Family and Friends,
Another fantastically fantastic week!! It was such a miracle! We were able to reach both of the "Standards of Excellence" this week! The Standards of Excellence are to have 20 lessons with 60% or 12 of them being "member present" lessons. We were able to achieve that! We got 21 lessons and 14 member present lessons...making 67%! Wahoo! It was so great! Every time we have to start a new week we get a little nervous and stressed out because we just aren't sure if we are going to be able to do it again. But this week we were able to! Now we get to do it again!
Sister Hobbs baptism was the best baptism I've been to on my mission! I mean, all of them have been good, but this one was especially good! The Spirit was so strong and a lot of her family was there. Sister Ficklin and I sang a special musical number called "I'll Find You My Friend." Everyone said that we did really well and that our voices blend really good together. The song is about us knowing someone in the pre-existance and how we tell them that we will find them down here on earth so that we can share the gospel with them. It just fit perfectly well with the situation because we probably knew the Hobbs family up in the pre-existance and now we are here on earth sharing the gospel with them. It was such a good experience to see her get baptized. When she came out, we were standing in the bathroom with her and was asked her how she felt and she just jumped up and down and was so excited. She said she felt super good! We just love her so much and I'm excited to be a part of the Hobbs life for a very long time. She had her brother in law, Brandon, and sister in law, Tina give the talks. Brandon has been inactive and Tina is semi active. It was so good for them to be able to study and give the talks! They did such a good job! Brandon even came to church yesterday. The entire Hobbs family took up three rows in the chapel!!! It was so cool to look over and see all of them sitting there! We also had dinner with the whole family yesterday and they ALL said they were going to be at church. Even Bro. Hobbs and Brandon. So we are pretty excited!!! Sis. Hobbs bought her three boys suits from TJMaxx and said she got a pretty good price on them. They only wore them to the baptism but they all looked pretty spiffy in them! I just know that they will be sealed in the temple one day! It's only a matter of time! :)
We have also been trying to continue to work with Lexus and Katie. We hadn't been able to meet with Katie all week and had only seen Lexus once during the week so, during Sunday School yesterday, we divided and conquered!!! Sis. Ficklin went with Ariana Brandli and taught Lexus while I went with Unico Pitcock and taught Katie! I guess teaching Lexus was a little difficult because she hadn't had her medicine that day, but they did a lot of activities to teach the things they had to! The lesson with Katie went well. We went over quite a few things because we have to finish teaching her the lessons before she gets baptized in a week!!! Yay!!!
I went on an exchange to Muskogee this week! It was okay. Not the best exchange. It was good to go to Muskogee again though. It was the last time before I go home. I also went on an exchange to Mena. That was fun! :) Now we only have one exchange left! It's on Friday and I get to go to Van Buren with Sis. Breaux!!! I love her so much! She is such a great missionary! So I'll be ending my mission with a great exchange! They actually haven't been quite as bad as I though they were going to be. So I'm grateful for that!!!
We picked up a new investiagtor named Tommy. He is the Vendel's daughter's boyfriend. He is a pretty interesting guy! We've taught him twice and he actually came to Sacrament Meeting yesterday. He's been before and he's just not the biggest fan of it. We'll keep working with him. Pray for us! ;)
There was a Stake Relief Society Activity/Meeting on Saturday. It was so much fun! There were a few classes and we really enjoyed it!
I think I'll leave it at that this week. thanks so much for everything!!
Love you all!!
See you soon then!!
Love, Sister Pahl
Picture #1 - Us with Bishop and Bro. Lynch.
Picture #2 - Us with Sis. Hobbs and Bro. Eagar
Picture #3 - Us with the Hobbs family
Picture #4 - Us with Sis. Hobbs
(sorry ... The mom couldn't get the pictures on here ... Brianna ... help me!!!) :)
Monday, October 28, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Alma 48:11-13, 17
Family and Friends!!!
HOLY COW!!!! SO much happened this week that it's insane!!! I hope I have time to cover it all in my email!!!
Tuesday I got to go to Mena on an exchange. It was so good! We met a lady named Charity and she is just so ready for the gospel! It was our first time meeting her. She is friends with a member of the branch in Mena and she has some praying to do but I think with time she will just be so open to being baptized! The work down there is going so well! They had a hard week this week but they are just being prepared for something better!
Wednesday was the best day in the world! At first we thought it wasn't going to be so good but it was fantastic! We had District Training Meeting in the morning and then Sis. Whatcott and Sis. Merkley had lunch prepared for all of us. Sis. Whatcott took us home and we did a little bit of planning. We were meeting with Katie that day......we've been trying to meet with her for a while. Her mom and brother are less active, her dad and her are not members. So we've been trying to teach her for a long time. Like since we got to the area. SO, she had agreed to meet with us at the church. We felt really prompted to give her a baptism date. We felt like November 6th was right. The Elders are having a baptism that day so we could just do a double baptism. So we prepared a MAP to baptism which is basically a calendar with events on it until their baptism, and prayed about the date. We felt pretty good about it. When we get to the lesson, we talked for a little bit and then we said a prayer. Katie didn't even say "Amen" before she threw her arms out and said, "Okay, now don't get all giddy, but I've decided I want to become a member!" We were sitting there all like not knowing what to do and I said, "How can we not get giddy with a comment like that????" So then, we got giddy. :) It was just so cool to see how the Spirit really was speaking to us as we were planning. Had we not been prepared with a baptism date and a MAP, we would have been scrambling in the lesson and trying to figure things out then. Instead, we were able to say, "Great! We already have a date picked out and a MAP for you!" IT WAS SO GREAT!!!!!!! So then we were supposed to meet with the Hobbs after so we went to go find them. We introduced Katie to Sis. Hobbs and Katie told her she was getting baptized. Sis. Hobbs started jumping up and down and screaming because she was so excited! Sis. Hobbs is the cutest little woman!!! I love her to death! She couldn't be more excited for her own baptism and now she's excited for Katie's as well!! Then Bishop walked into the church with Bro. Lynch and Lexus so we went to go tell him about Katie and then Lexus came up to me and said, "Remember Sister Pahl!".....I couldn't remember what I was supposed to remember....so I said, "What am I supposed to remember?" Lexus just stared at me in disappointment, then she whispered in my ear, "I'm getting baptized on the 6th, too, before you leave." I was just absolutely astonished! Lexus was TOTALLY not interested in getting baptized on Sunday when we had taught her last, now all of a sudden she's telling me that she's getting baptized that day too. SO we are going to have a TRIPLE baptism on the 6th! My last day in the mission field!!!!! How cool is that? The Elders have someone getting baptized and then Lexus and Katie are getting baptized!!! We are so excited!!! Now, we just have to work our little hearts out to make sure they get all the lessons taught to them! Lexus will be especially hard since she has a major ADHD issue going on. She doesn't really want to take the lessons but she does understand why we get baptized. We had a lesson with her Wednesday night about it and she doesn understand that. She might not understand all the things we teach her, but she will learn more as she gets older.
