This past week was great! I think that yesterday was the best day I've had thus
far on my mission. Guess what happened? You'll never guess.... We actually
set a baptismal date with our investigator Rosemarie for Feb 16th! Crazy,
especially considering the fact that there hasn't been a baptism in the area for
over 8 months. I have been working so hard, and the Lord is really blessing us
here. It is amazing to see just how prepared some people are to receive the
gospel, and how it can be such a quick process. I really felt guided to knock
on her door just over a week ago, and now she is ready to get baptized. It's
awesome.
Not to leave you without a funny story for the week, get this: We go over to Rose Marie's and we figured we would take Sister Chokan and she could help fellowshipRose Marie since they are around the same age, early 60's. Just picture this for me please: we are sitting around the kitchen table and Rosemarie and Sister Chokan have found some common ground:
THEY HAVE BOTH HAVE/HAD BOYFRIENDS IN PRISON......
FOR ASSAULT.
Lovely. Just lovely.
As they are discussing the logistics of phone calls, letters, prison life,
falling in love with bad boys, etc. I am at a complete loss for words.
I have nothing to add to this pot of goodness, and neither does sister Tingey.
As I'm sitting in complete shock to everything I'm hearing
(patiently waiting for my turn to teach the plan of salvation),
the cat, Astro, is on my lap. Yes, for some reason every time I am
there he won't leave me alone. Me, the only one in the room that despises
animals. Go figure. Well, I've gotten accustomed to Astro sitting on my lap,
but just then something crazy happened. He started convulsing all over my lap
and coughing and wheezing. I must have looked like a deer in the headlights,
because Rosemarie said, "Oh he's fine... he's just coughing out hair balls...
just slap him on the back sweetie." OH MY GOSH. I can deal with a cat on my lap now, but helping a cat wheeze out hairballs is a different story. At this point in time I started wondering how a good girl like me got herself into this one. Missions are crazy. I would probably never have the opportunity to experience 75% of the situations I find myself in if it weren't for a mission.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Missions are really funny!
I never thought I would laugh so hard every day.
Here are a few things that have made me laugh this week:
1. We found a man that missionaries had spoken with about a year ago. He was
totally normal (at least I thought.) He has a nice little family, and lives in
a normal house. We were talking about God with him, and he was really confused.
We talked to him for about an hour trying to explain God's role in our lives.
He looked at us with complete confidence and sincerity and said, "I never told the other sisters this, but do you want to know what I really think? GOD IS AN
ALIEN AND WE ARE HIS SCIENCE EXPERIMENT." The sad thing is that he was
completely serious. We talked with him for a while longer, but he wouldn't
budge. As we left the house Sister Tingey and I fell onto the snow because we
started laughing so hard. IT's sad that he really believes that, but a good
story. Sister Tingey said it definitely makes top 5 crazy theories she's heard on her mission.
2. We tracted into a lady yesterday that was baptized, but left the church. We
asked her politely what her name was and she wouldn't give it to us, complaining
that the church kept tracking her down. She had this wild look in her eye as
yelled, "If Osama bin Laden was Mormon, you would have already found him!!!"
HAHAHAHA
3. The other day we tracted into a catholic deacon. I gave him a short little
shpill and he started screaming, "YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST!" I said,
"Sir, the central focus of our church is Jesus Christ." He replied with "THEY TELL YOU WHAT TO SAY!!!!" hahahaha. Big brother is watching.
4. We were teaching a lesson at Rosemarie and Tina's the other day. Rosemarie
loves her cat, Tina loves her dogs. Rosemaries cat was climging all over me,
and Rosemarie told me to just love it. I was grossed out, but tried to pet it.
Eventually the cat made it's way to my shoulders and sat on top of my shoulders
for a good ten minutes. It was DISGUSTING. It was the nastiest thing I've ever
subjected myself to. At the same time, Tina's little dog was running around
with a mad case of diarrhea. hahahahahaha. Oh the joys of pets.
