Yup.  Didn't take long at all.  It was quite fun, actually. :)

Wow.  This week.  Um...... yeah. :)

We started out with FHE with the Higleys, and Lucy give the lesson this week.  Even though she struggles with English, she gave a very good lesson about choices!  The Spirit was very strong there, and I'm proud of Lucy for putting together such a good lesson. :)

On Tuesday, we saw the Marsalas, which was perfect timing-- the next day Sister Marsala finally had her baby!  Her name is Carlie.  Anyways, we had fun with the Marsalas, joking about how the 10th ward has a Mormon Mafia, discussing myths about Mormons, and wrapping it all up with a thought about how we can always be a disciple of Christ.  They're great. :)

We had a good discussion on Wednesday with Glenda Price.  She's a less active member in 3rd ward who wants to come back, but has a Word of Wisdom problem.  She's a really sweet lady.  She wants to quit drinking and smoking, but isn't able to travel out to Nampa.  So we decided that we would get the booklets for the addiction recovery program and would go through it with her, and we're each going to give up something.  I'll let you know what I give up next week.  If we're able to start this week.  But yeah, we had a great discussion with her.  I have full confidence that she will be able to get over this with trust in the Lord.

On Thursday, we saw Sister Nava, who I haven't seen since I came to 3rd ward.  Oh, she looked so tired!  She's been through a lot.  But she wants me to cut her hair. :)  I can't wait to do so. :)  Hopefully, we will be able to see her more now that we know that she's not going to New York anytime soon.

Friday we went to Caldwell for an eye appointment for Sister Gray, and we ended up being out of commission for the rest of the day.  Sister Gray and western medicine don't work well together.  (Did I mention that Sister Gray is from American Samoa?  No?.... well... now you know.)

Saturday was really busy!  We had a lesson with the Hellyers, which went really well!  It was about tithing and fasting.  Which, looking back, I think we also did that the week before.  Oops.  Oh well, repetition is good.  (Did I mention that I've been a little scrambled the past couple of weeks trying to get Sister Stevens home and getting a new companion?  Yup. That's sort of a given.)  Anyways, the lesson went smoothly-- they just sat there and listened and everything was ON TOPIC!  Do you know how RARE that is with the Hellyers?!  It was crazy!  But it was good. :)  We then saw the Taylors and finished the last lesson with them on Eternal Marriage.  It was good, talking about how Eternal Marriage is supposed to strengthen the family against the adversary.  It also gave us a chance to learn a little more of their back story. :)  (They met at a collage ward. :) )  Anyways, they still want us to come over, so we still plan to visit... pretty much every Saturday still.  (But sadly, he didn't come to church Sunday.  No one did.  Bummer.)  We took a quick jog over to the Pitts after that, because I was going to cut Sister Pitts hair, and they didn't answer!  So, we tried calling and texting her, at first with no response.  So we went to check up with Sister Boatwright, who has a lot of trials in her life right now.  And as we're visiting, we get a text from Sister Pitt saying sorry-- she had gone hiking!  Oh, I was jealous.  But that's okay.  (I just want the weather to warm up so that we can play outside.  That would be super nice.)  After we finished our visit with Sister Boatwright, we went over to Karysma's house to check up on how she was doing.  So, after chatting for a while, we set up a time to start the New Member Lessons, which her mom agreed to sitting down in them!  YAY!!!  And do you want to know what else?  HEATHER WOODS CAME CLOSE TO BEING BAPTIZED WHEN SHE WAS LIVING IN UTAH!!!!!!!  So, we're hoping that she'll come around and want to be baptized again. :)  Also, we're going to have a bake-off with Karysma to see who makes the better cake. :)  I'm excited. :)

There wasn't really anything exciting about Sunday, except that we got a referral!  There's this less active lady in the 10th ward, Faith Barks (who I haven't even seen on the records), and her daughter is interested in taking the lessons!  So we're planning to contact them tomorrow.  I'm super excited!

Well, that's all for this week.  I love y'all!  Keep the faith!

Love,

Sister Empey

January 19, 2015 - How to Kill a Companion 101

.... things got a little bit violent this week.  I just couldn't take Sister Stevens anymore.  Sorry I let you down.