Friday we did another exchange. This time Sis. Huskey who is serving in Van Buren and waiting for a Visa to go to Brazil came to Charleston with me. She is a great missionary and it was so great to be with her for a day! I feel like we taught really well together! She's going to be a great asset in Brazil. But she's super lucky because she got to come to the BEST mission in the world first and serve here for a little bit. :) We went to Booneville and tried teaching Lexus again. She just is different everyday. We did the cup display with her so we could teach the Restoration and she liked the part where we knocked down the cups, but she wanted to keep knocking it down! Oh goodness. :) We also met with Katie again at the church. Her mom even joined us for the last part of the lesson. So that was good! :) They are just so great!
Saturday we went to Ft. Smith and played soccer with some other missionaries, investigators, and less active members. It was a lot of fun but I am so out of shape that it is unreal!!!! That will have to change when I come home... :) After we did some service at the Riley's. We're still working on getting their house up to shape. We painted the dining room. That was fun! It is so cool to see the progress that their house is making! It's great!
Sunday was a good day as well! We ended up teaching the Gospel Principles class because the teacher couldn't come. After church we had our weekly lunch with the Merkley family who recently moved here from Kaysville, Utah. They are so great! I love them so much! We are going over there to day to paint our toenails with the girls! Hahah It's Melanie's birthday as well so there will be cake involved! :)
On Sunday we also watched the Testaments with the Hobbs. It just reaffirmed to me that Bro. Hobbs will be baptized someday. He knows that the church is true. What was funny is that we asked Sis. Hobbs who she wants to speak at her baptism. She said that she wanted Bro. Hobbs two siblings to do it. One of them is an inactive member and the other is semi-active. So Bro. Hobbs called them up and TOLD them, not asked, told, them that they are giving the talks! They both agreed! One put up a little fight but she finally agreed! It's so cool! I think it will really help their family a lot!!!
Well, more happened, but I don't have enough time!!!
Thanks so much for all the support I receive!
Love you all!!
See you soon then!!
Love, Sister Pahl
HOLY COW!!!! SO much happened this week that it's insane!!! I hope I have time to cover it all in my email!!!
Tuesday I got to go to Mena on an exchange. It was so good! We met a lady named Charity and she is just so ready for the gospel! It was our first time meeting her. She is friends with a member of the branch in Mena and she has some praying to do but I think with time she will just be so open to being baptized! The work down there is going so well! They had a hard week this week but they are just being prepared for something better!
Wednesday was the best day in the world! At first we thought it wasn't going to be so good but it was fantastic! We had District Training Meeting in the morning and then Sis. Whatcott and Sis. Merkley had lunch prepared for all of us. Sis. Whatcott took us home and we did a little bit of planning. We were meeting with Katie that day......we've been trying to meet with her for a while. Her mom and brother are less active, her dad and her are not members. So we've been trying to teach her for a long time. Like since we got to the area. SO, she had agreed to meet with us at the church. We felt really prompted to give her a baptism date. We felt like November 6th was right. The Elders are having a baptism that day so we could just do a double baptism. So we prepared a MAP to baptism which is basically a calendar with events on it until their baptism, and prayed about the date. We felt pretty good about it. When we get to the lesson, we talked for a little bit and then we said a prayer. Katie didn't even say "Amen" before she threw her arms out and said, "Okay, now don't get all giddy, but I've decided I want to become a member!" We were sitting there all like not knowing what to do and I said, "How can we not get giddy with a comment like that????" So then, we got giddy. :) It was just so cool to see how the Spirit really was speaking to us as we were planning. Had we not been prepared with a baptism date and a MAP, we would have been scrambling in the lesson and trying to figure things out then. Instead, we were able to say, "Great! We already have a date picked out and a MAP for you!" IT WAS SO GREAT!!!!!!! So then we were supposed to meet with the Hobbs after so we went to go find them. We introduced Katie to Sis. Hobbs and Katie told her she was getting baptized. Sis. Hobbs started jumping up and down and screaming because she was so excited! Sis. Hobbs is the cutest little woman!!! I love her to death! She couldn't be more excited for her own baptism and now she's excited for Katie's as well!! Then Bishop walked into the church with Bro. Lynch and Lexus so we went to go tell him about Katie and then Lexus came up to me and said, "Remember Sister Pahl!".....I couldn't remember what I was supposed to remember....so I said, "What am I supposed to remember?" Lexus just stared at me in disappointment, then she whispered in my ear, "I'm getting baptized on the 6th, too, before you leave." I was just absolutely astonished! Lexus was TOTALLY not interested in getting baptized on Sunday when we had taught her last, now all of a sudden she's telling me that she's getting baptized that day too. SO we are going to have a TRIPLE baptism on the 6th! My last day in the mission field!!!!! How cool is that? The Elders have someone getting baptized and then Lexus and Katie are getting baptized!!! We are so excited!!! Now, we just have to work our little hearts out to make sure they get all the lessons taught to them! Lexus will be especially hard since she has a major ADHD issue going on. She doesn't really want to take the lessons but she does understand why we get baptized. We had a lesson with her Wednesday night about it and she doesn understand that. She might not understand all the things we teach her, but she will learn more as she gets older.
Friday we did another exchange. This time Sis. Huskey who is serving in Van Buren and waiting for a Visa to go to Brazil came to Charleston with me. She is a great missionary and it was so great to be with her for a day! I feel like we taught really well together! She's going to be a great asset in Brazil. But she's super lucky because she got to come to the BEST mission in the world first and serve here for a little bit. :) We went to Booneville and tried teaching Lexus again. She just is different everyday. We did the cup display with her so we could teach the Restoration and she liked the part where we knocked down the cups, but she wanted to keep knocking it down! Oh goodness. :) We also met with Katie again at the church. Her mom even joined us for the last part of the lesson. So that was good! :) They are just so great!
