Erianne and Sister Workinger 1-28-13

Year Mark!!

Oh My goodness.... I can't believe that this friday is my year mark as a missionary! The time has gone by so fast. I never thought I'd say it, but I feel like it's slipping through my fingers now. Having a new companion this week has made me think back to the beginning of my mission and how different I feel now. I feel like a different person from when I first came in.

So yep. I have a new companion fresh out of the MTC! Her name is Sister Workinger and she is from San Diego California. People here think we're sisters. She is only 19! It's funny to see how people here react to her cause she looks sooo young. It's been a good week, but I feel like all my weaknesses are magnified as a trainer cause I want her to be the best missionary, but my faults are still there that she gets to "look up to". Oh well.... I'll just be doing my best!

I've still been really sick this week, but there is no way I'm staying in on her first week here. Haha It's been funny cause I have no voice, so she's had to talk probably more that she would have liked to her first week here. I hope she's really ok with that.

 

Yesterday I finally decided to ask for a blessing from the elders at church, and right after the blessing my voice was perfect, but it only lasted half way through the afternoon. I'm just trying to drink lots of airbourne that the members have given me!

 

It sounds like y'all have been a little bit sick too!? I pray for your health lots! I hope the cold isn't getting to you too bad. Everyone down here is talking about the crazy cold in Utah. How are you handling it?

Today it's 77 degrees. I'm loving it!

 

So... I'll try to update you on everything this week. I'm having an inner battle cause I can't let Sister Workinger know how I feel about this area. This area has been the hardest I've served in, and I feel like we're doing everything we need to be doing, but we don't have any progressing investigators right now. I don't want this to be Sister Workingers first experience in the mission to get shut down everywhere she goes. On Saturday when we came in... after all of our appointments fell through (but we did find back ups!) she went in the room and I could tell something was wrong. I asked her if she was ok and she told me that she didn't know if this is where she needed to be. She was pretty much engaged before she came out and she just left and came here cause her parents thought she was too young to get married. So she pretty much was having serious doubts about being here. I have no idea what advice to give except that I felt the same when i came out. I remember at the beginning of my mission (I never told y'all this... haha) but thinking to myself. Ok, I'll just make it to July and then come home. Because at the beginning of the mission you have no amazing experiences keeping you here quite yet. It's just your own personal love of our Savior and our dedication to Him that keeps us here. But I told her that throughout my mission getting to see others accept the Light of the Gospel in their lives has changed my life. I told her lots of stuff I don't even remember, but I hope that something helped. I don't know if she's hiding it now, or if she's doing better, but she seems to be doing ok!

 

I just hope and pray that we can see miracles in this area so she can have a reason to stay here and get to see peoples lives change like I've been able to see. I told her that this is the thing that will make her the happiest in her life.... cause it has been that way for me. Pray for her! And pray for us that we can find the elect here in Memorial.

 

I think it's just been hard for me cause I'm really struggling with this area and I can't let her know that cause I don't want her to have a harder time. Several of the members here have told us missionaries... "yeah the missionaries used to be baptizing like 30 converts a year, and now we haven't had a baptism in several months!" I'm like... great thank you for your support! haha But it's ok. We're going to keep working with the members here so they can open up and help us find people to teach.

 

I hope y'all missionary work is going great! I want to hear your stories.

 

Yesterday we dropped by one of our investigators and her husband was there. He isn't really interested in religion cause it's "too confusing with all the churches" But we talked to him about the Book of Mormon and he opened up a lot and wanted to read it. We left him with a copy and we're praying that he will read it with an open heart and receive his own answer. Pray for Mike!

 

Anyways... I''ve got to go write President. But I'm praying for y'all! I hope you're doing good and if you need anything please let me know!

 

I love you!!!!

 

Erianne

 

Happy Martin Luther King Day

So... I should be emailing tomorrow, but our apartment complex has 2 computers in their office so we are using them! It is so warm today and I'm loving it! It sounds like it's still cold there. I'm sorry! I could definetly get used to this weather here in Texas. The only bad thing is that Im geting sick... not the flu like Sister Mekini, but my throat has been really sore and I'm loosing my voice. I hope it's not strep!

 

Sounds like everyone at home is doing good! I love mondays to hear about everything with y'all. By the way... did y'all get my christmas present I sent? I hope so! I never got Chaleces Package she sent. I feel bad! I hope it didn't get lost.

 

I have so much today to tell y'all about I hope I can remember it all.

 

First off... I found out that I'm going to be training this transfer. :/ which means Sister Mekini is leaving and I'm staying here in Memorial. I'm bummed about her leaving since we only had one transfer together, but we had fun times and great memories. I have promised her I'll visit her in Samoa... ( yeah I'm going to be broke....) She said it's cheaper if she gets me the flight and then I pay her. We'll figure it out, but it'll be fun to go play volleyball there in Samoa with them!

