Monday, December 17, 2012

Christmas is Coming!

Merry Christmas Everyone!! I'm saying it now because I will probably not send an email next week as all our email facilities will be closed for the holidays :). 


Last Tuesday we went to a Relief Society white elephant party! We got the most random stuff. I got this super big and ugly shirt. And sister King got nesting dolls which was actually pretty cool. We're planning on using the shirt to prank the Elders....don't tell anyone. ;) 

We had an awesome district meeting this week. Then we went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch and took final pictures as a zone as there are Elders who went home today! Crazy! Then we got to go to the family history center and you all know how much I love family history so I was in heaven. We're allowed to do some of our own research now and bring our owns names to the temple! 

We had dinner with this awesome family this week. The dad had us do role-plays of knocking on doors with his kids and they're all under 12 and super brave! 

Kayden was baptized on Saturday! He's 9 and he was crying because he felt the spirit so strong. We could tell it was a special experience for his family as well. It was great! 

Merry Merry Christmas again! 

Love you all!

-Sister B 

The awesome shirt that I scored at a white elephant party! 

Another awesome white elephant gift that Sister Lund gave to me. 


Our "Christmas Tree" that we created today out of Christmas cards. No judging ;) 


A Middleton moose with the Middleton sisters! Merry Christmas! 

Monday, December 10, 2012

Me: "When you pay your tithing you don't instantly get money." Jordan (age 7): "You get candy."


Happy Christmas Season Everyone!
 
So last Monday after I sent my e-mail we had the most awesome miracle happen! So we had been trying to visit a neighbor of a family because she went to the temple open house, but we kept missing her. All we knew about her was that she has a yellow bug and he name might be Michelle. So last p-day we pull into family dollar and guess what we saw in the parking lot? Yes, a yellow bug. Now how many yellow bugs do you think are in the small town of Middleton, ID. Not many was my guess. And so who do we see walking towards this yellow bug. The lady we were looking for! So we talked to her and turns out her name is Theresa and she wants us to visit her. So cool! God is truly aware of us all.
 
We have also still been teaching Kayden and he is ready for his baptism on Saturday. The quote from the subtitle is from his little brother. I used candy to teach about tithing. It was super funny.
 
We had zone meeting this week and came up with lots we can do to help our wards. I'm excited! We also went to the Middleton town parade and a ward Christmas party! Super fun.
 
We're also excited about the new youth curriculum called "Come, Follow Me." Check itout at LDS.org!
 
This computer is going ot log me off so that's all for this week I guess!
 
love you all!!

Sister B

Me and Amber waiting for the Middleton Christmas Parade! Her parents own Mike's Bargain Barn! :) PS Don't pay attention to my Jedi hood that is in my face...haha

Sister Zaharco! She's from Madagascar!

The middle school band!

PONY!!!!

Horses!!


The world's finest choclate right here in Caldwell, ID at a mexican restaurant ;)


Monday, December 3, 2012

"Yeah, you can have them come over and do the voodoo."


Hello Everyone!! 

My first week in Middleton went pretty well! It seems like with each area it gets easier and easier to learn directions and peoples names. I struggled with those two things a lot in my first area! It's called progress. ;) 

Last Monday night we visited this lady named Fern. She has thousands of of things in her house that have unicorns on them. Pretty much the coolest thing I've seen. She is a super sweet old lady and she was really glad we stopped by because she has missed the missionaries because the sisters haven't been able to see her in a while. I also met the Troutner family during FHE when they were decorating their house. Sister T is super into decorating and she has three little trees in her living room that she calls her "tree-o". Get it? hahaha. 

Our first appointment on Tuesday was with a lady who is coming back into activity in the church. It was amazing because her son, who is active, happened to be visiting and he was about to go back to Seattle when he found out that she was meeting with us. When he found out he decided to come. He is a convert of about 5 years and he was the best missionary ever for his mom. He was able to explain things a way that she would understand because they are so close. We loved it. That night we taught Vance whose wife is LDS but he is not. He agreed to take the missionary discussions!