Saturday we went to Ft. Smith and played soccer with some other missionaries, investigators, and less active members. It was a lot of fun but I am so out of shape that it is unreal!!!! That will have to change when I come home... :) After we did some service at the Riley's. We're still working on getting their house up to shape. We painted the dining room. That was fun! It is so cool to see the progress that their house is making! It's great!
Sunday was a good day as well! We ended up teaching the Gospel Principles class because the teacher couldn't come. After church we had our weekly lunch with the Merkley family who recently moved here from Kaysville, Utah. They are so great! I love them so much! We are going over there to day to paint our toenails with the girls! Hahah It's Melanie's birthday as well so there will be cake involved! :)
On Sunday we also watched the Testaments with the Hobbs. It just reaffirmed to me that Bro. Hobbs will be baptized someday. He knows that the church is true. What was funny is that we asked Sis. Hobbs who she wants to speak at her baptism. She said that she wanted Bro. Hobbs two siblings to do it. One of them is an inactive member and the other is semi-active. So Bro. Hobbs called them up and TOLD them, not asked, told, them that they are giving the talks! They both agreed! One put up a little fight but she finally agreed! It's so cool! I think it will really help their family a lot!!!
Well, more happened, but I don't have enough time!!!
Thanks so much for all the support I receive!
Love you all!!
See you soon then!!
Love, Sister Pahl
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Ether 12:27
Dear family and friends,
We had a pretty good week! It always seems to go by faster when I email on Wednesday since there's less time between emails. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing! :)
On Wednesday we spent most of the day in Booneville. We were able to see Sis. Williams, a less active member. She's great! We saw Bro. Henry. We're having a hard time getting a hold of him because his phone is turned off right now and so we've had to set things up through the members through facebook! :) We had dinner with Bro. Lynch and the Elders. We taught him more about the Priesthood. He got interviewed yesterday for the Aaronic Priesthood so hopefully soon he'll be ordained a Priest! :) It's so great to see people move forward in the gospel! :)
On Thursday we went to the Jacksons to get back in contact with them. Turns out that Bro. Jackson isn't going to police academy until January now. We weren't able to stay very long, but we have another appointment with them tonight. Hopefully we can start working with them more! It's just hard to get a hold of them!
On Friday, we had Zone Training Meeting and Sister Ficklin and I had to instruct on "ANTs" - Automatic Negative Thoughts. Sister Shumway instructed on it at MLC. Anyway, it was a really good discussion and it went much better than I thought or anticipated it would go! We went over our time a little bit...oops! Oh well. :) It was a really good meeting. Really spiritual. It was also really sad because it was my last Zone Training Meeting! I like can't even believe that. It doesn't feel like I'm going home, but I am. It's weird.
Also on Friday, I went on an exchange with Sis. Tait in Charleston. We had the Vendel's son come for dinner and the Van Buren sisters joined us as well and Sis. Tait and Sis. Huskey were able to practice their Portugese on him. He served in Brazil a while ago so they just taught him the Restoration. Their Portugese is pretty good for only being out for a few weeks. She's going to do great things in Brazil! They both are just waiting for their Visas! I hope they come soon so they can get to the mission they've been called to, but for now they are here in the OTM changing people's lives!
Saturday night we went to see a lady that the Zone Leaders told us to go see. They had met her at the hospital. Her brother is a member and he called them to give their dad a blessing. The dad ended up passing away. But when we went over there, the lady told us that she wasn't interested at that time because her brother who claimed to be a Mormon said some very choice words to her and she got really offended. So she said anybody who acts like that, she doesn't want anything to do with her religion. So we talked a little bit with her and she was really nice. We ended up giving her a card with our number on it and a Plan of Salvation pamphlet. She said that maybe she'll get over what her brother said and she'll give us a call because she really does like learning about other religions. So we'll see what happens with that!
We had a fantastic lesson with the Hobbs yesterday. She could not be more excited for her baptism. She told her mother about her decision to get baptized and her mom was happy for her! Sis. Hobbs had a dream that her mom was going to disown her but she didn't! She's happy for her and is even planning on coming to the baptism! It's so great! She really sees God's hand in her life. Even when she's working. She's a mail carrier in Ft. Smith and so some days she'll be walking and on the verge of crying because she's stressed, then Elder Phelps, a missionary in Ft. Smith, will pull up and roll down his window and say, "Hi, Sis. Hobbs!" She'll say, "Hi, Elder Phelps..." He gave her a blessing a while ago when we were starting to teach her and so they've become friends because of it. I can't remember if I told you this but we know that their family will be sealed in the temple one day. Every time we're over there, Bro. Hobbs says things that make us believe that he believes what we're saying, he's just having a hard time mentally right now so he doesn't want to admit it. We don't know if that's actually the case yet, but that's what we think. They love us coming over and our visits get a little funny, but it's good for them! :)
I just love being here. I'm so glad that I was able to spend so much time in Charleston. When I go home, I'll have been in the Ft. Smith Zone/Stake for almost 10 months!!! That's more than half of my mission in one Zone. Crazy! But I'm so grateful for the time! I've loved Ft. Smith! It's so great!
Well, I think that's about it for this week! Thanks for all the support!
Love you all!!
See you soon then!!
Love, Sister Pahl
We had a pretty good week! It always seems to go by faster when I email on Wednesday since there's less time between emails. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing! :)
On Wednesday we spent most of the day in Booneville. We were able to see Sis. Williams, a less active member. She's great! We saw Bro. Henry. We're having a hard time getting a hold of him because his phone is turned off right now and so we've had to set things up through the members through facebook! :) We had dinner with Bro. Lynch and the Elders. We taught him more about the Priesthood. He got interviewed yesterday for the Aaronic Priesthood so hopefully soon he'll be ordained a Priest! :) It's so great to see people move forward in the gospel! :)
On Thursday we went to the Jacksons to get back in contact with them. Turns out that Bro. Jackson isn't going to police academy until January now. We weren't able to stay very long, but we have another appointment with them tonight. Hopefully we can start working with them more! It's just hard to get a hold of them!
