An Email and Photos From a Wonderful Member!

"Dear families of Sister Johnson and Sis Latham - 

My name is Sis Jill Pearson and I was able to spend some time with your daughters today.  they are living here in our ward in Lake Point, which is a small rural community about 20 minutes west of Salt Lake.  We are in the Stansbury Park Stake.  (I love the missionaries and I love missionary moms.)

I had taken Sis Cross who was being transferred out of our area and your daughters were coming in.  I met Sis Johnson in the parking lot of a church building in Salt Lake where a large group of missionaries had  parked many mission cars and were unloading and loading as each one found out where they were being transferred to and making the switches necessary.  It was fun to watch - missionaries were helping other missionaries unload , carrying luggage and loading up things into another vehicle.  The assistants asked Sis Cross how she had gotten there because they didn't have a car for the new sisters to use and they will be sharing a car with another set of sisters in our stake.  So they needed a ride back out to their area after their training meeting.  I told them I could come back for them.
Sis Johnson wasn't sure where to put her belongings but since I was coming back for her and her new companion, we loaded up her stuff in my van.  In all the confusion, when she went back to the car she had come in, her one suitcase was missing and her box of food.  She found her bag quite quickly, but the box of food was still missing when I left - but they had hopes of finding it by the time everything was sorted out. 
I went back a few hours later and these two had just been introduced.  The new missionaries were asked to share why they were serving a mission.  Sis Latham was called up to the podium and she said  she had always admired the missionaries and always wanted to be one!  Then Pres Hansen got up and said Sis Latham your trainer will be Sis Johnson and you will be serving in Stansbury Park.

A short while later the meeting came to an end and everyone scattered to find their luggage and we loaded Sis Lathams luggage into my van and drove to their new area. Sis Johnson's box of food was never recovered. Their meetings had gone later, so by the time we got out here it was 4:50 pmand we got to their apartment which is in the basement of a members home - she's a single sister, Sis Cox.  We got their stuff in the apartment and Sis Johnson found the area book and instruction Sis Cross had left them and found they had a dinner appointment in 10 minutes and a couple appointments that evening - one with an investigator and then with a few ward mission leaders.  Sis Johnson instructed Sis Latham to get her scriptures and Preach my Gospel and they would be teaching The Restoration lesson this evening and Sis Latham would be able to invite the individual to baptism!  Then we were out the door and I took them to their dinner appointment at a members home.  Then another member sister would drive them around from 6 until 9 and take them home.  In our stake we typically provide dinner and rides for the missionaries every night.  

While driving them to their dinner appointment I had them write down a list of groceries and I went and did some shopping for them - so they will have food to last them for breakfasts and lunches until their next pday! (Monday)  

Around 9:00 pm I got a phone call from the sister that was driving them around - she laughed and said, "This is Jan, I'm with the sisters and they aren't sure where they live, can you give me directions or an address!"  Oh I felt so bad, they were in such a hurry that we plum forgot to make sure they knew that - but all was well and they are safe and sound in a very nice, warm, clean, beautiful apartment!  They did just send me a text asking if I can take them to the store tomorrow and get some bedding for Sis Latham - which we will do tomorrow afternoon - but they were set up for tonight and going to bed to get some much needed rest.

We are excited to have them serving in our area.  It's a great place to be - many sweet members that will love them and make sure they are taken care of.

If you have any questions - email me anytime!!!  I have attached a few pics I took today - because as the mother of a missionary - there was nothing I loved more than getting more pics of my missionaries from people where they were serving.

love, Sis Jill Pearson"

(From what I can gather, Hannah's new companion/trainee is from the UK. We are excited to hear from her on Monday and lean more about her newest adventure!)

"The pic is of your daughter and her trainer - giving one last long hug and advice.  I was watching them for quite awhile.... it was a tough moment." 

"But then I took the one of her walking confidently back over to where we were unloading and loading my van." 

"Right after they first met" 

"unloading baggage at their new home away from home"

"In their new apartment"

Thank you Jill! What a gift your email and photos have been!

Final Week in Centerville

I didn't know for sure this would be my last week in Centerville, but this morning I found out that I'm going to be Whitewash Training in Stansbury (in the Tooele Zone). (Whitewash is referring to the fact that two missionaries are leaving two new are coming in.) Yup, I'm getting transferred. And I’m going to be training in an area I don't know with only one or two other people in the zone that I know, but hey! At least one of them is Elder Bickley! :P haha I don't sound nearly as stressed out in this letter as I am in real life. (She is a bit stressed, I could tell by another personal email she sent me. I told her she was going to do great!)

But I’ll tell you about some of the miracles that have happened this last week.