Sister Mekini is so funny. It's fun to have companions from other cultures to see how different they do things. She was telling me that the biggest worry her grandma (she raised her) had when she got called to America was that no one would be able to help her with her laundry. She even called her aunts and uncles in Hawaii and asked what she should do about that! haha Sister Mekinis grandma does everything for them. She doesn't even know really how to cook. So I've been teaching her. She thought Americans didn't know how to do this stuff like cook or clean. The biggest thing I've been trying to teach her is how to budget her money cause she spent ALL her money in 2 weeks. so these next two weeks of the month she had nothing so her cousin had to send her money. Anyways, It's been fun serving with her!

Oh... and on top of training this transfer President told me and 2 other sisters that we'll be double training next transfer because we have 12 english sisters coming in. Which means I'll still be training this sister from this transfer AND a new sister. So I think I'll be finishing my mission here in Memorial, but we'll see where God needs me. I'm super nervous! President has too much confidence in me I think.

The trainers for this transfer had a meeting with President last week and we were "Trained" how to Train. haha I needed it!

 

So last week was quite an adventure with some less actives we tried to visit. It is so sad to see how people have such false ideas of what we believe... even when they are members and have choosen to be baptized. We went to visit 2 different sisters on 2 different nights and both told us the Bible is the ONLY word of God. They weren't even open to pray about it because they KNEW Joseph Smith was a false prophet. I couldn't believe how anti they had gotten. It made me angry too because every time we tried to answer their questions or misconseptions they changed the subject. So that's when I knew we had to leave.... One of the sisters even asked us for a Book of Mormon to prove it's wrong. Sad huh? And the even worse part is that both of these Sisters families are members and temple recommend holders. I couldn't help but think about Laman and Lemuel in Lehi's family. We'll just keep praying for them!

 

We also saw something really cool last week when we were walking out of a complex. We felt like we needed to go talk with this one guy next to his truck, so we went over there and he was on his phone so we just stood there awkwardly. haha Then when he got off we introduced ourselves and told him we were out sharing a message centered around Christ. He told us about his family and how he really knew he needed to start going to church again. Then he said, I know God is reaching out to me cause I found this Bible at my work the other day and I feel really strong that I need to read it for some reason. The thought crossed his mind to throw it away, but he hung onto it. The he said, "actually I think I have it in my truck." He reaches into his truck and pulls out the Book of Mormon!!!! Both Sister Mekini and I had huge smiles on our faces and he looked at us kinda weird, then we explained that the Book of Mormon is the Book that we invite everyone to read and pray about. He told us he wants to and he wants us to come explain it to his family this week!!! I am so excited. I'll let you know next week how it goes. But it's so true that God is Preparing people for us. :)

 

Last night was an investigator devotional for our mission. It's where they get 2-3 speakers who were just baptized and we invite our investigators to come hear their conversion stories. It was really neat cause the two speakers were Daniel (from Maplewood) and Andre'a (from Memorial)! So getting to go hear both of them and to see how far they have come in just a few months is so cool. I loved seeing Sister Moreno again! And so many members and even Gona and Sirvan (our two investigators from Iran.) They are progressing!!! It was so funny though cause Robin Cates was there. She is the member in Maplewood who set up our meals and she made sure we had a meal EVERY night. Well she somehow heard that the members here don't feed us, and if they do it's 1-2 times a week. She got so mad! haha She was like, "Sister Avery! you look like they aren't feeding you. You better go talk to your Relief Society President, Ward mission leader, and the Bishopric about this!" hahaha I love Maplewood. They have such a speacial place in my heart.

Noo wasn't there last night, but Sister Moreno called her for me while I was there and I got to say hi!

After the devotional President came up to me and said, "don't leave, I need to talk with you before you go." I was like uh oh! What did I do? But he came and pulled me into a room and told me that in Daniels letter that he sent to President Ashton about his conversion (every new member does this) he told him that I had the biggest impact on his conversion. I "touched something in his soul that pulled him to the Lord." he said. That really made me grateful to be a missionary. I tell y'all this a lot, but those times are the times that make the hard times worth it!

 

OH! Guess what? Last night as we were going into the church for the devotional we were walking in and I hear, "Erianne!" (I haven't heard that in a year so it was super weird.) I turn around and my friend from BYU-Idaho, Lana, was there! She is the one who took my mission pics and we were in english together! Her family lives down here and so she is going to try to have me and my companion over for dinner one night! It was so fun to see someone from "home"! She is leaving on her mission to Canada in a few weeks.

 

I'm trying to think what else happened this week, but I don't have much time so if I remember I'll write it next week!

 

I love you all so much! I pray for y'all daily!

 

Sister Avery

Hola!!

How is everyone doing?! It sounds like it's freezing cold up there in Utah right now.... I'm sorry! It's been pretty cold here the past two days, but last week it was in the high 70's! We were loving it, but until Wednesday it will be cold again. It's true... when it gets cold here it gets down to your bones cause of the humidity. It's not fun! I forgot how much I really hate the cold. But I can't complain since y'all have 0 degree weather.

 

I'm sad to hear about Sister Flacks Brother. Let their family know I'm praying for them. It's sad to see how quickly someone can go.