On Friday, we had Zone Training Meeting and Sister Ficklin and I had to instruct on "ANTs" - Automatic Negative Thoughts. Sister Shumway instructed on it at MLC. Anyway, it was a really good discussion and it went much better than I thought or anticipated it would go! We went over our time a little bit...oops! Oh well. :) It was a really good meeting. Really spiritual. It was also really sad because it was my last Zone Training Meeting! I like can't even believe that. It doesn't feel like I'm going home, but I am. It's weird.
Also on Friday, I went on an exchange with Sis. Tait in Charleston. We had the Vendel's son come for dinner and the Van Buren sisters joined us as well and Sis. Tait and Sis. Huskey were able to practice their Portugese on him. He served in Brazil a while ago so they just taught him the Restoration. Their Portugese is pretty good for only being out for a few weeks. She's going to do great things in Brazil! They both are just waiting for their Visas! I hope they come soon so they can get to the mission they've been called to, but for now they are here in the OTM changing people's lives!
Saturday night we went to see a lady that the Zone Leaders told us to go see. They had met her at the hospital. Her brother is a member and he called them to give their dad a blessing. The dad ended up passing away. But when we went over there, the lady told us that she wasn't interested at that time because her brother who claimed to be a Mormon said some very choice words to her and she got really offended. So she said anybody who acts like that, she doesn't want anything to do with her religion. So we talked a little bit with her and she was really nice. We ended up giving her a card with our number on it and a Plan of Salvation pamphlet. She said that maybe she'll get over what her brother said and she'll give us a call because she really does like learning about other religions. So we'll see what happens with that!
We had a fantastic lesson with the Hobbs yesterday. She could not be more excited for her baptism. She told her mother about her decision to get baptized and her mom was happy for her! Sis. Hobbs had a dream that her mom was going to disown her but she didn't! She's happy for her and is even planning on coming to the baptism! It's so great! She really sees God's hand in her life. Even when she's working. She's a mail carrier in Ft. Smith and so some days she'll be walking and on the verge of crying because she's stressed, then Elder Phelps, a missionary in Ft. Smith, will pull up and roll down his window and say, "Hi, Sis. Hobbs!" She'll say, "Hi, Elder Phelps..." He gave her a blessing a while ago when we were starting to teach her and so they've become friends because of it. I can't remember if I told you this but we know that their family will be sealed in the temple one day. Every time we're over there, Bro. Hobbs says things that make us believe that he believes what we're saying, he's just having a hard time mentally right now so he doesn't want to admit it. We don't know if that's actually the case yet, but that's what we think. They love us coming over and our visits get a little funny, but it's good for them! :)
I just love being here. I'm so glad that I was able to spend so much time in Charleston. When I go home, I'll have been in the Ft. Smith Zone/Stake for almost 10 months!!! That's more than half of my mission in one Zone. Crazy! But I'm so grateful for the time! I've loved Ft. Smith! It's so great!
Well, I think that's about it for this week! Thanks for all the support!
Love you all!!
See you soon then!!
Love, Sister Pahl
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Alma 7:11-13
Dearest Family and Friends,
Aloooha! We have had quite the week. The best part is that it is cooling down!!!!! It is so grrrrrrrrrreat!!!! When we walk outside and it's not blazing hot or humid, I feel like I'm in Utah again because that's what the weather feels like! It makes me so happy!!! :) I have not been a huge fan of the blazing heat out here, or the humidity. But we made it through another summer without getting heat exhaustion or heat stroke or anything of that nature! :)
Last Monday we had quite the adventure. I don't think I talked about this in my email last week. We went on a long hike with Bro. Carter, the Elders, and Sis. Tina Hobbs. It was so crazy! We hiked out to one of Jesse James' hideouts. It was quite the adventure. Let's just say that we'll never let Bro. Carter take us hiking ever again. The end. Hahah
We've also been doing a lot of service for the Rileys. We're helping them to get their house cleaned up. It's turned into a Ward Service Project. They need a lot of help with fixing up the house and cleaning it up so we have been helping with that two or three days a week. We'll do the same this week. We are actually going over there after we get done emailing today. They are so great and I love them so much. I wish I could do more for them and their situation. They have 4 children ages 8 and under. They have a lot on their plate and can't seem to stay caught up on things. So we're helping them as much as we can.
We found a new investigator named Janet. We're not completely sure if she in 100%interested in the gospel. Every time we go over there she seems interested but doesn't say too much. So we're going to have a good talk with her this week and see if she's really interested.
On Wednesday I went on an exchange in Van Buren with Sis. Boll. It was so much fun! Sis. Boll is a great missionary and I am always inspired when I'm around her. We saw a lot of different people. They have so many investigators that I don't know how they keep track of them all! They seem to have a pretty good system so that's good! Van Buren is such a cute place. I always enjoy it when I go there.
On Thursday we had to go to Sallisaw so Sis. Ficklin could have a dentist look at her retainer that broke. So that was an adventure. We are so grateful for the Vendels and that they were able to take us.
On Friday we had a really good weekly planning session. We have a busy week planned out and we are excited for all the things we have going on! It should be a faaaaaaaaantastic week! We are ready to get to work and teach the world! :)
We had dinner with Jeremy & Jennifer Hobbs on Friday. Sis. Hobbs is still all set on getting baptized! Bro. Hobbs will probably not be ready for a while but we know that their family will one day go through the temple. Bro. Hobbs said that it will probably happen as well. He knows he's going to get baptized, it's only a matter of time. :)
Saturday we had the luxury of watching conference at home! It was so great. Conference was AWESOME!!! One of my favorite talks the whole weekend was Elder McConkie's talk. It was focused towards Sunday School teachers, but I took it completely as if he were talking to a missionary. Best talk ever. I also really liked Elder Scott's talk about weaknesses. As a missionary, the adversary likes to make us think we aren't good enough because of our weaknesses. Well, I guess it's not just missionaries but anyway. So I really enjoyed that talk. I just really think that this was the best conference ever. All of the talks were super great. It's hard for me to focus on just one and have one absolute favorite. Now it's just hard for me to remember everything that was said. I feel like as I've been on my mission for a longer time that my memory is getting worse! No bueno. But it will all be okay! :)
Sunday morning we watched conference at the church and then Sunday afternoon we watched it as Sis. Cheryl Hobbs house. Mother of Jeremy and Tina - two people I've mentioned in this email. :) Jennifer said she watched conference Sunday morning but she was working all Saturday so she couldn't watch it. What she did get to watch though she said she loved it! She felt like every single speaker was talking directly to her! She really could not be more excited to become a member of the church. She told us how they didn't have money to pay their cable bill but then on Saturday they got a check unexpectedly and were able to pay the bill so she could watch conference. She said she believes they got the check because they fed us the day before. I 100% believe that. What a cool experience! We told her to get a journal an write these things down!