Here are a few things that have made me laugh this week:
1. We found a man that missionaries had spoken with about a year ago. He was
totally normal (at least I thought.) He has a nice little family, and lives in
a normal house. We were talking about God with him, and he was really confused.
We talked to him for about an hour trying to explain God's role in our lives.
He looked at us with complete confidence and sincerity and said, "I never told the other sisters this, but do you want to know what I really think? GOD IS AN
ALIEN AND WE ARE HIS SCIENCE EXPERIMENT." The sad thing is that he was
completely serious. We talked with him for a while longer, but he wouldn't
budge. As we left the house Sister Tingey and I fell onto the snow because we
started laughing so hard. IT's sad that he really believes that, but a good
story. Sister Tingey said it definitely makes top 5 crazy theories she's heard on her mission.
2. We tracted into a lady yesterday that was baptized, but left the church. We
asked her politely what her name was and she wouldn't give it to us, complaining
that the church kept tracking her down. She had this wild look in her eye as
yelled, "If Osama bin Laden was Mormon, you would have already found him!!!"
HAHAHAHA
3. The other day we tracted into a catholic deacon. I gave him a short little
shpill and he started screaming, "YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST!" I said,
"Sir, the central focus of our church is Jesus Christ." He replied with "THEY TELL YOU WHAT TO SAY!!!!" hahahaha. Big brother is watching.
4. We were teaching a lesson at Rosemarie and Tina's the other day. Rosemarie
loves her cat, Tina loves her dogs. Rosemaries cat was climging all over me,
and Rosemarie told me to just love it. I was grossed out, but tried to pet it.
Eventually the cat made it's way to my shoulders and sat on top of my shoulders
for a good ten minutes. It was DISGUSTING. It was the nastiest thing I've ever
subjected myself to. At the same time, Tina's little dog was running around
with a mad case of diarrhea. hahahahahaha. Oh the joys of pets.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Greetings from the coldest place I've ever set foot!
Cleveland, Ohio. Where to begin? I have been here for 7 days now. Here are some of the highlights of my first week in Brunswick.
My first full day in Ohio started with a drive to Kirtland. We got a personal tour of the Kirtland temple. It was amazing. We got to go to the attic where many revelations were received, and Carl Anderson got to give us most of the tour and so we talked about the importance of the Doctrine and Covenants and the revelations given in them, and the great significance of the Kirtland temple. We got to sit
in the chapel and read about when Jesus Christ visited Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdry in the temple. It was a very spiritual experience to be sitting in the temple in early morning, watching the sun come through the windows and thinking about the events that took place there. Afterwards, Carl asked me to get up and
lead everyone in "The Spirit of God" because the saints sang that song in the temple. It was an experience I'll never forget.
Let me tell you... I think that I had to start my mission in the bitter cold of January, because it's all going up hill from here. It has to. Saying that it is freezing is an understatement here. It is miserable outside. For the past three days it's been snowing (we are talking almost blizzard), and slushing cold rain. I spoke with a woman and she said that she's lived all over (she moves every 9 months) and this is the COLDEST PLACE SHE"S EVER SET FOOT. Figures, doesn't it?
A true trademark of a Brunswick home is a goose statue in the front yard somewhere. Everyone has statues of geese in their yard, and many homes go so far as to dress up their geese in clothes. Sister Tingey once served in an area where a home had 365 outfits for their goose. In order for the goose to be truly authentic, it has to have it's nose, or ear, or some other body part broken off. hahahah. hilarious.
I'm sure Christmas time here is great as far as yard decor goes, because it doesn't have to be christmas for these people to get creative. I've seen statues of dogs, naked men, angels, animals, sillhouetes of human beings, and other indescribably unique objects in the front yards of Brunswick. A true blessing to keep me laughing as I tract.
