25 Feb 2013

first of all, have you seen THIS? :) http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/list-of-58-additional-missions-created i'm sure you have...... so so so exciting!! :) :) :)

soooo... i'm in Appleton! and it's definitely been an adjustment, new area, new companion & everything, but it's been good :) i'm trying to find the balance between doing things the way i've "always" (all 11 weeks haha) done it and the way it's done here. :) ps - you can just always send mail to the mission home address, it gets to me like 1 day later and that address never changes... 5651 broad st suite 1 greendale wi 53129 :) we're not really supposed to give out our phyisical addresses i guess? whoops haha, who knew! :) we live in a little house in appleton, so cute. it's pretty big too (for missionary housing), and the bed is SUPER comfortable. so that's great :) we hold the bathroom door open with a can of pickled peppers, if that gives you some idea of how we're living hahah ;)

the ward here is great, and there's a large Hmong population here so they're all in our ward and we have hmong-speaking elders that translate sacrament meeting, and a hmong sunday school class and everything. hmong looks likes scribbles to me so i'm glad i don't have to speak it haha. i did learn how to say hello though! it's like... wait i forget.... nao shong or something. now jong. zzjong. it's hard to spell and i'm pretty sure i'm not even saying it right haha. oh well, they love it. :) so yeah, the ward is great! also they have a calling for the youth called "ward youth indexer" :) pretty cool i thought! and mom - you'll love this - the pianist for Relief Society used to play in bars and saloons and you can TOTALLY tell during prelude hahah i was dyingggg so so funny. Also, some of the hmong people have asian/midwest accents. and the 1st counselor in the bishopric has a new zealand / midwest accent. so fun :)

also...... we had 0 investigators the day i got here. so we've been tearing though the area book and have made plans to contact all the potentials and all the formers who didn't specifically tell us not to come back haha. and we'll also be visiting all the part-member families in the ward this week :) that's how we met the C! Such a cute family - he's less-active, returning to activity, she's met with missionaries before and even had planned to be baptized but then life got crazy and it didn't happen.... but this time it will! and they've got 3 of the cutest kids EVER. so sweet :) also, we visited a former investigator family (something i've never done before!) and the husband was nice! he told us to call back in two weeks! hooray! i don't feel as afraid of knocking doors here, maybe because i'm new and i've got nothing to lose? Sister R really doesn't like tracting or visiting people who might potentially be angry or offended, and Sister C LOVED tracting and visiting people, so that's been an adjustment as well. very different styles of missionary work. :)

We're also pretty much out of miles so we walk a lot.... in the snow.... haha it's just so classic missionary. Yesterday we walked to church (only about 20 minutes) but it was just so hilarious to me the whole time haha. and the Hmong-speaking elders drove by and honked...... classy haha. but then they turned around and offered to at least carry our bags for us, so that was nice haha.

Sometimes, missionary work means having conversations with people about asparagus prices while you're waiting for their husband to go grab their planner so you can set up an appointment. Sometimes I just look at myself and laugh hahah. How did I get here, in Appleton Wisconsin, talking to someone about the prices of asparagus??? Never could've seen that one coming hahaha :) :)

ALSO GUESS WHAT HAPPENED TODAY - WE HAVE A MOUSE IN OUR HOUSE. it ran through the kitchen & bedroom this morning! so we chased it into the laundry room...... did you know i'm afraid of mice?? me either..... until today!!! ahhhhh... we didn't really know what to do hahah so we just texted our district leader and he said "give it a cookie" .... -_- not helpful hahaha. we'll figure it out :)

anyways Appleton is very pretty, TONS of snow, more than i've ever seen in my life, seriously. mountains of snow as tall as i am from where the snow plows push it up. craziness. :)

that's about all the news i've got... it's been a pretty slow week. mostly just adjusting to a new area & companion :) it's been interesting, since sister r has a different idea of what some things mean than sister c is, and i'm learning to balance between doing it "my way" "the right way" and having companionship unityy & love. because if we don't have good feelings towards each other, we won't have the spirit and we can't teach. i LOVE teaching, it's like the lifeblood of the mission (as aunt charlene said.) any advice for me on finding that balance? what do i sacrifice to have peace in our home, and what do i hold on to? what do i accept as just a different, but still good, way of doing things, and where do i make suggestions for improvements? Sister R only has one transfer left! craziness... and me with just two under my belt haha :)

that's about all from here! i'll respond to your letters separately maybe? :) love you love you so so much!!!!!!