 

So, it's been great to be back to work this week. Sister Mekini is better finally, but it wasn't until Thursday that we had our full day back out working. Her poor stomach is so weak being here with all this new medicine, food, and virus'. She isn't used to it all. But she's a tough girl. She is so stubborn too! She'd be in the bathroom throwing up and then come out and say she wasn't sick... I'm like, "Sister! If we go out to work you're going to get everyone sick!" She doesn't quite understand how the virus' spread here. I have been giving her anatomy and physiology lessons. haha

 

We have been fasting and praying a ton because we set a goal to have 2 baptisms in January. We know it was inspired of the Lord because we've been feeling so strong about it. Right now we don't have any solid investigators who are progressing, but we fasted last week and yesterday to find someone who will listen. In almost every prayer we pray for this, and I know that Heavenly Father can provide someone if we just keep our faith. I was struggling with this while Sister Mekini was sick cause we weren't able to work. Then I got thinking how when we set our goals this month Heavenly Father gave us a confirmation that they were all achievable goals. He knew Sister Mekini was going to be sick... even though we didn't know. And still I know He can provide someone! Pray for us!

 

This Thursday when we got out to work we knew we had to find new investigators cause we didn't have anyone to teach. We went to an apartment complex to try some former investigators and I had a feeling to check to see if there were any less actives that lived there that we could try. Before we got out of the car we prayed that we could find 2 new investigators before we got back into the car. We went and tried the less active and there was a lady that answered the door who let us in. The less active wasn't there, but we were able to teach her and she accepted a baptismal date! She told us she has been looking for a church cause she just moved here with her cousin! AND THEN on our way out we were walking to try another former and there was this lady who was out walking her dog so we stopped to talk with her. We asked her what she was looking for in life and if we could pray for her. She began to cry, and she told us that she is going throgh so much in her life right now and she knew we were sent from God. We hope to get back in to see them. We are praying to see their progress in the gospel!

 

After our fast yesterday we also got a referral of a family in our area that we are going to try tonight! The zone leaders were the ones who gave us the referral and they told us they are very interested in the Book of Mormon and about how families can be together forever! Pray for them as well. :) 

 

This week we've been trying to work with the ward more to see what we can do to help them and get their support for us. We visisted with our Bishop, relief society president, young womens president, and a few other leaders in the ward. It was good to get some guidance from them and see what we can do to help ease their burdens. I hope this ward can get the spirit of missionary work. It's so hard to see how so many people here just expect to get so much from others here but aren't willing to give anything in return. The old relief society presidents husband got in a car accident on Friday night (they are in their 80's) and as we visited her the next day she told us that she tried for 30-45 minutes to try to find a ride to the hospital to go see her husband when he got in the accident and no one would do it. She gives EVERYTHING for everyone else, and always makes sure that peoples needs are met. It broke my heart to hear that after all she does for the people here no one will give in return when she needed it the most. That is what we heard from most of the ward leaders that this is a very needy ward. We are going to do our best to change that.... the only problem is we don't really know how! Any advice? We are trying to visit all the active members and talk about missionary work and looking beyond yourself, but we'll see where that goes. 

 

So on friday night after we heard about the car accident we went to the hospital. It was about 8:30 and we had to park in the parking garage.... scary! On our way back to our car there was no one in the elevators or around us as we were going to our car so I told Sister Mekini we needed to hurry. (Remember she's from Samoa where everything is safe so she doesn't hear of all the scary stuff that goes on) We couldn't remember what floor we parked on so we started at the top. As the elevator opened we peeked our heads out and noticed it wasn't the right one. We also noticed the smell of smoke as the doors opened So we got back in and hit the next level I said a quick prayer cause we both said how we didnt' have a good feeling. As the elevator stopped at the next level the doors didn't open, and then all the sudden it went down one more floor to the level that ended up being ours. Both of us ran to our car. We don't know who or what was going on the second floor we tried, but I know Heavenly Father was watching out for us. It made me realize how much your prayers are heard, and also all the prayers in the temples are heard for us missionaries. 

The next morning one of the men in the ward who was at the hospital right before us giving him a blessing told us that there was a guy roaming around the elevators when he left that he didn't have a good feeling about. That was probably who Heavenly Father saved us from! Thank you for your prayers for us. Very few times on my mission have I had that feeling to be cautious, but I know it's the Spirit that keeps us safe.

 

The best part of our week was on Saturday morning! Elder M. Russell Ballard came and spoke to all three of the Houston missions. It was really neat to be with an apostle of the Lord in that kind of setting. He is really funny, but very powerful too. He and the other two speakers-- Elder Davies of the presiding bishopric, and Elder Nielson of the 70-- spoke lots about how lucky we are to be missionaries representing the Lord and Savior. We won't realize it until we get home how much this time will change our lives. He also spoke to us about 3 Nephi 11 and placing us in those Nephites shoes seeing Christ and being taught by Him. We are lucky to have the Spirit to teach us so much on our missions.

 

Transfers are next week. I'm not sure what's going to happen yet, but I'll know next monday whether I'm staying here or getting transferred. I'll let y'all know! I pray for you and thank Heavenly Father for y'all everyday. Stay safe and healthy!

 

I love you!!!

 

Sister Avery

This is the only note we received this week

The computer here is broken.... I hope my other email went through, but if not I'm still alive! Pray for my companion.... she's been super sick!

 

I love y'all!