Monday I got to go to Tulsa again. It was the last MLC that I will attend on my mission. I'm pretty sad about it and freaking out a little bit but I'm determined to work harder than I ever have for the next few weeks so that I can say I tried my best my entire mission. I'm near the end and I can't give up now. Anyway, MLC was so good! Like I said earlier, it's hard for me to remember everything that was said, so it's a good thing I took lots of notes! :)
On Tuesday after we were done with everything, Sis. Shumway took all the Sister Training Leaders and met with us just to talk about the sisters in the mission. At the end, Sis. Shumway said my name and I expected her just to ask me to say the prayer (that's what happened last time a Sister Training Leader was going home), but instead she asked me to bear my testimony. I cried like a little baby about how glad I was that I decided to serve a mission. It truly has been a huge blessing! I've learned so much and I've grown and I've changed. Hopefully I'll be able to continue to learn and grow as I move on to another chapter in life.
Thank you so much for everyone who continues to support me on my mission! I couldn't do it without all the prayers that are said in my behalf. I'm very grateful!!!
Well, that's about it! Talk to you next week!
Love you all so much!!
See you soon then!
Love, Sister Pahl :)
Aloooha! We have had quite the week. The best part is that it is cooling down!!!!! It is so grrrrrrrrrreat!!!! When we walk outside and it's not blazing hot or humid, I feel like I'm in Utah again because that's what the weather feels like! It makes me so happy!!! :) I have not been a huge fan of the blazing heat out here, or the humidity. But we made it through another summer without getting heat exhaustion or heat stroke or anything of that nature! :)
Last Monday we had quite the adventure. I don't think I talked about this in my email last week. We went on a long hike with Bro. Carter, the Elders, and Sis. Tina Hobbs. It was so crazy! We hiked out to one of Jesse James' hideouts. It was quite the adventure. Let's just say that we'll never let Bro. Carter take us hiking ever again. The end. Hahah
We've also been doing a lot of service for the Rileys. We're helping them to get their house cleaned up. It's turned into a Ward Service Project. They need a lot of help with fixing up the house and cleaning it up so we have been helping with that two or three days a week. We'll do the same this week. We are actually going over there after we get done emailing today. They are so great and I love them so much. I wish I could do more for them and their situation. They have 4 children ages 8 and under. They have a lot on their plate and can't seem to stay caught up on things. So we're helping them as much as we can.
We found a new investigator named Janet. We're not completely sure if she in 100%interested in the gospel. Every time we go over there she seems interested but doesn't say too much. So we're going to have a good talk with her this week and see if she's really interested.
On Wednesday I went on an exchange in Van Buren with Sis. Boll. It was so much fun! Sis. Boll is a great missionary and I am always inspired when I'm around her. We saw a lot of different people. They have so many investigators that I don't know how they keep track of them all! They seem to have a pretty good system so that's good! Van Buren is such a cute place. I always enjoy it when I go there.
On Thursday we had to go to Sallisaw so Sis. Ficklin could have a dentist look at her retainer that broke. So that was an adventure. We are so grateful for the Vendels and that they were able to take us.
On Friday we had a really good weekly planning session. We have a busy week planned out and we are excited for all the things we have going on! It should be a faaaaaaaaantastic week! We are ready to get to work and teach the world! :)
We had dinner with Jeremy & Jennifer Hobbs on Friday. Sis. Hobbs is still all set on getting baptized! Bro. Hobbs will probably not be ready for a while but we know that their family will one day go through the temple. Bro. Hobbs said that it will probably happen as well. He knows he's going to get baptized, it's only a matter of time. :)
Saturday we had the luxury of watching conference at home! It was so great. Conference was AWESOME!!! One of my favorite talks the whole weekend was Elder McConkie's talk. It was focused towards Sunday School teachers, but I took it completely as if he were talking to a missionary. Best talk ever. I also really liked Elder Scott's talk about weaknesses. As a missionary, the adversary likes to make us think we aren't good enough because of our weaknesses. Well, I guess it's not just missionaries but anyway. So I really enjoyed that talk. I just really think that this was the best conference ever. All of the talks were super great. It's hard for me to focus on just one and have one absolute favorite. Now it's just hard for me to remember everything that was said. I feel like as I've been on my mission for a longer time that my memory is getting worse! No bueno. But it will all be okay! :)
Sunday morning we watched conference at the church and then Sunday afternoon we watched it as Sis. Cheryl Hobbs house. Mother of Jeremy and Tina - two people I've mentioned in this email. :) Jennifer said she watched conference Sunday morning but she was working all Saturday so she couldn't watch it. What she did get to watch though she said she loved it! She felt like every single speaker was talking directly to her! She really could not be more excited to become a member of the church. She told us how they didn't have money to pay their cable bill but then on Saturday they got a check unexpectedly and were able to pay the bill so she could watch conference. She said she believes they got the check because they fed us the day before. I 100% believe that. What a cool experience! We told her to get a journal an write these things down!
Monday I got to go to Tulsa again. It was the last MLC that I will attend on my mission. I'm pretty sad about it and freaking out a little bit but I'm determined to work harder than I ever have for the next few weeks so that I can say I tried my best my entire mission. I'm near the end and I can't give up now. Anyway, MLC was so good! Like I said earlier, it's hard for me to remember everything that was said, so it's a good thing I took lots of notes! :)
On Tuesday after we were done with everything, Sis. Shumway took all the Sister Training Leaders and met with us just to talk about the sisters in the mission. At the end, Sis. Shumway said my name and I expected her just to ask me to say the prayer (that's what happened last time a Sister Training Leader was going home), but instead she asked me to bear my testimony. I cried like a little baby about how glad I was that I decided to serve a mission. It truly has been a huge blessing! I've learned so much and I've grown and I've changed. Hopefully I'll be able to continue to learn and grow as I move on to another chapter in life.