On Wednesday we had district meeting in Caldwell! It was the farthest I've ever had to drive for district meeting. And out district leader is and Elder that was in my district my first 3 transfers. Pretty crazy! After the meeting we met with Colleen who has known about the LDS church for pretty much her whole life and she used to be married to a Mormon. She is dying from cancer so we asked her if she would like a priesthood blessing. She didn't really say anything at first but before we left she said "yeah, you can have them come over and do the voodoo." bahahah! It was awesome. Just so everyone knows, Mormons don't do voodoo. ;) 

That night we taught Kayden who is 9 and his family are all members but he isn't baptized yet. So we taught him about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and set a date for him to be baptized on the 15th. He is a really smart 9 year old. When I asked what a prophet was he said "A man who tells the people what God wants them to do." Right on, my friend. :) 

On Thursday we did lots of weekly planning and organizing of information. I have learned that I love paperwork and recording information and organizing it too. My companions pretty much all love me because most of them hate paperwork. :) 

Friday we visited lots of awesome families. We visited a lady who was baptized 4 years ago and before that she was raised Jehovah's Witness. Her husband is still a witness, but she had found a lot of joy in the LDS faith. She knows so much about the gospel. We had an great discussion. 

On Saturday we helped Sister Dombrowski, who is a ward missionary, decorate her house for Christmas. Service is so fun! And afterwards she took us to the "Burger Den." It's right accross the street from the church and it's delicious. 

On Sunday we taught 2 lessons in church and taught Kayden again. Before we taught him we watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. I liked when President Monson said "We find true joy when we make Christ the focus of the season." So true!

I love you all! Enjoy your week and this awesome Christmas season!

Thanks for everything!

Love, Sister B 

Pictures: 

1. The horse in our backyard! It was a foggy day. I'll get a better picture next week!

2. The first of many pictures that will include me, animals, and Middleton. The Beverlins' dog had cute puppies!!

Monday, November 26, 2012

"Remember that one time we ate 4 Thanksgiving dinners..."

Hey!!

This past week was a pretty crazy last week in Boise West! The whole transfer was pretty crazy actually with the open house, and sick companions, and the dark streets of Boise at 6PM. The craziest thing that happened this week was that Sister Anderson threw out her back on Tuesday morning. That pretty much got rid of all hope of getting much work done before the end of the transfer. Sister Anderson was in a lot of pain so we went to the Chiropractor and he gave her some stretches to do and when she tried them later she hurt her back more. So then she got a priesthood blessing from one of the office elders and he used to be a doctor so he told her to just rest for a while. So I went out with one of the other sisters as much as possible to try to see people and the rest of the time I stayed home with my companion. I spent a lot of time getting information together for the Elders who would come in after as because we knew we would be transferred. It was all pretty interesting but we had fun and made the best of it. 

On Monday night we went to an inter-faith dinner at a Catholic cathedral downtown. It was really cool. They had people from all different religions there speaking and saying prayers and singing. They even had these awesome Aztec dancers. One of the Boise stake presidents was there an about 8 missionaries came. 

On Thanksgiving we ate 4 dinners! We successfully made it through the day without throwing up! haha We have trouble saying no to dinner invitations apparently...We had a lot of fun though. The first dinner was at a Filipino lady's house and she invited 8 missionaries to come. She made these awesome egg rolls with sweet and sour sauce and rice and meat and gravy. It was a cool thing to have on Thanksgiving! After we ate we just went home and rested our stomachs! and Sister Anderson's back too...

On Friday we got transfer calls! I'm going to....dun dun dun....Middleton, ID! And Sister Anderson got sent to Twin Falls, the same place she started her mission in over a year ago! My new companion is Sister King who is also from GA, she's actually in the same stake as Sister Anderson's family! My first to companions were poly and my second two are southerners ;). I'm in Middleton now. We actually live in Star, ID. We live in a members basement and it's really nice. I got all unpacked this morning and I am ready to work! I'm excited to get to know the people in this area! It's also my first "country" area! The people we live with have a horse, dogs, cats, and goats! I'm stoked. 

