Week Five In the Field!

This week happened.

 

We had a couple lessons fall through which was disappointing, but we had some awesome lessons this week! All the people that we're meeting with said prayers in our lessons! It was pretty much the coolest thing ever. They were all pretty worried about praying and saying the wrong things, but they were able to overcome those fears and pray with us! There's really nothing to worry about with prayer. You're just talking to your Father in Heaven and whatever it is that you have to say to Him, He welcomes. You should never feel stupid or like what you have to say doesn't matter. God loves you, and he doesn't think you're stupid. He wants to hear from you and he can help you so much more than we can even understand.

 

The weather here is changing, and it's gorgeous. This morning I just stared out our window and watched the sunrise. It was so beautiful to see the blue sky with streaks of pink through the orange and yellow leaves on the branches of trees. I'd try to get you a picture, but I have yet to figure out how to upload pictures on this computer. I don't think I can because it's at the library and they block those sorts of things. So, for now. I just try to imagine how beautiful it is, because it's really something to look at.

 

Everything here is amazing, and I am doing very well. I'd love to hear how you're all doing.

 

I love you all. Have a marvelous week!

Week Three in the Field!

Man, I can't believe I've already been gone for more than a month. That is some crazy stuff. So, I guess seventeen more to go. That sounds terrible. I don't want the next seventeen months to go by fast. I'm loving every day. Every day I get to study the word of God and try to share it with people. What could be better than that? Pretty much nothing. You may think there's something better, but there's really not.

This week we had exchanges which means that for twenty-four hours I had a different companion and I went to a different city and I had to live in a different place. It was interesting, but I was definitely happy when I got home and was with Sister Lewis again. Riverton is a great place, but it wasn't West Sandy so basically the whole time I was just like "What is this? I don't know where anything is here. I want to go home to Sandy." Yeah, probably not the best attitude, but whatevs. During the exchange we were in a car, because the other companionship has one. That was weird. I didn't like that too much. I definitely prefer walking, except you know, when it's raining... Actually, I think I prefer walking even when it's raining. I just didn't much care for being in the car all day. So with any luck I won't be in a car too often on my mission. It's possible that when it starts snowing regularly, I'll feel differently but we'll just have to see. I pretty much love the cold so far.  The only downfall to cold and rain is that there are snails on the sidewalk and we have to have constant vigilance so as not to step on and crush them. 

This week we got put in a different district. We cover four wards, and then some elders cover the other three wards in our stake. But before Saturday we were in different districts so we couldn't have any contact with them. This was somewhat inconvenient because they were covering our area before us so they knew who they had been teaching in the area, but we didn't have any clue when we took over part of their area. So, our stake president called the mission president and asked him to change the districts so that we'd be part of the same one to make communication easier. This should make things more convenient, but it also means we have to get used to new elders. It'll be great though. They all seem like pretty cool people so I'm sure we'll all get along fine.

Overall, this week was pretty awesome. I had to be a brave warrior against spiders which is never too fun, but hey overcoming fears is great. Especially when you have to catch said fear in a cup and release it back into the wild, hoping the entire time that it wouldn't escape and try to attack me.

I love you all. Have a spectacular week.

I'd love love love to hear from any and all of you. I will try my absolute hardest to write you back in a timely manner. (:

Week Two in the Field!

This week has been pretty great. The work is picking up and we're finding more people who are wanting to learn about their Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I love talking to people about the Gospel. It truly is what makes us so happy and is going to lead to success in life. 

We're teaching a family of a dad and two girls. They're super awesome. The girls are crazy shy and don't really talk much, but they pay attention to everything we say and have a sincere desire to be good people which is awesome to see in an eight and nine year old. I'm so grateful that I have the chance to meet these people and talk to them about what is most important in my life.

We're getting to know the people in the wards better, and they're mostly all really fantastic. A lot of them really want to help their neighbors find happiness, and that is so great. When we find something awesome that we love, why would we not want to share it?

Yesterday I got to hold a newborn puppy which is always fun. We're going to start teaching this girl who lives in this house where the people breed poodles, so they have newborn puppies fairly frequently. Puppies are basically the cutest things ever, so it's always fun when you get to hold them.

The area where we're serving is doing their semi-annual street clean-up soon, so there are just random appliances, and old furniture in front of a ton of people's homes, which is really weird to see. Apparently the people think it's weird too, so everyone keeps explaining to us what is going on. I think they just don't want us to think that they live in a terrible neighborhood or something. I honestly hadn't thought anything of it until people started explaining to us what was going on. There's also a middle school right by our house that is being torn down. Building demolition is kind of fascinating to watch. They've gotten it mostly torn down now, and they're just working on cleaning it up. Depending on how long I'm in this area, it will be interesting to see the progress as they start building the new school.