Thank you so much for everyone who continues to support me on my mission! I couldn't do it without all the prayers that are said in my behalf. I'm very grateful!!!
Well, that's about it! Talk to you next week!
Love you all so much!!
See you soon then!
Love, Sister Pahl :)
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Monday's letter (9/30/13)
Family and friends,
We had a super hard week this week. A lot of the people that we had lessons scheduled ended up cancelling on us. It's just been one of those weeks. The plus side of that is that it can only go up from here, right? Hopefully that's what happens with the beginning of this new transfer!
Monday night we were supposed to have a lesson with the Jacksons but they weren't home so we went over to the Statons to see how they were doing. Sis. Staton was in the bath so we just talked with Bro. Staton for a little bit. They had someone come over with a scooter for Sis. Staton to use at work and so we left when he got there. We didn't want to interrupt.
On Tuesday night, Bro. Carter called us and asked if we wanted to go have ice cream with him and his friend Dolores and her daughter who was recently baptized down in Texas. It's pretty interesting that Dolores' daughter was baptized because Dolores is just not interested at all. She just wants to be our friend and feed us food hahah she's super nice though and we enjoy her. She's the one that took us painting two weeks ago. :) That was fun.
Wednesday was an alright day. We ended up going tracting for about 2 hours. We surprisingly found lots of potential investigators and were able to set up some return appointments. We almost got attacked by a dog though. We had just got done teaching this lady and we were walking down the street, I was writing her information in my planner, Sis. Ficklin was walking ahead of me, all of a sudden she said, "Sister Pahl, stop!" So I stopped and looked up to see what the problem was. This big brown pitbull was just staring us down. It was pretty scary! He like didn't even blink! Luckily we were able to get away and not get attacked. That's one of my biggest fears is getting attacked by a dog. Glad I don't have a story for that one.
Friday we had a really good lesson with the Hobbs. Sis. Hobbs is still super excited for her baptism. Bro. Hobbs is not going to be ready. He's not ready at this time to live the Word of Wisdom. They said tithing won't be a problem though, so that's good! :) We also talked to their oldest sons and they are going to start joining in the lessons. We are hoping they'll be able to get baptized on the same day as their mom. They were super surprised that she was getting baptized. But then they said that whenever they see her in the living room that she is reading her Book of Mormon. She's great! Last week (I can't remember if I said this last week) she was saying how she just wants to go tell all the Baptists to read the Book of Mormon because it's true! We were so happy to hear that she believed that! :)
On Saturday morning we went to the Pitcock's home and helped with a service project. They are building a house and they're trying to finish it before Winter. So, we went to help...but I'm not really knowledgeable about those things and as a missionary I can't handle the big power tools, so Sis. Ficklin and I "supervised." Hahah it was really fun! :) We were mainly supervising a group of three that were putting up a wall for a closet. We made sure that everything was level. It was fun, but I will not be going into construction for my career. That's for sure. I also helped make some food for the lunch we had there. Food: now that I can do. :)
We also got to watch the Relief Society General Broadcast! It was so great! My favorite line was by Sis. Stephens when she was telling a story and said, "Don't be offended, that's ridiculous!" I absolutely love that! :) Sunday we had a really good Testimony Sacrament Meeting. Probably one of the best I've had in a while. We also had a good 3rd hour discussion about missionary work led by the Bishop. One of the members was talking and answering a question and he said, "Are we limiting the power of heaven?" I thought that was like so good! He was talking about all the little miracles that we see in our every day lives. We need to ask for miracles and then expect them. We need to not limit the powers of heaven! :) Love it.
Well, another week has come and gone. Crazy how time goes. I miss you all and am excited to see you again. Love you all!!
See you soon then!
Love, Sister Pahl
We had a super hard week this week. A lot of the people that we had lessons scheduled ended up cancelling on us. It's just been one of those weeks. The plus side of that is that it can only go up from here, right? Hopefully that's what happens with the beginning of this new transfer!
Monday night we were supposed to have a lesson with the Jacksons but they weren't home so we went over to the Statons to see how they were doing. Sis. Staton was in the bath so we just talked with Bro. Staton for a little bit. They had someone come over with a scooter for Sis. Staton to use at work and so we left when he got there. We didn't want to interrupt.
On Tuesday night, Bro. Carter called us and asked if we wanted to go have ice cream with him and his friend Dolores and her daughter who was recently baptized down in Texas. It's pretty interesting that Dolores' daughter was baptized because Dolores is just not interested at all. She just wants to be our friend and feed us food hahah she's super nice though and we enjoy her. She's the one that took us painting two weeks ago. :) That was fun.
Wednesday was an alright day. We ended up going tracting for about 2 hours. We surprisingly found lots of potential investigators and were able to set up some return appointments. We almost got attacked by a dog though. We had just got done teaching this lady and we were walking down the street, I was writing her information in my planner, Sis. Ficklin was walking ahead of me, all of a sudden she said, "Sister Pahl, stop!" So I stopped and looked up to see what the problem was. This big brown pitbull was just staring us down. It was pretty scary! He like didn't even blink! Luckily we were able to get away and not get attacked. That's one of my biggest fears is getting attacked by a dog. Glad I don't have a story for that one.
Friday we had a really good lesson with the Hobbs. Sis. Hobbs is still super excited for her baptism. Bro. Hobbs is not going to be ready. He's not ready at this time to live the Word of Wisdom. They said tithing won't be a problem though, so that's good! :) We also talked to their oldest sons and they are going to start joining in the lessons. We are hoping they'll be able to get baptized on the same day as their mom. They were super surprised that she was getting baptized. But then they said that whenever they see her in the living room that she is reading her Book of Mormon. She's great! Last week (I can't remember if I said this last week) she was saying how she just wants to go tell all the Baptists to read the Book of Mormon because it's true! We were so happy to hear that she believed that! :)
On Saturday morning we went to the Pitcock's home and helped with a service project. They are building a house and they're trying to finish it before Winter. So, we went to help...but I'm not really knowledgeable about those things and as a missionary I can't handle the big power tools, so Sis. Ficklin and I "supervised." Hahah it was really fun! :) We were mainly supervising a group of three that were putting up a wall for a closet. We made sure that everything was level. It was fun, but I will not be going into construction for my career. That's for sure. I also helped make some food for the lunch we had there. Food: now that I can do. :)
We also got to watch the Relief Society General Broadcast! It was so great! My favorite line was by Sis. Stephens when she was telling a story and said, "Don't be offended, that's ridiculous!" I absolutely love that! :) Sunday we had a really good Testimony Sacrament Meeting. Probably one of the best I've had in a while. We also had a good 3rd hour discussion about missionary work led by the Bishop. One of the members was talking and answering a question and he said, "Are we limiting the power of heaven?" I thought that was like so good! He was talking about all the little miracles that we see in our every day lives. We need to ask for miracles and then expect them. We need to not limit the powers of heaven! :) Love it.