First, earlier in the week we got a phone call from the mission prep teachers asking us if we could teach the first lesson to an investigator they just found. We said yes and will be teaching her tonight!

Tue as well as going to the temple we saw the S*, Wed we were on exchanges AGAIN with Sister Burns. T* has been doing a bit better but she is still struggling with her health. But we helped her clean wed which she really appreciated. We also had to finally say goodbye to Sis.  K this week which was sad, but she's got some really good Elders in her area now and has lots of support from her ward. And we still have the rings. Sis. K gave Sister Weber the matching silver one and we gave Sis. K a CTR ring, she loved it! :)

So here is the big MIRACLE for the week. Friday we had a really great lesson with T* and the spirit was there super strong. We told him to set the Temple as his long term goal, and he agreed! Then we were supposed to have a lesson with a Possible Investigator but he wasn't home, of course. They kind of never are... but Sister Weber had a spiritual prompting that we couldn't leave the complex yet, so we ended up saying a prayer which led to knocking on a random door...because the spirit said to, of course :) All we know is that we planted a seed. Then, we felt like we needed to see someone else so we prayed and went over to R*'s house, the 9 year old we teach who wants to get baptized but her parents won't let her yet. But we went over there and cemented our Temple Square lesson for sat night, shared a message, and her mom sat in on the lesson! AND they committed to family prayer! :D it was awesome. 

OK. So then all of Saturday we could feel the adversary working on us because we'd had had such a good day and for part of it we thought the Temple Square lesson wasn't going to go through. We called and called to give them the address and they didn't pick up. We drove over and they weren't home. We prayed and decided to leave a note on their door telling them the address and letting them know we'd meet them down there. On our way down, they called and an hour later we were talking about Eternal Families and feeling the spirit (At temple Square). At the end of the night, we were able to add both her parents as investigators! A family will now be taught and how great would that be if they were eventually sealed together in the Temple! It’s great! 

Then there was a bunch of church yesterday, Sister Taylor had a meeting in Salt Lake so we hung out with a family in Sister Webers old area, Jenni Davis  :) sorry for the short letter, gotta go pack and I’ll tell you next week about all my new adventures!!! :) LOVE

With Sis. Pratt and Webber (From Sis. Pratt's blog)

At Temple Square

Pretty sure that this is overlooking Centerville.

Beautiful Sunset

I Love Being a Missionary!

So of course, as usual, this is been a fun week! 

Monday I got a package from mom with lots of fun things, and Ella even sent me a rainbow loom bracelet and two Tangled squinkies! :P We got to play ultimate and volleyball for a zone activity which was a blast too! every pday is so crazy and packed, we NEVER have time to finish everything, and Sister Taylor wasn't feeling good either. WE ended up having another NML with S* that night and we're going to get her involved in family history, which will rock!!! 

Tuesday... everyone was sick again! yay! Sister Taylor and Weber (and sort of me a little...) were sick with another terrible cold! So we were in for a lot of the day but since I was feeling the best I went on splits with a laurel to make it to a few lessons (one with the S* who are returning members and then to a correlation). 

That night was also E*'s birthday! E* is the less active woman living with recent convert S* and her family. we got her a scented candle and Spiderman stickers and she loved them! :) She just lit up and we always love seeing her. it will be sad to leave this area if that does happen at transfers, but I trust the Lord to put me wherever and with whoever He sees fit.

This week we also saw T*, who is still struggling with health and emotional problems after her weight loss surgery and family drama :( but we got her to get a blessing from the Zone Leaders and it helped her a ton and she was at church on Sunday for the first time after her surgery!! it was great to see her out of her house and on her feet :)

we had a temple square lesson planned for Saturday with R* and her family but it fell through so hopefully this sat it will work out.

Sister K* moved to Bountiful but we got to finally see her this week! she is doing really well and finishing up the divorce, which is really good for her. But alas, we have to transition her to Elders Kirby and Price who are over that area but I feel peace and know she's going to be OK. :)

T* is doing awesome too! We were reading in the Book of Mormon and he read something about the 12 Tribes of Israel and asked and then Patriarchal blessings got brought up and he hasn't gotten one yet, so the bishop is going to talk to him about him getting his! :D it makes us so happy seeing the progress he has made, even since I’ve been here.

Sat we were on exchanges with Sister Pratt, who serves in North Salt Lake... yeah, the one with all the apostles who live there and go to church there... haha they've met lots of them but here in UT, it’s really not even that big of a deal. We were busy all day and it was awesome because I learned a lot from her and she really helped our companionship grow closer. And when she was here, we finally contacted a person who we hadn't caught at home yet and added her as an investigator! it was a rocking day because we haven't added one in a few weeks! :)

Sunday was busy as usual with three sacrament meetings and driving back and forth to Bountiful for STL stuff and a lesson and member lessons and no breathing! :D haha jk, but it’s always SUPER busy GO GO GO. 