Tracting is cold, but it's also humorous. I have developed a lot more respect for missionaries that are called to serve in the states. It's tough. People can be really mean and hardened. The other day a woman started screaming at us that had a full on beard. I couldn't even pay attention to what she was saying, becuase I was so engrossed in the curly black and gray hairs hanging down from her chin. That same day we met a true gentleman. We knocked on his door and started talking about Jesus Christ and he interjected, "I don't need Jesus.... I NEED THE BOOZE." Amazing. Sister Tingey and I both stopped immediately to write that one down.
The sisters before us had met with a woman a few times named Dorothy, and so we've met with her about three times this past week. I am so in love with her. She is 88 years old, and has about all the sass in the world. She is hilarious. We taught her about prophets and showed her a picture of President Hinckley. She said she liked his smile. hahaha. We've been reading the Book of Mormon with her and urging her to pray. Yesterday we were teaching her about the plan of salvation. She started getting a little emotional and said how that would be wonderful to see her daughter again that died and see Jesus again. She has been meeting with a Jehovah's witness for about six years now. Yesterday she told us that she's beginning to hope and think that we are right. She was raised Methodist and that means a lot to her... I think it's just going to take some time. She prayed for the first time out loud the other day and it was the coolest thing I've ever witnessed. She thanked God for sending us to her, and she told God that she thinks the things we are teaching her are true. What a gem. LOVE visiting Dorothy.
My first full day in Ohio started with a drive to Kirtland. We got a personal tour of the Kirtland temple. It was amazing. We got to go to the attic where many revelations were received, and Carl Anderson got to give us most of the tour and so we talked about the importance of the Doctrine and Covenants and the revelations given in them, and the great significance of the Kirtland temple. We got to sit
in the chapel and read about when Jesus Christ visited Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdry in the temple. It was a very spiritual experience to be sitting in the temple in early morning, watching the sun come through the windows and thinking about the events that took place there. Afterwards, Carl asked me to get up and
lead everyone in "The Spirit of God" because the saints sang that song in the temple. It was an experience I'll never forget.
Let me tell you... I think that I had to start my mission in the bitter cold of January, because it's all going up hill from here. It has to. Saying that it is freezing is an understatement here. It is miserable outside. For the past three days it's been snowing (we are talking almost blizzard), and slushing cold rain. I spoke with a woman and she said that she's lived all over (she moves every 9 months) and this is the COLDEST PLACE SHE"S EVER SET FOOT. Figures, doesn't it?
A true trademark of a Brunswick home is a goose statue in the front yard somewhere. Everyone has statues of geese in their yard, and many homes go so far as to dress up their geese in clothes. Sister Tingey once served in an area where a home had 365 outfits for their goose. In order for the goose to be truly authentic, it has to have it's nose, or ear, or some other body part broken off. hahahah. hilarious.
I'm sure Christmas time here is great as far as yard decor goes, because it doesn't have to be christmas for these people to get creative. I've seen statues of dogs, naked men, angels, animals, sillhouetes of human beings, and other indescribably unique objects in the front yards of Brunswick. A true blessing to keep me laughing as I tract.
Tracting is cold, but it's also humorous. I have developed a lot more respect for missionaries that are called to serve in the states. It's tough. People can be really mean and hardened. The other day a woman started screaming at us that had a full on beard. I couldn't even pay attention to what she was saying, becuase I was so engrossed in the curly black and gray hairs hanging down from her chin. That same day we met a true gentleman. We knocked on his door and started talking about Jesus Christ and he interjected, "I don't need Jesus.... I NEED THE BOOZE." Amazing. Sister Tingey and I both stopped immediately to write that one down.
