Week 12: Transfer Calls/Storm Juno!!!

1.  Update on investigators and reactivation efforts:

Lori: we had to drop her this week....sad day! but we will continue to pray for her and for the lord to soften her heart so that she will want us to come teach her agian!

Michelle: She has been vacation in Florida for 3 weeks so we will hopefully see her this week

Dorothy Maguire: A less active who came to church for the first time on sunday in 15 years!!! Sister Blume and I Cried in the lobby at church! we have been working on her and it has been a huge blessing to see her at church.

Valorie Daniels: A less active who came to church again this week, and we are preparing her for the temple! 

Noreen Harlow: We are still trying to get her to church and continue to work with her and the WOW!

2.  Transfers--what is happening with them?  Who? What? When? Where?
new address please..

Sister Blume is going Sister Training Leader so she will be leaving me, I am staying in Sanford President Stoker gave me two options that could possibly happen at transfer Meeting on thursday,I will either stay as junior companion or i will be in another TRIO and i will train a new missionary and be CO-SENIOR companion, so we will find out at transfer meeting! SO NO ADDRESS CHANGES :)

 ( they were supposed to be on Tuesday but we have a HUGE snow storm headed our way tonight, so they have grounded all the missionaries to the appartments, and we are not allowed to be outside until the storm passes which should be on thursday.)

3.  How do you make contacts in your area?

We do something called "power hour" where we go out for an hour and do out ITL's (invitations to learn), so basically street contacting that is manditory for this mission.

4.  Funniest moment of the week?

 The APs(assistant to president) called us the night of transfer calls on saturday and asked sister blume to play the piano at transfer meeting, hahaha the funny part was we didnt know we were going to transfer meeting yet becasue president didnt call us yet for the transfer call...so the APs felt so bad! it was so funny!

5.  Favorite teaching moment?

Sister Blume and I are teaching the temple prep class for our ward and we have three less actives who are coming so we are so excited for that.

6.  What are your thoughts/feelings about your Mission President and his wife?

I LOVE PRESIDENT STOKER AND SISTER STOKER.....enough said...just kidding, they are amazing!!!! they remind me of my aunt and uncle (Joe and Darcy) they are just so cute! like newly weds all the time i love it! they do so much for this mission and for helpling me with my sick stuff and sleep problems. they are so christ like it scares me to be in their presence.//just kidding i love them!

7.  My favorite part of "finding or reactivation is"...

The testimony that it gives sister blume and I! its just amazing to see the atonement of jesus christ work right in front of you.
8.  The "Most Unexpected Moment" I had this week was...

TRANSFER CALLS....I though sister blume and I would have one more transfer together but oh well!
Rapid Fire:

1.  I laughed so hard when...

the APs called us and secretly told us we were headed to transfer meeting

2.  My ward is great because...

they make sure the missionaries are taken care of, and they provide the work for us here in Sanford.

3.  One way that Sister Blume and I are strengthening our companionship is...

We make sure that we know how much we love each other all the time, you have to have to have to love your companion, and serve her all the time, it helps with any contention that you have within the companionship

4.  The Spirit was so strong as....

when we pray for the inspiration needed for sanford and kennebunk!

5. One way I feel blessed as a missionary is..

We are set apart to do the lords work and to have the spirit with you all the time is just amazing!

6.  A goal I have for this upcoming week is..

to align my will with gods will, to become the missionary the lord has prepared me to be!

7.  I love learning new things everyday.  Today's "new thing" was...

The lord really does love me, and care for me, we are not alone, 88 thousand missionaries are serving all over the world to proclaim the good news, and he is proud of each and every one of us individually! i have felt the lords hand in my life as a missionary this week through my amazing companion sister Blume! she is just amazing! 

8.  3 things I am grateful for this week and why?

President Stoker: because he receives the revelation that is needed for this mission.

Sister Blume: for all that she did to train me as a misionary!

