Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Well, tomorrow will be the new year but I won't be there to say it tonight so I'm saying it now! :)

Cheyenne's baptism is this Saturday and we're really excited and she's really excited as well. It should be a good experience for her and I think she really is ready to be baptized. I'll be giving the talk on the Holy Ghost and it just reminds me of the time I gave the talk at Emily's (Jodi's daughter) baptism. It won't be as good this time because I don't have all the stuff to do it and Cheyenne is 23 and not 8. :) But hopefully it will still be good.

We don't feel like James is progressing anymore. He doesn't seem to be working super hard on quitting smoking. He tells us he is cutting down but the member that he lives with says that she thinks he is smoking more because she can smell it a lot more now. So we're kind of bummed about that but we'll continue to work with him and see what happens.

On Christmas Eve we met with Brother Ash and he expressed to us how he didn't want to be alone again for Christmas and if there was anything we could do or anyone that we knew he could spend it with. So we did some magic and called up the Gibson's. They were more than willing to have him come over so he spent both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the Gibson's and us because we were with the Gibson's for both of those days too! :) It was so great to see the Gibson's fellow shipping him and they even got him presents! Bro. Ash was so happy and you could tell that it was probably the best Christmas he's had in a long while!

It was so great getting to Skype you on Christmas! We were pretty lucky! Our last mission president didn't allow skyping but our current one does, as I probably mentioned when we talked, but yeah, it was exciting! We also got to watch G-rated Disney movies on Christmas Eve and Day as I told you so we went and saw Monsters Inc in the theater and we watched Cars 2 and it was both Sister Reeves' and my first time watching it. I loved it!!! I might even like it better than the first one. But anyway. Taylor and Keira have both changed so much and they will continue to change over the next while before I come home! It's like I'll be coming home to new siblings!! It will be weird to get used to!

Last Wednesday we got to go to Tulsa for a special Christmas Conference. I thought it was really fun and I had a great time! For the first half they split us into groups and we went around to different rooms and played human futsol, watched 'The Phone Call', had a contest of who could make the best paper airplane(they were in the shape of a straw and you had to blow it off of the straw), and played some minute to win it games. The second half was full of instruction from President and Sister Shumway. I just love them. They're so great and I'm really grateful that they've been called out here to the OTM on their missions. They are the funniest couple ever and it is hilarious to watch them and listen to them sometimes.

On Saturday, we had the privilege of being a part of a "Mini-MTC" for the Joplin Stake. They invited all the YSA and Youth ages 16 and up and had an all day training center for missionaries. Sister Reeves and I got to teach Chapter 10 from Preach My Gospel - Teaching Skills. It was pretty fun. We started it off with having some Elders do a "role play" and be bad missionaries. It was so funny. They did a really good job of doing the opposite of what a missionary should do - they didn't have a well prepared lesson, one of them pulled the phone out and start texting, they got off subject, etc. Basically opposite of what Chapter 10 teaches. What is even more funny is that some of the people thought they were being serious and one of them even said, "I can be a missionary right now!" It was pretty funny. So yeah. The Mini-MTC opened with about an hour of a guy who organized it talking and a recently returned missionary talked and shared a really cool story from his mission. Then there were 2 one hour classes. Then a 'missionary lunch' including PB&J and cold cereal. Which is NOT what Sister Reeves and I eat. We eat the leftovers we get from members that our fridge is full of!!! Then an hour of some missionary games, two more classes and then a closing session that was open to everyone to bear testimony. I thought it was pretty cool and that all stakes should start doing this because it really will help them prepare for a mission and get that in the front of their minds. It was a great experience.

Well, I think that is all for now. I love you!!!!

See you soon then.

Love, Sister Pahl

Christmas is here!!

Hello family!!!

It was an okay week. We didn't have too many lessons but it was still alright.

We started going through the Addiction Recovery Program with James. I don't remember what I've said before, but he's cut down on smoking from 1 1/2 packs a day to 2 cigarettes a day. That's pretty good! But we hope he can continue to improve and be able to stop completely so he can be baptized! He's practically a member of the ward. He's even singing in the Ward's choir! He has a testimony but now he just needs to quit smoking and then we are good to go!

We have been having a harder time meeting with Cheyenne. But we went to her son's 1st birthday party on Saturday and we were able to meet a lot of her family and her husband and her brother who is a member in another ward. Hopefully meeting her husband softened his heart a little bit towards us and he'll be more accepting of her meeting with us and coming to church! I guess we'll see what happens.

We're also trying to work with Brother Ash. He came to church last week and he said he liked it a lot and we even set up an appointment with him for last Wednesday but then we could never get a hold of him and so on Saturday we stopped by and he was home. He said he wasn't trying to avoid us, but we think he was. Then he said he would come to church yesterday but his ride went to pick him up and he wasn't ready to go, so he didn't come. We'll continue to try to work with him and get him coming back to church.