Totally kidding.  But Sister Stevens is heading home tomorrow. :(  I've really have enjoyed the past 4 1/2 months with her.  I'm gonna miss her, but we'll see each other again. :)

Needless to say, this week has been crazy.  It feels like the beginning of the week was like, a month ago.

Um..... Monday.  Right.  We taught the Chestnuts about Baptism and Confirmation.  I can't remember how it went though.  And I have no idea what our lesson.... oh!  Just kidding.  Joseph gave the lesson for the FHE about how we are divine Children of our Heavenly Father.  It was a great lesson!  

On Tuesday, we went and saw Carol, mostly just to check in and see how she was doing.  And then we saw Glenda Price that night.  I remember that it was a really good discussion.  I just don't remember what it was about.

Okay, I remember a little more about Wednesday.  I kissed a fish...

This is the Wood's hollowed-out puffer fish.  I have been obsessed with this from the day we walked into their home.  

Anyways, so, we went to the Woods to finish up preparations for Karysma's baptism this week.  As we've been planning for Karysma's baptism, Brother Woods has been ADAMANT on having his brother do the baptism.  We really wanted Brother Woods to do it, because he's a Priest in the Priesthood, but he kept turning the offer down, saying that his brother was more righteous, and would be better for doing the baptism.  BUT!  BUT!!!!!!.......

WHEN WE WENT OVER ON WEDNESDAY HE TOLD US THAT HE HAD TALKED WITH THE BISHOP AND THAT HE WAS GOING TO BAPTIZE KARYSMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy cow, do you know what kind of news this was to us?!  I was throwing a party in my head!!!!  Of course, I kept myself a little more composed than what was going on in my head.  but it was super exciting to hear that Brother Woods had finally agreed to baptize Karysma. :)

Thursday was interesting as well.  It was Sister Stevens Temple Day, so I spent the day with Sisters Branham and Wasden in the 1st ward in Kuna.  It was fun.  I just don't remember anyone I visited with them.  OH!  Except Wyatt.  I remember him. :)  He's an investigator, and we talked to him about keeping his commitments and putting more form into his prayers.  He was awesome. :)

Friday.  OH, FRIDAY.

We had a combined District Meeting.  It wasn't a zone meeting, even though it might as well have been.  But it was fun, and crazy.

This is how it started off: with Elder Jeans wearing Sister Stevens coat.  He looks surprisingly good in it.  Haha!!

The district meeting itself was nice, and had a wonderful spirit to it.  We talked about Prophets and about what the difference is between Testimonies and Conversion.  It was very nice.  And then Sister Wasden and I sang "Each Life that Touches Ours for Good" for Sister Stevens and Elder Christensen, both who were leaving for home.  They were really touched by it.  I'm glad that I could give that to them.

So, the sad thing was that Sister Gutierrez had to leave for home.  But the good news is that Sister Donner came in!  She became one of my best friends while I was in Kuna.  So I had to get a picture with her and Sister Stevens.  Elder Jeans photo-bombed.

And then Saturday.  SO BUSY.

First off, Transfer Calls.  Ugh.

So, I knew the I would be staying in Kuna, because I had an interview with President.  But I was still worried about the companion part of transfers.  Turns out I got someone super cool for my companion.  I GOT SISTER GRAY AS MY COMPANION, THE COOLEST SAMOAN SISTER IN THE MISSION!!!!  

And then, after having breakfast with our district to discuss our transfer call, we went to Karysma's baptism. :D

Ohmigoodness, look at how adorable they are!!!!!  I'm so proud of both of them!!!!! :D

The baptism went really nice. Brother Wood said the baptismal prayer perfectly, karysma only had to be dunked once, and President and Sister Cannon came to see the baptism!!! :)  I'm so grateful that it went well. :) And not only that, but there were potential investigators at the baptism, including Karysma's mom and brother!  :D  Karysma is amazing.  I'm so proud of her.  It's been amazing to see how much she's grown as she's faithfully committed and kept the Lords commandments.

The rest of Saturday was mostly just saying good bye to people for Sister Stevens.