Priesthood: well we all know why ;)

Forever & Always,

         Sister Stuart (riley)

Week 11: I love the BEACH

Gouaches Beach

All the libraries are closed but the bishop owns a hardware store on main street so he let us and the elders email here so we had to coordinate with elders and they just got done we went shopping for groceries, and then laundry, and then we were able to get to the hardware store and do emails, but the computers are really old and there is no way to hook the camera up to it, so next week i will have ALOT of pictures to send, and videos of us at the ocean!!

2. Are you driving? 

not yet i am still junior companion, transfer calls are saturaday, we think that i am staying and sister blume will go, she has been in this area for 4 months so 3 transfers  

3. What was the best (and what was the worst) part of your week?

the best part of my week was zone conference, so much to learn form president stoker, and the worst was when our investigator cancelled all our lessons with her this week.

4. Funniest story (these are my favorite, so spare no details?)

funniest story hmmmm....i started talkin like a mainer!!! and we do sercvice at a thrift shop and the peole who are just histarical!!!

5. Most spiritual moment of the week?

zone conference was amazing i love president stoker! and i did pretty well on the talk and i did not even cry!! i know its hard to believe!

6. How was your zone conference? What was your talk on? What did you Mission president share that you liked the most?

like i have said previously before, zone conference was fantastic!! my talk was on the devine qualities of a sister missionary, president stoker shared mulitiple messages, but one that stuck out the most was that we as missionaries are the best teacher the church will ever have!! how neat is that??? pretty neat!

7. What have you learned the most from Sister Blume?

man!!! sister blume is just amazing! she has such a big heart, but i learned that every door that is slammed in our face is one more door that was opened in heaven, meaning that there is a place for them in the after life to be taught, pretty weird to think about but true!!

8. What is your favorite thing about Sanford?

THE PEOPLE!!!!! and the tourist sites and museums! it reminds me of Depot Bay in oregon!  i went to the atalantic ocean today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it was BEAUTIFUL!!! this week has just been amazing mom.....i love this missionary life style!!! i am so blessed and so gratful for you and for the example that you set for toni and i, this was all possible because you are an amazing person!!!

Gouaches Beach

Rapid fire:

1. Biggest "Made me smile" moment?

a less active came to church on sunday for the first time in 4.5 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. My favorite study session this week centered on...

my 14 day walk with christ, a story about the atonement!!! blew my mind!

3. If I could talk face to face with the Savior, I would ask Him...

if i can stay a full time missonary until i die!! and to never leave maine!!! hehe selfish iknow but totally worth it

4. My companion and I bonded over...

our families are like exactly the same!!! its crazy!!!!

5. I was so excited when...

Sister Blume and i went to the Atlantic ocean today!!! i have pictures but i am using a dinosaur computer ;)

6. The Spirit was so strong as....

I went to the Boston temple this week.....AMAZING!!!!!!!!

7. Something I have discovered about missionary work....
is it isnt easy but worth every challenge and trial adn sickness ans struggle 

8. Since I have to teach on the plan of Salvation this week-- Bear
your testimony on the plan of salvation....

I know that i can return to my father in heaven, and it was all made possible through the atonement of jesus christ, we will see our loved ones again, we will not feel pain or sorrow, we will litterally be in paradise, but only if we do the things our lord and savior has asked us to do!!!

love you all so much!!!!

love you too!!! i went to the atalantic ocean today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it was BEAUTIFUL!!! this week has just been amazing mom.....i love this missionary life style!!! i am so blessed and so gratful for you and for the example that you set for toni and i, this was all possible because you are an amazing person!!!

Forever & Always,

         Sister Stuart (riley)

Week 10--WELCOME TO NEW ENGLAND MY LOVELY FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!

1.  Update on investigators and reactivation efforts?

Lori- we couldn't see her this week, she canceled on us but we are hoping to see her this Friday, 

Rhea- we have a dinner appointment with her tomorrow, so we will get to teach her the Plan Of Salvation!! super pumped for that! 