I'm FINALLY going to tell that story from zone conference. Honestly, it probably won't be very funny to you all, but it was funny when it happened! So it happened during lunch. All of the sisters were sitting at the same table. For some reason, Sister Hanshew was talking about wanting to learn how to whistle real loud with her fingers in her mouth, you know what I mean? Dad can whistle real loud but he doesn't do it with his fingers in his mouth...anyway, my companion, was like, "Oh, I'll teach you." So she was trying to teach her and she did it really quietly and at the same time that she whistled, a louder whistle echoed through the gym. All of us sisters were like, "What??" And the whole gymnasium went absolutely silent (there were probably about 60-70 missionaries). President Shumway was standing in the middle of the gym wondering who just whistled. Turns out, one of the Assistants, Elder Davies, saw us trying to whistle and then he saw President looking around like he was trying to get every one's attention so he thought that we were whistling to quiet everyone down, so he whistle really loud. Well, President wasn't trying to get every one's attention. So Elder Davies went really red and was super embarrassed. Our whole table started laughing super hard. I was even crying because I was laughing so hard. After everyone started talking again, Elder Davies came over to us and he said, "Just so you all know, that was the first time that that has ever worked for me." So that was the first time the room went quiet due to him whistling. It was so funny! President Shumway also came over to us and jokingly told us to stop causing so much trouble. So yeah, that's my story. I'm sorry if it doesn't make sense or doesn't sound funny. It really was! :)

I can't believe that this time of year is here again! It feels like it was just yesterday that I was home last year getting ready to go on my mission! The last year has been a rough go, but it's been great! Heavenly Father continues to bless me as I go through trials and try to to the best that I know how to do.

This time of year is so special and we all should remember the real meaning of Christmas. If you haven't seen it already, go to mormon.org/christmas. It is a really good website and I'm pretty sure you can download some free music! You should tell all your friends about it and put it up on facebook! Invite everyone to go to it and feel of the real meaning of Christmas!

I'm so excited to talk to you all next week! It'll be great!

Love you all!

See you soon then!

Love, Sister Ashley Pahl

D&C 54:10

Hello!!!!!

Transfer calls were on Saturday and Sister Reeves and I are staying in Miami!

We had a fairly good week. There was a Ward Christmas Party on Saturday and so all day on Saturday, Sister Reeves and I went around to all of the less actives in Miami and gave them invitations to the party. There were a few less actives who came and there were a lot of people. We even had to set up more tables and chairs as a result of there being so many people. The members say that it was all thanks to us but it really wasn't. They are the ones who fellowship and made the party happen. As a result of the party, we had about 5 to 7 people who are less active that came to church yesterday. It was a great time and we didn't run out of food at the party, which was good! Sister Reeves and I love the Miami Ward and are glad that we get to be here for another transfer.

This week we had the privilege of meeting with a less active named Darla. She has lots of health problems which stop her from coming to church. As we were talking with her, she was able to really open up to us. She mentioned that she's never been to the temple, even to do baptisms for the dead. She has been doing some family history work and has reserved some names so that she can go and do them but she can't go to the temple because she hasn't been coming to church because of her health. So we talked some more and told her to meet with the Bishop and see what she could do about it. We really think that she'll be able to come to church, regardless of her health problems. She started crying and said that she really misses the fellowship of the church members and that she really wants to come back. So we are going to start working with her some more and see what we can do. It is so great to see less active members realize the importance of church and want to come back!

We also think James is moving right along. He really wants to stop smoking. Not because of the church, but because of his 4-year old daughter, Eden. Being able to be baptized because of it is just an added blessing. He now has an "Addiction Recovery Program" book and a copy of the "Stop Smoking Workshop." So hopefully with these resources he'll be able to stop smoking and be baptized! He doesn't want to set a date yet, but we will keep working with him!

We are also working with Cheyenne. She's having some resistance from her husband. She feels like he's trying to get in the way of her joining the church. She wanted to come to the party on Saturday but didn't end up being able to because her husband was stalling and trying to do other things. But she still wants to be baptized! She's praying that he'll soften his heart. We are also praying for that! She's supposed to get baptized Jan 5th but has only been able to come to church once. Her work schedule prevents her from coming. She works every Sunday. She's only had two Sundays off in the last long while and she came to church for one of them. She has a pretty strong testimony of the gospel though! She could read the Book of Mormon a little more but her life is crazy, as is everybody else's lives, so she doesn't read a lot. Hopefully things can change, the Lord can work a little magic, and we'll be able to see miracles happen in her life!

On Friday night we were in the store getting some supplies for a district outing and guess what song came on the radio??? I don't remember what it's called, but it is the really popular one from the Nutcracker. AND it was playing at the SAME TIME that Nani, Taylor, and Keira would have been performing in the Nutcracker. Coincidence? I think NOT!!! So I stopped and listened to it and pretended that I was at home watching the Nutcracker with all of you! :) It was nice and so now I look forward to actually being there with you next year!