The sisters before us had met with a woman a few times named Dorothy, and so we've met with her about three times this past week. I am so in love with her. She is 88 years old, and has about all the sass in the world. She is hilarious. We taught her about prophets and showed her a picture of President Hinckley. She said she liked his smile. hahaha. We've been reading the Book of Mormon with her and urging her to pray. Yesterday we were teaching her about the plan of salvation. She started getting a little emotional and said how that would be wonderful to see her daughter again that died and see Jesus again. She has been meeting with a Jehovah's witness for about six years now. Yesterday she told us that she's beginning to hope and think that we are right. She was raised Methodist and that means a lot to her... I think it's just going to take some time. She prayed for the first time out loud the other day and it was the coolest thing I've ever witnessed. She thanked God for sending us to her, and she told God that she thinks the things we are teaching her are true. What a gem. LOVE visiting Dorothy.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Peace out Baby
Holy cow. It's time. I never thought this day would come, but I'm leaving on my mission tomorrow. Cleveland, Ohio, bring it on baby.
I am going to miss all of you, but hello... 18 months is not that long. My mom will continue to update my blog from time to time, so read on friends.... and don't forget about me. Love you all, keep it real.
XOXO Ang
I am going to miss all of you, but hello... 18 months is not that long. My mom will continue to update my blog from time to time, so read on friends.... and don't forget about me. Love you all, keep it real.
XOXO Ang
My favorite voice mail ever....
Andrea:
It's me. It's monday night at ten thirty-ish. Um if I don't talk to you before you go, I will send you a letter bomb and anthrax in the mail so you die. Hahahahahahah. I was going to say I would come to the MTC and kill you, but um I really hope you don't die and they check this and they're like, "oh, jonny killed andrea" cause i'm not really a psycho. Well, clearly after last friday I am a psycho, because I broke into my ex's house and stole my stuff. But anyway, um I think I deserve one last phone call, and you better @*^& well do it, or else you're getting NO LETTERS FROM ME- there's my threat. No letters from me your entire mission. Not even an email or a single word if you don't call me back before you go, no letters from me, that's my threat, there we go. Anyway, we'll talk to you later. I mean I better talk to you later or else you're dead. Love you, Bye.
It's me. It's monday night at ten thirty-ish. Um if I don't talk to you before you go, I will send you a letter bomb and anthrax in the mail so you die. Hahahahahahah. I was going to say I would come to the MTC and kill you, but um I really hope you don't die and they check this and they're like, "oh, jonny killed andrea" cause i'm not really a psycho. Well, clearly after last friday I am a psycho, because I broke into my ex's house and stole my stuff. But anyway, um I think I deserve one last phone call, and you better @*^& well do it, or else you're getting NO LETTERS FROM ME- there's my threat. No letters from me your entire mission. Not even an email or a single word if you don't call me back before you go, no letters from me, that's my threat, there we go. Anyway, we'll talk to you later. I mean I better talk to you later or else you're dead. Love you, Bye.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Time Capsule
I've always thought that Time Capsules were stupid, unless you left them unopened for 50 or so years. Last night my family opened a Time Capsule that we assembled in 1999. 8 years ago. Surprisingly, it was quite enjoyable, and it gave me a good laugh to look back. Maybe I'll change my opinion of time capsules.
Here were the highlights of my life as a 14 year old:
1. Andrea got her braces off. I've already told stories about this miserable experience. Good to put an end to that period of my life.
2. Andrea got her ears double pierced. These were the days when having five piercings up your ear was super sexy. I had been begging my parents to let me get more piercings, because one set was so not cool anymore. They finally agreed that I could get second holes in both ears. However, before doing so, they made me sign a contract promising I wouldn't get more piercings in my ears, get my belly button pierced, or get a tattoo. I guess they were that worried I would do something foolish.....what good parents I have. Sidenote: I let the second holes grow in a year or two later. gross.
3. Andrea went on Pioneer trek this past summer. This is where I encountered the most awkward and humiliating experience of my life to date. An older boy totally walked in on me while I was in a porta potty, completely naked from the waist down. I screamed and shrieked in complete horror, until he finally ran away. All throughout the rest of pioneer trek he gave me the nasty eye. If that wasn't bad enough, it got much worse when his whole football team had heard the story a week later. Who brags about something like that? Sick. I still think about that one.