xoxoxo

SISTER Proffit

 

also, since pretty much all i listen to is the 2013 efy cd, the cds you all sent me, and the one from kimberly ann / anne, i thought i'd give a recommendation...... "good start" by james warren :) https://www.lds.org/youth/music?lang=eng we listen to it while we exercise hahaha. love you!!

xox

Appleton is great! Right now more snow than anything haha no apples yet.... we're right on Lake Winnebago (who knew that was a real place???) and the Fox River, so that's fun. it should be really beautiful come spring. not that it isn't pretty right now... haha just LOTS OF SNOW. :) also there's a paper mill.... so you can smell that sometimes haha. we get to volunteer at the paper discovery center museum though! and help make paper! fun fun! "LOOK I MADE THIS!" ;) hahaha thanks for helping me go get those shoes............ hilarious hahaha. glad you had fun!! hey CONGRATS YOU GOT INTO BYU!!!!!!!! WOOOOHOOOOOOOO GO COUGARS! ;) i would definitely recommend being very very prayerful and in tune with the Spirit about your decision to go to BYU now or later and for how long. The Lord's timing is perfect. Be in tune with what He wants for your life, and then go and follow that courageously :) being in tune with the Spirit comes by doing the basic things you already know, and there are no short-cuts or cheats. you need to be studying in the Book of Mormon every single day. You need to be saying morning & evening prayers. & you need to be living worthily. :) the Spirit comes as you do these things. Ideas will cross your mind. if you want to know if they're from God, all you've gotta do is pray and ask :) This is a decision that only you can make, and it's a big one. It'll be great mission/life-prep :) Practically, my advice would be to attend at least a semester of college before going on a mission; I think you'll learn a lot of skills that will be very important for your mission. I met a lot of Elders in the MTC who were fresh out of high school and it was HARD. a mission is hard anyways, but that just seemed really extremely hard to not have any "in-between" stage. it's hard not being able to call or text mom whenever you need her. I would definitely recommend at least a semester away from home before your mission. There's a lot of growing that happens during that time :) That being said, this is YOUR decision. get all the advice you can, but at the end of the day do what God has called you to do. I know that this matters to Him even more than it matters to any of the rest of us, and I know that you'll make the best decision for you as you are prayerful and in tune with the Spirit :) and don't stress too much about it. God is in control. He runs the master plan. He's our Captain; this is His work. Nothing will ever go seriously wrong if we're in tune with His Spirit and have our lives centered on Jesus Christ :) I know that's true. Anyways, enough missionary talk haha.... I love you so much bud!! You're a champion to me and I know you're an amazing missionary wherever you go. Missionaries are just representatives of Jesus Christ, and you don't need a nametag for that to happen :)

what an adjustment -- only 4 kids! what a small table & roomy bedroom! haha. make sure those future elders know how to play the hymns!! they'll wish they could for sure :) yeah just send me pictures of whatever... so i don't forget what your faces look like haha ;) just kidding. i dunno. just whatever the kids put on facebook i guess? whatever :)

 Yes, we call everyone Brother & Sister! That's what it says to do in the Missionary Handbook, and I know that blessings come when we're exactly obedient to that! :) We use the first "How to Begin Teaching" bullet point to explain it, and it's awesome because it teaches a gospel truth, and then it demonstrates right away that we take the truth seriously! We do things differently because of what we know! We change! We're a little bit weird! haha. We say something like, "Because God is our Heavenly Father, we are all brothers and sisters. We would like to refer to you as brothers and sisters." :) Sometimes people are like, "no just call me my first name" but it's a good opportunity to teach such an important gospel truth :)

 yes, miracles are all around us, but sometimes they are hard to see! I think a good example of that is Joseph (Matthew 1) and Mary (John 20... i think). Miracles are all around us, we just need eyes to see them! ·  Mosiah 8:18 Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings.2 Nephi 27:23 For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever;

:) pretty awesome. Miracles happen wherever there is faith!! so wherever there is faith... there WILL be miracles!!

I can't believe I'm already on my second area!! TWO transfers behind me!!! almost 4 months done!!! what the.....?? haha it's crazy.

Seriously though.... when we put God first, he blesses us. That's something we teach over & over & over & over again to investigators. 3 Ne 13:31-33 or something like that. God KNOWS all your needs. He knows how busy you are, how much you need this/that/whatever. He's asking you to put Him first so that He can give you every blessing He has to offer :) :) so awesome. It's a hard promise for people to trust in though!! they want all their needs to be taken care of first, and THEN they'll come to church / pay tithing / read scriptures / etc. Nope! doesn't work that way :)

xoxoxoxox