So I attached some pictures:

#1 - Sister Reeves, Maggie, Me. Maggie is just being.....maggie. that's not how she looks all the time....

#2 - some of the sisters at zone conference.

#3 - our district - Elders Gurney, Tangen, Beard, Steadham, Park, Sister Reeves, Me, Elder Hokansen.

#4 - Sister Reeves, Kimi, Me.

Again, thanks for all your support, I love you all!!

See you soon then!!!

 Love, Sister Pahl

 

 

 

 

D&C 52:11

Hello!!!!

I hope you all are having a fantastic week!!! I'm pretty sure I have the best family in the world! Thank you so much for the December package! I'm sure I'll enjoy opening the presents throughout the month! Ya'll are great!

We had a pretty cool experience happen this week. So last week we were going around to less actives homes and trying to get to know people. Well, we went to this one house and knocked on the door and someone said, "Who is it?" So we replied, "The missionaries." They opened the door and it was this girl and we started talking to her as if she was the person we were looking for. She asked us what church we were from so we told her and asked her what her name was and she was not who we were looking for....so we asked if we could share a message with her and she said maybe another time. So we left her a Restoration pamphlet and went on our way. Then this last Tuesday, the day we told her we would come back, we went and knocked on the door and the same thing happened - "Who is it?" - "The missionaries." - an older lady opened the door this time and we said we were looking for Mercedes. She said that she wasn't here and so we asked her to tell her that we stopped by and we would try again later. We turned to go and the lady said, "Wait! Don't go yet! Where is your church located?" She invited us in and it turns out that she is a member that hasn't been to a church in years and was wanting to come back but she didn't know where a church was at. She came home the other day and saw the pamphlet and asked her daughter where she got it and Mercedes told her that some missionaries stopped by. She saw it as a sign that she needed to go back to church! I almost started crying when she was telling us this story. I was so excited and knew that Heavenly Father had a hand in that miracle! What is even greater is at our last district meeting, the zone leaders had promised us that a miracle would happen for us this week if we looked for it. I was lacking a bit of faith because I didn't feel like we were worthy of a miracle happening to us. But it goes to show that Heavenly Father watches out for His children and will do whatever is needed to help them come back to Him!

This week we also found out that James is ready to get baptized! Remember what I shared about him last week? Well, turns out that he saw that as his answer that He knows its true. He said that that wasn't him talking when he told his neighbor to read the book. So he took that as his answer! He wants to be baptized and so now all he needs to do is quit smoking and we'll be good to go! It is really exciting!

Zone Conference also was this week. I got to go back to the roots of my mission - Bentonville/Bella Vista, Arkansas!!! It was great to go back and see that area again! I miss it there so much! President Shumway had some great insight that I'd like to share. He started with drawing his life on a whiteboard. He started when he was 17 and went on from there. He pointed out how there were many different roads he could have taken due to different choices he could have made. But because of the correct choices, he was now with us in the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission. The point of this demonstration was to show that Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us. BUT ALSO that Satan has a plan for all of us and it is just as written down as Heavenly Father's is. It is up to us to figure out which plan we are going to follow and how we are going to live our lives, according to Satan's plan or Heavenly Father's plan. Who's plan are you going to follow?

He also talked a little bit about the Atonement. He shared three scriptures that I really liked. They all mention what the Atonement covers. 3 Nephi 1:13 - His Atonement covers the WORLD. Isaiah 9:6 - His Atonement covers US. Luke 2:9-12 - His Atonement covers YOU. I love talking about the Atonement and what it can do for us. I've been thinking about it a lot lately and how I would love to know exactly what it covers and what it doesn't. I want to know the boundaries so I don't step out. Then I was thinking about how everybody is different and we all have different trials that we have to get through. There is no way that the Atonement has one set of "rules" for everybody. Since we are all different, I think the Atonement covers different things for everyone. THEREFORE, we need to stop comparing ourselves to other people, whether we are comparing our strengths or weaknesses. Everybody is different and we need to remember that. We need to focus on being our best selves and do what we need to do to be worthy of being in God's presence. Just because somebody else is sinning a certain way, doesn't make it right for us to do that. It's really kind of hard for me to explain this concept. Sorry if it doesn't make sense. It makes sense in my head! So if you don't get it, wait until I come home and then ask me about it! It would be easier to explain in person!

I was going to write about something funny that happened at Zone Conference but I don't have time and ya'll might not think it's funny anyway....so if I remember, I'll try to write about it next week. It was really funny. My abs hurt pretty bad after laughing so hard for like 5 minutes!!! :)

Well, I love you all and hope you are doing great! Thanks for everything you do for me!!!

See you soon then!

Love, Sister Pahl