Also, the spiders here are not the kind of spiders that are in Mesa. The spiders in the homes here are SO much bigger. As it turns out, I am not a fan of spiders... or grasshoppers, which are everywhere...

But, I am a fan of my mission! It has been seriously awesome so far, and I know it's only going to get better. I'm so glad I'm here. It's the best! 

I hope you all have a stellar week! I love you all!

Week One in the Field!



Diana with President and Sister Chambers

Well I have now been in the field for an entire week! That is insane. The area where I am serving is very beautiful, but windy! I have quickly learned that wearing a skirt on a windy day is not ideal, especially when on a bike. Hopefully I'll figure out a way to deal with that, so it's not an issue. But, hey you do what you gotta do sometimes. It's been really nice weather, mainly in the sixties or seventies. It rained the first couple days, but it's been pretty clear the past few days. It's gonna start cooling down soon though, or so everyone keeps warning us- usually followed by some assurance that we will be colder than we ever have been before and that we'll probably freeze and/or die. Yeah, the people here can be a tad dramatic. But I seriously love them. The people here are awesome. We've gotten some glares from children in the area, but mostly everyone's been incredibly nice. Everyone's always trying to give us food and rides. The rides are nice when we have to go to the other side of our area, since we don't have a car. But it's also a little freaky when random strangers just pull over to the side of the road and offer a ride. We usually don't accept those. The people are great though. 
My companion and I live with the Relief Society president in one of the wards we cover. (all the missionaries in our mission live with members). She is seriously the best. She's always making sure we have food and asking us if our mothers would approve of the meals we ate. It's pretty hilarious, and when she thinks we haven't been eating well she'll go buy food and just put it on our designated shelves. "Mysterious" food keeps appearing there, so we know she doesn't think we're eating enough. She runs a photography studio downstairs (which is where our bathroom is) so we see a lot of random pregnant women and babies (that's the kind of photography she specializes in). I seriously love the work. I love having the opportunity every day to tell people how much God loves them. It's awesome to see His miracles, and to see people that understand, maybe for the first time, how much God wants to bless their lives. I know Heavenly Father sent me here to help the people, and I'm so grateful I have the opportunity to be helped. I am so excited to keep teaching people here how they can be happy and be with their families forever. We attended our first baptism on Sunday morning, and it was awesome. I love seeing people make commitments to follow Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. They truly are the only way we can be happy. I know Heavenly Father is watching over us and over all of you. I know that He has a plan for each of us, and He's going to always help us when we ask for His help. The gospel is amazing. I'm so glad that I am here!

Week 2

Dear family and friends,
My week has been pretty insane, but also awesome. I still love the MTC. My teachers are phenomenal and my district is super awesome. I leave tomorrow morning to go to my mission home in Sandy and I am both sad and super excited. I am sad because I love all the people here at the MTC so much and I don't want to leave them behind and never see them again, but I am super excited because I know that serving the Lord in Utah is going to be even more amazing. Guess who I saw last night? Sister Jesse Ellsworth! I'd been looking for her this whole time, but she's at main campus and I'm at West so we have no opportunity to even be in the same part of the MTC ever. But, last night my zone walked over to Main campus to watch a devotional and among the hundreds of missionaries, we found each other, so we were both pretty psyched about that.

This week has been a lot like last week. Spending time with my district learning about Heavenly Father and how much He loves us. It seriously never fails to amaze me how lucky we all are. We have been given so much and He asks for so little in return. I can't wait to leave tomorrow morning to share with all who I can, the love of their Father in Heaven and His plan to get us all back and for us to be happy. I am so excited to be where I am right now.

Week 1

The MTC has been super awesome I have been praying so much and feeling so much love from our Heavenly Father. This morning I was able to go to the temple with my branch and it was amazing, as always. Afterwards my roommates and I saw this girl and she was just sitting outside the temple crying so I went over and started talking to her. I was so glad that I decided we should because she really needed the talk, and so did we. She's supposed to get her call this week and she has just been freaking out and being totally stressed. So, we decided to pray with her and talked to her about the mission so far. It was seriously such a powerful experience. I know this is where I need to be. I am so glad I made the choice to come.

This is It!

Ah! I leave tomorrow! That's completely insane. I feel like I just turned in my papers. I at once feel completely unprepared and totally ready to get out there and do this. I am so excited for this opportunity to go teach people about something that means so much to me. I think a lot of the way I feel is summed up by Henry B. Eyring, an apostle of the Church:

"I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made; I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tinted visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preeminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am lifted up in prayer, and labor with power.
My face is set, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed, will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table with the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up for the case of Christ.
I must go until He comes, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He stops me and when He returns for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.”

I'm ready for this next step. It's going to be amazing!