April 18, 2016

Sister Morrin and I both got sick this week. I got over it after a couple days but she didn't. We're on day 4 now of her having no voice. So I've been doing a lot of talking the last couple-three days. Hopefully she can start talking sometime this week.

On Wednesday we got to go to Papillion for exchanges! It was sweet. And then after we all came back to the house at the end of the day we were all wiped out. So 3 of us passed out on the couch.

We really didn't get much done this week because we were both sick, plus Sister Morrin had a bad flair-up with her endometriosis so we had to stay in and rest a lot. But with all that rest I made a sweet scripture case! Rhonda gave me all the materials for it. (Oh and PS, Wes's surgery was a miracle and totally went great. They weren't able to come to church yesterday but they should be coming next week!) So here is my amazing scripture case.


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Quote of the Week: 
"Peace of mind, peace of conscience, and peace of heart are not determined by our ability toavoid trials, sorrow, or heartache. Despite our sincere pleas, not every storm will change course,not every infirmity will be healed, and we may not fully understand every doctrine, principle, orpractice taught by prophets, seers, and revelators. the Savior taught that despite the tribulations oflife, we can be of good cheer, we can be of good hope, and we need not fear, because Hedeclared, 'In me ye might have peace.' Faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice is, andforever will be, the first principle of the gospel and the foundation upon which our hope for 'peacein this world, and eternal life in the world to come' is built.
However far we may wander from the path, the Savior invites us to return and walk with Him. Thisinvitation to walk with Jesus Christ is an invitation to accompany Him to Gethsemane and fromGethsemane to Calvary and from Calvary to the Garden Tomb. It is an invitation to observe andapply His great atoning sacrifice, whose reach is as individual as it is infinite. It is an invitation torepent, to draw upon His cleansing power, and to grasp His loving, outstretched arms. It is aninvitation to be at peace."   ~W. Christopher Waddell

~Sister Temp

April 11, 2016

We had a miracle lesson this week! So there's this less active lady named Rhonda and her husband (Wes) isn't a member and hasn't come to church in ever. But on Tuesday we went to see them and they're super stressed out because Wes has this medical issue pop up and it's pretty serious and he's getting surgery for it today so hopefully it goes well. But on Tuesday we went and whenever we go to their house we just talk to Rhonda and then Wes leaves the room when we get there. So we were talking and I felt like I should share a scripture with her (D&C 121:7-8) so I did and she LOVED it. And then she asked us if we wanted to say a prayer (which is great because people don't usually ask to pray, we normally beg people to pray with us.) And THEN she said we should go in the other room and pray with Wes. Which was a miracle. And so we said the prayer and right after we said amen, she asked us if we had time to share that scripture with Wes too because she loved it so much, so we read it again and he loved it too and then out of the blue he's like, "What time does church start on Sunday?" AND THEY BOTH TOTALLY CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY. It was so sweet. After church he got a priesthood blessing for his surgery and he said that he felt so welcomed and comfortable and that he feels like he should come more often. So that's amazing.

On Wednesday we got to do zone training! And after zone training we had our zone olympic tryouts! I love zone olympics. I'm so glad I get to have 2 on my mission. Apparently I'm not nearly as buff as I used to be and so I failed at the stick-pull. And push-ups. BUT I'll be competing in the arm curls, so hopefully that goes well. Zone olympics aren't until next transfer in the second week of May. Here's a picture of our awkward zone.

Random highlights of the week:
--We had dinner with a family that lives on a farm kind of like the Byers in York and it made me homesick.
--Another time we had dinner and the kids were crazy and then I looked out the window and there was a donkey meandering around and I felt like I was in a movie. (But I didn't get to ride the donkey because apparently that's against mission rules. The sister before me figured that one out.)
--I tried Cafe Rio for the first time and found my new addiction.
--I learned how to plant a garden this week. It's not as hard as I thought. So I'm totally going to have a garden someday unless I live in Arizona then I'm not sure how that will work out. I'll just grow cacti and citrus. 

--I learned what goulash is. I don't like goulash.

--My companion likes to pretend that she's pregnant after big dinners and this little girl totally thought there was a baby in her stomach.

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--And here's a baby in a backpack. She's so cuuuuuuuuute. 

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Quote of the week:
"Every family has moments of awkwardness. Like when your parents ask you to take a 'selfie' ofthem, or when your great-aunt insists that you are still single because you are just too picky, orwhen your opinionated brother-in-law thinks his political view is the gospel view, or when your dadarranges a family portrait with everyone dressed like characters in his favorite movie. And you getthe Chewbacca costume. Families are like that." ~Dieter F. Uchtdorf literally said this in General Conference last week. If you didn't watch conference, you are seriously missing out.

Actual Quote of the Week:
"In real life, we face actual, not imagined, hardships. There is pain—physical, emotional, and spiritual. There are heartbreaks when circumstances are very different from what we had anticipated. There is injustice when we do not seem to deserve our situation. There are disappointments when someone we trusted failed us. There are health and financial setbacks that can be disorienting. There may be times of question when a matter of doctrine or history is beyond our current understanding.

When difficult things occur in our lives, what is our immediate response? Is it confusion or doubt or spiritual withdrawal? Is it a blow to our faith? Do we blame God or others for our circumstances? Or is our first response to remember who we are—that we are children of a loving God? Is that coupled with an absolute trust that He allows some earthly suffering because He knows it will bless us, like a refiner’s fire, to become like Him and to gain our eternal inheritance?" ~Donald L. Hallstrom

~Sister Temp

April 4, 2016

Are you ever just ridiculously happy for no apparent reason? Because that's how my week has been. (Even though I've had a cold this week. But it's mostly over now.) Basically I just love being a missionary in Nebraska in the Pioneer ward with Sister Morrin. We might even get to move in with the Leavitts, this awesome older couple in the ward! They have a sweet basement, so hopefully that works out. And they have like 7 birds! And the birds and I are friends now! I really hope we get to move in. The stake approved the housing last night so the mission just needs to approve it and then we get a new house! 

So there's this investigator we have named Kelly and the sisters have been teaching her for a while and she refuses to call us by our title. I've never met someone so adamant about using our first names. She kind of scares me. She asked me what my name was (after I told her it was Sister Temp she told me she wants my "real" name) and I just sat there for a second because I'm awkward and I can't say my name anymore and then she said she would guess and she guessed Rachel and I immediately said, "Yep! That's it. My name is Rachel." And she said, "I knew it, you really look like a Rachel." So now she calls me Rachel. And I'm a lying liar lie-face and now I don't know how to tell her that I awkwardly lied about my name so I guess I will forever be Rachel.

​Conference party! We had crepes that morning, and they were delicious.

General Conference was SOOOOO GOOOOOOD. I've never felt so excited for conference before. I can't believe it's already over. I just wish there were like 5 more sessions. I just loved it. Especially Hollands! It was a perfect conclusion.

Quote of the Week:
"Please remember tomorrow, and all the days after that, that the Lord blesses those who want to improve, who accept the need for commandments and try to keep them, who cherish Christlike virtues and strive to the best of their ability to acquire them. If you stumble in that pursuit, so does everyone; the Savior is there to help you keep going. Brothers and sisters, the first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. That’s the first great commandment. But the first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength." ~Jeffrey R. Holland

 Here's a link for the talk summaries! Go read all of them.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/talk-summaries?lang=eng

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These clouds are ridiculous. I just want a tornado.

~Sister (Rachel?) Temp