Less- Actives- we had 5 less actives in sacrament meeting on sunday, that was wicked good!

2.  Best companionship teaching experience this week was?
we had exchanges this week with the sister training leaders, sister blume went to exeter with sister smith and i stayed in sanford and sister pankratz came to me, we were able to pick up a new investigator on saturday, it was an amazing experience, her name is Anne Doiran we prayed for an hour in the car to find her cause on her teaching record it didnt have any contact information and she had not  been taught since july, so i prayed to know if the lord needs us to find her and at that moment i told sister pankratz that we need to drive into Rochester NH, which isnt our area but i called president stoker to get permission and it was so cool and GUESS WHAT  we found her!!!!!!!!! so neat

3.  How are the wards involved in the missionary efforts?

Well during ward council yesterday we introduced the oval chart again and gave specific assignments to each auxiliary and they committed to making a list of 15 names for us to go out and find and reactivate and teach.

4.  When was the last time you saw an answer to a prayer.

On wednesday at scripture study class, i was struggling with not being able to see success in the area i was serving and sister blume and i pray for opportunities to see that success and we were able to when we had 5 of our less actives come to our scripture study class, i cried the whole time, and bishop shaw sat and talked with me and sister blume just to let us know that our efforts dont go unnoticed.

5.  Favorite scripture study moment this week included the scripture...?

Mosiah chapter 7 talks all about the Atonement,

6.  The goals we have as a mission this week or month are?  And we are
doing ....on the goals?  get all of our investigators as well as the elders investigators to church this week

7.  Something I learned about myself this week?   Something I learned
about my sister companion this week was?

that i am an amazing missionary and i have talents and ablilities that sanford needs, oh and i am giving a 3 minute talk at zone conference on thurday!!! so scared

8.  I felt The Lord guiding me the most this week when..

i was without my trainer this week, on exchanges!

Rapid Fire

1. My companion and I couldn't stop laughing over.....

when we were doing service on a horse farm and elder McCain dared us to eat molassis horse feed and we did and it was surprisingly good!

2.  What do you see everyday when you walk out of your apartment door?

the giant mansion across the street and the road!

3.  What should we do to be better missionaries at home while you are gone?

ALWAYS ALWAYS PRAY AND COUNCIL WITH YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER CONFIRM YOUR PLANS WITH HIM, JUST SO HE CAN LET YOU KNOW THAT THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT HE WOULD HAVE YOU DO.

4.  What is your apartment like? Is it is a building?  Do you have a

lot of neighbors?
our apartment used to be a house but was turned into three apartments, we have a bacholor pad underneath us, they party every night and it always smells like pot when we come home, how nice is that. those are our neighbors

5.  It is so cold we could......

sniff our bugers and they would freeze!!! no joke

its 4 degrees right now!!

6.  Favorite thing to eat when it is cold outside?

ben and jerrys ice cream it originated in vermont, my fav is chunky monkey

7.  Favorite thing that happened at church yesterday...

Relief Society, we had a recent convert sister grady, she bore her testimony and her husband hates that shes mormon and so he constantly puts her down but to hear her testimony was absolutely amazing sister blume and i cried

8.  I couldn't believe it when...

we got permission from president stoker to go ice skating!!! on a lake that is frozen out here!!! cant wiat

Forever & Always,

         Sister Stuart (riley)

Week Nine--Chasing Chickens

1.   Updates on investigators or reactivation efforts?

Rhea- we started her new member lessons on christmas and she loves them we are going to start teaching her friend amy, so we were able to pick up a new investigator.

Lori- she is progressing, she wants to get baptized but she has chronic back pain from a tractor accident, but she is doing well.

Sister Harlow(LA)- still working on getting her back to church, she struggles with the WOW and we hope to see her next week 

sister daniels(LA)- she wont come to church because she gets easily offended but she is a wiz with the book of mormon, we always end up learning so much from her! 