Monday! We were on exchanges again but with Sister Togagae (don't try to say it haha) from Samoa. She is serving in Sister Webber’s old area, two minutes away :) we also finally contacted someone whose door we'd probably knocked on 20+ times and had a NML with S* and a lesson with the R*! 

Pday was today because we went to the Salt Lake City temple, which is the best! We feel so pumped and ready for a new week and ready to take on a challenge! :) love you and see you next week! Haha also, Sister Pratt loves scrapbooking stamping etc. and knows Lisa Johnson... of course, who doesn't!? She loved all the cards mom sent because I always have them out so I can look at their beautifulness :)

spam musubi's for Sis weber when she was sick :)

we got heart attacked (You can see why mom isn't allowed to send treats)

Sisters in their District 

Breathtaking view

Looks beautiful today at the Salt Lake Temple!

District Leader and his companion

Such Beautiful Sister Missionaries!

When it Rains, it Pours ! :)

I have had a pretty awesome week! It started off with a fantastically fun snowball fight! In our cars we have basically big brother in a box, the Tiwi systems which track our speed and such. the zone had to meet at our stake center for them to be recalibrated, but the Elder who was in charge of doing it was late... and it had just snowed... so of course I had to throw a snowball at Sister Weber :) and then the Sisters were throwing them while the Elders were hiding in their cars... and then everyone joined it! It was great! :D haha It went on for almost an hour while we waited for Elder Tucker and it was just a blast!

But one of the best parts of this week was... the rain! I didn't realize how much I actually love the rain, but it was a tender mercy not only because I love the feeling and it reminded me of home, but because it washed away the inversion and we can actually see the mountains for now! :) It’s beautiful and it just keeps coming! It’s been in the 40's the last few days and it’s just felt SOOO GOOD! 

Another fun thing I got to do this week was go on exchanges in Cannon, a ghetto neighborhood in SLC, and one of the awesome parts... we were on bikes! And it was raining! :D it was completely different from our area because we actually could talk to people who were non-members on the streets! But I am still sore from riding a bike because it’s been so stinking long! :P haha just to show you how ghetto it is, here is a fun fact! Their Stake Center parking lot has the highest crime rate in UT! haha yup! It was awesome!!! 

On pday we got to play Frisbee with a few of the elders and Sisters and went over and saw M* again (the one who said "your mom’s Lisa Johnson?!" :P) she is awesome and will hopefully get rebaptized soon, she is planning on it! :) We also met with the S* family this week and got them to church finally! It was awesome to see them there because they both really need to and know they need to. We're getting close to finishing the G* New Member Lessons, they are just the cutest. They are really smart boys too.

Wed Sister Weber wasn't feeling good and Sister Taylor had a leadership meeting so we hung out at home for most of the day. 

Thursday was a day full of NML's though! We had lessons with S*, M* (who was baptized before I got here), and S*! we had another one planned but the cancelled last minute. We also picked up Grandma some flowers because she turned 89 on Friday! it was the cutest! her family threw her a surprise party and she had two cakes- one with 44 candles and the other with 45 :P she is the sweetest lady ever, seriously :) 

Friday we had our district mtg and Sister Taylor had to go to cannon for theirs as well, so Sister Weber and I did most of the weekly planning by ourselves, which went well! :) and then we had a lesson with T* and we talked a little bit about Patriarchal blessings, so he might be getting his soon! (and he was at Sunday school as well as sac meeting this week again! :D) 

Sat was the exchanges in cannon and we also had a lesson with R* that night. something that makes me sad is that we may have to drop her soon because she's not keeping her commitments. She hasn't been reading the BoM, so our last resort is taking her and her parents to Temple Square this Sat. and hopefully they will finally let her get baptized!!

We also are now working with another Ex member, her name is M* and she rocks! :) she totally knows it’s true, she's just had a tough life. 