Love you all and thanks again for all the support! 

Sister B

My December planner! 

Sister King! :) Just chillin' in the Star Library ;) 

Boise South Zone!

USWIRL! 

uhhhh, yeah. We just have too much fun haha


Our gift to the Elders. hahaha wait it gets funnier...

BAM! Don't mess with Samoa ;) 


Monday, November 19, 2012

IBM FOR LIFE!

Hello!! 

This week was our first week without the open house! We were like "where did all this time come from?" haha. We also had a lot of exciting events going on this week. We had zone conference on Wednesday. We all got together for some training from our mission president and other leaders. We also got to watch "The Other Side of Heaven" as a Thanksgiving gift from President Cannon. We also played musical hats which was hilarious! It got down to Sister Tonuu and another Elder....The Elder won but Sister T gave him the Poly stare so we know who really won...haha :). 

On Friday we had one of those days where we had solid appointments that all fell through. We think it was inspired though because sister anderson had flu-like symptoms all day anyway. We we go to the appointment, drive home, and sister anderson would take a nap...and that's pretty much how the day went. But that night Mikayla was baptized! It was probably one of our most interesting baptisms. First we couldn't find the baptismal clothes, then her younger brother didn't want to get baptized, then the whole thing felt rushed, and we shard a bible video that I accidently turned off in the middle of it....haha but other than that it was awesome :). We also ate a ton of cake and ice cream that night. haha

On Saturday we went to the youth cultural celebration - well we watched it on TV at the church building. It was super awesome and funny. The kids cheered at everything the prophet said. They also did the Haka for the the New Zealanders like my mama Chadderton. Good times. 

Sunday was the rededication of the temple. It was very spiritual and my testimony was strengthened. I need to rededicate myself to do better each day. President Monson wiggled his ears during the session and it was super funny. We have a really funny prophet. 

Thanks for all the love! Everyone have a fantastic Thanksgiving!!! :) 

Much love, 
Sister B 

Shout Outs: 
-Happy Belated B-days to Jocelyn Hicks and Isabel Nowinowski! Love you!
-Congrats to future Sister Pfeifer on her mission call!! 

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

"Remember that time when we were all in the Idaho Boise Mission...."

Hey Guys!!

This past week was the last week of the Boise Temple Open House! It was really busy and fun. My favorite comment card was from a little kid named Tristan who is Lutheran and he wrote "The Lord has beautiful stuff." Love it! So true!

We finally got a map of our area! We finally just had to go to Barnes and Noble and buy one because all our attempts to get one for free failed. 

We're supposed to be having a baptism for an 11 year old that we're teaching this Friday. There have been a lot of technical issues with setting it up, but we think we got everything worked out. It's been really interesting knowing we're only going to be here for six weeks, 4 of which are over! Time flies people! 

We taught the young women on Sunday about preparing spiritually to serve missions. It's so cool to be able to give advice to people who are going through what you've already been through. Tell them what you wish you did or what you were glad you did. I love teaching, but mostly I love sharing stories. 

Today has been a really fun P-day. It's good to have P-day on Monday again. First we played nerf wars with the Elders. Then we played volleyball with the Elders and Sisters. All very fun stuff. 

Thanks for all the love and support! If any of my friends out there want a letter, send me your address and I'll write you one! :) 

Love, 
Sister B 

Family History Jokes! To all you BYU family history majors! I miss you!

Look closely at the name tags....bahaha and can you find Sister Houtz? 

Found it.

Dorks...

That's a Deseret Book bag that I turned into a free poster. 

Favorite comment card of the whole thing! God indeed has beautiful stuff. 

One time I tried to make a piece of toast on the stove and....

It came out looking like a giant square oreo! bahaha

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Smile

Nerf wars anyone? 

My beautiful companera

Missionary volleyball!