Well, another week has come and gone. Crazy how time goes. I miss you all and am excited to see you again. Love you all!!
See you soon then!
Love, Sister Pahl
Monday, September 23, 2013
3 Nephi 27:13-14
Dearest Family and Friends,
We had a GREAT week this last week! It wasn't fantastic numbers wise, but we had a grrrrreat baptism!! I was so happy! The guy that got baptized even had a few of his friends come but they aren't interested in learning more. They were just there to support him and we were grateful for that! The last week has been super rough on him. A lot of his friends have been trying to convince him not to get baptized. We were never really worried though. We knew that he knew it was what he was supposed to do, no matter what anybody said about it. We had a good lesson with him and the Bishop and we were able to answer a few of the questions that he had thanks to his friends. He had a good experience though. He was confirmed in our Sacrament Meeting yesterday. Then later that day, we found out that he had been asked to say the closing prayer at the end of Priesthood Meeting and that he did a great job! We were so excited to hear that! He really is great and all of the members keep telling us that him and Bro. Henry who was baptized a few weeks ago are just amazing and they're so happy to have them in the church. I'm so glad to hear that the members are welcoming them in!
We were also able to set up another baptism date for the 26th of October. It's for Sis. Hobbs. We are going to pray and try to get Bro. Hobbs ready for that date as well. She could be baptized next week if she wanted to but we wanted to set a date that we felt that Bro. Hobbs could be ready for as well. He's going through a hard time in his life right now. He's been in some pretty traumatic experiences and so he's dealing with anxiety from those things. He says he'll get baptized when he's ready though. We are also hoping some of the kids will join in the lessons and get baptized. They are so prepared for the Gospel it's not even funny!
We were also able to set up another baptism date for the 26th of October. It's for Sis. Hobbs. We are going to pray and try to get Bro. Hobbs ready for that date as well. She could be baptized next week if she wanted to but we wanted to set a date that we felt that Bro. Hobbs could be ready for as well. He's going through a hard time in his life right now. He's been in some pretty traumatic experiences and so he's dealing with anxiety from those things. He says he'll get baptized when he's ready though. We are also hoping some of the kids will join in the lessons and get baptized. They are so prepared for the Gospel it's not even funny!
We had the opportunity to have interviews with President Shumway this week. It was so good! I love that man! He will be a part of my life forever. He always says the right things and I guess that could be due to the Spirit, but still, he has to be in tune with the Spirit to know what to say. Luckily, in this interview, I didn't cry! It's like the first real interview that I haven't cried in! It's just amazing to see how I've changed and how much I've grown in the last little while. I really just cannot describe in words how much I love being a missionary and am grateful for my time to serve a mission. I am so glad that Heavenly Father put His trust in me to serve a mission and to do His work. I hope that I can continue to serve Him diligently so He can be proud of me when my time is through.
I was able to go to Muskogee this last week on an exchange. It was really good except for I got to see Christina. I was so sad because her health has just gotten really bad since I've left. It was hard for me to look at her and so I'm just trying to remember the Christina that I knew when I was back serving in Muskogee. I love her so much and if she doesn't get baptized in this life because of her health, I know she will accept the work when she goes to the other side.
We had a special Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. It was full of music. Something really funny happened. I was laughing all yesterday and am still laughing about it now. The Priesthood got up to sing. There were so many of them and they were singing "Ye Elders of Israel." When they got done, Bro. Crockett, the Elder's investigator, was sitting in the congregation a few rows behind us and he said, "Man, that sounded like the Tabernacle Choir!" Oh my goodness!!! It was so funny! Everybody started laughing! But it was so true! Sister Ficklin and I just wanted them to keep singing. It was so beautiful, but now every time I hear that song, I will think of Brother Crockett saying that. I love that man! He is so funny! He is getting baptized on November 2nd. It will probably be my last baptism. Sister Ficklin and I kind of accidentally set the date with him a few weeks ago without the Elders knowing. It was pretty funny! We are so clever! ;)
Not much else happened this week! So sorry this is a short letter! :)
The Vendels are taking us golfing today so we are pretty excited about that! We sometimes practice putting in their living room at night. I've never been golfing so we are going to go with them today! We're supa excited! :):)
This next week should be a good one! We've set some goals that we are going to work really hard to achieve! :)
Thank you so much for everything! I really appreciate all the letters! Keep them coming!!!!! :)
Love you all!!
See you soon then!!
Love, Sister Pahl
PS. I forgot to talk about transfers!!!! Sister Ficklin and I are staying together in Charleston this transfer!!!!!!!!!!!! We are soooooooooo excited!!!!!!!! I can't even begin to tell you how excited we are! :) Not a feeling I can explain in text. Just like the last sentence in Alma 26:16, "Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel." That's how I feel about my mission and about this next transfer with Sister Ficklin! Yay! :):) Sorry I forgot to mention this in my email! :)
Monday, September 16, 2013
Mosiah 28:3
Holy moly! We had such a good week! It was kind of long, but it was good! The weeks seem to be going by slower and slower, but that can be good! That way my mission doesn't just fly by in the blink of an eye.
I had two exchanges this week. One was with Sister Daines. She came up to Charleston and we worked up here while Sister Ficklin went down to Mena to work with Sister Harris. It was a pretty good exchange. I really love Sister Daines. We have a lot of similarities and so it was good to be with her. She has 9 nieces and nephews and so it's always fun to hear her talk about them.