Sunday we got a call from Sister Holbrook and Juarez in Bountiful and they needed someone for exchanges, basically a fill in for Sister Juarez because she was sick, so I got to go! :D it was fun and the cool part? we were in the same building that President Eyring's ward is we almost went to his ward... and he's there every week! that would have been nuts! but his house is just across the street and what’s cool is that it’s nothing special or fancy, just cute! :) oh, and of course we drove by the Bountiful temple and got a picture with the Tardis that hangs around there! :D it was AWESOME! y'all are just jealous...seriously. We were supposed to have our lesson with C* and A* and G* (the one that is supposed to get  married) yesterday, but C* had a fever, so we had to cancel. But we still ended up having a lesson with A* which was mostly talking about how she is doing, which isn't great. We ended up going over there and both of them got blessings and the spirit was awesome! Brother Lindquist (the awesome friendshipper, actually their whole family...) gave him the blessing and commanded his body to be healed! it was intense and incredible! :D

So that was my week. mostly ups, a few downs. I still am a little sick but getting much better. 

Keep the faith and love you all lots! the church is true! :D ♥

The Bountiful Temple

Hannah... Traveling in the Tardis. I told her to come home and visit. Nope... not gonna happen.

Our Lovely Missionary!

An Awkward Week... :P

my new favorite quote from one of our zone leaders: "what's life without awkward moments?!" and its so true.

Our week was somewhat full of them, but by now, I should be used to it. Sometimes we get called Elders...thats awkward. Or when almost all of your appointments cancel on you and you have time to fill. I guess the good part of that is that this week is super full! :)

Last Monday was pretty chill. we went to station park in farmington to get a few things and I got a new cardigan! :D YAY! whats life without more clothes! 

Sunday I had started to feel really sick and monday was like that too... so tuesday, I couldn't function and I had to stay in all day. WHICH REALLY STUNK :( it was good we were in a threesome because sister taylor and weber could go out and do some missionary work while I stayed home with Grandma, but I missed seeing all of the people I love and I couldn't taste anything! ug, it was frustrating. At least I got a little extra sleep and a slurpee though! :P That same night... EXCHANGES! its extra fun when you're sick, but the next morning at least I could function.

Sister Poutu came to our area with sister taylor and me (i was going to go to Bountiful...but I was sick.) We actually ended up going over to bountiful for a few hours though for a Leadership Training for sister taylor, but then we were productive in Centerville! we saw some people that we had been missing and had dinner with one of the ward mission leaders. We stopped by C* and A*'s house, the ones who have to get married. We haven't been in a lesson with them for awhile, but we set up a lesson for the 9th. Exchanges are actually pretty fun most of the time :) 

Thursday we had another DLT but in Cannon (a SLC neighborhood). Sister K* called us and told us that she is in the process of moving but we still don't know if its in or out of the stake boundries :( boo. but we'll probably still be working with her even if she's not in our stake. We found out that one of our investigators moved out of the house he was living in. He was living with his ex wife to help take care of their kids, including the two 9 year old twin boys who are recent converts...but he's gone. BOO! 

Friday we had our awesome district meeting and then weekly planning... then a super crazy night! one of the WML's (ward mission leaders) decided instead of setting an appt for 6pm and 7pm like he is supposed to, to set up three appts in that time and we had other appts we already had to get to and he didn't have sisters to go with us for splits! O.o eeek! but we got it kinda figured out... then realized that there were two of us and we were going to T*’s home, who is a single male. That means you need three females... AWESOME! we found someone though, a sister who is temporarily home from her mission in Argentina for health reasons... she rocks! Her name is Hermana Twitchell. T* is making a lot of progress. Lately he's just been coming to sacrament meeting but we commited him to coming to sunday school on sunday...and he did! it made us so happy! :) 

Saturday... we were on exchanges again! haha sister weber and I got to spend the day with sister juarez from California. She is sweet and only a convert of a year and a half, but has such a strong testimony, its fantastic! we saw lots of people and met with R*, our nine year old investigator. We taught her about testimonies and set up a time to go with her and her parents to Temple Square, which we are really excited about! we also had an awesome dinner that night with a partly less active family, the P* who are really awesome. The food was delicious and when one of the sisters asked the mom where she was from, one of the three year old boys said, "i'm from costco! and DI!" haha it was so adorable! we also visited our new convert S*... its really funny because they are HUGE, and I mean HUGE broncos fans... we will be seeing them later this week... :) haha it should be an interesting situation :P hehehe.

Sunday we were super busy going to lots of church! and fasting of course... I was hungry all day. One of the reasons we fasted was for A* dad to let her get baptized because he still doesn't think she's old enough to choose for herself. But that night we had dinner with a nice family, the Allens. If you look at the author of the text for hymn 143, it will say Penelope Moody Allen. yup, thats who we ate with! it was pretty cool, super sweet lady... they were missionaries in seattle a few years ago too! :) Then I got to spend some time playing piano while sister taylor was doing STL stuffs, which was so nice and relaxing :) Its been a great week, even with all of its awkward moments and awkward people we met... but the church is true and I love it with all my heart! :) Keep the Faith! ♥