All the sisters in one place! Check out Sister Hamilton in the front!




Friday, November 9, 2012

"If you ever need me to carry a box of food, I'll do it."

Hello All!

I'm glad to hear that all you Rhode Islanders out there are okay! Everyone out here kept telling me about the storm, but I can't watch the news or anything so it seemed very unreal. My prayers are with all those who hit hard by the hurricane. 

So last week this really funny thing happened where all four of us sisters who live in our apartment got in the car and went to Walmart. We got all the stuff we needed piled in our carriages and made our way to the checkout line. Sister Anderson goes first and after all of her stuff is rung up we find out that dun dun dun...her card doesn't work! We then have to leave our stuff there because my card doesn't work either. We go to the car thinking we'll go to an ATM (the one in Walmart was out of order of course) and when we get to the car, the other sisters said they called the mission office and they said that our bank had an error happen when trying to get the money on our cards for the new month. Sooo that was frustrating, but hilarious. Then on Thursday we went back to Walmart and bought all the same stuff and this time our cards finally worked! I think it was actually inspiration because the I forgot to buy ketchup the first time we went shopping, but I remembered it the second time. 

On Saturday we went to visit a member couple and their neighbor who has a lot of questions about the gospel. But when we got there there was this giant fridge fiasco going on. haha. Sister Healy ordered a new fridge that was 3 inches too big to fit where the old fridge went! So, their neighbor came over to help do some remodeling to fit the new fridge in. So we watched as he knocked some cabinets out with a hammer and sawed off part of her countertop!! Her neighbor is super funny too so we were just really enjoying the show. Brother Healy had hijacked his neighbor to the temple open house the week before and his neighbor loved it. We meet so many cool people! 

On Sunday we might have had two dinner. One at 5 and one at 7. I wouldn't recommend it. haha Our wards double-booked us by accident and we thought because it was fast Sunday we'd be hungry enough for 2 dinners. Not true. lol

So yeah, we're having a lot of fun here in Boise West. To explain the title of this post...One time sister anderson had a box of cheez-its and I thought she was going to bring them with us but she didn't. So we got in the car and I said "Where are they" and she said she didn't feel like carrying them. So I said  "If you ever need me to carry a box of food, I'll do it." That applies to all of you too! :) 

Love you all so much! All I need is letters, e-mails, and prayers! :)
Love, Sister B 

Shout Outs!
-HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO MY AMAZING DAD!!! 
-Welcome Home to CT Elder David Monson!
-Hey Miken Shumway if you are reading this you should send me that letter you wrote to me like 4 months ago! haha LOVE YOU! Just send it to the mission office! 1111 S. Cole Rd Boise, ID 83709 :) 
-If anyone who is reading this knows Justin Arnold's address please send it to me via e-mail.brittany.bishaw@myldsmail.net
-Also I need Jocelyn Hicks' (wow that's weird ;)) address and Carrissa Friedman's.

This Month's Planner :) 

Sister Houtz from Colorado!!

Props to my wonderful companion. haha

West siide ;)

Sister Tonuu from Samoa!


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Everyday in the mission laugh a lot.

Hello Everyone! 

Last Wednesday we got to hear from Elder Haleck of the 70 who came to tour our mission. We had this cool experience where we got to hear from leaders from a ward and learn about how we can better help them and how they can help us to do missionary work. There are a lot of LDS people in this area who have been lost and need rescuing and we learned a lot about how we can all better work together to help those people. 

This week at the temple open house was awesome. I was asked so many great questions. One 12-year-old Catholic boy came up to me with a notebook that he wrote some questions in. He asked me if Mormon men could have beards, what we thought about the trinity, and if we did anything to honor Mary. What an awesome kid! I told him that Mormon men can have beards, but if you're a missionary then you can't. I told him that we believe that the Godhead consists of God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. They are separate beings but all one in purpose. And I told him that we love Mary (the mother of Jesus) but we don't do anything special to honor her. He told me that he prays over the Rosary every day with his family. So cool! We get to meet so many awesome people at the open house. 