My other exchange was with Sister Breaux up in Van Buren. Her companion, Sister Boll, came to Charleston and worked with Sister Ficklin. I also love Sister Breaux! I just have been so blessed to serve over so many wonderful sisters! They are all hard workers and just want to do what the Lord wants them to do. They are not afraid to teach the gospel to everybody that they come in contact with! I love working with all of them! I learn so much when I go on exchanges. I feel like I grow more than my sisters grow. It's been a fantastic experience to get to work with them and go on exchanges all the time. Not sure how much Sister Ficklin enjoys it, but they are good and we get through them.
Brother Lynch is getting baptized this Saturday at 6 pm! We are so excited! We feel like we were just doing this with Brother Henry! But, that was only about 4 weeks ago. Bro. Lynch just continues to surprise us. He got this notebook and he writes down his thoughts about everything that we've taught him. He goes through the pamphlets we give him and he writes down what they mean to him. This last week we went over a lot of material. We had to teach him a lot of things before he was able to be interviewed. We are just working on getting him some clothes to come to church in. Hopefully we can scrounge something up for him in the next couple weeks. We've been super blessed while we've been working here! Bro. Lynch says he has a couple of friends that are planning on coming to the baptism. So, we're super excited! :) This week, Bro. Lynch's daughter joined us for a little bit of the lesson. I turned to her and asked her if she wanted to be baptized and she said, "Yes!" So then I told her that she had to listen in the lessons. She was kind of bummed but she agreed. Then one of her friends was there and she turned to her and said, "Do you want to come to church tomorrow? I'm getting baptized!" We had to quickly tell her that it wasn't going to happen tomorrow hahah just something funny. :)
We also got to talk to Bro. Lynch's neighbor. A few lessons ago, she was sitting outside watching her kids while we were teaching Bro. Lynch. We didn't have time to talk to her that time so this last week she was outside again while we were teaching him and I decided that we needed to talk to her. I'm so glad that we did! She hasn't become a new investigator yet but we hope she will soon. She said that she didn't go to any church and she didn't consider herself any particular religion. We gave her a Book of Mormon and she said that she would read it. So there's a good potential there. We are trying to find lots of more people to teach, especially in Booneville. There is hardly any members there so we're trying to build it up.
I had two exchanges this week. One was with Sister Daines. She came up to Charleston and we worked up here while Sister Ficklin went down to Mena to work with Sister Harris. It was a pretty good exchange. I really love Sister Daines. We have a lot of similarities and so it was good to be with her. She has 9 nieces and nephews and so it's always fun to hear her talk about them.
My other exchange was with Sister Breaux up in Van Buren. Her companion, Sister Boll, came to Charleston and worked with Sister Ficklin. I also love Sister Breaux! I just have been so blessed to serve over so many wonderful sisters! They are all hard workers and just want to do what the Lord wants them to do. They are not afraid to teach the gospel to everybody that they come in contact with! I love working with all of them! I learn so much when I go on exchanges. I feel like I grow more than my sisters grow. It's been a fantastic experience to get to work with them and go on exchanges all the time. Not sure how much Sister Ficklin enjoys it, but they are good and we get through them.
Brother Lynch is getting baptized this Saturday at 6 pm! We are so excited! We feel like we were just doing this with Brother Henry! But, that was only about 4 weeks ago. Bro. Lynch just continues to surprise us. He got this notebook and he writes down his thoughts about everything that we've taught him. He goes through the pamphlets we give him and he writes down what they mean to him. This last week we went over a lot of material. We had to teach him a lot of things before he was able to be interviewed. We are just working on getting him some clothes to come to church in. Hopefully we can scrounge something up for him in the next couple weeks. We've been super blessed while we've been working here! Bro. Lynch says he has a couple of friends that are planning on coming to the baptism. So, we're super excited! :) This week, Bro. Lynch's daughter joined us for a little bit of the lesson. I turned to her and asked her if she wanted to be baptized and she said, "Yes!" So then I told her that she had to listen in the lessons. She was kind of bummed but she agreed. Then one of her friends was there and she turned to her and said, "Do you want to come to church tomorrow? I'm getting baptized!" We had to quickly tell her that it wasn't going to happen tomorrow hahah just something funny. :)
We also got to talk to Bro. Lynch's neighbor. A few lessons ago, she was sitting outside watching her kids while we were teaching Bro. Lynch. We didn't have time to talk to her that time so this last week she was outside again while we were teaching him and I decided that we needed to talk to her. I'm so glad that we did! She hasn't become a new investigator yet but we hope she will soon. She said that she didn't go to any church and she didn't consider herself any particular religion. We gave her a Book of Mormon and she said that she would read it. So there's a good potential there. We are trying to find lots of more people to teach, especially in Booneville. There is hardly any members there so we're trying to build it up.
This week, sadly, the Statons told us that they didn't want to meet with us anymore. Sis. Staton broke her leg close to her ankle and so she needed to have surgery. Through Pres. Martin, we offered a priesthood blessing and they kindly declined it and said that they aren't planning on going to a different church at this time. It was really hard for me. It breaks my heart when you love someone so much and know that they need what you have but they won't take it. That's the bummer about being a missionary.
On a lighter side, we are working with the Hobbs. They are progressing very well!! They've always brought their boys to scouts and Bro. Hobbs' mother is a member. They've taken the lessons before and then Sis. Hobbs' mother stepped in and pretty much ended that. Now, about 7 years later, they are taking the lessons again and they've agreed to be baptized once they know that it is true. I think it will be very soon. :) Some of their children are also baptism age, so we're excited about that. Again, we are superbly blessed!
One last miracle that happened this week. After church on Sunday, we were waiting with Bro. Henry and his ride because the Bishop wanted to interview him. We were wondering what was taking so long for him to get to him. Turns out he was talking to this girl who just wandered into the church as the last meeting was about to end. She's having a hard time in her life right now so the Bishop came out and told us to talk to her. So we did. She's really sad and needs the gospel in her life. We are meeting with her again tomorrow so that should be grrrrrrrrrreat! :)
I love life and am so excited about the missionary work that is going on here. Transfer calls are this weekend and so we have no idea what's going to happen. Personally, I think Sis. Ficklin is leaving and I'll get a companion who I'll "train" to be a Sister Training Leader since it will be my last transfer. So sad!!! I've had a good mission though and I'll continue to work hard every single day until they make me leave.
Thanks for all the letters and support! I really appreciate it! :)
Love you all!!
Love you all!!
See you soon then!
Love, Sister Pahl :):)
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