So, Sunday.  We gained word that Jack, a friend of ours that we met while walking, wanted us to stop by before Sister Stevens left.  Well, it turns out that is wife, Terri, is a less-active member!!!  Crazy, right?!  And they want us to keep visiting!!!!  I'm so happy that they trust us so much with just the one visit.  I can't wait to see how visiting them will be beneficial for them.

Well, that's it for this week!  WHEW.  I'm super excited for this upcoming transfer!  I love y'all, and y'all keep the faith!

Love,

Sister Empey

January 12. 2015

Ummm.....  hey! :)

So, Monday night.  We taught the Chestnuts the Ten Commandments, with the hand signals.  The kids were cute and funny about them!  They're a great family, we're just hoping we can convince them that their animals will be okay for one hour if they come to Sacrament meeting.  (They have a little goat farm on the outskirts of Kuna.  We want to go out there someday. :) )

If I can be honest, I don't even remember Tuesday that well.  We had our last lesson with Karysma (yay!), and we went to Meet the Mormons.  One of our ward missionaries brought a potential investigator!  His name is Garrett, and we're hopefully going to teach him the first lesson tthis coming Thursday.

And on Wednesday, um.... yeah.  I dunno, I was just kind of having a hard day because I've been sick, so my energy levels aren't up to par, and I was feeling like a slacker, even though I couldn't really go out a ton.  And then, after dinner, the most miraculous text EVER:  Sister Taylor asked us to come over to their house for CHOCOLATE CAKE!!!!!!   Oh my goodness, talk about a LIFESAVER.  I totally needed a pick-me-up.  So we went over and had chocolate cake with the Taylors.  It was great. :)  We just sat and talked about nerdy stuff and church and what-not.  :)  I love the Taylors.  They're awesome. :)

And on Thursday, Karysma had her baptism interview!  So, her baptism has been moved to this Saturday, the 17, because that's when her uncle can come down, but we're so excited for it! :D  And she passed her interview.  Because we're awesome teachers.  Just kidding.  I have loved teaching Karysma.  It's been a great experience watching the Spirit work with her and help her develop a testimony of her own. :)  I'm so proud of her! :D

On Friday, we went to visit the Hellyers, and their daughter, Sally, was out!  So, we didn't give a lesson, but we had a nice discussion about prayer and charity.  And I sang for them.  Because that's what I do for them.  And Sally said that I sounded like an angel. :)  That was super sweet of her. :)

And then Friday evening we ate with the Marsalas.  We had a great discussion of how the Lord will use who we are to further his work, no matter what kind of personality we have.  The spirit was really great there.  I love the Marsalas, they are some awesomely solid recent converts. :)  (And hopefully Sister Marsala will have her baby this week!  Little Carlee is on her way!)

Um.... Saturday.  Right.  Ummm.... we just spent most of our time at the Assisted Living Center, since we haven't been able to go for a couple of weeks.  I love all the little old people to visit there. :)  They're all just so sweet.

On Sunday, 10th ward was eventful. :)  We got a new Relief Society President, and guess who it is?  SISTER JEPSEN!!!!!  I'm super excited for her.  She'll be great. :)  I LOVE working with Sister Jepsen.  And then later on, we taught the Laurels about the Godhead.  it was a really good lesson.  We spent the time talking about how we need to develop a relationship with all three members: Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.  It was a very sweet discussion with a very strong spirit.  I believe all the girls gained something from the lesson. :)

And to round out our day, we went and visited the Martin Girls.  :)  They're so CUTE!!!  No news about being able to be Baptized yet, but we're hoping soon. :)

Anyways, that's all for this week folks!  ONE MORE WEEK WITH SISTER STEVENS THEN SHE'S BEING SHIPPED OFF BACK TO TEXAS!!!!!!  Oh my goodness, the last 18 weeks have been fantastic. :)  I'm gonna miss her. :')  But my next companion will be just as awesome as she is.  Actually, probably not.  But I'm going to keep telling myself that.

I love y'all!  Keep your faith up!