On Saturday we went to the Trunk-or-Treat one of our wards had. It was pretty funny because we met all of these people for the first time at a costume party and when we saw them at church on Sunday we hardly recognized them! The brother conducting the meeting was Uncle Fester the night before so that's all we could picture as he was speaking. SO funny. 

We're teaching two 12-year old girls right now who want to be baptized. And on Sunday we received 2 referrals from members whose neighbors want us to teach them! The members out here are awesome at sharing the gospel with their friends! 

And me and Sister Anderson still laugh a lot every day. :)

I love you all! and You're all in my prayers! 

Sister Bishaw 

PS. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! 

Sister Tonuu and Elder Cook. Yeah, he's 6'11". haha

Props to Pete Webb for the cool mug ;) 

Me with my cool mug :) 

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

"Why you cryin', HUH?"

Hello all you lovely people out there! 

So the first few days of this past week I was still living in Meridian even though I had been "transferred" to Boise west. So I didn't feel like I had really switched areas until Wednesday when we moved into our apartment that is down the street from the Boise temple! We live with 2 other sister missionaries. It's been fun! Sister Anderson, my companion, is from Georgia and she is hilarious. We never stop laughing. We live with Sister Houtz and Sister Tonuu. Sister Tonuu is from Samoa and she said she looks at me and wants to start speaking Samoan to me! I really am Poly by association! ;) And she also says "Why you cryin', HUH?!" all the time and it's hilarious. You probably would have to be there...haha

But yeah, this week has been a little crazy with opening a new area and not knowing who to visit and also working at the temple open house every day. I've had to switch gears in my mind a little bit at the open house because we're not allowed to give away Book of Mormons or teach the way we normally do. It's been interesting and we've met a lot of cool people. One sister said she met a family that was not LDS that came all the way from New York to see the temple! My favorite question so far was from a little kid - he said "Oh you're from Rhode Island? What does your license plate look like?" haha Yes, us Rhode Islanders are rare out here :). 

On Saturday we had a cool experience. We got a call at the mission office from a lady named Mary. She said she wanted sister missionaries to visit her and we ended up being the closest ones to her! So we go to her apartment complex and it took us about 30 minutes of walking around to find her apartment! Idaho doesn't believe in numbering the houses in order. haha. After we had been looking for a while we said a prayer that we would be able to find her. When we did, we said a prayer of gratitude right there on the sidewalk. She was home and she told us that she has been taught by missionaries before and that she felt like this was finally her time to convert. We testified to her that God sent us to her and that Satan was trying to keep us from her. She recognized that she's been battling Satan. She felt like she needed help and she reached out to us, which was awesome. We left her with a Book of Mormon and a chapter to read and we planned to go to the open house with her this week. Sadly, on Monday Mary called the mission office again and told us that she didn't want missionaries anymore. Satan is working hard on her. Although this experience was sad and frustrating for us, I learned that we need to keep going and keep praying for Mary, but we can't get down on ourselves. Discouragement will weaken your faith. 

Thanks for all the love and support! 

Love, Sister B 

PS I've been out 5 months today! Weird! 

Haircut!

Exchanges in Nampa with Sister Davenport!

Last district meeting in Meridian!

yeah, we're a pretty cool trio.

Tara got baptized! She's beautiful, isn't she? :) 

She's 6'2" so the she rolled up the pants. :) 

With Sulia! 

 Sister Christensen! the lovely lady that let us live in her beautiful basement! and a kimono in the back :) 

The Christensens! They took us to a mexican place before I left Meridian.

The Webbs! My home away from home! :) 

The Bovees! My other home away from home! :) 

The trio and sister moss is back!

Line up! I'm trying to cry here...

I just couldn't hold in the laughter! I blame sister Houtz.

Tell Grandma before you leave! :) 

Why is the word Anchovies on my peanut butter jar??? 

Family and Friends! Thanks for all the support!