4. Andrea started 9th grade, and she is busy as a Student Body Officer, and singing in Madrigals. The most amazing part about this, is that I truly thought my life was chaotic. Little did I realize that walking around the halls of CJH talking about boys, coloring posters for basketball games, and stealing candy from our advisor in officer prep period hardly qualified as busy.
5. Andrea hates her math teacher, Mr. Smith Still do. (I don't dare post his real name on the internet. I think secretly I'm still afraid of him.) He was a real nut job. My friends and I always talked about egging his house, but none of us ever had the guts to follow through.
6. Andrea is President of her Mia Maid Class. Enough said.
7. Andrea went to St. George with her best friend Jessica over fall break. .. We thought we were so cool because we met and hung out with older, hot boys. Hello they were in High School! This was kind of a big deal.
8. Andrea really loves music. Some things never change. I was especially into the Dixie Chicks at this time, because included in the time capsule was a concert ticket from their fly tour.
So there you have it, Andrea 8 years ago. It makes me wonder where I'll be 8 years from now.... I honestly can't even venture a guess.
Here were the highlights of my life as a 14 year old:
1. Andrea got her braces off. I've already told stories about this miserable experience. Good to put an end to that period of my life.
2. Andrea got her ears double pierced. These were the days when having five piercings up your ear was super sexy. I had been begging my parents to let me get more piercings, because one set was so not cool anymore. They finally agreed that I could get second holes in both ears. However, before doing so, they made me sign a contract promising I wouldn't get more piercings in my ears, get my belly button pierced, or get a tattoo. I guess they were that worried I would do something foolish.....what good parents I have. Sidenote: I let the second holes grow in a year or two later. gross.
3. Andrea went on Pioneer trek this past summer. This is where I encountered the most awkward and humiliating experience of my life to date. An older boy totally walked in on me while I was in a porta potty, completely naked from the waist down. I screamed and shrieked in complete horror, until he finally ran away. All throughout the rest of pioneer trek he gave me the nasty eye. If that wasn't bad enough, it got much worse when his whole football team had heard the story a week later. Who brags about something like that? Sick. I still think about that one.
4. Andrea started 9th grade, and she is busy as a Student Body Officer, and singing in Madrigals. The most amazing part about this, is that I truly thought my life was chaotic. Little did I realize that walking around the halls of CJH talking about boys, coloring posters for basketball games, and stealing candy from our advisor in officer prep period hardly qualified as busy.
5. Andrea hates her math teacher, Mr. Smith Still do. (I don't dare post his real name on the internet. I think secretly I'm still afraid of him.) He was a real nut job. My friends and I always talked about egging his house, but none of us ever had the guts to follow through.
6. Andrea is President of her Mia Maid Class. Enough said.
7. Andrea went to St. George with her best friend Jessica over fall break. .. We thought we were so cool because we met and hung out with older, hot boys. Hello they were in High School! This was kind of a big deal.
8. Andrea really loves music. Some things never change. I was especially into the Dixie Chicks at this time, because included in the time capsule was a concert ticket from their fly tour.
So there you have it, Andrea 8 years ago. It makes me wonder where I'll be 8 years from now.... I honestly can't even venture a guess.
Monday, December 3, 2007
9 days left to live......
I have 9 days left to live........ I am making a list of the most essential things that I need to do before I check out of life as I know it.
So far, here it is:
- eat sushi at happy sumo
- go rollerblading
- sleep in till noon
- watch A Christmas Story
- have a dance party
- dress up: wear high heels and bright red lipstick
- kiss. a lot. (just one boy though..)
Please let me know if you have any other activites you suggest I add to my list. What would you do if you were going to exit life in nine days? Many thanks.
So far, here it is:
- eat sushi at happy sumo
- go rollerblading
- sleep in till noon
- watch A Christmas Story
- have a dance party
- dress up: wear high heels and bright red lipstick
- kiss. a lot. (just one boy though..)
Please let me know if you have any other activites you suggest I add to my list. What would you do if you were going to exit life in nine days? Many thanks.
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