Love,

Sister Empey

January 5, 2015 - A New Year

This is what I did all week:

The dragon puzzle was bought at a thrift store, so it was missing 13 pieces.  I was upset.  The Star Wars one was quite a bit easier.  It was 900 pieces less than the stupid dragon.

In case you haven't guessed yet, I was sick.  All stinking week long.  Have I ever mentioned how much I hate being sick?  Being cooped up in a house with nothing to do?  When you can't even pull your mind together to study for an hour?  As a result, I worked on the dragon puzzle Sister Stevens had bought several weeks ago and started.  By started I mean the outline pieces were separated out, with a small bit of them having been put together.  So it was almost like starting from scratch.

Anyways, here's how my week went, because I'm stubborn and will still go out as much as I can, even when I am sick.

Tuesday.  Tuesday was the day I finally caved and went to see the doctor for the cold I've been fighting for nearly 2 months.  And it was all downhill from there.  I simply stopped fighting the cold and am just letting it run it's course.  For the most part.  The doctor gave me some antibiotics, and ordered me to stay in bed and drink plenty of fluid.  So Tuesday I stayed home while Sister Stevens went out and taught some lessons.

The only thing I made it to on Wednesday was District Meeting.  Which was nice.  Other than that, home all night, drinking Martinellis.

Thursday I was home all day, and went to the Griggs house for dinner.  Then I went home and got right back into my pajamas.

I was feeling better on Friday.  So, we got to go to dinner AND 2 appointments!  YAY!  we visited the Hellyers and taught them the Word of Wisdom.  Surprisingly enough, Brother Hellyer didn't spend the entire time talking about how he needs to drink coffee for medical reasons, like he normally does in the other lessons.  It was a very nice, calm lesson.  We then invited them both to receive blessings of health, and they both agreed!  We also saw Karisma that night, and we're almost finished with lesson 5.  And guess what?!  SHE'S GONNA BE BAPTIZED NEXT SATURDAY!!!!!!  WHOOT!!!!!!!!  I'm so stinking excited for her!  It's been a long process, but she's almost there. :)  I can't believe that it's so close. :)  I'm so excited for her!!!!!

Anyways, Saturday we went to the Taylors and talked about missionary work and service, and emphasized how participating in missionary work and in service is an opportunity to serve for the Lord.  It was a really nice lesson where they both opened up about the ways they've served and about their missionary experiences.  It's neat how neither of them have served a mission, but they both have been involved in missionary work. :)  I love it!  It really does go to show that missionary work can be done by EVERYONE!!!!!!  Needless to say, awesome lesson, as always.  When is it NOT an awesome lesson with the Taylors?  Let's be honest.

And oh my goodness, SUNDAY.  Possibly the best day of my mission EVER.

So, I'm shaking hands with people at the chapel doors, like I do every week.  And Sister Taylor walks up to me ask asks if we have extra room on our bench because Brother Taylor is planning to come to church!  Of course, I'm screaming inside, thinking "Pft!  HECK YEAH WE CAN MAKE ROOM FOR Y'ALL!!!!!"  But, outside, I gave a much more polite "Well, of course we can do that."  And come he did!  He came in during the middle of the opening hymn!  YAY!

Sacrament meeting was great.  There were several amazing testimonies about the beauty of silence in testimony meeting, the joy we can have of having our children at church with is, and the simplicity of the gospel.  The spirit was very sweet and very strong.  But that wasn't even the best part.

At the end of Sacrament meeting, we were talking to Brother Taylor.  And he thanked us.  He thanked us for coming to their home, for us serving them and teaching them the discussions and bringing the Spirit into their home.  He thanked us for caring so much about him, and trying to help him out.  It was really a nice, special moment for both of us.  It was one of those moments that makes your mission worth it.

Then at the end of the night, we went to go visit the Martin girls, and they're going to try to ask their mom to be baptized again before Sister Stevens leaves!  How sweet is that?  I really hope that their mom will say "yes", if not now, then in the future.

Anyways, that's it for now.  I love y'all, and be safe in the winter weather!

Love,

Sister Empey

Reason #174 of how you know you're on a mission: You'll buy a box of cereal because the name of it is a scripture reference.