Sister Chairadonna(LA) she is an amazing women she has been coming to church every week which is wicked good, she has been inactive for a long time but she loves the spirit that is felt at the church so she is doing really well

Sister Mel (LA) she feeds us like every other friday its awesome! we never go hungry her in new england, but she struggles with the WOW too so we had her set a new years goal to stop smoking and drinking coffee and so we have her on this program and it seems to be working!! yay!!

 

we picked up a new investigator in the elevator his name is Shaq or shaqeer haha we entered the elevator and he asked if we were part of a church and we said well yeah we are, and he said which one and sister blume said the church of jesus christ of latter day saints and he looked at us all weird and i said MORMONS??? and he said oh ya ya ya iv heard of you people, and he started asking us questions so i looked at sister blume and she gave me the okay to invite him to learn so i did and he said YES!!!! so we are going to call him to set up an appointment! how neat is that??

2.  What did you do for New Years?

New Years we had an appointment with sister harlow and then the ward has a party at the church so we went to that, we played volleyball and board games and had food, it was fun.

3.  How are you holding up in the weather?  Has it been cold?  It
snowed here quite a bit and the nights have been bitter cold.

doing pretty well, it snowed pretty bad on satuday and sunday, church was cancelled, that was weird but we got together with the elders and they did sacrament, with permission from bishop shaw! that was neat. this wednesday the high is supposed to be 10 degress and the low is -6 degrees! super awesome to see freezing rain, the snow looks like an ice sheet,its pretty neat

4. So who is in your district/zone?  Are you spread out quite a bit?

sister eddington and sister petersen are in somersworth 

sister blume and i are sanford 2 

elder lenning and elder whitehead are in rochester NH

elder walker and elder McCain are sanford 1 

we are all spread out, except sanford 1 and 2 are one shared area

5.   Most spiritual moment this week happened when?

even though church was cancelled due to the storm we were able to take the sacrament with the elders, that was a neat experience!

6.  Favorite companion moment this week?

sister blume and i were able to go on splits this week with members so that we could teach our investigators while i was sick and president stoker didnt want me to go out so i stayed with a member, but we still both prepared lessons together so that the spirit was able to help sister blume with the preparation that was behind the lessons

7.  Favorite scripture this week and why?

Isaiah 55:6 "seek ye the lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near." its a good one, i just needed to seek for my savior and call upon him when i needed the strength to press forward when the work gets hard, i need to strive to become 'the fourth missionary"
8. 5 things I am thankful for from this past year 2014?

Graduating high school and for all of the support that was there to help me all throughout the year. 

serving an LDS mission was the  best decision i have ever made,

my family and their prayers and support

my companions 

my mission president and his wife

the MTC 

and my ward family back home

Rapid Fire:

1.  What was the BEST part of your week in the field?

chasing chickens

2.  Favorite teaching moment of the week and WHY?
when we were teaching sister harlow about the word of wisdom cause the spirit was so strong and told us what she needed to hear

3.  Best service opportunity this week?
we did service on brother bentleys farm splitting wood and stacking wood and mucking stalls and cleaning the horses,and we chased chickens i caught one, i have videos and pictures i will send on a flash drive!

we split wood and stacked it and chased chickens it was AWESOME!!!!!!!! 

 brother bentley is the one who owns the farm we were doing service on

huge log we tried to split elder walker went crazy with it 

4.  Weirdest food eaten this week or coolest place went to eat?

nothing too weird, it was all soup and home made bread cause its been cold and we have been sick.

5.  The "MOST unexpected moment" I had this week was....

when we found a new investigator in the elevator which is explained in the beginning of this email!!

6.  My companion and I bonded over....

family and chicken soup and burping!!!!! hehehehehehe :)

7.  See as this is a new year 2015, 3 goals I have set for myself are:

1. Have a "Set-apart heart"

2. Gratitude prayers

3. to always be worthy of the second coming!

Forever & Always,

         Sister Stuart (riley)